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Full text of "The illustrated history of the British Empire in India and the East, from the earliest times to the suppression of the Sepoy mutiny in 1859"

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TEMPLE OF JUGGERNAUT. 



THE 



ILLUSTKATED HISTORY 



THE BRITISH EMPIRE IN INDIA 

AND THE EAST, 

TKOM THE 

Earliest Cintes U i\t $ui^fmm d tlje Sf og 9«ting in 1859. 
E. H. NOLAIiT, Ph.D., LL.D., 

AUTHOR OF THE '* BlSTORy OF THE WAR AGAINST RUSSIA." 



ILLUSTRATED WITH STEEL ENGRAVINGS AND MAPS, 



IN TWO VOLUMES. ^V^^ 

VOL. II. a 



LONDON : 
JAMES S. VIRTUE, CITY ROAD AND IVY LANE. 

NEW VORK: 26, JOHN STEEET. 



CONTENTS OF VOL. II. 



FAGI, 

Chap. L. 
Progress of the East India Company, from the 
Kstablishment of Factories in Contineutal India 
to the First Settlement on the Hoogly .... 1 

Chap. LI. 
Home History of the Company, from the Civil War 
in F.ngland to the end of the Seventeenth Century 1 

Chap. LII. 
The English in India and the Eastern Archipelago, 
from the .Settlement at Hoogly to the end of the 
.Spventeenth Century 30 

Chap. LIII. 
Review of the History of British Connection with 
India to the Close of the Seventeenth Century . 48 

Chap.LIV. 
Review of the History of British Connection with 
India to the close of the Seventeenth Century 
{C'onlimied) C2 

Chap, LV. - 
The Home Affairs of the Company during the first 
half of the Eighteenth Century ..".... 72 

Chap. LVI. 

The Ostend Company 80 

Chap. LVII. 

The Danes in India and Eastern Asia 88 

Chap.LVIII, 
The Minor East India Companies : — Swedish, Prus- 
sian, Trieste, and Spanish 9.5 

Chap. LIX. 
French Enterprise in India and the East, to the time 
of the formation of " The Perpetual Company of 
the Indies" ' . 105 

Chap. LX. 
French Enterprise in India and the East from the 
formation of " The Perpetnal Company of the 
Indies " to the War with England 117 

Chap. LXI. 
British Affairs in China during the Eighteenth Cen- 

tuT 123 

Chap. LXII. 

The British in Western India during the first 
qnartcr of the Eighteenth Century 132 

Chap. LXIII. 
The British in Western India dm-ing the second 
quarter of the Eighteenth Century 148 

Chap. LXIV. 
Madras from the beginning of the Eighteenth Cen- 
tury to the breaking out of Hostilities with 
the French in 1 744 ] 63 

Chap. LXV. 
Events in Bengal from the beginning of the 
Eighteenth Century to the breaking out of 
Hostilities with France in 1744 169 



PAOK. 

Chap. LXVI. 
Establishment of a regular Navy at Bombay, and of 
regular Military Forces in Bombay, Madras, and 
Bengal 1 70 

Chap. LXVII. 
Jealousies and Quarrels with the French previous to 
the first breaking out of War between them and 
the British in India 18C 

Chap. LXVIII. 

War between England and France in the East . . 195 

Chap. I.XIX. 

English Conquest of the Carnatic 203 

Chap. LXX. 
British Conquest of the Carnatic (Co«<TO(?^ . .21(3 

Chap. LXXI. 
Conflicts between the English and French in Western 
India after the breaking out of War between the 
two Nations in 1 744 237 

Chap. LXXII. 
Events in Bengal after the breaking out of the War 
with France in 1744— Massacre of Englishmen in ^ 
the Black Hole of Calcutta— Expulsion of the/ \ 
French /\ 243 ' 

Chap. LXXIII. -^(^ 

Dethronement of Suraj-adDowlah— Battle of Plassey 26^ 

Chap. LXXIV. 
Opposition to the Soubahdarship of Meer .lafBer — 
Intrigues of the Nabob of Oude, and other Native 
Princes, instigated by the French — Invasion of 
Bengal by the Dutch, and their Defeat and 
Destruction by Colonel Ford — Invasion of Bengal 
by Shah-zada— His Repulse and Flight . . .264 

Chap. LXXV. 
Warren Hastings prominent in the Affairs of Bengal 
—Governor Vansittart opposed by the Council- 
War with the Emperor— Defeat of the imperial 
army, and of the French, with the capture of M. 
Law, the French chief— Establishment of Meer 
Cossim in the Soubahdarship by the English . . 273 

Chap. LXXVI. 
Affairs in Bengal — Violent and fraduleut conduct of 
the English— Disputes between the Governor and 
Council of Calcutta — Kevenue Contests between 
the Officers of the Council and those of the 
Soubahdar— Commencement of War by the British 
— Series of Victories— Massacre of the English at 
Patna — Expulsion of Meer Cossim from Bengal . 283 

CirAp. LXXVII. 
War with the Nabob of Oude— Ruin of Meer 
Cossim— Death of Meer JafBer— The English 
place Nujum-ad-Dowlah upon the Mnsnid of Ben- 
gal — Humiliation of Nundcoomar, the minister • 
of Jaffler — Disorganization of English Afliirs in 
Bengal— Corrupt practices of the Council — Ap- 
pointment of Clive as Governor 292 



IV 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 

CiiAi-. LXXVIII. 
Affairs in Bengal during the Government of Mr. 
Verelst and Mr. Cartier — Arrival of Warren 
Hastings as Governor 308 

Chap. IXXIX. 
Bombay and iladras — Events connected vfith those 
Presidencies to 1775 308 

CilAP. LXXX. 

War with Hyder Aii of Mysore .315 

Chap. LXXXI. 
Home Affairs of the Bast India Company from 1750 
to 1775 324 

Chap. LXXXII. 
Affairs in Bengal during the Government of Warren 
Hastings 335 

Chap. LXXXIII. 
The Government of Bengal under Warren Hastings 
as Governor-general of India 345 

Chap. LXXXIV. 
Government of Warren Hastings as Governor-general 
(Continued) 355 

Chap. LXXXV. 

Government of Hastings {Continued) .... 361 

CilAi'. LXXXVI. 

Government of Hastings {Concluded) 370, 

Chap. LXXXVII. 
War with Hyder Ali of Mysore — His Invasion of 
the Carnatic— His Devastations, Victories, Cruelty, 
and Death 877 

Chap. LXXXVIII. 
The War with Tippoo Sahib — Withdrawal from the 
Carnatic — Conquests iu Western India — Sieges of 
Mangalorc and Onore — Victories of Colonel 
FuUarton and General Stuart — Defeat of Bussy 
and the French — Peace with France— Peace with 
Tippoo . 387 

Chap. txXXIX. 
Naval Operations in the Indian Seas during the War 
with Mysore, France, Spain, and Holland — 
Capture of Negapatam, Trincomalce, &c., from tlie 
Dutch— Loss of Trincomalce to the French . . ."iOO 

Chap. XC, 

Home Affairs 404 

Chap. XCI. 

Home Affairs {Conlhmed) 414 

Chap. XClI. 
Mr. Macpherson succeeds Hastings as Governor- 
general — His Financial Jleasures — Tippoo defeats 
the Mahrattas — Lord Macartney surrenders the 
Goveniment of Madras and refuses that of Bengal 
— Ambition of Scindiali — The Sil<hs become im- 
portant — Earl Cornwallis assumes the Govcru- 
ment of India— His General Jleasures — Tippoo 
invades Travancore 419 

Chap. XCm. r- 

War with Tippoo Sultan k 426 

Chap. XCIV. \ 

Second Campaign against Tippoo Sultan .... 430 

Chap. XCV. 
War with Tippoo : third Campaign 438 



CuAP. XCVI. 
Third Campaign against Tippoo Saltan (Continued) 445 

Chap. XCVII. 
War with Tippoo Sultan (Continued) 454 

Chap. XCVIII. 
Departure of Lord CornwaUis from India — Sir John 
Shore becomes Governor-general — He resigns — 
The Earl of Mornington is appointed Governor- ' 
general— General Conspiracy against the English — 
Efforts of the French — Tippoo Sultan forms a 
French Alliance to expel tlie English from India 464 

Chap. XCIX. 
Final War with Tippoo Sultan — Storming of Seringa- 
patam — Death of Tippoo 470 

Chap. C. 
The Hon. Colonel Wellesley, as Governor of Mysore, 
makes War on Dhoondia Waugh — Results upon 
the Interests of the English in India — General 
Difficulties of Lord Wellesley's Government — 
Affairs of Oude — Disagreements with Birmah — 
Missionary Efforts iu the Eighteenth Century . 480 

Chap. CI. 
Relations of the French to India in the opening of 
the Nineteenth Century — Policy of the Marquis 
Wellesley in reference to French influence iu 
India, and the Mahrattas — War with tlie Mah- 
rattas — Operations of General Wellesley — Battles 
of Assayc and Argaum 490 

Chap. CII. 
Mahratta War (Continued) — Operations of General 
Lalcc — Battles and Sieges — Final Subjugation of 
the M.ihratta8, and Treaties of Peace .... 500 

Chap. CIII. 
Resignation of the Marquis Wellesley — Marquis 
Cornwallis succeeds him — Policy and Death of 
his Lordship — -Appointment and revokation of 
Sir G. Barlow — Nomination of Lord Minto — 
Affairs of Madras — Mutiny and Massacre at Vel- 
lore — Arrival of Lord Minlo — His Policy . . . 507 

Chap. CIV. 
Government of the Earl of Moira 514 



Chap. CV. 
Progress of British Interests in China and the Archi- 
pelago, from the beginning of the Nineteenth 
Century to the end of the Government of the 
Marquis Hastings 525 

Chap. CVL 
Home Events connected with the East India Com- 
])any from the beginning of the Nineteenth 
Century to the Renewal of the Charter in 1833-4 537 

Chap. CVIL 
Government of Lord Amherst 



543 



Chap. CVIU. 
Government of Lord Amherst (Continued) 



. 556 



Chap. CIX. 
Provisional Government of Sir Charles Metcalfe — 
Government of Lord Auckland — Russian Interven- 
tion in the Affairs of Affghauistan- — Persian 
Invasion of Herat — British Expedition to the 
Persian Gulf— Treaty of Lahore 662 

Chap. CX. 
The Affghau War 573 



CONTENTS. 



Chap. CXI. 

Affghan War {Continued) 581 

Chap. CXII. 
Transactions and Battles of the British Army at 
Cabul, from the departure of Sir Robert Sale to 
the retreat of the Hon. General Elphinstone . . 588 

Chap. CXIII. 
Retreat of the British from CabiU — Destruction of 
the Army 597 

Chap. CXIV. 
Second Invasion of Affghanistau by the British . . 603 

Chap. CXV. 
Events in Upper Affghanistan — General Nott 
Marches to Scinde — Capture of Ghizni — Generals 
Nott and Pollock advance to Cabul — Rescue of 
the English Prisoners — Destruction and Evacua- 
tion of Cabul 611 



Chap. CXVI. 
The War in Scinde — Advance towards Hyderabad — 
The Ameers coerced into a Treaty with the 
English — Attack npon the English Residency at 
Hyderabad— Expedition of Sir Charles Napier in 
the Desert — Battle of Meannee — Battle of Dubba 
— Victories of Colonel Roberts and Captain 
Jacobs — Sir Charles Napier's Government 
Scinde U620 




Chap. CXVII. 
War with China — Naval and Military Operations — 
Treaty of Peace — Opening of Five Ports to Euro- 
pean Commerce 626 

Chap. CXVIII. 
War with the Mahrattas of Gwalior — Battles of 
Maharajpore and Pnnniar — Dangers on the Sikh 
Frontier — Lord Ellenborough recalled — Mr. Bird 
Governor-general, ;)ro. tern. — Sir Henry Hardinge 
arrives as Governor -general 640 

Chap. CXIX. 
The Sikh War — Battles of Moodkee, Ferozeshah, 
Aliwal, and Sobraon — Advance npon Lahore — 
Peace 644 

Chap. CXX. 

The Second Sikh War— Revolt of Chuttur Singh- 
Murder of English Envoys at Mooltan — Gallant 
Condnct of Lieutenant Edwardes — General Whiah 
bombards and captures Mooltan — Sentence on 
Moolraj — Advance of Lord Gough — Battle of 
Ramnuggur 653 

Chap. CXXI. 
Shere Singh retreats from Ramnuggur to Russool — 
Battle of Chillianwallah — Operations against Ram 
Singh in the Raree Doab — Storming of the DuUah 
Heights — Battle of Goojerat — Defeat and sur- 
render of the Sikh Army — Annexation of the 
Punjaub 659 

Chap. CXXII. 
General Affairs of India under the Government of 
Sir Henry (Lord) Hardinge — His departure — • 
Arrival of I/)rd Dalhousie — His General Policy . 667 

Chap. CXXIII. 
Government of the Marquis of Dalhousie from 1851 
(Continued) 674 

Chap. CXXIV. 
Home Events 680 



Chap. CXXV. 
Annexation of Oude — Laws aifecting the Tenure of 
Laud in Bengal 686 

Chap. CXXVI. 
Persian War — Its Causes — Invasion of Herat — 
Expedition to the Persian Gulf — Capture of 
Bushire, Mohammerah, and Akwaz— Peace nego- 
tiated at Paris 693 

Chap. CXXVII. 
Departure of Lord Dalhousie — Arrival of Lord 
Canning as Governor-general — Breaking out of a 
Sepoy Mutiny — Want of foresight and decision 
on the part of Government — Disbanding of Regi- 
ments and Punishment of individual Officers and 
Soldiers — Proofs of a Mohammedan Conspiracy . 706 

Chap. CXXVIII. 
Revolt of the Sepoys at Meerut — Measures of 
Government preparatory to an Advance of the 
British Forces upon Delbi 713 

Chap. CXXIX. 
Mutiny at Benares — Its suppression by Colonel 
Neill — Mntiuy at Allahabad, also suppressed by 
Colonel Neill — Mutiny at Cawnpore — Treachery 
of Nana Sahib — Gallant Defence by General 
Wheeler — Capitulation of the British, and their 
Massacre — Murder of Fugitives from Futtyghur 
— Mutiny at that Place — Assumption of the 
Mahratta Sovereignty by Nana Sahib .... 723 

Chap. CXXX. 
The Mutiny in Oude — Defence of Lucknow by Sir 
Henry Lawrence — His Death — Mutiny in Roliil- 
cund and the Doab — Mutiny in Central India — ■ 
Mutiny in the Punjaub, and its Supprsssion — "^x 
Unsuccessful attempt at Mutiny in Scinde . ■\789 

Chap. CXXXI. 
Advance of a British Army against Delhi — Siege of 
the City 742 

Chap. CXXXII. 
Arrangements for the relief of Cawnpore and Luck- 
now — March of Colonel Neill's Column upon 
Cawnpore— Its Success — March of Outram and 
Ilavelock upon Lucknow — Relief of the Kesideuey 
— Advance of Sir Colin Campbell to Lucknow— p- — 
Removal of the Garrison to Cawnpore . . . (. 7Sil 



Chap. CXXXIII. 
Operations from Cawnpore under the direction of 
Sir Colin Campbell — Conquest of Lucknow, Shah- 
jehanpore, and Bareilly — Suppression of the 
Mutiny in Oude, Rohilcuud, and neighbouring 
Districts 759 

Chap. CXXXIV. 
Various Mutinies and Insurrections, and their Sup- 
pression — Capture of Jhansi and Calpee by Sir 
Hugh Rose — Revolutions in Gwalior — Surrender 
of the City to Tantia Topee— Flight of Scindiah— 
Capture of the City and Fortress by Sir Hugh 
Rose — Restoration of Scindiah— Death or Capture 
of the Chief Leaders of the Revolt — Dispersion of 
the Rebel ^Bands — End of the Mutiny and In- 
surrection , 766 

Chap. CXXXV. 
Principal Home Events connected with India after 
theEnactmentof theLawof 1854, to the Abolition 
of the Company's Political Control, 1858 . . .773 



DIRECTIONS FOE THE BINDER 

IN PLACING THE STEEL ENQKAVINQS AND MAPS ILLUSTKATIVE OF THIS WOKK. 



VOLUME I. 



PiGR 

Portrait of Wajor-gen. Sir HeLry JIavelock I'rontisjiiece 
Sir David Baird discovering the dead Body of Tippoo 

Saib Vignelte 

Map of Asia i 

Map of India 1 

Calcutta : the Monsoon 13 

A Suttee 37 

The Mohammedan Festival of the Mohurrum . . 66 

Map of the Bengal Presidency 70 

Floating Lamps on the Gauges 75 

The Fortress of Chunar, on the Ganges .... 89 
Bird's-eye View of Lucknow, and the coimtry towards 

Cawupore . . . ; 91 

Panoramic View of New and Old Delhi, and of the 

surrounding country 95 

The Walls of Lahore 108 

Jlap of the Kladras and Bombay Presidencies . . 124 
Durbar of the llajah of Travancore : Keception of 

General Outram 125 



I Madras 133 

Bombay 139 

Entrance to the Caves of Elephanta 150 

Crossing a -Mountain Torrent in Bhotau .... 193 

Map of tlie East India Islands 199 

Alap of China 205 

Portrait of Sir James Brooke, Bart., Kajah of 

Sarawak 420 

Sacred Temple and Tank, at Umritsir . • . . . 445 

Futtypore Sicri, near Agra , 450 

Sports of the East — the Hunting Cheetah . . . . 463 
The Chm-uk-puja, or Swinging Ceremony . . . 471 

The Esi)lanade, Calcutta 512 

Map of the Eastern Hemisphere 537 

A Jlogul Trooper 623 

Elephants lighting 639 

Shah Jehanabad (New Delhi) 662 

Map of Japan 765 



VOLUME II. 



PICK 

Portrait of Viscount Canning Frontispiece 

The Temple of Juggernaut Vipieite 

Portrait of Lord Clive 197 

Portrait of Warren Hastings 275 

Benares 362 

Portrait of Richard, Marquis Wellcslcy .... 416 
Portrait of Charles, Marquis Coruwallis . . . .431 

Portrait of the Duke of Wellington 406 

LastEiTortof Tippoo Saib . . . . 476 

Portrait of Lord William Bentinck 507 

Portrait of the Earl of Minto 510 

Portrait of Lord Amherst 529 

Portrait of the Marquis of Hastings (Earl of Moira) 539 

Portrait of the Earl of Auckland 563 

Portrait of Runjeet Singh 568 

The British Army before Cabul 588 

Sir Charles Napier pursuing Robber Tribes . . . 621 

The Battle of Mcanncc 622 

The Bombardment of Canton 635 

Portrait of Sir Henry Pottiugcr 639 

Portrait of Lord Hardinge 644 



TAGR 

The Battle of jMoodkec 645 

Portrait of Lieutenant-general Sir Harrv Smith, 

Bart ' ... 646 

The Battle of Aliwal 648 

Portrait of Gholab Singh 652 

Portrait of Dost Mohammed Klian 662 

The Battle of Goojerat 663 

Portrait of Viscount Gough 663 

Portrait of Sir Charles Napier 669 

Portrait of the Marquis of Dalhousie 674 

Portrait of Lord Metcalfe 081 

Portrait of Lieutenant-general Sir James Outram . 695 

Portrait of General Neill 724 

Portrait of Sir Henry Lawrence 73U 

Portrait of Sir John Lawrence 733 

Portrait of General Sir Archdale Wilson, Bart. . . 746 

Portrait of General Nicholson 751 

Portrait of Major-general Sir J. E. W. Inglis . . . 755 

Portrait of Lord Clyde 766 

The Fort of Gwalior 772 

Portrait of Lord Stanley 7 74 



THE ILLUSTEATED HISTORY 



BRITISH EMPIRE IN INDIA 

AND THE EAST. 



CHAPTER L. 

PROGRESS OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY, FROM THE ESTABLISHMENT OF FACTORIES IN 
CONTINENTAL INDIA TO THE FIRST SETl'LEMENT ON THE HOOGLY. 



From the date of the settlement of a factory 
at Surat, to the period of the establishment 
at Hoogly, and the breaking out of the civil 
war in England, was a time of considerable 
events to the company, at home and abroad. 
Gradually, thronghout that period, the foreign 
agents of the company were laying the foun- 
dation of future fortune, where, and how, 
theysuspected not. The reverses of the com- 
pany subserved its ultimate greatness. The 
ravages and successes of the Dutch led to 
their ultimate humiliation, and the triumph of 
England and her East India Company. The 
states-general would have probably carried 
on a commerce, in the long run, successfully, 
rivalling that of England, had not their grasp- 
ing and venal temper led them to set justice 
and treaty at defiance, in endeavouring to 
deprive the English of all share in the trade 
of the Eastern Archipelago ; bnt their 
cupidity ronsod the latent energy and re- 
sources of England, which soon asserted a 
naval ascendancy in Europe, and ultimately 
all over the world. The English, at the 
period of which we now write, were very soli- 
citous to injure the commerce both of the Por- 
tuguese and Dutch. That they were just as 
ready to circumvent and damage the Dutch, 
as the latter were to disparage or interrupt 
them, is evident from the correspondence of 
Sir Thomas Roe. Still, the English were in- 
capable of the cruelties of the Dutch : much 
more were those of the Portuguese im- 
possible to them. In one of Sir Thomas 
Roe's letters he writes: — "The Dutch arc 
arrived at Surat, from the Red Sea, with 

VOL. II. 



some money and southern commodities, / 
have done my best to disgrace them ; but 
could not turn them out without further 
danger. Your comfort is, here are goods 
enough for both." 

In another letter he says, " The 10th, 
11th, and 12th, I spent in giving the prince 
advice that a Dutch ship lay before Surat, 
and would not declare upen what design it 
came until a fleet arrived, which was ex- 
pected at the first fit season. This I im- 
proved, to fill their heads with jealousies of 
the designs of the Dutch, and the dangers 
that migiit arise from them, which was well 
taken ; and, being demanded, I gave my 
advice, to prevent coming to a rupture with 
them, and yet exclude them the trade of 
India." Here the English ambassador, so 
scrupulous and just in many affairs, and es- 
pecially where he was personally concerned, 
acted towards the Dutch, as he so bitterly 
complained that the Portuguese acted to- 
wards his own countrymen ; but it is more than 
probable the representative of England was 
obliged by his instructions to act thus, and 
necessitas non liahet leges. Besides, the pro- 
vocations received by the British, from both 
Portuguese and Dutch, were so frequent and 
severe, that they could not but oppose 
those nations, if there were any British trade 
to be established. 

The grand occasion of quarrel with the Dutch 
was spice. The English enjoyed a good 
trade in pepper, from their connection with 
Sumatra and Java, but the trade in the finer 
spices, such as cloves, nutmegs, cinnamon. \.^'C., 



2 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. L- 



liad been exclusively in the hands of the 
Portuguese, and was at this period becoming 
a. monopoly in tlie hands of the Hollanders. 
The English became intensely eager to break 
np this monopoly by fair trade ; the Dutch 
to keep it by force of arms. The English 
sent out agents from Bantam to Amboyna, 
Banda, and several other islands, reputed for 
their production of superior spices ; and finally, 
after much mortification and disappointment, 
they established a ' factory at Macassar, 
then deemed an eligible depot for spice 
brought from other places, and which itself 
produced superior rice, that might be made 
available as an article of exchange, and which 
could be procured by bartering it for the fine 
cloths of Central India. 

The general state of affairs, and prospects 
of traffic, may be gathered from the reports 
made by the agents, soon after the company was 
fairly settled in factories on the coast of 
India. Mr. Mill thus sums up the tenour 
and substance of these reports: — "That 
Surat was the place at which the cloths of 
India could best be obtained, though nothing 
could thero be disposed of in return, except 
China goods, spices, and money : that large 
quantities of Indian wove goods might be 
sold, and gold, camphor, and benjamin ob- 
tained, at the two factories of Acheen and 
Tckoo, on the Island of Sumatra : that 
Bantam afforded a still larger demand for 
the wove goods of India, and supplied pep- 
per for the European market : that Jaoatra, 
Jambee, and Polania, agreed with the two 
former places in the articles both of demand 
and supply, though both on a smaller scale : 
that Siam might afford a large vent for 
similar commodities, and would yield gold, 
silver, and deer-skins for the Japan market : 
that English cloth, lead, deer-skins, silks, 
and other goods, might be disposed of at 
Japan, for silver, copper and iron, though, 
hitherto, want of skill had rendered the ad- 
ventures to that kingdom unprofitable: that, on 
the Island of Borneo, diamonds, bezoar stones, 
and gold, might be obtained at Succadania, 
notwithstanding the mischief occasioned by 
the ignorance of the first factors ; but from 
Banjarmassin, where the same articles were 
found, it would be expedient, on account 
of the treacherous character of the natives, 
to withdraw the factory : that the best rice 
in India could be bought, and the wove 
goods of India sold, at Macassar : and, that 
at Banda, the same goods could be sold, and 
nutmegs and mace procured, even to a large 
amount, if the obstruction of European rivals 
were removed. Surat and Bantam were the 
seats of the company's principal establish- 
ments." 



An attempt was made for the establishment 
of a Scottish East India Company, and a 
royal patent granted in 1G18 to Sir James 
Cunningham, but withdrawn, in consequence 
of the interference of the London company, 
who made compensation for the expenses in- 
curred. The king, in return for this con- 
cession, and with a view of sustaining the 
Russian company, which had long been in a 
precarious state, prevailed on the East India 
Company to unite Vi^ith them in carrying on a 
joint-stocktrade,each party advancing £30,000 
per annum during the continuance of their re • 
spective charters ; but the experiment failing 
after a trial of two seasons, the connection 
was dissolved at the termination of the year 
1619; the loss of the East India Company 
being estimated at £40,000.* 

The company was much disturbed about 
this time by the prospect of competition with 
the French and Danes. The associations for 
Eastern commerce, formed in these countries, 
were not on a scale to appear formidable to 
the powerful resources of the Portuguese, 
Dutch, and English ; but nevertheless these 
nations were all nearly as angry at the bare 
•prospect of any other people wishing to buy 
spices, where they were produced, as they 
were by their rivalry with one another. 
The English appear to have taken more 
alarm at the formation of the French and 
Danish companies than the Dutch or Por- 
tuguese did, and this alarm appears to have 
been more excited by the Danes than by 
the French, although the Gauls were earlier 
upon the great stage of furious and bitter 
rivalry. In separate chapters, the formation, 
progress, and foreign enterprises of the various 
East India Companies ujjon the continent, — 
other than the Portuguese and Dutch, which 
have been already related, — will be stated 
and described, so far as relates to the object 
of these volumes. In a former chapter it was 
mentioned, that negotiations were opened with 
Persia, and a treaty of trade secured, under 
the superintendence of Sir Thomas Roe. 
That acute man, however, dissuaded the 
enterprise, on the ground that the Portuguese 
already possessed the commerce between 
Persia and Surat, and that the expense of 
protecting the trade by armaments would be 
too great. The general policy of Sir Thomas 
was to avoid, as much as possible, all armed 
competition, and to seek avemies of trade the 
least exposed to the expense of numerous 
crews, heavy armaments, and forts. The ex- 
perience of the English verified the sagacity 
of these councils. The trade opened in the 
Persian Gulf never became very profitable, in 
consequence of the expenses incurred. 
* MUburn's Oriental Commerce. 



Chap. L.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



8 



In the year 1617-18, a new subscription 
was opened by the company in London, which 
reached the enormous sum of £1,600,000. 
This was designated " the company's second 
joint-stock." 

In 1619 negotiations began between tlie 
courts of England and Holland, to adjust the 
quarrels of the respective East Indian inter- 
ests of the two nations. It was agreed on all 
hands that it was disgraceful for allies to 
carry on a commercial competition which 
almost amounted to war. Accordingly, on 
the 17th of July, the terms of this treaty were 
in brief, according to Bruce, as follows : — 
" It was stipulated that there should be a 
mutual amnesty, and. a mutual restitution of 
ships and property ; that the pepper trade at 
Java should be equally divided ; that the 
English should have a free trade at Pullicate, 
on the Coromandel coast, on paying half the 
expenses of the garrison ; and that of the trade 
of the Moluccas and Bandas they should 
enjoy one-third, the Dutch two, paying the 
charges of the garrisons in the same propor- 
tion. Beside these conditions, which regarded 
their opposite pretensions, the treaty included 
arrangements for mutual profit and defence. 
Each company was to furnish ten ships of 
war, which were not to be sent in the Euro- 
pean voyages, but employed in India for 
mutual protection ; and the two nations were 
to unite their efforts to reduce the duties 
and exactions of the native governments at 
the different ports. To superintend the ex- 
ecution of this treaty a council was appointed, 
to be composed of four members of each com- 
pany, called the Council of Defence." 

The same author says — " In consequence 
of this treaty, by which the English were 
bound to send a fleet of ten ships to India, a 
larger fund was this year raised than had 
been provided for any preceding voyage : 
£62,490 in the precious metals, and £28,608 
in goods, were exported with the fleet. The 
return was brought back in a single ship, and 
sold at £108,887." 

The result, however, was unfortunate, as 
the English commissioners of the council of 
defence reported, that unless measures were 
taken in Europe to check the grasping and 
aggressive proceedings of Holland, the trade 
must be abandoned. This impression was 
taken up in England, but it was impossible 
just then to do anything for such a purpose. 

The commercial proceedings, meanwhile, 
are described by Mr. Mill, with great brevity, 
in the following paragraph : — '• In 1621-22, 
they were able to fit out only four ships, sup- 
plied with £12,900 in gold and silver, and 
£6253 in goods ; the following year, they 
sent five ships, £61,600 in money, and £6430 



in goods; in 1623-24, they equipped seven 
vessels, and furnished them with £68,720 
in money, and £17,340 in goods. This last 
was a prosperous year to the domestic ex- 
chequer. Five ships arrived from India with 
cargoes, not of pepper only, but of all the 
finer spices, of which, notwithstanding the 
increasing complaints against the Dutch, the 
company's agents had not been prevented 
from procuring an assortment. The sale of 
this part alone of the cargoes amounted to 
£485,593 ; that of the Persian raw silk to 
£97,000; while £80,000, in pursuance of the 
treaty of 1619, was received as compensation 
money from the Dutch." This compensation 
money was, however, given with the greatest 
reluctance, and its concession deepened the 
hostility which the Dutch felt, and had so 
malignantly displayed. Not long after fol- 
lowed the massacre of Amboyna, described in 
the last chapter. 

It may here, however, be observed, that 
the Dutch certainly believed the English 
guilty of a conspiracy at Amboyna to seize the 
fort, and some Enghsh writers have conceded 
it. Captain Hamilton* affirms it, and even 
palliates, and almost justifies, the severity of 
the Dutch, by references to alleged tortures, 
perjuries, and persecutions, inflicted by 
agents of the English company upon other 
Englishmen, who, not being ithe servants of 
the company, were called '" interlopers," and 
proscribed, having been deemed fair game 
for the company's people to hunt down by 
any means they could. 

Upon the allegations of Captain Hamilton, 
Professor Wilson, of Oxford, thus animad- 
verts, while he concedes the probability of 
some English plot : — " It is not impossible 
that there was amongst the English on 
Amboyna some wild scheme for the seizure 
of the island. The Japanese were soldiers of 
the garrison, and their position rendered their 
co-operation of an importance more than 
equivalent to the smallness of their numbers. 
At the same time, the conspirators were 
punished with a severity wholly unjustifiable. 
It is no extenuation of the cruelty of the 
Duteh, to argue that the English in India, in 
those days, were guilty of similar atrocities ; 
the fact is not proved, and the probabihty 
may be questioned : no instance of such 
savage barbarity can be quoted against any of 
the English factories or governments, and 
particular acts of severity towards deserters 
and pirates, are not to be confounded with 
the deliberate cruelties of a public body. 
Even with regard to individual instances, 
however, the evidence is defective : Hamilton 
wrote from recollection, according to his own 

* New Jccouni of the East Indies, vol. i. p. 362. 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap L. 



admission, and his accusations are, for the 
most part, general and vague. It is else- 
where noticed by our author, also, that he 
was an interloper, and that his testimony, 
when unfavourable to the company, must be 
received with caution. His assertions cannot 
be admitted as conclusive or unsuspicious. 
The conduct of the council of Amhoyna 
admits of no doubt, and no plea of precedent 
or necessity can be justly heard in its j^alliation. 
The Dutch writers themselves acknowledge, 
that it would have been much better to have 
sent the accused to Europe for trial, even 
by the English courts."* ' 

The proceedings of the company at home 
assumed but few features of importance up to 
1629, when a new charter was obtained. 
The circumstances which led to it are thus 
recorded by Mr. Mill, on the authority of 
Bruce : — " As the sums in gold and silver 
which the company had for several years 
found it necessary to export, exceeded the 
limits to which they were confined by the 
terms of their charter, they had proceeded 
annually upon a petition to the king, and 
a special permission. It was now, however, 
deemed advisable to apply for a general' 
license, so large as would comprehend the 
greatest amount which, on any occasion, it 
would he necessary to send. The sum for 
which they solicited this permission was 
£80,000 in silver, and £40,000 in gold ; and 
they recommended, as the best mode of 
authenticating the privilege, that it should be 
incorporated in a fresh renewal of their 
charter ; which was accordingly obtained." 

During this period, also, the company first 
petitioned the English House of Commons. 
Upon the death of King James I., and 
the ascent to the throne of Charles I., 
the House of Commons, as is well known to 
the student of English history, gradually as- 
serted more power and influence, which the 
company perceiving, brought its claims before 
it, and urged the straits to which it was reduced 
by the aggressions of the Dutch. 

Among the incidents in the last years of 
the reign of James were the succession to 
the company of the right to punish their ser- 
vants abroad, both by martial and municipal 
law. Tliis right was granted by the crown 
without the consent of the commons, or even 
consulting them. Mr. Mill found among the 
East India papers, in the State Paper Office, 
the material for the following paragraph : — 
"In the year 1624-25 the company's fleet 
to India consisted of five ships; in 1625-26, 
it consisted of si.x ships ; and in 1626-27, of 
seven. In the last of these years we gain 

* Vies del Gouvernettrs Ilollandois, in tlio Hiatoire 
Generale des Yoijages, xvii. 33. 



the knowledge collaterally of one of those 
most important facts in the company's his- 
tory, which it has been their sedulous care to 
preserve concealed, except when some inte- 
rest, as now, was to be served by the dis- 
closure. Sir Robert Shirley, who had been 
ambassador at the court of Persia, made ap- 
plication to the king and council to order the 
East India Company to pay him £2000 as 
a compensation for his exertions and services 
in procuring them a trade with Persia. The 
company, beside denying the pretended ser- 
vices, urged their inability to pay ; stating 
that they had been obliged to contract so 
large a debt as £200,000; and that their 
stock had fallen to 20 per cent, discount, 
shares of £100 selling for no more than 
£80." 

Judging from their own representations, 
their affairs, commercially, wore at tliis junc- 
ture an unfavourable aspect. They probably, 
however, presented their case in this dark 
aspect to elude the payment demanded by 
Shirley, and to create a public impression 
that they needed yet more the patronage and 
favour of government, while they were ren- 
dering great services to the nation. Probably 
no event of the times annoyed the company 
so much as the demands of King James, and 
his admiral, the Earl of Buckingham, for 
share of the prize money, won by its success- 
ful conflicts with the Portuguese. The king 
demanded £1000 as droits to the crown ; 
the lord high admiral demanded the like 
sum as droits to the Admiralty. As the power 
of the king was often exercised in an uncon- 
stitutional manner in those days, the company 
deemed it discreet simply to raise objec- 
tions to the demand, and make no farther 
resistance. To the admiral's claim they pre- 
sented legal obstacles, and indignant remon- 
strance and protest. They declared that as 
their ships which captured prizes did not 
carry letters of marque from the Admiralty, 
it had no right to interfere, especially as the 
armaments by which such captures were made, 
were a heav)' cost to the company, which had 
to protect its own trade, the state rendering 
very little assistance. These arguments were 
good, for if the government in any form made 
itself a partner in the naval and military suc- 
cesses of the company, it should also take its 
share in losses that were inflicted by the 
armed Portuguese and Dutch. The whole 
matter was brought before the Court of Admi- 
ralty, when it appeared that the prizes of the 
company were to the amount of £100,000 
sterling, and 240,000 reals of eight. The 
unprincipled king, greedy to obtain money, 
insisted on his prerogative ; the claims of the 
high admiral were postponed and eluded. 



Chap. L.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



5 



and probaLIy eventually baffled, for there is 
no evidence of their having ever been satisfied. 

The first home event of any importance after 
the royalconcessionof 1G29, was the opening of 
a subscription for a third joint-stock. This 
began in 1G31, and was completed inthe follow- 
ing year. It amounted to £420,000. With the 
new subscription seven ships were fitted out 
thesame year. In 1G33-34 five ships were sent 
out. In 1034-35 mention is made of only 
three, but some historians doubt whether that 
year was not more prolific of enterprise. 

The company now complained loudly of 
the " interlopers :" private adventurers trading 
to any part of the East on their own account 
were so considered, and such they were so long 
as the company held the royal charter. There 
was, however, a disposition to murmur at 
the slightest infringement of their privilege 
tmworthy of a body which had already ac- 
quired so great an influence, and which carried 
on such extensive enterprises. But, in truth, 
the profits of the trade were far less than the 
public supposed. Most of the directors were 
ignorant of political economy, and few of 
their agents had any correct opinions as to 
the principles of trade. The censure of Mr. 
Mill applies too truly to the conduct and in- 
telligence of the company at this period as 
a trading association : — " The company, like 
other unskilful, and for tliat reason unpros- 
perous, traders, had always competitors, of one 
description or another, to whom they ascribed 
their own want of success. For several years 
they had spoken with loud condemnation of 
the clandestine trade carried on by their own 
servants, whose profit they said exceeded their 
own. Their alarms for their exclusive privi- 
leges had for some time been sounded; and 
would have been sounded much louder, but 
for the ascendancy gained by the sentiments 
of liberty." Their hope that their monopoly 
would escape the general wreck with which 
institutions at variance with the spirit of 
liberty were threatened, could only be en- 
tertained if its pretensions were prudently 
kept in the shade. The controversy whether 
monopolies, and among others that of the 
company, were injurious to the wealth and pros- 
perity of the nation, had already employed 
the press. 

The outcry as to the interlopers and pri- 
vate traders was one which troubled the 
public as well as the company from the be- 
ginning of thecentur}',and during the embassy 
of Sir Thomas Roe, he advised the directors to 
allow no servant to trade, but to give them 
adequate salaries, and engage their entire 
interests. The parsimony of the company 
to the agents compelled them to trade for a 
sufficient subsistence. The advice of Sir 

VOL. II. 



Thomas had only been in part followed, and 
hence the complaints to which Mr. Mill, with 
a tone of some asperity, refers. 

In 1 G34-35 a new and remarkable episode 
in the history of tlie company is presented. 
A treaty was formed with Portugal for free- 
dom of trade between the Eastern possessions 
of the two countries, and also between the 
parent states and the respective factories 
and possessions of each. This event was 
hailed in England with as much satisfaction 
as the arrangement with the Dutch previously 
had been received, and with but little more 
ground for the hope and confidence inspired. 
To the company it turned out to be a great 
danger, for it incited a number of enterprising 
persons in India to denounce the monopoly of 
the company, and to attempt the formation of 
an independent association. At the head of 
this party was Sir William Courten, who suc- 
ceeded in engaging a gentleman of the royal 
bed-chamber, named Endymion Porter, to 
use his influence with the king on its behalf. 
The courtier had little difficulty in persuading 
a monarch so tenacious of his own rights, and 
so thoughtless of the rights of others, as 
Charles I. The king was prevailed upon 
to take a share, and then there was no 
difficulty in obtaining from him, on behalf of 
the association, licence to trade. The object 
of the king was personal profit, and yet he 
had the unfaithfulness and effrontery to set 
forth in the preamble of the licence, " that it 
was founded upon the misconduct of the East 
India Company, who had accomplished no- 
thing for the good of the nation in proportion 
to the great privileges they had obtained, or 
even to the funds of which they had dis- 
posed." Charles no doubt felt emboldened 
in the perpetration of this treachery by the 
opinion of the nation, then hotly engaged in 
discussing monopolies, and the rights of 
kings. The provision of notice to the company 
three years before any abrogation of its 
charter, emboldened many to become adven- 
turers under its guarantee ; the violation of 
this compact was worthy of a prince who 
could keep no faith with his subjects, whether 
the matters which demanded it were religious, 
political, or commercial. 

Courten's Association, as the newly licensed 
company was called, persevered, and sent out 
ships. In 1G37-38 several ships of the new 
company returned home laden with Eastern 
produce, suitable to the English market, 
which brought a ready sale and great profit. 
In consequence of the alarm and petitions of 
the old company, the privy council came to 
the conclusion that the two companies should 
avoid all collision by Courten's Association 
seeking new ports, and the East India Com- 





HISTOKY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Ohap. L. 



pany not touching at any placo where Cour- 
tcn's people erected a factory. The East India 
Company prosecuted ita protests against all 
rivalry ; the king was so overwhelmed with 
complaints from all classes of his subjects, ex- 
cept the highest in birth and privilege, that 
he became extremely solicitous to quell this 
new tumult, which, like so many others in his 
reign, he had himself done so much to raise. 
The privy council were directed to form a 
committee to investigate and settle matters, 
and, if possible, conciliate conflicting parties 
and interests. Tlie council, however, did 
none of these things — here also perpetrating 
the neglect, and displaying the folly, which 
ere long convulsed the nation, and for a time 
left the throne blood - stained and vacant. 
Charles was obliged to do something about 
the company, " to satisfy the noblemen and 
gentlemen who were adventurers in it," and, 
according to Bruce, the licence to Courten 
was withdrawn. His party complained bit- 
terly that the king had betrayed them, en- 
tangling them in undertakings beneath the 
Mgis of his protection, and then in the mo- 
ment of hope and trial abandoning them. 

The affairs of the company now assumed 
an aspect of confusion which it would be im- 
possible to describe, but their affairs had been 
conducted with so much disorder, their ac- 
counts kept in a manner so complicated and 
impracticable, the agents abroad had looked 
60 little after the company's property, being 
taken up with their own barter and ex- 
changes, that it is extraordinary bankruptcy 
did not immediately ensue. The proprietors of 
"the third joint-stock" demanded that that 
particular adventure should be brought to a 
close, and that its property in India should 
be brought home. The difficulty of com- 
plying with this demand was greater tlian 
the aggregate capacity of the directors could 
accomplish. Mill, quoting Bruce, depicts the 
conditions of tilings thus : — "It might have 
been disputed to whom the immovable pro- 
perty of the company, in houses and lands, 
in both India and England, acquired by 
parts indiscriminately, of all the joint-stocks, 
belonged. Amid the confusion which per- 
vaded all parts of the company's affairs, this 
question had not begun to be agitated : but 
to encourage subscription to the new joint- 
stock, it was laid down as a condition, ' That 
to prevelit inconvenience and confusion, the 
old company or adventurers in the third joint- 
stock should have sufficient time allowed for 
bringing home their property, and should 
send no more stock to India, after the month 
of May.' It would thus appear, that the pro- 
prietors of the third joint-stock, and by the 
same rule the proprietors of. all preceding 



stocks, were, without any scruple, to be de- 
prived of their share in what is technically 
called the dead stock of the company, though 
it had been wholly purchased with their 
money. There was another condition, to 
which inferences of some importance may be 
attached ; the subscribers to the new stock 
were themselves, in a general court, to elect 
the directors to whom the management of the 
fund should be committed, and to renew that 
election annually. As this was a new court 
of directors, entirely belonging to the fourth 
joint-stock, it seems to follow that the directors 
in whose hands the third joint-stock had been 
placed, must still have remained in office, for 
the winding up of. that concern. And, in 
that case, there existed, to all intents and 
purposes, two East India Companies, two 
separate bodies of proprietors, and two sepa- 
rate courts of directors, under one charter. 
So low, however, was the credit of East India 
adventure, under joint -stock management, 
now reduced, that the project of a new sub- 
scription almost totally failed. Only the 
small sum of £22,600 was raised. Upon this 
a memorial was presented to the king, but in 
the name of whom — whether of the new sub- 
scribers, or the old — whether of the court of 
directors belonging to the old joint-stock, or 
of a court of directors chosen for the new, 
does not appear. It set forth a number of 
unhappy circumstances, to which was ascribed 
the distrust which now attended joint-stock 
adventures in India ; and it intimated, but 
in very general terms, the necessity of encou- 
ragement to save that branch of commerce 
from total destruction." The failing credit of 
the company, the alarming ascendancy of the 
Dutch in the Eastern Archipelago, and the 
political conflicts at home, all combined to 
render it impossible to raise a new joint- 
stock. 

In this state of affairs the company in- 
curred a new blow from the king. Having 
resolved to make war upon his subjects, and 
not possessing pecuniary resources for the 
task which he imposed upon himself, the 
king seized all the pepper of the company, 
offering to purchase it on credit, which he 
did, and then immediately sold it for ready 
money. The parliament was subsequently 
unwilling to acknowledge any responsibility 
for this and other acts of the king, and his 
majesty appears to have given himself no 
concern as to the repayment. Bruce repre- 
sents the company as receiving back a por- 
tion by remission of customs, but Professor 
Wilson believes that they never received 
any compensation. Thus, in every form, 
Charles I. was perfidious and oppressive 
to the company. His caprice, selfishness, and 



CuAP. L.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



injustice nearly extingiiislied the existence of 
a body, destined however, to live for great 
achievements. Probably the company would 
not have survived the plunder of the stores of 
pepper by the king, had not some of the agents 
abroad sustained by loans its sinking credit. 

The conduct of the king became more and 
more infatuated, until the fury of the civil 
war shook every institution in England to its 
foundation, and the East India Company suf- 
fered its full proportion of the disasters which 
the royal obstinacy and unconstitutional vio- 
lence entailed upon all. Among the acts of 
this sovereign which most disturbed public 
confidence was the seizure of the money lodged 
in the Tower by the merchants. " Previous 
to the year 1640, the merchants of London 
lodged their money in the Mint at the Tower 
as a place of security. The king's inability 
to meet the Scottish army, which was then 
approaching the borders of England, con- 
strained him to call the parliament together, 
which had not been summoned for twelve 
years, for the purpose of obtaining supplies. 
These being refused until their grievances 
were redressed, parliament was hastily dis- 
solved by the king, who, \ipon some alleged 
ground that the City of London had occu- 
pied more lands in Ireland than was granted 
by their charter, forcibly borrowed of the mer- 
chants £2U0,C>00 of their money then lodged in 
the Tower. This led the merchants to withdraw 
their deposits, and to place them in the hands 
of goldsmiths, whose business till then was 
to buy and sell plate and foreign coins, and 
to melt and cause them to coin some at the 
Mint, and with the rest to supply the refiners, 
plate-makers, and merchants, as they found 
the price vary. They became lenders to the 
king, whose wants led him to anticipate the 
revenue, and who gave orders or letters on 
the exchequer for the interest." 

Such was the condition of the company's 
affairs at home that, d priori, the reader may 
conclude affairs abroad, so far as depended 
upon the management and resources of the 
company, did not prosper. In the earlier 
years of the period of which we treat, there 
were some successes, but these were almost 
entirely confined to the continent of India, 
and the neighbouring seas. 

Tiie foundation, at Jacatra, of a colony, 
upon which the Dutch people concentrated 
their power in that direction, had consider- 
able influence upon the progress of affairs in 
the eastern Asiatic isles. The Dutch were 
nearly always at war with the King of Bantam, 
who was the ally of the English. Several 
times English interests there appeared upon 
the point of destruction, and the King of 
Bantam in peril of the loss of his dominions. 



The English settlement was repeatedly at- 
tacked, and once burnt down, and the palace 
of the king partly demolished. 

A few months previous to the arrangement 
of 1G19 between the two companies. Sir 
Thomas Dale combined his forces, of some 
ships which he commanded, with the forces 
of the King of Bantam, for the expulsion of 
the Dutch from Jacatra. This expedition 
was successful, and the natives of the place 
undertook its defence. The Javanese sol- 
diers who occupied the place were neither 
brave nor vigilant, and surrendered upon the 
next demonstration of the Dutch. This loca- 
lity was chosen by the latter* for the foun- 
dation of a fortified city, which, after the 
ancient name of Holland, was called Batavia. 
That became the great seat and centre of 
Dutch oriental power and commerce, and 
continues so to this day. It was at Jacatra, 
or Batavia, that the council of defence already 
referred to fixed its quarters, but the victory 
of the Dutch admiral, Coen, left unfavourable 
influences, which caused animosity to rankle 
in the hearts of men of both nations. " The 
president and council," as the four English 
representatives constituting the council of 
defence at Batavia were called, were much 
dissatisfied that the ships destined for Java 
and the Spice Islands were detained in the 
Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean, to the great 
detriment of the pepper export, but events 
proved that these ships were more profitably 
employed than they could have been loading 
pepper at Batavia or Bantam. In like manner 
the factories at Sumatra detained ships which 
were also to have brought away lading from 
Java, but so imcertain was the conduct of 
the Dutch, that the factors at Sumatra appear 
to have had good reason for their conduct. 
These discontents, however, between the com- 
pany's agents abroad led to conflicting 
"advices" in the communications received at 
home, and embarrassed the directors. 

The expiration of the truce between Spain 
and Holland, in 1621, left the Dutch cruisers 
once more at liberty to attack Portuguese in- 
terests, which they did with an energy that 
inspired still further desire for a scope to 
their activity, and the English, contrary to 
treaty, were also assailed. Dutch writers 
allege that the English settlers in the Bandas, 
Poleroon, Rosengin, and Santoro, conspired 
with the natives against the legitimate influ- 
ence of Holland, which claimed a right to 
the sovereignty of these isles. The admirals 
and merchants of the states-general were, 
however, always fancying conspiracies, or in- 
venting them as pretexts for their aggressions. 
According to the testimony of their apologists, 
* Sec chapter on the Dutch in India and the East. 



8 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. L. 



just as the English conspiracies were I'ipc, the 
opportune arrival of the Dutch admiral, Coen, 
BaveJ the settlers, and restored the interests 
of his nation. He inflicted severe punish- 
ment both upon the native and English con- 
spirators, effectually protected Batavia, and 
established it in superior strength, and covered 
the designs of the English with humiliation. 

The English factory at Bantam had been 
removed to Batavia, on the faith of the treaty 
of conciliation and partnership between the 
two companies, concluded in Europe. The 
English agents now desired to return to their 
former position, but the Dutch opposed that, 
on the ground, openly confessed, that it might 
injure their newly consolidated oriental me- 
tropolis, Batavia. Thus it became evident 
that the Dutch had resolved by force to put 
an end to the trade of all rivals, and to hold 
under the cannon's mouth the monopoly of 
trade in the Eastern Archipelago. 

The English trade with Java had now been 
extinguished, unless carried on to a small ex- 
tent under restrictions haughtily and inso- 
lently imposed. The commerce with Japan 
became similarly circumstanced. In a former 
chapter the English were described as obtaining- 
from the emperor charters the most favourable 
at Firando and Jeddo. The Dutch attacked 
these places while peace existed between 
England and the states-general, and the two 
East India companies were in ostensible 
partnership. No provocation had been given, 
no plea of sovereignty was set up, but upon 
the old pretext of prior occupation, the assault 
was made with sanguinary violence by an 
overwhelming force. The English could make 
no effectual resistance ; they had to flee into 
the interior, where, protected by the natives, 
they escaped; otherwise they would have 
shared the fate of their compatriots at Amboy na. 

Soon after these misfortunes the company's 
agents retired from Java to the Island of 
Lagundy, in the Straits of Sunda. The jier- 
sons who selected this position were as little 
skilled in sanitary science as English agents 
and commanders have generally been since ; 
and the result was a severe mortality, which 
in twelve months carried off nearly two hun- 
dred men. The distress of the settlers was 
so great, that they could not muster men sufR- 
cient in number to work a vessel to bear them- 
selves away to any of the English factories. 
The Dutch showed some mercy by bringing 
them away to Batavia. The "Pangram," 
or King of Bantam, their steady friend, again 
offered them the means of re-establishing the 
factory at his capital ; this was accomplished 
in 1029, the Dutch being at that juncture 
unable to oppose, as the Emperor of Java 
besieged Batavia with eighty thousand men. 



Notwithstanding the difficulties to which the 
company at home, and its agents abroad, were 
exposed during this period, attempts were 
made to open up a trade with China, whore, 
it was believed, if a commerce could be se- 
cured, it would render especial profit. From 
Firando and Tywan the English made re- 
peated attempts to create a Chinese trade, 
which, considering the infancy of those set- 
tlements, reflected credit upon the agents and 
the commanders of ships. 

According to the twenty-sixth article of 
the treaty of defence, " the two companies 
were jointly to open a free trade to China." 
But the policy and proceedings of the rivals 
were precisely the same on the Chinese 
coasts as among the Spice Islands. They did 
not, however, make any pretence of justice 
in their conduct in the Chinese waters. They 
had no exclusive privileges or pre-occupation 
to plead, yet, " neither the treaty, nor the fear 
of reprisals, nor a sense of the friendship 
which subsisted between England and the 
states-general, could restrain the avidity of 
the Dutch compan}^ or render them equita- 
ble to their allies."* The company established 
their factories at Tywan and Formosa, with 
every prospect of working a remunerative 
trade, and of securing an opening at Amoy. 
Formosa was an object of their ambition, be- 
cause of the alleged variety of its produce ; 
and it was reported that English goods 
brought thither from the Chinese province of 
Fo-kien, in Chinese junks, sold well. The 
Chinese were then busy colonizing Formosa, 
chiefly because of its productiveness in rice ; 
and as Formosa gathered an industrious Chi- 
nese population, who worked as its own wild 
people would not do, a demand for English 
goods increased. 

Efforts were made to procure intercourse 
with Canton by means of the Portuguese at 
Macao ; but the governor would not allow 
any English settlers without sanction from 
Europe. Wlien the English succeeded in 
gaining access to Canton, it was under pro- 
visions which restricted their operations ex- 
ceedingly ; all ships, guns, and ammunition 
must be sent on shore, and heavy dues and 
exactions submitted to, which were tanta- 
mount to plunder. The Chinese nation was 
also much disturbed, the minds of men were 
unsettled, and a predatory and contentious 
spirit seemed to prevail among the whole 
peoj^le. 

As soon as the Dutch found the English 
seeking a trade, they not only attacked and 
plundered their ships, but they committed 
extensive piracy on Chinese junks, sinking and 
burning the vessels, and slaying their crews, 
* Auber. 



CuAi'. L.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



proclaiming themselves to be English, and 
committing these enormities nnder the flag of 
England. The result was as they expected — a 
prejudice against the British was spread all 
along the coasts of China. It became the 
habit of the Dutch at that time in every sea, 
when they wanted to perpetrate a dishonest 
or violent deed, to hoist English colours, and 
declare themselves English to their victims. 
The court of directors in London had their 
attention called more especially to the condi- 
tion and prospects of a Chinese commerce by 
their agents at Bantam. The following is a 
curious and interesting expose of the opinions 
and hopes of the first British essayists in 
Chinese commerce. It is a document sent by 
the "presidency" at Bantam in 1622 :— 

" Concerning the trade of China, two 
things are especially made known unto the 
world. The one is, the abundant trade it 
affordeth ; the second is, that they admit no 
stranger into their countrj'. 

" \st. Question. Whether the Emperor of 
China resides near the sea or within the land? 
"Answer. He resideth within the land, 
seventy days' journey from these seas, in a 
city called Pequin, situate in 48 degrees to- 
wards the Tartarian borders, &c. 

" 2nd. Quest. Whether our king might not 
send to visit him, and whether our king's 
people and shipping might not be permitted to 
have trade, and to pass and repass with safety ? 
"Alls. No people may be admitted to travel 
within the land ; neither will the Emperor admit 
converse or commerce with any prince or 
people. In some places that border on the 
coast or confines of other princes, there is 
trade tolerated by some inferior governors, 
yet unknown to the emperor, and those with 
limitation; for their vessels, if on sea voyages, 
are proportioned for bigness not to exceed 
one hundred and fifty tons, their number of 
men allowed, and their time of absence pre- 
scribed. The like strictness is observed in 
the neighbourly land ; commerce being carried 
on by marts only, held on certain days." 

In the year 1G27, the presidency of Bantam 
referred the court of directors to certain con- 
ferences which were opened with intelligent 
Chinese as to trade between their country and 
Japan. 

In 1635 the president of the English fac- 
tory of Surat, having been engaged in nego- 
tiating with the governor of the Portuguese 
settlement at Goa, for a treaty of peace 
between the two nations in India, the court 
of directors expressed the extreme pleasure 
which such a prospect afforded to them, and 
their desire, should such a treaty be brought 
to pass, that advantage should be taken of it 
for the purpose of facilitating the trade 



between India and China. When the treaty 
was effected, the company renewed the ex- 
pression of these wishes, and upon the arrival 
in India of the ratification of the treaty by 
the King of Sjiain, the viceroy at Goa pro- 
posed to the council at Surat, that a ship 
should be freighted, partly by each company, 
and sent to Canton. The British ship, Lon- 
don, was selected for this purpose. This was 
the first British ship that sailed from India to 
Macao : directions were therefore given to be 
exceedingly scrupulous to create no preju- 
dice in the minds of the Chinese. The ship 
reached Macao in July, 1635. Thegovernor's 
conduct justified the complaints made from 
Firando and Bantam, that ho paid no atten- 
tion to his superior at Goa, and that the 
Portuguese in China were in revolt against 
the Portuguese in India. The functionary 
at lyiacao would not allow the supercargoes, 
either British or Portuguese, to reside on 
shore, and in all ways, short of direct ex- 
pulsion, hindered the new trade. 

At this juncture the ships of Courten'a 
Association arrived, and hostilities between 
them and the servants of the company at 
once began. The effect upon the Chinese 
was to lead them to believe that some under- 
hand proceeding, hostile to themselves, was 
on foot, the spectacle of the ships of the same 
nation being in hostility appearing to them 
incomprehensible. 

The Dutch, perceiving how matters stood, 
attacked both Portuguese and British, and 
for a time there appeared but little chance of 
the allies resisting the superior force of the 
ships of the states-general. The Portuguese 
fought badly, and their want of prowess 
caused the English to despise them so much 
that they lost all confidence in any good re- 
sult from the alliance. The Dutch were, 
however, defeated in their attempt to conquer 
Macao, and retired to the Pescadores, where 
they built a fort, from which to annoy and 
plunder Chinese, Portuguese, and British 
indiscriminately. 

Having presented to the reader a succinct 
account of the condition of the company's in- 
terests, and the events which befell them in the 
earliest sphere of its operations in the Eastern i 
Seas — as the Archipelago and the Chinese 
waters were called, in contra-distinctiou to 
the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea — a new 
series of events remain to be related in con- 
nection with these. 

The English, as has been shown in former 
chapters, obtained, after much difficulty in 
negotiations, settlements in continental India ; 
and, as has also been shown, there was at the 
outset great danger to the factories, from the 
hostile rivalry of the Portuguese. 



10 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[CHiP. L. 



When the English obtained permission to 
establish a factory at Surat, tliey found that 
place a very considerable emporium. It was 
one of the most ancient in India, for it is 
mentioned in the Kamagasee, a poem of very 
great antiquity. After the Portuguese dis- 
covered the passage by the Cape, it became a 
place of large export, especially of pearls, 
diamonds, ambergris, civet musk, gold, silks, 
cottons, spices, indigo, saltpetre, and fragrant 
woods. It had, from the time of Slohammedan 
ascendancy, been a port of embarkation for pil- 
grims on their way to Mecca, and of debarka- 
tion for them on their return from Arabia. 

In 1612, when Captain Best obtained per- 
mission to establish a factory, he left ten 
persons, and a stock of £4000 to purchase 
goods.* The Dutch, hearing of the English 
settlement, made arrangements to enter into 
the competition going on there between the 
British and Portuguese, but did not arrive 
until 1617, and then were driven thither by 
a storm, some of their ships having been 
wrecked. The English succoured them, and 
even assisted them in disposing of their car- 
goes to advantage. This kindness was not 
generously requited. 

The English continued to trade as peace-' 
abl)'at Surat as the jealousies of rival nations 
allowed, and great hopes were entertained by 
the residents, that the Persian treaty (already 
referred to) would open up a mine of wealth. 
In virtue of that treaty the English were 
permitted to build a factory and a fort at 
Jask. Accordingly, two ships were sent there 
in 1621, and found the port blockaded by a 
Portuguese fleet, consisting of five large ships 
and fifteen small craft. The English returned to 
Surat, and informed the president of what he 
had seen. Two other ships reinforced them, 
and returned to Jask, where, notwithstanding 
the great disparity of vessels, the British forced 
their way in. The Portuguese retired to 
Ormnz, where they refitted and refreshed, 
thatisland having then been in their possession 
for 120 years. Sailing thence for Jask, they 
drew up in line of battle, and opened a 
cannonade upon the English with their large 
vessels, while the small craft, as in an earlier 
conflict at Surat, attempted to board ; the 
general result was a decisive victory on the 
part of the English. The Persians were as 
pleased as the Indians were at the first 
English victory at Surat, and proposed to 
the English an allied expedition to Ormuz, 
to expel the Portuguese from their long- 
established depot. The naval portion of the 

* The reader will find the fullest and best aecount of 
the history of this settlement in a work entitled, T/ie 
English in Western India, being the early history of the 
factory at Surat, by Philip Anderson. 



expedition was furnished by the English, 
the military part by the Persians, but the 
whole was under English direction. The 
naval force of the British was very dia- 
proportionate, but the military contingent of 
the shah was, in English hands, a formidable 
element of the assailing force. The English 
had received instructions from their own 
government not to molest the subjects of the 
King of Spain, the Stuarts always having 
a friendly feeling to Roman Catholic princes. 
The British, however, disobeyed those orders 
in this case, and carried the Persian forces 
to Ormuz. The place was assaulted and 
captured in 1622. The victory was complete; 
the Portuguese proved themselves inferior 
even to the Persians in arms, wlien the 
latter were well led. The shah took pos- 
session of the island, but the English received 
a fair proportion of the prize, and, moreover, 
a moiety of the customs of Gombroon was 
conceded to them. This was of some im- 
portance, as the English had already a factory 
there since 1613. Gombroon was on the 
mainland, nearly opposite to Ormuz, in longi- 
tude 54-4:5 east, and latitude 27-10 north. 
The Dutch had established a factory there 
two years before this event, and their morti- 
fication and rage were boundless that the 
English should be placed " over their heads." 
A condition was appended to the grant of 
the customs at Gombroon ; namely, that the 
English should keep the gulf free of pirates. 
This they did until 1680, when they failed to 
perform it, and the privilege was resumed by 
the shah. 

The Dutch, so kindly fostered at Surat as 
guests, soon returned as competitors. They 
were better traders than the English, and had 
larger capital ; their habits also were more 
economical, and the English accused them of 
carrying on their business and regulating 
their personal expenditure penuriously. They 
were, however, hospitable, and lived well ; 
they also paid their servants much better 
than the London company did, which enabled 
their agents to give themselves more com- 
pletely up to advance the interests of their 
employers. Nevertheless, they conducted 
their business at less cost ; all waste was 
avoided, no money was " fixed " that could 
be " kept in hand ;" their payments were 
prompt, and their credit therefore good, and 
in most of these respects they were very un- 
like their rivals. The English trade at Surat 
soon began to suffer, and the company me- 
morialised the government at home against 
the Dutch, as giving a larger price for Indian 
commodities, and selling European goods 
lower than they did. The idea of the com- 
pany was not that the English trader should 



Chap. L.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



11 



outbid the Dutcli, and undersell tliem in a fair 
commercial competition, but that the govern- 
ment at home should use force or diplomacy 
to rid them of the competitors. 

While the British were thus troubled by 
the Dutch at Surat, the Portuguese made 
another effort to snatch from the victorious 
English the renown of their recent achieve- 
ments. In 1630 the viceroy of Goa received 
a reinforcement of nine ships and two 
thousand soldiers ; and, backed by this de- 
monstration, opened negotiations with the 
Mogul for the recovery of the exclusive trade 
of Surat. Five English ships arrived for 
trade at that place, and as they entered the 
port of Swally, the Portuguese attacked them, 
but were beaten off. The disparity of force 
was too great for the English to inflict any 
severe punishment upon their foes, who con- 
tinued to harass the British squadron, and 
keep up incessant skirmishes. Finally, by 
a bold attempt to set fire to the English 
squadron, the Portuguese hoped to accom- 
plish their purpose. This failed : the English 
again inflicted chastisement upon the opposing 
fleet, and landed their goods in safety. 

Surat and its immediate vicinity were not 
the only spots in continental India upon 
which the English laid a tenacious hold at 
this juncture. In 1G28 they purchased from 
the naig, or chief, of the district, a piece of 
ground on the Coromandel coast, and the 
year following built a factory, and fortified it 
by mounting twelve pieces of cannon, guarded 
by about a fourth of a military company of 
" factors and soldiers." This is the first we 
hear of " soldiers " in the service of the com- 
pany ; their employment is, by most writers, 
assigned to alater period. Itdoes not, however, 
appear, from any information extant, whether 
these soldiers were natives or Europeans. 

Fortified factories or forts were now con- 
sidered necessary to the security of the com- 
pany's trading stations. Miss Martineau 
says, "It was the king, Charles I., who 
had brought the company round to the 
conviction that they must have forts ;" and 
she assigns the reasons given by the king, in 
163.5, for granting a licence to a rival com- 
pany, as the occasion of working this change 
in their opinion. It may be, that the 
directors at home were influenced to offer 
their encouragement to the building of forts, 
in consequence of Charles making their not 
having done so a pretext for creating another 
association to trade in the East ; but it is re- 
markable that that society from the outset 
protested, in the language of Sir Thomas 
Roe, against forts as a waste of money and 
incompatible with trade. The agents of the 
company were, however, convinced of the 



importance and essential requirement of 
fortified positions years before Charles issued 
the document in question, as their proceedings 
at Armegan and elsewhere show. Indeed, 
this authoress places the matter much in this 
light, when she thus describes the proceedings 
of the company's agents at this period : — 
" Piece goods, then in great demand — the 
delicate muslins and soft cottons of the 
Deocan — were to be had more easily on the 
Coromandel coast than on the western, and 
the company attempted to set up several 
factories or depots there. We read of four, 
besides the Madras establishment ; but Euro- 
pean rivals were hardy, and native govern- 
ments were harsh, and one after another was 
given up, or transferred to some safer place — 
to be again removed. Under these difficul- 
ties, men began to talk again of forts. It 
might be true that garrisons would absorb all 
the profits of trade ; but it was clear that 
trade could not go on without garrisons. No 
help was to be had from home. During the 
civil war there, nobody had any attention to 
spare for India ; and the company's agent.i 
must take care of themselves. The forts were 
an humble enough affair ; and the native 
soldiers who were hired to hold them wore 
armed with anything which came to hand, 
from bows and arrows to damaged muskets ; 
but the company had now a military front to 
show, and was pretty sure to be soon called 
on for evidences of its military quality." 

Miss Martineau considers that by these 
forts " a new institution was fairly established, 
which annulled the purely pacific character 
of British settlements in India." Although 
these remarks of this gifted lady were called 
forth by the establishment of Fort St. George, 
in Madras, in 1640, they are not justified by 
that circumstance. Fort St. George, as well 
as previous and minor erections of a military 
nature, were simply defensive. They were 
no more a symptom of departure from pacific 
principles and purposes, than would be the fact 
of a quiet citizen procuring a policeman to 
watch his house when he knew it was an 
object of assault by thieves. The desires of 
the English merchants and their agents at 
this time were " purely pacific." 

The reinforcements of the viceroy of Goa 
placed Ormuz in danger, as that functionary 
openly boasted of his intention to reconquer 
it, and to destroy the English factory on the 
mainland. These boastings proved vain, as 
the purposes were never executed, the courage 
of the English, and the numbers of the Per- 
sians, rendering their execution impossible. 

The British had established a factory at 
INIasulipatam, but removed it. Subsequently, 
as they became more anxious for a trade on 



12 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. L. 



the eastern sliores of Bengal, negotiations were 
opened with the King of Golconda, who pro- 
mised that former grievances should be re- 
dressed, and concessions were made of such 
a nature as induced the company to make 
Masulipatam again a port of trade. The 
agents of the company at Agra and Snrat 
prevailed upon the Mogul government to grant 
permission to open trade at Piplee.* It was 
for the better government of these stations, 
that the station at Bantam was again raised 
to the rank of a presidency. 

A trade in pepper with the Malabar coast 
was actively prosecuted when the treaty with 
Portugal was made. This step the company 
was constrained to take by the difficulty of 
the island trade, in consequence of the vigi- 
lance and armed power of the Dutch. 

One of the most, perhaps the most, important 
of the proceedings of the company's foreign 
agents, was the occupation of Fort St. George, 
at Madras. This arose from the inconve- 
nience of Armeganf for the chief articles of 
exportation from the coast of Coromandel — 
muslin and other wove goods. The Rajah 
of Chandragiri granted, March 1st, 1639,f 
permission to have a factory at Madras, to 
the company's agent, Mr. Day, who, as the 
English were then trading with arms in their 
hands, immediately began to erect a fort, which 
was called St. George. The directors in 
London heard of these proceedings with 
alarm, but the directors of the factory at Surat 
prevented them from abandoning it ; and thus 
was founded a place which became the capital 
of a greatpresidency,larger than thcdominions 
of all the powers which at that time traded 
and quarrelled around the peninsula, upon so 
prominent a position of which it stood. The 
station was at once placed under the super- 
vision of the president at Bantam. The force 
in Fort St. George was merely nominal ; had 
an attack been made by either Portuguese or 
Dutch, it must have fallen. Its chief defence 
was the goodwill of the rajah.§ The terri- 
tory granted extended five miles along the 
shore, and one inland. 

* Montgomery Slartia alleges it to be Piplee, in Orissa, 
twenty-seven miles from Cuttack, and in lat. 20-.5 north, 
long. 85'58. Mr. Walter Hamilton, Professor Wilson, 
and others, affirm that it was Piplee, in Midnapore, twenty- 
eight miles E.N.K. from Balasore, lat. 2142 north, 
long. 87'20 E. At this latter place the Dutch traded, 
exporting, according to Mr. Hamilton, two thousand tons 
of salt annually. This writer represents the removal of 
the merchants to Balasore subsequently, as in consequence 
of floods deluging the town, and forming a bar in the river. 

t Madras was nearly seventy miles south of Armagan. 

i Miss Martiuean, Mr. Mai-tin, and others, allege that 
it was in 1640. ° 

i In the geographical part of the work, the reader will 
find minute and correct descriptions of the jiresent condi- 
tion of the city and presidency of Madras. 



The expenditure upon the fort was consider- 
able for the times; in 1G44 it amounted to 
£229Jr, and it was calculated that as much 
more would be requisite. In that year it was 
deemed politic to render it impregnable, and 
for that purpose one hundred soldiers were 
assigned to it, but these were from time to 
time reduced. 

The apprehensions of the company that 
Madras was not suitable as a station for trade, 
were not altogether ill-founded. As a port 
it is deficient in convenience, for the reasons 
assigned in the geographical portion of this 
history when describing it. At a period long 
after its establishment, a writer competent 
to pronounce an opinion observed : — " Owing 
to the want of a secure port and navigable 
rivers, the commerce of Madras is inferior to 
that of the other presidencies, but all sorts of 
European and Asiatic commodities are pro- 
curable. Besides, the disadvantages above 
mentioned, the Carnatic province considered 
generally is sterile compared with that of 
Bengal, and raises none of the staple articles 
of that province in such quantities, and at so 
low a price, as to admit of competition in 
foreign markets. Provisions are neither of 
80 good a quality, nor so cheap as in Bengal. 
The water is of a very good quality, and sup- 
plied to ships in native boats at established 
prices."* The same writer, describing the 
vicinity, thus writes : — " In the neighbour- 
hood of Madras, the soil, when well cultivated, 
produces a good crop of rice, provided in 
the wet season the usual quantity of rain falls, 
and in some places the industry of the natives 
by irrigation creates a pleasing verdure. 
The fields yield two crops of rice annually. 
In appearance the country is almost as level 
as Bengal, and in general exhibits a naked, 
brown, dirty plain, with few villages, or any 
relief for the eye, except a range of abrupt 
detached hills towards the south." 

An event of still more consequence than 
the concessions of " Srce Rnnga, Rayapatam," 
to Mr. Francis Day, enabling the latter to 
build Fort George, occurred about this time 
— the establishment of the settlement of 
Hoogly. The circumstances which led to this 
event are better known than the precise date 
of it. These circumstances were as follow. 
Shah Jehan, the great Mogul, had a favourite 
daughter, named Jehanara : on one occasion, 
after spending the evening with her sire, when 
retiring to her own apartments, she passed too 
closely to one of the lamps that lit a corridor 
of the palace, and set her dress on fire. Fear- 
ful of calling the attention of the guards — 

* GeogrnphtcaJy Slirtistica?^ atid nisiorical Descrip- 
tion of lUndostan^ and the Adjacent Countries, Jiy 
Waller Hamilton. London, 1820. 



Chap. L.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



13 



oriental ladies of her rank regarding any ex- 
posure to the gaze of strangers as a cala- 
mity to be avoided at whatever cost — she 
rushed to the harem, her light apparel in 
flames, which the rapidity of her flight of 
course fanned. She fell insensible into the 
arms of her attendants, who extinguished the 
fire, but the princess was severely and even 
perilously injured. The emperor summoned 
the chief physicians from every part of his 
wide dominions, but they did not succeed in 
affording such succour as gave hope of her 
final recovery. The surgeons of the English 
East Indiamen were then thought of by 
the emperor himself, who, sending to Surat, 
one Gabriel Boughton hastened to obey his 
commands. The result of his skill and counsel 
was, the restoration of the royal lady, and the 
boundless gratitude, not only of herself, but 
of her sire, and of the court. The emperor 
offered to his benefactor any reward he 
might choose to name within the limits of 
the imperial power to bestow. The noble 
Enghshman thought only of his country, 
and demanded for it freedom of trade in 
every part of the empire, then confined to a 
few places, and chiefly to Surat. The princess, 
charmed with the disinterestedness of the 
medicus, joined her entreaties to his request, 
and the emperor equally surprised, and ad- 
miring the patriotism and generosity of the 
man, conceded the boon. It appears that 
Boughton about the same time rendered valu- 
able services to Prince Shuga, the governor 
of Bengal, and in this case thought also of 
his country rather than of himself. The prac- 
tical consequences of these providential inci- 
dents were that Shuga, with the consent and 
pleasure of the emperor, issued a neshan, 
or order with warrants from the local go- 
vernors, for the English to trade free in all 
ports of his imperial majesty, and to be 
exempt from all duties, except at Surat, with 
general permission to erect factories. 

The English took immediate advantage of 
this, and settled a factory at lloogly, which 
laid the foundation of their subsequent com- 
merce and empire iu Bengal. The precise 
dates of these events, as well as the modes 
of their occurrence, have been more discussed 
than most others in English East India history. 

The Portuguesehad previously had a factory 
at Hoogly, and were expelled thence. The 
date of their expulsion has been generally 
fixed at 1G.3G ; by some writers, however, in 
ICiO ; and by others, fewer in number, at a 
later period. As the English did not enter 
into ))o8session of lloogly until some time 
after the Portuguese had been driven out, the 
date of the one event is dependant upon the 
other. Stewart, in his UUtory of Bengal, 

VOL. II. 



says that Boughton was sent to the imperial 
camp in 163G, and that factories were founded 
in Balasore and Hoogly four years after. 
Bruce, in his Annah of the East India Com- 
pany, from IGOO to the Union of the London 
and English Companies in 1707-8, affirms 
that the factory was not established in 
Hoogly for eleven or twelve years after the 
period assigned by Stewart, and that the 
visit of Surgeon Boughton to Surat was in 
1645. Mr. Mill assigns to it so late a date as 
1G51-52. Professor Wilson leans to the 
opinion of Bruce, and thinks that Stewart 
confounded the permission given to Mr. Day 
to trade at Piplee, in Orissa, with the neshan 
given to Boughton for a general free trade in 
Bengal. The same learned historical critic 
observes — " An attempt was made to establish 
a factory at Patna in 1G20. In 1624, a fir- 
man was obtained from Shah Jehan, per- 
mitting the English to trade with Bengal, 
but restricting them to the port of Piplee in 
Midnapore, but the regular connection of the 
company with Bengal did not commence 
until 1612, when a factory was established 
by Mr. Day, at Balasore." 

According to Mr. Mill the concession of 
privilege to the English for a general free 
trade was not as gratefully imparted by the 
emperor and the governor of Bengal, as their 
professions of obligation to Mr. Boughton 
might have led him to suppose would be the 
case ; for a sum of three thousand rupees was 
required as a bonus. This was the ostensible 
sum then paid, but before a firman was 
issued by the emperor, which was not until 
the reign of Auruugzebe, much more had to 
be expended upon the corrupt imperial offi- 
cers, to remove their opposition or purchase 
their support. 

The erection of the English factory at 
Hoogly was of great importance, not only 
to the destinies of India, but to the imme- 
diate interests of the East India Company. It 
appears, however, that much embarrassment 
was experienced from the local authorities, 
notwithstanding the nominal freedom con- 
ceded to the settlers. Mr. ^Yalter Hamilton 
says, "The Dutch in 1G25, and the English 
in 1610, were permitted to build factories nt 
this place, but their trade was greatly re- 
stricted, and subjected to continual exactions." 

The way in which Dr. Cook Taylor sets forth 
the conduct of Mr. Boughton is not so honour- 
able to the British surgeon as all other writers 
depict it. Dr. Taylor seems to have been 
misled by the payment of the three thousand 
rupees, which were not paid to Blr. Boughton 
for his use, but which went to the governor 
of Bengal, and the creatures around him, or 
as some writers opine to the emperor himself. 



u 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LI. 



The learned doctor tluis puts .the transac- 
tion: — "In 1636, an English physician, Dr. 
Boughton, accompanied the British envoy 
from the factory at Siirat to Agra, where the 
emperor, Shah Jehan, was stationed. The 
favourite daughter of the shah was cnred 
of a dangerous illness by the skill of Dr. 
Boughton ; the shah, from gratitude, granted 
to him the right of free trade over the empire. 
This right the doctor sold to the company, 
who made use of it by establishing a new 
factory on the banks of the Hoogly, on a 
spot convenient for their shipping. This was 
the foundation of Calcutta." 

Dr. Taylor affirms too much when he 



represents the settlement at Hoogly as " the 
foundation" of Calcutta, which he describes 
as not settled for long after. Fort William 
having been builtin 1697-98. It is true that the 
town of Hoogly, being on the Hoogly river, 
the establishment of a factory in that city led 
to the consolidation of a commerce upon that 
stream, and in that part of Bengal, otherwise 
Calcutta would never have been selected ; but 
other events, and many sequences flowing from 
them, contributed to the causes and the occa- 
sion of a factory at Calcutta, and the. erection 
of a great monument of English energy, power, 
and perseverance there — Fort William. 



CHAPTER LI. 

HOME HISTORY OF THE COMPANY, FROM THE CIVIL WAR IN ENGLAND TO THE END OF 

THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 



In another chapter* a brief outline ia given 
of the history of the East India Company as 
a government, describing the dates of its 
different charters, and the terms in which 
they were granted. This circumstance will 
enable the author to convey with more brevity 
the home history of the company. 

When Charles I., after governing the country 
as long as he dared without a parliament, 
summoned one to Westminster, the result, as 
every reader of English history is aware, was 
violent discussion between the house and the 
senate, which issued in an appeal to arms, the 
impeachment and execution of the monarch, 
the protectorship of Cromwell, the incapacity 
of a successor, a reaction against freedom, the 
restoration, and the gay, flippant, and corrupt 
despotism of Charles II. In all theise events 
which so rapidly and violently passed over 
England, there was a strange action and re- 
action of influence, from the ruler upon the 
people, and the people upon the ruler. " The 
leading journal," with its usual knowledge of 
human nature, and of English human nature 
more especially, sagaciously observed in an 
article written in 1858 : — " A king must always 
be a great man ; the personage whom millions 
regard with admiration, respect, or curiosity, 
must end by instilling something of his own 
temper into his subjects and his age. Ser- 
vants catch the tricks of their masters, wives 
get the look and voice and turns of expression 
which belong to their husbands, young en- 
signs become duplicates of the major in com- 
mand, and barristers of one year's standing 
* Chapter xiii. 



have already unconsciously assumed the tone 
and diction of the silk gown. Although the 
Englishman is of a stubborn and impassive 
nature, aiid may live twenty years in a foreign 
country without losing much of what he 
brought with him or acquiring much from 
the people he ia among, yet hardly a monarch 
has reigned in England who has not moulded 
society into something like his own image. 
Those who come into contact with royalty 
have been gallant cavaliers, tasteful in dress 
and decoration, but bigoted and insolent withal, 
under Charles I., reckless and profligate under 
his son, wavering in their faith under James, 
with a return to Protestant and patriotic sen- 
timents when William and Mary were in- 
stalled. The four Georges in succession might 
have seen their very various characters re- 
flected in the mirror of contemporary En- 
glish life. Happy it is for this country that 
the power has gone no further, and that 
royal personages have been limited to an in- 
fluence on the prevailing manners of the 
day." 

The East India Company, in the whole 
course of its history, exemplified the philoso- 
phical soundness of these remarks. What 
writers regard as a policy unaccountably 
changeful and contradictory, may be ex- 
plained by the influence, upon the minds of 
the directors and agents, of the changeful 
moral and political fashions of the times, cre- 
ated by the predominance of prominent public 
men. The peculiar characters of these men 
were, to a great extent, fashioned out of the 
opinions, habits and temper of the sects, and 



Chap, LI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



16 



partiea into 'which a bold and free discussion 
necessarily divided the nation ; while all 
schools of philosophy, political parties, and 
churches were passing tlirough the ordeal to 
which free examination and free speech ex- 
posed them. Nevertheless, the English nation 
manifested its idiosyncrasies strongly amidst all 
the rapid vicissitudes of religion and politics, 
and the changeful currents of fashion, whether 
set by kings or enforced by sects. The geogra- 
phical position of England, as well as the 
ethnological elements in the nation, account 
for this. The journal before quoted, when 
showing how much more the character of a 
German state depended upon the character of 
its prince, than did that of the western nations 
of Europe, especially Great Britain, thus 
clearly and cleverly put this truth : — " The 
British Isles, or France, or Spain may claim 
to be nations independently of any govern- 
ment or dynasty. They are marked out by 
the hand of nature as separate portions of the 
globe, and their geographical formation has 
tended more and more to give them unity in 
themselves and dissimilarity from their neigh- 
bours. No individual, or family, or class can 
say that he or they keep England together, 
and that without such help there would be no 
longer a country or a position in Europe for 
the inhabitants of these islands. The nation 
remains one by its own coherence and vitality; 
its institutions may have done much to bring 
about this result ; the personal character of 
the sovereigns may have done much ; but ! 
now the work is complete, and the nation 
is independent of any such extraneous 
aid." 

Before the English nation reached this 
high state of civilization (if even yet it has 
altogether attained it), there was a bold inde- 
pendence and hardihood of thought per- 
petually struggling with the dominancy of 
fashion, and sometimes triumphing over 
court and aristocracy; asserting itself power- 
fully, and forming the spirit of the age. This 
explains much of the pertinacity of the com- 
pany, conquering all assailants and holding 
its position against commercial losses, foreign 
rivalry, the superior naval or military re- 
sources of foreign enemies, the perfidy of 
kings and cabinets at home, and even unpo- 
pularity with the merchants and citizens, who 
were constitutionally jealous of monopolies, 
and of the growing power of a sort of impe- 
rium in imperio so far as colonies and com- 
merce were concerned. 

During the civil wars comparatively little 
could be undertaken either in the way of new 
enterprise or in the consolidation of old 
plans and performances. The company was 
itself tossed about on the great agitated sea I 



of revolution, as roundhead and cavalier 
swept over the land, and 

" With fetlock deep in blood, 
The fierce dragoon, through battle's flood, 
Dash'd the hot war-horse on." 

The affairs of the company were disturbed 
and endangered. Commerce fled appalled as 
the rude blast of the trumpet summoned 
citizens to arms, or proclaimed that En- 
glishmen had conquered Englishmen on some 
ensanguined field, or in some city's breach 
choked with the slaughter of a cruel fratricide. 
It ia not surprising, therefore, if for a long 
season the affairs of the company at homo 
presented little interest, and the dealings of 
the company abroad little profit. 

Before proceeding to the narration of par- 
ticular events, it is desirable to present the 
general aspect of the company's oriental 
relations. The distractions caused by the 
great civil war in England, left its remote 
foreign commerce comparatively unprotected ; 
and the Dutch were enabled to maintain a 
career of triumph in which the flag of England 
was insulted, and the property of her mer- 
chants, to a vast amount, destroyed. When- 
ever the Dutch made treaties or conventions 
with any native prince, it was a sine qua non 
that such prince should stipidate never to 
admit any other foreigners to trade in his 
dominions. Even when, in IGGO, the Dutch 
sea and land forces conquered Macassar from 
the native prince and allied Portuguese, the 
conqueror was not content with securing a 
treaty for the perpetual exclusion of the Por- 
tuguese and of the Jesuits, against whom the 
expedition was chiefly intended, but also of 
all other nations, European and oriental, but 
more especially the English. This illiberal 
policy was prejudicial to British interests, 
and made it necessary to regard the Dutch 
as enemies alike in peace and war, so far as 
the great theatre of Eastern rivalry was con- 
cerned. 

During the reign of the Protector, how- 
ever — for such it virtually was — the Dutch 
were made bitterly to feel the superior 
power of the British, especially when 
they had a man of genius, like Oliver Crom- 
well, at their head. The reparation de- 
manded and compelled, to the relatives of 
those who perished at Amboyna, and for the 
losses which ]5ritish merchants had under- 
gone, was nearly two and three quarter 
millions sterling.* Scarcely had the Pro- 
tector passed away from life, when the Dutch, 
encouraged by the state of England, renewed 
their attacks upon English merchants in the 
East. Those, although appearing to be 
1" See chapter on the Dutch in India. 



16 



IIISTOEY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LI. 



desultory, fitful, and capricious, were syste- 
matic ; opportunities and pretences being 
patiently and vigilantly waited for, and 
promptly and cunningly used. Sometimes 
the Portuguese and British were sufferers to- 
gether. This was especially the case during 
the restoration of Charles II. and the reign 
of James II. The Danes were also sufferers 
from Dutch cupidity during this period, and 
they were repeatedly fellow sufferers with 
the British. The ejection of both by the 
Dutch from Bantam, in the year 1G83, when 
they pretended the authority of the king for 
the treachci-y and violence which they prac- 
tised, exemplifies this.* And although both 
the Danes and British continued to retain 
factories in Bantam for about nine years 
longer, yet they were subjected to so many 
oppressions and so much insolence, that both 
powers were obliged to abandon their footing 
on the west coasts of Java. 

This general outline of the company's 
difficulties abroad, through a long course of 
years, will, without introducing detail in this 
place, enable the reader to perceive the 
motives, and comprehend the spirit, of the 
company in many of its domestic movements, 
which have obtained from many historians 
an imdeserved censure, or at all events, 
censure in an undeserved degree. 

While yet the trade languished, the neces- 
sities of the state and the caution of the 
citizens checking commercial adventure, the 
company made desperate exertions to raise 
funds. Mr. I\IilI, who takes his statements 
altogether from Bruce in these descriptions, 
thus represents the struggle : — " An effort was 
made in 1G42-43 to aid the weakness of the 
the fourth joint-stock by a new subscription. 
The sum produced was £105,000; but 
whether including or not including the pre- 
vious subscription does not appear. This 
was deemed no more than what was requisite 
for a single voyage : of which the company 
thought the real circumstances might be con- 
cealed under a new name. They called it 
the ' first general voyage.' Of the amount, 
however, of the ships, or the distribution of 
the funds, there is no information on record. 
For several years from this date, no account 
whatever is preserved of the annual equip- 
ments of the company. It would appear, 
from instructions to the agents abroad, that, 
each year, funds had been supplied; but 
from what source is altogether unknown. 
The instructions sufficiently indicate that 
they were small ; and for this the unsettled 
state of the country, and the distrust 
of Indian adventure, will sufficiently ac- 
count." 

* See chapter on tUe Dutch ia India. 



A new danger now arose to the company. 
The ever wary Dutch, perceiving that the 
English profited by their peaceable relations 
with Portugal, and by the convention with 
the viceroy of Goa for mutual amity and 
protection, exerted themselves to induce the 
Portuguese to come to similar terms with 
them. The latter had experienced so many 
reverses from tlie Hollanders, that while dis- 
trusting their intentions, they deemed it unwise 
to reject their overtures, and provoke so great 
a power. The Dutch probably never meant to 
keep the agreement ; nor did the Portuguese, 
except so far as fear of the ships of the states- 
general might ensure their steadiness ; at all 
events, both repeatedly violated the stipula- 
tions ; and in this respect the Dutch, in very 
wantonness of power, often did so when by 
observing the agreement, their especial ends 
might have been honourably attained, or 
their general interests in the East as effec- 
tually promoted. 

The Portuguese did not concede any ad- 
vantages to the states-general, which had 
not been already conceded to the English, 
but the latter felt it to be very detrimental to 
them to be obliged to meet the Dutch on 
equal terms where the Portuguese had settle- 
ments. Mr. Mill condemns, or rather sneers, 
at this querulous disposition, and apprehen- 
sion of competition on the part of the British 
East India Company. But it is to be re- 
membered that the Dutch company had a 
large capital, was sujiported by the general 
voice of the states, and well backed and 
abetted by their government, which had no 
interests distinct from the nation ; while the 
English company was hampered for want 
of capital ; embarrassed by its various sepa- 
rate joint-stock ventures ; regarded with 
distrust as to its constitution by political 
economists and roundheads ; despised by the 
cavaliers, and regarded as a suitable object of 
plunder by the despicable Stuarts. Under 
such circumstances, the company coidd not 
afford to encounter any further competition ; 
and hence, regarded the Dutch and Portu- 
guese convention at Goa with intense alarm, 
memorialising their government, and ap- 
pealing to the patriotism of the English 
people. Neither memorials nor appeals 
availed them much at that time ; while the 
Dutch with dogged and pertinacious assiduity 
worked on, and still chased and plundered 
every English ship when the inferior force of 
the latter encouraged the attempt. 

The success of the parliamentarians against 
the absolute monarchists, gave an impetus to 
the national ardour and self-reliance, of which 
the company resolved to take advantage. 
Bruce gives the history of their effort to do 



Chap. LI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



17 



so, and describes tlie complicated financial 
aft'aira of the company at tliis juncture with 
fidelity and accuracy : — " In 1647-48, when 
the power of the parliament was Bupreme, 
and the king a prisoner in the Isle of Wight, 
a new subscription was undertaken, and a 
pretty obvious policy was pursued. En- 
deavours were used to get as many as possible 
of the members of parliament to subscribe. 
If the mombcra of the ruling body had a 
personal interest in the gains of the company, 
its privileges would not fail to be both pro- 
tected and enlarged. An advertisement, 
which fixed the time beyond which ordinary 
subscribers would not be received, added, 
that, in deference to members of parliament, 
a further period would be allowed to them, to 
consider the subject, and make their sub- 
scriptions. It appears not that any success 
attended this effort ; and in 1G49-50, the 
project of completing the fourth joint-stock 
was renewed, partly as a foundation for an 
application to the council of state, partly in 
hopes that the favours expected from the 
council would induce the public to subscribe. 
In the memorial, presented on this occasion 
to the ruling powers, Gourten's Association 
was the principal subject of complaint. The 
consent of the king, in 1639, to withdraw the 
licence granted to those rivals, had not been 
carried into effect ; nor had the condition on 
which it had been accorded, that of raising 
a respectable joint-stock, been fulfilled. The 
destruction, however, to which the association 
of Courten saw themselves at that time con- 
demned, deprived them of the spirit of enter- 
prise : with the spirit of enterprise, the spirit 
of vigilance naturally disappeared ; their pro- 
ceedings, from the time of this condemnation, 
had been feeble and unprosperons : but their 
existence was a grievance in the eyes of the 
company ; and an application which they had 
recently made for permission to form a settle- 
ment on the Island of Assada, near Mada- 
gascar, kindled anew the company's jealousies 
and fears. What tlie council proposed to 
both parties was, an agreement. But the 
Assada Merchants, so Courten's Association 
were now denominated, regarded joint-stock 
management with so much aversion, that, low 
as the condition was to which they had fallen, 
they preferred a separate trade on their own 
funds to incorporation with the company. To 
prove, however, their desire of accommoda- 
tion, they proposed certain terms, on which 
they would submit to forego the separate 
management of their own affairs. Objections 
were offered on the part of the company ; but, 
after some discussion, a union was effected, 
nearly on the terms which the Assada Mer- 
chants proposed. Application was then made 



for an act to confirm and regulate the trade. 
The parliament passed a resolution, directing 
it to be carried on by a joint-stock, but sus- 
pending for the present all further decision 
on the company's affairs. A stock was 
formed, which, from the tinion recently ac- 
complished, was denominated tJie united joint - 
stock; but in what manner raised, or how 
great the sum, is not disclosed. All wo know 
for certain is, that two ships were fitted out 
in this season, and that they carried bullion 
with them to the amount of £60,000. The 
extreme inconvenience and embarrassment 
which arose from the management, by the 
same agents, in the same trade, of a number 
of separate capitals, belonging to separate 
associations, began now to make themselves 
seriously and formidably felt. From each of 
the presidencies complaints arrived of the 
difficulties, or rather the impossibilities, 
which they were required to surmount ; and 
it was urgently recommended to obtain, if it 
were practicable, an act of parliament to 
combine the whole of these separate stocks. 
Under this confusion, we have hardly any 
information respecting the internal transac- 
tions of the company at home. We know 
not so much as how the courts of directors 
were formed; whether there was a body of 
directors for each separate fund, or only one 
body for the whole ; and if only one court of 
directors, whether they were chosen by the 
voices of the contributors to all the separate 
stocks, or the contributors to one only ; 
whether, when a court of proprietors was 
held, the owners of all the separate funds met 
in one body, or the owners of each separate 
fund met by themselves, for the regulation of 
their own particular concern." 

The conduct of the Dutch in the East be- 
coming intolerable, Cromwell took them in 
hand, and soon reduced them to the condition 
of suppliants. Great in his naval conceptions 
— as he was great in every thing — his plans, 
after the declaration of war against the 
states-general, were comprehensive, as their 
execution was vigorous and prompt; and 
the power of Holland, so recently rampant, 
bowed before the lion-hearted man, who made 
his country's name a terror to her foes all 
over Europe. Not only were the Dutch 
forced to compensate such Englishmen as suf- 
fered through their rapacity and violence, but 
they were compelled, on meeting any British 
men-of-war in the channel, to "lower their 
flag and yards." It must be admitted, how- 
ever, that the Dutch managed the diplomatic 
part of the negotiations with skill, so as to 
evade, under one pretence or another, and by 
dextrously setting off one clause of the treaty 
against another, the payment of much that 



18 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[CuAP. LI. 



the British believed themselves entitled to 
demand. These arts of the Dutch were pro- 
moted by the stern integrity with which 
Cromwell's commissioners examined the 
claims of the British East India Company. 
Tliey showed no favour, but dealt with a 
rigid equity between the demands for com- 
pensation made by both companies. Crom- 
well's commissioners were prejudiced against 
the company ; they were, like their chief, op- 
posed to all monopolies, commercial or eccle- 
siastical ; and they did not insist upon com- 
pliance with demands made by the company, 
with the correctness or principle of which 
they were far from being satisfied. 

In 1G54 the body of merchants to whom 
the joint-stock belonged, including the Assada 
Merchants, presented two petitions to the 
council of state, in which they prayed that 
the East India Company should no longer 
proceed upon the principle of a joint-stock 
trade, but that the owners of the separate 
funds should be empowered to employ them 
as they pleased. Bruce, and Mill, who follows 
him, commend the arguments of these pro- 
prietors of stock, and infer that the men who 
then opposed the proceedings and policy of 
the company, entertained sound views of 
political economy. The petitioners obtained 
the name of Merchant Adventurers, and their 
memorials and statements had great weight 
with the public. The petitions were re- 
mitted by the committee of the council of 
state to the Protector and his council, who 
showed their opinion in a very practical way, 
by issuing a decree to the Merchant Adven- 
turers, giving them permission to fit out four 
ships for the India trade, under the manage- 
ment of a committee. 

The consternation of the company at this 
concession to free trade was great, but it was 
far less than that of the Dutch East India 
Company, who feared the abolition of all 
monopolies, if once the Protector declared 
himself in favour of the Merchant Adven- 
turers. 

" Meanwhile the company, as well as the 
Merchant Adventurers, were employed in the 
equipment of a fleet. The petition of the 
company to the Protector for leave to export 
bullion, specified the sum of £15,000, and the 
fleet consisted of three ships. They continued 
to press the government for a decision in 
favour of their exclusive privileges ; and in a 
petition which they presented in October, 
1656, affirmed, that the great number of ships 
sent by individuals under licences, had raised 
the price of India goods from forty to fifty 
per cent, and reduced that of English com- 
modities in the same proportion. The council 
resolved at last to come to a decision. After 



some inquiry, they gave it as their advice to 
the Protector to continue the exclusive trade 
and the joint-stock ; and a committee of the 
council was, in consequence, appointed to con- 
sider the terms of a charter." * 

The decision of the council was generally 
understood to be contrary to the opinion of 
Cromwell himself, of Milton, and several other 
of the most eminent politicians of the' day ; 
but the Lord Protector deemed it constitutional 
to act upon the advice of his council in such 
a case, and the charter was granted in 1G57. 
]\Iucli doubt has been thrown, from time to 
time, upon the concession of a charter by 
Cromwell. No record exists of it in any state 
papers, or in the archives of the East India 
Company. Mr. Mill doubts if it ever had an 
existence. In a work published in 1856,t 
edited by a competent authority, purporting 
to be a statement of the laws relating to India, 
no mention is made of this charter. Bruce, 
however, the careful annalist of the company, 
affirmed its existence in these terms : — " That 
the charter was granted in this season will 
appear from the reference made to it in the 
petition of the East India Company, though 
no copy of it can be discovered among the 
records of the state or of the company.''^ 
Professor Wilson confirms the opinion of 
Bruce by the following statement : — " In a 
letter from Fort St. George to the factory at 
Surat, dated 12th July, 1658, it is stated that 
the Blackmbore, which had arrived from 
England on the 12th of June, had 'posted 
away with all haste, after his highness the 
Lord Protector had signed the company's 
charter.' "§ 

The decision of the Protector's council left 
no hope of separate action to the Merchant 
Adventurers. Had no fresh charter been 
granted, it is evident from the talent and 
energy of these men that they would have 
persevered in their projects. As matters 
were, they deemed it discreet to coalesce with 
the company. A new subscription was opened, 
which realized £786,000. After much 
trouble and difficulty matters were adjusted, 
but not to the perfect satisfaction of all 
parties, and various arrangements for the 
factories and stations where trade was con- 
ducted were agreed upon — these will be re- 
ferred to when relating the foreign transac- 
tions of the period. 

Considerable spirit was now evinced in 

* Anderson's History of Commerce ; M'Phcrson's 
Annals. 

t The Law relaiing to India and the East India Com- 
pa-ny. Loudon ; Allen and Co., Leadcnhall Street. 

X Bruce, vol. i. pp. 329, 330. 

§ Wilson's Notes on Mill's History of Br'dish India, 
lib. i. cap. iv. 



Chap.LL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



19 



fitting out expeditions. The first fleet con- 
sisted of five ships ; one for Madras, carrying 
£15,000 in bullion, one for Bengal, one for 
Bantam, and the other two for Surat and 
Persia. 

The new joint-stock did not flourish any 
more than its predecessors. A careful writer 
thus describes the company's niTairs : — " The 
embarrassed state of the company's funds at 
this jiarticular period may be inferred from 
the resolutions they had taken to relinquish 
many of their out-stations, and to limit their 
trade in the peninsula of India to the presi- 
dencies of Fort St. George, Surat, and their 
subordinate factories." * For the history of 
the company at homo, from 1(5G1 to 1668, 
almost the only authorities are Bruce, Ander- 
son's History of Commerce, and M'Pherson's 
Annals. Mr. Mill quotes them, and sums 
np in his own way the information diffused by 
them over a much wider space : — " Mean- 
while Cromwell had died, and Charles II. 
ascended the throne. Amid the arrange- 
ments which took place between England and 
the continental powers, the company were 
careful to press on the attention of govern- 
ment a list of grievances, which they repre- 
sented themselves as still enduring at the 
hands of the Dutch ; and an order was ob- 
tained, empowering them to take possession 
of the Island of Polaroon. They afterwards 
complained that it was delivered to them in 
such a state of prepared desolation as to be of 
no value. The truth is, it was of little value 
at best. On every change in the government 
of the country, it had been an important ob- 
ject with the company to obtain a confirmation 
of their exclusive privileges. The \i8ual 
policy was not neglected on the accession of 
Charles II. ; and a petition was presented to 
him for a renewal of the East India charter. 
As there appears not to have been, at that 
time, any body of opponents to make interest 
or importunity for a contrary measure, it was 
far easier to grant without inquiry, than to 
inquire and refuse ; and Charles and his 
ministers had a predilection for easy rules of 
government. A charter, bearing date the 
3rd of April, 1661, was accordingly granted, 
confirming the ancient privileges of the com- 
pany, and vesting iu them authority to make 
peace and war with any prince or people, not 
being Cliristians ; and to seize unlicensed per- 
sons within their limits, and send them to 
England. The two last were important 
privileges ; and, with the right of administer- 
ing justice, consigned almost all the powers of 
government to the discretion of the directors 
and their servants. It appears not that, on 
this occasion, the expedient of a new subscrip- 
* Bruce, 



tion for obtaining a capital was attempted. 
A new adjustment with regard to the privi- 
leges and dead stock in India would have 
been required. The joint-stock was not as 
yet a definite and invariable sum, placed be- 
yond the power of resumption, at the disposal 
of the company, the shares only transferable 
hy purchase and sale in the market. The 
cajMtal was variable and fluctuating ; formed 
by the sums which, on the occasion of each 
voyage, the individuals, who were free of the 
company, chose to pay into the hands of the 
directors, receiving credit for the amount in 
the company's books, and proportional divi- 
dends on the profits of the voyage. Of this 
stock £500 entitled a proprietor to a vote in 
the general courts ; and the shares were 
transferable, even to such as were not free of 
the company, upon paying £5 for admission. 
Of the amount either of the shipping or stock 
of the first voyage upon the renewed charter 
we have no account ; but the instructions 
sent to India prescribed a reduction of the 
circle of trade. In the following year, 
1662-63, two ships sailed for Surat, with a 
cargo in goods and bullion, amounting to 
£65,000, of which it would appear that 
£28,300 was consigned to Fort St. George. 
Next season there is no account of equip- 
ments. In 1664-65, two ships were sent out 
with the very limited value of £16,000. The 
following season, the same number only of 
ships was equipped ; and the value in money 
and goods consigned to Surat was £20,600 ; 
whether any thing in addition was afforded to 
Port St. George does not appear ; there was 
no consignment to Bantam. In 1666-67, the 
equipment seems to have consisted but of one 
vessel, consigned to Surat with a value of 
£16,000." 

In 1666 an altercation between the two 
houses of parliament arose out of the zeal of 
the company to put down all interlopers. 
Frederick Skinner, an agent of the Merchant 
Adventurers previous to their junction with 
the company, formed a settlement at Jambi, 
a district on the east coast of Sumatra. It 
appears he bought the Island of Barella from 
the Sultan of Jambi, and in those places con- 
ducted some trade. He was succeeded by 
his brother, Thomas Skinner, who, either 
supposed he had a personal right in the pro- 
perty, or thought he would take advantage of 
the troubles of the times, both in Europe and 
Asia, and keep unlawful possession, it does 
not appear which. When the Merchant Ad- 
venturers united with the company. Skinner 
was ordered to hand over the stock and the 
accounts to the company's agents, which he 
refused, claiming them as his own. The 
agents of the company in India seized his 



20 



UISTOEY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LI. 



ship, merchandize, house, and the Island of 
Barella; and, refusing him a passage to 
Europe, he was comiielled to travel overland 
at a great cost. He presented his complaint 
to the government of Charles II. With the 
unhappy knack which that monarch's advisers 
possessed of turning every incident, how- 
ever remote from politics, into a political em- 
broglio unfortunate to their king, they, after 
much palpable neglect, handed the matter 
over to a committee of the council ; who, in- 
disposed to take trouble about it, it was re- 
ferred to the House of Peers. The peers 
ordered the company to answer the charges ; 
which denied the jurisdiction of their lord- 
ships, affirming that their lordships' house 
was a court of appeal, and not of trial in the 
first instance. The lords overruled the ob- 
jection, and the company threw themselves 
upon the protection of the commons. The 
lords, angry at this slight to their a^Uhority, 
proceeded to adjudge by default, and awarded 
£5000 to Mr. Skinner. The commons im- 
prisoned Skinner. The lords, in reprisal, in- 
carcerated Sir S. Barnardson, and three other 
directors of the company. The two houses 
were committed to " the great Skinner con- 
troversy." The king adjourned the parliament 
seven times, in the hope that the contest would 
cool during the recess, but that result was not 
obtained. The "merrie monarch" found it 
not at all amusing to quell a parliamentary 
conflict. At last the king sent for both 
houses to Whitehall, and by personal persua- 
sion, in which he showed more ability and 
address than men generally gave him credit 
for, he succeeded in inducing both houses to 
erase their resolutions and abandon the sub- 
ject. The contest was thus ended, and 
Skinner was ruined. " The sacrifice and ruin 
of an individual," says Mr. Mill, "appeared, 
as usual, of little importance : Skinner had no 
redress." 

A war with Holland in 1GG4, and a tem- 
porary quarrel with France the year follow- 
ing, greatly disturbed the company's affairs. 

In the year 1664 the French formed an 
East India Company, which alarmed the 
English company much more than a war with 
France would have done. The English court, 
however, seemed more interested in the 
welfare of France than of England, and the 
company did rot dare to appeal to the king 
to use his endeavours against the French, as 
they importuned him to be hostile to the 
Dutch. They, however, sent out agents to 
the East with instructions to oppose the 
French, and to show them no favour, notwith- 
standing the partiality of the court in their 
behalf. 

The Danish company, which was formed 



about 1G50, was also active at this juncture, 
adding fresh fuel to the fire of anxieties and 
fears which tormented the British company. 

Considerable discussion existed in England, 
both among the friends and opponents of the 
company, as to the necessity of the great ex- 
penses incurred by factories. These expenses 
pressed heavily upon the company's resources, 
and led many to believe that the plan of 
building forts and factories was bad, and that 
the advice of Sir Thomas Roe ought to have 
been followed from the first. Many historians 
and political economists at the present day 
are also of this opinion; but Dr. Wilson * 
answers them well in the following terras : — 
" It is very unlikely that any such results 
would have taken place, or that a trade with 
India would have been formed, or if formed, 
would have been perpetuated by any other 
means than those actually adopted. The 
Portuguese and Dutch had territorial posses- 
sions and fortified factories ; and without 
similar support, it would have been impossible 
for the English to have participated in the 
profits of the commerce of the East. Even 
with these resources, the Dutch succeeded in 
expelling the English from the Archipelago; 
and it is very little probable, that they would 
have suffered a single English adventurer to 
carry on a trade with any part of India from 
whence they could so easily exclude him. 
Principles of individual adventure and free 
competition, would have availed but little 
against the power and jealousy of our rivals ; 
and it was necessary to meet them on equal 
terms, or to abandon the attempt. But it was 
not only against European violence that it 
was necessary to be armed ; the political state 
of India rendered the same precautions in- 
dispensable. What would become of 'indi- 
vidual adventure ' at Surat, when it was 
pillaged by the Mahrattas ? And what would 
have been the fate of the English commerce 
with INIadras and Bengal, on the repeated 
occasions on which it was menaced with ex- 
tinction, by the rapacity and vindictiveness of 
the native princes ? Had, therefore, the 
anti-monopoly doctrines been more popular 
in those days than they were, it is very cer- 
tain that the attempt to carry them into effect 
would have deprived England of all share in 
the trade with India, and cut off for ever one 
main source of her commercial prosperity. 
It is equally certain, tliat without the exist- 
ence of such factories as were ' the natural 
offspring of a joint-stock ;' without the ample 
resources of a numerous and wealthy associa- 
tion ; and without the continuous and vigorous 
efforts of a corporate body animated by the 

* Ilisionj of British India. By Mill and Wilson, 
lib. i. cap. iv. 



Chap. LI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



21 



enjoyment of valuable privileges, and the hope 
of perpetuating their possession by services 
rendered to the state, we should never have 
acquired political power in India, or reared a 
mighty empire upon the foundations of 
trade." 

The growing commerce of England in other 
direction.^ influenced her relations to the East. 
Capital became more plentiful in England, and 
the company found it easier to raise funds. In 
1667-68 Bruce informs us that the first order 
of the company was issued to their agents to 
open a trade in tea ; he quotes the words of 
this order as follows : — " To send home by 
these ships 1001b. waight of the best tey that 
you can gett.'' 

In 1668 Charles signed another charter. 
Two months after that event he married the 
Infanta Catherine of Portugal, and received as 
part of the dowry given her by the crown 
the Island of Bombay. The king, finding it 
more trouble and expense than advantage, 
made a virtue of necessity, and bestowed it 
upon the company, to whom it proved a 
valuable acquisition ever after. According 
to Bruce * the investments of the com- 
panj' greatly increased in 1668, and con- 
tinued to do so for a number of years in an 
unprecedented degree. In the course of the 
years 1667-68, six ships sailed to Surat, with 
goods and bulHon to the value of £130,000; 
five ships to Fort St. George, with a value of 
£75,000 ; and five to Bantam, with a stock of 
£40,000. In the next season we are informed 
that the consignments to Surat consisted of 
1200 tons of shipping, with a stock of the 
value of £75,000; to Fort St. George, of five 
ships and a stock of £103,000 ; and to 
Bantam, of three ships and £35,000. In the 
year 1669-70, 1500 tons of shipping were 
sent to Surat. six ships to Fort St. George, 
and four to Bantam, and the whole amount 
of the stock was £281,000. The vessels sent 
out in 1670-71 amounted to sixteen, and 
their cargoes and bullion to £303,500. In 
the following year four ships were sent to 
Surat, and nearly 2000 tons of shipping to 
Fort St. George ; the cargo and bullion to 
the former being £85,000, to the latter 
£160,000: shipping to the amount of 2800 
tons was consigned to Bantam, but of the 
value of the bullion and goods no account 
seems to be preserved. In 1672-73, stock 
and l)ullion, to the amount of £157,700 were 
sent to Surat and Fort St. George. On 
account of the war, and the more exposed 
situation of Bantam, the consignment to that 
settlement was postponed. In the following 
year it appears that cargoes and bullion were 
consigned, of the value of £100,000, to Surat ; 
» Vol. ii. pp. 200, 469. 

VOL. II. 



£87,000 to Fort St. George ; and £11,000 to 
Bantam. The equipments, in 1674-75, were, 
five ships to Surat with £189,000 in goods 
and bullion ; five to Fort St. George, with 
£202,000; and 2500 tons of shipping to 
Bantam, with £65,000. In 1675-76, to 
Surat, five ships and £96,500 ; to Fort St, 
George, five ships and £235,000 ; to Bantam, 
2450 tons of shipping and £58,000. In 
1676-77, three ships to Surat, and three to 
Fort St. George, with £97,000 to the one, 
and £176,600 to the other; and eight ships 
to Bantam with no account of the stock. The 
whole adventure to India in 1677-78 seems 
to have been seven ships and £352,000 ; of 
which a part, to the value of £10,000 or 
£12,000 was to be forwarded from Fort St. 
George to Bantam. In 1678-79, eight ships 
and £393,950. In 1679-80, ten ships and 
£461,700. In 1680-81, eleven ships and 
£596,000 ; and, in 1681-82, seventeen ships 
and £740,000. 

Amidst these vast undertakings, for that 
age, the company was embarrassed by political 
events at home and abroad. At many of 
their stations trade could not have been con- 
ducted but by force of arms ; violence, by 
European and native, endangered the factories 
and forts, as well as ships and cargoes, and 
the lives of the agents and mariners who 
served the company. The acquisition of 
Bombay by grant of Charles brought dangers 
and difficulties as well as advantages ; and the 
company, in the midst of its increasing in- 
fluence and power, must have sunk, had not 
an all-superintending Providence reserved it 
for the great events of which it was destined 
to be the author. 

Among its difficulties the contentions of its 
agents abroad, with one another, was one of 
the most troublesome and dangerous. Nearly 
all appeared to be implicated in transactions 
as much at variance with the will of the com- 
pany as with its interests, where its desires 
could not have been certainly known. Con- 
tentions for pre-eminence and authority 
ripened into a sort of civil war at the factories, 
and the company was compelled at last to 
seek some solution of this difficulty. It was 
resolved that authority should exist among its 
factors according to seniority, except wiiere 
specific appointments were made from home, 
where the office of president \\a8 held, or 
where any special mission designated an agent 
to an especial and temporary service. 

The interlopers increased rapidly in pro- 
portion as the ventures of the company be- 
came larger, and the profits of their returns 
were reputed to be of higher rate. The at- 
tempts of individuals, and of small parties or 
associations combined for the purpose, to force 



22 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap.LI. 



the trade of the East, was as alarming to the 
company as war with Holland, or the enter- 
prises of Danes and French. The company, 
however, obtained more and more authority 
from the crown, and dealt summary punish- 
ment upon all Englishmen who presumed, 
without their permission, to trade with the 
East. There existed an unrelenting anti- 
pathy to the settlement in India of any 
British subject whatever, other than the com- 
pany's servants ; and unless they found pro- 
tection from some powerful native prince, 
they were seized by the company's officers 
and deported-. The powers of the Admiralty 
jurisdiction were conceded by the king, so 
that interloping ships were seized and con- 
demned. The powers of the company, by 
the year 1685, had assumed a magnitude 
which roused political jealousies at home. 
The authority which it swayed over the per- 
sons and property of British citizens in India, 
and in the ports where it traded, was un- 
limited. Against this the spirit of English 
liberty revolted; and many private adven- 
turers who violated the company's charter, 
and made infamously false representations to 
native princes, of having authority from the 
King of England, were, when punished by 
the company, made objects of sympathy in 
England. From the year 1682 the company 
became more circumspect in the publication 
of its affairs, whether financial or commercial. 
This arose from the general desire which pre- 
vailed to deprive the company of its exclusive 
privileges — a desire which found vent in an 
openly-expressed purpose of forming a new 
East India Company. This project was urged 
upon the court and the country in 1682-83, 
and the king and council took it into consi- 
deration, but withheld their sanction ; at the 
same time expressing themselves in a manner 
which kci)t up the hope of the promoters of 
the scheme, and subscriptions were actually 
entered into for a joint-stock. 

A relation of the naval undertakings of the 
company throughout this period will find a 
more appropriate place in the pages set apart 
for ft review of its foreign transactions. 
The revolution of 1688 necessarily inter- 
rupted the proceedings of the company and 
of its competitors, home and foreign. The 
war which raged in Ireland during that 
period, as in 1641, embarrassed the finances 
of the country, and drew off its resources in 
men and material. The Irish Roman Ca- 
tholics having espoused the cause of James 1 1., 
while the Protestants embraced that of 
William and Mary, the revolution led to a 
protracted civil war in that country, which 
was only terminated after a series of bloody 
battles and eiegee for ever memorable to the 



Protestants of that country for the heroism 
which their ancestors displayed. Although 
the proceedings of the company went on 
through all these troubles, it was a consider- 
able time before the pacification of Ireland 
was ensured, and the cave and anxiety of 
government ceased to be turned chiefly in 
that direction. 

The alliance with the Dutch at the period 
of the Revolution wag expected to check their 
aggressions upon English trade in the East ; 
but the Dutch East India Company had its 
own peculiar interests to consult irrespective 
of the states-general, and therefore the alliance 
of the two nations did not heal the differences 
or stop the envenomed rivalry of the two 
companies. 

It is remarkable that during the time which 
elapsed from the beginning of the civil war to 
the accession of William and Mary, the com- 
pany experienced more favourable treatment, 
on the whole, from the imbecile and un- 
patriotic Stuarts, than from the triumphant . 
parliament or the Lord Protector. The 
Stuarts were as ready to rob the company as 
they were to plunder any other portion of 
their subjects, but they were not unwilling to 
afford it any advantages of monopoly, if paid 
for by money or political service ; nor reluctant 
to endow it with arbitrary power within the 
limits of its jurisdiction. The favours granted 
by the Stuarts were noticed on a former page,* 
but may here more generally be named. The 
Island of Bombay, given by Charles II. in 
1GG8, and formally made over " to the gover- 
nor and company " on the 27th of March, 
1669. In 1674 he made a grant of the 
Island of St. Helena, which had previously 
been the property of the company. Captain 
Lancaster having taken possession of it on 
his return from his memorable voyage ; but 
the Dutch wrested it from the company, and 
it was afterwards retaken, iu the name of the 
British crown, by a naval force under Captain 
Mundane. The same sovereign, October 6, 
1677, confirmed to the company the powers 
before granted in every case. On the 9th of 
August, 1683, Charles conferred the power 
of establishing courts of judicature for the 
repression of offences. James II., April 
12th, 1688, confirmed all that his royal pre- 
decessors had conferred. 

Among the various privileges imparted by 
the Stuarts, one has been strangely over- 
looked by historians, which, nevertheless, had 
an important bearing upon the authority and 
influence of the company. In 1676 Charles II. 
granted letters patent for the coinage of 
rupees and pice (a small copper coin) at 
Bombay. This invested the company with 
• Vol. i. p. 286. 



Chap. LI.J 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



23 



Bovereign privilege, and laid a new foundation 
of their power. 

During the Commonwealth, however, an 
event occurred which probably had as much 
influence as all the favour of the Stuarts 
upon the commerce of the country. In order 
to thwart the power of the Dutch, then in 
possession of the carrying trade of Europe, 
the act known as the " Navigation Act " was 
passed, which forbid the importation of foreign 
commodities, except in English ships, or those 
of the countries in which such commodities 
were produced. Ambassadors were sent by 
the Dutch to Cromwell, demanding the repeal 
of this act. His refusal was the chief cause 
of the national sentiment in Holland, which 
produced the war so signally humiliating to 
the Dutch and glorious to the Protector. As 
the commercial wealth and enterprise of Eng- 
land were at that period fast rising, and an ex- 
traordinary desire for foreign commodities 
sprung forth in the general taste, the Dutch 
were much injured as carriers ; and the En- 
glish merchant, although at the cost of the 
English consumer, was relieved from the only 
competition which he really feared. It was 
not, however, to favour any class or interest, 
much le.ss the East India Company, that 
Cromwell favoured the Navigation Laws ; but 
to form and consolidate an English navy, by 
fostering and nursing up, as it were, an En- 
glish commercial marine. While this policy 
answered the end which the autocrat con- 
templated, it also removed from the British 
ports the trade carried on in Dutch bottoms, 
or transfeiTed it to English ships, and in this 
way the Dutch could find no market for their 
spices in England ; force on their part was 
met by force, indirectly but effectually. The 
Dutch ships might still plunder the English 
vessels or factories in the Archipelago, but 
they were themselves debarred from carrying 
their spices to a market, already more valued 
for such articles than any other. Thus, how- 
ever the Commonwealth may be considered 
as unfavourable to the genius of monopoly, 
and to that of the company in particular, and 
however truly the reigns of the Stuarts may 
be regarded as partial to it, — although that 
partiality was capricious and dishonest, — still, 
political events, over which Oliver Crom- 
well had no control, forced him also into 
paths which made him, unintentionally, per- 
haps reluctantly, an abettor of the com- 
pany's progress to greatness and power. A 
writer, possessing peculiar facilities for com- 
prehending this subject in all its bearings, has 
thus reviewed the company's history during 
the periods thus compared. After giving an 
opinion in reference to the successes of Crom- 
well against Holland, similar to that expressed 



above, he observes : — " The spirit of the 
Navigation Laws was further extended by 
Charles II., and their operation produced so 
great a change in the state of the shipping 
and commerce of the country, that in a few 
years a largo portion of the Dutch trade was 
drawn from them, and we became in a great 
measure the carriers of Europe. Amidst the 
events, comprising the Civil War, the Com- 
monwealth, the Restoration, and the Revolu- 
tion, the East India Company surmounted the 
powerful efforts made by their opponents, 
both abroad and at home, to annihilate their 
establishment and subvert their influence, and 
successfully attained the objects for which 
they had been incorporated. In the progress 
of the trade, the foundation was laid of our 
present empire in India: in its extension and 
consolidation, the genius and talents of some 
of our most iUustrious statesmen and warriors 
were first developed."* 

The reign of James II. was, in many re- 
spects, favourable to the company, had they 
taken advantage of it. Some well-devised 
measures to induce that monarch to bestow 
better naval protection upon British Eastern 
commerce were proposed towards the end of 
that monarch's power ; but the Revolution put 
an end to these, and introduced a new era in 
the domestic and foreign affairs of England. 
Mr. Capper has correctly referred to the com- 
pany's disappointment in this respect when 
ho observes — " During the reign of James II. 
the company might have strengthened their 
position with the utmost ease ; for that prince, 
whatever were his other faults, did not possess 
that of inattention to the commercial interests 
of his subjects. He readily conceded them all 
the privileges they sought, and was prepared to 
forward their views in any manner that might 
have been desirable; but with all these advan- 
tages, the company suffered much from the in- 
capacity or dishonesty of their own servants." 

The establishment of the Revolution 
enabled the company to give more attention 
to their affairs, which were at that juncture 
in a disastrous condition in a pecuniary point 
of view. The want of economical manage- 
ment and of sound commercial prineijiles 
created this state. The affairs of the com- 
pany at home were also acted tipon injuriously 
by the tyrannical conduct of their superior 
officers, who proved themselves in several in- 
stances unfit persons to be entrusted with 
such great power as the various charters of 
the company allowed. The languishing state 
of trade would probably have sunk the com- 
pany at this juncture, had it not been for the 
aid received from the revenues of their foreign 
possessions. In a future chapter an account 
* Peter Auber. 



24 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LI. 



will be given of tlie progress of tlieir affairs 
abroad during this period, when it will be 
seen tliat events over which tiie company had 
little control put thera in possession of a re- 
venue-yielding territory. It would seem that 
at this time the company began to despair of 
their trade, and to contemplate the settlement 
of various places as valuable chiefly or only 
for the tribute they rendered. In fact, the 
idea of conquest, afterwards repudiated and in- 
deed revoked, occurred to the company and was 
admitted in theirpolicy. The instructions given 
to their agents in 1G89 vv'ere in these terms : — 
" The increase of our revenue is the subject of 
our care as much as our trade : 'tis that must 
maintain our force, when twenty accidents 
may interrupt our trade ; 'tis that must make 
us a nation in India ; without that we are 
but as a great number of interlopers, united 
by his majesty's royal charter, fit only to 
trade virhere nobody of power thinks it tlieir 
interest to prevent us ; and upon this account 
it is that the wise Dutch, in all their general 
advices which we have seen, write ten para- 
graphs concerning their government, their 
civil and military policy, warfare, and the 
increase of their revenue, for one paragraph 
they write concerning trade." 

The Dutch are hardly correctly repre- 
sented in this circular. It is true, that the 
general advices of the Dutch company referred 
more frequently to civil and military govern- 
ment than to trade, but it was for sake 
of trade. Neither the East India Company 
nor the people of Holland contemplated 
an Indian empire, but they regarded naval 
and military forces as elements of trade, 
upon the principles in which in those days it 
was supposed an Eastern trade ought to be 
maintained which involved monopoly, and 
armed competition to sustain that monopoly. 
The Hollanders were willing enough to make 
war upon natives or Europeans, if the free 
course of their trade were interfered with, and 
their exclusive hold of such commerce as they 
could open up endangered ; but it was by 
trade, not by revenue extorted from oriental 
princes or peoples, that the company, fostered 
by the states-general, hoped to grow rich. 

Mr. Mill, commenting upon the new prin- 
ciple avowed by the British East India Com- 
pany to its own agents, observes : — " It thus 
appears at how early a period, when trade 
and sovereignty were blended, the trade, as 
was abundantly natural, became an object of 
contempt, and by necessary consequence, a 
subject of neglect. A trade, the subject of 
neglect, is of course a trade without profit." 

Upon this stricture of Mr. Mill, Professor 
Wilson thus animadverts : — " The anxiety of 
the directors to maintain a trade ' without 



profit,' would be somewhat inexplicable, if it 
was true, but the injuries to which that trade 
had been exposed from European competition 
and native exactions, had sufficiently proved 
that it could not be carried on without the 
means of maintaining an independent position 
in India." 

The tone and substance of this critique is 
as unfair to Mr. Mill as the animadversions 
of Dr. Wilson too often are, especially when 
he charges the historian with partiality and 
injustice. The object of the company, at that 
period, was not simply to fix independent 
positions upon the spots where their commerce 
lay, so that the native rajahs could not exact 
from them, drive them out, or interfere with 
the ordinary current of their trade. The aim 
of the directors in sending out the " advices " 
that incited the severe remarks which Mr. 
Mill, as a political economist, made in the 
above passage, was to obtain revenue from 
the soil of India : territory taken from its 
occupants by military force, if not quietly 
surrendered, and to which the directors were 
disposed, at that time, to trust as the support 
of a failing trade. This is the viev^^ which is 
taken by most writers who have paid adequate 
attention to the subject. Mr. Murray says : — 
" The voyages of the English (at first) were 
personal adventures, undertaken with a min- 
gled view to discovery, commerce, and piracy, 
rather than to any fixed scheme of conquest 
or dominion. Their forts accordingly were 
erected as depositories for goods, or to supply 
commercial facilities, but not with any aim at 
territorial possession. It was not till 1G89 
that their views seem to have extended to the 
latter object. In the instructions issued to 
their agents during that year, they intimate 
that the increase of their revenue was hence- 
forth to occupy as much attention as their 
merchandize ; that they wished to be ' a nation 
in India ;' and they quote with unmerited 
applause the conduct of the Dutch, who, they 
assert, in the advice sent to their governors, 
wrote ten paragraphs concerning tribute for 
one relative to trade. The means of gratifying 
this disposition were as yet very limited, as 
certain small portions of territory around 
Bombay and Madras comprised the whole 
extent of their Indian sovereignty. They 
held themselves ready, however, to purchase 
every city or district which the native princes 
could, by any motive, be prevailed upon to 
alienate." 

Mr. Murray has very properly added tho 
words, " which the native princes could by 
any motive be induced to alienate," for the 
negotiations carried on were not strictly com- 
mercial bargains ; and previous to 1689, the 
feeling then avowed to their agents by the 



Chap. LI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



25 



directors was predominant, as the conduct of 
the Brothers Child, elsewhere to be noticed, 
evinced. 

While the company thus resolved upon the 
acquisition of territory by force or purchase, 
or quasi purchase, as might be, all its great 
powers were put in force against interlopers 
with inexorable severity, leading to such in- 
dignation in England aa compelled the atten- 
tion of William III. and his parliament. Mr. 
Mill presents the aspect of affairs very briefly 
and completely in the following passage : — 
" The prosperity which the nation had en- 
joyed, since the death of Charles I., having 
rendered capital more abundant, the eager- 
ness of the mercantile population to enter into 
the channel of Indian enterprise and gain had 
proportionably increased ; and the principles 
of liberty being now better understood, and 
actuating more strongly the breasts of En- 
glishmen, not only had private adventure, in 
more numerous instances, surmounted the 
barriers of the company's monopoly, but the 
public in general at last disputed the power of 
a royal charter, unsupported by parliamentary 
fianction, to limit the rights of one part of the 
people in favour of another, and to debar all 
but the East India Company from the com- 
merce of India. Applications were made to 
parliament for a new system of management 
in this branch of national affairs ; and certain 
instances of severity, which were made to 
carry the appearance of atrocity, in the exer- 
cise of the powers of martial law assumed by 
the company, in St. Helena and other places, 
served to augment the unfavourable opinion 
which was now rising against them." 

The House of Commons was undoubtedly 
hostile to the company. They appointed 
a committee in 1689 to consider the best mode 
of procedure in legislating for the trade with 
India, and the relation of the company to it. 
On the IGth of January, 1690, this committee 
made its report, which was to the effect that 
a new company should be established by act 
of parliament, but that the existing company 
should hold the monopoly until such act was 
passed. 

The company, instead of taking warning 
from the report of this committee and dis- 
cerning the temper of the nation, proceeded 
to extremity against all independent mer- 
chants who sought, in contravention of their 
charter, to open any trade with the East. 
Mr. Bruce gives an extraordinary proof of 
this in certain instructions of the directors in 
1691, given to their agents and captains : — 
" The court continued to act towards their 
.opponents (the interlopers) in the same 
manner as they had done in the latter years 
of the two preceding reigns, and granted 



commissions to all their captains, proceeding 
this season to India, to seize the interlopers 
of every deseiption, and bring them to trial 
before the admiralty court of Bombay, ex- 
plaining that as they attributed all the differ- 
ences between the company and the Indian 
powers to the interlopers, if they continued 
their depredations on the subjects of the 
Mogul or King of Persia, they were to be tried 
for their lives as pirates, and sentence of 
death passed, but execution stayed till the 
king's pleasure should be known." * 

The result of these proceedings was that a 
spirit of hostility, which amounted to resent- 
ment, rapidly spread through parliament and 
the public, and addresses from both were pre- 
sented to the king, praying him to dissolve 
the company ; the parliament, however, added 
to the prayer, that a new one shoidd be in- 
corporated. The king made answer that he 
had referred the matter to a committee of his 
privy council. The pertinacity of the com- 
pany, however, in persecuting the interlopers, 
compelled King William to take some decided 
step, although his own policy was to tem- 
porize. The assumptions of the company be- 
came unbounded, and the discontent of the 
people kept pace with these pretensions. 
Captain Hamilton thus relates the company's ' 
proceedings at this juncture : — " Sir Josiah 
Child, as chairman of the court of directors, 
wrote to the governor of Bombay, to spare no 
severity to crush their countrymen who in- 
vaded the ground of the company's preten- 
sions in India. The governor replied, by 
professing his readiness to omit nothing which 
lay within the sphere of his power, to satisfy 
the wishes of the company ; but the laws of 
England, unhappily, would not let him pro- 
ceed so far as might otherwise be desirable. 
Sir Josiah wrote back with anger, ' that he 
expected his orders were to be his rules, and 
not the laws of England, which were a heap 
of nonsense, compiled by a few ignorant 
country gentlemen, who hardly know how to 
make laws for the good of their own private 
families, much less for the regulating of com- 
panies, and foreign commerce." f 

The king and parliament were at issue as to 
what was best to be done. His majesty was 
for granting a charter in his own royal right; 
the parliament and committee had resolved 
that parliament was the proper court to de- 
termine what new regulations should be made 
for the trade of India. The latter, however, 
gave way, just as in modern times the house 
has often shown itself indisposed to support 
recommendations of its committees, of which 
it nevertheless approved ; so it was in the 

Annals of the East India Company, vol. iii. p. ] 03. 
t Hamilton's New Account of India, i. 232. 



2& 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap LI. 



reign of William III. The crown found 
means of appeasing the house, and issued a 
charter by letters patent. The commons, 
however, acted upon by the exasperation 
which now pervaded the public mind, broke 
forth again into resolutions and protests, to 
which many assented, and loudly advocated — 
because they believed the matter was already 
settled by the charter, and they might in this 
manner cheaply purchase popularity by a dis- 
play of patriotism, independence, and regard 
for justice. Towards the close of the ses- 
sion, the house accordingly resolved — "That 
it is the right of all Englishmen to trade 
to the East Indies, or any part of the world, 
Unless prohibited by act of parhament."* 

The public ferment now rose high ; it was 
discovered that the ministers of William had 
been bribed before the issue of the charter ; 
and the democratic party did not hesitate 
to say that £10,000 of the bribery money 
found its way into the king's own hands. 
In 1695 the excitement was at its highest. 
The commons ordered the books of the 
company to be delivered up for the in- 
spection of their honourable house. It was 
by that means clearly proved that the comj)any 
had been enabled to obtain so many favour's 
during past reigns by systematic bribery, both 
of the sovereigns and their ministers. The 
evidence against the Stuarts was damning ; 
and the suspicions against William, although 
not confirmed, increased: several of the great 
men about his court were convicted of having 
advocated and advised the new charter from 
corrupt motives. No less than £90,000 had 
been in the course of the year expended to 
obtain a renewal of the charter. Amongst 
the criminals, the commons selected the Duke 
of Leeds for impeachment, there being clear 
proofofhis having received £5000. The House 
of Lords took the matter up, some of its mem- 
bers having heard that the principal witness 
had been sent out of the way, and the house 
demanded that the government should take 
measures to arrest his flight; nothing, how- 
ever, was done for that object during nine 
days, until it was believed that the witness 
was beyond arrest. The king and his govern- 
ment acted alike scandalously. He and his 
ministers did their utmost to quash all inquiry; 
and the people and their representatives be- 
coming, as usual, tired of agitation and dis- 
cordant among themselves, the court succeeded 
in covering the delinquents. Whatever ser- 
vices William of Orange rendered to the 
English nation, and whatever claims his me- 
mory may have to be toasted as "glorious, 
pious, and immortal," he neither acted justly, 
wisely, nor gratefully to the British public, 
• M'Pherson's Annah, ii. 142. 



which bestowed upon him a throne, in these 
transactions. It was generally believed that he 
favoured the company, chiefly to prevent the 
expansion of a national trade with the East, 
which he knew would soon bear down all the 
opposition of the Dutch, of whose interests it 
was suspected he was more careful than of those 
of his adopted country. The only act of autho- 
rity the commons seems to have exercised in 
opposition to the king, was to consign Sir 
Thomas Cook to the Tower, for refusing to 
disclose the names of the corrupt ministers 
who had trafficked in the liberties of the 
people. He was eventually released, and 
when the agitation subsided, "the court of 
committees" bestowed upon him £12,000, as 
compensation for his incarceration and any 
losses attending upon it. 

In spite of every obstacle which was pre- 
sented then or in the following years, a new 
charter came into force, granted by William 
aTid Mary, 7th October, 1693, confirming the 
rights and privileged of the company, subject 
to its acceptance of such orders, directions, 
additionp,alteration8,restiictions,qualifications, 
as the king in council should think fit to make or 
appoint at any time before the 29th Septem- 
ber, 1691; under which proviso supplementary 
charters or letters patent were issued at two 
different dates, viz., the 11th November, 1693, 
and the 28tli September, 1694. By a like 
instrument from William III., dated the 13th 
April, 1698, regulations for the distribution 
of votes and for other purposes were made.* 
This "instrument" must not be confounded 
with the charter granted that year, it being 
a "charter supplementary,"or "letter patent," 
dependant upon that of October, 1693. 

The losses of the company by interlopers 
and pirates between 1 693 and 1698 were 
very heavy, but have been too variously stated 
to enable any careful historian to approach 
an accurate estimate. For several years the 
company paid no dividend, and was bound 
down by debt from enterprises which held out 
reasonable prospects of success. 

At this juncture a proposition for a new 
Scottish company was brought forward, and 
a charter was granted to it to trade to the 
East and West Indies, Africa, and America. 
This undertaking was brought to an end by 
the misfortunes of the Darien settlement. 
Another society, however, was more fortunate. 
At the termination of the French war the 
country was placed in groat difficulties for 
money to pay the heavy expenses then in- 
curred. The East India Company offered a 
loan of £700,000 at four per cent, interest if 
their charter shotdd be confirmed, and by an 

* The Laws relating to India and the East India 
Company, 



Chap. LI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



27 



act of parliament, the exclusive right to trade 
to the East Indiea should be secured. The 
rival association determined to outbid them, 
by offering a loan of two millions on similar 
conditions. To this stock foreigners as well 
as Englishmen, bodies corporate as well as 
individuals, were invited to contribute. The 
contributions were to bear an interest of eight 
per cent, per annum, and the company was 
to be allowed liberty to trade on the principle 
of joint-stock, or separate ventures, as the 
company itself might determine. A bill was 
introduced to parliament, and an act passed 
in the interest of the new association, and a 
charter granted after tedious yet acrimonious 
discussions.* 

On the 5th September, 1(398, William III. 
incorporated a second East India Company, 
under the name of the " English Company 
trading to the East Indies." To this company 
the C(jmmerce with India was exclusively 
committed, with the exception " that the Go- 
vernor and the Company of Merchants trading 
to the East Indies" (the old company) were 
to be permitted to carry on their trade until 
the 2'Jth September, ITOl.f Mill gives the 
following account of the issuing of this 
charter : — " In conformity with this act a 
charter passed the great seal, bearing date the 
3rd of September, constituting the subscribers 
to the stock of £2,000,0<30 a body corporate, 
under the name of the ' General Society.' 
This charter empowered the subscribers to 
trade, on the terms of a regulated company, 
each subscriber for his own account. The 
greater part, however, of the subscribers de- 
sired to trade upon a joint-stock : and ano- 
ther charter, dated the 5th of the same month, 
formed this portion of the subscribers, exclu- 
sive of the small remainder, into a joint-stock 
company, by 'the name of the English Com- 
pany trading to the East Indies.' " J 

Bruce, Anderson, and M'Pherson, all re- 
present the two companies as fettered by cer- 
tain regulations as to dividends, which the 
fust of these writers sums up in the following 
terras : — " It was provided in reference to the 
old company that their estates should be 
chargeable with their debts ; and that if any 
further dividends were made before the pay- 
ments of their debts, the members who re- 
ceived them should be responsible for the 
debts with their private estates to the amount 
of the sums thus unduly received. This mea- 
sure, of prohibiting dividends while debt is 
unpaid, or of rendering the proprietors re- 
gpoDsible with their fortunes to the amount of 

* See chap, jiii. p. 286. 

■1 Charters from the Croicn, and Laws relating to tJie 
ICiist India Company. 

X Wihon't continuation of Mill, lib. i. c»p. v. 



the dividends received, befitted the legisla- 
tive justice of the nation. A clause, on the 
same principle, was enacted with regard to 
tlie new company, that they should not allow 
their debts at any time to exceed the amount 
of their capital stock ; or, if they did, that 
every proprietor should be responsible for the 
debts with his private fortune, to the whole 
amount of whatever he should have received 
in any way of dividend or share after the 
debts exceeded the capital." 

The formation of this new company reveals 
much folly and equal corruption as prevailing 
in parliament, and among the public. Under 
the pretence of zeal for national interest, 
the projectors of the new company succeeded 
in obtaining another monopoly, instead of the 
old one ; simply transferring the real or 
supposed advantages of a protected and ex- 
clusive trade from the hands of one set of men 
to another. This must have been as obvious 
to the parliament which passed the act, and 
the king who granted the charter, and his 
cabinet by whose advice he acted, as it was 
to the merchants whose rival monopolies bid 
for their favour; but king, cabinet, and parlia- 
ment, in the face of all this, and pretending 
to do as they did for the welfare of the nation, 
transferred the monopoly from one set of men 
to another, because the favoured party were 
willing to advance the larger loan. The only 
party honest in the midst of so much corrup- 
tion was the old company, which had the j)lea 
of having rendered great services, acquired 
property under charters, and become possessed 
of territories yielding revenue. 

The old company showed itself equal to 
the emergency ; then, as in all future periods 
of its history, a critical conjuncture served to 
bring out its energies, and disclose talents 
which were often but poorly employed, until 
the occurrence of danger quickened them. 
For a number of years previously, the amount 
of its trade was very small, and far I'rom pro- 
fitable : — "The equipments for 1689-00 were 
on a reduced scale ; consisting of three ships 
only, two for Bombay, and one for Fort St. 
George. They were equally small the suc- 
ceeding year. We are not informed to what 
the number of ships or value of cargo amounted 
in lGOl-02. In the following year, however, 
the number of ships was eleven ; and was in- 
creased in 1693-94, to thirteen. In the fol- 
lowing year there was a diminution, but to 
what extent does not appear. In each of the 
years 1695-96andl696-67,thenumber of ships 
was eight. And in 1697-98 it was only four." 

The spirit evinced and the measures taken 
to meet the emergency of 1098, the writer 
above quoted thus states upon the authority 
of Adam Smith : — "The old, or London com- 



28 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LI. 



pany, lost not their hopes. They were al- 
lowed to trade for three years on their own 
charter ; and availing themselves of the clause 
in the act, which permitted corporations to 
hold stock of the new company, they resolved 
to subscribe into this fund as largely as possi- 
ble ; and under the privilege of private ad- 
venture, allowed by the charter of the English 
company, to trade, separately, and in their 
own name, after the three years of their 
charter should have expired. The sum which 
they were enabled to appropriate to tliis pur- 
pose was £315,000." That the company 
" lost not their hopes,"' as the writer just 
quoted expresses it, is very obvious from the 
terms in which the directors wrote to their 
agents at the presidencies and factories. They 
urged those agents to second their exertions, 
and they would send out increasingly large 
equipments, with which the new company 
could not compete. They represented the par- 
liamentary triumph of " the English Company " 
— as the new one was styled — as temporary, 
arising from a party move, which time, wisdom, 
and management, would enable the directors 
to defeat. They assured their agents that no 
ground for alarm existed, either at home or 
at the settlements; that " two East India Com- 
panies in England, could no more subsist 
without destroying one the other, than two 
kings at the same time regnant in the same 
kingdom ; that now a civil battle was to be 
fought between the old company and the new 
company ; and that two or three years must 
end this war, as the old or the now must give 
way ; that, being veterans, if their servants 
abroad would do their duty, they did not 
doubt of the victory ; that if the world laughed 
at the pains the two companies took to ruin 
each other, they could not help it, as they 
were on good ground and had ' a charter.'"* 
Orders were also given to the agents to 
behave themselves circumspectly to native 
princes, and more especially to the Great 
Mogul, whom they were to take every means 
to conciliate. It appears as if the directors 
relied much upon a " voluntary humility" to 
the Great Mogul, as a means of ingratiating 
themselves, to the disparagement of their rivals. 
In this alone they failed, happily so for their 
future fortunes. 

The new company proved itself no match 
for the old one. The loan of two millions to 
government was an undertaking beyond the 
resources and influence of the men who com- 
posed it. It was obliged to borrow money at 
a disadvantage, to replace that given to the 
government, and thus became embarrassed 
from the beginning. When the period came 
for taking up the stock of the new company, 
, * Documents of the company, collected by Bruce. 



many of the subscribers were unable to fulfil 
what they had undertaken, and others who 
calculated upon the speedy destruction of the 
old company were appalled by its bold front 
and resolute prosecution of its plans, with a 
capital superior to the new company, having 
made no loan to government. Bruce declares 
that a panic ensued among the shareholders, 
who sold out their stock at great loss, and 
brought down the price in the market to a 
ruinous discount. 

The first expedition which the new company 
fitted out — after having been anticipated by 
the old company on a much larger scale, as 
already quoted — consisted of three ships, with 
a stock of £178,000. The old company im- 
mediately followed that minor effort by one of 
great efficiency and vigour, amounting to 
thirteen sail of five hundred tons burden each, 
and goods considerably exceeding half a mil- 
lion sterling in value. At tliis juncture, too, 
they obtained varioxis grants of territory in 
India, the town of Calcutta, afterwards the 
very seat of their glory, being among them. 

While the new company was in trepidation, 
without capital to trade with, and its stock at 
a discount in the market, the old company 
was silently and quietly laying the founda- 
tions of Fort William at Calcutta, and making 
arrangements not only to possess there a for- 
tification which they hoped to be impregnable, 
but also for erecting a station into a presi- 
denc)'. Bruce states, that besides the general 
moral effort of these spirited proceedings, par- 
liament became sensible of their energy, and 
passed an act, entitling "the London Com- 
pany" — as the old association was called — to 
trade, after their own charter should expire, 
under the charter of " the English Company," 
to the amount of the stock they had subscribed 
to its funds. This was a legal right which 
the London Company possessed in common 
with all other persons who subscribed to the 
stock of the new company, but to avert any 
injustice on the part of either that body or 
the government, an act especially empowering 
them to do so was sought and obtained. It 
is not improbable that " the English Com- 
pany's stock" would have become utterly 
unsaleable in the market, had it not been 
for the large amount held by the London 
Company. 

The new company availed itself of the dis- 
carded agents and officers of the old, which 
proved injurious in the long run of events, for 
these men were dismissed either for bad con- 
duct, or, having too strong a will, for resisting 
the authorities above them. These persons 
committed their new employers to measures 
so imprudent and violent as to defeat their 
intentions, and impair their interests. Several 



CiiAr. LI.l 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



29 



of these persons were sent out to India, 
whither they went in the character of royal 
ambassadors, injuring both companies by the 
representations wliieh they made to the native 
l)rinces, and assailing the old company in the 
very manner which it had been brought as a 
complaint against it so often that it had 
treated interlopers. Whatever had been the 
sins of the old company, those of the new sur- 
passed them ; so that before the short term 
allowed to the former had run out, men grew 
weary of hearing of the violence, arrogance, 
false accusations, piracies, and villanies which 
the agents of the new, and ostensibly reformed, 
company perpetrated. The English name 
was lowered and disgraced, not only in the 
opinion of other European nations trading to 
India, but in that of native princes, and 
more especially of the Slogul himself. 

At home there was a strong disposition 
among politicians to keep up this bitterness. 
"The whole of this contest," says Grant,* "was 
only one division of the great battle that agi- 
tated the state between the Tories and the 
Whigs, of whom the former favoured the old 
company, and thelatterthe new." Both parties 
suffered intensely ; the market was inundated 
with oriental wares. The new company made 
overtures for a junction with the old, but the 
latter held steruly off. The silk weavers of 
Spitalfields, Norwich, Canterbury, and Coven- 
try, petitioned against the admission of Indian 
silks, which the rival importers were selling at 
a loss, and so underselling the home produc- 
tion, that the English manufacturers, em- 
ployers and operatives, were in ruined cir- 
cumstances. The result of this agitation was 
one of those acts for the protection of the 
silk trade which fetter commerce and re- 
press enterprise and industry. For this 
act William was more desirous than his par- 
liament, or any portion of his people, except 
the manufacturers of silk. The printers of 
muslin and calico were, however, participators 
in the protection. 

When the king received the directors of 
the old company on the subject of permitting 
them to continue a body corporate, he strongly 
recommended them to coalesce with the new 
company. This occurred in March, 1700. 
The proprietors called a general court of the 
proprietary together, to make known the 
king's recommendation ; but they delayed to 
do 80 for some time, and then were actuated 
by policy to keep up an appearance of re- 
spect to the king's counsel, with which at the 
time they intended no compliance. 

Some months later the king sent a,messagc 
to know what proceedings they had taken 
in virtue of his advice to them. The directors 
* Sketch of ike Iliatory of the Eeut India Comjiany. 

VOL. n. 



again summoned a general court. The pro- 
prietors passed the following resolution : — 
"That their company as they have always been, 
so they are still, ready to embrace every op- 
portunity by which they may manifest their 
duty to his majesty, and zeal for the public 
good ; and that they are desirous to contribute 
their utmost endeavours for the preservation 
of the Indian trade to this kingdom, and are 
willing to agree with the new company upon 
reasonable terms." Mr.Mill calls this resolution 
evasive. He is sometimes, perhaps frequently, 
too eager to fix censure upon the old company, 
arising from the adverse politico-economical 
views entertained by him, which prevent him 
from making due allowance for the spirit of 
the age, the degree of civilization then pre- 
valent, and the little influence it had upon 
seafaring matters and commercial pursuits in 
general. The resolution of the court of pro- 
prietors was not a hearty acquiescence with 
the will of his majesty, but they considered 
that it was not for them to take any initiatory 
step towards a coalition. As the stronger 
party, they only required time to bear down 
the competition of the other ; they believed 
that they had little to fear for themselves. It 
was for the weaker party to offer terms, and 
so to press them, as to make it the interest of 
their opponents to accept those terms. The 
king and his ministers did not take this into 
sufficient account, and they were chiefly 
anxious that the two companies should coalesce, 
because a better prospect might be thus held 
out to borrow more money, or obtain the re- 
tention of what had been borrowed on easier 
terms. All the parties made much pretension 
of having the welfare of their country chiefly 
at heart, but none of them gave any practical 
proofs of being actuated by a sentiment so 
exalted. That " the London Company" were 
not evasive in the resolution condemned by 
Mr. Mill was soon proved, for when " the 
English Company" proposed formal terms, 
the former at once offered to have them sub- 
mitted to discussion by seven delegates from 
each body. 

As the year and the century were nearly at 
the close, the old company entered earnestly 
into negotiations with the legislature for a 
permanent adjustment of the questions then 
open. A committee of the House of Com- 
mons was appointed " to receive proposals for 
paying off the national debts, and advancing 
tlie credit of the nation." " The London Com- 
pany" took advantage of this circumstance, 
and offered to pay off a million sterling which 
the government owed the English Company, 
and for which eight per cent, was paid ; the 
London Company offering to hold it at five per 
cent. It was the old expedient of outbidding 



30 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LII. 



their rivals by pecuniary favours to the go- 
vernment. It was partly met in the old way. 
The conimona' committee fell in with the pro- 
posal, and every thing appeared to be on the 
point of adjustment, once more giving the old 
company the victory over all enemies, when 
the house ignored the proceedings of their 
committee, and the difficulties remained still 
obstructing commerce, and the enigma of the 



future continued still without solution, when 
the seventeenth century closed upon the strug- 
gles of the old East India Company. Those 
struggles were intense, abroad as well as at 
home; and were alike successful, although often 
repressed by opposition and defeat. To the 
trials and triumphs of the company abroad, the 
reader's attention will be directed in the next 
chapter. 



CHAPTER LII. 

THE ENGLISH IN INDIA AND THE EASTERN ARCHIPELAGO, FROM THE SETTLEMENT AT 
HOOGLY TO THE END OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 



DinECTiNG attention to that quarter in which 
the British, when simply in pursuit of spice, 
opened up their first trading ojierations — the 
Archipelago, the Islands of Java and Japan, 
and the Moluccas — the state of things will 
appear as unfavourable as could be well con- 
ceived, when, just at the time, upon the 
Indian continent, the English settled down 
at Hoogly, and were looking forward with 
excited prospect to a flourishing trade with 
the rich province of Bengal. The business 
of that coast, from the city of Madras to 
Hoogly, was superintended from the distant 
settlement of Bantam, in the far east. The 
elevation of Fort St. George into a presidency 
relieved the chief of the presidency of Ban- 
tam of much care, but at the same time dimi- 
nished the importance of his post, which 
seems to have declined in relative influence 
from that time. It was at this place that the 
power of tiie Dutch was most severely felt, 
as they roamed the Eastern Sea with tri- 
umphant insolence and unchecked aggression. 
The company was at this time most anxious 
to pursue a trade with the Chinese, and not- 
withstanding previous failures to accomplish 
the like in that way, hoped still to accomplish 
it from Macao, through the aid of the Portu- 
guese, upon principles that might strengthen 
both against the overwhelming power of the 
Dutch. The delicate task of achieving this 
much desired object was committed to the 
agency at Bantam. Full power was given to 
them, but unfortunately they received nothing 
else. The following communication from 
them to the directors in 1648 discloses a 
state of things extremely humiliating to the 
company, and makes one wonder at, as well 
as admire, the courage and pertinacity mth 
which the English held on against all odds, 
and conquered all at last : — 

" The experiment which you desire we 
should make with one of our small vessels 



for trade into China, we are certainly in- 
formed, by those that know the present state 
and condition of that country very well, 
cannot be undertaken without the inevitable 
loss both of ship, men, and goods ; for as the 
Tartars overrun and waste all the inland 
country, without settling any government in 
the places which they overcome, so some of 
their great men in China, wth a mighty 
fleet at sea of upwards of a thousand sail of 
great ships (as is confidently reported), rob 
and spoil all the sea-coasts, and whatsoever 
vessels they can meet with ; and how one of 
our feeble vessels would be able to defend 
themselves against such forces is easy to be 
supposed. As for the Portugals in Macao, 
they are little better than mere rebels against 
their viceroy in Goa, having lately murdered 
their captain-general, sent thither to them, 
and Macao itself so distracted amongst them- 
selves, that they are daily spilling one an- 
other's blood. But put the case, all these 
things were otherwise, we must need say, 
we are in a very poor condition to seek out 
new discoveries, while you will not allow us 
either factors, shipping, or sailors, scarce half 
sufiicient to maintain the trade already you 
have on foot: and therefore the Dutch but 
laugh at us, to see us meddle with new 
undertakings, being hardly able to support 
the old." 

The Dutch at this time rendered any trade 
with China by any other European nation 
difficult, as well as by themselves ; they pene- 
trated to Canton, and were expelled, but not 
only continued to infest the Canton Kiver and 
the coasts as pirates, they assisted the Tar- 
tars against the Chinese all along the eastern 
shores of the empire. 

Until -IGGi no further efforts were made, 
either directly from homo, or through the 
agencf at Bantam, to make a favourable im- 
pression upon the Chinese. In that year 



Chap. LI[.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



31 



some vessels were sent to Canton. At first 
the prospects seemed favourable ; the super- 
cargoes landed at Macao, and secured a 
house as a temporary factory. The Chinese 
demanded that the ships should be measured, 
and in the result insisted upon " two thousand 
tales." The supercargoes offered an amount 
equal to a thousand dollars, but the reply 
was, " we will abate nothing." At the same 
time eight musketeers were placed to guard 
the house of the supercargoes, and prevent 
their leaving. After much negotiation, and 
the most insolent and oppressive behaviour 
on the part of the " celestial authorities," the 
supercargoes were permitted to return to 
Bantam, having been unable to effect a single 
sale. 

Tliey had scarcely left Macao, when the 
Tartar government took measures to repress 
all foreign trade within the empire, nor were 
the Dutch exempt from the application of 
this prohibitory system, notwithstanding the 
venal assistance which they had rendered to 
the Tartar oppressors. 

After the severe defeat of the Dutch navy 
in Europe, through the genius and courage 
of Oliver Cromwell's commanders, and the 
consequent treaty, by which the Dutch en- 
gaged themselves to restore such possessions 
in the Archipelago as had belonged to the 
English, negotiations were opened by the 
English agents at tiantam for the execution 
of the stipulated terms. The restoration, or, 
as the Dutch called it, the cession, of the 
Island of Polaroon, was one of the terms of 
stipulation. The governor of that island 
pretended that he could not deliver it up 
without orders from the governor of Banda. 
On application to him, he pleaded that he 
must have orders from his superior, the 
governor of Batavia ; he pleaded the want of 
definite instructions from the directors of the 
Dutch company. The fear of Oliver Crom- 
well alone caused the Dutch to surrender 
anything ; and they continued to defer the 
surrender until 1GG5, and then the spice- 
trees had been cut down, and the inhabitants 
banished. Hostilities having recommenced, 
the English were expelled both from Pola- 
roon and Damru, and subsequently, by the 
treaty of Breda, they were both ceded to the 
Dutch. 

From 1663 to 1668 the company appears, 
from the correspondence carried on with its 
factory at Bantam, to have been anxious for 
an active prosecution of trade in Japan. 
Mr. Quarles Brown, the chief agent, replied 
that to accomplish such a purpose, the plans 
and modes of the Dutch must be imitated, 
who sought in Siam, Cambodia, and Ton- 
quin, the foreign articles most in request in 



Japan. The Dutch advanced money to 
native merchants, who procured the commo- 
dities in the interior, and brought them to 
the coasts. 

In 1667-68 attempts were made to reopen 
the trade with Sumatra, which had been 
lost during the previous troubles with the 
Dutch. 

It was in consequence of the recommenda- 
tions of Mr. Brown, as to the foreii?n articles 
most used in Japan, and as to the way in 
which the Dutch procured such articles, that, 
in 1672, an attempt was made to found a 
factory in Tonquin. The kingdom thus 
designated is bounded on the north by the 
province of Yunnan, in China ; on the east, 
by the province of Canton and Bay of Ton- 
quin ; on the south, by Cochin ; and the 
west, by the kingdom of Laos. It is twelve 
hundred miles in length, and five hundred 
miles in breadth. Its independence was 
established in 1553, but it is now subject to 
Cochin China. The president at Bantam 
was led to believe that there were many 
commodities which the people of Tonquin 
and Japan would like to interchange, and 
the president hoped to establish a commerce 
between the two places, and find means to 
introduce British goods, and articles from 
continental India. 

On the 25th of June a vessel from Bantam 
reached the river of Tonquin. After passing 
the bar, and ascending up the river fourteen 
miles, they were stopped until permission for 
their progress should be obtained from the 
mandarin. Ung-ja-Thay came on board, 
attended by a guard of soldiers, and gave 
permission for the vessel to proceed to 
Hien. The passage was one of curiosity to 
the English rather than of commerce. The 
supercargo having advised the agent at 
Bantam of the reception he met with, the 
communication was forwarded to the direc- 
tors at home, and has remained as one of the 
most curious documents connected with the 
early commerce of the company. 

" In sailing up the river the ship several 
times touched, and the mandarin, being this 
day aboard, pinioned the captain, and threat- 
ened to cut off the chief mate's head, because 
they would not tow the ship against a violent 
stream, which at last they were forced to try ; 
but as goon as the anchor was up, the tide or 
current carried down the ship, in spite of all 
help, so he was something appeased. Wo 
cannot tell how this action of the mandarin's 
can consist with a good correspondence here- 
after. Were it not that we have respect to 
the company's affairs, and that we would not 
bo thought to impede their designs by any 
rashness of ours, we should have resisted any 



32 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LII. 



such afl'ront, tliougli we saw but little hopes 
of escaping, being so far up the river, and 
our ship so full of soldiers. He told Mr. 
Gyfford that we luust know we were come 
to a great country of great justice and 
government, and that if we would do all 
things that he would have us, it should bo 
well for us ; and these words he wrote down 
iipon a paper in China characters, and bade 
him keep and remember it. Mr. Gyfford said 
we were very willing, being strangers, to be 
observant to their customs and laws, but such 
unreasonable impositions as these, of forcing 
a ship to go against wind and tide, and put- 
ting such dishonour upon us as to pinion the 
captain, seemed very strange to us, and there- 
fore we desired no other favour from him 
than leave to go back again, for we believed 
our honourable employers would not trade 
here upon such terms. The mandarin an- 
swered, that while we were out, we might 
have kept out. The king was King of Ton- 
quin before we came there, and would be 
after we departed, and that this country had 
no need of any foreign thing ; but now we 
are within his power, we must be obedient 
thereto, comparing it to the condition of a 
married woman, who can blame no one but 
herself for being brought into bondage. So 
that we can perceive as yet but a very little 
affection they have for trade. 

" Discoursing with Ung-ja-Thay of our in- 
tentions to settle a factory, he said little 
to it, only showed us the king's chop, autho- 
rising him to receive us. He says, likewise, 
he has power over ship and goods; so it 
seems he is absolute, and will, as he says, 
take out what he pleases : to which we must 
submit, for it is impossible to get a ship back 
over the bar, by reason of the shoalness of 
the water and the contrary winds ; we are 
therofcire compelled to give him his way in 
all things. His soldiers and secretaries, 
always keeping on board, are a great charge 
to ug, for he calls for wine at his pleasure, 
and gives it amongst them, forcing them 
and our seamen to drink full cups. 

" Much ado we had to put off Ung-ja- 
Thay from making the seamen work on the 
Sabbath-day, for we told him beforehand 
tliat it was not our custom to work on that day, 
for God commanded us to the contrary, who 
was greater than all the kings and princes of 
the earth. 

" The ship ran ashore again at high water, 
and the captain could not bring her off, so 
the mandarin, thinking himself wiser than 
him or his mate, in this extremity made the 
seamen work night and day till they were 
nearly exhausted, and wo\ild have the ship 
hauled off by force, which, to please him, we 



tried, but to no purpose, for she presently 
swayed, so we fear we must of necessity stay 
here this spring. We now looked very soli- 
tary one upon another, and began to think 
that his extraordinary earnestness to get the 
ship further up the river was to give him a 
better opportunity to ransack us, which makes 
us esteem our condition no better than that of 
a prize." 

They had but a sorry prospect of commer- 
cial dealings, and as little reason to congra- 
tulate themselves on the liberality of the 
presents from his majesty. " About noon 
Ung-ja-Thay went away, and sent us word 
we should come up to the city, that we might 
know what prices the king would give us for 
our goods, and that we might take a starved 
bull of a small size, which he brought as part 
of the present from the king, but would not 
deliver it before now, nor hath not the 
remainder yet, which, he told us, was fifty 
thousand great cashjes, nor the king's chop. 
About two o'clock we embarked on board 
the galley that waited to carry us up, and 
went on our journey to the city, with longing 
expectation, to know what prices he would 
make upon our goods, for we were not 
admitted to make a price ourselves ; but, 
about two miles off, the other mandarin, who 
commanded the galleys, Ung-ja-Thay, that 
villainous fellow, stayed for us, and invited 
us ashore, for he had got before us to prevent 
our complaint to his superior, and while we 
were there present he colleagued with us 
most abominably, now he had done us the 
most prejudice he could, in carrying away 
all the goods that would have yielded us any 
profit, and then would have us to be cheerful, 
like a conqueror, who would have his 
prisoner to be merry when he lost all he 
hath." 

The British witnessed many proofs of the 
stern and sanguinary despotism which 
reigned at Tonquin. Here also, as almost 
everywhere else, the English agents found 
the Dutch before them. The king dealt with 
them, receiving saltpetre and money for the 
products of the country. In spite of all 
difficulties, the agents at Bantam persevered 
in maintaining some traffic at Tonquin until 
1G97, when it was found necessary to aban- 
don it. 

In 1G81 the court of directors at home 
especially directed attention to secure a trade 
with Canton. They directed questions to 
the chief of the factory at Bantam on this 
subject to the following effect : — 

" 1. Whether there was reason to hope 
that the sanction of the emperor for a free 
access to that port could be obtained? 

"2. Whether the people at Amoy, with 



Chap. LIL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



33 



whom a profitable trade waa transacted, but 
who were at war with the Tartars, would be 
ofifended, and decline further intercourse, on 
learning that the company had admission to 
Canton?" 

Before the agents could answer these ques- 
tions, they received a solution not contem- 
plated : the Tartars conquered Amoy, and 
excluded the English, whose ships had to go 
to Macao instead. 

At this period the directors resolved, if 
possible, to carry on a trade with China 
direct, and not through Bantam. This reso- 
lution appears to have been taken from the 
inconvenience experienced by the expensive 
and incommodious country vessels used be- 
tween Bantam and China. The company at 
the same time adopted the view, that in all 
their oriental traffic indirect trade should be 
abandoned as fast as circumstances allowed. 

In 1682 the differences between the Eng- 
lish and Dutch threatened to deprive the 
former of all safe commerce with Java ; the 
company therefore resolved to transfer the 
superintendence of the China ships from Ban- 
tam to the council at Surat. It is remarkable 
that the letter of the court expressing this 
determination bears date only twenty-one 
days after the actual capture of Bantam, 
which the Dutch succeeded in effecting on 
the 30th of August, 1682. Dutch writers 
deny that the expulsion of the English was 
by Dutch agency, and the proofs they assign 
are worthy of consideration. A war raged at 
that juncture between the King of Bantam 
and his son. The English, Jlr. Mill alleges, 
took part with the son. In this allegation he 
follows Dutch authorities. The son triumphed, 
and expelled the English ; but the victories 
of the son were obtained mainly through the 
instrumentality of the Dutch, who hated the 
king because he favoured the English. The 
Dutch affected to befriend the expelled Eng- 
lish. They allowed them to take refuge at 
Batavia, and even offered to remove their 
property thither in their ships. The Dutch 
allege, that as the English were banished, not 
by them, but by the conquering native prince, 
and as they offered hospitality to British suf- 
ferers, they were innocent of all evil in the 
case. The English maintained that the 
revolt of the prince was instigated and made 
successful by the Dutch, and that he would 
not have expelled the English but at the 
instigation of their rivals, a word from whom 
would have prevented such an injustice. 
The English declined receiving the proffered 
assistance, and demanded reparation for the 
injuries inflicted. Had Cromwell lived, it is 
certain that all such wrongs would have been 
redressed, but James was imbecile ; and not- 



withstanding the general fairness which the 
English attributed to Dutch William, it was 
generally believed that he regarded with 
great leniency themisdoingsofhiscountrymen. 
The company, therefore, looked for redress 
in Europe from both James and William in 
vain. Professor Wilson says that " there is 
no evidence the English took any part in the 
dispute, nor is it likely." He also says, 
" They were not sufficiently strong to pro- 
voke the enmity of the Dutch." This is a 
strange remark, coming from a source of so 
much intelligence and ability ; for whatever 
the inferiority of numbers of the English at 
Bantam, and however depressed their affairs 
at that juncture, that factory was one of the 
earliest, was a presidency, the centre of their 
trade in the Archipelago, and of such com- 
merce as they were able to open with China, 
and their occupation of the position had 
always been a source of jealousy, and even 
" enmity," with the Dutch. 

The English made various attempts after- 
wards to re-establish themselves. They sent 
embassies and presents of gunpowder to 
the King of Bantam, and received from his 
majesty presents of tea, but the intervention 
of the Dutch always prevented the English 
again having a factory there. If they had 
been too weak to provoke Dutch enmity, as 
Dr. Wilson affirms, how is it that Dutch in- 
fluence was so strenuously used to prevent 
their return ? 

Upon the loss of Bantam, the English trans- 
actions of " the eastern coast " were trans- 
ferred to Fort St. George. The charge of 
the ships for China was, however, as already 
stated, given over to the council at Surat. 
Soon after this event the court of directors 
wrote to the council of Surat concerning the 
trade with China, and the general business of 
the company in the following terms (the 
court wrote on the 2nd of April, 1683) : — 

"The loss of Bantam to the Dutch, and 
the Johanna, outward bound to your place, 
with her stock of £70,000, most bullion, but 
more especially an extraordinary and unpa- 
ralleled failure of credit in all the public 
funds of this city, which hath caused the 
failure of divers of the goldsmiths in Lom- 
bard Street, whose names possibly you may 
have an account of in private letters : this 
unusual occurrence did so affright all people, 
that manj' demanded at once their money at 
interest from the company, to satisfy whom 
we were necessitated to publish these three 
following resolutions : — 

" ] . That all money arising from March 
sale should entirely be disposed of towards 
the satisfying of the company's debts. 

" 2. That no bullion should be sent out 



34 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LII. 



upon our ships till all the company's debts 
due by or before the 31st of March were 
fully satisfied. 

" 3. That the company would make no 
dividend of any money on goods to the 
adventurers till all the debts now owing by 
them were fully paid." 

Under these circumstances, undertakings 
in the Eastern seas, or even in connection 
with India, where the company had obtained 
BO firm a hold, became impracticable, except 
such as, in the most ordinary course, were 
essential. 

In 1686 the company interdicted their 
servants from dealing in any teas or spices. 

In 1687 orders were given to send home 
teas well packed, which would turn to good 
account now that it was " a company's com- 
modity, and not of private trade." 

In 1689, notwithstanding the disconsolate 
letters which the directors had written to 
their agents at Surat, Bombay, and Fort 
St. George, concerning the trade with China, 
and other parts of Eastern Asia, continental 
and insular, some vigorous efforts were made 
to induce the reluctant and extortionate 
Chinese to exchange their commodities for 
the goods of Europe. Captain Heath arrived 
in the ship Defence at Canton, where he 
experienced difficulties and obstructions the 
most disheartening. He continued to outwit 
the Chinese officials through means of their 
own cunning, and he sometimes succeeded in 
conciliating them by bribes. The captain 
was, however, in the end unfortunate, for 
several of his men and his ship's doctor were 
killed, and he was obliged to leave Canton ; 
British interests, on the whole, having been 
impaired by his visit, after success had seemed 
to crown his efforts. 

The heavy duty upon tea in England 
embarrassed the transactions of the company. 
The directors ordered their agents to select 
none but the very best quality, otherwise, in 
consequence of this duty, "it would not 
defray either freight or charges." 

The exportation of silver from England to 
India was at this early period of the com- 
pany's history, as well as of late years, a 
subject of uneasiness, especially to those 
of the directors less conversant with the 
laws of commerce and of political economy. 
In 1700, in order to lessen that exportation, 
the court instructed their supercargoes to 
forward to Madras from China £20,000 in 
gold. 

Thus, a review of the commerce of the 
company with China and the Eastern Archi- 
pelago, from the commencement of the Civil 
War in England to the close of the seven- 
teenth century, discloses by no means a 



prosperous state of things. Chinese obstinacy, 
and that of various Indo-Chinese nations, 
Dutch wars and Dutch treachery, the list- 
lessness, laziness, and disingenuousness of the 
Portuguese at Macao, the wars of Tartars 
and Chinese, the persistent attempts of inter- 
lopers, the turmoil and discontent at home, 
the loss of credit sustained by the company 
in London, — all these causes operated to 
render the trade with the islands and penin- 
sulas of Eastern Asia, and with Canton, bur- 
densome, difficult, and dangerous. The main 
obstructions were, however, the piracy, per- 
fidy, and waging of open war, by the Dutch. 
Notwithstanding the triumph of England over 
Holland in Europe, and the accession of the 
Prince of Orange to the English throne, the 
Dutch throughout Eastern Asia were never 
conciliatory, unless to cover a hostile purpose, 
and were as much enemies in peace as in war. 
They succeeded in depriving the English of 
their chief insular settlements, expelling them 
from Japan and the Moluccas, and in frus- 
trating their attempts to open up trading in- 
tercourse with all the nations having a coast- 
line east of the Malacca Straits. 

Soon after the settlement at Hoogly, Madras 
was elevated to the dignity of a presidency, 
it having been found inconvenient to have 
the chief authority for reference in the busi- 
ness of the Coromandel coast so distant aB 
Bantam. When this honour was conferred 
on Fort St. George, its garrison consisted of 
twenty -six English soldiers; in less than two 
years after the future metropolis of the great 
and extensive presidency of Madras was 
guarded by ten English musketeers, and the 
civil establishment was, for economy, reduced 
to two factors. 

When the war with Holland was waged by 
Cromwell, among the many naval enterprises 
of the Dutch, advei'se to the British, in the 
East, was one against the company's com- 
merce at Surat. "A fleet of twelve Dutch- 
men," or, as others relate, " eight large shijis,'" 
blockaded the harbour. The coasting -trade 
between the different English factories was 
suspended, in consequence of the vigilance 
and activity of the Batavian cruisers. The 
Gulf of Persia was ''scoured" by the Hol- 
landers. Three of the company's ships were 
captured, and one sunk. At the same time 
the ships of the " states -general" literally 
hunted down the Portuguese. They drove 
them entirely out of the Island of Ceylon, and 
held there garrisons, in dangerous proximity 
to the British factory of Fort St. George. A 
Dutch fleet blockaded Goa and the small 
Island of Diu. The Indian Ocean, the 
Arabian Sea, and the Persian Gulf, were 
filled with their " rovers." 



CuAP. LII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



36 



The English were reduced to great distress. 
At Surat the "out-factories" were abolished, 
and the agents withdrawn. There was not a 
post occupied by the English on continental 
India that was not in peril from the superior 
naval power of the states-general. The Eng- 
lish at Surat described themselves in their 
letters home as fallen into as much contempt 
"as the Portugals in India, or the Jews in 
Spain." 

In the early part of the year 1664 Sevajee,* 
tlie rebel chief of the Mahrattas,"}" already 
formidable to the Mogul, having captured 
many places, attacked the city of Surat. :j: 
It is probable that the main cause of Sevajee's 
attack upon Surat was, as stated on page 676, 
the conviction that the Emperor Aurungzebe 
had been sup))lied with ammunition by the 
Europeans settled there. This motive, attri- 
buted to him by some writers, is denied by 
others. There should be no doubt of the fact 
that the emperor had been thus enabled to 
make war upon the Mahratta with advantage, 
and that the latter must have known it, and 
would, if possible, avenge so great an injury, 
and take mensiircs to prevent its recurrence. 
The following passage from Bruce § is suffi- 
cient proof of the provocation given in this 
way to the Mahratta chief : — " Shortly before 
his death Cromwell licensed a Mr. Roll to 
export three mortars and twenty thousand 
shells, to be disposed of to Aurungzebe, then 
engaged in rebellion against his father. The 
company directed the Surat presidency to 
seize on these articles as illicit ; and the more 
effectually to frustrate the speculation, sent 
large quantities of ordnance, mortars, shells, 
&c., desiring the different presidencies to 
dispose of them at the best price to either of 
the four rival princes who should first apply 
for them, preserving meanwhile a strict neu- 
trality." It is impossible that Sevajee did 
not hear of an event that created such a 
hubbub, not only at Surat, but at all the 
company's stations in India. It is likely, 
too, that no small portion of the ammunition 
found its way into his own hands, partly by 
purchase, and partly by plunder. 

The defence made by the British is only 
glanced at in the chapter devoted to Mahratta 
history. Mr. Mill very briefly narrates the 
transaction, summing up in two sentences the 
facts that tlie English fought bravely, repelled 
the enemy, ple&sed the Mogul, and obtained 
in reward "new privileges of trade to the 

* For his history sec p. 670, toI. i. 

t For the origin of the Mahrattas see p. 669, vol. i. 

i For an account of the sack of Surat by Sevajee see 
vol. i.p. 676, and the note on that page. For a descrip- 
tion of the place at the present day, see vol. i. p. 345. 

J Bruce vol. i. p. 39. 



company. Professor Wilson, as usual, at 
variance with Mill, complains that " scant 
justice is done to the company's servants in 
the brief notice of a conduct highly remark- 
able for cool and resolute courage." Mr. Mill 
was not concerned to notice the conduct of 
the English as that of " the company's ser- 
vants," nor did he do scant justice to them, 
for he pronounces a glowing panegyric upon 
them. His treatment however, of an inci- 
dent, admitted by himself to have had such 
important results, is too brief, and justifies 
the learned Oxford professor's complaint on 
that score. The account given by the latter 
is very full and complete ; it is as follows : — 
" Sevajee's approach to within fifteen miles 
of Surat was announced on the morning of 
the 5th of January, upon which the governor 
retired into the castle, and the inhabitants 
fled from every part of the city except that 
adjacent to the factory. In the evening the 
Mahrattas entered, and part blockaded the 
castle, whilst the rest plundered and set fire 
to the houses. During that night and the 
following day repeated demands and menaces 
were sent to the factory, but they were all 
met with terms of defiance. ' We replied to 
Sevajee,' says the despatch to the court, dated 
the 26th of January, 1664, 'we were here on 
purpose to maintain the house to the death of 
the last man, and therefore not to delay his 
coming upon us.' It does not appear that 
any organized attack was made upon the 
factory, but the Mahrattas assembled in con- 
siderable numbers before it, and broke into 
an adjoining house. To prevent their estab- 
lishing themselves in a situation from which 
they might offer serious annoyance, a sally 
was made from the factory, which had the 
effect of dislodging the assailants, and putting 
them to flight, with some loss and three 
men wounded on the part of the English. 
This success was followed up with spirit : the 
plundered house was occupied ; several sorties 
were made, and pushed even to the gates of 
the castle, and the neighbourhood for near a 
quarter of a mile round was cleared of the 
enemy. No further attempts were made to 
molest the factory or its vicinity during the 
throe days that Sevajee continued in posses- 
sion of the town, and the inhabitants of the 
quarter in which the factory was situated 
' were very thankful in their acknowledgments, 
blessing and praising the English nation,' 
to whose valour they ascribed their exemp- 
tion from the calamities which had desolated 
the rest of the city. The governor presented 
Sir G. Oxenden with- a dress of honour, and 
recommended the interests of the company to 
Aurungzebe. The emperor in the first in- 
stance remitted the customs at Surat for one 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[CiiAP. LII. 



year iu favour of all merchants, and subse- 
quently granted a perpetual remission of a 
portion of the duties to the PInglish in parti- 
cular. The despatch from Surat states the 
proportion to bo one-half, but the translation 
of the Husb-ul-hookum, in the Records, says 
a half per cent. ; and in the firman granted 
on the 26th of June, 1607, the amount is 
stated at one per cent, out of three, the ordi- 
nary impost. A more important provision of 
the firman is exemption from all transit 
charges on any pretext whatever." 

The English factory at Rajahpore was at 
this time abandoned, the exactions of the 
Mahratta chief rendering it impossible for the 
English to trade there with profit. It was 
plain that Sevajes both feared and respected 
the English, but formed exaggerated ideas of 
their riches, and was therefore desirous to 
have them in his cities, in order that, under 
the pretext of dues and duties, he might 
extort money from them. 

In 1670 he again attacked Surat. His 
aim this time was to take possession of it — • 
partly because of its great wealth, thereby 
to diminish the resources of the Mogul, and 
partly to turn to his own advantage the 
sources of commercial riches that were there. 
Failing to capture it, his intention was to 
plunder it, or compel payment of a ransom. 
Mr. Mill is even more brief in his account 
of this second attack than of the first,* simply 
stating that " the principal part of the goods 
was transported to Sivally,f and placed on 
board the ships, the English remaining in 
the factory, defending themselves successfully. 
Some lives were lost, and some property 
damaged." 

The testimony of Orme is directly against 
that of Bruce, for he asserts that neither the 
English nor Dutch factories were attacked, 
nor was any demand made upon them. Mr. 
Hamilton and Dr. Wilson contradict Orme. 
The first named representsthe town as partially 
pillaged ; the doctor expresses his surprise 
that Orme should have studied so negligently 
the documents at the India House, and sums 
up their contents on the matter thus : — " On 
this occasion, as on the former, the English 
factory was defended with spirit, 'the enemy,' 
says the letter from Surat, 'found such hot 
service from our house, that they left us.' 
Subsequently a parley was held with ' the 
captain of the brigade,' who agreed to refrain 
from further molestation, and ' the house was 

* Mill's brief notice is taken, just as it stands, from 
Bruce. 

+ Sivally {Sim laya, the abode of Siva). This is the 
harbour of the Surat shipping, and is situated at the 
mouth of the rivir Tapty, twenty miles west of that 
city. 



quiet for two days.' On the third day they 
again appeared before the factory, ' threaten- 
ing that they would take or burn it to the 
ground ; but Mr. i\Iaster stood in so resolute 
a posture, that the cajitain, not willing to 
hazard his men, with much ado ke])t them 
back, and sent a man into the house to advise 
Mr. Master what was fit to be done.' In 
consequence of this communication, a compli- 
mentary present was sent to Sevajee by two 
of the company's servants ; he received them 
kindly, ' telling them that the English and he 
were very good friends, and, putting his 
hand into their hands, told them that he 
could do the English no wrong, and that 
this giving his hand was better than any coul 
to oblige him thereto.' Sevajee was, in fact, 
desirous to conciliate the English, in order to 
induce them to return to Rajahpore, where 
they had formerly had a factory, which they 
had abandoned in consequence of his exac- 
tions. The loss of their trade had injured 
the town of Rajahpore, and diminished the 
Mahratta's revenue from it. Sevajee imme- 
diately afterwards left Surat. The French 
had saved their factory by paying a contri- 
bution. The Dutch factory was without the 
town, and was not attacked ; and these cir- 
cumstances, with the interview between 
Sevajee and the English, inspired the Mogul 
government with considerable distrust of the 
Europeans at Surat." 

The aim of Sevajee after the spirited 
repulse he met with in 1G70 was to con- 
ciliate the English at Surat, who maintained 
a cold and distant bearing to his advances, as 
they were afraid to compromise themselves 
with the Mogul, who had hitherto been so 
friendly to them. In order to prevent any 
further attempts at negotiation on thepartof the 
Mahratta chief, they demanded compensation 
for injuries inflicted at Surat and various 
other places by him or his hordes of wild 
followers. To the astonishment of the Eng- 
lish, this was conceded, and they then entered 
into serious negotiations with a chief whom 
the Mogul not only regarded as an enemy, 
but as a rebel. In 1674 a treaty was actually 
formed between the head of the Malirattas 
and the president of the English factory at 
Surat of mutual peace and amity. Sevajee 
agreed to pay ten thousand pagodas as com- 
pensation for past injuries, and relinquished 
his right to the wrecks of vessels cast away, 
upon his coasts, so far as those of English, or 
rather of the company, were concerned. The 
consequence of this was an intense jealousy 
towards the English by the Great Mogul, 
and an equal difficulty on the part of the 
former to maintain neutrality between the 
Moguls and the Mahrattas. It was in conse- 



Chxp. LII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



87 



quence of a state of feeling in India thus 
arising rather than from events at home (as 
generally represented), although the latter 
had some influence also in the matter, that 
the court of committees in 1677-78 recom- 
mended a trimming policy to their servants 
in treating with all the conflicting native 
powers in India. Bruce thus describes the 
directions sent out: — "The court recom- 
mended temporising expedients to their ser- 
vants with the Mogul, with Sevajee, and with 
the petty rajahs ; but at the same they gave 
to President Augier and his council discre- 
tionary powers to employ armed vessels to 
enforce the observation of treaties and grants : 
— in this way the court shifted from them- 
selves the responsibility of commencing hos- 
tilities, that they might be able, in any ques- 
tions which might arise between the king and 
the company, to refer such hostilities to the 
errors of their servants." * 

Upon this quotation of Bruce, Professor 
Wilson thus very properly comments : — 
" There is a clause iu these instructions 
omitted, which it is but justice to the directors 
to re-insert. They enjoined their servants 
' to endeavour by their conduct to impress the 
natives with an opinion of the probity of the 
English in all commercial dealings.' With 
regard to the object of the court in giving 
discretionary powers to the president and 
council of Surat, to enforce the observation 
of treaties and grants, it is not very candid 
to limit it to leaving an opening by which 
they might escape responsibility. Their own 
distance from the scene of action rendered 
some such discretionary authority in their 
servants indispensable, as is admitted a few 
lines further on." Bruce, however, was rather 
careless than imcandid in any omissions made 
by him, as even Dr. Wilson, with all his zeal 
to vindicate the ancient proceedings of the 
company on all occasions, is equalled in par- 
tiality by that writer. 

Partly in the result of the treaty with 
Sevajee, partly from adopting the policy 
recommended by the court of committees at 
home, Surat escaped all attacks from native 
powers during the remainder of the seven- 
teenth century, although early in the eigh- 
teenth century it was repeatedly assailed by 
Mahratta freebooters. This was important, 
for Surat was for a considerable time the 
commercial capital of commercial India ; and 
although its native Hindoo population was 
always faithless and horribly immoral, the 
Parsee inhabitants clung to the English and 
other Europeans, so as to afford facilities of 
commerce not to be obtained elsewhere. The 
Parsees at that time were very numerous at 
* Bruce, vol. ii. p. 406. 

VOL. n. 



Surat,* and they were very important as 
agents between the other natives, whom they 
well understood, and the Europeans. 

In 1686-87 several of the company's agents 
were imprisoned at Surat by the Mogul, in 
consequence of piratical attacks by some 
English upon his ships, and generally in that 
quarter he was less friendly than formerlj'. 

Towards the close of the century the 
piracies off Surat became more common and 
daring. In 1695 the emperor's chief ship, 
consecrated to a purpose by him esteemed 
holy, — that of carrying pilgrims to Mocha 
and Jedda, the seaports of Mecca, — was 
attacked by an English rover, and captured. 
An account of the transaction is given by a 
Mohammedan writer, one Khafi Khan, ac- 
cording to whose reluctant admissions, the 
conduct of the English pirates was most 
gallant and dashing. It was in 1693 that 
the vessel was made a prize, while carrying 
eighty guns and four hundred muskets, by 
which is probably meant not .that muskets 
wera a part of the cargo, but of the armament. 
"An EngHsh vessel of small size" bore down 
upon the Mogul leviathan, and a battle took 
place. A gun having burst on .board the 
emperor's ship was the occasion, Khafi Khan 
declares, of the English being able to board, 
which they did, in spite of all the odds of 
numbers and of armament ; " and although," 
adds Khafi, " the Christians have no courage 
with the sword, in consequence of mismanage- 
ment the vessel was taken." 

Upon this event Mohammedan India lite- 
rally raged against "the sacrilegious Giaours." 
At Surat and Swally the emperor, unable in 
any other way to prevent the multitude from 
murdering the English, placed them, to the 
number of sixty -three, in irons. 

The emperor, discreetly, sought redress by 
sending to the English president at Bombay 
an envoy. This person was the historian, 
Khafi Khan. He represents his reception to 
have been with great honour, but rather 
sneeringly refers to the display of military 
power which the president thought proper to 
make. He praises the business ability and 
good sense of the English council, btit ex- 
presses his surprise at the spirit in which 
persons so grave, and on an occasion so 
important, laughed at the way in which the 
crew of the little English ship took possession 
of the emperor's chief man-of-war. Having 
received explanation that the aggressors were 
pirates, who would be hanged if caught, and 
pacific assurances having been profusely made, 
the envoy returned to the Mogul viceroy at 
Surat. Irhe English authorities immediately 

* Sec chapter ou the Eelatioa of the Parsees to Indiaa 
History. 



Be 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LII. 



offered a reward of one thoueand pounds for 
Captain Avery, by whom it was supposed tbo 
daring exploit was performed, although some 
attributed it to Captain Kidd, who had been 
at that time off Swally. Kidd continued to 
cruise about, but the pursuit of Avery was so 
hot in consequence of tbo reward, that he 
made for the Bahamas, where his ship was 
sold, and the crew dispersed. Several of them 
were, however, arrested, and lianged. Mat- 
ters were arranged with the emperor, but 
Kidd made so many captures of native and 
European vessels off the mouth of the Tapty, 
that peaceful relations between the chief fac- 
tor at Surat and the viceroy were soon inter- 
rupted, and the English traders were exposed 
to the reprisals of the native government. 

When these events were passing at Surat 
another portion of the strip of territory, after- 
wards known as tbo Bombay presidency, was 
the scene of transactions of great importance. 
That theatre of event was the Island of Bom- 
bay, its dependant islets, and the vicinity of 
the bay. 

While the Dutch in the Archipelago were 
successfnlly evading the stipulations imposed 
by Cromwell when tliey solicited peace from 
that conqueror, the Portuguese were acting a 
similar part, but still more treacherous and 
dishonest, at Bombay. After the death of 
Cromwell the Dutch lost all hesitation about 
breaking the treaty ; and while they were 
treating the authority of Charles II. with 
contempt, or bribing bis connivance at their 
frauds, even the Portuguese did not think 
themselves too feeble to resist the preroga- 
tives of the Englisli king, and through him 
the nation be so vi^eakly ruled. The Island of 
Bombay having (as related on previous pages) 
become the property of Charles, as the dowry 
of the Infanta Catherine of Portugal, whom 
he married, ho sent the Earl of INIarlborough 
to fake possession. Five hundred soldiers 
were also sent to occupy the island as a gar- 
rison, with its dependencies, Salsette and 
Tanna. The Portuguese governor refused 
to deliver over these islands, as they were not 
named in the treaty. It was urged upon the 
governor that the islands in question were so 
situated, that the occupation of them by the 
troops of any other nation would render the 
Island of Bombay insecure to its possessors. 
He replied that his government could never 
have framed a treaty which would open Bas- 
sein to another nation. He finally refused to 
give up Bombay until further instructed by 
liis own government, inasmuch as the letters 
or patent produced by Lord Marlborough did 
not comport with the usages of Portugal. 

The troops brought out by the English 
ships were bo cooped up, that disease broke 



out among them, and made mortal havoc. 
Their commander. Sir Abraham Shipman, 
requested the chief of the English factory at 
Surat to allow them to land there. Ho dared 
not imdertake such a responsibility, as it might 
excite the jealousy of the natives to see so 
large a force landing in their country. The 
Earl of Marlborough returned home to report 
to his government. Sir Abraham Shrpman 
landed his troops on the small island of Anje- 
diva, twelve miles distant from Goa. This 
situation they found unhealthy, and fresh 
provisions could with difficulty be obtained. 
Sir Abraham offered the rights of the crown 
to the company through their agents at 
Surat. They refused to accept them, because 
they could not occupy tbo island pro tempore 
in proper force, and as a permanent posses- 
sion they were not authorized to receive it, 
nor did they consider him authorized to bestow 
it. Sir Abraham and three hundred and 
eighty-one of his troops fell victims to " the 
distemper." The residue were permitted, in 
December, 1664, to take possession of the 
Island of IBombay, under the command of an 
officer named Cook. The eventual cession of 
the island to the company seems to have 
arisen from the fact that the king found it an 
expense too heavy to be borne, and " making 
a virtue of necessity," he bestowed it upon 
those by whom he desired to serve himself in 
other ways.* Mr. Cook, the commander of 
the little "body of infantry, assumed the office 
of first governor. He found the island nearly 
a desert, the Portuguese having done nothing 
to improve so admirable a position. On the 
5th of November, 16G6, Sir Gervaise Lucas 
arrived as governor. Sir Gervaise died on 
the 21st of March, and was succeeded by the 
deputy -governor. Captain Henry Geary. 
Mr. Cook, the first governor, had been incensed 
at being superseded by a governor from Eng- 
land ; and as soon as Sir Gervaise died, 
assisted by the Jesuits, Cook collected a force 
at Salsette, in order to re-establish himself by 
force. The attempt failed, through the firm- 
ness of Captain Geary, and the fidelity of a 
portion of the little garrison. On the 2.3rd of 
September, 16G8, the island was taken pos- 
session of in the name of the East India Com- 
pany by Sir George Oxenden, the company's 
governor at Surat. The troops were trans- 
ferred from the king's to the company's ser- 
vice, along with the arms, ordnance, and 
stores. Soon after it came into possession of 
the company the revenue rose to £2823 per 
annum, and in a year after that it more than 
doubled. Sir George Oxenden died on the 
14th of July, 1669, and was succeeded in his 

* For a description of the Island of Bombay aud its 
vicinity, see chap. vii. np. 138 — 145. 



Chap. LII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



89 



office by Mr. Gerald Augier, as chief of the 
factory at Surat, and governor of Bombay. 
Under his auspices the revenue rose to £6490 
per annum. In 1672 a powerful Dutch fleet 
appeared off Bombay,and reconnoitred; at that 
time the garrison did not consist of more than 
a hundred English soldiers, about as many 
friendly Portuguese, an equal number of 
natives, and a small party of French refugees 
and deserters. The Dutch did not effect any 
hostile purpose. Possibly they were deterred 
by the B])irited efforts of the governor and 
the inhabitants, who enrolled themselves as a 
militia. Several of them were Germans, and 
received especial praise from the officials for 
their soldierlike bearing and good conduct. 
Five hundred Rajpoots were hired, and pre- 
sented a gallant appearance to the recon- 
noitering Dutch. In 1G74 the fortifications 
were repaired and strengthened. To the 
twenty-one cannons which the company formd 
there a hundred were added. The regular 
troops were four hundred, "of whom the 
greater part were topasses,"* and there was 
an enrolled and disciplined militia of three 
hundred. The mint was established at Bom- 
bay in 1676, letters patent having arrived 
from the king empowering the company to 
coin ' rupees, pice, and budgerooks." 

During the government of Mr. Augier, the 
Mahratta pirates infested the bay. The go- 
vernor died, 1676, and was succeeded by 
Henry Oxenden. 

Among the difficulties with which the set- 
tlement had to contend, were the menacing 
power of the Emperor Aurungzebe, and that 
of the Mahrattas then rapidly rising to im- 
portance. Nevertheless, the place prospered, 
BO that according to Mr. Grant the revenue 
at this time reached more than £12,000 per 
annum. The Portuguese and Dutch were 
bitterly opposed to this settlement. The Danes 
and French soon became rivals also. 

The rising authority of the Mahrattas gave 
much uneasiness at Bombay in 1679, and the 
jealousy of that power, and of any relations 
maintained by the English with it, which ani- 
mated the ]\logul, constituted another peril to 
the still comparatively now settlement. In 
that year Sevajee seized the Island of Henery, 
and the Siddee seized the Island of Kenery 
as a counterpoise. The English were endan- 
gered by both proceedings, but knew not well 
how to oppose either, because they were alike 
to be apprehended, and a junction with either 
party for any purpose must involve a war. 
The Siddee was considered the stronger, yet 
the less formidable neighbour. " Siddee, or 
Seedee, is a corruption of an Arabic term, 
signifying a lord ; but in the common language 
* llalf-caste Portuguese and Indians. 



of the Deccan, it came to bo applied indis- 
criminately to all natives of Africa. The 
Siddees of Jinjeera took their name from a 
small fortified island in the Concan, where a 
colony had been formed on a jaghire, granted, 
it appears, in the first instance, to an Abyssi- 
nian officer, by the King of Ahraednuggur, on 
condition of the maintenance of a marine for 
the protection of trade, and the conveyance 
of pilgrims to the Red Sea. The hostility of 
Sevajee induced the Siddee, or chief, to seek 
favour with Aurungzebe, by whom he was 
made admiral of the Mogul fleet, with an 
annual salary of four lacs of rupees (£40,000) 
for convoying pilgrims to Jedda and Mocha. 
The emperor himself sent an annual donation 
to Mecca of three lacs."* 

Sevajee died in 1680, which, for a time 
relieved the British very much from their un- 
easiness in connection with the Mahrattas. 
In 1681, Mr. John Child, brother of Sir 
Josiah Child, an influential member of the 
court of committees, was appointed president 
of Surat, with a council of eight members ; 
one of the junior councillors, Mr. Ward, was 
designated deputy-governor of Bombay. 

In 1683 Bombay was created an inde- 
pendent English settlement, and in 1684 the 
chief seat of the power and trade of the En- 
glish in the East Indies. Before it arrived at 
so great a distinction, however, it was the 
scene of a memorable mutiny, which prevented 
the arrangement from being carried out for 
several years. Up to the time of this revolt, 
the East India Company had expended on 
Bombay, its harbour, improvements, and for- 
tifications, £300,OGO.t Captain Keigwin, who 
commanded the garrison, assisted by Ensign 
Thompson, and supported by the troops, con- 
sisting of one hundred and fifty regulars, and 
two hundred topasses, and headed by the in- 
habitants, seized on the island in the name 
of the British crown. Captain Keigwin, not 
only deposed, but imprisoned the deputy- 
governor, and was himself chosen to the office 
of governor with acclamation by the troops, 
militia, and inhabitants. The captain issued 
a proclamation, in which he set forth the mis- 
deeds of the company. Mr. Ward applied by 
secret agents to Mr. Child, the governor of 
Surat, who was unable to afford him assistance. 
Meanwhile, Captain Keigwin applied the re- 
venues of the island scrupulously to the sup- 
port of the troops and civil government in tlie 
name of the King of England. The new- 
governor and the inhabitants sent home com- 
plaints to the king against Mr. Child, whose 
oppressions and tyranny were the alleged oc- 

* DtifFs Mahrattas. 

t Hamilton's Hindostan. Murray, AlUemarle Street. 
1820. 



40 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LIT. 



casion of a revolt which took so loyal a form. 
Dr. Cook Taylor suma up the character of 
John Child and his brother Sir Josiali, as 
exemplified by their conduct from 1684 to 1G88, 
and the consequences of their misdeeds, in the 
following terms : — "Unfortunately, their pros- 
perity (that of the company) was greatly in- 
jured by one of their own servants, Sir John 
Child, governor of Bombay, whose fraud, 
ambition, and tyranny brought the settlement 
to the very verge of ruin. His folly led him 
to provoke a war with the Emperor of Delhi, 
who sent a considerable force to attack Bom- 
bay. Child's cowardice was as conspicuous 
as any of his other qualities, and the fort must 
have fallen, had not his seasonable death re- 
lieved the garrison from the greatest of dangers, 
an imbecile and treacherous commander. On 
Child's death, the Emperor Aurungzebe con- 
sented to make peace, and granted more 
favourable terms than the English had a right 
to expect. Child's successors were little better 
than himself; so great were their profligacy 
and rapacity, that from being a populous 
place, Bombay was almost rendered a desert ; 
it would most probably have been abandoned 
altogether, if the company's servants coukl 
have found means of escaping from the inso- 
lence and oppression of their governors by 
returning to England ; but this favour was 
refused them, and they were detained by their 
tyrants, without a glimmering of hope. In 
consequence of this misgovernment abroad, and 
the peculation introduced by Sir Josiah Child 
into the management at home, the company's 
affairs fell into sad confusion, and the mer- 
chants of London proposed either to throw 
open the trade with India and China, or to form 
a new commercial association on a wider basis." 

Miss Martineau, commenting upon the spirit 
and temper of the directors and agents at this 
period, says — " The wisest men among them, 
during the reigns of the Stuarts, seem to have 
entertained a true royal contempt for consti- 
tutional law, and a great relish for freedom of 
will and hand in executive matters. In the 
early history of the company there are no 
greater names than those of the brothers Sir 
Josiah and John Child. These gentlemen 
were full of sense, information, vigour, and 
commercial prudence ; yet Sir Josiah has left 
us an account of his notions which reads 
strangely at this day." The fair authoress 
then quotes, on the authority, no doubt, of 
Captain Hamilton,* a reply of Sir Josiah 
Child to Mr. Vaux, governor of Bombay, in 

* Hamilton adds to the passage quoted by Miss Mar- 
tineau, " I am the more particular on this account, because 
I saw and copied both those letters in anno, 1696, while 
Mr. Vaux and I were prisoners at Surat, on account of 
Captain Evory's [Avery] robbing the Mogul's great ship, 
the GuMway." 



1692, when the latter declared he would act 
towards interlopers according to the laws of 
England. Sir Josiah wrote roundly to Mr. 
Vaux, what amounted to an assertion of the 
supreme authority of the company even over 
the prerogatives of the crown and the laws of 
England. The injunctions of Sir Josiah 
were too faithfully carried out by his brother, 
whose notions of the company's privileges 
were still more arbitrary. 

Whether the conduct of Mr. John, after- 
wards Sir John, Child, merited the hatred 
borne to him at Bombay, the feeling was ge- 
neral among all the company's servants and 
the inhabitants in 1684, so that Captain 
Keigwin rode triumphantly upon the storm. 
The king and the Duke of York looked rather 
favourably upon the statements of Keigwin, 
and the company espoused thoroughly all the 
doings and misdoings of Sir John Child. Dr. 
St. John was sent out by the king to inves- 
tigate matters, and the company sent pri- 
vately an agent of its own. Child also pro- 
ceeded in person from Surat, but the new 
governor and his confederates would enter 
into no negotiations with him. Sir Thomas 
Grantham was dispatched with a naval squa- 
dron to take possession of the island, but 
Captain Keigwin refused to surrender it, ex- 
cept upon condition of free pardon and liberty 
to return home for himself and his followers, 
alleging, that what he had done was done 
honestly, for the king's honour, and the cause 
of law and justice. The admiral accepted the 
terms offered by the gallant and loyal insur- 
gent, and on the 20th of November, 1684, the 
fort was surrendered. It was evident that the 
royal authorities and those of the company 
viewed Keigwin's conduct in a different light, 
but that tlie latter deemed it their interest to 
condemn his offences against them. During 
his government he displayed some activity, 
having opened negotiations with Rajah Sam- 
bajee, and finally concluded a treaty with liim 
by which he recovered twelve thousand pagodas 
due to the company. This must have pleased 
them well, for in the year 1685 they confirmed 
the treaty. 

In 1686 the chief government of the com- 
pany in India removed from Surat, as had 
been previously determined, to Bombay. Sir 
John Child was appointed President, Captain- 
General, and Admiral of the East India 
Company's forces by land and sea, from Cape 
Comorin to the Gulf of Persia. Sir John 
began exercise of his new authority by put- 
ting down interlopers, with whom he dealt 
in the precise spirit of the letter of his brother, 
Sir Josiah, to Mr. Vaux, already mentioned. 
Mr. Mill vindicates the interlopers, as does 
Smith in his able work, but \iT. Wilson 



Chap. LIL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



41 



pertinently says in reply to the former — " It 
would appear, from the way in which these 
interlopers are spoken of, that they were un- 
connected merchants, seeking only to carry on 
trade with India on the principles of individual 
adventure and free competition. It seems, 
however, that they attempted more than this, 
representing themselves as a new company, 
chartered by the king, whose purpose it was 
to deprive the old of their privileges. They 
endeavoured also to establish themselves per- 
manently at various places in the Deccan, 
and offered to the King of Golconda fifteen 
thousand pagodas for permission to erect a 
fort at Armagan. It was not without cause, 
therefore, that the company regarded them 
wth fear, and endeavoured to suppress their 
commerce." Both the Brothers Child are 
accused, with some appearance of probability, 
of having desired to inflict capital punishment 
upon Englishmen who "interloped;" and of 
a desire to create in the name of the company 
a pure despotism over Englishmen within the 
bounds of sea and land, where their charter 
gave them any authority. Sir Josiah laid it 
down, in his communications with his brother, 
as an essential feature of their future policy, 
that all injuries inflicted by native princes 
upon the company's property or servants 
should be retaliated, and that force of arms 
should be more relied upon in all future dif- 
ferences with the rajahs of territories con- 
tiguous to those of the company. These 
directions of Sir Josiah's influenced Sir John 
largely in the career, which Dr. Cooke Taylor 
denounces with such unqualified severity. 

In 1687, Sir John Child being dead, Mr. 
Harriss was appointed in his place, but the 
new governor was then a prisoner to the 
Mogul at Surat, and was not liberated until 
the ensuing year. 

The Dutch having erected Batavia and 
Colombo into regencies, the English conferred 
the same title upon the settlement of Bombay 
in 1687. 

War broke out betvceen the company and 
the Mogul, arising from the efforts of the 
former, in Bengal, to retaliate for injuries 
alleged to have been inflicted by the emperor's 
officers and subjects. The circumstances 
which led to it will be detailed elsewhere ; 
here, for the reader's convenience, limiting the 
narrative of its events to Bombay, it may 
be observed, that Sir John Child deliberately 
provoked this war, with the intention, if 
it succeeded, of avov^ing himself to have done 
80 as the agent of the court of committees, 
which was in effect his brother Josiah, but if 
he failed, his plan was to declare that he had 
acted on his own responsibility, so that the 
company might disown him, and again solicit. 



on the ground of their repudiation of all his 
proceedings, to be restored to the Mogul's 
favour, and to their former position in matters 
of trade. This policy has been condemned 
by most historians as immoral, but several 
historical advocates of the company have 
defended it, as expedient and prudent, imder 
the peculiar and exceptionable circumstances 
in which Sir John Child was placed ; others 
deny, or throw doubt upon the accuracy of tlie 
representations made of Sir John's motives 
and policy. In consequence of that policy, 
"the Siddee's fleet" (the fleet of the Mogul 
admiral) attacked Bombay, taking possession 
of Mahim Mazagong and Sion, and shutting 
up the governor and garrison in the castle. 
The Siddee was on this occasion provided 
with a choice body of JMogul troops. In 
1689 an order came from Aurungzebe to his 
admiral to withdraw his soldiers, but this 
was not done until the 22nd of June, 1690. 
The Siddee was very anxious to prosecute 
the siege, because he regarded the English 
as at heart the allies of his old enemies, the 
Mahrattas. He also tarried so long, in hopes 
of a certain conquest, having been inspired by 
the Portuguese Jesuits, who at first covertly 
and then openly abetted the invaders. On the 
withdrawal of the enemy, the lands which 
the Jesuits had been permitted to hold were 
confiscated, in punishment for their treason. 

From 1691 to 1693, the plague raged at 
Bombay, so that at the beginning of the last- 
named year, only three of the company's civil 
servants remained alive. 

In 1694 Sir John Gayer arrived as gover- 
nor. The condition in which he found " the 
regency" led him to make a report con- 
cerning it in his despatches home, which re- 
presented it as in a deplorable condition. It 
had not recovered the effect of the desperate 
policy of Sir John Child, and since his death 
it had incurred new disasters. The pro- 
ceedings of the English pirates were most 
daring, especially against the ships of the 
Mogul. Aurungzebe demanded that the 
regency should make good all the losses 
which those pirates inflicted upon his own 
navy, and upon the coasting ships of his sub- 
jects. To meet these demands the treasury 
was exhausted, and the council exposed to 
perpetual apprehension of a new declaration of 
war by the Mogul. Sir John Gayer was unable 
to provide any remedy against the evils 
which prevailed. In 1698 Sir Nicholas 
Waite was appointed resident at Surat by 
the new or English Company, already re- 
ferred to in the narrative of the home history 
of the East India Company, and he imme- 
diately directed his energies against Sir John 
and his council. His endeavours were in- 



42 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LII. 



cessant to persuade the officers of the Mogul 
that the agents of the old company were 
rebels against their own sovereign, and enter- 
tained liostile designs against the emperor. 
In 1700 he succeeded, by his intrigues, in 
procuring the imprisonment of Sir John 
Gayer and Mr. Colt. While these intrigues 
were in progress, and before they had arrived 
at that result, the Euglisli pirates took ad- 
vantage of the collision between the two com- 
panies, and literally made war on their own 
account. In 1G98 they appeared off Cape 
Comorin with two frigates and a number of 
swift sailing ships of smaller dimensions, 
manned by most daring and reckless men, 
Tinder the command of Captain Kidd, who 
was afterwards taken and hanged. Also 
three other piratical frigates cruised, one 
of fifty guns, one of forty, and one of thirty, 
all English built, with English crews, and 
commanded by English ca])tains. These 
robber ships intercepted all vessels, and made 
havoc of the native coasters for a considerable 
time with impunity. These were not the only 
enemies of the suffering settlement. Its old 
enemies, the Mabrattas, kept it in a state of 
constant alarm. The Portuguese, who always 
regarded the cession of Bombay to the English 
as an event injurious to their nation and their 
religion, were not too weak to menace and 
insult the feeble settlement ; the Jesuits, 
whose property had been confiscated, the 
Portuguese resident on tlie island, and even 
the half-castes, were ready to rise in revolt 
upon the appearance of a Portuguese force, 
and correspondence with the Portuguese 
stations, stimulating an attack, was constantly 
carried on. 

The Arabs fitted out several fast sailing 
ships, which entered the bay repeatedly, in- 
flicting variety of mischief ; and these also 
had complicity with certain Arabs residing on 
the island. The English had at first en- 
couraged settlers of all creeds and nations, 
but the harsh government of Sir John Child 
had turned them all into rebels. 

Even these miseries did not complete the 
frightful catalogue. The plague, already re- 
ferred to, had scarcely passed away, when 
pestilence of another kind spread over the 
island. The uncultivated land was in a 
marshy state, and had for some time spread 
malaria to a certain extent ; that extent 
widened, until the whole island became the 
sphere of its morbid influence. 

The disturbance of the Deccan, during the 
long reign of Aurungzebe, kept large armies 
of the emperor's, and numerous bodies of the 
active and desperate Mahrattas, continually 
marching to and fro; and this circtimstance 
left, the English, both at Bombay and Surat, 



in a state of uncertainty, from which they were 
favoured with few intervals of relief, as to 
how far the policy of the contending hosts 
might not involve their factories and the 
Island of Bombay witliin the whirlwind of 
war. 

In the last decade of the seventeenth cen- 
tury, while the British were put to a severe 
trial in Bombay, the new and fearfully fatal 
malady, already referred to, visited the 
place, and the Europeans, civil and military, 
were all but annihilated. At this conjuncture 
the Parsees behaved with prudence and 
courage. The Seedees of Jinjeera were in- 
vading Bombay, and the island, and Fort 
St. George, then called Dungerry Fort, fell 
speedily into their hands. An eminent 
Parsee, a shipwright, named Rustom Dorab, 
contributed much to save the island to the 
British. He placed himself at the head of the 
fishermen, then a numerous caste, organized 
them, attacked and defeated the invaders, 
followed up his successes, and drove the 
enemy back. He, at the same time, sent 
despatches to the head of the British factory 
at Surat, who, hastening to Bombay, took 
upon himself the government. The loyal and 
intrepid Parsee was rewarded by appoint- 
ments of honour and profit. Some account 
having been given of this transaction in the 
chapter on the Parsees, it is unnecessary to 
notice it further here, than to say that during 
the various trials from pestilence and war 
during the last ten years of the century at 
Bombay, the Parsees and the Armenian Chris- 
tians displayed both loyalty and courage. 

Having noted the history of events 
at Surat and Bombay, the chief stations 
of the company during the period now 
treated, the reader's attention is directed to 
the progress of affairs at another of the 
stations which had assumed importance, and 
was destined to occupy a powerful position in 
the future dominions of the company. The 
settlement of Fort George, at Madras, was 
noticed in a previous chapter. In 1G53 it 
was raised to the rank of a presidency. 
In IGfil Sir Edward Winter was appointed 
chief agent ; but in 1665 a Mr. George Fow- 
croft was nominated in his place, when Sir 
Edward Winter exemplified the spirit of dis- 
cord which then prevailed among the com- 
pany's agents, and the rude lawlessness so 
frequently evinced by them, for he seized 
and imprisoned the gentleman nominated to 
succeed him, and retained by force Fort 
George until the 22nd of August, 1668, when 
he delivered it up to commissioners from Eng- 
land, on condition of receiving a full pardon 
for all offences. Mr. Fowcroft then assumed 
the government, which he retained until 



Chap. LII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



43 



1671, when he was succeeded by Sir William 
Langhorn, in which year the sovereign of the 
Carnatic made over to the company his share 
in the customs of Madras, for a fixed rent 
of twelve hundred pagodas per annum. In 
1680 Mr. William Gifford was appointed 
governor of Fort St. George ; and in 1683 he 
was appointed president of both Madras and 
the company's stations in Bengal. In 1686 
Mr. Yule was nominated to the presidency of 
Madras, the Bengal stations being no longer 
under its direction. On the 12th December, 
1687, the population of'Fort George, the city 
of Madras, and the villages within the terri- 
tory of the company " were reported in the 
pubhc letter to be three hundred thousand."* 

In 1686 Madras was formed into a corpora- 
tion, to consist of a mayor and ten aldermen, 
of whom three were to be servants of the 
company, and seven natives; the list of bur- 
gesses was to comprise a hundred and twenty 
names. According to Bruce f the aldermen 
were to be justices of the peace, and to wear 
their scarlet gowns, and the burgesses black 
silk gowns; much ceremony was to be ob- 
served in conducting the affairs of the corpo- 
ration, and great pomp in their processions. 
It was found impossible, however, to consti- 
tute the corporation on the wide and liberal 
base intended. The Mussulman population 
hated the English too fiercely to be entrusted ; 
the Portuguese were deterred by their priests, 
whose hostility was as great as that of " the 
Moors." The Jews left the place rather than 
have anything to do with the corporation ; 
and the Armenians, whom the English 
wished chiefly to employ, declined acting. 
The causes of this appear to have been, a 
hope retained by the Mohammedans of ex- 
pelling the English ; and an indisposition on 
the part of the minor sects and parties to 
commit themselves, as in such case the con- 
querors would probably hold them account- 
able. Some lingering hope also pervaded the 
Portuguese that their nation would one day 
regain its ascendancy, and that in the mean- 
time their proper task was to sow dissatisfac- 
tion in the minds of all other parties against 
that which was dominant. The tyranny of 
the English, and the self-will of the presi- 
dents, no doubt also deterred many from join- 
ing in anything English in its character. 
The Hindoo population, ever anxious in those 
days to play off any other power against the 
Mohammedans, were willing to co-operate. 

The governor offered an alliance to the 
King of Golconda against the Dutch, with 
whom his majesty was at war. This was 
done with the object of ultimately obtaining 

* Hamilton's i/i«</o«/««, vol. ii. p. 414. 
t Vol. ii. 593 659; and iii. Ill, 156. 



from him a firman to coin rupees, and the 
cession of St. Thomas. 

During all this time the Dutch scoured the 
Coromandel coast, sometimes seizing ships 
as buccaneers, at other times at war with the 
natives. The native chiefs along that coast 
were then also constantly at war with one 
another. The Carnatic, in which Madras 
is situated, was especially disturbed. All 
these circumstances circumscribed the English 
trade at Madras, and caused uneasiness in 
Fort St. George. The Mogul made war upon 
the King of Golconda, and the neighbouring 
princes. The company's agents at Madras 
were desirous to resist the pretensions of the 
Mogul, but in the end tamely submitted, and 
petitioned for the same privileges as they had 
enjoyed under the previous ruler, which were 
granted. Sir John Child was so opposed to 
a policy of peace as to censure the agents of 
the Madras presidency, in bitter terms, for 
hesitating to believe that the English must 
ultimately conquer. The events brought 
about by Sir John himself, the utter inade- 
quacy of his means to assert his pretensions, 
proved that the agents at Fort St. George 
knew better than he did the requisites of 
their peculiar situation : this will, however, 
appear more fully, when noticing the contest 
in Bengal and along the western shores of its 
bay, brought about by the violence and am- 
bition of Sir John. In 1691 Governor Yule 
was dismissed, and Mr. Higginson succeeded 
him, who was replaced in 16'J6 by Mr. 
Thomas Pitt, under whose presidency Madras 
witnessed the end of the seventeenth century. 
During his government the revenue of the 
territory amounted to forty thousand pagodas 
per annum. During the whole period, from 
the erection of Fort St. George, gunpowder 
was an important item in the cargoes of the 
vessels " outward bound " from England to 
the presidency. 

During the progress of the events recorded, 
the Madras agents were engaged in making 
various settlements : among these were Ten- 
gayapatam, or Tegnapatam, a email town in 
Travancoro on the sea-coast, thirty -two miles 
west-north-west from Cape Comorin, lati- 
tude 8° 17' north, longitude 77° 22' east ; and 
Vizagapatam, or Vizigapatam, latitude 17° 42' 
north, longitude 83° 21' east. The latter 
place was first founded, and suffered severely 
during the war which Sir John Child, on 
his own authority, carried on with the Em- 
peror Aurungzebe. So confused are the chro- 
nicles of this period, that it is difficult to say 
in what year the place was settled. At Sema- 
chellum, near to it, was a Hindoo temple of 
great reputed sanctity. The town was the 
capital of a district of the same name. There 



44 



UISTOEY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LTI. 



is some fine elevated ground about it, a range 
of hills lying near it. A bay is formed by a 
promontory, fifteen hundred feet high ; the 
vicinity is picturesque. It was the capital of 
a district of the same name, situated in the 
Northern Circars. The travelling distance 
from Madras was four hundred and eighty- 
three miles. Here, and in Tegnapatam, the 
English encouraged the settlement of Arme- 
nians, who acted as agents between them and 
the natives, journeying far inland and finding 
customers for goods, and obtaining commis- 
sions for goods and produce. Soon after the 
peace with Aurungzebe, Tegnapatam was 
settled, and a fort built there, called Fort St. 
David. A little to the north of it the French 
had formed a settlement, called Pondicherrj', 
which gave the English some uneasiness, as 
the French were fiercely hostile.* The 
ground at Fort St. David's was purchased 
from the Mahratta sovereign, Rajah Ram. 
Aurungzebe, to testify his forgiveness of the 
late war made upon him, permitted the Mogul 
authorities of the Carnatic to favour the pur- 
chase and the erection of the fort. " The 
wall and bulwarks were good and strong." 

The proceedings of the company's agents 
in Bengal involved the Madras stations in the 
vortex of war and suffering ; the remaining 
items of the history of those stations are com- 
prised in the events which succeeded each 
other so rapidly on the Bengal coasts and the 
Hoogly River. 

In 1074 the trade of Bengal had grown to 
such importance, that a separate agency was 
established to conduct it ; but for ten years 
after that event the trade suffered much from 
the peculation and oppression of the native 
authorities. In 1685 the determination was 
formed by tiie supreme English authority in 
India to put an end to these oppressions. 
The greatest force which had ever appeared 
in the service of the company was employed 
for this purpose. Ten vessels, armed with 
from twelve to seventy guns, sailed under the 
command of Captain Nicholson, who had also 
six companies of infantry. The first object 
of this officer was directed to be, the seizure 
and fortification of Chittagong, as a place to 
serve for security in case of reverse, and as a 
point cPapptd in any aggressive operations 
against the Mogul, or petty chiefs of Bengal. 
In addition to this force the directors of com- 
mittees made application to the king for " an 
entire company of regular infantry, with their 
officers." So badly was the expedition timed, 
that the ships arrived at their destination in a 

• Chapters will be devoted to the rise of the French 
and other East India Compaaics formed on the continent. 
Separate chapters have been already given to the Portu- 
guese and Dutch, 



desultory way ; and before a sufficient force 
was collected, an untoward circumstance 
brought on a conflict, which, so far as the 
English were concerned, was premature and 
unfortunate. A quarrel occurred about some 
trifling matter between three English sol- 
diers and the peons of Shaista Khan, the 
Mogul's souhadar, or governor, of Bengal. 
This occurred in October, 1G80. The-fleet, 
under Captain Nicholson, attacked the town 
of Hoogly, five hundred houses were burned, 
and much of the property of the citizens de- 
stroyed. This led the governor to sue for 
peace, to which the English assented, but on 
terms so preposterously exacting as to amount 
to a rejection of the overtures. The whole 
transaction and its results are thus briefly 
narrated by Bruce : — " Three English soldiers 
had quarrelled with the peons of the nawab, 
and had been wounded ; a company of sol- 
diers was called out in their defence, and 
finally the whole of the troops. The native 
forces collected to oppose them were routed, 
the town was cannonaded by the ships, and 
the foujdar was compelled to solicit a cessation 
of arms, which was granted on condition of 
his furnishing means of conveying the com- 
pany's goods on board their vessels. Before 
the action took place orders had come from 
Shaista Khan to compromise the difl'erences 
with the English, but their claims had now 
become so considerable, amounting to above 
sixty-six lacs of rupees, or nearly £700,000, 
that it was not likely they expected the nawab's 
acquiescence. They remained at Hoogly 
till the 20th of December, and then, 'con- 
sidering that Hoogly was an open town, re- 
tired to Chutanuttee, or Calcutta, from its 
being a safer situation during any negotiation 
with the nabob or Mogul.' Negotiations were 
accordingly opened and terms agreed upon, 
when, in February, the nawab threw ofl'the 
mask, and a large body of horse appeared^ 
before Hoogly." 

On this occasion the factory was defended 
with undaunted spirit. Repeated assaults 
were made, but the English, headed by the 
agent, Job Charnock, repulsed the nawab's* 
forces, stormed the fort of Tanna, seized the 
Island of Injellee, where they strongly fortified 
themselves, and destroyed Balasore with fire, 
together with forty ships of the emperor's 
fleet. 

On the other hand, the factories of Fatna 
and Cossimbazar were plundered by the 
Mogul soldiery, and the residents carried 
into the interior. In September, 1G87, peace 
was made, and the English were allowed to 
go back to Hoogly on their former privileges. 
The company was, however, dissatisfied with 
* From the Persian, naieab, a deputy (of the Mogul). 



Chap. LIL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



45 



the want of success, and accused Charnock of 
fighting foi- liis own interests rather than 
tiiose of the company. The loss of Cossim- 
bazar particularly irritated the court of com- 
mittees, and they ordered Sir John Child to 
proceed to Bengal and negotiate for its re- 
covery. This command was so well executed 
that everything appeared to he on the point 
of adjustment, when Captain Heath arrived 
from England in a large ship named the 
Defence, and accompanied by a frigate. 
Heath arrived in October, 1688, and went up 
to Calcutta, where he took the company's 
servants on board. On the 29th of Novem- 
ber he arrived at Balasore, and instantly at- 
tacked the place, contrary to the advice of the 
English authorities ; he alleging that he had 
orders from home to make war upon the 
Mogul. Having plundered Balasore, he pro- 
ceeded to Chittagong, but the strenuous per- 
suasives of " the council " induced him to 
allow communications to be made to the 
nabob before commencing hostilities. He 
appears to have been of an impatient and hasty 
temperament, for he did not wait for the 
result of those negotiations, but sailed away to 
Arracan, -where he made fruitless efforts to 
establish a settlement. He then carried the 
agents and property of the company to 
Madras, where he arrived in March, 1689.* 
These events exasperated the emperor, and 
led to the painful incidents at Surat and 
Bombay, already recorded in this chapter. 
Aurungzebe, in fact, sent orders to his depu- 
ties and commanders to drive the English out 
of his dominions. Muchtar Khan, the viceroy 
of Gujerat, ordered the goods of the company 
at Surat to be sold, demanded five lacs of 
rupees as indemnity for the burnings, de- 
struction, and plunder in Bengal, and offered 
a very great sum for the capture of Sir John 
Child, or the production of his dead body. 
The English were finally obliged to sue for 
peace at the close of 1688. The Mogul at 
first seemed indisposed to accept any terms, 
but a due regard to his treasury, exhausted 
by his numerous wars, induced him to listen 
to the overtures of the English. The death 
of Sir John Child removed any animosity 
which the emperor retained, and he became 
willing to treat the English as traders, re- 
sorting to his dominions for commerce with 
his permission ; but as territorial lords he had 
a repugnance to their presence. Indeed, he 
had no objection to any of the European 
peoples as traders, but he was resolved to 
make them all feel that he alone was lord of 
India. In February, 1G89, a new firman was 
granted, after incessant and humble impor- 
tunity on the part of the English, restoring to 

• Bruce, vol. ii. p. 648. 
VOL. II. 



them the imperial favour, and permission to 
trade, on condition that they made good the 
losses inflicted upon his subjects. The 
preamble of this document sets forth, that it 
is given because the English entreated 
pardon for the crimes they had committed, 
and promised amendment. The concluding 
paragraph stipulates for the execution of the 
firman "that Mr. Child, who did the dis- 
grace, be turned out and expelled." The 
emperor did not then know of the illness or 
death of the chief offender, thus specifically 
condemned. Yet, whatever the faults of Sir 
John, and of the agents who seconded his 
policy, the provocations and injuries received 
by the English were very great. Shaista 
was an inexorable extortioner ; and wherever 
the English held a station in Bengal, this man, 
under the pretence of service to the Mogul, 
robbed them by dues, duties, and imports, 
which had a form of legality, and were sub- 
stantially unjust. Stewart depicts this man 
as a villain of the blackest character. Pro- 
fessor Wilson leans to the Mohammedan testi- 
monies, which exalt him as " the lily of 
perfection." Mr. Mill admits, notwithstand- 
ing the severity of his censures upon Sir John 
Child and the company, that the English 
were in no part of India so wronged and op- 
pressed as in Bengal. 

The English now for a season became ex- 
ceedingly deferential to the Mogul. No 
western people are more respectful to power 
than the English, while none so doggedly 
maintain the power they acquire. The direc- 
tors of committees were not turned from their 
purpose of gaining territory. Sir Josiah 
Child was still the chief man among them, 
and he was not daunted by the defeat and 
death of his brother. To gain a footing upon 
the soil of India he believed to be essential to 
a profitable commerce with India, and the 
best means of retrieving the company's pecu- 
niary disasters, and he resolved, per fas et 
nefas, to accomplish this resolve. 

A very important acquisition was made in 
Bengal during the contest waged with the 
nabob. During the conflicts at Hoogly in 
1687, the gallant and skilful Job Charnock 
took possession of Chutanutty, a village about 
twenty-four miles down the river. This posi- 
tion he considered less exposed than Hoogly. 
According to Bruce, when peace with the 
nabob was obtained, that functionary ordered 
Mr. Charnock to go back to Hoogly, and 
remove the agents and property of the com- 
pany thither. According to this author, they 
were allowed to have some footing there, but 
were forbidden to build with brick or stone. 
Mill represents the first occupancy of Chuta- 
nutty to have been after the peace with the 



46 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[CnAr. LII. 



nabob's great master, the Emperor Aurung- 
zebe, and obtained by grant from him in the 
result of the company's " respectful behaviour 
and offers of service." Professor Wilson 
represents the matter as related above, Cap- 
tain Heath having gone to Chutanutty, where 
the English were already settled, and taken 
them thence. The villages of Govindpore and 
Calcutta were adjacent to Chutanutty, and 
formed together one straggling series of con- 
nected villages. Stewart* thus relates their 
occupation :— " The chief agent of the com- 
pany, Job Charnock, had taken possession of 
Chutanutty in the contests with the nawab in 
1GS7, and, upon the restoration of tranquillity, 
returned to it in 1690. The Foujdar of 
Hoogly sought to induce the English to return 
there ; but they obtained leave to build a 
factory at Calcutta, which they preferred, as 
more secure and accessible to shipping. Sub- 
sequently permission was procured from 
Azeem-us-shan, the grandson of Aurungzebe, 
and governor of Bengal, to purchase the rents 
of the three villages named above from 
the zemindars who were then in charge of 
the collections, amounting to eleven hundred 
and ninety-five rupees six annas annually. 
The ground was, no doubt, very thinly 
occupied, and in great part overrun with 
jungle, giving to the company, therefore, 
lands sufficient for the erection of their fac- 
tory and fort." The English prudently and 
by degrees erected their fort, and called it 
Fort William. The Emperor Aurungzebe 
was probably not infonned of these proceed- 
ings, for while he respected the possession of 
forts by Europeans in any territory which he 
conquered, those forts having been the result 
of treaty, or sale, or permission to build, on 
the part of the monarch previously in posses- 
sion of the supreme authority, yet he never 
himself gave permission to any Europeans to 
erect a fortress or fortify a position on any 
land of which he was sovereign. When the 
English first settled there, and for many years 
after, the place was dangerously unhealthy, 
from the stagnant waters and decaying vege- 
table matter in its vicinity, the whole district 
of Nuddea, of which it formed part, being 
both marshy and covered with jungle. 

A combination of petty chiefs to overthrow 
the government of the nabob in 1695 gave 
the occasion sought by the British of insisting 
upon the necessity of an armed occupation of 
their property. The nabob on this occasion 
directed them to defend themselves if at- 
tacked, and they accepted the general permis- 
sion as authority to fortify their position. 

During the process of the insurrection the 
Dutch and English factories at Rajmahal 
* App. xi. p. 544:. 



were plundered by Rehim Khan, an Afi'ghan, 
one of the coalesced chiefs in arms. He also 
took possession of Hoogly and Moorshedabad, 
then also a very important place of commerce. 
He next attacked Chutanutty, and Tanna, a 
place ten miles west of Calcutta. He was 
repulsed at the former in a severe conflict. 
Tanna was covered by the guns of an Eng- 
lish frigate, at the request of the Foujdar of 
Hoogly, and there also the assailants met 
with repulse. When, in 1698, peace was 
established by the enforcement of the autho- 
rity of Aurungzebe, the defences erected by 
the Europeans were allowed to remain, as they 
had all been used in the emperor's interest. 
The English in that year obtained consider- 
able property by purchase, and became lords 
paramount of a district, to the whole of which 
they gave the name of the village of Calcutta, 
which, according to Stewart, is properly 
Cali-cotta, a temple dedicated to Cally, the 
Hindoo goddess of Time. 

In 1689 the English and Dutch (in Europe) 
united in hostilities against the French. The 
naval conflicts which followed are memorable 
in history, and continued until the peace of 
Ryswick, in 1697. The French were then 
far behind the English, as the latter were far 
behind the Dutch as political economists. In 
the philosophy of commerce tlie French were 
especially deficient, although several eminent 
Frenchmen had thrown light by their ojiinions 
upon commercial science. The French in 
India proceeded in a manner so unwise, that 
their undertakings were generally misfortunes. 
In Europe their privateers and men-of-war 
so frequently captured English and Dutch 
East Indiamen, that the prices of French im- 
portations from India were reduced in the 
markets of France. During the war more 
than four thousand English merchantmen, 
many of them East Indiamen, were captured 
by the royal navy of Louis XIV. and the 
French privateers. In India and the Indian 
Ocean French privateers and royal cruisers 
inflicted serious injuries upon both Dutch and 
English, but more especially upon the latter. 
The war with France was one of the great 
obstructions to the company during the whole 
of the time it lasted. In another chapter the 
proceedings of the French during this century 
in their Eastern enterpiises will be noticed, 
especially where English interests were af- 
fected. 

Thus closed the seventeenth century upon 
the struggles for European dominion, and the 
competitions for a European commerce with 
the East. The characters of the various com- 
panies and nationalities engaged afford but 
little scope for comparison. The English, on 
the whole, do not appear more grasping or 



Chap. LII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



if 



more self-willed than their competitors. Per- 
haps the Danes, in the comparatively small 
amount of business transacted by them, con- 
ducted themselves the best. They were re- 
markable for their concern for the religious 
instruction of their servants and mariners, 
and of the natives over whom they acquired 
an influence, although at first they seemed to 
be only intent upon gain. The Dutch were 
ardent Protestants as well as traders, and 
were almost as much opposed to the Portu- 
guese, as upholders of the Church of Rome, as 
they were politically anxious to humble the 
Spanish and Portuguese nations, and wrest 
from them their trade and territory. Towards 
the English they were animated by a fore- 
boding that the British nation was destined 
to naval pre-eminence, and they were unwil- 
ling to bow to the rising greatness of a navy, 
the ships of which they were so often 
enabled to encounter with success. The Dutch, 
whatever the grasping cupidity and stern 
hardness of their merchants and mariners as 
Buch, as a nation possessed many eminently 
pious and learned men, and there were great 
numbers of the people of Holland sincerely 
anxious to spread " peace on earth, and good- 
will to men," and more especially to pro- 
mote the proclamation of the gospel among 
the heathen. When the possessions of the 
Dutch East India Company assumed a per- 
manent character, schools were established, 
churches erected, the Bible translated into 
the languages of the natives, and missionaries 
sent forth. The Portuguese were anxious to 
subdue by the burning fagot and the rusty 
pike. All peoples were, they believed, bound 
to render allegiance to the Roman pontiff, and 
they were his instruments in effecting the 
conquest of the East. The English paid little 
attention to religion. The provisions made in 
the charters as to chaplains and religious in- 
struction were grossly neglected, nor could 
the company be induced to lay out money for 
such purposes. This may be accounted for 
partly by the objection which great numbers 
in England felt to the propagation of religion 
by state authority, public secular companies, 
or by any party or denomination bearing the 
sword. Among the company's own agents 
there were useful and able servants who held 
such views. 

The relation of the English East India 
Company to India at the end of the century 
was relatively more powerful than that of any 
of its competitors. The Dutch were triumphant 
in the Archipelago, but the footing they had 
gained in India was comparatively feeble. 
Their stations were small, and, although well 
managed, not points likely to serve for pur- 
poses of aggression upon either the native 



princes or the Europeans. It was chiefly 
at sea that they were strong so far as India 
was concerned. 

The ports of chief importance occupied by 
the European nations in India at the end of 
the seventeenth century should be attentively 
marked by the reader, as their relative conse- 
quence formed an essential element in the 
changes which occurred in the century which 
succeeded. 

The Portuguese still retained Goa, often as 
it had been endangered from sieges by native 
armies, and blockades by the Dutch. They 
also retained on the coasts of Western India 
Damaun, Choul, Bassein, and Diu, in Gujerat. 
Their power, however, was gone for over. No 
one was so weak at the close of the seven- 
teenth century as to fear the Portuguese. 
On the coasts of China they still held the 
Islands of Macao, Timor, and Solor. 

The Dutch held many places which they 
had wrested from the Portuguese. On the 
coast of Coromandel they had Negapatam; 
in Bengal they had factories at Hoogly, Cos- 
simbazar, and Patna ; on the coast of Gujerat 
they had stations at Surat, the agents at which 
place superintended other agents at Agra and 
Ahmedabad. On the Slalabar coast they 
occupied posts at Cochin, Quilon, Cranganore, 
and Cannanore. On this coast the Dutch held 
territory wrested from the Portuguese, and 
maintained military forces. Off the Madras 
coast the Island of Ceylon belonged to the 
Dutch, although the French succeeded in 
taking from them Trincomalee. The Hol- 
landers were strongest in the Eastern Archi- 
pelago. Java was the location of Batavia, 
the most beautiful city of the Eastern world. 
At Malacca, Bantam, Amboyna, Banda, Ter- 
nate, Siam, Tonquin, and Macassar, they held 
flourishing positions, and even in Japan they 
alone succeeded. The Portuguese first, and 
afterwards the English, had been forced out 
of all the regions east of the Malacca Straits 
by the ships and troops of Holland. 

The Danes held Tranquebar, the Dutch 
would have deprived them of it but for the 
assistance rendered by the linglish. The 
French held Pondicherry as their only im- 
portant position. The English held many 
positions, the chief being Bombay, Madras, 
Surat, and Calcutta, then rising to importance. 
On the shores of Western India the British 
stations of importance were Bombay, Surat, 
the neighbouring harbour of Swally, and 
Baroch. The forts of Carwar, Tellicherry, 
and Ajengo (established within a few years 
of the end of the century), were situated on 
the Malabar coast, as was also the factory of 
Calicut. On the Coromandel coast there 
were Madras, Fort St. David, Cuddalore, 



48 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LIII. 



Porto Novo, Pettipolee, Masulipatam, Mada- 
pallara, Vizagapatam, and Orissa. Beyond 
these, eastward and northward, were Calcutta, 
Hoogly, Dacca, and Patna. There were 
various smaller positions dependant upon the 
larger ones which afterwards became of some 
importance, but it is remarkable that the 
positions which the English found most valu- 
able during their history in India to the 
present day were in their possession at the close 
of the seventeenth century. West of India 
there was the factory at Gombroon, in the do- 
minions of the Shah of Persia ; there were 
trading portsat Ispahan and Shiraz. In the 
neighbourhood of the Malacca Straits, and in 
the Eastern Archipelago, the English still held 
a few places of some importance. The Island 
of Sumatra received their chief settlements. 
Some others there were, such as Tonquin, not 
yet given up, but they were sources of weak- 
ness rather than of strength ; and all would 
have been at the mercy of the Dutch, had 
not European events, either by war or alli- 
ance, checked their encroachments. 

Miss Martineau has graphically sketched 
the general aspect of aflfairs as bearing upon 
the future relations of the English to con- 
tinental India in the following terms : — " Thus 
were the British in India transformed, in the 
course of one century, from a handful of 
' adventurers,' landing a cargo of goods, in a 
tentative way, at the mouth of the Tapty, and 
glad to sell their commodities and buy others 
on the residents' own terms, to a body of 



colonists, much considered for their extensive 
transactions, and the powers, legislative, exe- 
cutive, and military, which they wielded. 
Whence these powers were derived, who 
these English were, and why they came, 
might be more than Aurungzebe himself 
could distinctly explain ; and to this day the 
relation of our Indian empire to the British 
seems to be a puzzle to the inhabitants, b'eing 
really anomalous in English eyes as well. 
But there we were, acting from three centres 
of authority and power, and exercising what- 
ever influence commerce put into our hands. 
It was not for want of enterprise that the 
British had as yet no territorial power. Sir 
Josiah Child believed the possession of more 
or less territory to be necessary to the security 
of our commerce; and in 1686 an attempt 
was made to obtain a footing in Bengal by 
force of arms. It not only failed, but would 
have resulted in the expulsion of every Eng- 
lishman from the Mogul's dominions, but for 
the importance of our commerce to Aurung- 
zebe's treasury. Our reputation suffered by 
this unsuccessful prank of ambition and cupi- 
dity ; but not the less did the last of the 
great Moguls go to his grave, knowing that 
he left the English established in his domi- 
nions beyond the possibility of dislodgment. 
They were neither subjects nor rulers in 
India ; but such a man as Aurungzebe must 
have iDcen well aware that if they were really 
irremoveable they must sooner or later be- 
come the one or the other." 



CHAPTER LIII. 

HEVIEW OF THE HISTORY OF BRITISH CONNECTION "WITH INDIA TO THE CLOSE OF THE 

SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 



In reviewing the events over which this his- 
tory has passed, there are many things wliich 
strike the mind with great force. It will 
especially occur to the reader that the rise 
and progress of English power in India so 
far, bore no resemblance to the development 
of any other power known to history. At the 
beginning of the eighteenth century, the En- 
glish, notwithstanding recent defeat and hu- 
miliation by the Great Mogul, held various 
important territorial acquisitions upon the 
continent of India ; and although the govern- 
ment at home had oppressed and robbed the 
company, alternately persecuting and petting 
it, now giving it exclusive privileges and anon 
fostering competitors, it not only survived 
every vicissitude, but early in the eighteenth 



century assumed an attitude of strength, in- 
fluence, and importance at home, which set 
at defiance all rivalry, and had begun to re- 
gard the revenues of its Eastern territories as 
more important than the prospects of its 
Eastern commerce. Future empire was already 
shadowed forth. " The narrative of an em- 
pire's rise and progress usually tells how the 
brook became a river, and the river became 
a sea ; but the history of British India is 
peculiar and incongruous. It began without 
a strip of territory. A warehouse was ex- 
panded into a province; a province into an 
empire."* That great result had not arrived 
at the period to which our history is now 
* The English in Western India, being the early His- 
tory of the Factory at Sural. By PliUip Anderson. 



Ohap. LIIL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



49 



brought, the empire had not been formed, but 
the warehouse had in more than one direction 
expanded into a province. 

It is difficult to gather material for an 
original and accurate record of the events 
of English enterprise in Asia, from its first 
efforts to the settled and regular character 
it assumed iu the eighteenth century. The 
records of government furnish often but a 
meagre account, and what is furnished is 
in a form so dry, desultory, irregular, and 
to a great extent so irrelevant to the actual 
facts with which they had some official con- 
nection, that it is a tedious and difficult pro- 
gress to analyze, separate, generalize, and 
reduce their substance to historical form. 
Bruce's work, already quoted, is the chief light 
of this period. With indefatigable industry 
he arranged the information which he thought 
proper to select from this source. Others, 
Buch as Orme, M'Pherson, Milburn, Mill, 
Walter Hamilton, Grant Duff, Kaye, Taylor, 
and Wilson, have followed in the footsteps of 
Bruce, but the labours of all have in this de- 
partment been more or less partial. The 
personal narratives of Roe, Fryer, Fitch, 
Terry, Ovington, Alexander Hamilton, &c., 
furnish observations and inferences of much 
value ; and the relations of their personal ad- 
ventures throw an animation over the story, 
which the crude detail of government papers 
cannot supply. With all the aids thus fur- 
nished, there are many gaps which have not 
hitherto been filled up. The more the search 
is prosecuted, the more richly such labour is 
repaid, by enabling the historian to give a 
consecutive and clear relation of events which 
are obscure in themselves, or their origin, or 
consequences. However scant the sources of 
indisputable evidence, the meanness and com- 
mercial ignorance of the first English settlers 
are obvious to the student; and yet that they 
possessed a force of character adapted to 
ensure success is equally apparent. The Rev. 
Philip Anderson, the latest and most pains- 
taking chronicler of the period of whicli this 
chapter treats, describes its records as "annals 
of mediocrity and weakness, sometimes of 
drivelling baseness. The instruments which 
Providence employed to create a British power 
in India were often of the basest metal. But 
such answer the same purposes as the finest 
in the hands of Infinite Wisdom. And though 
we may feel disappointed, we ought not to 
be surprised, when we see little to admire in 
the pioneers of our Eastern empire, and find 
that some were amongst the meanest of man- 
kind. Yet, bad as were such agents, it will, 
I think, appear in this work that British power 
has been established by the moral force of 
British character. A writer of Anglo-Indian 



History must indeed soil his paper with nar- 
ratives, from which virtue and honesty turn 
with disgust. But here is a distinction. Truth 
and sincerity have been, in the main, charac- 
teristics of the British, and the opposite vices 
exceptions. With the oriental races amongst 
whom they have been located, fraud, chicanery 
and intrigue have been the usual engines of 
state policy ; truth and sincerity have been 
rare as flowers in a sandy soil. When British 
merchants or statesmen have formed compacts, 
given pledges, or made promises, they have 
usually — though not in all instances — observed 
their compacts, redeemed their pledges, and 
fulfilled their promises, and the natives have 
generally acknowledged this : so that, although 
their confidence has been sometimes misplaced, 
and has received a few severe shocks, they 
have continued to rely upon the good faith 
of Englishmen. On the other hand, they 
have rarely placed dependance on one another, 
and although some have been distinguished 
for their virtues in private life, their rule has 
ever been to regard each other with suspicion 
and distrust." 

Is it not in the characters, moral or intel- 
lectual, of the leading meu in the promotion 
of English success, that we best discern the 
elements of its accomplishment, but in the 
general character of the English serving in 
India, or directing at home. The names of 
Drake, Hawkins, Roe, and of others which 
have occurred in previous chapters, stand out 
with peculiar prominence; but it was the 
general character of the English factors, ser- 
vants, and soldiers, which contributed to the 
resources and triumphs of which the story 
of these chapters has been made up. The 
author of this history would adopt the language 
of the writer last quoted, when he says — 
" My aim is to furnish sketches of men and 
manners without devoting an exclusive atten- 
tion to the great and illustrious. In most 
historical pictures, kings, statesmen and war- 
riors stand conspicuous, whilst the multitude 
are grouped together, and their separate fea- 
tures are scarcely perceptible. But in modern 
ages a spirit of research has led students to 
inquire into the habits and characters of the 
many, and their minute discoveries have sup- 
plied defects in history, throwing as they 
do, light not only upon heroes, but on man. 
This work is not indeed antiquarian, but 
yet its design is to exhume from the graves 
in which they have been buried, the motives 
and acts of individuals. As students of anti- 
quity, by finding a bone here, a piece of tesse- 
lated pavement there, in another place some 
pottery or rust-eaten weapons, have caught 
glimpses of the Roman's domestic life and 
social condition ; so now it is hoped, that by 



60 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Ohap. LIII. 



collecting heterogeneous facts from new and 
old books, and from mouldy records, wc shall 
be able to form a museum, in which will be 
exhibited the social and moral condition, not 
only of the architects by whom the founda- 
tions were laid, and the building superin- 
tended ; but also of those who were work- 
people in the construction of our Anglo-Indian 
Empire. And when expatiating ' free o'er 
all this scene of man,' it will be an object to 
show, that although ' a mighty maze,' it is 
' not without a plan.' " 

Whatever the faults of the English in India 
up to the date of their interests there to 
which we have now arrived they bear 
comparison with their competitors in coixrage, 
constancy, morality, and benevolence. No 
people ever pursued trade with more eager- 
ness for the acquisition of wealth, per fas 
et nefas, than the Portuguese. Their blood- 
thirstiness was fierce and insatiable, not 
only against the natives, but against Euro- 
peans. They probably were guilty of no act 
more sanguinary than the massacre at Am- 
boyna by the Dutch ; but their whole career 
was merciless, and stained with gore. The 
English suffered much from this unpitying 
and vindictive spirit of the Portuguese, but 
never visited that nation with the heavy retri- 
bution which it deserved, although the oppor- 
tunity was frequently afforded. No one can 
read the pages of Hakluyt's Voyages, Mil- 
burn's Oriental Commerce, Orme's Historical 
Fragments of the Mogul Empire, the Voyage 
de Frangois Pyrard de Laval, &c., without 
perceiving the reluctance of the English to 
shed blood, except in battle, or in acts of 
piracy, then regarded too generally as fair 
and open war. The ferocity of the Portnguese, 
even against unarmed Englishmenand captives, 
is equally plain on the page of history. 
Philip Anderson gives a melancholy account 
of the incarceration, and consequent mortality, 
at Goa, of English sailors kidnapped by the 
Portuguese off Surat. He thus sums up 
the results of his study of the travels of 
Pyrard and others, early in the seventeenth 
century, as to the treatment received by En- 
glishmen who happened to fall into the power 
of the Portuguese : — •" Six months before he 
left Goa, Pyrard met another English prisoner, 
who seemed a person of some distinction, and 
had been surprised in the same way as the 
others, when he was taking soundings. He 
accused the Portuguese of savage ferocity, de- 
claring that they had slaughtered his cousin 
in cold blood, and placed his head upon a 
pike as a trophy. His own life had been in 
great danger, for his captors, knowing that 
he had been surveying the coast, regarded 
him with peculiar suspicion. After a long 



imprisonment he was suffered to depart. Four 
months after this gentlemen had been seized, 
the unlucky ship to which he belonged was 
wrecked on the coast. The crew, twenty- 
four in number, having contrived to reach the 
shore near Surat with their money and other 
property, were well treated by the native 
authorities. They then divided themselves 
into two parties ; the more adventurous spirits 
making an attempt to return home by way of 
Tartary, the others remaining at Surat. The 
former were enabled by passports, which they 
procured at the Mogul's court, to pass through 
his dominions, but were not permitted to enter 
the country of the Tartars, and after a fruit- 
less journey they returned to Surat. All the 
survivors repaired to Goa, and sailed from 
thence to England. Every Englishman on 
whom the Portuguese could lay their hands 
was treated by them as a prisoner, and when 
Laval was about to leave India, several En- 
glishmen were actually brought on board in 
irons. Yet even when in this sad plight they 
appeared to him a proud set, who took every 
opportunity of showing their contempt for 
Frenchmen. Such was Portuguese hospi- 
tality ! Shipwrecked mariners, instead of 
receiving from them generous fare and cloth- 
ing, or at least protection and sympathy, were 
condemned to eat the bread and water of 
affliction in a dungeon, and if they survived 
such treatment, were sent to their own coun- 
try with ignominy. Exclusiveness and illi- 
berality are the sure forerunners of degeneracy, 
and the English are avenged. Being now the 
dominant party, they can return good for evil 
by blessing the descendants of these perse- 
cutors with religious toleration and political 
freedom." 

When the Portuguese were unable openly 
to destroy the English, they did not scruple 
to resort to assassination. Thus, when Cap- 
tain Best sent one Starkey, a factor of Surat, 
with intelligence to England of his success in 
founding the factory there, he was poisoned 
on the journey by two friars. Another of the 
factors, Canning, when sent with a king's 
letter to Agra, was attacked and wounded by 
robbers, and some of his escort killed ; and 
this outrage was, upon such evidence as satis- 
fied those most concerned, believed to have 
been instigated by the Portuguese. Canning, 
who was in constant dread of being poisoned 
by the Jesuits, met his death by the means 
he had foreseen. So intense was the cruelty 
of the Portuguese, that they in some instances 
plotted the destruction of the English, when 
the latter had actually rendered services de- 
manding gratitude, and when peace existed 
in Europe between the Spanish and English 
nations. Mr. Anderson, relying upon the 



Chap. LIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



Si 



accounts of Orme and M'Pherson, and more 
especially upon Colquhoun, describes, in the 
following manner, the ungrateful and per- 
fidious character of the Portuguese at Surat, 
when, in 1G15, Captain Downton arrived there 
with ft small English squadron : — " This sea- 
son Captain Nicholas Downton sustained the 
reputation of which Captain Best had laid 
the foundation. He was the chief commander, 
or, as such officers were then styled, ' the 
General' of four English ships. At Surat he 
found three English factors, Aldworth, Bid- 
dulph, and Richard Steele, the last of whom 
had lately come from Aleppo. His first step 
was, to demand redress for extortion in the 
customs ; his second was to require, like a 
true Englishman, that a market for beef 
should be established at Swally. The first 
application was met bj' evasion ; the second 
by a declaration that beef could not be had, 
as the Banyas, by whom the preservation of 
animal life was regarded in the light of a reli- 
gious duty, had ])aid a large sum to prevent 
bullocks from being slaughtered. The em- 
peror and petty princes of the Deccan were 
united in an attempt to drive the Portuguese 
out of India, and no sooner had Downton 
arrived, than the governor of Surat invited 
his co-operation. But as Portugal and her 
possessions were then subject to the Spanish 
crown, and there was peace between Spain 
and England, the English captain declined 
this invitation, which so annoyed the governor, 
that he in turn refused him all assistance, and 
on a frivolous pretext threw the English fac- 
tors into prison. Downton's forbearance was 
but ill-requited by the Portuguese ; for they 
falsely represented to the governor that he 
had consented to join them in an attack upon 
Surat. Their own acts, however, soon re- 
futed this calumny. With six galleons of 
from four to eight hundred tons burden, three 
other vessels of considerable size, and sixty 
smaller ones, mounting in all a hundred and 
thirty- four pieces of ordnance, the viceroy of 
Goa attacked the four English ships, which 
could only mount eighty guns of inferior 
calibre. To the astonishment of the natives, 
the assailants were defeated as signally as in 
the previous year, so that their glory and 
renown were for ever transferred to their 
conquerors." 

That the Portuguese were capable of such 
atrocity towards the English, may be judged 
by the testimony to their cowardice, avarice, 
and absence of all principle among themselves, 
borne by one who could have had no motive 
to scandalize them. Abbe Raynal lived long 
in India, and was well acquainted with the 
character of the natives, and of the European 
settlers. He held intimate relations with the 



English, forming among them friendships 
which he cherished with tenacity. His pro- 
fession as a Roman Catholic priest gave him 
opportunity of knowing at least equally well 
the Portuguese. But the Abbe was not such 
a bigot as to sacrifice truth in his estimate 
of either English or Portuguese, and thus he 
depicts the latter : — " No Portuguese pursued 
any other object than the advancement of his 
own interest ; there was no zeal, no union for 
the common good. Their possessions in 
India were divided into three governments, 
which gave no assistance to each other, and 
even clashed in their projects and interests. 
Neither discipline, subordination, nor the love 
of glory, animated either the soldiers or the 
officers. Men-of-war no longer ventured out 
of the ports ; or whenever they appeared, 
were badly equipped. Manners became more 
and more depraved. Not one of their com- 
manders had power enough to restrain the 
torrent of vice; and the majority of these 
commanders were themselves corrupted. The 
Portuguese at length lost all their former 
greatness, when a free and enlightened nation, 
actuated with a proper spirit of toleration, 
appeared in India, and contended with them 
for the empire of that country." 

That a people thus debased among them- 
selves were capable of any injustice, ingrati- 
tude or cruelty to the men of other nations 
may be easily believed. That the Portuguese 
failed utterly to establish a moral influence 
in the East, that could compare with that 
which the English were enabled to set up, is 
admitted by modern Roman Catholic writers 
of eminence in review of the entire oriental 
history of Portugal, and the entire colonial 
history of Spain, with which Portugal was so 
intimately connected in so important a portion 
of her oriental career. M. Montalembert, the 
distinguished French nobleman and senator, 
whose zeal for Roman Catholicism is so ardent, 
thus notices the oriental and colonial career 
of the two nations of the Iberian Peninsula, 
seen from a religious, moral, and utilitarian 
point of view: — "It is not the general, 
but the colonial policy of England which 
is now in qxiestion, and it is precisely in this 
latter that the genius of the British people 
shines with all its lustre ; not, certainly, that 
it has been at all times and in all places irre- 
proachable, but it has ever and everywhere 
equalled, if it have not surpassed, in wisdom, 
justice, and humanity all the other European 
races which have undertaken similar enter- 
prises. It must be confessed that the history 
of the relations of Christian Europe with the 
rest of the world since the Crusades is not 
attractive. Unfortunately, neither the virtues 
nor the truths of Christianity have ruled the 



52 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Ohap. LIII. 



successive conquests won in Asia and America 
by the powerful nations of the West. After 
that first impetuous advance, so noble and 
so pious, of the fifteenth century, which fa- 
thered the great, the saintly Columbus, and 
all the champions of the maritime and colo- 
nial history of Portugal, worthy of as high a 
place in the too ungrateful memory of men 
as the heroes of ancient Greece, we see all the 
vices of modern civilization usurp the place 
of the spirit of faith and of self-denial, here 
exterminating the savage races, and elsewhere 
succumbing to the enervating influence of the 
corrupting civilization of the East, instead of 
regenerating it or taking its place. It is 
impossible not to recognise that England, 
more particularly since the period when she 
gloriously ransomed her participation in the 
kidnapping of the negroes and colonial sla- 
very, may pride herself on having escaped 
from the greater part of those lamentable de- 
viations from the path of rectitude. To the 
historian who requires an account from her 
of the result of her maritime and colonial 
enterprises for the last two centuries, she has 
a right to reply, ' Siquceris monumentum, 
circumspice.' Can history exhibit many spec- 
tacles of a grander or more extraordinary 
nature, or more calculated to honour modern 
civilization, than that afforded us by a com- 
pany of English merchants which has endured 
through two centuries and a half, and which 
governed but yesterday, at a distance of two 
thousand leagues from the mother country, 
nearly two hundred million of men by means of 
eight hundred civil servants, and of an army 
numbering from fifteen thousand to twenty 
thousand men ? But England has done better 
still; she has not only founded colonies, but 
called nations into being. She has created 
the United States ; she has erected them into 
one of the greatest powers of the present and 
of the future, by endowing them with those 
provincial and individual liberties which ena- 
bled them to victoriously emancipate them- 
selves from the light yoke of the mother 
country.' ' Our free institutions' (such is the 
tenour of the message for the year 1852 of 
the President of that great Republic) ' are 
not the fruit of the revolution ; they had been 
previously in existence ; they had their roots 
in the free charters under the provisions of 
which the English colonies had grown up.' 
But what are we to think if those orthodox 
nations, with the advantages of such apos- 
tles and of such teaching, have depopulated 
half the globe? And what society did 
Spanish conquest substitute for the races which 
had been exterminated instead of having been 
civilized ? Must we not turn away our eyes 
in sadness at seeing how far the first elements 



of order, energy, discipline, and legality are 
wanting everywhere, except, perhaps, in Chili, 
to Spanish enterprise, so destitute is it of the 
strong virtues of the ancient Castilian society, 
without having been able to acquire any of 
the qualities which characterize modern pro- 
gress ? In Hindostan itself what remains of 
Portuguese conquest ? What is there to show 
for the numberless conversions achieved by 
St. Francis Xavier ? What remains of the 
vast organization of that Church which was 
placed under the protection of the Crown of 
Portugal ? Go, ask that question at Goa ? 
fathom there the depths of the moral and 
material decrepitude into which has fallen a 
rule immortalized by Albuquerque, by John 
de Castro, and by so many others worthy to 
be reckoned among the most valiant Chris- 
tians who have ever existed. You will there 
see to what the mortal influence of absolute 
power can bring Catholic colonies as well as 
their mother countries." 

It is true, that under the maladministration 
of some of the governors of Surat and Bom- 
bay, and especially under that of Sir John 
Child, corruption of manners, oppression, 
tyranny and fraud, were rampant among the 
officials, but notwithstanding that such evils 
reached to a great head, the general sense of 
the English community rebelled against mis- 
government, and rose superior to it, whereas 
the corruption and despicable baseness of the 
Portuguese received no check, and was all 
but universal among them until their power 
and influence sunk to what it is now. 

It is painful, however, to find that the most 
laborious student of this period, a devoted 
clergyman of Bombay, bears this unfavour- 
able testimony of his countrymen in Western 
India in the earlier part of the seventeenth 
century : — " As the number of adventurers 
increased, the reputation of the English was 
not improved. Too many committed deeds 
of violence and dishonesty. We can show 
that even the commanders of vessels belong- 
ing to the company did not hesitate to perpe- 
trate robberies on the high seas or on shore 
when they stood in no fear of retaliation. 
During a visit which some English ships paid 
to Dabhol the officers suddenly started up 
from a conference with the native chiefs, and 
attacked the town, having first secured some 
large guns in such a manner that they could 
not be turned against them. Their attempt 
failed, but after retreating to their ships they 
succeeded in making prizes of two native 
boats. Delia Valle declares that it was cus- 
tomary for the English to commit such out- 
rages. And although this last account may 
be suspected as dictated by the prejudices of 
an Italian, we can see no reason to question 



Chap. LIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



63 



Sir Thomas Herbert's veracity. Sailing along 
the coast witli several vessels under the com- 
mand of an English admiral, he descried, 
when off Mangalore, a heavily laden craft 
after which a Malabar pirate was skulking. 
The native merchant in his fright sought 
refuge with the admiral, but, writes our 
author with confessed grief, his condition was 
little better than it would have been, if he 
had fallen into the pirate's hands. After a 
short consultation, his ship was adjudged a 
prize by the English officers. ' For my part,' 
proceeds Herbert, ' I could not reach the 
offence : but this I could, that she had a 
cargo of cotton, opium, onions, and probably 
somewhat under the cotton of most value, 
which was her crime it seems. But how the 
prize was distributed concerns not me to 
inquire ; I was a passenger, but no merchant, 
nor informer.' The whole account would be 
incredible if not given on such good autho- 
rity ; but as it is, we must regard it as a blot 
upon the English character, and some justifi- 
cation of the Mogul officers when they after- 
wards brought charges of piracy against the 
company's servants. Sixty of the native 
seamen, concluding from the churlish conduct 
of the English that mischief was intended, 
and that they would be sold as slaves to the 
people of Java, trusted rather to the mercy 
of the waves than of such Englishmen, and 
threw themselves into the sea, ' which seemed 
sport to some there,' writes Herbert, 'but not 
so to me, who had compassion !' Some were 
picked up by canoes from the shore, and 
some by English boats ; but the latter were 
so enraged with the treatment they had re- 
ceived, that they again endeavoured to drown 
themselves. A terrible storm which followed 
was regarded by the narrator as a token of 
God's severe displeasure." 

After all, these were exceptional cases, 
such acts were perpetrated by pirates. The 
company, in every possible way, discoun- 
tenanced the like ; and at that juncture cer- 
tainly commended justice and benevolence on 
the part of their officials, naval and mer- 
cantile.* 

The following anecdote shows strikingly 
that while the English were " heady " and 
hot, they were not unrelenting, even w'hon 
labouring under the impression that a great 
wrong was inflicted upon them, and when its 
perpetrator was in their power. " When one 
of Van den Broeck's seamen had killed an 
English gunner, the enraged countrymen of 
the latter insisted upon having the Dutchman 
executed at once. In vain did Broeck beg 
that the forms of justice might bo employed. 
Nothing would do but immediate execution, 
* Letters from the directors to the presidency, 

VOL. II. 



until the crafty Dutchman devised a plan 
which showed that he relied upon English 
generosity. He declared that the sailor had 
been condemned to be drovsjued. No sooner 
had the factors heard this, than their thirst for 
blood was allayed. Believing that there was 
really an intention of putting the man to 
death, they relented, interceded for his life, 
and he was pardoned."* 

The English were much inferior to the 
Dutch in economy, management, and know- 
ledge of commercial philosophy ; they had 
also less religious zeal ; their morality was 
not better, and scarcely so good ; but in one 
respect they were much superior to the Hol- 
landers — they abhorred unnecessary bloodshed. 
It is difficult to reconcile the many good 
qualities of the Dutch with their avarice, their 
passion for making personal slaves of the 
natives, and readiness to shed blood. In all 
these respects the English favotirably con- 
trasted with them, but more especially in the 
last two, and most especially in the last of 
these, particulars. The passion for gain 
evinced by some Englishmen was as cen- 
surable as that which marked the Hollanders, 
but, notwithstanding, the less sanguinary 
character of the latter as compared with the 
Portuguese, the English presented a strong 
contrast to their Batavian antagonists, where 
the sanctity of human life was concerned. 

The Dutch, like other members of the 
Germanic family of nations, were much less 
refined in manners and feelings than those 
ethnological divisions of the human family 
comprising the Celts and Latins. The Hol- 
landers and English were both deficient in 
gentler manners and sympathy, but the Dutch 
were much the ruder, justifying the satire of 
the poet Dryden — 

" With an ill grace the Dutch their mischiefs do : 
They've hoth ill nature, and ill manners too. 
"Well may they boast themselves an ancient nation. 
For they were bread ere manners were in fashion. 
And their new Commonwealth hath set them free. 
Only from honour and civility." 

It must be admitted that Dryden bore an 
impassioned prejudice against the Dutch, and 
unscrupulously expressed himself generally 
where he had a prejudice ; still, the stinging 
satire of those lines has a keen justice, which 
no one acquainted with the character of the 
Dutch in the seventeenth century can fail to 
see. 

Taking the evidences collected in Kay's 
Administration of the East India Company, 
the first administrators of the company's fac- 
tories on continental India were men of in- 
telligence, integrity, and virtue. Indeed, 
whatever may have been the general supc- 
t Van den Broeck's Voyages, 



54 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LIII, 



riority of the Dutch as men of business, the 
early settlers at Surat were their equals, and, 
as men of truth and honour, were superior to 
the Indian representatives of the states-ge- 
neral. Thomas Kerridge, the first president 
of the factory at Surat, was probably one of 
the most upright and intelligent men ever 
sent out by the company, and some who 
followed him immediately were but little his 
inferiors. The bravery of the English seems 
to have had more to do with their success 
than any other quality.* The Rev. Mr. An- 
derson, writing of the increasing number of 
the English -expeditions | as the seventeenth 
century advanced, observes : — "The object of 
all was purely commercial, but it was an 
ominous fact that Englishmen only obtained 
respect and inHuence among the natives by 
hard fighting."| 

While the English were merciful compared 
with the Portuguese, and oven with the 
Dutch, it is to be regretted that several of the 
national vices were very prominent in Anglo- 
Indian society, and none more bo than drun- 
kenness. Almost all the early records, where 
such references would be at all in place, bear 
witness to this, as does almost every writer 
who notices the moral and social condition of 
the English at " the factories." Sir Thomas 
Roe,§ Delia Valle,|| the Rev. Mr. Terry, 
already referred to in this work, bore frequent 
and sorrowful testimony to the same unhap])y 
characteristic of his countrymen.^ He de- 
clares that the natives at Surat were accus- 
tomed to say " Christian religion — devil re- 
ligion." " Christian much drank." "Chris- 
tian much do wrong." "Christian much 
beat." " Christian very much abuse." 
These and similar expressions revealed- 
the want of confidence of the natives to- 
wards Europeans. It is certain that the 
conduct of the Portuguese, and of the Dutch 
although in a lesser degree than the Portu- 
guese, elicited this estimate of the professors 
of Christianity on the part of the natives ; but 
the rude, coarse, and violent behaviour of the 
English, also drew forth these censures. The 
disposition to cheat the natives in trade, which 
was so flagrant in the Portuguese and Dutch, 
was possessed by the English also, to a suffi- 
ciont degree to prevent reliance upon them 
by the native dealers, to impair their moral 
influence, and to leave a stain upon their name. 

The English were undoubtedly quarrelsome ; 

* Serafton's Reflecliom on the Government of Hin- 
doslan. London, X673. 

t Thornton's History of the British Empire in India. 

X Treaties and Alliance. London, 1717. 
' § Roe's JoHmal. 
■ i The Travels of Sir/nor Pietro Delia Falle. 

If Terry's Foyage. 



their drunken brawls at Surat, and afterwards 
at Bombay, were a scandal to the Eurojicaii 
name and to Christianity. "Drunkenness, 
and other exorbitances which proceeded from 
it, were so great in that place (Surat), that it 
was wonderful they (the English residents) 
were suffered to live."* " The manners of the 
young men in the factory (of Surat) were ex- 
tremely dissolute, and on that account, they 
were continually involved in trouble with the 
natives."f 

There is, however, much to be said on 
behalf of the English as to their rough and 
contemptuous conduct towards the Indiana. 
The latter seldom neglected an opportunity 
of robbing and assassinating their European 
visitors, when no provocation could have 
been pleaded in extenuation. It was im- 
possible for any European to travel into 
the interior without being attacked, unless 
guarded by a powerful escort; and it was 
difficult even then to calculate upon safety, 
as the escort was frequently either in league 
with robbers and Thugs, or was composed of 
men ready to perpetrate the crimes against 
which, on the part of others, they were em- 
ployed as a guard. These circumstances ex- 
cited in a bold and ready-handed people like 
the English a warm and vigorous resentment, 
which the least provocation fanned. This 
was the true cause of many acts on the part 
of the English which call for modern censure. 
The following description of the conduct of 
the natives generally towards Europeans was 
given, after a diligent search through the 
pages of many early travellers, and of the 
letters of various officers of the English fac- 
tories, by the author of The English in West- 
ern India : — " Canning, when on his journey 
to Agra, was assaulted and wounded by rob- 
bers. Starkey was poisoned. The caravan 
which Withingtou accompanied was attacked 
in the night at the third halting-place, and 
the next day they met a Mogul officer return- 
ing with the heads of two hundred and fifty 
coolies who had been plunderers. In Raj- 
pootana the caravan was attacked twice in 
one day. Between that and Tatta the sou of 
a Rajpoot chief professed to escort them with 
fifty troopers, but designedly led them out of 
their way into a thick wood. He there seized 
all the men, camels, and goods, and strangled 
the two Hindoo merchants to whom the 
caravan belonged, with their five servants. 
Withiugton and his servants having been 
kept for twenty days in close confinement, 
were dismissed, to find their way home as 
they best could. After this, when Edwards 
was travelling to Agra, the escort which he 

* Journal of Sir Thomas Itoc. 
t B«7. Mr. Anderaou. 



Ohap.LIIL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



65 



took from Baroch was found to be in league 
with fifty mounted freebooters, who hovered 
about tlieni at night, and were only deterred 
from attacking them by seeing their bold 
attitude. When Aldworth and his party were 
returning from Ahmedabad, their escort was 
increased by the orders of government, because 
robberies and murders had been committed 
two nights before close to the city. Between 
Baroda and Baroch they were attacked in a 
narrow lane, thick set on either side with 
hedges, by three hundred Kaj pools, who, with 
their lances and arrows, wounded many of 
them, and succeeded in rifling two of their 
heavily laden carts.* Gautier Schouten, a 
servant of the Dutch Company, who was at 
Surat in 1660, confirms all these accounts, 
and declares that when the English and 
Dutch went to Agra, they always joined 
themselves to native caravans. Even then 
they had frequently to defend themselves 
from Rajpoots, who descended from their 
mountains to plunder travellers. One anec- 
dote affords us some idea of the local govern- 
ment at Ahmedabad. When Mandelslo was 
t^ere, he was invited, together with the Eng- 
lish and Dutch factors, by the governor, to a 
native entertainment. As is usual on such 
occasions, dancing-girls exhibited their per- 
formances. One troop having become fati- 
gued, another was sent for. The latter, how- 
ever, having been ill-requited on a former 
occasion, refused to attend ? What measures 
then did the governor adopt? A very sum- 
mary one indeed. He had them dragged into 
his presence, and then, after taunting them 
for their scruples, ordered them to "be be- 
headed. These reluctant ministers of a des- 
pot's pleasure jjleaded for mercy with heart- 
rending cries and shrieks. Their appeal was 
vain, and eight wretched women were actually 
executed before the company. The English 
factors were horrorstruck ; but the governor 
merely laughed, and asked why they were 
troubled. This account, given by an eye- 
witness, vvhose veracity has been ordinarily 
admitted, is in itself a commentary upon the 
records of native rule."f 8albank, the pious 
iactor of Surat, says in one of his letters home : 
— " The roads swarm with robbers, who would 
cut any man's throat for a third part of the 
value of a penny sterling. Howbeit, ], for 
my part, passed through all those hellish 
weapons, which those cannibal villains used 
to kill men withal, surely enough, through 
the tender mercies of my gracious God." Ic 
is not to be a matter of surprise that such 
men as the English should be easily excited 

* Orme's Frar/menU. 

t Les roijacjes du Hieiir Albert de MundeUlo. 



to deeds of force and violence among a people 
so cruel, treacherous, and rapacious. 

It is admitted that the forms of religion 
were less attended to by the Engli.sh in the 
early part of the century than by any of their 
rivals in India. The Portuguese, while lost 
in the excess of every vice, still not only ob- 
served their religious rites, but fanatically 
struggled to force them upon others. The 
Dutch, with a profound worldliness, were 
regular observers of the primitive forms of 
their worship, and zealously endeavoured to 
convert and educate the natives. Even when 
pursuing gain with greedy avidity, and in the 
midst of rude and stern conflict, they listened 
with respect to the rebukes of their ministers, 
and never withheld from them the means of 
erecting churches, establishing schools, preach- 
ing the gospel, and acquiring the native 
tongues. The English were alike parsimo- 
nious and extravagant. In general matters 
they became more and more spendthrift in 
the affairs of the factories, while the factors 
were paid stinted stipends, and while at home 
the English nation supported costly ecclesias- 
tical establishments, and the company hand- 
somely remunerated clergymen to preach to 
the crews of their outward-bound ships, in 
India they had no missionary spirit, and even 
infringed the terms of their chartef, by 
neglecting to support adequately and in suffi- 
cient number chaplains for their ships and 
stations. Several devoted Christian ministers 
were iu the service of the company during the 
seventeenth century, but rarely did they 
receive any encouragement from the directors 
of committees at home or from the principals 
of the factories in India. 

Early in the history of the company's set- 
tlements, one Henry Lord showed much zeal 
for the welfare of the natives, in which he 
was countenanced and assisted by Kerridge, 
the president of Surat, already referred to. 
Indeed, the studious and pious undertakings 
of Lord seem to have been chiefly directed 
by Kerridge. Both these worthies felt a pro- 
found interest in the literature and religious 
state of the Parsees ; and Lord instituted 
earnest inquiries into the Zend language, and 
into the sacred books of that strange people. 
The Banyans were the objects also of their 
benevolent and spiritual purposes. Lord has 
left us his first impressions of this peculiar 
class in the following quaint way, which is 
the more interesting, from being pervaded so 
entirely by the style of thought and language 
then prevailing : — " According to the busie 
observance of travailers, inquiring what no- 
veltie the place might produce, a people pre- 
sented themselves to mine eyes, cloathed in 
linnen garments, somewhat lovsf descending, 



56 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[CiiAr. LIII. 



of a gesture and gaiLe, as I may say, niay- 
denly and well-nigh effeminate ; of a connten- 
auce shy and somewhat estranged, yet smiling 
out a glosed and bashful familiarity, whose 
use in the companies affaires occasioned their 
presence there. Truth to say, mine eyes, 
unacquainted with such objects, took up their 
wonder and gazed, and this admiration, the 
badge of a fresh travailer, bred in mee the 
importunity of a questioner. I asked wliat 
manner of people those were, so strangely 
notable, and notably strange. Reply was 
made. They were Banians." * 

The Eev. Mr. Terry, chaplain to Sir 
Thomas Roe, and afterwards rector of Great 
Greeuford, left several works behind him — 
such as A Memoir of Tom Coryate, Sermons 
preached he/ore the East India Company, 
and Original Poems. These all prove him 
to have been a very learned and pious man, 
and very desirous for the moral and spiritual 
welfare of the company's servants and the 
heathen. Copeland and a few other clergy- 
men about the same time were zealous and 
devoted, and their names appear in the 
records of the company, and in various frag- 
mentary works, with tokens of reverence. 

It is remarkable that in several instances 
clergymen who became useful took their tone 
of piety and earnestness of labour from emi- 
nently pious laymen. Some of these laymen 
exercised by their letters and statements con- 
siderable influence upon the company at home, 
60 as to induce them to more particularity in 
selecting clergymen for their ships who were 
adapted to usefulness among seamen, and at 
the same time learned men, who would be 
likely to study with success the languages of 
the East, the mental character of its popula- 
tions, and the genius of its religions, and who 
would be likely to meet successfull)' in argu- 
ment learned Brahmins. Amongst the bene- 
volent laymen thus exercising a beneficial in- 
fluence was one Joseph Salbank, who, in 
1617, M'rotc an earnest letter to the directors 
of committees, intreating that clergymen of 
the character just described might be sent to 
the East. 

It would appear that for a long time the 
presidents seldom paid visits of state and 
ceremony, whether to natives or Europeans, 
unattended by their chaplains. Pedro della 
Vallc, the Roman, commonly called II Pelle- 
grino, was at Sural in 1G23. He stated that 
on his arrival at that place he was visited 
immediately by the president, accompanied 
by two ministers, " as the English call their 
priests." Della Valle gave of these and other 
English gentlemen whom he met there a most 
flattering — or at all events most favourable — 
* Lord's Discoverij of Two Foreii/n Sects. 



account. Of the president he wrote, that 
" JI. Rastel spake Italian fluently, and was 
very polite, showing himself in all things a 
person sufficiently accomplished, and of gene- 
rous deportment, according as his gentle and 
graceful aspect bespoke him." Rastel, although 
a courteous, hospitable, benevolent man, and a 
favourer of chaplains and religious persons, 
was not himself pious, as appears from the 
odd accounts given by Delia Valle of his 
entertainments at the presidency. The oldest 
despatch from the company's officers at pre- 
sent extant is from the pen of this President 
Rastel. It is dated the 2Gth of July, 1630, 
on board the ship James, in St. Augustin's 
Ba)'', Madagascar.* 

Mr. Streynshan Master, who succeeded the 
pious and painstaking Aungier at the western 
presidency, was a man of great excellence. 
Of him Bruce says : — " Streynshan Master 
was afterwards chief at Madras, and in 1680 
laid there the first. stone of the first English 
church in India, carried on the work at his 
own charge, and never halted till he had 
brought it to a conclusion. He was dismissed 
the service by the court's order in 1G81 ; but 
his offence is not stated. He was then 
knighted, and elected a director of the new 
company, which derived great benefit from 
his experience." t 

The habits, manners, and customs of the 
English in India during the period of which 
we now treat, throw much light upon their 
national character, and reveal at once the in- 
fluence of India upon them, and the sort of 
influence they exercised upon native commu- 
nities and governments. Mr. Anderson, re- 
lying for his account chiefly on Roe, Fryer, 
and Delia Valle, gives an amusing description 
of the manner of life of the British, not only 
in relation to the natives, but in their inter- 
course with other European nations. " Books 
and records give us but few glances of early 
English manners at this period (the first half of 
the seventeenth century). We may represent 
the factory as a mercantile house of agency, 
in which the president or chief was head 
partner. He and his junior partners, who 
were called factors, lived under the same roof, 
each having his own private apartments ; but 
all assembling for meals at a public table, 
maintained by the company. They were also 
expected to meet for an hour every day for 
prayers. Such carriages and capital as they 
possessed were part of the common stock. 
Horses were expensive luxuries, used only by 
the chief and some of his friends. Bullock 
carts were in ordinary use. For space and 
furniture, the English and Dutch houses ex- 

* Outward Letter-Book of the Siirat Fuctori/. 
t Bruce's Anuah. 



Chap. LIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



67 



celled all others in the city. The president 
affected some style. When he went into the 
streets he was followed by a long train of 
persons, including some natives armed with 
bows, arrows, swoi'ds, and shields. A banner 
or streamer was borne, and a saddle horse led 
before him. His retainers were numerous, 
and as each only received three rupees per 
mensem for wages, the whole was but little. 
There were also many slaves whose clothing 
was white calico, their food rice with a little 
fish." The author of a History of the Fac- 
tories of Sural and Bombay, and the subor- 
dinate Factories on the Western Coast, 
quotes an obscure book, written by the Rev. 
Mr. Ovington at the close of the seventeenth 
century, who thus describes the combination 
of extravagance and meanness, at that time 
undoubtedly characteristic of the English 
nation, and which during the century was 
evinced at )Surat by the factors : — " All Euro- 
peans dined at the public table, where they 
took their places according to seniority. The 
dinner service was sumptuous — all the dishes, 
plates, and drinking cups, being of massive 
and pure silver — and the provisions were of 
the best quality. Arak and wine from Shiraz 
were ordinarily drunk at table. There were 
an English, a Portuguese, and an Indian 
cook, so that every palate might be suited. 
Before and after meals a peon attended with 
a silver basin and ewer, which he offered to 
each person at table that he might pour water 
over his hands. On Sundays and a few other 
days high festival was kept. The choicest of 
European and Persian wines were then intro- 
duced. On these festivals the factors often 
accompanied the president, at his invitation, 
to a garden which was kept for recreation and 
amusenient. At such times they formed a 
procession. The president and his lady were 
borne in palanquins. Before him were carried 
two large banners, and gaily caparisoned 
horses of Arabian or Persian breed were led, 
their saddles being of richly embroidered 
velvet ; their head-stalls, reins, and cruppers 
mounted with solid and wrought silver. The 
council followed in coaches drawn by oxen, 
and the other factors in country carts or on 
horses kept at the company's expense. 
There was a singular combination of pride 
and meanness displayed in the factors' mode 
of life. None of them — not even the chaplain 
— moved out the walls of the city without being 
attended by four or five peons. At the 
Hindoo feast of the Divali, Banyas always 
offered presents to the president, members of 
council, chaplain, surgeon, and others. To 
the young factors these gifts were of great 
importance, as by soiling them again, they 
were enabled to procure their annual supply 



of new clothes. This was beggarly enough, 
but not so low as another practice which was 
in favour with these young gentlemen, as 
they were now styled in courtesy. They had 
a clever way of enjoying practical jokes, and 
at the same time indulging their mercenary 
propensities. One of them would enter the 
premises of a Banya, and pretend that he was 
shooting doves or sparrows. The horrified 
believer in metempsychosis would then come 
out, earnestly implore him to desist, and even 
offer him ' ready money.' He ' drops in his 
hand a rupee or two to be gone,' says the 
narrator. There, reader, is a picture of the 
representatives of a high-minded nation drawn 
by one of themselves. Poor civilians ! At 
least in your case necessity was the mother 
of invention." 

The following passages from Mr. Ander- 
son's description of the love of pomp shown 
by the chief factors at Surat, and the motives 
for the display, are characteristic : — " That an 
impression might be made upon the natives, 
the president indulged to a considerable ex- 
tent in pomp and state — even more than the 
Dutch president. He had a standard-bearer 
and bodyguard composed of a sergeant and 
double file of English soldiers. Forty natives 
also attended him. At dinner each course 
was ushered in by the sound of trumpets, and 
his ears were regaled by a band of music. 
Whenever he left his private rooms he was 
preceded by attendants with silver wands. 
On great occasions, when he issued from the 
factory, ho appeared on horseback, or in a 
palanquin, or a coach drawn by milk-white 
oxen — doubtless of that large and beautiful 
breed for which Gujerat is celebrated. Led 
horses with silver bridles, and an umbrella of 
state was carried before him. The equipages 
of the other merchants came behind in the 
procession, and corresponded in appearance 
with the president's." The writer of the 
above adds, "the pomp and splendour of the 
presidents were in advance of the times, and 
the directors strove to check them." A writer 
and traveller, often quoted by those who 
notice the early annals of the English in 
India, thus describes the equipages of the 
presidents, and of other persons of high posi- 
tion : — "Two large milk-white oxen are put 
in to draw it, with circling horns as black as 
a coal, each point dipped with brass, from 
whence come brass chains across to the head- 
stall, which is all of scarlet, and a scarlet 
collar to each, of brass bells, about their necks, 
their flapping ears snipped with art, and from 
their nostrils bridles covered with scarlet. 
The chariot itself is not swinging like ours, 
but fastened to the main axles by neat arches, 
which support a four-square seat, which is 



68 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LIII. 



inlaid with ivory, or enriched as they please ; 
at every corner are turned pillars, which 
make (by twisted silk or cotton cords) the 
sides, and support the roof, covered with En- 
glish scarlet cloth, and lined with silk, with 
party-coloured borders ; in these they spread 
carpets, and lay bolsters to ride cross-legged, 
sometimes three or four in one. It is borne 
on two wheels only, such little ones as our 
four wlieels are, and pinned on with a wooden 
arch, which serves to mount them. The 
charioteer rides before, a-straddle on the 
beam that makes the yolvc for the oxen, 
which is covered with scarlet, and finely 
carved underneath. He carries a goad in- 
stead of a wliip. In winter (when they 
rarely stir) they have a mvmjuma, or wax- 
cloth to throw over it. Those for journeying 
are something stronger than those for the 
merchants to ride about the city, or to take 
the air on ; which with their nimble oxen 
they will, when they meet in the fields, run 
races on, and contend for the garland as much 
as for an Olyrapick prize ; which is a diver- 
sion, to see a cow gallop, as we say in scorn ; 
but these not only pluck up their heels apace, 
but are taught to amble, they often riding on 
them."* 

" The English had not yet properly adapted 
their mode of dress to tlio climate. The 
costume of the seventeenth century must 
have been found peculiarly cumbersome and 
oppressive in a tropical climate. Old prints 
represent Europeans in India with large hose, 
long w&isted, ' peasecod-bellied ' doublets, 
and short cloaks or mantles with standing 
collars. Then there were ruffs, which Stubbs 
says were ' of twelve, yea sixteen lengths a 
piece, set three or four times double ;' and he 
adds that the ladies had a 'liquid matter, 
which they call starch, wherein the devil hath 
learned them to wash and dive their ruffs, 
which being dry will then stand stiff and 
inflexible about their necks.' Breeches, too, 
were worn by gentlemen preposterously large, 
and their conical-crowned hats were of velvet, 
taffata, or sarcnnet, ornamented with great 
bunches of feathers. Probably, however, this 
dress approved itself to native taste better 
than ours. At least Fryer, when at Junar, 
flattered himself that Nizam Beg, the gover- 
nor of the fort, admired both the splendour 
and novelty of his costume. Sir Thomas 
Roe and his suite, as we are informed, were 
all clothed in English dresses, only made as 
light and cool as possible. His attendants 
wore liveries of ' red taffata cloaks, guarded 
with green taffata,' and the chaplain always 
appeared in a long black cassock. Society 
was of the free and jovial kind. There were 
* Fryer. 



no English ladies, and if the factors wished 
to enjoy the conversation of the gentler sex, 
they must resort to the Dutch factory. We 
have an account of a wedding party there. 
The bride was an Armenian ; the bridegroom 
a Dutchman. All the Europeans of the place 
were invited, and every lady came ; so there 
were present one Portuguese and one Dutch 
matron, a young Maronite girl, and a native 
woman who was engaged to marry a Dutch- 
man. The circumstances under which tlie 
Portuguese lady was brought there are so 
characteristic of the times, that they should 
be narrated. The King of Portugal was in 
the habit of giving a dowry every year to a 
few poor but well-born orphan girls, whom 
he sent to assist in colonizing the settlements 
of India. A ship which was conveying three 
of these maidens had been intercepted and 
seized by the Dutch, who immediately carried 
their prizes to Surat. A supply of ladies was 
naturally received with avidity in that time of 
dearth, and the most eminent of the merchants 
became candidates for their hands. Two 
were taken, we know not where ; but Donna 
Lucia, the third, married a rich Dutchman, 
and was a guest at the wedding banquet. 
She seems to have been contented with her 
lot. The affection of her Protestant husband 
led him to tolerate her religion in private, 
although she was compelled to observe in 
public the forms of the reformed church." * 

The tombs of a people show their manner 
of life to after ages as faithfully as other indi- 
cations more frequently referred to by the 
antiquary and the historian. In Western 
India there are many monumental tombs, 
which are very expressive of the habits of the 
English in the seventeenth century. The 
most recent modern historian of Bombay and 
Surat thus writes of the tombs of the latter 
place : — " Fancy may see in these sepulchral 
ruins the continuance of an undying rivalry 
between the agents of England and Holland. 
Van Reede, the old Dutch chief, has a brave 
charnel-house. His mouldering bones lie be- 
neatli a double cupola of great dimensions, 
formerly adorned with frescoes, escutcheons, 
and elegant wood-work. Its original cost 
may be supposed to have been enormous, 
when we read that to repair it cost the Dutch 
company six thousand rupees. It is not, 
indeed, to be com])ared with the Mohamme- 
dan tombs of Delhi, Agra, and Bejaporo, but 
no Eurojjoan structures of the kind, except 
the tomb of Hadrian at Rome, and a few 
others, equal it. Doubtless the intention of 
its builders was to eclipse the noble mauso- 
leum which covers the remains of Sir George 
and Christopher Oxenden, who died a few 
* Anderson. 



Chav. LXII.] 



IN INDIA ANB THE EAST. 



years earlier than Van Keede. Christopher 
19 commemorated by a cupola within the 
loftier and more expansive cupola raised in 
honour of his more distinguished brother, the 
president. The height of this monument is 
forty feet, the diameter twenty-five. Massive 
pillars support the cupolas, and round their 
interiors are galleries, reached by a flight of 
many steps. The body of an Indian viceroy 
might have fwmd here a worthy resting- 
place ; it is far too superb for the chief of a 
factory, and his brother, who was only a sub- 
ordinate." The two Oxendens here referred 
to were men of eminent religious worth, 
maintaining unsullied purity amidst prevailing 
corruption, and a lifeful piety when n heartless 
formalism characterized the religious profes- 
sions of the majority. 

The tombs of the English in Western 
India do not generally convey impressions 
favourable to the taste, piety, and affection of 
those who erected them. A writer in a 
recent number of the Bombay Quarterly ob- 
serves : — " A large number of inscriptions on 
our tombs are mere recitals of name, age, and 
date of death. Where regular epitaphs are 
composed by Anglo-Indians, their chief cha- 
racter is insipidity." So little care has been 
taken, however, of the sepulchres of those 
who laid the foundations of English power in 
India, that the monumental inscriptions are 
generally effaced. The writer first quoted 
remarks : — " No burial-grounds in India are 
comparable for the interest with which they 
are regarded by Europeans as those of Sural 
and Ahmedabad — particularly of Surat. They 
are histories. Had they been carefully pre- 
served, instead of being barbarously neglected, 
during the last century, they would have 
thrown light upon an obscure period. As it 
is, their dilapidated monuments are as a few 
jiages of a j)alimp8est, from which, after much 
painstaking and divining, a fragmentary nar- 
rative may be gleaned. Their magnificence, 
their escutcheons and other heraldic insignia, 
their religious symbols and passages of scrip- 
ture, traces only of which can now be ob- 
served, prove that the inmates of European 
factories affected a pomp and splendour even 
beyond those of their successors, and made 
more pretensions, at least, to religious senti- 
ments than are generally attributed to them." 
" As at Surat, there are also at Ahmedabad 
both Dutch and Engli-sh cemeteries. The 
tombs in the former, all of dates between the 
years 1G41 and IGTi), are built, not of stone, 
but brick and chunam, the inscriptions being 
admirably executed in the latter ; and on 
some the Maltese Cross, or what is called the 
Cross of Calvary, is traced. One epitaph is 
in Latin, the rest are Dutch, and none are of 



especial interest. All the epitaphs are re- 
markable for what they do not, rather than 
for what they do relate. The Dutch mer- 
chants did not often find time to express any 
religious sentiment, or to bewail the departed. 
The English ground is chiefly occupied with 
what may be called mess-room monuments — 
chilling memorials, without Christian symbols 
or religious allusions, unadorned by any 
manifestations of reverence, hope, or reflec- 
tion upon the future." Such is the evidence 
indirectly given from the places of the dead 
of the habits and character of the English and 
their chief competitors during the eventful 
century the general character of which, as it 
regards the British in India, this chapter 
reviews. 

The reason why there were ladies in the 
Dutch and not in the English factory was, 
that the government of Holland encouraged 
the matrimonial desires of the company's ser- 
vants. There was a blot upon the morals of 
Bombay in connection with the introduction 
of females to the community. One of the 
company's own chaplains, a man of probity 
and piety, following the testimony of Dr. 
Fryer and others, describes the condition of 
several " cargoes" of Englishwomen sent out 
by the company, and barbarously deceived by 
them. Having described the immorality of 
the factors and their servants, be says: — 
" Nor, we are sorry to add, were these vicious 
propensities indtilged only by men. A great 
many females on the island were far from 
exhibiting the gentler virtues which usually 
adorn their sex, but in this instance the com- 
pany themselves were chiefly to be blamed. 
As Rome in her young days sat desolate until 
cheered by the ravished Sabines ; as the poor 
slaves of St. Helena would not take kindly to 
their toil until the company brought a cargo 
of sable maidens to brighten their dreary 
hours ; so also it was thought that the exiled 
soldiers of England must have a similar solace 
in Bombay. Gerald Aungier first suggested 
that they ought to be encouraged and assisted 
in contracting marriages with their country- 
women. Consistently with his character, ho 
took a religious view of the question, and 
pointed out that the men, being Protestants, 
were in the habit of marrying native Portu- 
guese women, the consequence of which was 
that their offspring were, 'through their 
father's neglect, brought up in the lloman 
Catholic principles, to the great dishonour 
and weakening of the Protestant religion and 
interest.' He therefore recommended that a 
supply of women should be sent out from 
England. This proposal was acceded to by 
the court of directors, and apparently im- 
proved npon, for they not only induced such 



60 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Ohap. LIII 



persons as were adapted to be wives of pri- 
vate soldiers to come, but ' geutlewomeu aud 
other women.' Unhappily, ' the gentle- 
women,' as they still continued to be styled, 
had not learned, before they left England, to 
behave themselves ; therefore their country- 
men at Bombay were not very forward in 
offering them their hearts and hands. Some, 
however, married ; but a judicious observer, 
who visited the island soon after, was shocked 
to see how sickly their children were, in con- 
sequence of the free-and-easy way in which 
the mothers lived, and their inveterate habit 
of taking strong liquors. But what was to 
become of those who remained single and 
unnoticed ? Of course they supposed that 
the company were their honourable guardians, 
and that if they could not find husbands, they 
would at least have the protection of govern- 
ment. Not so the company. To the first 
party, indeed, a guarantee was given that 
they should be supported for the first year, 
and if, at the expiration of that time, they 
were still unmarried, they should be allowed 
their diet for another year. This engagement 
was faithfully kept. But then came out a 
a second party, fondly expecting that they 
would be treated liked their predecessors ; 
indeed, they affirmed ' that so much was de- 
clared to them at the East India-house, by 
Mr. Lewis.' Nevertheless, their claims were 
not recognised. After considerable agitation 
on their part, and reluctance on the presi- 
dent's part, six or eight pagodas a month were 
allowed to such as toere actually/ in distress j 
the more obvious objects of charity. The poor 
creatures had clearly been deluded, and almost 
left to starve. What was the result ? They 
must have been tempted, if not actually 
driven, to sell their charms to the first bidder. 
The small stock of virtue which they had 
brought with them was of course soon ex- 
pended. Then, — and not until then, — when 
they had been led into temptation, the voice 
of authority and erring-mocking piety assumed 
a threatening tone." The author of the fore- 
going remarks, with much grounds for the 
accusation, declares that Governor Aungier, 
whose general excellence he commends, had 
" much Protestant zeal, but little Christian 
love." It is easy to imagine that the company 
encouraged these unfortunate emigrants to be- 
lieve that they should receive support, when it 
wasnot intended to perform what they were led 
to suppose would be done for them, when we 
remember how frequently of late years persons 
embarking in imdertakings, believing that 
they did so assured of government support, 
liave found themselves deceived. The treat- 
ment of medical civilians during the Russian 
■war, and of other classes, is too well known 



not to be readily called up to remembrance 
by the reader in exemplification of this. Go- 
vernment and public bodies in England are 
too much in the habit of putting forth vaguely 
expressed offers and inducements to persons 
or bodies of persons whose services it is de- 
sirable to engage, and then taking shelter 
behind the vagueness aud indefiniteness of 
the phraseology employed, althotigh obviously 
tending to mislead, if it meant anything short 
of what the deceived and injured parties sup- 
posed it to mean. 

It appears that the use of tea, at first a 
luxury among the English in India as well as 
at home, had become familiar among them at 
Surat before its value became known to the 
company in London. It is probable that the 
factors at the capital of the English settle- 
ments in Western India were accustomed to 
sip the fragrant and exhilarating beverage for 
a longer time than is generally supposed 
before the directors or the royal family in 
England knew anything of "the cup which 
cheers but not inebriates." Tea was certainly 
a commodity of trade between China and 
Surat for a considerable time before it was an 
article of import in Britain. The Dutch, who 
generally anticipated the English in the dis- 
covery of useful articles of commerce, per- 
ceived the value of this article both in India 
and in Holland a number of years before the 
English court quaffed the strange but even 
then esteemed, delicious, and enlivening 
beverage. Although the Dutch medical 
practitioners generally, as afterwards the 
English, offered opposition, champions were 
found in Holland among the members of the 
faculty from the first, who advocated it as 
advantageous. Tulpius, a celebrated phy- 
sician of Amsterdam, acquired still higher 
reputation by a treatise on the virtues of 
" Thee," in the year 1641. The following 
extracts are taken from the records of the 
East India-house. At that time (16G1:) 
" some good thea," as it was then spelt, was 
deemed an acceptable present for his majesty. 
King Charles II. 

1C64, Jtdi/ Ist. — Ordered, that the master attendant 
do ^o ou board the ships now arrived, aud enquire what 
rarities of birds, beasts, or other curiosities, there are ou 
board, fit to present to his majesty, and to desire that 
they may not be disposed of till the company are supplied 
with such as they may wish, on paying for the same. 

Aufjust 22nd. — The governor acquainting the court 
that the factors have in every instance failed the company 
of such things as they writ for, to have presented his 
Biajesty with, and that his majesty may not find himself 
wholly neglected by the company, he was of opinion, iC 
the court think fit, that a silver case of oil of cinnamon, 
which is to be had of Mr. Thomas Winter for seventy-five 
pounds, and some good t/ien, be provided for that end, 
which he hopes may be acceptable. The court approved 
very well thereof. 



Chap. LIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



61 



After the first half of tlie seventeenth cen- 
tiary had passed a^yay, the social rank of the 
English in India became much elevated. Per- 
sons of superior station in England were sent 
out to India, and the company at home com- 
prised noblemen and members of parliament. 
The traders were no longer so anxious as 
formerly " to sort their trade with men only 
of their own qualitie ;" they became eager for 
the connection of "gentlemen," a class of whose 
association with them they had been so much 
afraid, lest the traders of England should in 
consequence withdraw their confidence. The 
increased salaries of the chief persons in the 
factories induced " gentlemen" to use their 
influence to obtain these offices; and the style 
of social humility which had characterized 
the factors, became much modified by the 
infusion of a new class among them. It 
does not appear that the sagacity, morality, 
or religious zeal of the factors and agents 
was improved by these accessions of gentility, 
but the social bearing of the English was in 
some respects elevated. One of the influences 
which acted most unfavourably upon the social, 
and even religious condition of the English in 
India, during the latter portion of the first 
half of the seventeenth century, and through- 
out the second half, vi^as the presence and 
conduct of " interlopers." This class com- 
mitted no inconsiderable portion of the crimes 
committed by the English, and by which the 
native governments were so often enraged, 
overlooking the provocation which their sub- 
jects offered to all foreigners. The factories 
were kept in a state of incessant apprehension 
by those intruders, and a spirit on the part 
of one class of Englishmen towards another, 
of a resentful and vindictive kind was fos- 
tered, which sunk the moral character of the 
nation in the esteem of other nations, native 
and European, disturbed social intercourse 
among the English themselves, and impeded 
their religious efforts. It also rendered the 
customs and manners of the English less intel- 
ligible to the native governments, as well as 
peoples ; for they could not comprehend how 
men of the same nation professing loyalty to 
the same throne, could be so opposed in policy. 
Mr. Mill, logically right as to the superior 
facilities which free -trade would have given 
for the exchange of the products of India and 
England, overlooks, as Professor Wilson re- 
minds his readers, the impossibility of private 
adventurers providing force to encounter the 
armed competition of the other European com- 
panies, and the oppressions of the natives. 
The learned professor, however, replies to 
Mr. Mill in a tone more peremptory than 
argumentative. The following remarks on the 
subject, by the llev. Philip Anderson, places 

VOL. II. 



the matter ethically and logically, as well as 
circumstantially, in its true light : — " Yet it 
must be admitted, that when once a monopoly 
was legally established, an invasion of its pri- 
vileges became an in-sult upon the majesty of 
law. The agents of the company in India, 
therefore, were fully justified in resenting the 
intrusions of ' interlopers.' Their masters 
had entrusted to them the defence of a mono- 
poly, which, however objectionable to those 
who had no share in its advantages, was a 
species of property which had been obtained 
with all the forms of law and justice. More- 
over, their establishment was maintained at a 
great expense, and they often disbursed large 
sums of money to procure and retain the favour 
of a corrupt court in England, and a still 
corrupter court in India. The factors were, 
as it were, keepers of a manor, for which the 
tenants, their masters, paid a high rent, and 
which they farmed at a heavy cost. Inter- 
lopers, then, were to them as poachers, who 
must be warned off, and if they persisted in 
their depredations, strenuously attacked with 
fire and sword, or prosecuted in courts of law 
as enemies not only of the East India Com- 
pany, but also of the British nation." 

Another of the circumstances which mili- 
tated against the moral and religious life of the 
company's officers, was the permission given 
to them to trade on their own account, as well 
as in the interest of the company. Notice 
has been taken in previous chapters of the 
detriment to the trade of the company which 
thus arose, and of the resolution taken by the 
directors of the company to put it down. 
It appears that an oath was exacted from the 
servants and chiefs in the factories, not to 
trade on their own account. This was sup- 
posed by the majority of the directors to be 
the only security against the practice. Some 
of the factory agents were, however, men who 
objected to take an oath on any ground or 
for any reason. They offered to make a de- 
claration under liability to any penalty which 
might be incurred by perjury. This was 
thought reasonable by a largo party among 
the proprietors at home, but not by the ma- 
jority, and the oath was insisted upon. This 
gave rise to "great heats,'' among the pro- 
prietors and directors in London, the oppo- 
sition of the non-jurors as they may be called, 
having led to considerable commotion in the 
mercantile world. The Rev. Philip Ander- 
son says, referring to the dishonesty whi'ch 
led to so much turmoil — " These scandalous 
proceedings led the court to require from them 
all an oath, that they would not engage in 
private trade, and this, in spite of their Ana- 
baptist members, who pressed hard for the 
substitution of a mere declaration." This is 

K 



62 



HISTOEY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LIV. 



scarcely a candid way of putting the facts of 
the case, nor is the tone of the reverend writer 
liberal and just. He makes the statement upon 
the authority of Bruce's Annah, Anderson's 
Colonial Church, and Evelyn's Diary. Bruce 
merely refers to the dry and naked fact of 
an opposition having been made ; Anderson's 
Colonial Church, is hardly an apposite autho- 
rity in tlie case ; the entry in Evelyn's Diary 
is as follows: — "1G57, Nov. 26. I went to 
London to a court of ye East India Company 
on its new union, in Merchant-taylors' Hall, 
where was much disorder by reason of the 
Anabaptists, ^vho would have the adventurers 
oblig'd onely by an engagement, without 
swearing, that they might still pursue their 
private trade ; but it was carried against 
them." The word Anabaptist was at that 
time a term of reproach used against any 
sect of religionists, whose views were not well 
understood, and appeared eccentric, or pecu- 
liar, especially if they resisted episcopal 
authority, supervision, and state in ecclesias- 
tical affairs ; but the name was more especially 
applied to Baptists, who, of course, were not 
Anabaptists in their views of the ordinances 
of baptism : nor did their general opinions, 
religious or political, bear any resemblance 



to those of the Anabaptists of Munster, whose 
wild and violent proceedings brought so much 
odium upon the name. Evelyn did not un- 
derstand these distinctions, nor care to under- 
stand them ; but Mr. Anderson, as a learned 
modern divine, must have been aware of them, 
and is censurable for copying an error which 
he knew to be one, so far as the class who 
opposed the oath-test, and their motives, were 
concerned. They were, no doubt conscien- 
tious persons, who took views of an oath 
similar to those which Quakers and Moravians 
now hold, and which, however others may 
believe to be erroneous, as does the writer of 
this history, yet society tolerantly respects 
the scruples of those who make a conscience 
of the matter. 

Although the jurors and non -jurors in the 
factories were of one mind as to the undesi- 
rableness of taking any pledge against private 
trading, the form of the test and the acqui- 
escence of those who had no religious scruples 
about it, led to social differences which left 
fresh impressions of the unaccountable manners 
of the English among the Portuguese, Banyans, 
Parsees, and other natives, who, although 
brought into less intimate contact with the 
British, were observant of their ways. 



CHAPTER LIV. 

REVIEW OP THE HISTORY OF BRITISH CONNECTION WITH INDIA TO THE CLOSE OF THE 
SEVENTEENTH CENTURY (Continued). 



Notwithstanding the many drawbacks to the 
social and religious life of the English, there 
grew up gradually much outward respect to 
religion in the usages of the factors. Every 
morning at six, and every evening at eight 
o'clock, prayers were read or offered every 
Sunday; in addition to these services was one 
other, after which a sermon was delivered. 
The author of The Early Ilistory of the 
Factories at Sural and Bombay, thus writes 
on this subject: — " Fewas are thereeords still 
extant of this period, all who read them 
at the present time must be struck by their 
religious tone; they prove that it was 
an age of religions profession, if not of 
moral practice. Puritanism was dominant, 
or at least had not given way to that open 
profligacy, that ridicule of sacred things, and 
contempt of religion, which disgraced the 
reign of Charles II. In India religious men 
did not blush to own their fear of God, and it 
suited the purposes of irreligious men to 
imitate them. Official correspondence even 
■was devout. Thus when Rastell had arrived 



in St. Augustine's Bay on his passage to Snrat, 
he commenced his homeward despatch with 
these words : — ' It hath pleased Almighty God 
in his great goodness to protect us hither in 
safety, and in blessed imion and concord to- 
gether, the 14th day of this present month ; 
our people generally then in reasonable good 
plight, and without the loss of any more than 
five men in our whole fleet, for the which His 
mercies may His Blessed Name be magnified 
for ever.' And he concludes by declaring, 
that he humbly commends his masters in his 
prayers, entreating God to bless them, and 
direct their counsels and affairs. When an- 
nouncing the death of a subordinate in 1630 
the chief of the factory writes thus : — ' The 
death of Mr. Duke was very unwelcome unto 
us, as being sensible of the want you will find 
by the missing of so able an assistant in that 
place where he hath been long acquainted. 
God of His mercy so direct our hearts, who 
must follow him, that we may be always ready 
for the like sudden summons.' The same 
style is observable in all official letters, and 



Ohap. LIV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



68 



the usual formula with which they conclude 
is, 'Commending you to the Almighty's pro- 
tection,' or 'Commending you to God's mer- 
ciful guidance.' Yet these pious adventurers 
had notions of their own about the observance 
of the Lord's Day. Although they were 
scrupulous in attending divine service, in 
the disposal of the rest of their time they 
preferred the Book ofSportsto the Lesser Cate- 
chism. After sermon on Sundays they used 
to repair to the suburbs, where they amused 
themselves in a garden by shooting at the 
butt; and — which was still less to be de- 
fended — they indulged to some extent in 
gambling. Their visitor, who has told ua 
these little facts, was so skilful in shooting 
that he contrived to win a hundred mamoudis 
or five pistoles almost every week. Each in- 
mate of the factory had his allotted hours 
for work and recreation. On Fridays, after 
prayers, the president and a few friends 
met for the purpose of friendly intercourse, 
and of drinking the health of their wives left 
in England." 

The respect paid at that time to clergymen, 
and to the externals of religion, both in England 
and in the colonies, is fairly depicted in this 
passage relating to the manners of the English 
at Snrat and Bombay. The writer very justly 
takes Lord Macaulay, the brilliant historian of 
England, to task, for the light in which he 
placed the habits of Englishmen in this re- 
spect. The years during wliich the above 
description of the factors at Bombay and 
Surat applies, include the period towhichXord 
Macaulay refers, when he describes with such 
exaggerations the degradation of the clergy. 
He writes ; — " ' The clergy were regarded as, 
on the whole, a plebeian class. And, indeed, 
for one who made the figure of a gentleman, 
ten were mere menial servants.' And again : 
— ' A young Levite might be had for his 
board, a small garret, and ten pounds a year,' 
for which he was expected to live as a servant. 
These statements are taken from a satire of 
Oldham's, and given as grave history. Yet, 
at the same time, a German traveller noticed 
the great respect shown at Surat to the 
clergy, and it is a fact, that when Oxenden, 
Aungier, Streynsliam Master — all men of 
good families — were there, the chaplain re- 
ceived higher pay than all the senior factors, 
and took precedence after the members of 
council. Is there any reason to suppose that 
the East India Company delighted more than 
others to honour the clergy ?" 

During the reign of the second Charles, 
and the first James, there were many of the 
higher gentry in England who made small 
account of clergymen, and in various instances 
there is proof of their depression being as 



great as Lord Macaulay describes ; but this 
contempt for men " in orders" did not descend 
to the middle and mercantile classes, from 
whom they received high and venerating 
respect. His lordship omits to make this 
distinction broadly, and hence life among the 
English in India, seems so opposed to life 
in England, as the records of the one, and 
Lord Macaulay's statements of the other, would 
make appear. 

Among the proofs given by some writers 
of the low condition, morally and reli- 
giously, of the English in India during the 
seventeenth century, are their neglect of treaty 
and other engagements with the nativ"e3 and 
rival European nations. The terms on which 
the Portuguese commander of Bombay sur- 
rendered the island to the officers of Charles, 
have, it is alleged, never been kept by the 
British, and this is very frequently put for- 
ward as a strong point against their honour. 
The truth is the treaty or agreement thus 
made, was never ratified by either of the courts 
concerned. The island was, as has been shown 
in a previous chapter, the property of the 
English monarch, in virtue of a marriage 
contract with the royal house of Portugal ; 
and it was the duty of the Portuguese king, 
not only to see that it was absolutely ceded, 
but that compensation should be made for 
any delay in the cession created by the Por- 
tuguese officers on the spot. Indeed, the 
English did demand reparation from the Por- 
tuguese government for the damages sus- 
tained. The native princes frequently made 
agreements, suffered their subjects to violate 
them, and yet insisted upon the English per- 
forming their part in a covenant rendered no 
longer mutual, by the previous violation on 
the one part. At a later period (during the 
eighteenth century) the English in India were 
exposed to similar imputations from their 
own countrymen at homo, frequently with as 
little justice. 

The conduct of the company in violating 
contracts with their own countrymen was 
often very bad, and especially so towards their 
soldiers. The rise of the English military 
power in the seventeenth century, presents a 
strange example of how the day of small 
things may precede the day of great ones. 
In 1G77 there was a militia cor])s, equal in 
number to a weak modern infantry battalion, 
at Bombay. Neither the Brahmins nor Ban- 
yans would serve, but commuted service by a 
money payment ; the other natives offered 
no objection, as far as can be gathered from 
the documents now in existence : they were 
chiefly half-caste Portuguese. The regular 
troops were seldom of any great account as to 
numbers. The company's force, on taking 



64 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LIV. 



possession of Bombay Island, consisted of 
ninety -three English, and a hundred and 
eighty-seven French and Portuguese deser- 
ters and half-castes. This has been called the 
company's first European regiment, but there 
was a proportion of natives among them. 
This corps vpas gradually strengthened, espe- 
cially by German mercenaries. These were 
in great favour with the English, between 
whom and them a better agreement existed 
than between any other sections of this 
motley battalion. A desire to hire Rajpoots 
existed among the directors, which was but 
slowly responded to by their agents ; for 
althotfgh that class of Indians were very 
warlike, they were proud and vindictive, and 
were generally esteemed treacherous if once 
their fidelity was shaken. In 1676, there 
were forty troopers miserably mounted. The 
English have always been noted for mounting 
their cavalry inefficiently, and even at this early 
period of their Indian empire they showed this 
peculiarity. It arose from a misguided parsi- 
mony, which was coexistent with extravagance 
in other particulars. It was difficult to keep 
up regular troops at Bombay; the island was 
80 unhealthy at that time from its marshy sur- 
face that malaria swept away Europeans, es- 
pecially European soldiers, very fast. The 
company's factors were instructed to study 
military tactics in case the defence of the 
settlement should oblige them to hold mili- 
tary commissions. The ideas which the direc - 
tors at home entertained of military drill 
is curiously shown in some of their despatches. 
The following order is a specimen : — " We 
would have the inhabitants modelled into 
trained bands under English or other officers 
as there shall be cause, and make of them one 
or two regiments, or more, as your number 
will hold out, exercising them in arms one 
day in every two months, or as often as you 
shall think may be convenient, but you need 
not always waste powder at such exorcise, 
but teach them to handle their arms, their 
facings, wheeling, marching, and counter 
marching, the first ranks to present, drawtheir 
triggers together at the beat of the drum, and 
fall into the rear for the second ranks to ad- 
vance, as is often used with learners in our 
artillery ground, but sometimes they must be 
nsed to firing, lest in time of action they 
should start at the noise or the recoil of their 
arms." 

There was much drilling in pursuance of 
this order, and the more the troops were 
exercised, the greater the proportion of them 
who perished with pestilence, especially by a 
particular form, which, as described by the 
physicians of that day, exactly corresponded 
with the disease called cholera niorlus in this 



age. Four-fifths of the troops sent from 
Europe to Bombay perished within a few 
years, many within a few months of their 
arrival, until about 1685, when the drainage 
of the low-lying lands near the sea was, to 
some extent, effected. 

Notwithstanding the intrepidity shown by 
the British in their naval contests with the 
Portuguese, and the individual daririg of 
most of them when danger beset, there wa? 
no promise of future military eminence in 
the composition or character of the first 
troops raised in Bombay, or in the manage- 
ment of those recruits sent out from England. 
The officers frequently committed outrages 
upon the civilians of their own conntrj-men, 
and their insolence and abuse of respectable 
natives was disgraceful to their profession. 
Some of them were even convicted of acts of 
petty piracy and robbery in the harbour. 
The non-commissioned officers unfortunately 
followed the example so infamously set them. 
The opinion which the immortal Olive gave 
of the state of the troops in India, previous to 
his time and as for the most part he found 
them when he arrived in India, is borne out 
by documentary evidence at the India-house, 
and by the testimony of impartial travellers. 
" Formerly the company's troops consisted of 
the refuse of our jails, commanded by an 
officer seldom above the rank of lieutenant, 
and in one or two instances with that of 
major ; without order, discipline, or military 
ardour."* 

The conduct of the company to its soldiers 
during the seventeenth century was unjust. 
In this respect the company only copied the 
royal governments of their country. To the 
great officers England has been generally 
munificent ; but to the inferior officers, non- 
commissioned officers, and soldiers, she has 
never been generous. No nation was ever so 
heroically served by her troops; no nation 
ever repaid military devotion more shabbily. 
Until the year 1858 the poor soldier was 
literally plundered by certain classes of his 
superiors, military and civilian. " The sys- 
tem" of the British army was so administered, 
that whether in camp or barrack, at home, 
or on foreign service, in tent or sleeping room, 
in mess or in clothing, the soldier was cheated 
and inhumanly neglected. Even the arms 
and working tools supplied to him were 
fraudulently manufactured, and he was com- 
pelled to make good the damage from frac- 
tures, &c., out of his miserable pay. The 
English soldier w'as subjected to a discipline 
which forbade him to complain to the public, 
and was then remorselessly robbed, and 

* MS. quoted by Bruce in his Flans for the Govern- 
ment of British India, Part ii. chap, i. sec. 4. 



Chap. LIV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



6ff 



cruelly left to die in filthy or ill-ventilated 
barrack -rooms,* or on foreign march, and on 
far-off encampments, from inadequate sup- 
plies. The reader acquainted with these 
facts can feel no astonishment if the troops 
in Bombay Island were robbed, oppressed, 
and neglected in the latter part of the seven- 
teenth century. Such was the case. Ac- 
cording to a letter from the deputy -governor 
and council of Bombay, written the 2-l:th of 
January, 1076, or, as Orme alleges, 1677, to 
the court of directors, captains were compelled 
to serve for the pay of lieutenants, and each 
inferior rank to serve for the pay of the rank 
immediately beneath it. Certain surplus 
sums actually given to the troops at former 
times were exacted from them in the form of 
repayments by instalments ; various other op- 
pressions at last drove the troops into revolt. 
There was no failing in their loyalty, but they 
had been goaded to madness by wrongs, and 
by the insolent contempt which the mercantile 
servants of the company showed to them. On 
these circumstances, an eminent clergyman of 
Bombay, who had studied the records of the 
period, and who partook of no partialities for 
the military, thus wrote ; and the annals of 
Bruce, and the narratives of Fryer and 
others, justify fully the judgment exjiressed : 
— " Could any government expect that their 
troops would return such ungenerous treat- 
ment with steadfast attachment and unshaken 
fidelity ? In 1674 the court of directors re- 
ceived a most solemn warning that such 
would not be the case. The soldiers affirmed 
that the court had promised them a month's 
pay, with a free discharge, after they should 
have served three years ; and when this was 
not accorded to them, they broke out into a 
mutiny, which was only subdued after con- 
cessions had been made. Three of the ring- 
leaders were condemned to be shot, and on 
one — a Corporal Fake — the sentence was 
executed. The other two were pardoned by 
the president. Shaxton, the officer in com- 
mand, was suspected of abetting the revolt, 
and was accused of remissness in checking 
his men's insubordination. Fryer, who was 
on the spot at the time, thought that a 
foolish rivalry divided the civil or mercantile 
and military branches of the service, and that 
Shaxton's real offence was similar to one which 
excited Romulus to commit fratricide, for that 
he had only mortified tlie factor's vanity by 
treating their engineering efforts with con- 
tempt, and ridiculing some palisades with 
which they had fortified Bombay. Whatever 

• The writer of tliis history, accompanied by a cler- 
gyman, saw the sleeping-room of a married soldier, 
quartered in an English provincial town, through which 
a drain rant 



the nature of his crime, he was obliged to 
give up his sword, and was placed in confine- 
ment. A court of judicature was then formed 
for his trial, in which a pompous attorney 
impeached him, and compared him to Cata- 
line. But the soldier defended liimself with 
ability, and the court decided that they could 
do nothing, but refer his case to the court of 
directors. He was therefore sent to England, 
where he died at the termination of his 
voyage." 

The company was not warned by these 
events ; but at a later period, by further 
mulcting the soldier}', and paying their native 
labourers part of their wages in rice, at a 
price fixed by the company's officer, at least 
ten per cent, above its market value, the 
troops and people were driven into revolt 
together. A narrative of the main features 
of that affair, which was led by Keigwin, 
have already been related in a previous 
chapter ; it is only necessary to say here, in 
reviewing the events of the century, and the 
moral history of those transactions, that the 
inveterate depreciation of the military service 
by the mercantile community in England and 
in India was the true source of these evils. 
It is surprising to mark the courage and 
constancy of British soldiers under provoca- 
tions of so much neglect and injustice. No 
other army could have maintained self-respect 
under so many indignities ; nor could they 
have exhibited such greatness of soul as our 
poor soldiers have displayed, with so little 
example or encouragement from their civil 
masters, — 

" 'Tis wonderful 
That an invisible instinct should frame them 
To loyalty unlearned, honour untaught. 
Civility not seen from others, valour 
That wildly grows in them, but yields a crop 
Aa if it had been sowed." 

Neither did the second revolt at Bombay 
teach the company — or at ail events their 
civil officers — "justice to the soldier." Al- 
though (as has been shown in a previous 
chapter) Keigwin obeyed the mandate of the 
king, and delivered up the island, assured of 
immunity for himself and those who acted 
under him, the agreement was not entirely 
and faithfully kept by the government. It 
was probably not the intention of the directors 
to violate the terms of what may be called 
the capitulation, so extensively as they were 
violated, but they had from the first no in- 
tention of faithfully keeping it. The royal 
government countenanced no harsh treat- 
ment in the case. The violent and unprin- 
cipled president of Surat, — a man whom Dr. 
Cooke Taylor represents as having been as 



66 



HISTOEY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LIV. 



" cowardly as he was cruel," Sir Jolin Child,* 
barbarously and perfidiously, made the revolt 
a pretext for the gratification of his personal 
enmities, under pretence of jealousy for the 
honour of the company, although during tlie 
revolution the company was better served by 
the revolters than it had been under the 
management of Sir John Child's deputies. 
One of the company's own chaplains, already 
quoted, thus comments upon these proceed- 
ings : — " Such was a revolt which happily 
began and ended without bloodshed — if we 
except a wound inflicted at table by Thorburn 
on Keigwin in a drunken quarrel. Alarming 
as it was, and dangerous to the existence of 
Anglo-Indian power, it forms an episode in 
our history of which we are not ashamed. 
Keigwin emerges from the troubled sea of 
rebellion with a reputation for courage, 
honour, and administrative capacity. His 
crime of treason was in a measure atoned for 
by his moderation and shining qualities, and 
found some palliation in the provocation 
which he received, and which the president — 
as we infer from his subsequent conduct — 
must have aggravated. On the other hand, 
the clemency of the crown and company is 
worthy of all admiration, and leads us to ask. 
Where is the nation that can, like the Eng- 
lish, vindicate the authority of its govern- 
ment, bring down the haughty front of suc- 
cessful rebellion, and at the same time not 
suifer justice to inflict a single pang on 
mercy ?" The reverend writer seems carried 
away by his love of country to contradict by 
anticipation his own testimony, notwithstand- 
ing his general accuracy, for he immediately 
afterwards admits, on the ground of docu- 
ments seen by himself, that the company pri- 
vately countenanced the persecution of the 
pardoned revolters. He also gives this pic- 
ture of the horrible and heartrending barbarity 
and cruelty of Sir John Child : — " It is true 
that accounts differ as to the manner in which 
the terms of surrender were observed ; but if 
it should be shown that they were infringed, 
an imputation could not be cast upon the 
English government, nor, save indirectly, 
upon the company, but only upon their pre- 
sident. Writers who were favourable to the 
company simply state that they acted in good 
faith ; their opponents accuse their servants of 
treachery, but with such obvious malice, that 
we suspect their veracity. Fletcher, who had 

• It is surprising that 6o jnst an historical critic as 
Miss Martineau should overlook the real character of the 
Brothers Child in her admiration of their ability. Even 
as to talent. Sir Josiah was the head, and Sir John the 
hand, very much to the injury of the company, for he was 
rash, desperate, and vindictive, without directness, stead- 
fastness, or bravery. 



joined the rebels, but whose conduct was, in 
other respects, unblemished, retained the 
command of his company. But Thorburn is 
said to have fallen a victim to Sir John 
Child's malignity, and there is every reason 
to believe that he was treated with singular 
harshness. It is possible that he was justly 
committed to prison, in consequence of his 
inability to satisfy the demands of his credi- 
tors ; but when there, we are told, not a slave 
was permitted to attend upon him, nor his 
own wife to visit him. Hard treatment 
brought on a fever, and his life was in danger. 
The jailer conveyed this mournful intelligence 
to his wife, who hastened, together with her 
two small children, to the general's presence, 
and entreated that her husband might be pro- 
vided with a medical attendant. The boon 
was denied, but she was permitted to share 
his sufferings. She soothed his pain one day 
and part of a night, after which he breathed 
his last. Shuddering humanity turns with 
distrust from the remainder of the narrative, 
and therefore we abridge it. On returning 
home she found the doors of her own house 
closed against her, and was obliged to take 
up her abode with her slaves and children in 
a small outhouse. Her relatives ventured to 
give her succour only at night, and by stealth. 
The widow of Thorburn was a proscribed 
outcast, till her beauty and sufferings attracted 
the love and compassion of an officer who 
commanded an East Indiaman, and imagined 
that he was independent of Sir John Child. 
He wedded her, and also her misfortunes. 
At the general's request he was deprived of 
his appointment. Grief soon put an end to 
his troubles and his life. The lady was again 
left a widow, with a thousand pounds of East 
India stock for the support of herself and 
I'amily." 

What the conduct of the company really 
was may be determined by their own de- 
spatches. In one of these letters they thus 
direct the president : — " As for Watson, that 
scandalous chaplain of Bombay, let him have 
no salary from us, from the time of his rebel- 
lion, nor any other officers there, as near as 
you can, without incurring a new hazard, 
until you are firmly settled in your govern- 
ment. And let Mr. Watson know he is no 
more our servant : banish him the island ; 
and let him take care to pay for his own 
passage home, and provide yourselves an- 
other chaplain for Bombay out of some of our 
ships, if you can meet with any so much to 
your satisfaction as you have at Surat in the 
room of Mr. Badham, deceased." * The crime 
of Mr. Watson was that of ministering to the 

* Letters from the Court to the Preaident and Coun- 
cil, 1684-85. 



Chap. LIV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST, 



%t 



revolutionary army and people, which he 
might in any case, as a clergyman, have felt 
hound to do ; how much more when the 
revolters acted iu the name of the king ? 

There is reason to believe that the preju- 
dice against the soldiery, — the officers more 
particularly, — and persecution of them, and 
of all who took their side in these disputes, 
although finding ready acquiescence with the 
directors as a body, was chiefly the work of 
Sir Josiali Child, who ruled the company at 
home, by his personal address, simulation of 
ingenuousness, strong common sense, and 
extensive acquaintance with trade. Bishop 
Burnet thus notices him : — " This summer 
Sir Josiah Cliild died ; he was a man of great 
notions as to merchandise, which was his 
education, and in which he succeeded beyond 
any man of his time ; he applied himself 
chiefly to the East India trade, which by his 
management was raised so high, that it drew 
much envy and jealousy both upon himself 
and upon the company ; he had a compass of 
knowledge and apprehension beyond any 
merchant I ever knew ; he was vain and 
covetous, and thought too cunning, though to 
me he seemed always sincere."* 

Tliere is a curious and yet painful exempli- 
fication of the morals of the directors at home 
in their repeated attempts to open up a slave- 
trade with Western India. The following is 
a just summary of the letters from the court 
to the president and council of Surat, during 
July, 1683, and February, 1684, as they 
were quoted in the appendix of Colquhoun's 
treatise : — " Slaves were amongst the exports 
of the English factory at this time. The 
Island of St. Helena had been bestowed by 
the crown upon the company, and they wanted 
labourers for their plantations. So they de- 
sired their president at Surat to send them 
cargoes of negroes, with as little concern as if 
they had been any other kind of live or dead 
stock, and mentioned twenty pounds per head 
as the purchase-money. At first only males 
were exported, and these desolate beings re- 
mained at St. Helena without any of those 
domestic enjoyments by which even the hfe 
of a slave may be solaced. However, there 
is a point at which oppression defeats its own 
projects. Like many other animals when 
deprived of their mates, the slaves became 
troublesome. So wives were demanded for 
them. The honourable company do not, 
indeed, hint that their commercial minds were 
susceptible of pity, but their interests were in 
this case promoted by showing kindness to 
their human cattle. ' It may be convenient,' 
they wrote, ' you should send near as many 
female slaves as male to St. Helena, because 
* Hittory of hit ovm Timet, book VI. 



the male will not live bo contented, except 
they have wives.' " 

A letter from the court to the president 
and council at Surat was written in May, 
1683, which contained a postscript, probably 
the most singular which has come down to 
our times in connection either with the East 
India Company or the courts of England : — 

His majesty hath required of us to send to ludia to 
provide for him there one male and two female blacks, 
but they most be dwarfs of the least size that you can 
procure, the male to be about seventeen years of age, and 
the females about fourteen. We would have you, next to 
their littleness, to chuse such as may have the best fea- 
tures, and to send them home upon any of our ships, 
giving the commander great charge to take cai-e of their 
accommodation, and in particular of the females, that 
they be in no way abused in the voyage by any of the 
seamen; for their provision and clothes you must take 
care to lay it in, and let them be set out with such ear 
and nose-rings, and shackles for ornaments about their 
legs (of false stones, and brass, but not with gold), as is 
usual to wear iu the country, but let them not be used by 
them in the voyage, but sent to us apart. 

Upon this extraordinary postscriptvm in a 
despatch, the author of The Early History qf 
the Factory at Surat, of Bombay, and the 
Subordinate Factories on the Western Coast, 
makes the following comment : — " Whether 
three unhappy creatures of precisely such 
ages, sizes, and features as were required, or 
whether, indeed, any were ever procured and 
forwarded, we are not informed. The court 
seemed as if they did not feel they were 
seeking to traffic in human beings. They 
write not of men and women, boys and girls, 
but only use the words male and female, as 
they might in reference to any strange 
animals. The reason why this order was 
sent is obvious. It was in the year 1683, 
when the company was seriously alarmed lest 
their exclusive privileges should be lost. A 
rival company were strenuously endeavouring 
to obtain a royal charter, and it was said that 
the people favoured their attempt. Even the 
king and council had taken the matter into 
consideration. The old company, therefore, 
strained every nerve to conciliate the monarch, 
and were anxious to indulge all the caprices 
of the royal and effete debauchee. They not 
only listened to his puerile request for toys 
with souls in them, but also would have them 
ornamented in such a manner as they sup- 
posed would satisfy the most fastidious taste." 
British interests in India have, as already 
shown, been signally indebted to physicians, 
a class who at home have, to the present day, 
shown much disinterestedness and benevo- 
lence in the practice of their profession to- 
wards those whose necessities required their 
generosity. They have been equally distin- 
guished for their public spirit and patriotism, 
in the navy, the army, and the cities of the 



69 



HISTOEY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LIV. 



empire, in the shipwreck, the battle, and the 
regions of pestilence and death. It is only 
when they are in competition with one an- 
other that they appear to disadvantage. In 
Scotland and Ireland medical men have always 
held a higher social place than in England ; 
this fact, however difficnlt to account for, is 
indisputable. Fryer, a physician, already 
quoted as a traveller and author, passed 
through many strange adventnres in India ; 
and the authentic accounts of him reveal the 
manners of men of his profession in the Eng- 
lish factories and settlements in the seven- 
teenth century, and also disclose their peculiar 
relations to the communities in which they 
dwelt, and the natives beyond their own im- 
mediate sphere with whom, professionally, 
they were frequently brought in contact. 
Fryer's services as a physician began in 
India in 1673. He frequently attended the 
wealthier Portuguese and Dutch, and was 
called to great distances into the interior to 
visit rich Brahmins, Mohammedans, and even 
princes, when native skill failed to aiiford 
them succour. Fryer was an eminent 
scholar as well as a skilful medicus ; his 
enterprise was energetic and courageous, hjs 
aptitude for dealing with the natives keen 
and prompt, and his observation of men and 
things clear and comprehensive. On one 
occasion he was sent for to Junar by the 
Mogul commander-in-chief, and the narrative 
given of his adventures there and by the way 
are amusing and very instructive as to the 
manners of the time and country, both native 
and European. The following abstract of his 
adventures has been given by the late vice- 
president of the Bombay branch of the Asiatic 
Society : — " On reaching his destination. Fryer 
attended the durbar, respectfully presented a 
letter from the English president, and met 
with a courteous reception ; but after being 
told who his patients were, was desired to 
wait for the occurrence of a fortunate day. 
At length, being summoned to the harem, he 
found a bed hung with silk curtains, and was 
desired to place his hand under the curtains, 
in order that he might feel an invalid's pulse. 
At first his conductors played him a trick, 
and let him touch the wrist of a healthy slave ; 
but when he declared that the owner was in 
robust health, there was extended to him an 
arm which gave signs of a weak constitution, 
and left him no doubt as to what should be 
his prescription. The following day the khan 
sent for him to bleed another of his wives. 
Across the apartment into which he was 
ushered a large curtain extended, through a 
hole of which an arm was stretched. As 
good luck would have it, there was behind 
this screen a number of inquisitive ladies. 



who, as they peeped through, so pressed upon 
it, that suddenly it gave way, and revealed 
the whole bevy fluttering like so many birds 
over which a net has been spread. None 
endeavoured to escape, but there they stood, 
pretending to be excessively modest, and 
peering at the doctor through the open lattices 
of their fingers. As for him, he found him- 
self holding by the arm ' a plump russet 
dame,' who summoned the blood to her 
cheeks, and commanded that the curtain 
should be replaced. No offence was given or 
taken. The doctor was rewarded with a 
golden shower of pagodas poured into the 
basin over which his patient had been bled, 
and his servants, to his infinite satisfaction, 
drew them out of the extravasated gore. As 
he was returning, the bearers of his palanquin 
must have tried to enjoy a joke at his expense. 
But it was in the end no joke for them. 
Drawing near a small grove, they saw such a 
blaze of light created by fireflies, that they 
really were, or pretended to be, terrified. 
The learned doctor, not being milder and 
gentler than the rest of his countrymen, drew 
his sword, and, as he said, by opening a vein 
or two, let out the shaitan who had crept into 
their fancies. Yet the perpetrator of such a 
wanton and tyrannical act could listen with 
the most tender compassion to tales of misery 
which the natives told, and which probably 
were at that time as harrowing themes as the 
people of any country have ever dilated on." 
It is stated by the same authority : — " Fryer 
had the company's interests in view as well 
as his own. He did his utmost to open a 
trade between Junar and Bombay, suggesting 
that the Mogul general might in this way 
provide his army from Bussora and Mocha, in 
exchange for which he could give the ordi- 
nary merchandise of his country. However, 
the Mahratta army, possessing the intervening 
districts, were an obstruction in this route 
which probably was not overcome." 

Bombay, the events of which occupy so 
much space in the history of this century, 
was not as enticing to our countrymen when 
they took possession of it, or for long after, 
as it at last became. Lord Macaulay fur- 
nishes some amusing notices in his History 
of England of the little interest taken by the 
English of that age in beautiful or bold 
scenery, although it is certain his lordship's 
picture of the period in that particular is exag- 
gerated. The first British settlers at Bombay, 
and their successors for some time, could see 
nothing in the beauty of the situation to com- 
pensate its insalubrity and other local disadvan- 
tages. Certainly the condition of the island 
itself gave no promise of its ever assuming 
the aspect which it now wears, Anderson thus 



Chap. LIV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



69 



depicts its state and appearance at the time 
when the English were quietly settled down 
in it : — " Indeed, the place must have looked 
desolate enough. Large tracts of land, which 
have since been recovered from the sea, were 
then overflowed. At high tides the waves 
flowed to the part called Umerkhadi, and 
covered the present Bhendi Bazaar. Near 
where the temple of Jlumbadevi stands, a 
place still called Paydliuni, or .feet -washing, 
marks where a small stream of salt water was 
formerly left by the receding tide, and where 
persons might wash their feet before entering 
Bombay. Where Kamatapore is now there 
was then sufficient depth of water for the 
passage of boats. In fact, during one part of 
every day only a group of islets was to be 
seen. According to Fryer, forty thousand 
acres of good land were thus submerged. 
The rest of the island seemed for the most 
part a barren rock, not being extensively 
wooded, as at present, but producing only 
some cocoa palms, which covered the espla- 
nade. The principal town was IMahim. On 
Dongari Hill, adjoining the harbour, there 
was a small collection of iishermen's huts, and 
a few houses were seen interspersed among 
palm-trees, where the fort now stands. On 
various spots were built towers with small 
pieces of ordnance, as a protection against 
Malabar pirates, who had become peculiarly 
insolent, plundering villages, and either mur- 
dering the inhabitants, or carrying them into 
slavery. The English also found, but soon 
removed, a government house, which was 
slightly fortified, defended by four brass guns, 
and surrounded by one of the most delightful 
gardens. Portuguese society was depraved 
and corrupt. The population did not exceed 
ten thonsand." 

This writer expresses his astonishment that 
the English did not recognise the advantages 
of the place, as the most important in India, 
both to tlieir power and commerce. It appears, 
however, that the company did recognise its 
importance, by their persistent occupation of 
it, even through many misfortunes, and their 
removal thither of the presidency of Surat. 
They could hardly have foreseen its progress 
in the eighteenth century, and its ultimate 
greatness. The importance of a position in 
the transactions of commerce or war is rela- 
tive : there then existed no such relative im- 
portance in the position itself to the native 
powers, or the rival European settlements, 
as afforded to either the English or other 
foreigners any ground of anticipating its 
subsequent greatness and relations. Events 
afterwards marked out Calcutta as a more 
suitable seat for English dominion in the East. 
The decay of the Mogul Empire, the conquest 

VOL. II. 



of the Mahrattas, the vast designs and bold 
attempts of the French, the various internal 
changes and revolutions in the peninsula, all 
contributed to give to Bombay the relative 
importance it finally attained; but these were 
events beyond the foresight of the most saga- 
cious merchants or statesmen, and the British 
were too practical to indulge in vaticinations. 
All the importance was attached to Bombay 
that it deserved in the circumstances of that 
age, as soon as the English were long enough 
there to test its value, and its commercial and 
political relation to India generally. 

When, towards the close of the seventeenth 
century, Bombay was improved by drainage, 
increase of population, enlarged commerce, 
and respectable public buildings, it was worthy 
of being the great centre and chief settlement 
of the English communities in India. The 
neighbourhood at that time differed very 
much in appearance from its aspect of a cen- 
tury earlier or a century later, and still more 
from the aspect it presents at present. Tlie 
following description of a portion of the vi- 
cinity carefully deduced from the authorities, 
English and foreign, which afford any infor- 
mation upon the subject, is probably as correct 
as it is striking : — " At the other side of the 
small strait which separates Salsette from 
Bombay were the Acquada Blockhouse, and 
on the hill a mile beyond Bandora the Por- 
tuguese Church, which so gracefully overlooks 
the sea. The Roman Catholic services were 
well performed. A new landing-place led to 
a College of Panlitines, as the Jesuits were 
then called. Before the college stood a 
large cross, and before that was a space, 
which when the traveller from whose work 
this account is chiefly taken, visited it, 
was ' thwack'd full of young blacks singing 
vespers.' The collegiate establishment was 
defended, like a fortress, with seven cannon, 
besides small arms. Great hospitality pre- 
vailed, and distinguished guests were, on their 
arrival and departure, saluted with a roar of 
artillery. The Superior possessed such ex- 
tensive influence that his mandates were re- 
spectfully attended to in the surrounding 
countr)', and the traveller who had the good 
fortune to be provided with his letters com- 
mendatory, was met by the people, wherever 
he halted, with presents of fruit and wine. 
The town of Bandora was large, with tiled 
houses. A view from mid-channel, embracing 
the town, college, and Church of St. Andrew, 
was extremely picturesque. At a distance of 
four miles was another church, described as 
magnificent ; and the whole neighbourhood 
was studded with the villas of Portuguese 
gentlemen, many of whom lived in consider- 
able state. To the east of Salsette, the sail 

L 



?0 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[CHAr. LIV. 



by way of Thana to Basscin, w]iich is now so 
justly admired, must in those days have been 
of unrivalled beauty. Trombay was adorned 
with a neat churcli and country seat. When 
Thana had been passed, the traveller's eye 
rested at every half mile on elegant man- 
sions. Two of these deserve special mention. 
One, the property of John de Melos, was 
three miles from Thana. It stood on a slop- 
ing eminence, decorated with terraced walks 
and gardens, and terminating at the water 
side with a banqueting house, which was 
approached by a flight of stone steps. A mile 
further was .Grebondel, the property of Martin 
Alphonso, said to be ' the richest Don on this 
side Goa.' Above rose his fortified mansion, 
and a church of stately architecture. Within 
Bassein were six churches, four convents, a 
college of Jesuits, another of Franciscans, 
and a library of historical, moral, and expo- 
sitory works. The Hidalgos' dwelHngs, with 
their balconies and lofty windows, presented 
an imposing appearance. Christians only 
were permitted to sleep within the walls of 
the town, and native tradesmen were com- 
pelled to leave at nightfall." 

The termination of the seventeenth century 
in western India disclosed a condition of social 
existence in the English factories truly hor- 
rible. The older the settlement, the worse 
the settlers. There is scarcely any vice for 
which Surat and Bombay had not obtained a 
terrible notoriety. The number of English 
ladies who had during the last quarter of 
the seventeenth century arrived in India, 
with the hope of marrying rich factors or 
merchants, were generally successful in their 
speculations, but their behaviour as wives 
neither brought honour to themselves, nor 
happiness to their husbands. In all classes, 
high and low, the grossest immorality pre- 
vailed among both male and females, and 
writers of those times, such as Ovington and 
Alexander Hamilton, describe botli Surat 
and Bombay as perfect hells : — " As regards 
the military at this period, the company had 
not been taught by bitter experience to treat 
them with liberality, and consequently they 
found that they themselves were treated by 
them with little respect. Their vexatious 
regulations infused a spirit of insubordination 
into the minds of all the troops, from the 
highest officer to the private soldier. Captain 
Carr, indeed, did not hesitate to insult the 
deputy governor in his council chamber. Un- 
summoned, he appeared before his honour to 
demand an inquiry into his conduct. Ho was 
told that he had not been sent for ; but, as he 
had come of his own accord, he would per- 
haps be so good as to explain why he had not 
appeared on parade for two mornings. 'I 



had business,' was his laconic answer. Tho 
deputy governor mildly suggested that his 
business could not have been very urgent, 
and that it really appeared as if the captain 
was not anxious to perform his duty. Upon 
that Carr began to swear ' good mouth-filling 
oaths' at his honour, and when threatened 
with punishment by him, shook his fist in the 
deputy's face. The affair was terminated by 
the captain being placed under arrest, and 
confined to his own quarters. Such an ex- 
ample thus set by an officer was, as might be 
expected, imitated by private soldiers, and at 
last ill! fell into such a disorganized state that 
the governor could not find a man whom he 
would venture to make a Serjeant or corporal."* 

While the state of morals among . military 
and civilians was the lowest, there were many 
faithful admonitions from the chaplains, who 
were more successful in resisting the tyranny 
of the chief factors than the military were. 
While the company's ships were playing the 
part of pirates, their chief representatives 
acting as oppressors, the agents cheating the 
company and the natives, and sometimes 
cheated by both in turn, and while all were 
eager for plunder, by sea or land, the following 
well-expressed prayer was offered daily in 
the factories, it having been sent out by the 
directors for that purpose^ : — 

Almighty and most merciful God, who art the sove- 
reign Protector of all that trust iu Thee, and the Author 
of all spiritual and temporal blessings, we Thy unworthy 
creatures do most humbly implore Thy goodness for a 
plentiful effusion of Thy grace upon our employers, Thy 
servants, the Right Honourable East India Company of 
England. Prosper them in all their public undertakings, 
and make them famous and successful in all their govern- 
ments, colonies, and commerce both by sea and land ; so 
that they may prove a public blessing by the incrcaEc of 
honour, wealth, and power, to our native country, as well 
as to themselves. Continue their favours towards ns, 
and inspire their generals, presidents, agents, and councils 
in these remote parts of the world, and all others that are 
intrusted with any authority under them, with piety to- 
wards Thee our God, and with wisdom, fidelity, and cir- 
cnmspection iu their several stations ; that we may all 
disi'liarge our respective duties faithfully, and live vir- 
tuously in due obedience to our superiors, and in love, 
peace, and charity one towards another, that these Indian 
nations among whom we dwell, seeing our sober and 
religious conversation, may be induced to have a just 
esteem for om' most holy profession of the gospel of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be honour, praise, and glory, 
now and for ever. Amen. 

The differences between the two companies, 
"the London Company " and "the English 
Company " having been introduced to India, 
especially by the embassy of Sir W. Norris, 
to the Mogul, in the interest of " the English" 
or " new company," embittered extremely the 
social state of tho English living in India at 
the commencement of the eighteenth century, 

* Bruce ; Anderson, 
t Kev. Mr. Ovingtoii. 



Chap. LIV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



n 



as it had during the last years of the seven- 
teenth. Taking the wliole of the seventeenth 
century, as it were, at a glance, the vicissi- 
tudes of the English were many, their for- 
tunes fickle, their character contradictory, 
their defeats signal, their progress, never- 
theless, indisputable, as their habits were 
bold and rude, and their spirit persevering 
and resolute. Wars from without and revo- 
lutions within impelled them forward, as the 
wind which beats against the ship fills its sails 
and assists its progress. They were also knit 
to the soil of India by the rude blasts of w-ar. 
As the tree was shaken it made for its roots 
a freer soil every time it bent to the gusts 
which swept through its branches and 
threatened its destruction. The determination 
to hold on without flinching, so natural to the 
English character, was strengthened and 
trained by the rude discipline of the century, 
and gave a tone to the Anglo-Indian mind 
which it has never lost ; but which, from war 
to war, conquest to conquest, and generation 
to generation, has come down to the present 
day, and has aided the English now in India 
to abide and subdue a military revolution and 
popular insurrection, the most sudden, vast, 
sanguinary, and appalling, recorded in the 
history of the world. The words of the reve- 
rend author of Early Notices of the Factories 
of Western India, written in review of this 
period, and its relation to events there, has 
eloquently expressed what will approjiriately 
close this chapter : — " Such wore the English 
at their first appearance on the Western coast 
of India. It must be confessed that the 
natives had before them a strange variety of 
models from which to form in their minds the 
character of an Englishman. Roe and Herbert, 
the acute diplomatist and the polished gentle- 
man ; Best, Downton, and other valiant ma- 
riners ; the inquiring and literary Kerridge ; 
hard headed, ungrammatical, and religious 
Joseph Salbank : wine-bibbing Rastell ; Mil- 
denhall, cheat and assassin ; preachers or 
gospellers, half Anglican and half Zuinglian ; 
orthodox chaplains ; a few scampish, reckless 
travellers ; and piratical, merciless captains — 
such a medley could scarcely leave any well- 
defined impressions upon the native mind. 
Probably opinions were decided by circum- 
stances. The jovial Jehanghire found that 



an Englishman was a well-trained courtier 
and good boon companion ; the Banyas of 
Surat found that he was a clever tradesman, 
and a hard driver of a bargain. But doubt- 
less at first the popular feeling was one of 
fear, afterwards of contempt. Hindoos and 
Mussulmans considered the English a set of 
cow-eaters and fire drinkers, vile brutes, 
fiercer than the mastiffs which they brought 
with them, who would fight like Eblis, cheat 
their own fathers, and exchange with the 
same readiness a broadside of shot and thrnsts 
of boarding-pikes, or a bale of goods and a 
bag of rupees. As time wore on, the estima- 
tion in which the English had been held, 
declined. After a few years there were but 
certain illiberal merchants, struggling that 
they might keep the market of Surat to them- 
selves, and exclude by fair means or foul the 
Portuguese and Dutch. The celebrity which 
their naval skill and courage had gained for 
them soon passed away ; the glory reflected 
on them from a royal embassy was soon for- 
gotten. They were only known as shrewd 
and vulgar adventurers who had opened ware- 
houses in India. Their existence was scarcely 
heeded by the Mogid despot, whose imperial 
sway was one of the most extended, and his 
throne one of the most splendid on the face of 
the earth. Yet that sway was destined to 
fall into their grasp ; that throne to depend 
upon the forbearance and magnanimity of the 
successors of those peddling traders. These 
English were indeed regarded as men of an 
insignificant country, dissolute morals, and 
degraded religion ; yet they were the pioneers 
of a people who now possess territory 
more than four times the size of France, and 
seven times that of Great Britain and Ireland. 
Let the British empire in the East, then, be 
compared to Gothic architecture, which began 
with its wooden buildings, thatched roofs, and 
rush-strewn floors, but was gradually refined 
into the groined roofs, elaborate mouldings, 
stately pillars, and delicate tracery of our 
magnificent cathedrals. Joseph Salbank and 
his contemporaries were of the ruder, not to 
say of the baser sort ; but now the empire is 
a noble structure, the style and order of which 
remain to be further developed by ingenuity 
and labour ; nor have they, we thank God, yet 
reached a period of debasement and decline." 



HISTORY OF THK BllITISH EMPIRE 



rCHAr. LV. 



CHAPTER LV. 

THE HOME AFFAIRS OF THE COJIPANY DURING THE FIRST HALF OF THE EIGHTEENTH 

CENTURY. 



The eigliteenth century, destined to be so full 
of great events in connection with the East 
India Company, found it struggling against 
prejudice and competition even in the place 
where it had its birth.* The rival company 
was not wiser, happier, nor more prospe- 
rous. Both these bodies became anxious as 
to their future position. The " committee of 
seven" which had been proposed (as noticed 
in a former chapter) in the answer given by the 
company to the king, was now believed to be an 
important instrument for effecting some prac- 
tical measure. By a resolution of the Gene- 
ral Court, April 17th, 1701, the committee of 
seven was empowered to receive any propo- 
sals which tiie rival (the English) society 
might make for a union. The remainder of 
the year was consumed in negotiations which 
frequently appeared likely to prove fruitless, 
but at the beginning of 1702, terms were mu- 
tually agreed upon, as a general basis of adr 
justment, to be however deferred for more 
mature consideration. These terms were^- 
"That the court of twenty-four managers or 
directors should be composed of twelve indi- 
viduals chosen by each company; that of the 
annual exports, the amount of which should 
be fixed by the court of managers, a half 
should bo furnished by each company ; that 
the court of managers should have the entire 
direction of all matters relating to trade and 
settlements subsequently to this union ; but 
that the factors of each company should 
manage separately the stocks which each had 
sent out previously to the date of that trans- 
action ; that seven years shovdd be allowed to 
wind up the separate concerns of eacli com- 
pany; and that, after that period, one great 
joint -stock should be formed by the final 
union of the funds of both. This agreement 
was confirmed by the general courts of both 
companies on the 27th April, 1702. An 
indenture tripartite, including the Queen and 
the two East India Companies, was the in- 
strument adopted for giving legal efficacy to 
the transaction. For equalizing the shares of 
the two companies, the following scheme was 
devised. The London Company, it was 
agreed, should purchase at par as much of the 
capital of the English company, lent to go- 
vernment, as, added to the £315,000 which 
they had already subscribed, should render 
equal the portion of each. The dead stock 

* HUtonj and Management of the East India Com- 
jiany. London, 1786. 



of the London Company was estimated at 
£330,000 ; that of the English company at 
£70,000; whereupon the latter paid £130",000 
for equalizing the shares of this part of the 
common estate. On the 22nd July, 1702, 
the indenture passed under the great seal ; 
and the two parties took the common name 
of ' The United Company of Merchants trading 
to the East Indies.'"* 

On this footing of co-operation rather than 
union, the two companies continued tointrigue 
and trade, to be jealous and to jar, until to- 
wards the close of 1707. At that juncture, 
the government resorted to one of its old 
oppressive measures towards the company. 
The statesmen and senators of that age, as 
well as the court, seemed to think that the 
chief advantage of fostering trade was the 
opportunity it ultimately provided for robbing 
the merchants. The government, iu this 
instance, determined to exact a forced loan 
from both companies, indicating a spirit of 
impartial injustice. Fearing that any reluc- 
tance to advance the enormous sum of 
£1,200,000 demanded, would cause the court 
to admit private adventurers into rivalry with 
both companies, these corporations made haste 
so settle their differences with one another, 
and meet the emergency as best as they could. 
They agreed to refer matters to the lord 
high-treasurer of his majesty for final adjudi- 
cation. On this foundation the act, 6 Anne, 
cap. 17, was passed ; enacting that a sum of 
£1,200,000, without interest, should be ad- 
vanced by the united companies to govern- 
ment, which being added to a former advance 
of £2,000,000 at eight per cent, interest, con- 
stituted a loan of £3,200,000, yielding inte- 
rest at the rate of five per cent, npon the 
whole ; that to raise this sum of £1,200,000, 
the company should be empowered to borrow 
to the extent of £1,500,000 on their common 
seal, or to call in monies to that extent from 
the proprietors; that this sum of £1,200,000 
should be added to their capital stock; that 
instead of terminating on three years' notice 
after the 29th of September, 1711, their pri- 
vileges should be continued till three yeai's' 
notice after the 2.')th of March, 1726, and 
till repayment of their capital ; that the stock 
of the separate adventures of the General 
Societ}', amounting to £7200, which had 
never been incorporated into the joint-stock 
of the English company, might be paid off, 

* MiU; Bruce. 



Chap. LV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



78 



on three years' notice after the 29th of Sep- 
tember, 1711, and merged in the joint-stock 
of tlie united company ; and that the award 
of the Earl of Godolphin, settling the terms 
of the union, should be binding and conclusive 
on both parties. The award of Godolphin 
was dated and published on the 29th of .Sep- 
tember, 1708. It referred solely to the wind- 
ing up of the concerns of the two companies ; 
and the blending of their separate properties 
into one stock, on terms equitable to both. 
As the assets or effects of the London Com- 
pany in India fell short of the debts of that 
concern, they were required to pay by instal- 
ments to the united company the sum of 
EdGfilois.dd.: and as the effects of the 
English Company in India exceeded their 
debts, they were directed to receive from the 
united company the sum of £66,005 4s. 2d. ; 
a due debt by Sir Edward Littleton in Bengal, 
of 80,437 rupees and 8 anas, remaining to be 
discharged by the English Company on their 
own account. On these terms, the whole of 
the property and debts of both companies 
abroad became the property and debts of the 
united company. With regard to the debts 
of both companies in Britain, it was in general 
ordained that they should all be discharged 
before the 1st of March, 1709; and as those 
of the London Company amounted to the 
sum of £399,795 9s. Id., they were empowered 
to call upon their proprietors, by three several 
instalments, for the means of liquidation.* 

By indenture, quinque partite, dated 22nd 
July, 1702, made between various parties, the 
old company conveyed to the new (united) 
company, all its forts, settlements and dead 
stock of whatever kind. " By deed poll 
enrolled in Chancery, dated 22ud March, 
1709, the old company, in pursuance of Lord 
Godolphin's award, and for the entire extin- 
guishment of their corporate capacity, having 
granted, surrendered, yielded, and given up 
to the Queen, her heirs and successors, their 
corporate capacity or bodily politic, of Go- 
vernor and Company of Merchants of London 
trading into the East Indies, and all their 
charters, capacities, powers, and rights, for 
acting as or continuing to be a body politic 
or corporate, by virtue of any acts of parlia- 
ment, letters patent, or charters whatever; 
the Queen by letters patent, dated the 7th 
May in the same year, accepted the surrender; 
and thus, the right of trading to the eastward 
of the Cape of Good Hope, together with 
the government of the forts and settle- 
ments possessed by the English in India, 
became vested in the ' United Company of 

* Brace vol. iii. 635—039; Mill, vol. i. cap. y. 
103, 104. 



Mercliants in England trading to the East 
Indies.' "* 

The year 1708 was an important era in the 
company's history, the union of the two com- 
panies seemed to promise the extinction of the 
interlopers, and to terminate all grounds of 
quarrel with the court and parliament. The 
united company being heavy creditors of the 
state, had a claim upon the royal protection and 
favour, and for a very considerable time, in- 
dependent merchants, however, energetic and 
enterprising, were of opinion that opposition 
and rivalry were hopeless. For a number of 
years the history of the company at home, 
although not barren of interest, was devoid of 
all exciting topics. In the meantime, even 
home events were gradually and quietly con- 
solidating the company's power, and laying 
broad the foundation of that superstructure 
of greatness, which it was destined to raise.f 
During the reign of Queen Anne, several 
acts of parliament were passed, which had an 
important bearing xipon the interests of the 
company; one was named — " An Act for ena- 
bling and obliging the Bank of England, for 
the time therein mentioned, to exchange all 
Exchequer Bills forready Money upon demand, 
and to disable any Person to be Governor, 
Deputy-governor, or Director of the Bank of 
England, and a Director of the East India 
Company, at the same time." Another was 
entitled — "An Act for making good Defi- 
ciencies, and satisfying the public Debts ; and 
for erecting a Corporation, to carry on a Trade 
to the South Seas, and for the Encouragement 
of the Fishery ; and for Liberty to trade in 
uuwrought Iron with the Subjects of Spain ; 
and to repeal the Acts for registering Seamen." 
This act defined the limits of the charter 
granted to the South Sea Company, and pro- 
hibited that company from infringing the 
rights of the East India Company. 

The 10th Anne, cap. 28, is entitled, "An Act 
for continuing the Trade and Corporation 
capacity of the United East India Compan)', 
altltoiigh their Fund should he redeemed." 
According to cap. 17, 6 Anne, it was pro- 
vided that the government might redeem its 
debt to the company, and terminate the com- 
pany's privileges thereupon, under certain 
conditions stated. The 10th of Anne re- 
pealed that proviso, and substituted another 
to the purpose expressed above. 

In the reign of George I. there were two 
acts in which the company was interested. 
The first (7 George I., cap. o) was entitled, 
" An Act to enable the South Sea Company 

* The Laio relatin// to India and the East India Com- 
fany, p. 3. 

t Hislonj of the East India Company. London, 1793. 



74 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LV. 



to engraft part of their Capital Stock and 
Fund into tlio Stock and Fund of the Bank 
of England, and another part thereof into the 
Stock and Fund of the East India Company, 
&c." The greater part of this act refers to 
the South Sea Company. Section 32 relates 
to the borrowing of money on bond by the 
East India Company ; part of section 33 
relates to the same subject. The remainder 
is as follows : — " That it shall not be lawful 
for the said United Company of Merchants 
trading to the East Indies, or their successors, 
to discount any bills of exchange, or other 
bills or notes whatsoever, or to keep any bills 
or cash of or for any person or persons, 
bodies politic or corporate, whatever, other 
than the proper monies and cash of the said 
united company." The other (7 George I., 
cap. 21) was called, " An Act for the further 
preventing His Majesty's Subjects from trad- 
ing to the East Indies under Foreign Com- 
missioners ; and for encouraging and further 
securing the Lawful Trade thereto ; and for 
further regulating the Pilots of Dover, Deal, 
and the Isle of Thanet." The following sec- 
tion remained in force till the abolition of the 
East India Company in 1858 :—" The eaid- 
united company shall be allowed to ship out 
stores, provisions, utensils of war, and neces- 
saries for maintaining their garrisons and 
settlements, free of all duties; so as such 
duties, if they had been to be paid, would 
not have exceeded, or do not exceed, in any 
one year, the sum of three hundred pounds." 
Having noticed the influence of legislation 
upon the constitution of the company during 
a portion of the eighteenth century, it is im- 
portant to our narrative to refer to the pro- 
gress of the trade for some time after the 
union of the London and English companies 
in the General Association of English Mer- 
chants trading to the East Indies. As in the 
previous century, so during a considerable 
portion of this, the exjiorts consisted in 
bullion, quicksilver, lead, and small portions 
of other metals : hardware in considerable 
variety, and a large assortment of woollen 
cloths.* The official value of these exports 
for the year 1708 was only £60,915. The 
following year it rose to £168,357. But from 
this it descended gradually, till, in the year 
1715, it amounted to no more than £36,997. 
It made a start, however, in the following 
year ; and the medium exportation for the 
first twenty years, subsequent to 1708, was 
£92,281 per annum. The average annual 
exportation of bullion during the same years 
was £442,350. The articles of which the 
import trade of the East India Company 

• Macpherson's History of European Commerce with 
India. London, 1812. 



chiefly consisted were calicoes and the other 
woven manufactures of India ; raw silk, 
diamonds, tea, porcelain, pepper, drugs, and 
saltpetre. The official value of their imports 
in 1708 was £493,257; and their annual 
average importation for this and the nineteen 
following years was £758,042. At that 
period the official value assigned to goods at 
the Custom House differed not greatly from 
the real value ; and the statements which 
have been made by the East India Company 
of the actual value of their exports and im- 
ports for some of those years, though not 
according with the Custom House accounts 
from year to year, probably from their being 
made up to different periods in the year, yet 
on a sum of several years pretty nearly coin- 
cide.* In 1730 the value of the imports was 
£1,059,759 ; the exports of the same year 
were only of the value of £135,484. In fact, 
the exports did not increase from 1708 to 
1730; the differences were of course paid in 
bullion. With regard to the rate of profit 
during this period, or the real advantage of 
the Indian trade, the company, for part of 
the year 1708, divided at the rate of five per 
cent, per annum to the proprietors upon 
£3,163,200 of capital; for the next year 
eight per cent. ; for the two following years 
nine per cent. ; and thence, to the year 1716 
ten per cent, per annum. In the year 1717 
they paid dividends on a capital of £3,194,080, 
at the same rate of ten per cent, per annum, 
and so on till the year 1723. That year the 
dividend was reduced to eight per cent, per 
annum, at which rate it continued till the 
year 1732. f 

Although the independent merchants of 
England were, as Englishmen, debarred from 
all trade with the East, they frequently em- 
barked their capital in foreign companies, the 
history of which will be given in future 
chapters.:]: This especially took place at the 
formation of the Ostend Company. The 
English East India Company urged the 
government of Great Britain to pursue Eng- 
lish subjects thither, and make their engaging 
in any trade with India under any flag what- 
ever severely penal. 

In the year 1730 matters of great moment 
to the company transpired. The independent 
merchants believed that a favourable juncture 
had arisen for again opposing the company's 
exclusive claims. The circumstance of a new 
sovereign having ascended the throne inspired 
— or at all events sustained — the hopes enter- 
tained of breaking up the monopoly in the 

* Mill; Whitworth. 
t MiU. 

X The Case of the East India Company in 1707. 
'London, 1712. 



Chap. LV.J 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



75 



Eastern trade, and petitions were presented 
to parliament in that year.* The debt which 
the government had incurred to the company 
waa enormous, and the interest paid on it — 
five per cent. — was felt by the nation to be 
heavy. That debt, however, must be liqui- 
dated before the company could be abolished. 
There were yet three years before the charter 
would expire, under the clause of a tliree 
years' notice. The petitioners offered to 
raise the money due to the company by 
government, to pay it in five instalments 
within the three years, each instalment to 
bear four per cent, interest, until the whole 
was paid, when the entire subscription should 
only bear two per cent.f The proposers of 
the new scheme declared against all mono- 
poly, alleging that the trade should be thrown 
open to private enterprise, the subscribers to 
the new fund having the control of all forts 
and factories, and receiving a duty of one per 
cent, on British imports in India, and of five 
per cent, on Indian imports in England. 
There was so much plausibility in this pro- 
posal, that many were taken with it, and a 
strong impression was made on the govern- 
ment and parliament. This company having 
no trade, could only make dividends to its 
subscribers from the interest paid by govern- 
ment and the duties to be levied in India and 
in England. The expense of the forts and 
factories, it was believed, would be defrayed 
by the territorial revenue connected with 
them. On the whole a dividend of six per 
cent, per annum was estimated as certain to 
bo made to the subscribers. | Tlie rate of 
interest on money was low in Europe during 
17.30 — very low in England, and still lower 
in Holland. This circumstance made the 
merchants and capitalists of England very 
ready to subscribe. Many, however, conjec- 
tured that a far higher dividend than six per 
cent, per annum would be realized when the 
trade should be completely thrown open, as 
its increase to a vast extent was thought pro- 
bable, from the large resources of the East, 
and the rapid development of British wealth 
and power. It was alleged that the duties 
would amount to a vast sum in a few years, 
and increase in a ratio promising wealth to 
the subscribers. The petitioners were con- 
nected with the cities of London and Bristol 
and the town of Liverpool, which in half a 
century had risen in population and import- 
ance with unexampled rapidity. Even Man- 
chester did not afford so extraordinary an 
example of advancing commerce, for it had 

* Hansard. 

t Anderson's History of Commerce. 
t Anderson's Commercial History of the British 
Smpire. London, 1764. 



for ages been a considerable town, numbering 
fifty thousand inhabitants in the beginning of 
the reign of Elizabeth, but Liverpool at the 
close of the seventeenth century was a very 
insignificant place. The petitioners from 
each of these cities solicited to be heard by 
counsel at the bar of both houses. As the 
press had now assumed some importance in 
England, its advocacy of " the merchants' 
petitions" added to the effect which these 
documents produced both in parliament and 
on the country, and a very great excitement 
sprung up. The East India Company, and 
the relations of East Indian commerce to the 
national welfare, were discussed everywhere 
— on 'Change, in the senate, in the cabinet, 
in London coffee-houses, and in the homes of 
the people in the provinces. The argument 
which appeared to weigh most with persons 
generally was, that one-third of the stock of 
the East India Company belonged to foreigners, 
and it was not just that British subjects should 
have been laid under restriction for the bene- 
fit of such. It was also contended with much 
plausibility that the company, by dilatory 
management, extravagance, and encumbering 
itself with politics, wasted most of its profits, 
which, although very great in virtue of its 
monopoly, only permitted a dividend of eight 
per cent, per annum, in consequence of such 
drawbacks. The company put forth vast 
power in its own defence ; and in the press 
and the parliament it found ready and able 
advocates. The turning point of the contro- 
versy was, as usual, a question of pecuniary 
advantage to the government. The company 
ofl'ered to reduce the interest upon the debt 
to four per cent., and to make a donation of 
£200,000 to the public exchequer, if their 
monopoly was renewed. The parliament, 
influenced by the cabinet, could not resist so 
tempting a bait. The opponents of the com- 
pany found no favour from the moment that 
accommodation was offered. The old privi- 
leges were further continued to Lady Day, 
177(5, with the usual proviso of three years' 
notice, and with the additional provision that, 
should their exclusive privileges then deter- 
mine, they should, nevertheless, be permitted 
to trade as a body corporate.* Matters, 
however, did not continue so long on that 
footing, as, in 1744, when the nation was 
engaged in a fierce war, the company opened 
negotiations with government, offering a mil- 
lion loan at three per cent., on condition of 
their monopoly being extended to 1780, and 
further by a three years' notice beyond that 
time. Their opponents were tnken by sur- 
prise, the movement was so skilfully accom- 

* Company's statutes— 3 George II., cap. 14; 17 
George II., cap. 17 ; and 23 George II., cap. 22. 



76 



HISTOEY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LV. 



plished, and bo secretly and suddenly under- 
taken. 

From 1730 to 1744 the trade of the com- 
pany was very steady. Their imports, ac- 
cording to the official value, approached a 
million sterling annually. Their exports 
increased to nearly half a million in value ; 
but a large portion of these consisted in stores 
for the forts and factories. The imports were, 
in the main, paid for in bullion. Mr. Mill 
constantly presents this fact to his readers as 
a proof that the trade of the company was of 
little value. He did not fail to perceive that 
if there was a profit upon the imports, tlie 
trade was of value to the company ; but he 
supposed it must be of little or no value to 
the nation, because bullion was exported for 
commodities received — a fallacy which had 
been exploded before the period when his 
history was written. 

The year 1 732 is notable as that in which 
the company began to make up annual ac- 
counts. In this year also the dividends were 
reduced from eight to seven per cent. ; but in 
1744 they were again raised to eight. The 
Dutch, during this century, were obliged 
gradually to lower their dividends from 
twenty-five per cent to twelve, although for a 
time they rose again to fifteen. The English 
company was much embarrassed by the con- 
flicts with France ; and the operations in India 
of Dupleix and Labourdonnais tended to lower 
the company's credit, and to depress its hopes.* 
The general impression among the directors, 
at the close of the first half of the eighteenth 
century, was desponding, and well it might 
be, in view of war in Europe and in India, 
the progress of the French there, and the dis- 
asters and humiliation of the British. Never- 
theless, the trade maintained with India and 
the East was vast. Mill, relying upon Orme 
and the reports of the committee of secresy, 
thus exhibits it in figures : — 

Gold and Stores exported. BiUlion do. Total. 

1744 £2.31,318 £458,544 £689,862 

1745 91,364 476,853 568,217 

1746 265,818 560,020 825,838 

1747 107.979 779,256 887,235 

1748 127,224 706,890 834,114 

The bills of exchange for which the com- 
pany paid during those years were : — 



1747 £441,651 

1748 178,419 



1744 £103,-349 

1745 98,213 

1746 417,647 

The amount of sales for the same years 
(including thirty per cent, of duties, which 
remain to be deducted) was : 

1744 £1,997,506 1747 £1,739,159 

1745 2,480,966 1748 1,768,041 

1746 1,602,388 

* History of the Brituh Empire in India, 



The official value at the custom-house of 
the imports and exports of the company, 
during that period, was as follows : — 





Imports. 


Exports. 


1744 


£743,508 


£476,274 


1745 


973,705 


293,113 


1746 


646,697 


893,540 


1747 


128,733 


345,526 


1748 


1,098,712 


306,357 



The dividend was eight per cent, per 
annum, during the whole of the time. 
During the sf»me period, the trade of the 
nation, notwithstanding the war, had con- 
siderably increased. The imports had risen 
from £f,,362,971 official value, to £8,13G,408; 
and the exports from £11,429,028 to 
£12,351,433 ; and, in the two following 
years, to £14,099,30(5 and £15,132,004. 

The first half of the eighteenth century 
was comparatively one of quietness for the 
East India Company at home ; though the 
possessors of its stock were frequently much 
alarmed by the threatened or actual reduc- 
tion of dividends, the large loans which it 
was necessary to give the government, the 
contests prior to the imion of the London 
and English companies, and the final arrange- 
ments which left it in the condition in which 
it existed at the close of the half century ; 
yet, as compared with its anxieties and 
troubles in previous periods of equal extent, 
it was not unprosperous. A time, however, 
was now arriving pregnant with the mightiest 
issues. War between the English and French 
in India was already raging, and out of this 
turmoil it was destined, after much misfortune 
and shame, that the company should arise 
great and triumphant. 

The events about to take place in India, 
and those which had already transpired 
there, were singularly influenced by men of 
remarkable character ; and by incidents con- 
nected with them, which, independent of the 
control of the companj', were ripening to 
effect its fortunes and its glory. Three men 
were born in Europe during this period, by 
whom the future of India was to be in- 
fluenced more than by any other men who 
were destined to take part in its affairs 
during the continued existence of the East 
India Company. These three men were 
Dupleix, Clive, and Hastings. Dupleix was 
born at the beginning of the century, and had 
arrived in India and laid the foundation of 
a policy, while yet Clive was a schoolboy, 
and Hastings was a child. Their ages were 
different, and their successive irruption, as it 
may be called, upon the soil of India mar- 
vellously combined to alter its whole relations 
politically, and its ultimate destinies in every 
way. Dupleix, a Frenchman, sought the 



Chap. LV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



77 



glory of his country, and devised a scheme 
by which he believed India would be sub- 
jected to France. His genius was lofty, and 
his adaptation to the task complete. Dif- 
ferent in his intellectual constitution from 
Clive, he was fitted to originate what the 
latter could not. It may be doubted 
whether the peculiar genius of Clive would 
have had scope in India, had not Dupleix 
created a state of things peculiarly his own. 
Finding that condition of affairs in existence, 
Clive was, of all others, the man to enter 
upon the field already thus occupied, and to 
find in all around him the essential elements 
for promoting his own glory and the glory of 
his country. It was necessary for England 
not only to have her own Clive, but that 
such a man as the French Dupleix should 
precede him, and clear the path upon which 
he was to tread. Hastings was not adapted 
by nature to be the predecessor of Clive in 
the work which was providentially opened 
for the performance of the latter. As the 
contemporary, but more especially as the 
successor of Clive, Hastings could find his 
sphere, and in that sphere he was potential. 
There are few pages in history which more 
strikingly exemplify the prescient wisdom of 
Providence, than that which discloses the 
consecutive relationship of these three men in 
their destined work. This is not the place 
in which to give the history and character of 
Clive and Hastings ; but the following notice 
of the position of them and of Dupleix, 
individually and relatively, by Miss Mar- 
tineau, presents a picture as striking and 
instructive as it is well drawn. Select- 
ing the year 1732 as an epoch, both in 
India and England, the gifted lady referred 
to briefly points out the state of things in 
Bengal, and shows how the arrival of Duplei.x 
changed matters in French interests, small 
as were the positions and opportunities which 
he found there : — " The hour and the man had 
arrived for the French ; and the hour and 
the man were approaching for the English. 
Wiiile the great Dupleix was beginning his 
reforms there in the prime vigour of his years, 
a child in England was giving almost as 
much annoyance to his relations as he was 
hereafter to cause to Dupleix. The Spaniards 
say that ' the thorn comes into the world 
point foremost' It was so in this case. The 
uncle of little Robert Clive, then in his 
seventh year, wrote a sad character of him. 
' Fighting, to which he is out of measure 
addicted,' said his uncle, ' gives his temper 
such a fierceness and imperiousness that he 
flies out on every trifling occasion.' At the 
same date, there was born in a poor parsonage 
in Worcestershire a forlorn infant, the son of 

VOL. II. 



a father married at sixteen, and soon after 
dead, and of a mother who died a few days 
after the orphan's birth, leaving him to the 
care of a grandfather, sunk in trouble and 
poverty. No one living could then have 
divined what connection could exist among 
the destinies of these three. Nor would it 
have been easier to guess seven years later. 
At that later date, Dupleix had purchased no 
less than seventy vessels, to carry his commo- 
dities to all parts of the known w'orld, ex- 
tinguishing in Bengal the English reputation 
for commercial ability, and bringing splendid 
returns to his own coffers. Robert Clive was 
then full of mischief — sitting on a spout at 
the top of the lofty steeple of Market Drayton 
church, and levying a blackmail of apples and 
halfpence, with his rabble rout of naughty 
boys at his heels, on the tradesmen who 
feared for their windows. As for little 
Warren, the orphan, then seven years old, he 
was lying beside the brook which flows 
through the lands of his ancestry, and, as he 
himself told afterwards, making up his mind 
to the personal ambition of his life — to be, 
like his forefathers of several generations, 
Hastings of Daylesford. On these three — the 
ambitious and unscrupulous French manager, 
already at his work, the turbulent English 
schoolboy, and the romantic child, dreaming 
under the great ancestral oaks, while living 
and learning among ploughboys — the desti- 
nies of British India were to hang. Through 
them we were to hold India as a territory, 
and by a military tenure; and to have a 
pohcy there, perhaps as important to the 
human race in the long run as that of the 
mother country — however much may be com- 
prehended in that abstraction."* 

\^'hile the men and the home affairs of the 
company were maturing, by which the second 
half of the eighteenth century was to be in- 
fluenced, and England to win an empire, 
many things were occurring in India which 
drifted in the same direction. Of these the 
company were not ignorant, and it is obvious 
that the directors were more observant of the 
political tendency of affairs in the Mogul 
empire, and the true policy to be observed in 
consequence, than historians generally give 
them credit for.f 

Early in the eighteenth centurj' the direc- 
tors sent out specific orders to Bengal for 
their servants to attend to the revenues, and 
avoid all complications with the natives, and 
all attempts to extend the company's terri- 



* British Rule in India: a Historical Sketch. By 
Harriet Martineau. 

t liise and Progress oj the British Power in India. 
By Peter Aubcr, M.R.A.S. London, 1837. 



78 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LV. 



tory.* The following passage from their 
instructions shows the prudence which pre- 
vailed among the directors : — " Notwitlistand- 
ing the doubts wo had, whether it would be 
our interest to have the thirty-eight towns if 
granted, or whether tliey might not engage 
us in quarrels witli tlie JMoors,-}- if hereafter 
they should be resolved to take tl>em away 
when they found them to flourish, of which, 
Ave find, by paragrapli 65, you say, it would be 
of great use to us to have them. Having 
well weighed the profit on one side, and the 
trouble that may at one time or other be calcu- 
lated upon on the otlier, we think it best for 
us to have only so many of thorn (when you 
can purchase them) as lie contiguous to our 
three towns above and below them, and those 
on the other side of the river within the same 
extent of ground as the towns, when pur- 
chased, reach on your side We suppose, 

too, that when Jaffer Khan, or any other 
governor, finds )'0u desire only part of what 
you might insist on, he or they may be the 
easier to give their consent, and not pick 
future quarrels ; for as our bxisiness is trade, 
it is not political (politic) for us to be e?icum- 
bered with much territor;/." In another com,- 
munication a few years later similar opinions 
were expressed : — " Remember, we are not 
fond of much territory, especially if it lies at 
a distance from you, or is not pretty near 
the Avater side, nor, indeed, of any, unless 
you have a moral assurance it will contri- 
bute, directly or in consequence, to our real 
benefit." t 

The making of roads in a country where 
military operations may be necessary to pre- 
serve it, is recognised as a feature of military 
management which should always characterize 
the policy of occupying forces. The directors 
appear during the first quarter of the eigh- 
teenth century to have directed the attention 
of their servants to this important matter in 
the neighbourhood of their chief settlements, 
"as well to see through your bounds into the 
country of the zemindars, who attacked you 
some time before, as to facilitate the march of 
your soldiers when necessary to support your 
utmost outguards." § Sanitary as well as 
military advantage from the foregoing expe- 
dient was anticipated by the directors, for 
tliey add, " thereby the wind hath a free 
passage into the town, and likewise contributes 
to its healthiness." || 

The acquisition of the native languages on 
the part of their agents also engaged the 

♦ Letter to Bengal, .3rd of February, 1719. 
t The name thea given commonly iu England to all 
blaek races. 

% General letter to Beniral, 16tli of February, 1721- 
« Ibid. " II Ibid. 



attention of the directors. During the dis- 
cussions which pervaded the London daily 
press in 1857-8 about the government of 
India it was frequently asserted that the 
company had discreditably neglected the en- 
couragement of their agents in tliis particular. 
There is abundant documentary proof at the 
India-house to the contrary. Minute instruc- 
tions are given in several of the letters of the 
directors concerning "the writers" — such as 
" encourage them all to learn the country 
languages, which are sooner attained by youth 
than by men grown."* 

In 1725 the letters of the directors were 
chiefly designed to check extravagance, and 
insure more implicit obedience on the part of 
their servants. 

Frequently the communications of tlie com- 
mittee in London show a statesmanlike re- 
cognition of the events which were passing 
around their settlements and factories as the 
Mogul empire fell to pieces, like a building 
sapped at its foundations. Thus, at the close 
of the first quarter of the century, they write 
to their chief agent at Calcutta : — " The battle 
you mentioned to be fought by the vizier, 
wherein he was successful against the king's 
army, and killed the general, Mombarras 
Cawn, his sons, and several Omrahs, does, 
in our opinion, show that affairs in the Mogul's 
dominions are in the utmost confusion, and 
tend towards some extraordinary crisis. Our 
advices from Fort St. George say that the 
said vizier, Chicklis Cawn, was iu the Metch- 
lepatam country, and from thence intended 
to march to Bengal to enlarge his power. 
Time only must discover the event of these 
troubles ; in the interim keep a w-atchful eye 
to preserve yourselves from danger, and keep 
up your friendship with the Hoogly govern- 
ment, which may be the more necessary in 
this critical juncture." f 

The communications of the directors with 
their Bengal agents during 1731-2 explain 
the state of feeling in England towards the 
company, throw some light upon the origin 
of the public dissatisfaction, and reveal the 
fact, in contradiction of most modern writers 
who relate the home affairs of the company 
at that period, that the secret transactions of 
the directors were conducted witli decision 
and energy : — " The badness of tlie goods 
sent us for two years past having not only 
raised a general clamour among the buyers, 
but also great uneasiness in the proprietors of 
the company's stock, and we being convinced 
that there has been a culpable neglect in the 
management of our affairs by the unequal 

* General letter to IJengal, lOtli of February, 1721, 
and 14th of February, 1722. 

t Letter to Bengal, the 1st of December, 1725. 



Chap. LV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



79 



sortment of the goods, deficiencies in their 
lengtlis and breadths, and excessive high 
prices, together with the vast quantities of 
fine unvendable articles sent us, contrary to 
our orders, and having kept back great quan- 
tities of goods we wanted and ordered, and 
have been employed for their private trade ; 
by the first we are great sufferers, and by the 
last we are deprived of great profits that we 
might naturally have expected, those goods 
being greatly in demand ; for these reasons, 
and to strike terror to those that succeed, wo 
have thought fit to dismiss from our service 
six members. This extraordinary step we 
have been obliged to take, in order to remedy 
these and any such like evils, and to clear our 
reputations from the censure the world would 
otherwise throw upon us, that we connived 
at the bad actions of our servants, hereby 
convincing mankind that we are not biassed 
with favour or affection to any particular 
person whatsoever." * 

The sagacity of the directors as to the 
effects upon themselves, as well as their 
servants, of any extravagance in the latter, is 
shown in their correspondence a little later, 
in reply to some favourable communications 
as to the improved habits of "the writers" 
which had been received from Calcutta : — 
" We are highly pleased that the extravagant 
way of living which had obtained such deep 
rooting among you is entirely laid aside. 
Whenever such a practice prevails in any of 
our servants, we shall always suspect that we 
are the paymasters in some shape or other, 
and it seldom fails of bringing them to penury 
and want ; we must, therefore, both for your 
sakes and our own, earnestly recommend 
frugality as a cardinal virtue, and by a due 
regard to the said advice, we do not doubt 
but the diet and other allowances from us will 
be amply sufficient to defray all necessary 
expenses, as Bengal is not only the cheapest 
part of India to live in, but perhaps the most 
plentiful country in the whole world." f 

The year following directions were sent 
out to regidate the conduct of the agents 
towards the company's tenants, which are 
full of justice, wisdom, and foresight. J 

At the close of the year 1735 the company 
were fully cognisant of the progress of the 
French in India, and warned their agents of 
the coming peril — a peril so soon realized, so 
painfully experienced, so gloriously sur- 
mounted, and so efficiently turned to the 
interests of the company, and the welfare, 
honour, and glory of their nation : — " Now 
the French are settled at Patna, our chief 

* Letter to Bengal, the 3rd of December, 1731. 
t Letter to Bengal, the 31 st of January, 1734. 
t Letter to Bengal, January, 1785. 



and council must double their diligence, and 
keep all the Assamys they can true to our 
interest, and advance such of them as comply 
with their contracts sufficient sums of money 
to carry on their business, being cautious to 
make as few bad debts as possible. We 
should esteem it an agreeable piece of service 
if a year's stock of petre beforehand always 
lay at Calcutta, and as such recommend it to 
you, to use your utmost endeavours to accom- 
plish it, provided it can be done without 
advancing the price, which, when obtained, 
will ansvi-er very valuable purposes." * 

The council referred to in this paragraph 
of the letter of the directory was " a council 
of nine," appointed a few years previously, 
and which had its origin in the dissatisfaction 
felt by the directors with the assortment of 
piece goods sent them from Bengal, and the 
losses or low profits derived in consequence 
in the English market. 

The growing energy of the Mahrattas 
drew the attention of the company to the 
necessity of superior defences for their stations, 
and for the first time, in their letter to Bengal, 
dated the 21st of March, 1743, the hiring of 
Lascars is referred to as desirable for the 
defence of Calcutta, a class often brought 
into requisition afterwards, and who proved 
generally useful in the service of the coasting 
trade, from the first acquisitions of the com- 
pany in Bengal until its political extinction 
in 1858. 

The administration of justice in India en- 
gaged the company's attention at liome.t 

The above proofs of the sedulous care of 
the directors are taken from their correspond- 
ence to their chief at Calcutta. Their letters 
to the other presidencies disclose the same 
industry and anxiety for the interests of the 
proprietary, and the welfare of such of the 
people of India as were committed to the 
company's charge. The correspondence with. 
Fort St. George discloses such a multiplicity 
of subjects calling for the attention of the 
directors, and reveals so much acquaintance 
with Indian affairs, as to corroborate the alle- 
gation of industry and ability ascribed to 
them, and confute the assertion of Mr. Mill, 
that the company at this period knew little 
about India, and left the guidance of affairs 
there to their agents, being to a great extent 
merely passive spectators. 

In the letters to Madras, municipal institu- 
tions, local duties, the introduction of native 
weavers to that place, relief to the distressed 
during a i)eriod of famine, the incursions of 
the Mahrattas, as well as all the varied topics 

• Letter to Bengal, the 12th of December, 1735. 
t Letter to Bengal, the 9th of March, 1747. 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LVI. 



of trade are discussed in the most minute and 
ample manner. 

In the correspondence with this presidency 
the same vigilance was shown as in the 
Bengal letters, concerning the progress of 
the French, so soon to be the great topic 
of interest in India and Europe. Thus the 
directors write : — "The most particular intel- 
ligence procurable concerning those powerful 
competitors, the French, and their commerce, 
must be annually communicated to us, in- 
serting the number of ships, tonnage, imports, 
and exports, with the situation of their affairs, 
and our other rivals in trade upon the coast 
of Ccromandel." * 

The communications made to the Bombay 
presidency involved as many subjects, and as 
intricate ; and it is impossible to pursue the 
maze trodden by the thoughts of the directors 
without admiring their dexterity and capacity 
for transacting business on a large scale, and 
involving vast social and political interests. 
Who can refuse the meed of approbation to 
such sentiments as these, designed to guide 
the Bombay president in his relations to the 
native powers : — ■" So far, indeed, we will 
grant that it is prudent to suspect them, s^nd 
to be upon your guard, but there is a great 
deal of difTerence in point of charges betwixt 
a defensive and offensive state of war, which 
latter must always be the case while we live 
in open war ; besides, the continuing in such 
a state compels our enemies to increase their 
forces, and makes them by degrees to become 



formidable. And what is the end of all ? 
Why, we have a great deal to lose, and they 
have nothing of any value that you can take 
from them." * 

The jiresident at Bombay was ]iut upon 
his guard against the French, but not in terms 
so frequent or urgent as those of Madras and 
Calcutta. 

It is impossible to peruse such documents 
without the conviction that much that has 
been culled by modern writers, to whom the 
archives of the India-house have been acces- 
sible, has been selected for a partial purpose, 
and unfairly represents the general tenor and 
full scope of the motives, policy, and proce- 
dure of the company at home. 

The interests of the company in the Eastern 
Archipelago were not of that importance 
during the first half of the eighteenth century 
which they ultimately became, and which, in 
the earlier expeditions of the company's cap- 
tains, they bid fair to become. But the 
directors were hardly the less exempt from 
trouble and anxiety on their account. If the 
rising star of the French threw a blighting 
ray upon their prospects in continental India, 
the withering avarice and tenacious power of 
the Dutch were calculated to check enterprise 
beyond the Straits, and to render it, when 
undertaken, a source of the deepest concern 
to the directors. 

To the company's interests as involving 
competition with various European societies 
attention must now be turned. 



CHAPTER LVI. 

THE OSTEND COMPANY. 



When the political and religious despotism 
of Spain had forced tlie best of her maritime 
provinces in Europe to appeal to the sword — 
the final arbiter between the oppressor and 
the oppressed — and they had nobly, after a 
fierce and dubious struggle, achieved their 
independence, the seven united provinces of 
the Netherlands were received into the rank 
of nations, and by the rapid development of 
those powers which they had displayed in the 
straggle, applied to the cultivation of their 
resources, they acquired wealth, power, and 
dominion, chiefly at sea. 

His catholic majesty, who had been the 
legal sovereign of the Austrian or Spanish 
dominions, and of the United or Dutch 

* Letter to Fort St. George, the 30th of December, 
1737. 



Netherlands, ceded to Albert and Isabella 
the ten provinces that continued faithful to 
him when the seven others had thrown off 
the yoke. This happened in 1598; and in 
the deed of conveyance it was declared, that 
none of their subjects should be at liberty 
to send any ships, or to traffic in either 
the East or West Indies, upon any pre- 
tence whatever. In vain they remonstrated. 
Philip, considering that the removal of the 
pi'ohibition would be prejudicial to Spain, 
rejected peremptorily all these appeals. The 
trade of the united provinces was consequently 
ruined; their cities, formerly hives of industry, 
were stripped of their populations ; and 
even Antwerp, renowned through the com- 
mercial world as its capital, the emporium of 
* Letter to Bombay, 1 741 . 



Chap. LVI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



81 



Europe, was reduced almost to a solitude, its 
harbour without shipping, and its marts de- 
serted. 

By the demise of the Archduchess Isabella 
her dominions reverted to Spain ; and the 
king, to ingratiate the Cardinal Infanta with 
his new subjects, granted the Notherlanders 
liberty to trade to those parts of India open 
to the Portuguese then subject to the crown 
of Spain. But of this favour they did not 
reap the advantage ; for in the very year it 
was granted (1640) Portugal asserted her 
independence, and obtained entire sway over 
such Indian possessions as the Dutch had not 
yet wrested from them.* Unfortunately, as 
it subsequently transpired, no evidence re- 
mained of this concession except a letter from 
the Infanta, which merely asserts that his 
majesty had such an intention. 

The year 1698 arrived before any further 
effort was made to open the trade with the 
East. Charles II. of Spain granted his sub- 
jects a charter to trade to such parts of India 
and the coasts of Guinea as were not occu- 
pied by other European states. His death 
deprived them of the opportunity of availing 
themselves of the privilege, for on his demise, 
in 1700, the succession to the throne was 
contested, as already observed, and the war 
which ensued convulsed Europe for the space 
of thirteen years. When peace was con- 
cluded, the Netherlands fell under the domi- 
nion of Austria, and remained subject to the 
same restrictions which affected them under 
the Spanish sceptre, and they were thus ex- 
cluded from the trade of the East, as they had 
been for several years. Thus they continued 
until Prince Eugene of Savoy was placed over 
them as governor -general, when another 
attempt was made to open a correspondence 
for them with the East. The emperor was 
favourable to this movement ; and the fact is, 
that the narrow-minded policy of Philip had 
reduced to poverty these once industrious and 
prosperous provinces. They were at this time 
actually a burthen on the empire. There 
was an obstacle, however, in the way, and 
that was the jealousy with which the Euro- 
pean monopolists of the Asiatic trade looked 
upon any new comer. Preparations were 
privately made, and two ships were dis- 
patched, eqtiipped by private individuals, and 
furnished with royal passports. After a long 
delay, they started on their voyage in 1717. 
Having been successful, several other mer- 
chants resolved to make a venture. The 
trade continued to be prosecuted for some 
time in the same unostentatious manner. 
Some foreign merchants, who were aware 

* Macpherson's Rittory of European Commerce with 
India, p. 294. 



of this auspicious commencement, made pro- 
posals to the court of Vienna for the forma- 
tion of an East India Company, with the 
emperor's charter for a certain number of 
years. Their proposals were received, and 
every disposition to favour the scheme mani- 
fested. 

In the meantime — in October, 1719 — ad- 
vices reached Vienna that one of the pass- 
ported vessels had been seized by a Dutch- 
man in the service of the West India Com- 
pany on the coast of Guinea, and confiscated, 
with her whole cargo, in the most summary 
and questionable manner.* The emperor 
made an immediate demand for satisfaction 
and compensation for the sufferers. So little 
regard was paid to the imperial demand that 
another ship, belonging to Ostend, was soon 
after captured by the Dutch East India Com- 
pany. The merchants of Ostend, with a 
spirit worthy of a happy result, declining 
further negotiations, with all possible expedi- 
tion fitted out some vessels of war, with which 
they meant to make reprisals. They put to 
sea with the emperor's commission ; Captain 
Winter, the master of the ship that bad 
been captured on the coast of Guinea, com- 
manded one of them. Conceiving that he was 
justified by his commission, he proceeded to 
the Downs, and there meeting with his own 
ship, he seized her, with a cargo of ivory and 
gold-dust, the property of the West India 
Company. That company complained to the 
states -general, whose ministers at Brussels 
and Vienna energetically remonstrated, and 
were warmly supported by the influence of 
Great Britain ; but after the recent refusal of 
the Dutch to satisfy the imperial government, 
it could scarcely be expected that Austria 
would hearken to these demands, unless under 
the influence of fear. Austria on this occa- 
sion maintained her dignity ; the ministers at 
Vienna remained firm, and insisted that the 
subjects of the emperor having first suffered, 
it was but reasonable they should be the first 
redressed. This reply was no small evidence 
of independence, considering the great naval 
strength of the remonstrant powers, who it was 
evident had agreed to make common cause. 
The firmness of the Austrian ministers gave 
confidence to the empire ; and such a popular 
fervour was created in favour of the projected 
company that, in the year 1720, five large 
ships were fitted out, and in the year follow- 
ing six more — three for China, one for Mocha, 
one for Surat and the coast of Malabar, and 
the sixth for Bengal. 

This independent spirit roused the ire of 
the Dutch to such a degree, that they seized 
on a vessel richly laden by the mercliants of 
* Za Veriie du Droit, Sfc. Broxelles, quarto, 1 723. 



d2 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LVI. 



Bruges, iind sold her cargo, notwitlistanding 
the interference of his imperial majesty. The 
English were not inactive ; they also captured 
an Ostend homeward-bound vessel on the 
shores of Malabar, very richly laden. These 
misfortunes so disheartened the new company 
that orders were issued to lay up a new vessel 
just completed. However, this despondency 
was of brief duration. In the months of May 
and June, 1721, two of their ships arrived 
from the Indies, and in the following De- 
cember two more. Their cargoes were sold 
at a price which amply indemnified them for 
their recent losses, and left them a balance 
which enabled them to piirsue their commerce 
with greater vigour than ever. All that 
appeared to them necessary to their permanent 
success was a legal establishment ; but though 
the emperor had authorized the associated 
merchants in 1719 to take in subscriptions 
for a joint-stock company, and even specified 
some of the privileges he was disposed to 
grant to them as a corporation, yet being 
unwilling to come to an open rupture with 
the Dutch, he would much preferred to have 
them continue to trade under the authority of 
his passport.^, which they might receive ns 
individuals. The merchants, elevated by 
prosperity, both present and prospective, and 
regardless, even if of observant, of the incon- 
venience* it would be, particularly at that 
juncture, to quarrel with the maritime powers 
having money at their disposal, resolved to 
use their utmost efforts to command the best 
possible position ; and with this object they 
commissioned some of their directors to pro- 
ceed to Vienna, where they had friends of 
great court influence. These directors were 
liberally supplied with instructions, and, what 
is often more effective, good bills for a large 
amount of money. Their mission was suc- 
cessful ; and they succeeded in obtaining a 
charter, the privileges conceded by which 
were co-extensive with their demands, and 
as liberal as that of any company in Europe.f 
It comprised several articles, the principal of 
which were — that the capital was to consist 
of ten million florins, in shares of one thou- 
sand each ; the prizes which their vessels 
might make in time of war were to be entirely 
their own, and to be sold for their profit ; all 
the ammunition, provisions, artillery, and 
naval stores, requisite for the forts and fac- 
tories of the company were exempted from 
duties and impositions in their passage through 
theterritoriesof the emperor, or any of the lord- 
ships or ecclesiastical communities in the Low 
Countries; and, lastly, all the goods transported 

* Memoires Ilistorique el Folitique, torn. Ux. pp. 676 
—781. 
+ Dictionnaire de Commaret, torn. ii. col. 1165. 



by the company's ships were to pay for all 
customs and duties, inwards and outwards, 
four per cent, and no more, till the expiration 
of the month of September, 1724, and from 
that six per cent, for ever. An ambassador, 
invested with the necessary powers, was also 
sent to the court of Delhi to settle an alliance 
with the emperor, and to thank him in hia 
imperial majesty's name for the permission 
he had granted the company, not only to 
erect a factory, but a fort, to protect their 
commerce in his dominions. The great ex- 
pectation which his imperial majesty had 
formed of the future of this undertaking, 
of the addition it would bring to the wealth 
of his subjects and to the public revenues, 
influenced him to hold out still further encour- 
agement than ho had hitherto done. He 
intimated that he would remit all duties and 
customs for the period of three years, and 
would make the proprietors a present of three 
hundred thousand florins in ready money, to 
indemnify them against any losses they might 
sustain in the first stages of their operations. 

The liberality and munificence of the sove- 
rcii^n found an echo amongst, not only his own 
subjects, who all — merchants, bankers, nobles, 
and gentlemen — displayed the utmost seal, 
but also English, French, and Dutch, con- 
cerned in naval and mercantile affairs, united 
in support of the undertaking. 

The widely-spread fame which the com- 
pany had already acquired, the enthusiasm 
excited in its favour, the patronage with 
which it was supported, the resources at its 
command, the preparations it had initiated, the 
great and comprehensive objects at which it 
aimed, startled all the maritime nations of 
Europe ; a common fear for their commerce 
pervaded them, one and all, and an identity of 
interests bound them to combine for mutual 
protection. In these days of more enlight- 
ened views, when exclusiveness in trade is 
practically shown to be as prejiidicial as most 
monopolies, the feverish anxiety manifested 
by our forefathers at the exhibition of a 
strong competitor in the market, can bo 
scarcely appreciated, unless by a few anti- 
quated protectionists. " We need not wonder," 
says an able historian of the middle of the 
last century, "that this new eompany at 
Ostend should occasion such noise throughout 
all Europe, or excite great discord and dis- 
turbance, so as to render the chapter that 
treats of the Ostend Company as remarkable 
a part of general history as any that find a 
place therein." * The warmest allies and most 

* Ilisioire des Indes Orientalei, torn. iii. p. 66; Mao- 
pherson's Commercial Diclionary ; Postlcthwiute'a Die- 
tionary of Trade and Commerce. 



Chap. LVI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



83 



faithful friends of the emperor were the most 
violent in their opposition. 

On the 5tli of April, 1723, Pesters, the 
Dutch minister at Brussels, presented to the 
JIarquis de Prio, the Austrian governor of 
the Netherlands, a memorial setting forth 
that by a treaty of Munster, in the year 1G48, 
the Spaniards and the Dutch had agreed that 
each nation should preserve its trade and 
navigation within the East Indies, as it was 
then conducted. He observed that the Dutch 
had assisted the emperor to obtain the do- 
minion of the Netherlands, and that they 
could not expect so bad a return as the esta- 
blishment of a trade in direct violation of 
that treaty, and of the confirmation of that 
treaty by the twenty-sixth article of the bar- 
rier treaty, wherein it was expressly stipulated, 
that commerce and all that depends upon it, 
in whole, and in part, sliould remain on the 
footing established, and in the manner ap- 
pointed, by the articles of the treaty of Mun- 
ster ; that the barrier treaty was guaranteed 
by the King of Great Britain, at a time when 
his imperial majesty was actually King of 
the Netherlands, the inhabitants of which 
could claim no other rights by passing from 
the dominion of Spain to that of the emperor, 
than those they enjoyed by the treaty of 
Munster as subjects of Spain. He concluded 
by requesting that the patent said to have 
been granted, should not be published or 
should be revoked, and that no ships should 
bo allowed to sail from the Netherlands to 
India, either by virtue of a patent or any 
other kind of authority. 

The Marquis de Prie, who had a personal 
interest besides the national one, in the suc- 
cess of the company, as he was deriving 
great emolument from the temporary li- 
censes to the ships, and would derive a far 
greater from an increasing trade, advised his 
sovereign against granting the charter. Prince 
Eugene and his other ministers also repre- 
sented to him that the establishment of the 
proposed company could not fail to give offence 
to the maritime powers by whose means he 
had become the monarch of the Netherlands, 
and that on these grounds the measure was 
eqnally inconsistent witn his interest and 
with his dignity.* 

Tlie English East India Company also 
entered their protest, and expressed their un- 
easiness at seeing the progress of the Nether- 
landers ; and they complained that much of 
the capital invested was by British subjects, 
that the trade was conducted by men brought 
up in their service, who were seduced, by 
extravagant pay and promises, to employ 

* Macpherson History of European Commerce toith 
India, p. 298. 



their talent, and extensive knowledge of the 
Indian trade, to the prejudice of their native 
laud. This last seems to be the only feasible 
plea they had. 

In the year 1721, the British parliament 
had passed an act (7th George I., cap. 21), 
for a rigorous enforcement of the penalties 
formerly enacted against British subjects 
going to India in the service of foreigners, 
and against smugglers of Indian goods into 
any jjart of the British dominions. This act, 
liowever, had little effect: another (9th George 
I., cap. 2G) was passed in 1723, more ex- 
pressly prohibiting English subjects from 
being concerned in the proposed company 
for carrying on the East India trade from 
the Austrian Netherlands, on penalty of triple 
the value of their subscriptions to the capital 
of that company, or imprisonment. British 
subjects found in any part of India, and not 
in the service of the East India Company, are 
declared to be guilty of high misdemeanour, and 
are to be seized and sent to England, in order 
to be punished. The minister of his Britannic 
majesty at Vienna, also protested; yet the em- 
peror, strong in what he believed to be the 
justice of his case, resolved not to submit to 
dictation, and, abandoning the cautious line 
of policy he had hitherto prudently jjursued, 
in August, 1723, published the charter which 
had been prepared in December, 1722, and 
postponed in deference to the protestations of 
the English and Dutch. 

In the preamble to the charter,* the em- 
peror not only took all the titles of the house 
of Austria, he also added to them that of 
King of Spain, and styled himself King of 
the East and West Indies, the Canary Islands, 
the Islands of the Ocean, &c. He granted 
to the company for thirty years the right 
of trading to the East and West Indies, and 
to both sides of Africa. 

Satisfied that they would procure their 
charter, the company had, in January pre- 
viously, dispatched a vessel for Bengal, in 
order to take possession of the fort there, 
which the Emperor of Delhi had some time 
before permitted them to build for the security 
of their factory. 

No sooner had the company opened sub- 
scription books, than their head offices at 
Antwerp were crowded and encircled with 
applicants for shares. At noon next day 
the subscriptions were filled, and before the 
month closed, the shares sold at a premium of 
from twelve to fifteen per cent. 

The Dutch companies, both East and West 
Indian, demanded permission to oppose the 
Ostend Company by force of arms. The 

* The charter was published at Brussels, in Latin, 
German, Memisb, English, and ^French. 



81 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[CnAr. LVI. 



French king, chagrined to find that after 
repeated attempts ho coidd not achieve wliat 
at Antwerp was accomplished in a day, 
issued an arret, by which he strictly forbade 
his subjects taking shares in it, entering 
into its service, or selling them any ships, and 
threatening the offenders with confiscation 
and imprisonment. In the year following, 
the King of Spain pursued a like course. 

These jealous precautions, and those of the 
nations more immediately interested, did 
not impede the successful prosecution of the 
enterprise. The speculations of the new com- 
pany progressed prosperously at home and 
abroad. Most of their officers, who had served 
under the foreign companies, perfectly under- 
stood their duties ; and, from their local know- 
ledge, had very little difficulty in convincing 
the Indian princes and chief men, that it was 
their interest to encourage in their markets 
as many competitors as possible, and thus 
they counteracted the strenuous elTorta made 
by the active agents of their rivals to acerbate 
the nations of India against them. With ex- 
traordinary rapidity several factories were 
established, and a far-spreading and profit- 
able intercourse with the rajahs of the 
district cultivated. They made two settle- 
ments, that of Coblom, between Madras and 
Sadras — Patnam, on the coast of Coromandel, 
and that of Bankisabar on the Ganges, and 
were in search of a place in the Island of 
Madagascar, where their ships might touch 
for refreshments.* 

An unexpected event occurred about this 
time, which promised to secure the future of 
the company. Philip of Spain entered into 
close alliance with the emperor, his late rival 
for the throne of Spain, and whose preten- 
sions, supported by the arms of Great Britain 
and the United Provinces, had devastated that 
kingdom, and produced a long and ruinous 
conflict amongst the powers of Europe. By 
one of the treaties — that which is dated May, 
1725, and particularly relates to commercial 
matters — it was provided that the sliips of 
the contracting parties should be received in a 
friendly manner into each other's ports, "which 
same proviso is also to take place in the East 
Indies, on condition that they do not carry on 
any trade there, nor be suffered to buyanythmg 
besides victuals, and such materials as they 
want for repairing and fitting out their vessels." 
By this article the liberty was conceded to the 
company's ships, of obtaining refreshments, 
and of repairing in Spanish ports whioli are 
conveniently placed for those sailing to or 
from China. A market in Europe, and seem- 
ingly also in the Spanish colonies, was pro- 

* Raynal's Iliitori/ of Selllements and Trade in the 
Eaal and IVett Indiet, vol. iii. p. 31. 



vided for them by the thirty-sixth article, 
which engages that "his imperial majesty's 
subjects and ships, shall be allowed to import 
all sorts of produce and merchandise from 
the East Indies, into any of the states and 
dominions of the King of Spain, provided 
it appears from the certificates of tlie East 
India Company erected in the Austrian 
Netherlands, that they are the produce of 
the places conquered, tlie colonies or factories 
of the said company, or that they came there; 
and in this respect they shall enjoy the same 
privileges which were granted to the subjects 
of the United Provinces, by the royal cedulas 
of the 27th of June, and 3rd of July, 1663." 

The publication of this treaty impressed 
friends and foes with the conviction that the 
company rested on a firm and secure basis ; 
but the more profoundly observant detected 
the seeds of future trouble in this apparently 
desirable arrangement, and a few of the 
partners availed themselves of the opportunity 
of selling out, while prospects seemed so fair 
and promising. 

Considering the alarming sensation created 
by the incorporation of the Ostend Company, 
it will not appear to be a matter of surprise 
that all the nations whose interests were 
thought to be at stake by it, were struck with 
consternation. A large party for a long 
period existed in Spain, who looked upon 
the exclusive possession of its colonial trade 
as the highest and most valuable prerogative 
of the crown ;* by which, indeed, they were 
particularly distinguished from the rest of the 
subjects of that monarchy, who were all pro- 
hibited from a participation in it — and were 
as hostile to the late opening of it as any of 
the English, French, and Dutch. To such an 
extent was this dissatisfaction carried, that a 
proclamation was affixed to the gate of the 
Spanish ambassador in Rome, containing these 
words : — " The Spanish nation do hereby 
promise a reward of a hundred pistoles to any 
ingenious person who shall point out a single 
article in the three treaties lately concluded at 
Vienna, by which they are to be gainers."f 

To counterbalance this alliance between 
Austria and Spain, the sovereigns of Great 
Britain, France, and Prussia formed a treaty 
in the September following, by which they 
guaranteed the integrity of the territories be- 
longing to each " in and out of Europe ;" and 
also "all tlio rights, immunities, and advau- 

* Sec on this subject Uidiiersal Modern Uislori/, vol. ii. 
p. 198, iu which it is stated, and truly, that it was iu 
submission to this feeling, that Philip, in IfiSS, rejected 
the petition of the Netherlanders for permission to trade to 
the Spanish settlements. 

t Becueil Ilintorique d'Acies, Negoiiulions, Ulemoires 
el Traitez. Par M. Kousset, torn. ii. p. 214. 



Chap. LVL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



85 



tages — particularly those relating to trade — 
which the said allies enjoy, or ought to enjoy, 
respectively." * 

The states-general hesitated and deli- 
Lerated for a considerable time before they 
consented to be a subscribing party to this 
compact, and did not officially become so till 
August, 172G. 

In the interval, while these machinations 
were being perfected, the company was ad- 
vancing with rapid strides. Several ships 
had arrived from India and China, freighted 
with valuable cargoes, the sales of which 
amounted to above five million florins. In 
September, 172(5, a meeting of the proprietors 
was held, and the directors had the agreeable 
duty of placing to the account of each two 
hundred and fifty florins, the complement due 
on each, seven hundred and fifty only having 
been paid out of the thousand. This addition 
was equal to a dividend of thirty -three and a 
half per cent, on the capital paid up and em- 
ployed in the trade. 

The aUiance formed between Austria and 
Spain being based on personal and selfish 
motives, was sacrificed for still more selfish 
ones. The royal confederates, with whom 
were united the Dutch republic, having 
guaranteed to support the pragmatic sanction 
— the object of which was to secure the suc- 
cession of Maria Theresa to her father's, the 
emperor's, dominions— the object dearest to 
his heart, the interests of the Ostend Com- 
pany, were sacrificed as a matter of minor 
consideration. By a treaty concluded in 
May, 1727, it was agreed that their privi- 
leges should be suspended for seven years, 
during which no ship was to sail from Ostend 
for India, but those which were on the voyage 
were insured an unmolested return ; and 
should any of them, in ignorance of the treaty, 
be taken, they were to be freely restored. 

In a treaty between England and Austria, 
which was signed March 16, 1731, the succes- 
sion of Maria Theresa was formally guaran- 
teed by Great Britain ; and the emperor, on 
his part, bound himself to the total suppres- 
sion of the company, and never to permit any 
vessels to sail to India from the Austrian 
Netherlands, nor any other country which was 
subject to the crown of Spain, in the time of 
King Carlos II., reserving to the Ostend 
Company a right to send two ships, each only 
for one voyage to India, to receive the mer- 
chandise imported by them, and to sell the 
same, as they should think proper, at Ostend. 

The suppression of the company did not 

* The Ostend Company is not mentioned in this treaty, 
but obvioKsIy the words " particularly those relating to 
trade," allude to the right claimed of opposing that com- 
pany. — JIacphehson. 

VOL. ir. 



eradicate from the minds of the proprietors 
nor that of the emperor, the Mish and deter- 
mination to pursue the trade they had so 
auspiciously commenced, provided it could be 
persevered in without violation of the recent 
treaty. They had only two ways left, and 
neither of them promising, by which that 
could be done — the first to make use of 
some port in the Austrian dominions which 
never owed allegiance to Spain ; the second, 
to make a convenience of a port belonging to 
a foreign prince. From either of these they 
thought they could trade under the authority 
of passports as before. 

The only ports belonging to Austria, besides 
those of the Netherlands, were Trieste and 
Fiume, both at the head of the Gulf of Venice, 
but neither fit by art or nature for the pur- 
pose. There was no roadstead for large 
vessels. The emperor, who was as desirous 
as any one interested for the establishment 
of an East India trade, did everything in his 
power to improve them, and paid a visit in 
the year 1728 to Trieste, and was present at 
the launching of a small ship-of-war, and 
personally encouraged the men who were 
engaged in making the projected improve- 
ments. At length these undertakings were 
abandoned as fruitless ; and the emperor and 
his subjects, with regrets the more bitter 
from the promise of their former efforts, were 
obliged to relinquish all share in the ad- 
vantages of Indian commerce. 

Expelled from their native land, the com- 
pany sought in foreign countries that asylum 
which at home they were obliged to abandon. 
They applied to the Kings of Poland and 
Prussia, and from both they received assu- 
rances of protection and passports. But 
those feeble powers could not shield them 
from the enmity of the great nations who 
sought their utter annihilation. The Saint 
l^heresa, while sailing under Polish colours, 
was seized in the Ganges, and confiscated. 
It is true the Polish minister remonstrated ; 
but what chance had he against governments 
who braved, in the same cause, the formidable 
union of Austria and Spain. The Apollo, 
with a Prussian passport, entered the Elbe 
and reached Stade, a town then belonging to 
England. Here she was received as a 
Prussian craft, and also at Hamburg, where 
she arrived September, 1731. But when it 
was ascertained that she belonged to the 
Ostend Company, and had landed the greater 
portion of her cargo, and the latter had been 
advertised for sale, the British and Dutch 
ministers presented a strong memorial to the 
magistrates of Hamburg, requiring them to 
sequester the ship and cargo. A general 
meeting of the inhabitants was convened to 

N 



S6 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Ohap. LVI. 



consider the demand, and, much to their credit 
and independence, their deliberate reply was 
that the Elbe was free to the entire German 
empire ; and all vessels, except those of the 
enemies of the empire and pirates, had a right 
to come into it ; that they could not refuse to 
admit a vessel bearing the Prussian colours, 
more especially as she had been received as a 
Prussian ship in Stade, a port belonging to 
his Britannic majesty, and also at a port in 
Ireland, where she had called for refresh- 
ments ; that they could not be justified in in- 
terfering with any ship in their port beyond 
demanding and receiving the customary 
duties. They therefore begged the King of 
England and the states-general not to insist 
upon what they had neither right nor power 
to'do, nor to involve them in disputes between 
the higher powers of Europe. This rea- 
sonable and creditable remonstrance was in- 
effectual, and a second memorial was presented, 
the tone of which was menacing; but on 
further reflection, it was considered advisable 
not to push the matter to extremities, which 
might stimulate the emperor to vindicate the 
freedom of the Elbe, and the King of Prussia 
to support the honour of his flag. Ultimately 
the sale was completed, and at length the 
company consoled itself with, as they thought, 
having secured the means of carrying on their 
trade without interruption and with success. 

While this matter was in debate, one of 
their vessels was homeward bound and daily 
expected : an advice boat was sent to meet it, 
with instructions to put into Cadiz, and there 
to await further instructions. At Cadiz, the 
cargo was transported on board a French 
vessel, the commander of which signed bills 
of lading for the delivery of the goods as the 
property of a Spaniard at Cadiz, to a mer- 
chant at Hamburg. As soon as these trans- 
actions were communicated to the British and 
Dutch governments, a formal application was 
made to the emperor, soliciting him to put a 
stop to these infractions of the late treaties. 
To avoid a rupture, the emperor was advised 
to order his minister at Hamburg to request 
the senate to sequester the merchandise, as 
the property of a company whom he had sup- 
pressed, and who were prosecuting their trade 
in defiance of his orders. Though the senate, 
in reply, informed him that it was found by 
the ship's papers, that the cargo was Spanish 
property, the emperor insisted, the goods were 
sequestered, and at length the senate was 
coerced to prohibit the citizens from having 
any concern with vessels or cargoes so cir- 
cnmstanced ; but the proprietors were allowed 
to withdraw, privately, their goods. The 
decree by which this prohibition was pro- 
claimed, is dated the 15th of January, 1734. 



The two ships which the company had aright 
to send according to the terms of the treaty 
of March, 1731, sailed from Ostend in April, 
1732, and returned in the end of the year 1734. 

The apparent facility with which the em- 
peror abandoned a company in whose suc- 
cess he was so truly interested, and even 
contributed to their dissolution when he appa- 
rently might, with effect, have protested 
against the violation of the rights of such a 
city as Hamburg, and the flags of Poland and 
Prussia, when, as he was perfectly aware, 
it was his own interest and those of his 
subjects that were chiefly at stake, is no 
puzzle to the student of the history of that 
period, who is aware of the rapid fluctuation 
of politics which had characterized the rela- 
tions of the European powers. At this very 
juncture, the emperor was engaged in a war 
with the combined powers of France, Spain, 
and Sardinia, and the neutrality, if not the 
active adhesion, of the Protestant states wag 
to be purchased at any price. 

Before closing the chapter it may be well 
to say, that in the hostility so determinedly 
shown to the establishment of the pstend 
Company, the opponents to it were actuated 
by a motive as equally strong as commercial 
jealousy. In England and also in Holland it 
was argued " that the trade of the latter, if 
lost to her, would remove into the Austrian 
Netherlands, and tliat thereby the balance of 
power in Europe would be vested in the 
house of Austria, and the popish interest 
would be strengthened." And this considera- 
tion is the one which so firmly united Eng- 
land and Holland — whose mutual jealousies 
and rivalries were no secret — in their com- 
bined and persevering exertions to effect 
the ruin they so completely accomplished. 
In a pamphlet entitled, " Importance of the 
Ostend Company Considered," which ap- 
peared in 1726, the question is thus effec- 
tively argued : — " That by the ruin of the 
trade of Holland, the power of Europe would 
be broken, and the Protestant interest weak- 
ened, is undeniable ; for the United Provinces, 
with Great Britain, hold the balance, and are 
the supporters of the Protestant interest. Of 
the truth of this assertion the two last wars 
are an undeniable proof. For without the 
numerous and well paid troops of these two 
nations, what could the rest of the allies have 
done ? Could they alone have obliged France 
to make such a peace as was concluded in 
1697? Could they alone have driven the 
French troops out of the empire, or out of 
the Netherlands during the last war ? Could 
they alone have maintained in Flanders forces 
superior in number to tliose of France ? 
Could they alone have carried on the war in 



Chap. LVI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



87 



Portugal and Spain ? Could they alone have 
been powerful enough to force King Philip 
to abandon Spain, as would have certainly 
happened, humanly speaking, if the fatal 
change of our ministry had not interposed 
and prevented it ? No, certainly no. It was 
the wealth and the riches of Great Britain, 
and of the United Provinces, that enabled 
them to maintain so many troops as put the 
allies into a condition, not only of making 
head against France, but gave them a supe- 
riority in number to the forces of that crown, 
and enabled them to fit out such large fleets, 
as kept the naval power of France in awe, 
and thereby preserved the liberties of Europe 
from becoming a prey to the boundless ambi- 
tion of Louis XIV.; and tlierefore, by their 
wealth and riches, they are equally powerful 
to protect, support, and defend the Protes- 
tant interest from being oppressed by the 
popish powers of Europe." And it proceeds 
to show, had not these Protestant powers acted 
in union during the struggle, the Protestant 
interest in Europe, in all human probability, 
would have been sacrificed. It then proceeds : 
" Thus it plainly appears that when the 
powers of Great Britain and the United Pro- 
vinces are the supporters of their liberties, 
that it is a maxim among the powers of this 
part of the world, not to suffer either of these 
nations to become a prey to the House of 

Austria or Bourbon But suppose the 

United Provinces should sit still and not join 
its forces in favour* of the liberties of Europe, 
or the Protestant interest. Great Britain could 
not be powerful enough to give such an addi- 
tional assistance as would equal what the 
United States would or could do, and vice 
versd. Consequently Great Britain or the 
United Provinces cannot support the liberties 
of Europe or the Protestant interest with- 
out the assistance of the other."f "That the 
balance of power would be turned to the side 
of the house of Austria, and the popish in- 

* The anthor nses "against the liberties," it was a 
phrase of the time, the words, " the enemies of," being 
understood, p. 30. 

t Pp. 6, 7, 8. 



terest strengthened thereby, are the necessary 
and unavoidable consequences. For since by 
the ruin of Holland, one of the supporters of 
the balance of power of Europe would be 
destroyed, and no other nation would rise up 
in its stead, — for the Hollanders would be so 
dispersed, as not to make any nation become 
powerful enough to undertake with Great 
Britain so great a charge, — and we could not 
alone be able to maintain it; — and since most 
of the popish merchants of Holland would 
retire to Antwerp, Ghent, and Bruges in the 
Austrian Netherlands, and consequently draw 
to those towns all the trade they carried on 
in Holland, — it is manifest that the Austrian 
Netherlands would soon become the staple 
of all Europe as formerly, and soon grow as 
rich and powerful as Holland now is. Whereby 
the mighty power of the House of Austria, 
supported and strengthened by the riches 
and wealth of the Netherlands, would so 
inevitably be threatening ruin to the rest of* 
Europe, as it would now endanger its liber- 
ties, if backed by all the force and wealth of. 
Holland. And that the popish interest would 
be strengthened by the ruin of Holland is a 
consequence thereof. Because no new Pro- 
testant state could arise in the room of Hol- 
land to join with Great Britain in supporting 
the Protestant interest. And we alone 
coidd not be the defenders of it, and there- 
fore the popish interest would of course be- 
come too strong for the Protestant cause."* 

* In a search made among the popular English litera- 
ture of the time, the only pamphlets which were met with, 
was one entitled, Mr. Forman's Letter to the Right Hon. 
\V. Pultney, showing how pernicious the Imjierial Com- 
pany of Commerce and Navigation lately established in 
the Austrian Netherlands, is liltely to prove to Great 
Britain, as well as to Holland, printed in 1725, and the 
pamphlet quoted in the text, with the title there given. 
In the opening paragraph, the anonymous writer refers 
to Formau, whose letter, it appears, was published 
the year previous. Both pamphlets are seemingly the 
productions of Formau, and are so ranked in Watts's 
catalogue ; we have quoted sofreely from it in order to show 
that the popular feeling in England against the com- 
pany was not one merely of commercial rivalry. Indeed 
such could have been scarcely the case in that day, when 
the English merchants, and nation at least, were opposed 
to the monopoly of the East India Company. 



88 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LVII. 



CHAPTER LVII. 

THE DANES IN INDIA AND EASTERN ASIA. 



As early as the eighth and ninth centuries 
the Danes had become the terror of northern 
nations ; and from their piratical incursions 
England, Ireland, and Scotland, suffered long 
and severely. The two former they succeeded 
in subjecting to their iron rule ; and the last- 
mentioned, altliough injured by their descents, 
held out no temptation, as did the sister 
kingdoms, to the establisliment of a perma- 
nent settlement. Normandy they also over- 
ran, and in it they succeeded in permanently 
settling. Their expeditions were in general 
maritime. To hazard the perils of crossing a 
stormy sea, three or four hundred miles in 
breadth, without the guidance of a compass, 
required no ordinary spirit of enterprise. The 
many islands with which the seas that break 
upon the shores of Denmark are studded 
made them familiar with the deep, and stimu- 
lated them to face more distant dangers. 
Thus to their maritime position they owed 
that superiority at sea which then neither 
England nor France, nor any other European 
state, had the means to dispute. 

Few indeed of the kings of that country 
during the middle ages, until we descend to 
the reign of Valdeniar II., displayed any 
eminent ability. This prince ascended the 
throne in 1203. Animated chiefly by reli- 
gious zeal, he subdued the province of Livonia; 
but here his conquests in that direction ended, 
as the country held forth no inducements, 
commercially or politically, to extend his terri- 
tories on the southern shores of the Baltic. 

In those days the commerce of the Danes 
extended to Lubeck, the earliest commercial 
town of consequence, appropriately termed 
by modern writers the Venice of the Baltic ; 
to the mouths of the Vistula, where they 
established a town — Dantzic * — called after 
themselves ; to the more remote provinces of 
Courland and Esthonia; and to Holstein. 
The Danes also fixed themselves in Naples, 
which they subdued, and thence sent their 
vessels to cruise upon the coast of Asia.f 

At this time — the fourteenth century — the 
a.s80ciation of the Hanse Towns had risen to 
considerable power and greatness, and actively 
struggled for the freedom of commerce in the 
north of Europe. Denmark, commanding the 
great entrance to the Baltic, was frequently 
involved in conflict with them in its efforts to 

* Dantzic, or Daiuvik, signifies a Danish town or 
port. 

t Univerial Modem History, vol. li. p. 2. 



enforce a toll upon all vessels trading to its 
waters; and to this imposition England, by 
treaty, submitted in the reign of Henry VII. 
(1490), but in return the English were al- 
lowed to appoint consuls in the chief seaports 
of Denmark and Norway. 

It is not a matter of surprise that a people 
of the habits and pursuits of the Danes should 
share in the newly-evolved enthusiasm and 
enterprise which had then startled Europe 
into activity.* Christian IV., who then held 
the sceptre, was a prince possessed of the 
qualities the time and occasion demanded. 
With a praiseworthy zeal for the improve- 
ment of his subjects, he stimulated their in- 
dustrial aspirations. Manufactures were en- 
couraged, and commercial pursuits promoted. 
A proposal which was made to him of open- 
ing a trade with the East Indies was re- 
ceived with avidity. Of the successes of the 
Portuguese, and of their immediate succes- 
sors, the Dutch and English, he was fully 
apprised, and was desirous that his people 
should share the honours, experiences, and 
emoluments of such distant explorations. In 
the year 1G12 he extended his sanction and 
encouragement to a body of enlightened and 
adventurous merchants in Copenhagen, who 
had associated for the purpose. A capital 
was raised by the issue of two hundred and 
fifty shares of a thousand rix-dollarsf each, 
for sending a squadron to the East Indies.^ 
The officers in command were recommended 
to obtain a settlement on equitable terms, to 
preserve faith with the natives, and to avoid, 
as far as possible, any disputes with any of 
the European states there represented. With 
these prudent and politic instructions, and 

* The Portuguese and Spaniards had possession of the 
commerce of the East, and, it may be added, also of the 
West, for almost a century, which brought to them not 
merely the vast treasures of those rich and eitensive 
quarters, but also the great portion of the wealth of 
Europe ; but as soon as an opeuing was made for other 
European powers to that commerce, it is remarkable with 
what avidity the most of them entered into it. Elizabeth 
granted a charter to the first English East India Compauy 
on the 31st of December, 1600. The united states of 
Holland incorporated theirs by an octroy, dated the 20th 
of March, 1602; the French king, Henry IV., by his 
arret, dated the 1st of June, 1604, gave his approval to a 
similar association; and, as has been stated in (he text. 
Christian IV., King of Denmark, granted his charter in 
1612. 

t A rix-doUar is equivalent to about three shillings 
of English money. 

% Dictionnaire de Commerce, torn. iv. col. Ihi. 



Chap. LVII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



89 



fortified with tlielr sovereign's commission, 
the company's sliips bore away to their remote 
destination from the Island of Zealand, and 
reached, in 1G16, the coast of Coromandel. 

In all probability the kind reception of the 
adventurers by the natives resulted from the 
observance of the judicious instructions given 
them at home. Having stipulated with the 
prince of the district in which they landed, 
the port of Tranquebar* was concededto them, 
and, to the credit of the Portuguese, few of 
whose good deeds are recorded by our histo- 
rians, they exhibited no selfish rivalry ; on 
the contrary, they assisted them in their 
negotiations for a settlement. In 1G21 a 
fortress in the European style was erected 
for the protection of the harbour and the 
town. 

The Danes had not been long in posses- 
sion of this settlement, when a circumstance, 
both unforeseen and important, occurred 
which presented to them an opportunity of 
making a conspicuous figure in the East. To 
place this in full light, it is necessary to go 
back a few years from the period arrived at. 
In 1G09 a truce, previously noticed, was 
made between the Spaniards and Dutch, who 
had been engaged in a long and tedious war. 
The states and the Prince of Orange thought 
it expedient to communicate the event to the 
King of Ceylon. This office was entrusted 
to Peter Both, who was sent to India as 
governor-general. On his reaching Bantam, 
a man in a very subordinate position, Van 
Boschower, was dispatched, invested with full 
powers. He was received at the court of 
Ceylon with the highest respect, and concluded 
a treaty, which was ratified by the Dutch 
governor and his council. He had, during 
his stay, ingratiated himself with the sove- 
reign and his queen, and such were the induce- 
ments held out to him by them, that he con- 
sented to remain at their court. His was not 
the general fate of foreign favourites. He 
cultivated the good opinions of the natives, 
married a native lady of the first rank, was 
presented with a principality, and became the 
sovereign of some thousands of sulijects, and 
the master of a considerable revenue. Dis- 
pleased by the want of faith of the Dutch, 
and the violation of some terms of the treaty 
lately concluded through his agency, and 
hoping to be able to obtain redress from the 
states-general, he prevailed on the sovereign 

* Tranquebar is surronnded by the British district of 
Tanjore, and situated between two arms of the Cavery, a 
hundred and forty miles south-west of Madras. It is 
defended by bastion ramparts, faced with masonry, and 
at its soutli-cast angle is the citadel of Dansburgh. The 
population numbers twenty thousand. — MacCuiloch's 
Geographical Diclionary. 



to send him to Europe with the title of am- 
bassador. He also was empowered, in case 
of failure with the united states, to treat with 
any European potentate. He started on his 
mission in May, 1G15, accompanied by his 
wife. The man whom they had recently sent 
out in a very inferior capacity, the Dutch 
authorities would not recognise as a prince. 
This insult occasioned an interruption of the 
negotiations. After deliberation he proceeded 
to the court of Denmark, and arrived there in 
July, 1G17. He was gratified with his re- 
ception. His proposals were eagerly received, 
and a treaty concluded with the company and 
Christian IV. A man-of-war was fitted out, 
and placed at his service, to convey him and 
his retinue to Ceylon. The company also 
sent some shijis of theirs to accompany him. 
Their departure took place in 1G19. On the 
voyage the ambassador died, and, through 
the impatience and offensive behaviour of the 
commander of the squadron on his arrival at 
Ceylon, an opportunity was lost to the Danes 
of establishing themselves on very favourable 
terms there, which seemed to have been pro- 
videntially presented. 

The settlement at Tranquebar was pro- 
gressing in the meantime with a success truly 
astonishing, and far exceeding the realiza- 
tion of their most sanguine hopes. This 
prosperity induced them to undertake the 
establishment of factories upon the opposite 
coast of Malabar, where the pepper trade 
abounded, and of sending their ships to the 
most distant jiarts of India. In the short 
period of twenty years they had opened a 
trade with the Moluccas, and were by its 
proceeds enabled to send home large and rich 
cargoes from all parts of the peninsula ; and 
Denmark could boast a trade inferior only to 
that of the Portuguese and Dutch. 

This rapid and uninterrupted progress did 
not fail to incur the jealous notice of their 
European rivals ; but a fortunate concurrence 
of circumstances restrained them one and all 
from overt acts of hostility. The Portuguese, 
subjected to the yoke of Spain, were manfully 
battling for their independence. The Spa- 
niards very seldom sent their merchantmen 
beyond the Straits of Malacca. The Dutch 
had their attention engrossed by grasping at 
a monopoly of the spice trade ; and the dis- 
tractions by which England was rent limited 
her power in those distant seas. To this 
necessitated neutrality the Danes owed, in a 
very great measure, their rapid and uninter- 
rupted growth; and furthermore, they derived 
from the distractions of the other European 
settlers elements of strength. On terms of 
amity with all, they extended their sympa- 
thies and aid in common, and furnished to all 



90 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LVII. 



applicants arms, ammunition, and provisions, 
and reaped enormous profits from this exten- 
sive trade. 

The ultimate success, as already recorded, 
of the Dutch in tlie East, disturbed this com- 
mercial ))ro3perity ; and the Danes, in com- 
mon with other European nations, found 
themselves excluded from several branches of 
trade, a considerable share of which they had 
previously possessed undisturbed, and which, 
if they liad succeeded in retaining, would 
have enabled them to realize the brilliant 
hopes their short and successful career had 
justified tliem in entertaining. 

The experience of the simple peasant has 
vulgarized the proverb, that " trouble never 
comes alone ;" the philosophy of history en- 
forces its truth by multiplied examples, and 
this period of Danish history supplies an in- 
stance. That good and wise prince, who 
cheered by his patronage into activity the 
awakening enterprise of his subjects, and 
who had been favoured with a life sufficiently 
long to witness the magnificent development 
of his infant project, at the crisis when the 
Danish adventurers of the East encountered 
the formidable rivalry of the Dutch, and were 
threatened with being swept from the path of 
their commercial speculations, became involved 
in the northern wars, and was thus incapaci- 
tated from forwarding from home those sup- 
plies of men and ships which the exigency 
so urgently demanded. 

In fact, in consequence of the non -arrival 
of supplies from Europe, the regular commu- 
nication with Tranquebar was interrupted, 
and with results which might bo expected. 
Tiie colonists were prevented from sending 
home their ships as tliey previously had done. 
Deprived of that market, their means were 
crippled, their commerce dwindled to an in- 
significant degree, and contrasted humilia- 
tingly with the apparent splendour of their 
town and fort, which they had magnificently 
embellished in the days of their prosperity ; 
and so low had they sunk in a brief space, 
that they became contemptible, not alone to 
the Europeans, but to the natives. 

In 1661 Gautier Scliouten, the celebrated 
Dutch traveller, visited Tranquebar ; and the 
statement which he has given of its condition 
may be relied on. He observes, as if it were 
something remarkable, that there were two 
Danish vessels in the harbour ; and he adds, 
that their flags were but rarely visible in any 
other Indian port. He also records that they 
were on bad terms with the Moors, and in 
constant apprehension of their hostilities. In 
the midst of these dangers, and thrown upon 
their own unaided resources, the Danish 
settlers deserve the highest credit for the 



determination with which they braved all, 
and succeeded in maintaining their position. In 
the height of their distress they prudently 
discharged with regularity, from the revenues 
of their town, tueir liabilities to their garrison, 
which they maintained in full strength. Their 
outposts, or rather dependent factories, on the 
Malabar coast, in Bengal, and a more con- 
siderable settlement at Bantam, supplied them 
with several kinds of commodities and manu- 
factures, which were embarked on board the 
vessels they sent to Surat, into the Bay of 
Bengal, to the Straits of Malacca, and to the 
Island of Celebes.* For want of sufficient 
capital, they were compelled to surrender this 
trade into the hands of the Moors and Hindoos, 
to whom they hired their ships. Their con- 
dition may be comprehended from the fact 
that during this time they were enabled to 
send to Europe only one vessel in the space 
of two or three years, f 

The diminution of their consequence exposed 
them to more imminent danger ; and the Rajah 
of Tanjore, within whose territories Tranque- 
bar was situated, thought it was in his power 
to expel the Danes, and rid himself of their 
proximity. The splendid town and fortress 
which they had erected were temptations too 
strong for his sense of morality. On the 
slightest pretexts, and without just pretence, he 
sought cause of quarrel, and was in the con- 
stant practice of interrupting their land com- 
munications. This he was the more easily 
enabled to do, as the territory of Tranquebar 
extends only six miles from north to south, 
and three miles inland, constituting in all only 
fifteen square miles. | His daring soared so 
high, that he sometimes ventured to lay siege 
to the town and fortress ; and it is related by 
an English traveller § that on one occasion 
(1684) the Danes were reduced to such ex- 
tremities, as to be compelled to pawn three 
of their bastions to the Dutch for sucli a sum 
of money as would enable them to keep their 
garrison and the people of the town from 
dying by starvation. This aid they discharged 
the following year ; but their having been 
enabled to do so strengthened some suspicions 
previously circulated, that in their distresses 
they sometimes had recourse to very ques- 
tionaljle means for the replenishment of their 
exchequer. On this occasion these vague 
rumours assumed a more palpable form, and 
it was said that an EngUsh ship, called the 

* Hittoire des hides Orientales, par Guyon, torn. iii. 
p. 77 ; Didionnaire de Commerce, torn. ii. col. 754. 

t Commerce des Sanois aux Indes, p. 51. 

X Thornton's Gazetteer of the Territories under the 
East India Comjiany. 

§ Hamilton's Account of the Musi Indies, book I. 
p. 352. 



Chap. LVII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



91 



Formosa, bound to Siirat, and which had 
called at Calicut for supplies, and had never 
reached its destination, had met with foul 
treatment. This charge was sustained by 
the fact that continued discharges of cannon 
had been heard not long after she had sailed 
from Calicut, and at the same time two Danish 
vessels were cruising from Cape Comorin to 
Surat. Whatever degree of credibility may 
be placed in the charge against the Danes, it is 
a fact that the doubts were never satisfied.* 

Some bad feeling may have been engendered 
by the suspicions thus stated, but the English 
were not prevented by them from extending 
their assistance shortly after to the Danes in 
their utmost need. A large sum of ready 
moueyf was offered to their inveterate enemy, 
the Rajah of Tanjore, for the purchase of 
Tranquebar, when it should be in his power to 
deliver it. When this profligate bargain had 
come to the knowledge of the party most 
deeply concerned, they applied to Mr. Pitt, 
the English governor at Fort St. George, and 
were generously assured of succour should 
the exigency require it. 

The rajah was fully resolved to complete his 
part of the contract, and made preparations to 
do so. He, with all the expedition he could 
command, assembled an army of between 
thirty and forty thousand, marched on Tran- 
quebar, and cautiously commenced his offen- 
sive operations by opening trenches about a 
mile from the town. The soil being sandy and 
shifting, he began his work by planting 
two rows of cocoa-nut trees in close order, 
and at the requisite distance, and filled up 
the intervening space between the rows with 
Band. These trenches were nearly as tliick 
as a town wall, and so high that the besiegers 
were covered from the fire of the Danes. 
They worked with such zeal and perseverance 
that in the space of five months, they had 
pushed forward their trenches to within 
pistol-shot of tiie defences, and had with their 
batteries nearly destroyed one of the bastions, 
when the promised and eagerly expected 
English reinforcement arrived. It was much 
needed, for the Danish garrison was com- 
posed of two hundred Europeans only ; an 
unequal number of Indian Portuguese, and 

* The publicity given to tliis rumour at the period, 
and subsequently the confidence with which it has been 
asserted, and the credit given to it in Indian records and 
traditions, appear to be sufficient justificatiou for the repe- 
tition of an accusation so grievous to a nation professing 
Christianity, boasting a civilization, and in friendly rela- 
tions with this empire. However reluctant to reiterate 
it, the historian has a stern duty, and paramount to such 
considerations. In justice it is added tiiat similar otfenccs 
are alleged against other European adventvurcrs in the 
Indian waters. 

t Fifty thousand pardoes. 



about one thousand natives, a force totally 
inadequate to defend a wall one mile and a 
half in circumference. 

With the characteristic bravery of their 
countrymen, the English, though distrusting 
their raw levies, Hindoo and Portuguese, on 
the second day after their arrival, resolved on 
taking the field and provoking their enemies 
to a contest. As the sun rose, the small army 
of the besieged emerged from the gates, the 
native contingent leading the way, and the 
English in close order in their rear. The 
Hindoos had no sooner reached the plain 
than they treacherously divided to the right 
and left, leaving the small body of Europeans 
exposed to the numerous force of the enemy, 
who, with apparent resolution, emerged from 
their trenches in good order, armed with 
swords and shields, and seemingly pre- 
pared to engage hand to hand. The English 
and Danes, few in number, abandoned by the 
greater body of their little army, became 
apprehensive of the issue; but their confidence 
was soon restored, the first peal of the guns 
from their batteries struck terror into their 
timid foes. They fled in the utmost confusion, 
and their trenches would have been levelled, 
had the victors come prepared with imple- 
ments for that purpose. In a few days after, 
a second sally was made with better prepa- 
rations and greater success, which was entirely 
owing to the English, who, though left unsup- 
ported by the Danes, and deprived of the ser- 
vices of their commander — who had to retire at 
an early hour, severely wounded — charged 
and routed a body of musketeers and pikemen, 
and, subsequently, the Moorish horse, reached 
the trenches, and returned triumphantly with 
the loss of half their men to the town. This 
successful affair, so gallantly achieved, com- 
pelled the rajah to abandon the siege, and 
to leave the Danes in the enjoyment of their 
town, to recruit their impaired resources, and 
prosecute their commerce in peace. 

As the consequence of the state of things 
here slightly sketched, but sufficiently ample 
for their relation to the princijial objects of 
this history, the trade of the Danes in the 
East was reduced to a very low ebb at the 
opening of the eighteenth century. An effort 
was then made to give a new impidse to en- 
terprise. The first movement was to enlarge 
the town, to increase the number of residents, 
in the hope that their revenues would improve 
and be better and more advantageously regu- 
lated. Application was accordingly made by 
the company to Frederick IV. a prince not 
unworthy to be a successor to Christian IV. 
Much of the depression and gloomy prospects 
of the Danish colonies, he attributed to the 
neglect of religion, and the consequent laxity 



92 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRP: 



[Chap. LVII. 



of morals, and with a resolution worthy of 
the Cliristian, and creditable to the stntesnian, 
he determiued to send missionaries thither. 
Dr. Francke, divinity professor of the Uni- 
versity of Halle, in Saxony, was consulted, and 
he judiciously selected Zeigenbalg and Phits- 
chau, names now immortalized. They landed 
on tlie coast of Coroniandel, in July, 1706. 
Tlieir reception was far from being encour- 
aging. Their mission was treated as chime- 
rical and unpracticable. The results of their 
labours in tlie missionary field have been pre- 
viously related, and the notice of them here is 
for the purpose of elucidating the effects they 
produced on the polity of those amongst 
whom they were destined to labour. It 
must be confessed that those who anticipated — 
and many did at the time — that the conver- 
sion of the natives would add so many loyal 
and useful subjects to the Danish government, 
that disciplined they would become better 
soldiers than any of their countrymen, that 
the acquisition of the numbers calculated 
upon would add both to the wealth and the 
strength of the Europeans, promote an im- 
proved agriculture, and the introduction of 
new manufacturers, have been disappointed.. 
Contrary to the calculations then made, the trade 
of Denmark in the East has gradually declined, 
until Tranquebar itself was sold, in 1845, to 
the Englisli crown. Nevertheless, it must be 
confessed the colonists improved, their vil- 
lages as a consequence augmented, the people 
lived better, and the government of Tran- 
quebar found itself more secure than it had 
been previously. 

A proposal was made about this time to 
Frederick, which promised to accelerate his 
projected improvements in Asia, by Joseph 
Van Asperen, a shareholder in the Ostend 
Company, which had recently failed. His 
scheme seemed feasible, and held out great 
prospects. He represented to the king that 
there generally prevailed an active spirit of 
speculation, and that men's minds were natu- 
rally directed to the East Indies, a field which 
had yielded a rich harvest to preceding ad- 
venturers, which hitherto had been only par- 
tially explored • that the failure of the Ostend 
Company, was entirely attributable to the dis- 
proportion of the means to the end, the causes 
such as could not attend that undertaking in 
any other country, least of all in Denmark, 
whose commercial pursuits had been unin- 
terruptedly persevered in for more than a cen- 
tury ; that all that was required was an ade- 
quate increasing capital, which could be easily 
raised by opening a new subscription upon 
favourable terms; that men of experience in 
the trade were not wanting, as naval and 
mercantile agents were to be had in suflficient 



supply amongst those who had been just dis- 
charged from the service of the bankrupt 
company. Influenced by these plausible re- 
presentations, the king was induced to sanc- 
tion the proposal ; and, to facilitate its adop- 
tion, the Danish East India Company was 
transferred from the city of Copenhagen, to 
the borough of Altena, a place belonging to 
the crown of Denmark, and contiguous to the 
free city of Hamburg. This translation of the 
company, though seemingly well contrived, as 
will be seen, somewhat marred its success. 

In order to draw support from speculators 
in other nations, his majesty granted a new 
charter, dated in April, 1728, for promoting 
the commerce of the said company to the 
Indies, China, and Bengal, The following 
summary of the contents of this charter may 
not be considered alien to the character of 
this history : — To the new subscribers was 
conceded an equal participation in the grants, 
octroys, and privileges secured to the said com- 
pany by his majesty and his predecessor, and 
likewise in all the forts, settlements, revenues, 
houses, magazines, ships, and effects, and in 
short in all the possessions of the company and 
future acquisitions. The old shares which, 
as has been stated, numbered two hundred 
and fifty, of one thousand rix dollars each, 
were to remain as they were, with all the 
rights of the new shares, and the directors 
w'ere bound to declare and affirm that the 
liabilities of the company did not exceed one 
hundred and sixty thousand rix dollars in 
specie. The \niited company was obligated 
to discharge those claims, upon condition that 
the old shares were entitled to no dividend 
till the year 1733; it was stipulated, that if 
the debts exceeded that sum — of which no 
suspicion beyond this proviso appears to have 
been entertained — the old shares were an- 
swerable for the overplus, and the new shares 
protected from any demand to meet such a 
contingency. The value of each new share 
was settled at one thousand rix-dollars in 
bank or specie, whereof twenty was to be paid 
upon account of Mr. Alexander Bruguier, 
banker, at Hamburg, or in the manner pre- 
scribed by the company at Copenhagen in 
1727. All future calls in that year were 
not to exceed five per cent. ; the call for 
tlie next year not to exceed twenty -five per 
cent ; the balance of the capital not to be 
called upon without the resolution of a general 
court of the company. If the entire sum of 
the said one thousand rix dollars for the new 
share were not paid on or before the year 
1738, the proprietors of the old shares were 
to have an interest at the rate of five per 
cent, allowed them for the sum they had paid 
over and above the new subscribers ; every 



Chap. LVII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



93 



subscriber was allowed to take shares for the 
bearer, signed by the company, and those 
who 80 preferred it, miglit have them in- 
scribed in the company's books. There was 
to be paid for each transfer two rix dollars to 
the company, and half a rix-dollar to the poor. 
The creditors of the company were allowed 
to take new shares for the sums due to them, 
provided they discounted on the said debts 
thirty per cent, for that year for each share, 
and twenty-five per cent, for the next year. 
Tlie shares purchased under these conditions 
were entitled to the same dividends as the 
others. The said shares were released 
from liability of seizure, or stop upon any 
account whatsoever, as was declared in his 
majesty's octroy. The directors were to 
communicate yearly to the shareholders an 
account of the affairs of the company, and 
that account was to be taken as the data 
for appropriating the dividend to be spe- 
cified in a general court of the company 
by the majority of voices. Tlie directors 
were not allowed to undertake any trade 
or commerce in the East Indies upon the 
company's account, without the consent of 
the members thereof, and still less were 
they allowed to dispose of or lend the com- 
pany's money to any person whatever, for 
which they were to be answerable in soUdo 
in their own names and estates. They were 
to be bound by oath to the exact observance 
of this article, and for a faithful administra- 
tion of the affairs of the company for the 
common benefit and advantage of the mem- 
bers thereof All the merchandise sold in 
any place but Copenhagen, was to be paid 
for in the bank of Hamburg to the account of 
one or more merchants, and most substantial 
tradesmen, for the company's account. Tiiese 
merchants were to be chosen, and appointed 
in a general court of the company by a ma- 
jority of voices, and in no other way upon 
any pretence whatever. The said merchants 
or cashiers were to be paid money, but upon 
orders signed by three directors at least. The 
money paid the first year was to be placed at 
the disposal of the directors, till new ones to 
be added to them were chosen. The capital 
arising from the new subscriptions was to be 
laid out in sending ships to Tranquebar, 
Bengal, and China, and for no other use 
whatever. No more money was to be kept 
in cash than what would be deemed necessary 
for repairing, fitting and sending out ships, 
as in the preceding article. A general court 
of the company was to be summoned as soon 
as possible, in order to choose four new direc- 
tors out of tlie new subscribers who might be 
all foreigners. 

Tlie first announcement of this association 

VOL. II. 



was hailed with demonstrations of approval 
and confidence, and the Dutch, the country- 
men and friends of the projector. Van 
Asperen, expressed a great inclination to em- 
bark in it; but this disposition was soon re- 
pressed. The support of a foreign imder- 
taking was denounced in Holland, as a high 
offence against the mother country ; and 
the directors and shareholders generally of 
the East India Company did not fail, in their 
jealousy for their own interest, to denounce 
most vehemently the Dutch approvers of the 
scheme. In a short time after active means 
were employed to deter Van Asperen, and 
to nullify the impression he had so extensively 
made. This movement amongst his own 
countrymen prejudiced other countries like- 
wise, and a check was given to those favour- 
able demonstrations which shortly before had 
promised support, security, and success to 
the enterprise. The removal of the company 
from Copenhagen to Altena, which, in the 
beginning of the operations of the company', 
appeared to be a master-stroke of policy, was 
now used against it with great success. On 
the edifice erected for the accommodation of 
the directors and employes of the company, the 
following inscription had been placed in con- 
spicuous characters : — " Here is the new India- 
house for carrying on the commerce of Tran- 
quebar, China, and other places." Although 
intended merely to attract the attention of 
the public, it subjected the project to very 
grave suspicions. Its opponents insisted that 
this was avowedlyanewcompany, to which the 
maritime powers had an unquestionable right 
to object; whereas the old company of Copen- 
hagen was, even in their opinions, established 
in its legal right to that trade by prescription. 
Again it was argued that the East India 
Company at Altena, was only an invention to 
revive the mysteries of stock-jobbing, and 
enable those who were in the secret to realize 
immense fortunes, under the colour of a trade 
with India, when in reality no such trade 
was seriously speculated on. It was further 
added that the royal concessions, in their 
character, were so very extensive and so 
highly disinterested, that it was extremely 
difficult to apprehend that an absolute prince 
such as was the King of Denmark, would, by 
the voluntary surrender of the liberties of his 
subjects, bind them any longer than till they 
could have answered the concealed purposes 
of this plausible proposal.* Notwithstanding 
this serious and unexpected check, tlie project 
met with such success, that the managers 
were encouraged to commence preparations 
for such an expedition as would be creditable 

* Universal Modem History, vol. ii. ; p. 51 ; Raynal's 
Bistort/, vol. xiii. p. 204-200. 



94 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LVII. 



to them. Several experienced adventurers 
hastened to Copenhagen, and proffered their 
experience and services, and all the country 
became soon acquainted with the character of 
the undertaking, and its great national im- 
portance. High expectations were enter- 
tained of its success, the popular feeling was 
enlisted in its favour ; men of all grades pro- 
moted it with a patriotic zeal, feeling that 
whatever conduced to the public advantage, 
ramified to the benefit of every, even the most 
insignificant, individual in the commonwealth. 
Ill this state of public excitement it may be 
«.<i8umed that the utmost vigour was directed 
to the preparations. In this forward stage of 
progress, opposition to the company became a 
matter of state policy with foreign nations, and 
was prosecuted as sucli by the ministers of 
Great Britain and Holland at the court of 
Denmark. Lord Glenorchy and iilr. Dassen- 
feldt, the representatives of their respective 
courts, were instructed to act conjointly in 
this affair, and to exercise all their influence 
to procure the abrogation of the powers be- 
stowed on the company. In obedience to 
these instructions, the following protest was 
drawn up and presented by them to the- 
court of Denmark :— 

"His majesty the King of Great Britain and their mighti- 
nesses the states-general of the United Provinces, fore- 
seeing the injury the transferring of the East Company 
from Copenhagen to Altena, will do to the commerce of 
their subjects, and perceiving with concern that almost 
at the same instant they are making so great efforts to stop 
the progress of the Ostend Company, the King of Den- 
mark, their good old friend and ally, is setting up another, 
equally prejudicial to their subjects, have ordered the 
subscribing ministers to make most humble representa- 
tions to his Danish Majesty, hoping from his majesty's 
friendship, that as soon as he shafl be informed of an 
uneasiness this novelty gives them, he wiU withdraw the 
privileges lately granted to that company, and leave it on 
the ancient footing as always has subsisted at Copen- 
hagen. Accordingly, the subscribing niinistere desire 
your excellency to make a report thereof to the king, and 
to procure them a favourable answer. Done at Copen- 
hagen, July 31, 1728. 

" Glenorchy and Dassenfeldt." ■ 

The courteous phraseology in which this 
extraordinary interference and demand were 
couched, did not recommend the pill to the 
relish of his Danish majesty and his advisers. 
However, he deemed it advisable to reply, and 
he assured the maritime powers that " they 
had totally mistaken him in the matter, because 
it was never the intention to erect a new 
company, or to transfer that which had now 
existed above one hundred and ten years from 
Copenhagen to Altena ; that this was manifest 
from the copy of the incorporation, which 
granted no new powers to the company, but 
barely confirmed the old ones; that the 
voyages proposed directly for China, could 



not be esteemed an infraction of treaties, not 
more than the voyages formerly made by the 
company's ships from Tranquebar ; that, fur- 
ther still, his majesty was not restrained, by 
any treaty whatever, from maintaining and 
supporting the commerce of his subjects to 
the Indies, either from their establishments 
in that part of the world, or from Copenhagen ; 
that the law of nature and nations, not only 
gave him a right, but made it his duty to 
promote the welfare of his subjects, and to 
extend their trade as far as was in his power; 
and, finally, that as he did not encourage this 
commerce with the view of injuring the East 
India Company in England or Holland, but 
purely with a design to benefit his own 
subjects, he could not discern how this should 
expose him to the resentment of any power 
whatever." Whatever may be said in favour 
of the justice and cogency of these arguments, 
they did not satisfy the courts to which they 
were addressed. A- protest was prepared to 
show the insufficiency of them, and the right 
which the maritime powers had to expect 
that his majesty should comply with their 
demands, and withdraw his protection from 
the company. This memorial was delivered 
by the Earl of Chesterfield, and the deputies 
of the United Provinces to Mr. Greys, his 
Danish majesty's minister at the Hague, in 
the summer of 1729, from which time it does 
not appear that any further applications were 
made on the subject.* 

Though the early progress of the company 
was retarded by this vigorous opposition, it 
eventually proved favourable to it. Frede- 
rick, now verging to the grave, and equally 
reluctant to be involved in fresh trou- 
bles, and unwilling to compromise the inte- 
rests and rights of his subjects, withdrew 
his support from the Altena Company, but 
at the same time he recommended it to the 
patronage of his son, who shortly after suc- 
ceeded him on the throne by the title of 
Christian VI. The withdrawal of the king 
had the salutary effect of weeding the com- 
pany of all the speculators who were merely 
interested in the traffic in shares, and stimu- 
lated several to engage in an enterprise the 
promising nature of which was demonstrated 
by the powerful jealousy which it had pro- 
voked. The dreadful conflagation with which 
Copenhagen was visited and laid in ashes 
towards the end of Frederick's reign, retarded 
the operations of the company ; but the re- 
vival of commercial confidence, and the liberal 
and well-directed encouragement of hia suc- 

* See Historical RegUier ; Secueil Buioriqtte d'Actes, 
Nei/ociations, Memoires et Traites. Par M. Eousset, 
torn. v. p. 35 ; Universal History, vol. xi. 



Chap. LVIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



95 



cesser, shortly after gave it an impulse which 
was attended witli felicitous results. 

In a ver)' short space of time order was 
restored ; the East India house at Copenhagen, 
the dockyards, and magazines, were put 
into repair, the direct conimerco with China 
estahlislied, and so judiciously conducted 
that it continued steadily to increase for several 
years after, and the trade to Tranquebar was 



better regulated, and yielded a more profit- 
able return than it had done at any previous 
period. 

The details connected with the after history 
of the Danish Company necessarily become 
involved in the history of the progress of the 
British Empire in the East, and shall receive 
such passing notice as may comport with their 
importance. 



CHAPTEK LVIII. 



THE MINOR E.iST INDIA COMPANIES :— SWEDISH. PRUSSIAN, TRIESTE, AND SPANISH. 



THE SWEDISH COMPANY. 

It was to the ruin of the Ostend Company, 
that Sweden, as well as Denmark, owed the 
establishment in its dominions, of an East 
India Company. Though a brave and hardy 
race, and celebrated in the earliest accounts 
we possess of the northern parts of the world, 
for the boldness of their ocean enterprises, 
the Swedes were among the last of the 
European nations to engage in maritime spe- 
culations. Their passion was war, and in its 
pursuit they left to the merchants of the 
Hanse Towns whatever little commerce their 
country supplied, and this was almo.st exclu- 
sively confined to the fisheries on their coasts. 

The famous Gustavus Adolphus, while en- 
gaged in the war with Poland, entertained 
the design of opening a trade to the East 
for his subjects, and such as were desirous of 
co-operating with them, and for that purpose 
issued letters patent, dated at Stockholm, June 
14, 1626 ; but the wars which shortly after broke 
out in Germany, so engrossed his attention, 
that for the remainder of his life he had no 
opportunity of paying the attention it de- 
served to his enlightened and patriotic project. 

In the reign of Christina, the learned 
daughter of Gustavus, though some of the 
Swedes had planted a colony in North 
America, none of them made any effort to 
share the wealth which abounded in eastern 
realms. 

The desolation which the wars of Charles XII. 
inflicted on his country was not redeemed 
by the splendour of his barren victories. 
The little commerce that had previously 
struggled for existence, during his tur- 
bulent and imgenial rule was exhausted. 
Perhaps the only beneficial result of his ad- 
venturous reign was, that many of his sub- 
jects who had fled to foreign countries to 
escape the miseries war had inflicted, having 
gleaned knowledge and the fruits of their 



industry, in the following reign — when Sweden 
began to recover— returned to enrich it, and 
every encouragement was held out to in- 
duce enterprising foreigners to visit Sweden 
and settle there. Encouraged by these fa- 
vourable indications, and other concomitant 
circumstances, one Mr. Henry Konig, an 
eminent merchant at Stockholm, proposed to 
form an East India Company. He submitted 
his scheme to the king and his ministers, and 
proved to their satisfaction that there were 
various parts of Asia and Africa, with which 
a trade might be remuneratively established, 
without infringing on existing treaties, or 
impinging on the possessions or interests of 
other states. He argued that Sweden at all 
times was entitled to the common right of 
nations, of which in times past, had she 
thought it expedient, she might have availed 
herself; that never was offered so favour- 
able an opportunity as the present. To ensure 
success, he argued that the assistance of skilled 
and wealthy foreigners should be enlisted — 
the former to conduct a commerce wliich 
the latter would essentially serve to initiate 
and to sustain. He assured them that he 
knew, from his own commercial acquaintance, 
that there were several capitalists who 
had withdrawn from the Ostend Company, 
anxiously on the look out for a profitable and 
safe investment, who, if judiciously encouraged, 
wouldlend their zealous and efficient co-opera- 
tion.* He succeeded in seriously impressing 
both the sovereign and his advisers witii theas- 
surance that there would be no great difficulty 
in finding both men and money in prose- 
cuting this commerce with success; and in 
such a manner, as to hazard no risk of loss by 
trade, or by opposition from other powers. 
All his statements having been carefully ex- 
amined, it was resolved to authorise Konig 

* Universal Hislorij, vol. ii. p. 252; Macphta'soii's 
Commercial Dictionary. 



96 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LVIII. 



to associate together as many as lie could find 
willing to enter into the speculation, and, with 
the advice and consent of the senate, the king 
granted him a charter, dated Juno 14, 1731,* 
precisely one hundred and five years after 
letters patent, for the like purpose, were 
signed by Gustavus. Tliis charter has been 
pronounced to be one of the best digested 
instruments of its kind extant. A summary 
at least of it here is essential to the compre- 
hension of what remains to be said upon the 
subject : — The king hereby concedes to Henry 
Konig and his associates, the liberty of navi- 
gating and trading to the East Indies for fifteen 
years, and \^nth the inhabitants of all coun- 
tries beyond the Cape of Good Hope, with 
the Island of Japan, wherever they shall think 
proper or convenient, with this single restric- 
tion — that they shall not trade in any port 
belonging to any prince or state in Europe 
without free leave first had and obtained. 
The ships engaged in this traffic shall con- 
stantly take in their lading at Gottenburg, to 
which port they shall return with all the mer- 
chandise they shall bring with them from the 
East Indies, and cause the same to be publicly 
sold as soon as they can. The said Henry 
Konig shall pay to the King of Sweden, 
during the said fifteen years, one hundred 
tlialers for every last employed in their trade, 
within six months after the return of each 
ship. The company's ships must be built in 
Sweden, and be rigged and equipped with 
Swedish materials ; and no foreign ships or 
materials must be employed, unless it be found 
impracticable to procure such in Sweden. 
The sliips may be armed as the company 
think proper, and carry the Swedish flag. 
The company may make their capital any 
sum they think proper. They may export 
silver, bullion of all kinds, except Swedish 
coins ; and they may import all kinds of mer- 
chandise from India. Their seamen and sol- 
diers are exempted from being pressed into 
the king's service; these ships are never to be 
hindered from sailing, under any pretence 
whatever; their commanders are invested 
with the same power of maintaining discipline 
on board ship, which the commanders of the 
king's ships possess ; and they are authorised 
to oppose, by force of arms, all pirates and 
others who may attempt to molest them in 
any part of the world. The goods imported 
by the company are exempted from paying 
duties, except a very trifling acknowledgment 
upon removing them. The company's busi- 
ness is to be conducted by three directors, 
who must all be Protestants, native or natu- 
ralized subjects of Sweden, and residing in 
* Supplement au Corps, torn. ii. p. 2, and p. 305 ; Pos- 
llethwaitc's Commercial Dictionary. 



the kingdom, and Henry Konig is named 
the first of them. If any director betrays 
his trust, or acts in any respect improperly, 
the proprietors may apply to the college of com- 
merce, who are empowered to suspend him, 
in which case the proprietors are to elect 
another in his stead. All foreigners who are 
proprietors of the company's .stock, or are 
employed in their service, shall be naturalized 
on making application to the king; and 
their property shall be, on no account, liable 
to arrest. All other subjects of Sweden are 
forbidden from trading within the company's 
limits, on pain of forfeiting their vessels and 
cargoes. The king promises to renew, alter, 
or enlarge the company's privileges, if it shall 
be found necessary for promoting the pros- 
perity of their trade. 

The reason why the charter was of such 
limited duration — fifteen years — is, that it was 
thought it would be the best expedient either 
to afiford an earlier opportunity of rectifying 
any imperfections incident to new under- 
takings, or to satisfy, in some degree, the 
denouncers of the scheme, many of whom 
strenuously opposed it.* Being restricted 
from interfering with the settlements of other 
nations, the company was guarded against 
any reasonable grounds of complaint, or even 
jealousies on the part of any of them, and 
the effects of this precaution was seen in the 
very first stage of proceedings. Their pre- 
parations were made without remonstrance or 
molestation. Two large ships were built and 
soon got ready for sea, furnished and armed 
in the most efficient manner. Men v.'ere 
scrupulously selected for supercargoes. Their 
abilities, moral worth, and intimate acquaint- 
ance vrith the duties of their office were the 
qualifications. The officers and sailors w-ere 
selected with similar discretion. In fact, 
everything was regulated with judgment and 
caution, and in two years after the charter 
was granted, the Frederick and Ulrica, so 
named from the king and queen, put out from 
the hai'bour of Gottenburg, to encounter the 
perils of the ocean in search of the produc- 
tions of Indian climes. 

The king had officially notified to the 
states-general the establishment of the com- 
pany, adding, at the same time, his earnest 
resolve to rigidly enforce the restrictions wliich 
forbade their interference with the trade of 
other European nations, and an assurance was 
given that he would pay ready money for what- 
ever refreshments or repairs might be wanted 
in the ports of any of his allies. He expressed 
liis hopes that those moderate demands would 
be readily granted. He had to make a second 
application to elicit a reply, which was indeed 
* Eaynal, vol. iii. p. 40. 



CnAP. LViri.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



97 



a very qualified one. Their mightinesses 
said, that though they could not be expected 
to favour the new company, they would give 
every necessary succour to his majesty's sub- 
jects. As further evidence of the interest 
with which the king watched the development 
of the company, and to mark their appear- 
ance in China with a special token of his 
royal favour, he invested Mr. Colin Campbell, 
the supercargo of the Frederick, with the 
character of his ambassador to the Emperor 
of China, and some other oriental princes. 

At the starting of the company their stock 
varied from one voyage to another. It was 
said to have amounted to a quarter of a 
million of our money in 1753, and about two 
hundred thousand only at the last convention. 
However, there were no data accessible to 
the public by which they could accurately 
estimate it, for the accounts were never 
publicly exposed. The Swedes had in the 
first stages much less interest in the stock 
than they subsequently acquired, and in con- 
sequence of this the government deemed it 
politic to throw some mystery about it. With 
this object it was enacted that any director 
who should divulge the name of a proprietor, 
or the sum he had subscribed, should be 
suspended or even removed, and forfeit all 
the money which he had invested in the 
speculation. This policy of concealment, which 
seems so inconceivable in a free country, 
was persevered in for thirty -five years. It 
was, however, provided that twelve of the 
proprietors should investigate the accounts of 
the directors once in four years, but the 
auditors were nominated by themselves ; and 
in England it is known by unpleasant expe- 
rience what little security such provision 
yields. In subsequent years the power of 
appointments was conveyed to the proprietors, 
and, aa a matter of course, with the beneficial 
effects that usually attend honest inquiry and 
unrestricted publicity. As Raynal tersely 
observes,* " Secrecy in politics is like lying ; 
it may preserve a state for the moment, but 
must certainly ruin it in the end. Both are 
only serviceable to evil-minded persons." 

The first vessels sent out were well re- 
ceived by the Chinese, and permission was 
granted to them to establish a factory at 
Canton, on the same terms as were enjoyed 
by the other European powers having esta- 
blishments in that city. 

At the time wlien tlie arrival of the ships 
was eagerly expected in Sweden, a letter was 
received from Mr. Campbell, conveying the dis- 

* Le secret dans la politique est comme le mesonge : 
il sauve pour nn moment lea etats, et les perd a la lougue. 
L'un ct I'autren'est utile qu'aux mccbans. — Hist. Phihs, 
el Polil. torn. iii. p. 215. Imprime a La Uui/i, 1774. 



agreeable intelligence that on the return of the 
Frederick, as she was at the entrance of the 
Straits of Sunda, she was fired upon by seven 
Dutch vessels, captured, and led into Batavia. 
The Dutch commodore alleged that he was 
acting under the orders of his government, 
and would have captured the vessel even if 
the King of Sweden were aboard. On com- 
plaint being made by the Swedish minister to 
the states-general, they, and also the directors 
of the Dutch East India Company, protested 
that they had never issued such orders. The 
ship was soon liberated, and an insult to the 
Swedish flag was never after offered by the 
ships of the Dutch company. The Ulrica 
reached Gottenburg without any accident, 
and the voyage proved moderately profitable. 
This good commencement spirited on the 
directors to renewed exertions, and to hope 
that succeeding expeditions would prove still 
more satisfactory.* They were not dis- 
appointed. The way in which the servants 
of the company conducted themselves, won 
for them the esteem and favour of the native 
authorities, and inhabitants generally, of 
Canton ; and they showed themselves dis- 
posed to favour them in every possible way. 
Their trade, notwithstanding the loss of some 
of their vessels, proved exceedingly remune- 
rative to the shareholders and the nation at 
large, for by it they were enabled to export a 
considerable quantity of Swedish merchan- 
dise, and but a very inconsiderable portion of 
their oriental importations was consumed in 
the country. The money obtained from 
foreigners for what they exported, far ex- 
ceeded the amount of bullion transmitted to 
the Indian markets. Thus, the exchange 
was greatly in favour of Sweden, and the in- 
evitable result of such a state of things was 
soon made visible by the increase of the pre- 
cious metals, and the improved habits, social 
comforts, and increasing demand for labour. 

At home the company met with some im- 
pediments. They were obliged to take 
foreigners principally into their service, and 
there being no nation in Europe more jealous 
than the Swedes, this generated a great deal 
of discontent. The populace murmured that 
the bread was being taken out of their mouths. 
These complaints were as unjust as they 
were illiberal ; those whom they directed 
their wrath against were spending their 
earnings, as a matter of course, amongst them; 
and those against whom a plausible charge 
could be brought — the non-resident share- 
holders — were overlooked and escaped the 
popular indignation. To subdue this irra- 
tional ferment, an order was published an- 

* Macphtrson's Ilislory of Enropean Commerce with 
Ltdiu, 



de 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LVIII. 



nouncing that at least two-thirds of the 
seamen on board their ships should be native 
Swedes. As this order could not be executed 
in consequence of the paucity of native mari- 
ners, the common people, who were the great 
bulk of the malcontents, quickly discovered 
the silliness of their clamour, and were at 
length convinced that the company had done 
no more than what circumstances-justified and 
their charter privileged, and that no nndue 
partiality existed for the foreigners. 

In the year 1746 the company's charter 
was renewed, and the term of their exclusive 
trade prolonged to the year 1766. 

From the first establishment of the Swedish 
company, every partner was at liberty to 
withdraw his capital upon the termination of 
the particular voyage for which it was in- 
vested, and hence arose the fluctuations 
already noticed. Experiencing the injurious 
effects of this precarious state of their stock, 
it was agreed, in the year 1753, that from 
that time forward it should be fixed and per- 
manent, and that any proprietor wishing to 
withdraw should, as in other joint-stock com- 
panies in Europe, find a purchaser. At the 
same time the king, to enable the company to 
maintain its position against the rivalry of the 
Prussian trade recently established at Embden, 
agreed to a commutation duty of twenty per 
cent, upon the value of the East India goods 
consumed within the kingdom, instead of the 
lastage duty, hitherto paid by every ship for 
each voyage. But in the year 1765, when 
the charter was nearly expired, the govern- 
ment not only resumed the lastage duty, but 
also demanded the arrears alleged to be due 
since 1753. This was not the only attempt 
made by the government to obtain a partici- 
pation in the profits. A renewal of the 
charter was granted in 1766 for a term of 
twenty years, and as a consideration for this 
favour the company were obliged to lend to 
the state above one hundred thousand pounds 
sterling, at six per cent, interest. As a secu- 
rity for this, they were allowed to retain in 
their hands the duty payable upon every ship, 
till the whole of that debt was liquidated. 

The chief trade was with China, and the 
commerce of that vast kingdom and those to 
the east of it, being looked upon by the other 
European nations, as merely incidental to 
their Indian trade, was the cause why the 
Swedes were permitted to pursue it without 
interruption and jealousy. Four-fifths of 
imports were teas, the consumption of which 
was very small indeed in Sweden, owing to 
the check it received by the imposition of a 
tax of not less than twenty-five percent. All 
the rest of their imports were exported on 
paying to the state eight per cent, on the 



produce of the sales. By far the largest 
quantity of teas thus sold fell into the hands 
of foreigners — and realized ready money — 
chiefly for the purpose of being smuggled 
into Great Britain. This clandestine trade was 
carried on with very great success for years, 
till it received its death-blow in the year 
1781 by the passing of an act for lowering 
the duties on teas. The produce of these 
public sales was variable, of course influenced 
by the number and tonnage of the vessels 
engaged in it, and by the demand. Raynal 
says it may be affirmed that it has scarcely 
ever fallen below two millions of livres,* and 
has never risen higher than five millions.-j- 

THE PRUSSIANS IN INDIA. 

The name of Frederick the Great of Prus- 
sia will live — with his faults and his virtues 
— in the grateful remembrance of a people, it 
may be said peoples, whom he raised from a 
state of depression to be a kingdom, great 
in its victories, great in its intellectual pro- 
gress, great in the councils of the greatest 
nations, and great in its alliances, political 
and matrimonial. 

Having enlarged and secured his dominion, 
he was deliberating on the best means of en- 
riching it, when a fortunate event put him in 
possession of East Friesland, in 1744. This 
province contains the city and port of Emb- 
den, the only one he possessed in his domi- 
nions, and this he proposed to make the seat 
of a flourishing trade with India. Embden 
is the capital of the little province of East 
Friesland. It is a considerable seaport, now 
belonging to Hanover, situated on the river 
Pettis, or Embs, at its influx into the North 
Sea, at the Bay of Dollart. About three 
centuries ago it was reckoned one of the best 
ports in Europe. The English, compelled to 
abandon Antwerp, had made it the centre of 
their relations with the continent. The Dutch 
had for a long time endeavoured to appro- 
priate it, but in vain. At length it excited 
their jealousy to such a degree, that they 
attempted to fill up the port. It commatids 
all the essentials to entitle it to be the empo- 
rium of a great trade. . The only inconveni- 
ence it seemed to labour under as the seat of 
Prussian commerce was its distance from the 
bulk of the Prussian dominions, and the delay 
which would be incurred in succouring it in 
an emergency ; but Frederick was of opinion 
that the terror of his name would be it pro- 
tection, and in this persuasion he established 
there the East India Company. 

To further his views, he decided on the 
incorporation of an East India Company, and 
for the accomplishment of this he held out 
* £83,333 6*. Sd. f £20,833 6j. 6d. 



Chap. LVIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST 



99 



hopes of encouragement to foreigners. The 
expectation of royal patronage, particularly 
from a prince of his great reputation, speedily 
brought around him several ready to co-ope- 
rate with him in the maturing of his project. 
These were mostly composed of Englishmen, 
Dutchmen, and Frenchmen, who set at de- 
fiance the restrictions which their respec- 
tive governments had framed to prevent their 
subjects from joining any such alien specu- 
lations. 

The new Prussian company was incorpo- 
rated under the title of the Asiatic or China 
Company, on the 11th of September, 1750, 
for the term of fifty years. The charter states 
that during that period they were privileged 
to send two ships every year to China. All 
goods imported by them, and sold to foreigners, 
might be exported without being subject to 
dues; and the companymight export any article 
manufactured in the king's dominions without 
paying any duty. Foreigners subscribing to 
the company's capital acquired all the privi- 
leges of Prussian subjects. Noblemen might 
Bubscribe without derogating from their dig- 
nity. All countries to be conquered by them 
were to be their own property. They were 
also invested with the privilege of carrying 
on several manufactures, and the herring, 
cod, and whale fisheries, and to trade in all 
places where their vessels could have free 
access, &c. &c. 

In the course of four or five years the 
company dispatched six ships to China ; but 
it is asserted — and there are very strong 
grounds for adopting the statement — that 
very inefficient, if not improper agents, were 
entrusted with the management, for of all the 
European adventures in those days of profit 
and plunder in the East the Prussian company 
alone were unfortunate. On winding up their 
accounts, when the war put an end to their 
commerce, in 1756, they discovered that 
their profits amounted to one -half per cent, in 
the year. 

On the 1st of January, 1753, the king 
established a second company, also at Emb- 
den, for trading to Bengal, and the countries 
adjacent thereto, during the space of twenty 
years, and with permission to send as many 
vessels as they pleased. The usual privileges 
of joint-stock companies were granted to 
them, including the power to make their own 
laws, to choose their directors, subject, how- 
ever, to his majesty's approval. 

The capital was limited to one million 
Brandenburg crowns, in shares of five- hun- 
dred crowns each. The formation of the 
original company could not be completed; 
and some other persons, with the king's per- 
mlBsion, obtained the charter, and opened 



subscriptions at Embden, Breslau, Konigs- 
berg, Magdeburg, Antwerp, and Hamburg. 
They proposed to send one or two ships on 
experimental trips to Bengal as soon as the 
funds subscribed would admit. 

After several delays a ship was dispatched 
to Bengal, and a factory established tliere. 
It was cast away in the Ganges in the year 
1756. In the year 1761 the second was 
sent out by the company to look for the 
remains of the first. This was not attended 
with success ; no profits were realized, and 
all hopes of establishing a trade with that 
part of India abandoned. The Asiatic or 
China Company, however, continued to carry 
on some kind of trade with China ; but even- 
tually Embden itself reverted to the possession 
of Hanover, and Prussia ceased to have any 
interest in it. 

THE IMPERIAL COMPANY OF TRIESTE. 

This company owes its existence to one 
William Bolts,* an Englishman, who, having 
served in India, and being dismissed the ser- 
vice of the English East India Company, 
transferred his allegiance to Maria Theresa, 
the Empress of Austria, and was received by 
her as one of her subjects. In testimony of 
his gratitude, he laid before her a proposal 
for establishing a trade with Africa and the 
East Indies, and to make one of her ports at 
the head of the Adriatic the seat of it, and 
thus obviate any objection, on the score of 
treaties, which might be started against such 
an establishment in the Netherlands. To 
enable him to carry his project into effect, he 
solicited the empress to let him have an 
assortment of metals, cannon, and small arms, 
from the imperial mines and manufactories, 
to the amount of one hundred and eighty 
thousand florins, and to allow him two years 
for the payment."!" 

The scheme was received with royal favour, 
and a charter conceded, dated the 5th of 
June, 1775, whereby he was authorized, 
during the space of ten years, to carry on a 
trade, with vessels under the imperial flag, 
from the Austrian ports in the Adriatic to 
Persia, India, China, and Africa ; to trans- 
port negro slaves from Africa to America ; to 
take goods upon freight either for the imperial 
ports or any others for account of foreigners, 
whose properties shall not be liable to confis- 
cation, even if they should belong to nations 

* Mr. Bolts arrived in Bengal in the year 1 760 ; he 
resigned his appointment in the company's service in 
1766. Finding that he proposed remaining in India in 
defiance of their regulations, tliey were obliged to make 
use of the powers vested in them by parliament, to send 
him home, 

t This was condoned by the empress's successor. 



100 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LVIII. 



at war with her; to take possession in the 
queen's name of any territories wliich he 
might obtain from the princes of India : and 
the charter declared that the vessels belong- 
ing to him should be exempted from arrest 
or detention at all times, whether of jjeace or 
war ; and that he should be provided with 
necessary passports, and care taken to obtain 
redress for him if attacked or molested. 

Bolts took into ])artnersliip Charles Proli 
and Company, of Antwerp, merchants, to the 
extent of one -third of the business. It was 
agreed that two ships were to be got ready, 
loaded at Leghorn and Trieste, and that 
Bolts was to accompany them, for the pur- 
pose of establishing factories and commercial 
relations in India, leaving the charter in the 
hands of his partners, who were to open a 
house of India trade in Trieste. Bolts pro- 
ceeded to London, and there bought a ship. 
When he got to sea he superseded the Eng- 
lish captain, hoisted the imperial colours, and 
sailed into Lisbon. There his crew was 
seized upon, and carried off by an English 
frigate. Nothing daunted, he soon collected 
another, composed of Italians, arrived in 
Leghorn, and thence steered for India.' 
Having founded three factories on the coast of 
Malabar, one on the Nicobar Island, and one 
at Delagoa, on the coast of Africa, he returned 
with three ships to Leghorn, in May, 178L 

The success of this adventure so pleased 
the Grand-duke of Tuscany, that he granted 
a charter to Bolts, which secured to him 
the exclusive trade between Tuscany and 
all the islands beyond the Cape Verde 
Islands, to be conducted with two ships under 
Tuscan colours. 

So far successful, and favoured by two 
princes, his fortune seemed to be guaranteed ; 
but such was not the case. On the contrary, 
he found himself much embarrassed. This, 
as he represents the matter, was entirely 
owing to the want of faith on the side of his 
partners. Whoever was to blame, as soon as 
his creditors heard of his success, they crowded 
to Leghorn, and seized on his three ships and 
cargoes. To release himself from this posi- 
tion, he was obliged to involve himself still 
further with the firm, and ceded to M. Proli 
and Company the imperial charter, and also 
the Tuscan charter, in order to raise a joint- 
stock of two million florins; he further re- 
nounced any right he might have in the 
profits made by the ships they had sent to 
China, except a commission of two per cent. 
upon the gross sales of the cargoes ; and he 
took upon himself the liabilities of a ship 
called the Grand-duke of Tuscan}/, with her 
cargo, which had been seized at the Cape of 
Good Hope by the French and Dutch in 1781, 



and also of another vessel expected from 
Malabar. For these advantageous conces- 
sions the firm, " in friendship," lent him 
£6280 16s. 8d., at five per cent, interest, to 
pay off a debt contracted on the joint account, 
and agreed that he should be at liberty to 
send two ships to India or China on his 
own sole account, only paying to them a- rate 
of commission of six per cent, on the gross 
amount of the cargoes in Europe. This 
agreement was confirmed by JoBe2)h II., who 
also authorized them to I'aise the sum of two 
millions of florins, the proposed amount of the 
capital of the now Imperial Company of 
Trieste for the CoMMEncB of Asia. 

Proli and Company immediately opened 
subscriptions to raise this capital. The exist- 
ing stock they valued at one million of florins, 
and for the remaining million they offered 
shares at one thousand florins each. They 
declared themselves directors at Antwerp, 
and Bolts, and another not yet elected, direc- 
tors at Trieste. 

At a meeting of the partners — the only one 
ever held — in September, 1781, it was pro- 
posed to send out six ships for China and 
India, two for the east coast of Africa, and 
three for the Northern Whale Fishery, and 
Proli and Co. engaged to procure the money, 
and were authorized to do so. 

In November, 1786, Bolts, on his own ac- 
count, fitted out a large vessel for the north- 
west coast of America, to take advantages of 
the fur trade, there newly opened, and to 
convey the cargo to China. He proposed 
that the ship should pass round Cape Horn, 
and after loading at Nootka, and selling the 
furs in China, return to Europe by the 
Cape of Good Hope, and thus have the honour 
of accomplishing the first Austrian circum- 
navigation of the world. The measures which 
he adopted promised an assurance of success. 

To superintend the voyage Bolts had en- 
gaged four officers, the companions of Cook in 
his perilous wanderings ; five naturalists were 
also engaged to extend the demesne of science; 
and a Bermudian sloop was purchased to serve 
as a tender, but these preparations were all frus- 
trated, as Bolts asserts, by the malicious intri- 
gues of his brother directors, whereby he 
sustained an enormous loss, and was obliged 
to engage the ship in another way. 

The other directors werenotinactivein April, 
1782. They boasted they had six million 
florins at command, and si.x ships under the 
Austrian flag in active service; but their 
ardour was somewhat moderated by the intel- 
ligence which about this time reached them, 
that their factory at Delagoa had been de- 
stroyed by the Portuguese, who claimed a 
right to that territory. Five of the company's 



Chap. LVIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST, 



101 



vessels arrived from China, at Ostend in 
1784, which had been made a free port by 
the emperor on his visit there in 1781. But 
the fortunate arrival of so many ships, with 
nearly three millions and a half pounds of tea, 
besides other goods, was counterbalanced by 
the loss of the Imperial Eagle, which was 
arrested by the creditors, and involved the 
loss of three hundred thousand florins. This 
dislieartened several of the shareholders, and 
induced them to withdraw. Their stock was 
sold at thirty -five per cent, below par, and 
afterwards the holders were more unfortu- 
nate still, for in the year following the com- 
pany was declared bankrupt to the amount 
of ten million florins. 

This company encountered no opposition 
from the jealousy of the other nations of Europe 
with the exception of the petty kingdom of 
Portugal ; and, in all human probability, its 
success had been brilliant, were it not for the 
jealousy and differences of Bolts, and the co- 
partners 

THE SP.\NIARDS IN INDIA. 

The latest of the nations in Europe which 
established commercial intercourse with India 
was Spain, though the Spaniards were the 
first after the Portuguese who crossed the 
Pacific, and navigated the Indian Ocean. 

In the fifteenth century, while the Portu- 
guese were energetically prosecuting their 
discoveries, extending their trade, and estab- 
lishing their power in the East, their neigh- 
bours, the Spaniards, were, with equal activity 
and success, securing boundless treasures in 
the West,* Columbus having added the newly 
discovered western continent to its dominions. 
There was no state to dispute the sovereignty 
of the vast extent of sea and land to which 
they claimed a right, nor did either power 
then apprehend tha^^by the giant strength 
of the sluggish denizens of the swamps of the 
Lowlands or the isolated inhabitants of the 
isles of the West — those splendid demesnes 
would be rudely torn from their grasp ; and 
confidently they calculated when the sove- 
reign pontiff, in the plenitude of his assumed 
temporal dictatorship, liad decided that a 
meridian drawn from the north to the south, 
three hundred and seventy leagues westward 
of Cape de Verde, should bound the mutual 
possessions and right of maritime discovery 
of the two kingdoms,! '1'"*' "" ^oi of mother 
church would impiously dispute so venerable 
an adjustment. 

Several years elapsed after the discovery 

• Raynal's Hisioire dei ElablissemenU dam Its Indes, 
torn. ii. p. 236. 

t Dunham's Ilutonj of Spain and Fortuaal, vol. ii. 
p. 280. .' ./ i . J • 

VOL. II. 



by Columbus of America, before an attempt 
was made to explore the ocean which it was 
conjectured extended far away to the west 
of it. Vasco Nunez de Balboa, a Spanish 
adventurer, guided by some Indians, was 
the first European who was gratified by be- 
holding its broad expanse. This occurred in 
1513. The court of Spain, in 1515, dispatched 
Juan Diaz de Solis, who had previously sailed 
along the coast of Brazil, to attempt a pas- 
sage to the South Sea and to India along 
the southern shore, part of the recently 
discovered continent.* This expedition proved 
disastrous : in an encounter with the Indians 
on the banks of the Rio de la Plata many 
of his followers were slain, and the survivors 
returned to Spain. 

A second attempt was made to reach India 
from a Spanish settlement on the southern 
coast of Mexico. Vessels were fitted out for 
the voyage ; but unfortunately the timber 
made use of in their construction was so 
subject to be wormeaten, that in a few weeks 
they ceased to be seaworthy, and thus termi- 
nated these preparations. 

It was reserved for Fernando de Magal- 
hanes (Magellan) to attempt this with suc- 
cess. Notwithstanding the recent arbitration 
of the pope, the line of demarcation was not 
so definitely drawn as to obviate the origin 
of disputes. The splendid empire secured in 
Asia to Manuel of Portugal excited the jea- 
lousy of his brother Fernando, King of Cas- 
tile, and he made several fruitless attempts 
to be allowed to participate in its advan- 
tages. After the death of that prince a dis- 
affected Portuguese, who had served Manuel 
with distinction both in Ethiopia and India, 
and complained — perhaps not without cause — 
that royalty's rewards were not commensu- 
rate with the perils encountered and the re- 
sults realized, fled to the court of Castile, and 
there succeeded, perhaps with little effort, 
in impressing on the new king, Charles V. 
of Austria, that, by the division made with 
tlie papal line, the Molucca Islands geogra- 
phically belonged to Spain. To these he 
also proposed a shorter route than that by 
the Capo of Good Hope — namely, by the 
Brazils. In August, 1519, he set out with 
five ships, with absolute power over the 
crews. Steering towards the Canaries, he 
doubled the Cape de Verde, passed the islands 
of that name, and boldly steered into the 
limitless waste of the Western Ocean. He 
coasted along the shores of Brazil, daunted 
by no dangers of unknown waters, warring 
elements, mutinous crews, or fierce gigantic 
Patagonians, whose naturally large physical 

* Macpherson's History of Eurojpeau Commerce in (he 
East, p. 319. 



102 



mSTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Ohap. LVIII. 



jiroportions were extravagantly exaggerated 
by the nervous fears of his apprehensive 
followers. He passed the land of giants; 
and in September, 1620, arrived at a cape 
which he called after the eleven thousand 
virgins, and then entered the fearful straits 
which immortalise his name and his toils. 
Passing tlirough a series of perils of more 
than romantic interest, he at length reached 
the Pliilippine Islands, after a passage of 
fifteen hundred leagues. Here he lost his 
valuable life in a conflict between two native 
chiefs, the quarrel of one of whom he was 
imprudently induced to espouse. Only 
one — the Victoria — of his six vessels re- 
turned to Spain ; she arrived there in Sep- 
tember, 1622,* bringing home a cargo of 
spices taken in at the Molucca Islands, and 
with only eighteen men, survivors of the 
battles and voyages, who, having returned 
by the Cape of Good Hope, had the honour 
of being the first circumnavigators of the 
globe. Had Magalhanes returned, he was to 
iave a patent for exclusive trading, for the 
period of ten years, with the countries which 
he should have discovered. "If," says Dun- 
ham, — and he is perfectly justified in maldrig 
the observation, — "the object of the expedi- 
tion failed through the catastrophe of its 
leader, he will be considered by posterity as 
by far the most undaunted, and in many 
respects the most extraordinary man, that 
ever traversed an unknown sea." 

The Portuguese were startled by the dis- 
covery of this new route to Asia, the claims 
laid to the Moluccas, and the endless preten- 
sions which, by possibility, might arise out 
of them ; but Charles, who was now not only 
King of Spain, and sovereign of the seven- 
teen rich provinces of the Netherlands, but 
also Emperor of Germany, was too powerftd 
to be influenced by threats or aggressions. 
Three hundred and fifty thousand ducats of 
gold, were paid to Spain in consideration of 
its desisting from further trading in those 
oriental regions ; however, the right was 
reserved of resuming that trade on the repay- 
ment of tlie money advanced. The bargain 
was concluded by a treaty executed at Sara- 
gossa, on the 22ud of April, 1529. 

By this treaty the commerce of the Mo- 
luccas, or Spice Islands, was secured to Por- 
tugal as long as it continued independent of 
Spain. On the union of these kingdoms some 
time after, the Portuguese settlements, as 
dependencies on Spain, were exposed to the 
hostilities of the English and Dutch, who 
were engaged in war against the latter power. 
The Portuguese, however, wore expelled from 

* Dunham's Ritlory of Spain and Portugal, vol. iii. 
p. 812. 



the Moluccas at the beginning of the seven- 
teenth century. 

Several subsequent efforts were made to 
find out a shorter route than by the Straits 
of Magellan, but without success. The Spa- 
niards were, therefore, confined to carrying 
on the trade with the Spice Islands from their 
lately established settlements on the western 
shores of America. The commodities of the 
East and West were transported by land 
carriage across the narrow Isthmus of Panama. 

In 1564 the Philippine Islands were brought 
under the dominion of Spain by Jliguel Lopez 
de Legaspi. In the island of Zebu he founded 
a town called San Miguel ; and in the island 
of Leuconia he erected Manilla, destined to 
become the capital of the Spanish dominions 
in the Eastern seas, and was greatly enriched 
by the commerce with America, China, and 
other rich countries and islands. It is called 
by the Spaniards the pearl of the East. 

The branch of commerce which is most 
cultivated at Manilla is with Acapulco, iu 
Mexico. Thither ships are sent annually, 
called galleon.s. The origin of this trade is 
rather curious, and is sufficiently important 
to justify a passing notice. It is thus told 
by Macpherson : — " The missionaries whom 
Philip II., in his zeal for the propagation of 
the Catholic religion, had sent to convert the 
natives of the Philippine Islands, represented 
to him that they could not perform the sacri- 
fice of the mass for want of flour and wine, 
and they proposed and requested that those 
necessary articles should be brought to them 
from Acapulco, the nearest Spanish port on 
the continent of America. The king, not- 
withstanding a strenuous opposition made by 
the council of the Indies, acceded to the pro- 
posal of the missionaries, and licensed the 
viceroy of Mexico to send every year a vessel 
to Manilla loaded with flour and wine, and 
gave strict orders that no other merchan- 
dise whatever should be carried to or from 
Manilla. After the importation of the flour 
and wine had gone on for some years in 
strict observance of the royal man<late, the 
viceroys of Mexico and Manilla agreed among 
themselves that the annual vessel, instead of 
returning quite empty to Acapulco, should 
carry a parcel of Chinese and Indian silks and 
cotton piece goods to be sold for their joint 
account. When the energy of the Spanish 
government declined, the vigilance of the 
council of India relaxed, or perhaps their 
complaisance to the viceroys increased ; in 
consequence of this, the trade of carrying 
oriental merchandise to Acapulco was pursued 
to such an extent as to require two ships of 
from fifteen,to eighteen hundred tons burthen, 
which arrived annually at Acapulco, heavily 



Chap. LVIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



109 



freighted with rich stuffs of every kind, and 
also linens made in China, in imitation of the 
French fabrics ; diamonds, pearls, spiceries, 
drugs, tea, porcelain, &c., sufficient for the 
consumption of the great province of Mexico. 
The returns consisted of cochineal, confec- 
tions, mercery goods, some European trin- 
kets, and the original articles, flour and 
wine ; but the chief part of the return cargo 
was uniformly silver, to the amount of five or 
six million dollars. This trade, begun by the 
two viceroys for their own emolument, appears, 
upon the subsequent augmentation of it, to 
have been shared by the inhabitants, and 
became very prejudicial to the trade between 
Spain and Mexico by supplying the colonists 
with an innumerable variety of articles of 
Indian and Chinese manufacture, which, by 
their superior cheapness, and most of them 
also by their superior beauty, rendered the 
rival European fabrics in a great measure 
Unsaleable, and very much impaired the 
king's revenue — not only by the deficiency 
of the duty upon merchandise exported from 
the kingdom, but also by depriving him of 
his share of the silver, which would be im- 
ported into Spain if not diverted to Manilla, 
whence it was carried to India and China."* 

In consequence of this state of things, it 
was often a subject of serious consideration 
to Spanish governments whether it would not 
be to the interest of the mother country to 
abandon the Philippine Islands. 

To this predisposition is to be attributed 
the policy adopted by the Spanish monarchy 
in 1720, which, reluctant to relinquish the 
sovereignty of so many islands, yielded to the 
remonstrance of the council, and the perse- 
vering clamours of the mercliants, and im- 
posed a strict prohibition of the use of 
Chinese and Indian manufactures. This 
arbitrary measure produced great dissatisfac- 
tion; and after a long controversy the colonists 
at length succeeded in procuring its reversal 
in the year 1734. 

Up to this date there was no direct trade 
with India, if we overlook the interval from 
1580 to 1640, during which Portugal was a 
portion of the Spanish dominions. Indeed, a 
direct trade was forbidden by the treaty of 
Munster, concluded in the year 1G48, whereby 
it was agreed between the King of Spain and 
the states-general that neither of them should 
use the East India trade in any other manner 
than was then practised — that is to say, that 
the Dutch should only sail by the Cape of 
Good Hope, and the Spaniards only from 
their settlements in America. Spain faith- 
fully abided by this arrangement, and never 

* Maq)hersoQ'« Hislon of European Commerce wiUi 
India, p. 321. 



made an attempt to infringe upon it till the 
year 1733, when a royal charter was granted 
to Don Emanuel de Arriaga and his asso- 
ciates, under the name of The Royal Com- 
pany OP THE Philippine Islands, vesting in 
them during a period of twenty years the 
exclusive privilege of sailing to both sides of 
Africa, and to all the countries beyond the 
Cape of Good Hope. They were empowered 
to carry the royal colours upon their ships, 
which were exempted from all duties, in the 
same manner as if they actually belonged to 
the royal navy, their officers also being on a 
footing of equality with those of that service. 
They were allowed to export bullion without 
paying any duty. The company were to pay 
at Cadiz a duty of eight per cent, on spices, 
and five per cent, on all other descriptions of 
goods imported by them. The capital was 
fixed at four thousand shares of one thousand 
dollars each, to be subscribed at Cadiz. The 
business of the company was confined to nine 
directors, appointed by the king, each of them 
possessing twenty -five shares in the company. 
The king subscribed for four hundred shares, 
constituting a tenth of the capital. 

It has been alleged that there never existed 
a hona fide intention of engaging in commerce, 
but that that company was concocted for mere 
stock -jobbing projects. There is no evidence 
to sustain this condemnatory accusation. It is 
far more probable that its progress waa 
stopped by the failure of the galleons, and the 
intrigues of the Chinese merchants in the 
Philippines. 

Another interval of thirty years elapsed 
without an effort, but in the end of the year 
1764, the Bxien Consejo, a king's ship sailed 
from Cadiz, and passing the forbidden Cape,* 
arrived at Manilla, and returned in 1766, with 
a cargo of eastern produce. Thirteen more 
voyages followed in the same route, the last 
of which was completed in 1784. 

At this time the charter of the royal Guis- 
puzcoan Company of Caraccas expired, and it 
was deemed a favourable opportunity, with 
the aid of their disengaged capital, of esta- 
blishing a company which would embrace 
the commerce of both continents. The scheme 
waa sanctioned by the king, and a very liberal 
chapter granted, dated March 10, 1785, con- 
sisting of one hundred articles, of which the 
following are the most important: — "The 
Royal Company of the Philippines is esta- 
blislied for twenty-five years. — The capital is 
to consist of eight millions of ' pesos sencillos 'f 
divided into thirty -two thousand shares of two 
hundred and fifty pesos each, to which all per- 
sons, of whatever description, not excepting 

* Maciiherson, p. 324. 
t A pern sencillo, 3*. i^d. 



104 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE. 



[Chap. LVIII. 



ecclesiastics, either indiviJually, or corporately 
miiy be admitted to subscribe. — Tlie king 
subscribes a million of dollars for himself and 
his sons, besides his stock in the Caraccas 
Company, and he hopes that the National 
Bank of San Carlos, and the other bank in 
Spain and tlie Ilavannas, ^vill show their zeal 
for the prosperity of the nation, and the ad- 
vancement of its commerce, by subscribing 
largely. — The Caraccas Company shall be in- 
corporated into the Philippine Company, and 
all their stock be brought into the capital at 
a fair valuation. — The prosperity of the Phi- 
lippine Islands being one of the principal 
motives which induced the king, iu his 
paternal love for his subject?, to establish the 
company, three thousand shares, shall be re- 
served for the inhabitants of those islands of 
every description, whether Spaniards or 
Indians, whether individuals or communities, 
to subscribe for them at any time within two 
years after the publication of the company's 
charter within the islands. — The shares may 
be transferred by indorsements, as is prac- 
tised in those of the National Bank, and at 
such prices as the parties may agree for." The 
company were prohibited from raising money 
upon interest; but if a greater capital were re- 
quired, they, with the king's permission, might 
raise an additional sum by a subscription 
among themselves. A statement of the com- 
pany's affairs was ordered to be published 
for the information of all concerned, and 
copies to be forwarded to the agents in the 
Indies and the Philippines. During the term 
of the charter no Spanish vessel, except of 
the royal navy, or of the company, had per- 
mission to go to the Philippine Islands or to 
India, and no ships but those of the company 
were privileged to sail direct from Spain to 
the ports of South America, the Philippines, 
or India. The company's ships might trade 
to the other Spanish dominions in America, 
as other Spanish subjects do, wthout any 
exclusive privilege. The company might 
carry silver or merchandise to the ports of 
Asia, paying two per cent, on foreign goods, 
and nothing on Spanish goods or money. 
They might ship every kind of oriental goods, 
not excepting piece goods of silk and cotton 
of every description, at the port of Manilla 
for Spain, without paying any duty. On 



their arrival in Spain, they should pay four 
per cent, rated on the current prices, and a 
drawback of three and a half per cent, was 
allowed on re-exportation. The laws formerly 
promulgated for prohibiting the admission of 
muslins and other cotton goods, were repealed 
with respect to those imported by the com- 
pany. For the encouragement of the. Phi- 
lippines, their products were exempted from 
duty, when borne directly to Spain. The 
business was to be conducted by a junta of 
government, or direction authorised by the 
king, and consisting of three directors chosen 
by the king, three by the company, two by 
the National Bank, two by the Bank " de los 
Gremios" two by the Bank of Havanna, and 
one by the Bank of Seville (if those bodies 
should hold a sufficient amount of stock), and 
also two stockholders, being in all twelve 
directors. The king's secretary was em- 
powered to summon a meeting of the junta, 
when he saw fit, and to act as president. 

The project was far from being approved 
of by the people of Manilla. Tliey did all 
in their power to injure and bring it into 
discredit. The discouraging reception which 
they experienced, however, did not daunt the 
agents who arrived. They applied themselves 
to direct the industry of the aborgines to the 
cultivation of indigo, cotton, pepper, and silk, 
which they intended to make the staples of 
the trade of the Philippines. 

In 1789, permission was extended to all 
European vessels to import into Manilla every 
kind of Asiatic goods, but by no means 
European, and to receive in return the mer- 
chandise of Spain, Spanish America, and the 
Philippines, and any foreign merchandise im- 
ported by the company. This permission 
was to extend to three years. 

^Yith royal favour, large contributions by 
the king, the extensive privileges conceded, 
and its wide range of commercial operations, 
this company did nothing worth)' of its inau- 
guration. It is true, commerce was very much 
deranged by the war which was occasioned by 
the memorable French revolution; but it must 
be said to their credit, that with the proceeds of 
the few cargoes which arrived, and the sale 
of their stored merchandise, they paid off the 
money they had borrowed, and some dividends 
of from five to seven per cent. 



Chap. LIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



106 



CHAPTER LIX. 

FRENCH ENTERPRISE IN INDIA AND THE EAST, TO THE TIME OF THE FORMATION OF 
"THE PERPETUAL COMPANY OF THE INDIES." 



Of all the European nations attracted to the 
East, there is not one whose liistory is so in- 
terwoven witli that of the English in their 
Asiatic transactions as our gallant neighbours 
the French. In Europe the two nations 
have been always rivals, and, with very brief 
intervals, belligerents. There were many 
interests purely Asiatic, which aggravated the 
causes of quarrel, involved hostilities at home, 
and embittered national antipathies. The dire 
consequences of these rivalries are to be read 
in the jealousies, intrigues, and fierce, and for 
some time dubious, conflicts that were main- 
tained for supremacy in India. The narra- 
tion of these will necessarily form an inte- 
resting and considerable portion of this work. 
It is not consistent with the plan proposed 
to do more in this chapter than to epitomise 
the history of the pertinent events which 
attended the arrival of the French in India, 
and briefly to trace their progress, until they 
are placed face to face with their great, per- 
sistent, and victorious opponents, whence the 
records of their deeds commingle. 

Though the French were amongst the 
latest of the European maritime powers to 
avail themselves of the immense field of wealth 
thrown open by the discovery of the ocean 
passage to India, it is a singular fact, not 
generally known, that they were nearly as 
early in their discoveries as any nation of the 
West. In the reign of Louis XII., and in the 
month of July, 1603, Sieur de Gonneville, 
doubled the Cape of Good Hope, and dis- 
covered a great country to which he gave 
the name of the Southern Indies. He re- 
mained there for six months, and brought 
home with him a young noble of that country.* 
Tlie extraordinary tales which were circu- 
lated of the luxuriant productions of the Por- 
tuguese and Spanish discoveries, the rich 
cargoes arriving from them, the amount of 
wealth which they drew from the eager pur- 
chasers of every part of Europe, and the con- 
sequence to which the fortunate kingdom 
above mentioned had reached, did not affect 
the excitable inhabitants of France. The cause 
of this apparent indifference is to be sought 
in the facts, that the French people, warlike 

* Memoiret touehant V EtahlUsement d'tine Mission 
Chreiienne dans le Troisieme Monde, presenle a N. S. 1'. 
le Pape Alexandre fill, par une Ecclesiastique Originaire 
de cette memeTerre: 1663, 8to. Declaration du Capi- 
taine Gonneville, dated Juillet 19, 1503. 



in temperament, were absorbed by the con- 
flict in which they were then engaged, and 
had neither inclination nor time for the cul- 
tivation of commerce, and many of the other 
arts of peace. The period referred to was 
one chequered with civil discord, and in addi- 
tion to this, some of its writers say, that 
France, with its rich, salubrious, and extensive 
territories, had not the same incentives as the 
inhabitants of the limited domains of England 
and Holland. But a better reason still is 
that France was not a maritime power, nor 
had it the facilities to become so in an equal 
degree. The British, Dutch, and Danes were 
inured to the dangers of a rough sea, and 
prepared to seek fortune in the teeth of billow 
and gale. 

One of the ablest princes that have ruled 
France, was Francis I. His comprehensive 
mind perceived the advantages which would 
residt from the cidtivation of foreign com- 
merce. He proposed to his subjects the bene- 
fits which would flow from it, and exhorted 
them to undertake long voyages. The last 
of his immediate descendants, Henry III., was 
equally alive to its importance. In 1678, he 
issued an edict in which he pressed the same 
views, but with little success. In the reign 
of Henry IV., an adventurer, Gerard Leroi,* 
a native of Flanders, who had been several 
times to India in the service of Holland, 
presented himself in France, and offered 
his services as a pilot, in the event that 
an East India Company should be formed. 
This offer was accepted, and the company 
accordingly incorporated under the king's 
letters patent granting an exclusive right of 
trade for fifteen years, on the setting out of 
their first ship. The enthusiasm with which 
the proposal of Leroi was first greeted soon 
cooled, as is unfortunately too often the case; 
and the company was dissolved without 
realizing any of those brilliant expectations 
which had been promised and were antici- 
pated : indeed it did not even initiate a pro- 
mising movement. Leroi, who fully understood 
the benefits which France, and he as the pro- 
jector, would derive from the success of his 
scheme, did not relinquish his hopes. In 
the following reign he again came before 
the public, and, by the patronage of some 
friends at court, was enabled to enrol his 
company. The letters patent from Louis 
• Marie's Histoire de I'Inde, torn. v. p. 211. 



106 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH KMPIRE 



[Chap. LIX. 



XIII., bear date, March 2, IGll. This much 
having been accomplished, operations were 
suspended for some years, owing to disputes 
amongst the proprietors, and consequent want 
of funds. At the end of that period of inaction 
Muisson and Canis, both merchants of Rouen, 
petitioned the king. They requested that 
the privileges granted to the company should 
be transferred to them, pledging themselves 
that if their prayer were granted, they would 
in that very year dispatch ships to India. 
This proposal was of course strenuously op- 
posed by all who had an interest in the exist- 
ing company: At the suggestion and recom- 
mendation of the court, the matter was satis- 
factorily adjusted : a coalition of both jmrties 
was the prudent consequence, and an exclu- 
sive power was granted them of trading to 
the Indies for twelve years, and many other 
privileges. The letters patent were dated 
July 2, 1615, and were registered in parlia- 
ment, September 2. 

In the following year, two ships were 
fitted out. The officers selected for the com- 
mand possessed the necessary qualifications — 
for the voyage in those days was looked upon 
as very extraordinary. They reached India 
in safety, but here they found they had a 
difficulty to encounter which had never been- 
thought of. The great portion of the sailors 
were Dutchmen. On their arrival, the Dutch 
president of the Indies, published an order 
commanding all the subjects of the states- 
general who were on board these vessels to 
quit them immediately. This order was 
obeyed, and both the French captains were 
abandoned by their men, and thus rendered 
incapable of returning to Europe. One of the 
ships was sold for a mere trifle ; the largest 
vessel returned safely to France, and, although 
the company had the misfortune of being 
reduced to one vessel, the proceeds of the 
voyage yielded a balance in their favour. 

A second expedition was decided on, and 
prepared with creditable speed. Commodore 
Beaulieu who commanded one of the former 
vessels, sailed October 2, 1619, from HonHeur 
road with three ships. The commodore has left 
a curious and instructive narrative of this voy- 
age, from which it appears that the vessels 
were well built and provided with every 
essential requisite, and the voyage conducted 
with skill and address. Two of the ships 
obtained their cargoes at Achen, in the Island 
of Sumatra, but the third was lost on the 
coast of Java, having on board goods to the 
value of eighty thousand pounds. The com- 
modore charged the Dutch with having sunk 
her and all the men aboard. The two surviving 
ehips returned to Havre, in December, 1620. 

Disheartened by the prospective recurrence 



of such disasters, the company abandoned the 
intention of proceeding to India, and con- 
fined themselves for the time to the establish- 
ment of a colony in the Island of Madagascar, 
from which they calculated, at no distant day, 
to be able to prosecute their voyages to the 
original destination. But these hojjes were 
also doomed to disappointment. By a series 
of misfortunes and a continuance of mis- 
government, all their returns thence fell far 
short of the expenses incurred in the main- 
tenance of their settlement. The consequence 
was the dissolution of the company, and for 
several years no effort was made towards 
pushing a trade with the East Indies, and 
no beneficial result remained to mark the 
existence of previous expeditions. 

The next attempt made by the French 
to share in a commerce which was enriching 
all the nations engaged in it, was under the 
patronage and guidance of one of the ablest 
and perhajis most amscrupulous statesmen 
that France, fertile in such productions, has 
ever given birth to — the celebrated Cardinal 
Duke de Richelieu. He fully appreciated 
the great national benefit which would flow 
from diverting French speculation into com- 
mercial channels. In his views upon this 
subject,* ho shows that he grasped it with a 
master mind. He saw that France, the 
greatest nation on the continent, had, during 
preceding centuries, concerned itself with 
wars, which were, and had been, expending 
its vast resources in barren operations ; whilst 
the neighbouring states of Holland — an insig- 
nificant corner of the earth, consisting of 
stagnant pools and marshes, producing beer 
and cheese merely — by its commercial enter- 
prise, had not only been enriched and ele- 
vated, but had become the factor of Europe, 
and supplied it with many necessaries, and a 
great portion of its luxuries. He reflected 
how in England, a comparatively small island, 
by its commerce in clotiis, lead, iron, and coal, 
had penetrated to all parts of the world with 
- — ho remarked — the exception of China. 
Genoa, he also adduces as an illustration ; 
and then proceeds to show the advantages 
which F'rance had over them all. The fleets 
of other nations were manned by her sailors; 
the fisheries on her coasts were abundant and 
prolific ; and the abstinence from flesh meat of 
the Roman Catholics during the third of the 
year, threw open a market for the sale of 
their produce. It was fertile in corn, wine, 
flax, and hemp ; and everything essential for 
naval purposes was to be had there in greater 
abundance than in Spain, England, or Hol- 
land ; the chief commodities imported into 
France were articles of luxury, and could be 
* Testament Politique, p. 133, &c. 



Chap. LIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



1C7 



mamifacturod with greater profit there than 
in those countries in which tlicy \\-ere wrought, 
as the materials were the productiona of 
the French soil. The entire chapter from 
which these few observations are extracted 
is worthy even now of perusal. The Car- 
dinal did not rest satisfied with speculating 
on this subject. He resolved to give an 
impulse and an aim to French enterprise, and 
undertook to do it, as was his habit, with 
earnestness and energy. In June, 1642, 
while England was in the throes of civil con- 
vulsion, liberal privileges were granted to a 
company under his own immediate patronage. 
He did not live to gnide or observe its pro- 
ceedings, and his loss must have been a 
serious impediment to the infant project. 
Enough, however, had been done to secure it 
royal patronage ; the privileges were con- 
firmed to it by Louis XIV., or rather by the 
regency, as that great prince was still in his 
minority. Though in the undisturbed enjoy- 
ment of these exclusive favours during the 
twenty years following, the result by no means 
responded to the patronage bestowed, or the 
hopes indulged in. Every year a vessel was 
dispatched to Madagascar and no farther ; 
but many of them were lost on the passage, 
and those which escaped lost several of their 
crews by scurvy. So that all that France 
enjoyed of tlie East India trade was, a com- 
pany without revenue, wliose utmost ambi- 
tion was to establish and maintain a colony 
in Madagascar, and in this they were equally 
unsuccessful.* 

On the expiration of their privileges, a 
private speculator, the Duke de la Meillerai, 
resolved to make a venture to India on his 
own account. He actually dispatched two 
ships which reached the French settlement in 
Madagascar, the possession of which was 
yielded to him, but whicli he discovered was 
not worth keeping. It was insinuated at the 
time in Paris, and' spread to the other places, 
that this adventure of the duke involved no 
personal risk, and that being master of the 
ordnance, he had made free with the king's 
stores. After his death the Island of Mada- 
gascar was sold by his son for about twenty 
thousand livres, a sum, it was asserted, far 
above its value. 

It is a subject for reflection to what cause 
or causes can bo attributed the fact, that up 
to this period the French were the most un- 
snccessful of European adventurers, especially 
as their failure was not the consequence of the 
hostility of their competitors. These pages 
)« not the place to discuss the question. Yet 
it may be pertinent to observe tliat there were 
some circumstances of an external character 

* Ilitioire ties hides Orietitales, torn. iii. jip. 86, 87. 



which contributed to frustrate the efforts of 
the company. One of these was the murder 
of Foucqnembourg, who, on his return from 
Madagascar, in 1046, was assassinated on his 
road to Paris, it having been falsely sus- 
pected that he had a quantity of valuable 
jewels concealed upon his person. This blow 
was prejudicial to the interests of the young 
company, having been by it deprived of the 
opportunity of consulting him on the affairs 
of the East, losing also his memorials and 
other papers, which would have been of 
singular use to them. Another misfortune 
was the death of M. Flacourt, who, on his 
returning to Madagascar with the king's 
commission as governor and commander-in- 
chief of that settlement, was attacked by 
Barbary rovers, his ship blown up (1660), 
and he with two hundred others perished.* 
The third great calamity was the death of the 
Duke de la Meillerai, f after he had satisfac- 
torily compromised with the company, and 
had assured them of all the assistance in his 
power. This last disappointment led to the 
dissolution of the company, which sur- 
rendered its privileges in order to make room 
for a projected association. 

In addition to the external prejudicial in- 
fluences already mentioned, it must be said 
that the very patronage so much valued and 
so much sought after, constituted a more 
serious obstacle because its many latent evils 
were inherent and inseparable. When 
Richelieu determined on the formation of his 
company, he induced the chief men of rank 
and wealth to embark in it. The consequence 
was that there was always some great noble- 
man at the head of it. His creatures were 
appointed to every employment, and syco- 
phancy, and not merit, capacity, or services, 
was the most effective recommendation. This 
favouritism, and the obvious imbecility of the 
management, repelled the best judges of the 
means of successfully carrying on the com- 
merce of the Indies. By the English and 
Dutch these abortive efforts were treated with 
contempt, and all Europe passively permitted 
a monopoly of that trade to the maritime 
powers previously in possession of it. 

The reign of Le Grand Monarque, rich in 
so many historic souvenirs, was fated to mark 
with its indelible impress the commercial as 
well as other departments of the common- 
wealth. As soon as Louis XIV. attained his 
majority, and took into his powerful hands 
the rudder of the state, he almost instinctively 
selected for his ministers men whose trans- 
cendent abilities and ample expanse of mind 
justified the accurate perception that singled 

* Universal Modern llislory, vol. ii. p. 67- 
t Histoire de la Compa(/nie des hides, p. 22. 



108 



HISTOEY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LIX. 



tliem from tlie crowd that thrust themselves 
upon royal observation. 

Amongst these was the famous Colbert, of 
Scotch descent, whose brilliant services con- 
tributed in no small degree to make his sove- 
reign the greatest in Europe. Well versed 
in public affairs, and having given his master, 
Mazarin, repeated proofs of his ability and 
sagacity, he was recommended by that minister 
to Louis XIV. as the person most competent 
to reform the deranged finances of France. 
He not only applied himself to remedy the 
abuses which time and the dishonesty of 
public servants had created ; but he also 
determined on developing fresh supplies of 
revenue, and, amongst other measures, he 
conceived tlie design of reviving the defunct 
French East India Company ; nor was he 
dislieartened by the repeated failures wliich 
had attended previous undertakings.* 

Warned by past failures, he resolved to act 
with caution and foresight. He accordingly 
summoned to his councils several merchants 
and seamen, whose Indian experiences could 
furnish him with such information as would 
enable him to steer clear of the rocks and 
shoals on which his predecessors foundered'. 
The consequence of his inquiries was that he 
ascertained that there were three principal 
difficulties in hia path. The first was the 
raising of the capital. The French merchants 
were ready enough to take shares, but not so 
ready to meet the calls. The second was the 
necessity of excluding foreigners, in order to 
make it national. Though this he looked 
upon as essential to its success, he was aware 
that by this exclusion he rendered more diffi- 
cult the realization of the requisite funds. 
The third and greatest difficulty was the 
securing to the company such privileges and 
powers as might satisfy strangers and natives 
as to the security of their properties, and 
place the management in the hands of 
directors in whom unlimited confidence could 
be reposed. Having maturely considered the 
project in all its bearings, and formed his own 
conclusions, he then communicated the details 
of his scheme to M. Charpentier, of the 
French Academy, a man of deservedly great 
literary reputation. 

The documentf thus prepared is a master- 
piece in its way ; and as reference must neces- 
sarily be made to it, a few explanatory extracts 
may be here appropriately introduced. It pre- 
faced with stating that, as former plans had 
failed for want of funds, that danger was here 
provided against, since, in addition to the con- 

* Testament Politique de M. Colbert, p. 182. 

t Uiscnursd'vn Fidele Siijet du Roi, tonchant I'Etab- 
lUsement d'nne Compaffiiie Frattfoise pour le Commerce 
det Indet Orieitiales. Paris, 1664, qnarto. 



stant protection which the government was 
determined to give, the king himself, and the 
greatest and the wealthiest persons in the 
nation, were determined to supply funds in 
abundance to place it on an equally sound 
pecuniary basis, to say the least, as was the 
Dutch East India Company at the period of 
its institution. The disappointment which 
had attended the previous companies afforded 
no substantial grounds of apprehending a 
similar fate. Few such undertakings were 
successful in their first stage. The Spaniards 
had suffered severely in their early expedi- 
tions to America, yet they persevered, and 
were eventually successful. The English 
colony in Virginia had failed four or five 
times, and at length accomplished its objects ; 
and even their neighbours, the Dutch, then 
in so flourishing a state, were unfortunate in 
the commencement. 

The paper then proceeds to show that the 
island of Madagascar, a considerable portion 
of which was in their possession, was a country 
capable of vast improvements, and of becoming 
of far more consequence tlian any settlement 
possessed by the Dutch in the East Indies ; 
incomparably more commodious and secure 
than Batavia, which they had made their 
capital residence. 

As to the security of the company, it was 
a well-known fact that only a very small part 
indeed of the island of Java was in the pos- 
session of the Dutch, and that the rest of that 
large and populous country was occupied by 
a variety of fierce and turbulent nations, 
animated with a bigoted zeal for the Bloham- 
medan religion, and detesting bitterly all who 
professed the faith of Christ; and, in fact, 
that every one of their colonies in the East 
was beset with enemies, whom their perfidy 
and cupidity had provoked : that by fixing 
their principal post in Madagascar, the French 
company would enjoy advantages never held 
by tlie Dutch in Batavia, because the island 
was equally convenient for carrying on the 
commerce of the Red Sea or the Bay of Bengal, 
and was eligibly situated for the dispatch 
of ships to China and Japan, affording a de- 
sirable station for refitting and provisioning 
on their return. 

Having shown these grounds for the anti- 
cipation of success, the memorial then pro- 
ceeded to explain the means by which the 
project was to be carried into execution. It 
stated that six million livres — about three 
hundred thousand pounds English — was de- 
manded for the equipment of twelve or four- 
teen large ships, from eight hundred to four- 
teen hundred tons burthen. That a squadron 
of this force was necessary to convey such a 
number of emigrants to Madagascar as would 



Chap. LIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



109 



suffice for its occupation and defence, and 
form sucli a colony as would realise the objects 
of the company. An assurance was given 
that his majesty would advance one-tenth 
of the capital, and that the nobility andmonied 
men of the kingdom would come liberally 
forward to contribute in proportion to their 
means, and to the national importance of the 
undertaking. The personal interest which 
his share in the funds would give to his 
majesty was adduced as a guarantee of his 
deep interest in the enterprise, and as a fur- 
ther encouragement he was willing to secure 
to the company an exemption from half their 
duties on all exports and imports to and from 
India, and, in addition to these marks of 
his favour, he undertook the responsibility 
of all the losses which would be incurred for 
the first ten years. Private persons were 
allowed to contribute in what instalments they 
pleased, till the entire capital subscribed was 
paid up. 

The king not only permitted foreigners 
to take whatever shares they pleased, but 
to encourage them thereto, he likewise con- 
sented that such as subscribed ten thousand 
livres — afterwards changed to twenty thou- 
sand or upwards — should thereby acquire the 
right of naturalization, without any other 
trouble. This was a great boon, for by it 
the heirs of any alien shareholders were en- 
titled to inherit their properties and effects, 
and, moreover, in case of hostilities with 
their fatherland, they escaped the liability to 
confiscation. It was also declared that the 
affairs of the company should be managed by 
their own directors, chosen from amongst 
themselves, and in their hands the funds of 
the company were to be deposited ; that 
foreigners should be eligible to the direction, 
provided they had an adequate interest in 
the stock of the company, and resided in 
France. To save them as much as possible 
from the delays and other annoj'^ances of pro- 
tracted litigation, the directors were pri- 
vileged, after being heard in the inferior court, 
nearest to the place where the cause of action 
arose, to appeal directly to the parliament.* 

Thus did the celebrated Colbert, by a lucid 
statement stamped with the authority of his 
name, clearly demonstrate that the acci- 
dental mishaps of the past should not deter 
the French nation from making another effort 
to secure that share in the world's commerce 
to which its position fairly entitled it. He 
convinced the public that all former disap- 
pointments were justly attributable to the want 
of capital, and the absence of judicious direc- 
tion, and that repeated failures did not de- 
stroy the great natural i. ■! vantages which 
* fie de Jean Baptitte de Colbert. 

VOL. II. 



Madagascar possessed in its soil, productions, 
and above all in its geographical position ; and 
thus he succeeded in convincing all, that in 
the new undertaking, success was imminent, — 
that the whole design would be soon a fact. 

On this firm basis, and hailed with such 
hopes, was established the new and the fourth 
French East India Company, by an edict 
worthy of the object, — comprehensive, liberal, 
and ably drawn up, dated August, 16G4, and 
soon after registered in parliament — con- 
taining forty-seven articles and fixing the 
shares — or as they were first called actions — 
at one thousand livres each. It reserved to the 
company a power of making further calls 
upon the proprietors, but not to exceed half 
the amount of each share. The charter was 
granted for fifty years, to afford an ample 
opportunity of forming great settlements, 
and the prospect of reaping the advantages 
of them. 

The terms were faithfully observed, and 
every laudable means employed to impress 
upon the public mind the favour with which 
the government watched every proceeding ; 
but the government did not limit itself to 
watchful observation, it used active measures. 
Officers, whatever corps they belonged to, were 
granted leave of absence without the forfeiture 
of pay or promotion ; from the public arsenals 
was supplied whatever was requisite for the 
building, equipment or victualling of the ships, 
and exempted from all duties ; the government 
engaged to pay fifty livres per ton for all 
goods exported from Prance to India, and 
seventy -five livres for every ton thence im- 
ported ; it was agreed that the settlements 
of the company should be defended with a 
sufficient military force, and that the outward 
and homeward-bound ships should be furnished 
with as strong a convoy as the exigencies 
should demand. Even hereditary titles and 
honours were promised to such as should dis- 
tinguish themselves in the service of the 
company.* 

M. Colbert reasonably calculated that the 
new company would do honour to that reign, 
and to his administration ; he consequently 
gave it an undeviating support to the last. 

The favour in which the project was held 
at court, made it popular through the country. f 
Numbers volunteered to proceed to Mada- 
gascar,J and regulations were prepared for 
the government of the colony there, which 
deservedly won public approbation, though in 
many respects very strict. In March, 1665, 
four large ships equipped for war as well as 

* Abbe Raynal's Ulstonj of India, so\. ii. book iv. p. 
222. London— Strahan, 1783. 
t Ibid. vol. ii. book iv. p. 222. 
X Universal Modern Bistort/, vol.ii. p. 74. 



110 



HISTOEY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Oh A p. LIX. 



for trade, carrying five hundred and twenty 
men, sailed from Brest, and arrived safely in 
Madagascar, tlie July following. This voyage 
was conducted with such spirit, diligence, 
and success, as to gratify not only the pro- 
prietary, but the nation at large, and every 
one was now inclined to speculate upon the 
visions of oriental wealth and national great- 
ness which the enthusiastic had imagined. 

The new colonists, as if they considered the 
old appellation one of sinister omen, changed 
the name of Madagascar, and called it Isle 
Dauphine. Shortly after the return of this 
expedition, a great reinforcement was for- 
warded, a regular form of government esta- 
blished, and also the company's first and 
chief residence, as M. Colbert originally con- 
templated, was erected in imitation of the 
establishment which the Dutch had raised in 
Batavia. 

Although the coast of Madagascar is bor- 
dered with an unrefreahing fringe of barren 
sands, this sterility terminates at the distance 
of a league or two inward. The interior of 
the island is in perpetual vegetation, pro- 
ducing spontaneously, both in the forests and 
open grounds, cotton, indigo, hemp, honey', 
white pepper, sago, bananas, spices, and 
a variety of nutritious plants, foreign to other 
climates. Oxen, sheej), hogs, and goats feed 
day and night in the plains ; there are copper 
mines, and it was reported that gold and 
eilver abounded there.* Nothing was more 
easy than for the French to appropriate to their 
purposes all these advantages, and to establish 
a more solid and productive colony than any 
at that time possessed by the Europeans iu 
Asia. "It was impossible" says Raynal,f 
" that so fortunate a revolution could have 
been effected by violence. A numerous, brave, 
and uncivilized people would never have 
submitted to the chains with which a few 
foreigners might have wished to load them. 
It was by the soft mode of persuasion, it was 
by the seducing prospects of happiness, it was 
by the allurements of a quiet life, it was by 
the advantages of our police, by the enjoy- 
ments attending our industry, and by the supe- 
riority of our talents, that the whole island 
was to be brought to concur in a plan equally 
advantageous to both nations. The system 
of legislation which it would have been proper 
to give to these people, should have been 
adapted to their manners, their character, 
and their climate."| Such were the advan- 
tages which the French company might have 

* Ravnal, vol. ii. book iv. p. 224. 

t Ibid. p. 238. 

t fiaynal's Ilislory of the Seltlemeiit and Trade of 
the Europeans in the Eaat Indies, vol. ii. book iv. 
p. 285. 



seized on and enjoyed in Madagascar, but 
these were sacrificed through the misconduct 
of their agents, " who were lost to every sense 
of shame : they secreted a part of the funds 
entrusted to their management, they wasted 
still more considerable sums in useless and 
ridiculous expenses, they made themselves 
equally odious to the Europeans, whose labours 
they ought to have encouraged, as to the 
natives of the country, whom they ought to 
have gained over by gentleness and by favour. 
Acts of iniquity and misfortunes were multi- 
plied to such a degree, that in 1C70, the 
members of the company thought proper to 
resign into the hands of government, a ])os- 
session which they held from its gift. This 
change of administration did not bring about 
a better state of things. The French settlers 
on tlie island in about two years after were 
massacred, and the few survivors of this 
memorable butchery withdrew from a soil 
stained with their crimes and reddened with 
their blood." 

In 16G7, it was resolved that some ships 
should proceed from Madagascar to the Indies 
with instructions for fixing an introductory 
establishment there. The two gentlemen 
selected to superintend this expedition were 
judiciously chosen, and possessed the requisite 
experience and judgment. The first of these 
was a JI. Caron, who had spent several years 
iu the Dutch service, and had risen to be the 
president of the factory of Japan, where he suf- 
fered severely, and having sought for an indem- 
nification from the authority of the states-gene- 
ral iu vain, retired in disgust and returned to 
France, at a crisis, too, when such a man was 
wanted. He was soon introduced to the 
minister, treated with distinction and favour, 
and consulted on every subject in which the 
interests of the new company were involved. 
The other was M. Marcara Avanchinz, a 
Persian; and native of Ispahan, the capital of 
Persia, a man of high birth and great influ- 
ence at home, and from whom the company 
expected great things. 

The squadron arrived on the 24th of De- 
cember, 1()67, at Cochin, and was courteously 
received by the Dutch governor, and thence 
proceeded to Surat, where it had been decided 
the first French factory was to be erected. 
In 1GG9, Avanchinz was dispatched to the 
court of the sovereign of Golconda, where he 
had several powerful and personal friends, by 
whose favour he expected to be able to secure 
the privilege of trading through that kingdom, 
of purchasing whatever merchandise was 
required, of employing manufacturers, and of 
obtaining licence to establish a factory at 
Masulipatam. TMs was a delicate mission, 
and his objects difficult of acquisition. It 



OflAP. LIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



Ill 



was a well-known fact that the Dutch and 
English, whose influence was very great nt 
the court of Golconda, had failed in obtaining 
concessions not nearly so important, and that 
the representatives of these two nations had 
instructions to use all their influence to frus- 
trate the efforts of the French ; at the same 
time he was scantily supplied with money, an 
article as indispensable to an oriental, as to 
a European, diplomatist. Not disheartened 
by these untoward circumstances, he pro- 
ceeded to Golconda, there successfully accom- 
plished this important negotiation, and on 
the 5th of December, obtained a firman 
from his majesty, by which the French com- 
pany was privileged to trade to all parts of 
his territory, without paying export or import 
duties — a favour the Dutch were never able 
to obtain, and which the English had secured 
at very great expense in 1665. The suc- 
cessful agent thence proceeded to Masuli- 
patam, where he had his firman registered; 
he also settled a factory there, of which he 
was appointed president, and in that capacity 
conducted the trade of the company with 
zeal, honesty, and diligence. These eminent 
services did not shield the honest Persian 
from envious aspersions and foul imputations. 
His competitor, M. Caron, by his intrigties 
had ingratiated himself into the highest degree 
of favour with M. Colbert, from whom ho 
obtained an order in 1671, by which he him- 
self was raised to the second post in the East 
India Company's service, and all the friends 
of Avanchinz were removed from their em- 
ployments, and subjected to prosecutions, 
although in the order there was not one charge 
brought against him, nor a word to incrimi- 
nate him. He addressed a full and satisfac- 
tory justification of his conduct to the minister, 
who, after a minute and searching examina- 
tion, made an impartial report to the king, 
who entirely approved of Avanchinz's con- 
duct, and testified to his innocence by a 
solemn arret.* 

It is allowed that the factory at Surat was 
established by Caron, and also that at Ban- 
tam in the Island of Java, which the French 
lield until the Dutch became masters of that 
kingdom, and succeeded in excluding from it 
both the French and English. These events 
occurred some years after his death. Tlie 
selection of Surat as the chief seat of ope- 
rations was judicious. The advantage of 
its situation was appreciated equally by the 
English. 

Surat is supposed to be one of the oldest 
cities of Hindostan, being mentioned in some 
of the earliest records, although in the be- 

* Hutoire des Indes Orientates, torn. iii. p. 146; 
EUt. de la Comfaynie des Indes, pp. 63 and 64. 



ginning of the thirteenth century it was 
nothing more than a mean hamlet, consisting 
of some fishermen's huts standing upon the 
river Taptee, a few miles distance from the 
ocean. It was greatly exposed to the attacks 
of pirates, and on several occasions was siib- 
jected to their ravages. To check these de- 
structive inroads a fortress was built there in 
1524. At this period it had risen to distinc- 
tion ; its importance was considerably aug- 
mented when the Moguls made themselves 
masters of it. Being the only seaport town in 
their occupation, it became the emporium of 
all articles of foreign luxuries, and the depot 
from which they were transported to all parts 
of that extensive empire. At this early 
period the Europeans, who had no great settle- 
ments, here purchased Indian produce, and 
Surat then possessed a navy superior to any of 
the neighbouring ports. The ships of this port 
were strongly built and durable, and mostly of 
a tliousand or twelve hundred tons burden. 
Large fortunes were realized by the traders, and 
several were masters of a quarter of a million, 
and some were far more wealthy. The plunder 
of this place by Sevajee, 1664, has been pre- 
viously recorded. It repeatedly became the 
prey of the pirates ; nevertheless, it continued 
to be the richest and most populous city in 
India. It received in exchange for its ex- 
ports porcelain from China; silk from Bengal 
and Persia; masts and pepper from Malabar; 
gums, dates, dried fruits, copper, and pearls, 
from Persia ; perfumes and slaves from 
Arabia ; great quantities of spices from the 
Dutch; iron, lead, cloth, cochineal, and hard- 
wares, from the English. After a residence 
of some time there, Caron began to think that 
Surat was not the best place for the chief 
settlement of the French. He took a dislike 
to the situation. He wished to find a more 
central and less exposed position either on the 
peninsula or in some of the Spice Islands, 
without which he thought it impossible for 
any company to support itself. His attention 
was directed to the Bay of Trincomalee, in 
the Island of Ceylon, the harbour of which 
was styled by Nelson " the finest in the 
world." It is almost land-locked, and the 
water is so deep that it is all but practicable 
to step, in many places, from the shore on 
board the large vessels moored alongside.* 
He accordingly sailed for that port with a 
powerful squadron lately arrived from Europe 
under the command of La Haye, who was 
ordered to act under his direction. This pro- 
ject, which should have been kept strictly 
private, was incautiously divulged and bruited 
abroad, and a public and deliberate attack 
was proposed instead of a secret and sudden 
* Macculloch's Geographical Dictiotiari/. 



112 



HISTORY or THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LIX. 



surprise. The French, it is said,* were inti- 
midated by a fleet in no condition to fight, 
and which by no possibility could have re- 
ceived orders to engage. The greater por- 
tion of the crews and of the land forces fell 
victims to want and sickness ; a small body 
of troops was stationed in a small fort that 
had been erected, and was soon constrained 
to surrender. A few who survived the hard- 
ships of the expedition — having gone to the 
coast of Coromandel in search of provisions, 
which they failed to procure at the Dutch 
settlement of Tranquebar or any where else 
— in their extremities made an attack upon 
St. Thomas, where, they were informed, a 
great store of provisions was hoarded. The 
town was easily and quickly captured by the 
French, who carried the fortifications, though 
formidable and in good repair, by storm, in 
1672. They were not left long in pos- 
session. They were attacked and compelled 
to surrender in about two years afterwards ; 
the Dutch, who were at war with Louis XIV., 
having aided the Indians in their expulsion. 
This disaster would have effectively crushed 
the enterprise after all the expense and royal 
encouragement that had been given, had it 
not been for JE. Martin, who had come out 
amongst the late arrivals from Europe. He 
collected the survivors of the two colonies of 
Ceylon and St. Thomas, and with them he 
peopled the small town of Pondicherry, lately 
ceded to him, and which was rapidly acquiring 
wealth, population, and importance. But 
neither private enterprise nor royal favour 
succeeded in ensuring the prosperity of the 
new company. It became, every succeeding 
day, more and more apparent that matters 
were verging from bad to worse, and ruin 
was inevitably approaching with rapid 
strides. To consider in this emergency, and 
to endeavour to devise some remedy, a 
general court of the proprifetors was sum- 
moned at Paris, and a faithful report of the 
embarrassments, perils, and apprehensions of 
the company was submitted, and the entire 
particulars, through the influence of M. Col- 
bert, were presented to the king, who issued a 
declaration, September, 1675, by which he 
directed a dividend of ten per cent, to be 
granted to all the shareholders who paid up 
the amount of their subscriptions, and he 
aUowed to all defaulters time to the 1st of 
July following to complete their payments, 
and then they were entitled as well as the 
others to the dividend. All those who should 
not have paid up on the day named, forfeited 
all money contributed by them, and this 
money was to be appropriated to the use of 
the company. In addition to these princely 
* llaynal, vol. ii. book iv. p. 363. 



favours, a debt of four million livres was dis- 
charged by his majesty, in compliance with 
the edict by which the company first re- 
ceived the royal patronage, and he also freely 
forgave four millions which had been ad- 
vanced for their service. In the following 
year he gave a new proof of his deep interest 
in the welfare of the company, b)' relieving 
from all duties merchandise bought at their 
sales, except what was transported to Lyons, 
and even this was relieved from a great portion, 
having only to pay the one-fourth. During 
the ten first years of its existence it was thus 
preserved from dissolution solely by the mu- 
nificence of the sovereign. 

In 1681 some private persons having 
assured the proprietors that they would em- 
bark their fortunes in the Indian trade on 
being provided with licences, an application 
was made to the king for power to grant 
them. This was readily conceded on the 
following conditions : — " That these traders 
should transport themselves and their eifec's 
on board the company's ships both outward 
and homeward, and that they should pay 
their freight and passage before their depar- 
ture ; but that the goods they brought home, 
precious stones only excepted, should be ex- 
posed in the company's sales, and their pro- 
duce fairly accounted for : that these licences 
should be in force only for five years, and if 
they should be found prejudicial to the aff\virs 
of the company, the directors might abridge 
or cancel them at their pleasure." * 

There was no favour, however extravagant, 
which was sought from their liberal patron, 
Colbert, that was not granted; yet this care- 
ful and generous nurture communicated 
neither vigour nor success to the speculation. 
When that statesman died, in 1683, the spirit 
of this stimulated commerce died with him. 
The company continued to have a nominal ex- 
istence, and kept up not only a court of 
directors in Paris, but, copying the example of 
the Dutch East India Company, main- 
tained chambers of direction at several ports, 
a council in India, — although their affairs were 
in a state of rapid decline ; and their general 
account, in 1684, exposed the fact that in- 
stead of realizing profits, they had then actually 
lost one half of their capital. This sad state 
of affairs was attributed to three causes 
chiefly : the war with the Dutch, which con- 
tinued from 1672 to 1678 ; the frauds of 
their servants in Madagascar and India, who 
sacrificed to their cupidity the interests of 
their employers (it was no secret that in the 
ruin of the company several large private 
fortunes were made by their officers) ; and 

* Ilisloire (lei hides Orientales, torn, iii, pp. ] 58 — 
]G0. 



Ghap. LIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



113 



lastly, to the culpable Indifference of the 
shareliolders who had neglected to pay up. 
In this deplorable condition of their affairs, 
another effort was resolved upon to retrieve, 
if possible, the trade of the company, and it 
was resolved for that purpose to introduce a 
thorough reform, and change the entire 
Bj-stera of government ; to suppress all the 
little insulated chambers of directors, and to 
commit the entire management of affairs to 
the bands of twelve directors, who were to 
reside in Paris. Each of these was required 
to qualify, by the payment of thirty thousand 
livres upon the forfeited shares or actions, 
and to be allowed reasonable salaries. It was 
also decided that all defaulters were to forfeit 
their shares to the company, with a reserva- 
tion that if in two years they should have 
paid in all their instalments, they should re- 
cover their former rights and have all their 
shares restored. These regulations were 
confirmed by royal edict, in February. IG80. 
The company were empowered, if they so 
pleased, to resume the sovereignty of the island 
of Madagascar, which they had surrendered 
in 1G70, or to leave it, if they thought proper, 
in the king's hands. After considerable de- 
liberation and some delay, it was resolved 
that the island should be left entirely to the. 
crown, and this act was confirmed by the 
king's arret, dated June 4, 1C8G. Some time 
after this remodelling of the company, eight 
new directors were added for the avowed 
purpose of increasing the capital. Each of 
these was obliged to lay down forty thousand 
livres in case he possessed twenty thousand 
of the company's stock, and sixty thousand if 
he were possessed of none. These con- 
tributions, swelled with the sums advanced by 
the proprietors, so increased the available 
capital of the company, that now the most 
cautious and intelligent men of business began 
to feel sanguine of success, and these anticipa- 
tions were confirmed by the dividends made 
in that year and in 1691, amounting in the 
whole to thirty per cent. This cheering 
aspect of affairs was soon overcast by an in- 
discretion of the minister, and a proof thereby 
supplied to show, that however ineffectual the 
power of the ruler may be to foster and 
render successful any great social enterprise, 
his power to check and destroy cannot be over- 
rated. " In order," says one of the authors of 
the Universal Modern Ilistorj/, " to under- 
stand that there is nothing easier for a 
minister than to destroy a branch of trade by 
an ill-judged and untimely interposition, the 
following instance, one of the most material 
points in the history of French commerce, de- 
serves attention. The French East India 
Company finding that gold and silver bro- 



cades and painted cottons were articles in the 
quickest demand, struck into that branch of 
trade, by which they were very considerable 
gainers ; and, that they might encourage the 
artizans of their own country, they imported 
chiefly white cottons, and caused them to be 
painted in France after the Indian manner, by 
which they had the command of the fashions ; 
and when people began to be tired with one 
sort of goods, they revived their appetites by 
introducing another. The demand for these 
goods being by this means kept up and con- 
tinually increasing, the manufacturers in 
France set up a general clamour, that they 
were sacrificed to strangers ; and that if a 
stop was not immediately put to the importa- 
tion of these silks and cottons, they should be 
all starved. Upon this, out came an edict, 
dated January, 1687, by which this branch of 
commerce was prohibited ; and it was with 
very great difficulty that the company pro- 
cured leave to sell off what they had in their 
hands, and what might arrive by the next 
ships ; but what was most extraordinary they 
were required to break all their moulds for 
printing, without considering that this was as 
much a manufacture of France as any other. 
As to the brocades they were allowed some 
little indulgence, which, however, did but just 
keep them from sinking ; with the assistance 
of some other favours, which the few friends 
they had left at court, not without much soli- 
citation, had obtained. By this the reader 
may see how little safety there is for trade 
under any arbitrar}' government, where all 
things depend at best upon the understanding 
of a minister, which is a very precarious 
tenure, or very often upon his caprice, or the 
influence that he is under, which is the most 
dreadful situation people can be in that have 
any property at all." * 

The farmers of the public revenues, whose 
influence with the government in France was 
very great, also complained that the revenue 
was prejudiced by the privileges and immu- 
nities granted to the India company. The 
result was that the minister abstained from 
violating the original edict, but means were 
soon devised of gradually undermining these 
immunities, though they were not taken away. 
They were next prohibited from selling piece 
goods to foreigners, on the assumption that if 
they could not buy Indian goods from the 
company, they would be obliged to purchase 
French ; but the fact was the foreigner ceased 
to attend their markets. The next step was 
the imposition of a heavy duty on raw silk. 
In this narrow spirit of commercial legislation 
all the pains taken by Colbert were rendered 
abortive, and as the inevitable result of such 
* Uiiiveraal Modem History, vol. xi. p. 87. 



114 



HISTOEY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LIX. 



imprudent restrictions, after a very brief gleam 
of prosperity, tlie affairs of tlie company re- 
lapsed into a state of cheerless inactivity, 
which was rendered all but extinct by the 
effects of the European war which commenced 
in 1G!)1. 

Having so far followed the fortunes of the 
company in consecutive order, the progress 
of their affairs in India imposes the necessity 
of going back a few years. After Martin 
had made a settlement, with the consent of the 
rajah, in Pondicherry, a fine opportunity was 
presented to. the French authorities of making 
an establishment in Siam. Some French 
missionaries had visited that kingdom, and 
had conducted themselves with so much for- 
bearance, propriety, and friendliness, that 
they are said to have secured the love of the 
people, and to have inspired them with re- 
spect for the French generally. 

Previously to this, a Greek adventurer, 
Constantiue Faulkon, had travelled into Siam, 
was well received at court, and soon rose 
in favour with the sovereign. In the course 
of time, he was raised to the very important 
post of prime -minister or barcalon. In this 
elevation he treated both the prince and the 
people despotically. The former was weak, 
sickly, and without issue. The minister enter- 
tained the notion of securing the succession 
to himself, and he is charged with the criminal 
intention of removing the ruling monarch out 
of his path. To enable him the more effec- 
tively to compass his ends, he resolved on 
attempting to make the French subservient 
to his scheme; he therefore sent ambassadors 
to France, in 1684, to tender his royal mas- 
ter's alliance, and to offer some sea-ports to 
the French merchants, and to ask for ships 
and troops. 

Louis XIV. eagerly took advantage of 
this unexpected proposal, which he justly 
considered calculated to benefit, in no small 
degree, the Indian Company. He accord- 
ingly dispatched a squadron to cultivate the 
favourable opportunity oilered, but this object 
seems to have been only secondary, for the 
French writers say that it conveyed a greater 
number of Jesuits than of traders, and in the 
treaty which was concluded betvi-een the two 
kings, under the direction of the Jesuit 
Pachard, much more attention was paid to 
religious concerns than to those of commerce.* 
The hopes created by the early success of 
the Christian missionaries were blasted by 
the conduct of the Jesuits now imported. 
These paid too much court to the unprin- 
cipled minister, who had, at this time, by his 
arrogance and ambition, estranged from him- 

* Kaynal, Ilidorj/ of Settlement and Trade in the 
East and West Indies, vol. 11. p. 265. 



self the affection and respect of the court and 
the people. The missionaries, as his crea- 
tures, became unpopular, and the public hatred 
was soon transferred from their persons to 
their teachings, and to such an extent was 
this odium carried, that it provoked a popular 
revolt, during which their churches and mo- 
nasteries were exposed to the fury of the 
superstitious and the licentious. 

The fortress of Bangkok,* built at the mouth 
of the Menana, had been given up to the 
French. It was very favourably situated for 
commercial purposes. The Menana flows 
through a valley of that name, and is the 
most important river in that kingdom, passing 
through the greater part of it, and, mono- 
polizing its trade and navigation,f after a 
course of eight hundred miles, falls into the 
gulf of Siam by three channels. The town was 
also an excellent mart for all the productions 
of China, the Philippine Islands, and all the 
eastern parts of Asia. The situation of Siam, 
between two gulfs, washing coasts respec- 
tively one hundred and sixty and two hun- 
dred leagues in extent, gives it a command 
of the navigation of all the seas in that part 
of the world. Mergin, then the principal 
harbour in the kingdom, and said to be one 
of the best in Asia, was likewise ceded to 
them. This port would have greatly facili- 
tated the trade with the coast of Coromandel, 
and chiefly with Bengal. It secured an ad- 
vantageous intercourse with the kingdoms of 
Pergu, Ava, Arracan and Lagos, where the 
finest rubies in the world, and some gold dust, 
were to be found. :j: 

These great opportunities were lost upon 
the French. The officials of the company 
and the Jesuit fathers were equally ignorant 
of their commercial advantages ; and even- 
tually, when Faulkon's treasons were ripe for 
execution, having but feebly assisted in his 
enterprise, they were involved in his disgrace, 
and the fortresses of Mergin and Bangkok 
were wrested from the French garrisons by 
the most cowardly people in the East. 

During their very brief sojourn in Siam, 
the French made an attempt to plant a set- 
tlement in Tonquin. They considered that a 
trade could be carried on with safety and 
advantage with a people which had been for 
several centuries in commercial communica- 
tion with the empire of China. 

Expelled from Siam, the French Company, 
surrendering all hope of being able to make 
an establishment in the remote parts of Asia, 
began to regret the loss of their factory at 

•' From its situation, this town has become the great 
centre of all the commerce of Siam. 
t Blackie's Imperial Gazetteer. 
% RayunI, vol. 11. p. 272. 



Chap. LIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



116 



Snrat, to which tliey coiald not return, as tliey 
had left without discharging the liabilities in- 
curred there. The Mogul government, which 
was anxious to encourage the traffic of Surat, 
and to attract as many vessels as possible to 
that port, often solicited them to pay their 
creditors. This they failed to do, and there- 
fore could never recover from the obloquy to 
which their bad faith had subjected them. 

Excluded from all other parts of Asia, the 
French were compelled to concentrate all 
their attention on Pondicherry, and on its 
effective fortification. But these designs were 
interrupted by a fierce war, which, though 
deriving its origin from remote causes, now 
broke out, and in which the French nation had 
to maintain a contest provoked by its own 
aggrandizing ambition against a confederation 
of the moat powerful states in Europe. 

To the prudence and ability of M. Martin 
was the safety of the French settlement, and 
the prevention of the total ruin of the com- 
pany, due. The famous Mahratta chief, 
bevajee, having approached the neighbour- 
hood of Pondicherry, threatened with his 
formidable force to overwhelm it as a de- 
pendencyof iiisenemies. By the friendly offices 
of a neighbouring Indian prince, however, a 
treaty was formed with Sevajee, and license 
granted to trade in his dominions on payment 
of one thousand six hundred rupees. This 
treaty was concluded in 1680, and the terri- 
tory had been purchased, the year previously, 
of the Rajah of Visapore. The only apprehen- 
sion that was now entertained by the French, 
was lest the son of Sevajee, who was now the 
Peishwa, and had become the master of 
Pondicherry by right of war, might resent 
any attempt to fortify it; but his permission 
was obtained in 1689, and then it w^as 
strongly surrounded with defensive works.* 

As soon as intelligence was conveyed from 
Europe of the declaration of hostilities there, 
the Dutch, who had for some time looked on 
with jealousy at the rising importance of 
Pondicherry, offered very large presents to 
the Peishwa, in whose dominions it lay, to 
eject the French ; but, with a morality which 
should have put the Christian to the blush, 
the son of Sevajee rejected those offers with 
contempt. " The French," he said, " had 
fairly purchased that settlement, for which 
they had paid a valuable consideration, and 
that, therefore, all the money in the world 
should never tempt him to eject them." What 
the Peishwa refused to do, the Dntch them- 
selves accomplished. They besieged Pon- 
dicherry in 1693, having arrived before the 

' Memoire dam les Archives de la Compagnie des- 
Indes, num. i., quoted in the Universal Modem History, 
vol. ii. 



place with a fleet of nineteen sail, and an 
army of three thousand men, with a fine 
train of artillery and six mortars, and to 
ensure their conquest, they applied to the 
new Peishwa — whose laxity of principle, it is 
to be hoped, was not the result of Dutch 
ethics — who, on receipt of about twenty thou- 
sand pounds, made over to them the whole 
country. After a good, protracted defence, 
M. Martin, whp was still director-general, sur- 
rendered upon very honourable terms. On 
the conclusion of the peace of Ryswiok, 1696, 
the Dutch were compelled to restore it, and 
in a much better condition than they found 
it. Thoy had built new walls, and seven 
bastions, and, in fact, had made it one of the 
best defended fortresses in India. 

Martin was again appointed governor, and 
dispatched from France — to which after the 
surrender he had returned — with a squadron, 
having on board two hundred regular troops 
for the augmentation of the garrison, and 
with orders to put the place in such a state 
of defence that, in case of a second war, it 
would be in a condition to repel any assailants. 
He took out with him for that purpose seve- 
ral able engineers, a vast quantity of military 
stores, and everything necessary to e.nsure 
security. He managed the affairs of the 
company with such skill, integrity, and wis- 
dom, that he was enabled in the space of four 
or five years so to improve the town, that it 
could be scarcely recognised by its appearance. 
Not only were the fortifications completed, but 
the garrison was increased to eight hundred 
men ; one hundred new houses were added, a 
plan for a large town laid out, into which, 
in a very few years, he drew more than sixty 
thousand inhabitants; and in 1710 it had be- 
come one of the most considerable towns in 
the hands of the Europeans.* Had Martin's 
efforts been seconded by a liberal policy at 
home, the French company would have been 
placed upon a level with its more favoured 
rivals, the Dutch and English. 

The intelligence and patriotism of M. 
Martin could effect no more than laying the 
basis of the future success of the company 
by impressing on the natives a very favour- 
able opinion of the French, by the incessant 
and scrupulous attention he paid to training 
up well qualified and conciliatory agents ; by 
the information he, with great industry, accu- 
mulated for his and their direction; by the 
excellent system of administration he esta- 
blished and maintained in his government; 
and by the daily increase of inhabitants in 
Pondicherry. But all these prudent and 
salutary measures failed to invigorate the 
waning prosperity of the company, subject 
* Ilistoire des Indes Orientates, torn iii. p. 281, 232. 



116 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LIX 



from its infancy to such inherent disorders 
as were calculated eventually to effect its 
dissolution.* 

Martin's original intention was to re-esta- 
blish on a firm basis a great empire in Mada- 
gascar, and with that object he transported 
thither nearly seventeen hundred colonists, 
who, though cheered with the hopes of en- 
joying a delightful climate, and realizing a 
rapid fortune, encountered on their arrival 
nothing but famine, dissension, despair, and 
death. Their fate rendered all after efforts 
apparently impracticable. The shareholders 
became defaulters. The government which 
had pledged itself to give without interest 
a fifth of the subscribed capital, and who on 
those terms were at this period liable for 
only two million livres.f advanced it from the 
exchequer, in order to sustain a project so 
much in royal favour ; and some time after, it 
generously made a grant of what at first was 
a loan. This encouragement failed to eifect 
its object, and the company were obliged to 
confine their operations to Surat and Pondi- 
cherry, and to abandon their settlements at 
Bantam, Rajapore, Tilseri, Masulipatam, 
Gombroon and Siam. 

The fierce war of 1689 considerably in- 
creased the embarrassments of the company, 
even by the success of French arms. Several 
privateers, fitted out in the ports of Fi-ance, 
by their vigilance and intrepidity, gave great 
annoyance to the traders of England and of 
Holland. The Indian goods which fell into 
their hands by the seizure of several prizes, 
the privateers were enabled to sell at a com- 
paratively low figure. Though remunerative 
in comparison with their outlay, this compe- 
tition had the effect of compelling the com- 
pany to sell at prices under the first cost ; and 
when they made complaints to the minister, 
he did not feel himself justified in sacrificing 
to their interests a body of men, who so 
seriously annoyed the enemy, and rendered 
such essential services to their country. 

Every resource having been exhausted, the 
conviction became general that the company 
could not persevere unaided; therefore they, in 
1707, complied with the proposal of some 
wealthy merchants, who agreed to send their 
own ships to India, upon the condition that 
they should allow fifteen per cent, to the 
company, upon the merchandise which should 
be imported by them, reserving the right to 
take such share in the ships as their circum- 
stances should permit. Even after this thev 
were reduced to the necessity of making over 
the entire and exclusive exercise of their 

• Raynal's lUstori/ of Settlements and Trade in the 
Jiost and West Indies, vol. ii. p. 285 

t £83,333 &». Srf. 



privilege to some privateers of St. Maloes, still 
reserving the same power which had for some 
years warded off their extinction. 

Although thus involved, and their situation 
desperate, the company in 1714 solicited 
from their royal founder, protector, and patron, 
a renewal of their charter, which was on the 
eve of expiring, and which they had now 
enjoyed for nearly half a century. When 
this application was made, their entire capital 
had been expended, and their debts amounted 
to ten million livres ;* nevertheless, their 
request was granted for ten years. Upon 
the death of Louis XIV. which occurred 
shortly after this renewal of the charter, the 
Duke of Orleans became the regent. To him 
the company applied for a prolongation of 
their term. In seeking this favour, the 
real object is said to have been to obtain a 
recognition of their privileges, in the expec- 
tation that should they so far succeed, they 
would be able to obtain from him more solid 
advantages, and such help from the treasury 
as would enable them to revive their trade. 
From the public they had no credit to expect, 
the period of their new charter being so very 
limited. 

These expectations were defeated by the 
financial derangements, which, having their 
source in a remote period, had been fearfully 
augmented in the late reign, and had come to 
a crisis in 1715. Instead of having money 
to lend, the crown was enormously in debt, 
and the regent and his ministers, instead of 
having money to give away for invest- 
ment in commerce, were engaged in devising 
means to make the commerce of the kingdom 
subservient to their own pressing demands — 
to fill the exchequer, to pay off the obliga- 
tions of the crown, and to discharge the accu- 
mulated claims on the government and 
the nation. The contrivances to meet these 
exigencies were long known in France by 
the name of the System; and they, with 
their consequents down to the revolution, 
form no inconsiderable portion of the history 
of modern France. 

One of the most popular expedients then 
proposed was that of the celebrated Law, 
a Scotchman; and it is more than probable 
that the high estimation in which the memory 
of the celebrated Colbert, the descendant of a 
Scotchman, was held, gave an impulse to his 
popularity. This state empiric engaged to re- 
establish the finances. His first step was the 
establishment of a bank. The success which 
attended its early operations silenced the 
arguments and clamours of his opponents. 
This bank commenced business in 171G. The 
gratitude of the French rose so high, that 
• £4,10,666 \Zs.id. 



Chap. LX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST, 



117 



they pronounced the services he had rendered 
worthy of the most honourable monuments 
and testimonials a nation could in its grati- 
tude bestow. Thus estimated, it is not 
strange that he found himself with influence 
enough to organize the Western company, 
the privileges of which were at first restricted 
to the trade of Louisiana, and to the beavers 
of Canada, but shortly after the Western 
company secured its charter, the companies 
trading to Africa, the East Indies, and to 
China, were incorporated with it. This 
amalgamation ambitiously proposed to pay 
oiif the national debt, and thus relieve France 
from the accumulated obligations of ages, 
which had long weighed heavily on her, and 
which threatened to crush her to the earth. 

The edict of " Amalgamation " extinguished 
the titles of East and West India Companies, 
as well as those of the minor companies asso- 
ciated, and substituted the comprehensive 
name, "The Company of the Indies." 

To this new company was granted the 



exclusive privilege of trading from the Cape 
of Good Hope to the utmost extent of the 
East Indies, as also to the islands of Mada- 
gascar, Bourbon, and Prance, the coast of 
Sofala ill Africa, the Red Sea, and Persia, to 
the dominions of the Mogul, of the King of 
Siam, and of the Emperors of China and 
Japan, and also to the South Seas, from the 
Straits of Magellan to the East Indies, and 
rigidly excluding all the other French sub- 
jects from tliose parts imder pain of the 
confiscation of their vessels and effects.* All 
the property and possessions of the amalga- 
mated companies were secured to them, but 
they were made responsible for all the just 
liabilities these companies had incurred. To 
enable them to enter with effect upon their 
extensive sphere of action, they were autho- 
rised to issue new shares, to the amount of 
twenty -five million livres, to be purchased with 
ready money only, on the same terms that 
the West India Company possessed shares to 
the amount of one hundred million. 



CHAPTER LX. 

FRENCH ENTERPRISE IN INDIA AND THE EAST FROM THE FORMATION OF "THE PEE- 
PETUAL COMPANY OF THE INDIES" TO THE WAR WITH ENGLAND. 



So popular was the new undertaldng that in 
an incredibly short time, instead of twenty- 
five million livres, fifty millions were sub- 
scribed. In this state of prosperity the com- 
pany volunteered to pay off, at the rate of 
fifty millions in every month, the enormous 
quantity of paper in circulation, amounting to 
nearly sixty millions of our money. As an ac- 
knowledgment of this generous and patriotic 
proposal, the king, by an arret dated July, 
1720, changed the terms on which their 
privileges were granted, declared the com- 
pany perpetual, and restrained himself and 
his successors from treating them as other 
companies had been treated, and from this 
time they acquired and bore the title " The 
Perpetual Company of the Indies." 

The capital, as has been already noticed, con- 
sisted of the original capital of the West India 
Company, and the twenty -five millions added 
thereto upon the amalgamation ; but in order 
to guard the new company against stock- 
jobbing, a revision of the shares was made, 
in 1723, in order to ascertain which of them 
had been obtained fairly and by purchase. 
The consequence was that in the same year 
the king fixed the shares at fifty-six thousand, I 

VOL. II. 



and thus the capital on which dividends were 
to be paid, was settled at one hundred and 
twelve millions, and upon this the king as- 
sured to them a yearly revenue of eight 
millions four hundred thousand livres. This 
revenue from the state was given because the 
company, by the proposal to undertake the 
national liabilities, had placed itself in the 
position of a public creditor. 

In 1725, by another arret, five thousand 
shares were cancelled and burned, and the 
capital reduced to that extent, and their 
dividend secured by the annual payment of 
eight millions from the taxes on tobacco, the 
exclusive, perpetual, and irrevocable privilege 
of selling which was conceded to them in 
1723, and confirmed to them in 1725, toge- 
ther with the profits arising from the Cana- 
dian fur trade. f Thus the fund for the annual 
dividends, was as effectively guaranteed as it 
could by possibility be. As a collateral secu- 
rity the commerce of India was assigned, and 
the proceeds thereof were to be allowed to 
accumulate for some time, and to be eventually 

* Ilistnire de la Compagtiie, des Indes, p. 112; Uni- 
versal History, vol. ii. p. 122. 

t JDictionnaire de Commerce, torn. ii. col. 1080. 



118 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LX. 



appropriated to strengthening the funds for 
promoting that important trade, and placing 
it ill a position to yield a large revenue to 
swell the annual dividends. With such secu- 
rities, such extensive privileges, ministerial 
patronage, and brightening prospects, it is not 
matter of surprise that the shares were eagerly 
souglit for, and rose into high estimation at 
home and abroad. 

Tiiis short sketch of affairs in Prance was 
necessary to elucidate French proceedings in 
the East, and to show how the repeated 
failures of all the attempts made for the pros- 
perous cultivation of the Indian trade, had 
convinced most men that a repetition of such 
efforts would be equally unsuccessful ; and that 
to prosecute it with success demanded the im- 
mediate supervision of the government. The 
ministers consequently resolved on taking it 
into their own care. It was decided to 
advance large sums of money on the specula- 
tion. In order to guard against the annoyance 
■which would be likely to arise in the early 
stages of their operations, they undertook to 
pay the shareholders a stipulated dividend 
annually, such as was considered reasonable ; 
and tiiey furthermore considered that it would 
be prudent to suffer the profits, should any be 
yielded, to accumulate for some time, that 
sufficient funds might be available, as well in 
Europe as in India. This decision they did 
not make public ; concluding that as soon 
as it was ascertained that profits accrued, the 
majority of the proprietors would insist on a 
distribution. They therefore judged it best to 
furnisli no accounts, and also, to satisfy public 
expectation, to proceed actively to work. 
Accordingly, towards the close of the year 
1720, the ministers, while they had money in 
their hands, enabled the company of the 
Indies to equip three ships for sea, which, in 
addition to a large cargo of European mer- 
chandise, conveyed a large sum in specie and 
bullion. This spirited proceeding raised the 
credit of the company and enhanced the value 
of the shares ; and, as if in expectation of large 
returns, port L'Orient was put in a condi- 
tion, by new improvements and the erection 
of magazines, to serve as a convenient depot 
for the expected commerce. The result of 
these spirited efforts is thus ably stated by an 
author frequently made use of :* — " Yet, in the 
midst of this seemingly settled and regular 
establishment, the ' Perpetual Company of the 
Indies ' remained upon such a foundation as 
nothing of the like nature ever stood upon 
before, and with respect to which the time 
will not be lost upon the reader if he will be 
pleased to reflect tliis company had a vast 
capital, but nominal only, for in reality and at 
* TlniverttU Modern Hutory, vol. xi. p. 139. 



the bottom they were without funds ; their 
commerce as described, or rather prescribed, 
by the edict of union, was, beyond com- 
parison, more extensive than that of any 
trading company in Europe, and the means of 
carrying on their trade as much out of com- 
parison less. Besides all this there was 
another circumstance no less extraordinary 
than the other two, which was, that the 
directors of this mighty company, whatever 
they might seem in the eye of the world, 
were really under direction themselves ; that 
is, they depended, for instructions, ships, 
money, and everything else, upon the minis- 
tors of state; and yet, to speak from what 
time and experience have taught us, these 
very instances of weakness and instability 
appear to have been the sources of all their 
good fortune. For the directors, in quality 
of that employment, having the capacity of 
only representing the state that things were 
in, and the necessity they were under, had no 
temptations at any time to depart from the 
truth ; with this additional check upon them, 
that if they did, it would have certainly been 
discovered, and themselves removed. On the 
other hand, the ministers of the day, knowing 
that their continuance in power must always 
depend on the maintenance of public credit, 
took care to furnish the directors with such 
supplies as were requisite to keep the machine 
of their commerce in constant motion, that 
the opinion which the public entertained of 
the restitution of their affairs might be for- 
tified from their progress ; thus their balance, 
which originally arose from necessity, and ia 
some measure from accident, was more happy 
in its operations than any contrivance that 
could have been formed by human wisdom 
to answer these ends." * 

This ministerial supervision and encourage- 
ment — which w'ould in England be as ruinous 
in practice, as it is amongst a free people 
vicious in principle — resulted beneficially for 
France, subjected to despotic rule. During 
the fourteen succeeding years, sometimes three, 
sometimes four ships were sent annually to 
the East, and by slow but steady progress the 
affairs of the company were restored and 
strengthened. However, with this prosperous 
state, there was no accumulation of funds for 
distribution amongst the shareholders ; the 
profits realized were swallowed by their 
increasing expenses, as the increase of the 
Indian commerce imposed the necessity of 
re-establishing their old factories and raising 
new ones. Indeed, for some of the early 
years their outlay exceeded their income, and 

* The author has drawn this train of reasoniug from the 
Ihctionnaire de Commerce, to which the reader is 
referred. 



€hap. LX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



119 



though their European rivals, witnessing 
the steadily increasing extent of their trade, 
the regularity with which they exported to 
Europe, and being unacquainted with their 
secrets, thought their affairs to be in a flou- 
rishing state, yet such was not the reality; 
gradual supplies were required, and without 
such assistance many years would have rolled 
over before tlieir commerce would have become 
self-supporting. 

The directors of the company sustained its 
credit by the prudent disposition of the sup- 
plies from the East, and kept things in tole- 
rable order; they had paid oft' the heavy 
liabilities of the various companies in the 
UNION, though these far exceeded their assets.* 

To Orry, who had been appointed, in 
1773. to superintend the finances of France — 
which he managed with surprising success — 
the great impulse henceforth given to com- 
mercial enterprise iu the East is fairly at- 
tributable. It has been generally admitted 
that he was an upright and disinterested 
minister ; but that his character was sullied 
by a harshness of temjier, which contrasted 
offensively with the suavity of the coui'teous 
French. The apology which he once made 
when a friend rejiroached him for this blemish, 
was characteristic and not very creditable to 
the nation : — " How can I behave otherwise ? 
Out of a hundred people I see in a day, fifty 
take nie for a fool and fifty for a knave." His 
brother, Ue Fulvy, who had less principle, but 
possessed more affability and a greater share 
of capacity, was entrusted with the affairs 
of the " Perpetual Company of the Indies," 
and under such able direction it could not 
fail to prosper. These able ministers plainly 
understood that further supplies were de- 
manded, in order to command a more remu- 
nerative trade and to extricate the company 
from existing difficulties. Before this was 
done, a most rigid investigation of tlieir 
circumstances was made, and then, their 
affairs having been placed iu the best possible 
position, the requisite sums were advanced. 
The minister's foresight was gratified by 
flattering results. On the termination of 
the second year, the returns from the East 
were doubled, and a fair prospect was pre- 
sented of a large additional increase ; and, 
in fact, tlie third year yielded thrice as much 
as they had been. Port L'Orient, which had 
beeiL laughed at as a depot erected for an 
imaginary commerce, seemed now to have 
been providentially and wisely provided for a 
trade which had become consideraijle and 
regular ; and so rapidly did it continue to 
progress that in 1742 the public sale there 

* Universal Modern UUtor'j, vol. xi. p. 131 ; Rayiial, 
Fol.ii. p. 327. 



amounted to the large sum of twenty-four 
millions of livres, that is, about one million of 
English money, besides which they reserved 
goods in the stores to the amount of four 
million livres ; and the first ships that arrived 
in 1743, brought home a still more valuable 
cargo. 

All the European powers, but more espe- 
cially the maritime, were alarmed bj' this ad- 
vancement of a company so insignificant and 
feeble a few years ju'cviously; but these 
apprehensions would have been considerably 
modified had it been reflected that it was all 
artificial — a hot-house plant, which in an un- 
genial location had, b)' applied heat, been forced 
into a premature, if not an unnatural, luxu- 
riance, and therefore subject to very probable 
casualties, any one of which would suddenly 
withdraw its sustenance, dry up its sap, and 
destroy the forced exotic ; while its accli- 
mated neighbour gathered strength from the 
soil and healthful growth. Much of the suc- 
cess, it must be owned, is attributable to the 
long continued peace which blessed the 
pacific administration of Cardinal Fleury. The 
true condition of affairs was made manifest 
to the Company and the world, during the 
war of the succession to the throne of fcipain, 
which broke out in 1740, and involved France 
and the chief of the nations of Europe in the 
quarrel. But this war had been carried on. 
for some time before the exposure was made, 
or any susi>icion of it reached the company or 
the public. On the contrary, the company 
relying on its fancied prosperous resources, 
thought it its duty to give its assistance to the 
nation. England and France having taken 
opposite sides, the war between them was 
stimulated by their contiguity and rival posi- 
tions. The enormous expenses incurred by 
France, forced M. Orry, though very re- 
luctantly, to inform the directors that public 
affairs were so complicated that they had no 
more pecuniary aid to expect from tlie ex- 
chequer, and should entirely rely upon their 
own resources, and carry on their trade in 
future as best they could. This disclosure 
and intimation scattered to the winds their 
delusive pros|)erity, and all which they had 
been doing for several years perished by the 
first exposure. The shares of the company, 
which had previously reached to two thousand 
livres and upwards, suddenly fell to eight 
hundred.* But this was not the only in- 
jury inflicted ; a worse than this was that 
the governments of Europe had learned that 
French commerce could not exist, as in other 
countries, independent of royal bounty. In 
France it was supported by the state, in other 
countries it powerfully contributed to their 
* Universal Modern Hialorij, vol. li. j). 138. 



120 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[CnAr. LX. 



support. Though, as has been just stated, 
this commerce fell by one adverse blast, tlie 
company was not extinguished, and new ap- 
pliances were devised to restore it to life. 
The proprietors, liaving recovered from tlieir 
first painful surprise, were enabled by the aid 
of a few lotteries to extricate themselves from 
their immediate difficidties, and to resume 
operations. 

During the prosecution of the war the 
government did not overlook nor neglect the 
affairs of the company in the East. A suffi- 
cient force was forwarded thither, not merely 
for defensive but for offensive action, and the 
officials selected for the civil, naval, and mili- 
tary services, proved the judgment of their 
appointments, and showed themselves equal 
to tlie exigencies of the crisis. 

Dumas was sent to Pondicherry, and 
had not been long there, when he prevailed 
upon the court of Delhi to grant him leave 
to coin money. Tliis permission the French 
valued at about twenty thousand pounds 
annually. He also managed to obtain posses- 
sion of the town of Karical * which entitled 
him to a considerable share in the trade of 
Tanjore. Some time after this the IMahratfas 
invaded the Deccan, defeated and slew the 
Rajah of Arcot. His family and several of 
his sulyects sought refuge in Pondicherry, 
and were kindly received. Ragojee, who 
commanded the conquerors, demanded the 
surrender of the relugees and moreover a 
sum of money, amounting to one million two 
hundred tliousand livres, as arrears of tribute ; 
to wliioh, he alleged, the French had formerly 
submitted. Dumas, with a generous resolu- 
tion, replied " that he could not consistently 
with the honour of the great monarch whom 
he represented, sui-render up helpless refugees 
who had thrown themselves upon his pro- 
tection ; that every Frenchman in Pondi- 
cherry would readily sacrifice life for their 
l^rotection, and that his own life would be the 
forfeit if his sovereign knew that he listened 
to the proposal of paying tribute ; and, finally, 
that he was prepared and resolved to defend 
his post to the last." Tiiis manly tone had 
effect. Pondiclierry was not attacked ; no 
prisoners surrendered ; no tribute ])aid. 

Though the Mahratta army amounted to 
one hundred thousand men, still the French 
were in the position to make a formidable, if 

_ • This town and district are situated within the British 
district of Tanjore, in the presidency of Madras, near 
the Coroinandel coast of the 13ay of Bengal, on a small 
estuary of the C:ivery. The French territory is com- 
pletely surrounded by the British, and contains an area of 
sixty-three square miles. It was restored to them at the 
general pacification iu 1814, on condition that no fortifi- 
cations should be erected thereon. — Thornton's Indian 
Gazetteer. 



not a successful, defence. The place was regu- 
larly fortified, and well stored with provisions ; 
the garrison consisted of between six and 
seven tliousand men, and its walls were jiro- 
tected by between four and five hundred 
pieces of cannon.* The conduct of the French 
on this occasion recomniended them to the 
favour of the Mogul and his ministers, who 
ever after manifested the greatest kindness for 
Dumas, and the highest respect for the 
French nation. But this gratitude did not 
terminate at the mere expression. The young 
Prince of Arcot came in person to testify liis 
sense of obligation, and presented a very fine 
elephant with splendid trappings ; to this he 
added the cession of three districts in the 
neighbourhood of Pondicherr)', to Dumas per- 
sonally, and this grant was confirmed by the 
Emperor of Delhi, and Dumas raised to the 
dignity of nabob, and to the command of four 
thousand five hundred horse. These favours 
were all personal;' but, through his interces- 
sion, he procured them to be assigned to his 
office. Immediately after, in 1741, he sur- 
rendered his power and his office into the 
hands of his successor, Dupleix, whose tran- 
sactions will more appropriately form a por- 
tion of the English division of this work ; in 
those stirring scenes where the two great 
nations prosecuted — as no other nations can 
— tlie war-struggle for supremacy, and where 
he comes into no ignoble conflict with Ad- 
miral Bo.scawen. 

"Whilst Dutnas was reflecting such credit 
and distinction upon himself and his country, 
the government sent an equally illustrious 
man, Bourdonnais, to another of the French 
settlements. The progress of events there 
challenge and merit attention. 

The Mauritius, or the Isle of France, may 
be fairly said to have been, at that time, 
peculiarly the possession of the " Perpetual 
Company of the Indies." It was not in- 
cluded in the grants of any of the previously 
existing companies ; not that they claimed no 
right, nor had overlooked it; for it is on 
record that nearly one hundred years pre- 
viously to its concession, the French govern- 
ment had entertained tlie idea of planting a 
colony there. This island is said to be one 
of the most romantic and picturesque-looking 
iu the Eastern hemisphere. It lies four 
hundred miles east of Madagascar, and about 
two thousand throe hundred miles from 
the Cajie of Good Hope, and nine thousand 

* Raynal, vol. ii. p. 331. The author in the Unhenitl 
Modern llisimy, says that the Mahrattas continued in the 
field all the year, 1740, till the month of April, 17-11, 
and plundered every place within their reach, and tried 
without success what menaces would do with the Gover- 
nor of Pondicherry : they at last accepted a small present 
and retired. — Vol. il. p. 1 83. 



Chap. LX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



121 



five hundred from England. The first who 
made any settlement in it were the Dutch, in 
the year 1698, when they changed the name 
from Cerne to Mauritius, in honour of their 
Prince Maurice. The more tempting trea- 
sures held out to them further East, induced 
them to abandon it in 1710, and it was 
afterwards taken possession of by France in 
1721, and was called lie de France. It may 
be here said, that in the possession of that 
country it continued to remain till the year 
1810, when the British government, exaspe- 
rated by the great mischief done to our mer- 
chant vessels and East Indiamen by attacks 
made from this island, and apprehensive of 
similar results to our traders by the French 
men-of-war and privateers, sent, in that year, 
an expedition for its capture, in which they 
succeeded. At the peace, in 1814, the pos- 
session of it was notified, and from that time 
it has continued annexed to England. There 
is no exact account of the way in which the 
French first possessed it; but it must have 
been during the period the old East India 
Company's privileges lasted : however, the 
monument of possession taken, inscribed with 
the new name, erected by the Chevalier de 
Fouqeray, is dated September 3, 1721. Its 
first inhabitants came from the Isle of Bour- 
bon, and were neglected, if not forgotten, 
during the space of fifteen years ; and it was 
only in 1735, that the Perpetual Company 
decided on its occupation, and sent Bour- 
donnais to accomplish their designs there. 

This man, since so famous, was born at 
St. Maloes, and had been at sea from the early 
age of ten. No consideration could induce 
him to withdraw from his profession, and in 
every one of his uninterrupted voyages he 
was successful, and had signalized himself by 
some remarkable feat. He w-as the first 
Frenchman who suggested the idea of sending 
armed ships into the Indian sea ; his skill in 
ship-building was well known, and also his 
capabilities in navigating and defending a 
ship. His schemes were comprehensive, and 
not distracted by his minute acquaintance with 
details. He apprehended no difficulty, and 
possessed the rare and eminent gift "of in- 
spiring all under his command with a con- 
fidence of his powers and in their results. 
On arriving at his post his first care was to 
master the difficulties of his situation. He 
acquired an accurate knowledge of the island, 
and his next care was to instil a spirit of 
emulation into the old settlers, who had pined 
and become inactive from the neglect with 
which they had been treated by the mother 
country. He subjected them and tlie recent 
arrivals to a wholesome discipline. He made 
tliem cultivate rice and wheat for the supply of 



the Europeans who might touch on their coast, 
and he knew that a regular supply would 
draw many traders thither. In a short time 
all the ships bound for India were hither at- 
tracted, assured that they would find all the 
refreshments and conveniences required after 
such a tedious voyage. Three ships, one of 
which was of five hundred tons burthen, were 
equipped and dispatched from the dock he 
had constructed, and he soon proved to the 
authorities at home, to what an important po- 
sition their new dependency could be raised. 
These beginnings, pregnant with great pro- 
mise, as is generally the case, did not meet 
with the approval of men of little minds, and 
a reply of Bourdonnais to one of the directors 
who charged him with having enriched himself, 
while he had exhausted the supplies of the 
company, deserves notice : — " I have managed 
mine according to my own judgment, and 
those of the company according to your 
direction." 

He proposed to the government to place 
at his command a sufficient squadron, with 
which he would await, at the Isle of France, 
the commencement of the impending hostili- 
ties with England; and he promised when 
that event occurred, that he would proceed to 
the Straits of Sunda, and on that station — 
through which most ships sailing to or from 
China passed — would intercept all the En- 
glish ships, and protect the French. ^Vhat- 
ever might have been the result of this 
expedition if effected, there is no doubt what- 
ever it was ably conceived. His antecedents, 
and what he afterwards did w-ith a feeble force, 
confirm the opinion that it would have been 
fearlessly conducted, and would have seriously 
affected English interests in the East. Hap- 
pily, his project was not executed on the scale 
he proposed, though the minister approvecl 
the plan. f 

Five vessels had been actually fitted out 
for him, and he had sailed with them. But 
he had scarcely departed when the directors, 
feeling annoyed because the destination of the 
squadron had not been communicated to 
them, regretting the expense incurred, and 
jealous of the power this appointment con- 
ferred on a man of whose previous influence 
they were apprehensive, remonstrated with 
the minister on the absurdity of it, assuring 
him that there was no reason to fear that the 
war in Europe would disturb the neutrality, 
which it would be as much the interest of tlie 
English as of the French to observe in the 
Indian waters. These remonstrances, unfor- 
tunately for France and the company, pre- 
vailed. Bourdonnais was recalled, and the 
promising opportunity lost of perhaps de- 
stroying the small squadron shortly after sent 



122 



HISTOEY OF THE BRITISH EMrillE 



[Chap. LX. 



from England to Asia, of making the French 
masters of the Indian seas, and probably of 
ruining the English settlements in those re- 
gions. Hostilities soon after commenced be- 
tween England and France. 

Bourdonnais deeply regretted the great 
political blunder, and remonstrated in vain with 
the directors and minister. Without money, 
without means, and without magazines, he 
by perseverance succeeded in forming a 
squadron composed of a sixty gun ship and 
five merchantmen, which he converted into 
men-of-war. With this small armament he 
successfully attacked the English squadron, 
and forced them to abandon for a time the coast 
of Ooromandel ; he attacked and took Madras, 
and proved to the home government, that, 
had he been well supported, he would not 
have met with the reverses which w'ill be 
noticed when treating of the achievements of 
the English arms in the Eastern conflicts with 
the French. 

Before the close of this chapter, in order to 
make complete the history of French com- 
merce in the East, up to the period at 
which we have arrived — namely, the eve of 
the commencement of hostilities arising out 
of the war which was declared in 17iO be- 
tween England and France — it is necessary to 
supply a brief account of the French Chinese 
Company, which though absorbed in the 
amalgamation which constituted the Perpetual 
Company of the Indies, deserves notice for its 
previous and independent action. 

The French historian makes mention of 
four companies which were formed for culti- 
vating a trade with China. The first of 
these was formed in 16G0, by the exertions of 
Fermenel, a wealthy merchant of Rouen, who 
had induced several others to join with him 
in the speculation, and amongst these were 
men of very high rank and influence. Reli- 
gion was the great stimulant, as the object of 
most of the supporters was to transport to that 
vast country several prelates and priests, 
whom the pope had appointed to preach 
the gospel there.* The royal sanction was 
granted to it in 1664. The commercial results 
were so trivial, that a second voyage was never 
made. The second company was established 
by virtue of a treaty with the East India 
Company in 1698, supported by an arret of 
counoil, dated January in that year. 

The arret was granted to M. Jourdan, a 
merchant, who equipped with great expedi- 
dition a vessel of large tonnage, which sailed 
in the month of March following, and returned 
safely with a large and profitable cargo in 
August, 1700. The success of this experi- 
ment raised the expectations of the public in 
• Huloite de la Compagnie de» htdet, p. 93, 



no ordinary degree. The same vessel was 
again prepared for the voyage, and returned 
in 1703, with equally remunerative results, 
though she had a narrow escape from ship- 
wreck on her return in the Canton river. In 
consequence of these successful trips, letters 
patent were granted to the proprietors in 
1705, by which they were incorporated with 
the title of the " Royal Company of China :" 
and, with the consent of "the East India 
Company of the Indies," their privileges 
were to terminate with those of the latter 
company. Within the space of eight years, 
three ships returned with cargoes consisting 
principally of silks, but a prohibition having 
been imposed on that commodity, the owners, 
in disgust, declined to continue their specu- 
lation. It may be also that this resolution 
was influenced, and in no small degree, by 
the apprehension created by the war which 
France then waged against most of the powers 
of Europe. Their privileges they still re- 
tained, and these extended not only to the coasta 
of China, but also to Tonquin, Cochin China, 
and the islands adjacent, and all the other 
traders of France were excluded from them. 

In the year 1713, another China Company 
was formed under letters patent altogether 
independent of the East India Company, for a 
term of fifty years, extending from the month 
of March, 1715. This company dispatched 
two ships to China, one of which returned to 
Ostend in 1718, and the other in the same 
year to Genoa; but in 1719, it was swallowed 
up in the Company of the Indies. 

In 1740, and from that to the present, 
Pondicherry was the seat of the governor- 
general of the French settlements in India. 
The affairs of the company were then in a 
flourishing condition ; they retained their 
[)eaver trade in Canada, and the slave trade 
on the coast of Africa, which they lost the 
succeeding year. They had not only peopled 
the Isle of France and brought it to a state 
of prosperity, but they bestowed the same 
blessing on the Isle of Bourbon, and ren- 
dered both valuable possessions to France. 
Their trade was carried on to such an extent, 
and with such brilliant success, that they 
excited the jealousy of the Dutch and En- 
glish companies. In the jear .1734, their 
sales at L'Orient amounted to eighteen mil- 
lion livres, and in 1740, they reached twenty- 
two millions. In fact, having grasped at too 
much, they became sensible that their trade 
was too extensive for their resources, and 
that it was impossible for them to manage it 
to their satisfaction and benefit. Accord- 
ingly, in the year 1 730, they importuned the 
king to take off their hands the trade of 
Barbary. He also resumed the trade in 



CnAr. LXL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



123 



tobacco, which had been farmed to them ; 
out of this, however, they reserved an animal 
revenue of eight millions. In the following 
year the company surrendered Louisiana into 
his hands, and paid one million four hundred 
and fifty thousand livrea for being suffered so 
to do. 



The company was not without its adver- 
saries, and some of these calculate their sales 
at a lower rate, but iu their statements they 
advisedly exclude the imports from China, 
the Mauritius, and Bourbon, and all the pri- 
vate goods imported by the officers and men 
engaged in their vessels.* 



CHAPTER LXI. 
BRITISH AFFAIRS IN CHINA DURING THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. 



The century opened with discussions as to the 
quantity and consequences of the export of 
silver to China, just such as occupied the city 
financiers in London during November, 1858. 
To lessen these exportations, on account of 
the Chinese trade, the directors of the East 
India Company ordered their supercargoes to 
send to Madras from China £20,000 in gold.* 

During the first few years of the century 
Chinese commerce was carried on mainly be- 
tween Surat and Bengal on the one hand ; 
and Amo}', Chusan, and Canton on the other. 
Condore and Mocha, were also entrepots of 
Chinese trade. f 

The Ciiinese adopted the vexatious and op- 
pressive expedient of compelling Europeans at 1 
Canton to transact all their business with one 
man called " the emperor's merchant." This 
was fiercely and perseveringly resisted ; for ! 
the emperor's merchant proved himself in- 
competent, besides he had neither capital nor 
goods, his patent of exclusive trade being his ■ 
sole property. He finally allowed others to 
trade on condition of their paying to him five 
hundred " tales " per ship. A four per cent. 
duty was after some time levied : the com- 
pany's agents thus describe its origin ; and | 
it is inserted here as strikingly illustrative of 
the spirit of Chinese procedure ever since : — 
" It may not bo amiss in this place to tahe 
notice, that this four per cent, is an imposition 
lately crept upon us by the submission of our 
predecessors the two preceding seasons. One 
per cent, of the four is what has been usually 
given by the Chinese merchants to the 
linguist upon all contracts, and the linguist 
■was used to gratify the Hoppo out of this sum 
for his employment. The other three were 
first squeezed from the China merchant, as a 
gratuity for upholding some particular men 
in monopolizing all the business, and this 
used to be given in a lump, so that by under- 
valuing the goods, and concealing some part, 
they used to save half the charge ; hut to 
show how soon an ill precedent will be im- 
* Peter Anber. + Ibid. 



proved in China to our disadvantage, the 
succeeding Hoppos, instead of the persuasive 
arguments such as their predecessors used, are 
come to demand it as an established du_ty." 

In the year 1704, Gerardini, a celebrated 
painter of those da3'3, a native of Italy, who 
had spent eight j'ears at Pekin, adorning the 
emperor's palace — at the instance of the 
Jesuits — desired to embark for Europe in a 
good ship. The emperor sent orders to the 
Hoppo at Canton to facilitate his purpose : by 
this moans the merchant fleet, lying in the 
Canton waters, was enabled to depart free 
from the impediments and vexations by which 
ships were commonly obstructed. 

It was not until the year 1715 that the 
intercourse of the English with the Cantonese 
assumed a regular and systematic character, 
although the struggle of the earlier English 
adventurers to open up commercial communi- 
cations with China had been so brave and so 
persistent. Tea now became a commodity of 
considerable export, but silks constituted the 
staple of trade. A house was occupied at 
Canton by the company's supercargoes, and 
their transactions assumed importance. M. 
Auber affirms that the usual course of pro- 
cedure, on the arrival of ships off Macao, was 
for the supercargoes to land for the object of 
ascertaining how affairs stood at Canton and 
whether they might proceed and do business 
with their ships in safety : — " These points 
proving satisfactory, the ships proceeded to 
the Bocca Tigris, where some of the Hoppo's 
officers Ciime on board. The supercargoes 
then intimated their intention of waiting upon 
the Hoppo, who invariably admitted them to a 
direct interview ; at which, after compliments, 
they stipulated, through their lingiust, for the 

* Macpherson's Ilistory of Etiropemi Commerce with 
India, p. 273. Raynal, after relating these particulars, 
adds : — " II est des Empires ou Ton veiidegalemeiit le droit; 
de se miner, celui de se delivreret celiiide s'enricher, par- 
ceque le bien et Ic mal, soit public, soil particulier, pcu- 
veut y deveuir ua objct de finance." — Hist, Phil, et Polity 
vol. viii. p. 110. 



124 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXT. 



observance of a series of articles, generally to 
the following purport : — 

"1st. They demanded a free trade with all 
people without restriction. 

" 2nd. That they might entertain in their 
service what Chinese servants they pleased, 
and turn them away at their pleasure; and 
that if their English servants should commit 
any disorder or fault deserving punishment, 
the Chinese should not take upon them to 
punish, but should complain to the super- 
cargoes, and they would see them sufficiently 
punished accor-ding to the crime. 

" 3rd. That they should have liberty to buy 
all sorts of provisions and necessaries for their 
factory and ship, at their will. 

" 4th. That they should pay no custom or 
other duties for any goods they should bring 
on shore and not dispose of, and that they 
might Ship them off again free of all duties. 
That they should pay no duties for v^ine, beer, 
or other stores expended in their factory. 

"5th. That they should have liberty to 
set up a tent ashore, to mend and fit their 
casks, sails, and rigging, and other neces- 
saries. 

" Gth. That their boats should have liberty 
to pass the several custom-houses or boats as 
often as should be thought fit, without being 
called to or examined on any pretence what- 
soever, when tlic British colours were hoisted, 
and that at no time their seamen's pockets 
should be searched. 

" 7th. That their escritoires and chests 
might be brought on shore into their factory, 
and be carried on board ship agam on their 
departure, without being searched. 

" 8th. That tlie Hoppo would protect them 
from all insults and impositions of the common 
people and mandarins, who were annually 
laying new duties and exactions which they 
were forbidden to allow of. 

" 9th. That the four per cent, be taken off, 
and that every claim or demand the Hoppo 
had, should be demanded and determined the 
same time with the measurement of the ship. 

" As the supercargoes required these seve- 
ral privileges, the linguist signified tlie same 
to the Hoppo ; who consented that all should 
be granted according to their request, except- 
ing the last article, as to the remission of the 
four per cent, duty, which he could not agree 
to. The supercargoes represented that it 
was a great hardship and imposition, and 
that they must insist on it ; but at last, find- 
ing all that they could say was to no purpose, 
they let the argument drop." 

Matters went on after this manner until 
1720, when the native merchants with whom 
the English supercargoes transacted business, 
formed themselves into one body, or, as it was 



called by the company's agents, a " Co- 
hong." This combination was for the pur- 
pose of raising prices, so that by never un- 
derselling one another, the English and other 
agents were at their mercy. For a time, 
trade was from this cause almost impossible. 
The English, however, found means to pre- 
sent their case to an imperial officer of autlio- 
rity, whom they called the Isontock, who 
summoned the Co-hong to his presence, and 
threatened that if it were not speedily dis- 
solved, he would dissolve it for them in a 
manner more certain than agreeable. 

In 1721, an officer of the Hoppo was acci- 
dentally killed near Whampoa, and the Chi- 
nese took up the matter with much injustice 
and resentment, seizing the petty officers of 
some of the ships, and menacing the super- 
cargoes. The English seem to have been 
the sole sufferers on this occasion. Once 
more the company's agents found means to 
reach the higher officials by their influence, 
which they exercised with such force and 
address, that the mandarin who menaced and 
insulted them, was ordered into custody, and 
a promise given that he should be bastina- 
doed with bamboos, and turned out of the 
emperor's service. 

Acting upon orders from home, the super- 
cargoes, in 1722, made renewed efforts to 
create a trade fair in itself and free. In this 
year much injustice and large imposition 
of fines was inflicted upon the English in 
consequence of t'he accidental death of a 
Chinese boy in a paddy field, from a shot fired 
by the mate of an English ship at a bird. 

In 1727, in consequence of the exactions 
and impositions practised by the emperor's 
officials, the supercargoes intimated their in- 
tention to withdraw to Amoy. This alarmed 
the trading community, and most of the 
restrictions were withdrawn. The removal 
of grievances was, however, merel}' to alter 
the purpose of the supercargoes to go else- 
where, and when it was supposed that such a 
resolution was laid aside, the system of im- 
positions was renewed, and ten per cent, duty 
was laid upon all goods sold by the merchants. 
The supercargoes and Europeans then at 
Canton, of whatever condition, resolved to 
place their complaints in person before the 
Isontock. Every obstruction possible was 
raised to their doing so, and on one occasion 
they had to break through the outer gates of 
the cit}', and, to the amazement of the Chinese, 
force their passage to the residence of the 
great authority. Here they met with chicane, 
insolence, fraud, falsehood, and the grossest 
injustice, and they received at last some 
partial redress, but were informed they must 
never come again with complaints. It ia 



Chap. LXI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



125 



strange tliat no fault appears to liave been 
found with them for marching in a body 
against the will of mandarins into the great 
presence. What a miniature picture of the 
events of modern times at Canton such pro- 
ceedings present : the same spirit of cheating 
and prevarication on the part of the Chinese, 
and the same energy of will and daring on 
the part of the representatives of the western 
nations. 

The supercargoes wearied at last of their 
attempts to obtain justice from the Can- 
tonese authorities, endeavoured to make known 
their grievances to the court of Pekin, in 
1728 — thus exhibiting another feature of the 
picture presented to the world in the con- 
nection of Europeans with Chinese affairs of 
late years. As there was no way of applying 
force to the convictions of the emperor, it does 
not appear that he listened to their appeals, 
nor even that their complaints reached him. 

The Chinese continually interfered with 
European ships and boats, and, contrary to 
existing agreements, when under the flags of 
their respective nations, adding yet another 
point of resemblance to so many parallels 
in the state of affairs in those days to 
that which brought on the Chinese war with 
Prance and England in 1857. This prac- 
tice became intolerable in 1730, and continued 
for three years to be perpetrated in a manner 
which could serve no purpose, but that of 
insult to the Europeans, and the gratification 
of an overbearing tyranny on the part of the 
Chinese. 

Meantime, the attempts of the English to 
obtain a commerce with Amoy failed, the 
prejudices of the people and the tyranny of 
the superior classes rendering it impracticable. 

Kien Lung succeeded to the throne in the 
year 1736, and he immediately issued an 
edict abolishing the ten per cent. duty. He, 
at the same time, showed a jealousy of Euro- 
peans, by insisting that within fourteen miles 
of Canton, all armed ships should surrender 
their arms until they were again leaving. As 
no doubt was entertained that the mandarins 
would steal the stores of war deposited in 
their custody, the ship's captains were very 
unwilling to comply with these requirements. 

On the publication of the edict, the native 
and European merchants were summoned to 
hear it read, and commanded to prostrate 
themselves in homage to the emperor. This 
the Europeans refused, and the ceremony 
was waved, the Europeans making valuable 
presents to the Isontock. 

After these events, the chief agitation was 
in connection with the 1950 tales exacted 
beyond the measurage duty upon ships. 
The letters of the supercargoes to the direc- 

VOL. II. 



tors in 1738, implj', without clearly expi-essing 
it, that the depositing of warlike stores by 
ships' captains was not insisted upon. 

One Foo-yuen, who appears to have had 
much cunning as well as authority, raised 
new difficulties in the way of trade in the 
year 1741. Indeed, with the exception of 
brief intervals, there was always some official 
sufficiently powerful, venal, capricious, or 
tyrannical, to impede the free and fair inter- 
change of commodities. 

Towards the latter end of the same year, 
the first English ship of the royal navy 
visited Canton. It was the Centurion, under 
the command of the far-famed Commodore 
Anson, whose captures of rich Spanish 
ships, especially when carrying specie, so 
injured the Spaniards, enriched himself and 
his crews, gained reputation for his daring 
and nautical skill, and gratified his countrj'. 
The Chinese were not disposed to be courteous 
to the commodore, and that officer, being ready 
and prompt in his actions, was about to resort 
to force, but for the interposition of the 
merchants. The commodore was averse to 
diplomacy, and long consultations ; liis mode 
was to make his wants plainly known, and 
to take redress for injuries without any other 
delay than what was i-equisite to obtain a 
simple and speedy reply to his requisitions. 
Tlie result was the Chinese greatly respected 
him when they found their first few attempts 
at procrastination in vain, and granted him 
whatever he desired, his requests being only 
reasonable and just. Tiie impression his pre- 
sence and manners created among the Chinese 
officials was aided by an exploit against the 
Spaniards. Yearly a vessel leaving Spain sailed 
from Acapulco and Manilla to Lisbon. Anson 
attacked and captured this splendid prize, and 
bore it into the river of Canton. The Chinese, 
although filled with admiration of the com- 
modore's spirit and enterprise, could not let 
the opportunity slip of obtaining in an indirect 
way some share of his booty : they demanded 
duties upon the ships and cargo. He pur- 
chased provisions and stores of the Chinese 
merchants, who would not deal unless paid 
beforehand, and then would not fulfil their 
engagements. Anson demanded an audience 
of the viceroy, by letter, and sent it by one 
of his officers. Before a reply could arrive, a 
desolating fire broke out in the city which 
destroyed one hundred of the principal shops, 
and eleven streets of warehouses, and would 
have probably destroyed the whole city, but 
for the opportune arrival of the commodore 
and his crew, when, by the exercise of syste- 
matic and intelligent efforts, as well as by 
dauntless daring, the fire was subdued. The 
viceroy was so much pleased with the disci- 



126 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXI. 



pline and courage of the commodore's men, 
that he granted an audience. The commo- 
dore presented a statement of hia own grie- 
vances at the hands of the merchants who 
undertook to supply him with provisions and 
stores, and also of the hardsliips to which the 
supercargoes had heen subjected liy venal 
mandarins. The only reply he received was 
that the viceroy wished him a prosperous 
voyage to Europe. Neither the commodore's 
Borviees to the city, nor the sensation created 
by his dashing bearing and exploits could 
charm the Ciiinese where money exactions 
were concerned. They continued to cheat 
and to oppress after the commodore's depar- 
ture, and in spite of the imperial edict. 

An affair occurred in 1747, which widened 
the breach between the two parties. An 
officer refused permission to the mandarins 
to allow his escritoire to be examined. Tlie 
Chinese demanded that he should be delivered 
tip to punishment, and the linguist of the 
supercargoes was put in chains. The super- 
cargoes resisted, and much contention ensued, 
the Chinese resorting to various acts of 
treachery, to get into their possession some 
of the company's agents, who, supplied with 
provisions, shut themselves up, their reputa- 
tion for the eft'ective use of fire-arms prevent- 
ing their cowardly assailants from close attack. 
It is not clear from existing records of those 
transactions, how the company's employes 
emerged from this particular difticulty ; but in 
the year 1751, the supercargoes were engaged 
in the same monotonous and fruitless task of 
negotiating for the remission of the obnoxious 
" tales" upon the shipping. 

The Chinese continued for a number of 
years to devise every ingenious means for tor- 
menting the Europeans and embarrassing 
trade. Edicts were in vain published by 
imperial authority; the mandarins frustrated, 
by cunning in administration and false re- 
presentations, any good intentions entertained 
at Pekin. Among the most annoying em- 
barrassments of the trade was the appointment 
of what were called security merchants. M. 
Aubor describes this peculiar and oppressive 
measure in the following terms, under the 
chronological heading of 1754 : — " A dis- 
cussion took place at the same time with re- 
ference to the practice of naming security 
merchants for each ship, a practice which, it 
was stated, had not existed above twenty 
years, and to which the merchants themselves 
very strongly objected, as they thereby be- 
came responsible to the government for the 
duties and customs on all the goods imported 
in such ships, whetiier purchased by the 
security merchant himself or any other person. 
In like manner, bo was also accountable for 



the duties on export cargoes, and he became 
subject to demands for curiosities brought 
out in the ship ; so that he was either impo- 
verisiied, or the company charged excessive 
prices for the commodities of trade. An 
interview was obtained with the Isontock on 
the 29th July, who received the supercargoes, 
very courteously, but refused to give them a 
written answer to their ap])lication that the 
merchants might be released from security ; 
and on the 9th August, two merchants were 
named for each ship, notwithstanding their 
entreaties to be excused; but they were in- 
formed that any deficiency would be levied 
upon the whole body." 

In the year 1753, the directors at home for- 
warded instructions for the encouragement of 
the study of the Chinese language by their 
agents, and sent out two young men to study 
at Canton, for the purpose of becoming effi- 
cient linguists. 

During the same • year a mission was sent 
to Limpo, in the hope of reopening trade 
there, but it was unsuccessful as to any ulti- 
mate and long extended benefit. 

The supercargoes became so wearied of 
the oppressions to which they had been sub- 
jected, that in 1754, they declined allowing 
their ships to come up to Whampoa. The 
Isontock did not feel it to be to his interest, 
in the face of the emperor's edicts, to allow the 
trade altogether to vanish from Canton; so he 
promised redress of grievances, and afforded 
a proud, yet courteous reception to the super- 
cargoes. During this }'ear, the privilege of 
walking within certain limits on Dane's Island 
was accorded to European seamen. 

In the year 1755, a new series of disputes 
arose from the prohibition of trade with 
private merchants and shopkeepers of Canton, 
all dealings being confined to the Hong 
merchants with rigorous strictness. After 
much verbal conflict, some slight relaxations 
of these stringent orders were allowed. 

An important revolution in the trade with 
China occurred in 1757. The emperor, by 
edict, prohibited all foreign trade conducted 
by Europeans with Eastern China, and the 
European establishments at Limpo, Amoy, 
and Chusan had to be broken up. Such 
foreign commerce as might be conducted at 
these ports by natives was subjected to double 
duty, and although the native vessels ofi 
other Asiatic countries were allowed to enter 
the ports, they dared not while there carry 
guns, ammunition, or even sails. The whole 
trade with China was limited to Canton. 
This was supposed by the Europeans to be 
the work of the ever scheming Canton 
merchants, who, by bribing the imperial 
ministers, hoped to obtain a monopoly. So 



Chap. LXI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



127 



sternly were Europeans interdicted the ports 
of Eastern China, that vessels touching there 
could not obtain the smallest quantity of the 
necessaries of life, even when in the most 
serious want of them. The East India 
Company appointed a Mr, Flint, a man of 
resolution and ability, to proceed to Limpo, 
with presents of looking-glasses for the 
emperor, and a letter requesting permission 
to reside for some time at Nankin, as the 
representative of English merchants. On ar- 
riving there he was repulsed rudely, and 
returned to Canton. Upon his arrival at that 
place, the Isontock requested an interview, 
and, at the time named, he proceeded to the 
palace of that great functionary, accompanied 
by the supercargoes as a body. They were 
allowed to enter within the first and second 
gates, and were then disarmed of their swords. 
They were commanded by the mandarins to 
prostrate themselves before the Isontock, but 
on refusal, were thrown down and much 
abused. To their amazement, it was dis- 
covered that the object in sending for Mr. 
Flint was to kidnap him. He was told he 
was the emperor's prisoner, for going to 
Limpo without permission, and that he was 
to be incarcerated for three years at Macao, 
or near it, after which he might visit Canton, 
to transact his business, and depart never to 
visit China again. The native who translated 
into Chinese the petition which he sent to the 
emperor from Limpo, was that day to be be- 
headed. The protests of the supercargoes 
were unavailing : Mr. Flint was actually held 
a prisoner for nearly three years at Macao. 
The foreign supercargoes of all nations met 
at the house of the chief agent of the English 
company, and informed the Isontock that 
they believed such tyranny was unknown to 
the emperor, and that their respective nations 
would find means to make him acquainted 
with tlie disloyalty and unlawful proceedings 
of his officers : they were treated with 
contempt. They had no force to back their 
protestations, therefore the Chinese did not 
respect or heed them : under the cannon's 
mouth they would have consented to justice, 
not otherwise. The traders, especially the 
English and Dutch, were ready to bear almost 
any indignity, if commercial gains could be 
secured, although, wthout that proviso, they 
were more ready to resist than any others. 

The directors in London sent out Captain 
Skottowe, in 17G0, to " settle the differences 
which had sprung up." The captain com- 
manded the Royal George, and brouglit a 
letter from the court of the company to the 
Isontock. His instructions were curious, 
and ills demands were very specific : — " He 
was not to be seen in the shops, or purchasing 



Chinawarc. That if he wished to purchase 
any goods he was to send for the merchants 
and not to go after them, and never to 
appear in undress in the streets, or at liome 
when he received visits : he was to be called 
Mr. Skottowe, not Captain, and it was to 
be given out that he was the brother of his 
majesty's under secretary of state, who had 
the honour to write the king's letters.* The 
court's address requested the liberation of 
Mr. Flint, who they stated was a British 
subject as well as a servant of the company ; 
and after expressing their mortification at 
their exclusion from Limpo, pointed out the 
exactions and grievances from which they 
desired relief, viz. : — 1st. The 1950 tales. 
2nd. The six per cent, on imports, and the 
two per cent, on all silver paid the Hoppo. 
3rd. To be allowed to pay their own duties, 
and not through the merchants who are 
styled securities, whom they charged with 
applying it to their own purposes. 4th. Tliat 
the Hoppo should always hear the repre- 
sentations of the supercargoes, and that an 
appeal might be made by them direct to the 
Isontock." The company seem to have ima- 
gined that all these arrangements were very 
cunning and very clever. The Chinese 
laughed at them. It was unnecessary to 
offer statements of grievances, or arguments 
for the justice of their demands ; the Chinese 
were already aware of the grievances and 
convinced of their injustice. With them the 
only question was what force the barbarians 
would employ : negotiations not backed by 
a fleet would always be unavailing, unless 
some singular combination of circumstances 
favoured the negotiations. Mr. Skottowe, his 
cause, and his country, were treated with 
supercilious scorn. This the company might 
liave understood would have been the case, 
for there had been a hundred years' experience 
of the Chinese already, and it ought to have 
been well enough known that the traders, 
officials, and people were alike destitute of 
honour and principle, and were capable of 
barbarous cruelty, when opportunity allowed. 
So little knowledge, however, had the En- 
glish people acquired of China, that in the 
year 17G2, at the suggestion of the Royal 
Society, tlie directors sent out certain queries 
as to the affinity of the Chinese and Egyptian 
languages, both bodies believing that the lan- 
guages were identical.f 

Feuds, oppressions, complaints, petitions, 
remonstrances, threats, and interruptions of 
trade, continued until 1771, when a British 

* Cajitain Skottowe's brother was employed under 
Government. 

t China, an OiilUne of Us Government, Laws, and 
rolicg. LoiiJiiii, 1834. 



128 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXI, 



ship of war having submitted to indigiiities 
at the instigation of the eujiercaigoes, who 
feared that tlie trade might otherwise suffer, 
a native merchant named Puanl\heqna pur- 
chased for 100,000 tales tlie dissolution of the 
Co-liong ; the money was repaid afterwards 
by the supercargoes. 

A curious circumstance occurred at the 
close of the year, of which the directors were 
advised by their agents to the following effect: 
— " A small vessel arrived at Macao on the 
23rd September, commanded by a Hungarian 
baron, Maurice Augusto Madar Beniofski, 
which event occasioned much speculation. 
He was at Macao, but not obtaining permis- 
sion to proceed to Canton, the supercargoes 
could not procure intelligence, having no op- 
portunity of meeting him. It was stated that 
he came from Kamtschatka, but by what track, 
or what were his motives, were unknown. 
He subsequently claimed the protection of 
the French, and had a chop procured for him 
and some of his officers to go up to Canton ; 
and by their being mentioned in the chop 
(which was procured by Fuankhequa), under 
the denomination of French merchants, and 
the Hoppo's officer at Macao having had 
them described to him differently before, he 
returned the chop to Canton, and would not 
suffer them to proceed. The mandarins were 
apprehensive they might be Russians, and 
Fuankhequa, fearful of being involved in em- 
barrassment, declined interfering. They re- 
mained at Macao until the French ships left 
China, in which they were to embark for 
Europe." 

It is remarkable, in connection with this 
circumstance, that the celebrated Gibbon met 
with this Hungarian captain subsequently in 
Paris, and wrote to Dr. Robertson, the his- 
torian, then in the zenith of his reputation, 
describing him and his adventures. Gibbon's 
letter to Robertson was as follows : — " A few 
days ago I dined with Beniofski, the famous 
adventurer, who escaped from his exile at 
Kanitschatska, and returned into Europe by 
Japan and China. His narrative was amu- 
sing, though I know not how far his veracity 
in point of circumstances may safely be trusted. 
It was his original design to penetrate through 
the north-east passage, and he actually fol- 
lowed the coast of Asia as high as the lati- 
tude of 67° 35', till his progress was stopped 
by the ice in a strait between the two con- 
tinents, which was only seven leagues broad. 
Thence he descended along the coast of 
America, as low as Cape Mendocin, but was 
repulsed by contrary winds in his attempts to 
reach the port of Acapulco. The journal of 
bis voyage, with his original charts, is now at 
Versailles, in the Dej>6t des Affaires jEtran- 



geres, and if you conceived that it would be 
of any use to you, for a second edition, I 
would try what might be obtained." 

About 17G4, the Cliinese set up a claim to 
try according to their laws all Europeans who 
had offended other Europeans, a prerogative 
strenuously resisted by the supercargoes. A 
French seaman killed a Portuguese seaman 
in the service of the English, while in the 
house of a native merchant, and then fled for 
protection to the French consulate, where he 
was maintained, the French at that date 
having assumed much importance at Canton. 
As the offence was perpetrated in the house 
of a Chinese, the government determined to 
force the consul's house, to prevent which, 
when matters came to an extremity and the 
French found they had no adequate means of 
resistance, the man was given up to the 
Chinese officials, by whom he was publicly 
strangled. This seems to have intimidated 
the Europeans generally. 

A Captain M'Clary, who destroyed a country 
ship, supposing it to be Spanish, was incarce- 
rated until the English paid seventy thousand 
dollars for his liberation. This event is vari- 
ously fixed at 1779-80 and 81 ; it also showed 
the Europeans that the native government 
was determined to enforce its authority. 

In 1779 two royal ships, the Hesolution 
and the Discovery, arrived off Macao, being in 
want of provisions and naval stores. While 
there tidings arrived of the death of Captain 
Cook, the distinguished navigator. These 
English shii)s had been as far north as 70 ' 4i', 
where they were stopped by the ice. 

The year 1780 was rendered important to 
the English at Canton by one of their company, 
named Smith, refusing to recognise the autho- 
rity of the company in these parts. He was 
forcibly seized, but, nevertheless, in all other 
respects politely and kindly treated, and sent 
home. This was by the command of the 
directors. 

Captain M'Clary again brought the English 
into trouble at Canton. Hearing that war had 
broken out between his countrymen and the 
Dutch in Europe, he made prize of a Dutch 
ship in Chinese waters, and the government 
of the emperor, or, at all events of his viceroy, 
were as indignant as the governor of a Euro- 
pean nation would be under similar circum- 
stances. The viceroy could not get at the 
captain this time, but he threatened to seize 
all the English at Canton, unless Cajitain 
M'Clary gave up his prize, by doing which 
the dispute terminated. Scarcely did one 
quarrel end than another began, and the 
Chinese wore prepared for every contingency, 
as far as craft and treachery could qualify 
them for new inflictions of injustice. The 



Chap. LXI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



129 



company's officers could not obtain tlie pay- 
ment of del)ts from the natives, nor the re- 
payment of advances. From such causes the 
English trade suffered up to 1784, when fresh 
disturbances inflicted still heavier injuries on 
commerce. A shot fired from an English 
ship accidentally killed a Chinaman. The 
officers of the viceroy demanded that the 
gunner should be given up. The English de- 
clared that the gunner had escaped; the viceroy 
demanded that some one else from the ship 
should be given up in his stead. The super- 
cargo of the ship proceeded to the authorities 
to explain the circumstances ; he was in- 
duced to go into the city, where he was de- 
tained until the gunner should be surrendered. 
All the European natives united, manned 
their boats, and presented an imposing force. 
The Chinese officials opened negotiations with 
other Europeans to detach them from the 
English, towards whom the officials seemed 
to bear a peculiar hatred, but this stratagem 
did not succeed. The Americans appeared 
in a prominent way, for the first time, on this 
occasion, acting with the Europeans through- 
out. After much parade of resolution, upon 
which the Chinese looked with a patient and 
quiet bearing, the English, as usual in their 
Chinese transactions, surrendered all they 
had with so much uproar contended for : the 
poor gunner whom they declared had ab- 
sconded, they were obliged to admit had been 
all the time on board ship, and they allowed 
the Chinese to bear liim away captive, for 
the trade was stopped. They " recommended 
the gunner to the protection of the Chinese 1 " 
The mandarins told them "not to be uneasy 
as to his fate !" The man was strangled, and 
the same day the agents of all the European 
nations at Canton were informed of the event, 
and that in case any Chinese subject fell by 
the hands of a European, no matter how, 
several lives from that nation would be ex- 
acted as a penalty. The emperor's disapproval 
of the falsehood to which the English had 
resorted to preserve their countryman, was 
also conveyed in haughty, menacing, and in- 
sulting terms. The conduct of the English 
throughout the transaction was calculated to 
lower their nation. After declaring that they 
would endure all perils rather than surrender 
the life of an innocent man, who could neither 
have foreseen nor controlled the accident, and 
after having declared that he had escaped, 
they delivered him up, begging mercy for 
him, when, as might be supposed, their prayer 
■was treated with mockery. The Chinese 
showed throughout a keen knowledge of the 
persons with whom they had to deal, and the 
surest mode of accomplishing their object. 
The "select committee" at Canton, in address- 



ing the court of directors in London, take 
marvellous credit to themselves for ordering 
up tiie boats, and the imposing martial appear- 
ance they made, to which they attributed 
the termination of the troublesome affair. 
The surrender of the unfortunate and guiltless 
gunner to be murdered, rather than stop the 
trade, really ended the matter. The follow- 
ing extract from the despatch of the select 
committee shows how determined the Chinese 
government were to have blood for blood, 
even when a subject of the empire was slain 
by accident, and the difficult position in which 
the English were placed, until at a much 
later period, treaties, with difficulty enforced, 
gave some assurance of security: — "From 
the circumstances that followed the seizure 
of the supercargo, the frequent mention of 
Mr. Pigou's name, the president, in the several 
conferences with the mandarins, and the ex- 
press stipulation that he should not leave 
Canton, and the concurrent testimony of every 
Chinese deserving of credit whom we have 
conversed with since the termination of the 
affair, there does not remain a doubt that the 
local officers' determined resolution in the 
beginning was to seize the person of the chief, 
if they found that of Mr. Smith ineffectual. 
As repeated experience shows the utter im- 
possibility of avoiding the inconveniences to 
which we are constantly subject from the im- 
prudence or wilful misconduct of private 
traders, and the accidents that may happen 
on board their ships, it were to be wished that 
the powers, if any, which we really possess 
over them, were clearly and explicitly defined, 
or if no law, or construction of law, now ex- 
isting allows of such powers, how far the 
absolute commands of the government under 
whose jurisdiction we are, will justify our 
compliance, and how far, in such a case, the 
commanders and officers of the honourable 
company's ships are bound to obey our orders; 
at present equally destitute of power to resist 
the unjust commands of government and to 
carry them into effect, we knovc of no alter- 
native but retiring to our ships for protection." 
Some time after these misfortunes, several 
English sailors were attacked on Dane's Island, 
and one man killed. The president of the 
English factory brought the matter under the 
notice of the authorities. The man was found 
and arrested, and a communication was made 
to the president that he was strangled, but 
no proof was ever afforded of the fact, al- 
though the English believed, or what was 
more likely pretended to believe, the repre- 
sentations made to them. At all events, their 
conciliatory bearing was rewarded by a 
vibit of the Isontock, who, fur the first time, 
on this occasion entered a European liouse. 



130 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXI. 



In 1787 tlie select committee received a 
despatcli from tlie court of directors rea;arding 
the fate of the gunner, and the conduct of 
the factors on that occasion. This despatch 
was 80 wise and just as to set on its pro])er 
basis the policy of the English agents. The 
following extracts point out principles of action 
and probabilities which were for a long time 
applicable to the relations of the agents at 
Canton, and the current of events there, and, 
indeed, until wars and treaties in the nine- 
teenth century modified and influenced them 
all : — " Experience had shown that the court 
of Pekin would use its power to carry into 
execution whatever it declares to be the law. 
Individual Chinese may be, and often are, 
afraid of Europeans, but the government was 
not so. Despotic in itself, ignorant of the 
power of foreign nations, very superior to 
the divided and small states that surround it, 
the Chinese esteem themselves not only the 
first nation in the world, but the moat power- 
ful. Such circumstances and such notions 
had naturally produced a high and imperious 
spirit in the government, but no fear." Ad- 
verting to the attempt at intimidation on the 
part of the factory, and the effect it might- 
have produced on the mandarins, it was re- 
marked, "if they had any apprehensions, it 
must have been of their own government, 
which absurdly supposes that if a mandarin 
is active and diligent in performing the duties 
of his office no disturbance can happen, and 
of course if any does, it must proceed from his 
negligence." This oppressive and unjust sys- 
tem of Chinese policy was supposed to have ope- 
rated on the occasion in question, for the Foo- 
youen was degraded soon after, and for some 
time not permitted to go to the court of Pekin. 

Tlie power of the company's agents at 
Canton to send away refractory persons of 
the English nation was defined and declared 
by an act of parliament, which tended to pre- 
vent embarrassments of a particular descrip- 
tion. The conduct of English seamen had 
long been a thorn in the side of the president. 
The tars of England were bold and unruly, 
and were prone to attack the sailors of other 
European nations, partly from national invi- 
diousnesB, and partly from a desire to try 
their strength with others, arising from the 
exuberance of their daring. The court of 
directors sent out regulations calculated to 
stop these practices. 

Towards the close of the eighteenth cen- 
tury the Chinese showed more jealousy of 
the English than of any other nation. This 
arose irom the victories of the English in 
Bengal, and from a conviction that as in India 
80 everywhere, when once they got a terri- 
torial footing they could not be expelled. 



The supercargoes and captains of ships 
were painstaking to avoid offence and were 
conciliatory ; but it was all in vain. The opi- 
nion held by the Chinese could not be removed, 
that while the English were low they would 
be submissive, provided they were per- 
mitted to a certain extent to trade, but that 
if allowed to grow strong, they vpould -drive 
all before them with a high hand. 

In the year 1702, Mr. Pitt and Mr. Dundas 
being then members of the English cabinet, 
set their minds upon an embassy to China, 
and arrangements were made with the direc- 
tors of the East India Company to send 
out Lord Macartney. The directors and the 
ministry differed as to the measure, but were 
agreed as to the man. The English were now 
the principal traders from Europe in the 
Chinese market, and the trade was deemed 
valuable, especially in silks and teas. It 
was supjiosed by the cabinet, that the address 
of Lord Macartney might remove the differ- 
ences which existed, or, at all events, ascertain 
the nature of the jealousy which the Chinese 
entertained of the English, and whether their 
exclusive conduct arose from a fixed policy, 
or one that was capricious and temporary. 
The East India Company knew the state of 
matters in these respects already, and had no' 
faith that any ambassador could mend it, but, 
as often before, they deemed it politic to fall 
in with the views of the government, however 
divergent from their own. 

The ambassador embarked at Portsmouth 
on the 2(ith September, 1792, on board the 
Lion, Sir Erasmus Gower, captain. Our space 
will not allow of a minute description; the 
author of an account of the British and Foreign 
embassies to, and intercourse with, that empire, 
sums up, in the following laconic style, the 
history of Lord Macartney's embassy, pub- 
lished in Loudon shortly after his return. 
" The wliole course of the embassy, from its 
arrival and disembarkation at the river Pe-ho; 
its progress towards Pekin ; the designation 
on the flags of the boats in which Lord Ma- 
cartney and his suite embarked, ' the ambas- 
sador bearing tribute from the King of 
England ;' the consent of his lordship to go 
through the ceremony before the Chinese 
throne, provided a Chinese did the same to 
the picture of the King of England ; the 
journey of his lordship and suite to Ge-hol, 
tlie country seat of the emperor, who was in 
his eighty -third year, and who rose each 
morning at three o'clock and i-etired at six in 
the afternoon ; the ceremony being waived 
by the reception of the ambassador on merely 
bending his knee ; the studied respect shown 
to the embassy and suite amidst the jealous 
and careful watchfulness of the Calao and 



Chap. LXI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAbT. 



131 



Legate ; the degradation of the latter because 
he had not gone on hoard tlio Lion on her 
arrival with tlie anihassador, as de.sired by the 
emperor, and being consequently obliged to 
wear an opaque white instead of a transparent 
blue button, and a crow's instead of a peacock's 
tail pendant from his cap ; together with the 
various entertainments given by the emperor, 
are so fully detailed in the account of the 
embassy published shortly after its reaching 
England, that it would be quite superfluous 
now to enter upon them. The embassy was 
about fifty days from the period of lauding 
at Pe-ho to that of its quitting Tien Sing on 
its return to Canton." 

The aim of the Chinese court was to trick 
and outwit his lordship. It had no intention 
of negotiating honestly or prosecuting trade 
on terms of mutual advantage, but was de- 
sirous of keeping open every point which 
would by its uncertainty leave to the stronger 
on the spot the power to determine the issue 
offhand. Lord Macartney thought otherwise, 
but he was deceived. The issue falsified the 
expectations of Pittand Dundas, and confirmed 
the prognostications of the directors of the 
East India Company. 

Most of the forms and ceremonies which 
were observed during the embassies of the 
Russians and Dutch, noticed on previous pages, 
were insisted upon with Lord ilacartney : 
after hundreds of years the court of Pekin 
was still the same. His lordship chiefly 
attributed the failure of his negotiations to 
the alarm created by the exploits of the 
English in Hindostan. 

His "celestial" majesty condescended to 
write to his English tributary, declaring that 
none of his requests could be granted ; that 
they were impracticable, and in fact improper. 
Having given a most explicit refusal in terms 
not insulting, except so far as they were 
haughty and assuming, " the emperor of the 
universe and the son of Heaven," thus ex- 
horted the King of England on the subject 
of the latter's petition : — " I again admonish 
you, O king, to act conformably to my inten- 
tions, that we may preserve peace and amity 
on each side, and thereby contribute to our 
reciprocal happiness. After this, my solemn 
warning, should yonr majesty, in pursuance 
of your ambassador's demands, fit out ships 
in order to attempt to trade either at Ning 
Po, Tehu San, Tien Sing, or other places, as 
our laws are exceedingly severe, in such case 
I shall he under the necessity of directing my 
mandarins to force your ships to quit these 
ports, and thus the increased trouble and 
exertions of your merchants would at once be 
frustrated. You will not then, however, be 
able to complain that I had not clearly fore- 



warned you. Let lis, therefore, live in peace 
and friendship, and do not make light of my 
words. For this reason I have so repeatedly 
and earnestly written to you upon this subject." 

On the ith September, 1794, Lord Ma- 
cartney arrived in safety with his ship. The 
wonderful perseverance of the English was 
not exhausted ; failure seemed only to sharpen 
their persistence. Presents were sent from 
England to the emperor, and his great officers, 
and every step in presenting them was marked 
with extraordinary deference to Chinese cus- 
tom and prejudice. Tliese presents consisted 
of such manufactures as it was supposed 
would be profitable to the English to sell, 
and pleasant to the Chinese to buy. The 
manufactures were accompanied by letters 
from his majesty and his ministers, as well 
as from Lord Macartney ; and all were as 
sanguine of success as if the Chinese had 
only just been heard of, and the writers of 
the epistles had never studied human nature 
in its oriental phases. 

The viceroy and the Hoppo at Canton 
pretended that the letters and presents must 
have been intended for their predecessors, 
and therefore it was improper to receive 
them ; but the despatches and gifts for 
the emperor were forwarded. Some slight 
relaxations at Canton followed, but they were 
of short duration. 

In 1800 an English ship-of-war fired into 
a Chinese boat at night, the crew of which, 
the captain had reason to believe, intended 
to cut his cable, as he had been re- 
peatedly robbed. A Chinese was wounded, 
another leaped into the river and was 
drowned. The new viceroy was somewhat 
partial to the English, but the usual de- 
mand was made for the person who fired 
to be delivered up to a Chinese tribunal. The 
traders at Canton fearing that nothing short 
of this would satisfy the authorities, without 
recommending the surrender, indicated its 
necessit}'. Captain Dillon bravely said that 
no sailor of his should be examined but in his 
presence, and with adequate guarantee for 
his safety ; but he would take upon himself 
the act done and its consequences, and it 
would then remain for the Emperor of China 
and the King of England to settle the dis- 
pute as one that pertained to themselves. 
This bold procedure at once preserved the 
sailor, who had merely performed his duty, 
the Chinese boat having refused to be warned 
off, and the honour of England was main- 
tained. The wounded Chinese recovered, 
and, under the pretence that the drowned 
man had been in fault himself in leaping 
overboard, the viceroy declared that he had no 
further demand to make on the gallant captain. 



182 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXII. 



Some English sailors, who had escaped 
from an American ship, on board of which 
they had been barbarously ill-used, were re- 
ceived at a place remote from Canton, most 
kindly treated, and sent to the factory. 
This circumstance led to mutual acts of 
politeness, and tended to soften the asperity 
of the intercourse. 



The century closed, leaving the English in 
possession of but few advantages in their 
trade with China which they had not when 
first they found any footing there. Fear of 
English arras began to prevail, and induced a 
constrained respect, but deepened the dislike 
of the Chinese people and officials to the 
English nation. 



CHAPTER LXII. 

THE BRITISH IN WESTERN INDIA DURING THE FIRST QUARTER OF THE EIGHTEENTH 

CENTURY. 



The eighteenth century was destined to be 
one of deep interest to India. Events of the 
greatest magnitude were determined by an 
all-wise Providence for its history. Eastern 
India became the chief theatre of the exploits 
which throw such a halo of romance over the 
history of the period. Western India, con- 
taining the oldest settlements of the company, 
demands, however, the first notice. The cen- 
tury opened at Surat upon scenes of strife 
and bitterness between the two companies, 
to which reference has been made in previous 
chapters, as darkening the character of Eng- 
lish commerce during the closing years of the 
century which had just passed away. Sir 
Nicholas Waite and Sir William Norress 
waged incessant warfare upon one another, 
being what might be called the plenipoten- 
tiaries of the two companies in India. Tiie 
amount of money consumed in bribing the 
Mogul and his great officers and chief re- 
ligious advisers was enormous ; and as this 
rivalry of corruption was intense, and the 
court was influenced by no views of what 
was just, but simply by venality, it was im- 
possible for his imperial majesty to administer 
speedy any more than "cheap justice." * To 
such an extent did the rivals carry their 
animosity, that the old company refused to 
allow deceased servants of the new to find a 
resting place in their graveyard at Surat, and 
but for the superior charity of the Armenians 
these deceased Englishmen must have re- 
mained unburied. 

The diary of the English Company's factory 
at Surat retains painful evidence of the broils 
and debauchery of their servants there at the 
beginning of the century. The author of 
2'he Englwh in Western India presents the 
following terrible picture : — " Possibly it will 
occur to the reader, as it has occured to the 
writer — that the dramatis personce in this 
* Bruce's AimaU, 1700—1702. 



chapter are all men of bad character ; that I 
only present offensive details which are re- 
lieved by no examples of goodness and 
honour. I can only say that I represent the 
matter faithfully as recorded by the beat 
authorities of the age. Vices were then 
trifles ; to be corrupt and to corrupt others 
was the fashion. I do not find a word of 
anything good in the local annals either 
written or printed." 

Scenes of violence and bloodshed were 
common among the highest officials, and their 
language was such as might be supposed 
common to the lowest blackguards, although 
in official documents there was much cant, 
and the assumption of spirituality. The most 
striking features of English character at 
Surat were at this time tyranny, and general 
contempt for law. Men were cast into prison 
at the caprice of the president, swords were 
drawn by members of council against one 
another on occasions that were trivial. Each 
official seemed to take pleasure in oppressing 
him who was just below him, and all treated 
such of the natives as were in their service as 
if they were brutes, rather than men and 
brothers. The author last quoted gives the 
following as a sample of the headstrong and 
brutal character of the English at the begin- 
ning of the century, showing that under the 
Stuarts, after the restoration, the English 
character had rapidly deteriorated, so that they 
could scarcely be regarded as men resem- 
bling their fathers of half a century before : — 
" Joim Wyatt had command of the guards for 
the day, and about eleven o'clock at night 
left the apartments of Mr. Demetrius and 
Mr. Wright for his own quarters. At this 
time he was much intoxicated, although quite 
sober and rational when brought before the 
council at five the next morning. After 
leaving his friends, when he came near his 
own door, the sentry challenged him, upoa 



Chap. LXIL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



133 



which the captain became extremely angry, 
drew his sword, and made a thrust at liim. 
The sentry fled, and one wlio was stationed 
at Woodford's door followed his example. 
Eoth made for the main guard, pressed hard 
by their persecutor. Just at that moment 
the sand of the hour-glass had run out, and 
the sepoy, in whose charge it was, called to 
another to strike the gong. This seemed to 
add fuel to Wyatt's rage ; he instantly or- 
dered the corporal of the guard to relieve and 
bring the sentry before him. He then com- 
menced to beat the poor fellow, asking him 
how he dared to have the gong struck with- 
out waiting for his orders. The other meekly 
replied that he was merely acting according 
to established rule, but for the future he 
would only act as the captain should think 
proper, and begged that he would cease beat- 
ing him. Wyatt then took the man by the 
arm, deliberately turned him round, and ran 
his sword through his side. The sepoy 
dro])ped down dead upon the spot. This 
savage madman added to the barbarity of his 
crime by kicking and otherwise abusing the 
corpse of his murdered victim. The deputy 
governor was immediately summoned from his 
bed, and had the murderer secured. The 
decision of the governor in council was, that 
Captain Wyatt should be deprived of his 
commission, confined in irons, and sent to 
England." This sample of English life at 
Surat is followed by another on the same 
pages, which will suffice to illustrate the 
utterly corrupt state of social existence in 
the factories: — "In Jlarch, 1701, we find 
John Hall, Provost Marshal, confined to the 
Fort of Dongari. There was once an inten- 
tion of giving him an ensigncy ; but he was 
then charged with being an infamous drunk- 
ard, and in other respects a bad character. 
When reqtiired to clear himself of these 
charges, he only cursed and swore at every 
one, from the highest to the lowest, express- 
ing a hope that the time might come when 
h3 would have his revenge. The govern- 
ment were obliged to put him in confinement 
at Dongari, although, as they significantly 
remarked, 'having too many "such as he is 
in that or one fort or other, and with sub- 
mission to your excellency in council, if they 
were all sent home, there would be a hap]>y 
riddance of them.' Hall was accordingly 
shipped off, but Sir John Gayer, the general, 
and his council, thought that "his masters had 
acted too precipitately." 

The dawn of the century in Bombay wit- 
nessed a succession of fearful calamities. 
Crime was the first and greatest of these, 
for Lumbay was even worse than Surat. A 
pestilence broke out, which carried away very 

VOL. II. 



many of the natives, and, at its termination, 
only seventy-six Europeans remained alive — 
a proportion of these exhausted by sickness. 
Scarcely had the pestilence spent itself, when 
a violent storm raged along the ilalabar coast, 
swept the island of Bombay of its produce, 
levelled property in the city, and, notwith- 
standing the shelter of the harbour, wrecked 
nearly all the ships there.* The poverty of 
the factories was such, that the agents had 
not sufficient food; indeed the whole island 
was on the brink of ruin. Sir John Gayer 
informed his masters that there was only one 
horse fit to be ridden, and only one pair of 
oxen which were able to draw a coach. 

While matters were in this state at the fac- 
tories, all India, but more especially western 
India, w'as in turmoil. Within five days' 
march of Bombay, Singhar was besieged by 
one of the many Mussulman powers into 
which the Mogul empire was breaking. The 
Mahrattas (Marathas) were rapidly growing 
in power, they were unquiet neighbours, levy- 
ing contributions on the country, and pre- 
venting, by their devastations and forays, the 
cultivation of indigo.f The Mahratta fleet 
infested the harbour, keeping the English in 
perpetual alarm. | 

Whenever a trouble happened to the 
English in India, they found the Portuguese 
Jesuits at the bottom of it. The intrigues of 
those unprincipled men were at this time ex- 
erted to cause attacks from the Mahrattas, 
and prevent the arrival of provisions at Bom- 
bay. Perceiving the low state of the English 
from the combined causes above-named, the 
Portuguese sought occasion for quarrel, and 
at last assembled a fleet in Bombay harbour. 
At this juncture, the Arabs, who" just then 
professed friendship for the English, arrived 
with a superior fleet, destroyed the Portu- 
guese ships, landed on the island of Salsette, 
and put to the sword not only the garrison, 
but women and children. Such of the Por- 
tuguese as escajied, were glad to find shelter 
and protection with the English. 

An ambassador from the King of Abvssinia 
to the general and president of Bombay, 
proposed the opening of commercial rela- 
tions. He was received as well as the unfor- 
tunate circumstances of the presidency at the 
time allowed, and was sent back with such 
presents as the general was able to bestow. 
The documents connected with this interest- 
ing episode in the history of Bombay are 
nearly all lost, but the following singular let- 
ter, from the president to the king, at once 
throws light upon the times, and remains as 

* Biucc, 1702-3. 
t Bruce's Jnnal-j. 
i Graut Dufl"s Sisior^ of the Mahrattas. 



134 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Ohap. LXII. 



a curiosity iu the sircliivea of literature and 
politics : — 

John Gayer, general for affaires of the Right Ilonour- 
ahle East India Company in India, residing at Bom- 
hay, sendeth greetiuy to his most excellent Majesty 
Thoran, King of Jbissine, and icorshijiper of Jesus, 
the Son of Mary, according to the laws of the Blessed 
Messias. 

Your Majesty's royal letters and present of seveu 
horses, twenty slaves, and three horns of civit I was lio- 
nonred with in behalf of the Right Honourable East India 
Company, by your noble embassador, Diimontre, whome 
received with all possible demonstration of honour, love, 
and aft'ection, and have continued the same to him all the 
time of his abode in these parts, and now have taken care 
to transport him back to your territories with the Presi- 
dent of the Right Honourable East India Company to 
your most sacred majesty, an account of which comes 
with this. That your most excellent majesty will gra- 
ciously be pleased to accept thereof, and to lay your royal 
commands on me for the future, as in your most serenely 
and princely wisdome shall seem meet, is most humbly 
desired.* 

Tlie negotiationa in England for the union 
of the two companies (noticed in a previous 
chapter), did not promote concord among 
their servants in India. Sir John Childs, in 
the former century, had brought the company 
he served to the verge of bankruptcy, by his- 
ill-judged aggressive policy ; and the agents 
of the English Company, which was solvent,' 
objected to a junction with the London Com- 
pany, which was in a state of all but declared 
insolvency. The agents of the London Com- 
pany could not be brought to regard their 
rivals as other than interlopers. It required 
years of discreet interposition by the directors 
of the united company to cancel the malignant 
jealousies which raged between these two 
classes of agents in India. 

The miseries to which the servants of the 
old company were subjected at Surat were 
great, in consequence of the offence taken by 
the Mogul because of the plunder of native 
merchant ships by rovers. Indeed the fac- 
tors of all nations then having factories at 
Surat suffered more or less on this account, 
but the English company's agents continued 
to gain favour with the viceroy, and escaped 
these trials. The Rev. Mr. Anderson, quot- 
ing the diary of the London Company's fac- 
tory at Surat from the 30th August to 11th 
October, 1704, thus depicts the condition of 
the Europeans at Surat at that unhappy junc- 
ture : — " The servants of the old company 
who were confined within the walls of their 
factory were the Right Hon'ble Sir John 
Gayer, general, the Hon'ble Stephen Colt. 
president, the worshipful Ephraim Bendell, 
Bernard Wyche, the accountant, and Purser 
Marine, the chaplain, four senior and five 

■,-!,-^'"'y "/ '''* London Comnany's Factory at Sural, 
1701-1704. 



junior factors, six writers and one surgeon. 
Instead of being encouraged to hope for a 
speedy release, these unfortunate persons 
were almost reduced to despair by hearing 
that some Eurojieans had committed fresh 
acts of piracy. Two piratical vessels had 
sighted five vessels belonging to Mussulmans, 
and immediately given them chase. Under 
cover of the night two of these merchant men 
proceeded on their voyage without molesta- 
tion, a third had been compelled to alter her 
course, a fourth had been driven ashore at 
Swally, and the fifth captured. Great sensa- 
tion was caused at Surat when these facts 
were known, and the governor asserted that 
the pirates came from Bombay. Alarmed at 
his threats the factors prepared to defend 
themselves within their walls. In anticipa- 
tion that their usual supplies of provisions 
would be withheld, they had ordered a stock 
to be laid in, but sufficient time was not 
allowed them, and they were soon reduced to 
extremities. An ox, which they used for 
drawing water, was with great difficulty kept 
alive by feeding it with the straw in which 
wine had been packed, and at last was killed 
for food. Meanwhile the infuriated governor 
had seized the brokers of both the Dutch and 
London companies, hung them up by their 
heels, and flogged them until he extorted 
from them a promise to indemnify the losses 
of the native merchants with a payment of 
seven lacs of rupees. He then resolved to 
lay hold of the factors, and that he might 
starve them out the sooner, drove into their 
factory three English strangers whom he had 
apprehended, and who he trusted would help 
to consume their provisions. Nor did he 
spare threats, but vowed that he would have 
them alive or dead. They in reply declared 
they would never give themselves up, and 
would rather die than suffer again such misery 
as had been inflicted on them in their former 
confinement. At last, after twelve days, the 
governor moderated his fury, and consented 
to allow them a small supply of provisions. 
As an aggravation of their sufferings they 
not only knew that their rivals, Waite and 
his friends, were at liberty, but could see that 
they had hoisted the union jack as if to flout 
at their misery. The perseverance which 
they manifested when their circumstances 
were almost desperate, was highly honourable 
to them, and their fortitude was a credit to 
the English name." 

At the end of the year 1705, a Mogul army 
approached within three days' march of the 
coast opposite Bombay. There were not then 
more than forty English soldiers to defend it, 
and the condition of the place was, if possible, 
more wretched than it had been a few years 



Chap. LXIL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



13£ 



earlier. Its story, up to the end of 1707, 
offers little diversity in this respect. 

About tliis period, a person afterwards 
notable as father of the historian of India in 
the eighteenth century, Mr. Ormo, arrived in 
India. It appears from the memoir of his 
sou, attached to the Historical Fragments, 
that the elder Orme went out in 170G as an 
adventurer, and was employed as a surgeon 
at Ajengo. He afterwards became chief of 
Ajengo : his second son, the great historian 
of a certain portion of Indian history, was 
born there. 

However culpable the conduct of the agents 
and factors at Surat, native oppression was 
such as might have " driven wise men mad." 
Every annoyance that ignorance, insolence, 
and arrogance could offer was put upon the 
English. So much did they live in daily 
alarm for life and honour, tliat at the time 
the Emperor Aurungzebe died. Sir George 
Gayer, when he heard of it, dared not pro- 
mulgate it, but communicated it in an allegory 
to the directors in London. Anderson, con- 
densing the accounts in Bruce and Elphin- 
stone, thus recounts the matter : — " He 
represented on the first of March, 1707, 
' that the sun of this hemisphere had set, and 
that the star of the second magnitude, being 
under his meridian, had taken his place ; but 
that it was feared tlie star of the first magni- 
tude, though under a remoter meridian, would 
struggle to exalt itself— in other words, that 
the emperor had died, that Prince Azim, his 
second son, had assumed the imperial title, 
and marched towards Delhi, and that Prince 
Alam or Moazim, the eldest son, was march- 
ing to dispute the throne with him. This 
actually occurred, and a great battle was 
fonght near Agra in June, in which Prince 
Azim was killed. Moazim then became 
Emperor, with the title of Bahador Shah." 

While the Mogul interest pressed heavily 
upon the English, the Mahrattas were scarcely 
less alarming in their menaces. Sevajee, [the 
great chief, was dead; but so many daring 
adventurers rose up, pirates by sea or rob- 
bers by land, who called themselves Sevajee, 
that the name and functions of the man who 
combined so strangely the offices of prince, 
general, and bandit, were perpetuated. Pe- 
peatedly, from 1703 to 1708, one Sevajee or 
another invested Surat, fired its suburbs, and 
compelled the Europeans to take extraordinary 
measures for defence. The Mahrattas hired 
Arab rovers, who attacked English ships, 
but were nearly always beaten by a fifth of 
their force. Pegu, with its teak forests, 
so admirably adapted for ship-building, ^vas 
the chief place where these expeditions were 
fitted out, the king of that country favouring 



the pirates. From the situation of Pegu, the 
Arabs were enabled to cruise at once into the 
Bay of Bengal and through the straits into 
the Archipelago, so that their ravages ranged 
from tlie Arabian Gulf to Japan. By sea and 
land the English and other Europeans were 
harassed by robbers. The Dutch alone suc- 
cessfully combatted these great difficulties. 
They blockaded Swally, captured the Mogul's 
ships, and compelled him to redress their 
grievances. 

Among the sea robbers whose acts were 
most infamous were various English, and one 
Hamilton (who afterwards lived in Scotland) 
perpetrated so many terrible outrages, that his 
ambition appeared to be to reach the utter- 
most verge of crime and cruelty. 

A proclamation was sent from England, 
offering pardon to all pirates who surrendered 
and made confession, and rewards to all pirate 
crews who would deliver up their ships and 
commanders. Commodore Settleter arrived 
with this proclamation. It was soon proved 
that many who were supposed to be Arab 
cruisers were English, for this measure nearly 
put down piracy. 

There can be no doubt that a general 
impression unfavourable to 'the honour and 
honesty of all Europeans had sprung up in 
the native mind, and the conduct of the 
strangers justified it. A moral influence of 
the most unfavourable nature was exercised 
by all the European nations upon the natives. 
Bruce, in his Annals, quotes a strange letter 
to this effect from President Pitt, who was 
grandfather of the great Earl of Chatham : — 
'■ When the Europeans first settled in India, 
they were mightily admired by the natives, 
believing they were as innocent as themselves ; 
but since, by their exam])lc, they are grown 
very crafty and cautious, and no people bet- 
ter understand their own interest ; so that it 
was easier to effect that in one year which 
you shan't do now in a century ; and the more 
obliging your management, the more jealoug 
they are of you." Like his great descendants, 
President Pitt was a man of extraordinary 
force of character, and a keen discriminator of 
men and things, but he took up a prejudice in 
favour of " native innocence" common in 
his day, the races inhabiting India having the 
address to conceal their motives, feelings, and 
opinions probably better than any other peoj^le 
in the world. The experience of the Enghsh, 
after a hundred years' knowledge of them, 
was not calculated to confirm an opinion of 
their simplicity or ingenuousness. 

The sufferings of the British from native 
misrule at the close of the first decade of the 
century, led to a deep impression that unless 
the native powers were made to fear Euro- 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXII. 



peans more, justice, or even exemption from 
greedy exaction and rigorous oppression, was 
not to be lioped for. The Rev. BIr. Anderson 
thus describes the injuries endured by the 
English at this period, and no writer lias ever 
written more impartially of his countrymen, 
neither extenuating their errors nor unduly 
lauding their virtues : — " There was no power 
sufficient to protect the merchant either by 
land or sea. If he wished to convey his 
goods from Surat to Agra, he could only hope 
to defend them against plunderers by mus- 
tering a strong party, and setting regular 
guards at each camping place, as though he 
i\-ere in an enemy's country. Even then he 
might be overpowered by the free lances of 
Hindostan. Still more dangerous were the 
paths of the ocean. There he must entirely 
depend upon his own resources, for it 
would be vain to seek protection from the 
law. Nay, the proud emperor appealed to 
the desjiised strangers that his shipping might 
bo protected, and they wore expected not 
only to defend themselves, but also the mari- 
ners and traders of a vast empire. Yet he 
and his subjects, helpless haughty barbarians, 
affected to despise the English, wronged thenl 
incessantly, imprisoned their chiefs, insulted 
their envoys, fleeced their merchants, and 
drove them to turn upon their oppressors in 
despair. Thus the evils of native rule com- 
pelled English merchants to protect their 
M-arohouses with battlements, and all the mu- 
niments of war. Then, as they still suffered 
injuries, the facility with which they managed 
to defend themselves suggested defensive ope- 
rations, and led to territorial aggrandizement. 
Politicians think, or rather say, that because 
it is an age of commerce it cannot be an age of 
conquest. But the fact is, the necessities of 
commerce throw open the door to conquest, and 
the defenceof their trade first suggested to the 
English a policy which ended in the subju- 
gation of India. Short as this history is up 
to this point, it yet seems a labyrinth of 
human follies and errors. Religion, however, 
which is the only solid basis of all knowledge, 
enables us to trace through it all a mysterious 
clue of divine providence and divine direc- 
tion. European vices and native vices bear 
an overwhelming proportion on the record, 
and the catalogue is relieved by few items of 
virtue. But as two negations make an affir- 
mative, so the vices of European and natives 
have produced a positive good. The thirst for 
riches, the unscrupulous efforts of ambition, 
t!ie reckless violence which often struck Hindoos 
with terror — all these were the disgrace of 
the English, but yet they hurried them on to 
empire. The perfidy, the cunning which 
overreached itself, the cowardice, the exclu- 



sive bigotry, which disgraced the natives, 
smoothed the way to their subjection ; and 
surely these two results are being directed 
by the Universal Benefactor to good. We 
know of no other way in which India could 
have been regenerated. Had the English 
in India been a set of peaceful saintly emi- 
grants, what impression would they have made 
upon the country ? Had the natives placed 
confidence in each other, and been united under 
a common faith, how could they have given 
way to the encroachments of a few foreigners?" 
ftlncn, that would otherwise be unaccount- 
able in the condition of the English in India 
during the early part of the eighteenth cen- 
tury, becomes explicable by a knowledge of 
the apathy which prevailed in England in 
reference to India and Englishmen there. 
The merchants discussed keenly the profits 
and prospects of trade in the East, but the 
statesmen, professional men, litterateurs, men 
about town, the middle classes, &c., took no 
notice of "it, and hardly knew what their fellow- 
citizens in the East either achieved or suffered. 
The accounts sent home to the directors were 
kept to themselves, or to some extent made 
known in open court, and the people at large 
knew and cared nothing about India. English 
authors in either the seventeenth or early 
part of the eighteenth century, seldom refer 
to India, still less to their countrymen within 
its precincts. Butler and Dryden do refer to 
Gujerat — barely refer to it : Evelyn, Pepys, 
and a few other?, were accustomed to go into 
the city to ascertain the quotations of India 
stock. From 1708 to 1740, India iii hardly 
named by any author whose works have 
come down to us. Indeed, there is a singular 
deficiency as to the authorities for this portion 
of Indian history. Few have written at all 
concerning it; existing documents are meagre ; 
no period of the history of India, as to British 
interests and transactions, is so barren of 
recorded incident. The documents that are 
extant chiefly relate to western India. 

At the close of 1708, the company, under 
the stringent necessity of economy, had with- 
drawn their factories from the following places 
on the western coast of India; namely, from 
Cutch, Brodera, Raibagh, Rajapore, Batticolo, 
Onore, Barselore, JMangalore, Dhurniapatam, 
Cananore,Paniani, Cranganore, Cochin, Porca, 
Carnopoly, and Quilon, — all of them small 
establishments, in which probably the only 
European residents were a factor, and a writer, 
who served him as assistant. But they re- 
tained their principal fort on the island of 
Bombay, besides smaller forts at Jlazagou, 
Jlaliim, Sion, Sewree and Worlee ; forts and 
factories also at Carwar, Telliclicrry, Ajengo, 
and Calicut; and factories at Surat, Swally, 



CuAr. LXII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



137 



Broach, Aliraeilabad, to which was afterwards 
added a residency at Cambay.* 

Tlie operations of the Ostend Company 
not only gave uneasiness to the East India 
Cooipany in London during the next dozen 
years, but the arrival of their ships in India 
created quite a sensation ; and no manner of 
falsehood, fraud, and violence was left untried 
by English, Dutch, Portuguese and French, 
to prevent them from trading. In another 
chapter, the formation and history of this 
company was sketched : it is here pertinent 
only to say tliat its attention was less directed 
to western India than to other Asiatic fields 
of commerce. 

The correspondence of this early portion of 
the century discloses a number of singular 
terms and phrases now unknown, but then be- 
longing to the vocabulary of Indian trade, such 
as " iirauels, chelloes, dutties, geinea stuff's, 
perpetts, scarlet drabs, lungees, tapseils, 
meeanees, &c." Calico, indigo, rice, sword- 
blades, hardware, muskets, saltpetre, powder, 
are words continually occurring ; the names 
of spices much less frequently than formerly, 
but tea was written oftener as the century 
waxed older. 

In 1715 the population of Bombay Island 
was sixteen thousand. f It is remarkable that 
at that date a great change had taken place in 
the sanitary influences of the locality, so that 
Mr. Cobb considered an Englishman might 
live with nearly as good health there as any- 
where, if he adapted himself to the climate. 
The year 171C> was signalized by the inha^ 
bitants generally, but more especially the 
merchants, voluntarily consenting to increased 
taxation, in order to put Bombay in a better 
state of defence. A few years ago, an in- 
scription was removed from the Apollo gate- 
way, which conveyed the information that the 
town wall was completed that year, Charles 
Boone being governor. This man was an 
accomplished scholar and a good man.| 

The year 1718 saw another important 
change at Bombay. The company resigned 
tlieir i'eudal claims upon the landowners, on 
condition that a tax should be imposed upon 
all who resided witLin the town wall.H Erom 
1712 to 1720 a taste for antic^uities prevailed, 
and efforts were made by various learned 
and industrious persons to examine and de- 
scribe the caves of Elephanta, so deeply in- 
teresting to the antiquary. These efforts 

* MacphersoQ's Ilislory of Commerce. Milbura'a 
Oriental Commerce. 

t Rev. Uichard Cobb's Account of Bombay. 

\ A New Account of the East Indies^ being observa- 
tions and remarks of Captain Alexander Hamilton, who 
spent his time there, from 1088 to 1723. Edinburgh, 
1727. 

II Transactions of the Bombay Geoyrajphical Society. 



have been pithily summed up by an able 
reviewer, in the following brief account : — " A 
taste for Indian antiquities was now exhibited 
for the first time, and we note the observa- 
tions of two gentlemen at Elephanta, as they 
show the gradual daw^n of knowledge, and 
preserve the memory of some monuments 
which time and the ruthless hands of barba- 
rians have since destroyed. Captain Pyke, 
who then commanded an East Indiaman, and 
was afterwards governor of >St. Helena, went 
in 1712 to explore the caves — an enterprise 
attended both with difficulty and danger ; 
for intelligent guides were not easily found, 
and the cruisers of Kanhojoe Angria were 
constantly on the look out, ready to pounce 
upon and kidnap any Europeans who might 
come within their reach. As Pyke and his 
party approached the island, they took for a 
landmark the figure of an elephant sculptured 
in stone, with a small elephant upon its back, 
the greater part of which has now disappeared; 
and a little further on was another statue, 
called ' Alexander's Horse,' of which there 
are now no traces. The explorers specu- 
lated on the origin of the subterranean temple, 
which has since exercised so much the fancy 
of imaginative and the judgment of learned 
persons, and deciding against the claims of 
Alexander the Great, leaned to the conclu- 
sion of Linschoten, who, in his Voyages to 
India, pronounced them to be the work of 
Chinese merchants. The smaller caves they 
found to be used by the Portuguese for cow- 
houses, and an aristocratic Vandal of that 
race had been amusing himself by firing a 
cannon in them and destroying the images. 
Captain Pyke made faithfid sketches of the 
various figures, which were afterwards en- 
graved and published by the Society of Anti- 
quaries. George Bowcher, formerly a ser- 
vant of the old, then of the new company, 
and afterwards residing for many years as a 
free merchant at Surat, devoted his attention 
to the literary monuments of the Parsees, and 
in 1718 procured from them the Vendidad 
Sade, which in 1723 was sent to Europe, 
where it remained for long as an enigma, 
oriental scholars not being able even to deci- 
pher its characters. Governor Boone also 
had drawings made of the figures in the caves 
of Elephanta, and a descriptive account 
written. He was clearly a man of elegant 
and refined mind, who loved classical and 
antiquarian studies ; and a Latin inscription 
placed by him over the Apollo Gate of the 
fort, as well as one on a bell which he pre- 
sented to the new church, exhibit him as 
tinged with some knowledge of lloman and 
media;val antiquities." 

The erection of a church in Bombay, which 



138 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXII. 



afterwards became the cathedral, was one of 
llie improvements of the early part of the 
eighteenth centurj'. At that time, the En- 
glish much neglected their ministers, and they 
nlone of all Europeans who settled in India 
built no churches. Some writers complain tliat 
when the great men of the English factories 
gave banquets, the Roman Catholic priest 
always had the place of honour at table con- 
ferred upon him, and the clergyman of the 
Dutch church the next, but the English cler- 
gyman occupied a low place, their inferiority 
in the esteem of their host being thus strongly 
marked, and as tamely acquiesced in by the 
objects of this disrespect. The church was 
completed in 1718, the steeple at a subse- 
quent period. The consecration was very 
imposing; "Ramajee" and all his caste, 
with a crowd of natives, being spectators, 
who, with the courtesy characteristic of 
them, stood the whole time. The governor, 
council, and ladies retired after service to the 
vestry, and " drank success to the new church 
in a glass of sack." The day was one of 
great rejoicing. The conduct of the chaplain 
throughout these proceedings was full of zeal, 
and marked by wisdom, goodness, and pru- 
dence. That the fabric might be maintained, 
a "new custom's duty was levied upon im- 
ported merchandise." Mr. Cobb, the chaplain, 
was not satisfied with building a church, he 
spared neither rich nor powerful in his ser- 
mons, but with a stern fidelity insisted upon 
all, even to the governor and council, con- 
forming to the requirements of Christianity. 
On one occasion, he refused the communion 
of the Lord's Supper, to a member of the 
council, notoriously a violator of the deca- 
logue, and for this, and for his public rebukes 
of the sins of the high officials, which was 
called "political preaching," he was suspended 
by the governor and council. Eifty-two 
years after the ungrateful and cruel treat- 
ment he received, ho published his book upon 
Bombay. Soon after the church was com- 
pleted, a joint-stock bank was established, 
but its history, so far as can be gathered, was 
nearly identical with those which of late 
years have carried so much destruction and 
sorrow through English society. The chief 
direction was in the hands of the council, 
but that circumstance did not afford safety. 
Sums were lent without security, and were 
never repaid, and business was conducted on 
unsound principles. The want of success in 
establishing a suitable bank was a great evil, 
as it was much required, and would have 
met with the support of the wealthy natives. 
The administration of justice was truly 
horrible : the natives exposed themselves to 
punisliment by their treachery and treason, 



for some of the wealthiest among them were 
constantly in correspondence with the enemies 
of the English, instigated partly by love of 
gain, partly by sympathy with any native 
jinrty, however bad, when opposed to the 
foreigners, often by religious bigotry, and 
not unfrequently from a settled antipathy 
to English laws, and their administration. 
Conspiracies among the natives to ruin one 
another by legal processes wore tempted by 
the condition of English law, and its uncertain 
action, and this temptation was- largely 
yielded to. The English government on 
some occasions resorted to torture, to extort 
confession from alleged criminals. Witch- 
craft was believed by the highest function- 
aries, and laws administered founded on the 
belief. Sometimes when natives were ac- 
cused, and condemned on false evidence, and 
their innocence was subsequently demon- 
strated, they were pardoned, and received 
some slight pension in lieu of their confiscated 
property. The government of the English 
in Bombay during the first lialf of the 
eighteenth century was as essentially unjust 
as the character of those entrusted with it 
was demoralised. The punishments for witch- 
craft were flogging (thi« was inflicted on 
women) at the church door, and 2^^nance in 
church. 

The civil administration of the military 
department was the worst possible. Robbery 
in every form was perpetrated upon the 
soldiery by purveyors and others, almost 
with impunity. The exposures at home, in 
this latter half of the nineteenth century, of 
the wrongs perpetrated upon the British 
soldier, are horrible and surprising, but fall 
far short of those endured, without redress, 
by the men serving at Bombay, natives and 
British. The contempt entertained for the 
natives was often displayed in a manner 
transparent and absurd, the governor and 
council often exposing themselves, by their 
mean tricks and low artifices, to the contempt 
of the natives in return. The following 
entry appears in the diary of the proceedings 
of the council of Bombay, May 22ud, 1724 : — 
" There being four horses in the stables, 
altogether unserviceable, and if offered for 
sale not likely to fetch anything, the president 
proposes presenting them to four of the most 
considerable Banian merchants on the island, 
which may be courteously taken ; and to 
render them the more acceptable, offers the 
dressing of them with a yard and a half of 
red cloth ; which the board agreeing to, the 
warehouse-keeper is hereby directed to issue 
out six yards for that purpose, to be presented 
on his majesty's birthday, the 28th instant." 
The native merchants and capitalists of 



CiiAP. LXIL] 



IX INDIA AND THE EAST. 



139 



Bomb.!}' know a good horse as well as " their 
masters," and must have been amused at the 
trick, while they despised the meanness of 
those who resorted to it. 

As the century advanced, the dangers to 
which the English in Western India were 
exposed thickened. The breaking up of the 
Mogul empire brought novel perils to them, 
for when they had nothing to apprehend 
from that fading power, new authorities 
started into existence everywhere, and each 
was a danger to the Europeans. In 1720 the 
chief and council of Surat wTote home a 
graphic description of the disjecta membra of 
the old Mogul empire, and the especial alarm 
which each of these occasioned to the English 
interests. Several of the usurping authorities 
had fleets, which they chiefly used for pur- 
poses of piracy. 

Kanhojee Angrla, a Mahratta (Maratha) 
chief aspiring to royalty, was the principal 
sea pirate amongst the native competitors for 
dominion. He fixed his head-quarters in a 
strong fortress of the province of Bejapore, 
which was called both Gheria and Viziadroog. 
This place was built upon a rocky site, on a 
promontory of the Concan, about eighty -two 
miles north of Goa. The whole coast, nearly 
from Goa to Bombay, was under the control 
of this piratical chief, and in every bay and 
creek he had vessels or a fortress. In 1717 
the rovers of this sea king captured the 
English ship Success. The company declared 
war, in retaliation for this oiitrage, hoping 
soon to reduce the robber chief to the neces- 
sity of seeking terms. His resources were, 
however, underrated by the English, and for 
more than thirty-seven years the war con- 
tinued. This may be readily believed from 
the mode of warfare adopted by Angria. His 
fleet was composed of grabs and gallivats, 
varying from 150 to 200 tons burthen. The 
grabs carried broadsides of six and nine 
pounder guns, and on their main decks were 
mounted two nine or twelve pounders, pointed 
forwards through port-holes cut in the bulk- 
heads, and designed to be fired over the 
bows. The gallivats carried light guns fixed 
on swivels ; some also mounted six or eight 
pieces of cannon, from two to four pounders, 
and all were impelled by forty or fifty stout 
oars. Eight or ten of these grabs and forty 
or fifty gallivats, crowded with men, formed 
the whole fleet, and with smaller numbers 
their officers often ventured to attack armed 
ships of considerable burthen. The ])lan of 
their assault was this : — -Observing from their 
anchorage in some secure bay that a vessel 
was in tiie offing, they would slip their cables 
and put out to sea, sailing swiftly if there 
were a breeze, but if not, making the gallivats 



take the grabs in tow. When within shot, 
they generally assembled as soon as they 
could astern of their victim, firing into her 
rigging until they had succeeded in disabling 
her. They would then approach nearer and 
batter her on all sides until she struck ; or, if 
she still defended herself resolutely, a number 
of gallivats, having two or three hundred 
men on each, would close with her, and the 
crews, sword in hand, board her from all 
quarters.* In 1719 an attempt was made 
to surprise Cavery, a fortified place in 
possession of this pirate king. The garrison 
was appi'ised of the intention, and the plan 
was defeated. One Eanea Kamattee, a native 
of rank in Bombay, was tried and convicted 
for the offence ; but as the evidence against 
him was extorted by torture, the governor 
himself having in private applied the thumb- 
screw, little credit was given to the judgment, 
wliich was ultimately reversed, facts having 
come to light which brought home the 
treachery to certain Portuguese in the English 
service, who, to screen themselves, forged 
documents to convict the unfortunate Ka- 
mattee, who, no doubt, wished well to the 
cause of any native power opposed to the 
English, although innocent of the particular 
act of treason for which his property was 
confiscated and his person imprisoned. 

In 1720 four of the piratical grabs and ten 
gallivats captured the English ship Charloite, 
and brought her a prize into Gheria. The 
English at length determined to attack 
Gheria itself: a fleet, with strong detach- 
ments of troops on board, the whole under 
the command of one Walter Brown, was 
dispatched against the stronghold of the 
enemy. At the outset, Mr. Brown en- 
countered an imlooked for difficult}'. The 
natives were unwilling to supply provisions 
for the fleet, and raised an outcry, because 
some cattle were slaughtered to provide tlie 
ships with beef • their belief in metempsychosis 
being outraged by such an act. 

Walter Brown at last set sail, and reached, 
unopposed, the entrance of the river upon 
which Gheria was situated, where he landed 
his soldiers, an operation which the enemy 
appears to have permitted without attack ; 
but no sooner were they disembarked and 
prepared to march, than they were assailed; 
but their assailants were defeated. The 
enemy, however, hovered around the small 
party of British, resisting their progress step 
by step, but always without success. On 
one occasion, a platoon of Angria's soldiers 
gallantly held the ground until within " range 
of partridge shot," as tlie records of the event 
express it, when a discharge of that missile 
* Orme's Hislori/ of Ilindosian, book v. 



140 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXII. 



killed half their niimber : several of the English 
were at the same time killed by the bursting 
of a gun. The enemy still retired, until they 
obtained the shelter of their fort. 

While the troops were thus engaged the 
fleet was also actively employed, sixteen of 
the piratical craft were destroyed, and the 
fort cannonaded, but the ships' guns made no 
impression upon its strength. Finding that 
the fortifications were impregnable, j\Ir. Brown 
drew off his ships and re-embarked his troops. 

The English were struck by the skill and 
bravery of the enemy, and the latter were no 
less impressed by the dash and strength of 
their adversaries. Certain Portuguese auxili- 
aries to the British behaved badly in this 
affair, and were taunted for their cowardice 
by letters from Angria himself. The Go- 
vernor of Bombay made celebration of the 
victory on the return of the expedition, and 
Angria wrote to him jeeringly for rejoicing 
over the flight of his forces, for he (Angria) 
still remained ready to defeat again English 
or Portuguese, or both combined. 

It appears, from the obscure records of 
this period, that the Dutch had made an 
attack previous to that of the English, and, 
with results in all respects similar. 

Angria proposed terms of peace to Governor- 
Phipps, of Bombay, soon after these events, 
but the governor refused to treat until the 
European prisoners held by the Mahratta 
were given up. The correspondence between 
the governor and Angria is singularly in- 
teresting, and as, on the whole, the rude 
Mahratta had had the advantage in war, so 
had he also in argument, and especially in 
that description of reply which insinuates the 
tu quoque. The editor of the Bomhay 
Quarterly has ingeniously, and also ingenu- 
ously, compared the productions of these 
eminent correspondents, and given its gist in 
the following comment : — " We can now smile 
at the wise saws and edifying proverbs with 
which his (Angria's) epistles are garnished ; 
but at that time they must have been gall 
and wormwood to his correspondents. He 
condescended to make proposals of peace, 
but Governor Phi|)ps, in reply, refused to treat 
until his European prisoners were released. 
Angria then sent the following rejoinder : — 
Recapitulating with the utmost exactness the 
subjects contained in the letter which he had 
received, he observes how his excellency re- 
minds him that he (Angria) is solely respon- 
sible for their disputes; that the desire of 
possessing what is another's is a thing very 
wide of reason ; that such insults are a sort of 
piracy ; that if he had only cultivated trade, 
his port might have vied with the great port 
of Surat ; that those who are least expert in 



war suffer by it; that he who follows it 
merely from love for it will find cause to 
repent ; and, lastly, his excellency refuses to 
treat for peace until all prisoners are restored. 
All these matters are then passed under re- 
view by Kanhojee, who meets his corre- 
spondent's arguments with subtlety and skill 
in repartee. He delicately hints that the 
English merchants have also a desire of 'pos- 
sessing what is another's, and are not exempt 
from ' this sort of ambition, for this is the 
way of the world.' It was incorrect to say 
that his government was supported by piracy; 
it had been established by the Maharaja 
Sevajee, after he had conquered four king- 
doms. If his port were not equal to Surat, it 
was not for want of indulgence shown to 
merchants. As for their appeal to the sword, 
there had been losses on both sides, and it 
was true that such as love war will find cause 
to repent, ' of which,' he slyly insinuates, ' I 
suppose your excellency hath found proof; 
for we are not always victorious, nor always 
fortunate.' He concludes by an assurance 
that he will agree to an exchange of jsrisoners; 
that if the governor really desire peace, he is 
quite ready to meet him half way ; and adds, 
'as your excellency is a man of understand- 
ing, I need say no more.' " * 

In 1722 the English sent an expedition 
against " Angria Colaba." This was com- 
manded by Commodore Matthews, and con- 
sisted of three ships ; the troops being chiefly 
Portuguese. This enterprise failed utterly, 
the Portuguese being once more unfaithful. 

The Dutch, with a far superior fleet to any 
yet sent against the Mahrattas, were defeated 
in attempts to bombard and storm the fortifi- 
cations of Gheria, in 1724. The repulse of 
the Batavians was destructive and signaL 
Angria was a man of a high order of courage, 
great naval and military skill, so far as mili- 
tary and naval science were then understood, 
and of an original genius. 

The English suffered very much from other 
pirates even while engaged in fierce struggle 
with Angria. The Sauganians had troubled 
the merchants from the beginning of the cen- 
tury, and continued to do so, more or less, 
until the first forty years of it had passed. 
They were particularly active while the Euro- 
peans were concentrating their attention in a 
warlike way against Angria. One of the 
fiercest battles which took place was between 
the English merchant ship Morning Star and 
a fleet of five ships manned with two thousand 
men. According to the English account,* 
there were only seventeen fighting men on 

* A Chapter in the History of Bombay 
t Consultation Book of the Bombay Government, 
eth Sept. 1720. 



Chap. LXIL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



141 



board tlie Morning Star. There were, how- 
ever, a considerable number of other men, as 
she was a large ship. Twentj^-six native 
merchants and one native seaman went on 
board the enemy's fleet, according to the 
accounts — which are given with some plausi- 
bility — for the purposeof dissuading the pirates 
from their purpose* It might be supposed 
that one or two of these natives to each ship 
of the enemy would have been sufficient for 
negotiatory purposes, and that the rest had 
proved themselves more loyal in standing by 
the guns of the Morning Star. After a series 
of attacks upon the British ship, during which 
she was twice boarded, and three times set 
on fire, her captain and crew all wounded, 
several mortally, the Star, by the good sea- 
manship with which she was worked, con- 
trived to leave the enemy's fleet entangled 
with one another in such confusion, during 
the last effort to board her, that she was 
enabled to escape to Bombay. The native 
merchants were ransomed, and the commander 
of the piratical squadron hanged by order of 
his superior, for allowing a few Englishmen to 
repel so great a force.f The accounts of 
these transactions handed down to us are in- 
credible, a few wounded men are represented 
as repelling thousands, even when a footing 
was gained upon the deck of the ship they 
defended. If these representations be correct, 
there is nothing in the naval history of Eng- 
land comparable for valour, skill, and fortune, 
to the exploit of the Morning Star. 

Another combat of an English ship with 
Madagascar pirates, or pirates who had made 
that island their haunt, partakes of as much 
of the marvellous as the conflict just related ; 
for, although not presenting scenes of such 
wonderful heroism and strength, the address 
of a certain captain surpassed that which we 
read of in any other authentic story of sea- 
fights with pirates. This narrative comes 
down to us chiefly on the authority of Alex- 
ander Hamilton. J Three ships, two British 
and one belonging to the Ostend Company, 
now (as was seen in another chapter) come 
into notoriety and activity, were lying at 
anchor off the island of Madagascar. Two 
Dutch-built pirates attacked them. Being 
fitted exclusively for war, the two vessels 
were more than a match for the three mer- 
chantmen. The Ostender made sail, followed 
by the British ship Greenwich, and escaped. 
They seem to have left their companion in 
danger, in a shabby way, for she made fight, 
but ran by accident on some rocks, pursued 

Diarirs nf the Bomlaij and Sural Governments. 
f Grant Di^fF's llhlory of the Mahraltas. 
X New Account of the East Indies. By Alexander 
IlamiltoD. 
vcr., Ti. 



by the lesser pirate' ship, the larger having 
given chase to the two successful fugitives. 
The pirate in pursuit of the Cassandra also 
went upon the rocks, while seeking to board 
her expected prize; the positions of the two 
ships were favourable to the Cassandra, 
which raked the pirate's decks, killing or 
driving the crew below. Affairs were in this 
attitude when the other piratical ship re- 
turned from her unsuccessful chase, and sped 
to the assistance of her consort. The Englisli 
captain manned his boats, and gained a posi- 
tion in shoal water, where he could not be 
pursued. According to the story transmitted 
to us he had the hardihood to offer or ask 
truce, and go on board the pirate, where his 
persuasive powei's were such that he succeeded 
in gaining immunity, and even a present of 
the ship whose gxins he had silenced, his own 
having become a wreck. There is nothing 
in the relation of this transaction to justify 
the assertion that the English merchant cap- 
tain was able to give proof that he bad 
pursued the same calling, thereby exciting 
a fellow-feeling, a suspicion which might be 
fairly entertained from the cordiality with 
which he was treated when he and his late 
assailants came to understand one another. 
At all events, when he reaehed Bombay he was 
feted, and as Captain Massey, who signalized 
himself at the lledan in the Crimean war of 
1854-5, remarked, " had the inconvenience of 
being made a hero." The generosity of the 
pirates was not, however, appreciated at Bom- 
bay, for an expedition was fitted out against 
them, under Commodore Matthews, who met 
with no better success than he had obtained 
at Angria Colaba. 

The perfidy of the Portuguese had ever been 
a source of anxiety at Bombay. There were 
at least GOOO Portuguese there who professed 
loyalty, but were seditious to a man. The 
people would probably have fallen in with 
English interests, and become identified with 
the prosperity of a government which it was 
not possible to disturb, but the Jesuit portion 
of the clergy — and nearly all were of that 
order — irritated the public feeling perpetually, 
and kept alive a hatred to tlie English, im- 
potent, except to torment, but often bringing^ 
disastrous consequences to the Portuguese 
themselves. The English endured these 
things with much toleration, for there had 
existed a considerable sympathy with Ro- 
manism on the part of many of the officials 
and writers who pi'ofessed Protestantism. 
The annoyances offered by the constant 
enmity and treasons of "the Portugals " 
became at last unbearable, and the president 
and council took the matter into serious 
deliberation. The mode of securing some 

u 



142 



HISTORY OF THE BEITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXII. 



loyalty from the Portngueso subjects, wliich 
the officers of the company hit upon, was the 
assumption of the ecclesiastical patronage of 
the Roman Catholic clrarches. This had 
previously been in the hands of the King of 
Portugal, who, by that means, was enabled to 
possess himself of precise information as to 
English affairs at Bombay, and to disturb its 
government whenever he pleased. This 
power he more effectually secured by giving 
the people of the parishes a veto upon his 
patronage. The council determined to seize 
this patronage, and so to administer it that 
none hut clerg3'men of reputed loyalty should 
exercise pastoral functions among tlie Roman 
Catholics of the island. The East India 
Company approved of the policy of their 
Bombay subordinates. The measure was 
carried out, no clergyman being allowed to 
officiate at the altar until he took an oath of 
allegiance to the king of England — an oath 
not to preach against the civil rights of the 
East India Companj', and an oath to submit 
in civil matters to its orders. The priests 
resisting, the churches were transferred to 
clergymen of the Carmelite mission, under the 
superintendence of Don Frey Mauritio, who 
held authority direct from the propaganda at 
Rome. The Don entered upon his episcopal 
functions with no good will from the Portu- 
guese clergy. He and his Carmelites took 
the following oath : — " I, Don Frey Mauritio, 
of Sancta Teresa, Bishop of Anastatipolis, 
vicar -general in the empire of the Great 
Mogul, of the Island of Bombay and the juris- 
diction thereof, do swear upon the holy evan- 
gelist (on which I have placed my right hand) 
entirely to obey His IMost Serene Majesty of 
Great Britain, and that I will never, directly 
or indirectly, teach, preach, or practise any- 
thing contrary to the honour and dignitj' of 
the crown of his said Most Serene Majesty, 
or to the interest of the Right Honourable 
English Company, and that I will pay all 
obedience to the orders of the Honourable the 
Governor for the time being, and to exercise 
the Roman Catholic religion according to its 
primitive institution, without any alteration. 
In witness whereof I have hereto set my hand 
this Gth day of May, 1720." Padre Frey 
Pedro, of the most Holy Trinity, and Frey 
Elizel de St. Joseph took and subscribed the 
same oath. 

This oath was taken in October, 1719. As 
soon as the ceremony was over, proclamation 
was made by the governor and council, re- 
quiring "all inhabitants, of the Roman Catholic 
religion, to pay the same obedience to the 
bishop, Don Frey Mauritio de Sancta Teresa, 
and the priests appointed by him, as they 
formerly did to the Portuguese bishop and 



priests." The Rev. Don remained in his 

ei^iscopate until his death, in 172G, when he 
was succeeded by " Peter of Alcantara, 
called Bishop of Areopolis, in Asia Minor, and 
apostolic vicar of the Mogul Enij)ire, the 
kingdom of Isdal Khan, Golconda, and the 
Island of Bombay." As soon as the procla- 
mation was issued, recognising Don Mauritio 
in the episcopate, the Portuguese priests re- 
ceived notice to quit the island in twenty-four 
hours, an order which was enforced. 

It was expected by some in the English 
interest, favourable to the policy adopted, that 
a schism would arise, by which the Roman 
Catholic party must be weakened. The 
ultimate result justified such speculations, in 
some degree, for ecclesiastical disunions among 
the Roman Catholics of Bombay, dependent 
upon claims of episcopal jurisdiction, some- 
times arising before the courts of law, have 
long troubled that communitj'. The im- 
mediate result was. not in accordance with 
these expectations, for the people refused to 
discuss the matter, and looked on with ap- 
parent indifference, although they felt many 
misgivings and much disapprobation. In the 
governments of " the general of the North," 
as the Portuguese chief officer was styled 
who controlled the factories in Bassein, Diu, 
Damaun, &c., &c., the Portuguese clergy 
offered strong remonstrances ; but the people 
were quiet, as it is probable they were advised, 
under the circumstances, to be. The measure 
did not eradicate the ill-will entertained 
towards the English, as heretics and sujj- 
planters. There was a change of policy on 
the part of the Roman clergy, but no change 
of feeling, except that the new clergy did not 
regard the English, from a national, as they 
did in a religious point of view, with such 
keen hatred. Still there existed a repugnance 
towards the English, which, whether ethno- 
logical or circumstantial, showed itself when 
events called it forth, so that the Roman 
Catholics of Bombay were esteemed by the 
English undesirable subjects. 

The expelled priests, in concert with the 
jieople who had appeared so passive, and 
probably with the knowledge and concurrence 
even of the new clergy, made representations 
to the King of Portugal, to whom they really 
held allegiance. These were forwarded to 
the English court, and increased the distrust 
and dislike with which the Portuguese at 
Bombay were regarded by the company. 
What advice arrived from Portugal to the 
Portuguese descendants in India it is difficult 
to say, but the representative of that govern- 
ment in the north of Western India proceeded 
to extremities, prohibiting all communication 
with Bombay, until the expelled priests were 



Chap. LXII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



143 



restored ; he iiiterilicted also the transport of 
provision.?, and seized English vessels when 
opportunity was afforded. The English were 
not likely to allow of these aft'ronts without 
retaliation, they accordingly proclaimed that 
all " Portngals " holding property in Bombay 
who were absent from the island, who did not 
return in twenty-one days, would be considered 
rebels, and their property would bo confiscated. 
The absentees did not appear, and the property 
T\'as seized. 

This proclamation was conveyed from 
Bombay to Salsette by two passengers : the 
Portuguese placed them in irons and carried 
them about, as little boys in England on the 
5th of November carry effigies of Guy Faux. 
The mock triumph was first exhibited in 
Tanna, then in Bandora, where they were 
hoisted on a gibbet, but were taken down 
again and sent back to Bombay bruised, torn, 
and exhausted, after experiencing almost every 
form of insult and coarse indignity. 

The English promptly accepted this as a 
declaration of war, the long negotiations of 
modern times not being then fashionable with 
Englishmen in the East. A detachment of 
soldiers marched to the straits of Makin, and 
shelled the fortified church of Bandora. The 
Portuguese, who were disposed to defend it, 
were speedily put Iwrs de combat, and the 
terrified inhabitants begged for mercy; this 
was granted without any exaction but a pro- 
mise to abstain from injuring defenceless 
Englishmen. This pledge was given by 
people, clergy, and civil officers, accompanied 
by the warmest expressions of regret for con- 
duct which could not be justified among 
nations practising humanity, or honourable in 
war. After exchanges of courtesies, the 
English withdrew, and the Portuguese im- 
mediately prepared to strengthen the i>lace, 
so as to be enabled to perpetrate fresh acts of 
cowardice and brutality with tolerable pros- 
pect of impunity. New and more cowardly 
injuries on unarmed Englishmen and peaceful 
coasting boats followed. The English again 
appeared, again shelled the church, and after 
slaying many, and filling the place with con- 
sternation, responded to a renewed cry for 
mercy, by renewed generosity and forbear- 
ance. A.fter this, except by the private 
assassination of Englishmen, no further out- 
rages were committed. 

In the year 170*;, a "savage pirate" had 
captured an English ship called the Monsoon. 
A Portuguese frigate conquered the pirate, and 
retook the prize, but instead of giving it to 
the owners, as the ostensible peace between 
the two nations and the requirements of 
humanity would have enjoined, the Portu- 
guese war ships proved as dishonest as the 



pirate, and kept the prize. The facts of tlie 
case did not become known to the English for 
years after, and then other troubles prevented 
action from being taken in the matter. In 
ITlo the English were disposed to revive the 
memories of old injuries, and sent the Wor- 
shipful Stephen Strutt, deputy governor of 
Bombay, to demand reparation from the vice- 
roy of Goa. He was also commissioned to 
visit the factories south of Bombay, such as 
Carwar, Tellicherry, Calient, and Ajengo, to 
inquire into the systematic and extensive 
frauds practised there by the company's own 
agents. He did not embark on these errands 
until October, 1716, just a year and a day 
after his commission to do so was signed. 
His squadron consisted of but two ships, and 
he had scarcely passed Malwa, when he was 
attacked by the Slahrattas, a grab and a gal- 
livat attempting, with astonishing intrepidity 
and much skill, to cut off a valuable ship which 
accompanied the commissioner. Although 
the rovers were beaten off, they managed 
to escape unhurt in either man or sliip. 
Such, however, were the perils which, little 
more than a century and a half ago, attended 
a cruise along the southern Bombay coasts. 

Arriving otf Carwar, his worship found a 
Portuguese squadron of considerable power 
stationed there to protect the coast from 
pirates, which ta.sk their crews were too 
cowardly to perform, while they robbed every 
merchantman whose confidence they invited 
and betrayed. These rogues would, no doubt, 
have attacked the English commissioner had 
they not been deterred by their fears. 

His worship landed at the different fac- 
tories, creating consternation when the ob- 
jects of his mission became known. He acted 
with moderation and judgment, rectifying, at 
all events pro tempore, many abuses, dis- 
missing dishonest servants, and promoting 
those of good repute. At Goa, his worship 
hired a priest to be the advocate of the 
proprietors of the English ships, but his 
eloquence was as little potent as the vice- 
roy's honest efforts, and all reparation for the 
affair of the Mcmsooti was, in polite but firm 
terms, refused. 

It does not appear that the English took 
any measures for the recovery of damages 
for the Monsoon. Whenever their affairs fell 
into very great hands — like these of the Wor- 
shipful Mr. Strutt — a compromise of some 
sort, a diplomatic defeat, or a humiliation, 
mostly resulted : whenever the general com- 
munity of the English anywhere took up 
a matter, it was usually carried out with 
daring courage, promptitude, and correspond- 
ing success. 

The state of the factories south of Bombay, 



114 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE. 



[Chap. LXIL 



at tlint time, are disclosed by the reports of 
this voyage of ]\Ir. Strutt. Carwar lie found 
fortified, the Mogul having robbed it some 
time previous. The Dessaree, the rajah of 
the neighbouring country, invaded Carwar in 
1718, and besieged it for two months ; but 
succour arriving from Bombay, he was obliged 
to raise the siege, but not until after many 
perils to the garrison, and those who came to 
their assistance. The troops sent from Bora- 
bay could with difficulty be landed in con- 
sequence of the high surf. The first attemjit 
was unfortunate, — eighty men were either 
killed, drowned, or fell into the hands of the 
enemy. When the second attempt was suc- 
cessful, a pause in the operations on both sides 
was made, which lasted for six weeks. P'our 
hundred men then attacked the enemy, co- 
vered by the guns of the small craft, and the 
Dessaree received a severe chastisement, 
leaving two hundred men upon the field. 
One hundred and fifty Arabian horses, which 
had arrived for the Dessaree, were captured, 
and a number of his coasting craft. The 
enemy returned and hovered about Carwar, 
no action taking place until a large force, 
arriving from Bombay, of 2280 men were 
landed. The enemy began to retreat ; tlie 
English officers, instead of offering hot pur- 
suit, practised a variety of manoiuvres re- 
markable only for military pedantry and pro- 
fessional folly. This conduct encouraged the 
enemy, who, at first, puzzled by vvhat they 
had never before seen, at last supposed that 
what was performed from sheer conceit of 
military tactics resulted from fear, and con- 
sequently rallied and charged. What fol- 
lowed is only told by a prejudiced witness, 
Alexander Hamilton. He declares tliat the 
English commander ran away, and threw off 
his uniform to render his flight more suc- 
cessful. The other officers, whose tactics 
were so pompous and scientific, followed the 
example of their superiors, and the men, with- 
out officers, were assailed with such advantage 
as speedily left two hundred and fifty of them 
dead upon the field. They would all have 
been driven into the sea, but that their flight 
was covered by the guns of the floating bat- 
teries, which had been prepared to cover the 
landing. 

According to the testimony of Hamilton, 
the English made no efforts to retrieve their 
dishonour, but acted on the defensive, although 
the total number of the Dessaree's forces was 
only 7000. His finances at length failing, 
he drew off his army, leaving the English 
uniiiolested, but entertaining contempt for 
their capacity and courage. The grand 
subject of difference between this chief, and 
Taylor, the head of the English factory, was 



the right to the spoils of such ships as were 
thrown upon the coasts. Both these persons 
were " wreckers ; " the Dessaree considered 
that he had a natural and inherited right to 
rob shipwrecked mariners of all nations, and 
the English chief considered that he might as 
well take the right of plundering the unfor- 
tunate of all nations in such circumstances, 
excepting, of course, those of his own. This 
contest might be called the war of the 
wreckers. The company were obliged to with- 
draw the factory, for tlie native hostility and 
contempt was irreconcileable, and the English 
there had lost all moral power. What reverses 
the British experienced ; how frequently their 
capacity proved deficient; what general me- 
diocrity was displayed by them ou land ! 
How marvellous that the company still ex- 
tended its power, although all its branches 
and the parent stem were violently subjected 
to the rudest blasts of adversity : as the oak 
which is most fiercely shaken by storms, takes 
the deepest root in tlie soil where it is planted. 

Calicut had been one of the oldest stations 
of the Europeans in India. The English 
were prospering there ; but in 1714 the 
Dutch seized some land, which they declared 
had been assigned to them by compact with 
a former rajah, and began to build a fort. 
The English were anxious to have them re- 
moved before the fort was finished, but did 
not dare to attack them openly. They in- 
trigued with tlie MJah, who, like the English 
themselves, in this case preferred a treacherous 
and underhand course to open and manly 
hostilities. By a base, cowardlj', and per- 
fidious scheme, the Dutch were attacked, and 
many assassinated ; but they soon returned, 
exacting heavy vengeance, and re-establishing 
themselves with sufficient solidity. From 
that day, English interests at Calicut rapidly 
declined ; they were unable to compete with 
the Dutch as traders, and the whole of the 
business which they had conducted was, by 
the fair competition of men of superior business 
capacity, withdrawn from them. The Dutch 
were too well prepared, and knew iiow to 
defend themselves too well, for any attempt to 
rob them by force of their well-earned success; 
so the English removed to Tellicherry, 
leaving a Portuguese interpreter behind, as 
their only representative. 

Tellicherry was one of the ports earliest 
occupied by the French, the account of whose 
rise and fall in India belongs to other chapters. 
At this period their name was somewhat im- 
portant iu Western India, althougli that was 
not the region where their power was de- 
veloped. When at Tellicherry they erected 
a mud fort, and as it has been the fate of 
Frenchmen to found foreign settlements, 



Chai'. Lxrr.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



and build fortifications for Englishmen to 
gain possession of in some way, so was it 
at Tellicherry. The old mud fort of the 
French became English property in 1708, the 
principal Nair of the place claiming the right 
to dispose of it, and choosing, for purposes 
of his own, to make it the property of the 
English. They erected a stone fortification 
upon the site of the mud-built defences, and 
it always turned out in India that where they 
fixed themselves resolutely, no power was 
able to extirpate them, except in some season 
when accident performed what force other- 
wise would have failed to achieve. A mania 
for building seized the English at Telli- 
cherry ; they " fixed " their capital in walls 
and batteries, and soon experienced the usual 
inconvenience in all matters of a jjurely com- 
mercial nature. 

According to that indefatigable asperser of 
his countrymen, if engaged in the company's 
service, Alexander Hamilton, tlie garrison 
were drunken and dissolute ; the officers not 
only setting a horrihle example, but in the 
most tyrannous manner compelling the men 
to drink, that they might themselves profit 
by the sale of "peneel." Thus the mean- 
ness wth which most writers charge the 
English traders of this period settled in 
India, was quite as signally shown, and more 
culpably practised, by "officers and gentle- 
men." Disturbances soon ensued between the 
native authorities and the English. The 
former endeavouring to exact exorbitant 
duties, the latter setting the tariff of the 
" Nair " at defiance. Mutual bitterness often 
issued in blows, and these conflicts continued 
for a long time. 

The calamities of the English in Western 
India were very numerous in the first quarter 
of the eighteenth century — the massacre of 
Ajengo is one of the most unhappy illustra- 
tions of tliis remark. A dispute arose, as usual, 
about duties or tribute; the English appealed 
to the Kanee, and went in a body to her high- 
ness's palace :* they were waylaid and most 
of them massacred. The English imagined 
they saw the hand of tlie Dutch in this, 
as they did in most transactions that were 
adverse to them ; but the latter published a 
strong and ardent protestation of innocence, 
and an indignant denunciation of " the de- 
testable massacre." 

During the first quarter of the eighteenth 
century. Western India began to feel the 
influence of events connected with British 
interests in Bengal. Thus the factory was 
r.ltogether removed from Snrat in 1712, in 
consequence of the robbery and oppressions 

* The line of descent in the reigning family pissfd to 
females, to the cxcluaiou of males. 



of the native governors of that place, and 
for three years the English trade was stopped 
there ; but in consequence of an embassy sent 
from Hoogly to the Mogul, matters were 
arranged, and the factors returned. This was 
in 171G, and as a result of the success of the 
Hooglj' embassy, the agents were allowed 
to attach fifteen acres of ground to the fac- 
tory. Thus, territorially, the English illus- 
trated the Spanish proverb, " Give me room 
to sit down, and I will make myself room to 
lie down." 

The firman of the emperor resulting from 
the Hoogly embassy was favourable and just. 
Seldom has a public document been drawn 
up with more skill and honesty. The framers, 
and the emperor for whom it was prepared, 
were actuated by a sincere desire, not only to 
avoid complications in future, but so to pro- 
vide against them as to render them almost 
impossible, while his imperial authority was 
respected. Yet it did not long secure the 
English from grosser outrages than ever. As 
the latter have been accused of not acting 
upon the law as laid down in this firman, the 
document is given to the reader, who must be 
convinced that the interests of the English 
lay so strongly in a just compliance with the 
treaty, that they never would give any occa- 
sion for its violation. The following trans- 
lation of the firman from the Persian was 
made by Mr. Eraser, one of the factors, and 
entered in the records : — 

" Governors, Aumils, Jagheerdars, Foujdars, 
Crories, Ehadars, Goujirbans, and Zemindars 
who are at present, and shall bo hereafter 
in the Soubali of Ahmetlabad and the for- 
tunate port of Sural and Cambay being in 
hopes of the royal favour, — Know that at 
this time of conquest, which carries the ensign 
of victory, Mr. John Surmon and Choja 
Surhud, English factors, have represented to 
those who stand at the foot of the high throne, 
that customs are remitted on English goods 
all over the empire, except at the port of 
Snrat ; and that at the said port, from the 
time of Shah Jehau, two per cent, was fixed 
for the customs ; from the time of Aurung- 
zebe, three and a half per cent, was appointed; 
and in other places, none molested them ou 
this account ; and in the time of Bahador 
Shah, two and a half per cent, only was fixed, 
and is in force until now; but, by reason of 
this oppression of the Muttasoddees, the 
English withdrew their factory three years 
ago ; and in the Soubahs of Behar and Orissa 
this nation pays no customs ; and in the port 
of Hoogly, in the Soubah of Bengal, they 
give yeai'Iy three thousand rupees as Peshkush, 
in lieu of customs. They hope that a yearly 
peshknsh may be fixed at the port of Surat 



146 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE. 



[GHAr. LXII. 



in lieu of customs, as at other ports, ami tliey 
agree to a yearly peslikush of teu thousand 
rupees. 

" This order, which subjects the world to 
obey it, and which ought to be followed, is 
issued, in order that, as they agree to pay 
ten thousand rupees as peshkusli at the port 
of Surat, you should take it annually, and on 
no account molest them further ; and what- 
ever goods or effects their factors may bring 
or carry away by land or water, to or from 
the ports of the Soubahs, and other ports, you 
are to look upon the customs thereof as free ; 
let them buy and sell at their pleasure, aud if 
any of their effects are stolen in any place, use 
your utmost endeavours to recover them, giviug 
the robbers up to punishment and the goods 
to their owners ; and wherever they settle a 
factory, and buy and sell goods, assist them 
on all just occasions, and if their accounts 
show that they have a claim upon any mer- 
chant, give the English their just due, and 
let no person injure their factors. They 
have likewise petitioned that the Dewaus in 
the Soubahs may have on demand the original 
Sunnud, or a copy with the Nazim's or 
Dewan's seal affixed. It would be difSoult to' 
produce an original in every place, and they 
hope that a copy under the Crory's seal will 
be credited; and if they do not demand the 
original Sunnud, they will not be molested 
on account of a copy with the Nazim's or 
Dewan's seal ; and in the island of Bombay, 
belonging to the English, where Portuguese 
coins are now current, the fortunate coins 
may be struck according to the custom of 
Chinapatam; and any of the company's ser- 
vants who may be in debt aud run away, 
must be sent to the chief of the factory ; and 
the company's servants must not be mo- 
lested on account of the Foujarie and Abwab 
JIunhai, by which they are vexed and discou- 
raged. This sti-ict and high order is issued: 
— that a copy under the Crory's seal be cre- 
dited ; and that fortunate coins struck in the 
island of Bombay, according to the custom of 
the empire, bo current ; and if any of the 
company's servants run away in debt let him 
be taken and delivered to the chief of the 
factory ; and let them not be molested on 
account of the Abwab Munhai. They have 
likewise represented that the company have 
factories in Bengal, Bchar, and Orissa, aud 
that they are willing to settle in other places. 
They hope that wdierever they settle a fac- 
tory, forty beegahs of land may be graciously 
bestowed upon them by the king ; and that 
when their ships are driven ashore by storms 
and wrecked, the governors of the ports op- 
pressively seize their goods, and, in some 
places, demand a fourth part. The royal 



order is issued, that they act according to the 
customs of the factories in other Soubahs ; 
and as this nation has factories in the king's 
ports, and dealings at court, and have ob- 
tained a miraculous firman, exempting them 
from customs, take care equitably of the goods 
of their ships which may be wrecked or lost 
in their voyages, and in all matters act. con- 
formably to this great order, and do not make 
an annual demand for a new grant. In this 
be particular. — Written on the 4th of Safir, 
in the 5th year of this successful reign." * 

Notwithstanding the exceeding perspicuity 
of this firman, only a few years were permitted 
to elapse, when the native authorities and 
merchants at Surat conspired to extort money 
from the English. The first attempt of this 
sort was very characteristic of a Mohammedan 
government. The English were informed 
that their factory and the ground annexed to 
it, by firman, was given to a great saint who 
took a fancy to it, and from whom the em- 
peror could withhold nothing. It was at the 
same time intimated that a ]iresent to the 
governor might be instrumental in preventing 
the transfer, as he would use his influence 
with the aforesaid saint, not to be persistent 
in his desires to possess the property of the 
English. The latter submitted to this ex- 
action, based uj)on so flimsy a pretence, but 
intimated that if their factory were taken 
from them, they would leave Surat, and if 
driven to do so, they would blockade the 
port and ruin its trade. 

Soon after another occasion arose which 
gave an opportunity for extorting money from 
the English. A strange ship, which was 
generally supposed to be Danish, cruised in 
the Red Sea aud the Indian Ocean, capturing 
Mogul shipping. When tidings of these pira- 
cies arrived at Surat, there was a terrible 
outcry amongst the native population. The 
English factory was attacked by the populace, 
and the lives of its inmates endangered. The 
English w-ere told that they must make good 
whatever the merchants of Surat lost by pira- 

* Tke following explanatiou of the terms used in this 
finnan, may be desirable for persons unacquaiutcd with 
Indian terms. Aiimils are collectors of revenue, or su- 
perintendents of districts. Jaghcerdars, holders of as- 
signments of land. Foiijdar, a police magistrate at 
Surat; his duties were confined to the suburbs aud places 
in the vicinity. Crory or Karoory^ an officer who makes 
himself responsible for the rents of a district. Itlmdar, 
a collector of duties payable on the roads, (lonjirbaa, a 
collector of duties at ferries aud passes. Zemindar, a 
landowner, who paid a yearly sum to the king. Matta- 
seddee, an accountant for tlie Soubah. Peshkush, a pre- 
sent or tribute. DenMii, the receiver general of a pro- 
vince. Kiuini, the first officer of the province. Abu>ab 
Munhai, a tax on forbidden things, such as spirituous 
liquors, courtesans, &c. Soubah, a province. Sunnud, a 
patent or charter. 



Chap. LXII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



147 



cies, and no remonstrances on tlieir part, upon 
the unreasonableness of making them respon- 
sible for the acts of robbers, either of their 
own or any other nation, had the slightest 
effect upon the governor, who placed guards 
upon the factory, virtually making prisoners 
of its inmates. The company's broker was 
assaulted in open durbar, and finally incarce- 
rated. Upon this, the English chief laid in 
stores of provision and ammunition, as far as 
clandestine means allowed him, and prepared 
for the defence of the factory. When this 
was accomplished, he ordered the English ships 
lying off, to lay an embargo upon all Moham- 
medan vessels. The governor was compelled, in 
order to put an end to such an inconvenience, 
to open negotiations, and promised that no 
molestation of the English or their property 
should be again permitted, the president, on 
his part, promising to make compensation 
if it were proved that a piracy was committed 
by an English ship in the company's service. 
Thus the only argument of any validity in 
the esteem of the natives — force, soon brought 
matters to their ordinary course. These 
events were followed by sanguinary feuds 
and foul conspiracies among the natives them- 
selves, in which the English had no part, but 
which more or less affected their interests. 
Gradually, however, they became more in- 
fluential, and governors found it to be their 
interest' and duty to afford them opportunities 
of peaoefid and equitable trade.* 

At Cambay, where the English had a small 
factory, their history was a counterpart of 
that of their countrymen at Surat. The 
English continued to outwit the extortioners, 
and retain the factory, and carry on some 
commerce, althougli the country around was 
often laid waste, and the town repeatedly 
fired by contending freebooters. Every rajah 
was a robber, and the people did not like 
them the less on that account. 

The following passage from "A Chapter 
on the History of Bombay," in the Bombai/ 
Quarterly, of January, 1856, must read very 
strangely to those who laud " the great Mo- 
hammedan democracy :" — " The followers of 
Hanieed Khan next appear on the horizon, 
levying thirty-five thousand rupees on the 
town, and demanding a thousand from the 
residency. ' The first time they went back 
with a put-off,' writes Mr. Innes, ' the next 
with a fiat denial, and I have not heard from 
them since, further than that the governor 
and the Geenim fellow here has advised them 
to desist, the latter adding that the English 
even would not pay them. They are but two 
hundred men, and I am under no manner of 
apprehension of danger.' The governor then 
* Surat Diary, July, 1724, Feb. 4, 1725. 



locked, and affixed seals to, the English 
broker's warehouses. This measure Mr. Innes 
'judged to be bully;' so counteracted it by 
menaces and two cases of drams, which wore 
more effectual than money in subduing the 
rapacity of these licentious Mussulmans. The 
seals were removed, and the eccentric resi- 
dent a month later replies to the congratula- 
tions of his superiors with this counter-hint : 
— ■' I shall have regard to your hint of the 
governor being dry ; though I have quenched 
his thirst at my own charge too often for my 
pocket.' Terrible days were those for mer- 
chants and helpless ryots. Pelajee, Kantajee, 
Hameed Khan, governors from Delhi, and 
certain Cooly chiefs, — all squeezed them in 
turn, until the cultivators refused to till the 
ground, and the country was threatened with 
famine. After Hameed Khan's followers had 
gone away almost empty, a new deputy - 
governor was appointed, on condition that he 
should send to Ahmedabad ninety thousand 
rupees, to be extorted from the inhabitants. No 
sooner did the unhappy merchants and shop- 
keepers hoar of his approach, than they hid 
themselves, or made their escape to the neigh- 
bouring villages. For six days not a man 
was to be seen in the streets of Cambay, al- 
though his excellency threatened that unless 
the people made their appearance he would 
deliver the city to indiscriminate pillage."* 

Early in the eighteenth century, and some 
considerable time before the company's agents 
were sent thither, independent Englishmen 
went to Scinde, and introduced a coasting 
trade betYv^een Saribundur, on the Indus, and 
the western parts of what is now called the 
Bombay presidency. Among the interlopers 
who adventured upon this traffic, was Alex- 
ander Hamilton, author of The New Account 
of the East Indies. He found the coasts and 
inland roads swarming with robbers, Beloo- 
chees, and Mackrans, who, the Bomhay 
Quarterly suggests, were the fisher caste. 
Captain Hamilton having in his voyages en- 
countered and conquered various pirates, 
obtained a reputation along the coast which 
kept many in awe of his sword who were 
very desirous to plunder his property. On 
one occasion, he sold goods to certain mer- 
chants in the interior of Scinde, who dared 
not convey their purchases in consequence of 
the predatory hordes who beset the way. 
Hamilton, in order to secure the paj'ment, 
undertook to escort the goods to their desti- 
nation. He joined a Kaffela of fifteen hun- 
dred beasts of burden, the same number of 
men and women, and a guard of two hundred 
horsemen. His own party consisted of thir- 

* Letters from Daniel Innes, in the Siirat Biari/, 1720 

to 1725. 



148 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[CuAi-. LXIII. 



teen sailors. The strange cavalcade had not 
proceeded far, when troops of robber horse 
presented themselves in large nnmbers, bran- 
dishing spears and swords. Hamilton placed 
the baggage animals in a line as a barricade, 
with the cowardl}' native horsemen on the 
flanks ; he armed his sailors with fusees, and 
njipointed them to eligible positions for an 
effective defence. The robbers sent forward 
one of their number, who demanded uncon- 
ditional surrender; menacing promiscuous 
slaughter, in case of refusal. One of the 
sailors shot the miscreant through the head. 
Possibly the robbers considered that some 
mistake had been committed, for a second 
was sent on a like mission, who met with 
the same fate as his predecessor. A third 
coming to reconnoitre the cause of these 
misfortunes, fell dead from another shot the 
moment he came within range. The enemy 
became panic-struck, and the escort of the 
merchants taking advantage of their disorder, 
charged them with effect, slaying some, and 
dispersing the whole. Hamilton, according 
to his own account, was regarded as a hero of 
surpassing prowess, alike qualified to humble 
robbers by land or sea. 



Towards the close of the first quarter of 
the eighteenth century, the East India Com- 
pany established its agents in Scinde, and 
carried on with difficulty a desultory trade in 
that region. 

It is impossible to peruse the proceedings 
of the British during the first quarter of the 
eighteenth century, especially in the light of 
documents such as have of late been examined, 
without coming to the conclusion expressed 
by an American divine, not generally favour- 
able to the English nor to the character they 
displayed in the acquisition and development 
of their Indian emjjire : — "In considering the 
course of policy pursued by the English, 
which has resulted in their acquiring in India 
one of the largest empires ever known, there 
appears much lese to censure in the Direc- 
tors and controlling power of the East India 
Company in England, than in their agents in 
India. Increase of territory has not generally 
been the desire of the proprietors or direc- 
tors of the company, and in accordance with 
this view have been the general spirit, and 
often the positive character, of their instruc- 
tions to their agents in India."* 



CHAPTER LXIII. 

THE BRITISH IN WESTERN INDIA DURING THE SECOND QUARTER OF THE EIGHTEENTH 

CENTURY. 



Notwithstanding the scantiness of English 
records, at all events of published records and 
accessible manuscripts, the history of the 
English in Western India during the second 
quarter of the eighteenth century affords in- 
teresting incidents, and such as illustrate the 
progress of British power. It has been as 
truly as eloquently written by a reviewer in 
the Bomhai] Quarterly : * — " A mercantile 
company transformed into one of the great 
powers of the earth, and driven by the force 
of circumstances to the conquest of an empire, 
is, like other effects which we do not trace to i 
til air causes, regarded as a phenomenon. This 
is merely because historians have been able to 
collect only a few facts relative to its earliest 
days, and those facts separated by frequent 
and large lacanaj. But an object of the pre- 
sent narrative is to show that the growth of 
English dominion, although fostered by a 
superhuman arm, was regulated by fixed and 
natural laws, — even by laws similar to those 
which regulate the development of the human 
* July, 1866. 



mind. The East India Company was trained 
and gi'adually brought to maturity by a pro- 
cess parallel to that tlirough which a little 
inmate of the nursery may have passed when 
first starting on the race for fame. The 
possessor of a wooden sword, a penny trumpet, 
and a diminutive drum, glows already with 
military ardour as a gay regiment passes by 
him, and the spark is fanned into a flame by 
hard knocks at school, struggles in manly 
games, and perhaps town and gown rows at 
the university, until he submits to the pre- 
liminaries of drill, enters on real campaign, 
and in due time appears as a distinguished 
officer. So with respect to the East India 
Company, if its servants had been allowed to 
live peaceably in its nursery of Surat, without 
provocatives being offered to their military 
propensities, there would have been no more 

* India, Jiicieiii and Modern, Geograpliical, Ilisto- 
rical, Polilical, Social, and Seliffious ; vitli a Particular 
Account of the State and Progress qf Cliristianity. By 
David O. .\lleii, D.D., Missionary of the Amciicau Board 
for twentjr-iive years in India. 



Chap. LXIII.J 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST, 



149 



jiiobability of their becoming a political power 
tliiin tliere is at present of any steam naviga- 
tion or railway company becoming one ; and 
at the breaking up of the Mogul empire they 
might have been found, like ancient Britons 
when the Roman legions were withdrawn, 
incapable of defending themselves against 
distant rovers or predatory neighbours. But 
they were very soon taught the necessity of 
self-dependence, — of looking to none but 
themselves for an assertion of their rights. 
The clamours of a ferocious mob endeavour- 
ing to beat down their factory gates first in- 
duced them to keep a small establishment of 
peons as a domestic police; the oppressions 
wliich they endured under native govern- 
ments then convinced them that a for- 
tified factory and an insular stronghold 
■were required ; next, because their trade 
would otherwise have been at the mercy of 
pirates, they built, equipped, and armed a 
fleet of grabs and gallivats ; lastly, their very 
existence depended, not only on their main- 
tenance of standing armies, but on their 
ability to cripple the strength of adversaries by 
invasions of their territories. We do not, 
indeed, assert that they have in every single 
instance been thus involuntarily led to aggres- 
sion, or deny that they have more than once 
wilfidiy disturbed the comity of nations ; but 
wc maintain that they never contemplated 
the seizure of a province, much less of the 
Indian continent, until compelled by the force 
of circumstances ; and tliat the Anglo-Indian 
is the only empire in the world which has 
not owed its origin to a lust of conquest. 
And it is highly instructive to observe that 
the events of the company's history form a 
regular chain, which was none of their 
forging. In welding the links together they 
were unconscious agents of Him who, holding 
nations in his balance, puts down one that He 
may set up another." 

At the close of the first quarter of the 
eighteenth century matters in Western India 
had advanced to this condition, or a state 
of things approximating to it — that either 
the English must retire from India, allowing 
hordes of savage pirates, robbers, and lilah- 
rattas to drive them out, in spite of firmans 
ami treaties with the Moguls, or the sword of 
England must defend the commerce of Eng- 
land in India, and the lives and property of 
Englishmen on its shores. 

In the last chapter reference to the daring 
and deeds of Angria has been frequently 
made. In the period now about to be treated, 
that able pirate became more conspicuous 
still as a creator of English history, for he did 
more than any other Indian cliief to draw 
out the valour of the English, and to cause 

VOL. II. 



them to nurse their military talents and 
resources. 

In 1728 he made an offer of pacific settle- 
ment, but, in a few months afterwards, he 
captured the company's galley, King William, 
and made its master, Captain McNeal, a 
prisoner. This officer he held for years in 
bondage, and only gave him liberty on the pay- 
ment of alarge ransom. On the 12th of Janu- 
ary, 1730, the English made a treaty with the 
Bhonislays of Sawunt Wave, for the purpose 
of holding Angria in check; but it did not 
answer their expectations. The death of 
Kanhojee Angria occurred the same year.* 
He left two sons, between whom his govern- 
ment was divided. Their names, which 
occur frequently in connection with this 
period of the story of the English in India, 
were Sukagee and Sumbhagee. The former 
obtained Colaba; the coast southward was 
assigned to the other, who was the younger 
brother. Both these chiefs imitated their 
father in his rapacity and daring, and, except 
when they quarrelled with one another (like 
the members of all Indian families), they were 
equally the enemies of the English. The 
elder, however, had not long an opportunity 
of proving his propensities, for he died in 
1733, while proposing peace to the British, 
and his envoys were actually before the 
president at Bombay. Sumbhagee prepared 
to possess himself of his brother's inheritance 
by legitimate claim, but a natural brother, 
who partook of much of the spirit of their 
father Kanhojee, attacked Colaba, and took 
it by escalade, in a most intrepid manner. He 
was prompted to this act, and assisted in its 
performance, by the Portuguese, who were 
always meddling and intriguing, and always, 
in the long run, to their own destruction. All 
efforts to displace this chivalrous man were 
in vain. His power increased, he formed 
alliances, and extended his enterprise, and 
attempted the fort of Ageen, under the pro- 
tection of the guns of which reposed the 
fleet of the Siddee of Jingeera. The rapid 
strides of his ambition and power alarmed tlie 
Bombay government, and Captain McNeal, 
then at liberty, was ordered to assist with a 
squadron the fleet of the Siddee. The 
squadron was not promptly dispatched, as its 
commanders lacked enterprise, for a consider- 
able time elapsed before the ships left Bombay. 
It would have been better had the)' not left 
at all, for the orders received at Bombay were 
so unmilitary as to make the expedition simply 
ridiculous. Some muskets and powder were 
presented to the endangered ally, and the 
squadron left him to his fate, which was 
speedily sealed by the success of the enemy. 
* Consultation Book of the Bomhay Government. 



loO 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap, LXIIL 



Emboldened ty success, and learning to 
despise the English, from their previous timid 
and time-serving policy, this scion of the 
house of Augria advanced his pretensions 
and his forces in the more immediate neigh- 
bourhood of the English. On the river Pen, 
which flows into the harbour of Bomlaj', 
stood a town called Rewanee : this the modern 
Angria seized, and thus commanded the com- 
munications between the Island of Bombay 
and the continent. 

At this time, Bajee Rao, whose name is 
60 illustrious in ]\lahratta history,* was in the 
zenith of his influence, and he had the dis- 
crimination to see that the resources, position, 
and character of the English ensured their 
ultimate superiority to all surrounding powers. 
He flattered them, and, in the name of the 
Rajah of Sattara, opened negotiations with 
them, and, in very humble terms, requested that 
they would not permit their fleet to interfere 
with his naval enterprises. Unfortunately, 
the Peishwa was in alliance with Angria, and 
they therefore would not offer those tokens of 
good-will which they desired. 

The English meditated new liostile pro- 
jects against their unrelenting foe, and, in 
order to accomplish their purposes, formed 
alliances with the Siddecs. The Bomhay 
Quarterly describes this condition of affairs as 
follows : — " Messrs. Lowther and Dickenson 
had arranged with the several Siddees of 
Jingeera a treaty of alliance, afterwards ra- 
tified by their government, according to 
which both parties bound themselves to act 
in concert against Angria, and not to treat 
with him except by mutual consent. They 
agreed that all prizes taken at sea should be 
allotted to the English, and to the Siddee all 
conquests made on land, with the exceptions 
of Khanery, which, if taken, should be de- 
livered with all its guns and stores to the 
English, and the fort and district of Colaba, 
which should be demolished. Tlie contracting 
parties were to divide equally between them- 
selves the revenues of Colaba, and the English 
to build a factory and fort at Mhopal in that 
district, situated between the rivers Pen and 
Nagotana." To this paragraph the following 
note is added : — " The above account of ope- 
rations against Angria is imperfect, but as 
complete as could be compiled from the mu- 
tilated records of government for the months 
from June to December inclusive, and March, 
17oi. Grant Duff, who chiefly depended for 
his knowledge of the records upon extracts 
furnished him by Mr. Romer, the political 
agent at Surat, has not alluded to these 
events, which belong to Maratlia history, and 
are only worthy of notice as exhibiting the 
• Grant Duff's Uiatori/ of Ihe Mahrattas. 



first attempts of the English at offensive 
warfare." It is passing strange that so high 
an authority should describe tiiis as the ini- 
tiation of offensive war 1 The career of Sir 
John Childs and the policy of Sir Joshua 
Childs were evidences, as well as the bitter 
misfortunes they produced, that this was not 
the first essay in offensive warfare in India 
on the part of the British, whatever might be 
the merits of the cause in either case. The 
English, about this time, succeeded in inter- 
cepting Angria's fleet, by a squadron under 
the command of three captains, whose au- 
thority, as far as one can gather from the 
records of their proceedings, was equal. The 
enemy fled and escaped ; the usual results of 
divided command, irresolution and ill-con- 
certed action, ruined the undertaking. 

The English found the Siddees of httle use. 
The Slahratta spirit had stopped the career 
of these once renowned cruisers of the Indian 
seas : their day of glory, such as it was, be- 
came obscured ; the Angrian star shone out 
cloudless. Family disputes broke out in the 
renowned and formidable house of the fierce 
Mahratta sea kings ; a fraternal jealousy left 
scope for English diplomacy, for as the 
English became warriors in spite of them- 
selves in India, so also did they become 
diplomatists. Captain Inchbird was deemed 
very efficient in that department, and was 
dispatched from Bombay for the express 
purpose of using his knowledge of native 
languages, usages, and dispositions, to foment 
the dispute between the Angria brothers, so 
that they might not coalesce for the injury 
of English interests. 

Naval operations were undertaken which 
were committed to Commodore Bagwell. 
After long watching for the enemy, he at last, 
on the 22nd December, 1738, descried nine 
grabs, and thirteen gallivats, issuing from the 
fortified port of Gheria. He bore down ujjon 
them, although their force was vastly superior 
to his. They fled, and sought shelter in the 
river of Rajapore. As usual they were suc- 
cessful in flight, and although they suffered 
from the commodore's broadsides, they knew 
how to elude him. In spite of his vigilance, 
while he pursued this flotilla, other armed 
ships of the enemy captured English nter- 
chantmen. Tlie English commanders seemed 
generally to jjossess more courage than ca].ia- 
city, more enterprise than intelligence. The 
conduct of the men, both military and naval, 
was perfect, daring to the uttermost, enduring, 
loyal, and obedient, worthy of being led by 
better men than their country generally 
assigned to the task. 

The resources of the pirates were con- 
stantly recruited by the captures they made : 



Chap. LXIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST, 



151 



«11 sorts of military stores were obtained by 
plunder from English ships. 

Soon after the cowardly flight of Angria's 
fleet from Commodore Bagwell's little squa- 
dron, four large East Indiamen were attacked 
by a powerful piratical flotilla belonging to the 
same chief. A single ship of the commercial 
squadron beat them off and punished them se- 
verely. The English in their sea encounters 
■with the pirates were deficient in smartness, 
promptitude, and vigilance, but their courage, 
gunnery, and physical strength were dreaded 
by their foes ; their capacity to tack and 
work large ships in action also inspired a 
salutary fear in their foes. 

The other Angria, called ilenagee, was 
a false friend and a weak foe. His perfidious 
insolence, cowardice, meanness, violence, and 
sometimes daring enterprise, were the subjects 
of perpetual complaint at Bombay. The 
grand diplomatist of the government and 
council. Captain Inchbird, was at last obliged 
to change the use of the tongue and the pen, 
for that of great guns and the sword ; cruis- 
ing about, he made prizes of Menagee's 
fishing-boats, grabs, and gallivats. Never- 
theless, the latter seized the Island of Ele- 
phanta. When at last reduced to misfortune 
by his brother, he became the sycophant of 
the English, and humbled himself to beg their 
aid. They gave it, saved him from his 
enemies, and made him more an enemy than 
ever. There are men, says Charles Lever, 
■who would betray you to the very men from 
whom you saved them. Such was Menagee 
Angria. It would strike a casual reader of 
the old documents which disclose the events 
of this period, that the English meddled too 
much, entangled themselves too frequently 
with weak alliances, and believed the pro- 
■mises of princes too often, if not too implicitly ; 
a close study of their peculiar dangers, treat- 
ments, temptations, and deficiencies, however, 
extenuate such errors in some cases, and in 
others justify the resort to means which, in 
ignorance of all the peculiarities of the situa- 
tion, would now be pronounced culpable. 

Soon after the beginning of the second 
quarter of the century, the liajah of Sattara 
became a very conspicuous person, although 
the vizier was virtually the sovereign, and the 
rajah little better than the prisoner of his 
ostensible servant. The rajah was regarded 
as the llahratta, imr excdlence, the Sevajee 
of the day. Belbre his encroachments the 
Portuguese were steadily receding; fort after 
fort fell, factory after factory was plundered, 
and but for the protection of the English in 
some instances, a few years would have suf- 
ficed for the hordes of the rajah to sweep the 
Portuguese from the seaboard of Western India. 



The English believed that an alliance with 
the Portuguese against the encroachments of 
this powerful enemy was their true policy, 
but as was commonly the case, their practice 
was time-serving and timid ; they consumed 
in debate the time required for action, and 
were too late in the aid they offered, or prof- 
fered an amount of assistance so obviously 
below what was necessary, as to be equiva- 
lent to the refusal of help. Certainl_y, the 
Portuguese deserved nothing at their hands. 
The assistance rendered was, as might be 
expected, repaid with treachery. Morally, 
the Portuguese were uo higher than the 
natives, — often lower. The impossibility of 
putting any faith in them, miich influenced 
the procedure of the East India Company's 
agents. When the English really did render 
efficient and successful assistance, no grati- 
tude or goodwill was evoked. The British 
were the objects of a deep, deadly, religious 
animosity, which no services could appease. 
This was well understood on both sides, and 
the impressions mutually produced by even 
acts of kindness on the part of the more for- 
tunate English, did nothing to heal the feud. 

The year 173!) was a memorable one for 
both nations, in consequence of the fall of 
Bassein. This city, the largest and richest 
oriental city ever built by the Portuguese, 
was besieged by the never-resting Mahrattas, 
whose determination to expel the Portuguese 
from India grew stronger as their efforts were 
crowned with success. The position of the 
city was one of considerable importance to 
the lords of Bombay ; for, if a powerful power 
like that of the Mahrattas held it, they would 
by that means endanger the commerce and 
liberty of those who occupied Bombay. ' This 
may be seen, and also a glance at its present 
condition obtained, from the following well- 
drawn sketch: — "Situated at the northern 
extremity of that narrow arm of the sea which 
clasps the islands of Salsette and Bombay, is 
the ruined city of Bassein. It is a monument 
of departed greatness, and a love of splendour, 
as distinct from the love of money, for which 
the English were so famed. Its fertile soil 
still rewards the fortunate cultivator ; but its 
streets are scenes of utter desolation, its 
buildings roofless, its tombs of lordly bishops 
and governors mouldering as the bones they 
conceal, and twisted roots struggle success- 
fully to displace the stones of its massive 
walls. There, where a fanatically religious, 
irrationally proud, and coarsely dissipated 
people kept high festivals, led gorgeous 
pageants, toyed in wanton amours, and 
drowned the intellect of their species in 
Goanese arrack, or the heady wines of 
Oporto, — there silence and ruin sat supreme. 



152 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXIII. 



until at last a speculator's drastic energies 
have introduced tlie creaking mill, and jarring 
voices of native labourers. For years tiie 
tenantless city was itself a monument of the 
ludo-Portuguese race, and a fertile theme for 
the meditations of romantic visitors. ' It 
reminds me,' wrote Bishop Heber, ' of some 
story of enchantment which I had read in my 
childhood, and I could almost have expected 
to see the shades of its original inhabitants 
flitting about among the jungle which now 
grows in melancholy luxuriance in the courts 
and areas of churches, convents, and houses.' 
At the period of which we write, Bassein 
stood uninjured by an enem)', unshorn of its 
grandeur, having been for two centuries in 
undisturbed possession of the Portuguese, 
whose historian declares that it was the 
largest city which his countrymen had built 
in India, and comprehended the greatest 
extent of territory. Seven churches of an 
almost imiform style, had little to strike the 
observer, except their size and rather elegant 
facades ; but surrounded, as they still are, by 
the ruins of tenements belonging to monastic 
orders, they testify that the Portuguese had 
a zeal for God, though not according to know- 
ledge. The city was protected by a strong 
wall and ramparts, flanked with bastions, and 
so fearful were the inhabitants of a surprise, 
that for long no Mahratta had been permitted 
to pass a night within the gates."* 

The Mahrattas laid siege to the place, which 
they conducted with bravery, skill, and per- 
sistence never before equalled by them. The 
Portuguese resisted with a bravery rarely 
equalled by any people. It seemed as if, in 
the hour of their decline, they were once 
more to appear glorious, like the flame of a 
decaying lamp, bursting brilliantly upwards 
before it totally expires. The city at last 
surrendered, when defence was no longer 
possible even by the wisest, strongest, and 
bravest, 800 officers and soldiers, as well as 
many inhabitants, having perished, the enemy 
having lost 6000 men, or, as the English at 
Bombay believed, 20,000. The besieged, 
during their arduous struggle, implored the 
assistance of the English, both as to skill and 
money. The advice tendered was imprac- 
ticable ; some money was lent on the securitj' 
of six brass guns taken down from the defences. 
The acceptance of security by the English 
has been much censured ; but when a former 
governor lent money for the defence of an 
ally, the company com]ielled him to refund it 
from his own purse, alleging that he did not 
hold money for political speculations, but for 
commercial purposes and the defence of 
Bombay, and he had no right to lend the 

* " Bassein, ns it is and was : " Bombay Quarter!;/. 



company's money without its order, however 
he might please to act with his own. The 
acceptance of the guns as security, which 
ought to have been used for the defence, has 
been also charged against the English as an 
act of selfishness ; but the guns had been 
previously removed from the defences, on 
the strange ground that the king would value 
them too highly for the governor to risk their 
injury, and for the additional strange reason 
that the hands and hearts of Portuguese were 
better defences than mere matter ! The 
English, therefore, asked only for the security 
of guns which were not used, and were not 
intended to be employed against the enemy. 
Besides, at the very time the Portuguese 
were crying out for money to the English, 
without offering any adequate security, the 
Jesuit establishments of the city were rich, and 
refused to part with their plate and treasures. 
Some assistance was obtained from them, after 
the English declared their want of authority 
to lend the company's money ; but even then 
it was bestowed with reluctance. Most of 
the troubles to which the Portuguese were 
exposed were either occasioned or aggravated 
by that ecclesiastical party : so infatuated 
were they, that when, a short time before the 
siege of Bassein, the Mahrattas were investing 
Tanna, and it became necessary, on the 
advice of the English engineers sent to assist, 
to break down all buildings which might 
impede the fire of the besieged, or offer cover 
to the foe, the members of the Jesuit order 
resisted, and successfully resisted, all attempts 
to comprise their property in the necessarj* 
demolitions, until the English, with a high 
hand, compelled the measure to be carried 
out. When Bassein fell, the English, acting 
within what they supposed to be the limits of 
their authority, sent a strong naval escort, 
and brought off the whole garrison and all 
the Portuguese civilians of the place, to the 
number of nearly 1000, who were fed in 
Bombay at the public expense. The guests 
behaved as badly as the hosts behaved gene- 
rously. The Jesuits had undertaken to lend 
a certain sum for the pa)'ment of the troops, 
in order to enable the latter to purchase food 
and other requisites for prolonging the defence. 
Their reverences now refused to fulfil their 
promise, while the Portuguese soldiers were 
mutinous against their officers, and filled 
Bombay with tumult. Both parties agreed 
to use the English as referees. The governor 
and council decided against the Jesuits ; but 
the fathers were not so willing to yield to a 
decision against themselves as to make a re- 
ference. It was necessary for the English to 
give hints that force must be employed to 
induce the Jesuits to fulfil their pledges and 



Cii.vr. LXIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



153 



abide by the reference. The troubles of the 
English from their guests did not end there ; 
broils and bloodslied constantly occurred 
among the Portuguese soldiers, who also 
■wounded and robbed the inhabitants of 
Bombay, and it liad become a serious con- 
sideration whether the council must not send 
this vile militai'y rabble awaj', when the time 
arrived with tlie opportunity for their own 
withdrawal. They then refused to embark 
unless fresh arrears were paid to them ; the 
English advanced the money to the Portuguese 
governor, a brave and magnanimous man. 

The English were beset with importunities 
to assist other beleaguered Indo-Portuguese 
cities, — to lend money, without security, for 
their defence, while the Jesuit fathers were 
in possession of treasures which could only 
be wrung from them by force, in the ser- 
vice of a country which had loaded them 
with honours and riches, and was so devoted 
to them. Tiiey acted as men who owed no 
allegiance to the Portuguese crown, but whose 
service was due to a distinct power for whom 
their resources must be reserved, from what- 
ever country derived. The remnant of the 
Portuguese were withdrawn from Bombay, 
by arrangements made by their own viceroy 
at Goa; but so absurdly defective were their 
plans that the drooping soldiers and civilians 
had to march a long way overland to Goa, 
and fight their way, leaving a third of their 
number slain or in the hands of the JIahrattas. 
The gallant governor of Bassein was made an 
exile and a beggar by his ungrateful country. 
The English became now the protectors of 
their old enemies, and with much discomfort 
to themselves. They counselled the stirrender 
to the Mahrattas of certain small forts which 
could not be defended, under a treaty securing 
peace to their other possessions. Had this 
not been done, either the Mahrattas or Angria 
would have taken them. It was with great diffi- 
culty, through the redoubtable diplomatist, 
Captain Inchbird, that the English persuaded 
the Mahrattas to act towards the Portuguese 
with any forbearance. When the arrangement 
was effected, the Jesuits refused to allow any 
portion of their property to come within the 
stipulated surrender, and preached so sedi- 
tiously to the ignorant people, that an insur- 
rection was raised. Fear of the Slahrattas, on 
the one hand, and tlie necessity of leaning 
upon the Englisii, at last prevailed with the 
people, and the reverend fathers, after many 
protests and denunciations against Jlahrattas, 
English, and Portuguese politicians, were 
obliged to give way. The Englisii, whose 
pity ^^as strongly moved by the sufferings of 
the Portuguese people, were made indignant 
and angry by the selfish, bigoted, unpatriotic. 



I and mad proceedings of the Jesuit fathers : 
they acted as if their minds, absorbed in one 
class of ideas, were unable to comprehend any 
other, however obviously justice, or the exi- 
gencies of circumstances, might demand 
calmness and good sense. 

In this year of disaster to the Portuguese, 
the English sent a complimentary letter to 
the supposed head of all the Mahratta tribes, 
the Kajah of Sattara, by Captain Gordon ; 
and another letter to the Peishvva, by the 
ubiquitous Captain Inchbird. These letters 
were full of compliments, while the private 
instructions of the envoys were full of in- 
trigue and treachery. Tins the English justi- 
fied by the fact that they had to deal with 
persons without honour or forbearance — that 
it was necessary, if possible, to fathom all 
their schemes, safety dejiending upon the re- 
sult, and that such salutary and essential 
objects only could be obtained by playing 
a superior part to their adversaries in the 
game of finesse. It is scarcely necessary to 
add that a direct and manly part would have 
answered better all purposes that ought to 
have been entertained at all. 

Captain Gordon proceeded to Sattara, and 
delivered his credentials to the riijah. The 
captain was charmed with the magnificent 
scenery of the Deccan, which was not known 
at Bombay, and which in the approjiriate 
place has been described in this work. Gor- 
don's object was penetrated by a sou of Bajee 
Rao ; but nevertheless, it was impossible for 
the young man to make so sure of the con- 
clusion to which he had come, as would enable 
him to act in any way against the company's 
representative. On liis return, Captain Gor- 
don had an interview with the Poishwa him- 
self at Poonah, which city was then enriched 
by the plunder of Southern, Central, and West- 
ern India, and by the commerce which was 
created by the residence of the English at 
Bombay. Gordon fancied that the Peishwa 
against whom he was intriguing was not un- 
friendly to the English, and that witliin the 
whole region which was traversed by the 
envoy tlie English were popular. This arose 
from an impression that, as compared with the 
Portuguese, they were a people of religious 
toleration ; as compared with the Dutch, they 
were conciliatory and polite to native powers ; 
their demand for the products of the looms 
of Poonah made them very popular with the 
weaving population of the city and populous 
country around ; and their possessions in 
India were of a character to command respect 
from those who held power and success in 
reverence. At Snrat, Bombay, Tellicherry, 
Madras, and on the Hoogly the English 
were strong. At Surat they had no territory 



lot 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXIII. 



except the little gronnd connected witli the 
factory, but most of the merchants were their 
debtors. They did not, lilce the French, settle 
there, and stay long enough to incur large 
debts, and then flee to other places, in order 
to make them the scene of similar dishonest}'. 
Bajee Rao, whose word was law from the 
foot of the Rajah of Sattara's throne to the 
remotest bounds of Mahratta incursions, re- 
spected the English for the firm way in which 
they had kept their footing, and their pro- 
bity in payment. The rajah thought the 
English a good sort of people; Bajee Rao, 
who really possessed the power of the rajah, 
thought them useful ; the citizens of the great 
city of Poonah almost deemed them necessary. 
Each of these tribunals pronounced a favour- 
able verdict, and speculated after its own way 
as to the future. The people of Poonah 
wished for larger orders for their beautiful 
fabrics, and looked to the English to obtain 
them. Bajee Rao considered them as " the 
balance of power," and the most reliable com- 
mercial people who traded with the peninsula, 
and a nation not to be intimidated, nor lightly 
to be provoked in war ; the poor rajah con- 
sidered them clever and rich, and begged 
them to send him presents of " pigeons and 
turkeys, and European fowls and birds." It 
does not appear that Captain Gordon effected 
any object contemplated by his mission, but 
lie made some blunders in the attempt to con- 
ceal his object, brought back a great deal of 
useful information, political and commercial, 
preserved accurate and written detail of what 
he saw and heard, and was probably the 
most economical envoy ever sent out by the 
East India Company from any of its presi- 
dential capitals. 

Captain Inchbird's mission was to the 
Mahratta at Bassein. He was met by the 
general there, who, however, demanded as a 
preliminary the payment of a certain sum. 
It does not appear plain whether this demand 
was for tribute or a simple piece of extortion ; 
the captain however refused, and neither 
blandishments nor menaces could induce him 
to give any money. He boldly replied that 
his country submitted to no impositions, 
which, however, was a barefaced untruth, as 
the policy of the company always was to buy 
off, by money payments, the enemies by 
which they were surrounded, so long as doing 
BO could be made to comport with profitable 
trade. Inchbird discovered that the Mahratta 
chiefs were all well acquainted, quite as well 
as he was, with the objects for which Captain 
Gordon had been sent to Sattara. It was 
obvious from this circumstance that ^he 
company's officers were in some cases unfaith- 
ful, or that the president and council of 



Bombay were surrounded by spies and 
traitors in the persons of their confidential 
native employes. Inchbird was a man well 
fitted for his office; he extricated himself 
from the difficulties and dangers with which 
the penetration of the Mahrattas, of the double 
game his employers wore playing, had thus 
imexpectedly beset him. He even succeeded 
in blinding his astute interrogators, and per- 
suading them that their interests lay in 
alliance with the English, or at all events, in 
a material obligation of peaceful and commer- 
cial intercourse. His mission terminated much 
to his own credit by arranging the terms of a 
treaty, dated the 12th of July, 1739, which 
was ratified, at Bombay. According to tlxis, 
the Peishwa conceded to the English free 
trade in his dominions. The contracting 
parties mutually engaged that debtors endea- 
vouring to evade their responsibilities should 
be either delivered up, or compelled to pay 
all that was due ; that runaway slaves should 
bo seized and restored to their masters ; 
that if the vessels of one power should be 
driven by stress of weather into the ports of 
the other, assistance should bo rendered them ; 
and that such vessels as were wrecked on the 
coast should be sold, one -half the proceeds of 
sale being paid to the owner, the other half 
to the government on whose coast the wreck 
might be thrown.* 

Soon after these transactions, Bombay was 
filled with consternation by " wars and 
rumours of wars," in which these terrible 
Mahrattas had the chief part. Preparations 
were making for enterprises which were 
variously interpreted, but the terrified inha- 
bitants of Bombay believed that for an inva- 
sion of their island, the gathering together of 
arms and men, and ships, on various points, 
was intended. Spies or merchants made 
known that Poonah was a focus of mihtary 
preparation ; and cannon foundries were at 
work on a large scale, producing guns and 
mofi'tars of larger calibre and better manu- 
facture than had been known among the 
native powers of India. Many of the people 
of Bombay buried their valuables or fled. 
The president was afraid to send away the 
ships of war as convoys with the merchant- 
men, lest the Mahrattas from Salsette or Bas- 
sein should make a descent. Such ships as 
went without convo3's were captured bj' some 
one of the half-dozen of distinct piratical 
powers which made these seas a terror to the 
unprotected merchant. When the convoys 
were sent, indications of a sudden attack 
appeared, which increased until the return of 
the naval squadron afforded protection ; the 

* " The First Wars and Treaties of the Western Pre- 
sidency : " Bombaij Qi/ar/erly Revieic. 



Chap. LXIIL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



people of Bombay all tlie wlilla living in the 
utmost consternation. Matters assumed a 
condition of alarm and uncertainty as bad as 
had ever been experienced since the English 
came into possession of it. 

On the 'Jth of November, 1739, vi-hile Bom- 
bay was thus overcast with gloom, a storm 
burst over the coasts of South Westei-n 
India, such as had not been known to living 
men. Three of the company's largest and 
best armed ships, commanded by three of 
their ablest and bravest officers, foundered, 
and all on board perished. When the ter- 
rible tidings reached the agitated commu- 
nity of Bombay, fear struck every soul, and 
the belief universally prevailed that the days 
of prosperity in Bombay were ntimbered. 
The place was at the mercy of strong and 
powerful enemies. 

Their fear was followed by what appeared 
to be a foretaste of their fate. Sumbhagee 
Angria, their old and malignant enemy, sallied 
forth, swept the harbour of Bombay of the 
fishing-boats then upon its w-aters, and made 
captives eighty -four men of their crews. 

In this state of suspense, the factors, gar- 
rison, and community of Bombay must be 
left for a while, until some notice is taken of 
other portions of Western India, where 
British interests sustained the pressure of the 
limes, and where the condition of affairs 
exercised some influence upon the fortunes 
of Bombay. As in a chain, the weakness 
of some links changes the power of the 
whole concatenation, however strong the 
other links with which the weaker are con- 
nected, so it was with the chain of forts and 
stations where the English now transacted 
their business. These forts and stations were 
as grappling irons, which were fixed to the 
great prize which the English adventurers 
were to board and capture and keep for ever. 
However unconscious the English were of their 
actual relation to the country, as it regarded the 
political action of their power upon it, and the 
working of those natural laws in the moral 
government of God, by which nations affect 
nations in the various contiguities into which 
they are brought, it is not now difficult to see 
how these laws, were at work, and how con- 
sistent, consecutive, and ramified the influ- 
ences which were gradually consolidating 
English power. The very seas and storms 
which tossed the bark of English fortunes, 
bore it in safety over the shoals which lay 
in its course, and against which, in calmer 
seas, it might, probably, have been made a 
wreck. 

Tellicherry was a very important station 
commercially and politically. After Bombay, 
it was the most important position, in every 



respect, which the English occupied in 
Western India during the first half of the 
eighteenth century. It was so much thought 
of by the directory at homo, that a chaplain 
was assigned to it, a privilege accorded only 
to Bombay and Tellicherry. When they 
received him, which was about this time, 
they did not Ivuow what to do with him. 
How to value his sacred ministration was not 
their first care, but what place they should 
assign to him in society I This was a ques- 
tion too puzzling for the intellect of the East 
India Company's servants at Tellicherry in 
those days, and they referred the doubtful 
investigation to the pellucid minds of their 
superiors — the president and council of Bom- 
ba}-. The latter were amazed and angry that 
such a question should be sent in the midst 
of " struggles for life," whilst the Mahratta 
was knocking with his spear butt at every 
one's door. They perceived at once that the 
chaplain should take his place after the factors ! 
Such was the esteem in which English com- 
mercial men in the service of the East India 
Company in the early part of the eighteenth 
century held professional men, and especially 
the members of the most sacred and learned 
of all professions. The English in India 
were not disposed in those days to worship 
their priests, and seemed more willing to do 
without them than the factors of one hundred 
years before. 

With or without a chaplain — and whether 
or not the possessor of that ofiice was treated 
as a scholar and a gentleman ought to have 
been, which seldom was the case in the 
company's factories in those days — Telli- 
cherry grew rapidly in power and in rela- 
tive importance. In relation to other En- 
glish possessions it was of some note. The 
factory of Onore was subordinate to it. 
This lesser settlement was celebrated for the 
pepper which grew on the lowlands, and for 
the sandal wood which was native to the 
rocky heights in the neighbourhood. Onore 
itself acquired some considerable celebrity in 
the annals of after wars. Bajee Eao and 
his Mahrattas had plundered the country 
around, levying tribute upon the Carnatic 
far and wide, so that the inhabitants of Bed- 
nure and Balgee left their fields uncultivated, 
and caused the functions of the Englisli 
factors at Onore for a time to be suspended.. 
This occurred in 1727, but how long this, 
state of alarm lasted, it is difficult to conjecture 
Up to the year 1740, the fear of Mahratta 
freebooters depressed cultivation, and, con- 
sequently, trade in this district, more or less. 

The general position and relation of Telli- 
cherry to English interest, may be seen by 
the following brief and accurate description 



156 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[CuAP. LXIII. 



by the author of The First Wars and Trea- 
ties of the Western Presidency : — 

" The town of Tellicherry was built ou a 
rising ground near the sea, in a country con- 
sisting, liije all Malabar, of low hills and 
narrow valleys, and was in the petty king- 
dom of Colastr}', though closely bordering on 
that of Ootiote. Moderate land-winds, with 
cool and refreshing breezes from the sea, 
made the climate celebrated amongst Euro- 
peans for its salubrity, and they were in the 
habit of styling Tellicherry the Montpelier 
of India. To the west of the town, on a 
neighbouring hill two hundred and twenty 
feet in height, the English had a large, oblong, 
ill-constructed, and worse situated fort, con- 
taining a place of worship for themselves, 
and also for Roman Catholics, a handsome 
residence for the chief, warehouses, offices, 
barracks, and other public buildings. Oppo- 
site the fort, at the distance of a mile from 
the land, lay the shipping, where the water 
varied in depth from ten to twelve fathoms ; 
and between the fort and shipping, on some 
rocks about four hundred yards from the 
shore, a small battery was annually raised for 
protection of the trade, and as regularly re-' 
moved before the monsoons set in. Over- 
looking both town and fort was a tower 
called Cockan Candy, and a redoubt called 
Codoley, which could only have been ren- 
dered capable of defence against a regular 
army by a large outlay of money. Several 
other outworks also had been built on the 
land side, a mile and a half to the south- 
ward, and close to the sea, was the fort of 
Moylan, belonging to the English, and at one 
time or another they raised fortifications on the 
small island of Dhurmapatam, two miles and 
a half north- north-west of Tellicherry, be- 
tween the territories of Colastry and Cotiote ; 
on the Island of Madacara, about three 
quarters of a mile from the shore, stood 
another small fortress, so situated as to com- 
mand the entrance to the river of Billia- 
patam, about twenty-one miles from Telli- 
cherry. Dhurmapatam, of which they obtained 
possession in 1734, was extremely fertile, so 
that the lowlands yielded two crops of grain 
annually, and from such as were near the 
sea, salt was procured. The chief and factors 
at first attempted to cultivate the ground 
themselves, but unsuccessfully, and after- 
wards, by letting portions on lease to a Cap- 
tain Johnson, who much improved it, and to 
some natives, they raised an annual revenue 
of 13,880 fanams, in addition to 6,598 fanams 
which Tellicherry and Moylan yielded. The 
cultivation of the coffee plant, which was 
early introduced from Mocha, soon became 
highly remunerative. Dhurmapatam would 



have afforded a much better site for the com- 
pany's factory than Tellicherry, as it was en- 
compassed by three rivers, had a bold front 
towards the sea, a fine sandy road for ships, 
and was not commanded by any neighbour- 
ing hills. No fewer than five fortified works 
were built upon it, two of which protected 
the entrance of the river. Near it, and in 
the sea, was Grove Island, two hundred and 
fifty feet in length, on which also was a 
battery. We should observe, however, that 
the English were only novv commencing to 
raise these fortifications, and that in enume- 
rating them all, we have a little anticipated 
events ; but even in 1730 the monthly ex- 
penses of the garrison required to defend 
them all, amounted to seven thousand rupees, 
and the company groaned under such a bur- 
den, which in those days appeared almost in- 
supportable."* 

In relation to the native powers, Tellicherry 
was securely placed. The surrounding chiefs 
were comparatively feeble and always at feud. 
Some were bribed, others made friends by 
complimentary letters and titles, ifcc. The 
factors at Tellicherry were adepts in the diplo- 
macy requisite in dealing with small rajahs; 
in no other part of India had the company's 
servants an opportunity of becoming so ex- 
pert. It was in relation to other European, 
or at all events to one European power, more 
particularly, that Tellicherry was at this junc- 
ture most important. ■ The French were now 
firndy settled in India (as a future chapter 
will show), and their ambition was boundless. 
Before the first half of the eighteenth century 
had run its course, the idea of making the 
whole peninsula a French conquest inspired 
the French, and especially their chief, the 
great Labourdonnais. 

At Surat, the French were dishonest and 
insolent traders, and the patrons of Capuchin 
friars, whose chief work seemed to be the 
conversion of the English, among whom they 
made some converts, a matter likely enough, 
when the half Protestant character of the 
company's servants there is considered ; their 
ignorance, indifference, and irrcligion left 
them open to persuasive advocates of any 
jilausible system, true or false. In 1722, the 
French were invited to settle in Malabar bj' 
the Boyanores chiefs, who, alarmed at the 
growing power of the English, were eager to 
find some strong European nation to place, as 
it were, between themselves and the dreaded 
encroachments. The French fixed upon 
Myhie, about three and a half miles from the 
English fort of Tellicherry. The position 

* Bomtai/ (Quarterly. Forbes's Oriental Memoirs, and 
the Kcports of the Tellicherry Factory, supply the mate- 
rials for this description. 



Chap. LXIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE BAST. 



157 



chosen was superior to the English station 
both in a sanitary and military point of view ; 
but a quarrel with the Boyanores deprived 
the Gauls of a station which would have 
seriously menaced the English settlements in 
that quarter. As early as 1725, the French 
disappeared from Myhie. In a chapter de- 
voted to the progress of the French East India 
Company, the reader had an opportunity of 
marking how, under the auspices of Riche- 
lieu, Colbert, Louis XIV., and other powerful 
persons, the French merchants had oppor- 
tunity provided and means supplied to carry 
on schemes of enterprise in the East. Here 
it is only necessary to observe that while the 
French had been, for a considerable time, 
well established in their " Isle of France,"* so 
they had acquired a powerful position at Pou- 
dicherrj', which was the seat of a French 
governor. This city was strongly built, well 
fortified, and populous without being encum- 
bered with masses of helpless natives. When 
Labourdonnais arrived, it possessed more 
than 70,000 souls. The natives of the sur- 
rounding districts often fled to it for safety 
from the marauding Mahrattas. In 1734, 
Dumas was governor, and began to raise 
money with the effigy of the king of France. 
He was also proclaimed a Nawab of the 
empire, and three large and fertile districts 
of territory were assigned to him. In 1741, 
Dupleix arrived and found it a flourishing 
place, which it might have continued, if not 
ruined by his ambition. 

The English factors at Tellicherry had the 
honour, if such it may be regarded, of fighting 
the first field action, at all events with artillery, 
against the native Indian powers. This 
event came about as follows : — The French, 
after having been driven from !Myhie by the 
Boyanores, fled to Calicut, but were rein- 
forced, and recaptured their old settlement. 
From that time they became more firmly 
fixed as very near neighbours of the English, 
and proved to be very unneighbourly, as they 
constantly incited the petty chiefs against 
them, and against one another, when, by so 
doing, the peace of the English might be en- 
dangered. On several occasions, native chiefs 
assembled ostensibly for hunting parties, and 
witli the intention of trespassing upon the 
English territory, so as to lay foundation for 
a subsequent claim, on the principle that none 
hunt but on their own ground. This was a 
common prelude to some meditated land rob- 
bery in India, when one petty chief coveted 
the domains of another. The English, being 
apprised of this, occupied a neighbouring hill, 
upon which and in the vicinage of which the 

* Better known as the JIauritius, the name given to 
it by the Dutch after thfir Prince of Orange. 
VOL. II. 



trespass was expected to be made. At the 
time and in the manner tlie English had been 
led to believe, the great hunting party ap- 
peared, accompanied by a number of French 
military officers, evidently abetting the scheme 
and pointing out how it could most skilfully 
be accomplished. The English lay in ambush, 
and the moment the trespassers trod their 
ground, discharged their musketry upon 
them, bringing down many. The sham 
hunters being numerous and well armed, 
charged the hill; but the English, prepared 
against such an eventuality, had placed small 
cannon in position and swept off the intruders, 
who fled before this unexpected demonstration. 
The English, pursuing, skirmished in the 
plain, which was wooded, and kept up all 
day a dropping fire, in reply to that of their 
opponents, who were finally driven away. 
Next day, in greater numbers and bettor 
armed, believing that the English would sup- 
pose the danger over, the hunters returned ; 
but the English had knowledge of their pro- 
jects, and were prepared on all jjoints to give 
them a warm reception. The second day 
was, in every respect, a repetition of the first, 
and the French and their native tools were 
much chagrined at the result. On a minor 
scale, these armed trespasses were practised 
for several years prior to 1730. 

These occurrences prepared the native 
mind for intrigues and plunder, and led to 
alliances on the part of the French and English 
with neighbouring tribes ; so that while the 
two great European nations were at peace 
with one another, they were indirectly at war 
in that part of Western India, through the 
media of the petty rajahs of the district. 
These ambushes and skirmishes may not be 
called field engagements, or dignified by the 
name of battles ; but at length an opportunity 
arose for fighting a real battle against a native 
force. 

In 1738-9 a war took place between the 
Malabarese and Canarese. The English took 
the part of the former, who, in a very cowardly 
manner, allowed their European ally to bear 
the brunt of the war. They acted as the 
Spaniards so frequently did in the wars waged 
under Moore, Wellington, Evans, and other 
generals on their behalf — kept at a distance 
until the fortune of battle was decided. The 
English, having inflicted defeats upon the 
Canarese, succeeded in intercepting their com- 
munications with their fortress of Modday. 
Rugonath, the Canarese general, made efforts 
to gain the fort, but the English dealt destruc- 
tion to his forces. At last Captain Sterling, 
the English commander, permitted the unfor- 
tunate general and his beaten army to enter 
the place. The forbearance was not lost upon 

Y 



158 



HISTOEY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXIII. 



the Canarese chief, who songlit the protection 
and friendship of the English. During these 
operations, the Malabarese looked on from a 
distance, leaving the English to fight their 
battle. 

Up to the close of the half century there 
were other skirmishes of a similar nature, in 
which- the natives were equally deficient in 
courage and the English in any permanent 
advantage. The assistance which every enemy 
of England in India — at all events every na- 
tive enemy — derived from the French, enabled 
them to harass the factories and put the fac- 
tors to expense ; it also laid the foundation of 
those fierce wars with France in which that 
j)0wer was so seriously humbled and injured. 

The condition of the East India Company's 
factories in Malabar at the close of the half 
century was, in almost every case, one of 
trouble and danger, mainly from the intrigues 
and warlike proceedings of the French, al- 
though Dutch, Portuguese, and natives also 
did their part in making the last decade of the 
half century one of struggle and conflict to 
the company. The Dutch and English were 
engaged during this period in angry discus- 
sions, especially at Surat and Ajengo. The 
Dutch, very learned and much given to argu- 
ment, in the management of which they ex- 
celled, set up claims to exclusive trade in those 
places, on the ground of old treaties with na- 
tive princes granting them a monopoly. The 
English factors were by no means so well edu- 
cated or expert at their pens as the Dutch ; 
they were prompt to answer in their own 
direct way, that they were there by treaty 
with the soverigns of the country, and would 
stay there until driven away by the strong 
hand.* Which hand was the stronger the 
Dutch at that advanced period were not dis- 
posed to try. 

The conduct of the Portuguese was as 
foolish as faithless. While begging help from 
the English in one direction, they were in 
another insolent, overbearing, and aggressive. 
The French quarrelled with all, made enemies 
of all, but especially provoked and showed 
hostility to the English. The natives kept 
no faith, but robbed Europeans and also one 
another as occasion offered, and forced the 
English at last, as did also the French, to be 
combative. The following is a brief but ac- 
curate view of the general condition of Western 
India in relation to the English at this time : — 
" Before the British aspired to make conquests 
in W'estem India, the whole coast between 
the harbour of Bombay and Aguada,near Goa, 
was in possession of pirates. The Angrias of 
Colaba, the Siddees of Rajapore, the Angrias 
of Gheria, the Mahvans and Sawunts, were 
the ruling families, and claimed the districts 



on the sea board from north to south, accord- 
ing to the order in wljich their names are here 
mentioned. To the south of Goa wore the 
British stations of C'arwar, Honawur, and 
Tellicherry ; also the following forts, some of 
which are still to be traced on the map, but 
the names of many appear to be lost. First 
came the forts of Cauligur and Seevashwur 
belonging to the Rajah of Soonda; thenPeergur 
and Simpigur belonging to the Portuguese ; 
two forts, the names of which were unknown, 
in the district of Ancola, belonging to the 
Rajah of Soonda ; Condamum Berum, Mirjau- 
gur, Rajamungur, now called Rajamundroog, 
Cuntim, Chundauver, Honawur, Bockraw or 
Gursupa, Munky, Moodeshvur in the sea, 
Cundapoor, Bassanore, which included four 
forts, named respectively Ganjolly, Dungree, 
Cundapoor, and Cadnore, Barkoor, Cappy 
Carpary, Moolky, Malkem Patem in the sea, 
Mangalore, Coombla, Consarcsat, Chundra- 
giri — all belonging to the Rajah of Bednore ; 
Baikool, belonging to a Nair ; Hossdroog, be- 
longing to the Rajah of Bednore ; two forts of 
Nelleasaroon taken by the French from the 
Rajah of Bednore ; Mally, Mallaly, Ramdilly, 
and Ilunmuntgur, belonging to the French. 
The towns of Mnrjoe and Bassanore, respec- 
tively to the north and south of Honawur, 
were, according to Forbes, supposed to be the 
Musiris and Baraco of the ancients; but for 
this allocation there does not seem to have 
been sufficient reason. Near INIangalore was 
a celebrated temple of great antiquity called 
Kurkul, and a colossal image of the god 
Gomateshwur. A little way to the north of 
TeUicherry was Cananore, a sea-port, pos- 
sessed by Ali Raja, petty ruler of the Maldives. 
Sailing from Tellicherry to Ajengo, the 
southernmost factory of the British, the voy- 
ager passed the French settlement of Myhie ; 
then Sacrifice-Rock, so called because an 
English crew had been massacred there by 
pirates at the commencement of the century ; 
Calicut, the decayed sea-port of the Zamorin, 
where there was no longer a British factory, 
but only an agent; Brinjan, where was an 
English banksal or storehouse; Chetwa, a 
Dutch settlement ; then Cranganore, the seat 
of a Portuguese archbishopric until it fell 
into the hands of the Dutch ; the town of 
Cochin, with its extensive fortifications con- 
structed by the Portuguese, but afterwards 
also captured by the Dutch ; Porka and Cali- 
coulan, Dutch factories fur the purchase of 
pepper and cassia ; and then Coulan, another 
tovrn with numerous churches and strong 
fortifications taken by the Dutch from the 
Portuguese. Sailing three leagues further, 
he passed Eddava, once a Danish factory, 
but where only a Portuguese agent of the 



Chap. LXIIL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



ibo 



Britisli tlien resided, and after three more 
leagues lie arrived at Ajengo.* 

" Tliis account of the towns and forts on the 
coast, though not complete, is the best that 
can be drawn up with the aid of English re- 
cords. It satisfies ns that the inmates of the 
factories must have been dependent for their 
quiet and security not only on the disposi- 
tions of their native neighbours, but still more 
on the state of European politics. They were 
now so strong, that if they offended a native 
chief they suffered annoyance, not danger ; 
but if Great Britain were involved in a war 
with France or Holland, an invasion from 
Myhie or Cochin might bring captivit}', death, 
and ruin. In these factories, therefore, we 
find especial interest taken in the affairs of 
Europe, whilst the communications with the 
French and Dutch settlements are elaborate 
and important."f 

At Tellicherry the alarm concerning a 
general war in Europe influenced the pro- 
ceedings of the factors, both in the internal 
economy and external relations of the settle- 
ment. In the years 1740-1, this expectation 
was more general ; and both the English and 
the French at Myhie were looking forth 
eagerly for orders to begin the war in India. 
England and France were at this time 
jealous, angry, and hostile ; they were ex- 
pending their resources on opposite sides of 
a struggle to which England had not yet 
committed herself as a principle. In 1744, 
however, the war broke forth, which, extend- 
ing itself to India, produced such remarkable 
results. During the few years which inter- 
vened, the English and French in the neigh- 
bourhood of Tellicherry were close commercial 
competitors and rivals for native influence. 
It is here impossible to do more than refer to 
this as the key of many complications of the 
English with the natives ; the detail must be 
'reserved for chapters exclusively given to the 
conflicts of the English and French. The 
English had the best of the struggle which 
went on ere yet war was proclaimed ; they 
were more successful in gaining influence over 
the natives — in souring the best of the pepper 
trade, and in creating annoyance to their ad- 
versaries : their action was more continuous, 
persevering, and steady, and their resohition 
more dogged and obstinate. The Frencli 
were successful in gaining over one influential 
native, who was as dangerous to his friends as 
to his enemies ; this was on& Ali Kaja, a rash, 
active, unprincipled Mohammedan zealot. He 
made various plundering expeditions to the 

* Diary of the Select Committee, Jan. 1758. Forbes's 
Oriental Minnoirs^ vol. i, chaps, i. xi. xii; vol. ii. chap. xvi. 

t The East India Company's factories in Malabar, by 
the EJitor of the Bombay (Quarter!//. 



English island of Bhurmapntan, where he 
destroyed both property and life. 

Frequently during the last decade of the 
first half of the eigliteenth century the Mo- 
hammedans of Malabar were in a state of 
frenzied religious excitement. The Moplahs, 
a particular order of fanatics with whom 
the shedding of infidel blood was a profession, 
slaughtered many persons, the Portuguese 
priests whom they intensely hated suffering 
more particularly at their hands. These out- 
rageous bigots conspired to murder all the 
European and Christian inhabitants of Blala- 
bar, but their plot was detected, and its authors 
punished or put to flight. The native chiefs 
professed to abhor these jseople and their acts, 
but were in reality delighted to hear of them, 
and extended protection to the assassins as 
widely as they dared. The French showed 
more dexterity in dealing with these persons 
than the English did ; and, indeed, generally 
in suppressing native crime within their settle- 
ments, they were more skilful than their 
rivals ; yet they maintained the forms of law, 
and dispensed substantial justice. However 
disposed at times the British and French were 
to mutual forbearance, the conduct of the 
native chiefs so complicated each as rendered 
it difficult to preserve a neutral attitude. If a 
native chief desired to prove his friendship for 
French he attacked the English ; or if, in 
alliance with the latter, he molested the French. 
The French seldom had a war with a native 
chief that the English were not obliged either 
to aid the latter, or to mediate, so as to pre- 
serve the company's treaties and obligations. 
Thus matters continued at Tellicherry until 
the breaking out of the great French war. 

Ajengo, situated lower down the coast 
than Tellicherry, was an old settlement of the 
English, and one of the pleasantest in India. 
It was built on the banks of a small river 
which flowed rapidly between wooded banks, 
winding its bright way deviously, and form- 
ing picturesque islets, which were crowned 
with the luxuriant verdure of a land of per- 
petual summer. The pretty town was sur- 
rounded with gardens glowing in the bright 
attire of tropical floral beauty. The defences 
were four bastions commanding the approaches 
by land and sea, and mounted thirty -two 
eighteen pounder guns. The sea approach 
was further iirotectcd by a battery of twenty 
guns. The defences were in bad condition 
during the last ten years of the half century. 
There was but on& gunner, and he was both 
blind and insubordinate. The French ships 
of war came very often to look at Ajengo, 
and the King of Travancore came too often to 
ascertain whether, as the ally of England, it 
was necessary for him to exterminate the ex- 



ICO 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXIII. 



pected invaders. This man was a terror to 
the Dutch, over whom he obtained several 
victories, disastrous to tlieir power in these 
parts. lie had been the minister of the queen 
of Atringer, whose power all native princes 
respected ; but he betrayed her, and usurped 
her authority. He became sovereign of a 
territory which ranged along one hundred and 
twenty miles of coast, southward from Cochin, 
but was of uncertain breadth ; it, however, 
extended far into the interior, and comprised 
rich provinces. The annalist of the East 
India Company's factories in Malabar, gives 
the following curious account of the opinions, 
practices, and policy of this fierce bandit: — "So 
great was the quantity of blood shed in his 
wars, that, when smitten with temporary re- 
morse, he was induced by Brahmans to make 
an atonement, — such an one as could only 
have occurred to the wild imaginations of 
orientals excited by superstition and avarice. 
With two hundred and fifty-six pounds of the 
purest gold was formed the image of a cow, 
into which, on the twenty-first of March, 1751 , 
his majesty entered, and there remained three 
days. At the expiration of that time he made, 
his exit, purified from all the crimes of his past 
life, and regenerate. Congratulatory presents 
were sent him from the Dutch and English 
chiefs of Cochin and Ajengo, and the cow 
being cut into small portions was distributed 
amongst the interested inventors of this method 
for the remission of sins. From that time 
the ceremony, though rare as the hecatombs 
of the Greeks and horse-sacrifices of Northern 
India, became national, and some years after- 
wards, when Forbes was residing in Travan- 
core, the reigning sovereign raised himself by 
it from a low to a high caste — an instance of 
exaltation unparalleled in modern times, but 
not without precedents in Hindoo antiquity." 
This prince was as bravo as he was supersti- 
tious — as warlike as he \\as tyrannical. To 
the British he was for a long course of years, 
not only courteous, but kind, carrying on trade 
with them, and proving true to his agreements. 
The English undoubtedly assisted this fierce 
king in his wars with the Dutch, although 
they were unwilling to acknowledge it when 
challenged by the Dutch agents to account 
for their conduct. The Hollanders, as much 
to test the professed neutrality of their British 
neighbours as for sake of any advantage to 
be derived, requested permission to march 
through the company's territory to attack his 
belligerent majesty of Travancore, but the 
request was refused, although arms and am- 
munition reached his sable majesty from the 
English arsenal. It was, at all events, in some 
measure from this cause that the Dutch, in 
17'10-2. suffered so much, and sustained such 



mortifying reverses. From causes which the 
English did not profess to know, the soldiers, 
and even officers, of the Batavian army de- 
serted to the English, who refused to surrender 
them. When the fort of Colesly was lost by 
the Dutch, after the King of Travancore had 
maintained a long siege against it, proof was 
afforded that to the deserters harboured by 
the English, he owed his success. Still, when 
he offered to the English the exclusive trade 
of all the pepper and cloth produced in his 
dominions not required for its own consump- 
tion, if they would form an alliance offensive 
and defensive with him, they peremptorily 
refused. He found the French more accom- 
modating. Notwithstanding this show of 
peace on the part of the British, the Dutch 
attributed their misfortunes to the factors of 
that nation, and threatened to drive the Eng- 
lish out of the land : a more formidable power 
soon after essayed to do what the Dutch 
menaced, and was itself destroyed. 

The King of Travancore, finding the French 
deceitful, and the English more bent on trade 
than war, refusing to be his ally for aggressive 
purposes, suddenly turned round and pro- 
posed an alliance with their enemies. The 
Dutch, who had strongly denounced the im- 
morality of the English in cultivating the 
friendship of such a robber and assassin as 
the despot of Travancore, immediately ac- 
cepted his alliance, and the proposal upon 
which it was based of driving all others out 
of India who disputed their combined supre- 
macy. The king intended to use the Dutch 
for his own purposes, and then cast them 
away ; they hoped to employ his resources 
for objects exclusively their own, and then 
turn upon him and subjugate him : the grand 
object of the alliance was, that each of the allies 
might find by it more facile means of robbing 
and destroying one another. Such was the 
political morality of India, native and Euro- 
pean, at the close of the half centur}^ the events 
of which are here related. 

To the British in Ajengo, IT-tG was a year 
of unusual peril. The topasses or native 
troops revolted, incited by anvell-paid Jloham- 
medan ofticer in their service. The mutiny was 
suppressed by means of sheer resolution on the 
part of the factors, and the ringleaders were 
jjunished. Thus early the English had warn- 
ing of how little reliance was to be placed in 
native troops. In the field they had deseited 
on many occasions, in the garrison it was now 
found that they could be mutinous at a junc- 
ture when its safety rested upon their fidelity. 

In the Ajengo diary of 1751 there is a 
curious record of how impossible it was for 
the English to hold any intercourse with the 
Portuguese without sustaining some injury. 



CiiAP. LXIII.] 



IX INDIA AND THE EAST. 



ICl 



The Portuguese bishop of Cochin was one 
Don Clement Joseph. He intrigued against 
the Dutch, wlio conquered that city, and they 
expelled liim. The English had always some 
among their factors everywhere who leaned 
to the Church of Rome, or, at all events, con- 
sidered it as the next best system to the 
Church of England. They were not such 
uncompromising Protestants as the citizens of 
the States-General. Don Joseph was wel- 
comed with his priests and retinue to Ajengo, 
where shelter and succour were afforded him 
in his troubles, on the usual condition that he 
and his would be subject to the laws by 
which English citizens were bound. Don 
Joseph accepted the hospitalities sought so 
piteously and offered so generously, with 
protestations of gratitude and conformity 
to English interests. Scarcely had he been 
quietly located when he endeavoured to cor- 
rupt the English European soldiery, hoping 
to make proselytes of them, and thereby 
attach them to the Portuguese interests. 
This treacherous work was carried on so clan- 
destinely that some success attended it before 
discovery prevented the further extension of 
mischief. The bishop was seized, and he and 
his associates were charged with acting as 
spies, and transmitting treasonable informa- 
tion as to the garrison, &c., to the Portuguese 
and French. They were placed as prisoners 
on board an English ship bound for Bombay. 
The bishop's intrigues were as active by sea 
as on land, and he laid a plan for the escape 
of his people, and for making the English 
captain its disloyal accessory. His scliemes 
were again discovered, but no punishment was 
inflicted upon him, he was allowed to with- 
draw to a Portuguese settlement, taking with 
him his converts, whom he persuaded to transfer 
their allegiance from their own sovereign to 
that of Portugal. The English had had a 
very long experience of the Portuguese, 
their priests and superior clergy, and they 
might have concluded that their engagements 
would have been kept no longer than a chance 
of safety attended the violation, and that to 
pervert the minds of the troops, sow sedition, 
and betray the condition of the garrison to 
such of the rival powers as were Roman 
Catholic, would result, as a matter of course, 
for any indulgence accorded. 

Dependent upon the government of Ajengo 
were several other factories on the Malabar 
coast, of less importance, but each of which 
had its exciting history. The French were 
the interlopers in these days, and stirred up 
the native rajahs against the minor as well 
as the major stations of the English traders. 
The author of The East India Conij>any' »■ 
Factories in Malabar, gives a sketch of these 



minor staticms so brief, yet so pertinent and 
complete, that it conveys all that need be 
written upon the subject, and nearly all the 
reader would desire to know of these lesser 
agencies: — "At Brinjan was a banksal or 
storehouse, the English resident of which was 
jealously watched by the native chief, and not 
being permitted to raise a flagstaff, was fain 
to hoist the British colours on a tree. Rut- 
tera, where a century before the English had 
a small factory, had long since been deserted 
by them, and although it was within the limits 
of the company's privileges, the French at- 
tempted to open a trade there. The chief of 
Ajengo immediately dispatched a corporal 
and ten privates iu a manchau, together with 
another well -manned and well-armed boat, to 
seize the interlopers ; but on the native rajah 
declaring that if the French were molested 
he would raise the country and destroy every 
man of the detachment, they hastily retraced 
their steps. The French afterwanls sent an 
agent with three chests of treasure to Co- 
letche, where he succeeded in opening a 
warehouse. At Eddava, half-way between 
Ajengo and Coulan, the English had a ware- 
house, the business of which was transacted 
by a Portuguese linguist, who did a little for 
them in the pepper trade, and a great deal 
for himself by intriguing with the natives. 
At Cotiote, although close to Tellicherry, 
there resided an European agent from the 
factory of Ajengo. Richard Seeker was ap- 
pointed to this post, and his brief occupancy 
is one of many examples to prove what must 
have been the miseries of faint-hearted 
civilians at that time. His residence, a native 
hut with a roof of rotten leaves, was an insuf- 
ficient protection from the weather, and during 
the heavy rains he was compelled to shift his 
bed from place to place in the vain hope of 
finding a dry spot of rest ; his single room 
sei'ved for kitchen, parlour, and all ; at night 
it was overrun by vermin, and to his horror 
he frequently found himself bitten by rats. 
He had not a single companion, and, unable 
to converse fluently in the native language, 
was excluded even from the barbarous society 
of the place. His spirits gave way, and in- 
stead of purchasing pepper, his time was taken 
up with indicting accounts of his wretched- 
ness, and petitioning to be removed." 

The smallest stations dependent upon Tel- 
licherry were more important. Carwar had 
been an early settlement of the company, and 
since they had been obliged to close it in 
1720, they made repeated efforts to re-estab- 
lish themselves there. The French ofiered 
every opposition which indirect influence 
could wield. The Portuguese, at the very 
time the English were compassionating them 



1G2 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXIH. 



elsewhere — affording them succour iu some 
instances, and hospitality in many — were 
malignantly hostile to the ve-estabHshment 
of the English at Oarwar, ami soon after the 
second half of the eighteenth century com- 
menced, suddenly, in a time of peace, while 
the English were persecuted by the natives, 
appeared witli a fleet off the coast, landed 
troops, attacked the English without summon 
to surrender, or declaration of war, and easily 
carried by their overwhelming numbers tlie 
fort on Peer Hill, from which the Englisli had 
no means to. dislodge them. The only moral 
defence the Portuguese offered was one which, 
if valid, justified war and a general attack 
upon the Enghsh settlements, but could not 
mitigate the atrocity in a time of peace of a 
wanton and cowardly attack with an over- 
powering force upon a weak and almost de- 
fenceless station. They alleged, after the old 
fashion, that they were the original traders to 
the East; that the English were interlopers; 
that, moreover, the latter were not the friends 
of the Jesuits, and had insulted them. This 
last charge was untrue ; the English having 
rather petted that order, until their treachery 
and arrogance in many cases, and their trea- 
son in all, compelled their punishment or 
expulsion from British settlements. Hor- 
isawur, and a few other small places, were 
established or resuscitated about 1750 — some 
of them rather before that date, and others 
shortly after ; and in connection with one or 
two of these, events occurred which were 
exciting to the English and had some influ- 
ence on their future fortunes, but the narrative 
of which fall properly within the relation of the 
occurrences of the second half of the century. 
Students of Indian history have been struck 
with the coarseness of the English factors as 
compared with the first British settlers in 
India, and in comparison also with contem- 
porary factors of other nations. The Dutch 
had at all their stations the humanizing in- 
fluence of chaplains, who were selected for 
their piety, learning, and zeal, and who much 
restrained their flocks, who were probably as 
much given as the English to the vices of the 
day and of human nature iu their circum- 
stances. The administration of justice was, 
amongst Dutch, Danes, and French, far supe- 
rior to what it was among the English. The 
Dutch lawyers were frequently very eminent. 



International, maritime, and commercial laws 
were studied by the Dutch merchants, who 
in general intelligence and respectability 
much surpassed the English. The French 
were dissolute, but their manners were culti- 
vated. They were hardly less sincere in the 
conflict of commerce and diplomacy, but they 
were much more polite than their British 
rivals. The correspondence between the 
French and English extaut, places our coun- 
trymen iu a far inferior position in point of 
education, manners, and good behaviour ; the 
composition and even spelling of the English 
letters are barbarous. Probably there are no 
public letters of that day in existence so low- 
bred, vulgar, and ill-written as those of the 
English factors of TeUicherry, in reply to 
communications courteous and very elegantly 
expressed. There was a low, ruffianly tone 
about the correspondence of that day which 
contrasts painfully with the letters of the 
English factors of one hundred years before. 
This allegation has been made in several of 
the Indian periodicals, and a writer iu one of 
the quarterlies thus puts it : — "In the Diarj' 
of Ajengo we notice the last traces of that 
excessive vulgarity which disfigures the 
medisjval, much more than the most ancient, 
records of the company. The manuscript — 
written, it should be observed, not by a clerk, 
but by the European secretary himself, and 
signed by the chief and council — abounds 
with such passages as the following : — ' The 
other boat was a crui-.ing to the southward ; 
we found in her a letter from a black fellow 
the French keeps at Caletche;' 'the moors 
are a preparing an army ;' ' five sail of men- 
of-war were ajiting out to relcive Commodore 
Bennett;' 'the king is a going to a feast;' 
' we tvere let known' of a certain event. 
Everywhere the natives are designated 'black 
fellows;' what we now call a native apothe- 
cary was with the factors ' a black doctor ; ' a 
regiment of sepoys was ' a black regiment,' or 
'a black battalion,' and, using a curious form 
of elliptical expression, they always styled the 
letters of native correspondents ' black advices.' 
Indeed this epithet black was long afterwards 
applied to natives even in official documents, 
and, as Mill indignantly remarks, Sir Elijah 
Impey could find no better title than ' black 
agents' for the native magistrates and judges 
of India." 



'WtAA/VOWV^WW 



CuAP. LXIV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



1G3 



CHAPTER LXIV. 

MADRAS FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE EIGIITEKNTH CENTURY TO THE BREAKING OUT 
OF HOSTILITIES WITH THE FRENCH IN 1744. 



Although towards tlie close of the first half 
of the eighteenth century events were of 
m-ignitude and importance at Bladras, it was 
the dullest portion of the company's settle- 
ments in India at the beginning of the cen- 
tury, and for many years after. The traders 
proceeded in their routine, buying and selling, 
sometimes quarrelling among themselves and 
oppressing one another, and sometimes en- 
livened by danger from without. The neigh- 
bourhood of Fort St. George was constantly 
a scene of contest amongst the native powers ; 
but the factors had been long accustomed to 
that, and took no interest in the wars, and 
rumours of wars, which raged around them, 
except when their own interests and those 
of their employers were menaced. 

The directions from London to the gover- 
nor of Fort St. George were wise and peaceful ; 
he was ordered on no account to mix himself 
up with the disputes of the petty rajahs in hia 
vicinity, and to avoid all complications by 
political alliances, either with native princes 
or Europeans _: while commercial covenants, 
based on mutual advantage, were to be sought 
and respected. That the directors wore intent 
upon the peaceful and populous settlement 
of their territory around Fort St. George, is 
made evident by directions to promote the 
influx of industrious and quiet inhabitants, of 
whatever creed or race. The directors thus 
wrote to the council on this subject : — " What 
is of the last importance to us is, that the 
bounds be filled with useful inhabitants, and 
the only way to get and keep them is by a 
steady and constant, just and humane govern- 
ment, doing right to every one, and not suf- 
fering the voice of oppression to be heard, or 
80 much as whispered in the streets. \Ve 
hope Mr. Pitt has been careful, and will 
continue and persevere therein, which will 
be for his honour and our advantage. The 
increase of the inhabitants and of the revenues, 
and the lessening of the annual expense, will 
bo to us the most convincing arguments of 
his good management, especially if thereto 
be added (as we expect) the due care of the 
investments." 

There appears to have been well-organized 
local government. Charles Lockyer wrote, 
in 1711, "They have a mayor and aldermen, 
who exercise the same authority as in cor- 
porations in England. Quarrels, small debts, 
and other business of the meaner sort, are 



I decided by them at a court of six aldermen, 
i held thrice a week in the town-hall. Black 
[ merchants commonly apply to this court, but 
Europeans usually seek favour of the gover- 
nor. When any are not satisfied by the 
mayor's justice, "they may appeal to a higher 
court, where for much money they have little 
law, with a great deal of formality. Here a 
judge allowed by the company presides, who 
on the report of a jury gives a final decree of 
European malefactors ; they hang none but 
pirates, though formerly here have been men 
put to death for other crimes, whence I am 
apt to think that the governors had then great 
powers." He adds : " Lawyers are plenty, 
and as knowing as can be expected from 
broken linendrapers and other cracked trades- 
men, who seek their fortunes here by their 
wits."* Notwithstanding this advantage, the 
administration of justice was considered by 
the directors in London to be so deficient in 
Madras, and in India generally, that in 1726 
they represented to his Majesty George the 
First, " that there was great want at Madras, 
Fort William, and Bomba}', of a proper and 
competent authority for the more speedy and 
effectual administering of justice in civil 
causes, and for the trying and punishing of 
capital and other criminal offences and mis- 
demeanors."! In result of this representation, 
measures were taken by the English govern- 
ment, by which many improvements, and 
unfortunately some abuses, were introduced 
in the three presidencies ; the chief alterations 
affected Bombay, but Madras was also influ- 
enced by these new arrangements. 

In the correspondence between the direc- 
tors and the factors, the chief concern seems 
to have been how best the expenses of the 
establishments, civil and military, could be 
effected. In order to accomplish this, and 
to maintain an attitude of increased indepen- 
dence as well, the governor refused the usual 
presents to the nabob, and his conduct met 
the approbation of the directors. 

In 1725 permission from the court of di- 
tors was given to the governor to rebuild the 
silver mint, but it was strictly ordered that 
there should be "no charge of ornaments," 
but that the money should be expended on 
the "useful and substantial." Writing of 

* QuolcJ in Kayc's AdmUiistraiion of the Easl India 
Coinjiaitij, part iii. chap. i. 
t Auki's Analysis, p. 229. 



1G4 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



fCnAP. LXIV. 



" the east curtain at Fort St. David's, and the 
covering of the garden-house, and the Cuda- 
loro factory," the directors say — " It is a 
prodigious sum our buildings there and at 
Fort St. George have cost us, so that every 
motion for laying out more sounds harsh." 

In 17.32 a discussion ensued concerning 
the lowering of duties on trade, but the 
directors pleaded the state of finance at home 
against any reduction. This year, measures 
were taken to induce large numbers of native 
weavers to settle at Madras, which circum- 
stance mainly arose from the urgent advice 
of the directors some years before, to "en- 
courage the settlement of the natives within 
the bounds." Soon after, there was great 
scarcity of rice, and consequent famine ;• the 
president and council of Fort St. George used 
the most active, politic, and humane exertions 
to mitigate the horrors of the crisis, and earned 
very strong expressions of approbation from 
the directors. 

The Mahrattas harassed the president and 
council. To give a detail of their proceedings 
would be to repeat incidents too similar to 
those which have been recorded in connec- 
tion with affairs in the sister presidency of 
Bombay. The English acted with great spirit 
in repelling all incursions, and refusing all 
demands for tribute,* and the directors sus- 

* Grant Duff's Ilistort/ of the Mahrattas. This 
nutliority has been frequently quoted during the progress 
of this work, it is therefore appropriate while making our 
acknowledgements to its gifted author, to inform our 
readers of his decease while this work has been passing 
through the press. As few men have contributed more 
to a correct historical kuowledge of Southern India than 
Mr. Duff, the reader will be interested in a short sketch 
of that author's own personal history. It is abridged 
from the Banffshire Jmirnal, the editor of which, from 
Jiis local connections, had peculiar sources of information 
(13 to the early life of Mr. Duff. His public services are 
well known to all persons acquainted with modern Indian 
history, as his writings are appreciated by all who arc 
students of the history of the native races iu India :— 
"The late Mr. J. C. Grant Duff was the eldest son of Mr. 
Grant, of Kincardine O'Neil, and was born in Banff on 
the I8th of July, 1789. Oire of the earliest recollections 
of his childhood was seeing his father dry before the fire 
the newspaper which contained the account of the execu- 
tion of Ix)uis XVI. (in 1793). Mr. Grant Duff was iu 
the habit of telling many anecdotes of his early life in 
Banff, some of which were curiously illustrative of a state 
of things from which we are separated by half a century, 
which has produced more changes in the state of the 
country than any other in Scottish history. From Banff 
his mother removed to Aberdeen, where her son James 
was for some time at school, then for a longer period a 
student at Marischal College. It had been intended that 
he should proceed to India as a civil servant, but the 
arrangements which had been made towards this end fell 
through at the last moment, and, impatient of longer 
delay, the boy, then only sixteen years of age, accepted a 
cadetship and sailed for Bombay. After a short period 
of study at the cadet establishment he was ordered Iq 
join the Bombay Grenadiers. The first affair of impor- 



tained their policy, lauded their measures, 
and incited their resolution. 

The following letter of the 21.st January, 
1741, exemplifios this: — "The Mahrattas in- 
vading, overrunning, and plundering the Co- 
romandel coast, give us a most sensible and 
deep concern, more especially as they come 
within our bounds, and sent you a most in- 
sulting message, tacked to an enormous and 
unheard-of demand, which you did well to 



tance iu which be was engaged was the storming of 
Maliah, a strongly fortified town, which was defended 
with the energy of despair by the crew of freebooters and 
cut-throats to whom it belonged. The party, commanded 
by Ensign Grant, then only nineteen years of age, was 
almost cut to pieces, and the adventures of their boy 
leader were of the most romantic description. It was 
not, however, till the close of the day's work that he bad 
any idea of the desperate character of the service iu 
which he had been engaged. ' This, I suppose,' he ob- 
served to an old officer, ' was mere child's play compared 
to Bhurtpore.' 'I doubt that,' answered his senior; 
' the round shot at Bhurtpore were far worse than here, 
but, for snipping, I think this beat it.' Mr. Grant's 
careful attention to his duties did not remain entirely un- 
rewarded. He became Persian interpreter to his regi- 
ment, as well as adjutant, at a very early period, and long 
before he quitted the regular line of the service his posi- 
tion and influence were far greater than his rank in the 
army would naturally have indicated. At last his day of 
good fortune dawned. The keen eye of Mountstuart 
Elphinstone, then resident in Poonah, saw in the young 
soldier an instrument fitted to his hand. He made 
Lieutenant Grant his assistant, in conjunction with Cap- 
tain, afterwards Sir Henry Pottinger, and the friendship 
which then began between master and pnpil, remained 
unbroken till the death of the latter. He had not been 
long attached to Mr. Elphinstone when the Pcishwa 
threw off the mask which had for some time indifferently 
concealed his bitter hostility to the English name. The 
residency was taken, plundered, and burnt. The decisive 
fight at Khirkee punished the insolence of the treacherous 
Mahratta, and a long train of operations, iu which the 
subject of this memoir was constantly employed, partly 
in a military and partly in a civil capacity, completed 
his overthrow. It now remained to settle the country, 
and to this object Mr. Elphinstone immediately addressed 
himself. The unwearied labours and great abilities of 
his young assistant were rewarded by the ' blue riband of 
Western India,' the Residency of Sattara. He was not 
quite thirty years of age when lie was sent, with only one 
European companion and a body of native soldiery, into 
the middle of the great and warlike province, which was 
the centre of the Mahratta confederacy. His mission 
was to bring order out of chaos, civilization out of bar- 
barism, peace and prosperity out of war and desolation. 
How he grappled with his great task, and how he suc- 
ceeded iu these benevolent objects it would be long to 
trace The long and enthusiastic labours of Cap- 
tain Grant soon broke down a constitution of no ordinaiy 
strength, and, after five years, his physicians insisted on 
his return to Europe, not as the means of bnying health, 
but as absolutely essential to his existence. About two 
years after his return to this country he succeeded to the 
estate of Eden, which had descended to his mother while 
he was absent in the East. It was upon this occasion 
that he assumed the name of Duff. Mr. Grant Duff's 
first task, after returning to England, was to complete 
his History of the Mahrattas, a work in three octavo 
volumes, for which he had collected the materials at vast 



Chap LXIV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



1G5 



answer from the months of onr cannon, and 
thereupon to put yourselves in the most de- 
fensible posture; we liope that long before 
now the coast is well rid of them, and that the 
country powers have been roused to defend 
their subjects' property against all such for- 
midable enemies in future ; however that may 
be, you must by no means become tributary 
to, or suffer contributions to be levied npon 
us, either by the Moors or Mahrattaa." Not- 
withstanding this high commendation, the 
directors considered that peace might not 
have been made on such advantageous terms, 
if the wisdom and courage of the president 
and council had not been acted upon from 
home : — " You will see how much we approve 
of your measures in making peace with the 
Mahrattas, at the same time we perceive if it 
had not been for our express orders, you would 
not have judged so well for our interests, by 
being overcome with your false fears. This 
may intimate to you how acceptable it would 
have been to us, had you pursued the same 
measures with respect to all other Indian 
powers." 

The dangers of the English at Madras now 
thickened fast, and great preparations were 
made to avert them, by keeping on terms with 
the natives and strengthening the fortifications. 
The progress of the French, already described 
as so annoying in the Bombay presidency, was 
still more alarming in that of Madras. The 
coast of Coromandel and that of Malabar were 
both within the schemes of French and native 
ambition, and both were plundered by pirates, 
whose activity never tired, and who emerged 
from every defeat with fresh vigour. The 
position of Madras exposed it on either side 
to the apprehension of enemies, and the state 
of fear in which its peaceable inhabitants 
generally lived at this period was such as to 
make "life in Madras" by no means enviable. 
The greatest embarrassment of the president 
and council was the correspondence of the 
directors, whoso orders were frequently con- 

cxpensc and with no small personal labour, amidst his 
public duties at Sattara. In 1825 he married tlie only 
child of Dr., afterwards Sir, Whitclaw Ainslie, the author 
of the Materia Metlica Inciica, and long well known in 
the scientific circles of Edinburgh and Paris. He then 
settled at Eden, and devoted himself for many years to 
improving — nay, we may almost say re-creating — his pro- 
perty. Till very recently we believe he never drew a 
farthing from the estate, but expended every year more 
than the entire income npon increasing its value and its 
desirability as a residence. Early in the year 1850 
Mrs. Grant Duff succeeded to a small estate in Fifcshire, 
which had been long in her mother's family, whereupon 
her husband assumed the name and arms of Cunninghame 
in addition to his own. Later in the same year the death 
of an uncle of Mrs. Grant Duff, the late Mr. Douglas 
Ainslie, added largely to the property of the family. The 
deceased leaves a daughter and two sons, the elder one 
membtr of parliament for the Elgin district of Burghs." 



tradictory ; and, while stimulating the factors 
and the garrison of Fort St. George to exertion, 
they blamed the smallest outlay, and even 
reduced, and, but for the urgent remonstrances 
of the president and council, would have still 
further lessened, the number of troops in Fort 
St. George, and the small maritime force kept 
off the coast. Thus they write at a period 
when, in Madras, men's minds were failing 
them from fear, in view of the vast interests 
at stake and the overwhelming number and 
power of their enemies : — " You will see that 
we are utterly averse to the keeping up of such 
a marine force as you require. We are una- 
nimously of opinion the force we now allow 
you is sufficient for your safety and our 
purpose, which, in short, is our own defence 
and no further." This communication was 
made at a time when the directors were 
urging the president to send them all the in- 
formation in their power about the French, 
and in a tone and style which betrayed great 
uneasiness. The directors would not lay out 
money for military purposes until their stations 
were on the verge of destruction. Every- 
thing — safety, honour, and their position in 
India, was risked rather than the expense 
of even a very moderate outlay for military 
purposes. 

The president and council did not show 
such a mean and foolish jealousy of the military 
as was shown by the authorities at Bombay, 
and they consequently employed officers of 
intelligence in treating with the IVIahrattas. 
For this, however, they received severe 
censure from the directors, who appear, at 
this juncture, to have entertained an intense 
jealousy, if not absolute dislike, of military 
men : — " \Ye must also remark here our dis- 
satisfaction at your employing none of our 
council in the important transactions with 
the Mahrattas and others, for notwithstanding 
any pretended superior capacities in those you 
did employ, we do not reckon military men 
proper judges of these affairs ; but rather that 
they have a strong bias in their minds." The 
peace with the Mahrattas, which was con- 
cluded in July, 1739, between Mr. Law, 
governor of Bombay, on behalf of the com- 
pany, and Bajee Rao, the first minister of 
" the most serene Sou Rajah," did not secure 
peace to the English in Madras any more 
than in Bombay. Its fourteen articles were 
all violated, in one way or other, by the Mah- 
rattas. Sometimes the authority of the Sou 
Rajah was pleaded against that of the Bajee 
Rao, and often the agents of the latter, not- 
withstanding his well-known respect and ad- 
miration of the English, set at nought their 
obligations of duty to their master, and of 
peace to his ally. 



TC6 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXIV. 



The agents of Fort St. George seem to 
have taken considerable interest in the re- 
pression of the piracies of Angria, and tlie 
prevention of that tyrant's seizing the territory 
of tiie Siddees, for their letters to the directory 
at home, in 1735, acquaint their honours that 
Angria was " shut up," and in straits, in con- 
sequence of the measures taken against him. 
These representations do not well agree with 
such as were made by the council of Bombay, 
who knew Angria better than did that of 
Madras. Yet in the year following, the di- 
rectors, in their general letter to Bengal, take 
for granted the representations made to them 
concerning Angria from Fort St. George, and 
base upon them expectations of economy. 

At this time Madras was of considerable 
importance. Charles Lockyer, a little earlier, 
described it as "a port of the greatest conse- 
quence to the East India Company, for its 
strength, wealth, and great returns made 
yearly in calicoes and muslins." The forti- 
fications were of considerable relative strength. 
The citadel had four bastions, and curtains, 
on which were mounted fifty-seven pieces of 
ordnance, one of which was a mortar. The 
main guard was the western, which was kept 
by " an officer's guard ;" the eastern gnard 
was maintained by a corporal's party. The 
English town was defended by batteries, 
crescents, and flankers ; one hundred and 
fifty guns and three mortars were mounted 
here, and thirty-two guns on the outworks. 
Eight field pieces were ready to be employed 
around the fort as circumstances admitted or 
demanded. 

The "Black City," where the natives re- 
sided, was beyond the fort, and surrounded 
with a brick wall of considerable height and 
great thickness. This separate town, as it 
virtually was, had a defence of artillery, and 
was well fortified. To the southward lay 
Magna Town, where the Mosullah boatmen 
lived, a hardy and venturous race. 

Beyond these fortified environs, the com- 
pany held valuable territory. Within a cir- 
cuit of about three miles, lay villages called 
Egmorc, New Town, Old Garden, &c., which 
were rented out to merchants or farmers. 
Lockyer says, viewing the whole of the city 
and suburbs, that it had " good fortifications, 
plenty of guns, and much ammunition." He 
further describes it as a "bugbear of the 
Moors, and a sanctuary to the fortunate peojile 
living in it." 

There was a large church in Jladras, which 
had some pretensions to architectural taste, the 
interior decorated with curious carved work ; 
it had very large windows, and a fine organ. 
There were no bells, as the Brahmins re- 
garded them with certain superstitious feel- 



ings which it was deemed judicious not to 
countenance. There was a public library, 
which was at least respectable ; and beneath 
the room in which the books were placed, a 
school was held, which was free. It is curious 
that there was a loan society for poor persons 
connected with the church ; certain funds not 
required for ecclesiastical purposes being lent 
out to poor, industrious persons, at the' rate, 
then low, of seven per cent. 

The internal economy of Madras was such 
that some alleged the English drew as much 
revenue from Madras as the Dutch from Ba- 
tavia, which Lockyer thought improbable. 
The writer last referred to gives as interesting 
sketches of IMadras early in the eighteenth 
century as the Rev. Mr. Anderson, in his 
work on Western India, has recently given 
of Snrat and Bombay up to that period from 
still earlier times. Writing of the revenues, 
he says : — " A Seagate custom of £5 per cent., 
yielding 30,000 pagodas per annum ; and a 
choultry, or land custom of two-and-a-half 
per cent, on cloth, provisions, and other goods 
brought in from the country, yielding 4000 
pagodas. Anchorage and permit dues, li- 
cences for fishing, arrack and wine, tobacco 
and beetle-nut farms, mintage, &c., furnished 
various sums." The income of the various 
officials furnished no temptations to retain 
their posts against their conscience : — " The 
governor had £200 a-year, with a gratuity 
of 100 ; of the six councillors, the chief had 
£100 per annum ; the others in proportion — 
£70, £50, and £40 per annum ; six senior 
merchants had annual salaries of £40; two 
junior merchants, £30 ; five factors, £15; ten 
writers, £5 ; two chaplains, £100 ; one sur- 
geon, £3(5 ; two " essay masters," £120 ; one 
judge, £100; and the attorney -general, 50 
pagodas. Married men received from 5 to 
10 pagodas per month, as diet money, accord- 
ing to their quality ; inferior servants, dining 
at the general table, had no other allowance 
beyond their salaries than a very trifling sum 
for washing, and oil for lamps."* It is evi- 
dent that the servants of the company could 
never have supported themselves at Madras, 
had it not been for their carrying on private 
traffic, which was as injurious to the interests 
of their employers, as the like practice was 
elsewhere. 

There was no name so prominent in Madras, 
during the early part of the eighteenth cen- 
tury, as Mr. Thomas Pitt. This gentleman 
has been sometimes confounded with his 
cousin, a Mr. Pitt who first went to India as 
an " interloper," then became an agent of the 
new or English Company, and afterwards was 

♦ Lookyer's Trade oflndU, p. 14. 



Chap. LXIV.J 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



167 



known as "President" and "Consul Pitt." 
jNIr. Tliomas Pitt obtained celebrity for his 
prudence and good temper in the manage- 
ment of the afl'airs of the company in trou- 
blesome times. He was also made notorious 
by the possession of the celebrated " Pitt dia- 
mond." Captain Hamilton declared that it 
was obtained in a way not creditable. Ac- 
cording to his account, a Mr. Glover saw it 
at Arcot, and induced the owner to offer it 
for sale to the English at Fort St. George, 
and that he placed in the owner's hand 30(X) 
pagodas as a guarantee. The pledge was 
broken by Pitt, and the money forfeited by 
Glover. Much doubt has been thrown upon 
this story, as Hamilton was so thorough an 
asperser of the company and its servants ; 
but on the other hand, iMr. Pitt's friends have 
never fairly accounted for his possession of 
this extraordinary gem. 

The settlement of Madras, as well as those 
of Bombay and Surat, were troubled by 
Dutch fugitives and deserters, and by the 
insolent demands of those who made recla- 
mation of them. The factors seem to have 
received all deserters — Dutch and French 
more particularly — who were disposed to 
serve in the ranks of the military. Some of 
these proved bad soldiers, and deserted again 
to some other power when opportunity served ; 
but others, like many mercenaries in all 
nations, and in all times, were faithful to the 
service which they adopted, and proved good 
soldiers. 

As the events connected with the Madras 
presidency during the portion of the eighteenth 
century which expired before the war broke 
out between the British and French settle- 
ments, were less striking than those which 
made up the same period in the eastern and 
■western presidencies, the space required for 
their treatment is proportionably small ; ac- 
cordingly, some subjects not alone appli- 
cable to Madras, but as much so to either of 
the other presidencies, may, with propriety, 
obtain notice here. In a chapter devoted to 
commerce, the present way of doing business 
in India was stated and explained ; in the 
early part of the eighteenth century, the 
mode was somewhat different, as were also 
the materials of trade. Then, especially at 
Madras, the products of the town were the 
grand subjects of export to England. The 
spice trade fell away during the eighteenth 
century, and so rapidly did the demand for 
spices fall in Europe, that the Dutch, who 
mainly relied upon it, were great sufferers. 
In some places, the Batavian commerce was 
ruined, and so quickly did the prosperity and 
resources of the Dutch East India Company 
vanish, that when England found herself 



crossing swords with Prance in India, it was 
a matter of little account in the great contest 
what part the Dutch might take, or whether 
they should take any. The English, while 
they dealt largely in pepper, and consider- 
ably in cloves, were more desirous to obtain 
dye stuffs, and the products of the weaver's 
shuttle ; and the decline of the demand for 
spice in Europe, did not therefore affect their 
commerce, except so far as it favoured it by 
removing the great spice merchants, the 
Dutch, from competition with the English in 
other matters. The swift decay of the re- 
sources of the Dutch prevented them from 
putting forth their energies in the depart- 
ments of trade which flourished in the hands 
of the English ; yet, at the beginning of the 
century, neither French nor British had a 
position of power, or a prospect of extensive 
and triumpliant commerce, to be compared 
Avith the Hollanders. 

The way in which commodities imported 
from Europe were disposed of at Madras and 
the cities of the other presidencies was by 
auction, the same mode as that adopted in 
London for the sale of oriental produce. 

Previous to the breaking up of the Mogul 
empire the Europeans generally travelled 
some distance into the interior, or sent their 
goods thither by such reliable agency as they 
could find. There was then some protection, 
the chief danger being of plunder under the 
name of purchase, by the native governors of 
the Mogul. But when the empire was sinking 
step by step to dissolution, there was little 
protection for goods sent into the interior, 
and this branch of commerce, by which the 
factors had personally profited, became greatly 
reduced. The English found their treaties 
with the Mahrattas of great value, and although 
these were often violated, where territory 
was concerned, where ships were wrecked 
upon the coast, or where a chance of piracy 
was offered, yet they often secured the pas- 
sage of goods by the hands of the native 
merchants to important marts and bazaars in 
cities far removed from the seaboard. At the 
very time the English at Calcutta were cut- 
ting the Mahratta ditch, to intercept the 
cavalry of Bajee Rao, the Englisli, both at 
Madras and Bombay, were carrying on 
friendly intercoiarse, buying the products of 
the looms of Poonali, and sending thither, 
and all through the provinces of the Rajah of 
Sattara, the imports from England. 

The agents of the company purchased the 
piece goods at the different cities where they 
were made; those agents were generally 
natives, as Europeans would have been in 
danger of being robbed, as indeed their native 
agents frequently were. When the goods 



108 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXIV. 



were brought to Mailras, Calcutta, Bombay, 
Surat, and other ports, they were deposited in 
warehouses situated within a certain defined, 
and generally fortified space, called the factory. 
It was necessary to arm and discipline the in- 
mates of the factories, and to place the build- 
ings in situations affording scope for defence, 
also to loop-hole the walls of the warehouses 
and residencies, and fix strong embrasures to 
support cannon, so that in case of any oppres- 
sion on the part of native rulers, or incursion 
of predatory tribes, the trading depot of the 
company might be also the citadel of the 
traders. The mode of bringing the weaver's 
work to market was exceedingly complicated. 
The whole process has been thus described : 
— " The European functionary, who, in each 
district, is the head of as much business as it 
is supposed that he can superintend, has first 
his banyan, or native secretary, through whom 
the whole of the business is conducted ; the 
banyan hires a species of broker, called a 
gomashtah, at so much a month : the gomas- 
tah repairs to the aurung, or manufacturing 
town, which is assigned as his station, and 
there fixes upon a habitation, which he calls 
his cutchery : he is provided with a sufficient' 
number of peons, a sort of armed servants, 
and hircarahs, messengers or letter carriers, 
by his employer ; these he immediately dis- 
patches about the place, to summon to him 
the dallals, pycars, and weavers : the dallals 
and pycars are two sets of brokers, of whom 
the pycars are the lowest, transacting the busi- 
ness of detail with the weavers; the dallals 
again transact business with the pycars : the 
gomashtah transacts with the dallahs, the ban- 
yan with the gomashtah, and the company's 
European servant with the banyan. The 
company's servant is thus five removes from 
the workman ; and it may easily be supposed 
that much collusion and trick, that much of. 
fraud towards the company, and much of 
oppression towards the weaver, is the conse- 
quence of the obscurity which so much com- 
plication implies. Besides his banyan, there 
is attached to the European agent a mohurrer, 
or clerk, and a cash-keeper, with a sufficient 
allowance of peons and hircarahs. Along with 
the gomashtah is dispatched in the first 
instance as much money as suffices for the 
first advance to the weaver, that is, as suffices 
to purchase the materials, and to afford him 
subsistence during part, at least, of the time 
in which he is engaged with the work. The 
cloth, when made, is collected in a warehouse, 
adapted for the purpose, and called a kottali. 
Each piece is marked with the weaver's 
name ; and when the whole is finished, or 
when it is convenient for the gomashtah, ho 
holdt a Jcottah, as the business is called, when 



each piece is examined, the price fixed, and 
the money due upon it paid to the weaver. 
Tliis last is the stage at which chiefly the 
injustice to the workman is said to take 
place ; as he is then obhged to content him- 
self with fifteen or twenty, or often thirty or 
forty per cent, less than his work would fetch 
in the market. This is a species of traffic 
which could not exist but where the rulers of 
the country were favourable to the dealer; 
as everything, however, which increased the 
productive powers of the labourers added 
directly in India to the income of the rulers, 
their protection was but seldom denied." * 

The way in which the government of the 
factory and of the territory at Madras was 
conducted in the first half of the eighteenth 
century was, with some slight variations, 
identical with that of Calcutta, and of Bom- 
bay. At that time each presidency was in- 
dependent of the other. Up to the year 
1707, the business of Calcutta had been 
diverted from Port St. George, but after that 
date it was separate and independent. Each 
presidency corresponded directly with the 
directors in London. The governing body, 
or president and council, was composed of a 
body seldom less in number than nine, seldom 
more than twelve, including the president, 
according to the will of the directors in Lon- 
don. The members of council were selected 
from the superior civil servants, but occa- 
sionally, especially at Bombay, the chief 
military officer sat in council. Business was 
decided by majorities. The members of 
council also served in subordinate offices, in- 
deed if they had not done so they could 
hardly have subsisted, so small were their 
salaries, and so profitless their honours. Doc- 
tor Hayman \^'ilson writes as accurately as 
strongly when he thus describes the condition 
of these men : — " There were no lucrative 
offices, for many years, imder the company's 
administration. For some time, the salaries 
of the chiefs of Bombay and Fort St. George, 
did not exceed £300 per annum, and those of 
merchants and factors were but £30 and £20 
per annum. Even as late as the acquisition 
of all real power in Bengal, the salary of a 
councillor was £250 per annum ; of a factor, 
£140 ; of a writer, as then lately increased, 
£130. The advantages made by the com- 
pany's servants, arose from their engaging in 
the internal trade, and also in the trade by sea 
to all eastern ports north of the equator, except 
Tonquin and Formosa. In either of those 
branches of trade, much depended upon con- 
venience of situation ; and, so far, the com- 
pany's servants were dependent upon the 
principal, with whom it rested where to employ 
* Mill, vol. iii. lib. iv. cap. 1. 



Chap. LXV.j 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



1G9 



them. The official emoluments attaclied to 
any situation, were, in all cases, of small 
amount." 

Wlien members of the council were ap- 
pointed to be chiefs of subordinate factories, 
they still retained their place in the council, 
and gave their voice in its affairs ; this regu- 
lation, altliough a personal protection to the 
chiefs, and a support to their authority, was 
also a shield to their misdoings, especially 
when their private interests obtained more of 
their time and zeal than the service of the 
company. In fact, it was difficult, almost 
impossible, for a subordinate to obtain justice 
from an oppressive superior, or for a man not 
a member of council to make himself heard, 
and cause liis wrongs to be redressed by the 
governing body. The president generally 
overruled the council, and well-nigh did as he 
pleased ; and in few places during the history 
of oppression in this world, have men been 
more hopelessly subject to tyrannical caprice, 
than in the factories of the Honourable East 
India Company. Mill, quoting the select 
report of the committee of 1783, thus describes 
the functionaries and their investment with 
office and authority : — " The president was the 
organ of correspondence, by letter, or other- 
wise, with the country powers. It rested 
with him to communicate to tlie council the 
account of what he thus transacted, at any 
time, and in any form, which lie deemed 
expedient ; and from this no slight accession 
to his power was derived. The several de- 
nominations of the company's servants in 



India were, writers, factors, junior merchants, 
and senior merchants ; the business of the 
writers, as the term, in some degree, imports, 
was that of deriving, with the inferior details 
of commerce ; and when dominion succeeded, 
of government. In the capacity of writers 
they remained during five years. The first 
promotion was to the rank of factor ; the next 
to that of junior merchant ; in each of which 
the period of service was three years. After 
this extent of service, they became senior 
merchants ; and out of the class of senior 
merchants were taken, by seniority, the mem- 
bers of the council, and when no particular 
appointment interfered, even the presidents 
themselves." 

For one hundred years Madras had been 
the chief settlement of the British on the 
coast of Coromar.del, and notwithstanding 
the rapid rise of Calcutta from the year 
1717, it still retained great influence in India, 
and was famous for its population and riches 
all over the East. The extent of territory of 
the English extended at least five miles along 
the coast. The treaty obtained by the Cal- 
cutta embassy in 171o-17, had given three 
villages to Madras, wliicli were of value for 
their population and the fertility of the cir- 
cumjacent country. Not less than a quarter 
of a million of inhabitants occupied the com- 
pany's boundaries and owned its authority 
when the clarion of war was sounded, and 
Madras became a sharer and a sufferer in the 
grand tournament of France and England for 
ascendancy on the shores and plains of India. 



CHAPTER LXV. 

EVENTS IN BENGAL FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY TO THE 
BREAKING OUT OP HOSTILITIES WITH FRANCE IN 1744. 



The settlements in Bengal had steadily ac- 
quired imjwrtance during the closing years of 
the seventeenth and the opening years of the 
eighteenth centuries. The most notable thing 
in connection with that settlement during the 
early part of the eighteenth century, was an 
embassy sent to the Emperor Ferokshere, then 
at Delhi, in 1715. Two of the most intelligent 
factors of the presidency were sent on this mis- 
sion, which proved to be one of great results to 
the company. Several letters of these worthy 
envoys are still in existence, and deserve to 
be classed with the " curiosities of literature." 
The first of these communications which gives 
any detail, is directed to the authorities at 
Calcutta, aad is as follows : — " Our last to 



your honours, &c., was from Agra the 24th 
ultimo, which place we left the same day. 
We passed through the country of the Jaats 
with success, not meeting with much trouble, 
except that once in the night, rogues came on 
our camp, but being repulsed tliree times, they 
left us. We were met on the 3rd July by 
Padre Stephanus bringing two Seerpaws, 
which were received with the usual 'ceremony 
by John Surman and Coja Surpaud. The 
4tli, we arrived at Barrapoola, three coss from 
the city, sending the padre before to prepare 
our reception, that if possible we might visit 
the king the first day, even before we went 
to the house which was got for us. Accord- 
ingly, the 7th, in the morning, we made our 



170 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXV. 



entry with very good order, there being sent 
a munsubdar of two thousand munsub, with 
about two hundred horse and peons to meet 
lis, bringing likewise two elephants and flags. 
About the middle of the city we were met by 
Synd Sallabut Caun Behauder, and were by 
him conducted to the palace, where we waited 
till about twelve o'clock, till the king came 
out, before which time we met with Cauudora 
Behauder, who received us very civilly, as- 
suring us of his protection and good services. 
"We prepared for our first present, viz., one 
hundred gold mohurs ; the table-clock set 
with precious stones ; the unicorn's horn ; the 
gold scrutoire bought from Tendy Caun ; the 
large piece of ambergris ; the aflo, and chel- 
lumche manilla work ; and the map of the 
world ; these, with the honourable the gover- 
nor's letter, were presented, every one holding 
something in his hand as usual. Considering 
the great pomp and state of the kings of Hin- 
dostan, we were very well received. On our 
arrival at our house, we were entertained by 
Synd Sallabut Caun, sufficient both for ns and 
our people ; in the evening he visited us again, 
and stayed about two hours. The great fa- 
vour Caundora is in with the king, gives us' 
hopes of success in this undertaking; he as- 
sures us of his protection, and says the king 
has promised us very great favours. We 
have received orders, first, to visit Caundora 
as our patron, after which we shall be ordered 
to visit the grand Vizier, and other Omrahs. 
We would have avoided this if we could, fear- 
ing to disoblige the Vizier ; but finding it not 
feasible, rather than disoblige one who lins 
been so serviceable, and by whose means we 
expect to obtain our desires, we comply with it. 
— Delhi, or Shah Jehanabad, July 8fA,1715." 
In another letter "their honours" are in- 
formed that the emperor had left Delhi, not 
considering that he had as much authority in 
his capital under the circumstances in wliich 
he fancied himself, as he would in some pro- 
vince of his empire. His majesty, under the 
pretence of worshipping at a peculiarly sanc- 
tified place, twenty coss from Delhi, got clear 
of the entanglements which environed him at 
his capital; and although the Omrahs peti- 
tioned him to return, and he moved round 
the city eight or ten days, he finally located 
himself at a distance, and thence issued his 
orders. The ambassadors followed him, and 
experienced many and great difficulties in 
the performance of their arduous task, not the 
least of which was the neglect of their supe- 
riors, who left them without remittances until 
they were reduced to the greatest necessities, 
and at last respectfully wrote, dated twenty 
cots from Delhi, 4ith August, 1715, that un- 
less they received supplies of money they 



could not go on with their business, and inti- 
mated that if not provided witli means of per- 
forming the duties imposed upon them they 
must sink to the last straits. It is not 
recorded what reply " their honours" made to 
their ambassadors in distress, but it is to 
be supposed some money was sent, for they 
"went on with their business." It is impos- 
sible for any student of the company's pro- 
ceedings at this period, not to be struck with 
the mean and despicable parsimony which 
was constantly exhibited not only without real 
economy, but causing in the long rnn very 
extensive loss. Yet, besides this unjust and 
greedy penuriousness, might be frequently 
seen a shameful extravagance where the 
greater personages wore concerned. 

In a letter dated Delhi, Nov. 3, 1715, the 
envoys inform their employers of the dan- 
gerous illness of his majesty, and the success 
which attended the efforts of a medical man 
who accompanied them in restoring his health. 
The native physicians had been called in 
without avail, and his majesty was reduced to 
mucli distress of mind, as his marriaare to a 
prmcess of renowned beauty was to have 
taken place at that time, and he was extremely 
impatient of its postponement. When all 
hope of recovery through the usual court 
physicians had failed, Mr. Hamilton, the 
English surgeon, was invited to prescribe for 
his majesty. The disease was happily one 
within the management of the faculty, and in. 
a very few days the emperor was pronounced 
convalescent. Coja Surpaud, the native 
gentleman under whose auspices the envoys 
had travelled and been presented to court, 
was thanked by the emperor, and many en- 
comiums upon the wisdom and science of his 
friends the English were used by the Mogul. 

Again, on December 7th, the ambassadors 
directed a letter from Delhi to their superiors 
at Calcutta, in which a most curious account 
is given of the complete recovery of the em- 
peror, and his gratitude to Mr. Hamilton. 
The following extract cannot fail deeply to 
interest the reader : — " The king was pleased 
the 30th to give him in public, viz. a vest, a 
culgee set with precious stones, two diamond 
rings, an elephant, horse, and 5000 rupees, 
besides ordering, at the same time, all his 
small instruments to be made in gold, viz. 
gold buttons for coat, waistcoat, and breeches,, 
set with jewels ; the same day Coja Surpaud 
received an elephant and vest as a reward for 
his attendance on this occasion. Monsieur 
Mart was to have received a rew-ard the same 
day with Mr. Hamilton ; but considering it 
was not for the credit of our nation to have 
any one joined with him, especially since he 
had no hand in the business, we got his reward 



Chap. LXV.J 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



171 



defeiTed till three days afterwards, ■nlien he 
had a vest, an elephant, and 1000 rupees ; a 
favour purely owing to his majesty's gene- 
rosity, and because he was his servant. W'e 
have esteemed this a particular happiness, 
and hope it will prove ominous to the success 
of our affairs, it being the only thing that 
detained us hitherto from delivering our ge- 
neral petition ; so pursuant to the orders we 
received from Caundora, the king's recovery 
was succeeded by the giving in the remainder 
of our present (reserving a small part only 
till the ceremony of his marriage should be 
over), and then delivered oar petition to 
Caundora, by his means to be introduced to 
his majesty. Synd Syllabut Caun, who has 
all along managed our affairs under Caundora, 
being at that instant and some time before 
much indisposed, we were obliged to carry it 
ourselves, without taking care to have his 
recommendation annexed. Since the delivery, 
Coja Surpaud has been frequently with Caun- 
dora, to remind him of introducing it to his 
majesty, but has always been informed no 
business can go forward till the solemnization 
of the king's wedding is over, when he has 
promised a speedy dispatch. AH offices have 
been shut up for some days, and all business 
in the kingdom must naturally subside to this 
approaching ceremony; so that we cannot 
repine at the delay." 

The result of the singular providence which 
attended this embassy was the issue of a fir- 
man (a phirmaund), before the close of the year 
1715, conferring additional privileges upon 
the company, and giving far better security 
for freedom of commerce than any previous 
firman. When the directors at liome heard 
of this great success, new arrangements were 
made conferring upon their servants at Cal- 
cutta new dignity and privilege. By antici- 
pation Bengal has been called a presidency ; 
but it was not until 1707 that it was so ranked, 
and not until after the events at Delhi turned 
to such prosperous account for his employers 
by the patriotic and gifted Hamilton, that Cal- 
cutta was regarded by any as the probable 
seat of Indian government, the president and 
council of which should one day preside over 
the affairs of India, and be only responsible to 
the directors in London. 

The success of the ambassadors excited the 
envy of the imperial politicians, as that of Mr. 
Hamilton excited the envy of the native medi- 
cal practitioners. A train of events was laid 
by the jealousy thus caused, which issued in 
war, to both natives and English, and in de- 
feat, disaster, and subjugation to the former, 
as in victory and conquest to the latter. 

Jaffer Khan (or, as some write it, Jaffier 
Chaun) held the government of Bengal under 



his imperial majesty. The office was not only 
one of great honour, but of powder almost 
sovereign, and the influence of Jaft'cr at the 
imperial court was paramount. His conduct 
towards the English was unjust and cruel. 
He was determined, if possible, to render 
nugatory the privileges of the imperial firman, 
without involving himself in the displeasure of 
the Mogul by a direct refusal to put in force 
his orders. Before the ambassadors left Delhi 
they had some knowledge of this state of 
affairs, and on their return at Cossimbazar, 
they addressed the council at Calcutta on the 
subject, with whom they had previously cor- 
responded, as to what was best to be done so 
as to yield nothing to the khan and in no 
respect offend the emperor. 

" Cotiimhazar, Augvii 15, 1717. 

" We are entirely of your opinion that you ought not 
to acquiesce in Jalfer Cawn's (Khan) refusing obedience 
to the king's royal orders, nor sit quiet under his dis- 
obedience of them ; we never entertained such imagina- 
tions, bnt rather that he ought to be compelled to it by 
such means as your honour thinks best. You are sen- 
sible that no black servant in the country dare speak with 
that peremptorincss to so great a man as Jaffer Cavvn, as 
sometimes the nature of our affairs require, on wliich 
consideration wc ourselves went in person to him, and 
showed him the phirmaund, and demanded the free use of 
the mint as before advised. Mr. Feake disputed the 
point himself with Jaffer Cawn in the Hindustan lan- 
guage, face to face, Eckeram Cawn Duan and others being 
present, with ten or a dozen munsubdars and several of 
the mutsuddies, in a public court, who were aU eye and 
ear witnesses to the smart and warm replies Mr. Feake 
at last made him : the whole durbar was surprised, and 
several whispered to Coja Delaun with a seeming fear in 
what the dispute might end. Jaffer Cawn remained 
silent for some time, and then ordered beetle to be 
brought, and dispatched us with a few sweetening words, 
that he would rest satisfied he should not be our enemy, 
but see what was to be done, and the like, which is a 
customary cajole he uses to get rid of company he don't 
like, as was plain he did not ours, for he never had so 
mach said to his face since he has been a duan or subah, 
nor does he usually give any one such an opportunity. 
Nothing that was necessary to be said or done remained, 
but giving the duhoy, which experience has taught us is 
of no value with Jaffer Cawn, who suffers nothing to be 
sent to court without being read and approved by him : 
those officers dare as well eat fire, as send anything un- 
known to him. Our vakeel, though an elderly man, and 
possibly not so brisk as some others, yet he has the cha- 
racter of the boldest vakeel in this durbar ; he once before 
did give the duhoy, and shall do it again, if yonr honour, 
&c., please to give orders ; but we crave leave to offer 
some reasons we have against doing it at this jnncture." 

The khan was incensed against the bold 
spoken Englishmen, conceived against their 
nation an intense hatred, and determined to 
thwart their interests at all risks. The Eng- 
lish counterplotted his excellency with con- 
siderable skill, and were well supported in 
their efforts by wily natives, whose diplomatic 
temper caused them to enter with zest into the 
cause of the English, when once their interests 



172 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXV. 



were engaged. Curious disclosures were made, 
and prompt information given to tlie Englisii, 
so tliat the actions of the khan were well 
spied ; but the conduct of the superior officers 
at Calcutta was neither so skilful, nor active 
— so bold, nor yet so cautious, as that of their 
subordinates, vi'hose duty it was to take part 
in these transactions. The success of the 
English in this most important of their diplo- 
matic affairs, at all events previous to the 
great French war, has been attributed to a 
bribe opportunely given to a eunuch in the 
service of either the vizier or the emperor, and 
constantly in attendance upon the durbar. 
Mill and AVilson sanction this opinion, and 
give the following account of the mode by 
which they ultimately secured the concessions 
sought — the abuse on the part of the English 
traders of those privileges, the decisive sup- 
pression by the native government of Bengal 
of these abuses, the consequent enterprises of 
the English in the coasting trade, and the 
rapid development of Calcutta, its commerce, 
and its power as the result : — " The power of the 
vizier could defeat the grants of the emperor 
himself; and he disputed the principal articles. 
Repeated applications were made to the em- 
peror, and at last the vizier gave way ; when 
mandates were issued confirming all the privi- 
leges for which the petition had prayed. To 
the disappointment, however, and grief of the 
ambassadors, the mandates were not under the 
seals of the emperor, but only those of the 
vizier, the authority of which the distant vice- 
roys would be sure to dispute. It was re- 
solved to remonstrate, how delicate soever 
the ground on which they must tread; and 
to solicit mandates to which the highest au- 
thority should be attached. It was now the 
month of April, 1716, when the emperor, at 
the head of an expedition against the Siklis, 
began his march towards Lahore. No choice 
remained but to follow the camp. The cam- 
paign was tedious. It heightened the dis- 
sensions between the favourites of the emperor 
and the vizier ; the ambassadors found their 
difficulties increased ; and contemplated a long, 
and probably a fruitless negotiation, when they 
were advised to bribe a favourite eunuch in 
the seraglio. No sooner was the money paid 
than the vizier himself appeared eager to ac- 
complish their designs, and the patents were 
issued under the highest authority. There 
was a secret, of which the eunuch had made 
his advantage. The factory of Surat, having 
lately been oppressed by the Mogul governor 
and officers, had been withdrawn by the pre- 
sidency of Bombay, as not worth maintaining. 
It was recollected by the Moguls, that, in 
consequence of oppression, the factory of Surat 
had once before been withdrawn ; immediately 



after which an English fleet had appeared ; 
had swept the sea of Jlogul ships, and inflicted 
a deep wound upon tlie Mogul troasur}'. A 
similar visitation was now regarded as a cer- 
tain consequence ; and, as many valuable ships 
of the Moguls were at sea, the event was de- 
precated with proportional ardour. This in- 
telligence was transmitted to the eunuch, by 
his friend the viceroy of Gujerat. The eunuch 
knew what effect it would produce upon the 
mind of the vizier ; obtained his bribe from 
the English : and then communicated to the 
vizier the expectation prevalent in Gujerat of 
a hostile visit from an English fleet. The 
vizier hastened to prevent such a calamity by 
granting satisfaction. The patents were dis- 
patched ; and the ambassadors took leave of 
the emperor in the month of July, 1717, two 
years after their arrival. The mandates in 
favour of the company produced their full 
effect in Gujerat and the Deccan : but in 
Bengal, where the iriost important privileges 
were conceded, the subahdar, or nabob as he 
was called by the English, had power to im- 
pede their operations. The thirty-seven towns 
which the company had obtained leave to 
purchase, would have given them a district 
extending ten miles from Calcutta on each 
side of the river Hoogly ; where a number of 
weavers, subject to their own jurisdiction, 
might have Ijcen established. Tlie viceroy 
ventured not directly to oppose the operation 
of an imperial mandate ; but his authority was 
sufficient to deter the holders of the land from 
disposing of it to the company ; and the most 
important of the advantages aimed at by the 
embassy was thus prevented. The nabob, 
however, disputed not the authority of the 
president's dustucks, a species of passport 
which entitled the merchandise to pass from 
duty, stoppage, or inspection ; and this im- 
munity, from which the other European traders 
were excluded, promoted the vent of the com- 
pany's goods. The trade of the company's 
servants occasioned another dispute. Besides 
the business which the factors and agents of 
the company were engaged to perform on the 
company's account, they had been allowed to 
carry on an independent traffic of their ov\ti, 
for their own profit. Every man had in this 
manner a double occupation and pursuit ; one 
for the benefit of the company, and one for the 
benefit of himself. Either the inattention of 
the feebly interested directors of a common 
concern had overlooked the premium for neg- 
lecting that concern, which was thus bestowed 
upon the individuals intrusted with it in Indi.T, 
or the shortness of their foresight made them 
count this neglect a smaller evil than the ad- 
ditional salaries which their servants, if de- 
barred from other sources of emolument, would 



Chap. LXV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



173 



probably require. The president of Calcutta 
granted bis dustucks for protecting from the 
duties and taxes of the native government, 
not only the goods of the company, but also 
the goods of the company's servants; and 
possibly the officers of that government were 
too little acquainted with the internal affairs 
of their English visitants to remark the dis- 
tinction. The company had appropriated to 
themselves, in all its branches, the trade be- 
tween India and the mother country. Their 
servants were thus confined to what was called 
' the country trade,' or that from one part of 
India to another. This consisted of two 
branches, maritime and inland ; either that 
which was carried on by ships from one port 
of India to another, and from the ports of 
India to the other countries in the adjacent 
seas ; or that which was carried on by land 
between one town or province and another. 
When the dustucks of the president, therefore, 
were granted to the company's servants, they 
were often granted to protect from duties, 
commodities, the produce of the kingdom 
itself, in their passage by land from one dis- 
trict or province to another. This, Jaffer 
Khan, the viceroy, declared it his intention to 
prevent, as a practice at once destructive to 
his revenue, and ruinous to the native traders, 
on whom heavy duties were imposed ; and he 
commanded the dustucks of the president to 
receive no respect, except for goods, either 
imported by sea, or purchased for exportation. 
The company remonstrated, but in vain. Nor 
were the pretensions of their servants exempt 
from unpleasant consequences ; as the pretext 
of examining whether the goods were really 
imported by sea, or really meant for exporta- 
tion, often produced those interferences of the 
officers of revenue, from which it was so great 
a privilege to be saved. Interrupted and dis- 
turbed in their endeavours to grasp the inland 
trade, the company's servants directed their 
ardour to the maritime branch; and their 
superior skill soon induced the merchants of 
the province. Moors, Armenians, and Hindoos, 
to freight most of the goods, which they ex- 
ported, on English bottoms. Within ten years 
from the period of the embassy, the shipping 
of the port of Calcutta increased to ten thou- 
sand tons." 

The terms of the firman were, that the 
cargoes of English ships wrecked on the 
Mogul coasts should be preserved from 
plunder ; that a fixed sum should be received 
at Sural in lieu of all duties ; that three villages 
contiguous to Jladras, which had been granted 
and again reserved by the government of 
Arcot. should be restored in perpetuity ; that 
the island of Din, near the port of Masu- 
lipatam, should be given to the company, for 

VOL. II. 



an annual rent; that all persons in Bengal 
who might be indebted to the company, should 
be delivered up to the presidency on the first 
demand ; that a passport {dustttc7c), signed by 
the president of Calcutta, should exempt the 
goods which it specified from stoppage or 
examination by the officers of the Bengal go- 
vernment ; and that the company should be 
permitted to purchase the zemindarship of 
thirty-seven towns, in the same maimer as 
they had been authorized by Azeem-oos- 
Shaun to purchase Calcutta, Suttanutty, and 
Govindpore. 

The directors at home, wdiile much pleased 
with the new advantages derived through 
Mr. Hamilton, at Delhi, were very anxious 
that economy should be practised in Calcutta, 
that attention should be directed to the re- 
venues, and all possible care taken to make 
no acquisition of territory beyond that which 
had already fallen to them. The company 
was very solicitous that its military strength 
at Calcutta should be reduced ; but this, it 
appears, the agents positively refused, on the 
ground of the necessity of troops to maintain 
freedom of commerce and personal security. 
Various significant events occurred, the detail 
of which need not encumber these pages, which 
soon proved the wisdom of the president and 
council of Calcutta in this particular. On the 
3rd of February, 171!), the directors wrote, 
actually forbidding their officers to take pos- 
session of the territory granted by the late 
firman, but only so much of it as lay above 
and below the town on the river at both sides. 
On other subjects, the following extract shows 
the spirit of the company at that juncture : — 
" We come now to take notice of that which 
we must always have a due regard to, viz., 
the articles of our revenue. We need not 
repeat the reasons ; we have often mentioned 
them. The assurances you have given us, 
that you will, and still do, continue to enlarge 
our revenues all you possibly can without op- 
pression, and faithfully promise your utmost 
endeavours, as well to augment them as di- 
minish the expenses, excepting that of the 
military, which you would not lessen, are so 
many acceptable instances of your care and 
zeal for our service. We can desire no more, 
but to see these promising blossoms ripening 
into fruit. Wewould not have them enlarged 
by oppressing any, the poorest person ; and 
allow the reason you give for continuing your 
military, that it is the best argument you can 
use for supporting our privileges and the trade, 
to be very substantial ; the experience at 
Cossimbazar, and for bringing down your 
goods, are pregnant instances of it, among 
many others." 

OuthelGth of February, 1721, the directors 

A A. 



174 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXV. 



again wrote to the president and conncil 
at Calcutta, urging tliem to use whatever 
address opportunity afforded to obtain the 
privileges granted in the firman of 1715, but 
not to claim any territory, if the distance 
at which it lay from Calcutta was inconvenient, 
as trade, not territory, was the company's 
object. In that letter, the directors review 
the political position of Bengal with much 
astuteness, and compare the pretensions and 
prospectsof HyderCooly Khan and Jaffer Khan 
with intelligence and foresight. These two in- 
fluential natives were rivals for political power : 
Jaffer Khan had the advantage of long-acquired 
influence in Bengal, and a strong party, who 
were inspired, by terror of his energy and 
cruelty, and by identity of interest, to serve 
him in all extremes. Cooly Khan was a fa- 
vourite with the emperor and a friend of the 
English. When viceroy at Surat, he caused 
the firman in favour of the English to take 
effect there, in spite of the opposition of for- 
midable native influences and the intrigues of 
the rival European powers. There was some 
probability of his succeeding Jaffer Khan in 
the government of Bengal. The president 
and council had advised the directors of the 
contending claimants for power and the modes 
in which they were conducting their con- 
tention, asking for counsel as to the impending 
crisis. The company, in reply, left matters 
pretty much to the discretion of its officers, 
except as to the non-acquisition of any lands 
that were not of some immediate necessity to 
the preservation of their trade. As usual, 
the most impressive obligations are laid on 
the council to spend no money for any 
purpose, if by possibility such expenditure 
could be avoided, and, at all events, to con- 
sume no money in the rival intrigues of the 
two khans, until it might be seen, with some 
certainty, how the competition would end : in 
Buch case, they were not to offend Jaffer, if 
power lay with him ; but if there were any 
chance that Hyder Cooly might turn him out, 
then the council must support their own friend 
with all means at their disposal. Such was 
the policy of the directors, and it probably 
harmonised with that of the council at Calcutta, 
judging not only from the course pursued by 
the latter, but from the spirit in which it was 
followed. 

It is singular that while, in 1857-8, certain 
parties accused the company of never having 
paid attention to public roads, that in the cor- 
respondence of the directors with their pre- 
sident at Calcutta, in 1721, an anxiety for 
covering with roads the territory then subject 
to them is clearly expressed. Nor would it be 
difficult to prove that ever since, except when 
the ravages of war, or the failure of crops, de- 



solated the country, or when the revenue, from 
these or other causes, was exhausted, the di- 
rectors at home have always been solicitous to 
open up facile communications through their 
territories. One difficulty, at this early period, 
presented itself, that the native powers either 
chose to take offence, or to claim compensation 
for danger or injury supposed or pretended by 
them, in consequence of creating highways. 

The following is a specimen of the policy 
which, in 1722, the directors desired to be 
observed towards the native governors in 
Bengal : it is taken from the " general letter 
to Bengal," written on the l-lth of February, 
in that year. Considering that this counsel is 
given at a time when the council of Calcutta 
had assured the directors that it was " pretty 
easy with the country government," it in- 
dicates that, in the opinion of the directors, the 
time was approaching when gentle measures 
must be seconded by decision and force, if 
their interests with the governors of provinces 
and petty rajahs, who took upon themselves 
more than the authority assumed by the 
Mogul, was to be considered. The blending 
of diplomacy and decision, finesse and force, 
which this document commends, must be very 
edifying to modern adepts in Indian policy, 
and modern censors of Indian politicians : — 
" The accounts you give us of being pretty 
easy with the country government, notwith- 
standing the unsettled condition of the country, 
is acceptable, and much more your proceedings 
in clearing Contoo, the Cossimbazar broker, 
when seized by the nabob, and your boats 
when stopped by the several choukies. These 
are so many new proofs of the necessity of 
putting on a face of power and resolution, 
as we have often mentioned, to recover our 
privileges when openly infringed, and softer 
methods and applications for redress prove 
ineffectual, and that even the country govern- 
ment are afraid when yon give them the duhoy 
in a prudent manner, and on well-grounded 
occasion. Yearly experience shows you that 
they are always watching for opportunities to 
get money out of you, as in the dispute of 
your making the road for the benefit of your 
towns. Let it be your constant care (as hither- 
to, by what appears, it has been), to give them 
no just handles if possible. We need not add 
(because it hath been often recommended to 
you), that you continue to keep fair with the 
Hoogly government, which, with a little 
prudence, may be done at a cheap rate, even 
your usual piscoshes. Be equally careful to 
keep up a good understanding with the nabob, 
so as good words and a respectful behaviour, 
without paying too dear for it, will contribute. 
Is there no likelihood of contracting a friend- 
ship with one or more of his favourites, to 



Chap. LXV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



175 



make your way to, and the obtaining yonr 
requests from, him more eaay ? Such things 
have been practised formerly, and particularly 
by President Eyres, who, by his intimacy with 
Mirza Mudusfa, first obtained the grant of 
your towns." 

In 1726 a Mayens court was established 
in Calcutta, mainly on the model of that ori- 
ginally instituted at Madras. It does not 
appear that it produced as much satisfaction 
in Calcutta, as courts of a similar nature in 
the capitals of the sister presidencies. 

In 1725 Jaffer Khan, the enemy of the 
English, died, and was succeeded by iSujah 
Khan, his son-in-law, who established his 
government in Moorshedabad, then a large, 
populous, and trading city, and, in many 
respects, well adapted to be the capital of 
Bengal. Ally Verdi Khan, one of his omrahs, 
accompanied him, remaining constantly by 
him, and exercising influence over his mind. 
In 1729 Ally was appointed governor of 
Beliar, which place, together with Orissa, had 
been first united with Bengal, under the go- 
vernment of Jaffer Khan. Ally Verdi was 
an intriguing and dextrous man, and, by a 
bold stroke of policy, suddenly given, but 
long prepared, he had himself proclaimed as 
the Nabob of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa. 
These events were gradually opening the way 
for the development of greater changes, which 
were soon destined to pass over the lower 
provinces of India. 

For several years the chief features of events 
in Bengal were those which marked the pro- 
gress of trade. Efforts were made to prevent 
the natives from inroads upon the Calcutta ter- 
ritory, without necessitating armed collisions. 
Endeavours were put forth to outwit the native 
diplomatists, whose treachery and chicane 
were so much a delight to those endowed with 
these aptitudes, that they appeared to practise 
them for the enjoyment their exercise afforded, 
when nothing for their masters or themselves 
could be gained by such practices. 

The administration of the Bengal territory 
was at this time kind and prudent on the part 
of the directors at home, and, so far as their 
intentions were carried out, were beneficial 
as well as benevolent to the natives. Thus 
when, in 1738, a fierce storm swept over Cal- 
cutta, damaging houses and fields, and car- 
rying destruction to hut and homestead, the 
directors thus address their agents : — " We 
approve of your relieving the inhabitants, on 
their suffering by the storm the loss of their 
dwellings and great part of their substance, 
and in forbearing to collect the revenues of 
the poor people in the town for some time." 
In tiie succeeding year, when famine smote 
where storm had desolated, the council afforded 



extensive relief to the natives, and obtained 
for so doing the approbation of their employers, 
who thus addressed its members : — " You did 
well in prohibiting the exportation of rice on 
the scarcity; the welfare of the place, on all 
such melancholy occasions, must be first and 
principally regarded. We cannot but acqui- 
esce, on 80 general a calamity, in your taking 
off the duty on all rice brought into the town ; 
and approve of buying a parcel with our 
money, to deliver out in small parcels at the 
bazaar rate." 

Events now occurred of warlike impor- 
tance to Bengal and to the English. It 
will be recollected by the reader that Se- 
vajee, the daring Mahratta, overran the 
greater part of Hindostan. In the year 
1735 the Mahrattas obtained authority to 
collect a fourth part of the revenues of 
the empire, except in Bengal. In 1739 
Nizam-ool-Moolk, the subahdar of the Deccan, 
became jealous of the growing ambition and 
power of Ally Verdi, the nabob of Bengal, 
Behar, and Orissa, as before related. The 
nizam instigated the Mahrattas to demand 
the chaut (fourth part of the revenue) for Ally. 
They soon advanced from Poonah and Berar, 
concentric points of their power and re- 
sources, to Burdwan. The celebrated Bajee 
Rao, already brought before the reader when 
narrating the events which occurred on the 
opposite shores of the peninsula during this 
period, was the leader of the fierce hordes of 
the invaders, assisted by his commander-in- 
chief, also brought before the reader's notice 
while relating the history of the Bombay 
presidency. The wild Mahrattas swept over 
Bengal, as the descending waters of the 
Ganges or the Brahmapootra deluge the 
plains in the rainy season. The feeble in- 
habitants of Bengal displayed no capacity 
even for flight, and in great numbers fell 
victims to famine or wild beasts in the jungle. 

The English at Calcutta took advantage of 
the occasion to demand from the nabob per- 
mission to build some field works around their 
territory. These, when completed, were of 
the simplest kind, chiefly suitable for inter- 
cepting horsemen and artillery. The circuit 
of these works was called the Mahratta Ditch, 
and extended for seven miles around Calcutta, 
along the bounds of the territory then recog- 
nised by the nabob as belonging to the com- 
pany. Ally Verdi was a man of resolution 
and energy ; he recruited his forces, and in 
the following year, by the aid of men from 
the upper provinces, attacked the Mahrattas, 
who were sjDread over his territory. These, 
as the floods retiring after the monsoon find 
vent in the current of the great rivers, rapidly 
concentrated, and retreated to the shores of 



176 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



LCuAi-. LXVI. 



Malabar and the valleys of the Deccan. Ally 
Verdi had been out of favour with the Mogul, 
because of his ambition, and his seizure of 
Behar and Orissa, but he was now restored to 
the light of tlie imperial countenance, petted, 
and rewarded by an ostensible recognition of 
all the titles and powers he had rebelliously 
assumed. On his part, engagement was made 
to send to Delhi a considerable tribute an- 
nuall}'. 

In the interval of space which followed, the 
council at Calcutta was agitated by questions 
connected with the administration of justice, 
more particularly the taking of oaths ; Brah- 
mins, Mussulmans, and others refusing to be 
sworn in the modes most agreeable to the 
English. These difficulties, and the disputes 
and denials of justice which arose out of them, 
were settled by the directors at home sending 
out specific regulations for such matters, 
which were liberal and enlightened. 

During the progress and solution of these 
affairs the French were, in every direction 
towards which they operated, gaining ascen- 
dancy over the native mind. The chiefs and 
rajahs had believed the English irresistible at 
sea, until Augria and other pirates contended 
with them bo successfully ; but just before the 
bursting forth of the war with France that 
opinion had somewliat abated, although still 
the English war ships were esteemed as, at 
least, equal to those of the Dutch and superior 
to those of any other power. As traders, the 
Dutch stood first and the English second in 
order ; but the formation of companies at 
Ostend and in Prussia, as well as in Denmark, 
which were soon understood by several of the 
native powers, led to the belief that there 
were other European nations which, as 
traders, and perhaps as mariners, might 
rival the British. The French were consi- 
dered inferior to the English both as mer- 



chants and sailors, although in the latter 
capacity they at last acquired, by the conduct 
of Lahourdonnais, a rapid fame. As soldiers, 
the English were esteemed by the natives to 
be prompt, obstinate, and brave in battle, but 
inferior to the French in taste for the profes- 
sion of arms, and in the science of war. The 
natives believed that the English were fight- 
ing shopkeepers ; but they regarded the 
French as cavaliers, as men above tlie mere 
instincts of trade, and who, like the natives 
themselves, considered the profession of arms 
a renown : they were esteemed as the Raj- 
poots of Europeans. The every-day carriage 
and air of the Frenchman was a. la viililaire, 
while that of the Englishman, even when 
decked in uniform, was brusque, ungainly, 
and gave the impression of the shop. These 
were the real feelings of the natives. They 
could readily credit any account of obstinate 
battle maintained by Englishmen, but that 
they could launch forth armies on a great 
field as Frenchmen could, or as the generals 
of the great INIogul might be supposed able 
to do, was beyond credibility. A little time 
soon dissipated these impressions. The short 
quietude which Bengal saw after the Mah- 
rattas had fled before the skilful arrangements 
and attacks of Ally Verdi, was like the drop- 
ping of the curtain between the scenes in the 
drama : that curtain was soon to rise on a 
more eventful act, involving scenes more 
varied and st.irtling than India had witnessed; 
and from amidst the transitions and tumults 
caused by the passing of armies, and the 
thunder of European war on Indian fields, 
the English were destined to come forth the 
heroes and the victors, before whom Indian 
and European were forced to bow, as the na- 
tive shrub and the exotic together shed their 
foliage and drop their branches before the 
path of the resistless storm. 



CHAPTER LXVI. 

ESTABLISHMENT OF A REGULAR NAVY AT BOMBAY, AND OF REGULAR MILITARY FORCES 

IN BOMBAY, MADRAS, AND BENGAL. 



In i)revious chapters, notice has been taken 
incidentally of the formation of military esta- 
blishments at Bombay, and of the employ- 
ment of armed boats and ships to protect the 
harbour, and the commercial transactions 
conducted in the Indian Ocean. 

The earlier occupation of Bombay entitles 
it to more especial as well as prior attention 
in this matter, as compared with the other 



presidencies. Indeed the only one of the 
three presidencies which has arrived at the 
dignity of maintaining a regular navy is 
Bombay, although Bengal has a marine ser- 
vice which more resembles a mercantile than 
a warlike navy. Madras possesses no mari- 
time establishment. The Bombay navy 
protects the coast of Malabar, as well as the 
commercial interests of England and India 



Chap. LXVI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



177 



in the Arabian and Persian Gulfs, and the 
Indian Ocean. The Bengal marine is of 
service along the Coromandel coast, and 
throughout the Bay of Bengal. 

In previous chapters, the progress of the 
company's mercantile marine has been related 
with ample detail, and the warlike operations 
of merchant ships in the seventeenth century, 
and those in the early part of the eighteenth 
century conducted by " grabs" and " galli- 
vats,'' depicted. It has been seen that the 
company's martial marine (if it deserved the 
name) was in a low condition as to the 
number of ships, men, and guns in the second 
quarter of the eighteenth century, but the 
quality of both men and material were excel- 
lent. It is very difficult to supply the place 
of good sailors and experienced officers in 
time of war, if during peace a country, on the 
ground of economy, discharges them. The 
East India Company did not think so when, 
in 1742, a peaceful period, the economical 
merchants of the directory resolved to re- 
trench by discharging seamen, and " putting 
ships out of commission," — as we say in 
modern phraseology. The reductions were 
intended to be more considerable than became 
actually the case, for the president and coun- 
cil were slow to reduce the maritime power of 
the presidency, and by references home of one 
Bort or other, postponed the evil day. At 
last, the economical arrangements were 
effected, and the abridged navy of Bombay 
assumed the following dimensions. There 
were — " A superintendent, eight commanders, 
(one of whom was styled commodore), three 
first lieutenants, four second lieutenants, four 
third officers, and six masters of gallivats. 
The superintendent's salary was £220 per 
annum ; a commander's, from GO to 80 rupees 
per mensem ; a first lieutenant's from 32 
to 40 ; a second lieutenant's, 24 ; a midship- 
man's, 12; a surgeon's, from 31 to 40; a 
gunner's or boatswain's, 22 ; a carpenter's, 
26 ; an able seaman's, 9 : a native officer's, 
10 ; a marine topass's, G ; and a lascar's, 5. 
Amongst the ships, ranked first ' the fighting 
vessels,' the principal of which were two 
grabs, called the liestoration and Neptune's 
Prize, the former being manned by eighty 
Europeans of all ranks, and fifty- one lascars; 
the latter, by fifty Europeans and thirty-one 
lascars. On each of the praliirns there had 
usually been thirty Europeans and twenty 
lascars ; but these numbers were now slightly 
diminished. As frequent complaints of fa- 
vouritism were made by the officers, it was at 
last resolved that promotions should be re- 
gulated according to dates of commissions."* 

* Bomhay Diary, 13th K\i%., and 2Cth Nov., 1742; 
aud Kith I'cb., 1713. Bombay Q,uaiUrly, April, 1857. 



The result of these reductions, so far from 
being a saving of money, as was expected by 
the directors at home, was a source of loss, 
and of great danger to the trade with India. 
The coasting trade was at last stopped, in 
consequence of the daring piracies effected by 
Arabs, Mahrattas, Europeans,&c. The Bomhay 
Quarterhj gives a brief sketch of the disasters 
which followed the reduction, before matters 
arrived at a crisis, in the following terms : — 
" An immediate consequence of these reduc- 
tions was, that the mercantile marine, now 
larger than ever, suffered serious losses from 
pirates, and the company received some severe 
blows. The Tiger, a gallivat, when disabled 
by a waterspout, on her passage from Gom- 
broon, was boarded by subjects of the Siddee 
at Mufdafarbad. Her crew, after a severe 
conflict in which seven fell, were overpowered, 
and she was carried away as a prize ; but on 
a proper representation being made to the 
Siddee of Jinjeera, whom the Siddee of INIuf- 
dafarbad acknowledged as lord paramount, 
she was restored. Near the port of Surat 
cooly rovers swarmed, and waited for their 
prey as the ships lying at the bar attempted 
to discharge their cargoes. The treaty which 
had been made with Khem Sawimt was, as 
soon as the government of Bombay was sup- 
posed to be without power, shown to be waste 
paper, for in spite of it that chief made prizes 
of seven boats valued at eighteen or nineteen 
thousand rupees. TheMalwans seized others 
valued at ten or eleven thousand. The sub- 
jects of the Peishwa showed themselves equally 
rapacious, and although their government, 
when appealed to, promised that the offenders 
should be punished, it was only on the im- 
probable supposition that they could be dis- 
covered and convicted. Even MenajeoAngria, 
whilst professing to be a close ally of the 
British, countenanced his subjects in attacking 
their vessels, and never hesitated to pick up a 
stray boat, if he could hope to escape detection ; 
yet on one occasion he rendered a valuable 
service in rescuing the Sulaniander, an English 
ketch, which had been captured of£ Colaba by 
the fleet of Sumbhajee Angria. Seven grabs 
and eight gallivats, in the service of the last 
mentioned pirate, after fighting for a night 
and day with the Montague and Warwick, 
two East Indiamen, carried off five boats and 
a Portuguese ketch sailing under their convoy. 
A vessel, however, which he had taken and 
sold for ten thousand rupees, was recaptured 
by Ca]itain Charles Foulis, of the Harrington. 
But nothing could compensate the merchants 
of Bombay for the losses they had sustained." 
Under such circumstances, they held meetings 
and made representations to government of 
their desperate state. So great was the in- 



178 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[CiiAr. LXVI. 



security, that the bankers would make no ad- 
vances upon goods or ships. The diaries of 
Bombay, Surat, and Tellicherrj' abundantly 
prove that such was the condition of affairs. 
The peace principle was carried out into a 
fair experiment, and its most ardent admirers 
could not fail to admit that if carried out a 
little longer, its only result to English com- 
merce in the Indian seas would have been 
annihilation, to the company bankruptcy, and 
to peaceful commercial sailors captivity and 
slavery. 

The compjmy did not at first feel the full 
force of the blows struck at commerce in 
those waters. Native merchants, and native 
ships, coasters, first suffered, but at last the 
proudest ships of the company were damaged 
or captured. 

The French were the means, it is well 
known, and generally recorded by historians, of 
causing the English to organize a large native 
army, and that nation was also the occasion 
of the organization of a well-equipped naval 
force in the company's service. In the year 
17M war broke out between England and 
France, and the latter became famous for her 
privateers. Two of that description, of half 
men-of-war, half pirate ships, sought enter- 
prise in the Indian seas immediately that 
war was declared. One of them was the 
Apollo, fifty guns; the other, the Anglesea, 
of forty guns. The latter, from her name, 
had probably formerly been an English ship. 
After committing ravages in the neighbour- 
hood of the Cape of Good Hope, and of 
Madras, they cruised in the neighbourhood of 
Bombay. 

To meet this small force, the government 
of Bombay could do nothing but send out 
grabs and fishing-boats, well-armed, to look 
out for British ships, and warn them of their 
peril. This saved several very richly -laden 
ships, whose escape was narrow. A large 
Indiaman, the Anson, did not heed, or could 
not understand the signals, and was attacked 
by the Apollo. The conflict was long and 
fierce. The English ship, neither constructed, 
armed, nor manned to resist such vessels as the 
Apollo, nevertheless fought until utterly dis- 
abled, and then her captor was found to be in 
so shattered a condition, that she was unable to 
continue her cruise ; for every man hit on 
board the Indiaman, nine were struck on 
board the privateer. This conflict is the 
more remarkable, as it is the only recorded 
naval action between the English and French 
which ever took place off the coasts of 
Western India. The directors were so 
pleased with the heroism disjslayed by the 
crew of the Anson, that they voted them a gift 
of more than two thousand pounds sterling. 



After these events, means were taken to 
augment the Bombay navy. "In the en- 
larged marine service were three ships, each 
of which carried twenty guns, a grab witli 
twenty guns, from six to twelve pounders, 
five ketches carrying from eight to fourteen 
guns, from four to six-pounders, eight gal- 
livats, and one prahim. Two other .ships 
were employed alternately as guard-ships at 
Gombroon. On each ship or grab were from 
fifty to seventy Europeans ; on each ketch, 
from six to thirty ; and two or three on each 
gallivat. To the list of officers were added 
two commanders, one first, six second, and' 
three third lieutenants. At the same time 
the first attempts were made to improve the 
religious and moral character of both officers 
and men, orders being sent from the court of 
directors for tlie regular performance of divine 
service on board all the vessels, and a strict 
prohibition of all gambling, profane swear- 
ing, and indecent conversation. As, how- 
ever, it was thought that these reforms would 
be incomplete until the Bombay marine 
should have an official uniform like a regular 
service, a petition was presented in 17G1 by 
the officers to the governor in council, and 
they were ordered to wear blue frock-coats 
turned up with yellow, dress-coats and waist- 
coats of the same colour, and according to a 
regulated pattern. Large boot-sleeves and 
facings of gold lace were the fashion for 
the superior grades ; whilst midshipmen and 
masters of gallivats were to rest contented 
with small round cuff's and no facings. ^Yith 
increased numbers, improved discipline, and 
fine clothes, the Bombay marine became a 
little navy, although it did not venture to 
assume that name. The English fleets, with 
their first-rate men-of-war and frigates, now 
floating in the harbour under the command 
of Admirals Watson, Cornish, Pococke, and 
Stevens, threw it into the shade, but at the 
same time taught it emulation and effici- 
ency." 

Such is a brief narrative of the early es- 
tablishment of the Bombay navy. Its deeds, 
as shown in the course of this history, will be 
the proofs of its efficiency, as those events 
are related which gave opportunity to the 
maritime force of the company to distinguish 
itself. 

The military establishment of Bombay had 
its origin when the company was put in 
possession of Bombay Island. The various 
events connected with the raising of troops, 
and their character, moral and military, have 
incidentally been related in foregoing chap- 
ters. The army at Bombay deteriorated 
gradually from the first fine body of royal 
troops, who garrisoned it until towards the 



Chap. LXVI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



179 



close of the first half of the eighteenth cen- 
tury. The number of men was necessarily 
greater as the company's interests expanded, 
but the quality of the troops became worse, 
until the increasing consequence of the 
French, and their intriguing and aggressive 
policy, caused the president and council of 
Bombay to feel that the western presidencj' 
must have something that might be called an 
army. "In 1741 it consisted of but one 
regiment, consisting of a captain, nine lieu- 
tenants, fifteen ensigns, a surgeon, two ser- 
geant-majors, eighty-two sergeants, eighty- 
two corporals, twenty-six drummers, tliree 
hundred and nineteen European privates, 
thirty-one mustees — by which term we con- 
ceive mastisa's, or Indo-Europeans are meant 
— nine hundred topasses, twenty-seven ser- 
vants, two subneeses or native paymasters, 
a linguist, and an armourer — in all fourteen 
hundred and ninety-nine men. They were 
distributed into seven companies. Their 
monthly pay amounted to 10,314 rupees.* 

There was a native mihtia of sepoys num- 
bering seven hundred men, native officers in- 
cluded. The appearance of this body on 
parade must have presented the most extra- 
ordinary spectacle ever witnessed on occasion 
of reviewing troops. They were differently 
apparelled — some wearing a uniform like 
English soldiers, some in the habiliment of 
English tars ; or, rather, partly attired in the 
uniforms of three services. Rude native 
military uniforms decorated others. A few 
made themselves like South Sea islanders, by 
bedizening themselves in the most fantastic 
manner ; very many wore scarcely any ap- 
parel at all — the usual piece of calico wound 
round their body serving for raiment and 
uniform. Their arms were as various as their 
costumes, muskets, matchlocks, swords, spears, 
bows and arrows, and many nondescript 
weapons provided by themselves under the 
idea of being peculiarly warlike and terrible. 
Except in war they were seldom mustered ; 
most of them were attached as " peons," ser- 
vants, bearers, runners, &c., to the civil ser- 
vants ; just as at this day, but under different 
regulations, the sepoys are employed. They 
were very badly paid, and worse treated, 
kicked, smitten, flogged, at the caprice of the 
civil servants to whom they were attached. 
They endured degradation and misery with 
marvellous patience, and, on the whole, pre- 
ferred the military to other employments, as 
was proved by the eagerness with whicli they 
re-enlisted, after having been " broke." The 
system of peons was adverse to the progress of 
the army; it was not until 17o2 that these 
men were struck off the military roll, and 
* Bombay (^uaiterli/, April 1857. 



their expense charged to the civil department. 
In Bengal and Madras the sepoys were better 
disciplined, and some were brought to Bom- 
bay ; but they refused to serve except at 
higher pay than the custom was to give the 
natives of Bombay. The latter were offended 
at the invidious distinction, and murmured, so 
that the practice of employing Madras and 
Bengal sepoys in the western presidency was 
given up. Ultimately, the transfer of sepoys 
from Bombay both to Bengal and Madras 
became usual. There existed a strong indis- 
position among the members of the company 
in London to pay for military, and the in- 
structions to the president and council to re- 
duce expenditure by a reduction of their 
military force was incessant. Thus a Euro- 
pean regiment was removed from the fort at 
Sion, and its place supplied by topasses, by 
which a saving of 14,3(j4 rupees was effected, 
but the safety of the place was endangered, 
and the president and council of Bombay filled 
with anxieties and cares, when their minds 
should have been free to attend to the com- 
pany's business. The topasses were very un- 
certain soldiery ; being of mixed Portuguese 
and Indian descent they had the prejudices of 
both races : they were generally of the religion 
of the Portuguese, with a large leaven of 
native idolatry. It was not without cause, 
therefore, that the president and council ex- 
pressed their apprehensions when ordered to 
occupy so important a place with such rabble 
for soldiers : — " For Sion was a frontier post, 
and topasses were so little accustomed to strict 
discipline, that they might easily be surprised 
by a sudden invasion from the Mahratta coun- 
try ; and what was most strange of all, their 
homes, where their wives and children con- 
tinued to reside, were in Salsette, then part of 
the Mahratta dominions. It was remembered 
that when the Portuguese were defending 
Tanna, they had been intimidated by the 
enemy seizing their families, and threatening 
to slaughter them unless the fortress capitu- 
lated ; and was it to be doubted that the same 
plan would be resorted to in the case of the 
British ? Then these soldiers in buckram 
would only enter the service on condition that 
they should be permitted to take their meals 
and attend mass on the other side of the strait ; 
many actually, when on duty, left their posts 
for these purposes, and the dismissal of a 
hundred and seventy-two only caused a tem- 
porary abatement of the evil. A foolish 
economy and ignorance of the native character 
were the only reasons why this fatuous sys- 
tem was continued, even when the age of 
Indian conquest had commenced. On the one 
hand, the frugal court of directors would not 
increase the topasses' pay from four to five 



180 



HISTORY OF THE BEITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXVI. 



rupees per mensem, which would have induced 
them to bring their families within the com- 
pany's limits ; on the other, they still retained 
the opinion that natives would not submit like 
topasscs to be organized on the European 
system."* 

The officers of the company's service were 
both European and native, the latter fre- 
quently proved unfaithful, and were generally 
hostile in their hearts to all Europeans. The 
Englisli officers were men of low birth, who 
had followed occupations the meanest, and 
werei\neducated,withfew exceptions. Officers 
have, in some few cases, sustained important 
local commands, who had attained to the rank 
of captains without being able to write I 
Existing documents in Bombay reveal the 
plans and shifts to which the civil authorities 
were frequently put, to avoid the inconveni- 
ence attendant npon the illiterate character of 
their officers. The pay of the European 
officer was small, and he accordingly adopted 
various expedients for plundering the men 
under his command in their food and clothes, 
until mutiny at last taught the government 
that the robbery of the soldier was neither 
a humane, honourable, nor safe mode of pay- 
ing the officers. 

The retrenchments of the directors were 
not long in operation ; the menaces and vio- 
lence of the French and of the Mahrattas, as 
well as the known designs of other enemies, 
compelled an augmentation of force at Bom- 
bay and Tellicherry, and the factory at Surat 
was strengthened in such way as the position 
of the English there allowed. A change in 
the commanders attended upon increased 
garrisons. Officers of distinction in the royal 
army were sent out, and young gentlemen of 
birth and education wore appointed as cadets. 
Sepoy regiments were gradually enrolled in 
imitation of the French ; and royal regiments 
of infantry as well as regular companies of 
artillery were sent from England. Such 
changes were carried out with more earnest- 
ness when, in 1744, the war burst forth be- 
tween the settlements of the two great Euro- 
pean nations. In 1746, while the conflict 
was proceeding, the president and council 
raised at Surat a native force of two thousand 
men. It was deemed politic to collect these 
men from various septs and nationalities — 
Abyssinians, Arabs, Mussulmen of India, 
Hindoos, and, probably, a few Jews, topasses, 
and Parsees were among them. The creation 
of this force enabled the president, the next 
year, to send from Bombay considerable as- 
sistance to Fort St. David. 

In the desire to obtain experienced officers 
soon after the foregoing events, the governor 

• Bombay Diary. Bombay Quarterly, April, 1S57. 



engaged one Goodyear, a major of artillery, 
who served on board the fleet of Admiral 
Boscawen. To this officer the command of 
the garrison at Bombay was consigned, and 
he took rank as a member of council, a cir- 
cumstance which raised the status of the 
military. The salary of this high officer was 
but £250 a year, with allowance for servants, 
palanqnin, and mess. A local company of 
artillery was then raised, and the old system 
of gunners and assistants was abolished. Ten 
companies of infantry, seventy men to each 
company, were next raised. The officers and 
non-commissioned officers raised the total 
number in the battalion to 841. Promotion 
went by seniority, except in especial cases ; 
and then the governor was bound to inform 
the directors on what grounds he departed 
from the rule. 

It was a curious circumstance that all Ro- 
man Catholics were excluded from service, 
even in the ranks of either the artillery or 
infantry ; yet, nevertheless, the service was 
so popular with many of them that by de- 
grees, in spite of every prohibition, they 
continued to enlist until, for a short time, a 
majority of the soldiers were of that persna- 
sion. The physical and moral character of 
the troops was very bad ; old men, invalids, 
criminals, and deserters, to a large extent, 
made up the muster roll. The hopelessness 
of finding sober and able-bodied Englishmen, 
to enlist in their service, led the company to 
seek recruits in that common recruiting 
ground of Europe — Switzerland. In 1752, 
Captain Alexander De Zeigle, and a Swiss 
company under his command, arrived in Bom- 
bay. This scheme failed. Dupleix, the French 
general, with the foresight for which he was 
characterized, predicted the result. The Swiss 
had hardly commenced their duties, when they 
found their soldierly pride wounded by insults 
and oppressions of various ^orts, and their 
miserable pay afforded them insufficient sub- 
sistence. Discontent, neglect, insufficient 
food, and sickness, wasted their numbers ; 
and a large proportion of the remainder de- 
serted to the French, where they were received 
as brothers and fellow-countrymen. As the 
places of the deceased, and those who deserted, 
were filled up with topasses, the Swiss com- 
pany soon became only such in name.* 

In August, 1753, Major Sir James Poidis, 
Bart., took command ot the troops. He intro- 
duced many reforms useful to both officers and 

* Bomhay Diary, 17th of October, 1752 ; 3rd ot April, 
August, 8ud November, 1753 ; 7th of December, 1756; 
20th of September, 1757; 20th of Jlay, 1760. Speech 
of William Beckford, Esq., in the House of Commons, 
19th of February, 1754. — Bombay Quarterly, April, 
1857. 



Chap. LXVL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



181 



men, but \vhicli were unpopular among botli. 
Ultimately lie conciliated the affections of all 
classes of liis soldiers, and was then thwarted 
liy the civil officials, until, at last, under a 
stinging sense of insult, he resigned his post 
and returned home. All efforts to establish 
the discij)line of the company's troops on a 
solid basis failed until tlie mutiny act was 
made applicable to India by a bill which 
passed the British parliament in 1754:. The 
act took effect on the 25tli of April in the 
same year, and is one of the memorable 
incidents of British legislation for India. 
On the first of October following, this act 
was proclaimed at the fort gate of Bombay. 
The troops, who were drawn up on parade, 
were asked if they were willing to serve 
under the terms of this law, and they unani- 
mously assented. The topasses probably 
did not understand its provisions, for they 
pleaded ignorance when arraigned for violation 
of the act for a considerable time afterwards, 
although every two months it was read at the 
liead of every company. Many date the for- 
mation of the Bombay army from the day 
when the mutiny act was proclaimed at the 
fort of Bombay. 

In order to carry out the design, so generally 
entertained among official persons, of perfect- 
ing military force, a secret and select com- 
mittee for the management of military and 
diplomatic affairs was appointed at the begin- 
ning of the year 1755, by the co^rt of direc- 
tors, and ordered to correspond by ciphers 
of two kinds with committees similarly con- 
stituted in each of the three presidencies. The 
author of The Rise of the Xavy and Army at 
Bombay, in the review published in that city, 
observes : — " To the skilful management of 
these boards must, under divine Providence, 
be attributed the success of these grand ope- 
rations by which Great Britain first obtained 
political power in India." 

Towards the close of the year 1755, Major 
Chalmers arrived at Bombay in command of 
three companies of royal artillery, which 
enabled the local artillery company to improve 
itself upon their model. The year following, 
according to the Bombay Diary, the number 
of regular troops on the island, was 1571. 
Of these 12() were in hospital ; 986 were Eu- 
ropeans, comprising Germans, Dutch, Swedes, 
and a few Swiss, as well as English : the re- 
mainder were topasses. Besides this regular 
force, there was a brigade of 3,000 sepoys : 
these were distrusted both by the authorities 
and the regular force. At Surat and Cambay, 
where there were small sepoy garrisons in the 
factories, the factors expressed their doubts 
both of their fidelitj' and courage, and pre- 
ferred arming Arabs, notwithstanding their 

VOL. :i. 



occasional bursts of fanaticism, and the fierce- 
ness and waywardness of their temper. Even 
after the battle of Plassey proved how sejioys 
might be disciplined and wielded, there was 
throughout Bombay a great reluctance to em- 
ploy them. In 1759 a separate corps of 
500 sepoys was disciplined on the English 
system. This was the first attempt in the 
Bombay presidency, to use the sepoys as 
regular troops. The same year, when a French 
invasion was anticipated, it was estimated that 
on an emergency 15,750 men could be called 
out for service at Bombay ; but not one half 
of them had ever smelt gunpowder, and not a 
quarter had learnt their drill. The number 
was made up thus : — Of the king's artillery 
were mustered 236 men ; of the company's, 
285; of the company's European infantry, 848 
— thus making 1,369 disciplined troops. There 
were also of sepoys that had been some time 
in garrison, 965 ; of sepoys that had lately 
been withdrawn from the Siddee's service, 
754 ; of sepoys recently enlisted at Surat, 
209; of Arabs,316; ofrecruits raised in Scinde, 
178 — in all 2,412 irregulars. In the marine 
service there were 450 available men. Cove- 
nanted servants, captains of merchant vessels, 
free merchants, and other Europeans, who 
formed a separate corps, amounted to ninety- 
eight. The native population, capable of 
bearing arms, amounted to 3,017, and that of 
Mahim to 1,865, exclusive of clerks in offices, 
648 labourers who were also a separate corps, 
and 150 private slaves — the whole amounting 
to 6,539 able-bodied persons. So silent are 
historians of British India regarding the rise 
of the European and native army, that their 
readers might almost suppose it to have been 
without any rudimental germ, never to have 
passed through the slow processes of growth, 
but to have sprung at once into vigorous ex- 
istence. We read of no mortifications, no 
blunders, no failures to which men must ordi- 
narily submit before their institutions attain 
to full strength. Such, however, there cer- 
tainly were. Even when soldiers had been 
found, and the living material provided for the 
ranks abundantly, there was continual per- 
plexity when attempting to make the proper 
arrangements for clothing, arming, paying, 
provisioning the troops, and other similar 
matters. At first clothing was issued to Eu- 
ropeans once a year ; to topasses and others, 
once every two years. Long before the time 
for renewing it arrived, the men had supplied 
themselves with garments purchased by them- 
selves ; otherwise they must have marched in 
rags ; and there appeared on parade a most 
curious variety of costume. The first reform 
in the dress of sepoys, who had up to that 
time retained the clothes in which they en- 

n B 



182 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXVI. 



listed, was to provide tliom witli a jacket of 
red broadcloth and linen turban, to dis(in.Q;nisli 
them from the enemy. Not until 17GU was 
it. finally arranged tliat all the troops should 
Le clad in uniforms corresponding to those 
already used in Madras and Bengal. Then 
the men made numerous complaints of the de- 
■ductions from their pay to purchase these 
miiforms, and the regulations on the subject 
were frequently revised. It was difficult also 
to determine the periods of issuing pay ; at 
first the Europeans were paid daily ; then 
they were kept a month in arrears, it being 
supposed that all their cash would be required 
for debts contracted in the interval, and couhl 
not therefore be expended in drunken revels; 
and lastly, when they murmured loudly against 
this, the worst plan of all was adopted — tliat 
of issuing their pay montlily in advance. At 
the same time, as they were suffered to pro- 
cure their own food so long as they dealt with 
the tradesmen whom the barrack-master 
patronised, and had no regular mess, their 
diet was usually bad and unwholesome.* 

Courts-martial were much abused by officers, 
although frequently the only means by which 
they could protect themselves from the op-' 
pressions and insults of the factors. It is a 
curious circumstance, that the great Clive 
was mixed up witli disputes connected with 
such transactions, wlien, as Colonel Clive, he 
served at Bombay in 175G. On that occasion 
the great man quarrelled with the president 
and council for appointing an officer junior to 
himself as president of a court-martial. Yet, 
altliough 80 prompt to assert his own rights 
and privileges, he was ready enough to 
trample upon the prerogatives and insult the 
dignity of inferior officers himself when they 
fell under his displeasure. 

The hostility between the army and the 
civil authorities about ITfiO is a fearful epi- 
sode in the history of the Bombay presidency. 
"Defiance of authority seemed to have become 
the governing princijile of the military. The 
new code of military law, the importation of 
regular troops from England, the organization 
of an army with European discipline and ad- 
mirable appointments, had produced no better 
fruit than this. The spirit which animated 
the officers was active also in the ranks. 
Desertions were frequent, and Sir James 
Foulis estimated the annual loss from tliis 

• Bombay Diari/, 14tU of November, 1755 ; lOtli of 
February, August, 'l 750 ; 5th aud 12th of August, 1st of 
September, and 2ud of October, 1757 ; 4th of October and 
13th of December, 1758; 7lh of August and 3rd of 
October, 1759; 11th of March, 1760. Surat Diary, 
Ist of June and lOtb of August, 17-56; August 1757; 
5th of April, 1759. Diary of Vie Secret Committee, 
1755 and 1756. Letter from Cahulta, daUi 6th and 
7th of July, no6.— Bombay quarterly, April, 1857. 



cause and death, at ten per cent. So many 
men deserted from tlio factory in Scinde, that 
sufficient were not left for its defence iu ease 
of a sudden surjirise, and it became necessary 
to release some prisoners for want of a guard. 
Punishments were of frightful severity, but 
apparently without any good effect. At 
Surat eight Europeans deserted during, the 
military operations ; all were retaken ; one 
was shot, the others received a thousand 
lashes. Of seven topasses who deserted a 
little later under extenuating circumstances, 
five were sentenced to be shot, but as an act 
of mercy, j)ermitted to escape each with eight 
liundred or a thousand lashes. Even the 
king's troops were contaminated, and at 
Tellichei'ry, when called into active service, 
loudly and insubordinately uttered the old 
complaint of want of beef, protesting against 
the fish rations provided for them on four 
days of the week."* The Bombay army was 
frequently used on service in the other presi- 
dencies during its more perfect formation, and 
after discipline aud military law became es- 
tablished. 

In 1764, the few Swiss then left, three 
companies of sepoj's, and Captain Forbes's 
company of Europeans, from Bombay, and 
150 topasses from Tellicherry, were sent to 
Madras. These were followed by fifty to- 
passes from Ajengo, and a considerable 
number of Indo-Portugueso recruits. These 
troops, commanded by Captain Armstrong, 
served under Major Lawrence. The captain 
aud his troops complained bitterly of the par- 
tiality and injustice of Clive, and his inequit- 
able distribution of prize money. The conduct 
of the hero in return was marked by cruelty, 
malice, and persecution, with a contempt for 
law and military order, when either stood in 
the way of his own strong passion and indo- 
mitable will. 

The Bombay army, whether serving in its 
own or in the sister ]u-esideucies, continued 
to have cause of complaint against the go- 
vernment. Perha))s, on the whole, they 
were better treated in Bombay than in either 
Bengal or Madras. During the whole history 
of the Bombay army, the government was 
chargeable with culpable neglect of the com- 
fort, health, and life of its soldiers. The 
whole British army in India was thus nnge- 
ncrously disregarded, until after the English 
nation was awakened by the disclosures of 
the Crimean campaign to the danger and dis- 
grace of such disregard of the happiness and 
efficiency of the noblest soldiers in the world. 
Yet, even then, the system of neglect was but 
slowly abolished. In October, 1858, public 
opinion in Bombay on these matters was thus 
♦ Bombay quarterly. 



Chap. LXVI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



18a 



expressed in the Boiribau Standard: — "The 
people of England are beginning at length to 
reflect that, if India is from henceforth niainl)' 
to be maintained by British troops, the fore- 
most matter to be seen to is how best to pre- 
serve the health and economize the energies 
of the men. They are right in this ; these 
are the very first things to be considered. 
We have hitherto proceeded either as if they 
■were the last, or as if there was no particidar 
occasion for bestowing any consideration on 
them at all. Until within the last ten years 
the Horse Guards acted as if their aim had 
been to destroy and demoralize the men as 
fast as possible, and the mutiides themselves 
liave not had the lives to answer for White- 
hall red-tape has destroyed within the past 
twenty years. The men were provided with 
the heaviest and most inelTicient weapons and 
worst possible clothing, to begin with ; these 
we shall pass bj% as the home authorities 
begin to see the error of their ways, and 
amend. A rigid attention to the regulations, 
as the regulations in these matters were M'ont 
to be attended to, would have lost us last 
year's campaign. By some extraordinary 
arrangement the men were, till 1850, in 
three-fourths of cases, dispatched so as to be 
sure of arriving during the rainy season, 
when their services could not be required 
and their health was certain to suffer-. The 
allowance of intoxicating liquor during the 
voyage was such as to make one-half of them 
drunkards before they touched Indian ground 
at all. The Horse Guards never condescended 
to consult the India-house as to the date of 
dispatch, nor did the home military powers 
deem it requisite to state beforehand for what 
presidency troops were intended. A regiment 
turned up of a rainy morning at Bomliay or 
Madras which the military authorities at these 
jilaces respectively believed on its way to 
Calcutta, when the barracks were damp, 
moss-giown, or mildewed, and not the slight- 
est preparation had been made for the recep- 
tion of troops. The remedy for this last was 
brought about by a newspaper. On hearing 
the matter made constant subject of complaint, 
and being assured that no representations sent 
to the home authorities received the slightest 
attention, we, in 1843, caused our London 
correspondent to insert in his shipping list the 
number of men embarked, and the place of 
their destination. We arc speaking under 
the most rigid review of facts ; all these things 
were duly tabled at the time, with tlie full 
apf/roval of authority. The men, as already 
stated, on arriving in tl'.e rains, were started 
for the Deccan as quickly as possible ; but it 
is only within these ten years that the slight- 
est shelter on the way was provided for them ; 



on they marched through floods of water, 
under deluges of rain, sleeping in swamps for 
six nights on end. The transfer from Bom- 
bay to Poonah commonly in these days cost one 
per cent, in the course of a fortnight, or at 
the rate of twenty-four per cent, on the year, 
had this rate of mortality been kept up. As 
we had taught the men to drink on the voy- 
age out it was but natural the accomplishment 
should be kept up, so every morning, when 
the stomach in the East is most weak and 
languid, and tea and coffee are naturally 
wisiied to soothe it, we fired off the ' morning 
dram' — a dose of red-hot poison, to inflame 
the blood and bowels and create a thirst other 
drams coidd alone alla}\ Old officers told 
you that the abolition of this would creata 
universal mutiny. In the first year of his 
reign the Marquis of Dalhousie said the 
abomination should cease, and it did cease • 
the most inveterate drunkard was ashamed to 
complain, all but confirmed drunkards held it 
a blessing to be kept aloof from temptation. 
All these things came to pass within ten 
years, to the saving of the lives of thousands; 
until within these twenty j-ears none of them 
ever seem to have been thought of. So far 
have we done well, but we have barely made 
a beginning. The task before us when once 
commenced will be found quite as easy as 
those now seem that have been performed, 
and infinitely more important." 

The military system of Madras progressed 
very slowly. There was a strong objection 
to enlist the natives, from a fear that the 
power thus raised might turn against those 
who created it :— " But here were special ob- 
jections to the enlistmentof^Mahratta and other 
native sepoys. They belonged to races with 
which the English would erelong perhaps be at 
war; their language, manners, religion, were 
not onl}' di.stinct from those of the English, but 
their superstitions regarding caste were so in- 
flammable, that a single spark might set them 
in a blaze ; they had not been used to the 
military system of Europe, and probably would 
not submit to its stringent discipline ; and 
lastly came the most important consideration 
of all,— their wives and children lived under 
the shadow of native powers, and remained as 
hostages that their husbands and fathers should 
never resist the chiefs who had natural claims 
upon their allegiance. On these grounds, it 
might not only be fairly concluded that the 
sepoy would be an unsafe protector ; he might 
also beatreaclierous friend and dangerous spy. 
For what arguments could be urged against 
these cogent ones for rejecting his services ? 
What inducements could be expected so to 
counteract the influence of established custom, 
religion, and family ties, as to make him a 



18^ 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXVI. 



loyal soldier ? The offer of seven rupees a 
month, and the prospect of twenty, were the 
only inducements that could be thought of; 
and these had been already met by native 
states, who actually offered higher pay. No 
patriotism, no chivalrous sentiments, no lust 
of conquest were to kindle enthusiasm in 
sepoys, and secure their constancy. The only 
bond between them and their employers was 
to be the pittance of a soldier's pay." 

Amongst the Europeans at Madras there 
was no military spirit. The factors were un- 
willing to carry arms, and the young men of 
England were reluctant to enter upon a mili- 
tary life in India, and especially in Madras, 
which was supposed to be wholly without at- 
tractions. The language of an Indian reviewer 
of the present day, in retrospect of this period, 
is strikingly applicable : — " The people of 
England were tranquil, prosperous, and selfish; 
indisposed both at home and abroad to attain 
celebrity by acts of enterprise or enthusiasm. 
This prosperity, torpidity, and lack of generous 
sentiment are especially to be observed in 
India. The age of discovery and adventure 
had passed away ; the age of military exploits 
had not begun ; so that the characters and 
actions of Anglo-Indians were for the most 
part flat and insignificant. Hawkins, Best, 
and Downton were almost forgotten ; even the 
era of Anngier, Oxenden, and Child seemed 
as the days of the giants ; and as compared 
with them, the governors of this time felt 
themselves but ordinary persons ; whilst on 
the other hand, Olive was still giving and re- 
ceiving black eyes at Jlerchant Tailors' school, 
or spending his iudoraitable energy iu clam- 
bering up the church tower, and playing tricks 
upon the tradespeople of Market Drayton. In 
this middle age the highest ambition which the 
English of India coukl entertain was to ac- 
cumulate money and retire. The larger number 
stopped far short of that, contenting themselves 
with a life of idleness, sensuality, or reckless 
dissipation, which was usually terminated by 
disease and an uuhonoured death." 

The military prejtaration at Madras, when, 
at the close of the half century, the French 
api)earcd off its coasts, was deemed consider- 
able ; a few hundred soldiers only were British, 
several thousand were topasses and sepoys. 

The climate of Madras is, from its southerly 
situation, the hottest in India. The troops of 
that presidency, European and native, liave 
always been severely tried by the burning 
sun in any field operations; yet, with the in- 
fatuation whicli has generally characterised 
the economical and sanitary departments of 
British military management, the troops have 
been clothed in a manner which has caused 
numerous deaths, from the time of the first 



service of European soldiers in Fort St. Gcoi-ge 
to the present day. That the reader's atten- 
tion is not unnecessarily called to this subject, 
the reports of medical men, both civilians and 
military, and various treatises published by 
them during 1858, abundantly prove. The 
following remarks on the clothing of our 
Indian army, from a London scientific peri- 
odical, is a valuable contribution to the intel- 
ligence which is requisite and ought to prevail 
on this matter :— " The flowing burnous of the 
swarthy Arabian and the loose-fitting snowy 
robes of the Indian toll ns, clearly enough, 
what are the natural habiliments of the in- 
habitant of tropical regions ; the European, 
indeed, left to himself in those climes, quickly 
rids himself of his dark woollen coverings, and 
gladly adopts the light cotton dress of the 
natives. The voice of nature, hovk'ever, of 
reason, and of science, makes no impression 
on the stiff ear of the martinet colonel, or on 
the well imbued red-tapist soul of bureaucracy. 
We still are obliged to hear of dragoons charg- 
ing the enemy under a sun throwing down its 
burning rays of 115 degrees, with their brows 
compressed by helmets, the metal of which 
would burn the hand laid upon it ; our soldiers 
still march, or stagger along, with stocks and 
tight buttoned-up woollen jackets; and the 
best heat-absorbing colours are, iu many cases, 
the dresses they wear. We wish now to say 
one word about the soldier's dress ; and hope 
that a fact demonstrated both by experience 
and science may meet some williug ear among 
the authorative few. Dr. Ooulier has lately 
investigated, scientifically, the nature of the 
soldier's different habiliments as agents pro- 
tecting him against heat and cold. His ex- 
periments show that a thin layer of white 
cotton placed over a cloth dress is sufficient to 
produce a fall of seven degrees per cent, in 
the heat of it. He gives the following table, 
which shows the effects of the sun's rays upon 
the temperature of tubes centrigrade, covered 
with the following different articles of dress. 
Thermometer in the shade, 27'; exposed to sun, 
3G- Tube not covered, 37'5; tube covered with 
cotton shirting, 35'1 ; with cotton lining, 35'5; 
with unbleached linen, 3'J'G ; with dark-blue 
cloth, 42- ; with red cloth, 4:2'; with dark-red 
capote cloth, 42o ; with red cloth for the 
' sous-officers,' 41-1: ; with dark -blue cloth for 
ditto, 43' Here, then, is the fact scientifically 
demonstrated, that a diminution of tempera- 
ture, such as might suffice to prevent a soldier 
from being struck down by the heat of a 
tropical sun, may be obtained simply by plac- 
ing a white cotton covering over his dark 
woollen dress. These are Dr. Coulicr's gene- 
ral conclusions: — 1. The colour of soldiers' 
clothes has very little sensible influence over 



Chap. LXVI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



185 



the diminution of caloric. — 2. All kinds of 
textures are capable of absorbing a certain 
quantity of liygronietric water in alatent state. 
The quantity is considerable in the case of 
wool, but linen abaorbes less, and cotton least 
of all. — 3. Tliis absorption takes place witliout 
any immediate loss of its caloric by the 
body. — 4. Tlie colour of clothes has a great 
influence upon the absorption by them of solar 
rays ; and whatever the nature of the clothes, 
the greatest advantages are obtained by cover- 
ing them with white-coloured materials, when 
the wearer is exposed to the burning sun."* 

In Bengal the progress of raising a native 
army was similar to that at Bombay and 
Madras; but the natives were there sworn — 
organized as regular soldiers, as has been 
already stated in this cliajster. It does not 
appear, however, that this took place quite so 
early as many suppose ; for in 1707, when 
Calcutta was exalted to the dignity of a presi- 
dency, the garrison was augmented to 300 men, 
who were chiefly sepoys. During the Mahratta 
incursions of 1739, and following years, some 
progress was made in disciplining native com- 
panies. In 1713 the directors wrote to the 
president and council at Calcutta, acknow- 
ledging their services in organizing Lascars 
and militia, and providing material of war; 
but no mention is made of sepoys, yet at that 
time great progress had been made in pre- 
paring sepoys for service. The directors, in 
all probability, not paying particular attention 
to that feature of their servants' efforts, class tlie 
sepoys under the words Lascars and militia: — 
■' We entirely approve of the necessary pre- 
cautions taken on the Mahrattas' invasion to 
prevent a surprise, by hiring a number of 
Lascara, forming the inhabitants into a militia, 
surveying the town, fortifications, guns, jiur- 
chasing some small arms, and the like ; the 
expense upon such an urgent occasion we 
cheerfully acquiesce in, relying upon your 
care and frugality in disbursing our money on 
every article." The directors, in the same 
letter, encourage tlie council to proceed with 
their excellent military organization, so as to 
be prepared for further dangers from the same 
quarter. " As the province is liable to the 
Jlahrattas' incursions, we would have such 
additions made to our fortifications as you 
upon the spot shall deem requisite for the 
security of the settlements, putting us to no 
further expense herein than i.^ necessary." 

Acting on this general, but cautious di- 
rection, the council proceeded with its military 
measures, which were more in reference to the 
perfection of the resources they had, than to 
any increase of them ; and among the other 
useful acts to whicli they resorted, was the 
• JleiV.cal Times. 



more complete discipline of their sepoys, so that 
regular troops, well organized on the European 
system, chiefly natives of the upper provinces 
of Bengal, but some few Assamese, Burmese, 
Peguins, men from the coast of Coromandcl, 
and even recruits from Malabar, were num- 
bered among them. 

Wlien Clive became acquainted with mili- 
tary affairs, he, both at jMadras and Bengal, 
called forth the energies of the sepoys : indeed, 
whatever was done before his time was only 
a preliminary to what he accomplished. He 
caught up the French idea of drilling the 
Spahis (sepoys), and ranking them with Eu- 
ropean soldiers in the field. 

The histories of the Madras and Bengal 
armies, up to the breaking out of the groat 
eastern war with France, are brief, while that 
of Bombay, the oldest presidency, covers a 
large space of time. The progress of the 
Madras and Bengal armies up to this point 
was uniform as short; that of Bombay was 
chequered and eventful, and, if minutely pur- 
sued, involving numerous incidents interesting 
to military men of all nations, but especially 
to English officers, and still more especially to 
those who have served the East India Com- 
pany. From the period of the great oriental 
struggle with France, the histories of the three 
armies so blend with the general develojnnent 
of English conquest and glory that the story 
is one : no separate treatment is required to 
mark successive stages of advance. 

Having followed tlie jn-ogross of the English 
in continental India \\\i to the period of the 
French war, and the improvement of the navy 
and army of tlie company to a date several 
years later ; having directed attention to tlio 
action on India and Indian affairs in tlie 
eighteenth century of the different European 
nations whose relation to the East has been 
traced in previous chapters; frequent reference 
having been made to the companies organized 
in Ostend, Denmark, and France, in rivalry of 
those of the other European countries earlier 
in the field of oriental commerce ; having given 
also brief notices of the minor associations 
formed in Prussia, Trieste, and Spain ; — there 
will be no necessity for digressions in tlie 
future story of English power in the East, in 
affairs connected witli those nations, except- 
ing the French. The position of England 
immediately after the period already treated 
could hardly be understood, and the develoj)- 
ment of her success could with difficulty be 
appreciated, unless her relative standing, as 
compared with all her competitors, was seen, 
and especially with the greatest of them — 
France. To the preliminary quarrels witli 
that nation the reader's attention will m w 
be directed. 



186 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Cbap. LXVII. 



CHAPTER LXVII. 

JEALOUSIES AND QUARRELS WITH THE FRENCH PREVIOUS TO THE FIRST BREAKING OUr 
OP WAR BETWEEN THEM AND THE BRITISH IN INDIA. 



"Coming events cast their shado-vvs before," 
is a saying as true and philosopliical, as it is 
trite : it contains a beauty and significance in 
its mode of thonglit and expression, which 
are strikingly reflected in the actual facts of his- 
tory. During the early part of the eighteenth 
century, especially from the year 1730 to the 
breaking forth of war, the relations and feel- 
ings of the French and English in the Indian 
peninsula plainly portended the coming strug- 
gle. Such events as were approaching were 
too mighty and momentous not to cast the 
shadow of tlioir coming. The minds of both 
French and English were in a state of pre- 
paredness for war ; events partly produced 
this condition, and partly brought it forth to 
view as far as it existed independent of them. 
Historians have neglected the signs of the 
times in India previous to the war, as indi- 
cative of the relations of England and France 
there at the moment when the trumpet of 
battle was sounded, and as foreshadowing 
their probable relations when the spoils of 
the field should be gathered. The writers 
of Indian history are generally too hasty in 
hurrying from one great prominent event to 
another, to perceive, or at all events to de- 
scribe, ho>v these arise from minor incidents, 
or from facts and principles of which these 
minor incidents are tokens. Looking care- 
fully at the attitude of England and France 
on the peninsula for a number of years before 
war was declared, it was obvious that between 
two such nations a struggle for mastery must 
arise. In laying the foundation, as well as in 
raising the superstructure of their plans and 
policy, each nation acted in a manner charac- 
teristic : the French were impressive, brilliant, 
and dashing ; the pomp of arms and the pa- 
rade of military power were, in their measure, 
as conspicuous at Pondieherry and Myhie, as 
in Paris. The English plodded along perse- 
veringly, holding by what they acquired 
tenaciously, wasting no words or polite ex- 
pressions to their flattering competitors ; rude, 
obstinate, enduring, arduous, fierce in en- 
counter, the Britons held on their course in 
peace and war, if their condition at the fac- 
tories might with accuracy be described as 
either, at a time when over their serenest 
day clouds and tempests gathered, and when 
in the most quarrelsome episodes they were 
sure to find some unlooked for ally, or some 
peace-compelling fortune. For more than a 



century the power of the English had grown, 
slowly but surely; as the tree which baa 'been 
long rearing its trunk strikes deeper its roots, 
so it had been with them. The French career 
had been short and brilliant ; it was like a 
graceful shrub, with much display of foliage 
and blossom, but however vigorous as to its 
kind, unable to resist the buffeting of storms 
which might beat uj)on the sturdy oak in 
vain. 

Pondieherry, although it did not assume a 
position of great power before 1741, when 
Dupleix made it the centre of his operations, 
yet several j'ears earlier, under Dumas, it was 
of consequence, and exercised control over 
the factories or comptoirs of Chandernagore 
in Bengal, Karical on the coast of Coromandel, 
and Myhie on the coast of Malabar. On the 
western coast of India the French were better 
traders than on the Coromandel shore, except 
at Surat, where they were more missionary 
than mercantile, and were intensely solicitous 
to make converts of the English. 

In 1722, their first settlement appears to 
have been made in Malabar. Boyanores (re- 
ferred to in a previous chapter) invited them 
to settle there, as his alarm at the growing 
power of the English became intolerable to 
himself. The position selected by the new- 
comers was supposed to show judgment and 
taste, but they displayed more skill in the 
selection as soldiers than as merchants. The 
place chosen was an eminence with a com- 
manding view, and convenient site. A river 
discharged itself into the sea near the spot, 
but it was navigable a considerable distance 
up its course. Without being landlocked, the 
harbour was sheltered from all prevailing 
winds. A factory was built on the hill, and 
thus the settlement of Myhie was established. 
This spot is worthy of note, as in the conduct 
of its factors and garrison there were more 
indications of an intention to undermine and 
thwart the English than in any otlier of the 
French settlements. The future conflict was, 
as it were, anticipated between Myhie and the 
English settlement of Tellichcrry, but four 
miles distant. 

According to Auquetil de Perron, it was 
in 1725 that the French settlers at Myhie 
first quarrelled with the natives. The Boy- 
anores suddenly made an incursion, cut down 
the French flag-staff, and drove the factors 
away, who retired to Calicut. As the Boy- 



Cu.vr. LXVII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



187 



anores, althoiigli so jealous of the English, 
M'ere tlius for a short time more friendly with 
them than i)reviously, their hostility was at- 
tributed to the English, whom the French 
believed to be jealous of their rising influence. 
They considered their own influence to be as 
the golden star of day, and that of the Eng- 
lish as the silver star of night, whose light 
should soon be quenched in that of the more 
glorious orb. This or very similar phraseo- 
logy was employed by them in their various 
communications with the French directors. 
They alleged that one of the two powers must 
gain empire in India, tliat the glory was re- 
served for France, that England believed as 
much, and was sick with envy at their rising 
fortunes. It was not, however, deemed sound 
policy at Pondicherry to attribute openly to 
the English at Tellicherry or Bombay the 
aggressive proceedings of Boyanores, but 
preparations were promptly made to chastise 
the latter, and to teach the former that 
" France was too strong for savages, native 
or English." Five merchant vessels were 
laden with troops and store.?, and the whole 
placed nnder M. Pardaillan Gondrin. Un- 
der his command, and next in authority, was 
Bertrand Francois Mahe de Labonrdonnais. 
He had just arrived in Pondicherry with the 
rank of second captain, when the expedition 
was about to sail. As he had obtained great 
reputation for his knowledge of naval engi- 
neering, then little understood, and of naval 
gunnery, rather better known, and as the 
fame of his pamphlets on naval affairs pub- 
lished in Europe had reached Pondicherry, 
lie was at once placed in high official relation 
to M. Gondrin, The descent at Mjdiie was 
a masterpiece of skill. The enemy, in great 
force, prepared to resist, but Labonrdonnais 
invented a species of raft, on which he pro- 
tected his troops by bales of cotton, and dis- 
embarked in the face of the enemy nearly in 
order of battle without losing a man. The 
subsequent conflicts, however, cost loss of life, 
and demanded much spirit and courage. 
Labonrdonnais was the real commander of 
the expedition, and won the glory of its suc- 
cess, the details of which are not of sufficient 
importance for our story. On shore as well 
as at sea, Labonrdonnais was the genius of 
order and authority ; he occupied the place, 
secured the position, and mad,e it strong in 
the face of native foes and English rivals. 
Historians and biographers notice, as a sin- 
gular coincidence, the name of the officer 
and of the place so easily captured by his in- 
ventive genius — Mahe; but this name seems 
to have been subsequently given to the place 
by the French, and not until they had ulti- 
mately evacuated it, and then rather by those 



who wrote about it than by those who acted 
in it. In the documents of the English factory 
at Tellicherry, and in other contemporary 
records, it is always called Myhie, so that 
the coincidence upon which so many French 
writers and some English love to dwell had 
no existence.* 

The fame of this expedition and of Labonr- 
donnais sped all over India, and created 
unpleasant feelings in the English commu- 
nities, and especially in Tellicherry, the 
nearest to the scene of the exploit. The 
English there felt extreme apprehension that 
a conflict for ascendancy must soon begin, and 
they, with their characteristic bluntness, took 
no pains to conceal what they folt. The 
French, on the other hand, knowing that the 
English were rather deeply rooted in India, 
and that Tellicherry must for some time be 
stronger than Myhie, and Bombay more 
powerful than Pondicherry, acted warily, and 
assumed the utmost cordiality and courtesy ; 
which, W'hen it appeared safe to set aside, 
was lightly thrown off, and a tone of haughty 
defiance, and insolent contempt adopted in its 
stead. The French commander, on his arri- 
val, opened a correspondence the most bland 
and insinuating with the chief of the English 
factory, wdio responded in a brusque and 
business-like tone and form, which contrasts 
strangely Vv'ith the studied language of the 
French commander. Tliis correspondence 
was singularly characteristic, and throws 
more light on the men, and their modes at 
that juncture, than could be brought to bear 
upon them by a far more extended narrative. 
This correspondence never appeared in print, 
except once some years ago, in an Indian 
periodical; it is, therefore, interesting for its 
novelty, as it is on account of its " inuendoes, 
diplomatic evasions, and other curious cha- 
racteristics." Mr. Adams, the chief, eight 
years before made the chaplain a present of 
plate, on which was an inscription in classical 
Latin; "but if he ever had any scholarship, 
his letters w-ould show that it had been long 
ago rubbed off in the warehouse of Telli- 
cherry." The French commander thus opens 
the communications : — 

On hoard ship La Vierge de Grace, 
November i^th, N. S., 1785. 

MoNSiKUE, — 1 am charmed that the affairs which 
have conducted me to this coast, have given me this day 
the pleasure of your acquaintance. It will not be my 
fault, if there is not a perfect union reciprocally be- 
tween us. 

The subject of my voyage to tliis place, has no other 
view than to revenge the insults and perfidiousness that 
the French natiou have received from the Trince of Bur- 

* Mr. Mill commits this error uniformly, (ailing the 
place ilahe, and as most modern writers follow Mill 
slavishly, this name has oblaiued currency iu England, 



1S8 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH P^MPIRK 



[Chap. LXVII. 



(torali, and I shall go directly about mdkiiig liini repent it, 
if he wont submit to reason. I hope, throui,'h the perfect 
union that is between the two nations, if 1 should want 
any succour, to find it from yon, whom I address prefer- 
able to any other. In retnrn I offer everything that de- 
pends upon me, and am perfectly, Monsieur, 

Your rcry humble and very obedient servant, 

P.tKDAILI..\N GONDEIX. 

P. S. —I am desired by Monsieur Pericr to assure Mrs. 
Adams of his respect, and I have the honour to assure 
Iter of mine. 

To tliis polite letter the English chief replied 
in terms coarse but candid and pertinent : — 
Tellichernj, Novemier 20//t, 1725. 

Monsieur, -^ It was with the greatest satisfaction 
ima;jaable I received the honour of yours by Monsieur 
Louet, and shall on all occasions take the opportunity of 
cultivating aud strengthening our new acquaintance, 
promising on my part, it shall not be my fault if there is 
not a perfect union between ns, congratulating your safe 
arrival on this coast. 

Am obliged to you for the notice you give me of the 
occasion of the voyage you have undertaken ; the Mala- 
bars have always been perfidious, which the English have 
very often experienced, and was designed for these three 
years last past to have made Boyanore sensible of their 
resentment. The reason why they did not unknown to 
yon. However, may depend shall observe a strict neu- 
trality, and serve you what we can, consonant to the 
perfect uniou between the two nations in Europe. But 
cannot hut complain of the usage we have received from 
Monsieur La Tuet of the Triton, to whom have sent 
twice, to admit our boats to go into the Jlyliie river, and 
fetch out the hon'ble comjiany's goods lying there, but 
he would not permit it. As heard of your coming 
was not pressing with him, but hope to receive belter 
usage from you, in which request your positive answer, 
that may accordingly take measure to get those goods, 
aud advise my superiors. Your concurrence in this will 
demonstrate your resolution to keep to the good union 
and harmony between the two crowns, and lay me under 
the obligation of serving you with all readiness. 

My wife and self are highly obliged to you and Mon- 
sieur Peiier for kind remembrance, and in return tender 
our services, and am, Monsieur, 

Your very humble, &c., 

KoBF.UT Adams. 

The French landed, conquered, but lost 
forty men, and on the evening of the same 
da}', their chief wrote to Mr. Adams : — 

From the Camp at Mylilr, 
December tJie 2iid, N. S., 1725. 
JIoNSlECK, — Tlic gracious letter which you had the 
goodness to write me, obliges me to give you an account 
of the descent I made to-day, and forced the iutrench- 
ment, which appears to me different from what the Indians 
are accustomed to make. 

Where I took two pieces of cannon. I believe this 
will give you pleasure from the regard you have to what 
relates tome. I shall not fail acquainting you of what 
happens for the future in this expedition, having the 
honour to be perfectly. Monsieur, &c. S:c., 

Pabd.4ili.an Gondrin. 

P. S. — Suffer me, if you please, to place in this my 
respects to Mrs. Adams. 

One came and assured rae, sir, that they saw very 
nigh this morning, in the time of action, ten Englishmen. 
I would not believe it to be true, but 1 am obliged to tell 
you, sir, that all Europeans which I find with arms in 
their hand I shall hang. 



The skill displayed in blending politeness 
with insinuations against the English is ad- 
mirable. The trenches were not such as the 
Indians were accustomed to make, and as 
there were no other Europeans in the neigh- 
bourhood but the English of Tellicherry, the 
implication was plain. Ten Englishmen were 
seen " very nigh," in the time of action. The 
polite commander, of course, could not believe 
the like, but, at the same time, out of pure 
love and courtesy was obliged to inform liis 
English friend that all Europeans found in 
arms he would hang ; as if Europeans had 
not a right to take service with a native 
prince. The plain-spoken Englishman de- 
nied the impeachment, and urged the redress 
of grievances : — 

Telllcherrtf, November '2\st, 1725. 

Sir, — This night was honoured with your favours of 
this date, and am obliged to you for an account of your 
success against Boyanore, in which wish you joy. 

Am sorry any one should inform you that any English 
were under arms against you this day. That would be 
acting the same that have so often complained of; there- 
fore you will harbour no such thought. 

In my last, wrote you about some merchandise that 
lies in Myhie river, belonging to my hon'ble masters, to 
which you have not been pleased to reply. Beg the favour 
futurely you will please to write your mind on that aud 
other public affairs to John Braddyll, Esquire, who is 
here a commissary for the hon'ble English company on 
this coast. 

My wife aud self are obliged to you, aud in return she 
gives her respect, and I am, sir, &c. &'b., 

EoBEKT Adams. 

The directness of the Englishman brought 
the diplomatic quibbling and nonsense of the 
French commander to ba}'. He at once 
dropped his politeness, addressed the council 
instead of his friend " the English chief," and 
intimated his scorn of mercantile matters: — 

To the Conncil for a fair i of the EiigJish 
nation at Tellicherri/. 

From tlie Fort at Mi/hie, 
December itli, N. S., 1725. 
Gentlemen, — I received the letter yon had the good- 
ness to write me. You tell me of boats of merchandise 
which you have in the river. Give me leave to tell you 
that 'tis talking Greek, for I neither understand, nor will 
I embarrass myself in affairs of commerce; for I meddle 
in nothing but' matters of war. You may, for the future, 
in such like cases, apply to Monsieurs Mollandin and 
Tiemisot, 

I have the honour, &c. &c., 

Pardaillan Gondrin. 

The English, still true to their matter-of- 
fact character,- apply to the gentlemen to 
whom the bombastic commander referred 
them, who reply that they are too much 
engaged in war to be tormented witli such 
small affairs of trade; that tlicy could not 
decide the point even if they had time, and it 
was worth their while ; and finally recommend 
their interrogators to apply to the council of 



Chap. LXVII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



189 



Poniliclierry. Notwithstanding the strange- 
ness of making a reference to the snpreme 
council for French affairs in India, concerning 
a matter which was too mean for the French 
commander, or his mercantile colleagues in 
direction of French affairs at Myhie, the 
English, still commonplace, in their own 
common -sense way, proceeded to appeal to 
the council for their property and redress of 
injuries. The tone of these French commu- 
nications was as devoid of true courtesy as of 
justice and honour. Further correspondence 
between the two factories of Myhie and Telli- 
cherry ensued, but no person at either factory 
understood the language spoken at the other 
sufficiently well to carry on a clear correspon- 
dence, and delays and mistakes resulted, 
until it was mutually agreed to transact busi- 
ness in Portuguese, as men of that nation, or 
natives — half-caste Portuguese — resided at 
both places. 

The native chiefs were not slow in learning 
the true state of feeling between the English 
and French, and did their best to inflame their 
jealousies and enmities, fearing that both 
might imite for purposes of territorial aggran- 
dizement. The Boyanore pretended to ally 
himself with the English; a " Nair," named 
Curringboda, ostensibly attached himself to 
the French, and both European powers were 
placed by their cunning native allies in an 
attitude of anger and defiance. No English 
were allowed to cross the French borders, nor 
were the latter permitted to pass into British 
territory ; if such a circumstance by chance oc- 
curred, the intruders were chased like spies or 
poachers. The vessels of either nation were 
forbidden to enter the harbour of the other. 
A French "muncha" persisted in approach- 
ing the harbour of Tellicherry, and when 
warned off, the crew used insulting language. 
The offended council at Tellicherry demanded 
from that at Myhie an apology for the tres- 
pass and rudeness of their mariners, and also 
demanded explanations as to the object of the 
muncha's voyage, which the English alleged 
was to land ammunition and military stores 
for the supply of the Rajah of Cotiote, in order 
that he might have means of making war 
upon the Boyanore, so as to prostrate or 
enfeeble the ally of the English. The object 
of the French was to make war upon the 
British indirectly, and without incurring the 
responsibility of appearing in arms. The 
French commander apologised in most com- 
plaisant terms, which might have been in- 
tended for irony, for the rudeness of his 
sailors, but took no notice of the serious im- 
peachment of stirring up feuds to the damage 
of the English, and supplying their known 
enemies with munitions of war. Thus, step 

VOL. 11. 



by step, the French were accumulating an 
amount of injuries to the English, which no 
attempt was made to explain away, soften, or 
compensate ; and the irritated British were 
nursing their pent-up rage for the hour of 
decisive action. Tlie diary of the Tellicherry 
factory from November 7 to December, 1725, 
is a journal of grievances against the French. 
In 1726 the French and English were 
very near coming into conflict. The Boyanore 
was attacked by the French. The latter pre- 
tended various grievances, but the real motive 
was to weaken the relative power of the 
English by the conquest of their most os- 
tensible ally, and to produce a moral effect 
among the native powers, by showing that 
the English were not able to protect their 
friends against France, and that to incur the 
ill-will of the latter was destructive to all na- 
tive powers, whatever their European alliance.i. 
This was a bold motive, and the measure 
was well calculated to carry it out. The 
Boyanore claimed assistance, for which he 
offered to pay, a condition upon which the 
English insisted. They sent him one hundred 
nairs, but the Boyanore had neither money 
nor probity, and as he had already contracted 
a large debt for military supplies, they were 
unwilling to allow him to increase it. The 
results were that the Boyanore demanded 
a truce with the French, and came to terms. 
The French accomplished their object, the 
prestige of the English was lowered, and 
their characteristic habit of adopting a costly 
economy was once more brought prominently 
out. 

The French were emboldened, and joined 
the natives that were hostile to the English 
in every demonstration of ill-feeling. It was 
at this juncture that the French imited in a 
pretended hunting expedition with certain 
native chiefs, a circumstance incidently re- 
ferred to in a former chapter to show the re- 
lation of the English to the native powers 
around them. The conduct of the French 
on that occasion was palpably hostile, and 
the Engli.9h demanded satisfaction. The 
reply was somewhat submissive, as if its 
authors were conscious that they had gone 
too far, and that they might incur the dis- 
pleasure of the authorities of Pondicherry; 
or else they were alarmed at the practical 
manner in which the English had shown 
their disapproval of " the hunting party " of 
native chiefs and French soldiers, by volleys 
of grape-shot and musket balls. At all events, 
the tone of the French was apologetic ; they 
declared they merely went a hunting, and 
were surprised to find the English so unneigh- 
bourly, and hoped, for the future, to "live in 
peace and harmony with all," especially their 

c c 



100 



mSTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXVII. 



European neigliboiirs, and chiefly tlioir British 
friends. Soon after, the French fired upon 
an English hunting party — a bond fide party 
of pleasure — and demands for redress were 
of course made. The French pleaded un- 
qualified innocence. The answer of the chief 
of the English factory is one of the most 
remarkable specimens of English diplomacy 
ever disclosed. The plain-speaking Briton 
was not to be soothed by heartless words, but 
in direct terms informed his French corre- 
spondents what he thought of them. It is so 
unique, that .the reader cannot fail to pernse 
it with interest. It is signed by all the 
■members of the council, but the style identi- 
fies it as the production of the chief, Robert 
Adams. The "Cuny Nair" referred to, is 
the native leader, previously termed " Ciirr- 
ingboda," the English having been accus- 
tomed to term him " Cunny," or " Cunny 
Nair," in writing or speaking of him :— 

To M. Tremisot and his Council. 

Tdlicherri/, October, ilst, 1736. O.S. 
Gentlemen, — VVe just now received yours of tliis date, 
by which you acknowledge the receipt of ours of the 1 6th 
instant. By this we find, as we have always doncj 
commit what you will, are never at a loss for an evasion, 
which treatment is grown so old, that it will liardly pass 
for current at this time of day. It is with satisfaction 
find you confess to have had some of your people out 
those days we limited, which we designed for our recrea- 
tion, till obstructed by you and your accomplice, Cuny 
Nair, who of himself would never have dared to have 
broken the peace with us without your inciting and 
assisting him, as he did in conjunction with your people, 
by firing on as first, which was a good reason for us the 
next day to go with more caution and preparation in our 
own limits and conquest. It is very unaccountable you 
of the French nation should not only with your money 
and ammunition encourage the country against us, but 
appear personally yourselves in an hostile manner, and 
till you can de])rive us of the evidence of our senses, we 
shall not fail to continue to charge the French with the 
breach of the good harmony between the two crowns in 
Europe, as expressed in our officers' and soldiers' narrative 
sent you of the actions of the 12th and 13lh instant. 

We did in ours of the 16th, reply to all you wrote, 
and did then signify that Cuny Nair to the 12th instant 
was esteemed by us a friend, and might have continued 
so, had you not beguiled him with vain promises of 
protection and charges to disturb us. If this is your 
meaniug of loving tranquillity, we are strangers to it, and 
shall be proud of being accomitcd so. As to the contents 
of what you wrote, we arc, and always have been, ob- 
servers of the peace and good harmony between the two 
crowns, and find with concern our patiently bearing all 
your insults, both by sea and land, has not only given you 
the opportunity to proceed as you have in this hostile 
manner, but has encouraged you to do what you have lately 
done with Cniiy Nair; but your design not taking elfect, 
are resolved to deny it. Otherwise, might have been as 
open as Monsieur Boisron of the Lf/llie was, when lie not 
only seized and detained, but plundered the Beury grab of 
Man galore. 

These your treatments are so plain and obvious, that we 
need not enlarge on them, and that now you should begin, 
as did on the I2th and 13th instant, to give us new testi- 
aionies of your continuing to disturb ns, does not at all 



answer your expressions of this date, not to give us any 
disturbance by laud or sea. We should think ourselves 
very hapjiy, did your actions answer your writing ; then 
we could be able to say, as we have always made it our 
study and endeavours to be in good harmony with you ; 
but while you agitate, assist, and excite the country 
people in friendship with us, not only to take up arms, but 
appear with them against us in an hostile manner as 
above, you must pardon us if, in making the just and true 
representation, we occasion you any uneasiness or con- 
fusion, for we cannot but say, your usage, for these three 
years last past, has been without regard to laws of nations 
or nature ; and as to Cuny Nair, who has broke his faith 
with us, whenever we think convenient to call him to an 
account for it, shall not, we hope, find any of your 
people with him ; which will induce us to be, gentlemen. 
Your most humble and most obedient servants, 

EoDEHT Adams. 

John Johnson. 

Stephen Law. 

Wm. Kokbks. 

Hugh IIowaed. 

Probably, under the circumstances in which 
it was penned, no communication could have 
been more pointed and prudent. The French 
had all tlie advantage of style and dexterity; 
the English, whatever their disadvantages in 
those particulars, were so "downright straight- 
forward," as to cause confusion to their in- 
triguing rivals, and leave them little power to 
reply to any purpose. 

Soon after the suave expressions of the 
French in this correspondence, the English 
received certain intelligence of the hostility 
of Cimy Nair. It will be recollected by 
the reader, from the perusal of previous 
chapters, that there were several hills in the 
immediate vicinage of Tellicherry. These, 
if occupied strongly by the British, would 
enable them to command the plains and the 
land approaches : if occupied by an enemy, 
Tellicherry would be untenable, and on this 
account the situation was deemed ineligible 
by military men, as requiring a larger gar- 
rison than the amount of its commerce could 
afford. Myhie, on the other hand, could not 
be commanded, while its own position was 
elevated and strong. One of the hills near 
Tellicherry, the occupation of which by 
an enemy might prove perilous, was called 
Futinha, and this Cuny Nair intended to seize. 
The English reasonably believed that this 
movement was im]ielled by French instiga- 
tion, which the subsequent conduct of the 
authorities at Myhie proved. ■ The English 
anticipated Cuny, and occupied the hill them- 
selves. There was another hill under the 
guns of the English fort, called Caria Cuna, 
and as soon as the French perceived the 
movement of the British towards Putinha, 
they seized the other eminence. Another 
correspondence ensued, which issued in a 
conference. One Louet visited Tellicherry, 
and debated affairs with the British, but this 



Jrav. LXVII.] 



m INDIA AND THE EAST. 



191 



conference did not prove satisfactory. Stephen 
Law an<l William Forbes jiroceeded as an 
Englisli deputation to Myhie. The hospi- 
talities shown in each case to the delegates 
softened the asperity of the contest, and the 
affair ended in "a drawn battle," both parties 
abandoning the military positions assumed, 
and C'uny keeping himself out of the way. 
On the whole, the dispute ended favourably 
to the British, for, practically, they succeeded 
in their object, although their demands for 
apology were not satisfied. 

The military expenses of both British and 
French factories now so alarmed the directors 
of each company, that orders were sent out 
to cultivate a good understanding. The 
French only intended to cultivate it so long 
as necessity constrained, and hoped to recruit 
the sinews of war for a better opportunity. 
The English were in earnest, and orders were 
issued to the council of Tellioherry to reduce 
their armed forces, and to cultivate a kind 
intercourse with their Gallic neighbours. As 
the distance between the two settlements was 
so short, it was easy to reciprocate courtesies 
and hospitalities, which were for a while 
abundant, and apparently cordial, but the 
French continued to intrigue with the native 
princes against the English, and to the dis- 
turbance of the country, as far as their clever 
but mischievous influence reached. 

In 1728 a treaty of peace and alliance was 
signed by the governors of Bombay and Pon- 
dicherry, and the directors of the East India 
Company in London, and the president and 
council in Bombay believed that differences 
were healed ; but the Tellicherry people knew 
better, and while carrying out the directions 
of their superiors with frankness, did not relax 
their vigilance, nor increase their confidence 
in the political honesty of their new allies. 

The English, who had been long enduring, 
became at length testy, and rather disposed to 
end harassing disputes, suspicions, and dis- 
quietude by arms. They ceased to bo anxious 
for peace with French or natives, although 
they did not then see on what a grand scale 
of action the warlike powers of themselves 
and their countrymen in India should be soon 
tested. As the j-ear 1740 approached, the 
tone of feeling in Bombay and Madras, on the 
coasts of Malabar and Coromandel, at Surat 
and on the Hoogly, was that of a sullen 
conviction that, some time or other, French 
gasconade and aggression would provoke war. 
The English did not desire it, but, as the 
French say, they " accepted the situation," — 
they gradually conformed their minds to the 
conviction that it was best to fight it out, 
unless some decisive measure of jjeace in 
Europe should harmonise elements which so 



actively repelled one another. This state of 
mind probably prevailed more at Tellicherry 
than anywhere else in India, from the ju.\ta- 
position of the settlement and garrison of 
Myhie. The pugnacious feeling created in 
the minds of the English by the conduct of 
the French found vent sometimes in a wrong 
direction, and made them too hasty in entering 
into native quarrels, which, in a calmer frame, 
they would have avoided. The combativeness 
thus called forth again reacted upon their 
tone and bearing towards the French. Events 
beyond their control, and the working of 
which was hidden, were preparing them for 
the development of the warlike genius, activity, 
and daring, which so soon made them masters 
of an empire. Probably the disturbances and 
disorder within the factory at Myhie, in 1739, 
prevented the occurrence then of the collision 
to which circumstances wore fast ripening. 
The consciousness that tho English were the 
stronger also averted overt acts on the part of 
the French, who were still further held iu 
check by the derangements of their com- 
mercial and economical affairs. 

In 1740 tidings arrived in India that 
England had declared war against Spain, and 
that it was believed in Europe France would, 
as usual, espouse the cause of the enemies of 
England. Previous to the arrival of this 
news, a war of correspondence was waged ; 
but the advent of such information created an 
excitement which could with difficulty be 
repressed. The JVench, as usual when any 
difference ensued, and they supposed them- 
selves strong enough, made hostile demon- 
strations. The British at Tellicherry had 
fortified one of the neighbouring hills, called 
Andolamala; the French formed iutrench- 
nients near it. The English, regarding this 
as an aggression, did not, as formerly, write 
blunt letters, or hold conferences, but directed 
a small party of soldiers, under the command 
of an ensign, to assault the trenches. This 
was admirably executed. The attacking party 
was small, and but one European officer witli 
it. The French opened a heavy fire upon the 
advancing party when within range ; but so 
rapidly, boldly, and orderly did the British 
charge, that they entered the trenches with 
little loss, and drove out the enemy with so 
much ease as to excite the contempt of the 
natives and deeply to humiliate the vaunting 
soldiers by whom the trenches were so inso- 
lently opened and occupied. The humiliation 
of the Gauls did not end with their defeat ; 
they did not dare to strike another blow ; but, 
instead of gallantly seeking to retrieve their 
disgrace, they endeavoured to bribe the native 
chiefs to make war in their stead. The result 
of the action to the English was a great in« 



192 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXVII. 



crease of their moral influence and self reliance. 
The event did not certainly dispose them to 
put up with further insults, which the F'rench 
continued to offer in such way as to leave a 
declaration of hostilities on the part of the 
English on such ground impossible, while the 
affronts, nevertheless, irritated and annoyed. 

Tellicherr)' was the focus, or, at all events, 
the principal focus, when there were several 
foci, of qnarrel with the French. The factory 
at Ajengo, the progress and general troubles 
of which were related in a former chapter, 
was one of the points around which French 
influence and menace gathered ; but as the 
Dutch preferred learned despatches to war, 
60 the French preferred gasconade and display 
to any immediate appeal to arms, although 
they made it evident enough they were willing 
to strike but dared not. The English factors 
at Ajengo were as invulnerable to French 
satire as to Dutch casuistry : they pursued the 
even tenor of their way, and carried on their 
correspondence with the French with much 
less respect for their adversaries than when 
addressing the Dutch, notwithstanding the 
overlaid courtesy and compliment of the 
letters and despatches of the former. 

At Carwar and Honawar, on the Malabar 
coast, the English were annoyed by the pre- 
sence of French agents in the neighbour- 
hood, fomenting disputes between the native 
chiefs, stimulating them against the English, 
and sowing seeds of envy and anger among 
the neighbouring Dutch and Portuguese, 
which were as prolific as those who scattered 
them could desire. Still it was at Tellicherry 
not only so far as Western India was con- 
cerned, but taking all India into account, that 
intrigues and open acts of hostility on the 
part of the French had the best opportunity 
of development; and when all was compa- 
ratively calm in the British settlements of 
Malabar, disturbances between British and 
French broke out again at Tellicherry and 
Myhie. The French troubles appeared to 
have been hushed to slumber at the other 
stations — even St. David's was comparatively 
little tormented by Pondicherry — when at 
Tellicherry there occurred new alarms and 
discontents. 

In 1741 the expectations of a general war 
in Europe were yet more prevalent in India 
than they were, as above noticed, in the be- 
ginning of 1740. France and England, 
although virtually at war from 1740, were 
not actually in hostilities until 1744 ; accord- 
ingly, authors date the commencement of this 
war very variously, some considering that it 
properly commenced in 1742, others before 
that time, and another class of writers dating 
its commencement from 1744. 



It was natural that the Europeans in India 
should in their own political relations be 
keenly susceptible of any impression from 
symptoms which portended a struggle be- 
tween the two great maritime powers of 
Europe, when it is remembered how frequently 
their swords were drawn against one another. 
The relations of the two great contiguous 
European countries as to peace and war over 
a long period of history may be thus stated. 
There broke out wars between England and 
France at the following dates, and which 
lasted for the following periods : — " 1100 for 
two years ; 1141, one year; llCl, twenty- 
five years; 1211, fifteen years; 1224, nine- 
teen years; 1294, five years; 1339, twenty- 
one years; 1368, fifty - two years; 1442, 
forty -nine years; 1492, one month; 1512, 
two years; 1521, six years; 1549, one year; 
1557, two years ; 15G2, two years ; 1627, two 
years; 1666, one year ; 1689, ten years ; 1702, 
eleven years; 1744J four years; 1756, seven 
years; 1776, seven years; 1793, nine years; 
and lastly, in 1803, twelve years : making in 
all 265 years of war within a period of 727 
years." 

The ideas of French power which prevailed 
amongst Englishmen, and amongst the men of 
other European nations in 1741, were very 
different from those which now prevail : — 
" During the early period of these wars, our 
continental rival continued preponderant, and 
the revenue and population considerably ex- 
ceeded that of this country. The revenue of 
Louis XIV. was computed at nearly three 
times that of Charles II. The alliance against 
France, cemented by the perseverance of 
William, rendered victorious by the talents of 
Marlborough, relieved us from the dreaded 
overthrow of the political equilibrium ; but 
even after our splendid successes, it continued 
a common opinion among foreigners, as among 
ourselves, that the resources of the French 
were more solid, and that they would soon 
equal or surpass us in those arts which form 
the constituents of national wealth. 

" In the reign of George I., this country 
bore to France in point of population the pro- 
portion of only forty -five to one hundred. 
Were we to continue the parallel, we should 
find that as to population we shall probably 
overtake our ancient rival before the lapse of 
many years. Meantime, those who know that 
the issue of a military struggle mainly de- 
pends not so much on population as on dis- 
posable revenue, will be satisfied that at 
present we should have no cause to dread a 
contest single-handed with that power, against 
which our forefathers were obliged to seek 
continental alliances."* 
* Colburn's United Service Maijaziiie, Januarj', 1S57. 



CiiAr. LXVII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



193 



Between 1740 and 1744 the animosity be- 
tween the two nations was intense, and their 
resources were squandered in indirect war. 
From the death of Charles VI., Emperor of 
Germany, in 1741, the certainty of an open 
and ostensible rupture between England and 
France at no distant date was obvious to every 
reflecting person in Europe and among Euro- 
peans in Asia. 

At Tellicherry and Myhie, the grand 
struggle during this brief interval consisted of 
efforts to prevent either factory from its usual 
participation in the trade of pepper — a com- 
mon source of quarrel between European 
nations in the East, and one peculiarly em- 
bittered. During that time, matters generally 
went in favour of the English ; they secured 
by their more direct diplomacy the confidence 
of the native chiefs, who admired the French 
more, but trusted the English better. The Eng- 
lish continued to receive lavish expressions of 
French compliment, and replied by unpolished, 
plain spoken, but on the whole civil letters, 
the writers of which cared nothing for French 
courtesy, and had no reliance on French ho- 
nour. Meanwhile, the British had taken up the 
French game of intriguing with the native chiefs 
against their neighbours, and played it well; 
80 well, that for eight months the settlements 
of France were blockaded by native powers 
at English instigation. Among the French 
no man, at least no public man, understood 
the true policy to be pursued by a European 
power in India, except the gallant and wise 
Labourdonnais. In 1740 his Asiatic services 
■were so appreciated in Franco, that not only 
was he welcomed to his country with accla- 
mation, but the honour was conferred upon 
him of returning to the East in command of 
both a fleet and army. He had previously, 
as the reader has seen, shown his warlike 
genius at Myhie in a comparatively humbler 
although honourable capacity ; at the time 
now under review, he equally displayed it as 
a sagacious statesman and naval commander. 
On the 13th of November, 1741, he arrived 
at Myhie not only with naval and military 
authority, but as supervisor of French trade. 
Upon his arrival, he opened a correspondence 
with the English factors at Tellicherry, pro- 
posing accommodation and friendship. He 
was sincere ; and the language in which he 
expressed himself showed the goodness of his 
heart and the greatness of liis nature. He of 
course objected to those demonstrations of 
force whicli the English so frequently made 
against the French settlements in favour of 
their native enemies ; and requested that 
in an attack contemplated by the French 
upon the Boyanore and Namburis, who were 
then blockading Myhie from the land, that 



the English would not send succours of war 
either by land or sea ; and if English boats 
came within a certain distance in spite of his 
warning and request, he begged that he 
might not be considered hostile if they were 
searched, to ascertain whether munitions were 
conveyed in them for his foes. His request 
was reasonable, and it would have been im- 
possible to convey what duty and necessity 
dictated in language more manly, honest, just, 
and conciliatory. The reply of the English 
chief was civil and cold; he admitted the pro- 
priety of searching English boats, but took 
no notice of the other demands. The fact 
was, the predecessors of Labourdonnais had 
brought about a state of things which could 
not be removed by the kind and sincere policy 
of that great and good man. The French 
had entered upon a certain game, into which 
they had forced the English; and the latter 
were not likely to allow them to draw the 
stakes when there was a prospect of success 
to English pertinacity and common sense. 

Labourdonnais stormed the native in- 
trenchments, defeated Boyanore in the open 
field ; followed up his successes in a short but 
brilliant campaign, and compelled the trouble- 
some Indian to cede territory around the 
factory at Myhie, within a circumference 
swept by a radius of an English mile.* The 
French commander and supervisor then visited 
the English, for whom he had a cordial re- 
spect, which they appreciated, awd received 
him with distinguished honour. His object 
was to conciliate and reconcile, as a Christian 
obligation, and a sound policy in the Asiatic 
interests of France, of the prospects of which 
he alone, amongst all the French officers and 
traders of the time, is known to have had fore- 
sight. 

He proposed a treaty, several articles of 
which were characterized by justice, good 
sense, and moderation. One of these articles 
stipulated the mutual abandonment of all out- 
lying forts, and military positions which only 
served as demonstrations of hostility, and 
created to both factories expenses destructive 
of the profits of their trade. The English 
freely accepted this point, for they had con- 
fidence in Labourdonnais, although not in 
his countrymen generally. Another article 
was that all differences between the natives 
and either the French or English, should be 
arbitrated by that one of the two European 
powers not mixed up in the dispute, and in 
case the native chiefs refused the arbitration, 
a combined force of French and English 
should enforce what appeared just to both. 
This was too complicated a proposal for the 
English factors ; they preferred ending their 

* Diaries nf Bomlatj and Tellicherry. 



194 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXVII. 



own quarrels without Frencli assistance, and 
they were not disposed to aid tlie French 
against the natives in quarrels which did not 
involve the interests of the East India Com- 
pany. The proposal of Labourdonnais was 
transmitted for decision to the council of Bom- 
bay. After much deliberation the articles 
were agreed to and ratified at Bombay and 
Pondicherry. 

The British, after the signature, became 
more hopeful of peace, and reduced their 
military forces ; they also razed the forts of 
Putinha, Andolamala, and Termala. Labour- 
donnais being honest, and in earnest, the 
French forts of Oanamala, Peringature, Chim- 
bera, and Poitera, were razed. Labourdon- 
nais appeared no more upon the western 
shores of India, but in other directions he 
made his genius and warlike power felt while 
the war between the two nations raged in the 
East. According to Raynal he was the first 
who suggested the desirableness of dispatch- 
ing royal ships of war to the Indian seas. 

On the withdrawal of Labourdonnais from 
Myhie, a factor named Leyrit assumed the 
government. He continued to maintain good 
relations with the English as recommended by 
Labourdonnais. The neighbouring native 
chiefs were alarmed at seeing the amity of the 
two European nations; and well understand- 
ing how easy it veas to disturb it, they agreed 
among themselves to adopt whatever schemes 
were most likely to bring to pass some inter- 
ruption to the prevailing harmony. The 
Boyanore, now an ally of the French, ob- 
structed English trade, and the French, not- 
withstanding the binding obligations of the 
recent treaty, did not adopt any means to 
persuade or deter him from doing so, as 
they reaped a temporary profit by his pro- 
ceedings. The King of Colestry defied and 
irritated the French, assuming that he did so 
as the champion of the English. A coolness 
sprung up ; yet neither party was disposed to 
break the peace. In 1744 the chief of Telli- 
cherry informed the president at Myhie that 
war between their respective countries had 



been declared in Europe, bnt he proposed 
that, nevertheless, they should remain good 
neighbours; and to prevent any misinterpre- 
tations of the good understanding, it was 
agreed that their troops should not fire upon 
one another within sight of the factory flags. 
The English went still farther in their peace- 
ful dispositions, and having been very success- 
[ ful in purchases of pepper, they sent eighty 
; candies of it to Myhie. The French returned 
I naval salutes, and restored English deserters. 
The two companies encouraged these peaceful 
manifestations, and the chief French authority 
in Pondicherry ratified all that had been done 
at Myhie. The president and council of 
Bombay believed that such a compromise was 
injurious to the interests of the English nation 
generally, and more especially in the East, 
and deemed it better that the two nations 
should carrj' on the war at home and abroad 
until victory decided the mastery. The Eng- 
lish government waS of the same opinion. 
The chief at Tellicherry was censured by the 
government of Bombay, pointing out to him 
that the French were merely espousing a 
truce to gain time, their Eastern forces being 
inferior to those of England, xlt Llyhie this 
was more evidently the case, as the exchequer 
of the factory was drained by pompous mili- 
tary spectacles, and continuous military expe- 
ditions, and once more, in the moment of 
perplexity, the Boyanore invested the place. 

Such were the positions of the two powers 
in India, when the first bolts of war fell and 
shook the realms over which the mightj' 
storm, long preparing, at last spent its force. 
There was a capriciou.sness and singularity 
about French and English relations in Wes- 
tern India. When the parent powers were at 
perfect peace, their factories were waging " a 
little war :" when there was open hostility in 
the British Channel, the factories were ex- 
changing salutes, making jjresents, offering 
compliments, and vowing perpetual amity. 
It ig necessary now to turn to other depart- 
ments of the field of struggle, and to relate 
the progress of the war itself. 



CiiAr. LXVIII.] 



IN INDIA AI?D THE EAST. 



11)5 



CHAPTER LXVIII. 

WAR BETWEEN ENGLAND AND FRANCE IN THE EAST— SURRENDER OF MADRAS— SIEGES 
AND ASSAULTS OF FORT ST. DAVID BY THE FRENCH— SIEGE OF PONDICHERRY BY THE 
BRITISH— PEACE IN CONSEQUENCE OF THE TREATY OF AIX-LA-CHAPELLE. 



War between France and England having 
been declared, and the efforts of the traders 
of both nations in some of the stations in 
India to preserve neutrality having proved 
unavailing, the conflict began at Madras in 
1746. On the llth of September that year, 
a French fleet, under the gallant Labour- 
donnais, anchored between four and five 
leagues to the south of Madras, and landed 
six hundred soldiers, seamen, and marines. 
The troops moved by land, while the fleet 
■coasted during the remainder of that day and 
the morning of the ensuing. About mid- 
day of the 15th, they arrived before the city. 
Labourdonnais effected, without opposition, 
the landing of the remaining French infantry. 
The assailing force consisted of more than 
one thousand French, four hundred sepoys, 
drawn from the various French stations, 
■chiefly Pondicherry, and four hundred blacks 
of INIadagascar, called Caffres, who had been 
employed as a garrison in the French settle- 
jnent of the Mauritius, and were well-disci- 
plined by Labourdonnais himself. The troops 
■landed were little short of two thousand men, 
.and an equal number were on board the fleet 
■to act as occasion might require. 

The garrison was by no means adequate to 
-cope with such a force, led by one of the best 
commanders of the age. The soldiers were 
two hundred, one hundred of whom were 
English volunteers, and were utterly inex- 
perienced in war. These were all that could 
be relied upon. There were between three 
and four thousand Portuguese Indians who 
sympathized more with the French than with 
the British, and were not armed. The Syrian 
Christians and Jews were pretty numerous, 
and would have proved faithful to the 
English, but they were not warlike, and the 
British did not place that confidence in them 
which they deserved. Concerning the quaUty 
of the garrison. Professor Wilson remarks : — 
"A letter to a proprietor of India stock, 
published in 1760, by a person who was 
■evidently concerned in the government of 
Madras at the time, states, that the soldiers 
were not only few, but of a very indifferent 
description ; that the town was ill provided 
with ammunition stores, and that its fortifica- 
tions were in a ruinous condition : tlie neces- 
sity for rigid economy at home, having with- 
held the means of maintaining the establish- 
ment abroad in a state of efficiency." 



The governor was summoned to surrender, 
and refused. A bombardment opened from 
the whole fleet, and the artillery landed with 
the invaders. Notwithstanding the weakness 
of the defence, the bombardment was con- 
tinued five days without any attempt to 
storm. The troops of the garrison were worn 
out, the native inhabitants filled with terror, 
and the half-caste Portuguese disaflocted ; the 
fortifications could no longer protect their de- 
fenders, and as an assault must be successful, 
the president offered a ransom. Labour- 
donnais was too much of a politician to ac- 
cept the like. He faiew that if the French 
flag was seen floating above Madras, it would 
produce a moral effect not inferior to a similar 
triumph at even Goa or Batavia, and he in- 
sisted upon surrender. Mr. Mill describes 
him as coveting " the glory of displaying 
French colours on the ramparts of St. George," 
which is not accordant with the temper, 
character, or conduct of Labourdonnais : ho 
was solely actuated by a sense of duty and 
honour, and a clear view of the policy that 
suited his country. 

While he insisted upon capitulation, he 
pledged his honour to restore the settlement 
upon payment of a moderate ransom of 
100,000 pagodas, or rather bonds for the 
payment of that amount were given by the 
president, and the city surrendered. The 
conduct of Labourdonnais was as gentle 
while a victor, as it was fearless in war. He 
had not lost a man during the bombardment, 
and as he did all in his power to avoid blood- 
shed, only four or five English perished. His 
care in directing the shells, so as to inflict as 
little injury as possible upon private property, 
enabled him to effect his conquest with only 
the destruction of a few houses of the inhabi- 
tants. Labourdonnais gained a complete 
ascendancy over all with whom he came in 
contact ; he was beloved alike by English and 
natives, his bearing was not that of a victor, 
but of a friend : even of his private fortune, ho 
contributed to alleviate distresses, which, as a 
French officer, he could not avoid inflicting. 
History has not often recorded one so brave, 
so good, so tender, and so just in victory as 
this great and glorious man. 

An English fleet had been dispatched from 
England, but the admiral having died, the com- 
mand devolved upon the senior captain, who 
was deficient in ekill and spirit, and evaded 



19C> 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Cuap. LXVIII. 



a conflict with Laboiirdonnais, remaining in 
the harbonr of Trincomalee, bo that tlie French 
admiral was in effect not only master of Jladras, 
but of the Indian seas. 

Laboiirdonnais had a more formidable 
enemy than the English — Dupleix, the go- 
vernor of Pondicherry, and supreme chief of 
all the French factories in India. He was a 
man of superior, of even great, intellectual 
parts, but of the lowest moral qualifications 
for his post. His envy was mean, his osten- 
tation childish, his desire of praise avaricious, 
his ambition boundless and utterly unprin- 
cipled. He could conceive the greatest un- 
dertakings, and carry them out with a genius 
corresponding to that which devised them. 
No want of political intrigue was too intri- 
cate for him to comprehend or disentangle ; 
but where the "risk of personal safety was 
concerned, he was without courage, even if 
the completion of his dearest designs de- 
pended upon its exercise. He had the great- 
ness of mind which belongs to the purely 
intellectual, but was without magnanimity, 
for it was never shown towards foes or friends, 
vanquished or victors, competitors in the sanje 
career, or those who achieved success in any 
other. He was implacable in his resentments, 
and degraded his country by using her power 
to gratify them. He was desirous of promot- 
ing French glory, but chiefly that France 
might be under obligation to him : he wished 
her to be made conspicuous by a light shining 
from himself. Such was Dupleix, and he 
never displayed these evil qualities more than 
in his conduct to Labourdonnais, and his 
opposition to what that magnanimous man 
proposed. "When Dupleix heard of the success 
of Labouixlonnais, his mind was filled with 
strangely conflicting emotions. Hatred to 
the English caused him to receive the in- 
telligence with gratification — envy of La- 
bourdonnais, filled him with mortification. 
He conceived the idea of so thwarting his 
own countryman, as to deprive him of his 
honour, if not of his glory, and of so treating 
the English, whom Labourdonnais respected, 
as to humiliate their generous friend and con- 
queror. Like the heroic Russian general who 
conquered Kars, Labourdonnais became the 
friend and protector of the valiant and unfor- 
tunate, whom nothing but fate could conquer ; 
but Dupleix determined to frustrate that 
benevolence, and reverse that policy. Ac- 
cordingly he refused to recognise the agree- 
ment made by the captor of Madras to restore 
it upon the payment of an indemnity. Labour- 
donnais was not a man to be trifled with, 
even by one so eminent and powerful as Du- 
pleix, and he firmly insisted that the powers 
with which he sailed from France were inde- 



pendent of Dupleix, and that he had not 
only acted in virtue of them, but under the 
instructions which he received from the 
French East India Company, which were 
characterized by moderation and forbearance. 
He had it in his power. Professor Wilson 
affirms, according to those instructions, to de- 
stroy or to restore, but not to occupy, Madras. 
The second of the alternatives, where so 
strong a nation as England was concerned, 
was the more politic ; but independent of that, 
destruction and cruelty were revolting alike 
to the principles and feelings of the great 
Frenchman. 

Unable to deter Labourdonnais, and afraid 
to take any penal measures of a direct nature 
against him, Dupleix sent instructions of such 
a kind, as while not directly overruling the 
admiral's orders, rendered it difficult for the 
French officers and agents to know which to 
obey or what to do. By such means the re- 
moval of goods and stores were impeded, and 
the fleet was unable to leave Madras (the 
worst point in a storm in all the Indian seas) 
until the monsoons began. On the night of 
the 13th of October a storm drove the fleet 
out to sea. Two of the ships were lost, all 
hands on board perishing except fourteen. 
The other vessels were tossed about, dismasted, 
and nearly wrecks. Dupleix refused all as- 
sistance. He next insisted that the date of 
the restoration of the city, which was to have 
been two days after the storm, should be de- 
ferred three months. Labourdonnais and the 
English with reluctance consented. The ad- 
miral could not remain on such a dangerous 
coast during the stormy weather which had 
set in, and on his departure the place was of 
course surrendered to Dupleix. He imme- 
diately violated the treaty in a manner as 
void of shame as of honour. 

\Mien Labourdonnais disappeared with his 
fleet, the nabob, at the head of a native army, 
attacked the French, resolving to possess 
himself of the great city for which the Euro- 
peans were contending among themselves. 
When the French fleet sailed, twelve hundred 
men were left behind, who had been disci- 
plined by Labourdonnais himself after a pecu- 
liar manner, to serve on land or sea. This 
force encountered the numerous army of the 
nabob, making dreadful havoc by the rapid 
service of their artillery, and utterly discom- 
fiting " the Moors." Thus the example was 
not set by Olive at Plassey, as is generally 
supposed, of a small European force well dis- 
ciplined defeating vast numbers of the natives ; 
the little army of Labourdonnais at Madras 
had that honour. This circumstance is no- 
ticed by Orme, but has been lost sight of by 
English writers generally. Dupleix's purpose 




]L®IE.© (DLKVEo 



QJytam- a, oMu/n/lota- -i/u GyV. 2/)/. 



J/iMce/. 



LONDON, JAMES S, VIRTUE 



Chap. LXVIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



197 



of violating the treat}' with the English pre- 
sident at Madras, was supported hy the public 
voice at Pondioherry. Mill says (without 
giving authority for the statement) that 
Dupleix, by misrepresentation and power, 
induced or constrained the French merchants 
to present a petition against the fulfilment of 
the treaty. \^'ith or without such moral sup- 
port as it was intended to be, Duplei.x would 
have carried out his purpose, and he accord- 
ingly executed it with vigour. Madras was 
plundered ; English and natives were not 
only deprived of their goods, but even of their 
personal ornaments. The most remorseless 
Mahratta robber was not less relenting than the 
French governor. Except some who effected 
their escape, the English as well as the chief 
native citizens were brought to Pondicherry 
as captives, not for the purpose of better se- 
curity, but to mock them by a public trium- 
phal procession, in which they were made to 
pass through every indignity that could be 
heaped upon captives ; the French governor 
took part in the display with vain ostentation, 
and gave way to malignant and despicable 
exultation. He triumphed over his enemies 
and his noble rival after the manner of the 
most remote and barbarous times, such as had 
long perished from the usages of all but the 
weakest and most uncivilized peoples. 

Among the captives who were led in that 
inglorious procession — inglorious to France, 
to Frenchmen, and above all to the execrable 
Dupleix — was one youth whom Providence 
had designed to avenge the indignity put 
Tipon himself, his companions, his countr}', 
and humanity. That youth was Robert Clive. 

The present is a suitable moment in which 
to state something of the early life of the 
future conqueror, already passingly brought 
before the reader. The family of young Clive 
liad been settled in Shropshire, near Market 
Drayton, on a small estate, for five hundred 
years, when he was born.* His father was 
bred to the bar, married a lady of INIanchester 
named Gaskil, and had a numerous family. 
liobert was the eldest child, and was born 
the 29th of September, 1725. Yomig Robert 
was one of the many notable persons who 
liave confirmed the saying, " the cliild's the 
father of the man." His early boyhood re- 
vealed the characteristics of his future man- 
hood. He was a lad of indomitable will, 
olistinate, tyrannical, having the faculty of 
attaching to him the enterprising and rest- 
less, utterly fearless in danger, even loving it 
for its own sake, so that the wild and reckless 
ailventures of his boyhood were the theme of 

* The Life of Robert Clive ; collected from the family 
papers cO'umunicaled hy the Earl of Powis. By Major- 
Gtiiera! Sir John Malcolm, K.C.B. 

VOL. II. 



conversation for many a mile around Drayton, 
and for many a year after "naughty Bob" 
had disappeared from the scenes of his early 
exploits. Pugilistic encounter.^, in which he 
displayed endurance and courage, and mimic 
warfare among boys, in which he was always 
a leader of one of the parties, afforded him 
much delight. At school, boxing, skating, 
cricket, racing, and all manner of manly 
games, and of wild and daring adventures, en- 
gaged his affections, to the disparagement of 
literary progress and education. Ho was the 
terror of ushers, his defiant spirit brooked no 
indignity even when consciously in the wrong, 
and when a mild discipline might prove suc- 
cessful. One of his teachers, it is alleged, 
predicted that"\^^ld Bobby" would yet be 
a great man. Lord Macaulay declares " the 
general opinion seems to have been, that Ro- 
bert was a dunce if not a reprobate." His 
lordship does not add, as he might have done, 
that the opinion was in neither respect well- 
founded. In all hia wildness there was 
character ; he was deeply susceptible of the 
friendships schoolboys form ; he was grateful, 
and if not dutiful to his parents, he would yet 
resent the slightest reflection upon them, and 
speak of them with reverence, regretting his 
own nndutifulness. He was not addicted to 
books, but ho made more progress at school 
than he got credit for, and possessed a quick 
discernment, clear judgment, and comprehen- 
siveness of understanding. These intellectual 
characteristics were, however, more displayed 
in action than in preparing the lessons set by his 
preceptors. The intuition with which school- 
boys perceive the merits of their companions, 
led them to invest young Clive with the attri- 
butes of a lad of sense and of a hero ; their 
confidence in his courage and capacity in 
every boyish freak, equalled that with which 
his soldiers afterwards surrounded him in the 
broken battalions of Arcot, or followed him 
upon the desperatefield of Plassey. Undoubt- 
edly his chief excellences were, even in boy- 
hood, prompt judgment in undertaking what 
was practicable, perseverance in carrying out 
what he undertook, a courage which no dan- 
ger, however awful, could daunt, and a pre- 
sence of mind which never forsook him in 
peril or difficulty. These qualities were ex- 
emplified when he climbed the steeple of 
Drayton Church, to the terror of the quiet in- 
habitants of that pretty village, as much as 
they were when he escaped from Pondicherr)', 
captured, and afterwards defended Arcot, 
surprised French expeditions, or routed na- 
tive hosts with a few hundreds of men. His 
chief fault was tyranny, and that he exhibited 
when he bullied the shopkeepers of Market 
Drayton, controlled his schoolfellows, and 



198 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXVIII. 



raised insurrections against unpopular pre- 
ceptors, as much as when he arbitrarily dis- 
missed Captain Armstrong of Bombay while 
serving under him in Bengal, and when he 
put down peculation and jobbery with a high 
hand in the factories during the hey-day of 
his power. 

It is often the case in the families of men 
of original genius, that the last to recognise 
the peculiar parts of tlie eccentric, or supposed 
eccentric, person are his own near relations. 
This was the case with Clive. They did not 
perceive the mighty strength of this English 
Samson, and made no allowance for his 
weaknesses. Yet, their conduct and feelings 
towards him hardly justified the language of 
Lord Macaulay. " It is not strange that they 
gladly accepted for him, when he was in his 
eighteenth year, a writership in the East 
India Company, and shipped him off to make 
a fortune or die of fever in Madras." There 
is no material in the work of Sir John Mal- 
colm which affords fair scope for placing the 
conduct of the family in such a light in a 
treatise professing to be a review of Sir 
John's biography. The elder Clive had bo 
small an estate, and that encumbered, he 
made so little by his profession, and had so 
large a family, that he reasonably accepted 
the appointment for Robert. The ambition 
of the young man was, however, to become a 
Manchester merchant. He loved his mother's 
relatives, the Gaskils, in that city, and desired 
to enter upon the active species of mercantile 
pursuits which have always characterised the 
trade of that great city. Long afterwards, 
wdien far away from England, his thoughts 
often turned to the happy days lie had s])ent 
in Manchester, whose scenes and associations 
he longed to revisit. He seemed to entertain 
the opinion expressed in a recent work, Young 
America Abroad, by Mr. Train, of Boston, 
United States, "I would rather be a clerk in 
London or New York, than the head of a 
large mercantile establishment in Madras." 
Thither, however, our young adventurer went, 
relnotantly bidding adieu to the white cliffs 
of his country, which he loved so well, and for 
which he eventually dared and did so much. 

Voyages round the Cape are still long, com- 
pared with the overland route ; before steam 
was known, the time consumed via the Cape 
was still greater ; and a century ago, the 
voyage was rendered very tedious indeed by 
the architecture of the ships employed in the 
Indian trade, and the nautical habits of the 
sailors and captains of that age. Clive, how- 
ever, had a very long voyage, which consumed 
a whole year. It is probable that it was, on 
the whole, a well-spent year— one of thought 
and reading, of meditation upon the future, 



and reflection upon the past. The ships made 
a several months' stay on the coast of the 
Brazils, and there Clive studied the Portuguese 
language, which was always an advantage to 
him in his Indian career, the traces of the 
Portuguese being then still fresh upon the 
shores of the peninsula. Arrived in Madras, 
he w^as filled with disgust. He neither liked 
the place, the situation, nor the people. Hia 
pay was inadequate, and he soon incurred 
debts which harassed his mind. He was 
haughty, and, like many other adventurers, 
bold, competent, and self-relying ; yet he was 
shy, and consequently made few acquaint- 
ances : he was miserably lodged, home -sick, 
and unhappy. With all his intrepidity, like 
Nelson, he was a delicate youth — at all events, 
out of hia own climate ; and he suffered 
greatly from the exhausting heats of all low 
situations in Southern India. It was not, Sir 
John Malcolm affirms, until he was several 
months in Madras- that he formed an ac- 
quaintance with any family which a youth of 
his early associations and respectability could 
visit. He pined for his loved England, and 
for any one of the paths of honour and enter- 
prise her industry and ambition provided 
within her own shores. He thus wrote to 
his relatives : — " I have not enjoyed one happy 
day since I left my native country. I must 
confess, at intervals when I think of my dear 
native England, it affects me in a very par- 
ticular manner If I should be so 

blest as to visit again my own country, but 
more especiallj' Manchester, the centre of all 
my wishes, all that I could hope or desire for 
would be presented in one view." Lord 
Macaulay, in his review of General Malcolm's 
memoir, says, of these passages, " He ex- 
pressed his feelings softer and more pensive 
than we should have expected either from the 
waywardness of his boyhood or from the in- 
flexible sternness of his later years." It is 
surprising that the great critic should not have 
perceived, in Sir John Malcolm's records of 
the youth of his hero, sufficient evidence of 
a tender and even a plaintive spirit, which 
lived within him in spite of all his rougher 
attributes, as a mild bright star beaming 
through the darkness and turbulence of a 
storm. His lordship, in vindicating the nobler 
attributes of Clive against his calumniators, 
points out the benignant and affectionate as- 
pects of his disposition, which appear so touch- 
ingly amidst even " the inflexible sternness of 
his later years." While neglected in Madras, 
he met with some encouragement from the 
president, who threw open to him his library, 
x^hich was well stocked with the best books 
of the day. There Clive studied with assi- 
duity, and, having had the foundation of a 



Chap. LXVIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



199 



good education, lie was able to make availaljle 
easily the information to be gathered amongst 
the president's books. He thus emerged into 
public life neither ignorant of books nor men, 
and having passed through long periods, in 
proportion to his years, necessitating reflection 
by the circumstances of retirement in which 
he was placed. It does not appear that mili- 
tary reading formed part of his studies : he 
had, at that time, rather cultivated commercial 
tastes and ambition ; but, as almost every 
English boy loves stories of military enter- 
prise, he would be likely, from national taste 
as well as from constitutional sympathy with 
heroic adventure, to take xip books recording 
the valorous deeds of his loved ancestral 
England. Tlie singular intelligence on all 
military subjects shown by him at once, when 
emergency called for it, strengthens the pro- 
bability that military history and tactics formed 
part of his studies. While he lived as a 
writer in Madras, his conduct was not very 
dissimilar to that of his boyhood : he was 
haughty to his superiors, and, without being 
actually insubordinate, was so wilful as to en- 
danger his situation. It would appear that 
much of what was strange and wayward, and 
even bold, in his behaviour arose from disease. 
From his early youth or childhood, some 
morbid affliction, perhaps an affection of the 
brain, which influenced his emotions without 
obscuring his fine intellect, attended him ; 
and, when lonely and apparently forsaken in 
Madras, he twice attempted suicide. The 
instrument used on each of these occasions 
was a pistol, which both times missed fire 
when the barrel was pointed to his head. 
Having convinced himself, on the latter oc- 
casion, that the pistol was well loaded, he 
received the impression that Providence or 
destiny had designed him for some important 
purpose, as his life was so miraculously pre- 
served. Such was the state of mind of this 
young man when borne a prisoner by the per- 
fidious Dupleix to Pondicherry, and there 
paraded about for the sport of a people who 
were little better than their then infamous 
governor. It is easy to conceive how the 
high spirit of Clive chafed under these indig- 
nities ; but his resolute will and fertile genius 
soon found an opportunity to assert them- 
selves : he assumed the disguise of a Mussul- 
man, left the town by night, and reached the 
English fortress of St. David in safety. Well 
had it been for Dupleix and for France that 
the wanderer who so well affected the mien 
and garb of Islam had been fettered in Pon- 
dicherry, or that Labourdonnais' clemency 
and honour had prevailed, and left the young 
clerk in " Writers' Buildings," at Madras, 
until commercial success, dismission, or suicide 



had prevented him from interfering in the 
field of war with the ambition of the governor 
of Pondicherry, and the genius of French 
conquest. 

When Clive arrived at St. David's, he, of 
course, found only occasional employment for 
his pen ; he was in distress, utterly penniless. 
The indignation of the garrison against the 
French was great, and every man thought of 
the sword. Clive requested an appointment 
as ensign in the company's service, and his 
desire was granted. Thus began his military 
career, and, like another great hero, whose 
deeds in India afterwards won for him im- 
mortal renown — the Duke of Wellington — 
Clive began the routine of his ju'ofession by 
attention to the minutest things, acquiring the 
detail of discipline, and the rules of war, and 
forming his soldiers upon his own ideal model 
of drill and duty. Before he entered the ser- 
vice he gave proof of his audacious courage 
by a protracted and desperate duel with a 
military ruffian, whose insults had cowed the 
civilians at the fort, but which were no sooner 
directed to Clive than the vaunting desperado 
was made to feel that he had provoked a man 
of lofty and unconquerable spirit. When ho 
entered the company's military service he 
was twenty-one years of aga. In this posi- 
tion he must at present remain in our narra- 
tive, until other events have passed, and new 
transactions bring him once more upon the 
stage of action. 

Fort St. David was situated only twelve 
miles south of Pondicherry, and was one of 
the most important pieces held by the com- 
pany in India. Beside the fort — a compre- 
hensive phrase, which expressed, not only the 
fortifications and barracks, but the English 
town — there was a large native town called 
Cuddalore, inhabited by native merchants and 
bankers ; there were also several large vil- 
lages, and a country territory more extensive 
than that owned by the company at Madras. 
Cuddalore was an imposing and important 
place. Three sides of the town were towards 
the land, and were defended by walls and 
bastions ; the fourth side was open to the sea, 
but a river flowed between it and a high 
sand-bank, by which the river was separated 
from the ocean. The agents at Fort St. 
David took upon themselves the government 
of English interests along the Coromandel 
coast, performing the functions of the late 
presidency of Madras. 

Dupleix resolved to reduce Fort St. David, 
and thereby conquer the whole coast of Coro- 
mandel. On the 19th of December, a force 
consisting of about one thousand nine hundred 
men, exclusive of officers, marched out from 
Pondicherry against the English settlement. 



200 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXVIII. 



About two huiirlred of this little armj' were 
Caffrea from Madagascar, trained by Labour- 
donnais ; tlie rest were nearly all Europeans, 
but a few were 8epo)-s, and a troop of cavalry 
was included in the full muster. Fortunately 
many of the English and loyal natives of 
JIadras fled thence to St. David's, when they 
perceived that Dupleix bad resolved to violate 
the treaty of Labourdonnais: these swelled 
the numbers able to defend the fort to more 
than three hundred men ; one hundred, how- 
ever, were topasses. The English hired two 
thousand natives, a dismal looking brigade, 
armed with spears and shields, swords and 
matchlocks, bows and arrows ; tliese men 
were called " peons." To these peons muskets 
were distributed, which, with the matchlocks 
already possessed by them, changed the jn-o- 
miscuous and comparatively harmless arma- 
ment into one of some unity and efficiency. 
Tliese natives were placed upon the walls and 
bastions of Cuddalore ; the English and to- 
passes occupied Fort St. David. The Eng- 
lish also applied for assistance to the nabob, 
who, anxious to avenge his signal defeat by 
the French at Madras, promised an " army," 
if the English would bear half the expense; 
This the British gladly accepted. The French 
arrived, after a deliberate march, before the 
fort, and took up an advantageous position, 
which they bad no sooner dojie, than the 
nabob's army, numbering ten thousand men, 
appeared in sight. The French retreated, 
pursued by the combined forces, and losing 
one bundled and thirty-two Frenchmen, killed 
and wounded, of whom, however, only twelve 
were slain. After that discomfiture, Dupleix, 
persevering and sanguine, and relying much 
upon his diplomatic address with the native 
powers, made overtures of a friendly nature 
to the nabob, and while thus amusing him, 
without waiting for any formal arrangement 
of friendship, lie resolved to attack the Eng- 
lish by sea. llis plan involved a surprise 
upon the Cuddalore portion of the defences. 
The scheme was well laid. The flotilla set 
out, every man confident of success ; but a 
storm arose, and compelled the boats to put 
back. Having failed in conciliating the nabob, 
l>upleix sent troops into his territory, hoping 
thus to keep the army of his highness occupied 
ill defensive movements, while another French 
force attacked Cuddalore. In acoomjilishing 
tlie first part of this plan Dupleix's troops 
committed scandalous excesses, which infu- 
riated the nabob against the French nation, 
towards which his previous resentment was 
strong. At this juncture Dupleix received 
a great accession of strength After the 
Btorm which scattered the ships of Labour- 
donnais, four of the finest of them made for 



Acheen to refit; having accomplished that 
object, they returned. Tiie nabob was easily 
persuaded that the reinforcements were much 
larger, and with that destitution of honour so 
characteristic of the natives of India, he 
changed sides and became the ally of the 
French. This circumstance revived the 
hopes of Dupleix, who described himself as 
apprehensive of the nabob's army blockading 
Pondicherry by land, and an Englisli fleet 
arriving in time to blockade it by sea. Ac- 
cordingly, on the 13th of March, 1747, a 
French force approached St. David's. The 
English auxiliaries skirmished and fell back; 
the French forced the passage of the river, 
and took up the position it had occupied when, 
on the previous occasion, the approach of the 
nabob's army compelled a retreat. At this 
juncture the fugitive English fleet was descried 
making for the roads. The French retreated, 
and, according to Onne, the retreat was almost 
a flight. Dupleix, fearing that his ships would 
be captured, ordered them from Pondicherry 
to Goa. Thence they continued their flight 
to the Mauritius, where they found three 
other royal ships, and the whole prepared to 
strengthen themselves for operations against 
the fleet which had arrived to the aid of the 
English. 

The English naval reinforcement consisted 
of five men-of-war, under Admiral Griffin, 
and the squadron which had so ingloriously 
evaded Labourdonnais. Admiral Griffin 
having, as senior officer, superseded Captain 
Peyton, who previously held command of 
the squadron already in those seas, at once 
urged a course of activity. Having raised 
the siege of St. David's, be proposed carrying 
the war into the ports of the enemy, and ex- 
jiressed his intention to organize an expedition 
against Pondicherry itself. The land forces 
of the garrison of St. David's were at the same 
time augmented by reinforcements from Eng- 
land, composed of a few soldiers who came 
out with Admiral Griffin, a detachment of four 
hundred sepoys, sent from Tellicherry, and 
from Bombay one hundred European soldiers, 
two hundred topasses, and one hundred se- 
poys. Thus the sepoys trained in Western 
India were coming into service, although no 
hope was then entertained that they would 
ever become so well discijilined, or so exten- 
sively emploj'ed as was afterwards the case in 
the company's history. During the remainder 
of the year one hundred and fifty Englisli 
soldiers arrived in different detachments, giv- 
ing strength to the garrison such as it had 
never before possessed. At the opening of 
the year 1748, Major Lawrence arrived with 
the commission of commander-in-chief of the 
comj)any't3 forces in India. 



Chap. LXVilLJ 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



201 



Nothing was done by Admiral Griffin 
against Pondioherry, notwitliatanding his 
demonstrations of activity. He remained in 
the road of St. David's and sent out his 
lighter shijjs as scouts to watch the coast. 
The French fleet at the Mauritius received 
orders from Dupleix to convey reinforcements 
and money to Madras, avoiding an action 
with tlie English, but risking it in order to 
accomplish the object. 

In the month of June the French fleet 
approached St. David's, as if to attack Ad- 
miral Griffin, but skilfully evaded doing so, 
made for Madras, landed the reinforcements, 
and again fled to Mauritius. Griffin set sail 
in fruitless search of them. Professor Wilson, 
in one of his notes to Mill, gives the following 
account of the way in which the admiral's 
conduct was subsequently arraigned in Eng- 
land, and his own explanation : — " Admiral 
Griffin, on his return to England, was brought 
to a court-martial and suspended the service, 
for negligence in not having stood out to sea 
upon first receiving information of the enemy's 
approach ; by doing which, it was argued, he 
might have frustrated the object of the French 
squadron, if not have brought them to action. 
He published an appeal against the sentence, 
grounding his defence upon his having missed 
the land-wind on the day before the squadron 
was in sight, in necessary preparations to 
strengthen his own ships for an encounter 
with what his information represented as a 
superior force, by which he expected to be 
attacked." \Miile Griffin was in pursuit of 
the French fleet, Dupleix, ever active, vigilant, 
and exploitful, resolved to attack St. David's 
before the admiral could beat back through 
the monsoon. He accordingly sent a fresh 
expedition against Cuddalore. French writers 
agree in awarding praise to the gallant and 
skilful manner in which Major Lawrence 
conducted the defence. He made a feint of 
abandoning the garrison, and the French were 
thus seduced to approach the walls rather 
tumultuously ; but while applying the scaling 
ladders Lawrence opened a destructive fire of 
cannon and musketry, whicli caused havoc 
and dismay ; the French throwing away 
their arms in precipitate flight. Lawrence 
was not in a condition to pursue them into 
the plain ; he contented himself by making 
fresh dispositions against renewed attack. 

The government of England resolved to 
throw forth more power upon the eastern 
theatre of the war. The means adopted to 
retrieve the losses incurred in India are thus 
described by an eminent historian : — '" Nine 
ships of the public navy, one of seventy-four, 
one of sixty-four, two of sixty, two of fifty, 
one of twenty guns, a sloop of fourteen, a 



bomb-ketch with her tender, and an hospital- 
ship, commanded by Admiral Boscawen ; and 
eleven ships of the company, carrying stores 
and troops to the amount of 1400 men, set 
sail from England towards the end of the year 
174:7. They had instructions to capture the 
island of Jlauritius in their way ; as a place 
of great importance to the enterprises of the 
French in India. But the leaders of the 
expedition, after examining the coast, and 
observing the means of defence, w-ere de- 
terred, by the loss of time which the enter- 
prise would occasion. On the 9th of August 
they arrived at Fort St, David, when the 
squadron, joined to that under Griffin, formed 
the largest European force that any ono 
power had yet possessed in India." 

Dupleix had improved the interval with 
his usual foresight and indefatigable zeal. 
He had laid in stores of all kind in Pondi- 
cherry and Jfadras ; the fleet from Mauritius 
had already landed there a large supply of 
silver when with the reinforcements it had 
evaded- Griffin. Dupleix, in his own account 
of his feeling at the time, written years 
afterwards, stated that he knew the nabob 
would desert him as soon as he saw the 
English armaments, and he resolved to make 
the best use of an alliance which was certain 
so soon to terminate.* The English at Fort 
St. David were urgent for active measures 
against Pondicherry, and they mustered a 
considerable body of troops which, with the 
fleet under Admiral Boscawen, it was believed 
must speedily reduce it. 

Little more than two miles south-west of 
Pondicherry there was a fortified town called 
Ariancopang, to which the French of Pon- 
dicherry could retire if hard pressed there. 
It was deemed desirable to capture this sub- 
sidiary place, and little opposition was 
expected. The English had no means of 
obtaining jilans of the fortifications, and they 
were wholly without information as to the 
resources of the garrison. An assault was 
ordered, and was repulsed in such a manner 
as was not flattering to the spirit of the sepoys 
and topasses in the British service, and who 
immediately formed a repugnance to the 
expedition. Batteries were erected, but the 
guns of the enemy were served with rajjidity, 
precision, and valour. The French, so justly 
celebrated in war for their skilful defence of 
fortified places, highly deserved such repu- 
tation in this instance. Their sallies were 
conducted with daring valour, superior enter- 
prise, and military knowledge. On the occa- 
sion of a desperate and successful sortie, the 
English commander-in-chief was borne away 
from the trenches in spite of the exertions of 
* Memoir pour Dn^Ieix, 



202 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXVIII. 



his soldiers. At last, what the valour and 
wisdom of this small body of Frenchmen had 
so well preserved Was lost by accident — the 
powder magazine exploded. The garrison 
immediately blew up the defences, and re- 
tired to Pondicherry, strengthening the force 
which Dui^leix there possessed. Although 
the approaching season, when the rains would 
render all warlike operations impossible, de- 
manded haste, the English, with that fatal 
want of promptitude by which they have so 
often suffered in war, tarried five days re- 
pairing the fortifications, instead of leaving 
the task to the small garrison intended for its 
occupation. They then advanced to Pondi- 
cherry. When before that renowned place 
they continued their slow tactics, and their 
measures were as timid as dilatory. The 
trenches were opened at nearly twice the 
Tisual distance, although there was nothing 
in the position of the place to require such 
a departure from the custom of sieges then 
recognised. When the trenches were formed, 
after much delay, it was found that they were 
60 far off, the batteries could make no impres- 
sion on the town. The cannons and mortars 
of the fleet were nearly useless, and in truth, 
although Dupleix himself was frightened, the 
besieged laughed their besiegers to scorn. 
The intrenchments were carried slowly, cau- 
tiously, and awkwardly, to within eight hun- 
dred yards of the wall, and then it was found 
that a morass obstructed the workmen. It 
was at the same time discovered that at 
another side of. the town from which no 
approaches were made,the works might have 
been carried to the foot of the glacis. The 
batteries erected on the edge of the morass 
were silenced by the superior cannonade of 
the enemy. 

A whole month had now been wasted, and 
nothing had occurred in the result of so much 
labour but disgrace. A council of war was 
called, which wisely determined to abandon 
the siege, for the English were incapable of 
conducting it ; their gunners wore no match 
for the French, and the stormy season was at 
hand, when the ships would be driven away, 
wreck and loss of life occurring, as in the case 
of the fleet of Labourdonnais. 

AVhen the English retired, Dupleix made 
much noise about his exploits, writing to 
France, to the Great Mogul, and to all the 



petty princes far and near, declaring that few 
victories were ever obtained where the dispro- 
portion of force was so great. AU Pondiclierry 
was in transports ; their joy was brilliant as 
a Bengal light. Probably had the gallant 
Lawrence not been captured, there would have 
been cause for mourning. The result upon 
the interests of France was greatly to enhance 
them ; upon those of England they were de- 
pressing. So speedily do Eastern peoples 
forget the effects of achievements gone by, 
that all the prestige of English valour passed 
away, and they were once more looked upon by 
the natives as essentially unwarlike, although 
personally brave, — as having vast resources, 
but not knowing how to make use of them. 

Matters were in this condition when news 
arrived, in November, 1748, of the peace of 
Aix-la-Chapelle, which put an end to the war, 
and placed the two parties in India in statu 
quo ante helium. The English restored their 
late dearly -bought , conquest, and received 
possession of Madras. Dupleix did all in his 
power to keep up the old spirit of irritation : 
he gave out that the French gave the English 
back Madras to sliow their charity and to 
prove that the cause of quarrel did not lie with 
him. This appeared to the natives as prima 
facie true, and they wondered at the magna- 
nimity and generosity of Dupleix. The 
English he taunted with their imbecility, 
reminding them that, but for events in 
Europe, he would have driven them out of 
India. Their operations by sea he derided as- 
much as those by land, and the natives were 
generally of his opinion. Still somehow, by 
degrees, an impression gained way among the 
Indian chiefs that the English had an irresist- 
ible power somewhere, that, however incom- 
petent to carry on wars in India, yet their 
proceedings elsewhere influenced Indian af- 
fairs so signally that no other European power 
made eventually successful war upon them. 
These impressions were fluctuating, as events 
raised one party or the other before the ob- 
servers, whose keen eyes were ever directed 
to any change in the relative power of the 
different European interests on the peninsula. 

Such were the facts and results of this 
brief war, which, however, only proved to bo 
the preliminary of future conflict, as the first 
shock of the earthquake is often but the portent 
of a coming desola'tion. 



Chap. LXIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



ao3 



CHAPTER LXIX. 

ENGLISH CONQUEST OF THE CARNATXC— WAK BETWEEN- ENGLAND AND FEANCE RESUMED— 
CONTINUATION OF THE STRUGGLE TO THE RETURN OF CLIVE TO ENGLAND. 

The treaty of Aix-la-Cbapelle did not long 
secure peace between the English and French 
in India. From the first, it was felt to be a 
hollow truce. ]Mr. Mill, always severe upon 
his countrymen, attributes to them the first 
act of indirect hostility in their armed inter- 
ference at Tanjore ; but this is not just, for it 
was notorious that Dupleix was enraged by 
the peace, and made no secret of his intentions 
to drive the English out of India, to possess 
himself of the whole Carnatic,* and to found a 
French dominion in Southern India. The re- 
storation of Madras was made with the worst 
possible grace, and the French seldom met the 
English without predicting that the time was 
at hand when the governor of Pondicherry 
would rule the Deccan. The English were 
prevented from settling down into peaceful 
habits of trade by the menacing position and 
vaunting language of Dupleix. It was im- 
possible for the English, after the experience 
of the late war, to disband their native forces 
and send home their European troops, while 
the French president retained his, sedulously 
strengthened his positions, as if preparing for 
war, and while yet surrendering Madras, and 
conforming to the terms of the recent peace, 
was opening new intrigues with the native 
chiefs of the same character as those which 
led to so much conflict during so many years. 
The aim of this ambitious and mischievous 
man was the same after the peace as during 
the war : his thirst for conquest and glory 
was not slaked ; he still hoped, by the same 
means as he had already used, to achieve the end 
he had so long contemplated. The English 
determined to foster alliances, and to strengthen 
their own position. 

The first event which broke the calm pn 
the eastern shores of the peninsula after peace 
was proclaimed was an alliance with Syajeef 
or Sahujee, prince of Tanjore, on the part of 
the English. This prince had been deposed 
by his own brother, a common incident of 
Indian history. He invoked the aid of the 
English, and, in return, offered to them the 
fortress and district of Devi-C'otah, well placed 
on the banks of the Colaroone. As soon as it 
was known at Colaroone that an English expe- 

* The reader, by turniug to the geographical portion 
of this work, will find much assistance in tracing the 
course of the contending armies, an assistance without 
which any acconnt of these conquests must be scarcely 
intelligible. 

t Mill, Murray, and others call him Snbajce. 



' dition was preparing at Tanjore, Dupleix af- 
fected great horror of the ambitious projects 
of the English. They took means indirectly 
to inform him that the place they desired to 
obtain was of value for trading purposes only, 
and they were not about to wrest it from its 
legitimate sovereign, but to conquer it, as his 
ally. Dupleix pretended that it was necessary 
for him to seek a counterpoise to English 
power in another direction, in consequence of 
this movement, whereas he had secretly been 
planning the measures already, whichhe repre- 
sented as forced upon him by English ambition. 

In April, 1749, the Ptajah of Tanjore set 
out from Fort St. David's, accompanied by an 
English force consisting of four hundred and 
thirty Europeans and one thousand sepoys. 
The late war had brought this latter descrip- 
tion of force into use as an important arm of 
Indo-European armies. The artillery attending 
this brigade was only eight small pieces, four 
of which were mortars : there was, however, 
a battering-train sent by sea. The land force 
was under the command of Captain Cope.* 

After a march of ten miles, the British 
arrived before Devi-Cotah, meeting no re- 
gular force, but annoyed by a guerilla warfare 
throughout the march. This expedition was 
managed still worse than the siege of Pondi- 
cherry, in the war so lately concluded. No 
communications were kept up with the fleet, 
on board of which was the heavy ordnance, 
and although only four miles distant, the army 
was ignorant of its position. Several shells 
were thrown at the town from a distance which 
rendered them harmless. The besiegers re- 
treated, and returned to St. David's after as boot- 
less an expedition as ever an army undertook. 

The shame of this affair so affected the 
restored English government of Madras, that 
they determined upon another expedition, 
which was sent under Major Lawrence by 
sea. Admiral Boscawen commanding the 
flotilla. Mr. Mill thus noticed the motives 
and feelings prevailing at Madras, in ordering 
the new attempt upon the coveted prize : — 
"They exaggerated the value of Devi-Cotah; 
situated in the most fertile spot on the coast 
of Coromandel ; and standing on the river 
Colaroone, the channel of which, within the 
bar, was capable of receiving ships of the 
largest burden, while there was not a port 
from Masulipatam to Cape Comorin, which 
could receive one of three hundred tons : it 

• Mill erroneously assigns it to Major Lawrence. 



20i 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE. 



[Chap. LXIX. 



was true the mouth of the river was obstructed 
by sand ; but if tliat coukl be removed, the 
possession would be invaluable." 

The troops were conducted to the place of 
debarkation, from whence the walls of the 
fortifications were battered, nntil a breach 
was made ; but the river flowed between the 
walls and the English, and the passage was 
so commanded from the walls and woods, 
that unless a large portion of the force could 
be pushed over at once, the hope of success 
was small. There were, however, no means for 
the accomplishment of such an object, and the 
second expedition was in danger of failing 
like the first, when a sliip-eari^enter, named 
Moore, devised a raft by which four hundred 
soldiers were passed over at once. When 
the raft was formed, a now difficulty pre- 
sented itself, it could not be moved across. 
Moore bravely volunteered to swim the river, 
bearing a rope which, fastened to the opposite 
side, would enable the raft to be pulled across. 
To facilitate the accomplishment of this pro- 
ject, a heavy fire was opened which com- 
pelled the enemy to retire some distance; 
the brave fellow swam the flood, and exe- 
cuted his task during the night. The troops 
crossed, the trench was mounted, and the 
place was stormed. This was, however, not 
easily performed, and through the rash con- 
duct of Clive, the future hero of India, many 
valuable lives were lost. He led the storming 
party. At the head of some Europeans, fol- 
lowed by seven hundred sepoys, he showed 
the most daring intrepidity, but advancing 
too fiercely he was separated from his men, 
who, being without orders, were thrown into 
confusion, and nearly all cut to pieces. Clive 
escaped unhurt, after passing through the 
most imminent dangers. 

Major Lawrence, whom Lord Macaulay 
describes simply as a sensible man, devoid of 
the attributes of a great soldier, acted at Devi- 
Cotah, as well as in his other enlerjirises, in 
a manner worthy of higher commendation 
from the great reviewer. He led his whole 
force across, and, with a skill in which Clive 
was at that time deficient, he carried the 
place, almost without loss. The reigning 
rajah offered to concede to the English the 
fort and the surrounding territory, if they 
would abandon the cause of his brother, in 
whose name they made war. To the dis- 
grace of the British they accepted the over- 
ture. Mill says that but for Admiral Bos- 
cawen, they wo\dd have surrendered him into 
the hands of the actual rajah. Orme, how- 
ever, gives a totally different account of the 
whole transaction. The onlyredeemingfeature 
in the affair was, that a small allowance for the 
deposed rajah was exacted by the victors. 



The eonduct of the English was such that 
while the French had no pretence to complain 
of it, both the rajahs had. The English had 
been the ally of the man against whom they 
had made war for a bribe which they coveted, 
and when they found him ready to bestow 
as much, they basely deserted the cause of 
the man on whose behalf they took up the 
enterprise. The only apology for their' con- 
duct in that part of their policy was, that his 
representation of the public feeling of the 
people of his lost dominion was false, and 
its subjugation would have involved much 
cost and loss of men. The errors, politically 
and morally, into which the English fell in 
their conduct with the rival nabobs of Tan- 
jore were not such as they had often incurred 
previously, but were peculiar to the occasion. 
They were so anxious to make a powerful 
counterpoise to the French, that honour and 
honesty were forgotten; " they stuck at no- 
thing," as a writer more expressive than 
elegant remarked. The English at first 
made mistakes in policy, chiefly from applying 
the principles of international law known and 
recognised in Europe, to people who were 
ignorant of those principles, and who could 
see no propriety or justice in their applica- 
tion when those laws were pleaded or pro- 
posed as bases of treaty, grounds of amity, 
or reasons for redress. But in the short and 
inglorious war with Tanjore, the conduct 
of the English was truly oriental, and, on the 
whole, suffered by comparison, morally, with 
the policy of the reigning rajah. A time had 
now arrived when it was very difficult for 
any European nations to conduct relations 
with the natives, on any principles regarded 
as right and necessary in Europe, although 
all made a show of doing so. " The situation 
of India was such that scarcely any aggres- 
sion could be such without a pretext in old laws 
or recent practice. All rights were in a state 
of utter uncertainty ; and the Europeans who 
took part in the disputes of the natives con- 
founded the confusion, by applying to Asiatic 
politics the public law of the west, and analo- 
gies drawn from the feudal system. If it 
were convenient to treat a nabob as an inde- 
pendent prince there was an excellent plea 
for doing so, — he was independent, in fact. 
If it were convenient to treat him as a mere 
deputy of the court of Delhi, there was no 
difficulty,— for he was so in theory. If it was 
convenient to treat his office as an hereditary 
dignity, or as a dignity held during life only, 
or as a dignity held during the pleasure of 
the great Mogul, arguments and precedents 
might be found for every one of these views. 
The party who had the heir of Baber in their 
hands, represented him as the undoubted, 



CnAP. LXIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



legitimate, the absolute sovereign, whom all 
subordinate authorities were bound to obey. 
The party against whom his name was used 
did not want plausible pretexts for maintain- 
ing that the empire was in fact dissolved, 
and that though it might be decent to treat 
the Jlogul with respect, as a venerable relic 
of an order of things which had passed away, 
it was absurd to regard him as the real master 
of Hindostan."* 

The English had begun to understand 
this state of things. AYbat Lord Macaulay 
describes as the views of Dupleix may be said 
of his rivals and enemies at this time, and 
explains the readiness with which in Tanjore 
the English espoused the cause of one brother 
against another in pretension to the rajahlik. 
" The most easy and convenient way in which 
an European adventurer could exercise sove- 
reignty in India, was to govern the motions, 
and to speak through the mouth, of some 
glittering puppet, dignified by the title of 
nabob or nizam.""!" When once the English 
adopted this view of Indian policy, they 
practised it with a success of which their 
Tanjore escapade gave no promise. 

In the transactions thus recorded, Clive 
w'as a very prominent actor. He liad only 
begun his military career when tidings of 
peace between England and France having 
arrived, the conflicts in India were for a time 
stopped, and Madras being restored, Clive 
retired from his temporary soldiering to 
resume his duties in " Writers' Buildings." 
He could use both sword ami pen, but the 
sword best became him. Although historians 
say little of him in connection with the siege 
of Pondicherry — as indeed the records of 
English historians are altogether meagre 
concerning that event — yet Clive greatly 
distinguished himself. His distinction ap- 
pears, however, not to have been for skill, but 
for courage. The same was the case in the 
war with the Rajah of Tanjore, for which he 
volunteered as lieutenant from his desk at 
Madras. Both before Pondicherry and in 
Tanjore, he was remarkable for the influence 
he gained over the sepoys, the excellent dis- 
cipline to wliich lie brought them, and the 
readiness witli which they followed him into 
danger, where he constantly and recklessly 
placed himself. He understood the sepoys 
better than any otlier man at that time in 
India ; lie iiad a remarkable capacity for dis- 
cerning their feelings, and a knack of winning 
their confidence; as he said afterwards, "I 
twined my laurels round the prejudices of 

^ * Critical and Ilittorical Essai/s ; contributed to the 
'Edinburyh Heoiew. By Thomas Babington JIacaulay. 
Essay on Clive. 
t Ibid. 
VOL, II. 



the natives." It does not appear that he had 
analyzed the springs of those prejudices, or 
penetrated the philosophy of the native re- 
ligions ; but as conscience did not prevent 
him accommodating himself to their super- 
stitions, there was no barrier between him and 
them, such as usually exists where an officer 
is scrupulous in religious matters. A friend 
of his, named Hallyburton, who probably set 
Clive the example of disciplining the natives, 
and who possessed great talent as a regi- 
mental officer, was shot dead by one of his 
own sepoys, to whose prejudices he had given 
unconscious offence. This produced a deep 
impression on the sensitive heart of Clive, and 
seems to have impressed him with the neces- 
sity of going any and every length with the 
peculiarities of the native mind. It was 
Clive's policy from the beginning to put 
much confidence in such native officers as 
appeared to him to possess military talents, 
and through them he exercised more influence 
over the natives than by direct intercourse 
with them. All, however, whether officers 
or soldiers, adored him for his heroism, and 
they conceived at once a pride in following 
a leader who always chose the path of peril, 
and assumed the most imminently dangerous 
position for himself. After the short war 
with Tanjore, Clive again returned to his 
desk, and probably would have remained in 
pursuit of commerce, notwithstanding his 
military taste and his recent daring exploits, if 
new events had not called him again to arms. 
Lord Macaulay at once describes the con- 
dition at this time of the man, and the empire 
whose fortunes he was destined to influence 
so signally, in a single paragraph : — " While 
he was wavering between a military and a 
commercial life, events took place which 
decided his choice. The politics of England 
attained a new aspect. There was peace 
between the English and French crowns ; but 
there arose between the English and French 
companies trading to the East a war most 
eventful and important, a war in which the 
prize was nothing less than the magnificent 
inheritance of the house of Tamerlane." 

It is true that the ensuing war was in iii 
ultimate results for the possession of all those 
regions over which Tamerlane once rode 
upon the tide of conquest ; but the immediate 
conflict was for ascendancy only in a single 
province of the many territories which made 
up the mighty empire of the sovereigns of 
Hindostan. His lordship is virtually correct 
in describing the war as between the two 
European companies, although in fact, Du- 
pleix, in spite of his company, or by misre- 
presentations designedly made, so far as he 
had their consent, strode over the laud in the 

E E 



206 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXIX. 



love of conquest, with the morbid doaire 
for military glory peculiar to a Frenchman, 
and with all the animosity prevalent in those 
days in the minds of the French towards 
England. 

The unfortunate expedition of the English 
to Tanjore strengthened the influence of 
Dupleix with the native princes, and enabled 
him, with some show of reason, to assure the 
French company that the English were bent 
upon aggrandizement, in order to counteract 
which it was necessary for him to make 
extensive native alliances, to weaken the 
power and influence of native rulers friendly 
to the English, and, should occasion arise, to 
assert the supremacy of the French nation by 
arms. The French company were appre- 
hensive of the policy of Dupleix and the 
power of England. They desired to enrich 
themselves by trade, and by territorial re- 
sources, acquired gradually and as peacefully 
as possible. They wished by trick and treaty 
to get hold of the lands which lay nearest to 
their factories, but dreaded warlike expenses, 
and protested that above all cares committed 
to Dupleix, stood the responsibility of break- 
ing peace with the powerful English. The 
government of Prance sympathised with the 
company, with which (as was shown in a pre- 
vious chapter) it was identified in a manner 
more closely than the English, or any other 
European government, was with the Eastern 
trading company which they respectively 
supported. The French king knew that 
however slow to arm the English wore as a 
nation, they were still slower in laying down 
their arms when once taken up in war; and 
his majesty, through the company, enforced a 
policy of peace with the English, but gradual 
and safe encroachment upon the natives. 
Dupleix, however, continued in a subtle and 
ingenious manner to turn all his instructions 
from home to his own purposes, and while 
affecting to be very amenable to his govern- 
ment and the French company, to act inde- 
pendently, and carry on step by step his 
projects for ousting the English, and becoming 
lord of Southern India. 

The time at length arrived for the new era 
of conflict, and, for the English, of strangely 
mingled reverses and victories, until their 
chequered fortunes assumed the character of 
a great and deeply interesting romance, made 
actual by the interposition of all-powerful 
destinies. Lord Macaulay describes the oc- 
casion of the approaching struggles, and the 
policy which availed itself of such occasion, 
in the following manner: — "In the year 1748 
died one of the most powerful of the new 
masters of India, Nizam-ool-Moolk, viceroy of ' 
the Deccan. His authority descended to his 



son, Nazir Jung. Of the provinces subject to 
this high functionary, the Carnatic was the 
richest and the most extensive. It was go- 
verned by an ancient nabob, whose name the 
English corrupted into Anaverdy Khan. 
But there were pretenders to the government 
both of the viceroyalty and of the subordinate 
province. Mirzapha Jung, grandson of 
Nizam-ool-Moolk, appeared as the competitor 
of Nazir Jung ; Chunda Sahib, son-in-law of a 
former nabob of the Carnatic, disputed the 
title of Anaverdy Khan. In the unsettled 
state of law in India, it was easy for both 
Mirzapha Jung and Chunda Sahib to make 
out a claim of right. In a society altogether 
disorganized, they had no difficulty in finding 
greedy adventurers to follow their standards. 
They united their interests, invaded the Car- 
natic, and applied for assistance to the French, 
whose fame had been raised by their success 
against the English in their recent war on the 
coast of Coromandel. Nothing could have 
happened more pleasing to the subtle and 
ambitious Dnjileix. To make a nabob of the 
Carnatic, to make a viceroy of the Deccan, 
and to rule under their names the whole of 
Southern India, this was indeed an attractive 
prospect. He allied himself with the pre- 
tenders, and sent four hundred French sol- 
diers, and two thousand sepoys* di8cij)liued 
after the European fashion, to the assistance 
of the confederates. A battle was fought ; 
the French distinguished themselves greatly. 
Anaverdy Khan was defeated and slain. His 
son, Mohammed Ali, who was afterwards 
well known in England as the nabob of Arcot, 
and who owes to the eloquence of Burke a 
most unenviable immortality, fled with a 
scanty remnant of his army to Trichinopoly, 
and the conquerors became at once masters 
of almost every part of the Carnatic." 

It is not necessary in this history to trace 
the conflicts which followed. The fortunes 
of the various native princes concerned 
changed rapidly as the scenes in a diorama, 
but amidst all these changes the genius of 
Dupleix triumphed, and wherever the French 
fought they maintained the reputation for 
gallantry which thgir nation had acquired 
throughout the world. In the various tests 
to which their bravery was put, their officers 
did not particularly distinguish themselves, 
and their chief leaders were sometimes incom- 
petent. Dupleix himself avoided all exposure 
to danger, alleging that the smoke and noise 
of battle were unfavourable to his political 

* This is an exaggeration of the number of sepoys by 
several hundreds, liut there was a Caffrc force which had 
landed at Poudicherry attached to the expedition, which 
brought the number of black troops up to one thousand 
nine hundred. 



Chap. LXIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



20T 



epecialations. He, however, provided scope 
for the courage of his countrymen, if not 
ambitious of displaying his own. 

Nazir Jung was slain by a chief who had, 
with his followers, betrayed their ruler. The 
Deccan fell into the hands of Mirzapha Jung. 
The conquerors entered Pondicherry in tri- 
umph. They were received with demonstra- 
tions of joy and honour tmbounded. Not 
only did the cannon thunder their welcome 
as became such scenes and such victories, but 
the sacred name of religion and of its Atithor 
were invoked as sanctioning the intrigue and 
cruelty by which the results were brought 
about ; public thanksgivings were observed 
in the churches, and even the Portugiiese 
could not celebrate a Te Deum after some 
sanguinary atrocity more heartily than the 
French of Pondicherry did on this great oc- 
casion. It was in the capital of French India 
that the new nizam was installed in his grand 
office of viceroy or soubahdar of the Deccan, 
a circumstance not only flattering to the vanity 
of Dupleix, but calculated to cement his power 
and increase the prestige of France. In the 
public procession, Dupleix sat in the same 
palanquin with the soubahdar, and took pre- 
cedence of all the nabobs, rajahs, and petty 
princes who came in the train of the great 
viceroy. The French governor was declared 
governor of southern India, from Cape Co- 
morin to the Kistna river, and was appointed 
to the command of seven thousand cavalry, 
one of* the highest honours conferred by a 
native prince. The French mint was pro- 
claimed as exclusively authorised to coin 
money for circulation in the Carnatic. Dn- 
pleix amassed riches. The money and jewels 
which he received as presents, were estimated 
at more than a quarter of a million sterling 
in value. The revenues he derived person- 
ally could not be computed, as there were 
few sources of revenue open to the viceroy in 
which he had not some part. 

The nizam's death, which occurred soon 
after his elevation, afforded an opportunity to 
Dupleix still further to enhance his authority, 
hy nominating another prince to the viceregal 
throne. The influence of the European ad- 
venturer became boundless, and he used his 
influence arbitrarily, arrogantly, and harshly. 
Some of his acts were unnecessarily and wan- 
tonly vain-glorions,others were politic although 
boastful. Amongst the most signal displays 
of his power and love of glory, was the erec- 
tion of a pillar where he had effected the tri- 
umph of Mirzapha over Nazir Jung. The 
four sides of this column bore, in four different 
languages, an inscription proclaiming his tri- 
umph. Around the spot where this monument 
of his achievements stood, a considerable town 



was built, to which he gave the name of 
Dupleix Fatehabad, which means " the town 
of Dupleix's victory." 

The English sent a few troops under Major 
Lawrence to thwart or check the progress of 
the French, but ostensibly to resist the in- 
vaders of the legitimate viceroy and nabob, 
whom they continued to recognise. It was 
one of the chief modes of displaying hostility 
on the part of the two rival European powers 
to take opposite sides in all dispiited succes- 
sions, and as there was nearly always a dis- 
puted succession somewhere in the neigh- 
bourhood of their settlements, there was of 
consequence a perpetual contravention by 
intrigue, or military succour supplied to the 
native parties in contention. Major Lawrence 
was so disgusted with his allies that he aban- 
doned them as impracticable ; the French 
more than once were obliged to leave their 
friends on the same grounds, but the pertina- 
cious and untiring policy of Dupleix, together 
with his tact and tinesse, enabled him to re- 
store amity between his soldiers and their 
allies. The retirement for a time from India of 
the brave and indefatigable Major Lawrence 
facilitated the designs of Dupleix, and ren- 
dered his military ascendancy more complete ; 
for Lawrence was the only man in India ca- 
pable of assuming a large command, although 
he was indifferently supported, and poorly re- 
warded both by the authorities in Madras and 
London. Clivc had not gathered military 
experience, but in him was genius adequate 
to the great task of retrieving all that was 
lost, and asserting for his country a power 
and influence in India which the wildest 
dreams of her most imaginative sons never 
conceived. 

The desperate affairs of Mohammed Ali at 
last demanded some efforts on the part of the 
English different from the feeble demonstra- 
tions they had previously made. Although 
nabob of the Carnatic, his own patrimonial 
territory was small, and Trichinopoly, its chief 
stronghold, was in daily danger of falling 
before the siege of the rival nabob, and the 
French. Upon the districts of Taiijore and 
Trichinopoly both competitors had fixed their 
attention as the centres of their respective 
influences and claims of authority and power. 
The accounts given by writers on Indian 
affairs of the pretensions and rights of the 
competing nabobs, are very contradictory. 
Mill professes to rest his account upon Orme, 
but his statements of Orme's opinions do not 
agree with that writers own representations 
of the views he held ; and it is scarcely of 
sufficient importance to the general English 
reader to analyze the evidence of the com- 
parative claims of Mohammed Ali, and Chunda 



208 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[CuAr. LXIX. 



Saliib, and of the right of either to be inde- 
pendent of the ^[ogu], even if it were prac- 
ticable to unravel so intricate a skein of 
treachery and intrigue. Dr. Wilson says : — 
" The Hindoo princes of Tanjore and Trichi- 
nopoly had never been subdued by the Slogul, 
and although at times compelled to purchase 
the forbearance of the Mohammedan states of 
Bejaporc or Golconda, they had preserved 
their independence from a remote date. The 
expulsion of their native princes was owing to 
domestic dissensions, which transferred Tan- 
jore to a Mahratta ruler, and gave Trichino- 
poly to a Mohammedan. The latter was a 
relic of the Hindoo kingdom of Madura, and 
according to original authorities, Chunda Sahib 
obtained possession of it, not under the cir- 
cumstances described by the European writers, 
who were avowedly ill-informed of the real 
merits of the case, but by an act of treachery 
to his ally Minakshi Amman, the reigning 
queen, whose adopted son he had zealously 
defended against a competitor for the princi- 
pality — grateful for his support, and confiding 
in his friendship, the queen gave him free 
access to the citadel, and he abused her con- 
fidence by making himself treacherously mas- 
ter of the fortress."* 

To reduce Tricliinopoly was now the work 
of Chunda Sahib, and the prince offered to 
resign on terms to the French. The English 
interposed and insisted that, instead of this 
arrangement, Chunda Sahib should be recog- 
nised as nabob of the Carnatic, Mohammed 
All retaining Trichinopoly. The French 
answered with insolent contempt; and the 
tardy English, w'hose minds seemed full of 
confusion at the magnitude of the events 
passing around them, made some determina- 
tion to resist. The allied army of Chunda 
Sahib and the French advanced to Arcot, 
contrary to the advice of Dupleix, who re- 
commended the nabob to march upon Trichi- 
nopoly itself, while yet the hesitating English 
were dubious what course to pursue. An 
English force, under Captain Gingens, left 
Fort St. David to intercept, or at all events 
harass, the enemy. The sahib had encamped 
his forces on the great road between Trichi- 
nopoly and Arcot, when the English came up 
witli him, and made dispositions for battle. 
The chief force of the British was sepoys, and 
there was also a body of Caffres, deserters 
from the French, and from the Dutch, who 
also had employed this description of soldiers. 
Some of these were natives of Mauritius, 
others of Madagascar, and various other blacks, 
rot natives of India, were comprised under 
the general designation. The English com- 

* "Historical Sketch of tlie Kingdom of Pandya:" 
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. iii. p. 199. 



ni.ander called a council of war, in which an 
action was opposed by some ; those who were 
for attacking the enemy differed widely in 
their opinions as to how the attack should be 
carried out. The time consumed in dispute, 
and the anxious manner of the English officers, 
dispirited the troops, particularly their own 
countrymen, who went into action witliout 
that manifestation of daring spirit character- 
istic of Englishmen. The battle being begun 
the enemy replied with a spirited fire, and 
advanced to meet their assailants boldly. The 
native troops and Caffres in English pay fought 
well ; but the English soldiers turned and fled, 
leaving their native allies to do battle alone. 
No attempts to rally the English were success- 
ful, not even the derision of sepoys and Caffres 
could move them to return to their duty, and 
the battle was lost. The exultation of the 
enemy was accompanied by tokens of supreme 
contempt for the beaten English ; their sable 
comrades were equally ])ronipt to upbraid 
them with their cowardice. It is but just to 
the English nation to saj- that only a few of 
the Europeans in the detachment were British : 
they consisted, for the most part, of Germans, 
Swiss, and Dutch, Freucli and Portuguese 
deserters ; all these, except, perhaps, the 
Dutch, were in awe of the French, whose 
reputation for discipline and military science, 
togetlier with the late splendid victories of 
tliemselves and their allies, had spread an 
impression amongst all nations in India, save 
oidy a portion of the English, that they were 
invincible. The British retreated, and took 
post on the high road near Utatoa, but again 
fled upon the approach of the enemy. Once 
more the English drew up in order of battle 
at Pechoonda, but a third time fled before the 
foe, and, as from the previous encampment, 
without firing a shot. The conduct of the 
European portion of the British was thoroughly 
dastardly, and the officers were without in- 
fluence or authority who commanded that 
portion of the troops. Most of the officers 
newly arrived from England proved worthless. 
The officers of the company's forces were in- 
ferior to those of the royal army as men of 
intelligence ; their manners entitled but few 
of them to be received as gentlemen by their 
companions in arms in the royal forces : but 
they were more adventurous, and were better 
fitted for Indian cam])aigning every way. 
General intelligence, with commanders at that 
time, when opposed to native armies, was not 
important; knowledge of native character, 
especially in war, aptness to take advantage of 
every turn on the field with rapidity, con- 
tempt for mere numerical superiority, and, 
above all, promptitude in an enemy's presence, 
were the essential qualities, which the com- 



Chap. LXIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



209 



pany's officers possessed in a mucli greater 
degree tlian their comrades of the royal forces. 

Having thus abandoned the country to their 
pursuers, the fugitive Britisli found themselves 
in comparative safety under the walls of 
Trichinopoly. Chunda Sahib and his Eu- 
Topean coadjutors pursued, but not with sxif- 
ficient rapidity. Chunda was too leisurely in 
his military movements, being fonder of the 
pomp of war than of its action. On his arrival, 
lie withdrew from the side of the town where 
the company's forces were encamped, and in 
the opposite direction laid siege to the place. 
There is no ascertaining the strength of this 
army. Dnpleix, after his return to France, 
described the native array alone as thirty 
thousand men. M. Law, by whom the French 
were commanded, stated, in his work entitled 
Plainte de Chevalier Law, contre Sieur 
Vupleix, that at no time did the entire force 
before Trichinopoly exceed eleven thousand 
eight hundred and sixt}^ of whom only six 
hundred were Europeans, and that, when 
afterwards a detachment was sent from that 
army to relieve Arcot, only six thousand six 
hundred and eighty men remained to conduct 
the siege. Mill says he is much more inclined 
to believe Law, as Dnpleix was " one of the 
most audacious contemners of truth that ever 
engaged in crooked politics." At all events, 
the siege was so feebly conducted that, had 
the English beneath its walls shown the least 
enterprise and courage, the enemy could not 
have maintained it for many days. M. Law, 
in his vindication of himself, declared that he 
had no means to conduct the siege, no batter- 
ing guns, no heavy cannon fit for guns of 
position, and that he hadbeen three months be- 
fore the place before any material of war suit- 
able to his position reached him. If these 
statements be correct, they add much lustre 
to the honour, ability, and valour of the few 
Frenchmen who kept the power of Mohammed 
Ali at bay, and compelled the English to re- 
main crouching under the city walls. M. 
Law threw the blame of the delay in making 
a capture of the place to the intrigues of 
Dnpleix, who liad entered into correspondence 
witli Mohammed Ali, and secured his assent to 
deliver up the city, so that he (M. Law) was 
sent, not to besiege, but to receive it ; Dupleix 
relying rather upon the dexterity and pro- 
foundness of his own schemes than upon the 
chivalry and skill of his soldiers. 

During the delay and incompetency of the 
French, tlie English officers were actively en- 
gaged in quarrelling with one another as to 
tlie respectability of themselves personally, and 
ol the royal and the company's armies com- 
paratively. As commanders of men they vrere 
paltry and powerless ; they had not even that 



quality in which Englishmen arc so seldom 
deficient, and which soldiers express by the 
the rough word " pluck." It was not only in 
that branch of the English army in India that 
such a spirit prevailed : Major Lawrence had 
found it an insuperable obstacle to his own 
efficient command, and declared that the 
British officers were objects of siipreme con- 
tempt to their native allies. At Madras, St. 
David's, and elsewhere, the state of things 
was the same. The figliting qualities of the 
English were dormant, because the officers 
sent from home were not chosen for their 
military qualities, but for reasons pertaining 
to party, or to family interest. The necessity 
of taking and of defending the besieged city 
became, at last, obvious to both armies, for its 
situation gave it a relative importance to the 
war which could not be overlooked long even 
by the incompetent persons then holding 
power in the English interest in that part of 
India. Mr. Mill describes it thus: — "The 
city of Trichinopoly, at the distance of about 
ninety miles from the sea, is situated on the 
south side of the great river Cavery, about 
half a mile from its bank ; and, for an Indian 
city, was fortified with extraordinary strength. 
About five miles higher up than Trichinopoly, 
the Cavery divides itself into two branches, 
which, after separating to the distance of 
about two miles, again approached, and being 
only prevented from uniting, about fifteen 
miles below Trichinopoly, by a narrow mound, 
they form a peninsula, which goes by the name 
of Seringham ; celebrated as containing one 
of the most remarkable edifices, and one of the 
most venerable pagodas, in India ; and hence- 
forward remarkable for the struggle, consti- 
tuting an era in the history of India, of which 
it was now to be the scene." 

During these events, Clive was once more 
active, and in a manner calculated to give him 
that experience which he required. When 
the troops were sent out to intercept or annoy 
the sahib, Clive, then twenty -five years of 
age, was appointed to an office partaking both 
of the civil and military : he was made com- 
missary of the forces, with the rank of captain. 
He was witness of the shameful flight of his 
countrymen at Volcondal, but was not in a 
position to do anything to retrieve tliat disaster. 
He brought up, from time to time, the rein- 
forcements, contributed something to their dis- 
cipline, became thoroughly acquainted with 
the country whence he drew supplies for the 
forces, obtained useful information for the 
authorities at St. David's and I\Iadras, was 
brought more into connection with them, so 
as to gain their confidence and learn their 
peculiarities. He was thus made acquainted 
with the arts of provisioning an army, and 



210 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXIX. 



also with the mode of organizing resources, 
which task, to a considerable extent, devolved 
upon him. By his frequent and intimate con- 
verse or correspondence with all the author- 
ities, military as well as civil, concerned, he 
was able to penetrate the weak points of 
British policy and arrangement, and to discern 
who wore the weak men by whom vigorous 
measures were impeded or marred. In a short 
time, he gained such experience as enabled 
him to request, to obtain, and, with reasonable 
grounds of confidence, to undertake, the re- 
sponsibility of a separate command, and to 
verify the high opinion always expressed of him 
by the noble-minded and valiant Lawrence. 

According to Mill, the idea of relieving 
Trinchinopoly by a diversion originated with 
the authorities at Fort St. David or Madras. 
Sir J. Malcolm, with more probability, attri- 
butes the idea to Clive ; and Lord Macaulay 
endorses that view. Clive, according to these 
authorities, pressed upon the attention of hi-s 
superiors the danger to which Trichinopoly 
was exposed, and the consequences that would 
ensue upon its fall, and requested to be allowed 
the command of a detachment, by which, 
threatening Arcot, he might compel the allies 
to raise the siege of the endangered city. This 
request was complied with, and, from that 
moment, the tide of fortune turned, and made 
1751-2 years to be ever memorable in Indian 
history. 

The advance of Clive upon Arcot, and its 
capture, is one of those stories in history which 
is related nearly in the same way by all his- 
torians. Every writer, whether fragmentary 
or voluminous, repeats the preceding narrator 
of this transaction. The most condensed and, 
at the same time, graphic account is that of 
Dr. Taylor, although partly copying Mill 
verhatim et literatim : — " His force consisted 
of two hundred Europeans and three hundred 
sepoys, commanded imder him by eight offi- 
cers, six of whom had never been in action. 
His artillery amounted only to three field 
pieces, but two eighteen pounders were sent 
after him. On the 31st of August, 1751, he 
arrived within ten miles of Arcot ; it was the 
day of a fearful storm ; thunder, lightning, and 
rain more terrific than is usual, even in India, 
seemed to render farther advance imprac- 
ticable; but Clive, aware of the impression 
such hardihood would produce on oriental 
minds, pushed forward in spite of the elemental 
strife. Daunted by his boldness, the garrison 
abandoned both the town and citadel, the 
latter of which Clive immediately occupied, 
giving orders that private property should be 
respected. As a siege was soon to be ex- 
pected, he exerted his utmost diligence to 
supply the fort, and made frequent sallies to 



prevent the fugitive garrison, who hovered 
round, from resuming their courage." 

Mr. Mill describes the result in the following 
words : — " In the meantime Chunda Sahib 
detached four thousand men from his army at 
Trichinopoly, which were joined by his son 
with one hundred and fifty Europeans from 
Pondicherry ; and, together with the troops 
already collected in the neighbourhood, to the 
number of three thousand, entered the city. 
Clive immediately resolved upon a violent 
attempt to dislodge them. Going out with 
almost the whole of the garrison, he with his 
artillery forced the enemy to leave the streets 
in wliich they had posted themselves ; but 
filling the houses they fired upon his men, and 
obliged him to withdraw to the fort. In 
warring against the people of Hindostan, a 
few men so often gain unaccountable victories 
over a host, that on a disproportion of num- 
bers solely no enterprise can be safely con- 
demned as rash; in. this, however, Clive ran 
the greatest risk, with but a feeble prospect 
of success. He lost fifteen of his Europeans, 
and among them a lieutenant ; and his only 
artillery officer, with sixteen other men, was 
disabled. Next day the enemy was reinforced 
with two thousand men from Vellore. The 
fort was more than a mile in circumference ; 
the walls in many places ruinous; the towers 
inconvenient and decayed ; and everything 
unfavourable to defence ; yet Clive found the 
means of making an effectual resistance. When 
the enemy attempted to storm at two breaches, 
one of fifty and one of ninety feet, he repulsed 
them witii but eighty Europeans and one 
hundred and twenty sepoys fit for duty ; so 
effectually did he avail himself of his feeble 
resources, and to such a pitch of fortitude had 
he exalted the spirit of those under his com- 
mand. During the following night the enemy 
abandoned the town with precipitation, after 
they had maintained the siege for fifty days. 
A reinforcement from Madras joined him on 
the following day ; and, leaving a small garrison 
in Arcot, he set out to pursue the enemy. 
With the assistance of a small body of Mah- 
rattas, who joined him in hopes of plunder, he 
gave the enemy, now greatly reduced by the 
dropping away of the auxiliaries, a defeat at 
Arni, and recovered Congeveram, into which 
the French had thrown a garrison, and where 
they had behaved with barbarity to some 
English prisoners ; among the rest two wounded 
officers, whom they seized returning from Arcot 
to Madras, and threatened to expose on the 
rampart, if the English should attack." 

Mill's account of the force detached from 
the sahib's armj' at Trichinopoly does not 
agree with the narrative of Monsieur Law, in 
which he professed confidence. According to 



Chap. LXIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



211 



the chevalier, five thousand two hundred and 
eighty men were withdrawn from his army 
for service at Arcot. Clive returned to Fort 
St. David at the close of the year. As soon 
as the enemy learned that he had left Arcot, 
they collected tlieir forces and marched into 
the company's territory, where they committed 
great ravages. Both Madras and Fort St. 
David had heen nearly denuded of troops, to 
enable Clive to take the field against Arcot. 
Some troops afterwards arrived in these for- 
tresses ; but they were dispatched as rein- 
forcements to Clive, so that when the enemy 
began their raid into the company's territory, 
there were no means of making head against 
them. In this emergency, Bengal supplied 
some soldiers, native and European, and Clive 
was not long in augmenting these by levies in 
his own presidency, so that by February he 
was able to go out against the invaders. The 
principal portion of the troops at Arcot made 
a junction with him, and he found himself at 
the head of a small but, in his hands, formid- 
able force. As soon as he approached the 
enemy, they broke up their camp, but intended 
to turn their retreat to account by making a 
sudden assault upon Arcot, the residuary 
garrison of which was not by any means suf- 
ficient to man its defences. 

At every period in Anglo-Indian history, 
there has been a sufficient number of sepoys and 
their officers in the English pay, corrupt or dis- 
loyal, to endanger the garrisons or enterprises 
of the British in most conjunctions of great 
danger. It was so in this instance. Twonative 
officers had agreed to open the gates to the 
enemy ; the plot was discovered, and the traitors 
seized. Accordingly, when the army of the sa- 
hib came before Arcot, not finding their signals 
answered, they concluded that they were them- 
selves betrayed by those whom they trusted. 
Little confidence existing among natives, even 
when religion, and native land, might bo 
supposed to bind them most together, it was 
a natural inference, in a war of succession, 
when the people were not much interested in 
either side, to suppose that the officers had 
made a double treason for a double profit. 
The sahib's army retired ; but Clive was then 
on his way to Arcot to prevent the step 
which the sahib contemplated, and which his 
keen mind had anticipated. The enemy, know- 
ing of his approach, prepared a surprise. 
Clive having heard of their retreat, naturally 
concluded that they would elude him ; and 
was therefore astonished when the guns of 
the saliib opened with a furious cannonade 
upon his advanced guard, in a situation afford- 
ing serious advantage to the assailants. A 
battle began, and Clive soon found that his 
opponents had mustered all their forces, and 



that the effort was one of a desperate nature, 
the hope of altering the fortunes of the war to 
the disadvantage of the English, being con- 
centrated upon that action, which continued 
all day with unremitting fury. 

Clive felt that the artillery power of the 
enemy was so great, that unless it could be 
seized, he must next day be defeated. At 
ten at night he detached a party for that pur- 
pose. The night was unusually dark. By a 
detour, the detachment came upon the rear 
of the enemy's park ; silently approaching the 
spot, no surprise being apprehended by tlie 
enemy, the infantry and artillerymen at that 
post were instantly overpowered, and either 
slain or driven away. The army of the sahib 
immediately dispersed, disheartened, and 
holding the name of Clive in terror. The 
boldness, suddenness, and judgment of the 
enterprise had invested it in native apprehen- 
sion with something of the mysterious ; and 
Clive was regarded by the lower orders as 
endowed with supernatural power. 

As soon as this event terminated, Clive was 
ordered to Madras. This step was impru- 
dent, as the enemy might have once more 
gained heart by his absence. The French 
troops were, however, recalled at the same 
moment to Pondicherry, in ignorance of 
Clive's withdrawal ; and \^ithout such a 
point dappui as the French afforded, the 
sahib could not have re-collected his de- 
moralized men. The object of the recall of 
Clive to the presidency, was to send him and 
his troops to Trichinopoly, where, from what 
had already transpired, there was really 
nothing to fear. 

The conduct of Clive was appreciated at 
Madras, and the fame of hia heroism spread 
over ail India. Still the remarks of Lord 
Macaulay are undoubtedly an exaggeration, 
when he says of the feeling at Fort St. 
George, " Clive was justly regarded as a man 
equal to any command." His lordship, however, 
conveys what is obviously true, when he ex- 
presses the opinion, " Had the entire direc- 
tion of the war been entrusted to Clive, it 
would probably have been brought to a speedy 
close. But the timidity and incapacity which 
appeared in all the movements of the Eng- 
lish, except when he was personally present, 
protracted the struggle. The Mahrattas mut- 
tered that his soldiers were of a different race 
from the British whom they had met elsewhere." 
Their opinion was certainly reasonable, and 
the circumstances which made it so were con- 
nected with the system of favouritism which, 
instead of a just and patriotic recognition of 
merit, influenced all roj'al military a])point- 
ments ; and the insolence, contempt, and 
neglect with which officers of superior merit 



212 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXIX. 



in the company's service were treated by tlie 
traders, amongst wliom there existed an en- 
vious and yet arrogant feeling towards all 
professional men. 

During these events, Clive showed not only 
the audacity of courage for which he had 
during several years received credit, but at- 
tributes of a higher order of soldiorhood were 
conspicuously displayed. lie proved himself 
to be remarkably subordinate to authority. 
Mr. Mill, and Lord Macaulay following Mr. 
Mill, represent this as surprising, seeing that 
his youth was so turbulent. Sir John Mal- 
colm and Dr. Hayman Wilson affirm that the 
subordination of his military conduct, not- 
withstanding his frequent disagreement in 
opinion with official superiors, was in harmony 
w^itli the habits of his earlier years. Sir John 
Malcolm severely criticises the expression of 
Mr. Mill ; and the learned professor of San- 
scrit at Oxford observes : — " There is nothing 
in the history of his adolescence to warrant 
the application (of the term turbulent) ; he 
seems to have been stubborn and dogged 
rather than turbulent." His ambition was 
animated by a passionate patriotism ; and his 
jealousy for the glory of his country was 
united to a policy statesmanlike and wise. 
This was exemplified in his destruction of the 
pillar of Diipleix, when, in his career of victory, 
he arrived at the place where that monument 
was erected. He felt that it was an insult to 
his country, and therefore razed it ; but he 
also judged that so long as it remained a me- 
morial of French prowess and success, it 
would influence the superstitious natives to 
respect the power of France. Not satisfied 
with destroying the proud colimm, he swept 
the city itself from the face of the earth, 
and by this decisiveness, filled the imagination 
of the Asiatic soldiers of both armies with 
ideas of his boldness, comprehensiveness, and 
invulnerability, as well as with a fatalistic no- 
tion that victory sat upon the banners of the 
English, while the day of French glcry had set. 

When Clive was ready to take the field 
against the French and Chunda Sahib, who 
still remained before Trichinopoly, Major 
Lawrence arrived from England, and, as 
senior officer, assumed the command. Law- 
rence was probably not a politician, but he 
was well acquainted with the politics of the 
Carnatic and of the whole Deccan ; he was a 
man of shrewd sense, and great penetration of 
character. Asa soldier, he was fit for high com- 
mand ; and, had he served in any army wher j 
promotion went by merit, he would not have 
ranked as a major, while he commanded, with 
ability and good service to his country, armies 
in the field. Clive was delighted at the arrival 
of Lawrence, as so few of the Englisli officers 



were competent for any portion of responsi- 
bility ; he had also a higii sense of the military 
capacity and personal excellence of the major, 
which feeling was reciprocated by the senior 
of the two gallant friends. Both were in- 
capable of jealousy, and exulted in each 
other's glory ; so that it would have been 
difficult to find two persons of great talent 
more likely to co-operate efficiently. 

While Clive was preparing his forces at 
Fort St. David's for the relief of Trichinopoly, 
the rajah sought assistance from Mysore, 
whence a large army was dispatched to bis 
aid, accompanied by a strong division of 
Mahratta mercenaries, which had already 
served with Clive in the neighbourhood of 
Arcot. According to the Chevalier Law, the 
French and allied army did not then amount 
to more than fifteen thousand ; this statement 
was confirmed by the French Company, but 
Dupleix informed the French public that it 
was nearly twice the number. Whatever its 
force, it held its position firmly in spite of 
the Mysore and Mahratta auxiliaries of Mo- 
hammed All. Such was the position of things 
when the army under Lawrence marched 
against the besiegers. Dupleix ordered Law 
to intercept this force, which was impossible, 
as that gallant man, already embarrassed by 
the impracticable orders of Dupleix, had ex- 
tended his force to keep up an effectual 
blockade, in the hope of starving the be- 
sieged; so that his lines were, to use his own 
language, " weak at all points," and only by 
his superior tactics could he deceive the My- 
sore chief as to his actual numbers and actual 
weakness. He urged Dupleix to organize the 
means at Pondicherry of intercepting Law- 
rence, assuring him of the utter incapacity of 
his exhausted force to deal with his numerous 
foes. Dupleix, arrogant and deficient in mili- 
tary science, renewed his orders, which were 
of course not obeyed, because impossible. 
The result was, that the little army of Law- 
rence arrived to the relief of the beleaguered 
city. The French removed their forces to 
the island of Seringham, against the wishes of 
Chunda Sahib, who believed whatever Du- 
pleix said as to what ought to be done in the 
circumstances. The French burned alarge por- 
tion of their baggage and munitions. Ormesays 
that stores of provisions were also thus con- 
sumed, to prevent their falling into the hands 
of the Rajah of Mysore or tlie English. The 
chevalier, who knew best, and wrote like a 
man of truth and honour, declares that he had 
no stores of provisions — that his supplies were 
small, and he was becoming apprehensive of 
extremities. 

Anxious to carry matters with his usual 
rapidity, Clive suggested to Lawrence that it 



Chap. LXIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



213 



would be desirable to place a division of his 
army at the other side of the Colaroone, bo 
that supplies to the French might be effectu- 
ally intercepted. Lawrence pointed out the 
danger of dividing his army, lest each might 
in turn be attacked and overpowered. Never- 
theless he believed that, if in dive's hands, 
the measure would be carried through, and 
he gave him command of a division of his 
army to accomplish the proposed task. Clive 
executed the commands imposed upon him, 
or rather exercised efficientlj* the discretion 
confided to him, for Lawrence allowed him to 
take his own course. The measures of Clive 
were soon proved to be necessary, for Dupleix 
dispatched D'Auteuil with a powerful force 
and large convoy for the relief of the gar- 
rison at Seringham. Clive interposed on 
D'Auteuil's line of march, who, afraid to meet 
the conqueror of Arcot, retired into a fort 
wliither Olive pursued him, capturing the fort, 
garrison, and commander, with all the provi- 
sions and munitions of war intended for Law. 
Lawrence, meantime, cannonaded Seringham 
with such judgment and effect, that the French 
greatly suffered, and, in addition, hunger be- 
gan to inflict its miseries. Chunda Sahib's 
soldiers deserted in large numbers. The 
3Iahratta legions did not like to fight against 
Clive, and went over to him in bodies. 
Chunda Sahib at last threw himself upon the 
mercy of the King of Tanjore, who had also 
become an ally of Mohammed Ali. The Tan- 
jore general gave his sacred promise of pro- 
tection, but no sooner had the sahib entered 
the camp than he was placed in irons. While he 
was thus situated, the French surrendered, 
prisoners of war, to Major Lawrence. There 
then arose disputes among the Mysorean, 
Mahratta, Tanjore, and Trichinopoly chiefs, as 
to the custody of the sahib. Major Lawrence, 
to deliver him out of their hands, proposed his 
confinement in an English fort. The rajahs 
retired to take this proposition into consider- 
ation, but the cruel King of Tanjore ordered 
the captive to be assassinated, and so settled 
the debate. Dupleix charged Major Law- 
rence with the murder, which the false- 
hearted Frenchman knew well was an act 
impossible to the brave and good man upon 
whom he sought to fix so infamous an impu- 
tation. The French East India Company 
charged Dupleix with the intention of im- 
prisoning the unfortunate nabob, and making 
himself, or causing himself to be made, by 
his influence at the court of Delhi, soubahdar, 
or viceroy of the Deccan. Dupleix, how- 
ever, was in possession of the fact, that the 
nabob intended to break faith with him as 
soon as his English and native enemies were 
mastered. Thus cruelty and deceit prevailed 
VOL. n. 



amongst all the authorities in the Deccan, and 
prepared for that breaking up and recasting 
of all the governments there, which eventually 
ensued. 

"While affairs were proving so disastrous 
to the French throughout the Carnatic, the 
industrious and crafty Dupleix was, never- 
theless, carrying on vast intrigues in another 
direction. In his plots with the various 
claimants for the viceroyalty of the Deccan, 
he acted through an agent named Bussy, 
a man almost as cunning and unscrupulous as 
himself. The Mogul refused to recognise the 
French protege for the viccroyalty, and con- 
ferred the title and authority on Gazee-ood- 
Deen, eldest son of Nizam-ool-Moolk, and the 
legitimate heir of the coveted post. The 
competitor of Gazee was Salabat Jung, 
who was in possession, and refused to sur- 
render his honours. The incursions of the 
Mahrattas so enfeebled and harassed the 
Mogul empire, that the padishaw was un- 
able to enforce what he had commanded, 
and the intrigues of Bussy were so cunning 
and so constant, that Salabat Jung held his 
honours ; while Dupleix, through his satrap 
Bussy, virtually ruled the Deccan, and in- 
directly exercised extensive influence over the 
Mogul. This great influence might have 
contented his ambition, but as the Carnatic 
was a part of the Deccan, he considered 
nothing secure until the whole of the region 
so designated was at his feet. Unfortunately 
for the peace of India, and of the English, 
the subtle genius of Dupleix found scope, 
and out of the very materials of defeat, he 
evoked renewed influence. 

When Major Lawrence had won Trichino- 
poly, he was preparing to march through the 
province, and subject all opposition before 
Mohammed Ali. lie urged that prince to 
muster hia forces and accompany him, but 
was astounded to find that Jlohammed had, 
unknown to his English ally, gained the 
alliance of Mysore b)' promising to give to 
the rajah the city of Trichinopoly, when the 
French were driven away. This promise, 
Mohammed, of course, never intended to per- 
form, but now the Mysore rajah, at the head 
of twenty thousand men, demanded its ful- 
filment. The Mahrattas, too, had been led to 
entertain ho])es that it should be given to 
them, both by the possessor, and by the 
promised possessor. They now demanded 
that the Rajah of Mysore should surrender 
his claim to them as a reward of their ser- 
vices, indemnifying himself how he could ; 
and, at the same time, they intimated to the 
actual sovereign, that the true construction of 
his promises to them was that they should 
have the city. Mohammed refused to fulfil any 

F F 



214 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXIX. 



promise, pleading that extreme necessity jus- 
tified promises which there was no intention 
of performing — a plea, the force of which liis 
tormentors felt, because it accorded witli their 
own principles, but they were not therefore 
the more ready to mitigate their demands. 
The chief of Trichinopoly at last persuaded 
tlie Mysorean chief to accept Madura, with 
the promise of receiving Trichinopoly also 
within two months. He pretended to accede, 
but went away resolved upon revenge. Major 
Lawrence advised the president of Madras to 
deliver up the city to the chief of Mysore, or 
else to seize him and the Mahratta leader 
until security was taken that they would not 
join the French. The company's represen- 
tatives did nothing, the only thing which 
appears to have lain within the scope of their 
talents. 

Dupleix was at once made acquainted with 
all these transactions, and from that hour 
resolved to make another effort to regain 
Ascendancy in the Carnatic. He opened cor- 
respondence with all the aggrieved parties, 
and had the audacity to correspond secretly 
with Mohammed Ali himself. His offers to 
them all were most alluring, and so timed 
and put in such form, as to make it their 
obvious policy to keep his secrets and pre- 
pare to betray one another when the oppor- 
tune moment for so doing should arrive. 

In consequence of his intrigues, as well as 
those set on foot directly by the disappointed 
allies of Mohammed, the standard of revolt 
was raised in various districts under the 
government of the ill-starred prince, whose 
victories were as disastrous as defeats, and 
€veu more dishonourable. Gingee was con- 
sidered a strong place, and the governor re- 
fused to render allegiance to Mohammed Ali. 
The English undertook to reduce it, and for- 
tune once more forsook their standard. The 
garrison consisted chiefly of French soldiers, 
and the English considered its capture would 
put an end to the war in Mohammed All's 
dominions. This was the opinion of the 
civilians by whom Major Lawrence and Cap- 
tain Clive were overruled. Lawrence expos- 
tulated in vain : he pointed out a really 
feasible plan of procedure ; but the heads of 
the traders at Madras and Fort St. David 
were turned with success, and they issued 
orders with a self-confident air, as if by their 
wisdom all had been accomplished, which 
only the talents and experience of Lawrence, 
and the genius of Clive, had achieved. The 
repulse of the English at Gingee was so 
signal, that the predictions of Major Law- 
rence were fulfilled. The French gained 
heart, and the feeble natives began once 
more to believe that they could conquer. 



Dupleix, although badly sustained from home, 
found means to reinforce the troops at Gingee, 
so as to enable him to operate in the field. 
He, in fact, organized another army, and sent 
them under the walls of the astonished 
English of Fort St. David. The approach 
of the French to that place was anticipated 
at Madras, and one hundred Swiss were sent 
by sea to strengthen it. These men were 
sent in open boats, contrary to the advice 
of Lawrence, whose oisinions were overruled 
by the self-confident, pragmatical, and in- 
competent council : the result was another 
painful fulfilment of Lawrence's predictions — 
the boats and troops were captured by a 
French man-of-war. Dupleix, cognizant of 
the intention of his enemies, and calculating 
upon their infatuated ignorance and conceit, 
took his measures accordingly, and with suc- 
cess. This was the first direct violation of 
the treaty of peace between the two countries. 
Hitherto the French and English onlj^ met in 
hostility as the allies, and acting under the 
ostensible orders, of contending native chiefs ; 
in capturing English boats and troops, he 
assumed to make war upon England without 
the orders or acquiescence of his government, 
which afterwards held him responsible for his 
conduct. 

Major Lawrence went forth against the new 
army, by which English territory was entered 
with hostile intent at a time of peace between 
the two nations. His force was chiefly from 
the nabob's army, consisting of a division of 
four thousand men. He had, in addition, a 
brigade consisting of four hundred Eui'opeans 
and one thousand seven hundred trained 
sepoys. The French were greatly inferior in 
numbers, but superior in quality. They had 
about the same number of regular infantry, 
and consisting of the same proportions of Eu- 
ropeans and sepoys ; but the European force 
in the Englisli service was made up chiefly of 
mercenaries. Dupleix's European infantry were 
not wholly French, but were chiefly recruits 
lately sent out, and were physically inferior to 
the Europeans in English pay ; but they felt 
that they were fighting the battles of their 
own nation, which gave them an ardour such 
as the mercenaries in the English ranks could 
not feel. The French had a rabble of native 
adherents ; but only a few were enrolled as 
soldiers. Making up for the disparity in this 
respect, the French had a fine regiment of 
cavalry, numbering five hundred men. The 
nabob's troops with the English con.sisted 
partly of cavalry, but of the worst class. 
Major Lawrence offered battle, which was not 
accepted ; but. making a feint of retreating, 
he lured on his vain-glorious enemies. The 
battle was short and decisive : the French 



€hap. LXIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



215 



were signally defeated; but the nabob's ca- 
valry would not pursue, but, instead, plun- 
dered the French camp. The energy and 
skill of Lawrence were displayed with striking 
effect in this action, and he was seconded by 
his friend and lieutenant, Clive, with his usual 
jsplendid military ability. 

As the Mysorean general hovered about 
Trichinopoly, Lawrence could not follow up, 
in the direction he wished, the victory he had 
gained, nor could he spare troops from his 
little army for separate services. The ever- 
daring and inventive Clive undertook, with 
two hundred undisciplined European recruits, 
and such natives as he could muster, to capture 
the fort of Covelong, defended by the French. 
He collected some natives, and formed of them 
two sepoy companies of one hundred men 
each; and with this small detachment repaired 
to Covelong. The European recruits were 
morally and physically inferior : the sepoys were 
wholly ignorant of the use of arms. A shot 
fired from Covelong killed one of the Europeans, 
wlien they all took to flight. Clive, with the 
utmost difficulty, succeeded in inducing them 
to return to their duty. Siege was laid to the 
fort ; but the sentinels being alarmed by a 
loud discharge of artillery, fled and hid them- 
selves : one of them was found, after diligent 
search, concealed in a well. Clive remon- 
strated, persuaded, rallied them on their 
timidity, appealed to their manhood, and, by 
his own example, roused in them the sense of 
manliness, so that they became courageous, 
well -disciplined, and ready to dare whatever 
their leader's example pointed out as due to 
honour and duty. Probably, no band of timid, 
unsoldierly men were ever made so much of 
in so short a time, or made to perform so 
much. During this time, he was ill from the 
effects of fatigue, anxiety, and the climate. 
The French garrison surrendered, and Clive oc- 
cupied it with a portion of his small force, some- 
what augmented by deserters from the French, 
and men of a similar stamp to those he com- 
manded when they first came under his plastic 
hand I Scarcely had he taken possession, when 
a French force was sent from Cliingleput, to 
succour the garrison, ignorant of its capture. 
Clive laid an ambush, and, by one volley, 
placed /tyrs-(Ze-comia< one hundred French sol- 
diers, he then charged them, killing and wound- 
ing many and capturing three hundred. The 



i rest fled panic-struck, hotly pursued by their 
prompt assailant to the gates of Chingleput. 
To this place, reputed at the time to be one 
of the strongest fortifications in India, he laid 
siege. Ilis artillery was very inadequate ; 
but he effected a breach, and was about to 
storm it, when the French commander cajji- 
tulated, on being allowed to retire with his 
men. After these events, Clive returned to 
Madras, where the incapable men who had 
thwarted him so often, regarded it as a great 
honour for him to be made the object of their 
commendations and attentions. His health 
now obliged him to seek repose, for his late 
achievements, inferior in ability and activity 
to none of his previous ones, were performed 
in weakness and suffering. He married a \iu\y 
named Maskelyne, sister to the astronomer 
royal, of scientific notoriety. Macaulay de- 
scribes her as " handsome and accomplished," 
and adds, " her husband's letters, it is said, 
contain proofs that he was devotedly attached 
to her." Very soon after they had received 
the congratulations of their friends upon their 
marriage, they embarked for England, where 
Clive arrived after au absence of ten years, 
several of which were spent with renown to 
his country and himself. He had redeemed 
her fallen military reputation in India, 
humbled the gifted Dupleix, repressed French 
power in the Deccan, saved, with his coad- 
jutor and friend, Lawrence, the Carnatic, at 
all events for the time, from becoming a French 
province, and filled India and Europe with 
the fame of his bravery and military resources. 
His departure from India was an irreparable 
loss to the English, as they were soon made 
to feel. Indeed, both before he left India and 
subsequently, wherever he or Lawrence was 
not, defeat and shame attended the English 
name from the arrival of Dupleix at Pondi- 
cherry. It is customary for writers to give 
all the glory to Clive, who knew the worth of 
Lawrence too well to accept it. When, on the 
youug hero's return, the directors of the East 
India Company offered him "a sword set with 
diamonds," he nobly refused to accept it unless 
Lawrence received one of equal or superior 
value. He regarded that fine officer as his 
teacher and benefactor ; and the latter was 
immoderately proud and fond of his pupil and 
protege. 



21G 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[CuAr. LXX. 



CHAPTER LXX. 

BRITISH CONQUEST OF THE CARNATIC— Co»«aaf(/: FROM OLIVE'S RETURN TO ENGLAND TO 

THE EXPULSION OF THE FRENCH. 



While Clive was reducing foits, getting 
warned, receiving jewelled swords at the 
India-house in London, and enjoying his 
otium cum dignitate at Manchester and Mar- 
ket Drayton, Lawrence was bravely battling 
against all odds, ill-supported by the vacil- 
lating English at forts St. David and St. 
George. Dupleix had won over certain 
Mahratta chiefs, who, with three thousand 
men, marched to reinforce his army, which 
was then about to encounter Lawrence at 
Balioor. On their way, the Mahrattas heard 
that the French were defeated, and that 
Lawrence and Clive were in the field; they 
immediately marched into the British camp, 
declaring that they would not fight against 
these two heroes, whom the gods favoured, 
but would serve under them against the dis- 
turbers of the peace of Southern India. The 
armies went into what is called in Europ'e 
winter quarters ; and Dupleix, who had no 
competitor in diplomacy, succeeded in regain- 
ing by that means all the influence of which 
the British had deprived him in the field. 
Mysoreans and Mahrattas declared open 
alliance with the French. The designs of! 
Dupleix were penetrated by !Major Lawrence, ' 
and such advice given by him as met the ; 
necessities of the occasion ; but although it ; 
belonged to his profession to judge of the , 
practical bearing of Dupleix's new alliances, | 
and the company's civil servants acknow- 
ledged his competency to pronounce an ' 
opinion, they did not in any case follow it, : 
BO as to carry out any plan of contravention [ 
to the schemes of the French director-general. 
Even the advice and commands of Lawrence 
to the officer in authority at Trichinopoly 
were not attended to, the civil officers of the 
company overruling his orders. On one oc- 
casion, Lawrence detected a jilot to assassinate 
Cajitain Dalton, the officer in command of the 
garrison at Trichinopoly, by the Mysorean 
general Nunjeragh and the Mahratta chief 
JMnrao, and upon assassinating the English 
officer, to seize the city. Lawrence ordered 
Dalton to seize them, as a conference pro])osed 
by them for their own purposes Avould afford 
opportuiiit}'. The president and council of 
Madras gave Dalton contrary orders ; the 
captain was not assassinated, but the detected 
traitors were left free to carry on all their 
treasons except the seizure of the city. Mill 
blames the morality of Lawrence's orders, and 



admits the soundness of the policy ; but it is 
obvious that Mill had not made himself ac- 
quainted with the whole case. Dr. Hayinan 
Wilson defends Lawrence in the following 
terms : — " In justice to jMajor Lawrence, it 
must be remarked that this advice was given 
only upon the detection of a plot, set on foot 
by the Mysorean general, to a.ssassinate Cap- 
tain Dalton, and surprise Trichinopoly, there 
being no open rupture yet even with Moham- 
med Ali, much less with the English. 'It 
was on the discovery of this,' says the Major, 
' that I proposed Dalton should seize on the 
]\Iaissorean and Morarow, which he might 
easily have done by a surprise, as he often 
had conferences with them ; and I must own 
I thought, in justice, it would have been right 
to have done it, but the presidency were of 
another opinion."* Never did man pursue a 
policy with moreheroicobstinaoy than Dupleix. 
Mr. Jlill places his conduct in this respect in a 
correct light, when he thus describes his con- 
dition, resources, and prospects in 1752 : — 
" Dupleix, though so eminently successful in 
adding to the number of combatants on his 
side, was reduced to the greatest extrcniity 
for pecuniary supplies. The French East 
India Company were much poorer than even 
the English ; the resources which they fur- 
nished from Europe were proportionally 
feeble ; and though perfectly willing to sliare 
with Dupleix in the hopes of conquest, when 
enjoyment was speedily promised, their im- 
patience for gain made them soon tired of the 
war ; and they were now importunately urg- 
ing Dupleix to find the means of concluding 
a peace. Under these difficulties Dupleix 
had employed his own fortune, and his own 
credit, in answering the demands of the war ; 
and, as a last resource, he now turned his 
tlioughts to jMortiz Ali, the governor of Vcl- 
lore. He held up to him tlie prospect of 
even the nabobship itself, in hopes of drawing 
from him the riches which he was reputed to 
possess. Mortiz Ali repaired to Pondicherry, 
and even advanced a considerable sum ; but 
finding that much more was expected, he 
broke off the negotiation, and retired to his 
fort. The contending parties looked forward 
with altered prospects to the next camjiaign. 
By the co-operation of the Mysoreans, and 
the junction of the Mahrattas, the latter of 
whom, from the abilities of their leader, and 
* Lawrence's Narrative, p. 39. 



CnAr. LXX.l 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



217 



tlieir long experience of European warfare, 
were no contemptible allies, the French had 
greath" the advantage in numerical force. In 
the cajiacity, however, of their officers, and in 
the quality of their European troops, they 
soon felt a remarkable inferiority. Lawrence, 
without being a man of talents, was an active 
and clear-headed soldier ; and the troops 
whom he commanded, both officers and men, 
appeared, by a happy contingency, to com- 
bine in their little body all the virtues of a 
British army. The European troops of the 
enemy, on the other hand, were the very 
refuse of the French population." Lord 
Macaulay, following Mill, and partly adopt- 
ing Dupieix's own account, which is little to 
be relied on, gives a similar picture of the 
helplessness of Dupleix, except as ho relied 
solely on his own genius. His lordship 
quotes Dupieix's own expression, that with 
the exception of Bussy he had not an officer 
on whom he could place the least reliance. 
Most of these statements are greatly exag- 
gerated, and some of them totally untrue. It 
suited the circumstances in which Dupleix 
was jilaced, when defending himself in France 
against the French Company, to declaim 
against that body for its neglect of his requi- 
sitions ; but the fact was, its supplies were 
lavisli until it became convinced tiiat he was 
squandering them in wars dangerous to 
France, and contrary to the commercial inte- 
rests of the French Company trading to the 
east. It is astonishingly strange that such 
wiiters as ]SIill and Macaulay should adopt 
the assertion of Dupleix, that he had no good 
officers I Did he not persecute the intrepid, 
politic, and gifted Labouidonnais ? Was it 
not by his own nnmilitary measures that the 
Chevalier Law, a brilliant officer, was para- 
lysed before Trichinopoly. D'Auteuil, La- 
touch, and other officers in his service, showed 
Euperior parts, but were rendered powerless 
by the complication of his own schemes, or 
the genius of Lawrence and Clive. Lawrence, 
in his own account of the transactions which 
arose out of the fertility of Duplei.x's tricks, 
describes the efforts of the French officers at 
Bahoor and Trichinopoly to keep their men 
up under heavy fire, as most gallant, skilful, 
and honourable. The men sent out to Du- 
pleix were no doubt such as he described 
them — children, thieves, and galley slaves ; 
but ho had also fine French regiments, such 
as met the armies of Europe with renown ; and 
he had large supplies of JIadagascees, who 
had been thoroughly trained in the Mauritius 
on French principles of drill and discipline, 
and well officered by gentlemen of the French 
army and navy. He had also good engineer 
officers, and artillery officers, such as the 



French military schools produced. It was 
not of their officers and French soldiers that 
Chevalier Law and other French officers com- 
plained during the discussions which occurred 
in France after the return of Dupleix, but of the 
want of military knowledge and courage of Du- 
pleix himself ; and of the impracticability, in a 
military sense, of schemes which grew out of 
Dupieix's political speculations and alliances. 

As to his resources, he had enriched both 
himself and the company's Indian exchequer, 
by his influence over the resources of Southern 
India, and by the great accessions of territory 
he acquired. When Mr. ]Mill says that the 
French company was poorer than that of 
England, he overlooks the fact,* that the 
government of France itself favoured the 
French East India Company, the resources 
of the state having been applied to the 
aggrandizement of the companv, until the 
exchequer of France was exhausted, the ex- 
travagance of the company's agents in India, 
and their love of incessant war, having been 
one of the potential causes of that exhaustion. 
The whole history of these transactions shows 
that the estimate formed of Lawrence in the 
above passage by i\Iill, and copied by JMacau- 
lay, Taylor, Slurray, and numerous others, place 
his talents below the realitj'. As to the supe- 
riority of the English officers to the French, 
there is nothing related on Mr. Mill's own 
pages to prove the assertion. There were no 
men up to the period to which the history is 
now brought, able to cope with the French 
officers, when Lawrence or Clive were absent. 
Whether in the open field or in the defence 
of fortified places, French military science 
was in the ascendant in almost every in- 
stance, except when Lawrence or Clive, or 
both, were present by their heroism and abi- 
lity to turn the tide of battle. An accurate 
and careful examination of the authentic 
documents of the time, French and English, 
will confirm the allegation that the general 
current of modern historians, following 51111, 
and more recently Macaulay, have exagge- 
rated or misstated the disadvantages of the 
French. Dupleix emerged from the temporary 
cessation of arms in l~ij2, consequent upon the 
weather, in a condition to menace the English, 
and sustain the prospect which his ambition 
and hope presented, that with proper manage- 
ment of his native allies he would humble 
the English in the Carnatic, perhaps expel 
them from Southern India, and himself reign 
supreme in the vast and magnificent domi- 
nions of the Deccan. 

In the first week of the year 17o3, the two 
armies took the field. The French were 

* .See chapters on the French Company for trading in 
the East. 



218 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXX. 



very superior in numbers, especially in ca- 
valry. Five hnndred European infantry, 
sixty European cavalry ; two thousand sepoys ; 
four thousand Malirattas, nearly all cavalry, 
commanded by Morari Rao, an able officer 
well acquainted with European modes of 
■warfare, comprised the French movable 
army, independent of the large forces before 
Trichinopoly. The English army under 
Major Lawrence was composed of seven hun- 
dred European foot -soldiers, two thousand 
sepoys, and fifteen hundred of the nabob's 
irregular cavalry, who would any time turn 
aside to plunder, however urgent the require- 
ments of honourable war. 

The French showed good generalship, facts 
Again confuting Mr. Mill's disparagement of 
their officers. They avoided a general action, 
employing their superiority of cavalry in 
cutting off convoys, so that Lawrence and his 
troops were exposed to great fatigue, and 
sometimes he was obliged to march with his 
whole army to ensure the safe arrival of a 
large convoy at its destination. This desul- 
tory war continued until the 20tli of April, 
when a letter from Captain Dalton informed 
Lawrence that he had scarcely fifteen days' 
provisions in the magazine of the city. He 
had made a certain Mohammedan chief his 
storekeeper, and, like the Turkish pashas 
during the war with Russia, so this more 
ancient specimen of Mohammedan officer and 
ruler sold the provisions for his own profit. 
Lawrence determined on marching at once to 
the relief of the place. His march was at- 
tended by many casualties. The nabob's 
troops deserted in great numbers, so did some 
of the sepoys, and even of the Europeans. 
Dnpleix's agents were busy offering better 
pay. Sickness had also made inroads upon 
his force. \Yhen he arrived at the place, 
and completed effective garrison arrangements, 
ho had so small a force remaining for field 
operations, that the prospect of carrying on 
the war with advantage, without considerable 
reinforcements, seemed very gloomy. His 
European detachment was reduced to five 
hnndred men, two thousand sepoys were at 
his disposal, and the nabob attached to these 
infantry forces a division of three thousand 
ill-paid and insubordinate horse. Scarcely 
had Lawrence arrived when French reinforce- 
ments hastened to strengthen Nunjoragh. 
These consisted of two hundred Europeans 
and five hundred sepoys. The forces were 
now relatively such that the French and 
their allies could not capture the place, and 
the English and the nabob could not raise 
the siege. From Cth of May, 1753 to the 
11th of October, 1754:, the conflict was sus- 
tained. Lawrence and his troops performing 



prodigies of valour, for which he received 
only praise, and that was scantily bestowed 
by his own countrymen in the chief settlements^ 
of India. 

The most condensed account, and at the 
same time sufficient in detail, which has ap- 
peared, of these transactions, amongst recent 
publications, is that by Hugh Murray, Esq., 
F.R.S.E. He thus describes the defence of 
Trichinopoly by Lawrence : — " The major 
was then able to open a communication witli 
the southern districts for a supply of neces- 
saries, and obtained some assistance from tho- 
Rajah of Tanjore, whose alliance, however, 
like that of all Indian princes, wavered with 
every variation of fortune. It became im- 
possible in this scarcity to supply the inha- 
bitants of so great a city as Trichinopoly, who, 
to the number of four hundred thousand in- 
habitants, were compelled to quit the place, and 
seek temporary shelter elsewhere ; and the 
immense circuit of its walls was occupied only 
by the two thousand men composing the gar- 
rison. The provisioning of this important 
fortress now became the principal object of 
contest, the entire strength of both sides being 
drawn around it ; and the French, with aa 
immensely superior force, ])laccd themselvea 
in such positions as enabled them to intercept 
completely the entrance of convoys from tlie 
south. The brave Lawrence twice attacked,^ 
and, though with very inferior numbers, drove 
them from their posts, and opened the way 
for his supplies. On no former occasion, 
indeed, had the valour of the English troops, 
and their supei'iority to those of the enemy, 
been more signally disjilayed. The garrison, 
however, had nearly, by their own supine - 
ness, forfeited the benefit of all these exertions. 
One morning at three o'clock, the guard 
having fallen asleep, the French advanced 
to the assault, applied their scaling-ladders, 
made themselves masters of a battery, and 
were advancing into tlie city, when several 
of the soldiers happening to fall into a deep 
pit, their cries alarmed their companions, 
some of whom fired their muskets. The 
assailants thus conceiving themselves to be 
discovered, made a general discharge, beat 
their drums, and advanced with shouts of 
Vive le lioi. Happily a considerable body 
of British was quartered near tho spot, who 
were immediately led on by Lieutenant Har- 
rison to such an advantageous position, and 
directed with so much judgment, that the 
foremost of the storming-party were soon cut 
down, the ladders carried off or broken, and 
all of the enemy who had entered, to the 
number of three hundred and sixty, were 
made prisoners. Thus the enterprise, at 
first so promising, caused to them a loss 



CHAr. LXX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



219 



greater than any sustained \>y their amis 
during the course of tliis memorable siege. 
Soon afterwards, however, an English detach- 
ment, being sent out to escort a convoy of 
provisions, was attacked by a corps of eigh- 
teen thousand natives and four hundred Euro- 
peans. An inexperienced officer, who had 
the command, drew up his men in small 
parties at wide intervals. Suddenly Morari 
Eao and Innis Khan, with twelve thousand 
Mysorean horse, advanced with loud shouts 
at full gallop, and charged this ill-constructed 
line. Our countrymen had scarcely time to 
fire one volley, when they found their ranks 
broken by the enemy's cavalry. Deserted 
by the sepoys, they were left, only one hun- 
dred and eighty in number, without any hope 
of escape ; upon which they determined to 
sell their lives as dearly as possible. The 
whole were either killed or taken, inclnding 
a company of grenadiers, who had acted a 
prominent part in all the late victories. 

" Amid these gallant exploits, the siege of 
Trichinopoly was protracted a year and a 
half, during which neither the French nor 
their numerous allies obtained any decisive 
advantage. Mr. Mill considers the object as 
very unworthy of such strenuous efforts ; yet 
it ought to be remembered that the company 
•were deciding on that spot the destiny of the 
Carnatic, and perhaps the very existence of 
their establishment in India. To have yielded 
in such circumstances might have realized 
the views of Dnpleix, whose boast it had been 
that he vrould reduce Madras to a fisliing- 
village." The same author thus notices other 
transactions, by which the fate of the war 
was more influenced : — " Important events 
were meantime taking place at the court of 
the Deccan, where Bussy with his followers 
were dictating or directing every movement. 
This influence indeed he seemed entitled to 
expect, both from the generosity and prudence 
of Salabat Jung, who had been raised by the 
French to his present lofty station, and by 
them alone was maintained in it against the 
Mahrattas, and Gazee-ood-Deen, whom the 
Mogul had authorised to expel him. The 
latter, however, as be was approaching with 
a prodigious army, died suddenly, not with- 
out suspicion, perhaps unjust, of having been 
poisoned by the adherents of his rival. Sala- 
bat being thus relieved from apprehension, 
the great men around him, viewing with much 
indignation the thraldom of their master to a 
handful of strangers, urged him to adopt 
measures for extricating himself from this 
humiliating situation; and at their suggestion 
he took certain steps, which were favoured 
by a temporary absence of Bnssy. The pay 
of the troops was withheld, and on plausible 



pretexts they were broken into detachments, and 
sent into different quarters. The foreigner, 
however, on his return immediately reassem- 
bled them, and his own force aided by the 
alarm of a Mahratta invasion, enabled him to 
dictate tei-ms to the soubahdar. He procured 
the discharge of the hostile ministers ; and 
taking advantage of the accumulated arrears 
demanded, and obtained as a security against 
future deficiencies, the cession of an exten- 
sive range of territorj' on the coasts of C'oro- 
mandel and Orissa, including the Northern 
Circars. This, in addition to former acquisi- 
tions, gave the French a territory six hun- 
dred miles in extent, reaching from IMedapilly 
to the Pagoda of Juggernaut, and yielding a 
revenue of £855,000." 

Thus, while a war in the Carnatic drained 
the exchequer of Pondicherry, Dupleix and 
his accomplice, Bussy, took care by their 
power at the court of the Deccan, to acquire 
territory, and receive far more than sufficient 
to compensate any such drain; while the Car- 
natic itself was, in the prospective policy of 
Dupleix, soon to belong to France, and Eng- 
land, utterly vanquished, would be compelled 
to withdraw from Madras and the shores of 
Coromandel. 

Whatever might be the difficulties which 
presented themselves around Trichinopoly, or 
elsewhere in the Carnatic, it is obvious that 
Dupleix had encouragement to persevere, and 
found the means of doing so by his negotia- 
tions in the capital of the Deccan itself. He 
had there assumed a position which rendered 
it incompatible with the continuance of French 
power to allow a rival in the fairest province 
of the government of the soubahdar, a go- 
vernment which virtually belonged to France, 
and to Dupleix as her representative. The 
interference of the English at all in the Car- 
natic was a proclamation that the influence of 
Dupleix at the court of the soubahdar was an 
usurpation. The displeasure of the French 
East India Company with Dupleix was now 
considerable, the French government hav- 
ing been importuned by that of England to 
put a stop to his career. The English go- 
vernment could no longer be deaf to the re- 
clamations of their own East India Company, 
and intimated to the French ministry that 
they could not any longer be burthened, 
directly or indirectly, with the expenses of 
war at a time of peace. A conference was 
held in London, when all parties agreed to 
place the blame of the bloodshed in India 
upon Dupleix. He seems to have found no 
advocate either in the French Company or tho 
French ministry. Mr. Mill, who can always 
see the errors and defects of his own country- 
men easier than those of their deadliest ene" 



220 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXX. 



niies, has afforded liim a posthumous defence 
which inculpates more by its dubious extenu- 
ations, than would a direct censure. The 
opinion formed of Dupleix by his countrymen 
was the correct one : he involved his country 
in a sanguinary war to gratify her love of 
glory and his own. Unwilling to take up the 
quarrel in Europe, they gave up Dui)leix, his 
conquests, and his schemes, and conceded all 
that Englantl demanded. This spirit of con- 
cession was no doubt greatly influenced by 
the fact that, during the London conferences, 
England sent out a powerful fleet to India — 
an example which France was unable to 
follow. 

Jl. Godheu was appointed to supersede 
Dupleix, and with special instructions to ter- 
minate hostilities. He arrived in Pondicherry 
on the 2nd of August, 175-i, and conducted 
negotiations in the spirit of his mission. The 
siege of Trichinopoly was raised in virtue of 
the treaty which followed, and all acts of war 
were stopped on both sides. Godheu was no 
doubt influenced by the fact which exercised 
so much weight with the French ministry — 
the transmission of a powerful fleet and large 
military reinforcements ; otherwise it is diffi- 
cult to suppose that he would surrender every- 
thing for which the French had fought, and 
concede all for which the English had appealed 
to arms. Such, however, was the result of 
his mission to Pondicherry. The French in 
India were deeply mortified at two clauses in 
the treaty, one of which recognised Mo- 
hammed AH as nabob of the Carnatic, thus 
giving to the English an ostensible triumph ; 
the other depriving the French of the vast 
teiritory lately acquired, and thus inflicting 
upon them in the eyes of the natives defeat 
in the most obvious and substantial form. 
But there was no use in mnrmuring, or resist- 
ing Godheu, for Admiral Watson had arrived 
with three line-of-battle ships, and a sloop 
of war, and nearly a thousand English sol- 
diers. Godheu had brought with him fifteen 
hundred French ; but the naval force of 
Watson, and the material of war which he 
took out, constituted a preponderating power ; 
besides, it was known that the English had 
determined, if necessary, greatly to augment 
their forces, and France was not in a condition 
at that time to maintain, either in Europe or 
the East, a naval war with England. 

When Godheu, and Saunders, the president 
of Jladras — a very commonplace man when 
compared with his F'rench competitors — had 
settled all matters thus satisfactorily to the Eng- 
lish, they returned home, leaving their nations, 
as they supposed, at perfect peace with one 
another. But these appearances were illusory ; 
the respective relations of the two nations to 



the native powers were too complex not to 
necessitate disputes by developing conflicting 
interests. Both nations had maintained so 
intricate a diplomacy that it was next to im- 
possible to retrace their steps, and stand to 
one another iti statu qiio ante helium. The 
policy of Dupleix was conceived with so much 
genius, and worked out by him and Bussy 
with so much foresight, and with the con- 
templation of so many contingencies, and con- 
secutive developments, that it irretrievably 
committed the French. They had placed 
themselves in such a position that they must 
go on in a career of conquest and intrigue, 
until the thrones of the Indian chiefs was at 
their disposal, or sink into mere traders crav- 
ing permission to traffic from petty chiefs, and 
in continual danger of losing all chance of 
mercantile success, in consequence of the 
superior trading capacity which the English 
and Dutch everywhere displaj'ed. The roots 
of French diplomacy had so spread and fas- 
tened among the courts of Southern India, 
that there they must remain, unless cut out by 
the sword. The Enghsh eventually found 
that solution of the difficulty the only one, 
and did not shrink from undertaking the la- 
borious task. 

The English found their own treaties with 
the natives so complicated that it was no easy 
matter for them to carry out thoroughly and 
heartily, as was their interest to do, their 
treaty with the French. Thus, \^hen the 
treaty was signed, the general of the Mysorean 
army before Trichinopoly, refused to recog- 
nise it, and remained before the place imtil 
events in Mysore compelled his return. One 
of the causes of that return was the appear- 
ance of a French force in aid of the soubahdar 
of the Deccan to collect tribute, which the 
Mj'Boreans refused to pay, and which the 
soubahdar would never have demanded but 
for French instigation, which was offered in 
consequence of the English affording assist- 
ance to Mohammed Ali, their old protege, for 
whom they warred so long and so well, in 
order to enable him to collect the revenues of 
Madura, an enterprise in which they con- 
quered all opposition, but could raise no 
revenue. The British entered into a money 
bargain with Mohammed, which was at once 
mean and impolitic. They agreed to enforce 
the collection of his revenues in certain rebel- 
lious districts, if he would give them half the 
sum raised. This was a bargain intended by 
the English to serve both parties ; they could 
not afford to pay and employ troops for the 
rajah's benefit. It eventually served neither 
Mohammed Ali nor his patrons. After a fruit- 
less attempt to collect the revenue, the British 
retired from the task baffled and chagrined. 



Chap. LXX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



221 



Salabat Jung and Bussy, the French agent 
at the court of the Deccan, at the head of the 
French troops marched against the Rajah of 
Jlysore, to collect tribute due by that prince, 
or alleged to be due, to the soubahdar. At the 
same time, the Mahrattas made one of their 
raids upon the territory, so that the !Mysorean 
general withdrew from the neighbourhood of 
Trichinopoly to defend his master's lands. 
The rajah feared the Mahrattas, and therefore 
pretended submission to the viceroy. The 
English now displayed tlieir triumph by in- 
vesting their protege with the insignia of his 
office as Nabob of the Carnatic, at his capital 
of Arcot. The efforts made by ihe British to 
gain the submission of the zemindars and 
polygars, so that Mohammed might receive 
his revenues, offended the French : they re- 
presented that the employment of English 
troops to interfere in the internal affairs of the 
Carnatic was in violation of the recent treaty. 
The real ground of annoyance with the French 
was the prospect of the nabob having a re- 
venue, and being thereby enabled to defend 
himself. The governor of Vellore refused to 
recognise the nabob's authority, at all events, 
so far as revenue w-as concerned ; and the de- 
termination of the English to enforce that 
authoritj' was pleaded by the French as a 
ground for military interference in the refrac- 
tory governor's behalf. The English, intimi- 
dated by this demonstration and tlie strength 
of Vellore, withdrew their troops. Other chiefs 
in his neighbourhood followed tlie example 
of the ruler of Vellore, and the whole of that 
part of the Carnatic became disturbed, and con- 
tinued so for years. Madura itself was suddenly 
seized by one of the boldest of the khans, and 
held in defiance of the British. The French 
were solicitous to interfere more decidedly by 
arms, but the intrigues at the court of the 
Deccnn kept them busy : they, however, per- 
petually incited the petty chiefs and district 
governors to revolt, being as determined as 
ever to prevent Mohammed Ali from obtaining 
the rule of the Carnatic, while they con- 
strued every attempt of the English to esta- 
blish that rule (the treaty with the French 
having fully recognised it) into covert war 
against France. Nothing could be more evi- 
dent at the close of 1755, than that tlie war 
between the French and English must be 
fought over again so far as the Carnatic was 
concerned, and that nothing but the entire 
prostration of the power of one or the other 
could ensure quiet. 

The French, for a time, lost influence at the 
court of the Deccan, and negotiations were 
opened with the English at Madras to send 
troops to protect the capital, Bussy and his 
French soldiers being at the same time dis- 

VOL. II. 



missed. The English were at this juncture 
occupied in Bengal iu a life or death struggle, 
and could not make the tempting offer avail- 
able. The prime-minister of the soubahdar 
caused the retiring forces of the French to be 
treacherously waylaid and attacked ; but Bussy 
behaved with such intrepidity and skill, that 
he resisted all assaults until succours ar- 
rived. The soubahdar sued for jjeace, w-hicli 
was granted at the still further expense of his 
independence, and Bussy became more po- 
tential than ever. The breaking out of war 
in Bengal caused both parties to send troops 
in that direction ; but the English, still per- 
sistently resolved to effect the complete sub- 
jugation of Mohammed All's dominions, and 
war having broken out in Europe between 
England and Franco, sent a large force to Ma- 
dura, in the spring of 1757. There Captain Cal- 
liaud showed skill and heroism ; but lie had no 
battering guns, the place was strong, and before 
guns arrived, the French marched to Trichi- 
nopoly once more, before which they encamped 
on the 14th of May. The garrison was small, 
and, besides defending the place, had five 
hundred French prisoners to guard. Calliaud, 
active and intelligent, was soon apprised of 
the danger, and, on the 26th, arrived within 
nineteen miles of the beleaguered city. For 
miles his force watched every movement, for 
the French had denuded all their garrisons, even 
Pondicherry, in the hope of surprising Tri- 
chinopoh'. The French had guarded every 
approach to the city. A plain of seven miles 
in extent, being an area of rice fields, was 
deemed impassable, and not guarded. Calliaud 
advanced towards the city, and made such de- 
monstrations as an officer would have made 
in order to force one of the strongly-guarded 
posts ; but at night he turned aside, ap- 
proached the rice swamp, boldly entered it, 
and brought his tired soldiers safely through, 
effecting an entrance by daylight into the city. 
So much was the French general dispirited by 
this skilful and enterprising movement, that, 
according to Orme, he the next day retreated 
to Pondicherry. 

Other detachments of the French harassed 
the country, and burned defenceless towns. 
The English took reprisals, and sought every 
opportunity to engage the French in the open 
field, who, although far the more numerous, 
declined battle, and maintained a sort of par- 
tizan warfare. The English were well liandled 
in the field ; but their officers were allowed 
little discretion by the factors at Madras, and 
the troops were harassed by orders and 
counter orders, as the stupidity or fear of 
the civilians at the presidency dictated. 

The year 1767 was one of great activity 
on the part of the Mahrattas, who demanded 

a G 



222 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXX. 



"chout" (tribute) from the Carnatic, and 
threatened Arcot, so that the nabob had to 
send his family to Madras for safety. The 
terrified nabob agreed to pay the chout, and 
expected the English to find the money out of 
the unpaid revenues of his own dominions, if 
they could ; but, at all events, ho looked to 
them for the means of redeeming himself from 
a Mahratta invasion. The English, having 
no adequate force to bring against the wild 
horsemen, and unwilling to loss the Carnatic 
— to the revenues of which, or their share of 
them, they attributed great prospective value 
—agreed to pay the stipulated rupees. Tlie 
brave Calliaud, relieved from the presence of 
the French at Trichinopoly, again sought to 
reduce the refractory polygars of Madura and 
Tinnevelly. He besieged Madura, but found 
it easier to buy his way in, than force his way 
through the breach. This seems, so far as 
native spirit was concerned, to have quelled 
revolt in these districts. 

The French were now expecting a grand 
fleet and vast resources of men and arms from 
Prance. On the 8th of September, twelve 
ships arrived at Pondicherry, landed one 
thousand men, and returned to the Mauritius. 
This was not the fleet to which the Franco- 
Indians looked forward, as destined to sweep 
away all opposition in the Eastern seas, and 
to land such forces as would speedily subjugate 
all Southern India. The reinforcements, which 
were landed, immediately joined the array in 
the field, and fort after fort fell to the French, 
until eight strong places were subdued in the 
neighbourhood of Chittapet, Trincomalec, and 
Gingee. The French organized the coUectorates 
of these districts, and received the revenue as 
if the territory was their own. The Mysoreans 
invaded the dominions of the nabob, and 
plundered the country up to the walls of 
Madura. The English laid an ambush in a 
narrow pass, and, although the detachment 
consisted entirely of sepoys, they fell fiercely 
upon the Mysoreans, inflicting appalling 
slaughter. This event terminated their in- 
cursion. In November the French withdrew 
their troops into the different forts ; but the 
natives attached to the rival claimants for the 
nabobship ravaged the entire country — fire, 
rapine, and blood everywhere indicated the 
horrors of a war of disputed succession. The 
year 1757 terminated leaving each party in 
an expectant attitude ; but the French had 
undoubtedly gained during the struggle in the 
Carnatic. On the 28th of April, the expected 
French fleet arrived. It consisted of twelve 
sail of the line, with a portion of the squadron 
which had the previous year returned from 
Pondicherry to Mauritius. This expedition 
left Brest when a fever raged in that port, and 



brought the infection on board, so that three 
hundred men died on the voyage and many 
arrived sick ; a considerable number dying in 
the roads of Pondicherry, or iu the fort. 

With this expedition, there was a body of 
troops not less than thirteen hundred strong. 
Most of them were Irish, in the French ser- 
vice — the men who, at Fontenoy, snatched 
victory from the English in the moment when 
the beaten French were forsaking the field. 
Probably no page of history records heroism 
more gallant and romantic than that which 
relates the courage displayed by the " Irish 
Brigades" in the French service, when fight- 
ing on the field of Fontenoy ; and in the re- 
cords of few battles is homage to the brave 
so freely accorded by men of all parties as 
to the gallant men who were the sole victors 
of that sanguinary conflict. With these troops 
was the Count de Lally, an Irishman (or, as 
some affirm, the son of an Irishman),who had on 
the field of Fontenoy greatly distinguished him- 
self— so much so, that he was promoted to 
the rank of colonel by the French king at 
the close of the battle. Dr. Taylor and Mr. 
Murray describe him as a man of extra- 
ordinary prowess. The former says : — " Upon 
the breaking out of the war betwen France 
and England, in 175G, the French ministry 
resolved to strike an imijortant blow in India. 
The Count de Lally was appointed to take 
the chief command. He was descended from 
one of the Irish families, which had been 
compelled to emigrate at the revolution of 
1G88, in consequence of having adhered to 
the cause of the Stuarts ; and he was there- 
fore animated by a bitter hatred of British 
ascendancy, which had crushed both his 
country and his creed. At the battle of 
Fontenoy he took several English officers 
prisoners with his own hand, and was raised 
to the rank of colonel by King Louis himself 
on the field of battle. He was accompanied 
to India by his own Irish regiments, com- 
posed of the best troops in the service of 
France, by fifty of the royal artillery, and by 
several officers of great distinction." 

Dr. Taylor, however he may allow his own 
national predilections to influence his tone in 
the above paragraph, does not exaggerate the 
8ur))rising heroism of the count or of his 
soldiers. The utmost confidence was placed 
in both by France ; and as Lally was en- 
trusted with all the authority previously 
allowed to Dupleix, it was supposed that the- 
English would be speedily driven out of their 
long fostered possessions. Lally was not sa 
fortunate as at Fontenoy; and England, whom 
in his remorseless bigotry he so bitterly hated, 
was destined to triumph over him on a dis- 
tant field, and cause the sun of his glory to 



Chap. LXX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



22a 



set soon and for ever. Lally was not as 
skilful as he was brave, althougli he poa- 
sessed many of the finest intellectual qualities 
of a good soldier. He was rash, vehement, 
impatient, tyrannical ; he chafed at obstacles, 
which might have been patiently surmounted 
had he preserved his temper. A fnrious reli- 
gious animosity towards the English, as the 
chief Protestant nation, blinded his judgment 
as to present means and probable results, and 
threw him into acts of precipitancy from which 
even his great valour and »esources in danger 
could not extricate him. 

The Count de Lally was ordered to attack 
Fort St. David as soon after his arrival as 
possible. Before communicating with the land, 
he caused his ships to take np positions 
against that place, and at once make hostile 
demonstrations, while he landed his troops 
at Pondicherry. Tlien, with a dispatch 
previously unknown in Indian warfare, ex- 
cept under Clive, and sometimes under Law- 
rence, he landed his Irish regiments, and an 
equal number of sepoys, and sent them for- 
ward at once against St. David's. The 
portion of the expedition furnished by the 
garrison of Pondicherry was badly com- 
manded and badly furnished with material. 
Indeed, he foimd the garrison at Pondicherry 
in a wretched condition. A salute was fired 
■with shotted guns, by which the hull and 
rigging of one of his ships was damaged. 
Lally complained bitterly of the ignorance 
and incompetence of the governor and his 
coimcil, who could give him no information 
either concerning the place he was about to 
attack, or the strength of the English on the 
coast; neither could they furnish his men with 
good guides, or even sufficient provisions. 

The forces arrived before Fort St. David 
utterly exhausted, and must have famished of 
hunger had they not laid the country under 
contribution. Scarcely had the French ex- 
pedition approached, when the English fleet 
was descried from the ships in the road. 
Mill, quoting Lally himself, and Ornie, gives 
the following account of the futile proceed- 
ings of both fleets : — " Mr. Pococke, with the 
ships of war from Bengal, had arrived at 
Madras on the 24 th of February ; on the 
2-tth of the following month a squadron of 
five ships from Bombay had arrived under 
Admiral Stevens; and on the 17th of April, 
the whole sailed to the southward, looking 
out for the French. Having in ten days 
worked as high to the windward as the head 
of Ceylon, they stood in again for the coast, 
which they made, off Negapatnam, <jji the 
28th, and proceeding along shore, discovered 
the French fleet, at nine the next morning, 
riding near Ouddalore. The French imme- 



diately weighed, and bore down towards Pon- 
dicherry, throwing out signals to recall th& 
two ships which had sailed with Lally ; and 
the English admiral gave the signal for chase. 
The summons for the two ships not being 
answered, the French fleet stood out to sea, 
and formed the line of battle. The French 
consisted of nine sail, the English only of 
seven. The battle was indecisive ; the loss 
of a few men, with some damage to the ships, 
being the only result. Both fleets fell con- 
siderably to leeward during the engagement ; 
and the French were six days in working up 
to the road of Pondicherry, where the troops 
were landed. Lally himself had some days 
before proceeded to Fort St. David with the 
whole force of Pondicherry, and the troops 
from the fleet were sent after him, as fast as 
they came on shore." 

Meanwhile, matters on shore tried the skill 
and energy of Lally to the utmost. In order 
to procure attendants on his army, and as thfr 
president and council could not give him a 
sufficient number of men of low caste, he im- 
pressed men of all castes indiscriminately, caus- 
ing consternation and rage everywhere ; he 
was from that hour hated and distrusted by 
the natives. Lally became as much an object 
of hatred to the French as to the natives. 
He was instructed by the company to re- 
gard them rather in the light of unprin- 
cipled speculators, so that he arrived with a 
prejudice against them: — "As the troubles 
in India have been the source of fortunes, 
rapid and vast, to a great number of indi- 
viduals, the same system always reigns at 
Pondicherry, where those who have not yet 
made their fortune hope to make it by tho 
same means ; and those who have already 
dissipated it, hope to make it a second time. 
The Sieur de Lally will have an arduous task 
to eradicate that spirit of cupidity ; but it 
would be one of the most important services 
which he could render to the company." 
Such were the tenns of the instructions he 
received. The want of means at Pondicherry 
for any military enterprise, and the tardiness 
with which all material aid was afforded to 
him for the reduction of Fort St. David, ex- 
cited his anger to a vehement degree, so that 
he abused the French civilians in terms which 
were more appropriate to the lips of a mad- 
man than to those of a governor and com- 
mander. 

Notwithstanding the impediments pre- 
sented by the olficials at Pondicherry, he 
was able to bring a force before St. David's 
superior to that of its defenders. The latter 
consisted of sixteen hundred natives; three 
hundred and sixty-nine European soldiers, 
of whom eighty -three were invalids; and two. 



224 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EJIPIRE 



[Chap. LXX. 



hundred and fifty sailors unacquainted with 
military discipline. Lally brought against 
this garrison two thousand five hundred Euro- 
pean soldiers, exclusive of officers, and an equal 
force of sepoys.* The place was soon cap- 
tured ; and the conqueror immediately sent 
an expedition to Devi-Cotah, which the gar- 
rison abandoned. On the 7th of June, he re- 
entered Pondicherry, and celebrated a Tc 
Deum with great ecclesiastical pomp, for Lally 
was as ardent in religion as in arms. 

The English were astounded at so rapid a 
series of disasters. They called in all their 
troops from every department of the presi- 
dency to strengthen Madras and Trichinopoly. 
At this juncture, there is evei'y reason to sup- 
pose that the English would have lost Madras 
itself had Lallj'been supported by the French; 
but the poverty of the exchequer at Pondi- 
cherry, the want of credit with the natives, 
and the hatred excited among the latter by 
the new general's tyranny and bigotry, dried 
up all sources of supply except what came 
from France ; in India the enterprising gene- 
ral lost all hope of material aid, unless it could 
be supplied by Bussy. Lord Olive, many 
years after, thus described the condition of 
affairs at this time : — " M. Lally arrived with, 
a force as threatened not only the destruction 
of all the settlements there, but of all the East 
India Company's possessions, and nothing 
saved ^Madras from sharing the fate of Fort 
St. David, at that time, but their want of 
money, which gave time for strengthening 
and reinforcing the place." 

A letter \vritten by Lally himself from 
Fort St. David, after the capture, to the 
president and council of Pondicherry, pre- 
sents the poverty of French resources, and 
the disunion between him and the French 
civilians, in a light sufficiently clear to ex- 
plain why Madras itself did not fall : — " This 
letter shall be an eternal secret between you, 
sir, and me, if you afford me the means of 
accomplishing my enterprise. I left you 
100,000 livres of my own money to aid you 
in providing the funds which it requires. I 
found not, upon my arrival, in your purse, 
and in that of your whole council, the resource 
of 100 pence. You, as well as they, have 
refused me the support of your credit. Yet 
I imagine you are all of you more indebted 
to the company than I am. If you continue 
to leave me in want of everything, and ex- 
posed to contend with universal disaffection, 
not only shall I inform the king and the com- 
2)any of the warm zeal which their servants 
here display for their interest, but I shall 
take effectual measures for not depending, 
during the short stay I wish to make in this 
* Orme. 



country, on the party spirit and the personal 
views with which I perceive that every mem- 
ber appears occupied, to the total hazard of 
the company." 

Bussy had in the meantime carried on a 
series of intrigues in the metropolis of the 
Deccan, worthy of his own reputation for 
energy and ability, and of that of his preceptor, 
Dupleix, for the like qualities. A series of 
revolutions occurred at the court of the viceroy 
as rapid as the shocks of an earthquake. 
Again and againJ^lie interests of France and 
the influence of Bussy were all but destroyed, 
but from the ruins of each successive catas- 
trophe, the genius of Bussy rescued his 
country's influence, and even increased it by 
the very means adopted for its destruction. 
Lally had the infatuation to order Bussy 
away from the court of the soubahdar, and 
treated his statements as to tlie interests in- 
volved as pretences. The mind of Lally could 
not comprehend the subtle, complicated, and 
extended schemes of Bussy. The latter, on 
being treated as an impostor, joined the rest 
of his countrymen in hatred against the hot- 
headed innovator. Thus situated, the first 
resolution of the victorious commander was 
to attack Madras, carry it rapidly at any 
sacrifice, and obtain therefrom the accumu- 
lations of English industry, — those supplies 
which he so much required. The naval 
commander was, hov^'ever, afraid of tlie En- 
glish sailors, and would not even sail in the 
direction of Madras, to observe the enemy. 
He sailed south, under the pretence of inter- 
cepting English merchant vessels, but really 
in the hope of keeping out of harm's way. 
A large body of troops placed on board were 
thus kept idle, and drawn away from the 
French army at St. David's. Had these 
soldiers been from the Irish instead of the 
French portion of the force, they would pro- 
bably, from their devotion to their general, 
have mutinied against the admiral. The 
latter succeeded in cruising about in such a 
way as to avoid the English, and Lally, un- 
able to secure his co-operation, was obliged 
to adopt another project to gain supplies, 
and extend French influence. The re- 
jected claimant of the throne of Tanjoro had 
been held by the English as a jirisoner at 
Fort St. David, and Lally conceived the 
idea of using this personage for the purpose 
of getting money from that country, the reign- 
ing rajah of which had formerly given a 
bond of 5,000,000 rupees to the French, to 
prevent their attacking his dominions. A 
demajjd was made for the money ; the rajah 
did not possess the means of payment, and 
the French proceeded to dethrone him in 
favour of the prisoner at Fort St. David, 



Chap. LXX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



225 



who would levy it on the inhabitants, with 
French assistance. On the 18th of June, 
1758, Lally marched at the head of his dis- 
posable forces against Tanjore. In seven days 
the army arrived at Carical, the natives every- 
where hilling their provisions, and showing 
the utmost hatred to the general. His own 
people rendered all support unwillingly ; the 
troops suffered from fatigue and hunger, 
which the Irish bore even cheerfully, but 
the French and sepoys were discontented and 
murmured. A messenger from the Tanjore 
monarch arrived to treat, but the general 
would listen to no parley ; either the bond 
must be paid, or he would seize its equivalent, 
and that of all further expenses incurred. 
He proceeded to the wealthy town of Nagpore, 
which he entered, no resistance being offered, 
but the rich natives had fled, and there was 
very little property left behind. 

He next arrived at Kineloor, where a pa- 
goda stood of great celebrity. He plun- 
dered it. Supposing the idols to be gold, he 
carried them away ; they proved to be brass, 
but the effect upon the natives was the same 
as if they had been of the precious metal. 
He dug down to the foundations of the temple, 
swept all the tanks, and treated the property 
of the unoffending and defenceless with bar- 
barity. Six Brahmins lingering about the 
camp, in the hope of obtaining their gods, 
he seized, denounced as spies, and blew them 
away from guns. 

His track to the capital, where he arrived 
on the 18th of Jul)', was marked by devas- 
tation. The king offered a treaty. Lally's de- 
mands, both in their nature and mode, were 
imprudent, and violated the most obvious 
religions scruples of the natives. Bigoted 
himself to the last degree, ready to resent the 
smallest indignity to his religion with fire and 
Bword, he had no respect or consideration for 
the religious feelings of others. In civil and 
religious matters he was alike a tyrant, but 
he had the faculty, not only of ruling military 
bodies, but of attaching them to him. This 
W'as especially the case with his own Irish 
soldiers, who followed him with a contempt of 
danger, and a desperate courage which rivalled 
even his own, although he was reputed to be 
the bravest man in France. 

The bombardment of the rajah's strong- 
hold promptly followed the failure of nego- 
tiation which the king renewed under the 
cannonade, but attempting to trick Lally, 
as all oriental princes would at all risks, tliat 
officer vowed he would send him and his 
family as slaves to the Mauritius. The rajah, 
determined to resist, every feeling of his 
nature having been outraged by successive 
insults the most galling to a Hindoo imagi- 



nation. He appealed to the English. Cap- 
tain Calliaud had sent him a small detachment 
of sepoys from Trichinopoly, being afraid if 
he sent European troops, that the rajah might 
regard them simply as means of effecting an 
accommodation, and betray them into the 
hands of the enemy. Calliaud sent another 
and stronger detachment. The bombardment 
continued until the 7th of August, when a 
breach was effected. At that time, Lally had 
only two days' supply of food in his camp, 
and hardly one day's supply of ammunition. 
In that conjuncture of affairs, the English 
fleet arrived before Carical, the only place 
from which Lally had obtained supplies. 
During the siege, the two fleets had met, 
and fought, the English gaining a victory : 
this Lally also learned, and there now ap- 
peared no hope for the French, unless in an 
immediate assault. Lally called a council of 
war, two officers were for the assault, of which 
he was not one ; the other thirteen counselled 
him to raise the siege. They began their 
retreat next day, but before putting that 
movement into execution, the besieged gar- 
rison sallied out, and partly effected a sur- 
prise, placing the French army in imminent 
danger. As it was necessary for the English 
fleet to keep on the qui vive for the beaten 
but not extinguished French squadrons, 
Lally hoped to reach Carical before the En- 
glish would venture to land a force there. In 
this, he was successful, but when he saw the 
pow-erful navy of England riding in the offing, 
his hope failed, although his courage could 
not fail, and his rage against the hated En- 
glish broke forth in torrents of furious and 
almost frenzied passion. 

Lally soon saw- that the entire evacuation 
of Tanjore and its neighbourhood was essen- 
tial to the safety of the French. Their fleets 
were fugitive. The Mahrattas, at the insti- 
gation of the English, threatened that they 
would invade the French territory if Lally 
and his forces did not retire from that of 
Tanjore ; and the civilians of Pondicherry 
urged his return, as twelve hundred English 
menaced even the seat of the presidency. 
Lally had not head for such sudden changes 
and complicated transactions, and ho was 
bewildered and depressed, while the wants of 
his brave and patient, but hai'assed army, 
were as unprovided for as ever. The move- 
ments of the two fleets were uncertain, and 
their tactics at times unaccountable, both 
were the victims of the weather. The French 
had the best ships, the English the best 
men, and the more nautical skill. Most of 
the English ships were badly built, and in 
action the French, knowing that the chances 
were they would have to retreat, principally 



226 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXX. 



•fired into the English rigging to disable pur- 
suit; while the English, firing at the hulls, 
and sweeping the decks, inflicted more serious 
and permanent damage, even when flight was 
not prevented, and killed and disabled a far 
greater number of men. The proceedings of 
the different squadrons are differently related 
by French and English authors, and the con- 
tradictions occurring in their relations, render 
it next to impossible to reconcile them. Mill's 
account is the clearest; he in the main gives 
the relation of Orme, with such modifications 
as information subsequently coming to light 
enabled him to supply. He thus describes 
what took place at sea : — 

" After the first of the naval engagements, 
the English fleet, before they could anchor, 
were carried a league to the north of Sadras ; 
the French, which had suffered less in the 
rigging, and sailed better, anchored fifteen 
miles to the windward. The English, as soon 
as possible, weighed again, and after a fruit- 
less endeavour to reach Fort St. David, dis- 
covered the French fleet on the 28tli of 
May in the road of Pondicherry. The next 
day, the French, at the remonstrance of Lally, 
who sent on board a considerable bodj' of 
troops, got under sail ; but instead of bearing 
down on the English, unable to advance 
against the wind, proceeded to Fort St. 
David, where they arrived on the evening 
after the surrender. The English sailing 
badly, fell to leeward as far as Alamparva, 
where intelligence was received of the loss of 
the fort. The admiral, therefore, not having 
water on board for the consumption of five 
days, made sail, and anchored the next day 
in the roads of JIadras. The fleet had 
numerous wants ; INIadras had very scant}' 
means of supply ; and nearly eight M-eeks 
elapsed before it was again ready for eea. 
On the 3rd of July, three of the company's 
ships arrived from Bengal, with money, mer- 
chandise, and stores, but no troops. The 
monsoon had obliged them to make the out- 
ward passage towards the Acheen, and they 
came in from the southward. The French 
admiral, after touching at Fort St. David, 
had stood to the southward, to cruise off 
Ceylon ; in opposition to remonstrances of 
Lally, who desired the fleet to co-operate in 
the destined enterprise against Madras. Lally 
hastened from Fort St. David to Pondi- 
cherry, and summoned a council by whose 
authority he recalled the fleet. The injunc- 
tion reached the admiral at Carical on the 
IGth of June, and he anchored the next day 
in the road of Pondicherry. Had he con- 
tinued his destined course to the southward, 
he could not have missed the three English 
East Indiamen from Bengal, and by their 



capture would have obtained that treasure, 
the want of which alone disconcerted the 
scheme of English destruction. On the 25th 
of July, the English fleet were again under 
sail ; and on the 27th appeared before Pon- 
dicherry, where the French lay at anchor. 
They put to sea without delay : but the diffi- 
culties of the navigation, and the aims of the 
commanders, made it the 2nd of August 
before the fleets encountered off Carical. The 
French line consisted of eight sail ; the 
English, as before, of seven. The fight lasted 
scarcely an hour; when three of the French 
ships, being driven out of the line, the whole 
bore away, under all the sail they could 
carrj"-. The English admiral gave chase ; 
but in less than ten minutes the enemy were 
beyond the distance of certain shot. Toward 
night the English gave over the pursuit, and 
came to anchor off Carical. The French 
steered for Pondicherry, when the admiral 
declared his intention of returning to Mau- 
ritius. Lally sent forward the Count d'Estaign 
to remonstrate with him on the disgrace of 
quitting the sea before an inferior enemj', 
and to urge him to renewed operations. 
D'Estaign offered to accompany him on 
board, with any proportion of the troops. 
Lally himself moved with the army from 
Carical on the 2ith of August, and, having 
passed the Colaroone, hurried on with a small 
detachment to Pondicherry, where he arrived 
on the 28th. He immediately summoned a 
mixed council of the administration and the 
army, who joined in a fresh expostulation to 
the admiral on the necessity of repairing to 
Madras, where the success of an attack must 
altogether depend upon the union of the 
naval and military operations. That com- 
mander, representing his ships as in a state of 
the greatest disablement, and his crews ex- 
tremely enfeebled and diminished by disease, 
would yield to no persuasion, and set sail 
with his whole fleet for Mauritius on the 2nd 
of September. 

" If we trust to the declaration of Lally, his 
intention of besieging Madras, still more his 
hopes of taking it, were abandoned from that 
hour. Before the fleet departed, an expedi- 
tion against Arcot, with a view to relieve the 
cruel pressure of those pecuniary wants 
which the disastrous result of the expeditions 
to Tanjore had only augmented, was pro- 
jected and prepared." 

Disconcerted although Lally was, and ex- 
hausted as were his means, his expedition 
against Arcot was conducted with extraor- 
dinary energy, dispatch, hardihood, and suc- 
cess. His Irish legion performed prodigies of 
valour, Lally himself ever foremost in the path 
of danger. The native enemy melted away 



€HAr. LXX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



227 



before their furious valour. Fort after fort 
fell. Every task was executed both by the 
general and troops with masterly ability, yet 
strategists affirm that the French commander 
failed in not cutting off supplies from Madras, 
which should have been a part of his scheme, 
and was practicable, as these critics allege. 
At all events, on the 4tli of October, 1758, 
Lally, " on the terms of a pretended capitu- 
lation, amid the thunder of cannon, made his 
entrance into Arcot."* 

The grand error in Lally's campaign was 
the neglect of Chingleput, which he might 
have captured without resistance, so great was 
the consternation into which the garrison 
was thrown by his triumphant course. Tliis 
fortress covered the conveyance of supplies 
to Madras, and as soon as the English re- 
covered from tlie temporary panic inspired 
by Lally's rajnd and brilliant career, they 
strengthened the place in every way their 
means allowed, and resolved to defend it, if 
Lally's eyes being opened as to its import- 
ance, he should venture to assail it. \Vhile 
the French, or Irish commander, as he may 
with more strict propriety be called, sped as 
a fiery meteor over the country, a naval rein- 
forcement arrived from England, conveying 
eight hundred and fifty royal troops, com- 
manded by Colonel Draper. The brave and 
wise Caillaud, with his European troops, were 
recalled from Trichinopoly, and Chingleput 
was powerfully reinforced. 

Lally, who declared that he never lost sight 
of Chingleput, but had comprised its capture 
in his plans, wrote from Arcot to Pondicherry 
for money to pay his troops and find means 
for carrying them against that place ; but the 
council had no money, and the general was 
obliged to put his troops into cantonments, 
and hasten to Pondichen-y himself, if pos- 
sible to set things there in better order. The 
celebrated Bussy would have been a far more 
likely man to remove the disorder of that 
capital; he had just joined his superior 
as the latter entered Arcot in triumph. 
Instead of harmonious action between these 
two important men, crimination and re- 
crimination occurred upon their meeting. 
Lally, who was a man of honest and trans- 
parent mind, accused the wily diplomatist of 
a tortuous and fraudulent policy dishonouring 
to France. Bussy, without being more frank 
than wise, soon caused his master to under- 
stand that the lesser magnate considered him 
impolitic, precipitate, rash, and without a plan 
which, by its comprehensiveness, consecutive- 
ness, and harmony would bring all his power 
to bear against the English. The sieiir be- 
lieved that by a bold, daring, onward warfare, 
♦ Mill, lib. iv. cap. h. p. 1C3. 



I the peninsula might soon be cleared of them ; 
liis men, he believed, could do it, if ammuni- 
tion, food, and the sinews of war were pro- 
vided. Bussy doubted if the English were a 
people to be removed iu a hurry, as Lally 
might have known from the experience of his 
ancestors in Ireland ; and Bussy also thought 
that money and power might both be had, if 
the means taken to obtain them were well 
chosen, and used with caution as well as cou- 
rage. Another general of reputed ability, 
who had been appointed by Lally governor 
of Masulipatam, Morasin, also joined the con- 
ference. Lally urged these officers to raise 
money on their personal credit, which the 
conduct of Lally himself had rendered impos- 
sible. Bussy urged the consolidation of con- 
quest, and the exercise of French power at 
the court of the Deccan, as much more impor- 
tant tlian the influence of the English with 
tlie inferior and subsidiary court of the Car- 
natic. It was to no purpose that reasons the 
most convincing were urged for such a course ; 
Lall}' could see no object but one — the re- 
moval of the hated English from India, and 
war against them everywhere ; and there is 
no doubt his views were popular with his 
Irish soldiery. The French officers were in 
favour of the plans of Bussy, and wished him 
to supersede Laity in rank and authority. 
The council at I'ondicherry declared that 
they had no means to support the army. 
The officers urged an attempt to take Madras. 
Lally had no means for a siege. Count 
D'Estaign, one of the bravest soldiers in the 
French array, exclaimed in a council of war : 
'■' Better to die under the walls of Madras, than 
of hunger in Pondicherry." Lally himself 
hoped to pillage the black town, and thus 
supported, shut up the English in Fort St. 
George. He advanced his own money, 
60,000 rupees, and prevailed upon various 
Frenchmen in Pondicherry to advance more, 
which barely exceeded half of his own contri- 
butions. With these means, he equijiped a 
little army of about seven thousand men, of 
whom about two thousand seven hundred 
were French and Irish, and proceeded against 
Madras. He was ready to march by the first 
week in November, but the weather detained 
him six weeks, and his I'csources were being 
rapidly consumed, and he was then reduced 
to barely a week's supply. 

The English prepared themselves against 
the danger which impended. Admiral Po- 
coclce landed his marines at Madras. A body 
of native cavalry, and the sepoys which had 
been part of the garrison of Trichinopoly, 
were posted so as to command the line of the 
French convoys. Lawrence, who had before 
been a victor so often, commanded the army, 



228 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXX. 



which encamped on an elevated spot near the 
city. Governor Pigot commanded the fort, a 
man unsuitable for any military purpose, 
although shrewd, sensible, and with much 
capacity for business. The militarj' in the 
tort consisted of seventeen hundred and fifty- 
eight Europeans, two thousand two hundred 
and twenty sepoys, and two hundred of the 
nabob's horsemen, who were of little value. 
There were one hundred and fifty Europeans, 
who acted as civil auxiliaries. 

On the 12th of December Lally attacked 
Lawrence's outposts, who fought and fell back. 
Lally pressed upon him with impetuosity, and 
Lawrence sought shelter in the fort. The 
count reconnoitred all day on the 13th. 
On the 14th, he realized his purpose of cap- 
turing the black town, which was pillaged. 
The Irish soldiery became intoxicated. The 
English, acquainted with the fact, sallied out 
to the number of six hundred men, who were 
selected for their bravery and efficiency. 
These troops fell upon the revellers, and slew 
many ; but although most were drunk, and 
all in great disorder, they proved much more 
formidable enemies than their French col- 
leagues ; they did not give way, but fought 
in scattered groups with undaunted bravery 
and determination, until two hundred of the 
J']nglish, who also fought with ob.stinate va- 
lour, lay dead in the streets. The remainder 
retreated, before Lally's soldiers could form. 
Bussy, instead of intercepting the fugitives, 
refused to act, or allow his officers to act, on 
the ground that he was without orders and 
without cannon, — an absurd pretext, for the 
English were driven back without cannon 
and without orders, and Bussy could have 
intercepted them had he as much spirit as his 
officers. Probably the want of cordiality 
between him and Lally accounted for it, and 
it may be that the feeHng extended to Bussy's 
followers ; for on Aughrim, Fontenoy, and 
other fields, where they fought side by side, 
the French evinced much jealousy of their 
Irish auxiliaries. 

Lally having obtained money from some 
merchants who were resident in the black 
town, opened his batteries, as he himself al- 
leged afterwards, without hope of capture, but 
with the intention to bombard. While the 
count was thus proceeding a million of livres 
arrived at Pondioherry, and with the funds thus 
placed at his disposal, he made regular siege, 
with the hope of subduing the fort before the 
English fleet, expected back in January, should 
arrive. With disadvantages, such as would 
have deterred any other man then living, unless 
Clive, and with nothing to encourage him but 
the heroism and noble devotion of his own Irish 
soldiers, and a few of the common soldiers 



among the French and the sepoys, this daunt- 
less man persevered. Mill did him and his 
poor soldiers no more than justice when he 
\yrote the following account, which unites a 
fulness and a brevity not to be met with in 
any other record of these transactions : — 
" With only two engineers, and three artillery 
officers, excepting the few who belonged to 
the company, all deficient both in knowledge 
and enterprise ; with officers in general dis- 
satisfied and ill-disposed, with only the com- 
mon men on whom he could depend, and of 
whose alacrity he never had reason to com- 
plain, he carried on the siege with a vigour 
and activity which commanded the respect 
even of the besieged, though they were little 
acquainted with the difficulties under which 
he toiled. By means of the supplies which 
had plentifully arrived from Bengal, and the 
time which the presidency had enjoyed to 
make preparation for siege, the Enghsh were 
supplied with an abundance both of money 
and of stores. The resolution to defend them- 
selves to the utmost extremity, which has 
seldom been shared more universally and cor- 
dially by any body of men, inspired them with 
■incessant vigilance and activity. The industry 
of the enemy was perpetually counteracted by 
a similar industry on the part of their oppo- 
nents. No sooner had those without erected 
a work, than the most active, and enterprising, 
and often skilful exertions were made from 
within to destroy it. Whatever ingenuity 
the enemy employed in devising measures of 
attack, was speedily discovered by the keen 
and watchful eyes of the defenders. A breach, 
in spite of all those exertions, was, however, 
effected ; and the mind of Lally was intensely 
engaged with preparations for the assault ; 
when he found the officers of his army alto- 
gether indisposed to second his ardour. Mr. 
Orme declares his opinion that their objec- 
tions ^^•ere founded on real and prudential 
considerations, and that an attempt to storm 
the place would have been attended with re- 
pulse and disaster. Lally, however, says that 
the most odious intrigues were carried on in 
the army, and groundless apprehensions were 
propagated, to shake the resolution of the 
soldiers, and prevent the execution of the 
plan : that the situation of the general was 
thus rendered critical in the highest degree, 
and the chance of success exceedingly dimi- 
nished ; yet he still adhered to his design, and 
only waited for the setting of the moon, which 
in India sheds a light not much feebler than 
that of a winter sun, on the very day on 
which an English fleet of six sail arrived at 
Madras. The fleet under Admiral Pococke, 
which had left Madras on the 11th of October, 
had arrived at Bombay on the 10th of Decern- 



Chap. LXX.J 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



229 



ber, wliere they found six of the company's 
ships, and two ships of the line, with six hun- 
dred of the king's troops on board. On the 
31st of December the company's ships, with 
all the troops, sailed from Bombay, under the 
convoy of two frigates, and arrived on the 
16th of February, at a critical moment, at 
Madras. ' Words,' says Lally, ' are inade- 
quate to express the effect which the appear- 
ance of tlicm produced. The officer who 
commanded in the trenches deemed it even 
inexpedient to wait for the landing of the 
enemy, and two hours before receiving orders 
retired from his post.' Lally was now con- 
strained to abandon the siege. The officers 
and soldiers had been on no more than half 
pay during the first six weeks of the expedi- 
tion, and entirely destitute of pay during the 
remaining three. The expenses of the siege 
and the half pay had consumed, during the 
first month, the million livres which had ar- 
rived from the islands. The officers were on 
the allowance of the soldiers. The subsistence 
of the army for the last fifteen days had de- 
pended almost entirely upon some rice and 
butter, captured in two small vessels from 
Bengal. A very small quantity of gunpowder 
remained in the camp ; and not a larger at 
Pondicherry. The bombs were wholly con- 
sumed three weeks before. The sepoys de- 
serted for want of pay, and the European 
cavalry threatened every hour to go over to 
tlie enemy." 

It is probable that but for the personal 
attachment of his own soldiers of the Irish 
brigade the French would have seized Lally, 
and given Bussy the command. On the night 
of the 17th the army broke up from before 
Madras, and made good their retreat. The 
English seem to have been so awed by the 
bravery and military capacity of Lally, and a 
portion of his troops, that they instituted no 
pursuit. Considering the superior force, 
equipment, and resources of the English at 
Jladras, when the siege was raised, it was 
much to their dishonour that a hot and unre- 
lenting pursuit was not adopted. The tidings 
of Lally'a misfortunes at Madras arrived in 
Pondicherry before him, and were hailed with 
transports of joy, alike by French and natives, 
so completely had the bigotry and self-will of 
the governor counteracted the bravery, talent, 
and glory of the soldier. When he arrived at 
Pondicherry, if the joy at his ill success were 
less openly expressed, it was not less hearty. 

Mohammed Ali, the actual r.abob of the 
Carnatic, the protege of the English, had 
proved himself a costly ally. He had, how- 
ever, been true to English interests, and their 
hononr and policy was to support him. His 
two brothers, who had been instigated by the 

VOL. II. 



French, and who had so often sought French 
help, now, in the hour of adversity, betrayed 
them. One of the brothers actually assassi- 
nated all the French in his service, except a 
single officer, justifying the apprehensions 
entertained by Calliaud, recorded in a former 
page, when urged to send British troops to 
the assistance of the nabob himself The na- 
tive princes were entirely without faith, honour, 
or principle, and no confidence could be re- 
posed in them, however gratitude or oaths 
might be expected to bind them to their en- 
gagements, or even to the observance of hos- 
pitality, justice, and mercy. The English 
were most anxious to recover the province, 
and prepared an expedition, but their funds 
had been so heavily drawn upon, that they 
were unable to take the field until the 6th of 
March, when a force, consisting of 1156 Eu- 
ropeans, 1570 sepoys, 1120 collierees (regu- 
lar troops), and lOo6 horse, was fully equipped 
for a campaign. 

Besides this force, a native chief with a body 
of sepoys was sent to the countries of Tinne- 
velly and Madura. When the troops had been 
withdrawn for the defence of Madras, Madura 
and Palam Cotah were attacked by the native 
chiefs ; but the sepoys, who constituted the gar- 
rison, remained faithful, and drove them off. 

When the army of Lally retreated from 
Madras, only a portion entered Pondicherry ; 
another division marched to Congeveram, 
where the two armies remained in hostile 
array for three weeks, neither feeling strong 
enough to act upon the offensive. The English 
drew off to Wandiwash, took the town, and 
were preparing to open trenches against the 
fort, when the French moved from Congeveram 
to its relief. This was the expectation of the 
English, and, acting boldly and promptly upon 
the design previously formed, they turned, 
by a forced march, reached Congeveram, as- 
saulted and captured it. The two armies 
watched one another, without giving battle, 
until the 28th of May, when both went into 
cantonments. 

While these events were passing, the fleets 
were occupied by measures of usefulness. On 
the 29th of April, Admiral Pococke arrived 
from the western coast of India, and cruised 
about, watching for French ships. About a 
month after the armies went into canton- 
ments, the company's usual ships arrived at 
Madras, and brought one hundred soldiers for 
the service of the country, and announced that 
royal troops, in considerable numbers, might 
soon be expected. At the same time, it was 
announced that no treasure would arrive until 
1760, tidings which dispirited the council, 
but which they did not then permit to trans- 
pire beyond the council chamber. In another 



230 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[CuAp. LXX. 



month, five sliips arrived at Negapatnam 
with a portion of the expected troops, and, 
having landed stores and munitions, sailed for 
Madras. 

On the 20th of August the French squadron 
sailed for the neighbourhood of Trineomalee, 
in the Island of Ceylon, where the fleet was re- 
inforced by three new ships from France. On 
the lOth of September, the weather allowed 
the two navies to operate, and the English, 
having the wind, came down abreast, while 
the French lay -to in line of battle. The su- 
periority of the French fleet was very great: 
they had eleven sail of the line and three 
frigates. The English had but nine sail of 
the line, one frigate, a fire-ship, and two of 
the company's traders. The superiority in 
guns on the part of the French was one 
hundred and seventy-four. The battle lasted 
but two hours, when the French line was 
broken, and made all sail out of the engage- 
ment. As usual, the English had suffered 
chiefly in the rigging, and coidd not follow. 
A pursuit of ten minutes proved that if the 
English had the best of the battle, the French 
were more skilful in making out of it. The 
loss of men was about equal ; but the French 
ships were severely hulled, but suffered little 
in the rigging. The English next day entered 
the port of Negapatnam : the French, in four 
days, reached Pondicherry. Great was the 
distress of the people there, when a beaten 
fleet sought shelter, which they hoped would 
bring them the means of victory and large 
supplies. The disappointment and discontent 
spread wherever the French troops were quar- 
tered. The Irish brigade had received no 
pay for a long time — they had " borne the 
burning and heat of the day" — they had ac- 
complished more in battle than the whole of 
the French troops besides — they alone had 
encountered with success the English ; yet the 
limited funds of the presidency had been em- 
ployed in recruiting and drilling sepoys, who 
ran away, and in supporting the civilians, 
French officers, and French troops, while 
Lally's own regiment was, like Lally himself, 
treated with something like hostility. In the 
hour of danger they were relied upon, and 
French compliment was lavished, to stimulate 
them, while, as at Madras, the toil of labour 
and battle v/ere borne by them, and they were 
left to starve, unable to obtain either rations 
or their pay to procure them. Their long- 
enduring patience at last gave way : they mu- 
tinied, and the whole French army became 
diserganized. This corps had been regarded 
in India with the prestige it had acquired in 
France, and looked up to not only as the most 
chivalrous in battle, but the best disciplined ; 
now their disobedience shook the loyalty of 



every other corps.* But, although Lally's 
regiment mutinied under the pressure of 
hunger, and because they believed that their 
general and themselves were the objects of aa 
invidious feeling, this did not hinder their 
usual aptitude in arms, as they soon proved in 
an action of great importance at Wandiwash. 
Coote had not yet arrived, and the officer 
who was next in command, was Major Brerc- 
ton. He was extremely solicitous to perform 
some brilliant deed, while the chance of com- 
manding in chief remained with him. He 
accordingly induced the council of Madras 
to consent to his leading a force against Wan- 
diwash. The whole army accordingly marched 
from Congeveram on the 2Gth of September. 
The two forces now in front of one another 
were very formidable, comprising the chief 
strength of each, but the English were far su- 
perior in materiel and equipment, while they 
were also well supplied with provisions. The 
French were deficient in every requisite. 
The English attacked the place on the niglit 
of the 29th, they came on with great gal- 
lantry, and they were received with equal spirit. 
It does not appear that the native auxiliaries 
on either side were of much use. The En- 
glish passed through a terrible fire, and with 
the most audacious courage bore down all 
opposition; it so happened that at Wandi- 
Avash, as at Madras, they were once more 
brought into fierce conflict with their own 
fellow-subjects, who constituted Lally's corps, 
a sanguinary conflict ensued, and the English 
sustained a terrible defeat, leaving more than 
two hundred men dead, or in the hands of 
the victors. The repulse they experienced 
seems to have much injured the morale of 
the force, Mr. Mill relates the following anec- 
dote, illustrative of the fact : — " In this action 
a detachment of grenadiers were very expe- 
ditiously quitting the vicinity of danger; 
when their officer, instead of calling after 
them, an imprudence which would, in all pro- 
bability, have converted their retreat into a 
flight, ran till ho got before them, and then, 
turning suddenly round, said, ' Halt,' as 
giving the ordinary word of command. The 
habit of discipline prevailed. The men 
stopped, formed according to orders, and 
marched back into the scene of action. But 
this success of the French, however brilliant, 

* The first troops of the brigade were generally re- 
garded in Fraoce as much better on the field of battle 
than anywhere else, and soon after they gained for Franee 
the far-famed field of Foutenoy, many complaints were 
urged as to their free way of living in quarters and their 
addictions to dnels. The king pointed out the fact of 
these complaints to their general, exclaiming, " My Irish 
troops give me more trouble than all the rest of my army." 
" Sire," was the gallant and witty reply, " your majesty'* 
enemies say the same thing." 



Chap. LXX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



231 



neither clothed the men nor supplied them 
with provisions." 

The state of affairs which ensued upon the 
French victory of Waudiwash, was, on the 
whole, unfavourable to France. A signal 
victory was gained without producing any 
moral influence among natives in favour of 
the French, for it was mainly to the valour of 
Lally's corps that the triumph was attribu- 
table, and the natives could not see any dif- 
ference between Irishmen and Englishmen, 
and supposed that Lally's people were influ- 
enced by no principle in serving the French, 
but were mercenary soldiers who ought to 
have been on the other side. The natives 
did not fail to observe that, whenever the 
French and English met, unless the soldiers 
of Lally bore the brunt of the battle, the French 
■were beaten ; so that the English got the moral 
credit of the heroism of Lally's soldiers, and 
although they wore defeated, still it was a 
battle lost to their own countrymen, and in 
the opinion of the natives redounded to En- 
glish honour. The feeling became general 
throughout the Carnatic, and in other portions 
of the Deccan was rapidly making progress, 
that the French, however invincible to na- 
tives, were not as good soldiers as the British, 
and must finally give place to them. In 
various ways, such a feeling proved disadvan- 
tageous to the French, depriving them of 
native support. If the French lost a battle 
the English of course got the glory; if the 
French won one where the Irish brigade 
formed part of their army, the victory was 
attributed to the brigade, and the British had 
the glory again, even although they expe- 
rienced repulse. The French were in a false 
position, and lost moral power day by day. 

The removal of Bussy from the court of 
the Deccan left the French protege, the vice- 
roy, unable to cope with his ambitious rivals. 
A revolution broke out, and French influence 
then, deprived of the expert diplomacy of 
Bussy, melted away. 

The general state of affairs at this juncture, 
as affected the French favourably and un- 
favourably, is voluminously presented by the 
great English historian of the time, Orme, 
and by Lally after his return to France. 
Mr. Mill collated these accounts, and thus 
gives the result : — " Neither the English nor 
the French had ever been able to draw from 
the districts which they hold in the country, 
sufficient funds to defray the expense of the 
troo|)8, employed in conquering and defend- 
ing them. A considerable portion of those 
districts, which the French had been able to 
seize upon the arrival of Lally, the English 
had again recovered. The government of 
Pondicherry, left almost wholly destitute of 



supplies from Europe, was utterly exhausted, 
first, by the long and desperate struggle in 
which they had been engaged ; and secondly 
(for the truth must not be disguised, though 
the complaints of Lally have long been treated 
with ridicule), by the misapplication of the 
public funds : a calamity of which the vio- 
lent passion of individuals for private wealth 
was a copious and perennial fountain. Lally 
had, from his first arrival, been struggling on 
the borders of despair, with wants which it 
was altogether out of his power to supply. 
The English had received, or were about to 
receive, the most important accession to their 
power. And nothing but the fleet, which 
had now arrived, and the supplies which it 
might have brought, could enable him much 
longer to contend with the difficulties which 
environed him. 

" M. d'Ache had brought, for the use of the 
colony, £16,000 in dollars, with a quantity of 
diamonds, valued at £17,000, which had been 
taken in an English East Indiaman; and, 
having landed these effects, together with 
one hundred and eighty men, he declared his 
resolution of sailing again immediately for 
the islands. Nothing could exceed the sur- 
prise and consternation of the colony, upon 
this unexpected and alarming intelligence. 
Even those who were the most indifferent to 
the success of affairs, when the reputation of 
Lally, and the interest of their country alone 
wore at stake, now began to tremble, when 
the very existence of the colony, and their 
interests along with it, were threatened with 
inevitable destruction. All the principal in- 
habitants, civil and military, assembled at 
the governor's house, and formed themselves 
into a national council. A vehement protest 
was signed against the departure of the fleet. 
But the resolution of the admiral was in- 
flexible ; and he could only be induced to 
leave four hundred Caffres, who served in the 
fleet, and five hundred Europeans, partly 
marines and partly sailors. 

" At the same time the departure of Bussy 
had been attended, in the dominions of the 
soubahdar, with a rapid succession of events, 
ruinous to the interests of the French. An 
expedition from Bengal, fitted out by the 
English against the northern Circars, those 
impoi'tant districts of which Bussy had ob- 
tained the dominion from Salabat Jung, had 
been attended with the most brilliant success ; 
had not only driven the French entirely out 
of the country, but had compelled the soubah- 
dar to solicit a connection with the English." 

Bussy, however, continued to open com- 
munications with the revolutionists of the 
Deccan ; and, with a perfidy only to be sur- 
[lassed by Duplcix, finding his former pro- 



232 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXX. 



ttge the weaker, entreated the count to side 
with the rovolters. Lally was a straight- 
iorward, honest man, who detested Bussy and 
his intrigues, and liked to adjust political 
differences by honest treaty, or downright 
hard fighting. He did not comprehend the 
arguments of his lieutenant, admitted that he 
had no knowledge of the politics of the 
Deccan, but began to see the importance in 
relation to the English of holding power with 
the viceroy, to whom the nabob of the Car- 
natic, the protege of the English, owed allegi- 
ance. Lally permitted his minister to act as 
he pleased, and his first act was to declare Sa- 
labat Jung Nabob of the Carnatic. This pre- 
tender had raised an army, and had the sup- 
port of the revo utionary power in the Deccan. 
The sieur confided to Bussy a body of troops 
to march to the assistance of the pretender, 
then directing his course upon Vellore. Bussy 
arrived at Wandiwash the day after the En- 
glish suffered the reverse at that place, to take 
thence a portion of the troops upon his new en- 
terprise. The French army, which was suffering 
extreme privations, at once burst into general 
mutiny. They believed that the admiral had 
left plenty of money at Pondicherry, and 
that the civilians had squandered it. The 
civilians did squander from time to time very 
much, and the chief cause of their hatred to 
Lally was his incorruptibleness, and deter- 
mination to check their corrui^tion. On the 
16th of October, the officers were deprived of 
all authority. Bussy had by that time, through 
his extraordinary address, led his division to 
Arcot, when hearing of the still further pro- 
ceedings of the mutinous army which he had 
left behind, he halted. The French soldiers 
were, however, pacified by six months' pay, 
and a general amnesty. But the pretender to 
the nabobship had exhausted his resources, 
was observed by an English corps, and was 
solicited to give up his alliance with Bussy, 
by Nizam Ali, the chief of the successful re- 
volutionary party in the Deccan, and then 
the ostensible viceroy. The negotiation be- 
tween the pretender to the Carnatic and 
Bussy was broken off. The latter continued 
somehow to support his troops, and to increase 
his division by four hundred siiperior horse- 
men of the Deccan. Lally, no longer able to 
feed his army, was obliged to separate it into 
two divisions, and send each in a different 
direction to collect the rents, and assert gene- 
rally the sovejeignty of those districts. This 
was perilous in the presence of so great a force 
as the English now possessed, but all parties 
agreed that there was nothing else which could 
be done, and preserve the soldiers alive. 

On the 20th of November, the division 
which took the southern direction seized upon 



the island of Seringham, the garrison of Tricli- 
inopoly being too weak to offer resistance. 
Unfortunately for Lally, Colonel Coote, with 
the remainder of his force, had landed a few 
weeks before, and, on the 21st of November, 
reached Conge veram, where the English troops 
were cantonned. He pretended to concentrate 
his attention on Arcot, and deceived the 
French, threw them off their guard at Wandi- 
wash, and then, suddenly assaulting that place, 
carried it on the 29th. This gallant coup of 
Coote compelled Lally to abandon Seringham 
for the defence of Arcot. He was joined by 
Bussy, with the force at the head of which he 
had been fruitlessly wandering about, for the 
first time in his Indian experience. Bussy 
recommended a cunning and effectual course 
of strategy to hia chief — that of using his su- 
periority of cavalry to act upon the English 
communications. Lally found that the temper 
of his Irish soldiers would not be satisfied with 
expeditions which only harassed the enemy, 
and that some bold exploit — some obvious and 
tangible advantage, was necessary to satisfy 
their daring enterprise and their protracted 
disappointments. Bussy's plan was the best 
in itself, but was unsuited to the condition of 
the troops. The count, anxious to secure food 
and ammunition, by clever strategem diverted 
the attention of the English, and seized Con- 
geveram, where he found nothing of im- 
portance. The English were fed by paying 
ready money daily at a high rate to the 
country people, who, finding them to be good 
customers, provided them with supplies ; but 
Bussy's Mahratta horsemen often interfered 
with these operations, to the injury and em- 
barrassment of the British. Lally next at- 
tempted the recapture of Wandiwash. Surprise 
was impossible : he laid siege to the place ; 
but his genius was baffled by the professional 
etiquette of the engineers, who insisted upon 
carrying on the siege according to established 
rules, instead of obeying the orders of their 
chief, whose keen military eye saw that such 
rules were unnecessary in the case. Before 
he could do anything, a superior English army 
came to raise the siege. Bussy advised his 
superior officer to resort to the stratagem of 
cutting off the English supplies ; but Lally, 
scorning to retreat, prepared to give battle to 
the approaching foe. The English manoeuvred 
admirably, and formed their line with one 
wing in communication with the fort, and 
resting ujion it so as to be covered by its fire. 
The European force of the French was su- 
perior to that of the English, being 2250 
against 1900. The native force of the British 
was the stronger, being 2100 sepoys and 
1250 cavalry against 1300 sepoys. The 
Mahratta horse in the French service would 



Chkv. LXX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



233 



not approacli the field within several miles. 
The English had twenty-six field pieces, which 
were admirably officered and manned. Lally's 
engineers and artillery were inferior : his sole 
reliance was upon his Irish infantry ; although 
a portion of his French force were cavalry, 
and from them he also expected some service. 
These cavalry were the first troops tested, and 
they behaved basely. The British advanced ; 
and Lally, believing their left wing wavered 
from the fire of his artillery, which there is 
good reason for believing was an error, bravely 
put himself at the head of his horsemen, and 
ordered a charge ; but neither men nor officers 
would follow him. He suspended the com- 
manding officer, and ordered the next in se- 
niority to take the command : he refused to 
obey. Lally addressed the men, appealing to 
their patriotism and courage. A junior officer 
cried out that it was shame to desert the ge- 
neral in the midst of battle, and this produced 
the effect. The general led them, however, 
but a short distance when some artillery fire 
beginning to take effect, the whole turned and 
fled, and the intrepid soldier stood alone to 
dare for France what Frenchmen were un- 
willing to brave. Lally then brought up his 
French infantry, who, wretchedly supported 
by the artillery, and altogether deserted by 
the cavalry, European and native, saw the 
hopelessness of success, and fired at random. 
The English, who perfectly obeyed their 
orders, were commanded not to fire a shot, but 
advance steadily, which they did, as if a mass 
moved by a single will. The infantry on their 
extreme right being Lally's own, threw them- 
selves into column, and rushed madly forward 
to meet the English, who were ordered to re- 
serve their fire until the enemy was close. 
The English receiving the columns in line, 
the battle assumed a form similar to that of so 
many of the Duke of Wellington's in recent 
years : as he said of Waterloo, in his letter 
to ^Marshal Beresford — " They came on in the 
old way, and were beaten off in the old way." 
The fire of the British line fell with deadly 
certainty upon the front and flank of their op- 
ponents, tearing open the column in a manner 
the most sanguinary and terrible. Yet these 
dauntless men, true to Lally when all else for- 
sook him, broke through this terrific fire, and, 
charging with the bayonet, in the same spirit 
as the English afterwards became accustomed 
to do, broke the British line, and, as Mill de- 
scribes it, " bore down what was opposed to 
it." Its victory, won so well — and never was vic- 
tory won more bravely — was of sliort duration. 
The French cavalry had galloped off the field ; 
the native cavalry, their allies, had not appeared 
upon it ; the sepoys fired irregularly and at a 
distance : the handful of heroes of Lally's own 



corps was left to do battle with the British array. 
The English infantry, cavalry, and artillery 
fell upon their unprotected flanks : yet still 
they fought until the field was ensanguined 
with their blood, and the tired remnant were 
swept before the repeated charges of over- 
whelming numbers, as the monsoon scatters 
the surges of the sea. Bussy put himself at 
the head of the French infantry, and led them 
to a bayonet charge. His horse was pierced 
by a British bayonet, and his soldiers forsook 
him on the field, leaving him a prisoner in the 
hands of the English. Lally ordered the sepoys 
to charge : they would not, and soon turned 
from the field. The Irish suffered dreadfully, 
and were left alone to combat and to die, 
winning for themselves an honour scarcely in- 
ferior to that of Fontenoy, even in defeat. 
The sieur acted the part of a skilful general in 
bringing his beaten army off the field ; and the 
French cavalry, \vho behaved so cowardly, with 
the brave remnant of Lally's own regiment, so 
gallantly covered the retreat, that the army, 
demoralized although it was, was preserved 
from annihilation. He even halted at a short 
distance, the native cavalry in the English 
service not daring to pursue ; and the British 
infantry, having become exhausted in the con- 
flict, were unequal to a task with which the 
sepoys could not be entrusted. Lally awaited 
the junction of his detachment at Wandiwash, 
and carried off his wounded and his light 
baggage in the face of his enemy. He then 
proceeded to Chittapet, and thence to Gingee. 

Coote was a brave, cool, and active officer. 
He did not allow the war to slumber, and 
sent forward a detachment for the reduction 
of Arcot. Hearing that the French fort of 
Chittapet, was almost defenceless, Coote de- 
termined to attempt its reduction before be- 
sieging Arcot. Both forts were reduced with 
trifling loss and labour, the enemy ofi'ering 
but a feeble resistance. 

Lally withdi'ew his troops from Gingee to 
Vellore, lest the English should intercept his 
communications with Pondicherry, and in 
order to protect the districts from which he 
had then any chance of obtaining provisions. 
Finding that all his attempts to obtain any 
pecuniary assistance from Pondicherry, or 
supplies of any kind were unavailing, he pro- 
ceeded to that place, and stormed with his 
usual unrestrained passion against the delin- 
quents whom he accused of embezzling the 
property of the company, and betraying their 
country. They in return accused him of folly, 
rashness, incompetency, and to these charges, 
which might have had some show of reason, 
except as to any impeachment of incompe- 
tency in the field, they added the absurd 
taunt of cowardice. The result of these 



234 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXX. 



reciiminations was to paralyse still further 
all hope of conducting the war against the 
English successfully. 

The destitution and disorganization of the 
French army was now fearfully increased, and 
had the English marched at once boldly upon 
Pondicherry, it must have fallen ; but they 
were deficient in information, and believing 
that the resources of the French at Pondi- 
cherry were ample, and that in other direc- 
tions also they exceeded the reality, the 
policy was adopted of attacking the various 
minor places in detail, and then of gradually 
closing upon Pondicherry, and reducing it 
by blockade. This plan was acted upon 
with slow, but ultimate success. It would be 
tedious to recount the various actions which 
took place, or to give an account of the rela- 
tive consequence of the successes which the 
English obtained. M. Auber* gives the fol- 
lowing correct summary, which is, although 
closely condensed, sufficiently ample for the 
reader's purpose, possessing the exactness which 
that writer's peculiar opportunities enabled 
him to observe : — " The army, after the sur- 
render of Arcot, moved towards Pondicherr}', 
to cut off supplies, while Admiral Cornish 
blockaded it by sea. The district of Triuco- 
malee was reduced by Captain Smith. On 
the 5th of March, Permacoil surrendered to 
Colonel Coote, Carical to Colonel Monson 
and Admiral Cornish on the 5th of April, 
and Chellnmbrum to Colonel Monson on the 
12th. On the same day, Colonel Coote took 
Waldov.r, where the camp was formed pre- 
viously to operations against Pondicherry; 
for which purpose, a large supply of gun- 
powder had been sent from Bengal and Bom- 
bay, accompanied by three companies of the 
king's artillery from the latter presidency. 
The Mahrattas had gained a considerable 
victory over Salabat Jung, who ceded to 
them districts of the value of sixty lacs of 
rupees, and the fort of Dowlatabad, at that 
time the strongest in the country. M. Bussy 
and other French prisoners on parole, at 
Pondicherry, were ordered to Madras, as 
several of them had borne arms by order of 
M. Lally. Considerable apprehension being 
entertained that the Mahrattas would enter 
the province and demand the chout, and, if 
joined by the Mysoroans and the French, 
that they would impede the designs against 
Pondicherry, a member of the council was 
deputed, for the purpose of inducing them to 
refrain from advancing towards the Carnatic. 
In the month of September, the president. 
Governor Pigot, accompanied by Colonel 
Coote, visited Admiral Steevens, on board 
the Norfolk, and, after much solicitation, ob- 

* British Povier ia India, vol. i. cliap. iii. p. 102. 



tained his consent to the marines of the squa- 
dron being landed, to aid the troops in pre- 
venting supplies being thrown into Pondi- 
cherry. During the preparation for attack- 
ing Ariancopang, orders were received from 
Bengal for divesting Colonel Coote of the 
command, and placing it in the hands of 
Colonel Monson. The latter officer, in an 
attack on the enemy's outposts, having had 
both the bones of his leg broken by a shot, 
recommended that Colonel Coote should again 
receive the command. It was some days, 
however, before Coote would consent to re- 
turn to the camp, having made preparations 
to proceed to Bengal. The French blew up 
Ariancopang, and retreated to Pondicherry. 
The marines being re-embarked by the desire 
of Admiral Steevens, he sailed in October 
with the greater part of his fleet to Trinco- 
malee, leaving five of his ships to prevent the 
enemy affording aid by sea. The king (as 
he was then stj'led) of Mysore having sup- 
])orted the French, a diversion was made into 
his country, and the fort of Caroor taken by 
Captain >Smith. It was supposed to have 
been the first instance of any European troops 
having advanced so far inland westward. 
The king subsequently addressed letters of 
friendship to the president, and the nabob of 
the Carnatic, stating that it was his prime- 
minister, Hyder Naigue, who had rebelled 
against him, and sent his troops to assist the 
French. This appears to have been the 
first mention of Hyder, who became so formi- 
dable an enemy to the company, both in his • 
own person and that of his adopted successor." 

By the 1st of May, 17G0, the French had 
lost all their possessions in the Carnatic, ex- 
cept the strong fort of Gingee, and the fort 
commanding an important pass called Jhiager, 
and were shut up in Pondicherry, blockaded, 
by land and sea. 

Lally had, however, continued to negotiate 
with tlie Mysoreans, and they consented to 
afford him food, munitions of war, and a body 
of three thousand horse, and five hundred 
infantry. They falsified all his expectations. 
They, indeed, advanced their troops, defeat- 
ing an English detachment in their progress, 
and encamped near Pondicherry, but finding 
the affairs of the French desperate, they de- 
camped in the night, after lingering about 
the place for a month. They were probably 
influenced by the arrival of six of the com- 
pany's ships at Madras, with royal troops to 
the number of six hundred. This was the 
2nd of August, Pondicherry having been, 
three months blockaded, and no impression 
made upon the place. A month later (Sep- 
tember 2), several other ships of the company 
arrived, three ships of war, and a wing of a 



Chap. LXX.J 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



2M 



Higlilaud regiment. The reinforcements of 
troops liad now been considerable, and the 
fleet consisted of nineteen sail of the line, 
with one or two frigates, and several lesser 
ships, besides several heavily armed ships of 
the company : — '' Lally had now, and it ia no 
ordinary praise, during almost eight months 
since the total discomfiture of his army at 
Wandiwash, imposed upon the English so 
much respect, as deterred them from the 
siege of Pondicherry ; and, notwithstanding 
the desperate state of his resources, found 
means to supply the fort, which had been 
totally destitute of provisions, with a stock 
Bufticient to maintain the garrison for several 
months. And he still resolved to strike a 
blow which might impress them with an opi- 
nion that he was capable of offensive opera- 
tions of no inconsiderable magnitude. He 
formed a plan, which has been allowed to 
indicate both judgment and sagacity, for 
attacking the English camp by surprise in 
four places on the night of the 4th of Sep- 
tember. But one of the four divisions, into 
which his ai'my was formed for the execu- 
tion of the enterprise, fell behind its time, 
and disconcerted the operations of the re- 
mainder." * 

Early in December, the English converted 
the blockade into a close siege, erecting bat- 
teries which fired upon the place, from the 
end of the first week to the 30th ; on that 
day a tempest of extraordinary violence 
stranded three of the English ships in the 
road, and injured almost all the others. The 
camp also suffered damage, the tents of the 
soldiers being torn up and driven away, and 
the ground flooded. It was a storm, which 
in its intensity and the character of its effects, 
bore a close resemblance to that which smote 
the besieging fleets and armies before Sebas- 
topol, on the memorable night of the 14th of 
November, 1854. As in the latter case, so 
in the former, the storm and deluge only 
delayed the siege, the English repaired the 
damages, and pressed on the works through- 
out the first days of January. About the 
12th of the month, Lally, exhausted with 
anxiety and fatigue, became ill, and the 
management of affairs devolved upon the 
council, which was torn with dissensions. 
"Whatever Lally ordered was disobeyed. The 
provisions which that general had, with so 
much talent, energy and self-sacrifice, laid in, 
were squandered. Lally, perceiving their 
total want of competency and principle, or- 
dered them to make terms with the besiegers ; 
they deceived him, and went on squandering 
the means of defence. In the evening of the 

* History of British India. By James Mill, Esq., 
book iv. chap. iv. p. 182. 



14th, a commissioner from Lally, and a depu- 
tation from the council, entered the English 
camp. Lally claimed the benefit of a cartel 
which had been concluded between the two 
crowns, and which, the deputation from tho 
council urged, rendered it impossible to pro- 
pose a capitulation. Coote, who commanded 
tho British, alleging that a dispute being still 
open as to the meaning and extent of the 
cartel, he could not recognise it, and would 
accept nothing but an unconditional sun-ender. 
There remained nothing for the French but 
immediate surrender ; they had only two days' 
provision left, and no proper material of war 
to resist a siege. The council of Madras 
levelled the town and fort ; all the French 
were borne away prisoners. Dupleix had 
boasted that he would serve Madras so, and 
the council of the presidency determined to 
make the King of France feel that the retri- 
bution was as complete as it was deserved. 
Theagar and Gingee surrendered almost 
without resistance, completing the English 
conquest of the Carnatic. 

In the meantime important transactions 
between the French and English had occurred 
elsewhere, the result of which, taken with the 
events in the Carnatic, was that the French 
had lost all their possessions in India, when 
Gingee surrendered. 

The fate of Lally was sorrowful : when 
liberated by the English and restored to 
France, he was cast into the Bastile, thenco 
he was taken to a common prison, accused of 
high treason, dragged through the streets of 
Paris in a dung-cart, and then executed, — 
forming one of the most disgraceful pages of 
French history. Never was a man more true 
to France, more loyal to her king, more zealous 
or honest in the public service of any country. 
His vices were a hasty temper, a despotic 
will, religious bigotry, and a hatred to the 
English, both national and religious, which 
amounted almost to monomania. His services 
to France were great ; his requital murder, as 
Orme, the English historian, designated his 
execution — " a murder committed with the 
sword of justice:" he might have more pro- 
perly said, with the sword of law. The French 
monarch and ministry, anxious to appease 
the hostility which rose around them, sought 
and found a noble victim. Lally was subse- 
quently amply avenged. His son was the Lally 
Tollendal whose eloquence in the constituent 
assembly contributed so much to destroy the 
bigoted, tyrannical, sanguinary, and treach- 
erous monarchy of the Bourbons. Thus na- 
tional, like individual retribution, forms a 
striking feature in the moral government of 
the all-wise and just God, whose long suffer- 
ing and patience hinder not, but illustrate and 



236 



HISTORY OF THE BllITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXX. 



enforce, the impartial and sure justice of His 
administration. 

The English were now masters of the 
Carnatic, over whiclt they ruled through 
their nominee, Mohammed AH, who had pro- 
bably the most equitable claim to the title of 
nabob. The soubahdar of the Deccan, whom 
the English called viceroy or nizam, pro- 
fessed to be their ally; and although the 
nabob of the Carnatic was tributary to him, 
the latter was left wholly under the direction 
and control of the English. This was the 
first great war in which the English were en- 
gaged in India, and was one so bloody, 
protracted, and involving such lasting conse- 
quences, as to deserve an extended narrative. 

It required, however, a few years to con- 
solidate the government of the Carnatic ; and 
during that process, fresh events tended to 
alter its relations to surrounding territory, 
and to give the English a still wider pre- 
ponderance in Southern India, through the 
necessary effects and sequences of the war in 
the Carnatic, which they had so successfully 
waged. The nabob was still disturbed by re- 
fractory polygars, and at the same time by 
intrigues conducted from Mysore by Hyder, 
who, early in 176G, was in ostensible re- 
volt against his sovereign.* The English 
were much occupied in negotiations with the 
court of the Deccan, and with an expedition 
to Manilla, which left Madras on the 29th of 
July, 1762; but still they gave attention to 
the nabob's affairs, mediated between him and 
the Myeoreans, and aided in subduing the 
polygars. At the end of the year 1761 Vel- 
lore surrendered to the nabob, which was a 
source to him of great satisfaction ; and dur- 
ing 1762, the most rebellious and powerful of 
the polygars made submission. 

The various parties contending in the Dec- 
can, especially that of Salabat Jung, sought 
English aid soon after the surrender of the 
French, offering for it large territorial conces- 
sions, which were refused, the council inform- 
ing the directors, " we are not anxious to 
grasp more than can be held," — which showed 
as much policy as moderation. 

In 1764 tidings of peace in Europe be- 
tween England and France arrived in Madras. 
The council were as much averse to French 
settlements in India as ever ; alleging, in their 
correspondence with the directors, that the 
French could never support settlements by 
trade ; that in order to obtain means to keep 
up troops and grand establishments, they 
would be sure to seek territory by means 
involving all around them in frequent re- 
course to arms. Governor Pigot had left 

' Leiler from the Council of Madras to the Court of 
Directors, March, 1701. 



for England at the latter end of the previous 
year ; these views he affirmed iu London. 
The successor of Mr. Pigot was of the same 
mind. French settlements and peace were 
regarded by the English as not likely to 
exist long in India together. 

In the early part of 1763, the fort of Ma- 
dura was invested by the British ; in October 
it surrendered to Major Campbell. By this 
conquest, the nabob was enabled to occupy a 
strong post in the midst of a large district 
ruled by insurrectionary polygars. The most 
important consequence of the conquest of the 
Carnatic was the acquisition by the English of 
the Northern Circars. This was, however, 
not whoUj' the result of the expulsion of the 
French from the Carnatic, although chiefly so : 
the events in Bengal which were occurring at 
the same time, contributed their quota to the 
influences which enabled the English to be- 
come masters of territory so desirable. 

By the treaty of . peace, Pondicherry was 
restored to the French ; and M. Law, who 
had formerly distinguished himself as an op- 
ponent of the English, had returned to Pondi- 
cherry under that treaty. The English at 
Madras became alarmed lest he should lay 
claim to the Northern Circars, which had 
been conceded to the French in 1657. The 
territory was of great extent and importance, 
commanding a vast range on the Coroman- 
del coast, fertile in a considerable portion 
of its area, and occupied by an industrious 
population. The French were no sooner 
settled in Pondicherry, than disputes were 
raised about the treaty between England and 
France, and between France and the soubah- 
dar in the Deccan, on the ground of which 
the French might claim it The English 
having expelled the French during the late 
war, were disposed to stretch to the utmost 
the rights of their nominee, the Nabob of the 
Carnatic. The French assumed a tone irritat- 
ing, consequential, and assuming ; they wrote 
and talked as if they felt it to be their right 
and duty to resume their old authority^to de- 
prive them of which the war had been waged 
so fiercely, and they were intent upon pursu- 
ing their old courses as far as was possible in 
their altered circumstances. The council of 
Madras would have probably held the Circars 
against their claims upon the nabob for ex- 
penses incurred on his account, but the Mah- 
rattas were now jealous of the rising dominion 
of the English, and were too powerful for the 
English to provoke them. It was accord- 
ingly proposed to rent the Circars from the 
nizam (or viceroy) of the Deccan, in order to 
prevent the claims of the French. The nizam 
was willing to cede the territory ; but the 
English, doubtful of his autliority, preferred 



CuAP. LXXI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



237 



paying a rent. The nizam had, however, no 
sincerity in his o£fer3, either of friendship or 
territory ; and the English were obliged, 
throughout the greater part of 1705, to main- 
tain an armed observation of his movements. 
The following account of the issue of these 
transactions is brief and clear : — " At this 
period, however, events had laid tlie King or 
Jlogul under overwhelming obligations to 
the English, whose power alone upheld him 
on the ancient but decaying throne of Delhi. 
He granted them, upon application, a firman, 
by which they became, without conquest, law- 
ful possessors of the Northern Gircars.* Like 
the rest of India, this tract had been held by 
rajahs and polygars, who farmed the revenue, 
and exercised a sort of independent authority 
within the limits of their states. The impe- 
rial firman released them from tribute to the 
soubahdar of the Deccan, as well as to the 
nawab (or nabob) of the Carnatic, and trans- 
ferred their allegiance to the English. Since 
the success of the company's arms, indeed, 
those powers had exercised little more than a 
nominal influence in the Northern Circars, 
and some new authority was called for to 
rescue them from the anarchy by which they 
were overwhelmed. The imperial grant, con- 
ferring a legal right,")" placed them at the 
disposal of our countrymen ; all that remained 
to confirm them in the territorj', was annexa- 
tion. The advantage of acquisition was ap- 
parent. It would give them possession of all 
the coast from tlie mouths of the Ganges to 
the Coromandel settlements,^ excepting the 
province of Orissa, which, though included in 
the British dewanee, was held by the warlike 
Mahrattas.§ 



" When the English proceeded to take pos- 
session of their new acquisition, the nizam, re- 
belling openly against the imperial authority, 
pretended to feel exasperated at their acts,"* 
and prepared to make war upon them. Though 
entitled to enforce their privilege by arms, they 
preferred to negotiate peace, and agreed to 
rent from the nizam, for an annual sum of 
nine lacs of rupees, the Circars of liajamun- 
dry, Ellore, Mustephanegur, Chicacoole, and 
Murtezanegur; while the Guntoo Circar was 
allotted to Salabat Jung, the old soubahdar 
of the Deccan, who had been dethroned by 
his brother. It was, perhaps, an excess of 
delicacy or timidity, which induced the com- 
pany to offer such liberal terms ; but it may 
have been, at that juncture, wiser than the 
policy of war. One stipulation in the treaty 
was, however, imprudent. The English 
agreed to assist the soubahdar with a military 
force, whenever he should require it ; thus 
bringing on themselves the chance of dan- 
gerous and destructive wars, which might be 
equally profitless to themselves and ruinous 
to their allies.f This article of the treaty ex- 
cited severe displeasure among the court of 
directors.^ However, the territory was now 
included in their growing empire, and the 
soubahdar, with shrunken dominions, was left 
to exercise his versatile talent for treachery 
by intriguing with the enemies of his allies. 
His power, indeed, had otherwise diminished. 
The Nawab of the Carnatic, once his tribu- 
tary, was now, by an imperial firman, created 
his equal." § 

The English were now virtually masters of 
the Northern Circars, the coast of Coromandel, 
and the whole Carnatic. 



CHAPTER LXXI. 

CONFLICTS BETWEEN THE ENGLISH AND FRENCH IN WESTERN INDIA AFTER THE BREAK- 
ING OUT OF WAR BETWEEN THE TWO N.VflONS IN 1744— CONQUEST OF THE PIR.A.TE 
ANGRIA. 



At Tellioherry and Myhie, as has been shown 
in former chapters, the English and French 
were most frequently engaged in conflict on 
the coast of Western India. When tidings 
arrived in the former place, that Madras had 
submitted to Labourdonnais in 1746, the 
utmost consternation was felt, and the chief 
valuables of the settlement were removed 

* Mill's BritUh India, vol. iii. p. 452. 
"i" Peiihoen's Empire Anglais, vol. ii. p. 456. 
% Mill's British India, voL iii. p. 453. 
i Wilson's Notes, ibid. 
VOL. II. 



elsewhere. The council and garrison were 
in daily expectation of a visit from the fleet 
of the conqueror, when their fears were re- 
lieved by learning that a storm had wrecked 
the proud ships whose thunder they expected 
so soon to hear. 

* Sutherland's Historical Sketch of the Princes of 
India, p. 82. 

t Mill's British India, vol. iii. p. 455. 

X Letter to Bengal, 1768. 

j History of the British Conquetti in India. By 
Horace St. John, vol, i. p. 106. 

1 I 



238 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXXI. 



On the 30th of IMarch, 17-18, the Uxclei- 
and Winchester, British men-of-war, attacked 
the French ship St. Louis, as she lay in the 
river of JMyhie. She escaped by being hauled 
into shoal water, but so damaged as to be 
beyond repair. 

When, in 1751, Dupleix was filling the 
Deccan with his fame, the council .it Bomb.ay 
was informed by certain spies of the King of 
Travancore, that the French chief had formed 
a comprehensive plan for the destruction of 
the British settlements on the coast of Mala- 
bar.* Throughout the year 1751 demon- 
strations and ininor conflicts took place be- 
tween the French of Myhie and the English 
of Tellicherry, without any decided advantage 
on either side. The conflicts which each had 
■with the native chiefs, and the intrigues car- 
ried on with these chiefs by the two hostile 
European nations, have been noticed in pre- 
vious chapters on the affairs of Western India. 
The garrisons both of Myhie and Tellicherry 
■were after this time much reduced ; the latter 
garrison so much, that they were xjnable to 
repress the insolence of Cuny Nair, a most 
contemptible antagonist. As for the French, 
they were in a still worse plight, fearing an 
attack from the Canarese, distressed for want 
of provisions, and unable to meet the expenses 
of their forts to the northward. Officers and 
men, tired of waiting for their arrears of pay, 
deserted in large numbers, and in one day 
a captain, ensign, engineer, mate of a man- 
of-war, and five other Frenchmen sought 
refuge in the English factory.f 

Up to the end of the year 1753 the English 
had continued to incur great expenses for for- 
tifications at Tellicherry and other places in 
Malabar ; nearly 100,000 rupees had been ex- 
pended, and yet the forts were reported by 
Sir J. Foulis to be in a ruinous condition. 

In 176G a sort of "armed neutrality" was 
established between Tellicherry and Myhie, 
both parties expecting that the war which had 
slumbered in Europe for a season would burst 
forth again with renewed fury. The French 
chief visited the English factory for the pur- 
pose of establishing neutrality, "a dodge" 
which the chiefs of Myhie constantly prac- 
tised when they felt themselves comparatively 
weak. The English on some occasions fol- 
lowed this example ; but although the French 
had repeatedly profited by their generosity, 
it was not reciprocated. When Fort St. 
David was captured, the guns of Myhie thun- 
dered their salutes, and the offer of neutrality 
then made by the alarmed English was scorn- 
fully rejected ; but when, in 17G0, French 
arms suffered in Tanjore, and the Circars 

* Bnmiay Diary, 141h of November, 1751. 
+ Bomiaij Quarterly Jtevietc, October, 1857. 



and their fleets were chased by the English, the 
chief of Myhie was eager to represent the ad- 
vantages of neutrality. Again, when Louet, 
the French chief of the factory, supposed that 
Admiral Cornish and Sir Eyre Coote were 
ajiproaching the coast of Malabar, his earnest 
importunities for neutrality, by one who had 
refused it when it might have been accepted 
with a good grace, were humiliating. The 
English chief on that occasion made answer, 
that he would refer to the president at Bom- 
bay for instructions ; but he, meanwhile, pro- 
pared for action should the British force be 
strengthened on that coast. 

From 175G until the final subjugation of 
the French on the Malabar coast, the opera- 
tions of both nations were desultory, and -on 
the part of the French mainly offered thro'-lgh 
their native alliances. The English were, how- 
ever, strengthening such alliances, while the 
French, by their arrogance, tyranny, and 
above all, their bigotry, were rapidly losing 
influence. Meanwhile, the English were 
busy in supplying a petty prince and zealous 
partizan of theirs, styled the third King of 
Nelleasaroon, with stores and ammunition, 
■ which he used so effectually as to capture in 
September the French fort of Motally, mount- 
ing twenty-two guns ; although he afterwards 
restored it, at the intercession of the Prince of 
Cherical. War w\is not actually proclaimed 
until the 7th of October, when the Eng- 
lish had the good fortune to find themselves 
with several warm and lukewarm friends 
amongst the native princes, but no avowed 
enemy save the Boyanore. The French, on 
the other hand, had many and bitter enemies; 
the Prince of Cherical gave up their cause, 
and concluded a treaty with the English ; the 
Cotiote was exceedingly incensed against 
them, because they had compelled his prime- 
minister, from fear of his life, to profess himself 
a Christian; and the chief of Nelleasaroon, 
equally hostile to them, offered to take their 
forts with his own men, if the English would 
only garrison them afterwards — an offer which 
the English chief was compelled to decline, 
so small were the number of European troops 
at his disposal. Between the principals, how- 
ever, of the two factories there was only an 
exchange of courtesies. An English picket 
seized a French boat laden with pepper cap- 
tured from the English, on which the chief 
of Tellicherry, although of course detaining 
the cargo, sent the boat with the letters found 
on her, unopened, to Myhie. M. Louet, in 
return, released English boats seized by a 
captain of a French man-of-war, sent back 
slaves that his men had lured away, and per- 
mitted his surgeon to render medical aid at 
the English factory. But when a native 



Chap. LXXI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



239 



officer of a French ship was detected in 
raising recruits on British territor}', and car- 
ried before the chief in council, they behaved 
to him more like brigands than generous 
enemies. After a solemn consultation they 
decided upon setting him at liberty, first con- 
fiscating his silver-headed cane and picking 
his pocket of 380 fanams.* 

While these events transpired in the neigh- 
bourhood of Tellicherry, others connected 
with the war occupied the attention and 
care of the factors of Ajengo. From the 
breaking out of the war in 1744, to the 
peace, and again after the 'short peace, until 
the end of the resumed war, the traders 
of this petty place were kept in alarm by 
the appearance of French ships of war in the 
offing. Their neighbour, the King of Tra- 
vancore, assumed to be their protector, and 
threatened very often the utter extermination 
of all Frenchmen, should any land near 
Ajengo, or offer molestation to its people. 
His majesty, however, never did anything to 
assure the factors, but very much to add to 
their disquiet : — 

" For a series of years this warlike prince 
was continually making application to the 
British for supplies of ammunition, small 
arms, and cannon, offering in payment cap- 
tives taken in war, which the British accepted 
with reluctance, although admitting that 
they were cheaper than their slaves imported 
from Madagascar. With his other offers they 
closed most cheerfully. He had compelled 
his subjects to yield him a monopoly of all 
pepper grown in the country, and the factors 
were as glad to receive that as ready cash. 
He ceded to them also for a term of years the 
province of Tinnivelly, which they leased to 
a merchant ; and it would have been of great 
value to them, had not the neighbouring 
polygars disturbed it, until reduced to order 
by a force sent from Madras under Captain 
Calhaud.f This liberality kept the victorious 
monarch on excellent terms with the British, 
and though a tyrannical oppressor of his 
subjects, he seems never but on one occasion, 
when his emissaries beat and i)lundered a 
helpless woman within the company's limits, 
to have molested the factory of Ajengo."| 

The notice taken of Captain Calliaud's ser- 
vices in a previous chapter, bore upon the 

* Tellicherry Diary, 28lli of April, 15tli of Sep- 
tember, 15th of October, 9th of November, 1750. Bom- 
lay Diary, 28th of April, 8th of May, 30th of August, 
15th of Deeembcr, 1757; 30th of November, 1758. 
Ives'a Voyage. Bombay Quarterly, October, 1857, 
p. 221. 

t As shown in previous chapters. 

% Bombay Quarterly. Ajengo Diary. Diary of the 
Select Committee. Orme's History, vol. i. book v. 
Forbes's Oriental Memoirs, vol. i. 



policy of the Madras council, the relations 
of the English with the Nabob of the Car- 
natic, of the French with the Nizam of the 
Deccan, and of the issue of the policy initiated 
by Dupleix ; it is here only necessary to say 
that the conduct of Calliaud ensured peace to 
the little factory at Ajengo, and to a certain 
extent along the coast of Malabar. The 
Tanjore monarch, grateful for the subjuga- 
tion of the polygars, and always apprehen- 
sive of being subdued by the French, whom 
he so often boasted he would annihilate, 
offered no insults thenceforth to the com- 
paratively helpless settlements of the English 
upon that part of the coast to which his 
power extended. Thus the effective opera- 
tions in the war waged in the Carnatic, from 
Madras and St. David's, told upon Western 
India, as in fact they also influenced the for- 
tunes of Bengal. Whatever was done in the 
Carnatic, affected the court of the Deccan and 
the heart of French influence in Southern 
India, so that along the whole shores of Mala- 
bar and Coromandel, the wave of power was 
felt as it ebbed and flowed from the impulses 
within, as the waves that wash those shores 
are agitated by the heaving of the ocean 
upon the verge of which they rise or sink. 

An event occurred with which the name 
of Clive was connected, which much in- 
fluenced the peace and prosperity of the 
English settlements in W'estern India, and 
strengthened them against the French, al- 
though itself not connected with that enemy. 
When Clive had received the honours con- 
ferred upon him in England, after the glories 
he had won in India, he entered parliament, 
was ejected on petition, distributed his re- 
sources among his relatives to whom he was 
much attached, lived in much style, and so 
reduced his temporal means that he was 
desirous to return again to India to recruit 
them, just at the moment when it suited the 
company to employ his services, which they 
were anxious to do, because they expected a 
renevi'ed war with France after a brief and 
hollow peace. 

The directors appointed him to an im- 
portant office in the government of Fort 
St. David.* The king made him a lieutenant- 
colonel in the royal army. He embarked 
on board the Streatham in March, 1755, and 
arrived in Bombay just as the pirate Angria 
had received a severe chastisement from Com- 
modore James, then commanding the com- 
pany's military marine in India. 

* Lord Macsulay says he was appointed governor 
M. Auber represents him as being nominated a member 
of council at Fort St. David. The Bombay Quarterly of 
April, 1857, on the authority of the Bombay Diary, calls 
him deputy-governor of that place. 



2i0 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[CiiAi'. LXXI, 



The council of Bombay were desirous of 
following up the victory of J.ames by a more 
decisive blow. A royal fleet, accompanied 
by the company's navy, under Commodore 
James, the whole under orders of Admiral 
Watson, set sail for Gheria. The troops on 
board were commanded by Olive. In Feb- 
ruary, 1756, the armament arrived in the 
river, and at once attacked the stronghold of 
piracy in Western India. Watson succeeded 
in burning the whole of the enemy's ships. 
Clive attacked the fortress by land, which fell 
before his skill and valour. Prize money to 
the extent of £150,000 was divided among 
the conquerors. 

The consequences of this victory were very 
great. The coast of Malabar was delivered 
from the presence of a nest of pirates, who, 
in resources and power, were more formid- 
able than any piratical forces which had 
ever troubled the Eastern seas, or, perhaps, 
ever before or since ranged the ocean any- 
where. 

On the 12th of the October following, a 
treaty was formed with the Mahrattas, by 
which Gheria was given them by the English 
in exchange for Bancote and various villagesi 
A clause was also inserted, that the Dutch 
should never be permitted to settle in the 
Mahratta dominions. The rajahs holding 
territory along the Malabar coast were so 
awed, tliat they made haste to sign treaties 
conferring privileges of trade. The Mogul 
himself was pleased with the subjugation of 
the pirates, by whom his own ships were 
frequently captured, and the event, joined 
with other transactions of subsequent occur- 
rence, conduced to the granting of a firman 
by the Mogul in 1759, conceding to the com- 
pany the government of Surat. 

After Clive accomplished the reduction of 
Gheria, Lord Macaulay represents him as 
" having proceeded to his government of 
Port St. Uavid." This is an error: he re- 
turned to Bombay, and remained there some 
time, supposing that his services might be 
again required in connection with that presi- 
dency — a fact incompatible with the assertion 
that he had been designated to the supreme 
government of Fort St. David. 

That Lord Macaulay is wrong in the above 
assertion is plain enough, for Clive became 
involved in a dispute with the governor 
and council at Bombay on a question as to 
his own military position, after the destruc- 
tion of the pirate keep of Gheria. He re- 
turned to Bombay with the artillery, for the 
purpose of joining an expedition against the 
French, intended to be directed from that 
presidency, but which had been abandoned 
lor another object. The Bombay council was 



peculiarly supercilious to military men, and 
Clive, notwithstanding all his glory, was not 
particularly beloved by them. 

A Captain de Funck, a Swedish officer who 
had experienced much tyranny and injustice 
from the president and council, was tried by 
court-martial, because he had refused to sub- 
mit to a humiliation which the tyrannical 
president sought to impose upon him. Tlie 
council appointed Sir James Foulis as pre- 
sident, an officer of ability and fairness. Clive 
was indignant that any officer but himself 
should have presided over the court, and re- 
monstrated in angry terms. He protested to 
the council that he was "reduced to the ne- 
cessity," as he observed, of reminding the 
president and council that he was commander- 
in-chief of his majesty's forces, that he bore 
other distinguished titles, and had not been 
treated by the Honourable Richard Bouchier, 
Esquire — who, indeed, was never remarkable 
for civility — with proper courtes}'. His letter 
was as follows : — 

Bombai/t \^th of Aprils 1756. 

Honourable Sir and Sirs, — It is with much con- 
cern I fluil myself reduced to the necessity of delivering 
this letter on the subject of the general court-martial 
lately held on Captain Ue Funck. 

Your honour and co. cannot be ignorant of the late 
Articles of War, which empower none but the commaudcr- 
in-chief of his majesty's forces for the time being to order 
a general court-martial ; and your honour and co. must 
be sensible that, if I had interfered, no such court-mar- 
tial could have sat. However, in this and indeed in 
everything relating to the honour, reputation, and welfare 
of the Honourable Company, I should gladly have ac- 
quiesced, and if your honour and co. had thought me 
worthy of the delegation given to Sir James Foulis, I 
would with pleasure have acted in obedience thereto, whom 
I apprehend had no riglit to be deemed commander-in- 
chief of his majesty's forces, without the king's brevet of 
major can be proved superior to that of lieutenant-colonel. 

Neither do I complain against your honour and co. for 
ordering the general court-martial, but against the gover- 
nor only, who never thought proper to ask my advice or 
opinion, or even to inform me himself, or by any other 
person whatever, with one syllable relating thereto, aud 
considering the rank I bear of lieutenaut-colonel in his 
majesty's service, of Deputy Governor of St. David's, of a 
member of the committee of this place, I do not think I 
have been treated by the Honourable Richard Bouchier, 
Esq., agreeably to the intention of the Honourable the 
Court of Directors, who, I flatter myself, will do me jus- 
tice herein, when they come to hear thereof. 

I am, with respect, honourable sir and sirs, 

Your most obedient, humble servant, 

lloBEKT Clive.' 

This letter of Lieutenant-colonel Clive was 
answered by Daniel Draper, secretary to go- 
vernment, who, in the name of his superiors, 
tried to check the spoilt hero's arrogance by a 
little delicate satire. He could not, of course, 

* The above letter does not appear in any of the 
memoirs of Clive, and was first published in the Bombay 
qaarterhj ai k\ix\\, 1857. 



Chap. LXXI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



241 



pretend to instruct such an officer in his mili- 
tary duties, but lie would venture to refresli 
Ms memory on a few points wliicli all knew, 
save those who were wilfully ignorant. Offi- 
cers did not always attain to command by 
seniority, as the young colonel well knew. 
That depended upon the pleasure of the su- 
preme authority. The rank of such as had 
been appointed for a particular service had no 
efficacy when that service was performed, and 
they were without employment. The govern- 
ment of Bombay fully acknowledged the 
respect due to his majesty's commission, but 
they were at liberty to choose whether they 
would engage Colonel Clive's military services 
or not. The lieutenant-colonel wrote as if he 
was the only bearer of this commission in 
Bombay ; but many other officers bore it, and 
all concurred in the propriety of the arrange- 
ments made for this court-martial. In con- 
clusion, the government assured him that they 
had no wish to insult him, as he supposed, 
and they would refer the question in dispute 
to the court of directors. The ardent spirit 
of Cli ve was pining for action. It would seem 
as if from very ennui, he complained that he 
could not enjoy the little excitement of sitting 
on a court-martial, and relieved the monotony 
of inactive life by opening a controversial cor- 
respondence with the government. In a little 
time worthier occupations were found for him, 
and, quitting Bombay for ever, he entered a 
new field of fame on the other side of the 
continent.* 

In a chapter on the rise of the navy and 
army of the company, it was remarked that 
the troops of Bombay occasionally served in 
the other presidencies, and that Captain Arm- 
strong, serving under Major Lawrence, had 
been tyrannically and unjustly treated by Clive. 

In 1754 Captain Forbes's company of Eu- 
ropeans, and some Swiss and native troops, 
served under this Captain Armstrong with 
ability and bravery. Both men and officers 
complained of ill-treatment. Immediately after 
the tragedy of the black hole of Calcutta, 
Captain Armstrong again served with the 
Bombay artillery and some other troops from 
that presidency. He made many representa- 
tions to his government of the injustice and 
oppression of Clive. Besides his letters to his 
own presidency of Bombay, " he had brought 
to the notice of the jiresident in Bengal what 
he considered an imfair distribution of prize 
money, and his letter had been favourably re- 
ceived. Clive, offended at this, ordered him 
to resign his command, although no charges 
of misconduct had been brought against him, 
and to lead some aged and infirm topasses 

* Bombay Biarij, April and Julv 2Qtli, 1756. Bom- 
bitij (liMrterhj, April ] 857. 



back to Bombay. Armstrong remonstrated, 
and was brought to a court-martial. As he 
was honourably acquitted, we may suppose 
that he had, as he said, been harshly and un- 
justly treated. Clive added one more instance 
of his malice and disregard of law, by refusing 
to insert his acquittal in general orders. But 
none of these acts, so discreditable to the 
Indian hero, are recorded by his biographers, 
who, with the exception of a bitter and libellous 
foreigner, seem anxious to prove that modern 
biography is little more than systematised 
eulogy."* 

In 1760 a reinforcement was sent from 
Bombay to Madras, consisting chiefly of a 
company of European infantry and three 
companies of royal artillery. Thus Bombay 
lent considerable assistance to the other presi- 
dencies, having so little territory of its own to 
defend. After the destruction of the pirates, 
the presidency were occupied with their affairs 
at Gombroon in the Persian Gulf, through 
Bussorah with Persia, and in Carnara. These 
engagements were altogether commercial, al- 
though some insubordination occurred among 
the military at Gombroon, provoked by the 
neglect and arrogance of the council. 

In 1760 a report reached the presidency 
that the Mahrattas were conspiring with the 
French, which was true ; but it did not suit 
Nannah, the Mahratta chief, to avow it when 
the agents of the company arrived at Poonah ; 
and whatever schemes he had in view were 
soon extinguished by his death. The suc- 
cessor of Nannah was his son Mhaderao ; and 
a deputation was sent by the council of Bombay 
to condole with him on his father's death. 
The chief turned the occasion to diplomatic 
ends, and sought to draw the English into an 
engagement to aid him against the viceroy of 
the Deccan. This the council declined ; but 
they interposed by good offices, and ap- 
peased the wrath of the nizam. While tliis 
peaceable intercourse proceeded between the 
Bombay presidency and the Mahrattas of 
Poonah, other bodies of that strange people 
were harassing the borders of Bengal, so that 
the English president there addressed his 
brother of Bombay in 1761, proposing a ge- 
neral attack npon the Mahratta nation. The 
Bombay council wisely replied that the Mah- 
rattas of Poonah regulated their affairs in such 
a way as not to be compromised by the con- 
duct of their brethren further east ; that it was 
very desirable to humble tiie Mahratta power, 
but the state of that nation and its relation 
to Bombay rendered the time for any attack 
upon it inopportune. This clear and decisive 
opinion prevented the attempt projected in 
Bengal. 

* BomUy qtiarterly, April, ]857, p. 299. 



242 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



LChap. LXXI 



Subsequent events proved the wisdom of 
this decision, for the Mahrattas and the nizani 
became friends, although such friendship was 
like the summer cloud, which the slightest 
breeze bears away. Thus, while the affairs of 
the French pressed heavily on Madras and 
Bengal, Bombay felt little of this pressure, ex- 
cept in the constant vrarfare which was main- 
tained by a single settlement of the presidency 
of Tellicherry, with a single settlement of the 
French, Myhie. That conflict, like every other 
between the two nations in India, was destined 
to be brought at last to a close in favour of 
the English. . After the fall of Pondicherry, 
the English at Tellicherry resolved upon a 
grand attack on Myhie. The French had 
hopes of securing its neutrality, and, before 
the fall of their capital, used renewed and sup- 
pliant efforts with the factors of Tellicherry, 
to secure to Myhie a neutral position. Their 
object was to make it a storehouse for the 
goods which they supposed were at Pondi- 
cherry, and might be brought thence for safety. 
After the fall of the capital it was hoped that 
Myhie might be permitted to remain as a 
gate to Southern India. The council at Telli- 
cherry politely, but steadily, refused compli- 
ance with the request, reminding the peti- 
tioners that similar requests, under reasonable 
and justifiable circumstances, when made by 
the English, were insolently and haughtily 
repulsed, and that France had sent out orders 
with Lally to level all the fortified places, and 
even open cities where the English had any 
interest in India. It so happened that the 
council of Tellicherry sent out an expedition 
against Netture, which was unsuccessful, 
through the treachery, bigotry, and inhu- 
manity of native allies. A severe loss in 
killed and wounded was the result. The 
French took occasion, before the troops re- 
turned, to press for a final answer, whether 
Myhie might calculate on neutrality. The 
English governor, fearing an attack on the set- 
tlement during the absence of the main body of 
his troops, appeared to acquiesce, while to 
confirm matters, as it were, he referred the 
proposition to Bombay. The French go- 
vernor was thus led to hope that his scheme 
would at last succeed. The English chief 
was cognizant of the fact that Admiral Po- 
cocke was preparing a descent on Slyhio, and 
he preserved an attitude of negotiation until 
his garrison returned from Netture, and fur- 
ther, until the "pear was ripe" in the plans 
and projects of the naval and military au- 
thorities. 

In the beginning of 17G1, Major Piers, 
and Major, afterwards Sir Hector Munro, 
with detachments of royal infantry, arrived 
with the purpose of reinforcing Coote, in the 



siege of Pondicherry ; but, discovering that 
they were too late, they proposed to the presi- 
dency of Bombaj% the reduction of Myhie. 
Their plan received the sanction of the coun- 
cil. There was one. Captain Keir, who had 
been a fellow passenger to India with the 
wife of the French engineer on duty at the 
fort of Mjdiie. This lady had given the cap- 
tain an invitation to call and see them; It 
was resolved that he should accept the invi- 
tation, and act as a spy. He was received in 
a friendly manner, and made such a report as 
encouraged the intended assailants. Means 
were taken to intercept any reliefs arriving to 
the garrison. The native chiefs were all or 
nearly all engaged in the affair, for, with the 
exception of Boyanore, they avowedly hated 
the French ; and it was generally believed 
that that fickle chief owed them no goodwill. 
On the second of February English boats 
closed around the fortress. Louet, the com- 
mander-in-chief, pretending not to understand 
their object, intimated, when the first came 
within range of his fire, how painful the duty 
imposed upon him was of sinking the boat, 
unless it drew oft", his orders being to allow 
no boat to approach his batteries. The reply 
was instantaneous and decisive, a summons to 
surrender. For six days the French chief 
refused to surrender; but, knowing that Pondi- 
cherry had fallen, and that there was no hope 
of succour, he offered to surrender, if but his 
garrison were allowed the honours of war, and 
that the liberty of Roman Catholic worship in 
the place should not be interrupted, and the 
churches remain the jiroperty of the clergy. 
All these conditions were granted. The 
garrison marched out with drums beating, 
colours flying, and M'ith their field artillery. 
It was stipulated that they should not be de- 
tained as prisoners of war, but sent to the Isle 
of Bourbon, the Cape of Good Hope, or France, 
as opportunity allowed, and that the private 
personal property of military and civilians 
should be respected. All these conditions 
were conceded on condition that the other 
French forts dependent upon Myhie should be 
surrendered. The French factory at Calicut 
it was agreed should remain neutral, as that 
was not a place of arms, or one that the French 
could use for the subjugation of the natives. 
All these stipulations were faithfully agreed to 
by the English. When the garrisons marched 
out, the officers surrendered their swords, 
which were instantly returned. The captives 
were made the objects of the most generous 
kindness and respect. When Louet arrived 
at Tellicherry he was saluted by fifteen guns. 
One lady, whose husband had broken his 
parole, was alone detained, for some time, iu 
imprisonment. 



C'liAP. LXXII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



243 



The fortifications of jMyhie were destroyed, 
and in a manner formally to show that it was 
in consequence of the orders issued from 
Trance, to level the cities and forts of the 
English. The work was not, however, heartily 
set about, and was very imperfectly performed.* 
The subordinate fortresses of Motaly, Nellea- 
saroon, and Veremala were faithfully evacu- 
ated by the French, but immediately occupied 
by some Nairs, under a chief with the high- 
sounding title of Kapoo, Prince of Cherical, 
and nephew of Badenkalanikur, King Regent 
of Colastry. AYithout loss of time, Munro 
marched against them, at the head of three 
hundred and eighty Highlanders, some of the 
company's regular and irregular troops, and 
two guns — a twelve and nine-pounder. Cap- 
tain Nelson, late engineer of the French gar- 
rison at Myhie, joined the expedition as a 
volunteer, with other French officers, " keen 
for revenge against their black allies." Thus 
fell the last bulwarks of French power and in- 
fluence in India. It was on the Malabar 
coast that the first contentions began ; and 
when the rumble of warlike preparation was 
hushed, and the tap of the French drum was 
silent along the Coromandel shores, and in 
the Deccan, the din of battle was heard, and 
the mournful parade of vanquished and dis- 
armed captives seen on the shores of Malabar. 



The incidents of the French war were not, 
for a few years, followed by any of a martial 
nature in Western India. In 17G5 another nest 
of sea robbers, the Malwar pirates, was rooted 
out, who had begun to show some activity. But 
a new storm was soon portended. The famous 
Hyder had gained ascendancy in Mysore, and 
laid the foundation of a military dynasty. 
Bombay regarded with astonishmentand appre- 
hension his growing power, which indicated 
that a day mnst soon come when war with 
a fierce people, ably commanded, in a diffi- 
cult territor_v, would ensue, or the presi- 
dency of Bombay, and the Carnatic, be over- 
run by perpetual predatory incursion, or a 
permanent conquest, by a barbaric race. In 
future pages, the rise and fall of the new 
power in Mysore will be treated ; but in the 
interval of the wars which issued in such for- 
tunate results, Bombay experienced much 
alarm and trouble. The possession of supreme 
power at Surat — where first the English name 
became great in India, and where first English 
valour won victory from a European rival — 
gave great satisfaction to the presidency at 
Bombay and to the directors in London. 
Bombay was, for a time, the most tranquil of 
the English governments in India, and its 
commercial prosperity was developed with 
peace. 



CHAPTER LXXII. 

EVENTS IN BENGAL AFTER THE BREAKING OUT OF THE WAR WITH FRANCE IN 1744— 
MASSACRE OF ENGLISHMEN IN THE BLACK HOLE OF CALCUTTA— EXPULSION OF THE 
FRENCH. 



The chief interest of the French lay in the 
Carnatic. In Bengal their settlements were 
of small importance, although at Chanderna- 
gore they made considerable efforts to estab- 
lish a trade. During the short war which 
broke out in ITli, no events of importance 
between the French and English occurred in 
their extreme eastern settlements ; nor until 
in 1757 it became known that, after the short 
peace, war again raged in Europe between 
the two great countries. The English were, 
therefore, engaged in Bengal in the quiet 
prosecution of their trade, as far as the in- 
trigues and exactions of the nabobs and the 
incursions of the Mahrattas allowed. 

In the year 174:7, the directors hoped that 
their agents in Bengal would be able to ren- 
der assistance in weakening the power of the 

* Bombay and TelUchernj Diaries. Bomhay Quar- 
terly. 



French in other directions, for they thus ad- 
dressed them on the IGth of October : — 

" Par. 3. Upon our streniious application 
his majesty hath been graciously pleased to 
send a strong squadron of men-of-war, under 
the command of the honourable Bear-Admiral 
Boscawen, with these our ships whereon this 
letter is sent. 

" 7. In case Rear- Admiral Boscawen, or the 
commander-in-chief of iiis majesty's forces, 
should require your assistance in attacking 
the enemy anywhere near you, wc hereby 
order you to give it him to the utmost of your 
power, and to put under his command what 
military, marine, or other force, you can pos- 
sibly procure or spare consistent with the 
sal'ety of your place." 

So far from being able to render any assist- 
ance to the company or to the crown, the 
directors of affairs at Calcutta were crouching 



2U 



HISTOEY OF TflE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXXII. 



in their factory iinder the influence of the 
most abject cowardice. It is sorrowful to 
relate to what a degree of tameness and timi- 
dity Englishmen could liave sunk in the per- 
sons of the traders at Calcutta. 

The directors at home became at last so 
sensible of the poltroonery of their represen- 
tatives in Bengal, that they wrote them a long 
letter on June 17, 1748, which, in two para- 
graphs, the second and sixth, reproaches their 
want of courage, and stimulates their manli- 
ness so as to do what in them lay for their 
own defence. These paragraphs throw an 
interesting light upon the character of the 
Anglo-Bengaleso, and the spirit of the times 
in England relating to Indian affairs : — 

" Par. 2. It is plain from the apprehension 
you was under on the loss of Madras, lest the 
French should destroy you next, that you 
neither thought your own strength, though 
supported at that time by six of his majesty's 
ships, nor the neutrality of the country, a suf- 
ficient security, and you at all times stand so 
much in awe of the country government that 
they easily and shamefully raise immense 
contributions upon you at the company's ex- 
pense, though almost always under pretence 
of abuses in carrying on private trade. 

"6. If you do not prevail upon the nabob to 
acquiesce in your setting about the works and 
fortifications without molestation, you are to 
let him know in a proper manner. You have 
our orders to make Calcutta as secure as you 
can against the French, or any other Euro- 
pean enemy ; and that if he obstructs you in 
following those orders you are forbid to issue 
any money for trade, and must do the best 
you can to fulfil them. Tell him that you 
shall be sorry to be obliged to take such mea- 
sures as may be ruinous to his revenues and 
the trade of the country in general ; and you 
may add, the King of England having the 
protection of the company greatly at heart, 
as they may perceive by the strong force he 
hath sent to the East Indies to meet the 
French, his majesty will support the company 
in whatever they think fit to do for their 
future security ; for though a peace is now 
making with France, no one knows how long 
it may last, and when war is broke out it is 
always too late to make fortifications strong 
enough to make defence against an enter- 
prising enemy ; as appears from what hap- 
pened at Madras, where strong works were 
erecting, but could not be half finished before 
the French attacked and took the place." 

Events to the year 175G were in harmony 
with the state of things indicated by the let- 
ters of the directors in 1747-8. Upon the 
advent of the government of Suraj-ad-Dowla 
as soubahdar or viceroy of Bengal, which 



began on the death of his grandfather, Ali 
Verdi, the 9th of April, 1756, the English 
experienced increased oppressions, and were 
harassed by augmented fears. The soubahdar 
was a wicked young prince, voluptuous, 
avaricious, cruel, treacherous, and liated tlie 
English, of whose growing power his grand- 
father had conceived a jealousy which the 
grandson inherited. On various pretexts of 
too little interest to relate, he sought a quarrel 
with the English at Calcutta. His chief ob- 
ject was to rob the presidency, concerning the 
riches of which he had formed absurdly exag- 
gerated notions. He marched against Cal- 
cutta, and on his way seized Cossimbazar, 
to the garrison of which he off'ered the alter- 
native of indiscriminate slaughter, or imme- 
diate surrender. 

On the 18th of June he attacked the out- 
posts of Calcutta. The factors had neither 
skill, courage, nor adequate means of defence. 
They had, however, vast shipping accommo- 
dation in the river, by which an orderly and 
easy escape was practicable. Instead of sys- 
tem and coolness, extreme disorder prevailed, 
and a cowardice utterly shameless. On the 
morning of the 19th, the women, children, 
and effects were to be sent to the ships 
by a decision of council formed the previous 
night, while the male inhabitants were to de- 
fend the place until succour might be obtained. 
Such was the confusion during the embarka- 
tion of the women and children, that a panic 
ensued, which communicated itself to the 
seamen, so that the ships began to move 
down the river, increasing the panic on shore. 
The chief persons in the place fled with the 
women, abandoning their comrades in arms 
and their duty, preferring dishonour to danger. 
The governor, Drake, whose want of capacity 
gave the soubahdar an excuse for the war, was 
among the fugitives. He was accompanied 
in his ignominy by Mr. Machet, Captaiu 
Commandant Minchin, and Captain Grant. 
Messrs. Manningham and Frankland, mem- 
bers of council, were the persons who set the 
example of cowardice, for they " dropped 
down the river in the Dodalli/ on the night 
of the ISth." The president followed with 
his companions, in the morning. It ap- 
pears that these infamous men were the 
means of creating the panic in the fleet, and 
so anxious were the council, president, com- 
mandant, and other civil and military persons 
of note, for their personal safety, to the dis- 
regard of all other considerations, that they 
ordered the company's vessels, on board of 
which they were, to pass down the river, 
abandoning their comrades to their fate. 
When the flight of the government and com- 
manders were ascertained by the rest of the 



Chap. LXXII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



245 



compnny'a servants, their alarm was only 
exceeded by tlieir anger. Th.?y, however, 
determined to defend the place, and elected 
Mr. Holwell to be their governor, who con- 
ducted himself with much spirit and ability 
in a situation for which he had no previous 
preparation. He afterwards wrote an account 
of the transactions in which he had taken so 
prominent a part. 

John Cooke was secretary to the governor 
and council, and remained to share the fate 
of his companions in the chances of war. He 
was examined in 1772, by a committee of the 
House of Commons appointed to "inquire 
into the nature, state, and condition of the 
East India Company," and gave the following 
evidence: — "Signals were now thrown out," 
says Mr. Cooke, " from every part of the fort, 
for the ships to come up again to their sta- 
tions, in hopes they would have reflected (after 
the first impulse of their panic was over) how 
cruel as well as shameful it was, to leave their 
countrymen to the mercy of a barbarous 
enemy, and for that reason we made no doubt 
they would have attempted to cover the 
retreat of those left behind, now they had 
secured their own; but we deceived our- 
selves ; and there never was a single effort 
made, in the two days the fort held out after 
this desertion, to send a boat or vessel to 
bring ofl" any part of the garrison." " Never, 
perhaps," says Mr. Orme, " referring to the 
catastrophe which subsequently took place, w^as 
such an opportunity of performing an heroic 
action so ignominiously neglected ; for a 
single sloop, with fifteen brave men on board, 
might, in spite of all the efforts of the enemy, 
have come up, and, anchoring under the 
fort, have carried away all who suffered in 
the dungeon." 

Mr. Holwell endeavoured by throwing 
letters over the walls to open negotiations 
with the enemy for favourable terms of capi- 
tulation ; but those efforts were in vain, for 
while waiting for an answer to one of these 
communications, having suspended the fire of 
the garrison until the reply should arrive, the 
enemy treacherously approached the walls and 
stormed the place. The garrison was not 
given over, after Mohammedan fashion, to 
indiscriminate slaughter. Most of those who 
composed it were taken prisoners, among 
whom were some ladies who were not able to 
escape. Mr. Holwell was bound and brought 
before the viceroy, who immediately ordered 
him to be unbound. He assured him upon 
the faith of a soldier that no harm should 
happen to him or his people. When evening 
came, it was a question with the guards where 
the prisoners should be disposed of for the 
night, and it was resolved to place them in a 

VOL. II. 



narrow chamber insufficient to hold them. 
The result was tlie destruction of most of 
their number before morning. This event 
has been memorable in Indian and in English 
history as the massacre of " the Black Hole 
of Calcutta." 

The space of this apartment was only twenty 
feet square ; it was not a den or hole, but a 
comparatively airy prison suitable to a small 
number of persons. Mill, who loses no oppor- 
tunity to lower his own countrymen, from his 
desire to blacken the reputation of the com- 
pany, treats this horrid event as one of pro- 
vidential retribution upon the English for 
using so vile a dungeon for their common 
prison ; adducing the fact, with others, as 
proof of their cruelty to prisoners. He par- 
ticularly adduces the state of the prison of 
Calcutta in 1782, as exemplifying the indif- 
ference of the English to the sufferings of 
prisoners, and he refers to certain allegations 
of cruel indifference to the lives of sepoys. 
There can be no doubt that the prison of 
Calcutta during the eighteenth century was 
pestilential and filthy. It is not to be denied 
that the English, as a nation, were apt to disre- 
gard the sufferings of inferiors, but they were 
never cruel to men of their own rank, when 
prisoners, and to enemies they had always 
borne the reputation of generous conquerors. 
Such the French have always acknowledged 
them to be, and no other nation has had an 
equal experience of them in that capacity. 
The whole treatment of this subject by Mill is 
disingenuous and unjust. Professor Wilson, 
always eager to do justice npon Mill him- 
self, seizes this occasion of his unfair nar- 
rative to reply with much severity and effect 
as follows : — " The spirit in which this trans- 
action is noticed, in this and the preceding 
note, as well as in the text, is wholly unjus- 
tifiable. It extenuates a deliberate act of 
wanton cruelty by erroneous assumptions and 
inapplicable analogies. The Black Hole was 
no dungeon at all ; it was a chamber above 
ground — small and ill-aired only with refer- 
ence to the number of persons forced into it, 
but affording abundant light and air to many 
more than it had ever lodged under the Eng- 
lish administration. According to Holwell,* it 
was a room eighteen feet square, with a door 
on one side, and two windows on another. In 
1808 a chamber was shown in the old fort at 
Calcutta then standing, said to be the Black 
Hole of 175G : its situation did not corre- 
spond exactly with Mr. Holwell's description 
of it, but if not the same, it was a room of 
the same description and size, such as is very 

* Letter to Br. Davis, 28th February, 1757 i published 
in Holwell's India Tracts. 

K K 



24G 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXXFI. 



common amongst the offices of botli public 
anil private buildings in Calcutta, and no 
doubt accurately represented the kind of 
place which was the scene of this occurrence. 
It bore by no means the character of a prison. 
It was much more light, airy, and spacious 
than most of the rooms used formerly by the 
London watch, or at present by the police, 
for purposes of temporary durance. Had a 
dozen or twenty people been immured within 
such limits for a night, there woiild have 
been no hardship whatever in their imprison- 
ment, and in all probability no such number 
of persons ever was confined in it. The 
English, then, in the objectionable sense in 
which the author chooses to understand the 
' Black Hole,' never had such a prison. 
The state of the Calcutta jail, in 1782, like 
that of the common jails in England or in 
Europe, was, no doubt, bad enough ; but it is 
not said that its inmates had ever died of 
want of air, or that one hundred and twenty 
perished in a single night. Even if the ex- 
cuse of inconsiderateness might be urged 
for driving the prisoners into a space so 
utterly inadequate to their numbers, there was 
abundant opportunity to correct the mistake,- 
when it was seen what sufl'ering it occasioned. 
The whole transaction admits of no defence : 
it was an exemplification of Mohammedan 
insolence, intolerance, and cruelty; and in 
contemplating the signal retribution by which 
it has been punished, a mind susceptible of 
reverence, though free from superstition, can 
scarcely resist the impression, that the course 
of events was guided by higher influences 
than the passions and purposes of man." 

The horrors of the massacre itself mock 
description. When the unfortunate victims 
were but a short time within the precincts of 
their prison, their sufferings became intense, 
and their cries for mercy were as vehement 
as the agonies of despair could make them. 
Their guards mocked them, some of their 
keepers holding up lights to the gratings for 
the others to have the satisfaction of witness- 
ing the struggles and poignant siifferings of 
those doomed to death. A general rush for 
the neighbourhood of the windows added to 
the horrors of the occasion, and the desperate 
efforts to obtain a position near the apertures 
for air, caused many of the weaker to be 
trampled to death by the .stronger. This also 
afforded amusement to their callous hearted 
keepers. Mr. Holwell, who obtained a place 
near a window with some others, offered 
money to the sentinels to procure water, some 
received the bribe, and did not perform the 
stipulated service, others were more merciful. 
One benevolent soldier brought water re- 
2)eatedly, and showed by the expression of 



his countenance as he held up his hand, a 
kind and jutying disposition. 

To the appeals which were made by Mr. 
Holwell, for some one to convey to the viceroy 
a knowledge of their condition, the reply was 
that he slept, and no one dare awake him. 
In the morning, when he did awalce, and sent 
for the prisoners, twenty-three men, and one 
woman alone remained alive, and most of 
these were found insensible among the already 
putrifying dead. Such was the case with the 
governor. The lady who was amongst the 
living, the viceroy took to his harem. The 
poorer prisoners, from whom no money could 
be extorted, were dismissed : the principal 
persons among the survivors were kept stand- 
ing in chains before the tyrant soubahdar, and 
threatened with death, if they did not disclose 
where treasure was hid. As no treasure was 
obtained, they were sent, loaded with irons, 
to Moorshedabad. No clemency was shown 
to the survivors, who were fed with rice and 
water, in quantities insufficient. The tyrant 
did everything short of murdering his victims. 

Mr. Mill thinks that the tragedy of " the 
Black Hole " might have been averted, if the 
persons incarcerated had offered a bribe to one 
of the superior officers of the soubahdar, and 
adds, " to no one does it appear that this ex- 
pedient occurred." Of course, it was im- 
possible for them to reach any " officer of high 
authority," except through the medium of 
their keepers, whom it is not at all likely the 
imprisoned failed to urge by every persuasive, 
money included, to take the steps most likely 
to secure them a more lenient place of confine- 
ment. Hugh Murray, Esq., in his History of 
British India (p. 317), declares tliat what 
Mr. Mill represents the English as too stupid 
to think of, was actually tried, without success, 
by Mr. Holwell. His language is, " The je- 
mautdars, or Indian guards, were walking 
before the window, and Mr. Holwell, seeing 
one who bore on his face a more than usual 
expression of humanity, adjured him to pro- 
cure for them a room in which they could 
breathe, assuring him next morning of a re- 
ward of 1000 rupees. The man went away 
— but returned, saying it was impossible. 
Thinking the offer had been too low, the pri- 
soners tendered 2000 rupees. The man again 
went,— and returned, saying that the nabob 
was asleep, and no one durst awake him ; — 
the lives of one hundred and forty-six men 
being nothing in comparison to disturbing for 
a moment the slumbers of a tyrant," Not 
only the confinement in " the Black Hole," but 
the whole of the siege and capture of Calcutta 
is related by the historian Mill with the ani- 
mus of one who desired to expose and incul- 
pate his own countrymen as much as possible, 



Chap. LXXIL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



247 



and extenuate the condnct of Suraj-ad- 
Dowlali, meriting the indignant protest which 
was written by Horace St. John, in liis work 
on Indian history : — " The ingenuity, not to 
say the eloquence, of a British historian has 
been perverted to fabricate, or at least to sug- 
gest, a defence of this celebrated crime. It 
might appear to him heroic to defend what 
all the rest of mankind declared infamous ; but 
that act is justly condemned as susceptible of 
no palliation. It was the cruelty of a Moham- 
medan despot.* A hint is, indeed, insinuated 
by another writer, on the authority of native 
accounts, that Suraj-ad-Dowlah was innocent 
of the deed, and that stupidity, not wicked- 
ness, caused the misery which ensued to 
the victims.f The ferocious character of the 
prince, however, renders this a weak plea 
for his reputation. It appears certain that 
by his will such vengeance was dealt on 
the English, and the blood of a hundred 
and forty-three unhappy men cried for pun- 
ishment upon their murderers. This is no 
illiberal interpretation of history, for, clear 
Suraj-ad-Dowlah of this crime, and he is 
still a monster. It was as notorious to the 
Europeans as it was to his own people, and 
his inhumanity was persevering.^ If ever a 
nation had cause of war, Great Britain then 
had. That people would have been unworthy 
of an empire which did not rise to punish the 
author of such a crime."§ 

When tidings of these events arrived in 
Madras and Fort St. David, the feeling pro- 
duced among the English was one of intense 
indignation, and a determination, if possible, 
to regain their lost position and avenge their 
murdered countrymen. Colonel Clive had re- 
mained at St. David's after he left Bombay. 
Admiral V\'atson was upon the coast with a 
very considerable navy, so that there was no 
want of able commanders, and there existed 
tolerable resources to avenge the injury that 
had been sustained. Meanwhile, Suraj-ad- 
Dowlah made ostentatious triumph, tidings 
of which reached the British, and still further 
deepened their resentment. The brutal sou- 
bahdar informed his master, upon the totter- 
ing throne of Delhi, that he had expelled the 
English from Bengal, forbid Englishmen for 
ever to dwell within its precincts, purged 
Calcutta of the infidels, and, to commemorate 
the event, called it by a new name — Alina- 
goro, the Port of God. It was in August 
that the dreadful news of the fall of Calcutta, 
and the murder of so many Englishmen, 
reached Madras; and Lord Macaulay ex- 

* See Scrafton's Acconnl, p. 52. 
+ Stewart's Uistorij nf Bengal, p. 505. 
X Penhoen's Emjiire AnylaU, vol. ii. p. 33. 
§ British Conquests in India, chap. ix. p. 73. 



presses his admiration of. the fact that so 
inflamed was the military ardour of the gar- 
rison, that in forty-eight hours they deter- 
mined upon an expedition up the Bay of 
Bengal and the Hoogly. It was the universal 
desire out of the council that Clive should have 
the command of the army, which eventually 
consisted of nine hundred English infantry 
and fifteen hundred sepoys. These set forth, 
as Lord Macaulay has written, " to punish a 
prince who had more subjects than Louis the 
Fifteenth or the Empress Maria Theresa." 

The fitting out of the expedition was not 
as prompt as the determination to accomplish 
it. It was not until October that it set sail 
against adverse winds, which kept it beating 
about in the bay until December. The cause 
of this delay was highly discreditable to the 
English. The following account of it by 
Mill, is too true for the honour of the presi- 
dent and council of Madras : — " It was re- 
solved, after some debate, that the re-esta- 
blishment of the company's affairs in Bengal 
should be pursued at the expense of every 
other enterprise. A dispute, however, of 
two months ensued, to determine in what 
manner prizes should be divided ; who should 
command ; and what should be the degree 
of power entrusted with the commandei*. The 
parties, of whom the pretensions vi'ere seve- 
rally to be weighed, were Mr. Pigot, who 
had been Governor of Madras since the de- 
parture of Saunders, but was void of military 
experience ; Colonel Aldercron, who claimed 
as senior officer of the king, but was unac- 
quainted with the irregular warfare of the 
natives ; Colonel Lawrence, whose experience 
and merit were unquestionable, but to whose 
asthmatical complaints the close and sultry 
climate of Bengal was injurious ; and Clive, 
to whom none of these exceptions applied. 
It was at last determined that Clive should 
bo sent. It was also determined that he 
should be sent with powers independent of 
the presidency of Calcutta. Among his in- 
structions, one of the most peremptory was, 
that he should return, and be again at Madras 
with the whole of the troops, in the month of 
April ; about which time it was expected that 
in consequence of the war between France antl 
England, a French fleet would arrive upon 
the coast. It was principally, indeed, with a 
view to this return, that independence of the 
Calcutta rulers, who might be tempted to re- 
tain him, was bestowed upon Clive." 

The viceroy was enjoying the pastime of 
torturing flies and other animals, imprisoning 
and executing human victims, and revelling 
in every debauch at his capital of Moorshed- 
abad. He revelled, too, in security as to 
enemies domestic and foreign. He was not 



248 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EJIPIRE 



[Chap. LXXII. 



nmch better or .worse than many other Mo- 
linniraedau princes, to whom " the faitliful" 
rendered a conscientious and even contented 
allegiance. His ideas of European powers 
were the most unenlightened. He had, it is 
true, been jealous of the English, but he sup- 
posed that if their power in India were once 
broken, they had no resources behind to press 
forward again their beaten Indian forces. In 
all his views he was flattered by his minions, 
for none dare call in question the opinions of 
the sanguinary voluptuary. 

Before the tardy English had consumed the 
many intervening months, there was time for 
the tyrant to miss the revenues their com- 
merce yielded. His ministers were compelled 
to discL)se the unwelcome intelligence that 
the gains of his treasury were much diminished 
since the traders were expelled, and as he 
encouraged the expression of their views, he 
was informed that the only remedy was to 
allow them to return, to tax them heavily, so 
as to obtain for himself a large portion of 
their profits, but otherwise to allow them to 
trade in peace and with security to their per- 
sons and their property. He was convinced 
by these arguments, and was in the frame of 
mind which they were calculated to produce, 
when he was astounded by the intelligence 
that a force of armed Englishmen and a proud 
war-fleet were in the Hooglj'. He had not 
heard of the preparations against him, and if 
his ministers had, they did not deem it politic 
to inform him. However vexed, he was not 
alarmed. He expected to annihilate in a short 
time the feeble force which landed, and gave 
express orders to his generals to perform that 
feat. He drew in his forces to Moorshedabad, 
and marched at their head to Calcutta. But 
before ho had collected his troops for the ac- 
complishment of his design, Clive, with his 
usual rapidity of action, had inflicted defeat 
and humiliation upon the soubahdar's garri- 
sons. The fleet was moved up the river to the 
vicinity of Moidapore, the admiral intending 
the next morning to attack the fort of Budge- 
Budge, about ten miles below the town. Clive, 
not aware that the enemy were encamped in 
the vicinity, landed and ordered his men to 
lie down to rest. In thus acting Clive com- 
mitted a rashness, which might have terminated 
the war. Orme describes him as having 
placed his men in a position which left a sur- 
prise possible, and as having neglected the pre- 
caution of outposts and sentinels. The result 
was what might have been expected — a sud- 
den attack of the enemy, who came on timidly, 
and were led by a coward. Still the attack 
was perilous, and it required all dive's cou- 
rage and address to avert a catastrophe. The 
cavalry of the enemy held back; had they 



charged, Clive would have found it impossible 
to have presented a formation which would 
have issued in a repulse. Tliis was an exem- 
plification of the rashness and fearlessness 
of the man. Eepeatedly, in the Carnatic, 
when serving under Lawrence, and when in 
chief command, he exposed himself and his 
soldiers, and the cause for which they fought, 
to imminent danger of destruction, bj' a fool- 
hardy contempt of foes, and indifference to 
death. The surprise effected by tlie enemy 
enabled the garrison to penetrate the plan of 
t)ie commander, which was, to intercept its 
flight when the cannonade of the fleet should 
drive it from the fort. The native force, 
however, abandoning the fort in the night, 
stole away in a direction which Clive could 
not have supposed probable, and baffled his 
designs. His generalship was, and not for 
the first time, at fault. Clive marched along 
by land ; Watson sailed up the river. The 
enemy retreated from the various positions 
which they occupied, almost without firing 
a shot. The valour and discipline disjilayed 
by the Europeans in the surprise taught the 
enemy a salutary lesson. 

On the 2nd of January, 1757, the arma- 
ment was before Calcutta. A few broadsides 
from the fleet expelled the garrison. The 
merchandise was found in the condition it 
was left when the English council fled, as the 
viceroy had ordered it to be reserved for him- 
self. All the private dwellings had been 
sacked. 

Upon the capture of the place, jealousies 
sprung up between the admiral and Colonel 
Clive. The admiral desired to exclude the 
company's troops from the garrison. Clive 
insisted that they were the proper portion of 
the armament to assume that duty. They 
also differed as to who should appoint a go- 
vernor of the city. Clive vindicated his claims 
with determination. The bickerings which 
commenced between the admiral and colonel 
continued throughout the whole time of their 
co-operation in the service. Captain Coote 
was ordered with a detachment to attack 
Iloogly, which was captured, the enemy 
offering a poor resistance. Prize-money, to 
the extent of £15,000, fell to the forces by 
this capture. 

The viceroy, alarmed at these successes, 
opened negotiations. According to most his- 
torians, overtures were made by Clive, who, 
whatever his boldness in actual battle, was 
liable to be awed by the magnitude of 
a great undertaking before actually entered 
upon. He had now the whole army of the 
viceroy of Bengal before him, and a handful 
of troops to combat that great army. Lord 
Macaulay maintains that the overtures were 



Chap. LXXII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



249 



made by the soubalidar, and that he offered to 
restore to the nglish their settlements, and 
make compensatiou for the injuries which he 
had inflicted. Admiral Watson was opposed 
to overtures for peace being either made or 
accepted by the British. As to the places 
previously in the possession of the English, 
they had just captured them ; as to compensa- 
tion, they could take it. On the whole, the 
admiral thought that until Suraj felt that his 
viceroyalty itself was in danger, and was 
obliged to sue for peace after severe losses 
and defeats, he would remain a treacherous 
although flexible foe, ever ready to make war 
when an opportunity arose. By striking a 
bold and decisive blow, tlie admiral believed 
permanent peace might be secured. 

Clive hesitated : in the language of Mr. 
Murray, " He was not yet fully aware of 
the weakness of Indian potentates, and was by 
no means forward to rush into a contest with 
the ruler of twenty millions of men." It was 
plain in these differences that Watson had not 
confidence in either the intelligence or sta- 
bility of Clive, although j)lacing the utmost 
reliance upon his audacity and presence of 
mind in the most appalling danger, and in his 
fertility of invention in all sudden emergen- 
cies. Lord Macaulay gives a view of Olive's 
relation to these transaction somewhat different 
to this. He says, " Clive's profession was war, 
and he felt that there was something discredit- 
able in an accommodation with Suraj-ad- 
Dowlah. But his power was limited. A 
committee, chiefly composed of servants of 
the con)pany who had fled from Calcutta, had 
the principal direction of affairs; and these 
persons were eager to be restored to their 
posts and be compensated for their losses. 
The government of Madras, apprised that 
war had commenced in Europe, and appre- 
hensive of an attack from the French, became 
impatient for the return of the armament. 
Tlie provinces of the nabob were large, the 
chances of a contest doubtful ; and Clive c<m- 
sented to treat, though he expressed his regret 
that things should not be concluded in so 
glorious a manner as he could have wished." 
His lordship adds, " With this negotiation 
commences a new chapter in the life of Clive. 
Hitherto he had been merely a soldier, carrying 
into effect with eminent ability and valour the 
plans of others. Henceforward, he is chiefly 
to be regarded as a statesman ; and his mili- 
tary movements are to be considered subor- 
dinate to his militarj- designs." 

Mill says that the anger of the viceroy was 
influenced by the capture of Hoogly, which 
the English attacked solely for jjlunder, and 
therefore he ordered his army to march against 
Calcutta. These statements are not borne out 



by the facts as related by Mr. Mill himself, 
when received as a whole. The expedition 
of Coote to Hoogly was a fair and lawful 
operation of a war of reprisals, and the fact 
that after the capture of Hoogly the soubali- 
dar temporised and pretended to be desirous 
of peace is indisputable. 

Hugh Murray says, referring to the different 
views of Clive and Watson, that the former 
prevailed so far that a mission was sent to the 
soubahdar, who received it honourably, and 
even proposed terms that were considered ad- 
missible ; but the writer adds, concerning the 
prince, " He did not, however, discontinue his 
march, and by various evasions avoided bring- 
ing the ti'eaty to a conclusion." Lord Macau- 
lay takes the same view of the nabob's conduct. 
The French at Chandernagore, at this juncture, 
according to Mill, proposed neutrality, even 
although their respective nations were at war 
in Europe. This, however, was a feint, for 
the French at that station could not but know 
the design of their countrymen to drive the 
British out of India, and the policy of rejecting 
proposals of neutrality whenever they were 
strong enough to make war. Professor Wil- 
son remarks upon this alleged offer, and the 
time at which Mill represents it to have been 
made : — " There is some contradiction in the 
statements of different authorities on this sub- 
ject, which can be reconciled only by a con- 
sideration of dates and circumstances. It 
appears probable, that the French were not 
informed of the war in Europe, until alter the 
march of the nawab to Calcutta, and the nego- 
tiations for peace with the English. They 
could not, therefore, have joined him sooner, 
and to prevent that junction taking place, was 
one of Clive's reasons for agreeing to the 
treaty more readily than was thought advis- 
able by Admiral Watson. He writes to the 
chairman, ' I know there are many who think 
I have been too precipitate in the conclusion 
of the treaty, but they never knew that the 
delay of a day or two might have ruined the 
company's affairs, by the junction of the French 
with the nawab, which was on the point of 
beingcarried into execution.'* With the conclu- 
sion of the treaty, the French lost their oppor- 
tunity of co-operating with the nawab. Their 
negotiations lor a neutrality were subsequent 
to the nawab's retreat ; and if Clive's account 
of the matter be correct, the English had not 
much reason to be grateful for their forbear- 
ance." 

The soubahdar, after making many pretences 
of negotiation, appeared on the 3rd of Feb- 
ruary before Calcutta, immediately investing 
it. Clive's resolve the next morning to attack 
this camp have been severely criticised, and 
» Ufe, i. 179. 



250 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[CHAr. LXXir. 



with justice. A thick mist also ohscured his 
operations. Nevertheless, he succeeded in 
cutting through the carap, and returned, hav- 
ing suffered as well as inflicted heavy loss. 
The nabob was terrified at so audacious an 
act of courage, and became earnest in his 
overtures for peace, and on the 9th of Feb- 
ruary a treaty was concluded. The terms 
were the same as he at first offered, witli an 
additional article that the English might for- 
tify Calcutta. Two days afterwards, he pro- 
posed a treaty offensive and defensive, to which 
the English acceded, and which was concluded 
on the same day. 

Olive was anxious to attack the French fac- 
tory of Chandernagore ; but the soubahdar, 
willing to see the French in his dominions, as 
a counterpoise to the too powerful English, 
resisted, and made such a demonstration of 
force as deterred the English from the 
attempt. Olive maintained that either a treaty 
of neutrality with that French station, or an 
immediate attack upon it, was essential to the 
security of English interests, and he proposed 
one, which the French said they must refer to 
the president at Pondicherry, but which Olive 
signed definitively. Watson, who always 
found scruples for refusing to do that upon 
which Olive was bent, or reason for performing 
what Olive hesitated to undertake, refused his 
signature. When Olive was for attacking 
Ohandernagore, Watson refused, without the 
consent of the viceroy, which he knew would 
not be given. Large reinforcements arrived 
at this time for the English, and they refused 
to ratify the treaty with the French of Ohan- 
dernagore. While the English were uncertain 
how to act in reference to Chandernagore, they 
became apprised of the facts that the govern- 
mentof Pondicherry was opposed to neutrality, 
and merely desired, by negotiation, to gain 
time, while they were instigating the viceroy 
to rely on them, and forming an alliance to 
expel the English at last. The prince, how- 
ever, was alarmed by the invasion and capture 
of Delhi by Ahmed Shah, the Abdallee, and 
the rumour that the invader had determined to 
march against Bengal. In his consternation, he 
sent to the English, entreating their aid, and 
showing his desire to gain it on almost any 
terms. A council was called, at which the 
feeble Mr. Drake, who had run away from 
Calcutta, presided: Mr. Becher, Major Kil- 
patrick, and Colonel Olive were the other 
members. It was then debated whether an 
attack should be made on Ohandernagore. 
Olive gives the following amusing account of 
the way in which the council argued and 
voted : — " Mr. Becher gave his opinion for a 
neutrality, Major Kilpatrick, for a neutrality; 
he himself gave his opinion for the attack of 



the place ; Mr. Drake gave an opinion that 
nobody could make anytliing of. Major Kil- 
patrick then asked him, whether he thought 
the forces and squadron could attack Ohan- 
dernagore and the nabob's army at the same 
time ? — he said, he thought they could ; upon 
which Major Kilpatrick desired to withdraw 
his opinion, and to be of his. They voted 
Mr. Drake's no opinion at all ; and Major 
Kilpatrick and he being the majority, a letter 
was written to Admiral Watson, desiring him 
to co-operate in the attack on Chanderna- 
gore." 

Drake was a man without patriotism or 
honour. His sole object was to be allowed to 
preside quietly in Calcutta, at the head of the 
council, and turn the trading affairs of the 
company to some account, and his owa to re- 
sults more profitable. He was jealous of Olive, 
intrigued with the directors in London and 
the council in Madras, to have Olive's inde- 
pendent command withdrawn, and for that 
officer either to be placed under his orders, or 
removed from Bengal. Incredible as it may 
seem, that any man who had deserted his dutj'' 
and dishonoured his country, as Drake had 
done, could desire to remove the only officer 
capable of making head against the enemy, 
such was the fact. He, therefore, opposed all 
Olive's movements ; and Admiral Watson, 
seeing that the counsels on shore were so di- 
vided, had the more scope for his perpetually re- 
curring conscientious scruple against any mea- 
sure either for negotiation or arms proposed by 
that able and indomitable man. The following 
statement of Olive's instructions, and of ex- 
tracts of Drake's letters for the suppression of 
Olive's independent authority, will account to 
the reader for all the difficulties whicii arose 
among the English themselves whenever Clive 
proposed any new undertaking : — " The orders 
given to the admiral and Colonel Clive when 
they left Madras were, to obtain full repara- 
tion of all injuries, and eventually to attack 
the tyrant in his capital. The council, on the 
8th of January, advised the court of directors 
of the recapture of Calcutta, and, on the 31st, 
of the success against Hoogly. In the latter 
despatch, they adverted to the instructions 
from the president at Fort St. George, di- 
recting that Colonel Olive, as commander of 
all the forces, might be furnished with plans 
for a treaty with the nabob, having placed 
four lacs of rupees at his conmiand, and em- 
powered him to deviate from the whole or 
part of such plans, should he consider them 
to be inconsistent with the company's interests. 
The council at Calcutta appeared to view with 
strong feelings of jealousy the position in which 
Clive stood towards them by virtue of those 
instructions. They remarked, in their letter 



GuAi-. LXXII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



251 



to the directors, that 'tlie authority the select 
committee at Fort St. George have assumed, 
in appointing Colonel Clive commander-in- 
chief of the forces in Bengal, is so unaccount- 
able, that we cannot avoid taking notice of it 
as an encroachment of the rights and trusts 
invested in us.' Notwithstanding the im- 
portant services Olive had already rendered, 
and the probability of the nabob's advancing 
towards Calcutta, the council added, ' We have 
required of Colonel Clive to recede from the 
independent powers given him by the select 
committee, but he has refused to surrender 
that authority ; we must therefore leave it to 
you, honourable sirs, to take notice of so in- 
jurious a conduct in your servants on the 
coast.'" Adverting to the powers which he 
possessed, he stated to the court of directors, 
in a letter dated "the camp near Calcutta:" 
"All propositions the council make will be 
attended to ; and, for my part, you may be 
assured tliat, notwithstanding my independent 
command, I shall endeavour to maintain a 
perfect harmony with them, and act through- 
out with their participation. They thought 
proper, some time ago, to demand a surrender 
of my commission as commander-in-chief, and 
that I would put myself under their orders. 
While I looked upon myself as obliged to re- 
fuse, in justice to those who had entrusted me 
•ivith Buch powers, I represented that I had no 
intention of making use of any independent 
powers, unless they induced me to it by ne- 
cessity, for we had but one common interest 
to pursue, which was that of the company, 
and as long as that was kept in view, they 
would always find me ready to follow their 
instructions.' Colonel Clive's communication 
appears to have been governed by a just sense 
of the position in which he was placed, and to 
have manifested every disposition to act in 
harmony with the council, who felt aggrieved 
at their power having been set aside. At 
snch a juncture, all personal feeling should 
have been waived for the common good, es- 
pecially in favour of an officer who had evinced 
such (]ualifications."* 

This correspondence, thus quoted and com- 
mented upon, shows that from the firstmonient 
of his success at Bengal, the old council 
thwarted him, anxious for any compromise, 
BO tliat they might pursue their private 
gains. The men who fled with the women 
when Calcutta was besieged, leaving the su- 
preme posts of government and military direc- 
tion vacant, were not likely to consent to any 
course of action of a bold and vigorous nature 

* .\uber'a British Power in India, vol. i. chap. ii. ; 
pp. 66—59. 



to avenge the murder of their countrymen, 
or vindicate the honour of their country. 
They longed for a money compromise which 
they should largely share, and of the division 
of which they shoidd have the patronage. 
Patriotism and honour were words of no 
meaning to them. Having from the begin- 
ning of Clive's expedition acted in that spirit, 
they looked with much animosity upon the 
projected attack at Chandernagore, tliat ex- 
pedition and all other military undertakings 
tending to keep Clive with his independent 
commission in the province, and to increase 
his renown, influence, and perhaps his direct 
power, which was ultimately the case. Clive, 
however, had made up his mind to drive the 
French from Bengal, and he lost no time in 
carrying his purpose into effect. The intri- 
gues which followed the events just related, 
and which surrounded the indomitable Clive, 
who was the life and soul of English enter- 
prise, were complicated, intricate, and un- 
principled. The native powers, the French, 
and the English, all endeavoured to deceive 
one another, and all were unscrupulous in 
the means which they employed. It has 
become the fashion among English writers — 
a fashion set by Mill — to traduce the cha- 
racter of the British on all occasions of tempta- 
tion during the trials which at that period beset 
them. Much injustice is done to the Anglo- 
Indians of that day, by their countrymen of the 
present age. Impartial justice demands at 
all events a verdict in their favour when they 
are compared with either French or natives. 
The French showed far less honour and poli- 
tical morality than the English, and the con- 
duct of natives of all ranks, sects, and cla.ises 
was profoundly corrupt, treacherous, venal, 
and cruel. Princes, diplomatists, generals, 
merchants, and people were utterly without 
honour or principle, with rare exceptions. 
The course of conduct generally pursued by 
them was so ])erfidious and wicked, that 
where a simple and direct procedure would 
have better served their purposes, they pre- 
ferred chicane, meanness, cowardice anil fully. 
They exemplified the truth of the saying, 
" Qiios Dexis viih •perderc privs dementat." 
Tiiey reaped as they served, nabob, soubahdar 
and people : a judicial vengeance politically 
befel them. It would be an endless task to 
unravel the many skeins of artifice which 
were spun around the policy of natives, 
French, and English at this time. Let it 
suffice, to observe that Clive's skilful ma- 
noeuvres and bold schemes defeated the 
coalesced French and natives, and that, 
finally, the French were driven from Bengal. 



262 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [CaAr. LXXIII 



CHArTER LXXIII. 

DETHRONEMENT OF SURAJ-AD-DOWLAH— BATTLE OP PLASSEVT- 

OF BENGAL. 



-THE ENGLISH MASTERS 



The defeat and humiliation of the French left 
the British uo European rivalain Bengal. There 
were still other European factories and settle- 
ments, but tliere was no prospect, and scarcely 
any possibility of their possessors rising to 
great power, or of even attempting to dispute 
the position and influence of the English. T^he 
agreements entered into by the latter with tlie 
soubahdar npon the expulsion of the French, 
and in connection with that event, were not 
fulfilled by the native government to the satis- 
faction of the conquerors, and hence disputes 
arose which led to war, and to the final con- 
quest of Bengal by the British. Modern 
writers, especially upon the continent of Eu- 
rope, allege that these quarrels were fomented 
by the English, in order to find a pretext for 
pushing their conquests ; and Clive is espe- 
cially accused of having been the evil genius 
of this policy. In support of this view, much 
reliance is placed upon the statement of Clive, 
which he made to the House of Commons, 
that, "after Chandernagore was resolved to 
be attacked, he repeatedly said to the com- 
mittee, as well as to others, that they could 
not stop there, but must go further ; that, 
having established themselves by force, and 
not by consent of the nabob, he would endea- 
vour to drive them out again ; that they had 
numberless proofs of his intentions, many npon 
record ; and that he did suggest to Admiral 
Watson and Sir George Pococke, as well as 
to the committee, the necessity of a revo- 
lution ; that Mr. Watson and the gentlemen 
of the committee agreed npon the necessity 
of it; and that the management of that revo- 
lution was, with consent of the committee, left 
to Mr. Watts, who was resident at the nabob's 
capital, and himself; that great dissatisfaction 
arising among Suraj-ad-Dowlah'a troops,Meer 
Jaffier was pitched npon to be the person to 
place in the room of Suraj-ad-Dowlah, in con- 
sequence of which a treaty was formed." Clive 
never intended to intimate, by what he thus 
stated, that the idea of deposing the soubahdar 
arose with the English : the fact was other- 
wise. The English only took up a suggestion 
made by certain of the soubalidar's subjects ; 
and, as Lord Clive intimates in his statement 
just quoted, and as he elsewhere declared, he 
was actuated, in falling in with the plans of 
the conspirators, by the necessity of the case. 
The soubahdar never intended to fidtil any of 
liis agreements: he hated and feared the 



English too much ever to be at case while they 
held power and influence in Bengal. Lord 
Macaulay describes his state of minds and 
proceedings at this period in terms as correct 
as expressive : — 

" The French were now vanquished ; and 
he began to regard the Enghsh with still 
greater fear and still greater hatred. His 
weak and unprincipled mind oscillated be- 
tween servility and insolence. One day lie sent 
a large sum to Calcutta, as part of the compen- 
sation due for the wrongs which he had com- 
mitted. The next day, he sent a present of 
jewels to Bussy, exhorting that distinguished 
officer to hasten to protect Bengal ' against 
Clive, the daring in war, on whom,' says his 
highness, ' may all bad fortune attend.' He 
ordered his army to march against the Eng- 
lish. He countermanded his orders. He tore 
Olive's letters. He then sent answers in the 
most florid language of compliment. He or- 
dered Watts out of his presence, and threatened 
to impale him. He again sent for Watts, and 
begged pardon for the insult. In the meantime, 
his maladministration, his folly, his dissolute 
manners, and his love of the lowest company, 
had disgusted all classes of his subjects — sol- 
diers, traders, civil functionaries, the proud and 
ostentatious Mohammedans, the timid, supple, 
and parsimonious Hindoos. A formidable 
conspiracy was formed against him, in which 
were included RoyduUub, the minister of 
finance ; Meer Jaffier, the principal com- 
mander of his troops; and Jugget Seit,* the 
richest banker in India. The plot was con- 
fided to the English agents, and a communi- 
cation was opened between the malcontents 
at Jloorshedabad, and the committee at Cal- 
cutta. In the connnittee there was much 
hesitation; but Olive's voice was given for the 
conspirators, and his vigour and firmness bore 
down all opposition. It was determined that 
the English should lend their powerful assist- 
ance to depose Suraj-ad-Dowlah, and to place 
Meer Jaffier on the throne of Bengal. . . .The 
odious vices of Suraj-ad-Dowlah, the wrongs 
which the English had suffered at his hands, 
the dangers to which our trade must have 
been exposed had he continued to reign, ap- 
pear to us fully to justify the resolution of 
tleposing him." 

"The odious vices of Suraj," in spite of Lord 
Macaulay's opinion to the contrary, afforded 
* Properly, " Set." 



CiiAr. LXXIII.J 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



263 



no justification whatever to the English for 
the part they took, neither did tliey rest their 
conduct on anj' such foolish ground. " The 
wrongs which the English liad suffered at his 
hand," would have afforded as little justifica- 
tion for their connection with the conspiracy as 
his odious vices. Suraj had compensated 
these wrongs, and placed himself not only on 
terms of amity, but alliance with tliose whom 
he liad so foully injured. Neither did tlie 
British rest their procedure upon any wrongs 
endured by them in the previous war. " The 
dangers to which our trade must have been 
exposed," is too vague an allegation to justify 
an ally for entering into a conspiracy ; but 
there is no doubt a conviction that such 
dangers impended, influenced the committee 
at Calcutta. Olive, by whose advice the over- 
tures of the conspirators were entertained, 
based his policy upon the facts that the faith- 
less tyrant had broken treaty with the British, 
and intrigued for their overthrow with the 
French in the Carnatic, and at the court of 
the Deccan ; and Clive also rested his policy 
on the obvious truth that a man so vindictive, 
foolish, and capricious as Suraj, could never 
be a safe ally, and would always prove a 
treacherous foes as he had already proved him- 
self to be. The clear evidence afforded that 
the infatuated prince was resolved to attempt 
the expulsion of the English at the first fa- 
vourable moment, and had already set on foot 
traitorous designs, thereby violating all his 
engagements, afforded better justification for 
the desire and purpose to depose him than 
that whicli Lord Macaulay urges in Olive's 
defence. Tlie first ostensible cause of dispute 
was the refusal of Suraj to deliver up cer- 
tain French who had collected at Cossim- 
bazar. Tlie nabob furnished Mr. Law,* the 
chief of the French factory there, with arms, 
ammunition, and even money, and sent him and 
Lis people to Baliar. Olive detached a part 
of his army to intercept the fugitives, and in- 
censed as well as alarmed tlie nabob by the 
boldness of such a measure. From this in- 
cident began open altercations between the 
British and Suraj, of such a nature as plainly 
portended not only a speedy breach of the 
alliance, but open war. 

The plot referred to in the quotation from 
Lord Macaulay, was one of the fruits of tliis 
state of things. It was not the first conspi- 
racy formed against Suraj by his own sub- 
jects and officers, nor were the proposals 
which arose out of it the first made to the 
English by the nabob's subjects against him ; 
but the project of Meer Jaffier appeared to 
the Britisli the most feasible, or possibly " the 

* For an account of whom see chapter on the " French 
East India Company." 
VOL. II. 



pear was then ripe." Meer Jaffier was not 
actually in the employment of Suraj, as the 
quotation from Lord Macaulay would indicate, 
when he first opened communications with 
the English. He had been deposed, and in 
a manner likely to make him a rebel. 
That chief was, however, a person of too 
much consequence to remain long out of the 
public service, for he had held high rank in 
the army of Ali Verdi, to whose sister he had 
been married. His rank was that of an inde- 
pendent military chief, in which anomalous 
position he raised and paid his army, which 
nominally was in the service of the nabob, 
but really regarded as its chief the general 
who recruited and paid it. 

When negotiations were fully opened be- 
tween the conspirators at Moorshedabad and 
the English at Oalcutta, co-operation was 
agreed upon in manner and on terms which 
have been much censured by historians. 
The English senate resounded during many 
sessions of the last century with denunciations 
of the venality and treachery of the com- 
mittee at Calcutta during these transactions ; 
and the English press threw forth innumerable 
sheets filled with reclamations and abuse of 
the British chiefs. Lord Macaulay, who vin- 
dicates the deposition of the nabob, and the 
coalition of the English and the native party 
in the revolt of the latter, condemns Clive for 
writing soothing letters to the nabob and 
keeping up the semblance of amity. It must 
be obvious to every reflecting reader, that if 
it were right for the English to co-operate in 
the conspiracy at all, it was necessary to carry 
out their project by preserving appearances 
until the hour arrived for throwing off the 
alliance openly. His lordship is obviously 
inconsistent in excusing the one part taken 
by the English and censuring the other. 
Whatever be the merits of the case, Olive did 
no more than English diplomatists, and all 
other diplomatists, European and Oriental, 
have done ever since — conceal the purpose of 
their governments to throw oft' an alliance 
until opportune occasion. Governments with 
which Lord Macaulay has been connected, 
and which have had all the service of his 
peculiar rhetoric, have shown as much laxity 
in the ethics of their diplomacy. 

Probably no part of the conduct of the 
English has been so severely handled by 
moral critics, as the pecuniary bargain made 
with Meer Jaffier by the Oalcutta committee. 
Jaffier readily undertook to pay large demands 
made by the English. In name of compen- 
sation for losses by the capture of Calcutta, 
10,000,000 rupees were promised to the Eng- 
lish company, 5,000,000 rupees to English 
inhabitants, 2,000,000 to the Indians, and 

L L 



251 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXIII. 



700,000 to the Armenians. These sums were 
specified in the formal treaty. Over and be- 
side this, it was resolved by the committee of 
the council — that is, the small number of indi- 
viduals by whom the business was performed — 
that a donation of 2,500,000 rupees should be 
asked for the squadron ; and another of equal 
amount for the army. " When this was 
settled," says Lord Olive, " Mr. Becher (a 
member) suggested to the committee, that he 
thought that committee, who managed the 
great machine of government, was entitled to 
some consideration, as well as the army and 
navy." Such a proposition, in such an as- 
sembly, could not fail to appear eminently 
reasonable. It met with general approba- 
tion. Mr. Becher informs ns, that the sums 
received were 280,000 rupees by Mr. Drake, 
the governor ; 280,000 by Colonel Olive ; and 
240,000 each, by himself, Mr. Watts, and 
Major Kilpatrick, the inferior members of the 
committee. The terms obtained in favour of 
the company were, that all the French fac- 
tories and effects should be given up ; that 
the French should be for ever excluded from 
Bengal ; that the territory surrounding Cal- 
cutta to the distance of six hundred yards, 
beyond the Mahratta ditch, and all the land 
lying south of Calcutta as far as Calpee, shoiild 
be granted them on zemindary tenure, the 
company paying the rents in the same man- 
ner as other zemindars. 

Mr. Mill, with an impartiality and justice 
of which he is too often very sparing where 
the conduct of the company's servants is con- 
cerned, makes the following critique upon this 
pecuniary arrangement, on account of which 
Olive and the council have been so frequently 
stigmatised as venal and corrupt : — " These 
presents, which were afterwards made use of 
by the personal enemies of Olive, to effect his 
annoyance and attempt his ruin, detract much 
from the splendour of his reputation, and re- 
flect discredit upon all who were parties to 
thoir acceptance. That general, admiral, and 
members of the select committee, were alike 
influenced by a grasping and mercenary spirit 
is undeniable, and they seized, with an avidity 
which denoted a lamentable absence of ele- 
vated principles, upon an unexpected oppor- 
tunity of realizing princely fortunes. At the 
same time, many considerations may be urged 
in their excuse, and a more disinterested con- 
duct would have exhibited in them, a very 
extraordinary exception to the prevailing 
practices and feelings of the times. The 
servants of the company had never been for- 
bidden to receive presents from the natives 
of rank, and as they were very ill paid, it was 
understood that they were at liberty to pay 
themselves in any manner they could which 



did not injure their emploj'ers. The making 
of presents was an established practice 
amongst the natives, and is one which they 
even yet consider as a necessary part of 
friendly or formal intercourse, and although, 
agreeably to their notions, it is most incum- 
bent on the inferior to approach his Bni)erior 
with an offering, yet on great public occasions, 
and especially upon any signal triumph, the 
distribution of liberal donations to the array 
and the chief officers of the court is a natural 
result. There was nothing more than cus- 
tomary, therefore, in the gilt of large sums of 
money by Meer Jaffier to those to whom he 
was indebted for his accession ; and, as there 
was neither law nor usage opposed to the ac- 
ceptance of his donations by the servants of 
the company, and as they were avowedly ex- 
pected and openly received, there vi'as nothing 
dishonest in the transaction. That the amount 
of the presents was excessive, may be attri- 
buted, in some degree, to the erroneous opinion 
entertained probably by Meer Jaffier, and- 
certainly by the company's servants, of the 
great wealth in the treasury of Siiraj-ad-Dow- 
lah, which admitted of such deduction. With 
a just regard to circumstances and seasons, 
therefore, it is nnjust to expect from the ser- 
vants of the company a lofty disregard of 
personal advantage, although they woidd have 
merited more unqualified admiration had they 
disdained their private enrichment in the 
noble aim of prometing the public good : much 
unhappiness would have been avoided by 
themselves, much misery would have been 
spared to Bengal." That many of the per- 
sons engaged in these arrangements were 
actuated by motives the most selfish and 
venal, the minor transactions connected with 
them incidentally reveal. The discussion 
which arose in the committee as to how much 
its inferior membei's were to receive, is a case 
in point. The distribution of 240,000 rupees 
each to Becher, Watts, and Kilpatrick, led 
to a dispute, which Olive thus accounted for 
and described : — " Upon this being known, 
Mr. Watson replied, that he was entitled to a 
share in tliat money. He (Olive) agreed in 
opinion with the gentlemen, when this appli- 
cation was made, that Mr. Watson was not 
one of the committee, but at the same time 
did justice to his services, and proposed to the 
gentlemen to contribute as much as would 
make his share equal to the governor's and 
his own ; that about three or four consented 
to it, the rest would not." 

In order to carry out the compact, the 
English were to make open war, and advan- 
cing a small force, the General Meer Jaffier 
would join it at Outwa with his own troops, 
and as many other detachments from the- 



Chap. LXXIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



255 



nabob's army, as he might be able to gain 
over through the instrumeutality of other 
military malcontents. Clivo put himself at 
the head of a very small body of men, and 
marched to Cntwa, but on arriving at the 
rendezvous, he found no allies. This dis- 
quieted him, for he had but little confidence 
in the courage, capacity, or sincerity of the 
conspirators. His disquietude was increased 
by letters from Moorsliedabad, informing some 
of the natives in his camp, that the conspiracy 
had been revealed to the nabob, and that 
Meer Jaffier had only saved his life, by pro- 
mising to aid with his best endeavours the 
prosecution of the war against the English. 
These tidings were soon followed by a letter 
from Meer Jaffier himself, informing Olive 
that the nabob,suspecting some designs against 
his throne, had compelled him to swear fidelity 
upon the Koran. The general pleaded his 
oath as a reason for not having fulfilled his 
engagement so far, but declared that on the 
day of battle he would go over to C'live with 
his army. This epistle furnished an illus- 
tration of Mohammedan casuistry. The oath 
of fidelity upon the Koran preserved so far 
the fealty of the rebel chief, that he would 
not at once go over to his ally, but would, 
nevertheless, liold friendly commtinications 
with him, and propose new modes of de- 
stroying his master's interests, which on the 
day of battle he promised to i)etray. Clive no 
longer trusted Meer Jaffier, who was playing a 
double game. He had committed the English 
to an undertaking which they would not have 
ventured upon without his aid ; yet his own 
purpose was to observe neutrality, and play 
off both the forces, that of the British and 
that of the nabob, against one another, and 
make his own terms with the ultimate con- 
queror. Clive, with all his impetuous and 
rash boldness, felt the desperate nature of his 
position, and was depressed. He afterwards 
admitted the depression he felt, and avowed 
that he "thought it extremely hazardous to 
pass a river which is only fordable in one 
place, march a hundred and fifty miles up 
the country, and risk a battle, when, if a 
defeat ensued, not one man would have re- 
turned to tell it." 

Thus perplexed, he summoned a council of 
war which decided against passing the river. 
Clive declared that if he had followed its 
advice, the result would have been the ruin 
of the East India Company. It would not. 
however, have been reasonable on his part to 
expect the council to come to any other opinion 
than they did, which was in harmony with his 
own, a fact which he took unusual pains to 
let them know before they gave the decision. 
It is the custom in councils of war for the 



junior officer to give his opinion first, so that, 
uninfluenced by the authority of his seniors, 
he may express his own conviction. On this 
occasion, Clive first declared his judgment 
against crossing the river, and so great was 
his influence that this decision was imme- 
diately concurred in, so that in fact it was not 
a council of war, but the opinion of Clive 
himself, echoed by his junior officers. 

Orme relates that " after the council dis- 
persed, he retired alone into the adjoining 
grove, where he continued an hour in deep 
meditation : and gave orders, on his return to 
his quarters, that the army should cross 
the river in the morning."* It is probable 
that Orme had this account from the lips of 
Clive himself. The next morning the army 
crossed the river, and at midnight arrived at 
Plassey. Before Clive had heard from Meer 
Jaffier that the soubahdarf had sworn him on 
the Koran, the faithless general was thus 
addressed by his English ally, through Mr. 
Watts, the English resident at the court of 
Suraj : — " Tell Meer Jaffier to fear nothing. 
I will join him with five thousand men who 
never turned their backs. Assure him I will 
march night and day to his assistance, and 
stand by him as long as I have a man left." 
Meer Jaffier was not brave, and the force of 
the great English captain was so inferior, 
that, notwithstanding, the mighty name already 
gained by its commander, Meer Jaffier was 
discouraged. Had the army of Clive been 
twice as numerous, the wily Mohammedan 
would have proved a more prompt ally. 
Some historians accuse Meer Jaffier of having 
himself awakened the suspicions of the sou- 
bahdar against others of the confederates, 
that he might, if necessary, for his own pur- 
poses betray them also, but it is not probable 
that a politician so timid, would venture upon 
80 bold a procedure. The suspicions of the 
viceroy were actually aroused by M. Law, who 
was led to suspect the plot, through informa- 
tion connected with the French agents at the 
court. He consequently urged the prince to 
retain French troops about his person, but 
his cowardice and vacillation prevented his 
following such counsel, for he was afraid of 
exasperating the English, yet more afraid of' 
offending his own people who were jealous 
of foreign troops, and he had not implicit con- 
fidence in the French themselves. 

Before the battle of Plassey was fought, or 
the little English army had crossed their 
rubicon, while yet everything depended upon 

* Vol. ii. p. 170. 

f Suraj -ad-Dowlah is called soutahdar and nabob in- 
discriminately by historians, although the names are not 
synonymous ; a nabob properly being deputy of the eou- 
bahdar, as the latter is Ticeroy of the Mogul. 



25C 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXIII. 



the privacy with which the consijirators 
c<arned on affairs with their English allies, a 
danger threatened the whole scheme, of the 
most alarming nature. The secret negotia- 
tions hetween Olive and Meer Jaffier, and the 
ostensible diplomatic business between the 
council at Calcutta and the soubahdar, were 
carried on by Mr. Watts, the English resident 
at his court, and one Omichund, a Bengalee. 
He had been a merchant at Calcutta, and suf- 
fered heavy loss when the place was captured 
by Suraj, but, finding favour with the tyrant, 
he was brought to Moorshedabad and com- 
pensated for' the losses he had sustained. 
Notwithstanding this unusual generosity on 
the part of Suraj, Omichund betrayed him. 
It was convenient both to the soubalidar and 
the English to have a person of Omichund's 
parts, experience, and knowledge of the Eng- 
lish as a medium of transacting political busi- 
ness, especially as politics and commerce were 
so interwoven in the relations of the two 
powers. Omichund was rich, but exceedingly 
avaricious. He had no honour, no loyalty, 
and was read)' to sell either prince or stranger 
to the other. He believed that the English 
could pay the better price, and would in the- 
long run succeed, for he was far-sighted in 
politics, and a shrewd judge of character. 
He readily joined the conspirators ; for, having 
a talent for intrigue, he thus found scope for 
it. Considering the English good paymasters, 
and more worthy of trust than his master, he 
was prepared to betray the latter for a price, 
which wa£ agreed upon amongst the conspi- 
rators, and between him and them and the 
English. He accordingly assisted Mr. Watts 
in all the plots carried on at the conrt of 
Bengal, and was instrumental by his intimate 
knowledge of Suraj's mental habits and 
character, and by his own plausible manner 
and ingenious mind, in soothing the anger 
of the soubahdar, and lulling his suspicions of 
his own court, upon which the prince, utterly 
faithless himself, placed scarcely any reliance. 
Omichund appears to have gained more influ- 
ence over him than any of his courtiers, and 
he wielded it in the interest of the projected 
revolution. 

When all was ready for action, and Olive's 
little army was committed to the struggle, the 
mercenary and faithless Bengalee informed 
Mr. Watts that unless the English consented 
to pay him, as an additional bribe, the enor- 
mous sum — especially in those days, and in 
the circumstances of the English in Bengal— of 
three hundred thousand pounds sterling, he 
would disclose the conspiracy. Clive was 
appalled by the villainy of the wretch, for he 
had from the first been one of the most zealous 
advocates of a revolution, and was the person 



through whom the proposals came to the 
English to aid in effecting that revolution. 
If the English refused, Mr. Watts, Meer Jaf- 
fier, and all concerned, natives or English, in 
the power of Suraj would be seized and 
visited with the extreme of torture. It was 
the opinion of Mr. Watts, and of Jleer Jaf- 
fier, that Omichund would certainly fuUil his 
threat, unless the English gave liim such 
security as satisfied him that he should receive 
the vast treasure he demanded, which, with 
his previous demands, would probably roacli 
half a million sterling. Although he had 
been already compensated by the soubahdar 
for his losses at Calcutta, he contrived to con- 
ceal that fact from the English, and had 
already obtained a pledge of compensation 
from them. The committee at Calcutta were 
paralyzed, but the ready courage and resources 
of Clive never failed. He undertook the 
management of this apparently unconquerable 
danger, and succeeded in satisfying Omichund, 
so as to secure his silence, and yet of punish- 
ing the traitor, so as to deprive him of all for 
which he had dealt so greedy a bargain. All 
that Omichund required was accordingly done, 
\Yithout any dissatisfaction with his treachery 
having been expressed to him, either through 
the resident Mr. Watts or by direct corre- 
spondence. He was treated as if it were 
natural and proper that he should make the 
most of his secret, and be a chief sharer in the 
spoil. This disarmed him of all suspicion that 
the Enghsh had any plan for outwitting him. 
Supposing that they regarded his conduct as 
that which any individual among them would 
himself pursue, in like circumstances, he had 
no doubt that they would, on the score of his 
treachery, refuse to pay, or promise to be 
paidby the prospective nabob, all his demands. 
The security which Omichund sought was an 
article in a secret treaty between Meer Jaffier 
and the English, conferring upon him all he 
had required, and he demanded the perusal of 
the treaty itself. Clive drew up two treaties, 
one on white paper, the other on red. In the 
former, which was the real one, no mention 
was made of Omichund; in the latter, which 
was fictitious, the payment of his demands 
was made a stipulation. Lord Macaulay is 
very severe npou Clive in this instance, in 
which severity he is supported by nearly 
every writer of the day who touches this 
episode of Anglo-Indian conquest. 

It is surprising that the conduct of Clive 
should be denounced so sternly, especially by 
politicians who uphold deeds far more ques- 
tionable when a party object of modern times 
is to be served by so doing. Clive had always 
intended to act honestly by the perfidious 
Hindoo, nor had the council at Calcutta ever 



Chap. LXXIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



257 



for a moment contemplated an injustice to 
him. He was too useful and powerful to be 
the object of any meditated treachery by the 
English; but when they found him false, and 
that he was about to use the snares he had 
placed in their hands to catch the nabob for 
the purpose of their own destruction, they 
might well throw the meshes over himself. 
Even, after all, when the English had him at 
their mercy, they treated him with indulgence. 
Before Clive could accomplish his purpose 
by means of the duplicate treaty, a difficulty 
arose in consequence of Admiral Watson's 
refusing to sign the fictitious one. For this 
the admiral is praised by most writers to the 
disparagement of Clive, but the admiral had 
always a point of conscience or of doubt when- 
ever the bold and fertile spirit of Clive pre- 
sented to him a grand conception or a manly 
enterprise. Watson had little responsibility 
beyond keeping his ships safe, driving oft" those 
of the enemy, then an easy matter, or bearing 
troops from one port to another. Upon the 
presidents and commanders on shore the real 
responsibility lay, and they often met with 
embarrassment from the tardy views and want 
of enterprise on the part of the royal naval 
commanders. Watson, although an able naval 
officer, showed no competency beyond that ; 
and was a clog and impediment to the enter- 
prise of Clive. Some of the panegyrists of 
Watson, whose praise was expended in that 
direction as indirect censure of Clive, doubt 
if he ever concurred in the intrigue for the 
deposition of Suraj-ad-Dowlah, but there is 
incontestable evidence that he approved of it. 
If the admiral felt no qualm of conscience in 
carrying on an intrigue with Omichund to 
dethrone his sovereign, thus countenancing, 
on the part of the wily Hindoo, treachery 
which admitted of no apology or palliation, it 
is strange that his conscience should become 
so tender when an expedient such as Clive 
resorted to, as a protection against treachery, 
was presented for his opinion. Probably if 
any other member of the council but Clive 
had contrived the subtle trick, Watson might 
have admired its ingenuity, and have con- 
sidered it an appropriate mode, under the 
circumstances, of snatching from the hands of 
a double traitor the reward he had so in- 
geniously determined to clutch. One may 
fairly suppose this of the admiral when perus- 
ing his correspondence with Clive, expressing 
his good wishes for the success of a conspiracy 
which could only prosper by the English as- 
senting to the treachery of Omichund against 
his own master. However influenced, Watson 
refused to sign the red treaty. Macaulay 
says that Clive forged his signature. Mill 
throws the imputation upon tlie whole com- 



mittee. At all event.«, the treaty was pre- 
sented in such form as to deceive the Hindoo, 
with all the sagacity for which Orme gives 
him credit. After the battle of Plassey and 
the triumphant progress of Clive through 
Bengal, Omichund was undeceived, and he 
found that his perfidy had overreached itself, 
and that in Clive he had encountered an in- 
tellect as subtle as his own. As this episode 
in British Indian history has given rise to 
much controversy, especially since the days of 
Mill, it will interest the reader to place before 
him the bitter animadversion of that writer, 
and the calm and candid reply to it of Pro- 
fessor Wilson. All the accusations against 
Clive and the council, from the days of Mill 
to Macaulay, are presented in brief in the 
following note to Mill's history :* — " Among 
the Hindoo merchants established at Calcutta 
was Omichund, 'a man,' says Mr. Orme, 'of 
great sagacity and understanding,' who had 
traded to a vast amount, and acquired an 
enormous fortune. ' The extent of his habi- 
tation,' continues Mr. Orme, ' divided into 
various departments, the number of his ser- 
vants continually employed in various occu- 
pations, and a retinue of armed men in con- 
stant pay, resembled more the state of a prince 
than the condition of a merchant. His com- 
merce extended to all parts of Bengal and 
Bahar, and by presents and services he had 
acquired so much influence with the principal 
officers of the Bengal government, that the 
presidency, in times of difficulty, used to em- 
ploy his mediation with the nabob. This 
pre-eminence, however, did not fail to render 
him the object of much envy.'f When the 
alarm, excited by the hostile designs of Sii- 
raj -ad-Do wlah, threw into consternation the 
minds of Mr. Drake and his council, among 
other weak ideas which occurred to them, one 
was to secure the person of Omichund, lest, 
peradventure, he should be in concert with 
their enemies. He was seized and thrown 
into confinement. His guards, believing that 
violence, that is, dishonour, would next fall 
upon his house, set fire to it, after the manner 
of Hindoos, and slaughtered the inmates of 
his harem. Notwithstanding this, when Mr. 
Holwell endeavoured to parley with the 
nabob, he employed Omichund to write letters 
to his friends, importuning them to intercede, 
in that extremity, with the prince. At the 
capture, thougli his person was liberated, his 
valuable effects and merchandise were plun- 
dered. No less than four hundred thousand 
rupees in cash were found in his treasury. 
When an order was published that such of the 
English as had escaped the Black Hole might 

* Vol. iii, book i\r. chap. iii. p. 135. 
t Orme, vol. ii. p. 50. 



258 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXIIl 



return to their homes, they were sujiplied 
with provisions by Omieluind, ' whose inter- 
cession,' says Orme, 'had probably procured 
their return.' Oinichund, upon the ruin of 
Calcutta, followed the nabob's army, and soon 
acquired a high degree of confidence both witli 
the nabob's favourite, and with himself. After 
the recovery of Calcutta, when the nabob, 
alarmed at the attack of his camp, entered 
into negotiation, and concluded a treaty, Omi- 
chund was one of the principal agents em- 
ployed. And when Mr. Watts was sent to 
Moorshedabad as agent at the durbar (court) 
of Suraj-ad-Dowlah, 'he was accompanied,' 
Bays Mr. Orme (ii. 137), ' by Omichund, 
whose conduct in the late negotiation had 
effaced the impression of former imputations, 
insomuch that Mr. Watts was permitted to 
consult and employ him without reserve on 
all occasions.' He was employed as a main 
instrument in all the intrigues with Jaffier. 
It was never surmised that he did not second, 
with all his efforts, the projects of the Eng- 
lish ; it was never denied that his services 
were of tlie utmost importance. Mr. Orme 
says expressly (p. 182), that ' his tales and 
artifices prevented Suraj-ad-Uowlah from be- 
lieving the representations of his most trusty 
servants, who early suspected, and at length 
were convinced, that the English were con- 
federated with Jaffier.' When the terms of 
compensation for the losses sustained by the 
capture of Calcutta were negotiated between 
Mr. Watts and Meer Jaffier, three millions of 
rupees were set down to Omichund, which, 
considering the extent of his property, and 
that ' most of the best houses in Calcutta were 
his,'* was probably not more than his loss. 
Looking forward to the rewards, which he 
doubted not that Jaffier, if successful, would 
bestow upon those of the English who were 
the chief instruments of his exaltation ; esti- 
mating also the importance of his own ser- 
vices, and the risk, both of life and of fortune, 
which, in rendering those services, he had in- 
curred, Omichund conceived that he too might 
put in his claim for reward ; and, according 
to the example of his countrymen, resolved 
not to injure himself by the modesty of his 
demand. He asked a commission of Jive per 
cent, on the money which should bo received 
from the nabob's treasury, and a fourth part 
of the jewels ; but agreed, upon hearing the 
objections of Mr. Watts, to refer his chiims 
to the committee. When the accounts were 
sent to Calcutta, the sum to be given to Omi- 
chund, even as compensation for his losses, 
seemed a very heavy grievance to men who 
panted for more to themselves. To men 
whose minds were in such a state, the great 
* Orme, vol. ii. p. 128. 



demands of Omichund appeared (the reader 
will laugh — but they did literally appear) a 
crime. They were voted a crime ; and so 
great a crime, as to deserve to be punished — 
to be punished, not only by depriving him of 
nil reward, but depriving him of his compen- 
sation, that compensation which was stipulated 
for to everybody : it was voted that Omichund 
shoidd have nothing. They were in his 
power, however, therefore he was not to be 
irritated. It was necessary he should be de- 
ceived. Clive, whom deception, when it suited 
his purpose, never cost a )iaiig, proposed that 
tvFO treaties with Meer Jaffier should be drawn 
up, and signed, one, in which satisfaction to 
Omichund should be provided for, which 
Omichund should see ; another, that which 
should really be executed, in which he should 
not be named. To his honour be it spoken, 
Admiral Watson refused to be a party in this 
treachery. He would not sign the i'alse treaty; 
and the committee forged his name. When 
Omichund, upon the final adjustment, was told 
that he was cheated, and found that he was a 
ruined man, he fainted away, and lost his 
reason. He was from that moment insane. 
Not an Englishman, not even Mr. Orme, has 
yet expressed a word of sympathy or regret." 
To this. Professor Wilson replies : — " In 
this statement some very material circum- 
stances are omitted, which palliate, if they do 
not justify the deception that was practised. 
Before the attack upon Calcutta, Omichund 
was in friendly correspondence with the min- 
isters and servants of the uawab, and upon its 
being taken, was treated with civility by Su- 
raj-ad-Dowlah, whom heaccorapanied to Moor- 
shedabad, and there obtained from him repay- 
ment of the money which in tlie plunder of 
Calcutta had been carried off from his house. 
Notwithstanding this, he was one of the first, 
through his connection, no doubt, with the 
Hindoo ministers, and Sets, the banker, to 
engage in the plot against Suraj-ad-Dowlah. 
The English had, therefore, no great reason 
to look upon him as their friend; and as it is 
evident that he was a stranger to every prin- 
ciple except love of money, tliere is nothing 
in his character to awaken any sympathy for 
his fate. Still it is undeniable that thus far 
he merited no treachery, and that his services 
were entitled to consideration. It was intended 
to reimburse his losses and remunerate his 
assistance ; but his want of principle instigated 
him to enrich himself by tlie secret to which 
he had been admitted, and when all was pre- 
pared for action, he waited on Mr. Watts, the 
agent at Cossimbazar, and threatened to ac- 
quaint the nawab with the conspiracy, unless 
a donation was secured to him of thirty lacs 
of rupees, about £350.000. The demand was 



Chap. LXXIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



exorbitant, and infinitely beyond the amount 
of any losses he could have sustained by tlie 
plunder of Calcutta, for which losses also, it 
is to be remembered, he had already received 
compensation. Mr. Mill thinks it probably 
not more than his loss, because the best houses 
in Calcutta, according to Onne, were his. 
But admitting that they were of great value, 
which is not very likely, they were still his. 
Calcutta W!is not razed to the ground ; the 
buildings were still there, and on its recapture 
had of course reverted to their owners. The 
claim was wholly inadmissible, and its un- 
reasonableness was aggravated by the threat 
of treachery with which it was enforced. 
What was to be done ? To have rejected it 
at once would have been followed by the cer- 
tain murder of the company's servants at 
Cossimbazar, and of Meer Jaffier, with all his 
family and adherents, and by the ])robable 
defeat of the British projects and their de- 
struction. The menaced treason of Omiohund, 
and its fatal consequences, are scarcely ad- 
verted to in the preceding account, although 
it was that, and not the mere demand of ex- 
travagant compensation, which was naturally 
enough denounced by the committee as a 
crime, and determined to be worthy of punish- 
ment. Clive, who had all along advocated 
his cause, and defended his character, ' received 
with equal surpi-ise and indignation the in- 
controvertible proofs offered of his guilt. 
Viewing him as a public enemy, he con- 
sidered, as he stated at the period, and pub- 
licly avowed afterwards, every artifice that 
could deceive him to be not only defensiljle, 
but just and proper.' There may be a differ- 
ence of opinion on this subject, and it would 
have been more for the credit of the European 
character that, however treacherously ex- 
torted, the promise should have been per- 
formed, the money should have been paid ; 
but there can be no doubt, that, in order to 
appreciate with justice the conduct of Clive 
and the committee, the circumstance of Omi- 
chund's menaced treason should not be kept 
out of sight. As to the reputed effects of his 
disappointment upon his intellects and life, 
there is good reason to doubt their occurrence, 
for in the month of August following, Clive 
recommends him to the secret committee o! 
the court of directors, as 'a person capable of 
rendering great services, and, therefore, not 
wholly to be discarded.' "* 

The opinion of Professor Wilson is sub- 
scribed by many persons of eminence in 
connection with India, as the author of 
this history has means of knowing. In the 
esteem of others equally eminent, the learned 

* See Life of Clive, vol. i. p. 289. 



Professor conceded too mucli as to the ethicd 
impropriety of relusing the demand of Omi- 
chund when victory crowned the English 
arms. Such men as Eiphinstone, Prinsep, 
&c., among the most competent of living men 
to pronounce an opinion on Indian affairs, 
take this view. Upon some of the severer 
attacks of Mill, Lord Macaulay himself, suffi- 
ciently severe, has made the following stric- 
tures : — " We can by no means agree with 
Sir John Malcolm, who is obstinately resolved 
to see nothing but honour and integrity in 
the conduct of his hero. But we can as little 
agree with Mr. Mill, who has gone so far as 
to say that Clive was a man 'to whom de- 
ception, when it suited his purpose, never 
cost a pang,' Clive seems to us to have 
been constitutionally the opposite of a knave, 
bold even to temerity, sincere even to indis- 
cretion, hearty in friendship, open in enmity. 
Neither in his private life, nor in those parts 
of his public life in which he had to do with 
his countrymen, do we find signs of a propen- 
sity to cunning. On the contrary, in all the 
disputes in which he was engaged as an Eng- 
lishman against Englishmen, from his boxing- 
matches in school to those stormy altercations 
in the India-house, and in parliament, amidst 
which his later years were passed, his very faults 
were those of a high and magnanimous spirit. 
The truth seems to have been, that he cou- 
sidei-ed oriental politics as a game in which 
nothing was unfair. He knew that the 
standard of morality among the natives of 
India differed widely from that established in 
England. He knew that he had to deal with 
men destitute of what in Europe is called 
honour, with men who would give any pro- 
mise without hesitation, and break any pro- 
mise without shame, with men who would un- 
scrupulously employ corruption, perjury, for- 
gerj', to compass their ends. His letters show 
that the great difference between oriental and 
European morality was constantly in his 
thoughts. He seems to have imagined, most 
erroneously, in our opinion, that he could 
effect nothing against such adversaries, if he 
was content to be bound by ties from which 
they were free ; if he went on telling the 
truth, and hearing none ; if he fulfilled, to 
his own hurt, all his engagements with con- 
federates who never kept an engagement 
that was not to their advantage. Accord- 
ingly, this man, in the other parts of his life 
an honourable English gentleman and a 
soldier, was no sooner matched against an 
Indian intriguer, than he became himself an 
Indian intriguer, and descended, without 
scruple, to falsehood, to hypocritical caresses, 
to the substitution of documents, and to the 
counterfeiting of hands." 



2C0 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[CHAr. LXXIII. 



Lord Macaulay does justice to Clive in the 
al)ove quotation, so far as ho complains of 
Mill's unqualified denunciation ; but, how- 
ever plausibly expressed, the remainder of the 
passage is a reply to the former portion. The 
mode adopted to explain the contradictions in 
the separate parts of dive's life is, like most 
of his lordship's casuistry, ingenious and im- 
posing ; but it is not founded upon facts. The 
description given of Olive's ideas of the ne- 
cessity of descending into an arena of fraud, 
and playing a part there appropriate to the 
position, when in competition with native di- 
plomatists, was never avowed, and, it may be 
fearlessly said, was never entertained by Clive. 
Lord Macaulay is indebted to his own dextrous 
fancy for this mode of reconciling what he de- 
scribes as the discrepant parts of Olive's life. 
There was no such discrepancy of character 
in the man. He would outwit a thief, bj' 
setting a trap for him, or pretending to con- 
nive at his villainy until the moment of arrest- 
ing him arrived. He would countervail the 
diabolical treachery of a man like Omichund, 
in whose hands the fate of himself and of his 
country's interests were, by appearing to ac- 
quiesce in his demands, and turning his own 
tricks into pitfalls for himself; but he would 
not substitute documents, forge names, or re- 
sort to dishonourable averments, in order to 
carry a point in diplomacy, deceive a con- 
fiding and faithful ally, accomplish a scheme 
of personal aggrandizement, or achieve any 
object in itself either corrupt or virtuous. He 
did not hold the principle of doing evil that 
good might come, as applicable to oriental 
politics ; but he believed all means lawful to 
escape the clutches of an assassin and robber. 
He regarded Suraj-ad-Dowlah in no better 
light, and, therefore, entered into alliance with 
a revolutionary party in that sovereign's do- 
minions, which had plotted the deposition of 
their tyrant. He regarded Omichund as a 
man who played the part of a foul traitor, who 
would have given up Olive's countrymen and 
allies to massacre, if demands, which the Eng- 
lish could not have complied with injustice to 
themselves or their allies, were not apparently 
acquiesced in. He considered the promise he 
made like that which a man makes when the 
knife of a highwayman is at his throat, and 
he acted as most men would act when such a 
danger must be eluded. Had there been 
other passages in Olive's Indian career bring- 
ing out such principles and motives as Lord 
Macaulay attributes to him, there would be 
propriety in viewing the transactions with 
Omichund as his lordship represents them, in 
reference to the motives and principles by 
which they were governed ; but there is no 
evidence in the facts of Olive's Eastern career 



to sustain the theory by which Lord Macaulay 
accounts for his conduct. His lordship, at the 
time he wrote his review of Malcolm's Life 
of Clive, had evidently not made himself 
thoroughly acquainted with its contents, nor 
had he, from other sources, placed before his 
mind the Indian career of Lord Olive as a 
whole — military, diplomatic, and administra- 
tive. There is sufficient in each department 
of Olive's Indian history to prove that he never 
regarded what was false and dishonourable in 
Europe as otherwise in Asia. To deceive an 
enemy in war or diplomacy, when that enemy 
obviously intended treachery, he considered 
fair ; and the same course has been pursued 
in European warfare and diplomacy so often 
as to make it absurd to single Olive out for 
indignation. He did wrong, as other generals 
and statesmen do, from allowing the aims he 
had in view — aims in themselves right — to 
blind liis judgment, and from the errors and 
passions incidental to hiiman judgment and 
feeling, under circumstances of temptation and 
peril ; but he did not place himself on a level 
with oriental politicians in matters of principle 
and honour, and justify himself in the adoption 
of one standard of morality in India and an- 
other in England. 

Such were the intrigues which preceded 
the battle of Plassey, an account of which is 
indispensable in a correct narrative of the 
conquest of Bengal by the British, for they 
influenced all the results of that victory. 

These events passed rapidly on while Clivo 
was preparing for his expedition, and after he 
set out on his march. Before he reached 
Plassey, he sent a message to the soubahdar, 
setting forth the treasons in which his high- 
ness had been detected, and the wrongs in- 
flicted on the British. Olive offered to refer 
these disputes to the arbitration of Meer 
JafRer, and meantime he and his army would 
wait upon his highness for an answer. Arrived 
at Plassey, Clive took up his position on the 
skirt of a grove of mango trees about two 
miles square* — one of those groves of fruit- 
trees so extensively planted by the natives in 
India. Near to Plassey there had been an 
intrenched camp of the soubahdar, and the 
evening previous to the arrival of Clive, Su- 
raj-ad-Dowlah himself, with the main body of 
his army, arrived. These forces, united to the 
troops in camp, constituted a large army. It 
is difficult to state the precise number. Orme, 
who was there, represents the infantry as 
fifty thousand, the cavalry eighteen thousand, 
and fifty pieces of cannon. Lord Macaulay 
states the infantry to have been forty thousand 
in number, the cavalry fifteen thousand, and 

* This grove is still ia existence, but greatly redaced 
in dimensions. 



CiiAr. LXXlir.J 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



261 



the artillery the same as in Orme's compiita- 
tiuii, with the addition of a few field-pieces 
belonging to tlie French, and worked by them. 
Clive himself, in his letter to the directors, 
estimated the forces of the enemy still lower, 
representing the infantry as thirty-five thou- 
sand, and the cavalry and artillery as of the 
same force named by Lord IMacanlay. ^Yith 
these forces were all the chief generals of 
Bengal, and among them Meer Jafiier, whose 
heart failed him when the hour for forming a 
jnnction with Clive arrived. The force which 
Clive had to oppose to this huge army was 
three thousand men ; of these about one thou- 
sand were British, one hundred topasses, and 
tlie rest sepoys. All were commanded by 
British officers, some of them, such as Eyre 
Coote, men of distinguished ability ; and the 
whole of the troops were well disciplined. 

Clive passed an anxious night, pacing to 
and fro in the mango grove, or pondering in 
his tent ; for he knew that the morrow must 
decide the destinies of Bengal, of its ruler, of 
himself and his little army, and of the English 
in Eastern India. All night he heard the 
din and bustle of an oriental camp, and felt 
the influence of the peculiar murmuring sound 
which the voices and motions of a host on the 
eve of battle were calculated to produce. His 
opponent spent also a night of anxiety ; he 
had cast the issue of dominion upon the tide 
of war, and the morning's light vould re- 
veal whether his fortune would ebb or flow. 
He was naturally distrustful, and the ap- 
prehensions attendant upon such a condition 
of mind were heightened by the belief that 
treason lurked within his lines. By some 
misconduct, guards were not posted at his 
tent during a portion of the night, and a 
wandering camp follower, not knowing whither 
he strayed, found himself in the monarch's 
tent, who, apprehensive of assassination, cried 
aloud with fear, spreading alarm among his 
chiefs. 

The host of the despot was not eager for 
battle — no loyalty kindled enthusiasm, and the 
troops of Meer Jaffier were alienated, con- 
sidering themselves bound only to the chief 
whose salt they eat. The name of Clive was 
itself a spell, which palsied the heart of many 
of the vaunting braves of the ostentations 
ranks of Suraj. Many of Clive's officers, 
jierhaps all, were more confident of success 
than Clive himself. They had trust in his 
genius and valour. He felt the tremendous 
responsibility of his position — a bullet or an 
arrow might lay him low, and the mere fact 
of his fall would cause despair among his 
cpoys, and inspire the enemy with confidence. 

The sepoys of Clive's force felt no niisgiv- ; 
ings — they invested their leader with super- I 

VOL. ir. 



human gifts, and expected to see some new 
phase of his power, before which the great 
host of the viceroy would disappear, as fallen 
branches and foliage swept onward by the in- 
undations of the Ganges. The European 
soldiers were not confident of victory, but 
were resolute to deserve it. They looked 
wistfull}' forth for the eastern dawn to break. 
That dawn at last arose upon the unslumber- 
ing expectants of the conflict, and the battle 
of Plassey began, June 23, 1757. 

Few native armies have appeared to the 
British so picturesque as that which advanced 
against the mango grove and the sheltering 
banks by which Clive's little band stood wait- 
ing for the onset. The infantry of Suraj 
was variously armed — some in the style of 
ancient India, others carried the weapons of 
European warfare. The bowmen formed 
their lines, as those of Cressy or Poitiers ; but 
the turbaned heads and flowing drapery of 
these Eastern archers were far more pictur- 
esque. The musketeers carried their dusky 
weapons with less propriety and grace, and as 
men less skilful with their weapons. Many 
a line of swords and shields flashed in the 
morning's ray, and the sheen of lances dis- 
played the pomp and reality of war. 

The most singular sight presented to the 
British was the artillery. The guns were not 
only numerous but of heavy metal ; they 
were all drawn by beautiful white oxen, whoso 
movements were far more rapid than Euro- 
pean nations would think likely with such ani- 
mals yoked to field artillery. Behind every 
gun an elephant, well trained for the purpose, 
added to the celerity of the movement, by 
pushing with his great strength. These 
creatures were gaily caparisoned, and were 
magnificent specimens of their kind. The 
cavalry were mounted upon fine horses from 
upper Hindostan, Affghanistan, and Central 
Asia. The men of all the force, especially 
of the cavalry, were fine specimens of the 
well-formed, tall statnred soldiers of Upjier 
Bengal. 

Forth came the brilliant host. Firm and 
undaunted the little band of British heroes 
awaited their approach. The enemy, instead 
of advancing to close com.bat, halted, and 
opened a heavy fire of cannon ; but so badly 
were the guns worked, that scarcely a shot 
told. The light French field-pieces were 
skilfully directed, but were not brought into 
sufficient play, the native leaders relying upon 
the great execution they expected to be made 
by their own ponderous ordnance. 

The English artillery replied with con- 
siderable effect, disabling the enemy's cannon 
by killing or alarming the oxen and elephants, 
and throwing the native gunners into conse- 

M M 



2G2 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXIII. 



quent confusion. It was, however, to silence 
the efficient French pieces, whicli were served 
as gallantly as skilfully, that the English tire 
■was chiefly directed. 

The army of Suraj wasted time upon a 
fruitless cannonade, during which several of 
the best officers fell by the well-directed aim 
of the English gunners. At last Meer Meden, 
a general upon whom his highness placed the 
utmost reliance, and whose fi<lelity deserved 
the esteem in which he was held, received a 
mortal wound from a cannon-ball. He was 
borne to the tent of his highness, who avoided 
danger, and wliile the faithful officer explained 
the arrangements by which he supposed vic- 
tory might be gained, he expired. Buraj, 
frantic with despair and grief, called for Meer 
Jaffier, whose troops remained in a species of 
armed neutrality on one flank of the soubah- 
dar's line. Suraj took off his turban, and 
placed it at Meer Jaffior's feet — the most ab- 
ject act of humiliation to which a Mussulman 
can stoop ; he implored him to avenge the 
death of the faithful Meer Meden, and to 
rescue from the perils that beset him the 
grandson of Ali Verdi, by whose favour Jaf- 
fier had grown great. 

The conspirator, unmoved by Suraj's 
tears, or humiliation, turned the moment to 
account, and advised him to retreat to the in- 
trencliments. Another general officer, Mohan 
Lall, pointed out the certain destruction which 
must ensue if such counsel were followed; 
but the helpless Suraj gave the fatal order. 
While one portion of the army consequently 
made a retrograde movement, that commanded 
by Meer Jaffier remained stationary. Clive 
perceived the true state of the case, and or- 
dered his whole force to advance, the SOth 
British regiment of infantry leading, with im- 
posing line and dauntless bearing. Suraj, 
dull as he vs'as, understood at a glance the in- 
action of Meer Jaffier, and the well-timed ad- 
vance of Clive. He fled. Mounting a swift 
camel, attended by two thousand of his 
choicest cavalry, he forsook the field. Meer 
Jaffier drew off his troops from the line of 
battle. The rest of the multitude took to 
precipitate flight, casting away their arms. 
The French, with a gallantry beyond praise, 
endeavoured to rally the panic-stricken crowd 
in vain, and alone faced the advancing Eng- 
lish ; but as the alarm, and rout of their allies 
increased, the French were swept from the field, 
as the mountain rock borne downward by the 
avalanche ; and these brave men were merged 
in the crowd, whose mad flight bore every- 
thing before it. The battle was over ; the 
Bengalees fled without feeling the point of 
British steel. The pursuit was short but 
decisive ; five hundred of the enemy perished, 



but they fell chiefly under the good artillery 
practice of the English. Of tlie British, only 
seventy-two were put hors cle combat ; and 
of these only twenty -two were slain : scarcely 
as many were mortally wounded. 

The 3'Jth regiment was the most con- 
spicuous jiortion of Olive's troops — it still 
bears the name of Plassey on its colours, and 
is proud of the motto, " Primus in Indis." 

Lord Macaulay says, " Meer Jaffier had 
given no assistance to the English during the 
action, but when he saw the fate of the da}' was 
decided, he drew off his division of the arm}% 
and when the battle was over sent his con- 
gratulations to his ally." This statement is 
astonishingly inaccurate. It is true that 
Meer Jaffier did not come over with his 
troops, which would have been difficult, but 
his treachery mainly conduced to the victory. 
There is no knowing how the battle would 
have issued, considering the disparity of forces, 
and the skill and bravery shown by the 
French, even with inactivity on the part 
of Jaffier's troops, if that officer had not given 
the fatal advice to the soubalular to order a 
retreat to the trenches. When the retreat 
commenced, he remained stationary, but in 
such manner as betrayed his object so pal- 
pably that the prince immediately fled in 
des])air, taking with him the elite of his 
army. Meer Jaffier accomplished all that his 
letter to Clive had promised. It was found 
after the battle, that while the cannonade 
was playing, he sent a letter to Clive advis- 
ing the English chief to charge, and pro- 
mising at that moment to withdraw his troops, 
which was probably all he could entrust his 
own soldiers to ]ierform. The perfidy of 
Jaffier was the real cause of success ; but for 
his assistance it is doubtful whether Clive 
would have brought away his little force 
from the field, far less was there a chance of 
victory. No battle fought by Clive gained 
him so much glory and emolument, in no 
battle in which he ever engaged, did the 
issue result less from any performance of 
his. It was the only battle in the prelimi- 
naries of which he showed hesitation, not 
merely hesitation of judgment, but want of 
confidence in his resources and his fortune, 
and the only one in which his chief reliance 
lay rather in the perfidy of a portion of the 
army opposed to him than in his own genius 
and the heroism of his troops. He doubtless 
did all that man could do in his circumstances, 
and everything he accomplished was per- 
formed well. The explanations between the 
two chiefs were mutually satisfactory. Clive 
urged Jaffier to hasten to Moorshedabad 
(then the capital of Bengal), and prevent the 
l)ossibility of Suraj rallying his forces, or 



Chap. LXXIIL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



263 



raising fresli levies. The revolutionary nabob 
followed this counsel and hastened forward. 
Meanwhile, the fugitive prince continued hia 
flight to his capital. There, in a paroxysm of 
fear, lie consulted all his courtiers, and fol- 
lowed the advice of none. Some urged him 
to surrender to the English, and throw him- 
self on their mercy, as they were generous 
and relenting, as well as daring in war. 
Others appealed to his manhood aud kingly 
pride, advising that he shoiJd assemble all 
that were faithful to him, place himself at 
their head, and fall upon the enemy, dying 
sword in haml or reconquering dominion and 
retrieving honour. His poltroon spirit shrunk 
from the manly counsel. A few advised him 
to place himself in the hands of the French 
in the Deccan, and to await the return of 
the tide of fortune to that nation, which they 
perceived would soon flow again, when he 
would be restored by their power, as they 
would always be the foes of a nabob friendly 
to the English. This counsel pleased him 
most, but was least popular among his friends. 
His indecision could resolve upon none of 
these schemes, until no course remained for 
his coward heart to choose, but ignominious 
flight once more. Meer Jaffier followed fast 
upon the fugitive, and when the besieging 
nabob entered Moorshedabad, Suraj was let 
down from a window of his palace. Ac- 
companied, according to Ormo, by one of his 
favourite concubines, and two attendants, with 
a casket of jewels in his hand, he entered a 
boat and rowed for Patna. Native writers 
describe his retreat as more leisurely, and 
having a train of elephants to bear his family 
and treasures. Olive arrived in a few days 
afterwards with a large escort, leaving his 
little army behind. He was received with 
great deference by Meer JafSer and hia con- 
federates. A palace was assigned to the 
English captain, surrounded by beautiful 
grounds, and where there was camping ac- 
commodation for five hundred men, the 
number of his soldiers which accompanied 
him. The installation of Meer Jaffier as 
nabob of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa was his 
first care. He led the new ruler to the 
throne or chair of state, made the customary 
ofierings, congratulated him on his exalta- 
tion, and then, through his interpreter, ad- 
dressed the people, calling upon them to 
rejoice over the downfall of a tyrant, and the 
accession to power of a virtuous ruler. 

The next care of the British chief was to 
demand from the regnant nabob the fulfil- 
ment of the treaty made during the period 
that the conspiracy was in progress. Up to this 
period, Omicliund was ignorant of the artifice 
of the double treaty, aud he presented himself 



in high spirits, to obtain the sum, promise of 
whicli he had exacted under the tlireat of 
betraying the English to the viceroy. Mr. 
Scrafton was ordered by Chve to undeceive 
him; the result has been related on a former 
page. 

Meer Jaffier did his best to carry out the 
terms of the treaty, and disburse the sums 
which he had contracted to pay ; but the 
treasury of Moorshedabad was far from full. 
The desolating wars carried on with the Mah- 
rattas by the predecessors of Suraj, the 
military expenditure of that prince against 
the English, and his profligate waste in the 
excesses and extravagance to which he was 
addicted, had, rich as Bengal was, reduced 
the treasury to a low degree. By various ex- 
pedients, such as the disposal of jewels and 
making part payment in jewels, Meer Jaffier 
made up a portion of the money, and engaged, 
at certain intervals, to pay further instalments 
until the debt was liquidated. More than 
three quarters of a million sterling in coined 
silver was sent down the river from Moorshed- 
abad to Calcutta. One hundred of the river 
boats were employed to convey the precious 
freight. The flotilla was conducted with 
much display — flags flying, drums beating, 
fireworks, briUiant as those of Bengal usually 
are, testified the satisfaction of the English, 
and the dissimulation of the courtiers of the 
new nabob, who regarded with horror and 
alarm the removal of so much treasure. It 
was remarkable that much of the coinage was 
European of an old date — such as the Vene- 
tians used when that people conducted the 
trade between Europe and India. 

Clive was the object of adulation and homage 
such as can be rendered only by orientals. 
Presents of the most costly nature were la- 
vished upon him. His temptations were 
great, and, although his share of the dis- 
bursements connected with the treaty was 
very large, his moderation was conspicuous : 
he literally walked between heaps of gold and 
silver, and piles of precious stones, in the 
treasury of Moorshedabad. Ho might have 
appropriated what he pleased : he was in- 
vited — even urged, to do so, probably with 
no sincerity, but it was the interest of the 
party of the revolution to gratify him, for he 
had "been the only Englishman in Bengal 
capable of bringing it to pass. Calcutta 
witnessed a great accession of wealth : the 
company profited by the political and terri- 
torial advantages won by Clive's genius ; the 
company's officers were enriched by the gifts. 
The craven creatures of the council of Cal- 
cutta, who had fled before the name of Suraj 
Dowlah, in the transactions which issued in 
such stupendous results, were as grasping as 



261 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE. 



[Chai-. LXXIV. 



they were cowardly. They ruined English 
interests in Bengal ; they impeded Clive in 
his gigantic efforts to retrieve them ; they 
envied, hated, and feared him, and, while jea- 
lous of his renown, and indifferent to the glory 
of their country's arms, they were ready to 
take to themselves the credit of wisdom and 
statesmanship for what was effected, and con- 
sidered no amount of money which they could 
appropriate sufficient for tlieir services. 

While the revolution bore Meer Jaffier to 
a throne, sent the treasures of Moorshedabad 
to Fort William, and spread terror of the name 
iif Clive and of the English all over India, it 
brought new and fatal calamities upon him 
whose shameless cupidity and iron oppression 
provoked it. The fugitive Suraj was be- 
trayed by a Hindoo, whose family he had op- 
pressed, and brought back to Jloorshedabad 
a few days after his flight, while yet his trea- 
.surcs loaded the galleys on the river, and the 
English were celebrating their success with fes- 
tivity, music, and Bengal lights. The English 
drums beat merrily, and the corruscations of 
the fireworks rendered the sky lurid, as the 
captive prince, shorn of his glory, no man so 
mean as to do him homage, was borne to the 
footstool of him who had once feared his 
frown. Meer Jaffier resolved, or pretended 
to resolve, ■upon consigning the unfortunate 
prince to a humane and even luxurious cap- 
tivity. But the new nabob bad a son, a youth 
of seventeen, as ferocious as Suraj himself, 
and as despicable a coward. This aspirant 
for the honours of an Indian Mohammedan 
throne murdered the captive while under the 
guardianship of his father's honour. Such 
were the Mohammedan princes and rulers of 
India — semper eadem — changeless in their 
sanguinary treachery and despotism to the 
last. Sleer Jaffier became uneasy lest this 



tragedy should incense his masters, which the 
Englisli virtually were, and his protestations 
and apologies were profuse. Olive was in- 
dignant at this brutality ; but the council at 
Calcutta, while expressing their horror of the 
deed, had no pity for its victim, and wonld 
: not trouble themselves to demand any inves- 
tigation into the matter. Thus perished Su- 
raj-ad-Dowlah, under circumstances of striking 
retribution. He had, by his oppressions and 
wrongs, driven his chief general into rebellion, 
i and suffered in turn the most cruel indignities 
I and punishment from him. He had caused, 
I or at least occasioned, the murder of English- 
' men, under circumstances the most inhuman 
and revolting, in a room at Calcutta ; through 
the instrumentality of the English, he became 
himself a captive, and suffered a fate similar 
to that he had permitted to go unpunished, if 
he did not directly inflict. 

The new nabob lived and moved under the 
control of the English : the council at Cal- 
cutta reigned — he administered. The vast 
and rich regions of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa 
lay at the feet of the company. Regions 
more extensive, and abounding in more na- 
tural wealth than all western Europe, were 
expanded before the power and enterprise of 
the adventurous strangers. They began their 
career of arms in a naval battle at Surat, in 
which, against odds the most deterring, they 
bore away victory, astonishing and filling the 
native mind with admii'ation : the)' had now, 
at Plassey, achieved a victory on land as sig- 
nally, closing that portion of their career 
which they had fulfilled, in the subjugation of 
the largest and richest provinces of India to 
their dictation. Yet they were destined to 
enter upon new phases in their Indian poli- 
tical existence, and to tread new paths of 
greatness and of glory. 



CHAPTER LXXIV. 

OPPOSITION TO THE SOL'BAHDAKSIIIP OF JIEER JAFFIER— INTRIGUES OF THE NABOB OF 
GUDE, AND OTHER NATIVE PRINCES, INSTIGATED BY THE FRENCH— INVASION OF 
BENGAL BY THE DUTCH, AND THEIR DEFE.Vr AND DESTRUCTION BY COLONEL FORD 
—INVASION OF BENGAL BY SHAH-ZADA— HIS REPULSE AND FLIGHT— DEFEAT OF THE 
NAIB OF POORANIA BY CAPTAIN KNOX— DE.\TH OF THE HEIR OF THE SOUB.\HDAR 
BY LIGHTNING, AND CONSEQUENT TERMINATION OF THE CAMPAIGN. 



The glorious issue of dive's short campaign, 
and the rejoicings at Moorshedabad and Cal- 
cutta, were the immediate preludes of further 
troubles. M. Law had hastened to the suc- 
cour of Suraj -ad-Do wlah, when that prince 
requested his presence for the defence of 
Bengal. Having, however, received infor- 



mation of the battle of Plassey, he halted until 
further intelligence should reach him frcuii 
Suraj.* He soon learned from other sources 

* " Had he immediately proceeded twenty miles furthei , 
he wonld, tlie next day, have met and saved Siiraj Dowlab, 
and an order of events very different from those which we 
have to relate would have ensued." — Orme, vol. ii. p. 185. 



CiiAF. LXXIV.l 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



2Go 



that all was lost, and that assistance from 
him was impossible. A part of Clive's army, 
under the gallant and skilful Coote, hung upon 
the rear of the eneni}', compelling them to 
retire from Bengal. The French abandoned 
all thought of directly interfering with Eng- 
lish ])oliey in that province, but still hoped 
to thwart it through the government of Oude 
and the court of the !Mogul. 

While various intrigues were conducted 
in that quarter, Meer Jaffier found his newly- 
attained power rest heavily upon him. Ac- 
cording to some writers he was unwilling, 
when the moment for assuming regal state 
arrived, to take upon him the dignity, and 
Clive was ohliged to use gentle force, and 
something more, to cause his protege to go 
through the ceremony of installation. Other 
writers aver that this was only a well-acted 
scene between the two principal performers, 
to which the other actors were accessories with- 
out penetrating the motives of the chiefs. 

Meer Jaffier was scarcely left to himself a 
week after the withdrawal of Clive from 
Moorshedabad, before he discovered that 
many of the zemindars were unwilling to re- 
cognise his title, that portions of his army 
were mutinous, that hia chief civil function- 
aries were disgusted by the large sums with- 
drawn from the treasury by the English, and 
that most of the chief persons in his province 
were reluctant to acknowledge a soubahdar 
who derived his appointment, not from the 
grand Jlogul, but a foreign conqueror. 

Meer Jaffier made the exhaustion of his 
treasury by the English a ground for levying 
further taxes, and at the same time for neither 
paying his troops nor civil functionaries. 
Most English writers maintain that his trea- 
sury was really exhausted, and that those 
who placed him on the "musnid" deprived 
him of the means of government. Continental 
writers, especially French, persist in alleging 
that he outwitted the British, the latter never 
suspecting there was an inner treasury within 
the zenana, where eight crores of rupees, 
equivalent to eight millions sterling, were 
stowed away. They bring plausible proofs 
for this assertion from documents possessed 
by M. Law, the statements of natives of in- 
fluence at the court of Jloorshedabad, and the 
fact that the widow of Meer Jaffier was ulti- 
mately possessed of enormous wealth, to be 
accounted for on no other supposition than 
that of a reserved treasury, of which the 
English had neither knowledge nor suspicion. 
Clive knew so little of the habits of oriental 
courts, that, notwithstanding his strong sense, 
he might iu such a matter be deceived. 

Tiie disaffection of Jleer Jaffier's army 
rapidly increased ; the atrocities and tyranny 



of Suraj-ad-Dowlah appeared to be forgotten 
in the universal pity excited by his assas- 
sination, and abhorrence of the perpetrator. 
Besides, Surajah, in his better moments, was 
capable of kindness, and he made politic 
use of that parade and pomp so necessary in 
an Eastern prince. His person was regal 
and imposing, although his intellect was 
weak. He was but twenty-five years of age 
when assassinated, and, according to native 
historians, his features were regular, and his 
countenance expressed much sweetness. If 
this last assertion be a fact, it controverts the 
theories of physiognomists, who describe the 
countenances of men as expressing the habi- 
tual passions and emotions ; there is evidence 
enough to prove, that those of Suraj were 
cruelty, avarice, and sensuality. The soldieiy 
and people of Moorshedabad, however, made 
comparisons between the deposed prince and 
the deposer, to the disadvantage of the latter 
in many, if not in all respects; and the in- 
crease of insiibordination and disaffection soon 
awakened Meer Jaffier to a sense of the inse- 
curity of his newly acquired throne. Hence 
arose a new source of uneasiness to the go- 
vernor of Calcutta. 

No plots of the French, of the Nabob of 
Oude, of the Mogul emperor, or of any other 
aspirant to power, did so much to weaken the 
government of Meer Jaffier as the conduct 
of himself and his son, Meeran. The former 
sunk into contemptible sloth, disgracing the 
"musnid" by incessant intoxication. His 
son, Meeran, was full of youth and energy, 
and his vigour was employed in every descrip- 
tion of wickedness, which his father, and the 
Begnm (his mother), who were devotedly 
attached to him, not only tolerated but en- 
couraged. Assassinations as ruthless as that 
of Suraj-ad-Dowlah, were frequently perpe- 
trated by him. His father had been indebted 
for everything to Ali Verdi Khan, yet the 
princesses, the granddaughters of that monarch, 
were murdered by him, on the pretence that 
it was necessary to get rid of the disloyal, if 
he would enjoy repose. The infant brother 
and infant nephew of Suraj-ad-Dowlah were 
also murdered by him in a manner as coarse 
as it was cruel. The Mohammedan people 
were not averse to the bloody deeds of Meeran, 
80 long as they were directed to supposed or 
ostensible enemies. Sympathising in their 
own minds with bloodshed, they were gratified 
by the execution of rich Hindoos, especially 
such as held any confidential communication 
with the English, and many such suffered in 
their persons or properties, and not a few 
were slain. Meeran was the chief support 
of Meer Jaffier. The whole family of Suraj 
I Dowlnh was seized. Hia widow, mother, 



2G6 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXfXIV. 



daughter, aunt, and an adopted boy, were 
seized at midniglit, with seventy persons of 
inferior note : all of the latter were drowned, 
and some of the former ; but it has never 
been clearly ascertained which were destroyed 
and which sent back to prison. 

Tlie feeling between Meer Jaffior and the 
British was very bad, and that between his 
son and them much more hostile. Tlie Bri- 
tish soon regarded the successor of Snraj-ad- 
Dowlah as no better than that unl'ortunate 
prince. He governed his people badly, 
showed that he regarded the English alliance 
as merely a convenience, aud that as soon as 
he could throw it off he would. Meeran 
openly declared his hatred of it, and was in 
constant fear of being seized by Clive as an 
open enemy. The young prince was ready 
to join any enterprise, however hazardous, 
not involving the exposure of his own person 
to danger, that afforded the slightest hope of 
driving the English out of Bengal. Of these 
things the English were early apprised, and 
directed their measures accordingly. Clive 
soon regarded his protege with distrust and 
dislike, and young Meeran with aversion. 
He began to vindicate the final assumption, 
on the part of the company, of the soubahdar- 
ship of Bengal. Other enterprising English 
officials entertained similar views. Clive de- 
clared that the Prince Meeran could not be 
allowed to ascend the throne of the nabob, as 
was originally stipulated with Meer Jaffier, 
because of his hatred to the English. By 
degrees, Clive and all the British came to the 
conclusion that the sooner the nabob himself 
ceased to reign, the better for English secu- 
rity and the good government of Bengal. 

The relations of the English and the nabob 
were complicated by the general supervision 
which the former exercised in government 
affairs. They considered themselves the real 
masters of Bengal, and Meer Jaffier as vir- 
tually a minister to carry out their wishes. 
The nabob could with less difficulty be 
brought to regard his position in that light, 
than his turbulent and tyrannical son, his 
soldiery, or his people. Wiien the British 
remonstrated with Meeran for the murder of 
the mother of Suraj-ad-Dowlah, whom many 
writers believe to have been at the time alive, 
the prince did not deny the deed, as these 
writers allege he might have done, but in- 
quired with astonishment, rage, and grief, 
" What ! can I not kill an old woman that 
goes about in her dooly to excite the zemindars 
against my father ?" He was indignant that 
the English should assume the right to inter- 
fere in such cases. They were without the 
power to interfere efficiently. They might 
denounce the atrocities and robberies perpe- 



trated by the reigning nabob and his son, but 
could not prevent them. The remonstrances 
and even threats of the English only caused 
them to be more hated without being obeyed. 
The people and troops of the nabob, not con- 
scious of the sources of British jiower, con- 
sidered the perpetual interference of the 
English agents as the result of the nabob's 
weakness, whom they hated for allowing the 
infidels to dictate to the followers of the true 
faith. Such was the general state of the re- 
lations of the parties whose alliance promised 
so much and effected so little for the welfare 
of Eastern India, the quietness of the English 
settlements, and the prosperity of the English 
trade. Individual Englishmen of influence 
and authority realized vast riches, but the 
company found that the increase of its wealth 
by the alliance with Meer Jaffier, in one way 
or another, increased its expenses. In con- 
sequence of Clive's representations of the 
brilliant success achieved, and the vast ad- 
vantages realized by the events of 1757, the 
company resolved to send out no more money 
for two years ; but, in their correspondence, 
stated that the treasures deposited at Calcutta 
should provide for the entire expenses of the 
three presidencies, and also furnish the invest- 
ments for the Chinese trade. The opinion of 
the company that the results of the Bengal 
conquest should be sufficient for such purposes 
was reasonable, although the mode in which 
the}' attempted to carry out such a decision, 
in the face of the state of things existing in 
the Carnatic, the rapid revolutions and san- 
guinary wai's which prevailed at this time in 
India among princes and Europeans, was 
absurd. 

In this condition of affairs, Clive was the 
overruling genius by which order was pre- 
served, while all around was sinking into 
chaos. He was considered by the English as 
the only officer who could keep Meer Jaffier 
to his engagements, and awe his son Meeran. 
Meer Jaffier regarded him as his only reliance 
amidst a mutinous army, seditious people, and 
intriguing neighbours in Oude, Agra, and 
Delhi ; with any or all of whom the French 
were ever ready to form an alliance. Meeran 
considered him as the tyrant of himself and 
his father, and the only man who stood be- 
tween the family of the nabob and the exercise 
of unlimited power to rob and kill all who 
withheld what they demanded, or resisted 
their tyranny and caprice. Lord Macaulay 
describes Clive's relations to all parties 
thus : — " Meer Jaffier could be upheld on the 
throne only by the hand which placed him 
on it The recent revolutions had un- 
settled the minds of men. Many chiefs were 
in open insurrection against the new nabob. 



Chap. LXXIV.J 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



2C7 



The viceroy of the rich and powerful jn-ovince 
of Uude, who, like the other viceroys of the 
Mogul, was now in truth an independent 
sovereign, menaced Bengal with invasion. 
Nothing but the talents and authority of 
Glive could support the tottering government. 
While this state of things existed, a ship 
arrived with despatches which had been 
written at the India-house, before the news 
of the battle of Plassey had reached London. 
The directors had determined to place the 
English settlements in Bengal under a go- 
vernment constituted in the most cumbrous 
and absurd manner ; and, to make the matter 
worse, no placo-in the arrangement was as- 
signed to Clive. The persons who were 
selected to form this new government, greatly 
to their honour, took on themselves the autho- 
rity of disobeying these preiiosterous orders, 
and invited Clive to exercise the supreme 
authority. He consented, and it soon ap- 
peared tliat the servants of the company only 
anticipated the wishes of their employers. 
The directors, on receiving news of Clive's 
brilliant success, instantly appointed him go- 
vernor of their settlements in Bengal, with 
the highest marks of gratitude and esteem. 
His power was now boundless, and far sur- 
passed even that which Dupleix had attained 
in the south of India. Meer Jaffier regarded 

him with slavish awe It is but justice 

to say, that Clive used his power ably and 
vigorously for the advantage of his country. 
He sent forth an expedition to the track lying 
to the north of the Carnatic. In this track 
the French still had the ascendancy ; and it 
was important to dislodge them. The con- 
duct of the enterprise was entrusted to an 
officer of the name of Fordo, who was then 
little known, but in whom the keen eye of the 
governor had detected military talents of a 
high order. The success of the expedition 
was rapid and splendid."* 

Meer Jaffier's dubious relation to the Eng- 
lish, and the still more doubtful position of his 
idolized son, were not his only, and scarcely 
even his chief difficulties. He had scarcely 
mounted the throne, and felt himself at once 
in pcissession of the treasures, and surrounded 
by the intiigues of French, Oudean, and Ben- 
galee zemiiidai s, as stated in the first pages of 
this chapter, than he was obliged to prepare 
against the invasion of his dominions by a 
comjietitor for his throne. The shah-zada, 
heir-apparent of the throne of Delhi, had ob- 
tained from his father the appointment of 
Soubahdar of Bengal, a richer prize than even 
the appointment of the Soubahdar of the 
Deccan. He immediately put forth a procla- 

* Critical and Ilistorica! Essai/s. By Thomas BabiDg- 
ton Macaulny, vol. ii. p. 108-9. 



matioii, announcing himself as viceroy of 
Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa, and collected au 
army to assert claims in a more substantial 
manner. 

The nabobs of Oude and Allahabad at once 
tendered their support as an act of loyalty to 
the Mogul, and Meer Jaffier utterly despaired 
of encountering these nabobs, and the irre- 
gular army collected from every quarter by 
his competitor. His resource was Olive. He 
could trust no one else. He was profuse in 
his promise of future good behaviour and 
large grants of money, although at the time 
his own troops were defrauded of their pay, 
while he and his dissipated son lived in 
scandalous and foolish luxury and excesses. 
While claiming the protection of the English, 
and promising everything to them, he was, 
after the fashion of Indian princes, opening 
negotiations with his enemies unknown to 
his allies, and resorting to the desperate, and 
in his case foolish expedient, of bribing them 
off. • Clive soon discovered this, and remon- 
strated ; but the cowardly Jaffier could not 
see the force of these protests. All his pre- 
decessors had purchased immunity from in- 
vasion in a similar manner. Clive became 
more energetic in his tone, and wrote: — "If 
you do this, you will have the Nabob of 
Oude, the Mahrattas, and many more, come 
from all parts of the confines of your country, 
who will bully you out of money until you 
have none left in your treasury. I beg 
your excellency to rely on the fidelity of the 
English and of the troops that are attached 
to you." Clive, concluding that his advice 
would not be followed by his protege, unless 
the chief officers of the latter showed some 
determination, wrote to the governor of 
Patna in a still more energetic tone : — 
" Come to no terms ; defend your city to the 
last. Rest assured that the English are 
staunch and firm friends, and that is they 
never desert a cause in which they have once 
taken a part." 

The enemy advanced by forced marches to 
the investiture of Patna, in order to anticipate 
Clive, who, he had heard, was also advancing 
with the utmost rapidity, to save that im- 
portant city. Clive's little army consisted of 
less than three thousand fighting men, of 
which less than five hundred were Europeans. 
The enemy numbered forty thousand men, 
besides large forces in support from Oude 
and Allahabad. There was also a consider- 
able number of French officers among them, 
who were eager for battle with the English. 
These assured the native prince that, if the 
vast army would press the siege of Patna, 
and attack the force of Clive, under their di- 
rections, the British and their allies should be 



2G8 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Ciiap. LXXIV 



scattered ns the dust by the storm, and the 
city, with ita riches, fall into the hands of the 
besiegers. In vain the gallant Frenclimen 
nrged battle upon the prince and his generals ; 
the)- fled before Olive's force came in sight. 
Probably no Indian army ever so much dis- 
graced itself. The flight of the army was 
not, however, as Lord Macaulay represents, 
wholly caused by terrorof Clive and his British. 
The Nabob of Oude had proved treacherous : 
ho had seized the capital of his ally, the Nabob 
of Allahabad, who withdrew his forces from 
before Patna, to save his own territories. 
M. Law and a detachment of French met 
this nabob with his troops, and urged his 
return to the siege, oifering his aid, and after- 
wards effecting the restoration of the territory 
seized by the nabob of Oude. The Allahabad 
nabob was too much in earnest to save his 
treasures and territory to think any more of 
Patna and the alliance. M. Law, instead 
of advancing and rallying the army of the 
invader, as Clive would have done in like 
circumstances, retired in despair, and the 
heterogeneous masses of the shah-zada dis- 
solved as snow flakes in the river. The vici- 
nity of Patna was cleared of intruders, and- 
Clive returned to Moorshedabad in triumph 
as complete as when he entered it after the 
battle of Plassey. The Mogul, or, at all 
events, the pretender to the soubahdarship of 
Bengal acting in his name, negotiated for the 
cession of his claims. A small grant of money 
was given to him, on condition that he signed 
a treaty conferring the nominal rank of sou- 
bahdar of Bengal upon another son, and, by 
patent, confirming Meer Jaffiier in the actual 
viceroyalty. 

The viceroy seemed now secure against all 
enemies, having the sanction of the Mogul 
himself for his government, and so great was 
liis gratitude that he conferred the jaghire of 
Calcutta and the surrounding territory upon 
Clive. Thus the East India Company be- 
came his tenants, and the rent they paid to 
the soubahdar was in future to be paid to him. 
This amounted to £30,000 a year. He was 
at the same time made " a lord " of the Mogul 
empire, by the jNIogul. The East India Com- 
pany recognised the privileges conferred upon 
Clive, and i)aid their rents to him. From 
their subsequent conduct, it was evident they 
were influenced in this by a view of their 
own interests. This princely fortune ren- 
dered it unnecessary that they should confer 
upon him large p,ecuniary rewards for the 
great services he liad rendered, and if at any 
time they thought it expedient to become 
rent free, it would be probably easier to make 
themselves so if Clive or his successor was 
landlord, thaa if the Mogul or his viceroy 



held the jagliireship. There nns nothing in 
the conduct of the company at the time that 
was unfair to Clive, but afterwards efforts were 
made to deprive him of his rights by some of 
the very men who were forward in recognising 
them when they were acquired. Lord Ma- 
caulay, who questioned the propriety politi- 
cally and ethically of Olive's reception of the 
previous donations of Meer Jaffier, considered 
his acceptance of this gift proper. His lord- 
ship assigns no reason for this discrepancy of 
opinion, except that this donation, from its 
nature, could not be secret ; yet he admits 
that Clive made no secret, and never intended 
to make any, of the previousjicquisitions from 
Meer Jaffier. If the reception of money in 
the one case were right, it requires a casuistry 
more subtle, and a logic more profound than 
even his lordship's, to make it appear wrong 
in the other. The East India Com])any'8 
recognition was equally extended to both. 
Clive did not represent the British govern- 
ment, but a trading company which favoured 
any acquisitions made by its servants which 
did not infringe its rights or emoluments. 
This must be kept in view in all arguments 
that are maintained upon the subject. 

Scarcely had Meer Jaftier conferred ho- 
nours and endowments upon Clive, than he 
began a series of intrigues, of a daring nature, 
against the English themselves. He knew 
that he could obtain no absolute power in 
Bengal while the English were there, and he 
formed the design of allying himself to the 
Dutch for the purpose of driving them out. 
There was no other European state to which 
he could apply. The Dutch were supreme 
in the Archipelago, and their fame was still 
great in India. The viceroy did not know 
that the power of Holland had much decayed 
in Europe, the wars with the English having 
issued in reducing the United Provinces from 
the position of first naval power. By the 
instrumentality of the Dutch, Meer Jaffier 
determined to play this new game, and incur 
the peril of losing all or driving the English 
away. It does not seem to have occurred to 
him that the Dutch would in turn have be- 
come his masters, and that the only true 
reliance for a prince or a people, where in- 
dependence is to be sought and won, should 
be on 

" Native swords and native ranks." 

It is probable that this treacherous and 
feeble prince would not have ventured upon 
so daring a scheme, had he not believed that 
the recognition of his actual viceroyalty by 
the Mogul, secured him against all danger of 
insurrection in his own territories, or invasion 
by his Mohammedan neighbours. Clive soon 
discovered that some intrigue was proceeding, 



Chap. LXXIV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



209 



but does not appear to have had the least 
suspicion that a European power was con- 
cerned, or even contemplated by Meer Jaffier. 
Ho lost all confidence in his protege, and 
began to regard it as politic to prepare for 
the assumption of English power in Bengal, 
without the intervention of a nabob. In 
January, 1759, he addressed a letter to Mr. 
Pitt, requesting him to send a sufficient force 
" to open a way for securing the soubahdarship 
to ourselves." His plan was to enter into a 
treaty with the Mogul, and receive from him 
the supreme authority in Bengal, subject to the 
payment of fifty lacs of rupees yearly, which 
could easily be spared out of the Bengal reve- 
nues. Clive, who hated Mohammedanism, and 
distrusted all Mohammedans of whatever rank, 
assured Mr. Pitt that Meer Jaffier would break 
with the English as soon as he found it his in- 
terest, no matter under what obligations they 
laid him ; and as to his son and probable 
successor Meeran, he represented him as "so 
apparently the enemy of the English, that it 
will be almost unsafe trusting him with the 
succession." 

The intrigues of Meer Jaffier and his infa- 
mous son were successful in gaining over the 
Dutch. They determined on an expedition 
to Bengal; a large fleet was fitted out at 
Batavia, and a considerable body of troops 
put on board. Their destination was Chin- 
surah, where the Dutch had a factory, with 
the chiefs of which Meer Jaffier had con- 
ducted his intrigues. Suddenly the presidency 
at Calcutta was alarmed by the arrival of seven 
of the largest Dutch ships in the Hoogly, having 
on board fifteen hundred men ; seven hundred 
of whom were Europeans, and the rest Malays. 
Holland and England were at peace, and Clive 
knew that no danger menaced the Dutch set- 
tlements, requiring such military reinforce- 
ments, and the presenee of so powerful a fleet. 
He therefore determined on intercepting them, 
so as to prevent the arrival of the troops at 
Chinsurah. He perhaps never found himself 
in a more anxious situation. At that time, 
it would have been a serious matter to 
the English government to be at war with 
Holland, added to its other European diffi- 
culties ; the ministry might disavow his acts, 
notwithstanding the obvious justice and ne- 
cessity of the course taken by him in such an 
emergency. Should the English ministry 
disavow him, and offer compensation to Hol- 
land for any injury sustained by the Dutch 
armament or settlement, it was probable that 
Clive's great wealth would be seized to make 
good the amount. The English government 
had always been rapacious and unjust in its 
conduct to the company, and seldom allowed 
justice in the righteous claims of an individual 

VOL. II. 



to stand in the way of its policy. Probably 
no government in Europe had proved itself 
so indifferent to individual losses and suffer- 
ing as the English, when a political purpose 
was to be served or the exchequer spared, 
unless indeed the claimant had aristocratic 
pretensions or influence. Clive doubted much 
whether his influence or that of the company, 
or his past services, or his popularity in 
England, or all these sources of power to- 
gether, would prove sufficient to deter the 
English ministry from sacrificing him, if to 
do so answered a party end, or relieved the 
court from any embarrassment. A large 
portion of his money having been sent to 
Europe through the Dutch East India Com- 
pany, that company would, in all proba- 
bility confiscate his deposits, and thus an- 
other consideration was added to those of a 
political as well as personal nature to prevent 
him from beginning the war, by intercepting 
the Dutch armaments. On the other hand, 
so large was the force, so faithless the sou- 
bahdar, and so few the English troops then 
disposable for service in Bengal, that if the 
Dutch once gained a footing, they could hold 
their position until new and powerful rein- 
forcements to their navy and army should 
arrive from Batavia, and these, acting with 
the native array of the soubahdar, might effect 
the expulsion of the English from Bengal. 
The soubahdar declared that he knew nothing 
of the schemes of the Dutch, of which he had 
received timely and accurate information, 
and whose agents were actually recruiting in 
Bahar, Patna, and even Moorshedabad. The 
Dutch Company had always acted with an 
ostensible independence of its government, but 
as constantly with its connivance, and Dutch 
policy in India and the Eastern seas was 
piratical. To force a commerce by destroy- 
ing the ships and settlements of all compe- 
titors was the simple policy of the Batavians. 
It would have been impolitic in the extreme 
to allow this great force to menace the inte- 
rests of the English in Bengal. Clive ordered 
as strong a detachment as he could spare, 
under Colonel Forde, an officer in whom he 
placed implicit confidence, to act as an army 
of observation. Forde endeavoured to prevent 
the advance of the Dutch troops bj' remon- 
strance and expostulation, which were of no 
avail. Hesitating to proceed to extremities, 
he sent to Calcutta for positive orders, repre- 
senting the persistence of the Dutch as only 
to be overcome by force. Clive was playing 
cards when the message arrived. He tore 
off a piece of Forde's letter, and wrote upon 
it in pencil — "Dear Forde, — Fight 'em im- 
mediately, and I will send an order of council 
to-morrow." Forde did " fight 'em imme- 

N N 



270 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXIV. 



diately," although with forces much inferior 
as to uiimher, and bo justified Olive's confi- 
dence that tlie Dutch were completely de- 
feated, of the seven hundred Europeans, not 
more than fourteen reached Chinsurah. An 
attack upon the fleet was also successful, the 
ships were all made prizes. 

Tiie results of these signal defeats were 
satisfactory, the Dutch at Chinsurah submitted 
to such terms as Chve thought proper to 
impose, which were that no fortifications 
should he erected, and no armed persons to 
be retained in connection with their factory, 
except for police purposes ; and, upon viola- 
tion of either of these terms, expulsion from 
Bengal was mutually recognised as a just 
penalty. Olive restored the ships at the end 
of December, 1759. 

The fate of Meer Jaffier would have been 
sealed by these events had policy allowed. 
He made vehement protestations of fidelity, 
and declared his entire ignorance of the pro- 
ceedings of the Dutch ; but while the English 
did not deem it then discreet to act against 
the soubahdar for what he said or did, they 
had already resolved in their own minds to 
allow matters to take their course as regarded' 
him, and await patiently the moment most 
opportune for setting aside his authority. 
It is probable from the subsequent conduct 
of Meer Jaffier, that he penetrated the pur- 
poses of the English, and like a true Mussul- 
man, resigned liimself to the fate the future 
might reveal, coutinued to enjoy his debauches, 
and to accumulate precious stones, rich apparel 
and coin, against the probable crisis which 
awaited him. 

Upon the fortunes of Olive these events 
produced such effects as might be expected. 
His name and presence awed his own coun- 
trymen, and were a terror to every native 
prince in India. The sepoys idolized him, 
the native populations of India listened with 
eagerness to the wandering story-tellers who 
recounted his feats of arms, embellished by 
additions of deeds more or less than human, 
as suited the oriental fancy. The belief was 
concurrent among the native populations, that 
the devil's inspiration had mucli to do witli 
the military genius of tlie great commander. 
In England his glory was the common sub- 
ject of conversation, and the universal boast 
of his countrymen, amongst whom, for so long 
a time, so i'ew eminent generals had been 
raised up. Before the Dutch were humbled, 
Pitt in one of his thrilling orations had passed 
npon him the highest eulogies, calling him "the 
heaven-born general, a man, who, bred to the 
desk, had displayed a military genius which 
might excite the admiration of the King of 
Prussia." Upou this Lord Macaulay remarks : — 



"There were then no reporters in the gallery ; 
but these words, emphatically spoken by the 
first statesman of the age, had passed from 
mouth to mouth, had been transmitted to 
Olive in Beng.al, and had greatly delighted 
and flattered him. Indeed, since the death 
of Wolfe, Olive was the only general of whom 
his countrymen had much reason to be proud." 
The minds of the people of England were 
thus prepared to hear of great exploits from 
Olive, and to appreciate them, and as the 
Dutch were unpopular, the humiliation which 
he inflicted upon them filled his countrymen 
with wild delight. It was Forde who really 
accomplished the feats of battle, but he acted 
under the inspiration of Clive, who carried 
away the palm. Clive, however, did justice 
to the gallant Forde ; he was always liberal 
in praise to the brave, although strict even to 
tyranny upon all under his command who 
dared to dispute his will. Forde's previous 
service in command of a detachment sent to 
the Northern Oircars by Olive, at the instiga- 
tion of one of the leading polygars in that 
district, and in opposition to his own council, 
had been brilliant. Forde met the rajah's 
troops, and in a pitched battle inflicted upott 
them as signal defeat as he afterwards gave 
the Dutch near Chinsurah. This was the 
means of troubling the French much, and of 
influencing, favourablj' to the British, the 
war in the Carnatic, as already noticed in a 
more appropriate place. It does not appear, 
notwithstanding the high opinion of him 
entertained by Olive, that either the company 
or his country appreciated the military geniuB 
and valour of Forde. 

Clive having remitted large sums of money 
to England, was anxious to see to their se- 
curity. The Dutch Company held £180,000, 
the English Company £40,000, and probably 
£80,000 had been remitted through private 
hands. He, therefore, in February, 1760, 
returned to England. His departure was at 
an unfortunate juncture for Bengal. Before 
the Dutch invasion, a new invasion by the 
Mogul prince was threatened, and scarcely 
had the Dutch episode terminated by the 
restoration of the captured ships and treasures 
in December, 1759, than intrigues were dis- 
covered among the native princes, and at the 
court of Moorshedabad, likely to embroil 
Bengal with surrounding nabobs, and to ex- 
pose it to insurrectionary movements. Olive, 
Forde, and other influential officers who were 
in good health persisted iu returning home, in 
the face of a state of affairs which were 
perilous, and have not escaped censure for 
leaving Bengal to its fate. Colonel OalHaud, 
however, was re-called from the Carnatic, 
and as he was a man of superior military 



Chap, LXXIV.] 



m INDIA AND THE EAST. 



271 



parts, it was believed by Clive and tlie council, 
that ho would be able to maintain the interests 
and honour of the company in military affairs. 
Towards the end of November, 17.59, 
Colonel Calliaud arrived in Bengal with rein- 
forcements, and he was at once engaged in 
active operations to avert the threatened 
dangers. Clive himself determined to sujiport 
him, and, if possible, settle matters at Moor- 
shedabad before he departed from India. 

The danger immediately impending was a 
new invasion by the shah-zada. Clive was 
determined that his highness should, if pos- 
sible, be severely chastised for his breach of 
the treaty made upon his former defeat, and 
he therefore placed at Calliaud's disposal 
three hundred European infantry, six pieces 
of cannon with fifty European artillerymen, 
and one thousand sepoys, and sent him for- 
ward at once to Moorshedabad ; other forces 
were to join him, and Clive himself was to 
follow as soon as his attention to other affairs 
allowed. Mr. Mill blames the determination 
of the British to uphold Meer Jaffier against 
the shah-zada as an encouragement of rebel- 
lion, and a participation in it, and he de- 
nounces both the morals and policy of Clive's 
course. Professor Wilson gives the follow- 
ing brief but complete reply to this : — " It 
was not a question of policy, but one of good 
faith. By tlie treaty with Meer Jaffier, as 
well as by the nature of their connection with 
him, the English were pledged to assist him 
against all enemies whatever, and few of the 
governors of the provinces would have scrupled 
to consider the emperor as an enemy if he 
had sought to dispossess them of their soubahs. 
Even, however, if the theory of obedience 
to a monarch, who at the very seat of empire 
was no longer his own master, could be urged 
with any show of reason, it would not be 
applicable in the present instance, for the 
shall -zada was not appointed by the emperor 
to be his deputy in Bengal, and as Clive 
pleaded to the prince himself, no communica- 
tion of his movements or purposes had been 
made from Delhi. On the contrary, the 
prince was there treated as a rebel to his 
father. He could not plead, therefore, the 
emperor's authority for his incursion, and no 
other pretext could have afforded him the 
semblance even of right." 

After the shah-zada set out upon his 
second invasion, various events occurred 
which complicated the state of affairs. Mr. 
Mill describes them with so much beauty and 
accuracy, that his description will admirably 
convey the position and relation of parties, 
as events rapidly presented new ])hases in the 
general political condition : — " The powerful 
king of the Abdallecs was again on his march 



for the invasion of Hindostan. Excited by the 
approach of formidable danger, the vizir, in 
a fit of exasperation or despair, ordered the 
murder of the emperor, the wretched Alum- 
geer; and the news of this tragical event 
reached the shah-zada, just as he had passed 
the Caramnassa into the province of Bahar. 
He was advised to assume immediately the 
state and title of emperor; to confer the 
office of vizir upon Sujah-ad-Dowlah, the 
Nabob of Oude, and to confirm Nujeeb-ad- 
Dowlah in the office of Ameer-ul-Omrah. The 
majesty of the imperial throne, and his un- 
doubted title, had an influence still upon the 
minds of men. It was now clear and imme- 
diate rebellion to resist him ; and whatever 
guilt could be involved in making war upon 
their rightful sovereign, must be incurred bj' 
those who carried arms against him. The 
English had already familiarized themselves 
with the idea of rebellion in India ; and the 
consideration of legitimate sovereignty, though 
the sovereign would have purchased their 
protection by unlimited grants, appears not 
to have excited a scruple in a single breast. 
The new dignity, however, of vizir, called on 
the Nabob of Oude for some exertions in. 
favour of his sovereign; and the fascination 
of the imperial title was still of force to col- 
lect around him a considerable army. The 
march of the English was retarded by the 
necessity of settling terms with the Nabob of 
Poorania, who had encamped on the left 
bank of the river between Moorshedabad and 
Patna, and professed a desire of remaining 
obedient to Jaffier, provided the English 
would engage for his security. This nego- 
tiation wasted seven days ; and in the mean- 
time the emperor advanced towards Patna. 
Ramnarain, whom the sagacity of Ali Verdi 
had selected to be deputy-governor of Bahar, 
on account of his skill in matters of finance, 
was destitute of military talents: and con- 
sidering his situation, under the known 
hatred of Jaffier, as exceedingly precarious, 
he was unwilling to lay out any of the wealth 
he had acquired, in providing for the defence 
of the country. He was still enabled to draw 
forth a respectable army, reinforced by seventy 
Europeans and a batallion of English sepoys, 
commanded by Lieutenant Cochrane; and he 
encamped under the walls with a view to 
cover the city." 

Colonel Calliaud had united his forces with 
those of Meeran, who was at the head of 
fifteen thousand men and twenty-five pieces 
of cannon. The British colonel enjoined 
upon Cochrane defensive measures, and to 
avoid giving battle until he and Meeran 
should come up. Cochrane was either un- 
willing or unable to obey those commands. 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXIV, 



and a battle was fought, in which a signal 
defeat was sustained by Cochrane and his 
native coadjutor, Ranmaraiu, tlie governor of 
the province, who was a good financier and 
a bad soldier. The chief officers of Ramnarain 
behaved faithlessly, and endeavoured to 
bring over the troops to the service of the 
Mogul. The English never fought better, 
and, few as they were, cut their way through 
the enemy, or rather the enemy, awed by 
their undaunted bearing, gave way before 
them, not daring to interpose. Finally, the 
detachment arrived safely at Patna. 

The following curious account of this trans- 
action was given by a Mogul nobleman, and 
is interesting, as disclosing the light in which 
the English appeared to men of his class : — 
" What remained of their people [the English] 
was rallied by Doctor William Fullerton, a 
friend of mine, and possibly by some English 
officers, whose names I know not, who ranged 
them in order again ; and as one of their guns 
was to be left on the field of battle, they found 
means to render it useless and of no avail, by 
thrusting a large needle of iron into its eye. 
The other being in good condition, they took 
it with them, together with its ammunition ; 
and that handful of men had the courage to 
retire in the face of a victorious enemy, 
without once shrinking from their ranks. 
During their journey, the cart of ammunition 
chanced to receive some damage ; the doctor 
stopped unconcernedly, and, after having put 
it in order, he bravely pursued his route 
again; and it must bo acknowledged, that 
this nation's presence of mind, firmness of 
temper, and undaunted bravery, are past all 
question. They join the most resolute courage 
to the most cautious prudence ; nor have they 
their equals in the art of ranging themselves 
in battle array, and fighting in order. If to 
80 many military qualifications they knew 
how to join the arts of government ; if they 
showed a concern for the circumstances of the 
husbandman and the gentleman, and exerted 
as much ingenuity and solicitude in relieving 
and easing the people of God, as they do in 
whatever concerns their military affairs, no 
nation in the world would be preferable to 
thera, or prove worthier of command. But 
such is the little regard which they show to 
the people of these kingdoms, and such their 
apathy and indifference for their welfare, that 
the people under their dominion groan every- 
where, and are reduced to poverty and dis- 
tress. Oh God ! come to the assistance of 
thine afflicted servants, and deliver them from 
the oppressions they suffer." 

The people of God here referred to were 
the Mohammedans : the privileges they de- 
eired, the power to oppress the Hindoos. 



Mill says, " Had the troops of the emperor 
pushed on with vigour, immediately after 
this victory, when Ramnarain was severely 
wounded, his army panic-struck and dispersed, 
and the city without defenders, they might 
have taken Patna with the greatest ease. But 
they employed themselves in ravaging the 
open country, and in receiving messengers 
and overtures from Ramnarain, till the lt»th 
of February, when they learned that Meeran 
and the English were distant from them but 
twenty-eight miles. The resolution was taken 
to march and engage them ; the next day the 
two armies approached. Colonel Calliaud 
urged immediate attack; but Meeran and his 
astrologers found that the stars would not be 
favourable before the 22nd. Early on the 
morning of that day, Calliaud was in motion ; 
but before he could reach the enemy, the day 
was so far spent ' by the insufferable delays,' 
as he himself complains, of ' Meeran's march,' 
that, wishing to have time before him, he was 
unwilling to engage till the following morning. 
The enemy, however, advanced, and Calliaud 
drew up his men between two villages which 
covered both his flanks, advising Meeran to 
form a second line, the whole of which, except 
the two wings, would have been covered b}' 
the English and the villages. But, though 
this was agreed upon, ' he crowded his army 
upon the right, and, in spite of the most 
pressing and repeated solicitations, presented 
to battle a body of fifteen thousand men, with 
a front of scarcely two hundred yards, in a 
tumultuous unformed heap.' "With a feigned 
appearance of directing the main attack upon 
the English, the enemy advanced, with the 
best part of their army, upon Meeran, who, 
in about ten minutes, began to give way. 
Colonel Calliaud, however, marched with a 
battalion of sepoys to his aid, and immediately 
decided the fate of the day." 

Calliaud in vain endeavoured to induce 
Meeran to pursue the enemy, or place a body 
of cavalry at his disposal, with which, in con- 
junction with his sepoy infantry, he would 
himself give chase. Meeran preferred enjoy- 
ing himself at Patna, in his usual dissipations. 
This he continued to do until the 29th of 
January, 1760. Meanwhile, the emperor, 
who had retreated to Bahar, gathered courage, 
and resolved, if possible, to gain some days' 
march between the allies and Moorshedabad, 
and seize the viceroy and the capital before 
the self-indulgences at Patna terminated. 
Wlien Meeran consented to move, the em- 
peror was on his march to execute the stratagem 
he had projected. Calliaud, by forced marches 
and by sending swift boats with troops up the 
river, was enabled so to menace the emperor's 
flank as to cause him to change his route, 



.Chap. LXXIV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



273 



Btill vigilantly followed by Calliaud. The 
viceroy meantime became apprised of the 
danger, mustered what forces he could, and 
received two hundred men from Calcutta. 
This army formed a junction with that under 
Meeran and Calliaud, and, in tlie face of a 
meditated attack, the emperor burned his 
camp, and retreated. Calliaud was of opinion 
that, by better concerted movements and 
more celerity, the imperial army might have 
entered JNIoorshedabad. Once more Calliaud 
proposed the pursuit of the retreating foe ; but 
neither the viceroy nor the hope of his house 
had the courage to adopt his advice. He 
again urged upon them the necessity of 
placing some cavalry at his own disposal for 
the purpose. It was refused. At this junc- 
ture, M. Law, at the head of a French force, 
passed near Patna, which had been left without 
means of defence ; but Law was ignorant of 
the fact, and proceeded to Bahar, to await the 
arrival of the emperor. Had the emperor's 
own army turned aside to Patna with celerity, 
he would have entered it unopposed. That 
city had a third piece of good fortune, in 
escaping the Nabob of Poorania, who, at the 
moment, declared for the emperor. Patna 
was witliin an easy march of his forces ; but 
ho neglected the opportunity. Patna, through 
the bad generalship of all parties, was saved 
from a coup before which it must have fallen. 
The emperor, however, when the opportune 
moment had passed away, advanced against 
it. The English factors and the native go- 
vernor had thrown up defences and organized 
a force. Calliaud, with his usual sagacity 
and pi'omptitude, had dispatched two hundred 
European soldiers — the elite of his army — and 
a battalion of sepoys. Before this force could 
arrive, the emperor, joined by M. Law and 
the French, pressed the siege, and, having 
demolished part of the ramparts, assaulted the 
place. Dr. Fullerton, the English surgeon, 
with that courage which the medical men 
attached both to the company's and the royal 
army have so frequently shown, at the head 
of such force as he could collect, repulsed the 
assailants. In two days. Law, with his 
Frenchmen, renewed the assault, and suc- 
ceeded in selling the broken ramparts. Again 
Dr. Fullerton, and one Rajah Shitabroy, suc- 
ceeded in repelling the assailants. It was, 
however, expected that the whole French 
force, supported by the emperor's best native 
troops, would the next night renew the assault, 
and the citizens had no reliance upon them- 
selves, and no hope of again repelling tlie 
stormers. While all was despair and confusion 
in the city, Captain Knox, with the light 
companies of his force, was seen from the 
walls rapidly approaching. He had, by forced 



marches, reached Fatna in thirteen days, him- 
self and his men having endured terrible hard- 
ships from fatigue and heat. That evening 
he reconnoitred the enemy, who were deterred 
from offering an assault to the city. Next 
day, at the usual hour of temporary repose in 
India, Knox surprised the enemy while the 
troops were asleep, entered their works, and 
made havoc of those who occupied them. 
The main army retired. 

The Nabob of Poorania, who still lingered in 
the neighbourhood, at last began his march 
to join the emperor. Knox proposed to the 
governor of Patna to cross the river, and so 
harass the nabob as to detain him until Calliaud 
and Meeran should arrive. The governor 
assented ; but when the hour for action came, 
none of the native troops or citizens would 
venture upon an expedition which appeared 
to them so full of peril. Rajah Shitabroy 
had three hundred men in his pay, who had 
caught the fire of their master's spirit : these 
joined Knox, and the little army crossed the 
river. It was the captain's plan to effect a 
night surprise ; but his guide deceived him, 
and kept him and his troops uselessly wan- 
dering about until morning, when, wearied, 
he and his men lay down upon their arms. 
At that moment, the advanced guard of the 
enemy approached. Knox took up his position 
with skill, and a battle ensued, which lasted 
for six hours. The enemy's troops numbered 
twelve thousand men, and again and again 
surrounded the little bands of Knox and the 
rajah, but were repulsed with heavy slaughter. 
At last disheartened, the enemy began to 
show symptoms of disorder. The English 
commander charged with his whole force. 
The rajah's troops were cavalry, and were 
most efficient in the charge. The enemy 
was pursued until dark. 

During the terrible contest, the citizens 
crowded the ramparts, their minds alternating 
between hope and fear ; but, on the whole, 
their coward hearts yielded to the latter. 
They saw the ebb and flow of battle, and 
trembled with alarm, and were, no doubt, 
ready to welcome any victor who might 
approach from the contested field, if only they 
could secure their goods. 

The glorious conduct of Knox and his 
brave native colleague. Rajah Shitabroy, was 
thus oddly noticed by a native author already 
quoted : — " When the day was far spent, a 
note came to Mr. Amyatt from Captain Knox, 
which mentioned that the enemy was de- 
feated and flying. The intelligence was sent 
to all the principal men of the city, and caused 
a deal of joy. I went to the factory, to com- 
pliment the gentlemen, when, in the dusk of 
the evening, Captain Knox himself crossed 



1S74 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXIV. 



over, and came with Shitabroy and his party. 
They were both covered with dust and sweat. 
The captain then gave some detail of the 
battle, and paid the greatest encoiuiums on 
Shitabroy's zeal, activity, and valour. He ex- 
claimed several times, 'This is a real nabob; 
I never saw such a nabob in my life.' A few 
moments after, Ramnarain was introduced. 
He had in his company both Mustapha 
Koollee Khan, and the cutwal of the city, 
■with some other men of consequence, who, 
on hearing of the arrival of these two men, 
had flocked to the factory ; and, on seeing 
them alone, could not help believing that they 
had escaped from the slaughter ; so far were 
they from conceiving that a few hundreds of 
men could defeat a whole army. Nor coidd 
they be made to believe (impressed as they 
were with Hindoo notions) that a commander 
could quit his army so unconcernedly, unless 
he had indeed run away from it : nor would 
listen to what Mr. Amyatt repeatedly said, to 
convince Ramnarain and others of their 
mistake."* 

The immediate consequence of the victory 
was that the nabob gave up his idea of march- 
ing to join the emperor, but turned his course 
northward ; Calliaud and Meeran arriving, 
they crossed the Ganges in pursuit, and soon 
overtook him, because of the encumbrances of 
baggage and heavy guns of position b}' which 
his army was attended. The nabob drew up 
in battle array, but with no disposition to 
fight. He merely sought time to place his 
treasures and women on camels and swift 
elephants, and then, calling in his skirmishers, 
left his baggage and guns in the hands of the 
English, and precipitately retreated.f The 
conduct of Meeran was dastardly in the ex- 
treme on this occasion. Calliaud| thus de- 
scribes it : — " The young nabob and his troops 
behaved in this skirmish in their usual manner, 
halting above a mile in the rear, nor ever 
once made a motion to sustain the English. 
Had he but acted on this occasion with the 
least appearance of spirit, and made even a 
semblance of fighting, the affair must have 
proved decisive; nor could Cuddnm Houssein 
Khan or his treasure have escaped." Calliaud 
pursued the nabob, and the reluctant Meeran 
joined in the pursuit. 

Many months of 1760 had now been con- 
sumed in repelling the invasion of the shah- 
zada, and many defeats were inflicted upon 
him and his coadjutors; yet adherents among 
the native chiefs, of various ranks, still joined 
his standard ; and his attainment to the throne 
of empire rendered it very likely that this 



* Seer Mulakkareen, vol. ii. p. 123. 
t Scott's lllstonj of Bengal, pp. .392- 
\ CiilUaud's Narrative, p. 34. 



•397. 



would continue to be the case, unless blow 
after blow were struck by the British and their 
ally with rapidity and severity. It was the 
month of July : the rains were falling ; and 
the nabob would soon be beyond reach of his 
pursuers, unless rapid advance was made, in 
spite of the tempests which now impeded the 
march of bodies of men in northern Bengal. 
Meeran reluctantly struggled forward, under 
the pressure of remonstrance and entreaty from 
the vigorous and active Calliaud. On the 
night of the 2nd of July, after four days of 
severe pursuit, an event occurred which ma- 
terially altered the prospects of the war. 
The night was one of fierce and uninterrupted 
storm : thunder shook the allied camps, and 
the forked lightnings played amid the tents 
like ince8.sant showers of fiery darts. Many 
of the natives believed that the gods bent their 
bows and discharged their arrows among the 
helpless host, and the invisible world fought 
against their cause.. Meeran, always solicitous 
for his own safety and harassed with super- 
stitious fcar.s, forsook his tent, which was a 
rich and wide-spread pavilion of light texture, 
forone of lessdemensionsand supcriorstrength. 
He was attended by onl)' two persons — a do- 
mestic slave, a favourite, who cliafed his limbs 
to induce slumber, and a story-teller, to amuse 
his wakeful hours, after the manner of the 
East. The thunder-storm poured its successive 
peals along for hours over the country, and the 
fierce lightnings searched the camp. When, 
at last, the fury of the elements abated, the 
guards of Meeran, who crouched without, en- 
tered his tent for orders, when they found 
their master and his two attendants stiffened 
in death, their bodies scathed with lightning 
and their costume singed or burned. Six 
holes were numbered on the back part of the 
commander's head, and his body was streaked 
as if with the marks of a whip. A scimitar, 
which la}' on the pillow above his head, was 
also perforated, and the point melted. The 
tent-pole was charred. A single stroke of 
the electric fluid had blasted the life of the 
prince and his attendants. The French after- 
wards raised a rumour in India that the- 
English had assassinated Meeran. Edmund 
Burke alluded to this rumour in his celebrated 
speech opening the charge against Warren 
Hastings. The imputation was not only un- 
founded, but absurd. The English had no 
interest in so acting at that moment, but 
strong interest to the contrary, as the conduct 
of Calliaud immediately showed. That officer 
saw that further pursuit of the enemy was, by 
the event, rendered impossible. Native armies 
generally disperse when a chief falls ; and, 
should the like then happen, the peril of the 
English troops would indeed be great. Calliaud 




WARiaEM JHlAgiraMGS. 



GOVFRNOR GENF.RAL OF BfNGAL. 



(^^ 



QjA^ffTKy a/ CLy/li/rU(/. 



■c/n^ 



Q^c^f- 



LONDON JAMES S.VIRTIIF 



Chap. LXXV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



276 



concealed the deatL, and had the prince placed 
upon an elephant, as if alive. He then pro- 
ceeded by forced marches to Patna, alleging 
that Meeran was ill, to account for his not 
appearing on the march. Calliaud placed his 
troops in what the English in India called 
" winter quarters." Most of the Bengalees 
attributed the death of Meeran to the retri- 
bution of the gods upon his crimes. The 



Mohammedans entertained an opinion that 
God had sent the stroke in consequence of 
the dying curse of the widow of Suraj-ad- 
Dowlah. The campaign with the emperor 
had, however, terminated, not to be renewed 
in favour of Moer Jaffier, and, at this juncture 
of affairs, Mr. Vansittart arrived in Calcutta 
from Madras, as the successor of Clive iu the 
government of Bengal. 



CHAPTER LXXV. 



WAHREN HASTINGS PROMINENT IN THE AFFAIRS OF BENGAL — GOVERNOR VANSITTART 
OPPOSED BY THE COUNCIL— WAR WITH THE EMPEROR— BEFEj\.T OF THE IMPERIAL 
ARMY, AND OF THE FRENCH, WITH THE CAPTURE OF M. LAW, THE FRENCH CHIEF- 
ESTABLISHMENT OF MEER COSSIM IN THE SOUBAHDARSHIP BY THE ENGLISH. 



In the events which had occurred in Bengal 
up to the period of the arrival of Mr. Vansit- 
tart as governor, a young man took part who 
was destined to play a prominent part in the 
history of India. That young man was 
Warren Hastings. 

Miss Martineau, reviewing this period of 
the history of Bengal, pithily observes : — 
" Where was young Hastings during these 
years ? He had joined Clive's expedition 
with enthusiasm when it came up from Madras 
iu December, 175G. But Clive soon disco- 
vered that Hastings had abilities which 
marked him out for political business ; and 
he appointed him resident agent at the new 
nabob's court. Soon after Clive"s departure 
in 1760, Hastings was wanted at Calcutta, as 
a member of council. He was in full training 
for his future work." To the influence of 
Clive much of the boldness and persistence of 
the policy of Hastings may probably be attri- 
buted. They admired one another, and the 
elder and more active man was likely to leave 
the traces of his strong mind and will upon 
the versatile, susceptible, and impressible 
youth who watched the intrigues of the court 
of Moorshedabad, and informed the governor 
of Bengal of the policy pursued there. Clive 
depended much upon the genius of Hastings 
for correct information and useful suggestions, 
for already the subtle and penetrating mind 
of the diplomatist gave proof of its fine edge 
and polished surface. 

It will be appropriate in this place to take 
some notice of the life of W^arren Hastings 
up to the time at which our history has ar- 
rived. Lord Macaulay* thus writes of his 
origin : — " Warren Hastings sprang from an 

* Critical and Historical Essays. Contributed to 
the Edinburgh lleciew, vol. ii. p. 1S2. 



ancient but illustrious race. It is affirmed 
that the pedigree can be traced back to the 
great Danish sea king, whose sails were long 
the terror of both coasts of the British Channel, 
and uho, after many fierce and doubtful 
struggles, yielded at last to the valour and 
genius of Alfred. But the undoubted splen- 
dour of the line of Hastings needs no illus- 
tration from fable. One branch of that line 
wore, in the fourteenth century, the coronet 
of Pembroke. From another branch sprang 
the renowned chamberlain, the faithful adhe- 
rent of the white rose, whose fate has fur- 
nished so striking a theme both to poets and 
historians. His family received from the 
Tudors the earldom of Huntingdon. . . . The 
lords of the manor of Daylesford, in Worces- 
tershire, claimed to be the heads of this dis- 
tinguished family. The main stock, indeed, 
prospered less than some of the younger 
shoots. But the Daylesford family, although 
not ennobled, was wealthy and highly con- 
sidered, till, about two hundred years ago, it 
was overwhelmed by the great ruin of the civil 
war. The Hastings of that time was a zealous 
cavalier. He raised money on his lands, sent 
his plate to the mint at Oxford, joined the 
royal army, and after spending half his pro- 
perty in the cause of King Charles, was glad 
to ransom himself by making over the greater 
part of the remainder to Speaker Lenthal. 
The old seat at Daylesford still remained in 
the family, but it could no longer be kept up, 
and in the following generation was sold to a 
London merchant. Before the transfer took 
place, the last Hastings of Daylesford pre- 
sented his second son to the rectory of the 
parish in which the ancient residence of the 
family stood. The living was of little value, 
and the situation of the poor clergyman after 



27fi 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXXV. 



the sale of the estate was deplorable. He 
was constantly engaged in law-suits about 
tithes with the new lord of the manor, and 
was at last utterly ruined. His eldest son, 
Howard, a well-conducted young man, ob- 
tained a place in the Customs. The second 
son, Pynaston, an idle, wortliless boy, married 
before he was sixteen, lost his wife before he 
was two years married, and died in the West 
Indies, leaving to the care of his unfortunate 
father a little orphan destined to strange and 
memorable vicissitudes of fortune." 

Warren, the son of Pynaston, was born on 
the 6th of December, 1732. His mother died 
a few days later, and he was left dependant 
on his distressed grandfather. Such was the 
origin and early history of one of whom the 
same writer also says, " No cloud could over- 
cast the dawn of so much genius and so much 
ambition. The very ploughmen observed 
and long remembered how very kindly little 
Warren took to his book." It was while at 
school in the rustic village at Daylesford, and 
while the playmate of its rustic children, that 
young Hastings pondered the idea of ulti- 
mately becoming the lord of his ancestors' 
estates. His uncle Howard took charge of him 
in' his ninth year, and he was sent to school in 
London. In his eleventh year he was sent to 
Westminster school, where he was the fellow 
student of various youths who, like himself, 
became men of note. 

On the death of his uncle, Howard Hastings, 
a distant relative or connection, to whose care 
he. had been consigned by his uncle, procured 
him a writership in the company's service. 
In October, 1750, when only in his seventeenth 
year, he arrived in Bengal. He remained two 
years in the secretary's office at Calcutta, and 
was then sent to Cossimbazar. In that place 
he remained several years, making bargains for 
stuffs with native brokers. He was thus oc- 
cupied when the sanguinary Suraj-ad-Dowlah 
seized upon the English there. The compas- 
sion felt by some Dutch merchants for one so 
young, delicate, and intelligent, induced them 
to plead for him, and he was released from 
confinement and was a sort of prisoner at 
large at Moorshedabad. He thence secretly 
corresponded with the English council when 
they fled from Calcutta, and he displayed such 
courage, capacity, and diligence in obtaining 
information, and such judgment and talent in 
the opinions he expressed, as to surprise the 
council, and excite their admiration of his 
abilities. 

When Clive arrived in the Hoogly with the 
expedition from Madras, Hastings contrived 
to join it as a volunteer, and by his heroism 
and sagacity secured the high opinion and 
confidence of Clive, Immediately after the 



battle of Plassey, Hastings was appointed 
agent for the company at the court of the 
new soubahdar ; where he continued an in- 
valuable servant, until tlie honour of member 
of council at Calcutta was conferred upon 
him. During the administration of Mr. Van- 
sittart, Hastings was deprived of the influ- 
ence to which his genius entitled him by .the 
corrupt council. The period between Olive's 
first government of Bengal, the history of 
which has been recorded in foregoing pages, 
and his second government of Bengal, the 
history of which is yet to be related, was one 
of maladministration on the part of the English, 
and it is proper to anticipate somewhat our 
narrative, by quoting what Lord IMacaulay, 
in his criticism of Gleig's Life of Hastings, 
has said of our hero's conduct during that 
interval : — " Of the conduct of Hastings at 
this time little is known ; but the little that 
is known, and the circumstance that little is 
known, must be considered as honourable to 
him. He could not protect the natives; all 
that he could do, was to abstain from plun- 
dering and oppressing them, and this he 
appears to have done. It is certain, that at 
this time he continued poor, and it is equally 
certain that by cruelty and dishonesty he 
might have become rich. It is certain that 
he was never charged with having borne a 
part in the worst abuses which then prevailed, 
and it is almost equally certain that if he had 
borne a part in these abuses, the able and 
bitter enemies who afterwards persecuted 
him would not have failed to discover and 
to proclaim his guilt. The keen, severe, and 
even malevolent scrutiny to which his whole 
public life was subjected, a scrutiny unpa- 
ralleled, as we believe, in the historj' of man- 
kind, is in one respect advantageous to his 
reputation. It brought many olemishes to 
light, but it entitles him to be considered 
pure from every blemish which has not been 
brought to light. The truth is that the temp- 
tations to which so many English functionaries 
yielded in the time of Mr. Vansittart were 
not addressed to the ruling passion of Warren 
Hastings. He was not squeamish in pecu- 
niary transactions, but he was neither sordid 
nor rapacious. He was far too enlightened a 
man to look on a great empire, merely as a 
buccaneer would look on a galleon. Had 
his heart been much worse than it was, his 
understanding would have preserved him 
from that extremity of baseness. He was an 
unscrupulous, perhaps an unprincipled states- 
man ; but still he was a statesman and not a 
free -hooter." 

In 1764 Hastings returned to England. 
He had realized only a very moderate for- 
tune, and that moderate fortune was soon 



Chap. LXXV.] 



IM INDIA AND THE EAST. 



277 



reduced to nothing, partly by his praiseworthy 
liberality, and partly by his mismanagement. 
'■ Towards his relations he appears to have 
acted very generously. The greater part 
of his savings he lei't in Bengal, hoping, pro- 
bably, to obtain the high usury of India. 
But high usury and bad security generally 
go together, and Hastings lost both interest 
and principal." During the four years Has- 
tings remained at home, as well as the four 
years he remained in India alter Clive re- 
signed the governorship of Bengal, many 
momentous events occurred in India, which 
prepared the way for the exalted position 
Hastings ultimately held, and which were of 
themselves of magnitude and deep import- 
ance; to them it is necessary now to turn. 
The departure of Clive threw the affairs of 
Bengal into much confusion. It has been 
already shown that under the heroes, Calliaud 
and Knox, British valour was as triumphant 
as if Clive himself led the soldiers; but the 
civil concerns of the presidency were too 
complicated to be set or kept in order by a 
genius less commanding than Clive himself. 
There existed much discontent on the part 
of the English ofticials, even in high places, 
with the neglect shown by the company to 
men of parts, and the partialities evinced in 
the promotions, civil and military. To such 
an extent did the dissatisfaction with the com- 
pany spread, that the following extraordinary 
document was sent home before Clive took his 
departure, who had himself, although the 
company's chief officer in Bengal, taken an 
active part in its production : — " Having fully 
spoken to every branch of your affairs at this 
presidency, under their established heads, we 
cannot, consistent with the real anxiety we 
feel for the future welfare of that respectable 
body from whom you and we are in trust, 
close this address without expostulating with 
freedom on the unprovoked and general as- 
perity of your letterper Frince Henry packet. 
Our sentiments on this head, will, we doubt 
not, acquire additional weight, from the con- 
sideration of their being subscribed by a 
majority of your council, who are, at this 
very period, quitting your service, and con- 
sequently independent and disinterested. 
Permit us to say, that the diction of your 
letters is most unworthy yourselves and us, 
in whatever relation considered, either as 
masters to servants, or gentlemen to gentle- 
men. Mere inadvertencies, and casual neglects, 
arising from an unavoidable and most com- 
])licated confusion in the state of your affairs, 
have been treated in such language and sen- 
timents, as nothing but the most glaring and 
]U-emeciitcited faults could warrant. Ground- 
less informations have, without further scrii- 

VOL. II. 



tiny, borne with you the stamp of truth, 
though proceeding from those who had therein 
obviously their own purpose to serve, no 
matter at whose expense. These have re- 
ceived from you such countenance and en- 
couragement, as must most assuredly tend to 
cool the warmest zeal of your servants here 
and everywhere else ; as they will appear to 
have been only the source of general reflec- 
tions, thrown out at random against your 
faithful servants of this presidency, in various 
parts of your letter now before us, — faithful 
to little purpose, — if the breath of scandal, 
joined to private pique or private or personal 
attachments, have power to blow away in one 
hour the merits of many years' services, and 
deprive them of that rank, and those rising 
benefits, which are justly a spur to their 
integrity and application. The little atten- 
tion shown to these considerations in the in- 
discriminate favours heaped on some indivi- 
duals, and undeserved censures on others, 
will, we apprehend, lessen that spirit of zeal 
so very essential to the well-being of your 
affairs, and, consequently, in the end, if con- 
tinued, prove the destruction of them. Pri- 
vate views may, it is much to be feared, take 
the lead here, from examples at home ; and 
no gentlemen hold your service longer, nor 
exert themselves further in it, than their own 
exigencies require. This being the real pre- 
sent state of your service, it becomes strictly 
our duty to represent it in the strongest light, 
or we should, with little truth, and less pro- 
priety, subscribe ourselves." 

The company's reply to this was resolute, 
stern, and uncompromising. It was as fol- 
lows, dated the 21st of January, 1761 : — 
" We have taken under our most serious 
consideration the general letter from our 
late president and council of Fort William, 
dated the 29th of December, 175!), and many 
paragraphs therein containing gross insults 
upon and indignities offered to the court of 
directors ; tending to the subversion of our 
authority over our servants, and a dissolution 
of all order and good government in the com- 
pany's affairs : to put an immediate stop there- 
fore to this evil, we do positively order and 
direct, that, immediately upon receipt of this 
letter, all those persons still remaining in the 
company's service, who signed the said letter, 
viz.. Messieurs John Zephaniah Holwell, 
Charles Stafford Playdell, William Brightwell 
Sumner, and William M'Guire, be dismissed 
from the company's service ; and you are to 
take care that they be not permitted, on any 
consideration, to continue in India, but that 
they are to be sent to England by the first 
ships which return home the same season you 
receive this letter." 

o o 



■278 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXXV. 



Mr. Vansittart had from the first been op- 
posed by a faction in the council, and " the 
dismissal of which this letter was the signal, 
not only gave a majority in the coiincil to the 
party by whom he was opposed, but sent Mr. 
Ellis, the most intemperate and arbitrary of all 
Lis opponents, to the chiefship of the factory 
at Patna. He treated the nabob with the 
most insulting airs of authority, and broke 
through all respect for his government. So 
«arly as the month of January he gave his 
orders to the commander of the troops to seize 
and keep prisoner one of the nabob's collec- 
tors, who had raised some difficulties in per- 
mitting a quantity of opium, the private pro- 
perty of one of the comjjany's servants to 
pass duty free as the propertj' of the company. 
This outrage the discretion of the officer 
avoided, by suspending obedience to the 
order, and sending a letter to the nabob, to 
redress by his own authority whatever might 
appear to be wrong."* 

This Mr. Ellis continued, with indomitable 
■energy and violence, to contravene the orders 
of Mr. Vansittart ; and his disobedience and 
insults to the governor received such a mea- 
sure of support from the opposition in the 
•council, as to render nugatory all attempts on 
the part of the governor to enforce discipline 
and order. The factious spirit of the council 
\Yas not without provocation, and, strangely, 
that provocation was supplied mainly through 
dive's instrumentality, in the very way against 
which he and hia brotlier officials so strongly 
protested when the company, without his in- 
tervention, acted in a similar manner. 

Vansittart was appointed governor of Ben- 
gal at Clive's suggestion. This offended Hol- 
well, who had rendered more service in the 
■civil department than any of the company's 
officials, who bravely battled when the council 
of Calcutta fled, who, during Olive's govern- 
ment, was the most efficient civilian in high 
office, and ujwn whom the great dictator de- 
volved important duties. When Olive left 
India, the government rested upon Holwell 
j)ro tempore, and he was undoubtedly better 
fitted for the post than any other member of 
the council. Mr. Amyatt, a man reckoned by 
liis fellow councillors of consequence, claimed 
the office on the ground of seniority, and the 
council and civilians genei'ally regarded it as 
unjust to place a gentleman from Madras over 
his head. Olive, for reasons that appeared 
weighty to himself, recommended Vansittart, 
who, from the above-named causes, was ob- 
structed, from the moment of his entering 
office, by those who felt themselves aggrieved. 
This was not the only cause of their opposi- 
tion. A large number of the company's ser- 
* Jlill, book iv. chap. v. 



vants were trading on private account in such 
a manner as to be ruinous to the company. 
They interfered with the native transit trade 
in a manner, which, through the various 
revolutions in the soubahdarship of Bengal 
that ensued, drew forth the remonstrances of 
each successive nominee of the British in the 
native government, while the people of Bengal 
in vain besought the intervention of their 
Eoubahdar. Oppression and plunder were 
rampant amongst the bullying and imperious 
English officials everywhere. Mr. Vansittart 
had not the requisite capacity and energy to 
put a stop to these things ; and when a decided 
majority of the council was obtained against 
him, he became almost powerless. Lord Ma- 
caulay says of him and his position : — " Mr. 
Vansittart, the governor, was at the head of 
a new and anomalous empire. On one side 
was a band of English functionaries, daring, 
intelligent, eager to be rich. On the other 
side was a great native population, helpless, 
timid, accustomed to crouch under oppression. 
To keep the stronger race from preying on 
the weaker, was an undertaking which tasked 
to the utmost the talents and energy of Olive. 
Vansittart, with fair intentions, was a feeble 
and inefficient ruler. The monster caste, as 
was natural, broke loose from all restraint, and 
then was seen, what we believe to be the most 
frightful of all spectacles — the strength of 
civilization without its mercy. To all other 
despotism there is a check — imperfect, indeed, 
and liable to gross abuse, but still sufficient to 
preserve society from the last extreme of- 
misery. A time comes when the evils of sub- 
mission are obviously greater than those of 
resistance — when fear itself begets a sort of 
courage, when a convulsive burst of popular 
rage and despair warns tyrants not to presume 
too far on the patience of mankind. But 
against misgovernment, such as then afflicted 
Bengal, it was impossible to struggle. The 
superior intelligence of the dominant class 
made their power irresistible. A war of 
Bengalees against Englishmen was like a war 
of sheep against wolves, of men against 
demons. The only protection which the con- 
quered could find, was in the moderation, the 
clemency, the enlarged policy of the con- 
queror. That protection at a later period 
they found. But at first Engli.sh power came 
among them unaccompanied by English mo- 
rality. There was an interval between the 
time when they became our subjects, and the 
time at which we. began to reflect that we 
viere bound to discharge towards them the 
duty of rulers. During that interval the 
business of a servant of the company was 
simply to wring out of the natives a hundred 
or two hundred thousand pounds, as speedily 



Chap. L XX V.J 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



279 



as possible, that he might return home before 
his constitution liad suffered from the heat, to 
marry a peer's daughter, buy rotten boroughs 
in Cornwall, and to give balls in St. James's 
Square." 

This description is not so overdrawn as not 
to describe generally the condition of things, 
and show how helpless was the governor in 
the transactions which took place under his 
government, financial and military, among 
the English themselves in their relations to 
native princes and states, and to the unfor- 
tunate Bengalees who groaned beneath their 
rapacity and oppression. In the narrative of 
Mr. Vansittart himself, published after bis 
resignation of the government of the presi- 
dency, there is at once the clearest and most 
concise account that has ever appeared of its 
real condition, and of the English interest in 
Bengal at the period of Mr. Vausittart's ar- 
rival. It is fortunate that the fitatcmeuts of 
Mr. Vansittart himself are still in existence, 
as they describe with truth and simplicity a 
period amongst the most remarkable and 
eventful epochs in the history of the British 
empire in India. The events of that time, and 
the part taken in them by our countrymen, are 
amongst those most discussed by critics and 
historians of the present day. The originality 
and importance of the document excuse its 
length. The condensation of its style, and 
the authority of the writer, alike forbid abridg- 
ment. Mr. Vansittart states : — " It is foreign 
to my purpose to enter into any detail of tlie 
transactions of Jleer Jaffier's government, from 
the time of his being raised to the soubah- 
darship till the month of July, ITOO, when I 
came to Bengal, to succeed Colonel Clive. It 
is enough if I give a plain and distinct view 
of the situation in whicli I found his afl'airs, 
and the company's. The greatest part of the 
nabob's and the English forces was at Patna, 
to oppose the shah-zada, wlio, for three years 
successively, had invaded the province, and 
at this time was more powerful than ever, by 
the number of disaffected zemindars who had 
joined him, or espoused his interest, in different 
parts of the country. The nabob's army con- 
sisted as usual of a great number of undisci- 
plined people, who were never regularly paid, 
but were kept together by the promises of 
Saddoc AUee Cawn,* the nabob's son, who 
commanded them, that he would be answer- 
able for their arrears one time or other. Being 
disappointed of these hopes by the death of 
the nabob's son, who was killed by lightning, 
the 3rd of July, their clamorous demands 
could no longer be restrained, and a general 
plunder and desertion was daily ex))ected. 
Colonel Calliaud, who commanded the English 
* Commonly called the Chuta nabob. 



forces after Colonel Clive's departure for 
Europe, stopped these clamom-s for a moment, 
by his promises to secure the payment of their 
arrears from the nabob ; but the English 
troops were in little better condition than the 
nabob's; they had two or three months' arrears 
due to them, the nabob liaving failed in the pay- 
ment of the sum stipulated for their mainten- 
ance, which was a lac of rui^ees a month, and 
the low state of the treasury at Calcutta not 
admitting of the deficiency being supplied from 
thence. The effects of this were seen by the 
desertion of many of our men ; and the army, 
thus situated, was within thirty miles of the 
shah-zada's whole force. The situation of 
affairs at Moorshebadad, where the nabob re- 
sided, was still more alarming. Far from 
being in a condition to pay off the arrears of 
his troops at Patna, he had a large number 
of the same undisciplined rabble about his 
person, and was no less in arrears to them ; 
these also losing their best dependence, by 
the death of the nabob's son, could no longer 
be satisfied with promises, but insisted, in a 
most tumultuous manner, on immediate pay- 
ment. More than once they surrounded the 
palace, abused the principal ofiicers in the 
most opprobrious language, and daily threat- 
ened the nabob's life ; through the weakness 
of his government, and the general disaffection 
of the people, the revenues of most parts of 
the province were withheld by the zemindars, 
and the nabob had so little attention to, or 
capacity for business, that what little was col- 
lected was, in a great measure, appropriated 
by his favourites to their own profit. The 
Beerboom rajah, whose country is situated 
within a few miles of the capital, Moorshed- 
abad, had declared for the shah-zadah, and 
had raised a force, with which he threatened 
to attack the city ; and the nabob had so little 
power of oj)posiug him, that a body of troops, 
which were ordered out against him in the 
month of June, refused to march, and were 
yet in the suburbs, when I arrived there in 
the month of October. Upon the whole, 
there was the greatest reason to apprehend, 
that the disorderly troops would lay waste 
and plunder the city, and put an end at once 
to the nabob's government and life. At 
Calcutta, the treasury was so low, and our 
resources so much drained, that we were 
obliged to put an entire stop to the invest- 
ment, and it was with the utmost difficulty 
the current expenses of the settlement could 
be provided for. The lac of rupees, which 
the nabob was to pay monthly tor the field- 
expenses of our troops, remained, as I before 
observed, two or three mouths in arrears ; 
and even supposing it to have been regularly 
paid, was very insufficient for the intended 



280 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXXV. 



use ; so that the company, tipon this footing, 
would have suffered a considerable loss by 
their alliance with the nabob, as often as the 
situation of affairs required their troops to be 
in the field, of which the appearance of 
troubles on every side afforded no prospect 
of an end. The Burdwan and Nuddea 
countries lind been assigned to the company, 
from April, 1758, to 7\.pril, 1760, for the pay- 
ment of the sums stipulated in the treaty, for 
the restitution of the company's and private 
losses by the capture of Calcutta. Of that 
amount about twenty lacs remained due, at 
the time of my arrival, although the term of 
the assignment had been expired some months: 
and the nabob, at the same time that he could 
find no means of discharging this balance, in- 
sisted on the lands being restored to him, of- 
fering a security of jewels in their stead. He 
sent the Royroyan, one of his principal offi- 
cers, to Calcutta, to make this demand, and at 
the same time to request the loan of a sum of 
money to assist him in his distress. The last 
was a proposal we had it not in our power to 
comply with ; but the first could not in justice 
be refused, as he was willing to give other 
security, in lieu of the lands before assigned ; 
so that we were absolutely left without any 
resources for money, and the comjwny sent 
out none from Europe. To add to our diffi- 
culties, Madras and Bombay were told that 
they must depend on supplies from Bengal ; 
and in the midst of this distress, not only the 
dangerous state of the province obliged us to 
keep all our forces in the field, at an immense 
exjiense, but a still more interesting object 
for the English nation in India, I mean the 
success of the undertaking against Pondi- 
cherry, which was then invested, depended, 
in a great measure, on a supply of money. 
The nabob, through an habitual indolence, 
was quite incapable of managing his govern- 
ment in such critical circumstances ; and the 
sudden and unfortunate death of his son had 
thrown him into such a state of dejection that 
he would not even try to exert the little 
strength which his faculties had left. Unable 
as the nabob was to help himself, it was the 
universal opinion, founded on the experience 
of his former conduct, that he would rather 
have seen himself and the province involved 
in one general ruin, than have given us the 
means of saving him, by putting more power 
and more resources of money in our hands. 
The Dutch director's letters to him, and his 
behaviour at the time their forces came into 
the country, are a public testimony of his 
desire to reduce our power, instead of aug- 
menting it : I asked a small favour of him 
for the company, a little after my arrival, as 
much with a view of sounding his disposition, 



as through a desire of obtaining it. It was 
the grant of the Chiltagong province, in farm 
to the company, on the same terms as it was 
held by the then fougedar, or if tliat was dis- 
agreeable, the leave only of establishing a 
factory there for trade; but he positively re- 
fused to admit of either. I determined not 
to suffer the affairs of the nation and thecom- 
pany to fall under the ruin they were threat- 
ened with, without making an attempt to save 
them, and far from intending any injury to 
the nabob, I considered the preservation of 
his life and government as equally depending 
with our own interests, on the immediate 
prosecution of some methods for remedying 
the difficulties with which we were sur- 
rounded. One principal circumstance of the 
impending evils suggested the first hopes of 
a reformation. The death of the nabob's son 
had cut off the heir-apparent of the govern- 
ment : he had two sons by concubines, and a 
grandson, the child of his deceased son, by a 
concubine also ; the eldest of his two sons 
was little above ten years old, and his grand- 
son an infant of a few months, so that they 
were incapable of taking care of the business, 
supposing the objection of their illegitimacy 
to bo of no weight. In these circumstances, 
the whole province seemed to turn their eyes 
on Meer Cossim, who was married to Meer 
Jaftier's daughter, his only surviving legitimate 
child; was esteemed a capable man of business, 
and had been the means of preserving the 
city from plunder, and the nabob from de- 
struction, by an immediate payment of three 
lacs of rupees to his troops, and becoming a 
security for their arrears at the time of their 
tumultously surrounding the palace ; and this 
he did, upon promise of being appointed to 
the vacant offices of his deceased son, and 
declared his successor. I found Mr. Holwell 
and the select committee had strongly recom- 
mended to the nabob to perform this promise ; 
on the other hand, Mr. Amyatt and Colonel 
Calliaud had wrote to him in favour of his 
infant grandson, repiesenting that the troops 
at Patna insisted on his being named to the 
vacant offices, and that the Raja Rajebullub, 
late dewan to the nabob's deceased son, 
should have the management of them during 
his minority. The nabob seemingly acqui- 
esced in both recommendations, but con- 
tinued wavering in his choice, in such a 
manner, as showed that the increase of the 
English influence was tlie event that he most 
dreaded in the appointment of either. This 
is the only clue which can lead to the motives 
of the many opposite resolutions which were 
taken up by the nabob, upon this affair, in 
the small space of time in which it was sus- 
pended. His inclinations first led him to 



C'HAi'. LXXV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



281 



accept the advice offered him by Colonel 
Calliaud, in favour of his grandson ; but 
■when that advice was urged in more press- 
ing and peremptory style, and RajebuUub, 
by his emissaries and friends at Durbar, too 
solicitously laboured to bring about the 
same design, the nabob became_ jealous of 
his growing power, and suddenly declared 
his resolution to support Meer Cossim in his 
pretensions, as will appear by the letter he 
■wrote Mr. Holwell and Colonel Calliaud upon 
this subject. On the other hand, the nabob 
perceiving that 3Ieer Cossim was warmly 
supported by Mr. Holwell, appears to have 
formed the wild scheme of shaking off both, 
by throwing all the chief offices of the go- 
vernment into the hands of a stranger, named 
Mirza Daood, who had for some years enjoyed 
the protection of this court in the character 
of a prince of the royal blood of Persia. Him 
the nabob formally contracted to the natural 
daughter of his deceased son, but a few days 
after the declaration made in favour of Meer 
Cossim, who, apprehensive of being disap- 
pointed in his hopes, by the jealousy and 
irresolution of the nabob, formed the pretence 
of negotiating the restoration of Burdwan, 
and the other assigned lands, to obtain his 
leave to come down to Calcutta. He arrived 
there about the middle of September. As he 
came down with these fears and suspicions of 
the nabob's disinclination to him, for the fa- 
vour already shown him by the English, it 
naturally led him to fall in with any measures 
■which might be proposed by them, as a 
means of securing the continuation of the 
same interest in his behalf." 

In the foregoing narrative, events are 
referred to which were not recorded in 
former pages of this history — those connected 
with a new revolution in Bengal, and the 
dethronement of Meer Jnfiier. This was 
effected in the manner and temper recorded 
in the narrative of Mr. Vansittart. Meer 
Jaffier refused to hold any mere nominal pos- 
session of the soubahdarship, and retired to 
Calcutta, there to live under the protection of 
the English. He declared that Meer Cossim 
■was a man of too ambitious a character to be 
bound by treaty, or ties of affinity, and would 
not trust himself within the limits of his 
power. This estimate of his son-in-law's 
character proved ultimately too true. 

Among the difficulties which beset the 
new British governor was a jealousy among 
the military commanders. Major Carnac 
arrived to succeed Colonel Calliaud. The 
army then chiefly lay at Patna, after the death 
of Sleeran. Mr. Vansittart was unwilling to 
disturb Colonel Calliaud in his command, at a 
jimcture which still seemed critical, seeing 



that the colonel was well acquainted witli 
men and with affairs at Patna, of which the 
major was necessarily ignorant. That officer, 
however, burned to be in command. Ellis, 
ever ready for violent measures and complaints, 
made this a matter of discussion in the council, 
and Vansittart was tormented by his own 
officers, at a time which required the exercise 
of their united powers for the common good. 
All these persons entered into fiercer discus- 
sions with one another, and with the governor, 
concerning the deposition of Meer Jaffier, 
and the eligibility of his successor. 

It is difficult to see what other course was 
open to the governor than that which he took. 
Professor Wilson thinks it was impolitic, and 
thus expresses his views : — " Objections to 
the removal of Meer Jaffier were made not 
only by those whose personal feelings might 
be suspected. The scheme was originally 
Mr. Hoi well's, who communicated iu April, 
to Colonel Calliaud, his anticipation of the 
necessity of deposing Meer Jaffier. The 
colonel, in reply, observes, ' Bad as the man 
may be whose cause we now support, I can- 
not be of opinion that we can get rid of him 
for a better, without running the risk of much 
greater inconveniences attending on such a 
change than those we now labour under. I 
presume the establishing tranquillity in these 
provinces would restore to us all the advan- 
tages of trade we can wish, for the profit and 
honour of our employers, and I think we bid 
fairer to bring that tranquillity about by our 
present influence over the soubahdar, and by 
supporting him, than by any change that can 
be made.' * The removal of Jaffier was an 
ill-advised measure ; there was no absolute 
impossibility in his performing his engage- 
ments with the English, or paying his own 
troops, for both objects were speedily accom- 
plished by his successor, and he created no 
new resources. The same means of acquitting 
his obligations, were in Meer Jaffier'a reach. 
There only wanted such support as should 
enable him, and such control as should com- 
pel him, to discharge those demands to which 
he had rendered himself liable, and the due 
acquittance of which was essential to the 
maintenance of that English force upon which 
his own power, and even his existence de- 
pended. Had Clive remained in Bengal, there 
would probably have been no revolution." 

Whatever might have been the policy of 
Clive, that of Cossim was soon made intelli- 
gible, " For, aware that money was the pillar 
by which alone he could stand, he made so great 
exertions that, notwithstanding the treasury 
of Meer Jaffier was found almost empty, he 

* Scrafton's Obsercations on Vansittarfs Narralice, 
p. 12. 



282 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXXV. 



paid in the course of a few months tlie arrears 
of the English troops at Patna ; so far satis- 
fied the troops of the soubahdar, both at Moor- 
shedabad and Patna, that tliey were reduced 
to order, and ready to take the field ; and 
provided six or seven lacs in discharge of 
his engagements with the company, insomuch 
that the presidency were enabled in November 
to send two lacs and a half to Madras, whence 
a letter had been received, declaring that 
without a supply the siege of Pondicherry 
must be raised. In the month of January, 
Major Carnac arrived at Patna, and took the 
command of the troops. The province of 
Bahar had suffered so much from the repeated 
incursions of the emperor ; and the finances 
both of the nabob and of the company were 
80 much exhausted by the expense of the 
army required to oppose him, that the im- 
portance was strongly felt of driving him 
finally from that part of the country. The 
rains were no sooner at an end than the 
English commander, accompanied by the 
troops of Kamnarain, and those which had 
belonged to Meeran, advanced towards the 
emperor, who was stationed at Gyah Mann- 
pore. The unhappy monarch made what' 
exertions he could to increase his feeble army; 
but Carnac reached his camp by three days' 
march ; forced him to an engagement, and 
gained a victory."* 

This engagement redounded greatly to the 
glory of the English. Law, the French com- 
mander, was made prisoner, and his forces 
entirely dispersed. The following graphic 
account of incidents connected with the cap- 
ture of M. Law, is from the pen of a native 
and a Mohammedan : — " When the emperor 
left the field of battle, the handful of troops 
that followed M. Law, discouraged by liis 
flight, and tired of the wandering life which 
they had hitherto led in his service, turned 
about likewise, and followed the emperor. 
M. Law, finding himself abandoned and alone, 
resolved not to turn his back ; he bestrode 
one of his guns, and remained firm in that 
posture, waiting for the moment of his death. 
This being reported to Major Carnac, he de- 
tached himself from his main body, with 
Captain Knox and some other officers, and 
te advanced to the man on the gun, withotit 
taking with him either a guard or any Talingas 
(sepoys) at all. Being arrived near, this 
troop alighted from their horses, and pulling 
their caps from their heads, they swept the 
air with them, as if to make him a saldm : 
and this salute being returned by M. Law in 
the same manner, some parley in their lan- 
guage ensued. The major, after paying high 
encomiums to M. Law for his perseverance, 
* Jlill, vol. iii. book iv. chnp. v. 



conduct, and bravery, added these words : — 
' You have done everything which could be 
expected from a brave man ; and your name 
shall be undoubtedly transmitted to posterity 
by the pen of history : now loosen your sword 
from your loins, come amongst us, and abandon 
all thoughts of contending with the English.' 
The other answered, 'That if they would 
accept of his surrendering himself just as he 
was, he had no objection ; but that as to sur- 
rendering himself with the disgrace of being 
without his sword, it was a shame he would 
never submit to ; and that they might take 
his life if they were not satisfied with that 
condition.' The English commanders, admir- 
ing his firmness, consented to his surrendering 
himself in the manner he wished: after which 
the major, with his officers, shook hands with 
him, in their European manner, and every 
sentiment of enmity was instantly dismissed 
on both sides. At the same time the major 
sent for his own palankeen, made him sit in 
it, and he was sent to camp. M. Law, un- 
willing to see or be seen, shut up the curtains 
of the palankeen for fear of being recognised 
by any of his friends at camp ; but yet some 
of his acquaintances, hearing of his being 
arrived, went to him. The major, who had 
excused him from appearing in public, in- 
formed them that they could not see him for 
some days, as he was too much vexed to 
receive any company. Ahmed Khan Kotei- 
shee, who was an impertinent talker, having 
come to look at him, thought to pay his court 
to the English by joking at the man's defeat ; 
a behaviour that has nothing strange, if we 
consider the times in which we live, and the 
company he was accustomed to frequent j 
and it was in that notion of his, doubtless, 
that with much pertness of voice and air, he 
asked him this question ; ' And Biby (Lady) 
Law, where is she ? ' The major and officers 
present, shocked at the improijriety of the 
question, reprimanded him with a severe look, 
and very severe expressions: 'This man,' 
they said, ' has fought bravely, and deserves 
the attention of all brave men ; the imper- 
tinences which you have been offering him 
may be customary amongst your friends and 
your nation, but cannot be suffered in ours, 
which has it for a standing rule, never to offer 
an injury to a vanquished foe.' Ahmed Khan, 
checked by this reprimand, held his tongue, 
and did not answer a word. He tarried about 
one hour more in his visit, and then went 
away much abashed ; and although he was a 
commander of importance, and one to whom 
much honour had been always paid, no 
one did speak to him any more, or made a 
show of standing up at his departure. This 
reprimand did much honour to the English; 



Chap. LXXVI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



283 



and, it must be aeknowledged, to the honour 
of those strangers, that as their conduct in 
war and in battle is worthy of admiration, so, 
on the other hand, nothing is more modest 
and more becoming tlian their beliaviour to 
an enemy, whether in the heat of action, or 
in the pride of success and victory ; these 
people seem to act entirely according to the 
rules observed by our ancient commanders, i 
and our men of genius."* | 

After the battle, Major Carnac opened '' 
negotiations with the emperor, through Kajah | 
Shitabroy, and subsequently visited the im- ! 



perial camp. The emperor accompanied hira. 
thence to Patna. Meer Cossini regarded the 
good terms, upon which the emperor had 
entered with the English, dangerous to his 
own power. He arrived at Patna, but em- 
barrassed the imperial alliance in every way 
he could devise, and refused to pay his re- 
spects to the emperor, until Major Carnac 
effected a compromise. Finally, having re- 
ceived an imperial investiture of the soubah- 
darship, he agreed to pay as tribute to the 
court of Delhi, twenty-four lacs of rupees 
annually. 



CHAPTER LXXVI. 

AFFAIRS IN BENGAL— VIOLENT AND FRAUDULENT CONDUCT OF THE ENGLISH— DISPUTES 
BETWEEN THE GOVERNOR AND COUNCIL OF CALCUTTA — REVENUE CONTESTS BE- 
TWEEN THE OFFICERS OF THE COUNCIL AND THOSE OF THE SOUBAHDAR— COM- 
MENCEMENT OF AVAR BY THE BRITISH— SERIES OF VICTORIES— MASSACRE OF THE 
ENGLISH AT PATNA— EXPULSION OP MEER COSSIM FROM BENGAL. 



On the return of the emperor towards his 
capital, he was escorted by Major Carnac, to 
the limits of Bahar, where he tendered to the 
English the dewanee of Bengal, Bahar and 
Orissa, and promised firmans, as soon as 
"petitions" for them should be formally pre- 
sented. Meer Cossim, offended by these 
proceedings, soon showed that he was not 
less hostile at heart to the English than any 
of his predecessors. His whole attention was 
divided between disputes with the British 
officials, and extortion of money from his own. 
He was restrained by no sense of the injustice 
of such- deeds, and spared none who refused 
to find money when he chose to demand it. 
It would occupy many volumes to describe 
the rapid passage of events during the govern- 
ment of Mr. Vansittart. The deterioration 
of the English was rapid. This, with the 
intrigues and efforts made against British 
influence by the nabobs, involved terrible 
consequences. 

One prominent incident in the history of 
the times was the defiance of law, both Eng- 
lish and native, which characterised the 
British traders. The company's servants 
trading on their own account, and native 
merchants buying the authority of the com- 
pany's officers, carried on a system of smug- 
gling, of fraud, and of oppression, which no 
pen could adequately describe. In order to 
terminate, if possible, the disinites between 
the soubahdar and the English traders, Mr. 
Vansittart, accompanied by Mr. Hastings, 
Bought an interview with the former : through- 
' Seer Mitliikhareen, vol. ii. pp. 165, 166. 



out these contentions Mr. Hastings had dis- 
played a strong sense of justice. By his lucid 
statements and arguments he convinced the 
governor of the injustice offered to the sou- 
bahdar by the English agents, supported by 
the higher officials and members of council, 
and he aided the governor in his efforts to 
induce the council to put a stop to the law- 
lessness of the company's servants. On the 
last day of November, 1762, these three im- 
portant persons met at Mongheer. The sou- 
bahdar laid the long list of grievances inflicted 
upon him by the company's servants before 
the governor, who soon satisfied the prince 
that, so far as he and Mr. Hastings were 
concerned, the insults, indignities, and pecu- 
niary injuries of which the prince complained 
were unequivocally condemned. It was 
agreed that all memory of these transactions 
should be obliterated, and that mutual efforts 
should be made to put a stop to their recur- 
rence. The soubahdar demanded that the 
inland trade should be wholly given up by the- 
English. Mr. Vansittart proposed that tfie 
trade should be open to all upon a duty payable 
alike by natives and English. To this the 
soubahdar showed extreme aversion, but at 
last gave his sanction. A treaty was accord- 
ingly drawn up by Hastings, fixing the duty 
at nine per cent, on all articles ; and Mr., 
Vansittart returned to Calcutta in January, 
1763. On arriving at his seat of government,, 
he found the English in great commotion, de~ 
nouncing all that he and Hastings had per- 
formed. The council passed a resolution that 
the treaty was null, and that they would pay 



284 



HISTOEY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[CiiAr. LXXVI. 



no duties except 2J per cent, on salt, as 
ft compliment to the soubalidar. They also 
resolved that their agents should no longer 
be amenable to the native tribunals, but that 
the native officers and traders should be 
amenable to the English agents in the nearest 
factory. The spirit and procedure of the 
council was, in various respects, unjust and 
fraudulent; but they complained that the go- 
vernor had made concessions not demanded 
by justice, and which were injurious to their 
interests. They considered that the various 
firmans of the Mogul entitled them to a free 
trade in the provinces, although tiie soubah- 
dars and nabobs, where the English forces 
were weak, had withheld the privilege, and 
imposed duties contrary to it. Neither Mr. 
Vansittart nor Mr. Hastings gave, on that 
occasion, satisfactory replies to these allega- 
tions, which were supported by able argu- 
ments on the part of several members, espe- 
cially Mr. Hayes.* 

Meer Jaffier, then resident at Calcutta, 
authorized the governor's opponents in the 
council to state that his interpretation of fir- 
mans and treaties accorded with theirs. This 
was said by him to inflame the dispute with- 
Meer Cossira, for his own purposes, for he bad 
never acted upon his own interpretation when 
he had the opportunity ; and when his in- 
trigues issued in his being once more pro- 
moted to the snmnid, he was as eager as 
Meer Cossim had been to exclude the English 
from the country trade, or to levy duties 
when that could not be effected. The result 
of the disapproval of the governor's treaty 
and correspondence with the soubahdar was 
to render all accommodation impossible, and 
to throw the whole of Bengal into a state of 
alarm. The soubahdar's servants were lying, 
fraudulent, and tyrannical wherever the Eng- 
lish were weak ; the conduct of the English 
was similar, and thus a sort of civil war be- 
tween both was maintained, before any appeal 
to arms was made by their governments. 

A faithful historian can scarcely have a 
more painful task than to wade through the 
voluminous correspondence carried on be- 
tween Mr. Vansittart and his officers, and 
between him and the soubahdar, or, as Mr. 
Vansittart, in his correspondence, always 
called him, the nabob. Still more painful is 
it to peruse the voluminous debates and 
minutes of the council of Calcutta upon the 
subjects of this correspondence, and the com- 
plaints and recriminations of the officers of 
the company, and those of the soubahdar. So 
discreditable was the conduct of the English 
in Bengal during the year 1763, that it leaves 

* J Narrative of the Transactions in Bengal, from 
1760 to 1764, vol. ii. By Mr. Heury Vansittart. 



a lasting stain upon the name of our country. 
The soubahdar, by vigorous efforts, succeeded 
at last in suppressing violent and fraudulent 
conduct on the part of his own servants, as 
far as, perhaps, any governor, British or na- 
tive, has ever succeeded in doing in that 
country. Notwithstanding his exactions on 
coming to the throne, the firmness and equity 
of his administration were soon felt every- 
where among his own people, and, whatever 
were his faults at first, he redeemed them by 
the most sedulous care, to leave the dishonest 
English no pretexts for plunder or war. All 
his fidelity, activity, and intelligence, did not 
avail him. Mr. Vansittart was well satisfied 
with his conduct, but the governor obtained 
no support in the council, except from Mr. 
Hastings, whose conduct was humane, just, 
and honourable in these transactions. The 
English gradually threw off all disguise, re- 
fused to pay tlie revenues sanctioned by the 
treaty, plundered the native cultivators and 
merchants, beat, and often murdered the na- 
tive officers of justice, police, and revenue ; 
insulted, and defied the person of the soubah- 
dar openly, and regulated their whole conduct 
as if the council and its agents were a ban- 
ditti organized under the pretence of trade. 
The plunder thus accumulated was not passed 
to the account of the company, whose zealous 
servants the perpetrators professed to be, but 
was grasped for their private advantage, 
while the company's affairs were wholly ne- 
glected, and heavy expenses incurred in its 
name. Mr. Vansittart being always in a mi- 
nority, himself and Hastings being alone on 
the side of treaty and integrity, he was 
obliged to write letters to the nabob in the 
name of the council, of which he and Hastings 
totally disapproved. The following specimens 
of the correspondence will enlighten the 
reader as to the character of the English 
at that period. They are written by the 
nabob (properly soubahdar) to Mr. Vansittart, 
as governor, containing extracts from the 
correspondence of the latter to which they 
were in reply. They disclose a dignity, 
mingled with despair and indignation, on the 
part of the soubahdar, which gave to his pro- 
tests and complaints a tone and manner that 
commanded the sympathy of the governor 
and of Mr. Hastings. 

Cojyi/ of a Letter from the Nabob to the 
Governor. Dated March 5, 17G3. 

I have had the pleasure duly to receive tluree of your 
favours, dated the 7th and 8tli of Sliaaban, and under- 
stand the particiJars mentioned in them. 

At a time when this government was loaded with a 
balance of revenues due to the king, the arrears of the 
troops, and debts owing to the English, I marched out of 
Bengal, and repaired to the extremity of the province of 



Chap. LXXVI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



285 



Bahar, ia order to settle these matters. That country 
being thus left without a ruler, every village and district 
became ruined by the oppressions of the English agents 
and gomastahs, an entire stop was put to collecting the 
revenues, and the merchants, and the poor, and all ray 
officers, and muttaseddees of the public and private re- 
ceipts of custom, were distressed, and deprived of their 
daily bread ; and I am a sufferer in the revenues due to my 
administration, by near a crore of rupees. I have in the 
meanwhile made continual complaints and representations 
of this injustice, and informed you particularly and cir- 
cumstantially of all matters : nevertheless, you have been 
pleased to observe that my officers are to blame. 

When you favoured me with a visit at Monghecr, I 
laid before you all my concerns. You were very earnest 
in settling all disputes between my government, and the 
English company and gentlemen, and their gomastahs : 
and you in some measure comforted me, and persuaded 
me that " from that time business would be carried on in 
a proper manner, and my government neither injured, 
oppressed, or damaged." Afterwards, on your return to 
Calcutta, contrary to your agreement with me, you de- 
tached forces, to carry on the business of the company 
and English geutlemen by compulsion, and to beat and 
chastise my officers, if they offered to speak a word. For 
these three years I have not got a single rupee, nor a 
thousand rupees ; nor one piece, nor ten pieces of cloth ; 
nor a bundle of broad cloth, nor ten bundles ; nor a pair 
of scissors, nor so much as a clasp-knife, from the English 
gentlemen, or their gomastahs ; at the same time, they 
have by violence levied fines and penalties, and sums for 
losses in their trade, on my officers, and still continue to 
levy them ; and if any of my officers refuses to submit to 
this, they pour a storm of complaints on his head. 

Lately you have repeatedly ordered me " to let the 
business of the company, and the English gentlemen, and 
their gomastahs, go on as was customary heretofore in the 
different parts of the provinces of Bengal and Bahar ; to 
suffer the money and bullion of your tactories to be coined 
into siccas in my mints; and to have the wicket and in- 
trenchments in the city of Patua opened." 1 not having 
it in my power to refuse, have given you the free use of 
my mint, and directed the wicket to be opened, and a stop 
to be put to collecting customs upon traffic in the commo- 
dities of my country, from all merchants, pykars, and 
diloUs, in the provinces of Bahar and Bengal ; and 1 have 
had all gauts and chokcys, both in the city and country 
round about, entirely removed. 

All these my losses are owing entirely to the favour 
and indulgence of .the council ; because that my being like 
the nabob Meer Jaffier indebted to his majesty, aud em- 
barrassed by my troops, and reduced to his situation, is 
what they approve of. However, I can never approve of 
my people and merchants being distressed, my country 
ojjpressed, myself despised, and subjected to daily iusults, 
and my officers and servants ill-treated. I have therefore 
chosen to give up all those points to you. Now I am in 
expectation of your answer, to inform me if my life is 
safe ; or if there is anything else to be done ? 



From tlie Nahoh to the Governor. Dated 
March 5, 1703. 

Your friendly letter, dated the 8th of Shaaban, is ar- 
rived, aud I am happy with the news of your welfare. 

You write that the opinion of the council is as follows: 
-^"Tlicy are all very desirous of assisting and supporting 
me in my government, but cannot bear with patience, 
that my officers should impede or damage their commerce ; 
that the report of your setting up another nabob is the 
weak insinuation of designing men ; that the resolution 
^f the board is, to make such an agreement in pursuance 
cf the royal firman, and the rules of equity, as may leave 

VOL JI. 



no room for dispute in future, between my officers and 
their gomastahs." How can I bring myself firmly to 
credit this, since Mr. Ellis is one of the council, who, for 
these two years past, has been endeavouring all in his 
power to hurt my affairs, and make me appear little in 
the eyes of the world ; nay, is at this time taking pains 
daily to involve me in trouble, parading his companies of 
sepoys to provoke me ; and omitting no opportunity of 
depreciating me both in this my own country, and to 
Suraj-ad-Dowiah, and other great men at court, sending 
all whatever he can devise to my discredit, by means of 
Shitabroy, to Suraj-ad-Dowlah, &c., and saying also what- 
ever comes uppermost in his mind to my prejudice in 
public assemblies ? 

In regard to what you write concerning the royal 
firman, aud your having in view the preparation of another 
treaty ; when you favoured me with your company at 
Monghecr, I told you frequently, that " the power of your 
people was great, but I had little to oppose it, I desired 
you to consider, nor entertain the notion, that any agree- 
ment would be binding with people accustomed to acts of 
oppression." Is not this an instance of oppression, that 
the saltpetre farms, which I have allowed unto you gentle- 
men, upon the produce of which you used to pay formerly 
three, and three and half rupees per maund, you now 
forcibly hold at one and three-fourth of a rupee, plundering 
and injuring my people ? In this manner my country is 
to go to ruin, and I may uot utter a word. Besides all 
this, you write, that it is my own officers who create these 
disturbances, exercise oppression, and injure the saltpetre 
farm. This being the case, how can any treaty stand 
good between us ? And how can it take effect, if such 
oppression continues? Besides, as you have dispatched 
the company's troops to chastise my officers, if they but 
murmur at these evils, why need you trouble yourselves 
to make any other treaty ? In my service, there is not 
one who can prejudice me against you in any affair. 
Under you there is Mr. Ellis, who fails not to prejudice 
you with evil insinuations against me, as you must see 
and be sensible, though you connive at it, and say nothing 
on the subject ; but you are pleased to think (I do know 
upon what grounds) that I have evil-minded people in 
my service. 

I am at a loss how to act under these censures, and 
must own myself insufficient, if regulations of this nature 
take place. Be pleased, therefore, to set me free from 
the uneasiness of such au administration ; and set up a 
person for conducting it, whom the council may better 
approve. 

Full well I know, that they will both condemn me, aud 
injure your good name, aud bring this about at last. Why 
do they wait for a charge against me ? It is not the part 
of honest men, to bring an unjust charge against any one, 
with a view to compass other designs ; it is better that 
you do it at this time. 



Coj)i/ of a Letter from the Nabob to the 
Governor. Bated March 14, 17G3. 

It has been owing solely to the friendship and regard 
which I bear to you, that I have hitherto constantly 
borne in my mind the marks of your favour; aud, for 
the friendship and kindness which you have showu to 
me, I have put up with everything until now that my 
patience is quite exhausted. Whatever is to be done, do 
you, sir, do it yourself; why should you cause my au- 
thority to be insulted, and my honour injured, by your 
servants, aud people of low character? Oue man may 
easily continue in friendship to one man; but to be 
dependent upon ten people, is beyond the power of 
man. 

I have, in no wise, been deficient in the observance of 
the treaties which you made with me, but, from the be- 

P P 



286 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXVI. 



ginniDg, hare scrupulously complied with all my agree- 
ments. 

At this time, that yon have been pleased to write to 
me to keep open the wicket, and intrenchment in the 
city of Patna, and for trade to go on as usual, I paid all 
due respect to yoiu" letter, and immediately complied with 
its contents. I had sent (or Mohammed Allee Beg from 
Dacca, and I was on my way from Patna towards Raje- 
mahl, and had reached Barr, when Mr. Ellis sent three 
companies of sepoys, with two guns, in order to surround 
my fortress of I'aajepoor, besides other companies towards 
Dnrbunga, Mow, Teegra, Sircar barum, Tekarry, and 
other districts in different parts of the province, by which 
my affairs have been so much hurt, that an entire stop i» 
put to the collection of my revenues. 

I knew not in what lighi. to consider all these dis- 
tnrbanees, plunderings, and ravages ; so, upon information 
of this uews, I dispatched Mohammed Ameen Cawn, one 
of my jemmatdars, towards Taajepoor, that he might in- 
quire particularly, aud bring me intelligence of the cause 
of so much disorder. He had not reached the jilace, 
before the companies above-mentioned had taken hold of 
Acbur Allee, Naib of Sheer Zanian, my aumil at Taaje- 
poor, and carried him away to Patna. My jemraatdar 
wrote me these particulars ; in answer to which, I sent 
him orders to bring your gomastah, residing at the factory 
of Taajcpoor, to me, that I might iuquire of him, why 
my aumil had been seized and carried away. 

When Mohammed Ameer Cawn drew nigh to the fac- 
tory, your sepoys there, by order of the gomastah, fired 
iipon him without challenging him. My jemmatdar, 
having no other resource, made use of the force that he 
had, seized your gomastah, and brongiit him to me. I 
examined into this affair in the best manner, and then 
dismissed your gomastah. I found from him, that my 
aumil was by no means in fault ; but Ellis, having filed 
the blame of all these tumults aud disorders upon my 
aomils, under pretence of the saltpetre, merely from his 
own hatred to me, and violence of temper, has created 
these disturbances, and perseveres in them. You wrote 
me heretofore, that by keeping the wicket in the city of 
Patna shut, a report would in all probability prevail 
amongst the people, that the company and I were at 
variance. Ellis for two years past has been making all 
these disturbances, in order to demean me, aud injure my 
affairs. Ought I not to be informed, how 1 am to con- 
sider these proceedings, and what is the reason of them ? 
You are my friends, bound to free mo from all these in- 
sults, which I never can bear with. Since the said gentle- 
man has proceeded to acta of violence against my officers, 
should my officers, for the sake of their characters, stand 
upon the defensive, you are not to reproach me with it ; 
but if you are inclined to allow of Mr. Ellis's actions, you 
will do well to give the country to him, that you and I 
may be freed from the vexations of it ; for I am convinced, 
that the council will not put an end to these disputes. 

I have halted here at Barr two days, on account of this 
affair ; to-morrow I shall march towards Mongheer. 

The goubahclar, in order to deal justly with 
liis own people, aud, as he hoped, remove all 
complaints on the part of the British, ordered 
tlie entire remission of duties upon the inland 
trade to English and native merchants alike. 
This threw the English into a state of panic 
and rage. They declared it was ruinous to 
their trade, and meant by the soubahdar to be 
80. That he had no right, without permission 
of the emperor, to remit the duties levied upon 
the native merchants, and no right to levy 
any duties upon the English. This amounted 
to a demand for the exclusive trade of the 



soubahdar's dominions ; and as the East India 
Company did not profit at all by tlie inland 
trade, the demand was in favour of the com- 
pany's servants, by those servants to be en- 
forced at the expense of the company. It is 
difficult to conceive a more entire blindness 
to justice. Yet the council, without shame, 
inveighed against the governor and llr. 
Hastings, because they pointed out the ab- 
surdity of such claims, and the monstrous 
oppression of enforcing a monopoly of trade 
against the soubahdar's own subjects in his 
own dominions. 

Meantime, violence and outrage on the 
part of the Engli.sh increased, and nothing 
was left for Meer Cossim and his servants but 
to oppose violence by authority, and force by 
force. Whatever the bad conduct of the 
English, more especially of their chief officers, 
and the majority by whom the governor was 
opposed in council, the policy of many of the 
soubahdar's chief officers was aggravating 
and unjust. xYs illustrating thi.s, a single 
case may be named. At Luckypoor, one 
Mohammed Gazy had been employed in the 
service of the English factory. To ptinish 
this person for his attachment to the English, 
and probably also with the view of insulting 
the English themselves, the soubahdar's 
officer, Syed Buddul Cawn, placed a guard 
u}X)n his house. Mr. Middleton, chief of the 
factory, remonstrated upon tlie oppression 
thus practised upon a person whose only 
offence was his intimate service with the 
English. The native officer refused to re- 
lease the person so flagrantly wronged, and 
pleaded that his doing so would be against 
superior orders — those of Mohammed Allee, 
who had offered many provocations to the 
English, and always managed badly his part 
in those disputes when the Englisli were the 
aggressors. The council ordered Mr. Mid- 
dleton to cause Syed Buddul Cawn to be 
seized and sent a prisoner to Calcutta, wliere 
he arrived the latter end of March, 1763, 
He exculpated himself when before the board, 
by producing the orders on which he had 
acted. Mohammed Alice's letter was of such 
a nature as left no doubt of his desire to bring 
matters to an extremity. Wiiether this arose 
from some interested specidation, or from the 
vanity which led the native chiefs, notwith- 
standing innumerable defeats, to believe that 
they could contend with the English, his 
motives were sufficiently powerful to induce 
him to defy the company and impose upon 
the soubahdar by giving him false informa- 
tion. That this was the true state of the 
case, the orders issued by him to Syed 
Buddul Cawn sufficiently prove. They were 
in the following terms : — 



Chap. LXXVI.l 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



287 



From 3Iohammed Allee to Syed Bvddul 
Cawn. 

Your agreeable letter is arrived. I fully understand 
the particnlars contained therein, and from the hircarra 
likewise, I learned the account of the villanies of the 
English iu Luckypoor. I have written pressiugly to Aga 
Jlohamraed Nizam, and Samadan, and Aumur Sing, and 
Jungul Sing, to repair all of them with their people unto 
you. I have also sent perwannahs, with the utmost 
dispatch, unto the zemindars of Bilwat, Baboopoor, &c., 
and I have taken engagements from every zemindar's 
vakeel, about Luckypoor, that their masters, the zemin- 
dars, will attend upon you, and act as you shall direct 
them. It behoves you, with the utmost dispatch, to re- 
pair thither immediately, and blockade the passages for 
going in aud coming out ouall sides of Luckypoor; and place 
strong sentinels, that no person whatever may pass or re- 
pass to and from Luckypoor, and that asoul doesuot escape. 
Of those who claim the English protection, and make use 
of their name, take two or three and crucify them, and 
seize their houses and effects. Lay hold of their wives 
and children, and send them straightway to me. Be sure 
not to fail in this respect, his excellency having honoured 
me with his orders to this purpose, as you must be in- 
formed from the copy of the governor's engagement, aud 
of his excellency's perwannah, in consequence, which I 
heretofore sent you ; and do not entertain the least dif- 
fidence. Regard this my short letter in the light of a 
tKousand letters, and act accordingly. Moreover, let 
guards be placed to keep a good look-out about Lucky- 
poor, and the parts adjacent, until the nabob's orders 
arrive, when they will proceed to act as I shall write to 
you. At present surround it on all sides, and keep a 
constant watch. 

You will take extraordinary good care of the Europeans 
at Luckypoor, that they get no intelligence from any of 
their dependents, either by land or water; and for se- 
curity you will send two hundred men, with a commander 
whom you can rely upon, and direct them, above all things, 
to be ready for action both night and day. 

The con.seqnences of such proceedings were 
thus noticed by Mr. Vansittart himself, in the 
expose of his motives and conduct in these 
affairs, afterwards given by him : — " Such a 
declaration of his inveteracy to the English, 
as was expres.sed in these letters of Mohammed 
Allee's, and the many instances which he had 
given of it throughout his whole conduct, from 
his first appointment, justly excited the indig- 
nation of the whole board. The most violent 
readily seized this occasion, to infer a fixed 
resolution in the nabob to break with us; 
and that the appointment of such a man as 
Mohammed Allee, with such extraordinary 
powers, and his conduct in the execution of 
them, were only in consequence of that reso- 
lution. It was, therefore, warmly urged to 
prevent the nabob's designs, by declaring im- 
mediate war against him. This sentiment, 
however, was ojiposed by a majority of the 
board, wl;o judged it most proper, in the pre- 
sent circumstances, to regard the insults as 
proceeding personally from Mohammed Allee, 
and to chastise him for it ourselves ; since the 
nabob, to whom we had repeatedly complained 
against him, had hitherto afforded us no re- 



dress ; and that the chief and council at Dacca 
should be ordered to seize, and send him down 
prisoner to Calcutta. In this alternative I 
easily joined, as well in the hopes of yet pre- 
venting a ruinous and unjustifiable war, as 
from the conviction of the violent and incen- 
diary spirit of Mohammed Allee ; who, if 
suffered to act longer with impunity, I saw 
would put it out of my power, or even of the 
nabob's, to preserve peace between us. It is 
true, that the nabob, in answer to the demand 
of the board for his dismission, declared that 
he had removed him from his employment, 
and summoned him to his presence ; but as he 
still continued at Dacca, and the nabob had 
always endeavoured to vindicate his conduct, 
it was much to be feared that he would not 
only escape the punishment he deserved, but 
perhaps be continued in his authority, and 
have his hands strengthened with such fresh 
powers, as might make it dangerous to attempt 
afterwards to call him to an account. The 
nabob's behaviour upon this occasion may be 
easily accounted for, from the precarious situ- 
ation in which he stood with the English. 
When I was with him at Mongheer, he assured . 
me that if the complaints which were then 
alleged against Mohammed Allee, upon in- 
quiry, proved true, he would both dismiss 
him from his service, and severely punish him. 
The same assurance he gave me with respect 
to Sheer Allee, the fougedar of Poorneea, who 
had been guilty of the like enmity and mis- 
behaviour to the English dependents in that 
district ; and it is very probable that he was 
sincere in this declaration at that time, since 
his interest was most materially concerned in 
removing every cause of disagreement from 
between us. But when he perceived the 
strong opposition, formed against him by the 
general assembly of the council, and that the 
design of his enemies was levelled openly 
against his person and government, it is not 
to be wondered at, that he should be cautious 
of depriving himself of the assistance of per- 
sons the most capable of serving him, and ou 
whose zeal he had so much reason to depend 
in case of a rupture with the English. In a 
word, it appears from the nabob's whole be- 
haviour, from the time that the general council 
was assembled, that he believed his own ruin 
to be the object of that assembly ; and every 
step taken by the board served but to confirm 
him the more strongly in that fatal persuasion. 
Fatal I call it, since, with such a mutual dis- 
trust, every accident, however trifling, was 
easily construed into an intentional act of hos- 
tility ; and even the necessary precautions of 
self-defence served but to make the breach 
irreparable. I believe it will be needless to 
point out instances of the effects of these pre- 



288 



UISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chai'. LXXVI. 



possessions, amongst the many wliich occur 
in the minutes of the council, and the nabob's 
letters which I liave already inserted. To 
the latter I shall add one, as it shows how 
easily the nabob was led away by every 
groundless report, and how naturally his 
apprehensions disposed him to co-operate 
with the very measures which tended to an 
open rupture."* 

A deputation was sent by the council from 
Calcutta to wait upon the soubahdar, and 
come, if possible, to a mutual understanding. 
His highness declined receiving the deputa- 
tion, unless the council recalled the troops 
which he alleged had been marching from 
various directions towards his capital. At 
that time, Mr. Vansittart declared not a 
soldier had moved from his quarters. The 
soubahdar had been inspired by his officers, 
who vainly supposed that by a vigorous effort 
the English authority might be shaken off. 
This they were the more readily led to believe, 
because it was supposed by them that the 
sepoys in the EngHsh service were disloyal, 
and that the people were so exasperated by 
the bad conduct of the company's servants, 
that they were ripe for insurrection. 

While the soubahdar was giving implicit 
credit to every story to the disparagement of 
the English, the latter, Mr. Vansittart de- 
clared, were quite as credulous. Even the 
council believed representations made to them 
that the soubahdar had issued orders for all 
the mulberry -trees to be cut down, in order 
to destroy the silk trade ; and for all the cot- 
ton plants to be uprooted, in order to destroy 
the trade in white cloths. This belief was 
grounded upon the supposition, that as the 
English refused to pay duties except on salt, 
the trade with them was valueless to his 
highness, and no motive for desiring their 
presence in India any longer remained. 
The governor treated those rumours as idle 
and absurd, but the council resolved to act 
upon them, and to adopt violent measures, 
which the governor could only restrain to a 
certain degree by his authority. The whole 
behaviour of the council in these matters 
appears upon the evidence of the minutes in 
council to be what the governor described it, 
"scandalous and indecent." In fact, the in- 
terest of the company, national honour, the 
faith of treaties, were all lost sight of in order 
to accomplish what the grasping avarice of 
the majority of the council desired. One 
thing only may be alleged as plausible in 
behalf of the majority of the council. The 
president himself (Mr. Vansittart) traded on 
his private account, and the council believed 

* Nanatice of the Traiiaactions in Bengal, from ] 760 
tollU. - 



that in matters of revenue the soubahdar 
favoured him, and therefore it was his private 
interest that the company and individuHl 
members of council should be subject to duties 
from which ho, by private management, was 
able to have himself exempted. The president 
solenmly denied the truth of these imputa- 
tions. There were various circumstances 
which, at all events, naturally led the council 
to suspect that the private interests of tiie 
governor were adverse to those of the council. 
Blainl}', by the governor's influence, the 
soubahdar consented to receive the deputa- 
tion from the council, notwithstanding hi.s 
previous refusals. He, however, intimated 
plainly his opinion that the interview could 
result in no good, as it would be impossible 
for him to exercise any authority as soubahdar 
of Bengal while the companj' treated his 
orders with contempt, and plundered and ill- 
used his people as they pleased. His high- 
ness could see nothing to negotiate about, 
for he declared that the English had not 
left him anything worth the trouble. If they 
wished to seize upon what belonged to some 
one else, they had better do so without a 
deputation to him ; or, if the appearance of 
negotiation was a formality necessary to 
English measures, he thought they might 
find somebody else with whom to go through 
tliat form, and spare him the torment. Such 
was the reasoning of his highness, and the 
bitter irony it contained vexed the English 
excessively. The nabob, however, met the 
deputation ; but, meanwhile, Ellis, the chief 
of the English factory at Patna, and the other 
agents of the company there, did everything 
in their power to bring on a war for their 
own private objects, so that the interview 
began under most inauspicious circumstances. 
The deputation conducted itself haughtily ; 
the soubahdar petulantly. His highness 
equivocated and evaded, and it afterwards 
appeared that he preferred the chances of 
war to compliance \\'ith the demands made 
to him. The deputation effected nothing. 
They showed no disposition to concede any- 
thing to conciliate the nizani, as he liked to 
call himself, and his exasperation was in- 
creased by their visit. While they were yet 
at the court of the soubahdar, some boats 
with arms arrived on their way to Patna for 
the use of the English troops there. These 
were seized, and his highness refused to re- 
lease them, grounding his refusal on tiie 
alleged belief that the arms and ammunition 
were intended to enable the garrison near 
Patna to attack that city. He also refused a 
new demand, that an English agent should 
reside permanently at his durbar, to prevent 
disputes from arising for the future. The 



C i.vr. LXXVI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



289 



grand point of difference was the demand of 
the English that no native merchant should 
be exempted from heavy duties, wliile they 
ehould be exempt from imposts of every kind 
except such as they chose to grant. 

It soon became evident that the soubahdar 
had been quietly, but vigoroiisly, making pre- 
parations for war, but had resolved not to 
begin the conflict; his purpose being to enter 
upon hostilities as soon as he was attacked. 
The council eagerly seized the occasion 
presented by the irritated and ill-advised con- 
duct of the soubahdar, to force matters to an 
extreme pass. The governor disapproved of 
these proceedings, but did not display either 
the wisdom or decision requisite for coun- 
teracting them. Warren Hastings alone with- 
stood the self-assertion, insolence, and aggran- 
dizement of the council. At every meeting 
he was eloquent on the side of moderation 
and justice, and his protests against the folly 
and tyranny of the council are masterpieces 
of Indian policy and statesmanship. While 
yet the deputation remained at the court of 
the soubahdar, he began to offer a series of 
vindictive provocations which could not fail 
to issue in war. His " chokies " insulted the 
deputation of council. Bodies of horse were 
thrown out for the purpose of intercepting 
their departure, and finally the sepoys in the 
English service were tampered with by the 
soubahdar's agents, until they deserted by hun- 
dreds ; and the native officers, so much relied 
upon by the P'nglish of that day, were amongst 
the first who yielded to seduction. This last 
circumstance compelled the English at once to 
take measures which the soubahdar considered 
as nearly tantamount to a declaration of hosti- 
lities. He demanded that the English troops 
should be removed from Patna to Calcutta, 
or to his own immediate neighbourhood, and 
informed the deputation that peace or war 
depended ujKin compliance with that demand. 
It became obvious that he had never seriously 
intended to negotiate on the subject of the 
duties, and that his compliant policy was 
merely to gain time to secure his military 
position and ally to himself the talookdars 
and zemindars of his own and contiguous ter- 
ritories. His next step was to seize Mr. Hay, 
as security for certain monies which he in- 
sisted the English possessed, but which be- 
longed to him. After this, he proposed in a 
letter to the governor, that if Mr. Ellis were 
removed from the chiefship of the factory at 
Patna, he would negotiate. Before the go- 
vernor would introduce the subject to the 
council, Mr. Ellis commenced hostilities, and 
soon after the chiefs of other English fac- 
tories adopted aggressive measures, on the 
plea of necessity. It was now plain that 



war had begun. Mr. Ellis, the chief at Patna, 
backed by the majority of the council at Cal- 
cutta, had begun it. The next step was to de- 
pose Meer Cossim by order of council, and pro- 
claim another soubahdar in his room. The 
choice of the council fell upon their old friend 
and enemy, Meer Jaffier. The whole council 
favoured this action, except the governor and 
Mr. Hastings. Advices arrived from Mr. 
Amyatt from Mongheer, where the soubahdar 
was, that an Armenian general had mar-clied 
at the head of a strong reinforcement of 
" horse, foot, and cannon," to Patna, and that 
" the Armenians solely managed the soubahdar, 
and urged the disputes." Mr. Amyatt left 
the court of the soubahdar under passport, 
and advised the council of his arrival at 
Sootee en route for Calcutta, where ho was 
daily expected. Soon after a letter reached 
the governor from Cossimbazar, informing 
the council that as Jlr. Amyatt was passing 
the city of Moorshedabad, he was attacked by 
the soubahdar's forces and killed, with several 
other gentlemen ; his escort having been made 
prisoners. The day after this intelligence 
was received, some servants and soldiers who 
had escaped during the skirmish of iloor- 
shedabad arrived at Calcutta. They brought 
the information that the English at Patna had 
begun the war, and the attack on Mr. Amyatt 
at Moorshehabad was in reprisal. The coun- 
cil at once, July 7th, 17G3, nominated Meer 
Jaffier to the soubahdarship, declaring war 
against Meer Cossim. 

On the 8th of July, a letter from Meer 
Cossim confirmed the rumours of active hosti- 
lities at Patna. On the 24th of June, the 
English suddenly attacked the city of Patna 
at night, and took it by surprise. As soon 
as the capture was made, a plunder of the 
city commenced, and so great was the disorder 
of the British, that a small body of the sou- 
bahdar's troops entered the city at noon next 
day and retook it, putting the plunderers to 
the sword. The gentlemen of the factory, 
with the scattered remains of the army, retired 
across the river, and were all destroyed or 
captured. The letter of the soubahdar was 
one of sneering irony, in which he makes the 
defeat of the violent gang of robbers who 
managed the affairs of the company at Patna, 
a ground for demanding the restitution of all 
the lands of the soubahdarree surrendered by 
him to the company on his accession to power. 
His highness conceived himself to be strong 
enough to make any demands, as the force at 
Patna constituted the chief English garrison 
of Bengal, and formed a considerable portion of 
the whole of the English army in that presi- 
dency. 

The following extract from the letter of the 



290 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Cuap. LXXVI. 



soubalidar showed how hopeless it would have 
been to maiutaiu any further relations with 
him: — 

Co'py of a Letter from the Nabob Cossim 
Allee Cawn to the Governor. Dated June 
28, 1763. 

In my heart I believed Mr. Ellis to be my inveterate 
enemy, but from his actions, I now find he was inwardly 
my friend, as appears by this step, which he has added to 
the others. Like a night robber, he assaulted the Kella 
of Patna; robbed and jJundered the bazar, and all the 
merchants and inhabitants of the city, ravaging and slay- 
ing from the morning to the third pahr (afternoon). 
'When I requested of you two or three hundred muskets 
laden in boats, you would not consent to it. This unhappy 
man, in consequence of his inward friendship,* favoured 
me, in this fray and slaughter, with all the muskets and 
cannon of his army, and is himself relieved and eased 
from his burthen. Since it was never my desire to injure 
the affairs of the company, whatever loss may have been 
occasioned by this unhappy man to myself, in this tumiUt, 
I pass over ; but you, gentlemen, must answer for any 
injury which the company's affairs have suffered ; and 
since you have unjustly and cruelly ravaged the city, and 
destroyed the people, and plundered effects to the value 
of lacs of rupees ; it becomes the justice of the com- 
pany to make reparation to the poor, as formerly was 
done for Calcutta. You, gentlemen, are wonderful friends; 
having made a treaty, to which you pledged the name of 
Jesus Christ, you took from me a country to pay the ex- 
penses of your army, with the condition, that your troops 
should always attend me, and promote my affairs. In 
effect, you keep up a force for my destruction ; since 
from their hand, such events have proceeded, I am en- 
tirely of opinion, that the company should favour me in 
causing to be delivered to me the rents for three years of my 
country. Besides this, for the violences and oppressions 
exercised by the English gomastahs for several years past, 
in the territories of the Nizamut, and the large sums ex- 
torted, and the losses occasioned by them, it is proper and 
just that the company make restitution at this time. This 
is all the trouble you ueed take ; in the same manner as 
you took Burdwan and the other lauds, you must favour 
me in resigning them. 

Mr. Vansittart observes in his narrative, 
that " This was followed by a note from the 
gentlemen at Cossimbazar, dated the night of 
the 4th of July, informing us, that the factory 
was surrounded by a numerous force, and 
that they expected an attack the next morn- 
ing." 

Mr. Hastings had been so disgusted with 
the trickery, selfishness, and injustice of the 
council, that he had resolved to resign his high 
and honourable place as a member of council. 
His patriotism, however, became influenced by 
what he called " the unparalleled acts of bar- 
barity and treachery " with which, on the part 
of the nabob, the war had opened ; and he re- 
solved to give his energies to carry the conflict 
to a successful issue. It is surprising that Mr. 
Hastings should consider the acts of Meer 
Cossim, however barbarous and treacherous, 
unparalleled in Indian warfare ; they were 

* This language is used sarcastically, and betrays the 
intcsee bitterness of the soubahdar. 



simply in character with Mohammedan usages 
in war in India and everywhere else. Meer 
Juffior left Calcutta on the 11th of July, 
1763, to join the army. The detachment he 
accompanied was commanded by IMajor Wil- 
liams. On the I'.ith, the soubahdar's army 
engaged the British, for the purpose of de- 
feuding the Fort of Kutwal, which, it was 
supposed, might be best defended in the open 
field. The troops of his highness were de- 
feated, and Kutwal was abandoned. On the 
26th the British stormed the lines of Moote- 
gil, and captured Moorshedabad ; about fifty 
pieces of cannon Avere among the trojjhies. 
On the 2ud of August a perilous exploit was 
performed by the English. They crossed a 
dangerous ravine defended by strong outposts 
of the enemy. These outposts were driven 
back, and the British, advancing, found the 
grand army of the soubahdar drawn up in 
line of battle upon the plains of Geriah, near 
Sootee. The British attacked with their 
usual spirit, and the enemy resisted with un- 
usual obstinacy. For a time the battle ap- 
peared to be equal. In a desperate charge 
by the Bengalees, the English line was 
broken, and some of their cannon cajitured. 
The llajah Shitabroy distinguished himself 
with his accustomed gallantr}' on the side of 
the English, encouraging tlie native troops 
in their service. The British having re- 
covered the temporary reverse, which had 
nearly cost them the loss of the day, they re- 
newed their assaults with persevering valour, 
until at last the exhausted enemy fled, leav- 
ing the field covered with their slain, and all 
their cannon and baggage as prizes to the 
victors. An immediate result of the victory 
was the capture of a hundred and fifty boats 
freighted with grain and rice. 

The soubahdar's forces continued their dis- 
orderly flight to Ouhtanulla, a fort between 
the river and a chain of hills. This place 
was defended by an intrenchment, upon 
which were mounted a hundred pieces of can- 
non. The ditch was more than fifty feet wide, 
of considerable depth, and full of water. In 
front was a quagmire. The only ground 
upon which an assaulting force could ap- 
proach was near tlie river, for the space of 
one hundred yards. The English there 
planted batteries and raised works, with the 
most studied appearance of conducting a re- 
gular system ot approaches. The object of 
these proceedings was to draw off the enemy's 
attention from the real plan of attack. On 
tlie 5th of September a fire was opened from 
the false attack, and such demonstrations made 
as drew awaj' a large body of the besieged to 
that quarter; while the English in another 
direction began the assault. There were 



Chap. LXXVI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



291 



troops enough in that quarter to make an 
obstinate defence ; and only after a furious 
and sanguinary contest were the English 
masters of the fort and all its appurtenances 
of war. 

The British havemadefewconquestsinlndia 
so creditable to their arms. Their entire force 
scarcely exceeded three thousand ; the enemy 
were many times that number, and the Eng- 
lish ofi&oers computed them at sixty thousand. 
The English having secured the place, ad- 
vanced to Mongheer. After every victory, 
they obtained some native adherents to their 
standard, as they professed to fight for the 
restoration of a former sovereign, who, 
although not popular, had adherents. 

Meer Cfossim fled, leaving a garrison to 
defend his capital. Here he proved himself 
to be as bloody-minded as his predecessors, 
and as Mohammedan rulers generally are. 
He put to death several of his own relations, 
who, he supposed, miglit be made instruments 
in the hands of the English in consoHdating 
a. rival authority. Eamnarain was drowned 
with a bag of sand round his neck. 

As the souhahdar fled to Patna, his thirst 
for blood increased. The two bankers. Set 
or Seit, the richest men in India, were both 
murdered in a manner horribly vindictive. 
His vengeance pursued their dead bodies, 
which were given to wild beasts and birds 
of prey, lest their friends should raise for 
them a funeral pyre, after the manner of the 
Hindoos. When the English army advanced, 
their bones were found in a retired apartment 
of a house, where they had been secreted by 
some of their co-religionists. 

The English conquered Mongheer, but not 
until a practicable breach was made. The war 
tinder Adams had been conducted humanely. 
After the victory at Oodwa Nulla, in which 
the abettors oS. the souhahdar were so sig- 
nally defeated, one thousand prisoners were 
made, among whom were many Mohammedan 
gentlemen, officers in the army of his high- 
ness. The whole of these Adams generously 
released. 

On the 9th of September, as the major ad- 
vanced to Patna, the souhahdar wrote to him 
thence, threatening to kill all the English who 
had fallen into his hands, if the major did not 
abandon the war. That officer replied that 
the war must be carried on whatever were 
the consequences, and that it rested with his 
highness whether it should be waged hu- 
manely or become a war of sanguinary repri- 
sals. The governor wrote to the same effect, 
but neither the mild remonstrance of the latter 
nor the threats of the commander had any 
weight with Cossim. He ordered all the pri- 
soners in his power to be massacred. Ellis, 



by whom the war had been provoked, and 
who signally merited retribution, with four- 
teen of the company's civil and military ser- 
vants, various other gentlemen, and a hun- 
dred private men, were murdered. On a 
previous page the gallantry of Dr. Fullerton 
was recorded. This officer was the only 
person who escaped the massacre. He saw 
Meer Cossim immediately aftervi'ards, and he 
wrote to the board a letter, from wliich the 
following is an extract : — " Mr. Ellis, with 
the rest of the gentlemen, were inhumanly 
butchered by Shimroo,* who came that even- 
ing to the place with two companies (he had 
the day before sent for all the knives and 
forks from the gentlemen) ; he surrounded the 
house with his people, and went into a little 
outer square, and sent for Messrs. Ellis, Hay,f 
and Lushington, and with them came six 
other gentlemen, who vrere all terribly mangled, 
and cut to pieces, and their bodies thrown 
into a well in the square, and it filled up ; 
then the sepoys were sent into the large 
square, and fired on the gentlemen there, and, 
rushing upon them, cut them into pieces, in 
the most inhuman manner, and they were 
thrown into anether large well, which was 
likewise filled up. On the 7th, the nabob 
sent for me, and told me to get myself in 
readiness to go to Calcutta, for that though 
he had been unlucky in the war (which he 
asserted with great warmth, had not been of' 
his seeking, nor had he been the aggressor, 
reproaching the English with want of fidelity, 
and breach of treaty), yet he said, he had still 
hopes of an accommodation ; he asked me 
what I thought of it. I told him, I made no 
doubt of it. When some of his people, who 
were present, mentioned the afl'air of IMr. 
Amyatt's death ; he declared that he had 
never given any orders for killing Mr. Am- 
yatt ; but, after receiving advice of Mr. Ellis's 
having attacked Patna, he had ordered all 
his servants to take and imprison all the Eng- 
lish in the provinces, wherever they could find 
them ; he likewise added, that if a treaty was 
not set afoot, he would bring the king, the 
Mahrattas, and Abdallees, against us, and so 
ruin our trade, &c. lie had finished his 
letters, and ordered boats, and a guard to 
conduct me ; when, upon the advice of some 
of his people, he stopped me, and said there 
was no occasion for me to go. After his send- 
ing for me at first, he ordered the sepoys, in 

* A Frenchmau ia Meer Coasim's service. His 
higliDess had engaged with the English to keep no French 
in his service. 

t This gentleman had been one of the deputation from 
the council ; his detention and murder was an act of bar- 
barous perfidy ; which classes the name of Meer Cossiiu 
with Surajad-Dowlah, Meeran, and others of the most 
bloody and barbarous Mohammedau rulers in India. 



292 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXVII. 



wliose charge I was, to go to their quarters ; 
two moguls, and twelve liircarraa to attend 
me, but to let me go about the city where I 
pleased. I then applied for liberty to stay at 
the Dutch factory, which was granted. I 
applied to Melidee Allee Khan, for his interest 
in behalf of the gentlemen in the Chelston, 
■who were seven in number, and were not 
killed till the 11th of October ; but when he 
was petitioned about them, he gave no answer ; 
but still sent orders to Shimroo, to cut them 
off. I likewise applied to Allee Ibrahim 
Cawn, who interceded for them ; but he gave 
him no answer either, though I was present 
■when Ibrahim Cawn petitioned for them. On 
the 14th of October, on the approach of our 
army, Cossim Allee decamped with his troops 
in great confusion, and marched as far as 
Fulwarree, five coss to the ■westward of the 
city. The hircarras that were with me, hav- 
ing no orders about me, I gave them some 
money, which made them pretty easy. On 
the 25th, after giving money to a jemautdar, 
that liad the guard to the westward of the 
Dntch factory, by the river side, I set out in 
a small pulwar, and got safe to the boats, under 
command of Captain Wedderburn, that were 
lying opposite to the city, on the other side of 
the river, and at eleven o'clock that night 
arrived at the army, under the command of 
jNIajor Adams, lying at Jonsy." 

Of course nothing can be written in extenu- 
ation of this foul and wholesale murder, re- 
sembling so much the sanguinary horrors of 
Cawnpore, when, in 1857, the Nana Sahib 
committed a similar massacre ; but the sou- 
bahdar had much to provoke revenge. His 
hoarded wrongs found an escape when the 
very persons who were the chief instruments 
iu inflicting them were in his power. He well 
knew that through his enemy the Rajah Shita- 



broy, Mr. Ellis, and Major Carnac, without 
the knowledge of the governor, had carried on 
secret correspondence with the emperor, and 
his vizier, with the object of the soubahdar's 
dethronement. For this purpo.?e Ellis"s com- 
plaints of fictitious grievances were made to 
the council ; and temptations were created by 
him for the soubahdar, or his officers, to- do 
some precipitate acts which would necessitate 
war. It is difficult not to believe tliat Ellis 
and others, his equals in rank, were bribed by 
the Nabob of Oude, to bring about, if possible, 
a rupture between the English and the sou- 
bahdar, that the latter might be committed to 
hostilities, and some members of the house of 
Delhi, or the vizier himself, lie enabled, 
through the turmoil, to roach the musnid. 
He was, at all events, anxious for his own 
purposes, both to weaken the power of the 
English and keep the soubahdarree of Bengal 
disturbed. Mr. Ellis, and his confederates in 
intrigue, had known this well, but all con- 
siderations seemed to be lost sight of by them, 
except the accumulation of money by what- 
ever means. 

Patna was stormed on the 6th of November, 
and the war against Meer Cossim was prose- 
cuted with renewed ardour. The British, 
under Major Adams, met with their usual suc- 
cess. In five months, after the formal com- 
mencement of hostilities, Meer Cossim was 
driven beyond the Caramnassa. The loss of 
the British in accomplishing this success was 
very small, except at the massacre at Patna. 
Several gallant officers, however, fell in diffe- 
rent places, and the senior member of council, 
Mr. Amyatt, perished at Moorshedabad, as 
already related, with several other civilians of 
position. Meer Cossim, accompanied by the 
odious Shimroo, sought the protection of the 
Nabob of Oude. 



CHAPTER LXXVII. 

WAR WITH THE NABOB OF OUDE— RUIN OF MEER COSSIM— DEATH OF MEER JAFFIER— THE 
ENGLISH PLACE NUJUM-AD-DOWLAH UPON THE MUSNID OF BENGAL— HUMILIATION 
OF NUNDCOOMAR, THE MINISTER OF JAFFIER— DISORGANIZATION OF ENGLISH AFFAIRS 
IN BENGAL — CORRUPT PRACTICES OF THE COUNCIL — APPOINTMENT OF CLIVE AS 
GOVERNOR— NEW SETTLEMENT OF AFFAIRS IN BENGAL. 



Meer J.\ffier was now once more upon the 
musnid of the soubahdarree. It is important 
to review the terms upon which he was rein- 
stated. Before he left Calcutta to join the 
army, upon which devolved the task of ex- 
pelling his son-in-law, and exalting him- 
self, considerable negotiations were necessary 
to induce him to comply with some of the 



demands which had been previously made 
upon Meer Cossim. At heart the former ap- 
proved the policy of the latter. Meer Jaffier 
regarded the conduct of the English through- 
out as unjust, and contrary to the treaty. 
After all his intrigues with the council, he 
betrayed no eagerness to reach the throne of 
■which Lis relative was so soon to be deprived. 



Cii.u-. LXXVIL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



i:03 



Tlie council, pressed by tlio exigencies of tlie 
crisis, gave way to his demands, and a treaty 
■was finally made. As this formed the basis of 
the relations of the English to the sonbahdar 
of Bengal, so long as such an officer was per- 
mitted to exist, it will throw light upon the 
future proceedings of both parties on the part 
of tlie company. 

We eng.ige to reinstate the nabob Meer Mohammed 
Jaffier Cawn in the soubahdarree of the proviuces of 
Bengal, Baliar, and Orissa, by the deposal of Meer Mo- 
hammed Cosaim Cawn ; and the effects, treasure, jewels, 
&.C., belonging to Meer Mohammed Cossim Cawn, which 
shall fall into our hands, shall be delivered up to the 
nabob afore-named. 

On the part of the Kahoh. 

yirst. That the treaty which I formerly concluded with 
the company, upon my accession to the nizamut, engaging 
to regard the honour and reputation of the company, their 
governor, and council, aa my own, granting perwannahs 
for the currency of the company's trade, the same treaty 
I now contirm and ratify. 

Secondly, I do grant and confirm to the company, for 
defrayiug the expenses of their troops, the chuclas of 
Burdwan, Midnapoor, and Chittagong, which were before 
ceded for the same purpose. 

Thirdly, I do ratify and confirm to the English the 
privilege granted them by their firman, and several hus- 
bulhookums, of carrying on their trade by means of their 
own dustacks, free from all duties, taxes, and impositions, 
in all parts of the country, excepting the article of salt, 
on which a duty of two and a half per cent, is to be levied 
on the Rowana or Hoogly market price. 

I'ourthly, I give to the company half the saltpetre 
which is produced in the country of ^oorueea, which 
their gomastahs shall send to Calcutta , the other half 
shall be collected by my fougedar, for the use of my 
ofiices ; and I will snlTer no other person to make pur- 
chases of this article in that country. 

I'iflhly, In the chucla of Silhet, for the space of five 
years, commencing with the Bengal year 1170, my fou- 
gedar, and the company's gomastah, shall jointly prepare 
ehuHara, of which each shall defray half the expenses ; 
and half the chnnam so made shall be given to the com- 
pany, and the other half shall be for ray use. 

Sixthly, I will maintain twelve thousand horse and 
twelve thousand foot in the three provinces; and if there 
should be occasion for more, the number shall be in- 
creased proportionably to the emergency. Besides these, 
the force of the English company shall always attend me 
when they are wanted. 

Seventhly, Wherever I shall fix my court, either at 
Moorshedabad or elsewhere, I will advise the governor 
and council ; and whatever number of English forces I 
may have occasion for, in the management of ray afi'airs, 
I will demand them, and they shall be allowed me ; and 
an English gentleman shall reside with me, to transact all 
allairs between me and the company ; and a person shall 
also reside on my part at Calcutta, to negotiate with the 
gcvernor and council. 

Eighthly, The late perwanuah issued by Cossim Alice 
Cawn, granting to all merchants the exemption of all 
duties, for the space of two years, shall be reversed and 
called in, and the duties collected as before. 
^ Ninthly, I will caase the rupees coined in Calcutta to 
pass in every respect equal to the siccas of Moorshedabad, 
without any deduction of batta; and whosoever shall de- 
mand batta shall be punished. 

Tenthly, I will give thirty lacs of rupees to defray all 
the ex]>enses and loss accruing to the company from the 
VOL. 11. 



war and stoppage of their investment ; and I will reim- 
burse to all private persons the amount of all such losses, 
proved before the governor and council, as they may sus- 
tain in their trade in the country ; if I should not be able 
to discharge this in ready money, I will give assignments 
of laud for the amount. 

Eleventhly, I will confirm and renew the treaty which 
I formerly made with the Dutch. 

Twelfthly, If the French come into the country, I will 
not allow thera to erect any fortifications, maintain forces, 
or hold lands, zemindarrees, &o., but they shall pay tribute, 
and carry on their trade as in former times. 

Thirteenthly, Some regulations shall be hereafter settled 
between us, for deciding all disputes which may arise 
between the English agents and gomastahs in the different 
parts of the country, and my officers. 

In testimony whereof, we the said governor and council 
have set our hands, and affixed the seal of the company 
to one part hereof; and the nabob aforc-named hath set 
his hand and seal to another part hereof; which were 
mutually done and interchanged at fort William, the 10th 
day of July, 1764. 

Henry Vaksittakt, Warken Hasttngs, 
John Carnac, Bandoi.ph Marriot, 

William Billeks, Hugh Watts. 
John Cartiek, 

Demands made on the part of the Nabob 
Meer Jaffier, to the Governor and Council, 
at the time of signing the Treaty. 

First, I formerly acquainted the company with the 
particulars of my own affairs, and received from them re- 
peated letters of encouragement with presents. I non- 
make this request, that you will write in a proper manner 
to the company, and also to the King of England, the 
particulars of our friendship and union ; and procnre for 
me writings of encouragement, that my mind may be as- 
sured from that quarter, that no breach may ever happen 
between me and the English ; and that every governor 
and conncillor, and chief, who are here, or may hereafter 
come, may be well disposed and attached to me. 

Secondly, Since all the English gentlemen, assured of 
my friendly disposition to the company, confinn me in 
the nizamut ; I request, that to whatever I may at any 
time write, they will give their credit and assent, nor 
regard the stories of designing men to my prejudice, that 
all my affairs may go on with success, and no occasion 
may arise for jealousy or ill-will between us. 

Thirdly, Let no protection be given, by any of the 
English gentlemen, to any of my dependents who may fly 
for shelter to Calcutta, or other of your districts ; but let 
thera be delivered up to me on deuiand. I shall strictly 
enjoin all my fougedars and aumils, on all accounts to 
afford assistance and countenance to such of the gomastahs 
of the company as attend to the lawful trade of their fac- 
tories ; and if any of the said gomastahs shall act other- 
wise, let them be checked in such a manner as may be an 
example to others. 

Fourthly, From the neighbourhood of Calcutta to 
Hoogly, and many of the perganahs, bordering u])ou 
each other, it happens, that, on complaints being made, 
people go against the talookdars, reiats, and tenants of 
my towns, to the prejudice of the business of the circar; 
wherefore, let strict orders be given, that no peons be sent 
from Calcutta on the complaint of any one, upon my 
talookdars or tenants ; but on such occasions, let appli- 
cation be made to mc, or the naib of the fougedarree of 
Hoogly, that the country may be subject to no loss or 
devastation. And if any of the merchants and traders 
which belonged to the buxbuiider and azimgange, and 
have settled m Calcutta, should be desirous of reluming 
to Hoogly, and carrying on their business there as for- 
merly, let no one molest them. Chandernagore, and the 

Q Q 



294 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Cuap.'LXXVIL 



Frencli factory, was presented to me by Colonel Clive, and 
given by me in charge to Ameer Beg Cawn. For this 
reason, let strict orders be giveu, that no English gentle- 
men exercise any authority therein, but that it remain as 
formerly, under the jurisdiction of my people. 

Fifthly, Whenever I may demand any forces from the 
governor and council for my assistance, let them be im- 
mediately sent to me, and no demand made on me for 
their eipenses. 

The demands of the nabob Shujaaool Moolk Hissam, 
Doivla Meer Slohammed Jaffier Cawn Behader 
Mohabut Jung, written in five articles. We the 
president and council of the English company do 
agree, and set our hands to, in Fort Wiiliam, the 
lOthof July, 1763. 

* Signed, &c. 

Mr. Vansittart, as governor, carried out the 
policy of the committee. That policy, although 
successful, brought several members of their 
own body to a miserable end, and involved 
their chief partizans in similar destruction. 
Mr. Vansittart resolved to leave Bengal, but 
was detained by the dangerous intrigues of 
Meer Cossim beyond its borders, and the 
desire of the council that he should remain 
until the province was settled down in orderly 
government and external peace. When Meer 
Cossim crossed the Caramnassa, the emperor 
and his vizier were encamped near Allahabad. 
Thither the expelled viceroy repaired, and 
was ostentatiously received. He importuned 
his majesty to make war upon the English, 
but the vizier did not immediately act upon 
such counsel. He then begged the vizier 
himself, as Nabob of Oude, to make a grand 
effort for the expulsion of the English. His 
highness excused himself on the ground of 
disturbances in Bundelound. Meer Cossim 
adroitly offered to put them down. His offer 
was accepted, and he was more fortunate than 
in his war with the English. So pleased was 
the nabob with the courage and energy of the 
exiled prince, that he agreed to march upon 
Bahar, and endeavour to deprive the English 
of that province. Meanwhile, the emperor 
and vizier pretended to the English that Meer 
Cossim should be formally stripped of his 
power by an imperial decree, and his person 
surrendered to the governor of Bengal. The 
English, doubtful of the good faith of the 
native princes, marched troops to the banks of 
the Caramnassa. Several complications arose 
of a serious nature to frustrate their military 
plans. Major Adams resigned his command, 
and soon after died. Major (late Captain) 
Knox was compelled also to resign by ill 
health. Major Carnac at last was placed in 
charge of the army. The sepoys, who had 
for some time shown a mutinous spirit on 
occasions when their grievances were ima- 
ginary, or if real, before there was time for 
their investigation and redress, deserted in 
* Slajors Adams and Caruac absent. 



great numbers to the enemy, and had the 
cause of the Nabob of Oude ymore at heart 
than those whose salt they eat. Open dis- 
obedience of orders was common on the part 
of those who did not desert. This caused ex- 
treme trepidation at Calcutta, and means were 
taken to sootlie the irritation of the hireling 
soldiery. There were, however, a number of 
French deserters in the English pay, and 
these fomented the disturbance, so as almost 
to destroy the British sepoy contingent. It 
was found that Meer JafBer was as much dis- 
inclined to go to war for English purposes as 
Meer Cossim himself could have been, and 
was in fact a less manageable instrument 
against foreign aggression. Major Carnac 
was ordered by the council to cross the Caram- 
nassa and attack the enemy ; but with his 
disaffected French and sepoys, he could net 
pursue a bold policy, and therefore acted only 
upon the defensive, which tended to dis- 
hearten such of the sepoys as remained obe- 
dient, who had been accustomed to see the 
English strike boldly for power. At length 
Carnac retreated to Patna. The enemy fol- 
lowed, and on the 13th of May, 1764, attacked 
the British. A long conflict ensued, and at the 
close of day the enemy was repulsed. The 
emperor offered to negotiate on the basis of 
Meer Jaffier's surrender of Bahar. The 
English not only refused, but demanded that 
Meer Cossim should be given up, the French 
(or Swiss as he was supposed by some to be) 
murderer Shimroo, and the sepoy deserters. 
Nothing came of these mutual demands. 
Major Carnac menacing the enemy's flank, he 
precipitately retired into Oude. 

The council at Calcutta, mischievous and 
incompetent as ever, censured Major Carnac 
because he did not lead the army, which had 
fought so well on the 13th of May, into the 
enemy's territory. That experienced com- 
mander declared that onl}' by expedients and 
extraordinary vigilance could disaffection in 
his ranks be subdued, and had he led his army 
into Oude it would have disbanded. The 
fact was, tl)e Mohammedan sepoys regarded 
both the Emperor and Nabob of Oude with 
a religious reverence, which made them un- 
willing to fight against them ; yet, on the 
day of battle, the esprit de corps common to 
soldiers kept them in action until victory was 
obtained : many who fought well deserted 
after. Major Carnac was unjustly and un- 
wisely superseded, and the command given to 
Major Munro. Happily this officer was com- 
petent to the duty imposed upon him, but it 
might have been otherwise, and the injustice 
to Major Carnac, like other acts of the council, 
might have been followed by a speedy retri- 
bution. Major Munro found the whole of the 



OiiAP. LXXVII.J 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



295 



native force at Patna mutinous. The major 
adopted tlie policy of his predecessor, by first 
endeavouring to subdue the mutinous state of 
Lis own forces before attacking tliosc of the 
enemy. The day he assumed the command, 
a battalion of sepoys with their arms and ac- 
coutrements set out to join the enemy. One 
hundred Europeans, a company of sepoys, 
whose officers reported them trustworthy, and 
two field-pieces were sent in pursuit of the 
deserters. They were overtaken by night 
■while asleep, and not having placed sentinels, 
were surprised, disarmed, and taken prisoners. 
Fifty were selected for execution, and were 
blown away from guns. This deprives them 
of caste, and is regarded as a most severe 
punishment. The native troops in garrison 
refused to allow more than four of the men to 
be executed, but Munro loaded his guns with 
grape, drew up his Europeans in the intervals 
between his ordnance, and commanded the 
sepoys to ground their arms ; the whole party 
originally sentenced were executed, and the 
mutiny was completely quelled. Thus early 
in the history of our occupation of India was 
mutiny displayed, and thus early was it shown 
by a man of vigour how to suppress it. 

On the 15tli of September, active opera- 
tions commenced. The enemy disputed the 
passage of the Soam, but were dispersed in 
a masterly manner by Major Champion, an 
officer acting under Munro. At Buxar, 
Major Munro came \\p with the enemy in 
full force. A grand battle was fought, and a 
glorious victory obtained by the British. As 
the enemy retreated, a small river, the pas- 
sage of which was covered by a bridge of 
boats, lay in the lino of march. Before the 
rear of his army had crossed, the vizier de- 
stroyed the bridge and sacrificed two thousand 
of his men. Munro's opinion of this act was 
afterwards given in the following terms : — 
" The best piece of generalship Sujah-ad- 
Dowiali showed that day ; because, if I had 
crossed the rivulet with the army, I would 
either have taken or drowned his whole army 
in the Caramnassa, and come up with his 
treasure and jewels and Cossim Ali Khan's 
jewels, which, I was informed, amounted to 
between two and three millions."* Besides 
those lost in the river, the battle of Buxar 
cost the imperial army two thousand men left 
dead upon the field of battle, many wounded 
prisoners, and one hundred and tliirty-three 
pieces of cannon. The strength of the army 
was variously estimated from forty to sixty 
thousand men. The British ntimbered 7772 
men, of whom more than eight hundred were 
placed hors de combat. The English acted 
with compassion to the wounded. On the 
* Evidence of Major Munro, First Siport. 



day after the battle, the major received a 
letter from the emperor congratulating him 
on his victory, declaring that the vizier held 
liim in constraint, and imploring the major to 
lend him his assistance. Great was the as- 
tonishment of the British commander at the 
receipt of such a communication. Munro 
marched towards Benares ; the emjseror 
marched in the same direction. He found 
means to communicate with the English 
commander, offering to depose the Nabob of 
Oude and confer his territory upon tlie Eng- 
lish, if the latter would only assist him against 
the nabob, who, as his vizier, had the real 
direction of affairs. He craved an interview. 
The major received from Calcutta directions 
favourable to the emperor, and avoided any 
molestation of his own personal guards. Meer 
Cossim was also anxious to escape the vizier, 
who demanded payment of subsidy, and also 
the emperor's tribute, neither of which the 
Gx-soubahdar could pay. To convince his 
inexorable persecutor of this, he laid by his 
state and assumed the garb and mode of life 
of a jMohammedan devotee. As this was a 
reflection upon the hospitality of a Moham- 
medan prince, the vizier besought Meer Cossim 
to re-assume his princely style. Meanwhile, 
the troops which had followed the fortunes of 
the latter became clamorous for pay, and his 
highness parted with his hoarded gold for the 
purpose, but resolved to get rid of an army 
which could be of no use to him. Shimroo, the 
French or Swiss mercenary, who had been 
the executioner at the massacre at Patna, 
headed the rioters. This general and the 
troops w-ent over to the vizier, taking their 
arms and artillery with them. Thornton re- 
presents this transfer as having taken place 
before the battle of Buxar ; other writers de- 
scribe it as one of the consequences of that 
battle. 

The vizier deliberately plundered the un- 
fortunate Cossim of all his valuables, except 
some jewels which he secreted, and sent by a 
trusty servant into the Rohilla coimtry. Thus 
one Mohammedan prince was ever ready to 
rob and oppress another, while perpetually 
uniting in prayers and denunciations against 
the infidel. The vizier refused to fulfil his 
promise of giving up Meer Cossim to the Eng- 
lish. When Major Munro reached Benares, an 
agent of the virtual governor of the Delhi 
empire waited upon the English officer, and 
opened fresh negotiations. He refused, in 
his employer's name, to deliver up Meer 
Cossim, Shimroo, or any of the fugitives, but 
offered to make peace and indemnify tho 
English for the losses they had sustained, 
and for the expenses of the war. Munro 
refused. Subsequently, the vizier offered to 



290 



HISTORY OF THE BltlTISII EMPIRE [CuAr.LXXVIL 



connive at Meer Cossim's escape from his 
own custody, in such a way as that the Eng- 
lish might make sure of catching him. He 
also offered to have Shimroo assassinated at 
an entertainment; but would not surrender 
him, it being contrary to the Koran. His 
excellency had no objection to a foul and 
sanguinary act of treachery, provided it was 
not brought under any especial prohibition of 
IMoliammedan casuistry ■ — ■ exemplifying the 
way in which Mohammedanism hardened the 
heart, and prepared the hands for murder, 
while it made hypocrites and fanatics of its 
professors. 

It was found impossible to make terms, and 
active hostilities were again renewed. The 
English laid unsuccessful siege to Chum- 
nughur ; but no battle of consequence oc- 
curred, and Major Munro resigned his com- 
mand, and quitted India. Meanwhile, the 
occupation of the musnid of Bengal by Meer 
Jaffier was not productive of satisfaction to 
those who placed hira there. He sent to 
Calcutta complaints, similar to those with 
which Meer Cossim had tormented the coun- 
cil ; and the same sort of contests between 
the officers of the soubahdar and of the com-" 
pany continued. Meer Jaffier protested that 
it was impossible to govern Bengal while the 
English asserted rights and pririleges sub- 
versive of all native government. The dis- 
putes with his highness were terminated by 
his death, which took place in Pebruar}-, 
1765. 

There were two competitors for the vacant 
government ; the second son of the deceased 
prince, named Nujum-ad-Dowlah, and the 
infant sou of the deceased Meeran. The 
English recognised Nujum-ad-Dowlah, al- 
thovigh they had very little confidence in 
either his integrity or ability. They there- 
fore took measures to insure their power, 
and, if possible, secure peace, in connection 
with the accession of the new sovereign. 
One of their methods for accomplishing these 
objects, was to take ujwn them the defence of 
the three provinces, on condition of the new 
soubahdar paying live lacs of rupees per 
mensem for the support of the army thus 
employed. Meer Jaffier had done this for 
several months previous to his death ; but 
the English desired to have a public sanction 
connected with its future performance. The 
next care was to obtain proper persons for 
the management of the cliief offices of 
state. This created difficulty. Meer Jaf- 
fier had been singularly attached to a man 
named Niindcoomar, a most treacherous 
enem}' to the English. To him, well know- 
ing that fact, Meer Jaffier had confided the 
chief management of his affairs. Mr. Van- 



sittart opposed the elevation of this man by 
Meer Jaffier, but the latter made it a sine 
qua non to his own acceptance of power, at 
a moment when the English were glad to 
obtain some influential prince to set up in 
opposition to Meer Cossim. The governor 
and council deemed it expedient to yield ; 
but the governor's misgivings were powerful 
as to the probable result. 

The remai-ks of Mr. Vansittart, when he 
reluctantly gave his consent to the exaltation 
of Nundcoomar, were as follow : — " As to 
Nundcoomar, he had hitherto made himself 
remarkable for nothing but a seditious and 
treacherous disposition, which had led him 
to perpetrate the most atrocious acts against 
our government, having been detected and 
convicted by the voice of the whole board, in 
encouraging and assisting our enemies in 
their designs against Bengal; taking the op- 
portunity of the indulgence granted hira, of 
living in Calcutta, under the company's pro- 
tection, to make himself the channel for 
carrying on a correspondence between the 
Governor of Pondicherry, and the shah-zada, 
then at war with us. During the soubahdar- 
ship of Jaffier AUee Cawn, he had dis- 
tinguished himself by fomenting quarrels 
between him and the presidency. After 
the promotion of Cossim Alice Cawn, he 
became as active, but w'ith greater success, 
in inventing plots, and raising jealousies 
against him. This gave him an ascendancy 
over some of the members of the board, and 
made him a party object ; by which, and an 
unparalleled perseverance, he was enabled to 
sot the whole community in a flame. Such 
was the man whom the nabob chose for the 
administration of his affairs, and whose ex- 
altation to this rank, he made a condition of 
his acceptance of the soubahdarship." 

It was doubtless because Nundcoomar was 
likely to work skilfully in undermining the 
English that he was such a favourite with 
Meer Jaffier, who, at heart, hated them, and 
desired to have appropriate instruments at 
hand should opportunity for their expulsion 
ever arise. 

During the second government of Meer 
Jaffier various circumstances occurred to in- 
crease the suspicions which the English en- 
tertained of his chief advice, and they resolved 
that this man should not stand near the throne 
of Nujum-ad-Dowlah. They accordingly se- 
lected Maliomed Reza Khan for the post of 
chief minister to the new soubahdar. Nund- 
coomar's talents for intrigue were immediately 
set to work. He, unknown to the English, 
opened communications with the court of 
Delhi, and obtained thence a sumnid for the 
new soubahdar, before the English had com- 



Chap. LXXVII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



297 



plcted their arrangements; thua making it ap- 
pear tliat his highness ascended the throne not 
by English power or influence, but through the 
grace of the emperor ; tliis was a means in the 
ej'es of the multitude of depriving the English 
of the prestige they were so ambitious to 
maintain. After various skilful and successful 
manosuvres, this gifted but vicious man was 
unable to do more than thwart somewhat the 
designs of the English, who ultimately carried 
all their arrangements into effect. The coun- 
cil succeeded in gaining considerable power 
in the appointment of revenue officers, and 
thus hoped to guard against the quarrels, 
which during successive reigns had disturbed 
the peace of Bengal. Concerning these ar- 
rangements and others into which the English 
afterwards entered, a distinguished historian* 
of British empire in India thus writes: — "All 
these arrangements may fairly be supposed 
to liave had their origin in an honest zeal 
for the benefit of the company by whose ser- 
vants they were made, and of the country to 
which they belonged. The same favourable 
view cannot be taken of their conduct in 
another instance. They renewed with Nu- 
jum-ad-Dowlah the agreement contained in 
the last treaty made with his father for con- 
tinuing to the English the privilege of carry- 
ing on the inland trade free from duties, 
excepting the two and a half per cent, paid 
on salt. Not only was this unreasonable and 
nnjust in itself, but it was in direct contra- 
vention of positive orders from the company 
at home. The court of directors, by letters 
dated 8th February, 1764, had required the 
inland trade to be discontinued. The court of 
proprietors shortly afterwards, recommended 
a reconsideration of the subject, with a view 
to its regulation in such a mariner as should 
'prevent all further disputes between the 
soubahdar and the company.' The court of 
directors accordingly, in a letter dated 1st 
June, 1704, desired the council ofFortWilliam 
to form, with the approbation of the nabob — 
in the language of the despatch, ' with his 
free will and consent, and in such a manner 
as not to afford any just grounds of complaint' 
—a proper and equitable plan for carrying 
on the private trade: but it is to be re- 
marked, in giving these directions, the court 
took occasion to express their disapprobation 
of those ai tides in the treaty with Meer 
Jaffier which provided for the immunity of 
the company's servants from custom duties 
except on salt, while the general exempti(m 
granted by Meer Cossim was to be reversed. 
The court write, 'these are terms which 
appear to be so very injurious to the nabob 

* Edward Thornton, Esq. Biitith Empire in India, 
vol. i. chap. vi. p. 470, &C. 



and to the natives, that they cannot, in the 
very nature of them, tend to anything but the 
producing general heart-burnings and dis- 
affection; and consequently there can bo 
little reason to expect the tranquillity in tliu 
country can be permanent: the orders there- 
fore in our said letter of the 8th of February ' 
■ — the orders directing the entire abandon- 
ment of the inland trade — 'are to remain in 
force, until a more equitable and satisfactory 
plan can be formed and adopted.' In the 
face of these orders, the council of Calcutta 
inserted in their treaty with Nujum-ad- 
Dowlah, an article reserving to the servants 
of the company the privilege of continuing 
to trade upon the same terms as had been 
granted by Meer Jaffier — terms which the 
directors declared injurious to both prince and 
people, and incompatible with the tranquillity 
of the country. Well might the authority 
whose orders were thus set at nought, address 
those by whom the new treaty was framed 
and concluded, in language of severe and 
indignant reproof. In expressing their opi- 
nion upon the treat}', the court, after advert- 
ing to this article and to their previous orders, 
say, 'we must and do consider what you have 
done as an express breach and violation of 
our orders, and as a determined resolution 
to sacrifice the interests of the company and 
the peace of the country to lucrative and 
selfish views. This unaccountable behaviour 
puts an end to all confidence in those who 
made this treaty.'* 

" While the private trade was thus secured 
for the benefit of the company's servants in 
general, those who had been instrumental in 
placing the new nabob on the throne had the 
usual opportunities of promoting their own 
special interests. Presents of large amount 
were tendered, and though for a time the 
members of council displayed a decent coyness, 
they vk'ere not imrelenting : as usual on such 
occasions, their scruples gave way before the 
arguments of their tempters. The nabob 
dispensed his wealth with a liberality be- 
coming his rank. The gratitude of Mahomed 
Reza Khan was manifested by the earnestness 
with which he pressed a participation in his 
good fortune upon those who had bestowed 
it on him ; and Juggut Seit,f anxious for the 
support of the British council in aiding his 
influence with the nabob, was ready, in the 
spirit of commercial speculation, to purchase 
it. Mr. Vansittart had retired from the 
government before the death of Jleer Jaffier, 
and the chair was occupied by Mr. Spencor, 

* Letter to Bengal, 19lU of February, 1766. 

t A banker, relative of the two uufortunate persons 
murdered by tfeer Cossim, and successor to their vast 
trade aiid wealth. 



298 



HISTORY OF THE BEITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXVII. 



a gentleman who, most opportunely for liim- 
Bolf, had been brought from Bombay just in 
time to improve his fortune to the extent of 
two lacs of rupees." 

The members of council obtained large 
sums by these nefarious transactions. While 
these things occurred in Bengal, the war with 
the vizier, as Nabob of Oude, was still waged 
to the advantage of English arms. The un- 
principled members of the council having 
obtained such treasures by the accession 
of the new soubahdar, and feeling them- 
selves secure against anything the deposed 
Boubahdar could do, offered to make peace 
with the Nabob of Oude, if he would, as an 
act of justice, execute Mecr Cossim and 
Shimroo. This proposal shocked all who 
heard of it, except those most concerned in 
the infamy. The court of directors in Lon- 
don were aware of the proper conduct of 
Major Munro in refusing to be a party to 
any treacherous act on the part of the nabob 
towards these culprits, and had approved of 
his principles and policy. When they heard 
of this proposal coming from the council, 
they believed, or affected to believe, that the 
council could not have been in earnest, and 
observed, in reply, " If the law of hospitality 
forbad his delivering them up, surely if 
forbad his murdering them."* 

Nothing seems to have come of this vile 
project, so worthy of the men who then ruled 
Bengal. The war went on. Chumnugur, 
which had so long resisted the English, sur- 
rendered in February. Allahabad fell before 
their arms the same month. The empei'or, 
who professed to desire the success of the 
British, took up his residence in that imperial 
city. The Nabob of Oude fled to his capital, 
but after a short time abandoned Lucknow, 
and sought refuge in Rohilcund. Meer 
Cossim made his escape, and went in quest of 
his jewels. Shimroo abandoned the vizier 
when his cause was no longer prosperous, nor 
his service profitable. The ultimate fate of 
the nabob trembled in the balance ; but the 
incompetent and unsteady council knew not 
what course to take, and were so occupied 
with their usual occupations of plunder and 
oppression within the limits of Bengal, as to 
have little leisure for great questions beyond 
its confines, which only affected the company 
in whose em})loyment tliey were, the poor 
peojile of the country which they oppressed, 
or the honour of tlieir own country, which 
they never consulted. 

Bengal was nearly ruined. Repeated revo- 
lutions liad unsettled the minds of men. Trade 
and industry fled affrighted from such a realm 
of conflict. The council, and the native rulers, 
* Zelter to Bengal, 19th of February, 17C0. 



together, had, by their unprincipled ambition, 
turned it into a vast Aceldama. The directors 
in London knew all this, and sought and found 
a remedy. Lord IMacaulay thus depicts the 
state of affairs at this juncture : — " A great and 
sudden turn in affairs was at hand. Every 
ship from Bengal had for some time brought 
alarming tidings ; the internal misgovernpient 
of the province had reached such a point that 
it could go no further. What, indeed, was to 
be expected from a body of public servants, 
exposed to temptation such as that, as Clive 
once said, flesh and blood could not bear it, 
armed with irresistible power, and responsible 
only to the corrupt, turbulent, distracted, and 
ill-informed company, situated at such a dis- 
tance, that the average interval of sending a 
dispatch, and the receipt of an answer, was 
above a year and a half? Accordingly, 
during the five years which followed the de- 
parture of Clive from Bengal, the misgovern- 
ment of the English was carried to a point 
such as seems hardly compatible with the very 
existence of society. The Roman proconsul, 
who, in a year or two, squeezed out of a 
province the means of rearing marble palaces 
and baths on the shores of Campania, of 
drinking from amber, of feasting on singing 
birds, of exhibiting armies of gladiators, and 
flocks of camel-leopards, — the Spanish vice- 
roy, who, leaving behind him the curses of 
Mexico, or Lima, entered Madrid with a long 
train of gilded coaches, and of sumjster horses, 
trapped and shod with silver, were now out- 
done. Cruelty, indeed, properly so called, 
was not among the vices of the servants of the 
company. But cruelty itself could hardly 
have produced greater evils than sprang from 
tlieir unprincipled eagerness to grow rich. 
They pulled down their creature, Meer Jaffier. 
They set up in his place another nabob named 
Meer Cossim. But Meer Cossim had parts, 
and a will ; and though sufiiciently inclined to 
oppress his subjects himself, he could not bear 
to see them ground to the dust by oppressions 
which yielded him no profit ; nay, which de- 
stroyed his revenue in the very source. The 
English accordingl\- pulled down Meer Cossim 
and set up Meer Jaffier again ; and Meer 
Cossim, after revenging himself by a massacre 
surpassing in atrocity that of the Black Hole, 
fled to the dominions of the Nabob of Oude. 
At every one of these revolutions the new 
prince divided among his foreign masters 
whatever could be scraped together in the 
treasury of his fallen predecessor. The im- 
mense population of his dominions was given 
uj) as a prey to those who had made him a 
sovereign, and could unmake him. The ser- 
vants of the company obtained, not for their 
employers, but for themselves, a monopoly o£ 



Chap. LXXVIL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



219 



almost the whole of the internal trade. They 
forced the natives to buy dear and sell cheap. 
They insulted with impunity the tribunals, 
the police, and the fiscal authorities, of the 
country. They covered with their protection 
a set of native dependents who ranged through 
the province spreading desolation and terror 
■wherever they appeared. Every servant of 
a British factor was armed with all the power 
of his master ; and his master was armed with 
all the power of the company. Enormous 
fortunes were thus rapidly accumulated at 
Calcutta, while thirtj' millions of human beings 
were reduced to the extremity of wretched- 
ness. They had been accustomed to live 
under tyranny, but never under tyranny like 
this. They found the little finger of the com- 
pany thicker than the loins of Sur«j-ad-Dow- 
lah. Under their old masters they had, at 
least, one resource — when tlie evil became 
insupportable, the people rose and pulled 
down the government. But the English go- 
vernment was not to be so shaken off'. That 
government, oppressive as the most oppressive 
form of barbarian despotism, was strong with 
all the strength of civilization. It resembled 
the government of evil genii, rather tlian the 
government of human tyrants. Even despair 
could not inspire the soft Bengalee with cou- 
rage to confront men of English breed, the 
hereditary nobility of mankind, whose skill 
and valour had so often triumphed in spite of 
tenfold odds. The unhappy race never at- 
tempted resistance. Sometimes they sub- 
mitted in patient misery. Sometimes they 
fled from the white man as their fathers had 
been used to do from the Mahratta ; and the 
palanquin of the English traveller was often 
carried through silent villages, which the re- 
port of his approach had made desolate. The 
foreign lords of Bengal were naturally objects 
of hatred to all the neighbouring powers, and 
to all the haughty race presented a dauntless 
front. The English armies, everywhere out- 
numbered, were everywhere victorious. A 
succession of commanders formed in the school 
of Clive, still maintained the fame of our 
country. It was impossible, however, that 
even the military establishments of the country 
should long continue exempt from the vices 
which prevailed in every other i)art of the 
government. Itapacity, luxury, and the spirit 
of insubordination, spread from the civil ser- 
vice to the officers of the army. The evil con- 
tinued to grow till every mess-room became 
the seat of conspiracy and cabal, and till the 
sepoys could be kept in order only by whole- 
sale executions. At length the state of things 
in Bengal began to excite uneasiness at liome. 
The general cry was that Clive, and Clive alone, 
could save the empire which he had founded." 



As the result of the public feeling so strongly 
expressed at home, Clive was appointed "go- 
vernor and commander-in-chief of the British 
possessions in Bengal," and he set sail the 
third time for India, arriving at Calcutta in 
May, 1765. Scarcely had he reached the 
seat of his new government when he vigor- 
ously set about the reform of abuses. He 
met the council, and expressed his determina- 
tion to carry out a thorough and searching 
reform. A vague expectation existed among 
them that he would fall in with their views, 
yet rumours had reached them that Clive came 
out for the specific purpose of putting down 
their delinquencies. Johnstone, who was as 
bold as he was hypocritical and venal, 
" bearded the lion ;" but while proceeding 
with his oration, Clive suddenly stopped him, 
and inquired, with his characteristic hauteur 
and decision, if the council intended to ques- 
tion the power of the new government. The 
orator murmured apologies, and the awed and 
baffled conclave of robbers, which were then 
dignified by the name of the council of Bengal, 
remained silent and submissive, each member 
alarmed as to the consequences which might 
ensue to himself if Clive were resisted, or his 
opinion disputed. 

The reader will probably inquire where, 
during the period of the serious transactions 
from the restoration of Meer Jaffier to the 
arrival of Clive as governor, was Warren 
Hastings? — he who so eloquently and pertina- 
ciously asserted the true interests of the 
company, as compatible with the honour of 
England and the rights of the Bengalee. 
His manly protests, and the restraint of his 
influence, were renewed in 1764, when, as 
stated before, he returned to England, where 
he resided during the whole of the transac- 
tions which had occurred. His representations 
in England had great weight with the com- 
pany in showing them the true state of mat- 
ters in Bengal, and the importance of a new 
and vigorous government of that presidency. 
Other and important events were destined to 
transpire before Warren Hastings trod again 
the soil of India, and took up his abode once 
more in the city of palaces. 

Clive, having been made an Irish peer 
while in England, entered upon his duties as 
governor and commander-in-chief in Bengal 
with increased dignity, his new rank greatly 
promoting his influence both among his coun- 
trymen and the natives. He had also the 
advantage of being assisted by a body of men 
called the select committee. The person 
among them upon whom he had most reliance 
was General Carnac, the same who, as Major 
Carnac, had distinguished himself so well in 
Indian warfare. The council regarded the 



300 



HISTORY or THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXVII. 



select committee with great jealousy, but 
Clive overbore iusubordination and held on 
his course. 

The first subject of reform was the private 
trade, which he put down. Soon after, a 
complaint from the new nabob against his 
chief minister, that the latter had utterly ex- 
hausted the treasury to bribe or satisfy the 
demands of the council, led to an investigation 
which was marked by many stormy scones, 
and issued in an exposure of the corruption 
of the council greater than had ever been 
alleged against them, or could have been 
supposed. The total disobedience of the 
company's orders were proved by these in- 
vestigations to have been as flagrant as the 
corruption which prompted it. 

Sujah-ad-Do\vlah, the Nabob of Oude, 
having formed an alliance with Mulhar, a 
Mahratta chief, made preparations for re- 
newed hostilities against Bengal. Brigadier- 
general Carnac made such arrangements as 
prevented the junction of the allied forces, 
and by this means defeated the scheme of the 
alliance. The general fell upon a division of 
the Mahratta army unexpectedly, and cut it 
to pieces. Intimidated by the boldness and 
energy of the exploit, the whole Mahratta 
force retired towards the Jumna, whither 
Carnac proceeded, attacked, and routed them. 
The Nabob of Oude losing all hope of con- 
tending successfully with the English, threw 
himself upon their generosity. He came over 
for that purpose to the camp of Carnac. 

Lord Clive quitted Calcutta on the 24th of 
June, 17G5, and proceeded to the north-west, 
in order to negotiate in person with the nabob 
and with the emperor. On the IGth of Au- 
gust, at Allahabad, a treaty was signed.* 
This was the beginning of a connection with 
Oude, which, to the present day, has been 
fruitful of trouble to the English. This con- 
nection was forced upon the English by the 
aggressive policy of Sujah-ad-Dowlah. The 
English then acted in the case of Oude with 
moderation, and since then greater forbear- 
ance has been shown to it than to any of the 
tributary native states of India, so long as it 
remained in that category. The nabob re- 
sisted the insertion of any clause in the treaty 
for the introduction of "factories" in his do- 
minions, but a stipulation for a right to trade 
was, nevertiieless, insisted upon. The emperor 
confirmed by treaty all previous privileges pos- 
sessed by the English, granted the company a 
reversionary interest in Lord dive's jaghire, 
and conferred upon it also the dewanee of 
Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa. The company 
henceforth held the provinces on a footing su- 
perior to their previous occupancy. The coni- 
* Vide Printed Treaties. 



pany became in fact the soubahdar, while tlioy 
still upheld one nominally invested with the 
office. Previously, the power of the English 
was greater than that of the soubahdars, but 
the latter still held great authority, and a 
direct command over the resources of the 
country, financial and military ; hencefoilh all 
real power rested with the English. The 
opinions of the select committee on this 
subject wore thus expressed in a letter to 
the court of directors: — "The perpetual 
struggles for superiority between the nabobs 
and your agents, together with the recent 
proofs before us of notorious and avowed 
corruption, have rendered us unanimously of 
opinion, after the most mature deliberation, 
that no other method could be suggested of 
laying the axe to the root of all these evils, 
than that of obtaining the dewanee of Bengal, 
Bahar, and Orissa for the company. By es- 
tablishing the power of the Great Mogul, wo 
have likewise established his rights ; and his 
majesty, from principles of gratitude, equity, 
and policy, has thought proper to bestow this 
important employment on the company, the 
nature of which is, the collecting of all the 
revenues, and after defraying the expenses 
of the army, and allowing a sufficient fund 
for the support of the nizamut, to remit the 
remainder to Delhi, or wherever the king 
shall reside or direct." 

The directors adopted the views of the 
select committee, and conveyed their ap- 
proval, with instructions for future policy, in 
the following terms:* — 

" We come now to consider the great 
and important affair of the dewanee. When 
we consider that the barrier of the country 
government was entirely broke down, and 
every Englishman throughout the country 
armed vi-ith an authority that owned no su- 
perior, and exercising his power to the 
oppression of the helpless native, who knew 
not whom to obey, at such a crisis, we 
cannot hesitate to approve your obtaining 
the dewanee for the company. 

" We must now turn our attention to ren- 
der our acquisitions as permanent as human 
wisdom can make them. This permanency, 
wo apprehend, can be found only in the sim- 
plicity of the execution. We observe the 
account you give of the office and power of 
the king's dewan in former times was — the 
collecting of all the revenues, and after de- 
fraying the expenses of the army, and allow- 
ing a sufficient fund for the support of the 
nizamut, to remit the remainder to Deliii. 
This description of it is not the office we 
wish to execute ; the experience we have 
already had, in the province of Burdwan, 
* Letter to Bengal, 17th of May, 1766. 



Chap. LXXVII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



301 



convinces us how inifit an Englishman is to 
conduct the collection of the revenues, and 
follow the subtle native through all his arts 
to conceal the real value of his country, to 
perplex and to elude the payments. We 
therefore entirely approve of your preserving 
the ancient form of government, iu the up- 
holding the dignity of the soubahdar. 

" We conceive the office of dewan should 
be exercised only in superintending the col- 
lection and disposal of the revenues, which 
office, though vested in the company, should 
officially be executed by our resident at the 
durbar, under the control of the governor 
and select committee, the ordinary bounds of 
which control should extend to nothing be- 
yond the superintending the collection of the 
revenues and the receiving the money from 
the nabob's treasury to that of the dewannah, 
or the company. 

" The resident at the durbar, being con- 
stantly on the spot, cannot be long a stranger 
to <iny abuses in the government, and is 
always armed with power to remedy them. 
It will be his duty to stand between the ad- 
ministration and the encroachments always 
to be apprehended from the agents of the 
company's servants, which must first be 
known to him ; and we rely on his fidelity 
to the company to check all such encroach- 
ments, and to prevent the oppression of the 
natives. We would have his coiTespondence 
to be carried on with the select committee 
through the channel of the president. He 
should keep a diary of all his transactions. 
His correspondence with the natives must be 
publicly conducted ; copies of all his letters 
sent and received be transmitted monthly to 
the presidency, with duplicates and tripli- 
cates, to be transmitted home, in our general 
packet, by every ship." 

Mr. Auber observes upon the last para- 
graph : — " This was the introduction of the 
system of recorded check, which has since 
prevailed in conducting the home administra- 
tion of the India government." 

Reformations were as much required in the 
militarj' as in the civil affairs of the presi- 
dency. In attempting to carry out these, 
Ijord Clive met with a more formidable op- 
position than ever from the council. At the 
instigation of a general officer, Sir Eobert 
Fletcher, all the officers of the comi)any's 
army conspired to resign their commissions 
on a single day ; so that by depriving the 
arm)' of officers, the governor would be com- 
pelled to suljinit to their terms. By amazing 
vigour, ability, and resolution, Clive put 
down this mutiny without bloodshed. Gene- 
ral Fletcher, and some of the chief delin- 
quents, were cashiered ; and the rest were 

VOL. II. 



pardoned, on profession of repentance, and 
permitted to return to their duty. 

While Clive was reducing the army to 
discipline, an opportunity was afforded to 
him of showing his zeal for their welfare. 
A large legacy was left to him by Meer 
Jaffier, consisting of five lacs of rupees. 
Clive made over this sum to the company, 
for the formation of a military fund for in- 
valided officers and soldiers, and their widows. 
The company accepted the trusteeship, and 
passed resolutions complimenting his lord- 
ship's generosity. This act has been cen- 
sured, as contrary to the covenants insisted 
upon by the company with their servants, 
after the government of Mr. Vansittart, that 
no presents were to be received from the na- 
tive governments by any of the company's 
officers. The directors having been assured 
by their legal advisers that the legacy would 
be received by Clive without violating the 
covenants, they passed resolutions of ap- 
proval of his lordship's conduct. Clive dis- 
played all his former activity during his 
government. He visited the upper parts of 
Bengal personally, investigating all the com- 
pany's affairs. 

The health of his lordship began to suffer 
from his exposure to the climate, and this 
made him desirous to return. Another mo- 
tive for that wish he confessed to be, that 
having a numerous family, he desired to su- 
perintend the education and conduct of his 
children. His great wealth, which he desired 
to enjoy in England, was probably as influ- 
ential as any other cause of his desire to re- 
turn home. The company sent an exjiress 
overland, by way of Bussorah, to induce him 
to remain another season. He reluctantly 
consented, and devoted his vast energies to 
the great work of consolidating the power of 
the company. 

During Lord Clive's stay in Bahar, while 
investigating the company's affairs there, a 
congress was held at Chupra. His lordship. 
General Carnac, Sujah-ad-Dowlah, the em- 
peror's chief minister, and some Jaut and 
Itohilla chiefs, assembled there. A treaty, 
for mutual security against the ilahrattas, 
was there formed, in case those marauders 
should invade the dominions of any of the 
states united in the alliance. Deputies from 
the Mahratta chiefs also attended at Chupra, 
who made ardent protestations of peace, and 
proved that what had been construed into 
hostile demonstrations was the work of the 
emperor himself, who had foolishly engaged 
them to escort him to Delhi. 

In May, 17(36, the soubahdar died. It was 
well that the native government had been re- 
cently placed on a new footing, as already 

n B 



302 



HI8T0EY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [CnAr. LXXVII. 



deacribed, for otherwise the death of the 
soubahdar would have caused new intrigues 
and disturbancee. Clive concerted with the 
governments of Bombay and Madras such 
operations against the Mahrattas, as would in 
case of fresh invasions from them effectually 
check their power. Olive's health now seri- 
ously gave way, and his anxiety to return 
home greatly increased. He, however, be- 
lieved that the object for which he had re- 
turned to Bengal had been accomplished, and 
that the consequences of his departure, appre- 
hended by the company would in all proba- 
bility not occur. 

The private trade, which Lord Olive had 
apparently suppressed, was soon after renewed, 
and it is scarcely to his honour that he be- 
came participator in it, realizing large profits, 
which he divided among his relations and 
friends. He justified himself on the ground 
that he personally received no benefit ; btit if 
it enabled him to provide for his brother-in- 
law and other adherents, even to his valet, 
the excuse is not valid. 

He quitted Bengal on the 29th of January, 
17G7. The career of Olive as a soldier was 
now ended. Even as a statesman he had 
already numbered his days ; for although in 
England he took a large part in parliamentary 
and India-house concerns, and was put upon 
his defence by bitter and powerful enemies, 
so as to compel him to be very active in 
public life, he never again saw India, and 
could only influence affairs there by his 
opinion, given to the directors or to the 
public. Probably the best estimate of his 
character as a soldier and statesman, and of 
his general services in India, ever made, was 
that expressed by Mr. Thornton in the fol- 
lowing passages of his Indian history : — 
" The reader Avho looks back upon the scenes 
through which he has been conducted, will 
at once perceive that it is on his military 
character that Olive's reputation must rest. 
All the qualities of a soldier wore combined 
in him, and each so admirably proportioned 
to the rest, that none predominated to the 



detriment of any other. His personal courage 
enabled him to acquire a degree of influence over 
his troops which has rarely been equalled, and 
which in India was before his time unkno^\Ti ; 
and this, united with the cool and consum- 
mate judgment by which his daring energy was 
controlled and regulated, enabled him to effect 
conquests which, if they had taken place in 
remote times, would be regarded as incredible. 
Out of materials the most unpromising he had 
to create the instruments for effecting these 
conquests, and he achieved his object where 
all men but himself might have despaired. 
No one can dwell upon the more exciting 
portions of his history without catching some 
portion of the ardour which led him through 
these stirring scenes ; no one who loves the 
country for which he fought can recall them 
to memory without mentally breathing honour 
to the name of Olive. In India his fame is 
even greater than at home, and that fame is 
not his merely, it is his country's. 

" As a statesman, Olive's vision was clear, 
but not extensive. He cotdd promptly and 
adroitly adapt his policy to the state of things 
which he found existing ; but none of his acts 
display any extraordinary political sagacity. 
Turning from his claims in a field where his 
talents command but a moderate degree of 
respect, and where the means by which he 
sometimes sought to serve the state and 
sometimes to promote his own interests give 
rise to a very different feeling, it is due ta 
one to whom his country is so deeply indebted, 
to close the narrative of his career by recur- 
ring once more to that part of his character 
which may be contemplated with unmixed 
satisfaction. As a soldier he was pre-emi- 
nently great. With the name of Clive 
commences the flood of glory which has 
rolled on till it has covered the wide face of 
India with memorials of British valour. By 
Olive was formed the base of the column 
which a succession of heroes, well worthy to 
follow in his steps, have carried upward to a 
towering height, and surrounded with trophies 
of honour, rich, brilliant, and countless." 



Chap. LXXVIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



303 



CHAPTER LXXVIII. 

AFFAIRS IN BENGAL DURING THE GOVERNMENT OF MR. VERELST AND MR. CARTIER — 
ARRIVAL OF WARREN HASTINGS AS GOVERNOR. 



Cuve's last act before his departure from 
Bengal was to continue the select committee, 
the company having empowered him either 
to abolish or continue it as he deemed the 
wiser course. He nominated Mr. Verelst to 
succeed him as governor, assisted by Mr. 
Cartier, Colonel Smith, Mr. Sykes, and Mr. 
Beecher. On the 17th of February, 1767, 
Mr. Verelst took the oath as governor. 
Scarcely had Clive departed when matters 
again fell into the former train of corruption 
and insubordination. Mr. Mill gives the fol- 
lowing picture of the condition of the pro- 
vince : — " For the benefit of certain false 
pretexts which imposed upon nobody, the 
government of the country, as far as regarded 
the protection of the people, was dissolved. 
Neither the nabob nor his officers dared to 
exert any authority against the English, of 
whatsoever injustice and oppression they 
might be guilty. The gomastahs, or Indian 
agents employed by the company's servants, 
not only practised unbounded tyranny, but, 
overawing the nabob and his highest order, 
converted the tribunals of justice themselves 
into instruments of cruelty, making them 
inflict punishment upon the very wretches 
whom they oppressed, and whose only crime 
was their not submitting with sufficient wil- 
lingness to the insolent rapacity of those 
subordinate tyrants. While the ancient admi- 
nistration of the country was rendered ineffi- 
cient, this suspension of the powers of 
government was supplied by nothing in the 
regulations of the English. Beyond the 
ancient limits of the presidency, the company 
had no legal power over the natives : beyond 
these limits, the English themselves were not 
amenable to the British laws ; and the com- 
pany had no power of coercion except by 
sending persons out of tlie country ; a remedy 
always inconvenient, and, except for very 
heinous offences, operating too severely upon 
the individual to be willingly applied. The 
natural consequence was, that the crimes of the 
English and their agents were in a great 
measure secured from punishment, and the 
unhappy natives lay prostrate at their feet. 
As the revenue of the government depended 
■upon the productive operations of the people; 
and as a people are productive only in pro- 
portion to tlie share of tlieir own produce 
which they are permitted to enjoy; this 
wretched administration coxdd not fail, in 



time, to make itself felt in the company's 
exchequer."* 

Mr. Verelst's administration, and that of 
Mr. Cartier, by whom he was followed, were 
chiefly occupied by internal arrangements, 
revenue, and trade.f The Mahrattas did not 
perpetrate their usual raids, and the weak 
soubahdar did not give hirtiself up to political 
intrigue after the fashion of his predecessors.f 
This period of peace did not bring commer- 
cial prosperity to the company. Their ser- 
vants invented new systems of cheating them, 
and of harassing the people. The company's 
servants still returned rich from Bengal after 
a few years' service, and the poverty of the 
province itself increased. The condition of 
the company's interests in Bengal was de- 
plorable and disheartening. § While, how- 
ever, Bengal was at peace within its own 
borders, there were causes at work beyond 
its limits, to engage the presidency in the 
work of war. The "Goorkhas" had invaded 
the territory of the Eajah of Nepaul, who was 
friendly, and between whose people and the 
subjects of the soubahdar and the English 
there was trade. He claimed the assistance 
of the soubahdar, and the English united with 
his highness in affording it. The council 
and the select committee had the usual as- 
sumption of those bodies, and the weakness 
and incompetency for wavlike undertakings 
which had hitherto characterised the former 
body. Their plans were expensive, yet in- 
adequate ; rash, yet not bold ; time-serving, 
but neither cautious nor prudent. The ex- 
pedition against the Goorkhas was abortive. 

Hyder Ali, of whom the reader will be in- 
formed in another chapter, became formidable 
at this time, and carried war and desolation 

* Governor Verelst, iu his letter to the directors, im- 
mediately before his resignation, dated 16th of December, 
1 769, says : " We insensibly broke down the barrier be- 
twixt us and government, and the native grew uncertain 
where his obedience was due. Such a divided and com- 
plicated authority gave rise to oppressions and intrigues, 
miknown at any other period ; the officers of the govern- 
ment caught the infection, and, beiug removed from any 
immediate control, proceeded with stiU greater audacity. 
In tlie meantime, we were repeatedly and peremptorily 
forbid to avow any public authority over the officers of 
government in our own names," &c. 

t Etifflish Government in Bengal. By Harry Verelst, 
London, 1772. Thoughts on our Acquisitions in Bengal, 
London, 1771. 

X Stewart's IJislory of Bengal, 1813. 

j History of the Jiast India Comf^any, London, 1793. 



304 



UISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXVIJI. 



into the Carnatic. The Madras government 
applied for aid to Bengal. The urgency of 
the case was greater than the invasion of 
Nepaul by the Goorkhas, and assistance was 
sent to such an extent as to tie the hands of 
the Bengal council from aggressive proceedings 
elsewhere. The council was more troubled 
from the scarcity of money than from any 
other means. This they attribnted to the 
Chinese investments, which were generally 
made from the Bengal revenues. Mr. Mill 
accounts for it by the large sums drained from 
the country in various ways by the company's 
servauts. These they, to a great extent, sent 
home tlirough the Dutch and French Com- 
panies.* 

On the 23rd of October, 1768, the defi- 
ciency reached 663,055 rupees. The corre- 
spondence between Fort William and Fort St. 
George at this period presents a pitiable pic- 
ture of bad financiers, incapable administra- 
tors, and traders ignorant of commercial philo- 
sophy. Mr. Mill attributes the poverty of the 
English exchequer in Bengal mainly to the 
absorption of their revenues in the expenses 
of governing their newly acquired territory. 
Professor Wilson denies this in the following 
terms : — " This is not warranted by the facts : 
a slight examination of the general accounts 
of receipts and disbursements exhibited in 
the accounts of the Bengal presidency pub- 
lished by the select committee shows, that 
the financial difficulties experienced there 
arose not from the political, but the com- 
mercial transactions of the company. From 
1761 to 1772 there was a surplus on the 
territorial account of about £5,475,000 (the 
smaller figures are purposely omitted). The 
whole produce of the import cargoes was 
£1,437,000, the cost value of the goods re- 
mitted to England,£5,291,000,ofwhich, there- 
fore, £3,854,000 had been provided out of 
the revenue. Besides this, large remittances 
for commercial purposes had been made to 
other settlements, and to China, exceeding 
those received by £2,358,000, and conse- 
<|uently, exceeding the whole territorial re- 
ceipt by £737,000. It is not matter of sur- 
prise, therefore, that the territorial treasury 
was embarrassed, nor is it to be wondered 
at that the resources of the country were in 
progress of diminution ; the constant abstrac- 
tion of capital, whether in bullion or goods, 
could not fail in time to impoverish any 
country however rich, and was very soon felt 
in India, in which no accumulation of capital 
had ever taken place, from the unsettled state 
of the government, and the insecurity of pro- 
perty, and the constant tendency of the popu- 
lation to press upon the means of subsistence." 
* Mill, book iv. chap. vii. 



On the 24th of December, 1769, Mr. 
Verelst left the three provinces in perfect 
peace, and with a less amount of jealousy 
between the soubahdar and the council than 
had at any previous time existed.* 

The greatest danger of Verelst's government 
was an event which passed harmlessly away, 
but which, at the beginning of his presidenti.il 
career, seriously menaced the peace of Bengal. 
Shah Abdallah — instigated, it was believed, 
by Meer Cossim — advanced with a powerful 
army towai'ds Delhi. The council made de- 
monstrations in favour of " the king," as his 
imperial majesty was then frequently styled. 
The cause of his majesty was, in fact, the 
cause of the soubahdar. His majesty was 
unable to cope with the Shah Abdallah ; and 
was on the point of submission, when English 
interposition compelled a compromise. The 
shah, however, did not return to his capital of 
Lahore without exacting an indemnity from 
his majesty of Delhi. The return of the 
marauder was harassed by the Sikhs, who 
were then rising into power, and were des- 
tined to hold Lahore itself as their capital 
at a period not remote. 

The danger of a war beyond the frontier, 
as the ally of the emperor, caused the council 
to urge the company at home to complete the 
military establishment recommended by Lord 
Clive. Mr. Verelst exerted himself in treat- 
ing with the Jauts, Mahrattas, and other 
native powers ; the policy xipon which he pro- 
ceeded having been dictated from home, the 
object being to form a complete chain of the 
company's influence and dominion, from the 
banks of the Caramnassa to the extremity of 
the coast of the Coromandel.-j- The vizier 
(Nabob of Oude) maintained a formidable 
army; and notwithstanding the terrible de- 
feats endured by him under the government 
of Mr. Vansittart, and his humiliated position 
to Lord Clive, he began a new system of in- 
trigues almost as soon as Mr. Verelst was 
called into power. He first endeavoured, by 
intimidation, to compel the King of Delhi to 
surrender to him the fortress, city, and dis- 
trict of Allahabad. His majesty refused to 
do so, rightly judging that any attempt on the 
part of his rebellious vizier to seize the coveted 
territory, would bring the English upon him. 
The vizier apprehending the same result 
should he seize the place, had the audacity 
to attempt the corruption of a British officer. 
Colonel Smith had remained with a British 
brigade at Allahabad since the Lahore rajah 
had made his incursion upon the King of 

* Ent/Ush Goi-eniment in Bengal. By II. Verelst, 
Loudon, 1 772. 

t BrilM Power in India, Auber, vol. i. chop. iv. 
p. 182. 



Chap. LXXVIIL] 



IN INDIA AND THE PJAST. 






Delhi'3 dominions. The vizier repaired to 
the colonel, offering a large reward, and to 
swear eternal fidelity upon the Koran, if that 
otiicer would co-operate in delivering the 
fortress into his hands. The colonel, of 
course, communicated these facts to his go- 
vernment ; and measures were taken to com- 
pel the vizier to reduce the army which he 
maintained as the Nabob of Oude. This 
purpose was effected after troublesome nego- 
tiations; and menaces which, if not executed, 
would have exposed the British to contempt, 
but the execution of which, had the nabob 
resisted, would have involved much expense 
and bloodshed, and probably new warlike 
combinations against the British. 

There was a disposition to negotiate with 
the native princes under menaces, which ex- 
posed the council to alternatives similar to 
those which depended upon their failure with 
tlie Nabob of Oude, had they been so unfor- 
tunate as not to engage him to their demands. 
There was also a disposition on the part of 
the council at Calcutta to mix in petty dis- 
putes, in the hope by dispossessing one weak 
rajah after another of his territory, to grasp 
more for the company. Among minor in- 
stances of this, there was one which concerned 
the Kajah of Hindooput, which very unfa- 
vourably impressed the company at home. 

In view of the diplomatic meddling which 
so much engaged the council and Mr. Verelst, 
the directors wrote a despatch which was one 
of the most enlightened ever directed to India. 
It is probable that the opinions of Clive and 
Hastings found expression in these documents. 
One was written on May the 11th, 17G9, the 
other in June. The following are extracts : 
— " We have constantly enjoined you to 
avoid every measure that might lead you 
into further connections, and have recom- 
mended yoxi to use your utmost endeavour 
to keep peace in Bengal and with the neigh- 
bouring powers ; and you, on your part, have 
not been wanting in assurances of your reso- 
lution to conform to these our wishes. Yet, 
in the very instructions which you have given 
to the deputies sent up to Sujah Dowlah with 
professions of friendsliip, you have inserted 
an article, which will not only give fresh 
cause of jealousy to Sujah Dowlah, but en- 
gages you likewise in disputes with powers 
still more distant. We mean the article 
whereby they are directed to apply to the 
king for a grant of two or three circars, 
which belonged, you say, originally to the 
Eliabad province, but were unlawfully pos- 
sessed, some time since, by the Hindooput 
rajah. Is it our business to inquire into the 
rights of the Hindooput rajah, and the usurp- 
ations he may have made upon others? And, 



supposing the fact to have been proved, does 
such an injustice on his part give us any 
claim to the disputed districts ? If the districts 
in question belong to the Eliabad province, 
they are a part of Sujah Dowlah's undoubted 
inheritance ; and, supposing him to waive his 
right, you cannot send a man nor a gun for 
the defence of these new acquisitions without 
passing through his country, which will be a 
perpetual source of dispute and complaint. 
Nor does the mischief stop here. The Hin- 
dooput rajah, who, by all accounts, is rich, 
will naturally endeavour to form alliances, to 
defend himself against this unexpected attack 
of the English. Then you will say your 
honour is engaged, and the army is to be led 
against other powers still more distant. You 
say nothing in your letters of this very es- 
sential article of your instructions to the de- 
puties. In several of our letters, since we 
have been engaged as principals in the politics 
of India, and particularly during the last two 
or three years, we have given it as our opinion, 
that the most prudent system we could pursue 
and the most likely to be attended witii a 
permanent security to our possessions, would 
be to incline to those few chiefs of Ilindoostan 
who yet preserve an independence of the 
Mahratta power, and are in a condition to 
struggle with them ; for so long as they are 
able to keep up that struggle, the acquisitions 
of the company will run the less risk of dis- 
turbance. The Rohillas, the Jauts, the Nabob 
of the Deccan, the Nabob of Oude, and the 
Mysore chief, have each in their turn kept 
the Mahrattas in action, and we wish theni 
still to be able to do it ; it is, therefore, with 
great concern we see the war continuing with 
Hyder Naigue, and a probability of a rupture 
with Sujah Dowlah and Nizam Ally. In such 
wars, we have everything to lose, and nothing 
to gain : for, supposing our operations be at- 
tended with the utmost success, and our ene- 
mies reduced to ^ur mercy, we can only wish 
to see them restored to the condition from 
which they set out; that is, to such a degree 
of force and independence as may enable 
them still to keep up the contest with the 
Mahrattas and with each other. It would 
give us, therefore, the greatest satisfaction to 
hear that matters are accommodated, both at 
Bengal and on the coast : and in case such a 
happy event shall have taken place, you will 
do your utmost to preserve the tranquillity." 
In July, 17C9, the bad faith of the French 
involved the council in anxieties. The French 
at Chandernagorc opened a deep ditch around 
the town, under the pretence of repairing a 
drain. This work was followed by others, 
which were intended to put the place in a 
position of defence, in contravention of the 



306 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXVIII. 



eleventh article of the treaty of peace. The 
English government at Calcutta remonstrated 
and protested. The French carried on the 
works with'greater energy. The council or- 
dered their destruction. The French govern- 
ment made representations to the court of 
London, that the works were sanitary and 
not warlike, and complained bitterly of the 
unreasonable jealousy of the company's ser- 
vants. Either these representations were hy- 
pocritical and false, or the French government 
was imposed upon by the French East India 
Company. The latter supposition is not pro- 
bable. The French government pretended to 
have causes for complaint, as it had determined, 
upon the first favourable opportunity, to endea- 
vour to regain its lost ground in the East. In 
the letter of the court of directors to the council 
of Bengal, dated the 27th of June, 1770, the 
result of the complaint of the French court to 
that of St. James is thus stated : — " His ma- 
jesty has constituted Sir John Lindsay his 
plenipotentiary for examining into the supposed 
infractions of the late treaty of peace : you 
will afford him the necessary information and 
assistance, whereby he may be enabled to an- 
swer the complaints of the French plenipo-' 
tentiary, to justify your conduct, and to defend 
those rights of the British crown which were 
obtained by express stipulation in the treaty 
of Paris, and which appear to have been in- 
vaded by the proceedings of the French at 
Ohandernagore." 

Sir John Lindsay was not disposed to re- 
gard matters in a light unfavourable to France, 
and much unseemly discussion between the 
servants of the company and the servants of 
the crown arose out of the appointment of Sir 
John. The council was imdoubtedly justified 
in complaining of an infraction of treaty, and 
in enforcing the observance of it, results 
proved that the opinion they formed of the 
temper and intentions of the French from their 
proceedings in the matter ©f dispute, was 
well founded. The year 1770 opened with 
important changes in connection with Bengal, 
and with the surrounding states intimately 
related to it. Mr. Cartier began his career as 
president. Brigadier-general Smith resigned 
his command in December, 1769, and Sir 
Robert Barker took his place. Sujah-ad- 
Dovvlah, the Nabob of Oude, who had lost the 
king's confidence, v?as, by a series of inge- 
nious intrigues on his part, reinstated in 
favour, and was again in full power as vizier 
of the empire. One of the imperial princes 
married the nabob's daughter, still farther 
promoting the vizier's power. These official 
and political changes took place, not noise- 
lessly, but without war. There were com- 
motions at Allahabad, and mutinies of the 



troops of the empire and of Oude ; yet these 
important transactions were accomplished 
without battle, and the coUisions of thrones 
and states. Amidst the rapid vicissitudes 
thus brought about, Meer Cossim, so long 
hidden from the observations of the different 
governments, emerged from his obscurity. 
The Ranee of Gohud invited him from the 
Rohilla country to Gwalior. The vizier knew 
his movements, and supported them. He 
committed the foolish king to a correspond- 
ence with him. Mahrattas, Jauts, Sikhs, and 
Rajpoots, were engaged in a confederacy to 
support the part of the new actor upon the 
great political stage. Motions of the various 
parties were like the moves upon a chess- 
board, where the players are equal and the 
game is drawn. There were demonstrations 
which portended the accomplishment of the 
views of each of the various parties in turn, 
but none obtained the advantages meditated. 
The French were unostentatiously influencing 
all parties against the English, but their posi- 
tion was one of such commanding strength 
that none dared to strike the first blow. The 
English remained firm and unyielding. As 
the rock, flinging back the rays of the torrid 
sun, frowning upon the angry waves breaking 
against it, and silent and settled while the 
tempest sweeps around, so English power in 
Bengal presented a sturdy, noiseless front 
to the combination of distinct but blended, or 
concussing, elements of political ambition and 
power whicli were gathered around. Band 
after band of Rohilla, Rajpoot, Mahratta, 
Sikli, and Jaut, moved about in concert, or 
in conflict, as waves tossed upon waves in a 
storm-smitten sea, to be confused and broken. 

In March, 1769, the soubahdar of Bengal 
died of small-pox, and a younger brother, ten 
years of age, reigned in his stead. Later in 
the year Rajah Bulwant Sing died at Benares, 
and was succeeded by Cheyt Sing. 

In 1770, the rapid and victorious move- 
ments of the Mahrattas caused much uneasi- 
ness in Bengal. The menacing attitude which 
they assumed brought out circumstances 
which afforded fresh proofs of the weakness 
and folly of the king, and the perfidy of his 
vizier. Partly through the good faith of some 
of the Mahratta generals, and probably as 
much from the fear which the English inspired 
among the rest, no inroad was made upon 
Bengal. The spirit displayed by the French 
in fortifying Chandernagore in the early part 
of the previous year pervaded their conduct 
during that of which we write. They seemed 
anxious to bring about a rupture between 
France and England in the hope that, if the 
English were distracted by a European war, 
the French in India might form such alliances 



Chap. LXXVIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



307 



•witli the native governments as would turn 
the scale of power against the English. 

The Mahrattas, however, unwilling to at- 
tack the English, harassed their real and 
pretended allies, and at last seized upon por- 
tions of the King of Delhi's territories and of 
those of the Nabob of Oude. The council at 
Calcutta resolved to interfere. The force at 
Dinagepore was ordered to march to the 
banks of the Caramnassa, and the garrison at 
Allahabad was reinforced, while two of the 
king's battalions quartered there marched to 
the points most in danger from the enemy. 
The Mahrattas laid siege to Ferokabad, but 
being deficient in material, they turned the 
Biege into a blockade. The arrangements of 
the English caused the blockade to be raised 
without a blow being struck. The Mahrattas, 
however, departed in many separate bodies, 
taking various routes, as if determined to fall 
upon many different places at once, and, by 
a series of masterly movements and rapid 
inarches, aU these divisions converged upon 
Delhi, which was captured by a coup de main. 
The English afterwards received tidings which 
proved to be true, that this feat was not quite 
so brilliant as it appeared to be : the king 
himself having conspired against his own 
government, incredible as such a policy may 
appear. His majesty, fearing that the vic- 
torious marauders would proclaim shah-zada 
in his room, adopted this strange course to 
prevent sucli a catastrophe. He even hoped 
that, when in the power of the Mahrattas, 
they would find it their interest to act in 
alliance with him, and that his intricate mea- 
sures would issue in the fulfihnent of his 
long-cherished and romantic desire of reign- 
ing in Delhi instead of Allahabad, and of 
sitting upon the throne of his ancestors un- 
molested. The vizier, opposed to this mea- 
sure, deemed it politic to concur, and joined 
bis forces as Nabob of Oude to those of his 
majesty. The king and his vizier having 
come to terms with their enemies in a manner 
so unprecedented even in the fickle policy of 
Indian states, the company's territory not 
being attacked, and his majesty and the 
vizier declaring not only peace but friend- 
ship, the English had no pretence for war, 
but endeavoured by negotiation to obtain 
various strong posts, which they represented 
to his majesty were rendered necessary to 
their security by his majesty's own strange 
proceedings. 

In the month of April, 1772, Mr. Cartier 
retired from the government of Bengal, and 
Warren Hastings, then a member of council 
at Madras, was appointed to the government. 
There was no other man in India so fit for the 
important post, nor in England, except Clive. 



Before noticing the events of Mr. Hastings' 
government, some notice of his career since 
he had left Bengal is here appropriate. It 
lias been already shown that his conduct in 
India had been most honourable and humane, 
although his temptations were at least as nu- 
merous and pressing as those before which 
so many fell degraded. Lord Macaulay, in 
his celebrated essay on Warren Hastings, 
strangely asserts that little was heard of him 
up to the period of his leaving India with 
Mr. Vansittart. Had little been heard of 
him during that time, he probably never 
would have become governor of Bengal ; 
certainly he would never have been the 
ruler of British India. During the whole 
period of his residence in Bengal he had 
been a noticeable person. In every meeting 
of council, while Mr. Vansittart administered 
the government, Mr. Hastings distinguished 
himself by the purity of his motives, the 
soundness of his policy, and a remarkable 
foresight. He had read the native character 
profoundly, had acquainted himself with the 
literature of the East extensively, and had 
studied political and administrative science 
con amove. He was well known to the native 
governments and the company's servants in 
India as a man of genius, and the directors 
and proprietary at home considered him to 
be a man of superior capacity before he had 
left Bengal. 

When he returned to England, his time 
was chiefly occupied in retirement, medita- 
tion, liberal studies, and in recruiting his 
health. He did all in his power to encourage 
the study of oriental literature in England; 
and engaged the celebrated Dr. Johnson to 
some extent in his views; at all events, he 
left impressions of his own genius and learn- 
ing upon the mind of that great man, to which 
the latter afterwards referred with pleasure. 

As Hastings had not enriched himself like 
other " returned Indians," his pecuniary re- 
sources were small ; and he became so em- 
barrassed that he was compelled to solicit 
employment from the East India Company. 
They were very glad to make such valuable 
services available ; and liaving paid the 
highest tribute to his talents and integrity 
which language could convey, they appointed 
him member of council in Madras. All his 
little savings had been invested for the bene- 
fit of his poor relatives, to whom, like Clive, 
he manifested the most noble generosity and 
ardent affection. He was from this circum- 
stance compelled to borrow money to enable 
him to depart in a manner sufficiently re- 
spectable to the high post to which he was 
designated. 

In the spring of 1769 he embarked for 



808 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXIX. 



Madras. The voyage was replete with ro- 
mantic incident, which left a lasting impres- 
sion upon the mind and heart of Hastings. 
It is doubtful whether the connexion of an 
amatory kind — so much to his discredit — ■ 
formed on board the Duhe of Grafton, did 
not exercise an unfavourable influence over 
his whole moral nature, and over his future 
career. His character certainly never after- 
wards appeared in so favourable a light 
as it had before, although his talent shone 
out more conspicuously. His moral de- 
linquency could not obscure the brilliancy 
of his genius — even the sun has spots upon 
its disc. When Hastings arrived at Madras, 
he found the company's affairs in a seriously 
disorganized condition. Lord Macaulay de- 
Bcribes with perfect precision the state of J 
things, and the relation which Hastings bore 1 
to them, when he wrote, " His own tastes j 
would have led him to political rather than , 



to commercial pursuits ; but he knew that 
the favour of his employers chiefly depended 
upon their dividends, and that their dividends 
depended chiefly on the investment. He 
therefore, with groat judgment, determined 
to employ his vigorous mind for a time to 
this department of business, which had been 
much neglected since the servants of the 
company had ceased to be clerks, and had 
become warriors and negotiators. In a. very 
few months he effected an important reforni. 
The directors notified to him tlieir high ap- 
probation, and were so much pleased with his 
conduct, that they determined to ])lace him at 
the head of the government of Bengal." 

In this position matters must be left in the 
chief presidency, while the reader's attention 
is turned once more to the Caruatic, and to 
the regions of Mysore, whose prince then filled 
so large a space and held so great a name in 
Indian reputation. 



CHAPTER LXXIX. 

BOMB.VY AND MADRAS- EVENTS CONNECTED WITH THOSE PRESIDENCIES TO 1775. 



DuiiiKG the period the history of which in 
Bengal has been already related, Bombay was 
the scene of comparatively few incidents of 
importance, except those which were connected 
with Hyder Ali, whose exploits will be the 
subject of a separate chapter. After the 
destruction of the pirates of Gheria, by Com- 
modore James and Colonel Clive, in 176G, 
the presidency experienced comparatively 
little trouble from marauders of that descrip- 
tion for some years. By degrees the Alal- 
war jiirates acquired strength and boldness, 
causing alarm to the merchants, and injury to 
their commerce. In January, 17G5, it was 
resolved to put an end to those apprehensions 
and injuries by an attack upon the robbers in 
their stronghold, which was successfully exe- 
cuted ; and the fort of Rareo, in the southern 
Concan, was captured. By this conquest 
security was obtained for mercantile ships, 
and country boats for many years. The 
vicinity of the Mahrattas, and the increasing 
power of that confederacy, made them espe- 
cially formidable to Bombay, although Madras 
and Bengal were also much harassed by their 
fitful and predatory movements against sur- 
rounding native states. The Bengal govern- 
ment was disposed to unite with those of the 
other presidencies in a combined attack upon 
the Mahratta power, but the Bombay council 
wisely represented that the Mahrattas on the 



I Bengal frontier acted independent!}' of the 
government of Poonah, that an attack upon 
I any would constrain a combination of all the 
' ]\Iahratta chiefs, and that such a combination 
would prove far too formidable for the Eng- 
lish to attack it with any hope of success, 
especially as it was likely other native forces 
would join the enemy. These arguments 
prevailed, and the formidable Mahrattas were 
allowed to develop their resources and power 
unchecked by the English, except when ag- 
gressions upon native governments in alliance 
with the English brought the troops of the 
latter into the field, or their political agents 
into action. 

In May, 1763, Hyder Ali, or Hyder Naigne, 
as he was frequently then called, attracted the 
very serious attention of the Bombay govern- 
ment. Previous to this date he had put forth 
considerable power. He had taken Bednore, 
Mangalorc, and Onore, and his advance into 
Concan, had struck the country with terror. 
The obvious aim of Hyder was to bring the 
sea forts into subjection, and in doing bo he 
professed to act in conformity with the 
interests of the company, by putting down 
piracy, preventing its revival, and offering new 
points for the conduct of legitimate trade. On 
the 27th of May, he made a treaty* with 
the council of Bombay, by which they were 
* Pnnted Treaties, p. 518. 



Chap. LXXIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



309 



allovveil to erect a factory at Onoro, a place 
nftorwanls vondered famous by a siege. He 
also aft'ovded them various valuable commercial 
privileges. In return he demanded seven 
thousand stand of arms. This placed the 
council in great difficulty, for the company 
had issued strict orders against supplying the 
country powers with arms ; yet, if tlie council 
liad refused compliance, Hyder would have 
inferred that they distrusted and feared him, 
or that they had ultimate designs against his 
territory or power. The council endeavoured 
by half measures to avoid the difficulty ; they 
supplied him with five hundred stand of arms, 
and by so doing dissatisfied both him and the 
company. The latter rebuked the council, 
and renewed, iu stern language, their previous 
prohibitions against affording arms to native 
princes on any grounds or pretexts, except 
v.'hen allies in actual war. Hyder was dis- 
gusted at receiving about one-fourteenth of 
the number of muskets which he liad re- 
quested, and being vindictive and suspicious, 
he cherished a bad feeling to the council, 
which he deemed it politic to suppress, al- 
though he took no trouble to conceal his dis- 
appointment and his doubts of the friendliness 
of the Bombay government. Hyder, how- 
ever, still pressed for arms from the council, 
and his demands were complied with. The 
directors, in referring to tlieir objections to 
providing native powers with musketry that 
might prove ultimately hostile, were very 
particular and authoritative in ordering that 
no cannon should be given or sold to them, 
and that none of the coast powers should be 
aided in obtaining ships of war. The council 
of Bombay was nearly as prone as that of 
Bengal to set the judgment of the company at 
defiance, where vanity, interest, or ambition, 
prompted a course opposed to the directors. 
Notwithstanding the most distinct, and even 
angry orders, from the directors to the con- 
trary, the council permitted Hyder to pur- 
chase ordnance, and to build a ship of war 
at Bombay, to enable him to check the Mah- 
rattas, and other freebooters. Hyder was 
himself the greatest freebooter in India, and 
soon made the council to understand that they 
had armed him for their own injury. The 
Mahrattas — who were as eager to rob Hyder, 
as they were to rob every one else, and he 
was to lobthem and all others — were intensely 
indignant at the conduct of the council. Thus 
this body, by its short-sighted policy, armed 
actual enemies nnder the guise of friendship, 
and in doing so raised up new enemies. 
Their proceedings towards this powerful man 
were full of contradiction. At one time they 
encouraged the Mahrattas against him, and 
at another supplied him with arms against 
VOL. :i. 



them, notwithstanding renewed orders from 
the directors, in the most specific terms, not to 
do so. After all, they wrote to Madras in 
17GG, while professing friendship with Hyder, 
requesting the council there to join them in 
attacking him.* The Madras government 
was unwilling to incur such a risk, because of 
the advantageous military position held by 
Hyder, and from fear that Nizam Ali would 
form a junction with him. The Madras 
council were also of opinion that Hyder acted 
as a useful check to the Mahrattas. Upon 
learning the opinions prevalent at Madras, 
instead of an attack upon the bold adven- 
turer, the Bombay government proposed a 
treaty of peace. According to this treaty he 
was to receive annually between three or four 
thousand muskets, the council persisting in 
its defiance of the company's orders. The 
council demanded payment of all monies due 
to it by the rajahs which he bad conquered, 
and especial trading privileges, of course, to 
the exclusion of all other European nations. 
Hydor eagerly grasped at one of the pro- 
posals — that he and the English should mu- 
tually furnish troops when the territory of 
cither was menaced. It is probable that the 
council never intended to fulfil all their part of 
this stipulation, and supposed themselves to 
be the ingenious fabricators of a very clever 
trick. At all events, subsequent facts give 
colour to this supposition. 

In 1768, after war between Hyder and the 
English in India had been for some time 
waged, they had to renew the treaty under cer- 
tain modifications, — Hyder still stipulating for 
warlike stores, the council repeating its con- 
cessions on this point, and the directors in 
London disallowing and protesting against 
all acts performed by their servants which 
involved grants of arras and ammunition to 
native powers. The ground of objection 
taken by the honourable court in this par- 
ticular case was, that by such a treaty stipu- 
lation Hyder was enabled to add to his 
military means, and thereby prepare for the 
first moment favourable to himself to act 
against the English, alone, or in alliance with 
other native powers. The views of the di- 
rectors at home were wise and far seeing ; 
generally they were so when opposed to their 
servants at the presidencies. Except in cases 
where men of great or extraordinary genius, 
such as Clive and Hastings, represented the 
company's interests in India, the judgment of 
the directors at home was far more sagacious 
than that of their governors or councils. 

On the 23rd of February, 1771, Mr. Hodges, 
the president of Bombay, died, and was suc- 
ceeded by Mr. Hornby. On the 7th of March, 
* Consullatioiis, June 1700. 



310 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[CirAP. LXXIX, 



Hyder was beaten in a sangninary conflict with 
the Mahrattas ; and he apphed to the council 
for help. They were unable to afford it. He 
felt that he was deceived, and cherished a 
feeling of vengeance in his heart against 
those whom he considered his betrayers. The 
council declared that, although without men 
or money to spare, they would send him five 
hundred muskets and four twenty-pound guns. 
Subsequently, the council acknowledged itself 
willing to aid him with five hundred Euro- 
peans and twelve hundred sepoys, if he paid 
five lacsof pagodas for them, thus exasperating 
him yet more. Triumphing over his Mahratta 
foes, so far as to make it their interest to 
accept tribute and depart from his dominions, 
he repeatedly declared that a day of reckon- 
ing between him and the English, who had 
so often deceived him, would yet come. 

In July, 1771, the Nabob of Baroch, un- 
sought, repaired to Bombay, and concluded a 
treaty with the council, by which they were 
entitled to have a factory at his capital. This 
treaty was not signed until the last day in No- 
vember, and it amounted to an alliance offen- 
sive and defensive. The nabob had gone to 
Bombay, for the purpose of engaging the coun- 
cil in his interests ; and with the intention, at 
the same time, of betraying them whenever his 
interests in so doing might appear. He soon 
violated all thestipulationsof the treaty, and the 
council recalled their resident from his court. 
This step was followed up by a military ex- 
pedition against him, which was dispatched 
from Bombay under Mr. Watson, " the su- 
perintendent of marine," and Brigadier-gene- 
ral Wedderburn. The troops departed from 
Bombay November the 2nd. On tlie 14th, 
General Wedderburn reconnoitered the place, 
and was killed while so doing. On the IGth, 
batteries were opened against it, and on the 
IStli it was taken by storm. The loss of the 
English was considerable, especially in officers, 
of whom five were killed, exclusive of the 
general and a cadet, and six were wounded. 

The council having concluded a treaty with 
Futty Sing Guicowar, the spoils were divided 
between that chief and the company. Besides 
the i)rize of the city, the revenues amounted 
to seven lacs of rupees. 

In the year 1772, special negotiations were 
opened with the court of Poonah, for the ac- 
quisition of Salsette, Bassein, and Caranga. 
These were of extreme importance, as their 
possession by an enemy endangered Bom- 
bay itself. Mhade Rao, who then governed 
the Mahrattas, knew the value of these places 
as well as the English, and refused to cede 
them at any price. That chief died in No- 
vember, and was succeeded by his brother 
Narraiu Rao. In August, 1773, Narrain was 



murdered in his palace of Poonah, by the agents 
of Ragoba, his uncle, who was at once pro- 
claimed. This chief determined to make war 
upon the Carnatic, not, it would seem, to make 
a permanent conquest, but "to carry chout." 
Ui)on proceeding for this purpose with his 
army, a revolution took place in his capital, 
which he had to hurry back and suppress. 
The council resorted to means which were at 
least of questionable policy and justice, to 
induce Ragoba to cede Salsette and Bassein, 
but were again defeated. The feuds then 
existing among the Mahratta chiefs caused 
the negotiations of the English and their 
apparent support of Ragoba in several of his 
misdeeds, to be regarded with prejudice by 
various powerful chiefs, and laid the founda- 
tions of troubles to come. During the nego- 
tiations with Ragoba, the council learned 
that the Portuguese contemplated the con- 
quest of Salsette. The council resolved to 
seize the island, or, as they represented the 
matter, to make available the disposition of 
the inhabitants to surrender it to them. Ou 
the 12th of December, 1774, the forces left 
Bombay. On the 28th, the fort of Tannat 
was taken by storm, but not without great 
loss, Commodore Watson being numbered 
among the slain. The Mahrattas fought des- 
perately, but British skill and valour con- 
quered. A monument was erected at Bom- 
bay to the memory of the gallant Watson. 

The first matter of great concern to the 
council of Madras, during the period which 
has been already noticed in reference to 
Bengal and Bombay, was the settlement of 
the Northern Circars. The French having 
resumed their possessions in India, in conse- 
quence of the treaty of peace in Europe, the 
president of Madras, in 17tJ5, suggested to 
Olive, then in Bengal, the desirableness of 
procuring from the Mogul sumnids for the 
circars of Rajah, Mundry, Ellore, Musta- 
phanagur, Chicacole, and Coudavir or Gun- 
toor. On the 14th of October, the council of 
Madras informed the directors, that at the 
request of Mr. Palk, president of Fort St. 
George, Lord Clive had obtained the sum- 
nids from the Mogul. Differences arose 
with the soubahdar of the Deccan as to the 
occupation of the circars, and a treaty was 
formed with his highness, by which he recog- 
nised that occupation, on condition of military 
aid in the defence of his own territory, or of 
war occurring between him and any other 
potentate. Clive appears to have acquiesced 
in this arrangement, and even to have pro- 
moted it, although it was contrary to the 
policy the directors had ordered to be pursued. 
The councils of the three presidencies had 
now involved themselves in treaties with all 



Chap. LXXIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



311 



the surromiding chiefs which were incorapa- 
til)le, and impracticable, involving the con- 
stant peril of war, and of breach of faith. It 
was next to impossible that the English conld 
either engage in any of the native disputes, 
or refrain from doing so, without loss of 
honour. By disobedience to the simple and 
honest policy imposed by the court of direc- 
tors, tlie agents in India had involved the 
company in complications which were inex- 
tricable. The letters from the directors on 
receipt of the intelligence of the treaty with 
the soubahdar of the Deccan, are full of sense 
and spirit, and lay down principles that are 
indisputably just, for the conduct of their 
servants in all dealings with the native 
powers. 

The council at lladras was exposed to 
great anxiety during 176G from the progress 
and ambition of Hyder Ali. Hia troops 
commanded all the passes from the upper 
country into the Carnatic. His cavalry ho- 
vered about like birds of prey, and it was 
reported that he had obtained a sumnid 
from the soubahdar of the Deccan for his 
own possession of the Carnatic. Hyder's 
manoeuvres were as treacherous as those of 
the soubahdar, and as cunning as those of 
that ruler were weak. The Madras council 
was now obliged to adopt vigorous measures 
in regard to Hyder. They sent troops into 
various refractory districts where his agents 
had excited the polygars to revolt. They 
formed a new covenant with the soubahdar 
of the Deccan, in virtue of which he consented 
to dismiss his army, called by the directors 
"a useless rabble," and to allow hia places of 
strength to be garrisoned by the British. It 
is probable that his highness had no intention 
of acting upon this covenant beyond a certain 
show of doing so in the first instance, for the 
stipulation was never properly carried into 
effect. The soubahdar was without honour 
or principle, and was ready to unite with 
Hyder or the Mahrattas against the company, 
as either might offer him the higher pecuniary 
inducement. Hyder, having settled for the 
time his differences with the Mahrattas, found 
means of inducing the soubahdar to join him 
in hostilities against the English. A war 
now broke out of a most formidable nature, in 
■which the Mysorean freebooter made able use 
of the vast amount of arms and military stores 
with which the Bombay council, probably in 
view of their own profit, had supplied him, in 
spite of the company's orders to the contrary. 
The war itself must be treated in a separate 
chapter. The council of Madras opened a 
correspondence with that of Bombay for con- 
sultation as to mutual defence, as well as the 
separate action of each presidency upon a 



common plan. The policy of the Madras 
government, and its opinion of the crisis, were 
set forth in its despatches to the directors. It 
urged upon the company the absolute neces- 
sity of subduing Hyder, if the peace of the 
Carnatic were to be secured. The chief ap- 
prehension of the Madras government as to 
Hyder was thus expressed : — " It is not only 
his troublesome disposition and ambitious 
views now that we have to apprehend, but 
that he may at a favourable opportunity, or 
in some future war, take the French by the 
hand, to re-establish their affairs, — which 
cannot fail to be of the worst consequence to 
your possessions on the coast. He has money 
to pay them, and they can spare and assemble 
troops at the islands, and it is reported that 
he has already made proposals by despatches 
to the French king or company in Europe."* 

Meanwhile, the indefatigable Hyder threat- 
ened Madras itself, when the council thus 
wrote to the directors : — " The continual re- 
inforcements we had sent to camp had reduced 
our garrison so low, we were obliged to con- 
fine onr attention entirely to the preservation 
of the Fort and the Black Town, for ^^■hich 
purpose it was necessary to arm all the com- 
pany's civil servants, the European inha- 
bitants, Armenians, and Portuguese." On 
the 29th September, when the enemy moved 
off, the council again wrote : — " As it is un- 
certain when the troubles we are engaged in 
will end, and as we must in the course of the 
war expect to have many Europeans sick, we 
m>i8t earnestly request you to send out as 
large reinforcements as possible." This letter 
reached the court by the Hector on the 22nd 
April, 1768. The reply was one of the most 
masterly despatches ever sent to India. The 
principles and policy it expresses do honour 
to the company, and refute many calumnies 
as to their territorial aggrandizement. The 
company was not served by men able or 
honest enough to carry out the views of the 
directors, who thus wrote : — 

" The alarming state of our affairs under 
your conduct, regarding the military operations 
against the soubahdar of the Deccan, joined 
with Hyder Ali, and the measures in agita- 
tion witii the Mahrattas in consequence thereof, 
requiring our most immediate consideration, 
we have therefore determined on this over- 
laud conveyance by the way of Bussorah, as 
the most expeditious way of giving our sen- 
timents to you on those important subjects. 

" In our separate letter of the 25th March, 
we gave you our sentiments very fully on 
your treaty with the soubahdar of the Deccan. 

" After having for successive years given 
it as your opinion, confirmed by our appro- 
* Letter to Court, 2l8t September, 1767. 



312 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXIX. 



bation, that maintaining an army for tlie 
support of the soubahdar of the Deccan was 
endangering the Carnatic, and would tend to 
involve us in wars, and distant and expensive 
operations, and the grant of the circars was 
not to be accej>ted on such terms, you at once 
engage in that support, and send an army 
superior to that which, in the year 17G4, you 
declared would endanger your own safety. 

" The quick succession of important events 
in Indian wars puts it out of our power to 
direct your measures. AVe can only give 
you the outlines of that system which we 
judge most conducive to give permanency 
and tranquillitj' to our possessions. 

"Wo should have hoped that the experience 
of what has passed in Bengal would have sug- 
gested the proper conduct to you : we mean, 
when our servants, after the battle of Buxar,* 
})rojccted the extirpation of Sujah Dowlah from 
his dominions, and the giving them up to the 
Idng. Lord Olive soon discerned, the king 
would have been unable to maintain them, 
and that it would have broken down the 
strongest barriers against the Mahrattas and 
the northern powers, and therefore wisely 
restored Sujah Dowlah to his dominions.f 
Such, too, should be your conduct with re- 
spect to the nizamj and Hyder Ali, neither 
of whom it is our interest should be totally 
crushed. 

" The dowannee of Bengal, Bahar, and 
Orissa, with the possessions we hold in 
those provinces, arc the utmost limits of our 
views on that side of India. On the coast, 
the protection of the Carnatic and the posses- 
sion of the circars, free from all engagements 
t<5 support the soubahdar of the Deccan, or even 
without the circars, preserving only influence 
enough over any country power who may 
hold them, to keep the French from settling 
in them ; and, on the Bombay side, the de- 
pendencies thereon, the possessions of Salsette, 
Bassein, and the castle of Surat. The pro- 
tection of these is easily within the reach of 
our power, and may mutually support each 
other, without any country alliance whatever. 
If wo pass these bounds, wo shall bo led on 
from one acquisition to another, till we shall 
find no security but in the subjection of the 
whole, which, by dividing your force, would 
lose us the whole, and end in our extirpation" 
from Hindostan. 

" JIuch has been wrote from you and from 
our servants at Bengal, on the necessity of 
cheeking the Mahrattas, which may in some 

* Rccordecl in a previous chapter. 

t An account of these transactions has heen given in a 
previous chapter. 

t The word nizam is used interchangeably with sonbah 
aud soubahdar in Indian despatches and state papers. 



degree be proper ; but it is not for the com- 
pany to take the part of umpires of Hindostan. 
If it had not been for the imprudent measures 
you have taken, the country powers would 
have formed a balance of power among them- 
selves, and their divisions would have left you 
in peace ; but if at any time the thirst for 
plunder should urge the Mahrattas to invade 
our possessions, they can be checked only by 
carrying tiie war into their own country. It 
is with this view that we last year sent out 
field-officers to our presidency at Bombay, 
and put their military force on a respectable 
footing ; and when once the Jlahrattas under- 
stand that to be our plan, we have reason to 
think they will not wantonly attack us. 

" You will observe by the whole tenour of 
these despatches, that our views are not to 
enter into offensive wars in India, or to make 
further acquisitions beyond our present pos- 
sessions. We do not wish to enter into any 
engagements which may be productive of 
enormous expenses, and which are seldom 
calculated to promote the compiany's essential 
interests. On the contrary, we wish to see 
the present Indian powers remain as a check 
one upon another, without our interfering ; 
therefore, we recommend to you, so soon as 
possible, to bring about a peace upon terms 
of the most perfect moderation on the part of 
the company, and when made, to adhere to it 
upon all future occasions, except when the 
company's possessions are actually attacked ; 
and not to be provoked by fresh disturbances 
of the country powers to enter into new 
wars."* 

The die was cast as to hostilities with 
Hyder ; both the Madras and Bombay go- 
vernments were in collision with him, and 
Bengal sent such assistance as was deemed 
judicious and practicable. 

When, at last, a treaty was made with 
Hyder, the Circars, which had never been 
fairly brought under the company's manage- 
ment, were placed by the council under its 
sole control, the zemindars and other great 
landholders offering violent opposition. In 
17G9, however, the subjugation of this refrac- 
tory spirit was effected, and the company 
made such arrangements as to its lands as 
suited its own interests. The introductiou 
of English law to Madras proved a source of 
contest and confusion, the natives utterly de- 
testing it, and the English using it against 
the natives as a means of oppression. M. 
Auber describes the folly displayed in working 
English institutions, and the turmoil attending 
it, in the following terms : — " At a moment 
when the company's affairs on the coast de- 
manded the utmost attention of the council ; 
* Court's Letter, dated the 13th of May, 1768. 



CiiAP. LXXIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



313 



wlieu the whole of the country from Tinne- 
velly to the Kietiia was involved iu troubles, 
and when the enemy were ravaging the Car- 
natic. the council were liarasscd by the violent 
and litigious proceedings of some members of 
the grand jury, who obstinately persevered 
in pressing matters and presentments, which 
threw the settlement into contentions and 
embarrassments ; whilst, on other occasions, 
they declined to make a return to any of the 
bills of indictment brought before them. The 
jurisdiction of the mayor's court, under the 
charter, became matter of doubt and dispute ; 
the one party construing the word factory in 
the most extensive latitude, the other taking 
it in its literal and strict sense." 

Suspicions began to be entertained that the 
French were instigating Hyder and the nizam 
against the English. As soon as the peace with 
France restored to that nation its Indian pos- 
sessions which had been conquered, symp- 
toms of a preconceived determination to gain 
power were evinced. These were slowly, 
but surely, developed : still the company's 
servants felt no apprehensions, tlio French 
beiug relatively weak ; moreover, the rapid 
piassage of events between the English and 
the native princes diverted the councils of 
Bombay and Madras from noticing the pro- 
cedure of their old competitors for power. 

In 17G!J the French made various demon- 
strations of a nature to lead to the conclusion 
that hostile movements against the English 
were contemplated. Pondicherry was for- 
tified, under the jjretence of its being in 
danger from the country powers. Pretexts 
for fortifying the factories in Bengal were 
also put forward, as noticed in a previous chap- 
ter. These simultaneous efforts to strengthen 
their positions, when there was really no 
enemy, awakened the suspicions of the Eng- 
lish. Two French transports, of large capa- 
city, had proceeded to the Cape of Good 
Hope for provisions. Tidings came from 
the ^Mauritius that French ships, full of men 
and military stores, had been seen there. A 
new settlement was made on the eastern 
coast of Madagascar, which, from the accounts 
forwarded of it to Madras, was intended as a 
military depot, both for men and munitions of 
war destined for employment in the East. 
From the Archipelago, French ships of war 
were reported as cruising about suspiciously, 
and as having on board troops. 

While tlie council's attention was drawn by 
so many rumours to the French, the perpetual 
conflicts among the native powers threatened 
to involve the company in innumerable wars. 
The Jlahrattas desired the virtual conquest 
of Mysore. Hyder resolved to resist their 
demands for chout. The Nabob of Arcot 



favoured the pretensions of the Mahrattas. 
The nizam watched vigilantly for any oppor- 
tunity which might arise for j)lunder, by those 
powers exhausting one another. All these 
royal robbers sought the aid of the company, 
pleading the different treaties in which the 
shallow policy of the councils of Bombay and 
Madras had involved that body. 

Hyder refused the Mahrattas chout in 1770: 
they made war upon him. He demanded 
the aid of the company, on the ground of the 
treaty made the previous year. The council 
of Madras considered themselves absolved 
from any obligations of alliance, as Hyder 
was himself the aggressor. lie well knew that 
they were only eager to escape all obligations 
on their part, and yet to secure all advantages 
of the treaty from him. An incurable resent- 
ment against the English name and race 
seized possession of his mind. 

Both the councils of Madras and Bombay 
were entangled in fresh difficulties by the ar- 
rival of Sir John Lindsay at the latter place. 
That officer, besides his influence and rank as 
an admiral, had received extraordinary powers 
from the English government, of which the 
directors disapproved. He declared to both 
the councils that he was minister plenipoten- 
tiary from the ro}"al government. In virtue 
of this office, he inquired into the causes and 
conduct of the late war with Hyder. He 
brought a letter to the Nabob of the Carnatic, 
from the king, and demanded all the company's 
papers and documents as he might require 
them. The council of Madras determined to 
resist these demands, having no instructions 
from " their constituents," as they termed the 
directors on that occasion. The English go- 
vernment had acted without proper concert 
with the company, and the result was dan- 
gerous to the English interests in India. 
Ijindsay treated the council with contempt. 
The latter body, strong in experience, know- 
ledge of local relations, and sure of obedience 
from all the company's servants, was resolute iu 
resisting the alleged powers of Sir John. Ho 
entered into private correspondence with the 
nabob, who artfully treated him as a superior 
authority, and faithlessly intrigued with him 
against the company. The council was at 
this time involved in so many disjmtes, that 
it is surprising they could attend, in any 
measure, to the company's trade. Among 
other quarrels, they had one of serious mag- 
nitude with the celebrated Eyre Coote, at 
this time major-general, and ap))ointed com- 
mander-in-chief of the company's forces in 
Madras by the directors. Sooner than submit 
to the jealous dictation of the council. General 
Coote returned to England, and the court of 
directors censured the council. Examination 



314 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Ciiav. LXXIX. 



of tlie folly and disobedience of the councils 
of llie three presidencies, and passing votes of 
merited censure upon them, might have oc- 
cupied the whole time of the honourable court. 

The Nabob of Arcot raised claims upon the 
Nabob of Tanjore, which during 1770 gave 
the council of Madras much occupation. The 
Tanjore nabob gave the EngHsh a reluctant 
support during the Mysorean war, and re- 
fused to contribute to the Nabob of Arcot's 
expenses in connection with that contest, 
although Tanjore was a rich territory, and 
the English, acting in the name of the govern- 
ment of Arcot, preserved the peace of the 
country. Hyder Ali fomented this dispute. 
It was also discovered that he carried on 
a correspondence with the French at Pondi- 
cherry, while they carried on the new works 
there. 

Sir John Lindsay was succeeded, in 1770, by 
Admiral Sir Robert Harland, with the same 
powers. The fleet on the Indian station was 
much strengthened under the command of 
Hir Robert. The new admiral had received 
instructions from the king to treat the com- 
])any'8 representatives with careful respect, 
and to uphold their dignity before the native 
rulers. When Admiral Harland arrived, he 
found affairs in great confusion, the result 
of his predecessor's wrong-headedness. The 
Nabob of the Carnatic had, with the concur- 
rence of Sir John Lindsay, invited the Mah- 
rattas to join in a confederacy against Hyder, 
contrary to treat}-, and as the council be- 
lieved, contrary to reason. 

Major-general Coote had been prevailed 
upon to return to India, and the crown con- 
ferred upon him the honour of a Knight of 
the Bath. This was before Sir John Lindsay 
returned home, and at the same time the same 
honour was conferred upon him also. The 
royal government took a most extraordinary 
course on this occasion, sending the insignia 
to the nabob, with directions for the in- 
vestiture. Whether this was the result of 
some joint intrigue of Lindsay and Coote to 
spite the council does not appear, but the 
humiliation it inflicted upon the president 
was very acceptable to those chiefs. Differ- 
ences between the nabob and certain rajahs 
having arisen, an appeal to arms was made, 
and Brigadier Smith, at the head of a British 
force, marched against them in April, 1771. 
Operations were conducted until the 27th of 
October, when peace was made without the 
intervention of the council. It appeared as 
if Lindsay, Coote, and the nabob had entered 
into a confederacy to ignore the company: — 
"Sir Robert Harland reached Madras, in 
command of a squadron of his majesty's ships, 
on the 'Znd of September. He anaounced 



his arrival to the council, whom he met as- 
sembled on the 13th, and he informed them 
that he possessed full powers, ns the king's 
plenipotentiary, to inquire into the observance 
of the eleventh article of the treaty of 
Paris; and that he had a letter from hia 
majesty to the nabob. The letter was de- 
livered to his highness by the admiral, the 
troops in the garrison attending the cere- 
monial. On the 1st of October, having inti- 
mated to the council his readiness to be of 
any tise in the progress of their affairs, he 
quitted the roads, in order to avoid the ap- 
proaching monsoon, and retired to Trinco- 
malee, dispatching a vessel to ascertain the 
state of the French force at the Mauritius, 
which was reported to be very considerable."* 

Sir Robert Harland soon fell into the snares 
of the nabob, who induced him to favour an 
alliance with the Mahrattas against Hyder. 
The council refused to obey the plenipoten- 
tiary, declaring themselves ready to obey all 
constitutional authorities, such as parliament 
or the courts of law, but refusing to recognise 
the admiral in any other capacity than as 
commander of the king's ships, in which 
office they would co-operate with him. They 
persisted in refusing to violate the treaty 
with Hyder. The alliance offered by the 
Mahrattas was one which he sought to 
force upon the nabob, as the admiral himself 
admitted, by the threat of fire and sword. 
They refused finally to accept the alliance, 
and advised the admiral, by a diversion on 
the Malabar coast, to distract the Mahrattas, 
while the council would take such care of 
the Carnatic as their experience suggested, 
and their power allowed. The alliance pro- 
posed by the Jlahrattas, obliging the nabob 
to send troops to their aid, had a significance 
the admiral did not see. The nabob in ac- 
cepting a forced alliance, and sending troops 
into the field to avert the menace of the 
power thus making itself an ally, accepted 
conquest, and would be regarded in future 
by the Mahrattas as dependant upon them. 

Matters became worse between the adnural 
and the council, until they issued in an open 
rupture. The conduct of the admiral was in 
violation of the company's charter, and the 
council resolutely maintained the rights of 
their employers. 

During the year 1772 various expeditions 
were made, all of them successful, against 
various polygars who refused to comply with 
the requisitions of the nabob. Brigadier- 
general Smith, having accomplished the 
military enterprises referred to, returned to 
Madras, and resigned his command. Sir 
Robert Fletcher was nominated to take it. 
* Auber, toI. i. p. 808. 



Chap. LXXX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



315 



Immediately, violent altercations arose be- 
tween him and the council, discord between ; 
commanding officers and councils seklom 
ceasing in any of the presidencies. Sir Robert 
was obliged to resign, and Brigadier Smith 
resumed the command. 

On the 31st of January, 1773, Mr. Dnpre 
resigned the office of president, wiiich was 
assumed by Mr. Wynch. The Rajah of Tan- 
jore refusing all allegiance to the Nabob of 
the Carnatic, Brigadier-general Smith marched 
to Tanjore, took it by storm, and made pri- 
Boners of the rajah's family. It was soon dis- 
covered that the Dutch were the chief insti- 
gators of the rajah. He had, contrarj"^ to his 
allegiance, as a tributary of the nabob, made 
over various strong positions to the Dutch, 
■who were compelled by the British ships, 
and troops acting in conjunction with the 
forces of the nabob, to abandon them, under 
circumstances of much humiliation. The con- 
duct of the Dutch was marked by prevarica- 
tion and bad faith. 

Throughout the year 1774, the council 
was troubled by the caprice of the nabob, 
whose views were constantly changing ; who 



regulated his policy towards others by his 
relative power ; the resources of whose coun- 
try were exhausted, while his avarice still 
craved; whoso ambition was as large as his 
means were inadequate for even the feeblest 
enterprise. It was scai-cely possible for the 
council not to perceive tliat the time was fast 
approaching, when the English must assume 
the entire control of the nabob's dominions, 
or see the Carnatic overrun by Hyder, the 
Mahrattas, or the nizam. 

During the period to which this chajiter 
refers, Warren Hastings, for several years 
held the higli post of member of council. 
It is probable that to him chiefly, if not ex- 
clusively, the credit of every bold and firm 
measure taken, was due. Yet less is known 
of Hastings' conduct during his membership 
of council at Madras than of any other period 
of his history. His novel career in the capital 
of the presidency was much to his credit. His 
duties to the company were discharged with 
such ability, that he was nominated to the 
most important office in India, the presidency 
of the council of Bengal. 



CHArTER LXXX. 
WAR WITH IHTIER ALI OF MYSORE. 



In previous chapters, especially the last, 
reference has been made to Hyder Ali, the 
Rajah, or, as he preferred being called, the 
Nabob of Mysore. In the geographical por- 
tion of this work descriptions will be found of 
every part of Southern India, and very par- 
ticular descriptions of the highlands, and the 
whole region of the Deccan. A military 
writer, who made various campaigns in the 
Deccan daring the last century, describes the 
climate as very favourable for military opera- 
tions : — " Especially in the high country of 
Mysore, it is temperate and healthy to a de- 
gree unknown in any other tract of the like 
extent within the tropics. The monsoons, or 
boisterous periodical rains, which, at two dif- 
ferent periods, deluge the countries on the 
coasts of Coromandel and Malabar, have their 
force broken by the ghauts or mountains, and 
from either side extend to the interior in fer- 
tilizing showers, and preserve both the ver- 
diire of the country and the temperature of 
the climate almost througliout the year ; inso- 
much that tlie Britisii army remained in tents 
and never went into cantonments throughout 
the whole year." 



In this country of Mysore there arose ft 
man of eminent daring and ability, already 
repeatedly before the reader as Hyder Ali. 
It is unnecessary to relate his history ; no 
number of volumes could comprise the story 
of every able and daring Indian adventurer, 
native and European, whose sword or whose 
intrigues have been felt in India. It is suf- 
ficient to tell that Hyder was of obscure 
origin, and in one of the wars of which the 
great table-land of the Deccan had been the 
tlieatre time out of mind, he distinguished 
himself as a volunteer. He was then twenty- 
seven years of age. His daring courage made 
him a conspicuons person, and he gradually 
attached to himself a body of freebooters. It 
was not uncommon in India to begin a w-ar- 
like career as leader of banditti, and end it as 
a powerful rajah or nabob. Hyder was one 
of the most remarkable instances of such a 
gradation. By robbery he became enriched, 
and he used his riches for the purpose of be- 
coming a jilunderer on a grander scale. While 
yet he was no more than a great robber, he 
fell in with a holy Brahmin, by whose cunning 
he was much assisted, and who probably gave 



31G 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[CuAP. LXXX. 



Lim the first notions of political inti'igue. 
Chiefs and monarchs in India honoured riches 
more than high-born persons in any other 
country. Hyder's reputation for riches, no 
matter how acquired, gained him much admi- 
ration ; and his well-known ability to defend 
what he had acquired, added to that admira- 
tion. He became recognised as a chief bj' 
chiefs, and was known as the fougedar of 
Dindigul. He soon put down all refractory 
neighbours, either by artifice or the sword ; 
it was difficult to decide in which way he was 
the greater. His friend the Brahmin obtained 
access to the ' court of BIj'sore, and apprised 
his colleague in former predatory adventures 
of all political matters that might any how be 
turned to their joint account. 

A mutiny broke out in the army of Mysore, 
liyder bravely and promptly put it down, 
earning and receiving royal gratitude. His 
beloved Brahmin accused the richest chiefs of 
Mysore as the instigators of the revolt. They 
were seized, punished in person, and deprived 
of their estates. Hyder and the Brahmin 
profited largely by the forfeitures. He had 
become a chief, high in royal favour, but 
he was still a robber. He had as little indis-. 
position to kill as to steal. Murder, as an 
accessory to plunder, was simply regarded as- 
a necessary means towards a very unobjec- 
tionable end. He gradually became a rebel, 
as well as a robber. He took advantage of 
certain mutinies of the troops for pay, to quiet 
or quell tlie disturbances, and gain the un- 
limited confidence of the monarch, that he 
might ultimately the more securely dethrone 
him. After a variety of ingenious and infa- 
mous stratagems, in concert with the Brah- 
min, he succeeded. He and the Brahmin 
eventually betrayed one another, and this 
cunning adversary nearly ruined Hyder more 
than once. The courage of the bold bandit 
never forsook him, and his competition with 
his wily antagonist so sharpened his wits that 
he at last excelled the Brahmin, and all other 
Brahmins in Mysore, however wicked and 
acute in the arts of cunning, dissimulation, 
and far-sighted intrigue. Koonde Row (such 
was the crafty Brahmin's name) was at last 
destroyed. The Rajah of Mysore himself be- 
came a victim, and Hyder had no more rivals 
in that country either as to craft or power. 
Once established on the throne, he scented all 
disaffection afar off, and soon tried the value 
of his sabre in suppressing it. He became 
rich exceedingly, little by little extended his 
territory, and who could extend territory in 
India, in his time, without coming into colli- 
sion with the English ? When he became rich, 
the Mahrattas invaded his country. He fought 
them with great gallantry, but their cavalry 



came as the locusts and eat up every green 
thing. Hyder purchased them off again and 
again, when all the resistance of valour and 
genius was useless against equal valour, per- 
haps equal genius, and far superior numbers. 

Mr. Thornton says the politics of the Dec- 
can at this period (1763) presented "an en- 
tangled web, of which it is scarcely practicable 
to render a clear account." Probably Hyder 
had a clearer view of them than any one else, 
not even excepting Clive or Hastings. Pre- 
vious to this time Hyder had intercourse with 
the Bombay government, which was not 
always complimentary, but not on the whole 
unfriendly. The government of Madras had 
however, formed a league with Nizam Ali 
against him. The various events rapidly oc- 
curred already related in previous chapters, 
and Hyder had his part in them, or watched 
them with the vigilance of a statesman. He 
could neither read nor write, but his memory 
was wonderful, and. his agents were every- 
where. His spies overran the country. The 
French possessed Hyder's sympathy, and 
to the designs of Lally he was especially 
no stranger. 

In 17GG, the Mahrattas, Nizam Ali, and 
the Madras government were allied against 
Hyder. The Mahrattas were, of course, first 
in the conflict. They overran half the My- 
sore territory before their allies were ready. 
He bought them off just in time to avert 
their junction with the other allied forces. 
The army of the nizam, supported by the 
British, advanced to the northern limits of 
Mysore. The English commander. Colonel 
Joseph Smith, suspected both the nizam 
and the Mahrattas. Hyder Ali bought off 
the nizam, as he had already obtained the 
neutrality of the Mahrattas. The stupid 
council of Madras would not pay attention to 
Colonel Smith's information, nor adopt any 
measures of defence. Their conceit and im- 
pertinence disgusted the army, and nearly 
Ijrought ruin upon the presidency. The 
nizam joined Hyder. Their combined forces 
pressed upon the English. Colonel Smitli 
wem intelligent and brave, but ignorant of the 
country. He guarded passes which were not 
likely to be penetrated; he loft unguarded 
those, more especially one, by which the 
troops of Hyder poured down like a torrent, 
sweeping away the outposts, baggage, cattle, 
and supplies of the Englisli. Hosts of wild 
horsemen thundered down with the violence 
and rapidity of a cataract upon the English. 
Colonel Wood was dispatched from Trichi- 
nopoly. Smith directed his energies to form 
a junction with him, but was attacked by an 
immensely superior force, which he defeated, 
slaying two thousand men, himself losing but 



CiiAi'. LXXX.J 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



317 



one hmidred and seventy in killed .ind 
wounded. The Mysoreaus came on witli 
tlieir hosts of cavalry eddying like a flood, 
and sweeping away rice-carts, bullocks, and 
stragglers. Smith, after his men had fought, 
.ind marched, and hungered for twenty-seven 
hours, at last formed the desired junction 
with Wood. Smith and Wood joined their 
forces at Trincomalee, where they expected to 
find adequate stores. The council had, how- 
ever, thought of nothing but the grandeur of 
their own policy ; no preparations were made 
for the support of armies in the presence of 
powerful invaders. Smith was obliged to 
move away eastward in quest of provisions, 
leaving his stores, sick, and wounded in Trin- 
comalee. The enemy prepared to assault 
the place, but Smith, having found some 
supplies, returned opportunely for its relief. 
Alter a short time, another march to gather 
provisions was necessary ; the whole army 
was occupied in foraging. Forty thousand 
horsemen of the allies flew around the English, 
crossing every rice -swamp or corn-field, oc- 
cupying the tracts which served as roads, 
desolating the villages, devouring hidden 
stores of edibles, ravaging everywhere and 
everything. As vultures gathered upon a 
field of carrion, the Mysorean troopers found 
nothing too mean for their prey. 

Still the reputation of English valour awed 
back the savage hordes, and llyder hoped 
only to conquer when the English, worn out 
by fatigue and hunger, could no longer march 
or fight. In the terrible emergency of the Eng- 
lish, relief was found by the discovery of some 
hidden hordes of grain. The English were 
fed, and could therefore fight. Hyder knew 
of their distress, but not of the discovered 
supplies and the recruited strength which 
they brought. 

On the 2Gth of September, 17G7, the foe 
opened a distant cannonade against the left of 
the English lines. Smith moved round a hill, 
v.'hich arose between him and the main body 
of the opposing forces. He hoped to take 
them in flank upon their left. The enemy 
perceived his movement, but did not under- 
stand it. They made a movement to corre- 
spond with their idea of that of Smith, which 
they believed to be a retreat. At the same 
moment both armies were moving from oppo- 
site directions round the hill, but the collision 
coming soon was unexpected by either. Both 
armies saw the importance of gaining the hill. 
Captain Cooke succeeded in obtaining it, but 
not without a close competition. The enemy 
ascended to a range of crags facing a strong 
position. Taking them in flank, Cooke gal- 
lantly and skilfully carried the post. A re- 
gular battle then ensued. The English had 

VOL. II. 



fourteen hundred European infantry, and nine 
thousand sepoys. Their cavalry consisted of 
fifteen hundred wretchedly conditioned men, 
miserably mounted, belonging to the nabob, 
and a small troop of English dragoons. The 
enemy numbered forty thousand cavalry, and 
an infantry force a little less numerous. 
The enemy had a vast number of useless 
guns, and about thirty pieces fit to bring 
into action ; the English had as many. The 
allies formed a crescent, and manceuvred to 
enclose the small English force. The battle 
opened by a cannonade, the enemy firing 
with eagerness and rapidity, but no judgment. 
The English fired slowly until they found 
the range, and then served their guns with 
great quickness as well as deadly aim. The 
ordnance of the allies was soon silenced. 
The English then suddenly opened their 
whole cannonade upon the thick columns of 
the cavalry, which were arranged in a manner 
exposing them to such a casualty'. The 
troopers, eager to charge, bore for a few 
minutes this galling fire, while great numbers 
fell. No orders were given, the columns 
broke, and the vast masses of ill-jiosted 
horsemen dispersed upon the field. Hyder, 
with the sagacity of his keen intellect, per- 
ceived that the battle was lost, in time to 
draw off his guns. He exhorted his ally to 
retire, but the nizam became furious with 
disappointment and rage, and refused to 
leave the field. Smith ordered his whole 
lino to charge, the nizam became panic-struck, 
and ordered a retreat. A curious incident 
is recorded as having then occurred. The 
nizam had posted a long line of elephants in 
the rear of his army, bearing his harem and 
other adjuncts to his pleasure. The ladies 
were invited to view the destruction of the 
English, as, long after, the Russian general. 
Prince Meuschikoff, with oriental taste and 
similar fortune, invited the Russian ladies to 
do at Alma. When the nizam directed that 
his elephants should be moved from the field, 
a lady called out, " They have not been so 
taught ; they have been trained to follow the 
standard of the emperor." That standard was 
soon in the advance, while English bullets 
flew among the bearers of the palanquins, and 
many fell for whom these missiles were not 
designed. The nizam, on a swift horse, at- 
tended by a chosen body of cavalry, fled 
with the utmost precipitation, leaving Hyder 
to draw off his army as best he could. 
The wearied English rested on the field of 
victory. 

Next day, the army of Hyder was observed 
in good formation and regular retreat. The 
English pursued, and captured forty-one 
pieces of cannon, in addition to nine which 

T T 



318 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Ohap. LXXX. 



were left upon tlie field ; sixteen more were 
abandoned on the marcli, and fell into the 
hands of the English. Nearly five thonsand 
men were numbered among the dead upon 
the field of battle or in the line of pnrsnit. 
The English had one hundred and fifty put 
hors de combat. The fugitives continued a 
hasty flight far beyond the probability, or 
even possibility, of pursuit. The English 
withdrew into cantonments as the rainy season 
approached. 

Hyder Ali, ever indefatigable, even in de- 
feat, continued in action, combating the mon- 
soon and the -skill of England, warring boldly 
with nature and science. He captured several 
small places belonging to the nabob, and then 
proceeded to attack Amboah, a place peculiarly 
situated, being built upon a mountain of 
smooth granite. Hyder laid regular siege to 
this place, and in five days rendered it no 
longer tenable, except the citadel, to which 
the garrison retired. The defenders were five 
hundred sepoys and a few Europeans, under 
the command of a brave and scientific ofiicer 
named Calvert. The native governor was, 
what native governors usually were, faithless. 
He was detected, and confined ; his guards wer^ 
disarmed. Hyder's previous success having 
been through the information supplied by the 
traitor, he now knew not how to proceed. He 
accordingly made a breach in an inaccessible 
place, which was in vain attempted again and 
again, his troops reeling back after every 
attack discomfited, and leaving many of 
their comrades slain. Hyder sent a flag of 
truce, with eulogistic references to the bravery 
of the commander, who replied that Hyder 
had not yet come close enough to enable him 
to deserve the compliment. Another flag 
arrived with a large bribe, and the offer of 
the highest military honours in Hyder's ser- 
vice, if Captain Calvert would surrender the 
place. The reply was that the next mes- 
senger proposing dishonour would be hanged 
in the breach. From the 10th of November, 
to the 7th of December, all the efforts of 
Hyder were in vain. Colonel Smith left his 
cantonments and hastened to the relief of his 
brave brothers in arms. Great was his joy 
when he saw the British flag flying as he 
approached. Hyder perceiving the advance 
of Colonel Smith, raised the siege. The 
government directed that the sepoy regiment 
which defended the place should bear the 
rock of Amboah upon its colours. 

Smith followed Hyder, but was compelled 
to give up the pursuit from the deficiency 
of his commissariat, — an impediment which 
has since often obstructed British military 
enterprise, when disgrace was still more re- 
flected upon those in authority, to whom the 



real derangement or neglect was attributable. 
Colonel Smith was joined by Colonel Wood, 
who advanced from Trichinopolj'. Hyder 
was too much daunted by recent defeats to 
make any bold attempt to prevent this junc- 
tion. Not that he wanted courage personally, 
but he knew that his troops were not of a 
quality to face the English after such signal 
and shameful defeats. Hyder was, however, 
vigilant and active as ever. He attempted 
various surprises upon convoys, but was de- 
feated by the courage and constant watch- 
fulness of the English officers. 

At the close of the year 1767, he ascended 
the ghauts, leaving strong detachments of 
cavalry to watch and harass the English 
army, which was in the deepest distress from 
want of provisions, the government having 
wholly left it to itself, and the officers dis- 
playing but little talent in commissary affairs, 
although by skill and bravery in breach and 
battle, having won for themselves a glorious 
renown. Hyder Ali now began to fear the 
English power. Forces from Bengal threat- 
ened Hyderabad. His ally, the nizam, now 
prepared to betray him, as both had be- 
traj'ed everybody else that trusted them. 
Hyder was not to be deceived. He repre- 
sented to the nizam that the latter had 
adopted a wise course, and pretended to be- 
lieve that it was done to deceive the English, 
until affairs took a more favourable turn. 
He, however, intimated that in future the 
nizam's army and his own had better ope- 
rate separately. The nizam affected to agree 
with all Hyder said, withdrew his army, and 
the next day openly offered alliance to the 
English against the man with whom he acted 
in the field the day before. This was per- 
fectly in keeping with Mussulman faith on 
the part of one prince to another throughout 
Indian history. In the diplomatic game 
which followed, the English played as foolishly 
as was their custom. The nizam granted 
everything, on the condition that tlie En- 
glish should pay him tribute, which placed 
matters pretty much as they were before : 
the English gained nothing but glory. The 
nizam also granted to the company the 
dewannee of Mysore, on the condition that 
when they conquered it, he should receive 
a tribute. The nizam was beaten in battle, 
but reaped, through the vain and dull council 
of Madras, all the fruits of victory. 

The chiefs on the Malabar coast, who had 
been reduced by Hyder, now revolted ; and 
the government of Bombay took the field 
against him. Mangalore was captured at 
once ; the commander of Hyder's fleet sur- 
rendered it. Various other places on the 
coast fell into the hands of the Bombay 



CuAP. LXXX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



310 



officers. Cnnarese was attacked, but the 
British were repulsed even with slaughter. 
Hyder hastened to the coast, with large forces. 
He approached with such rapidity and skill, 
and the English exercised so little vigilance, 
that he was upon them suddenly. In May 
he was before Mangalore. The English fled 
in boats, and with such precipitation and 
confusion that many were slain, and all their 
artillery and stores were ingloriously captured. 
Neither Smith nor Calvert were there. 
Eighty Europeans, and one hundred and 
eighty sepoys, sick and wounded, remained in 
the conqueror's hands. Hyder won the whole 
coast. He then proceeded to Bednore, whither 
he had summoned the zemindars and other 
holders of territorial possessions. He informed 
them that he knew they were more favour- 
able to the English than to him, and that he 
would punish their disaffection by pecuniary 
fines. 

Mr. Thornton thns describes what then 
took place: — "A list of the criminals was 
then produced, and against the name of each 
an enormous fine appeared. The conduct of 
Hyder All's affairs was marked by great pre- 
cision ; for every purpose there was a dis- 
tinct provision. Among other establishments 
nicely contrived so as to contribute to the 
progress of the great machine of his govern- 
ment, was a department of torture. To this 
the offenders present were immediately con- 
signed till their guilt should be expiated by 
payment of the sums in which they were 
respectively mulcted, and orders were issued 
for taking similar proceedings with regard to 
those whose fears had kept them away." 

Hearing that the government of Bombay 
was making preparations to scour the coast 
of Malabar with a naval and military force 
which he could not resist, his genius suggested 
an expedient by which he might retire with 
some degree of military reputation, and with 
pecuniary advantage. The author last quoted 
thus describes his procedure, to this intent : — 
" With the Malabar chiefs Hyder AH adopted 
different means, but not less characteristic, 
nor less conducive to his interests. It was 
intimated to them that their Mysorean lord 
was tired of his conquests in Malabar, which 
he had hitherto found a source of charge 
rather than of profit; that if he were reim- 
bursed the expenses incurred in their attain- 
ment, he was ready to abandon them ; and 
that it was his intention that the territories 
of those who refused to contribute to that 
purpose should be transferred to those who 
acceded to the proposal. Not one incurred 
the threatened forfeiture, and Hyder All's 
offiaers retired from Malabar laden with the 
offerings of its chiefs," 



The Madras government had organized no 
efficient means of gaining intelligence, and, 
therefore, were unable to apprise tlieir officers 
of the route taken by Hyder. Colonel Wood 
reduced Baramalial, Salem, Coimbatore, and 
Dindigul, but was unable to retain his con- 
quests, from the fewness of his troops and 
poverty of material. He attempted to guard 
the passes, but the enemy eluded his vigilance 
without difficulty, for he was wholly ignorant 
of the country, as were all his officers. The 
duty of providing guides — a task which the 
nabob could have easily accomplished — oc- 
curred to no one, or, at all events, was per- 
formed by none. Hyder wrested from Colonel 
Wood all the conquests the latter had made. 
Having at his command large bodies of 
cavalry, Hyder was enabled to confuse the 
English commander, so as to deprive him of- 
all benefit arising from a well-concerted plan 
of action. The natives also constantly be- 
trayed the English, surrendering strong places 
without a blow.* 

Colonel Smith was engaged in operations 
to the north. On the 2nd of May, Kistna- 
gherry capitulated to him. In June he laid 
siege to Mulwagul, a strong place, from which 
he apprehended a protracted resistance. It 
was betrayed by the killadar. A brother of 
Mohammed AH had married the sister of this 
person, and the former being fougedarof Arcot, 
had appointed his brother-in-law to exercise 
nnder him the fiscal administration of Trinco- 
malee. The principal was removed from office, 
and the dependent, to avoid giving in his 
accounts to Mohammed AH, went over to 
Hyder All. He was now desirous of a change, 
and offered to betray his trust, on condition 
that his accounts should be considered closed. 
Mohammed AH consented ; but there was 
still a difficulty — the garrison were faithful, 
though their commander was not. It hap- 
pened, however, that the killadar had been 
instructed to raise as large a number of 
recruits for his master's infantry as was prac- 
ticable, and to give special encouragement to 
men who had been disciplined by the English. 
The killadar informed his officers that he had 
succeeded in obtaining two hundred such 
recruits, being two complete companies, and 
that on an appointed night they were to arrive 
with their native officers. At the specified 
time, a party of English sepoys appeared as- 
cending by a prescribed route. They were 
led by a European officer, Captain Matthews, 
not only dressed, but painted, so as to re- 

* Of late years ranch has been written abont the- 
fidclily of the imlive troop.» previoas to 1857, eicept in 
occasiuTial det'ectious. The truth is, the English in many 
wars suffered from the treasons of native auxiliaries and 
sepoys. 



320 



HISTORY OF TIIK CllITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXXX. 



semble a native. At daylight the mask was 
tlirowu oft', aud the place was soon in the pos- 
session of the English.* Colonel Smith fol- 
lowed np these successes by several others. 
An important accession to his strength was 
obtained by an alliauce with the Mahrattas 
under Morari Ilao. On the day when 
Smith formed his junction with the Mah- 
rattas, Hyder entered Bangalore with the 
advanced guard of his grand army. He 
heard of the junction of the jVIahrattas with 
Smith, aud knew the locality of tlieir encamp- 
ment, for his spies were everywhere. He 
formed the da,riug resolution of sending a few 
hundred light cavalry that night into the 
Mahratta camp, with orders to penetrate to 
the tent of Morari Rao, and to return with 
his head, when the infantry would at once 
storm his camp, which, thrown into confusion 
by the loss of its chief, would be routed with 
slaughter. Morari Rao, like Hyder himself, 
had organized a spy system, which was nearly 
perfect. He became aware of the intended 
attack, and, as so small a body of cavalry were 
to conduct it, he gave strict orders that none 
of his troops were to mount, but that his ca- 
valry should remain each man stationed at his 
horse's head. The orders to the whole force 
were, to be on the alert and attack all mounted 
men, without accepting any pass-word or ex- 
planation. This order was executed with pre- 
cision, and had one unfortunate result in the 
death of Captain Gee, Colonel Smith's aid- 
de-camp, who, riding into the Mahratta lines, 
was mistaken for an enemy, and cut down. 
Hyder's cavalry were followed so close by his 
infantry that the camp of Morari Rao would 
have been attacked in force, but for a curious 
incident. The state elephant of ilorari re- 
ceived an accidental wound : irritated by this 
circumstance, and the alarm which raged 
around him, he broke loose, and rushed 
wildly through the camp, dragging the huge 
chain by which he had been picketed. 
Seizing this chain with his trunk, he hurled 
it furiously at the advancing cavalry of 
Hyder. They, supposing that the army of 
the Slahrattas were charging, broke, and 
rushed back over a column of infantry which 
■was marching in support. The infantry, be- 
coming alarmed, took to flight, aud, before 
they could be rallied, morning dawned, re- 
vealing the sheen of the English bayonets as 
their lines of infantry were in motion. 

The council of Madras sent civilian deputies 
to the camps of Smith and Wood, in a manner 
similar to that afterwards adopted in Europe 
by the French Convention, and with similar 
results. Those delegates from the council 

* Thornton's British India, vol. i. cbap. vii. jip. 557, 
558. 



were arrogant and self-sufHcient, overruling 
the conduct of the officers in matters beyond 
the comprehension of the meddlers. The 
English who occupied Muhvagul were removed 
by these " field deputies," and some of Mo- 
hammed All's troo])3 placed there. The Mo- 
hammedan commandant sold the place to 
Hyder, as a previous Blohammedan com- 
mandant in Hyder's service had sold it to the 
nabob. Colonel Wood's strategy proved very 
deficient, and Smith's superior military talent 
was by this mean-i, and the pomjious in- 
terference of the " field dejiuties," rendered 
nugatory. When !Mulwagul was betrayed, 
Wood made a movement for its recapture or 
relief. He was too late for the latter, and 
unable to accomplish the former. He at- 
tempted to take the rock by an escalade, 
which had nearly proved successful, through 
the activity, presence of mind, and bravery 
of an English officer named Brooke. The 
next day, some light troops of Hyder ap- 
peared in the distance. Wood proceeded to 
reconnoitre, but soon perceived that an army 
of three thousand horse, and at least an equal 
number of infantry, with a powerful artillery, 
were making dispositions to surround his 
little band. With great jireseuce of mind, 
more than his usual skill, and the most heroic 
courage, he forced his way through one body 
of the enemy after another, and united his 
little army in a regular retreat. Hyder's 
forces, increased by fresh accessions, hotly 
l)ursued. Although his cavalry were nume- 
rous, he used his well-appointed artillery, 
which was moved rapidly in front. The 
ground becoming less favourable for cither 
cavalry or artillerj', the infantry of both ar- 
mies skirmished, and so closely pressed were 
the English, that a general action was inevi- 
table, and as soon as the retreating force could 
find ground at all favourable, they took it, and 
stood on the defensive. The positions of the 
contending forces, and the mode of combat 
which was necessitated by the peculiar cha- 
racter of the ground, has been described with 
military accuracy by Colonel Wilks, in the 
following passage : — "The whole extent of the 
ground which was the scene of the farther 
operations of the day, consisted of a congeries 
of granite rocks, or rather stones of unequal 
heights and dimensions, and every varied 
form, from six to sixteen feet diameter, scat- 
tered ' like the fragments of an earlier world.' 
at irregular intervals over the whole surface 
of the plain. Obliquely to the right, and in 
the rear of the situation in which the ad- 
vanced troops were engaged, was a small ob- 
long hill, skirted at its two extremities with 
an impenetrable mass of such stones, but flat 
aud covered with earth at the top to a suffi- 



CuAi'. LXXX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



321 



cient extent to admit of being occnpied by 
rather more tlian one battalion : the rocky 
skirts of this hill extended in a ridge of about 
three hundred yards towards the plain of stones, 
and under its cover the Europeans had been 
placed in reserve until the action should as- 
sume a settled form. Hitherto, amid a mass 
of cover and impediment, vrhich bade defiance 
to a regular formation, the intervals between 
the rocks, and sometimes their summits, were 
occupied by troops; the smaller openings were 
converted into embrasures for guns ; and sup- 
port successively arrived from each army to 
those who were engaged. It was a series of 
contests for the possession of rocks, or the 
positions formed by their union, without any 
possibility of the regular extension of a line 
on either side, so that a rock was sometimes 
seen possessed by Mysoreans within the ge- 
neral scope of EnglLsh defence, and by the 
English among the Mysoreans." The over- 
whelming numbers of Hyder gave him the 
advantage, in spite of the intreijidity of Wood 
and his soldiers. The English were giving 
way, and there was danger of confusion among 
the sepoys, who seldom behaved even toler- 
ably well in retreat. The tide of victory wliich 
set so strongly against the English was sud- 
denly turned by Captain Brooke, the officer 
Avho distinguished himself so much in the es- 
calade on the previous da_y. Brooke had then 
been wounded, but, notwithstanding his suf- 
ferings, fought with a lion heart throughout 
the conflict which it was now iiis fortune to 
terminate. His position was with the baggage, 
which, with the sick and wounded, lie guarded. 
His troojis consisted of four companies and 
two guns. He perceived a flat rock, which 
was unoccupied, but which, strategetically, 
afforded a good position. He ascended it, 
as it was approached easily by a route cir- 
cuitous and covered with crags and foliage. 
Ills wounded men drew up, leaning on such 
support as they could find. The guns were 
dragged up and placed in position, and di- 
rected upon the enemj' with charges of grape, 
making havoc in their ranks. The position 
commanded the left flank of the enemy, upon 
wliich, if any aid arrived from Smith, it would 
have appeared. Hyder, perceiving suddenly 
on his extreme left a body of men which he 
supposed he had not seen before, believed 
that some detachments from Smith's division 
Lad arrived upon the field. This impression 
became a conviction, when suddenly, after 
the first terrible discharge of grape, Brooke 
and his whole force — even the sick and 
wounded — all who could raise their voice, 
suddenly shouted, "Hurrah! hurrah! Smith! 
Smith!" The British, not being aware of 
the stratagem, were also imposed upon, and. 



repeating the hurrahs and cries of " Smith ! " 
returned with such confidence to the battle 
that Hyder, believing Smith's whole army 
was upon him, ordered a retreat. The trick 
was soon discovered by the acute Hyder, and 
he again returned to the attack ; but hia 
troops were not convinced that new forces 
liad not joined the English, and tliey came on 
cautiously. The British had, in the mean- 
time, chosen strong ground, and made such 
new dispositions of their force as greatly in- 
creased their strength. Hyder forced his 
legions upon the English lines ; but they v.ere 
found to be impregnable. Night closed 
around the combatants, the English remain- 
ing possessors of the field. The rocks, be- 
hind which the few British found repeated 
refuge, saved them. There were not three 
hundred men put liors de combat. Hyder's 
loss was two thousand. 

A conflict of generalship began the next 
day between the two commanders. Hyder 
could handle large bodies of men with an in- 
tuitive genius. He out-manceuvred the British 
commander, avoiding a battle, and swooping 
suddenly upon garrison after garrison, cap- 
turing forts, and making prisoners. Among 
other places he fell upon Bangalore, having, 
by superior strategy, diverted Wood's atten- 
tion in anotlier direction. Wood, leaving his 
baggage and heavy guns in " the Petat " of 
that city, hastened to encounter Hyder, where 
the wily chieftain was not to be found, having 
adroitly misled the British colonel. Hyder 
seized the whole baggage of Wood's army, 
the guns, stores of provisions, with merchan- 
dise, and some treasure. The inhabitants 
rushed to the fort for security. The garrison 
closed the gates to prevent that confusion and 
over-crowding which would have left the 
citadel indefensible. The crowd strained for- 
ward to save themselves, and their treasures, 
from the ravages of Hyder's army, until two 
thousand men, women, and children, were 
crushed or trampled to death. Wood has- 
tened from Oosoor just in time to find that 
Hyder was gone, and had taken with hiia 
everything of value in the place. The Eng- 
lish were obliged to wander about for supplies, 
the council of either Madras or Bombay ap- 
pearing to be only concerned in keeping up 
their dignity, and securing the chief cities of 
their presidencies. Hyder intercepted Wood's 
foraging expeditions, drove in his outposts, 
cut off his stragglers, tore away his newly 
acquired supplies, and day and night harassed 
his worn out troops. In one of these harass- 
ing attacks, after a running fight of several 
days and nights, and when Hyder was making 
the fiercest efforts to cut off the division of 
Wood, the English were relieved by his 



a 2-2 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXXX. 



sudden and unaccountable retreat. Major 
Fitzgerald and Smith's division were at hand. 
Hyder's scouts brought the intelligence ; 
Wood was ignorant of it, until the roll of the 
English drums came with welcome and cheer- 
ing music to his ear. Smith had gone to 
Madras, to bring the co\incil to a proper 
appreciation, if possible, of the crisis, and 
Major Fitzgerald having assumed the com- 
mand, with praiseworthy energy took mea- 
sures to relieve Wood. Fitzgerald had very 
imperfect information of the colonel's condi- 
tion, but he inferred, from a variety of uiinute 
indications, and from what he could gather of 
the movements of Hyder, that Wood, over- 
powered, was gallantly struggling in an un- 
equal contest. Fitzgerald might have long 
■wandered in quest of Wood, but for the heavy 
and in part useless cannonade kept up by 
Hyder, who, having captured the heavy guns 
at Bangalore, seemed desirous of annoying, or 
perhaps hoped to discourage the English by 
perpetually firing them. Fitzgerald, follow- 
ing the report, arrived in the nick of time to 
save Wood and his truly gallant little army. 
Warm were the congratulations of officers and 
soldiers when they met, and high rose their 
exultation as their enemy, although still many 
times outnumbering them, dared not to give 
them battle. 

Fitzgerald found Wood in a state of great 
depression, which, after the first burst of joy 
upon their unexpected meeting, returned 
again. Fitzgerald wrote to Smith, informing 
Lim of this, who immediately presented the 
letter to the council, and Wood was ordered 
to be sent to them under arrest. This was 
very cruel, for, however incompetent to con- 
tend with such a soldier as Hyder, he was a 
brave soldier and good officer. He was not 
adapted to so important a command, but when 
it devolved upon him, he did his utmost to 
discharge its duties. 

Fuzznl Cola Khan, one of the best of 
Hyder's generals, entered the jirovince of 
Coimbatore, and with facility captured one 
fort after another, imtil he subjugated the 
province. An English sergeant named Hos- 
kin, was the only person in any command that 
showed adequate courage or ability. He was 
in command of an advanced post, with two 
companies of native infantry, and one gun. 
This little force occupied a mud fort, and de- 
fended it heroically and cleverly. The fort 
was not taken, until it was thrown down and 
lay in rubbish around its defenders. Even 
then Hoskin disputed inch by inch of its 
ruins with the aggressors. The contest was 
sanguinary, and the greater part of the de- 
fenders perished before superior numbers. 
There are no records of Hoskin's fate ; his 



humble rank, in those da3'8, would prohibit 
any notice of his aLility or heroism, excejit 
such as the historian may gather from frag- 
mentary references. 

In other provinces the success of Hyder 
was as swift, and as shameful to the army of 
the nabob, and the arrangements of the Eng- 
lish, as in Coimbatore. In several instances 
the valour and talent of obscure English 
officers delayed the progress of the conqueror 
for a little, but that was all that the English 
and their allies were able to effect. As Hyder 
himself marched upon Eroad, he encountered 
suddenly Captain Nixon, with a force of fifty 
Europeans and two hundred sepoys. Hyder 
attacked them with two divisions of infantry 
numbering probably ten thousand men, and a 
cavalry force still more numerous. Nixon 
drew up his small band in good position, and 
quietly awaited the approach of the enemy to 
within twenty yards, when they delivered a 
volley with such coolness that every shot told. 
The Europeans charged with the bayonet, an 
instrument of which the Slysoreans were much 
in dread. Hyder's infantry reeling under the 
well-directed volley, and charged with such 
impetuosity at the point of the baj'onet, broke 
and turned from the field. Under another 
commander, the native army would probably 
have moved away ; but Hyder knew what 
could be effected ; he ordered his cavalry to 
charge the sepoys flank and rear, and they 
were sabred to a man. Poor Nixon was among 
the slain. An officer was the only man who 
escaped. Lieutenant Gorehani. He was fortu- 
nately able to speak the language, and claimed 
the humanity of a native officer. 

Hyder All made use of Gorehani to trans- 
late into English a summons to the garrison 
of Eroad to surrender ; and to write a letter 
to its commander. Captain Orton, to come to 
his camp, and negotiate terms, promising a 
safe return if they could not agree. Orton 
trusted to the honour of a man who had no 
conception of it. He came. The officer next 
in command to Orton, was one Robinson, 
whom Hyder had released on parole, but who 
broke his parole, and was permitted by the 
council of Madras to break it. Hyder de- 
clared that he was absolved from his obliga- 
tion to Orton, by the knowledge that Robinson 
was serving against him. Hyder offered to 
spare the garrison, and permit them to march 
out and proceed to Trichinopcly, if Orton 
would order Robinson to surrender. Orton 
gave the order, Robinson obeyed it; Hyder 
walked into the place, triumphing alike over 
the stupidity and dishonour of the English 
officers, who acted like men demented. 
Robinson was clearly a man without personal 
scruple or military pride. Wilks explains the 



Chap. LXXX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



323 



conduct of Orton on the supposition that he 
was a drunkard. Hyder, who kept no faith, 
did not permit the garrison to go to Trichi- 
nopoly, but sent tliem j)risonera to Seringa- 
patam, where he cast tliem into a loathsome 
dungeon, and deprived them of adequate sub- 
sistence. He hated the English with a keen 
and unpitying animosity, and burned for every 
opportunity of gratifying and displaying his 
viudictiveness. The English had by tergiver- 
sation, time serving, and unsteadiness of 
policy merited his wrath and contempt. Had 
the councils of jNIadras and Bombay followed 
the honourable and wise policy pointed out 
by the directors, had they obeyed orders 
given repeatedly, and as often violated, the 
humiliations inflicted by Hyder would never 
have been visited upon them. 

Hyder next proceeded to Caveriporam, and 
summoned the garrison to surrender, offering 
the release of the officer and garrison on 
parole. The conditions were accepted ; Hyder 
seized the place, and violated as usual the 
terms of capitulation. The garrison, with Cap- 
tain Frassain, their commander, were sent to 
the dungeons of Seringapatani, where already 
several of the prisoners, among whom Captain 
Robinson, as the first victim, had already 
perished. The career of Hyder and his generals 
was one of complete success, the country every- 
where within the sphere of operations being 
desolated or held by his forces. The council at 
Madras was terrified, and having provoked 
the war by their uncertain and arrogant 
policy, after having armed the enemy they 
thus provoked, they were glad to sue for 
peace. Hyder requested that an English 
oflicer should be sent to negotiate, and the 
choice of the council fell upon tlie gallant 
Captain Brooke, who had repeatedly distin- 
guished himself by talent and valour iu the 
field. Mr. Thornton thus describes the diplo- 
matic occurrences which ensued: — "Hyder 
Ali requested that an English officer might 
be sent to confer with him, and Captain 
Brooke was dispatched thither in compliance 
witli his wish. Hyder Ali expatiated on 
the aggressions of the English, and on his 
own desire for peace; on the exertions he 
had made to promote that object, and on the 
unreasonable manner in whicli his overtures 
had been rejected ; on the wrongs which he 
had received from Mohammed Ali, and on the 
evil effects of that prince's influence iu the 
councils of the English. He referred to the 
advantage of maintaining Mysore as a barrier 
to Arcot against the Mahrattas, and, advert- 
ing to a tlireatened invasion by that power, 
intimated tliat he could not oppose botli them 
and the English at the same time, and that it 
remained for the latter power to determine 



whether he should continue to shield them 
from tiie former as heretofore, or whether he 
sliould unite with the Mahrattas for the de- 
struction of the English. Captain Brooke, in 
reply, pointed out the superior advantages of 
an alliance with the English to one with the 
Mahrattas, to which Hyder Ali assented, and 
expressed a wish that Colonel Smith should 
come up to the army invested with full powers 
of negotiation. Captain Brooke suggested 
that Hyder Ali should send a vakeel to 
Madras. This he refused, on the twofold 
ground that it would give umbrage to the 
Mahrattas, and that at Madras all his efforts 
for peace would be frustrated by Mohammed 
Ali. Before taking his leave, Captain Brooke 
suggested to Hyder Ali that there was one 
proof of liis friendly and pacific disposition 
which might readily and at once be afforded : 
the discontinuance of the excesses by which 
the country was devastated, and the defence- 
less inhabitants reduced to the extremity of 
wretchedness. The proposal met probably 
with all the success which the proposer ex- 
pected. Of friendly professions Hyder Ali 
was profuse, but of nothing more. He an- 
swered that his treasury was not enriched by 
the excesses complained of, but that he had 
been compelled to accept the services of some 
volunteers whose conduct he could not con- 
trol. The report of this conversation was 
forwarded to Madras, and Mr. Andrews, a 
member of council, was deputed to negotiate. 
He arrived in the camp of Hyder Ali on the 
18th of February, 17G'J, and quitted it on the 
21st, with ))roposals to be submitted to the 
governor and council, having previously con- 
cluded a truce for twelve days. The governor 
of Madras had every reason to desire peace : 
so great was their distress that the company's 
investments were entirely suspended, and it was 
stated that their resources were insufficient 
to carry on the war more than four months 
longer.* Hyder All's proposals were, how- 
ever, rejected, and hostilities recommenced. 
Colonel Smith, who had returned to the field, 
watched the movements of Hyder Ali with 
unceasing vigilance, and frequently counter- 
acted them with admirable skill. The ma- 
noeuvres of the two armies had brought them 
about one hundred and forty miles to the 
southward of Madras, when suddenly dis- 
missing nearly the whole of his infantry, the 
greater part of his cavalry, together with his 
guns and baggage of every description, 
Hyder Ali, with six thousand horse, advanced 
rapidly towards that place, and on the 29th 
of March appeared before it. A small party 
of infantry joined him on the following day. 

* Separate Letter from Fort St. George, 8th March, 
1769. 



824: 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Ohap. LXXXI. 



He immediately canseil a letter to bo addressed \ 
to tlie govenior expressing a desire to treat i 
for peace, and requesting tliat Mr. Dupre, a I 
member of council and next in succession to ' 
the chair, might be deputed to attend him. 
The cliaracter of the man who made tliis 
demand, tlie place from which it was made, 
and the circumstances under which he had 
arrived there, all contributed to secure atten- I 
tion to the message. Mr. Dupre proceeded j 
to the cainp of liyder Ali on the morning of : 
the receipt of his letter, and, after a series 
of conferences, the terms of a treaty were 
agreed upon. . The treaty was executed by 
the governor and council on the 3rd of April, 
and by Hyder Ali on the 4th. AYith refer- 
ence to the circumstances under wliich the 
peace was concluded, Hyder Ali may be re- 
garded as having disj^layed much moderation. 
A mutual restoration of captured places was 
provided for, and Caroor, an ancient depen- 



dency of Mysore, which bad been for some 
time retained by Mohammed Ali, was to be 
rendered back. After the conclusion of the 
treaty, difficulties arose from a demand of 
Hyder Ali for the liberation of some persons 
kept prisoners by Mohammed Ali, and of the 
surrender of some stores at Colar. With 
much persuasion the nabob was induced to 
comply with the former demand, and the 
latter was yielded by the British government, 
probably because it was felt to be vain to 
refuse." * 

Thus terminated the war with Ilyder Ali 
— a war whicli was needlessly and improvi- 
dently commenced, and conducted, on the 
part of the Madras government, with sin- 
gular weakness and unskilfulness. Its con- 
clusion was far more bapp}' than that govern- 
ment had any right to expect either from 
their own measures, or from the character of 
their euemj'. 



CHAPTER LXXXI. 

HOME ArFAIRS OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY FROM 1730 TO 1775— IMPEACHMENT AND 
ACQUITTAL OF CLIVE— CHANGE IN THE CONSTITUTION OF THE COMPANY. 



The history of events in India having been 
brought down to a considerably later period 
than that of the home incidents by which they 
were influenced, it is necessary to relate what 
happened in the company's proceedings as tlie 
tidings reached England of so many and great 
vicissitudes in tlie East. In relating those 
changes, such frequent reference has been 
made to the directions received in India from 
the company, and to the general policy of the 
directors, that it will not be necessary to re- 
count the minutiae of the company's proceed- 
ings, nor to go much into detail in describing 
their fluctuating fortunes. 

When the second half of the eighteenth 
century began, the company's affairs were j 
much tried at home by the too great eager- | 
iiess of the proprietary for large dividends. ; 
So long as there was prosperity in that respect, 
the proprietors of India stock did not much 
trouble themselves as to how events went in 
India. The successes of Clive, however, ex- 
cited so much public attention, that from that 
period a more enlarged interest in the affairs 
of India was felt by the proprietary. During 
the year 1754 he was "a lion" in England, 
and popular opinion marked him out for fu- 
ture achievement. 

In March, 1755, when he was appointed a 
member of council for Madras, the directors 
were nearly as much influenced by the general 



feeling of the proprietors as by their own con- 
victions that he was "the right man in the 
right place." The French were at this period 
the rivals most dreaded by the company and 
the country, and all measures adopted by 
them to curb French power in the East were 
regarded by the people of England as patriotic. 
This general sentiment strengthened the hands 
of the directors, and enabled them to supply 
men and material of war in a measure that 
would otherwise have been impossible, while 
the company was an object of such extensive 
commercial jealous}'. One cause of much of 
the anxiety of the directors, and of a largo 
amount of the mal-administration and con- 
fusion in India, was the complicated forms of 
government contrived in London for the re- 
gulation of the presidencies. Various attempts 
to remove and to modify this evil were made 
by the independent proprietors ; Clive himself 
pointed it out with his usual vigour and clear- 
ness of expression, but no change found favour 
either with the directors or the councils in 
India. The difficulties under which the di- 
rectors laboured from the slowness of com- 
munication, and their imperfect maritime 
arrangements, were then very great ; while 
the rapid occurrence of great events in India 
baffled all their efforts to keep pace with them 

* Ilistonj of the British Empire in India, Thornton, 
vol. i. chap. vii. pp. 570 — 575. 



Chap. LXXXI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



325 



in their arrangements. The councils at the 
presidencies, not fully appreciating these dif- 
ficulties, constantly complained of neglect. 
They perpetually demanded men and stores, 
■\vhich they often recklessly employed on en- 
terprises not contemplated nor approved of 
by the directors. The sense which the court 
entertained of their arduous difficulties from 
all these causes, is well exjiressed in their let- 
ter to Bengal, 17C0 : — " The forces that went 
abroad last year and are now destined for 
India, will demonstrate that your employers 
labour incessantly to strengthen and protect 
their settlements, the glorious successes at 
home having enabled the government to grant 
tis large succours, and we must gratefully 
confess the ministry's care of this company. 
The many remonstrances in almost every 
letter would have been spared, if you had 
reflected properly on our cruel and dangerous 
situation ; our mercantile concerns always 
giving place to men and stores, when we 
could possibly obtain them ; ever distressed 
for tonnage, as we carry abroad for the go- 
vernment seldom less than one tliousand tons 
annually, exclusive of their men and baggage. 
The heavy demorage incurred by ships de- 
tained by accident or otherwise in India ; the 
immense expenses at Madras, with very scanty 
returns ; your own charges very great, those 
of Bombay beyond all bounds ; our settle- 
ments in Sumatra, at the same time, requiring 
large sums to put them in some state of secu- 
rity against enemies and dangerous neigh- 
boxirs ; if these considerations had been duly 
weighed, your injurious insinuations of being 
neglected must have been turned into praise, 
that your employers could do so much under 
such untoward circumstances. We ourselves 
look back with wonder at the difficulties we 
have surmounted, and which, with our con- 
tracted capital, must have been impossible, if 
the proprietors, generously and without a 
murmur, had not consented to reduce their 
dividend twenty-five per cent. ; but with all 
our economy and care, unless our servants 
studiously attend to lessen their charges and 
increase our advantages, the burthen will be 
too great for us to bear much longer." 

The gratitude expressed towards the mi- 
nistry in that letter was deserved, for upon 
the increase of the company's military forces, 
and especially when intelligence arrived that 
the French and other European rivals held 
out every temptation to the sepoys and other 
mercenaries in the English service to desert, 
measures were taken by the government to 
extend and enforce the company's military 
authority. An act was passed which enabled 
them to hold courts-martial for the puuish- 
m3nt of mutiny and desertion. 

VOL. H. 



When Clive returned to England the se- 
cond time, he received personally, July IGth, 
17G0, from the directors, their "unanimous 
thanks for his many eminent and unparalleled 
services." It is a sad illustration of the cor- 
ruption of human nature, that a few years 
later, when no further advantages were ex- 
pected from Olive's military and administrative 
genius, these "many eminent and unparalleled 
services" were so little regarded, that the 
court of directors endeavoured to strip him 
of his property and appropriate it to them- 
selves. 

In 17G0, however, it was the policy of the 
company to praise him ; accordingly, in Sep- 
tember of that year, the proprietors marked 
their sense of Colonel Olive's services by a 
public resolution of thanks to him. Admiral 
Pococke, and Colonel Lawrence. They also 
resolved unanimously, "that the chairman and 
deputy chairman, when they wait upon Vice- 
admiral Pococke, Colonel Clive, and Colonel 
Lawrence, will desire those gentlemen to give 
their consent that their portraits or statues be 
taken, in order to be placed in some conspi- 
cuous parts of this house, that their eminent 
and signal services to this company may be 
ever had in remembrance." Thus the pro- 
prietary at large rivalled the directors in 
eulogising and conferring honours upon him : 
a few years later, and their rivalry was as 
signal in vituperating him, and endeavouring 
to wrench from him property which he had 
acquired with the sanction of the honourable 
court. Olive was, however, destined to rea- 
der further services to the company, and to 
be still more an object of their panegyric be- 
fore ingratitude and persecution marked him 
for their victim. In 17G4, after the unfortu- 
nate government of Mr. Vansittart in Bengal, 
Clive, as has been already shown in the his- 
tory of that presidency, was appointed gover- 
nor and commander-in-chief. The circum- 
stances attending his appointment were of 
considerable home interest to the company, 
and excited much attention from all classes 
in the country. 

There was a person in the direction of the 
comj^any named Snlivan, by whose influence a 
series of injuries and annoyances to Clive were 
set on foot. Among other acts of hostility to 
him, they refused to recognise his jaghire, 
which had been conferred on him as already 
related with the company's approval. As this 
landed estate was worth £30,U00 a year, and 
the company was his tenant, it was deemed a 
good prize, and of easy attainment. Olive 
was compelled to take leading proceedings for 
the recovery of his rights, the lawyers having 
declared that his claims were legal and equit- 
able. The company had uo ground for re- 

u u 



t26 



HISTORY OF TUE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXXI. 



sisting tbem exceptthatto appropriate to tLem- 
selves dive's property would be au advan- 
tage. Sulivan was perhaps actuated as nmoli 
by jealousy of Olive's influence as by cupidity. 
The latter motive was that which chiefly pre- 
vailed with the rest of the directors. 

When the advices from Bengal, dated Sep- 
tember 3rd, 1763, were received by the di- 
rectors, great excitement was produced in 
the honourable court, and among the public. 
These advices were received on the 4th of 
February, 1764, and informed the directors 
of the war vrith Meer Cossini, and the death 
of Mr. Amyatt in the conflict at Moorshed- 
abad. On the Sth of February, an advertise- 
ment appeared in all the London newspaper.?, 
conveying the intelligence that had been re- 
ceived. A special grand court was called on 
the 27th of February, according to that pro- 
vision in the constitution of the company, 
under which nine proprietors might call such 
a meeting. On the 29th of February, the 1st 
of March, and the 12th of that month, the 
court also assembled. All the revolutions 
which had taken place in Bengal since the 
first English acquisitions were made, became 
subjects of discussion. Long and angry de-. 
bates ruffled the usually smooth surface of 
the company's meetings. The appointment 
which the directors had made of making Mr. 
Spencer governor of Bengal was " referred 
back again to them," and an outcry for the re- 
appointment of Olive arose vv-hich could not be 
stifled. He was then Lord Olive. His lord- 
ship was present at the meeting on the 12th 
of March, and expressed his willingness to 
serve the company, if he w-ere assured that 
the court of directors were well disposed to- 
wards hiui; but he declined coming to any 
resolution at that moment. 

It soon transpired that Olive believed the 
deputy-chairman, Mr. Sulivan, was his enemy. 
That gentleman almost controlled the direc- 
tion. He was a man of vast influence and 
energy, and pertinacious in the extreme. He 
and Olive were at constant variance; and 
Olive resolved never to serve abroad if Suli- 
van ruled at home. In a letter addressed 
to the court of directors, March 28th, he 
expressed his resolution in terms firm, but 
modest and polite. He declared that he con- 
sidered the measures of Mr. Sulivan utterly 
destructive to the interests of the company; 
but expressed himself as ready, if that gentle- 
man were deprived of what was called " the 
lead" in the company's affairs, to accept the 
appointment, even if the affairs of Bengal 
should prove to be in a worse condition than 
during the time of Suraj-ad-Dowlah. To 
this letter the directors made no reply. The 
ajinual electiou for the directory took place 



on the 12th of April. On the 13th "new- 
chairs were chosen, and Mr. Sulivan returned 
into the body of the court." 

On the Ibth, the directors' renewed their 
correspondence with Lord Olive, who at- 
tended there for the purpose of a conference, 
at their invitation, the next day. He then 
started new objections to his acceptance of the 
honours profi'cred to him. These were the'pre- 
sence in Bengal of Mr. Spencer, with whom he 
alleged many of the company's agents would 
no longer serve ; and the disadvantage to 
himself personally of proceeding to India, 
while a law-suit in reference to his jaghire 
continued. 

On the 27th, the court rescinded the 
nomination of Mr. Spencer to the council of 
Bengal, and re-appointed him to Bombaj'. 
This appears to have conciliated Olive, who, 
knowing of the intention of tlie directors as 
to Spencer, prepared proposals of a concessive 
nature concerning his jaghire. Without wait- 
ing for the company's acquiescence in these, 
he accepted their nomination, and was sworn 
in, on the 30th of April, as president of Fort 
William and commander-in-chief of the com- 
pany's forces there. 

On the Sth of May, the general court 
granted to his lordship the income of the 
jaghire for ten years— that is to say, they 
made him a present for ten years of an in- 
come which was his own for ever ; and this 
was done with a show of magnanimity, and 
consideration for his " eminent and unparal- 
leled services." The results of these pro- 
ceedings have been recorded in their proper 
place in a previous chapter. The comments 
of Mr. Mill upon the whole of these transac- 
tions are inaccurate, and expressed in a spirit 
unjust to the company and to Olive. What- 
ever Mr. Mill has written, receives currency 
to a greater extent among liberal persons not 
well informed on Indian subjects, than the 
statements of any other writer obtain ; it is 
therefore important to draw attention to in- 
stances in which he allowed his peculiar 
opinions to sway his mind, to the prejudice 
not only of the East India Oompauy, but 
against the reputation of his own country. 
In the history of the East India Oompan)', 
there were unhappily too many episodes dis- 
creditable to that body and to Englishmen ; 
but it is unworthy of a great writer and able 
man to subserve his peculiar commercial, 
economical, or political opinions, by seizing 
upon every apparent error, and twisting it into 
a crime, and by perpetually turning aside from 
the true lino of fact to attribute motive, and 
misconstrue the intention of those to whose 
opinions and principles he is opposed. 

On the proceedings between Olive and the 



Chav. LXXXI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST, 



327 



IL 



comjiany, related above, 5Ir. Slill thus anim- 
adverts : — " During the military and political 
transactions which so intensely engaged their 
servants in India, the courts of directors and 
pi'oprictors remained for several years rather 
quiet spectators and warm expectants, than 
keen and troublesome controllers. When 
they had been agitated for a v^'hile, however, 
by the reports of mismanagement which were 
mutually transmitted to tliem by Vansittart 
and his opponents ; and, at last, when they 
were alarmed by the news of a war actually 
kindled with the nabob, of the massacre of 
BO many of their servants, and the extensive 
spirit of mutiny among the troops, their sense 
of danger roused them to some acts of autho- 
rity. Though Clive had quitted India with 
an act of insult towards his employers, which 
they had highly resented; though the direc- 
tors had disputed and withheld payment of 
the proceeds of his jaghire, for wliich he had 
commenced a suit against them in the Court 
of Chancery ; he was now proposed for go- 
vernor, as the only man capable of retrieving 
their disordered and desperate afl'airs. Only 
thirteen directors, however, were found, after 
a violent contest, to vote for his ajipointment ; 
while it was still opposed by eleven. Yet 
the high powers which he demanded, as in- 
dispensable for the arduous services necessary 
to be performed, though strongly ojiposed, 
were also finally conferred. He was invested 
with the powers of cominander-iu-chief, presi- 
dent, and governor in Bengal ; and, together 
with four gentlemen, named by the directors, 
was to form a select committee, empowered to 
act by their own authority, as often as they 
deemed it expedient, without consulting the 
council, or being subject to its control." Al- 
most every line of that passage makes a mis- 
statement, or conveys by implication some 
misrepresentation. 

It is not true that the court of directors re- 
mained quiet spectators rather than trouble- 
some coutrc>llers. No imi)artial person can 
read the correspondence between the councils 
and the directors without coming to an 
opposite conclusion. A very cursory inspec- 
tion of documents and authorities at the 
India-house must assure any honest mind 
that the directors showed activity and vi- 
gilance, answering all correspondence with 
promi)titude, and furnishing such means as 
they could against contingencies. So fre- 
quently was the company deceived, by both 
intentional and unintentional misstatements 
from the councils, that the measures they took 
did not correspond with eventualities. It is 
not true that there was any indisposition to 
control their servants, when clearly aware 
that those servants were doing wi'ong. There 



were instances in which some want of energy 
was, in this particular, disjilayed, as has been 
noticed in previous chapters. But the time 
it required to receive intelligence and send 
back orders was so great as frequently to para- 
lyse the power of the directors, and enable the 
councils to answer their masters with pro- 
mises which they did not intend to perform. 
As soon as the directors knew that Spencer, 
Amyatt, and others, had perversely disobeyed 
their orders and committed their honour, 
these persons were eitlier removed to other 
spheres or dismissed. In the case of several, 
more especially Aymatt, the penal resolutions 
of the directors failed to take effect, as these 
persons had already paid the penalty of life, 
for their impolicy or oppression, upon the 
field of their errors. By the expression 
"warm expectants," Mr. iiill evidently means 
that the directors awaited eagerly for such 
tidings of revolution and plunder as would 
fill the treasury at home. If this be not the 
meaning, the whole tone of the context is such 
as to convey the impression. M. Auber* re- 
marks upon this passage: — "There is nothing 
which authorizes the inference, that they were, 
at that period, ' warm expectants,' (it is pre- 
sumed) either of new acquisitions or exor- 
bitant gains. They desired the means of 
meeting the heavy expenditure which the 
operations in that country had entailed upon 
the company. They advised and directed, 
where advice and direction could be safely 
given ; and, although they wisely abstained 
' from controlling any measures which the exi- 
gency of circumstances might have called for 
on the part of the council, they communicated 
their sentiments and wishes thereon to their 
servants.' " The course taken by the directors 
in this last respect was the only rational one. 
The sphere of operation was too remote for a 
direct control ; the only plan was to entrust 
their servants with a large discretion, and 
hold them personally responsible. M. Auber 
meets the allegation of Mill, that the directors 
were only at last roused to a sense of their 
danger to resort to some acts of authority, by 
the hostilities against the nabob, the massacres 
of so many of their servants, and the extensive 
spirit of mutiny among their troops, in the 
following terms : — " The directors had exer- 
cised the acts of authority referred to before 
any such news had reached England. The 
death of Mr. Amyatt was not known to the 
court until three weeks after he had been re- 
moved from the service ; the account of the 
massacre did not arrive until three months, 
and that of the mutiny until six mouths, after 
the api)ointment of Lord Clive ; and, instead 

* British Power in India, vol. i. chap. iv. pp. 129, 
130. 



32S 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXXI. 



of its having licen considered an extensive 
mutiny, the court of directors, on the lltli of 
October, 1TG4, caused the follovs-ing notice to 
he issued through the daily papers : ' \Vc can, 
with good authority, assure the public, that 
altliough by the last advices from Bengal (7th 
February), the East India Company were in- 
formed there had been a mutiny among the 
troops, instigated and encouraged by some 
French soldiers, about one hundred and fifty 
in number, who had enlisted in the company's 
service, yet the same, at the time of dispatch- 
ing those advices, was quelled, without the 
loss or desertion of a single European, ex- 
cept those Frenchmen above-mentioned.'" 
M. Auber also remarks:— "The appointment 
of Lord Clive was that of the court of pro- 
prietors, and not of the court of directors. 
With regard to the high powers stated to 
have been ' demanded,' it would be inferred 
from the statement that they formed one of 
the stipulations under which his lordship ac- 
cepted the office of president; whereas he 
was sworn in on the 30tli of April, and it 
was not until the 2oth of May that the re- 
commendation of the committee of corre- 
spondence which was agreed to in personal 
communication with, and not in consequence 
of any demand from his lordship, was adopted 
by the majority of the court. It was on that 
occasion that i-he eleven directors dissented, 
not from his appointment, but from the reso- 
lution conferring such powers on the select 
committee, which was to consist of four mem- 
bers besides his lordship ; and so far from the 
act conferring such powers being unusual, the 
principle had obtained of appointing a select 
committee to act irrespective of the council, 
since February, 175G. In the instance of the 
expedition to Madras, under Colonel Forde, 
in 1758, the select committee acted under such 
powers, as appears by the consultations of 
the 21st of August in that year. In the in- 
stance of Sir. Vansittart, in February, 17G4, 
only three months preceding the proposition 
for conferring the powers in question on Lord 
Clive.and the committee, full powers had been 
given by the court to Mr. Vansittart, ' with 
authority to pursue whatever means he judged 
most proper to attain the object. He was in 
all cases, where it could be done conveniently, 
to consult the council at large, or, at least, the 
select committee, though the power of deter- 
mining was vested in him alone.'"' 

"While Clive was engaged in Bengal, the 
com])any at home was much chagrined and 
scandalized by the communications which he 
made of the corruption of the court of Bengal. 
It is much to be wished that the conduct of 
the company to Clive himself in pecuniary 
matters had been as honourable as it was 



upon receipt of his communications, and as 
they insisted the conduct of their councils 
ought to be in their dealings with native 
peoples and princes. The subject of presents 
from native princes to the servants of the 
East India Company, upon any revolution or 
great political change, was a difficult subject 
to adjust. Mr. Mill, in his history, ])laoes 
the lists of recipients before his readers, and 
shows the aggregate amount which in less 
than ten years, as was proved before a com- 
mittee of the House of Commons, was re- 
ceived. This list, with the prefatory remarks 
of Mr. Mill, will interest our readers : — 

" The practice which prevails in all rude 
governments of accompanying an application 
to a man in power with a gratification to some 
of his ruling passions, most frequently to the 
steadiest of all his passions, his avarice or ra- 
pacity, has alwaj's remarkably distinguished 
the governments in the East, and hardly any 
to so extraordinary a degree as the govern- 
ments of the very rude people of India. 
When the English suddenly acquired their 
extraordinary power in Bengal, the current of 
presents, so well accustomed to take its course 
in the channel drawn by hope and fear, flowed 
very naturallj-, and very copiously, into the lap 
of the strangers. A person in India, who had 
favours to ask, or evil to deprecate, could not 
easily believe, till acceptance of his present, 
that the great man to whom he addressed 
himself was not his foe. Besides the sums, 
which we may suppose it to have been in the 
power of the receivers to conceal, and of the 
amount of which it is not easy to form a con- 
jecture, the following were detected and dis- 
closed by the conmiittee of the House of 
Commons, in 1773 : — 

"Account of such sums as have been proved or achiOK- 
Jedf/ed before the committee to have been distributed 
bij the jirinces and other natives of Bengat, from the 
year 1757 to the year 17GG, both inclusive; distin- 
(juishing the firincipat times of the said distributions^ 
and specifying the sums received by each person re- 
spectivety. 

Revolution in favour of Jfcer JafTier, in 1757- 

Kiipecs. KuiMjcs. £ 

Mr. Drake (Governor) . 280,000 31,500 

Colonel Clive as second 

in the select committee 280,000 
Ditto as commander-in- 
chief 200,000 

Ditto as a private dona- 
tion 1600,000* 

2,080,000 23-1,000 



* It appears, by the extract in the appendix. No. 102, 
from the evidence given on the trial of Ram Churn be- 
fore the governor and council in 1761, by Roy Dulip, 
who hod the principal management in the distribution of 
the treasures of the deceased nabob, Suraj-ad-Donlah, upon 
the accession of Jaffier Ali Cawn— that Roy Dulop then 



CiiAP. LXXXI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



Mr. Watts 08 a member Kupccs. nuiwes. 

of the committee . . 240,000 
Ditto as a private dona- 
tion 800,000 

1,040,000 

Major Kilpatrick 240,000 

Ditto as a private donation . . 300,000 

Jlr. Jlaningham 240,000 

Mr. Becher 240,000 

Six members of council one lac 

each 600,000 

Mr. Walsh 500,000 

Mr. Scrafton 200,000 

Mr. Lushington 50,000 

Stipnlation to the navy and army 



Memorandum. — The sum of ttto 
lacs to Lord Clive, as com- 
mander-in-chief, must be de- 
ducted from this account, it 
being included in the dona- 
tion to the army .... 
Lord Clive's jaghire was likewise 

obtained at this period* . . . 



117,000 
27,000 
33,750 
27,000 
27,000 

68,200 

36,250 

22.500 

5,625 

600,000 

1,261,075 



22,500 



1,238,575 



Revolution in favour of Cossim, 1 760. 

Mr. Sumner 

Mr. IIol«ell 270,000 

Mr. M'Guire 180,000 

Mr. Smyth 134,000 

Major Yorke 134,000 

General Calliaud 200,000 

Mr. Vansittart, 1762, received 

seven lacs ; but the two lacs to 

General Calliaud arc included; 

so that only five lacs must be 

counted for hero 500,000 

Mr. M'Guire 5000 gold mohrs . 75,000 



28,000 
30,1)37 
20,625 
15,354 
15,354 
22,010 



58,333 

8,750 



200,209 



Kevolution in favour of Jaffier, 1763. 
Stipulation to the army .... 2,500,000 291,666 
Ditto to the navy 1,250,000 145,833 



JIajor Honrot in 1764 received 
from Bulwan Singh .... 

Ditto from the nabob .... 

The oflicers belonging to Major 
Monro's family from ditto . . 

The army received from the mer- 
chants at Benares 400,000 



437,499 

10,000 
3,000 

3,000 

46,066 

62,060 



Nujum-ad-Dowlah's accession, 1705. 

Mr. Spencer 200,000 23,333 

Messieurs PIcydcll, Burdett, and 

Gray, one lac each .... 300,000 35,000 

received, as a present from Colonel Clive, one lac, 25,000 
rupees, being five per cent, on 25 lacs. It does not ap- 
pear that this evidence was taken on oath. 

* This, as noticed by Sir J. JIalcolm, Life of Clice, 
vol. ii. p. 187, is incorrect. The jaghire was not granted 
till the end of 1759, two years after Meer Jallier had been 
seated on the throne. 

t It appears Colonel Monro accepted a jaghire from 
the king, of £12,500 a year, which he delivered to the 
Nabob Meer .lailier, the cirenmslances of which are stated 
in the Journals of the year 1825. 



Rupees. 

Mr. Johnstone 237,000 

Jlr. Leycester 113,500 

Jlr. Senior 172,500 

Jlr. Middletou 122,500 

Jlr. Gideon Johnstone .... 50,000 



General Carnac received from Bul- 
wan Sing in 1 765 80,000 

Ditto from the king 200,000 

I,ord Clive received from the Bo- 
gum in 1760 500,000 



329 

£ 

27,650 
13,125 
.20,123 
14,291 
5,833 

*139,357 

9,333 
23,333 

58,333 

90,999 



Restitution — Jaffier, 1757. 

East India Company 1,200,000 

Europeans 600,000 

Natives 250,000 

Armenians 100,000 



2,150,000 

Cossim, 1700. 
East India Company 62,5C0 

Jaffier, 1763. 

East India Company 375,000 

Europeans, Natives, &c 600,000 

975,000 

Peace with Sujah-aJ-DoivIiih. 

East India Company 5,000,000 583,333 

Total of presents, £'2,169,663. 
Restitution, S;c., £3,770,833. 
Total amount, exclusive of Lord 

Clive's jaghire £5,940,498 

Memorandnm. — The rupees are valued according lu 
the rate of exchange of the company's bills at the diiltreut 
periods. "t 

Mr. Mill wisely and eloquei>tly reinarked 
upon tliese facts — " That this was a i)ractice 
presenting the strongest demand for effectual 
regulation, its obvions consequences render 
manifest and indisputable. In the first place, 
it laid the nabobs, rulers, and other leading 
men of the country, under endless and un- 
limited oppression ; because, so long as they 
on whom their wliole power and influence 
depended were pleased to desire presents, 
nothing could be withheld which they either 
possessed or had it in their power to ravage 

* These sums appear by evidence to have been received 
by the parties ; but the committee think proper to state 
that Jlohammcd Reza Cawn intended a present of one 
lac of rupees to each of the four deputies sent to treat 
with Nujum-ad-Dowlah upon his lather's death ; viz. 
Jlessrs. Johnstone, Leycester, Senior, and Jliddletou ; but 
Jlr. Jliddleton and Jlr. Leycester allirm that they never 
accepted theirs, and Mr. Johnstone appears to have ten- 
dered his back to Jlohammed Reza Cawn, who would 
not accept them. These bills (except Jlr. Senior's for 
50,000 rupees) appear to have been afterwards laid before 
the select committee, and no further evidence has been 
produced to your committee concerning them. Jlr. Senior 
received 50,000 rupees of his, and it is stated against him 
iu this account. 

+ Third Report on the Nature, Stale, and Condition 
of the East Iiidiu, Company, 1772, pp. 20 — 23. 



330 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. LXXXI. 



and extort. That the temptations nnder 
which the servants of the company were 
placed, carried them to those heigiits of ex- 
action which were within their reach, is far 
from true. They showed, on the contrary, a 
reserve and forbearance, wliich tlie education 
received in no other country, probably in the 
world, except their own, could have enabled 
men, in their extraordinary circumstances to 
maintain." 

On the 17th of July, 1767, Lord Olive pre- 
sented himself before the court of directors, 
upon his return from Bengal, after his brief 
but successful career there. The court con- 
gratulated him in terms of energetic praise, 
declaring that his conduct " exceeded the 
court's most sanguine expectations, not only 
in the very eminent services he had rendered 
the company by his wise and judicious ad- 
ministration of their affairs during his resi- 
dence in Bengal, but also by that prudent 
and well-formed plan which he had suggested 
for the regulation of the plan of the select 
committee ; and that it was imposfible by 
force of words to represent to his lordship the 
high sense of gratitude the court entertained 
for the constant attention given by his lord- 
ship to the company's interests." 

" On the 23rd of September, the general 
court, in consideration of the important ser- 
vices rendered to the company by Lord Olive, 
recommended to, and authorized, the court of 
directors to make a grant, under the com- 
pany's seal, to his lordship, and his personal 
representatives, of a further term of ten years 
on his jaghire. The indenture granting the 
same was approved and engrossed in October 
following." 

The court of directors were probably well 
pleased with their judgment upon Olive's ser- 
vices, upon receiving a despatch from the 
council of Bengal, conveying n good account 
of the company's prospects, and attributing it 
to the genius of Olive. The council must 
have been much impressed with the over- 
whelming ability of the great general and 
statesman, when, in spite of his reforms, and 
resolute and even haughty conduct to them- 
selves, they could make up their minds to 
lavish compliments upon him in this fashion : — 

" We should be wanting in the just praises 
of superior merit, and in gratitude for the es- 
sential services performed by Lord Olive, if 
we failed to acknowledge that, to the prudence 
and vigour of his administration, you are 
chiefly to ascribe the present flourishing con- 
dition of your affairs. Firm and indefatigable 
in his pursuits, he joined, to the weight of 
personal character, a zeal for your service, and 
a knowledge of your interests, which could 
not but insure sticcess. 



" We beheld a presidency divided, head- 
strong and licentious ; a government without 
nerves ; a treasury without money, and a 
service without subordination, discipline, or 
public spirit. We may add that, amidst a 
general stagnation of useful industry and of 
licensed commerce, individuals were accumu- 
lating immense riches, which they had ravished 
from the insulted prince and his helpless 
people, who groaned under the united pressure 
of discontent, poverty, and oppression. 

" Such was the condition of this presidency 
and of these provinces. Your present situa- 
tion need not be described. The liberal sup- 
plies to Ohina; the state of your treasury, of 
your investment, of the service, and of the 
whole country, declare it to be the strongest 
contrast to what it was. 

" We repeat," added tlie committee, " what 
we have already declared to Lord Olive, that 
no motive, no consideration, shall ever induce 
us to depart from that system of politics 
which has been recommended to us by precept 
and example, unless some very extraordinary 
event and unforeseen change should occur in 
the posture of your aifairs." 

On the 6th of April, 1770, the committee 
of the military fund carried into effect an 
agreement between Lord Olive and the com- 
pany, in respect to the legacy left to his lord- 
ship by Meer Jaffier, referred to in a previous 
chapter. This sum amounted to £62,833. 
Meer Jaffier's successor added to this sum 
£37,700. There was also an additional sum 
of £24,128, due by the company for interest 
at eight per cent, on those amounts. Mr. Mill 
sneeringly observes that " to this ambiguous 
transaction the institution at Poplar owes its 
foundation." This is one of the many errors 
into which that able man was betrayed by the 
animus which he cherished towards the com- 
pan)^ The institution at Poplar, nnder the 
designation of " Poplar Hospital," was founded 
for the relief of those who had belonged to the 
company's maritime service, or who might at 
any future time have belonged to it. Lord 
Olive's fund was for the benefit of those who 
had been in the military service, or who, in 
after times, might have served in the com- 
pany's army. Poplar Hospital was instituted 
nearly a century before Olive was born, 
in 1627. 

The conquests of Hyder Ali, which occa- 
sioned such tumults and alarms in the presi- 
dencies of Bombay and Madras, excited great 
concern in the court of directors. The follow- 
ing despatch to the council of Madras sets the 
affairs between Hyder, the Nabob of the Car- 
natic, and the Madras council, in their trne 
light, and proves that the directors clearly 
understood how so many dangers and dis- 



CiiAP. LXXXI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



331 



tresses ■were brought about, notwithstanding 
the advantageous light in wliicli the council 
placed their own conduct, and tlieir petulant 
accusations, against the nabob, and every one 
else whom their own ignorance, incapacity, 
and apathy involved in their abortive projects 
and disputes. The date of the despatch was 
March, 1770 :— 

" In your letter to the nabob, dated the 
16th July, 17G7, you say that it has been 
your intention, ever since 17tJl, to enibrace 
the first favourable opportunity of securing 
the several passes into the Carnatic. That 
you then had a favourable opportunity, be- 
cause the Mahrattas had already struck a 
terror into Hyder's forces; therefore, you 
urged the nabob to exert his utmost to get 
this accomplished. You afterwards promised 
him the government of the Mysore country. 
Your field deputies pompously appointed him 
fongedar thereof; and then you accuse him 
of having an insatiable desire of extending his 
dominions. He finds himself, by following 
your advice, reduced, disappointed, and almost 
despised ; and then you blame him for want 
of temper. 

" You have attempted to explain .iway the 
value of almost everything for which you 
have ventured to plunge us into a war with a 
view to obtain. To such a degree of irreso- 
lution and disability had your ill-conduct of 
the war reduced you, that necessity obliged 
yon, at last, to give Mr. Andrews, in his in- 
structions to treat with Hyder, a very extra- 
ordinary carte blanche, nearly to this effect : 
' If Hyder will not relinquish places taken, we 
must relinquish pretensions thereto.' 

" You say the nabob has the Bengal trans- 
actions always in his mind : — we wonder not 
at it. You have, contrary to our express in- 
junctions, afforded but too much reason for all 
the country powers around you to suspect us 
of encroaching designs against their posses- 
sions and tranquillity, and gained no one ad- 
vantage thereby. 

" In the first article of your treaty with 
Hyder, you include, in general words, all the 
friends and allies of the contracting parties, 
' provided they do not become aggressors ;' 
but if they become aggressors, they lose the 
benefit of such treaty. 

" Now, as by the treaty with the soubahdar, 
Bazalet Jung is prohibited expressly, at any 
time, from yielding Hyder the common formal 
civilities necessarily practised by country 
powers who are at peace with each other, we 
cannot conceive how Bazalet Jung can fulfil 
the condition by which he holds his circar, 
and yet continue on good terms with Hyder, 
as all onr allies must do, if they act conform- 
ably to the first article of your treaty with him. 



"By your letter to the president and coun- 
cil of Bengal, 21st March last, and tlieir rejily 
thereto, of tiie 31st of the same month, we 
find a plan has been concerted between you, 
for establishing a fund for military resources, 
by a reduction of the investments on which 
we had so much reason to depend. However 
salutary it might be to provide against future 
exigencies, after your investments shall have 
been carried to their full extent, yet it is with 
the utmost astonishment we see that our ser- 
vants (apprised, as they are, of the obligation 
the company is under to paj' £400,000 an- 
nually to government, exclusive of the indem- 
nity for tea, which may be estimated at near 
£200,000) could entertain an idea of depriv- 
ing us of the only means we could have to 
discharge the same, together with such divi- 
dends as the proprietors might reasonably ex- 
pect from our late acquisitions, and at the 
same time enable us to provide for the pay- 
ment of bills of exchange, or our common and 
necessary consignments, and the other impor- 
tant occasions which must indispensably be 
complied with." 

The reference made in the foregoing de- 
spatch to the annual payment of £400,000 a 
year to the British government arose from an 
act passed to that effect in June, 1757, com- 
pelling the company to pay tliat sum for 
permission to hold the sovereignty of their 
territorial possessions in India for two years. 
This was another instance of the flagrant 
manner in which the crown and parliament 
were ever ready to rend from the company 
money on any pretext. After the resources 
of the company had been drained in formid- 
able wars, and territory was conceded to 
them, by the revenues of which they hoped 
to cover the expenses incurred, the crown 
and parliament were ready to seize as much 
of these revenues as possible, leaving the 
company to meet its onerous pecuniary obli- 
gations as best it could. The government 
and parliament found an opportunity for 
enacting this piece of rapacity, in conse- 
quence of the turbulent proceedings of the 
proprietors of Indian stock, who looked for 
the most exorbitant dividends, under allega- 
tions of the wealth of their newly-acquired 
provinces, which raised the envy and cupidity 
of the governing classes in England. They 
at once proclaimed that subjects should not 
become territorial lords, or make conquests, 
except for the weal of the entire nation. The 
company protested that some of these cessions 
were in payment of expenses actually in- 
curred, and that for most, if not all, of their 
accessions of land they paid a rent, and, in 
many cases, equal to that upon which zemin- 
dars and polygars held their tenures, and fai 



332 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXXI 



move surely paiil. The legislature cared for 
none of these arguments, nor for any repre- 
sentations that might be made, the object 
of its members being to relieve themselves 
from taxation, and place money at the dis- 
posal of government, for its own purposes, 
however unjustly taken from the company. 
The king of England and his ministers were 
as ready as the Emperor of Delhi, his sou- 
bahdars, and their nabobs, to seize what 
might, under their especial circumstances, be 
taken. The Mahratta chiefs were not the 
only royal personages who took "chout" 
from the Indian lands. The East India Com- 
pany had to pay a "chout" to the Mahrattas 
of their own legislature upon the lands from 
which they hoped to acquire a revenue. The 
Act compelling the company to pay £4:00,000 
a-year expired in 1709, but was then renewed* 
for five years. The act in 1767, besides ex- 
acting the tribute, compelled the company, 
whether it suited their business or not, to ex- 
port a given value in British produce. 

Closely following the renewal of the tribute 
act, government passed measures giving to 
their admirals on the coasts of India extra- 
ordinary powers, which were used stupidly^ 
and obstinately, as the reader has seen in the 
relation of the absurd interference of Admirals- 
Lindsey and Harland in affairs for which they 
had neither intelligence, experience, nor capa- 
city. Three commissioners sent out by the 
company in 17G9 never reached their desti- 
nation. Tliis was one cause of the assump- 
tion of absolute supervision by the admirals, 
whose powers would have been held in check 
by tlie authority conferred on the commis- 
sioners with the consent of the crow'n. 

In 1772 the directors were obliged to re- 
present to the ministers that, in consequence 
of the imperfect power allowed to the com- 
pany for tiie punishment of its servants, the 
directors were unable to enforce tlieir au- 
thority ; that the recent wars, which they 
neither desired nor occasioned, had absorbed 
their revenue ; tliat the expenditure for troops 
and stores had increased ; and that the in- 
vestment upon the "out-tun," upon which they 
relied for means to meet their expenses, was 
actually suspended, from the absorbtion of 
their capital. It might have been expected 
that the ruinous tribute of £-100,000 a-year 
wo\dd, under such circumstances, have been re- 
mitted ; but the minister of the day showed 
no disposition to relax demands, or in any 
way favour the comjiany. The directors 
and proprietors did not themselves adopt 
prudent courses. They had not long before 
declared a dividend of G| per cent., with the 
full knowledge of their embarrassments; but 
• 7 Geo. III. caj). 5 7. 



the £100,000 demanded by government was 
not paid. A public opinion was rapidly 
created against the company and its servants. 
Forgotten matters were sought out, refuted 
accusations were revived, sins forgiven or 
passed lightly over by the public, were 
dragged to light again; "returned Indians" 
were ridiculed in the newspaper and comic 
press, caricatures of those persons as "nabobs" 
were exhibited in the printshops, while eager 
crowds approvingly gazed upon them ; and, 
in fine, a widespread hostility existed to- 
wards the directors and their agents. Had 
the company paid its way and made good 
dividends, had new accounts of glorious vic- 
tories, instead of the intelligence concerning 
the defeats and disgraces attending the war 
with Mysore arrived, the mob would have 
cheered, the nation would have been proud 
of its heroes, the company's nabobs and the 
holders of East India stock would have been 
the most respectable of citizens. A cloud 
came upon the face of the great luminary, and 
every vulgar eye looked fearlessly upon it. 
The very persons that had courted the pa- 
tronage of the company only a short time be- 
fore, when in the heyday of its power, were 
amongst the pamphleteers and accusers who 
detracted its fair and legitimate fame. Lord 
Glive, instead of being a popular idol, became 
a popular victim. The families of those whom 
ho had deprived of place and power, when in 
1765 he uprooted so many maladministrators, 
as well as so much maladministration, had 
hated him from that time, and virulently ca- 
lumniated him; but the public mind was not then 
prepared to listen to them : now it was ready 
to believe as well as to hear every fiction, as 
well as every fault which flowed from the 
tongues of his vituperators. The circum- 
stances under which his lordship had entered 
upon that arduous trust were forgotten, whilst 
the most distorted views were given of his 
measures. Lord Clive was not a recognised 
servant of the state ; he derived no authority 
from law : he was placed over a presidency, 
divided, headstrong, and licentious; the trea- 
suiy was without mone}', and the service 
without subordination, discipline, or public 
spirit : the subordinate functionaries being 
aware that they were only amenable to punish- 
ment within the precincts of the Mahratta 
ditch. Such a state of things was alone to be 
met and overcome by the firm and resolute 
line of conduct which his lordship adopted. 
The effect on the interests of the individuals 
who suffered under the well-merited rebuke 
their conduct had drawn upon them, led to 
the strong opposition evinced at the time to- 
wards his lordship, — a feeling which was 
fomented by some of the leading members of 



CuAr. LXXXl.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



333 



L 



the ilirection, wlio were personally indisposed 
tcwarils liim.* 

A eolect and a secret committee were moved 
for in ])arliament. Tlie members were gene- 
rally adverse to the company, and many were 
envious of the reputations and fortunes which 
had been made in India, by which persons 
originally obscure, towered above " old fami- 
lies." They were denounced in and out of 
parliament as upstarts, as if it were criminal 
of them to be either braver, wiser, or more 
clever than the gentry at home. Those who 
had grown rich by legitimate means, were the 
objects of as much acrimonious jealousy as 
those who brought home their stores of plun- 
der ; nor were tlie former free from calumny, 
any more than the latter from just censure. 
As many who had grown rich in India did so 
by plundering their own employers as well as 
vanquished princes and peoples — men who 
had dared nothing, and done nothing for the 
good of the company or the honour of their 
country, and as these were a vast majority of 
all that had grown rich in India, the " wealthy 
Indians " were as a class liable to suspicion 
and exposed to abuse. A perfect hurricane 
of obloquy and invective raged round the heads 
of all connected with the East India Com- 
pany. How strange the fortunes of this ano- 
malous society — one year the pride of an em- 
pire, and conquering empires, its servants 
statesmen and generals, whose names filled 
the world ; in another year, not remote, none 
60 poor as to do it homage. Its fortunes 
were like flashing meteors, attracting every 
eye, and passing swiftly on into darkness, 
ritful and glorious were the episodes of its 
progress. Every season of renown was fol- 
lowed by one of obloquy. Now gorgeous 
Eastern kings poured forth their treasures 
before it, as offerings to its valour, wisdom, 
and power. Anon, the street-rabble mock its 
directors as they pass ; and the most stupid 
country gentlemen that ever slumbered and 
voted upon the benches of the commons, deem 
themselves of too much consequence to asso- 
ciate with its returned ministers and soldiers, 
men who had 

" Made the earth to tremble, 
And did shake kingdoms." 

The general feeling against the company 
and its servants was promoted by an event 
in which they had no share, cxcejjt as suf- 
ferers. In the year 1770 the rains failed in 
Bengal. Upon them depended the rice croiis — 
upon these tlio sustenance of thirty millions of 
human beings. A famine ensued, such as often 
was known in India, especially in the rice 

* Auber's RUe and Progress of the East India Com- 
puiitj, vol. i. p. 338. 
VOL. II. 



districts. The loss of human life was terrible. 
The Ganges rolled down day by day num- 
bers of dead bodies — they had perished of 
liungei'. Nothing excites so much synijjathy 
in England as a famine. Englishmen hear of 
desolating wars with an excitement, which, in 
admiration of the results, and of the feats per- 
formed, counteracts the disgust which blood- 
shed would otherwise create. But in a famine 
there is no room for any emotions but pity 
and horror, unless where human instrument- 
alities are engaged in producing the ruin, 
and then the English character fires up in 
rage against the oppressors. This was the 
case at the period of which these pages treat. 
The tidings of famine and death from India 
exasperated the multitude. It was believed 
that the company's agents had hoarded and 
forestalled the rice, and in their eagei'ness for 
gain, allowed multitudes of their fellow-crea- 
tures to starve. Commensui'ate eflbrts to dis- 
abuse the public mind were not made ; and 
perhaps no efforts would have been successful 
in correcting the prejudice which was greedily 
received. As Macaulay wrote, " These un- 
happy events greatly increased the unpopula- 
rity of Lord Clive. None of his acts had the 
smallest tendency to produce such a calamity. 
If the servants of the company had traded in 
rice, they had done so in direct contravention 
of the rule which he had laid down, and while 
in power had resolutely enforced. But in the 
eyes of his countrymen he was tlic nabob — ■ 
the Anglo-Indian character personified ; and 
while he was building and planting in Surrey, 
he was held responsible for the effects of a 
dry season in Bengal." Clive, as the writer 
last quoted also remarked, " Had to bear the 
double odium of his bad and his good actions, 
of every Indian abuse, and of every Indian 
reform." Clive had himself a seat in parlia- 
ment; his enemies desired to have a sentence 
of expulsion passed upon him ; they sought 
the confiscation of his estates, and demanded 
that he should be deprived of his rank in the 
army. Clive's conduct in the house was as 
intrepid as in the field. He astonished even 
the great Chatham by his clear statements, 
lucid arrangements, sound argument, manly 
eloquence, and bold, defiant declamation. Ho 
bore himself as haughtily and bravely to the 
senate of England, as to the corrupt council 
of Calcutta, or before the throne of the Mogul. 
As soon as his fortunes were on the wane, 
nearly all his professed friends, and even those 
whom he had loaded with benefits, forsook 
him. It was the common belief that all his 
property would be seized, and his ))erson in- 
carcerated, after being stripped of all his well- 
won honours. Men supposed that nothing 
would remain to him but his genius and his 

X X 



334 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXXI 



glory ; and with these his fomier parasites, 
acquaintances, and colleagues had least sym- 
pathy. They thought more of his palace in 
Shropshire, his splendid mansion at Clare - 
mont, his seat in parliament, and his title, 
than of the renown of Arcot and Plassey, the 
conquest, salvation, and effective administra- 
tion of an empire. 

The committees examined and cross-ex- 
amined him. Frank, manly, great in his 
humiliation as when he gave law to India, 
he met all inquiries with openness and truth. 
He justified acts for which he has been since 
generally condemned by writers who feared 
to encounter public opinion in our own times 
by defending him, but who were b)' no means 
certain that his conduct deserved denuncia- 
tion. Some of the worst acts attributed to 
him, were performed under circumstances 
which open up questions of the nicest ca- 
suistry, and such as no man of honour and 
virtue, who was enlightened and experienced, 
would hastily decide. The committee did 
not conclude its inquiries the first session, 
but in the next having still further prose- 
cuted them, it came to a conclusion. Before the 
verdict was announced, it was made apparent 
to all, and to the horror of those whom Lord 
Macaulay justly calls, " the low-minded and 
rancorous pack who had run him down, and 
were eager to worry him to death," that 
Clive had found one faithful and sympathis- 
ing friend — his king. George III., who, with 
all his faults, had such signal virtues, deter- 
mined to stand by his loyal and magnanimous, 
even if erring, servant. While yet they were 
questioning and cross-questioning him, the 
king had liim installed in the Order of the 
Bath, with great pomp, in the chapel of 
Henry the Seventh. He had been before 
elected to this dignity, but the king chose 
the occasion of his persecution thus to honour 
him. Sliortly afterwards he made him lord- 
lieutenant of Shropshire ; and when, kissing 
his majesty's hand upon occasion of his ap- 
pointment, he ventured to refer to his dangers 
and services, and sufferings, the king betrayed 
much emotion. His majesty gave him a pri- 
vate audience, and took occasion to converse 
intimately with him on Indian topics. 

Notwithstanding the king's favour, and the 
transparent corruption of his accusers, Bur- 
goyne, the chairman of the committee, became 
his accuser before the house. Lord Macaulay 
gives this man too much credit for both his 
parts and his honour. Clive found another 
friend ; Wedderburn, the attorney-general, 
eloquently and ably defended him. Clive 
replied to Burgoyne and his other assailants 
with courage and dignity, but there was a 
tone of plaintiveness in his address never be- 



fore known as he recounted his wrongs and 
his sorrows : it was the first echo of a break- 
ing heart. The concluding paragraph of his 
address was striking, in which he reminded 
them that not only liis honour, but their own, 
was to be decided. He then left the house. 

The commons passed a series of resolutions, 
several of which related to Clive personally. 
The first declared that he had, when in com- 
mand of the troops in India, received large 
sums of money from Meer JafSer. The house 
would not affirm Burgoyne's eagcrh'-pressed 
conclusion, that tliey were received corruptly. 
A substantial motion was then made, that 
Clive had abused the power he possessed, 
and set a bad example to the public servants ; 
the " previous question " was put and carried, 
the house thus refusing to entertain the ques- 
tion at all. Wedderburn adroitly took ad- 
vantage of the temper of the house, and 
moved that Lord Clive had rendered great 
and meritorious services to his countr)'. This 
was hotly debated. The truth of the propo- 
sition was evident, but if carried, Clive would 
go forth more triumphant than ever. It was 
tantamount to a vote of thanks of the house. 
His enemies struggled fiercely against it, 
speaking against time, and endeavouring to 
weaken the numbers on his side by exhaus- 
tion. The niglit wore away, and when the 
morning shone clear and bright upon St. Ste- 
phen's, dive's antagonists conceiving that there 
was too much patriotism in the commons of 
England to refuse a great man so just a tii- 
bute, shrank from a decision, and the resolu- 
tion was carried nemine contradicenfe. This 
was a terrible blow for Olive's enemies out of 
doors, and especially among the corrupt, cow- 
ardly, and envious clique within the circle of 
the directors themselves. 

dive's success brought crowds of flatterers 
around him, who had forsaken him when the 
thunder-cloud was yet dark above his head, 
and seemed ready to discharge its bolts upon 
him. He was no longer deserted. He sought 
the society of a few attached friends, he basked 
in royal favour, he surroimded himself by 
luxury ; but, amidst all, he pined — his heart 
was broken. The king and the senate of his 
country had stood by him, but the ignorant 
masses were prejudiced, and regarded him 
with superstitious horror ; the venal among 
the proprietary of India stock and their friends 
kept up an incessant attack upon him still. 
The company, whose favour he had fought 
and lived for, and for which he had conquered 
kingdoms, looked coldly on him ; and his sen- 
sitive heart soon sank into a depression deeper 
than death, and from which he sinfully sought 
death as a relief. On the 22nd of Novem- 
ber, 1774, he committed suicide, having just 



<?HAP. Lxxxri.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



335 



arrived at the age of forty-nine. His enemies 
trod upon his ashes, chased his memory 
through every avenue of the past, vitupe- 
rated the dead. His country slowly came to 
a juster appreciation of liis errors and of his 
sins, of his greatness and of his glory. 

The proceedings of the commons in con- 
nection with the inquiry which secured Olive 
from the power of his enemies, were harsh 
and stern to the company. A resolution was 
passed, that all territory won by the arms of 
the state belonged to the state, and that the 
East India Company had violated that prin- 
ciple. The company had but little aid from 
the state in its acquisitions, and paid for that 
aid vastly more than its value. The principal 
issue of the inquiry was " the regulation act."* 
This act increased the value of the qualifica- 
tion demanded from a director, prescribed a 
new oath, and made various regulations of a 
purely administrative nature in connection 
with the directory. It decreed that Bengal 
should be governed by a governor-general 
and four councillors, each to continue in office 
for five years. The presidencies of Madras 
and Bombay were to obey the government of 
Bengal. The directors were to send to the 
secretaries of state copies of all advices, but 
no control was to be exercised by the niinistry. 



Warren Hastings was nominated in the act 
itself as the first governor-general of India. 
Lieutenant-general Ciavering, the Honouralile 
George Monson, Richard Barwell, and Philip 
Francis, Esqrs., the first members of the su- 
preme council. A supreme court of judicature 
was to be established at Calcutta. The com- 
pany's monopoly was made more stringent 
than ever. Another act* granted the com- 
pany £1,400,000 on loan for their relief. The 
nation was to forego for a time all participa- 
tion in territorial profits. The dividend to 
proprietors was fixed at six per cent. The 
amount of merchandise in English commo- 
dities, to be annually exported by the com- 
pany, should be to the value of £380,837. 
The crown was to appoint officers to conduct 
the civil and military affairs. The company 
objected to most of these provisions, and the 
court of proprietors refused to recognise the 
appointment by the crown of General Cia- 
vering to command their forces. Ultimately 
they gave way. The members of the supremo 
council. Sir Elijah Impey the new chief jus- 
tice, and various other persons of distinction, 
embarked at St. Helen's on the 1st of April, 
1774, and from this period commenced a new 
phase of the existence of the East India Com- 
pany. 



CHAPTER LXXXII. 

AFFAIRS IN BENGAL DURING THE GOVERNMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS —TERRITORY 
WRESTED FROM THE MOGUL AND GIVEN TO THE NABOB OF OUDE— ALLIANCE WITH 
THE NABOB FOR THE CONQUEST OF THE ROHILLAS— EXECUTION OF NUNDCOOMAR— 
VAST SUMS OBTAINED BY HASTINGS FOR THE COMPANY FROM THE NATIVE PRINCES. 



It is important to glance at the relations of 
the British to surrounding powers, and of 
those powers to one another, at the period 
when the government of Bengal, and by con- 
sequence the government of India, devolved 
upon Warren Hastings. 

The emperor's government was in a very 
feeble condition. He had been for a number 
of years dependent by turns upon the Nabob 
of Oude, the Mahrattas, and the English. 
Even the nizam of the Deccan, and the sou- 
bahdar of Bengal, were not too feeble to give 
him uneasiness or offer affront to his authority. 
The major part of the princes of India had 
shaken off the imperial authority. Vassals, 
or officials of the supreme power, took 
advantage of the general decay of the Mogul 
power to exalt themselves by force or fraud. 
Mahrattas, Sikhs, Affghans, and the stronger 
and richer of the nabob' constantly menaced 
* 13 Geo. lU. cap. 16. 



the territories that surrounded them, over 
which they had themselves usurped the 
authority which belonged legitimately to the 
Delhi emperor. With such a state of affairs 
around them, it required on the part of the 
English a constant vigilance, and they were 
as anxious to maintain the balance of power 
in Hindostan, as the English at home were 
solicitous to maintain it in Europe. It has 
become the custom among politicians of a 
certain school in recent times to deride this 
principle, but it is founded in the nature of 
things, for if any one state gains a prepon- 
derance of power, by attacking weaker states 
in detail, the independence of all will be in- 
fallibly destroyed. It is therefore the inte- 
rest of every other power, to limit that, which 
to the desire of encroachment adds the power 
of effecting it, unless checked by a combina- 
tion of all or some of the governments, 
* 13 Geo. III. cap. 94. 



33G 



HISTORY OF THE BllITISn ExMPIRE [Chap. LXXXll. 



vvliicli believe thoniselvea eiulangerecl. The 
wars of the Eiigliali in India liad liitherto 
arisen mainly from the necessity of preventing 
any other power, native or European, from 
becoming so strong that the existence of tlie 
Englisli in India would bo at its mercy. 
When in April, 1772, Hastings became the 
successor of Mr. Cartier, as governor of 
Bengal, and virtually the governor of India, 
lie saw around the British territory, and bor- 
dering upon those states which were con- 
tiguous to it, states and peoples who were 
desirous of maintaining a constant warfare, 
either to acquire territory or plunder. Sonic 
of the chiefs of those countries were ambi- 
tious of extended dominion, others only sought 
tribute or temporary spoil, while another 
class of chiefs were alike avaricious of imme- 
diate pUindev, and permanent occupation of 
territory. The court of directors considered 
Allahabad as the great central position from 
which, as from a watch-tower, the English 
could look around upon the greedy and rest- 
less powers that prowled around. From 
that position, support could be rendered to 
the emperor, so long as it suited English 
policy to pay respect to his nominal power, ■ 
and, under its prestige, themselves exercise the 
reality. From Allahabad, the territories of 
Sujah-ad-Do\vlah, the Nabob of Oude, and of 
the INIahrattas, Ilohillas, and Jauts, could bo 
observed. The directors had ordered the 
council at Bengal, previous to the arrival of 
Hastings, to maintain a strong brigade, at 
what they deemed the key position of India. 
The Nabob of Oude reigned on the north 
of the Ganges. If an enemy, he, from his 
position and resources, would prove a formi- 
dable one ; if an ally, and under tlie influ- 
ence of the comjiany, they could by his 
means make themselves the umpires of Hin- 
dostan. They had laid that chief under 
great obligations, by restoring to him his 
dominions, when the right of conquest, always 
recognised in India, enabled them to deprive 
him of princely dignity and power. The 
Rohilla chiefs were numerous, but all held 
their sway in detached lands in the vicinity 
of the emperor, and Sujah-ad-Dowlah, so as to 
be unable to make any movement separately, 
or combined without the knowledge of the 
king and his vizier. These Rohillas were 
wild chieftains, and when acting in unison 
could pour an army of eighty thousand men 
chiefly cavalry, upon any point in their vici- 
nity. There was generally a good under- 
standing between them and the Nabob of 
Oude, to whom they looked up as having a 
certain prescriptive authority even in Roliil- 
cund. The Rohillas were among the best 
soldiers in India. As mere horsemen they 



were not superior to the Mahrattas, who were 
probably the best light cavalry, for inui-ching 
and outpost duty in the world; but they wore by 
fiir their superiors in close combat, being among 
the best swordsmen in India. The Roliillas 
were also famous for their use of rockets in 
war. The Jats, or Jauts, extended from Agra 
to within a few coss of Delhi. Their reve.nuo 
was about two crores of rupees, antl they held 
three forts which were deemed by other na- 
tive powers impregnable. They were also 
reputed to have a splendidly-appointed and 
numerous artillery. The country of the 
Mahrajah Madhu, lay south-west of Delhi. 
He ruled over various tribes, but his people 
were chiefly Rajpoots. These were proud of 
their lineage, as it was universally held that 
they were descended from kings, as their name 
of Rajpoots implied. They were considered 
the proudest and bravest warriors in India. 
They could not forage like the Mahrattas, thoy 
were not gigantic in stature like the Oudeaas, 
they were not rocket-men like the Rohillas, 
nor artillerymen like the Jats, but they even 
surpassed the Rohillas as swordsmen, and 
were by all warriors of Ilindostan acconnted 
the bravest of the brave. It was reported 
that they never retreated in battle. In a 
war with the Jats, with whom they wore 
often at war, their cavalry charged throui^li 
the fire of ninety pieces of cannon, were thrice 
repulsed, each time only retiring to re-form, 
and at the fourth charge gained the victory. 
In stature, they were rather below the middle 
size, but their persons were finely proportioned, 
and their countenances handsome and ex- 
pressive of dignity and courage. 

The Sikhs then held the lands from Sirhiiul 
to Attock, a country exceedingly fertile ; they 
were rapidly rising to political importance, 
but the distance of their settlements caused 
them to be placed out of the computations of 
the English, when reckoning upon opposing 
or allied forces. As, however, these Sikhs 
soon rose to be a powerful power, their 
position at this juncture is noticed. Thoy 
were brave, energetic, and industrious, in 
the opinion of the peoples of Northern and 
Western India. The Mahrattas, their power, 
position, and policy, have been so frequently 
the subjects of remark in foregoing pages, 
that it is only necessary to say here that of 
all the tribes of India they were the most 
likely to give the English trouble, excepting, 
perhaps, the Mysoreans, whose importance 
chiefly depended upon the skill and genius 
of their chief. They were of kindred race 
witli the Mahrattas, inhabiting contiguous 
territory, and of similar habits, military and 
social. The policy recommended by the court 
of directors was for their governors and coun- 



CiiAP. LXXXII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST 



SSI 



cils to be on friendly terms, and commercial 
intercourse with all these nations, to avoid 
the incumbrance of alliances with them, 
either offensive or defensive, especial!}' the 
former, but not to allow any of them to 
obtain so overwhelming a preponderance by 
the conquest of the rest, as to become too 
formidable to the English. This policy was 
not carried out intelligently and prudently 
by the councils of presidencies up to the 
time of Hastings. How far it was then ob- 
served will be seen from future pages. 

" When Warren Hastings took his seat at 
the head of the council board, Bengal was 
governed according to the system which 
Clive had devised — a system wliich was per- 
ha])s skilfully contrived for the purpose of 
facilitating and concealing a great revolution, 
but which, when that revolution was com- 
plete and irrevocable, could produce nothing 
but inconvenience. There were two govern- 
ments, the real and the ostensible. The 
supreme power belonged to the company, 
and was in truth the most despotic power 
that can be conceived. The only restraint 
on the English masters of the country, was 
that which their own justice and humanity 
imposed on them. There was no constitu- 
tional check on their will, and resistance to 
them was utterly hopeless. But though thus 
absolute in reality, the English had not yet 
assumed the style of sovereignty. They held 
their territory as vassals of the throne of 
Delhi, they raised their revenue as collectors 
appointed by the imperial commission ; their 
public seal was inscribed with the imperial 
titles, and their mint struck only the imperial 
coin. There was still a Nabob of Bengal, 
who stood to the English rulers of his coun- 
try in the same relation in which Augustus 
stood to Odoacer, or the last Merovingians 
to Ciiarles Martel and Pepin. He lived at 
Moorshedabad, surrounded by princely mag- 
nificence. He was approached with outward 
marks of reverence, and his name was used 
in public instrnments. But in the govern- 
ment cf the country he had less share than 
the youngest writer or cadet in the company's 
service. The English council which repre- 
sented the company at Calcutta, was consti- 
tuted on a very different })lan from that wliich 
has since been adopted. At present, the 
governor is, as to all executive measures, 
absolute. He can declare war, conclude peace, 
appoint public functionaries, or remove them, 
in opposition to the unanimous wish of those 
who sit with him in council. They are indeed 
entitled to know all that is done, to discuss all 
that is done, to advise, to remonstrate, to send 
jirotests to England. But it is with the governor 
that the supreme power resides, and on him 



that the whole responsibility rests. This sys- 
tem, which was introduced by Mr. Pitt and Mr. 
Dundas, in s])ite of the strenuous opposition 
of Mr. Burke, we conceive to be on the whole 
the best that was ever devised for the govern- 
ment of a country where no materials can le 
found for a reproductive constitution. In 
the time of Hastings, the governor had only 
one vote in council, and in case of an equal 
division, a casting vote. It therefore hap- 
pened not unfrequently, that he was overruled 
on the gravest questions, and it was possible 
that he might be wholly excluded for years 
together from the real direction of public 
affairs. The English functionaries at Fort 
William, had yet paid little or no attention 
to the internal government of Bengal. The 
only branch of politics about which they much 
busied themselves was negotiation with the 
native princes. The police, the administra- 
tion of justice, the details of the collection of 
revenue, were almost entirely neglected. 
We may remark that the phraseology of the 
civil servant still bears the traces of this state 
of things. To this day they always use the 
word 'political' as synonymous with 'diplo- 
matic' We could name a gentleman still 
living who was described by the highest 
authority as an invaluable public servant, 
eminently fit to be at the head of the internal 
administration of a whole presidency, but 
unfortunately quite ignorant of all political 
business. The internal government of Bengal, 
the English rulers delegated to a great native 
minister who was stationed at Moorshedabad. 
All military affairs, and with the exception 
to what pertains to ceremonial, all foreign 
affairs, were withdrawn from his control ; 
but the other departments of the administra- 
tion were entirely confided to him. His own 
stipend amounted to near £100,000 sterling 
a year. The personal allowance of the nabob 
amounted to near £300,000 a year, passed 
through the minister's hand, and was to a great 
extent at his disposal. The collection of the 
revenue, the administration of justice, the 
maintenance of order, were left to this high 
functionary; and for the exercise of this im- 
mense power, he was responsihle to none but 
the British masters of the country."* 

The first business of importance which de- 
volved upon Hastings, was in connection with 
certain instructions of the court sent out 
by them in August, 1771, and which ar- 
rived only ten days after he succeeded to 
the chair. These instructions referred to 
Mohammed Eeza Khan, who at that time ad- 
ministered the revenue affairs of the soubahdar, 
and in part of the British. When the infant 
brother of tiie former soubahdar came to the 
* Lord Macaulay's Haaa'j on IFarren Mastin/fs. 



338 



HISTOEY OF THE BlUTISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXXII. 



musnitl, Nundcoomar, tlie infamous Brahmin 
to wliom reference was made when recording 
the events of Mr. Vansittart's government, 
was competitor for tlie post of chief minister 
with Moliammed I\eza. Tlie latter was pre- 
ferred. The writer last quoted thus describes 
the resxdt : — "Nundcoomar, stimulated at once 
by cupidity and malice, had been constantly 
attempting to hurt the reputation of his suc- 
cessful rival. This was not difficult. The 
revenues of Bengal under the administration 
established by Clive, did not yield such a 
surplus as had been anticipated by the com- 
pany, for at that time the most absurd notions 
were entertained in England respecting the 
wealth of India. Palaces of porphyry, hung 
with the richest brocade, heaps of pearls and 
diamonds, vaults from which pagados and 
gold mohurs were measured out by the bushel, 
tilled the imagination even of men of business. 
Nobody seemed to be aware of what was 
nevertheless the truth, that India was a poorer 
country than countries which in Europe are 
reckoned poor, — than Ireland, for example, or 
than Portugal. It was confidently believed 
by lords of tlie treasury and members for the 
city, that Bengal would not only defray its 
own charges, but would afford an increased 
dividend to the jiroprietors of India stock, and 
large relief to the English finances. These 
absurd expectations were disappointed, and 
the directors, naturally enough, chose to 
attribute the disappointment rather to the 
mismanagement of Mohammed Reza Khan, 
than to their own ignorance of the country 
entrusted to their care. They were confirmed 
in this by the agents of Nundcoomar, for Nund- 
coomar bad agents even in Leadenhall Street. 
Soon after Hastings reached Calcutta, he 
received a letter addressed by the court of 
directors, not to the council generally, but 
to himself in particular. He was directed to re- 
move Mohammed IlezaKlian,to arrest him with 
all his family, and all his partizans, and to insti- 
tute a strict inquirj' into the whole of the admi- 
nistration of the province. It was added that 
the governor would do well to avail himself 
of the assistance of Nundcoomar in the investi- 
gation. The vices of Nundcoomar were acknow- 
ledged. But even from his vices, it was said, 
much advantage might, at such a conjuncture 
be derived ; and though he could not safely be 
trusted, it might still be proper to encourage 
him by hopes of reward. The governor bore 
no goodwill to Nundcoomar ; many years 
before they had known each other at Jloor- 
ehedabad, and then a quarrel had arisen be- 
tween them, Avhich all the authority of their 
superiors could hardly compose. Widely as 
they differed in most points, they resembled 
each other in this, that both were men of un- 



forgiving natures. To Mohammed lleza Khan, 
on the other hand, Hastings had no feelings 
of hostilit}'. Nevertheless, he proceeded to 
execute the instructions of the company with 
an alacrity which he never showed, except 
when instructions w'ere in perfect conformity 
with his own views. He had wisely, as we 
think, determined to get rid of the system of 
double government in Bengal. The orders 
of the directors furnished him viith the means 
for effecting liis purpose, and dispensed him 
from the necessity of discussing the matter 
with his council. He took his measures with 
his usual vigour and dexterity. At midnight, 
the palace of Mohammed lleza Khan at Moor- 
shedabad was surrounded by a battalion of 
sepoys. The minister was aroused from hia 
slumber, and informed he was a prisoner. 
With the Mussulman's gravity he bent his 
head, and submitted to the will of God." 

With Mohammed Reza another man of mark 
was arrested, Shitabroy, or Schitab Roy. 
His daring courage and skilful conduct at 
the battle of Patna, under Captain Knox, in- 
troduced him so favourably to the council of 
Bengal, that he had been appointed minister 
of revenue in Bahia, an oftice in reference to 
that province similar in character to that 
which was held by Mohammed Reza in refer- 
ence to all the dominions of the soubahbar. 
This heroic and honest man was another ob- 
ject of hatred to the atrocious Nundcoomar, and 
also fell, so far, a victim to his wiles. The 
members of council knew nothing of these 
proceedings until the prisoners arrived in 
Calcutta, or, at all events, approached that 
city. Ilastings acted with a secrecy and 
pronijititudo which by no means pleased the 
council. " The inquiry into the conduct of 
the minister was postponed on different pre- 
tences. He was detained in an easy con- 
finement during many months. In the mean- 
time the great revolution which Hastings had 
planned was carried into effect. The office of 
minister was abolished. The internal admi- 
nistration was transferred to the servants of 
the company. A system, a very imperfect 
system, it is true, of civil and criminal justice 
under English superintendence was esta- 
blished. The nabob was no longer to have 
even an ostensible share in the government, 
but he was still to receive a considerable 
annual allowance, and to be surrounded with 
the state of sovereignty. As he was an infant, 
it was necessary to provide guardians for his 
person and property. His person was en- 
trusted to a lady of his father's harem, known 
by the name of the Munny Begum. The ofifice 
of treasurer of the household was bestowed 
onasonof NundcoomarnamedGoordas. Nund- 
coomar's services were wanted, yet he could 



Chap. LXXXII.] 



IN INDIA AND 'J'HE EAST. 



839 



not be safely trusted with power, and Hastings 
thouglit it a master stroke of policy to re- 
ward the able and unprincipled parent, by 
promoting the inoffensive son. 

'The revolution completed, the double go- 
vernment dissolved, the company installed 
in the full sovereignty of Bengal, Hastings 
had no motive to treat the late ministers with 
rigour. Their trial had been put off on vari- 
ous pleas, till the new organization was com- 
plete. They were then brought before a 
committee over which the governor presided. 
Shitabroy was speedily acquitted with hon- 
our. A formal apology was made to him for 
the restraint to which he had been subjected. 
All tlie Eastern marks of respect were be- 
stowed on him. He was clothed in a robe of 
state, presented with jewels, and with a richly 
harnessed elephant, and sent back to his go- 
vernment at Patna. But his health had suf- 
fered by confinement ; his high spirit had 
been cruelly wounded ; and soon after his 
liberation he died of a broken heart. 

" The innocence of Mohammed Reza Khan 
was not so clearly established. But the go- 
vernor was not disposed to deal harshly. After 
a long hearing, in which Nundcoomar appeared 
as the accuser, and displayed both the art and 
the inveterate rancour which distinguished 
him, Hastings pronounced that the charges 
had not been made out, and ordered the fallen 
minister to be set at liberty. Nundcoomar had 
purposed to destroy the Mussulman adminis- 
tration, and to rise on its ruin. Both his 
malevolence and his cupidity had been dis- 
ap))ointed. Hastings had made him a tool ; 
had used him for the purpose of accomplish- 
ing the transfer of the government from 
IMoorshcdabad to Calcutta, from native to 
European hands. Tiie rival, the enemy, so 
long envied, so implacably persecuted, had 
been dismissed unhurt. The situation so long 
and ardently desired had been abolished. It 
was natural that the governor should be from 
that time an object of the most intense hatred 
to the vindictive Brahmin. As yet, however, 
it was necessary to suppress such feelings. 
The time was coming when that long animo- 
sity was to end in a desperate and deadly 
struggle."* 

As soon as the intrigues, falsehoods, for- 
geries, briberies, and other villainies of Nund- 
coomar, had triumphed, and the company had 
been so far imposed upon as to suspect, arre.st, 
and incarcerate two honest men, Nundcoomar 
began a new series of infamous schemes. Al- 
though a cruel and heartless villain, he had a 
zeal for the Brahniinical religion, and was 
desirous of uprooting the Mohammedan in- 
fluence altogether in the Bengal provinces. 
• MataiJn^'s review of Gleig's life ff Ihisllngs. 



He accordingly sent to his son, then occupy- 
ing the chief jilace of ministerial influence in 
the court of the soubahdar, under the auspices 
of the English, letters which he desired to be 
copied by the Begum, the regent of the infant 
soubahdar, which were to be addressed as if 
from herself to the council of Bengal. These 
letters wei'c complaints of infractions of treaty 
by the English, of encroachments upon the 
rights of the soubahdar, and containing de- 
mands for the removal of such encroachments, 
and the restoration of such rights. The ob- 
ject of Nundcoomar was to create such a feud as 
would rouse the English to destroy all the 
privileges and influence of the Mohammedan 
government. By this means he would hu- 
miliate a rival creed, and, probably, in the 
confusion which must ensue, he would ac- 
quire fresh wealth or power. At all events, 
he hoped for new modes of gratifying his 
horrid malignity against both the Mohamme- 
dana and the English. The governor discovered 
his intrigues, but knowing how extensive tho 
influence which this rich and ingenious Brah- 
min had gained at the India-house, Hast- 
ings thought it prudent to take no step until 
he had informed the directors. They, instead 
of ordering the arrest of Nundcoomar, made no 
reply for a long time, and then filled their 
communication with unmeaning platitudes, 
affecting to think Nundcoomar a very bad man, 
but not worse than most other natives. It is 
impossible to account for the way in which 
the influence of this bad Brahmin prevailed in 
London, except by supposing that he had 
gained partizans in very high quarters by the 
use of money in a way which disgraced the 
recipients, nothing could sink Nundcoomar 
himself into deeper infamy than he had already 
reached. One of the objects contemplated by 
Nundcoomar by his intrigues, both in India and 
in England, was the destruction of Mr. Hast- 
ings, who had foiled his wiles on a previous 
occasion. Hastings foresaw this, and warned 
the directors in his despatch that he could 
hope for no security, and Bengal for no quiet, 
while any heed was given to the representa- 
tions of Nundcoomar, either concerning the 
council, the soubahdar, particular officers in 
the service of either, the politics of the native 
])rinces, or the condition of the country. 
While the governor's despatch was on its 
way, other events transpired of much import- 
ance in their influence upon the future. 

The Mahrattas exercised a dangerous influ- 
ence over the weak Mogul, and so active were 
their raids that they became the tormentors of 
all India. The vizier besought tho aid of the 
English. The king summoned the vizier to 
Dellii; the latter, having no reliance upon the 
monarch's steadiness, and fearing that his 



340 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXXII. 



majesty wowkl, perhaps, make over some of 
the Oude territory to the marauders, refused 
to go. Tlie Jlnhrattas were preparing an in- 
vasion of Eohilcund, which would bring tlicm 
upon the confines of the nabob's own domi- 
nions, and endanger their independence. He 
also feared, or affected to fear, that the Ivo- 
hilias, to save themselves, might unite with 
the Mahrattas against him. He resolved to 
open a negotiation with the Rohillas, and be- 
sought the English general at Allahabad, Sir 
Robert Barker, to accompany him. The 
council, hoping for peace through Barker's 
intervention, gave their consent. The main 
object of the nabob was, however, soon shown 
to be to extort some portion of Rohilcund, and 
he hoped the presence of the English general 
would so alarm the chiefs as to cause them to 
accede to his wishes. They consented on 
condition that he would aid Zabita Khan, the 
Rohilla chief, then at Succurtaul, guarding the 
fords of the Ganges against the approach of 
the Mahrattas, who were assisted by the king, 
as the Mogul emperor was at this time most 
frequently called, ^yhile these negotiations 
went forward Madajee Scindiah, the ilahratta 
chief, forced the passage of the Ganges with 
bravery equal, and skill superior, to that 
displayed by the Rohillas. Zabita Khan 
fled ; Scindiah pursued the flying Rohillas 
to the very heart of Rohilcund. The vizier 
was obliged to open negotiations with the 
conquerors, and such were his fears that 
he would have submitted to the most abject 
terms but for the presence of General Barker. 
The mutinous disposition of the nabob's troops, 
jiartly from irregular pay, and partly from 
sympathy with whatever cause the Mogul 
espoused, unmanned the nabob. By the coun- 
cils of the English general, the nabob put his 
frontier in a good state of defence, while the 
general ordered the first brigade of the Eng- 
lish army, then at Patna, to cross the Caram- 
nassa, passing the bounds of the company's 
territories. The council were displeased be- 
cause they had not been consulted, for which 
step there was no time, as the Mahrattas were 
quick of foot and hand. The council were 
also angry at the expense incurred without 
any agreement with the nabob to refund it. 

The Blahrattas had no intention of waiting 
upon the slow movements of the English. 
They plundered Rohilcund, and retired, as 
usual, laden with booty. The Rohilla chiefs 
liad, on the whole, behaved badly, either sur- 
rendering to Scindiah, or seeking refuge in 
the north. They then entered into a conven- 
tion with the nabob that, upon paying to him 
forty lacs of rupees, he would aid in defend- 
ing their territory. The Mahrattas charac- 
teristically offered to him a portion of the 



Rohilla lands nearest to his own, if he would 
only see that the chout, or tribute, was regu- 
larly paid to them. They announced, at the 
same time, their intention to appropriate 
to themselves lands formerly conceded by 
the Rohillas to the king. In fact, matters 
assumed the aspect of a convention between 
the vizier and the Mahrattas, to partition Ro- 
hilcund, each seizing a portion. The Mah- 
rattas had at this time broken all their agree- 
ments with the king, and were rapidly de- 
spoiling him, while professing to uphold the 
dignity of his name. They had even forced 
from him a sumnid for the district of Meerut. 
The king endeavoured to betray them to 
the vizier and the English, and while doing 
so betrayed these to the very power from 
which he besought his old allies to save 
him. The Rohillas and the vizier made at 
last a defensive league. The Mahrattas no 
sooner heard of it than they marched against 
the confederates, making ruinous demands 
from Sujah-ad-Dowlah. 

The vizier besought the company's inter- 
jiosition, and Hastings wrote to the Mahratta 
chiefs, showing them that they were making 
aggressions upon an ally. The first brigade 
of the British army advanced to the head- 
quarters of the nabob. The king, who had 
confederated himself with the Mahrattas, now 
unaccountably opposed them, drew on a ge- 
neral battle, and, as every one concerned fore- 
saw, incurred a total defeat. He was at the 
mercy of these banditti. The Mahrattas at- 
tacked the Jats next, who, being betrayed by 
an Englishman in their service, named Mad- 
dox, were as unsuccessful as the Rohillas had 
been. Colonel Champion and fresh forces 
joined the vizier, who undertook to defray 
their charges while employed in his defence. 
The Mahrattas had obtained grants of Corah 
and part of Allahabad from the vizier, under 
the menaces they held out. The English 
had conferred these districts upon him, 
they reoccupied them. It was now evident 
tliat the nabob's territory alone stood between 
the Mahrattas and the company's provinces, 
and that the time had arrived when some 
definite and permanent means for his defence 
against these marauders must be made. The 
nabob sought for an interview with Hastings, 
which he granted with the advice of the 
council. Tiie council placed no restraint 
upon the liberty of the president as to his 
negotiations, except that Sujahad-Dowlah 
must bear tlie expenses of troops sent to de- 
fend him, and that as the king had committed 
himself as an instrument in the hands of the 
Mahrattas, their engagements with him should 
terminate. The council, however, would re- 
open with him fresh negotiations, upon new 



CHAr. LXXXIT.J 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



311 



conditions, one of wliicli was tliat tlie tribute 
of twenty-six lacs of rupees from Bengal and 
Bahar should be surrendered. 

Mr. Hastings, during liis journey to Oude, 
requested the king to send some person to 
negotiate with him. He took no notice of 
the president's despatches, but sent menacing 
demands for the payment of liis tribute, and 
subjection to his autliority, which was notliing 
less than subjection to the Mahrattas. " Mr. 
Hastings reached Benares on the 10th of 
August, and, on the 7th of September, con- 
cluded a final treaty with the vizier, by which 
the districts of Corah and Allahabad were 
ceded to him, on condition of his paying fifty 
lacs of rupees to the company : twenty in 
ready money, and the remaining thirty lacs 
in two years, in two equal payments ; and 
defraying the charges on account of any of 
the company's forces which he might require, 
the same being fixed at two lacs ten thousand 
per month for a brigade. The vizier, at the 
instance of Mr. Hastings, renewed with Chey te 
Sing the engagements made with his father 
Bulwnnt Sing, in 1764, excepting the addi- 
tional tribute of two and a half lacs of rupees, 
to which Cheyte Sing had agreed on his ac- 
cession to the itaj, in 1770. Application was 
again made to the vizier for the dismissal of 
31. Gentil, although Mr. Hastings was of 
opinion that 'the man' had acquired im- 
portance from the notice taken of him, rather 
than from his real ])ower to effect our interests 
It was arranged that a resident should be 
appointed to the court of the vizier from the 
presidency. The vizier left Benares the lOth 
September, on which day Mr. Hastings de- 
parted for Chunar, where he fixed the bound- 
ary of the lands appertaining to the fort. He 
then proceeded to Patna, for the purpose of 
acquiring information respecting the saltpetre 
manufactories ; and resumed his seat at the 
board on the -1th of October, when he sub- 
mitted a detailed report of his proceedings, 
and adverted to what had passed between the 
vizier and himself, as to the appointment of a 
resident at the court of Oude, from the go- 
vernor in council." 

The council were pleased with the arrange- 
ments, and empowered Mr. Hastings to ap- 
point a resident at the court of Oude, to hold 
communications only with himself, and to be 
dismissed at his pleasure. 

The English general, Sir Robert Barker, 
caused much trouble and anxiety to the go- 
vernor and council, by making it a point of 
honour to resist all directions given him by civil 
servants. This conduct was unwarrantable, 
for, although the civil officers gave him direc- 
tions what to do, they left it entirely to his 
own judgment as to the mode of performance. 

VOL. II. 



"When the Mahrattas were induced to with- 
draw from Rohilcund, it was upon condition 
that the Rohilla chiefs should pay by instal- 
ments forty lacs of rupees, and that the nabob 
guaranteed the payment. Ho did so upon 
receiving the bond of the chief sirdar, who 
was himself guaranteed by the confederated 
sirdars. They never paid their quota. The 
chief paid to the nabob five lacs instead of 
forty, and he paid none at all to the IMah- 
rattas. 

On the 18th of November, 1773, the 
council received a letter from the vizier, in 
which he complained of the non-payment by 
the Roliillas of the money for which he had 
given a guarantee to the Mahrattas, wliile the 
chiefs of Rohilcund were themselves invading 
the territories of the Mahrattas in the Doab, 
which would, of course, bring these marauders 
back again, to the danger of the nabob's own 
dominions, and with imperative demands for 
the payment of the forty lacs. The nabob's 
proposal, under these circumstances, was brief 
and pertinent: — "On condition of the entire 
expulsion of the Rohillas, I will pay to the 
company the sum of forty lacs of rupees in 
ready money, whenever I shall discharge the 
English troops ; and until the expulsion of 
the Rohillas shall be effected, I will pay the 
expenses of the English troops ; that is to 
say, I will pay them the sum of 2,10,000 
monthly." This demand excited protracted 
discussions at Calcutta ; but, at last. Colonel 
Ciiampion's brigade was ordered to advance 
and assist the vizier. The policy of the 
council was, that it had become absolutely 
necessary to strengthen Oude, as a barrier 
against the Mahrattas, and that the Rohillas, 
fearing the vizier more than they did those 
more distant freebooters, would be more likely 
to join them in plundering his territory, to 
the danger of Bengal, and involving the 
English in expensive operations of defence. 

Champion's army and that of the nabob 
encountered the Rohillas on the 22nd of April, 
1774, when a sanguinary battle was fought. 
In personal appearance the people of Oude 
were then, as they are now, the finest and most 
soldier-like in India. Their average stature 
is far superior to that of the English, as well 
as of every other race in India to the frontier 
hills of Affghanistan. Their courage, how- 
ever, never bore any proportion to their gi- 
gantic appearance — Rohillas, Rajpoots, Jats, 
and other races, much lower in stature, having 
always proved superior to them in the field. 
Champion soon found that the Oudeans and 
their ruler were cowards together; they fled 
from the field, leaving the English to main- 
tain unaided a conflict with desperate men in 
overwhelming numbers. Victory decided for 



312 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE. [Chap. LXXXII. 



the English, chiefly through their artilleiy, 
the Uohillas again and again charging the 
guns with desperate valonr, attacking the 
English on both flanks, which their superior 
numbers enabled them to do with prospect of 
advantage, while such a firo was directed 
upon the British front as might distract at- 
tention from the attacks upon the flanks. The 
chief sirdar, Hafiz Rhamot, was slain, also one 
of his sons, after behaving with magnanimous 
heroism. When tiie battle was over, the 
nabob and his cowardly followers appeared 
on the field, to plunder the fallen and assas- 
sinate the dying. 

According to Mr. Mill, and Lord Macaulay, 
who follows Mr. Mill slavishly in his reviews 
of the memoirs of Olive and Hastings, the 
utmost cruelty was perpetrated upon the 
people of Rohilcuud, and upon the family 
of the fallen chief. The statements of Mill 
appear to have been based upon the commu- 
nications of Colonel Champion to the council. 
That gallant soldier, scorning the cowardly 
Oudeans, and admiring the chivalry of the 
Uohillas, was ready, without sufficient evi- 
dence, to make such representations as un- 
authenticatod reports brought him. The' 
council replied to his communications, di- 
recting him to protect the conquered, and 
calling for proofs of his allegations : these were 
never giveu. The statements of Mill, and the 
glowing pictures portrayed by Lord Macaulay, 
representing British troops as partaking of 
the cruelties perpetrated, or, at least, standing 
by reluctant witnesses of burning villages, 
plundered houses, and ravished women, are 
denied by writers far better acquainted with 
the history of the period than either Mr. Mill 
or his lordship. The former quotes Colonel 
Champion as stating in his despatches in- 
stances of cruelty and plunder witnessed by 
the whole army. The colonel, no doubt, did 
witness such acts, and would have witnessed 
many more, and worse in their character, if 
it were not for the moral pressure exercised by 
him against the vizier's misdeeds ; but many 
of the colonel's statements were made upon 
hearsay, and were false. IMr. Hastings was 
denounced by Mill for justifying or palliating 
such deeds by the custom of oriental war- 
fare, and the admission that even English 
armies in India had previously, in that very 
country, misconducted themselves in a manner 
similar to that of the vizier's army : yet these 
statements of ilr. Hastings were true, and 
the real explanation of what did occur, stripped 
of tiie false representations which Mill too 
readily credited, as did Colonel Champion 
liimself. Professor \Yilson's comment upon 
Mill's statements is as follows : — " The words 
' extermination,' ' extirpation,' and the like, 



although found in the correspondence, are 
here [in Jlillj put forwanl so as to convej' 
erroneous impressions. The only extirpation 
proposed was that of the power of one or two 
Roliilla chiefs. It was not a war against the 
people, but against a few military adventurers 
who had gained their possessions by the 
sword, who were constantly at war with their 
neighbours and with each other, and whose 
forcible suppression was the legitimate object 
of the King of Delhi, or the Nabob of Oude. 
So far was the contest from being national, 
that the mass of the population of Rohileund 
consisted of Hindoos, hostile both in religion 
and policy to their Affghan rules, to whom 
the name Uohillas is somewhat incorrectly 
confined. Even amongst the Affghans, how- 
ever, there was but a jiartial combination, 
and several of the sirdars joined the vizier. 
One of the many pamphlets put forth by the 
virulent enemies of Hastings {Origin and 
authentic narrative of the ^n-esent Mahratta 
and late Rohilla War. Lond. 1781), tm- 
blushingly affirms that 500,000 families of 
husbandmen and artists had been driven 
across the Jumna, and that the Rohilla pro- 
vinces were a barren and uninhabited waste. 
An equally false representation is cited from 
the parliamentary register, 1781, by Hamilton, 
according to whom, the numbers expelled 
were about 17,000 or 18,000 men with their 
families, none being included in the spirit of 
the treaty, excepting such as ivere actually 
found in arms. The Hindoo inhabitants, 
consisting of about 700,000, were no other- 
wise affected by it than experiencing a change 
of masters, to which they had been frequently 
accustomed.* These statements all proceeded 
from personal hostility to Hastings, and had 
no foundation in genuine humanity. It is 
evident that the son of Hafiz, although the 
most grievous consequence of hostilities was 
his father's death, entertains no suspicion that 
there was anything atrocious in the transac- 
tion, and he expresses no personal resentment 
towards the chief actors in the revolution."-}- 

jNI. Aiiber| notices the allegations put forth 
by 51 ill, and repeated by Macaulay, in the 
following terms : — 

" Accounts of severity of conduct, on tho 
part of the vizier, towards the family of Hafiz 
Rhamet, reaching the council, they intimated 
to Colonel Champion that it had been an in- 
variable maxim in the policy of the company's 
governments, in the execution of any enter- 

* Ilamiltou's History of the Jiohilla Ajfyluxns, 
p. -268. 

t Wilsou's notes on Mill's British India, book v. 
chap. i. lip. -103, 404. 

\ Auber's British Potcer in India, vol. i. chap, vii, 
pp. 407—409. 



Ctjap. LXXXII.J 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



3i3 



prises iinJerfakcii in behalf of tlieir allies, to 
interpose their protection in favour of the 
conqiiered princes, for the security of their 
lives and honour: that it was the intention 
of the council to adhere to a maxim -which 
had so greatly contributed to the reputation 
of the British name, and to perform what 
might be incumbent on them on the occasion 
in question. They accordingly desired to be 
informed of the nature and instances of the 
ill-treatment alluded to, in order that they 
might judge of the measures proper to be 
adopted. In the interim, the commander-in- 
chief was to urge such remonstrances to the 
vizier as occasion might require ; and to point 
out how entirely abhorrent the council were 
to every species of inhumanity. No instances 
were, however, adduced in proof of the alle- 
gations of cruelt}', which appeared to have 
been made upon general rumour." 

M. Auber adds, in reference to these trans- 
actions :— 

"The vizier having intimated to Colonel 
Champion, in the month of May, that he had 
no further occasion for the services of the 
troops in the field before the rains, prepara- 
tions were m.ide to canton them at Eareill}-. 
The whole of the country lately possessed by 
llafiz Rhamet, with Only and Bessouly, be- 
longing to the son of Dudney Cawn, had been 
acquired by the vizier." 

The following was the letter of the council, 
making known these events to the directors : 

" Every circumstance that could possibly 
favour this enterprise, by an uncommon combi - 
nation of political considerations and fortuitous 
events, operated in support of the measure. 

"1st. Justice to the vizier for the aggra- 
vated breach of treaty in the Ivohilla chiefs. 

" 2nd. The honour of the company, pledged 
implicitly by General Barker's attestation for 
the accompli.='hment of this treaty, and which, 
added to their alliance with the vizier, en- 
gaged us to see redress obtained for the per- 
fidy of the Ilohillas. 

" .3rd. The completion of the line of defence 
of the vizier's dominions, by extending his 
boundary to the natural barrier formed by 
the northern chain of hills and the Ganges 
and their junction. 

" 4th. The acquisition of forty lacs of ru- 
pees to the company, and of so much specie 
added to the exhausted currency of tiiese 
provinces. 

" 'Ah. The subsidy of two lacs ten thonsand 
rupees per month, for defraying the charges 
of one-third of our army employed with tlie 
vizier. 

" 6th. The urgent and recent orders of the 
company for reducing charges, and procuring 
the means to discharge the heavy debt at 



interest, heightened by the advices of their 
great distresses at home. 

" 7th. The absence of the IMahrattas from 
Hindostan, whipli left an ojien field for carry- 
ing the proposed plan into execution. 

"8th, and lastly. The intestine divisions 
and dissensions in their slate, which, by en- 
gaging tiiem fully at home, woidd prevent 
interruptions from their incursions, and leave 
a moral certainty of success to the enterjirise. 

" These were the inducements which de- 
termined us to adopt this new plan of conduct ; 
in opposition to which, one powerful objection, 
and only one, occurred, namely, the personal 
hazard we ran, in undertaking so uncommon 
a measure without positive instructions, at 
our own risk, with the eyes of the whole na- 
tion on the affairs of the company, and the 
passions and prejudices of almost every man 
in England inflamed against the conduct of 
the company, and the characters of their ser- 
vants. Notwithstanding which, we yielded 
to the strong necessity impressed upon us by 
the inducements abovementioned, in spite of 
the suggestions and the checks of self-interest, 
which set continually before our eyes the 
dread of forfeiting the favour of our emjiloyers 
and becoming the objects of popular invective, 
and made us involuntarily rejoice at every 
change in the vizier's advices, which pro- 
tracted the execution of the measure. At 
length, however, his resolution coinciding 
with our opinions, the enterprise was under- 
taken ; and, if our intelligence be confirmed, 
it is now finally closed, witii that success 
which we had foreseen from the beginning. 
^^'e shall then again return to the state of 
peace i'rom which we emerged, when we first 
engaged in the Rohilla expedition, with the- 
actual possession or acknowledged right 
(which the power of tliis government can 
amply and effectually assert) of near seventy 
lacs of rupees, acquired by the monthly sub- 
sidy and tlie stipulation : and it rests with 
you to pass the ultimate judgment on our 
conduct."* 

M. Auber, referring to this communication^ 
says :-- 

" This letter had scarcely been dispatched,, 
when the troops were again called into the 
field, in consequence of intelligence that 
matters were accommodated between the 
Mahratta chieftains. The vizier was, there- 
fore, anxious to complete the total reduction 
of the Eohillas without delay, by which the 
designs of the king and the Mahrattas, to be 
executed after the rains, would be defeated. 
The king had taken into his service Shimroo, 
the notorious assassin of the unfortunate pri- 
soners at Patna." 

* Letter to Court, 17tli of October, 1774. 



314 



HISTORY or THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXXII. 



The vizier liad been punctual in bis pay- 
ments of the montlily subsidy for the brigade, 
and liad given an assignment on bis treasury 
for the fifteen lacs due by the treaty of 
September, 1 773,* for the second payment 
on account of the cession of Corah and -Vllah- 
abad. 

Colonel Champion, under all the circum- 
stances, consented to advance, and soon quelled 
all disturbances, finally and completel}' esta- 
blishing the authority of the nabob. 

The king and the vizier entered into nego- 
tiations, by which they satisfied or pretended 
to satisfy one another. Colonel Champion 
was directed by the council to be present, to 
abstain from committing the British to an}' 
new engagements, and to watch proceeilings 
generally. This he did with vigilance and 
siisjiicion, having been disposed to attribute 
too much importance to the petty intrigues 
of Indian courts. The colonel considered the 
ally of the company to be just as dangerous 
as their enemies. 

When peace was established, Hastings 
directed his attention to the revenue. He 
abolished the office of supervisor, and estab- 
lished that of collector, a name which haS' 
ever since continued in the revenue system of 
India. Means were taken to guard against 
the trickery and frauds of the native occu- 
piers of land, and at the same time to remove 
all hardshijis and inequalities, as far as it was 
possible to do so, without destroying those 
customs of the country to which the natives 
so tenaciously clung, even to their own disad- 
vantage. The administration of justice next 
claimed the care of the indefatigable governor, 
whose keen and polished intellect penetrated 
all subjects. The information given by him 
to the directors on the laws, usages, and va- 
rious offices and officers connected with the 
administration of law, was more accurate and 
complete than the court of directors had ever 
before received. The suppression of Dacoittee 
offered many difficulties, but (he governor 
persevered with such skill and energy to ac- 
complish it, that a great effect was produced, 
and a commensurate relief afforded to both 
people and government. 

On the 1 Ith of May, 1774, a measure abo- 
lishing the right to buy or sell slaves who 
had not previously been known as such, was 
carried into effect. The object was to prevent 
child-stealing for the purposes of slavery, a 
practice which the Dutch and French, more 
especially the latter, had encouraged. 

Mr. Halked, of the civil service, made an 
English translation of the Mohanimediin and 
Hindoo codes of laws. This book was pub- 
lished in March, 1775, dedicated to Mr. Hast- 
* Vide printed Treaties, 



ings, to whom the translator attributed the 
original plan, and the result of its execution. 

Peace was not permitted to continue long in 
India. The restlessness of the native chiefs 
led them perpetually to make war upon one 
another, and the English were mixed up with 
so many of them by treaties, or agreement.? 
which had all the effect of regular trc.aties, 
that it was impossihle to keep the sword 
sheathed. Bhotan, a mountainous district on 
the borders of Bengal (described in the geo- 
graphical portion of this work), made war 
upon Cooch Babar. The Coocli rajah claimed 
the protection of the English, offering to place 
his territory under the dominion of the Bengal 
government, and to pay to it half the reve- 
nues, if he were preserved in the peaceful 
enjoyment of the remainder, without being 
exposed to the depredations of his neighbours. 
As Cooch Bahar ranged along the British dis- 
trict of Rungpore, the governor acceded in 
the proposal. The " Deb rajah," at the head 
of the Bhotans, was ravaging tlie country of 
Cooch Bahar with fire and sword, never sup- 
posing that the English would interfere. The 
operations of a few British troops threw his 
highness into alarm, and the consternation 
spread to the remotest recesses of Bhotan. 
The sovereign implored the interposition of 
Teshoo Lama,* who addressed to Mr. Hastings 
the most remarkable communication probably 
ever presented by any native power in India 
to a representative of England. The docu- 
ment is so curious, that it cannot fail to in- 
terest the reader. 

" The affairs of this quarter in every respect 
flourish, and I am night and day employed for 
the increase of your happiness and prosperitj'. 
Having been informed by travellers from your 
quarter of your exalted fame and reputation, 
my heart, like the blossom of spring, abounds 
with gaiety, gladness, and joy. Praise ! that 
the star of your fortune is in its ascension — 
praise I that happiness and ease are the sur- 
rounding attendants of myself and family. 
Neither to molest or persecute is my aim : it 
is even the characteristic of my sect to deprive 
ourselves of the necessary refreshments of 
sleep, should an injury be done to a single 
individual. But in justice and humanity I 
am informed you surpass us. May you ever 
adorn tlie seat of justice and power, that man- 
kind may, under the shadow of your bosoni, 
enjoy the blessings of happiness and ease I 
By your favour I am the rajah and lama of 
this country, and rule over numbers of sub- 
jects, a particular with which you have no 

* Accounts of tlie Lamas, tlieir leligion, and tlie slate 
of Tfiibct will be found in the geogiapliical portion of 
this work, which llie render will do well to ;onsult when 
iicrusing the historical chapters. 



Chap. LXXXIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



346 



doubt been acquainted by travellers from tliesc 
parts. I liave been repeatedly informed that 
you have been engaged in hostilities against 
the Dab Terrea, to which, it is said, the dab's 
own criminal conduct in committing ravages 
and other outrages on your frontiers, has given 
rise. As be is of a rude and ignorant race, 
past times are not destitute of instances of the 
like misconduct wliich bis own avarice tempted 
him to commit : it is not unlikely that he has 
now resumed those instances, and the ravages 
and jilunder wbieb he may have committed 
on the skirts of the Bengal and Baliar pro- 
vinces have given you provocation to send 
your vindictive army against him ; however, 
his i)arty has been defeated ; many of his 
people have been killed, three forts have been 
wrested from him, and be lias met with the 
punishment he deserved, and it is as evident 
as the sun, your army has been victorious ; 
and that if you bad been desirous of it, you 
might in the space of two days have entirely 
extirpated him, for he had not power to resist 
your efforts. But I now take upon me to be 
his mediator, and to represent to you, that as 
the said Dab Terrea is dependant upon the 
Dalee Lama, who rules this country with un- 
limited sway (but on account of his being jn 
his minority, the charge of the government 
and administration for the present is com- 
mitted to me), should you persist in offering 
further molestation to the dab's country, it 
will irritate both the Lama and all his sidyecfs 
against you. Therefore, from a regard to our 
religion and customs, I request you will cease 
all hostilities against him, and in doing this 
you will confer the greatest favour and friend- 
ship upon me. I have reprimanded the dab 
for his past conduct, and 1 have admonished 



■ him to desist from bis evil practices in future, 
and to be submissive to you in all matters. 

j I am persuaded that he will conform to the 

I advice which I have given him, and it will be 
necessary that you treat him with compassion. 
As to my part, I am but a fakeer, and it is 

; the custom of my sect, with the rosary in our 
hands, to pray for the welfare of mankind and 
the peace and happiness of the inhabitants of 
this country ; and I do now, w ith my bead 
uncovered, entreat that you cease all hostilities 
against the dah in future. It would be need- 
less to add to the length of this letter, as the 
bearer of it, who is a Goseign, will represent 
to you all particulars, and it is hoped that you 
will comjily therewith. In this country wor- 
ship of the Almighty is the profession of all. 
We poor creatures are in nothing equal to 
you. Having a few things in hand I send 
them to you by way of remembrance, and I 
hope for your acceptance of them." 

A treaty, consisting of ten articles, was 
agreed to on the 2oth of April. Some lands 
were restored to the Deb liajah, who was to 
pay to the company for the possession of the 
Chitta Cotta province a tribute of five Tauzau 
horses : the Bhotan merchants were allowed 
to send a caravan annually to llungpore. 
Mr. Hastings saw that the communication 
from the Teehoo Lama opened an opi)ortu- 
nity for effecting regular intercourse between 
Thibet and Bengal, and he proposed that jNIr. 
Bogle be sent by the council to the Lama, with 
a letter and presents, accompanied by a 
sample of goods, with the view of ascertaining 
which might be made objects of commerce. 

j The council concurred in the views of the 

I president. Mr. Hamilton accompanied ilr. 

! J*ogle aa assistant-surgeon. 



CHAPTER LXXXIIL 

THE GOVERNMENT OF BE\G.\L UNDER WARREN HASTINGS AS GOVERNOR-GENERAL OK 
INDIA, TO THE DEATH OF GENERAL CLAVERING— ARRIVAL OF MEMBERS OF THE 
NEW COUNCIL— DISPUTES BETWEEN THE MAJORITY OF THE COUNCIL AND THE 
GOVERNOR-GENERAL— A CONSPIllACY AGAINST HASTINGS, AND FALSE ACCUSATIONS 
CONTRIVED BY NUNDCOOMAR— THE BRAHMIN CONVICTED OF FORGERY, AND HANGED 
BY SENTENCE OF THE SUPREME COURT— MARRIAGE OF HASTINGS-DE.\TH OF MON- 
SON AND CL.\VERING LE.VVING HASTINGS IN A MAJORITY .Vr THE COUNCIL BOARD. 



In the last chapter on liome events connected 
with the company, it was related that in con- 
sequence of parliamentary interposition va- 
rious new regulations were made for the 
government of India, and that among these, 
Mr. Hastings, president of the council of 
Bengal, and governor of the Bengal provinces, 
was to be designated governor-general of 



India, that the other presidencie.s and pro- 
vinces should, to a certain extent, be subjected 
to the governor-general's superintendence ; 
and certain new councillors were nominated, 
who jn-occeded to Bengal. On the IDth of 
October, ITT-t, the new council, with the ex- 
ception of jMr. Barwell, who was in the coun- 
try, arrived at Calcutta, and were received 



S4G 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Cuap. LXXXIII. 



with public honours. Next day a council was 
held, rroclamation was ordered, announcing 
that the new government, under "the regu- 
lation act," began that day. Various new and 
useful regulations were made under the aus- 
pices of the new council : among these one 
W'as especially benefic'ia],-^the establishment of 
a board of trade, by which commercial affairs 
should be exclusively the object of attention. 
The decrees upon which the directors and 
the royal government had agreed, were placed 
before the governor-general and council,which 
may be thus summed up : — A commission 
was issued to the governor-general, constitut- 
ing him governor and commander-in-chief of 
the fortress and garrison of Fort William and 
town of Calcutta.* Lieutenant-general C'la- 
veriiig was granted a commission as com- 
mander-in-chief of all the company's forces 
in India. If the governor-general and council 
should at any time think proper to issue 
orders, under their hands, or by their secre- 
tary, to any officer in the army, thereby sus- 
pending or superseding the specific commands 
of the governor-general or military comman- 
der-in-chief, such orders were to be implicitly 
obeyed. The military commander-in-chief 
was not to leave Bengal without the sanction 
of the govsrnor-general and council. When- 
ever the commander-in-chief in India was at 
either of the other presidencies, he was to 
have a seat as second in council ; but to vote 
only on political and military affairs. His 
allowances, as commander-in-chief, wore fixed 
at £6,000 per annum, and his salary, as a 
member of council, at £10,000 per annum. 
Copies of the commission to Mr. Hastings and 
to Lieutenant-general Claveriug, and of the 
court's instructions, were to be forthwith ito1>- 
lished in general orders at Fort William. In 
addition to the foregoing instructions, a gene- 
ral letter was addressed to the governor- 
general and council. The measures of the 
president regarding Cooch Bahar were ap- 
proved, although the court by no means de- 
parted from the rule laid down, of confining 
their views to the pos.'sessions thus acquired. 
Whenever General Clavering could be spared 
from his duties in Bengal, he was to proceed 
to Madras and Bombay, to review the troops, 
and to make a strict examination into the state 
of the company's armies at eacli presidency, 
and to assist the presidents and councils in 
forming such regulations as might be neces- 
sary for rendering the forces respectable. A 
revision of the coinage was to be made in 
Bengal, a treatise tjiereon, by Sir James 
Stuart, Bart., being forwarded for the infor- 

* The object of this was to prevent disputes ahont 
authority with the commander-in-chief. 



mation of the council.* At the instance of 
Mr. Hastings, the council adjourned from 
Thursday, the 20th October, until the Mon- 
day following, on which day, Jlr. Barwell 
having arrived at the presidency, the oaths of 
office were administered, and the commissions 
to the governor-general and the commander- 
in-chief promulgated. In order to place the 
leading branches of the public affairs before 
the council, a minute was delivered in by Mr. 
Hastings, reviewing the revenue system and 
the political state of the provinces. 

iJiscussions arose upon the minute of Mr. 
Hastings, which threatened to assume impor- 
tant consequences, so far did the views of the 
new council and the governor-general diverge. 

Upon discussion of the treaty of Benares, 
and the Rohilla war. General Clavering called 
for the original correspondence between the 
resident at the vizier's court and the presi- 
dent. Mr. Hastings objected to produce 
private correspondence, but was ready to lay 
public documents before the council. A ma- 
jority resolved that all ought to be produced. 
He maintained that the usage of the Bengal 
government was iu harmony with his views, 
that he was willing in future transactions to 
be guided by the council, but would not sub- 
mit to an ex post facto law, suddenly formed. 
The council ordered the agent down to Cal- 
cutta, and to bring the whole correspondence 
with him, Colonel Champion to act as political' 
agent in the meantime. General Clavering, 
Colonel Monson, and Mr. Francis, were de- 
termined to restrain the power of the go- 
vernor, and to assume among themselves the 
authority. Mr. Francis was much the most 
intellectual person of the three new council- 
lors ; he was a man of keen discrimination, of 
a critical haijit, insubordinate, ambitious, per- 
severing, tenacious, bitter, and unrelenting. 
He was in some respects vrell fitted to cope 
with Mr. Hastings in the intellectual arena 
where they met. This will be readily be- 
lieved by all readers, when they recognise 
in Mr. Francis the celebrated "Junius," 
whose political writings had previously made 
such a noise in the world, and around the 
authorehip of which so much mysterj' and 
interest has remained to the present day. 
Tiie light of recent investigations leaves no 
possibility of doubt that Mr. Philip Francis, 
the refractory colleague of Hastings in the 
council of Bengal, was the " Junius " whose 

* This gentleman composed, for the use of the East 
India Company, in 1772, a work entitled. The rrinciplea 
of Money applied to the present Slate of Bengal. It 
was printed, and the court presented liim with a ring, of 
one hundred guineas value, with a suitable inscription, in 
testimony of their sense of this service. 51. Anber, 
vol. i. p. 449. 



CirAP. LXXXi;i. 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



317 



politiciv! critieisni, satire, and invective have 
excited so large an amount of political and 
literary interest. 

Claverinu:, Monson, and Francis perpetually 
complained to the directors that tiieir dignity 
and consequence had not been considered suffi- 
ciently by Mr. Hastings. Mr. Barwell sided 
with the governor-general. Each party sent 
home its own reports. Clavering, ]Monson, 
and Francis sought to grasp the government, 
and make the governor-general a mere puppet 
in their hands. The replies of Hastings to 
their complaints are admirable specimens of 
logical and eloquent writing, and are per- 
vaded b}' a manliness and dignity which 
could not have failed to impress the directors. 

While these painful discussions rent the 
council, and this adverse correspondence con- 
cerning the vizier and the policy which had 
been pursued towards him was going on, 
that remarhable person died, and his son, 
under the title of Asoff-ul-Dowlah, succeeded 
to Oude and its dependencies. Previous to 
his death the vizier had paid fifteen out of the 
forty lacs of rupees stipulated. 

The council considered that the treaty with 
Oude terminated with the nabob's life, and 
proposed another treaty with his successor, of 
a purely defensive nature. The council con- 
trived to make the new treaty a means of fresh 
acquisitions, and accordingly the zemindaree 
of Benares was made over to them, without 
being encumbered with any new engagements 
or loading them with additional expenses. 
The revenues amounted to rupees l,23,72,6oG, 
and were to be paid by the Rajah Cheyte 
Sing in monthly payments, as a net tribute, 
without rendering any accounts of his collec- 
tions, or being allowed to enter any claim for 
deductions. The nabob agreed to pay 2,^0,000 
rupees per month for a brigade of the com- 
pany's troops, which was an addition of half a 
lac to the former allowance. The important 
point was gained of his consenting to dismiss 
all foreigners from his service, and his engag- 
ing to deliver up Cossim Ally C'awn, and 
Shimroo, the assassin of the English at Patna, 
should they ever fall into his hands. The 
provinces of Corah and Allahabad were to 
remain with the nabob.* Instructions were 
.sent to Colonel Galliez to continue with the 
brigade in the territories of Oude for their 
defence, and fur that of the provinces of Corah 
and AIlaha!)ad, should tiie nabob require it. 
Hostilities had for some time been carried on 
between Nudjiff Cawn, the Kajpoots, and 
Jats, and they had alternately sought an 
alliance with the nabob in support of their 

* The treaty was concluded by ^Ir. Brislow, whose 
<?anduct on the occasion was luglily api)laiidcd by the 
eiiprciiie goveriinunt. 



I respective views. The latter, jealous of Nud- 
I jift'Cawn, had evinced a dispositicm to join his 
ojjponeuts. The grand object of tlie council 
was to preserve a good understanding be- 
tween the vizier and the other neighbouring 
powers, for which purpose Mr. Bristovv was 
ordered to take the necessary measures, and 
at the same time to urge the nabob to attend 
to the good government and improvement of 
his dominions. 

Conflicts and treaties appeared now to have 
been terminated so far as Oude was concerned, 
although the young nabob had manifested an 
indisposition to concede much that the Eng- 
lish required, but he chiefly showed dislike to 
their insisting upon good government in 
Oude as absolutely essential to the peace of 
the English territory and the alliance. If 
Oude were ill-governed, insurrections in 
Oude proper, and in the Kohilla country, 
would break' out, and Jats, Ilajpoots, Mah- 
rattas, and Affghans, were all ready to swooit 
down upon any country of Hindostan that 
was torn by internal stril'c. The presence of 
these marauding hordes on the confines of 
Bengal caused expense and alarm to the 
English ; it was, therefore, vital to them tiiat 
Oude should be so governed as to leave no 
apprehension of a border warfare. His ma- 
jesty had a firm conviction that he might do 
as ho pleased with his own, without being 
careful for the consequences to his neigh- 
bours ; and ho submitted w ith a surly and 
dubious acquiescence to the terms imposed 
upon him. 

When the affairs of Oude were brought to 
what appeared to be a happy termination, the 
opinion of the directors upon past events 
reached Calcutta. They agreed in the main 
with Mr. Hastings, and where they differed 
gave him credit for doing what he did with 
the best intentions. On some points they 
agreed with his opponents, but not at all with 
the spirit and temper of the opposition. Mr. 
Barvvell's view, urged from the moment of 
his arrival in India, that the new council had 
nothing to do with past transactions, the re- 
sponsibility of which rested with Mr. Hastings 
and the former administration, was evidently 
that which the directors espoused; but they 
so framed their despatch as to induce, if pos- 
sible, the two parties to coalesce for the com- 
mon good. Had the directors known the 
men of whom the council was composed, they 
would never have expected compliance witli 
any such instructions. Hastings was a man 
of undoubted genius ; he was conciliatory, and 
had much self-control. All this the directors 
knew, and hoped the best from that know- 
ledge. During Mr. Vansittart's government 
ho was in opposition, as has been shown, to 



34S 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chai-. LXXXIII. 



the niajoiity of the Bengal council ; but while 
iliscliargiiig Lis duty faithfully and firmly, 
he Lore himself in a manner so gentlemanly 
and urbane as to deprive the council of any 
opportunity of showing ill-will personally to 
liim, — even the vehementand unabashed John- 
stone, the worst of as bad a set of men as ever 
administered the government of an English 
tiependeney, treated Hastings with decorum. 
l)uring the time Jlr. Hastings had served on 
the Madras council, the follies of that body 
were innumerable. Unable to control or in- 
Huence them,- he took little part in the active 
politics of the period, and devoted himself to 
the prosecution of the trade of the company, 
and with such success as to ensure his pro- 
motion to Bengal. But the directors did not 
know that with the suaviter in modo, Hastings 
united in so extraordinary a degree the for- 
titer ill re. They had no experience of his 
indomitable will and strenuous persistence of 
]iurpose in all dangers and against all odds. 
It was their belief that the good manners, 
graceful language, accomplished scholarship, 
and gentle self-respect of the governor-gene- 
ral, added to the influence of his high posir 
tion, would gradually dissolve a hostile party, 
and attach it to himself. 

Mr. Barwell had long resided in India, and 
was a valuable servant, of industrious habits, 
and greiit experience in the company's busi- 
ness. The company reposed confidence in 
his integrity, propriety of conduct, and peace- 
ful, co-oi)erative disposition. Clavering they 
did not know. He was a man of intense 
]>rejudices, to whicli he was always ready to 
sacrifice the public interests. A king's officer, 
he disdained the military service of the com- 
pany, although more than once he was con- 
strained to compliment the talent displayed 
by its officers. He and Colonel Monson went 
out to India determined to thwart the com- 
pany's civil servants, especially the governor- 
general, believing that by so doing they 
would be .sustained by public prejudice in 
JMigland, and by the ill-will to the company 
then prevailing in the House of Commons. 
There was a large party of politicians in 
England desirous of destroying the company, 
and handing over to government their terri- 
torial possessions. These were the leading 
party men who sought the power and patron- 
age which would accrue to their parties re- 
spectively, if tlie dominions of the comi)any 
were governed under the immediate control of 
the English ministry. Francis was turbu- 
lent tyrant, haughty, arrogant, and malignant. 
The directors had no knowledge of his pecu- 
liar temperament, nor of his peculiar parts. 
Lord Macaulay exhibits the disappointed and 
bitter spirit of Francis at that time, and ex- 



plains the circumstantial causes of the pecu- 
liar intensity of tiie bitterness and discontent 
he manifested, in a characteristic manner, and 
with accurate statements, in the following 
terms : " It is not strange that the great anony- 
mous writer should have been willing at that 
time to leave the country, which had been so 
powerfully stirred by his eloquence. Every- 
thing had gone against him. That party 
which he clearly preferred to ever)' other, 
the party of George Grenville, had been scat- 
tered by the death of its chief; and Lord 
Suffolk had led the greater part of it over 
to the ministerial benches. The ferment pro- 
duced by the^Middlesex election had gone 
down. Every faction must have been aliiie 
an object of aversion to ' Junius.' His opi- 
nions on domestic affairs separated him from 
the ministry ; Jiis opinions on colonial affairs 
from the opposition. Under such circum- 
stances he had thro^yn down his pen in mis- 
anthropical despair. His farewell letter to 
Woodfall bears date the l!(th of January, 
177o. In that letter he declared that he 
must he an idiot to write again ; that he had 
meant well by the cause and the public; 
that both were given up ; that there were 
not ten men who would act together on any 
question. 'But it is all alike,' he added, 
'vile and contemptible. You have never 
flinched that I know off; and I shall always 
rejoice to hear of your prosperity.' These 
were the last words of Junius. In a year 
from that time Philip Francis was on his 
voyage to Bengal." 

The directors, although they did not know 
the temper and talent of Francis, knew enough 
of his antecedents to be aware that no post 
would satisfy his ambition, no courtesj' con- 
ciliate his temper, and that his combative 
spirit would eke out a cause of quarrel in 
any affairs of which he had only in part the 
management. He had served in various de- 
partments of state, in all cleverly, and in 
none with satisfaction to those who employed 
him. 

One of the first proofs afforded of how- 
little the advice of the directors prevailed 
with the new members of council, was the mode 
in which the latter interfered with the reve- 
nues of Bengal. Hastings had with great 
care and skill amended the fiscal system, 
and reorganized the civil staff of the company. 
The new council forming a majority of one, 
undid much of what Hastings had done. 
Tliey were utterly ignorant of the laws, cus- 
toms, and views of the people, but with rash 
hands they pulled down, and with unskilful 
hands they built up. They jiut new cloth 
into old garments, and new wine into old 
bottles, verifying the aptness of the scripture 



Chap. LXXXIIL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



349 



illustration. They threw the minor presi- 
dencies of Madras and Bombay into confusion 
by ignorant medtUing, for Francis (or "' Junius," 
if he may be so distinguished) considered 
himself as having a natural title to rule every- 
body, and a natural gift to govern everything. 
His imperious commands, endorsed by Clav- 
ering and Monson, were let loose as a curse 
tipou India. Lord Macaulay describes the 
effects of this administration to have been 
that " all protection to life and property was 
withdrawn, and that gangs of robbers, 
slaughtered and plundered with impunity in 
the very suburbs of Calcutta. Hastings con- 
tinued to live in the govei'nment house, and 
to draw the salarj- of governor-general. He 
continued even to take the lead at the council 
board in the transaction of ordinary business; 
for his opponents could not but feel that he 
knew much of which they were ignorant, and 
that he decided both surely and speedily, 
which to them would have been hopelessly 
puzzling. But the higher powers of govern- 
ment, and the most valuable patronage had 
been taken from him." While affairs were 
growing gradually into confusion, and three 
members of council, Philip Francis and his 
two military adherents, were destroying the 
usefulness and the influence of Hastings, 
Nundcoomar,so often upon the scene as an evil 
spirit before, appeared again. Ho determined 
to destroy Hastings by charges of corruption 
sustained by perjury and forgery, and thus be 
avenged personally for the defeat of previous 
schemes of villainy discovered and denounced 
by Hastings. He hoped also to raise him- 
self on the ruins of the great Englishman, 
and perhaps to enrich himself in any general 
confusion that might arise out of his schemes. 
He was destined once more, and for the last 
time, and fatally, to find that Hastings, with 
all his mildness of manner, was more than his 
match in a grand conflict of intellectual 
acumen ; at all events, when there was also 
scope for resolute and determined action. 
Four men of master intellect were now about 
to play a game upon which honour, reputa- 
tion, and life itself might depend. These 
men were Warren Hastings, Philip Francis, 
Sir Elijah Impey the chief-justice, and, 
scarcely inferior to any of them in astuteness, 
Nundcoomar, the great Brahmin. Nund- 
coomar set on foot the mighty tournament of 
intellectual strength and political chicane, in 
which all were to suffer, but he most of all. 

In the presence of a number of natives of 
distinction, probably brought together for 
the purpose, Nundcoomar placed in the hands 
of Philip Francis, a sealed packet addressed 
to the council, with the request that it might 
be opened and read in their presence as it 

VOL. II. 



was for the good of the company and the 
country, and of vital consequence. Francis 
introduced it to the council and read it. It 
was an impeachment of the governor-general, 
for putting offices for sale, receiving bribes, 
suffering offenders to escape, and other 
crimes similar in kind. The morning the 
paper was read by Francis before the council. 
Lord Macaulay says " Hastings complained 
in bitter terms of the way in which he was 
treated." It is astonishingly strange that 
his lordship should so characterise the tone 
or terms of the governor's remarks. He 
spoke with a calm and lofty dignity free from 
all i)itterness and passion. He did not even 
betray emotion, but bore himself with a manly 
self-possession, and expressed himself in words 
free from contempt of others, except the oft 
convicted and unprincipled Nundcoomar. 
The language of Hastings was a noble illus- 
tration of the sentiment " Nee timno nee, 
speruo." Hastings denied the right of the 
council to sit in judgment upon him ; and, 
recording his protest, retired. At the next 
assemblage of the council, another packet from 
Nundcoomar was unsealed by Francis, who 
admitted that although he had not seen the 
first packet, he knew substantially what it 
contained. There was in fact a conspiracy 
suggested by Nundcoomar, patronised and 
encouraged by Francis, worked out by the 
crafty Brahmin, supported by the stupid mili- 
tary adherents of Junius, now finding full 
scope for his great talents and malignant 
passions. Nundcoomar petitioned for leave to 
appear before the council, in order to sustain 
his charges. Hastings protested against such 
a course, alleging that the supreme court was 
the proper place. The three opposing coun- 
cillors thought otherwise. Nundcoomar was 
heard, not indeed by the council, for the 
president dissolved it, but by the three mem- 
bers who were themselves conspirators, and 
called themselves the council for the occasion. 
The events in the council chamber have 
been described with brevity by Lord Macaulay, 
thus : — " ^ undcoomar not only adhered to tho 
original charges, but, after the fashion of the 
East, produced a large supplement. He 
stated that Hastings had received a largo 
sum for appointing Rajah Goordas, treasurer 
of the nabob's household, and for committing 
the care of his highness's person to the Munny 
Begum. He put in a letter purporting to 
bear the seal of the Munny Begum, for the 
purpose of establishing the truth of his 
story. The seal, whether forged, as Hastings 
affirmed, or genuine, as we are inclined to 
believe, proved notliing. Nundcoomar, as 
everybody knows who knows India, had only 
to tell the Munny Begum, that such a letter 

z z 



350 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXXIII. 



would give pleasure to the majority of the 
council, ill order to procure her attestation. 
The majority, however, voted that the charge 
was made out; that Hastings had corruptly 
received between thirty and forty thousand 
pounds ; and that he ought to be compelled 
to refund." 

Tiiere were important points brought out 
in the investigation of these accusations which 
proved that Nunocoomarhad eithercommitted, 
or suborned some one to commit, a forgery 
for the purpose of ruining Hastings. The 
letter alleged to be written by the hand of 
the Slunny Begum, which Wundcoomar de- 
livered in, was compared with one received 
from her by Sir John D'Oyley, from the 
Persian department. The seal was pro- 
nounced to be the same on both letters, the 
handwriting to be different. M. Auber, no- 
ticing what followed, says: — "The majority 
observed that tlie letter to Nundcooraar had 
been written a year and a half before, and 
the letter produced by Sir John D'Oyley 
witliin a few days. In either case there was 
sufficient proof of the delinquency of Nund- 
coomar. If its authenticity be admitted, its 
contents established the fact of a conspiracy 
on the part of the Begum and Nundcooinar. 
If its authenticity be denied, the guilt of 
forgery against Nundcoomar is placed beyond 
doubt." 

On the 11th of April, Nundcoomar was 
accused before the judges of the supreme court, 
of being party to a conspiracy against the 
governor-general and others, by compelling 
a man to write a petition injurious to their 
characters, and sign a statement of bribes, 
alleged to have been received by his excel- 
lency and his servants. Next day an exa- 
mination was instituted before the judges. 
A charge on oath was exhibited against 
Nundcoomar, one Kadaehum, and an English- 
man named Fowke. The accused were bound 
over to take their trial at the following 
assizes. 

General Clavering, Colonel Monson, and 
Mr. Francis, accompanied by Fowke, one of the 
accused, went the next day tn Nundcoomar's 
house, to pay him a formal visit. They also, 
both in Calcutta and in London, took means 
to influence public opinion by publishing the 
alleged vices of the governor. In Calcutta, 
where circumstances and men were known and 
luiderstood, these efforts utterly failed, and a 
strong tide of indignation set in against the 
three members of council. In England their 
efforts were more fortunate, and prejudice 
was circulated in the court of directors and 
in parliament, as well as in the country, against 
Hastings. Hastings, aware of their exertions, 
also struggled to maintain the justice of hia 



own cause. In a letter written to the di- 
rectors at this juncture, the following passage 
occurs, in which, in respectful, dignified, and 
feeling terms, he appeals to the public opinion 
of his countrymen in India, as to the recti- 
tude of his conduct and the malevolence of 
his jiersecutors : — "There are many men in 
England of unquestioned knowledge and in- 
tegrity, who have been eye-witness of all the 
transactions of this government in the short 
interval in which I had the chief direction of 
it. There are many hundreds in England 
who have correspondents in Bengal, from 
whom they have received successive advices 
of those transactions, and opinions of the 
authors of them. I solemnly make my ap- 
peal to these concurring testimonies, and if, 
in justice to your honourable court, by whom 
I was chosen for the high station which I 
lately filled, by whom my conduct has been 
applauded, and through whom I have ob- 
tained the distinguished honour assigned me 
by the legislature itself, in my nomination to fill 
the first place in the new administration of 
India, I may be allowed the liberty of making 
so uncommon a request, I do most earnestly 
entreat that you will be pleased to call upon 
those who, from their own knowledge or the 
communications of others, can contribute such 
information, to declare severally the opinions 
which they have entertained of the measures 
of my administration, the tenour of my con- 
duct in every department of this government, 
and the effects which it has produced, both 
in conciliating the minds of the natives to the 
British government, in confirming your au- 
thority over the country, and in advancing 
your interest in it. From these, and from 
the testimonies of your own records, let me 
be judged, not from the malevolent declama- 
tions of those who, having no services of their 
own to plead, can oidy found their reputation 
on the destruction of mine." 

Meanwhile Nundcoomar and the majority 
of the council were shamelessly and ojienly 
identified in their efforts to annihilate the re- 
putation and the power of Hastings. On the 
Gth of May, however, the Bralnuin was ar- 
rested upon a charge of forgery, by a merchant 
of Calcutta. That this imputation was a 
bond Jide one no one doubted, for all knew 
that there was no villainy which the dishonest 
and perjurious Brahmin would not perpetrate. 
On the yth of May, the majority of the council 
displaced Munny Begum, the guardian of the 
infant nabob, on the ground of peculation of 
the revenues. This was the person on the 
accusation of whose letter the majority of the 
council had accused Hastings I Eitlier they 
never believed her, or discovered, after the 
accusation was made that her testimony was 



Chap. LXXXIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



351 



worthless, or tliey knew, from the first, that 
the letter, alleged to be in her handwriting, 
had not been written by her. The conduct 
of the council in deposing her, alter having 
a short time before paraded her as a witness 
against Hastings, scandalized all Calcutta ; 
but the scandal was far greater when, imme- 
diately after, a son of Nundcoomar, a person 
ofnotoricius incapacity, was placed virtually 
in her stead. Thus the repeatedly convicted 
perjurer, forger, and treason -monger was 
publicly honoured, while yet under the im- 
peachment of another added to his many 
well-known crimes. It is not credible that 
Francis and his two military coadjutors would 
have dared to proceed to such lengths if not 
encouraged by private correspondence with 
the ministerial party in parliament anxious to 
wrest the government of India from the com- 
pany, for sake of the patronage, their eager- 
ness to seize which was too great for them to 
disguise. While Nundcoomar was in prison, 
he petitioned the council that he could not 
perform the ablutions necessary for him as a 
Brahmin while in a state of such confinement. 
The council addressed the judges on the sub- 
ject, tliinking to make the circumstance a 
ground for Nundcoomar's release. The judges 
replied that they had taken thought of the 
matter, and appointed certain learned pundits 
to report \ipon the case, whose report was to 
the effect tliat the accommodation was suffi- 
cient; that caste would not be lost by the pri- 
soner. The judges, however, in spirited and 
indignant terms, insisted that the council 
should not again presume to interfere with 
the course of British justice; that if the pri- 
soner was aggrieved, the judges, not the 
council, were the persons to whom to appeal ; 
that they understood their duty without any 
monitions from a portion of the council: and 
that as the natives sought everything from 
power and nothing from justice, the judg- 
ment-seat must be preserved from even 
the afipearance of government interference. 
Nundcoomar remained in prison until the 
assizes, and his trial came on in the routine 
of its business. He was arraigned before an 
English jury, and his trial was coniiucted 
with the strictest impartiality and fairness; a 
verdict was returned in the usual manner, 
after the deliberation customary with British 
juries, and that verdict was Guilty. Never 
was a vertiict more in accordance with truth 
and justice. Sir Elijah Impey, the chief- 
justice, sentenced the guilty man to death. 
Great was the consternation of the council ; 
they protested, but no notice was taken of 
their protest. Public opinion sustained that 
of the jury: Engliahincn and natives be- 
lieved that he was guilty. Colonel Clavering 



vowed that Nundcoomar must be saved, even 
from the foot of the gallows; but he knew 
well that Hastings was determined that jus- 
tice should have its course, and that Sir 
Elijah Impey, the chief-justice, was also de- 
termined to vindicate the law, and the inde- 
pendence of the judges, at all costs. The 
natives would not believe that any judge 
would dare to sentence a Brahmin, or that 
judges or governor would permit one so sa- 
cred to be executed for any crime. They 
knew he was as bad a man as ever fell by the 
executioner; but he was a Brahmin, and the 
priestly caste was sacred. On the day of his 
execution, vast multitudes crovrded to Cal- 
cutta, still unbelieving as to the fate of the 
chief Brahmin of Bengal. Whether from the 
impression that, at the last moment, he would 
be forcibly rescued by the council, or respited 
by the administrative authorities, or from the 
strange indifference to death which charac- 
terises his caste, he approached his fate with- 
out any sign of fear or reluctance. He 
ascended the scaffold calmly, and, to all ap- 
pearance, fearlessly, and was hanged. The 
lamentations of the people were such as not 
merely to astonish, but to awe the British. 
They detested and yet revered Nundcoomar ; 
they lamented because their religion was out- 
raged by the ignominious execution of a 
Brahmiu, a caste which sinned with impunity 
so far as Hindoo law and custom were con- 
cerned. Neither Nundcoomar nor the natives 
had any idea that there was among the Eng- 
lish a power greater than that of a governor- 
general, or a council, or a general of an army, — 
the power of law as seen and administered in 
the courts and from the tribunals of law. 
This was to them a new idea, and struck 
universal terror into their hearts. The effect, 
as it regarded Hastings, was immediate. 
There were no more forgeries and perjuries 
manufactured to please the more powerful 
council : the dread of the mysterious tribunal 
appalled a whole nation of liars and perjurers. 
Nothing could prove more fully the turpitude 
and cowardice of the native character than 
these disgraceful transactions had done. 
When to accuse the governor-general pleased 
those more powerful than he, numbers were 
ready to meet their wishes by accusations ; 
but when it was seen that there was an 
authority higher than governor-general and 
council combined — that of English law — their 
hearts were stricken with fear, and none dared 
to resort to the arts of knavery and treachery, 
so much their practice and delight. 

Much blame has been thrown upon the 
judges, esjiecially Cidef-justice Impey. Lord 
Macaulay doubts the legality of the proceed- 
ing, and describes Sir Elijah Impey as the 



352 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE . [CuAr. LXXXIII. 



tool of Hastings. There was uothlug in the 
conduct of Sir Eiijali in trying Nundcoomar, 
or in accepting the verdict of the jnry, to jus- 
tify this language. Whether Sir Elijali had 
authority to pronounce the sentence whicli he 
did pronounce, was open to discussion, was 
discussed, and many men lit to determine such 
a question liave decided in his favour. The 
whole case has received a clear and impartial 
statement from the pen of Professor Wilson. 
He thus puts it : — " It is true, that no circum- 
stance in tlie administration of Hastings, has 
been so injurious to his reputation as the exe- 
cution of Nundcoomar — whetiier rightfully so 
is a different question. From the moment 
that Nundcoomar became tlie object of judicial 
investigation, it would have ill become the 
governor to have interfered — it was not for 
liim to interpose his personal or official influ- 
ence to arrest the course of the law, nor would 
it have availed. The supreme court was new 
to its position, strongly impressed with a no- 
tion of its dignity, and sensitively jealous of 
its power. The judges would have at once 
indignantly resisted any attempt to bias their 
decision. For the fate of Nundcoomar, they 
are alone responsible. It is presently admitted, 
that they decided according to law, and the 
attempt to impeach the chief-justice, Sir Elijah 
Impey on this ground, subsequently failed. 
It is therefore to be concluded, that the sen- 
tence was strictly according to law, and there 
• can be no doubt that the crime was proved. 
The infliction of the sentence, however, upon 
a native of India, for an offence of which his 
countrymen knew not the penalty, and which 
had been committed before the full introduc- 
tion of those laws which made it a capital 
crime, was the assertion of law at the expense 
of reason and humanity : with this Hastings 
has nothing to do — the fault, and a grievous 
one it was, rests with the judges. The ques- 
tion, as it concerns the governor, regards onl}' 
the share he had in the prosecution. Did he 
in any way instigate or encourage it? The 
prosecutor was a party concerned, a native, 
unconnected with the governor. He may 
have thought he was doing a not unaccept- 
able act in prosecuting a personal antagonist 
of Hastings, but that was his feeling. There 
is no necessity to suppose that he was urged 
on by Hastings : he had wrongs of his own 
to avenge, and needed no other instigation. 
There is no positive proof that he acted in 
concert with Hastings ; we are therefore left 
to circumstantial proof, and the only circum- 
stance upon which the participation of Has- 
tings in the persecution of Nundcoomar, is, its 
following hard upon the latter's charges against 
liim. Tliese were preferred on the 11th of 
March, 1775. On the '3th of May following, 



Nundcoomar was arrested under a warrant of 
the court at the suit of Mohun Persaud. 
Here is certainly a suspicious coincidence — 
but is there no other way of accounting for it 
than by imputations fatal to the character of 
W. Hastings V In truth, it seems capable of 
such explanation as acquits Hastings of hav- 
ing exercised any influence over it. Proceed- 
ings in the same cause did not then commence. 
They had been instituted before in the De- 
wanny Adaulut, and Nundcoomar liad lieen 
confined by the judge, but released by order 
of Hastings. The suit had therefore been 
suspended, but it had not been discontinued. 
The supreme couit sat for the first time at 
the end of October, 1774. The forged in- 
strument had been deposited in the mayor's 
court, and could not be recovered until all the 
papers had been transferred to the sui>reme 
court, and without it no suit could be pro- 
ceeded with. At the very first opportunity 
afterwards, or in the commencement of 1775, 
at the first effective court of Oyer and Ter- 
miner and gaol delivery, held by the supreme 
court, the indictment was preferred and tried. 
It is not necessary to suspect Hastings of 
having from vindictive motives suggested or 
accelerated the prosecution. It had previously 
been brought into another court, where it was 
asserted the influence of the governor-general 
had screened the criminal, and it was again 
brought into an independent court at the first 
possible moment when it could be instituted. 
Tlie coincidence was unfortunate, but it seems 
to have been vmavoidable ; and in the absence 
of all possible proof, the conjectural evidence 
is not unexceptionable enough to justify the 
imputation so recklessly advanced by Burke, 
and seemingly implied in the observations of 
the text, that Hastings had murdered Nund- 
coomar by the hands of Sir E. Impey."* 

Upon the effect of this event on the for- 
tunes of Hastings, and upon the government 
of Bengal, Lord Macaulay remarks as follows : 
" The head of the combination which had 
been formed against him, the richest, the most 
powerful, the most artful of the Hindoos, dis- 
tinguished by tlie favour of those who then 

* The learned doctor deduced his opinion from the fo!- 
lowingsourcesot'informatiou;— -"For I he preceding cliarges 
against Mr. Hastings, and the proceedings of the council, 
see the Eleventh Report of the Select Committee, in 1781, 
with its Appendix; Burke's Charges against Hastings, 
No. 8, and Hastings' Answer to the Eighth Charge, with 
the Minutes of Evidence on the Trial, pp. 953 — 1001 ; 
and the Charges against Sir Elijah Impey, exhibited to 
the House of Commons by Sir Gilbert Elliot, in 1787, 
with the Speech of Inipey in reply to the (irst charge, 
printed, with an Appendix, by Stockdale, in 17S8. For 
the execution and behaviour of Nundcoomar, see a very 
interesliug account, written by the sheriff who superin- 
tended, and printed in Dodsley's Annual Register for 
1788, Historical part, p. 157." 



CiiA!-. LXXXIIL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 






k 



held tlie government, fenced round by the 
superstitious reverence of millions, was hanged 
in broad day before many thousands of people. 
Everything that could make the warning im- 
pressive, — dignity in the sufferer, solemnity in 
the proceeding, — was found in this case. Tiie 
helpless rage and vain struggles of the council 
made the triumph more signal. From that 
moment the conviction of every native was, 
that it was safer to take the part of Hastings 
in a minority, th.an of Francis in a majority, 
and that he who was so venturons to join in 
running down the governor-general might 
chance, in the phrase of the Eastern poet, to 
find a tiger while beating the jungle for a 
deer. The voices of a thousand informers 
were silent in an instant. From that time, 
whatever difficulties Hastings might have to 
encounter, he was never molested by accusa- 
tions from natives of India." 

The calm resolution of Hastings, under the 
most trying circumstances, was proved by his 
conduct throughout those trying and harass- 
ing affairs, especially in the episode of the 
execution of Nundcoomar. Miss Martineau 
draws from the calm resolve of the governor 
of Bengal proof of his want of feeling, and of 
an indurated heart. This opinion is undoubt- 
edly severe, and probably unjust. The dis- 
cussion, however, of such questions belongs 
rather to the task of the biographer than the 
historian. Lord ]\Iacaulay was struck with 
the coolness of the English governor on this 
occasion, and truly observes: — "It is a re- 
markable circumstance that one of the let- 
ters of Hastings to Dr. Johnson bears date a 
very few hours after the death of Nundcoomar. 
^Vhile the whole settlement was in conmio- 
tion, while a mighty and ancient priesthood 
were weeping over the remains of their chief, 
the conqueror in that deadly grapple sat down, 
with characteristic self-possession, to write 
about the Tour to the Hebrides, Jones' Per- 
sian Grammar, and the history, tradition, arts, 
and natural productions of India." 

When tidings of all these events reached 
England, there was commotion in the cabinet 
and the court of directors. The majority in 
the council of Bengal had powerful interest at 
home. Lord North was adverse to Hastings, 
and endeavoured to procure from the company 
an address, upon which, by virtue of " the 
regulation act," under which Hastings was 
apjiointed, the minister would be empowered 
to remove him. Lord North was anxious to 
put Clavering in tlie place of Hastings, as the 
general was the minister's nominee, and the 
conlederate of the other two members of coun- 
cil constituting the factious majority, for a 
majority may be factious as well as a minority. 
Tliis is not the appropriate place in which to 



depict the peculiar features of the contest 
among the directors, the court of proprietary, 
and the cabinet ministers ; suffice it to say 
that Lord North was defeated, and never did 
a minister show less dignity under a political 
defeat than did his lordship on that occasion. 
Hastings, having foreseen this contest, had 
provided against it. He had placed in the 
hands of his agent, Colonel Macleane, his re- 
signation, with directions to present it to the 
court only when a moment of such emergency 
should arise as imperatively to demand such 
a course. Menaced on all hands as Hastings 
was, notwithstanding his recent victory over 
Lord North, and the ministry, Macleane felt 
that there was no means of saving his friend 
from expulsion and degradation but by an 
opportune use of the power entrusted to him, 
and ho accordingly presented the resignation. 
The directors eagerly accepted it, and nomi- 
nated one of their own body, a Jlr. Wheler, 
to the vacated post, at the same time writing 
to General Clavering to assume the govern- 
ment of Bengal pro tempore. 

While these things were proceeding in 
London, events were passing in rapid succes- 
sion in Bengal, which had an equal, or even 
greater influence upon the fortunes of Hast- 
ings, and enabled the intrepid and self-col- 
lected man to overbear all obstacles and all 
hostilities. Monson died, and left Hastings 
only two opponents in the council — Clavering 
and Francis. His casting vote enabled him 
to determine all matters in favour of his own 
policy. Thus after two years of persecution, 
and while bearing the insignia of office, hold- 
ing only the semblance of power, he became 
absolute, for Barwell, although a clever man, 
ami far better acquainted with the adminis- 
tration of Indian business than Clavering or 
Francis, was yet completely under the in- 
fluence of Hastings. The governor now 
seized upon the patronage of the province, 
displacing the officials who were appointed 
by the late majority, and reversing all their 
partizan decrees. In order to mark more 
signally that a new era had commenced, 
Hastings ordered, in the name of the council 
(by power of his casting vote), a valuation of 
the lands of Bengal, in order to form a basis 
for a new plan of revenue. All correspond- 
ence was ordered to be under his sole con- 
trol, and the whole inquiry to be directed by 
him. He next laid down vast schemes for 
the aggrandizement of the company's inte- 
rests, for which, and not for any venal pur- 
poses, he thought and toiled. The plans he 
l)rojectcd were realized, and within his own 
lifetime, although it was not reserved for his 
own administration to carry them out. While 
he was thus engaged the intelligence arrived 



864: 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [OHAr. LXXXIII. 



in England of the proceedings in the cabinet, 
the court of directors, and the court of pro- 
prietary, in which he was so deeply inte- 
rested. 

Hastings had in the meantime, by the sheer 
force of his genius, industry, and intelligence, 
as well as by the concurrence of events, gained 
such a personal ascendancy in India, that he 
was unwilling to surrender his high functions, 
especially, even for a season, to his rival — 
Clavering. He refused to surrender the pre- 
sidential chair. Clavering essayed to occupy 
it by force,, and a fierce struggle ensued. 
Clavering, with much show of reason, ap- 
pealed to the orders of the directors. Hast- 
ings replied that the orders were based 
upon a mistake, which, when the directors 
discovered, they would themselves of ne- 
cessity abrogate. He declared that he had 
not resigned his oflBce. His own account 
long afterwards of the transaction was, that 
Macleane had exceeded and misapjirehended 
his powers ; but that nevertheless he would 
have resigned the government of Bengal had 
not Clavering made offensive haste and in- 
sulting demonstrations, in his eagerness to 
grasp the office. 

Clavering, immediately on the arrival of 
intelligence, seized the keys of the fort, im- 
portant papers, books, and documents, and 
formed Francis and himself into a council. 
Hastings sat in another apartment of the fort 
with Barwell, and continued to issue the 
orders of government, which none dared to 
disobey, so completely had the master mind 
of Hastings asserted itself. The English in 
Bengal unanimously, or all but unanimously, 
supported him ; and the Bengalees had 
trembled at his name ever since the rope 
had put an end to the intrigues of Nund- 
cooniar. Either Hastings felt that his cause 
was just, or that he had the formalities of 
law on his side, for he offered to abide by 
the decision of the supreme court of Calcutta. 
This met the approbation of the English in 
Bengal, who saw no other way of averting a 



civil struggle, which might be attended with 
bloodshed, and ruinous to English interests. 
Clavering was compelled to succumb to public 
opinion, although he and Francis were averse 
to any arbitration of matters, legal or other- 
wise. 

The decision of the court was that the re- 
signation presented by Colonel Macleane was 
invalid, and that Hastings, according to the 
letter of the " Regulation Act," was still 
governor-general. After this, Clavering and 
Francis lost all hope of offering an effectual 
resistance. 

Immediately upon these transactions Hast- 
ings married a foreign lady, the divorced 
wife of a foreigner, with whom he had lived 
on terms of illicit intimacy for years, and 
under circumstances the most singular, ro- 
mantic, and reprehensible, furnishing to his 
biographers ample material for exciting nar- 
rative, and ingenious speculations as to his 
character. It does not speak well for the 
morality of English society at Calcutta at the 
time, that the wedding was celebrated with 
great splendour by the whole community. 
Hastings, elated with the success of all his 
schemes, in love and politics, invited General 
Clavering to the wedding. The general was 
at the time broken in spirit and in health ; he 
was in fact dying. Making the state of his 
health his only excuse for not affording his 
presence to the festivities, Hastings went 
personally to him, and insisted upon the 
oblivion of past differences being thus publicly 
proved. Clavering was brought captive, as 
it were, to the brilliant festivities ; but he 
drooped there, and retired to die. In a 
few days he expired. Francis now alone 
remained to oppose Hastings. His proud 
and arrogant spirit could not be quelled. 
He struggled for a time with dogged and 
spiteful pertinacity, and then went home, 
where he lived long enough to be a thorn 
in the side of Hastings, when, at the greatest 
crisis of his history, he stood impeached be- 
fore the senate of England. 



■.^WWV.WWVW\^>.»Mfc<**V%«rfVWV%i^-i. - -w 



€hap. LXXXIV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



355 



CHAPTER LXXXIV. 

COVERNMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS AS GOVERNOR-GENERAL (CffM««(«<fl— ARRIVAL OF MR. 
WHELER TO ASSUME THE OFFICE OF GOVERNOR GENERAL— REFUSAL OF HASTINGS 
TO SURRENDER IT— OPPRESSIVENESS OF LEGAL ADMINISTRATION IN BENGAL— DUEL 
BETWEEN THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL AND PHILIP FRANCIS — FRANCIS LEAVES INDIA 
—ANARCHY IN OUDE— WAR WITH THE MAHRATTAS. 



When Mr. Wheler arrived at Calcutta, he 
found Hastings in the full possession of au- 
thority, and likely to retain it. The disap- 
pointed governor was, however, a member of 
council, and united with Francis in opposition 
to the governor de facto. Tlieir oppooition 
was of little avail. Hastings continued to rule, 
and with such personal tact, administrative 
capacity, and comprehensive genius, tliat the 
directors at home veered round in his favour, 
and Lord North dared not to displace him. 
Events in Europe favoured the uninterrupted 
possession by Hastings of the presidency of 
Bengal. England liad to maintain a fearful 
struggle with foreign enemies, and her own 
colonial fellow-citizens in America became dis- 
affected. Wars abroad, and bad government 
at home, placed England in imminent danger. 
The cabinet, instead of assailing Hastings, 
were glad to hare a governor who knew so 
well how to govern. The English ministry 
had no leisure to attend to India. 

Although Hastings had undisputed autho- 
rity, his difficulties were great, and scarcely 
was one danger encountered, and conquered 
fcy his genius, than anotiier sprung up. War 
an regions beyond the province of Bengal, 
blunders by his own officers, civil and mili- 
tary, and the harassing opposition of Francis 
and Wheler, occupied his industry and vigi- 
lance incessantly. Before noticing the war- 
like events of his government, not already 
related, it is desirable to glance at the civil 
impediments to his sway with which he had 
to contend. Sir Eyre Coote, who had dis- 
tinguished himself so much in Indian warfare, 
from the battle of Plassey, to that of Wandi- 
wash and the capture of Pondicherry, and after 
the warfare of the Carnatic, elsewhere, was ap- 
pointed commander in chief of the company's 
armies. This appointment gave him a seat 
at the council board, and being naturally ob- 
stinate, haughty, and self-willed, he frequently 
disputed the authority of Hastini^s, and sided 
with Francis and Wheler. When this was 
the case, Hastings was in a minority, and 
his views were overruled. The vigilance of 
Francis never slept. His bitterness was as 
lasting as his vigilance was wakeful. There 
were, therefore, many occasions on which he 
succeeded, with due man.Tgenient of Coote, in 



putting Hastings into a minority. Hastings, 
however, practised the arts of management 
better than Francis, and by gratifying Coote's 
love of "allowances," in a majority of in- 
stances secured his vote. Besides, Coote 
more generally agreed with Hastings than 
with Francis. The latter was ignorant of 
India, but the commander-in-chief, like the 
governor-general, knew it well. Moreover, 
the soldier was often in the field, and then 
the governor had his own way without any 
chance of being disturbed. These contin- 
gencies in the constitution of the council, 
gave uncertainty to their decisions, and frus- 
trated some of the best administrative mea- 
sures of the president. 

A singular state of things arose under the 
pretensions of the judges. English law was 
hated by all classes of the natives, and it was 
administered proudly and oppressively. Its 
slowness and expensiveness were ruinous to 
the natives, who groaned under its oppressions. 
Sir Elijah Impey, as chief of the supreme 
court, had the highest possible notions of his 
own official authority, and the respect due to 
all the forms of law. He was supported by 
the other judges in a system of legal adminis- 
tration which evoked the curses of the whole 
community, English and natives. No man 
felt safe from the tyranny of the courts. The 
civil servants were constantly unable to carry 
out the orders of the government from their 
interference ; and Hastings, who had himself, 
done 80 much to recognise the power of tha. 
courts, was almost driven to despair by the 
way in which that power was wielded. Words 
could not describe the misery, conflict, and 
disaffection which ensued, as far as the 
supreme court extended its authority, and 
probably no problem in the government of 
Hastings presented itself as so hard of solu- 
tion, as that of the true province of the 
English courts. Lord Macaulay ascribes the 
evil in this case to the indifference of the 
legislature in forming " the regulation act :" — 
"The authors of the regulating act of 1773, 
had established two independent powers, the 
one judicial, and the other political ; and, with 
a carelessness scandalously coniniou in English 
legislation, had omitted to define the limits 
of the other." The same author depicts the 



856 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXXIV. 



results of the consequent efforts of tlie judges 
to define the limits of their own authority in 
the most extensive manner, and amongst 
others gives the following descriptions : — 
" Many natives highly considered among their 
countrymen, were seized, hurried up to Cal- 
cutta, flung into the common gaol, not for 
any crime imputed, not for any debt that had 
been proved, but merely as a precaution till 
their cause should come for trial." " There 
were instances in which men of the most 
venerable dignity, persecuted without a cause 
by extortioners, died of rage and shame in 
the gripe of- the vile alquazils of Impey." 
" No ]\lahratta invasion had ever spread 
through the province such dismay as this 
inroad of English lawyers. All the injustice 
of former oppressors, Asiatic and European, 
appeared as a blessing when compared with 
the justice of the supreme court." 

It is not to bo supposed that Sir Elijah 
Impey acted illegally. Many of the acts of 
the courts which spread terror and despair 
through Bengal, were tamely submitted to in 
England, and supposed to be a becoming 
" part and parcel" of a most just code, the 
pride of England and the envy of surrounding 
nations. The laws and the courts were ter- 
rible oppressions in England, to all but the 
rich and powerftil ; but they were oppressions 
to all alike in India, and probably rich natives 
more than any other felt them. Some of the 
most inequitable charges and decisions, de- 
livered with party or personal feeling, and in 
terms illogical as well as offensive, have been 
delivered in England by English judges, 
without exciting much indignation, so strong 
has been the prejudice and pride of the Eng- 
lish people in behalf of their laws, and those 
who administer them ; but in India no such 
feelings were entertained, and the whole 
system of English jurisprudence, and its mode 
of administration, was regarded as barbarous 
and atrocious. 

It was probably the intent of Hastings to 
keep Sir Elijah Impey in his interest, but he re- 
solutely resolved to oppose the system of legal 
administration adopted by the learned judge. 
The governor stood firmly on the side of the 
people, and for once he received the unani- 
mous support of his council. The judges 
served the council with writs to answer in 
court for their acts ! Hastings ridiculed the 
summons, forcibly dismissed various persons 
wrongfully accused, and opposed the sword 
to the writs of the sheriff's otiicers. Hastings, 
however, contrived to avert a conflict be- 
tween the crown and the company. Impey 
had £8000 a year as chief of the supreme 
court, Hastings offered him another £8000* a 
* Lord Macaulay names this sum, Auber £G000. 



year as a judge in the service of the company, 
dismissible at the governor's pleasure ; but 
the office was conferred on the condition, 
privately stipulated, that he would cease to 
assert the disputed powers of the supreme 
court. He accepted the bribe. Bengal was 
freed from the turmoil which bad been 
created, and Hastings from the difficulty 
which it presented to his government. 

For a short time a sort of truce had been 
formed between Hastings and Francis. Bar- 
well promoted a peace between the two great 
opponents, because he wanted to leave India, 
and had pledged himself that he would not 
do so, if the result would place the governor 
in a minority. The truce did not last long; 
Francis w-as opposed to Impey, and was 
exasperated that his old enemy should 
have a new honour and splendid emolument 
conferred upon him, simply to prevent his 
doing mischief. Lord Macaulay justifies 
Hastings in buying off Impey's adverse power, 
seeing that it inflicted so much evil upon the 
inhabitants of Bengal, on the principle that 
justifies a man in paying a ransom to a pirate 
to obtain a release of captives. His lord- 
ship's reasoning and illustration are alike 
unhappy in this case. The conduct of Has- 
tings was censurable. Where he believed pun- 
ishment was deserved, he conferred honour. 
He bribed the judge either to forego what 
was due to law and justice, or to give up an 
abuse of power. To induce a judge by any 
means to forego what law and justice required 
would be clearly wrong ; to induce him by a 
bribe to forego the improper use of his autho- 
rity could hardly be less wrong. An appeal 
to the crown and the company was the obvious 
duty of Hastings, and if they refused to 
redress the evil, he should have resigned his 
government, on the ground that he could not 
as an honourable man administer it under the 
circumstances. Unhappily, it is too probable 
that Hastings, having little confidence in the 
wisdom of either crown or company, and no 
confidence at all in the integrity of the 
English cabinet, chose the way by which he 
might best serve himself, and serve Impey also, 
while he stopped the mischief. Francis found 
a good opportunity for damaging Hastings in 
this transaction, and it is difficult not to prefer 
the logic of the malignant accuser of the go- 
vernor in this case, than that of his eloquent 
defender. It is probable that Francis merely 
accepted the compromise effected by Barwell, 
to induce the latter to leave India. Such 
was the opinion of Hastings afterwards, and 
he indignantly charged Francis with the im- 
putation of faithlessness and dishonour in 
this respect. 

After various stormy meetings of council. 



Chap. LXXXIV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



Hastings inflicted an insult on Francis which 
was provoked, and probably deserved, but 
which Francis was unable to endure. The 
governor in a minute recorded on the con- 
sultations of the government, inserted the fol- 
lowing expressions : " I do not trust to Mr. 
Francis's promises of candour, convinced that 
he is incapable of it. I judge of his public 
conduct by his private, which I have found 
to be void of truth and honour." "When tlie 
council rose, Francis placed a challenge in 
the hands of the governor, who accepted it. 
A duel took place, in which PVancis was 
severely wounded. Hastings was kind, in- 
quired daily for him, and desired permission 
to call and see him. Francis refused, acknow- 
ledging the politeness of the offer, but declin- 
ing to meet Hastings any where except in 
council. When he did return to council, his 
implacable hatred still raged. Lord Macaulay 
gives Francis credit for patriotism ; to what- 
ever degree he cultivated that virtue, his 
conduct in India did not display it. His 
patriotism was never seen to leas advantage 
than after his recovery from the wound in- 
flicted by Hastings. At that juncture Hyder 
Ali, to whom reference has been repeatedly 
made on former pages, swept all before him, 
penetrating to Madras. The governor of 
that presidency proved himself incapable, and 
Hastings afforded many and fresh proofs of 
his genius by the way in which he en- 
countered this vast peril. During all those 
efforts, so worthy of his great reputation, he 
was impeded by Francis, whose sulk}' and 
malevolent opposition never ceased, until at 
last, finding all his animosity powerless, 
and recoihng upon himself, ho left India. 
Wheler, his coadjutor in opposition, tamed 
down into a quiet and acquiescent follower 
of Hastings, who was thus left as a sovereign 
whose sway was undisputed, to govern Ben- 
gal, and direct the affairs of India generally. 

While such were the distractions and vicis- 
situdes in the council, events were taking place 
in every direction requiring unanimity and 
energy. No doubt the governor -general, if 
not obstructed by either a majority in the 
council or by an obstinate minoritj-, who con- 
sumed time uselessly, and impeded public 
business, would have exercised an efficient 
control everywhere. As it was, he proved 
equal to every emergency. 

During 1775, Oude was in a state of per- 
petual turmoil; the nabob squandered the re- 
sources of the state in folly and debauchery, 
and left public affairs to his chief minister — an 
enemy of the English, without whose support 
the nabob could not stand. The king of Delhi 
constituted the nabob his vizier, as his pre- 
decessor had been — this was supposed to have 

\0h. u. 



been a spontaneous act of the Mogul. After 
his ai)pointment to the dignity of vizier, the 
nabob became worse than before, both in his 
personal conduct and his government. As- 
sassinations of some of the most distinguished 
persons in his dominions were laid to his ac- 
count; murders were committed in his pre- 
sence by courtiers, men of equal rank being 
the victims. Nearly all the talented persons 
at the head of the civil and military services 
were treacherously slain or obliged to fly 
beyond the territory of Oude. Eevolts of 
the troops and massacres repeatedly occurred. 
British officers were appointed to discipline 
the nabob's soldiers, which led to a con- 
spiracy and wide-spread mutiny: some of 
the officers were slain by the mutineers, others 
escaped, many with wounds, while a portion 
of the officers succeeded in subduing their 
soldiers and restoring order. 

Apprehensions of the projects of the French 
were very generally received at this period 
among the English in India. French officers 
were observed in various parts of the country 
as if suspiciously engaged. A report of this 
was made to the government. It was also 
stated that the force at Pondicherry was con- 
siderable, amounting to one thousand Euro- 
peans, and a nearly equal number of black 
soldiers. 

The connection of the three presidencies 
under a governor-general worked well, and 
gave scope for the business talents and com- 
prehensive plans of Hastings. 

Ragoba and the Bombay government en- 
tered into negotiations under the advice of 
Hastings, which issued in his cession to the 
company of Bassein, Salsette, Jambooseer, and 
Orphad, with the Islands of Caranga, Canary, 
Elephanta, and Hog Island ; thus affording to 
Bombay Island a security never before pos- 
sessed. The Bombay government, in virtue 
of the treaty with Kagoba, received him 
when a fugitive in their territory, and as- 
sisted him with arms and men to regain his 
ascendancy as chief of the Mahratta nation. 
While embarked in this undertaking, orders 
arrived from the supreme council at Calcutta 
revoking everything done at Bombay, and 
in terms haughty and arrogant. This was 
the work of the majority of the council 
opposed to Hastings. The Calcutta council 
even sent an officer to Poonah to treat with 
the enemies of llagoba, thus humiliating 
utterly the council of Bombay. Madras was 
ordered not to assist the policy initiated at 
Bombay. The measures of the Bengal coun- 
cil failed, and, after all, that factious body 
were compelled to commit the transaction of 
a treaty to the council of Bombay, which 
acted in conformity with the opinion of Ilast- 

3 A 



358 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXXIV. 



ings. Still, so iinsteadj' and inconsistent were 
the directions of the supreme council, that 
confusion and dishonour ensued ; and much 
injury to the company's interests would cer- 
tainly have happened had not the directors 
at home revoked the orders of the supreme 
council, and censured the whole of its conduct 
to that of Bombay. 

In 1777 the French gained some ascen- 
dancy over the government of Poooah, in 
consequence of the continued feuds of the 
Bombay and Bengal councils. The arrogant 
spirits of Olavering and Francis wrought mis- 
chief everywhere. The conclusion of these 
diplomatic squabbles, and of the conflicts at 
the Mahratta capital, is thus briefly recorded 
by Auber: — "In March, 1778, a revolution 
broke out at Poonah in favour of Ragoba, 
in whose name a proclamation was issued for 
restoring peace and order. In July, the 
Bombay council declared that the treaty con- 
cluded by Colonel Upton had been violated 
by the Durbar proceedings; and that they 
were consequently freed from its obligations. 
They also declared that measures had become 
imperatively necessary to defeat the intrigues 
of the French, who had been long exerting 
themselves in schemes hostile to the English.* 
They proposed to place Ragoba in the re- 
gency at Poonah, and that he should conduct 
the government in the name of the Peishwa. 
This latter arrangement appeared to be in 
consonance with the views of the court of 
directors. f The necessai-y operations conse- 
quent upon this determination could not be 
commenced until the month of September. 
In October a treaty was concluded with 
Ragoba, by which the company were to as- 
sist him with four thousand troops to conduct 
him to Poonah."! 

The affairs of the Nabob of Arcot and the 
Rajah of Tanjore still continued to give un- 
easiness to the company. Lord Pigot having 
assumed the government of Madras at the 
close of 1775, set about adjusting the rela- 
tions between the nabob, the rajah, and the 
company; but jealousies betvveen the civil 
and militai-y officers as to their respective 
dignities, embroiled the presidency in dis- 
putes, and delayed the execution of Lord Pi- 
got's plans. His lordship's temper, however, 
was the greatest of all impediments to his 
projects. To such a Isngth did he carry his 
idea of his own authority, and so arbitrary 
was he in his government, that at last the 
majority of the council arrested him. The 
admiral on the station demanded his release, 
in the king's name ; the council refused with- 

* Secret Letter from Bengal, April, 1778. 
t Letter to Bombay, July, J 777. 
i Viile Printed Treaties. 



out the king's order. The supreme govern- 
ment at Calcutta supported the council of 
Madras. The death of Lord Pigot terminated 
the dispute. The English were unable to un- 
dertake almost anything at that time without 
violent discussions among themselves. 

The conflicts between Hyder Ali and the 
Mahrattas, and the feuds among the Mahratta 
chiefs, in which the Bombay government was 
to some extent involved, led the council of 
Bengal to send troops overland to Bombay in 

1778. Colonel Leslie, and this force, began 
their march on May 4th, but it proceeded so 
slowly, and with such little military judgment, 
that it was necessary to supersede the com- 
mander. 

In November, Captain Stuart seized the 
pass of Boru Ghaut, which opened the way to 
Poonah ; it was held and fortified. He was 
followed from Bombay by a considerable force 
in November, consisting of about four thou- 
sand men, of whom six hundred and thirty- 
nine were Europeans. On the 1st of January 
this army, under Colonel Egerton, began its 
march upon Poonah, but had to retreat fight- 
ing before a superior force. Fearful of a fresh 
attack, the English opened negotiations, but 
the Mahrattas refused unless Ragoba were 
surrendered. A disastrous treaty, consenting 
to everything the Mahrattas demanded, was 
the result of the expedition. This treaty 
the council of Bombay refused to ratify, and 
that of Calcutta approved of their policy. 
Brigadier Goddard, with a force from Bengal, 
reached Surat, and, being joined by Ragoba 
after the latter had made gallant and desperate 
efforts to effect the junction, the combined 
forces attacked the confederated Mahratta 
chiefs, and gained various decisive victories, 
until the close of the year 1780, when they 
went into quarters. So- well did Hastings 
provide the sinews of war, that he remitted a 
crore of rupees to the governments of Madras 
and Bombay. 

Many transactions took place in the inte- 
rests of the company during the government 
of Hastings, of which little notice has been 
taken in history, but which had influence 
upon the general condition of the English 
territory. The treaty of the 2nd December, 

1779, with the Rana of Gohud, is an in- 
stance. The Rana of Gohud, then described 
as " a chief south of Agra," made overtures 
for effecting a treaty with tlie company, to 
secure liimself against the Mahrattas. The 
terms were agreed to and signed on the 2nd 
of December. The company were to furnish 
a force for the defence of his country on ))ay- 
ing 20,000 Muchildar rupees for each batta- 
lion of sepoys; nine-sixteenths of any acqui- 
sitions \yere to go to the company. I'he rana 



Chap. LXXXIV.] 



IX INDIA AND THE P^AST. 



369 



was to furnish ten tliousand horse, whose 
combined ojiorations might be determined on 
against the Mahrattas. Whenever peace took 
place between the company and the Mah- 
rattas, the rana was to be included, and his 
present possessions, with the fort of Gwalior, 
were to be guaranteed to him. 

As war was apprehended witli France in 
1778, Hastings made vast and skilful efforts to 
prepare the territories he governed against 
all contingencies, as he concluded that some 
alliances with native powers would be effected 
by the French. The declaration of war in 
London was sent by the secret committee of 
the court of directors, overland via. Cairo, and 
orders were issued to the supreme council to 
reduce Pondicherry. 

Mohammed Reza Cawn now ceased to act as 
regent in Bengal, and the young nabob took 
upon himself the full responsibilities of his 
government. 

Mr. Auber bears the following testimony 
to the labours of Hastings at this time : — 
" ]Mr. Hastings, in the midst of his other varied 
and important avocations, did not lose sight 
of the interests of science and literature. A 
copy of the Mohammedan laws had been 
translated by Mr. Anderson, under the sanc- 
tion and patronage of the government, and 
sent home to the court, together with the 
Bengal grammar prepared by Messrs. Halhed 
and Wilkins, five hundred copies being taken 
by the government at thirty rupees a copy, as 
an encouragement to their labours. Mr. Wil- 
kins* was also supported in erecting and 
working a press for the purpose of printing 
official papers, &c. The Madrissa, or Mo- 
hammedan college, for the education of the 
natives, was established by the government. 
In order to open a communication by the Red 
Sea with Europe, the government built a 
vessel at Mocha, having been assured that 
every endeavour would be made to secure the 
privilege of despatches, with the company's 
seal, being forwarded with facility; the trade 
with Suez liaving been prohibited to all British 
subjects, on a complaint to the king's ministers 
by the Ottoman Porte." 

During the close of the year 1779, the 
Carnatic was seriously disturbed, and the 
cares of that province now fell upon the su- 
preme council, although its immediate super- 
intendence belonged to the Madras presidency. 
In 1780 struggles took place in whicli the 
existence of the company, in the Madras pre- 
sidency, was seriously menaced. The great 
war with Hyder must form the subject of a 
separate chapter. It is here desirable to 
follow the general events of the government 

* Afterwards Sir Charles 'Wilkms, librarian to the 
cowl of directors. 



of Mr. Hastings. The conflict with the My- 
sorean chief was too extensive and important 
to be brought within the records of a chapter 
so general in its subjects as the present. It 
may here, however, be observed that almost 
every occurrence connected with the manage- 
ment of affairs in Madras itself at this ))eriod, 
complicated the relations of that presidency to 
the Carnatic, and those of the supreme go- 
vernment to Hyder Ali and the Mahrattas. 
Indeed, the government of Madras seemed 
alike to set at defiance the directions of the 
supreme council of Calcutta, and of the court 
of directors in London. Sir Thomas Hum- 
bold, Mr. Whitehill, and Mr. Perring, the 
three principal members of the Madras coun- 
cil, set an example of insubordination. The 
first-named was governor, but, finding that 
his proceedings excited so much displeasure 
in Calcutta, and in London, he resigned the 
government in January, 1780, and was suc- 
ceeded in the presidential ciiair by Mr. White- 
hill, the senior councillor. The party in the 
council to which these gentlemen belonged 
had, with other eccentric proceedings, abo- 
lished " the commission of circuit," which had 
been established by the express orders of the 
directors, to prevent the hardship iiicurred 
by the rajahs and zemindars, in being obliged 
to have all their disputes adjudicated in the 
chief city of tlte presidency, however great 
the distance at which they resided. 

il. Auber describes other freaks and ab- 
surdities of this party in the following terms : 
— " They had also entered into an agreement 
with Sitteram Rauze, for renting tlie havilly 
lands for a term of ten years, and had ap- 
pointed him dewan of the Vizianagram dis- 
trict, a measure which the directors considered 
to inflict a cruel and unnecessary degradation 
on his brother. They had likewise disposed 
of the Guntoor circar to the nabob for a term 
of ten years. This circar had, by treaty, 
been delivered to the company by Bazalet 
Jung, in 1779, he receiving from them a per- 
manent rent, equal to what his aumils had 
paid to him." As to the effect of such conduct 
at home and at Calcutta, M. Auber adds : — 
" These proceedings were diametrically op- 
posed to the orders of the directors. The 
motives and principles by which the parties 
had been governed in their adoption appeared 
so very questionable, that Sir Thomas Rum- 
bold, Mr. Whitehill, and Mr. Perring were 
dismissed the company's service ;* and on the 
17th of January, 1781, Lord Macartney was 
appointed governor of Madras. His lord- 
ship, as was then customary, expressed his 
acknowledgment to the court of directors, and 
to the company, in a general court of pro- 
* Letter to Madras, lOtli of January, 178]. 



a60 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXXIV. 



pvietors. On the 18th of January, the pro- 
prietors being met to consider the condnct of 
Mr. Paul Benfield, Mr. Bnrke, as proprietor, 
delivered in a paper, entitled heads of ob- 
jections to be inquired into before Jlr. Ben- 
field should be allowed to return to India. 
Leave was ultimately granted for that purpose, 
by a vote of 3G8 to 302. The supreme govern- 
ment were equally opposed with the directors to 
the conduct of Mr. Whitehill. The government 
were repi-esented to have countenanced the 
treaty concluded by that gentleman with Ba- 
zalet Jung, \vhether to the extent alleged by 
the Madras council was not apparent, but it 
was clear that orders had been subsequently 
sent from Bengal for relinquishing the circar. 
The Madras government were accused of 
pertinaciously refusing to obey such orders, 
and of retaining the circar in defiance of the 
peremptory instructions from Calcutta. On 
a previous occasion, in a matter connected 
W'ith the nizam, the council at Fort St. George 
disputed the coutrolUng power attempted to 
be exercised by the supreme government, and 
had expressed an opinion that the latter pos- 
sessed only a negative power, and that con- 
fined to two points, viz., orders for declaring 
war, or for making treaties, and not a positive 
and compelling power, extending to all poli- 
tical affairs. Considerable jealousy had been 
created in the minds of Hyder and the Nizam 
by the treaty ; both Bazalet Jung and Hyder 
manifested decided intentions of hostility." 

Hyder made such demonstrations of hos- 
tility, and had such means of making that 
hostility formidable, that the supine council 
might have been awakened from their apathy 
in time to avert the terrible consequences 
about to spread like a devouring flame over 
the fair provinces of the presidency. The 
nabob of the Carnatic was still more supine, 
if possible, than the council : nothing was 
either performed or attempted by him to 
strengthen the hands of the Madras govern- 
ment, or in any way prepare himself for an 
encounter with his formidable foe. The 
nizam was able to afford to Hyder snch a 
supply of French officers and troops ostensibly 
in his own service that it ought to have been 
an object of intense concern with the govern- 
ment of Madras, by negotiation or money, to 
prevent such a junction. No real efforts to 
accomplish so important an object was made, 
and when the moment arrived for action, the 



Mysorean adventurer was able to add to the 
elements of strength possessed by his vast 
and well-organized armies, this new and most 
dangerous one of French troops led by offi- 
cers skilful in engineering and artillery, and 
with all the prestige of being the best disci- 
plined troops in Europe or in Asia. The 
difficulties of Hastings at this juncture. pass 
description. The company's funds in India 
were exhausted ; the servants of every grade 
were in arrears for pay ; the exigencies of the 
war in the Carnatic were exorbitant ; the 
petty rajahs were everywhere displaying 
symptoms of disaffection ; the insubordinate 
polygars of Tanjore had gone over to Hyder 
Ali ; the vizier and other powerful native 
princes were murmuring and at heart dis- 
loyal ; the company was importunate for 
money; the councils of the presidencies de- 
spaired of finding means for the annual invest- 
ment. Such was the condition of India in 
1781-82. 

It seems to be one of the strange con- 
ditions upon which providentially the Eng- 
lish dominion in India has depended, that it 
should, after the most signal seasons of pros- 
perity and triumph, be suddenly brought to 
the verge of ruin, and yet emerge from danger 
and disaster more glorious than ever. This 
has so often happened as to assume the ap- 
pearance of a law, and challenge the investi- 
gation of statesmen. At the period to which 
reference is now made, such was the state of 
the English power in India. After all its 
prestige and glory, a wild and lawless man, 
thrown up by the ever surging sea of Indian 
life, put the empire founded by Clive and 
consolidated by Hastings in the utmost peril ; 
and when successive victories rolled back the 
tide of his conquests, the pecuniary resources 
of the company in India were exhausted, the 
native chiefs were preparing to throw ofll" the 
yoke of England, and the English themselves 
were weakened by dissensions in their presi- 
dential councils. The genius of Hastings re- 
trieved affairs so desperate. AYliere his own 
hand could not reach, and his own mind 
direct, he nominated agents adapted to the 
work he desired to see accomplished. Had 
the appointment of the men, or the procuring 
and management of the means, been left, at 
this juncture, to either the councils in India 
or the directors at home, all had been 
lost. 



Chap. LXXXV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



3G1 



CHAPTER LXXXV. 

GOVERNMENT OP HASTINGS (,CoHll,iued)—mS E1-"F0RTS TO RETRIEVE THE FINANCIAL AFFAIRS 
OF THE COMPANY IN INDIA— TRANSACTIONS WITH CHEYTE SING, THE VIZIER, THK 
BEGUMS OF OUDE, ETC.— CENSURES PRONOUNCED BY THE DIRECTORS AND THE 
ENGLISH PUBLIC. 



For a time, after the occurrence of the events 
recorded in the last chapter, Hastings directed 
his whole attention to finance, and made efforts 
of the most ingenious but daring nature to 
provide funds for the government. 

Few of the transactions by which largo 
sums of money were brought to the coffers 
of the company have been more canvassed 
than the expulsion of Cheyte Sing, llajah of 
Benares. Lord Macaulay describes Hastings 
as having deliberately meditated a robbery 
(on behalf of the company) on this prince, 
whom the same authority represents as hav- 
ing paid regularly his tribute up to 1T80-1. 
His lordship is very severe upon Hastings for 
treating a sovereign rajah in the manner he 
did, and for demanding money for the com- 
pany for which there was no legitimate claim 
upon the rajah. His lordship in this case, as 
in almost every other to which he refers in 
his essays upon Clive and Warren Hastings 
(which are in fact essays upon Indian affairs 
during their governments), follows Mill, and 
he does so even when the means of correcting 
Mill by more authentic sources of information 
were abundantly open to him. The gist of 
the affair is in the real relation held by the 
rajah to the English government, and his own 
actual rights, whether implied by the title of 
rajah or the power or authority which he ex- 
ercised. The truth was, the rajah perceived 
with pleasure the difficulties by which the 
company was surrounded, and hoped out of 
the dismemberment of its territories to derive 
for himself a sovereignty to which ho had no 
claim. Ho liad engaged to assist the English 
during the struggles with the Mahrattas and 
Hyder, by a body of cavalry,— a force, of which 
Lord Macartney declared in his correspon- 
dence with the directors, that when he assumed 
the government of ^Madras in 1781, the pre- 
sidency was totally destitute. The English 
were especially deficient in that military arm, 
and relied generally for support in it upon their 
native allies. The people of Benares being, 
as compared with lower Bengal, warlike — but 
by no means so warlike as Lord Macaulay 
describes them, and as the inhabitants of 
Oude, Rohilcund, Delhi, and the north and 
nortli-west districts generally are — it was rea- 
sonable for the English to expect that the 
rajah would keep faith with them in furnishing 



cavalry contingents. This he did not do. He 
was also expected to aid the general govern- 
ment in any extraordinary crisis, as the very 
existence of his position as a prince depended 
upon the protection of the English. Cheyte 
Sing thought otherwise. He had no disposition 
to lend them aid in their hour of peril, and 
counted upon their necessity as his oppor- 
tunity. Hastings was not a governor to be 
so treated. He determined that Benares 
should afford its full proportion of assistance 
to the general want, and he resolved to make 
his highness, the rajah, an example to other 
rajahs of the reality of English power, and 
the necessity of rendering a full, efficient, and 
zealous support to the supreme government 
— of, in fact, sharing its dangers as well as 
enjoying of its protection. The governor- 
general accordingly proceeded to Benares, and 
after undergoing desperate perils, expelled 
the rajah and seized the revenue. The liglit 
in which the transaction is placed by Auber 
is sustained by the documents upon the au- 
thority of which a historical I'ecord must be 
based. It is with singular brevity recorded 
by him in the followng terms : — 

"Under the treaty concluded with Sujali-ad- 
Dowlah in August, 17Go, it was stipulated 
that Bulwunt Sing, a tributary of the vizier, 
and Rajah of Benares, should be continued in 
that province. On Sujah-ad-Dowlah's death 
in 1775, a treaty was concluded by Mr. Bris- 
tow, with his successor, Asoff-ul-Dowlah, by 
which all the districts dependant on Rajah 
Cheyte Sing, the successor of Bulwunt Sing, 
were transferred in full sovereignty to the 
company, an arrangement which had appa- 
rently given great satisfaction to Cheyte Sing 
and his family. 

" When intelligence reached India, in 1778, 
of the war with France, Spain, and America, 
the supreme government were constrained to 
devise every means to augment the financial 
resources of the company, in order to meet 
the unavoidable increase of charge. As the 
rajah's provinces derived the advantage of the 
company's protection, to whom he had, in point 
of fact, become tributary, he was called upon 
to aid in the general exigency. He very re- 
luctantly assented to a contribution of five laos. 
This indisposition created an unfavourable 
impression on the mind of the government. , 



8G2 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXXV. 



" Having been again applied to for aid 
during the war in the Carnatic, in the prose- 
cution of wliich tlie government of Bengal 
had drained their treasury in supplies to 
Madras, he evinced a decided disinclination 
to come forward ; and although he promised 
to contribute some aid in cavalry, not one 
man was forthcoming. These and other cir- 
cumstances arising out of the deputation of a 
party from the rajah to Calcutta, determined 
Mr. Hastings to make known his mind to 
Cheyte Sing, for which purpose lie proceeded 
to Benares on his route to meet the vizier, 
where he arrived on the 14th of August, 1781. 
It was the rajah's wish to have paid the go- 
vernor-general a visit that evening, but he 
■desired it might be postponed until a wish to 
that eiifect was communicated to the rajah. 

" In the interim, the governor-general 
caused a paper to be forwarded to Cheyte 
Sing, recapitulating the points upon which 
he felt it necessary to animadvert. Tlie re- 
ply of the rajah was so unsatisfactory, that 
orders were given to Mr. Markham, the resi- 
dent, on the loth, at ten at niglit, to place 
him in arrest the following morning : should 
opposition arise, he was to await the arrival 
of two companies of sepoys, Mr. Markham, 
with the troops, the following morning exe- 
cuted his orders. The rajah addressed a 
letter to Mr. Hastings, asking ' what need 
there was for guards ? He was the governor- 
general's slave.' In consequence of the de- 
sire of the rajah, Mr. Markham proceeded to 
visit him ; previous to his arrival, large bodies 
of armed men had crossed the river from 
Eamnagur. Unfortunately, the two compa- 
nies who were with the resident had taken 
no ammunition with them. They were sud- 
denly attacked by the assembled body of 
armed men and tired upon ; at this moment 
the rajah made his escape, letting himself 
down the steep banks of the river, by turbans 
tied together, into a boat which was waiting 
for him. Those who effected his escape fol- 
lowed him. Of the two companies com- 
manded by Lieutenant Stalker few remained 
alive, and tliose were severely wounded; 
Lieutenants Stalker, Scott, and Simes lying 
within a short distance of each other. The 
rajah fled from Ramnagur with his zenana to 
Lateefgur, a strong fort ten miles from Chu- 
nar, accompanied by every member of the 
family who could claim any right of succes- 
sion to the raj. 

"In this state of affairs, BIr. Hastings se- 
lected Baboo Assaum Sing, who had been 
dewan under Bulwunt Sing, to take charge 
of the revenues, in quality of naib, until it 
should be legally determined to whom the 
revenues belonged. The governor went to 



Cliunar, from whence requisitions were issued 
for succour from all quarters. Little aid 
could be effectually given, as the whole of 
the countr}' was in arms, the provinces of 
Benares, Ramnagur, and Pateeta being in a 
state of war. Troops ultimately arrived 
under Major Popham from Cawnpore ; the 
exertions and gallantry of that officer repoued 
the zemindary of Benares from the power and 
influence of the disaffected rajah and his ad- 
herents. His last strong fortress of Bejieghur, 
from which he had escaped, was reduced and 
brought imder subjection to the company. 
Baboo Narrain, a grandson of Bulwunt Sing, 
was proclaimed rajah in the room of Cheyte 
Sing." 

This statement, supported by all existing 
documents of the rajah's position, preroga- 
tives, and conduct, and the ground on which 
the claims of the governor-general rested, do 
not agree with the account given by Mill, 
upon whose authority it is obvious Lord 
Macaulay solely rests his estimate of the 
conduct of Hastings. Mr. Mill, assuring his 
readers of the sacred and indefeasible rights of 
the rajah, saj's : — " Whether till the time at 
which Benares became an appanage of the 
Subah of Oude, it had ever been governed 
through the medium of any of the neigh- 
bouring viceroys, or had always paid its re- 
venue immediately to the imperial treasury, 
does not certainly appear. With the excep- 
tion of coining money in his own name — a 
prerogative of majesty, which, as long as the, 
throne retained its vigour, was not enfeebled 
by communication, and that of the adminis- 
tration of criminal justice, which the nabob 
had withdrawn, the Rajah of Benares had 
always, it is probable, enjoyed and exercised 
all the powers of government within his own 
dominions." 

With views based upon such representa- 
tions. Lord Macaulay would naturally de- 
scribe any demands for assistance made by 
Hastings, beyond the ordinary tribute, as a 
robbery. Professor Wilson has, with his 
usual research, examined the statements of 
Mill, and gives the following confutation : — 
" This is an adoption of one of those errors 
upon which the charge against Mr. Hastings 
in regard to his relations with Cheyte Sing 
was founded, and which commences with the 
second report of the select committee, who 
talk of 'the expulsion of a rajah of the high- 
est rank from his dominions.' In point of 
fact, however, no rajah had enjoyed and ex- 
ercised the powers of government in the 
province of Benares since the middle of the 
eleventh century, at the latest. At the period 
of the Mohammedan conquest, it was part of 
the kingdom of Kanoj. It was annexed to 



Chap. LXXXV.J 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



363 



Delhi by the arms of Kutteb, early iu the 
thirteenth century, and in the fourteenth was 
included in the Mohammedan kingdom of 
Jonpur. In the reign of Akbar, it was com- 
prised in the subah of Allahabad, and in that 
of Aurungzebe it was comprehended in that 
of Oude. In all this time no mention is 
made of a Rajah of Benares. The title ori- 
ginated in the beginning of the eighteenth 
century, or a.d. 1730, when Mansa IJam, 
zemindar of Gangapoor, having, in the dis- 
tracted state of affairs, added largely to his 
authority, obtained a sunnud of rajah, from 
Mohammed Shah of Delhi — a mere honorary 
title, conferred then, as is it now, by the 
British government, without any suspicion of 
its implying princely power or territorial do- 
minion. Mansa Ram procured the title for 
his son, Bulwunt Sing, who succeeded him in 
1740; so that even the title was only forty 
5'ears old at the time of Cheyte Sing's removal. 
It had never conferred independence, for the 
rajah had still remained a zemindar, holding 
under the soubahdar of Oude. It is true, 
that the minutes of council of various dates 
speak of the rajah as a sort of king, tributarj', 
but reigning in his o\\ti right, and by the posi- 
tion of his supi)08ed kingdom, calculated to 
be a valuable feudatory or ally of the British 
government. Some of this was merely vague- 
ness of expression, some of it ignorance. The 
word rajah seems to have imposed even upon 
Hastings ; certainly it did upon Clavering and 
his party ; and language was used in allusion 
to Cheyte Sing, which exposed Hastings to 
the charge of contradiction and inconsistency. 
There is no vagueness or inconsistency, how- 
ever, in the document upon which Cheyte Sing's 
whole power and right depended. The snnnud 
177G, granted to the rajah by the governor 
and council, and which, it is to be observed, 
' causes all former sunnuds to become null and 
void;' confers no royalties, acknowledges no 
hereditary rights, fixes no perpetual limit to 
the demands of the supreme government; but 
appoints him zemindar, anmeen, and fougedar 
of Benares and other districts. All these terms 
imply delegated and subordinate offices, and 
recognise in him nothing more than receiver 
of the rents, and civil and commercial judge. 
In the kabooleat, or assent to this sunnud, 
Cheyte Sing acknowledges the sovereignity of 
the company, and promises to pay them a cer- 
tain sum, the estimated net revenue, and to 
preserve peace and order. Whatever, there- 
fore, may be the fluctuating and contradictory 
language of the minutes of council, there is not 
the shghtest pretext for treating the zemindar 
of Benares as a sovereign, however subordi- 
nate or tributary, to which he held whatever 
power he enjoyed. It is true that the genu- 



ineness of this document was disputed by the 
prosecutors; and they affirmed that the sun- 
nud was altered in compliance with the repre- 
sentation of Cheyte Sing, who objected to the 
insertion of the term ' mucliulka,' and the 
clause annulling all former sunnuds. They 
could not prove, however, that any other 
sunnud was ever executed ; and whatever 
might at one time have been the disposition 
of the council to accede to the rajah's wishes, 
it does not appear that any actual measure 
ensued. Even, however, if the omissions had 
been made, of which there is no proof, it is 
not pretended that any clause, exempting the 
rajah for ever from all further demands, was 
inserted ; and this was the only material point 
at issue."* 

It was obvious that, in the mode which 
Hastings adopted in carrying out the punish- 
ment inflicted upon Cheyte Sing, and in the 
extent to which it was pushed, he was in- 
fluenced by personal resentment. Cheyte 
Sing had deserved resentment; but Hastings 
carried it out vindictively. There can be no 
doubt that his policy and sense of justice were 
independent of his vengeful feeling, but that 
gave a bitterness to all he did in the trans- 
action. 

"The spirit which Hastings manifested to- 
wards Cheyte Sing was so intensely bitter, as 
almost to force an inquiry whether the public 
delinquency of this man could be the sole cause 
of the governor-general's hatred. This is a 
question which could not have been satisfac- 
torily answered had not Hastings himself 
afforded the means. In enumerating the 
crimes of the rajah, Hastings accuses him of 
having entertained an intention to revolt. 
' This design,' says he, ' had been greatly 
favoured by the unhappy divisions of our go- 
vernment, in which he presumed to take an 
open part. It is a fact, that when these had 
proceeded to an extremity bordering on civil 
violence, by an attempt to wrest from me my 
authority, in the month of June, 1777, he had 
deputed a man named Sumboonaut, with an 
express commission to my opponent, and the 
man had proceeded as far as Moorshedabad, 
when, hearing of the change of affairs which 
had taken place at the presidency, he stopped, 
and the rajah recalled him.'f Here, then, is 
the key, furnished by Hastings himself, to the 
feelings under which he carried on his pro- 
ceedings against Cheyte Sing. \Yhile the 
contest between himself and General Claver- 



* Minutes of Evidenee, p. 60. 

t Hastings's Narrative, printed in the AppenJix to 
the Siippleuieut to tlio Second Keport of the Select Com- 
mittee of the House of Conimous on the Administration 
of Justice in India, 1782; and also in the Minutes of 
Evidence on the Trial of Hastings, vol. i. 



364 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



rCHAr. LXXXV. 



ing was raging, the presumptuous rajah Lad 
ventured to dispatch a messenger to the op- 
ponent of the man who was eventually to be 
master of his fortunes. For four years the 
hatred engendered by this act had burned in 
Hasting's heart, when an opportunity oc- 
curred for gratifying at once the claims of 
public justice and of private revenge. Such 
an opportunity Hastings was not the man to 
pass by. It is not necessary to ascribe the 
whole of his proceedings with regard to 
Cheyte Sing to personal hatred. Indepen- 
dently of this feeling, he would probably 
have called upon the rajah for assistance to- 
wards carrying on the war, and he would 
have been justified ; he would probably have 
visited his numerous failures with some pun- 
ishment; and in this, too, he would have 
been justified: but in the absence of the 
dark passion which had so long rankled in 
Iiis breast, he would have proceeded with 
more calmness, more dignity, and more re- 
gard to the courtesy which the rank and 
position of the zemindar demanded. To 
luimble to the dust the man who had of- 
fended him was a triumph which it was not 
in the nature of Hastings to forego, when, 
circumstances threw in his way the oppor- 
tunity of enjoying it. He set his foot on the 
neck of his enemy, and was happy. 

" With the explanation afforded by himself, 
the conduct of Hastings towards Cheyte Sing 
appears perfectly in accordance with his gene- 
ral character ; but the indiscreet revelation of 
his feelings is remarkable, as being in strik- 
ing opposition to that character. Disguise 
seemed to be natural to him. On all occa- 
sions he surrounded himself and his motives 
with mystery. Here is a striking exception. 
A degree of frankness, which few men in 
such a case would have manifested, for once 
marks a communication from Warren Hast- 
ings. How is this to be accounted for ? By 
the strength of the passion which had waited 
years for gratification, and by the overwhelm- 
ing sensation of triumph consequent on grati- 
fication when attained. Powerful must these 
feelings have been to overcome the caution of 
a man with whom concealment was not so 
much a habit as an instinct; which could in- 
duce him for once to lift the veil wliich on no 
other occasion was ever removed ; which could 
lead him, unabashed and undismayed, to ex- 
pose to the public eye motives and feelings 
of which the suggestions of the most ordinary 
prudence would have dictated the conceal- 
ment — and this, too, at a time when, under 
the avowed consciousness that some parts of 
liis proceedings required explanation, and 
under the humiliating sense of disappoint- 
ment at the failure of his financial specula- 



tions, he was seeking to disarm hostility by 
apology."* 

The conduct of Hastings throughout the 
unfortunate events at Benares, was charac- 
terised not only by his usual courage, but bj- 
an amount of cool and dauntless fortitude, 
such as the world has seldom witnessed. 
When the disaster occurred to the two com- 
panies , Hastings, with about fifty soldiers, 
was shut up in the residency, which the mob 
surrounded, cutting off all communication. 
The too forward valour of some English 
officers with Hastings, nearly brought on a 
conflict which would have probably issued in 
the destruction of his little garrison and of 
himself. The whole country for many miles 
around was in arms, and the insurrectionary 
spirit extended into Oude, the most turbulent 
part of India. Volunteers from Oude, from 
among the less warlike part of the population, 
especially hastened to join the Benares insur- 
gents. The ruling class of Oude, the Mo- 
hammedans took little part in the disturbance, 
but the Brahminical devotees considered it a 
holy war, and nearly thirty thousand of them 
crossed the borders into the Benares province. 
Hastings, beleaguered in his little temporary 
fortress, not only remained perfectly calm, 
but acted with the cool assurance and auda- 
city of one in a position to dictate. The 
fugitive rajah sent to him, beseeching, in 
humiliating terms, pardon and friendship, 
but in the meantime made no efforts to with- 
draw the armed rabble that beset the go- 
vernor. Hastings treated with haughty dis- 
dain the rajah's overtures. He contrived to 
send letters, placed in the ears of certain of 
the natives as ear-rings, to the nearest can- 
tonments of the British army. The troops 
idolized Hastings, as all the English did, 
and officers and men made desperate and 
enthusiastic efforts to hasten to his rescue. 
Meanwhile, Hastings wrote with the greatest 
coolness despatches to his agents in con- 
nection with the negotiations then going on 
with the Mabrattas. These despatches show 
the most wonderful self-reliance and self- 
possession. While a multitude thundered at 
the gates of his residence, and bullets whistled 
around, this indomitable man wrote with as 
much collectedness as if sitting in his study 
at government house, or dictating a revenue 
minute in the council chamber. The efforts 
of the British troops soon turned the tide ot 
affairs, the vast mob of armed fanatics melted 
away, and the liberated governor with wis- 
dom, promptitude, and stern repression, re- 
duced to a perfect calm the anarchical elements 
that had raged so fiercely around him. 

* llhtory of the Biitiah Empire in India. By Edward 
ThorutoD. 



Chap. LXXXV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



36a 



Clieyte Sing had placed himself beyond all 
hope of mercy while these events were 
passing. He was lifted up by the sight of 
the whole population of the province of 
Benares in arms, the thronging volunteers 
from Oude, and the preparation for revolt in 
Bahar, so that he threatened to " drive the 
white faces out of Bengal," and made liigh 
and peremptory demands upon Hastings. 
When he saw the feeble resistance made b)' 
multitudes of his co-religionists to a few 
English soldiers and sepoys commanded by 
British officers, he became panic-struck, and 
fled, abandoning for ever the regions he had 
thrown into so sudden a convulsion. The 
result to the company was an increase of its 
revenue to the amount of £200,000 sterling 
per annum, and a more complete dominance 
ill the regions that had so suddenly revolted. 
A quarter of a million sterling was found in 
the treasury of Cheyte Sing, which was dis- 
tributed to the troops as prize money. When 
tidings of the occurrences at Benares reached 
the directors, the court passed a resolution, 
that tlie treaty of 1775, confirmed iu per- 
petuity to the company the zemindaree of 
Benares, that Cheyte Sing was to have the 
management of the province on paying a 
certain tribute ; that the governor-general 
and council had recommended the rajah to 
maintain two thousand horse, but that in the 
opinion of the court, there was no obligations 
resting upon Cheyte Sing to comi^ly with that 
recommendation ; that the conduct of the 
governor-general towards him, while at Be- 
nares was improper, and that the imprison- 
ment of his person was unwarrantable and 
highly impolitic, and would probably tend to 
weaken that confidence in the moderation 
and justice of the English government, which 
it was desirable the princes of India should 
feel. These tidings reached the governor- 
general just as he had concluded a glorious 
peace with Hyder, and when flushed with the 
success of all his enterprises, he was unlikely 
to endure the language of censure with his 
usual good temper and self-command. He 
•<vt once wrote a respectful but indignant 
despatch to the directors, a few extracts from 
which will at once show the merits of the 
whole question as they appeared to Hastings, 
and tiie views which he took of the policy 
and proceedings of the directors. He con- 
sidered the judgment pronounced to have 
issued from a party in the directory, under 
the influence, no doubt of the cabinet, which, 
anxious to grasp the patronage of India, 
laboured incessantly to prejudice the minds 
of the English public against the company's 
servants, believing that such prejudice would 
ultimately be directed to the company itself. 

VOL. II. 



Hastings does not express so much in the 
language he employed, but his allusions and 
tone convey it : — " I understand that these 
resolutions regarding Cheyte Sing were either 
published or intended for publication ; the 
authority from whence they proceed leads to 
the belief of the fact. Who are the readers ? 
Not the proprietors alone, whose interest is 
immediately concerned in them, and whose 
approbation I am impelled, by every motive 
of pride and gratitude, to solicit, but the 
whole body of the people of England, whose 
passions have been excited on the general 
subject of the conduct of their servants in 
India ; and before them I am arraigned and 
prejudged of a violation of the national faith 
in acts of such complicated aggravation, that, 
if they were true, no punishment short of 
death could atone for tlie injury which the 
interest and credit of the public has sustained 
in them." 

M. Auber,* condensing the letter of Has- 
tings, thus describes and quotes its contents : 
— " With respect to the two thousand horse, 
it was not stipulated that Cheyte Sing should 
furnish any given number, but that what 
were maintained should be for the defence of 
the general state. He denied that Cheyte 
Sing was bound by no other tie than the 
paj'ment of his tribute, for he was bound by 
the fealty of obedience to every order of the 
government which he served, his own letters 
being referred to as affording proofs. He 
denied that Cheyte Sing was a native prince 
of India, for he was the son of a collector of 
the revenue of that province, which his acts, 
and the misfortunes of his master, enabled 
him to convert to his own permanent and 
hereditary possession. 'The man whom you 
have just ranked among the princes of India 
will be astonished when he hears it — at an 
elevation so unlooked-for; nor less at the 
independent rights which he will not know 
how to assert, unless the example )'ou have 
thought it consistent with justice, however 
opposite to policy, to show, of becoming his 
advocate against your own interests, should 
inspire any of your own servants to be his 
advisers and instructors.' Mr. Hastings re- 
ferred to his narrative as explanatory of all 
the circumstances, and then dwelt upon the 
injury likely to arise from the support of a 
native against the government ; remarking, 
' it is now a complete period of eleven years 
since I firstreceived the nominal charge of your 
affairs ; in the course of that time I have had 
invariably to contend, not only with ordinary 
difficulties, but with such as most naturally 
arose from the opposition of those very powers 

* Rise and Pror/ress nf Britieh Poicer in India, vol. i. 
chap, xi. pp. 642 — 644, 

3 B 



36G 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXXV. 



from whom I primarily derived my autliority, 
and which wore required for the support of 
it. My exertions, though applied to an un- 
wearied and consistent line of action, have 
been occasional and desultory ; yet I please 
m\6elf with the hope that in the annals of 
your dominions which shall ho written after 
the extinction of recent prejudice, this term 
of its administration will appear not the least 
conducive to the interests of the company, 
nor the least reflective of the honour of the 
British name. Had sufficient support been 
given, what good might have been done ! 
You, honourable sirs, can attest the patience 
and temper with which I have submitted to 
all the indignities heaped upon me in a long 
service. It was the duty of fidehty which I 
essentially owed to it; it was tlie return of 
gratitude which I owed, even with the sacri- 
fice of life, had that been exacted, to the com- 
pany, my original masters and most indul- 
gent patrons. There was an interval during 
which my authority was wholly destroyed ; 
but another was substituted, and that, though 
irregular, was armed with the public belief 
of an influence invariably xipholding it, which 
gave it a vigour scarcely less effectual than 
that of a constitutional power. Besides, your 
government had no external danger to agi- 
tate and discover the looseness of its compo- 
sition. 

"'The case is now widely different; while 
your executive was threatened by wars with 
the most formidable powers of Europe, added 
to your Indian enemies, and while you con- 
fessedly owed its preservation to the season- 
able and vigorous exertions of this govern- 
ment, you chose that season to annihilate its 
constitutional powers. You annihilated the 
influence of its executive members. You 
proclaimed its annihilation — you have sub- 
stituted no other, unless you suppose it may 
exist, and can be effectually exercised in the 
body of your council at large, possessing no 
power of motion, but an inert submission to 
your commands. It therefore remains for me 
to perform the duty which I had assigned 
myself, as the final purpose of this letter, to 
declare, as I now most formally do, that it is 
my desire that you will be pleased to obtain 
the early nomination of a person to succeed 
me in the government of Fort William ; to 
declare that it is my intention to resign your 
service so soon as 1 can do it without pre- 
judice to your affairs, after the allowance of a 
competent time for your choice of a person to 
succeed me ; and to declare that if, in the 
intermediate time, you shall proceed to order 
the restoration of Rajah Cheyte Sing to the 
zemindaree, from which he was dispossessed 
for crimes of the greatest enormity, and your 



council shall resolve to execute the order, I 
will instantly give up my station and the ser- 
vice. I am morally certain that my successor, 
whoever he may be, will be allowed to possess 
and exercise the necessary power of his sta- 
tion, with the confidence and support of those 
who, by their choice of him, will be interested 
in his success.'"* 

The affairs of the Madras government led 
to various differences betvceen it and the su- 
preme government ; the directors supported 
the Madras council against Hastings, object- 
ing to the appointment of Mr. R. J. Sulivan 
by the governor-general to Hyderabad, a 
person whom he had nominated solely on 
account of his abilities and qualifications. 
Finally, the court supported Mr. Bristow at 
Oude, in opposition to the governor-general. 
These circumstances led Mr. Hastings to ad- 
dress the court in the following terms, in a 
letter written after that already quoted had 
been dispatched: — "At whatever period your 
decision may arrive, may the government fall 
into the hands of a person invested with the 
powers of the office, not disgraced, as I have 
been, with an unsubstantial title, without au- 
thority, and with a responsibility without the 
means of discharging it. May he, at least, 
possess such a portion of exclusive control as 
may enable him to interpose with effect on 
occasions which may tend to the sacrifice of 
your political credit."f 

In reference to Mr. Sulivan, he, in a letter 
of still later date, observed : — " Among the 
many mortifications to which I have been 
continually subjected, there is none which I 
so severely feel as my concern in the suffer- 
ings of those whom my selection for the most 
important trusts in your service has exposed 
to persecution, and to censures, fines, depri- 
vations, and dismission from home. It is hard 
to be loaded with a w^eighty responsibility 
without power, to be compelled to work with 
instruments which I cannot trust, and to see 
the terrors of high authority held over the 
heads of such as I myself employ in the dis- 
charge of my public duties.":}; 

From the period when he heard of the dis- 
approval of his conduct in reference to Cheyte 
Sing, Hastings was discontented, and his let- 
ters constantly breathe a sense of injury. He 
felt that his great services were not appre- 
ciated. Alluding, in the letter last quoted, 
to the helplessness of the other presidencies, 
and to the fact that he had saved India, he 
remarked : — " We have supported the other 
presidencies, not by scanty and ineffectual 
supplies, but by an anxious anticipation of all 

* Letter to Court, 20th of March, 1783. 
t October, 1783. 
i November, 1783. 



CnAr. LXXXV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



367 



their wants, and by a most prompt and liberal 
relief of them. We have assisted the China 
trade, and have provided larger investments 
from the presidency than it has ever furnished 
in any given period of the same length, from 
the first hour of its establishment to the pre- 
sent, and ample returns of wealth have been 
sent to England at a time when all the com- 
pany's possessions in India were bearing with 
accumulated weight on Bengal for support 
against native and European enemies." 

He complained bitterly of the miserable 
state of affairs in Oude, which he attributed 
to the impolicy of the company interfering 
with his measures. 

The nature of the differences between the 
governor-general and the Madras govern- 
ment, the way in which they proceeded, and 
their influence upon the ultimate retirement 
of Hastings, are thus summed up by Edward 
Thornton : — " Between the governor-general 
and Lord Macartney there had never been 
much cordiality of feeling, and the difficulties 
in which the government of Madras was 
placed, tended to multiply the points of dif- 
ference. The governor-general had a plan 
for surrendering to the nizam the Northern 
Circars, in consideration of a body of cavalry 
to be furnished by that prince. This was 
opposed by Lord Macartney, and was never 
carried into effect. Lord Macartney had, 
with much difficulty, obtained from the Nabob 
of Arcot an assignment of the revenues of the 
Carnatic for the support of the war. This 
■was disapproved by the government of Ben- 
gal, and the assignment ordered to be re- 
scinded. Before these orders were received 
at IMadras, orders of a contrary character 
arrived from the court of directors. The 
government of Bengal, however, stubbornly 
refused to yield, and Lord Macartney was 
equally immovable. The treaty with Tippoo 
Sultan afforded other grounds of difference. 
It was disapproved by the government of 
Bengal, among other reasons, because it did 
not include the Nabob of Arcot ; and a new 
ratification, declaring it to extend to that 
personage, was dii'ected to take place. Lord 
Macartney again resisted ; and had the go- 
vernor-general possessed oonfidenco in tiie 
stability of his own authority, some violent 
measures might have resulted from these dis- 
putes. But Hastings was now tottering in 
his seat — heavy charges were in circulation 
against him in England, and he had dispatched 
an agent (Major Scott) thither for the defence 
of his character and interests. The influence 
of Lord Macartney at home appeared to be 
rising as that of Hastings was declining ; he 
continued to exercise his authority without 
impediment, until, in consequence chiefly of 



the revocation of the orders of the court of 
directors relating to the assignment from Mo- 
hammed Ali, he voluntarily relinquished it, 
and was ultimately appointed to succeed to the 
office of governor-general." 

When Hastings appointed Major Scott as 
his agent, he intimated to the directors his 
having done so, and at the same time declared 
to them that he " would suffer no person 
whatever to perform any act in his name that 
could be construed to imply a resignation of 
his authority, protesting against it, as on 
former occasions, as most unwarrantable." 

Out of the transactions at Benares arose 
differences with Oude. The nabob vizier had 
so badly governed his dominions, or so faith- 
lessly fulfilled the duties of alliance, that the 
insurrection in Benares derived great import- 
ance, and caused great danger by the number 
of his subjects that joined the masses of the 
insurgents. Hastings was inflamed with 
anger, and determined to make the nabob pay 
dearly for any damage caused by his neglect. 
Unfortunately for the nabob himself, he chose 
this critical juncture to urge the withdrawal 
of the British troops from Oude, which his 
father and himself had engaged the English 
to place there. His real object was not the 
removal of the troops, but as it was policy on 
the part of the English to keep a force in 
Oude, he concluded that they would still do 
so, even if he violated the treaty, and refused 
to pay for them. Hastings saw through this, 
and remonstrated, demanding the payment of 
all arrears, and the regular disbursement of 
the stipulated subsidy. The nabob declared 
that he had no money, and that his kingdom 
would not endure further taxation. Hastings 
reminded him that if his revenues were ex- 
hausted, the fault lay in the extravagance and 
debauchery of which the nabob had set so 
bad an example to his people, and hinted that 
if a native ruler could not make ends meet in 
Oude, the English could ; but that the latter 
would never suffer Oude to be overrun by the 
Mahrattas, as would be the case almost as 
soon as the English troops disappeared, neither 
would he impose the cost of preserving that 
frontier of the British territory from foreign 
enemies. Oude should bear the burden of its 
own defences. Tlie vizier nabob sought an 
interview with Hastings. He proceeded to 
Chunar to meet the governor-general, and 
arrange with him as to the payment of the 
troops, which, according to treaty, he was 
bound to maintain. The governor-general 
was not now satisfied, but increased his 
demands, on the grounds of the nabob's duty 
to defend the empire, the protection of which 
he enjoyed, and on the ground, also, that his 
previous delinquencies deserved punishment. 



308 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXXV. 



This interview between the governor-general 
and vizier took place on the 11th of Septem- 
ber, 1781, and they remained for a fortnight 
in the picturesque fortress, discussing the 
condition of India, and of Oude especially ; 
but still more especially debating the means 
by which the British treasury at Calcutta 
might be furnished with money. It was 
finally arranged that the nabob should pay a 
large sum to meet the present emergencies of 
the English, and, on the other hand, he was 
to be spared the stated expense of a large 
portion of the British contingent, then sta- 
tioned in his dominions. The infiintry bri- 
gade, and three regiments of cavalry, were to 
be withdrawn, a very large saving to the 
annual expenditure of the nabob's government. 
One regiment of sepoys (infantry) was to be 
stationed at Lucknow, but the charge to the 
nabob was not to exceed 25,000 rupees per 
mensem. The army at Cawnpore was to be 
statedly kept up to the strength prescribed by 
the treaty of 1773. All British officers, and 
all English pensioners upon the state of Oude, 
whatever their claims, were to bo withdrawn. 
The nabob was also to resume certain jaghires, 
of which the English had previously possessed 
themselves, the united value of which was 
very considerable. On his part the nabob 
consented immediately, to supply fifty-five lacs 
of rupees to the company, and subsequently 
twenty lacs in entire liquidation of the debt 
due by him to the company. On the 2uth of 
September, the vizier re-entered his capital, 
gloomy and dissatisfied. Every trick of nego- 
tiation to which he had resorted had been 
turned against him. Hastings had foiled his 
most cunning vakeels and subordinates with 
their own weapons. Tlie conduct of Hastings 
in these negotiations has been much censured. 
The English were bound by treaty to Fuzzul 
Oola Khan, the llohilla chief, who had some 
years before protracted the war in that coun- 
try. The chief had stipulated to place at the 
service of the English government two or 
three thousand men "according to his ability." 
Hastings now demanded five thousand, but 
reduced finally the mandate to three thousand 
cavalry, which the khan pleaded that he did 
not possess, but would send two thousand 
cavalry, all he had, and one thousand infantry. 
This offer was considered contumacious. It 
is possible that Hastings believed it to be so, 
but the grounds of suspicion are strong that 
he was anxious for a quarrel, in order to hand 
over the jaghires of the khan to tlie nabob, as 
compensation for the ready money required 
from the latter to meet the exigencies of the 
Bengal treasury, tlien drained of its resources 
by its supplies to the other presidencies in 
their dangerous mismanagement and desperate 



wars. At all events, the lands of Fuzzul Oola 
were made over upon paper to the vizier, on 
the ostensible ground that the khan had broken 
the treaty. Fuzzul Oola had no doubt in various 
ways departed from its strict letter, but the 
pretext or reason announced for his deposition 
was his refusal to supply the military force 
agreed upon. Hastings had actuallj' no wisii 
that this concession to the vizier should be of 
use to him. He took means to impede the 
execution of this clause of the treaty with the 
nabob, wliile he was actually making it ; and 
ultimately he frustrated its fulfilment, accept- 
ing from Fuzzul Oola a fine as a substitute for 
confiscation. 

The resumption of tlie jaghires by the nabob 
involved the ruin of his mother and grand- 
mother, called the begums. These princesses 
were immensely rich, and Hastings believed 
that the property they held had been imjjro- 
perly conferred upon them by the previous 
nabob — that, in fact, it belonged to the reign- 
ing prince. However that might have been, 
the English liad, by treaty, recognised the 
rights of the begum mother, both to her jag- 
hires and her treasures. So ostensibly was 
this recognition made, that when the nabob 
had previously sought to plunder his relations, 
the English government interfered for the 
protection of the mother, on the ground of 
treaty obligation, while only remonstrating 
with the vizier for his treatment of the elder 
lady. The nabob was very desirous of ob- 
taining the wealth, but shrunk from the 
odium of entirely dispossessing the royal 
ladies. He suggested to Hastings the pro- 
priety of leaving them in possession of their 
jaghires, and of accepting their treasures in- 
stead. Hastings decreed that they should 
lose all. This stern, hard, and unpitying de- 
cree was executed, but not until after a 
gallant resistance on the part of the retainers 
of the royal ladies. Their affairs were in the 
hands of two eunuchs : these, with other of the 
begum adherents, were incarcerated, loaded 
with irons. Lord Macaulay says that torture 
was also applied ; but this is not borne out 
by fact. He quotes a letter written by the 
British resident to the officer in charge of 
them, to allow the nabob's agents to inflict 
corporal punishment upon them. But this, 
as Thornton shows, was never executed, and 
probably never intended to be so. That 
author, more severe on Hastings than most 
historians who have animadverted upon his 
misdeeds, conjectures that the order was in- 
tended to act merely -in tcrrorem, so as to 
induce the incarcerated men to comply with 
the requisitions of their persecutors. Torture, 
as the term is employed, was not applied; but 
great severity was inflicted. Hastings justified 



CiiAP. LXXXV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



369 



Lis conduct throughout this last class of trans- 
actions by the allegation that the begums 
were enemies of British power in India, that 
they abetted Cheyte Sing, and assisted the in- 
surrection in Benares. \Yhen public discus- 
sion was raised in England concerning his 
conduct towards the princes of Oude, Sir 
Elijah Impey suggested to him the importance 
of supporting the allegation of political in- 
trigue against the begums by affidavits. 
Hastings gladly availed himself of this sug- 
gestion, and of the active services of Sir Elijah 
in taking the depositions. These were ren- 
dered in a remarkable manner. The judge 
hurried off to the provinces which had been 
the scenes of the alleged misconduct of the 
begums, and -took the affidavits in the forms 
of Mohammedan, Brahminical, and Chris- 
tian attestation, according to the religion 
of the witnesses. A vast pile of documents, 
most damnatory to the begums, was thus pro- 
cured ; nor would there have been any diffi- 
culty in obtaining any number of sworn 
testimonies which the governor deemed ne- 
cessary to his object. It does not appear, 
however, that Hastings countenanced any 
methods to obtain false testimony, and it is 
possible that he credited the evidence upon 
which he made the allegations originally. 
The facts contained in the affidavits were at 
the time notorious, although they were yeai's 
after denied in the British parliament by men 
who were seeking to ruin Hastings, for the 
means he employed to save the Indian empire. 
PubUc opinion in England treated the whole 
affair as an imposture — a corrupt contrivance 
between the judge and the governor to bolster 
up a case from first to last guilty and dis- 
graceful. 

Another circumstance connected with the 
interview between the vizier and the governor- 
general at Chunar has been made the occasion 
of severe reflections upon the latter. The 
nabob offered his excellency a present of ten 
lacs of rupees ; he accepted it, and passed the 
money to the company's account.* This, 
however, he did not make known to the com- 
pany for some months after, which Lord 
Macaulay considers as a ground for suspicion 
as to the integrity of his motives. Mr. 
Thornton attributes the concealment to the 
love of mystery with which he thinks 
Hastings invariably enveloped all his transac- 
tions. Motives of policy probably induced the 
temporary concealment ; but Hastings never 
intended to apply it to his own use. He, 
however, felt that the close of his power was 
approaching, that public prejudice in England 
was fast rising to a dangerous pitch against 

* He hail previously acted iu a similar manner in the 
case of Cheyte Slog, 



the company's servants in India, and that he, 
probably, would be made the scape-goat, and 
he was anxious to secure this sum for his own 
defence upon his return to England, if the 
directors could be induced to concede it. 
Possibly this circumstance had some influence 
in the delay which attended his communi- 
cation to the company, that this sum had been 
paid to their account. He, at last, in a let- 
ter to the secret committee, asked permission 
to keep it. This they refused. His morti- 
fication was intense, for he was not rich, 
and no governor had ever enriched his sove- 
reign by his measures, in any age, as Warren 
Hastings had enriched the Indian treasury of 
the company. Like Clive, he had saved 
India for them, and they grudged him both 
the glory and what he considered equitable 
pecuniary reward. It was from Patna, in 
January, 1782, that he addressed the court 
on the subject of this donation, in the follow- 
ing letter : — "I accepted it without hesitation, 
and gladly, being entirely destitute both of 
means and credit, whether for your service 
or the relief of my own necessities. It was 
made, not in specie, but in bills. What I 
have received has been laid out in the public 
service, the rest shall be applied to the same 
account. The nominal sum is ten lacs of 
rupees, Oude currency. As soon as the whole 
is completed, I shall send you a faithful ac- 
count of it, resigning the disposal of it entirely 
to the pleasure of your honourable court. If 
you shall adjudge the disposal to me, I shall 
consider it as the most honourable apportion- 
ment and reward of my labours, and I wish 
to owe my fortune to your bounty. I am 
now iu my fiftieth year : I have passed thirty- 
one years in your service. My conscience 
allows me boldly to claim the merit of zeal 
and integrity, nor has fortune been unpropi- 
tious to their exertions. To these qualities I 
bound my pretensions. I shall not repine if 
you shall deem otherwise of my services ; nor 
ought your decision, however it may disap- 
point my hope of a retreat adequate to the 
consequence and elevation of the office which 
I now possess, to lessen my gratitude for 
having been so long permitted to hold it, 
since it has, at last, permitted me to lay up a 
provision with which I can be contented in a 
more humble station." 

On the 22nd of May, from Calcutta, he 
again wrote, accounting for the money which 
he had received for the company, and applied 
to its use, from the month of October, 1780, 
to August, 1781, amounting to nineteen lacs 
sixty-four thousand rupees (nearly £200,000). 
Unfortunately, the ship Lively, by which this 
letter was intended to have been dispatched 
to Europe, was delayed, and necessarily the 



370 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE LChap. LXXXVI. 



letter also, which turned out to the subse- 
quent disadvantage of the writer. 

On the 15th of January, 1783, the directors 
wrote to the governor-general, stating that 
they were prevented, by a prohibitory act of 
parliament, from applying the ten lacs in the 
way he requested. The directors may have 
so interpreted " the regulation act ; " but 
there was no claim which liindered their 
giving the money to Hastings : they chose to 
accept it themselves. The answer of the di- 
rectors was an evasion and a mean one. In 
Gleig's Life of Hastings, a letter is published 
addressed by him to his agent, Major Scott, 
in which the following passage sets forth fully 
the views and feelings of the writer ou this 
matter : — " I am neither a prude nor a hypo- 
crite. Had I succeeded, as I had reason to 
expect, in the original objects of my expedi- 
tion, I should have thought it, perhaps, allow- 
able to make some provision for myself when 
I had filled the company's treasury ; but I 
am disappointed. I have added, indeed, a 



large income to the company's revenue, and 
if Mr. Middleton (resident at Luckuow) does 
his duty, I have provided for the early pay- 
ment of the debt due from the nabob vizier to 
the company. But these are not acquisitions 
of iclat. Their immediate influence is not 
felt, and will not be known at all until long 
after the receipt of these despatches. It will 
be known that our receipts from Benares 
were suspended for three months, and during 
as long a time at Lucknow. It will be known 
that the pay and charges of the temporary 
brigade have been thrown upon the company, 
and that all the nabob's pensioners have been 
withdrawn ; but the effect of my more useful 
arrangement, thanks to Mr. Middleton, yet 
remains to be accomplished. I return to an 
empty treasury, which I left empty. I will 
not suffer it to be said, that I took more care 
of my own interests than of the public, nor 
that I made a sacrifice of the latter to the 
former."* 



CHAPTER LXXXVI. 



GOVERNMENT OF HASTINGS CCottcludedJ—T-SM^.TY WITH THE MAHRATTAS— INSUBORDINATION 
OF THE COUNCILS OF BOMBAY AND MADRAS— DISSENSIONS IN SUPREME COUNCIL- 
HASTINGS RESIGNS THE GOVERNMENT— SCHEMES OP THE MAHRATOAS— PREPARA- 
TIONS FOR THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL'S DEPARTURE— HASTINGS LEAVES INDIA. 



While Hastings was at Chunar, communica- 
tions reached him from Madagee Scindiah, 
■which led to a better feeling with the Mah- 
rattas. Colonel Muir was ordered by Has- 
tings to form a treaty with Scindiah, which 
he effected on the basis of instructions sent 
by Hastings on the 13th of October. Tiiat 
chief acted as mediator between the English 
and Hyder Ali, but the time was not ripe for 
the full development of events between the 
powers of Mysore and Calcutta. Peace, how- 
ever, was concluded with the Mahrattas by the 
treaty of Salbey, May 17th, 1782,* Scindiah 
having been the means of bringing to pass this 
desirable event, Ragoba, concerning whom 
the conflict arose, had an allowance of 25,000 
rupees per month guaranteed to him. By the 
treaty of Salbey, the Peishwa bound himself 
on behalf of the whole of the Mahratta states 
not to tolerate the erection of factories by any 
European nations except the English. The 
two men who held at that time chief power 
among the Mahrattas, was Scindiah, and Nana 
Furnavese, the prime minister of the Peishwa. 
♦ Printed Treaties, p. 518. 



The treaty of Salbey did not give satisfac- 
tion at Bombay ; the council was jealous of that 
of Bengal as supreme council, and pointed out 
to the directors that the abridged power of 
the Bombay presidency in deference to that 
of Bengal, and the diminution of territory 
caused by the treaty, would enfeeble and im- 
poverish that presidency, and reqiiire remit- 
tances from England or from Bengal annually. 
They also intimated that as Bombay wsxs con- 
tiguous to the most powerful Mahratta tribes, 
it was the most suitable of the three presi- 
dencies in which to maintain a large milit.iry 
force. 

The differences between the councils at 
Madras and Bengal were still more promi- 
nent than those between Bengal and Bombay. 
From the arrival of Lord Macartney to the 
retirement of Hastings, those feuds became 
more and more bitter. It was intended by 
the company to nominate his lordship gover- 
nor-general, upon the retirement of Hastings. 

* Memoirs of the Zife of JFarren Hastinrjs first 
Governor-General of Bengal. Compiled from original 
papers by tlie Rev. G. R. Gleig, A.M., vol. ii. p. 438. 



Chap. LXXXVI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



371 



This bad been communicated to Lira, and bad 
the effect of making him insubordinate and 
ambitious. He seemed to tliiuk it necessary 
to prove his qualifications for his future post 
by contravening all the acts of its present 
possessor, which in any way came within the 
scope of bis resistance. As Hastings was not 
a man to be trifled with, his modes of proce- 
dure were energetic, prompt, and summary, 
so that Madras and Bengal resembled two 
independent European settlements, between 
which a state of peace was barely maintained 
by the authority of the country they repre- 
sented. 

The proceedings in England during the 
parliamentary discussions of 1783 upon the 
introduction of Fox's India bill, re-acted 
iipon the insubordinate presidencies of Bom- 
bay and Madras, strengthening their disposi- 
tion to defy or thwart the supreme council, 
and more especially the governor-general, 
who, although he had the faculty of attaching 
strongly to himself the great mass of the civil 
servants, military, and other European resi- 
dents, was hated by the class of servants oc- 
cupying the highest posts. His fertile and 
active mind was continually engaged upon 
some expedient to correct their imperfect 
transaction of public business, or to avert the 
consequences of their want of political apti- 
tude. This, of course, placed him in the 
position of a censor perpetually, no matter 
how graceful the courtesy with which he en- 
deavoured to carry out his re-arrangements 
and counter orders. Hence this class of civil 
servants, and sometimes the superior military 
and naval officers, were constantly reminded 
of their own mediocrity and of his statesman- 
ship, intelligence, and marvellous acquaintance 
with Indian affairs. However these men loved 
their country and wished its success, and even 
were ready to die for it on the field, they 
were not disposed to see their ideas of their 
own consequence and dignity so completely 
ignored, as they were when Hastings quietly 
undid performances of which they were proud, 
or listened with an indifference scarcely con- 
cealed by politeness to opinions which he 
knew to be worth no consideration. His 
calm resolution to overrule all imperfect ad- 
ministration and unwise political contracts 
and decisions, and carry out government in a 
way adapted to native prejudice, and deal 
with surrounding states on broad principles 
of policy, such as the existing state of things 
required, was not comprehended by these men, 
and they considered their rights infringed by 
usurpation, and the councils set at nought by 
the dominancy of a single will. Hastings was 
nlways really sohcitous to please and soothe 
the mediocrities, and often succeeded won- 



derfully : if he had not, he could not have con- 
ducted the government of India at all. It 
was impossible, however, to do so when these 
men had all their own prejudices fostered and 
encouraged by such able men as Francis, such 
energetic men as Clavering, or such an ambi- 
tious and influential person as Lord Macartney. 
Such men were intellectually and by position 
too powerful not to collect around them and 
enlist under their banner all the nonentities 
of the upper ranks of Indian civil and military 
life, by flattering their prejudices and appear- 
ing to espouse their cause against an autocrat 
who, however eminent, was not always suc- 
cessful, and, at all events, was not infallible. 
When the news reached India of the com- 
ments made upon the conduct of public affairs 
in India by Hastings, every petty consequen- 
tial member of the presidential councils affected 
an air of wisdom, and made a point of moral- 
izing upon those transactions in which the 
equity of Hastings had been questioned before 
tiie bar of public opinion in England. The 
directors generally censured the policy of Has- 
tings, without setting it aside. They wished 
to profit by its results, for it was obviously in 
their interest, but at the same time they were 
anxious to stand well with the public in 
England, which took superficial views of the 
events in which Hastings had been engaged. 
The directors had also to study the wishes 
and opinions of government, ever on the 
watch to grasp if possible the patronage of 
the government of India. Dreading the en- 
croachments of the crown and parliament, the 
directors were constantly trimming between 
their own direct interests in the East, and the 
necessity of conciliating the ministry of the 
crown. They were secretly pleased with 
what Hastings had done to increase or ensure 
their annual investments and enlarge their 
sphere of territorial revenue, yet they af- 
fected to condemn his measures, lest the go- 
vernment should make their approval a pretext 
for depriving them of power. Some of the 
directors were in the interest of the cabinet, 
and hardly disguised the fact. Hastings, like 
Olive, had a far better chance of fair play, 
justice, and support from the proprietary of 
the company, than from the directors. Many 
of his opponents in India acted from what 
they supposed to be the wish of the directors, 
which they represented Hastings as controll- 
ing, unlawfully, by his arrogant will and over- 
bearing abilities. Under sucli circumstances, 
it was no wonder if, upon receipt of the tidings 
of attack upon Hastings in the EngHsh press 
and parliament, the self-sufficient and empty 
men in India who had crept up to high office 
by seniority, should take advantage of the 
encouragement afforded them not only to 



372 



IIISTOKY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXXVI. 



oppose but to revile tlie governor-general, 
although the only man in India in the Eng- 
lish interest thorouglily acquainted with its 
multifarious peculiarities, its governments, 
languages, the modes of thinking of its peo- 
ples, the policy of its princes, and the rela- 
tions of the company to all the intricate and 
complicated interests prevailing within and 
around the Indian possessions. 

During 1782-3 the council of Bengal some- 
times assisted Hastings heartily ; but at other 
times they displayed a spirit of opposition, ac- 
cording as tidings reached them from home 
of the fluctuating influence of Hastings there. 
It is difficult to account for the apparently 
capricious opposition or support sometimes 
displayed by this strangely composed group 
of men. The senior was Mr. Wheler ; next 
to him was Mr. JMacphersou, formerly agent 
to the Nabob of Arcot : then Mr. Stables, 
who had been, like Mr. Wheler, a director — 
and who, like that gentleman, brought with 
him to the council exaggerated ideas of his 
own importance from that circumstance. The 
opinions entertained by Hastings concerning 
this trio are upon record, and may well afford 
instruction, as well as amusement, to the 
curious in Anglo -Indian history. In a letter to 
his English agent. Major Scott, lie wrote : " You 
will wonder that all my council should oppose 
me ; so do I. But the fact is this ; Macpherson 
and Stables have intimidated Wheler, whom 
they hate, and he them most cordially. Mac- 
pherson, who is himself all sweetness, at- 
taches himself everlastingly to Stables, blow^ 
him up into a continual tremour, which he takes 
care to prevent from subsiding : and Stables, 
from no other cause that I know, opposes me 
with a rancour so uncommon, that it extends 
even to his own friends, if my wishes chance 
to precede his own in any proposal to serve 
them. In council he sits sulky and silent, 
waiting to aeclare his opinion when mine is 
recorded, or if he speaks, it is to ask ques- 
tions of cavil, or to contradict, in language 
not very guarded, and with a tone of inso- 
lence which I should ill bear from an equal, 
and which often throws me oE the guard of 
my prudence ; for, my dear Scott, I have not 
that collected firmness of mind which I once 
possessed, and which gave me such a supe- 
riority in my contests with Olavering and his 
associates."* In the same letter, Hastings 
writes: — "I stay most reluctantly on every 
account, for my hands are as effectually 
bound as they were in the year 1775, but 
with this difference, that there is no lead sub- 
stituted to mine."f 

That the minds of the council were influ- 

* Gleig'8 Memoirs of Hastinr/s, vol. iii. pp. 121, 122. 
t Ibid. p. 129. 



enccd by the attacks made upon Hastings at 
home, he assured Major Scott, in his corre- 
spondence, that he had unequivocal proof. 
These men, instead of doing their duty to the 
company and their country, as the governor 
did according to his views of duty, merely 
managed their own interests and prospects so 
as to be compromised in no way by Hastings, 
however just his views or conduct. A manly, 
patriotic view of their obligations to stand by 
their chief, when according to their conscience 
he did right, does not seem to have actuated 
them at all. Wheler confessed to the president 
that he dared not support him from fear of 
the prejudice against him in England, which 
was worked up by the ministry, and such as 
hoped to profit by tearing the government of 
India from the hands of the company. Hast- 
ings, in one of his letters, tells Scott what 
Wheler had admitted, and then adds : — " As 
to the other two, they received an early hint 
from their friends not to attach themselves to 
a fallen interest, and they took the first occa- 
sion to prove that if I was to be removed, 
their removal was not to follow as a necessai-y 
consequence of their connection with me, by 
opposing me on every occasion, on the most 
popular grounds, on the plea of economy and 
obedience of orders, which they apply indis- 
criminately to every measure which 1 recom- 
mend, and Mr. Stables with a spirit of rancour 
which nothing can equal but his ignorance. 
His friend, with the most imposing talents and 
an elegant and unceasing flow of words, knows 
as little of business as he does, and Mr. Wheler 
is really a man of business ; yet I cannot con- 
vince him of it, nor persuade him to trust to 
his own superiority. He hates them, and is 
implicitly guided by them, and so he always 
will be by those who command him, and pos- 
sess at the same time a majority of voices."* 

Towards the close of 1783, Hastings pro- 
posed the abolition of the British residency 
in Oude, and the surrender of all interference 
there with the government of the vizier. It 
is not easy to see the motive of this. The 
reasons assigned by Hastings are not con- 
vincing. Probably there were motives of a 
public nature beneath the surface which in- 
fluenced him, but it was at the time generally 
attributed to personal resentments against men 
employed in the British agency at the court 
of Oude. The council opposed his plan, but ho 
prevailed and immediately adopted means to 
carry out his purpose. The governor, for some 
reason, was desirous of meeting the vizier, 
and proposed to the council to go in person. 
This proposal was resisted by them, but at 
last conceded, and on the 17th of February, 
1784, he proceeded on his journey. The 
* Glcig's Memoirs of Hastings, vol. iii. pp. 145, 146. 



GiiAP. LXXXVI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



373 



necessity of coiiiiug to some arrangement 
with the vizier for the payment of his obli- 
j,'atious to the company was urgent, for he 
had incurred fresh debts by arrears, to the 
amount of half a million sterUng. His coun- 
try was in danger of famine, and the financial 
affairs of his government were utterly embar- 
rassed. The governor gave him sound coun- 
sel — formed ]ilans for his extrication, and with- 
drew all interference on the part of the com- 
pany with the government of Oude. He caused 
to be given back to the begums the jaghircs 
which had been wrested from them at his 
own instigation; and it is a curious circum- 
stance, that in a letter to Mrs. Hastings, pub- 
lished in Gleig's Memoirs, he describes the 
begums as in his interest, yet they had ori- 
ginally been denounced by him as enemies 
and traitors, as a ground for depriving them 
of their property. This has been severely 
commented upon by various writers, and al- 
most bitterly by Edward Thornton ; but so 
rapid were the changes of policy among ori- 
ental princes and politicians, that an enemy 
in one j'ear, or month, might be a fervent ally 
in the next. Hastings may have been right 
on both occasions in the contradictory ac- 
counts given of them. 

While at Lucknow, he was met by Prince 
IMirza Jewar Lehander Shah, heir-apparent 
of the jVIogul. The object of the prince in 
seeking the interview, and the conduct of 
Hastings towards him, are thus described by 
M. Auber:f — "His object was to be enabled 
to return to his father's court with suitable 
attendants, and to have a jaghire equal to 
the amount granted to Lim during the ad- 
ministration of Meerza Nudjiff Cawn, and to 
be employed against the Sikhs. In order to 
preclude the appearance of a distinction to 
which the Mogul's known affection for his 
younger son, Jleerza Ackbar Shah, might 
raise some objection, he requested his brother 
might be employed iu a similar service in 
some other quarter. Mr. Hastings being con- 
strained to quit Benares, left his body-guard 
to support the prince. The vizier also agreed 
to allow hira four lacs per annum. It ap- 
peared that the Mogul had received but one 
lac and a half for his support in the preced- 
ing year, and that it was the object of the 
prince to obtain some increase of allowance 
for his father. Mr. Hastings then explained 
the feelings v.'hich had operated on his mind. 
He was persuaded that the court would have 
experienced the same." 

The letter of the governor-general to the 
directors is beautiful and touching, display- 

t Rise and Prof/reis of the BritUh Power in India, 
vol. i. pp. C82-3. 
VOL. II. 



ing the deep susceptibilities which lay be- 
neath the cold surface of the astute politician. 
The way in which he puts a transaction which 
might be censured by the calculating direc- 
tors is eloquent and persuasive, justifying the 
opinion of his old enemy Francis, that there 
was no resisting the pen of Hastings. Hav- 
ing reasoned with his employers on the right- 
eousness of acting as he had done to the heir 
of the Mogul throne, he adds : — " Or let it 
be, if it is such, the same weakness of com- 
passion that I did when I first met the prince 
on the plains of Mohawer, without state, with- 
out attendance, with scarce a tent for his co- 
vering, or a change of raiment, but that which 
the recent effect of hospitality had furnished 
him, and with the expression of a mind evi- 
dently struggling between the pride of in- 
herent dignity, and the conscious sense of 
present indigence and dependence. Had his 
subsequent conduct developed a character un- 
worthy of his high birth, had he appeared 
vain, haughty, mean, insolent, or debased by 
the vices wliioli almost invariably grow on 
the minds of men born to great pretensions, 
unpractised in the difficulties of common life, 
and not only bred, but by necessity of political 
caution familiarised to the habits of sloth and 
dissipation, I could have contented myself by 
bestowing on him the mere compliment of ex- 
ternal respect, and consulted only the propriety 
of my own conduct, nor yielded to the impulse 
of a more generous sentiment. I saw him 
almost daily for six months, in which we were 
either participators of the same dues of hospi- 
tality, or he of mine. I found him gentle, 
lively, possessed of a high sense of honour, of 
a sound judgment, an uncommon quick pene- 
tration, and a well -cultivated understanding, 
witji a spirit of resignation, and an equanimity 
of temper almost exceeding any within the 
reach of knowledge or recollection." 

On the 22nd of November, 1784, Hastings, 
worn out by opposition, his mind wearied, and 
his body enfeebled, wrote, requesting to be 
relieved from his cares of office. He alluded 
to his letter of the 30th of March, 1783, when 
he made a similar request. The court of pro- 
prietary in London had overborne both the 
court of directors and the house of commons, 
in a firm determination to retain and support 
him in his authority. This, however, neither 
secured him from attack at home, nor opposi- 
tion from his colleagues in government. He 
accordingly addressed a letter to the direc- 
tors, which throws a full light upon the state 
of Enghsh interests in India at that time, his 
own relation to them, and the causes by which 
both were produced ; — " If the next regular 
advices shall contain either the express ac- 
ceptance of my resignation of the service, or 

3 



374 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXXVI. 



your tacit acquiescence, I shall relinquish my 
office to the gentleman who stands next to me 
in the prescribed order of succession, and re- 
turn to England as soon as the ship Berring- 
ton can be made ready to sail. My constitu- 
tion, though naturally not of the strongest 
texture, yet for many years retained so uni- 
form an exemption from positive disorder as 
not to require one day of grace from my offi- 
cial employment, is now so much enfeebled by 
the severe illness with which I was attacked 
in the year 1782, that it is no longer capable 
in any degree of those exertions to which it 
was formerly equal, and wliich were at no time 
sufficient for the discharge of all the duties 
which my place exacted of me. Nor am I 
the only diseased part of it. It is itself dis- 
tempered. Witness the cruel necessity which 
compelled me for nine months to abandon the 
seat of government itself (referring to his visit 
to Lucknow), and all the weighty occupations 
of it, to attend to one portion of its charge, 
which, under a sounder constitution, • might 
have been better conducted and witli fuller 
effect by orders known to proceed from com- 
petent authority to enforce them. I do not 
believe this government will ever be invested 
with its proper powers till I am removed fronoi 
it, nor can it much longer subsist without 
them. I am therefore a hurtful incumbrance 
on it, and my removal, whenever or however 
effected, will be a relief to it." 

Before he could execute his determina- 
tion to quit the country, various occur- 
rences took place which exercised considerable 
influence over the future. Madagee Scindiah, 
the great Mahratta, obtained from the Mogul, 
for the Peishwa, the high imperial office of 
Vakeel-ul-MuUuck, which gave him a su- 
preme control in the foreign administration of 
the empire. This had long been an object of 
ambition with the Blahrattas. Scindiah him- 
self sought the appointment of grand naib or 
deputy of the Vakeel-ul-M\illuck. 

In consequence of the perpetual complaints 
of the directors as to the charges for the 
government of Bengal, the governor-general 
organized efficient means of retrenchment. 
One of the most interesting incidents connected 
with the close of his government was his 
review of the sepoy troops whicli had re- 
turned from the war in the Carnatic. Twice, 
under circumstances which made the act ad- 
venturous, Hastings sent sepoys from Bengal 
to make war in South-western India. It has 
been already shown how he dispatched to the 
Bombay presidency a force of sepoys. That 
wise and adventurous act was performed 
against the opinion of his council. Not less 
than seven thousand men, attended by more 
than thirty thousand camp followers, began 



that memorable march, which they prosecuted 
with persistence and fidelity. Hastings knew 
that they would never consent to go by sea, 
in consequence of their class prejudices, and 
he determined to launch them forth upon the 
sunburnt plains of Bengal, and to send them 
through the rocky ravines of the Deccan, and 
across the great southern rivers, until they 
poured forth their force with effect upon the 
shores of Malabar. On the second occasion, 
when Madras was in imminent danger of 
falling before Hyder AH, he sent five regiments 
eleven hundred miles along the coast of Coro- 
mandel, and opposed them to the disciplined 
troops of France with success. They returned 
in four years, just before the governor-gene- 
ral's departure. They were called out for 
review ; and as the governor-general rode 
down the lines, he was received with an en- 
thusiasm such as European soldiers have not 
surpassed when some great chief, who had 
often led them to battle and to victory, pre- 
sented himself to inspect their lines. Has- 
tings, dressed as a civilian, rode along the 
ranks, his head uncovered, while vnld accla- 
mations of attachment rose in the course of 
his progress. The address of Hastings, on 
that occasion, was characteristic, displaying 
his capacity to adapt himself to all classes of 
natives. It was received by his sable soldiers 
with almost frantic delight, and its language 
was transmitted, with astonishing accuracy, 
from father to sou among the Rajpoot sepoj's, 
for many years. Even yet the old sepoys of 
Bengal talk of Hastings, and his address to the 
native heroes who went forth to the wars in the 
Carnatic, with delight and pride ; just as the 
native women all over Bengal, from the re- 
motest parts of the upper provinces to the 
marshy shores of the Bay of Bengal, sing to 
their children of the great sahib Warren Has- 
tings, the number of his horses and his ele- 
phants, the richness of his trappings, and the 
splendour of liis train. 

The sutcess of the sepoy brigades which the 
governor sent to Western and Southern India 
is often quoted as a proof that the Bengal 
sepoys do not deserve the reprobation which 
many modern writers pour upon them, and 
the authority of Hastings is quoted as justi- 
fying the unreasoning reliance placed upon 
the sepoys who, in 1867, revolted in a mutiny 
so extensive and determined. The cases have 
no parallel. Hastings chose his black soldiers 
from among the Rajpoots, the most gallant 
and high-spirited race in India, a military 
class, faithful to the military chief or govern- 
ment they serve, so long as that government 
preserves its compact with tliem. The Bengal 
army which mutinied in 1857 was more Brah- 
minical than military. It waa an army of 



Chap. LXXXVI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE BAST. 



375 



religious fanatics, whether Brahmin or Mus- 
sulman ; and in India, the more religious the 
man, the worse he is as a soldier or a servant. 
The religions of the Brahmin and the high 
Mussulman constrain to acts which imfit them 
for faithful officials or constant soldiers. The 
Bengal army of 1857 had been chosen mainly 
from Oude and Agra, from certain Moham- 
medan and certain Brahminical districts, 
where the fanaticism of the people, from 
various causes, is more intense than any- 
where else in India. So far from these sol- 
diers being like the sepoys of Hastings — the 
gallant Rajpoots of 1780-85 — there exists a 
hatred to the latter among the Oude sepoys, 
even marriage connection with them being 
forbidden, except to the members of two small 
Rajpoot tribes, who are contiguous to Oude. 

A writer of some popularity, and who, at 
the time he wrote, had no such comparison as 
is here iustitutetl before his mind, thus de- 
scribes the sanguinary bigotry and fanaticism 
of the Oudeans in one particular aspect of it, 
which exemplifies the assertion that the se- 
poys of 1857 and those of 1781 were men of 
different mould : — " A respectable landowner 
of this ]ilace, a Sombunsie, tells me, that the 
custom of destroying tlieir female infants has 
prevailed from the time of the first founder of 
their race ; that a rich man has to give food 
to many Brahmins, to get rid of the stain, on 
the twelfth or thirteenth day, but that a poor 
man can get rid of it by presenting a little 
food in due form to the village priest ; that 
they cannot give their daughters in marriage 
to any Rajpoot families save the rhatores 
and chouhans ; that the family of their clan 
who gave a daughter to any other class of 
Rajpoots would be excluded from caste imme- 
diately and for ever ; that those who have 
property have to give all they have with 
their daughters to the chouhans and rhatores, 
and reduce themselves to nothing, and can 
take nothing from them in return ; as it is a 
great stain to take 'kuneea dan,' or virgin 
price, from any one ; that a Sombunsie may, 
liowcver, when reduced to great poverty, take 
the ' kuneea dan ' from the chouhans and 
rhatores for a virgin daughter, without being 
excommunicated from the clan ; but even lie 
could not give a daughter to any other clan 
of Rajpoots without being excluded for ever 
• from caste ; that it was a misfortune, no doubt, 
but it was one that had descended among 
them from the remotest antiquity, and could 
not be got rid of; that mothers wept and 
screamed a good deal when their first female 
infants were torn from them, but after two or 
tliree times giving birth to female infants, they 
l^ecame quiet and reconciled to the usage, 
and said, ' do as you like ; ' that some poor 



parents of their clan did certainly give their 
daughters for large sums to wealthy people of 
lower clans, but lost their caste for ever by 
so doing ; that it was the dread of sinking in 
substance from the loss of property, and in 
grade from the loss of caste, that alone led to 
the murder of female infants ; that the dread 
prevailed more or less in every Rajpoot clan, 
and led to the same things, but most in the 
clan that restricted the giving of 'daughters in 
marriage to the smallest number of clans."* 

These were not the men from whom the 
sepoys of Hastings were enlisted. He knew 
better than to put so high a confidence in 
men of the stamp that committed, in 1857, 
the atrocities of Delhi and Cawnpore. 

On the 10th of January, 1785, Hastings 
wrote to the directors, apprising them that 
his advices from England rendered it essential 
for him to retire from the government. In 
this letter occurs the following remarkable, it 
may perhaps be called extraordinary passage, 
when all the antecedents of Hastings as go- 
vernor-general are considered : — "I conceive 
it now to be imijossible for your commands to 
require my stay on the terms which I might 
have had the presumption to suppose within 
the line of possibility : were such to be your 
pleasure, it is scarcely possible for your com- 
mands, on any subject which could concern 
my stay, to arrive before the season required 
for my departure. I rather feel the wisli to 
avoid the receipt of them, than to await their 
coming ; and I consider myself in this act as 
the fortunate instrument of dissolving the 
frame of an inefficient government, pernicious 
to your interests and disgraceful to the na- 
tional character, and of leaving one in its 
stead, such as my zeal for your service prompts 
me to wish perpetual, in its construction to 
every purpose efficient." 

Hastings now made energetic preparations 
for departure. Mrs. Hastings had been sent 
before, and it was reported that she retired from 
the shores of India burdened with the moat 
costly presents : jewels, the rarest and most 
brilliant, the most exquisite carvings in ivory, 
the gold work of Benares, and even specie, 
were said to have been lavished by rich na- 
tives and the Indian princes upon one whose 
influence over Hastings was so great. It 
was generally believed that he knew but 
little of these magnificent gifts, the reception 
of which, it was believed by the English at 
Calcutta, he would have prevented. When 
the period for his departure arrived, the con- 
sternation of some of the native princes sur- 
passed the joy of those who w-ere enemies of 
England, and even the astonishment of all. 
The sepoys idolized the great sahib as they 
* Sleeman's Journey through Oude, 



876 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXXVJ. 



had previously adored Clive. The English 
regarded Hastings with a profound affection 
and respect, and they now gave vent to these 
feelings in the most demonstrative manner. 
Mr. Hastings delivered up tlie keys of Fort 
AVilliam and of the treasury to Mr. Mac- 
pherson, in the council-chamber, on the 1st of 
February. That gentleman succeeded as go- 
vernor-general, under the provisions of the 
acts of the 13 and 21 Geo. III., and took his 
seat on the 3rd. From motives of respect to 
Mr. Hastings, the council determined that the 
ceremonial of succession should not take place 
until the Berrington had sailed. A letter 
from Mr. Hastings, dated on board, the 8th 
of February, announcing her departure, having 
been received at Calcutta, the proclamation 
of the new 'government was made with the 
usual formalities. 

When Hastings was about to retire, nume- 
rous addresses were presented to him both by 
English officials, military men, and residents; 
the natives vied with the British in the mode of 
marking their respect. A-S'hen he proceeded 
to the j)lace of embarkation, an immense 
crowd lined the way which his carriage and 
Buite traversed. Numerous barges attended 
his departure down the Hoogly, and it was 
not until the pilot left the ship, and the coasts 
of Bengal were dim in the distance, that 
some of the attached followers of Hast- 
ings returned to the Hoogly. During the 
voyage his active mind employed itself in 
his favourite pursuit — literature. He read 
much during the long voyage, and produced 
several compositions, one of which obtained 
much notoriety and some praise — an imita- 
tion of Horace's Otium Diios rogat. This 
was dedicated to Mr. Shore, afterwards Lord 
Teignmouth, one of the most useful and 
gifted public men who had served the com- 
pany in India, and who, after a most labo- 
rious and skilful organization of the revenue 
in Bengal, and long years of statesmanlike 
labour, had returned to Europe only a month 
before his friend. The ex -governor-general, 
who landed in June, 1785, at Plymouth, pro- 
ceeded at once to London, where he was re- 
ceived by crown and company with high 
distinction. In another chapter his home 
perils and vicissitudes, which were imminent 
and extraordinary, will be recorded ; it is 
here only necessary to give a brief and gene- 
ral view of the estimation in which his ser- 
vices in India, and his character as developed 
by those services, are held in the present day. 
Probably, IMiss Martineau has, with more 
brevity, and in terms more expressive than 
any other writer, conveyed the general esti- 
mate of this great man, and of his fortunes, 
in the following passage : — " He committed 



crimes, and inflicted misery, as unnecessarily 
(according to modern opinion) as wickedly. 
But, these crimes apart, he was a great bene- 
factor to both countries by amalgamating 
them to a greater extent than any other man 
had done, or than any other could have done. 
He was the first governor of India who could 
and did converse with any natives in their 
own tongue. He was the first who opened 
the potent and mild resources of intellectual 
sympathy, by cultivating and honouring 
oriental literature, and interesting the best 
miuds of Europe in the history of our native 
subjects in Hindostan. He made the way 
easier for future governors, and finished with 
his own strong hand the revolutionary period 
which perhaps no other could have brought 
to a close. It is impossible to esteem him, 
and it is impossible not to admire him. 
Without any appearance of a conscience, and 
with nearly as little indication of a heart, he 
had a most effective understanding, and de- 
served whatever praise can be commanded 
by vigorous and patient resolution, and a life of 
strenuous purposes carried out in unfaltering 
action. He could hardly have been a happy 
man at any time ; but he was strong and col- 
lected enough to keep his foes at bay, and 
win a final victory over them in the form of 
an acquittal from charges for which he had 
in fact undergone a protracted punishment of 
disgrace and suspense. He won royal tavour, 
and a good deal of popular admiration ; was 
made a privy councillor and the idol of tlic 
street ; and he died, Hastings of Daylesfoinl. 
He would probably have confessed in some 
soft hour of sunset, under the old oaks, that 
he did not enjoy them so much after the 
heavy price .he had paid for them as when, 
in Ilia childhood, he dreamed of possessing 
them, without a thought of guilt to be risked 
in the acquisition of them." 

However eloquently correct this expres- 
sion of the views taken of Hastings generally 
in the present day may be, there is just 
ground for exception to many of the dicta 
pronoimced. It is not true that Hastings 
committed crimes for which he saw no ne- 
cessity. No necessity of state, or of the indi- 
vidual, can, of course, justify a crime ; but in 
some of the instances in which Hastings 
sinned, and sinned grievousl}-, he was de- 
ceived by his own casuistry ; he believed that 
a great necessity at least extenuated his 
guilt. He did evil that good might come. 
He supposed, in some cases, that the vast 
benefits to be ensured by a policy which was 
not equitable or moral, compensated for the 
misdeeds. This unrighteous, and because 
unrighteous impolitic, principle has been 
avowed by many statesmen and divines who 



Chap. LXXXVII.] 



IX INDIA AND THE EAST. 



377 



have been ready enough to censure the con- 
duct of Warren Hastings. They have them- 
selve?, under far less temptation and less 
pressure of difficulty and danger, pursued a 
similar policy, and adopted a similar justifi- 
cation with an effrontery of which Hastings 
had set no example ; for while it is evident 
that his mind was beguiled by the idea that 
the end sanctified the deed, he did not sup- 
pose himself wholly under the influence of 
such a principle. He always acted upon an 
avowal of abstract justice, and where no prin- 
ciple of equity was involved, he supported his 
policy by its utility to the government, and 
its beneficial influence upon the governed. 
It is impossible to wade through the debates 
and minutes in council, in which Hastings 
participated, especially when he was the chief 
support of Governor Vansittart, as the author 
of this History has done, without perceiving 
that the mind of Hastings was ever open to 
an appeal founded upon justice. Miss Mar- 
tinean deems it impossible to esteem him ; yet 
no Englishman in India ever excited an 
esteem so universal. Nor is it true that he 
was " without any appearance of a conscience, 
and with nearly as little indication of a heart," 
as his resistance to tyranny during the govern- 
ment of Vansittart proves against the one 
accusation, and his devoted friendships and 
home attachments prove against the other. 
One of the last acts of Hastings was an act of 
touching friendship. His last letter, written 
only a few hours before death, was worthy of 
a man both of heart and conscience. 



When at Daylesford, he enjoyed the otitim 
cum dignitate. There are no facts known con- 
nected with the life of Hastings to prove the 
probability of Miss Martineau's sujiposition, 
that he looked back with such pain upon his 
public acts as disturbed the quietude of his re- 
pose — a supposition in itself absurd on the part 
of a writer who believed he had no conscience. 
Miss Martineau follows too closely in the 
train of Lord Macaulay, from whom her views, 
favourable and unfavourable, of Hastings were 
too implicitly drawn: just as his lordship ac- 
cepted too easily the statements and opinions 
of Mill, which — however softened and qualified 
by him — he in the main followed. Hastings, 
although a great man, was probably not quite 
so great as he is generally supposed to havo 
been; and was certainly a better man than 
it is now the fashion to depict him. It would 
be impossible in a religious or even merel}^ 
ethical acceptation to call him a good man ; 
but posterity will doubtless mitigate the stern 
judgment of the present generation upon him, 
while, to the latest times, his government of 
India, his self-reliance, courage, energy, and 
talents will be an admiration and a wonder. 
It may be long before the moral portrait 
of him, painted by one (Lord Macaulay) 
whom Bulwer* calls " the Titian of English 
prose," shall cease to fill the mind of the 
reading public ; but a time will arrive, when 
in spite of all that is reprehensible in him, a 
more agreeable as well as just conception 
will be formed. 



CHArTER LXXXVII. 

WAR WITH HYDER ALI OF MYSORE— HIS INVASION OF THE CARNATIC- 
TIONS, VICTORIES, CRUELTY, AND DEATH. 



-HIS DEVaSTA- 



On former pages the imbecility of the govern- 
ments of Bombay and Madras, especially of 
the latter, during the time when Warren 
Hastings was governor-general of India, has 
been depicted ; and it was stated that in con- 
sequence of the insubordination of the council 
of Madras to the supreme council, Hyder and 
the French were permitted without opposition, 
and to a great extent without suspicion, to 
form an intimate alliance — the former orga- 
nizing a vast army, to a considerable extent 
on French principles of tactics and discipline, 
and with the aid of French officers. He was 
also allowed, without being impeded by any 
countervailing address on the part of the 
council, to negotiate alliance with the Mah- 



rattas, and thus to engage on his side the most 
powerful people among the natives of India. 
The object of Hyder was not simply ambition ; 
vengeance had also a place in his motives. 
He had made various stipulations with the 
English, who had injured and insulted 
him almost in every case with scandalous 
breach of treaty. Notice has been taken on 
previous pages of the bad faith of the English, 
who were mainly influenced in deserting 
Hyder by fear of provoking the powerful 
Mahrattas, and by a reluctance to incur the 
censure of the directors at home, who were 
constantly anxious lest their councils should 

* What will he do with it? vol. i. p. 91. By Pisietratus 
Caxton. 



878 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXXVII. 



embroil them with the native potentates by 
alliances and treaties, offensive and defensive. 
In 1767 the council of Madras made a treaty 
of this nature ■with Hydcr, aftor.he had passed 
in swift conquest over the Carnatic, and 
threatened Madras itself. When next he 
was at war with the Mahrattas, the English 
refused to fulfil their agreements, and he 
from that hour hated them. In 1778, when 
again menaced by the Mahrattas, Hyder ap- 
pealed to the English to fulfil their treaty, 
they again violated their honour, and inflamed 
the hatred of the prince they had thus be- 
trayed, to an almost intolerable degree. He 
declared that no terms could be kept with a 
a nation whose officers were perpetually 
changed, each new council disclaiming the 
acts of that which had preceded it. 

When the English threatened the French 
settlement of Myhie, Hyder remonstrated 
with them, declaring that he considered that 
place his own, and the French occupying it 
under him. The English disregarded his 
remonstrance, and drove the French out. 
They could not have done otherwise. Myhie 
could not have been permitted as a point 
d'appui for the French in the close neigh- 
bourhood of the English settlement of Telli- 
cherry. The French never acknowledged 
Hyder practically as the lord of Myhie ; they 
consulted no master but the French governor 
at Pondicherry. The remonstrance of Hyder 
was, therefore, unreasonable ; and it is ob- 
vious that he merely claimed the sovereignty 
of the place because he was anxious to keep 
the British within bounds, and to use the 
French as a counterpoise to the English on the 
coasts of Western India. The English were 
resolved to brave all dangers in expelling 
rivals so dangerous and troublesome as the 
French, and consequently alike disregarded 
the threats and arguments of Hyder. From 
the moment Myhie was seized by the English, 
Hyder, already their relentless and agg-rieved 
enemy, prepared himself for war, and hia pre- 
parations were on a scale of stupendous mag- 
nitude, such as in numbers of men and mili- 
tary material might excite the envy and 
admiration of some of the first military nations 
in Europe. It consisted of 28,000 cavalry, 
15,000 regular infantry, 40,000 peons, 2,000 
rocket-men, 6,000 pioneers, 400 Europeans, 
and a wild host of fanatical and half armed 
followers. The council of Madras wrote to 
the council of Calcutta that affairs were of a 
warlike complexion, and then with an infatu- 
ation only to be accounted for by the igno- 
rance, pride, and obstinacy, which were so 
generally displayed by the Madras govern- 
ment, they neglected all precaution, and 
even addressed the directors in London in 



terms which only became men whose affairs, 
political and commercial, were iu a state of 
perfect security. When the Madras govern- 
ment was lulled in the torpidity which con- 
ceit and stupidity are sure to beget in the 
minds of public men, Hyder suddenly rushed 
forth with the force and dash of a cataract 
through the passes, precipitating a vast army 
from the table-land of Mysore upon the sea- 
girt plains of the Carnatic. 

On the 19th of June, the council was aware 
that Hyder had left Seringapatam to join the 
grand army assembled at Bangalore, mar- 
shalled under the direction of officers of 
France : his army having been consecrated 
by the Mohammedan ecclesiastics, and the 
Hindoos having performed the solemn cere- 
mony of jebbum for its success. Ten days 
later it was known at all the presidential capi- 
tals that Hyder was marching upon the Car- 
natic at the head of one hundred thousand 
men, and that his army was such as never 
before had been commanded by a native 
sovereign of India. Miss Martineau has as 
beautifully as truly said — " Then ensued that 
invasion of the Carnatic which is as celebrated 
an event as any in the history of India. The 
mighty host poured down from the breezy 
table-land of Mysore upon the hot plains of 
the Carnatic through the passes, and especially 
through that one which Sir James Mackintosh 
found so safe for the solitary traveller seven- 
and-thirty years later — as wild with rock and 
jungle in the one case as the other, but wit- 
nessing \«ithin one generation the modes of 
life which are usually seen five centuries 
apart. Mysore was rising under Hyder to 
the stage of improvement which a vigorous 
Mohammedan ruler can induce upon an ex- 
hausted Hindoo state ; but, under British 
superintendence, the best policy of Hyder had 
been left far behind for many years, when the 
recorder of Bombay made his philosophical 
observations on the security of life, property, 
and industry, on the very road by which 
Hyder had descended to lay waste the Car- 
natic." Descending from Cliamgana, he dealt 
destruction with remorseless hand. Fire 
and the sword spread a wide circle of desola- 
tion ; and the slightest hesitation on the part 
of the miserable inhabitants, in obeying his 
orders to withdraw from their homes, was 
followed by horrible barbarities. He com- 
manded that ears should be cut off, noses 
slit, and other mutilations practised upon 
men and women, although it must be admitted 
that the latter were frequently spared when 
the former were savagely treated. Colonel 
Wilks confutes most modern writers as to the 
extent of the desolation made by Hyder, 
affirming that it only comprised such a circle 



Chap. LXXXVII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



379 



around Madras as would, in HyJer's opinion, 
deprive it of supplies, while he found forage 
and food in the Carnatic generally. 

At last, arrangements for defence were 
made by the feeble president and council of 
Madras. Sir Hector Monro commanded in 
chief, but he was detained in the capital by 
the governor for the benefit in council of his 
military knowledge and experience. Colonel 
Macleod, a good officer, was appointed to 
command in the Carnatic. Sir Hector was 
of opinion that the English forces should 
assemble near Congeveram. Colonel Macleod 
declined carrying out that plan, on the ground 
that, although at an earlier period it might 
have been an effective defensive position, it 
was now too late to make it the point of con- 
vergence. Sir Hector, still relying upon his 
own plan, determined on carrying it out him- 
self, and on the 29th of August, 1780, took 
the command at Congeveram of his little army 
of five thousand men. This force was to 
have been speedily augmented by troops then 
under the command of Colonel Baillie, which 
had been the previous year dispatched to 
protect Bazalet Jung, who had been me- 
naced by Hyder. ileanwhile, Hyder, with 
extraordinary promptitude, surprised various 
British posts of strength, and by bribery se- 
cured the surrender of others. On the part 
of the British, the first object was to secure 
different strong places now held by the troops 
of the nabob, who, it was not doubted, would 
surrender them to the enemy on the first 
attack. Several fell ; but two were saved by 
the exertions of very young British officers. 
Lieutenant Flint, with a company of one hun- 
dred men, having proceeded to Wandiwash, 
was refused admittance by the killadar or 
governor, who had already arranged the terms 
on which the fortress was to be given up. 
Flint, however, having with four of his men 
procured access, seized the commandant, and, 
aided by the well-disposed part of the garri- 
son, made himself master of the stronghold. 
Baillie, however, remained with his troops at 
Guntoor. Hyder's information was perfect ; 
the people, even those whom he dispossessed, 
sympathised with him, if they were Moham- 
medans ; and natives of the high caste heathen 
were desirous to see the English driven out 
by any native prince. Hyder determined on 
preventing the junction of Baillie and Monro, 
and in order to effect this purpose, placed a 
large corps d'armee under his son Tippoo, 
whose hatred to the English, if possible, ex- 
ceeded his own. Hyder himself had laid 
siege to Arcot, but leaving a corps sufficiently 
nnmerous to invest it, he, with his main army, 
took post within six miles of the encampment 
of Sir Hector Monro. On the same day, , 



Tippoo attacked Colonel Baillie, and was re- 
pulsed. This was the first real battle of the 
campaign, and the English had the advantage 
in arms. Tippoo, although defeated, was not 
discomfited. He harassed Baillie's little force 
incessantly, hovering upon his flanks with 
clouds of cavalry, and constantly menacing a 
renewed attack. Baillie informed Monro that 
he was unable to join him with his troops, 
thus impeded by a superior force. Monro, 
unable to take the offensive while his army 
was thus separated, sent a detachment of one 
thousand men, the pick of his troops, to form 
a junction with Baillie, who might, by this 
accession, be enabled to break his way through 
the corps of Tippoo. Officers experienced in 
Indian warfare* have denounced the strategy 
of Monro in this instance, as exposing not 
only the detachment of Fletcher, but the main 
army under his own command to the danger 
of being attacked in detail and destroyed. 
Monro, however, by a happy audacity, proved 
his superior skill in the face of native armies. 
These rules of warfare, applicable when Euro- 
peans meet Europeans, are frequently of little 
importance when Europeans contend with 
native armies. More battles have been gained 
by the British in India by a daring yet in- 
telligent neglect of the rules of campaigning 
received in Europe, than by adherence to the 
laws of military science. Tippoo, who had 
the English spies and agents in his pay, was 
apprised of the expedition of Fletcher, but, 
instead of attacking the head-quarters of the 
British, with his main army, he manceuvred 
to intercept Colonel Fletcher, and was baffled 
by the superior military skill of that officer. 
Fletcher, deceiving his own guides, succeeded 
in deceiving Hyder. On the 9th he joined 
BaUiie. The French officers on Hyder's staff 
did! riot penetrate the designs of Monro, but 
supposed that he intended to effect a separa- 
tion of the corps of Tippoo from the grand My- 
sorean army, and then to fall upon the latter. 
Tippoo had correct information, and acted 
accordingly. His French advisers counselled 
retirement. Hyder believed that the moral 
and military effect of a retreat would be dis- 
astrous, and he determined to maintain the 
positions which he already occupied, and ob- 
serve the movements of the English, until 
chance should give his vigilance an advan- 
tage. Baillie, strengthened by Fletcher, began 
his march. Hyder, by a series of masterly 
movements, endeavoured to bring his army into 
action in such way that his whole strength 
might be directed against his opponents. 
Baillie, by a series of blunders, the chief of 
which was an intolerable self- confidence, played 
into Hyder's hands. An obstinate conflict en- 
* Colonel Wilkea' Bistory of the Mahrattas, 



380 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXXVII. 



sued. The Britisli soldiers fought with a heroism 
that could not be surpassed ; the sepoys broke 
and fled, and Baillie having displayed dauntless 
courage, seeing all hope gone of saving his 
European soldiers by battle, advanced, waving 
his handkerchief as a flag of truce, and sur- 
rendered. Scarcely had the Englisli laid 
down their arms than the soldiers of Hyder 
fell upon the defenceless men, and perpetrated 
one of the most cowardly and infamous mas- 
sacres recorded in the annals of even Indian 
war. The sick and wounded, women, and 
children, were hacked and hewn in pieces 
with savage delight by the younger soldiers 
of Hyder's army especially.* The barbarity 
of the troops was, if possible, exceeded by the 
barbarity of their chief. The heads of the 
slain were heaped at his feet, as he sat within 
his tent, and the prisoners were paraded 
before him as they were made the objects of 
every conceivable indignity, and the victims 
of many atrocious cruelties. The efforts of 
the French officers to mitigate the horrors to 
which the captive English were exposed, were 
honourable to their nation, but Hyder was 
deaf to their persuasions and remonstrances. 
Even after the fury of battle and exultation of 
victory were long past, the prisoners were 
subjected to a cruel incarceration. One of 
the sufferers thus describes it : — " We were 
often told, and through other channels we 
knew it to be the fact, that actual force had 
been used on the persons of many of our 
countrymen in other prisons, with the expec- 
tation tliat wlien they bore the indelible mark 
of Mohammedanism they would apostatize 
from God, and abjure their earthly sovereign. 
The same abhorred expedient recurred to our 
minds as intended for us whanever a stranger 
of rank visited the prison, especially if he 
seemed to cast a scrutinizing eye on our per- 
sons. In such a state of complicated mental 
distress nearly four years of the prime of life 
were consumed ; and during this sad period 
our corporeal sufferings were not inferior in 
their degree to those of our minds. Our 
couch was the ground, spread with a scanty 
allowance of straw ; the same wretched cover- 
ing which shielded our limbs from nakedness 
by day served to enwrap them also by night. 
The sweepings of the granary were given us 
in any dirty utensil or broken earthen pot. 
Swarms of odious and tormenting vermin bred 
in our wounds, and every abomination to the 
sight and smell accumulated around us, till its 
continuance became intolerable to our guards."! 
During the conflict of Baillie, Sir Hector 
Monro exhibited as few qualities of a com- 
mander as the colonel. His efforts to relieve 

* Colonel Wilks' Histori/ of the Mahratlas. 
t Lieutenant Melville's Na'rative. 



Baillie were not only inefficient but absurd, 
and hia conduct afterwards not less so. He 
fell back to Chingleput, losing nearly all his 
stores and baggage ; there he was joined by 
a reinforcement under Captain Cosley, but 
there was no commissariat. By forced 
marches he brought his army to Mount St. 
Thomas, near Madras, on the 14th of 'Sep- 
tember. In three weeks the army had been 
nearly destroyed, and disgrace inflicted upon 
British arms in spite of the most dauntless 
courage on the part of officers and men, in 
consequence of the inordinate self-esteem, 
obstinacy, and ignorance of the officers in 
command. When the experience and ability 
of Sir Hector Monro are considered, his incom- 
petency throughout this brief and fatal cam- 
paign is truly astonishing. On the loth the 
English army changed its position, taking 
post at INIermalong, where a river flowed 
along its front. 

During this short period of shame and dis- 
aster, the council of Madras were as disunited, 
haughty, and incapable as ever. When they 
saw their army driven back upon ^Madras 
itself, and thick volumes of smoke by day and 
columns of fire by night darkening or bright- 
ening the horizon where the brands of Hyder's 
soldiery were busy, their hearts sunk within 
them, and they gave vent to the language of 
despair and dismay. Hastings, however, was 
busy far away in Calcutta. His fertile mind 
and busy industry took care of Madras when 
its own council was paralysed with fear. 

Hyder was as active on the theatre of war, 
as was Hastings in the chamber of the chief 
presidency. The Mysorean immediately laid 
siege to Arcot, which he reduced in spite of 
a gallant defence. It, however, lield out until 
the 3rd of November, seven weeks after the 
fugitive English took up their position at 
Mermalong. Arcot would hardly have been 
captured before relief arrived, had it not been 
for the usual treachery of the Brahmins. The 
governor was a distinguished person of that 
caste, and was captured by Hyder's troops in 
an assault. Hyder bribed him, and invested 
him with his previous office. The ti-aitor 
continued to sap the fidelity of the Brahmi- 
nical sepoys. The Mohammedan sepoys 
already sympathised with the invader, and 
thus the town was lost. Whenever an op- 
portunity occurred for influencing tlie fana- 
ticism of the sepoys, no matter how loyal they 
had previously proved tliemselves, they were 
ready to espouse the cause of the enemy \\\\ci 
shared their religious sympathies. The vic- 
tory of Hyder also enabled him to lay siege 
to Wandiwash, Vellore, Chingleput, and 
other places of strength in the Carnatic, 
where he inspired the garrisons with the 



CiiAr. LXXXVIL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



381 



most gloomy apprehensions, and pressed them 
with desperate pertinacity and boldness. 

Hastings had sent Coote to take the place 
of Monro, and the gallant old general ar- 
rived a few days after the fall of Arcot. 
Hastings sent with him five hundred and 
sixty European troops. It was at this junc- 
ture that he determined to dispatch his sepoy 
army to march along the coast as soon as the 
rainy season terminated. He suspended the 
president of Jiladras, placing the senior mem- 
ber of council in his place. Money was sent 
with Coote, but its disposal remained in his 
own hands. 

The reinforcements brought by Coote raised 
the shattered army of the presidency to the 
number at which tlie force under Jlonro had 
been computed, irrespective cf that com- 
manded by Baillie. About one thousand 
seven hundred Europeans and more than five 
thousand sepo3's obeyed the orders of the new 
general. Tlie reputation of Coote inspired 
confidence, and the fifteen lacs of rupees com- 
mitted to him by Hastings gave him the 
means of marching his army from the vicinity 
of ^ladras, and, small as it was, of taking the 
offensive. Hastings counselled such a course, 
and prepared with all his available resources 
to aid the general by further supplies of men 
and money. It was at this juncture that 
the Rajah of Berar excited apprehensions at 
Calcutta by the dubious part he played, and 
involved Hastings in intrigues which met 
with subsequent censure in England, the real 
merits of the case having been misunderstood 
both by the company and the British parlia- 
ment. The first care of Coote was to put 
Madras in a state of defence, which the coun- 
cil had neglected, each thinking only for his 
own safety, maturing plans of flight to Bengal 
or to England. Fortunately it was the rainy 
season, so that the true cause of the inactivity 
of the English army was concealed fromHyder. 
At the end of the year 1780, Coote called a 
council of war, and it was determined at once 
to march against the hosts of Mysore. Mr. 
Murray thus describes the views and pros- 
pects of General Coote when setting out with 
his little army against odds so great, and the 
progress of affairs until Hyder was brought 
to the first general action in which Coote en- 
countered the Mysorean forces : — 

" What he dreaded was the harassing war- 
fare carried on by Hyder in a country which 
he had already converted almost into a desert. 
The English army, when it left Madras, was 
like a ship departing on a long voyage, or a 
caravan preparing to cross the deserts of 
Arabia. Everything by which life could be 
supported must be carried along with it ; and 
the soldiers, continuing to depend on the 

VOL. IL 



capital alone for supply, were in danger of 
absolute famine. As they moved in a close 
body through this desolated region, never 
occupying more than the ground which they 
actually covered, clouds of the enemy's ca- 
valry hovered round them ; who, finding tliat 
they did not choose to waste their ammunition 
on individual objects, even rode up to the line, 
and held an occasional parley, uttering from 
time to time a fierce defiance or an invitation 
to single combat. Dallas, an officer of great 
jiersonal prowess, successfully encountered 
several of the Indian chiefs, and his name 
was called out by the most daring of the 
champions. In this mode of fighting, how- 
ever, the natives in general had the advantage. 
Harassing as such a warfare was, and though 
the jNFysorean chief continued to refuse battle, 
he was obliged to raise the siege of every 
place upon which the EngHsh directed their 
march. In this manner tlie important for- 
tresses of Wandiwash and Permacoil were 
relieved, and a stop was thereby put to the 
career of the enemy. The British commander, 
however, in following the rapid movements of 
this indefatigable adversary, found his troops 
so exhausted, and reduced to such destitution, 
as left no prospect of relief except in a general 
action, which he scarcely hoped to accomplish. 
But Hyder at length, encouraged by the ap- 
pearance of a French fleet on the coast, and 
by a repulse sustained by our countrymen in 
attacking the pagoda of Chillumbrum, in- 
trenched his army in a strong post near 
Cuddalore, where he at once maintained his 
communication with the sea, and cut off the 
supplies of his opponent." 

The same author, with well expressed 
brevity, thus describes the battle which en- 
sued when Coote was enabled to initiate an 
attack: — '"This station was extremely for- 
midable ; but Sir Eyre Coote skilfully leading 
his men through a passage formed by the 
enemy for a different purpose, drew them up 
in the face of several powerful batteries as well 
as of a vast body of cavalry, and finally 
carried all before him. The rajah, seated on 
a portable stool upon an eminence in the rear 
of the army, was struck with amazement at 
the success of the attack, and burst into the 
most furious passion ; refusing for some time 
to move from tlie spot, till a trusty old ser- 
vant almost by force drew the slippers on his 
legs, and placed liim on a swift horse, which 
bore him out of the reach of danger." 

Previous to the foregoing victory, the 
English fleet gained a decided advantage at 
sea. The French naval force referred to in 
the foregoing summary of events, fearing the 
approach of an English fleet, left the roads of 
Pondicherry, somewhat relieving Coote from 

3 D 



382 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXXVIT. 



the distressing dangers, which at that time 
cast a gloom over his hopes. Sir Edward 
Hughes attaolced the ships of Hyder in his 
own ports of Calicut and Mangalore, and 
utterly destroyed the hope of forming a 
maritime power, which was one of the chief 
objects of Hyder's ambition. On the 14th of 
June the British admiral, having performed 
this signal service, returned to Madras, bring- 
ing with him a reinforcement from Bom- 
bay. These circumstances greatly encouraged 
Coote in the offensive operations which were 
so bravely carried out. The consequences of 
this action were most important, the English 
were for the second time enabled to relieve 
Wandiwash, then besieged by Tippoo. Both 
armies retired to the neighbourhood of Arcot. 
Hyder abandoned all hopes of conquering 
the southern provinces. 

The sepoy force which Hastings sent 
by land did not arrive until August, and 
when it formed a junction with the Madras 
army, it was with greatly reduced numbers, 
many of the sepoya having perished on the 
line of march from physical incapacity to 
endure its hardships, and many having de- 
serted. In the last chapter, notice was taken 
of the review of these troops upon occasion 
of (iheir return to Bengal by Hastings, and of 
the lavish praise he bestowed upon them. 
By many of these brave Rajpoots, the pane- 
gyrics of the great governor-general was 
deserved ; but that class of historians by whom 
the sepoys are too lavishly commended, have 
not only overlooked (as before stated) that 
the returned victors were Rajpoots, not 
Oudeans or Bengalees, but also the fact that 
the march of the force was disgraced by de- 
sertion, and at times when the temptations to 
forsake their colours were few, and of no 
extraordinary force. The project of sending 
them was a bold one. Hastings knew that, 
and made the most of his success. It was 
politic in him to conceal any impressions of 
an unfavourable nature whicli he might have 
entertained, but a correct relation of the facts 
demands the statements that more of the 
soldiers sent by Hastings from Bengal to 
Madras died from disease, or were lost by 
desertion, than fell in battle. Too much was 
made of the achievement by Hastings him- 
self, who had a strong motive for acting as he 
did, and by those who since have followed 
him, in the excessive praise bestowed 
upon the instruments of a scheme of which 
he was so proud. The events which followed 
the first' conflict, so fortunate for the British, 
are thus summed up by Murray: — "After 
sundry marches and countermarches, Hyder 
once more took the field, and waited battle in a 
position chosen by himself, being no other 



than the fortunate spot, as he deemed it, near 
the village of Polilloor, where he had gained 
the triumph over the corps of Colonel Baillie. 
Here General Coote led his troops to an 
action which proved more bloody than deci- 
sive ; for though he placed them in various 
positions, he found them everywhere severely 
annoyed by a cross-fire from the enemy. Mr. 
Mill's authorities even assert, that his move- 
ments were paralyzed by a dispute with Sir 
Hector Monro, and that had the Mysorean 
captain made a vigorous charge he would 
have completely carried the day. But he at 
length yielded the ground on which the 
battle was fought, and the EngHsh reached 
it over the dead bodies of their yet unburied 
countrymen, who had fallen in the former 
action. The natives, according to some 
accounts, boasted of this encounter as a com- 
plete victory; but Colonel Wilks says they 
represented it merely as a drawn battle, 
which was not very far from the truth." 

This representation, so far as it is unfa- 
vourable to the British, rests upon the autho- 
rity of Mill alone. There was no occurrence 
between Coote and his second in command. 
Sir Hector Monro, which could be construed 
into a dispute delaying the progress of the 
battle. The conduct of Sir Hector was, as 
usual, obstinate, self-sufficient, and he undoubt- 
edly disobeyed orders, but the action went 
on uninfluenced by the fact. There could be 
no dispute, according to the laws of war, as tcr 
which side had the victory. Hyder, notwith- 
standing the amazing advantages of his posi- 
tion, was driven off the field utterly discom- 
fited. The account of the action given by 
an ofScer afterwards distinguished as Sir 
Thomas Munro, was as follows, and is at 
variance with the picture of confusion and 
disaster depicted by Mill : — " The position of 
Hyder was such, that a stronger could not 
have been imagined. Besides three villages, 
which the enemy had occupied, the ground 
along their front, and on their flanks, was 
intersected in every direction by deep ditches 
and water-courses ; their artillery fired from 
embrasures cut in mounds of earth, which 
had been formed from the hollowing of the 
ditches, and the main body of their army lay 
behind them. The cannonade became gene- 
ral about ten o'clock, and continued with little 
intermission till sunset, for we found it almost 
impossible to advance upon the enemy, as the 
cannon could not be brought, without much 
time and labour, over the broken ground in 
front. The enemy retired as we advanced, 
and always found cover in the ditches and 
behind the banks. The'y were forced from 
all before sunset, and after standing a short 
time a cannonade on open ground, they fled in 



Chap. LXXXVIL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



383 



great liurry and confusion towards Conge- 
veram." 

The English now suffered severely from 
want of provisions. Sir Eyre Coote was in 
continual alarm lest from this cause he should 
lose his whole army. Hyder had so denuded 
the country of provender, cattle, corn, and 
rice, that the English army was reduced to 
the greatest straits. Madras was itself in 
danger of famine ; and Vellore, upon the sup- 
port of which the preservation of the Carnatic 
strategetically depended, was nearly in a starv- 
ing state. Coote anxiouslj' hoped for battle, 
as affording him the only prospect of extri- 
cating him from his difficulties. 

The enemy took post at the pass of Shol- 
ingar, on the Vellore road ; and on the 27th 
of SeptemLer the advanced guard of Coote 
approached their pickets. According to Mill, 
Hyder occupied a favourable position, which 
he had skilfully chosen to give battle to the 
English once more : according to Colonel 
Wilks, the British surprised him, and the chief 
object of Hyder was to withdraw his guns in 
safety, to effect which he resolved upon the 
sacrifice of his cavalry as the only alternative. 
Sir Thomas Munro (not Sir Hector), then an 
officer of inferior rank, supposed that Hyder 
hoped by successive charges of cavalry, given 
on different parts of the English line, to break 
it. He accordingly thus gives the main fea- 
tures of the battle:— "He divided his best 
horse into three bodies, and sent them under 
three chosen leaders to attack as many parts 
of our army at the same time. They came 
down at full gallop till they arrived within 
reach of grape, when, being thrown into con- 
fusion, the greater part either halted or fled, 
and those that persevered in advancing, were 
dispersed by a discharge of musketry, except 
a few who thought it safer to push through 
the intervals between the battalions and their 
guns, than to ride back through the cross fire 
of the artillery ; but most of these were killed 
by parties in the rear. This attack enabled 
Hyder to save his guns. Except the escort 
with the artillery, every man in the Mysorean 
army shifted for himself. The loss of the 
enemy was estimated at five thousand, that 
of the English fell short of a hundred." 

General Coote was unable to follow up his 
victory. His chief object was to find supplies. 
He obtained a large quantity of rice, sufficient 
to afford a supply to his army, and to pro- 
vision Vellore, so as to enable it, for a short 
time, at all events, to maintain itself. 

After the conquest of Myhie, the Madras 
portion of the army employed against that place 
was quartered at Tellicherry, but in May 
It was ordered to join the army on active 
service in the Carnatic, and its place was sup- 



plied by Bombay troops, under the command 
of Major Abingdon. One of Hj'der's best 
generals, aided by the Nairs, besieged the 
place. The major in vain sent to the Bom- 
bay presidency for provisions, money, and 
men ; and he was at last ordered to give it 
up. He refused to do so, and so effectually 
remonstrated upon the impolicy and disgrace 
of such a step, as well as upon the cruel- 
ties to which the garrison would be subjected, 
that he received counter orders, and reinforce- 
ments were sent to him. The major was an 
officer of great enterprise and courage : he 
immediately determined upon a sortie with 
his whole force. So well were his plans 
laid, that he surprised the enemy's outposts, 
stormed and captured them, and at dawn 
drove them in panic from their camp. He 
gave them no chance of re-collecting, so sud- 
den was the attack, that they were scattered 
in every direction, like the fragments of an 
exploded shell. Abingdon reinstated the 
native chiefs whom Hyder's lieutenant had 
deposed, and deposed those whom he had 
appointed ; and then, by forced marches, ad- 
vanced upon Calicut. The place was pre- 
pared for a powerful resistance ; but by ac- 
cident, the day after Abingdon's arrival, the 
chief powder magazine exploded, spreading 
destruction throughout the garrison, and 
opening a practicable breach in the walls, 
which Abingdon instantly prepared to storm. 
The terrified enemy surrendered at discretion. 

The English were so hampered by want 
of money and provisions, that they could 
not accomplish anything against the enemy 
during the autumn of 1781. Coote was 
therefore obliged to withdraw his army to 
cantonments in the month of November, 
fixing his head-quarters in die, immediate 
vicinity of Madras. 

Lord Macartney had now arrived as go- 
vernor of Madras; and whatever his abilities, 
they were lost to the cause by his ambition 
to oppose Hastings in everything, and make 
his government virtually independent of the 
governor-general and the supreme council. 
Mill thus describes the spirit with which his 
lordship entered upon his government, his 
general objects, and the projects which imme- 
diately engaged his attention : — " He landed at 
Madras on tiie 22nd of June, 1781, and then 
first obtained intelligence that the country 
was invaded. He came to his office, when 
it undoubtedly was filled with difficulties of 
an extraordinary kind. The presence of a 
new governor, and of a governor of a new 
description, as change itself under pain is 
counted a good, raissd in some degree the 
spirits of the jieople. By advantage of the 
hopes which were thus inspired, he was en- 



384 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXXVII. 



abled to borrow considerable sums of money. 
Having carried out intelligence of the war 
with the Dutch, and particular instructions to 
make acquisition of such of their settlements as 
were placed within his reach, lie was eager to 
signalise his arrival by the performance of 
conquests, which acquired an air of import- 
ance, from the use, as seaports, of which they 
might prove to Hyder or the French. ^Yithin 
a week of his arrival, Sadras was summoned, 
and yielded without resistance. Pulicat was 
a place of greater strength, with a corps in 
its neighbourhood of Hyder's army. The 
garrison of Fort St. George was so extremely 
reduced, as to be ill-prepared to afford a de- 
tachment. But Lord Macartney placed him- 
self at the head of the militia ; and Pulicat, 
on condition of security to private property, 
was induced to surrender. Of the annuncia- 
tion which was usually made to the princes 
of India, on the arrival of a new governor, 
Lord Macartney conceived that advantage 
might be taken, aided by the recent battle of 
Porto Novo, and the expectation of troops 
from Europe, to obtain the attention of Hyder 
to an offer of peace. With the concurrence 
of the general and admiral, an overture was 
transmitted, to which the following answer 
was returned, characteristic at once of the coun- 
try and the man : — ' The governors and sirdars 
who enter into treaties, after one or two years, 
return to Europe, and their acts and deeds 
become of no effect; and fresh governors and 
sirdars introduce new conversations. Prior to 
your coming, when the governor and council of 
Madras had departed from their treaty of alli- 
ance and friendship, I sent my vakeel to con- 
fer vfith them, and to ask the reason for such 
a breach of faith ; the answer given was, that 
they who made these conditions were gone to 
Europe. You write that you have come with 
the sanction of the king and company to settle 
all matters ; whicli gives me great happiness. 
You, sir, are a man of wisdom, and compre- 
hend all things. Wli.itever you may judge 
proper and best, that you will do. You men- 
tion that troops have arrived, and are daily 
arriving, from Europe : of this I have not a 
doubt. I depend upon the favour of God for 
my succours.' Nor was it with Hyder alone, 
that the new governor interposed his good 
offices for the attainment of peace. A letter 
signed by him, by Sir Edward Hughes, and 
Sir Eyre Coote, the commanders of the sea 
and land forces, and by Mr. Macpherson, a 
member of the supreme council, was addressed 
to the Mahrattas, in which they offered them- 
selves as guarantees of any treaty of peace 
which might be contracted between them and 
the governor -general and council of Bengal : 
and declared their willingness to accede to 



the restoration of Gujerat, Salsette, and Bas- 
sein." 

Lord Macartney followed up these proceed- 
ings by other active measures, which do not 
fall within the province of this chapter to I'e- 
late. The governor and council of Bengal, 
believing that the Nabob of the Carnatic had 
the means of aiding the council in the war 
with Hyder, and yet withheld them, intimated 
that, as his highness's territory was then over- 
run by a powerful enemy, his authority was 
virtually gone, and that it might be necessary 
for the supreme council to collect and apply the 
entire revenues of the state in the military 
operations necessary to expel the foe. They 
were, however, unwilling to resort to that ex- 
treme measure, and expressed a willingness 
to accept of several lacs of pagodas as a tem- 
))orary snppl)-. The nabob would not, and 
Mill maintains that he could not, grant this 
sum. He, moreover, pleaded that limitations 
had been set by the supreme council upon 
his liability to contribute money. It was soon 
discovered by the Madras council that the 
nabob had secretly negotiated with Hastings, 
and had entered into arrangements with him, 
of which Lord Macartney and the ^Madras 
council heartily disapproved. Thus the council 
of Madras was not only at war with Mysore, 
but was set at defiance by its ally, the nabob 
— was overruled by the supreme council in 
matters which involved both councils in dis- 
putes,and, to complete the picture of confusion, 
the members of council were divided amongst 
themselves. To all these disorders another 
was soon added : the commander-in-chief of 
the army and the president became irrecon- 
cileably at variance. The general had in- 
dependent authority, which he was proud to 
exercise, and was testy if the slightest remon- 
strance was expressed by the council. He 
would take offence even at the most polite re- 
quest. The council, in consequence of the 
independent authority of the general, had no 
control over the military expenditure, and 
this, in the eyes of the natives, brought the 
council into contempt. Rich natives refused 
to make loans, although, in former periods of 
trouble, they were prompt to do so, feeling 
content with government security and a mo- 
derate interest. 

The claims of the creditors of the nabob 
introduced a fresh source of trouble. When 
they — Europeans and natives — found that the 
Bengal government insisted upon an assign- 
ment of the nabob's revenues, they naturally 
urged that the private debts of his highness 
should first be satisfied, or that the govern- 
ment should secure their payment out of the 
revenues of the Carnatic. Both the councils 
of Bengal and Madras, timid of the effects of 



CuAr. LXXXVII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



385 



such a measure on the court of directors at 
lioiiie, were rehictant to make such an under- 
taking, yet felt the difficulty of seizing upon 
Ilia revenues, and neither liquidating his debts 
nor leaving himself the means of even paying 
the interest. Upon the settlement of the 
financial questions connected with the nabob, 
which afterwards created bo much discussion 
in England, Mill observes as follows : — " On 
the point, however, of the assignment, the 
situation of affairs, and the sanction of the 
Bengal government, appeared to the president 
and council sufficient authority for nrging the 
nabob forcibly to concur with their views. 
AYith much negotiation it was at las t arranged — 
that the revenues of all the dominions of the 
nabob shoiild be transferred to the company 
for a period of five years at least ; that of the 
proceeds one -sixth part should be reserved 
for the private expenses of himself and his 
family, the remainder being placed to his ac- 
count ; that the collectors should all be ap- 
pointed by the president ; and that the nabob 
should not interfere. By this deed, which 
bore date the 2nd of December, 1781, the in- 
conveniences of a double government, which 
by its very nature engendered discordance, 
negligence, rapacity, and profusion, were so 
far got rid of; though yet the misery and 
weakness to which they had contributed could 
not immediately be removed." 

Upon this ])aragraph Dr. Wilson thus com- 
ments :— " This is evidently the main object 
of the agreement projected, not executed, 
with the nabob, by the government of Bengal. 
In the reply of Hastings to the objections of 
the government of Madras, he first apologises 
for the interference by the character of Lord 
JFacartney's predecessors. ' Your lordship,' 
he says, ' will not ask why we thought our 
intervention on this occasion necessary, and 
why we did not rather refer the accommoda- 
tion to the presidency of Fort St. George, 
which was the regular instrument of the com- 
pany's participation in the government of the 
Carnatic ; but I will suppose the question. I 
might properly answer it by another. Why 
did the company withdraw their confidence 
from the same ministry, to bestow it on your 
lordship ? ' lie also declares that had he 
known of Lord Macartney's nomination, he 
should have referred the nabob to his govern- 
ment. He urges the enforcement of the 
agreement as being the act of the government 
of Bengal, and having been done by them ; 
but he lays stress only on the 8th, 10th, 11th, 
and 12th articles ; the two first insisting upon 
the assignment of the revenues of the Carnatic 
and Tanjore, and their application to the pur- 
poses of the war ; and the two last proposing 
the consolidation of the nabob's debts, and 



amuigcment with the creditors. The whole 
matter was, however, left finally to the deci.sion 
of the Madras presidency." 

Such was the condition of affairs, in prospect 
of a campaign against Hyder, in 1782. The 
army had a short repose in cantonments. 
Before the monsoon had spent its strengtli, 
the fall of Ohittore was made known at 
Madras ; and it was declared, by messages 
sent from Vellore, that that place could not 
hold out beyond the 11th of January. It 
was absolutely necessary, at all costs, to save 
Vellore. General Coote, whatever his ex- 
cellent qualities in the field of battle, was a 
bad purveyor, and his system of transport 
was cumbroNS, burthensomo, and defective. 
No other officer could, so encimibered, effect 
such rapid marches ; but he required such an 
amount of baggage, and, consequently, car- 
riage with his army, as to entail vast charges 
upon the treasury, and to defy all resources 
of commissary arrangement. The general 
had no idea of economy in any direction ; but 
in the matters of cattle, carriages, servants, 
and material, his extravagance was beyond all 
bounds. The exorbitant demands for equip- 
ment and conveyance were the principal 
source of difficulty and alarm. " To carry the 
necessaries of thirty-five days for twelve or 
fourteen thousand fighting men, the estimate 
of the quarter-master was 35,000 bullocks. 
Not to speak of the money wanted for the 
purpose, so great a number could not be pro- 
cured ; nor was it easy to conceive how pro- 
tection could be afforded from Hyder's force, 
to a line of so many miles as the march of 
thirty-five thousand bullocks w'ould of neces- 
sity form. The number of bullocks now in 
store was eight thousand. With these and 
three thousand coolies, or porters, whom he 
could press, it appeared to the president that 
the army might convey what was absolutely 
necessary. The urgency of the case made 
the general waive his usual objections."* 

Coote at once proceeded to the relief of 
Vellore, on the 2nd of January, 1782. The 
events which followed, in the task which he 
proposed to himself, displayed his genius as a 
strategist, and the courage and perseverance 
which characterised the gallant veteran. He 
was ill when he joined the army ; old age had 
already laid its burthens on his head, and he 
was exhausted by the fatigues which he had 
undergone. To all these causes of depression 
was added the anxiety resulting from the im- 
poverished resources of the government, and 
his perpetual differences with Lord Macartney 
and the council. Notwithstanding, he dis- 
played an energy which he had never pre- 
viously surpassed, and an indomitable deter- 
* Mill, vul. iv, book v. chap. v. 



386 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap, LXXXVII. 



mination to accomplish the undertaking upon 
wliich he set out,whioh neither illness, enemies, 
nor difficulties of any kind could conquer. 
His proceedings in this expedition, and the 
fortunes which befel him, liave been related 
with admirable brevity and correctness in the 
following passage : — " Though with broken 
health, he joined the army on the 2nd of 
January ; but on the 5tli he suffered a violent 
apoplectic attack, and the army halted at Tri- 
passore. On the following day, he was so far 
revived as to insist upon accompanying the 
army, which he ordered to march. Tliey were 
within sight of Vellore on the 10th, and 
dragging their guns through a morass, which 
Hyder had suddenly formed by letting out 
the waters of a tank, when his army was seen 
advancing on the rear. Before the enemy 
arrived, the English had crossed the morass ; 
when Hyder contented himself with a distant 
cannonade, and next day the suppl)"^ was con- 
ducted safely to Vellore. As the army was 
returning, Hyder, on the 13th, again presented 
himself on the opposite side of the morass, 
but withdrew after a distant cannbnado. On 
the evening of the 15th, the enemy's camp 
was seen at a distance ; and a variety of move- 
ments took place on both sides on the following 
day : after mutual challenges, however, and' a 
discharge of artillery, the contenders sepa- 
rated, and the English pursued their march 
to the Mount."* 

While Coote was executing his gallant 
task at Vellore, a detachment of reinforce- 
ments, which arrived under General Meadows, 
landed at Calicut. This body of troops was 
under the command of Colonel Humberstone. 
The troops under Major Abingdon, with that 
officer himself, were now ranged under the 
colonel, who at once marched against a 
detachment of Hyder's army. The dispro- 
portion of numbers was such as to compel 
Humberstone to make a speedy retreat, after 
losing two-thirds of his men. Coote hearing 
of this disaster, sent Colonel Macleod to take 
the command, which he had scarcely done 
when Tippoo Sultan made a night attack 
which the colonel repulsed with much skill 
* Mill, Tol. iv. book v. chop. v. 



and spirit. Admiral Sir Edward Hughes co- 
operated with the colonel. A variety of skil- 
ful movements took place on both sides, when 
suddenly Tippoo withdrew his army. This 
arose from tidings having reached him of 
Hyder All's death. Upon this event, Edward 
Thornton observes : — "He closed his ruffian 
life at an age not falling short by many, years 
of that of Aurungzebe. To avert confusion, 
it was important to conceal his death until 
his successor was on the spot to maintain his 
claim. The body was accordingly deposited 
in a chest filled with aromatics, and sent from 
the camp tinder an escort in a tnanner similar 
to that in which valuable plunder was con- 
veyed. All the business of the state went on 
as usual, and inquirers after the health of the 
chief were answered, that though extremely 
weak, he was in a state of slow but progres- 
sive amendment. Of the few persons entrusted 
with the secret, one only, named Mohammed 
Ameen, proved faithless. This person, who 
commanded four thousand horse, formed a 
project, with some others, to take off by as- 
sassination those who provisiorjally adminis- 
tered the government, and to assume their 
power in the name of Hyder All's second son, 
a young man of weak intellect, in whose hands 
empire would have been but an empty name. 
The plot was detected, the conspirators seized 
and sent off in irons ; the belief that Hyder 
All still lived being encouraged by these acts 
being represented as the consequences of his 
personal orders. The army marched in the 
direction of Tippoo Sultan's advance, and the 
palanquin of Hyder All occupied its accus- 
tomed place, care being taken to restrain too 
close approach, lest the repose of the royal 
patient should be disturbed and his recovery 
impeded by noise or interruption. At length 
the illusion was dispelled by the arrival of 
Hyder All's successor, who assumed the so- 
vereignty which awaited him with an extra- 
ordinary affectation of humility and grief." 

It was on the 7th of December, 1782, that 
Hyder expired. On the 2nd of January, 
1783, his son, Tippoo, privately entered the 
capital, and was at once recognised as sove- 
reign of Slysore. 



•^VV^AA-'^^ftA^^ * ^ 



Chap. LXXXVIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



387 



CHAPTER LXXXVIII. 

THE WAR WITH TIPPOO SAHIB — WITHDRAWAL FROM THE CARNATIC — CONQCESTS IN 
WESTERN INDIA— SIEGES OE MANGALORE AND ONORE— VICTORIES OF COLONEL 
FULLARTON AND GENERAL STUART — DEFEAT OF BUSSY AND THE FRENCH — PEACE 
WITH FRANCE— PEACE WITH TIPPOO. 



The death of Hyder Ali afforded the British 
a good opportunity for military enterprise, 
which was lost chiefly tlirongh the supine - 
ness or ignorance of General Stnart. That 
officer succeeded Cootc, whose health com- 
pelled him to retire for repose to the more 
peaceful and secure capital of Calcutta. He 
had been, like Olive, the idol of the soldiery ; 
his departure at such a crisis was unfortu- 
nate for the interests of the army and the i 
company. His age, and the infirmities attend- 
ing upon age, rendered such a course impe- 
rative. Probably no commander at his time 
of life, and under such severe and repeated 
visitations of illness, ever bore up so well, or so 
pertinaciously persisted in the discharge of 
such onerous military duties. General Stuart 
was not a man of equal purpose, although 
capable of an obstinacy ruinous to his army 
and his government. This general refused to 
move his troops on the death of Hyder. He 
even refused to believe that event, or as was 
suspected, pretended not to believe it, for 
when at last it was impossible to affect 
incredulity, he refused to march because his 
army was badly provided with material, and 
because he believed it incompetent to face 
the enemy. 

Meanwhile, Tippoo Sultan placed himself 
at the head of his army, which, after all his 
conflicts and losses, possessed a numerical 
strength equal to that which it presented to 
Hyder Ali, when he led it forth from Soringa- 
patam for the invasion of the Carnatic. The 
treasure left by Hyder exceeded three mil- 
lions sterling, besides great store of jewels, 
and the magazines and arsenals of Mysore 
were filled with provisions and appurtenances 
of war. The power of Tippoo Sultan was 
truly formidable, and he proceeded to make 
a formidable use of it. General Stuart 
could not be induced to march until Hyder 
Ali had been two months dead, and Tippoo 
had more than a mouth to mature his plans, 
and stimulate the enthusiasm of his soldiery, 
which he did by every possible means. 
General Stuart made one movement pre- 
vious to that time, which was for the purpose 
of bringing provisions to the depot of Tre- 
passore, situated at no great distance from the 
cantonments. Lord Macartney would not 
allow the general to assume the extraordinarv 



powers of his predecessor, but undertook him- 
self to direct military affairs, leaving to the 
general's discretion the modus operandi. 
The first plan of Macartney was one in which 
Stuart fully concurred, — the destruction of 
the forts of Carangoly and Wandiwash. 

Sir Eyre Coote having speedily recovered 
his health in Bengal, was requested by Has- 
tings to return to Madras, which the daring 
old soldier was most ready to do. On the 
jjassage by sea, the vessel in which he sailed 
was pursued for two days and nights by a 
French line-of-battle ship. Coote was so 
excited that he remained on deck during the 
whole of this time. The anxiety, fatigue, 
and exposure to climate brought on a renewal 
of his disorders, and he merely arrived in 
Madras to die. This event was most dis- 
piriting to the English army, especially to 
the sepoys, who lamented his death in a 
manner that proved their strong attachment 
to him. This circumstance left General 
Stuart and Lord Macartney in full oppor- 
tunity to mismanage a struggle, for partici- 
pation in which nature had not endowed them. 

In the meantime, Tippoo Sahib used every 
exertion to strengthen his army. Ho was 
joined by a French force late in the year 
1782. This reinforcement consisted of nine 
hundred Europeans, two hundred and fifty 
Caffres and topasses, and two thousand 
sepoys. At the commencement of 1783, the 
whole British force in the Carnatic was not 
twelve thousand sepoys and topasses, and not 
more than three thousand Europeans, if quite 
so many. 

General Stuart, after blowing up the for- 
tifications of Wandiwash and Carangoly, and 
having withdrawn the garrisons, felt himself 
[ strong enough to offer battle, which he did 
! on the 13th of February ; but the enemy, 
awed by the appearance of his army, retired 
j with precipitation and some confusion. The 
; English followed up their success, and the 
I retreat of the enemy became almost a panic. 
Soon after the general received intelligence 
I that Tippoo A^•as retiring from the Carnatic. 
' Arcot was evacuated by the enemy, and two 
I sides of the fort blown up. The object of 
j Tippoo'g withdrawal from the Carnatic was 
j not fear of General Stuart. He had heard 
I of the enterprise and success of the Bombay 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXXVJII. 



troops under JIajor AbingJoii, Colonel Hum- 
berstone, and altorwards General INIathewa ; 
and, alarmed at the perils to which his do- 
minions were exposed in that direction, he 
determined to concentrate his strength tliere. 
Stuart was bewildered by this movement, 
and, after some marching without any defi- 
nite object, he returned to the Mount. 

The proceedings which took place on the 
western side of the peninsula, while General 
Stuart remained inactive, were interest- 
ing and eventful. General Matliews was 
ordered by the Bombay council to push for- 
ward with energy against the important city 
and fortress of Bednore. Tiiis command he 
executed with an impetuosity the force and 
audacity of which carried all before it. 
He ascended some of the steepest of the 
ghauts, where the enemy never for a moment 
supposed that the British would venture. 
He literally stormed some of the most for- 
midable passes at tlie point of the bayonet, 
and with a rash and daring valour threw his 
force against vastly superior bodies of the 
enemy, astounding them by the rapidity and 
fearlessness of his attacks. Finally, he laid 
siege to Bednore, which surrendered without 
a blow. This city was reputed to be rich, and 
a large amount of treasure was supposed by 
the troops to have been seized by General 
Mathews, and applied to his own use. Pro- 
fessor Wilson, in commenting upon the re- 
marks of Jlill, as to the disappointment 
ill the army upon the reports of General 
Mathews appropriating money which they 
expected to be prize, and upon the remarks 
of Mill upon the sudden surrender of Bednore, 
thus wrote : — " As far as they originated with 
the disappointment of the army, they were 
unfounded. No such amount of treasure 
could have been collected in Bednore. The 
circumstances of the surrender of that place 
to the English, which General Mathews 
thought little less than providential, consider- 
ing the defective state of his equipments, 
have been fully explained by Colonel Wilks, 
from original documents. Bednore wasyielded 
without resistance, from the treason of the 
governor, Ayaz (Hyat) Khan, one of Hyder's 
military pupils or slaves, who had always 
been in disfavour witii Tippoo, who appre- 
liended disgrace or death upon that prince's 
accession; and who liad intercepted orders 
for his destruction. He therefore at once 
ceded the province and capital to the Eng- 
lish, and upon its investment by Tippoo, made 
his escape to Bombay. He probably stipu- 
lated for the preservation of wliat treasure 
there was in the fort, and he claimed com- 
pensation for what was lost, when the place 
was recaptured. His claim was but 1,40,000 



pagodas, and the accounts of the finance minis 
ter of Mysore state the embezzlement to have 
been upwards of one lac, not eighty-one, as 
particularized in the text. As usual, therefore, 
the English were deceived by their own unrea- 
sonable expectations, and as the negotiation 
between Ayaz and the general was kept a pro- 
found secret, — -indeed Colonel Wilks supposes 
it possible that General Mathews himself was 
not aware of the motives of the governor, 
which is by no means probable, — they were 
at a loss to understand ■\\hy they were de- 
prived of even so much of their booty as was 
to be divided. The conduct of the general 
after the occupation of Bednore, when the 
withdrawal of the positive orders of the 
Bombay government left him free to fall back 
on the coast, exhibits as great a want of mili- 
tary judgment, as his disputes with his offi- 
cers manifested irritability of temper. Colonel 
Wilks has given a very copious and inte- 
resting account of the whole of this calamitous 
transaction, vol. ii. 448, et seq." 

Notwithstanding the fortunate issue of the 
campaign, the strictures made upon the sub- 
sequent generalship of Mathews by Colonel 
Wilks and Dr. Wilson were as just as severe. 
His capacity appeared to consist in sudden 
dash, in comprehending at once in the midst 
of action the boldest measure practicable, and, 
in defiance of all danger, executing it. 

After the surrender of Bednore, nearly all 
the forts and cities of the province surrendered. 
A few held out, and one of these offered a 
protracted, obstinate, and dishonourable resist- 
ance. The town and fort of Anaporo fired twice 
upon flags of truce ; and when, after nil, sur- 
render was offered, and a party was sent to 
take possession, it was attacked at disadvan- 
tage in a mode which justified any retaliation 
afterwards. The English commander ordered 
all men found in arms when Anapore and 
Onore were stormed to be pttt to the sword. 
The order was to some extent carried out, and 
a terrible slaughter resulted. 

After these victories, contentions the most 
fierce and disgraceful took place among the 
superior officers of the English army. Mac- 
leod, Humberstone, and Shaw proceeded to 
Bombay, and complained of General Mathews 
to the council. He was superseded, and the 
command given to Colonel JIacleod, with the 
rank of brigadier-general. Macleod was a 
rash man, with less ability for command than 
Mathews. He had scarcely received his new 
commission, when he disclosed his want of 
prudence. Mill thus relates the circumstance 
and its consequences: — "Colonel Macleod, 
now brigadier-general and commander-in- 
chief, returning to the army with the two 
other officers, in the Ranger snow, fell in with 



Chap. LXXXVIII.J 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



389 



a Mahratta fleet of five vessels off Geriah, on 
the 7th of April. This fleet was not, it ap- 
pears, apprized of the peace ; and Macleod, 
full of impatience, temerity, and presumption, 
instead of attempting an explanation, or sub- 
mitting to be detained at Geriah for a few 
da}'8, gave orders to resist. The Ranger was 
taken, after almost every man in the ship 
was either killed or wounded. Major Shaw 
was killed, and Macleod and Huuiberstone 
wounded ; the latter mortally. He died in a 
few days at Geriah, in the twenty -eighth year 
of his age, and was lamented as an officer of 
the most exalted promise ; a man, who nou- 
rished his spirit with the contemplation of 
ancient heroes, and devoted his hours to the 
study of the most abstruse sciences connected 
with his profession." 

The English army was distributed in the 
conquered provinces without any regard to 
military science. Tippoo Sahib, well informed 
of all that had taken place, and having brought 
his powerful army across from the Carnatic, 
now entered upon the theatre of British tri- 
umph and folly. Mathews still remained in 
command, in consequence of the misfortune 
which had befallen Macleod. He was not 
prepared for an invasion of his newly -acquired 
conquests by Tippoo Sultan in person. He 
believed that his highness was in the Carnatic, 
contesting for its mastery with General Stuart. 
Mr. Murray thus describes the inroad of Tippoo 
and the conduct of Mathews : — "Tippoo was 
greatly annoyed on learning the fall of this im- 
portant place I BednoreJ, and the near advance 
of the enemy towards his capital. Mathews 
was soon informed that successive corps were 
throwing themselves on his rear, and sur- 
rounding him with a force against which he 
would be unable to cope. He had by this 
time obtained permission from the Bombay 
government to act according to his own dis- 
cretion ; but he was now so elated by his easy 
victory, that he placed blind confidence in 
fortune, and even, according to certain state- 
ments, believed himself aided by some super- 
natural power. Thus, reposing in full security, 
he allowed his communications with the sea 
to be intercepted, while his troops were sur- 
rounded by Tippoo's whole force, aided by 
the science of Cossigny, a French engineer. 
The garrison were driven into the citadel, 
and, after a brave defence, were reduced to 
the necessity of capitulating, though on fa- 
vourable terms, receiving a promise that they 
should be safely conducted to the coast. 
\\ hen the Indian prince obtained admission 
into Bednore, he proceeded to the treasury; 
but, to his rage and dismay, found it empty. 
Orders were then given to search the persons 
of the English officers, on which unhappily 

VOL. II. 



was found a large sum both in money and 
jewels, considered always in that country 
public property. Upon this discovery he 
considered himself absolved from all that he 
had stipulated ; the prisoners were thrown 
into irons, and committed to the most rigorous 
durance in the different fortresses of My- 
sore."* 

To the south, the skill and vigour of a civil 
servant of the company, named Sullivan, in 
connection with Colonels Fullarton and Lang, 
secured great advantages. Caroor and Din- 
digul, Palgaut and Coimbatore were captured. 
Fullarton was so successful, that towards the 
end of the war he thought of marching against 
Seringapatam, and was preparing to carry 
that project out when peace was proclaimed. 
While these events were going on in the west 
of the peninsula, Stuart remained unwilling to 
undertake anything in the east. The impor- 
tunities of Lord Macartney, and the irritation 
of his own officers, had at last some effect, and 
in June he began a march which was intended 
to support the efforts of the forces in Bombay. 
While Stuart was doing nothing, M. Bussy, 
who had before distinguished himself so much 
during the war in the Carnatic between the 
English and French, arrived from the Isle of 
France with large reinforcements. By the 
13th of June, Stuart took post to the south 
of Cuddalore ; Bussy, confronting him, occu- 
pied strong intrenchments defended by for- 
midable redoubts. The English attacked him, 
stormed a portion of the French works, and 
captured a number of guns. Stuart, who had 
proved so incompetent in the general and 
comprehensive movements of a campaign, 
showed himself a master of his profession on 
the actual field of combat. This circumstance 
confirmed the belief entertained in Madras, 
that the inactivity of Stuart had arisen from 
jealousy and dislike of Lord Macartney, and 
the refusal of that governor to allow the ge- 
neral the extraordinary powers which had 
been held by Sir Eyre Coote. However this 
may have been, the general battled bravely 
and wisely with Bussy and his French army 
at Cuddalore. 

While the English were storming the 
French lines, the fleet of Admiral Suffrein 
appeared, and after the battle took on board 
twelve hundred of Bussy's troops. Soon after 
the English fleet encountered Suffrein; a long 
engagement ensued, issuing in a drawn battle, 
a very common case in those days when the 
fleets of England and France met off those 
coasts. Sir Edward Hughes, who commanded 
the English navy, endeavoured to bring Suf- 
frein to action again on the following day, but 

* Hxiorij of British India. By Hugh Murray, Esq., 
F.R.S.E., p. 370. 

3 E 



390 



HISTOKY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXXVIII. 



that admiral successfully evaded these efforts. 
Sir Edward then bore away for Madras roads ; 
Suffrein, expecting such a course, cruised 
about until opportunity was afforded of re- 
landing the li200 men he had received, and 
with them he also landed 2400 more. 

Bussy was now strong, and, selecting the 
most efficient portion of his troops, he made a 
well-planned and desperate sortie against the 
English lines. The fight raged long and 
fiercely, but never for a moment did the Eng- 
lish give way on a single point. Stuart main- 
tained his position everywhere unfalteringly, 
and repulsed the French so decisively, that 
the flower of their troops were left dead before 
the English trenches. Certain Hanoverian 
troops in the English service distinguished 
themselves on the occasion by coolness and 
discipline, which effectually supported the 
more forward and fiery valour of the British, 
and gave confidence to the passive perform- 
ance of duty by the sepoys. Colonel WUks 
relates an interesting anecdote connected with 
this battle, in which the Hanoverian com- 
mander had an honourable part : — " Among 
the wounded prisoners was a young French 
sergeant, who so particularly attracted the 
notice of Colonel Wangenheim, commandant 
of the Hanoverian troops in the English ser- 
vice, by his interesting appearance and man- 
ners, that he ordered the young man to be 
conveyed to his own tents, where he was 
treated vdth attention and kindness until his 
recoverj' and release. Many years after- 
wards, wlien the French army, under Berna- 
dotte, entered Hanover, General Wangen- 
lieim, among others, attended the levee of the 
conqueror. ' You have served a great deal,' 
said Bei-nadotte, on his being presented, ' and, 
as I understand, in India.' ' I have served 
there.' 'At Cuddalore?' 'I was there.' 
'Have you any recollection of a wounded 
sergeant whom you took under your protec- 
tion in the course of that service '?' Tlie cir- 
cumstance was not immediately present to the 
general's mind ; but, on recollection, he re- 
sumed : ' I do, indeed, remember the circum- 
stance, and a very fine young man he was. 
I have entirely lost sight of Lira ever since ; 
but it would give me pleasure to hear of his 
welfare.' ' That young sergeant,' said Berna- 
dotte, ' was the person wlio has now the honour 
to address you, who is happy in this public 
opjiortunity of acknowleding the obligation, 
and will omit no means within his power of 
testifying his gratitude to General Wangen- 
heim.' The sergeant had become one of the 
most distinguished of the generals of France : 
it is almost iinnecessary to remind the reader 
that he subsequently attained the exercise of 
sovereign power in Sweden." 



Bussy had suffered so much in his sortie for 
the relief of Cuddalore that he was in no con- 
dition to make further efforts, and Stuart 
would in all probability have destroyed his 
army, or compelled it to surrender, had not 
intelligence been received by both comman- 
ders of peace in Europe. Previous to the 
cessation of hostilities between the English 
and French, Tippoo Sahib continued his con- 
quering career in the west. It is probable 
he would have overrun all Western India, so 
incompetent were the council of Bombay, and 
the commanders-in-chief appointed by them, 
had not the skill and bravery of some inferior 
officers, in charge of fortified positions, resisted 
his progress. This was the case on the coast 
of Malabar, where several British forts held 
out, but the most glorious and obstinate re- 
sistance he encountered was at Mangalore 
and Onore. Two British officers of compara- 
tively humble rank, so directed the defence of 
those cities that Tippoo and his lieutenants 
were baffled and hindered in their general 
measures. Finding it impossible to conquer 
British valour, when directed by competent 
command, whether in the field or the breach, 
Tippoo directed the investment of all places 
having English garrisons, and the cutting off 
of all supplies, so as to compel the garrisons 
to surrender from famine. The numerous 
army of the Mysoreans rendered this strategy 
safe and expedient. 

Soon after Bednore sun-endered so igno- 
miniously to Tippoo, he laid siege to Manga- 
lore and Onore. The garrison of the former 
was commanded by a brave and skilful officer 
named Campbell ; that of the latter by Tor- 
riano, whose courage and skill had seldom 
been surpassed even in the annals of British 
warfare. During the period which elapsed from 
the time Tippoo laid siege to Mangalore to 
the arrival of the news from Europe which 
stopped hostilities at Cuddalore between Stuart 
and Bussy, the garrison of Mangalore behaved 
with the greatest intrepidity, Campbell ani- 
mating the troops by his wisdom and conduct. 
At that juncture the garrison was full of 
hope, although surrounded by vast numbers 
of the enemy. Tippoo himself by his pre- 
sence encouraged the besiegers in every way 
he could devise; but in vain. When the intelli- 
gence of peace arrived, it was announced to Tip- 
poo, and an armistice proposed, as one of the 
articles of the treaty enjoined that the native 
powers should have four months given to 
them to adjust difi'erences and fall in with the 
treaty of concord between the two great Eu- 
ropean powers. Tippoo was in a situation to 
refuse any overtures for peace, had not the 
French in his service immediately prepared 
for departure on the reception of commands 



Chap. LXXXVIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



891 



from Bussy to do so. Tippoo stormed and 
raved with passion, and even threatened per- 
sonal indignity to the French ; but as they 
firmly refused co-operation, he was obliged to 
allow" them to depart. Fearing that both 
French and English would unite against him, 
if he refused the four mouths' armistice, he 
reluctantly consented. The armistice ex- 
tended also to Onore and the forts of Malabar. 
According to the terms of the armistice Man- 
galore, and the other places in the hands of 
the British, were to be periodically supplied 
with provisions. Tippoo considered that no 
faith was to be kept with the English, who 
had 80 basely betrayed and broken faith with 
his father. It is not probable that, under 
any circumstances, Tippoo would have ob- 
served any treaty or armistice longer than 
superior force constrained. At all events, in 
this instance he resolved to render the armis- 
tice virtually inoperative. He did all in his 
power to prevent it. His lieutenants at Onore 
and the other forts were instructed to pursue 
the same tactics. Works of offence against 
all these places were carried on, while the 
English conscientiously, in this and every other 
particular, observed the agreement into which 
they had entered. The gallant officer in 
command at Mangalore besought relief from 
Bombay ; but the incompetent council did 
nothing for his relief. It was in vain he pro- 
tested that the sufferings of his troops passed 
human endurance ; the council still remained 
inactive. There were means which might 
have been used for his relief, but the council 
subsequently justified itself for neglecting 
them, by alleging that they could not send aid 
in face of the agreement of the armistice. 
This plea was obviously a mere cover for 
their supineness, because it was plain they 
could not be bound by an armistice which 
was broken by the power with which it was 
made. Even when the four months of the 
armistice expired, nothing was performed by 
the authorities of Bombay to relieve the en- 
during and noble garrison. It is remarkable 
that, in the history of British power in India, 
through the seventeenth and eighteenth cen- 
turies, the civil servants of the company ge- 
nerally, and the most favoured admirals and 
generals, were utterly incompetent to meet 
the duties and emergencies of their position. 
A miserable mediocrity characterized the vast 
majority of those who should have been se- 
lected to occupy the posts they held by the 
testa of high intelligence and practical ability. 
England always found some few men like 
Clive, Hastings, Coote, &c., in her moments 
of peril ; and Campbell at Mangalore was a 
man of the class who, in spite of the medio- 
crities, gained England her renown. 



The history of his achievements, and those 
of his brave soldiers, with the result of their 
devotion under circumstances of shameful 
neglect, has been given by Mill iu summary, 
but yet in terms sufficiently comprehensive 
and complete for the purpose of a full know- 
ledge of the facts : — " At last a cessation of 
hostilities, including the garrisons of Onore 
and Curwar, was concluded on the 2nd of 
August. Of this agreement one important 
condition was, that the English garrison 
should, three times a week, be furnished with 
a plentiful market of provisions, at the rate of 
Tippoo's camp. This was evaded, and prices 
were daily in such a manner increased, that a 
fowl was sold at eight, and even twelve ru- 
pees ; and other things in a like proportion. 
At last the market was wholly cut off; and 
horse-flesh, frogs, snakes, ravenous birds, 
kites, rats, and mice, were greedily con- 
sumed. Even jackals, devouring the bodies 
of the dead, were eagerly shot at for food. 
The garrison had suffered these evils with 
uncommon perseverance, when a squadron 
appeared on the 22nd of November, with a 
considerable army under General Maeleod. 
Instead of landing, the general, by means of 
his secretary, carried on a tedious negotiation 
with Tippoo; and having stipulated that pro- 
visions for one month should be admitted into 
the fortress, set sail with the reinforcement, 
on the Ist of December. Even this supply 
was drawn from damaged stores bought of a 
navy agent, and of the beef and pork not one 
in twenty pieces could be eaten, even by the 
dogs. Another visit, with a similar result, 
was made by General Maeleod, on the 31st 
of December. The desertion of the sepoys, 
and the mutiny of the Europeans, were now 
daily apprehended ; two-thirds of the garrison 
were sick, and the rest had scarcely strength 
to sustain their arms ; the deaths amounted 
to twelve or fifteen every day ; and at last, 
having endured these calamities till the 23rd 
of January, the gallant Campbell, by whom 
the garrison had been so nobly commanded, 
offered, on honourable terms, to withdraw the 
troops. The sultan was too eager to put au 
end to a siege, whicli, by desertion and death, 
had cost him nearly half his army, to brave 
the constancy of so firm a foe ; and they 
marched to Telliclierry, with arms, accoutre- 
ments, and honours of war." 

The defence of Onore was, if possible, still 
more intrepid, and was more fortunate, if for- 
tune be a term to apply to what came to pass 
in the result of the extraordinary wisdom, 
perseverance, and heroism of Captain Tor- 
riano. The character of this hero may be 
illustrated by a few preliminary facts con- 
nected with his relation to Onore during the 



392 



HISTOEY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXXVIII. 



war. When General Mathews commenced 
his operations in Malabar, while yet Hyder 
lived, and his army ravaged the Carnatic, 
Torriano was ordered by the general to attack 
Onore, then garrisoned by the troops of My- 
sore. He laid siege to it, and, although it was 
defended by a powerful garrison, furnished 
with all the appurtenances of war, he was in 
six days in a condition to make the assault. 
This he did with so much skill, that the place 
was captured with little loss of life on eitlier 
side. The victor was as humane as he was 
brave ; he set the garrison at liberty, except 
the principal officers, and treated them and 
the sick with the kindest consideration and 
care. This he did while Hyder was loading 
English officers, his captives, with irons, and 
consigning them to pestiferous and gloomy 
dungeons. Mathews appointed the conqueror 
of Onore its commandant. He soon made it 
a magazine for the English in that part of the 
newly-conquered territory, and he besought 
the council of Bombay, through his general, 
to strengthen the garrison, provide it with 
supplies, and furnish sucli means as he knew 
were available for increasing its defensive 
strength. He foresaw that Hyder or his son 
Tippoo would never allow the English to re- 
tain their conquests without a struggle, and 
would seek to reconquer the shores of Ma- 
labar and the west country, even if obliged to 
sacrifice the Carnatic in the attempt. The 
Bombay council sent no supplies ; very mo- 
derate aid in food and men would have 
enabled Torriano to accomplish his plans ; but 
no notice was taken of his good reasoning or 
his importunitj-. His masters were conceited, 
arrogant, and vulgar men. 

Soon after Torriano was installed as com- 
mandant of Fort Onore, he discovered that 
" the killadar " of Hyder had hid his jewels 
during the siege by the English. He restored 
them to the owner, and sent him away free. 
The traders of the place had followed the ex- 
ample of the killadar, and hid their valuable 
effects deep in the recesses of the neighbouring 
jungle. He brought them thence, and restored 
them to their owners. His detractors, envious 
of his fame, and anxious to please the incom- 
petent rulers of Bombay, afterwards endea- 
voured to create an impression that he had 
possessed himself of the jewels and merchan- 
dise.* Tlic inhabitants who had fled returned, 
many of the natives of the surrounding country 
possessed of property took up their residence 
in the place, anxious to live under the govern- 
ment of one so equitable and generous. 

An island at the mouth of the Onore river, 
called Fortified Island by the English, was 

* Oriental Memohs. By James Forbes, F.R.S. 4 
vols., 4to. London, 1813. 



still in the hands of the enemy. Torriano 
laid siege to it, and the garrison capitulated. 
His acts of generosity and justice tiiere also, 
were such as have been already related in 
connection with his occupation of the more 
important fortress. He continued to govern 
tlie city in a manner which obtained the ho- 
nour and respect of troops and people for the 
short time the authority of the English re- 
mained undisputed. But soon, like the ap- 
proach of a thunder-cloud, silent and porten- 
tous, the army of Tippoo advanced ; and 
then, as the pent-up thunders finding vent, 
it rolled the terrors of renewed war over 
all that portion of Western India. Tippoo 
found little resistance ; imbecility, and even 
cowardice, dishonoured the arms of England. 
Torriano remonstrated against the military 
folly of his superiors, especially the surrender 
of Barcelore, from which the garrison fled in 
abject terror to Onore, which place they would 
hardly have been able to reach had he not 
taken measures to ensure their safe arrival. 
Yet, with these beaten and cowed soldiers, 
who, under stupid commanders, were so spi- 
ritless and discomfited, he maintained one of 
the most gallant defences recorded in history, 
so completely did his own heroism penetrate 
and inspire all around him. A committee of 
English civilians at Bednore ordered him, at 
this juncture, to abandon Onore, spike his 
guns, and destroy his stores. He replied that 
his general had ordered him to keep Onore, 
and he would keep it, and declined obedience 
to any orders but such as came from his com- 
mander-in-chief, informing the committee, in 
terms at once courteous and firm, that no 
British general could give such orders in re- 
ference to a place of such relative importance. 
He remained drilling his recruits and feeding 
the fugitives from Barcelore until the career 
of Tippoo led him to expect an early visit. 
He went out upon a reconnaissance with a 
portion of his troops, attended by one field- 
piece, and encountered the vanguard of a corpi 
d'armee of Tippoo, under the command of 
Lutoph Ali Bey, a Persian who had served 
Hyder with distinction. It was then the 
middle of May. The assailants were ten 
thousand men. The Persian general sent in 
a flag of truce, demanding an unconditional 
surrender, and received a reply brief and de- 
fiant. Soon after a skirmish occurred, in 
which neither party had advantage : the Eng- 
lish, however, fell back before the superior 
force of the enemy. A second flag of truce 
was sent in, renewing the demand for sur- 
render, to which no reply was returned. 

Ou the 10th of June, a breaching battery 
began to play upon the fort, which the author 
of Oriental Memoirs describes thus ; — " The 



Chap. LXXXVIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



393 



rampart was narrow and Lad ; the high walls 
not more than three feet thick, generally more 
a mass of mud than of masonry, and through 
which an eigliteen-pound shot easily passed." 
By field works and other defences the en- 
gineer officer supplied, as far as possible, the 
deficiencies of the old fortifications, and dur- 
ing the night the garrison and citizens worked 
hard to repair the damages done by the fire 
of the enemy during the day. 

About the middle of June a sortie was 
effected, which tended much to increase the 
heart of the garrison, and to dispirit the 
enemy. Seven guns were spiked, and a con- 
siderable number of the enemy bayoneted, 
before they could prepare for defence, so sud- 
den was the onslaught. Torriano had only 
six men wounded. One of these was left be- 
hind with both thighs broken. The Persian 
general, in admiration of the bravery dis- 
played, sent him into the city. Torriano re- 
warded the bearers, and sent a present to the 
Persian chief, with thanks for his humanity 
and courtesy. The troops that effected this 
gallant sortie were British. A second sally 
was not so fortunate ; the troops led out were 
sepoys, and they deserted their leaders. Tor- 
riano himself, with desperate resolution, but 
with great difficulty, rallied them iu time to 
save the officers. 

The enemy was now daunted, and the anger 
of the previously polite Persian increased to 
fury. Three countrymen, who had rendered 
services to the English foraging parties, were 
seized, their hands cut off, and, in this muti- 
lated condition, sent within the English lines. 

On the 1st of July the breaching batteries, 
strengthened by a number of very heavy guns, 
opened with decisive effect. The walls were 
really shaken; the loss of life was consider- 
able; most of the officers were wounded, and 
among them Torriano himself. The Persian 
commander heard by his spies that the Eng- 
lish commander was hit mortally, and he sent 
in an old woman to bring him more authentic 
tidings on the subject; determining, if her 
report should prove favourable, to storm the 
breach which his batteries had already made. 
The vigilance of Torriano soon detected the 
old woman. He sent her back with the mes- 
sage, " Should he on any future occasion send 
female emissaries, they might possess more 
youth and beauty ; that they should be well 
received, and returned to his camp with as 
much safety as the antiquated duenna who was 
then conducted out of the garrison." The 
sufferings of the garrison from the fire of the 
besiegers now became great, and the sepoys 
shirked duty in every possible way. These 
men were mostly recruits from central India, 
fine looking, stalwart native soldiers ; but they 



had no manliness, nor loyalty to the cause 
which they were there to defend. 

The want of provisions, and the appearance 
of fever, soon produced desertion among these 
men, which Torriano in vain endeavoured to 
stop by means of kindness, and by rewards. 
He at last caught one of the fugitives, and 
proclaimed that he would spare his life if no 
further desertions took place. His comrades 
cared not for his life : that night numerous 
desertions took place. The next day the 
native troops were paraded in front of the 
breach, and the apprehended deserter was 
blown through it from the mouth of a cannon. 
All means were taken to make this ceremonial 
impressive. The troops were marched to the 
slow measure of funeral military music ; the 
drums rolled to the dead march, and the cul- 
prit was conducted with a stern and imposing 
solemnity to the place of execution. These 
proceedings produced no effect; the sepoys had 
no ear for any kind of music, cared little for 
human life, were inspired by no magnanimous 
sympathies, and were plotting desertion on a 
large scale, while the captain was hoping for 
important results from the appalling scene. 
That night a number of sepoys, officers and 
men, went over to the enemy. 

Thus matters continued, the enemy trust- 
ing to their cannon, the English to their skill 
in repairing the demolitions effected, and to 
their gallant sorties ; until at last, on the S-tth 
of August, Captain Torriano was officially in- 
formed of the armistice by a messenger sent 
by the British agent from the sultan's camp 
before Mangalore. So far as Onore was 
concerned, it contained these stipulations : — 

" A guard shall be placed in the fort from 
the sultan's troops, and one in the trenches, 
from the fort, to observe that no operations 
are carried on, nor any works erected on 
either side. 

" A bazaai-, or market, shall be daily sup- 
plied to the fort, containing all kinds of pro- 
visions, which the troops belonging to the 
garrison shall be allowed to purchase. 

" Thirty days' provision may be received 
monthly from Bombay, but no military stores 
or ammunition will be allowed to enter the fort." 

Lutoph Ali determined to render nuga- 
tory the armistice, just as Tippoo himself was 
prepared to do at Mangalore. The English 
commander, finding that all the stipulations for 
the suspension of arms were violated, except 
that the enemy did not open their batteries or 
attempt to storm the place, applied to the 
commander-in-chief of Tippoo's army, to 
whom Lutoph was second in command. The 
Persian pretended to send these communica- 
tions, but retained the letters. Torriano had 
no means of sending any communicationa 



894 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXXVIII. 



from the city, but through the harcarrahs of 
the sultan. 

Lutoph Ali effectually prevented the en- 
trance of provisions. To the remonstrances 
of the English captain he returned the most 
polite answers, but in no way altered his pro- 
ceedings. He had obviously resolved to starve 
the garrison. The Englishman managed, how- 
ever, by threats of a sortie, to exact some at- 
tention to his demands for permission to secure 
supplies. Matters were in this state when, 
on the 27th of September, Mr. Cruso, a British 
military surgeon, arrived at the mouth of the 
river, and, after some detention in the camp 
of the besiegers, was permitted to enter the 
fort. He brought letters from Captain Camp- 
bell, the gallant defender of Mangalore, full of 
admiration of the defence of Onore conducted 
by its commander. The surgeon also brought 
letters from General Macleod, which, as might 
be expected from that officer, were satisfactory 
in no respect, excepting only that they ex- 
pressed his esteem for the hero of Onore, and 
his admiration of the glorious defence that had 
been made. Torriano had written letters to 
Macleod, which Lutoph Ali pretended to for- 
ward ; it now appeared that he had withheld 
the whole of this correspondence. 

After all, there was no great improvement 
in the conduct of the enemy, or the condition 
of the besieged. Rumours of treachery also 
reached the ears of the English commandant, 
and he was obliged to use the most vigilant 
precautions, sleeping very close to the chief 
breach. Lutoph Ali was recalled by the sul- 
tan, or the chief commander of the Mysorean 
armies ; and a Mysorean, a bigoted Moham- 
medan, assumed the command of the blockad- 
ing force. Torriano immediately addressed 
this person, General Mow Mirza Khan, ex- 
pressing the hope that the terms of the armis- 
tice would be loyally observed in future. Mirza 
professed acquiescence in all that the British 
officer required, and proferred his friendship 
in terms of lofty adulation. Mirza falsified 
all these fine professions almost the moment 
they were made. The blockade was more 
strict than ever. Mirza also sought, under 
various pretences, to get a large body of 
troops within the British lines ; and especially 
insisted upon the necessity of sending four 
hundred men within the English works, to 
repair two of the sultan's ships which lay in 
the river. This was first demanded by his 
predecessor, and was now pertinaciously urged 
by Mirza. Torriano satisfied himself with cold 
refusals ; but finding that Mirza persisted in 
the urgency of his suit, and hearing that force 
was to be employed, the English captain sent 
a peremptory refusal. The communication, 
as described by Forbes, is so characteristic, 



that it will interest the reader, who cannot 
fail to admire the heroic and indomitable 
man : — " Captain Torriano, justly incensed, 
desired the second emissary to acquaint his 
master that, conceiving the request to have 
been first made in obedience to the sultan's 
commands, while his own mind reprobated 
his conduct, he had preserved great modera- 
tion in his answer, which he flattered himself 
would have been ascribed to its true source, 
a personal delicacy to Mirza. But since a re- 
petition of the demand had been made, he 
deemed it an insolent puerility, so little be- 
coming the character of Mirza, that he hoped 
he did not err in imputing it to the short- 
sighted policy and chicanery of the Brahmins 
by whom he was surrounded. That the proper 
time for restoring the ships would be wlien 
the sultan's troops were able to take the out- 
works in which they stood ; until that event, 
the commander was determined not only to 
keep possession of the vessels, but if wood for 
fuel was not immediate!}' supplied for the gar- 
rison, the ships would be broken up for that 
purpose." 

After this Mirza became exceedingly hos- 
tile, and in various ways broke through the 
armistice in an ostentatious and violent man- 
ner. Torriano prepared to renew hostilities, 
when the Mysore commander alarmed at the 
possible consequence to himself of having 
provoked such a result, made apologies, but 
even while he made them was devising fresh 
expedients for depriving the garrison of op- 
portunity to procure provisions. Among the 
various military qualities of Torriano, was 
the faculty of obtaining information of the 
purposes and proceedings of the enemy. 
He carried on communications with Manga- 
lore through the medium of a spy, after he 
found that letters which the Mysorean gene- 
ral promised to convey were detained. The 
account given of the agent employed by Tor- 
riano for this purpose, by Forbes, is extremely 
interesting. He thus describes the modus ope- 
randi of this emissary, and the peculiar per- 
sonage himself: — " Although the daring spy 
had to pass through the enemy's camps before 
Onore and Mangalore, he effected the purpose 
required by entering throiigh a hole in the 
wall of the latter fortress, when strictly 
blockaded by Tippoo Sultan. The messenger 
returned with Colonel Campbell's answer, 
and being then desired to take whatever sum 
he thought proper, from a bag of Venetians 
placed before him, he not only declined this 
mode of remuneration, but submitted it en- 
tirely to the generosity of the commandant ; 
and further requested that he would become 
his banker, declaring that he would continue 
to serve him faithfuJly, and would never re- 



Chap. LXXXVIII.] IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



39£ 



ceive any reward until he might conceive 
that he was suspected by the enemy, when 
he should avail himself of the fruit of his 
labours to such au extent as, in his opinion, 
he could carry off free from molestation. . . . 
He was a squalid, meagre figure, without 
the smallest appearance of enterprise, but 
possessing great acuteness and firmness of 

character The period at length arrived 

when he called upon the commandant, and 
informing him that he had reason to con- 
clude himself suspected by the enemy of 
holding an intercourse with the fort, he must 
consult his safety by a precipitate and secret 
flight. To this no objection could fairly be 
made. The garrison had essentially bene- 
fited in many instances by his firmness and 
fidelity, and he was entitled to trace out his 
own line of conduct whenever it seemed most 
advisable. On parting. Captain Torriano 
was not without anxiety for his safety ; he 
told him the fate of Onore could not long 
remain undecided ; that, should he survive 
until that period, it was his resolution to 
reward his services still further by settling on 
him a pension, provided he could contrive to 
join him in any of the company's districts. 
He was then desired to remunerate himself to 
the fullest extent of his wishes, and ample 
means set before him for the purpose. He 
was, however, satisfied with little, saying 
that, in the event of his being seized, and 
much money discovered upon him, the very 
circumstance would prove his destruction. 
He then took his leave, and passed the Eng- 
lish posts ; but whether he succeeded in effect- 
ing his escape into the interior part of the 
country, or was taken in the attempt and put 
to death, has never been known, no tidings 
having ever been heard of him since that 
period." 

By some critics the opinion has been enter- 
tained that this spy was after all in the inte- 
rest of the enemy, or that he ultimately became 
BO. The opinions of Forbes are the most 
reliable, as he was well acquainted with the 
views of Torriano himself, who was his friend, 
and he had also the narrative of Surgeon 
Cruso to guide .him in his memoirs, and Cruso 
was the diplomatist of the little garrison from 
the time of his arrival, until the war was 
over. Through the medium of the spy, 
Captain Campbell sent word from Mangalore 
that he had reason to believe an attack on 
the garrison of Onore was contemplated in 
spite of the armistice. Torriano took effectual 
measures to prevent its success, but such 
news much increased his anxieties. The next 
day a letter and some provisions came from 
General Maclood, whose conduct was pre- 
cisely that which Mill, with such terseness, 



describes : — " The Mysorean general, finding 
that all other modes had failed, of causing the 
garrison to depart during the armistice, 
adopted plans to seduce the allegiance of the 
sepoys. In this, he was successful ; they were 
loyal only so long as fortune favoured the 
brave. The sepoys within had to be watched 
as vigilantly as the Mysoreans without. Thus 
the year 1783 closed over the still beleaguered 
and suficring garrison. Mirza, in defiance 
of all military honour, and of his own word, 
received the deserters, who, as the year 
178-i began, became still more numerous." 
In January, pestilence spread rapidly. Mr. 
Cruso, the surgeon, thus described its eficcts: 
— " Disease was now so prevalent, that 
hardly one man in the fort remained un- 
tainted ; eight or ten died daily, and so soon 
became offensive that a number of graves 
were constantly kept in readiness ; but the 
dogs, savage with hunger, generally tore up 
the dead bodies at night, and strewed the 
outworks with their mangled remains." 

At this juncture a British officer, an ensign, 
deserted to the enemy, and a numerous body 
of native soldiers accompanied him. This 
was the heaviest blow the suffering garrison 
had received, and not until then did the head 
of the noble Torriano droop. Still his gal- 
lant heart bore up against all calamities, his 
courage fell not. It soon became obvious 
by the proceedings of the enemy, that the 
English officer who had forsaken his country, 
and his honour, had given every information 
which his previous position enabled him to 
possess. This was a fresh task upon the 
vigilance of the unslumbering commandant. 
Before the month of January closed, the con- 
dition of the garrison and the town from 
disease and hunger became truly horrible. 
Forbes thus describes it, basing his descrip- 
tion upon the account of Cruso : — " The for- 
tress exhibited a dreadful scene ; the hos- 
pitals overflowed with patients in every stage 
of the horrid disorder already mentioned. 
The bodies of the diseased were for the most 
part so distended by putrid air, as scarcely 
to leave a trace of the human frame ; and it 
was with difficulty a feature could be distin- 
guished in the countenance ; while their 
laborious breathing indicated every appear- 
ance of strangulation. The ear could no- 
where escape the groans of the dying, nor 
the eye avoid tliese shocking spectacles ; but 
why should language attempt to describe dis- 
tress, which the conduct of the sufferers paints 
in more vivid coloars ? These poor wretches, 
formerly subjects of a' sovereign whose soul 
never knew mercy nor felt for human woe, 
when the victorious flag of Britain first waved 
on the ramparts of Onore, fled to it as an 



396 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EJIPIRE [Chap. LXXXVIII. 



asylum from the sultan's oppressions, and 
received protection ; yet now did these de- 
voted beings, snatching a transient degree of 
strength from despair, crawl into the public 
road, and waiting there until the commanding 
officer went his evening rounds, prostrated 
themselves at his feet, imploring permission to 
quit this dreadful scene, and, as a lighter evil, 
meet the vengeance of an incensed tyrant. 
Their prayer was granted, and the same 
principle of national honour, which originally 
ensured them protection, was now extended 
for their safety. Proper persons were ap- 
pointed to see them go out in small parties 
after it was dark, hoping by this precaution 
that such as were not too much exhausted to 
reach the enemy's lines unperceived might, 
from their deplorable condition, excite the 
commiseration of the sentinels at the out- 
posts, and ultimately reach the distant vil- 
lages. The following morning presented a 
dreadful spectacle. On the preceding even- 
ing, eighty-eight of the inhabitants, men, 
women and children, had been permitted to 
leave the fort; but were so entirely ex- 
hausted that their route to the sultan's 
trenches was traced by a line of dead bodies, 
with the more aggravated spectacle of living 
infants sucking the breast of their dead 
mothers." 

Even the horrors of Kars, during the 
Russian war of 1855-56, did not surpass in 
intensity those of Onore during this faithless 
and terrible blockade. With the increase of 
sickness came the increase of treason : — " All 
the sepoys posted in the outworks, headed by 
their jemautdar, had agreed to desert to the 
enemy the following night. The guards were 
directly withdrawn from the outworks, and 
the guns brought into the fort. The jemaut- 
dar, suspected to be the ringleader, was put 
in irons, and sent into close confinement; 
where, conscious of his guilt, he committed 
suicide." 

Torriano now addressed General Macleod, 
who still kept sailing about the coast, effect- 
ing no good, and doing much mischief. The 
letter is a touching memorial of the glorious 
soldier : — " Regardless of my own fate, I 
cannot but acutely feel the sufferings of my 
brave comrades, who, although now greatly 
reduced in number, a prey to disease, sur- 
rounded by death, and deceived by fruitless 
promises of relief, still adhere to me. Within 
the short period of six weeks, five hundred 
persons, soldiers and natives, have fallen vic- 
tims to a cruel pestilence which rages within 
these walls. Desertion nearly keeps pace 
witli death ; so serious and so incredible is 
the former, that amongst the number lately 
gone over to the enemy is a British officer. 



" Mirza is daily urging us, in the strongest 
terms and most threatening manner to capi- 
tulate. Every means in my power shall 
be exerted to defend this place while a grain 
of rice remains for subsistence ; but I trust 
the British arms will not be so shamefully 
tarnished, as to admit this fortress unsup- 
ported to fall into the enemy's hands. Of 
my few officers, death has deprived me of 
one, desertion of another; my garrison is 
reduced to sixty effective men. The quantity 
of provisions remaining in the fort, is very 
small, and great part of the rice is mucli 
damaged. 

" The enemy have received a strong i-ein- 
forcement, and the buxey informs me they 
are to be increased by ten additional bat- 
talions ; on their arrival more hostile mea- 
sures will be adopted. 

" I have great reason to be apprehensive 
for the safety of Fortified Island. 

" I will not relinquish the hope that I 
shall not be left to a capitulation, even 
though accompanied by the best terms, and 
originating in the most absolute necessity." 

A form of disease new to the garrison, 
scurvy, broke out in the beginning of Feb- 
rnary ; but this was checked by the skill of 
Cruso, and the sanitary measures of the 
commandant. 

On the 4th of March, Fortified Island was 
attacked and taken by the foe. The sepoys 
were enlisted in Tippoo's service ; they always 
sympathised with the fortunate. The English 
officers were robbed. The capture of the 
island was contrary to the agreement existing ; 
and when Torriano demanded redress and its 
restoration, the Mysorean commander forged 
a story which proves in a striking manner 
the utter faithlessness and falsehood of the 
native character in India in every grade of 
life among Mohammedans. Dr. Cruso thus 
relates the fabrication by which the Moham- 
medan general accounted for his having 
possession of the island, and of the British 
prisoners : — " Extraordinary as it may appear 
to those unacquainted with the duplicity and 
chicanery of the Indian character, Mirza po- 
sitively denied having attacked the island; 
and gravely replied that the English officer 
commanding there had for some time given 
great disgust to his sepoys, by refusing them 
proper provisions, whilst he luxuriously feasted 
upon poultry and liquors sent from time to 
time for the use of the gentlemen at Onore. 
At the time his people were thus disaffected, 
tills imprudent officer endeavoured to seduce 
the wife of a naique, who was by caste a 
Brahmin, and at length had recourse to vio- 
lence. On this outrage the husband flew to 
his comrades, interested them and their je- 



Chap. LXXXVIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



397 



mautdar in his cause, and they went in a body 
to the officer's quarters ; where, remonstrating 
with a freedom which he couBtrued into inso- 
lence, they were threatened with death. Tlie 
aggrieved party had immediate recourse to 
arms, and attacked the officer, who was sup- 
ported by half his garrison. This occasioned 
the irregular fire heard at Onore. While 
these mutual hostilities were pending, one of 
the sultan's boats, accidentally passing For- 
tified Island, was hailed by the mutineers, 
who entreated to be taken on board. This 
being reported to Mirza, he sent over a mes- 
senger to the English officer to represent the 
folly of continuing at his post with only eleven 
men, recommending him to leave the island, 
and offering him every accommodation in his 
camp, until an opportunity presented itself for 
proceeding to an English settlement. The 
officer declined quitting the island, hut desired 
Mirza would send over a sufficient force to 
take charge of the fort : his request was com- 
plied with, and these were the men who had 
been seen from the ramparts of Onore. All 
this was related by Mirza in the gravest man- 
ner ; and the jemautdar, the Brahmin naique 
and his wife, with five sepoys (tutored for the 
purpose, at the peril of their lives) were 
brought into the durbar, to corroborate 
Mirza's story. It is almost unnecessary to 
observe that the whole of this tale was a fa- 
brication of the sultan's officer to deceive the 
commandant." 

Famine, pestilence, and desertion within, 
perfidy and harassing blockade without, con- 
tinued to afflict the suffering garrison and its 
heroic chief, when, on March 7th, General 
Macleod paid one of his flying visits on the 
coast. As usual, he made proffers of service 
which he made no attempts to perform. At 
last, deliverance came. The honour of the 
garrison and its intrepid commander were 
saved. Peace was conclnded, and the Madras 
commissioners sent a ship to convey the gar- 
rison away, and orders to Torriano to deliver 
Onore to the nabob's officer. The commis- 
sioners, however, neglected to make any pro- 
vision in the treaty for the protection of the 
inhabitants who had sided with the English, 
or for the removal of military stores. Tor- 
riano had by boldness and dexterity to secure 
these objects. 

Jlirza entertained his former enemy mag- 
nificently, and seemed quite unconscious of 
having merited reprobation by his cruelty and 
perfidy. Forbes describes the closing scene 
of tliis in the following paragraph : — " The 
guard was now ordered to leave the fort : 
while they were embarking, the Soubahdar 
Missauber, having locked the gates on the 
inside, at a signal made by Captain Torriano, 

VOL. II. 



struck the British colours, and coming through 
a sally-port, resigned the keys to the sultan's 
officer ordered to take possession ; whose de- 
tachment waited without the outworks until 
this ceremony had taken place. The whole 
being now safely embarked, Ca|)tain Torriano 
followed witli two chests of treasure belonging 
to the company. Night coming on, they were 
obliged to anchor under the guns of the fort 
until daybreak, when the Vfolf gallivat and 
all the boats proceeded over the bar ; the 
officers embarked on board the Uawke India- 
man, and the whole fleet sailed for Bombay." 
Torriano exhausted his means and his influ- 
ence in rewarding his brave followers. As 
far as his power allowed, he made promotions, 
and distributed presents which were at all 
events valuable as coming from him. Ho 
was himself neglected. He obtained a brevet 
majority after considerable delay I The day 
in which he lived and fought, and served his 
country so well, was unfavourable to the re- 
ward of the meritorious. Interest with the 
government, not genius or devotion, advanced 
men in the path of mihtary promotion. On 
the eastern side of the peninsula, the govern- 
ment of Madras seemed determined to exceed 
that of Bombay in folly and weakness. They 
placed reliance on the promises of Tippoo and 
his generals, who never kept faith themselves 
nor showed any confidence in the word of 
others. The English, Tippoo's father had 
too much reason to distrust ; and the sultan 
himself was not disposed to forget the fact. 

The Madras government, in May, 1783, 
appointed commissioners to treat with Tippoo, 
and these men acted with credulity and irre- 
solution, betraying extreme ignorance of 
everything which the task imposed upon 
them demanded. Colonel FuUarton, who, iu 
the south, had carried all before him, driving 
Tippoo's commandants from their strongholds, 
and possessing himself of a country fruitful 
and well cultivated, was ordered to give up 
his conquests, in order to appease Tippoo, 
and make peace (which the commissioners be- 
lieved was sure) more satisfactory. In vain 
Fullarton resisted and remonstrated ; the ig- 
norant commissioners, worthy representatives 
of the Madras council, insisted upon obedience. 
The celebrated missionary, Schwartz, was in- 
terpreter to these gentlemen, and he also 
remonstrated upon the folly of tlie course 
pursued. "Is the peace so certain," said the 
astute and pious interpreter, " that you quit 
all before the negotiation is ended ? "The 
possession of these rich countries would have 
kept Tippoo in awe, and inclined him to rea- 
sonable terms. But you quit the reins, and 
liow will you manage the beast ? " When, 
however, Fullarton had reluctantly and tar- 



S86 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXXVIII. 



dily surrendered most of his conquests, the 
impracticable commissioners, in great alarm, 
ordered him to resume them. 

The commissioners, having expended much 
useless time in preliminary negotiations with 
Tippoo's lieutenants and vakeels, at last pro- 
ceeded to the head-quarters of the sultan's 
army, to arrange with him in person a peace 
baaed upon the principle of the status quo 
ante beUum. On their way to the camp of 
the sultan, they were treated with indignity, 
and their progress impeded in every way by 
the sultan's officers. On their arrival there, 
tents were assigned them and a gallows erected 
opposite each. Communications with their 
countrymen were prohibited. The first piece 
of intelligence they received was of the mur- 
der of General Mathews and many other 
English prisoners, some of them officers of 
merit and distinction. Mr. Schwartz, the 
missionary interpreter, was seized and sent 
away, and the commissioners were not ac- 
quainted with any of the languages of India. 
Colonel Milks declares that those gentlemen 
meditated flight. He rests his authority on 
the testimony of Captain, afterwards Sir 
Thomas Dallas, who commanded the escQrt 
which accompanied them. According to that 
officer's testimony, their plan was to leave the 
officer and his escort in the hands of the 
enemy, who would have murdered them, and, 
by an ingenious stragatem, they hoped to es- 
cape to the ships. A native servant of the 
captain understood English, and had been 
employed as interpreter, in consequence of 
the impossibility of procuring an educated 
person. This man, while lying outside the 
tent of one of the commissioners, where they 
were all assembled, overheard a conversation 
amongst them and with a surgeon from one 
of the ships in the roads, who was the chosen 
agent of the project. The native servant, 
being attached to his master, revealed the 
danger to which he was exposed, who took 
successful measures to prevent the execution 
of the plot. In England, when this charge 
was made, such of the commissioners as were 
then alive denied the truth of the statement; 
but General Dallas affirmed it. Those who 
are curious as to the disputed points of Indo- 
English history in connection with the wars 
in Mysore, may see the narrative at length in 
the pages of Colonel M^ilks.* Weighing the 
* Wilks' Sketches, vol. ii. pp. 515—517- 



evidence as produced by that gallant officer 
against the defence of Mr. Huddlestone, the 
gallant colonel seems to make out a case too 
formidable for successful denial. 

It was not until the 11th of May, 1784, 
that the treaty was signed. Probably Tippuo 
would have prosecuted the war, and placed 
the bodies of the commissioners on gibbets, 
had the folly and imbecility of these gen- 
tlemen as well as of the councils at Bombay 
and Madras determined matters ; but Hast- 
ings, far off in Calcutta, extended his super- 
vision to all the wide field of war and diplo- 
macy in which the English were engaged, 
and the influence of his intellect and of his 
name was felt in the camp of the Mysoreans 
and the durbar of their king. The English 
prisoners who had been seized coutrarj' to 
the armistice, received no compensation ; nor 
did the relatives of the men whom Hyder had 
caused to die by incarceration, or of those 
who were assassinated by Tippoo's orders. 
It was characteristic of English politicians 
that the sufi"erings and wrongs of their coun- 
trymen, however nobly endured, and however 
serviceable to their countrj', were overlooked 
in negotiations when an end was to be accom- 
plished. The diplomatists of the crown and 
of the company were alike in this respect ; 
the wrongs of individual sufferers and the 
merit of particular servants were regarded 
with indifference, if the pubhc object in view 
at the time could be promoted, or apparently 
promoted, by that indifference. Often, when 
a little attention and care would secure public 
objects, and protect or secure redress for the 
wrongs of individuals, there was such a want 
of feeling, sympathy, and justice among the 
r.uling classes ol' Englishmen, that the claims 
of their less influential brethren were totally 
unheeded. 

On the whole, Tippoo was a gainer by the 
treaty and by the war, but the revenues of 
the English were in such a condition as to 
make it imperative upon the governor-general 
to accomplish a peace with Mysore.* The 
desire of the directors at home for speedy 
terms of accommodation was, on the same 
grounds, intensely urgent.| From these causes, 
the proclamation of peace with Tippoo Sahib 
was regarded by Hastings as fortunate to hia 
government. 

• Stewart's His/or!/ of Bengal, London, 1813. 

t History of the Mast India Company, London, 1 793. 



CiiAr. LXXXIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



S99 



CHAPTER LXXXIX. 

NAVAL OPERATIONS IN THE INDIAN SEAS DURING THE WAR WITH MYSORE, FRANCE, SPAIN, 
AND HOLLAND— CAPTURE OP NEGAPATAM, TRINCOMALEE, ETC., FROM THE DUTCH- 
LOSS OP TRINCOMALEE TO THE FRENCH. 



During a considerable portion of the time in 
which hostilities were waged with M3-sore, it 
will be seen from the foregoing pages that 
war existed with France, and that the French 
were the active and efficient allies of Hyder 
and his son Tippoo. The war with France 
greatly complicated the relations of the Eng- 
lish with both those sovereigns, and led to 
various independent actions, especially at sea. 
The English had the advantage on the ocean, 
but the battles fought were indecisive. The 
French for the most part evaded general en- 
gagements, and succeeded in landing troops 
and stores, or in bearing them away from one 
place to another. They were afraid of the 
English at sea, yet did not show such a de- 
cided inferiority as to justify the extreme 
respect which they entertained for the naval 
power of England. The French admirals 
were, in the Indian waters, far more active, 
vigilant, and wary than the English. The 
latter, by their slow movements and want of 
watchfulness, often allowed French squadrons 
to effect what they would not have dared to 
attempt had the English commanders been 
sufiBciently on the alert. It has been already 
seen that the fleets imder the command of 
the English admiral, Hughes, and the French 
admiral, Suffrein, had various skirmishes off 
the Coromandel coast. Suffrein, early in 
1781, collected the elements of a maritime 
force in Brest, and the English at the same 
time organized a fleet. The supposition in 
England was, that the expedition was intended 
for the Spanish ^lain. The British govern- 
ment, however, intended it for the East : at 
all events, that was the direction ultimately 
given to it. It is probable that from the first 
the acquisition of the Cape of Good Hope, 
and the assertion of British ascendancy in the 
East, were the ends designed. " One ship of 
seventy-four guns, one of sixty-four, three of 
fifty, several frigates, a bomb-vessel, a fire- 
ship and some sloops of war composed the 
squadron ; of which Commodore Johnstone, 
with a reputation for decision and boldness, 
received the command. A land force, con- 
sisting of three new regiments of one thou- 
sand men each, was placed under the conduct 
of Genei-al Meadows, who had procured fame 
in the action at St. Lucia with D'Estaing. 
On the 13th of March, in company with the 
grand fleet destined for the relief of Gibraltar, 
the armament sailed from St. Helen's, and, 



including several outward-bound East In- 
diamen, with store-vessels and transports, 
amounted to upwards of forty sail. The se- 
cret, however, of this expedition had not been 
so vigilantly guarded as to escape the sagacity 
of the Dutch and the French. The armament 
under Suffrein was ultimately destined to 
reinforce the squadron now at the Isle of 
France ; and to oppose the English fleet in 
the Indian seas. But the particular instruc- 
tions of that officer were, in the first instance, 
to follow, and counteract the expedition of 
Johnstone, and above all, his designs upon the 
Cape of Good Hope. For the sake of water 
and fresh provisions, the English squadron 
put into Prava Bay in St. Jago, one of the 
Cape de Verde Islands ; and, having no ex- 
pectation of an enemy, cast their anchors as 
chance or convenience directed. A consider- 
able proportion both of men and of officers, 
partly for business, partly for pleasure, were 
permitted to go on shore ; and the decks were 
speedily crowded with water-casks, live stock, 
and other incumbrances. On the 16th of 
April, after nine o'clock in the morning, a 
strange fleet, suspected to be French, was 
seen coming round the eastern point of the 
harbour ; and Suffrein, separating from the 
convoy with his five sail of the line, soon pe- 
netrated to the centre of the English fleet. 
The utmost dispatch was employed in getting 
the men and officers on board, and preparing 
the ships for action. The French ship, the 
Hannibal, of seventy-four guns, led the van, 
and coming as close to the English ships as 
she was able, dropped her anchors with a re- 
solution which excited a burst of applause 
from the British tars. She was followed by 
the ship of Suffrein, of equal force. Another 
of sixty-four guns anchored at her stern. And 
the two other ships, of sixty-four guns each, 
ranged through the fleet, firing on either side 
as they proceeded along. The ships being 
extremely near, and the guns being played 
with unusual fury, much destruction was 
effected in a little time. After the abatement 
of the first surprise, several of the Indiamen 
brought their guns to bear upon the enemy 
with good effect. Within an hour, the French 
ships at anchor had suffered so terribly, that 
the last of the three, having lost her captain, 
cut her cables and began to withdraw. Thus 
deserted astern, and despairing of success, 
Suffrein followed her example, and gave the 



400 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[CiiAP. LXXXIX. 



signal to retreat ; the Hannihal alone re- 
mained, a mark for every ship the guns of 
which could be made to bear upon her : and 
displayed a resolution which may be com- 
pared with the noblest examples of naval 
heroism. She had lost her foremast and 
bowsprit ; her cable was either cut or shot 
away ; in the effort of hoisting more sail to 
get out of the fire, her main and mizen masts 
went overboard, and she remained, as it were, 
a hullc upon the water. Sustaining the weight 
of a dreadful fire, to which, enfeebled as she 
was, her returns were slow and ineffectual, 
she yet joined the rest of the ships at the 
mouth of tlie bay ; and, being towed off, 
erected jury-masts, and proceeded with the 
fleet. An attempt on the part of the English 
to pursue was totally ineffectual. They sus- 
tained not any considerable loss, notwith- 
standing the closeness of the action, and the 
crowded situation of the ships. Their own 
steady and determined bravery counteracted 
the effects of surprise, and baffled the well- 
concerted scheme of the enemy. They re- 
mained to refit and provide till the 2nd of 
May, and on approaching the Cape, ascertained 
that Suffrein had arrived before them. Though 
previous to the arrival of Suffrein, that settle- 
ment, then supposed of great importance, was 
not in a condition to have offered any consi- 
derable resistance to Meadows and Johnstone, 
it was now accounted vain to make on it any 
attempt."* 

At this juncture, a Dutch fleet of East In- 
diamen lay in Saldanha bay. The admiral 
resolved to cut tliem out, and the enterprise 
was attended with success. The commodore 
returned with his own ship and the prizes 
and frigates to Europe. The rest of the fleet, 
with the troops, proceeded to India. Suffrein 
strengthened the garrison at the Cape, so as 
to resist any attack from the Englisli, and di- 
rected his course also to India. After various 
delays caused by winds and currents, the fleet 
arrived on the coasts of the peninsula on the 
Cth of December. The larger ships, with 
General Meadows and tlie principal part 
of the troops, went in quest of Admiral 
Hughes, then commanding on the Indian 
station ; the smaller vessels, transports, and 
the remainder of the troops, arrived at Bom- 
bay on the 22nd of January, 1782. The 
troops which landed at Bombay, after refresh- 
ing and tarrying a few days, were dispatched 
for Madras, and arrived wliile that city and 
the Carnaiic were in terror from the arms of 
Hyder. The arrival of these timely reinforce- 
ments enabled the British officers, in spite of 
the wrangling of the councils, to make head 
against the foe. 

* Mill, vol. iy. book v, chap. v. 



While these events proceeded in connection 
with the new expeditions from France and 
England, others were passing wliich it did 
not belong to the province of the last chapter 
to relate, but sliall here be recorded. 

During the time England was at war with 
Mysore, the Mahrattas, and the French, Spain 
and Holland were also her enemies. Fortu- 
nately, the contest with the Mahrattas was 
first closed, as seen in former pages; and 
peace in Europe soon after occurring, left 
the company free to direct its whole strength 
against Mysore, a perception of which made 
Tippoo Sultan, however reluctantly, come to 
terms. 

Holland being at war with England, Lord 
Macartney determined to take some action 
against Dutch interests in India, notwith- 
standing the numerous demands which were 
made upon his time and resources as governor 
of Madras. Soon after his arrival, he drove 
the Dutch out of. Sadras and Pulicat, and in 
October, 1781, he determined to reduce, if 
possible, the very important settlement of 
Negapatam. The command of the troops 
destined for this task, was given to Sir Hector 
Munro. The fleet under Sir Edward Hughes 
was to cover the operations. Colonel Braith- 
waite and his detachment were ordered to 
unite themselves to the force under Sir Hec- 
tor Jlunro's command, swelling his little 
army to nearly four thousand men, which was 
dispatched on the enterprise. On the 21st, 
the seamen and marines debarked. On the 
30th, the lines and redoubts were stormed. 
On the 3rd of November, trenches were 
opened to cover an approach against the north 
face of the fort. On the Gth, batteries for 
breaching were opened within three hundred 
yards. 

The Dutch governor refused to surrender, 
it having been contrary to the military law of 
Holland for any officer to surrender a fortified 
place until a practicable breach was made. 
Between the Gth and 12th the breach was 
effected. The first use made of it was by the 
Dutch themselves, for the purpose of sorties, 
which were made with great spirit and deter- 
mination. The English were prepared for 
this, and repulsed the attacks upon their 
trenches with their usual firmness. The go- 
vernor offered to capitulate if honourable 
terms were conceded, which, not being re- 
fused, Negapatam was taken possession of 
without storm. The surrender of this place 
was not very honourable to Dutch courage. 
The number of prisoners far exceeded the 
number of assailants. The surrender of such 
an important place, the chief settlement of the 
Batavian Company on the Coromandel coast, 
commanding the southern boundary of Tan- 



Chap. LXXXIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



401 



jore, proved how far Dutch spirit, as well as 
power, liad fallen in India. The English 
made prize of a large quantity of warlike 
stores. It so happened that the investments 
had not been made for two years, so that a 
very great quantity of valuable merchandise 
was secured by the victors. 

Negapatam was the basis of operations 
against all the Dutch settlements in Coro- 
mandel. They fell almost without a blow. 
This had an important effect upon the Mysore 
war, for Hyder Ali immediately evacuated the 
forts of which he had taken possession in 
Tanjore. The policy of Lord Macartney, 
although opposed strenuously by Sir Eyre 
Coote, answered his expectations, and pro- 
bably produced an effect upon the war with 
Mysore, which his lordship did not contem- 
plate. 

On the 2nd of January the fleet sailed 
from Negapatam, taking on board five hun- 
dred soldiers, and proceeded against the 
Dutch settlements in the Island of Ceylon. 
Trincomalee was the chief of those settle- 
ments. On the 4th the fleet arrived off that 
harbour. Means were taken instantly to re- 
duce the fortifications by which it was pro- 
tected. On the 11th the last of these forts, 
and the strongest, was stormed, and Trinco- 
malee fell to the possession of the victors. 
The Dutch were now completely humbled in 
India, and when tidings of the peace with 
that power and its European allies arrived in 
India, Holland had little to lose in the penin- 
sula. The French fleet arrived on the Coro- 
mandel coast in January, and intercepted 
several English vessels ; one British frigate 
of the largest class, separated from her com- 
panions in a fog, was surrounded and captured 
after a peculiarly gallant defence. 

Sir Edward Hughes left Trincomalee on the 
last day of January, having performed his 
part in reducing that place. He was in want 
of stores, and many of his crews were sick. 
Ho arrived at Madras on the 11th of Feb- 
ruary, having had a very narrow escape of 
encountering a far superior force under Suf- 
frein, a commander superior to any, except the 
gallant captor of Madras, who had commanded 
Jb'rench naval forces in the East. In the open 
roads of Madras the danger of Hughes con- 
tinued to be as great as it well could have 
been anywhere, for his ships were much im- 
paired by long service, and consisted of only 
six of the line. The next day the squadron 
which brought General Meadows and his 
troops also arrived. This consisted of one 
seventy-four, one sixty-four, and one very 
large frigate, and had also a very narrow 
escape of being intercepted by the enemy. 
Twenty -four hours after, the French admiral 



appeared, and passed Madras in line-of- 
battle. The above dates are given from Mill. 
Auber gives different dates, and is more par- 
ticular in basing his information upon a com- 
parison of documents. He relates the arrival 
of both admirals, and the results, in the follow- 
ing manner : — " On the 8th, Sir Edward 
Hughes arrived at Madras from Trincomalee, 
with the Superb, Exeter, Monarch, Bedford, 
Worcester, Eagle, and the Sea-horse frigate. 
On the 10th he was joined by Commodore 
Alms with three ships of the line, and one 
transport containing General Meadows and 
Colonel FuUarton, with four hundred king's 
troops. On the 15th the French fleet ap- 
peared off Madras, and on the IBth stood to 
the southward. The English admiral weighed, 
and followed the enemy till they were sepa- 
rated from their frigates and transports. Sir 
Edward Hughes made the signal for chasing 
the latter, on which the Isis, being the fore- 
most, came up with and re-took the Lauris- 
ton, a large transport laden with military 
stores and three hundred troops, together with 
several English vessels with grain which had 
been captured by the enemy on the coast. 
The enemy's fleet bore down, and having the 
advantage of the wind, brought eight of their 
ships to engage five of the English, the other 
ships on either side not being able to get into 
action. The engagement lasted from four 
until half-past six, when the French ceased 
firing, and hauled their wind. The Superb 
and Exeter were much damaged, having many 
shot between wind and water. Sir Edward 
Hughes went to Trincomalee to refit, and re- 
turned to Madras on the 10th of March to 
renew the attack on the enemy, whose 
ships had been dispersed during the action. 
Their hospital ship, the Due de Toscanve, 
having come to anchor in the roads of Nega- 
patam, in the belief that it was a friendly 
port, was captured by the Chapman India - 
man. On the 8th of April, Sir Edward 
Hughes came again in sight of the French 
squadron, then consisting of eighteen sail. 
On the 12th, the French, having the wind, 
engaged him ; the action commenced at half- 
past one P.M., and ended at forty minutes past 
six. Both fleets anchored within five miles of 
each other until the I'Jth. In the interval. 
Sir Edward Hughes had refitted all his fleet, 
with the exception of the Monmoidh, which 
had lost her main and mizen-masts, their 
places being supplied with good jury-masts. 
The enemy made a show of renewing the 
engagement ; Sir Edward Hughes waited, 
with springs on his cables, but the enemy, 
after aj)proaching within two miles, stood out 
to sea, and was seen no more. Sir Edward 
Hughes's force consisted of twelve ships, in 



402 



HISTORY OF THE BltlTISH EMPIRE [Chap. LXXXIX. 



which there were two hundred and forty- 
seven killed, and three hundred and twenty 
wounded. The number in the French ship 
Hero, the flag-ship, killed and wounded, was 
two hundred, the admiral being obliged to 
shift his flag from her to the Ajax."* 

Were it not for the jealousy which both 
Hyder and Tippoo entertained of the French, 
the latter would have been able to efl'ect much 
more against the English during that war. 
Thus, when the French gained Cuddalore, as 
the ostensible allies of Tippoo, they immedi- 
ately proceeded to act as if the place were their 
own, offering indignity to Tippoo's officers. 
The latter resisted, and Tippoo ordered his 
governor to turn them out. The P'rench 
were strong enough to keep possession, but in 
doing so they would have separated them- 
selves from the Mysore power, and have been 
beaten in detail by the English, they were, 
therefore, obliged to leave Cuddalore, and 
being denied by Tippoo's officers the means of 
carriage, and draft bullocks, they had to carry 
their own baggage and drag their own guns. 

In July 1782, Hyder Ali having arranged 
with the French admiral a surprise upon 
Negapatam, both parties attempted to exe- 
cute the concerted plan. Suflrein was to 
land troops close to the place, and their land- 
ing was to be supported by Hyder Ali. It 
was the object of the French admiral to effect 
his part of the arrangement without fighting, 
but his fleet having been descried by Admi- 
ral Hughes, that officer compelled him to give 
battle. The conflict was close and severe. 
Suffrein preferred close warfare, contrary to 
the general tactics of the French admirals. 
After maintaining for an hour and a half a 
fire which appeared to be equal, the French 
line showed symptoms of disorder, and a 
speedy victory for the English would have 
terminated the fight had not the wind sud- 
denly shifted. This enabled Suffrein to cover 
the line of disabled ships by such as suffered 
least, and disconcerted the hopes and plans of 
Sir Edward. The French admiral was the 
better tactician. Notwithstanding the skill 
of the French commander, two of his ships 
struck their colours ; he immediately fired into 
them, and continued to do so, until they again 
hoisted French colours. The battle was, on 
the whole, in favour of the British. The 
English occupied the roads of Negapatam. 
The French were unable to accomplish their 
purpose, and sheered off for Cuddalore. This 
was done, however, with such coolness as to 
amount to a challenge to renew the battle. 
This Hughes could not do, having suffered 
so much in the previous conflict. When Ne- 
gapatam was secured, he went to Madras to 
* Auber, vol. i. chap. xi. pp. 618, 619. 



refit. Suffrein was more active and acute ; 
he refitted at Cuddalore with admirable expe- 
dition, and was ready for sea before Sir Ed- 
ward. Mill gives the following account of 
the energy and devotion of Suffrein : — " He 
was a man that when the exigency required, 
would work for days, like a ship's carpenter, 
in his shirt. He visited the houses and 
buildings at Cuddalore, and for want of 
other timber, had the beams which suited his 
purpose taken out. To some of his officers, 
who represented to him the shattered condi- 
tion of his ships, the alarming deficiency of 
his stores, the impossibility of supplying his 
wants in a desolated part of India, and the 
necessity of repairing to the islands to refit ; 
the whole value, he replied, of the ships was 
trivial, in comparison with the object which 
he was commissioned to attain ; and the ocean 
should be his harbour, till he found a place 
in India to repair them." 

On the 1st of August, Suffrein proceeded 
to sea, and reached Point de Galle, in the 
Island of Ceylon, where he was reinforced 
bj' two ships of the line from Europe, and 
met also military reinforcements. On the 2.5th, 
he anchored in the bay of Trincomalee. He 
attacked and conquered the English garrison, 
and on the 31st of August, the French flag 
waved upon the ramparts of the fort. All 
this time Hughes was at Madras, and con- 
ducting the refitting of his squadron in a 
very leisurely manner. Lord Macartney re- 
monstrated with him on the 5th of the month, 
assuring him that the French fleet had 
steered southwards on the 1st. Hughes, in 
the spirit which the English admirals gene- 
rally showed in India, piqued himself on the 
eminence of his profession, and his distinction 
as an officer of his majesty's navy, and would 
not be dictated to, nor advised by a servant of 
the company, nor by civilians of any sort. 
He stayed where he was, until, as so often 
happened with our admirals in the last war 
with Russia, when their services were urgently 
required, it was " too late." On the liOth of 
August he put to sea, three weeks after 
Suffrein left Cuddalore. The English admi- 
ral did not reach Trincomalee for a fortnight, 
and found the flag of France floating over 
the battlements. Hughes was then anxious 
to redeem his reputation by a naval victory. 
Suffrein, superior in force by the extent 
of one ship of the line and three frigates, 
as well as in the total number of guns, sailed 
out fearlessly. A long, fierce, and sanguin- 
ary conflict ensued, in which Suffrein dis- 
played undaunted courage, first-rate seaman- 
ship, and an activity such as has seldom been 
surpassed. His captains neither showed skill 
nor courage ; half their number were deposed 



Chap. LXXXIX.] 



IN INDIA xVND THE EAST. 



406 



by him when the battle was over. Hughes 
also showed himself brave and skilful in his 
profession, and his officers and men proved 
themselves A\r superior to the enemy. A 
decisive victory crowned the efforts of the 
English, but night setting in soon after, and 
witli that suddenness in which it descends so 
near the line, the enemy escaped. So anxious, 
however, were the French captains to get 
away, that several vessels were disabled, and 
some lost in the attempt. Suffrein brought 
in his shattered ships all but two, which 
Hughes neglected to make prizes, so that 
Suffrein sarcastically said, when he after- 
wards conducted them into port, " they are 
presents from the English admiral." Hughes, 
notwithstanding all the time he had taken to 
refit in Madras, was short of provisions, water, 
and ammunition, and was unable in conse- 
quence to attack, or even to blockade, Trin- 
comalee, and sailed away to Madras, appa- 
rently incapable of forming any definite plan 
or purpose, for he was no sooner in Madras 
than he intimated hia iatention to proceed to 
Bombay. 

At Madras he was urged to join in the 
expedition against Cuddalore, then projected, 
and where afterwards, General Stuart so 
severely chastised the French General Bussy ; 
without assigning any reason, Hughes re- 
fused to assist the expedition. He was an 
admiral holding the king's commission, and 
was not to give account of his actions to such 
persons as the council of Madras, servants of 
the East India Company. He would neither 
take part in the attack on Cuddalore, nor 
stay on the coast during the ensuing monsoon, 
but would go to Bombay : — " If the coast," 
says Jlill, " were left unprotected by a British 
fleet, while the harbour of Trincomalee en- 
abled the enemy to remain, and while Hyder 
was nearly undisputed master of the Carnatic, 
nothing less was threatened than the extir- 
pation of the English from that quarter of 
India. Beside these important considerations, 
the council pressed upon the mind of the 
admiral the situation of the presidency in 
regard to food ; that their entire dependence 
rested upon the supplies which might arrive 
by sea ; that the stock in the warehouses 
did not exceed thirty thousand bags ; that 
the quantity afloat in the roads amounted 
but to as much more, which the number of 
boats demanded for the daily service of his 
squadron had deprived them of the means of 
landing ; that the monthly consumption was 
fifty thousand bags at the least; and that, if 
the vessels on which they depended for their 
Bup|)ly were intercepted (such would be the 
certain consequence of a French without an 
English fleet upon the coast), nothing less than 



famine was placed before their eyes. The 
admiral was reminded that he had remained 
in safety upon the coast during the easterly 
monsoon of the former year, and might still 
undoubtedly find some harbour to afi'ord him 
shelter. A letter too was received express 
from Bengal, stating that Mr. Ritchie, the 
marine surveyor, would undertake to conduct 
his majesty's ships to a safe anchorage in 
the mouth of the Bengal river. And it was 
known that Sir Eichard Bickerton, with a 
reinforcement of five sail of the line from 
England, had already touched at Bombay, 
and was on his way round for Madras. The 
admiral remained deaf to all expostulations. 
In the meantime intelligence was received 
that the enemy was preparing to attack Ne- 
gapatam. The president had already pre- 
vailed upon Sir Eyre Coote to send a detach- 
ment of three hundred men, under Colonel 
Fullarton, into the southern provinces, which, 
since the defeat of Colonel Brathwaite, had 
lain exposed to the ravages of Hyder, and 
were now visited with scarcity, and the pros- 
pect of famine. Within two days of the 
former intelligence, accounts were received 
that seventeen sail of the enemy's fleet had 
arrived at Negapatam, and that the place was 
already attacked. The most earnest expos- 
tulations were still addressed to the admiral 
in vain ; and the morning of the 15th of 
October exhibiting the appearance of a storm, 
the fleet set sail, and disappeared. The fol- 
lowing morning presented a tremendous spec- 
tacle to the wretched inhabitants of Madras ; 
several large vessels driven ashore, others 
foundered at their anchors, all the small craft, 
amounting to nearly one hundred in number, 
either sunk or stranded, and the whole of the 
thirty thoiasand bags of rice irretrievably 
gone. The ravages of Hyder had driven 
crowds of the inhabitants from all parts of 
the country to seek refuge at Madras, where 
multitudes were daily perishing of want. 
Famine now raged in all its horrors ; and 
the multitude of the dead and the dying 
threatened to superadd the evils of pestilence. 
The bodies of those who expired in the 
streets or the houses, without any one to inter 
them, were daily collected and piled in' carta, 
to be buried in large trenches made for the 
purpose out of the town, to the number, for 
several weeks, of not less, it is said, than 
twelve or fifteen hundred a-week. What 
was done to remove the suflering inhabitants 
to the less exhausted parts of the country, 
and to prevent unnecessary consumption, — the 
governor sending away his horses, and even 
his servants, — could only mitigate, and that to 
a small degree, the evils which were endured. 
On the fourth day after the departure of Sir 



404 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. XC. 



Edward Hughes and his fleet, Sir Richard 
Bickerton arrived, with three regiments of 
one thousand each, Sir John Burgoyne's 
regiment of light horse, amounting to tliree 
hundred and forty, and about one thousand 
recruits raised by tlie company, chiefly in 
Ireland ; but as soon as Sir Richard was 
apprised of the motions of Sir E. Hughes, he 
immediately put to sea, and proceeded after 
him to Bombay." 

It is mournful to contemplate the repre- 
sentation of ignorance, pride, and obstinacy, 
on the part of a British naval commander, 
which is here made without any exaggera- 
tion. The terrible consequences are also 
depicted faithfully. If there were no proba- 



bility that like causes in the constitution of our 
navy would produce like effects, such sad 
stories might be related without anxiety for 
the present or the future, if even with sliame 
for tiie past. The admiral had no further 
opportunitj' to do much good or evil. Peace 
with France, Spain, and Holland, followed 
by peace with Hyder, left India in tranquillity 
as to foreign enemies, and the different coun- 
cils, commanders, and governors, more lei- 
sure for those mutual bickerings in which 
they perpetually indulged. Hastings, having 
composed these, as far as genius and self- 
command could compose them, at last, as 
already related, retired from the scenes of his 
struggles and his fame. 



CHAPTER XC. 

HOME AFF-IIRS— EFFORTS OF THE EAST INDI.V COMPANY TO ASSIST THE CROWN IN THE 
WARS WITH FRANCE, SPAIN, AND HOLL.iND— DISCUSSIONS IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS 
IN REFERENCE TO THE COMPANY'S AFFAIRS— IMPEACHMENT OF HASTINGS— ACQUITTAL 
—RETIREMENT FROM PUBLIC LIFE— DEATH— THE COMPANY RESOLVE TO ERECT A 
STATUE TO HIS MEMORY. 



From 1T78 to the termination of the parlia- 
mentary prosecution of Hastings, the directors 
and the company were much engrossed with 
home matters, while the state of their affairs 
in India demanded alsonnremitting and serious 
attention. 

In 1778-0 extraordinary exertions were 
made to resist the combination of France and 
Spain against British influence everywhere, 
but especially in the East. Instructions were 
sent overland to India for the reduction of 
Pondicherry, and the governors and coun- 
cils were urged to prosecute the war with all 
their energy. 

In April, 1779, the general court of pro- 
prietors voted unanimous thanks to the secret 
committee, for the spirited orders they issued 
for operations against Pondicherry and the 
French, and presented them with sums of five 
hundred, and three hundred guineas, for the 
purchase of plate. Thanks were also voted to 
Sir Hector Monro and Admiral Sir Edward 
Vernon, to each of whom was given a sword 
set with diamonds, valued at seven hundred 
and fifty guineas. Three p:uineas bounty to 
each was voted for the first two thousand 
able-bodied seamen, two guineas each for the 
first two thousand ordinary seamen, and a 
guinea and a half each for the first two thou- 
sand landsmen who should volunteer to serve 
on board the fleets of his majesty. Resolutions 
were passed by the court of directors " to 
build three 74:-gun ships, with masts and 



yards, to be delivered over to such officer 
as his majesty might appoint to receive 
them." 

The following resume of the home events 
in which the company was interested at that 
time is as correct as it is brief : — " The affairs 
of the company at this time engaged much of 
the attention of parliament. In 1779, an act 
had been passed declaring that the £1,400,000 
borrowed of the public had been repaid by 
the company, and that as their bond debt 
was reduced to £1,500,000, they were autho- 
rized to declare a dividend of eight per cent. 
The territorial acquisitions and revenues were 
also to remain with them for another year, 
and the persons who at the passing of the 
act were in the offices of governor-general 
and councillors in Bengal, were to hold the 
same during its continuance. In the follow- 
ing session Lord North acquainted the house 
that the company had not made such proposals 
for the renewal of their charter as were 
deemed satisfactory, and he therefore moved 
that the Speaker should give the three years' 
notice required by the act, previously to the 
cessation of their exclusive privileges of trade. 
Mr. Fox and Mr. Burke strongly opposed the 
minister, and asked whether he was not con- 
tent with having lost America? Whether 
he could point out a single benefit which his 
motion was capable of producing, and whether 
he desired to behold those scenes of anarchy, 
confusion, distress, and ruin, which hia idle 



Chap. XC] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



406 



and impotent threats might produce in the 
company's possessions in India."* 

Mr. Fox argued that the ministerial mea- 
sure was impracticable, and that the govern- 
ment and the nation would prove themselves 
ungrateful to the country, if such a proposition 
were tolerated. He declared that the disputes 
between the minister and the company arose 
from the desire of the former to grasp the 
patronage of the latter.f In order to give 
time for deliberation, an act was passed con- 
tinuing the same privileges to the company 
as in the preceding year, to be reckoned from 
the 5th of April, 1780.| 

On the 12th of January, 1781, a select 
committee of the house was appointed to in- 
quire into the petitions of the company and 
the inhabitants of Bengal, against the consti- 
tution of the supreme court and the action of 
British law generally. 

On the 27th of April, Lord North proposed 
the appointment of a secret committee to iu- 
({uire into the causes of the war in the Car- 
natic. The celebrated Edmund Burke de- 
manded that the committee should be open ; 
but, as the foreign enemies of England would 
watch the progress of such inquiry in an open 
committee, and profit by the information to 
be obtained, Lord North carried his point. 
Lord North, throughout the session, displayed 
an open enmity to the company, the real 
source of which was, what Charles Fox 
charged upon him, a desire to grasp the pa- 
tronage. Edmund Burke was not less an 
enemy, but ho was insidious. 

At length tlie two acts were passed : the 
one concluding an agreement between the 
public and the company ;§ the other to re- 
dress and prevent the recurrence of the com- 
plaints against the supreme court at Calcutta.!] 
By the first-mentioned act the company's ex- 
clusive privileges were continued till 1791, 
with three years' notice ; during which time 
the 'territorial acquisitions and revenues were 
to remain in their possession. After a divi- 
dend of eight per cent, on the capital of 
£3,200,000, three-fourths of the surplus pro- 
fits were to go to the public, and one-fourth 
to the company. Accounts of the state of the 
company's affairs were to be laid before the 
lords of tlie treasury and the general court. 
During the war with France, Spain, and Hol- 
land, the company were to pay one-fourth of 
the expense of his majesty's ships in India. 
After peace, the company were to bear the 

* Anber's iJw« and Progress of the East India Com- 
pany, vol. i. chap. xi. p. 572. 

t Parliamentary Ilistory, 1780, vol. xii. 
X 20 Geo. III. cap. 56. 
$ 21 Geo. III. cap. 65. 
li 21 Geo. III. cap. 70, 
VOL. II, 



whole. The company were allowed to re- 
cruit, and to have two thousand men at one 
time ready for embarkation during war, but 
only one thousand in peace. The parties 
filling the offices of governor-general, com- 
mander-in-chief, and members of council, were 
to be removable only by the king on repre- 
sentation of the directors, who might appoint 
to vacancies on the approbation of the crown. 
The commander-in-chief, if appointed by the 
directors a member of council, was to take 
rank as two members, but was not to succeed 
to the government unless specially appointed. 
British subjects were not to reside more than 
ten miles from the presidency without leave 
from the government. 

Two important provisions were also in- 
serted. In addition to the enactment of' 
1773, which required the directors to send 
to his majesty's government copies of all 
letters from India relating to the political, 
military, or revenue affairs of the company, 
a provision was now inserted that copies of 
all letters proposed to be sent by the direc- 
tors to India relating to those subjects, 
should first be submitted for his majesty's 
approval, and if no disapprobation was ex- 
pressed within fourteen days to the proposed 
despatch, the same might be forwarded to 
India. 

The other was a clause suggested by the 
heavy drafts which had, at a former period, 
been drawn from India, and nearly ruined 
the company, being, the minister remarked, 
" the private fortunes of Asiatic plunderers," 
■who would again seize upon the opportunity 
of doing so with avidity. Lord North, in 
alluding to the acceptance of presents, ob- 
served that it would be proper to interdict 
their receipt entirely, for which purpose it 
would be well to form a court of judicature 
in this country for the trial of offences com- 
mitted in India. This suggestion, though 
not acted upon at that time, was adopted at 
a later period. 

The other act related to the supreme court, 
and was passed to appease the minds of many 
persons who dreaded the consequences of the 
powers assumed by the supreme court of 
India. 

The appointment of Lord Macartney to the 
governorship of Madras was one of the signs 
of the times, as it regarded the progress of 
ministerial and parliamentary opinion respect- 
ing the company. The governing class in 
England became intensely desirous of obtain- 
ing such posts as the governorships of presi- 
dencies, and more especially the office of go- 
vernor-general, for members of their class. 
Lord Macartney was the first governor ap- 
pointed by the direct intervention of the go- 

3o 



406 



HISTORY OF THE BEITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. XC. 



vernment, and he unfortunately went to India 
in the spirit of one who felt that he did not 
owe his appointment to the company, and 
was superior in rank, as well as the origin of 
his appointment, to the company's servants. 
He made, therefore, little account of the 
opinion of Hastings, who was only a com- 
pany's official, although governor-general of 
Bengal. Lord Macartney was a polite man, 
capable of governing his temper, and pos- 
sessing much suavity of manner to inferiors 
in atation ; but he had a high opinion of Kis 
order, his office, and the source whence he 
derived it, and hence all harmony between 
the governments of Madras and Bengal were 
from the day of his arrival in India until 
Hastings left it impossible. At home, his 
lordship's measures and interests were backed 
up by the government. 

Tidings of the appointment of Sir Elijah 
Impey, by Governor-general Hastings, to the 
Suddur Dewanny Adawlut, reached England 
in October, 1781. The directors doubted 
the legality of the proceeding, and parlia- 
ment took up the matter with considerable 
heat. A committee of inquiry was nomi- 
nated, and reported in strong terms upon 
the illegality of the conduct of Hastings and 
of Impey. An address of the whole house 
to his majesty demanded the recall of Sir 
Elijah to answer to the house for his ac- 
ceptance of the office. The directors passed 
a resolution, on the 24th of April, removing 
him. 

A report was made by the secret committee 
appointed to inquire into the causes of the 
war in the Carnatic. Mr. Dundas, the chair- 
man, submitted to the house an enormous 
series of resolutions, which amounted to no 
less than one hundred and eleven. The reso- 
lutions were divided into three classes, each 
class containing three distinct heads. The 
first regarded the general system of govern- 
ment; it censured the conduct of Mr. Hast- 
ings as governor-general, and that of Mr. 
Hornby, governor of Bombay, and declared 
it to be the duty of the directors to recall 
them. The second and third classes related 
to the affairs of the Carnatic. On these a 
bill of pains and penalties was brought in 
against Sir Thomas Rumbold, J. Whitehill, 
and P. Perring, Esqrs., for breaches of public 
trust, and high crimes and misdemeanours. 

On the 28th of May, the house of commons 
came to the following resolution : — 

" Resolved, That Warren Hastings, Esq., 
governor-general, and William Hornby, Esq., 
president of the council at Bombay, having in 
sundry instances acted in a manner repugnant 
to the honour and policy of this nation, and 
thereby brought great calamities on India, 



and enormous expenses on the company, it is 
the duty of the directors to pursue all legal 
and effectual means for the removal of the 
said governor-general and president from 
their respective offices, and to recall them to 
Great Britain." 

These measures violently agitated the courts 
of directors and proprietors. Various meet- 
ings were held, and debates of the fiercest 
nature took place in them. On the 19th 
of June, a special grand court was convened 
by requisition in the usual manner, when the 
following resolutions were passed : — 

" Resolved, That it is the opinion of this 
court, that the removing of Warren Hastings, 
Esq., the governor-general of Bengal, or any 
servants of the company, merely in compliance 
with a vote of the house of commons, — without 
being satisfied that the grounds of delinquency 
against the said Warren Hastings, or such 
other servants, are sufficient of themselves to 
vindicate the directors in coming to such a re- 
solution, — would weaken the confidence which 
the servants of the company ought to enter- 
tain of the justice of their employers, and will 
tend to destroy that independency which the 
proprietors of East India stock ought to enjoy 
in the management of their own affairs." 

" Resolved, That it be recommended to the 
court of directors not to carry into effect any 
resolution they may come to relative to the 
removal of Warren Hastings, Esq., till such 
resolution shall have been approved by a 
general court." 

From the 20th of June to the 9th of Octo- 
ber, the directors, in various meetings, dis- 
cussed the condradictory conclusions to which 
the house of commons and the court of pro- 
prietary had arrived, and passed resolutions 
at last in harmony with those of the commons. 
It being well understood that the directors 
passed these resolutions under pressure from 
the government, and seven of the directors 
having recorded a protest against the recall 
of Hastings, the court of proprietary again 
meton the 21st of October, and again passed a 
resolution by a majority of three hundred and 
fifty-three votes in a house of five hundred 
and three persons, forbidding the removal of 
Hastings, vindicating him from the imputa- 
tions thrown on him by parliament and a 
majority of the directors, and attributing to 
the directors themselves the misfortunes, wars, 
and debts, which the resolution alleged Hast- 
ings by extraordinary fidelity and ability had 
done much to retrieve. On the 22ud of Oc- 
tober the directors rescinded their resolution 
against Hastings. 

There were frequent changes of ministry; 
but the tone of parliament and of government 
was adverse to the company. In April, 1783, 



Ohap, XC] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



407 



Mr. Dundas brought in a bill for the better 
government of India. It was rejected. The 
session terminated without any further attack 
upon the company. During the recess the cele- 
brated India bill of Fox and Burke was framed. 
Mr. Burke was then in the government. Mr. 
Fox brought in his bill on the 18tli of No- 
vember. The company petitioned against it. 
Burke delivered one of his most eloquent 
and imposing orations in its behalf. His de- 
scriptions of the misdeeds of the company were 
exaggerated ; and those of the civilization, 
and excellent qualities of the people and go- 
vernments of India, were contrary to fact and 
philosophy. Against Hastings the speech was 
virulent. The bill passed the commons, and 
went up to the lords : the company again peti- 
tioned. The lords threw out the bill. The 
king was known to be opposed to it, and 
a large popular party in the country was 
equally so. The commons passed most serious 
resolutions condemnatory by implication of 
the course pursued by the crown and the 
peers. The ministry was dismissed, and 
William Pitt appointed first lord of the trea- 
sury and chancellor of the exchequer. Mr. 
Pitt brought in a bill " for the better govern- 
ment and management of the affairs of the 
East India Company" on the 10th of January. 
The commons rejected it. On the 25th of 
March parliament was dissolved. The court 
of proprietors of India stock manfully sup- 
ported Hastings, and resolved that he should 
not be recalled. 

When Hastings reached England, as be- 
fore related, he proceeded at once to London. 
In June, 1785, he received in person the 
thanks of the very same court of directors 
which censured and sought to remove him, 
when they supposed the favour of the cabinet 
would be secured by doing so. 

In January, 1786, Major Scott announced 
in parliament that Mr. Hastings was anxious 
to defend himself against the aspersions 
thrown on him by Jlr. Edmund Burke, and 
challenged the great philosopher and orator 
to bring forward his impeachment. This was 
imprudent, and rather prejudiced than served 
the case of Hastings in the house. At length 
that impeachment was made, so notable for 
the amazing eloquence displayed in it, espe- 
cially by Sheridan and Burke. It is gene- 
rally considered that Hastings did not display 
his usual ability in managing his defence, and 
this is attributed to the fact that he had not 
been accustomed to work with English agen- 
cies and in English modes. Nearly his whole 
life had been spent in India, and his mind had 
become adapted to Indian intrigues. Lord 
Macaulay says, " Of all his errors, the most 
serious wae, perhaps, the choice of a cham- 



pion. Clive, in similar circumstances, had 
made a singularly happy selection. He put 
himself into the hands of Wedderburn, after- 
wards Lord Loughborough, one of the few 
great advocates who have been also great in 
the house of commons. To the defence of 
Clive, therefore, nothing was wanting, neither 
learning nor knowledge of the world — neither 
forensic acuteness nor the eloquence which 
charms political assemblies. Hastings en- 
trusted his interests to a very different person, 
a major in the Bengal army named Scott. 
This gentleman had been sent over from India 
some time before, as the agent of the go- 
vernor-general. It was rumoured that his 
services were rewarded with oriental muni- 
ficence ; and we believe that he received 
much more than Hastings could conveniently 
spare. The major obtained a seat in parlia- 
ment, and was there regarded as the organ of 
his employer. It was evidently impossible 
that a gentleman so situated could speak with 
the authority which belongs to an indepen- 
dent position. Nor had the agent of Hastings 
the talent necessary for obtaining the ear of an 
assembly, which, accustomed to listen to great 
orators, had naturally become fastidious. He 
was always on his legs ; he was very tedious, 
and he had only one topic, the merits and 
wrongs of Hastings. Everybody who knows 
the house of commons will easily guess what 
followed. The major was considered as the 
greatest bore of his time. There was hardly 
a day on which the newspapers did not con- 
tain some puff upon Hastings, signed Asi- 
aticus or Bengalensis, but known to be written 
by the indefatigable Scott ; and hardly a month 
in which some bulky pamphlet on the same 
subject, and from the same pen, did not pass 
to the trunk-makers and the pastry-cooks." 

Much of what his lordship has said of 
Major Scott, in the above passage, is correct ; 
but, on various grounds, Scott was an agent 
well adapted to the purposes for which Hast- 
ings had chosen him. His knowledge of all 
the circumstances, personally and practically, 
on the ground of which the governor-general 
expected to be called to account, was perfect. 
He was well acquainted with all the person- 
ages who figured in these transactions. His 
industry was imwavering, and his personal 
friendship and admiration for Hastings the 
warmest. Hastings did not select him as his 
agent in view of a parliamentary impeach- 
ment, but in view of attack in the courts of 
directors and proprietors. Scott was a far 
more suitable agent for this purpose than 
Wedderburn would have been. He knew 
the ways of the directory, the tone and tem- 
per of the proprietors, his whole time was 
given to work among them for Hastings, and 



408 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. XO. 



he did so successfully. His entying parlia- 
ment was an after-thought, and he was there 
very useful to his friend ; he corrected innu- 
merable misstatements, and was " always on 
his legs " for that purpose during the debates. 
Many a rhetorical flourish, very captivating 
to the house of commons was made sheerly 
ridiculous by a dry, prosy, hut true statement 
from Scott. There was no putting him down, 
he was proof against all ridicule, reiterating 
his dry facts, financial, military, political, and 
personal, until they ceased to be disputed. 
He was a bore in the sense Lord Macaulay 
proclaims it, and he was so also to the enemies 
of Hastings, by his unsleeping vigilance, his 
physical endurance, and his ever-pestering, 
worrying statements and counter-statements, 
which were confounding to his antagonists, 
not one man among whom knew anything 
of the subjects of debate, except Burke. 
Burke, Dundas (the Lord Advocate of Scot- 
land), and Sir Philip Francis, were the only 
men of great mark acquainted with Indian 
affairs. Burke had read on the subject, with 
a view to an Indian appointment from the 
ministry, which he knew he could never re- 
ceive from the company ; and he was emr 
bittered, therefore, against the latter and its 
agents. His mind was inflamed with envy 
against Hastings as much as was that of 
Francis. Burke was, from these circum- 
stances, an indefatigable student of Indian 
affairs. Sheridan spoke with glowing elo- 
quence on subjects of which he knew nothing. 
Dundas learned much of Indian affairs when 
he served as chairman of the committee which 
produced the hundred and eleven resolutions. 
Francis, of course, knew Calcutta well, and 
the doings of members of the supreme council ; 
but of the languages, peoples, and mind of 
India he knew little, almost nothing. A 
plain, stern, dogged, persevering, matter of 
fact man, " well up " in Indian affairs, was 
very useful to Hastings in the house, and ab- 
solutely indispensable among the constituency 
of the company. With these Scott had con- 
stant intercourse : there was probably not a 
director, not a single member of the pro- 
prietary, with whom Scott had not talked 
over the whole question. All the holders 
of India stock might have had Scott's ar- 
guments by heart. Hastings foresaw this, 
and made his selection judiciously. It is 
quite true, as Lord Macaulay affirms, that 
Hastings was destitute of a parliamentary 
advocate possessing the splendour of elo- 
quence which Burke, Sheridan, or Wedder- 
burn possessed ; but that was not, as Lord 
Macaulay represents, his fault ; nor did the 
circumstance of Wedderburn being Olive's 
adviser and defender show any superiority of 



judgnieut on the part of that great man to 
Hastings in the selection of his advocates, for 
Wedderburn had been the early friend and 
associate of Olive, and offered his services, 
which were, of course, thankfully accepted. 
Had Hastings found a similar friend, he 
would have gladly made his eloquence, 
tact, and legal knowledge available ; but 
Hastings had spent many years in India, and 
had formed few new friendships in England. 
None of his old schoolfellows and early com- 
panions were in a condition to do by him as 
Wedderburn did by Olive. Yet many men 
of note, and among them those who believed 
that he had acted very wrong in several of 
the proceedings for which he was called in 
question, were indignant at the malignant 
persecutions with which Burke and others 
pursued him, and made themselves his friends. 
Lords Mansfield, Lansdowne, and Thurlow 
(the Chancellor) were foremost among them. 
Pitt was another of the eminent men who 
doubted the propriety of various jjarts of the 
conduct of Hastings, but was scandalized at 
the virulence of the proceedings against him. 
He had even privately confessed to Major 
Scott (for the untiring major had interviews 
with all the ministers) that Hastings deserved 
high rewards from his country, which he, as 
minister, was only prevented from recom- 
mending his majesty to confer, by the fact that 
a vote of censure remained on the journals 
of the commons. The leading opponents of 
government were the leading opponents of 
Hastings in the house; but the king, the 
holders of Indian stock, and the country, were 
intensely prejudiced against that party. The 
whigs in and out of the house opposed him, 
and a small but powerful section of the tories, 
especially those who were disappointed of 
places by the government. One of the most 
fertile sources of attack against Hastings out 
of the house was the history of his marriage, 
and the name of Imhoff, and the guilt of his 
divorced wife, formed the material of the 
sarcastic squibs which were flung about in 
the clubs, coffee-houses, and journals. Lord 
North and Fox were accused of adding light 
labours of this kind to their relentless oppo- 
sition in the house. Hastings did much to 
provoke all this, by an ostentatious defiance 
of his enemies. This did not arise, as Lord 
Macaulay supposes, from indiscretion and an 
undervaluing of his enemies ; it arose from 
the fact that he was not conscious of guilt in 
the transactions where his lordship considers 
his guilt manifest. In some matters where 
his most ardent friends could not have de- 
fended him, he believed himself to have been 
in the right, and remained in that belief to 
the end of his days. His conscience was 



Chap. XC] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



409 



neither tender nor enlightened : he was not, 
in any sense of the word, a religious man ; 
but, as a politician, he was convinced that 
the course he had taken in India was that 
which his duty to the company and to his 
country demanded. The consciences of Burke, 
Francis, Sheridan, North, or Fox seem to 
have been neither more tender nor more en- 
lightened than that of Hastings. There is 
no doubt that the defiant attitude which he 
took also arose from his determined character. 
He was not a man to quail before any foe. 
He who could coolly write despatches in re- 
ference to negotiations with the Mahrattas, 
when barred up in a house at Benares, with 
a few soldiers to defend him against half a 
million of fanatics, was not to be put down 
by the force of faction or the eloquence 
of political adventurers, however vast and 
dazzling the powers they might bring against 
him in the contest. It is remarkable that 
Hastings appeared to feel as little and fear as 
little the great weight of character and public 
station which some of his opponents brought 
against him, as he did the genius and personal 
hostility of others. The courage and per- ■ 
sistence of Hastings were sustained by the 
openly avowed favour of the court. The 
king was his friend. Olive had derived much 
protection from the royal favour, Hastings 
even more. The ladies of the court scandal- 
ized many by their attentions to Mrs. Hast- 
ings, and it soon became evident that those 
who wished to find favour near the throne 
must not be remembered among the per- 
secutors or prosecutors of Warren Hastings. 
The first note of war on the part of the oppo- 
sition was an application for papers, by Ed- 
mund Burke. Only some of these were 
granted. In April, 178G, the impeachment 
was produced, and Hastings was informed 
that he might be heard by counsel at the bar 
of the house. Hastings defended himself in 
person. He was not an orator. He was a 
great writer, and relied much on the power 
of his pen for his defence. It was eloquent, 
but of vast length, and tired the patience of 
a house much fonder of exciting logomachies 
than of business statements. 

In the beginning of June, Burke brought 
forward that part of the impeachment which 
related to the employment of English troops 
in Eohilcund, in the service of the vizier, for 
a stipulated price. Burke affected to believe 
that he would have the support of Dundas, 
who formerly, as chairman of a committee 
of inquiry, condemned the Rohilla invasion. 
Burke must have known that the versatile 
Dundas would not be bound by such a cir- 
cumstance ; this was patent to the whole 
house, and the folly of selecting the least vnl- 



nerable point of the defence in the hope of 
catching the support of Dundas, or showing 
his inconsistency, was apparent to all the 
members not blinded by envy of Hastings, or 
pledged to the opposition. Dundas, as mili- 
tary men would say, turned the enemy's flank. 
He declared that although Hastings did wrong 
in supporting the aggressive designs of the 
Nabob of Oude, yet he had atoned for that 
fault, and won beside the lasting gratitude of 
his country by subsequent services. The 
tactics of Burke were indiscreet, and the spirit 
of his speech not less so. The feeling of the 
house was strong against him. Many of his 
expected supporters, finding that his first 
movement displayed bad generalship, forsook 
him. Only sixty-seven voted for the motion, 
in a house of one hundred and eighty-six mem- 
bers. A considerable number of the supposed 
supporters of the prosecution slunk away. 
Pitt spoke not, but voted for Hastings. The 
house of commons, on report of a secret com- 
mittee, had censured the Rohilla war; a majo- 
rity of the directors had censured it ; but since 
then the whole of the facts had become known, 
they had been discussed with great ability in 
the court of proprietary by men the first and 
ablest in connection with Indian affairs, their 
speeches had been published, the error and 
the extenuation had been canvassed, and the 
commons in its final verdict refused to be car- 
ried away by the clap-trap of ready speakers, 
or affected by glowing antitheses of rhetori- 
cians with less claim to principle than Hastings 
himself, were all the wrong-doing attributed 
to him chargeable at his door. 

It was universally expected by the public 
that the impeachment would now drop, and 
even the government seems to have thought 
so, for Lord Thurlow openly spoke, not- 
withstanding the reserve of Pitt, of the 
desirableness of creating Hastings Baron 
Daylesford. 

On the 13th of June, the country, if not the 
house, was startled by a renewal of the prose- 
cution. Fox brought forward a resolution, 
condemnatory of what was called the depo- 
sition of the Rajah of Benares. Fox was 
eloquent on the occasion. Francis was learned, 
epigrammatical, and malignant as a demon. 
Pitt exposed the party purpose of Fox, the 
personal hatred of Francis, and eidogised in 
one of the most statesman -like of his speeches 
the policy, courage, and justice of Hastings 
in the transaction for which it was sought to 
condemn him. After an eloquent justification 
of Hastings, the house was astonished by the 
minister's declaration, that he should vote for 
Fox's motion, because the fine laid upon 
Cheyte Sing was too heavy, although Hastings 
did right to fine him I Pitt's vote was clearly 



410 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Ohap. XO. 



not an honest one. Like Fox himself, he had 
aims of his own in view, and he would uphold 
or sacrifice Hastings as best promoted those 
aims. He deemed it politic to conciliate the 
opposition, and appear impartial. From the 
first, he was unwilling to be thought the par- 
tizan of Hastings, while he denounced the 
prosecution in the private circle of his friends 
with unsparing severity. What made the 
conduct of Pitt in the house most extraordinary 
was, that the usual ministerial circular had 
gone out to his party the day before, request- 
ing their presence in the house to vote against 
the motion of Fox. The change of opinion 
Was attributed to Mr. Dundas, who, on this 
subject, influenced the mind of the premier. 
The persuasives by which Dundas succeeded 
were appeals to the love of power, and the 
ambition characteristic of Pitt. Hastings was 
more a favourite at court than himself, and 
Pitt vras led by the insinuations of Dundas to 
believe that he would soon become his rival, 
as either a peerage or dishonour must result 
from the impeachment. The effect of Pitt's 
tergiversation upon the success of the motion 
was decisive. It was carried by one hundred- 
and seventy-five against sixty-eight, many in 
the majority declaring that they voted against 
their conscience to support the policy of the 
minister. 

In 1787, the prosecution was renewed. 
The first charge opened was in connection 
with the conduct of Hastings to the begums 
of Oude, a portion of his public life more open 
to censure than any other. Sheridan intro- 
duced the charge in the most brilliant ora- 
tion ever made by him, and which produced 
an effect in the house greater than probably 
any other speech ever delivered. After 
Sheridan's speech, the debate was adjourned. 
When the house resumed, it was evident that 
the eloquence of Sheridan had decided the 
motion. The house was now as much carried 
away by eloquence, irrespective of the merits 
of the question, as upon the first resolution 
they were coldly insensible to the finest pas- 
sages of the orator, and looked only to the 
facts of the case. The influence of Pitt, 
however, had as much to do in forming the 
majorities on all the motions, as either elo- 
quence or justice. Pitt supported Sheridan, 
as he had supported Fox. One himdred and 
seventy-five against sixty-eight carried the 
motion. 

The party carrying on the impeachment 
were now sure of victory, and hurried nume- 
rous resolutions through the house. The 
friends of Hastings began to forsake him, 
as those of Clive had deserted him in the 
hour of misfortune. The sergeant-at-arms 
arrested him, and brought him to the bar 



of the peers, where Burke was directed by 
the commons to produce an impeachment 
founded upon their resolutions. The period 
for prorogation was too close to allow of pro- 
ceeding with the case, and Hastings was 
discharged on bail. At the opening of the 
following session, the commons proceeded to 
form a committee to manage the impeachment. 
The leading members of the opposition were 
called on to serve, and no name was objected 
to until that of Francis was read, when a 
large number of members objected to the in- 
justice and indecency of the most malignant 
personal enemy Hastings had being placed in 
that position. It is much to the discredit of 
the leading men of the opposition, that they 
fiercely contended for the appointment of 
Francis. Dundas and Wilberforce, believing 
that Pitt would sustain the motion for the 
appointment of Francis, upheld it. Wilber- 
force was especially ingenious in his argu- 
mentative support. Pitt suddenly rose and 
opposed the appointment of Francis. " The 
heaven -born minister" had everything his 
own way ; his servile followers voted that 
Francis was not a fit person to be nominated 
on the committee. 

On the 13th of February, 1788, the sittings 
commenced, on the result of which the fate of 
Hastings depended. The scene has been 
portrayed by the brilliant pen of Macaulay. 
In one of the happiest, richest, and most fervid 
outflowings of his eloquence, he has impressed 
the solemnity, importance, and the whole 
aspect of the court upon tlie mind of this ge- 
neration of readers. The trial, amongst other 
things, was remarkable for the great number 
and singular variety of notable persons who 
were spectators : — " The long galleries were 
crowded by an audience such as has rarely 
excited the fears or the emulation of an orator. 
There were gathered together, from all parts 
of a great, free, enlightened, and prosperous 
empire, grace and female loveliness, wit and 
learning, the representatives of every science 
and of every art. There were seated round 
the queen the fair-haired young daughters of 
the house of Brunswick. There the ambassa- 
dors of great kings and commonwealths gazed 
with admiration on a spectacle which no other 
country in the world could present. There 
Siddons, in the prime of her majestic beauty, 
looked with emotion on a scene surpassing all 
the nnitations of the stage. There the histo- 
rian of the Roman empire thought of the days 
when Cicero pleaded the cause of Sicily against 
Verres, and when, before a senate which still 
retained some show of freedom, Tacitus tliun- 
dered against the oppressor of Africa There 
were seen, side by side, the greatest painter 
and the greatest scholar of the age. The 



Chap. XO.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



411 



spectacle had allured Eeynolda from that easel 
which has preserved to us the thoughtful 
foreheads of so many writers and statesmen, 
and the sweet smiles of so many noble ma- 
trons. It had induced Parr to suspend his 
labours in that dark and profound mine from 
which he had extracted a vast treasure of 
erudition — a treasure too often buried in the 
earth, too often paraded with injudicious and 
inelegant ostentation, but still precious, mas- 
sive, and splendid. There appeared the 
voluptuous charms of her to whom the heir 
of the throne had in secret plighted his faith. 
There, too, was she, the beautiful mother of a 
beautiful race, the Saint Cecilia, whose deli- 
cate features, lighted up by love and music, 
art has rescued from the common decay. 
There were the members of that brilliant so- 
ciety, which quoted, criticised, and exchanged 
repartees under the rich peacock hangings of 
Mrs. Montague. And there the ladies whose 
lips, more persuasive than those of Fox him- 
self, had carried the Westminster election 
against palace and treasury, shone round 
Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire." 

Such were the spectators of the scene, and 
the audience before which the eloquence of 
England's best orators was about to be dis- 
played. The descriptions given by Lord 
Macaulay of the appearance of Hastings on 
this occasion and his approach to the bar, of 
his counsel and his Jiccusers, are amongst the 
most graphic and life-like which his pen has 
depicted : — " The Serjeants made proclama- 
tion. Hastings advanced to the bar, and bent 
his knee. The culprit was indeed not un- 
worthy of that great presence. He had ruled 
an extensive and populous country, had made 
laws and treaties, had sent forth armies, had 
set up and pulled down princes. And in his 
high place he had so borne himself that all 
had feared him, that most had loved him, and 
that hatred itself could deny him no title to 
glory, except virtue. He looked like a great 
man, and not like a bad man. A person 
small and emaciated, yet deriving dignity 
from a carriage which, while it indicated 
deference to the court, indicated also habitual 
self-possession and self-respect ; a high and 
intellectual forehead, a brow pensive, but not 
gloomy; a mouth of inflexible decision; a 
face pale and worn, but serene, on which was 
written as legibly as under the picture in the 
council-chamber at Calcutta, Mens cequa in 
ardiiis : such was the aspect with which the 
great proconsul presented himself to his 
judges. His counsel accompanied him, men 
all of whom were afterwards raised by their 
talents and learning to the highest posts in 
their profession : the bold and strong-minded 
Law, afterwards ohief-juetice of the King's 



Bench ; the more humane and eloquent Dallas, 
afterwards chief-justice of the Common Pleas; 
and Plomer, who, nearly twenty years later, 
successfully conducted in the same high court 
the defence of Lord Melville, and subse- 
quently became vice-chancellor and master of 
the rolls. But neither the culprit nor his ad- 
vocates attracted so much notice as the accu- 
sers. In the midst of the blaze of red 
drapery, a space had been fitted up with 
green benches and tables for the commons. 
The managers, with Burke at their head, 
appeared in full dress. The collectors of 
gossip did not fail to remark that even Fox, 
generally so regardless of his appearance, had 
paid to the illustrious tribunal the compliment 
of wearing a bag and sword. Pitt had refused 
to be one of the conductors of the impeach- 
ment; and his commanding, copious, and sono- 
rous eloquence, was wanting to that great mus- 
ter of various talents. Age and blindness had 
unfitted Lord North for the duties of a public 
prosecution, and his friends were left without 
the help of his excellent sense, his tact, and 
his urbanity. But in spite of the absence of 
these two distinguished members of the lower 
house, the box in which the managers stood 
contained an array of speakers such as, per- 
haps, had not appeared together since the great 
age of Athenian eloquence. There were 
Fox and Sheridan, the English Demosthenes, 
and the English Hyperides. There was 
Burke, ignorant indeed, or negligent of the 
art of adapting his reasonings and his style to 
the capacity and taste of his hearers, but in 
amplitude of comprehension and richness of 
imagination superior to every orator, ancient 
or modern. There, with eyes reverentially 
fixed on Burke, appeared the finest gentleman 
of the age ; his form developed by every 
manly exercise ; his face beaming with in- 
telligence and spirit, — the ingenious, the chi- 
valrous, the high-souled Windham. Nor, 
though surrounded by such men, did the 
youngest manager pass unnoticed. At an 
age M'hen most of those who distinguish them- 
selves in life are still contending for prizes 
and fellowships at college, he had won for 
himself a conspicuous, place in parliament. 
No advantage of fortune or connection was 
wanting that could set off to the height his 
splendid talents and his unblemished honour. 
At twenty -three he had been thought worthy 
to be ranked with the veteran statesmen who 
appeared as the delegates of the British com- 
mons, at the bar of the British nobility." This 
was the future Earl Grey, the premier under 
whose government the reform bill was carried. 
The reading of the charges and answers of 
Hastings occupied several days. Burke then 
opened the impeachment in a speech which 



412 



HISTOEY OF THE BRITISH EMriRE 



[Chap. XC. 



contemporaries describe as producing by the 
solemnity and manner of the orator, as much 
effect as by its powers of reasoning and mar- 
vellous eloquence. Even Thurlow, the deter- 
mined abettor of Hastings, uttered exclama- 
tions of admiration, and, at the close of the 
peroration, Hastings himself appeared affected, 
notwithstanding the dauntless and proud front 
he bore. Fox, Grey (afterwards Earl Grey), 
Lord Loughborough (formerly the advocate 
of Clive), and Sheridan, all betrayed an ani- 
mns the most hostile to the prisoner at the 
bar ; but the lord-chancellor, a host in him- 
self (considering his abilities, boldness, and the 
advantages of his situation), indicated from the 
first a resolution to save him. The trial was 
so protracted that public curiosity flagged, 
and the persecutors became less confident. 
Their great cards had been played, and the 
game was not won. The defence of Hastings 
was expected to be brilliant, and to come with 
telling power w-hen the impressions produced 
by the orations of his accusers were worn 
away. Such was the state of matters at the 
end of June, and when both houses were 
weary of the session. Only thirty-five days 
were given to the trial ; it was obliged to 
stand over for another year. 

In 1789 other business drew away the 
attention of the house and the public from the 
trial ; the illness of the king excited the popu- 
lar sympathy greatly, and still further contri- 
buted to cast the interest taken in the trial 
into the shade. The friends of Hastings 
grew bolder. Advantage was taken of in- 
decorous expressions used by Burke, to move 
a vote of censure upon him in the commons, 
and it was carried. This deeply humiliated 
the great man, and deprived him of much 
moral power in his further prosecution of the 
impeachment. 

In 1790 parliament was dissolved, and the 
temper of the new house towards Hastings 
was tested by his friends, nearly as soon as 
it had assembled. It was maintained that 
the dissolution put an end to the prosecution. 
Pitt and the opposition united in affirming 
the contrary. Several of the articles of 
impeachment were, however, withdrawn, in 
order to facilitate the more rapid issue of 
the case. 

In 1791 the prosecution on the part of the 
committee became less bitter, with the excep- 
tion of Edmund Burke, who clung to it with 
all the tenacity of hatred which animated 
Francis, who, although not on the committee, 
was perpetually in communication with its 
members, and was, out of the house, the life 
of the prosecution, which still chased the 
already severely punished and much suffering 
Hastings. 



lu 1795 Hastings appeared before the bar 
of the lords to hear judgment. The curiosity 
of the public now returned with full force. 
His opponent Loughborough was chancellor : 
his friend Thurlow was in opposition ; the 
committee for managing the impeachment was 
broken up into various parties, its members at 
enmity with one another ; and out of thebody 
of peers who took so deep an interest in 
the trial at its commencement, sixty had 
gone before the great tribunal, to render 
their own last account. Twenty-nine peers 
voted. Six voted against Hastings on the 
charges in connection with Cheyte Sing and 
the begums, a still smaller number voted 
against him on the other important articles 
of impeachment, and on none of the relatively 
minor charges was tliere a single voice against 
him. He was informed from the woolsack 
that he was acquitted. He bowed with the 
same air of respectful dignity, firmness, and 
self-consciousness, as when he approached 
that bar nearly eight years before. 

The decision met with almost universal ap- 
proval. It was felt by the public that he had 
been put to an enormous cost — a fortune had 
been expended in his defence ; that his anxieties 
for so many years were terribly penal ; that he 
had been pursued with bitter personal ani- 
mosity and jealous political envy; that his 
errors had been sought out with a vindictive - 
ness such as had never before been directed 
against a public man, and that his great ser- 
vices had been unrequited by the country for 
whose greatness and glory he had done so 
much. All men had come to the conclusion 
that, but for Warren Hastings, the Asiatic 
empire of England had vanished from beneath 
her sceptre. H 

Hastings returned from the bar of the lords 
to his seat — the old family seat at Daylesford — 
a victor, but terribly impoverished by his con- 
test. He had purchased the old manor house 
and estate, which had three quarters of a cen- 
tury before passed out of the family. The 
dream of his life's young morning was 
realized — he was " Hastings of Daylesford." 
But, alas ! he took up his abode tliere when 
fortune had done much against him, as well as 
for him ; and the remainder of his years were 
destined to be spent in comparative obscurity. 
The malignity of his enemies pursued him 
still. Francis, Burke, and Dundas were as 
bitter as ever ; they lost no opportunitj', pub- 
lic or private, not merely to damage his repu- 
tation, but to hurt his interests. But for the 
generosity of tlie East India Company he 
must have sunk into poverty. 

Like many great men \vho have a genius 
for public business and for government, he 
was a bad manager of his private affairs ; and 



Chai'. XC] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



413 



he who, as governor-general of India, saved 
an empire from financial anarchy, was more 
than once on the verge of pecuniary ruin, as 
" Hastings of Daylesford." 

Pitt continued to regard him with envy, 
because he enjoyed the king's favour; and 
because, on Eastern affairs, if not in other de- 
partments of statesmanship, he would have 
been a superior authority if permitted to 
emerge into public life. When Pitt retired 
from power, Hastings was nearly seventy 
years old. 

In 1813 he was examined as a witness be- 
fore the commons on the subject of India ; on 
which occasion the whole house rose in re- 
spectful homage aa he left its bar. Many 
marks of public respect were paid to him 
after that time b)^ the Prince Regent, the 
leading men of the day, and the people gene- 
rally. He was also made a privy councillor. 
His private life belongs rather to the biogra- 
pher, but the closing scene was appropriate 
to the courage and equanimity of his career. 
On the 22nd of August, 1818, according to 
Macaulay — on the 3rd of that month, accord- 
ing to M. Auber and others — he closed his 
life, having attained his eightieth year. On 
that day he wrote to Colonel Toone in the 
following remarkable terms : — " I impose up- 
on myself the last office of communication be- 
tween you and me, to inform you that a few 
hours remain, which are to separate us from 
each other for ever. The infliction that must 
end me is a total privation of the function of 
deglutition, which is equivalent to the extremi- 
ties of hunger, by the inability to take nourish- 
ment. I have called j'ou by the only appel- 
lation that language can express nie, ' Yar 
Woofadar,' my profitable friend ; for such, 
with every other quality of friendship, I have 
ever experienced yours in all our mutual in- 
tercourse, and my heart has returned it (un- 
profitably, I own), but with equal sentiments 
of the purest affection. My own conscience 
assuredly attests that I myself have not been 
wanting in my duty to my respectable em- 
ployers. I quit the world, and their service, 
to which I shall conceive myself, to the latest 
moment that I draw my breath, still devotedly 
attached, and in the firm belief that in the 
efficient bodj' of directors I have not one in- 
dividual ill-affected towards me. I do not 



express my full feelings ; I believe them all 
to be kindl.y, generously disposed towards me ; 
and to the larger and constituent body I can 
only express a hope, that if there are any of a 
different sentiment, the number is but few; 
for they have supported me, when I thought 
myself abandoned by all other powers, from 
whom I ever thought myself entitled to any 
benefit. My latest prayers shall be offered 
for their service, for that of my beloved coun- 
try, and for that also whose interest both had 
so long committed to my partial guardianship, 
and for which I feel a sentiment in my de- 
parting hours, not Jilien from that which is 
due from every subject to its own." 

Thus tranquilly this serene and heroic man 
passed away, after a career so eventful and 
turbulent, in which, amidst all its tremendous 
storms, he was ever calm, resolute, and great. 
As it will not be necessary again to refer 
to this eminent personage in the progress of 
this historj', except en passant, it may be 
here noticed that, after his death, the most 
marked tokens of respect for his memory were 
shown by the East India Company, w^hichi 
he had so long and so faithfully served, and 
which, during his long retirement from pub- 
lic life, had soothed his sorrows and generously 
provided for his wants. A court was called, 
when the chairman, Campbell Majoribanks, 
Esq., passed a warm eulogy upon his memory. 
The deputy-chairman, Mr. Robinson, after- 
wards Sir George Robinson, who had served 
in India as a civil officer of the company dur- 
ing a portion of the time when Hastings was 
governor, followed the chairman in terms of 
high commendation of the personal and offi- 
cial conduct of Hastings. The following re- 
solution was passed : — 

" Resolved, That as the last testimony of 
approbation of the long, zealous, and success- 
ful services of the late Right Honourable War- 
ren Hastings, in maintaining without diminu- 
tion the British possessions in India against 
the combined efforts of European, Moham- 
medan, and Mahratta enemies, the statue of 
that distinguished servant of the East India 
Company be placed among the statesmen and 
heroes who have contributed in their several 
stations to the recovery, preservation, and se- 
curity of the British power and authority in 
India." 



VOL, II. 



3 H 



414 



HISTORY OF THE BEITI8H EMPIRE 



[Chap. XCI. 



CHAPTER XCI. 

HOME AFFAIRS {Continued). 



DuRiKG the progress of the events connected 
with Hastings, which necessarily occupied so 
large a space in the last chapter, the general 
affairs of the company occupied the attention 
of parliament and the country. In 1784, 
Pitt's bill was introduced. The new parlia- 
ment met on the 19th of May, and the premier 
took an earjy opportunity of bringing for- 
ward his measure for the future government 
of India. In the sketch given of the history 
of the company's charters and constitutions, 
Pitt's bill was noticed sufficiently. The bill, 
after protracted discussions in parliament, 
and between the government and the com- 
pany, was carried ; but it was necessary in 
1786 to introduce another bill to amend it. 

During that year Lord Macartney returned 
from India, and immediately received a 
challenge from General Stuart, whose strange 
conduct in command of the Madras army 
during the war with Tippoo has been already 
noticed. His lordship was wounded. The 
circumstance led to the formation by the 
company of regulations against duelling of a 
most stringent character. 

After the brief service of Mr. Macpherson 
in the chair of the supreme council of Bengal, 
and the refusal of Lord Macartney to occupy 
it, the directors took measures to find an ap- 
propriate successor to Hastings. This task 
was a difficult one, and their choice eventually 
fell upon Lord Cornwallis. He was appointed 
governor-general and commander-in-chief, 
and was the first upon whom the duty de- 
volved of carrying out the act of 1784. 
General Sloper, who had previously assumed 
the command in chief of the army, wag re- 
called upon a pension. 

In 1787 the company made their first ar- 
rangements for an overland mail. In the 
same year, means were arranged for securing 
an annual budget of Indian finance to lay 
before parliament. 

In 1788, when the first struggles for liberty 
were indicated in France, fears were enter- 
tained in England that a war between the 
two countries would arise, from the principles 
put forth in popular assemblies in that country. 
The government of France was suspected of 
being anxious to divert the minds of the 
people from home topics to foreign conquests ; 
and, as oriental dominion had always been a 
tempting object to the lovers of glory in 
France, reasonable fears were entertained in 
England that projects of fresh Indian wars 
would be matured. Lord Cornwallis saw, 



or fancied he saw, symptoms of revived 
hope amongst some of the native princes that 
a coalition with some European power might 
be formed. He communicated these fears 
to the directors, and exercised increased 
vigilance upon the movements of the native 
chiefs, especially upon those of Tippoo Sultan. 
At this juncture, differences sprung up be- 
tween the government at home and the court 
of directors, which led to intemperate dis- 
cussions in the house of commons and among 
the proprietors of Indian stock. 

In 1781 it had been decided by parliament 
that for every thousand men sent out for the 
defence of India by the government, the com- 
pany should pay two lacs of rupees. Four 
regiments had been ordered to be raised for 
service in India in the latter part of 1787, 
and discussions arose as to the rank of the 
officers relative to those in the company's 
service. Petitions from the latter, as to the 
way in which they had been superseded and 
otherwise treated by the royal officers, caused 
discussions of an unpleasant nature in the 
court of directors, and a long, angry, and un- 
satisfactory correspondence between the go- 
vernment and the court resulted. In order 
to get rid of this difficulty, the directors de- 
clined accepting the services of the four regi- 
ments. The crown insisted on sending them 
out. The company refused, in that case, to 
pay for them. Thus matters stood when, on 
the 25th of February, 1788, Mr. Pitt brought 
in a bill to enable the crown to send out 
troops without the consent of the company, 
and to hold the company liable for their pay- 
ment. The bill was opposed, and it ulti- 
mately passed both houses, containing clauses 
which limited the number of king's troops 
which might be sent to India, and maintained 
out of the revehue of that country. 

In August, 1789, the directors appointed 
General Meadows to the government of Ma- 
dras, and Colonel Robert Abercromby com- 
mander-in-chief of Bombay. 

At the close of that year, the directors 
made arrangements to reduce their military 
establishments, no danger such as had been 
apprehended having arisen from the poHtical 
state of France. Lord Cornwallis was urged 
to consult economy in the reduction of the 
number of troops, native and European. At 
that very juncture, a new and terrible war in 
India was imminent. It is remarkable how 
frequently, when the company were preparing 
for retrenchment in military expenses, the 



Chap. XOI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



416 



political horizon became suddenly darkened 
and the thunder-cloud of war let loose its 
iires. Tippoo Sultan was once more pre- 
paring to brave the power of England. 

The revenue settlements of Bengal occu- 
pied the attention of the directors as well as 
of the governor-general during 1789-90. What 
has been called the permanent settlement 
of Lord Cornwallis received the approbation 
of the directors. The merits of Mr. Shore 
(the friend of Hastings) as a financier were 
brought out more fully than previously by 
the arrangements in connection with the per- 
manent settlement. Mr. Pitt was greatly 
struck with the ability displayed, and his im- 
pressions of Mr. Shore's great talents led to 
that gentleman's selection as governor-general 
of Bengal, on the retirement of Lord Corn- 
wallis. The permanent settlement was car- 
ried into effect by orders from the court of 
directors, in March, 1793, fulfilling one of the 
clauses of the bill of 1784, " That, to prevent 
future oppression, government were to be re- 
quested to fix an unalterable tribute rent." 
As the correspondence between Lord Corn- 
wallis and the directors was frequent and 
their views concurrent, the measures taken 
by his government in civil affairs, although 
not originating at home, may in this chapter 
be properly referred to. 

In 1793 district courts were established, 
for the satisfaction of litigants and the ends of 
justice. The same year his lordship invested 
the collection of revenue and the administra- 
tion of justice in separate officers. In 1797 
the British parliament substantially incor- 
porated the regulations of Lord Cornwallis, 
in these and other respects, in an act for 
the internal government of Bengal. These 
"regulations" for the administration of law 
and revenue were mostly suggested by Hast- 
ings, in previous provisions of a less perfect 
order, according as circumstances arose in 
his day allowing of such. 

Matters in India now assumed the aspect of 
impending war, and Lord Cornwallis pre- 
pared himself for the issue. In other chapters, 
the events of that war will be related ; in this 
place, it will be only necessary to say that 
English interests were exposed to fresh 
dangers, and English arms obtained fresh 
triumphs. The conduct of Lord Cornwallis 
was approved both by the company and the 
parliament. Thanks and honours were la- 
vished upon him, and if he received much 
praise he deserved much. The war which 
his lordship had conducted to such a suc- 
cessful issue did not receive such cordial 
support in parliament. The pacific decla- 
rations of the act of 1784 were called for in 
both houses, and read. A motion was made 



reaffirming the policy of that clause, in, if 
possible, stronger terms. Amongst the most 
ardent supporters of this motion was Lord 
Rawdon, who afterwards himself, placed 
in India in circumstances very similar to 
those of Lord Cornwallis, acted similarly to 
that nobleman, and had his conduct brought 
in question in a like way. It may indeed be 
affirmed that most of the eminent men in the 
British parliament who were forward to con- 
demn the servants of the crown and company 
in India, would, in the same circumstances, 
from motives of patriotism and justice, have 
felt themselves constrained to have acted an 
identical part. 

On the 21st of September, 1792, the court 
of directors supposing that Lord Cornwallis 
would return to England sooner than he did, 
nominated Mr. Shore as his successor. The 
revolutionary proceedings in France alarmed 
the conservative susceptibilities of the Eng- 
lish, and war was declared. Instructions to 
this effect were sent out to Lord Cornwallis, 
and were acted upon by his lordship with his 
usual wisdom and valour. 

On the 23rd of January, 1793, the East 
India Company resolved, nemine contradicente, 
that the statue of Lord Cornwallis should be 
placed in the court-room of the India-house, 
in order " that his great services might be 
ever had in remembrance." In June follow- 
ing, another resolution was passed, also with- 
out a dissentient voice, granting his lordship 
an annuity of £5,000 as a reward for his 
services. 

The year 1793 was one of importance to 
the East India Company, as the period ap- 
proached when a new agreement must be 
made with the public. It soon became ob- 
vious that the just interests of the company, 
and those of India, were to be made sub- 
servient to political and interested parties 
at home, if their measures could be car- 
ried through parliament. The manufacturers 
of Manchester were not free-traders in 1793, 
and they raised a fierce clamour against 
the importation of piece-goods from India, 
and the exportation of any machinery to 
India, by which cotton cloth might be more 
cheaply produced. These demands were 
effectually resisted. The China trade of the 
company, was, however, brought under modi- 
fications less in the interest of the company, 
and more in favour of the public. The com- 
pany's charter was renewed for twenty years 
in spite of all opposition, personal, political, 
and commercial. 

Edmund Burke opposed the appointment 
of Mr. Shore, now made Sir John Shore, on 
the ground of his friendship for Hastings. 
It was supposed that the new governor- 



416 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. XOI. 



general would exercise an influence in India, 
with the company, and with the government, 
adverse to the party of which Burke was the 
head in the matter of the impeachment of 
Hastings. "The chair" replied to Burke in 
terms of becoming dignity, maintaining tlieir 
prerogative, asserting the obligation which 
rested on them to select such high officials 
on the ground of personal fitness, and repu- 
diating on their part all party motives. Sir 
John Shore was in England wlien this dis- 
cussion arose. He entered upon the duties 
of government on the 28th of October, 1793. 
Major-general Sir Robert Abercroraby as- 
sumed the office of commander-in-chief, under 
the court's appointment of September, 1792. 

Lord Hobart, who was a nominee of Mr. 
Dundas, was appointed to the government of 
Madras on the 23rd of October, 1793. He 
was also nominated governor-general in case 
of the removal, from any cause, of Sir John 
Shore. Sir Charles Oaklej', who was super- 
seded by Lord Hobart, was, as a mark of 
respect, empowered to retain the reins of 
office for one month after his lordship's arri- 
val at Fort St. George. 

The company, having had its attention 
directed to Birraah, advised a mission from 
Bengal to the King of Ava. Captain Symes 
effected the purposes of the mission entrusted to 
him, which gave great satisfaction to the gover- 
nor-general in India, and the directors at home. 

Mr. Duncan was appointed to the govern- 
ment of Bombay in 1795. 

In 179G important military arrangements 
took place in London, under the supervision 
of the directors, by which batta and other 
extra allowances were fixed, a recruiting depot 
established, furlough regulations made, and 
retirement allowances for officers ordained, 
the entire expense of which amounted to the 
large annual charge of £308,000. A singular 
sentence was written at tliis time in the com- 
pany's communications with the government 
in Bengal : — " That in reasoning upon political 
events in India, all conclusions, from obvious 
causes, must be liable to great uncertainty." 

Lieutenant-general Sir Alured Clarke was 
appointed second in council, and commander- 
in-chief at Madras. He was sent out in view 
of a renewed war with Tippoo. 

On the 24th of October, 1797, Sir John 
Shore was raised to the Irish peerage, in re- 
ward of his able services in India. Tiie title 
bestowed upon Sir John was an odd one in 
connection with an Irish peerage, as it was 
connected with an English seaport, his style 
and title was Baron Teignmouth. His lord- 
ship's new honour was hardly needed to sus- 
tain his influence in India, where he only for 
a short time continued after his new rank 



was conferred. lu !March, 1798, he returned 
to England. Previous to the return of his 
lordship, the Marquis Cornwallis was again 
nominated for the governor-generalship in 
India. Lord Hothani was not expected to re- 
main in India, so that his provisional appoint- 
ment would be of no avail. There were many 
questions open which it was supposed the 
Marquis Cornwallis was especially qualified 
happily to close. The military arrangements 
which at so much cost the company had formed 
were not well received at Bengal. Differences 
which arose when Hastings was in the chair 
of supreme government, and Lord Macartney 
in that of Madras, between the councils of 
Calcutta and Fort St. George, still continued ; 
the difficulties connected with the debts of the 
Nabob of Arcot appeared to be interminable. 
Bengal required a supervision such as it had 
recently obtained from Sir John Shore, and 
formerly from Lord Cornwallis. Such were 
the leading reasons assigned by the directors 
for wishing to send to India again the states- 
man and general with whose former adminis- 
tration they had been so well satisfied. 

The Marquis Cornwallis did not proceed 
to Bengal as intended. The public interests 
in the British Isles required that some states- 
man of great abilities and amiable disposition 
should be placed at the head of the Irish 
government. Thither he went. A terrible 
insurrection raged in that unhappy country 
in 1798, followed by another, confined to 
the capital, in 1803, which was led by the 
amiable, gifted, brave, and patriotic Thomas 
Addis Emmet. The followers of Emmet 
did not partake of his noble spirit and honour- 
able principles. Thej' attacked Lord Corn- 
wallis, unattended and unarmed, dragged 
him from his carriage, and nearly murdered 
him. When Emmet learned the event, he no 
longer hoped for his country. He believed 
that he had commanded men ambitious of 
being soldiers, but whose ambition was satis- 
fied with the rank of assassins. It is but just 
to them, however, to state, that w-hen they 
learned who their victim was, they cursed their 
own weapons, and bitterly repented of the 
deed. The earl survived the attempt upon 
his life, and was destined at a future period 
again to govern India. 

When the company found it impossible to 
obtain the services of Lord Cornwallis, their 
attention was fixed upon the Earl of Morn- 
ington. This nobleman had formed a taste for 
the study of Indian history and Indian affairs. 
When at Eton his education was conducted 
under the superintendence of Archbishop 
Cornwallis, who then resided at the palace of 
Lambeth, where, from 1771 to 1779, he was 
accustomed to pass the holidays. At the 




Qj^^U^m^ Oy a. 



SS WELLE SILEY, 



LONDON JAMES S VIRTUE 



Chap. XCI.J 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



417 



palace he frequently met the Earl of Corn- 
wallis, and the members of his family, as 
they passed much of their time with the pre- 
late, their kinsman. 

When, in 178G, Earl Cornwallis assmiied 
the governorship of Bengal, young Wellesley 
was led to conceive the idea that much inte- 
rest was connected with the study of Indian 
literature and story. He had no purpose or 
notion of ever taking part in the affairs of 
that country, at all events, within the penin- 
sula itself. In 1786, Lord Wellesley (as he 
then was) received the appointment of lord 
of the treasury. He then obtained a high 
reputation for scholarship, eloquence, and 
wisdom. In 1795 he was made one of the 
commissioners for the affairs of India. Up to 
1797 he held both offices, and a seat in the 
privy council. The court of directors nomi- 
nated him governor-general of India, and he 
accepted the charge. The common impres- 
sion was that his lordship was unfit for the 
post, as ignorant altogether of Indian affairs. 
His able management in India afterwards, led 
to the impression that he must have been a 
man of surpassing genius to form, so soon after 
his arrival, such just conceptions of the great 
task he had undertaken. These impressions 
were erroneous, except so far as that the 
genius of this remarkable man was such that 
had he gone to India ignorant of its affairs, 
he would have probably grasped the great 
subject, and mastered it under every disad- 
vantage. 

Every circumstance relating to the con- 
nection of such a man with India is inte- 
resting. M. Auber gives the following ac- 
count of the outward voyage, its varied and 
important incidents, and the unexpected cir- 
cumstances which furnished the earl with 
important information : — " Lord Wellesley 
had been requested to make a short stay in 
Madras, for the purpose of effecting a modifi- 
cation of the treaty with his highness the 
Nabob of Arcot, in 1792. But as great im- 
portance was attached to an exact observance 
of treaties with the native powers, a principle 
so honourably established under the adminis- 
tration of Lord Cornwallis, no exertion of any 
other power than that of persuasion was to be 
used for the purpose of inducing the nabob to 
adopt any alteration of the treaty. Lord 
Wellesley embarked at Portsmouth on La 
Virginie frigate, on the 9th November, and 
on the 29th arrived at Madeira, where he 
was received with every mark of attention by 
the Portuguese authorities. On the following 
day the Niger frigate, with the Sural Castle, 
having on board Sir John Anstruther, who 
was proceeding to Bengal as chief-justice, 
accompanied by the whole of the convoy, 



arrived off the island. lu the night the ships 
of the fleet were obliged to slip their cables 
and put to sea, to avoid the effects of a sudden 
and tremendous storm. Lord Wellesley ar- 
rived at the Cape of Good Hope in February, 
1798, where he met with Major Kirkpatrick, 
the late resident at the court of Hyderabad, 
which post that officer had been constrained 
to quit, and to repair to the Cape for the be- 
nefit of his health. Lord Wellesley was, in 
some measure, aware that the increase of the 
French influence had occasioned considerable 
apprehension in the mind of Lord Teign- 
niouth before he left India. His lordship, 
therefore, embraced the opportunity which 
the meeting with Major Kirkpatrick pre- 
sented, to frame and submit a series of ques- 
tions to that officer, whose replies enabled hia 
lordship to form a more correct estimate of 
the importance to be attached to the subject. 
Tlie result of his deliberations was communi- 
cated in a letter to Mr. Dundas, accompanied 
bj' his lordship's opinion on the value of the 
Cape, and more especially that of the island 
of Ceylon, to the interests of Great Britain. 
Ceylon had been placed under the Madras 
government since its capture in 1796. Ac- 
counts having reached Fort George, in Jan- 
uary, 1798, that the chief of the insurgents 
was in communication with the court at 
Kandy, and that apprehensions were enter- 
tained that the rebellious chiefs and the king 
might unite with the French and Dutch 
against the British interests. Lord Hobart 
proceeded to Columbo, in company with Ad- 
miral Rainier, on the 7th of July, for the 
purpose of securing those interests. Having 
effected the objects of his visit, he returned to 
Madras, and on the 18th announced his in- 
tention to relinquish the government, and to 
proceed to Europe. General Harris, the com- 
mander-in-chief at Fort St. George, suc- 
ceeded provisionally to the government. In 
reparation for the disappointment and loss 
occasioned to Lord Hobart, who it could not 
be supposed would remain after two successors 
had been nominated to the office of governor- 
general since his lordship's appointment as 
successor to Sir John Shore, in 1793, an una- 
nimous resolution was passed by the directors, 
on the 8th of August, granting him a pension 
of £1,500 per annum, to commence from the 
time of his quitting Madras : which resolution 
was confirmed by the general court, on the 
6th of December, when the thanks of the 
company were also unanimously voted to his 
lordship for his able and meritorious conduct 
in the government of Fort St. George. In 
the same month, the court of directors ap- 
pointed Lord Clive (now Earl Powis) his 
successor. The question regarding the go- 



418 



HISTOEY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Ohap. XCI. 



vernment of Ceylon was yet undecided ; but 
there were reasons to believe that it would 
be assumed by the crown. The Honourable 
Frederick North, in anticipation of this deci- 
sion, having arrived at Bombay, addressed a 
private letter to Lord Wellesley, as he con- 
sidered his lordship might be called to account 
' for the arrival in India of a person unhoused, 
unappointed, unannealed,' who, with seven or 
eight more of his majesty's servants, in em- 
bryo, like himself, had no security for their 
employment but the word of ministers."* 
The island being declared a king's possession, 
Mr. North was confirmed in the government. 

Lord Wellesley landed at Madras in April, 
1798. On the 18th of May he reached Cal- 
cutta, and assumed his government. Scarcely 
had the governor-general arrived at his post, 
when the directors sent out the most rigorous in - 
structions for his conduct. Tippoo was still the 
bugbear of " their honours," and they advised 
the noble governor not to wait for a declara- 
tion of war on the part of Tippoo, but if they 
found him engaged in any political coquetry 
with the French, war was to be declared forth- 
with. The directors were, no doubt, influenced 
in giving these directions by the advice • of 
Lord Teignmouth. The company had arrived 
at the conviction, which was expressed at this 
period by General Craig — " A defensive war 
must ever be ruinous to us in India." 

The year 1798 is rendered remarkable in 
Indian history by the fact, that in it the Hon. 
Colonel Wellesley, afterwards Duke of Wel- 
lington, left England for Madras at the head 
of the 33rd regiment, and embarked at Fort 
St. George on the 15th of August. So active 
were the measures of Lord Wellesley, that 
the court of directors were kept in continuous 
correspondence and in anxious consideration 
of his despatches, although, at the same time, 
their confidence never for a moment wavered, 
however vast the magnitude of the conceptions, 
the plans, or the undertakings of his lordship. 
The grand source of alarm to the directors 
was the French. Often as they had been 
beaten, they still survived in India, and with 
wonderful elasticity rose to influence again. 
With an exceedingly small amount of terri- 
tory, they yet continued to form connections 
the most potential with the native courts, and 
to land stores of war and military forces dan- 
gerous exceedingly to the power of England 
when used to strengthen some great native 
power at war with her. Mogul, vizier, Mah- 
ratta, nabob, sultan, or rajah, whoever pos- 
sessed French alliance, was formidable to 
England ; and although England always won 
in the long run, the race of competition was 

* Auber's Rise and Progress of the East India Com- 
pany, vol. ii. chap. v. p. 163. 



often close. France nowhere displayed against 
England an energy so unflagging as in India. 
Hence, the first care of the directors ever was 
to provide security against French influence, 
and by diplomacy to dissuade, or by battle to 
deter, all native princes from confederacy with 
France. These principles operated upon the 
court of directors in 1798-99 with more pow- 
erful influence than ever before : hence, every 
movement of the Earl of Mornington was 
watched from London with eager anxiety. 
His lordship's own mind was the reflex of the 
general mind of the company and of the coun- 
try ; and therefore his policy was popular in 
Britain, and met with the earnest and con- 
fiding support of the directors. The noble 
earl's government and policy sustained the 
favour they at first received. Both houses of 
parliament, the directors, and the proprietary 
of the company testified repeatedly and en- 
thusiastically their respect for his lordship, 
and gratitude for his services ; and when at 
length his labours terminated, he was rewarded 
with a pension of £5,000 a-year as a tribute 
to his renown, and an acknowledgment of the 
great advantages he had conferred on the 
company. 

During the year 1800 the services of Colo- 
nel Wellesley became highly appreciated by 
the court of directors and the government, 
by a variety of independent operations, which, 
although on a minor scale, were of great dif- 
ficulty, and required a sound judgment and 
ready address. 

Such were the leading events connected 
with the home proceedings of the company, 
and in relation to the company, during the 
part of the 18th century the home history of 
which has not been written in previous chap- 
ters. It has been thought judicious to place 
the account of the relation of the government 
and the company at home during this period 
before the reader in a connected form, although 
so many great changes took place in India. 
The reader, having before his mind the whole 
outline of the company's affairs at home, the 
history of the leading official appointments, 
and the views of the directors, will be pre- 
pared to understand more clearly the conduct 
and policy of public servants in India, and to 
connect them with the mighty issues of war 
and peace in the peninsula. When the 
18th century closed, English progress in 
India had made for itself already a grand 
page in history ; British interests there had 
become vast, complicated, and profound ; and 
a future was opened for the ambition and use- 
fulness of England into which it was possible 
to look, as through a vista, however obscure 
the detail of the prospect, and however veiled 
its remoter forms. 



Chap. XCIL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



419 



CHAPTER XCII. 

MR.MACPHEESON SUCCEEDS HASTINGS AS GOVERNOR-GENERAL— HIS FINANCIAL MEASURES— 
TIPPOO DEFEATS THE MAHRATTAS— LORD MACARTNEY SURRENDERS THE GOVERN- 
MENT OF MADRAS AND REFUSES THAT OF BENGAL— AMBITION OF SCINDIAH— THE 
SIKHS BECOME IMPORTANT— EARL CORNWALLIS ASSUMES THE GOVERNMENT OF 
INDIA— HIS GENERAL MEASURES— TIPPOO INVADES TRAVANCORE. 



The last two chapters related the progress of 
home events connected with the East India 
Company, in such a manner as to bring before 
the render the principal official personages in 
India from the period when Hastings retired 
from Bengal to the close of the century. The 
domestic policy of the Marquis of Cornwallis 
was also stated. The outline thus given of 
the proceedings and policy of the directors 
\ renders it unnecessary to dwell upon official 
changes and contests in India, so that the 
chapters relating the history of India during 
the fifteen years which intervened between 
the retirement of Hastings and the beginning 
of the nineteenth century, may be occupied 
with the great political events which influ- 
enced so much the progress of the English 
and the destinies of the native states. 

When Mr. Hastings withdrew from the 
government, Mr. Macpherson, as has been 
already shown, assumed the presidency of the 
supreme council. Scarcely had that gentle- 
man taken upon him the onerous charge of 
governing India, when he found himself sur- 
rounded by fresh intrigues and difficulties 
among the native states. The condition of 
these states was restless as the sea. Scarcely 
was one movement quelled than another more 
disturbed began. No general policy could 
secure peace. The directions from home, the 
instructions from government house at Cal- 
cutta, were for peace ; but the elements of 
disturbance were susceptible and jwwerful, 
and there were always influences to act upon 
them. The Mahrattas were rapidly rising 
into supremacy. Madajee Scindiah was the 
most potent of all the chiefs of that remark- 
able people, and his office of vakeel-ul-mul- 
luck to the Mogul greatly increased his influ- 
ence. On the 27th of March Agra surren- 
dered to Madajee, which he held in the name 
of the Jlogul emperor. After his conquest of 
that great capital he marched for Delhi with 
the Mogul, detained only by the fortress of 
Allyghur, which had been armed and pro- 
visioned for twelvemonths, and which Scindiah 
could not approach except to reconnoitre. 

Mr. Anderson was at this time the com- 
pany's agent to the Mogul, and was, therefore, 
at head -quarters in the Mahratta camp. He 
found Scindiah so exalted by his conquests. 



his assumed vicegerency of the Mogul domi- 
nions, and the services he had rendered to 
the English as mediator between them and 
the Mahratta confederation in the late Mah- 
ratta war, that he began to treat the com- 
pany's officers with disrespect, and bore him- 
self in such way to Mr. Anderson that he 
prepared to leave the Mahratta camp. Scin- 
diah, alarmed for the moment at the probable 
consequences of driving away an agent and 
envoy of England by insult, offered many 
assurances that he had intended no affront. 
Mr. Anderson was induced to remain, but 
charged the Mahratta chief with meditating 
war against the company. Scindiah, placing 
his open hand upon his sword, said, " By my 
sword I swear I have no intention to make 
war." This, coming from a chief of such 
warlike and haughty reputation, caused Mr. 
Anderson to hope that no feud would break 
out between the company and the Mahratta 
power. Still Scindiah showed various tokens 
of hostility to the English. Among them 
that which excited most suspicion was the 
resistance which he offered to the residence of 
an English agent at the court of the Peishwa. 
This agent, Mr. Mallett, was sent from Bombay 
to Poonah; Scindiah received him with respect, 
but objected to his permanent residence at that 
capital. The comparative proximity of Poonah 
to Bombay, and the great amount of com- 
mercial business between the two places 
rendered a resident agent essential. A dis- 
tance of eight hundred miles would be 
traversed, if Scindiah were the only medium of 
communication between the company and the 
Mahrattas. The supreme government deter- 
mined to insist upon the recognition of the 
agent sent by them to the court of the Peishwa. 
The views of Scindiah against Tippoo Sultan 
tended further to sow dissatisfaction between 
him and the supreme council. The conduct 
of Tippoo to the Mahrattas was provocative 
of war. Hyder Ali had been little more than 
a nominal Mohammedan ; he had little regard 
to " God or the prophet," if the will of either, 
as represented to hini, stood in the way of his 
policy. Tippoo's principles were, on the con- 
trary, drawn from the Koran. He believed 
himself to have been raised up as an avenger 
of the faithful, and a scourge of the infidels^ 



420 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. XCII. 



and he made all the native states around him 
'feel his wrath. The Mahrattas were heathen, 
and Tippoo believed that to convert such, 
under the threat of sword and fire, was a 
praiseworthy action. He was a Mohammedan 
fanatic, and infuriated in his fanaticism. He 
found means of compelling some sixty thou- 
sand Mahratta subjects, in one of the outlying 
provinces of that strange empire, to embrace 
Mohammedanism ; and he put to death some 
thousands of Brahmins who refused to become 
followers of the prophet. His fury against 
native Christians rivalled that of the most 
terrible pei-secutors among the Roman em- 
perors. Scindiah was as anxious to unite with 
the English in the chastisement of Tippoo, as 
he was to unite with any other power or 
powers for the humiliation of the English. 
The indications of the working of these desires 
in his mind rapidly increased. 

In July, 1785, Scindiah made proposals for 
an alliance between the English, the Nizam of 
the Deccan, and the Peishwa of the Mahrattas 
against Tippoo. The supreme government 
at Calcutta would neither listen to these over- 
ture.=, nor permit the government of Bombay 
to do so. Scindiah considered this a breach of 
treaty ; the supreme government thought so 
too, but were compelled to bow to the new 
act of parliament. The fierce Mahratta knew 
nothing of the parliament, but considered the 
English iu India as a power which could not 
be bound to engagements, as when they be- 
came inconvenient or expensive, there were 
orders f^-om home, from company, king, or 
parliament, which were made a pretext fur 
violating such agreements. Tippoo and the 
Mahrattas fought it out, and the former was 
the conqueror. Scindiah was recalled to 
Poonah by the Peishwa, but refused obedience, 
and maintained ambitious wars on his own 
account. Pleading an especial treaty with 
the English, they reluctantly entered into an 
ambiguous agreement, promising aid to him 
as a Mahratta chief, but refusing to be com- 
promised by his engagements with the nizara. 
Thus complicated, during the government of 
Mr. Blacpherson, were the connections of the 
English with the Mahrattas ; while the latter 
by their own especial complications with the 
Mogul, the Sikhs, the vizier of Oude, and 
Tippoo, were involving the English in the 
meshes of an inextricable entanglement with 
native states, except so far as the judgment 
of Mr. Macpherson averted such confusion. 
This it was not in his power to do wholly, 
for the force of circumstances was too strong 
for him ; but he showed much good sense 
and tact, and had considerable success in his 
measures to preserve peace, and keep the 
company free from the embroilments from 



which none of the native states Avcre long 
exempt. 

The intrigues and activities of Scindiah 
continued; his quarrels were as widespread as 
India itself, and his fortunes were chequered : 
— " The vicissitudes of the different parties 
disputing for the last fragments of the Mogul 
empire were so sudden and incessant, that 
they baffled the keenest political foresight. 
Scindiah, after holding the power of prime 
minister for two years, was expelled from his 
office by a new combination of the Mogul 
chiefs. His army was defeated, and he him- 
self obliged to fly to his own dominions. He 
was succeeded by various nobles, amongst 
whom was the infamous Gholam Kadir, by 
whom Shah Alem was deposed and blinded. 
Tliis outrage brought Scindiah again to Delhi : 
but the consolidated power of the British ren- 
dered him less formidable than he had been. 
The Prince Juwan Bukht, after several vain 
attempts to engage Nawab Vizir and the 
British government to aid him, and after one 
unsuccessful effort, in 1787, to re-establish 
himself at Deliii by force of arms, returned 
to Delhi, and died suddenly in 1788."* 

Amidst the general confusion and intrigues 
of native powers, the Sikhs at this time be- 
came prominent. While Mr. Anderson was 
at the camp of Scindiah, a person in the garb 
of a merchant came to his " Moolavee," and 
after offering to sell him some cloths, stated 
that he had rare jewels to show him in private. 
On withdrawing to examine the precious 
stones, the pretended merchant disclosed him- 
self as a confidential messenger of Dooljah 
Singh, the Sikh chief. He stated that his 
prince was anxious for friendship with the 
English, as a protection against the ever- 
spreading encroachments of the Malirattas. 
He informed Mr. Anderson that thirty thou- 
sand Sikhs were dispersed in various disguises 
between Pamput and Delhi, and ready to 
make a powerful demonstration at any well- 
concerted juncture. Mr. Anderson informed 
his government, which was anxious to avoid 
giving offence to the Mahrattas, and yet so- 
licitous to avoid aiding by any indirect mea- 
sure their progress. Mr. Hastings had fore- 
seen that the great struggle in southern India, 
and in all India from Delhi to Madras, must 
ultimately be with them. He objected to 
any opposition to them, which by being pre- 
mature, would impair the resources of the 
company, and consolidate the rival power. 
His successor was guided by these views, 
although he had never rendered to Mr. Has- 
tings, an effectual or generous support in 
that or any other department of his policy. 
Ultimately a pacific solution of the jealousies 
* Franklin's Shah Avium, p. 159. 



CuAP. XCII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



421 



and differences between tlie Blahrattas and 
tlie Sikhs led to the latter placing five thou- 
sand horse at the service of the former, in 
case of an}' attack upon them by Tippoo. 

Lord Macartney proceeded to Calcutta in 
June, 1785, on business connected with the 
pecuniary obligations of the Nabob of the 
Carnatic. ^Yhile at Calcutta he learned that 
he had been nominated by the court of direc- 
tors as the successor of Mr. Hastings. His 
lordship declined accepting the honour, al- 
though it was one he Lad long desired ; and 
Mr. Macijhersou as senior member of council, 
e.c-o(ficio, remained at the head of the govern- 
ment. The resignation of Lord Macartney 
led to the appointment of Earl Cornwallis, as 
governor-general, and Mr. Macphersou re- 
signed the post which, as a locum tenens, he 
had so well filled. His administration was 
marked by the settlement of Penang as an 
English colony. The British cabinet re- 
commended him to his majesty for a baro- 
netcy. His services have been well summed 
up by Dr. H. Wilson in the following passage : 
— " With regard to Scindiah, the only im- 
portant transaction that took place with him, 
was his demand on behalf of Shah Aulum, of 
the tribute due to the Mogid, to the amount 
of four millions sterling. The demand was 
civilly, but peremptorily resisted by Sir John 
JIacpherson's government, not, as might be 
supposed from the loose manner in which it 
is alluded to in the text, by that of Hastings. 
The leading feature of Sir John Macpherson's 
administration, however, was the eminent 
success which attended his efforts to reduce 
jiublic expenditure, and re-establish public 
credit. In a minute in the secret department, 
dated loth December, 1785, it is stated that 
a comparison of the receipts and disburse- 
ments of the year ending 30th April, 178G, 
exhibit a deficit of about £1,300,000. The 
arrears due to the armies of the three presi- 
dencies, were about two millions. The ascer- 
tained Bengal debt alone, was about four 
millions. The troops at Madras and Bombay 
were in a state of utter destitution, and some 
of them in open mutiny, from the great 
amount of their arrears. In this situation, 
the government of Bengal declared itself re- 
sponsible for the debts of the three presi- 
dencies. All remittances of cash from the 
collectors' treasuries, were prohibited, until 
the arrears of troops within or near their 
districts, had been discharged. All civil 
servants, civil surgeons, and uncovenanted 
servants, drawing more than 300 rupees per 
month, were to be paid their salaries and all 
their arrears, with certificates bearing inte- 
rest at 8 per cent, per annum until cashed. 
All issues of paper, on account of the company, 

VOL. u. 



excei)t the company's bonds, were ordered to 
be registered, the registry was to be pub- 
lished, and the j)aper was to be paid off in 
the order of its issue. The cash accumula- 
ting in the treasuries was to form a fund, by 
which the certificates and other paper were 
dischargeable ; and under these arrangements, 
the governor-general and council publicly 
expressed their expectations, that ' all the 
paper in currency at the end of 1 785, would be 
paid off in the course of twelve months, 
through funds derivable from the amount of 
the reductions made in the established charges 
of the government, aided by the effects of 
these regulations, and the additional re- 
sources to be derived from the upper pro- 
vinces.' These measures were made known 
to the public by advertisement in the Official 
Calcutta Gazette, 29th December, 1785, and 
15th January, 178G. The orders were fol- ■ 
lowed uj) by subsidiary arrangements, which 
comijletely altered the aspect of affairs. ' Every 
man in the settlement,' observed a competent 
authority on the spot, ' witnessed the magical 
effects of this measure. It operated like a 
charm in restoring public confidence, which 
once secured, this moving fund acquired life 
and activity. At no remote period from the 
commencement of the plan, treasury certi- 
ficates could raise cash in the market at a 
discount less than the legal interest of the 
money. I shall ever bear grateful testimony 
of the salutary relief from ruin, which the 
measure afforded to me, and to every trader 
in the settlement.'* In a letter to the 
governor of Madras, from the governor- 
general, dated 20th May, 1786, he writes, 
'In our reductions of expense, which have 
been very great (25 lacs), £1,250,000, 1 
shall have cold praise, and a thousand secret 
enemies.' He received, however, in Novem- 
ber, 178G, the unanimous thanks of the court 
of directors, for his able administration of the 
affairs of India, and was raised by his ma- 
jesty to the dignity of a baronet. It was 
during the government of Sir John Macpher- 
son, that, by an amicable arrangement with 
the King of Queda, the valuable settlement 
of Penang, or Prince of Wales' Island, was 
added to the company's eastern posses- 
sions." 

On the 12th of September, 178G, Earl 
Cornwallis landed at Calcutta, and imme- 
diately took charge of the government. His 
investigations of the condition of the revenue 
were prompt, and his rej)ort to the directors 
was, that the department was worked in a 
manner the most unsatisfactory. The com- 
pany's paper was at a discount; the estimated 

* Pi'iueejj's Pioposal of a SabsiUule for funding, 1797. 

3i 



422 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. XCII. 



and actual receipts of revenue were utterly 
discrepant, the former was stated as 92 lacs 
69,000 rupees, but the actual rece!i)t into 
"the khalsa" was calculated as GG lacs 12,000 
rupees. The debt was G crore 24 lacs, and 
bore interest at 8f per cent, per annum. A 
month after his assumption of government, 
his lordship declared that the expenses of the 
establishments of the jjresidencies absorbed 
the whole revenue, and that investments for 
trading purposes could only be made by 
issuing paper, which would increase the evil. 
The native chiefs had heard of the fame of 
the new governor, and many of them repaired 
to Calcutta to pay their respects. The vizier 
sent his minister, Hj'der Beg Khan, Moham- 
med Reza Khan, the nabob Mobarek-ul- 
Dowlah, and the Shah-zada ; each sought a 
personal interview. 

Among the early communications of Lord 
Cornwallis to the directors, there were severe 
animadversions upon the condition of the 
company's army. Physically the natives 
were superior to the European recruits, ac- 
cording to his representations, and morally 
they were no worse, perhaps better. His 
lordship considered the loyalty of the scpoyS 
doubtful. 

In February, 1787, Sir Archibald Camp- 
bell, entered into a new and especial arrange- 
ment with the Nabob of the Carnatic for the 
defence of his territory. The nabob was to 
contribute " to the peace establishment," per 
year, nine lacs of rupees. In time of war, 
the company was to undertake the defence of 
the province, the nabob seeing to the pay- 
ment of revenue. The great advantage of 
this arrangement was, that it prevented the 
divided councils and interests, which had pre- 
viously, especially in time of war, so much 
embarrassed the relations of the company 
with the nabob. A treaty similar to the 
former was made by the same diplomatist 
with Ameer Singh, the Rajah of Tanjore. 

These important treaties were followed by 
another, in July of the same year, with 
Asoff-ul-Dowlah, the vizier nabob of Gude. 
The noble earl at the head of the company's 
affairs, resolved that no interference with the 
internal affairs of the nabob's government 
should take place during his administration. 
His lordship forgave the vizier certain arrears 
due to the compa»y, and urged upon him a 
more just administration of law in his domi- 
nions, and a system less oppressive to his 
people, pointing out, that from the contiguity 
of the territories, and the peculiar relations of 
the nabob and the company, oppression and 
injustice in Gude would endanger the security 
of that province, and thereby the territory of 
Bengal. lu 1788 a treaty of commerce with 



the vizier was effected on principles which 
both governments regarded as equitable and 
advantageous. 

In 1788 Lord Cornwallis directed the at- 
tention of the company to the conduct and 
disposition of Tippoo, declaring that in case 
of a war in Europe between England and 
France, the latter power would be sure to 
ally itself with Tippoo, and as a consequence 
the Carnatic would once more be the theatre 
of a desperate and dangerous struggle. The 
Earl of Cornwallis felt convinced that a war 
between England and France was imminent, 
and Ids lordship knew that the intense desire 
of France to found an oriental empire was 
not diminished by former disappointment, 
disaster, and defeat. His lordship, on these 
grounds, intimated to the directors his pur- 
pose of watching Tippoo with unremitting 
vigilance. The governor -general was much 
engaged during the latter part of 1788, in 
negotiations with the nizam (or soubahdar) of 
the Deccan. Territory belonging to the 
English by treaty, was surrendered by his 
highness, and dubious passages in existing 
treaties settled and defined. 

In July, 1789, an understanding was come 
to between the governor-general and the 
nizam, that a British contingent should be at 
the service of his highness, on condition that 
it should not be employed against any native 
state with which the company was at peace. 

In 1788 Tippoo, aware that he was an 
object of jealousy and suspicion to the En- 
glish, became peevish and afi'rontful to their 
agents. He also acted in an aggressive way 
towards the rajahs of Tanjore and Travan- 
core. He advanced tow^ards the Malabar 
coast in a manner most menacing to the 
Travancore rajah, and instigated the Rajah 
of Cochin to claim the ground upon which 
" the lines of Travancore " were built. The 
Rajah of Travancore addressed a requisition 
for troops to the commander-in-chief of the 
British forces of Madras, upon hearing which, 
Tippoo retired upon Seringapatara. It was 
clear that the period rapidly approached when 
Tippoo and the English must try their rela- 
tive strength once more upon the field 
of battle. Before, however, the trumpet of 
war summoned him to the scenes of strife, 
Earl Cornwallis had opportunity to devote 
his time to the adjustment of the "permanent 
settlement," in conjunction with the cele- 
brated Mr. Shore, afterwards Lord Teign- 
mouth. The measures of these two eminent 
persons required a number of years to ma- 
ture. The arrangements for civil judicature, 
magistracy, and police, which ultimately gave 
an historical interest to the administration of 
Lord Cornwallis were discussed by him, and 



CnAP.XCIL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



423 



the foundation laid for their execution in the 
interval of peace, which took place between 
the first symptoms of a renewed struggle on 
the part of Tippoo, and the bursting forth of 
the impetuous torrent of his hostility. 

The hour at length arrived when war with 
Tippoo must be proclaimed, however reluc- 
tant the governor-general to proceed to ex- 
tremities, however desperate the state of 
Indian finance, and notwithstanding the 
peaceful resolutions of the English parlia- 
ment in 1784, in reference to Indian affairs, 
and the consequent instructions to Earl Corn- 
wallis to avoid by all means complications 
which would lead to war. 

The precise circumstances out of which the 
war arose are sufficiently set forth in the 
formal demands of Tippoo upon the Rajah 
of Travancore, and the reply of the rajah. 
The demands, however, were only pretexts 
on the part of Tippoo to cover designs of ag- 
grandizement. He set up pretensions for the 
sake of blinding the English government as 
to his real wishes. In this he succeeded, so 
far as the Madras government was concerned, 
which recognised the justness of Tippoo's de- 
mands, without any investigation of the merits 
of the case. The supreme council, however, 
certified themselves of all the particulars, pro- 
nounced the demands of Tippoo unjust, and 
his allegations false. All the native states in 
Southern India took the same view. The 
supreme government also pronounced heavy 
censure upon the want of intelligence and the 
pusillanimity, indolence, and neglect of duty 
on the part of the Madras government, seve- 
ral of the members of which it was necessary 
to displace : — " Towards the end of October, 
1789, the army of Tippoo was known to be 
encamped in the neighbourhood of Palgaut; 
and tlie rajah was confirmed in his expecta- 
tion of an attack. On the 14th of December, 
Tippoo arrived at a place about twenty -five 
miles distant from the boundary of Travan- 
core, and the ravages of his cavalry were car- 
ried within a mile of the wall. On the fol- 
lowing day a vakel, a sort of character in 
which the capacities of a messenger and ne- 
gotiator wei'e compounded, arrived from the 
camp of the sultan, bearing a letter to the 
rajah. It contained the annunciation of Tip- 
poo's demands : that, as the rajah had given 
protection within his dominions to certain 
rajahs, and other refractory subjects of the 
Mysore government, he should deliver them 
up, and in future abstain from similar offences. 
2. That as the Dutch 'had sold to him that 
which was not theirs to sell, he should with- 
draw his troops from Cranganore. 3. That he 
should demolish that part of his lines which 
crossed the territory of Cochin, because it be- 



longed tq the kingdom of Mysore. The rajah 
replied : 1. That the rajahs of whoso protec- 
tion the .sultan complained had obtained au 
asylum in his country, because they were his 
relations, at the distance of many years ; that 
no objection to their residence had ever been 
taken before; that to prove his amicable dis- 
position, they should nevertheless be removed ; 
and that no refractory subject of the Mysore 
government had ever, with his knowledge, 
been harboured in Travancore. 2. That the 
fort and territory which he had purchased 
from the Dutch belonged to the Dutch, and 
was in no respect the property of the depen- 
dent of Tippoo. 3. That the ground on which 
he had erected his lines was ceded to him in 
full sovereignty by the Rajah of Cochin be- 
fore that rajah became tributary to the so- 
vereign of Mysore; and that the lines, exist- 
ing at the time when he was included in the 
late treaty between the English and the sultan, 
were sanctioned by the silence of that im- 
portant deed."* 

The events which immediately followed are 
summed up with precision, and with admirable 
condensation by Mill :— " On the 24th of De- 
cember Tippoo encamped at not more than 
four miles' distance from the lines ; began to 
erect batteries on the 25tli ; early in the morn- 
ing of the 29th turned by surprise the right 
flank of the lines, wliere no passage was sup- 
posed to exist ; and introduced a portion of 
his army within the wall. Before he could 
reach the gate which he intended to open, 
and at which he expected to admit the rest 
of his army, his troops were thrown into con- 
fusion by some slight resistance, and fled in 
disorder, with a heavy slaughter, across the 
ditch. Tippoo himself was present at the 
attack, and, not without personal danger, 
made his escape. 

" Intelligence of these events was received 
by the supreme government from Madras on 
the 26th of January ; and on the morrow in- 
structions were despatched to that presidency. 
The governor -general expressed his expecta- 
tion that the Madras rulers had considered 
Tippoo as at war, from the first moment 
when they heard of the attack ; that they had 
diligently executed the measures which he 
had formerly prescribed; and in particular, 
that all payments to the nabob's creditors, 
and all disbursements on the score of invest- 
ment, had immediately ceased. He added, . 
that his intention was to employ all the 
resources which were within his reach ' to 
exact a full reparation from Tippoo for this 
wanton and unprovoked violation of treaty.' " 

The efforts of the governor-general to form 
especial alliances with the Mahrattas and with 
* Mill ; Thornton ; Auber. 



424 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



LChaf. XCII. 



the Nizam of tlie Deccan became at once 
urgent. The Mahi-attas were so po\\'erful 
that it became absolutely necessary to engage 
them on the side of the English. A junction 
between the Mahratta states and Tippoo 
would have compelled the nizam (as the 
Soubahdar of the Deccan had become univer- 
sally styled), to join the confederacy. ^Yith 
any amount of French aid, there could be but 
little hope of the English company, in the 
low state of its finance, being able to bold its 
own. The first serious victories gained by 
such an alliance would cause all the native 
states in India to make common cause against 
the British. The Mahvattas had been hu- 
miliated so recently by Tippoo in the field — 
such fanatical outrages in the name of Mo- 
hammed had been perpetrated upon Mahratta 
tribes by the orders, or direct cruelty of Tip- 
poo, and so great had become his power, that 
the Poonah government was willing to pledge 
the Peishwa to alliance with the English. 
The nizam's wishes lay in the same direction; 
but he feared, such robbers were the Mah- 
rattas, that they would invade his territory as 
soon as it was denuded of troops in the com- 
mon cause. This delayed all action on th'e 
part of the government of Hyderabad. The 
nizam was willing to march at once against 
Tippoo, if Lord Cornwallis would guarantee 
his territory against Mahratta invasion. His 
lordship dared not do that, from fear of of- 
fending the power against whom the guaran- 
tee was demanded. His lordship's diplomacy 
was surrounded by difficult and delicate con- 
ditions, and rare courage and address were 
required to bring out the company's " raj " 
safe through elements so conflicting. 

The noble earl at the head of the govern- 
ment succeeded in accomplishing all that was 
necessary in the relations which he established 
with these rival powers. When the tidings 
of his measures reached England, the court of 
directors passed resolutions of satisfaction. The 
house of commons, having demanded explana- 
tions from the board of control, and manifested 
generally displeasure that war under any cir- 
cumstances should break out with Tippoo, re- 
ceived with satisfaction the answers given by 
the president of the board of control, and ex- 
pressed their approbation by a vote on the 2nd 
of March, 17!)1, in the following terras : — 

" Resolved, That it appears to this house 
that the treaties entered into with the nizam 
on the 1st of June, and with the Mahrattas 
on the 7th of July, are wisely calculated to 
add vigour to the operations of war, and to 
promote the future tranquillity of India, and 
that the faith of the British nation is pledged 
to the due performance of engagements con- 
tained in the said treaties.^' 



A considerable party in parliament which 
did not object to the treaties, as contin- 
gent upon a war necessary and unavoidable, 
were of opinion that the war with Tippoo 
could have been averted, and wished to press 
parliament to a declaration to that effect. 
These movements arose from p.arty opposition 
to the board of control, as a branch of the 
general government, on the part of some, and 
from jealousy of the East India Company, 
whicli always to a considerable extent existed 
in the commons. The result of the discus- 
sions whicli ensued were the following decla- 
rations : — 

" Resolved, That it appears to this house, 
that the attacks made by Tippoo Sultan on 
the lines of Travancore on the 2i)tli Decem- 
ber, 1789, Gth March, and loth April, 1790, 
were unwarranted and unprovoked infractions 
of the treaty entered into at Mangalore on 
the 10th March, 1784." 

" Resolved, That it appears to this house, 
that the conduct of tlio Governor-general of 
Bengal, in determining to prosecute with 
vigour the war against Tippoo Sultan, in 
consequence of the attack on the territories 
of the Rajah of Travancore, was highly me- 
ritorious." 

The governments of Madras and Bombay, 
which were most immediately concerned, were 
utterly unprepared for war. The council of 
Madras was full of apprehension, ready to 
submit to any terms Tippoo might dictate. 
Had it not been for the firm intervention of 
the supreme government, the honour and in- 
terests of the company would have been irre- 
deemably compromised. 

Sir Thomas Munro* thus noticed the help- 
lessness of the INIadras government, the feeble- 
ness of its measures, and the impolicy of the 
unpreparedness for war in which the presi- 
dencies most concerned then were. Sir 
Thomas wrote from Amboor in January, 
1790: — "A second attack is daily expected, 
and if the king is left alone, all his exertions 
against a force so superior can delay but for 
a very short time his ruin. The English 
battalions were behind the lines, but not at 
the place attacked : and it is said they have 
orders not to act, even on the defensive. If 
such be the case, the rajah ought to dismiss 
them with scorn. The distinction made be- 
tween recent acquisitions and ancient territory 
appears to be a subterfuge of government to 
cloak their dread of war under a pretended 
love of 4ieace, for Cranganore was a fair pur- 
chase of the Dutch from the Rajah of Cochin, 
subject to an annual tribute of thirty-five 
rupees. Before we can assemble an army to 
face the enem)', Tippoo may bo in possession 

* Not to be coufouuded with Sir Hector Monro. 



Chap, XCIL] 



IN INDIA AND THli EAST. 



425 



of Travancoi'e. We have derived but little 
benefit from experience and misfortune. The 
year 171)0 sees us as little prepared as that of 
1780, and before the war. We shall com- 
mence tlie war under the disadvantage of a 
want of magazines. The distresses and dif- 
ficulties which we then encountered from 
them, has not cured us of the narrow policy 
of preferring a small present saving to a 
certain, though future, great and essential ad- 
vantage."* 

Upon this letter, as illustrated by the events 
which followed, M. Auber thus, remarks : — 
" Every word of this letter was almost pro- 
phetic. In the following spring Tippoo ef- 
fected his objects. He subdued Travancore, 
laid waste the country, and took the fortresses 
of Cranganore and Jaycottah, possessing him- 
self of all the northern portions of the pro- 
vince of Travancore. The conduct of the 
Madras government, during these proceedings, 
excited the strongest indignation in the mind 
of Lord Cornwallis. His lordship reprobated 
the snpineness which they had manifested in 
making preparations to support the rajah, and 
adverting to the general state of the com- 
pany's affairs on the coast, determined to take 
temporary charge of the government of Fort 
St. George, but relinquished his intentions on 
learning that General Meadows had been ap- 
pointed to succeed Mr. Holland as governor." 

General Meadows arrived on the 20th of 
February, 1790, and on March 31st, wrote 
the following despatch to the directors : — 
" I found things in that state of confusion 
that is generally attendant on a change of 
systems. Whether a civil or a military go- 
vernor is best, I shall not take upon me to 
determine ; but either is certainly better, I 
conceive, than neither or both. We have a 
long arrear both from and to us. His high- 
ness the nabob is so backward in his paj'raents, 
so oppressive to his polygars, that at this time 
it is so necessary to have on our side, that I 
conceive it will be absolutely necessary, upon 
his first material delay of payment, to take 
the management of his country into your own 
hands : a measure, in spite of the opposition 
to it, BO advantageous to you, the country, 
and even to his highness himself, w-hen so 
wisely projected and ably executed by Lord 
Macartney. I came here at a most critical 
period, with many tilings of importance to 
decide upon in a less time than many prudent 
people would have thought necessary to de- 
cide npon one : but the approaching war with 
Tippoo was one of the most important, I 
heard and read all upon the subject a short 
time would allow of, and then adopted the 
plan laid down by Colonel Musgrave, which 
• Private letters. 



I thought the best, and which, from circum- 
stances, it was very probable he would have 
to execute himself; for, in the present situation 
of the government, it is impossible I would 
leave it. I conceive the expense will be six 
lacs of pagodas a month, and can conceive 
anything but how or where we shall get the 
money, even stopping investments, &c. Hovv'- 
ever unfortunate a war is, it should be made 
if possible short, brilliant, and decisive." 

The suspension of the inefficient members 
of council, and the appointment of others in 
whom Lord Cornwallis and General Meadows 
had confidence, enabled the general before 
his despatch was sent away, to express his 
intention of leaving the government in the 
hands of the newly constituted council while 
he took the field against the enemy. 

These letters of Sir Thomas Munro and 
General Meadows will make sufficiently clear 
to the reader the state of the English at Ma- 
dras on the eve of the conflict in which they 
were once more destined to be conquerors. 

The despatch of General Meadows gave 
great satisfaction to the directors, who enter- 
tained the highest confidence in the good 
sense and manly judgment of the general, as 
they also did in the statesmanlike qualities of 
Earl Cornwallis. 

The war with Tippoo must occupy a sepa- 
rate chapter. It is in this only necessary to 
relate, that the preparations for bringing the 
Jlysorean chief to subjection were on a largo 
scale as compared with those attending other 
Indian wars. General Meadows placed him- 
self at the head of fifteen thousand men, 
assembled in the Carnatic. His plan of ope- 
rations was to march to Coimbatore, and 
afterwards to enter Mysore, while the Mah- 
vattas and the army of the Deccan operated 
upon the north of the Mysorean territory. 
General Abercromby, at the head of eight 
thousand men, was concentrated upon the 
Bombay frontier to invade the possessions of 
Tippoo in the Ghauts. The council of 
Madras delegated to General Meadows, as 
governor of that presidency and commander- 
in-chief of its armies, the power of directing 
and conducting the war, and authority to 
make treaties or stipulations with the poly- 
gars of the Carnatic, who upon Tippoo's 
frontier were disposed to join him, and such 
as npon the Travancore borders were at least 
hostile to the rajah. It was sujiposed that 
the nairs, especially certain of that order sub- 
ject to Tippoo, could be induced to render 
the British an effectual support, and the go- 
vernor had full authority conceded to him to 
enter into agreeijients with them. 

The general joined his army on thS 7th of 
May. " The centre army," as the despatches 



426 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap, XCIII. 



call a force under Colonel Kelly, was ordered 
to take the field in July, to preserve the 
Carnatic itself from marauding and desultory 
incursions of the irregular Mysorean cavalry. 
In October, the command of this force de- 
volved upon Colonel Maxwell, on the death 



of the commander just named. At that time 
the arrears of revenue to meet the expenses 
of the war, amounted to twenty-two lacs of 
pagodas. Such were the preliminaries of 
another great war with a great native power 
in India. 



CHAPTER XCIII. 

WAR WITH TIPPOO SULTAN— SUCCESSES OF COLONEL STUART— INVASION OP 5IYS0RE— 
REVERSES OF THE BRITISH— INVASION OF THE CARNATIC BY THE SULTAN- SUC- 
CESSES OF THE BOMBAY ARMY ON THE COAST OF MALABAR— ALARM AT MADRAS 
AND CALCUTTA— ARRIVAL OF EARL CORNWALLIS AT MADRAS. 



The importance, political and military, of 
not permitting Travancore to fall under the 
dominion of Tippoo, must be obvious to the 
reader who studies its situation on the map of 
India, and observes its relative position to 
the territories then held by the Sultau of 
Mysore, and by the East India Company : — 
" The territory of the Rajah of Travancore 
commences near the island of Vipeen, at the 
mouth of the Cliinnamangalum river, about 
twenty miles to the north of Cochin. From 
this point it extends to the southern extremity 
of India, bounded on the west by the sea, 
and on the east by the celebrated chain of 
mountains which terminate near the southern 
cape. The situation of this prince made a 
connection between him and the English of 
importance to botli : he was placed at so great 
a distance that he had little to apprehend 
from the encroachments of the company ; 
his country, which was only separated from 
their province of Tinnivelly by the ridge of 
mountains, formed a barrier to the invasion 
of an enemy into that province, and through 
that province into the Carnatic itself; the 
support of the company was necessary to 
preserve the rajah against the designs of 
sucli powerful and rapacious neighbours as 
Hyder Ali and his son; the productiveness 
of his dominions enabled him to contribute 
considerably to the military resources of the 
English ; and, in the last war with Hyder, 
his co-operation had been sufficiently exten- 
sive to entitle him to be inserted in the 
treaty with Tippoo under the character of an 
ally. The descent of Tippoo, with an army, 
into the western country, filled the rajah 
with apprehensions. He was the only prey 
on that side of the Ghauts, opposite the do- 
minions of Tippoo, which remained unde- 
voured ; and the only, obstruction to the 
extension of his dominions from the Mahratta 
frontier* to Cape Comorin — an extension 
attended with the highly-coveted advantage 
of placing him in contact with Tinnivelly, the 



most distant and most defenceless part of the 
English possessions in Coromandel."* 

The importance of the territory thus de- 
scribed, and the dangerous policy of Tippoo, 
having determined the English to make war, 
it was at once energetically prosecuted. Lord 
Cornwallis relied much upon his native allies. 
The Mahrattas had already proved themselves 
formidable enemies even against English 
armies, and the Nizam of the Deccan possessed 
numerous troops, and, as the representative 
of the Mogul, possessed a certain influence over 
the religious prejudices of Mussulmen in the 
south of India. The directors had, however, 
with more judgment, than their servants in 
India displayed when courting connection 
with the government of "the soubah" (as 
they were accustomed to call the nizam or 
soubahdar), pronounced the army of his high- 
ness a worthless rabble, and expressed asto- 
nishment that any reliance should be placed 
upon his troops. Yet it was well that the 
Mohammedan influence of the nizam should 
be on the side of the English, as Tippoo ap- 
pealed to the fanaticism of the Mohammedans 
of Southern India in language naturally 
calculated to inflame it.f He gave himself 
out to be a descendant of Mohammed, as di- 
vinely inspired to restore the religion of that 
prophet, by destroying or proselyting all 
heathens and infidels. He was fired with 
the emulation of the great Saracen conquerors, 
who by the sword and the koran desired to 
subjugate all men. His seal had inscribed in 
Arabic upon its centre. " I am the messenger 
of the true faith." Ro;>nd the seal in Persian 
verse was inscribed : — 

"From conquest, and the protection of the Royal 
Hyder, comes my title of Siiltan ; and the world, as under 
the Sun and Moon, is suhject to my signet." 

Tippoo was the first Mohammedan prince 



t Malcolm's Folitical Hiaiort/ of India. 
Empire Anglais, vol. iv. p. 54. 



Penhoen's 



Chap. XCIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



427 



in India who formally and openly disclaimed 
the authority of the great Mogul; and who 
impressed coin with his own effigy and titles.* 
This was the more singular as he was a fana- 
tic of Islam, and the Mogul was the Padishaw 
of all true believers within the bounds of 
India. Tippoo probably reconciled the in- 
consistency, by his claim of descent from the 
j)rophet, and inspiration from God. Hyder 
All had certainly set his son an example of 
non-allegiance to the sceptre of Delhi ; but 
the independence of the father, although real 
was not ostensible, and although avowed was 
never declared formally. It was fortunate 
that the English army, both of the company 
and of the crown, at that period serving in 
India, was in an excellent condition, and in 
some degree prepared to cope with emergen- 
cies. 

The following representation of the state of 
the British troops by an officer well acquainted 
with the history of the period is correct : — 
"There were in India, in 1788, a regiment 
of British dragoons, nine regiments of British, 
and two of Hanoverian infantry, in all about 
eight thousand European troops, in addition 
to the company's establishments. Several of 
the first officers in the British service were 
in command in that country ; and a system 
was established, which, by joining the powers 
of governor to those of commander-in-chief, 
united every advantage which could give effi- 
cacy to the operations of war. The discipline, 
which had lately been ordered by the king 
for establishing imiformity in his army, was 
now equally practised by his majesty's and 
the company's forces in India. The field 
equipment was refitted and enlarged at the 
several presidencies ; and every preparation 
made to act with the promptitude and effect 
which unforeseen exigencies might require. 
Public credit, increasing with the security 
afforded to the country, and also in conse- 
quence of like able arrangements in the con 
duct of the civil line of the government, the 
company's funds rose daily in their value ; 
and their affairs, as stated to parliament, by 
the minister at the head of the India depart- 
ment, were not only retrieved from supposed 
ruin, but soon appeared to be in n state of 
decided and increasing prosperity."f 

In an army thus constituted and uniform, 
the commanders might well have confidence 
even against the well-trained and numerous 
hosts of the Sultan of Mysore. At no previous 
period had the company sucli a military force. 
For the first time the royal troops and those 

• Major Rennell's Memoir of Tippoo Sahib, p. 71. 

t Narrative of the Carflpaign in hidia, which (er- 
innated the War Kith Tippoo SuUan in 1792. By 
Major Uirom, deputy-adjutaat-general of his majesty's 
forces in ludia. London, 1793. 



of the company met in mutual good feeling 
and respect. Much of this resulted from the 
regulations which had been made a short 
time before, both in parliament and in the 
court of directors ; much more, however, de- 
pended upon the impartiality and justice of 
Lord Cornwallis, who dealt equally by all, 
whether royal or company's soldiers, exclud- 
ing all sinister influences, ignoring cliques 
at Calcutta, and simply doing what in his 
judgment was best for the army and the go- 
vernment. Lord Macaulay well observes, in 
reference to a very different man, " No man 
is fit to govern great societies who hesitates 
about disobliging the few who have access to 
him, for the sake of the many whom he will never 
see." Lord Cornwallis had this quality for go- 
verning great societies, as well as many other 
rare gifts. The neglect previouslypermitted to 
prevail in preserving the country in a. proper 
state of defence Avas at last redeemed : — " The 
Carnatic, which had been the seat of the 
former, and would probably soon be the seat 
of a future war — at least the scene where our 
army must assemble, and the source whence 
it must be supplied — required extraordinary 
exertion of military arrangement, to prepare 
it for the operations of defensive or offensive 
war. To protect a weak and extensive fron- 
tier ; to discipline a detached army ; and to 
provide resources in a lately desolated coun- 
try, fell to the lot of Sir Archibald Campbell. 
Skilled in every branch of military science ; 
with knowledge matured by experience in 
various countries and climates ; indefatigable 
in all public duties, and endued with a de- 
gree of worth and benevolence, which at- 
tached to him all ranks in the army, and ex- 
cited voluntary exertion in every officer to 
second the zeal of his general, he had a task 
to perform, which, though great and compli- 
cated, was not beyond the reach of such 
distinguished talents. Granaries were esta- 
blished in the frontier and other stations in 
the Carnatic, containing supplies for near 
thirty thousand men for twelve months ; and 
furnished in such a manner as to provide 
against the exigencies of famine or of war 
without incurring additional expense to the 
public ; a complete train of battering and 
field artillery was prepared, surpassing what 
had ever been known upon the coast ; a store 
of camp equipage for twenty thousand men 
was provided ; the principal forts were re- 
paired, and more amply supplied with guns 
and stores ; the cavalry were with infinite 
difficulty completed to their full establishment ; 
and a general uniformity of discipline and 
movement was established in the cavalry, in- 
fantry, and artillery."* 

* Narratii'c of the Campaign. 



428 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. XCIII. 



Authorities differ as to wiiother Tippoo 
was prepared for the bold meaaurea of tlie 
English. Finding, as he did, that the Madras 
government was timid and temporising — that 
at Bombay they considered the attack upon 
the lines of Travancore as not necessarily in- 
volving war with the British, he was sur- 
prised, it is alleged, when Earl Cornwallis 
treated that circumstance as tantamount to a 
declaration of hostilities against the East India 
Company. Other authorities give Tippoo 
credit for the nicest discrimination as to the 
characters of those with whom he had to do, 
and for having foreseen the course which 
things would take, for which he amply pre- 
pared himself. 

The plan of operations by the army of 
Madras was determined by a report of Colo- 
nel FuUarton's, made after the previous war 
with Tippoo. The colonel averred that the 
most direct route from the Carnatic through 
the passes of the Ghauts, or the southern 
boundary of Mysore, was practicable. Ge- 
neral Meadows resolved accordingly to ascend 
the Ghauts, and march upon Seringapatam. 
This route was more remote from Madras than 
that upon the northern boundary, through 
the Bavamahl. The southern road, however, 
lay through a well-watered, grain-producing 
country, and where forage and cattle might 
be procured. General Meadows fixed his 
point of support at Coimbatore, and directed 
Colonel Stuart to begin hostile operations by 
attacking the forts in the low country before 
ascending the Ghants. These strongholds 
could not have been left behind while entering 
the enemy's territory, and yet to reduce them 
must cause considerable delay, unless a small 
corps of the army could effect the purpose. 

About thirty miles to the west of the basis 
of operations chosen by General Meadows, 
stood the strong post of Palgaut, which was 
considered as a bulwark opposed to an army 
advancing against Mysore in that direction. 
As Stuart marched to Palgaut, he encountered 
the first burst of the monsoon, which strikes 
that part of the peninsula with unexpended 
fury. It smote the British column : the coun- 
try was laid under such a deluge as defied 
military operations ; while the storm, as if 
wielded by the hand of a living foe, swept 
away the tents of the campaigners, dispersed 
their cattle, and all but utterly disorganized 
the force. Stuart arrived at Palgaut, and 
made formal summons for its surrender, which 
was all he could do at such a season. He 
returned to Coimbatore, and was thence dis- 
patched to Dindigul in the south-east, a hun- 
dred miles distant from Palgaut. These long 
marches wearied the troops excessively, and 
many of the baggage animals died en route. 



He soon found that his appliances for reduc- 
ing Dindigul were insutficient. It was the 
custom of the British to neglect the jirojier 
means of reducing strong places, and to rely 
on the courage and physical strength of their 
men, reckless of the sacrifice of human life 
thus incurred. A very imperfect breach was 
made by the time that nearly all Stuart's am- 
munition was expended. He stormed this 
breach and was repulsed, notwithstanding 
the most desperate valour on the part of the 
troops. This display of daring iiitimidated 
the enemy notwithstanding their success, and 
being ignorant that the English were short of 
provisions, terms of capitulation wei'c offered, 
which, of course, Stuart was glad to accept. 
A^'hen he arrived again at head-quarters, he 
was once more ordered to lay siege to Pal- 
gaut. The weather was now mild and radiant, 
and the earth was cooled by the monsoon; 
his army, therefore, made a rapid and health- 
ful march against ' the object of their attack. 
Some delay was, however, created by the 
large train of heavy artillery which Meadows 
ordered to accompany the force, under the 
belief that a very considerable resistance would 
be offered. Such belief was unfounded. On 
the morning of the 21st of September, before 
all the batteries were opened, those of the fort 
were silenced after a feeble fire. The gar- 
rison surrendered, making only one condition, 
that they should be protected from the nairs 
in the British service, who were furious against 
Hyder for his recent persecutions of them. 

While Colonel Stuart was thus occupied, 
General Meadows prosecuted with ardour and 
address his ascent of the Ghauts. The cam- 
paign conducted by that general has been 
severely criticised, and warmly defended. 
Probably the most impartial and clear ac- 
count, in a brief compass, is that of an officer 
of engineers, and author of a history of British 
India — Hugh Murray, Esq. Having de- 
scribed the plan of operations by which the 
general reached the high table-land of My- 
sore, Mr. Murray says : — " A chain of posts 
along the rivers Cavery and Bahvany, 
namely, Caroor, Eroad, Sattimungul, had 
been successively reduced ; and the last of 
these, commanding the important pass of 
Gujelhutty, which opened the way into the 
heart of the country, was occupied by Colonel 
Floyd, with a force of two thousand men. 
By this arrangement the different corps were 
very ill-connected together; for General 
Meadows at Coimbatore was sixty miles dis- 
tant from the division of Floyd, and thirty 
from that of Stuart. The second of these 
officers pointed out the danger of his situation, 
and the intelligence he had received that the 
enemy was collecting a great force to attack 



Ca.u'. xcin.' 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



429 



him ; but the cumiuauder paid uo attention 
to this warning, and ordered the detachment 
to continue in its present jjosition. The My- 
sore cavahy, under Sej'ed Saheb, had indeed, 
in tlieir attack, been very easily repulsed, and 
even compelled to retire beliind the Ghauts ; 
still, this failure of the advanced gnard under 
a pusillanimous chief afforded no ground to 
judge of what might be expected when the 
whole force under the sultan himself should 
be brought into action. Early in September 
his horr.emen were seen in large bodies de- 
scending the ( rliauts ; and as, w-hon crossing 
the Bahvany at different points, they endea- 
voured to surround the handful of English 
and sepoys, the latter soon felt themselves in 
a very critical situation. They nevertheless 
made a gallant defence, and the enemy, having 
entangled their columns in the thick enclo- 
sures which surrounded the British position, 
.were chargedvery effectually with the bayonet, 
and several squadrons entirely cut off. The 
Mysoreans, however, still advanced with in- 
creasing numbers, and opened a battery, which 
did great execution among the native soldiers; 
yet these mercenaries stood their ground with 
great bravery, saying — ' We have eaten the 
company's salt; our lives are at their dis- 
jKisal.' They accordingly maintained their 
position, and Tippoo thought proper to with- 
draw during the night to the distance of 
several miles : but the casualties had been so 
very severe, and the post proved so un- 
tenable, that Colonel Floyd considered it 
necessary in the morning to commence his 
retreat, leaving on the field three dismounted 
guns. The sultan, at the same time, having 
mustered his forces, began the pursuit with 
about fil'teen thousand men, and after mid- 
day overtook the English as they retired in 
single column. The latter, repeatedly obliged 
to halt and form in order of battle, I'epulsed 
several charges ; yet, as soon as they resumed 
their march,- the Indians hovered round them 
on all sides. They were compelled to aban- 
don three additional guns, and their situation 
was becoming more and more critical, when 
some cavalry being seen on the road from 
Coimbatore, the cry arose that General llea- 
dows was coming to their aid. This report, 
being favoured by the commander, was echoed 
with such confidence through the ranks, that 
though Tippoo had good information as to 
the real fact, he was deceived, and withdrew 
his cavalry. Colonel Floyd was thus enabled 
to prosecute hia retreat towards the main 
army, which had already marched to meet 
him, but by a wrong road ; so that the two 
divisions found much difficulty, and suffered 
many hardships, before they could rejoin 
each other. The English, in the course of 

VOL. II. 



these untoward events, bad lost above four 
hundred in killed and wounded ; their plans 
for the campaign had been deranged ; the 
stores and magazines formed on the proposed 
line of march lay open to the enemy, and 
were therefore to be removed with all speed. 
General Meadows, notwithstanding, resumed 
offensive operations, and had nearly come in 
contact witii the army of the sultan ; but this 
ruler, by a series of manoeuvres, evaded both 
him and Colonel Maxwell, then stationed at 
Barmaid, and by a rajiid march descended 
into the Coromandel territory." 

Tippoo menaced Trichinopoly, but being 
desirous to make a wide circuit of devastation 
in a short time, he wheeled to the north, and 
ravaged the Carnatic. His mode of proce- 
dure was similar to that of his father, wlieu 
the latter marched to Madras, but either being 
poorer or more politic, instead of wasting all 
in his course by fire, as Hyder did in a large 
portion of his progress, levied " black mail," 
and so successfully, that he realized a con- 
siderable augmentation of his stores and trea- 
sury. The opposition which he met was 
nearly as slight as that which his predecessor 
experienced, when English power was less, 
and the Madras presidency not so capable of 
resisting an invasion. Tippoo approached 
Pondicherry, and negotiated with the French ; 
but their orders from home at that time were 
peremptory, to come to no terms with him 
hostile to the English. This disheartened 
Tippoo, who had already encountered a despe- 
rate resistance at Thiagar,from a British oilicer 
of talent named Captain Flint, the same who 
in the previous war liad met him with such 
gallant warfare at Wandiwash. 

General Meadows, who in single actions 
fought with skill, and was industrious and 
brave, was not equal to the complicated 
movements of a campaign on so wide a 
theatre, and in so difficult a country. He 
was in fact out-generalled by Tippoo, and 
was at this juncture reduced to great straits. 
Neither his courage nor activity failed him, 
but he still talked of offensive operations 
when he was not able, with the force left 
at his command after disasters so numerous 
and so recent, to defend the Carnatic. 

The campaign against Tippoo had proved 
unsuccessful. The British were compelled to 
resign their footing in the territory of the 
sultan, while he, descending from his high- 
lands, negotiated with their rivals under the 
walls of Pondicherry, reduced the English 
garrisons of the Carnatic, and caused alarm 
at Madras itself Meadows had still a fine 
body of men under his command, but they 
were not concentrated, were not strategi- 
cally well situated, and were, numerically, bo 

•6k 



430 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. XCIV. 



inferior to tlie forces of Tippoo, tliat their 
very existence was in jeopardy. 

During tlie progress of these events Gene- 
ral Abercromby, at the Ivead of the Bombay 
army, effected too little to influence the re- 
Bults of the campaign. When Tippoo was 
before Pondiclierry, engaging a Frenchman 
to go on a mission to the court of Louis XVI. 
for troops, whom he was ready liberally 
to subsidize, Abercromby was busy on the 
coast of Malabar. His activity there was of 
importance to the second campaign, so soon 
about to commence, but was not eiifectual 
either in relieving Meadows, retrieving his 
reverses, or preventing the descent of Tippoo 
upon the coast of Coromandel. 

On the 14th of December Abercromby 
took Cannanore. His previous delays enabled 
liim to put his army in fine condition, so that 
tlie whole coast of Malabar was swept ))y his 
troops, every fort and place of arras belonging 
to the enemy surrendering at discretion, while 
Tippoo was equally triumphant on the eastern 
shores of the peninsula. The victories of 
Abercromby were not so influential upon the 
war as those of Tippoo. The Malabar coast 
was not so important a theatre of action as that 
of Coromandel. 

When tidings of these things reached 
Calcutta, the supreme council and the go- 
vernor-general were much alarmed. Earl 
Cornwallis still entertained the highest re- 
spect for the gallant Meadows, and for his 
capacity on a limited sphere of action, or as 
second in command; but he did not feel jus- 
tified in any longer entrusting the military 



conduct of the war to him. Tlie tidings of 
occurrences on the Malabar coast did not reach 
Calcutta until a considerable time after the 
desperate state of the Carnatic was known 
there. Lord Cornwallis feared that under the 
influence of the reverses which had befallen 
the British, the nizam, or the Mahrattas, 
perhaps both, might malie separate peace, and 
abandon the alliance. No confidence could 
bo placed in their professions at the outset of 
the war; and as no prospect seemed to exist 
of the conquest and dismemberment of the 
country of Tippoo, it was not unlikely tliat 
they would not only give up their English 
ally, but join the sultan in his invasion of the 
English territory. 

As early as the 29th of January, 1701, 
Lord Cornwallis arrived at Madras with six 
battalions of Bengal infantiy, under Colonel 
Campbell, and a largo supply of ammunition 
and military stores, with heavy guns. He 
immediately assumed the command of the 
Madras army, and lost no time in preparing 
everything for a new campaign. After con- 
sultation with the Madras council and his 
officers, he resolved upon a plan of campaign 
different from the former, except in the main 
purpose of somewhere ascending the Ghauts 
with the chief force at Ills disposal, and carry- 
ing the war into the I\Iysorean country. He 
ordered General Meadows to join him, and so 
energetic and prompt was his lordship's con- 
duct of affairs, that within a week after he 
landed in Madras, he took the field. The 
second camjiaign will form the subject of a 
separate chapter. 



CHAPTER XCIV. 

SECO.ND CAMPAIGN AGAIXST TIPPOO SULTAN— LOUD CORNWALLIS ASSUMES THE COMMAND 
OF THE AllMY— HE ENTERS MYSORE— FORCES THE LINES OF SERINGAPATASI— LAYS 
SIEGE TO THE CITY AND FORTRESS-IS OBLIGED TO RAISE THE SIEGE— GENERAL 
ABERCROMBY COMPELLED TO RETIRE— SUFFERINGS OF LORD CORNWALLIS'S ARMY. 

The policy of Tippoo towards the English 
was supposed by the governor-general to de- 
l)end upon the aid which he received from 
the French. It was presumed by the British 
commander that, at all events, Tippoo's 
mode of conducting the war would depend 
upon the prospect of the co-operation of a 
French force in the Carnatic. The sultan 
was determined, with or without the French, 
to sustain a war, in which he had been so far 
successful; for he believed that the defensive 
power of Mysore was such as to bafitle all the 
efforts and sacrifices which the East India 
Company could make to conquer it, while its 



geographical position and character were such 
as would enable an energetic sultan, witli 
military talent, at any time to invade and 
plunder tlie low-lying lands of the English on 
the IMalabar and Coromandel coasts. He be- 
lieved that a very moderate amount of French 
aid in officers and men, especially in the 
engineer department, would enable him to 
conquer Madras, which he felt confident would 
be followed the next season by the conquest 
of Bombay. Tlie sultan even boasted, that 
with ten thousand auxiliary French he would 
march across the country, and burn or retain 
Calcutta. 




s,&©. 



GJylimi^ a. Q^^iM^l'n^ ^^ oJ^.oy. zW^^, Q^.Qyt. 



LONDON, JAMT.S s .VIRTUE . 



Chap. XCIV.J 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



431 



The first purpose of the general was to 
elude Tippoo, leaving him in the Carnatic to 
do his worst there, and ascend the Gliauts 
before the sultan could either intercept him 
or perceive his plan. For tliis end his 
lordship marched to Vellore, and made as 
though pressing for Amboor, oi route to the 
passes nearest and opposite to Madras. 
Tippoo, astonished and alarmed by tidings to 
this effect, which the English took care to 
have conveyed to him, disposed his resources 
to prevent the accomplishment of wliat he 
presumed must be the intention of the British 
chief. Had Lord Cornwallis purposed to 
adopt that plan, the rapidity of his movements, 
and the suddenness of his departure from 
Madras, would probably have enabled him to 
do. 80 in spite of Tippoo ; but in that case 
the sultan woidd have hung upon his rear, 
and he would have been embarrassed in his 
march. Tippoo was very unwilling to leave 
the vicinity of Pondicherry, until he had 
secured the co-operation of the French, and 
was thus led to make delay whicli he was 
unable afterwards to redeem. He was also 
less prompt to move, because he had a large 
force of light cavalry, in which he knew the 
English were deficient, and he concluded 
that he could easily outmarch them, and in- 
tercept them at a moment suiHciently oppor- 
tune to prevent their marching through the 
passes, towards which he supposed they would 
proceed from Amboor. The English com- 
mander, however, by a sudden detour to the 
right, and marching with great celerity for 
four days, came upon the northern pass of 
Moogler. There a body of the enemy was 
posted as a guard, but they were without 
any suspicion that an English force was near 
them, and were surprised, many were slain or 
captured, and the remnant were routed. By 
another rapid march of four days, the English 
general placed his army on the high plains of 
Mysore. The suddenness of his appearance 
there struck terror to the foe. Messengers 
arrived at the head-quarters of the saltan, 
informing him of these feats of generalship, 
which filled him with greater consternation 
than even the presence of an English army in 
the centre of his patrimonial territory. 

Tippoo, leaving all his conquests in the 
Carnatic, hurried with so much rapidity as to 
throw his army into disorder, and ascended 
the Ghauts by the passes of Changana, and 
Policode. He seemed bewildered, acting on 
no plan, his rapidity was that of panic, not of 
generalship. Notwithstanding his celerity 
of march, he expended time on matters of 
inferior motive, and personally attended to 
the removal of his harem from Bangalore, 
when he ought, at the head of his army, to 



have hung upon the flanks of his invading 
enemy. The English laid siege to the for- 
tress of Bangalore on the 5th March. Thus, 
in one month, by marches and manoeuvres 
worthy of a general, Tippoo was obliged to 
evacuate the Carnatic, his country, guarded 
80 strongly by nature, was penetrated without 
resistance, and a powerful British force sat 
down before the second city in his dominions. 

The English began their operations against 
the place with the utmost vigour, but various 
misadventures on the part of Lord Cornwallis's 
officers against tlio army of Tippoo, wliich 
harassed tlie English flanks, caused serious 
loss in men, and very great loss of horses, 
many of which were captured or stabbed by 
the irregular troops attending the sultan's 
army : — " Another enterprise, whicli proved 
somewhat hazardous, was the carrying of the 
fortified town of Bangalore, a place of very 
considerable extent and importance. It was 
surrounded witli an indifferent wall, but the 
ditch was good, and the gate was covered bj' 
a very close thicket of Indian thorns. The 
attack was made, too, without any due know- 
ledge of the ground ; and the soldiers, both 
in advancing and in endeavouring to force an 
entrance, were exposed to a destructive fire 
from turrets lined Avitli musketry. Colonel 
Moorhouse, one of the most accomplished 
soldiers in the service, received four wounds, 
which proved fatal. At length, when the 
gate was almost torn in pieces, Lieutenant 
Ayre, a man of diminutive stature, forced hi.i 
way through it, and Meadows, who preserved 
an inspiring gaiety in the midst of battle, 
called out, ' Well done! now, whiskers, try if 
you can follow and support the little gentle- 
man !' On this animating call, the troops 
dashed into the town ; though its great ex- 
tent rendered the occupation difficult. Tippoo 
liliewiso threw in a strong corps, whicli re- 
newed tlie contest, opening a heavy fire with 
small arms ; but when the English betook 
themselves to the bayonet, they drove the 
enemy with irresistible fury through the 
streets and lanes, and soon compelled them 
to evacuate the pcttah. Our loss, however, 
amounted to one hundred and thirty-one." 

The fortress was breached on the 21st. 
It was not in a condition to be stormed, but 
the energy of Tippoo seemed to have re- 
turned, and he was making such prodigious 
exertions for the relief of the place, that it 
was deemed necessary, even at a great sacri- 
fice, to capture the stronghold as speedily as 
possible. The commander-iii-cliief, after con- 
suking with his oftlcers, ordered the assault to 
be made that night. This was good general- 
ship. The enemy had no expectation that 
the night following the day on which an im- 



432 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[CiiAP. XCIV. 



perfect breacli appe.ired, an assault would be 
attempted ; not a man in the fortress en- 
tertained such an idea. The niglit was 
bright with all the beautiful clearness of 
tropical moonlight, so that the breach could 
be distinctly seen from the lines, and the 
dnsky sentinels of the sultan pacing to and 
fro on the battlements. The signal for attack 
was a whisper along the ranks from the front 
of the assaulting column to the rear. They 
were ordered then to advance in silence, and 
with rapidity. At eleven o'clock the column 
advanced, treading lightly along the covered 
way, and then emerging with a rush, tliey 
planted the ladders, and the forlorn hope was 
within the place before the enemy were 
aroused to their danger. The drums of the 
sultan beat to arms, the killidar leading his 
troops rushed to the post of danger, but the 
English had already driven in troops posted 
near the breach, and spreading to the right 
and left around the wall, penetrated the 
place. A fierce hand to hand encounter on- 
sued, but the -English had learned from their 
chief the advantage in war of promptitude 
and celerit}', and poured in, charging witl) 
the bayonet, and strewing their way witli 
slaughtered enemies. The governor and the 
defenders fought bravely but vainly, the 
bayonets of the English like a torrent of 
steel swept all before them, and in a very 
short time the place was mastered. 

Tippoo received the intelligence with 
despair, and even with stupor. He had ex- 
pected the assault some days later, and was 
prepared with a stratagem to raise the siege 
at the period when his spies should announce 
to him that the storm was to take jjlace. 
The suddenness of Lord Cornwallis's move- 
ments perpetually disconcerted his plans, and 
rendered useless his superior numbers and 
great resources. 

The capture of Bangalore strengthened the 
governor-general every way, but he did not 
find there such supplies of provisions and 
forage as the exigencies of his army required, 
and the deficiency of his supplies of this nature 
from all sources now became serious. Instead 
of advancing upon Seringapatam, the sultan's 
capital, he was obliged to proceed northward 
on a gigantic foraging expedition, and also in 
the hope that the rear-guard of what the 
uizam called his army might arrive, which, as 
it was sure to plunder the country in its 
course, would be well supplied, and part freely 
with those supplies for money. Ten thousand 
horse made their appearance, as was expected. 
The astonishment and disappointment of the 
English general could not be suppressed 
when he beheld this force. Unacquainted 
with Indian warfare, and with the natives of 



Southern India, his excellency had formed no 
conception of the sight which now met his 
eyes. Wilks, the historian of the Mahrattas, 
amusingly describes them thus : — " It is pro- 
bable that no national or private collection of 
ancient armour in Europe contains any arms 
or articles of personal equipment which might 
not be traced in tliis motley crowd. -The 
Parthian bow and arrow, the iron club of 
Scythia, sabres of every age and nation, lances 
of every length and description, matchlocks of 
every form, and metallic helmets of every 
pattern. The total absence of every symptom 
of order and obedience, excepting groups col- 
lected round their respective flags, every indi- 
vidual an independent warrior, self-impelled, 
affecting to be the champion whose single 
arm was to achieve victory." These wild 
heroes had neither provender nor provisions. 
The governor-general ordered them to relieve 
the harassed light liorsemen of his army on 
the outposts, but they took no notice of the 
duties imposed on them, and engaged them- 
selves altogether in plundering the enemy, 
when on outpost duty, and stealing from their 
allies when in camp. 

The condition of the English now became 
truly alarming. Tii)poo had laid waste the 
country. No supplies could be obtained. 
The governor-general determined to advance 
upon the capital, and by one bold stroke, if 
possible, frustrate his enemy and end the war. 
He had no carriage, and frou^ this circum- 
stance the march assumed a singular aspect. 
The troops, officers, and men, suttlers, fol- 
lowers, women, and even children, carried the 
ammunition. Swarms of camp followers, 
and nairs, each carrying a cannon-ball, exhi- 
bited an aspect of earnestness and oddity such 
as no army before probably ever displayed. 
" The British army marched over the barren 
heights above the valley of Millgotah, and 
there commanded a view of the mighty fortress 
of Seringa])atam,— the nest of hewn stone, for- 
midable even in the eyes of the British soldier, 
where Tippoo had brooded over his ambitious 
designs, and indulged his dreams of hatred in 
visionary triumphs over the strangers who 
had so lately imposed a yoke on Asia. Nature 
and art combined to render its defences 
strong. An immense extended camp without 
the walls, held the flower of the sultan's 
troops."* 

Tippoo prepared to abandon his capital, or 
at all events, to remove his treasures and his 
harem to Chittledroog, a place built upon a 
towering rock supposed to be impregnable. 
The mother of the sultan, and some of his 
wives, upbraided him for his want of spirit, 

■' History nf Brii'ixh Coiiijiiests in Jiii/iu, vol. i. p. 183. 
l?v lloraoc St. .lohii. 



C/iAr. XC[V'.] 



IN INDIA AND TJlli PJAST. 



433 



reminded liiiu that such a movement would 
alarm Iiis people, and with stinging reproaches 
urged liim for once to give battle to tlio Eng- 
lish upon the open field, and by hia resolution 
and numbers overwhelm tliem. lie selected 
a position with good military judgment, and 
prepared to occupy it with obstinacy. Drawing 
up his fine army on a range of heights 
above the Cavery, upon an island in which 
Seringapatam stood, he thus placed himself 
between his capital and his liitherto conquer- 
ing enemy, and dared the issue. liord C'orn- 
wallis made a skilful movement against the 
left flank of his opponent. Tippoo threw up 
redoubts on precipitous hills, which covered 
that part of his position, and as his army was 
numerous, he could spare men to occupy all 
those outposts in strength. The guns of the 
sultan commanded in every direction the 
approaches of the English, while the nature of 
the ground over winch they must march to 
storm the heights was so broken by natural 
and artificial inequalities, that the English 
could not silence the fire of the Mysoreans, 
nor adequately cover their own advance. 
Through all difficulties, in spite of the most 
terrible cannonade, midst showers of rockets, 
and confronted by deadly ranges of small 
arms, the English reached their enemiss, steel 
to steel, and dislodged them from every emi- 
nence. Every rocky elevation was the scene 
of a separate conflict. With the same steady 
fidvancc over crag and ravine, up the steep 
acclivity, and through the fiery flight of the 
enemy's missiles, the Engli.^h pressed their 
unremitting way, occupying each post only 
when clashing bayonets and sabres had, with 
brief and decisive execution, closed the mortal 
strife. The enemy fled at last for shelter 
under the walls of the strong city. Five 
hundred British lay upon the slopes and sum- 
mits of the contested ridges. The enemy 
perished in far greater numbers. This was 
accounted for by the mode in which the 
British fought. As the lines of flashing 
bayonets crested the well defended hills, they 
were lowered with quick precision, and 
searched with sure and sanguinary aim the 
over-crowded masses of the enemy. Then 
from the summits so well won, the English 
musketry poured a deadly fire upon the fugi- 
tives, who fell fast until pursuit could add 
no victims to vengeance, or glory to victory. 
The deficiency of food for the men, and 
of any kind of fodder for the cattle, rendered 
it impossible for the British commander to 
remain long enough before Seringapatam 
-to capture it. To retreat seemed almost 
as difficnlt. It was only possible by the 
sacrifice of all his baggage and stores, and 
of his splendid battering-train. His lordship 



has been criticised severely by some for ad- 
vancing at all against the capital, where ho 
knew the resources of Tijipoo were concen- 
trated, in the state of destitution as to sup- 
plies of his army. It has been explained by 
some on the ground of the reasonable alarm 
entertained by his lordship of the immediate 
action of the French on the side of Tippoo. 
Intelligence of the French revolution had 
reached the governor-general, he apprehended 
that war between France and England would 
once more involve India in its vortex, and 
that the Caruatic would be, as before, the 
necessary theatre of battle. Under these 
exciting apprehensions, it has been said that 
his lordship acted with a precipitancy in 
beginning his march upon Seringapatam from 
Bangalore, out of keeping with his usual 
coolness of judgment. At all events, the hour 
for retracing his steps arrived. The fine ma- 
terial of his army was abandoned or destroyed, 
and a retreat commenced, in which his men, 
wearied and hungry, fell back reluctantly 
from before a foe they had vanquished, and 
just when the j)rize appeared within reach. 

His lordship was not only obliged to retreat 
himself, but to countermand those forces 
which were hastening with all speed to his 
support. In the last chapter the successes 
of General Abercromby, on the Malabar coast, 
were noticed as contemporaneous with the 
campaign of General Meadows, and a part of 
the latter's plan of operations. \Yhen Lord 
Cornwallis began his march from Madras, 
Abercromby was directed to operate from the 
low lands of ^Malabar, and, if possible, ascend 
the Mysore country, so that it would be taken, 
as might be said of an army, on both flanks at 
once. Abercromby met with an ally who 
facilitated his enterprise. The people of 
Coorg were the enthusiastic enemies of Tip- 
poo, on account of his civil oppressions and 
religious persecutions. Their youthful rajah, 
after a long captivity, had lately contrived to 
effect his return. The greater part of his 
subjects were groaning in exile ; but in the 
depth of the woody recesses there was still a 
band of freemen, who rallied round him with 
enthusiastic ardour. By a series of exploits, 
that might h^ve adorned a tale of romance, 
the young prince recalled his people from the 
distant quarters to which they had been 
driven, organized them into a regular mili- 
tary body, drove the oppressors from post 
after post, and finally became undisputed ruler 
of Coorg, expelling the Mohammedan settlers 
who had been forcibly introduced. A com- 
mon interest soon united him in strict alliance 
with General Abercromby, who thus obtained 
a route by which he could transport his army, 
without opposition, into the elevated plain. 



iU 



HISTOEY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[CnAr. XOIV. 



The conve3'ance of the heavy cannon, how- 
ever, was a most laborious task, as it was 
often necessary to drag them by ropes and 
pulleys up the tremendous steeps, which form 
on this side the declivity of the Ghauts. At 
length the general had overcome every diffi- 
culty, and was in full march to join Lord 
Oornwallis, when he received orders to re- 
treat, which, in this case too, could be effected 
only by the sacrifice of all the heavy artillery. 

At this juncture the Mahrattas were ad- 
vancing in another direction. Purseram 
Bhow and Hurry Punt, two of the chiefs of 
that strangd people, were very earnest in 
the war. They took the field early in the 
campaign, but were impeded by obstacles 
which delayed their course in a manner ho- 
nourable to themselves. The strong fortress 
of Durwar, garrisoned by some of the best sol- 
diers of Tippoo, lay in the line of the Mahratta 
march. There were two battalions of the 
company's sepoys with this force, and with 
their aid the Mahrattna believed that they 
could take the fortress — an operation most 
unsuitable to the military tactics of those 
tribes. The siege was conducted in a manner 
80 absurd and dilatory that protracted opera- 
tions were necessary. The fortress held out 
from December 1790 to June, 1791, and 
then only surrendered because the Mahratta 
cavalry made the blockade so strict that 
the besieged could obtain no provisions. The 
terms of surrender were not observed by the 
Mahrattas, notwithstanding the remonstrances 
of the English officers who accompanied them. 

While Lord Cornwallis's army was in full 
retreat, the men dropping down dead from 
sickness, fatigue, or hunger, a body of cavalry 
appeared, and beyond them, in the distance, 
vast clouds of dust arose, as if a numerous 
army were on its march. The English 
had juBt made their formation for encoun- 
tering the supposed enemy, when a gro- 
tesque horseman advanced slowly, and with 
confidence. He was identified as a Mah- 
ratta. He was one of the advanced guard 
of the army of Purseram Bhow and flurry 
Pnnt. Great was the joy of the wearied, 
and famished soldiery, and of their brave and 
skilful, but sorely afflicted chief. On came 
the Mahrattas, as clouds drifting upwards 
from thehorizon before the risingstorm. Squa- 
dron after squadron of wild cavalry — hardy, 
seasoned-looking warriors — swept on over 
the devastated and trampled plain ; and at last 
the British sepoys, in their compact infantry 
order, thoroughly officered, and appearing in 
the finest state of efficiency, defiled before the 
governor-general. The British met one another 
with cheers, for which even the faint and the 
famishing in the army of Madras found a 



voice. The singular looking hosts of troopers 
brandished their swords, shook their lances, 
and curvetted their well-fed steeds. Had 
the governor-general but known that such 
an army — well supjilicd, as a Mahratta army 
always was — was hastening to his aid along 
the steeps from the north, he would have held 
his position before Seringapatam, and the 
glory of Mysore had sunk suddenly as the 
eastern sun sinks at evening. Tippoo's irre- 
gular horse had intercepted all communica- 
tion, and the governor was ignorant that the 
Mahrattas had pierced the passes of the 
Mysorean Ghauts. Had he known so much, 
he would not have countermanded the advance 
of General Abercromby ; had that general 
received intelligence which might have been 
communicated to him seaward of Madras, if 
at that presidency pains had been taken to 
organize a system of procuring and commu- 
nicating intelligence, he would have con- 
tinued his march.- The English, notwith- 
standing the frequent failures of their plans 
from similar deficiencies, were still charac- 
terised by their want of alert and active vigi- 
lance. The arrival of the Mahrattas was a 
means of relief only to those who had money 
to buy wliat these allies possessed in abun- 
dance, but his lordship made such arrange- 
ments as procured supplies of necessaries for 
his whole camp. " As soon as these auxi- 
liaries arrived, the scarcity in the cantonments 
of the English, which previously amounted 
almost to famine, ceased, so far as they were 
willing to pay the enormous prices that were 
extorted from their necessities. Every article 
abounded in that predatory host : it exhibited 
'the spoils of the East, and the industry of 
the M^est, — from a web of English broad- 
cloth to a Birmingham penknife ; from the 
shawls of Cashmere to the second-hand gar- 
ment of the Hindoo ; from diamonds- of the 
first water to the silver ear-ring of a poor 
plundered village maiden ;' while ' the tables 
of the money-changers, overspread with the 
coins of every country of the East, gave evi- 
dence of an extent of mercantile activity 
utterly inconceivable in any camp, excepting 
that of systematic plunderers by wholesale 
and retail.' These allies, moreover, intro- 
duced the commander to a most useful class 
of men, the brinjarries or grain-merchants, 
who, travelling in large armed bodies with 
their wives and children, made it their busi- 
ness to supply all the militant powers of 
Hindostan. They distributed their corn with 
[ the strictest impartiality to all who could pay 
for it ; and the general, now amply supplied 
j with funds, was no longer exposed to want, and 
[ oasilyobtainedapreferenceoverTippoo, vv-hose 
' pecuniary resources were beginning to fail." 



Chap. XCIV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



43a 



Notwithstanding the relief thus oppor- 
tunely obtained, the governor-general did not 
deem it practicable to retrace his steps to the 
Hcenos of his recent conquests. His battering 
train having been lost, a fresh one had to 
be procured from Jladras before he could 
hope to besiege Seringapatam. Other ne- 
cessary supplies of military material were also 
necessary, in place of those which had been 
destroyed preliminary to the retreat. 

Rei)ose was now absolutely necessary for 
the army of Lord Cornwallis. Nearly all the 
cattle had died, either from overwork, or an 
epidemic disease which quickly destroyed 
them, and caused them to jjutrefy almost im- 
mediately after death. This caused sickness 
in the camp, which was much increased by 
the starved followers eating the putrid flesh. 
Small-pox, so common and so fatal in the East, 
made great havoc. The store of rice was to a 
considerable extent wasted, or embezzled by 
the native drivers and servants. The sup- 
plies which the JIahrattas sold at so high a 
pi'ice were rapidly vanishing. Safe communi- 
cations were opened with Madras, and the 
wearied army, as it rested, awaited with zeal, 
as well as obedience, the day when, with re- 
cruited force, it might again march against 
the boasted capital of Mj'sore. While these 
events were passing, and indeed o-s soon as 
the junction with the Mahrattas was formed, 
Tippoo became anxious to negotiate. On the 
L'7th of May he sent a flag of truce, accom- 
panied by numerous servants and a bushel of 
fruit, and a letter in Persian soliciting peace. 
The flag and the fruit were returned the next 
morning, much to the gratification of the 
troops. An answer to Tippoo's letter was 
also sent, "acquainting him that the English 
nation would agree to no peace which did not 
include their allies : and if he meant to nego- 
tiate, he must in tlie first instance deliver up 
all the British subjects who were prisoners in 
his dominions, and consent that a truce should 
take place, until his proposals could be con- 
sidered and the terms adjusted. The fruit 
was returned in the same manner as it had 
been sent ; not as an insult, but merely to 
show that his lordship declined even the ap- 
pearance of friendly intercourse with the sul- 
tan. In the army it was understood that 
Tippoo, finding he could not treat separately 
with the English, and seeing that he had an- 
other season to try his expedients for disunit- 
ing the confederacy, as well as to prepare for 
his defence, replied to his lordship, by asserting 
that he had no llritish subjects detained pri- 
soners in his country since the former war, 
and that he would not agree to a truce."* 

* lleview of Lord Cornwallis' Second Campaign against 
Tippoo. By Major Dirom. 



It was of great consequence to the success 
of another campaign that a good understand- 
ing should be established with the Mahrattas. 
This Lord Cornwallis succeeded in accom- 
plishing before he dispatched General Mea- 
dows, Colonel Stuart, and others of his su- 
perior officers, on different expeditions. The 
Mahrattas were n people of great military 
pride and quick sensibilities ; they were also 
vindictive, and, like most oriental people, 
fickle in their policy. Any ill-will springing 
up between them and the British troops would 
perhaps have been productive of irremediable 
mischief. A want of respect to their chiefs 
on the part of the governor-general would 
have sent the whole host away, or have 
caused them to make separate terms with 
Tippoo. Yet, if the governor-general had 
paid their chiefs any undue deference, or 
appeared to depend upon the alliance as a sine 
qud noil for conducting the war with Tij)})oo, 
they would have at once assumed the air of 
conquerors orsuperiors, and become as trouble- 
some as Tippoo himself. Lord Cornwallis had 
but little experience of oriental peoples, and that 
which he knew of the natives of India was 
confined to the neighbourhood of Calcutta 
previous to this campaign. He had, how- 
ever, the mind of a statesman, with such su- 
perior natural taste and judgment as qualified 
him in an eminent degree for intercourse with 
orientals, especially in the transaction of 
political business. When the Mahrattas 
formed their junction with the British, they 
pitched their tents at some distance ; and 
Lord Cornwallis had to consider with what 
ceremonial his interview with the leaders of 
this army should be associated. The follow- 
ing graphic picture was given by an eye-wit- 
ness, the deputy adjutant-general of Lord 
Cornwallis's army, Major Dirom :— 

"On the 28th May, the army fell back 
towards Milgottah, where the Mahratta armies 
were to encamp ; and, to prevent discussion 
and delay on points of ceremony. Lord Corn- 
wallis proposed to meet the Mahratta chiefs at 
tents pitched midway between the Mahratta 
and the British camps. 

" Lord Cornwallis, accompanied by General 
Meadows, their staff, and some of the princi- 
pal officers of the army, went to the tents at 
the hour appointed, which was one o'clock; 
but the chiefs, who consider precision as in- 
consistent with power and dignity, did not 
even leave their own camp till three, though 
repeated messages were sent that his lordship 
waited for them. They at length mounted 
their elephants, and, proceeding as slow and 
dignified in their pace as they had been dila- 
tory in their preparation, approached the place 
of appointment at four o'clock, escorted by 



i.'.r, 



UISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[CiiAi'. XCIV. 



several corps of their inl'autry, a retinue of 
horse, aud nil the pagentry of Eastern state. 
The chiefs, on descending from their ele- 
phants, were met at the door of the tent by 
Lord Cornwallis and General Meadows, who 
embraced them, and, after some general con- 
versation, retired to a private conference in 
another tent. 

" Hnrry Punt, about sixty years of age, a 
Brahmin of the first order, and the personage 
of greatest consequence, is said to be the third 
in the senate of the Jlahratta state. His 
figure is venerable, of middle stature, and not 
corpulent ; he is remarkably fair, his eyes 
grey, and his countenance, of Eoman form, 
fnll of thought and character. 

" Purseram Bhow, aged about forty, stands 
high in military fame among the JNlahrattas. 
He is an active man, of small stature, rather 
dark in his complexion, with black eyes, and 
an open animated countenance, in which, and 
his mien, he seemed desirous to show his 
character of an intrepid warrior. His an- 
tipathy to Tippoo is said to be extreme ; for 
the sultan had put one of his brothers to death 
in a most cruel manner, and Hyder'a con- 
quests to the northward fell chiefly upon the 
possessions of his family, which he lately re- 
covered by the reduction of Darwar. Hurry 
Punt was destined to be the chief negotiator 
on the part of liis nation; each commanded 
a separate army, but the Bhow was to be 
employed more immediately in the active 
operatians of the field. 

" The chiefs themselves, and all the llah- 
rattas in their suite, and indeed all their 
people, were remarkably plain, but neat, in 
their appearance. Mild in their aspect, hu- 
mane in their disposition, polite and unaffected 
in their address, they are distinguished by 
obedience to their chiefs, and attachment to 
their country. There were not to be seen 
among them those fantastic figures in armour 
so common among the Mohammedans, in the 
nizam's, or, as they style themselves, the 
iMogul army ; adventurers collected from every 
quarter of the East, who, priding themselves 
on individual valour, think it beneath them to 
be useful but on the day of battle, and, when 
that comes, prove only the inefficiency of 
numbers, unconnected by any general prin- 
ciple of xmion or discipline. 

" The Mahrattas of every rank seemed 
greatly rejoiced in having effected this junc- 
tion, and considered it a happy omen, that 
this event should have taken place at Milgot- 
tah, a spot so renowned in their annals for 
the signal victory gained by Madharow in 
1772, in which he completely routed and dis- 
persed Hyder's army, and took all his can- 
non. Many of the chiefs and people who had 



served with that general were now in these 
armies ; but they had since felt the superority 
of the forces of Mysore, and were impressed 
with such an idea of Tippoo's discipline, and 
his abilities in the field, that they were not 
a little pleased in having joined the British 
army, without having occasion to try their 
fortune singly with the sultan. They all 
showed great eagerness to hear the news, and 
to know the reason of our having burst our 
great guns. On being told of the victory of 
the 15th of May, and of the subsequent neces- 
sity of destroying the battering train, from 
want of provisions, and not knowing of their 
approach, they partook in the joy and grief 
we had experienced on those events ; and 
seeing that we considered the late defeat of 
Tippoo as a matter of course, and that we 
looked forward with confidence to the cap- 
ture of the capital, they expressed themselves 
to the following effect : — ' We have brought 
plenty — do you get more gnns — we will feed 
you, and you shall fight.' The conference 
between the generals and the chiefs broke up 
between five and six o'clock, apparently much 
to the satisfaction of both parties." 

The officer, who gave the description just 
quoted, presents also an animated picture of 
the military habits of our ally. It has been 
already related that two sepoy battalions were 
attached to the Mahratta forces. These re- 
giments belonged to the Bombay army. The 
chiefs always placed the British infantry in 
front, so that they served as a picket to the 
Mahratta camp. Indeed, the only measure 
taken specifically to guard against surprise, 
was that those infantry regiments were thrown 
out in advance, encamping always in that 
advanced position. Cavalry was spread in 
detachments far on the rear and flanks of the 
army, to secure plunder or cover the arrival 
of supplies. These, without exercising any 
especial vigilance, would be soon able to detect 
an advancing enem}\ Major Dirom expresses 
great surprise at the artillery appointments of 
our ally : — 

" The gun carriages, in which they trust to 
the solidity of the timber, and use but little 
iron in their construction, are clumsy beyond 
belief; particularly the wheels, which are 
low, and formed of large solid j)ioces of wood 
united. The guns are of all sorts and dimen- 
sions ; and, having the names of their gods 
given to them, are painted in the most fan- 
tastic manner ; and many of them, held in 
esteem for the services they are said to have 
already performed for the state, cannot now 
be dispensed with, although in every respect 
unfit for use. Were the guns even service- 
able, the small supply of ammunition with 
which they are provided has always effectually 



J 



Chap. XCIV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



437 



incvontcd the Maliratta artillery from being 
t'unnitlablu to their eueuiies. 

'• The Mahratta infantry, whioli formed part 
of the retinue that attended the cliiefs at the 
conference, is composed of black Christians, 
and despicable poor wretches of the lowest 
caste, uniform in nothing but the bad state of 
their muskets, none of which are either clean 
or complete; and few are provided with either 
ammunition or accoutrements. They are 
commanded by half-caste people of Portuguese 
and French extraction, who draw off the at- 
tention of spectators from the bad clothing of 
their men, by the profusion of antiquated lace 
bestowed ou their own ; and if there hap- 
pens to be a few Europeans among the 
officers and men, which is sometimes the 
case, they execrate the service, and deplore 
their fate. 

" The Malirattas do not appear to treat 
their infantry with more respect than they 
deserve, as they ride through them without 
any ceremony on the march, and on all occa- 
sions evidently consider them as foreigners, 
and a very inferior class of people and troops. 
Indeed the attention of the IMahrattas is di- 
rected entirely to their horses and bazars, 
those being the only objects which immedi- 
ately affect their interest. On a marching 
day, the guns and the infantry move off soon 
after daylight, but rarely together ; the bazars 
and baggage move nearly about the same time, 
as soon as they can be packed up and got 
ready. The guns and tumbrels, sufficiently 
unwieldy without farther burden, are so heaped 
with stores and baggage, that there does not 
seem to be any idea of its ever being necessary 
to unlimber, and prepare for action on the 
march. As there are no pioneers attached to 
the Mahratta artillery to repair the roads, this 
deficiency is compensated by an additional 
number of cattle, there being sometimes a 
hundred, or a hundred and fifty bullocks, in a 
string of pairs, to one gun : the drivers, who 
are very expert, sit on the yokes, and pass 
over every impediment, commonly at a trot. 
The chiefs remain upon the ground, without 
tents, smoking their hookahs, till the artillery 
and baggage have got on some miles ; they 
then follow, each pursuing his own route, at- 
tended by his principal people ; while the in- 
feriors disperse, to forage and plunder over 
the country. 

" A few days after the junction of the Blah- 
ratta armies, an irregular fire of cannon and 
musketry \\as heard in their camp between 
nine and ten at night. The troops imme- 
diately turned out in our camp, and stood to 
tlioir arms, thinking that Tippoo had certainly 
attacked the Malirattas ; but it proved to be 
only the celebration of one of their ceremonies, 

VOL. II. 



in which they salute the new moon, on its firist 
appearance." 

Another circumstance occurred soon alter, 
also characteristic of their customs and dis- 
cipline : — " The ground on which our army 
had encamped at the junction, being bare of 
grass, and extremely dirty. Lord Coruwallis 
was desirous of marching ; and sent to the 
Biahratta chiefs, to request they would move 
next morning, as their camp lay directly in 
our route. They returned for answer, ' that 
they should be happy to obey his lordship's 
commands ; but, as they had halted eight 
days, it was not lucky, nor could they, ac- 
cording to the custom of their religion, march 
on the ninth day.' His lordship gave way to 
their superstitious prejudice, and deferred his 
march." 

The allies moved on the Gth of June to the 
north of the Mysore, towards Nagamangala. 
Purseram Bhow had established a post and 
depot there. From thence they inarched 
eastward to Bangalore. The objects of these 
marches were to enable the Malirattas to 
withdraw in safety the posts they had estab- 
lished on their line of mai'ch ; to subsist the 
allies at the expense of the enemy ; to cause 
Tippoo to consume the provisions which he 
had laid up for the defence of the capital. 

The Mahrattas marched tumultuously, and 
seemed to depend upon the vigilance and dis- 
cipline of the English against surprise, the 
very service which the English had expected 
from the numerous Biahratta irregular horse. 
Those horsemen were most active, but not so 
much as the eyes of the grand army, as inde- 
pendent corps, conducting all sorts of irre- 
gular and eccentric expeditions on their own 
account. They captured some of Tippoo's 
elephants, and minor convoys. They way- 
laid his cavalry scouts, and boldly fell upon 
them when a chance of success was opened. 
This was of importance to the English, whose 
horses were much reduced by travel and in- 
sufficient fodder. 

Earl Cornwallis had much difficulty in 
keeping the Mahratta chiefs in good humour, 
each affecting the bearing of a sovereign 
prince. It was also most difficult for him to 
form plans of military co-operation with 
them. New battering trains were soon sent 
from Madras and Bombay, money came from 
Calcutta, provisions were found by the Mah- 
rattas, but horses and oxen to draw the guns 
and stores could not be procured by any 
amount of payment. By ingenious arrange- 
ments with officers, especially those in com- 
mand of battalions. Lord Cornwallis " relieved 
the bullock department," as the deputy- adju- 
tant-general of the army expressed it. Camels 
were purchased by individual officers in their 

3 L 



438 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. XCV 



zeal for the public service ; and the whole 
army was animated by an enthusiastic desire 
to make up someliow every deiiciency of 
equipment. The only supplies issued to the 
British sepoys were rice, salt, and arrack ; the 
European soldiers had cattle and sheep for 
slaughter, in addition to rice and small rations 
of corn. The British commander, like the 
great Duke of Wellington many years after- 
wards in the Spanish peninsula, became a sort 
of grain merchant to supply his troops, and 
with equal success. Captain Read, an officer 
well versed in the languages of Southern 
India, and possessing a remarlcable talent for 
organization, made arrangements with the 
grain merchants on a gigantic scale, and by 
trusting to them in fair and open market, 
treating them justly, and paying the value for 
their commodities, the English army received 
regular supplies. The Mahrattas by plunder 
barely provided for themselves, while the 
nizam's forces could neither supply their wants 
by purchase or plunder. 

After the reduction of various forts, the 
army came in sight of Bangalore. Cap- 
tain Read succeeded in meeting it with a 
convoy of brinjarries (or corn merchants), 
having ten tliousand, or as some writers of 
the time affirmed, twelve thousand bullock- 
loads of rice and grain. Here Lord Corn- 
wallis received intelligence of the favourable 
views which were entertained in England of 
his conduct in waging and conducting this 
war. He also received despatches informing 
him that half a million sterling was voted by 
the company to replenish his exchequer, and 
that large reinforcements of troops, especially 
artillery, were on their way out. From Cal- 



cutta, he heard that bullock draught was pre- 
paring for his service, and a despatch from 
Vellore informed him of the arrival there, from 
Bengal, of one hundred elephants and twenty- 
five bullocks. Thousands of coolies arrived 
with provisions on their own speculation, so 
that supplies became abundant. The army 
was thus encouraged and their noble com- 
mander, confident of victory, communicated 
by sympathy his confidence to his troops. 

A new disposition of forces occurred in 
the neighbourhood of Bangalore, with a view 
to protect the arrival of supplies to the 
allies, cut off supplies from Tippoo, and se- 
cure sufficient support for sucli vast bodies 
of men, troops, and camp-followers. Colonel 
Duff, whose name became afterwards so much 
identified with the peoples and countries of 
Southern India, took charge of the artillery, 
and prepared a battering train for service once 
more at Seringapatam. He had rendered in- 
valuable aid to the ^rray in the same way on 
its previous advance to the Mysorean capital. 

The approaching period of the monsoons 
rendered an advance upon Seringapatam im- 
possible. The grand army, under Lord Corn- 
wallis, kept open its communications with the 
Carnatic, to secure the arrival of guns, am- 
munition, and stores. To ensure this impor- 
tant end, it was necessary to secure the 
pass of Palicode, and that could only be ac- 
complished by the capture of Oussoor, a for- 
tified place which commanded it. This was 
the first operation of the army of any mag- 
nitude after the junction of the triune forces, 
and, as it may be considered as the beginning 
of the third campaign, is reserved for a se- 
parate chapter. 



CHAPTER XCV. 

WAR WITH TIPPOO: THIRD CAMPAIGN— EARL CORNWALMS CONQUERS OUSSOOR— REDUCES 
THE WHOLE TERRITORY OP MYSORE, AND ADVANCES TO THE FORTIFIED LINES OF 
SERINGAPATAM. 



On the 15th of July the army moved from the 
cantonments of Bangalore towards Oussoor. 
This part of the country had not as yet been 
made the theatre of war, and the inhabitants 
were engaged in attention to their fields. 
The landscape was beautii'ul in its variety of 
aspect, fertility, and careful cultivation. Rich 
foliage crowned the knolls and hill-tops, as the 
ground undulated or rose in bolder eminences. 
The elevation of tlie region gave coolness, 
yet it basked in all the glorious light of the 
Indian sun. 



The seventh brigade reached Oussoor 
under Slajor Gowdie. On the appearance of 
the British the enemy abandoi»ed the place, 
attempting unsuccessfully to blow it up before 
commencing their flight. A large store of 
grain and powder rewarded the march of the 
British brigade. Tlie fall of Oussoor was 
very dispiriting to Tippoo; he regarded it as 
strategically of great importance, and his 
orders were to strengthen and defend it to the 
uttermost. Previous to the arrival of Major 
Gowdie, the English prisoners were murdered 



Chap. XCV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



439 



by express order of Tippoo, notwithstanding 
remonstrances by the governor, and solicita- 
tions for mercy from the inhabitants. Like 
his father, the sultan delighted to shed the 
blood of defenceless enemies. The various 
hill-forts in the neighbourhood surrendered, 
or were taken, and the English held the im- 
portant pass, by which their stores and con- 
voys were chiefly to arrive during the re- 
mainder of the campaign. 

About the middle of August, Tippoo, 
liaving consented to treat with the allies 
jointly, instead of separately, as was his policy, 
sent a vakeel to Oussoor. This person, Apogj' 
Row, was well known to the English, having 
in the previous war also acted the part of a 
negotiator. He would not open his creden- 
tials without certain ceremonies, which were 
evidently designed for delay, and he was, 
therefore, not permitted to enter the camp. 

By the end of the month of September 
twenty-eight thousand bullocks were provided 
in the Carnatic for the use of the army. The 
laborious and expensive preparations in cattle, 
material, and carriage equipment, of which 
Tippoo had ample information by his spies, 
alarmed him more than the actual presence of 
numerous armies on the high table-land of 
Mysore. He was convinced that the English 
were in earnest, and had ample means to sus- 
tain a new and protracted campaign. Yet 
such was his hatred to the British, a feeling 
inherited from his father, and provoked by 
their shameless violation of treaty, that he 
preferred risking his all in conflict with them, 
to opportune concession. 

During the remainder of the autumn the 
British were engaged in various directions, 
but chiefly to the north-east of Bangalore, in 
reducing forts, and cutting off communications 
with the country from the sultan's liead- 
qnarters. His lordship in this way found 
means of employing the army honourably, and 
with great detriment to the enemy. 

The country of Tippoo was studded with 
"droogs," fortified hills, or rocks. Some of 
these were exceedingly precipitous. Nature 
had provided Mysore with bulwarks of defence, 
and Hyder Aliand Tippoo Sultan knewhowto 
make them available. Among these Nunde- 
droog was one of the chief, and was held by 
one of Tippoo's most trusted officers. There 
was only one of the faces of the rock which 
was accessible, and that only under circum- 
stances of difficulty almost constituting the 
impossible. This portion of the crag was 
defended near the summit by a double wall. 
An English detachment commanded by Major 
^Gowdie, under the direction of General Mea- 
dows, formed approaches on the steeps, built 
batteries, and dragged up cannon. In twenty- 



one days two breaches were opened. General 
Meadows himself led the assault. A night of 
soft clear moonlight, such as guided the for- 
lorn hope so swiftly through the newly-formed 
breach at Bangalore, favoured the English. 
The assailants suffered hardly any loss from 
the fire of the enemy ; the steepness of the 
ascent brought them inside the range, but 
huge masses of granite were rolled down, 
which hurled away many of the English in 
their descent, so that ninety men were lost 
before the breaches were attained. Then 
sword to sword, high up on that moonlit 
summit, a fierce encounter took place in the 
gaping chasms made by the English guns. 
Thirty English fell in the breaches ; these 
once carried, the enemy struggled no more, 
and Meadows, sword in hand, like a volunteer 
subaltern, entered at the head of the stormers. 
It was one of the most gallant feats ever per- 
formed by Englishmen, and by an English 
general. 

Colonel Stuart attacked Savendroog, which 
had been of equal importance with Nunde- 
droog, but which, during the siege of the 
latter, was so strengthened, that Tippoo's 
officers considered it impregnable. It was 
battered, breached, and stormed in twelve 
days without a man being lost on the side of 
the conquerors. Outredroog was surrendered 
after a feeble resistance, so great was the 
panic created by what were considered, pre- 
vious to their accomplishment by the English, 
impossible feats. Kistnagherry town was 
burned; the droog of that place was attempted 
by a coup-de-main, but the attack failed. 
Tippoo, perceiving the moral efl'ect of these 
exploits, determined upon a bold attempt to 
countervail them. He led an expedition 
southward, and suddenly attacked Coimbatore. 
The garrison capitulated on terms which re- 
spected their liberty ; Tippoo violated the 
capitulation, and sent the whole garrison pri- 
soners to Seringapatam with every conceiv- 
able indignity, and many cruelties. Tippoo 
probably considered that even if ultimately 
defeated, he might execute vengeance upon 
such men as he could get into his power, the 
English in the former war having shown such 
indifi'erence to the fate of the prisoners he had 
murdered, when they came to terms of peace. 
Tippoo was not able to effect much more than 
the reduction of Coimbatore. 

Before the month of October had far ad- 
vanced, the supplies of men and money ar- 
rived from England, including two companies 
of Royal Artillery, under Major Scott. Three 
hundred seasoned troops also arrived from St. 
Helena. These troops endured the climate 
of India better than those which came directly 
from England. While from the presidencies 



-140 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRK 



[Chap. XCV. 



of Bengal and Madras reinforcements and sup- 
plies were poured in on one side of ^Mysore, 
the reinforcements wliich arrived from Eng- 
land at Bombay were organized, and ready to 
ascend the Ghauts on the other side. 

While these events occurred, Tippoo sent 
a strong force into the Baramaul, which en- 
dangered the British convoys. Lord Corn- 
wallis ordered Lieutenant-colonel Maxwell, at 
the head of a strong infantry brigade, to co- 
operate with some Mahratta irregular cavalry 
to clear that country. The chief work of this 
brigade was the reduction of forts, which the 
enemy feebly defended ; but in every case 
where opportunity was afforded, they acted 
with treachery and cruelty. By the end of No- 
vember, Colonel INIaxwell performed his mis- 
sion, but not without having sustained oneseri- 
0U8 repulse and heavy loss in officers and men. 
While these events were transpiring, the 
Bombay army, under General Abercromby, 
was engaged in active operations. That 
officer, as seen in the last chapter, had 
been ordered by Lord Cornwallis to retreat. 
He returned to Tellicheny from Bombay early 
in November, bringing with him drafts on 
service, recruits, and a battering train. Oti 
tiie 23rd of the month this force marched from 
its cantonments, and .assembled at Oannanore. 
Earl Cornwallis ordered General Abercromby 
to proceed upon the same plan as in the pre- 
vious campaign. That officer accordingly 
marched on the oth of Hecember to the Pondi- 
cherrim Ghaut, and on the 7th crossed the 
river at Illiacore, this river being navigable 
to within two miles of the place which the 
general selected for the passage of his army, 
so that the heavy guns and stores were 
brought up to that point. From Illiacore the 
ascent of the ghaut was steep and rugged. 
Deoj) ruts had been formed by torrents during 
the previous monsoon. It was necessary to 
repair the road, that the guns and baggage 
might be brought uj) in safety, and thus con- 
siderable delay was occasioned. The English 
officers and soldiers were much impressed by 
the grandeur of the route, the bold mountain 
towering to the heavens, its steeps clothed 
thickly with forest, the views of the country 
beneath, and of the distant sea, presenting the 
richness and variety peculiar to oriental scenery. 
Having surmountedthe difficulties of the ascent 
uear Illiacore, the army had a long march of 
twenty-six miles through a wooded, partly 
undulated, and partly abrupt country to Pon- 
dicherrim, where the ascent of the great hill 
offers the grand impediment to an arniy. The 
number and strengtlr of the trees peculiar to 
the Indian forest furnished means for affixing 
ropes to pull up the heavy guns and the store 



Leaving the Pondicherrini Ghaut, the army 
pursued its toilsome way over thirty miles of 
wooded, rocky, picturesque, and most difficult 
country, to the foot of the Jiedaseer Ghaut. 
At this point the services of the Kajah of 
Coorg became available, as in the previous 
advance, and much facilitated the march of 
the army, not only by supplies of food, but by 
the warlike and vigilant co-operation of a 
brave people. Having penetrated the range 
of successive ghauts, the Bombay army en- 
camped on the plains of Mysore, where it 
awaited the period for co-operation with the 
grand army. General Abercromby's force 
consisted of four European regiments, eight 
battalions of sepoys, four companies of artil- 
lery in four brigades, amounting to nearly 
nine thousand good soldiers. Here it is ne- 
cessary to leave the army of Abercromby 
until other events are I'elated. 

When, in July, the necessity of procuring 
subsistence compelled the allied armies to se- 
parate, the Mahrattas, with a Bombay con- 
tingent, under Captain Little, proceeded from 
the neighbourhood of Bangalore in the direc- 
tion of Sera and Chittledroog. The country 
being fertile, the Mahratta commander, Pur- 
seram Bhow, selected it for his sphere of 
operations. Captain Little, at the head of 
the Bombay native contingent serving with 
his army, made for himself much distinction. 
One of the most sanguinary pitched battles 
of the war was won by him, and siege was 
laid to Scooly-Onore by the end of Decem- 
ber. On the second of January the place 
capitulated. 

Purseram Bhow was elated with his suc- 
cesses, which were chiefly due to Captain Little 
and his Bombay sepoys. The JIahratta, there- 
fore, instead of joining General Abercromby's 
army, went in an opposite direction, disarrang- 
ing the comprehensive plan of the campaign, 
and hazarding the success of the war. When 
"the bhow" ought to have been with Aber- 
cromby, so as to make the Bombay army un- 
assailable, and secure the safety of his own, 
he was at Bidenore, unable to effect anj'- 
thing bearing upon the grand scope of the 
campaign. 

Ti|)poo, alarmed by the rapidity of the 
Mahratta movements, and the enterprises 
which Captain Little had directed, detached 
Cummer-ud-deen Khan in the direction of 
Bidenore. The bhow became alarmed in 
turn, and, desisting from his designs on 
Bidenore and other cities in its vicinity, re- 
tired from before the corps of the khan, and, 
yielding to the stern letters of Lord Corn- 
wallis and Hurry Punt, directed his course* 
towards Seringapatam, to take his place in 
the military array formed against that city. 



Chap. XCV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



441 



The khan, emboldened by the retirement of 
the bhow, from terror, as he supposed, of 
his superior prowess, performed various ex- 
ploits with his cavalry, making long marches 
and effecting several surprises. A strong 
body of Mysorean horse penetrated into the 
Carnatic, committed extensive devastation, 
reached the neighbourhood of Madras, ex- 
citing much alarm, and were only repelled after 
all the Europeans had volunteered to go out 
against them. The council, always timid, 
although often rash, was of course panic- 
struck. The agriculturists all around Ma- 
dras deserted their fields. 

While these military movements were tak- 
ing place, the English navy inflicted much in- 
jury upon the enemy's strong places on the coast 
of Malabar. Commodore Cornwallis, Captains 
Byron, Sutton, Troubridge, and Osborne at- 
tacked various coast fortifications belonging to 
Tippoo, assisted in the conquest of Cannanore, 
and captured Fortified Island, at the mouth of 
the Onore river. The French had sent out 
store-ships from their settlements forTippoo's 
service, under protection of their own frigates, 
althougb the two nations were then at peace. 
The English commodore stopped one of these 
convoys. The French commodore fired two 
broadsides without any previous declaration 
or warning of hostile intent; the result was an 
action, in which the French were severely 
punished, and their frigate captured. 

On the 14th of January, 1792, the various 
bodies of the grand army, with the exception 
of that belonging to the nizam, formed a junc- 
tion in the neighbourhood of Outredroog. On 
the 25th of January, the advanced guard of 
the nizam's army was seen approaching, and 
Lord Cornwallis proceeded out to meet it. 
The allied armies marched next day, and on 
the 27th reached Hooleadroog. In the pre- 
vious June that place had been conquered by 
the British. After the retreat of Lord Corn- 
wallis, the Mysoreans again took possession 
of it, and strongly fortified it. The town 
was small, but the fort was considered inac- 
cessible to assault ; nevertheless, the killidar 
(governor) surrendered to Colonel IMaxwell 
upon summons. 

Lord Cornwallis posted a garrison at this 
place, and assembled all his forces in its vici- 
nity. After such preparation as was neces- 
sary, his army moved forward towards the 
capital. Tippoo had no well-founded hope 
of defending his provinces ; but in his obsti- 
nacy and determination he had resolved to 
defend the city to which his father had given 
so mnch fame as the seat of his government. 
Tippoo believed that it was strong enough 
to resist the allied arms of Hyderabad, 
Poonah, and Madras, and he counted upon 



the exhaustion of their resources in the siege, 
which would necessitate a disastrous retreat, 
lead to dissension among the allies, another 
invasion of the Carnatic by himself, and the 
siege — perhaps capture — of Madras. With 
aid from the French and from the Sultan of 
Turkey, he believed he could expel the Eng- 
lish from the shores both of Malabar and Coro- 
mandel ; that the nizam and peishwa would 
be glad to make separate terms, and that his 
supremacy would be recognised in the penin- 
sular portion of India. As the Emperor 
Nicholas of Russia, at a much later period, 
believed that Sebastopol would exhaust the re- 
sources of the great powers of Western Europe 
which besieged it, so Tippoo concluded that the 
allied powers of Southern India would pour 
out fruitlessly their blood and treasure before 
Seringapatam, so as to ensure him an ultimate 
and complete conquest. 

Lord Cornwallis had succeeded in gaining 
the confidence of the governments of Hydera- 
bad and Poonah, and in uniting in his plans 
the generalissimos of the armies of these states. 
He exercised, therefore, virtually, the supreme 
direction of the armies, and was enabled to 
carry out his plans of action without opposi- 
tion. Hisresolution was to march at once upon 
Seringapatam. Hooleadroog was established 
as an advanced post, being ten miles nearer 
the grand object than Outredroog, and from 
which the allied armies, now finally assembled, 
were to commence their march, for the second 
attempt upon the enemy's capital. 

Before proceeding upon the final struggle 
and grand issue of his enterprise. Lord Corn- 
wallis was desirous of affording the nizam 
and the Mahratta chiefs, a view of his army 
in its full strength and array of war. Those 
personages appeared higlily pleased with the 
compliment which his lordshij) proposed to 
confer, but did not seem to contemplate the 
utility of forming an intimate acquaintance 
with the discipline, equipment, arrangement, 
and component peculiarities of an ally's 
troops. They thought it a fine opportunity 
for displaying their own elephants, their per- 
sonal pomp and glory, and for impressing 
upon the minds of the English troops, ideas of 
the greatness of the native sovereigns and 
commanders associated with them in the field. 

On the Slst of January, the British troops 
were ordered under arms, for review by the 
nizam and the Mahratta chiefs. The noble 
earl, and General Meadows, proceeded to meet 
the princes and generals of the allies to the 
right of the English line. 

The following graphic description of what 
followed, was given by the only officer pre- 
sent, who, acquainted with all the facts, 
thought proper to describe their occurrence ; — 



442 



HISTOKY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. XOV. 



" The camp was pitched in a valley close 
to Hooleadroog, and, from the nature of the 
ground, could not be in one straight line, but 
was formed on three sides of a square, with a 
considerable interval, on account of broken 
ground, between the divisions, which were 
thus encamped each with a different front. 
The reserve, consisting of the cavalry, with a 
brigade of infantry in the centre, formed the 
division on the right of the line, and the 
two wings of the infantry formed the two 
other divisions of the encampment ; the bat- 
tering train ■ being in the centre of the left 
wing fronting Hooleadroog. The extent of 
the line, including the breaks between the 
divisions, was above four miles. The prince, 
the minister. Hurry Punt, and the tributary 
Nabobs of Cuddapu and Canoul, who had 
accompanied Secunder Jau from Hyderabad, 
were on elephants richly caparisoned, attended 
by a numerous suite of their best horse, and 
preceded by their chubdars, who call out their 
titles ; surrounded, in short, by an immense 
noisy multitude. The prince was in front, 
attended by Sir John Kennaway, on an 
howdered elephant, near enough to answe^r 
such questions as might be asked by his high- 
ness respecting the troops. On his reaching 
the right of the line, a salute of twenty-one 
guns was fired from the park, while the 
cavalry, with drawn swords and trumpets 
sounding, received him with due honours 
as he passed their front. He returned the 
officers' salute, and looked attentively at 
the troops. The 19th dragoons, of which 
they had all heard, attracted their particular 
notice as they passed the corps of the reserve. 
Having seen a regiment of Europeans, be- 
sides the dragoons in the first division, the 
chiefs were not a little surprised to find a 
brigade of three regiments, on proceeding a 
little farther, in the centre of the second divi- 
sion. They had passed the sepoys at rather 
a quick pace, but went very slow opposite to 
the European corps, and seemed much struck 
with their appearance. The troops all in 
new clothing, their arms and accoutrements 
bright and glittering in the sun, and them- 
selves as well dressed as they could have been 
for a review in time of peace : all order and 
silence, nothing heard or seen but the uniform 
sound and motion in presenting their arms, 
accompanied by the drums and music of the 
corps, chequered and separated by the parties 
of artillery extended at the drag-ropes of 
their guns. The sight was beautiful even to 
those accustomed to military parade ; while 
the contrast was no less striking between the 
good sense of our generals on horseback, and 
the absurd state of the chiefs looking down 
from their elephants, than between the silence 



and order of our troops, and the noise and 
irregularity of tlie mob that accompanied the 
Eastern potentates. After passing the right 
wing, the road leading through some wood 
and broken ground, the chiefs, on ascending 
a height, were not a little astonished to dis- 
cover a still longer line than the two they 
had passed, and which, in this situation,' they 
could see at once through its whole extent. 
But for the battering train, which occupied a 
mile in the centre of this division, at which 
they looked with wonder ; but for the differ- 
ence of the dress and music of the Highland 
regiments in the second European brigade, 
and the striking difference of size and dress 
between the Bengal sepoys in the right, and 
the coast sepoys which they now saw in the 
left wing ; but for these distinctions which 
they remarked, such was the extent of ground 
which the army covered, and the apparent 
magnitude of its numbers, that the chiefs 
might have imagined a part of the same 
troops were only shown again upon other 
ground, an expedient not unusual among 
themselves, whenever they have it in view 
to impress strangers with a false idea of the 
strength of their forces. It was five o'clock 
before the chiefs reached the left of the line, 
when, having expressed themselves highly 
gratified with all they had seen, they accom- 
panied Lord Cornwallis to his tents. After 
a short visit, and fixing the time and order 
of their march for the following day, they 
returned about sunset to their own camps." 

The same author, from his official know- 
ledge, gives the following account of the 
march : — 

" On the Ist of February, the allied armies 
commenced their march from Hooleadroog in 
the following order: — The English army 
moved off as usual, at daybreak, in three 
columns. Firstly, the battering guns, tum- 
brels, and heavy carriages on the great road, 
formed the centre column. Secondly, the line 
of infantry and field-pieces, on a road made 
for them at a distance of a hundred yards or 
more, as the ground required, marched pa- 
rallel to the battering train, and on its right, 
that being the flank next to the enemy. 
Thirdly, the smaller store carts and private 
baggage carts marched in like manner, on a 
road to the left of the battering train, beyond 
which was the great mass of baggage, carried 
on elephants, camels, bullocks, and coolies, all 
the servants of the army, and families of the 
sepoys. This immense multitude on the 
baggage flanks, was prevented from going 
ahead of the columns by the baggage-master 
and his guard, and was flanked, giving it a 
space of several miles which it required, by 
the part of the cavalry not on other duties, 



Chap. XCV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



443 



and the infantry of the reserve. The ad- 
vanced guard was formed of a regiment of 
cavah'y, the body guards, and the detail of 
infantry for the pickets of the new camp. 
The rear-guard was formed of a regiment of 
cavalry, and the pickets of the old camp, and 
did not move till they saw the baggage and 
all stores off the old ground of encampment. 

" In this manner the line of march was 
shortened to one-third of what would be its 
extent if confined to one road ; and, from the 
component parts of the army being thus 
classed and divided, the whole moved on with 
as much ease as if the battering train only 
had been upon the march. The heavy equip- 
ment of the army, great guns, store carts, 
provision and baggage, thus formed a mass 
of immense breadth and depth, guarded in 
such manner on all sides, that on no quarter 
could the enemy approach the stores or bag- 
gage without opposition from some part of 
the troops on the march. The armies of the 
allies, which were not mixed in our details, 
followed, as is their custom, at a later hour, 
and without any disposition for their defence." 

The army, after successive marches, ar- 
rived before Seringapatam. The enemy's 
horse hovered upon the flanks, and offered 
considerable opposition to the advanced guard. 
Tippoo appeared disposed to dispute the pas- 
sage of the river Madoor, but Lord Cornwallis 
having reinforced the advanced guard with a 
brigade of infantry, the enemy, after a show 
of resistance, dispersed, laying waste the coun- 
try, and retiring upon the main army. As- 
cending high ground on the opposite banks 
of the Madoor, the British had a magnificent 
landscape, rich alike in fertility and variety, 
spread before them; far away on every side 
patrols of the enemy's horse were in obser- 
vation, and the flame and smoke of burning 
villages and homesteads appeared along the 
whole horizon. The route now taken was 
different from that along which the army had 
advanced to the first attack of Seringapatam, 
and it was also different to that upon which 
Lord Cornwallis had retired ; the troops were 
thus enabled to form a more extensive ac- 
quaintance with the country, which afforded 
the Europeans a lively pleasure ; as compared 
with the low country beneath the Ghauts, it 
was alike beautiful and temperate. 

The last march of the allies was made on 
the 5th of February, and lay over the barren 
hills to the north-east of the capital. From 
the line of route, the valley beneath was fre- 
quently spread out to view in all its extent ; 
the proud city, with its cupolas, palaces, and 
fortifications, was distinctly seen ; and be- 
neath the walls in numerous lines were ranged 
the tents of the sultan's troops. Every step 



the army advanced, the irregular cavalry of 
Tippoo harassed it ; regular troops appeared 
on the flanks, and threw fiery showers of 
rockets. The advanced guard was obliged fre- 
quently to halt and draw up in line of battle. 
As the allies advanced, the impediments 
offered by the enemy increased, and when 
at last it reached the place of encampment, 
the quartermaster-general, his assistants and 
guards, were placed in imminent danger while 
marking out the ground. The line chosen 
for tlie encampment lay across the valley of 
llilgotah, and was parallel to that of the sul- 
tan, at a distance of six miles. The encamp- 
ment of the allied armies was divided by a 
small stream, called the Lockany river, which, 
taking its rise from the lake below Milgotah, 
runs through the valley into the Cavery. 
The British army, forming the front line, its 
right wing reached from the river along the 
rear of the French rocks to a large tank which 
covered that flank of the line. The park and 
the left wing extended from the other side of 
the river to the verge of the hills which the 
army had crossed on their last march. The 
reserve, encamped about a mile in the rear, 
facing outwards, left a sufficient space between 
it and the line, for the stores and baggage. 
The Mahratta and the nizani's armies were 
also in the rear, somewhat farther removed, 
to prevent interference with our camp. The 
encampment of the confederate army was 
judiciously pitched at such distance from Se- 
ringapatam, and so covered by the French 
rocks in front of its right, as to prevent im- 
mediate alarm to the enemy, either from its 
proximity or apparent magnitude. The first 
night in which the allies lay before Seringa- 
patam, they were disquieted by the activity 
of the enemy's cavalry, and the Deccan troops 
were much alarmed by flights of rockets which 
came perpetually among their tents. This 
alarm continued long after it was proved that 
more confusion than danger ensued from these 
missiles. The English took no notice of them, 
but their scouts stealing out and concealing 
themselves behind the crags which were scat- 
tered round, brought down with musket shots 
many of their foes. 

On the 6th of February reconnoitering par- 
ties were out to examine the enemy's lines. 
From the left, Lieutenant-colonel Maxwell 
and his Attendants had a clear although rather 
remote view of the sultan's camp. The fol- 
lowing description of it was given by one of 
the staff of the British army : — " On both sides 
of the river, opposite to the island of Seringa- 
patam, a large space is inclosed by a bound 
hedge, which marks the limits of the capital, 
and is intended as a place of refuge to the 
people of the neighbouring country from the 



444 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. XCV. 



incursions of liorse. On tlie sontli side of the 
viverthis inclosure was filled with inhabitants, 
but that on the north side was occupied only 
by Tippoo's army. The bound hedge on the 
north side of the river includes an oblong 
space of about three miles in length, and in 
breadth from half a mile to a mile, extending 
from nearly opposite to the west end of the 
island to where the Lockany river falls into 
the Cave^3^ Within this inclosure the most 
commanding ground is situated on the north 
side of the fort ; and, besides the hedge, it is 
covered in front by a large canal, by rice 
fields, which it waters, and partly by the 
winding of the Lockany river. Six large re- 
doubts, constructed on commanding ground, 
added to the strength of this position, one of 
which, on an eminence, at an ead-gah or 
mosque, within the north-west angle of the 
hedge, advanced beyond the line of the other 
redoubts, was a post of great strength, and 
covered the left of the encampment. The 
right of Tippoo's position was not only covered 
bj- the Lockany river, but beyond it by the 
great Carrighaut Hill, which he had lately 
fortified more strongly, and opposite to the 
lower part of the island, defends the ford; 
The eastern part of the island was fortified 
towards the river by various redoubts and 
batteries, connected by a strong intrenchment 
with a deep ditch, so that the fort and island 
formed a second line, which supported the 
defences of the first beyond the river; and 
when the posts there sliould be no longer 
tenable, promised a secure retreat, as from the 
outworks to the body of a place. Tippoo's 
front line or fortified camp, was defended by 
heavy cannon in the redoubts, and by his field 
train and army stationed to the best advantage. 
In this line there were one hundred pieces, 
and in the fort and island, which formed his 
second line, there were at least three times 
that number of cannon. The defence of the 
redoxibts on the loft of Tippoo's position was 
intrusted to Syed Hummeed and Syed Guffar, 
two of his best officers, snpported by his corps 
of Europeans and Lally's brigade, commanded 
by Monsieur Vigie. Sheik Anser, a sipadar 
or brigadier of established reputation, was on 
the great Carrighaut Hill. The sultan himself 
commanded the centre and right of his line 
within the bound hedge, and had his tent 
pitched near the Sultan's Redoubt, eo called 
from being under his own immediate orders. 
The officer is not known who commanded the 
troops in the island ; but the garrison in the 
fort was under the orders of Sved Sahib. The 



sultan's army certainly amounted to above 
five thousand cavalry, and between forty and 
fifty thousand infantry. Ever since the junc- 
tion of the JMahratta armies, Tippoo, seeing 
he could not continue to keep the field, had 
employed his chief attention, and the exer- 
tions of the main body of his army, in forti- 
fying this camp, and improving his defences 
in the fort and island." 

The hostile armies were now in presence 
of one another on the grand theatre of action. 
The stake for which they contended was high. 
The defeat of the allies must result in a dis- 
astrous retreat, in which they would be obliged 
to separate, and would be attacked and beaten 
in detail ; or, if the British succeeded by their 
skill and boldness in forcing their way against 
all attempts to cut them off, they would reach 
Madras with terribly diminished numbers. 
General Abercromby's army might be unable 
to make good its retreat, and would be ex- 
posed to the chance of attack unsupported by 
the army of Mysore. On the other hand, if 
the sultan suffered defeat, all was lost. He 
had but two chances left; one was in the great 
strength of his fortified camp, the other in that 
of the city and fortress of Seringapatam. He 
reasonably calculated that the only portions 
of the allies who would dare to storm his for- 
tified camp would be the British, and that 
even if they succeeded, their army must be so 
reduced in numbers by the conflict as to ren- 
der it impossible for them to prosecute a siege 
of the fortress, and he would then assail and 
defeat the native armies in the open field. 
Should the French render him assistance, he 
would then be enabled to conquer the Carnatic, 
and carry his arms also along the western 
coast. He expected that a great battle of 
artillery would take place before his forti- 
fied lines, which would lessen the numbers of 
the English, while his cavalry harassed and 
wearied out the Mahrattas and the troops of 
the nizam. His hopes were that the linos of 
his fortified camp would prove too strong for 
his enemies, and that the campaign would 
terminate in his favour wthout siege being 
laid to the capital itself. Thus both parties 
looked forward to the struggle as one of vast 
magnitude and consequence, and awaited ■\Wth 
eager and anxious suspense the moment when 
the terrible tournament of the nations and 
powers of Southern India should meet in the 
concussion of deadly conflict which must one 

j way or the other terminate the war. Another 
chapter must reveal the inoide-.ita and issue of 

; the struggle. 



CiiAP. XCVI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



446 



CHAPTER XCVI. 



THIRD CAMPAIGN AGAINST TIPPOO SULTAN ((7o»&»«rf)— STORMING OP THE FORTIFIED 
CAJIP BEFORE SEKIXGAPATAM— PASSAGE OP THE CAVERY, AND OCCUPATION OF THE 
ISLAND. 



The rival armies now confronted one another 
with concentrated strength. Tippoo waited 
for the attack dogged and resolute. The 
Earl of Cornwallia determined upon bold and 
prompt measures. Having carefully recon- 
noitered the enemy's position, he issued the 
orders for attack in the evening of the 8th of 
February. As this was one of the most 
memorable and interesting actions ever fought 
by the British in India, it will interest the 
reader to peruse his lordship's own descrip- 
tion of the plan of battle, as made known in 
his order of the day ;. — 

The army marches iu three divisions at seven this 
evening to attack the enemy's camp and lines ; pickets 
to join, field-pieces, quarter and rearguards, and camp- 
guards, to stand fast. 
Right Division. Major-general Meadows. 
Centre. Lord Cornwallis ; Lieut. -colonel Stuart. 

Left Division. Lieut.-colonel Maxwell. 

If the right attack is made to the westward of the 
Somarpett, the troops of that attack should, after entering 
the enemy's lines, turn to the left. But it the attack is 
made to the eastward of Somarpett, the troops should 
turn to the right to dislodge the enemy from all the posts 
on the left of their position. 

The troops of the centre attack, after entering the 
enemy's lines, should turn to the left ; the front divi- 
sions, however, of both the right and centre attacks 
should, after entering, advance nearly to the extent of the 
depth of the enemy's camp before they turn to either 
side, in order to make room for those that follow ; and 
such parts of both divisions, as well as of the left division, 
as the commanding officers shall not think it necessary to 
keep in a compact body, will endeavour to mix with the 
fugitives, and pass over into the island with them. 

The reserve, leaving quarter and rearguards, will form 
in front of the line at nine this night, and Colonel Duff 
will receive the commander-iu-chief's orders concerning 
the heavy park, the encampment, and the reserve. 

Young soldiers to be put on the quarter and rearguards 
at gun firing, and the pickets to join when the troops 
march off. 

A careful officer from each corps to be left in charge of 
the camp and regimental baggage. 

Colonel Duff to send immediately three divisions of gun 
lasears of fifty men each to the chief engineer, to carry the 
scaling ladders, and the chief engineer is to send them to 
the divisions, respectively, along with the oflTicers of his 
corps. 

The officers of engineers and pioneers to be responsible 
that the ladders, after having been made use of by the 
soldiers, are not left carelessly in the enemy's works. 

Surgeons and doolies to attend the troops, and arrack 
and biscuit to be held in readiness for the Europeans. 

The divisions to form, as follow, after dark : — 
The right in front of the left of the right wing. 
The centre in front of the right of the left wing. 
The left in front of the left of the left wing. 

" In addition to the troops detailed in the 
orders. Major Montague of the Bengal, and 

VOL. II. 



Captain Ross of the royal artiller}', with a 
detachment of two subalterns and fifty Euro- 
pean artillerymen with spikes and hammers 
i from the park, accompanied the centre, and 
I smaller parties the two other columns. 

" The troops had just been dismissed from 
the evening parade at six o'clock, when the 
above orders were communicated; upon which 
they were directed to fall in again with their 
arms and ammunition. 

" By eight o'clock the divisions were formed, 
and marched out in front of the camp ; each 
in a column by half companies with intervals, 
in the order directed for their march. 

" The number of fighting men was at the 
utmost 2800 Europeans and 5900 natives. 

" The officers commanding divisions, on 
finding that their guides and scaling ladders 
had arrived, and that every corps was in its 
proper place, proceeded as appointed at half 
an hour past eight o'clock. 

" The evening was calm and serene ; the 
troops moved on in determined silence, and 
the full moon, which had just risen, promised 
to light them to success. 

" The right column was conducted by Cap- 
tain Beatson, of the guides, the centre column 
by Captain Allen, of the guide.s, and Lieuten- 
ant !Macleod of the intelligence department; 
and harcarrahs (native guides or spies), who 
had been within the enemy's lines, were sent 
both to these and the left column. 

" Tippoo's pickets having made no attempt 
to interrupt the reconnoitering parties in the 
forenoon, he probably did not expect so early 
a visit. The distance of our camp seemed a 
circumstance favourable to his security, and 
he did not, perhaps, imagine, that Lord Corn- 
wallis would attack his lines till strengthened 
by the armies commanded by General Aber- 
cromby and Purseram Bhow." 

Tippoo was wholly unprepared for an at- 
tack by infantry alone on a fortified camji, 
protected by guns of every calibre, in every 
direction. When the columns of attack moved 
on, the tents of the camj) were struck, and 
preparations made for its defence in case of 
sudden attack. The cavalry were drawn up in 
the rear in support of it. Great was the anxiety 
of the camp guards as they stood to their 
arms, prepared for every casualty, and await- 
ing the issue of the terrible crisis in which 
the army was placed. Lord Cornwallis very 

3 M 



446 



HISTOKY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. XCVI. 



judiciously withheld from his allies any know- 
ledge of the contemplated assault, until the 
army was actually in motion. Had they been 
made acquainted with the plan, they would 
have raised all sorts of objections, and, finally, 
refused co-operation. When they heard of 
the enterprise consternation seized them. The 
idea of a body of infantry, so small in number, 
without artillery or cavalry, advancing upon 
so strong a place, garrisoned so numerously, 
bristling with cannon, and held by a deter- 
mined ruler, totally appalled them. When 
they learned that Lord Cornwallis himself 
commanded the column by which it was in- 
tended to penetrate the enemy's defences, 
their astonishment and alarm rose even higher. 
They could not conceive of a great English lord 
fighting as a common soldier, and voluntarily 
placing himself in a position so imminent of 
peril. The chiefs immediately prepared for 
the only issue of the conflict wliich they could 
comprehend as possible — the total defeat of the 
British, and the consequent dangers of destruc- 
tion to the allied armies. 

Onward marched the assailing columns. 
Between ten and eleven o'clock, the centre 
came upon a body of cavalry, with a strong 
detachment of the enemy's rocket brigade. 
The cavalry, astonished at being confronted 
by the head of a battalion of British infantry, 
galloped away, but left the rocketmen to make 
feint of attack. These did little harm to the 
English, who, amidst showers of innoxious 
fire flashing over their ranks like meteors, 
prosecuted the advance with rapid but steady 
step. 

At this juncture the left column of the 
assailants were ascending the Carrighaut 
Hill, and the scene presented to head-quarters 
was grand and imposing, for instantly the 
hill was topped with a circle of flame, from 
continuous flashes of musketry. The centre 
column was quickened by the discovery of 
their approach made by Tippoo's cavalry, 
and, animated by the fusilade from the Carri- 
ghaut, they pressed on with extraordinary 
vigour, so that the retreating cavalry had 
scarcely reached the camp fifteen minutes 
before them. The English broke through 
the bound hedge which surrounded the camp, 
and penetrated at once the enemy's lines. 
The right column, from the nature of the 
ground, had been compelled to make a con- 
siderable detour, and unfortunately did not 
reach the hedge until half-past eleven o'clock. 
Lord Cornwallis had foreseen the probability 
of such a mishap, and had halted his troops 
half-an-hour in the early period of the march. 
Nevertheless the right column had wound its 
intricate way so much farther to the right 
thdn his lordship's plan contemplated, that after 



aU, the proposed approach to the boundary 
line was far from simultaneous. When this 
column did penetrate the hedge, it was at a 
spot too near that where the division under 
the commander-in-chief in person had already 
entered, but diverging to the right within 
the hedge, made directly against the chief 
redoubt upon which the defence relied on its 
left. The moon shone out brilliantly >ipon 
the cupola of the large white mosque which, 
crowning a hill, was as a beacon to the 
English. The mosque became the object 
towards which their march was directed. 
When diverging to the right this column 
proceeded in part without the hedge, and 
diverted the attention of the enemy, while 
the remainder of the division pushed on to the 
redoubt. It was not the intention of Lord 
Cornwallis that this redoubt should be at- 
tacked, because its situation was so far in 
advance of the enemy's proper lines of de- 
fence. The battle having already raged from 
the left to the centre, and thence to the right, 
the troops at the White Mosque Redoubt 
were thoroughly prepared, and a heavy fire 
of cannon loaded with grape and of musket- 
balls, smote the head of the assailing column. 
This terrible volley also revealed in vivid 
distinctness the full outline of the defence. 

The English of the 36th and 76th regi- 
ments gallantly charged the " covert way," 
opening a steady and deadly fire on the de- 
fenders, who were swiftly driven within the 
inner works of the redoubt. The English, in 
essaying to pass the ditch, found themselves 
in the condition in which English troops 
have generally found themselves when simi- 
lar duties were imposed on them — most of 
the ladders were missing, and those possessed 
were too short. The arrangements by which 
human life might be spared had been ne- 
glected, and the men had consequently to 
make fruitless efforts of valour to accomplish 
that which was physically impracticable. In 
this critical juncture a pathway across the 
ditch was discovered ; over this the officers 
dashed, sword in hand, followed impetuously 
by the men. The pathway terminated against 
a small gate, which was the sortie ; this the 
assailants forced in a moment, and entered a 
large traverse between the gateway and the 
redoubt. The enemy retired reluctantly and 
slowly before the bayonets of the assailing 
force. Reaching the inner circle of defence, 
whence retreat was impossible, the defenders 
turned a gun upon the traverse, which, if 
properly directed, must have swept it of the 
crowds whose eager valour urged them so 
madly on. From the circular rampart the 
soldiers of the sultan tired desultorily, but 
with close range, upon the thronging invaders, 



Chap. XOVI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



44T 



■who now filled the gorge and traverse. An 
irregular and less eifective fire responded 
from the English. Several officers mounted 
a banquette to the right of the gorge, while a 
group of soldiers found their way up another 
to the left, and from both a dropping fire of 
musketry was directed into the redoubt. 
The fire of the enemy was still superior, and 
the officers resolved upon a charge with the 
bayonet. The men, as in the Kedan at 
Sebastopol, during the storming of that place, 
were unwilling to give up the musketade, 
but were at last brought into order by their 
officers, and, headed by Major Dirom and 
Captain Wight, charged in at the gorge of 
the redoubt. A close fire of grape and mus- 
ketry caused a sanguinary repulse. Captain 
Gage opened such a fire of musketry from 
the banquette to the right as to deter the 
enemy from taking such advantage of their 
success as was open to them. The British 
were rallied, and again led by the same 
officers, whose escape in the previous attempt 
was almost miraculous. The enemy had not 
reloaded the gun by which the gorge had 
been raked, and their musketry fire was in- 
sufficient to check the advance. Captains 
Gage and Burne, with Major Close, scram- 
bled in at the same time, and, supported by 
a few followers, dashed sword in hand upon 
the flanks of the defenders, who broke away, 
and perished beneath the bayonets of their 
pursuers, or were shot as they leaped into 
the ditch below. Some fugitives, breaking 
through all dangers, were upon the point of 
escape, but fell into the hands of the troops 
composing the supporting column. The re- 
doubt was won before the supporting column 
had arrived. While yet the battle raged in 
the redoubt, Tippoo sent a large body to the 
rescue. They advanced with drums beating 
and colours flying. Fortunately Lieutenant- 
colonel Nesbit, after routing another body of 
the enemy, had his attention called by the 
noisy advance of this reinforcement from the 
sultan. The officer who led was challenged 
by Nesbit,* who felt uncertain who they 
were ; he replied, " We belong to the Ad- 
vance" the title of Lally's brigade. The 
Mysorean officer supposed the English to be 
part of his own brigade, but his reception 
soon altering his opinion, he set his men the 
example of ignominious flight, which was 
effectually followed. Had this corps arrived 
in^ time, and been commanded with spirit, it 
might have been impossible for the English 

* Some accounts represent this as having been done 
by Lieutenant John Campbell, of the grenadier company, 
36th regiment, who, although wounded in the redoubt, 
rnshed forth aud seized the standards of this detachment 
of the foe. 



to hold the redoubt. To the left of the con- 
quered defence was another work, which was 
stormed quickly, but with great slaughter ; 
the commandant and four hundred men were 
slain, with the heavy loss of eleven officers 
and eighty men on the part of the British. 
A deserter from our army, who belonged to 
Lally's corps, gave himself up at this post. 
From his account, it appeared that Monsieur 
Vigie, with his Europeans, about three hun- 
dred and sixty, were stationed in the angle of 
the hedge in front of the redoubt. Captain 
Oram's battalion, upon which they fired, had 
attracted their attention, till finding them- 
selves surrounded, they broke, aud endea- 
voured to make their escape, some along the 
hedge to the left, but chiefly by passing 
through the intervals of our column as it 
continued advancing to the redoubt. The 
colour of their uniform contributed essen- 
tiaUy to the effecting of their escape, and to 
the same circumstance Monsieur Vigie him- 
self owed his safety ; he was seen to go 
through the column moimted on a small 
white horse, but, being mistaken for one of 
our own officers, was suffered to pass un- 
molested. The deserter was of great use, he 
guided the English through various intricate 
ways, by which danger was avoided, and im- 
portant objects accomplished at little loss. 
The general having established posts, wheeled 
his men to the left in the direction of the 
centre column. In attempting this he passed 
across the track of that body, and found him- 
self to the left of the attack at Carrighaut 
Hill. No firing was heard, and no reliable 
intelligence of the operations of the centre or 
left columns was attainable. After a con- 
siderable pause a heavy firing began between 
Carrighaut and the fort, when General Mea- 
dows advanced to support the forces which 
he supposed to be engaged in the direction 
whence the sound of firing came. At this 
juncture the day broke, and General Mea- 
dows perceived what had taken place upon 
the centre and right attacks. 

While the right column of the assailants 
were thus occupied, that of the centre, under 
Lord CornwaUis, was engaged in important 
operations. His lordship had divided his 
corps into three divisions. The first, or ad- 
vance, had been ordered to force its way 
through the enemy's line, and, if successful, 
to follow the retreat of the defenders into the 
island. The second, or centre division, was 
to move to the right of the first, to sweep 
the camp in that direction, and ultimately 
attempt the capture of the island, which it 
was hoped might be facilitated by the first 
division entering with the fugitives whom 
they might drive from the lines. The third 



448 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. XCVI. 



division was the reserve, with which LovJ 
Cornwallis posted himself, so as, if possible, 
to afford and receive co-operation as it re- 
garded the column of right attack under 
Aleadows, and of left attack under Slaxwell. 
The first division of the centre column, under 
the command of the Hon. Lieutenant-colonel 
Knox, was composed of six European flank 
companies, the 52nd regiment of the line, 
and the 14th battalion of Bengal sepoys. 

The captains of the advanced companies 
were ordered to push on, attacking only 
whatever they met in front, until they reached 
the great ford near the north-east angle of the 
fort, and then, if possible, to cross it and enter 
the island. Rapidity was the chief element of 
success in this movement, and this was urged 
by Earl Cornwallis himself upon the captains 
in terms exceedingly imperative. The 52nd 
regiment and the 11th Bengal sepoys were 
to follow, with more solid order, the rapid 
movement and more open formation of the 
flank companies, and all were to avoid firing 
unless in case of indispensable necessity. 

At eleven o'clock the advanced companies 
reached " the bound hedge," and found the 
enemy readj' to receive them with cannon 
and musketry. Without a shot the British 
dashed through the line, the astonished de- 
fenders fleeing panic-struck before a move- 
ment so unexpected and unaccountable. The 
sultan's tent occupied a particular spot in the 
line of the advance, but he had fled from it, 
leaving obvious signs of the precipitation of 
his departure. The ground between that 
point and the river was almost a swamp, 
being under the cultivation of rice ; this cir- 
cumstance, with the darkness and the tumult of 
the fugitives, caused the advanced companies 
to miss their way and separate. They reached 
the ford in two separate bodies. The first 
dashed across close behind the fugitives, with 
whom they were nearly entering the place, 
but the enemy secured every point of ingress 
opportunely. Captain Lindsay, at the head 
of a company of the 71st regiment, rushed 
into the sortie, which led through the glacis 
into the fort, thence he proceeded along the 
glacis, through the principal bazaar, which 
stretched away to the south branch of the 
river, over the north branch of which the 
British had passed. The enemy having no 
conception of tiie possibility of the English 
finding their way there, fled in terror ; many 
were bayoneted in the attempt to escape. 
There was an encampment of cavalry on the 
island, who immediately dispersed, not know- 
ing what force of English had penetrated the 
place. Lindsay and his gallant men of the 
71st took post on a bridge over a nullah 
which lay across the island, and placed a 



party at a redoubt which commanded the 
southern ford. 

The second body of the advanced compa- 
nies reached the northern ford at this juncture, 
and found it nearly choked with bullocks, 
bnllock waggons, guns, and Mysorean soldiers. 
So great was the terror of the fugitives, that 
they made no resistance, and were bayoneted 
in great numbers as they struggled to pass 
the ford. Some of the guns of the fort opened 
upon the supposed situation of the English 
on the main-land, but none were directed 
against the ford, as the fugitives as well as 
the pursuers must in that case have been at 
least equal sufferers. The deputy-adjutant- 
general of the British army afterwards re- 
marked upon this episode of the defence — 
" It is no incurious circumstance here to ob- 
serve, what was afterwards learned from some 
French deserters, that, at the time of the 
firing of these guns, the sultan was at the 
Mysore or southern gate of the fort, which he 
refused to enter : he was much enraged that 
the guns had opened without his orders, and 
sent immediately directions to cease firing, 
lest it might be imagined in his camp that the 
fort itself was attacked, and the panic among 
his troops in consequence become universal. 
To this order, wise as perhaps it was in its 
principle, may be attributed the little damage 
sustained by the troops, who crossed into the 
island, within reach of grape from the bas- 
tions of the fort." 

Knox and the companies under his com- 
mand gained the glacis, where Captain Russell 
and some of the grenadiers of the 52nd awaited 
his arrival, the captain being of opinion that 
Lord Cornwallis intended the operations to be 
conducted against the northern face of the 
fort, — along that bank of the Cavery, rather 
than in the direction taken by Captain Lind- 
say. Knox turned to the left, in the direction 
opposite to that taken by Lindsay, until he 
arrived at " the DowlatBaug," where he seized 
a moorman of distinction. Two Frenchmen 
were also captured, and all acted as guides to 
conduct the party to the "pettah"* of Shaher 
Ganjani. Arrived at that place, the British 
found the gate shut, but no garrison, the troops 
having moved to the lines to resist the attack 
there, and were unable to regain their post. 
The gate was forced. The French prisoners 
conducted the English to the gate, which led 
to the batteries. There also the guard had 
left. The gate being open, Knox, having 
only one hundred men with him, took post iu 
the street, and ordered the drums to beat the 
grenadiers' march, as a signal to the other 
troops of the first division to come to his 

* Petlah : a suburb generally adjoining a fort, anJ 
surrounded with " a bound hedge," wall, and ditch. 



Chap. XCVL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



449 



assistance. At tliismoineut firing commenced 
from tlie lines ami batteries along the river, 
on the right of the enemy's camp, opposite 
the advance of the left column of attack. Knox 
had a large number of officers with him, and 
he directed them, with detachments of his 
small force, to take in reverse the enemy's 
batteries, from which the firing had been heard. 
The enemy were terrified by a series of move- 
ments, W'hicli ajipcared to them so complicated 
and ingenious. Wherever they turned they 
met some English, and in the places least 
likely to meet them : and instead of opening 
a fire of musketry, the English parties silently 
and with celerity charged with the bayonet, 
giving no time for formation, or any suitable 
plan of resistance. Many of the Mysoreans, 
driven from the batteries, fled to the gate of 
the pettah. There Knox, with thirty soldiers, 
seized the fugitives, or slew them as they came 
iiji. Large parties threw away their arms, 
and turned in other directions, on meeting this 
small party of English, which they magnified 
to twenty times the number. One of the sol- 
diers captured by Knox, in order to save his 
life, informed that officer that a number of 
Europeans were enduring a miserable incar- 
ceration in a neighbouring ho\ise. Knox re- 
leased these ; one of them was a midshipman, 
whom the French admiral, Suffrein, had cap- 
tured ten years before, and with other pri- 
soners inhumanly handed over to the sultan, 
with the full knowledge that they would 
be thus treated. Most of the liberated men 
were common soldiers, and some deserters, 
who were treated as barbarously as the rest. 
The main body of the troops of the first 
division followed in close order to the river. 
Missing the ford, about one thousand men of 
the o"2nd, and the Bengal sepoys, crossed the 
Cavery opposite the l^owlat Baug or rajah's 
garden, which they entered by forcing open 
the river gate. Captain Hunter, who was in 
command of this force, was here joined by 
several officers and men of the flank compa- 
nies who had been separated from their own 
parties, and who were ignorant of the route 
taken by their comrades. The captain took 
post in the garden, and awaited the develop- 
ment of events. In Indian warfare nothing 
is so dangerous as a pause ; while victory 
shines upon tlie banner of the soldier, he must 
bear it onward ; on the slightest hesitation, 
that sun becomes clouded, and the career of 
triumph is rapidly turned. While Hunter 
hesitated, the enemy rallied, and bringing guns 
to boar upon the garden, opened a severe fire. 
In this situation the captain remained until 
the first streak of morning appeared, when he 
descried a fresh party of the enemy with can- 
non on the opposite bank of the river. He 



plunged into the Caver}', led his men across, 
dispei'sed the party, spiked thcguns, and joined 
head-quarters, having suffered some loss from 
grape and musketry in crossing the river. The 
remaining portion of the first division failed to 
enter the island, and after a severe conflict, fell 
back upon Capt. Russell's brigade. The 71st 
regiment having charged and cleared the way 
for the Bengalees, they rallied and resumed their 
advance. The 2nd or centre division of the cen- 
tre column, \mder Lieutenant-colonel Stuart, 
swept to the right of the 1st division, joined by 
the detachment of the 14tli Bengal sepoys, 
which were separated from the first. Their 
march was directed against " the Sultan's Ite- 
doubt." This was a post of some strength, 
planned by the sultan himself, who gave a close 
personal superintendence to the work of the 
French engineers whom he employed. Major 
Dirom, describing the disjjersed articles found 
at dawn around the sultan's abandoned tent in 
the camp, thus observed : — " Many pikes, orna- 
mented with plates of silver, belonging to the 
sultan's sewary or state equipage, were seen 
scattered round the tent, in which, among 
other articles, was found a case of mathema- 
tical instruments of London make ; which 
gives probability to the accounts we had re- 
ceived that the sultan had turned his attention 
to the science of fortification, and that he had 
been his own engineer." 

Major Dalrymple, who commanded the 
advance, was obliged to disobey the orders 
against firing, for a large body of cavalry 
opposed his progress, lie formed the 71st 
regiment in line, believing that a full volley 
would prevent the cavalry from charging. 
His opinion was correct, every shot emptied 
a saddle ; by the time the line reloaded and 
shouldered, the smoke had dispersed, and the 
horsemen were seen scattered in all directions. 
The redoubt was immediately abandoned, the 
71st regiment entering unopposed. Having 
garrisoned the place. Colonel Stuart directed 
the course of his division against the left of 
Tippoo's right wing, so as to meet the column 
under Maxwell, by which the right of the 
defence was assailed, and the left flank of 
which Maxwell had already turned. The 
rear or reserve division of the centre column, 
commanded by Earl Cornwallis himself, drew 
up by the Sultan's Redoubt after its capture 
by Major Dalrymple, and there his lordship 
anxiously awaited the co-operation of General 
Meadows from the right, while that officer, as 
has been shown, was anxiously in quest of 
him. His lordship remained in that position 
until near dawn, when the seven companies 
of the 52nd, and the three companies of the 
Bengal sepoys, which had occupied the 
garden and charged through the Cavery to 



450 



HISTOEY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. XCVl 



escape the peril of tlieir position, arrived at the 
spot where his lordship awaited in suspense 
intelligence of the progress of affairs. The 
ammunition of these troops had been damaged 
in passing the river ; this was fortunately 
discovered and the cartridges replaced, when 
Tippoo, who had learned the position of Lord 
Cornwallis, directed his left and centre to rally, 
concentrate, and fall upon the English com- 
mander-in-chief. These orders were obeyed 
with celerity and address, so that the English 
general found himself attacked by a powerful 
force. The unexpected arrival of the body 
which had retreated from the garden so 
swelled the numbers of Lord Cornwallis, that 
he felt himself in a position to receive the 
enemy with animation and decision. Here a 
fierce battle ensued. The English repulsed 
the Mysoreans by deadly volleys of musketry 
repeatedly, and on every occasion followed up 
the repulse by charges of the bayonet; but 
still the enemy rallied, relying on superiority 
of numbers. At daylight a well directed 
charge by the British finally repelled the 
attack. The position which his lordship oc- 
cupied exposed him to the danger of being 
surrounded by the enemy, or of retiring under 
fire of his batteries. He skilfully withdrew 
round the Carrighaut, where, as described, he 
met General Meadows. Had that general 
occupied the time in boldly advancing, and 
had his lordship himself advanced to the sup- 
port of his first and second divisions, the island 
would have been carried by a coup de main. 
The plan of Earl Cornwallis was bold, but he 
and most of his chief officers carried it out 
with disproportionate caution. 

While the right and centre of the British 
were thus engaged, the left was also engrossed 
in the efforts and anxieties of complicated 
battle. Lieutenant-colonel Maxwell was or- 
dered to storm the Carrighaut, and descending 
its slopes, force his way across the river into 
the island. The column, like that of the 
centre, was divided into several divisions. 
The front division of this column, under Lieu- 
tenant-colonel Baird, consisted of the flank 
companies of the 72nd regiment, commanded 
by Captain Drummond, and Lieutenant James 
Stuart, and the Ist battalion of Madras sepoys, 
commanded by Captain Archibald Brown. 
The main body of this column, consisting of 
the battalion companies of the 72nd regiment, 
and the Gth battalion of Madras sepoys, com- 
manded by Captain Macpherson, was, as de- 
tailed in the orders, led by Lieutenant-colonel 
Maxwell. He was accompanied by his aids- 
de-camp. Captain Agnew and Lieutenant 
Wallace ; and also by Lieutenant Capper, of 
the Madras establishment, who, with great 
zeal, had served as a volunteer with the army 



during the two last campaigns, and attended 
Colonel Maxwell in this attack. 

The Carrighaut was defended by infantry 
without artillery, but a strong rocket brigade* 
assisted the infantry. The enemy was sur- 
prised, and with little resistance deprived of 
an important post. The ascent was defended 
by a " double headed work," which was taken 
before the enemy could do anything but cast 
a few rockets, and offer a desultory fire of 
musketry. The hill commanded one of the 
principal fords, and the right wing of the 
sultan's lines. The flank companies of the 
72nd scaled the defences and occupied them, 
the sepadar (brigadier) in command of the 
defence was mortally wounded in the esca- 
lade of the British. Descending from the 
high post of Carrighaut to a shoulder of the 
same hill, but having the separate name of 
Pagoda Hill, Lieutenant-colonel Maxwell 
possessed himself of that post also. Around 
the bottom of the hill ran a watercourse, in 
which a strong party of the enemy lay con- 
cealed ; and as Maxwell moved down to- 
wards Tippoo's lines, they opened fire upon 
him with close range from their sheltered 
position. At the same time the fire from 
Tippoo's line within the bound hedge was 
directed upon them, but not with much effect, 
as there was notlight enough to direct the guns 
with steady aim. Near the foot of the hiU 
the Lockany river formed an obstacle, it was 
defended by infantry, and several officers were 
killed and wounded in approaching its banks. 
Nevertheless, Maxwell broke through every 
barrier, drove the Mysoreans from their con- 
cealed positions, forded the Lockany, cut 
through the bound hedge, stormed several 
posts, and found himself on the banks of the 
Cavery, meeting, as before named, the centre 
division of the British central column on the 
way. The passage of the Cavery was diffi- 
cult, the river was deep, rocky, and com- 
manded by the enemy's batteries on the 
island. Lieutenant-colonel Baird was the 
first to reach the opposite bank, followed by 
about twenty soldiers. Other detachments 
rapidly followed, but the ammunition of all 
was saturated with water. At this j uncture the 

* Rocket : a missile weapon, consisting of an iron 
tube of about a foot long, and an inch in diameter, fixed 
to a bamboo lod of ten or twelve feet long. The tube 
being filled with combustible composition, is set fire to, 
and, directed by the hand, flies like an arrow, to the dis- 
tance of upwards of a thousand yards. Some of the 
rockets have a chamber, and burst like a shell ; others, 
called the ground rockets, have a serpentine motion, and 
on striking the ground, rise again, and bound along till 
their force be spent. The rockets make a great noise, 
and exceedingly annoy the native cavalry in India, who 
move in great bodies ; but are easily avoided, or seldom 
take effect against our troops, who are formed in lines of 
great extent, aud no great depth. 



Chap. XCVI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



461 



events took place (already described), where 
Colonel Knox was so successful. Lieutenant- 
colonel Maxwell, a cool and skilful officer, 
perceiving the effects of Lieutenant-colonel 
Baird's passage, sought and found a safer 
ford, which he passed with the remainder of 
his men. Lieutenant- colonel Stuart also 
crossing, both officers and the detachments 
under their command joined Colonel Knox 
at the pettah, where, the reader will remem- 
ber, he posted himself with a few men, while 
his officers attacked the batteries which fired 
upon Maxwell's column. Colonel Stuart, in 
order to ascertain the position of the pettah 
in reference to the island generally, moved 
round the outside of the walls, and coming 
upon open ground, encountered a detachment 
of the enemy's cavalry, who appeared to be 
without orders, and to have remained idle 
during the night. The colonel attacked them 
in line, presuming upon their cowardice, and 
dispersed them, slaying many. He had 
scarcely performed this feat, when the English 
who had first landed, and marched round to 
the south side of the island, came in view. 
Finding themselves unsupported, they were 
retiring, in hopes of forming such a junction 
as actuall)' took place. At this moment offi- 
cers were dispatched to inform Earl Corn- 
wallis of the position of affairs. 

When daylight fully revealed the true 
aspect of events, it presented these results of 
the night's conflict, — nearly all Tippoo's re- 
doubts in front of his lines had been cap- 
tured ; the lines themselves stormed ; the 
Cavery forded by a portion of Lord Corn- 
wallis's and the whole of Colonel Maxwell's 
columns ; and posts taken and occupied on 
the island. Strategically, the situation of 
Tippoo was critical, and ho had lost many 
men. The loss of Lord Cornwallis was also 
heavy, but bore a small proportion to that 
of the enemy, and the advantages obtained. 

Earl Cornwallis and General Meadows 
looked with exultation from the Carrighaut 
Hill upon the whole theatre of the night's 
performances, and his lordship immediately 
took measures to reinforce the troops on the 
island. The enemy had already begun an 
attack there. Batteries and redoubts, advan- 
tageously situated, opened upon the English, 
and the scattered crowds of Mysoreans ra- 
pidly re-collected, and assumed form and order. 

The command of the troops on the island 
devolved on Colonel Stuart. He retired from 
the pettah, and drew up his men across the 
island in front of the Laul Baug, covering 
the ford leading towards the Pagoda Hill 
with his right, and he occupied lines and 
batteries which had been constructed by the 
enemy for the defence of that part of the 



island. The colonel's troops had expended 
all their ammunition that was not damaged. 
This exposed them to some danger, but the 
arrival of the reinforcements with a plentiful 
supply of ammunition, reassured Stuart, and 
disheartened the enemy. Leaving for a time 
Colonel Stuart uumolested, Tippoo passed 
the Cavery, and stealing forward large bodies 
of men under cover of the unequal ground, 
he prepared an attack upon " the Sultan's 
Eedoubt," which General Meadows had taken 
the night before by a coup de main. Earl 
Cornwallis perceived this from the Pagoda 
Hill. The Sultan's Redoubt was within range 
of the guns of the fort which now opened 
against it. The. gorge was covered by no 
traverse or outwork, and was left open to 
the fort, and exposed to the fire thence, so 
that the redoubt, if taken by the English, 
might be untenable. It was garrisoned by 
eighty men of the Tlst, fifty Bengal sepoys, 
and twenty men, European engineers, and 
artillery. Some twenty wounded Europeans, 
men and officers, and perhaps an equal num- 
ber of stragglers, had also entered the place. 
There was no water, and but a small quantity 
of ammunition. Against this poor defence 
the attacks of the enemy were unremitting 
all the morning. Repeated assaults were 
driven back with heavy slaughter. No as- 
sistance could be rendered from head -quarters, 
because all approach to the point of contest 
must be under the fire of the enemy's guns. 
Before noon, the commanding officers and 
nearly all the senior officers were killed or 
wounded. There was fortunately in the re- 
doubt an officer sent thither by Earl Corn- 
wallis the night before with a message ; he 
found it difficult, if not impossible to return, 
and he took the command. This officer was 
Major Skelly. When he assumed the direc- 
tion of the defence, the ammunition was within 
a few rounds of being expended. At that 
moment an officer saw two loaded bullocks 
in the ditch, such as were generally attached 
to regiments for carrying ammunition. Their 
burdens were secured, and found to be as 
was supposed. The discovery was of the 
utmost importance, and diffused joy and con- 
fidence throughout the little garrison. As 
soon as the men had filled their cartridge 
boxes, a body of cavalry numbering more 
than two thousand men were seen advancing 
towards the redoubt. It was supposed that 
they would charge through the open gorge. 
Before coming within musket-shot they 
halted, and about four hundred men dis- 
mounted, and, sword in hand, attempted to 
gain an entrance. They were received with a 
fire so close and precise, that a large number 
were siaiu in the opening of th« gorge, and 



452 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. XCVJ. 



tlie rest fled brulien and panio-struck, covered 
bj' the discliarge of cannon and rockets. It 
was one o'clock in tlie afternoon when this 
repulse took place. For a time the enemy 
seemed in doubt what course to pursue, ex- 
cept to direct a fire of field -pieces and mus- 
ketry against the gorge. JIatters so con- 
tinued nntil two o'clock. Another assault 
was then made, led by the remnant of the 
brigade of Lally, commanded by Jlonsieur 
Vigie. The original soldiers of the brigade 
had either died, fallen in battle, or were in- 
valided, and it was now almost wholly com- 
jwsed of natives, Mahrattas, and other non- 
Mussulman peoples. They advanced steadily, 
until the defenders discharged a well-directed 
volley into their column, when the native sol- 
diers refusing to advance, broke from their 
ranks and turned. This was the last effort of 
the enemy, who at four o'clock began to 
retire from behind the rocks where they had 
taken post. One fourth of the little garrison 
was now killed and wounded, and the latter 
were dying of thirst. A party volunteered 
to j)rocure water from a neighbouring ditch 
and pond, and not only found a supply, but 
discovered that the enemy had retired, leav- 
ing only a few scouts in the vicinity of the 
rocks. 

Earl Cornwallis made arrangements to re- 
lieve the garrison in the evening, as well as 
the troops at some other posts where harassing 
duty was performed, and directed supiilies to 
be sent to the detachments which had so gal- 
lantly established themselves in the island. 
The desperate defence of the Sultan's Redoubt 
had drawn off the attention of the enemy from 
the troops in the island. At five o'clock in 
the evening after Tippoo withdrew his forces 
from the rocks, the cavalry dismounting, 
assisted by "rocket-boys," attacked the pettah. 
The English were seldom vigilant, and their 
native adherents were engaged in plunder 
when the attack began. Many of them con- 
sequently fell under the scimitars of the Mos- 
lem troopers, and the rest were driven out. 
Lieutenant-colonel Stuart ordered the 71st 
and a native battalion to retake the place. 
This was done after an obstinate combat, the 
British pursuing the enemy from street to 
street, whither they retired fighting. A pri- 
soner taken in this conflict gave valuable in- 
formation. He stated that Tippoo had con- 
vened his principal sirdars, and had exhorted 
them to make a bold effort to drive the Eng- 
lish from the island, and to recover the tomb 
of Hyder ; that the chiefs had thrown their 
turbans on the ground, and had sworn to 
succeed or perish in the attempt. The attack, 
the prisoner said, was to bo made in the night, 
and the march of the assailants was to be 



directed along the bank of the northern 
branch of the river, to turn the right flank of 
our line, and to cut oft' the communication 
with the camp. This account, so circum- 
stantial, seemed to deserve credit, and Colonel 
Stuart made his arrangements to repulse the 
expected attack. 

Major Dalrymple, with the 71st regiment, 
and Captain Brown's battalion, was directed 
to keep possession of the pettah, and two 
field-pieces were sent in order to strengthen 
their position. Lieutenant-colonel Knox had 
charge of the right wing, in which was posted 
the 72ud regiment; Lieutenant-colonel Baird 
was stationed on the left, with the six com- 
panies of the 3(Jth regiment; and a propor- 
tionable number of sepoys were posted ac- 
cording to the space to be defended by each 
wing. Lieutenant-colonel Stuart himself, 
with Jlajor Petrie, took post in the centre in 
the rear of Shaher Ganjam, with a small body 
as a reserve. The regimental field -pieces 
were posted in the most convenient stations, 
and the guns of the batteries were turned 
towards the fort. Small jjarties were also 
detached, as pickets, to the front, and Major 
Dalrymple was directed to seize the most 
favourable ojijwrtunity of sallying upon the 
flank or rear of the enemy, as they passed 
Shaher Ganjam to the attack of the lines. 
Lieutenant-colonel Stuart having reported 
this intelligence to the commander-in-chief, 
he immediately ordered four field-pieces into 
the island, which arrived in the course of the 
night ; and Major Gowdie with his brigade, 
after furnishing the detail for the relief of 
the sultan's ead-gah redoubts, was directed 
to take post at the foot of the Pagoda Hill, to 
be in readiness to pass the ford into the island 
on the first alarm. Every possible precaution 
having been taken to insure success, the troops 
lay upon their arms anxiously expecting the 
approach of the enemy ; but the night passed 
in silence, and day broke without an alarm. 
That an attack was intended could not be 
doubted ; but the repulse in the Pettah had 
either slackened the ardour of the chiefs, or 
the soldiery dispirited by the fatal events 
of the last twenty-four hours, could not be 
brought to second the zeal and enthusiasm of 
their commanders. 

On the evening of the 7th of February Earl 
Cornwallis was pleased to issue the following 
orders : — " The conduct and valour of the 
officers and soldiers of this army have often 
merited Lord Cornwallis's encomiums ; but 
the zeal and gallantry which were so success- 
fully displayed last night in the attack of the 
enemy's whole army, in a position that had 
cost him so much time and labour to fortify, 
can never be sufficiently praised ; and his 



Chap. XCVI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



463 



satisfaction on an occasion whioli proniisea to 
be utteudeJ with the most substantial advan- 
tages, has been greatly heightened by learn- 
ing from the commanding officers of divisions, 
that this meritorious behaviour was universal 
through all ranks, to a degree that has rarely 
been equalled. Lord Cornwallis, therefore, 
requests that the army in general will accept 
of his most cordial thanks for the noble and 
gallant manner in which they have executed 
the plan of the attack. It covers themselves 
with honour, and will ever command his 
warmest sentiments of admiration." 

During the night Tippoo abandoned his 
few remaining posts on the north of the 
Cavery, and the island remained the next 
morning the only theatre of contest. The 
English found the pettah a defensible place, 
and their other positions were also good : 
they had likewise obtained great stores of 
forage by driving the enemy from the main- 
laud. The pettah was also rich in grain 
stores, and a pulse wholesome for cattle. The 
Laul Bang, as the magnificent garden of 
Tippoo was called, supplied material for the 
siege, and the palace connected with it, as 
well as the buildings of the Fakeers, erected 
by Tippoo round the tomb of his father, fur- 
nished suitable habitations for the officers, the 
wounded, and the sick. 

Tlie city of Seringapatam was invested on 
its two principal sides ; from the camp, 
and more especially from the pickets of the 
British, its fine outline, with its bold defences, 
were distinctly visible. The conflicts during 
the night of the Ctli of February, and the day 
and night of the 7th, constituted a great 
and continuous battle, one of the grandest and 
severest which the English had fought in 
India. The arms, standards, and munitions 
of war already captured were immense. 
Eighty pieces of canuou, thirty-six of them 
brass, were taken. Tippoo had also sufi'ered 
from desertion, many of his soldiers having 
fled ou both nights, especially that of the 7th, 
and on the morning of the 8th, before day.* 
JIany deserted to the English, and, according 
to the reports of the most intelligent among 
those who had remained longest with him, 
his loss up to the 11th of February amounted 
to probably twenty -five thousand men.f 

* The nairs, and others whom he had oppressed, or 
persecuted on religious grounds, and who served with the 
English, cut off many of the fugitives. 

t Tippoo's army was recruited from every part of 
Southern India. Jlohammcdans, from religious zeal, 
volimteering to serve him from every district across the 
peninsula, from Malabar to C'oromandel. Numbers also 
volunteered from Central India from the same cause. 



Major Dymock thus refers to these deser- 
tions : — " His sepoys throw down their arms 
in great numbers, and, taking advantage of 
the night, went oft" in every direction to the 
countries where they had been impressed, or 
enlisted : many came into our camp ; and 
that continued to be the case during the siege. 
From their reports it appeared that, on a 
muster taken of the sultan's army, some days 
after the battle, his killed, wounded, and 
missing, were found to amount to twenty 
thousand. Fifty-seven of the foreigners in 
Tippoo's service took advantage of the battle 
of the Gth and 7th of February, to quit his 
service and come over to our army. Among 
them were Monsieur Blevette, an old man, 
who was his chief artificer, or rather chief 
engineer, and Monsieur Lafolie, his French 
interpreter, both of whom had been long in 
his and his father's service. Monsieur Heron, 
who was taken at Bangalore, and released on 
his parole, to enable him to bring away his 
family, also took this opportunity to fulfil his 
promises : several other people of some note 
were likewise of the number ; some of them 
of the artificers sent to Tippoo from France, 
when his ambassadors returned in 1789. 
Thirty of these foreigners, headed by Joseph 
Pedro, a Portuguese, who held the rank of 
captain in Tippoo's service, engaged immedi- 
ately with the Mahrattas. Some requested 
to go to the French settlements in India, 
otiiers to return to Europe ; a few might, 
perhaps, be taken into our service, and the 
remainder have probably engaged in the 
Mahratta or nizam's armies. The remains of 
the sultan's army, which had withdrawn in 
the course of the day and night of the 7tb, 
were collected on the morning of the 8th; 
his infantry on the glacis, and within the 
outworks of the fort ; his baggage and cavalry 
on the south side of the river towards Mysore. 
The crowd in and about the fort was very 
great ; but his army never again encamped in 
order, or made any formidable appearance." 
Active preparations were now made for the 
siege. The magnificent garden was soon 
desolate, the rich fruit-trees and far-shading 
cypresses affording gabions for the engineers. 
Fascines and pickets were procured from the 
material of the garden palace, where the las- 
cars and English pioneers spared nothing 
which their requirements demanded. An 
account of the remaining events must be re- 
served for another chapter. 

Even Mahrattas, who, as a nation hated him, served in 
his rank''.. 



VOL. H 



A5i 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[CuAi'. XCJVII. 



CHAPTER XCVII. 

WAR WITH TIPPOO SULTAN iCottliiiued)—SmGE OP SERINGAPATAM— NIGHT ATTACK ON THE 
TENT 01" EARL CORN WALLIS— GENERAL ABEKCROMBY REACHES THE ALLIED 
CAMPS— SURRENDER OF TIPPOO'S SONS AS HOSTAGES— SECESSION OF HALF HIS 
TERRITORY AS A CONDITION OF PEACE. 



On the 9th of February the siege of Seringa- 
patam commenced in due form. The island 
which now appeared likely to be tlie sphere 
of a fierce and sanguinary struggle waa but 
four English miles in length, and one mile 
and a half in breadth. The centre being the 
highest ground, thence sloping in every di- 
rection to the river Cavery, the waters of 
which surrounded it. The following account 
of it, and the condition of Seriugapatam at the 
period of the siege, was given by an official 
person on the staff of his excellency the go- 
vernor-general and commander-in-chief :^ — 
" The west end of the island, on which the 
fort is built, slopes more, especially towards 
the north ; the ground rising on the opposite 
side of the river commands a distinct view of 
every part of the fort. The fort and out- 
works occupy about a mile of the west end of 
the island, and the Laul Baug, or great gar- 
den, about the same portion of the east end. 
The whole space between the fort and the Laid 
Baug, except a small enclosure, called the 
Dowlat Baug, or rajah's garden, on the north 
bank near the fort, was filled, before the war, 
with houses, and formed an extensive suburb, 
of which the pettah of Shaher Ganjain is the 
only remaining part, the rest having been 
destroyed by Tippoo to make room for bat- 
teries to defend the island, and to form an 
esplatlade to the fort. 

" This pettah, or town, of modern structure, 
built on the middle and highest part of the 
island, is about half a mile square, divided 
into regular cross streets, all wide, and shaded 
on each side by trees, and full of good houses. 
It is surrounded by a strong mud wall, and 
seemed to have been preserved for the ac- 
commodation of the bazaar people and mer- 
chants, and for the convenience of the troops 
stationed on that part of the island for its de- 
fence. A little way to the eastward of the 
pettah, is the outrauce into the great garden, 
or Ijaul Baug. It was laid out in regular 
shady walks of large cypress trees, and fuU of 
fruit-trees, flowers,, and vegetables of every 
description. 

"The island of Seringapatam is watered 
not only by a river, but also by a canal cut 
from it, at a considerable distance, where its 
bed is higher than the island, and brought 
from thence in an aqueduct across the soutli 



branch opposite to that face of the fort. This 
stream, conducted in various canals to all the 
lower parts of the island on the south side, 
afforded great convenience to the inhabitants 
in that quarter, and was the means of keeping 
the gardens in constant beauty and abun- 
dance. 

" The fort, thus situated on the west end 
of the island, is distinguished by its white 
walls, regular outworks, magnificent build- 
ings, and ancient Hindoo pagodas, contrasted 
with the more lofty and splendid monuments 
lately raised in honour of the Mohammedan 
faith. The Laul Baug, which occupies the 
east end of the island, possessing all the 
beauty and convenience of a country retire- 
ment, is dignified by the mausoleum of Hy- 
der, and a superb new palace built by Tippoo. 
To these add the idea of an extensive suburb 
or town, which filled the middle space be- 
tween the fort and the garden, full of wealthy, 
industrious inhabitants, and it will readily be 
allowed that this insulated metropolis must 
have been the richest, most convenient, and 
beautiful spot possessed in the present age by 
any native prince in India. 

" The sultan's proud mind could not be 
tranquil, in seeing his beautiful garden, and 
all his improvements, in the possession of his 
enemies, who were also preparing to deprive 
him of his last citadel, and all that remained 
of his power. His auger was expressed in a 
continual discharge of cannon from the fort, 
directed to the island, to the redoubts, and to 
every post or party of ours within his reach. 
Some of his shot even ranged to the camp, 
and seemed aimed at head-quarters ; but the 
distance on every side was considerable, and 
his ineffectual cannonade served rather to 
proclaim the wrath of the sovereign, than to 
disturb or materially annoy his enemies." 

Tippoo saw that he had no hope of repell- 
ing the English, and as a means of conciha- 
tion, as well as of obtaining terms of peace, he 
determined to release Lieutenants Chalmers 
and Nash, whom, in violation of the terms of 
capitulation, he carried captives from Coim- 
batore. 

. " On the evening of the 8th of February, 
Tijipoo sent for these officers. They found 
him sitting under the fly of a small tent (the 
roof without the walls), pitched on the south 



CuAP. XCVII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



m 



glacis of tlie fort, apparently much dejected, 
very plainly dressed, and with only a few at- 
tendants. After giving them the welcome 
tidings of their intended release, ho asked 
Lieutenant Chalmers, who had commanded in 
Ooimbatore, whether he was not related to 
Lord Cornwallis, and an officer of considerable 
rank in our army. On being answered in tho 
negative, he then asked whether he should 
see his lordship on going to camp ; and be- 
ing told he probably should have that honour, 
requested him to take charge of two letters 
on the subject of peace, which he said ho liad 
been very anxious to obtain ever since the 
commencement of the war, as it was not his 
intention to break with the English ; and re- 
quested his assistance in effecting that im- 
portant object. He further expressed his wish 
that Mr. Chidmers would return with the an- 
swer; told him their baggage should be sent 
after them ; gave him a present of two shawls 
and tive hundred rupees, and ordered horses 
and attendants to go with them to the camp." 
Such was the hyj)ocrisy and treachery of 
Tippoo, that while sxiing for peace, and al- 
though really anxious to procure it, he was 
meditating fresh schemes fur retrieving by 
arms the disasters which had befallen him. 
On the forenoon of the day on which he 
liberated the British officers, hia cavalry 
passed from their encampment and moved 
down tho south side of the river Cavery. 
Notice was given of their movement from 
the island to head-quarters, but no one sup- 
posed that they had any intention of crossing 
to the north side of the river. This, how- 
ever, they accomplished at a ford six miles 
distant from Seringapatam ; and on the morn- 
ing of the lOtli, at dawn, moved to tlie rear 
of the left wing of the British camp, undis- 
covered, and passed between the camps of the 
nizam and that of Earl Cornwallis. Tlie ni- 
zam's army seldom threw out pickets, or ap- 
pointed posts of observation, yet the English 
sepoy sentinels mistook the enemy for horse- 
men of the Deccan. An officer who was in 
tlie English camp on the night of the transac- 
tion thus describes what followed, and ac- 
counts for the failure of the enterprise : — 
"The head-quarters were in the roar of the 
right wing, and so near to the right flank of 
the line, that the party of the enemy on pass- 
ing the park of artillery, which was posted 
between the wings, asked some of the camp 
followers for the Eurra Sahib, or commander. 
Not suspecting them to be enemies, and sup- 
posing these horsemen wanted Colonel Duff, 
the commanding officer of artillery, they 
pointed to hia tent. Tho horsemen then 
drew their swords, and galloped towards the 
tent, cutting some lascars and people as they 



advanced, till being fired upon by a party of 
Bombay sepoy drafts and recruits, encamped 
in the rear of the park, who had turned out 
with great alacrity; they were dispersed be- 
fore they could do any further mischief. Some 
shot were afterwards fired at them from the 
park as they went off, but they got away 
across the hills again with very little loss. 

" This scheme was one of those daring pro- 
jects that have been so frequently practised 
by the native powers against each other in 
effecting revolutions in the East ; and had 
those assassins been conducted by a guide, or 
their judgment been equal to their spirit in 
the attempt, it is possible they might have 
effected their murderous purpose. But the 
llohammedan horsemen in the service of the 
native powers in India are generally intoxi- 
cated with bang, a plant mixed with their 
tobacco in smoking, or with opium, of which 
they take a large dose before they enter ujion 
any dangerous enterprise : this inebriation 
renders their exertions so wild and disunited, 
that it is almost impossible for them ever to 
prove successful against a vigilant enemy. 
This incursion, though soon over, created a 
general alarm in the army ; the safety of Lord 
Cornwallis was not less the object of the pub- 
lic than the private concern." 

Increased vigilance was adopted by the 
English ; and the commander-in-chief, who 
was careless of having his tent guarded, wjis 
induced to order a captain's guard to do duty 
there in future. 

Immediately after this event, and while the 
work of making pickets, fascines, and gabions, 
jjroceeded vigorously on the island and in the 
British camp, another series of operations went 
forward which were of deep interest to all the 
armies concerned. These were connected 
with the march of the Bombay army under 
General Abercromby to join that under Lord 
Cornwallis. When last the march of tho 
Bombay army was noticed, it had ascended 
the Ghauts, and appeared on the enemy's 
frontier. Various circumstances hindered its 
progress, and Tippoo dextrously impeded it 
by complicated and skilful movements of 
troops in that direction. On the 8th of 
February, while the army of Lord Cornwallis 
was operating. so successfully before Serin- 
gapatam, Abercromby began a rapid move- 
ment to form a junction with his chief. On 
the 11th he crossed the Cavery at Eratore, 
not more than thirty miles from Lord Corn- 
wallis's camp. On the 13th he had to ford a 
small liver, which emptied itself into the Ca- 
very, between his army and the object of their 
advance. At that place, suddenly, a detach- 
ment of the enemy's cavalry, which had been 
watching for the opportunity, swept between 



45G 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. XCVII. 



the army and the baggage, destroying and 
capturing a considerable portion. They also 
repeatedly charged the rearguard, and cut 
off a few stragglers and camp followers. On 
the 14th, a powerful corps of Mysorean horse 
harassed both flanks, and repeatedly appeared 
ready to charge ; it was at last necessary for 
the British to halt, and stand in order of 
battle. Just as the formation of the line 
was completed, a British officer contrived 
to reach Abercromby with intelligence that 
Colonel Floyd, with the cavalry of Lord 
Oornwallis, fonr thousand allied horsemen, 
and a battalion of sepoys, were on their way 
to cover his advance. 

Tippoo was observant of all these move- 
ments, and set the whole cavalry of Jlysore 
in motion to cut off some of those bodies of 
troops. On the morning of the 14th, when 
Colonel Floyd marched with the British horse, 
the allies lingered on the ground, and refused 
to follow when the importunities of Major 
Scott urged the necessity of the whole force 
keeping together. When at last they did 
move, Tippoo's troopers passed between them 
and the British, attacked and routed them, 
and had not Floyd and his British dragoons 
hastened back, the Deocan and Mahratta 
hors.emen would have been altogether dis- 
persed. The enemy took to flight on the 
appearance of the British. On the 16th, the 
Bombay force arrived in the camp of the 
commander-in-chief. It consisted, after its 
losses, and the deduction of garrisons and posts 
formed en route, of three brigades ; and when 
the sick and wounded were sent to hospital 
tents, the force numbered six thousand bayo- 
nets. One-third of the men were Europeans : 
with the exception of a few topasses the rest 
were sepoys. 

The time had now arrived for commencing 
the siege, and orders were issued to open the 
trenches. Major Dirom thus described the 
bulwark against which the energy and skill 
of the assailing armies were to be directed, 
and the mode of attack contemplated : — 

" The fort of Seringapatam, of a triangular 
figure, constructed on the west end of the 
island, is embraced by the branches of the 
river on its two longest sides ; the third side, 
or base of the triangle towards the island, 
being the face most liable to attack, is covered 
by strong outworks, and is defended by two 
very broad and massy ramparts, the second 
at a considerable distance within the first, 
both having good flank defences, a deep ditch, 
with drawbridges, and every advantage of 
modern fortification. 

" The two other sides of the fort being pro- 
tected by the river, it was intended that the 
main attack should have been carried on from 



the island, by making a lodgment in the 
Dowlat Baug, or rajah's garden, and from 
thence to run regular approaches against the 
north-east angle of tlio fort, which would also 
be subject to a powerful enfilade attack from 
batteries on the north bank of the river. 
Much time and many lives must j)robably 
have been lost in this attack; the undertaking 
was arduous ; but there being no impediment, 
besides those of art to encounter, the superior 
power of our troops and artillery could not 
fail of success. 

"Lieutenant-colonel Ross, the chief engi- 
neer, had in the meantime been able to recon- 
noitre the north face of the fort very closely, 
and from what he saw, and the information 
he received from Monsieur Blevette, the head 
artificer, and others of Tippoo's Europeans, 
who had come over to us, it was judged more 
advisable to make the principal attack across 
the river against the north face of the fort. 
The curtain there was evidently very weak, 
and extending close along the bank of the 
river, left no room for outworks, and the 
flank defences were few and of little conse- 
quence. The ditch, excavated from the rock, 
was dry, and said to be inconsiderable ; and 
it appeared to be so from what could be ob- 
served in looking into it from the Pagoda 
Hill. The stone glacis which, built into the 
river, covers that face, was broken, or had 
been left incomplete, in two places, including 
several hundred yards of the curtain ; the 
walls might therefore be breached to the bot- 
tom, and would probably fill up great part of 
the ditch. The fort built on the declivity of 
the island on the north was there exposed in 
its whole extent, and every shot fired from 
that quarter must take effect, while the slope 
the island has also to the west end, exposed 
that part of the fort to a very powerful enfi- 
lade attack from the ground by which it is 
commanded on the south side of the river, 
opjiosite to the south-western face of the 
fort. 

" The north branch of the rivei-, which 
would intervene between the main attack, and 
the fort, was the only objection. It seemed 
possible, by repairing an old dam or embank- 
ment, to throw the water entirely into the 
other branch ; at all events the channel, though 
rugged, was not deep or impassable, and the 
embarrassment of such an obstacle was in some 
measure compensated by the security it gave 
against sallies, and the cover it would afford 
in breaking ground at once within breaching ^ 
distance of the fort. The fire, too, from that tB 
side, could not be very considerable, and there 
was a certainty of carrying on the approaches 
rapidly, and breaching the place with little 
loss. It might not be necessary to storm. 



Chap. XCVII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



457 



and if it slioukl, an extraordinary exertion 
must be made at the general assault. 

" Such were understood to be the principal 
reasons which determined Lord Cornwallis to 
relinquish the attaclc from the island against 
the east face, and adopt, in preference, that 
across the river against the north face of the 
fort." 

On tlie 1 9th of February orders were given 
to open the trenches. At the same time. Lord 
Cornwallis commanded that the British troops 
on the island shonld cross to the south side, and 
disturb the cavalry encampment there, so as 
to divert the attention of the enemy from the 
proceedings directed against the north face of 
the fort. The 71st regiment and the 13th 
battalion of Bengal sepoys were ordered for 
this service. Night, soon after sunset, was 
chosen for this expedition. The troops crossed 
the river, made a detour among paddy fields, 
and about midnight arrived at the enemy's 
camp. Captain Robertson, at the head of a 
few companies, was sent forward, while the 
rest of the detachment remained in support. 
The captain ordered that the men should ad- 
vance in close order, yet stealthily, and not 
fire. He entered the camp undetected, and 
fell upon the troopers with the bayonet, kill- 
ing above one hundred. The men fled in 
confusion, leaving their horses, about two 
hundred of which the English bayoneted. 
The enemy now began to assemble as the 
alarm was given. Robertson then fired seve- 
ral volleys at random into the camp, so as to 
keep up the confusion already created while 
he retired. The effect of this manoeuvre on 
the fort was instantaneous ; rockets were 
thrown np, blue lights ignited, the bastions 
illuminated, so that the whole fort seemed to 
be a blaze of fire — the enemy expected a ge- 
neral assault. A single shot was fired in 
the direction of the musketade, but it was 
impossible to open a cannonade without de- 
structive effects upon the cavalry. Captain 
Robertson bravely and skilfully accomplished 
the task assigned to him, without losing a man. 
There was no breach of discipline, no plun- 
der, although many horses might have been 
taken away ; had the men left their ranks to 
make prizes of the horses, the whole party 
might have been endangered. 

Major Dalrymple, to whom the expedition 
had been entrusted, brought off his troops 
safely : — 

" He returned with his detachment to the 
island, at four o'clock in the morning, and 
proceeded from thence to the head- quarters of 
the army, with the 71st regiment, which was 
one of tlie corps ordered up from the island, 
in consequence of the ]>lan of attack being 
changed from thence to the north side of the fort. 



" Ijieutcnant-colonel Ross, the chief engi- 
neer, and the Honourable Lieutenant-colonel 
Knox, who was to command the guard for 
the trenches, had, in the afternoon, visited the 
outposts, and looked at the general situation 
of the ground opposite to the north face of 
the fort, as directed in the general orders. 
The large redoubt, called Mahomed's, which 
was constructed for the defence of the centre 
of the sultan's camp, is nearly opposite to the 
middle of the fort on the north side, and at 
the distance of about fifteen hundred yards 
from that face. The approaches were to con- 
nect with that redoubt ; but in order to take 
full advantage of an attack so unexpected on 
that side, it was determined to break ground 
within breaching distance of the fort, and, 
having formed a sufficient parallel, to work 
back from thence to the redoubt. A deep 
ravine, in which there is a stream of water on 
the right of the redoubt, tnrns along its front, 
and is branched into several nullahs, or canals, 
for the cultivation of the rice fields between 
the redoubt and the river. One of these nul- 
lahs, running nearly parallel to the north face 
of the fort, and being also at the distance 
wished, about eight hundred yards, was to be 
formed into a first parallel for the attack, to 
which the ravine or water-course itself formed 
an imperfect approach. About one thousand 
yards to the right of the ground fixed upon. 
for the ))arallel, there was a square redoubt of 
the enemy's near the river, and a mosque with 
very strong walls, at nearly the same distance 
on the left, both convenient posts to be occu- 
pied by the guard for the trenches. 

" The troops for working, and for guarding 
the trenches, having assembled at the engi- 
neer's park as directed, marched down as soon 
as it was dark, to commence the interesting 
operations of the night. The disposition of 
the guard for the trenches, or covering party, 
consisting of the 3Gth regiment, and two bat- 
talions of sepoys, being the first arrangement, 
was made by Lieutenant-colonel Knox, ac- 
cording to the plan fixed with the chief engi- 
neer, and was as follows : — 

" Captain Wight, with the grenadiers, and 
a battalion company of the 36th regiment, 
accompanied by Lieutenant Mackenzie, aid- 
de-camp to the chief engineer, with a party 
of pioneers with gabions for closing the gorge 
of the work towards the fort, was sent to dis- 
lodge the enemy, and take possession of the 
redoubt on the right of the parallel : the light 
infantry company of the SC,th regiment, under 
Captain Hart, and two companies of sepoys, 
were to occupy the mosque to the left. Ser- 
geants' parties were distributed along the front 
and flanks of the parallel, to prevent the pos- 
sibility of surprise. A battalion of sepoys was 



458 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Cuap. XCVII. 



sent into the nullah intended for the parallel, 
and the remainder of the covering party lay 
upon their arms, on each side of the water- 
course in the roar of the parallel, under shelter 
of some banks near the burying-ground of 
Tippoo's Europeans, whose quarters had been 
at Somarpett. 

" The chief engineer having detailed the 
working parties under the different officers of 
his corps, proceeded to execute the parallel 
which he had marked out the preceding night. 
They worked undiscovered, and so ineffectual 
were the blue lights of the fort, that, when 
illuminated on all sides, in consequence of the 
diversion which was made from the island, 
they did not enable the garrison to see the 
people who were at work within eight hun- 
dred yards of the wnlla ; nor can those lights 
be of any service to discover an enemy, un- 
less in a very close attack, where they are 
generally of still more use to the assailants. 

" General Meadows, accompanied by the 
officers of his suite, came down in the evening 
to the advanced redoubt, where he remained 
during the night, in readiness to give his or- 
ders in case anything particular had occurred. 
In the morning he inspected the work that 
had been executed, and afterwards continued 
liis daily visits to the trenches during the 
siege. By daylight, the nullah was formed 
into a wide and extensive parallel, and a re- 
doubt was constructed to cover its left flank, 
the right being protected by the ravine. 

" The party that had been sent to possess 
the redoubt near the river, having found 
it evacuated, and too open to be I'endered 
tenable, in the course of the night rejoined 
Colonel Knox. In the morning the parties 
were withdrawn that had been posted in front, 
and on the flanks of the parallel during the 
night ; but the party was continued in the 
mosque on the left, as it was thought strong 
enough to resist the cannon of the fort. 

" Daylight showed the sultan that the ex- 
ertions of his enemy had been directed to a 
more material object than beating up his horse 
camp during the night ; and that his attention 
had been successfully drawn off to a different 
quarter, duriug the most interesting operation 
of the siege. He opened every gun he could 
bring to bear upon the parallel, and upon the 
mosque, and sent parties of infantry across the 
river to harass our troops in flank, and to in- 
terrupt the work. 

" Tippoo, finding all his exertions from the 
fort would be ineffectual in repelling the at- 
tack on that side, thought of employing an- 
other expedient in his defence, by turning off 
the water from the large canal, which, being 
cut from Caniambaddy for the cultivation of 
the grounds on the north side of the river, 



supplied the greatest part of our camp. This 
measure, he knew, would distress our troops, 
and, by depriving the camp of a large stream 
of running water, soon render it unhealthy ; 
and moreover, by increasing the quantity of 
water in the bed of the river, would add to 
the difficulty of our approach. It is probable 
that the Bombay army, previously to their 
junction, prevented the sultan from an earlier 
attempt to deprive us of this source of health 
and comfort, to which he was now urged by 
the opening of our trenches, and the com- 
mencement of the attack on that side of the 
fort. The sudden deficiency of the water 
soon indicated that the enemy had diverted 
the stream from the canal. Tlie 14th bat- 
talion of coast sepoys, commanded by Captain 
Wahab, was immediately detached with a 
party of pioneers to dispossess the enemj', 
and endeavour to repair the damage. Tip- 
poo's troops did not attempt to defend the 
position they had taken on the banks of the 
canal, which they had broken down in order to 
turn the stream into the bed of the river ; and 
the embankment being very massy, the little 
they had been able to destroy was soon re- 
paired, and the stream again confined to its 
former channel."* 

A battalion of sepoys was stationed there 
to prevent a second attempt by the enemy. 
After the commencement of the main attack 
as above described, the Bombay army was 
directed to cross the river, and invest the 
south-west side, and make ready for an en- 
filade attack upon the face of the fort. When 
Abercromby made good his passage, he per- 
ceived the enemy drawn out in battle array. 
Tippoo did not believe that the river could 
be forded with guns at that particular point, 
and had made no provision to prevent such a 
result. His cavalry had been thrown into such 
confusion by the surprise effected through the 
activity and boldness of Captain Roberts, that 
they were marshalled with difficulty. He 
now appeared in person at the head of his 
infantry, resolved to prevent Abercromby 
securing such points as would strengthen his 
position. These were a redoubt, and a " tope " 
or grove between the fort and the heights 
upon which Abercromby took post, and the 
sultan manifested an intense anxiety to pre- 
vent their occupation. The English forbore 
any attempt during the day, but at night 
Colonel Hartley, with a battalion of grenadier 
sepoys, effected a surprise. The next morning 
Tippoo saw from his fortress three Euro- 
peans and six sepoy battalions under Aber- 
cromby on the heights, strongly posted, and 
beyond the range of the guns of the batteries. 

On the nights of the 19th and 20th, and 
♦ Narrative of the Cainpai(/n in India, 1792. 



Chap. XCVII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



459 



21st of February, tlie English carried on their 
works ^Yith industry, courage, and skill; 
thirty men only were killed and wounded by 
the cannonade of the sultan during those 
operations. He watched the English with 
vigilance, and opposed them with activity. 
Every morning he paced anxiously and fear- 
lessly the ramparts, to observe the progress 
made the previous night. Every feature of 
the defence was drawn by himself, and his 
fortitude amazed the allies. Deserters were 
now numerous, especially from his cavalry, to 
the English, the Mahrattas, and the nizam — 
the majority of these renegades preferred the 
services of the sovereign of the Deccan. 

During the progress of all these demon- 
strations Tippoo negotiated with hesitating 
and reluctant diplomacy. His vakeels were 
received by the J3ritish commander-in-chief. 
Tents were pitched near the Mosque Eedoubt, 
and thither the representatives of the sultan 
and the allies repaired on the 15th, 16th, 
19th, and 21st. Deserters reported that the 
chief men in the city, anxious to save their 
treasures, and preserve their families from 
alarm, and possibly insult, had remonstrated 
with the sultan against continuing a war 
which brought desolation and disaster to their 
doors. Tippoo refused to make the extensive 
concessions demanded from him, still believing 
that the allies would not long be able to ob- 
tain subsistence in a country already nearly 
exhausted. The strong fort of Mysore was 
still his. Cummer-ud-Deen Khan held the 
Bidenorc country, as already shown, and he 
was supposed to be hastening thence with re- 
inforcements and convoys. 

On the 22nd of February Tippoo fotmd 
that General Abercromby had pushed up his 
posts in closer proximity to the weakest part 
of the defence. He determined to dislodge 
them. For this purpose a strong detachment 
occupied the tope, a few moments before the 
arrival of an English party for the same pur- 
pose ; a combat ensued, the English were re- 
inforced from the redoubt, their surprise of 
which has been related, and the combat be- 
came extended and severe : the Mysoreans 
were driven out, and the English drew up in 
front of the grove opposite the batteries of 
the fort. All day Tippoo threw rockets 
against the tope, , and sent out skirmishers, 
who succeeded in wounding the English sen- 
tinels. When night fell he directed the guns 
of the fort against it, while cavalry and 
infantry operated upon its flanks. The Eng- 
lish were largeh' reinforced, and a fierce battle 
was fought. The arrangements for supplying 
the English with ammunition were, as usual, 
bad, and the brave men had to retire before 
continuous peals of musketry, to which they 



had no means of replj'ing. The enemy, em- 
boldened, charged the tope, the troopers dis- 
mounting and leading the way sword in hand. 
The English instantly turned, charged with 
the bayonet, and drove the aggressors under 
the walls of the fort. Again the enemy ad- 
vanced, but did not charge, maintaining a 
murderous fusilade, which the English coidd 
not answer by a single shot, and were obliged 
to retreat under a heavy and galling fire. 
While the enemy were pressing more closely, 
and their fire thickening, the 12tli battalion of 
Bombay sepoys, with a supply of ammunition, 
arrived, and turned the fortunes of the day. 
The sepoys covered the retreating English, 
who, with replenished cartouch -boxes, rallied, 
and again drove the enemy out of the tope, 
once more taking post in its front, along 
which a battle of musketry was waged with 
furious energy. The English again reinforced, 
pursued the enemy under the guns of the 
fort, as the sun set closing the day and the 
battle. This battle caused great imeasiness 
to the British on the island, and in the camp 
of head-quarters, as the waving to and fro of 
large bodies of men, and the continued roar 
of musketry, led the British to believe that 
the whole of General Abercromby's force was 
in action, and hotly pressed. W'hen night 
came, a burning anxiety to know the result 
pervaded the allied camps, and means were 
taken to obtain prompt intelligence, which 
allayed all doubts, and afforded fresh encou- 
ragement. Abercromby himself had been 
apprehensive that the attack was a feint by 
Tippoo to engage the attention of the English 
while Cummer-ud-Deen should fall upon his 
rear, so that he feared to detach support to 
the troops in the tope, so as to put an earlier 
termination to the conflict. The English lost 
about one hundred and twenty men, and many 
valuable officers, in killed and wounded. 

On the night of the 23rd of February the 
second parallel was finished, and the ground 
selected for the breaching batteries within 
five Inmdrod yards of the fort. On the same 
night a redoubt was constructed on an island 
in the river, from which it was believed a 
cannonade might be directed with effect in 
certain conjunctures. Abercromby advanced 
to a ravine between the fort and the lately 
contested tope, and made there a lodgment. 
A battery was commenced near that point, 
from which to throw red-hot shot and shells 
into the fort. 

On the night of the 24th the English were 
prepared to open a fire from nearly sixty 
cannon and howitzers. The weight of metal 
was sufficient for breaching, and the means of 
setting the city on fire were ample and certain. 
The place was not yet fully invested. Pur- 



460 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. XCVII. 



seram Bhow was, as lias already been shown, 
on an expedition which he chose to take 
■without the concurrence of his allies. He 
was now expected, and with his force of 
twenty thousand cavalry, a brigade of English 
sepoy infantry which he had with hiui, and 
thirty pieces of cannon, the investment of the 
city would speedily be completed, and Tippoo 
would obtain no supplies, unless his lieutenant, 
the khan, could force his way through the 
blockade. 

ilajor Cuppage was advancing from Coim- 
batore with a very strong brigade, and orders 
to take the fort of Mysore on the way. Sup- 
plies were abundant, and the arrangements 
for convoys effective. The sultan could no 
longer maintain himself, unless by sorties he 
could clear the vicinity of his capital and 
raise the siege. The 24th of February 
dawned on the besieged and besiegers, full of 
interest. The former, drooping and depen- 
dant, expected that as soon aa the shadows of 
evening closed around the ramparts, the 
thunder of the breaching batteries would roll 
over the city. The besiegers were full of 
high hope, eager to avenge their murdered 
countrymen, and enrich themselves with the 
booty of a stormed capital. Suddenly orders 
came to the English to cease working in the 
trenches, and to abstain from all hostile acts. 
At the same moment, Tippoo, ever treacherous 
even when treachery brought little advantage 
and much peril to himself, opened an active 
fire from all points of the defence, wounding 
and slaying several officers, as well as many 
men. This was in contravention of articles 
of armistice signed the night before. Lord 
Cornwallis sent repeated flags of truce and 
remonstrances, but the sultan continued his 
fire until noon, although the English did not 
reply. His aim probably was to make his 
people believe that he had dictated terms of 
peace. The same day a proclamation of 
Lord Cornwallis announced the cessation of 
hostilities, but that the same vigilance, as if 
in actual warfare, was to be observed at all 
the posts of the allied armies. On the night 
of the 23rd Tippoo had signed preliminaries 
of peace, having accepted the terms dictated 
by Lord Cornwallis. These terms were 
severe, but not more than the conduct and 
character of Tippoo necessitated, and it was 
in the power of the allies to have then closed 
his career, and have saved much blood and 
treasure that afterwards it became needful to 
expend. As the struggle between the Eng- 
lish and Tippoo did not end with this war, 
and the treaty made by Lord Cornwallis 
laid the foundation for subsequent quarrels, 
it is desirable to present its terms to the 
render : — 



Preliminaiy articles of a treaty of peace concluded be- 
tween the allied armies and Tippoo Sultan. 

Art. T. — One half of the dominions of which Tippoo 
Sultan was in possession before the war, to be ceded to 
the allies from the countries adjacent, according to their 
situation. 

Aitf. II. — Three crores and thirty lacs of rupees, to be 
paid by Tippoo Sultan, either in gold mohurs, pagodas, 
or bullion. 

1st. One crore and sixty-five lacs, to be paid imme- 
diately. 

2nd. One crorc and si.vty-five lacs, to be paid in three 
payments not exceeding four months each. 

Art. III. — ,\11 prisoners of the four powers, from the 
time of llyder All, to be unequivocally restored. 

Art. IV, — Two of Tippoo Sultan's three eldest sons to 
be given as hostages for a due performance of the treaty. 

.Art. V. — When they shall arrive in camp, with the 
articles of this treaty, under the seal of the sultan, a 
counterpart shall be sent from the three powers. Hos- 
tilities shall cease, and terms of a treaty of alliance and 
perpetual friendship shall be agreed upon. 

Major Dyraock relates that " the allies, 
Hurry Punt on the part of the Mahratfas, and 
the nizam's son, Secunder Jaw, and his minis- 
ter Azeem-ul-Omrah, on the part of the 
nizani, conducted themselves with the greatest 
moderation and propriety in the negotiation, 
and on every occasion on which they had 
been consulted during the war." 

The surrender of his sons as hostages 
caused much commiseration in the city, and 
a sort of insurrection among the ladies of the 
harem, who besought the sultan to request an 
adtlitional day's delay from Loi'd Cornwallis, 
in order that the young princes might be 
sent into his camp with suitable preparation. 
His lordship, hearing of this, sent word that 
he was willing to defer the surrender of the 
hostages, and that he would wait upon their 
highnesses as soon as they arrived at the tents 
prepared for their reception. Tippoo requested 
that they might be at once conducted to his 
lordship's tent, and delivered into his own 
hands. 

On the 26th the hostages left the fort, and 
seldom has the page of history recorded a 
scene move touching. The ramparts were 
crowded with soldiers and citizens, whose 
sympathy was deeply stirred. Tippoo him- 
self was on the rampart above the gateway, 
and is represented as having shown profound 
emotion. 

As the princes left the gate the fort saluted 
them viith the usual discharge of cannon, and 
as they approached the British camp twenty- 
one guns thundered forth a similar token of 
respect. They were met by the English ne- 
gotiator, Sir John Kennaway, the JIahratta 
and nizam's vakeels, and a guard of honour. 
The princes were conveyed on elephants ca- 
parisoned after the manner of Southern India ; 
each was seated in a silver howder. Tlie 
vakeels of the different courts were also borne 



CuAP. XOVIL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



461 



upon elephants. Harcarrahs* led the proces- 
sion, and seven standard bearers, carrying 
small green flags suspended from rocket 
poles. After these followed one hundred 
pikemen, whose weapons were inlaid with 
silver. The rearguard consisted of two 
hundred sepoys and a squadron of horse. 

Lord Cornwallis, attended by many of his 
principal officers, as well as his staff, met the 
princes at the entrance to his tent, as they 
descended from their hovvders. He embraced 
them, and taking one in each hand, led them 
into his tent. The elder, Abdul Kaliek, was 
only ten years of age, the younger, Mooza- 
ad-Deen was two years younger. Lord Corn- 
wallis placed them on each side of him as he 
sat. Gullam Ali, the principal vakeel of 
Tippoo, then surrendered them formally as 
hostages, saying, " These children were this 
morning the sons of the sultan, my master ; 
their situation is now changed, and they must 
look up to your lordship as their fatlier." 
Lord Cornwallis addressed the vakeel, assur- 
ing them that his protection should be ex- 
tended to his interesting hostages ; and he 
spoke so feelingly, yet cheerfully, to the chil- 
dren that he at once gained their confidence. 

The princes wore flowing robes of white 
muslin and red turbans, in which each wore 
a sprig of rich pearls. They had necklaces 
composed of several rows of large pearls. 
From the necklace, each wore an ornament 
of the same pattern, the centre of which con- 
sisted of a large rich ruby, and one exqui- 
.sitely chaste emerald. The centre piece was 
surrounded by brilliants. Their manners 
were characterised by propriety and dignity 
becoming their high rank. The elder boy 
had a Moorish aspect, his colour was rather 
dark, lips thick, nose flat, and the counten- 
ance long and preternaturally thoughtful. 
Neither his person nor manner was so much 
admired as the appearance and demeanour 
of the younger child, who was fair, with re- 
gular contour, large, bright, expressive eyes, 
and a countenance kind and cheerful : — 
" Placed too, on the right hand of Lord Corn- 
wallis, he was said to be the favourite son, 
and the sultan's intended lieir. His mother 
(a sister of Burham-ud-Deen's, who was 
killed at Sattimangulum), a beautiful, delicate 
woman, had died of fright and apprehension, 
a few days after the attack of the lines. This 
melancholy event made the situation of the 
youngest boy doubly interesting, and, with 
the other circumstances, occasioned his at- 

* Uarenrrahs : messengers cmployej to carry letters, 
and on business of trust. They are commonly lirahniins, 
are well acquainted with the neighbouring countries, are 
sent to gain intelligence, and are used as guides iu the 
field. 



tracting by much the more notice. After 
some conversation, his lordship presented a 
handsome gold watch to each of the princes, 
with which they seemed much pleased. 
Beetel-nut and otto of roses, according to 
the Eastern custom, being then distributed, 
he led them back to their elephants, embraced 
them again, and they returned, escorted by 
their suite and the battalion, to their tents. 
Next day, the 27th, Lord Cornwallis, at- 
tended as yesterday, went to pay the princes 
a visit at tlieir tents, pitched near the Mosque 
Redoubt, within the green canaut or wall, used 
by the sultan in the field, of which we had 
so often traced the marks during the war. 
The canaut of canvas, scolloped at top, was 
painted of a beautiful sea-green colour, with 
rich ornamented borders, and formed an ele- 
gant inclosure for the tents. It was thrown 
open to the front, and within it tlie pikemen, 
sepoys, &c., of the princes' guard formed a 
street to a tent, whence they came out and 
met Lord Cornwallis. After embracing them, 
he led them, one in each hand, into the tent, 
where chairs were placed for his lordship, 
themselves, and his suite. Sir John Kenna- 
way, the Slahratta and the nizam's vakeels, 
also attended the conference. The eldest 
boy, now seated on his lordship's right hand, 
appeared less serious than yesterday ; and 
when he spoke, was not only graceful in his 
manner, but had a most affable, animated 
appearance. The youngest, however, ap- 
peared to be the favourite with the vakeels ; 
and at the desire of Gullam Ali, repeated, 
or rather recited some verses in Arabic, which 
he had learned by heart from the Koran, and 
afterwards some verses in Persian, which ho 
did with great ease and confidence, and 
showed he had made great progress in his 
education. Each of the princes presented his 
lordship with a fine Persian sword, and in 
return he gave the eldest a fuzee, and the 
youngest a pair of pistols, of very fine and 
curious workmanship. Some jewels, shawls, 
and rich presents were then offered to his 
lordship as matter of form ; after which, 
beetel-nut and otto of roses being distri- 
buted, the princes conducted his lordship 
without the tent, when he embraced them 
and took his leave. The tent in which the 
princes received Lord Cornwallis, was lined 
with fine chintz, and the floor covered with 
white cloth. The attendants sprinkled rose- 
water during the audience ; and there was a 
degree of state, order, and magnificence in 
everything, much superior to what had been 
seen amongst our allies. The guard of sepoys 
drawn up without was clothed in uniform, 
and not only regularly and well-armed, hut, 
compared to the rabble of infantry in the 

3o 



462 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. XCVIT. 



service of the other native powers, appeared 
well disciplined and in high order. From 
what passed this day, and the lead taken 
by the eldest son, it seemed uncertain which 
of them might be intended for Tippoo's 
heir. Perhaps, and most probably, neither ; 
for Hyder Sahib, about twenty years of age, 
has always been said to be Tijjpoo's eldest 
son; had been educated accordingly, and had 
accompanied his father constantly during the 
war, till lately, when he was sent on a sepa- 
rate command."* The vakeels declared that 
he was not a favourite, nor destined to bo 
the heir. This was, however, supposed to 
be said by them to prevent that prince also 
from being demanded as a hostage. 

On the morning of the 28th, a salute was 
fired from the fort, to announce the satisfac- 
tion of the sultan, at the treatment which his 
sons received. Every preparation was now 
made to complete the definitive treaty, and 
hasten the departure of the allies. There 
arose many grounds of suspicion that Tippoo 
had actually murdered some of the English 
prisoners after the signature of preliminaries 
of peace, and that others were retained in 
a miserable confinement in Seringapatarti. 
Ten sepoys of General Abercromby's corps 
were taken on the 29th of February, brought 
into the fort, each mutilated of his right hand, 
and sent back to the English camp. These 
men were shown to Tippoo's vakeels, who said 
they had been caught plundering. The sepoys 
declared that they were wandering about 
beyond tiie fort, were seized, brought before 
the sultan's chubdar, or officer of justice, and 
thus mutilated. The vakeels denied that this 
was by orders of the sultan, or with his 
knowledge. When TippOo was remonstrated 
with by Lord Cornwallis, the reply was inso- 
lent and satirical : — " His lordship must have 
been misinformed ; but for his satisfaction, if 
he desired it, he would throw down one of 
the bastions that he might see into the fort." 
In a variety of ways, the sultan appeared as 
if he doubted the sincerity of the allies, or 
was himself insincere. He was preparing 
the means of further defence, although his 
sons were hostages, and he had signed terms 
of a preliminary treaty. His vakeels also 
raised every obstruction which falsehood and 
artifice could create to the ratification of the 
treaty. He refused to pay the full fine stipu- 
lated, although a crore of rupees had been 
already sent. Cummer-nd-deen Khan had 
arrived with an immense convoy, and a power- 
ful reinforcement, and was permitted to enter 
the fort. The cession of territory was after 
many disputes fixed, and yielded nearly half 
a million sterling to each of the three allied 
Narrative of the Campaign. 



powers. The sultan had determined, as soon 
as the allies withdrew, to take ample ven- 
geance upon the Coorg Eajah for the aid 
which he gave to the IJombay army. Lord 
Cornwallis insisted therefore upon that prince 
being secured as an independent sovereign 
by the treaty. Tippoo refused, and so keen 
was his love of revenge, that no conccBsion 
demanded of him excited such grief and in- 
dignation. He was nearly driven to madness. 

Lord Cornwallis sent back the guns to the 
island, and ordered the troops to prepare to 
renew the siege, should matters come to that 
extremity. There was, however, such dis- 
arrangement and destruction of material as 
rendered a new siege far more difficult than 
the former. Fresh food was scarce in the 
camps, a pestilential effluvium stole over' the 
posts which were occupied in the island, and 
many of the men sickened and some died. 
Upon all this the sultan had calculated, and 
therefore instructed his vakeels to procras- 
tinate, while he added strength to his forti- 
fications, especially to the north face of the 
fort. The civil officers of Tippoo represented 
to him the great forces now occupying his 
country, and urged him to remove all doubt 
of his sincerity, by a full and frank compliance 
with the terms of the treaty. They were 
justified in these representations, for, on the 
IGth of March, 1792, the following number 
of troops were in Mysore, and chiefly around 
Seringapatam : — 11,193 Europeans, 72,020 
natives, with 254 cannon. 

The negotiations with the sultan made such 
unsuccessful progress, that on the 16th of 
March, the body-guard which attended the 
princes was disarmed, and the royal children 
were sent towards the Carnatic. Intimation 
was given to the sultan, that if the definitive 
treaty were not immediately signed, hosti- 
lities would be resumed. 

Purseram Bhow, with his Mahrattas, and 
the Bomba)' sepoy battalions, under Captain 
Little, attached to the army of that chief, 
crossed the river to the south side of the fort, 
to join the force of General Abercromby, 
and make the blockade there more complete. 
" It may appear extraordinary that the 
other Mahratta army, or the nizam's army, 
had not been employed to act with General 
Abercromby, in the absence of Purseram 
Bhow. Lord Cornwallis mentions in one of 
his despatches, that it suited neither the health 
nor inclination of Hurry Punt to go upon any 
detached service ; and that the nizam's min- 
ister, although he, with great zeal, offered 
to supply the place of the bhow, was so com- 
pletely ignorant of military affairs, and such 
was the want of arrangement prevailing in 
every department of his army, that he was 



CiiAr. XOVIT.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



463 



eqiially rniaWe to put his troops in motion, or 
to provide for their subsistence, even for a 
few days, if removed from our army." 

The bliow took eagerly to liis task, and 
with his cavalry scoured the country to 
Mysore, capturing elephants, camels, and 
bullocks belonging to the sultan. At last 
finding resistance vain, his troops unwilling 
to defend the city, and his family and vakeels 
anxious for peace on any terms, Tippoo 
signed the necessary documents. He re- 
quested that the ratification of the treaty 
should be presented by his sons to Lord Corn- 
wallis in person. This was to induce his 
lordship to recall the cortege, which had been 
halted at a day's march. With this request 
Lord Cornwallis complied. Tippoo requested 
a personal interview with Lord Cornwallis, 
which his lordship refused, probably from 
an apprehension of giving cause of jealousy 
to our allies, from having no great respect for 
the sultan's character, and from seeing it 
would answer no essential public purpose. 

"On the 19th of March the young princes, 
attended and escorted in the same manner as 
when they first arrived in camp, came to per- 
form the ceremony of delivering the defini- 
tive treaty to Lord Cornwallis and the allies. 
They arrived at head-quarters at ten o'clock, 
which was the hour appointed, and were re- 
ceived by his lordship, as formerly, with the 
greatest kindness and attention. The boys 
had now gained more confidence ; the eldest 
in particular, conducted himself with great 
ease and propriety ; and, after some general 
conversation, having a parcel handed to him, 
which contained the definitive treaty in tri- 
plicate, he got up and delivered the whole to 
Lord Cornwallis. The nizam's son, or Mogul 
Prince as they call him, and the Mahratta 
plenipotentiary. Hurry Punt, did not think it 
consistent with their dignity to attend on 
this interesting occasion, any more than on 
the fir.st diiy that the princes arrived in camp. 
Even their vakeels were late in making their 
appearance. At length, on their coming, the 
eldest prince receiving two of the copies of 
the treaty, returned to him by Lord Corn- 
wnllis, delivered a copy to each of the vakeels 
of the other powers, which he did with great 
manliness ; but evidently with more constraint 
and dissatisfaction than he had performed the 
first part of the ceremony. One of the vakeels 
(the Mahratta) afterwards muttering some- 
thing on the subject, the boy asked at what 
he grumbled ; and, without giving him time 
to answer, said, ' they might well bo silent, as 
certainly their masters had no reason to be 
displeased.' These may not be the precise 
words, but something passed to that effect, 
which did great honour to the boy's manli- 



ness and spirit. The princes having com- 
pleted the ceremony, and delivered this final 
testimony of their father's submission, took 
their leave and returned to their tents ; and 
thus ended the last scene of this imjiortant 
war."* 

Tlie losses of Tippoo were very heavy. 
The British main army captured 432 pieces 
of cannon, and in the various conflicts with it, 
including the siege, Tippoo acknowledged 
that the number of men, killed, wounded, 
missing, and taken prisoners, was 31,720. The 
Bombay army took 224 guns, and the ac- 
knowledged loss of the sultan to that army 
in killed, wounded, prisoners, and deserters 
was 9020 men. The Mahratta army, and 
Bombay brigade associated with it, slew, 
wounded, captured, or caused to desert, 6850 
men, and made prizes of sixty-six pieces of 
artillery. The nizam's army, with the Madras 
brigade attached, won thirty -six guns, and 
slew or dispersed 1550 men. The naval 
squadron of the English at Fortified Island, 
seized or spiked forty-three cannon, and 
killed and wounded 200 men, besides taking 
the fort. The nizam's army took four forts, 
the Mahrattas six, the Bombay army sixteen, 
and Lord Cornwallis's own army forty. " The 
guns taken by Tippoo Sultan during the 
war were the thirty -seven at the Travancore 
lines, belonging to the rajah (found after- 
wards in the Paniany river) ; six field -pieces, 
which the detachment at Sattemangulum were, 
from the cattle being killed, under the ne- 
cessity of quitting in their retreat ; two or 
three guns at Permacoil, in the Carnatic ; 
and the few guns which the detachment com- 
manded by Cummer-ud-Deen Cawn retook 
in Coimbatore. The only forts of consequence 
that remained in Tippoo's possession at the 
conclusion of the war were, Seringapatam, 
Chittledroog, Bidenore, Mangalore, or a new 
fort near it called Jemaulghur, Kistnaghcry, 
and Sankeridurgum. The two last forts being 
in the ceded countries, there were only four 
places which have not either been in the pos- 
session of his enemies during the war, or 
made over to them in consequence of the 
peace." 

The prize money of the army was consi- 
derable. Lord Cornwallis and General Mea- 
dows gave up theirs for the benefit of the 
army in general. The company granted a 
year's batta, which, with the value of captured 
commodities, made nearly £000,000. The 
British armies and their allies soon began 
their homeward march when the treaty was 
signed, and the sultan was left to brood over 
his disasters in his diminished dominions, 

* Mf^or Dirora's account, 



4G4 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EJIPIRE 



[Chap. XCVIII. 



CHAPTER XCVIII. 

DEPARTUKE OF LOUD CORXWALLIS FROM INDIA— SIR JOHN SlIORK BECOMES GOVERNOR 
GENERAL— HE RESIGNS— THE EARL OF MORNINGTON IS APPOINTED GOVERNOK- 
GENERAL— GENERAL CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE ENGLISH— EFFORTS OF THE FRENCH 
— TIPPOO SULTAN FORMS A FRENCH ALLIANCE TO EXPEL THE ENGLISH FROM INDIA. 



LonD CoRNWALLis having brought the war 
with Tippoo to a successful issue, sought tlie 
earliest day compatible with public interests 
to retire from the government of India, and 
Sir John Shore assumed the reins of govern- 
ment ; Major-general Sir Robert Abercromby 
receiving the appointment of commander-in- 
chief. The general was appointed to his 
high office by the court of directors in Sep- 
tember, 1792; Sir John was installed in his 
high office, October 28, 179.3. Lord Hobart, 
a nominee of llr. Dundas (the enemy of 
Hastings), succeeded Sir Charles Oakley in 
the government of Madras, five days before 
Sir John Shore filled the chair of the general 
government. 

Notwithstanding the successes of Earl 
Cornwallis, and the moral impression which 
he left behind with all the native states, their 
treachery and selfishness were such that the 
English could rely on no treaty, nor on the 
personal disposition of any chief; reliance 
could be alone placed on their own power for 
peace, and the integrity of their territories. 
The influence of the French was again be- 
ginning to be felt. They formed a fresh 
treaty with the nizam of the Dcccan, and 
acquired such power over him by means 
purely diplomatic, that he took two French 
brigades into his service. 

The disturbances in Europe, which ensued 
upon the French revolution, threatened to 
affect the interests of England in India. The 
coasting trade was impeded by French cruisers, 
and no effectual means were taken against 
them until much loss of property, and some 
loss of life ensued. Commodore Cornwallis, 
in the spring of 179-1, checked these attacks 
upon the coasting vessels. 

Tippoo Sultan having performed all that 
ho had stipulated, and scrupulously main- 
tained peace, his sons were therefore sur- 
rendered to him on the 28th of March. It 
was the belief of the governments of all the 
presidencies that the sultan was, by a rigid 
economy, and a skilful attention to the re- 
sources of his dominions, preparing for a new 
struggle, in order to regain the territories 
wrested from him, and his prestige in Southern 
India, and that he only awaited the restora- 
tion of his children to take a more decided 
course. Strong susjiicions were entertained 
that he was, with such objects, already in 



correspondence with the Sultan of Turkej-, 
and with the revolutionary government of 
France. As soon as Tippoo received his 
sons, indications were given that he was pre- 
paring for war, and the foe against whom the 
bolt was likely to be thrown was the nizam. 
A jealousy existed between this prince and 
the Peishwa of the Mahrattas, and Tippoo 
was anxious to ally himself with the latter. 

The treaties of 1790 clearly constrained 
neutrality on the part of the English, and 
such a policy suited the temper of the gover- 
nor-general. The French took advantage of 
that neutrality, and instigated both the Jlah- 
rattas and the nizam to make war. French 
officers and troops actually joined both armies. 
The nizam was defeated without any help 
from Tippoo, and the Jilahrattas were ascen- 
dant in all Southern India, except where the 
English, French, and Tippoo held a stern in- 
dependence. The French continued to in- 
trigue, and a French and English contingent 
were at the same time in the nizam's countrj-. 
While matters were thus uncertain in the 
Deccan, events rapidly occurred in the north, 
which increased the power of the English. 
The Vizier of Oude and the Rohillas liad a 
fresh war, which ended in the supremacy of 
the ally of the English, and new arrange- 
ments, political and financial, in their favour. 
The death of Sir William Jones, the learned 
and upright judge at Calcutta, was regarded 
as a loss to India and to England. 

In the year 1796 the directors decided 
upon a revision of the military system of 
British India, which was carried out at an 
increased cost of £308,000 per annum. The 
appearance of a new French squadron off the 
coast of Coromandel caused uneasiness at the 
presidencies of Madras and Bengal, and the 
rumour that a powerful Dutch fleet was at 
sea, destined to co-operate with the French, 
deepened the alarm, and led to active defen- 
sive preparations. Sir George Keith Elphin- 
stone encountered the Dutch fleet at the Cape 
of Good Hope, and compelled it to surrender, 
relieving the government of India of all fear 
from that quarter. 

Before the year 1796 closed, the army of 
Tippoo had been increased so much, and his 
general military preparations were of such a 
character, that representations were made to 
him of the suspicious nature of his proceedings. 



Chav. XOVIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



466 



aiul explanations were demaiidetl. At tlic 
saino time the Madras army made ready for 
tlio field, in case the answer of the sahib 
should prove unsatisfactory. The govern- 
ment of Bombaj' also placed the coast of 
Malabar in a state of defence. The troops of 
that presidency were ordered to attack any 
French force landing in "Western India, even 
if it were necessary to violate the territory of 
Tippoo. 

Tlie sultan's letter was ingeniously evasive, 
aflbrding no explanation and offering no of- 
fence. Tippoo prepared more actively to as- 
sert certain claims upon Knrnaul, a depen- 
dency of the nizara, and the English govern- 
ment prepared to enforce respect for the treaty 
of Lord Cornwallis. 

During 1796-7 the financial pressure upon 
the company was exceedingly severe. In 
whatever form the company prospered, finan- 
cial distresses incessantly recurred. Sir John 
Shore was an able financier, but he had not 
the bold conceptions of Hastings, and he 
dared not incur the danger of impeachment 
in England by any measures of finance re- 
sembling those by which Hastings so often 
filled the coffers of the company. Sir John's 
conduct gave such satisfaction in England, 
that he was created Baron Teignmouth, Oc- 
tober 24th, 1797. 

The affairs of Oude were greatly dis- 
turbed during Sir John Shore's administration. 
The vizier died, a pretender ascended the 
musnid, the country was disturbed, the court 
a scone of debauchery and cruelty the most 
horrible and flagrant. Oude was what it 
had always proved before, and what it 
constantly became afterwards — a torment and 
difficulty to the English. Vizier Ali, who 
had been acknowledged by the governmeut 
at Calcutta, was deposed, and Saadut Ali 
set up, who stipulated to pay seventy-six lacs 
of rupees instead of fifty-six paid by his prede- 
cessor, and also promised to pay up all ar- 
rears incurred by jirevious nabobs of that 
province. Territory was also surrendered, 
and money obtained for the company to a 
large amount under various forms and on 
different pretexts. 

In March, 1798, Lord Teignmouth re- 
turned to England. Lord Cornwallis was 
again appointed governor-general, but, as 
was mentioned in a previous chapter, the 
state of Ireland required his services. The 
Earl of Mornington accepted the vacated 
post. _ On the 18th of May, 1798, Lord 
Mornington assumed the authority of gover- 
nor-general. The first measure of great ge- 
neral interest upon which he entered, was a 
revision of the system of finance. The credit 
of the company was at a very low ebb, for 



there existed a general impression in India 
that Tipjfoo, the French, the Mahrattas, and 
other powers, would all combine in a grand 
attempt to overthrow the English. 

In June, 1798, the directors sent out a 
despatch for war to be proclaimed against 
Tippoo, if it were found that he had entered 
into any negotiations with the French. This 
resulted from a proclamation made at the 
beginning of the year in the Isle of Franco, 
declaring the wish of Tippoo to form an 
alliance offensive and defensive with France. 
At this juncture the force of French auxil- 
iaries in the pay of the nizam amounted to 
fourteen thousand. Scindiah, the most am- 
bitious prince in India, not excepting Hyder, 
had also a French force in his pay. Tippoo, 
early in 1799, sent an embassy to France. 
At Mangalore he accepted a French detach- 
ment to serve in his army, and he now seemed 
anxious for the moment when a renewed 
struggle with the English should begin. 

After the peace with him in 1792, the state 
of the army was, as usual, permitted to de- 
cline in Madras, so that in 1799, General 
Harris, who then commanded the troops 
there, declared that it was inadequate even 
for the defence of the Madras territory. 
North-western India was in danger from the 
Affghans, whose incursions were incessant 
and fierce. The state of the British army 
there was most unsatisfactory. It was prin- 
cipally recruited from Oude fanatics, who 
were disloyal ; and the relaxation of discipline 
was such as to excite the utmost alarm of 
General Sir James Craig, who went so far as 
to affirm that from the want of discipline, and 
the general character of the sepoys, " the fate 
of our empire in India probably hung by a 
thread of the slightest texture." Again, the 
commander-in-chief reported, " A defensive 
war must ever be ruinous to us in India, and 
we have no means for conducting an offensive 
one." 

The Sikhs and the Mahrattas carried on 
consultations which were supposed to be in- 
imical to the English. Under French influ- 
ence and instigation all India seemed ripe for 
a combined attack upon the English, when in 
1798 Lord Mornington found himself at the 
head of the government. 

Immediately upon the arrival of Lord 
Mornington as governor-general of India, 
he found himself opposed by the council of 
Madras in a manner similar to that from 
which Hastings suffered so much inconveni- 
ence. His lordship possessed a spirit reso- 
lute like that of Hasting.s, but his aristocratic 
connexions in England gave him a power and 
authority which were wanting to Hastings. 
He resolved to exercise both, in asserting his 



466 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. XCVIII. 



prerogative as governor-general, and he at 
last succeeded in quelling the insubordinate 
disposition of tlie jobbing council of Madras. 

At this juncture in Indian history, a man 
appeared upon tlie stage destined to acquire 
a fame wide as the world, and lasting as 
time — Arthur Wellesley, afterwards Duke of 
Wellington. In February, 1707, he landed 
at Calcutta with the 33rd regiment of the 
line, of which he was lieutenant-colonel.* 

* The history of the Duke of Welliugton is too well 
known to English readers to reader it neces.^ary to give 
any detailed account of the previous history of that won- 
derful man. Yet as the circulation of our History of the 
British Empire in the East is considerably beyond the 
limits of the British Isles, the following brief notice may be 
desii'able : — " It is a circumstance of rather unusual occur- 
rence that the day and place of a famous birth should be 
unknown even to contemporary inqnirers ; yet such is the 
case on the present occasion. It is certain that the Buke 
of Wellington was born in Ireland, and of an Irish family, 
and that the year in which he saw the light was that 
which ushered also Napoleon Buonaparte into the world. 
The 1st of May, 1769, is specified, with few variations, 
as the birthday of Arthur 'VVellesley by those of his bio- 
graphers who venture on such circumstantiality, and 
I)angau Castle, county Jleath, has been selected with 
similar unanimity as the scene of the event. The former 
of these statements has received a kind of coufirmatiou 
by the adoption of the duke's name and sponsorship for 
a royal infant born on the day in question ; yet, in .the 
registry of St. Peter's Church, Dublin, it is duly re- 
corded that ' Arthur, son of the llight Uouourable Earl 
and Countess of Morningtou,' was tlicre christeucd by 
'Isaac Mauu, archdeacon, on the 30th April, 1709.' 
This entry, while it conclusively negatives one of the two 
foregoing presumptions, materially invalidates the other 
also ; for, though not impossible, it is certainly not likely 
that the infant, if born at Baugan, would have been bap- 
tized in Bubliu. Our own information leads us to be- 
lieve that the illustrious subject of this biography first 
saw the light in the town residence of his jiareuts, Mor- 
ningtou House, a mansion of some ))reteusion8 in the 
centre of the eastern side of Upper Jlerriou Street, Bublin, 
and which, as it abutted eighty years ago as a comer 
house upon a large area, since enclosed with buildings, 
was occasionally described as situate in Merriou Square. 
We are not iucliucd, however, to pursue a question of 
which the most notable poiut is the indill'erence with 
which it was treated by the person most immediately con- 
cerned. The Duke kept his birthday on the 18th of June." 

Arthur Wellesley, by the death of his father iu 1781, 
became dependent, at an early age, upou the care and pru- 
dence of his mother. Under this direction of his studies 
he was sent to Eton, from w^hich college he was trans- 
ferred first to private tuition at Brighton, and subsequently 
to the military seminary of Anglers, in France. On the 
7th of March, 1787, being then iu the eighteenth year of 
his age, the Hon. Arthur Wellesley received his first com- 
mission as an ensign in the 73rd regiment of foot. His 
promotion was rapid, but not more so in its first steps 
than in examples visible at the present day, aud much 
less so than in the case of some of his contemporaries. 
He remained a subaltern four years and three months, at 
the expiration of which period of service he received his 
captaincy. The honour of having trained the Duke of 
Wellington would be highly regarded iu the traditions of 
any ))articular corps, but so numerous and rapid were 
his exchanges at this period, that the distinction can 
hardly be claimed by any of the regiments on the rolls of 
which he was temporarily borne, He entered the army, 



It will be seen from the brief abstract of 
the memoir given in the note below, that 
when the Hon. Arthur Wellesley landed in 
India, he was in his twenty-eighth year, had 
seen considerable service, aud had occupied 
the post of a brigadier in critical circum- 
stances ; indeed, both the lieutenant-colonel 
and his regiment had received higli com- 
mendations for their conduct at varigua ope- 
rations in the Low Countries. 

as we have said, in the 73rd, but iu the same year he 
moved, as lieutenant, to the 76th, and within tlie next 
eighteenth months was transferred, still in a Bubaltcrn's 
capacity, to the 41st foot and the 12th Light Dragoons, 
successively. On the 30th of June, 1791, he was pro- 
moted to a captaincy in the 58th, from which corjis he 
exchanged into the IStli Light Bragroons iu the October 
of the year following. At leugth, on the 30th of April, 
1793, he obtained his majority in the 33rd, a regiment 
which may boast of considerable identification with his 
renown, for he ])roceeded in it to his lieuteuant-eoloncley 
aud colonelcy, and commanded it personally throughout 
the early stages of his active career. These rapid ex- 
changes bespeak the operation of somewhat unusual iitte- 
rest id pusliing the young ofiicer forward ; for in those 
days a soldier ordinarily continued in the corps to which 
he was first gazetted, aud to which his hopes, prospects, 
and conuectious were maiuly confined. So close, indeed, 
aud permanent were the ties thus formed, that when 
Colonel Wellcsley's own comrade and commander. Genera! 
Harris, was asked to name the title by which he would 
desire to enter the ]ieerage, he could only refer to the 
olh Fusiliers as having been for nearly six-and-tweuty 
years his constant home. The brother of Lord Jloruinj;ton 
was raised above these necessities of routine, but what is 
chiefly noticeable in the incidents described is, that the 
period of his probationary service was divided between 
cavalry and infantry alike — a circumstance of some advan- 
tage to so observant a mind. 

Before the active career of the young officer com- 
menced, he was attached as aide-de-camp to the staff of 
the Earl of Westmoreland, then Lord-lieutenant of Ire- 
land, and in 1790, having just come of age, he was re- 
tiu-ned to the Irish parlia,ment for the family borough of 
Trim. The most eager researches into this period ot his 
career have not elicited anything to prove that he was 
distinguished from those around him. In one ])articular, 
indeed, he shared the failings common to his class and 
times, after a fashion singularly contrasted with the sub- 
sequent developments of his cliaracter. Captain Wellesley 
got seriously iuto debt. So pressing were his oliliga- 
tious, that he accepted temporary relief from a bootmaker 
iu whose house he lodged, aud before quitting Eiiglaud ou 
foreign service, confided the arrangement of his affairs to 
another Dublin tradesman, whom he empowered for this 
purpose to receive the disposable portion of his income. 

At leugth, in the month of May, 1794, Arthur Wel- 
lesley, being then in his 20th year, and in command 
of the 83rd regiment — a position which he owed to his 
brother's liberality — embarked at Cork for service ou the 
continent of Europe, so that his first active duties in- 
volved great independent responsibility. Throughout the 
war iu the Netherlands, the Hon. Arthur Wellesley dis- 
tinguished himself by courage and ability. The com- 
mand of a brigade had devolved upon him by seniority, 
and he had commanded the rearguard in a disastrous 
retreat. After the termination of the Netherlands cam- 
paign, his regiment returned to England, where it re- 
mained until ordered to India. — Abridged from Memoir 
of the Duke of Wellingion, in " The Times," Hej^lem- 
ler 16, 1852. 




!?IEI,D MAJSlSBtAIi HIS GISACE THE ©UJKffi 02" WElUUtHGTOH. 



OuAP. xoviir.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST, 



467 



At tlie period that Colonel Arthur AYellesley 
and his brother, the Earl of Mornington, go- 
vernor-general of India, met at Calcutta, war 
with Tippoo Sultan was imminent. On this 
account the 33id regiment was ordered to 
Madras, where, in September, 1798, Colonel 
Welleslej' arrived. It was a circumstance 
both singular and important, that the Hon. 
Arthur Wellesley, who was destined to play so 
important a part in the coming war with Tip- 
poo, had had previous opportunity of mak- 
ing himaelf acquainted in a military point of 
view with Madras, the Carnatic, and the con- 
tiguous territory of Mysore. Soon after 
Colonel Wellesley had landed at Calcutta, 
he was ordered on an expedition to Manilla, 
but the dangerous condition of affairs at 
Madras led to the recall of that expedition. 
On his return from the Straits of Malacca, he 
proceeded to Madras, without touching at Cal- 
cutta. He there made acquaintance with 
Lord Hotham, the governor, remained in 
the presidency for several weeks, examined 
the ground which must be passed over in 
a conflict with Tippoo, and made himself 
well acquainted with the military capabi- 
lities, defensive and offensive, of the Car- 
natic, so that when he was ordered to Madras 
officially, he was a competent judge of the 
military questions which were then under 
discussiou. 

On Lord Hotham's removal from the go- 
vernment. Lord Clive, eldest son of the great 
conqueror of Bengal, arrived to fill that situa- 
tion. How different his position and prospects 
from that of his illustrious father I The first 
Clive landed upon the sea-stricken shores of 
Madras, poor and desolate, a mere clerk, in 
the lowest situation ; the son and successor of 
that unfriended youth landed as governor of 
that very place, with the rank and title of a 
peer, and all the advantage which great wealth 
confers. 

The Earl of Mornington entertained a very 
high respect for Lord Clive, although they 
had ntver met, and he at once opened com- 
munications with him of a confidential nature 
as to the government and prospects of the 
presidency, the causes of former failures and 
present dangers, and the grounds of hope for 
future success. There is a frank, manly, 
generous tone in the communications of the 
governor-general to Lord Clive, which cannot 
fail to impress men much in his favour. The 
governor-general also requested Lord Clive 
to accept the exposition of his views, which 
would be made by his brother, the Hon. 
Colonel Wellesley. Thus the latter was 
brought into intimate and confidential rela- 
tions at once with the governor of the pre- 
sidency, to the defence of which he was to 



bear so important a relation. The connexion 
also of Colonel Wellesley with General Harris, 
then commanding the troops of the presidency, 
was intimate and full of confidence — another 
circumstance which bore upon the future 
favour of the colonel, and upon the good of 
the service. 

Before passing to the narrative of events in 
which General, afterwards Lord Harris, took 
so important a part, some notice of that noble 
soldier is desirable. General Harris described 
himself thus, " A humble clergyman's son, 
thrown very early in life into the army, en- 
tirely a soldier of fortune, with scarce any 
assistance save my own exertions." It is re- 
markable that the great Duke of Wellington, 
notwithstanding his aristocratic connexions, 
attributed his advancement also to his own 
exertions : — " I raised myself to my present 
position," was one of his terse expressions in 
the house of lords, spoken in the closing 
period of his career. 

The father of General (Lord) Harris was 
the youngest child of seven ; he was educated 
for the church, but never advanced beyond 
the rank of a curate. Lord George Sackvillc 
was an intimate friend of the struggling 
curate, and promised to provide a profession 
for one of his children. George was the eldest 
sou of the Rev. Mr. Harris, and was born in 
the year 1744. When about fourteen years 
of age. Lord George Sackville gave him a 
cadetship in the royal artillery, his lordship 
being then master-general of the Ordnance. 
On the displacement of Lord George, his 
successor, the Marquis of Granby, confirmed 
the appointment, and thus commenced the 
military career of Lord George Harris. He 
was afterwards gazetted to an ensigncy in the 
Gth regiment of foot. In 1765 he obtained a 
lieutenancy by purchase, the means of which 
were obtained by the greatest difficulty. He 
soon after obtained leave of absence in order 
to travel and study in France, and he there 
not only learned the French language, but 
studied the military art as professed by that 
nation. On his return he joined his regiment 
in Ireland, where many adventures bei'el him 
trying to his courage and prudence, but con- 
firming those virtues in him. In 1771 he 
obtained a company by the severest self- 
denial on the part of his mother, as it had 
to be purchased by an outlay of £1100; he 
had then attained his twenty-sixth year. He 
soon after was ordered with his regiment to 
America. He soon saw active service there, 
and was desperately wounded at the battle of 
Bunker's Hill. After rapidly recovering from 
his wound, he was again engaged with the 
Americans, and was again wounded. He was 
afterwards entrusted by Earl Cornwallis with 



iG8 



HISTORY or THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. XCVIII. 



a letter to Washington, and obtained the 
majority of the Cth regiment. Colonel Wal- 
cot having been shot through the body at 
German Town, Major Harris took the com- 
mand of the regiment. AYhile covering the 
embarkation of the troops from Philadelphia, 
he made the friendship of the celebrated 
Admiral Lord Howe, au event which influ- 
enced the major's future career. In October, 
1778, he went with General Meadows on a 
secret expedition against St. Lucie. General 
Meadows, with one thousand seven hundred 
British, was attacked by five thousand French, 
who were signally repulsed. On this occa- 
sion Major Harris, at the head of the 5th, 
greatly distinguished himself. 

After these events the major embarked in 
a Dutch vessel for England, and was captured 
by a French privateer. He was almost im- 
mediately set at liberty, and after visiting 
home, and marrying, re-embarked to join his 
regiment at Barbadoes. In 17B0 he again 
returned to England, and was persuaded by 
General Meadows to go with him to Bombay, 
as military secretary and aide-do-camp. From 
Bombay he proceeded with General (Sir 
William) Meadows to Madras, and served in 
the campaigns against Tippoo Sultan, in 1790, 
60 that the character of the country of My- 
sore, and of its resources, arm)', and sovereign, 
were well known to General Harris, when, 
under the government of the Earl of Morning- 
ton, his services were required in a post of 
high command. 

After the campaigns of Earl Cornwallis, 
General Harris returned to England, but 
again went out to India, landing at Calcutta 
in October, 17'J4, when he received the 
appointment of commander-in-chief at Ma- 
dras. His nominal rank in the army was 
afterwards raised to that of lieutenant-general, 
and a seat in the Madras council was given 
to him, in which he supported the authority 
of the Earl of Mornington, when as governor- 
general that factious body attempted to oppose 
him. These high honours were conferred 
upon him in 1797. In this position the events 
now under relation found the commander-in- 
chief of the Madras army. 

The Earl of Mornington was determined to 
bring the dangers and difficulties of India to 
an immediate solution. He laid down a plan 
of action, and sent it as a secret despatch to 
Lieutenant-general Harris, and recommended 
his brother, the Hon. Colonel Wellesley, 
to devote his skill and energy to the ob- 
ject of bringing the troops in cantonments to 
a higher state of discipline. The noble earl 
resolved npon bringing Tippoo to account for 
his conspiracy witii the French against the 
English. 



Meanwhile events went on elsewhere which 
quickened Lord Morningtou's decision. " At 
the very moment when Colonel \^'elIesley 
was ordered to Madras, Buonaparte had 
actually disembarked a French army on the 
shores of Egypt, and had put himself in com- 
munication with Tippoo— facts quite menacing 
enough to warrant unusual misgivingsi The 
strength, too, of the Mysore army gave at least 
seventy thousand troops, admirably equipped, 
and in no contemptible state of discipline, while 
the Madras muster rolls showed a total of no 
more than fourteen thousand of all arms, in- 
cluding less than four thousand Europeans. 
In fact, Lord Mornington had been compelled 
to exchange the scheme of attack originally 
contemplated for a more cautious and regular 
exertion of his strength. With these reluc- 
tant conclusions he ordered General Harris to 
stand on the defensive along the Mysore fron- 
tier, and to augment the efficiency of his army 
by all available means, while he turned his own 
attention to the native courts, whose alliance 
or neutrality it was desirable to secure. 
That nothing on his part might be want- 
ing to the success of the enterprise, he had 
transferred himself and his staff from Calcutta 
to Madras, and the effects of his policy and 
his presence were quickly discernible in the 
impulse communicated to every department 
of the service, and the restoration of energy 
and confidence throughout the presidency. 
These efforts were admirably seconded by 
the ijractical exertions of his brother at 
Wallajahbad. So effectually had Colonel 
Wellesley employed the three mouths of his 
local command, that the division under his 
charge from being weak and ill provided had 
become conspicuous for its organization and 
equipment ; and when the whole army after- 
wards took the field in wonderful efficiency, 
the especial services of Colonel Wellesley in 
bringing about this result were acknowledged 
in a general order of the commander-in-chief." 
Among the measures which demanded Lord 
Morningtou's care and vigour, was a plan for 
disarming the French in the nizam's emplo\'. 
The scheme adopted was the governor-gene- 
ral's own, and the modus operandi was drawn 
up by him in detail, and executed with the 
utmost secrecy, and the most energetic promp- 
titude. A treaty was concluded with the 
uizam, September 1st, 1798; by it a contin- 
gent of six thousand comjiany's soldiers with 
artillery was to serve with the army of the 
Deccan. In pursuance of this arrangement, 
Colonel Roberts, with his detachment, reached 
Hyderabad on the 10th of October. Every- 
thing was silentl}' made ready, and on the 
22nd the English contingent, with a force of 
cavalry belonging to the uizam, surrounded 



Chap. XCVIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



469 



tlie French camp, disarmed all the sepoys, 
and seized the j)ersons of the French officers, 
without shedding one drop of blood. 

The governor-general showed an earnest 
desire to avert war; he granted a ready com- 
pliance witli certain demands concerning dis- 
puted territory made by Tippoo's vakeels. 
He endeavoured to open up negotiations for 
conferring peace, by breaking up the alliance 
between Tippoo and the French. Colonel 
Doveton was commissioned to facilitate a set- 
tlement; but after three separate efforts to 
accomplish his purpose, which were defeated 
by the evasions of Tippoo, there remained no 
appeal but to the sword. 

The governor-general having settled anew 
treaty with the nizam, directed negotiations 
through Colonel Palmer to the Mahrattas. 
The colonel produced at the court of Poonah 
the proclamation of the French governor of 
the Mauritius, announcing Tippoo as an ally 
to drive the English out of India. His excel- 
lency wished to have a contingent placed in 
connexion with the Peishwa, as had just been 
arranged at the court of the nizam. The 
Mahratta minister refused compliance, but 
expressed his purpose to abide by the treaty 
under which the last war with Tippoo had 
been brought to so happy an issue. By ne- 
gotiations with Persia, a stop was put to the 
threatening proceedings of Zemaun Shah in 
the north-west. His excellency's next step 
was to form a commission for the purpose of 
correspondence with all tributaries, allies, or 
subject chiefs connected with Mysore, so as 
to detach them from connexion with the 
sultan. This commission was comprised of 
remarkable men, namely, Colonel Arthur 
Wellesley, Lieutenant-colonel Close, Lieute- 
nant-colonel Agnew, Captain Malcolm, poli- 
tical assistant at Hyderabad, and Captain 
Macaulay. At last, a declaration of war was 
made ; Tippoo was summoned to submit, and 
referred to General Harris as the medium 
through whom he must make any communi- 
cation to the governor-general. 

Tiie council of Madras was reluctant to 
enter upon the war ; everything there was, as 
it always had been when left to a Madras 
council, in confusion and distress. There 
were no funds, no commissariat, the troops 
insufficient in nnmber and equipment, and 
no readiness even for operations of defence. 

Jlr. J. Webbc, the chief secretary, con- 
sidered the plans of Lord Mornington dan- 
gerous and impracticable, and the opinions, of 
this functionary had great weight with the 
community of Madras, native and Euro- 
pean. The future Duke of Wellington had 
60 high an opinion of him that he had his 
portrait hung np at Strathfieldsaye, and used 

VOL. II. 



to point it out as the likeness of one of the 
ablest and honestest men he ever knew. 
General Harris was, however, determined to 
carry out the views of the governor-general, 
which he believed sound, whatever course 
might be taken by the " timid members of 
council." Mr. Webbe, so much esteemed by 
the Hon. Colonel Wellesley, pronounced 
against war with Tippoo, notwithstanding his 
conspiracy with the French, on the ground 
that the French could net then aid him, that 
Tippoo could not of himself disturb the 
balance of power, and that it was impolitic 
for the English to extirpate the sultan, as 
they would by that act increase unduly the 
influence of the nizam and the Mahrattas. 
The reasoning of Mr. Webbe was sound, 
although Tippoo deserved an)' penalty the 
English could inflict. The predictions of 
Mr. Webbe were verified, the destruction of 
Tippoo was one of the elements of the great 
Mahratta war, in which the English expended 
80 much blood and treasure. Earl Morning- 
ton acted with justice towards Tippoo. He 
did not proclaim war until efforts of modera- 
tion failed. It was his conviction that the 
French would succeed in throwing forces into 
India to aid the sultan, unless he were speedily 
removed out of the way. The governor- 
general's mode of proceeding disclosed emi- 
nent capacity, but after all Mr. Webbe was 
correct in his policy. Had Tippoo been left 
to himself at that juncture, it might have 
been as well for English interests in India for 
a long time. The die however was cast, and 
the differences between the Mysore tyrant 
and the East India Company were soon to be 
settled by the sullen arbiter — war. 

In the conduct of Lord Clive, General 
Harris and the governor-general obtained 
co-operation and support. His lordship re- 
lieved the general from the cares of the 
Madras government, which had virtually de- 
volved upon him, and he worked with an 
earnestness worthy of his gifted father. 

Mr. Webbe, the ablest civilian then in India, 
fell under the displeasure of the directors 
and tlie government at home, because of his 
conscientious and honourable opposition to 
Lord Mornington. His lordship. Lord Clive, 
and General Harris, protested against the 
removal and political degradation of so up- 
right and competent a person, and induced 
the directors to revoke their measures, but 
the inferior members of the Madras council, 
anxious to gain favour with the home autho- 
rities, contrived to divest him of the chief 
secretaryship, and send him to Nagpore. 
The noble sufferer took this so much to heart, 
that, en route, upon the banks of the Ner- 
buddah, he died of a broken heart. The 

3p 



4:70 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. XCIX. 



condnct of the Earl of Mornington, Lord 
Clive, and General Harris towards this in- 
valuable man, was honourable, generous, 
manly, nnd just, as might be expected from 
Kucli men, who sympathised with lionour and 
genius, nnd who in differing from the gifted 
secretary, respected his judgment and his 
motives, nnd confided in his talents and in- 
tegrity. Probably at no period of the event- 
ful life of General Harris, excepting while 
engaged, soon after, in the siege of Seringa- 
patani, did he feel such a sense of anxiety 
and responsibility, as during the discussions 
with Mr. Webbe, and his preparations for this 
war. To such an extent was his mind op- 
pressed with tliese feelings, that he wrote to 
the governor-general, begging that Sir A. 
Clark, then at Calcutta, should be appointed 
to the supreme command. His excellency 
considered the general competent, and ex- 



pressed his reluctance to remove him from so 
honourable and important a post, even at Ida 
own request. The governor-general being 
then at Madras, a personal interview removed 
the general's doubts, and restored liis con- 
fidence. The general, remembering the ex- 
periences of Lord Cornwallis, under whom 
he had served in the previous war against 
Tippoo, expressed his determination to ad- 
vance at once upon the capital, to evade even 
a general engagement witli Tippoo, and not 
to tarry for any advantage whatever, but to 
decide the war at the capital, unless Tippoo 
forced on an engagement by throwing his 
army across the march of the British. The 
governor -general concurred in this line of 
strategy, as did also th^ superior officers of 
the army. The progress and events of the 
war itself must form the subject of a separate 
cliapter. 



CHAPTER XCIX. 
FINAL WAR WITH TIPPOO SULTAN— STORMING OF SERINGAPATAM— DEATH OF TIPPOO. 



When at last the hour arrived for commenc- 
ing the conflict with Tippoo vv'hich he had by 
his folly provoked, the arrangements of the 
British were in a condition to inspire the 
liighest hope, except in the department of the 
commissariat, in which the English had 
always proved themselves deficient. The 
opening of the campaign has been much praised. 
" The whole force put in motion consisted of 
three columns : the corps of the Carnatic, 
thirty thousand strong; that of Bombay, two- 
thirds less numerous ; and the contingent of 
our ally, the nizam. Tlie latter consisted of 
the British detachment in the nizam's service, 
of a few battalions of his own infantry, includ- 
ing some of M. Raymond's force lately dis- 
banded, and of a large body of cavalry. To 
complete the efficiency of this powerful divi- 
sion it was resolved to add a king's regiment 
to its rolls, and at the express wish of the 
nizam's minister, coupled with the prompt 
approval of General Harris, Colonel Welles- 
ley's corps was selected for this duty, and on 
him the general command of the whole con- 
tingent was suffered to devolve. By these 
arrangements, which were to the unqualified 
satisfaction of all parties concerned. Colonel 
Wellesley assumed a prominent place in the 
conduct of the war, and enjoyed opportunities 
of displaying both his special intelligence and 
his intuitive military powers. Few opportu- 
nities indeed could be better calculated for the 



full development of his genius. He held a 
command sufficiently independent to elicit all 
his talents ; he formed one of the political 
commission attached to the commander-in- 
chief; and he acted under the eyes of a 
governor whose acuteness in discerning merit 
and promptitude in rewarding it were quick- 
ened on this occasion by the natural impulses 
of affection. Nor were there wanting in the 
same ranks either models of excellence or 
stout competitors for fame. Besides Harris 
himself, there were Baird and Cotton, Dallas 
and Brown, Floyd and Malcolm — soldiers all 
of them of high distinction and extraordinary 
renown, who either sought or staked a pro- 
fessional reputation in this memorable war 
against Tippoo Sultan." 

The anonymous writer just quoted thus 
sketched the progress of the campaign : — 
" By the end of February, 1799, the invading 
forces had penetrated into the dominions of 
Mysore, though so difficult was the country, 
and so insufficient, notwithstanding the pre- 
vious preparations, were the means of trans- 
port, that half-a-dozen miles constituted an 
ordinary day's march, and three weeks were 
consumed in conveying intelligence from the 
western division of the army to the eastern. 
The first movements of Tippoo from his 
central position had been judiciously directed 
against the weaker corps which was advanc- 
ing from Cannanore on the opposite coast of j 



Ohap XCIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



471 



the peninsula, but in his attempt on tliis little 
force he was signally repulsed, on which, 
wheeling to the right about, and retracing his 
steps, he brought himself face to face with the 
main army under General Harris near Mala- 
velly, a place within thirty miles of his capital 
city, Seringapatam. His desires to engage 
were promptly met by the British commander, 
who received his attack with the right wing 
of the army, leaving the left, which was com- 
posed of the nizam's contingent under Colonel 
Wellesley, to charge and turn the flank of the 
enemy opposed to it. Colonel Wellesley's 
dispositions for this assault were speedily 
made, and, having been approved by General 
Harris, were executed with complete success. 
The conduct of the .33rd decided the action. 
Knowing that if he could break the European 
regiment the native battaUons might be ex- 
pected to despair, the sultan directed a column 
of his choicest troops against Colonel Welles- 
ley's corps ; which, reserving its fire till the 
enemy had closed, delivered a searching vol- 
ley, charged, and threw the whole column 
into a disorder which the sabres of the dra- 
goons were not long in converting to a rout. 
After this essay it was clear that the campaign 
would turn upon the siege of the capital, and 
on the 4th of April the army, by the judicious 
strategy of Harris, arrived in eftective con- 
dition before the ramparts of Seringapatam. 
Between the camp of the besiegers and the 
walls of this famous fortress stretched a con- 
siderable extent of irregiilar and broken 
ground, affording excellent cover to the enemy 
for annoying the British lines with musketry 
and rocket practice. At one extremitv was 
a " tope " or grove called the Sultan Pettah 
tope, composed mainly of betel-trees, and 
intersected by numerous watercourses for the 
purposes of irrigation. The first operations 
of the besiegers were directed to the occupa- 
tion of a position so peculiarly serviceable to 
the party maintaining it. Accordingly, on 
the night of the 4tli, General Baird was 
ordered to scour this tope — a commission 
which he discharged without encountering 
any opposition. Next morning Tippoo's troops 
were again seen to occupy it in great force, 
on which General Harris resolved to repeat 
the attack on the succeeding night, and to 
retain the position when carried. The duty 
was entrusted on this occasion to Colonel 
Wellesley, who, with the 33rd and a native 
battalion, was to be supported by another de- 
tachment of similar strength under Colonel 
Shawe. This was the famous affair of which 
so much has been said, and which, with such 
various colourings, has been described as the 
first service of Arthur, Duko of Wellington. 
On receiving the order, Colonel Wellesley 



addressed to his commander the following 
note, remarkable as being the first of that 
series of despatches which now constitute an 
extraordinary monument of his fame : — 

Camf, 5tA April, 1799. 
JIt dear Sir, — I do not know where you mean the post 
to be established, and I shall therefore be obliged to you 
if you will do me the favour to meet me this afternoon in 
front of the lines, and show it to me. In the meautime 
I will order my battalions to be in readiness, 

TIpon looking at the tope as I came in jnst now, it 
appeared to me that when yon get possession of the bank 
of the naUah you have the tope as a matter of course, as 
the latter is in the rear of the former. However, you are 
the best judge, and I shall be ready. 

I am, my dear Sir, your most faithful servant, 

Arthur Wellesley. 

" This letter has been often appealed to <is 
evidence ot that brevity, perspicacity, and 
decision, afterwards recognised as such notable 
characteristics of the great duke's style. The 
attack made by Colonel Wellesley was a 
failure. Bewildered in the darkness of the 
night, and entangled in the difficulties of the 
tope, the assaulting parties were thrown into 
confusion, and, although Shawe was enabled 
to report himself in possession of the post 
assigned to him. Colonel Wellesley was com- 
pelled, as the general records in his private 
diary, to come, ' in a good deal of agitation, 
to say he had not carried the tope.' When 
daylight broke the attack was renewed with 
instantaneous success, showing at once what 
had been the nature of the obstacles on the 
previous night; but the affair has been fre- 
quently quoted as Wellington's ' only failure,' 
and the particulars of the occurrence were 
turned to some account in the jealousies and 
scandals from which no camp is wholly free. 
The reader will at once perceive that the 
circumstances suggest no discussion whatever. 
A night attack, by tlie most natural of results, 
failed of its object, and was successfully exe- 
cuted the next morning as soon as the troops 
discovered the nature of their duties." 

During these and subsequent operations 
General Harris showed conscientiousness, ca- 
pacity, and untiring diligence, so that the 
Duke of Wellington observed : " It is not 
sufficiently known that General Harris himself 
conducted the details of the victorious army 
which he commanded." Independent of his 
personal exertions in the details of the army, 
the general produced a voluminous body of 
despatches, letters, and reports, full of infor- 
mation and interest, and proving that he was 
competent in wielding the pen as well as the 
sword. In approaching Seringapatam his 
temper and diligence were severely tried by 
the casualties to baggage, baggage animals, 
carriages, stores, and gnus, especially the 
battering trains, occasioned by the nature of 



472 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. XCIX 



the country. All the predictions of Mr. Webbe 
wore fultilled, and much that the general 
feared from his previous experience under 
Lord Cornwallis came to pass. Fortunately 
the progress of General Harris was unopposed, 
in consequence of the expedition of Tippoo to 
cut off the Bombay army, as already referred to 
in the quotation just cited. That event was of 
considerable importance to the campaign, and 
the defence of the troops of the Bombay army 
reflected great honour upon them, and much 
influenced the fate of the war. Tippoo would 
have succeeded in surprising the army of 
General Stuart, and in cutting off a brigade 
before the main army could come to its assist- 
ance, but for the vigilance of the Rajah of 
Coorg, who, the reader will remember, ma- 
terially aided the advance of General Aber- 
cromby's army in the previous war. Lieu- 
tenant-colonel Montresor had command of 
throe native battalions at Sedaseer, near 
Periapatam. In this direction Tippoo's army 
cut through the jangles with astonishing 
celerity, and fell upon the brigade, which 
made an obstinate defence under the gallant 
example and skilful arrangements of the bri- 
gadier. This occurred on the 6th of March, but 
Tippoo's vicinity was discovered through the 
vigilance of the Rajah of Coorg, on the day be- 
fore, who, hastenmg to General Stuart, apprised 
him of the danger of Colonel Montresor's de- 
tachment. The rajah hurried with his own 
troops to the colonel's assistance, and General 
Stuart in person made a rapid march with a 
regiment of British infantry, and the flank 
companies of another. The rajah, in his 
despatch to the governor-general, gave by far 
tlio most interesting account of the event 
which appeared. Its unique character will 
interest the reader : — " On Tuesday, the 5th 
of March, myself. Captain Mahony, and some 
other English sirdars, went to the hill of 
Sedaseer, which is within my territories. 
This mountain, which is exceedingly loft}', 
the English sirdars and myself ascended, and 
we remained there. Having from thence re- 
connoitred, we observed nothing for the first 
four or five hours (IMalabar hours) ; after this 
we observed one large tent in the direction of 
Periapatam, which is within the territories of 
Tippoo Sultan, and continued to see some 
other white tents rising ; a large green tent 
then appeared, and then another tent which 
was red, and after that five or six hundred 
tents. Upon this, the English sirdars and 
myself were satisfied that it was the army of 
Tippoo Sultan ; we then returned to the 
English army at Sedapore, and acquainted the 
general that Tippoo's army was at Peria- 
patam. The army was accordingly prepared, 
as were also the battalions at Sedaseer, under 



the command of Colonel Montresor. Next 
morning, Tippoo's army advanced close to the 
battalions under the command of Colonel 
Montrffsor, and there was a severe action. 
After the battle commenced, the battalions 
put a great many of Tippoo's people to death. 
Tippoo, unable to sustain their fire, and hav- 
ing no road by which to advance, divided his 
army into two divisions, with the intention of 
getting into the rear of Colonel Montresor's 
battalions by a secret path. The colonel 
having received intelligence of this division, 
made a disposition of his force so as to sustain 
both attacks ; and maintained the fight from 
the morning, uninterrupted, till two o'clock. 
The enemy were beaten, and unable to show 
their faces. When the information of Tippoo's 
attack reached tiie main body. General Stuart, 
in order to assist the force at Sedaseer, 
marched with two regiments of Europeans, 
keeping the remainder of the army in the 
plain of Karrydygood. Upon this occasion I 
accompanied General Stuart. 

" Tippoo, in order to prevent the two regi- 
ments from advancing to tlie relief of the 
troops at Sedaseer, was posted in the road 
between. General Stuart, upon approaching, 
ordered the two regiments to attack the 
enemy. A severe action then ensued, in 
which I was present with my people. Many 
of the enemy were slain, and many wounded, 
the remainder having thrown away their 
muskets, and swords, and their turbans, and 
thinking it sufficient to save their lives, fled 
in the greatest confusion. 

" Tippoo having collected the remains of 
his troops, returned to Periapatam. Having 
considered for five days, but not having taken 
up resolution to attack the Bombay army 
again, he marched on the sixth day (Saturday) 
back to Seringapatam. My continual prayer 
to the Almighty is, that the English circar 
may continue as my parent, that I may remain 
as their child ; that all their enemies may be 
defeated, and that their territories, measures, 
and prosperity, may increase without end, and 
that I may enjoy peace under their protec- 
tion. In this manner I approach the Sove- 
reign Ruler with my constant prayer, night 
and day, and all times in humble suppli- 
cation." 

Arrived before Seringapataiu, General 
Harris dispatched a strong corps under Ge- 
neral Floyd, to meet and assist C4eneral 
Stuart. Floyd's force consisted of four ca- 
valry and six infantry regiments, twenty field- 
pieces, and a body of the nizam's horse. 

On the 7th of April, 1799, the allied army 
took up its position for the last siege of 
Seringapatam. Tippoo was so much en- 
grossed with the proceedings in his front, 



Chap. XCIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



473 



that tweuty-four hours elapsed before he was 
aware of the dispatch of General Floyd, to 
bring General Stuart from Periapatam. When 
at length he heard of the movement, he sent 
his confidential lieutenant, Cumraer-ud-Deen, 
with nearly his whole cavalry, in pursuit. 

On Sunday, the 11th, General Harris 
moved out to meet Generals Floyd and Stuart, 
who had in the meantime formed a junction. 

The most active, if not the most successful 
officer with General Harris, up to the time 
when the siege actually commenced, was 
the Hon. Colonel Wellesley; yet he was 
exceedingly delicate, giving no promise of 
the " iron frame," for which he became after- 
wards celebrated. There is an incidental 
proof of the physical delicacy, and arduous 
energetic temperament of the embryo great 
man, in one of the Earl of Mornington's dis- 
patches written at the time. His excellency, 
writing to General Harris, said, " Do not 
allow Arthur to fatigue himself too much," 
showing the governor-general's opinion of his 
brother's inability to endure much toil, and of 
the eager earnestness of his nature. 

On the 17th of April, General Harris re- 
corded in his journal his apprehensions as 
to the supplies for the armies. The commis- 
sariat was still the defective part of the ser- 
vice of the British army ; officers competent 
in the field, chivalrous everywhere, seem to 
have given no proper attention to that indis- 
pensable part of an effective army. Men of 
rank thought it beneath them. General 
Harris himself, although infinitely painstaking, 
and well aware of how much depended upon 
regular and ample supplies, was less profi- 
cient in the ability to provision an army 
than in any other part of his profession. 
The Hon. Colonel Wellesley surpassed the 
general-in-cliief, and all his officers, in this 
invaluable requisite of generalship. The 
state of the supplies was such on the 17th, 
that General Harris believed it necessary, 
against military rule, to hasten the attack, 
and run great risks in doing so, rather than 
hazard the loss of his army by hunger and 
sickness ; various outpost combats ensued in 
consequence of this determination, which 
occupied two days. On the I'.Hh, General 
Stuait reported to head-quarters, that the 
Bombay column had only two days' provision. 
The journal of General Harris at this time 
(as subsequently published by his son-in-law) 
betrays an anxiety intense and feverish from 
the inadequacy of supplies, but, nevertheless, 
the expression of his apprehensions is uni- 
formly pervaded by a trust in Providence 
and deference to the will of God, which must 
be edifying to all who peruse it, and invest 
the memory of the man with a sacred dignity. 



Thus, on the 25th of April, he wrote — " A 
violent storm of wind and rain last night; I 
trust we shall not have more rain, or it will 
be next to impossible to get our guns into 
the batteries. Providence directs all things 
for the best ; then let us bow down in humble 
resignation." The guns were got into the 
batteries by the exertions of the general and 
his soldiers, although there was more rain, 
and the difficulties were great, for, on the 
26th, he recorded — " Our new battery, and the 
altered one, opened, and had very soon every 
success expected. Determined to attack the 
enemy's post in our front and right in the 
evening. Disposition made and communi- 
cated to Colonel Wellesley, who commanded 
in the trenches, with the 73rd Scotch brigade, 
2nd battalion Bengal volunteers, 2nd bat- 
talion 3rd regiment coast sepoys." These 
dispositions proved effectual, but only after 
the English sustained heavy loss, the sultan 
making desperate resistance. It was the last 
effort of gallantry made by Tippoo previous 
to the assault. The proceedings were of 
great importance to the English, as furnishing 
the ground for the breaching batteries which 
were yet to be erected. The order for attack 
was given by the Hon. Colonel Wellesley, who 
personally superintended its execution, with 
the caution and boldness which were his cha- 
racteristics. The following description was 
given by one who had the best means of 
knowing the events he relates :* — " At the 
hour proposed, the guns from our batteries 
commenced a heavy fire of grape, which was 
the signal for the attack. The Europeans 
then moved out, followed by the native troops. 
The enemy, seeing this movement, began an 
active fire from behind their breastwork ; guns 
from almost every part of the fort opened 
upon our troops with great effect, and, by the 
time they had quitted the trenches, the fire 
of cannon and small arms was general. The 
companies from the 73rd regiment and Scotch 
brigade then pushed on with great rapidity 
to the enemy's works, who, seeing the deter- 
mined spirit of the English troops, fled from 
their posts in great confusion and dismay; 
but many fell by the bayonet while endea- 
vouring to escape. The relief from the 
trenches, which was this evening commanded 
by Colonel Sherbrooke, had by this time 
arrived ; a part of the 74tli regiment, and the 
regiment De Meuron, composed the Euro- 
peans of that relief, and were ordered imme- 
diately to advance to support the rest. These 
pushed on to the right of the attack. A 
heavy fire was continued from the ramparts, 
and by those of the enemy who had fled from 

* The Right Honottrable S. R. Lushington, for some 
time private jsecretary of Lord Harris. 



474 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. XOIX. 



the part of their intrenchments first attacked, 
and taken post behind the traverses more to 
the right; several made a desperate stand, 
and fell by the bayonet ; the Europeans 
dashed in, forcing the traverses in succession, 
until they had extended as far as the turn 
of the nullah towards the stone bridge. 
At this turn there is a redoubt, open to the 
south-east angle of the fort, but wliich flanked 
a watercourse running parallel and close to 
the intrenchment that was carried. This 
redoubt was stormed by the 74th regiment, 
and left in their possession, while Lieutenant- 
colonel Campbell, with a small party of tliat 
corps, and a few men from the regiment De 
Meuron, pushed forward along the intrench- 
ments and the road, till he came to the bridge 
leading over the great river. Lieutenant- 
colonel Wallace at the same time advancing 
considerably more to the right, till, fearful of 
risking too many lives while acting in the 
dark, he prudently fell back, and took pos- 
session of the enem3'''s post at the stone 
bridge, on the road to Shawe's post; but this 
post being too much detached from the main 
body of the troops, he withdrew the party 
left to defend it during the night. Lieutenant- 
colonel Campbell crossed the bridge, and went 
some distance on the island; but it was ne- 
cessary to make an immediate retreat from 
that dangerous situation, and nothing but the 
night and the consternation of the enemy 
could have given the smallest chance for the 
party to escape. They returned tinder a 
heavy fire from all sides, and made their way 
back to the redoubt, where Lieutenant-colonel 
Wallace had taken post with the few of the 
74th regiment who had remained with him, 
and the rest of the troops with whom he had 
placed to the left along the watercourse, 
which runs close to the intrenchment, and in 
this situation they remained all night, ex- 
posed to grape from the fort, and galled by 
the musketry from the ground on the right 
flank, and from the post at the stone bridge, 
which took them in the rear. The enemy 
continued firing grape and musketry at inter- 
vals the whole night; at length the daylight 
appeared, and discovered both to us and to 
them the critical state of our men. Lieu- 
tenant-colonel Campbell having been crippled 
the preceding night by being barefooted 
during his excursion across the bridge, was 
obliged to return to camp, and Lieutenant- 
colonel Wallace being next in command, he 
sent to inform Colonel Sherbrooke of their 
situation, and to request further support, as 
the enemy were collecting in great force on 
the right flank, and at the post they occupied 
near the stone bridge, from which they galled 
our people in the rear to a great degree. 



Colonel Sherbrooke, on receiving this report, 
instantly ordered all the Europeans who had 
remained in the trenches to advance to 
Colonel Walliice's post, and each man to take 
with him a pickaxe, or momitie.* Colonel 
Wallace, in the meantime, seeing the neces- 
sity of dislodging the enemy from the bridge, 
ordered Major Skelly, with a few men of the 
Scotch brigade, to move down and attack 
that post. He was followed by a company 
from that regiment, and soon got possession. 

" The Europeans had by this time arrived 
from the trenches, and by their exertion and 
the assistance of the pioneers, an intrench- 
ment was thrown up and completed by ten 
o'clock ; but from the dawn of day to that 
hour continued eiTorts were made by the 
garrison to regain what had been lost, but in 
vain. The determined bravery of our troops 
baffled all tlieir endeavours. The post gained 
at the bridge secured the rear of the other, 
and presented a new front to the enemy; it 
was strengthened by another company from 
the 74th regiment and two companies of 
sepoys, and in a short time the whole of them 
were under cover. The loss on this occasion 
was great. Two officers and sixty men killed, 
ten officers and two hundred and sixteen men 
wounded; nineteen men also missing; alto- 
gether, killed, wounded, and missing, three 
hundred and seven officers and men." 

On the night of the 28th, a breaching 
battery was erected, which on the morning 
of the 30th, was opened against the walls. 
By the 1st of May the outer wall of the west 
angle of the fort was partly demolished, and 
the masonry of the bastion within was greatly 
shaken. 

On the 2nd of May, Tippoo made clever 
and daring efforts to close the breach, which 
he was enabled, in a considerable degree to 
effect, because the English working parties 
who were preparing for the assault, were in 
such a position as to prevent discharges of 
grape against Tippoo's workers. Colonel 
Wellesley, perceiving this disadvantage, used 
the most strenuous and persevering exer- 
tions to complete the task committed to the 
English workmen, so as to leave the range 
free against the workmen of the sultan, or 
the breach still practicable, if the general-in- 
chief should order an assault. The letter in 
which the future hero of so many other great 
sieges reported his proceedings, is very cha- 
racteristic — terse, pointed, and complete. It 
will be seen that the Hon. Colonel Wel- 

* iV sort of spade, used throughout India in the re- 
moval of earth, and very efficient in the hands of those 
who are accustomed to it. It is chiefly employed in the 
formation of those magnificent reservoirs for water, to 
nhich the peninsula owes its fertility. 



OuAP. XCIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



475 



lesley had, in a subordinate command, to en- 
counter at Seringapatam the veiy difficulty 
which so much impeded him in the war of 
the Iberian peninsula some years later — 
want of tools. Many a time during his bril- 
liant career in Portugal and Spain had he to 
make a report in similar terms — " It could 
not be done for want of tools." Even so late 
as the siege of Sebastopol the English soldiers 
were unable from this cause to perform the 
task assigned to them. Or when supplied 
with tools, the result in India, Spain, and the 
Crimea has been the same — they were of such 
bad material as to be soon rendered useless. 
It is strangely characteristic of the English, 
that with resources beyond all other nations 
for military appliances, they should be neglect- 
ful beyond all other nations in providing them, 
notwithstanding innumerable proofs of the 
danger incurred by the neglect, and the sacri- 
fice of human life wliich it occasioned. 
To Lieutenant-general Harris. 

Mr DEAR Sib,— We did all our work last night, ex- 
cept filling the sand-bags, which could not be done for 
want of tools. I shall have them filled in the course of 
this morning, and there will be no inconvenience from 
the delay, as it was not deemed advisable last night to do 
more than look for the ford ; and it is not intended to do 
anything to it until the night before it is to be used. 

Lieutenant Lalor, of the 73rd, crossed over to the glacis. 
On the left of the breach, he found the wall which he be- 
lieves to be the retaining wall of the glacis, seven feet 
high, and the water (included in those seven feet) four- 
teen inches deep. It is in no part more so, and the pas- 
sage by no means difficult. Several other officers crossed 
by different routes, but none went so far as Lieutenant 
Lalor. All agree in the practicability of crossing with 
troops. The enemy built up the breach in the night with 
gabions, &c., notwithstanding the fire which was kept 
upon it. It was impossible to fire grape, as our trench was 
exposed, from which alone we could fire as we repaired 
the other. Lieutenant Lalor is now on duty here with his 
regiment, but if you wish it, he will remain here to-night, 
and try the river again. 

I am, &c., Aetiiuk Wellesley. 

The period for the assault at last arrived, 
and the commander-in-chief resolved to de- 
volve tiiat duty upon Major-general Baird. 
That officer was ordered to capture the ram- 
part as his preliminary measure in the actual 
attack. In order to accomplish this, his force 
should be divided into two columns, one to 
proceed along the northern rampart, under the 
command of Lieutenant-colonel Dunlop ; the 
other to proceed along the southern rampart, 
and to be commanded by Colonel Sherbrooke. 
These columns were to proceed in their re- 
spective routes until they joined on the eastern 
face, thus making a complete circuit of the 
rampart. They were then to descend into 
the town, attacking such cavaliers as were 
not captured in the onset, and routing any 
bodies cf troops making a stand for the de- 
fence of the place. 

An excellent arrangement was suggested 



to General Baird by the commander-in-chief, 
to prevent confusion or accident among the 
troops giving the assault, and also to con- 
ceal from the enemy to the latest moment 
the intention to make it that niglit. The 
different corps were to proceed to the trenches 
at such hours during the night, and in such 
succession, as should place them there in the 
precise order that they were to go out to the 
assault. Thus each party would know its 
precise place the moment the signal should 
be given to incur the hazard of the under- 
taking. It was agreed between the com- 
mander-in-chief and Major-general Baird 
that such should be the plan of operations. 

As the assault upon Seringapatam, which 
terminated the career of Tippoo, is one of the 
episodes in Indian history most interesting to 
English readers,- — the war against Tippoo hav- 
ing been the only Indian war very popular in 
England, — the events which issued in the cata- 
strophe of the throne of Mysore will be given 
in detail. Colonel Close, the adjutant-general 
(afterwards Sir Barry Close), communicated to 
General Baird, on May 3rd, his final orders for 
the morrow. Some knowledge of these is 
necessary for the clear comprehension of the 
whole action, for an account of a battle, espe- 
cially if it be the storming of a fortification, 
however exciting certain features of the con- 
flict may be, cannot afford an intelligent in- 
terest to the reader unless the plan of opera- 
tions is first possessed, if not in all its niinutia;, 
yet sufficiently in detail to show the depen- 
dence of one part upon another in conducing 
to one grand result. 

Dispositioti of the Troops ordered for the 

Assault of the Fort of Seringapatam, on 

the ith of May, 1799. 

Left attack, under Lieutenant-colonel Dunlop. 

To move in column, left in front. 

To take possession of the cavalier, close to the breach, 
and move along the north rampart of the fort ; to pro- 
ceed till tht-y join the right attack, leaving a battuliou 
company of the 33rd regiment in charge of the cavalier 
already mentioned, close to the breath, and occupying 
such other parts on the ramparts, by detachments from 
the 12th and 33ril regiments, as shall be thought neces- 
sary by Ineuteuant-colonel Dunlop. 

Right attack, under Colonel Sherbrooke. 

To move in column, right in front. 

To move along the south rampart of the fort, leaving 
such parties as may be thought necessary by Colonel 
Sherbrooke, from the 73rd or 7-lth regiments, in charge 
of such parts of the ramparts as he may deem it essen- 
tially necessary (o occupy. 

Half of the European and half of the native pioneers 
to accompany each attack with hatchets: the European 
pioneers to carry the scaling ladders, assisted by forty 
men from the battalion companies of each of the leading 
regiments ; the native pioneers to carry a proportion of 
fasciups. 

If the road across the river and the breach shall be 
deemed sufficiently broad, the two attacks to move out to 
the assault at the same moment. Ou coming to the top of 



476 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. XCIX. 



the breach, they are to wheel to the right aud left, so as 
to get on the face they are ordered to move on ; but if the 
road and breach are too narrow, the left attack is to move 
out first. The leading companies of each attack to use 
the bayonet principally, and not to fire but in cases of 
absolute necessity. 

Each attack to be preceded by a sergeant and twelve 
volunteers, supported by a subaltern officer and twenty- 
five men. 

The leading flank companies of each attack to be pro- 
vided with hand-hatchets. 



Major-general Baird carried his orders into 
speedy and precise execution. While he was 
doing so, the English batteries kept up through 
the night an incessant fire, and so well was it 
directed towards the breach, that the enemy 
was unable to work at it. There were no in- 
dications that the enemy expected the assault, 
although this continued night fire might have 
been regarded by him as a portent of the 
coming storm. The British army, confident 
in the genius of such men as Harris, Baird, 
Wellesley, Close, Stuart, Shawe, Malcolm, &c'., 
were full of joyous excitement. These, upon 
whom the chief responsibility devolved, were 
exceedingly anxious. At a little before one 
o'clock, the hour appointed for the assault, the 
commander-in-chief sat in his tent alone, in 
profound thought and painful suspense. Cap- 
tain Malcolm, already famous, although des- 
tined to be better known to the world as Sir 
John Malcolm, came on business connected 
with the approacliing crisis. Seeing the ge- 
" neral's expression of countenance so full of 
mingled doubt and stern resolution, the cap- 
tain cheerfully rallied his chief, saying. " Why, 
my lord, so thoughtl'ul?" referring playfully to 
the probability of the conqueror of Seringa- 
patam gaining a peerage. The general re- 
plied, "Malcolm, this is no time for compli- 
ments ; we have serious work on hand ; don't 
you see that the European sentry over my 
tent is so weak from want of food and ex- 
haustion, that a sepoy could push him down. 
We must take the fort or perish in the attempt. 
I have ordered General Baird to persevere in 
his attack to the last extremity : if he is beat 
off, Wellesley is to proceed with the troops 
from the trenches ; if he also should not suc- 
ceed, I shall put myself at the head of the 
remainder of the array, for success is neces- 
sary to our existence."* 

At the given hour— one o'clock in the 
afternoon, which was selected because the 
enemy was likely to seek repose in the heat 
of the day — the storming parties moved from 
the trenches. They boldly forded the Ca- 
very, under a heavy fire, and many fell. 
Each of the divisions reached the ramparts 
* The Life and Services of General Lord Harris, 
G.C.B., during his Campaigns. By the Right Honour- 
able S. K. Lushiugton, Private Secretary to Lord Harris 
and late Governor of JIadras. ' 



according to the plan prescribed, and fought 
their way round to the place assigned for 
their nieeting. The resistance offered to 
these divisions was unequal, Tippoo in per- 
son, surrounded by his principal chiefs, hav- 
ing delayed the course of one of the sections 
of the attacking force, while the other en- 
countered no leaders of eminence, altliough 
the troops opposed to them were numerous. 
Having descended into the city, all points 
where the enemy assumed a defensive posi- 
tion were speedily conquered, and at last the 
sultan's palace was the only considerable place 
remaining unvanquished. 

While these events proceeded, Colonel 
Wellesley remained at the head of the forces 
in the trenches, in a state of mind similar to 
that of General Harris at head -quarters. 
Colonel W^ellesley had received reports of the 
state of the breach, had revised them in terms 
exactly like those afterwards used at Ciudad 
Rodrigo, and Badajoz ; had superintended the 
final preparations, and was expecting the re- 
sult from his appointed post. " It was," says 
one near him, " a moment of agony, and we 
continued with aching eyes to watch the result, 
until, after a short and appalling interval, we 
saw the acclivity of the breach covered with 
a cloud of crimson." The assault in fact suc- 
ceeded, and Colonel Wellesley advanced from 
his position, not to renew a desperate at- 
tempt, but to restore some order in the cap- 
tured city, aud to certify the death of our 
dreaded enemy, by discovering his body yet 
warm and palpitating under a heap of his 
fallen adherents. 

The events in the city, when the troops 
were drawn up before the palace eager for 
the assault, formed portions of the most touch- 
ing and exciting episodes of the siege, and 
constitute one of the most romantic stories of 
Indian warfare. The soldiers were eager to 
storm the palace gates, believing that Tippoo 
was there, and hoping to release some British 
prisoners. A report, however, had spread among 
the troops, upon authority that seemed worthy 
of reliance, that Tippoo had murdered all the 
English prisoners taken during the siege. 
This turned out to be true; but before full 
evidence of the fact had been acquired, the 
belief of its truth incited in the English sol- 
diery a thirst for vengeance. Within the 
palace, the confusion and disorder equalled 
the consternation of its residents, and those 
upon whom its defence devolved. The kil- 
lidar (governor) was paralyzed by a report 
that Tippoo had been shot, and was lying 
dead under one of the gateways. 

The royal family refused to open the palace 
gates, dreading retribution for the murder of 
so many English. Major-general Baird, who 







■A 



a4 









CuAP. XCIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



477 



headed the assault, had himself been cruelly 
incarcerated for three yeai's in Seringapatam. 
General Baird was unwilling to expose the 
oconpants of the palace to the horrors of a 
storm in the temper of his infuriated soldiery. 
He commissioned JIajor (afterwards Sir Alex- 
ander) Allan to hold up a flag of truce, and, 
if possible, induce the inmates of the palace to 
place themselves under the protection of the 
English general. The major was familiar with 
the language of Mysore, and was a man of 
happy address and engaging manner. He 
undertook the task with his usual ability, and 
eager to prevent the further effusion of blood, 
and the vengeance which the exasperated 
soldiers of the 33rd were panting to inflict, 
he persevered with honourable and laudable 
pertinacity, until his persuasiveness and tact 
were crowned with success. It is impossible 
for any narrative to do justice to his conduct, 
or to depict the scenes in which he took part. 
He has himself left a modest record of what 
took place, which is too interesting not to 
afford to the reader : — 

" Having fastened a white cloth on a ser- 
geant's pike, I proceeded to tlie palace, where 
I found Major Shee and part of the 33rd re- 
giment drawn up opposite the gate ; several 
of Tippoo's people were in a balcony, ap- 
parently in great consternation. I informed 
them that I was deputed by the general who 
commanded the troops in the fort, to offer 
them their lives, provided they did not make 
resistance, of which I desired them to give 
immediate intimation to their sultan. In a 
short time the killidar, another officer of con- 
sequence, and a confidential servant, came 
over the terrace of the front building, and 
descended by an unfinished part of the wall. 
They were greatly embarrassed, and appeared 
inclined to create delays, probably with a view 
of effecting their escape as soon as the dark- 
ne's of the night should afford them an op- 
portunity. I pointed out the danger of their 
situation, and the necessity of -coming to an 
immediate determination, pledging myself for 
their protection, and proposing that they should 
allow me to go into the p.ilace, that I might 
in person give these assurances to Tippoo. 
They were very averse to this proposal, but 
I positively insisted on returning with them. 
I desired Captain Scohey, who speaks the na- 
tive languages with great fluency, to accom- 
pany me and Captain Hastings Fraser. We 
ascended by the broken wall, and lowered 
ourselves down on a terrace, where a large 
body of armed men were assembled. I ex- 
plained to them that the flag which I held 
in my hand was a pledge of security, pro- 
vided no resistance was made; and the stronger 
to impress them with this belief, I took off my 

VOL. II. 



sword, which I insisted on their receiving. 
The killidar and many others affirmed that 
the princes and the family of Tippoo were in 
the palace, but not the sultan. They appeared 
greatly alarmed, and averse to coming to any 
decision. I told them that delay might be 
attended with fatal consequences, and that I 
could not answer for the conduct of our troops 
by whom they were surrounded, and whose 
fury was with difficulty restrained. The}- 
then left me, and shortly after I observed 
people moving hastily backwards and for- 
wards in the interior of the palace : I began 
to think our situation rather critical. I was 
advised to take back my sword, but such an 
act on ray part might, by exciting their dis- 
trust, have kindled a flame which, in the pre- 
sent temper of the troops, might have been 
attended with the most dreadful consequences, 
probably the massacre of every soul within 
the palace walls. The people on the terrace 
begged me to hold the flag in a conspicuous 
position, in order to give confidence to those 
in the palace, and prevent our troops from 
forcing the gates. Growing impatient at 
these delays, I sent another message to the 
princes, warning them of their critical situa- 
tion, and that my time was limited. They 
answered, they would receive me as soon as a 
carpet could be spread for the purpose, and 
soon after the killidar came to conduct me. 

" I found two of the princes on the carpet, 
surrounded by a great many attendants. 
They desired me to sit down, which I did in 
front of them. The recollection of Mooza- 
ad-Deen, who, on a former ocea.sion, I had 
seen deHvered up, with his brother, hostages 
to Marquis Cornwallis, the sad reverse of 
their fortunes, their fear, which, notwith- 
standing their struggles to conceal, was but 
too evident, excited the strongest emotions of 
compassion in my mind. I took Mooza ad- 
Deen (to whom the killidar, &c., principally 
directed their attention) by the hand, and 
endeavoured, by every mode in my power, 
to remove his fears, and to persuade him that 
no violence should be offered to him or his 
brother, nor to any person in the palace. I 
then entreated him, as the only means to 
preserve his father's life, whose escape was 
impracticable, to inform me of the spot where 
he was concealed. Mooza-ad-Deen, after some 
conversation apart with his attendants, as- 
sured me that the padishah was not in the 
palace. I requested him to allow the gates 
to be opened. All were alarmed at this pro- 
posal, and the princes were reluctant to take 
such a step, but by the authority of their 
father, to whom they desired to send. At 
length, however, having promised that I 
would post a guard of their own sepoys with- 

3g 



478 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Ohap. XCIX. 



in, and a party of ]'^uropeans on the outside, 
and having given them the strongest nssiir- 
anoes tliat no person should enter the palace 
but by ray authority, and that I would re- 
turn and remain with them until General 
Baird arrived, I convinced them of the neces- 
sity of compliance, and I was happy to ob- 
serve that tiie princes, as well as their atten- 
dants, appeared to rely with confidence on 
the assurances I had given them. 

"On opening the gate, I found General 
Baird and several officers, with a large body 
of troops assembled. I returned with Lieu- 
tenant-colonel Close into the palace for the 
purpose of bringing the princes to the gene- 
ral. Wc had some difficulty in conquering 
the alarm and objections which they raised to 
quitting the palace ; but they at length per- 
mitted us to conduct them to the gate. The 
indignation of General Baird was justly ex- 
cited by a report which had reached him 
soon after ho had sent me to the palace, that 
Tippoo had inhumanly murdered all the 
Europeans who had fallen into his hands 
during the siege ; this was heightened, pro- 
bably, by a momentary recollection of his own 
sufferings during more than three years' im- 
prisonment in that very place : he was, 
nevertheless, sensibly affected by the sight of 
the princes, and his gallantry on the assault 
was not more conspicuous, than the modera- 
tion and humanity which he displayed on this 
occasion. He received the princes with every 
mark of regard, repeatedly assured them that 
no violence or insult should be offered to 
them, and he gave them in charge to Lieu- 
tenant-colonel Agnew and Captain Marriott, 
by whom they were conducted to head-quar- 
ters in camp, escorted by the light company 
of the 33rd regiment ; as they passed, the 
troops were ordered to pay them the compli- 
ment of presenting arms. 

" General Baird now determined to search 
the most retired parts of the palace, in the 
hope of finding Tippoo. He ordered the 
light company of the Tith regiment, followed 
by others, to enter the palace-yard. Tippoo's 
troops were immediately disarmed, and we 
proceeded to make the search through many 
of the apartments. Having entreated the 
killidar, if he had any regard for his own life, 
or that of his sidtan, to inform us where he 
was. concealed, he put his hands upon the hilt 
of my sword, and in the most solemn manner 
protested that the .sultan was not in the 
palace, but that he had been wounded during 
the storm, and lay in a gateway on the north 
face of the fort, whither he offered to conduct 
us, and if it was found that he had deceived 
us, said the general might inflict on him what 
punishment he pleased. General Baird, on 



hearing the report of the killidar, proceeded 
to the gateway, which was covered with many 
hundreds of the slain. The number of the 
dead and the darkness of the place made it 
difficult to distinguish one person from an- 
other, and the scene was altogether shocking ; 
but aware of the great political importance of 
ascertaining, beyond the possibility of doubt, 
the death of Tippoo, the bodies were ordered 
to be dragged out, and the killidar, and the 
other two persons, were desired to examine 
them one after another. This, however, ap- 
peared endless, and as it was now becoming 
dark, a light was procured, and I accom- 
panied the killidar into the gateway. During 
the search we discovered a wounded person 
lying under the sultan's palanquin ; this man 
was afterwards ascertained to be Rajah Cawn, 
one of Tippoo's confidential servants ; he had 
attended his master during the whole of the 
day, and on being made acquainted with the 
object of our search, he pointed out the spot 
where the sultan had fallen. By a faint 
glimmering light it was difficult for the killi- 
dar to recognise the features, but the body 
being brought out, and satisfactorily proved 
to be that of the sultan, was conveyed in a 
palanquin to the palace, where it was again 
recognised by the eunuchs and other servants 
of the family. 

" When Tippoo was brought from under 
the gateway, his eyes were open, and the body 
was so warm that for a few moments Colonel 
Wellesley and myself were doubtful whether 
he was not alive. On feeling his pulse and 
heart that doubt was removed. He had four 
wounds, three in the body, and one in the 
temple, the ball having entered a little above 
the right ear, and lodged in the cheek. His 
dress consisted of a jacket of fine white linen, 
loose drawers of flowered chintz, with a crim- 
son cloth of silk and cotton round his waist ; 
a handsome pouch, with a red and green silk 
belt hung across his shoulder, his head was 
uncovered, his turban being lost in the con- 
fusion of his fall ; he had an amulet on his 
arm, but no ornament whatever. 

" Tippoo was of low stature, corpulent, with 
high shoulders, and a short thick neck, but 
his feet and hands were remarkably small ; 
his complexion was rather dark, his e3'e3 
large and prominent, with small arched eye- 
brows, and his nose aquiline : he had an 
appearance of dignity, or perhaps of sternnes?, 
in his countenance which distinguished him 
above the common oriter of people." 

The portrait of this remarkable man thus 
given by Major Allan is correct. Tippoo 
luraself believed, or was desirous of persuad- 
ing himself, that he was descended from Mo- 
hammed, and had received, as he believed 



Chap. XCIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



479 



Mohammed had, a divine commission. His 
flatterers were accustomed to compliment liim, 
by averring thut he very much resembled in 
person the great Arab conqueror. This 
opinion has been generally entertained in 
Europe, but had no foundation in fact. 
Muir's description of " the false prophet " is 
generally received as correct, and the reader 
can judge how far it agrees with Major 
Allan's delineation of Tippoo : — " Slightly 
above the middle size, his figure, though 
spare, was handsome and commanding ; the 
chest broad and open, the bones and frame- 
work large, the joints well knit together. 
His neck was long and finely moulded. The 
head, unusually large, gave space for a broad 
and noble brow. The hair, thick, jet black, 
and slightly curling, fell down over his ears ; 
the eye-brows were arched and joined. The 
countenance thin but ruddy. His large eyes, 
intensely black and piercing, received addi- 
tional lustre from their long dark eyelashes. 
The nose was high and slightly aquiline, but 
fine, and at the end attenuated. The teeth 
were far apart. A long black bushy beard, 
reaching to the breast, added manliness and 
presence. His expression was pensive and 
contemplative. The face beamed with in- 
telligence, though something of the sensuous 
also might be there discerned. The skin of 
his body was clear and soft ; the only hair 
that met the eye was a fine thin line which 
ran down from the neck toward the navel. 
His broad back leaned slightly forward as he 
walked ; and his step was hasty, yet sharp 
and decided, like that of one rapidly descend- 
ing a declivity. There was something un- 
settled in his blood-shot eye, which refused to 
rest upon its object. When he turned to- 
wards you, it was never partially, but with 
the whole body."* 

The body of the sultan was the next day 
buried with military honours in the mauso- 
leum built for his father. During the funeral 
ceremony a thunder-storm burst above the 
city. The lightnings played around the place 
of sepulture, as if Heaven designed to mark 
its anger against a man whose every step 
through life was stained with blood, and whose 
character, like that of his father, was essen- 
tially crnel. Several Europeans and natives 
were killed, and others injured by the light- 
ning. The scene, its causes, and attendant 
consequences, deeply impressed the minds of 
the whole popidation of Seringapatam and of 
the British army. Search was made by order 
of General Harris for the state papers of 
Tippoo, when abundant material was obtained 
to justify the Earl of Mornington in declaring 
war against him, although the line of policy 
* Muir'a Mohammed. 



sketched out by the able and indefatigable 
Mr. Webbe (the chief secretary at Madras), 
was that which was most consonant with the 
data upon which his excellency proceeded. 
It appeared that Tippoo had carried on corre- 
spondence hostile to the English, and for the 
purpose of expelling them from India, with the 
French Directory, with the Affghan Prince 
Zemaun Shah, the Mahrattas, and other In- 
dian powers. The plan of co-operation with 
Buonaparte, then in Egypt, for an invasion of 
India, was also discovered. 

The despatches of General Harris are 
master-pieces of good sense and professional 
knowledge. The Earl of Mornington's saga- 
city in selecting such a man fur tlie arduous 
post of commander-in-chief of such an army 
was proved. He wrote home letters of high 
compliment to General Harris and the army ; 
and, eloquent as these despatches were, they 
were not too encomiastic. His lordship, acting 
upon the principle which always characterized 
the conduct of his illustrious brother, the 
future Duke of Wellington, selected suitable 
men for his purpose, and left such a measure 
of responsibility and discretion with them, as 
kept them unfettered, and stimulated their 
exertions. - General Harris was iu every way 
worthy of his lordship's confidence, which was 
rendered with respect and cordiality. 

The adjustment of afifairs at Mysore, and 
the arrangements necessary for carrying on 
the government of the newly-acquired pro- 
vince, occupied the attention of the governor- 
general. He had, however, men at hand 
competent to the task. Tlie intellectual re- 
sources of the English ia India were at that 
time very abundant, and the Earl of Morn- 
ington well knew how to use them. Among 
his officers, civil and military, there were few 
who at all apjiroached in administrative ability 
his own brothers, Mr. Henry Wellesley, and 
the Hon. Colonel Wellesley. He dispatched 
the former, with Lieutenant-colonel Kirk- 
patrick, to Seringapatam, to make prelimi- 
nary arrangements, and furnish him with lull 
information for a perfect judgment of what 
might be necessary for the government of 
Mysore. Before his excellency formed any 
definitive judgment of the affairs of that king- 
dom, he directed General Harris to adopt 
measures insuring the complete and perma- 
nent military mastery of the country. He 
ordered that possession should be taken of 
the district of Canara, and of the heads of all 
the ghauts communicating between Canara 
and the upper country, as well as the Coiuiba- 
tore country. The general -in-chief was also 
ordered to demand the unequivocal surrender 
of all forts throughout the Sultanate of My- 
sore, and peremptorily to demand, in the name 



480 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Ohap. C. 



of the East India Company, from all officers 
of the late sultan, civil and military, that all 
description of public property should be 
placed at his disposal. 

The governor-general entered into minute 
detail as to the portion of troops to be em- 
ployed by the general on each particular ser- 
vice, but always deferring to General Harris 
as to the soundness of any judgment pro- 
nounced in military affairs. So clear, com- 
prehensive, and complete were the military 
views of the Earl of Mornington, that one 
is forced to adopt one of two opinions — 
that his gifted brother, the Hon. Colonel Wel- 
lesley, imparted them, or that he himself pos- 
sessed an intuitive military genius. There 
were no men of snch remarkable talents about 
him as to leave a third view probable — that 
some one of the military men of Calcutta or 
Madras inspired his views. The prompt re- 
plies to General Harris's despatches leave the 
impression that the Earl of Mornington, 
like his great brother, Colonel Wellesley, was 
gifted by nature with military talent. 

The governor-general supposed a French 
invasion by way of the Red Sea possible. 
He is represented by most historians of the 
time as unduly apprehensive of it. Such an 
impression is erroneous. He desired it. It 
was his conviction that such was then the 
power of the English in India, that they 
could give a very good account of any army 
of Frenchmen landing on the peninsula. His 
excellency was very desirous that the nizam's 
troops should move to the south-east, and 
gradually pass out of the Mysore territory, 
leaving the English contingent to garrison 
certain places near that frontier. 

The chief difficulty connected with Mysore, 
in the mind of tlie earl, was the relation of 
the Peishwa to that territory. The IMahrattas 
had acted haughtily, yet evasively ; they had 
not carried out the principles of the treaty 



formed in prospect of the former war with 
Tippoo, and made permanent ; they indicated 
a desire themselves to possess the sovereignty 
of Southern India. They were sure to claim 
a large portion of the conquered dominions 
of Tippoo, and his excellency believing that 
they had no claim similar in validity to that 
of the nizam, who had entered heartily into 
the war, resolved that they should acquire no 
more than was necessary to a fair show of 
alliance. The numerous French prisoners he 
ordered to Madras. Finally, matters were 
put in train for the permanent occupation of 
Mysore and the distribution of territory among 
the allies. The government of the English 
province, including the capital, was given to 
the Hon. Colonel Wellesley with the universal 
approbation of the English in India, both civil 
and military. 

The old royal family, that had been so 
cruelly and treacherously deposed by Hyder, 
was restored to the throne — a nominal one — 
under the protection, and, in fact, dictation of 
the English ; and the old capital, the city of 
Mysore, was once more made the depositary 
of metropolitan dignity. 

The conquest of Mysore was complete, and 
the glory of Seringapatam gone for ever. 
For a time the English were destined to look 
down from its high turrets and conquered 
bastions, as from a watch-tower, upon Southern 
India, as if observing the enemies of their 
growing empire, still numerous and powerful 
there. Eventually the mosques and palaces, 
the walls and battlements, of the once mighty 
queen of the table-land of Southern India 
were to sink into decay. When its ruins were 
trodden by the descendants of the conquerors, 
they could regard them with no regret as to 
the prosperity of Southern India or of Mysore, 
and view them only as appropriate monu- 
ments of the achievements of British valour 
over a treacherous and sanguinary despotism. 



CHAPTER C. 

THE HON. COLONEL WELLESLEY, AS GOVERNOR OF MYSORE, M.\KES WAR ON DHOONDIA 
WAUGH— RESULTS UPON THE INTERESTS OF THE ENGLISH IN INDIA— GENERAL 
DIFFICULTIES OF LORD WELLESLEY'S GOVERNJIENT— AFFAIRS OF OUDE— DISAGREE- 
MENTS WITH BIR.MAH— MISSIONARY EFFORTS IN THE ISxn CENTURY. 



TuE conquest of Mysore made much impres- 
sion in Europe. Fjugland hailed the intelli- 
gence with delight. The pride of the country 
was gratified. The English felt that the 
French were not the only conquerors. In the 
subjection of a great oriental kingdom as large 
as Scotland, the national vanity found a 
set-off against the triumphs of the French. 



Throughout the continent the event was re- 
garded as a great triumph to the arms of 
England, and an acquisition of power raising 
that country in its position, in respect toother 

I European states. " It is not easy, perhaps, 
at this period of time, to appreciate the ex- 
traordinary interest with which it was viewed 

I by contemporary observers, but it deserves 



Chap. C] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



481 



to be remarked that these impressions were 
by no means confined to the shores of Britain. 
In the negotiations for the peace of Amiens, 
the French plenipotentiaries repeatedly spe- 
cified the conqnest of Mysore as counterba- 
lancing the continental triumphs of Napoleon 
himself, and the argument was acknowledged 
by Mr. Fox and his party to be founded on 
substantial reason." 

In July, 1799, General Harris left Seringa- 
patam for Pondicherry, and according to the 
orders received by him from the governor- 
general, he surrendered to Colonel Wellesley 
the government of Mysore, civil and military. 
It has been said that so great an honour 
would never have been conceded to the colonel, 
had he not been the brother of the governor- 
general. This remark, might witlx justice 
be made, if both these illustrious persons were 
not gifted and conscientious men. The Earl 
of Mornington was certainly desirous to pro- 
mote the welfare of his brothers, but he was 
not the man to do so at the cost of the public 
weal. Indeed, so slow was he to recognise 
the superior gifts of the colonel, that he more 
than once disappointed the just expectations 
of the latter, when his excellency supposed 
that his duty pointed out the preferment of 
a competitor. In this way. Major-general 
Baird — no doubt a gifted man, but far inferior 
to Colonel Wellesley — received preference 
when the whole army looked for and desired 
the promotion of Arthur Wellesley. There are 
few instances which show more competent and 
conscientious performance of duty than is to 
be found in the government of Mysore by 
the Hon. Arthur Wellesley. He displayed 
a capacity for detail, for intricate accounts, 
for laborious public business, for judging of 
men in military and civil situations, for dis- 
cerning the native character, for penetrating 
and unravelling native intrigue, such as has 
seldom in the world's history been seen in so 
young a man. His laborious toil for the 
public good, while his health was really deli- 
cate, showed a devotion to duty which be- 
came characteristic of the man, and enabled 
him to set an example to the people of the 
British Isles which has not been lost. 

From various providential causes, the pur- 
pose of the governor-general to send Colonel 
Wellesley on different expeditions was frus- 
trated. The designs of the governor-general 
upon the Isle of France, which was a nest of 
pirates and French privateers, were rendered 
nugator)' from a circumstance common in 
Anglo-Indian history — the refusal of the ad- 
miral to co-operate, standing out upon the 
superior dignity of his profession, and attempt- 
ing nothing until the period for doing any- 
thing had passed away. The design of Lord 



Wellesley to give his brother the command of 
an expedition against Batavia, was overruled 
by the wise remonstrances of Lord Clive, who 
affirmed that the condition of Mysore required 
the administrative ability and military talent 
of a man such as he pronounced Colonel Wel- 
lesley to be. Lord Clive also declared that 
no other officer appeared to possess in so high 
a degree the qualifications necessary to quell 
a chief of the adventurous spirit of Dhoondia, 
and so well adapted to sustain a desultory 
and predatory warfare. So long as Dhoondia 
was in arms, Mysore must have continued in 
a dangerous condition, as the daring exploits 
of that chief inspired hopes in the disafi'ected 
from the coast of Malabar to the jungle coun- 
try, along the Mahratta confines. That strange 
people encouraged Dhoondia; while professing 
alliance with the company, they allowed men 
and supplies to be drawn by the insurgent chief 
from their country, although when he was 
ultimately driven within their borders, they 
robbed his camp of elephants, cattle, and trea- 
sure. The opinions of the Hon. Colonel 
Wellesley concerning the policy necessary to 
be pursued towards Mysore and the surround- 
ing country below the Ghauts, was full of 
wisdom. His letters and despatches at that 
period are most remarkable productions. 
Concerning the people along the Malabar 
coast who sympathised with the Mysoreans, 
ready to rise upon the prospect of success 
should Dhoondia gain any important advan- 
tage, Colonel Wellesley observed : — " As soon 
as the person of this rebel shall be taken, it 
is probable that the inhabitants will be more 
ready than they have been hitherto to give 
up their arms ; and the day on which the in- 
habitants give up their arms and acquiesce in 
the orders and regulations of government, 
which require that no man shall appear armed, 
will be the date of the establishment of civil 
government in the province. Till then every- 
thing must be chance or force." These opi- 
nions were verified by the events in which the 
Colonel took so important a part. The chief 
strength of the rebel leader consisted in the 
difficulties of the country he occupied for the 
operation of regular troops. He knew all its 
recesses, and made its unequal ground and 
fai'-spreading jungles — so unhealthy to Euro- 
peans — his fastnesses, from which he sallied 
forth at the most favourable moments with 
expert skill, resolute daring, and opportune 
vigilance, against the cultivated country, laying 
waste whatever parts were known to be dis- 
posed to settle down peaceably under English 
rule. The mode of operating in such a conn- 
try, recommended by Colonel Wellesley, and 
practised by him so far as his authority and 
opportunities allowed, was new to the English 



4«2 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



LCuAi>. €. 



in India, but opened up to them a plan of 
aggression against the natives as efficient as 
it was original. When afterwards acting in 
Cotiote, the opinions entertained by Colonel 
Wellesley on this matter were expressed more 
formally and received more notice ; but it was 
in his first pursuit of Dhoondia that the plan 
was adopted, on a limited scale, for the means 
at his command did not allow of its extensive 
adoption : — " The result of my observations 
and considerations upon the mode of carrying 
on war in jungly countries is just this, — that 
as long as the jungle is thick as the enemy 
can conceal himself in it, and from his con- 
cealment attack the troops, their followers, 
and their baggage, the operations must be 
unsuccessful ou our side. You propose, as a 
remedy, to move in small compact bodies iu 
different directions, in order that the enemy 
might have no mark, might bo in constant 
fear of falling iu with some party, and might 
lose confidenco. I agree in opinion with you 
that your remedy might answer some pur- 
poses for a body of troops which could move 
without baggage or incumbrances of any 
kind, — I say only some purposes, because 
their success would not be complete ; our 
troops cannot move to all parts of the jungle 
as the Nairs can, and it might always be ex- 
pected that at some place or other our detach- 
ment would get into a scrape. But, as we 
know that no troops can move without bag- 
gage so as to answer any purpose for which 
an operation might be undertaken, and as that 
mode of carrying on the war will avowedly 
not answer where there is baggage, we must 
look for some system the adoption of which 
will enable us to bring on in safety that ne- 
cessary evil. I know of no mode of doing 
this excepting to deprive the enemy of his 
concealment by cutting away the lower part 
of the jungle to a considerable distance from 
the road. Tliis, you say, is a work of time ; 
it is true it is so, but it must be recollected 
that the labour of every man turns to account, 
— that the operations, however long, must in 
the end be successful, and wo shall not have 
to regret, after a great expense of blood and 
treasure, that the whole has been thrown 
away, and the same desultory operations are 
to be recommenced in the following season as 
has been the case hitherto, and as will ahvays 
be the case until some such mode of carrying 
on the war with security to the followers is 
adopted."* 

The separate command of the Hon. Colonel 
Wellesley in Mysore not only introduced a 
new mode of warfare against the desidtory 

* Sufplemeniary Despatches and Memoranda of Field- 
Marshal the Duke of Wellington. India, 1797—1805. 
Vol. ii. Murray, 1 8.58. 



proceedings of irregular native troops, but it 
opened up a new era in the military discipline 
of British India. Peculation and jobbery 
pervaded all ranks and grades of both the 
company's and the royal army, but more es- 
pecially the latter. To conceal the robbery 
which was practised, perjury was resorted to 
when investigations took place, which was 
seldom the case. The tribunals nominated 
to hear complaints and try offences were of 
little utility, for they were seldom conducted 
honestly, being generally ready to screen 
powerful delinquents, and often composed of 
men vi-ho ought themselves to be placed on 
their trial for the plunder of public property, 
or the oppression of inferior officers, the com- 
mon soldiery, or the natives. The Hon. 
Colonel ^Yellesley made strong rejjresenta- 
tions to his superiors as to the importance, 
duty, and necessity of establishing a good 
administrative system. In one of his de- 
spatches on this subject, he gave a definition 
of the administration of justice which has been 
called "Aristotelian": — "I understand the 
administration of justice to be the decision of 
a competent tribunal upon any qvtestion, after 
a complete knowledge of its merits, by an ex- 
amination of witnesses upon oath in order to 
come at the truth." 

In his attempts to carry out, and cause to be 
carried out, the administration of justice after 
such fashion, the governor of Mysore met with 
difficulties which would have deterred pro- 
bably any man then living but himself. Has- 
tings or Clive might have undertaken the 
task, but after those two most eminent per- 
sons. Colonel Wellesley alone was competent 
to grapple with this great evil. His mode of 
procedure may be illustrated by a single case, 
and related in his own words : — 

'■ While I was absent in the month of Jan- 
uary last (I believe) the Lascars, &c., of the 
store department of Seringapatam wrote a 
petition to the military board and a letter to 
General Brathwaite, both withotit signature, 
in which they represented the existence of all 
kinds of enormities and bad practices in the 
store department, — such as false musters, 
stealing of stores, cheating, &c. Captain — • — 
was at Madras at the time these papers were 
received, and they were communicated to 
him ; whereupon he went off in a great hurry 
to stop some bandies loaded with gun-metal, 
which General Brathwaite was informed were 
coming from Seringapatam. He did stop 
these bandies at Vellore, and it was found 
that the gun-metal belonged to General Smith, 
— at least, it was said so. 

" However, the military board and govern- 
ment determined to defer the inquiry till I 
should return, and then to order that the 



Chai' C] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



483 



whole matter of the petition and letter above- 
mentioned should bo inquired into. Accord- 
ingly I received orders to institute an inquiry 
shortly after my return, and of course I 
determined that it sliould be an inquiry in 
earnest. I first gave orders to the commis- 
sary to turn off his dubash, and then I assem- 
bled a large committee, consisting of myself, 
all the staff of the army and garrison, and all 
the most respectable officers not employed 
upon any other duty ; and, indeed, they were 
mostly the friends of the commissar)'. 

" On the first day we went into the arsenal 
to inquire into the grounds of the complaints ; 
the petition was explained to all the Lascars 
and artificers, and they were asked particu- 
larly whether they had any grounds of com- 
plaint on the subject of each allegation. They 
all declared not, and appeared anxious to come 
forward to vindicate the commissary and his 
dubash from any imputation that might have 
been laid upon them by the petition and letter. 
However, I was not satisfied with this pro- 
ceeding, and on that evening I issued a pro- 
clamation, in which I called upon the inha- 
bitants to state who had purchased stores, 
and threatened punishment to those who had 
purchased them and concealed it. Then 
came out a scene of villany^and peculation 
which has never been surpassed, and seldom 
equalled in this country. It was proved be- 
fore the committee that Colonel had sold 

large quantities of saltpetre, which he had 
stolen from the stores while he was a member 
of the committee for the valuation of captured 
property, and that the arsenal was a public 
sale shop for all kinds of military stores and 
ordnance, the principal agent in which trans- 
actions was the commissary's dubash. The 
artificers and Lascars who had at first declared 
that they had no reason to complain, and knew 
nothing of the petition and letter to the mili- 
tary board, then came forward to testify the 
truth of everything, and proved particularly 
that false musters had been taken and sent to 
Madras, and that, in fact, half the people for 
whom pay was drawn were not employed. 

" When the dubash was called upon to make 
his defence, to the surprise of everybody, he 
said that he was determined to tell the truth 
and to conceal nothing ; and he declared that 
he had orders for everything that he had ever 

done, either from Colonel or Captain 

, and that he had papers in the arsenal 

which would prove the truth of what he then 
asserted. On account of what appeared 
against Captain on that day 1 deter- 
mined to turn him out, and I did dismiss him 
that evening, but he went to the arsenal be- 
fore ho was dismissed and broke open the 
desk, and, as the dubash says, destroyed some 



of the papers which he had heard him pro- 
mise to produce to the committee. However, 
he did not destroy all, and particularly not 
those relating to himself, which I forced him 
to jiroduce ; and the dubash, by means of 
them, has been able to prove clearly that 

Captain had a large share of the profits 

resulting from the sale of ordnance and stores. 

In regard to Colonel , the proof against 

him was not equally clear, for want of the 
papers which were destroyed ; but it is clearly 
proved against him that he sold copper bands 
taken from the pillars of the Mysore palace, 
contrary to the orders of the military board ; 
that he never gave General Smith credit for 
above an eighth part of the money produced 
by the sale of guns, which he avows, and 
which ho says belonged to General Smith, 
until, by the proceedings of the committee, it 
appeared he had sold guns to that amount, 
and there are papers still forthcoming which 
will prove that he had his share of the profits 
arising from the false musters. Besides this. 

Captain sent gunlocks, &c., to iladras, 

for sale, and he knew of Colonel — — 's rob- 
bery of the saltpetre, and was concerned with 
him in cheating the captors and the public 
out of a large part of it. 

" All this can be proved by writings and 
accounts, besides by the evidence of a host of 
dubashes and conicopolies. 

" I have thus given you the outline of what 
has passed, but the intervals have been filled 
by details of scenes of villany which would 
disgrace the Newgate Calendar. 

" Government are now deliberating upon 
all this, and I expect shortly to have orders 
which will let me know whether these gentry 
are to be brought to a court-martial, or to bo 
dismissed the service, or to be hanged." 

Thus, Colonel Wellesley had at the same 
time to reform the administrations of justice 
in his own army, to administer a large and 
disorganized kingdom, to maintain anxious 
correspondence with the governments of Cal- 
cutta and Madras on most imjjortant subjects, 
sometimes in connection witli enterprises in 
which he was expected to take part, and to 
drive a powerful chieftain from a difficult 
country, whoso followers were numerous, and 
who had the sympathy of the natives and of 
neighbouring states. Some of the instructions 
received by Colonel Wellesley from his su- 
periors, were of a nature to cause apprehen- 
sions of the results should he obey them. 
He was directed, in case of tlie expulsion of 
Dhoondia, to pursue him into the Mahratta 
territory, which the colonel foresaw would 
cause a Mahratta war. Notwithstanding the 
professed friendship of the Peishwa, that high 
personage sent troops against Dhoondia, who 



484: 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. C. 



routed them with such case and with such 
little loss of life on either side, as to lead to 
the suspicion that the war waged by the 
Peishwa was a pretence. Por two months, 
Colonel Wellesley was left unsupported by 
the Madras government, while in vain endea- 
vouring by long marches and night surprises 
to bring his enemy to battle. The British 
commander had to extemporise a commis- 
sariat, to provide support for his troops, and 
even to organize a corps of engineers from 
the service of the line. He was neglected by 
his superiors, as he was afterwards in the 
Spanish peninsula. 

After a harassing campaign, on the 10th of 
September, 1800, Colonel Wellesley came 
upon the rebel camp. The force at his com- 
mand was four regiments of cavalry, the 
horses of which were nearly worn out with 
excessive toil. The colonel did not hesitate 
to charge the enemy. It was a brilliant per- 
formance ; the rebel force was routed with 
slaughter, and Dhoondia himself was slain. 
An interesting boy of four years of age, son 
of the rebel chief, was taken among the bag- 
gage. The colonel took him to his tent, and 
protected him. During his residence in India 
he tenderly guarded the child, and when 
about to return to Europe, he left a sum of 
money for the education and maintenance of 
his favourite. The results of this campaign 
were important to Colonel Wellesley himself, 
as well as to the public. The reputation of 
the governor of Mysore rose high among the 
native courts, and in the presidential capitals 
of the company. The governor-general was 
greatly gratified, and the government at home 
not less so. The Earl of Mornington had 
been blamed for placing his brother in a post 
which it was alleged ought to have been 
given to General Baird or some other superior 
ofKcer ; but the selection had justified itself, 
and the success of the colonel increased the 
fame of the elder brother, by extending the 
confidence already so largely entertained in 
his judgment. Concerning his position at 
that time, some curious remarks were made 
by him a short tinie before his death, when 
Duke of Wellington and Warden of the Cinque 
Ports : — " I thought myself nobody at the 
time, but now, on perusing my own de- 
spatches, I perceive that I was a very consi- 
derable man." 

The death of Dhoondia put an end to all 
fears about the disturbance of Mysore and 
the coasts of Malabar. This, however, did 
not exempt his excellency, the governor, from 
anxiety, as it was from Mysore that the Eng- 
lish chiefly watched the Mahrattas, who were 
known to be intensely inflamed by jealousy 
against the English, and anxious to form any 



combination to dispossess them of power. 
The Peishwa and the lesser magnates of the 
tribes were, however, at variance ; and Colonel 
Wellesley displayed an acute policy in play- 
ing off one chief against another, so as to 
prevent any immediate organization of the 
confederacy against the English. 

The government of Colonel Wellesley in 
Mysore was interrupted by his appointment 
to the command of the army intended to at- 
tack the Isle of France, and afterwards Bata- 
via, but the final destination of whioh was 
Egypt, the Earl of Mornington having con- 
ceived the plan of sending thither an expedi- 
tion against Buonaparte. Colonel Wellesley 
having been unjustly superseded in that com- 
mand by his brother, who gave the appoint- 
ment to General Baird, he returned to his 
government in Mysore. The expedition to 
Egypt sailed under Baird, but was too late, 
the army of Abercromby having defeated the 
purposes of the French expedition. 

It was in April, 1801, that Colonel Wel- 
lesley resumed his government of Mysore. 
He continued in the government, conducting 
it with discretion and sagacity, and rendering 
large services to the state without any honour 
having been conferred upon him until April, 
1802, when he received promotion in his mili- 
tary rank : he was gazetted major-general. 
For some time longer Colonel Wellesley gave 
his chief energy to the government of Mysore, 
still exercising vigilance in reference to the 
proceedings of the ambitious and discordant 
Mahratta confederacy, until at last the break- 
ing out of the Mahratta war furnished a new 
field for the exercise of his military genius. 

Meanwhile, the governor-general was occu- 
pied in incessant cares to preserve the peace 
of India and the security of the British pos- 
sessions. On every side there were difficul- 
ties. The government of Hyderabad was 
losing stability and power. In order to pre- 
serve it as a counterpoise to the Mahrattas, it 
was necessary to meddle with its affairs more 
intimately than suited the tastes of the direc- 
tors, the policy of the imperial government, 
or accorded with the instructions sent out to 
the governor-general. Certain territory was 
assigned to the company as an indemnity for 
the outlay in support of the contingent forces 
maintained for the defence of the nizam's do- 
minions. 

The Affghans became exceedingly trouble- 
some. Repeated invasions of the Sikh terri- 
tories by their chief alarmed the government 
of British India. Negotiations with Persia 
to counteract these incursions of the Affghans 
eastward had some effect in retarding their 
progress, but their aggressions were a con- 
stant source of uneasiness at Calcutta, and all 



Chap. C] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



46ff 



over British India. These invasions inspired 
the Rohillas with hope of independence, and 
while the Oudeans were ever ready to oppress 
them, they were equally willing to unite with 
them against the English. The affairs of 
Oudo, always more troublesome and harass- 
ing to the English than those of any other 
jiart of India, caused more disquietude to the 
Earl of Mornington, or, as he became, Marquis 
of Wellesley, than even the enmity and plots 
of the Mahrattas. 

The financial embarrassments of the Oude 
government were much the same as they liad 
always been ; and, as usual, it was in arrears 
of the stipulated tribute to the government of 
Calcutta. The whole condition of Oude dur- 
ing the administration of the Marquis of Wel- 
lesley, and the philosophy of that condition, 
were afterwards expressed in a memorandum 
of the Hon. Major-general Wellesley on the 
subject, with a brevity and perspicuity ex- 
ceedingly remarkable as coming from one 
who had spent so few years in India. No 
documents concerning Oude since presented 
by officers of the British government have 
surpassed in accuracy and clearness that of 
General Wellesley. The reader may learn 
the state of that country, not only at the be- 
ginning of the present century, but even 
since the period of annexation, from the 
masterly memorandums of him, who, after- 
wards as the Duke of Wellington, became so 
important an authority on all political subjects 
when regarded from a military point of view. 
This memorandum has been very appropriately 
termed a resume of the subsequent history of 
the province : — 

" Oude is a fertile country, was at that time 
well cultivated, and is peopled by a hardy 
race, who have for a great length of time sup- 
plied soldiers to all the states of India. 

"In this situation, it is obvious that the 
government of Oude must always have been 
an object of jealousy to that power which 
possessed the provinces of Behar and Bengal, 
which are situated lower down upon the 
Ganges. In fact, these provinces had no 
natural barrier against an invasion from Oude, 
and depended for their security upon their 
own artificial means of defence. 

" This was the case not only in respect to 
the state of Oude itself, but in respect to the 
Rohillas ; to the king, who was at that period 
of time in some degree of strength ; and to 
the Mahrattas ; each of which powers might 
have found an easy and convenient passage 
through Oude to an invasion of the company's 
provinces of Behar and Bengal. 

" On the other hand, by the possession of 
the provinces under the government of Oude, 
or an intimate union with the government, a 

VOL. II. 



barrier was immediately provided for the pro- 
vinces under the Bengal government. No- 
thing remained on the left or east of the 
Ganges besides the Nabob of Oude and the 
company, excepting the llohillas, and this 
river afforded a strong natural barrier against 
all invaders. Besides this object, the seat of 
war, in consequence of the alliance with or 
possession of Oude, was removed from the 
company's provinces, the source of all the 
means of carrying on war, to those of the 
enemy if it should have been practicable to 
carry on offensive war ; or, at all events, to 
those of the nabob if such supposed war 
should have been reduced to the defensive. 

"By the first treaty with the nabobs of 
Oude, the company were bound to assist the 
nabob with their troops, on the condition of 
receiving payment for their expenses. The 
adoption of this system of alliance is always 
to be attributed to the weakness of the state 
which receives the assistance, and the remedy 
generally aggravates that evii. It is lasually 
attended by a stipulation that the subsidy 
should be paid in equal monthly instalments ; 
and as this subsidy is generally the whole or 
nearly the whole disposable resource of the 
state, it is not easy to produce it at the stipu- 
lated moment. The tributary government is 
then reduced to borrow at usurious interest, 
to grant tuncaws upon the land for repa}'- 
ment, to take advances from aumildars, to sell 
the office of aumildar, and to adopt all the 
measures which it may be supposed distress 
on the one hand and avarice and extortion 
on the other can invent to procure the money 
necessary to provide for the payment of the 
stipulated subsidies. 

" As soon as such an alliance has been 
formed, it has invariably been discovered that 
the whole strength of the tributary govern- 
ment consisted in the aid afforded by its more 
powerful ally, or rather protector ; and from 
that moment the respect, duty, and loyalty of 
its subjects have been weakened, and it has 
become more difficult to realise the resources 
of the state. To this evil must be added 
those of the same kind arising from oppres- 
sion by aumildars, who have paid largely for 
their situations, and must remunerate them- 
selves in the course of one year for what they 
have advanced from those holding tuncaws 
and other claimants upon the soil on account 
of loans to government, and the result is an 
increasing deficiency in the regular resources 
of the state. 

" But these financial difficulties, created by 
weakness and increased by oppression, and 
which are attended by a long train of dis- 
orders throughout the country, must attract 
the attention of the protecting government, 

3 11 



486 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. 0. 



and then these last are obliged to interfere in 
the internal administration in order to 6ave 
the resources of tlie state and to prechide the 
necessity of employing the troops in quelling 
internal rebellion and disorder, which were 
intended to resist the foreign enemy." 

The occupation of Lahore by the enter- 
prising Affglian chief, Shah Zemaun, compelled 
the Marquis Wellesley to enter in a decided 
■ manner into the circumstances of Oude. His 
decision to do so was, however, made impera- 
tive by events which he could neither fore- 
seen nor controlled. Sir John Shore (Lord 
Teignmouth) had in his last arrangements 
connected with that province of the Mogul 
empire, permitted Vizier Ali, after his de- 
position, to remain in Benares. The Marqnis 
Wellesley deemed it imprudent to allow him 
to reside so near to the scene of his former 
intrigues, and ordered his removal to Cal- 
cutta. The deposed vizier refused to leave 
Benares for any place of residence south or 
east. 

On the 14:th of January, 1799, he called on 
the English resident, Mr. Cherry, and com- 
plained in violent and vindictive terms of the 
purpose for his removal entertained by the 
governor-general. The resident remonstrated, 
when suddenly Ali struck him with his sword, 
and the attendants of the vizier instantly cut 
Mr. Cherry down. Four other Englishmen 
who were present were also assassinated, but 
a fifth defended himself until assistance 
arrived, when Ali and his fellow-conspirators 
fled. He collected about him other men as 
desperate as himself, but they were pursued 
by the British authorities, and, after hav- 
ing behaved most cowardly, dispersed. Ali 
sought refuge in Rajpootana, where a chief- 
tain, whose protection he relied upon, de- 
livered him up to the English. These cir- 
cumstances created a great sensation in Oude, 
where the populace sympathised with the 
desperate Vizier Ali. 

Colonel Scott was then sent to the nabob 
with a demand for the dismission of his na- 
tive troops, and his acceptance of a British 
contingent. The nabob endeavoured, with 
the usual hesitation of Indian princes, to 
evade those demands, and when that was no 
longer possible, he ofifered to resign the sove- 
reign authority, which the governor-general 
did not feel at liberty to permit without in- 
structions from home, unless, indeed, the 
nabob resigned his sovereignty to the com- 
pany. The artful nabob calculated upon this, 
and therefore made proposals which he pre- 
sumed would create delay. Finally, he re- 
fused to support a British contingent, on the 
ground of the expense. The Marquis Wel- 
lesley then demanded that territory equivalent 



to the tribute agreed to be paid to Sir John 
Shore should be assigned absolutely to the 
company, and that new arrangements should 
be made between his highness and the Eng- 
lish, which would in effect place the adminis- 
tration of Oude in the hands of the latter. 
Troops were ordered to advance from Bengal 
against Oude ; this led the nabob to sur- 
render. The marquis immediately appointed 
a commission for administrating the affairs 
of Oude, and nominated one of his gifted 
brothers, the Hon. Henry Wellesley, as chief 
commissioner. He acted with vigour towards 
the petty states contiguous to Oude, conclud- 
ing a treaty with the nabob or rajah of 
Ferokabad, similar to that which had been 
concluded with Oude. Rajah Rajwuut 
Sing refused to acknowledge the treaty; siege 
was therefore laid to his fortress, and his 
power was subjugated. A number of zemin- 
dars who maintained a state of revolt for a 
short time were vanquished. Mr. Henry 
Wellesley having quelled all revolt, and esta- 
blished tranquillity in Oude, resigned his 
office. 

The Marquis Wellesley carried his au- 
thority with a high hand, asserting the supre- 
macy of the English wherever the least opening 
for interference was made by circumstances. 
The Nabob of Surat and the Rajah of Tanjore 
were among the lesser magnates who were 
compelled to recognise English authority by 
new forms and under new stipulations. The 
Nabob of Arcot, whose affairs had so often 
involved the company in war, were almost as 
troublesome to the presidency of Madras as 
those of the Nabob of Oude were to the pre- 
sidency of Bengal. Lord Clive conducted the 
negotiations with wisdom and skill worthy of 
his father. He succeeded step by step in as- 
serting the supremacy of the English in Tan- 
jore and the Carnatic, so as completely to 
absorb the authority of the rajah and the 
nabob. 

While during the last decade of the 
eighteenth century the English were en- 
gaged in so many fierce struggles in West- 
ern, Southern, and South-eastern India across 
the peninsula, much uneasiness was created 
in the presidency of Bengal bj' events in the 
extreme East. The first quarrels with the 
Birman empire began during that period. 

In 1782, Minderagee-praw, Emperor of 
Birmah, invaded the country of Arracan, on 
the eastern shores of the BIy of Bengal.* His 
invasion issued in conquest : — " Many of the 
Mughs, or natives of Arracan, preferring 
flight to servitude, took refuge in the Dum- 
buck Hills, on the borders of the Chittagong 
district, and amid the forlorn wastes and 
* See the geographical iwrtiou of this work. 



Chap.C] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



487 



jungles skirting the frontiers; where, having 
formed themselves into independent tribes of 
robbers, they carried on unceasing hostili- 
ties against the Birmans. Some settled in 
the district of Dacca and Chittagong, under 
the protection of tlie British flag; while others, 
rather than abandon their country, submitted 
to the conquerors."* 

The Mughs settled in the eastern pro- 
vinces of Bengal were industrious, and pros- 
pered exceedingly. The fame of their suc- 
cess soon spread to their countrymen, who 
were suffering in Arracan under Birmese 
oppression. They accordingly flocked in 
great numbers to Dacca especially, and so ex- 
tensive was the emigration, that it threatened 
to depopulate the newly-acquired province 
of the Birman empire. The prosperous set- 
tlers in the British provinces aided their 
brethren who had fled to the mountains and 
there led a predatory life, as well as inhabited 
the shores of the numerous creeks, and car- 
ried on a constant piracy against tiieir Bir- 
tnese conquerors. In 17!)4 many of these 
sea warriors plundered the Birmese traders, 
and carried their booty into the British ter- 
ritory. His Birman majesty pursued them 
with an army. The British government sent 
Major-general Erskine with a force to oppose 
them. A truce vias obtained, the Biimese 
recrossed the boundary river into their own 
territory, and the British, seizing the ring- 
leaders of the Mughe, delivered them into 
Birmese custody. 

In 1797-98 the oppressions of the Birmese 
upon the Arracanese were bo unendt\rable, 
that forty thousand of the latter escaped into 
the British territory : — " When they entered 
the province of Gliittagong, the situation of 
the unfortunate wretches was deplorable in 
the extreme : numbers perished from want, 
sickness, and fatigue, while the survivors were 
constrained to live upon reptiles and leaves, 
until such time as the Britieh government 
humanely relieved their wants by providing 
them with food and materials for the con- 
structing of hnts, to shelter them from the 
then approaching rains. Tiie Birmese hav- 
ing collected an army of about four thousand 
men, followed the emigrants into the province 
of Chittagong. The commander of the troops 
addressed a letter to the magistrate of the 
district, demanding the expulsion of the refu- 
gees. The magistrate of Chittagong replied 
tliat the Birmese troops should instantly re- 
tire from the province, or otherwise their com- 
mander must stand tlie consequence ; and the 
magistrate further informed him that no nego- 
tiation would be entered into until such time 
at they had. The Birmese troops, in the mean- 
• Modern Traveller, part tiv. 



time, fortified themselves with stockades iu 
the mountains, and for many weeks carried on 
a petty warfare with the company's troops. 
Tliey successfully repulsed an attack that was 
made upon their stockades on the 18th of 
July, 1799; but soon afterwards retired to 
their own boundary of Arracan. A British 
officer was then deputed by the government 
of Calcutta to the governor of Arracan, to en- 
deavour to effect an amicable adjustment of 
differences."* 

The state of the emigrants in eastern Ben- 
gal engaged the serious attention of the su- 
preme council at Calcutta, and Captain Cox 
was dispatched to the Birmese frontier to 
register the refugees, and allot them ground 
for their sul)sistence. Their number was 
nearly fifty thousand. This proceeding gave 
offence to his Birman majesty, who sent an 
ambassador to the governor-general to pro- 
test against any patronage being extended to 
those who had fled from his authority, and 
to require the English government to coerce 
their return. Lord Wellesley assured the 
ambassador that the fugitives were at perfect 
liberty to go or stay, but that they should not 
be interfered with so long as they conducted 
themselves peaceabl}'. 

Tlie ambassador was not satisfied, and the 
governor-general was so anxious to con- 
ciliate him, tliat the effect produced was to 
leave the impression that the English feared a 
recourse to arms on the part of his Birman 
majesty. There was a strong disposition on 
tlie part of his excellency's advisers to re- 
verse the liberal and hospitable policy which 
had previously been pursued, but which was 
vindicated at the time, and afterwards by 
the able Anglo-Indian statesmen. Sir John 
Malcolm, who pronounced that" policy became 
enlisted on the side of humanity; that they 
should at least obtain a temporary asylum." f 

In the latter part of the year 1800, the 
governor of Arracan addressed the English 
magistrate of Chittagong, conveying a threat 
of invasion, if the emigrants were not forth- 
with expelled from British territory. Tiie 
Marquis Wellesley doubting that the de- 
mand of the government of Arracan had been 
niade with tlie authority of the King of Ava 
(as his Birmese majesty was frequently called), 
resolved to dispatch an embassy to that court 
to ascertain the fact, and to improve the 
general relations of the two governments. 
The question of the emigrants received no 
decision, but lay festering as a cause of quarrel 
between the two governments until, in 1811, 
it received a practical solution. 

* A PoUncal History of the extraordinary events 
which led to the Birmese liar. London, 1827. 

t Volttical History of India. 



488 



HISTOEY OF THE BEITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. 0. 



It was towards the close of the 18th century 
that the great modern missionarj' enterprise 
began in India, under the auspices of the 
Baptist missionaries, Care_y, Marshman, and 
Ward. This is one of the most interesting 
pages in Anglo-Indian history, yet one of 
the most discreditable to the East India 
Company and the British government. Con- 
sidering his instructions, the Marquis Wel- 
lesley displayed more moderation than, with 
his own views and feelings, might have been 
expected. He was hostile to missionary ope- 
rations, and to evangelical religion in any of 
its aspects, and he was surrounded by 
those who were even more hostile. The 
Baptist missionaries were not suffered to settle 
in British India, but were indebted to the 
liberality and Christian feeling of the Danes 
for a home and a sphere of operations. Even- 
tually, they were allowed to conduct their 
pious enterprises within English territory, 
but it was only when a determined expression 
of religious feeling in England created appre- 
hension on the part of the company and the 
board of control, that public opinion would 
influence the parliamentary elections, and 
initiate proceedings hostile alike to the com- 
pany and the government.* The whole con- 
duct of the directors, the board of control, 
the cabinet, and of tlie supreme council of 
Calcutta was unjust, unchristian, and hostile 
to the spirit of British liberty. To show that 
the author does not allow any partial views to 
dictate so severe an opinion, the reader shall 
have opportunity of judging the event in the 
light in which it has been presented by a popu- 
lar reviewer, by no means favourable to Chris- 
tian missionaries as a class, nor to the prin- 
ciple of Protestant evangelical missions. 
While the tone of the reviewer is sometimes 
barely respectful to the missionaries, it ex- 
tenuates the conduct of the British govern- 
ment, and of the Anglo -Indian government 
in Calcutta ; yet there is sufficient truthfulness 
of narrative, and sufficient candour in the 
review, to place the history of the affair before 
the impartial reader in such form as to enable 
him to form a correct judgment of the con- 
duct of all the parties concerned. Referring 
to Messrs. Carey, Marshman, and Ward, per- 
sonally, the reviewer observes — " Under the 
auspices of the Baptist Missionary Society, 
the latter two, after some previous attempts 
by Mr. Carey, proceeded to Serampore, then 
under the Danish flag, in 1799. In the first 
instance, such was the apprehended danger 

* The Life and Times of Carey, Marshman, and 
Ward, embracing the History of the Serampore Mission, 
By .lohn Clark Marshman. — IiODgmana, 1859. Chris- 
tinaity in India; an Historical Narrative. Bv John 
William Kayc, &c. Smith and Elder, 1859. 



from their labours that they were required by 
the authorities at Calcutta to enter into en- 
gagements to return immediately to England. 
But the governor of Serampore protected 
them for a time, and eventually the English 
governor -general. Lord Wellesle}', permitted 
them to remain. Indeed, the latter was con- 
tent that they should establish their mission 
in a settlement beyond the reach of British 
interference, where he would be relieved from 
the neces.sity of disturbing them ; and at 
Serampore, where Carey joined them, they 
set up a printing-press, printed tracts and 
testaments in Bengalee, and established board- 
ing-schools, out of which they defrayed a 
portion of the expenses of their undertaking. 
In 1800, they entertained their first candi- 
date for conversion, who, as the marginal 
abstract states, disappointed the missionaries 
themselves. His name, which was Fukeer, 
and his story are both symbolic. He was 
' the first native, after seven years of severe 
and discouraging exertions, who had come 
up to the point of avowing himself a Chris- 
tian. He was received as a Christian brother, 
with feelings of indescribable emotion.' The 
missionaries persevered against various im- 
pediments which were cast in their way by 
Englishmen as well as Hindoos. The En- 
glish captured Serampore, and in 1802, the 
court of directors ordered the abolition of the 
college at Fort William, with which Carey 
had also connected himself, from a feeling of 
annoyance at its patron. Lord Wellesley. 
Lord Wellesley, who was annoyed in turn, 
requested the directors to revise their order, 
and in the meanwhile sustained the college 
for a time. The missionaries, on the other 
hand, in the commencement of 1803, actuallj' 
baptized their first Brahmin, an amiable and 
intelligent youth named Krishnu Prisad. 
Before his baptism he trampled on his poita, 
or sacred thread, to indicate his rejection of 
the creed with which it was associated, and 
then placed it in Mr. Ward's hands, who 
records in his journal, — ' this is a more pre- 
cious relic than any the Church of Rome 
can boast of.' So far, however, did the mis- 
sionaries condescend to the prejudices of caste, 
that ' Mr. Carey and his colleagues did not 
at that time consider it necessary to insist on 
a Brahmin's divesting himself of his thread, 
which they considered as much a token of 
social distinction as of spiritual supremacy.' 
The converts were therefore baptized, and 
preached to their fellow-countrymen with 
their poiVas across their shoulders. But even- 
tually they were induced themselves to dis- 
card them", while to the honour of these par- 
ticular missionaries, it ought to be added that 
from the fiist they excluded all distinctions 



Chap. C] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



489 



of caste from the celebration of the holy 
communion. Where the Brahmin Christian 
had formerly received the elements before the 
Soodra Christian, in this very instance, when 
called upon to lay down a rule, they abolished 
every vestige of caste in this particular, and 
the Brahmin received the bread and wine 
after the carpenter, Krishnu. Their first 
baptism was soon followed by the first mar- 
riage of converted Hindoos, by which the 
Brahmin aforesaid was united to the daughter 
of the carpenter. So far another step was 
made towards the obhteratioa of caste dis- 
tinctions, which the missionaries were unde- 
niably anxious to effect. A week after this 
marriage, Gentooism had its demonstration 
in return, in the celebration of suttee, when 
' three women were burnt with their hus- 
bands on one pile, near Mr. Ward's house.' 
Then followed the first burial of a Christian 
convert, at which there was some difficulty in 
overcoming the caste prejudices of his com- 
panions, and inducing them to carry his body 
to the grave. Among the Hindoos the Brah- 
min only carries the dead Brahmin, and each 
caste the deceased of its own caste only. But 
again the missionaries stood out and conquered 
this inveterate reluctance, Mr. Marshman 
himself assisting as one of the bearers. A 
later triumph over caste may be ascribed to 
the love of science, when, about twenty years 
ago, the Brahmin students of the Medical Col- 
lege at Calcutta consented, for the first time, to 
handle a dead body in the dissecting-room. 
So far, however, the missionaries laboured 
■with fair success in individual instances, and 
in 1805, they contributed largely, by their 
endeavours, to a much greater work — the sup- 
pression of the immolation of widows. To 
do them justice, we should bear in mind their 
great exertions in this behalf. From their 
first settlement at Serampore they liad been 
unremitting in their endeavours to draw the 
attention of government to this practice. Its 
frequency at the time was little known in 
England, and it awakened no feeling of na- 
tional responsibility. Few even in India 
were aware of the extent to which it pre- 
vailed, and the missionaries considered the 
first step towards its abolition was to bring 
the member of victims prominently into view. 
They accordingly deputed natives in 1803 to 
travel from place to place within a circle of 
thirty miles round Calcutta to make inquiries 
on the subject, and the number was found to 
exceed four hundred in the year. To obtain 
a more accurate return, ten agents were the 
next year stationed within this circle, at 
different places along the banks of the river, 
and they continued at their stations for six 
months, noting down every instance of sultee 



which came within their observation. The 
result, even for this interval, gave the num- 
ber of three hundred; and Mr. Carey in- 
structed one of the members of conncil on this 
point, and he made a stirring appeal to Lord 
Wellesley, then on the eve of his departure. 
No immediate result followed that history can 
recognise. In fact, the question was sub- 
stantially postponed for another quarter of a 
century, and twenty thousand more victims 
ascended the funeral pile before it was de- 
cided. But no one who reads these pages 
can doubt that Brother Carey and his coad- 
jutors assisted very materially in preparing 
opinion in India and England to achieve this 
special glory of our creed and dominion. 

"Inl808,the proceedings of the missionaries 
were so distrusted by the government that 
they were required to submit the manuscript 
of every publication to the inspection of the 
Secretary, and could not print a single page 
without his imprimatur. They were allowed, 
however, to circulate the Scriptures, and, as 
Lord Minto had happily recovered from the 
panic of the Vellore mutiny, when, in 1808, 
Serampore fell again into the hands of the 
English, the missionaries were empowered 
to extend their operations. On the renewal 
of the East India Company's Charter in 1813, 
there was a parliamentary fight for their 
further liberation from restrictions, in which 
Wilberforce sustained them, and in which 
their efforts for the Christianization of India 
were effectually sanctioned. If these efforts 
have not been very successful as yet, never- 
theless their subsequent history has some ele- 
ments of interest, and it is not without some 
few ingredients of encouragement. The 
charter of 1813 was the commencement of a 
new era, from which we date a higher theory 
of our mission in the East. The prescriptive 
principles of Leadenhall Street were then 
abjured ; Europeans were allowed freely to 
resort to India ; the missionaries have been 
allowed to travel to every division of the em- 
pire, and have enjoyed a perfect liberty of 
the press. They have come in contact with 
the strongest religious prejudices of the people, 
and have distributed thousands of tracts ex- 
hibiting the absurdities of Hindoo supersti- 
tion, in language more fervid than that which 
was considered fifty years ago certain to lead 
to an explosion ; and during the formidable 
rebellion of 1867, when the whole of the 
north-west provinces was in a blaze of revolt, 
and the most strenuous efforts were made to 
expel us from the country, ' the missionaries,' 
according to Mr. Marshman, ' were treated 
with uniform deference and respect by the 
most influential classes in the country.' "* 
* T/ie Times. 



490 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CI. 



This notice of the work of the missionaries, 
its commencement, progress, success, the hos- 
tility shown to it, is carried down to a period 
(1S13) long subsequent to the government of 
the Marquis Wellesley. Its introduction 
here prevents the necessity of recurring to 
the events to wliicli it refers, when relating 
the great political movements of the early 
portion of the nineteenth century. 

At the beginning of 1801, botli Lords Wel- 
lesley and Olive contemplated retiring from 
their respective governments, but the events 
wljich occurred ill India compelled them, from 
patriotic feelings, to remain. Both those able 
men were surrounded by difficulties which 
were hardly appreciated in England, because 
of the brilliancy of their career. The finan- 
cial talents of Lord Wellesley were not con- 
sidered equal to his gifts in other respects, 
and his war against Mysore was waged at a 
prodigious expense. His lordship's opinion 



of the powers necessary to a governor-general 
were regarded as too ambitious, and some- 
times arbitrary, both by those who carried 
out his views in India, and by the directors 
and proprietary of the East India Company. 
He demanded the entire control of the whole 
financial resources of In<lia, a demand which 
appeared to the directors unconstitutional, 
unreasonable, and unnecessary. These con- 
siderations influenced the noble marquis in a 
desire to retire from the onerous post which 
he had occupied with so much a' ility. Pub- 
lic considerations, however, decided the part 
he took, and the aspect of affairs in Europe 
and in India at the beginning of the nine- 
teenth century, justified his lordship in devot- 
ing his great energies, talents, and experience 
to the government of British India, however 
some portions of his conduct, and some of his 
opinions, might be regarded unfavourably in 
India or at home. 



CHAPTER CI. 

RELATIONS OF THE FRENCH TO INDIA IN THE OPENING OF THE 19th CENTURY— POLICY 
OF THE MARQUIS WELLESLEY IN REFERENCE TO FRENCH INFLUENCE IN INDIA, 
AND THE MAHRATTAS— WAR WITH THE MAHRATTAS— OPERATIONS OF GENERAL WEL- 
LESLEY— BATTLES OF ASSAYE AND ARGAUM. 



In the beginning of 1801 some official changes 
took place in the supreme government by or- 
ders from home. Letters patent were issued 
by the crown, apjiointing the Marqnis Wel- 
lesley captain-general in India. The dif- 
ferences of opinion and feeling between the 
king's and the company's officers rendered 
this step desirable. Officers holding the 
king's commission frequently murmured when 
called upon to serve under company's officers 
of superior rank, and sometimes obedience to 
such officers was refused, on the ground that 
they did not hold the king's commission. The 
letters patent invested the governor-general 
with full command over all military forces 
employed within the limits of the company's 
exclusive trade. They also required his lord- 
ship's obedience to all orders, directions, and 
instructions from the first commissioners for 
the affairs of India, or from any of her ma- 
jesty's principal secretaries of state. 

Lieutenant-general Gerard, afterwards Lord 
Lake, was appointed commander-in-chief by a 
Vote of the court of directors, on the Ist of 
August, 1800, in succession to Sir Alured 
Clarke. In February, 1801, General Gerard 
assumed liis new functions, and Sir Alured 
retired. Colonel Stevenson was appointed 
to command in Malabar and Canara, under 



the civil jurisdiction of the Hon. Colonel 
Wellesley — shortly afterwards made major- 
general. 

The proceedings of the French caused un- 
easiness in London and in India, as to their 
designs upon that country. In May, 1802, 
Mr. Bosanquet, then chairman of the court of 
directors, wrote to the Marquis Wellesley, 
informing him that the French government was 
exceedingly jealous of British sovereignty in 
India, declaring his conviction that the peace 
recently made with France could not be last- 
ing, and advising his excellency to be pre- 
pared for whatever might ensue upon its 
violation. Lord Wellesley had himself en- 
tertained the opinion that the French would 
spare no pains to unsettle the power of Eng- 
land in Asia, and he had distributed agents 
in all the countries of western Asia and eastern 
Europe, whence intelligence might be pro- 
cured or where alliances might be formed. 
At Constantinople, Aleppo, Bagdad, Bussora, 
Alexandria, &c., British agents served their 
employers with great efficiency. A mission 
had been sent from Calcutta to Baber Khan, 
Shah of Persia, to ascertain the intentions of 
that prince, to form a more correct estimate 
of his military power, and to gain through 
his court precise knowledge of the relations 



Chap. 01.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



491 



maintained with it by Zemaun Sliah of Aff- 
ghanistan, who had so freciuently threatened 
northern Hindostan. The officer entrusted 
with tlie mission to the court of Persia had 
been instructed to gain its assent to some ar- 
ranijement which woukl check the incursions 
of Zemaun Shah, and to form a treaty against 
the French, shoukt they attempt by way of 
Persia to penetrate into India. Captain Mal- 
colm had been selected for the performance of 
this delicate and important task. He arrived 
in Bushire in February, 1800, and in twelve 
months transmitted to Calcutta two treaties 
with Persia, one political the other commer- 
cial. He returned in September, 1801, hav- 
ing succeeded in all the objects of his mission. 
He also formed a good understanding between 
his government and the Pasha of Bagdad, 
which was considered politic, and an excel- 
lent provision against certain schemes sup- 
posed to be indulged by the French. The 
operations of the French in Egypt induced 
the governor-general to form a treaty with the 
Portuguese viceroy of Goa, in result of 
which eleven hundred British royal infantry, 
under the command of Sir WilHam Clarke, 
w"ere added to the garrison. Thus the go- 
vernor-general, independent of any instruc- 
tions received from home, made provision in 
all directions against the much dreaded de- 
signs of France. 

The French were aware of all these pro- 
ceedings. Their agents abroad and their 
spies in London informed them, for the most 
part correctly, of what the governor-general 
of India did, and of the tone of feeling, suspi- 
cion, and manoeuvres of the English cabinet 
and the directors of the East India Company. 
Preliminaries of peace between France and 
England bad been much hastened by the suc- 
cess of the English in Egypt. They were 
signed October Ist, 1801.' The definitive 
treaty was, however, not signed until March 
27th, 1802. The delay in signing the de- 
finitivetr eaty confirmed the English in their 
suspicions that the peace was not intended 
by France to be solid and lasting. Their 
suspicions were but too well grounded. In 
October Buonaparte, tiien elected first consul 
for life, addressed the Helvetic republic in 
terms which alarmed the English. The first 
consul plainly desired to control the Swiss 
nation in the exercise of its independent 
rights, and indicated that the system of pro- 
pagandism and aggression, which the French 
had professed to give up, was still their policy. 
Lord Hawkesbury wrote to the French am- 
bassador, M. Otto, that the English govern- 
ment would not surrender such conquests as 
might have passed to France and Holland 
under the articles of the late treaty of peace, 



of which the conduct of the first consul to the 
Helvetic republic was considered a violation. 
Lord Hawkesbury also sent instructions to 
the Marquis Wellesley in accordance with his 
communication to M. Otto. On receipt of 
this intelligence, the governor-general regu- 
lated all his proceedings upon the assumed 
certainty of war with France and Holland. 

On the 17th of Jnne, 1803, England de- 
clared war against Holland, which was soon 
followed by a similar declaration against 
France. None of the vanquished posses- 
sions of France and Holland in Asia, which 
the English were to have surrendered at the 
conclusion of the peace, had been given up. 

The proceedings of the British government 
and the governor-general of India, in refer- 
ence to France and Holland, met with the 
approbation of the court of directors, but very 
strong difference of opinion existed as to the 
means to be employed. The Marquis Wel- 
lesley was for proceeding with all bis mea- 
sures on a gigantic scale of expense, propor- 
tionate to the grandeur and energy of his 
conceptions. Lord Castlereagh, then at the 
head of the board of control, concurred with 
the governor-general, and was as little dis- 
posed to economy. The directors considered 
that the operations of the company in India 
should be purely defensive, and should consist 
only in the defence of their trade and territory. 
Lords Castlereagh and Wellesley desired to 
employ the resources of the company for the 
purposes of imperi.il aggrandizement. The 
correspondence of these two notable persons, 
in reference to the court of directors, some- 
times resembled that of enemies to the com- 
pany, whose duty it was to turn its property 
to other account than its own u.se, rather than 
that of high functionaries of the king's govern- 
ment, bound to protect the company, to co- 
operate with it, and to regard its trading 
resources with the same sacredness of trust as 
the resources of any other company, or of any 
individu.ll British citizens ought to be, and 
in most cases would be regarded, however in- 
different the British government generally 
showed itself to the rights of private citizens, 
or of corporations, when such stood in the way 
of ministerial or party convenience. When- 
ever the company laid out money for political 
purposes in the service of the government, 
the accounts were disputed, payment was de- 
layed, perhaps refused, or their settlement 
clogged with some unjust conditions. 

In 1803, information reached Marquia 
Wellesley of a secret engagement between 
France and the Batavian republic, in virtue 
of which the latter ceded Cochin and other 
oriental settlements to France. M. Lefebvre, 
a staff officer at Pondicherry, wrote a memoir 



492 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. 01. 



justifying the French in resuming these pos- 
sessions, under the treaty of Amiens. Ac- 
cording to this memoir, while the Englisli 
were wholly occupied in Western India 
against French aggression from that point, a 
secret expedition should he prepai'ed to pro- 
ceed from Spain, via Mexico, to Manilla, and 
thence to India. At the same time the Dutch 
republic should send an expedition by the 
Cape of Good Hope to the Spanish islands, 
and thence to Trincomalee. The author of 
the memoir predicted that if France did not 
deprive the English of their Eastern dominion, 
Russia, rapidly advancing in power, would 
attempt it. 

A copy of this memoir was procured by the 
Marquis Wellesley, and he judged that al- 
though such a scheme might never be at- 
tempted by the governments in question, it 
was evident that the national feeling of France 
was directed to the acquisition of territory in 
India, and to the expulsion of the English 
thence, as freshly as when first the conflicts 
between the two nations gathered in " little 
wars" around Myhie and Tellicherry. The 
great error of the British had been in re- 
storing Pondicherry, when first conquered, 
but the exigencies of peace in the European 
relations of the two powers, constrained what, 
received as an oriental policy only, was an 
error and misfortune. 

The conduct of Lord Wellesley to the 
various branches of the Mahratta empire was 
based upon his knowledge and conjectures of 
the designs of the French. He perceived that 
the French hoped through the Mahrattas, as 
formerly through the Nizam of the Deccan, 
to gain a footing in India. The Mahratta 
sovereignties, stretching away from the shores 
of Malabar to the confines of the Punjaub, 
holding sway in the heart of India, furnished 
means for French intrigue. If by disciplin- 
ing and commanding their armies the French 
gained a military prestige among them, French 
generals might undermine the authorities they 
served, as well as organise and load powerful, 
well equipped, and efficiently drilled armies 
against the English territories in numbers 
which, so led and disciplined, no resources 
derivable from England could repel. The 
policy of Lord Wellesley was that which 
Lord Cornwallis adopted in the Deccan — that 
of compelling or inducing the dismissal of all 
French and foreign mercenaries, and the em- 
ployment of strong British contingents, the 
expense of which to be borne by the govern- 
ments which they ostensibly defended. This 
was a far more subtle plan than that of the 
French ; it was indeed of French origin, for 
it was the scheme by which Dupleix and 
Bussy had so long before ruled the court of 



Hyderabad, and used the power of the Dec- 
can, in the disputes of peninsular India. The 
^Marquis Wellesley had, by what was called 
the subsidiary treaty of 1798, secured the 
nizam as an ally. His highness was obliged 
to rely upon a British contingent ; his French 
forces were gone, although he still reserved 
some officers and troops contrary to the treaty, 
and he was rather desirous to increase their 
number as a counterpoise to the overbearing 
influence of the English. 

The Mahratta sovereignties at that time 
were the Peishwa, the Guicawar, Scindiah, 
Holkar, and the Rajah of Berar. The Pe- 
ishwa was supreme in nominal authority, as 
in real rank. He was the grand vakeel of the 
Delhi emperor, but had been partly cajoled 
and partly coerced by Scindiah to make him 
his deputy in that office, who so used it 
as virtually to wield whatever was left of 
authority, and to bear whatever prestige re- 
mained of the name and dignity of the Great 
Mogul. The grand seat of Mahratta autho- 
rity was then, as it had always been, at Poonah. 
Dowlut Row Scindiah might be considered 
rather as the chief sovereign in India than as 
a Mahratta chief owing allegiance to the Pe- 
ishwa. Scindiah's territory lay in and around 
Malwa, lying to the west of Central India. 
The Guicowar dominated Gujerat to the 
west of Scindiah's possessions. Holkar pre- 
vailed south of Malwa, and ruled in his 
capital of Indore. The Rajah of Berar, or 
as he was more frequently called, the Nag- 
pore Rajah, reigned in the city of that name, 
over a wild people, and a country of rigid 
and uncultivated soil east of the other Mah- 
ratta chiefs, and contiguous to the British 
province of Bengal. 

"Independently of the apprehensions cre- 
ated by their immense resources and their 
inveterate aggressiveness, the Mahrattas 
were evoking at this moment the dreaded 
vision of French influence and ascendancy. 
Though the peace of Amiens had checked 
the overt operations of our redoubtable ri- 
vals, their intrigues were still continued with 
characteristic tenacity. Napoleon had sent 
Decaen to India with strict injunctions to 
provide for war while observing the stipu- 
lations of peace. Nor was this all; for Per- 
ron, a French adventurer, who had arrived 
in Hindostan twenty years previously as a 
petty officer in Suffrein's squadron, was ris- 
ing rapidly to the command of the whole 
Mahratta forces. He had disciplined and 
armed some fifteen or twenty thousand men 
for Scindiah's service, who were officered by 
his own countrymen, and who were not in- 
ferior to the trained battalions of the com- 
pany. His influence with Scindiah was so 



Chap. CI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



493 



unbounded as actually to excite jealousy among 
the Mahratta cliiel's ; and if lie had possessed 
the national spirit of Dupleix, or been opposed 
by any less a soldier than Arthur Wellesley, 
it is not too much to conceive that our 
Eastern empire might have hung upon a 
thread."* 

Holkar was aa active as Sciudiah in dis- 
ciplining his troops by French officers, al- 
though he did not set the example, nor em- 
ploy 80 large a foreign force. Scindiah, 
Holkar, and the Rajah of Berar were all com- 
peting for ascendancy at the court of Poonah, 
the Peishwa, their nominal and rightful lord, 
being not only unable to control them, but 
controlled by them in turn. The Guicowar 
would no doubt have been as forward in this 
competition as the other three, but his ter- 
ritory lying seaward, and other circumstances, 
brought him more into contact with the Eng- 
lish. His territorial position gave him less 
opportunity of exercising any control at the 
Peishwa's court, and whatever the differences 
of the other three confederates, they were 
willing to coalesce against him. His preten- 
sions were, as if by common consent of the 
other chiefs, excluded. 

The policy adopted by the English was 
more easy of application in his case than in 
that of the Peishwa, or the other nominally 
confederated but really hostile chiefs. The 
English accordingly, having failed to induce 
the Peishwa to accept and support a power- 
ful British contingent, treated witli the 
Guicowar, with whom, for various objects, 
they had been in close negotiation, and upon 
whose power they had been gradually en- 
croaching for years. The East India go- 
vernment, never vesting opportunities nor 
wanting pretexts, now discovered that Surat 
was shamefully misgoverned. This, and the 
nonpayment of the tribute, formed a good 
justification for annexing it to the company's 
territories ; which plea was further strength- 
ened by the constant difficulties arising out of 
the right of succession. The Nabob of Surat, 
like many other vassals of the Delhi empire, 
when strong enough, became virtually inde- 
pendent, and rendered his succession heredi- 
tary. But disputes having arisen respecting 
the inheritance, the British interfered and ex- 
ercised their authority. A subsequent dis- 
pute upon the same subject, in 1789, afforded 
a further opportunity for the company, and 
the nabob was treated similarly to the ruler 
of Oude, being compelled to surrender the 
civil and military government of his domin- 
ions to the English, receiving in lieu a pen- 
sion, and with it protection. But the chout, 



* Travellers' Librari/, 31 . 



VOL. II. 



or tribute, he had agreed to pay to the Mah- 
rattas, was not so easily settled. The Gui- 
cowar prince declared his readiness to relin- 
quish hia portion of the tribute to the 
company, but the Peishwa was not so 
yielding. 

The Guicowar, further to secure the British 
alliance, yielded the Chourassy district. His 
death, in September, 1800, produced great 
disturbances ; for his son was perfectly im- 
becile, and unfit to control the intrigues of the 
court of Baroda. These intrigues speedily 
brought on a war between the late prime- 
minister, Nowjee Apajee, and an illegitimate 
brother of the deceased Guicowar; but the 
English, siding with the minister, and fur- 
nishing troops, victory declared in his favour. 
Nowjee being unfettered, pursued his econo- 
mical reforms by dismissing the Arab mer- 
cenaries ; but this body refused to disband, 
demanding enormous arrears : afterwards 
mutinying, they seized Baroda and impri- 
soned the Guicowar. The English imme- 
diately invested Baroda, which surrendered 
in ten days. Contrary to capitulation, many 
of the mutineers joined the rebel Kanhojee ; 
but were pursued, and ultimately, with the 
latter, driven from Gujerat. 

The policy of the English towards the Gui- 
cowar was pertinacious, wily, and successful; 
it lay with the discretion of the Bombay go- 
vernment whether a contingent of its army 
should not occupy the capital of Gujerat. 
The British were also persistent in urging 
upon the government of Poonah the reception 
of an English force, to be paid for by the 
Poonah treasury; no French, nor other foreign 
officers or soldiers to be admitted to serve the 
Peishwa : but that dignitary, mainly under the 
influence of Scindiah, still resisted. Events, 
however, brought about what negotiation had 
otherwise failed to accomplish. The confe- 
derates became open enemies. Scindiah con- 
ducted hostilities with varying fortunes. The 
horrors of war rolled over the great Mahratta 
empire, advancing and receding like the flow- 
ing tide, but still coming nearer and nearer to 
the capital. The Peishwa fled to Bassein, and 
claimed the protection of the English. This 
was granted on the much-coveted condition 
of his admitting an English division to gar- 
rison his capital. He reluctantly consented, 
and signed an agreement afterwards known 
as the treaty of Bassein. Meanwhile, the 
flight of the Peishwa to Bassein was treated 
by Holkar, then in the ascendant, as an abdi- 
cation, and he, with the other chiefs, ajjpointed 
Ameerut Rao Peishwa in his room. Had it 
not been for this hasty proceeding of Holkar, 
the Peishwa would not, although indebted for 
his safety to the English, have signed the 

3b 



494 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



I Chap. CI. 



treaty of Bassein. No sooner had he com- 
mitted his hand to the hated stipulations, than 
he intrigued for their violation. He opened 
iij) comnuuiications with Scindiah and the 
Enjah of Berar for that purpose. While lie 
was intriguing against his protectors, they 
were fighting for him. He was, by prompt 
and expert military measures, reinstated in 
his government, and the usurping Peishwa 
was deposed. Tiie latter, however, so con- 
ducted himself towards the English after his 
deposition, that they granted him a pension 
and assigned him a residence at Benares. 
The engagement concluded between the 
Peishwa and Colonel Close at Bassein, on the 
last day of the year 1802, was confirmed by 
the governor-general on the 11th of February, 
1803. By the seventeenth article, " The 
union of the two states was so firmly con- 
nected that they were to be considered as 
one, and the Peishwa was not to commence, 
nor pursue in future, any negotiations with 
any power whatever." A subsidiary force of 
not less than six thousand regular native in- 
fantry, with the usual appointment of field- 
pieces and European artillerymen, was to 
constitute the contingent. 

The circumstances attending the reinstate- 
ment of the Peishwa again brought General 
"\'\'e]lesley into prominence. The government 
of Madras collected a force which Lord Clive, 
^the governor, placed under the command of 
General Welleslej'. General Lake was or- 
dered either to remain in Onde at the head 
of the army there, or to proceed to Hurryhur 
and take the conmiand of the force there. 

The government of India was at this time 
singularly well served by diplomatists of 
talent. Mr. Webbe was then resident of 
Seiingapatam, a man of extraordinary re- 
sources, who was regarded with implicit con- 
fidence and the highest respect, amounting to 
reverence, by General Wellesley. That gen- 
tleniau was ordered to Nagpore, to watch the 
movements of the rajah, with whom the 
Peishwa, in whose interests these movements 
were taking place, was iu traitorous corre- 
spondence. Major Malcolm, whose services 
in Persia had been of such signal importance, 
was ajjpointed to Seringapatam, but he pro- 
ceeded to the city of Mysore, where the new 
sultan resided, as a place affording him a 
better position from whence to watch the 
Mahratta intrigues. Upon these two expe- 
rienced politicians devolved mainly the pro- 
curing of such intelligence as would influence 
the governor-general's orders. 

The Madras army assembled at Hurryhur, 
under the command of the Hon. General Wel- 
lesley, who, on the 9th of March, 1802, com- 
menced his march towards Poonnh. On the 



12th, he crossed the Toombudra river. Hol- 
kar watched him, but moved away towards 
Ahmednuggur and Chandore. General Wel- 
lesley was joined by the son of Purseram 
Bhow, and other chiefs and sahibs, who came 
to avow their allegiance to the Peishwa and 
render their support. General Wellesley 
learned from his native coadjutors that the 
usurping Peishwa intended to burn Poonah 
when the British approached it. The general, 
to prevent such a calamity, performed one of 
the most splendid feats in his whole military 
history. Between the morning and the night 
of the 19th of April he accomplished a forced 
march of sixty miles, although detained in the 
Bhore Ghaut for nearly six hours. This 
march seems, in the present day, all but in- 
credible. It saved the city; ximeerut Rao, 
the usurping Peishwa, had barely time to 
escape. On the 13th of May the Peishwa 
re-entered his capital, and resumed his seat 
upon the musnid. The Peishwa was hardly 
reinstated in his authority when he acted in all 
respects contrary to the advice tendered to 
him by the British government, and upon 
which he had undertaken to act. His ex- 
treme vindictiveness infuriated old enemies 
and made new ones. He neglected business, 
and so treated his troops that they began to 
disband, and the sirdars who had come to his 
standard in a generous devotion, separated to 
their jaghires. 

General Wellesley sought to unite by ne- 
gotiation Scindiah, Holkar, and the Rajah of 
Berar in the treaty of Bassein. These chiefs 
temporised, while preparing to reunite their 
forces against the British. They believed 
that their united arms could sweep from India 
all other powers, and concerted means to bring 
this belief to the test. 

The governor-general found it impossible 
at such a distance as Calcutta to act with that 
celerity or effect necessary, when the tidings 
he received from day to day were so diverse, 
and the great Mahratta chiefs apparently so 
vacillating, while really resolved on war. He 
therefore entrusted his brother, while in com- 
mand of the Madras forces, to conduct all 
affairs, civil and military, connected with 
Poonah, the Deecan, and Ifindostan, and with 
full powers to decide any question that might 
arise, and to conclude any negotiations he 
judged beneficial to the state, with either 
Scindiah, Holkar, or the Nagpore rajah. 

Everything done iiy those three potentates 
portended war. They were active and acute, 
full of vigour and sagacity. The Peishwa 
threw the whole burden of his own defence 
upon his ally. He engaged to add fifteen 
thousand men to the army of General Wel- 
lesley ; he actually sent but three thousand, 



Chap. CI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



495 



and those wretchedly equipped, without am- 
munition, and no paymaster or means of pay. 
He had no intention of observing any of his 
engagements. Indian princes prided them- 
selves on the ingenuity with which they com- 
pelled others to keep treaty, while they evaded 
all stipidations which belonged to it. The 
disposition of the English wns, as usual to 
postpone, and allow their enemies to gain 
time by bootless negotiations. Lord Welles- 
ley, the Hon. General Wellesley, and Lord 
Clive were prompt and decisive, but the su- 
preme council, as well as the councils of the 
presidencies, were continually creating delays 
by plausible obstructions of some kind. Ge- 
nera! Wellesley experienced much mortifica- 
tion from the defective organization of the 
commissariat of his array, and the Madras 
council was as incompetent as its predeces- 
sors in previous wars in furnishing adequate 
and opportune support. General Stuart, how- 
ever, the commander-in-chief of the Ma- 
dras presidency, co-operated efficiently with 
the governor in matters strictly military, and 
80 far as he could without exciting the mor- 
bid jealousy of the council. At length, all 
being ready, and negotiations having proved 
fruitless, the series of stirring events com- 
menced which have been designated — 

THE MAHEATTA AVAR. 

The di.^positions of the British forces, when 
the grand Mahratta conflict began, were mas- 
terly : — " The course taken by the governor- 
general, in concert with the governments of 
Madras and Bombay, was to order the assem- 
bly of a corps d'armee at all the points threat- 
ened by Holkar in the conduct of his operations 
against the Peishwa. A corps of observation 
was placed on the southern frontier of the 
Peishwa, to maintain the integrity of. the Bri- 
tish possessions, and the territories of the 
nizam, and the Mysore rajah. Another was 
established on the north-west frontier of My- 
sore, while the Bombay government pushed 
troops to the eastern and southern confines 
of the territory which it controlled. The 
nizam was not inactive. The subsidiary force 
at Hyderabad prepared for service." 

The Hon. General Wellesley made Poonah 
his point of support and base of operations. 
General Lake was appointed to command 
what was called the army of Hindostan ; his 
theatre of operations was the Mahratta con- 
fines of Upper Bengal. 

On the Gth of August, 1802, General Wel- 
lesley ordered the Bombay troops in Giijerat 
to attack Baroch, which was successfully 
accomplished. The general's command ex- 
tended to that remote part, and this vast 



extent of authority and responsibility Involved 
on his part inconceivable care and anxiety. 
The* general ordered Colonel Stevenson, his 
second in command, to move forward frcm 
Aurungabad. The 8th was the first day 
the weather permitted the general himself to 
march, on the 9th arriving at the fort of 
Ahmednuggur, which was stormed with great 
rapidity and terrible loss to the enemy. Scin- 
diah, writing of this exploit, observed : — " The 
English are truly a wonderful people, and 
their general is a wonderful general. They 
came, looked at the pettah, walked over it, 
slew the garrison, and returned to breakfast : 
who can withstand them?" 

After the surrender of Ahmednuggur, Ge- 
neral Wellesley received such intelligence as 
led him to place a portion of his troops under 
the command of Colonel Stevenson on the 21st 
of September, directing him to march by a 
separate road on the 22nd, and form a junc- 
tion with the corps under his own command on 
the 23rd, so as to attack the enemy with their 
united forces on the 2'lth. On the 22nd of 
September the two corps marched by separate 
routes, for the purpose, as General Wellesley 
alleged in his despatches, of preventing the 
enemy's escape by one route while the British 
were pursuing the other, and also because the 
whole army coidd not proceed, in one day, 
through a certain pass which lay in General 
Wellesley's line of march. These reasons for 
the course adopted are so distinct and convinc- 
ing, that it is surprising that military critics 
should have animadverted upon the general's 
division of his forces. General Wellesley 
hoped that either corps could keep the enemy 
at bay, if encountered by him, until commu- 
nication were opened with the other. This 
was not, however, so easy as the general sup- 
posed, for, according to Sir Archibald Alison, 
although the two British columns were only 
a few miles apart, they were separated by a 
line of rugged hills preventing mutual access. 

General Wellesley having arrived at Naul- 
niah, intended to encamp there, and form his 
projected junction with Colonel Stevenson. 
Having, however, learned to his surprise that 
the enemy was encamped in full force near 
the village of Assaye, he determined to attack 
them without waiting for Colonel Steven- 
son. The force of the enemy has been very 
variously estimated. Thorn computes it at six- 
teen regular battalions of infantry (Poblman's 
brigade), amounting to six thousand men ; 
the brigade of Dupont, amounting to twenty- 
five hundred ; four battalions of the Begum 
Shimroo,* amounting to two thousand. The 

* Thia lady had been a dancing girl, whom Shimroo, 
the Swiss adventurer, who made hmself infamous by the 
massacre at Patna, had married. 



496 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CI. 



irregular infantry of Scindiah and the Rajah 
of Berar's infantry probably amounted to as 
many more. Tlie cavalry, Thorn alleges to 
have amounted to thirty thousand. There 
were one hundred pieces of cannon, nume- 
rously attended by artillerymen disciplined 
on the French system. 

The force at General Wellesley's command 
is estimated by Thorn as twelve hundred ca- 
valry, European and native, two thousand 
sepoy infantry, and thirteen hundred Euro- 
pean infantry and artillery, constituting a 
force of four thousand five hundred. The 
Rajah of Mysore's and the Peishwa's cavalry 
were with this force, and amounted to three 
thousand men. The total force of the enemy 
could hardly have been less than fifty-five 
thousand men and one hundred cannon ; 
that of the British, the Peishwa, and the Rajah, 
seven thousand five hundred. General 
Wellesley left a large detachment of native 
cavalry with his baggage and tents at Naul- 
niah, and advanced against the enemy. 

As the battle that ensued was one of the 
most sanguinary ever fought in India, and 
General Wellesley ran the risk of a terril)le 
defeat, his generalship has been much criti- 
cised, many military critics alleging that tlie 
attack should never have been made. The 
reasons which influenced General Wellesley 
were, however, conclusive. It was of the 
utmost consequence that the enemy should 
not escape, and have an opportunity of initi- 
ating a mode of warfare which would have 
proved most harassing to the English. If 
General Wellesley had waited for Colonel 
Stevenson, he would have been attacked be- 
fore that officer could have arrived to his 
support, and where the enemy's large cavalr}' 
force could have acted with advantage. 
In the position occupied by the Mahratta 
forces, their cavalry could not with much 
advantage be brought into action, and even 
the force of their artillery would be limited. 
The moral jirestige of the English would be 
sustained by a bold attack, inaction would 
have lessened this power on the minds of the 
sepoys ; they were more likely to act offen- 
sively with spirit, than defensively with cool- 
ness and fortitude. The general knew his 
men, and knew his enemy, although he after- 
wards admitted that he had undervalued their 
discipline. Lieutenant-general Welsh, in his 
military reminiscences,* affirms that the Mah- 
rattas had intended to attack the two divisions 
in detail, and that when they saw only one 
of the corps advancing to assail their position 
they thought the English mad. 

General Wellesley perceived the enemy 

* Militarij Reminiscences of Thirti/ Years, Ijy Miijor- 
gcneral Welsh, vol.i. p. 174. 



posted near the junction of two rivers, so 
that if he could place himself between them 
and that junction, part of their artillery and 
the whole of their cavalry would be ineffec- 
tual. "They were drawn up in a peninsula, 
formed by the rivers Kaitua and Jooee, in a 
line facing the Kaitna, and about half a mile 
distant from it; the cavalry on the right in 
the neighbourhood of Bokerdun, reaching to 
their line of infantry, which, with the guns, 
was posted near the fortified village of Assaye. 
Their cavalry were on the right, and the in- 
fantry and guns were on the left. The vil- 
lage of Assaye was in rear of the enemy's 
left, and the distance between the rivers was 
about a mile and a-quarter. The enemy, ex- 
pecting their left flank to be turned, formed 
their right wing of infantry, with its right 
resting on the Kaitna, and the left on the vil- 
lage of Assaye ; their left wing being formed 
to the rear, at a right angle with the left of 
the front line, en potence, and with their rear 
to the Jooee, the left flank resting on Assaye ; 
there being nine battalions in the front, and 
seven in the second line. About a mile and 
a-half in front of the enemy's new line was 
the junction of the two rivers, so that when 
General Wellesley formed his army in front 
of the enemy's front line, the battle field was 
in the form of a triangle, the enemy forming 
the base of it. General Wellesley occupied 
the centre of the space, by which means his 
flanks and rear were covered, the junction of 
the rivers being in rear of his centre. The 
enemy had more than half their guns in the 
front line, the rest in the other line (en po- 
tence). The general drew np his infantry in 
two lines, and the cavalry in his rear."* 

General Wellesley had left by far the greater 
part of his cavalry to guard his camp, and ob- 
serve the masses of the enemy's horse. Gene- 
ral Wellesley opened a cannonade, which, al- 
though well directed, was not successful ; he 
had only seventeen cannons opposed to the 
whole front line of the enemy's artillery. His 
gunners fell fast, and the enemy's fire was not 
in the least slackened. He ordered his in- 
fantry to advance and carry the enemy's can- 
non with the bayonet. This was performed 
in a manner the most gallant. Under showers 
of shell and grape they advanced and bay- 
oneted the gunners, many of whom remained 
at their posts to the last. 

The British infantry re-forming, charged 
the second line of gims, which were supported 
by dense masses of infantry, with their nu- 
merous cavalry in the rear. The JIahratta 
line was well formed, their rear turned to- 

* British MilitaryExploits. By Major V/illiam Hough, 
Deputy-Advocate General, Bengal army. Allen and Co., 
Lcadenhall-street. 



Chap. CI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



497 



wards the rivev Jooee. As tlie Britisli ad- , 
vanced, the Mahratta cavalry continued to 
cross the rivers on either flank, and get in i 
their rear, sabreing the English gunners. | 
Many of the artillerymen of the first or van- 
quished line of the enemy had pretended to 
be slain, a common artifice in oriental warfare, 
and finding their cavalry advancing against 
the rear of the British infantry, they started 
up, reloaded their guns and fired upon the 
advancing English. Some of the English 
cannon were also turned upon the English 
infantry. It will be naturally asked where at 
such a moment, was General Wellesley's 
cavalry. Colonel (afterwards General) Welsh 
says that "they had just then charged a large 
body of the enemy in front, who had, with the 
assistance of a very heavy and destructive fire 
from their guns, not only galled, but nearly 
annihilated tlie gallant 74th, and pickets on 
our extreme right. This last line, although 
it stood well, was at length broken, and the 
guns captured ; while our cavalry pursuing 
the fugitives, fell in with an immense column, 
who, though retreating, opposed them, and 
killed Colonel Maxwell, the brigadier ; nor 
were they completely routed without a severe 
struggle, and heavy loss on our side. The 
second line being put hors de combat, the 
general, who was everywhere, placed himself 
at the head of the 78th regiment, faced about 
and charged the enemy, who were in pos- 
session of the first line of guns, and routed 
them with great slaughter. Here ended the 
conflict ; those who had captured our guns 
making off as soon as they saw their danger, 
although about half-past five a body of ten 
thousand cavalry came in sight, and made 
some demonstrations, but dared not charge ; 
and at eight o'clock in the evening they en- 
tirely disappeared." 

The death of Colonel Maxwell had nearly 
occasioned the loss of the battle. He gal- 
lantly led on the charge, but received a 
musket ball which inflicted a fatal wound ; he 
suddenly threw up his arms, and his horse 
halted ; his men, supposing it to be a signal 
for retreat, turned right shoulder forward, and 
galloped along the whole of the enemy's line, 
receiving his fire. When the mistake was 
discovered the men were re-formed, and were 
80 anxious to redeem their honour that they 
made one of the most desperate cavalry 
charges ever performed by the British even 
to the present day, contributing most effec- 
tively to retrieve the fortunes of this well- 
contested battle. 

General Wellesley, in a letter to Major 
Malcolm, describing the conduct of both armies 
thus wrote : — " Their infantry is the best I 
have ever seen in India, excepting our own, 



and they and their equipments far surpass 
Tippoo's. I assure you that their fire was 
so heavy, that I much doubted at one time, 
whether I should be able to prevail upon our 
troops to advance ; and all agree that the 
battle «was the fiercest that has ever been seen 
in India. Our troops behaved admirably: 
the sepoys astonished me. These circum- 
stances and the vast loss which I sustained, 
make it clear that we ought not to attack 
them again, unless we have something nearer 
in equality of numbers. The enemy's can- 
nonade was terrible,* but the result shows 
what a small number of British troops can 
do. The best of it is, that if it had not been 
for a mistake of the pickets, by which the 
74th were led into a scrape, we should have 
gained the victory with half the loss ; and I 
should not have introduced the cavalry into 
the action at all, till all the infantry had been 
broken ; and the cavalry would not have been 
exposed to the cannonade, but would have 
been fresh for a pursuit. In this manner 
also we should have destroyed many more 
of the enemy than we did." 

The loss of both armies was heavy, but the 
British suffered proportionately more than 
the vanquished, owing to the great dispro- 
portion of numbers. General Wellesley in 
his despatches computed the Mahratta loss 
as 1200 men killed on the field of battle, and 
four times that number wounded. He com- 
puted his own loss, in officers and men, to be 
626 killed, 1580 wounded. The fruits of the 
victory were many. The enemy's guns were 
captured — more than one hundred in the field, 
and twenty pieces more in the pursuit. 
Much baggage and stores were seized by the 
auxiliary cavalry. The best disciplined of 
Scindiah's infantry, who offered the bravest 
resistance, were left hors de combat upon the 
field. The moral influence of the British 
general and his troops was much enhanced. 
Colonel Stevenson was enabled to conquer 
Berhampore and Asseergur on the IGth and 
21st of October, while General Wellesley, 
with his small force now somewhataugmented 
by the troops of the Peishwa and British 
sepoys, was free to act with effect in other 
directions. Scindiah sought a truce, and sent 
vakeels into the camp of the general. But 
he was not sincere in his negotiations, merely 
seeking to gain time. The general finding 
this to be the case, and indignant that the 
truce was violated, proceeded to attack the 
Mahratta army under the Rajah of Berar and 
Ragogere Boor.slah, on the plains of Argaum. 

Having formed a junction with Colonel 
Stevenson's corps, the general came in sight 
of the enemy on the 28th of November, 
* Despatches. 



498 



(HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. 01. 



Btrongly posted near the village of Argaum. 
Their line extended five miles. The village 
of Argaum, with numerous gardens and en- 
closures, lay in the rear; in their front a 
plain intersected by watercourses. The task 
before the English was not so formidable as 
at Assaye, the enemy not possessing half the 
number of guns, nor were their artillerymen 
80 well disciplined. The English force w-as 
more numerous, and native and Euro- 
pean were veterans. This, however, did not 
much improve the quality of the native forces, 
who behaved shamefully, and so endangered 
the result of the battle to the English, that 
but for the courage and presence of mind of 
General Wellesley, the British would un- 
doubtedly have suffered a defeat, l.^o account 
of the battle of Argaum ever published pos- 
sesses the united advantages of brevity, accu- 
racy, and authority, in the same degree as 
those accounts given by the conqueror him- 
self, in his despatches and letters. In his 
despatch he thus wrote : — " I formed the 
army in two lines ; the infantry in the first, 
the cavalry in the second and supporting the 
right, and the Mogul and Mysore cavalry 
the left, nearly parallel to that of the enemy ; 
with the right rather advanced in order to 
press upon the enemy's left." After alluding 
to the confusion caused by the unsteadiness of 
the native troops, the general stated that 
when his line was formed, '' the whole ad- 
vanced in the greatest order ; the 74th and 
78th regiments were attacked by a Lirge 
body, (supposed to be Persians,) and all these 
were destroyed. Scindiah's cavalry charged 
the first battalion Gth regiment, which was on 
the left of our line, and were repulsed ; and 
their whole line retired in disorder before our 
troops, leaving in our hands thirty-eight 
piecosof cannon and all their ammunition. The 
British cavalry then pursued them for several 
miles, destroyed great numbers, and took 
many elephants and camels, and much bag- 
gage. The Mogul and Mysore cavalry also 
pursued the fugitives, and did them great 
mischief. Unfortunately sufficient daylight 
did not remain to do all that I could have 
wished ; but the cavalry continued their pur- 
suit by moonlight, and all the troops were 
under arms till a late hour in the night." 

In a letter to Major Shaw, military secre- 
tary to the governor-general,* General Wel- 
lesley wrote — "If we had had daylight an 
hour more not a man would have escaped. 
We should have had that time if my native 
infantry had not been panic-struck and got 
into confusion when the cannonade com- 
menced. What do you think of nearly three 
entire battalions, who behaved bo admirably 

• Despatches, vol. i. p. 533. 2nd December, 1803. 



in the battle of Assaye, being broke, and run- 
ning off when the cannonade commenced at 
Argaum, w-hich was not to be compared to 
that at Assaye ? Luckily, I happened to be 
at no great distance from them, and I was 
able to rally them and re-establish the battle. 
If I had not been there I am convinced we 
should have lost the day. But as it was, so 
much time elapsed before I could form them 
again, that we had not daylight enough for 
everything that we should certainly have 
performed. The troops were under arms, 
and I was on horseback, from six in the 
morning until twelve at night." 

The allusion of General Wellesley to the 
conduct of the sepoys at Assaye being better 
than at Argaum requires some qualification. 
In the advance upon the s»cond line of the 
enemy at the former battle,two sepoy regiments 
in succession gave way, and it was only when 
the Highlanders, who had previously suffered 
nmch in storming the first line, advanced 
against the second that it was carried. The 
loss sustained by the enemy in the battle of 
Argaum was verj' great, but could not be 
ascertained with any approach to accuracy by 
the English. That of the latter was severe, 
considering how soon the action was over : 
34G officers and men were put hors de combat. 
The British cavalry suffered little, but forty- 
five horses were either disabled or slain in 
the pursuit. This was the third action which 
General Wellesley had fought, and his repu- 
tation had been raised by each to a very high 
degree, although he had been severely criti- 
cised by military connoisseurs for his general- 
ship. His first action against Dlioondia 
was simply a charge of cavalry, which the 
critics avowed should not have been made on 
the occasion, according to the rules of war. 
The success of the general was regarded as a 
piece of good fortune. It is impossible, how- 
ever, not to perceive, where no professional 
prejudice warps the opinion, that the means 
adopted were just such as were calculated to 
accomplish the end immediately in view. 
The battle of Assaye, it was admitted, was 
conducted in every respect properly, and was 
a great victory, but it was alleged that the 
attack should never have been made. Had it 
not been made, it is plain, that no similarly 
favourable opportunity could have been found 
to strike a severe blow upon so numerous an 
enemy, while to evade a battle, must have 
issued in a retreat before a cavalry four times 
more numerous than the general's whole army. 
The battle of Argaum was described as fought 
against military rule, and only won by the 
activity, self-reliance, and presence of mind of 
the general. No doubt he had a sufficient 
consciousness of his possession of those great 



OflAP. CI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



499 



qnaltties to take his own gifts into account as 
elements of euccessi. If he turned aside from 
the maxims of military science, it was with a 
happy audacity like that whicli Napoleon 
had been for some years displaying in Europe 
and Egypt. The opinion of that great man 
concerning the conduct of General Wellesley 
in India, and especially in the battle of 
Assaye, given many years after, showed a 
high appreciation of the genius of the English 
general, although the critique of his great 
rival was tinctured by those personal, national, 
and political prejudices to which Napoleon 
the First so often allowed his mind to be sub- 
jected. The terror which the name of Gene- 
ral Wellesley inspired in the southern Mah- 
ratta country was great, and wherever he 
turned, the enemy fled or made a compara- 
tively feeble resistance. The fort of Gawil- 
ghur was taken from the Rajah of Berar,* ofi 
14th of December, which was followed by the 
peace witii him in three days, under the treaty 
of Deogaum.f 

On the 30th peace was signed with Scin- 
diah, by the treaty of Surgee Augengaum. 
Scindiah was probably influenced in signing 
a treaty, as was also the Berar fiajah, by the 
fear and defection of minor chiefs. Ambajee 
forsook the standard of Scindiah early in 
December, and formed a separate treaty with 
the English on the 16th. Ambajee was, 
however, treacherous to the English as to 
Scindiah, for he refused to deliver up the fort 
of Gwalior, so famous in India, and which, 
according to the treaty, had been ceded to the 
British. It was not surrendered until the 
5th of February, 1804, after a breacliing 
Lattery had opened upon it. In the treaty of 
the 30th of December, 1803, Scindiah made 
his possession of this fortress a sine qua non. 
In a letter to Major Malcolm, written May, 
1804, General Wellesley declared — "I am 
convinced that 1 should not have made the 
peace if I had insisted upon Gwalior." The 
Marquis Wellesley differed from his brother 
on this question, but events proved that Ge- 
neral Wellesley had a more intimate know- 
ledge of the subject, and of the policy to be 
pursued, as might be expected from his op- 
portunities as commander of the army by which 
the disputed treaties had been conquered. 
It was not until the 2.5th of December, 1805, 
when the Marquis Wellesley had returned 
home, after the death of the Marquis of Corn- 
wallis, his successor, and when Sir George 
Barlow was governor -general, pro tempore, 
that an end was put to the quibbles and 
questions connected with the fort of Gwalior. 
While General Wellesley was conducting 

* Despatches, vol. ii. p. 583. 

t Ibid., vol. ii. p. 588. 



the war in one direction, General Lake was 
operating with a separate army in another, 
and after both armies had conducted successful 
campaigns, their respective commanders were 
kept in continued vigilance and action, from 
the wayward and uncertain conduct of Holkav 
and other chiefs^ who regarded conventions 
and agreements simply as means of deceit or 
delay. 

In February, 1804, Holkar, undismayed by 
the successes of the British, demanded from 
General Wellesley cessions in tlie Deccan. 
He immediately sent an agent to Scindiah, 
in order to induce that chief to violate his 
treaties and join him in an attack upon the 
British possessions. General Wellesley di- 
rected Colonel Murray, then commanding in 
Gujerat, to enter Malwa, and penetrating to 
Indore, attack Holkar in the capital of his 
dominions, while another of Colonel Murray's 
detachments was to proceed to the Deccan, 
and act against Holkar there. Lake took 
measures on the opposite side of the ilahratta 
dominions, to render more easy of accom- 
plishment the plan of operations from Gujerat 
laid down by General VVellesley. Through- 
out these proceedings, the General displayed 
a sagacious foresight, and an intuitive per- 
ception of the conditions of Indian warfare, 
which must strike all persons acquainted with 
the character of the nations of peninsula India 
as indicating the great military genius, and 
general intellectual capacity of the British 
general. His instructions to Colonel Steven- 
son, which were implicitly followed out by 
that officer, and ensured the success of his un- 
dertakings, prove the ability of General Wel- 
lesley to make successful war in India, while 
they show how little he regarded the received 
rules of war, where it was politic to depart 
from them : — " Supposing that you determine 
to have a brush with them, I recommend 
what follows to your consideration. Do not 
attack their position, because they always take 
up such as are confoundedly strong and diffi- 
cult of access, for which the banks of the 
numerous rivers and nullahs afford them every 
facility. Do not remain in your own posi- 
tion, however strong it may be, or however 
well you may have intrenched it ; but when 
you shall hear that they are on their march 
to attack you, secure your baggage, and move 
out of your camp. You will find them in 
the common disorder of march ; they will not 
have time to foi-m, which, being but half dis- 
ciplined troops, is necessary for them. At 
all events, you will have the advantage of 
making the attack on ground which they will 
not have chosen for the battle ; a part of 
their troops only will be engaged ; and it is 
possible that yon will gain an easy victory. 



600 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CII. 



Indeed, according to tliis mode, you might 
choose the field of battle yourself some days 
before, and might meet them upon that very 
ground." 

It was not reserved for General Wellesley 
to accomplish any very signal feats of arms 
in the Mahratta war, although the superin- 
tendence of military arrangements over a 
wide field continued to devolve upon him while 
he remained in India. Whether in the camp, 
the field of battle, the barrack-room, the stores 
of the commissary, his perfect power of mili- 
tary organization, his capacity alike for gene- 
ralization and detail were observed by all. 
Nor was his genius loss conspicuous in civil 
things. At the desk writing letters and de- 
spatches, in viva voce discussion with vakeels 
and ministers, in the durbar of native princes, 
in the chair of government administering the 
affairs of provinces, he displayed as masterly 
parts as when exercising the functions of 
what was regarded as his peculiar profession. 

When tidings of the battles of Assaye and 
Argaum reached England, the directors paid 
no particular attention to them, and conferred 
no honours on the chief by whom they were 
won. The government conferred upon him 
the Order of the Bath. In India his deeds 
were highly appreciated, a sword valued at 
£1000 was voted by the British inhabitants 
of Calcutta. The general was not contented 
with the value set upon his achievements by 
either the crown or the company, although the 
Order of the Bath was in those daj's highly 
estimated. It will interest readers of the 
present day to peruse the general's own lan- 
guage expressing his sense of neglect. In a 
letter to Major Shaw, he wrote : — "I have 
served the country in important situations 
for many j'ears, and have never received any- 
thing but injury from the court of directors, 



although I am a singular instance of an officer 
who has served under all the governments, 
and in communication with all tlie residents, 
and many civil authorities ; and there is not 
an instance on record, or in any private cor- 
respondence, of disapprobation of any one of 
my acts, or a single complaint, or even a 
symptom of ill-temper, from any one of the 
political or civil authorities in communication 
with whom I have acted. The king's minis- 
ters have as little claims upon me as the court 
of directors. I am not very ambitious, and I 
acknowledge that I never have been very 
sanguine in my expectations that military 
services in India would be considered on the 
scale on which are considered similar services 
in other parts of the world. But I might have 
expected to be placed on the staff of India, 
and if it had not been for the lamented death 
t)f General Frazer, General Smith's arrival 
would have made me supernumerary." 

In March, 1805, Sir Arthur Wellesley (as 
his Order of the Bath entitled him) left 
India for England. His health had suffered 
considerably, and his dissatisfaction with the 
ministers and the company contributed still 
more to induce in him a desire to quit India 
for ever. His service there had made im- 
pressions of a lasting kind. He had set an 
example of kindness in his treatment of the 
natives, and checked the arrogance of his 
countrymen wherever it came within his ob- 
servation. He established the importance of 
promptitude, both in the field and in nego- 
tiations with native states. His letters and 
conduct had impressed upon the general staff 
of the army, and all officers on service, the 
necessity of acquaintance on their part with 
the people and topography of all countries 
made the theatre of war, or which were likely 
at any future period to become so. 



CHAPTER CII. 



MAHEATTA WAR (Continue^— OV&RkTlOT^S, OF GEXERAI; LAKE— BATTLES AND SIEGES- 
FINAL SUBJUGATION OF THE MAHR.ATTAS, AND TREATIES OF PEACE. 



Ik the last chapter, the operations of General 
Wellesley against the Mahrattas were traced 
through the campaigns in which he van- 
quished Scindiah at Assaye, the Rajah of 
Berar at Argaum, and directed Colonel Mur- 
ray's invasion of Malwa and Indore from 
Gujerat, in order to suppress the power of 
Holkar. It was intimated also in that chapter 



that General, afterwards Lord Lake, operated 
against the Mahratta forces from Bengal. 
His first movements were directed against 
Scindiah, his subsequent campaigns against 
Holkar. The campaigns of Lake were more 
continuous, and involved a fiercer struggle 
over a greater area, but were not so interest- 
ing in their character as those of the com- 



Ciup. CII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



301 



mander in tlie eouth. 'While Wellesley was 
gaining Assaye and Arganra, he was winning 
the victories of Delhi and Laswaree. There 
were three armies acting at the same time 
against the various Mahratta tribes. Two 
of these were under the supreme direction of 
General \Yellesley, one of which was under 
his immediate command, of which for some 
time Colonel Stevenson commanded a sepa- 
rate corps ; the other army which Wellesley 
directed was that which operated from Guje- 
rat, but which was too far off for him to guide 
its details. 

It will assist the memory of the reader to see 
the dates of the chief actions fought by these 
different armies presented in one view:— Ge- 
neral Wellesley, on the 12th August, 1803, took 
Ahmednuggur. On the 29th August General 
Lake defeated Perron's troops at Coel ; on 
the same day, Baroch in Gujerat was taken 
by storm. Lake took the fort of Allyghur on 
the 4th September, on the 11th gained the 
battle of Delhi. On the 23rd September, 
Wellesley gained the battle of Assaye. On 
the 1 8th October, Lake took possession of the 
fortress of Agra. On the 1st November he 
gained the battle of Laswaree. On the 28th 
November, W^ellesley gained the battle of 
Argaum. In October, Colonel Stevenson 
had taken Berhampore and Asseergur ; and 
Colonel Woodington had reduced Champa- 
neer and Powanghur. Colonel Harcourt 
had been successful in Cuttack ; and Colonel 
Powell had attained advantages in Bundel- 
cund. Both Scindiah and the Berar Rajah had 
pledged themselves to "retain no Frenchmen" 
in their service, or "the subjects of powers in 
a state of hostility to Great Britain ; nor of 
any of our own, without permission." The 
Marquis Wellesley had by his proclamation 
of August, 1803, brought over most of the 
foreign officers, as well as all our own. In 
the four great battles we had taken above 
three hundred guns, and in the fortresses 
a great many guns, and great quantities of 
military stores. 

To understand clearly the operations of 
General Lake both against Scindiah and 
Holkar, it is necessary to state that while 
both those chiefs were at war with the Eng- 
lish, they were also carrying on hostilities 
with one another. On the 25th of October, 
1802, a great battle had taken place between 
them at Poonah, in which Holkar had gained 
a great victory. His army at that time 
consisted of fourteen battalions of infantry, 
numbering each about one thousand men, 
commanded wholly by French officers, and 
as many more commanded by native officers. 
His cavalry numbered twenty-five thousand. 
He had one hundred pieces of cannon. Both 
^•<)I,. II. 



I in the cavalry and artillery, especially the 
I latter, Fi-ench officers held important com- 
mands. At that date Holkar's object was 
not to attack the English, but to destroy the 
power of his competitors. Had he then di- 
rected his numerous and well-equipped army 
wholly against the British, it was the opinion 
of the best English officers that the confede- 
rated Mahrattas would have been too strong 
for us.* 

On the 27th of December, 1803, Lake 
moved after Holkar, with instructions if pos- 
sible to engage him and destroy his army. 
In February, 1804, Holkar sought assistance 
from the Rohillas and Sikhs, with the view of 
extending a confederation through North- 
western India against the English. In 
March, 1804, so confident was Holkar of his 
power to cope with all enemies, that he de- 
manded the cession of territory in the Doab 
and in Bundelcund, and asserted the right to 
collect the chout (one -fourth of the landed 
revenue). At the same time, he made over- 
tures to Scindiah for united action against 
the English. While Scindiah's forces lay at 
Assaye, he sent an army under Ameer Khan 
to assist the rival Mahratta chief. The 
promptitude of General Wellesley in the 
meantime defeated Scindiah, and rendered 
the junction impossible. When at last Hol- 
kar resolved to confront the English, he found 
General Lake, flushed with victory over Scin- 
diah, ready to encounter him. The Mahratta 
chief had outwitted himself; while the Eng- 
lish were destroying the flower of Scindiah's 
troops, they were removing all impediments 
that lay in the way of attacking the still more 
formidable Holkar. 

When the war on the Bengal side com- 
menced in June, 1803, about a month after 
the Peishwa was restored at Poonah by 
General Wellesley, the following were the 
arrangements and amount of troops : — One 
thousand three hundred men under Colonel 
Fenwick at Midnapore, not far from Calcutta ; 
two thousand men under Major-general Deare, 
stationed at Mirzapore, on the Ganges, as a 
protection to the province and city of Benares. 
Four thousand nine hundred and sixteen was 
assembled under Colonel Harcourt, of Madras 
and Bengal troops for the conquest of Cuttack, 
belonging to the Rajah of Berar. A force 
was assembled on the south bank of Soane 
under Lieutenant-colonel Broughton. Three 
thousand five hundred men, under Lieutenant- 
colonel Powell, were collected near Allahabad, 
for the purpose of invading the province of 
Bundelcund : while the grand army under 

* British MUilary Exploits in India, Affrjhanistan, 
and China, by Major W. Hough, Deputy-Judge-Advo- 
cate-General, Bengal army. 

3t 



502 



HISTOBY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CII. 



General Lake, commander-in-chief in India, 
amounted to ten thousand five hundred men ; 
these acted under his excellency's orders. 
The total British force was ahout fifty thou- 
sand men. The Jlahrattas were estimated* 
at two Imndred and fifty thousand : and forty 
thousand men organized and drilled by 
French officers under M. Perron ; and one 
thousand guns. 

The marquis was desirous of striking a 
blow before the- cold season should allow the 
Mahrattas to cross the Nerbuddali into Hiu- 
dostan. On tlie 29th August, 1803, General 
Lake defeated Perron's troops under the walls 
of Allyghurf — stormed and carried it on the 
4tli September, fouglit the battle of Delhi on 
the 11th September,:|: wlien he released the 
Emperor, Shah Alum, who had been impri- 
soned for many years by the Mahrattas. His 
eyes had been put out by Ghoolam Khadir. 
General Lake took Agra on the 18th October, 
1803. M. Perron allowed his second in com- 
mand (M. Pedron) to make his military ar- 
rangements, while he himself returned with 
his body-guard to Agra. The capture of 
Allyghur was effected by blowing open the 
gate.g 

General Wellesley expressed much admira- 
tion of this exploit of General Lake, which, 
lie declared, he had often attempted, without 
being able to accomplish. Allyghur would 
have proved a most formidable place for an 
escalade. 

On the 7th of September, Lake marched 
from Allyghur, and encamped near Delhi on 
the 11th. The enemy consisted of six thou- 
sand cavalry, and thirteen thousand infantry, 
under the command of a French officer, M. 
Louis Bourquieu. Lake's force was only four 
thousand five hundred men. Bourquieu de- 
spised the English brigade which had ad- 
vanced against an army. lie had intrenched 
Jiimself before Delhi, supposing that lie would 
have been attacked, by a very superior force. 
He resolved at once to attack the English, 
and for this purpose throw out his whole 
cavalry force, which, when they ajiproached 
nearly to musket range, halted, and the in- 
fantry passed them. These were met by the 
English with close and successive volleys, by 
which their ranks were broke, and they fled 
behind their guns. Against these tiie Eng- 
lish intrepidly advanced, under a terrible fire 
from cannon and musketry. The British in- 
fantry gave one volley and charged, opening 
their ranks to let the cavalry pass, whose 
charge was splendid. The battle was short, 

* Thorn, p. 315. t Ibid., p. 91. 

Iflbid.. p. Ul. 

§ A Hiilori; of British MiUtary Ea-ploits and FolUical 
BvenU in India. By Major Hongh. 



sharp, and decided. The result, — Shah Alum 
was restored to his throne. He had been in 
the hands of the Mahrattas since 1771 — since 
he left the alliance and protection of the Eng- 
lish at Allahabad at that time. At the junc- 
ture of the battle of Delhi, he was treated by 
Scindiah just as the Peishwa, the rightful 
sovereign of the Mahrattas, v.\as treated at 
Poonah. He was obliged to issue the orders 
of Scindiah as the decrees of the empire. 

General Lake was authorised by the go- 
vernor-general to establish at Delhi a settled 
form of government in the name of the 
Mogul. He then departed for Agra. On 
the 2itli of September, Lieut. -colonel Ochter- 
loney, deputy-adjutant-general of the Bengal 
army, was nominated resident at Delhi, whore 
only a battalion of sepoys, and four companies 
of recruits, gathered in the surrounding coun- 
try, was left in garrison. There had been 
many British as well as French officers in the 
service of Scindiah ; the former left his ranks 
as soon as proclamation of war was made by 
the governor-general. These officers having 
joined the corps under General Lake, were 
employed as guides, were used to strengthen 
regiments weakly officered, and were ap- 
pointed to the command of Mewathies, ^s the 
recruits about Delhi were termed. It was 
one of those officers, named Lucan, that blew 
up the gates of Allyghur, and led the Engr 
lish safely through the intricate mazes of the 
place. 

On the 2nd of October General Lake 
reached JIuttra, where Colonel Vandelonr 
joined him with a detachment. That gallant 
officer afterwards earned distinction for him- 
self as a good cavalry officer. An important 
event occurred at this place ; several British 
officers and some Frencli, in command of a 
detachment of troops sent by Scindiah to join 
General Perron, surrendered themselves pri- 
soners of war to Colonel Vandeleur shortly 
before the arrival of General Lake. This 
detachment consisted of several regular bat- 
talions of Scindiah's army, and its surrender 
much weakened his force. 

On the 8th of October, the army arrived 
at Agra, and on the 0th the liajah of Bhurt- 
pore offered a treaty offensive and defensive. 
This was an immediate advantage to the 
British, for the rajah sent five thousand horse, 
such as they were, to operate with Lake's 
army before Agra. The garrison acted with 
vigour, arresting all the European officers at 
onco, a measure of safety and of danger, for 
some of these officers were in the English 
interest, others were, however, true to the 
Mahrattas, and the loss of their services was 
irreparable to the city. 

Seven battalions of the enemy oocnpied the 



Chap. CII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



eo3 



glacis and the town, with a well-appointed 
and ])oweiful artillery, directed, in many 
cases, by intelligent French officers who had 
not been placed under arrest. The first opera- 
tion of General hake, after going through the 
essential preliminaries in laying siege to a 
fortress, was an attack against the posts 
occupied by these battalions, which was suc- 
cessful. The enemy made an obstinate de- 
fence within the town, but Lake seized a 
large mosque, from which a heavy fire was 
kept lip against the enemy. In two days 
after this success, the enemy's infantry out- 
side the fort surrendered, numbering two 
thousand five hundred men. This terrible 
reverse did not diminish the exertions of the 
troops within the fortress. It was not until 
the 17th that the breaching batteries opened. 
On the 18th, under the influence of an Eng- 
lish officer within the fortress, the garrison 
surrendered. The Mahratta troops, five 
thousand five hundred in number, marched 
out prisoners of war. Twenty tumbrils of 
treasure, containing 22 lacs of rupees, equi- 
valent to £220,000, were obtained in the 
treasury. The ammunition and stores were 
very valuable, as Agra was more a depot of 
arms and a treasury than a strong fortifica- 
tion. M. Perron, the French commander, 
had the falsehood and effrontery to claim the 
money as his personal property — a claim 
which was of course rejected, Colonel Hess- 
ing, the governor, having honestly avowed 
that the treasury contained only the property 
of the state. 

General Lake's proceedings had been so 
well calculated, and so complete, that Scin- 
diah's plans were soon entirely frustrated. 

Two battalions of Scindiah's army had 
escaped from Delhi ; these formed a junction 
witli fifteen battalions, the remainder of the 
corps, the advance of which had surrendered 
to Colonel Vandelenr. Guns and a force of 
cavalry accompanied these battalions, making 
a very fine army, which hung upon the rear 
of the English, but did not attempt the relief 
of Agra. The main object was to watch 
Lake's movements, deceive him, and recap- 
ture Delhi, so as to regain possession of the 
person of the Mogul. The army of Scindiah 
seized convoys, harassed reinforcements, and 
bombarded Cotumbo. Lake having left Agra, 
was to the north-west of Futtehpore Sikree, 
when the booming of the cannon at Cotumbo 
broke upon his ear. The next day (the 
30th), by a forced march, leaving his heavy 
guns and baggage at Futtehpore, the army 
advanced to Cotumbo, near which it en- 
camped next day. 

General Lake determined on an attempt 
with his cavalry to seize the guns and bag- 



gage of the enemy, while his infantry was on 
the march. At eleven o'clock on the night 
of the 31st, Lake, with the cavalry, began a 
forced march, and after a progress of twenty - 
five miles, came up with the enemy at sunrise 
on the 1st of November. Their force con- 
sisted of seventeen battalions of infantry, of 
much less than the usual strength, not ex- 
ceeding together nine thousand men; a ca- 
valry division of about five thousand men, 
and a powerful artillery of seventy -two guns. 

The Mahrattas had heard of the approach 
of Lake, had magnified his army, and re- 
treated rapidly from Cotumbo. They were 
making a forced and confused march when 
his advanced guard beheld the struggling 
crowds in their wild Mahratta costume, their 
guns showing darkly in the grey morning. 
The guns were ingeniously chained together, 
a circumstance which baffled Lake's cavalry, 
who found that they were unable to retain 
their conquests, for, as they retired to reform, 
the artillerymen jumped up from beneath the 
guns and bore them away. Lake checked the 
progress of the enemy until his infantry ar- 
rived at twelve o'clock. He formed them in 
two columns of attack. The enemy awaited 
the attack witli two lines of infantry, the guns 
drawn up in double lines in front of the first 
rank of the infantry, the rear guns being placed 
in the intervals of the first line. The vil- 
lage of Mokaulpore was between the two 
lines of the infantry near the right flank. It 
was fortified, and partly rested on a rivulet 
which covered the enemy's right. The Mali- 
ratta cavalry were well posted in the rear of 
their second infantry formation. The posi- 
tion was a fine one, and the appearance of 
the troops stalwart and confident. 

Lake arranged a portion of his cavalry so 
as to watch that of the enemy, the remainder 
to support his attacking columns. What used 
in those days to be called "galloper guns" 
were arranged so as to support the advancing 
infantry. Lake himself, with one of the 
columns of attack advanced against the 
enemy's right formation of battle. The co- 
lumn was badly formed, confusion arose in the 
ranks, the men came up slowly, and the 
sepoys showed a disposition to leave the 
fighting as much as possible to the Europeans. 
The officership of the British was bad, and 
only by hard fighting, and after terrible 
courage, did they succeed. Tiie cannonade 
of the enemy was cool, prompt, and rapid: — 
" The effect of this fire, which was terrible in 
the extreme, was felt with peculiar severity 
by the 7Gth regiment, which fine body, by 
heading the attack, as usual, became the 
direct object of destruction. So great indeed 
was the loss of this corps, and such was tlie 



504 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISPI EMPIRE 



[Chap. OIL 



furious fire of the enemy, that the com- 
mander-in-chief deemed it more advisable to 
hasten the attack with that regiment, and 
those of the native infantry, consisting of the 
second regiment, twelfth and sixth companies 
of the second battalion sixteenth, which liad 
closed to the front, than to wait till the re- 
mainder of the column sliould be formed, 
whose advance had been delayed by unavoid- 
able impediment." 

Tlie guns were captured. The enemj' gave 
way on the left, as the success of the British 
on the right became assured. The dauntless 
indilference to danger shown by the Scottish 
soldiery struck the enemy with awe, and 
while the men opposed to them died at their 
posts, those on the left became so intimidated 
as to otfer an inferior resistance. The day 
was won by the right attack. The loss of 
General Lake was extremely heavy. Major 
Hough thus details it :— " The loss in killed 
and wounded amounted to 824. Of these the 
cavalry lost 258; liis majesty's 76th regiment, 
213; the 2nd battalion, 12th, and the com- 
pany's 16th native infantry,* lost 188; leaving 
the remainder, sixty -five, to bo divided among 
all the otlier corps — and 653 horses killed, 
wounded and missing. The guns captured 
were seventy-one in number." Lake's secret 
letter explains the nature of the battle. The 
following extracts are full of interest : — 
" These battalions (Scindiah"s) are uncommonly 
well appointed, have a most numerous artillery, 
as well served as theycan possibly be, thegun- 
ners standing to their guns until killed by 
the bayonet ; all the sepoys of the enemy be- 
haved exceedingly well, and if they had been 
commanded by French officers,! the event 
would have been, I fear, extremely doubtful. 
I never was in so severe a business in my 
life, or anything like it, and pray to God I 
never may be in such a situation again. 
Their army is better appointed than ours, no 
expense is spared whatever; they have three 
times the number of men to a gun as we 
have, their bullocks, of which they have many 
more than we have, are of a very superior 
sort ; all their men's knapsacks and baggage 
are carried upon camels, by which means they 
can march double the distance. We have 
taken all their bazaar, baggage, and every- 
thing belonging to them ; an amazing number 
were killed — indeed the victory has been de- 
cisive. The action of yesterday has convinced 
me how impossible it is to do anything 
without British troops, and of them there 
ought to be a very great proportion." " Had 

* The 16th were removed to the brigade in which his 
majesty's 70lh were, owing to gallant conduct in the 
attack on the town of Agra in October, 1 S03. 

t The proclamation brought them over. 



v.'e been beaten by these brigades, the conse- 
quences attending such a defeat must have 
been most fatal. These fellows fought like 
devils, or rather like heroes, and had we not 
made a disposition for attack in a style that we 
should have done against the most formidable 
army we could have been opposed to, I verily 
believe from the position they had taken we 
must have failed." 

Tlie general was of opinion that the organi- 
zation of the British army was dangerously 
defective ; that the sepoys would seldom fight 
well, unless mixed with a proportion of Euro- 
peans, which he thought should never be less 
than one to four, but, if possible, in a much 
greater proportion ; and that under any cir- 
cumstances their devotion was not to be rehed 
on. He considered that the loyalty of the 
Bengal sepoys was not worthy of confidence, 
and that if they were trusted as the main 
strength of the army, British power in India 
was " suspended from a thread." These views 
of the general produced no effect upon the 
policy or opinions of the company. 

In 1804 the operations of Lake and his 
lieutenants against Ilolkar were unfortunate. 
Lake dispatched Colonel Monson against liim 
with the forces of tlie Rajah of Jeypore ; 
while Murray, by the orders of General Wel- 
lesley, as before shown, acted against him from 
Gujerat. Holkar soon lost his possessions in 
Hindostan, north of the Chambul, and was 
hemmed in between Murray and Monson. 
From these difficulties he extricated himself 
through the faults of his adversaries. Murray 
was tardy, Monson was utterly incompetent, 
and believed the sepoys to be disloyal. His 
rearguard, commanded by Baboojee Scindiah, 
was betrayed by that chief. 

"When the rainy season commenced. General 
Lake went into cantonments at Cawnpore, 
too remote to render assistance to Monson. 
General Wellesley was of opinion, that had 
Lake fixed his head -quarters at Agra, Monson 
miglit have been saved from discomfiture and 
disaster. Lake was not as competent to 
manage the operations from Bengal, as Wel- 
lesley was from the south. Indeed, General 
Wellesley threw much of the blame of !Mon- 
son's ruin upon General Lake. 

Lake marched from Cawnpore, and arrived 
at the general rendezvous at Agra on the 
22nd of September. The strategy of Lake 
was unskilful; Holkar proved more than his 
match. After the bad arrangements of Lake 
had caused a considerable sacrifice of muni- 
tions of war and provisions, Holkar succeeded 
in engaging the general's attention with his 
cavalry, while he conveyed his infantry and 
artillery to Delhi, and laid siege to it. The 
Mohammedan population were insurgent. 



CuAP. OIL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAHT. 



505 



r 



An intense fanaticism against Christians ani- 
mated the whole people, and Colonel Ochter- 
lony had much difficulty in repressing insur- 
rection. He called in the troops dispersed in 
the neighbourhood, strengthened the defences 
of the city, and gave the command of the 
forces to Lieutenant-colonel Burn, the senior 
officer. 

From the 8th of October to the 15th, the 
siege was maintained by Holkar, and Ochter- 
lony, with his few irregular soldiers, con- 
ducted a defence not often surpassed in skill 
and valour. Like Colonel, afterwards General 
Williams, at Kars, half a century later, he 
was everywhere, superintending the detail of 
the army, but was not so successful in attach- 
ing to him the people of the city he defended. 
It is doubtful whether the enemy would not 
have succeeded, had not Ochterlony contrived 
to apprise Lake of his circumstances, the ap- 
proach of whose advance guard was the signal 
for the retirement of Holkar's army, which 
consisted of twenty thousand infantry and 
one hundred guns. As he retired, he plun- 
dered the country in every direction. Lake 
pursued the enemy with his cavalry, and 
overtook him while encamped at night. Tlie 
general, instead of attacking the camp with his 
troopers, fired grape into it from his horse 
artillery guns, which allowed Holkar to 
escape. Lake still maintained a hot cavalry 
pursuit. Holkar, who was with hia cavalry, 
would hardly have been so ready to fly, had 
he not heard of a signal defeat inflicted upon 
his infantry and artillery at Deeg. To that 
place. Major-general Fraser had pursued 
them. A battle was fought, during which 
General Fraser lost his leg, and the command 
devolved upon Colonel Monson, who nobly 
redeemed his former ill fortune by good con- 
duct and bravery ; nearly two thousand of 
the enemy perished in this battle. The En- 
glish lost three hundred and fifty, killed 
and wounded. Eighty-seven guns were 
captured, and the enemy were obliged to 
abandon the open country and take shelter 
in the fort of Deeg. This place belonged 
to the Ilajah of Bhurtpore, with whom, in 
1803, Lord Lake had made a treaty ofi'en- 
sive and defensive. He, like most of the 
native princes, proved to be a traitor. Lord 
Lake resolved to punish him aa well as inflict 
further defeat upon the enemy he sheltered. 
The fort and citadel were taken by storm 
after an obstinate defence. 

On the 2oth of December, the English were 
in possession of all the guns of the remaining 
artillery of Holkar's army, of the stores of the 
fort, and of that army. Two lacs of rupees 
were found in the treasury. In conquering 
the intrenched camp, fort, and citadel, Lake's 



army lost only forty-three men killed, and 
184: men wounded. 

The general left a garrison in Deeg, and 
marched with his army on the 28th. On the 
last day of the year he was joined by Major- 
general Dowdeswell, with his majesty's 75th 
regiment and a supply of stores. The army 
halted until New Year's Day, and marching 
in the evening, reached Bhurtpore on the 2nd 
of January, 1805. This fortress was situated 
thirty miles W. N. W. of Agra. Having 
battered a breach, Lake attempted to storm 
on the 9th, and was beaten off with a loss 
of 456 men killed and wounded. He 
erected fresh batteries, jis the enemy suc- 
ceeded in stockading the breach. Major- 
general Smith, arriving with three battalions 
of sepoys and one hundred convalescent 
Europeans, and Ishmacl Bey, a partisan of 
Holkar, having come over with a regiment of 
cavalry, a second storm was resolved upon, 
which took place on the 21st, when a breach 
was pronounced practicable, from intelligence 
gained by the following stratagem : — " To learn 
the breadth and depth of the ditch a havildar 
and two troopers of the 3rd native cavalry 
volunteered their services. Dressed like the 
natives of the country, and pursued by men 
as if deserters, they got to the ditch by the 
stratagem of pretending to be enemies of the 
English and wishing to enter the fort, by 
which plan they passed along the ditch to a 
gateway and saw the breach, then galloped 
back to the army. They were rewarded and 
promoted."* 

This storm also failed, with terrible loss. 
Eighteen officers were killed and wounded, 
and more than five hundred men. The re- 
mainder of the month the army lay before 
the fortress, watched by the cavalry of Hol- 
kar strongly reinforced, various affairs of 
outpost occurred, and Holkar's troopers made 
attempts more skilful than gallant to intercept 
or interrupt convoys from Agra, compelling 
Lake to keep a considerable portion of his 
army marching backwards and forwards, to 
ensure the safety of his stores and escorts. 

The chiefs with Holkar quarrelled ; some 
withdrew to Kohilcund, some to Rajpootana. 
General Smith was sent in chase of some of 
these parties, without much plan either on 
his own part or that of Lord Lake, and with 
little result beyond the loss of some officers 
and men in cavalry skirmishes, and the re- 
turn of the troops wearied with incessant 
marching. On the 10th of February Major- 
general Jones arrived with a division of the 
Bombay army, consisting of two battalions of 
king's troops, four of sepoys, and about six 
hundred native cavalry. 
* Thoio. 



ao6 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CII. 



Lord Lake had now a large army and 
a great many generals, and if Bluirtpore 
was not impregnable he must take it. He 
a third time, however, failed, with a loss of 
894 men killed and wounded. The conduct 
of the soldiers was excellent. The sepoys 
fought with a quiet submission to the word 
of command, the Enropeans with devoted 
courage. Neither Lake nor his generals 
showed much skill, and the task itself was 
most difficult. Cannon continued to play 
upon the place until the 22nd of February, 
when a fourth storm took place. The Hon. 
Brigadier Monson, who had shown such in- 
capacity when co-pperating with Colonel 
Murray in a previous campaign, commanded 
the stormers, who were in number more than 
three thousand. The brigadier fought with 
desperation, and kept hia men fighting when 
no result could liappen but their destruction ; 
they were beaten, with a loss of nine hundred 
and eighty-seven men killed and wounded. 
Few assaults in Indian sieges, and few de- 
fences, were more terrible than this, as the 
follovi'ing description shows : — " Tlie bastion 
to be attacked was extremely steep, and there 
was no possibility of getting up to the sum- 
mit. Several soldiers drove their bayonets 
into the wall, one over another, and endea- 
voured by those steps to reach the top, but 
were knocked down by logs of wood, and 
various missiles, from above. The enemy 
from the next bastion kept up a destructive 
fire. Several efforts were made against the 
curtain. The enemy's grape told with I'atal 
effect. The people on the walls threw down 
upon the heads of the troops ponderous pieces 
of timber, and flaming packs of cotton, pre- 
viously di})ped in oil, followed by pots filled 
with gunpowder and other combustibles, the 
explosion of which had a terrible effect. The 
struggle was carried on with the most deter- 
mined resolution on both sides. Brigadier 
Monson strained himself to the utmost in 
maintaining the unequal struggle : but after 
two hours' arduous exertion, he was reluc- 
tantly compelled to relinquish the attempt, 
and return to the trenches."* 

Lake might well be dispirited after so 
many failures. He had consumed an immense 
amount of stores and ammunition ; his guns 
were worn out ; the cost of his army had 
been very great. He still persevered, order- 
ing supplies from Agra and Allyghur. At 
this juncture the rajah's treasury became ex- 
hausted. Lake had been recently exalted to 
the peerage, and the rajah made that cir- 
cumstance the occasion of friendly overtures. 
He sent a vakeel to Lord Lake, congratulating 
him on his being ennobled, and expressing a 
* Major Ilongh. 



desire for peace. On the 10th of April, 1805, 
the treaty was signed. The chief clauses of 
it were, that the rajah would pay twenty lacs 
of rupees (£200,000), never employ any 
Europeans in his service, and the fortress of 
Deeg was to be retained until there was no 
longer a possibility of renewed treachery on 
his part, or the Enghah wore satisfied of his 
amity. 

Lord Lake was much chagrined at the 
failure before Bhurtpore, and attributed it 
mainly to his deficient material, the fewness 
of his officers of engineers and artillery, and 
men who understood sapping and mining. 
Tlie British officers displayed dauntless bra- 
very, and but little military ability. The 
first act of Lord Lake after the signature of 
the treaty was to make a cavalry attack upon 
the camp of Holkar, who hovered about seek- 
ing for a favourable moment by some bold 
manoeuvre to raise the siege. Lake routed 
him, killing many of his men, and capturing 
many of his horses. The indomitable Holkar, 
however, soon found new recruits and new 
resources, and went about, like a Tartar chief, 
plundering all around. Lake then dispo.sed 
of that portion of his army, which he desired 
to keep the field, along the western bank of 
the Jumna, well placed for co-operation as 
new events might demand. 

Holkar retired into Joudpore and Rajpoo- 
tana. Lake, with five regiments of cavalry, 
four of infantry, and a strong body of horse 
artillery, followed and sought battle. Tlie 
Mahratta requested the assistance of the Pun- 
jaubee chiefs. Tlie Sikhs, in a grand national 
council, agreed to withhold all aid from the 
fugitive. This decided the fate of Holkar, 
who, as well as Scindiah, agreed to a treaty 
of peace. The treaty with the latter included 
various minor chiefs, such as the Rajahs of 
Joudpore and Kotah, the Ranee of Odeypore, 
&c. The treaty was ratified on Christmas- 
day, 1805. Peace, however, was not altoge- 
ther restored. JVreer Khan, the best general 
of Holkar, and claiming to be an indepen- 
dent chief, felt aggrieved that he was not 
named in the treaty. His remonstrance hav- 
ing been treated carelessly, he sarcastically 
observed, "a fly may torment an elephant," 
and retired to his house. Boon afterwards he 
appeared in arms in Rajpootana, and caused 
immeasurable trouble. Ho managed his de- 
sultory warfare so well, that he acquired an 
independent position, and was afterwards re- 
cognised as a nabob by the English. Holkar 
became mad a few years after, and INIeor Klian 
became the vicegerent of Holkar's dominions, 
in the name of that chief's wife. It was not 
until the 9th of January, 180G, that the Bri- 
tish army retraced their steps. 




5.i-T.La.wr£ii.co,P.R,A. 



LOK.B -WJILJLJIAM EEHTIMCK, 



LONPON, JAMKS S.VIRTUK 



CuAP. CIILj 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



607 



Thus ended the great Mahratta war. Some 
of the bitterest enemies of the English made 
good terms for themselves ; it was the interest 
of the British to conciliate them. Some of 
tlie most faithful friends of the company, who 
were weak, were thrown aside and exposed 
to tlie vengeance of the Slahrattas. The 
Rajah of Jeypore was one of these, and it is 
to the discredit of Lord Oornwallis, in his se- 
cond government, and of Governor-geperal 



Barlow, that this injustice was perpetrated 
with their sanction, in spite of the indignant 
protests of Lord Lake, who, under tlie autho- 
rity of a previous governor-general, Lord 
Weliesley, had formed a treaty offensive and 
defensive with the rajah. The bitter taunt 
of llyder Ali v%'as thus again justified — that 
no confidence could be placed in the English, 
as a treaty made by one governor-general 
was revoked by another, or by the company. 



CHAPTER cm. 

HESIGNATION OF THE MARQUIS WELLESLEY— MARQUIS CORNWALLIS SUCCEEDS HIM— 
POLICY AND DEATH 0¥ HIS LORDSHIP— APPOINTMENT AND REVOKATION OF SIR 
G. BARLOW— NOMINATION OF LORD MINTO— AFFAIRS OP MADRAS— MUTINY AND 
MASSACRE AT VELLORE— ARRIVAL OF LORD MINTO— HIS POLICY. 



During the campaigns with the Mahrattas, 
and for some time subsequently, there were 
various changes in the presidential and chief 
governments, which affected the general policy 
of the English in India. Lord William Ben- 
tinck's arrival in Sladras was beneficial to 
that presidency. The Alarquia of Weliesley 
was apprised by LordOastlereagh, in 1803, of 
the war with Franco, and was urged to make 
the expenses of India he paid by the revenues 
of India, which the noble governor's warlike 
policy rendered impossible. When the ge- 
neral government in Calcutta heard that 
France had taken possession of Holland, it 
increased the military ardour of his excellency. 
His brother's successes in the Deccan tended 
to the same result ; and he became more and 
more committed to a policy, much too warlike 
for the views of the board of control, and the 
court of directors. In 1805, when intelligence 
reached Lord Weliesley that England de- 
clared war against Spain, and that his go- 
vernment relied on his prudence and vigour 
to protect the Eastern dependencies of Eng- 
land from any casualties in the result, his 
lordship's military ardour found renewed 
scope. 

On the 30th July, 1805, Lord Cornwallis 
arrived at Calcutta, to assume a second time 
the united office of governor-general and 
commander-in-chief. Lord Lake, much to 
his mortification, was nominated to the com- 
mand of the forces in the Bengal presidency. 
Lord Weliesley shortly after returned to En- 
gland. The Marquis Cornwallis had re- 
ceived instructions from the court of directors 
and the board of control, to carry out the 
policy which when before in India he had 
initiated, of holding no connection, and carry- 
ing on no hostilities, with the Mahrattas. 



He scarcely waited for the Marquis Wel- 
iesley to quit Calcutta before he began to 
reverse nil that that nobleman had done, or 
authorised his generals to perform, in con- 
nection with the late war. Treaties and 
arrangements were revoked, and alliances 
dissolved, so that his lordship, by his disregard 
of the actual state of things, sowed broadcast 
the seeds of future troubles all over India. 
Some of these were nipped in the bud, others 
grew and ripened. Blood and treasure had 
to flow again freely before this error and pre- 
cipitancy of his lordship could be retrieved. 
The Marquis Weliesley might possibly have 
avoided both the Mysore and Jlahratta wars, 
so, at all events, Mr. Secretary Webbe thought, 
whose opinion was as good as any in India ; 
but these wars having been brought to an 
issue, and treaties framed resulting from such 
issue, it was jjerilous policy to act as if nothing 
had occurred, and to treat matters as if the 
itatiis quo ante helium had been suddenly 
restored by the hand of Providence. 

While the stern and indignant remon- 
strances of Lord Lake and other officers were 
before him, the marquis sickened and died. 
lie died at Ghazepore, on the 5th of October, 
1805.* Sir (Jr. H. Barlow succeeded as go- 
vernor-general. He adopted "the policy of 
his predecessor," abandoning all connection 
with the petty states, and generally, with the 
territories to the westward of the Jumna." 

On the death of Lord Cornwallis, Lord 
Lake, as the senior officer in India, assumed 
the command in chief, when he was about 
to retire from the country, indignant at his 
previous gupercession. 

Barlow was not long permitted to wear his 
new honours. The court and cabinet were jea- 
» Mm, vol. Ti. p 658. 



508 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. GUI. 



lous of the company's influence, and revoked. 
Sir George's appointment, giving the high 
post to Lord ilinto. The latter candidate 
had power and influence in parliament ; Sir 
George had only his talent and long services. 
These qualifications availed little in com- 
parison with parliamentary and court influence. 
While these changes were passing in Cal- 
cutta, Lord William Bentinck was winning 
fame for himself by the administration of the 
affairs of Madras. He completely altered the 
fiscal management of Tanjore, where pecu- 
lation prevailed among the natives to an ex- 
traordinary degree. The conditions of Malabar 
and Canara, the conclusion of a subsidiary 
treaty with Travancore, suppression of insur- 
rectionary movements among the polygars, 
introduction of new judicial and revenue 
systems engaged the attention of his lordship, 
and repeatedly drew from the directors the 
expression of their approbation. 

On the 17th of October, 1804, Sir John 
Cradook succeeded General Stuart as com- 
mander-in-chief of the forces in Madras. 
General "VVellesIey retired from Madras when 
his brother resigned the government of India. 
In consequence of the war in Europe, Lord 
"W. Bentinck retained Pondicherry. His at- 
tempts to introduce there good revenue and 
judicial systems, to govern the settlement 
fairly, were countervailed as much as possible 
by the French residents, who were nearly all 
spies of the French government. Among 
the many events in which Lord VV. Bentinck 
had a deep interest, there was none that so 
much affected his own interests and reputation 
as the mutiny at Vellore, which broke out in 
the month of July, 1806. 

Sir John Cradock, when commander-in-chief, 
found no code of military regulations for the 
army of Madras ; and in March, 1805, he pro- 
posed to Lord W. Bentinck the formation of 
one. His lordship recommended the council 
to adopt such as had already appeared " in 
orders;" other regulations approved by the 
general, he commended to the consideration 
of council. 

The tenth paragraph of the code thus formed 
ran as follows : — " The sepoys are required 
to appear on parade with their chins clean 
shaved, and the hair on the upper lip cut 
after the same pattern, and never to wear 
the distinguishing mark of caste, or their ear- 
rings when in uniform. A turban of a new 
pattern is also ordered for the sepoys." This 
last clause was added in the new regulations. 
This " tenth paragraph " of the new military 
code, having been inserted among the old 
orders, did not come under the consideration 
of the governor and council. The sepoys did 
not appear to take any particular notice of 



this order. The first symptoms of dissatis- 
faction arose in the 2nd battalion of the 4th 
regiment of native infantry, which composed 
part of the native garrison of Vellore. On 
the Cth and 7tli of May they objected to 
wear the turban, and did so with an insolent 
manner, and with indications of a mutinous 
spirit. They were reduced to order by the 
stern application of authority. The Madras 
government was surprised to hear of this; 
they had not noticed the paragraph until the 
reports of these demonstrations against the 
turban had reached them. Inquiry was in- 
stituted, and the native officers and men gene- 
rallj' professed to have no objection to the 
turban. The governor issued an order to 
the troops, declaring that "no intention ex- 
isted to introduce any charge incompatible 
with the laws or usages of their religion." 
The commander-in-chief, a self-wiUed man, 
did not think it necessary, and it was not 
published. Probably if it had been promul- 
gated no good would have resulted, for al- 
though the objections of the sepoys were 
conscientious and sincere, they were formed 
upon false representations made by political 
emissaries. This may readily be conceived, 
as Vellore was the place appointed for the 
residence of the sons of Tippoo Sultan ; they 
were allowed a large sum for the maintenance 
of their dignity, and their retainers were 
numerous. Every vagabond Mysorean who 
wished to attract their notice settled in the 
neighbourhood, and treated them as sove- 
reigns. The Mohammedans of all ranks re- 
garded them as the rightful rulers of Southern 
India, and therefore as aggrieved by infidels 
and foreigners. They were held sacred by 
the devotees, as sons of the great apostle of 
Mohammedanism in Southern India. These 
princes encouraged this disaffection, and not 
only favoured, but expended, it was after- 
wards alleged, large sums of money to promote 
disaffection. A conspiracy amongst the Mo- 
hammedans of Southern India, to overturn 
the British government by general insurrec- 
tion of its own soldiers, had been set on foot. 
The means of accomplishing this, was by 
persuading them that their religion was 
endangered ; that the English desired to 
make them Christians by force. Some pre- 
text in the violation of caste privileges was 
sought, and, as the Englisli officers were very 
ignorant of the native languages and preju- 
dices, it was believed an opportunity would 
soon be afforded. The tenth paragraph of the 
military code furnished such an occasion. 
Fakeers went among the troops, with the con- 
nivance of the native officers, and persuaded 
them that the turban violated their caste, that 
the screw on the front of their uniform was a 



Chap. ClII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



609 



cross, and that the order concerning their 
beards was an infringement of the Koran ; 
that they must strilce a great blow for their 
religion, or submit to be made Christians by 
force. These reports were spread not only 
among the troops at Vcllore, but all the sta- 
tions of Southern India, more especially 
among those which formed the contingent at 
Hyderabad, in the Deccan. 

Information was given to the commander 
at Vellorc, by a soldier named Mustapha Bey, 
that a conspiracy for revolt and murder ex- 
isted among the native troops. His state- 
ment was absurdly referred to the native 
oflicers. They declared the statement false, 
and accused the witness of continued drunken- 
ness, which at times affected his reason, and 
that he was then labouring under such hallu- 
cination. The want of vigilance, intelligence, 
and a proper knowledge of the'r troops by the 
European officers was such that the statement 
of the informer was discredited, and the ac- 
cused were believed, whose interest it was to 
conceal the fact. The information probably 
hastened the revolt, and made it premature for 
the purposes of the general conspiracy. 

On the 10th of July, at two o'clock in the 
morning, when the English soldiers of his 
majesty's G9th regiment were asleep, the 
sepoys rose and fell upon them. Colonel 
Fancourt, thirteen of his officers, ninety-nine 
non-conmiissioned officers and privates, were 
massacred, and fifteen others died of their 
wounds. Nearly all were injured to some 
extent. The rage and fury of the fanatics 
was boundless, and their thirst for blood such 
as has characterised JFohammedan zealots 
everywhere, in every age of their history. 
No quarter was given, no pity was shown. 
Comrades in arms, who had fought by their 
sides, and perhaps rescued them from peril, 
were murdered in their sleep, or cut clown 
or shot as they rushed forth imdressed to 
seek the cause of alarm. There was a searching 
eagerness for blood on the part of these men 
such as only Mussulmans can show. The 
massacre .was not confined to the two com- 
panies of the G9th regiment ; every European 
tiiat the mutineers could reach thej' bar- 
barously slew and mutilated. All the Euro- 
peans, military and civil, must have perished 
had not some awoke in time to arm, and made 
a most gallant and desperate defence. The 
common soldiers fought with discipline and 
courage when all their officers were killed or 
wounded. Even after their ammunition was 
expended they charged the revolters in line 
with the bayonet, and performed prodigies of 
valour. Mr. Thornton* gives the following 

* Chaptera on the Modern History oj Britiah India. 
liy Edward Thornton, Ksq. I,ondon, Allen, 1840. 
VOL. II. 



condensed and faithful account of what en- 
sued : — "About four hours after the com- 
mencement of the attack, intelligence of it 
was received by Colonel Gillespie, at the 
cantonment of Arcot, a distance of about six- 
teen miles, and that officer immediately put 
in motion the greater part of the troops at 
his disposal, consisting of the I'Jth regiment 
of dragoons and and some native cavalry, of 
the strength of four hundred and fifty men. 
Putting himself at the head of one squadron 
of dragoons and a troop of native cavalry, he 
proceeded with the greatest celerity to Vcl- 
lore, leaving the remainder of the troops to 
follow with the guns under Lieutenant-colonel 
Kennedy. On his arrival, Colonel Gillespie 
effected a junction with the gallant residue 
of the 69th ; but it was found impracticable 
to obtain any decisive advantage over the in- 
surgents imtil the arrival of the remainder of 
the detachment, which reached Vellore about 
ten o'clock. The main object then was to re- 
duce the fort. The mutineers directed their 
powerful force to the defence of the interior 
gate, and, on the arrival of the guns, it was 
resolved that they should be directed to blow- 
ing it open, preparatory to a charge of the 
cavalry, to be aided by a charge of the rem- 
nant of the G9th, under the personal command 
of Colonel Gillespie. These measures were 
executed with great precision and bravery. 
The gate was forced open by the fire of the 
guns — a combined attack by the European 
troops and the native cavalry followed, which, 
though made in the face of a severe fire, 
ended in the complete dispersion of the in- 
surgents, and the restoration of the fort to 
its legitimate authorities. About tlireo hun- 
dred and fifty of the mutineers fell in the 
attack, and about five hundred were made 
prisoners in Vellore and in various other 
places to wh\ch they had fled." 

At Wallajabad, Hyderabad, and various 
other places, the officers in command were 
more cautious ; find when they heard of the 
terrible catastrophe at Vellore, they disarmed 
the llohammedan sepoys, and their alarm 
amounted to panic. 

Lord W. Bentinck instituted a commission of 
inquiry. His council and the commander-in- 
chief of Madras were for vigorous measures 
of punishment. The government at Calcutta 
was for a course between extreme severity, 
and that of extreme leniency insisted upon 
by Lord \Y. Bentinck. Finally, a temporary 
incarceration, and the banishment of some, 
were the punishments inflicted by Lord W. 
Bentinck. The INIohammedan soldiery believed 
that the English dare not punish their brethren, 
or so dreadful a massacre, inflicted with unre- 
lenting bloodthirstiness, would never have 

a u 



olO 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Cbap. cm. 



beea treated so lightly. Neitliev Lord W. 
Bentinck nor General Cradock was eqnal to the 
eraergenc}', and the directors recalled both. 
The sons of Tippoo and their dependents were 
removed to the neighbourhood of Calcutta. 

Dr. Haynian Wilson, in tracing a parallel 
between the mutiny of 1857 and that of 1806, 
attributes botli to the same causes— religious 
fanaticism, and caste prejudices, acted upon by 
agents of a political conspiracy. This is the 
true philosophy of both revolts. The learned 
doctor, however, is of opinion that in each 
case the British officers displayed most cul- 
pable ignorance of the habits of thought and 
prejudices of the troops they commanded, and 
that, in consequence of this ignorance, out- 
rages \yere offered to the religious feelings of 
the soldiery sufficient to provoke revolt. 

In ISOti the provocation was chiefly given 
to the Mohammedan soldiery ; and the family 
of Tippoo, their abettors, and the cliief ]\Io- 
hnmmedau families of the Deccan made use 
of the dissatisfaction thus excited to create a 
military revolution, in the hope of driving tlie 
English from India, and once more asserting 
Mohammedan ascendancy. In 1857, the 
same state of things as to the ieelings of the 
soldiery and tlie folly of the Englisli officers, 
in reference to both Mohammedan and Brah- 
minical devotees, furnished the Mohammedan 
princes of the north-west with grounds for 
organizing a conspiracy whicli would include 
tlie Hindoo princes, and originate one more 
grand struggle for tlio expulsion of the English. 

Mr. Petrie succeeded Lord William Ben- 
tinck in the government of Madras. The 
new governor had immediately to encounter 
a most extraordinary opposition from Sir 
Henry Gwillim, one of the puisne judges of 
Madras, whose language against him and his 
government from the bench shocked the no- 
tions entertained by the English of judicial 
propriety. The Indian judges had fre- 
quently proved themselves neither just nor 
temperate. The intemperate and political 
judge was ordered home by the king's govern- 
ment. Sir G. Barlou', having vacated the 
government of Bengal, was nominated to tliat 
of Madras. Mr. Petrie, who had hold that 
post provisionally, resumed his former po.sition 
as member of council. 

Lieutenant-general llay Macdowal suc- 
ceeded General Cradock as commander-in- 
chief of tiic Madras army. That presidency 
remained for years, as it nearly always had 
been, torn to pieces by the disputes of all 
classes of persons connected with the adminis- 
tration of its affairs. 

Ijord Minto having arrived at Calcutta 
at the end of July, 1807, he at once an- 
nounced a policy opposed to annexation, and 



to all interference with the native states. He 
ostensibly adopted the opinions of Governor 
Barlow and the Marquis Cornwallis, where 
tliese differed from tlic policy of Marquis 
Wellesley. 

The general feeling of the small native 
states who had been betrayed by the iiolicy 
Lord Minto came to India to perpetuate was 
irrepressible. His lordship perceived this, 
and \j-as extremely anxious to do what lay 
in his power to soften it, but the directions 
from home were peremptory. The board of 
conti'ol and the directors were alike bent upon 
a timid time-serving policy towards peoples 
who were acute enougli to perceive its wealc- 
nes3, and dishonest enough to take advantage 
of it, in spite of ju'omises, conventions, trea- 
ties, and even their experience of the danger 
of arousing British power. 

During the year 1808, the new governor- 
general was much occupied in the affairs of 
the Deccan ; the nizam hecame so bewildered 
by the intrigues of liis ministers, and the chief 
rajahs of his dominions, and the conflicts of these 
persons with one another and the English 
resident, that he abandoned all hope of direct- 
ing the government, and sunk into 8Ui)inenes3. 

Various impracticable measures were urged 
upon Lord Minto by the board of control, 
which was little influenced by the conclusive 
reasons urged by Indian statesmen against 
them. An impression was at tliis time en- 
tertained at liome, that a balance of power 
might be establislied in India for the security 
of the several states, and for tlie interest of 
the whole ; but such a system had never 
existed in that country : it seemed to be op- 
posed to the character and constitution of 
tliose states. Rapine and conquest were their 
legitimate pursuits, being sanctioned by the 
principles of the religion professed by the 
Mohammedan power, which was dead to all 
semblance of public faith, justice, or huma- 
nity. In justice to the directors of the East 
India Company it must be remarked, that 
their arguments, remonstrances, and jirotests 
with the board of control against a policy so 
injurious to India were as ceaseless as they 
were unavailing. Meanwhile, the strange 
polic}' of alienating the friends that had been 
faithful, and of conciliating every robber and 
assassin who had by the acts of villany com- 
mon in the East, or by his audacity, made him- 
self powerful, prevailed at Calcutta. Among 
the chiefs which received favour from the 
English, was one Ameer Khan, referred to on 
a former page as llolkar's chief general, to 
which office he had risen from the condition 
of a private horseman. This person had, in 
spite of previous treaties, a considerable por- 
tion of Holkar's territorv made over to liim 




K. THE EAK.L OIF MINT®, 



CiiAP. cm.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST 



511 



by Lord Miulo ; and a formal treaty sealed 
the bond of amity between this desperate 
robber and murderer and tlie East India 
Company. Althongh Lord Minto engaged 
the alliance of this person, it was not until 
the government of the Jlarquis of Hastings 
that the plunder was perpetrated upon Holkar 
in his favour, and a treaty formed to secure it 
to him through no less a personage than 5Ir. 
Metcalf. One passage of Ameer Khan's his- 
tory will illustrate the character of the man, 
and the morality of English policy m those days ; 
for tliere was no pressing necessity to force the 
English into an alliance with him to the dis- 
advantage of other chiefs really worthy their 
protection ami amity. Tiiis Ameer Khan 
had been literally hired to murder one Sevaee 
Sing by a potentate who was the rival of the 
latter. The Ameer found in this commission 
an employment to his taste, and thus accom- 
plished it : — " Sevaee Sing had been per- 
suaded to promise a visit to Ameer Khan, 
but when tlic hour came, the Rajpoot chief, 
who probably had received some intelligence 
of the designs against bis life, hesitated. 
Ameer Khan, when he learned bis irreso- 
lution, mounted, and proceeded with a few 
followers to the shrine of a Mohammedan saint, 
close to the walls of Nngore. He was bore 
joined by Sevaee Sing, whom ho reproached 
for his fears, and asked him if he thought it 
possible that a man who cherished evil designs 
could show such confidence as he had that 
day done, by placing himself in the power of 
the person he meant to betray. Sevaee Sing 
confessed his error. Presents, dresses, and 
even turbans (a pledge of brotherhood) were 
exchanged, and Ameer Khan swore at the 
tomb of the saint to be faithful to his new 
ally, who was persuaded to go next day to 
his camp, where sjilendid preparations were 
made for his reception, and a number of chiefs 
appointed to meet him. The troops were 
under arms, some on pretext of doing honour 
to the visitor, others apparently at exercise. 
The guns were loaded with grape, and pointed 
at the quarters prepared for tlie rajah, who, 
with his principal adherents, to the number 
of two hundred, were seated in a large tent, 
when it was lot fall upon them at a concerted 
signal : and while the officers of Ameer Khan 
saved themselves, all the Rajpoots were inhu- 
manly massacred by showers of grape and 
musketry from every direction. Of seven 
hundred horse that accompanied Sevaee Sing, 
and continued mounted near the tent, only 
two liun<lred escaped ; the rest were slain, 
and a number of Ameer Klian's people, among 
whom was one of his own relations, fell under 
the jiromiscuous fire of the cannon. Sevaee 
Sing had been killed by grape, but his head 



was cut off, and sent to iMaun Sing, who 
rewarded Ameer Khan with a jagiiire and a 
large sum of money." * 

To the close of 1813, the affairs of Baroda, 
Gujerat, the Guicowar, and the Peisuwa, 
engaged the English in perpetual negotia- 
tions and mediations. It was also necessary 
to have recourse to arms on a small scale, and 
reduce several forts belonging to the Katty- 
war rajahs. 

The affairs of Oude in 1810-11 gave great 
concern to the general government. The 
causes of anxiety were precisely similar to 
those which had always existed since Oude 
became a source of strength and weakness to 
the British. The vizier was anxious to gain 
from his zemindars high rents, utterly indif- 
ferent to the capacity of the land to yield 
them. The zemindars were turbulent and 
fraudulent ; the poorer cultivators sleek, sly, 
treacherous, and dishonest. Oude and Ire- 
land exhibited many features of resemblance 
in the relations of landlord and cultivator. 

The external political relations of British 
continental India demanded the diplomatic 
skill, and drew largely upon the time and 
energies, of the governor-general, from his 
arrival to his departure. The French were, 
as usual, the bugbear of Calcutta politicians. 
At the close of 1807, it was rumoured that 
the French intended to invade North-western 
India by way of Persia and Aftghanistan, 
and with the aid of these powers and of 
Turkey. It was feared that all Mohammedan 
India would rise in revolt at the appearance 
of an allied French and Mussulman force any- 
where. Lord Minto appointed Colonel Mid- 
colm (afterwards Sir John) his agent in Persia, 
with powers plenipotentiary in Persia, the 
Pe.'sian Gulf, and Turkish Arabia, suspend- 
ing the authority of the agents at Bagdad, 
t!ns.?ora, and Bushirc. From Bushire he 
transmitted, in 1808, an historical review of 
the progress of French intrigues in Persia, 
and of the militarj' proceedings of the 
Russians on the north-west frontier of that 
country. Colonel Malcolm was unable to 
reach the Persian capital, the intrigues of the 
French having succeeded in gaining a pro- 
hibition from the shah. Tiie efforts of Colonel 
Malcolm were followed by those of Sir Har- 
ford Jones from England in 1807-8. He 
succeeded in making a treaty by which the 
French ambassador was ordered to leave 
Persia. In 1808-9, Colonel Malcolm travelled 
along t'le Persian and Arabian coasts, gaining 
intelligence, and watching vigilantly every 
indication of hostile influences. In IWlO, he 
succeeded in gaining a gracious reception at 
Teheran, where he remained until Sir Gore 
Sir John Malcolm. 



512 



HISTORY OF THE BUITISU EMPIRE 



[CuAp. cm- 



Ouseley arrived there from England as am- I 
bassador from liia majesty. 

Soon after his arrival, Lord Miuto also 
dispatched an envoy to the court of Cabul, 
to counteract French and Russian influence 
in that quarter. The person selected for this 
office was the Hon. Mountstuart Elphinstone, 
who conducted himself with such temper, 
wisdom, and address, in exceedingly difficult 
and provoking circumstances, that he con- 
cluded a treaty in June, 1809, securing the 
alliance of the court of Cabul against the 
French contingent, upon any invasion of 
India. The revolutions in Cabul, and the 
constant dangers to which it was exposed 
from Persian invasion, rendered English 
diplomacy extremely delicate and cautious. 
All the qualities required in the arduous 
position were united in the Hon. Mountstuart 
Elphinstone. Mr. Hankey Smith was dis- 
patched upon a mission to the Ameers of 
Scinde, to promote the common object ; the 
result was, " an agreement of friendship, which 
excluded the tribe of the French from settling 
in Scinde." The object of the Ameers was, 
however, the conquest of Cutch, and when 
they found the English indisposed to aid 
them in an aggressive war, they became very 
indifferent about the " agreement of friend- 
ship," and " the tribe of the French." 

A mission to the Sikhs was confided to Mr. 
Metcalfe. The celebrated llunjeet Sing was 
then monarch of Lahore. That chief led 
troops to the north-west confines of the com- 
pany's Bengal territory. The governor- 
general wisely supported the efforts of Mr. 
Metcalfe by troops, under the command of 
Colonel Ochterlony, taking care not to violate 
the territory of llunjeet. It was a species of 
diplomacy which the Sikli rajah very well 
understood, and he entered at once and 
lieartily into the negotiations. The stipu- 
lations of a treaty were signed in 1809, which 
constrained Runjeet not to retain imposing 
military forces on the north side of the Sut- 
lej, and the English not to interfere with 
the interests of that territory. The present 
of a beautiful carriage and pair of carriage 
horses wonderfully pleased Runjeet, who 
punished several inferior chiefs who had in- 
flicted injury upon British officers. 

From 180G to 1811 disputes occurred 
with the Nepaulese on every supposable 
subject between two oriental border powers. 
Tlio English underrated the power of Nepaul, 
and afterwards paid dearly for having done so. 

In the Eastern Archipelago, Lord Jlinto 
disjilayed great activity, but an account of 
events there must be reserved for a separate 
chapter. 

The disputes witli the King of Ava, which 



had continued for many years, more or less 
active, in consequence of the immigration of 
the Blughs to British India, broke out with 
more than usual violence in 1811. Tlie 
origin of it was thus briefly stated in a letter 
from the Bengal government to the court of 
directors, 23rd January, 1812: — "In the 
early part of the past year, 1811, a native of 
Arracan, named Kingberring, whose ancestor, 
as well as himself, possessed lands to a con- 
siderable extent in that province, near the 
frontier of Chittagong, and who, in conse- 
quence of his having incurred the displeasure, 
and been exposed to the resentment of the 
King of Ava, took refuge, with a number of 
his followers, in the district of Chittagong, 
about fourteen years ago, meditated the design 
of embodying those followers, as well as other 
Mughs, who many years since emigrated from 
Arracan. This project he actually carried 
into execution in the month of May, 1811, 
having either by persuasion or intimidation, 
induced a large body of Mughs to join his 
standard. . Partly owing to the secrecy and 
caution with which he carried it into effect, 
and partly to the negligence of the darogas 
(native magistrates) of the Thannas on the 
frontier, his proceedings were unknown to 
the magistrate of Chittagong until he had 
crossed the Nauf river, which forms the com- 
mon boundary of the two countries." 

This account, although official, is inaccu- 
rate. It is painfully difficult to rely upon 
an)' documents published by the board of 
control. The)' generally consist of extracts, 
partial!)' culled out of official despatches, and 
often garbled or curtailed. It would ajipear 
from other documents in possession of the 
Bengal government, that Kingberring's plan 
of organizing an attack upon Arracan was 
known to the local magistrate, who declared, 
in a report made to his government, that, in 
consequence of being apprised of it, he sought 
to arrest that person, but could not succeed. 
The local authorities displayed such culpable 
negligence, that they appeared to connive at 
the raids of the Mughs, and gave to the 
government of Ava much just cause of com- 
plaint, and war was imminent. Lord ]\Iinto 
dispatched Captain Canning as envoy to 
Rangoon, to appease the government of Ava. 
Captain Canning promised that Kingberring 
and his associates should find no shelter in 
the British territory. This promise was vio- 
lated. Captain White, in his narrative of the 
disputes with Birmah, goes so far as to 
allege that the promise was made to deceive ; 
that neither the envoy nor the government of 
Calcutta were sincere in their stipulations.* 

* A FoUlieal Hiitoii/ oflhf E.rlraordhmnj Events icjiich 
led to the Barmese ir<ii: By Cajili'm W. White. 



UllAP. OIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



613 



The result of Kingberring's invasion of 
Arracan was thus announced to the court of 
directors by the government of Calcutta : — - 
" Your honourable court will observe from 
the tenor of these last advices, (from the 
magistrate of Chittagong, dated the 11th and 
14th of January,) that, contrary to expecta- 
tion and appearances, the government of Ava 
has found the means of collecting a force of 
sufficient strength to defeat the troops of 
Kingberring, wlio, deserted by most of his 
followers, has become a fugitive. That num- 
bers of his people whom he drew from Chitta- 
gong, and the inhabitants of Arracan, have 
fled for refuge to our territories, and more 
are expected. That the magistrate, with a 
view to prevent the probable incursions of 
the Birmese troops in pursuit of the fugitives, 
has instructed the commanding officer of the 
station to proceed witli the whole of the dis- 
posable force and take post on the frontier, 
furnishing him with directions for the guid- 
ance of his conduct, until our orders should 
be received regarding the course of proceed- 
ing to be observed with respect to the fugi- 
tives ; for the surrender of whom it may be 
expected that demands will be made on the 
part of the government of Ava, even if the 
forces of the latter should not penetrate into 
the province of Chittagong, for the purpose 
of seizing or destroying them." 

Early in January, 1812, the troops at Chit- 
tagong assembled at Ramoo, the head-quarters 
of Colonel ilorgan. The passes, and other 
strategical positions, were immediately occu- 
pied. The Birmese forces, commanded by 
the rajah of Arracan, advanced to the boun- 
dary of the province upon the river Nauf. 
His excellency demanded the surrender of 
the two principal leaders of the invasion. 
The magistrate referred the matter to his 
government. An answer not arriving soon 
enough to please the rajah, he sent another 
demand, couched in language verj"^ impera- 
tive, demanding the surrender of all the fugi- 
tives, and of Dr. M'Rae, whom he alleged had 
assisted the invaders. The magistrate replied, 
that the ringleaders should be secured, and 
their followers prevented from doing mis- 
chief. The disposal of those taken into cus- 
tody he alleged must be settled at Rangoon 
between the English viceroy and the Birmese 
government. Tiie magistrate warned the 
rajah against violating British territory. More 
troops advanced to the frontier to support 
the English magistrate. A ship of war, and 
a cruiser of twenty guns, to convey the envoy 
in safety in case of a rupture between the two 
states. 



Early in 1812, the Birmese crossed the 
frontier, attempted to stockade themselves 
within the English territory, and sent parties 
in different directions to arrest the fugitives. 
The Arracan rajah sent at the same time 
vakeels to the English camp to negotiate. 
The British commander demanded as a pre- 
liminary to any negotiations the retirement of 
the Birmese troops witliin their own confines. 
The Birmese proved faithless in their nego- 
tiations at Ramoo, as the English had done 
at Rangoon. A viceroy of the King of Ava 
administered affairs at Rangoon, and the nego- 
tiations of Captain Canning were therefore 
tedious and circuitous, leaving opportunity for 
difficulties on the frontiers to ripen and increase 
At Rangoon the situation of Captain Canning 
became dangerous ; designs to kidnap him 
and to destroy the British ships were ]nit into 
execution, and only defeated by the vigilance 
of the British. Finally, the envoy was with- 
drawn, the Birmese soldiers re -crossed the 
Arracan frontier, and the English troops 
retired to their usual cantonments. The 
English government published a manifesto, 
that if the King of Ava had any complaints 
to make, or redress to demand, he must do so 
through a vakeel, at Calcutta. 

While matters were taking a peaceable 
turn, Kingberring again collected a force for 
the invasion of Arracan, and on the 4th of 
June, 1812, actual)}' invaded the jD-ovince. 
He was again defeated, and found slieltcr in 
the British territory. The Birmese troops 
did not juirsue across the boundary, but the 
viceroy at Rangoon treated with scorn the 
pacific allegations of Captain Canning, whose 
recall was revoked by the governor-general. 
The indefatigable Kingberring collected fresh 
forces in October, and possessed himself of 
the frontier hills and jungles. Tliis time 
British troops were ordered to disperse the 
gatherings of the insurgents within tlie com- 
pany's territory, which was not effected without 
bloodshed. The desperate leader escaped, 
and at the end of the year, for the third time, 
invaded Arracan with results similar to those 
which attended liis previous raids. He was 
a man of dauntless intrepidity, and the most 
wonderful perseverance. Courage and per- 
sistence were also shown by his followers. 
The troubles on the Arracan border con- 
tinued during the remaining period of Lord 
Minto's government, and the relations be- 
tween it and the government of Ava were 
most unsatisfactory. Disputes also arose on 
the frontier of Nepaul. On the 4th of Octo- 
ber, 1813, the Earl. of Minto resigned the 
government of India to the Earl of Moira. 



514 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CIV. 



CHAPTER CIV. 

GOVERNMENT OK THE EARL OF JfOIRA— BORDER FEUDS ON THE CONFINES OF ARRACAN— 
WAR WITH NEPAUL— DIFFICULTIES IN OUDE— THE PINDARREE AND SECOND MAHRATTA 
WAR-HOLKAR, SCINDIAH, AND THE RAJAH OP BERAR SUBJUGATED. 



The fii-st matter wliich called for the atten- j 
tion of the Earl of Moira, was the desperate j 
efforts of Kiiigberring to reconquer Arracari | 
for the Mughs. In consequence of his pro- | 
ceedings, Birmese troops entered the British j 
province of Chittagong, and f)lundered mime- 
roua villages, during tiie month of January, 
1814. In February, the English government 
invited the Birniese commander to enter the 
territory and clear it of tlie Mughs, who were 
preparing an invasion, as the English found 
it impossible to prevent their gatherings. 
This tlie Rajah of Arracan refused to do, be- 
lieving that so extraordinary a communication 
would never liave been made by tl>e English, 
if they had not meditated some treachery. 
Tlie object and policy of the Mughs in this 
persevering border warfare was thus pointed 
out in the despatch of the Bengal government 
on the 5th of February, 1814 : — " Jlr. Pecliell 
(tlie magistrate) observed that it had been 
suggested to him at different times, and from 
a consideration of all the events of the last 
two years, he was himself strongly inclined 
to believe it, that the Mughs despaired of re- 
gaining Arracan by their own means, but that 
their object was, by working upon the unrea- 
sonable jealousies and arrogance of the Ava 
government, by a continuance of their peri- 
odical incursions into Arracan, ultimately to 
embroil the British government in a war with 
tlie state of Ava, the consequence of which 
might possibly be the expulsion of tlie Bir- 
mese by the British power, and the re-estab- 
lishment of themselves in Arracan under a 
government of tiieir own." 

Eiirly in April, 1814, Kingberring made ; 
his fourth descent on Arracan. He was as 
usual beaten, and was pursued into Cliitta- 
gong, where the pursuers committed some ' 
murders, but retired on the approacli of Bri- 
tish troops. After this failure Kingberring ! 
and his more active followers remained fugi- [ 
tives in the province of Chittagong until 
April, 1815, when he died. This circum- ' 
stance ensured peace only for a few months, 
for in the following October, Rynjungzing, 
an enterprising friend of the deceased chief, 
gathered the Slughs into a fresh aggressive : 
confederacy, which plundered the frontier i 
vili.iges of Arracan, and bore their booty in ! 
safety to the hills. This course he con- | 
tinned to follow until May, 181G, when, fearing j 
arrest and capital punishment at the hands of 



the English authorities, he delivered himself 
up. In 1817, another daring leader, one 
Clieripo, having committed frontier ravages, 
he was seized by the English magistrate, but 
set at large ou promise of keeping the peace. 
Matters continued fir years along the line of 
the Chittagong and Arracan frontiers in nearly 
the same state. In 1819 a quarrel arose 
between the Birmese and other native states 
at a great distance from Arracan, but which 
occasioned renewed disturbances in that 
quarter, and complicated the English rela- 
tions with Birmah. 

The province of Assam had been in a state 
of anarchy during the whole period of the 
government of Lord Jloira (Hastings) up to 
1810. This endangered the peace and pros- 
perity of the British district of Rungpore, and 
was regarded with uneasiness by the govern- 
ment of Calcutta. The Birmese placed one 
Chunder Kaunt upon the musnid of Assam, 
in opposition to the reigning Rajah Poorundur 
Singh. The rajah fled for refuge to Rung- 
pore. He at once appealed to the British 
government for assistance to regain his throne, 
offering to pay the expenses of the troops em- 
ployed in ids restoration, and to become tri- 
butary to the English. The government of 
Calcutta declined interfering with the affairs 
of foreign states, but assured the rajah that 
he and his followers should be protected so 
long as they resided peacefully at Rungpore. 
The rajah did remain peaceful!}' so far as 
English interests were concerned, but he 
formed various plans for raising a sufficient 
force of his own countrymen to reconquer 
his throne. Tlic Birmese relented this, and 
the sanctuary of British soil was violated. 
The mode in which the Birmese proceeded in 
the affairs of Assam, led the governor-general 
to believe that that power was forming a con- 
sjuracy and acting on a plan to drive the Eng- 
lish from Eastern India. This idea received 
colour from the fact tliat the Birmese inter- 
ference in Assam began soon after a formal de- 
mand had been made upon the governor-gene- 
ral for cession to his Birmese majesty"of Ra- 
moo, Chittagong, Dacca, and Jloorshedabad, on 
the ground that they had been dependencies 
of the Birmese government. The despatch 
of the governor-general, in 1818, when this 
demand was made, conveyed his views to the 
court of directors in these terms :— " There is 
no way of accounting for this extravagant 



Chap. CIV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



513 



step on the part of the court of Ava, but by 
supposing it to have originated in a secret 
agroeineiit witli the Malirattas. The gover- 
nor of Merhege, a Birman chief of great 
eminence, had been permitted to visit the 
npper provinces for professed jmrposes con- 
nected with religion. There is reason to 
surmise that his real object was to ascertain 
the real strength and determination of the 
iNIahrattaa, in consequence of previous over- 
tures from them ; and it is probable that he 
had adopted delusive notions of both. The 
King of Ava immediately after the transmis- 
sion of the message, wliich was really a de- 
claration of war, would learn that the views 
of his expected allies had been anticipated, 
and that the Mahrattas were crushed. 
Thence his hostile intentions subsided with- 
out further explanation." Sir John Malcolm 
instituted an inquiry into this transaction, 
and reported to the government that the 
court of Ava was engaged in hostile intrigues 
with the rajahs of central India, and the de- 
votees of Benares. 

In 1820, the usurper of Assam and his 
patron, the Avanese monarch, demanded 
that the English should give up the fugitive 
rajah, which they indignantly refused to 
do. The Assam usurper quarrelled with his 
patron, and cut off the head of a Birmese, who 
held the high post of prime-minister. On 
account of these tfansactions the Birmese 
invaded Assam again, and their former pro- 
tege was driven from tiie musnid, aud, like 
his predecessor, fled to the company's terri- 
tories for shelter. The Birmese, with their 
usual insolence and arrogance, pursued him 
across the frontier, bringing fire and sword 
upon many peaceful villages inhabited by 
British sulyects. Satisfaction was, however, 
offered for this injury before the English 
government iiad time to demand it. 

The English had now two ex-rajahs of 
Assam in their hands at Rungporo. The 
second fugitive had, while rajah, captured 
the commander-in-chief employed by the 
first, a half-caslc native gentleman named 
Bruce. Through his former captive he applied 
to the British government for arms and am- 
munition to regain the throne which he had 
usurped, and from which those who placed him 
there had for his treachery expelled him. Lord 
Hastings — not following tlie principle of non- 
interference pursued by Lords Minto and 
Cornwallis, and which in common with them 
he avowed — allowed arms to this adventurer 
from the public arsenals, affording the Birmese 
a ca.s«« belli. The application on boiialf of 
the exiled quasi rajah was made by the 
British resident, Mr. Scott. Lord Hastings, 
in his homeward despatch, thus alludes to 



the transaction : — ' We informed Mr. Scott, 
in reply, that we had directed the sanction of 
government to be conveyed to Mr. Bruce, for 
the transport of three hundred muskets, and 
ninety mauuds ot gunpowder, intended as a 
supply to Rajah Cliuuder Kaunt. The neces- 
sary orders, we informed JMr. Scott, would be 
issued through the territorial department, to 
give effect to any pass he might himself 
hereafter grant; and in case of application 
being made at the Presidency, the sanction of 
government would be given, as in the present 
instance." 

Sir John Malcolm admits that the Birmese 
received great provocations, but denies that 
the government of Lord Hastings had done 
anything to incense tiiem, whereas it was 
his administration which was responsible for 
the chief exasperations which sprang up. 
Captain White, who served long upon the 
Birmese frontier at Chittagong, thus notices 
the mode in which Sir John disposes of the 
merits and demerits of our relations with 
Birmah up to the end of 1821 : — •" Tlio whole 
of these events have not only been omitted 
to be noticed by Sir John Malcolm, in his 
Political History of India, but he goes fur- 
ther, aud pronounces, ' those reasonable 
grounds which the Birmese had for discontent 
had certainly not increased during the ad- 
ministration of Lord Hastings.' How far 
Lord Hastings may feel obliged to Sir John, 
for not only passing over the facts recorded, 
but for such au unqualified assurance, it is 
difficult to say ; but one thing is certain, the 
statement appears totally at variance with 
candour and truth." Towards tiio close of 
the year 1821, a most arrogant demand was 
made by the King of Ava,* fur the surrender 
of the ex-rajahs and all their adherents. 
In reply to tlds request the Birmese chief 
was informed, ' that it was not the custom of 
the British government to deliver up persona 
who might take refuge in its territories on 
account of political distiirbances.' 

The ex-rajahs of Assam continued each on 
his separate account to make war on the 
Assam frontiers, but were defeated, and in 
July, 1822, the commander-in-chief of the 
Birmese army in Assam announced to the 
English authorities in Rungpore, that if the 
fugitives again found hospitality there, he 
would cross the frontier at the head of 18,000 
men. The government of Calcutta ordered 
that all fugitives should be disarmed and sent 
to a distance from the frontier. Notwith- 
standing the order, they collected troops and 
prepared for fresh inroads. Lord Hastings, 
among the last acts of his government, dis- 

* His m.ijesly was called by this title anil by that of 
Emperor of birmah iadiscriminately. 



516 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CIV. 



anned tliein, and many were sent into tlie 
iuteiior. The whole of his lordship's policy 
towards the Biniiose empire was incoii- 
aistent and capricious, and laid the foundation 
for the great Birniese war, which so soon 
followed. Lord Hastings' chief officers, mili- 
tary and official, had declared that it must 
soon come ; but no preparation was made by 
him or them for the emergency. 

Birmah was not the only neighbouring 
country with which the government of Lord 
Hastings quarrelled. In his summary of his 
administration he says, " There were made 
over to me, when the reins were placed in my 
hands, no lees than six hostile discussions with 
native powers, each capable of resorting to 
arms." The sixth named in his list was the 
first which encountered his arms ; tliis was 
the Goorkha state of Nepaul. 

THE NEPAUMSE WAR. 

Very early in the administration of Earl 
Hastings he was called upon to declare war 
with Nepaul. For a series of years that state 
had made border aggressions, and as these were 
perpetually protested against by the English, 
and menaces held out in case of their repeti- 
tion, and yet no armed resentment shown, the 
Nepaulese calculated upon impunity, after 
the manner of orientals generally. When 
the British at last appeared to be in earnest, 
the Nepaul monarch supposed them so occu- 
jjied in Hindostaii, and Eastern and Western 
India, as to be unable to molest him. He 
opened communications with the Pindarree 
chiefs and their Mahratta sovereigns, with the 
Sikhs, and with the Birmese. The King of 
Ava, cither relying on his own unaided 
power, or suspicious of Nepaul, refused any 
complicity with the projects of the latter 
power, although the border feuds on the con- 
tines of Arracan and Chittagong were then 
raging. 

Lord Hastings regarded with great anxiety 
the symptoms of an approaching war with 
Nepaul. In.his summary of his administration, 
published long afterwards, having enumerated 
other warlike discussions which he found when 
he assumed the government, aa occupying 
the supreme council, he refers to this one 
in the following terms :— " The sixth con- 
tention, with Nepaul, remained for decision by 
arms. A struggle with the latter was un- 
promising. We were strangely ignorant of 
the country or its resources ; so that over- 
looking the augmented abilities latterly fur- 
nished by science to a regular army for sur- 
mounting local obstacles, it was a received 
persuasion, that the nature of the mountains, 
which we should have to penetrate, would be 
as baffling to any exertions of ours, as it had 



been to all the efforts of many successive 
jMohammedan sovereigns : no option, however, 
remained with us." On the 29th of Blay, 
1814, the Nepaulese attacked the company's 
frontier police. War was declared, and an 
army ordered to the field. 

The relative situation of the Nepaul or 
Goorkha country to that of tlie company has 
been sufficiently explained in the geographi- 
cal portion of this work, to which the reader 
is also referred for its geographical and topo- 
graphical peculiarities. A perusal of the de- 
scriptions there given will enable the reader 
to apprehend the plan of hostilities adopted 
by Lord Hastings. He ordered a division to 
the western extremity of the line of frontier, 
numbering G,000 men, under Major-general 
Ochterlony. The Dehra Doon was to be 
occupied by Major-general Gillespie, who 
was to besiege Jeytak. The force under his 
command was a strong brigade of 3,500 men. 
Major-general Wood was directed to march 
from the Gurruckpore frontier with a small 
division of 4,500 men. He was to take his 
course through Bhotwul and Shooraj to Pulpa 
A small corps d'arniee, under IMajor-general 
Marley, numbering 8,000, was to force its 
way through the valley of Muckwanpore to 
Katmander. 

On the south-east frontier Captain Latter 
was placed with the local battalion of Rungpore 
and a regular battalion of native infantry. 
He was to guard that line of territory, but to 
act defei.sively or aggressively as circum- 
stances allowed or demanded. The entire 
force ordered against Nepaul was about 
30,000 men and sixty guns. 

The force of the enemy was not estimated at 
more than 12,000, but their artillery appoint- 
ments were believed to be good, and their 
country was more easily defended than any on 
the Indian frontiers. Major-general Gillespie's 
column was the first to come into action. In 
the third week of October his troops were 
before Kalunga, upon which the Goorkhas 
fell back. On the 31st the fort was stormed, 
although no proper breach had been made. 
There were four columns of attack, who were 
to give the assault simultaneously, on the 
firing of a signal gun. Three of the columns 
had to make a considerable detour, and never 
heard the signal. The enemy made a sortie 
which was repelled, and the general, thinking 
that the troops might, by pursuing them hotly, 
enter with them into the fort, ordered tliose 
at his disposal to make the attempt. The 
men did not succeed in entering with the 
retiring Goorkhas, and could not force the 
gate. The scaling ladders, as mostly the 
case in English assaults, were too few and 
too short. The general madly urged on his 



CiiAr. CIV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



617 



men to accomplish impossibilities. In his 
wild attempts to force the soldiers against 
stone walls, which they conld not conquer hy 
escalade, he was shot through the heart. 
The arrival of one of the stray columns 
covered the retreat of the unfortunate and ill- 
directed assailants. 

On the 2oth of November the British 
again appeared before the place ; breaching 
batteries were erected. On the 27th at noon 
a breach was considered practicable. The 
troops appointed for the assault advanced 
with unloaded muskets. The breach was 
found to be impracticable, and was defended 
by spearmen and matchlock men — a species of 
arms well adapted for such a defence. The 
English, unable to return the enemy's fire, 
could not keep the position which they had 
gained in and near the breach long enough 
for fresh troops to arrive. The result was 
defeat, with a loss of 680 men. The total 
incapacity of those in command was so ob- 
vious to the soldiery, that they were unwilling 
to advance under such leaders. 

It was found that the garrison obtained its 
supply of water from beyond the fort; it did 
not occur to the British commanders to cut 
off the supply. A bombardment was resorted 
to. The fortress was only defended by 600 
men, and the outer walls were its only 
defence. The place soon became untenable. 
The garrison stole away in the night with 
perfect impunity, the English commanders 
not having sufficient vigilance and skill to 
suppose the like practicable, or take measures 
to prevent it. The Goorkha commandant 
joined a fresh body of troops, and defied pur- 
suit. A gallant and enterprising English 
officer of inferior rank, went after them with 
a small detachment, suddenly fell upon them, 
cutting up many, and totally dispersing the 
remainder. Kalunga was destroyed. The 
Goorkhas were much encouraged by the 
slaughter of the English around its walls, and 
despised their antagonists. Lord Hastings, 
annoyed and disappointed, felt it necessary to 
augment the army of operation, as well as 
recruit extensively the whole army of Bengal. 
Colonel Mawby, who commanded this division 
after the death of General Gillespie, was 
ordered to form a junction with General 
Ochterlony. Before forming the junction 
Major-general Martindel reached the division, 
and it was resolved to attack the fort of 
Jytate, situated on the summit of a mountain 
6,000 feet above the level of the sea. The 
British advanced against it in two columns. 
The Goorkhas had stockaded several positions 
commanding the approaches. The English 
violated every rule of warfare ; the Bengal 
sepoys fought with reluctance and without 

VOL. II. 



spirit. The British wore beaten at every 
point ; nearly 500 men and officers were put 
hors de combat. The whole conduct of this 
division of the army had been disgraceful. 
The contempt which the Goorkhas enter- 
tained for the British after the affair at Ka- 
lunga much increased. 

To the west the operations of Ochterlony 
were guided by a skilful mind. He was con- 
fronted by the best general of the Goorkhas. 
The country was difficult, but that circumstance 
only tested the ability of the English general. 
His opponent's points of support were strong 
forts on mountains thousands of feet above 
the level of the sea ; every important point in 
the approaches was stockaded. Ochterlony 
" turned " some of these, shelled others, and 
by strategy conquered them all without 
sacrificing his men. The strong places fell 
before him, and he was only checked in his 
career by tidings that the co-operating column 
had failed in the task allotted to it, with 
terrible loss of men and prestige. Ochter- 
lony resolved to wait for reinforcements. As 
these came up in detachments his patience 
and temper were tried by the want of firm- 
ness and courage on the part of the Bengal 
sepoys, and the deficient management of the 
officers. He made roads, organized irregidar 
levies, brought up wild and hardy Sikhs, 
turned them all into soldiers by his example 
and activity, and again resumed the offensive. 

On the 27th of December Colonel Thomp- 
son was dispatched to prosecute directions 
given to him for intercepting convoys of the 
enemy, cutting off their lines of communica- 
tion, and spreading along their rear, con- 
ducting a desultory warfare. By the amazing 
skill of his dispositions, celerity of his 
marches, number of his detachments, all 
operating at once, and yielding one another 
effective support, he dislodged the enemy 
from many of his strong places without 
striking a blow or losing a man. The foe 
bewildered, as detachments of British con- 
fronted them in every direction where they 
supposed it was impossible the English could 
penetrate, gave up one fort after another, 
not knowing where to make a stand, or from 
what -direction danger was to be apprehended. 

The snows fell heavily among the moun- 
tains of Nepaul during the winter of 1814-15. 
The elements alone protected the enemy from 
being circumvented and deprived of all their 
defences in the direction in which General 
Ochterlony acted. Nevertheless, by the 1st of 
April, 1815, he was before the great fortress 
of Maloun, which he invested. The armies 
acting on the opposite extremity of the line 
were unsuccessful. The third division, under 
General Wood, was at Gorakporo at the be- 

3 X 



Si8 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CIV. 



ginning of November, blit the army was in 
no respect fit for action, and continued unable 
to move at nil until the middle of December. 
The march from Bhotwul to Pulpa lay through 
a difficult mountain pass. The first obstacle 
encountered by General Wood was a strong 
stockade. He and his staff came upon it 
Unexpectedly, and many of his escort fell by 
'the fire directed from it. When his troops 
Came up they were attacked by a sortie from 
the stockade, and thrown into disorder. 
Wherever the general was there was confu- 
sion. Captain Orokot, who led all attack on 
the flank of the stockade, achieved great suc- 
cess, but was left unsupported. The general 
did not know what to do. Loss of life, defeat, 
and shame resulted. He made ho attempt to 
redeem his country's honour or his own. He 
lingered about with the army until malaria 
fiWept ttUtobel's of his men to an Untimely 
death. 

Wilson afBl'tns that Earl Moira's chief 
reliaiiCe for the success of the operations was 
upon the division which was directed to 
march against the capital. It assembled at 
Dinapore, on the right bank of the Ganges, 
and on the 23rd of May began its march. 
Major Roughsedge, with a local battalion, 
operated to clear the country of Goorkha 
outposts, for the advance of the division. 
The major acted like a true British soldier. 
He swept the patrols and detachments of the 
enemy back in every direction, penetrated 
the jungle, surprised Purseram Thapa, the 
governor of the district, who was encamped 
with four hundred men. They Were so sud- 
denly attacked they could make no resistance, 
fifty were slain, many drowned in the Bhag- 
mati. Captain Hay and Lieutenant Smith 
Carried out the major's orders in this good work 
so well, that the Whole district known as the 
Tirai was occupied, and proclaimed annexed to 
the company's territory. The division ad- 
vanced, and had a marvellous list of apparently 
good reasons for not being able to do any- 
thing. They had to wait for so many things, 
that the Goorkhas regained heart, finding 
that the major who had cleared the way for 
the division was much more formidable than 
the division itself The English officers in 
command of detachments in the country, which 
Major Roughsedge had so speedily cleared 
for them, took no precautions, were left in 
isolated positions, no plan of mutual support 
laid down for theni, they were attacked and 
beaten in every direction. The officers, and 
in some cases, most of the men with them, 
perished. The principles of war did not ap- 
pear to be understood by these men, nor even 
the commonest attainments of their profession, 
beyond mere drill and the personal use of arms. 



General Matley gave up the Titai without a 
single operation worthy of a general. Rein- 
forcements swelled his corps to thirteen thou- 
sand men, having a large proportion of Euro- 
peans. He was afraid to move. Having wasted 
all January, 1815, he suddenly abandoned his 
army. Colonel Dick assumed the command, 
and awaited the arrival of Major-general 
Wood, to whose command the corps was 
originally entrusted. While awaiting the ar- 
rival of the general. Colonel Dick and his 
ofiicers cleared the Tirai of the enemy with 
hardly the loss of a man. General Wood was 
indisposed for active warfare ; he thought the 
season too advanced, and another month was 
thus wasted. He broke up his army and can- 
toned it from the Gunduok to the Kusi. 

The various corps advanced in 1816, en- 
countering the enemy in stockades and forts. 
There was great sameness in these campaigns, 
the operations being similar in every direc- 
tion. The chief interest, however, was con- 
nected with the army of Ochterlony, who 
after the news of surrender of Maloun reached 
England, was Created a baronet. It would be 
endless to describe the errors, mistakes, and 
dauntless acts of bravery of British officers in 
detached posts. This mountain warfare was 
so new to them, that they only began to adapt 
themselves to it when the war was coming to 
a close. On the 12th of February, Ochter- 
lony marched through " the great forest," an 
extent of nine miles. By the eflbrts of his en- 
gineers he discovered a pass which the enemy 
had not stockaded nor defended. Leaving his 
camp standing, he penetrated it with a bri- 
gade, and "turned" the pass, which the enemy 
had prepared to defend. Seeing his tents, and 
the sentries performing their usual duties, the 
Nepaulese supposed that the whole force re- 
mained in the encampment. A single action, 
and that not a general battle, decided the 
campaign. On the 0th of March, a ratified 
treaty was brought to camp. Among its 
stipulations was one to the effect " that the 
cession of territory exacted from Nepaul should 
comprehend the country conquered in the 
actual campaign and the valley of the Rapti." 
It appeared, during the negotiations for the 
treaty, that the Nepaul Rajah had sent an 
embassy to China for help, alleging that the 
EngHsh made war upon them for not offering 
a free passage to their troops for the invasion 
of China. The Chinese ministers laughed at 
them, telling them that "if the English meant 
to invade China, they would take a shorter 
way than through the mountains of Nepaul." 
The war with Nepaul being thus terminated, 
the Nepaulese Rajah professed to be an ally 
of the company, and on some occasions sub- 
sequently gave proof of alliance. 



Chap. OIV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



619 



It is almost unnecessary to say that Oude 
was among the number of his lordship's dif- 
ficulties, and that its financial management 
and general government caused continual un- 
easiness at Calcutta. No state possessing its 
power, wealth, area, and a population so gi- 
gantic, ever displayed so much poltroonery. 
Boastful, arrogant, tumultuous, and seditious, 
the soldiery and people were ever ready to 
revolt, and commit the most cruel murders, 
and as ready to fly before the face of a mili- 
tary force. The vizier, voluptuous and greedy, 
like his predecessors, robbed his people, and 
squandered his revenue, so that he was un- 
able to meet the exigencies of his government, 
and pay the stipulated tribute, on condition 
of which he held his throne. Lord Moira, 
after much trouble and difficulty, brought 
some arrangement into the distracted affairs 
of his court and his dominions. 

A war having broken out with Nepaul, 
Scindiah, and the Rajah of Nagpore, con- 
sidered it a good opportunity to resume their 
old ways, and make a little war for them- 
selves. They meditated the reduction of the 
small state of Bhopal. Lord Moira, apprised 
of their designs, frustrated them by opportune 
measures, and at the close of the year 1816, 
those old Mahratta chiefs were again subdued. 

During the year 1816, a British force was 
engaged in the territory of Cutch, reducing 
forts, deposing petty rajahs, reconciling con- 
flicting allies, and reducing rebellious sub- 
ordinates of the Guicowar and the Peishwa. 
Fierce disputes arose between these two 
branches of the great Mahratta family of 
chiefs, which involved the governments of 
Madras and Bombay in anxiety. 

THE SECOND MAHRATTA, OR PINDARREE 
WAR. 

This war, which received both these desig- 
nations, properly, began in hostilities with the 
Pindarrees alone, but ended in a war with the 
great confederated chiefs of the Mahrattas. 

The Pindarrees, or " free companies," were 
literally bands of military freebooters, who fol- 
lowed chiefs, Hindoo or Mohammedan, which 
were bold enough or rich enough to organize a 
free corps. These Pindarrees were dispersed 
throughout the Mahratta states, but the places 
from which they mainly sallied forth on their 
expeditions of murder and plunder were 
Malwa and Central India. They were mostly 
subjects of Holkar and Scindiah. These chiefs 
pretended a great horror of the dishonest doings 
of those fierce robbers, but in reality profited 
by them. The English agents, officers, and 
commercial people suffered much from them. 
They constantly plundered the territories of 
allies whom the English were bound to do- 



fend, and the superior Mahratta chiefs some- 
times joined in those expeditions. The attack 
upon the Rajah of Bhopal, a faithful friend 
of the Englisli, by Scindiah and the Nagpore 
Rajah was simply a Pindarree incursion in 
the first instance, incited by those chiefs, and 
then turned to account for their own aggres- 
sive ends. The troops of both Holkar and 
Scindiah became in fact Pindarrees, support- 
ing themselves by pillage, and only recognis- 
ing the standard of their sovereigns when a 
grand national war took place. Ameer Khan, 
whom the English petted so much, was simply 
a Pindarree leader — a recognised military 
robber. 

The princes of Rajpootana were held in 
subjection by their own nominal troops, who 
were nearly all Pindarrees. Professor Wilson 
thus describes the condition of some of them: — 
"The Rajah of Odeypore, indolent and im- 
provident, was bearded in his capital by mili- 
tary adventurers,* and robbed of his domains 
by his own feudatory chiefs and clansmen. 
The Rajah of Joudpur, affecting idiotcy, aban- 
doned the reins of government to the hands 
of a dissolute prince, whose career was soon 
alter cut short by the hand of an assassin. 
The Rajah of Jeypore, a slave to an infatuated 
attachment to a Mohammedan dancing girl, 
preserved only a portion of his hereditary 
possessions, by the sufferance of Moer Khan. 
Every vestige of regular and orderly govern- 
ment had disappeared, and complete dissolu- 
tion of the bonds of society must have ensued, 
had not the government of British India ob- 
tained, by persevering representation and re- 
monstrance from the authorities in England, 
a reluctant and qualified permission to efi'ect 
the extirpation of that part of the predatory 
system which consisted in the peculiar organ- 
ization of the plunderers, termed Pindarrees, 
as preliminary to the overthrow of the whole 
scheme of military depredations." 

As early as 1812, the Pindarrees had made 
attempts upon the British provinces. When 
first known to the British authorities, f the 
Scindiah Shahi Pindarrees, who were by far 
the most numerous of the two, were imder 
the leading of a number of sirdars, of whom 
Cheetoo, Karim Khan, and Dost Mohammed, 
were the principal. None of the Holkar 
Shahi chiefs were leaders of much note. 
Blacker! gives the following estimate of their 
numbers :—" The Scindiah Shahi, 18,000 

* His palace on the bank ot the lake was besieged, and 
as Colonel Tod said, the servants bringing up water were 
plundered. Our government allowed him in 1818, the 
sum of 4000 rupees (£400) a month, till his country 
yielded some revenue. 

t Wilson, p. 105. See Papers Pindaric War, pp. 
24, 25. 

% Memoir of the War (1821), p. 18. 



520 



HISTORY OF THE BrxITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CIV. 



horse, 13,000 foot, and fifteen guns ; the Holkar 
Shahi, 3,000 horse, 200 foot, and three guns. 
To add to these sources of disorder, the 
niountaiiieors on the south and west of 
JIalwa, and the Bhils and iMhers, and the 
potty Hindoo chiefs on the soutli and east of 
the same country, were committing unchecked 
ravages in retaliation for invaded rights* or 
disregarded clainis."f " The Pindarrees threa- 
tened Mirzaporc, phmdered Ganjam, Masuli- 
patam, Guntoro, and the Northern Circars. 
It was expected that any attack on these 
hordes, as being under the protection of Scin- 
diah and Holkar, might cause a war with 
those chiefs. It was, moreover, known that 
these chiefs and the Berar rajah advocated the 
supremacy of the Peishwa, who again, in 
1816, was collecting armed followers at no 
great distance from Poonah.| The governor- 
general, therefore, resolved to be prepared for 
all events."§ 

The great difficulty of suppressing the Pin- 
darrees was the countenance given to them 
by the Mahratta sovereigns. They in fact 
were themselves Mahrattas, and subjects of 
those princes, and to a great extent controlled 
their nominal rulers. Besides, the whole of 
the Mahratta chiefs were bitterly hostile to 
the English, and the abrogation, or modifica- 
tions amounting to abrogation, of the treaties 
with Lord Wellesley by Lord Cornwallis, fol- 
lowed up by a policy in the same direction by 
Sir G. Barlow and Lord Minto, so elated 
them that they calculated upon the instability 
of English treaties, whether for or against 
them, and presumed upon ultimate impunity. 

The treaty of Bassein had been repeatedly 
broken by the Peishwa's ministers, and it re- 
quired the firmness, temper, and intelligence 
possessed by the English resident at the court 
of Poonah, Mr. Elphinstone, to avert recourse 
to arms for the redress of British wrongs. 
Murder, assassination, and treachery in every 
form were the instruments with which the 
ministers of the Peishwa worked, and it was 
necessary for the English to interpose reso- 
lutely in order to prevent the confines of 
their territory from becoming scenes of an- 
archy. This success lasted only a few years. 
The Peishwa and his ministers, as well as all 
the Mahratta chiefs, were encouraged to re- 
sume their intrigues against the English by 
the latter being occupied with two wars which 
were supposed sufficient to strain their re- 
sources, the Pindarree and the Nepaulese ; 
by the disturbed state of Oude, and by the 
perpetual contentions with Ava, which, it 

* By the Pindarrees. 
t Wilson's Notes. 
i Wilson, 1). 215. 
j Major William lloujfh. 



was rumoured all over India, would lead to 
a war most perilous to English power. Ac- 
cordingly, early in the year 1817, Trim- 
buckjee Daugliah, an assassin and murderer, 
who possessed the PeLshwa's confidence, and 
had held the chief authority in his do- 
minions, collected forces, with the connivance 
of the Peishwa, for the purpose of surprising 
and murdering the English contingent at 
Poonah, after the manner in which the mu- 
tinous sepoys at Vellore massacred their com- 
rades. Means were at the same time taken 
to seduce the British native soldiers from their 
allegiance. 

The English assembled troops in the neigh- 
bourhood of Poonah, and denounced the con- 
templated movement of the Peishwa. Mr. 
Elphinstone demanded a new treaty instead 
of the violated treaty of Bassein as the alter- 
native of a declaration of war. At the same 
time, Mr. Elphinstone demanded the surren- 
der of the leader and originator of the plot. 

The following sets forth, in as brief a form 
as it is possible to give it, the revolution in 
the Mahratta empire, which the Elphinstone 
treaty created, for the Peishwa, terrified by 
the military preparation of the English, signed 
it. The preliminary convention pi-ovided 
that the Peishwa should surrender several of 
his strongest forts, as a guarantee that the 
treaty would be fulfilled. The treaty was 
concluded on the 13th of June, and ratified 
on the 25th of July, 1817 :— " Tlie most im- 
portant feature in this treaty, was the dis- 
avowal of the Peishwa's paramount right, as 
the head of the Mahratta confederacy, and the 
cessation of the mutual reception of vakeels 
by the Peishwa and all other states ; and the 
restriction imposed upon the communications 
of his highness with the foreign powers, ex- 
cept through the medium of agents of the 
British government, as such vakeels had been 
known to carry on clandestine intercourse. 
The Peishwa renounced all future claims on 
the Guicowar, which claims had, in fact, 
arisen from his position as head of the Mah- 
ratta confederac}'. He was also to be ex- 
cluded from all concern in the affairs of 
Gujerat, and he agreed to restore to the 
Guicowar, in perpetuity, the Ahmedabad 
farm, at the former rent of four and a-half 
lacs. The tribute from Kattywar was trans- 
ferred to the company. Provision was made 
to enable the Guicowar to reduce the claims 
of the Peishwa, by the payment of four lacs 
per annum, or standing on arbitration. In 
lieu of the contingent force to be suppHed in 
virtue of the treaty of Bassein, the PeishAva 
was to place at the disposal of the British 
government funds for SOtKJ cavalry and 3000 
infantry. The company acquired the Northern 



Chap. CIV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



521 



Circars, witli the Peishwa's possessions in 
Gujerat, and the Knttywar tribute, with an 
extent of country in the Carnatic, including 
the strong forts of Darwar and Kooseguh 
The fort of Ahmednuggur, held by the com- 
pany through sufferance, was transferred to 
them in perpetual sovereignty ; likewise all 
the Peishwa's rights in Bundelcund and 
Uindostan. He was thus excluded from all 
connection or concern with the countries 
north of the Nerbuddah. Provisions were 
also made relative to the services of the 
southern jaghiredars."* 

It is difficult to suppose that any one ac- 
quainted with the Mahrattas could believe 
that the Peishwa would observe a treaty sub- 
versive of all his honour and power, and so 
utterly humiliating. He did not observe it. 
He had scarcely signed it when he began 
secret military preparations, and efforts to 
seduce the Hindoo portion of the British 
troops. He gradually assembled a large army 
near the British camp. English officers were 
waylaid and murdered in every district of his 
previous dominions, more especially in the 
neighbourhood of Poonah, and it became at 
last absolutely necessary to enforce the treaty 
at the point of the sword. Mr. Elphinstone 
had but a small brigade of English near the 
capital, which was speedily reinforced by 
several sepoy detachments and a European 
regiment. The Peishwa commenced opera- 
tions by burning and plundering the British 
residence at Poonah. But for the sound 
judgment, presence of mind, and calm intelli- 
gence of Mr. Elphinstone, the ruin of the 
British detachment must have been effected. 
His measures secured it from surprise, averted 
the seduction of the sepoy battalions, and 
placed the brigade in a position to act with 
promptitude' and effect. He ordered Lieu- 
tenant-colonel Burr to advance and attack 
the forces of the Peishwa, which were mad 
with triumph from the destruction of the 
presidency. 

On the 5th of November 1817, a battle 
was fought between these forces. The golden 
pennon (zurree pulkah), the grand standard 
of the Mahrattas, held in veneration by all the 
tribes, was borne by Mozo Dickshut a trusted 
chief of tried valour, but he fell defending it, 
and this circumstance being deemed ominous 
by the superstitiou?soldiery, deprived them of 
confidence, and they did not any longer main- 
tain the contest with spirit. Colonel Burr 
gained a victory, but only by desperate fight- 
ing, nearly all the survivors of his force 
being severely wounded. His gallant little 
army numbered 2500 men, the host of the 
Peishwa was 25,000. On the 17th of No- 

* Auber's British Fotcer in India, vol. ii. p. 524-5. 



vember, General Smith advanced at the head 
of a formidable force, swept all before him, 
entered Poonah, and planted the standard of 
England on the palace of the Peishwa, who 
fled at his approach. 

^^'hile these events were transpiring in 
Western India, the Marquis of Hastings was 
carrying out his project for the destruc- 
tion of the Pindarrees, a work which required 
various especial alliances,military conventions, 
and temporary engagements of different de- 
scriptions with other chiefs of the Mahrattas, 
the Patans, and numerous tribes in Central 
India, and bordering on the Bengal frontiers. 
The Patau chief, Meer Khan, referred to 
in the account given in a previous chapter of 
the operations against Holkar, under Lord 
Lake, was presumed to be a suitable instru- 
ment of the designs of the government, and 
he was accordingly made the object of these 
favours, an account of which was anticipated 
in the cliapter relating the war against Holkar. 

The intrigues between the English and 
Meer Khan against the integrity of Holkar's 
dominion were not honourable to our nation. 
In connection with them, all persons about 
the court, all parties in that state, intrigued 
for and against the English, and for and 
against one another. Perjury, perfidy, ab- 
duction, assassination, murder, plunder, revolt, 
and civil war, rent and stained the realms 
which had owned the sovereignty of the 
once far renowned Holkar. That chief died 
in 1811, and his successor was a child, the 
regent, his mistress, mother of the child, who 
was young, beautiful, talented, despotic, and 
profligate, and who was betrayed and mur- 
dered. As the only release from anarchy, 
the government of young Holkar appealed to 
the English for protection, and Mr. Metcalfe 
was nominated to conclude negotiations. 
Before he could accomplish anything, Scin- 
diah, who had been plotting against the En- 
glish and watching for an opportunity to 
attack them ever since the defeat of his forces 
by Wellesley and Lake, succeeded in inducing 
a change among the ministers of the young 
chief, and confederated with them for pur- 
poses hostile to the company. 

In November a British force, under the 
command of Sir Thomas Hislop, crossed the 
Nerbuddah. The advanced divisions, under 
General Malcolm and Colonel Adams, were 
to act against the Pindarrees ; Sir Thomas 
was ordered by the governor -general to ad- 
vance into Malwa, although the resident 
warned his excellency that the rajah would 
in consequence declare war. 

Early in December, the whole of Holkar's 
army assembled within twenty miles of Ma- 
hidpore, and, after a council of war, marched 



.';22 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CIV. 



against that place. On the morning of the 20th 
of December, young Holkar was playing in 
his tent, when he was enticed away, and at the 
same instant a guard was placed over Tooiaah 
Baee, the mistress of the deceased sovereign : 
at night she was beheaded, and her body 
thrown into the Seepra. The Patau chiefs 
loudly demanded to be led against the enemy, 
and began to plunder the baggage of the 
English. General Hislop ordered an instan- 
taneous attack upon Holkar's army, which was 
well posted on the banks of the Seepra, 
nearly opposite to Mahidpore, their left flank 
protected by the river, their right by a deep 
ravine, while their line, which could only be 
approached by one ford, was protected by 
ruined villages. The bed of the river afforded 
some cover for the British troops in forming, 
and as their flanks were all but impregnable, 
it was determined to attack in front. Tlie 
plan of battle was simple, and the execution 
of it prompt, orderly, and gallant. In cross- 
ing the river many men were lost, but the 
foot artillery, well arranged on the right bank, 
covered the passage. The horse artillery 
crossed to the enemy's side, and silenced 
many of their guns. The whole army effected 
the passage, and stormed the defences of the 
enemy, carrying them all with sword and 
bayonet. When the Malu'attas began to 
retire, a charge of cavalry turned their retreat 
into a rout. Sir John Malcolm commanded 
the right wing ; Major J. L. Lushington, 
afterwards General Sir James Law laishing- 
ton, and Lieutenant-colonel Russell, com- 
manded the two lines of cavalry in the final 
charge. 

Signal as this defeat was, it did not secure 
peace. Various zemindars and rajahs in the 
Doab held fortified places, which were stormed. 
The Patau population in Rohilcund rose in 
arms, and various troublesome dispositions of 
troops and weary marches were necessary be- 
fore the insurrection was suppressed. Scin- 
diah, who had led the government of Holkar 
into the disasters thus experienced, did not 
strike a blow, but hastened to make such 
accommodations as would screen himself 
from penal consequences. He made a new 
treaty on the 5th and Gthof November, 1817, 
by which he bound himself to an alliance 
offensive and defensive, and to furnish a large 
cavalry contingent for the Pindarree war. 

Incredible as it may seem, none of these 
events, disastrous as they were to the Mah- 
rattas, and triumphant to the British, had any 
effect in deterring the Rajah of Nagpore from 
correspondence with Bajeo Rao, the fugitive 
Peishwa, and organizing an army to attack 
the English. It was plainly intimated to him 
that his treason was discovered, and he was 



warned that military operations would be 
directed against hira if he took a single hostile 
step. He attacked the residency, .which Mr. 
Jenkins, the resident, afterwards M.P., and a 
director of the East India Company, defended 
with great spirit and success. Happily there 
was a small body of troops at hand, but the 
best and bravest of them were surpassed 
by the devoted courage and activity of the 
civilians, some of whom fell. Reinforcements 
arriving, the rajah's capital was attacked in 
force. He sought terms : they were granted. 
He endeavoured to turn them to account by 
an act of treachery for the destruction of the 
British. He was suspected, his scheme 
defeated, and his capital stormed. He was 
made prisoner. Mr. Jenkins, for political 
reasons, reinstated him, on condition of the 
surrender of his chief forts and much of his 
territory. His officers refused to surrender 
the forts, and his servants retained possession 
of the territory, and he connived at their de- 
fection. The territory was conquered, the 
forts stormed, and the rajah himself being 
detected in a correspondence with the ex- 
Peishwa, for a united attack upon the English, 
Mr. Jenkins seized his person, and declared 
the musnid vacant. The rajah and two of his 
chief ministers were sent in custody to Allah- 
abad. On the way he escaped. 

In 1818 pursuit of the Peishwa occupied 
the attention of the governor -general and 
the military chiefs. When his highness fled 
from Poonah, he found many abettors and 
followers. All the petty rajahs of his domi- 
nions were ready to take up arms on his behalf 
against Europeans. He collected an army 
stronger than that which had been beaten at 
Poonah. They took quarters at Corygaum. 
A British officer named Staunton was on his 
way to Poonah, with a weak batlalion of in- 
fantry, a few squadrons of horse, and a consi- 
derable detachment of artillery ; arriving at the 
heights of Corygaum, he beheld the Peishwa's 
army in the plain beneath. Staunton imme- 
diately made for the village with the design 
of occupying it. He had only just succeeded 
in doing so when he was attacked by the 
whole army of the enemy, probably numbering 
40,000 men. The attack continued all day 
until 9 P.M. The mosques and pagodas were 
again and again taken by each party. All 
the British officers were put hors de comhat, 
except Captain Staunton and two others. All 
the artillery men were killed or wounded. The 
cavalry were cut up or exhausted. There 
was no water. Some wells were discovered 
in the night, and the fainting soldiers were 
relieved from the pangs of thirst. In the 
morning the Peishwa did not renew the attack, 
but withdrew his army. The captain brought 



Chap. CIV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



523 



off his guns and colours, his sick and wounded, 
to Seroor, which place they entered on the 
third day, during which they had no refresh- 
ment but water. The gallant conduct of 
Captain Staunton and his troops was much 
applauded in India and iu England. The East 
India Company voted him a purse of 500 
guineas, ami a splendid sword of honour, with 
an inscription panegyrizing his courage, skill, 
and fidelity to duty. The rewards bestowed 
upon his chivalrous soldiers bore no proportion 
to their deserts. 

Soon after this event Generals Smith and 
Britzler marched against the formidable for- 
tress of Sattara, which was soon reduced. 
Mr. Elphinstone raised the standard of the 
Rajah of Sattara, announced the protection of 
the company, a just system of revenue, and 
the establishment of religious liberty. In the 
wholi3 of this transaction Mr. Elphinstone 
acted with sagacity and justice. His activity 
and precision everywhere that his presence 
and influence could reach, entitled him to the 
gratitude of his country. 

General Smith maintained a hot pursuit of 
the Peishwa, whose army he overtook at 
Ashtee, where he gained a signal victory, 
taking the Kajah of Sattara and all his family 
prisoners, who were sent to Mr. Elphinstone, 
who conducted them to their palace at Sat- 
tara. Gocklah, the best general in the 
Peishwa's army, fell iu the battle of Asjitee, 
which circumstance depressed the troops. 
The Peishwa fled from the field of hia defeat, 
and was joined by Holkar apd his infantry 
in his retreat ; they both took refuge in 
Candeish, where Gumput Rao, with what was 
left of the Rajah of Nagpore's army, joined 
them. The jaghiredars* of Candeish, timid 
of the consequence to themselves of favour- 
ing such refugees, corresponded vpith Mr. 
Elphinstone. This led to desertion by many 
of the followers of the confederated Mahratta 
chiefs. The Peishwa led the life of a fugi- 
tive for six months, pursued by Generals 
Smith, Hislop, apd other British commanders. 
During that time. Brigadier-general Monro 
conquered many forts, and, in command of a 
small body of troops, performed many glo- 
rious enterprises, which were, however, con- 
nected with a warfare so desultory, and 
involving operations so similar, as to preclude 
a detailed account. The Peishwa sought to 
reach Mahva, but Sir John Malcolm's dispo- 
sitions effectually thwarted that purpose. On 
the 27th of May, being pressed by the forces 
of Sir Thomas Hislop, the Peishwa intimated, 
by his vakeel, to Sir John Malcolm an inten- 
tion to surrender. At Keree, on the 2nd of 
June, Sir John visited the Peishwa. The 
* Holders of jaghires or estates. 



events which followed this visit are thus 
described by M. Auber : — " He appeared low 
and dejected, and retired for a private inter- 
view, when he said, that he had been involved 
in a war he never intended ; that he was 
treated as an enemy by the state which had 
supported his family for two generations, and 
was at that moment in a position that de- 
manded commiseration, and believed that ho 
had a real friend in Sir John Malcolm. The 
latter replied, that every moment of delay was 
one of danger, and that he should either throw 
hipiself at once on the British government, 
or determine on further resistance. ' How 
can I resist now?' he exclaimed, 'I am sur- 
rounded.' Sir John Malcolm remarked that 
he was so, but he could not complain ; that 
he still had the power of escape as much as 
ever, if he wished to become a freebooter and 
wanderer, and not accept the liberal provision 
designed for him. He replied, with the flat- 
tery of which he was master, ' I have found 
you, who are my only friend, and will never 
leave you ; would a shipwrecked mariner, 
after having reached the port he desired, 
form a wish to leave it?' Still, upon the 
plea of a religious ceremony, and that it was 
an unlucky day, he wished on the third to 
postpone till the nexf day surrendering him- 
self up and accepting the propositions, by 
which he engaged to proceed to Hindostan, 
a pension of not less than eight lacs of rupees 
per annum being secured to him. To this 
delay Sir John Malcolm most positively ob- 
jected. The firing of some guns in the quar- 
ters of Asseer bad a considerable effect upon 
him, and at eleven he determined to come to 
Sir John Malcolm's camp." 

The fortunes of the other Mahratta chiefs 
are thus brief!}' summed up : — " Trimbuckjee, 
on learning the dispersion of Bajee Rao's 
force, retired to the neighbourhood of Nassick, 
where he was taken prisoner by Major Swan- 
ston, sent round to Bengal, and lodged in the 
fort of Chunar. The exertions of Sir. Elphin- 
stone were very successful in effecting the 
introduction and establishment of the new 
government. 

" The settlement of the Bheels in Candeish 
was prosecuted by Captain Briggs, under Mr. 
Elphinstone's direction, and the state of Sat- 
tara was likewise making favourable progress. 
" The condition of the newly acquired pro- 
vinces, and the measures adopted by the 
British government, (subjects of deep inte- 
rest,) properly form matter for a separate 
work. The remaining fugitive, Appa Sahib, 
the ex-rajah of Nagpore, would have been 
captured near the fort of Asseerghur, but for 
Jeswunt Rao Sar, who sallied forth and saved 
him from his pursuers. He proceeded from 



524 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CIV. 



thence to Lahore, where he was allowed to 
live in absolute privacy, on a very scanty 
allowance from Runjeet Singh ; a permission 
extended by that chief in a manner which 
showed his sincere desire not to dissatisfy the 
British government." It became clear in the 
course of the proceedings connected with the 
temporary surrender of the fort of Asseer- 
ghur, required from Scindiah under the treaty 
of November, 1817, that secret communica- 
tions and engagements were carried on by 
him in the Peishwa's interest while he was 
making ostentatious parade of alliance with 
the English. He humbled himself, besought 
pardon, and was forgiven, provided his future 
conduct proved true. 

This troublesome, expensive, and sanguinary 
war arose from the ignorance of the board of 
control, which sent out the Marquis of Corn- 
wallis the second time with express instruc- 
tions to revoke the policy of the Marquis 
Wellesley. Lord Cornwallis entered heartily 
into these instructions, for he had always been 
adverse to any connections with the Mah- 
rattas. Still he had himself been obliged to 
form treaties and military connections with 
them, and he did not continue long enough 
in power during his second government to 
perceive the alteration of circumstances which 
rendered the severe policy of Lord Wellesley 
necessary after the first Mahratta war. Had 
Lord Cornwallis been spared, there can be no 
doubt, from his clearness of perception and 
wisdom, that he would have allowed Lord 
Wellesley's arrangements to remain, and not 
have exposed the company and his country 
to the dangers and costs of a second Mahratta 
war, to assert that ascendancy he so unfor- 
tunately revoked. Had the treaties of Lord 
Wellesley been permitted to stand, there is 
abundant reason to believe, from all the evi- 
dences which were evoked during the second 
Mahratta war, that so great a calamity would 
have been averted. 

During the year 1819 Mr. Elphinstone was 
actively employed in arranging the govern- 
ment of the Mahratta states. It is a curious 
circumstance that in 1859, forty years after, a 
copy of his proclamation to the landholders 
should be called for in the British legislature, 
and was actually printed in the returns, 
according to which it appears that the pro- 
clamation was to be circulated freely, with a 
view to convince the amildars and pattels of 
the hopelessnesB of the Bajee Rao's cause, and 



to assure the natives of the good treatment 
and protection which they would experience 
from the British government. Villages that 
had distinguished themselves by expelling or 
resisting the rebel troops were to be rewarded 
by large remissions, and by permanent marks 
of favour. Conspirators and all banditti 
were to be treated as rebels and punished 
" promptly and severely." The necessity 
of adhering to the customs of the country 
was strongly urged during the provisional 
government, even to the exemption of Brah- 
mins from capital punishment, except when 
guilty of treason. No new imposts were to be 
levied, and those that seemed oppressive or 
unpopular were to be repealed. All lands 
held free of revenue were to remain so, and 
to be left with the present proprietors, who 
were, however, to prove their titles by show- 
ing their "sunnuds." The conciliation of 
the Bheels and Ramoosees was to be effected 
" by every means." 

Upon the conclusion of the war the Marquis 
of Hastings carried out the whole scheme of 
policy originated by the Marquis Wellesley, 
a scheme which Lord Hastings had himself 
denounced when imperfectly acquainted with 
Indian affairs. Blacker states that the num- 
ber of British officers killed and wounded 
were 134, and the number of all other ranks 
3,042. The campaign, or series of campaigns, 
lasted from November 5, 1817, to May 13, 
1819.* 

In 1819 treaties were made with the Rajahs 
of Odeypore, Jeypore, Joudpore, Jesselmer, 
and Bicanur, also viith the petty chiefs of Bans- 
wara, Dungerpore, Pertabgerh, Sirohi, Krish- 
nagerh, Kerauli, Bundi, and Kotah. " With 
each of these formal engagements were con- 
tracted, upon the general basis of subordinate 
co-operation and acknowledged supremacy." 
During the more quiet periods of his govern- 
ment. Lord Hastings made considerable altera- 
tions in the financial and judicial systems. He 
also organized a superior police force. After 
an unusually protracted period of government, 
Lord Hastings retired in January, 1828. It 
was on his passage home that he drew up the 
summary of his administrations, which has 
since been so much quoted. His arrival in 
London led to many debates in the India- 
house, and notable rewards were conferred 
upon his lordship and his successor in the 
title. 

♦ Slacker's account of the Pindarrce War. 



Chai'. CV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



626 



CHAPTER CV. 



PROGRESS OF BRITISH INTERESTS IN CHINA AND THE ARCHIPELAGO, FROM THE BEGINNING 
OF THE 19Tn CENTURY TO THE EXI) OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE JIARQUIS HAST- 
INGS— CONQUEST OP MAURITIUS AND BOURBON ; OF THE MOLUCCAS ; OF JAVA, AND 
THE ISLES IN ITS VICINITY. 



In China the century opened with the event- 
ful circumstance of the American flag having 
been first hoisted at Canton. This occurred 
on the 2nd of January, 1801. 

On the 5th of November, 1803, the court 
of directors informed the select committee of 
Chinese merchants that hostilities had recom- 
menced between the English government and 
tlie French and Batavian republics. 

On the 22nd of May, the same year, the 
court of directors of the East India Company 
were informed by tlie board of control, that 
his majesty intended to address a letter to the 
Emperor of China, and send him presents ; 
and it was recommended that the chairman 
should send a letter to the viceroy and the 
hoppo. Lord Castlereagli sent a letter to the 
prime -minister of the Chinese emperor. One 
of the king's gardeners was sent to Canton to 
collect specimens of the vegetable productions 
of that part of China, and he was accompanied 
by a botanical painter to take drawings. 

On the 14th of February, 1804, a squa- 
dron of French men-of-war, commanded by 
Admiral Linois, encountered the English 
homeward-bound China fleet in the Straits of 
Malacca. The French admiral counted upon 
an easy victory, as his force was very formid- 
able. His own ship, the Marengo, carried 
eighty guns. Two of his vessels were large 
fast-sailing frigates, a corvette of thirty guns, 
and a Dutch brig of eighteen guns. Captain 
Dance was the commodore of the English 
vessels. He sailed in the Earl Camden, a 
good ship. Captain I. T. Timins, of the 
Royal George, bravely and skilfully seconded 
the commodore. All the captains and their 
crews entered into the action with alacrity 
and spirit. There was much to defend, for 
the value of the fleet and cargo was estimated 
at nearly eight millions sterling.* The 
Royal George received sixty-si.x shots in her 
hull and rigging, and bore the brunt of the 

* M. Aubcr, xahh History ofBrilM Power in India, 
gives this estimate. His work was published in 1837. 
It is to be presumed that he intended to correct a former 
estimate of the value of this fleet made in another of his 
works, " China," published in 183t, in which he names 
sixteen millions as the value. Both works are regarded 
as standard authorities, jet they present this striking dis- 
crepancy. Tlie discrepancies among other authorities also, 
take a wide range as to the value of the homeward-bouud 
China fleet of th>\t year. 

VOL. ir. 



enemy's fire. The enemy's squadron was 
beaten off, and the company's fleet proceeded 
in safety. 

In 1805 the letter of his royal majesty to 
his imperial majesty was delivered to the 
viceroy, after innumerable delays and obstacles 
created by the Chinese ofifioials. A "chair," 
fancifully and richly decorated, was sent for 
the conveyance of the box containing his 
majesty's letter. The supercargoes went in 
procession to the palace. On the 22nd of 
January the royal presents were formally 
presented ; the chair containing the letter was 
laid down before the front entrance to the 
palace. The supercargoes were conducted, 
under a salute of three guns, into the hall of 
audience by a side entry, while the letter was 
borne through the grand entrance. The 
viceroy and hoppo were seated under a 
gorgeous canopy at the upper end of the hall, 
attended by numerous mandarins in their 
ofBcial costume. The letter was then pre- 
sented to the viceroy, who, with the hoppo, 
rose to receive it, and remained standing 
some time in token of respect. The letter 
was then carried to an inner apartment, and 
the grand ofiieers resumed their seats. The 
viceroy declined receiving the letters sent by 
Lord Castlereagli and the chairman of the 
court of directors, on the ground that it was 
contrary to the laws of China to receive 
presents or communications from any foreign 
minister or mandarin. The president of the 
supercargoes requested that the letters might 
remain, pending permission being granted 
by his imperial majesty to receive them. To 
this arrangement the viceroy consented. The 
supercargoes retired under another salute of 
three guns. 

On the 8th of May, 1806, a letter from 
the emperor to the King of England, with 
presents, arrived at Canton. They were 
delivered to the president on the 19th, 
with precisely the same ceremonials as those 
observed in receiving the letter from hia 
Britannic majesty. The letter of his imperial 
majesty was very unlike the communications 
made to the English by former emperors, and 
was couched in terms of singular propriety, 
although clothed with an air of strange 
originality of manner, and pervaded by a 
tone of eccentric and unique thought. The 

3y 



526 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CV, 



following extracts will no doubt muoli interest 
the reader. 

" Your majesty's kingdom is at a remote 
distance beyond the seas, but is observant of 
its duties and obedient to its laws, beholding 
from afar the glory of our empire and 
respectfully admiring the perfection of our 
government. Your majesty has dispatched 
messengers with letters for our perusal and 
consideration ; we find that they are dictated 
by appropriate sentiments of esteem and 
veneration ; and being therefore inclined to 
fulfil the wishes and expectations of your 
majesty, we have determined to accept of the 
whole of the accompanying offering. 

" With regard to those of your majesty's 
subjects who for a long course of years have 
been in the habit of trading to our empire, 
we must observe to yon, that our celestial 
government regards all persons and nations 
with eyes of charity and benevolence, and 
always treats and considers j'our subjects with 
the utmost indulgence and affection j on their 
account, therefore, there can be no place or 
occasion for the exertions of your majesty's 
government," 

In 1806 the directors of the East India 
Company permitted a Mr. Maning to go to 
China at their expense, who professed to huve 
for his object the pursuit of science and the 
exploration of the country. Sonje curious 
circumstances arose out of that gentleman's 
mission. In 1807, he arrived at Canton. He 
presented a petition to the hoppo, " to be 
received into the service of the Emperor of 
China." He offered himself for employment 
by his imperial majesty as " Astronomer and 
Physician." His services were refused. In 
February, 1808, he proceeded to Cochin 
China, hoping to be allowed to stay there 
some time, and thence to effect an entrance 
to China. This scheme also failed, through 
the jealousy of the Cochin Chinese. He then 
proceeded to India, iiitending, if possible, to 
gain an entrance by way of Thibet, Bhotan, 
or Tartary. On all these frontiers he found 
an accurate description of his person and pur- 
poses in possession of the Chinese authorities, 
find he was baffled. Finally, this persevering 
gentleman accompanied the embassy of Lord 
Amherst to Pekin, in the year 181(5. 

In the year 1807 the company's trade was 
stopped in China in consequence of the death 
of a Cliinese in an affray with some sailors 
belonging to an English ship. The dissi- 
pated and disorderly conduct of the English 
sailors had done much to prevent the friendly 
intercourse of the British and Chinese. The 
Chinese demanded the death of an English- 
man for that of their countryman who had 
fallen. The conduct of tUe njej-chants on this 



occasion, as on other occasions in the history of 
the English in China, was cruel and unjust. 
They were quite willing to sacrifice the life of 
some one of the tailors, although none of the 
men could be fixed upon as having committed 
the manslaughter. The courage and firmness 
of the English naval officer on the station 
alone saved his country and his countrymen 
from this degradation, and rescued the man 
whose life was fixed upon by the English 
merchants as an atonement to save their trade. 
It is to the honour of the directors of the East 
India Company that they not only approved 
of the gallant conduct of Captain Rolles in 
saving the life of his countryman, but pre- 
sented him with JEIOOO. 

)Sir George Staunton, whose services to the 
company at Canton had been verj' consider- 
able, was appointed interpreter to the factory. 

In 1808 the English at Canton were 
alarmed by rumonrs of a French invasion 
of Macao, and they represented to the go- 
vernor-general of India the necessit}' of 
strengthening the defences of that place in 
a manner which it was beyond the power 
of the Portuguese to effect. In September 
of that year, a considerable French force was 
off Java, and in consequence Admiral Drury 
led an English squadron to Macao. Troops 
were landed and the defences made stronger. 
The hoppo protested against any foreign 
troops being landed there without permission 
of his imperial majest}', according to the 
treaty existing between him and the Chinese. 
The English and Portuguese were unwilling 
to retrace their steps, and the Chinese pre- 
pared for a barbarous system of warfare. 

Conflicts on the river between her ma- 
jesty's ships and the Chinese forts occurrei!, 
although war was not declared. " Admiral 
Drury seems not to have possessed that cool 
and deliberate judgment which was essential 
to the business he had been engaged in."* 

The committee were so alarmed for their 
trade by the occupation of Macao by the 
French, and were so animated in their re- 
sentments against that nation, that they were 
willing to risk a war with China to accom- 
plish their purpose. The British naval offi- 
cers acted with prudence and forbearance, as 
well as courage, and decided that the imperial 
treaty with Portugal forbid the occupation of 
the island by any but Portuguese. The com- 
mittee at last gave way. The directors were 
so displeased with the conduct of " the select 
committee " for managing their affairs in 
China, that they displaced them, and ap- 
pointed servants in inferior positions above 
them. 

In 1809 the insolent and haughty conduct 
• Parliamentary papers. 



Chap. CV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



«87 



of an English naval officer at Canton had 
nearly embroiled his country with the United 
States of America. Captain Pellew, R.N., 
impressed American seamen, or seamen on 
board American ships, into the service of the 
king. The American government demanded 
redress, which had to be conceded to avert 
war, the pride and petulance of this British 
officer thus causing humiliation to his country. 

From the years ISOG to 1810 the Chinese 
Ladrones, native pirates, called after their 
brethren the Portuguese of Macao, infested the 
coasts of China.* These men were similar 
to the pirates which infested the Chinese 
seas in the seventeenth century, from whom 
the Dutch settlers in Formosa suffered so 
severely. Mr. Davis, afterwards Sir J. F. 
Davis, governor of Hongkong, has given the 
following curious and interesting description 
of the character and history of these Chinese 
pirates : — " Not the least remarkable feature 
about this formidable fleet of pirates was its 
being, subsequent to the death of its original 
chief, very ably governed by his wife, who 
appointed her lieutenants for active service. A 
severe code of laws for the government of the 
squadron, or of its several divisions, was en- 
forced, and a regular appropriation made of 
all captured property. Marriages were strictly 
observed, and all promiscuous intercourse, 
and violence to women, rigorously punished. 
Passes were granted to the Chinese junks or 
boats which submitted to the pirates : but all 
such as were captured in government vessels, 
and indeed all who opposed them, were 
treated with the most dreadful cruelty. At 
the height of their power they levied contri- 
butions on most of the towns along the coast, 
and spread terror up the river to the neigh- 
bourhood of Canton. It was at this time 
that the British factory could not venture to 
move in their boats between that place and 
Macao without protection; and to the La- 
drones, therefore, may be partly attributed the 
origin of the valuable survey of the Chinese 
seas by Captain Ross ; as the two cruisers 
which were sent from Bombay, at the select 
committee's requisition, to act against the 
pirates, were subsequently employed by them 
in that work of public utility, the benefits of 
which have been felt by the whole commercial 
world. 

" Finding that its power was utterly un- 
availing against the growing strength of the 
Ladrones, the Chinese government published 
a general amnesty to such as would submit, 
and return to their allegiance, a stroke of 

* The Chinese : a Cxeneral Descriiiliun rif China and 
its Inhabitants. By John Francis Davis, Esq., F.R.S., &c., 
Governor of Hongkopg. London: C. Cox, King ■William- 
street, Strand, 1851. 



policy which may be attributed to its ac- 
quaintance with the fact, that a serious dis» 
sension had broken out between the two 
principal commanders of the pirate forces. 
This proceeded even to the length of the 
black and red squadrons (which they respec- 
tively headed) engaging in a bloody combat, 
wherein the former was discomfited. The 
weaker of the two now submitted to accept 
the offers of the government, which promised 
free pardon, and kept its engagements ; the 
leader was even raised to some rank in the 
emperor's service ! Being thus weakened by 
the desertion of nearly half her forces, the 
female chieftain and her other lieutenant did 
not much longer hold out. The Ladrones 
who had submitted were employed by the 
crafty government against their former as.so- 
ciates, who were harassed by the stoppage of 
their supplies, and other difficulties, and a few 
more months saw the whole remaining force 
accept the proffered amnesty. Thus easily 
was dissolved an association which at one 
time threatened the empire ; but as the 
sources and circumstances, whence piracy has 
more than once sprung up, are still in exist- 
ence, the success and impunity of their pre- 
decessors may encourage other bands of mari- 
time robbers to unite in a similar confederacy 
at no distant period."* 

DifBculties between the English merchants 
and the Chinese authorities M'ero perpetuated 
by the frequent fatal conflicts of the English 
sailors and the natives, and the sternness of the 
Chinese penal code, which exacted blood for 
blood, life for life. 

The Chinese officials were constantly find- 
ing pretexts for stopping the trade. An in- 
exorable jealousy of foreigners characterised 
the policy of the imperial government. In 
consequence of this, objections wore taken to 
the presence of European ships of war in the 
Canton river, and to the service of the nativea 
at the foreign factories. 

His majesty's ship Doris exercised a block- 
ade against the American merchantmen dur- 
ing 1814. The ship captured an American 
vessel, which offended the Chinese, who or- 
dered the committee of the English factory 
to send the Doris away. This, they ex- 
plained, was beyond their power, the ship of 
war belonging to his Britannic majesty, not to 
the East India Company. The Chinese could 
not understand this explanation, or affected to 
be unable to do so. Captures and re-captureu 
of American ships in the river followed the 
making of the first prize, and inflamed the 
resentment of the Chinese, They interrupted 
communications between the East Indiamen 
and the English men-of-war ; their magistrates 
* Davis's China, chap. iii. pp. 03, 64. 



628 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



LCiiAi-. cv- 



Beized and subjected to cruel punishment all 
who took service with the English; the man- 
darins violated the sanctuary of the factory ; 
and, ill fine, all tlie long-conceded privi- 
leges of the English were infringed. What 
followed has been well described by Mr. 
Davis. 

" The committee, seeing the hostile disposi- 
tion of the government, determined on the 
bold measure of stopping the trade, as the 
only means of arriving at a remedy. The 
Chinese, somewhat startled at their old wea- 
pon being turned against themselves, began 
to display a more conciliator}' temper, and, 
after some debate, a mandarin was appointed 
to meet Sir George Staunton, who was de- 
puted to conduct the negotiation on the part 
of the committee. Accordingly, on the 20th 
of October, Sir George proceeded to Canton, 
accompanied by Sir Theophilus Metcalfe and 
Mr. Davis. The first subject of complaint 
was the arrest of the linguist Ayew, for per- 
forming a service which was merely compli- 
mentary on the part of the English, and ex- 
pressive of their respect for a dignified officer 
of government, who had conducted the first 
embassy through China, and been on friendly 
terms with its members. It was immediately 
replied, that his seizure was on account of a 
totally different affair, and that there was no 
intention of condemning the proceeding. 
Several meetings took place with the prin- 
cipal mandarins and one or two assessors, but 
little progi-ess was made towards an adjust- 
ment; when the viceroy suddenly determined 
on breaking off the negotiation. The com- 
mittee upon this resolved on issuing a notice 
to all British subjects to quit Canton : Sir 
George Staunton and the gentlemen with 
him embarked in the Wexford, and the whole 
fleet proceeded dovrn the river. 

" This step had the effect of completely 
curing the obstinacy of the viceroy. A depu- 
tation of Hong merchants was sent down to 
the ships, with authority to state that man- 
darins would bo sent to discuss the remaining 
points in dispute if Sir George would return. 
On his reaching Canton, an attempt was made 
to retract the pledge, but this could not be 
persisted in ; and, after several long and te- 
dious audiences with the mandarins, the prin- 
cipal points in dispute were gained, and in- 
corporated in an official paper from the viceroy, 
as the only security against a breach of faith 
on the part of the Chinese. The privilege of 
corresponding with the government under 
seal, and in the native character, was now for 
the first time established; an assurance was 
given that no Chinese officer should ever enter 
the British factory without leave previously 
obtained; and licence was given to native 



servants to enter into the service of the Eng- 
lisli without molestation from the petty man- 
darins ; together with some other points."* 

Mr. Davis has summed up the concessions 
of the Chinese on this occasion in language 
improperly vague for a work professing to 
give complete information on the subject of 
British relations to the Chinese government. 
M. Auber has been more complete on this 
head, altliough prolix in his narrative of the 
events that led to such an issue. Accord- 
ing to that writer, the relations between the 
Chinese and English were placed in 1814: 
upon the following basis, which includes the 
matters mentioned by ilr. Davis, and " some 
other points," which he leaves his readers to 
guess : — 

" On the 29th November, a communication 
was made by Howqua of the decisions passed 
by the viceroy, to the following effect :■ — 

" 1st. Permission given to address the 
government in Chinese through the Hong 
merchants without the contents being in- 
quired into. 

" 2nd. The use of offensive language not 
very satisfactorily answered. 

" 3rd. The local magistrate not to visit 
the factory without giving due previous no- 
tice. 

" 4th. The communication by boats be- 
tween Canton and Whampoa to be open and 
free as usual. 

" 5th. Natives may be employed as coolies, 
porters, tea-boilers, cooks, and in other similar 
capacities, but persons not to be hired under 
the denominations of keupaii and thawan. 

" Gth. Ships of war to remain at their 
usual anchorages while the ships are at 
Whampoa, but when they depart, the ships 
of war to depart. 

" 7th. Boats to receive passes at certain 
stations. 

" 8th. Tiie country ships have been fired 
at as due notice to the Bogue Fort. 

" 9th. Merchantmen only admitted to 
Whampoa. 

"Additional Articles. 

" Ist. Address to be laid before the em- 
jieror to be written in the foreign character 
as before. 

" 2nd. Important affairs to be addressed 
to the viceroy, commercial affairs to the 
hoppo, local district affairs to the local ma- 
gistrates. 

" 3rd. Further arrangements respecting 
the boats passing the Bogue ; the people will 
then be directed to behave courteously. 

" 4th. The opening or not of the trade 
will not be inquired into. 

♦ Davis's China, chap. iii. pp. 72, 73. 




THE RKGHT H(D)M»?'? lORB AMHERST. 
G^W^^^^S^ QyU^c^a4^//?v/^ GyS'U//^m' a;^i.c^>t/u^, (atz^n^Cim.-- 



C'jiAr. CV.J 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



629 



" 5th. Notice will be given wlien natives 
are tried implicating foreigners. 

" An edict confirming the same was issued 
on the 2nd December." 

The year 1814 was signalised in the history 
of the British in India by the commencement 
of the compilation of an Anglo-Chinese dic- 
tionary, by the Rev. Dr. Morrison, a mis- 
sionary of the London Missionary Society, 
and an English congregational minister. The 
perseverance and devotedness of this remark- 
able man made him in this, as in so many other 
respects, a benc-factor to the Chinese people, to 
the English in China, and nsefnl to the relations 
of the two nations. The directors of the East 
India Company favoured this great under- 
taking, as did their select committee at Can- 
ton. Sir G. Staunton, at the request of the 
committee, superintended the issue of the 
work. The whole work was not completed 
until 1824, Dr. i\Iorrison having been in- 
terrupted in his labours by attendance at the 
embassy in 1818. 

In 181G it was determined by his majesty's 
government and the court of directors, that an 
embassy should be sent to the Chinese em- 
peror from the Prince Regent of England. 
Lord Amherst was fixed upon as a suit- 
able person for this important mission. The 
ostensible objects of this embassy were 
briefly stated to be — "a removal of the grie- 
vances which had been experienced, and an 
exemption from them and others of the like 
nature for the time to come, with the esta- 
blishment of the company's trade upon a 
secure, solid, equitable footing, free from the 
capricious, arbitrary aggressions of the local 
authorities, and under the protection of the 
emperor, and the sanction of the regulations 
to be appointed Isy himself." 

The embassy embarked at Spithead, on 
board his majesty's ship Alcesle, on the 8th 
of February, ISlfi, and arrived at the mouth 
of the White River, Gulf of Pe-tche-lee, on the 
28th of July. The disembarkation. did not 
take place until the 9th of August, when the 
imperial legate visited Lord Amherst. It 
was arranged that negotiations should not be 
entered into until the arrival of the ambas- 
sador at Tien-Sing. On the 12th his excel- 
lency arrived there, and was met by a second 
imperial legate, when a discussion at once 
arose as to the performance of " ko-tow" — the 
homage demanded by the emperor from all 
representatives of foreign princes. Lord Am- 
herst refused. His excellency and suite, ac- 
companied by the legates, proceeded up river. 
On the IGth of August, his lordship was 
roused from his bed at a very early hour by 
the Chinese officials, for the purpose of in- 
forming him that the homage or " ko-tow " 



must be performed, or his further advance 
stopped. Lord Amherst objected to the cere- 
mony as an indignity to the king his master, 
and to the British nation. He argued that 
if the ceremony were merely a form, as the 
Chinese officials pretended, then he had no 
objection to practise it, provided a written 
declaration were made to him that a Chinese 
ambassador would perform the same ceremony 
at the court of his Britannic majesty in case 
such W'Cre sent there. The legates refused to 
give any such pledge, and made the "ko- 
tow " the alternative to the dismissal of the 
embassy. The legates pi-oposed that a re- 
hearsal should be performed, in order that the 
ambassador might try how far his scruples 
were unrelenting, biit it was intended that 
this rehearsal shoidd be public and ceremo- 
nious, and was evidently intended as a trap 
for his excellency, who declined any rehearsal 
whatever, adhering to his previous stipula- 
tion, which he repeated. The voyage was 
prosecuted to Tong-choo-foo, where the navi- 
gation of the river ends, and whence the 
journey to Pekin, only twelve miles, is per- 
formed by land. At this place the legates 
proposed that the ambassador should write 
home for instructions. His lordship de- 
clined doing so, and was treated rudely by 
the mandarins. He insisted upon sending a 
letter to the emperor ; upon producing the 
superscription, the evidence of his lordship's 
high rank seemed to awe the officials, and 
their rudeness gave place to obsequiousness. 

In the afternoon of the 28th, the embassy 
arrived at Pekin, which it was not permitted 
to enter, but was conducted round the walls, 
and at sunrise was in the neighbourhood of 
Yuen-min-yuen. The ambassador was not 
allowed to see the emperor, or personally to 
deliver his credentials to the prime -minister, 
as he still persisted in refusing a homage 
which amounted to idolatrous worship, and 
which recognised the Emperor of China as the 
sovereign of the universe, and the King of 
England as his tributary. 

His excellency and suite were compelled 
to return ; en route to Canton he was treated 
with respect. He arrived at the factory on 
the 1st of January, 1817. The frustration 
of the mission was mainly due to the viceroy, 
and other officials at Canton, who knew that 
its chief object was to complain of their inso- 
lence, violence, oppression, and extortion. 

During the passage of Lord Amherst up 
the river, and overland to Pekin, and even 
while returning, the Canton authorities be- 
haved with ill will to the British naval offi- 
cers in the Canton river. The captain of the 
Alcesle (Lord Amherst's vessel) was refused 
anchorage at Whampoa. Of this circum- 



<i^, 



680 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. OV. 



Btance, Mr. Davis observes : — " It was in- 
tended to degrade the British ambassador 
below the tribute-bearer from Siam, whose 
junk has free leave to enter the river ! The 
Alceste, ho\yever, proceeded very leisurely 
on her way ; and Captain IMaxwell, on being 
fired at by the junks, and the fort at the 
river's mouth, silenced the junks at a single 
ghot ; while one broadside sufficed to send 
the garrison of the fort scampering up the 
side of the hill, down which that defence is 
somewhat preposterously built. The effect 
of this decisive conduct was evinced iu the 
short space of one day, by the arrival of all 
sorts of provisions to the Alceste at Whampoa, 
by a free consent to load the Hewett, and by 
the publication of a statement that the firing 
at the entrance of the river was an affair of 
ealuting ! Those who composed the embassy 
were gratified to find on their arrival at 
Canton, on the 1st of January, that Captain 
Maxwell had not been deterred by any un- 
necessary apprehensions for their safety from 
duly maintaining the dignity of the i3ritish 
flag." 

The duties and annoyances of Lord Am- 
herst were not over on his arrival at Canton. 
The emperor had written a letter for the 
Regent, and committed the delivery of it to 
his viceroy at Canton, who was personally to 
place it in the hands of the British ambassadoi'. 
This ceremony was performed in an emi- 
nently uncivil manner, which the ambassador 
took care to rebuke in a way which com- 
ported with the dignity of his bearing through- 
out. This ceremonial terminated Lord Am- 
herst's business in China. Barrow relates,* 
that Lord Macartney's embassy cost the Chi- 
nese government £170,000. Mr. Davis was 
of opinion that the embassy of Lord Amherst 
cost it an equal sum. The letter of the 
emperor to the Prince Regent was intolerably 
insolent and arrogant. The following pas- 
sages from it will suffice to disclose its cha- 
racter : — " Hereafter there is no occasion for 
you to send an ambassador so far, and be at 
the trouble of passing over mountains and 
crossing seas ;" and in a vermillion edictf the 
following passage : — " I therefore sent down 
my pleasure to expel these ambassadors, and 
send them back to their own country, without 
punishing the high crime they had committed." 

Immediately after the departure of the 
ambassador, various acts of cruelty were per- 
petrated by the Canton authorities, which 
were intended chiefly as insults and threats 
to the English. The failure of the embassy 
was much discussed in England, very many 

* Travels in China. 

t From its being written on paper of that colour by 
the emperor's own baud. 



were of opinion that Lord Amherst should 
have complied with the Chinese customs, 
whatever they were. Dr. Barry O'Meara, in 
his Voice from St. Helena, represents the 
imprisoned Emperor Napoleon I., as derid- 
ing the English and Lord Amherst for their 
pride and impracticability in not stooping to 
any humiliation the Chinese thought proper 
to impose, which the ex-emperor considered 
indifferent, whereas the commercial advan- 
tage to be obtained was substantial. The 
opinion of so renowned a person was much 
quoted iu Europe, and especially in England 
after O'Meara's book was published, when- 
ever Chinese affairs brought up the subject. 
The Emperor Napoleon was however a bad 
judge on points of ethics or honour, however 
sagacious in matters of war or policy. He 
could assume the language and conduct of 
a Mohammedan in Egypt, a Romanist in 
Italy, and an atheist in France, when poli- 
tical and jiersonal objects were to be promoted 
by so doing. Lord Amherst's honour and 
principle were of a higher cast, and regulated 
by a sense of duty drawn from purer sources 
than any acknowledged as authoritative by 
Napoleon Buonaparte. Lord Amherst did 
not, like his French imperial majesty, place 
the Bible on his political book-shelves ; he 
had another and more becoming compartment 
for it. Duty to the person of his king, the 
honour and dignity of his country, and to the 
religion he professed, forbid Lord Amherst 
to render the idolatrous homage and recog- 
nition of supremacy demanded by the Tartar 
emperor. He acted conscientiously, and the 
present generation of Englishmen at all 
events approves. Had Lord Amherst par- 
ticipated in the degrading and dishonourable 
ceremonial proposed, he would not in all pro- 
bability have obtained any advantages for his 
nation, and the English would have been re- 
minded at Canton by the viceroy, that their 
king was the emperor's slave. At it was, the 
firmness of the ambassador much impressed 
the Chinese authorities, and notwithstanding 
their first outbursts of resentment, made them 
more wary of affronting a people who might 
assert their independence in a very trouble- 
some manner. At all events, Mr. Davis, who 
had opportunities of personally observing the 
effects, thus expresses a similar opinion : — 
" It has often been a subject of just remark, 
that this tinsttccessfnl mission was followed 
by a longer interval of tranquillity, and of 
freedom from Chinese annoyance than had 
ever been experienced before. From the 
year 1816 to 1820, not a single stoppage of 
the British trade took place, except in the 
affair of the Topaze frigate in 1822; and 
then the Canton government was glad to 



CiiAP. CV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



631 



make the first advances to a resumption of 
the suspended intercourse, as we shall see. 
In 1820 an accidental occurrence took place, 
which gave rise to transactions of a very re- 
markable nature, proving in the strongest 
manner the anxiety of the government to 
avoid a discussion with the English. Some 
boats from one of the company's ships were 
watering in the river, when they wore bar- 
barously attacked by a party of Chinese with 
stones. The officer in charge of the boats 
fired over the heads of the assailants to make 
them desist, but the shot unfortunately took 
effect among some boys on a high bank oppo- 
site, and killed one of them. The Chinese, 
as usual, demanded that somebody should be 
given up ; but the committee insisted on the 
urgent emergency which led to the discharge 
of the gun, as well as on the accidental na- 
ture of the case. In the meanwhile, the 
butcher on board one of the ships committed 
suicide ; and the Chinese, on hearing this, 
immediately took it up, thinking proper to 
assume that he must be the individual who 
had shot the boy I The utmost eagerness 
and haste were shown by them in appointing 
an inquest of mandarins, who proceeded to 
examine the body ; and, as it was decided by 
them at once that the deceased butcher must 
be the homicide, the trade proceeded as 
usual. It must be observed, that the com- 
mittee only granted permission for the ship 
to be boarded by the mandarins when they 
demanded it, and that the whole proceeding 
showed the extreme anxiety of the local au- 
thorities to accommodate the affair." 

The English abstained, however, from all 
compromise in the transaction, as is known by 
the distinct testimony of the Rev. Dr. Morri- 
son, the congregational missionary, and Chi- 
nese interpreter to the company. Tliis nar- 
rative shows at once the difficulty the En- 
glish had in carrying on trade peaceably with 
the Chinese, and the good effect of firmness 
tempered by justice and discretion in dealing 
with the Cantonese authorities. No other 
events of interest occurred in connection with 
English relations to China, during the period 
to which this chapter refers. 

CONQUEST OF MAURITIUS. 
During the Marquis of Wellesley's govern- 
ment, various measures were contemplated 
by him to frustrate the purposes and humi- 
liate the power of the French and Dutch in 
the Eastern Archipelago. The expedition of 
Buonaparte to Egypt disconcerted these mea- 
sures. General Baird and General Wellesley, 
who were nominated first to command the 
military portion of an expedition to the 
Mauritius, and then against 13atavia, received 



other commissions. The admiral who was 
to command the naval part of these enter- 
prises did not make his appearance at the 
rendezvous, Trincomalee; and General Baird 
was dispatched with the troops to Egypt, 
General Wellesley to Mysore. No oppor- 
tunity for prosecuting either of the meditated 
attacks occurred until 1810, during the go- 
vernment of Lord Blinto. The capture of 
Mauritius does not properly come within the 
range of this history; it is therefore here only 
necessary to observe that the expedition 
against the Mauritius was successful, and that 
the conquest much reduced French influence 
in the East. 

At the same time the Isle of Bourbon was 
captured, but was restored to France at the 
peace of 1814. 

CONQUEST OF THE MOLUCCAS. 

Lord Minto's career as an Indian states- 
man was closed with more eclat than it other- 
wise would have been, by his acquisition of 
the Stoluccas and the Island of Java. " An 
empire, which for two centuries had contri- 
buted to the power, prosperity, and grandeur 
of one of the principal and most respected 
states of Europe, was wrested from the short 
usurpation of the French government,* added 
to the dominions of the British crown, and 
converted from a seat of hostile machinations 
and commercial competition, into an aug- 
mentation of British power and prosperity ."f 

In the year 1808 Mr. Raffles, afterwards 
Sir Stamford Raffles, was secretary to the 
government of Prince of Wales' Island. Ill 
health compelled change of scene, and he pro- 
ceeded to the Moluccas. There he acquired 
considerable information as to the trade and 
general condition of the islands near and 
beyond the Straits. He also obtained very 
precise information of the power of the Dutch, 
and the value of their possessions in the great 
Archipelago. Mr. Raffles drew up reports 
of the condition of Penang and Malacca, 
which influenced the government in modify- 
ing their intentions in respect to these settle- 
ments, and their views of the importance 
which should be attached to them. Mr. 
Raffles drew up a paper on "the Malayan 
Archipelago," which so pleased Lord Minto, 
that he desired to make the gifted author go- 
vernor of the Moluccas. With this intention 
other claims interfered. In the document 
drawn up by Mr. Raffles, he insisted upon 
the necessity to the ultimate interests of 

* The Moluccas and Java, with its minor islands, were 
subjected to Fraace, when Holland, the parent country, 
was conquered by the French. 

t Auber's Rise and Progress of the British Power in 
India, vol. ii. chap. lii. p. 470. 



5S2 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CV. 



England in the East, that French influence 
should be completely extirpated throughout 
the Archipelago. The governor-general re- 
solved to carry out the opinions of Mr. Raffles, 
and to proceed himself with an expedition 
against Java. 

Previous to the accomplishment of his pur- 
pose, some other achievements were performed 
in consonance with the general object, such as 
the reduction of the Moluccas, or Spice Islands. 

In the middle of February, 1810, Captain 
Tucker, with his majesty's ships 7)oi^er, Corn- 
wall, and Samarang, and part of the IMadras 
European regiment, under Captain Court, 
arrived off the island of Amboyna. The ships 
opened a heavy cannonade. Under their fire 
four hundred of the Madras regiment were 
landed, in two detachments, one under Cap- 
tain Court, the other commanded by Captain 
Philips. Philips attacked a battery in front, 
and carried it by storm. Court made a circuit 
and took some of the redoubts in reverse. 
The next morning the guns of the captured 
batteries were directed against the to^vn and 
fort. The Dutch governor was summoned to 
surrender, and obeyed. Thirteen hundred 
Dutch and Malay soldiers laid down their 
arms. The former were sent to Java, — a very 
questionable policy, as that place was about 
to be attacked. The Malays were enlisted in 
the English service. Thus the English at 
last, and finally, avenged the insults and out- 
rages inflicted upon them so long before, by 
the Dutch at that place. The whole of the 
Moluccas were soon afterwards captured, the 
Dutch in every case making a feeble resist- 
ance, unworthy of their former glory. The 
garrisons of the Batavian republic were swiftly 
swept from the Archipelago, except from 
Java and its neighbouring isles. The last 
of the Moluccas that yielded to British power 
was Ternate, the scene of so much competi- 
tion and contention between them and the 
Dutch in the early enterprises of the traders 
of those nations among the Spice Islands. 
There exists but little information concerning 
the attack on this place, once so famous as a 
battle-field for the maritime rivals in the 
Archipelago. Mill has compressed some 
fragmentary accounts in the Asiatic Register, 
vol. xii. — the official despatches and old news- 
paper correspondence. His narrative is brief 
and clear, and supplies all that is worth 
relating. " Ternate was taken by Captain 
Tucker with a detachment of Eurojjeans, the 
seamen and marines of the Dover, and some 
of the newly enlisted Amboyna corps. Cap- 
tain Tucker arrived off the island on the 25th 
August; but light and baffling winds kept 
him off the shore, and a landing was not prac- 
ticable till the 28th. A hundred and seventy 



men were landed in the night, with intent to 
surprise the forts and batteries which guarded 
the bay. The difficulties of the approach 
frustrated the scheme, and the men were re- 
embarked. Early in the morning they were 
again put on shore ; and, whilst the frigate 
engrossed the attention of the enemy, they 
proceeded unobserved to an eminence sup- 
posed to command the Fort of Kayomaira, 
the principal Dutch post. They arrived on the 
hill at noon ; but to their great vexation they 
found that the fort was screened from their 
view by an intervening forest. They then 
endeavoured to proceed by an inland route, 
but, after incessant exertion throughout the 
day, it was found impossible to disencumber 
the path of the immense trees which had been 
cut down and piled across it. Turning to the 
right, they followed the course of a rivulet 
which led to the beach, and brought them 
about ten o'clock within eight hundred yards 
of the fort before they were discovered. Dis- 
regarding a smart fire of grape and musketry, 
they rushed forward, escaladed the walls, and 
carried the fort. On the following morning 
the combined operations of the detachment 
and frigate overpowered the other defences 
of the bay, and by the evening the town and 
island were surrendered. Few casualties im- 
paired the exultation of the victors. Their 
conquest completed the reduction of the Mo- 
luccas, and Java with its dependencies alone 
remained in the possession of the Dutch." 

CONQXIEST OF JAVA AND ITS DEPENDENCIES. 

Having ^Tested the Moluccas from the 
united grasp of France and Holland, the 
English were eager for the meditated attack 
upon Java. The governor-general deter- 
mined upon personally superintending the 
operations ; some delay was therefore neces- 
sary. The delays perpetually interposed by 
the naval commanders were, however, the 
chief difficulties in the way of all enterprises 
which the Indian government had hitherto 
attempted by sea. This want of alertness 
was shown at Mauritius and the Isle of 
France, Amboyna, and Ternate ; and but for 
the intelligence of Mr. Raffles, and the deter- 
mination of the governor-general not to be 
impeded by the admirals, and to carry out his 
purpose promptly and resolutely, the under- 
taking would have been deferred that year, — 
probably for over ; for it is certain that the 
French and Dutch would have made desperate 
efforts to send reinforcements and supplies, 
and the garrisons would have made the de- 
fences infinitely more formidable. In pursu- 
ance of his object Lord Minto proceeded to 
Madras, on the "Jth March, 1811. Troops 



(Jhap. CV.J 



IN IN13IA AND THE EAST. 



683 



were ordered to proceed from Bengal oa the 
loth and 16th; on the 18th of April he 
reached Penang. The extent of information 
with which Mr. Raffles was enabled to funiiah 
the governor-general on all points relating to 
countries of which scarcely anything was 
known, and the comprehensive views with 
which he accompanied his reports, proved of 
infinite value. An incident that occurred at 
this stage of the proceedings marhod the 
judgment and decision of Mr. Raffles. The 
"late period when the expedition reached 
Malacca, caused some anxiety on account of 
the favourable monsoon, which was nearly 
terminating. A question arose as to which of 
two passages should be followed, in the course 
towards Java. The point called for an imme- 
diate determination ; the choice was to be 
made between the northern route, round 
Borneo, which, from the little known of the 
navigation of those seas, was thought to be 
the only practicable one, es])ecially for a fleet ; 
but how the dangers of the Bartabac passage, 
where only one ship could pass at a time, 
were to be avoided, no one could suggest. 
Mr. Raffles had strongly recommended the 
south-west passage, between Caramata and 
Borneo, and -'staked his reputation on the 
success which would attend it." The naval 
authorities were opposed to it; but Lord 
Minto reposed full confidence in the judg- 
ment and local information of Mr. Raffles, 
by embarking with him in his majesty's 
ship the Modeste, commanded by Captain 
the Hon. George Elliot, on the 18th of 
June, 1811, and leading the way on Mr. 
Raffles' sole responsibility. The result was 
entirely successful. The fleet, consisting of 
sixty sail,* was in six weeks in sight of Ba- 
tavia, without a single accident. The Modeste 
alone would have done it a fortnight sooner.-j- 
In the progress of the expedition from the 
roads of Madras, much danger was incurred 
by storms. His majesty's ship Dover, and 
many other vessels which remained longest, 
were driven on shore at Madras, and wrecked. 
Happily, the transports, with the troops on 
board, left in time, and escaped. The first 
division of the army left Madras April 18th, | 
1811, under the command of Colonel Robert 
RoUo Gillespie. When Lord Minto arrived 
at Malacca, he learned that General Daendels 
had been recalled by the French goverament, 
and tliat General Jansens had replaced him, 
and had brought out strong reinforcements. 

* Mill computes them at 100 sail. He probably reckons 
a description of vessels which Auber docs not include in 
" the fleet." 

t M. Auber's Rise of British Power, &c. 

X Thorn's Memoir of t/ie Conqiinit of Jura. Ixiiidon, 
1815. 

VOt,. H. 



Sir Samuel Auchmuty, the British commander, 
was led by the information which reached him 
Irom various quarters, to decide on attacking 
Batavia, as the place where the contests for 
the Franco-Dutch colonies of Java and de- 
pendencies was likely to be decided. 

On the evening of the 3rd of August, the 
vanguard of the fleet made Cape Carawang, 
and early next morning ran in for the mouth 
of the Mirandi river. During the lulls which 
occurred between the land and sea breezes, 
the ships safely anchored. ICarly in the even- 
ing the first division of the troops landed. 
The fleet, when all had assembled, consisted, 
according to Major Hough, of four sail of the 
line, fourteen frigates, seven sloops, eight 
of the honourable company's cruisers, fifty - 
seven transports, and seventeen gun -boats, 
under the command of Rear- Admiral Stopford, 
who joined the expedition at Batavia. When 
at Malacca, the military force was officially 
reported * to be as follows : — 
General Atstraet of the Armij, Malacca, ith June, 1811. 
NATIVE N. c. o. & 

OfilCERS. omCEBS. TKIVATES. TOIAl.. 

European forces 200 — iil44 5344 

Native forces 124 123 5530 5777 



324 
Pioneers, Lascars, &c. 



123 



10,674 



11.121 
839 



Grand total 11,960 
Of this force 1,200 were left behind sick, at 
Malacca ; 1,500 of the remainder became ill 
on landing at Java. The cause of this sick- 
ness was not the climate of Java, but the 
bad, and, in some cases, disgusting quarters 
afforded to the men wliile on board the tran- 
sports, together with the rough weather en- 
countered on the passage. 

Colonel Gillespie and the advance brigade 
first landed at Chillingching, a village ten 
miles or so to the eastward of Batavia. He 
immediately took up a position over the road 
to Cornells, to gain possession of that road, 
and protect the landing of the rest of tlie 
troops, which was safely effected. 

On the 7th of August, the advance guard 
of the British crossed the Augale river by a 
bridge of boats, and halted themselves.f The 
next day, Batavia was summoned. The inha- 
bitants, such as the French had not driven 
away, were eager to surrender ; and our troops 
had therefore no difficulty in taking posses- 
sion of the town. 

It was expected that the French and Dutch 
would make a stand at Weltevreeden. Against 
that place the army began its march on the 
10th. The cantonments were abandoned on 

* Major Tliorn, deputy quartermaster-general at Java. 
t Wilson, vol. vii. p. 35C. 

3z 



534 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CV. 



the approach of our army, but General Jumel, 
the French officer second in command, had 
intrenched a camp for a division of the Dutch 
army in a strong position, overlooking the 
road to Cornells, about a mile from Welte- 
vreeden. Two villages covered tlie position 
of the Dutch infantry. Tlie enemy met our 
advance with grape and musketry ; the Eng- 
lish general skirmished in front, using his 
horse artillery and rifles freely, and turned 
with his main force the lelt flank of the de- 
fence. Having set fire to the villages, the 
British troops charged through the smoke and 
burning houses, dispossessing the Dutch infan- 
try and artillery of every strategical point, 
and driving them in headlong retreat until 
they found protection under the cannon of 
Cornells. In the arsenal of Weltevreeden a 
large amount of military stores and 300 guns 
became the prize of the victors. General 
Jansens was confident that Cornells would 
defy the whole force of the governor-general 
until the rainy season would render it impos- 
sible to occupy trenches or a camp in its 
vicinity, and cause great loss in sickness to 
the English if they attempted a blockade. 
Jansens held an intrenched camp, his flanks 
protected between two rivers, the Sloken and 
the Batavia river. It was a position resem- 
bling that which Scindiah occupied when 
General Wellosley fought the desperate 
battle of Assaye. The Batavian river near 
Cornells was unfordable, and the banks broken 
in abrupt acclivities. The Sloken was, with 
difficulty, fordable, but it was defended by 
powerful batteries and redoubts. There was 
a strong redoubt on the British side of the 
river to protect the only bridge left standing. 
Between the two rivers the trenches were 
protected by formidable redoubts, and the in- 
equality of the ground concealed the strength 
of the defences, and gave the defenders op- 
portunity to manoeuvre against any assail- 
ants, whatever quarter the attack came from. 
The camp, both in front and rear, was pro- 
tected similarly, both by art and nature. The 
circumference of the lines was nearly five 
miles, and was mounted by 2S0 pieces of 
cannon. Seldom had the English in all their 
daring assaults on strong places, a position 
presented to their attack more undesirable. 

On the night of the 20th of August, the 
English began regular approaches, and as the 
works progressed, a heavy battering train was 
mounted. The main attack was upon the 
tete du pont. Having battered the redoubt, 
and considerably weakened the enemy's fire, 
the moment for the assault arrived. Colonel 
Gillespie took the command. He was the 
same officer who (related in our account of 
the Goorkha campaign), as Major-general Sir 



R. R. Gillespie, was killed on the 3lst of 
October, 1814, at Kalunga, in Nepaul. He 
had some dismounted dragoons, the body- 
guard, and a body of marines ; besides the 
grenadier and light and rifle companies of the 
14th, 59th, 69th, and 78th regiments, and 
grenadiers of 5th and Cth volunteers, Madias 
pioneers. Lieutenant-colonel Macleod and 
Major Tule were ordered to advance, the 
first named against a redoubt in the angle of 
the enemy's front and left, the other upon the 
bridge leading to the rear. 

On the night of the 26th of August, the 
English began their formidable task. Gil- 
lespie led his men on in silence ; at dawn the 
enemy's videttes perceived him : the British, 
as commanded, abstained from firing a shot, 
but rushed upon the pickets with the 
bayonet, nearly all of whom j)erished, and 
the advance redoubt was carried nearly as 
soon as the alarm was given. The promp- 
titude, celerity, and discipline of the English 
gave effect to valour, and this first step of 
their progress was accomplished without loss. 
The 78th regiment, without entering the re- 
doubt, carried the bridge over the Sloken. 
Gillespie crossed with them, and without firing 
a shot dashed at once against the redoubt 
within the lines, which also commanded the 
passage of the bridge. Each of these re- 
doubts had twenty eighteeu-pounder guns, 
besides several of twenty-four and of thirty- 
two pounds. Colonel Gibbs, who was guided 
to the scene of action by the enemy's fire, 
crossed the bridge after Gillespie, and while 
that officer stormed the redoubt to the left, 
Gibbs turned to the right, where another 
redoubt was also in a position to command 
the bridge; he at once stormed it, relying 
solely on the bayonet. When the bulwark 
was conquered, a Dutch officer set fire to the 
magazine, which blew up, causing terrible 
havoc and destruction. The devoted man 
who thus sacrificed his own life to what he 
considered the honour and interests of his 
country, inflicted by his suicidal act severe 
loss upon his enemies. The grenadier com- 
panies (there were two on the occasion) of 
his majesty's 14th regimeut were blown up. 
Many other English soldiers perished. Con- 
trary to the intentions of the Dutch officer, 
his act also -slew many of his own country- 
men. The magazine was fired before the 
Dutch and French could make good their 
retreat. By these events a way into the in- 
trenched camp was conquered, and the Eng- 
lish poured over the bridge impetuously, 
spreading in every direction most likely to 
make their conquest sure. Cornells was en- 
tered, and the enemy driven out. The whole 
of this work was performed in the dim grey 



Chap. CV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



S9S 



liglit of early dawn, but by the time it was 
accomplislied the sun was above the horizon, 
and both armies were presented to one 
another in full view. The enemy was dis- 
jjersed, broken, or bayoneted in the redoubts 
and trenches. The English were mustering 
in order, undisputed victors of the position. 
The enemy had strong reserves which had 
made no effort to save the place ; these were 
drawn up on a jilain in front of the barracks 
and lesser fort, protected by its guns. There 
were several battalions of infanti'y, a consi- 
derable body of cavalry, heavy guns in posi- 
tion, and twenty pieces of horse artillery in 
line. There appeared a prospect of a new 
and fierce engagement. His majesty's 69th 
regiment at once advanced, and the enemy 
shamefully gave way. The 59th entered and 
captured the fort, while Colonel Gillespie, 
coming up with the dragoons and horse artil- 
lery, the retreat of the enemy broke into a 
disgraceful flight. For ten miles Gillespie 
maintained the pursuit, pouring grape into 
the flying masses, and passing between the ; 
different bodies with his cavalry, cut them up, I 
unless as their cries for mercy stayed the j 
hands which wielded the British sabres. Six 
thousand were thus spared ; a regiment of 
French voltigenrs, fresh from France, laid 
down their arms. The number slain was not 
computed ; at all events, no correct reports 
remain to attest it. The English lost eighty- 
live officers killed and wounded, and eight 
hundred men. There were besides, seventy- 
three seamen and marines numbered among 
the Briti.sli who fell. General Jansen escaped 
with a small body of his light cavalry to the 
eastern coast. A squadron of frigates, with 
extra detachments of marines, were sent to 
Clieribon, the place surrendered to Colonel 
Wood. 

While Sir S. Auchmuty went in pursuit of 
Jansens, a naval expedition was directed 
against the Island of Madura, off the north- 
east coast of Java ; it was captured. Jansens 
collected a force of native cavalry at .later, 
six miles from Samarang. Auchmuty landed 
at Samavang, from whicii the inhabitants fled. 
He went at once in quest of the enemy's 
camp, wiiich was drawn up on a range of 
hills, difficult of access, their steeps present- 
ing a surface of sharp and broken crags. 
The occupants of the camp were chiefly 
natives, and numbered about eight thou.sand 
men, with twenty guns in position. Auch- 
niuty's force was one thousand strong, a very 
excellently formed body, all Europeans, en- 
gineers, sappers and miners, artillery, &c., 
being in proportion to the companies of the 
line. He had a strong detachment of pioneers, 
and six light field-pieces. The summit of the 



range was level and grassy, fit for cavalry, 
of which the native army was composed. 
There were also slopes by which the troopers 
could ascend or descend along the opposite 
sides with ease. As soon as Auchmuty'a 
pioneers began their work, the troopers took 
to flight, leaving the guns behind them, which, 
with the exception of occupying the field, 
was the only honour or advantage won by 
General Auchmuty. General Jansens shortly 
after surrendered the island to Great Britain, 
and the troops yet in arms as prisoners of war. 

The conquest of Java and the Moluccas 
led to the promotion of Lord Minto in the 
peerage ; he was made an earl. Mr. Raflles 
was knighted, and made " lieutenant-governor 
of Java and its dependencies." Colonel Gil- 
lespie obtained the command of the troops. 
Tills officer manifested a strangely hostile 
feeling to Sir Stamford Raffles. He could 
regard no subject in the same light as the 
governor. The latter was a statesman, a 
scholar, and a philosopher, and Colonel Gil- 
lespie was unable to apprehend the extent or 
depth of the governor's views. The colonel 
desired to occupy Java with numerous forces ; 
the governor believed it unnecessary, and 
insisted upon economy in the new govern- 
ment. Gillespie resented this, and brought 
so many and such serious charges against his 
excellency, that it became necessary for the 
governor-general of India to institute an 
official inquiry, which issued in the honour- 
able acquittal of Raffles from all the impeach- 
ments so petulantly brought against him. 
The commander-in-chief was displaced. 

While yet Colonel Gillespie continued in 
command, his services were actively demanded 
in various ways to preserve in order the ter- 
ritory which he had so gallantly done his 
part to conquer. The French and Dutch 
stirred up the natives against the English by 
all sorts of misrepresentations. The Sultan 
of Yadtryakaita proclaimed war against the 
invaders. Gillespie attacked his capital, and 
carried it by storm. The sultan himself was 
taken prisoner and exiled to Penang. His 
son was placed by the English on the vacant 
throne. The capture of Yadtryakaita ap- 
palled the young sultan, and made him sub- 
missive to the English. It had been defended 
by one hundred thousand men, who showed 
much courage, but their weapons and disci- 
pline were so inferior, that they were unable 
to defend the place even against a few thou- 
sand Europeans. 

On the north-east coast of Sumatra, the 
Sultan of Palembang defied the power of tlie 
English. Gillespie sailed from Java, in March, 
1812, and the sultan fled without striking a 
blow for his independence. The Englislv 



C3G 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CV. 



conimaiider dethroned him, and placed his 
brother on the throne. The expedition was 
taken, because the sultan had entered into an 
engagement with the Dutch, refused subse- 
quently to revoke it, and bound himself not 
to admit them or the French to his dominions. 
The position in which the English then were 
positively demanded the adoption of a policy, 
towards the neighbouring sultans, of treating 
all as enemies who were not allies : other- 
wise the French and Dutch would form 
points of support on the different islands, and 
endanger the British possessions. Batavia 
had too long proved a source of peril to 
English commerce in the Eastern seas, for 
the English quietly to allow French or Dutch, 
when vanquished in one place, to create a 
position of power in another. 

On the 18th of May, Colonel Gillespie left 
(Sumatra for Bauea, of which place he took 
possession. Java remained in the quiet pos- 
session of the British until 1815, when a 
circumstance occurred which created consi- 
derable alarm. The native officers, non- 
commissioned officers, and privates of a Bengal 
light infantry battalion conspired, in October, 
with some other sepoys and their officers, 
to murder all Europeans upon whom they 
could lay their hands, and desert, or, subvert- 
ing the constituted authorities, join the natives 
of Java in effecting a revolution. The cause 
of this atrocious conspiracy lay as usual in a 
breach of faith committed by the government. 
The conspirators were volunteers, who, con- 
trary to the prejudices of their caste and 
nation, freely offered to join the expedition 
to Java, on condition of being restored to 
their country at the expiration of the third 
year of service. The government was very 
glad to make the bargain, but the English 
officials had no concern about keeping it. 
It was scandalously and tyrannously vio- 
lated. The sepoj'S, despairing of all hope of 
again seeing their country, and smarting 
under a sense of wrong, gave way to the 
vindictive passions which characterise the 
Bengalees, and the hatred of Europeans 
and Christians, which is as strongly charac- 
teristic of them, and formed the sanguinary 
purpose, which, had it not been timely dis- 
covered, would have been ruthlessly executed. 
It is remarkable how the sepoy has ever 
proved himself the same sanguinary monster, 
whether at Vellore, or Java, or Cawnpore. It 
is equally remarkable that after such decided 
proofs of their readiness, men and officers, to 
assassinate their comrades and defenceless 
Europeans, upon any provocation from the 
government, that both the government and 
British officers continued to trust them, until 
the mutiny of 1857, and the horrid butcheries 



j of Cawnpore. Some of the criminals of Java 
were executed, the rest were drafted into 

, battalions returning home. A sanguinary out- 
rage was in truth the shortest way to obtain 
justice, when the soldier in India was robbed 
or wronged by lii.s superiors. 

In 181G, Java was given up to Holland. 
The overthrow of Xapoleon Buonajjarte in the 
campaign of 1813, led to general rearrange- 
ments among the European governments, all of 
whom showed jealousy of England, upon whom 
the brunt of the war fell in the coalition 
against France. The ministers of England 
were deficient in intelligence, patriotism, and 
diplomatic talent. They were far more soli- 
citous to prop up the despotisms of continental 
Europe, to flatter, and to caress them, than 
they were to secure the commercial advantage 
and national honour of the United Kingdom. 
The authorities in India made strong repre- 
sentations against the surrender of Java. 
The East India Company was anxious for 
its retention. Sir Stamford Raffles pointed 
out, in an able despatch, the vast resources of 
that island, as one of the richest and most 
fertile places on the globe. He showed that 
the time must come when a mighty trade 
would be carried on through the Straits with 
China, and that whatever European power or 
powers would possess the islands of the Easterii 
Archipelago could command that trade. The 
despatch of the eminent statesmen, the lieute- 
nant-governor of Java, was not even read by 
the minister of the day; and other important 
despatches were at the same time treated 
with similar insolent contempt, or culpable 
neglect. The grand object with the ministry 
was the upholding and extension of despotic 
government everywhere. The opposition 
were influenced in their arguments, and per- 
haps in their motives, by party. When Java 
was conquered, Sheridan, who knew nothing 
of the subject, and who, except for party pur- 
poses, seldom paid attention to any matter of 
public interest, derided the conquest as not 
worth the expense incurred. The object of 
the eloquent declaimer was to damage the 
ministry ; he took no trouble to ascertain the 
truth. The object of the English ministry 
was to satisfy the Holy Alliance: English com- 
merce, and the interests of the English people, 
were secondary objects. No surrender of 
territory was ever made by the English more 
impolitic. The abandonment of Borneo at a 
later period, although a most injurious steji 
to English interests, and in spite of the ex- 
pressed will of the bankers, merchants, and 
manufacturers of England, as well as the 
merchants of Singapore and India, was not 
so purblind as the surrender of Java. In 
1814 when England agreed to surrender 



Chap. OVl.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



537 



Java to the Dutch, the revenue of the island 
was more than half a million sterling. The 
government of Holland was so occupied by 
the return of Napoleon from Elba, and the 
campaign in Belgium and France in 1815, 



that it was unable to take advantage of the 
cession made by " its generous ally." It was 
not therefore until the end of 181G, that the 
Dutch flag again floated over the queen of 
the eastern isles. 



CHAPTER CVl. 

HOME KVENTS (;u\:vKCTED WITH THE EAST INDIA CO.MPANY FROM THE BEGINNING OF 
THE lOtn CENTURY TO THE RENEWAL OF THE OHAFTER IN 1833-4. 



The century opened as to the home affairs of 
the company with a grave discussion concern- 
ing " the shipping intere.it." The company's 
ships were the finest merchantmen in the 
world ; capable of coping in battle with the 
martial navies of other countries, even with 
those of Holland, France, and Spain. The 
peculiar manner in which these siiips were 
held as property, by persons holding votes 
in the proprietary, gave a distinct pre- 
ponderance of this particular interest over 
other separate interests in connection with the 
company. The result was a monopoly which 
proved injurious to the company and the 
country, which was offensive in England as 
in India, and objected to by the parliament 
and the board of control. The measures of 
the IMarquis Wellesley in India, in taking np 
Indian-built ships to carry freights to Eng- 
land, shook the monopoly, and led to a fierce 
opposition on the part of the proprietary to 
the encroachments of the crown. After a 
contest, the details of which would afford no 
interest to the reader in these days, the crown 
triumphed. The circumstance is important, 
as it was the beginning of successive en- 
croachments upon the exclusive privileges of 
the company, which rapidly succeeded in the 
course of the present century, until the East 
India Company ceased to be a trading society. 
The disputes with the shipping interest were 
not concluded, when new differences arose 
between the company and the board of con- 
trol, about " the private trade." M. Auber, 
commenting upon this quarrel, wisely ob- 
served, "A combination of circumstances fre- 
quently gave rise to feelings that never would 
have existed had the causes which produced 
them been disposed of as they arose." At the 
close of 1802, M. Bosanquet, being chairman 
of the court of directors, and LordCastlereagh 
president of the board of control, there was 
more liarmony than usual between the two 
brandies of Indian government. Still there 
arose discussions upon finance that were vexa- 
tious. Tlie company possessing the exclusive 
trade of India and China, the English public 



and parliament were unwilling to render any 
aid to the company towards bearing the ex- 
penses of the great wars carried on in India. 
Besides it was alleged that the conquered 
territory should pay the expense of the con- 
quest. Yet, whatever might be the ultimate 
relation of the revenues of the new territory 
to the expense incurred in obtaining them, 
they seldom repaid it for many years. Most 
of the wars in the East with European powers 
have been, through the whole period of British 
connection, initiated by the board of control, 
or b\' the governors-general, who were its 
nominees and in secret correspondence with 
its chief. These wars were frequently op- 
posed to the policy and directions of tlie com- 
pany. The board was exacting upon the 
directors. The directors complained that 
their profits were swallowed up by the ex- 
penses of a policy adverse to their interests 
and their wishes, and entirely the work of the 
government. Frequently, when it appeared 
to the world as if the company and the board 
were of one mind, the former was obliged to 
submit to the latter, under threats of bringing 
their differences before parliament, and over- 
throwing their monopoly by an appeal to the 
principles of one class and the prejudices of 
other classes of the British people. In fact the 
company was in continual danger of having 
their ships, stores, and funds employed for the 
advantage of the general public, under tho 
orders of the secret committee of the board of 
control, or under the direct and arbitrary 
orders of the crown. Whenever the company 
requested the reimbursement of the immense 
property thus squandered by the state at their 
expense, their accounts were disputed, or they 
were told that the public exchequer would not 
allow of the repayment. Hints and threats 
were generally added, that if they made any 
noise about the matter, the parliament and 
public would be appealed to against the 
monopoly. From the time the company was 
rich enough to become an object of plunder, 
tho crown and parliament were ever ready 
iniquitously to deprive it of its property, under 



538 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. OVI. 



threats, if it did not submit, of destroying its 
privileges. Among the most blunt and m\- 
courteoiis of the company's tyrants at the 
board of control was Lord Castlereagh. The 
mild but severely just remonstrances of the 
company's chairman, Mr. Bosanquet, in 1803, 
rebuked the officious and unprincipled states- 
man, with a dignity and power which any other 
minister but his lordship would have felt. 

The directors in 1803, as indeed at all 
times, wrote to the governor-general, urging 
economy and the liquidation of the debt. The 
governor-general urged that money should 
be sent from England for the investments. 
Lord Wellealey, and all other governor- 
generals appointed by the board of control, 
treated Indian finance as if the East India 
Company was an association conveniently 
existing for the purpose of providing England 
■with funds to make war in the East against 
other European nations, offensive or defen- 
sive, as the case might be, and for adding to 
the glory of England by Asiatic conquests. 
Clive, Hastings, Barlow — in a word, the com- 
pany's own servants, when invested with 
supreme power, acted as if the object of their 
government was to consider and to promote 
the interests of a great commercial associa- 
tion, called the East India Company, which 
they were bound to serve as their employers. 
In their conquests, while they were patriotic 
and jealous for the renown of P^ngland, they 
regarded battle and victory as a part of their 
business as agents of the company. Under 
the board of control, the governor-general 
was a leading member of the aristocracy, ap- 
pointed for party purposes, as a reward for 
home services, rather than his fitness for India ; 
and he itcted as if his main business was to 
fulfil his period of office in such a manner as 
woidd redound to his own glory, prove the 
cabinet which nominated him wise in their 
nomination, and assist in keeping up, or 
creating, a parliamentary majority for his 
party. The company, which created the Eng- 
lish interest in India by its own resources and 
at its own risk, has been generally treated as 
a troublesome appendage to the board of 
control, interfering with the patronage of 
the president, the cabinet, and the governor- 
general. The double government never 
worked well, not because it was a double 
government, as was supposed by many, but 
because the objects of the two governing 
bodies were opposed. Either the board of 
control should have been so constituted as 
to be a check, in the interest of the na- 
tion, upon the improper exercise of the privi- 
leges entrusted to the company, or the com- 
pany should have been abolished when the 
board was formed. The president of that 



board .limed at objects altogether alien to the 
privileuces and existence of the company, and 
in the interest, not of the nation, but of a do- 
minant party of the crown, and of the ministry 
of the time being. 

In the beginning of 1804, the directors 
were alarmed at the drain of specie caused by 
the wars of the Marquis Wellesley. Lord 
Castlereagh encouraged the marquis in dis- 
regarding the opinions of the directors, who, 
whenever they complained of the expenses 
caused by wars, were set at nought by the joint 
action of the person at the head of the board 
at home, and the person at tlie head of the 
council abroad. While war was raging, and 
the directors dreaded bankruptcy, the board of 
control was engaged in costly plans connected 
with the Calcutta college and other projects. 

In 1805 the policy of Lord Wellesley was 
impugned with great severity in the house 
of commons by Paull. This gentleman had 
been a servant of the company, and resident 
in Oude. In that situation he received much 
kindness from Lord Wellesley, which he re- 
paid with ingratitude. The dissolution of 
parliament in 1807 stopped Mr. PauH's pro- 
ceedings. This gentleman did not again 
obtain a seat in parliament. He committed 
suicide in 1808. 

Lord Folkestone took up the impeachment 
of Lord Wellesley. He was aided by a con- 
siderable number of members, but their in- 
criminatory resolutions were rejected by large 
majorities. Still his lordship's transactions in 
Oude were regarded as precisely similar to 
those of Hastings, and it was demanded that 
his aristocratic connexions should not screen 
him. The whole of these discussions were set 
at rest by a resolution, asserting his personal 
honour, public zeal, and usefulness, being 
proposed by Sir John Anstruther, which was 
carried by an overwhelming majority. This 
did not satisfy the directors of the East India 
Company, who persisted in regarding the 
policy of Lord Wellesley as one of aggran- 
dizement and war, injurious to the trade and 
ruinous to the finance of the company. They 
believed that neither the war with Tippoo nor 
the Mahrattas was necessary, that both should 
have been allowed to pursue their course of 
intrigue in their own way, the governor-gene- 
ral simply providing for the security of the 
company's territories in case of invasion. 

Throughout these proceedings in the com- 
mons, the noble marquis received the support 
of the crown and the cabinet. He was even 
offered the seals of the foreign office during the 
progress of the parliamentary proceedings. His 
lordship, witli a high sense of honour, such as all 
who knew him would have expected, declined 
office while charges were hanging over him. 




'smm MffiST uemjLi Mm ^AE(!?iinfg m iHASifKiJffls . 



-iNnOW. JAMES S.VIETOB 



Chap. CVL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



639 



In 1809 lie was deputed ambassador to the 
junta in Spain; in 1810, he was invested with 
the Order of the Garter, and throughout his 
long career held many offices of distinction, 
and always with lionour. 

When Lord Cornwallis assumed the govern- 
ment of India, his first care was that most 
usually the trouble of all governor -generals — 
finance. He was very popular with the di- 
rectors ; they were therefore filled with asto- 
nishment and alarm when they learned that 
he had taken treasure intended for the Chinese 
investment out of the ships at Madras, to the 
amount of a quarter of a million sterling. 
"When, in February, 1806, intelligence of his 
lordship's death reached England, the direc- 
tors received it with the deepest concern. 
Apart ftora the personal esteem which they 
entertained for him, he had initiated a policy 
of retrenchment to make up for the quarter of 
a million sterling, and to compensate for the 
war policy of hia predecessor. So attached 
were the directors to his lordship, and so 
highly did they approve of his plans, that 
they bestowed upon his son and successor the 
sum of £40,000. 

On the 20th of January, 1806, Mr. Pitt 
died, a man whose policy had exercised a de- 
cisive influence upon the affairs of the com- 
pany. But for him it is probable the board 
of control had never been formed. 

A fierce contest ensued between the board 
of control and the court of directors in naming 
a successor to Lord Cornwallis. It was agreed 
on all hands that Sir George Barlow should 
occupy that post temporarily, but the board 
\\nshed to force upon the directors Lord Lau- 
derdale ; the directors contended that Sir G. 
Barlow, their own servant, was competent. 
They knew nothing of Lord Lauderdale, had 
no confidence in him, and would not be par- 
ties to his appointment. The court refused 
to revoke the appointment of Sir George. 
Lord Minto had succeeded Lord Castlereagh 
as president of the board of control, and he 
intimated to the directors, on the 29th of May, 
that the king had revoked the appointment of 
Sir G. Barlow. The court of directors pre- 
sented an indignant remonstrance. As a 
compromise, Lord Minto himself was ap- 
pointed. The whole proceeding was discredit- 
able to the crown and the cabinet. What- 
ever the merits of Lord Minto ultimately 
proved to be, Sir G. Barlow was competent, 
and there was no ground for his removal, but 
the desire on the part of the ruling party in 
the state to wrest the patronage from the 
company, and make the office of governor- 
general of India an appointment dependent 
iipon the services rendered in English party 
politics by tlie person obtaining it. 



This mode of disposing of the high office 
of governor-general of India was as strikingly 
illustrated by the way in which Lord Minto 
himself was replaced by tlie Earl of Moira 
(Marquis of Hastings). Professor Wilson 
states, that on the change of ministry in No- 
vember, 1811, the ministry were obliged by 
circumstances to confer the ofBce on Lord 
Moira. His lordship had been engaged to 
form a ministry, and this was to be his re- 
ward. 

" A resolution was accordingly moved by 
the chairman (of the court of directors), un- 
der the dictation, no doubt, of the board of 
control, that Lord Minto should be recalled. 
No reason for the measure was assigned ; but 
it was adopted in opposition to the tenor of 
a letter received from Lord Minto's friends, 
expressing his wish to be relieved in January, 
1814. This letter was assigned as the reason 
for the immediate appointment of Earl Moira; 
biit, as objected by one of the opponents of 
the arrangement, Mr. Charles Grant, the plea 
was delusive, as no one could pretend to as- 
sign it as a. sufficient reason for proceeding 
to the choice of a governor -general in Novem- 
ber, 1811, whose presence at Fort William 
could only be necessary in January, 1814." 

In the years 1813-14, the amount of the 
debt of India was £27,000,000; the interest, 
j61, 636,000, a permanent diminution of 
£592,000 annual interest. But taking the 
sicca rupee at two shillings, the debt would 
be only £23,183,000, and the interest only 
£1,402,287. 

The year 1813 was one of great import- 
ance to the East India Company. It was 
then the first great inroad was made in its 
exclusive privileges. From the beginning of 
1811 a very warm discussion was maintained 
by the mercantile public, and by political 
economists, with "the East India interest." 
A very considerable power was brought to 
bear upon the members of both houses of 
parliament against the renewal of the com- 
pany's charter. 

On the 22nd of February a petition was 
presented to parliament by the company pray- 
ing for a renewal of the charter, and setting 
forth the grounds upon which such prayer 
was urged. 

On the 13th of March the house of com- 
mons, on the motion of Lord Castlereagh, 
resolved itself into a committee, when his 
lordship submitted resolutions altering the 
constitution of the company. The company 
demanded permission to give evidence, and 
to be heard at the bar of the house. On the 
30th of March their first witness was pro- 
duced, no less a person than the great Warren 
Hastings. Afterwards the subject was con- 



640 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



(Chap. C VI. 



sidered by select committees, and the results 
published in two large quarto volumes.* Tlie 
minister was not moved by any evidence sub- 
mitted by the company : neither was the com- 
mons. They passed the resolutions of Lord 
Castlereagh, and a bill founded on them. The 
lords hastily passed it.f 

In the chapter on the government of India, 
notice was taken of the various changes made 
in the power and authority of the company 
by successive acts of parliament. It is there- 
fore unnecessary in this place to enlarge 
upon the subject of the changes in 1813. 
The following abstract of the modifications 
then made is, however, necessary to enable 
the reader to take a comprehensive view of 
the new condition of the company, and the 
way in which the afl'airs of India were in- 
fluenced by them : — 

" The trade of India was thrown open in 
ships of a given tonnage, under license from 
the court of directors, on whose refusal an 
appeal lay to the board, to whom the directors 
were to transmit the papers with their re- 
solution thereon. The resort of parties to 
India for commercial and other purposes was 
placed under similar provisions. 

'• In order to satisfy the doubts which had 
arisen regarding the outturn of the company's 
commercial affairs, the accounts were, in fu- 
ture, to be separated, under the two heads of 
' territory ' and ' commerce,' according to a 
plan approved by parliament. It exhibited 
what portion of the extensive establishments, 
both in India and at home, came under each 
head of charge, and showed the result of the 
company's financial resources, whether aris- 
ing from commerce or territory. 

" A general authority was given to the 
board over the appropriation of the territorial 
revenues, and the surplus commercial profits, 
which might accrue after a strict observance 
of tiie appropriation clauses. 

" The board were to have control over 
the college and seminary in England. The 
offices of governor-general, governors, and 
commanders-in-chief, were now made sub- 
ject to the approval of the crown. Restora- 
tion of suspended or dismissed servants was 
not valid without the consent of the board ; 
neither could the court of directors grant 
any sum beyond £600 without their concur- 
rence. 

" An episcopal establishment was also au- 
thorised." 

The revenue measures of the Marquis Hast- 
ings occupied the attention of the court of 
directors during several years, beginning in 
181G. His reports on criminal justice and 

* Uenorls of the East Itiflia Commil/ees, 1813-14. 
+ 53 George HI., cap. 155. 



civil judicature made in 1818, also engaged 
much of the attention of the directors. 

In 18iy the directors were so pleased with 
the labours and successes, civil and military, 
of the Marquis of Hastings, that they recom- 
mended the court of proprietors to vote a sum 
of £G0,000 out of the territorial revenues of 
India, to purchase estates in any part of the 
United Kingdom for his lordship's emolument. 

From the year 1819 until the termination 
of the government of Lord Hastings, disputes 
were maintained between the British and Dutch 
governments concerning Eastern affairs. The 
occupation of Singapore, where Sir Stamford 
Raffles had asserted British authority, pro- 
voked the jealous susceptibilities of the Dutch, 
who, after the surrender to them of the Island 
of Java, laid claim to a monopoly of the trade 
of the Archipelago. Mr. Canning was then pre- 
sident of the board of control, and he spared 
no pains to qualify himself to meet the Dutch 
commissioners, who were appointed to press 
upon the English government an adjustment 
of the dispute. For five years these debates 
continued, frequent reference to India neces- 
sarily deferring a settlement. At last, in 
1824, a treaty terminated the contest. By 
this agreement the Dutch were to surrender 
to the English all their settlements in conti- 
nental India ; Malacca, and Singapore, were 
to bo recognised as English settlements. Tlie 
Dutch were to obtain Sumatra. Great public 
dissatisfaction was felt by the British mer- 
cantile public with this treat)'. To the in- 
fluence of Sir Stamford Raffles it was due, that 
the English minister who in 1814 had sur- 
rendered Java, did not surrender all the 
Straits' settlements. Lord Castlereagh cared 
little for commerce, or the commercial classes ; 
his aim was to satisfy the despotic govern- 
ments of the continent, and maintain an in- 
timate alliance with them. His successors for 
many years were as little disposed to study 
the interests of the mercantile classes. 

Sir Evan Nepean having resigned the go- 
vernment of Bombay in 1818, Mr. Canning 
intimated to the directors his desire to ap- 
point as governor of that presidency some 
eminent servant of the company, or distin- 
guished otherwise in public employment. 
This was an invasion by !Mr. Canning of the 
custom of the board of control in grasping 
at the patronage of India for party and minis- 
terial purposes. The directors made choice 
of the Hon. Mountstuart Elphinstone.* Ho 
was nominated governor of Bombay in Oc- 
tober, 1818. 

In 1823 the Marquis of Hastings was re- 

• Subsequently this gentleman acquired great celebrity 
by his work on Indii), eppecially the Mohammedan period 
of Indian history. 



Chap. CVI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



541 



ceived, upon his return to England, with dis- 
tinguished manifestation of approval by the 
government and the company. It was re- 
Holveil by the latter to confer upon him some 
further substantial mark of their approbation. 
This consisted in a vote of £20,000 to his son, 
which, however, was not conferred until 1827. 

When, in 1822, the Marquis Hastings re- 
signed the office of governor -general, the 
Right Hon. George Canning was nominated 
to that office. This was the spontaneous act 
of the directors, in consequence of Mr. Can- 
ning's intelligent and conciliatory direction of 
the board of control. This arrangement was, 
however, doomed to disappointment, for the 
death of the ^Marquis of Londonderry (Lord 
C'astlereagh) led to a reconstruction of parties, 
and of the ministry, and on the 18th of Sep- 
tember, Mr. Canning accepted the seals of the 
foreign office. 

In 1819 Sir Thomas Munro was appointed 
governor of Madras, and it was generally 
expected that, upon the resignation of Mr. 
Canning, he would be promoted to the va- 
cated office. Two other candidates of greater 
influence, however, stood forward. Earl Am- 
herst, and Lord W. Bentinck. The interest of 
the former nobleman prevailed. He assumed 
the office on the 1st of August, 1823. Mr. 
Adam, the senior member of council, had 
filled the chair from the departure of the 
Marquis of Hastings. 

For several years after the departure of 
Earl Amherst to his government, the com- 
pany and parliament had little to occupy them 
concerning India of a nature to interest the 
general public, except returning thanks for 
victories gained by British troops in fresh 
wars, and the distribution of prize-money won 
by their exploits. 

In 1827 the company was deprived of a 
valuable servant, by the death of Sir Thomas 
Munro. He had rendered great advantages 
to the presidency of Madras by his improve- 
ments in the judicial and revenue .systems, and 
possessed the highest confidence of the court 
of directors and proprietary. His opinions 
on Indian affairs are quoted as decisive autho- 
rity, yet few men of eminence in India, and 
of equal ability and experience, have more 
frequently erred in their views of the pro- 
bable prospects of the people and the country. 
The directors found it a difficult task to select 
a suitable successor to Sir Thomas Munro. 
Their choice fell upon the Right Hon. S. R. 
Lushington, Jan. 1827. On the same day, 
Major-general Sir John Malcolm was ap- 
pointed governor of Bombay, in the room of 
the Hon. Mountstuart Elphinstone.* Nei- 

* This enlightened historian, diplomatist, statesman, 
and administrator survives in 1859. 

VOL. II. 



ther Mr. Lushington nor General Malcolm 
left England for India until the July follow- 
ing the date of their nomination to office. 
The year which witnessed the appointment 
of Mr. Lushington and Sir John Malcolm to 
the government of the minor presidencies, 
saw the departure of Lord Amherst from 
India, and the appointment of Lord W. Ben- 
tinck as governor-general. He did not, how- 
ever, leave England for his post of honour 
until February, 1828. He and Lord Amherst 
met at the Cape of Good Hope. 

The uneasiness of the court of directors 
during 1828-9, concerning the increase of the 
public debt in India, was very great. From 
1824 to 1828 it had increased more than thir- 
teen millions sterling, in consequence of war, 
and the acquisitions of territory causing the 
extension of the civil service. The revenues 
of the company did not keep pace with this 
accumulation of debt. The instructions of 
the board of directors to the governor -general 
to effect retrenchment assumed a tone of great 
urgency. 

In 1830 the proposition for constituting a 
legislative council occupied the government 
in Calcutta, and in London. In the month 
of October in that year the draft of a pro- 
posed bill was sent to the court of directors 
by the governor-general, for the purpo.se of 
being submitted to parliament. This draft 
underwent modifications, alter much discus- 
sion at the board of control and the court of 
directors, and finally formed a part of the 
new act upon the renewal of the company's 
charter, in 1833. 

In the month of May, 1833, Lord William 
Bentinck was appointed commander-in-chief 
in India, in the room of Sir Edward Barnes. 
This was the third instance of a governor - 
general being at the same time commander- 
in-chief. During the whole time of Lord 
William Bentinck's government, the corre- 
spondence between the company and the 
governor-general on the subject of revenue 
was Constant. The revenue papers of this 
period are most voluminous, and disclose the 
labour and ability of his lordship, and the 
ililigencc and talent which were then in the 
court of directors. 

The employment of natives in various de- 
partments of the state was strenuously advo- 
cated by Lord William Bentinck, and perhaps 
too readily acquiesced in to the extent of his 
recommendations by the directors. Native 
agents must be employed in India, but they 
constitute the grand difficulty of administra- 
tion. Evils, for which the government of the 
presidencies, the supreme council, the board 
of control, and the court of directors, have 
been held severally or together responsible, 

4 a 



64-2 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CVI. 



have originated in the native agencies, wiiich 
are almost always corrupt, mercenary, cruel, 
and perfidious. 

During the government of Lord William 
Bentinck, the home authorities Vi'ere much 
occupied with the consideration of the dilatory 
iiiodes of communication between India and 
England. Except in certain instructions regu- 
lating the personal conduct of the governor- 
general, little was done to remedy an incon- 
venience intenselj' felt. The subject of 
Bteam navigation, as applied to India, had 
been brought under the notice of the court in 
1823 by a despatch from the government of 
Bombay, but in the meantime nothing had 
been effected. In the year 1825, the voyage 
to India by steam had been accomplished in 
the ship Enterprise, commanded by Captain 
Johnson. She was, however, under sail with- 
out steam a fourth of her voyage. Tins ship, 
with other steamers, had been employed in 
the Rirmese war, yet no organized method of 
utilizing steam, for the benelit of our Indian 
empire, and English communication witli it, liad 
been adopted. The entei-prising labours of Mr. 
Waghorn, in order to establish steam navi- 
gation vid Egypt, engaged the attention of 
the English in India and in England during 
a considerable portion of Lord William Ben- 
tinck's administration. It was not until 1834 
that the subject was thoroughly taken up by 
the house of commons. It was deemed expe- 
dient to extend the line of the Malta packets 
to such ports in Egypt and Syria as would 
complete the communication between England 
and India, and that a grant of £20,000 should 
be made by parliament for trying the experi- 
ment with the least possible delay. The enter- 
prises of Colonel (General) Chesney in proving 
that the Euphrates was navigable, and that 
its navigation might be made to facilitate the 
intercommunication of tlie East and West, 
also engaged parliamentary discussion. 

The dreadful bankruptcies of commercial 
houses in Calcutta, and other parts of India, 
in 1833-4, produced great alarm in London, 
and in several respects embarrassed the 
court of directors. In the commercial chapters 
of this work an account was given of this 
state of things in India, and the causes which 
produced it. 

In a former chapter a history of the different 
charters was presented to the reader, rendering 
it unnecessary in this place to enter into 
minute detail. The affairs of the company, 
however, assumed in 1833-4 an aspect so 
entirely new as to require a relation of their 
progress. On Thursday, the 13th of June, 
1833, Mr. Grant, in a committee of the whole 
house, brought before the commons the con- 
sideration of the charter. He made a general 



statement on behalf of the government, and 
proposed a series of resolutions. The state- 
ment partly conveyed the purposes of the 
government, and partly the opinions upon 
which their project was based. The follow- 
ing, stripped of the arguments and eloquence 
of the speaker, is an abstract of his state- 
rtient :— " The whole of the transaction was 
to be entirely free from the finances of this 
country. The ability of the Indian terri- 
tories was not to be doubted. The intentions 
with regard to the internal government of 
India were then pointed out. It was pro- 
posed to establish a fourth government in the 
western provinces ; to extend the powers of 
the governor-general ; to appoint a supreme 
council, to whom power was to he given to 
make laws for India, and to define the juris- 
diction of the supreme court. The presiden- 
cies of Jladras and Bombay were to be made 
more subordinate to the governor-general, 
and tlieir councils reduced. The following 
resolutions were then moved : — 

" Ist. That it is expedient that all his 
majesty's subjects shall be at liberty to repair 
to the ports of the empire of China, and to 
trade in tea and in all other productions of 
the said empire, subject to such regulations 
as parliament shall enact for the protection of 
the commercial and political interests of this 
country. 

" 2nd. That it is expedient that, in case 
the East India Company shall transfer to the 
crown, on belialf of the Indi.an territory, all 
assets and claims of every description belong- 
ing to the said company, the crown, on behalf 
of the Indian territory, shall take on itself all 
the obligations of the said company, of what- 
ever description ; and that the said company 
shall receive from the revenues of the said 
territory" such a sum, and paid in such a 
manner, and under such regulations, as par- 
liament shall enact. 

" 3rd. That it is expedient that the govern- 
ment of the British possessions in India be 
entrusted to the said company, under such 
conditions and regulations as parliament shall 
enact, for the purpose of extending the com- 
merce of this country, and of securing the 
good government, and promoting the moral 
and religious improvement of the people of 
India." 

These resolutions, and the bill founded 
upon them, a copy of which was sent to the 
directors on the 29th of June, led to much 
discussion between the company and the 
ministers of the crown. On the 3rd of July 
the bill was laid before the court of proprie- 
tors, having been presented to parliament and 
read a first time on tlie 28th of June. The 
second reading of the bill took place in the 



Chap. OVIL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



543 



commons on the lltli of July, and a third time 
on the 2Gth. The bill went up to the lorda 
with such powerful support that it rapidly- 
passed that house, beinaj read a third time 
on the 10th of August. On the 2Sth, the royal 
assent was given to it by commission. The 
rapidity with which the Ijill was carried, was 
thought as extraordinary as the change which 
it effected in the character of the company. 

M. Auber makes the following comment 
upon the parliamentary success with which 
the government measure was crowned, and 
the policy of the East India Company in 
reference to a bill which deprived it of so 
much of its authority and privilege : — " The 
change which it has made in the character 
of the company is as great as the rapidity 
with whicli it was effected was extraordinary. 
Scarcely six weeks intervened between the 
announcement of the scheme to the general 
court and its adoption in principle by a ballot 
of eight to one in its favour. It was a strong 
testimony to the judgment and foresight 
manifested by the court of directors in the 
management of the company's commercial 
affairs, that, on so sudden and unexpected a 
termination of those operations, the financial 



; out-turn should have secured a continuation 
I of the same rate of dividend as had been en- 
joyed by the stockholders for the preceding 
forty years, when the company were in pos- 
session of their exclusive privileges, and also 
provide for the foundation of an accumulating 
guarantee fund for their principal of twelve 
millions." 

The cotnmercial character of the company 
was now at an end. From 1813 to 1834 it 
existed in a restricted form ; in April, 1834, 
it ceased for ever. Its title of " East India 
Company," and its territorial lordship, re- 
mained. All the commercial property of the 
company was sold. Their real capital was 
estimated at twenty-one millions sterling. 
Their dividends were guaranteed by the act 
of 1833, on a nominal capital of six millions, 
at lOj per cent. Tiiese dividends were made 
chargeable on the revenue of India. Although 
subsequent events did not confirm such ex- 
pectations, the charter of 1833-4 ostensibly 
threw open India to British adventurers, and 
natives and settlers were eligible to office. 
How the new charter worked, and its effects 
upon affairs, home or Indian, must be reserved 
for other chapters. 



CHAPTER CVII. 



GOVERNjrENT OF LORD AMHERST— BIRMESE WAR— CAPTURE OK RANGOON— ADVANCE UP 
THE IRRIWADDY— OPEftATlONS ON THE EASTERN FRONTIER OF BENGAL— TREATY 
WITH BIRMAH. 



Lord H.\stings left Calcutta in January. 
1823, and Mr. Adams, as senior member of 
council, assumed the governmentpro temj)ore. 
That gentleman only retained the high office 
seven months, during which he obtained 
much odium and much praise. Some of 
his measures were well calculated to confer 
benefit on India; others, although Well meant, 
were not fortunate, and some were very un- 
favourably received. None of them were of 
sufficient importance to bring before our 
readers. That which involved Mr. Adams's 
administration in most discussion at home, was 
his attempt to impose restrictions iipon the 
press, which the Marquis of Hastings had re- 
moved. Mr. Adams believed that the natives 
who possessed some education, would use the 
press seditiously, and that European settlers 
would employ it to tiie detriment of the com- 
jiany. It was explained in tlie last chapter 
iiow Mr. Canning was elected to the post 
vacated by Lord Hastings, and resigned the 



office before sailing for India. It was also 
shown how Lord Amherst secured the inte- 
rest requisite for an appointment, which began 
to be regarded as desirable by the highest of 
the aristocracy. When, on the 1st of August, 
182.3, Earl Amherst arrived, he found serious 
cares remaining for the government. There 
was nothing in the first few months during 
which he administered affairs to call for re- 
marks from the historian, but he was then 
obliged to maintain a war with the Bir- 
mese, which, as shown in former chaptei's, 
had for many years menaced the frontiers of 
Assam and Arracan. This formidable quarrel 
was the more an impediment to the civil admi- 
nistration of his lordship, as his government 
was much ojiposed by the partizans of Lord 
Hastings, and he was himself averse from 
several of the noble marquis's proceedings, 
especially in the affairs of Calcutta and Bengal. 
Captain White observes : — " It is almost im- 
possible to imagine the arduous, difficult, and 



5« 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CVII. 



perplexing situation in which Lord Amherst 
stood. For besides the important duties ho 
had to perform as governor-general, he had 
a most formidable opposition to contend 
against in the council chamber. This was 
produced by the change ofmen,'n\ the change 
of governor-generals. Lord Hastings had 
generally left much to his council, or his fa- 
vourites, who were men certainly not of the 
most brilliant talent. Lord Amherst, not 
wishing to imitate the example of the noble 
marquis, determined to judge for himself, 
and not by prox)*. There were other causes, 
too, which tended to create difficulty, and 
render his lordship unpopular. These were 
unfortunate circumstances to have happened 
at any time, but more particularly so at that 
critical period ; because they all tended not 
only to embarrass the mind of his lordship, 
which required the utmost tranquillity, but 
to impede the progress and welfare of the 
operations of government." 

The captain was himself a partizan of Earl 
Amherst, and some allowance must be made 
when he draws a comparison invidious to 
Lord Hastings. It was, however, plain 
enough that the noble earl inherited from the 
noble marquis some very troublesome ques- 
tions, which the friends of the former would 
have preferred to find in a satisfactory course 
of settlement. 

BIRMESE WAR. 

The immediaie cause of hostilities with 
Birmah was rival claims concerning the 
Island of Shuparee, situated at the entrance 
of the Nauf river. This river was the boun- 
dary between the two territories, and, flowing 
between the island and the Birmese side, 
the English naturally claimed it as their own. 
The Birmese contended that it had been 
theirs centuries before ; but if this claim had 
been good, they might also be the owners of 
Chittagong and Moorshedabad. The Birmese 
had made no pretension to this island until 
1821, nor did they then urge any alleged 
right. Their demand, therefore, in 1823 had 
all the appearance of seeking an occasion for 
war. 

Early in January, 1823, a " Mugh boat," 
laden with grain, was passing near the island. 
It was stopped by the Birmese, and the steers- 
man was shot. The object of this was to 
deter the ryots of the company from culti- 
vating the island, which being a mere sand- 
bank, was certainly not an enviable posses- 
sion for either British or Birmese. When 
the magistrate of Chittagong heard of the 
cruel outrage, he posted a sergeant's guard 
of sepoys upon the island. Immediately the 
Birmese assembled a much stronger force on 



their bank of the Nauf. The English ma- 
gistrate increased the strength of the post 
to fifty men. Early in May, the Birmese 
authorities of Arracan made a formal demand 
to the magistrate of Chittagong to with- 
draw the troops, or there would be war. 
Late in May the demand was renewed more 
sternly, and in language of stronger menace. 
The magistrate replied that the island had 
belonged to the British for a lengthened pei'iod, 
but if the King of Ava had a claim, it would 
be negotiated at Calcutta, in conformity with 
justice and the friendship of the two nations, 
but that force would be repelled by force. 

On the 3rd of August, a vakeel from the 
governor of Arracan waited upon the magis- 
trate of Chittagong, and made a written de- 
mand for withdrawal from the island, which, it 
alleged, belonged not to the British, but to the 
''Golden Government." The governor-general 
himself replied to this communication, assert- 
ing the right of the Bengal government to 
the island, but offering to send an officer 
I of rank to negotiate, and bring all disputes, 
if po.ssible, to an amicable termination. The 
Birmese had no faith in the English govern- 
ment from the repeated violations of pledges 
in former disputes, they therefore resolved to 
bring the matter to the arbitrament of force. 
On the night of the 24th of September, a 
party of lOCKJ Birmese landed on the island, 
attacked and routed the guard of sepoys, 
killing and wounding several. What Sir 
John Malcolm had ]U'edicted had come to 
pass, and in consequence of the neglect, on 
the part of the government of Bengal, of 
those means which he had recommended. 
The Birmese did not remain on the island, 
and as soon as they evacuated it, another 
party of sepoys was sent there. 

The governor-general, anxious to promote 
peace, treated the attack on the island as one 
by the governor of Arracan, unauthorised by 
his imperial majesty of Ava. A letter was 
sent to Rangoon, by ship from Calcutta, ad- 
dressed to the viceroy, mildly expostulating 
against the outrage committed, and express- 
ing the expectation that the act of the go- 
vernor of Arracan would be disavowed. The 
governor-general also addressed a letter to 
the governor of Arracan, expressing his as- 
tonishment and indignation. The rajah re- 
plied: — "The island was never under the 
authority of the Moors or the English ; the 
stockade thereon has consequently been de- 
stroyed in pursuance of the commands of the 
great Lord of the Seas and Earth. If you 
want tran(iuillity, be quiet ; but if you rebuild 
a stockade at Shein-ma-bu, I will cause to 
be taken by force of arms the cities of Dacca 
! and Moorshedabad, which originally belonged 



CUAV. CVII.J 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



545 



to the great Arracau Rajali, whose eliokies 
ami pagodas were there. The rajah also 
verbally informed the messenger dispatched 
with the letter, that if the British govern- 
ment attempted to retake the island, they 
wotdd invade Bengal b)' Assam and Goolpara, 
and would enter Chittagong by the moun- 
tains from Goorjeencea, up to Tipperah : 
adding that the King of Ava had armies 
ready for the invasion of the British domi- 
nions at every point ; and that they liad 
driven them from the Island of Shuparee by 
his majesty's command."* 

It was evident from this reply, written 
and viva voce, that the Birmese emperor had 
been long preparing for war, and had laid his 
plan of operations. 

On the 11th of November, the agent to 
the company on the north-east frontier, an- 
nounced to the government that a large force 
had been dispatched from the Birmese pro- 
vince of Assam for the conquest of Cachar ; 
bordering on the company's province of 
Silhet. 'The English government had made 
a tributary convention with Cachar, and in 
virtue of this demanded that the Birmese 
troops should make no offensive demonstra- 
tions against that state. The Birmese, how- 
ever, claimed an older prescription for a con- 
nection of the same kind. Tlie English, 
therefore, threatened as they were along the 
whole line of the north-east frontier, — the 
Birmese openly avowing their intention 
to wrest from them Moorshedabad, Dacca, 
Tipperah, and Chittagong, — could allow no 
incursion in that direction by the troops of Bir- 
mah. On the south-east frontier of Chittagong, 
large armies were collecting for the purposes 
of invasion in that quarter. " It was no 
longer a question for the surrender of fugi- 
tives and rebels, but a far more important 
one — who ehonid be the supreme sovereigns 
of India." 

In January, 1824, the sepoys were with- 
ilrawn from the island at the mouth of the 
Nauf, in consequence of its imhealthy situa- 
tion. The Arracan rajah then offered to 
regard it as neutral territory, but accom- 
panied the proposal with insulting menaces 
of invasion in case of non-compliance. The 
governor-general refused to accept a proposal 
so made. 

On the 15th of January four ministers of 
rank from Ava, arrived on the frontier, crossed 
to the island, and hoisted the standard of 
the Birmese empire. The ministers sent 
invitations to the officers of the company's 
troops on the frontier to visit them, and to 
the officers of vessels in the river, in the hope 

* Political Ilidori/ nf the EfenU tohifh led to the 
Sirmete War. 



of accommodating matters by friendly con- 
versation. Tlie officers of tlie pilot schooner, 
Sophia, attended by two lascars, landed in 
acceptance of the invitation. They were all 
seized and sent into the interior of x\rracau. 
The military officers were sufficiently wary 
not to place themselves in the power of a 
people who made war so treacherously. This 
perfidious and violent act of the Birmese 
emperor's ministers alarmed the people on 
the Chittagong frontier, who fled with their 
families, fearing that they might be seized 
and made slaves. The English government 
demanded the restoration of the kidnapped 
officers and lascars, and reparation for the 
offence. No notice was taken of the demand. 
The British employed themselves writing and 
negotiating when they ought to have been 
acting, and in this way increased the public 
danger, and caused eventually a heavier loss 
of human life. 

At the end of January, 1824, the Ilajah of 
Arracan formally refused, in the name of the 
emperor, to deliver up the officers and men of 
the Sophia. Early in the same month Cachar 
was invaded by two Birmese armies. The 
Enghsh met this demonstration by several 
well-written letters on the part of their agent, 
which probably amused more than edified 
the Birmese commanders; and certainly, after 
all that had occurred between the two states, 
was not likely to deter the Birmese officers 
from executing the commands of their superiors. 
The general wrote a letter in reply, the sub- 
stance of which might be comprised in one of 
its sentences — " \Ye have eyes and ears, and 
have the interest of our sovereigns at heart."* 

The regions of Cachar and Assam were 
torn by factions, which facts were made 
available by the Birmese to promote their 
own designs of aggrandizement. The En- 
glish resolved to make these local feuds in- 
strumental in checking the Birmese. Ac- 
cordingly, on the 18th of January, the officer 
on the frontier, learning that a united Bir- 
mese and Assamese force had passed into 
Cachar, at the foot of the Birtealien pass, 
and were stockading themselves at Bickram- 
pore, and that two other forces had pene- 
trated in other directions, resolved also to 
enter the Cachar country. The first blood 
drawn was on the 17th, the English fell in 
with a Birmese stockade, from which a fire 
was opened upon them. Major Newton, who 
commanded the British, stormed the blockade 
in the most gallant manner with trifling loss, 
and put 175 Birmese to the bayonet. The 
Birmese army, six thousand in number, ad- 
vanced within five miles of the company's 

* There were two kings or emperors at Ava, the tem- 
poral and the ecrlcsiastical. 



546 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. C VII. 



territory. Major Newton withdrew his troops 
to the frontier post of Bhadrapore. The En- 
glish wrote letters, and sent messengers re- 
questing the Birmese to do what they had 
so many times declared they would not do. 
Instead of attending to these epistolary 
expostulations, they published flaming mani- 
festoes, strongly stockaded themselves on the 
English frontier, and demanded that Major 
Newton and his soldiers should be given up 
to the Birmese authorities to be executed ! 
The Englisii, of course, again replied, and it 
is difficult to say how long they would 
have continued to substitute arguments for 
arms, if events had not compelled a more 
decisive course. The release of the kid- 
napped mariners, who had been treated kindly 
in their captivity, possibly deferred a little the 
final blow ; but it at last fell — the governor- 
general proclaimed war against the Birmese 
empire. The justice of his doing so has been 
arraigned by a party in England who are ever 
ready to denounce the proceedings of their 
own government, and more especially in 
India. The following opinion and statement 
of facts, from the pen of the immortal 8ir 
Henry Havelook, the saviour of India, is a 
just defence of the war: — "Previous to this 
invasion of our little island territory, the 
qnesti(m of the direct invasion of Bengal had 
been discussed in the hall of the Lotoo, or 
grand council of state, and the king, though 
a man of mild disposition, and not caring 
much to encounter a war with the governors 
of India, had yielded to the arguments of his 
councillors, and, amidst the applauses of the 
assembly, had sanctioned the invasion of 
Bengal. At that grand council the Bundoola, 
with vows and vehement gestures, announced 
that from that moment Bengal was taken 
from under the British dominions; his words 
being : ' Henceforth it has become in fact, 
what it has ever been in right, a province of 
the Golden King. The Bundoola has said and 
sworn it.' "* It was a war, said Havelock, " for 
the vindication of the national honour, in- 
sulted and compromised by the aggressions and 
encroachments of a barbarous neighbour. A 
war for the security of the peaceable inhabi- 
tants of the districts of Ohittagong, Moorshed- 
abad, Rungpore, Silhet, Tipperah, menaced 
with the re])etition of the atrocities perpe- 
trated the year before in Assam. That would 
indeed have been a parental government that 
should have consented, to have abandoned its 
subjects to the tender mercies of Bundoola 
and the Maha Silwa I "f 

* Ike Oood Soldier: A Memoir of Major-general 
Sir Benry Havelock, K.C.B. By R«v. \V. Owen. 
London. 

t It is not generally known that " the good soldier, " 



The measures taken by the commander-in- 
chief of the British army were a« follows. 
He recommended three brigades of tiiree 
thousand men each to be stationed on the 
eastern frontier, at Chittagong, Jumalpore, 
and a flotilla on the Burrampooter towards 
Assam, and in the vicinity of Dacca. The 
troops on the frontier were ordered to defend 
those provinces, and if necessary or politic, 
to cross into the frontiers of tlie enemy, but 
not to seek conquests in those directions. 
The grand attack was to be made on the 
maritime provinces of the Birmese empire. 

Thus, while the emperor meditated an inva- 
sion of the contumacious territory of the Bri- 
tish, the latter, barely defending that line, 
carried war along the coasts of the emperor. 
The troops to conduct the defensive opera- 
tions belonged, as a matter of course, to the 
Bengal army. The forces destined for offen- 
sive operations were partly from Bengal, and 
partly from Madras, royal and company's re- 
giments : from Bengal her majesty's 13th 
and 38th foot, two companies of artillery, and 
the 40th native infantry (marine corps), 21 75 
men ; from Madras bar majesty's 41st and 
80th foot and Madras European regiment, and, 
including seven native regiments, 9th, 12th, 
28th, and 30th Madras native infantry, artil- 
lery, and pioneers, 'j300 men, or grand total, 
11,476 men. The object was to occupy 
Rangoon, and the country at the mouth of 
the Irriwaddy river. The Bengal troops sailed 
in April, 1824. Besides transports, there was. 

Sir Henry Havelock, was an author. On this sutyect oui 
readers will peruse with interest the following remarks of 
the Rev. W. Owen, from his most interesting memoir of 
the general: — "Havelock had nut been long in India 
before the outbreak of the first Birmese war called into 
action his qualities as a soldier, and subsequently gave 
him an opportunity of employing his pen as a ' soldierly 
writer.' Owing to the publication of his ' Memoir' in 
Serampore' instead of London, and six months after the 
excitement had died away, the work never acquired the 
popular favour which its merits should have commanded. 
The volume has nearly fallen into the class of rare books, 
and it is said that one copy only can be found in Loudon. 
This books affords an opportunity of presenting Havelock 
before the public as the narrator of the various scenes in 
which his military prowess was first called iuto exercise. 
The memoir of the three campaigns of Sir Archibald 
Carapbell's army in Ava, was written when Henry Have- 
lock was a lieutenaut in the 13th light infantry, and 
deputy-adjntant-gencral to the forces of the Rangoon ex- 
pedition. The wTiter, who speaks of this production as 
his ' first essay in military history,' tells us that he ' was 
employed on the general staff of tbe Rangoon expedition ; 
aud that he has devoted a very few hours of his leisure of 
peace to tracing this memorial of the operations of an 
army, a pai't of the sufferings of which he shared, and the 
last successes of which he had the happiness to witness.' 
Havelock describes this war as oue directed ' against 
barbarians, a struggle against local difficulties, and as ex- 
cluding the promise of tliose splendid achievements which 
illustrate the page of history." " 



Chap. CVIL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



547 



a flotilla of twenty-gun brigs, and as many 
row-boats, carrying an eighteen ponndor 
each. There were his majesty's sloops i/aj'?ie 
and Sophie, and several company's cruisers, 
and the Diana steamboat. Major-general 
Sir A. Campbell, commander-in-chief of the 
forces ; Brigadier-general JMacbean com- 
manded the Madras troops. The Bengal 
troops reached the rendezvous about the end 
of April (Port Cornwallis in the great Anda- 
mans). They were joined by his majesty's 
frigate Liffey, Commodore Grant, and Slanei/, 
sloop-of-war. The last Madras division left 
on the 23rd of May, and joined at Rangoon 
in June and July. More troops were sent 
from Madras in August and September; and, 
by the end of 1824, his majesty's 47th regi- 
ment, and the governor-general's body-guard, 
making the whole force engaged in the first, 
campaign 13,000 men. Captain Canning 
went as jwlitical agent, and joint commis- 
sioner with Sir Archibald Campbell. 

On the yth May, 1824-, the expedition arrived 
off the Rangoon river, and the same evening 
(in nautical phrase), " stood in." Before ar- 
riving at Rangoon, detachments were sent to 
seize the islands of Cheduba and Negrais.* 
There were various other operations in the 
neighbourhood of Rangoon, all of them suc- 
cessful, scarcely any opposition having been 
offered. The approach of the fleet to Ran- 
goon caused the greatest consternation. The 
account given by Major-general Sir Henry 
Havehick(as he ultimately became) is graphic 
and striking:! — "The arrival of the British 
fleet off the mouth of the Rangoon river filled 
the court of Ava with consternation, and was 
immediately followed by some of those demon- 
strations of rage and cruelty which display 
the barbarous cliaracter of the people against 
whom the expedition was directed. The sub- 
ordinate officer left in command of Rangoon 
ioiftiediately directed the seizure of all the 
Englisii residents in the town, an order which 
included all ' who wore the Englisli hat.' In 
consequence of this order the Aniericau and 
English missionaries, tiie British merchants, 
the American merchants, and other wearers 
of the English hat, were seized, loaded with 
fetters, and thrown into prison. The sufler- 
iugs to which these persons were exposed, 
and their subsequent release, depicted by 
Havelock in vivid colours, correspond in a 
striking manner with recent exhibitions of 
Indian cruelty, wliile their release might be 
regarded as a sort ot promise of i'uture acts of 
deliverance in which Havelock was to bear a 

* Official docuiDcnts. 

t The author of this history quotes from the Rev. W. 
Owen, who has, with indefatigable pains, selected all the 
salient points of the gallant general's history of this war. 



leading part. The historian tells us that 
'they had been dragged from their homes 
under every circumstance of brutal indignity; 
their clothes had been torn ofl', their arms tied 
behind them with ropes, tightened until they 
became instruments of torture rather than 
means of security. They had been followed 
by the execrations of the populace, whose 
national barbarity was heightened into frenzy 
by the terrors of the crisis. They had been 
loaded with chains. They spent a night of 
hunger, pain, and agonizing uncertainty. But 
no sooner had the fleet appeared in sight, 
than an order from the Rewoon was delivered 
through the grating of their prison. The 
prisoners, all of whom were acquainted with 
the language of the country, listened intently 
to catch its import. Suspense was converted 
into despair. The Rewoon had commanded 
that, if a cannonade should be opened against 
the town of Rangoon, every prisoner should 
be put to death. The first gun was to be the 
signal for their decapitation. Instantly the 
gaolers commenced their preparations. Some 
spread over the floor of the Taik-dau a quan- 
tity of sand to imbibe the blood of the victims. 
Others began to sharpen their knives with 
surprising diligence. Others brandished their 
weapons with gestures and expressions of san- 
guinary joy over the heads of the captives. 
Some seizing them, and baring their necks, 
applied their fingers to the spine with an air 
of scientific examination. The Birmans, co- 
erced for ages by dint of tortures and fright- 
ful punishments, have acquired a kind of 
national taste for executions. The imagina- 
tion cannot picture a situation more dreadful 
than that of these foreigners placed at the 
mercy of such fiends. These prisoners, who 
were subsequently brought still nearer to 
death, were at length set free by the entry of 
the British troops.' " The authorities and the 
inhabitants of Rangoon fled, after opening a 
feeble cannonade, so that the Englisli entered 
the place almost unopposed. Both Commo- 
dore Grant, who commanded the naval squad- 
ron, and Sir Archibald Campbell, the military 
commander, were of opinion that by the river 
the forces might proceed to the ca))ital ; an 
opinion combatted by the naval and military 
staff Neither of the commanders were ac- 
quainted with Indian warfare. Sir Archibald 
had served well in Spain, which did not par- 
ticularly qualify him for war on the eastern 
shores of the Bay of Bengal. The army was 
in fact incapable of going anywhere, by sea or 
land, in consequence of the defective stateof the 
commissariat— the old deficiency of English 
armies everywhere. To remain, inadequately 
supplied with provisions and the place de- 
serted, was almost as difficult as to proceed to 



Sis 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[CicAi'. evil. 



any other place. The army was also niinie- 
rically too small, had it been supplied with 
provisions and hvnd transport, for such opera- 
tions as miglit bring the war to a speedy close. 
To secure the discomfiture of the British by 
famine, the retreating Birmese laid waste the 
country. Whatever the effect upon the con- 
venience or comfort of the English, starvation 
was the result to a large portion of the popu- 
lation. The English contrived to obtain 
provisions by sea, but the pestilential atmo- 
sphere of Rangoon affected their health. In 
proportion as the troops were kept in activity, 
the malaria affected them less, even although 
in their operations they were obliged to travel 
rice swamps, and the marshy lands on the 
river's banks. Sir Thomas Munro, writing 
from Madras to Lord Amherst, strenuously 
urged the advance of General Campbell upon 
the capital of Ava by the Irriwaddy. But 
the councils of the English at Calcutta and 
Madras, as well as at Rangoon, were ham- 
pered by the questions of systematic supplies 
and well organized transport, questions which 
seem to have embarrassed the administrators, 
civil and military alike. When at last, by 
enormous trouble and expense, and after the 
failure of innumerable contrivances, Sir A. 
Campbell obtained such supplies and such 
amount of conveyance as enabled him to 
move, he left a garrison at Rangoon, composed 
of native troops with invalid Europeans, and 
forming the remainder of his force in three 
divisions, he advanced against the enemy. 
Previous to this movement, the British had 
various skirmishes with the enemy, who 
formed a cordon around Rangoon to hem in 
the British, and also to prevent the natives 
seeking any communication with them. In 
these skirmishes the Birmese fought with far 
more obstinacy than the sepoys, but their 
stockades and huts were generally forced and 
carried by the bayonet, the English soldiery 
mainly achieving these exploits, the sepoys 
swelling the numbers, thereby deterring 
the enemy, and sometimes directing an effi- 
cient musketry fire in answer to the ginjals 
and matchlocks of the Birmese. 

When General Campbell commenced his 
advance, he headed the first division in per- 
son, which consisted of only twenty-four 
hundred men, and was called by way of dis- 
tinction the land column. The troops com- 
posing it were his majesty's o8th, 41st, and 
47th, three native battalions, the body-guard, 
a troop of Bengal horse artillery, and part of 
the rocket troop. The second division was 
under Brigadier-general Cotton, consisting of 
his majesty's 8'Jth, 1st Madras European 
regiment, two hundred and fifty of the IStli 
IMadras native infantry, foot artillery, and 



])art of the rocket troop, amounting to only 
twelve hundred men. The third division, his 
majesty's 13th and 12th Madras native in- 
fantry, with details of artillery, not number- 
ing more than six hundred men. This de- 
tachment was under the command of Major 
Sale. 

The plan of proceeding was for the first 
division to proceed by land to Prome, situated 
on the Irriwaddy. The division under Ge- 
neral Cotton was to proceed by river, forming 
a junction with General Campbell at Prome, 
after carrying the enemy's intrenchments at 
Panlang and Donabew. The river division 
was to be accompanied by a flotilla of sixty - 
two gun-boats, under Captain Alexander, R.N. 
Major Sale's small detachment was to operate 
by sea, in pursuance of which order it pro- 
ceeded to Cape Negrais.* Major Sale was 
directed to proceed against Bassein,f and 
after clearing the neighbourhood of Birmese 
troops, to cross the country and join the main 
body at Henzada, on the Irriwaddy. This 
little detachment was very successful, laud- 
ing and destroying the enemy's works, and 
ascending the Basseiu river to the town of that 
name, from which the enemy retreated, setting 
it on fire as they retired. 

General Cotton's division advanced to You - 
gan-Chena, where the Rangoon branch se- 
parates from the Irriwaddy. The column 
reached Panlang on the Rangoon river on 
the 19th of February, and found both banks 
stockaded. The enemy were without much 
difficulty shelled out, and as they fled were 
galled by flights of rockets. A detachment 
of the Madras native infantry was left as a 
garrison, and the flotilla proceeded. On the 
6th of March they took up a position before 
Donabew. The works were on the right bank 
of the river, of great strength, and command- 
ing the whole breadth of the current. " The 
chief work, a parallelogram of one thousand 
by seven hundred yards, stood on a bank 
withdrawn from the bed of the river in the 
dry season, and rising above it. Two others, 
one a square of two hundred yards, with a 
pagoda in the centre, and the other, an irre- 
gular work, four hundred yards from it, stood 
lower down on the river, forming outworks to 
the principal stockade, commanded and sup- 
ported by its batteries. All three were con- 
structed of squared beams of timber, provided 
with platforms, and pierced for cannon ; and 
each had an exterior ditch, the outer edge of 
which was guarded with sharp-pointed bam- 
boos, and a thick abatis of felled trees and 
brushwood. One hundred and forty guns of 

* Wilsou, vol. ix. p. 119. 

t Not to be confounded with a pfacc of the same "j.ime 
near Bombay. 



Chap. CVIL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



549 



various calibre, and a greater number of gin - 
jals, were mounted on the parapets, and tlie 
garrison consisted of twelve thousand men, 
commanded by the most celebrated general 
in the service of Ava. General Cotton had 
left his native regiment at Panlang, and part 
of the Europeans to guard the boats and 
itores. His whole available force did not, 
therefore, exceed six hundred bayonets, a 
force manifestly inadequate to the storming 
of Donabew."* 

General Cotton having unconditional orders 
to attack, determined to obey them. On the 
Ttli of ^March he formed two columns, com- 
posed together of five hundred men. They 
advanced against the smaller stockade, under 
cover of the fire of two field-pieces and a rocket 
battery. It \vas an easy conquest. The next 
attempt was directed against the second in- 
treuchment ; two hundred men were ordered 
against it, but they were overwhelmed with 
numbers and driven back. The disparity of 
force rendered the attempt absurd if not 
criminal. General Cotton was obliged to fall 
back, and, re -embarking, to drop down the 
river to Yung-Yung, and await orders from 
the commander-in-chief. 

It was painfully evident that the whole 
force sent upon the expedition to Ilangoon 
was too small. The government at Calcutta 
had formed no correct notions of the task to 
bo accomplished, and it does not appear that 
Sir Thomas JIunro, at Madras, had seen 
matters much more plainly than Lord Am- 
herst. His high reputation gave favour to 
views which were inexperienced and imprac- 
ticable. 

AVhile Cotton waited for orders, he heard 
that Sir Archibald Campbell also found him- 
self too weak to advance against Prome, and 
was obliged to fall back. The commander- 
in-chief had laid his plan of campaign in 
ignorance of the resources of his enemies. 
The plan itself had in the main been recom- 
mended by Sir Thomas Munro, and in a tone 
more confident, if not imperative, than his 
knowledge of the subject warranted. Sir 
A. Campbell, by his retrograde movement, 
came before Donabew on the 2.5th of JNIarch. 
His army encamped near the river, uhoie the 
works — the flotilla was below them. The 
flotilla advanced on the 27th, and landed 
heavy guns and mortars. Before batteries 
were erected, shells and rockets were thrown 
into the stockades and intrenchmcnts, caus- 
ing alarm and loss of life to the enemy, and 
slaying their commander-in-chief. On the 
ord of April the cannonade of the English 
opened ; the Birmese retired without firing a 
shot. The post was garrisoned, and ,)Sir 

* Deputy judge advocate-general of tlie ISengn! army. 



A. Campbell resumed his progress towards 
Prome. The total loss of the British at 
Donabew was thirty killed, and one hundred 
and thirty-four wounded. The wounded and 
slain of the enemy probably did not exceed 
that amount. 

On the 8th of April, the commander-in- 
chief was joined at Tharawa by Brigadier 
M'Creagh, with his majesty's 1st Royal Scots, 
and the 28tli Madras native infantry, and a 
good supply of draught cattle and elephants. 
The Birman army, rallied by the Prince of 
Tharawaddi, fell back for the defence of 
Prome. The commander-in-chief appeared 
before Prome on the 2ijth of April. There, 
as at Donabew, the enemy retired, burning 
the stockades. At this place General Camp- 
bell lingered long without effecting any- 
thing, although his force was five thousand 
men, and fifteen hundred more at Ran- 
goon had received orders to join him. An 
armistice was agreed upon, to extend from 
the 17th of September to the 17th of Octo- 
ber, in order to enable the English agents 
and Birmese vakeels to come' to terms of 
peace. In Se])tember, Sir James Brisbane, 
commander-in-chief of the British navy in 
the Indian seas, joined the army. 

The Kyi Wungyi met the British general 
in October, to form definitive terms of a 
treaty on the plain of Narenzik. It soon 
became obvious that the demands of the Eng- 
lish appeared to the Birmese negotiators as 
arrogant and unreasonable. They remon- 
strated, and endeavoured to dissuade the 
British from making such requisitions; but 
finding the English general inexorable, they 
demanded an extension of the armistice until 
the demands of the English were referred to 
the emperor. The conditions on which the 
English general insisted, were as follows : — 
" The court of Ava was expected to desist 
from all interference with Assam and Cachar, 
and to recognise their dependence of Mani- 
pore. Arracan, with its dependencies, was to 
be given up to the British, and an indemnity 
of two crores of rupees (£2,000,000) was to 
be paid for the expenses of the war ; until 
the discharge of which sum, Rangoon, Mar- 
taban, and the Tenesserim provinces, were to 
be hekl in pledge. A resident was to be 
received at Ava, and a commercial treaty 
to bo concluded, by which the trade with Ran- 
goon should be relieved from the exactions 
by which it had hitherto been repressed." * 

The demands of the English were indig- 
nantly spurned by the Birmese court. A 
new army advanced upon Prome, and being 
very numerous, nearly invested the British 
lines, with the intention of intercepting their 
* Wilson, vol. ix. p. 130. 

4d 



5S0 



History op the British empire 



iOhap.GVIT. 



communications. A powerful detachmniit of 
the grand army of Birmali was thrown for- 
ward twent)' miles from Prome. General 
Camiihell saw tliat it was essential to the pre- 
servation of his commnnications to dislodge 
tliem. On the evening of tlin 15tli of Novem- 
ber, Brigadier-general M'Dowall, with five 
regiments of Madras native infantry, advanced 
in three colnmns. The ground was flooded 
and marshy, and did not admit of the use of 
field-pieces. The division brought no batter- 
ing guns. Confusion and ignorance prevailed 
in the British columns. They were repulsed 
with heavy loss, the commander of the divi- 
sion was killed, an officer mortally wounded, 
and nine officers disabled. The total loss killed, 
wounded, and mi.><sing, was two hundred and 
eixfeei). It was an experiment with a little 
army of sepoy infantry. The Birmese showed 
no apprehension of them, and after their 
victory, spoke of the sepoys with contempt. 

Tiie Birmese were now encouraged to 
attempt the English lines at Prome. They 
advanced and intrenched themselves within 
a few miles of that place. The English, under 
Campliell and Cotton, attacked them on the 
1st, 2nd, and 5th of December, defeating 
them on every occasion, slaying many, with 
only a loss of three officers killed, two wounded, 
one mortally; twenty-five soldiers killed, and 
one hundred and twenty-one wounded. The 
Birmese army was completely routed. 

The British reached Meaday on the 19th of 
December, accompanied by the flotilla. A flag 
of truce was burne by the enemy to the naval 
commander, offering to negotiate. Lieutenant- 
colonel Tidy, and Lieutenant Pmith, R.N., 
had conducted tlie previous negotiations, and 
those officers were again employed to meet 
the Birmese negotiators. Nevertheless the 
Britisli, resolved not to be obstructed by delays 
under the guise of negotiations, advanced, 
until army and flotilla arrived at Patanagoh, 
opposite to Melloon, on the 29th of Decem- 
ber. On the 3<)th, the negotiators undertook 
to meet in a boat in the middle of the river. 
General Campbell, Admiral Brisbane, Mr. 
T. C. Robertson, the civil commissioner, and 
their suites, went on board, where four great 
officers of the imperial government waited to 
receive them. The demands of tlie English 
were repeated, and renewed expostulations 
and arguments against them were made by 
the Birmese. At last they gave way, con- 
senting to surrender tl)e territory, hut declared 
their government unable to p.iy the indem- 
nity. The British, therefore, reduced the 
demand to a crore of rupees (i\ milliuu ster- 
ling). A definitive treaty was executed, on 
the 3rd of January, 182o. An armistice was 
settleil to extend to the 18th of that month. 



I to give time for the ratification of the treaty, 
I the Birmeae ministers not being plenipoten- 
} tiaries. On the 17th, a deputation of Birmese 
i requested an extension of the armistice. The 
British, perceiving that the object was to gain 
time, refused, and demanded the evacuation 
of the camp of Melloon by sunrise on the 
20th, Tinder menace of attack. The Birmese 
refused to abandon the camp; neither did the 
ratification of the treaty arrive by the 20th. 
Melloon was attacked, stormed, and captured. 
By far the most interesting account of this 
action extant is that which is contained in 
General Sir Henry Havelock's account of this 
war. He was then a humble lieutenant, 
but had the genius of a general, and the pen 
of an accomplished and proficient military 
writer. The reader of this history will be 
deeply interested in the perusal of Havelock's 
most graphic and eloquent description of this 
battle, of which, in part, he was an eye- 
witness, and in part a participator. As 
the work written by the lamented historian 
and general (as he afterwards became) is 
not accessible to the public, the following 
extract will be read with the more interest : — 
"When the day broke on the 19th (Jan. 
1826), the left bank of the river was seen 
already lined with batteries. The engineers 
had accomplished so much of their task in 
the night, that the bustle in the British camp 
did not appear lively enough to indicate any 
extraordinary exertion. A battery of eighteen- 
pounders and heavy mortars confronted the 
centre of the grand stockade. Another of 
lighter pieces had been prepared to batter the 
pagoda work to the southward. The guns 
and howitzers of the horse brigade were in 
battery opposite to the left of the central 
work. By eleven o'clock, twenty-eight mouths 
of fire were ready to open on the Melloon. 
The whole strength of the rocket brigade was 
ranged near the right of the battery of the 
centre. At eleven, Sir Archibald Campbell, 
in person, gave the word. The roar of the 
first salvo shook the ground, rent the air, 
reverberated amongst the rocks and woods 
behind Melloon, and died away in sullen 
echoes from the more distant hills. In an 
instant it was repeated. Tiie deafening peals 
succeeded with a rapidity which suggested 
the image of unchecked vengeance falling in 
thnnder upon the heads of the deceitful bar- 
barians. The British officers on the left bank, 
stooping and coming forward, bent the eye 
anxiously to discern the effect upon the hostile 
camp. It was evident that the artillerists 
had hit the range at once. Balls were seen 
to strike the work, raising a cloud of dust 
and spliiiter.s, demolishing the defences, and 
ploughing up the area of the square. Shells 



Chap CVII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



651 



hit sometimes a few paces from the parapet, 
behind which the garrison waa crouching, 
bursting among their ranks, sometimes upon 
the lints of the troops and mariicd points of 
tlie pagodas. Tlie rockets flew in tiie truest 
path. Many fell upon the barbarians ; many 
shaped tiieir course direct into the pavilions 
of the chiefs. Partial fires were soon seen to 
break out at Melloon. Twice the line of the 
barbarians which manned the eastern face 
gave way under the dreadful fire; twice they 
were rallied by tlieir ciiiefs. The storm of 
fire, of sliells, and bullets, continued without 
intermission for an hour and a quarter. Fif- 
teen minutes before one, the boats of the 
flotilla began to move from a point two 
hundred yards above the light battery. The 
first brigade had been embarked on board 
the lending vessels. The flank companies of 
the 87th, the 4l8t, and 89th British, and 
strong native detachments, found themselves 
afloat almost at the same moment on board 
the remainder of the flotilla. General Cotton 
directed the movementsof the troops last men- 
tioned. Lieutenant-colonels Godwin, Parlby, 
and Hunter Blair, served under him as bri- 
gadiers. This force was to gain the right 
bank a little above the great work, and 
operate against its northern face, now cruelly 
enfiladed by the horse brigade. As one of 
its columns was intended to intercept the 
retreat of the Birmans, the whole body ought 
to have been pt\t in motion antecedently to 
the first brigade, the movement of which 
should have been consecutive ; but the at- 
tempt which was made to render the advance 
of both simultaneous, ended in inverting the 
order of their operations. The first brigade 
came too soon, and the turning columns too 
late in contact with the enemy. 

"All eyes were now fixed upon the pro- 
gress of the first brigade. Its boats began to 
fall rapidly down the stream. Colonel Sale 
was seen in the leading man-of-war's boat, 
far a-head of the heavier vessels. The brigade 
was to attack the south-eastern angle of the 
great work, the abattis of whicji was said to 
be defective. Thus it had to receive the fire 
of the whole eastern front of the fortification. 
The Birmans opened every musket and ginjal 
upon it as soon as the first boat was on a line 
parallel to the stockade. The stream carried 
the British within half-musket shot of their 
numerous enemies, who, relieved from the 
severity of the cannonade, which the inter- 
vention of the boats necessarily caused to be 
suspended, had now full leisure to direct tlieir 
fire. It caused a sensation of nervous tremor 
amongst the unocen|iied spectators on the 
rigiit bank, to see these two old tried corps 
thus silently enduring the storm of barbarian 



vengeance. A dense cloud of smoke from the 
Birnmn musketry began to envelop the boats. 
Now and then, by tiie flash of a nine-pounder 
from one of the gun-vessels, she was seen to 
present her bows for an instant to the line, 
and direct a pairing shot against the works. 
But the moment of retribution was at hand. 
Tiie headmost boat was seen to touch the 
sand. A body of troops sprang ashore. They 
formed themselves witii the alacrity of prac- 
tised tirailleurs under the slope of the bank. 
They were a part of the 38th. They began 
to answer and chock the fire of the Birniau 
bastion near them. The vessels followed as 
rapidly as possible; but all seemed too slow 
for the wishes of those who looked npon the 
animating scene. Tliey felt the inexpressible 
desire to urge on, by the power, as it were, 
of imagination, to press forward, to impel to 
the point the licadmost boats, which, though 
dropping quickly, yet seemed to the eyes of 
impatience to lag. More soldiers leaped upon 
dry land with a cheer ; others followed. The 
spectators looked for the leader of the brigade. 
They did not yet know that a ball had struck 
him between the shoulder and the breast, and 
that he lay swooning, from the loss of blood, 
in the boat. The numbers of the column 
speedily increased; it quickly assumed shape, 
and was in motion. Tlie advance ceased to 
fire; the mass of the 13th (this was Liente- 
nant Havelock's regiment) and the 38th, 
pressing on, was in a moment at the foot of 
the works. The soldiers began to spread 
and seek for a gap, or entrance, with the 
ready tact produced by experience in such 
affairs. There was a pause of three seconds, 
then a move again. The British were seen 
at once overlooking the works. The Birman 
fire ceased along the line ; all was decided. 
The barbarians began to rush in headlong 
flight across the great area : the British co- 
lumn to direct its course lull upon the i>ago- 
das, which marked the head-quarters of the 
chiefs. The second column had landed, and 
was manoeuvring upon the north-western 
angle. The Birmans, warned by the priority 
of the attack in front, were already issuing 
from it in large bodies. This was the conflict 
at Melloon." 

The generalship of the English in this 
battle was severely criticised by Havelock. 
It was his opinion that, by a different jilan of 
action, a brilliant advantage might have been 
gained, whicli vias not obtained. As this is not 
a military work, it would be inapprojiriate to 
quote the extended critique of Havelock. It 
is modestly and gracefully written, and is pe''- 
vaded by clearness of view, precision of 
thought, and proves the writer to have been, 
even at that early period of his military his* 



562 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CVII. 



tory, profoundly read, and a deep tliinker in 
military science. 

On the 8tli of February the army ap- 
proached within five miles of Pagahm-mew. 
This place had once been the capital of the 
Birman empire, and was regarded as a holy 
city. It was solidly built, and capable of 
offering much resistance to an enemy, if 
governed and garrisoned with skill and valour. 
The Birmese appeared determined to make a 
stand there, and Sir Archibald Campbell re- 
solved to lose no time in attacking, and, if 
necessary, storming the place. In the descrip- 
tion of what occurred, wo shall again gratify 
our readers by a passage from the narrative of 
the good and great Sir Henry Havelock : — 
" The British advanced along a narrow road, 
thickly hedged in on either side with the tree 
called by the inhabitants her, by the English 
jujube, and by philosophers zizi/plius jujiiha. 
It bears a fruit resembling the plum, and 
varying equally in size. It is in some conn- 
tries a dwarfish, but in this district of Birmah 
rises to the height of ten or twelve feet, and 
is commonly defended with thorns. The 
small force of the British raised clouds of 
dust in passing over the sandy soil. Tlie 
Birmans fired the first shot. The advance of 
their right opened a random fusilade, out of 
distance, at the head of the column of the 
•13rd, and then retired. The vanguard of the 
British (in which Havelock was engaged) in 
a moment after became engaged with the 
advance of the barbarian centre, posted at the 
base of Loganunda. It drove it in. But as 
the column under the major-general reached 
the foot of the monument, the enemy showed 
considerable force in its front, and on its 
right. As the British moved on, the bar- 
barians rushed forward to meet them. They 
presented themselves with wild, frantic ges- 
tures, and hideous shouts. The whole of the 
13th were extended, en tiraillear, to resist 
this sudden onset. The horse artillery got 
into action. The body-guard supported at 
the centre. These three corps now formed 
the true vanguard of the British. The 13th 
dashed among the barbarians in extended 
files. They overthrew them. The thickets 
were soon strewed with their bodies. The 
barbarians were hotly pursued, thundered 
upon by the guns of the horse artillery, and 
cut down by tlie sowars wherever they could 
be overtaken. The rest of the force, in 
seconding this manoeuvre, found it difficult 
to debouch. It was impossible to escape 
very rapidly from the narrow mouth of the 
single defile into which the troops were closely 
wedged together with the carriages of the 
foot artillery, their rockets and tumbrils. The 
heat was excessive, and two of the battalions 



were harassed by the night march. All this 
was not sufficiently borne in mind in follow- 
ing up the first advantage. The companies 
of the loth, spread along a considerable line, 
became engaged with formidable masses of 
the enemy before they could receive any 
support from the corps of the main body. 
The barbarian general took advantage of this 
with a laudable adroitness. He jn'omptly 
moved up large bodies of horse and foot to 
the aid of his worsted advance ; he caused 
a mass to debouch from his extreme left, 
menacing the right flank of the British, and 
another to press down from his centre to cut 
off their vanguard from the road. The 
ground was a succession of hillocks planted 
with the jujube. IVfany of the little summits 
were covered with the ruins of pagodas > 
others with monuments less worn by time. 
Thus, the adverse lines were hardly aware 
how closely they approached each other. A 
noisy fire w-as supported along either front. 
The 13th were very widely extended. The 
major-general, accompanied l)y the principal 
officers of his staff, was in the very centre of 
the attack of the vanguard. His person must 
have been distinctly seen by the barbarians. 
Large bodies advanced within a few yards of 
him. Their shouts seemed already to an- 
nounce a victory. The situation of the major- 
general was for many minutes critical. He 
had with him only fourteen men of the 13th, 
sixteen sowars of the body-guard, and two 
field-pieces of the horse artillery ; but their 
guns threw grape and round shot rapidly and 
truly amongst the enemy; their ipiick dis- 
charges disconcerted them, and the firm 
countenances of the troopers and infantry 
soldiers filled them \\ith uncertainty. They 
could not in a moment make up their minds 
to one of those decisive movements by which 
battles are won. The opportunity which might 
have saved their capital escaped them. Their 
masses began to take up the ground from 
which they had first moved, but remained 
there steadily and in great force. A heavy 
firing was at this instant heard on the left. 
The major-general retired before the enemy's 
advance, which pressed after him. The Hin- 
dostanee troopers displayed a memorable cool- 
ness. They waved their sabres proudly to 
the shouting barbarians, turned their backs 
only for a moment, then rapidly fronted and 
resumed their attitude of defiance, riding 
down the boldest of the Birmans who ven- 
tured close to them. Constantly calling to 
the infantry, which they covered, to quicken 
their pate, but never quickening their own, 
thus retiring and fronting in succession, they 
finally gained a little pagoda mount, on which 
the major-general had taken his stand. Sir 



Chap. CVII.] 



rx INDIA AND THE EAST. 



5.')3 



Archibald Campbell then caused the 13th to 
be recalled and concentrated by sound of 
bugle. The guns and howitzers armed the 
plateau of the mount. Its ruinous brick- 
work supplied an irregular rampart. The 
enemy stood formed in immense force directly 
in front of the hill, their foot backed by squa- 
drons of the Cassay horse. They still showed 
a disposition to turn the British by both flanks. 
The major-general surveyed them for a few 
minutes through his telescope. He then said 
calmly, as the troops re-formed, ' I have here 
the 13th, and the body-guard; the whole 
Birraan army shall not drive me from this 
hill.' Nevertheless, some anxious moments 
had to be passed in this little position. There 
was yet no intelligence of the movements of 
the left. The enemy's detached parties of 
either arm yet inundated the valleys and 
thickets to the right and left. Some even 
penetrated to the rear; but, at length, the 
yytli arrived, and was seen to take up its 
position in support. All was secure in this 
quarter, which had been so seriously menaced. 
The British again prepared to attack the 
troops of ' The King of Hell ;'* but they per- 
ceived that he had already sensibly dimi- 
nished his force in their front. A staff-officer, 
who had succeeded in communicating with 
General Cotton, brought news which ac- 
counted for this retrograde movement. 

" The right flank of the Birmans, and their 
communications with Pagahm, were already 
in jeopardy. When General Cotton debouched 
beyond the Loganunda pagoda, he was op- 
posed, as the major-general had been, by 
advanced bodies of the barbarians. The 
38th routed them, and followed closely the 
line of their retreat. The Birmans at length 
threw themselves into a field-work near the 
bank of the river. Nearly the same thing 
happened which had before taken place at the 
(■utworks of Donabew. The 38th wheeled 
round the work, under the fire of its defenders, 
entered it by the rear-ward opening, and 
began to make a carnage of all within. The 
barbarians, thus screwed into their own places 
of defence, leaped in terror over the western 
parapet. Hundreds rushed headlong down 
the lofty and most vertical bank of the waters 
of the Irriwaddy. 'The King of Hell' was 
compelled to abandon his first position and 
retire on Pagahm. As soon as the success 
of the left was announced to General Camp- 
bell, he put his column in motion. The state- 
ments of prisoners indicated an obstinate 

* An array of the Birnian Emperor, eutitled " Re- 
trievers of the King's Glory," were commanded by a 
savajie warrior styled Nee ll'ooii Breni, which has been 
variously translated as " Prince of Darkness," " King of 
Hell," and "Prince of the Setting Sun." 



defence in Pagahm. It was thought that only 
half the day's work was achieved. In half 
an hour more the lines of manoeiivie taken by 
all the columns of battalions, except the 43rd, 
converged upon a single point in the eastern 
wall of the city. The 13th was the most 
advanced. The main road descended into a, 
ravine. Beyond this, a village and pagoda 
intervened, and screened the walls of Pagahm. 
The enemy were posted here in force. When 
the firing cominenced, the horse artillery were 
dispatched at full speed to the right, to en- 
filade the village, and take every successive 
position of the enemy rapidly in flank ; but 
the leading companies of the 13th had already 
descended into the valley. The enemy's balls 
began to strike the huts and trees around 
them. It was in vain to dally here, exposed 
to a fire from behind walls. The regiment 
formed in line quickly, but with the steadi- 
ness of a field-day. It advanced at the charge 
with a loud huzza, and in redoubled time. 
The levies of ' The King of Hell' had not a 
chance of remaining. They were driven 
before the onset of this regiment from posi- 
tion to position, from pagoda to pagoda, from 
eminence to eminence, back upon, over, within, 
and again beyond their walls ; then from 
walled inclosure to inclosure, finally into their 
boats on the Irriwaddy, or along the route to 
the capital, as panic urged them. All their stan- 
dards were captured. The major-general and 
his staff entered by the eastern gate of Pagahm. 

" The sound of the last cannon shot had 
scarcely ceased to echo among the pagodas 
when the major-general thus conveyed his 
sentiments to his troops in general orders : — 
' Providence has once more blessed with suc- 
cess the British arms in this country ; and in 
the decisive defeat of the imposing force posted 
under and within the walls of Pagahm-mew, 
the major-general recognises a fresh display of 
the military virtues which have characterized 
his troops from the commencement of the war."' 

Having narrated the successful exploits of 
the British in their campaign from Rangoon, 
it is necessary, before stating the final results 
of the war, to relate the main incidents of 
the operations from eastern Bengal. Three 
brigades were stationed at Chittagong, Jumal- 
pore, and Goalpara ; and a flotilla was placed 
on the Burrampooter river, towards Assam, 
and in the neighbourhood of Dacca. The 
English resolved to defend Cachar and Mani- 
pore, and carry the war in that direction into 
the territories of the enemy, if occasion offered. 
Colonel Innes quartered his brigade at Silhet, 
Colonel Shapland at Chittagong, Brigadier- 
general M'Morrice at Goalpara. One of the 
plans of the British was to penetrate from 
Cachar through Manipore into the valley of 



554- 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. evil. 



tlie Ninpti river, which falls into the Irri- 
waddy. Colonel Shuldam, at the head of 7000 
men, attempted this route and failed. Another 
plan was to pass from Chittagong into Arra- 
can, and across the mountains into Ava, and 
effect a junction with the army sent from 
Rangoon. Gen(n'al Morrison, at the head of 
11,000 men, attempted this enterprise. His 
force consisted of his majesty's 44tli and 54th 
i-egiments of the line ; the 26th, 42nd, 4!*th, 
•32nd Bengal native infantry, and the 2nd 
light infantry battalion; the 10th and IGth 
Madras native infantry ; a Mugh levy; a bod)' 
of local horse ; a Ktrong party of native 
pioneers, and a fine detachment of the Ben- 
gal artillery. A flotilla of sloops and gun- 
brigs was to co-operate with this division of 
the army. Commodore Hay commanded the 
flotilla, and his especial work was to carry 
troops and supplies along shore. This little 
army began its progress in the beginning of 
January, 1825. A portion of the foice re- 
mained at various stations on British territory, 
to be sent after the army if necessary. His 
majesty's 64tii, 10th Madras native infantry, 
and left wing IGth native infantry, went by 
sea. The field-battery, his majesty's 44tli, 
Ist light infantry battalion, four companies 
42nd Bengal native infantry, five companies 
C2iid native infantrj^ right wing Madras 16th 
native infantry, and two troops of Gardner's 
local horse went by land. The 26th and 49fh 
Bengal went by boats along the coast. There 
were 1,500 Europeans, and 8,000 native 
troops ; total, 9,600 men. The approach to 
the town of Arracan lay across a narrow val- 
ley, skirted by hills of an average height of 
four hundred feet. Stockades were placed 
on these hills, in advantageous positions, gar- 
risoned by 9,000 Biimans. On the 29th of 
March an unsuccessfid attack was made on 
these stockades. On the evening of tiie 31st 
of March, Brigadier Richards (afterwards 
better known as Lieutenant-general Sir W. 
Richards), commanding a brigade, which 
consisted of six companies 44tli foot, three of 
the 26tii, three of the 49th, thirty seamen, 
and thirty Gardner's dismounted horse, as- 
cended the hills, by a circuitous route, and 
established his troops on the summit before 
he was perceived by the enemy.* Next 
morning, the brigade took the Birmese in 
flank, while the commander-in-chief took 
them in front. The enemy were beaten out 
of all the stockades, and fled precipitately 
through the passes, leaving Arracan to the 
victors. The ilhiess of General Morrison 
caused the command to devolve upon General 
Richards. Tiie Britisii troops continued to 
liold Arracan through the summer, but made 
♦ Wilson, vul. h. p. 106. 



no effort to prosecute their way toward the 
heart of the Birmese empire. On the 31st of 
October, Brigadier Iticiianls, while C(mimaiid- 
ing "the south -eastern division of Arracan, re- 
ported the impracticability of ])as8ing tiirough 
the mountains. This was an error, no survey 
of the roads and passes having been made by 
Richards, in consequence of the insufficiency 
as to numbers of his engineer staff, and the 
sickness which prevailed among that portion 
of his ofiBcers. The troops in Arracan suffered 
severely from miasma rising from the pesti- 
lential marshes which then covered so large a 
portion of the low coimtry. He might, how- 
ever, have wintered in Ava, as was ))roved 
by Captain Ross, wlio, with the 18th Madras 
native infantry, and a number of elephants, 
marched to Pakangyet, on the Irriwaddy, 
eight marches from Yandaboo, and thenco, 
after crossing the river to Sembew Ghwen, 
quitted the low country in three days, and 
in eight more crossed the mountains, by a 
practicable route to Aeng, in Ava." The war 
was decided by the Rangoon army before 
anything was effected by the army of Arracan, 
except the conquest of that province. After 
the war was over, a portion of the sepoys 
were conducted through the mountain passes 
from Ava into Arracan, proving the practic- 
ability of that route on any future occasion of 
war. 

The treaty concluded with the Birman em- 
peror was one of great importance to the 
British. His Birman majesty agreed to re- 
nounce all claim to Assam, and tlie prin- 
cipalities of Jyntia and Caciiar, and recog- 
nised the independence of Manipore. He con- 
sented to cede in perjjetuity the four divisions 
of Arracan, namely, Arracan Proper, Ramri, 
Cheduba, and Sandoway, and also the three dis- 
tricts of Tenesserim, Ye, Tavoy, and Jlergui, 
or the whole of the coast belonging to Ava 
south of the Sanluen river; to receive a re- 
sident at his capital, and sanction the conclu- 
sion of a commercial treaty ; and, finally, he 
agreed to pay a crore of rupees (or about 
£1,000,000), in four instalments, the first im- 
mediately, the second witiiin one hundred days 
from the date of the treaty, and the other two 
in the course of the two tollowing years. The 
British engaged to retire at once to Rangoon, 
and to quit the Birniah territory upon the pay- 
ment of the second instalment. The discharge 
of the promised indemnity was tardily and re- 
luctantly complied with. On the receipt of 
the ratification of tlie treaty the army broke 
up from Yandaboo. Rangoon was held by the 
British until after payment of the second 
instalment of the indemnity. 

The English suffered Irom a dreadful mor- 
tality, one-fourth of all who had not been 



Chap. OVIL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



S55 



killed or wounded died of the diseases engen- 
dered liy the unhealthy situations in which 
they were quartered ; and belore the English 
abandoned Rangoon, half of the troops left 
alive were in hospital. The mortality has been 
compared to that of the unfortunate expedition 
to Walcheren in 1809 ; but the latter was not 
30 fatal as the expeditions in the Birmese war, 
While the English were in occupation of 
the country, it was deemed important to gain 
as much intelligence as possible of its people, 
and to conciliate as far as might be the em- 
peror and his court. In pursuance of this 
policy, Lieutenant Havelock was selected, 
with Captain Lumsden and Assistant-surgeon 
Knox, of the Madras army, to bear presents to 
the emperor from his conquerors. These offi- 
cers went upon their interesting and peculiar 
mission, encountering many obstructions from 
the jealousy of the Birmese. The American 
missionaries, who had acquired considerable 
influence over many persons about the imperial 
court, rendered the English gentlemen many 
services. On their arrival at Ava, they 
learned that six prisoners were detained. 
They drew up a protest, declaring that this 
was an infraction of the treaty, and declining 
to wait upon his majesty without an order 
were issued for the release of these men. 
After a most vindictive resistance, this was at 
last conceded. The day after the reception, 
the jjrisoners were set free. The prudent and 
gentlemanly conduct of Lieutenant Havelock 
did much to smooth the difficulties of dealing 
with the Birmese court, and at the same time 
10 maintain in full lustre the dignity of Eng- 
land, through that of her representatives. 
Indeed throughout the Birmese war the use- 
fulness and devotion to duty of Mr. Havelock 
were an honour to his country, and attracted 
the notice of the whole army, particularly that 
of the commander-in-chief. The following is 
a striking specimen of the piety and earnest 
religious zeal of Mr. Havelock : — " In the 
temple of Rangoon, when the city was taken, 
he was seen in the temple — the idol temple — 
filled with the images and cross-legged infer- 
nals of that country. He placed the lamps 
in the hands of the idols, and by the light sat 
down to teach, to lead the devotions of the 
soldiers, and to open to them the Scriptures."* 
Another interesting incident in the life of 
Havelock occurred during this war. The gal- 
lant commander of the 13th, Major Sale, then 
holding the local rank of Lieutenant-colonel, 
required a detachment for some particular 
service, and directed the company of Captain 

to undertake it. The adjutant replied 

that the men were intoxicated. Sale imme- 
diately observed, "Turn out Havelock's men ; 
• The Rev. PuxtOD Hood. 



he is always ready, and his men are never 
drunk." Havelock was then a lieutenant, but 
was at the time in command of his eonipaiiy. 
He brought out his men, who were like him- 
self " ready," and " never drunk," and the 
duty was accomplished. At this juncture, 
also, an event occurred in the life of that re- 
markable man, which bore upon his prospects, 
and at the same time illustrated his character. 
The incident is given as written in the inte- 
resting and able memoir of Havelock, by the 
Rev.William Owen, of London: — "On the ad- 
jutancy in his corps becoming vacant, an ap- 
plication was made to the governor-general to 
give it to Havelock. His lordship demurred, 
on account of what had been said to Have- 
lock's disparagement as being an enthusiast 
and a fanatic. Bitter was the hostility which 
beset him on that occasion, and only in this 
manner it was overcome : a return was or- 
dered of the offences committed by the men 
of the several companies throughout the 
regiment; and having examined the return, 
the governor-general said he found that the 
men in Havelock's company, who had joined 
in his religious exercises, were the most 
sober and best behaved men in the regiment. 
The complaint against the men, he said, was 
that they were Baptists, and he added that he 
wished that the whole regiment were Baptists, 
too. The result of the inquiry was, the be- 
stowal of the adjutancy upon Havelock, and 
the entry in his memorandum-book simply 
mentions the fact, with the addition of the fol- 
lowing words : — 'Continue religious instruc- 
tion to the soldiers, and do everything to 
promote_ temperate habits among them ' "* — 
This anecdote is as favourable to the charac- 
ter of Lord Amherst as to that of Havelock. 
His lordship never allowed his religious, 
political, or personal feelings or prejudices to 
interfere with the just administration of his 
high office, and what was due to his king 
and countr)'. 

The Birmese war had proved one of the 
most costly which we had waged in India. 
Various writers estimate it at fourteen mil- 
lions sterling ; and the loss from all causes, 
in the field and in garrison, along the Bengal 
frontier of Assam, in Arracan, and along the 
Irriwaddy, at twenty thousand men. Ttie 
European soldiers, and especially the officers, 
perished in greater proi)ortion than the se- 
poys, or Mugh auxiliaries ; indeed the loss 
of life among the last was not great. 

Alter the treaty was signed between the 
Governor-general of India and the Emperor 
of Birmah, Mr. Crawford was appointed envoy 
to the court of Ava, to arrange a commercial 
treaty. The mission returned to Rangoon in 
* The Good Soldier. 



556 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CVIIl. 



January, 1827, h.iving accomplished its object. 
He was not gratified with his reception, and 
lie dissuaded liis government from enforcing 
the article of the treaty providing that a 
British agent should reside at the court of 
Ava. No further intercourse was held until 
1829, when Lieutenant-colonel Burney was 
sent to Ava on a British mission. In 1824, 
the colonel, then f'npt.nin Burney, had been 



dispatched to the court of Siam, to congratu- 
late the monarch of thnt country on his acces- 
sion to the throne. His mission to that court 
it was supposed qualified him to proceed to 
that of Ava. His term of residence there was 
a long one. He remained until 1837, when 
he was obliged to (piit, in connexion with 
events to be related when our narrative shall 
arrive at that period. 



CHAPTER CVIII. 

GOVERNMENT OF I,ORD AJIHBRST ((;oh//«««/)— SIEGE, STORM, AND CAPTURE OF BHURTPORE 
— DE.\TH OF SIR THOMAS MUNRO— TRANSFER OF THE CROWN OF DELHI AND EMPIRE 
OF HINDOSTAN TO THE EAST INDIA COMPANV— ARRIVAL OF LORDWILLI.AM BENTIXCK 
IN INDI.\.— HIS GOVERNMENT AND REFORMS — HIS DEPARTURE FROM INDIA AND 
RETURN TO ENGLAND. 



DuRixo the progress of the Birmese war, the 
state of India was unsatisfactory. The de- 
posed princes, especially the Peishwa at 
Benares, were as usual intriguing to foment 
disturbance and shake British power if pos- 
sible. When at the beginning of the war the 
Birmese in Arracan made a successful entrance 
into Chittagong, the natives of eastern Bengal, 
and of all Lower Bengal, felt extreme alarm. 
Agents of the Peishwa circulated false intel- 
ligence, and represented the Birmese as in- 
vincible, and at last the native merchants of 
Calcutta wei'e panic-struck, and could with 
difificulty be dissuaded from removing their 
property and withdrawing from Bengal. 

At the end of 1824 disturbances broke out 
iu an extremity of India precisely opposite to 
that endangered by the Birmese. In Ciitch 
there was a revolt which appeared to assume 
political importance. It was discovered that 
the Ameers of Scinde had incited it. 

The whole of India was swarming with 
military adventurers, the relics of defeated 
armies, or the mercenaries who had served 
the English in their various wars as irregular 
cavalry. There were numbers of men ready 
to join the English against any enemy, or to 
join any power, foreign or native, against the 
English. On the whole, they were more 
willing to serve against than for the prevail- 
ing pow-er. Notwithstanding that Bengal 
and Central India had been subjected to them, 
the British were in the predicted condition of 
the Arabs, — their hand was against every man, 
and every man's hand was against them. 
While yet the Birmese war exhausted the ex- 
chequer and drained the garrisons of India of 
European troops, war was waged elsewhere. 

The Bhurtpore territories which were in- 
dependent passed through a series of violent 



i commotions and revolutions up to 1824, and 
; in that year. The .Tants, who inhabited that 
I principality, were disposed to regard the Eng- 
lish as protectors against foreign enemies, but 
I w'ere not desirous to see them interfere with 
j their home concerns. Sir David Ochterlony 
I did interfere, and the governor-general, con- 
trary to the advice of his council, revoked the 
proceedings of the resident, who resigned. 
Sir David died soon after, at Meerut, much 
regretted in India, where his talents, civil and 
military, had been a great advantage to hi? 
country. Sir David had assembled an array 
to besiege Bhurtpore, and by force of arm? 
adjust the disputes there which menaced the 
peace of Hindostan. On the 10th of Decem- 
ber, 1826, when a vote of thanks was passed 
to the army at Bhurtpore, Sir J. Malcolm 
observed, " If the siege had failed, it would, 
in all human probability, have added to the 
embarrassments of the Birmese war, that of 
hostilities with almost every state." 

After much hesitation, and great reluctance 
to have another war on his hands, while thai 
with the Birmans was raging, policy deter- 
mined Lord Amherst to engage in a conflict 
with Bhurtpore, the strongest fortress in .ill 
India. Lord Combermere had arrived at 
Calcutta, the 2ud of October, 1825, as com- 
mander-in-chief of the forces in India. He 
went up the country, and fixed his head- 
quarters at Muttra. According to Caj)tain 
Creighton, of his majesty's 11th Light Dra- 
goons, the forces at Lord Combermere's dis- 
posal consisted of upwards of twenty-five 
thousand men, and more than a hundred 
pieces of artillery, with abundance of material. 
The force of the enemy's garrison was esti- 
mated at twenty thousand men, chiefly Raj- 
poots and Jauts, with some Aflghans. The 



Chap.CVIIL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



5o7 



greatest security of the fortress however, 
according to Major Hough, was in the thick- 
ness and tougliness of its walls, constructed 
of clay hardened in the sun. 

SIEGE OF BIIURTPORE. 

The English now, for the second time in its 
history, besieged Bhurtpore, and this time with 
better fortune than had attended the siege 
conducted by Lord Lake. On the 10th of 
December, 1825, the army of Lord Comber- 
mere stood before the great fortress. During 
the siege conducted by Lord Lake, twenty 
years before, the great ditches which sur- 
rounded the place had been filled from the 
Mote Jhil, an extensive piece of water. 
To liinder the enemy from accomplishing 
a similar object. Lord Combermere placed 
detachments of troops, so as to render the 
opening of sluices or cutting of embankments 
exceedingly difficult operations. This proved 
of great importance in the progress of the 
."siege, for the ditch continued dry. The extent 
of the fortress was so great that it could not be 
completely invested, but posts were appointed 
all around. 

On the 24th of December, the breaching 
b.ntteries were opened, but while they broke 
the material of the walls, they did not breach 
them, from the peculiar material of which 
these bulwarks were composed. Sometimes 
the round-shot entered the embankments, as 
the walls might be called, and remained there, 
rather adding to their strength. Shells crum- 
bled some portion of the surface, which fell 
away, but no breach was effected. Thus it 
wag not at Sebastopol that gigantic earth- 
works resisted, for the first time, a numerous 
and scientific army. The fortress of Bhurtpore 
was a series of vast earthworks, more solid 
and enduring than those thrown up before 
Sebastopol. Before the English army had 
coUeeted before the place, discussions had 
been maintained as to the probable results of 
a cannonade and bombardment, the experi- 
ence of Lord Lake, in 1805, having suggested 
these discussions : besides, British officers had 
become acquainted with all the peculiarities 
of the fortress. Mining was at last resorted 
to, under the auspices of Lieutenant-colonel 
Forbes, or, as some maintain, of Sir A. 
Galloway. Major Hough thus notices this 
controversy : — '■ Wilson (page 197, note 1) 
alludes to the claim of the late Major-gener.il 
Sir A. Galloway, who was at the siege in 
1805, and in 182.5 — but his memoir was given 
to Lord Combermere when before the fort, — 
Lieutenant (Colonel) Forbes, when in Calcutta, 
gave his plan to Lord C, and the credit is due 
to him. The latter was wounded and disabled 

VOL. II. 



near Jhil. He had been instructed in mining 
under Sir C. Paseley, before he went to India. 
Sir A. Galloway published a pamphlet on the 
attack on mud forts ; and was wounded in the 
pioneers at the first siege."* 

On the 17th January, 182G, the largest 
mine, containing two thousand pounds of gun- 
powder, was exploded. The explosion formed 
breaches. The next day the assaxilt was 
made. The columns which attacked the 
breaches were commanded by Major-general 
Eeynell and ]\Iajor-general Nicolls (after- 
wards Lieutenant-general Sir Jasper Nicolls. 
commander-in-chief of the forces in India). 
The Jangiua gate was stormed by a column 
under the command of Lieutenant-colonel De- 
lanaine. The whole of the assailing force 
amounted to eleven thousand. All the columns 
of attack were successful, although they met 
with an obstinate resistance, from the belief 
entertained by the garrison that the place was 
invulnerable. The artillerymen fell under 
the bayonets of our soldiers, defending their 
guns to the last extremity. No less than 
seven thousand of the garrison perished, in- 
cluding every chief of note. A very great 
number were wounded. The loss of the British 
was 103 men and officers killed, and 4Gti 
wounded. 

The day after the capture, tlie young rajah, 
Bulwunt Singh, on whose behalf the war was 
undertaken, was reinstated on his throne, 
under the protection of the British. 

The prize money amounted to forty-eight 
lacs of rupees (£480,000). Lord Comber- 
mere was created viscount when the intelli- 
gence of his victor}' reached England. No 
doubt the signal failure of Lord Lake, in the 
memorable siege of 1805, influenced the go- 
vernment and the country to exaggerate the 
exploit of the capture of Bhurtpore ; still it 
was a great undertaking, and some idea of its 
magnitude may be formed by the prodigiou."> 
expenditure of material — upwards of sixty - 
one thousand missiles of all kinds having been 
used. 

The fall of Bhurtpore v,-as the termination 
of this short war, and at its conclusion the 
condition of India, regarded from a British 
point of view was most striking, and calcu- 
lated to afford a comparison with the past 
which greatly enhanced the glory and renown 
of England and of her East India Company. 
The following is a truthful and graphic de- 
scription of the relation of the British to the 
states of India when affairs had settled down 
after the Birmese and Bhurtpore wars, before 
Lord Amherst resigned his government : — 
'The progress of the British had now 

* Hough's History of British Mililonf Exploits in 
India. 

4c 



558 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CVIII. 



readied a point where campaigns could no 
longer be required within tlie limits of India. 
Powerful enemies they had none. In 1827, 
all the chiefs of Mahva, with the Mahratta 
princes, sent missions to the government 
which they had once dreamed of destroying. 
Hulkar was dead, and Scindiah died in the fol- 
lowing March, leaving no wreck of tiie do- 
minion -n'hich had formerly spread over tiie 
largest provinces of Hindostan, and bearing no 
maliee against the stately power which had 
deprived him of it. In the same year, also, 
the crown of Delhi was in name, as it had 
long been in reality, transferred to the com- 
pany ; while the title of the king, acknow- 
ledged until now, was extinguished. The 
English put an end to the vain folly of ac- 
knowledging themselves vassals to a man who 
had lost every attribute of power, except its 
rapacity and pride."* 

The rapid termination of the siege of 
Bhurtpore restored the waning influence of 
Lord Amherst. A feeling adverse to his 
lordship had arisen in England, in conse- 
quence of the slow progress of tiie Birman 
war, and tlie disastrous loss of life in con- 
nection with it. His lordship, however, was 
really not to blame. The officials of the East 
India Company at Calcutta have been stig- 
matised, even by the most zealous advocates 
of that body, for their culpable ignorance of 
everything connected with the Birmese em- 
pire. Still it must be pleaded on their behalf, 
the vast empire of which they were in charge, 
and the rapid revolutions and terrible wars 
which tliey had to assist in directing and 
bringing to a fortunate close. Lord Amherst 
was a diligent governor, a just and a brave 
man. He dealt with good faith to native 
chiefs, with dignity and leniency to open ene- 
mies, with sagacity and caution to false friends. 
He watched over the prosperity of the army 
and rewarded merit. He served his king, his 
country, and the East India Company with 
fidelity, and ruled numerous nations with an 
honest, intelligent, and benevolent concern for 
their good. The government of this noble- 
man has never received its due meed of 
praise. Had his lordship followed the advice 
of those around him he would, on the first 
reverses in the Birmese war, have abandoned 
offensive tactics, defended Chittagong, and the 
north-east frontier, and have taken up a defen- 
sive position at Rangoon. His courage and 
wisdom resolved otherwise, and his persever- 
ance and industry were crowned with success. 
He was very effectually aided by Sir T. Munro, 
the governor of Madras, whose exertions were 
extraordinary to provide troops, munitions of 
war, and supplies. It is certain that but for 
* Auber's British Poioer in India, vol. ii. 



the aid of the Madras presidency, Bengal 
could not have carried on tiie war on the 
eastern siiorea of the Bay and up tiie Irri- 
waddy with success, whatever power they 
might have wielded against Assam and the 
north-east frontier of Bengal to Birmah. 
There were many minor difliculties arising 
out of the hostile feeling prevailing throughout 
Hindostan against the British, which tested 
and proved the firmness and address of Lord 
Amherst, his adjustment of wliich was not 
noticed as he deserved. There were also 
some little wars, troublesome and irritating, 
the more so as the most trifling incident of 
open revolt or hostility on the part of any petty 
state, might have set all India in a blaze of 
conflict. These he settled with rapidity and 
decision, the only wise mode of dealing with 
refractory chiefs and rajahs. The Rajah of 
Oolapore gave the Bombay presidency much 
trouble, and an appeal to arms was necessary 
to quell his fierce efforts to inflame that part 
of western India. Colapore was a small ]\lah- 
ratta state, and was pervaded by the preda- 
tory spirit of that uncertain, vindictive, and 
warlike race. Colonel Walsh, with the troops 
quartered at the station of Belgaun, very 
soon reduced his highness of Colapore to a 
quieter frame of mind, and left his soldiery 
and people no heart for further aggressions 
upon their neighbours. There was no state 
in India too small, no rajah too insignificant 
at that date to create the necessity for armed 
intervention. It is strange that a minute 
Mahratta territory, too small to be taken into 
account in the alliances and wars with the 
Mahrattas, should become aggressive and 
provoke a campaign, when Scindiah, and 
Holkar, and the Peishwa stooped to the con- 
quering sword of England, and dared not to 
flaunt a hostile banner in the presence of a 
sepoy soldier of the company. Yet such was 
the eccentric and thoroughly oriental fickleness 
and presumption of the Mahratta race, and of 
all the races of India, that no statesman could 
foresee which chief would rise in hopeless in- 
surrection, or in his independence proclaim 
hopeless war. No Indian statesman could say 
where iu India a firebrand migiit not fall, 
spreading the flames of insurrection, of mili- 
tary revolt, or of declared war. 

In 1827 Sir Thomas Munro ceased to live 
and labour for India, and for his country. 
A life of this remarkable man has been pub- 
lished by the Rev. Mr. Gleig, the author of 
a memoir of Clive, and another of Hastings. 
Like the latter works, it is full of panegyric 
of its hero; and his errors and weaknesses 
are passed over in a manner which would be 
unfaithful, were it not that the writer is so 
earnest and sincere in the excess of admira- 



Ohap. CVIII.l 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



559 



tion with which he regards his liero. Tiiis 
feeling may well be excused when exercised 
towards one wlio rendered India fiscally, judi- 
cially, and martially, such important services, 
and in whom the East India Company and 
the British government held the most entire 
confidence. 

In 1827 Lord Amherst proceeded to the 
upper provinces. He had the honour of 
adjusting the relations in which the British 
government remained to the King of Delhi 
until the great revolt and rebellion, in 1857, 
swept away the dignity of that title for ever. 
Previous to 1827, the people of India regarded 
the East India Company as the vassals of the 
King of Delhi, whatever the power the Eng- 
lish displayed. In that year, and by the 
hands of Lord Amherst, the crown of Delhi 
and of the empire of Hindostan was trans- 
ferred to the East India Company. M. Auber 
beautifully and truly says : — " The event is 
said to have been viewed with deep melan- 
choly by the royal family and their depen- 
dents. They felt, whatever privations they 
might have suffered from the Mahrattas, their 
title to the sovereignty of India had been 
invariably acknowledged. They were now, 
for the first time, divested of it. The feeling 
of the public, however, corroborated the 
opinion expressed by General Wellesley, that 
the natives were the most indifferent people, 
as to their governors, of any he had met with. 
They seemed on the present occasion to be 
unconcerned in the matter, and contemplated, 
without surprise, our assumption of a charac- 
ter, ' which had been purchased with the 
talents, treasure, and blood of our nation.' 
Lord Amherst having returned to the pre- 
sidency, embarked in H.M.S. Herald, at the 
close of March, for England, resigning the 
provisional government into the hands of 
W. B. Bayley, Esq." 

Although the administration of Lord Am- 
herst was one of mingled military effort and 
social reform, the advent of the latter had 
arrived, and become stronger in the English 
mind than any desire for humiliating enemies, 
or enlarging territories. Miss Manineau 
represents the period of " comprehensive 
domestic amelioration" as beginning in 1823, 
and as predominating until 18oo. This re- 
presentation is partly correct, although the 
last years of the company's raj, terminating 
before this work was wholly published, eclipsed 
the glory of all former eras in the melioration 
of the condition of the people of India, and 
the initiation of public works. Miss Martineau 
gives the honour of the great change to the 
Marquis of Hastings, and does justice to the 
claim.s of Lord Amherst in having followed 
in the same direction : — " After long waiting. 



and many discouragements, the time at length 
arrived when wars ceased within the penin- 
sula of India, and the energies of its rulers 
could be devoted to the improvement of the 
condition of the inhabitants, and the retrieval 
of the affairs of the company. There was 
war in Birmah, as has been seen ; but long 
before Lord Moira's (henceforth to be called 
Lord Hastings) term of office was over, there 
was such a state of peace from the Himalaya 
to Ceylon as enabled him to give the crown- 
ing grace to his administration, by instituting 
social reforms as important as his military 
successes were brilliant, and his political 
scheme definitive and successful. The sys- 
tem which was conceived by Clive, professed 
by Warren Hastings, thoroughly wrought 
out and largely applied by Lord Wellesley, 
so as to be fairly called his own, and reversed 
for a time by Lord Cornwallis and Sir George 
Barlow, under orders from Leadenhall Street, 
was accomplished and firmly established by 
the Marquis of Hastings. British authority 
was supreme in India ; and not only had it 
no antagonist for a long course 6f years, but 
it availed to prevent warfare among the states 
of the great peninsula, lleforms, political, 
social, and moral, at once ensued ; and they 
were vigorously continued through three vice- 
regal terms. They may be most clearly ap- 
prehended by being surveyed as the harvest 
of twenty years of peaceful administration, 
beginning with the close of Lord Hastings' 
wars, and ending with the resignation of Lord 
William Bentinck, in 1835. 

" Lord Hastings left the company's revenue 
increased by £6,000,000 a year ; and a con- 
siderable part of the increase was from the 
land, indicating the improved condition of the 
people who held it. He was succeeded by 
Lord Amherst, who had the Birmese war to 
manage in the first instance ; and the Mah- 
ratta and Pindarree wars had left behind them 
the difficulty dreaded by every pacific gover- 
nor-general — an unsettled and unorganized 
population of soldiers, whom it was scarcely 
possible to deal with so as to satisfy at once 
themselves and their neighbours. The reforms 
already conceived, and even begun, had not 
yet checked abuses, or remedied grievances ; 
and there were real causes of disaffection, in 
the new provinces especially, whicli gave a 
most mischievous power to a marauding sol- 
diery at the moment ot finding its occupation 
gone. A vigorous rule was therefore neces- 
sary, and almost as much military demonstra- 
tion as in warlike times. The imjiroved 
revenue did not meet these calls, and much 
less the cost of the Birmese war ; and a new 
loan and an increased taxation marked the 
close of Lord Amherst's term. He left the 



6(*)0 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CVIII 



territory in a peaceable state, witli not a single 
fort standing out, as Bhurtpore long did, 
against British authority, while the company's 
territories were largely increased by the Bir- 
mese forfeitures. He won not a little Euro- 
pean popularity by ascertaiuing tlio fate of 
the expedition of La Perouse, which had been 
as much a mystery as that of our Franklin 
expedition ever was ; and he came home in 
1828 full of confidence that the reforms inau- 
gurated by his predecessor, and promoted by 
himself, would retrieve all financial difficulties, 
if they were but duly taken in hand by his 
successor. For such an object the very best 
choice was made. If our raj were really over, 
as the deluded sepoys now suppose, and the 
last Briton were to leave India for ever, tra- 
dition woidd preserve the memory of Lord 
William Bentinck, in the gratitude of the 
native population for centuries to come, thongli 
he overruled whatever was intolerably mis- 
chievous in their notions." Before, however, 
the great reform of Lord ^Yilliam Bentinck 
had begun, or his lordship assumed the office 
of governor-'general, much had been done to 
adjust the judicial and revenue departments 
to the interests of the company and the de.sires 
of the Hindoos. 

In 1827, before Lord Amherst quitted 
the country, nearly all civil suits instituted 
throughout the Bengal provinces were decided 
by native judges. In consequence of this. 
Lord William Bentinck extended the experi- 
ment which he has generally received the 
credit of having originated. 

By law all British subjects were competent 
to serve on juries in India. Custom, however, 
had pronounced that half-castes were not 
British subjects, and law sanctioned this 
strange decision. It was for Lord Amherst 
to redress this grievance. In 1826 it was 
decreed that all "good and sufficient re- 
.sidents" were competent to serve on juries, 
with this restriction, that only Christian jurors 
shoiald sit on the trial of Christians. 

Thus when Lord W. Bentinck landed at 
Calcutta on July 4th, 1828, although he 
entered upon his arduous office nnder cir- 
cumstances calculated to try his nerve and 
his judgment, he found the principle of reform 
established in the Indian government, and 
various improvements of the most important 
kind already initiated, which only required 
his helping hand to be confirmed in the 
customs of Indian jidministration. 

Gradually the expenses of all the establish- 
ments in India had increased, whereas the 
revenue did not proportionately increase. 
The occupiers of land resorted to forgery 
and every species of fraud to cheat the officers 
of revenue; and the native officers, by ex- 



tortion and plunder, rendered the occupiers 
still less able and less willing to pay. The 
zemindars were to a great extent bankrupt. 
The efforts of Lord Cornwallis to introduce 
the feudal system of Europe to India, and 
creata a native aristocracy in Bengal, some- 
what after the model of Britain, was a ridi- 
culous failure and a cruel wrong. The 
finance of India from all these and other 
causes became embarrassed. In three years, 
previous to the arrival of Lord W. Bentinck, 
the public debt of India had increased 
£13,007,823.* The East India Company and 
the board of control had charged his lordship 
to effect, if possible and by all means allow- 
able, a great financial, economical reform. On 
his arrival he at once invited the opinions of 
all classes, and left the press unfettered to 
discuss his measures. !No man perhaps was 
ever less shackled by the prejudices of " his 
order" than Lord W. Bentinck. Class, caste, 
and creed were nothing in hi.s eyes where 
justice and truth were concerned. He resolved, 
if it could be done by industry and the fear- 
less discharge of duty, to place Indian finance 
on a solid and equitable basis. 

His first practical procedure of a definite 
kind was the establishment of finance com- 
mittees. He vigilantly superintended their 
inquiries, examining everything with her- 
culean industry. He found it practicable and 
right to enforce reductions of expense in 
every direction, and incurred vast odium from 
" the departments" for so doing. In reply to 
many complaints and much abuse he ob- 
served, " I have done my duty; and this con- 
viction, as I learn from dreadfully dear- 
bought experience, is the only consolation 
that defies all contingencies." 

The committees of finance which excited 
so much displeasure in India were not de- 
vised as an original scheme by Lord William. 
The Jlarquises Cornwallis and Wellesley had 
appointed the like, but they did not per- 
sonally look so closely into their investiga- 
tions, and in those days there was not so 
much to look into. Lord William intended 
the investigations to bear fruits, and he re- 
solved to caiT)- out to their consequences all 
results flowing from these inquiries. 

From the commander-in-chief of the army 
to the humblest ensign, and even to the most 
inane sepoy, there arose a murmur of dissatis- 
faction, followed by a cry of anger against the 
economic governor-general. Batta, half-batta, 
quarter-batta, were the words most frequently 
in the lips of the heroes of all the presidential 
armies. The privileges which these epithets 
expressed were revised, threatened, or re- 
versed, as the facts brought to light by the 
* Finance Report, 1832. 



Chap. CVIII.J 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



561 



coiuiuittees seemed, in the governor-geiieral's 
opinion, to warrant. The company at the 
same time urged economy as essential to the 
future government of India. Arduous indeed 
was the office of governor-general in the 
hands of Lord W. Bentinck. 

In 1829 his lordship actively employed 
himself in visiting the provinces of Eastern 
Bengal, and the whole of the provinces along 
the eastern shores of the Bay of Bengal. This 
resulted in abrogating the separate govern- 
ment of Prince of Wales's Island and its 
dependencies, and of annexing those terri- 
tories to the government of Bengal. He also 
in this year invited native gentlemen of all 
degrees to meet hini and make known their 
views on the condition of India, and the in- 
vitation was also extended to all European 
settlers. " A communication was likewise 
invited of all suggestions tending to promote 
any branch of the national industry : to im- 
prove thy commercial intercourse by land 
and water; to amend any defects in the ex- 
isting establishments ; to encourage the diffu- 
sion of education and useful knowledge ; and 
to advance the general prosperity of the 
British empire in India. The invitation was 
addressed to all native gentlemen, land- 
holders, merchants, and others, and to all 
Europeans, both in and out of the service, 
including ' that useful and respectable body 
of men,' the indigo planters, who, from their 
uninterrupted residence in the Jlofussil, had 
peculiar opportunities of forming an opinion 
upon the various subjects." 

While these matters proceeded, extensive 
labours were imposed upon the governor- 
general in reference to " residencies, agents, 
collectors," &c., in every province of India, 
but especially in the provinces of Central 
India, newly acquired by the Pindarree and 
Mahratta wars. 

This year was made memorable by the 
abolition of suttee. To the firmness and 
humanity of Lord W. Bentinck, in spite of 
the cowardice and political and religious 
indifference of manj' around him, this great 
reform is to be attributed. It must, however, 
be admitted that one of the sources of the 
revolt and insurrection of 1857 existed in 
the resentments which the abolition of suttee 
awakened in the minds of the heathen portion 
of the people of India. This interposition of 
the state on the side of humanity was never 
forgiven. The Brahminical women of India, 
in whose interest it was made, never forgave 
it. The women of heathen India believe that 
their condition is less honourable since the 
abolition of suttee, and they have inculcated 
bitter hostilities in consequence to their sons. 
The abolition of female infanticide, a later 



reform, caused a still more intense animosity 
to the English on the part of the women of 
heathen India. The removal by murder of a 
portion of the female offspring of a family, 
left it possible to give a larger marriage por- 
tion to the survivors than can now be afforded. 
The women of India therefore, forgetting that 
they might have perished but for the abolition 
of the atrocious custom, regard the English 
as having by their philanthropic views de- 
prived them of fortune, and by their religious 
interference decayed and impaired the social 
condition of the Hindoo people. 

His lordship made a comprehensive tour 
to the upper provinces, inciting the higher 
classes of natives to exertion for the improve- 
ment of the country. The education of the 
natives was one of his lordship's favourite 
ideas, and he endeavoured, by such means as 
were at his disposal, to carr\- it out. The 
establishment of a legislative council, which 
enteredinto the charter of 1833 (see last chapter 
on home affairs), was originated by Lord Ben- 
tinck in 1830. A good understanding between 
the celebrated Runjeet Singh, the Sikh chief, 
and the governor-general, was established 
during the tour of the latter through the 
upper provinces. His lordship's patronage 
of Lieutenant Bruce, the justly celebrated 
Asiatic, and subsequently African traveller, 
was useful to the company, and a means of 
extending in Europe a better knowledge of 
the vast range of nations lying between the 
Indus and the Caspian Sea. Outrages per- 
petrated in Delhi, upon the court of the king 
and the people of that city by the English 
resident, and the English in his service, 
excited a spirit of revolt, and rendered 
the interposition of the governor-general 
necessary. 

Colonel Pottinger was sent at the close of 
1831 to negotiate a friendly treaty with the 
Ameer of Scinde. While Colonel Pottinger 
was rendering the Ameers of Scinde more 
amicable, Mohammedan fanatics were disturb- 
ing the whole face of the country near Calcutta, 
attacking the Hindoos and the government, 
plundering, murdering, and assassinating. 
Troops were at last dispatched against 
them ; many of the offenders were slain, and 
the rest were imprisoned or dispersed. The 
glory of the Mohammedan religion was the 
object of their coarse outrages and sanguinary 
atrocities. 

In 1831-32 the affairs of Cacliar and Assam 
occupied the attention of the supreme council. 
Disputes with Birmah were originated, which 
led to new coni})lications with that govern- 
ment. The judicial systems, the registered 
debt of India, steam navigation, and the state 
of commercial credit at Calcutta, occupied 



S68 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CIX. 



incessantly liis lordship's attention from 1831 
to 1835. The government of tiie nizam re- 
quired tlio interposition of Lord W. Bentinok. 
Tiie state of Mysore was such that it became 
necessary to assume its government as an 
English province. It vras not for his lordship 
to escape trouble with Oude, which had been 
more or less a thorn in the side of every 
governor-general from the days of Olive. 
M. Auber strikingly observes on this sub- 
ject ; — " The imbecility of tlie king had de- 
feated the reforms that were effecting in his 
country, and its affairs were fast relapsing into 
their ancient condition of anarchy and con- 
fusion. The misgovernment of that kingdom 
lias been a subject of frequent and earnest 
remonstrance on the part of the British 
government, during the wliole of the thirty- 
two years which have elapsed since the con- 
clusion of the subsidiary treaty. Lord "VV. 
Bentinck was fully empowered to take final 
and decided measures for assuming the 
government for a certain period. In con- 
sequence of the appearance of a real disposi- 
tion on the part of the king, though at tiiis 
late hour and probably under an impression 
of alarm, to reform his administration, the 
governor-general determined to suspend the 



execution of this extreme measure, to which 
all the authorities both in India and in 
Europe, had always entertained so strong a 
repugnance : and thus to afford the king 
another opportunity of retrieving his cha- 
racter and that of his administration." 

During the war with Mysore great services 
had been rendered (see chapters on that war) 
to the British government by the Rajah of 
Coorg. In 1833 the possessor of that dig- 
nity acted contumaciously and injuriously to 
the government of India, and after protnicted 
efforts of negotiation an armed force was sent 
against him. This tyrant had murdered every 
legitimate descendant of the throne of the 
rajahlik, and perpetrated atrocities that rivalled 
those ol Hyder Ali and Tippoo Sahib. He 
was subdued by a force acting under Brigadier 
Lindsay, Lieutenant-colonel Stewart, Colonels 
Waugh, Miles, and Foulis. Coorg was " an- 
nexed." 

When in March, 1835, his lordghip pre- 
pared to depart from Calcutta, addresses were 
poured in upon him from every part of India 
and every class of the commtmity ; and upon 
his arrival in England, the court of directors 
and the board of control were lavish in their 
encomiums upon his government. 



CHAPTER CIX. 

PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT OP SIR CHARLES METCALFE— GOVERNMENT OF LORD AUCKLAND 
—RUSSIAN INTERVENTION IN THE AFFAIRS OF AFFGHANISTAN— PERSIAN INVASION 
OP HERAT— BRITISH EXPEDITION TO THE PERSIAN GULF— TRE-iTY OF L.UIORE. 



On the retirement of Lord William Bentinck, 
Sir Charles Metcalfe assumed, provisionally, 
the government of British India. His admi- 
nistration was too short to admit of many 
incidents. There was one measure which 
Lord William Bentinck had initiated, but 
wliich Sir Charles Metcalfe fully carried out, 
which was of a nature to influence India ex- 
tensively for good or evil, — freedom of the 
press. It is unnecessary to enter into the 
details of the mode in which Sir Charles car- 
ried out his favourite idea. It met with much 
opposition and much advocacy. A public 
address was presented to his excellency at 
Calcutta on the part of a numerous and in- 
fluential portion of the inhabitants, highly 
eulogistic of his excellency's views, and the 
practical application of them. Unfortunately, 
the natives, who have since used the press, 
have had no sympathy with liberty, civil or 
religious ; and almost the only use made of 
the freedom conceded has been to give ex- 
pression to a furious fanaticism, and a bitter 



hostility to the government. Military revolt 
and civil insurrection have been more pro- 
moted by the native press than by any other 
means, not excepting even the preaching of 
fakeers. The government has certainly ob- 
tained the advantage of knowing, by the 
columns of the native press, the state of feel- 
ing which the more educated classes of the 
natives have cherished. It is to be feared, 
however, that very little use has been made 
of the knowledge thus derived, and the ad- 
vantage has been counterbalanced by the 
incitement to sedition which the native news- 
papers have supplied. 

The fact that Sir Charles held the govern- 
ment merely as the locum tenens of some 
nobleman, to be selected by the English cabi- 
net, deprived his acts of the authority they 
would otherwise have possessed. Had this 
enlightened man been allowed to remain, as 
the directors and tiie proprietary of the East 
India Company earnestly desired and urged, 
it had been well for England and India. It, 




TiaiE EAH.IL mf AUJGIKLAME). 



LONDON. JAMES S.YlR-njR 



Chap. CIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



eai 



liowever, became an imderetood thing tliat 
the post of governor-general of India should 
be held by a nobleman, and by the direct 
nomination of the cabinet. ]\Ir. Canning, 
during his presidency of the board of control, 
laid it down as a principle that no servant of 
the company should be permitted to occupy 
the high post of governor- general. He alleged 
that the office ought to be so held as to con- 
stitute a link between the imperial crown and 
the people of India as well as the company. 
This was more specious and popular than 
convincing, or sincerely urged. The real 
object of Canning and of all ministerial parties 
was, to grasp the patronage of India from the 
company. In carrying out such an object, 
India has been more than once endangered, 
the company exposed to loss, and England to 
obloquy. 

On the 6th of March, IKW, Lord Auck- 
land arrived aa governor-general. The ap- 
pointment of this nobleman was against the 
wishes of the court of directors, and led to 
much animadversion in England. It was 
regarded as a discreditable party nomination ; 
and the whigs at that time having been un- 
fortunate in several of their eUves of office, 
there was a disposition on the part of the 
English public to find fault with any one 
upon wiiom they conferred any post of an 
important nature, unless his claims were very 
manifest : — " His lordsliip was the son of one 
of the most steady adherents of the adminis- 
tration of Mr. Pitt, under which his services 
were rewarded by a peerage. He acquired 
distinction as a diplomatist, and also as a 
statistical and economical writer. His son 
forsook the politics of his family, and attached 
himself to tiie whig party." * 

The general tone of the public, and of 
writers on Indian affairs, concerning this 
appointment is indicated by the following 
])a86age8 from an author who has written well 
on subjects connected with India, although 
liis work is not extensively known : — " The 
advent of Lord Auckland as governor-general 
of India was destined to prove a momentous 
epoch in the Anglo-Indian annals. On this 
appointment being made known, the public 
were somewhat at a loss to guess what pecu- 
liar quality of his lordship had formed the 
justification of the act. None knew what his 
administrative ability might amount to; and 
all who took the trouble to form any opinion 
on the suliject, were unanimous that the name 
of Auckland could by no human possihiiity 
become distinguished in connection with the 
government of the vast territories over wliicli 
it was decided that lie should liold an almost 

* History of thf Brilish Emjiire in India. By Edward 
Thornton, vol. vi., chap, xiix., p. 73. 



uncontrolled swa)'. But these cavillers were 
mistaken ; they knew not their man. Before 
these sceptics in the achievements of an 
Auckland were three years older, they had 
the strongest possible reasons for according 
to his lordship a distincticm and a notoriety 
as world-wide and as indehble as any achieved 
by a Clive or a Wellington. It was Lord 
Auckland's destiny to place the British arms 
in a position they had never previously occu- 
pied on the continent of India ; to carve out 
for the British forces a career as disastrous as 
its origin was unjustifiable and unworthy ; 
to peril our position in the East ; to sacrifice 
an army of brave men ; and, finally, to clothe 
half the nation in mourning, and to overwhelm 
the other half with shame and indignation."* 

The commencement of Lord Auckland's 
administration has been thus described by 
Edward Thornton : — " The first year of his 
administration of the government of India 
was completed without the occurrence of any 
event sufficiently remarkable to require notice, 
and the first half of the ensuing year passed 
with equal tranquillity. The calm was then 
interrupted by some violent proceedings in 
that perpetual seat of trouble and disquiet, 
Oude." 

The disturbance thus alluded to was no 
less than a struggle for succession to the 
throne, of a nature, which, although attended 
by some bloodshed, and which might have 
caused still more serious loss of life, was, 
nevertheless, ridiculous. The King of Oude, 
aa the prince previously called Nabob was 
then generally styled, died. The English 
recognised as successor the claimant who, 
according to Mohammedan law, was the right- 
ful heir. This was very well known by the 
various branches of the royal family, who, 
professing the Jlohammedan religion, and 
ready to sacrifice, if they dared, the life of 
any person who would oppose it, yet were 
willing to violate its institutions and precepts 
when their own corrupt or ambitious desires 
could be gratified in so doing. Scarcely had 
the British prepared to place the heir upon 
the musnid, than the begum, or queen-dow- 
ager, at the head of a numerous train of fol- 
lowers, appeared at the gate of the city to 
place upon the throne a very young candidate, 
whose cause she espoused. The English had 
but a small force. Reinforcements couhl soon 
be obtained, but the arrangements made lor 
bringing them to the capital were bad. The 
gates of the city were, however, closed. The 
begum demanded, in the name of " the right- 
ful sovereign," that they eliould be opened. 
The resident refused. The queen-dowager 

* The Three Presidencies of India. By John Capper, 
F.R.A.S. 



564 



HISTORY OF THE BllITLSH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CIX. 



ordered one of the gates to be forced by 
elephants, which command was Eiiccessfully 
obeyed. Captain Paton was knocked down 
and made prisoner. Tlie rabble of retainers 
proceeded with the begum, took possession of 
the palace, and placed the youthful aspirant 
to sovereignty upon the musnid. British 
troops arrived, forced an entrance to the city, 
slew thirty of the begum's retinue, wounded 
many others, and dispersed the rest. The 
legal candidate for the throne was then in- 
vested with the dignity of his office, and the 
begum and h&r proteg^ made prisoners. This, 
however, did not terminate the troubles of 
succession ; for when did any difficulty arise 
in Oude without peculiar complications, such 
as could hardly occur elsewhere ? Various 
royal personages made public declaration of 
their right to the sovereignty of Oude, but 
none dared to prosecute his claim by arms. 
After relating these facts, Mr. Thornton notices 
another competitor whose mode of prose- 
cuting his claims was peculiar. The terms 
in which tliat historian denounces the ad- 
visers of this last on the list of claimants 
deserves quotation. The name of this prince 
was Akbul-ood-Dowlah : — " This personage, 
under European advice, proceeded to Eng- 
land, and there addressed the court of direc- 
tors of the East India Company. The folly 
of undertaking a long voyage to assert a 
claim known to be absolutely and undoubtedly 
bad, and with a certainty of its being re- 
jected, need not be dwelt upon. AVhat profit 
the advisers of the claimant derived from the 
expedition cannot be known ; but they were 
fully aware that none would accrue to the 
person on whose behalf they affected to act. 
Such occurrences are not now, indeed, un- 
common in the history of British India, and 
they will probably never cease altogether 
until native powers shall acquire sufficient ac- 
quaintance with the principles of British j)olicy 
to prevent their becoming the dupes of un- 
principled adventurers." 

Soon after the conclusion of the Oude dis- 
turbances, questions arose in connection \\ith 
the Rajah of Sattara, destined to occupy a 
more prominent place in English interests. 
When the Mahratta empire was destroyed, 
the chief of that confederation, the Peishwa, 
became dependant upon the mercy and gene- 
rosity of England. The Marquis of Hastings 
conceded to the prince the dignity and inde- 
pendence of a sovereignty, and he became 
known in India and to England as " the Rajah 
of Sattara." Tlie previous position of the 
prince resembled that which for a long time 
was filled by the Mogul. It was one of titled 
humiliation. The Mogul had been no better 
than a prisoner to the various Indian princes 



who ruled ostensibly in his name. The 
Peishwa was held in durance by bis chief 
minister. The Mahratta chiefs, Scindiah and 
Holkar, ruled Peishwa and Mogul, and tlic 
people in their name. From this vassalage 
Lord Hastings took the Peishwa, and made 
him independent in fact as well as name, as 
Rajah of Sattara. This favour was conferred 
on him when he had violated treaties, and by 
the fortune of war lost everything. He was 
not grateful, but conspired against his bene- 
factors, setting up claims to the sovereignty 
of Hindostau, and the Mahratta empire. 
To accomplish his absurd aims, he attempted 
to corrupt the sepoy soldiery, more especially 
the native officers, a plan which had at last 
become the hope of every plotter among the 
native chiefs. The English had ample proofs 
of his guilt, but treated his power with so 
much contempt that they took no pains for 
a considerable time to punish him. Sir 
James Cawar arriving in Bombay as gover- 
nor of that presidenc)', it was deemed expe- 
dient by the higher authorities of the com- 
pany to commit to his management this affair. 
Sir James was popular ; the native princes 
esteemed him; there existed among men of all 
parties confidence in his judgment, the purity 
of his motives, and his moderation. Con- 
temning the rajah's power, yet wishing to 
avert possible complications and disturbances, 
Sir James adopted the course of exposing to 
the rajah the evidences of his guilt, of which 
the English were in possession, and urging 
upon him to abandon his conspiracies and 
projects of ambition. After long and fruit- 
less efforts to induce him to adopt the course 
which was alone compatible with the treaties 
he had signed with Lord Hastings, all hope of 
bringing him to reason was abandoned ; he 
was deposed, and his brother placed upon 
the throne. The deposed rajah followed the 
same plan as that adopted by the unsuc- 
cessful ap2:ilicant for the throne of Oude. 
He hired advocates in England, and sent 
over diplomatic agents, whose business was 
to accuse before the directors the conduct of 
their servants in India ; failing in that, to 
arraign the directors themselves before the 
court of proprietary, and that proving fruit- 
less, to impeach the East India Company 
before the parliament and the country. These 
agents denied all that had been alleged against 
the rajah, of which the company and the 
board of' control had the most conclusive 
proofs. In public assemblies, where such 
statements might be safely made, the rajah's 
rights to an extensive sovereignty in Southern 
and Central India, were made the subject of 
declamation. Many benevolent persons who 
favoured the " Society for the Protection of 



Chap. CIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



Aborigines," and many members of the " So- 
ciety of Prieiids," who always sympathise 
with the aggrieved or oppressed, gave a will- 
ing ear to the advocates of tlie rajah, some of 
whom were men of sui'passing eloquence. 
The result was, a long continued agitation 
in favour of the deposed prince, which issued 
in no advantage to himself, while his long 
hoarded treasures were dissipated in largesses 
and stipends to those whom he employed in 
his advocacy in England. 

When Lord Auckland arrived in India, he 
found rumours of a projected Russian inva- 
sion prevailing at Calcutta, and, indeed, all 
over the peninsula. Political and philan- 
thropic parties in England have ridiculed 
these rumours as foolish, or denounced them as 
created by the military to promote a war, and 
ensure distinction and promotion. Members 
of the " Peace Society," who seem to believe, 
by constantly endeavouring to make others 
believe, that England can never have a just 
war, were the foremost in pronouncing that 
these apprehensions of Russian intrigue were 
groundless. The British government was, 
however, in possession of conclusive evidence 
that Russia sought to create an influence in 
Central and Western Asia inimical to British 
interests in India, and calculated to spread 
the prestige of her own greatness, and pre- 
pare the way for the advancement of her own 
empire.* The chief instrument of Russia in 
her projects was Persia. Through the influ- 
ence of the shah, it was believed that a way 
might be opened to British India. The czar 
determined to buy, or conquer, or cajole 
alliances to the very gates of Hindostan. 
Moreover, Persia was incited to encroach 
upon Affghanistan, so as to bring her boun- 
dary nearer to India ; because, while the czar 
encroached from the Caspian upon Persian 
territory, Persia would complain less if in- 
demnified on her Affghan frontier. 

A most interesting correspondence was 
published, under the authority of govern- 
ment, entitled, " Correspondence relating to 
the Affairs of Persia and Affghanistan." It 
consisted of 117 official letters, diplomatic 
notes, and reports ; besides the documents 
corroborating the important facts connected 
with the subject. Embracing a period of 
about four years and three-quarters, it begins 
with a despatch, dated St. Petersburg, 15th 
January, 1834, addressed to Lord Palmer- 
ston, announcing the probable settlement of 
the succession to the throne of Persia, and 
closes with a circular from the Foreign-office, 

* The anthor, in his HUtonj of the War agaimi 
Jtnss'a .(Virtue, Ivy Lane and City Road, London), 
has entered into tliis question, and afforded proof of 
the intrigues of Kussia in the direction now noticed. 

VOL. U. 



dated March 20th, 1839, assigning the motive 
which induced our government to withhold, 
for a time, all diplomatic intercourse with 
that country. In reference to these papers, 
Sir John McNeill observed — " The evi- 
dence with which these documents abound 
of a deep-rooted hatred of our prosperity 
cherished by that power, and of a settled and 
well-digested plan of progressive hostility, 
not the less dangerous from disguise, or the 
less effectual from the cautious and wary steps 
with which it is generally prosecuted, is so 
circumstantial and so palpable that any en- 
deavours to set that evidence in a stronger or 
clearer light would weaken instead of confirm 
the effect." 

Persia, incited by Russia, made war upon 
that portion of Affghanistan which she wished 
to seize. Colonel Borowski, tlie Russian am- 
bassador at the court of Teheran, urged the 
invasion of Candahar and Herat.* " Russian 
agents spread themselves all over Persia, 
urging the people to war. The czar'a ambas- 
sador openly encouraged the Persian court to 
seize upon the coveted territories before the 
British could interfere for their defence. f Mr. 
McNeill (afterwards Sir John) succeeded 
]\[r. Ellis as the envoy of England to the Per- 
sian court. Through him the English govern- 
ment offered its mediation \ between Persia 
and Cabul. This was done in a manner 
exceedingly calculated to dissuade the young 
shah from his ambitious designs. Neverthe- 
less, the Persians advanced against Herat, 
accompanied by Russian officers. The fol- 
lowing abstract of the state papers published 
on this subject, is attributed to Sir John 
McNeill himself : — "Upon receiving the above 
intelligence. Lord Palmerston directed the 
Earl of Durham ( Paper No. 3-1, January the 
ICtb, 1837) to ask Count Nesselrode whether 
the extraordinary conduct held by Count 
Simonich in Persia was in accordance with 
the instructions he had received from his 
court. Lord Durham, in his answer,§ asserts 
most positively, in the name of Count Nessel- 
rode, that Simonich had no instructions of tho 
kind inferred by Mr. McNeill, and that the 
charges brought against the Russian minister 
arose no doubt in misapprehension. This 
assurance was still further confirmed by the 
next despatch of Lord Durham,|| wherein bis 

* Parliamentary paper. No. 11. Despatch of Mr. EUia 
from Teheran, Nov. 13, 1835. 

t Despatches of Mr. Ellis, from Teheran, from No. 12 
to 28; beginning 2ith Dec, 1835, ending Aug. 22nd, 
1830. 

. X Despatch of I.ord Palmerston, June 2nd, I83C. Paper 
No, 29. 

§ No. 35, Feb. 10, 1837. 

II No. 36, I'eb. 24, 1837. 

4 D 



566 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CIX. 



lordship states the substance of a conversa- 
tion he had had with Mr. Rodofinildn, Russian 
under secretary of state, who protested most 
solemnly against any supposition injurious to 
the sincerity of his court, offering to exliibit 
to Lord Durham the original book, contain- 
ing the instructions transmitted to Count 
Simonich. In the meantime the shah's army, 
harassed by numerous detachments of Turco- 
man horsemen hanging on his flanks and in 
his real', abandoned the siege of Herat, and 
' returned to his capital, where we find Count 
Simonich again urging, on the 30th December, 
1836, the expediency of resuming the expe- 
dition against Herat in the spring, and offer- 
ing, by way of further encouragement, the 
assistance of his own military services. Agents 
from Cabul and from Candahar, secretly 
instigated by RuSsian emissaries, made at this 
period their first appearance at Teheran, and 
endeavoured to conciliate the favour of Count 
Simonich and of tlie shah. They offered to 
co-operate with Persia against Herat, and 
sought protection against the Sikhs. Kumber 
Ali Khan was sent by the shah on an embassy 
to Dost Mohammed Khan, of Cabul, who was 
represented as having applied for the assist- 
ance of Russia and of Persia. 

" Taj Mohammed Khan (despatch No. 40), 
agent I'rom Candahar, at Teheran, accompa- 
nied by the Persian minister for foreign affairs, 
visits the Russian ambassador, and receives 
from him a letter and presents for his master. 
He is forbid to visit Mr. McNeill, wliose in- 
fluence is now in a rapid state of decline ; 
while Russian intrigue is everywhere active 
and triumphant among the numerous nations 
or tribes of central Asia, according to the 
several inclosures contained in this despatch. 

" On the 2nd of May, 1837 (No. 42), Mr. 
McNeill communicates to Lord Palmerston 
that he had renewed his offer of mediation 
between Persia and Affghanistan, and on the 
Ist of June, of the same year (No. 43), he 
justified himself against Count Nesselrode, 
renewed his charges against Count Simonich, 
and supplied various further most conclusive 
details in proof of the accuracy of his former 
statement, nor was it long before the progress 
of events removed whatever doubts might still 
attach to his unequivocal assertions; as on the 
15th of July, 1837, Mr. Rodofinildn placed in 
the hands of Mr. Millbank a copy of a des- 
patch, dated May 28, 1837, and addressed by 
Count Simonich to Count Nesselrode, convey- 
ing the iutelligeuce of a renewal of the expe- 
dition against Herat. This was soon con- 
firmed by Mr. McNeill himself (despatch No.. 
45, 3rd January, 1837), who at the same time 
informed Lord Palmerston that the prepara- 
tiouB for war had been kept a profound secret 



entirely on his account. It appears further 
that Mr. McNeill called upon Count Simonich 
(No. 47, June 30, 1837,) and the conversation 
which passed between them in the presence 
of Captain Shell is a striking example of that 
solemn kind of mystification which the pre- 
sumption of superior power ventures some- 
times to put on the credulity of the weak, not 
in the hope that it will be believed, but merely 
to avoid the harshness of stating an unwel- 
come truth. Count Simonich acknowledged, 
in reference to the denial of Count Nesselrode, 
that in his official capacity he was bound, if 
not to disstiade, at le%gt to abstain from en- 
couraging the warlike mood of the shah ; but 
he at the same time states that his own in- 
dividual opinion was quite at variance with 
his public duty. Having to choose between 
two opposite lines of conduct, and to make his 
election whether in this matter he should ad- 
vocate the wishes and intentions of his master 
the emperor, or his own, he preferred the latter." 
Mr. McNeil threatened to withdraw from the 
Persian court, and remove Colonel Shell,* the 
English commissioner, from the Persian camp. 
This alarmed the shah, who endeavoured to 
dissuade so extreme a course on the part of 
the English minister, and Mr. McNeill con- 
sented to remain. The Russian minister, 
intensely desirous to effect the removal of 
both McNeill and Shell, succeeded in influ- 
encing the Persian court to measures intoler- 
ably insulting to the English officials, so that 
after many efforts of a conciliatory nature, Mr. 
McNeill withdrew from the court,f sending 
however a letter of useless remonstrance. 
There was a want of firmness both in the 
despatches of Lord Palmerston and the tone 
of Mr. McNeill, which weakened the influ- 
ence of the latter, both with the Russian envoy 
and the Persian court. The menaces of the 
English agent " wanted precision of means 
and limitation of time," which rendered them 
inoperative. 

Mr. McNeill left the camp of the shah of 
Persia on the 7th of June, 1838, and at once 
proceeded towards the borders of Turkey. 
The departure of the English ambassador 
created alarm amongst the shah's advisers, 
and messengers were sent beseeching him not 
to cross the frontier, and means would be 
speedily adopted to bring about a reconcilia- 
tion. This conciliatory conduct on the part 
of the shah was quickened by intelligence 
which reached his camp, that an English force 
had arrived in the Persian Gulf, and had taken 
possession of the Island of Karak. Lord 
Auckland also had issued a manifesto, and 

* Brother of the Right Hon. Richard Lalor Sheil, cele- 
brated ill the agitations of Roman Catholic cmancipatiou. 
t Paper No. 85, June 25, 1838. 



CIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



667 



made a demonstration upon the Indus, which 
constrained his Persian majesty to adopt more 
moderation in his policy. The consternation 
which filled the people, also acted upon the 
court ; the wildest ideas spread, not only in 
Teheran but the provinces, as to the powerful 
army with which the English were about to 
invade Persia. It was in vain that the czar's 
envoy ridiculed the idea of the English being 
able to send a large army anywhere, the 
credulous Persians believed the rumours of 
English power and purpose as readily as they 
before received the news circulated of Russian 
greatness and resolve. They were actuated, 
like all orientals, by display of force, or the 
conviction that it could and would be put 
forth, — diplomacy, resting upon international 
law and the faith of treaties, had no meaning 
for them. Even Count Simonich, the Russian 
envoy, and Captain Vicovich, the Russian 
military commissioner, became really alarmed, 
supposing that a sufficient substratum of truth 
lay beneath the reports which had been cir- 
culated to give just grounds for apprehend- 
ing that the English were at last roused, 
and were about to put forth their might. 
The Persian monarch taunted the Russian 
diplomatist with having deceived him as to 
the relative power of the two great European 
countries, and demanded some practical proof 
that Russian assertions of capacity and re- 
sources, were something more than empty 
boastings. The only answer his excellency 
could make to such an appeal was his with- 
drawal from the Persian court and camp. He 
retired from Herat September 9, 1838.* 

Uncertain as oriental courts proverbially 
are, there has been always a peculiar levity 
about that of Teheran. After the departure 
of the Muscovite envoy, the shah, as if from 
sheer folly or passion, refused to abandon his 
designs upon Herat. Simonich had left secret 
agents, Russian, Affghan, and Persian, well 
supplied with Russian gold, to effect what his 
presence would render more difficult of accom- 
plishment as things stood. These men played 
their game well, and succeeded in inducing 
his majesty to order the resumption of hos- 
tilities, when the spring of 1839 rendered 
a campaign practicable. f Mr. McNeill also 
obtained precise information of a treaty be- 
tween the chief of Candahar and the Shah of 
Persia, under the guarantee of Russia, hostile 
to the independence of Affghanistan and the 
safety of British interests in India. The pro- 
mises made to induce Mr. McNeill to return 
to the court were evaded, and he reluctantly 
crossed the boundary into Turkey and re- 
turned to England. 

• Goverument papers, Nos. 90, 92, 94, 95, 98. 

t Government papers, No. 106. Nov. 28th, 1838. 



While these transactions were passing m 
Asia, matters in connection with them as- 
sumed a serious aspect in Europe. Lord 
Palmerston, tlien holding the seals of the 
English Foreigu-office, demanded from Russia 
a categorical explanation of the conduct in 
Persia of the accredited agents of the govern- 
ment of St. Petersburg. The Marquis of 
Clanricarde was then the British ambassador 
at St. Petersburg ; he waited upon the 
Russian minister for foreign affairs, and pre- 
sented the draft of a note from Lord Pal- 
merston, worthy of the great diplomatic 
talents of that extraordinary man. The note 
concluded with the following passage, the 
firmness, force, and dignity of which pro- 
duced a great effect upon the Russian minister 
and his master : — " The British government 
readily admits that Russia is free to pursue, 
with regard to the matters in question, what- 
ever course may appear to the cabinet of St. 
Petersburg most conducive to the interests 
of Russia; and Great Britain is too conscious 
of her strength, and too conscious of the ex- 
tent and sufficiency of the means which she 
possesses to defend her own interests in every 
quarter of the globe, to regard with any 
serious uneasiness the transactions to which 
this note relates. But the British government 
considers itself entitled to ask of the cabinet 
of St. Petersburg, whether the intentions 
and tlie policy of Russia towards Persia, and 
towards Great Britain, are to be deduced 
from the declarations of Count Nesselrode 
and Mr. Rodofiuikin to the Earl of Durham, 
or from the acts of Count Simonich and Mr. 
Vicovich." * 

The Russian government disavowed its 
agents. The Russian foreign minister ad- 
dressed a note to the ambassador from his 
court to the court of London, November 1st, 
1838, t declaring that Count Simonich and 
Captain Vicovich were unauthorised in adopt- 
ing the course which they pursued towards 
Persia, Affghanistan, and England. This 
despatch alleged that Captain Vicovich was 
not really a military commissioner with the 
shah's army before Herat, but a commercial 
agent, sent to secure for his country com- 
mercial advantages which the English sought 
to monopolise in Asia. Notwithstanding the 
disavowal of the ofifending agents, which the 
despatch contained, its tone was resentful and 
arrogant. The despatch assured the British 
minister that Count Simonich was recalled, 
and General Duhamel sent to Persia in his 
stead. Captain Vicovich was also recalled. 

Lord Palmerston's replies to this and sub- 
sequent despatches of Count Nesselrode are 

* Government Papers, No. 106. October 23, 1838. 
t Government Papers, No. 110. 



568 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CIX. 



characterised by remarkable sagacity, adroit- 
ness, and firmness, tempered with courtesy. 
His lordship declared that the resumption of 
diplomatic intercourse with Persia would 
depend upon entire satisfaction being ren- 
dered to the English government for past 
insults and injuries, and the abandonment by 
the shah of all ambitious designs upon ter- 
ritory contiguous to British India. The 
active and ostensible interference of Russia 
was thus brought to a termination ; the mis- 
chief it had effected remained, and furnished 
occasion for the Affghan war. 

While this series of events was passing 
in Persia and on the Affghan frontier, another 
series not less important vs'as going on else- 
where. Lord Auckland, on his arrival in India, 
directed his attention to the navigfttion of the 
Indus,* and formed commercial treaties with 
the Indian states bordering on that river. 
These proceedings excited jealousy on the 
part of the Affghan chiefs, the Persian shah, 
and the czar, and no doubt incited the hostile 
proceedings which they adopted. It is ne- 
cessary here to glance at the state of Aff- 
ghanistan at this period, and of the Sikh 
territory. 

Runjeet Singh, whose reputation for courage 
and sagacity pervaded all north-western India, 
ruled over the country of the five rivers. He 
had a fine army, disciplined by French offi- 
cers. His power and resources were great, and 
his ambition at least equalled them. He was 
desirous of enlarging the bounds of his do- 
minions, whether from the British, the Ameers 
of Scinde, or the Affghans, he cared not, so 
as his acquisitions were valuable, and his 
means of conquering them safe. The English 
deemed it wise to stand well with Runjeet ; 
lie was a barrier to Affghan and Persian. The 
Sikh ruler appears to have been keenly alive 
to the process of absorption of native states 
by the English, although he felt it to be his 
policy to remain on friendly terms with so 
powerful a neighbour. It is related of him 
that in a conversation with a company's 
officer, he pointed to a large map of India 
before him, on which the British territories 
were defined by a narrow red band, and ex- 
claimed, " "When Runjeet dies, company's red 
line swallow up all Punjaub country ."f 

The various states or chieftainships of Aff- 
ghanistan (as the reader will see by turning 
to the geograpical portion of this work), lay 
beyond the Punjaub. The chiefs of Candahar 
and Cabul ^^■ere the most important of these, 
and the latter was regarded as the supreme 
chief of Affghanistan. Shah Sujali, the im- 
becile ruler of Affghanistan, had been expelled 

* Government Papers, No. 3. September 5, ] 836. 
t The Three Presidencies. 



that country, in the ordinary Eastern style, to 
make room for one far better able to rule such 
a turbulent people as were his subjects ; and 
the deposed chief appeared well satisfied to 
find himself with his head on his shoidders, 
eating the company's "salt" within the walls 
of the British fortress of Loodianah, one of the 
north-western frontier stations.* 

The brother of Shah Sujah, named Mah- 
moud, was the successful competitor for the 
throne of Cabul. He was indebted for his 
fortunes to a chief named Futteh Khan. This 
chief was murdered by the man he raised to 
a throne ; for what ingratitude is too base, 
or what sanguinary deed too cruel for an 
oriental Mohammedan prince? The relatives 
of the khan determined to avenge his injuries. 
They promoted a successful revolution, and 
Mahmoud fled to Herat, where he reigned 
over a limited territory. The brothers of the 
murdered khan divided the dominions of 
Mahmoud. Amongst these brothers the most 
energetic and sagacious was Dost Mohammed 
Khan, and he reigned in the seat of Affghan 
empire, Cabul. The other brothers resided 
at Candahar. Shah Sujah, the ejected monarch, 
twice attempted to recover the throne from 
which ^Mahmoud had expelled him, but his 
efforts were unsuccessful. 

Amidst these turbulent proceedings, the 
vigilant and enterprising monarch of the 
Punjaub found opportunity to annex the rich 
Affghan province of Peshawur, " the gate of 
Hindostan." The Shah of Persia supposed it 
possible that he also might gain something by 
the turmoil, and the weakness which it created, 
and he began that course of intrigue and ag- 
gression, in which he was encouraged by 
Russia and resisted by England, chiefly be- 
cause his success would give Russia a position 
of relative strength dangerous to English 
dominion in India. A memorandum drawn 
up in January, 183('), by Mr. Ellis, the prede- 
cessor of Mr. McNeill, as British envoy to the 
Persian court, sets the danger apprehended 
by England in its true light, with great 
perspicuity of statement and perspicacity of 
language. 

" The Shah of Persia lays claim to the 
sovereignty of Affghanistan as far as Ghizni, 
and is fully determined to attempt the con- 
quest of Herat in the spring. Unfortunately, 
the conduct of Kamram Meerza, in violating 
the engagements entered into with ^is royal 
highness the late Abbas Meerza, and in per- 
mitting his vizier, Yah-Mohammed Khan, to 
occupy part of Seistan, has given the shah a 
full justification for commencing hostilities. 
The success of the shah in the undertaking is 
anxiously wished for by Russia, and their 
* The Three Tresidencies. 




THE FOUNDER OE THE PTJNJAUB EMPIRE 



Qy^lffm- a^ [uJ/Uiu/t/n^ py a^v 



G/m^cayn- Qy^j/i^ . 



1.0ND01! JAMBS S VIKTUK 



Chap. CIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST, 



£69 



minister here does not fail to press it on to 
early execution. The motive cannot be mis- 
taken. Herat once annexed to Persia may 
become, according to the commercial treaty, 
tlie residence of a Russian consular agent, who 
would from thence push his researches and 
communications, avowed and secret, through- 
out Affghanistan. Indeed, in the present state 
of the relations between Persia and Russia, it 
cannot be denied that the progress of the 
former in Affghanistan is tantamount to the 
ftdvance of the latter, and ought to receive 
every opposition from the British government 
that the obligations of public faith will permit; 
but while the British government is free to 
assist Persia in the assertion of her sovereign 
pretensions in Affghanistan, Great Britain is 
precluded by the nintli article of the existing 
treaty from interfering between tlie Persians 
and the Affghaus, unless called upon to do so 
by both parties ; and, therefore, as long as the 
treaty remains in force, the British govern- 
ment must submit to the approach of Russian 
influence, through the instrumentality of Per- 
sian conquests, to the very frontier of our 
Indian empire."* 

To thwart the projects of Russia, and make 
eastern Affghanistan the barrier for the de- 
fence of British India, became the objects of 
the British government. Lord Jlintohad pre- 
viously conceived this idea, and Lord Auck- 
land believed that the time had arrived for 
carrying it out. In order to ascertain whether 
it could be accomplished, a mission, ostensibly 
commercial, was sent from India in September, 
181^7. Captain, afterwards Sir Alexander 
Burues, was selected for this purpose. He 
had travelled in Affghanistan, and knew the 
character of its chiefs. On his arrival at 
Cabul, he perceived that the agents of Russia 
and Persia were active there, as Captain 
(Colonel) Shell found them at Herat, and Mr. 
Ellis and Mr. McNeill knew them to be at 
Teheran. The Candahar chiefs had solicited 
Russian aid to expel Runjeet Singh from 
Peshawur. They had previously desired to 
make a convention with the English for that 
purpose, whose connections with Runjeet did 
not allow of any interference with his ambition 
when not directed against themselves. 

Captain Burnes, apprised of the proceedings, 
used every influence he could bring to bear 
with the Ameer of Cabul and his brothers at 
Candahar, to detach them from Russian and 
Persian alUance. Dost Mohammed jtretended 
to concur in Captain Burnes's arguments and 
policy. It is probable that the ameer pre- 
ferred British alliance, but he had no reliance 

• Correspondence relating to Persin and Affghanistan, 
presented to both houses of parliament by commaud of 
her Majesty. 



upon British faith. He averred that what 
Captain Burnes promised, Lord Auckland 
would probably disallow; that Lord Auck- 
land's promises would be probably repudiated 
by his successor, or the company, or the Queen 
of England. He was so situated as to be 
obliged to come to terms with one side or the 
other, and the projects and promises of 
Russia and Persia were clear, distinct, and 
definite ; those of Captain Burnes were vague 
and general, on the plea that his authority was 
limited. The Russian ambassador wrote from 
Herat to Cabul, and to Candahar, offering sufS- 
cient money to secure the conquest of Pesha- 
wur. The Russian government would send 
the specie to Bokhara, and the khans should 
procure the means of conveying it safely thence. 

The determination of the Affghan chiefs to 
recover Peshawur from Runjeet Singh, and 
the inability of the English tq offer any hopes 
of securing that object or assisting it in any 
way, weakened the power of English diplo- 
macy. Finally, Captain Burnes withdrew 
from Affghanistan, the chiefs assuring him 
that they preferred English alliance, but that 
Russia was the greater power, and they found 
it necessary to place their country under its 
protection. 

Lord Auckland was prepared fur such au 
issue. He had determined upon preventing 
the conquest of Herat, or if conquered, to 
compel its restoration. Contemporaneous with 
the presence of an English squadron in the 
Persian Gulf, a treaty between Runjeet Singh, 
the ex-king of Cabul, and the governor- 
general, led to the formation of a plan for a 
military campaign against Affghanistan. India 
was tranquil, and secure on every frontier, so 
that his excellency was enabled to organize an 
army of twenty-five thousand men, and send 
them across the Indus. 

Meanwhile Russia was moving troops in 
central Asia in a manner which caused great 
agitation from the Oxus to the Indus. The 
following extract of a despatch from Mr 
McNeill to Viscount Palmerston, strikingly 
exhibits the fact and the effect : — 

Teheran, December 30, 1837. 
I learn through native channels of information, which 
are not unworthy of credit, that a large body of horse, 
consisting of many thousands, had marched from Khiva 
two months ago to the aid of Kamran, and that, after long 
doubt and hesitation, the governmeut of Bokhara had at 
length decided on sending a considerable body of horse to 
Kanuan's assistance. This force, the number of which 
was not stated, bad, it was said, been paid and mustered 
at Bokhara, preparatory to its setting out for Herat, when 
the letters containing this information were written. The 
same informant states, that all the principalities bordering 
on Persia to the eastward, having become alarmed for 
their own safety, liad determined to send succours to 
Herat, believing that if that city fell they should have to 
defend themeelves in their own territories. A general, 



670 



HI8T0EY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Ohap. CIX. 



indeed an nnirersal, opinion prevails in all thow countries, 
that Persia is pushed ou and supported by Russia in her 
schemes of conquest ; and I must confess that the demon- 
strations of joy which Count Simonich manifested on the 
fall of Ghorian, were well calculated to coufiim that im- 
pression, for they far exceeded the expressions of gratifi- 
cation which might have been expected, even from the 
Persian government itself. 

The Persian army before Herat amounted 
in the spring of 1838 to forty thousand men, 
and although tlie chief of Herat destroyed all 
means by which the enemy could procure 
sapplies within a considerable distance of that 
city, ample provisions were obtained. This 
circumstance was much dwelt upon by Mr. 
McNeill in his communications to Lord 
Palmerston, as showing that Persia was well 
supplied with money, and that food and 
provender for a large army could with ease be 
ordinarily found, if operations against India 
were undertaken in that direction. 

The importance of preserving Herat, the 
basis of Lord Auckland's policy in the emer- 
gency that arose, may be seen by the English 
reader from the perusal of two documents, 
one an extract of a despatch from Mr. McNeil! 
to Viscount Palmerston ; the other a despatch 
from his lordship to the British envoy. 

Camf before Herat, April 11, 1838. 
In the meantime. Captain Vicovich continues to remain 
at Cabul, and I learn from Captain Burnes's communica- 
tions, that the success of his negotiations there will in a 
great measure depend on the failure of the shah's enter- 
prise against Herat. At Candahar our position is even 
more precarious ; and I have the honour to inclose a 
translation of a draft of a treaty between the shah and the 
chief of Candahar, which it is proposed to conclude by 
the mediation and under the guarantee of Russia, and 
which has for its object to unite Herat and Candahar 
under a chief, who shall be nominally subject to Persia, 
but actually under the protection of Russia. I am unable 
to inform your lordship what progress has been made 
towards the conclusion of this treaty, or what view the 
shah may have taken of the position in respect to these 
countries, in which, by this arrangement, he would be 
placed; but the treaty is said to have been signed by 
Kohundil Khan, and I am not without very serious appre- 
hensions, that even before the fall of Herat, Kohuudil 
Khan may be induced to co-operate with the shah ; while 
in the event of Herat's being reduced, I cannot doubt that 
the chief of Candahar will consider it to be for his ad- 
vantage to connect himself with Persia and Russia rather 
than with England. I therefore continue to be of opiuiou 
that the fall of Herat would destroy our position in Aff- 
ghanistan, and place all, or nearly all, that country under 
the influence or authority of Russia and Persia. 1 need 
not repeat to your lordship my opinion as to the effect 
which such a state of things would necessarily have on the 
internal tranquillity and security of Britisli India ; and 
I cannot conceive that any treaty can bind us to permit 
the prosecution of schemes which threaten the stability 
of the British empire in the East. The evidence of concert 
between Persia and Russia for purposes injurious to 
British interest is unequivocal, and the magnitude of the 
evil with which we are threatened is in my estimation 
immense, and snch as no power in alliance with Great 
Britain can have a right to aid in producing. Our con- 
nection with Persia has for its real and avowed original 



object to give additional security to India, and it has been 
maintained for the purpose of protecting ns against de- 
signs of the ouly power that threatened to disturb us in 
that quarter ; but if the proceedings of Persia, in concert 
with that very power, are directed to the destruction of 
the security and tranquillity which it was the sole object 
of the alliance with Persia to maintain ; and if they ob- 
viously tend to promote and facilitate the designs which 
the aUiauce was intended to counteract ; I confess I cannot 
believe that we are still bound to act up to the letter of 
the treaty, the spirit of which has been so flagrantly vio- 
lated. I do not hesitate to repeat my conviction, that if 
our only object were to preserve a« long as passible the 
alliance of Persia, that object coidd best be effected by 
preventing her from faking Herat. 



Foreign Office, July 27, 1838. 
Sib, — I have to instruct you to state to the Shah of 
Persia, that whereas the spirit and purport of the treaty 
between Persia and Great Britain is, that Persia should 
be a defensive barrier for the British possessions in India, 
and that the Persian government sbonid co-operate with 
that of Great Britain in defending British India; it 
appears on the contrary, that the shah is occupied in sub- 
verting those intervening states between Persia and India, 
which might prove additional barriers of defence for the 
British possessions ; and that in these operations he has 
openly connected himself with an European power, for 
purposes avowedly unfriendly, if not absolutely hostile, to 
British interests; that under these circumstances, and as 
he has thouglit fit to enter upon a course of proceeding 
wholly at variance with the spirit and intent of the above- 
mentioned treaty. Great Britain will feel herself at liberty 
to adopt, without reference to that treaty, such measures 
as a due regard for her own interests and the security of 
her dominions may suggest. 

Urged by the Russian agents the shah con- 
tinued the siege of Herat, the defence of which 
was directed by a young subaltern of the East 
India Company's army. Lieutenant Eldred 
Pottinger, brother to Sir Henry Pottinger, so 
distinguished as an officer and diplomatist in 
India. 

In July, 1838, a breach was effected by the 
Persian cannon, and the troops of the shah 
gallantly attempted to storm it. The Affghans 
charged them sword in hand, drove them out, 
and pursued them across the ditch, making 
extraordinary havoc. The number of the 
killed and wounded amounted to between 
seventeen hundred and eighteen hundred 
men. The loss in officers was most serious, 
a number of Russian officers assisting in the 
direction of the shah's forces having perished; 
amongst them was Major-general Barowski. 
Two of the principal khans in the Persian 
army were killed, and four others wounded. 
Nearly all who fell received wounds from the 
Affghan scimitar. This event was most hu- 
miliating to the Russians, more especially as 
Count Simonich planned the attack. This 
dreadful repulse did not cause the shah to 
abandon the siege. He probably would have 
done so, but Russian obstinacy and persever- 
ance prevented sueh a result. The shah's 
army, aided by the Khan of Candahar's, be- 



Chap. CIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST, 



671 



came more active in the neighbourhood, and 
subjected the subsidiary forts and towns. 

Colonel StodJart, who was afterwards mur- 
dered by the King of Bokhara, was employed 
by Mr. McNeill to bear despatches to the shah, 
in the autumn of 1838. The colonel presented 
his majesty with the final demands of England, 
which were : — • 

" Ist. That the Persian government shall 
conclude an equitable arrangement with the 
government of Herat, and shall cease to 
weaken and disturb these countries. 

" 2nd. That the Persian government, ac- 
cording to the stipulations of the general 
treaty, shall conclude a commercial treaty 
with Great Britain, and that it shall place the 
commercial agents of Great Britain on the 
same footing, with respect to privileges, &c., 
a.s the consuls of other powers. 

" 3rd. That the persons who seized and ill- 
treated Ali Mahommed Beg, a messenger of 
the [British mission, shall be piinished; and 
that a firman shall be issued, such as may 
prevent the recurrence of so flagrant a viola- 
tion of the laws and customs of nations. 

" 4th. That the Persian government shall 
publicly abandon the pretension it has ad- 
vanced, to a right to seize and punish the 
Persian servants of the British mission, with- 
out reference to the British minister. 

" 5th. That the governor of Bushire, who 
threatened the safety of the British resident 
there, shall be removed ; that the other per- 
sons concerned in that transaction shall be 
punished ; and that measures shall be taken to 
prevent the recurrence of such proceedings." 

When this document was presented, a scene 
took place of a singular character, which, as 
being so recent a transaction, and depicting 
so strikingly the manners of the Persian court, 
cannot fail to interest the reader. Colonel 
Stoddart describes it in a despatch to Mr. 
McNeill. 

Hoyal Camp, before Herat, August 12, 1838. 

I have the honour to inform you, that I arrived yester- 
day, at 11 A. M., and proceeded direct to the Hajee's tent. 
Omar Khan, the son of the Candahar chief, Kohundil 
Khan, with eight Affghans, were there. The minister 
himself was with the shah, and on his return received me 
in a friendly manner, ordered a tent for me in my old 
quarters, near my stable, made me his guest, and fixed to- 
day for my reception by the shah. lie inquired what 
news there was, and I told him I should have been here 
two days before, had not Tharaasp Meerza thought proper 
to send seven horsemen, with Mahommed Khan Jaleela- 
wund, after me from Ghorian, who detained me by force, 
which indignity he excused by saying he considered it the 
interest of Persia to detain me, without having any orders 
to do so. This I should represent to you I said, as I was 
not at liberty to enter on any other subject than those with 
which I was specially charged. 

To-day, at half-past 10 A.M., I received an official note 
from the deputy-minister for foreign affairs, Meerza Ali, 
requesting me to accompany him, agreeably to the shah's 



directions, to the royal presence. I accordingly went, and 
was handsomely received. After delivering your letter, I 
delivered the message in Persian. On my coming to a 
pause, in the part requesting him to turn from ill-disposed 
advisers and refer to his own wisdom for the interests of 
Persia, his majesty said, " The fact is, it I don't leave 
Herat there will be war, is not that it ?" I said, " It is 
war; all depends on your majesty's answer. God preserve 
your majesty," handing the original English written mes- 
sage. He said, "This was all 1 wished; I asked the 
minister plenipotentiary for it, and he would not give it, 
alleging that he was not authorised." I said, " He was 
not then, but now he is ordered to give it. No one could 
give such a message without especial authority from his 
sovereign." He declared again that such a paper was all 
he had wanted, and turned for assent to his chamberlains. 
He complained the paper was in English, which he could 
not read, and three times requested me to give him what I 
had read from in Persian, or to translate it for him, which 
I declined, referring him to the original. I said that was 
according to our custom, and requested his majesty wonld 
soon favour me with an answer, that I might forward it 
without delay. He said, " Immediately and without de- 
lay, they shall translate it for me. Meerza Baba and 
Meerza Sauleh shall translate it, and the answer shall be 
given immediately, it will not take long, to-day or to- 
morrow." His majesty then read your letter, and 1 took 
my leave. The shah's manner throughout was marked by 
more than his usual kindness, both towards myself and in 
inquiries after you. He was in a raised room, up six or 
seven steps, the room was small and full, and the deputy- 
minister did not take me into the room, but the shah made 
me come up close to him, and as his majesty spoke very 
kindly in welcoming me, I did not think it a fit occasion 
to stickle for ceremony ; otherwise I would not have de- 
livered the message without entering the room. 

This interview with the shah was speedily 
followed by another, which Colonel Stoddart 
thus relates: — 

Boyal Gimp, hefore Herat, August 14, 1838. 
I have the honour to inform you that the shah sum- 
moned me to an audience this morning, at which his 
majesty formally gave an answer to the message I had the 
honour of delivering in writing on the 12th instant. His 
majesty stated, " We consent to the whole of the demands 
of the British government. We will not go to war. 
Were it not for the sake of their friendship, we should 
not return fi-om before Herat. Had we known that our 
comiug here might risk the loss of their friendship, we 
certainly would not have come at all." I replied, that I 
thanked God his majesty thus regarded the true interests 
of Persia. His majesty then said, " The British will, I^ 
trust, arrange for us this matter of Herat." I replied, I 
was commanded, in case of his majesty's desiring British 
mediation between Persia and Herat, to acquaint him, that 
I was empowered to conclude, on your part, the original 
arrangements that had been made ; and drawing the paper 
of terms out of my pocket, I said, " Here are those terms, 
by which the envoy extraordinary is still ready to stand." 
His majesty read them, and said, those were his own 
terms, and added all we want is one thing, that they should 
not make incursions into Khorassan. There is a great 
Mollah come to camp from Herat, with whom we will 
arrange the matter." 1 replied, " It is most easy ;" and 
assured him, that the British government was most anxious 
to put an end to this slave-taking. He wished to retain 
the paper of terms, but I told him I had not another copy, 
and would give him a copy of it, which in the afternoon I 
furnished to the deputy-minister for foreign affairs for his 
majesty. On coming from the shah's presence, I ac- 
quainted deputy-minister, that aa far as it went, the 
answer of the shah was most satisfactory ; but that we 



572 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. (JX. 



now looked to the fulfilment of his majesty's words ; and 
I hoped no delay would take place, as every hour was 
valuable, and I could not undertake to say the operations 
of our troops would be suspended by anything less than 
the shah's actually carrying into eft'ect what he was called 
npou to do by the British government. The deputy- 
minister saw this in the light I desired, and on my return- 
ing his call in the evening, said the shah had given orders 
about returning hence ; and that his majesty would pro- 
bably place the arrangement with Herat in my hands, and 
that respecting the reparation for the treatment of the 
Gholam, his majesty was considering it, and vfoidd order 
it as soon as he had decided what to do with Hajee Khan. 
The deputy-minister assured me the whole would be car- 
ried into effect immediately. 

Notwitlistaiiding the assurances so posi- 
tively, publicly, and formally given to the 
British agent, the very next day a heavy mus- 
ketry fire was opened by the Persian infantry 
against the defences of the city. Colonel 
Stoddart at once adopted a tone so indignant 
and firm that the assurances were renewed, 
and the Persian foreign minister sent a formal 
declaration to Mr. McNeill of the acqui- 
escence of his majesty in all the demands of 
Great Britain. 

On the Gth of October, 1838, Mr. McNeill, 
in a despatch to Viscount Palmerston, informed 
him that the shah had raised the siege, and 
that Colonel Stoddart had dispatched a person 
who had accompanied the army fifty miles 
from Herat. In this despatch the British 
envoy bore the following honourable testimony 
to the wisdom and courage of Colonel Stod- 
dart and Lieutenant Eldred Pottinger : — 

" In concluding this despatch, I hope I may be per- 
mitted to solicit the favoiu-able consideration of her 
majesty's government for Lieutenant-colonel Stoddail and 
Lieutenant Eldred Pottinger, who have both, during this 
protracted siege, been exposed to all the hardships and 
privations, the one, of the besiegers' camp, the other, of 
the besieged city. Colonel Stoddart has brought to a 



successful conclusion his duties in camp, and Lieutenant 
Pottinger has thwarted all the military efforts of the 
Russian otlicers of superior rank, who for some months 
conducted the siege, and all the intrigues by which the 
Russian mission sought to sow dissension and excite 
alarm amongst the defenders of Herat." 

Notwithstanding the witlidrawal of the 
Persian army from before Herat, the shah 
was unwilling to give up several minor forts 
and districts which he occupied, and showed 
such reluctance to fulfil his agreements on 
various points, that ilr. McNeill was obliged 
to defer his return to the Persian court, and 
to carry on a voluminous correspondence with 
Colonels Stoddart and Shell, and with his 
government. The shah addressed a diplo- 
matic note to various European governments, 
reflecting upon the whole proceedings of the 
British government, and this opened new 
ground of contention between the envoy and 
the Persian court. Finally, the influence of 
Russia was brought to bear upon the Persian 
court to induce submission, in consequence of 
the firm and able conduct of Lord Palmerston, 
in London, and the Marquis of Clanricarde, in 
St. Petersburg. 

The British government was determined, 
in order to its own security, to place Shah 
Sujah, the expelled ameer of Cabul, upon the 
throne, and to depose Dost Mohammed. As 
before noticed, Runjeet Singh joined in a con- 
vention for that object. This agreement was 
called " the treaty of Lahore." It has been 
also noticed, on a former page, that Lord 
Auckland advanced 2o,000 men across the 
Indus. The alarm in Affghanistan and 
Persia created by this step, had much in- 
fluence in deciding Persian policy. Another 
chapter will relate the conduct and results 
of the Affghan war. 



CHAPTER ex. 



THE AFFGHAN WAR— BOMBARDMENT OF KURRACHEE— SUFFERINGS OF THE TROOPS— STORM- 
ING AND CAPTURE OF GHIZNI — ADVANCE OF THE BRITISH ON CABUL — SHAH 
SUJAH PLACED UPON THE MUSNID— GENER.\L WILLSHIRE STORMS AND CAPTURES 
KHELAT. 



The following was the arrangement as to the 
quality and amount of force in this expedi- 
tion : — " Bengal and Bombay wore each to 
furiii.sh a portion of the British force, and the 
command of the whole was to be entrusted to 
Sir Henry Fane, commander-in-chief in India. 
From Bengal were provided two troops of 
horse and three companies of foot artillery, 
the whole under the command of Brigadier 
Graham. The Bengal cavalry brigade, under 



Brigadier Arnold, was formed of the Kith 
lancers and the 2nd and 3rd light cavalry. 
One divi.sion of infantry, comprehending three 
brigades (Ist, 2nd, and 3rd), were commanded 
by Sir Willoughby Cotton ; another, consist- 
ing of two brigades (-Ith and 5th), by ^Major- 
general Duncan. The first brigade was com- 
posed of her majesty's 13th light infantry, 
and also of the IGth and 48th native infantry ; 
it was under Brigadier Sale. The second 



Chap. CX." 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



573 



brigade, commanded by Major-general Nott, 
contained the 2iid, 31st, 42nd, and 43rd regi- 
ments of native infantry. Tlie third, under 
Brigadier Dennis, comprehended the Bnffs, 
and the 2nd and 27th native infantry. The 
fourth brigade, composed of the Bengal Eu- 
ropean regiment and the 35th and 37th native 
infantry, was placed under Brigadier Eoberts ; 
and the fifth, comprising the 5th, 28th, and 
53rd regiments of native infantry under 
Brigadier Worsley. An engineer department 
under Captain George Thomson, was pro- 
vided, together with two companies of sappers 
and miners, native soldiers, with European 
non-commissioned officers. The equipment 
of this force was completed by a siege-train 
of four eighteen -pounders, two eight-inch and 
two five-and-a-half-inch mortars, with two 
spare howitzers, one a twenty -four, the other 
a twelve -pounder. 

" The Bombay force under Sir John Keane, 
the commander-in-chief at that presidency, 
consisted of two troops of horse, and two 
companies of foot artillery, under Brigadier 
Stephenson ; a brigade of cavalry, composed 
of two squadrons of her majesty's 4th light 
dragoons and 1st Bombay light cavalry, under 
Brigadier Scott ; and a Isody of infantry, con- 
sisting of her majesty's 2nd and 17th, and of 
the 1st, 5th, 19th, and 23rd native regiments, 
under the command of Major-general Will- 
shire. The Poonah auxiliary horse were to 
accompany this force, which also brought 
into the field an engineer department, a de- 
tachment of sappers and miners, and a siege- 
train, consisting of two eighteen-pounders, 
and four nine-pounders. 

"Law has its fictions, and so has states- 
manship. The force, of which a detailed 
account has been given, though, in fact, in- 
tended for the conquest and occupation of 
Affghanistan, was regarded only as an aux- 
iliary force aiding the operations of the Shah 
Sujah-ool-Moolk, at the head of his own 
troops. Under the sanction of the British 
government, an army had, indeed, been raised 
ostensibly for the service of the shah ; and 
this as a point of decorum, was to be regarded 
as the chief instrument by which he was to 
regain possession of his dominions. The 
shah's army consisted of a troop of native 
horse artillery, two regiments of cavalry, and 
five of infantry. Major-general Simpson, of 
the Bengal army, was appointed to the com- 
mand of this force, for which a staff and 
commissariat were duly organized, a military 
chest established, and satisfactorily provided. 
The whole of the above force was to advance 
by Candahar on Cabul. Another force, as- 
sembled in Peshawur, was to advance on 
Cabul by way of the Khyber Pass. This 

VOL. ir. 



was called the Shazada's army, Timur, the 
son of Sujah, having the nominal command. 
It consisted of about four • thousand eiglit 
hundred men, artillery, infantry, and cavalrj', 
obtained from various sources — British sepoys 
and adventurers, raised for the occasion, partly 
regular and partly irregular, and armed with 
almost every conceivable variety of offensive 
and defensive weapon, sword, shield, match- 
lock, musket, and rifle. With this force acted 
the Sikh contingent of six thousand men, 
under General Ventura.* The whole of this 
combined force was under the command of 
Colonel Wade. Another Sikh force, under 
one of Runjeet's native officers, was posted 
on the frontier of Peshawur, as an army of 
observation." 

On the 1st of October, 1838, the governor- 
general, by proclamation, dated Simlah, gave 
an expose of his motives for this expedition, 
which have been already incidentally ad- 
verted to in the relation of the intricate, com- 
plicated, and varied transactions which the 
intrigues of Russia had brought about. The 
governor-general insisted in this document 
upon the necessity of the East India Company 
possessing a friendly and allied state or states 
upon the north-west boundaries of their domi- 
nions. At the same time his excellency 
appointed INIr. W. Hay Mac Naghten minis- 
ter on the part of the government of India 
to the court of Sujah-ool-Moolk. The staff 
of agency nominated to assist Mr. Mae Nagh- 
ten, were Captain Burnes, Lieutenant D. E. 
Todd, Lieutenant Eldred Pottinger, Lieute- 
nant B. Leech, and Mr. P. B. Lord, a sur- 
geon in the company's service, who afterwards 
much distinguished himself. Lord Auckland 
designated the force by which the reinstate- 
ment of Sujah upon the throne of Cabul 
was to be efl'ected, •' the army of the Indus." 

At the end of November, the Bengal army 
was encamped at Ferozepore. At this place 
a series of remarkable interviews occurred 
between the governor-general and the Maha- 
rajah Runjeet Singh, which were conducted 
with ostentatious magnificence. 

While the Bengal army was quartered at 
Ferozepore, it was determined that a smaller 
force should be employed, as being equally 
efficient, and more easily subsisted. Sir 
Henry Fane, feeling the difficulty of selecting 
the troops to advance — all the Europeans 
among them being eager to proceed — deter- 
mined it by lots. The following portions 
of the army had the fortune to win: — the 
1st, 2nd, and 4th brigades of infantry; 
2nd troop 2nd brigade horse artillery; and 
the camel battery of nine-pounders. Sir 
Henry Fane remained behind from ill health. 
"■ One of RuDJect Singh's French officers. 

4e 



574 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



LOhap. ex. 



Major Pew took the command of the artillery 
instead of Brigadier-general Graham. The 
command of the Bengal force, which advanced, 
devolved upon Sir WillougUby Cotton ; and 
it was ordered that when a junction was 
formed with the Bombay army, the united 
divisions should be commanded by Sir John 
Keane. 

Early in December, 1838, Shah Sujah's 
army marched. It was followed in a few 
days by the Bengal troops. Early in January 
the allies arrived on the banks of the Indus. 
The shah's troops then began to desert, but 
the desertion was not carried to any great 
extent. The Bengal sepoys were also exceed- 
ingly unwilling to enter Affghanistan. Those 
among them who were Mohammedans were 
reluctant to fight against their co-religionists. 
Those who were Brahrainical feared to fight 
at all ; they apprehended that in a strange 
country, beyond the boundaries of India 
Proper, they would of necessity be deprived 
of the means of preserving caste. This ap- 
prehension was well founded. When the 
Bombay sepoys joined, they were found far 
more willing for the performance of duty. 
This irritated their brethren of the Bengal 
army against them, so that frequently in per- 
forming work supposed to be somewhat 
beneath the dignity of caste, the Bengal 
sepoys jeered and' taunted those of Bombay 
for doing what the Bengalees either neglected 
or refused to attempt. There was a disloyal 
spirit among the Bengal sepoys which does 
not appear to have extended to the native 
officers, nor even non-commissioned officers, 
and was concealed in the presence of Euro- 
peans. Indeed, something of enthusiasm 
appears to have been simulated ; for Captain, 
afterwards Sir Henry Havelock, describes the 
whole Bengal army as animated by military 
ardour. 

Captain Bnrnes had concluded a convention 
with the ameers of Scinde, by which the 
British were to take possession of the fortress 
of Bukkur, " situated on an island in the 
Indus, between the towns of Roree on the 
eastern bank, and Sukkur on the western ; 
the eastern channel being that which sepa- 
rates it from Roree, and by which the British 
force approached, is about four hundred yards 
in width." • 

The services of Captain, afterwards Sir 
Henry Pottinger, were of great importance 
in Scinde at this juncture, as the tardiness of 
the government at Calcutta, and the want of 
direct dealing on the part of the Scinde 
ameers, rendered hostilities in Scinde not 
improbable. The Bombay army was accord- 
ingly delayed on its march, and the Bengal 
army was in consequence directed to march 



against Hyderabad, the capital of Scinde. 
Fresh intelligence having arrived of the suc- 
cess of Captain Pottinger's negotiations, the 
Bengal army halted, and after a short delay, 
to make sure of the good faith of the ameers, 
it returned to Bukkur. Captain Havelock 
gives a graphic description of those changes, 
and the emotions which they excited in the 
army : — " At this period the spirits of every 
soldier in the Bengal contingent were buoyant 
and high. Before us lay Hyderabad; it was 
known to contain the accumulated wealth of 
the most affluent as well as powerful of the 
branches of the Talpore family, amounting in 
specie, jewels, and other valuables, and ingots 
of gold, to eight crores of Scindian rupees 
well told, or not less than eight millions ster- 
ling. Such a prize is not often in a century, 
even in India, presented to the grasp of a 
British army." * A few pages afterwards he 
says, " In a moment all our visions of glorj' 
and booty were dispelled ; it was announced to 
us that the ameers were at length brought to 
a sense of their impending danger, and that, 
compelled to comprehend that a few days 
would, according to every calculation of human 
prudence, deprive them at once of their in- 
dependence, their capital, and the accumu- 
lated treasures of years, they had accepted 
unreservedly all the conditions of the treaty 
laid before them by Colonel Pottinger." ■f 
" Vainly repining, therefore, at the change in 
events which had given this small sum (ten 
lacs) to the state, instead of endowing the 
army with eight crores, its officers and men, 
with light purses and heavy hearts, turned 
their backs on Hyderabad, from which they 
had hoped never to recede until they had 
made its treasure their own, and put to a 
stern proof that Beloochee valour which had 
so loudly vaunted its power to arrest their 
further progress, and fix on the banks of the 
Indus the war which they had set out resolved 
to carry into the centre of Affghanistan." J 

The tone of these extracts is hardly in 
keeping with the softness of character attri- 
buted to the late Sir Henry Havelock. He 
was, however, a stern soldier, although a kind 
and pious man. He was ambitious of mili- 
tary distinction, as far as honour and prin- 
ciple allowed, and he had an intense desire to 
become a good military historian, and to make 
Xenophon his model in that respect. 

On the 20th of February it was deemed 
expedient that the Bengal column should take 
the lead, and, accordingly, the irregular force 
of Shah Sujah fell behind. It was thought 

* Narrative of the Campait/n in Affghamstun. By 
Captain Havelock, vol. i. p. 151 . 
t P. 155. 
% P. 167. 



Chap. CX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



575 



possible that in tlie neighbourhood of Shi- 
karpore the ameers might offer some oppo- 
sition, notwithstanding their recent treaties, 
and it was better to ensure a speedy chas- 
tisement, such as the Bengal force would 
inflict, whereas the Shah Sujah's army might 
be defeated, and occasion a general violation 
of the convention by the ameers. 

The progress of the Bombay army was un- 
satisfactory, the Scinde ameers liaving vio- 
lated those terms of the convention by which 
camels and supplies were to be provided. It 
was not until the end of December, 1838, 
that it arrived at Tatta, where it was met by 
Sir John Keane, and was detained for a con- 
siderable time. On the 4th of March, 1839, 
this army was " officially declared to have 
become part of the army of the Indus." 

Previous to the arrival of the Bombay divi- 
sion at Tatta, other events occurred still fur- 
ther provocative of the ill-feeling existing 
among the ameers to the British. Brigadier 
Valiant was placed in command of a reserve, 
consisting of her majesty's 40th regiment of 
the line, two thousand two hundred Bombay 
native infantry, consisting of the 2nd grena- 
diers, the 22nd and 2Gth regiments, and de- 
tachments of pioneers and artillery. By the 
request of Captain Pottinger, Sir Frederick 
Maitland, commander of the naval forces on 
the Indian station, proceeded with the ship 
Wellesley, the 40th regiment, and the artil- 
lery, to Kurrachee. Tlie Berenice and Eu- 
phrates steamers, with the native troops on 
board, arrived on the 1st of February before 
Kurracliee. Sir Frederick summoned the 
commandant of the fort to surrender it to the 
British forces. He refused. Five companies 
of the 40th were landed ; they took up a posi- 
tion in the rear of the fortress. The Wel- 
lesley brought her broadside to bear within 
eight hundred yards. In an hour the face of 
the fortress exposed to its fire was a heap of 
ruins. The soldiers of the 44th charged 
through the open space, no enemy offering 
resistance. To the astonishment of the con- 
querors, the garrison only consisted of twenty 
men, who having hid under the cliffs, escaped 
injury. They were made prisoners by the 
40th.' On the 2nd of February, the British 
flag floated over the ruined walls of the fort 
of Kurrachee. 

On the 16th of April the Bengal column 
was at Quettah, having marched through the 
Bolan Pass without encountering any resist- 
ance. On that day Sir John Keane arrived 
with the advances of the Bombay army ; the 
main body was several marches in the rear. 
Both columns were harassed by bands of 
robbers, who seemed to contemn death where 
there was a prospect of plunder. It was 



generally believed in the army, that in the 
Kojuk Pass advantage of its precipitous and 
varied formation would be taken by the 
enemy. There were difficulties in getting 
through this pass, irrespective of the dangers. 
Dacoits, and other predatory wanderers, ap- 
peared at intervals, but no attack was made 
by an Affghan force. On the 20th of April 
the Bengal army reached Candahar ; the 
Bombay force did not arrive until seventeen 
days later. The sirdars fled. Shah Sujah ad- 
vanced through a line of his own troops, occu- 
pied a temporary musnid, and was proclaimed 
sovereign of Affghanistan. The commissariat 
of the army was execrable, no proper fore- 
thought had in this particular been exercised. 
The march to Candahar was in consequence 
attended by great suffering and great loss. 
"It must be confessed," says Captain Have- 
lock, " that hitherto our task has been escort- 
ing, not campaigning, but this pacific duty 
has been performed under arduous circum- 
stances ; and the exposure to the vicissitudes 
of climate, the fatigue, and the deficiency of 
food and water, which tried the strength and 
resolution of our troops between Quetta and 
Candahar, as well as the active hostility of 
the predatory tribes, ought never to be de- 
spised as military difficulties. How gladly 
would our army have exchanged them for the 
most determined opposition of the Affghans 
in the field ! How often did our officers long 
for a battle to raise the sinking spirits of the 
soldier, and make him feel that he was not 
labouring and suffering in vain." * Captain 
Havelock also thus wrote concerning the suf- 
ferings of this army : — " The plain on which 
our camp is now pitched is not, like the level 
of Siriab, watered by deep and well-supplied 
kahreezes,f carrying coolness and the promise 
of fertility down their slopes. A small cut 
through which we found water flowing from 
a spring-head in the mountains, has alone 
supplied us with the useful element since first 
we advanced to this point. This little chan- 
nel the Candahar sirdars have caused to be 
dammed up near its source in the hills, and 
behold two bold brigades and the levy of the 
shah reduced to the greatest straits. Horses, 
already half-starved for want of grain and 
good grass, were throughout the day panting 
in all the agonies of thirst ; and in the even- 
ing a few drops of water could not be obtained 
even to mix the medicines of the sick in our 
hospitals, or to supply them with the refresh- 
ment and comfort of a few spoonfuls of tea. 
All ranks have been taught to understand 
to-day how little prized when plentifdl, how 
outrageously demanded when scarce, is that 

* Narrative, vol. i. pp. 332, 333. 
t Subterranean aquedacta. 



576 



HISTOKY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CX. 



bounteous provision for the ^^!lnts of God's 
creatures, water I Weary of the delays whicli 
liad kept us so long at Dundi Goolaee, we 
moved forward on tlie 21st * into the plains 
which we had surveyed from the summit of 
the Kojuk Pass, recognising all the distinc- 
tive peaks of the scattered hills which we had 
observed from that commanding lieight. We 
saw them now magnified as we approached 
them, and casting a dark shade over the 
I)lains which they overhung. Anxious looks 
were from time to time cast towards these 
green eminences, and their bases were carefully 
searched for any small streams which might 
supply the urgent wants of a thirsting force. 
It was not very pleasant to discover that this 
day, too, we must depend for a supply of the 
indispensable element on the stream of a 
small and imperfect kahreez. Its water was 
brackish, and flowed scantily and sluggishly. 
Thousands of brass lotas and leathern buckets 
were soon dipped into the little channel ; and 
though proper regulations were promptly 
established, one-half of the force had not 
been watered before the scarcity commenced. 
Soon diluted mud alone could be obtained, 
and whole regiments, under a burning sun, 
with parched lips, sighed for night to cool 
them, and then for morning, that they might 
move on to a happier spot. The troops were 
buoyed up towards evening with fallacious 
hopes of the waters of a spring, actually dis- 
covered in the hilla, being brought down to 
their relief into the plains ; but up to the 
hour of early march no stream had begun to 
flow into the dry bed of a nullah,-}" on which 
many were gazing in hope. The sufferings 
of the soldiers, both European and native, 
were for some hours so great as nearly to 
tempt some for a moment to forget the re- 
straints of discipline ; and never do its prin- 
ciples achieve a greater triumph than when 
troops are seen obedient and respectful, and 
trying to be cheerful under this form of pri- 
vation. At Killa Puttoollah, officers of the 
highest rank were brought to acknowledge 
the value of this simple element. This was 
no time for the luxurious ablutions which, 
under the sun of Central Asia, preserve health 
and restore strength ; no time to waste a 
single drop of the precious flnid on any bodily 
comfort, or for any purpose but preparing 
food, or slaking a raging thirst; and thou- 
sands felt this day that all the gifts of that 
God whose public praise and ordinances were 
forgotten on this Sabbath of unwilling penance, 
would have been worthless to man, if in his 
anger he had withhold the often-despised 
blessing of water. The kindness and consi- 

* April, 1839. 

t Artificial watercourse. 



deration with which some officers of no low 
rank shared the little portion of the much- 
coveted fluid which they could obtain with 
the privates around them, was creditable to 
their humanity, and ought to have won the 
confidence and affections of those whom they 
commanded." * 

On the following day, the army, unable 
to find water, was compelled to advance : — 
" Forward the brigade moved, to finish a 
second march of ten miles, their horses drop- 
ping from drought and exhaustion as they 
toiled on, and leaving in the mountain passes 
melancholy traces of this day's sufferings and 
perseverance. When the cavalry had thus 
got over five miles, in the course of which 
British dragoons and native troopers were 
seen eagerly sharing with their chargers 
muddy and fcetid water drawn from puddles 
at the side of the road, the very sight of 
which would, in Hindostan, have equally 
sickened all to whom it was offered, they 
struck into a by-road on their left, and wind- 
ing their way by a narrow path through an 
opening in the undulating eminences, found 
themselves towards evening on the banks of a 
plentiful stream. The rush of unbridled in- 
dulgence of the troops and their horses into 
its waters, after all the privations of the 
morning, may fairly be described as uncon- 
trollable. What moderation was to be ex- 
pected from man or beast breaking forth 
from the restraints of a two days' unwilling 
abstinence ?"f 

Well acquainted with this distress, the 
Aflghan banditti hovered about the camp at 
Candahar, presuming that the men on outpost 
duty would be too weak to be on the alert, or 
to avenge such robberies as might be perpe^ 
trated upon the convoys and material. The 
British chiefs in command seemed incapable 
of making provision for the commissariat 
of an army, and even in Candahar no adequate 
arrangements existed to supply the troops. 

Sliah Sujah spent money freely in attempt- 
ing to enlist under his standard the Afl"ghan 
chiefs. They accepted his gold and cheated 
him. He had neither power nor popularity, 
and indications were already numerous that 
the British would have to establish him on 
the throne of Cabnl, in spite of the tribes. 
The army was obliged to remain in Candalmr 
until the 27th June, unable to procure pro- 
visions. During the time the shah and his 
British auxiliaries were marching to Canda- 
har and occupying that place, "the Lion 
of the Punjaub," as old Kunjeet Singh was 
termed, was operating by way of Peshawur. 
His martial career in connection with the 
1 • JVarraWw, vol. i.pp. 319— 322. „^„„a, 

' t Captain, Havelock's Narrative, vol. i., pp. 3:J-J, J24. 



Chap. CX."j 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



577 



tri-partite alliance was not destined long to 
continue, for before the forces of the other 
two parties to the alliance left Candahar, he 
died. Shah Sujah, and the British comman- 
ders acting with him, were happily ignorant 
of the event, or it wonld have probably de- 
terred them from marching to Cabul, as it 
was apprehended in India that the death of 
the JIaliarajah would be followed by groat 
changes, and perhaps violent revolutions, the 
consequences of which to the alliance might 
be of the most serious kind. 

At last the march for Cabul began, the 
soldiers being put upon half rations, although 
a most difficult task lay before them. There 
was plenty of provisions left behind in Can- 
dahar, the army having no means of convey- 
ance. While the troops were encamped they 
were half starved, because provisions could 
not be procured by the ill-managed commis- 
sariat. When about to march, abundance of 
food was at their command, but the mis- 
managed transport service could not bring it 
with the army. There was force in the 
mingled sneer and compliment which a native 
prince had made long before, that " the Eng- 
lish ought to be carried in palanquins to the 
field of battle, and then set down to fight." 
His highness considered them more adapted 
to fighting than campaigning. 

The army reached Ghizni on the 22nd of 
July. The English generals were without 
intelligence as to the strength of the fortress. 
Worse still, they were imder impressions on 
the subject positively false. The battering 
train had been left in Candahar, under the 
impression that it would not be required. 
The English officers were even informed that 
no defence would be made at Ghizni, cowar- 
dice and treason combining to place the for- 
tress, without a struggle, in the hands of Shah 
Sujah. Captain Thomson, chief engineer of 
the army of the Indus, thus describes the 
first impressions of the scientific department 
of the army on approaching the place : — ■ 
" We were very much surprised to find a high 
rampart in good repair, built on a scarped 
mound about thirty feet high, flanked by 
numerous towers and surrounded by a/ausse 
brai/e and a wet ditch. The irregular figure 
of the enceinte gave a good flanking fire, 
whilst the height of the citadel covered the 
interior from the commanding fire of the hills 
to the north, rendering it nugatory. In ad- 
dition to this, the towers at the angles had 
been enlarged ; screen walls had been built 
before the gates ; the ditch cleared out and 
filled with water (stated to be unfordable), 
and an outwork built on the right bank of the 
river, so as to command the bed of it." Such 
was the impression made by the first near 



view of the fortress of Ghizni. " The works," 
Captain Thomson adds, " were evidently mucji 
stronger than we had been led to anticipate, 
and such as our army could not venture to 
attack in a regular manner with the means at 
our disposal. We had no battering train, and 
to attaclv Ghizni in form a much larger train 
would be required than the army ever pos- 
sessed. Tlie great height of the parapet 
above the plain (sixty or seventy feet), with 
the wet ditch, were insurmountable obstacles to 
an attack merely by mining or escalading."* 

The allies met with an unexpected advan- 
tage, by which their task was facilitated. A 
nephew of Dost Mohammed deserted to the 
English, and afforded valuable information. 
Upon a careful reconnoissance the intelligence 
thus derived was found to be correct, as, far 
as such means of confirmation could be of 
service. The fortifications showed no weak 
part. The gates had all been built up with 
strong masonry, except the Cabul gate. The 
engineers reported that there was no feasible 
mode of attack but by blowing open that 
gate with powder, and charging through 
the smoke and fire, over the debris, into the 
place .f 

This plan having been resolved upon, it 
was necessary for the army to change ground, 
an extremely difficult operation under the 
circumstances of the case. The troops were 
without proper rations ; they had endured 
excessive fatigue, and the weather, as is usual 
at that time of year in the elevated districts 
of Affghanistan, was cold, and would be 
especially felt by hungry and harassed men. 
The army had not been encamped three hours 
when it was ordered to march in two columns. 
The men murmured, but not disloyally, at 
this movement, the necessity of which they 
did not perceive. It was necessary, however, 
for as Captain Outram (afterwards General 
Outram, and one of the heroes of Lucknow) 
relafes — " It was confidently stated that Dost 
Mohammed Khan himself marched on the IGth 
(of July). J The distance is eighty-eight 
miles (we made seven marches), and by regu- 
lar marches he would liave reached Ghizni 
on the 22nd (next day), and as this day 
(21st) he would have been within one march, 
and would have heard the firing, he would, it 
was to be supposed, push on ; so that there 

* Memoranda of the engineers' operations before 
Ghizni in July, 1839. 

t la his Narratii-e of the Affglwn Cmijimgn, Major 
Hough asserted that none of tlie gates were built up, and 
that therefore all the gates were accessible to the same 
means of assault as the Cabul gate. In a later work 
describing the same campaign the major omits the state- 
ment. He was with the army. 

\ From Cabul. 



678 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CX. 



was a great object in not delaying in changing 
ground. As in 1834 Dost Mohammed had 
moved from Cabul to defend Candahar against 
the shah, the presumptions were in favour of 
his march to Ghizni. We knew from Dost 
Mohammed's own nephew that two of the three 
gates were blocked up ; and it was argued by 
some that the sudden movement to the Cabul 
gate, which was said not to be built up, would 
put the enemy on their guard, and cause that 
gate also to be secured ; whereas, by a march 
in the morning, it would not appear so sus- 
picious. The movement was a delicate one, 
being a march in two columns by two different 
routes ; for it involved a night march for the 
rear and much of the baggage, if not for the 
troops, as we were not to march till four in 
the afternoon, and the route for both columns 
could not be well known. The march in two 
columns would, it was concluded, expedite 
the movements, but then there were two 
columns of baggage to protect, and we could 
not protect that of the column on the right. 
The march of the baggage at all that night was 
inconvenient, and we gained no time by it." 

The necessity of making the change so 
promptly, and of executing it so rapidly, 
caused much suffering on the part of the 
troops. Captain Havelock describes their 
sensations on the night when their march 
was executed, as they took up their miserable 
quarters : — " A son of the Ameer of Cabul 
had marched down from the capital with the 
view of deblockading Ghizni, and was now 
close to us. The forces of the Ghiljies, Ab- 
doolruhman and Gool Moohummud, were in 
the field at no great distance. A party, also, 
of fanatics from the Sooluman Kheils, who 
had taken arms when a religious war had, as 
a last resource, been proclaimed by the tot- 
tering Barukzyes, now occupied the heights 
to the eastward of the valley in which the 
fortress stands. Reflections on these circum- 
stances and on our want of a battering train, 
the glimmering of the lights on the hostile 
battlements and in the plains, and the chill of 
the night air, effectually chased away slumber 
until day broke on the 22nd."* 

When day dawned, many of the sick were 
still pursuing the tedious march, and it was 
necessary to send out parties to bring them 
in. Many of the camp followers had lost the 
track of the columns, and parties of cavalry 
had to scour the country for their protection. 
These miserable camp followers had suffered 
horribly. The author of The Three Presi- 
dencies affirms that 100,000 persons of this 
description left the banks of the Indus with 
the grand army, and that of these not 20,000 
returned, the rest perishing by sword, famine, 
* Havelock, vol. ii. p. 66. 



or cold. With considerable difficulty the sick 
and the stragglers were rescued before the 
appearance of any of the forces intended to 
raise the siege. Scarcely was the safety of 
these helpless persons secured, when crowds 
of ferocious irregulars descended from the 
hills to attack the head-quarters of Shah 
Siijah. The shah's cavalry charged and de- 
feated them. Captain Outram led a portion 
of his Affghan majesty's irregular infantry 
into the fastnesses of the neighbouring hills, 
t(5 beat up the nests of the lanatics. This 
raid was attended with success, having been 
accomplished with the gallantry and judgment 
which are so characteristic of that resolute 
and talented officer. He made many pri- 
soners, and captured the banner of green and 
white, a standard of fanaticism under which 
they had been gathered to wage a holy war 
against the English infidels. When the pri- 
soners were brought in, a terrible event fol- 
lowed. They cursed the shah in his presence, 
and some of them drew weapons and stabbed 
the shah's officers. He ordered them to be 
put to death, an order which was executed 
upon sixty most formidable and fanatical 
ruffians. 

In the evening the officers received their 
orders for the assault, which were soon com- 
municated to the soldiers, when a display of 
that heroic emulation characteristic of the 
English soldier took place. The whole of 
the European troops were ready to volunteer 
for the assault. Dr. Kennedy, in his narra- 
tive of the campaign, relates : — " On visiting 
the hospital tents of her majesty's 2nd and 
17th regiments, I was surprised to find them 
clear of sick ; the gallant fellows had all but 
risen in mutiny on their surgeons, and insisted 
upon joining their comrades." The sick were 
employed as sentinels, and some of the more 
convalescent on outpost duty. The night was 
spent in preparations for the attack. Storms 
prevailed throughout, so as to render the move- 
ments of the English inaudible in the city. 
Ghizni seemed to sleep in perfect stillness; 
not a signal-light gleamed through the gloom 
which overhung it, nor a sound from its garri- 
son reached the parties preparing to assail it. 
It was necessary to make a feint in order to 
conceal the real plan of attack. Three com- 
panies of the 36th regiment of native infantry, 
under Captain Hay, marched round to the 
north side of the fortress and opened an un- 
remitting fire of musketry, which could 
scarcely be heard amidst the bellowing of 
the storm. The balls, however, telling upon 
men stationed on the parapets, and at the 
loop-holes, the fire was returned. The field 
artillery and camel battery of nine-pounders 
* Narrative, vol. ii., p. 46. 



Chap. CX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



679 



opened, the former from lieiglits which com- 
manded the citadel, tlie latter from tbo low 
grounds directed a fire against the walls. 
Even the fire of the nine -pounders could 
hardly be heard, except in the lulls which 
occurred in the storm. The enemy employed 
aU the guns they could direct against this 
cannonade. Previous to the dispatch of 
Captain Hay's detachment against the north 
face of the defence, four companies of the 
16th native infantry, and two of the 48th, suc- 
ceeded in occupying a position on the out- 
skirts of the town. Within an hour of dawn, 
the officers of engineers had stealthily ad- 
vanced near to the gate against which the 
assault was to be made. The party consisted 
of Captain Peat, of the Bombay engineers ; 
Lieutenants Durand and M'Leod, of the 
Bengal engineers ; three sergeants, and eigh- 
teen men, of the sappers.* Captain Have- 
lock represents Captain Thompson, the chief 
officer of engineers, as having himself under- 
taken this task, which is an error ; the ser- 
vice was committed to the officers named. 
The enemy, suspecting that some hostile plan 
was in progress without divining what, burned 
blue lights. These were, however, burned 
upon the top of the walls, instead of being 
cast below. Captain Peat believed that had 
the latter course been adopted, the plan of 
attack would have been discovered and frus- 
trated. Captain Havelock has fallen into 
another error in representing the engineer 
party as conveying nine hundred pounds of 
powder for the purpose of blowing open the 
gate. The charge was three hundred only, 
and this was far above the amount usually 
deemed necessary for blowing open gates, 
which was from sixty to one hundred pounds. 
The bore was placed, and the train laid with- 
out the plan being detected, or any serious 
casualties occurring. 

Behind the engineer party a fine column 
of infantry was placed on the Cabul road, 
ready to rush forward when the train should 
be fired. This column was constituted as 
follows : — " The advance was composed of 
the light companies of the Queen's, the 17th, 
and the Bengal European regiment, and of 
Captain Vigor's company of the 13th light 
infantry. It was led by Colonel Dennie. The 
main column, under the immediate command 
of Brigadier Sale, was made up of the re- 
mainder of the Queen's and Bengal Europeans, 
whilst, as an auxiliary to its efforts, the whole 
of the 13th, excepting its storming company, 
extended as skirmishers along the whole of 
the assailed point of the fortress. The sup- 
port was, her majesty's 17th regiment, led by 

* HUtory of the British Empire in India. By Edward 
Thornton. 



Colonel Croker. The reserve, commanded 
by (Sir Willoughby Cotton, was composed of 
the remaining companies of the 16th, 35th, 
and 48th." 

Before dawn approached the signalled mo- 
ment arrived; the train was about to be fired. 
At that instant a brilliant blue light burnt up 
above the gatewa)', and a crowd of the enemy's 
staff was seen pouring down, if possible, to 
discover the cause of the movements of men, 
which were again indistinctly heard by the 
sentinels. The match was touched by the 
British engineers, a rumbling noise rolled 
along the earth where the assaulting column 
stood, and beneath the city a dense compact 
column of smoke shot up where the glare of 
blue light had been illuminating all around ; 
a crash followed, the gate was shivered to 
atoms, the huge masonry above it fell in ruing, 
burying the chiefs and soldiers who had an in- 
stant previously looked forth so wistfully from 
its battlements. High above the din of the 
cannonade, the rattle of musketry, and even 
the rushing of the tempest, the British bugle 
rang out shrill and clear, and, as if in a single 
bound, the column of the assailants leaped 
forward and pierced the opening of the chasm 
which now yawned to receive them. The 
Afi'ghans recovered from their surprise with 
creditable promptitude, and, sword in hand, 
pressed towards the fatal breach. The Eng- 
lish had no sooner set foot within the entrance, 
than the concussion of large bodies of men, 
hand to hand in deadly strife, swelled above 
the tumult of the night. The clashing of 
arms, the shout of the combatants, the scat- 
tered and desultory fire of such as used their 
musketry, went forth over the hosts within 
and without, creating intense excitement and 
suspense. The principal fighting devolved 
upon the advance, which at last made good 
its entrance, took up a position which covered 
the entrance of the main column, and by their 
triumphant cheers encouraged their followers 
forward. Yet, at this moment, all was nearly 
lost, and those who had gained an entrance 
were exposed to danger of destruction. 
This event has been better told in Havelock's 
narrative than elsewhere : — 

" Brigadier Sale, whilst his skirmishers 
were closing by sound of bugle, had steadily 
and promptly pressed forward to support the 
forlorn hope. As he moved on, he met an 
engineer officer suffering from the effects of 
the recent explosion, and anxiously inquired 
of him how the matter went. This gallant 
person had been thrown to the ground by the 
bursting of the powder ; and though he had 
not received any distinct wound, fracture, or 
contusion, was shaken in every limb by the 
concussion. His reply was, that the gate was 



580 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CX. 



blown in, but that the passage was choked 
up, and the forlorn hope could not force an 
entrance. Brigadier Sale was too cool and 
self-possessed not to be able at once to draw 
the inference, that to move on nnder euch 
circumstances was to expose his troops to 
certain destruction. He ordered the retreat 
to be sounded. The tempestuous character 
of the weather, and the noise of the tire of all 
arms, did not prevent this signal from being 
heard, even by the reserve ; but it conveyed 
the order whicli British soldiers are always 
slowest in obeying. Tlie column, however, 
made a full halt in the path of victory ; but 
the check was not of long duration. The 
brigadier, perfectly calm at this moment of 
supposed difficulty, addressed himself to an- 
other engineer officer, with whom he happily 
fell in at this interesting moment. He assured 
him that though the passage of the gateway 
was much impeded, the advanced stormers, 
imder Colonel Dennie, had already won their 
way through it. The brigadier promptly gave 
the signal to move on. 

" But the delay, short as it had been, was 
productive of mischief. It had left a consi- 
derable interval between the forlorn hope and 
Brigadier Sale's column, and just as the latter, 
in which the Queen's regiment was leading, 
had pressed into the gateway, a large body of 
Affghans, driven headlong from the ramparts 
by the assault and fire of Colonel Dennie's 
force, rushed down towards the opening, in 
the hope of tliat way effecting their escape. 
Their attack was made upon the rear com- 
pany of the Queen's, and the leading files of 
the Bengal European regiment. The en- 
counter with these desperate men was terrific. 
They fiercely assaulted, and for a moment 
drove back the troops opposed to them. One 
of their number, rushing over the fallen tim- 
bers, broxight down Brigadier Sale by a cut 
in the face with his sharp shumsheer.* The 
Affghan repeated his blow as his opponent 
was falling, but the pummel, not the edge of 
his sword, this time took effect, though with 
stunning violence. He lost his footing, how- 
ever, in the effort, and Briton and Affghan 
rolled together amongst the fractured timbers. 
Thus situated, the first care of the brigadier 
was to master the weapon of his adversary. 
He snatched at it, but one of his fingers met 
the edge of his trenchant blade. He quickly 
withdrew his wounded hand, and adroitly 
replaced it over that of his adversary, so as to 
keep fast the hilt of liis shumsheer ; but he 
liad an active and powerful opponent, and 
was himself faint from loss of blood. Captain 
Kershaw, of the 13tli, aide-de-camp to Bri- 
gadier Baumgardt, happened, in tlie melee, to 
* Asiatic sabre. 



approach the scene of conflict ; the wounded 
leader recognised, and called to him for aid. 
Kershaw passed liis drawn sword through 
the body of the Affghan,* but still the despe- 
rado continued to struggle with frantic vio- 
lence. At length, in the fierce grapple, the 
brigadier, for a moment, got uppermost. Still 
retaining the weapon of his enemy in his 
left hand, he dealt iiim with liis right a cut 
from his own sabre, which cleft his skull from 
the crown to the eyebrows. The INIoham- 
medan once more shouted, ' Uo Ullah I' f and 
never spake again." Sale regained his feet, 
and persisted in directing the efforts of his 
soldiers, who were still fighting, and had yet 
to make sure their way. At last the walls 
were everywhere conquered, and there was 
street-firing and close conflicts where scat- 
tered groups of British and Affghans met. 
The commander-in-chief, perceiving the en- 
trance was open, ordered the cannonade to be 
directed against the citadel, against which 
also Sale, who seemed to regain strength 
under the excitement, directed the soldiers of 
the 13th. 

Colonel Croker and the support came on 
slowly, being obstructed by the dibris of the 
gateway and masonry, and by the wounded, 
whom the surgeons were bringing beyond the 
walls. The reserve came up with the re- 
tarded supports, and entered in one body. 
The Affghans, however, gaining courage by 
the slow progress of the supports, mounted 
the walls and skirmished ; some, finding con- 
cealments, picked oft' the English soldiers. 
When the last of the reserves had entered, the 
anxiety of the British was not over. The 
citadel was strong, and might offer consider- 
able and even dangerous resistance. Events 
relieved their anxiety in an unexpected man- 
ner. The commander of the place, Mohammed 
Hyder, was paralysed by the suddenness of 
the onset, and the astonishing manner, as it 
appeared to him, by which the British effected 
an entrance. He abandoned the defence in 
despair. The 1 Mth and 1 7th English regiments 
forced the gates and entered the citadel, 
scarcely any resistance being offered. They 
at once planted their colours, and as these 
flaunted in the breeze, and displayed their 
unmistakeable symbols in the morning light, 
the whole army, within and beyond the walls, 
raised a prolonged cheer of victory. 

Sir J. Keane was conqueror of Ghizni. Desul- 
tory efforts were still, however, made by the 
enemy. A fire was poured from the ramparts 
upon the reserve, heavier than that which 
galled the support. On entering the place, the 
reserve ascended that rampart. The Aft'ghans, 

* Kershaw went on into the battle, 
t " Oh God." 



Chap. CXI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



581 



finding that every shelter was penetrated by 
their persistent enemy, made a gallant charge, 
sword in hand, to cut a passage to the gateway, 
in the hope of escape. The track over which 
they rushed was studded with groups of 
wearied soldiers, doolies containing wounded 
men, and the horses of the Affghans running 
wildly about. As the fugitives pressed for- 
ward, they cut, indiscriminately, at every- 
thing, even the horses, but their chief desire 
was to destroy the wounded and helpless. 
This enraged the British soldiery; the scat- 
tered groups gathered along the route, and 
not one Affghan passed the gateway, — they 
were shot down or bayoneted to a man. 
In the streets groups of Affghans still re- 
mained, who kept up a dropping fire, and then, 
retiring to the houses, reserved their shots 
for tlie officers, who especially suffered from 
this cause. These desperate men refused 
quarter, so that the houses had to be stormed 
and the defenders put to the bayonet. Sir 
John Kcane entered the city escorting Shah 
Sujah to his fortress, won for him by the 
dauntless valour of his allies. 

During the storming of Ghizni, a son of 
the ruler of Cabul remained with 5000 horse 
in observation. He saw the result of the 
struggle — the British flag floating near the 
citadel. He fled to Cabul to report the dis- 
aster. The cavalry of Sir John Keane insti- 
tuted a hot pursuit, inflicting some loss njjon 
the enemy. 

The army advanced upon Cabul, where it 
met with no resistance, and Shah Sujah was 
elevated to the musnid, without any manifes- 
tation of joy or regret. Thus the conquest of 
the throne of Dost Mohammed was achieved 
with little loss by arms, though with enormous 
sacrifice of life, arising from the defective 
organization of the British army in the trans- 
port and commissary departments. The loss 
of the English in killed and wounded in 
Ghizni was not more than two hundred men, 
amongst whom not one officer was slain, 



although a large proportion fell wounded by 
the fire from the houses. 

Colonel Wade, who was at Peshawur, as 
soon as he heard that the commander-in-chief 
had marched from Candahar for Cabul, also 
set out for the same direction, penetrating the 
celebrated Khyber Pass. The chief obstacle 
to the progress of ^Yade's brigade was the 
fort of Ali Musjed. It was stormed with a 
loss within ten men of that sustained by the 
British at Ghizni, and a greater proportion 
of killed. Wade entered Jellalabad unop- 
posed, and marched thence, without meeting 
an antagonist, to Cabul. 

While the British remained in full force at 
Cabul, various minor expeditions were under- 
taken against villages, fortified rocks, and 
country forts; the Affghans generally refusing 
quarter, and dying with the utmost enthu- 
siasm, indicating the most vindictive ani- 
mosity, believing that they perished for the 
faith of Islam, and gained Paradise. The 
most important of these lesser enterprises was 
the reduction of Khelat. That fort and ter- 
ritory was governed by a Beloochee robber - 
chief. He had inflicted many mischiefs upon 
the British, and manifested to them an intense 
resentment. The conquest of this stronghold 
was conmiitted to General Willshire, an officer 
who proved his competency for the trust re- 
posed in him. The robber khan defended his 
fortress with more valour than skill. The 
English with surpassing courage took by 
storm the surrounding heights, battered in 
the principal gate of the fortress by cannon, 
and took the place by assault. The slaughter 
was great, the Belochees and Affghans fight- 
ing with furious valour, and desperate self- 
sacrifice. The chief himself died, sword in 
hand, at the head of his devoted adherents. 
Captain Outram represents the prisoners as 
2200, including the wounded ; the slain ho 
computes at nearly one-fourth that number. 
Thus ended the first stage of the great Aff- 
ghan war. 



CHAPTER CXI. 

AFFGHAN WAR (Co«i!wk«<^)— MARCH OF SIR ROBERT SALE FROM CABUL TO JELLALABAD— 
DEFEAT OF AKBAR KHAN— MAINTENANCE OF THE POSITION UNTIL RELIEVED BV 
GENERAL POLLOCK. 



When- the British had, as they thought, 
established the throne of Shah Sujah, the 
whole Affghan races were plotting the de- 
struction of the invaders and their protegS. 
The robber tribes in the vicinity of the Khy- 
ber Pass succeeded in plundering and rout- 

VOL. 11. 



ing the Sikhs, by whom they were guarded. 
!Mr. Mackinson, Colonel Wheeler, and other 
officers, civil and military, made agreements 
with the Khyber chiefs, and even subsidized 
them, but the JIussulman chieftains kept 
faith with none. 

4f 



682 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Ohap. CXI. 



Under circumstances of such general hos- 
tility, it is strange that Lord Aucliland sliould 
deem it expedient to remove a great part 
of tlio force which sliould have remained to 
protect the newly elevated monarch until he 
bad succeeded in strengthening his party, and 
securing the prospect of a tolerably undis- 
turbed reign. Such, however, was the 
decision of the government of Calcutta ; Sir 
John Keane was ordered to return with a 
large portion of the troops. 

The author of The Three Presidencies, 
a good writer, but a warm partizan, and who 
assails all the measures of Lord Auckland, 
because he owed his appointment to a whig 
government, thus remarks upon the return of 
Sir John Keane : — " The commander-in-chief 
hastened from the scene of his hollow exploits ; 
and scarcely resting at the seat of government, 
took his way home, to show himself to the 
British public as the conqueror of Affghan- 
istan, receiving, as the fruit of his splendid 
achievement, a title and a pension ; the greatest 
exploit of the entire campaign having been 
the blowing open of a wooden door with a few 
bags of gunpowder." This was the tone of 
that portion of the press in India and in 
England, which discussed public affairs, and 
the conduct of public men, in the spirit of 
party. " Blowing open a wooden door with a 
few bags of gunpowder," was not a faithful 
description of a work of great military skill, 
which Captain Thompson devised, and other 
engineer officers executed. The conquest of 
Ghizni by Keane, and that of Khelat by 
General Willshire, were achievements of skill 
and valour, and entitled the officers and men 
who effected them to honourable distinction. 
These distinctions were ultimately conferred. 
" In addition to the thanks of parliament and 
of the East India Company, the governor- 
general, Lord Auckland, received an advanced 
step in the peerage, being created Earl of 
Auckland. Sir John Keane was created a 
peer, and parliament added a grant of a pen- 
sion of two thousand pounds a year to the 
general and his two next heirs male. Mr. 
Mac Naghten and Colonel Henry Pottinger 
were created baronets ; Colonel Wade obtained 
the honour of knighthood ; Sir Willoughby 
Cotton received the Grand Cross of the Bath ; 
General Willshire, Colonel Thackwell, and 
Colonel Sale were made knight-commanders ; 
and Colonels J. Scott, Persse, Croker, and R. 
Macdonald, companions of that order. There 
was also an extensive grant of brevet rank." 
One officer, who had served not many years 
short of half a century. Colonel Dennie, was 
passed over unrewarded, while his inferiors in 
service and seniority, received high honours. 
It is to be deeply regretted that just com- 



plaints arc so often heard in connection with 
the unrequited services of distinguished mili- 
tary men, and that promotion is so frequently 
distributed with a partial hand. Few cases 
have been more flagrant than that of the heroic 
Colonel Dennie, even although such abuses 
are numerous, disheartening to the service, 
and dishonouring to the country. 

On the 2nd of January, 184:0, " a general 
order " announced the dissolution of the army 
of the Indus. Sir Alexander Burnes and Sir 
W. Mac Naghten were left in Cabul as political 
agents. Major-general Elphinstone was placed 
in command of the troops in garrison, and as 
commander-in-chief of the army of occupation. 
The state of the commissariat was desperate ; 
it was only by paying an extraordinary price 
that any provisions could be obtained. Seldom 
has a garrison been left in such a condition 
as that at Cabul under General Elphinstone. 
The worst part of the army was the general 
himself. He was utterly incompetent to com- 
mand it, and that incompetency brought ruin 
upon the army and to the cause for which the 
occupation was intended. The following de- 
scription of General Elphinstone, and of the 
circumstances of his nomination to command, 
is as just as it is moderate in its tone : — " The 
officers who'served under General Elphinstone 
throughout this unhappy crisis have invariably 
spoken of him with tenderness and respect. 
He was an honourable gentleman, a kind- 
hearted man, and he had once been a good 
soldier. His personal courage has never been 
questioned. Regardless of danger, and pa- 
tient under trial, he exposed himself without 
reserve, and bore his sufferings without com- 
])Iaining. But disease had broken down his 
physical strength, and enfeebled his under- 
standing. He had almost lost the use of his 
limbs. He could not walk ; he could hardly 
ride. Tlie gout had crippled him in a man- 
ner that it was painful to contemplate. You 
could not see him engaged in the most ordi- 
nary concerns of peaceful life without an 
emotion of lively compassion. He was fit 
only for the invalid establishment on the day 
of his arrival in India. It was a mockery to 
talk of his commanding a division of the army 
in the quietest district of Hindostan. But he 
was selected by Lord Auckland, against the 
advice of the commander-in-chief, and the 
remonstrances of the Agra governor, to as- 
sume the command of that division of the 
army which of all others was most likely to 
be actively employed, and which demanded, 
therefore, the greatest amount of energy and 
activity in its commander. Among the general 
officers of the Indian army were many able 
and energetic men, with active limbs and clear 
understanding. There was one — a cripple, 



Chap. CXI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



683 



whose mental vigour much suffering had en- 
feebled: and he was selected by the governor- 
general to command the army in Affghan- 
istan."* The secret of this disgraceful con- 
duct on the part of Lord Auckland, is the 
spirit of policy which pervades all our pub- 
lic offices, and from which few of our public 
functionaries keep clear. Lord Auckland was 
made governor-general of India because it 
was " a good thing," and the party he sup- 
ported desired to find a good thing for him. 
He in turn gave the command of the army in 
Affghanistan to a friend and supporter, be- 
cause such ought to be provided for, and the 
command itself was one of honour and emolu- 
ment. If the public welfare was left out of 
sight by the government which appointed Lord 
Auckland, it cannot be matter of surprise if ho 
in his turn thought nothing of the common- 
wealth when nominating others to office. 

Scarcely was General Elphinstone left in 
command when indications were given that 
Shah Sujah would have a hard struggle 
to maintain his crown. Still, the first winter 
was got over without revolt ; but the spring 
and hostilities opened together. Dost Mo- 
hammed was riding about among the tribes, 
swearing them on the Koran to do battle 
with the Feringhies. Akbar Khan, the Dost's 
most warlike son, raised large forces, and 
displayed great activity, as well as some mili- 
tary enterprise and capacity. The English 
autliorities, both civil and military, at Cabul, 
were utterly incapable of discharging the duties 
which devolved upon them. Sir Alexander 
Burnes, and Sir W. Mac Naghten, however 
high their reputation for diplomatic talent 
and knowledge of Indian affairs, were unequal 
to the position they then occupied. Their 
incredulity and credulity were alike astonish- 
ing. They refused to believe the most credi- 
ble testimony as to the state of Affghanistan 
generally, and believed the professions of the 
chiefs in and around Cabul, in spite of ocular 
demonstration of their rebellion. 

During the summer of 1841 there were con- 
tests everywhere, the wild chieftains cutting 
off the supplies of the British, and harassing 
the garrisons with fatiguing vigilance. The 
turning point in the fortunes of Shah Sujah 
was the attempt to cut down the expenses of 
his government. An author I of distinguished 
merit has thus depicted the event : — " In 
October, 1841, Kohistan became the seat 
of an extensive conspiracy against British 
authority, and the Eastern Ghiljies, one of 
the largest of the clans into which the Affghans 
are divided, were trying to break a yoke they 
never wished to wear. At the same time it 

* Kaye'a Affyhanittan, 
t R«v. W. Owea. 



was found that the million and a quarter, the 
cost of maintaining the authority of Shah 
Sujah, was more than the dignity was worth 
to us, certainly more than it was proper to ex- 
propriate from the revenues of India, especially 
as a loan had to be raised, and money came in 
very slowly. It was then found necessary to cut 
down the expenses occasioned by this sacrifice 
in favour of legitimacy, and the retreuchment 
began with the stipends and the subsidies fur- 
nished to the wild Ghiljie chieftains." 

The effect of this has been thus described 
by Mr. Kaye : — " The blow fell upon all the 
chiefs about the capital — upon the Ghiljies, 
upon the Kohistanees, xipon the Canhulees, 
upon the iSIomunds, even upon the Kuzzil- 
bashes. Peaceful remonstrance was in vain. 
So they held secret meetings, and entered 
into a confederacy to overawe the existing 
government, and to recover what they had 
lost. Foremost in this movement were the 
eastern Ghiljies. Affected by the general 
retrenchments, they had also particular griev- 
ances of their own. They were the first, 
therefore, to throw off the mask. So they 
quitted Cabul — occupied the passes on the 
road to Jellalabad — plundered a valuable 
cafda (caravan) — and entirely cut off our com- 
munications with the provinces of Hindostan." 

In the month of October, 1841, Sir Robert 
Sale's brigade was ordered from Cabul. The 
infatuation of the British agents still con- 
tinued ; the incapacity of the Hon. Major- 
general Elphinstone, left the commander-in- 
chief of the forces in India ignorant of the 
true state of the case. Besides that exalted 
person had remonstrated against General 
Elphinstone's appointment, and the general 
had no desire to communicate with him more 
frequently than he deemed absolutely neces- 
sary. Of what really was absolutely necessary 
he was quite incapable of judging. SirEobert 
Sale marched with his brigade, and had not 
gone far beyond Cabul when he was attacked 
by hordes of Affghans, yiho hung upon his 
flanks. They had to do with a brave man 
and skilful soldier, and paid dearly for their 
temerity. In penetrating the Khyber Pass, 
the attacks of the enemy were more frequent 
and dangerous. They made every crag a 
breast- work, and being good marksmen, picked 
off many of the brigade. The way in which Sir 
Robert met these assaults, is thus described by 
Mr. Gleig, in his memoir of Sale's Brigade ; 
it is a thrillingly interesting story : — " The 
bugles sounded for the leading companies to 
extend, and away among the precipices ran 
the skirmishers; scaling corries with a steady 
foot, and returning the fire of the Affghans 
with great alacrity. Meanwhile the colunm 
slackened not its pace for a moment. Onward 



584 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[CuAP. CXI. 



it pressed, dctacliing two or tlireo companies 
as flankers, wliich mounted the liilla on the 
light and left, and soon became warmly en- 
gaged, till by-and-by the stockade or breast- 
work of huge stones, wherewith the enemy 
had endeavoured to block up the pass, became 
conspicuous. A gallant rush was made at 
this work, which, however, the Affghans did 
not venture to defend, and then Lieutenant 
Davis, hastening his horses, went on with his 
guns at a gallop, and at a gallop passed 
through. From that time the fire of the 
enemy began to slacken. Their skirmishers, 
indeed, had already yiekled to the impetuous 
attack of the leading companies, and the whole 
now fleeing to the crests of the mountains, 
whither our men could not follow, gradually 
melted away, and at last disappeared. The 
loss sustained in the course of this affair was 
less severe than might liave been expected. 
Sir Robert Sale himself received a musket 
ball in the anlde just as he entered the pass ; 
and almost at the same moment his aid-de- 
camp, who rode by his side, had his liorse 
shot under him. Captain Younghusband, of 
the 35th native infantry, likewise, and Lieu- 
tenant Miers, of the 13th, were wounded 
eeriously ; and among the rank and file in all 
the corps engaged casualties occurred. But 
the total amount of men put hors-de-combat 
was wonderfully small, considering the great 
advantage of position which the enemy pos- 
sessed ; and of horses four were struck. Of 
those attached to the guns, happily not one 
received damage. The result of this success- 
ful encounter was to carry the 35tli native 
infantry, with all their baggage and followers, 
over one important stage on their homeward 
journey. The narrowest and most intricate 
portion of tlio pass was threaded; and in a 
Bort of puuch-bowl, or circular valley, offering 
a position comparatively secure from night 
attacks, they made preparations for encamp- 
ing. Not so the 13(h. To have left the 
Bootkak gorge in the hands of the enemy 
would have been not only to isolate the 35th, 
but to give up the communication between 
Cabul and the frontiers altogether ; and hence 
the gallant 13th had received instructions, so 
soon as the barricade should be forced, to 
return to the cami5 whence they had set out 
in the morning. They now proceeded to 
obey these instructions ; and, carrying the 
wounded with them, marched back into the 
defile. Again they were assailed, both from 
the right hand and the left, with a desultory, 
but warm skirmishing fire; and again they 
ran the gauntlet tlirough it, fighting for every 
inch of ground, and winning it too, though 
not without some loss and considerable incon- 
venience. They then returned to the tents 



and to the force, mounted and dismounted, 
which they had left to protect them ; and 
slept that night as soundly as soldiers are 
accustomed to do who have gone through a 
sharp day's work, with honour to themselves."* 

Our space allows not to give the detail of 
this terrible march. General Sale had to con- 
test every step of the road, and every step was 
contested with heroic fortitude and surpassing 
judgment. Colonel Dennie was the right 
hand of Sale, displaying a like intrepidity and 
judgment. The enemy succeeded, however, 
in bearing away tents and ammunition in 
great abundance. 

Sale led on his brave men, inspired by 
his genius and fortitude. There was much 
suffering, and some loss of life, but the punish- 
ment inflicted upon the Affghans was severe. 
At last the gallant brigade reached Jellalabad, 
on the 13th of November, 1841. Sale imme- 
diately occupied this -place, from which the 
people fled. He gave some little strength to 
its miserable defences. Colonels Dennie and 
Monteith, and Major Broadfoot, who com- 
manded the sappers, were as towers of 
strength to the general. He had also the 
good fortune to have Captain Havelock upon 
his staff. That officer had been on the 
staff of General Elphinstono, but was ap- 
pointed to servo in a similar capacity with 
General Sale, on his departure from Cabul. 
It was a letter of Havelock' s, sent in a quill, 
which was the means of making known to the 
English agent in Peshawur the condition of 
the garrison. 

It became necessary for Sale to fight a 
battle in order to impose respect upon the 
hordes by which he was surrounded. Accord- 
ingly, on the ICth of November, Colonel 
Monteith, at the head of eleven hundred men, 
sallied out against five thousand of the 
enemy, who suffered a eignal defeat, which 
secured the garrison from further molestation 
for some time. Meanwhile, the indefatigable 
Broadfoot toiled with unflagging ardour in 
building up the defences, and devising expe- 
dients for rendering the attack of such enemies 
abortive. Food became scarce ; the men were 
put on half rations, and thus a new cause of 
anxiety arose among the heroic band of offi- 
cers who commanded. Abbot and M'Gregor, 
two very gallant and skilful officers, made 
successful efforts to keep up some supplies. 
It became, however, necessary to make another 
attack on the enemy. This was also successful, 
the Afighan hosts, however superior in num- 
bers and sturdy in resistance, fading away 
before the superior skill and discipline of the 
British. 

The brave garrison continued to skirmisli 
♦ Gleig's Sale's Brigade, pp. 80, 81. 



Chap. CXI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



£85 



with the enemy until the 13th of January, 
1842, when a sentry on duty perceived a 
traveller advancing on a miserable pony, faint 
and apparently wounded. The traveller ap- 
proached, and proved to be Dr. Brydon of 
General Elphinstone"s corps. The doctor then 
supposed himself to be the only survivor of 
that army. Sale had previously heard of the 
discomfiture of Elphinstone, and therefore re- 
solved to hold Jellalabad in case the general 
made good hi.s retreat so far. The story which 
Dr. Brydon related, disclosed the fact of the 
destruction of the troops with which ho had 
left Cabul. This showed the garrison of 
Jellalabad that notliing under providence 
could save them but their own gallantry and 
wisdom. The narrative of Dr. Brydon, and the 
events which occurred at Cabul after Sale's 
departure from that garrison, must be deferred 
until the story of the " illustrious garrison of 
Jellalabad " is told. The position was main- 
tained with fluctuating hopes until the 7th of 
April, 1842, when it became necessary to 
fight a battle beyond the defences to clear 
the neighbourhood of the enemy. 

Akbar Khan, the favourite son of Dost Mo- 
hammed, and the hope of the Affghan chiefs, oc- 
cupied an intrenched camp, with the intention 
of blockading the little garrison and of making 
a dash upon it, when, as Akbar hoped_, want 
and disease should have exhausted it before 
help was at hand. Betvreen the intrenched 
camp and the town there were several forts, 
all of which Akbar had garrisoned. It was 
resolved by Sir Robert Sale to attack both 
the camp and the forts. His plan was to 
move out in three columns, one commanded 
by Colonel Monteith, another by Colonel Den- 
nie, and the third by Captain Havelock. The 
forts were to be passed by and the camp 
attacked. Sir Robert concluding that if the 
main body of the enemy was defeated the 
forts would be surrendered. If not, they 
could be more advantageously attacked after 
the conquest of the intrenched camp. In the 
execution of the plan Sir Robert Sale's column 
was exposed to a flanking fire from one of the 
forts, when he ordered the 13th light infantry 
to bring left shoulder forward and storm a 
small breach, which the quick eye of the 
general saw to be practicable. Colonel Dennie 
led the assault, and received a mortal wound 
before the breach was entered. The soldiers 
on penetrating it found a second line of de- 
fence which could not be scaled, nor breached 
without cannon. Here tlicy were exposed to 
a murderous fire from matchlocks and wall 
pieces. As this " keep " could not be esca- 
laded or forced, the 13th were ordered to 
leave the place and pursue the original plan. 
At double quick pace they rushed forward, 



driving in the skirmishers, and dashed through 
the intrenchmcnt. The victory of this column 
was complete. The progress of the other 
portions of the attack has been thus described 
by the Rev. Mr. Gleig : — "Meanwhile, both 
Colonel Monteith's and Captain Havelock's 
columns had trodden down all opposition. 
The former maintained, without a check, the 
pace at which their advance began. The 
latter, sweeping round by the river, in order 
to turn the flank of the position, became ex- 
posed to the attack of the enemy's cavalry, 
and were more than once obliged to form a 
square, which they did with the precision of 
an ordinary field day. But the}', too, gained 
their point, and now the three divisions unit- 
ing, poured such a fire upon the enemy's 
masses, as dissolved them quite. Their guns, 
which had been served with much boldness, 
were in consequence deserted. One they 
endeavoured to carry away with them, but a 
well directed round-shot from Abbott's bat- 
tery killed both the horses which had just 
been harnessed to the limber, after which the 
rout became universal. Had the force of 
British cavalry been such as could have been 
launched, without support, in pursuit, few 
would have escaped to tell of that day's over- 
throw. As it was, the fugitives being chased 
towards the river, rushed madly in, and 
perished, almost as many amid the deep 
water as by the bayonets and shot of the 
pursuers. Never was victory more complete. 
Camp, baggage, artillery, anmiunition, stan- 
dards, horses, arms of every kind fell into the 
hands of the conquerors. The camp they 
committed to the flames ; of the baggage, aa 
well as of animals to transport it, they con- 
veyed back to Jellalabad as much as they 
cared to preserve ; and they were specially 
gratified by discovering in one of the forts 
that flanked the line an important magazine 
of powder, shells, and shot." 

The effect of this battle was disheartening 
to the confederated chiefs. Provisions were 
brought into the town, and many persons of 
note made submission. Akbar Khan continued 
his flight toCabnl,justifying his fugitive move- 
ments by the wildest stories of the numbers, 
bravery, and physical force of the English, and 
the powers of magic and enchantment pos- 
sessed by their general. The moral effectof that 
day's triumph for the English spread over all 
Affghanistan, and showed how little English 
interests had to apprehend when confided to 
officers of capacity and spirit, such as Sale, 
Dennie, Monteith, Broadfoot, and Havelock. 
The Rev. W. Owen, in his interesting me- 
moirs of Havelock, makes the following re- 
markable statement : — " In the midst of all 
these harassing scenes there were faithful 



68(3 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXI. 



servants of Christ who were not forgetful of 
his daims, and were endeavouring to promote 
his cause. During the whole siege of Jellal- 
abad a Jew from Bokhara was engaged in 
writing a transcript in Hebrew of Martin's 
Persian Testament, under the superintendence 
of a pious officer, a work that proved instru- 
mental to his own conversion to Christianity." 

The despatch of Sir Robert Sale, recounting 
the history of the defence of Jellalabad, and 
the battleof the 7th of April, is a most in- 
teresting and remarkable document. The 
Rev. W. Owen states, iipon authority that 
is beyond question, that this despatch was 
not written by Sir Robert, but by Captain 
Havelock, who was then upon his personal 
staff.* It is one of those remarkable pro- 
ductions for which this scholarly soldier was 
distinguished, and was spoken of by the late 
Sir George Murray in advantageous com- 
parison with Cffisar's Commentaries. It will, 
perhaps, satisfy the wish of the intelligent 
reader, and do some justice to the memory of 
Havelock, to give this remarkable document 
in extenso : — 

From Major-general Sir Rohert Sale to the 
Secretary to the Government of India. 
.Jellalahad, Uth April, 1842. 

Sir,— The relief of this place having been at length 
effected by the victorious advance through the passes of 
the Khyber of the army under Major-general Pollock.C.B., 
I conceive that I owe it to the troops who have so long 
formed the garrison here, to address to you a report which 
may convey some notion of their conflicts, and the severity 
of their duties, labours, and privations. It has before 
been made known to government that I readied Gnnda- 
rauok on the 30th of October, ] 841, under instructions 
from the authorities at Cabul, and there received intelli- 
gence of the breaking out of a terrible insurrection at the 
Affghan capital, on the 2nd of Novemher. My retracing 
my steps on that city was, in a military sense, impractic- 
able, since the first inevitable sacrifice would have been 
of the lives of three hundred sick and wounded, wliom I 
could not have left in depot with the treasonable irregu- 
lars at Guudamuck, whilst ray cattle was unequal to the 
transport of my camp equipage, and my ammunition in- 
sufficient for protracted operations. lu the position 
which I occupied I could not absolutely command a day's 
provisions, or even water, and should have been hemmed 
in on every side by hostile tribes, amounting to thirty or 
forty thousand men, part of whom might have seized 
Jellalabad and reduced it to ashes, or, holding it, have 
left me no alternative but a disastrous retreat towards 
Peshawur. I therefore came to the resolution of antici- 
pating any movement of this kind, and, by possessing 
myself of this city, establishing a point upon which the 
force at Cabul might retire if hardly pressed. Two 
marches brought me, after a successful contest at Futteh- 
abad, to Jellalabad. My breaking up from Gundamuck 
was followed by the immediate defection of the irregulars 
there, the destruction of the cantonment, and a general 
rising of the tribes. I found the walls of Jellalat)ad in a 
state which might have justified despair as to the possi- 
bility of defending them; the enceinte was far too exten- 
sive for my small force, embracing a circumference of 
two thousand three hundred yards. Its tracing was 
* Owen's Havelock. 



vicious in the extreme : it had no parapet excepting for a 
few hundred yards, which there was not more than two 
feet high. Earth and rubbish had accumiJated to such 
an extent about the ramparts that there were roads iu 
various directions across and over them into the country. 
There was a space of four hundred yards together, on 
which none of the garrison could show themselves, 
excepting at one spot; the population within was dis- 
afi'ected, and the whole enceinte was surrounded by 
ruined forts, walls, mosques, tombs, and gardens, from 
which a fire could be opened upon the defenders, at 
twenty or thirty yards. 

The garrison took full possession of the town, in such 
a state, on the morning of the 12th of November, and, in 
the course of the day, the place and detached hills, by 
which on one side it is commanded, were surrounded and 
surmounted by a force of not fewer than five thousand 
insurgents. A general attack, on the 14th of November, 
ridded us of these enemies, and a similar array, brought 
against us a fortnight afterwards, was dissipated by a 
second sally, on the 1st of December. But we had seized 
the town, having in our possession not quite two days' 
provisions and corn for our men and horses, and beheld 
the arduous task before us of striving to render the works 
defensible,»and collecting supplies for oiu: magazine from 
the midst of a fanatical and infuriated people, with very 
narrow means, in the way of treasure, to purchase them. 
I appointed Captain Broadfoot, of Shah Sujah's Sappers, 
Garrison Engineer, and Captain Abbot, of the Artillery, 
Commissary of Ordnance. Captain M'Gregor, Political 
Agent, gave me the aid of his local experience, and, 
through his influence and measures, our Dak commnnica- 
tiou with India was restored, and a great quantity of 
grain collected; whilst the unremitting and almost in- 
credible labours of the troops, aided by the zeal and 
science of Captain Broadfoot, put the town in an efficient 
state ortefence. Captain Abbot made the artillery dis- 
positions in the ablest manner, and used every exertion to 
add to, and economise, our resources in the way of gun 
and musket ammunition, in both of which we were 
deficient for the purposes of a siege. Lead and powder 
were procured in and about Jellalabad, and a quantity of 
cartridges discovered in an old magazine, and thus the 
troops completed to two hundred rounds per man. It is 
to be remarked that I might, in the second week of 
November, have marched upon Pesh Bolak, relieved from 
investment the corps of Juzailchees under Captain Ferris, 
and with it operated a doubtful retreat upon Peshawur. 
But I felt it to be my duty to give support to the last 
moment to our troops, struggling against their numerous 
enemies at Cabul, and maintain for them a point on which 
to retreat and rally, if they met with reverse. 

On the 9th of January I was summoned by the leaders 
of the Aff'ghan rebellion to give up the place, in fulfilment 
of a convention entered into by the political and military 
authorities at Cabul ; but as I was fully assured of the 
bad faith of our enemies, I refused to do this ; and on the 
] 3th received the melancholy intelligence of the disastrous 
retreat of our troops from the capital and their annihila- 
tion in the Ghiljie defiles by the rigours of the climate, 
and the basest treachery on the part of those in whose 
promises they had confided. Almost at the same time it 
became known to us that the brigade of four regiments, 
marched to my succour from Hindostan, had been beaten 
in detail, and forced to fall back upon Peshawur: my 
position was most critical, and 1 might, whilst our enemies 
were engaged in plundering the force from Cabul, have 
attempted, and perhaps efi'ected, tliough with heavy loss, 
a retreat across Khyber, but I resolved, at all hazards, 
on not relinquishing my grasp on the chief town of the 
valley of Ningrahar, and the key of Eastern Afl'ghanistan, 
so long as I had reason to consider that our government 
desired to retain it. The discouragements of my garrison 
at this moment were very great, their duties most severe, 



Chap. CXI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



687 



h 



their labours unceasing, anil the most insidious endeavours 
made by the enemy to seduce the native portion of them 
from their allegiance. But their fidelity was unshaken, 
and their serenity amidst labours and privations unclouded. 
With reference, however, to the state of fanatical excite- 
ment and national antipathy which prevailed around us, I 
had been compelled, as a measure of prudence, to get rid, 
first of the corps of Khyber rangers, and next of the de- 
tachment of Juzailchees, and a few of the Aifghan Sappers, 
and a body of Hindostance gunners, who had formerly 
been in the employment of Dost Mohammed Khan . Works 
had iu the meantime been completed, of which the 
annexed reports and plans of Captain Broadfoot contain 
ample details. Generally, I may state, they consisted iu 
the destruction of an immense quantity of cover for the 
enemy, extending to the demolition of forts and old walls, 
filling up ravines, and destroying gardens and cutting 
down groves, raising the parapets to six or seven feet 
high, repairing and widening the ramparts, extending the 
bastions, retrenchiug three of the gates, covering the 
fourth with an outwork, and excavating a ditch, ten feet 
in depth and twelve feet in width, round the whole of the 
walls : the place was thus secure against the attack of any 
Asiatic enemy not provided with siege artillery. 

But it pleased Providence on the I'Jth February, to 
remove in an instant this ground of confidence. A tre- 
mendous earthquake shook down all our parapets built up 
with so much labour, injured several of our bastions, cast 
to the ground all our guard-houses, demolished a third of 
the town, made a considerable breach in the rampart of a 
curtain in the Pcshawur face, and reduced the Cabul gate 
to a shapeless mass of ruins. It savours of romance, but 
is a sober fact, that the city was thrown into alarm, with- 
in the space of little more than one month, by the repe- 
tition of full one hundred shocks of this terrific phe- 
nomenon of nature. 

The troops turned with indefatigable industry to the 
reparation of their walls, but at the moment of the great 
convulsion. Sirdar Mohammed .\kbar Khan, Barukzye, the 
assassin of the late envoy, and treacherous destroyer of 
the Cabul force, having collected a body of troops, flushed 
with a success consummated by the vilest means, had 
advanced to Murkhail, within seven miles of our gates. 
He attacked our foraging parties with a large body of horse 
on the 21st and 22nd of February, and soon after — ■ 
establishing his head-quarters to the westward, two miles 
from the place, and a secondary camp to the eastward, 
about one mile distant — invested the town, and established 
a rigorous blockade. From that time up to the 7th of 
April, the reduced garrison was engaged in a succession of 
skirmishes with the enemy, who, greatly superior in 
horse, perpetually insulted our walls by attacks and alerts, 
and compelled us daily to fight at disadvantage for forage 
for our cattle. The most remarkable of these affairs were 
those of the cavalry under Lieutenant Mayne, commanding 
a detachment of Shah Sujah's 2nd cavalry, and Jemadar 
Deena Sing, 5th cavalry, already reported ; a sally under 
Colonel Dennie, C.B., to defeat a suspected attempt of 
the enemy to drive a mine, on the 11th of March ; the 
repulse of an assault upon the transverse walls to the 
northward of the place, on the 24th of the same month, 
by detachments under Captain Broadfoot, who was 
severely wounded, and Captain Fenwick, her majesty's 
13th light infantry ; the capture of bullocks and sheep 
by Lieutenant Mayne, on the 30th and Slst of January ; 
and the seizure of large flocks of the latter, in the face of 
Slohammed Akbar's army, by a force of infantry under 
Captain Pattisson, her majesty's 13th light infantry, 
and of cavalry under Captain Oldficld, on the 1st instant. 
These successes were crowned by Providence by the issue 
of the brilliant and decisive attack on the camp of the 
Sirdar on the 7th instant. 

I have to notice as a measure of defence, my having 
enrolled as a provisional battalion a large body of our 



camp followers, and armed them with pikes and other 
weapons. On all occasions of assault and sally, these men 
were available to make a show upon our curtains, and I 
have pledged myself to them to recommend to Govern- 
ment, that they should enjoy all the pecuniary advantages 
of native soldiers beyond the Indus. I at the same time 
held forth to the troops of Shah Sujah's force, the expec- 
tation that they would be put, during the especial service, 
on the same footing with their comrades of the Bengal 
army. 

From the time that the brigade threw itself into Jellal- 
abad, the native troops have been on half, and the 
followers on quarter rations, and for many weeks they 
have been able to obtain little or nothing in the bazaars, 
to eke out this scanty provision. I will not mention, as 
a privation, the European troops from the same period, 
having been without their allowance of spirits, because I 
verily believe this circumstance and their constant em- 
ployment have contributed to keep them in the highest 
health and the most remarkable state of discipline. 
Crime has been almost unknown among them ; but they 
have felt severely, although they have never murmured, 
the diminution of their quantity of animal food, and the 
total want of ghee, flour, tea, coffee, and sugar; these 
may seem small matters to those who read of them at a 
distance, but they are serious reductions in the scale of 
comfort of the hard-working and fighting soldier iu Asia. 
The troops have also been greatly in arrears of pay, 
besides their severe duties in heat and cold, wind and 
rain, on the guards of the gates and bastions. The 
troops, officers, and men, British and Hindostanee, of 
every arm, remained fully accoutred on their alarm posts 
every night, from the 1st of March to the 7th of April. 
The losses of gfficers and men, in carriage and cattle, 
camp equipage and baggage, between Cabul and Jellal- 
abad, were heavy ; and their expenditure, during the siege 
and blockade, in obtaining articles of meic subsistence and 
necessity, has been exorbitant. 

I feel assured that Major-general Pollock will con- 
sider it a most pleasing duty, to bring the series of 
labours, privations, and conflicts, imperfectly sketched in 
the foregoing details, to the notice of the head of the 
supreme government of ludia, and through his lordship 
to that of the court of directors and of our sovereign, as 
a claim for public acknowledgment and substantial reim- 
bursement and reward. 

The report of Captain Broadfoot, in his capacity of 
garrison engineer, will meet with attentive perusal : 1 
have already stated how much I have been indebted to his 
scientific attainments, as well as his distiuguished activity 
and resolution, during the siege. His fertility in resource 
obviated great difficulties in procuring iron, timber, and 
charcoal; and to the foresight of his arrangements we 
owe our having had a very ample supply of tools. The 
corps under his command performed, from Bootkhak, the 
duties equally of good sappers and hold light infantry . 
soldiers, and the Affghan Huzaree and Eusifzye portion of 
it have been singularly faithful in time of general defec- 
tion. The two infantry regiments under the lamented 
Colonel Dennie and Lieutenant-colonel Monteith, have 
vied with each other in the steady performance of the 
duties of that arm ; and it would be impossible for me to 
discriminate iu favour of either, in awarding praise to the 
squadron 5th light cavalry, under Captain Oldfield, and 
the Rissalla 2nd Shah Sujah's cavalry, under Lieutenant 
Mayne: Lieutenant Plowden, of the former, has been 
distinguished on several occasions. The artillery practice 
of No. 6 light field battery has ever been excellent, and 
has been equalled by that of the Mountain Train. Captains 
Abbott and Backhouse and Lieutenant Dawes have proved 
themselves excellent officers of ordnance. I have more 
than once brought it to notice that Captain M'Gregor, 
political agent, has cheerfully rendered very valuable assist- 
ance in serving the guns in every crisis of pressing 



688 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXII. 



danger. Of his labours in his own department, I ought 
not, perhaps, to attempt to constitute myself a judge; but 
I know they have been unremitting ; and their result, in 
obtaining for my force supplies and information, and 
keeping up our communication with India and with Cabul, 
and securing for ua Afghan co-operation, I may be allowed 
to appreciate, and am bound to point out to Government. 

The medical duties of the garrison have been ably ful- 
filled by Surgeon Forsyth, Superintending Surgeon Shah 
Snjah's force, and Assistant-surgeons Robertson and 
Barnes, her majesty's 13lh light infantry, llare, 35th 
regiment, and Brown, late in charge of the Irregulars. 

Captain Mainwaring, commissariat oflieer to the 
force, has been indefatigable in his efforts to keep the 
garrison well supplied, and his arrangements in very 
difficult times have merited my highest praise. Captain 
Moorhouse, 35th regiment, native infantry, has satisfac- 
torily discharged his duties as Brigade Quarter-master ; 
he was severely wounded on the 7th instant. 

It is gratifying to me to forward the opinion of my 
second in command. Lieutenant-colonel Monteith, C.B., 
placed on record without solicitation, of the merits of the 
13th light infantry, of which corps I am proud of being 
a member : 1 fully concur in the sentiments which he ex- 
presses, and hope the distinctions which he recom- 
mends for the officers of his own corps will be accorded. 
The cheerful and persevering manner in which the native 
soldiers laboured with the shovel, m.ittock, and hand- 
barrow, was as surprising as their steadiness and courage 
in the field were conspicuous. 

I have to acknowledge the zealous manner in which 
Brevet-major Fraser, light cavalry, Brevet-captain Ger- 
rard, of the corps of Juzailchees, Captain Burn, and Lieu- 
tenant Hillersdon, of tlie Khyber Rangers, and Lieutenant 
Dowson, of the Jambazes, when their services could no 
longer be available with their corps, volnnteered to do duty 
with any regiment in which they could be useful. 

I must finally express my gratitude to Providence for 
having placed so gallant and devoted a force under my 
command ; in every way it has exceeded ray most sanguine 
expectations, and I beg leave, in the strongest manner, to 
solicit the interjjosition of Major-general Pollock, C.B., 
who has nobly laboured and fought to relieve it from its 
critical position in the midst of a hostile empire, in now 
committing it to the protection and favour of the Right 



Honourable the Governor-General in Council, and through 
him of the Court of Directors, and of onr'Sovcreign. 

" I ask permission especially to recommend the follow- 
ing officers for honorary distinction, or brevet rank, or 
both, viz.. Lieutenant-colonel Monteith, C.B., com- 
manding 35th regiment native infantry, now second in 
command ; Brevet-major Fraser, light cavalry, who 
acted as my aid-de-camp on the 7th instant; Captain 
Abbott, Commandant of Artillery, and Commissary of 
Ordnance ; Captain Backhouse, commanding the Moun- 
taiti Train, and senior officer of the shah's troops with my 
force; Captain Broadfoot, commanding Sappers, and 
Garrison Engineer ; Captain Oldficld, 5th light cavalry, 
senior officer of that arm ; Captain Seaton, 35th regiment 
native infantry, particularly recommended for His condnct 
on the 7th instant, by Lieutenant-colonel Monteith ; 
Captain Youughnsband of the same regiment, who was 
distinguished with the advanced guard in the Khoord 
Cabul Pass, and there severely wounded ; Captain Burn, 
late commandant of the Khyber Rangers, and doing duty 
with the 35th regiment, N. I. ; Captain Wilkinson, on 
whom the command of the 13th light infantry devolved 
in the field on the fall of Colonel Dcnnie, C.B. ; Captain 
Fenwick, her majesty's 13th light infantry, whose 
highly deserving conduct in the Pass of Jugdulluck was 
noticed then in my despatch ; Captain Havelock, her 
majesty's 13th light infantry, Persian interpreter to 
Major-generals Elphinstone and Pollock, and attached to 
me as staff', and who commanded the right column in the 
final attack on Mohammed Akbar's camp ; and Captain 
Hamlet Wade, her majesty's 13th light infantry, my 
Brigade-major, whose exertions in the action of the 7th I 
have elsewhere highly commended. Both these latter 
officers rendered most valuable services throughout the 
investment and siege. The officers of all ranks, and sol- 
diers of all arms, European and native, I have likewise to 
represent as generally and individually deserving of reward 
and encouragement, and I hope that Government will 
sanction my calling upon commandants of corps and de- 
tachments to send in rolls of such native olficers as they 
may deem worthy of the insignia of the order of " Merit " 
and of " British India." 

I have the honour to be, S:c., 

R. SALE, 

Major- General Commanding, Jellalaba'!. 



CHAPITER CXii. 

TRANSACTIONS AND B.VTTLES OF THE BRITISH ARMY AT CABUL, FROM THE DEPARTURE OF 
SIR ROBERT SALE TO THE RETREAT OF THE HON. GENERAL ELPHINSTONE. 



Leaving Sir Robert Sale and his gallant 
brigade at Jellalabad, it is necessary to recall 
the reader's attention to Cabul. The with- 
drawal of Sale's force left the garrison of 
Cabul so much weakened, that the disaffected 
chiefs became sanguine that they should be 
able to effect its destruction. After the bri- 
gade of Sale left, the forces remaining con- 
sisted of the 44:th British regiment of the 
line, the 5th and 5ith Bengal native infantry, 
the 5th Bengal light cavalry, with the excep- 
tion of a squadron, which left with Sir Robert. 
A company of foot artillery, and a troop of 
horse artillery. The shah's own force was 



two regiments of infantry, a mountain train 
of artillery, and several squadrons of Ilindos- 
tanee and Affghan cavalry. The o7th Bengal 
native infantry accompanied Sale part of his 
way. 

The arrangement of the forces at Cabul 
were such as it might be supposed no officer 
of tolerable information would adopt. Part 
of it was quartered at the Balla-Hissar, the 
royal residence which overlooked the town, 
and the remainder was established in canton- 
ments three miles distant. The force was 
divided when the most ordinary prudence 
would have united itj after the disasters which 



Chap. CXII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



589 



had been experienced, and wliile the Afiglian 
chiefs were ah-eady in arms. The indiscre- 
tion of the general-in-chief did not stop there ; 
for part of the commissariat was within tlie 
walls of C'abul itself, and a number of the 
officers were permitted to reside there. 

On the :ind of Xovembcr, 1S41, tlie popu- 
lace of Cabul rose in insurrection. The houses 
of the British officers were first attacked, and 
among them, with especial malignity, those 
of Hir Alexander Eurnes, and of the i)aymastcr 
of the shali's forces, a British officer. Captain 
Johnson. Had Sir Alexander Burnes, even 
then, showed firmness and a quick insight of 
events, the instirgents might have been inti- 
midated. >Sir Alexander, however, forbid his 
guard to fire on the people, and tried the 
British plan of quieting a mob by making a 
speech. Neither Clive, Hastings, nor Wel- 
lesley, would have wasted time at a period of 
8uch urgency in a way so unsuitable to 
orientals. The result was, that when the 
sepoy guard was jiermitted to defend the 
minister, the moment had passed for effectual 
action. The sepoys were overpowered ; Sir 
Alexander, his brother, Lieutenant Burnes, 
and Lieutenant William Broadfoot, an officer 
of distinguished talents and bravery, perisiied. 
Broadfoot slew six of his assailants before he 
fell. The residency was plundered ; every 
one in it, even women and children, were, 
with the bloody ferocity of Jlohammedans, 
murdered. The house was plundered, and 
then bnrned. The shah's treasury was also 
plundered, and after the massacre of those in 
charge of it, and their families, committed to 
the flames. Several ]>ritish officers were 
wounded, and the escape of any was mira- 
c\ilons, for the whole population, well armed, 
was excited to the highest pitch of fanaticism,* 
and crying out madly for the Jjlood of the 
infidels. An attempt was made to assassinate 
Captain Stnrt, of the engineers (son-in-law 
of General Sale), in the precincts of the palace. 
He was stabbed three times by an Aflghan 
of rank, who escaped into an adjacent 
building. Captain ],awrence, a distingubhed 
political servant of the company, afterwards 
still more known and iionourcd, had a narrow 
escape from sword and matchlock while bear- 
ing a despatch. 

The shah was more vigilant, active, and 
.skilful than the English generals. He sent 
Campbell's Hindostanee regiment in his own 
service, and three guns, to suppress the insur- 
rection. The po])ulace were jirepared for 
such an event, and gallantly resisted. The 
Hindostanee soldiers did not display much 
courage or loyalty, and gave way "without 
making any impression upon the eiiemy. A 

* Mililiirtj Operaliuiis at Calm!. I.iciiteiiaut Kvre. 

VOL. II. 



son of the shah, and a number of Affghans — 
a sort of body-guard — supitorted the Hindos- 
tanee infantry, but the horsemen showed 
even less loyalty and spirit than the Hindos- 
tanees. Brigadier Slielton and a portion of 
the troops was jnst then encamped at some 
distance from both the Balla-Hissar and the 
cantonments. He was ordered, or, as it would 
appeal-, requested to send a i)ortion of his 
troops to the former place, with which he 
complied, and the rest he marched to the can- 
tonments. Neither he nor General Elphin- 
stono took any measure to put down the 
insurrection in the city, which might have 
been done that day by officers of intelligence 
and promptitude. 

Orders were given that the o7th Bengal 
native infantry, which had gone part of the 
way with General Sale, and remained posted 
at the Khoord-Cabul, should return. JLijor 
Griffiths conducted his regiment safely, but 
had to fight his way against very superior 
numbers during the wliole march, i^ady 
Sale, who witnessed their arrival, and who 
liad a more masculine intellect and military 
mind than the chief officers of the British 
force, described the progress of the gallant 
Griffiths and his men as if it had been a mere 
parade movement. The arrival of this bat- 
talion on the ;)rd, did not lead to any in- 
creased activity, or more decided policy on 
the part of the English general. Some of 
the officers made desultory efforts on their 
own accoimt, to dislodge the rebels from 
various posts which it was dangerous to allow 
them to occupy, but the general seemed as 
incapable of laying down any plan for the 
action of others* as he was of going about or 
doing anything himself; the rebels, therefore, 
continued the offensive, and strengthened 
themselves in every way, and in all directions. 
Several important "positions were lost by Eng- 
lish officers for want of ammunition, for which 
their applications to their superiors were made 
in vain.* Various chiefs, faithful to the cause 
of Shah Sujah, offered assistance to the Bri- 
tish officers, but were so discouraged by the 
haughty contumely with which they were 
treated, that they 'shrunk back into neutra- 
lity, or were compelled for their own safety 
to" join the enemy. A small fort used by 
Brigadier Auquetil, a French officer in the 
shah's service, and where also some of his 
majesty's commissariat stores were placed, 
was defended by some Affghans in the shah's 
service, who were commanded by Cai)tain 
M'Kenzie, an officer of courage and great 
presence of mind. That gallant man de- 
fended the post until he had not a single 
cartridge left. His solicitations for ammu- 
"• Ladii Side's Journal. 

da 



390 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXII. 



nition to British cantonments and to the 
Balla-Hissar were in vain ; he therefore eva- 
cuated the place in the night, and endeavoured 
to join head-quarters. His adventures were 
romantic, and his escape from the dangers hy 
which ho was surrounded wonderful. His 
own account of that terrible march is graphic 
and exceedingly interesting : — " Before we 
had proceeded half a mile, the rear missed 
the advance, upon whom a post of the enemy 
had begun to fire. All my regulars had crept 
ahead with the Juzailchees, and I found my- 
self alone with a chuprasse and two sowars, 
in the midst of a helpless and wailing crowd of 
women and children. Riding on by myself, 
along a narrow lane, to try and pick out the 
road, 1 found myself suddenly surrounded by 
a party of Affghans, whom at first I took to 
be our Juzailchees, and spoke to them as such. 
They quickly undeceived me, however, by 
crying out, ' Feringhee hust,' ' here is a Euro- 
pean ;' and attacking us with swords and 
knives. Spurring my horse violently, I 
wheeled round, cutting from right to left, for 
I fortunately had my own sword drawn pre- 
vious to the surjirise. My blows, by God's 
mercy, parried the greater part of theirs, and 
I was lucky enough to cut off the hand of my 
most outrageous assailant. In short, after a 
desperate struggle, during which I received 
two slight sabre cuts, and a blow on the back 
of my liead, from a fellow whose sword turned 
in his hand, which knocked me half off.my 
horse, I escaped out of the crush, passing 
unhurt through two volleys of musketry from 
the whole picket, which by that time had 
become alarmed, and had turned out. They 
pursued me, but I soon distanced them, cross- 
ing several fields at speed, and gaining a road 
which I perceived led round the western end 
of the shah's garden. Proceeding cautiously 
along, to my horror I perceived my path 
again blocked up by a dense body of Affghans. 
Retreat was impossible ; so, putting my trust 
in God, I charged into the midst of them, 
hoping that the weight of my horse would 
clear my way for me, and reserving my sword 
cuts for my last struggle. It was well that 
I did so ; for, by the time that I had knocked 
over some twenty fellows, I found that they 
were my own Juzailchees. If you ever expe- 
rienced sudden relief from a hideous night- 
mare, you may imagine my feelings for the 
moment. With these worthies, after wander- 
ing about for some time, and passing unchal- 
lenged by a sleepy post of the enemy, I 
reached the cantonments." 

The next day apathy and neglect pervaded 
Ihc English head-quarters, as on the pre- 
ceding days. The British commissary held 
his stores in a small fort, which, if taken, the 



stores from which the troops were fed would 
fall into the hands of the enemy, and the 
English must either surrender, or starve. 
This important position, upon the occupation , 
of which so much depended, was guarded by 
one officer, an ensign, and a few sepoys of the 
5th Bengal native infantry. During the 4th 
of November, Mr. Warren, upon whom the 
maintenance of the post devolved, sent word 
that he was pressed by a very superior Aff- 
ghan force, and unless he obtained speedy 
assistance he must abandon the defence. In- 
stead of sending a body of troops to assist 
him in retaining a place of such vital import- 
ance, a very small detachment was sent to 
aid him in evacuating it. The detachment 
sent for this purpose was too small to fight its 
way to Ensign Warren, and had to retreat 
with the loss of a considerable portion of the 
men ; yet, notwithstanding this failure, another 
small force was dispatched on the same errand, 
and, of course, with the same result. 

Captain Boyd, the English commissary- 
general, and Captain Johnson, commissary- 
general to the shah, made representations to 
General Elphinstone of the folly and ruin 
of surrendering such an important place to 
the rebels, containing as it did stores of rice, 
rum, medicine, under-clothing, &c., amounting 
in value to four lacs of rupees ; whereas, the 
cantonments did not contain food for three 
days, and none could be procured elsewhere. 
Ensign Warren was then ordered to hold the 
post. The officer replied in sensible and 
earnest language to the effect that the insur- 
gents were mining the walls, and that his 
men had become disheartened, and some had 
deserted. He was again ordered to hold the 
post, and informed that at two o'clock in the 
morning he would be reinforced. The com- 
mander-in-chief occupied his time in prohx 
councils of war, and no relief was sent to 
Ensign Warren. While General Elphinstone 
and his chief officers were debating. Ensign 
Warren and the remains of his detachment 
entered the cantonments. The enemy had 
set fire to the gate of the fort, as well as 
shattered a portion of the wall with gunpow- 
der. Warren, no longer able to defend the 
place, and his soldiers no longer willing to do 
so, escaped with difficulty. Lieutenant Eyre 
in his work on Militarij Operations in Cahnl, 
describes the effect which the capture of the 
commissariat fort produced upon the troops : 
" It no sooner became generally known that 
the commissariat fort, upon which wc were 
dependent for supplies, had been abandoned, 
than one universal feeling of indignation per- 
vaded the garrison ; nor can I describe the 
impatience of the troops, but especially the 
native portion, to be led out for its recapture 



Chap. CXII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



691 



— a feeling that was by no means diminished 
by their seeing the Aifghans crossing and re- 
crossiug tlic road between the commissariat 
fort and the gate of the Shah Bagh, laden 
with the provisions on which had depended 
our ability to make a protracted defence." 

General Elphinstone was so goaded by the 
loudly expressed indignation of the officers 
of inferior rank and the common soldiers, that 
he was obliged to venture upou some act of 
apparent decision. He ordered an attempt 
to be made to capture the fort of Mohammed 
Shureef, by which the commissariat fort was 
commanded. Two guns under Lieutenant 
Eyre were ordered to open a fire upon the 
forts, to cover an assault by Major Swayne, 
who was to blow open the gate with powder. 
The guns maintained their cannonade until 
their ammunition was nearly gone, but Swayne 
made no attempt to lead his infantry to the 
attack. Whether he would have ventured to 
do his duty ultimately it is difficvdt to say, 
for General Elphinstone recalled the party. 
This was attended by another burst of indig- 
nation on the part of the troops ; even the 
sepoys could not restrain the expression of 
their scorn, and demanded to be allowed to 
storm the fort. The 37th Bengal regiment — 
which had behaved so well as a battalion 
under Major Griffiths, and when brigaded 
under General Sale — called out loudly for 
permission to take the place. The cause of 
this shameful failure it is difficult to deter- 
mine, as testimonies disagree. Lieutenant 
Eyre attributes it to Major Swayne ; Lady 
Sale throws all the blame on General Elphin- 
stone. The following passages convey the 
language expressed by both authorities. Major 
Eyre thus wrote : — " Major Swayne, instead 
of rushing forward with his men, as had been 
agreed, had in the meantime remained sta- 
tionary, under cover of the wall by the road 
side. The general, who was watching our 
proceedings from the gateway, observing 
that the gun-ammunition was running short, 
and that the troops had failed to take advan- 
tage cf the best opportunity for advancing, 
recalled us into cantonments." Lady Sale 
says : — " The troops retired by order of Gene- 
ral Elphinstone, to my no small surprise, for 
the enemy had begun to run out from a broken 
bastion ; but when they found our people re- 
treating, they took courage, and no more left 
the fort." 

General Elphinstone, who seemed to have 
no mind of his own, was again moved by the 
murmurs of the troops, and ordered a renewed 
attempt to take the fort, to be made on the 
next day. Edward Thornton thus describes 
it : — " At an early hour three iron 9-pounders 
were brought to bear upon the north-east 



bastion, and two howitzers upon the con- 
tiguous curtain. The firing was maintained 
for about two hours, during which the artil- 
lerymen were exposed to the fire of the 
enemy's sharp-shooters stationed on a couple 
of high towers which completely commanded 
the battery. A practicable breach being 
effected, a storming party, consisting of three 
companies, one of her majesty's 44:th, one of 
the 5th native infantry, and one of the 37th 
native infantry, marched forward and speedily 
carried the place. The death-throe of this 
redoubtable fort was far less violent than 
might have been expected from the degree 
of tenacity attributed to it. About one hun- 
dred and fifty men succeeded in planting the 
British flag upon it ; but it is to be lamented 
that the gallant officer, Ensign Raban, of the 
queen's 44th, who first waved it on the sum- 
mit of the breach, was shot through the heart 
while in the act of thus displaying the signal 
of his country's triumph." The British cavalry 
pursued the fugitives, and would probably 
have cut off the whole had not the enemy's 
horse have made a demonstration in such 
numbers as compelled the British to draw off. 

The commissary fort was still in the hands 
of the enemy, and so considerable a portion 
of the stores remained in it that its recap- 
ture might have saved the army. But the ge- 
neral would neither order this to be done nor 
allow others to do it. Lady Sale thus narrates 
one instance of the general's delinquency in this 
respect : — " Paton [assistant quartermaster - 
general] and Bellew [deputy assistant quar- 
termaster-general] meet in council with Sturt 
[her son-in-law, and chief officer of engi- 
neers], at nine, most evenings, at our house. 
To-day [Gth November] arrangements were 
made for carrying the shah's garden and the 
commissariat fort by daybreak, everything 
being so clearly explained, that even I under- 
stood it as well as hemming the handkerchief 

I was making Plans were sketched, 

and all the minutise written out, so that the 
general might have no questions to ask. It 
is now midnight, and no reply has been sent 
from him, though an answer was to have 
come to say whether the work should be 
done or not." From subsequent passages in 
the Journal, it seems that the general hesitated 
■ — then approved the plan — then abandoned it. 

It is probable that but for the interference 
of the chief civil officer, Sir W. Mac Naghten, 
General Elphinstone's army would have 
been destroyed without the general permitting 
any proper disposition of defence to be made. 
At Sir William's suggestion, Brigadier Shel- 
ton, a very brave but dull officer, who had 
lost an arm at Waterloo, where he had dis- 
tinguished himself by courage, was ordered 



502 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



[Chap. CXII. 



to remove from Balla-Hissar to tlie canton- 
ments to assist the general-in-chiel', whose 
jncajiaeity, physical and mental, had now ar- 
rived at such a intch as to require some 
more vigorous soldier in immediate consulta- 
tion witli him to save ^the army from speedy 
vnin. Shcltou was vigorous and gallant 
enough for this task, but had not the mind of 
a general any more than his chief. Even 
when Shelton took a prominent share of re- 
sponsibility. Sir W. ]\racNaghten, only by un- 
dertaking to be held responsible, could induce 
an attack upon a fort so near to tlie Balla- 
Hissar as to enable its garrison to fire mus- 
ketry among the British troops. This fort, 
which was called the liika Bashee, was in 
consequence ordered to be stormed. The 
assailants consisted of the 44th royal regiment, 
the ;^)7th native regiment of Bengal, and about 
an equal number of Affghans in the shah's 
service. • A troop of horse artillery, and a 
gun of " the mountain train," were attached 
to this force. Cajitain Bellew, who behaved 
with great gallantry, laid powder to the gate. 
The explosion missed the main gate, and 
blew open a wicket, through which only two 
or three soldiers could pass at a time, by 
stooping, or almost creeping. A few men 
instantly rushed in, chiefly officers, very few 
of the soldiery showing any disposition to 
enter. Colonel IMackerall, and Lieutenant 
Cadett of the 44th, ]jieutenant Hawtrey of 
the !^)7th Bengal regiment, and Lieutenant 
Burd of the shah's force, with dauntless in- 
trepidity entered together, sword in hand, 
clearing the enemy from the way. The gar- 
rison, supposing that the large gate was blown 
in, and that the whole British force were 
entering, fled in dismay through a gate at 
the opposite side. xVt that instant, however, 
the enemy's cavalry, ahvays more gallant than 
the infantry, charged round the angle of the 
fort, and began to sabre the shah's infantry, 
who fled without resistance. The British in- 
fantry behaved with nearly as little sjjirit, 
]']nglisli and sejioys fleeing together. Indeed, 
the sepoj's of tiie 37tli showed a disposition 
to form and resist, but the ])auic of the 44th 
was unmitigated. ^Major Scott made efforts 
to rally them, but iu vain. He then called 
npon volunteers to follow him; one man only 
had the courage or confidence, whichever was 
the virtue required. His name was Steward. 
He would have been unnoticed and unre- 
warded by his stoical superiors had not SirM'. 
Mac Naghten interested himself in him, and 
procured his jiromotion to the rank of sergeant. 
The heroic courage of Brigadier SheUon 
alone retrieved the disgrace, and saved the 
brave men who had entered the fort. The 
brigadier rallied some of the troops, who, after 



renewed displays of cowardice, or want of 
confidence in their officers (it is difficult to 
which influence to attribute their hesitation), 
at last entered the fort, and secured its con- 
quest. In the meantime, the oiKcers and their 
few followers who had entered the wicket 
gate when it was blown open, had been ex- 
posed to a fearful conflict. They shut the 
gate out of which the garrison had fled, drew 
a chain across it, and fastened it with a bayo- 
net. Two of their number. Lieutenants Cadett 
and Hawtrey, returned to bring up assi.^^t- 
ance. Before the runaway soldiers were 
rallied by Shelton, the Aflghans returned 
(having heard of the flight of the English), 
and forced away the chain and the bayonet. 
Mackerall fell, bravely fighting to the last. 
Ijieutenant Burd and two sepoys found shelter 
in a stable, barred the gate, and fired from the 
apertures w-hich admitted air. Against this 
frail post the Affghans directed their whole 
fury : young Burd and his two followers 
flinched not, and ke])t the enemy at bay until 
assistance arrived. When that at last came, 
one of the faithful sepoys was slain, and thirty 
dead Aft'ghans lay around and in the entrance 
of the shattered door of the stable. lOdward 
Thornton says, "when the fort was gained, the 
gallant pair were found by their companions 
unharmed. The rescue, indeed, was at the 
last moment, for the ammunition of the be- 
sieged combatants was I'educed to a stock of 
five cartridges." 

The J'^nglish had two hundred killed and 
wounded during these conflicts. Captain 
Jl'Crae was cut down in the first charge 
upon the gateway. Captain Westmeath was 
shot in one of the skirmishes without. The 
efl'ect of the success was that the enemy aban- 
doned the minor adjacent forts. Grain, to a 
considerable extent, was found in one, which 
circumstance cheered the array not a little. 
During the day nuich of it was removed to a 
safer place. A guard was applied for by the 
commissary to protect the remainder through 
the night, but with the infatuation by whicdi 
all the imbecile control of this army was cha- 
racterised, this important request was refused. 
Before morning it was removed by the 
enemy, and another serious deprivation was 
inflicted upon the army. 

On the l;lth of November, the enemy 
appeared in great force upon the heights, antl 
fired into the cantonments. Sir \^'. JIac 
Naghten by taking ujion himself* the respon- 
sibility, succeeded in inducing the general to 
send out a force to disjicrse them. The 
British soldiery, both European and native, 
showed a want of courage so unusual with 
British troops, as to excite the astonishment 
* Thornton, vol. vi. ]>. 20. 



Chap. CXIL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



693 



of their officers. The fact was, the men did 
not doubt the courage of tlieir officers, which 
far surpassed their own, but they had lost all 
reliance upon the military capacity of the 
commander-in-cliief, and of his principal offi- 
cers ; they were therefore unwilling to incur 
peril when life might he tlirown away in a 
useless enterprise. The British, however, 
gained their object, and captured one of the 
enemy's guns. .Vnother was protected by a 
heavy fire from the Afighan matchlocks, and 
the men of the 4:4th regiment could not be 
stimulated by the words or example of their 
officers to charge and capture it. This was 
the second time that regiment, which had so 
highly distinguished itself at Waterloo, had 
shown a want of British spirit at Cabul, indepen- 
dent of some minor instances in which it was 
deficient in alacrity and military ardour. As 
the soldiers of the 44th could not be prevailed 
upon to incur the danger of the enemy's fire 
to carry the gun away, Ijieutenant Eyre and 
a horse artillery gunner descended into the 
ravine where the gun lay abandoned, and 
spiked it. The bad example set by the 44th 
infected the whole of the native infantry. The 
attack made at the instigation of Sir W. 
j\[ac Naghten, had a salutary effect upon the 
Affghans, who for nearly a week offered the 
British little molestation. The ]Miglish gene- 
ral being quite content to be let alone, left 
his enemies to adopt their own course. 

On the li2nd November a contest occurred 
in the village of Behmauroo. That place 
had afforded the English some supplies, who, 
utterly thriftless and incapable, left it unpro- 
tected. The Aflghans, to cut off the resources 
derived thence, occupied the village without 
hindrance. When the mischief M'as effected, 
the English general began to think of the 
inconvenience attending it, and ordered Jlajor 
Swayne, of the 5th native infantry, with a 
small force of cavalry and infantry, and a 
single f/un, to dispossess them. Another gun 
was sent afterwards. The orders were to 
storm the village. Jlajor Swayne, however, 
behaved on this occasion precisely as he had 
done when ordered to storm the commissariat 
fort. He stood for hours firing at too great 
a distance to do any harm, the infantry 
being under cover with the major, the cavalry 
and artillery being exposed to the long-range 
matchlocks of the enemy. The artillery, of 
course, replied as efHoiently as their jjosition 
allowed ; the cavalry were useless. In the 
evening. Brigadier Shelton joined the assail- 
ants, if such they might be called, and looked 
on while, as Lady Hale described, they did 
nothing. As the party retired at the close 
of this ignominious day, Jhigadier Sholton 
had the folly to infp\irc of Lady Sale if she 



did not approve of the way in which the 
troops conducted themselves. This brave 
woman, accustomed to witness the heroic 
deeds of her illustrious husband, and the 
military genius which distinguished him, an- 
swered with indignant censure, pointing out 
the absurdities, in a military point of view, of 
the way in which the undertaking had been 
conducted and had failed. But not evon the 
rebukes, remonstrances, or scorn of a sensible 
and resolute lady could inspire the English 
generals with wisdom, or goad them into a 
spirited conduct of the war. Shelton had as 
gallant a heart as ever beat in British bosom, 
but he had not mind. He was a good, kind, 
just, honest man, true to his country and his 
duty, but ho had no capacity for the respon- 
sibility devolved upon hira ; and the system 
of the British array did not provide that men 
should be at hand, as they always might be 
with any considerable body of British troops, 
equal to emergencies such as are common to 
armies. 

The next day Brigadier Shelton went out 
with about one thousand infantry of the 44th 
regiment, and the two native regiments, a 
company of sappers, a squadron of regular 
light cavahy, another of irregular, and one 
hundred men of Anderson's horse. With 
this force also there was a single gun. This 
error Lady Sale commented upon sevei-ely 
and justly at the time. A second gun might 
easily have been sent, so that a regular and 
nnintermittent fire could have been preserved. 
The gun was brought to a knoll, which was 
supposed to command the enemy's princijial 
bivouac. The enemy became Confused, seek- 
ing places of shelter, and giving a desultory 
fire from their "juzails." Shelton was urged 
by the more intelligent of his officers to storm 
the ])lace while the enemy was in confusion, 
as the night was dark. This ho neglected 
to do ; for, although personally fearless of 
danger, he was too kind willingly to expose 
his soldiers, of whom he was fond, to any 
jierils that did not promise to bear important 
fruit; and, unfortunately, his judgment was 
seldom clear in that respect. When morning 
dawned and gave the enemy light to pene- 
trate the objects and jilans of the assailants, 
and fight or tly as their interests might jioint 
out, Shelton resolved upon a storm: selecting 
an officer who had already repeatedly proved 
himself incompetent, the general filled up the 
measure of his infatuation. Major Swayne 
was ordered to storm the principal gate. He 
could not find it — it toas loide open. He in- 
stead came upon a small wicket, which was 
barricaded ; he did not try to force it, but 
jjlaced his men undercover, where they quietly 
remained out of harm's way, and doing no 



694 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXII. 



harm to their enemies, until they were called 
off. Lieutenant Eyre believes that Major 
Swayne was obliged to put his men under 
cover, being unable to force the gate. It 
was forced, however, but not by him. Lady 
Sale says a way was made througli the space 
it closed, "by a few men pulling it down 
with their hands, and kicking at it." The 
place was taken, not because British skill or 
valour accomplished it, but because the gar- 
rison, overrating the energy and ability of 
their foes, chose to evacuate it and take 
ground on an opposite hill to that occupied 
by the British, and separated from it only by 
a gorge. Perceiving the vacillation of the 
English, the Affghans returned to the village 
and re-occupied it with much judgment, and 
in considerable force. The brigadier pro- 
ceeded to dislodge the enemy, who remained 
in position on tlie opposite height. What- 
ever may be conceived as improbable for a 
general to do under such circumstances, Bri- 
gadier Shelton performed. He brought for- 
ward skirmishers to the brow of the hill, two 
squares were formed by his infantry, sup- 
ported by his cavalry, the whole force being 
obnoxious to the fire of the Affghans, who 
were covered by crags and mounds of stones 
artificially raised. The conduct of the British 
troops was dastardly in the extreme. The 
men had not the smallest confidence in Gene- 
ral Shelton's dispositions, and could not be 
brought to hope for any success iinder either 
his command, or that of General Elphinstone. 
The British skirmishers could only be kept to 
their duty by the dauntless exposure of the 
officers, and their encouragements, remon- 
strances, and even taunts. They could no 
more be induced to advance against the 
enemy than in the Crimean war tlie soldiers 
of General Windham could be brought to 
follow him in the Redan, and for the same 
reason, want of confidence in their leaders. 
In the case taken for illustration, however, 
the men fought heroically, so far as depended 
upon their individual action, but Brigadier 
Shelton's troops showed a craven spirit in 
every form. The skirmishers fell back upon 
the main body, and the Affghan skirmishers 
advanced; as soon as they approached the 
squares, the latter gave way. The officers 
did everything that men could do to rally 
them, offering immense pecuniary rewards to 
capture the enemy's flag, which met with no 
response. The despicable cowardice of the 
44th regiment was the main cause of all this 
disgrace ; for the sepoy regiments had re- 
peatedly proved themselves brave and well 
disciplined, but sepoys seldom fight well if 
they see want of courage in the European 
soldiers, to whom they look for courage in the 



field. Many of the British officers advanced 
and threw stones at the Affghans, the base 
men of the 44th looking on without being 
moved by the heroic example. Captains 
Mackintosh and Mackenzie, Lieutenants 
Troup, Leightou, and Laing, were among 
the foremost in thus acting. Mackintosh and 
Laing fell. The enemy rushed to seize the 
only gun which the English had with them. 
The cavalry were ordered to charge to pre- 
vent such a result : they refused to obey. 
Captains Bolt and Collier, and Lieutenant 
Wallace, charged the enemy, followed by a 
number of native officers ; the remaining offi- 
cers, European and native, made every pos- 
sible exertion to induce the men to charge, but 
they would not. The cavalry were all natives. 
Had there been another infantry regiment of 
Europeans, and a single squadron of European 
cavalry, the disgrace and ruin entailed by the 
cowardice of the 44th regiment might have 
been retrieved. The cavalry looked on, while 
the artillerymen, fighting with dauntless 
courage — alone brave amidst a demoralized 
army — struggled to retain the gun : all were 
cut down, two killed. The first square of the 
British infantry was running away, the second 
preserved its formation, and the fugitives were 
rallied in its rear, but only after incredible 
labour on the part of their gallant officers. 
This display of order and animation awed the 
enemy, who abandoned the gun. The English 
opened fire, which was maintained at some 
distance, but on the enemy again advancing, 
the infantry ran away. The officers once 
more displayed boundless heroism, but in vain ; 
not even self-preservation could rally these 
cowards, who were cut down by the Affghans 
with great slaughter. The pursuers gave no 
quarter, and mercilessly hacked the wounded. 
Some of the shah's own infantry, Affghans, 
rallied and fired ; at the same moment Lieu- 
tenant Hardyman arrived with a fresh troop 
of horse, who, not partaking of the general 
demoralization, charged with effect. One of 
the Affghan chiefs, whether from this display 
of spirit, or from a treacherous loyalty to the 
shah, halted his men. Colonel Oliver, Cap- 
tain Mackintosh, and Lieutenants Laing and 
Walker were left dead upon the field. 

When Shelton advanced against the height 
occupied by the Affghans, he left on the range 
of knolls which his own troops had occupied, 
three companies of the 37th Bengal native 
infantry, under Major Kershaw. This small 
force covered the retreat with distinguished 
courage, such as had always characterised 
that corps. They fought with such courage, 
and preserved such order, that to them must 
be attributed the safety of those who escaped. 
One of these companies was entirely destroyed, 



Chap. CXII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



69$ 



except a corporal and two men.. These repre- 
sentatives of their company retired, preserving 
their coohiess and discipline to the last. This 
was not the first time in the history of Indian 
wars that the sepoy soldiers showed a forti- 
tude superior to the European. Shelton had 
proved himself utterly incapable of any com- 
mand whatever. He had the folly and stu- 
pidity afte^'wards to boast of the conduct of his 
regiment, the iith, and blame the sepoys for 
the loss of the battle, although the Europeans 
set an example of cowardice, and would, pro- 
bably, have been all cut off had not their 
flight been covered by the reserve companies 
of the 37th Bengal native infantry. 

The military leaders urged Sir W. Mac 
Naghten to negotiate for a retreat, the safety 
of which might bo guaranteed. It was ob- 
vious that the soldiers would not fight imder 
the leadership of such men, and so Mac Nagh- 
ten, sorely against his own disposition, yielded 
to their importunities. It was, after much 
diplomatic trick, arranged that Shah Sujah 
should descend from his throne, and the 
English abandon Affghanistan. The shah, 
after much prevarication, refused to abandon 
the musnid, gathered his partizans around 
him, defended his position, and showed far 
more spirit than his protectors. The English, 
no longer able to dictate terms to the shah, 
were compelled to make terms for themselves. 
The soldiers were starving, and were very 
anxious to see the war concluded in any way. 
It was finally agreed that the English should 
give up Affghanistan, and retire under the 
protection of the chiefs, ■\\ho were to provide 
them with beasts of burden and food. The 
animals were never provided, and what little 
food the English did procure was purchased 
at a most extravagant price. It was at last 
demanded that the English should surrender 
their guns and artillery ammunition. Some 
demur was made to this, but it was substan- 
tially conceded. Meanwhile the attacks of 
the Affghans upon the garrison of Cabul con- 
tinued. Mohammed Shureefs fort was the 
chief point of contest. The Affghans tried to 
blow open the gate with powder, as the 
English had done, but not understanding the 
process, the explosion only did harm to them- 
selves. They then laid a mine, but Lieu- 
tenant Sturt, the engineer, the heroic son-in- 
law of Sir Robert Sale, entered the mine in 
the night, and destroyed it. The cowardice of 
the 4:4th regiment, however, betrayed the fort 
to the enemy. The garrison consisted of one 
company of that regiment, and one company 
of the gallant 37th. Lieutenant Gray, who 
commanded the company of the 44:th, was 
wounded, and while getting his wound dressed, 
the whole of his men ran away, climbing 



the walls of the fort to escape, not having had 
a man killed in the defence. The company of 
the 37th, which had behaved well, and lost two 
men, was anxious to defend the place, but 
being abandoned by their European fellow 
soldiers, they also fled, and the Affghans, un- 
opposed, walked into the fort. Sturt had been 
carried about in a litter, suffering from his 
wounds : yet he was the life and soul of the 
garrison, directing everything and animating 
all. Sir Robert Sale and his noble-hearted 
wife might well be proud of such a son-in-law. 
A company of the 44:tli had garrisoned the 
bazaar, who endeavoured to run away, after 
the example of their comrades in the fort, but 
their officers by desperate exertions prevented 
them. A guard of sepoys had to be placed at 
the entrance to prevent the Europeans from 
deserting. Lieutenant Eyre says that this 
regiment " had been for a long time previous 
to these occurrences in a state of woeful de- 
terioration." The fact is, the regiment was 
composed of men who had no sympathy with 
British chivalry, and cared nothing for defeat 
to England, or dishonour to the British name. 
At last discipline began to fail in cantonments 
as in the field, and here also the 44th set the' 
example. 

The winter began now to set in severely, 
and the English became urgent for the perform- 
ance of those stipulations which the Affghan 
chiefs had made with Sir W. Mac Naghten. 
The troops quartered in the Balla-Hissar, left it 
for the cantonments, preparatory to the retire- 
ment of the whole body from Cabul. Akbar 
Khan, at this juncture, made a proposal that 
the English should occupy the cantonments 
and the Balla-Hissar a few months longer, 
that Shah Sujah should be confirmed on 
the throne, that Akbar Khan should be his 
vizier, and that the English should pay a 
large sum of money for the arrangement. 
Akbar also offered to decapitate Araeen 
Oolah Khan, the most sturdy opponent of the 
English, if they would pay for it. Sir William 
replied that England paid no blood money. 
Whether this offended Akbar, or that the 
whole scheme was a pretence to detain the 
English until the passes were so obstructed by 
the winter, that the troops might be more easily 
sacrificed, it is difficult to determine. 

Sir William accepted all the other propo- 
sitions : an interview was proposed by Akbar 
and acceded to by Sir William. At the ap- 
pointed time, Sir William proceeded to the 
rendezvous accompanied byCaptainsLawrence, 
Trevor, and Mackenzie. He requested Gene- 
ral Elphinstone to have two guns ready for 
secret service, to keep the garrison on the alert, 
and have the walls strongly manned. He 
suspected treachery. His wishes were bo 



C9G 



IirSTOIlY OF THE BTilTLSH EMPIRK 



[Chap. CXJJ. 



imperfectly attended to, as to draw from him 
severest reiu'oaclies upon the military autho- 
rities ; whom, indeed, no disasters could warn 
and no experience teach. The general liad 
even the incredible folly to write a letter to 
tlie envoy, remonstrating against this demand 
for employing his troops in such a manner. 
Neither Elphinstone nor Shelton wore capable 
of transacting any business of importance, or 
of comprehending military measures which 
required thought, foresight, or comljination. 
The spot selected for the interview was nearl_v 
screened from view from the cantonments by a 
range of knolls. Sir 'William left the small 
escort allowed him by the military chiefs at 
some distance ; he, and the three officers who 
had accompanied him, advanced to the ap- 
pointed place. Akbar Khan arrived soon 
after, attended by several other chiefs, among 
them the brother of the man whom he had 
]iroi)osed to decapitate. A carpet was spread 
and the conference was opened. Soon after, a 
number of armed men drew near, and formed 
a circle at some distance. Captain Lawrence 
remarked, that as the conference ^^■a8 secret, 
these men should be ordered away. Akbar 
replied that it was of no consequence, as all 
were iu tlio secret. He then cried aloud, 
" Seize ! " and the envo_v and his three com- 
panions were disarmcKl and pinioned, and 
borne away prisoners. Sir William had just 
before presented Akbar with a jiair of ]nstols ; 
with one of these he shot the envoy, with the 
other Captain 'I'revor. The otlier two were 
spared, and the mangled remains of their 
companions and seniors were paraded before 
them. The hands of Sir 'William !^lac Xaghten 
were cut off, carried about, and thrown in at 
the window where the surviving officers were 
imprisoned. As soon as the officers were 
seized, the escort ran away, excepting one 
man, who was almost cut to ])ie,ces by Akbar's 
adherents. Sir William had ordered the 
body-guard to follow him ; they did so for 
some distance, but fled at the commencement 
of danger. Sir William has been blamed for 
trusting to Akbar, but he had no other course 
open to him. Jle had no confidence iu the 
generals, who were little better than fools. 
ile had no confidence in the soldiers, for, 
although ,the sepoys were disposed to stand 
firm, the 41th, the only JOuropean regiment, 
^Yere cowards, or at all events indisposed to 
fight when only British honour was concerned, 
without any prospective advantage to them- 
selves. 

When tidings of this terrible treachery 
arrived at the cantonments, no call of honour 
was made upon the army, no generous effort 
of devotion made to rescue the living, or save 
the slain from insult; nothing chivalrous. 



brave, wise, oj noble was attempted ; the 
stolid generals listened and wondered. While 
they were pondering over the events of dis- 
aster and humiliation of which they were 
themselves the occasion, Akbar Khan sent in 
a ne^v treaty, or, rather that which had already 
been agreed to, with three new articles : — 
1st. That the ]Jritish officers should leave all 
their guns behind, except six.* 2nd. That 
they should give up all their treasure, /ird. 
That the hostages alroatly held l)y the 
Affgiians should be exchanged for married 
men with their wives and children. The 
council met to consider these propositions. 
IMajor Eldred Pottinger (who, as Lieutenant 
E. Pottinger, had so gallantly defended 
Herat) acted as political agent. He urged 
the council to refuse such disgraceful terms, 
to hold their ground, and act with spirit, or 
to attempt a retreat to Jellalabad. The 
council determined to accept Akbar's terms, 
in spite of !Major Pottinger's warnings that 
he only intended to betray them. Bribes 
^^■ere offered by the council to married officers 
to entrust themselves and their wives and 
their families in the hands of the .\ffghans. 
Some were found to acquiesce, but only some. 
This part, therefore, of Akbar's demand could 
not be complied with 1 The council consisted 
of General Elphinstone, Brigadier-general 
Shelton, ]!rigadier Anquetil, Colonel Cham- 
bers, Captain Bellew, and Cajitain Ctrant. 
General Elphinstone wrote to Akbar that it 
was contrary to the honour of his country to 
surrender ladies as hostages. Akbar obtain- 
ing the bills for fourteen lacs, and the con- 
cession of all his other demands, accepted 
married hostages, without their families. 
Captains Lawrence, Jlackenzie, and Skinner, 
were therefore sent into the cantonments. 
Captains Drummond, Walsh, ^^'arburton, 
Webb, Connolly, and Airey, were to remain 
as married hostages. Akbar undertook to 
take charge of the sick and wounded that 
might be left in C'abul after the English 
troops should depart. On the 0th of January 
the British set out upon their march. 

Before giving an account of this march, it 
is necessary to refer to the events which were 
taking jilace in other parts of Aftghanistan, 
while Immiliation exhausted itself upon the 
army at Cabul. 

The revolt against Shah Sujah appeared 
simultaneously in every part of his unexpect- 
edly acquired dominions. In the middle of 
November, 1811, Major Pottinger, political 
agent in Kohistan, accompanied by Lieu- 
tenant Houghton, adjutant of the (Joorkha 

* A previous proposal to abandon all their cannon and 
artillery aninmnitiou had at first been coneeded, but 
ultiniBtcly was not agreed upon. 



Chap. CXIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



597 



regiment in tlie shah's service, attended by a 
single soldier of his corps, entered Cabal, 
having been obliged to abandon his post, and 
make his way through incredible difficulties, 
hardships, and dangers to head -quarters. 
Lieutenant Rattray, Major Pottinger's assist- 
ant, had been murdered. In defending Cha- 
reker, the major was wounded, and the chief 
military officer, Cajitaiu Codrington, killed. 
During the defence, so scarce was water that 
t\>i- a considerable time only half a wine glass 
was allowed to each man, and at last even 
tliat could not be dispensed. The native 
troops began to desert from the garrison, and 
finally mutinied. The Affghans, assisted by 
the Mohammedans in the pay of the British, 
attempted to murder Lieutenant Houghtou. 
Finally, Pottinger and Houghton retreated, 
leading out the dispirited garrison, who one 
by one dropped away by desertion or death, 
until only the soldier who entered Cabul with 
them remained. 

There was a remarkable sameness exhibited 
in the retreats accomplished or attempted by 
the English in remote garrisons or outposts. 
Nearly all those places were imperfectly gar- 
risoned, a fault common to the English in 
India. Captain White, in his political paper 
on the cause of another war — ^that with Bir- 
mah — made this pertinent remark : — "A very 
injudicious practice prevailed in India of post- 
ing small detachments to impede the move- 
ments of formidable armies, so far in advance 
from the head-quarters of the division as to 
preclude the possibility of their receiving 
timely reinforcement if attacked ; a practice 
that from the train of evil consequences it has 
produced, loudly calls for the intervention of 
authority, as heedlessly and unnecessarily ex- 
posing the lives of the troops, and injurious to 
tlie interest of the service, by cutting up their 
forces in detail, damping the spirit of their 
men, and encouraging an enemy to advance 
from the prosjiect of an easy triumph." The 
habit of establishing weak, unconnected, and 



unsupported outposts and garrisons, was ex- 
enijjlified by many instances from the war 
with Nepaul, by the same officer. 

Dr. Grant fell a victim on the retreat of 
Major Pottinger from Kohistan. Lieutenants 
Maule and Whelan tried to maintain them- 
selves in a fort, but were deserted by the 
sepoys and Affghans in the shah's service, 
and then barbarously murdered. Captain 
Woodburn proceeded with a detachment from 
Ghizni, hoping to reach Cabul. He was sur- 
prised, and the whole detachment cut off. It 
appears as if the very imminency of the dan- 
ger, instead of inciting to vigilance, pre- 
vented it. When Sir Eobert Sale made good 
his march from Cabul to Jellalabad, he left 
a considerable force at Gundamuck. The 
majority of the men deserted to the enemy, 
the remainder refused to hold the place, but 
consented to retire upon Jellalabad, whither 
their commander. Captain Burnes, succeeded 
in conducting them. He lost all his baggage 
and two guns, which the sepoys refused to 
defend. Another detachmcntof Sale's brigade 
was left at Pesh Boolak, to hold that post as 
long as possible, and when no longer able to 
do so, they were to retreat upon Jellalabad. 
This party consisted of Affghans and Hindoos 
in the shah's service, who refused to hold the 
position. The Hindoos began to desert, but 
the enemy put them to death, which circum- 
stance prevented the desertion of the re- 
mainder. Captain Ferris cut his way through 
the enemy and arrived at Jellalabad, having 
lost all his stores and treasure, to the value of 
thirty-eight thousand rupees. His loss ia 
personal property was also heavy. These 
instances of the dangers and heroism of the 
officers, and the dastardly conduct of the 
shah's forces, and of the natives in the British 
service, are specimens of the general aspect of 
affairs, while yet the Hon. General Elphin- 
stone and his alter ego, Colonel Shelton, were 
conducting affairs at Cabul from one degree 
of shame and disaster to another. 



CHAPTER CXIII. 
RETREAT OF THE BRITISH FROM C.'VBUL.— DESTRUCTION OF THE ARiMV. 



On the 6th of January the army of General 
Elphinstone departed from Cabul. The plains 
were deep in snow, and the magnificent 
mountain range presented to the eye vast 
piles of dazzling white, a scene the most sin- 
gular and striking to Europeans. So pene- 
trating was the cold that no clothing could 

vol.. II. 



resist it. The Asiatics in the British army 
of course suffijred most, more even than the 
women, wives and daughters of officers and 
soldiers, by whom the dispirited troops were 
accompanied. " The crowd," as Lieutenant 
Eyre calls this army, amounted to 4500 
fighting men, 12,000 camp followers, and 

4n 



598 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Ohap. CXIII. 



many women and children. The author just 
quoted enumerates the strictly military portion 
of the retreating body as follows: — "One 
troop of horse artillery, 90; her majesty's 4:4th 
foot, 600 ; = 690 Europeans. 5th regiment 
of light cavalry, two squadrons, 260 ; 5th 
shah's irregular ditto (Anderson's), 500 ; 
Skinner's horse, one ressala, 70; 4th irregular 
ditto, one ditto, 70 ; mission escort, or body- 
guard, 70 ; = 970 cavalry. 5th native in- 
fantry, 700 ; 37th ditto, 600 ; 54th ditto, 650 ; 
6th shah's infantry, 600; sappers and miners, 
20 ; shah's ditto, 240 ; half the mountain- 
train, 30 ; = 2840. Total, 4500. Six horse- 
artillery guns ; three mountain-train ditto." 

At nine o'clock in the morning the advance 
left the cantonments, and until evening the 
throng continued to issue from their gates. 
The Affghans, like all Mohammedan peoples, 
faithless, fired upon the retiring force, killing 
Lieutenant Hardyman of the 5th light cavalry, 
and about fifty troopers, who endeavoured to 
cover the march. As soon as the British 
cleared the cantonments all order was lost; 
the incapaeify of the commanders became more 
conspicuous than ever.. The body they com- 
manded ceased at once to be an army, and the 
whole became one confused mass of fugitives. 
The confusion could hardly be increased when 
uight closed around the weary way of the 
dispirited host. The darkness was lessened 
by the glare from the cantonments and the 
British residency, whence arose a sheet of 
flame ; the fanatics having set fire to the 
buildings. Many of the sepoys and camp fol- 
lowers dropped down dead before the generals 
ordered a halt ; many more perished before 
the morning's dawn. 

The Affghan chiefs had calculated upon such 
results, and therefore delayed the execution 
of the convention which was supposed to ensure 
the British a safe retreat, until winter, so stern 
in those elevated regions, had thoroughly set 
in. When General Elphinstone halted his mise- 
rable followers, he had no plan for their en- 
campment, anddisorder intensified misery. The 
second day's march was more confused than the 
first, although even Generals Elphinstone and 
Shelton must have felt that upon the preser- 
vation of order rested safety. Sir Charles 
Napier's well known words of severe and just 
censure upon the management of British Indian 
armies on the march, were fatally exemplified 
in the manner in which the British general 
conducted his troops. One of the shah's regi- 
ments disappeared in the night, having either 
gone over to the enemy, or returned to Cabul 
in the hope of aiding Shah Sujah. Numerous 
small detachments of Affghans hung upon the 
flanks of the dejected corps. These were 
supposed to be the escort promised by the 



chiefs, who had obtained the bills for fourteen 
lacs of rupees. This delusion was soon dis- 
pelled, for before the second day's disastrous 
march terminated, the rear-guard, almost the 
only semblance of older maintained by the 
generals, was attacked. The British force, 
upon which the duty of guarding the rear de- 
volved, was composed of the 44th regiment, 
the mountain-guns, and a squadron of irre- 
gular horse. The guns were captured in the 
sudden and unexpected onset. The 44th 
regiment was ordered to retake them, but 
showing their usual cowardice, of which they 
betrayed no shame, they refused to advance. 
Lieutenant White, at the head of his bravo 
artillerymen, advanced and spiked the guns 
in defiance of the efforts of the Affghans to 
prevent them. Lady Sale, in her Journal, 
describes this achievement as most herioc- 
ally performed. Lieutenant Eyre has been 
accused of partiality in describing the bravery 
of the European artillerymen in contrast to 
the despicable conduct of the 44th; but Lady 
Sale, the wife of an infantry officer, could 
have no such motive, and her language is still 
stronger than that of the indignant artillery 
officer. The snow now became so heavy that 
the horses could not drag the guns through it, 
so that it was necessary to spike ten more. 

It was discovered that Akbar Khan was with 
the enemy. Communications were opened with 
him, and an appeal made to the honour of that 
traitor and murderer to fulfil his engagement 
to escort the British safely. He replied that 
he had been sent from Cabul for that purpose ; 
that the English, having marched before per- 
mission had been given, had occasioned the 
attack; that Sir Robert Sale had refused to 
deliver up Jellalabad according to the treaty 
between General Elphinstone and the chiefs 
of Cabul; that hostilities must be renewed 
unless that treaty were fulfilled, and six 
hostages surrendered to him to ensure the 
abandonment of Jellalabad by Sir Robert ; 
and finally, that the British must not march 
beyond Tezeen, until Sir Robert Sale marched 
out of Jellalabad. It was agreed that the 
British should halt at Boothank until the fol- 
lowing morning. Day had scarcely dawned 
when, without any attempt to continue the 
negotiation begun the previous evening, a 
fierce onslaught was made upon the rear- 
guard. Whether animated by despair, or that 
some unaccountable fit of bravery came upon 
them, the 44th, led by Slajor Thain, gal- 
lantly repulsed the attack. 

The British entered the Pass of Boothank 
on the third day. This pass is five miles long, 
narrow, and the sides precipitous and very 
elevated. A stream poured through it, which 
fell from its lofty source with such extraor- 



Chai'. CXIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



599 



dinary rapidity that it was not frozen except 
at the edges, and where it had overflowed its 
banks sheets of smooth, clear ice rendered the 
passage of man and beast most difficult. So 
winding was this river, that travellers must 
cross it twenty-eight times in going through 
the pass. At the entrance from Cabul the 
defile was much wider than at any place 
between it and the opposite entrance, where 
the width of the ravine was narrowest. The 
heights were covered with fanatics. It is 
scarcely possible to conceive perils more 
imminent and a situation more afflicting than 
that which fell to the lot of those who had 
had so many opportunities of gaining victory 
and renown at Cabul; and when it was too late 
to obtain those advantages, had opportunities 
of dying nobly the soldier's death upon fields 
of not altogether hopeless combat. Onward 
marched the forlorn multitude. For a time 
the 44th royal regiment and the 54th native 
infantry maintained the duties of rear-guard, 
but when they began to sufifer severely, they 
abandoned military order and ran towards the 
front, forcing their way forward as they could. 
How it was that the enemy did not fall sword 
in hand upon the whole host is scarcely con- 
ceivable ; probably the fitful displays of anima- 
tion on the part of the 44th may have deterred 
such a result. Three thousand of the fugitives 
were slain in the dreadful passage, and the 
survivors emerged from it wounded and woe 
struck. 

Horrible as were these disasters, worse 
awaited the forlorn host. When they reached 
Khoord-Cabul the cold became more intense, 
the country being more elevated; to this 
misery was added a fall of snow, rendering 
progress slower. There were no tents; no wood 
could be gathered to light fires, and the supply 
of food was already nearly exhausted. The 
camp remained that night unassailed. In the 
morning no efforts were made by the generals 
to restore order. Two hours before the time 
fixed for marching, the greater portion of the 
troops and nearly all the camp followers went 
on, setting the general orders at defiance. 
They were induced to halt by information 
that Akbar Khan had promised provisions, 
and requested General Elphinstone to halt, 
that arrangements might be made by the 
chief to draw off the Affghans from the line 
of march, except a force of his own to form 
an escort. The real object was to bring 
up hid men, as they could not march so 
quickly through the hills as the fugitive 
British through the defiles. The whole of 
the British were against ilelay; they did not 
trust Akbar's promises ; they had preferred 
flight to battle, and knew that the only 
remaining chance of safety was in making 



that flight rapid. One more march would 
have brought them to a lower level of 
country, and free them from the snow. Yet 
the generals did halt. To adopt any course 
requiring promptitude or energy, even when 
it afforded the only hope of safety, was im- 
possible to them. While the English halted, 
Akbar proposed that the ladies, children, and 
married officers should be surrendered to his 
pi'otcction, he promising faithfully that they 
should be escorted a day's march behind the 
retreating army. The generals complied with 
this demand, notwithstanding the astonishment 
expressed by the inferior officers. The sur- 
render was made, and two wounded officers 
were added to the number of hostages, for such 
they really became. The provisions which 
he promised to send never came. Famishing 
with cold and hunger, the British again began 
their perilous march, until another night, with 
all its horrors, fell upon the footsore, bleeding, 
and beaten crowd. It was a terrible night, 
numbers dying from exhaustion, cold, hunger, 
and wounds. There had been experience, 
such as might have profited all, of the neces- 
sity of discipline, and the danger of disorder; 
but the soldiery and camp followers were not 
taught the lesson. The next morning saw 
the tumult and disorganization of former days, 
if possible, increased. All were terror struck: 
nearly all the Hindostanee soldiers and camp 
followers were frost-bitten. Akbar Khan's 
success in causing General Elphinstone to 
halt was fatal. This day's march brought 
the crisis. In a narrow gorge, between two 
precipitous hills, the enfeebled fugitives were 
attacked from the heights above with a de- 
structive fire, until the gorge was nearly 
choked with the dying and tlie dead. The 
native infantry were here cither slain, left 
wounded in the pass to be afterwards murdered 
or perish of cold, or throwing away their arms 
and accoutrements they fled, willing to serve 
tlie enemy, or hoping to find a hiding-place. 
When resistance seemed no longer possible, 
the enemy, bounding down the declivities, 
attacked the British, sword in hand ; the 
whole of the baggage was captured, and with 
it the public treasure. Part of the advanced 
guard, or what might more appropriately be 
called the advanced portion of the crowd, 
emerged from the pass, and the officers with 
it succeeded in inducing a halt to cover the 
progress of the remainder. Stragglers reached 
them, some frightfully wounded, the remain- 
der of the main body of the force had been 
cut to pieces. The force now mustered 
seventy men and officers of the 44th, a hun- 
dred and fifty native cavalry, fifty horse ar- 
tillerymen, with one 12-pound howitzer : the 
camp followers still amounted to several hun- 



coo 



■IIISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXIII. 



dreds, exclusive of tlie wouiRled, and disabled 
by frost-bite. Akbar Khan proposed tliat 
the whole force should bo disarmed and plaeod 
nnder his jn-otection. For once General 
]i]lphinstone refused the insidious overtures 
of the murderer of Sir W. Mao Naghteu. The 
jirogress of the force was resumed with some- 
what more of order. Again a narrow pass 
lay in its line of march, and again the heights 
were covered with ^he marksmen of the 
enemy. Brigadier Shelton displayed some 
of his old brave spirit ; he threw out skir- 
mishers, made dispositions which were sen- 
sible, and such a demonstration of decision 
as deterred the Affghans from falling upon 
the British with the sword, and the force 
arrived, after some further casualties, in the 
Tezeen valley. Lieutenant Eyre describes 
these Affghan rifles as " the best marksmen 
in the world :" one can hardly credit such 
an opinion, when such a force as that com- 
manded by General Elphinstone could march 
through a series of passes, of such a nature 
that a single British regiment, luiless formed 
of men like the lith, might have defended 
any of them against the march of fifty 
thousand men. In some places those passes 
were a mere gorge, in others the turns were 
sharp and sudden, so angular that before they 
were attained the towering rock appeared 
right before the advancing army, and on 
these crags the Affghans were perched or 
crouching with more or less cover, their long- 
range firearms pointed to the passage below. 
Were they marksmen of the ability for which 
Lieutenant Eyre gives them credit, not o, man 
of General Elphinstone's army would have 
emerged from the first pass. The opinion 
here given of Lieutenant Eyre's estimate of 
the Affghan sharp-shooters is not unsup- 
ported. One who had abundant opportunity 
of observing them, says of similar attempts 
against the passage of General England's forces 
between Candahar and Ghizni, that they failed 
from deficient aim as well as deficient courage 
of the assailants : — " The enemy made no 
stand, rapidly retreating from hill to hill, and 
keeping so far out of range that with all 
their fire they but slightly wounded two of 
our people." * The same observer thus ex- 
presses himself on another occasion: — "It 
is diiScult to credit all that one hears of 
the superior marksmanship of these people. 
I can imagine that well screened behind a 
rock with a rest for their piece and a fixed 
mark, they may hit at considerable distances ; 
but when compelled to move as in following 
an enemy, or retreating from height to height, 
they appear to do very little execution, with 
ft great expenditure of ammunition." 
* Rev. .T. N. Allen. 



I Had the British maintained order and miii- 
j tars' discipline on the march from C'abul to 
i Tezeen, and had General Elphinstone dis- 
trusted Akbar Khan and shown any tolerable 
skill and spirit, the loss would not Jiave been 
one-third what it was. 

In the valley of Tezeen, Akbar again 
sought to induce the British to delay, or to 
surrender their arms and trust to his pro- 
tection. The general this time refused fill 
parley, and ordered the troops to move upon 
Jugdulluck, twenty-two miles distant. It 
was thought just possible that Sale might 
send or bring some succour thither. The 
wounded, those unable to walk, and the 
remaining gun, were abandoned in the valley, 
and the men went on more hopefully than 
hitherto on their desperate march. At seven 
o'clock in the evening they began to move, 
hoping to reach the proposed destination 
before daj'. It was morning when the ad- 
vance reached Kntterrung, little more than 
half the distance. The camp followers, who 
formed a column between the advance and 
rear-guard, hesitated to go on when the fire 
of the Affghans was at all active, who were 
guided in the discharge of their pieces by the 
noise made by the retreat, as the darkness was 
too dense to admit of deliberate aim. Shelton, 
who brought up the rear-guard, was unable 
to get his men forward from the obstruction 
presented by the swaying to and fro of the 
centre column. The brigadier displayed great 
activity during this night, but all his ex- 
ertions were fruitless as to quickening the 
march of the native " followers." Jugdulluck 
was reached in the evening, and Akbar 
Khan opened his usual negotiations, inducing 
a halt, and at the same time encircling the 
British by the fire of his infantry. Cowardice 
only prevented the Affghans from closing in 
upon their victims. Captain Bygrove, at the 
head of fifteen Europeans, crept up the acclivity 
of a hill which was crowned with ten times 
their number of enemies, who fled with craven 
speed. The issue of the conference was that 
Akbar Khan protested that the hostile attacks 
of the Affghans arose from the violation of the 
convention of Cabul by the British. Sir 
Robert Sale felt it to be his duty to disregard 
that treaty, especially as one of its articles was 
the surrender of Jellalabad. Akbar Khan 
considered that hostilities were justifiable so 
long as the stipulation that the British would 
evacuate Affghanistan remained unfulfilled. 
He now demanded that Brigadier Shelton and 
Captain Johnson should be surrendered as 
hostages for the fulfilment of the treaty of 
Cabul, so far as Jellalabad was concerned. 
General Elphinstone accepted these tenns ! 
The general was also invited to a conference to 



Chap. CXIII.] 



IN INDIxi AND THE EAST 



601 



settle the matter finally. The commander- 
in-chief gave the command, pro tern, to 
Brigadier Auquetil, and attended the pro- 
posed interview with the officers designated 
by Akbar for hostages. They were received 
with courtesy and hospitality, and were ac- 
commodated with tents for the night. The 
next morning conferences-began between the 
British officers and a number of Affghan chiefs ; 
Akbar Khan playing the part of mediator. 
Nothing decided was accomplished, and as 
the da)' advanced General Elphinstone pre- 
pared to return. He, however, soon found 
that his own despicable folly had made him, 
liis second in command, and an intelligent 
and gallant officer, Captain Johnson, prisoners. 
The mode in which he placed himself in the 
power of an enemy whom he knew was likely 
just to act as he did, might give rise to the 
suspicion that ho desired such a result to 
secure his own safety. Such an imputation 
has never been cast upon him, and it is fair to 
presume was never deserved, but the absolute 
absurdity of his conduct on any other sup- 
position might well lead to such a surmise. 

The British looked anxiously for the return 
of their generals, and the tidings of their ne- 
gotiations. Major Thain and Captain Skinner 
rode some distance in the direction of Akbar's 
camp, in their anxiety to observe if any mes- 
senger were on the way ; they were attacked, 
and Captain Skinner wounded mortally. It 
would surprise the reader that these officers 
should expose themselves to be waylaid and 
cut-off, when they saw that the Affghans ob- 
served no truce, — if any occurrence, however 
irrational, in connection with that army could 
create surprise, after its conduct on the morn- 
ing of the first revolt at Cabul. Akbar gained 
fresh delay by these proceedings. Hunger, 
thirst, and cold, and the assassin fire of the 
foe, made an additional number of victims. 
Another day and night were wasted, and at 
last the little force moved on, in the hope 
that it might reach Jellalabad. After a short 
march, which the enemy had not anticipated, 
it was pursued by overwhelming numbers, 
every part of the country sending its tribe to 
participate in the slaughter of the infidels. 
The enemy still kept up a murderous fire, 
fearing, with all their numbers, a close combat 
with the British, or supposing that with less 
loss to themselves they might pick off the 
whole by a distant fire. A night made 
mournful by the expectation that it would 
]irovc their last, gave place to a day des- 
tined to prove the gloomy anticipation well- 
foimded. Twelve officers, with what was 
left of the cavalry, rode on, as their delay 
could have afforded no protection to the 
infantry. There were a few other small parties 



of mounted men. The infantry followed, but 
as they approached Gundamuck the smallness 
of their numbers was exposed by daylight. 
The enemy refused to negotiate ; an appetite 
for the blood of the infidels raged in the 
bigoted Mussulmans. About twenty men and 
a few officei's took up » position on a height. 
The Affghans ranged themselves on an oppo- 
site height, pouring matchlock vollej-s upon 
the crags where the few English were posted. 
These men, determined to sell their lives dearly, 
maintained a steady fire, beneath which most 
of the foremost Affghans fell. Several times 
the enemy ch.arged these few British soldiers 
sword in hand, but were repulsed with signal 
slaughter. At last, one charge in overwhelm- 
ing numbers completed the destruction of the 
British infantry. Some few, desperately 
wounded, escaped. Captain Souter was one 
of these. He tied the colours of his regiment 
round his waist, and thus preserved it. The 
enemy, howevei", preferred blood to banners — 
they were Mohammedans. The cavalry was 
on ahead, but the Affghans lined the way, and 
six fell dead under " the slugs" of the Affghan 
pieces on the way to Futtehabad, where the 
survivors arrived. The inhabitants received 
them with warm expressions of sympathy, 
and hospitably entertained them. Had these 
officers among the poor fugitives been taught 
in their youth the genius and spirit of the 
Mohammedan religion, they would have dis- 
trusted such manifestations of kindness. 
While the wanderers were partaking of the 
refreshments they so much required, their 
hosts armed themselves, rushed upon them, 
killed two of their number ; the rest, with dif- 
ficulty, and by dint of hard fighting, were 
enabled to remount and ride away. Their 
entertainers also took horse and pursued and 
cut down the whole party, except Dr. Brydon, 
who alone reached Jellalabad, like the last 
of Job's servants, escaping to tell the story 
of'destruction. 

While the events which have been de- 
scribed occurred at Cabul, at Jellalabad, and 
in the passes between those two places, very 
similar transactions were occurring in other 
parts of Shah Sujah's dominions. At 
Ghizni, Colonel Palmer, the British officer 
in command there, found himself in a situation 
quite desperate, from the pressure of the 
enemy on every side. Colonel Palmer w-rote 
to General Elphinstone, at Cabul, and to Sir 
William Mac Naghten, for orders and counsel, 
but could obtain neither. Time was in this 
way consumed which could not be afterwards 
redeemed. Colonel Pahucr relied upon the 
fidelity of the inhabitants, who, with Moham- 
medan falsehood and hypocrisy, pretended 
loyalty to Shah Sujah, and friendship to the 



602 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXIII. 



English. All the while they were in cor- 
respondence with their co-religionists outside, 
and suggesting a plan for gaining the latter 
admission to tlie city. This plot was success- 
ful ; the British, taken by surprise, fought 
desperately, and after twenty-four hours of 
sanguinary struggle, .were obliged to give up 
the city, and retire to the citadel, where they 
continued to bid defiance to the foe until the 
1st of March, 1842, ten weeks after the town 
was lost. Daring that period the British 
endured, with uncommon hardihood, cold, 
hunger, and privations of every kind. Water 
at last failed. This decided the necessity of 
surrender. A command had also arrived from 
General Elphinstone to give up the place, in 
virtue of the treaty of Herat. It was arranged 
that the garrison should march out of the 
citadel in six days, that a certain portion of 
the city should be set apart for their residence 
imtil they were prepared to march, when they 
were to leave for India, v\'ith all their bag- 
gage, colours flying, and an escort of Affghan 
cavalry. The Affghan chiefs bound tliem- 
selves, by an oath upon the Koran, to abide 
by these stipulations. The oath was of course 
violated the moment an opportunity presented 
itself; the blood of the infidel, more than pos- 
session of city or citadel, was desired by these 
fanatics. On the Gth of March the British 
left the citadel, and took up the quarters in 
the city assigned to them ; on the 7tli, when 
off their guard, they were attacked, not only 
by the multitude but by the guns of the cita- 
del, under the direction of the chiefs. The 
commander of the citadel, (shumsoodeen, a 
nephew of Dost Mohammed, offered to spare 
the officers on condition of their surrender to 
Mm, and giving up the sepoys to massacre. 
This was indignantly refused, and the attack 
continued till many officers and men fell. The 
sepoys, perceiving that all must eventually 
perish, resolved to steal away, and attempt to 
march upon Peshawur. They informed their 
officers of their intention, and wished them to 
accompany them, but expressed their resolu- 
tion, with or without their officers, to attempt 
an escape. The officers in vain dissuaded the 
men, and as they knew the attempt must end 
in the destruction of all, they surrendered 
themselves to Shumsoodeen Khan. The 
sepoys cleverly made their way through a 
hole in the outer wall of the town. They had 
not gone far when a heavy fall of snow puz- 
zled them as to their route. The Affghans 
were soon in pursuit, and the unfortunate 
fugitives were either cut to pieces or made 
prisoners. It is not likely that had their 
officers accompanied them, better fortune 
would have attended the retreat. Whether 
their officers were bound in honour to have 



gone with them, is a point in military casu- 
istry not so easily decided. If the officers 
believed, as appears to have been the case, 
that whatever hope existed was in con- 
nection with a defence of the quarter of the 
town they occupied, and that to retire from it 
was to incur certain destruction, which the 
sepoys were resolved to risk, then it is evi- 
dent that the gentlemen in command of the 
force adopted the only course open to them. 
The captive officers were treated with bar- 
barity, and barely escaped being murdered. 

The fall of Ghizni produced a moral effect 
to the disadvantage of the British, which was 
felt all over Affghanistan. Colonel Palmer 
behaved with skill and spirit when obliged to 
stand on his defence, but he did not possess 
the general intellectual qualities necessary 
for the post he occupied, however, as a mili- 
tary man, he was worthy of confidence, and in 
the hour of emergency acquitted himself with 
honour and discretion. He was outwitted as 
easily as Elphinstone and his coadjutors, and 
reposed trust in the Mohammedan chiefs and 
people, which an acquaintance with tlie history 
of the Mohammedan imposture, and its effects 
upon the minds of men, w'ould have forbidden. 

Candahar, like Jellalabad.held out. General 
Nott commanded the garrison, and he was a 
man of the Sir Robert Sale type. There 
were some follies perpetrated at Candahar, but 
they were poHtical, not military. When the 
insurrection broke out, an attempt was made 
to bribe the chiefs. They took a lac of rupees 
among them, and continued quiet as long as 
they received money. As soon as the instal- 
ments of the stipulated amount were ex- 
hausted, they commenced hostilities. Among 
the men who so acted, was a nephew of the 
reigning monarch, for whom the English had 
expended and suffered so much. Part of the 
troops ordered to return to India by Lord 
Auckland, belonged to the garrison of Canda- 
har, and consisted of Colonel Maclarcn's bri- 
gade. This body was proceeding on its 
homeward route, when it heard of the de- 
struction of Captain Woodburn and his troops 
on their way from Ghizni to Cabul. This 
led them to halt ; and they were soon after 
ordered to return to Candahar. Had they 
proceeded, they must in great part have 
perished, and the residuary garrison of Can- 
dahar could not have been saved by even the 
genius of Nott. General Elphinstone ordered 
Nott to send him assistance. This order 
came too late ; the way was covered witli 
snow. Nott, however, ordered Maclaren 
to conduct his brigade thither if possible. 
Fortunately for the garrison of Canda- 
har, and, perhaps, unfortunately for that of 
Cabul, he did not succeed. The physical 



Chap. CXIV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



603 



obstacles were insurmountable. When Akbar 
Khan had destroyed the garris< n of Cabul on 
their dreary and bloody march, he collected 
an immense force, with the object of accom- 
plishing the same success at Candahar. As 
has been already shown, he received from the 
indomitable Sir Robert Sale signal defeat at 
Jellalabad. Akbar, with indefatigable activity 
and diligence, appeared with his forces before 
Candahar, and selected a position near to the 
town, protected by a morass along his front. 
Nott determined to lose no time In giving 
liini battle, and, on the 12tli of January, 
marched out with all his army, except the 
troops left to guai'd the cantonments. The 
enemy delivered a rapid and heavy matchlock 
fire, and fled as the British prepared to charge, 
witliout encountering a single bayonet. The 
flight was so eager that pursuit was inef- 
fectual. The moral effect of that battle, like 
that of the battles fought by Sale, was to 
deter the Affghans from a near approach to 
the place, and to awe the inhabitants of the 
whole district. 

In the midst of these triumphs and reverses 
of the British arms, the man whose unfaithful 
selection of a general led to the disasters en- 
dured, left India for England, where he in- 
curred the censures of the British public, and 
severe attacks from the parliamentary party 
opposed to his own ; but partizan support 
brought him through, and he was loaded with 
panegyric by the Whigs, as if he had proved 
himself a public benefactor, and a dispenser of 
patronage on principles of the sternest justice. 

The successor of Lord Auckland was Lord 



EUenborough, who arrived at Calcutta on the 
2Sth of February, 1842, when the govern- 
ment there was in consternation, and the 
British throughout all India filled with shame 
and grief for the ruin which the Auckland 
policy had inflicted. Whatever the merits of 
Lord EUenborough, as ultimately proved, lie 
was not selected to his high post on account 
of them, but just as his predecessor was 
selected, to answer a party object at home. 
Lord Auckland was a mere aristocratic whig 
nominee ; Lord EUenborough a mere tory 
nominee. Lord EUenborough arrived, how- 
ever, in the midst of appalling difficulties, and 
set about the discharge of his onerous and 
trying duties with zeal, courage, activity, and 
great energy. His appointment excited in- 
tense popular dissatisfaction in England, but 
he displayed qualities for which the English 
public had given him no credit ; although 
mingled with a certain rashness his supposed 
possession of wliich had caused anxiety on his 
account amongst his friends and his party, 
and anxiet}' for the welfare of India and the 
empire among the English public. 

Lord Auckland remained until the 12th of 
March, to offer (it was said) his counsel in the 
great emergency, and to assist in completing 
those arrangements which he and his friends 
hoped would redeem the faults and misfor- 
tunes of the Affghan war. Lord Ellen- 
borough pressed forward, with characteristic 
vigour, the means taken to restore British 
authority, and wipe away the stain from the 
escutcheon of England which Lord Auck- 
land's policy caused it to receive. 



CHAPTER CXIV. 

SECOND INVASION OF AFFCHANISTAN BY THE BRITISH— GENERAL POLLOCK ADVANCES 
FROM JELLALABAD TO CABUL— GENER.\L ENGLAND MARCHES FROM QUETTAH TO 
CANDAHAR. 

As soon as the real situation of affairs in 
Affghanistan was known in India, efforts were 
made to bring back safely the troops that yet 
remained. Two separate armies were orga- 
nized. One of these was placed under General 
Lumley, of which General Pollock afterwards 
took the command. This was destined to march 
from Peshawur to Jellalabad, and thence, hav- 
ing formed a junction with the brigade of Sir 
Robert Sale, to return to Peshawur, possibly 
to march upon Cabul. The other force was 
collected in Scinde under General England, 
and ordered to advance as far beyond Quettah 
as would ensure to General Nott a safe retreat 
from Candahar. These arrangements were 



made by Lord Auckland. His appoint- 
ments were severely criticised, Major-general 
Lumley was known to be in ill health. It 
was reported that Major-general Pollock was 
far from well. Murmurs were heard that men 
of merit, and entitled by their military position 
to confidence and a command, were over- 
looked, and that favouritism ruled as certainly 
if not as disastrously as when General Elphin- 
stone was sent on his abortive errand to Cabul. 
The season was severe, and the difficulty 
of marching a large force through the passes 
and to the relief of isolated posts was im- 
mense. The enemy had command of all the 
communications, and it was likely that what- 



G04 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXIV. 



ever the troops consumeJ, would have to be 
brought with them from India. As soon as 
General Elpliinstone's distress at Oabul was 
known, a brigade consisting of four regi- 
ments of native infantry was collected at 
Peshawur, and placed under the command of 
Colonel Wylde. A Sikh infantry brigade was 
attached to this, with a considerable force of 
Sikh artillery. Colonel Wylde, placing him- 
self at the head of this division, marched from 
Peshawur, and attempted to force the cele- 
brated Khyber Pass. The Sikhs refused to 
go forward as soon as any obstacle arose ; the 
sepoys only required an example to fail in 
their duty. The camp followers and camel 
drivers deserted or were cut down by the 
enemy. Neither Sikhs nor sepoys would 
defend the baggage, which was to a great 
extent plundered by the enemy, and finally 
Colonel Wylde was obliged to make an in- 
glorious retreat. It was the fashion at that 
time in India to laud the sepoys to the skies ; 
hence a proper proportion of European troops 
was not attached to divisions and separate 
commands. The good conduct of the sepoys 
on some occasions, and, as in the case of the 
44th, the indifferent conduct occasionally of 
European troops, conduced to hold up the 
delusion. Such a force as Colonel Wylde 
commanded was utterly unfit to cope with the 
real dangers and superstitious fears connected 
with the Khyber Pass. An attempt was made 
to relieve the isolated fort of Ali Miisjid, but 
it failed, and the place was abandoned. 

Soon after these occurrences fresh troops 
were sent forward. Colonel Wylde's failure 
occurred at the beginning of January, 1842. 
"Early in that mouth a reinforcement, con- 
sisting of her majesty's 9th foot and 10th 
light cavalry, a regiment of native infantry, 
and a detachment from another, together 
with details of artillery and irregular cavalry, 
crossed the Sutlej on its way to Peshawur. 
Subsequently the force assembled there was 
strengthened by the dispatch of her majesty's 
3rd dragoons and Slst foot, the Ist regiment 
of light cavalry, two regiments of native 
infantry, some recruits for her majesty's 13th, 
and some details of irregular cavalry ar- 
tillery." General Pollock, on his arrival at 
Peshawur, found the whole of Wylde's division 
utterly demoralised. Many of the men were 
in hospital from an epidemic contracted during 
their late campaign. Neither sepoy nor Sikh 
concealed his unwillingness to advance into 
the Khyber Pass. The general, under these 
circumstances, resolved to wait for reinforce- 
ments, and succeeded in opening communica- 
tions with Sale. The plan which had failed 
everywhere else was tried at Peshawur, that 
of buying over the chiefs. They accepted 



the money, swore upon the Koran eternal 
fidelity, and immediately broke their oaths. 
They kept no faith with " Feringhies." Gene- 
ral Pollock does not appear to have had much 
confidence in the native portion of his troops, 
nor did he show himself eager to risk his force 
in order to ensure the relief of Sale, who, 
although he had beaten off his enemies, was 
suffering from want of food. It was not until 
the 6th of April that Pollock moved, and 
then it was at the head of a force so large 
that no doubt as to the issue could exist, and 
no peril was incurred. On approaching the 
Khyber Pass, the general found that a far 
larger force of Affghans had been collected 
than had before disputed the passage. The 
painfully protracted delay had also emboldened 
them. They had raised some rude works in 
situations advantageously selected, and breast- 
works, roughly but not unskilfully formed, had 
been constructed in commanding positions. 
Pollock's dispositions were such as might be 
expected under the circumstances. He sent out 
two flanking columns to scale the heights and 
dispossess them of the enemy, while his main 
column advanced to the mouth of the pass. 
Each of the flanking columns was seiiarated 
into two detachments. The right, under the 
command of Lieutenant-colonel Taylor, 9th 
foot, and Major Anderson, G4th native in- 
fantry ; the left, under Lieutenant-colonel 
Moseley of the fi4th native infantry, and 
Major Heriet of the 2Cth native infantry. 
As soon as these operations had begun, a 
large body of the enemy moved to the rear of 
the British, supposing that the baggage would 
be left imperfectly protected, and intending 
to make a swoop upon it, and possibly suc- 
ceed in also carrying off treasure. Brigadier 
M'Caskill, who commanded the rear-guard, 
had, however, made such dispositions of his 
force that not a package was lost nor a pack 
animal wounded. 

The flanking columns cleared the heights 
gallantly, the enemy maintaining a desultory 
and distant fire. Many men and officers suf- 
fered from fatigue, few from the fire of the 
Affghans; our sepoys delivered theirs with 
better effect when in motion, or when halting 
only while firing, than the Affghans, who, 
notwithstanding their celerity of movement 
among rocks, were not quick enough to escape 
the bullets of their pursuers. General Pollock 
received little opposition after so decisively 
forcing the entrance to the pass, and in ten 
days he arrived at Jellalabad.* Parties of 
Affghans kept hovering in observation along 
the route, and, trusting to their swiftness of 
foot, often approached and delivered a fire 
from their matchlocks, or waited behind rocks 
* Blue-books, 



CiiAr. CXIV.J 



IN INDIA AND THE EA8T. 



COS 



until a detachment passed, and then fired and 
fled. Great numbers paid for their temerity 
in thus acting ; the European skirmishers 
brought them down as they fled, and the light 
pieces of the horse artillery showered grape 
amongst the rocks. It was not until long 
afterwards that the English learned how sure 
and deadly their fire thus proved ; they sup- 
posed that as that of the enemy proved so 
innoxious, the inequalities of the ground, and 
the novel description of practice, caused their 
own to be nearly as harmless. 

When General Pollock arrived at Jellal- 
ahad, great was the joy of the garrison, and 
of the illustrious officers who had achieved 
such heroic exploits. The question then arose 
what course General Pollock should take ; 
whether ho should return with Sale's brigade 
to Peshawur and remain there, his troops 
acting as an army of observation, as Lord 
Auckland liad in the first instance directed, 
or adopt the bolder policy of Lord Ellen- 
borough, with which the general's own views 
agreed. Sir Jasper Nicolls, the commander- 
in-chief, had concurred in the views of Lord 
Auckland ; he now supported the more vigo- 
rous ideas of Lord Ellenborough. 

On the 15th of March the governor-general, 
in council, thus addressed Sir Jasper Nicolls : 
— " The commander of the forces in Upper 
and Lower Affghanistan will, in all the opera- 
tions they design, bear in mind these general 
views and opinions of the government of 
India. They will in the first instance en- 
deavour to relieve all the garrisons in Aff- 
ghanistan which are now surrounded by the 
enemy. The relief of these garrisons is a 
point deeply affecting the military character 
of the army, and deeply interesting the feel- 
ings of their country ; but to make a rash 
attempt to effect such relief in any case with- 
out reasonable prospect of success, would be 
to afford no real aid to the brave men who are 
surrounded, and fruitlessly to sacrifice other 
good soldiers, whose preservation is equally 
dear to the government they serve. To effect 
the relief of the prisoners taken at Cabul, is 
an object likewise deeply interesting in point 
of feeling and of honour. That object can 
probably only be accomplished by taking 
liostages from such part of the country as 
may be in or may come into our possession ; 
and with reference to this object, and to that 
of the relief of Ghizni,* it may possibly be- 
come a question, in the event of Major-general 
Pollock effecting a junction with Sir Robert 
Sale, whether the united force shall return to 
the country below the Khyber Pass, or take 
a forward position near Jellalabad, or even 
advance to Cabul. We are fully sensible of 
* The fall of this place was not thea knowu. 

VOL. II. 



the advantages which would he derived from 
the re -occupation of Cabul, the scene of our 
great disaster, and of so much crime, even lor 
a week, of the means which it might afford 
of recovering the prisoners, of the gratification 
which it would give to the army, and of the 
effect which it would have upon our enemies. 
Our withdrawal might then be made to rest 
upon an official declaration of the grounds on 
which we retired as solemn as that which 
accompanied our advance, and we should 
retire as a conquering, not as a defeated 
power ; but we cannot sanction the occupa- 
tion of an advanced position beyond the 
Khyber Pass by Major-general Pollock, un- 
less that general should be satisfied that he 
can — without depending upon the forbearance 
of'the tribes near the pass, which, obtained 
only by purchase, must, under all circum- 
stances, be precarious, and without depending 
upon the fidelity of the Sikh chiefs, or upon 
the power of those chief's to restrain their 
troops, upon neither of which can any reliance 
be safely placed — feel assured that he can by 
his own strength overawe and overcome all 
who dispute the pass, and keep up at all times 
his communication with Peshawur and the 
Indus." 

The opinion of General Pollock as to the 
policy of his advance from Peshawur was thus 
expressed : — " If I were to advance with the 
intention of merely withdrawing the garrison 
of Jellalabad, my success in advancing must 
chiefly depend on concealing my intentions ; 
for, although (if I succeed in any negotiation 
to open the pass) every precaution will be 
taken by me to secure a retreat, I must ex- 
pect that every man will rise to molest our 
return, as they would be left to the mercy of 
the Affghan rulers ; and I must confess I sin- 
cerely believe that our return here, unless I 
have first an opportunity of inflicting some 
signal punishment on the enemy, would have 
a very bad effect both far and near." * 

On the 29th of April, Sir Jasper Nicolls, 
by the direction of the governor-general, for- 
warded instructions to General Pollock to 
withdraw from his advanced position to 
Peshawur. The views of the government 
of India were materially modified as to the 
necessity and importance of this second expe- 
dition to Affghanistan, by the death of the 
sovereign. Shah Sujah, who was murdered at 
Cabul by fanatics. Matters now assumed this 
aspect in the councils of the English. Lord 
Ellenborough, at first vigorous and lofty in 
his ideas of the necessity of redeeming British 
honour, gradually lowered his tone until it 
sunk to the level of that of Lord Auckland. 
Letter to Lieutenant-colonel Luard, February 27th, 



1842. 



4i 



GOG 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXIV. 



He,and the council of India, were for the 
rapid withdrawal of Nott and Pollock, the 
former to Sciude, the latter to Peshawur. 
Some misgiving as to the propriety of a 
retrograde movement while so many English 
officers, and especially so many English ladies, 
were captives in the hands of Akbar Khan, 
pervades the correspondence of the governor- 
general with the commander-in-chief in India, 
and the secret committee in London ; yet the 
ease with which the safety of tliese indivi- 
duals seems to be given up in view of the 
general interest is not encouraging to the 
spirit of self-sacrifice on the part of individual 
Englishmen for their country. Sir Jasper 
Nicolls, Generals Pollock, Nott, and England, 
all showed a more manly and generous feel- 
ing, as well as a nobler jealousy for their 
country's honour. Both General Pollock and 
General Nott urged remonstrance after re- 
monstrance, and, for a time, in vain. " A 
craven spirit," as General Nott called it, 
seemed to take possession of the civil autho- 
rities. In a letter to IMr. Tiladdock, at the 
end of March, 1842, General Nott urged upon 
that official that the government would review 
its whole position in Affghanistan before a 
retrograde movement should be irrecoverably 
made, and " the effect which a hasty retire- 
ment would certainly and instantly have upon 
the whole of Beloochistan, and even in the 
navigation of the Indus, will be taken into 
consideration. At the present time, the im- 
pression of our military strength among the 
people of this country, though weakened by 
the occurrences at Cabul, is not destroyed ; 
but if we now retire, and it should again 
become necessary to advance, we shall labour 
under many disadvantages, the most serious 
of which, in mj' opinion, will be a distrust of 
their strength among our soldiers, which any 
admission of weakness is so well calculated to 
ensure ; and in what other light could a 
withdrawal from Jellalabad or Candahar be 
viewed ? " In a subsequent letter. General 
Nott says, " Perhaps it is not within my pro- 
vince to observe, that, in my humble opinion, 
an unnecessary alarm has been created re- 
garding the position of our troops in this 
country, and of the strength and power of the 
enemy we have to contend with. This enemy 
cannot face our troops in the field with any 
chance of success, however superior they may 
be in numbers, provided those precautions 
are strictly observed which war between a 
small body of disciplined soldiers and a vast 
crowd of untrained, unorganized, and half- 
civilized people constantly renders necessary. 
True, the British troops suffered a dreadful 
disaster at Cabul ; and it is not for me to 
presume to point out why this happened, 



however evident I may conceive the reasons, 
and the long train of military events which 
led to the sad catastrophe." * 

On the Idth of May, Lord Ellenborough, 
in a despatch to Sir Jasper Nicolls, yields to 
the wish of the generals so far as to direct 
that the posts of Jellalabad and Candahar 
should be held by Pollock and Nott for some 
time. This temporising on the part of the 
Indian government caused much precious 
time to be squandered which the generals 
were eager profitably to employ. In India 
Lord Ellenborough received the credit of 
leaning to the decisive policy of the generals, 
and the more timid policy was attributed to 
the civilians of the supreme council. Sir 
Jasper Nicolls, at last, in a ,more decisive 
tone, declared that neither Pollock nor Nott 
conld with propriety or convenience with- 
draw until the autumn was very far advanced. 
The reasons given by Sir Jasper for this 
opinion were not so solid as the opinion itself. 
At all events, the governor- general allowed 
the decision of the officer who held the chief 
military responsibility to stand, and he imme- 
diately proceeded to collect an army of re- 
serve in such a position that it could either 
reinforce Pollock or Nott, as might be re- 
quired, and at the same time by its move- 
ments deceive the Affghans as to the general 
intentions of the government. The Affghan 
chiefs, although not very well served by their 
spies, were not altogether ignorant of the 
councils which prevailed at Calcutta. His 
excellency knew this, and was less in expec- 
tation of misleading the Affghans than of 
" overawing the states of India." This was 
necessary, as the military prestige of England 
was lowered over all Asia. The Sikhs openly 
expressed their contempt, and hinted that a 
Sikh and Affghan alliance could expel the 
English from India. The plans of General 
Pollock and General Nott were clear, precise, 
bold, and consistent : Lord Ellenborough 
wavered as a tree shaken by the wind. At 
the end of May he was once more in favour 
of General Pollock retiring from Jellalabad, 
fixing his head -quarters at Peshawur, and 
keeping open the Khyber Pass. Nott was 
also to give up Candahar. On the first of 
June his excellency sent a despatch to General 
Pollock, which recommended both retirement 
and action. His lordship's mind was tossed 
to and fro like a ship upon an agitated sea. 
He wrote so many despatches so little 
consistent with others of nearly the same 
date, or reiterating almost in the same terms 
directions previously given, that he seemed 
to be moved by an intense j)ropensity for 
rash and inconsiderate letter-writing. His 
» Letter to Mr. Maddock, April ] 8, 1 842. 



Chap. CXIV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



607 



despatches were tlioso of a restless mind, 
anxious to direct and govern, but with little 
judgment* Had his political opponents in 
England made themselves familiar with his 
excellenc}''s epistolary efforts at that period, 
lljey would have had abundant material for 
attack, both upon him and those who nomi- 
nated him to the high and onerous office 
he held. 

General Pollock continued to entreat per- 
mission to advance upon Cabul, declaring 
that he did not believe there was a single 
Boul to obstruct his march between that place 
and his camp. The governor-general's letters 
continued embarrassing, and fruitless delay 
was created. The British nation suffered 
bitterly from the incapacity of those to whom 
affairs were entrusted by her governments. 
Men arose who had the capacity to redeem 
her honour, but they arose unexpectedly, by 
the force of circumstances, and, in a great 
measure, in spite of a system which repressed 
genius and fostered patronage, connection, 
and routine. General Pollock had upon his 
staff one officer who even then had the attain- 
ments and capacity of a great general. It 
has been related how Captain Havelock was 
transferred from the staff of the Hon. General 
Elphinstone to that of Sir Robert Sale. Tlie 
latter general strongly recommended General 
Pollock to accept the services of that officer, 
bearing a strong testimony to his invaluable 
aid during the march to Jellalabad, the 
defence of that place, and in the pitched, 
battles with Akbar Khan. General Pollock 
yielded to this suggestion. Havelock, breveted 
to a majority, and made a Companion of the 
Bath, was transferred to the personal staff of 
General Pollock. The opinions of the general 
were much influenced by the decision and 
experience of Havelock, who considered the 
advance upon Cabul as the only true line of 
policy. " General Pollock j- marched from 
Jellalabad on the 20th of August, 1842. Lord 
EUenborough.J on the 4th of July, 1842, 
wrote to Major-general Nott, as well as to 
General Pollock, granting permission to the 
advance upon Cabul ; General Pollock from 
Jellalabad, by the passes, up to the capital ; 
and General Nott, proceeding from Candahar, 
vid Ghizni, to Cabul. General Pollock 
reached Gundamuck§ on the 23rd of August, 
and hearing of the enemy being at Mam- 
mooldiail, two miles distant, attacked them 
next morning." 

Brigadiers M'Caekil and Tulloch, Lieu- 
tenant-colonel Taylor of the 9th foot, and 

' Sec Blue-book. 

t Blue-book, p. 372. 

; Ibid., pp. 327, 329. Letters, 404, 405, 

} Blue-book, p. 374. 



Captain Broadfoot, here distinguished them- 
selves. The enemy gave way as fast as 
attacked, but their strong position enabled 
them to inflict some loss. Four officers were 
wounded, and fifty men put hors de combat. 
General Pollock marched from Gundamuck 
on the 7th of September,* after a halt of a 
fortniglit, during which arrangements were 
made to keep open his communications and 
establish depots of supplies. Next day | the 
general moved through the Pass of Jugdnl- 
luck. Here opposition was offered from good 
positions on the heights. The enemy were 
quickly dislodged, and with loss ; the British 
had only one man slain, an officer, and sixty- 
five wounded, among whom was an officer. 
The British officers on this occasion, as during 
the whole route of the advance, showed a too 
forward valour. Indeed, throughout the 
whole Affghan war, the regimental officers 
covered themselves with unfading glory; more 
than Roman virtue shone in their daring and 
devotion. 

On the 11th of September General Pollock 
reached Tezeen valley, memorable in the re- 
treat of Elphinstone's army from Cabul. 
While resting his army on the 12th, his 
pickets were attacked with boldness in the 
evening : Lieutenant-colonel Taylor .showed 
personal valour and good officership in re- 
pulsing the enemy. Nevertheless such was 
their audacity, that through the niglit suc- 
cessive although unsuccessful attacks were 
kept up against the whole line of pickets, 
especially those on the extreme left. It was 
evident from these bold measures that the 
Tezeen Pass would be disputed. On entering 
it next day its heights were observed to be 
crowned by sixteen thousand men, under the 
command of Akbar Khan. His force, however, 
did not offer a resistance in proportion to its 
numbers ; the English marched through the 
pass and encamped at Khoord-Cabul, having 
incurred a loss of 1G2 men killed and 
wounded, exclusive of four wounded officers. 
The enemy disheartened did not fire another 
shot, and on the IGth of September General 
Pollock arrived in triumph at Cabul. Great 
was the consternation of the people of the 
city and province as the fine army, under the 
command of General Pollock, advanced upon 
the capital, and the general expectation was 
that all Affghans caught by the troops would 
be put to death. On the morning of the 16th 
Pollock entered the Balla-Hissar, and planted 
there the English standard, the bands playing 
the British national anthem, the guns firing 
a salute, and the cheers of the soldiery rising 



* Blue-book, p. 383. 
t Ibid., p. 38,-). 
j Ibid., p. 395. 



G08 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



LCiiAP. cxn'. 



■\vitli triumpbant vehemence, as if tliey would 
rend the heavens. 

Having thus traced the progress of the 
army from Peshavvur, it is necessary to turn 
to tliat at Candahar, and to the army of 
General England, which was ordered to march 
to its relief; but the further relation of events 
connected with Upper Affghanistan, where 
General Nott and his officers continued to 
maintain their gronnd,must form a separate 
chapter. 

General England was ordered to proceed 
from Scinde to cover Noil's retreat, at the head 
of a body of troops far too small for the jier- 
formance of such a duty. When the General 
reached Quettah, and was reinforced, his whole 
division did not roach three thousand men, 
and with tliese his task was to proceed through 
the most formidable passes, crowned with 
numerous enemies acquainted with every rock 
and ravine. General England has always been 
acknowledged, by those competent to judge, as 
one of the most skilful ofificers in the service. 
He was not a flashy and showy general, but 
active, energetic, brave, and vigilant; he pos- 
sessed the qualities which fit a man to have 
the charge of soldiers. Reckless of his own 
safety, this general carried to the verge of 
excess his care and concern for the safety of 
his men. During the Crimean war he ren- 
dered very important services. At the battle 
of the Alma he not only sent np the guns of 
his division to assist the 2nd division, under 
the intrepid Sir De Lacy Evans, but he ac- 
companied them, exposing himself in the 
thickest of the fire when his own division, 
which was in support, was not then bronght 
into action. At Inkerman he contributed 
much to the success of the day by the pru- 
dent movement of a portion of his division 
from their own post to that against which the 
enemy was directing its attack. He per- 
sonally joined that part of his division, having 
made skilful provision for the defence of his 
own particular post. 

The situation in which General England 
was placed at Quettah was one of intense 
difficulty and deep anxiety ; reinforcements 
were promised, but they arrived too slowly 
to enable the general to accomplish his pur- 
pose as opportunely as he desired. While 
awaiting his reinforcements at the place last 
named, finding forage scarce, he determined 
to proceed to Killa-ab-Doolah, in the valley of 
Peshawur, where it was plentiful. He set out 
on the 24th of March, 1842, and soon found 
that he was watched by the enemy's horse. 
The 3rd light cavalry cleared the coiintry of 
these scouts, killing, wounding, and capturing 
some. On entering the defile leading to the 
village of Hykulzie, a powerful Affghan force, 



under Mohammed Sadiz, was strongly posted. 
General England had obtained no information 
of the strength of the enemy. The officer 
whose duty it was to afford it, as a political 
agent, could obtain none, the people on the 
line of march concealing all knowledge of that 
kind, although making every demonstration 
of friendship. The general naturally believed 
that the force opposed to him was small ; it 
was however very numerous, but liidden by a 
series of breastworks, a ditch, and abattis. 
General England ordered the advance, con- 
sisting of four light companies under Major 
Apthorp, to clear the lower hill. This party 
was opposed by overwhelming numbers ; Cap- 
tain May, who commanded the light company 
of the 4:l8t regiment of the royal line, was 
shot through the heart while gallantly leading 
on his men. Major Apthorp was mortally 
wounded. Wliile the advanced companies 
were maintaining an unequal contest it was 
impossible to support them, as the main 
column was charged by crowds of cavalry, 
who were bravely repulsed, leaving numerous 
men and horses dead. General England with 
great skill brought off the whole of his 
baggage without losing any portion. On 
the return to Quettah, Major Apthorp died. 
Besides the two officers who fell, there were 
twenty -six men killed; the wounded were 
sixty-nine. General England, perceiving that 
the enemy was in such strength in his 
neighbourhood, concentrated the small body 
'of men at his command in Quettah and its 
cantonments ; defences were thrown up, and 
the place was judiciously strengthened. The 
general in this position awaited the promised 
reinforcements. The narrow space which the 
division occupied tended to create sickness, but 
the arrangements of the general showed much 
sanitary skill, and preserved the health of the 
troops. Instances, however, occurred with 
increasing rapidity and virulence of fever and 
dysentery ; erysipelas set in whore wounds 
had been received in a considerable propor- 
tion of cases. 

On the 23rd of April, an order was received 
by General England to join General Nott, at 
Candahar. The proceedings of the former 
officer since the commencement of the troubles 
may be thus briefly summed up ; — -The news 
of "the Cabul tragedy reached General Eng- 
land, then in command of the Scinde field 
force, at Dadur (the lower end of the Kojuck), 
about the end of November or beginning of 
December, 1841. Towards the middle of 
January the news of the murder of Mac Nagh- 
ten, by Akbar Khan, and other distressing 
intelligence, arrived. It was reported that 
the insurrection had spread towards Candahar, 
and that some local levies had deserted from 



CuAi'. CXIV.j 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



6oa 



tlic service, killing tlieir English officers, and 
that Affghan chiefs were gathering round the 
city, and placing it in a state of blockade. In 
March, General England, anxiously pressing 
on in the direction of Oeneral Nott (who was 
lieleaguered at Candahar), reached Quettah at 
the upper extremity of the Bolan. On the 
2oth of March he marched forward from 
thence, and on the 28th unsuccessfully at- 
tacked the strong position at Ilyknlzie, and, 
retreating from thence, re-entered Quettah. 
General Nott had been previous to this, 
very importunate for assistance, and made 
various requisitions to General England, 
■with which the latter had no means of com- 
plying. Thus, on the 14th of February lie 
sent for cavalry, but at that time there was 
only half a regiment of Bombay horse and 
some irregulars in all Scinde, hardly sufficient 
to keep open communications. The govern- 
ment contemplated merely the falling back of 
Nott from Candahar, and the advance of 
General England to the Quettah side of the 
Kojuck Pass, to create a diversion in his 
favour, and form a point of support upon 
which General Nott might retire. On the 
11th of jMarcli Blajor llawlinson, who was 
then with Nott at Candahar, wrote, " I rather 
think he will recommend that Brigadier Eng- 
land should come on loitli his half force to 
Killabola at once, and wait there until the 
whole force has concentrated, when he can 
push over the Kojuck, and advance to Can- 
dahar." If such were the expectations of 
General Nott, they were at least as rash as 
they were bold, and much more rash than 
reasonable. The condition of General Nott 
naturally induced expectations that he would 
not have cherished had he known the means at 
General England's disposal, and the opinions 
of the government. On April 2nd, General 
Nott wrote to General England : — " I know 
not what the intentions of government are, 
but this I know and feel, that it is now four 
or five months since the outbreak of Cabul, 
and in all that time no aid whatever has been 
given to me." " I have continually called 
for cavalry, for ammunition, treasure, stores, 
and medicine for the sick. I have called 
loudly, but I have called in vain."* 

It has been shown on preceding pages, that 
neither Lord Auckland, Lord EUcnborough, 
nor the council at Calcutta, were favourable 
to any advance from Jellalabad or Candahar 
to Cabul, and that at last Lord Ellenborough 
tolerated it, moved by the advice of Sir Jasper 
Nicolls, and the remonstrances of Nott and 
Pollock. Nott, however, had not the same 
opportunities as Pollock had of knowing the 
tone of feeling at Calcutta. General England 

* Stopqnelcr's Life of Genera! Nntf, vol. ii. p. 14. 



was well aware that the government was 
adverse to any attempt at a march from Can- 
dahar to Cabul, although the political agents 
at Candahar and in Scinde showed the desire 
felt by Nott for advancing. 

The passage of General England on the 
28th, triumphantly, through the scene of liis 
former reverse, was a great gratification to 
the army. On both occasions he was encum- 
bered with an enormous mass of baggage, 
containing every requisite for Nott's army. 
The advance of General England was not, as 
it has generally been regarded, the march of 
an army, but of a vast convoy, which the 
whole of his force was not more than sufficient 
to protect, for the Affghans were determined 
if possible to capture his baggage. On ap- 
proaching the place of his former unsuccessful 
contest. General England found the enemy 
occupying similar positions, which ho gallantly 
stormed. Sir Charles Napier, commenting 
upon both attempts on this pass, says : " Eng- 
land beat the same enemy with the same 
troops."* He also records in his journal this 
censure : " General England has again fought 
on the same ground. Taking due precautions, 
he won the heights — a clear proof of former 
negligence. "f It was not correct of the 
eccentric and dashing Sir Charles Napier thus 
to write. England did not " beat the same 
enemy with the same troops." He was re- 
inforced. Sir Charles was a thousand miles 
off, and, as he admits himself, recorded his 
opinions on hearsay evidence. A comparison 
of the force of General England on each oc- 
casion reproves the rash assertions of Sir 
Charles. On the 25th of March, England 
moved forward from Quettah, having 2,500 
animals, &c., and a guard consisting of about 
thirty Bombay cavalry, five weak companies 
of her majesty's 41st regiment, four six- 
pounders of Bombay horse-artillery, and six 
small companies of sepoys, with perhaps fifty 
Poonah horse, in all about a thousand men. 
Sir Charles represented General England as 
having attacked the enemy in March with 
half his force, leaving the other half with the 
baggage. This also was an error. The 
troop^ which England did not bring up in 
support and into action, consisted of about 
four hundred sepoys, who protected the rich 
and vast convoy which it was now evident 
the Affghans watched and reckoned on with 
avidity ; and when Sir Charles Napier disap- 
provingly says, " he did not bring the whole 
into action, and that if he had done so he 
would have won," Sir Charles was not aware 
how slender Sir Richard England's resources 

* Memoir of Lieulenant-r/eneral Sir Cliarles Najiier. 
By Lieutenant-general Sir William Napier, vol. ii. p. 222. 
t Memoir, vol. ii. p. 172. 



610 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap OXIV. 



were, for it is perfectly evident that Napier 
thought that England had with hira the very 
same troops on this first and unsuccessful 
occasion, which were triumphant upon the 
second occasion at Hykulzie. The reinforce- 
ments received hy England enabled hira to 
make the following arrangement for the attack 
(a disposition impossible on the former occa- 
sion, owing to his then slender resources) : 
viz., three columns were formed, each having 
Europeans at their head, and a reserve under 
the command of Major Brown, of her majesty's 
41st regiment ; the troops that were to threaten 
the right of the enemy marched first, having 
the greater space of ground to traverse ; the 
rest were kept back till this flank attack had 
actually begun under Major Simmons, his 
musketry being the signal for the two other 
columns to branch off towards the enemy. 
The casual practice of Leslie's light guns 
covered these movements. A position was 
taken up by two small squadrons of the 3rd 
Bombay cavalry, ready to take the earliest 
account of the enemy, if he should condescend 
to fly. The enemy held his ground for 
awhile, but, finding his rear in danger, by the 
attack on his right flank, he gave way. Bold 
and vigorous in a direct resistance, he now 
quailed and became instantly alarmed, by this 
sidelong movement, and saved himself, witli 
the loss of sixty or seventy men, by a precipi- 
tate flight to the inaccessible recesses of the 
mountains. This is one of the operations 
which, in the December following. Sir Charles 
Napier declares "place the major-general in a 
high position." To pass the Kojuck with troops 
and a baggage -train, was not an easy opera- 
tion under any circumstances. General Lord 
Keane thus writes to General England relative 
to this passage : — " Bualan Lodge, Hants. July 
17th, 1842. Most heartily do I congratulate 
you on walking over the heights of Hykukie 
and through the Kojuck Pass. I know the 
ground well, and found it a difficult job to 
pass the army of the Indus, even without an 
enemy to defend it." On the 2nd of Decem- 
ber following. Sir Charles Napier emphatically 
endorses the opinions of the highest autho- 
rities in India, that this identical affair at 
Eijhuhie, as well as various other military 
operations, " place the major-general (Eng- 
land) in a position in which he may treat with 
just disregard and contempt all reflections 
thrown upon his military character." Con- 
cerning the ability of General England on 
this occasion, and generally. Sir Charles hap- 
pily did justice in his private letters and 
official communications, but the publication 
by Sir William Napier of the notes in the 
journal of Sir Charles, just as they were 
entered, causes that eminent man to appear 



harsh in his judgments of General England. 
The latest opinions of Sir Charles furnish the 
best evidence of his matured judgment ; and 
on the 6th of October, 1842, he wrote to 
General England thus : — " You have your 
troops well in hand, and the interference of a 
superior ofifioor (alluding to himself) would be 
injurious to the public service," &c. In 
another letter of Sir Charles to General Eng- 
land, he says, " I am so pressed for time that 
I must delay writing on one or two points 
upon which / wanted your advice." 

General England's passage through Kojuck 
Pass was with little loss. At Hykulzie, Lieu- 
tenant Ashbourne, of the 3rd light cavalry, 
was severely wounded ; six natives also re- 
ceived wounds, some of whicb were dangerous. 
General Nott, in order to faoilitate the ad- 
vance of England, sent Brigadier-general 
Wymer to the entrance of the Kojuck Pass, on 
the Candahar side. Of this General England 
received intelligence on the 1st of May, while 
the army was encamped in attendance upon 
divine worship. This intelligence inspired a 
sense of security among the troops, for it was 
generally apprehended that the pass would 
be disputed before the army emerged from it. 
These apprehensions had received confirma- 
tion from the appearance of cavalry on some 
points where that description of force could 
be collected, and from the dropping shots 
taken by the Aft'ghans from their long-range 
rifles, to which our muskets could not reply, 
not carrying so far. Flanking parties had to 
be thrown out during the march, which in- 
flicted little mischief upon the enemy, who 
fled from hill to hill as the flashes approached. 
The British suffered from a few shots only, 
but many fell from fatigue each day, and 
could only be brought on afterwards in the 
" dhoolies." 

A clergyman, who accompanied General 
England's army, gives the following picture 
of the pass, and relation of the meeting of 
England and Wymer : — " The pass was ex- 
ceedingly pretty, having a great deal more 
verdure on the hills than I had seen anywhere 
in Scinde. There were many fine trees, and 
their fresh green foliage, with the bold forms 
of the rocky heights beyond, and the green 
turf in the foreground, strongly reminded me 
of some parts of the north of England, though 
on a much larger scale. As we proceeded, 
the hills approached each other, and the path 
narrowed, until the camels began to get 
jammed into a dense mass, and seeing little 
prospect of a passage for some time, I sat 
down under the cool shade of a high rock, 
and made a very comfortable breakfast on cold 
beef and hard-boiled eggs. I then contrived 
to wind my way through strings and strings 



Chap CXV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



611 



of camels, till I came in siglit of the steep 
asceut of the pass. Hero I saw the heights 
in front crowned by troops, which, from the 
distance, could not be ours. I soon ascer- 
tained that they were a ])art of Brigadier 
Wymer's force, which had been sent to meet 
us from Candahar, and in securing those 
heights in the morning, their work had been 
much sharper than ours. Tiiey had two men 
killed and some wounded, and had killed 
about twenty-five of the enemy." 

General England from thenco advanced, 
and, on the 10th of May, encamped under the 
walls of Candahar, and delivered within its 
gate money, horses, equipments, &c., of which 
that garrison had long stood in need. The 
train of baggage included upv/ards of 3,000 
camels, besides pack bullocks, donkeys, ponies, 
hor8es,&o. On arriving atOanhahar, General 
England's army found quarters prepared for 
them. General Nott having prudently expelled 
all the armed inhabitants. The following 
description of the scenes which followed the 
junction of the two armies is interesting : — 
" Our arrival was hailed with great delight, 
as we brought with ua several camel loads of 
letters and newspapers, the garrison having 
been entirely cut off from communication 
during the whole winter up to the period of 
our arrival, an accumulation of all their letters 
during that jjeriod having taken place at 
Quettah, between which and Candahar only 
the smallest notes could pass, conveyed by 
Cossids at the hazard of their lives, many of 
whom were sacrificed. The garrison had been 
subjected to great privations ; the expense of 
feeding their cattle was enormous; and the 
price of every article that could be procured 



for money extravagant. They had been again 
and again employed in the field, and that 
without tents, in the depth of winter. I am 
persuaded that their privations and exploits 
were by no means fully appreciated, for 
owing to the exceeding brevity of General 
Nott's despatches, they had not the advan- ' 
tagc of having them made known to the 
world." General Nott, althougli a good 
officer and a good general, was stern, not 
affluent in bestowing generous praise on 
others, not sparing in censure upon those 
who differed from him in opinion, or thwarted 
his views. Stocqueler, who in his life of this 
eminent soldier, disparages those who in any 
way came into comparison with him, so passes 
over his faults as to appear guilty of the 
siqjpressio veri, and is so eager to arrogate 
all merit to his hero, as scarcely to escape 
the suggcstio falsi. Between Nott and Eng- 
land their sprung up a coolness. Nott had, 
in his bold soldierhood and jealousy for the 
military honour of his country, resolved from 
the beginning not to retreat from Candahar, 
and he blamed England for not sooner bring- 
ing him succour, whereas the orders of the 
latter general were to strengthen Quettah, 
and so to dispose himself as to cover Nott's 
retreat from Candahar, which the government 
of Calcutta expected, and taught England to 
believe that General Nott would execute. 

Both armies were now placed under the 
command of General Nott, and thus strength- 
ened, by men, munitions, and provisions, he 
determined ujion advancing to Cabul. Before 
he could effect that purpose, other tasks re- 
mained to be performed, and other scenes of 
interest to occur. 



CHAPTER CXV, 

EVENTS IN UPPER AFFGHANlSTAN— GENERAL NOTT MARCHES TO SCINUE— CAPTURE Oi' 
GIIIZNI— GENERALS NOTT AND POLLOCK ADVANCE TO CABUL— RESCUE OF THE 
ENGLISH PRISONERS— DESTRUCTION AND EVACUATION OF CABUL. 



On the 10th of May Brigadier Wymer was 
ordered to release the garrison of Khelat-i- 
Ghiljie. He departed from Candahar for this 
purpose with her majesty's 40th, Captain 
Leslie's troop of horse -artillery. Captain 
Blood's battery, 3rd Bombay light cavalry, 
the shah's irregular horse, and the IGth and 
38th Bengal native infantry, constituting a 
very formidable force. The Affghans, having 
good information, saw that their only chance 
of conquering the garrison of Khelat-i- 
Ghiljie, was while Wymer's force was en route 



to relieve them. Accordingly an attack was 
made, but Captain Craigie with his small 
band inflicted terrible loss upon the Affghans, 
completely repulsing them. 

The enemy believed that Candahar might 
also be attacked with advantage while the 
large force of Wymer was absent. On the 
22nd the enemy appeared in force. Her 
majesty's 41st was ordered out to repel the 
threatened assault. The enemy withdrew. 
They were commanded by a son of Shah 
Sujah, for whom the English had done and 



CI 2 



HISTORY OF THE BIUTIBH EMPIRE 



iCuAP. CXV. 



suflci'cd so much — a fair specimen of Moham- 
medan gratitude. For some days the gar- 
rison of Candahar had peace, anxiously loolving 
i'orvvard to intelligence of Wymer's brigade, 
and the garrison of Khelat-i-Ghiljie. 

The chaplain of her majesty's 40th regi- 
ment records a singularly striking and pic- 
turesque incident of which he was a witness.* 
His relation of it will introduce the reader to 
some of the personages who occupied a pro- 
minent place in the interest of Affghan and 
Indian politics at that time : — " On the 27th 
I accompanied General England and his staff 
on a visit to Prince Timour Shah, the eldest 
son of Shah Sujah-ool-Moolk, and now, by 
hereditary right, the king of the Doorannee 
empire. Wo were introduced by Major 
Ilawlinson, political agent, who acted as an 
interpreter. The prince's apartments were 
in the palace, the greater part of which was 
built by Ahmed Sliah. We were shown into 
a large quadrangle, more completely oriental 
than anything I had previously seen. One 
side was occupied by a building three stories 
high, with a flat roof and balustrade ; it had 
embayed projecting windows, w^ith richly 
carved lattices, and a style of architecture of 
Moorish character, something like the draw- 
ings of the Alliambra. The court was com- 
]iletely surrounded by a draper)', forming a 
cloister ; a light framework ran all round, the 
stems of the vines were planted at regular 
distances, and the branches and tendrils 
mantled over the framework in rich festoons. 
At the end opposite the buildings was a thick 
shrubbery, with many fruit-trees and walks ; 
the walks were broad, paved, and planted at 
the angles with cypresses. The centre was 
occupied by an oblong piece of water, with a 
stone edging, perfectly clear and full to the 
brim, in which various sorts of fowl were 
sporting. Nothing could exceed the coolness, 
tranquillity, and repose of the whole scene, 
softened by the mild light of sunset. At the 
farther end of this piece of water carpets were 
spread, some of which, I was told, were from 
Herat, and of considerable value, though 
their appearance was much the same as ordi- 
nary nummud, but softer. Here sat his royal 
highness in a chair, I suppose out of compli- 
ment to us. After our salaam, chairs were 
placed for us, and conversation commenced. 
The prince is a man of about forty, rather 
stout, his countenance heavy, yet not unpleas- 
ing, and improving much when animated in 
conversation ; he had a fine black beard and 

* Diary of a March ihrough Scifide and AJfijliamslan 
Kith the Troops vjider the command of On/era/ Sir 
William Nott, K.C.B. By the Rev. J. N. Allen, 15.A , 
Assistant Chaplain to the Hon. East India Company's 
Bombay Establishment. 



eyebrows. Those who have seen them both 
say that he strikingly resembles his father, 
the late shah. His dress was of white silk and 
gold interwoven, with a loose outer vest of 
dark blue cloth edged with gold. His manner 
was serious and dignified, without hauteur. I 
looked with melancholy interest upon this 
rejiresentative of the Doorannee monarchs — a 
king witiiout a kingdom. He is said to have 
the best moriil character of the family, to be a 
man of peace, and despised on that account 
by the Aft'ghans, as is natural among a people 
nurtured in blood and turbulence. He inclines 
much to the British, and professed his inten- 
tion of accompanying the force should it 
evacuate the country. We complimented him 
on the beauty of his residence, and when he 
spoke of Candahar as compared with Cabul, 
and other topics, expressed our regret that 
we could not converse otherwise than by an 
interpreter. He replied that it had alwaj's 
been a cause of regret to him that he had not 
been taught English when young, that he had 
made some attempts to acquire it, but it was 
uphill work. He was determined, however, 
that his sons should not labour under the 
same disadvantage ; they were learning Eng- 
lish, but he was sorry to say they were very 
idle, and loved their swords, guns, and horses 
better than study. We consoled him by the 
assurance that such failings were not confined 
to princes, or to his countrymen, and requested 
to see the culprits. They were accordingly 
sent for. The group, as they advanced — the 
rich dresses of the two boys, the black servant 
following in a long white dress, the buildings 
and scenery around — would have formed a 
beautiful subject for Daniel's Oriental Annual. 
Chairs were placed for them, at the right of 
their father, but rather behind. After the 
customary salaams, we assailed them with a 
multitude of questions as to the sharpness of 
their swords, the swiftness of their steeds, 
c%c. They were very fine boys — I su])pose 
of about twelve and nine years of age ; the 
elder rather heavy-featured, and much re- 
sembling his father; the younger a very 
handsome child, and full of animation. The 
elder had, at his own earnest request, been 
sent out on one occasion with one of the 
brigades, but to his disappointment they re- 
turned without fighting. On the 22nd, when 
the alarm of the enem)''s approach was given, 
he had ordered his horse to be saddled, and told 
the prince he was going out with the troops, 
which, much to his disgust, was not per- 
mitted. The prince told us that when they 
were riding witii him, they otten wanted to 
discharge their fire-arms ; but as he did not 
admire that kind of amusement, he was ac- 
customed on such occasions to send them to 



Chap. OXV.] 



TN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



613 



tlie rear to amuso thcmaclves. I fear the 
youngsters will hardly prove such quiet 
people as their pajm. After a time we made 
our salaam, and retired." 

The same author gives an equally graphic 
account of an action fought at Candahar, on 
Sunday, May 29th : — " In the course of the 
morning her majesty's 41st, two regiments of 
Bengal native infantry, and what cavalry we 
had, were ordered out on an alarm similar to 
that of Sunday last, but with more serious 
results. After they were gone, hearing rather 
a heavy discharge of artillery, and my people 
telling me that they could see the enemy 
from the top of the house, I ordered my horse 
and went to the Herat Gate. From the top 
of this I soon descried three dense bodies of 
the enemy's cavalry, on some low hills about 
a mile and a half to the north-west. They 
were keeping up a rapid and well-sustained 
discharge of matchlocks, which was loudly 
responded to by the shah's artillery. The 
bulk of our troops were hidden from view by 
a long belt of gardens between them and the 
town ; but I saw some of the movements of 
the artillery as they crossed the plain. After 
the fire of the artillery had continued for some 
time, it was succeeded by a heavy discharge 
of musketry behind the gardens, which I 
immediately concluded to be from our in- 
fantry advancing on the enemy. After a time 
I saw a large body of horse, which had been 
the object of this fire, making off towards the 
left at great speed. On the right they col- 
lected and came down upon a village, of 
which they possessed themselves, but were 
soon driven out by a well-directed fire 
of shrapnel. They were now flying in all 
directions, and by about three i>. m. all were 
gone. Their numbers were computed at about 
five thousand, principally cavalry. It was 
stated, upon information subsequently ob- 
tained from some among them who came in, 
that they had about two hundred killed, and 
about the same number wounded. The 
number of our wounded was about twenty, 
and two or three sepoys wore killed. Lieu- 
tenant Mainwaring, of the 42nd Bengal 
native infantry, was wounded ; and Lieu- 
tenant Chamberlayne, commanding a detach- 
ment of the shah's irregular horse, here 
received one of those many scars which are 
the honourable testimonials of his gallantry 
throughout this campaign. His cavalry, and 
the Poonah horse under Lieutenant Tait, did 
good service this day, as did about two 
hundred Persian horse, under Aga Mo- 
hammed Khan, who was in our pay. This 
man is of the royal family of Persia, and an 
exile on account of some attempt to raise 
rebellion in that country. He is said to be 

vol.. n. 



the head of the Assassins, the lineal repre- 
sentative of the Old Man of the Mountains, 
and to derive a considerable income from the 
offerings of his sect. Suffer Jung and Achtur 
Khan were present at this action, and the 
mother of Akram Khan, who was blown from 
a gun in October, 1841, at Candahar. This 
lady pretended to a vision of the prophet, 
and was playing Joan of Arc among the 
Affghans. It happened unfortunately that 
on two successive Sundays we had been tlius 
disturbed ; but it was most providential that 
the loss was so small. The enemy expected 
to have been joined by a large number from 
the villages around, and were much deceived 
in the strength of the garrison. Their ill 
success completely broke their party, which 
dispersed with mutual recriminations. Prince 
Sufter Jung surrendered himself shortly 
after to General Nott, and was received and 
treated with greater leniency than he de- 
served ; for whatever cause of offence the 
Affghans in general had against us, from him 
and his family we were certainly entitled to 
ex2)ect gratitude." 

At the beginning of August a portion of 
the army was ordered to proceed down the ■ 
Bolan Pass into Scinde, under the command 
of General England ; the other part of tho 
force was to march under General Nott for 
Cabul. General Nott at that time knew 
nothing of Pollock's success, nor indeed until 
he learned the fact at Ghizni. 

MARCH OF GENERAL ENGLAND FROM 
CANDAHAR TO SCINDE. 
The task of imposed upon General England 
was even more hazardous tlian that which 
General Nott took upon himself. It was a 
brave resolution to march upon Ghizni ; but 
the general who accomplished it reserved to 
himself the whole European force at Candahar, 
and assigned to General England to convey 
the sick, wounded, women, children, a vast 
mass of material, and the chief part of tho 
camp followers, through the passes of Jug- 
dulluck and the Bolan to Scinde, his only 
fighting men being sepoys, who, unsupported 
by Europeans, had a terror of the Affghans. 
General England effected his task, harassed 
the whole way by clouds of Affghan cavalry, 
matchlock-men, and robber hordes. Nothing 
achieved in the Affghan war, unless it were 
the march of Sir Robert Sale from Cabul to 
Jellalabad, and his defence of that place, dis- 
played generalship equal to that shown by 
General England in his retirement from Can- 
dahar. He conducted a vast multitude of 
helpless human beings, with mere sepoy 
guards, in tho face of an enemy who had no 
fear of sepoys unsupported by Europeans, 

4 K 



614 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. OXV 



through passes which a liaudfiil of brave men 
might defend against an army. 
_ The ability of General England in connec- 
tion with this extraordinary performance, has 
been lately called in question by Sir William 
Napier, in the memoir published by liim of 
his brother. Sir Charles. It appears that at 
the time Sir Charles entered in his private 
journal some severe strictures upon this ex- 
ploit. These Sir William Napier has repub- 
lished in the memoir, but has not given the 
opinions of Sir Charles afterwards expressed 
in a calm review of these transactions. As 
Sir William is well known to be as honourable 
as he is brave and talented, it is to be prc- 
Bumed that he overlooked those latter opinions 
of his brother, and also of other distinguished 
men, as competent as either Sir Charles or 
Sir William Napier to form an opinion on the 
matter. Our readers may require at our 
hands some notice of this controversy, and 
historical truth demands that the conduct of 
these gifted men should be placed in its true 
light. 

On the 6th of August General England 
commenced his long retreat from Candahar. 
His force was, in fact, an immense and ill- 
assorted baggage-guard, nearly ineffective 
for all purposes of offensive warfare, the really 
combatant or protecting force did not exceed 
3,600 men, all sepoys, there not being a single 
European soldier in the whole corps. The 
number of human beings in some parts of the 
march amounted to nearly forty thousand, and 
there were twelve thousand animals to guard. 
On the 31st of October General England, 
• with his retreating force, reached the Indus, 
and encamped under General Sir 0. Napier, 
who had arrived from Bombay, and thus 
ended the retreat from Candahar of 450 miles, 
which was then — in 1842 — pronounced by 
Sir Charles Napier himself to be a most 
" difficult retreat;" and in 1849 he declared 
" this long retreat of General England was, in 
every sense of the word, one of great danger." 
Upon this achievement of General England, 
the journal of Sir Charles Napier contains the 
following entry in 1842 : — " October 2l8t. — 
In a rage. The poor wounded soldiers coming 
down with England's second column, were 
thrown down like dogs."* 

Again, Sir Charles has entered in his 
journal : — " A letter from England says the 
thieves were close to his rear-guard. I met 
his second column in March. We saw how 
contemptible the thieves must be. With a 
single troop of hussars opposed to the second 
column, I would have taken the whole con- 
voy. Had England been attacked, nothing 
could have saved him." 

• Memoir, &c., vol. ii. p. 225. 



Sir W. Napier, commenting upon entries 
in Sir Charles's journal concerning this march, 
says : — " Subsequent information convinced 
Sir Charles Napier that the march was a mere 
procession, and conducted without order, skill, 
or danger, or difficulty." * 

The answer to these items of the private 
journal, and the mistaken and ungenerous 
comments of Sir William Napier, is beyond 
refutation. Sir Charles entered these items 
in moments of irritation, with imperfect in- 
formation, and without reflection. That Sir 
Charles was likely to act in a manner so rash 
is, unhappily, well known to all who have 
studied his character, or known anything of 
him as a public man. His panegyrics and his 
censures, written and vivd voce, were so intem- 
perate as often to deprive either of the weight 
the opinion of so great a man would naturally 
possess. This peculiarity of his temper has 
been noticed by nearly every independent 
reviewer, either in the pages of our reviews 
or the columns of our leading journals, both 
in India and the British Isles. The march 
of General England did not deserve the cen- 
sures recorded, but really did deserve the 
laudations which tlie same pen bestowed upon 
it. The following letter from Sir Charles to 
General England himself, is a striking con- 
futation of the entries in the journal : — 

Siikkur, Upper Scincle, Oct. 6th, 1843. 
Allow mc to congratulate you on your successful 
progress in a most difficult retreat, for your convoy is 
like Falstaff's bill for sack, and your troops something 
like the item for bread in the same account, no proportion 
between them, and I really did not expect that you would 
have passed the Kojuck without immense loss. Your 
having done so, I must say, does you great honour, en- 
cumbered as you were, not only with your baggage, but 
with all the riddances of General Nott's force besides. I 
rejoice at General Nott's success with all my heart, but 
no military man can deny that, of the two operations, 
that allotted to you was by far the most difficult one, 
whether the composition of your troops or the ground to 
go over be considered. His a compact force of picked 
troops for active service, with only the baggage that 
was absolutely necessary, and no sick, besides cavalry 
and a powerful artillery, and no passes to force ; yours the 
refuse of his force, no cavalry, few guns, the hospitals of 
both forces, and the baggage of both, with perhaps the 
greatest passes in the world to traverse, and the enemy 
the same in both cases I and last, assuredly not least, the 
one force animated by the pride of an advance, the other 
acting under the depressing influence of a retreat. Hoping 
you may receive the praise you have so well earned. 
Believe me to remain, &c., 

C. NAPIER. 

On the 2nd of December following, when 
Sir C. Napier received from the governor- 
general a despatch, in which he commended 
the skill of General England in this arduous 
march, Sir Charles sent it to the officer in ques- 
tion, endorsed, " The governor-general is quite 
right." Seven years later, in a letter to the 
* Memoir, &c., vol. ii. p. 213. 



CiiAP. CXV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



615 



board of control, Sir Charles stated — " His 
(General England's) march from Candahar to 
Sukkur was a very difficult march, in which 
every one who was left a few yards behind the 
rear-guard was murdered." The opinions of 
all the authorities, civil and military, were the 
same. Sir Jasper Nicolls wrote on the 27th 
of October, 1842, and expressed his concur- 
rence in the eulogy bestowed on this great 
march by the civil authorities at Calcutta. 
On the loth November, Sir George Arthur, 
governor of Bombay, a man of truth and 
integrity, officially communicated his appro- 
bation, in which he says, " Nothing could be 
more satisfactory than the retreat of your 
force." " I could not resist assuring you how 
much gratified I am at your having made so 
successful a march from Candahar to the 
Indus." The following testimony from the 
highest authority in India, officially given, may 
complete this evidence : — -" The governor- 
general lias much satisfaction in annouucing 
the successful termination of the arduous and 
difficult operations confided to Major-general 
England ; this operation, however less bril- 
liant in its circumstances than that entrusted 
to Generals Nott and Pollock, yet called into 
exercise many of the higher qualities which 
most contribute to form the character of an 
accomplished general." He " com- 
municates his thanks to Major Outram, and 
the other political officers, for the zeal and 
ability they have manifested!"* &c. 

The confusion which Sir Charles Napier 
witnessed, was among the soldiers of the 
second column of the retiring force. When 
the convoy arrived at Quettah, and the danger 
was over. General England divided it into 
three columns. General England himself 
remained in the situation where danger would 
be found, if any existed — in the rear of the 
third column. When Sir Charles, who knew 
little at that time of Indian armies and Indian 
convoys, saw the second column, England 
was two hundred miles behind up the country. 
The division of the great convoy of forty 
thousand human beings and twelve thousand 
animals into three columns, when that could 
be safely done, no enemy to molest, was 
judicious, and even necessary for their more 
convenient and expeditious descent. That 
the convoy system of Indian armies was itself 
bad, there can be no doubt, but that was be- 
yond General England's cure ; he deserves 
the more praise, for obviating, so far as that 
was possible, the mischiefs which that system 
entailed. The dangers which beset General 
England before reaching Scinde, and the 
order and spirit with which he encountered 
them, the reader may infer from the following 
* Geueral Orders, dated Simla, Oct. 20th, 1842. 



passages from his despatches, in which names 
are quoted, some of which must be an ample 
guarantee for the truth : — " On the morning 
of the 3rd, I found the Kahees posted in 
some numbers on the steep ground which 
commands the upper extremity of the narrow 
zigzag near the Bolan. These insurgents 
had, however, only time to deliver a few 
rounds, when their attention was fully en- 
gaged by the flanking parties which covered 
our left, and which I now reinforced with," 
&c. "I have every reason to be satisfied 
with the handsome manner in which our 
troops ascended these stupendous heights, 
and cleared them. Major Woodhouse speaks 
very highly of them." " On this occasion 
Major Outram gave me his able assistance, 
as well as in flanking the lower extremity of 
the Bolan Pass, near Kundie, where I had 
good reason to expect to meet hostile tribes ; 
but the total disappointment of the Kakurs 
on the 3rd, and the effectual flanking arrange- 
ment," &c. It is thus evident that General 
England acted with the strictest military pre- 
caution, while on the enemy's territory, but 
arranged this vast and helpless body of men 
and beasts, whom he had protected, in 
columns of march, when on British ter- 
ritory the same active protection was no 
longer needed, and more rapid progress 
was important on grounds economical and 
sanitary. 

MARCH OF GENERAL NOTT TO GHIZNI AND 
CABUL. 

Having followed the march of General 
England, we shall now trace the progress 
of General Nott to Ghizni and Cabul. 
Timour Shah revisited India with General 
England, while the brother of Timour, at 
his own request, was permitted to remain in 
Candahar, to hold it if possible. This resolution 
on the part of the prince was against the 
wish of the English, who expected their dc- 
jjarture to be the signal of an attack, ending 
in massacre. As the British left, many 
" civilians " among the Affghiin population 
watched opportunity for assassination. 

General Nott's army moved off for Ghizni 
on the 7th of August. The number of fight- 
ing men did not exceed seven thousand. The 
cavalry consisted of the 3rd Bombay light 
cavalry, Skinner's horse, the shah's horse ; in 
all, I think, not much exceeding one thousand. 
The artillery — the 1st troop of Bombay horse 
artillery, the Srd company Ist battalion Bom- 
bay foot artillery, 3rd company 2nd battalion 
Bengal foot artillery, 1st troop shah's horse 
artillery (native), with a party of Bengal, and 
another of Madras sappers and miners. The 
guns were — four 18-pounders, two 241b. how- 



CIG 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[CuAP. CXV. 



itzers, four 9-pounders, twelve 6-pouiulers ; 
total twenty-two. The infantry — her ma- 
jesty's 40th and 41st regiments, and the 2nd, 
16tl), 38th, 42iid, 43rd Bengal native infantry. 
The army carried provisions for forty days, 
which, with ammunition, &c., loaded ten 
thousand pnhlic and private camels, besides 
bullocks, asses, mules, and tattoos. The fol- 
lowers it is impossible to estimate, but they 
must have been at least double the number of 
fighting men.* The enumeration of the force 
given by Major Huish adds to the infantry 
the 3rd, or Captain Craigie's Bengal irregular 
infantry ; and to the cavalry, five ressalates 
of Christie's irregular horse. 

The march of this army lay through wild 
and magnificent scenery, and through vales 
of soft and radiant beauty. It was itself a 
magnificent spectacle, and gave to many a 
picturesque valley through which it passed 
an aspect of romantic effect, such as only 
could be produced by the winding way of an 
oriental host. Seen from many'elevated posi- 
tions, the countr}', the .canip, the moving 
squadrons and battalions of war, presented a 
panoramic picture of the most impressive and 
attractive kind. The hills at certain hours 
seemed bathed in purple light, the plain 
vividly green, from the camel-thorn, and 
from the abounding southern-wood, which 
filled the air with its perfume. The red 
columns of the English infantry, crested with 
the sheen of their bayonets, the many-cos- 
tumed cavalry, the dark rolling guns, and 
behind all, except the rear-guard, camels, 
camel-drivers, and camp followers, with 
many-hued apparels, presented an exciting 
and strange array. Whatever the pleasurable 
emotions created by such scenes to English 
eyes, the painful feeling could not be dis- 
missed, that each day's march was tracked in 
blood. Skirmishes were not frequent, but 
»vere sometimes sharp, and fool-hardy or 
lazy camp followers were every day cut off 
by the enemy. Besides, every spot told some 
tale of previous conflict and slaughter, which 
had occurred in the desultory struggle of the 
previous year. On the 27th the enemy 
increased in the rear, infantry and cavalry, 
in considerable force, pressing upon the rear- 
guard. Skinners and the shah's horse were 
ordered to fall back, and engage the enemy, 
which they did, cutting down some twelve 
troopers, and more than fifty footmen, with a 
loss of only five or six wounded. On the 28th, 
the Affghans, by showing a small force, 
seduced the English cavalry to follow them, 
when, as the latter rounded the spur of a hill, 
an immense force, composed of five thousand 
men, horse and foot, attacked them. The 
* Rev. Mr. Allen. 



British succeeded in covering the retreat of a 
foraging party, but with a loss in killed and 
wounded of one-seventh of their number. 
The officers having displayed much more 
daring than their troops, suffered severely. 
Captain Bury was cut down after slaying with 
his sabre four of his opponents ; Captain 
Reves was shot dead ; Lieutenant Mackenzie 
received several most desperate sword cuts. 
When the cavalry arrived, they were rein- 
forced, and again sent out to recover the 
bodies of their slain officers. The infantry, 
with Captain Blood's nine-pounders, and 
Captain Anderson's six-pounders, were di- 
rected iigainst a fort whence it was alleged 
the assailants issued. As the British ap- 
proached it, the villagers came out with sup- 
plicating gestures declaring that they and their 
people had no part in the attack. The gene- 
ral directed them to remain quiet, and ordered 
Captain F. White, with the light company of 
her majesty's 40th regiment, to examine the 
place. The general might have spared him- 
self the trouble; falsehood and perfidy were 
ever upon Affghan lips — they were true dis- 
ciples of Islam. As the small party ap- 
proached, the people who protested such 
innocence opened a fire of matchlocks, from 
which Major Leech, political agent and inter- 
preter, narrowly escaped. 

The British then rushed forward, followed 
by the light company of the 41st and a 
battalion company of the 40th, under C'aptaia 
Neil. The fort was full of armed men, who 
fought furiously. The British, maddened by 
the treachery they had experienced, put all 
to the bayonet. The Affghans defended every 
courtyard, every house, every apartment, 
pressed by the infuriated English. Women 
and children were of course spared, but some 
were hurt in the conflict. In one house in 
which there were many, those within refused 
to surrender ; a shot from a six-pounder drove 
in the door, scattering ruin upon those within. 
The red torrent of avenging soldiers followed ; 
every man in the place perished, and some 
women and children fell victims in the struggle. 

The camels and fodder taken from the grass- 
cutters were found in the inclosures, and re- 
captured. The English soldiers plundered the 
place, and then set fire to it. The bodies of 
the soldiers and officers who had fallen in the 
attack made by the enemy were recovered, 
all brutally mangled. The dead bodies had 
been hacked with vengeful ferocity by those 
who so soon paid the penalty due to such 
deeds. 

The next day, after a short march, the 
army halted and were attacked on their 
camping ground by the enemy. The troops 
were ordered out. A fort called Goyain, gave 



Chap. OXV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



G17 



confidence to the enemy. It was filled with 
matchlock-men, who, as the English np- 
roached, shouted defiance and cursed them. 
They considered the building impregnable ; 
besides,there was a large force of their brethren 
hovering about upon the flanks of the British. 
The first discharge of the English nine- 
pounders carried away the battlements of the 
right bastion, killing a number of its defiant 
occupants, and alarming the rest. The suc- 
ceeding fire of the English cannon was not so 
effectual, and the enemy resumed courage. 
Lieutenant Terry, of the Bombay artillery, 
proposed to blow open the gate by approach- 
ing a gun very near, under cover of a heavy 
fire from the English infantry. The gate, 
however, was built up with mud, and this 
material was so thick as to resist the fire of 
the gun, which was withdrawn. The Aff- 
ghan army meantime reached a neighbouring 
hill, and opened a fire of artillery, to which 
the English promptly replied. This artillery 
battle was waged for an hour. While this 
action went on upon the British left, a strong 
Affghan force attempted to turn the British 
right. The supporting regiments prevented 
that, by advancing against the enemy. The 
recklessness of the English was on this occa- 
sion remarkable. ^Yhcn the play of the 
artillery of the enemy was really severe, 
'' there was an almost entire absence of any 
sense of danger. Jokes and laughter re- 
sounded on all sides, and the general feeling ap- 
peared to be more that of a set of schoolboys at 
a game of snowballs, than of men whose lives 
were in instant peril." Some poor fellows 
perished in the midst of this jocundity. The 
battle was won by the superior fire of the 
lilnglish cannon. The enemy retired, bearing 
away their guns leisurely. In the despatches 
the force drawn up against General Nott was 
reported as twelve thousand men. The Rev. 
Mr. Allen, who was in the action and near 
General Nott's person, computes it at half 
that amount. The British pursued, but the 
enemy retreated in perfect order, maintaining 
a well directed fire of artillery and matchlocks, 
causing the British considerable loss. Nott 
pressed them closely, captured two guns, their 
baggage, and a large stock of ammunition 
which had belonged to the English garrison 
at Ghizni. By far the most formidable of the 
enemy's troops were Mohammedan deserters 
from the Bengal sepoys. In the night the 
Affghaus deserted the fort, and a number of 
minor forts in the vicinity, leaving behind 
some ammunition and vast stores of grain and 
other food. The camp followers and a tribe 
of Affghans, rivals to those who had held 
the forts, set on fire whatever was inflam- 
mable in the forts and villages. Much dis- 



content was afterwards created in the army 
by the omission of all mention of the 41st 
regiment, as if it had taken no part in the 
action ; and by omitting to name tiie captors 
of the guns, and others who had distinguished 
themselves. 

The British reached Ghizni on the 5th of 
September, and prepared to breach its walls. 
An Affghan army occupied the heights be- 
hind the town, but were driven off, and 
abandoned all further attempts to save Ghizni. 
The garrison evacuated the place in the night. 
It is remarkable how frequently in Indian 
warfare the British have allowed the enemy 
to play them this trick. On entering the 
place many relics of the garrison left by Lord 
Keano were found. On one of the windows 
there was scratched by an officer an account 
of the sufferings of himself and his brother 
officers. From this it was learned that the 
Affghan chiefs had violated two treaties, and 
had twice put Colonel Palmer to the torture. 
The names of the cruel and treacherous chiefs 
were also given. The work of destruction soon 
began ; the great gun, Zubber Jung, which 
threw balls of fifty-pound weight, and a 
number of other pieces of cannon and gingals 
were burst. The fortifications were ruined, 
the wood-work of the citadel and town torn 
down for fuel, and the citadel itself shaken 
into ruins by mines. An ingenious inscrip- 
tion in English words and Greek characters 
was found upon one of the walls, directing 
attention to a particular beam where copies 
of the treaties made with Colonel Palmer were 
deposited. They were found and preserved. 
The army was much refreshed by the great 
abundance of delicious fruit and vegetables 
obtained in the neighbourhood of Ghizni. The 
weather was genial and balmy ; the climate 
resembling that of England, but steadier and 
finer, the days being warmer, the nights, 
early mornings, and evenings about the same 
temperature as that of the neighbourhood of 
London. The celebrated sandal-wood gates, 
taken from Somnauth by Mohammed of 
Ghizni, and which adorned his tomb, were 
removed from that place on the flth of Sep- 
tember, preparatory to their being carried 
to Hindostan. This was a great triumph, as 
the Mohammedans, especially the Fakeers, 
esteemed them as trophies of victory over the 
infidel. The tomb was otherwise carefully 
respected. 

On the 10th of September, General Nott 
marched for Cabul. On the march, during 
the 12th, the army came upon the fort of 
Sidabad, where a sanguinary conflict had 
taken place, November 3rd, 1841. Captain 
Woodburn was promised protection by certain 
Affghan chiefs, and was received, with one 



618 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXV, 



hundred and fifty sopoys, into a small walled 
yard beneath the fort. As in every other 
case, the chiefs violated their pledges, and 
fired down upon the party, pent up in a 
narrow compass. They made their way out 
and defeated the enemy, but Woodburn was 
killed by a shot from the bastion. The 
fort was found empty, and barricaded by 
General Nott, who forced it, and found there 
poor Woodburn's will, a letter of commen- 
dation to him from Sir W. Mac Naghten, 
and other relics of the party who had well, 
but vainly, fought. This scene of perfidy was 
blotted out from the face of the earth by the 
English engineers. During the remainder of 
the march there was much skirmishing, and 
some hard fighting, the Affghans always 
incurring defeat. On the i7th, the army 
reached Cabul. On the 18th, Generals Pol- 
lock and Nott met. News arrived the same 
evening that Sir Richmond Shakespear had 
found the English prisoners safe. A brigade 
was sent out to his support. It is here neces- 
sary to direct attention to the fortunes of those 
who had been so long in captivity with the 
enemy. During the reverses incurred by the 
Afifghan chiefs, they had been placed under 
charge of Saleh Mohammed Khan, who was 
proceeding with them, by order of Akbar 
Khan, to Turkistan. One of the captives 
ingeniously tampered with Mohammed, offer- 
ing him a large sum of money, and a pension 
for life, if he would allow them their liberty. 
Sir Richmond Shakespear volunteered, with 
a small party of cavalry, to go to Mohammed 
Khan, and undertake their escort. The perils 
he encountered were numerous, and it was 
by a strange coincidence, while Pollock and 
Nott were congratulating one another upon 
the current of events, that the communication 
reached the former that Sir R. Shakespear had 
the captives, but was in hourly danger of a 
force from the enemy overtaking them and 
effecting a recapture. Sir R. Sale, at the 
head of a brigade, was sent out to secure 
their safety ; and the brigade, with their 
charge, entered camp on the 21st. The list 
of restored captives comprised, according to 
Major Hough: — "Ladies, seven; women, 
three ; children, eleven ; officers, thirty-one ; 
non-commissioned officers and privates, forty- 
nine ; clerks, two ; boys, two ; total, one hun- 
dred and five. Including the officers from 
Ghizni. Captain Bygrave was given up on 
the 27th of September." The Rev. Mr. 
Allen, who witnessed their arrival, makes a 
different statement : — " The number of pri- 
soners liberated, including those left in Cabul, 
was as follows : — ladies and European women, 
twelve; officers, thirty -four ; children, seven- 
teen ; non-commissioned officers, privates, and 



clerks, fifty-four ; total, one hundred and 
seventeen." 

The joy of the garrison of Cabul over their 
countrywomen and countrymen, thus raised 
from the dead, may be conceived but cannot 
be described. Eager groups pressed around 
each, greetings and thanksgivings were heard, 
and tears were seen on every side. The 
European soldiers were deeply excited, and 
even the sepoys caught the generous infec- 
tion. Lady Sale, and her daughter, Mrs. 
Sturt, were especially objects of interest. The 
latter lady had lost her gallant husband, a 
young engineer officer of extraordinary pro- 
mise, who died of the fatigue he experienced 
in defending Cabul, after having been des- 
perately wounded by assassins. Lady Sale, 
in her journal, describes him as carried about 
in a litter, animating all by his example who 
were not paralyzed by the stolidity and irre- 
solution of the commander-in-chief. 

While yet the British occupied Cabul, it 
was deemed expedient to subdue Istaliff, a 
town of great strength, covering ground dif- 
ficult of access, and inhabited by a people 
accustomed to bear arms. It was twenty 
miles distant to the north-west of Cabul, in 
Koh-i -daman. The houses and fortifications 
occupied the slope of. a mountain, behind 
which loftier eminences rose, shutting in a 
pass which formed the road leading to Turk- 
istan. The fugitives from Cabul had taken 
refuge at Istaliff", and so confident were the 
people in its strength, that the families of all 
who were exposed to danger from a great 
distance had fled thither. The task of sub- 
duing this place was committed to Major- 
general M'Caskill. The force placed at his 
disposal, was — " Two eighteen pounders, and 
a detail of artillery (Bombay), Captain Blood's 
light field -battery. Captain Backhouse's moun- 
tain train, head-quarters and two squadrons 
of her majesty's 3rd dragoons, one squadron 
of the 1st light cavalry, Christie's horse (irre- 
gular), her majesty's 9th and 41st foot, the 
2Gth, 42nd, and 43rd native infantry, and 
Captain Broadfoot's sappers and miners." 

The action at Istaliff is thus recorded by 
Mr. Kaye :* — "M'Caskill was completely 
successful. Ho made a rapid march upon 
Istaliff, and took the enemy by surprise. The 
Aff'ghan chiefs had collected in this place 
their treasure and their women. They had 
looked to it as a place of refuge, secure from 
the assaults of the invading Feringhees. 
They had relied greatly on the strength of 
the place, and scarcely any defensive mea- 
sures had been taken to repel the assaults of 
the enemy. When M'Caskill entered the 
gardens which surround the town, a panic 
* Kaye's Affghan War, p. 634. 



Chap. CXV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



619 



seemed to have seized tlie people, they thought 
no longer of defence. Their first thought was 
to save their property and their women. 
AmeenooUah Khan himself fled at the first 
onset. As our troops entered the town, the 
face of the mountain beyond was covered with 
laden baggage-cattle, whilst long lines of 
white-veiled women, striving to reach a place 
of safety, streamed along the hill side. What 
our troops had to do they did rapidly and 
well ; but the fire of the enemy's jezails soon 
slackened when the 9th foot, with Broad- 
foot's sappers, and the 26th native infantry, 
dashed into the gardens, where the Affghan 
marksmen had been posted. And as their 
gallantry, so their forbearance is to be com- 
mended. M'Caskill, respecting the honour 
of the women, would not suffer a pursuit ; but 
many fell into the hands of our people in the 
town, and were safely delivered over to the 
keeping of the Kuzzilbashes. Two guns and 
much booty were taken ; the town was fired, 
and then M'Caskill went on towards the hills, 
meeting no opposition on the way, destroyed 
Charekur, where the Goorkha regiment had 
been annihilated, and some other fortified 
places, which had been among the strongholds 
of the enemy, and then returned triumphantly 
to Cabul." Keferring to this action, Mr. 
Marshman says : — " General M'Caskill, who 
commanded the division, left all the arrange- 
ments of the attack to Havelock's skill ; and 
he dwells with delight in his letters to his 
relatives on the opportunity he now enjoyed, 
for the first time after twenty-seven years of 
soldiering, of organizing a great military 
movement, as he said, out of his own brain. 
The town was carried with little loss, through 
the admirable combinations of Havelock's 
strategy, and the affair at Istaliff was con- 
sidered one of the most brilliant of the cam- 
paign ; but it is only at the present time that 
Havelock's share in it can bo prudently 
recorded." 

If these statements of Mr. Marshman be 
correct, the facts they record are an inva- 
luable contribution to the fame of Havelock. 
He was then only a major on the Etas' of 
General Pollock, and accompanied M'Caskill 
by the courtesj' of the former. 

After this expedition, the commander-in- 
chief, in pursuance of his orders, prepared 
to return to India. He destroyed the great 
bazaar, so famous in history, built in the time 
of Aurungzebe. In this place the body of the 
British envoy, when murdered by Affghan 
assassins at the command of Affghan chiefs. 
Lad been exposed to insult, and General 
Pollock resolved that the retribution should 
be the destruction of the place itself. A 
mosque at the end of the bazaar, and another 



near the cantonments, ornamented with Euro- 
pean materials during the interval between 
the exit of the Hon. General Elphinstone and 
the entrance of General Pollock, in order to 
commemorate the slaughter of the Feringhees, 
were also destroyed. 

On the 12th of October, General Pollock 
began the retirement of his army, by sending 
forward Sir Robert Sale, with the 1st and 
2nd brigades, the 1st light cavalry, 3rd irre- 
gular cavalry, and Christie's horse, over the 
Gospund Darrah Pass, with the object of 
turning the Khoord-Cabul. The result of 
this movement was, that the main pass was 
penetrated without so much as an exchange 
of shots. General Nott's division followed, 
but was attacked in the Hiift Khatul Pass, 
on the 14th of October. General Pollock 
considered that this, and some petty attacks 
upon his rear-guard, were made by brigands. 
It is surprising that the general should think 
so, for there was as much appearance of mili- 
tary order among the assailants as in any 
Affghan force which he had encountered. 

On the 17th of December, 1842, the army 
crossed the Sutlej. There were great re- 
joicings and festivities in Ferozepore ; yet 
there were many causes for regret. England 
had been placed in mourning for the loss of a 
multitude of her brave and noble children. 
British honour was, indeed, vindicated by 
the destruction of Cabul, Istaliff, Ghizni, 
Candahar, and Jellalabad. The Affghans 
had been everywhere defeated, the ladies 
and officers so treacherously made captives 
had been rescued, but the conquering armies 
had scarcely accomplished their ultimate vic- 
tory, when they began to retire ; and, although 
General Pollock declared in his despatches 
that no organized resistance was made to the 
return of his army, yet an angry enemy who 
had made no submission hung upon their 
flanks and rear, and made victims of soldiers 
and camp followers until the English flag svas 
lost to view from the territory of Affghan- 
istan. To this day the Affghans hold them- 
selves to have been the conquerors in that 
war, and the same feeling, kept alive by 
Russia, pervades Persia and Central Asia. 
There is, however, an awe of English power 
remaining in Affghanistan as a result of the 
advance of England, Nott, and Pollock, which 
has deterred the Affghans since then from en- 
tering into any important combinations against 
the power of Great Britain. 

Thus ended the terrible Affghan war, one 
of the most destructive to the life of English 
soldiers, and by far the most injurious to 
British reputation in which the empire had 
ever been engaged. This justifies the length 
at which its affecting details have been given. 



620 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXVI. 



CHAPTER CXVI. 

THE WAR IN SCINDE— ADVANCE TOWARDS HYDERABAD— THE AMEERS COERCED INTO A 
TREATY WITH THE ENGLISH -ATTACK UPON THE ENGLISH RESIDENCY AT HYDERA- 
BAD—EXPEDITION OF SIR CHARLES NAPIER IN THE DESERT— BATTLE OF MEANNER— 
BATTLE OF DUBBA— VICTORIES OF COLONEL ROBERTS AND CAPTAIN JACOBS-SIR 
CHARLES NAPIER'S GOVERNMENT OF SCINDE. 



In a previous chapter .an account was given 
of tlie proceedings of the British in Scinde 
jjreviouB to tlie Affghan war, and more 
especially during the period when the army of 
General England was ordered to prepare for 
protecting the retreat of General Nott. On 
the 4th of November, 1842,* a year and 
two days after the outbreak at Cabul, a 
draft of a treaty with the ameers of Scinde 
was prepared, several of the articles of 
which became important at the close of the 
Affghan war. By article 2, the company's 
rupee was to become the only coin legally 
current in the dominions of the ameers, after 
the 1st of January, 184o.t By article 5, the 
ameers renounced the privilege of coining 
money. J The 6th article relates to the 
cutting of wood for the steamers navigating 
the Indus. By article 7, Kurrachee and Tatta 
were to bo ceded to the British government, 
and a free passage between Kurrachee and 
Tatta. By article 8, Subsulkhote,§ and the 
territory between the present frontier of 
Bhawulpore and the town of Rohree, are 
ceded to his Highness of Bhawulpore, " the 
ever faithful ally and friend of the British 
government." 

Sir W. Napier says,|l the Scindian princes 
" were again excited by Nott's advance upon 
Candahar ; they judged it a forced abandon- 
ment of that important city ; and though he 
afterwards destroyed Ghizni, and, in conjunc- 
tion with Pollock, ruined Istaliff and Cabul, 
the apparently hurried retreat from Affghan- 
istan which followed, bore, for the misjudging 
people, the character of a flight. It was 
viewed as a proof of weakness, and Belochis 
and Brahooes became more hopeful and more 
confident than before. The ameers of Upper 
and Lower Scinde consulted together, how 
best to league against the Feringhees ; Sikh 
vakeels were at Khyrpore, ready to start for 
Lahore, loaded with presents for the Maha- 
rajah ; and at the same time, letters came from 

* Afghan War. By Major Hough. 

t The date of the coinage of the company's rupee 
throughout our Indiaa possessions. 

% The act of coining is the right of the sovereign of a 
country. 

{ Which had been taken from the nawab by the 
ameers. 

II Conquest of Scinde, parti., p. 111. 



the victorious Affghans, reminding the ameers 
that they were feudatories of the Doonaree 
empire, and exhorting them to act boldly in 
the common cause. These things led to the 
ameers' final destruction ; they were the fore- 
runners of the battle by which they fell ; but 
their primary cause, it has been shown, was 
deeper seated. The Scindian war was no 
isolated event. ' It was the tail of the Aff- 
ghan storm.' " The ameers swore upon the 
Koran their determination to unite with 
Affghans, Sikhs, or whatever other allies 
might be procurable, to make war upon the 
English. Fortunately for the interests of the 
British empire, the late Sir Charles Napier 
was in command of the troops in Scinde, 
while General England was at Candahar, and 
after the celebrated retreat of that officer in 
charge of the great convoy. Sir Charles 
Napier did not regard the war which was 
about to be launched against Scinde as just. 
His opinion was well founded ; the ameers 
had never committed any aggression upon the 
English. They had preserved a cold and 
studied distance as long as they were able, 
and were influenced in so doing by the con- 
viction that any alliance with the government 
of Calcutta would ultimately be subversive of 
their own independence. Various treaties 
had been forced upon them which were in- 
tolerably overbearing, and the English agents 
domineered over the country as if it were a 
province won in war. When the draft treaty, 
already I'eferred to, was laid before the ameers, 
by Lieutenant Eastwick, on behalf of the 
Bombay government, Noor Mohammed, one 
of the principal ameers, took from a box .ill 
the treaties which were in force, and sarcas- 
tically asked, " What is to become of all 
these?'' Before receiving a reply, he calmly, 
but with indignant remonstrance, added, 
" Here is another annoyance. Since the days 
that Scinde has been connected with the Eng- 
lish, there has always been something new ; 
your government is never satisfied ; we are 
anxious for your friendship, but we cannot be 
continually persecuted. We have given a 
road to your troops through our territories, 
and now you wish to remain." The death of 
Noor Mohammed facilitated the designs of the 
English, which were carried out with as little 



CuAr. CXVL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



G21 



scruple as justice. The ameers had borne 
the injustice of Lord Auckland's govern- 
ment, but when Lord Ellenborough arrived, 
a puerile and hot-headed policy was pursued, 
calculated to drive them to madness or de- 
spair. Yet, as in the case of Affghauistan, 
his hot vigour was followed by reaction, and 
he hesitated as to the expediency of forcing 
certain cessions of territory which he had 
ordered Colonel Outram, the resident, to de- 
mand. A month afterwards one of his fits of 
vigour returned, and Sir Charles Napier was 
placed in the chief civil and military au- 
thority. On the 5th of October Sir Charles 
reported to the governor-general that the 
ameers took tolls upon the river ; which was 
contrary to the treaty forced upon the ameers 
by the government of Calcutta, which it had 
no more right to dictate, than any Scinde or 
Beloocliee robber would have to levy black- 
mail within the Indian territory. Sir Charles 
Napier, although he admitted that the ameers 
had been aggrieved, and had committed no 
aggression, did not resign his political or mili- 
tary functions, but carried out the governor- 
general's unjust policy with an earnest will. 
The general instituted a series of intrigues 
between certain of the ameers, which were 
neither very clever nor very cunning, and 
eventually did more to embarrass affairs and 
drive the ameers to resistance than any of the 
articles of the oppressive and insolent treaty 
forced upon them.* By one of the intrigues 
in which Sir Charles engaged himself, a cer- 
tain ameer, named Meer Proostum, fled to 
another, his near kinsman, named Ali Moorad 
upon whose head he jJaced the turban, an act 
which betokened the surrender of power. Out 
of this transaction arose the necessity, or the 
supposed necessity on the part of Sir Charles 
Napier, of taking a fort in the desert called 
Emaum Ghur. This exploit was one of great 
peril and difficulty, and v?as accomplished by 
Sir Charles with singular vigour and audacity. 
The fort was so situated that to reach it at all 
with an armed force was all but impossible. 
The march to it was long, the way a perfect 
waste; everything to be brought by the troops 
must be carried, even water. The quantity 
of that commodity necessary for men pursuing 
military enterprises in such a climate, and 
especially while marching over a desert, 
would be very great. Sir Charles was de- 
terred by no difficulties, he determined to carry 
his point, and soon, and effectually. He selected 
two hundred irregular cavalry, one hundred 
and fifty of whom had ultimately to be sent 
back from want of forage. His artillery con- 
sisted of two howitzers, 24-pounders. Ho 

* Parliamentary Papers relating to Scinde ; Supplemen- 
tary Papers ; Correspondence of Sir Charles Napier. 
VOL. II. 



placed 350 men of her majesty's 22nd regi- 
ment on 175 camels, loaded 10 camels with 
provisions, and SO with water, and marched 
forth against the stronghold, the number of 
the defenders of which he could not have 
known. The fort was actually defended by 
considerably more than 2000 men, and the 
skirts of the desert were crowded with fana- 
tical Belooohee horsemen. He went forth 
early in January, 1843, brought his force 
thither in safety, captured the place, blew 
it up, and returned with a rapidity which 
dazzled and astonished friends and foes. 

l^his occurred when the East India com- 
pany teas at peace with all the known autho- 
rities of Scinde ; so that it became obvious 
to the ameers, and their friends the Beloo- 
chees, that the English were determined upon 
plundering the territory of Scinde from its 
possessors. 

As to the exploit itself, the Duke of Wel- 
lington, in his place in the house of lords, 
gave the follomng opinion : — " Sir Charles 
Napier's march upon Emaum Glnu", is one of 
the most curious military feats which I havo 
ever known to be performed, or have ever 
perused an account of in my life. He moved 
his troops through the desert against hostile 
forces ; he had his guns transported under 
circumstances of extreme difficulty, and in a 
manner the most extraordinary, and he cut 
off a retreat of the enemy which rendered it 
impossible for them ever to regain their 
positions." 

The treat}' proposed to the ameers, No- 
vember the 4th, 1842, was sealed by the 
ameers, most reluctantly, the 14th February, 
1843. The expedition in the desert terrified 
the ameers, although it intensified their desire 
to drive the English from their country. 
The Beloocliee people were not so readily 
alarmed. Their patriotism and fanaticism 
were thoroughly roused. They regarded the 
English as robbers, tyrants, and truce - 
breakers, and determined to rid their country 
of them or perish. Three days after the 
treaty, was fought the ever-memorable battle 
of Meannee ! "When the treaty was signed, 
the ameers warned Major (holding the local 
rank of colonel) Outram, that if Sir Charles 
Napier continued to advance, the result must 
be, a revolt by the people and troops against 
the execution of the treaty. Sir Charles did 
advance, and without justification on any 
ground. The predicted consequence took 
place. On the 15th of February, the people 
rose, and the first object of attack was the 
British residency. Tlie enclosure in which 
the mansion was situated was swept by the 
river, where a British steamer was placed, 
armed with cannon. Numerous bodies of 

4i. 



622 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXVI. 



Scinde horse and foot environed the enclosure 
in every other direction. For four hours the 
enemy maintained a heavy fire, to which a 
small party of British replied, under Captain 
Conway ; Lieutenant Harding and Ensign 
Pennefather distinguished themselves by their 
activity, skill, and coiirage. Two gentlemen, 
Captain Green, of the 21st native infantry, 
and Captain Wells, of the 15th, volunteered, 
and rendered important services. Captain 
Brown, Bengal engineers, went on board the 
steamer, and acted as an artillery officer, with 
good effect. The British were too few to con- 
tinue the defence, and retired with order to 
the steamer, leaving behind most of their 
baggage, and all the property of the residency. 
They subsequently joined the force of Sir 
Charles Napier. 

BATTLE OF MEANNEE. 
• The ameers now determined to resist the 
advance of the English troops, the commander 
of these troops was furnished with a conclu- 
sive reason for continuing his march by the 
storming of the residency. On the 17th he 
reached Meannee, about six miles from Hyder- 
abad. The ameers awaited him there in a 
strong position, flanked with woods, and be- 
hind the dry bed of the river Fullaillee. 
Before the extreme right of the enemy's 
position lay a village, affording a good cover. 
Two British officers volunteered to recon- 
noitre, which was done with great boldness 
and coolness, the officers riding along the 
whole line exposed to a perilous fire. The 
result was, however, the supply of accurate 
information. The number of the enemy was 
seven times that of the British, but Sir 
Charles considered that any delay for rein- 
forcements would strengthen the confidence 
of the ameers and produce a moral effect 
upon the country dangerous to the success 
and even the existence of his little army, not 
stronger than a brigade; he therefore deter- 
mined to attack. It was a daring resolution ; 
with less than three thousand men of all arms 
to assail a strong position defended by more 
than twenty thousand men, of reputed cour- 
age! But Sir Charles was a man of bold 
conclusions. 

The ameers did not wait to be assailed. 
As soon as the British came witihin range of 
their guns, a heavy fire was opened, but hap- 
pily it was not well directed. The reply of 
the British cannon was most effective, and 
undoubtedly prepared the way for closer 
attack. The British guns were placed on the 
right. Infantry skirmishers with the Scinde 
irregular cavalry were thrown far in front, 
merely to make the enemy show his strength. 
The British infantrv then moved from the 



right in echelon of battalions, refusing the left 
to save it from the fire of the village, whicli, 
as before noticed, covered the enemy's right. 
The major-general commanding compared 
the movement to a review over a plain swept 
by an enemy's cannon. The artillery and her 
majesty's 22nd regiment, in line, formed the 
leading echelon^ the 26th native infantry, the 
second; the 12th infantry, the third; and the 
1st grenadier native infantry, the fourth. 
The 9th Bengal light cavalry formed the re- 
serve, in rear of the left wing. The Poonah 
horse with four companies of infantry guarded 
the baggage. The British line opened a fire 
of musketry within one hundred yards of the 
bank of the river. The Belooohees charged 
their advancing enemies, firing their match- 
looks and discharging their pistols as thej- 
came to close quarters. From neither fire 
did the English receive much harm. The 
Beloochees, with sword and shield, then threw 
themselves upon the British line, the men of 
which advancing, shoulder to shoulder, de- 
livered a volley, so simultaneously that it was 
as if given from a single machine of destruc- 
tion, and directed so low that every shot told. 
The first line of the Beloochees went down 
under this surely directed fire, the second 
line was pierced by the bayonets of the 
British lino, which as a wall of pointed steel 
received the desperate charge. Nevertheless 
these brave adversaries came on, scimitar in 
hand, as if eager for death, and so severe was 
the onset that the fate of the battle was for 
some time in suspense. The peril to the 
British was now so great that Colonel Pattle, 
at the suggestion of Captain A. Tucker, 
moved his cavalry, with the view of turning 
the enemy's right flank, and charging their 
rear, so as to check the force of their terrible 
onslaught upon the line of the British in- 
fantry. While Colonel Pattle and Captain 
Tucker were thus initiating an important 
movement, the responsibility of which the 
colonel was reluctant to incur, orders came 
from the commander-in-chief to " force the 
right of the enemy's line." The 9th Bengal 
cavalry had the honour of executing this 
movement, supported by the Scinde horse. 
The former regiment took a standard and 
several guns, the latter ca]itured the camp, 
from which the cavalry of the Beloochees re- 
tired slowly, firing as they retreated, and 
taking deliberate aim. Lieutenant Fitzgerald 
pursued them several miles with a small body 
of cavalry, and himself slew three of their 
horsemen in single combat. This charge of 
cavalry decided the battle. The 22nd forced 
the bank of the river, as the appearance of 
the English cavalry in the rear of the Be- 
loochees confused their infantry. The 2oth 



f 







Chap. OXVI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



623 



and 12th native infantry crossed the dry hed 
of the river nearly as soon as the 22nd ; the 
12th, scrambling up the opposite bank, cap- 
tured some guns in position there. The whole 
of the enemy's artillery was taken, with their 
camp equipage, stores, ammunition and trea- 
sures. Several standards were also taken. 
Sir Charles in his despatches stated that all 
were captured, which his own account of the 
retreat of the Beloochee cavalry shows could 
not be correct. 

Seldom did British arms gain a harder 
fought battle, and seldom were the numbers 
engaged on each side so disproportionate. 
Not more than 1900 men were actually in 
action on the side of the British. The ameers 
brought their whole force into battle, except 
the cavalry, which came into combat when 
Colonel Pattle charged round their right 
flank and fell upon the rear of the infantry. 
Some accounts rate the force of the ameers at 
25,000, but certainly more than 20,000 men 
gave battle to the little Britsh band opposed 
to them. The loss of the EngHsh was 56 
soldiers killed and 177 wounded, and 95 
horses.* Six officers were killed and 22 
wounded. 

The plan of the battle is intelligible to 
civilians : the mode of going into action was 
beautiful, but the execution was confused, 
and but for the cavalry charge round the 
right upon the rear — a movement which never 
occurred to the enemy as possible until it was 
accomplished, and therefore bewildered them, 
— the probabilities were great that the battle 
would have been lost. 

The Duke of Wellington had a very high 
opinion of the genius of Sir Charles Napier 
as a soldier, and was notoriously partial to 
the Napier family. This latter circumstance 
must qualify the reception given to any 
opinions pronounced by his grace upon the 
actions of Sir Charles. The duke's opinion 
of the battle of Meanneo, and of the conduct of 
the victor, consequent upon it, has been very 
generally received; it was in the following 
terms : — " He gained the camp of the enemy, 
got possession of his guns, and obtained the 
most complete victory, taking up a position in 
which he was not again likely to be attacked. 
Not only did he secure Hyderabad, and the 
portion of the Indus which lay in his rear ; 
he brought up a reinforcement and placed 
himself at the head of a stronger army than 
that which he commanded before the battle. 
He manifested all the discretion and ability 
of an officer familiar with the most difficult 
operations in war." 

Immediately after the battle, three ameers 
of Hyderabad, and three of Khyrpore, came 
* Blue-book. 



in and surrendered themselves. They were 
sent prisoners to Bombay. Lord EUenborough 
declared Scindo " annexed " to the company's 
dominions. 

BATTLE OF DUBBA. 
Shore Mohammed was still in arms, at the 
head of twenty-five thousand men; and so 
confident was he of success, that he boasted 
he would " Cabul the English." The use of 
this phrase, which became current among the 
Scindians, showed how extensively the weak- 
ness of the Hon. General Elphinstone, and 
the incapacity for large operations of Briga- 
dier Shelton, had deprived the English of 
military prestige among the nations conti- 
guous to British India. Mohammed took up 
a position at Dubba, about eight miles north- 
west of Hyderabad. He had eleven guns in 
battery, and four field-pieces. His infantry 
were drawn up in two intrenched lines, and 
his cavalry in masses in the rear. The right 
flank rested on the PuUaillee, the bed of which 
was at that spot deep, and retained a large 
quantity of mud and muddy water, sufficient 
to prevent the position from being turned. 
There was another nullah * to the rear of the 
former, forming an obtuse angle to the front 
line, and there the left of the enemy's army 
was posted. Thus the true front of battle 
extended from the right for one mile perpen- 
dicularly to the Fullaillee, presenting, what 
may be termed, the right wing and centre to 
an attack ; but the left wing hehind the second 
nullah, was refused. All the cavalry were 
behind the left. In the rear of the right 
wing stood the village of Dubba.f Between 
the first line of the right and centre and the 
village of Dubba there was another nullah. 
Each had what in military technicality is 
called a ramp for advancing and retreating. 
The enemy's second line was placed near the 
second and larger nullah, in the rear of which 
he posted his cannon. His pioneers cleared 
away the low jungle which had occupied the 
land in front, so that the fire of his guns 
might not be impeded. 

Such was the position of the Beloochee 
army, described with as few technicalities as 
possible, so that the popular reader may com- 
prehend the vast strength of such a post. 
With such intrenchments and nullahs, pro- 
tecting his lines in every part, a native com- 
mander would naturally consider his lines 
unassailable. 

The army of Sir Charles Napier did not 
number one-fifth of that of his opponent. He 
had 1100 horse, and nineteen guns ; five 

* The dry bed of a river, or of a canal, or other cut for 
containing water, is called a nullali. 
t Tliis village svas also called Narajah. 



(•)24: 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXVI. 



of these belonged to tlie horse artillery. Two 
pieces of cannon, and n. few hundred troops 
were left to guard the camp before Hyderabad. 
The rest of the little army, numbering less 
than five thousand men, and seventeen 
cannons, proceeded to attack the foe.* Ar- 
riving before the intrenched position of 
]\Iohammed, the English general instantly 
formed ; in doing which, he adopted the plan 
taken at Meannee, advancing by echelon of 
battalions. The left of his line was too near 
that of the enemy, and had to be thrown back. 
Tlie guns were placed in the intervals between 
the battalions of infantry; the cavalry covered 
the flanks. The right was somewhat "re- 
fused," because a wood towards that flank 
at once impeded the formation, and might 
cover the enemy's sharp-shooters. The in- 
fantry of the enemy's left extended half a 
mile beyond that of the extreme right of the 
cavalry flankers of Sir Charles. This portion 
of the enemy's line was exposed to the gene- 
ral's view ; not so tlieir centre and right, 
which were hidden by the nullahs. The 
village of Dubba appeared to be unoccupied. 
Three British officers — Major Waddington of 
the engineers, and Lieutenants Brown and 
Hill, rode close up to the right centre of the 
position, and afterwards proceeded along the 
centre to its junction with the right, for the 
purpose of causing the enemy to show his 
force. This object was attained. Unable to 
conceive what these officers were about, the 
enemy stood on the defence, their first line 
starting up eagerly and firing. So close did 
these gallant officers ride to the lino, that the 
ramps for leaving or entering the nullah was 
distinctly seen, and the precise position noted 
by Major Waddington. Sir Charles having 
thus cleverly reconnoitered, put his whole 
force in motion for the attack. His first object 
was, by rapidity, to gain the junction of the 
nullah with the Pullaillee, and, passing it, to 
seize the village before the enemy could pene- 
trate his design. 

The attack was led here, as at Meannee, by 
her majesty's 22nd regiment, and with equal, 
if not even surpassing, heroism. A cross fire 
from the British artillery so galled the enemy's 
centre, that his troops showed symptoms of 
unsteadiness, and moved towards the left as 
if to be out of range. On perceiving this, 
Major Stack, with the 3rd cavalry, under 
Captain Delamain, and the Scinde horse, 
under Captain Jacobs, charged the flank, to- 
wards which the bodies of infantry, detaching 
themselves from the centre, were tending. 
The major dashed across the nullah, cleared 
all obstacles, cut into the infantrj', and pur- 
sued them for miles. This charge was exe- 
* Conquest of Scinde. 



cuted without orders, and, like most feats of 
the kind, however fortunate, entailed immi- 
nent peril to the army it was bravely intended 
to serve. Sir William Napier says : — " He 
thus exposed the flank of the line of battle, 
and exposed the whole army to a defeat, if 
the wood had really been filled with the 
selected division of Beloochees." 

The 22nd regiment, under Captain George, 
was directed by Major Poole, who com- 
manded the brigade to storm the nullah on 
the enemy's left, which was accomplished in 
the most daring manner. The enemy's right 
flank was turned by Captain Tait, with the 
Poonah horse, and by Major Story, with the 
9th Bengal cavalry, pursuing the enemy as 
Major Stack did on the left, and cutting down 
the fugitives over several miles of their flight. 
Thus both flanks of the enemy were actually 
turned and defeated, the centre alone being 
able any longer to resist, which it did not do 
with any persistence, the remainder of the 
infantry and cavalry advancing with the regu- 
larity of a review, and the guns of the British 
from the right and left pouring in a terrible 
cross fire. Thus ended the battle of Dubba. 
The opinion of the great Duke of Wellington 
concerning it is on record : — " A briUiant 
victory, in which he (Sir Charles) showed all 
the qualities of a general officer, and in which 
the army displayed all the best qualities of the 
bravest troops." The British lost two hun- 
dred and seventy officers and men. More 
than half the number of casualties occurred 
in the 22nd regiment. 

After this victory the spirit of the Seindians 
was broken, although Shere Mohammed still 
hoped to retrieve his disasters. From the 
fisld of battle Sir Charles marched to the 
south, entering Meerpore in triumph ; and on 
the 4th of April the fortress of Omercote 
opened its gates. Sir Charles determined to 
surround, if possible, the fugitive Shere Mo- 
hammed. To accomplish this, he divided his 
army into three parts, holding himself the 
command of one, and giving the charge of 
the two others to Colonel Roberts and Cap- 
tain Jacobs. Upon those two officers devolved 
the chief duties connected with the active 
prosecution of the plan. On the 8th of June, 
Colonel Roberts met the Ameer Shah Moham-- 
raed, and Captain Jacobs encountered Shere 
Mohammed six days after, the British in each 
case gaining a signal victory. Roberts, with 
a small force, defeated two thousand men, 
and captured the shah ; Jacobs, with a very 
disproportionate force, vanquished about four 
thousand Beloochees, the shere flying to the 
desert, attended only by his personal retinue. 
These events gave great satisfaction in Eng- 
land and at Calcutta, and Lord Ellenborough 



C.iAP.CXVI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



625 



nominated Sir Charles to the government of 
Sciude. During his government no oppor- 
tunity occurred for the display of his military 
genius. During the Sikh campaign, more 
than two years afterwards, Sir Charles 
marched by Mooltan from Scinde with a 
small force ; and proceeding in advance, 
reached the grand army shortly after the 
sanguinary victory of Sobraon. If, however, 
the government of Sir Charles was not to be 
distinguished by any achievements of a mili- 
tary nature, it was very remarkable for its 
civil administration. The great Napoleon 
and his great rival both expressed (without 
either borrowing from the other) the opinion 
that civil qualities entered into the com- 
petency of a superior commander, even more 
than military. This seems to have been 
borne out by the management of armies, and 
by the administration in Scinde of Sir Charles 
Napier. He ruled Scinde arbitrarily, but 
justly ; sternly, yet mercifully ; in the inte- 
rest of his country, yet for the welfare of the 
people. Ho held down with an iron hand all 
disposition to insubordination or revolt, never- 
theless, so attached the people to him, that 
when he departed, they followed him with 
tears and lamentations. In war they gave 
him the formidable soubriquet ol " Shatan ;" in 
peace they almost adored him as a deity. 
Scinde was afflicted with many calamities 
during his reign, as one might very appro- 
priately call his government ; but his admi- 
nistration of its affairs created order, cherished 
industry, brought wide regions, previously 
unproductive, into cultivation, and preserved 
innumerable lives when famine and disease 
ravaged the wliole realm. 

The following statement of the difficulties 
with which Sir Charles liad to contend was 
drawn up in an expose made to government, 
and suppressed by the Bombay council, or 
some of its officials. It is headed, " Sir 
Charles Napier to the Governor in Council. 
Bombay, Oct. 21, 1846." An extract only is 
made from the document : — " Plundering grain 
was rife all over the land while war lasted. 
People stole grain and concealed it, especially 
government grain ; for the conquerors were 
strangers in the land, and fear pervaded all 
hearts, none knowing what the victorious 
foreigners would do ; quantities of grain were 
therefore buried, and cultivation neglected. 
We at first had no knowledge of the proper 
men to employ as kardars and wnbardars, 
nor did we know the amount of the collec- 
tions which ought to be made ; consequently, 
the government was robbed to an immense 
extent ; an evil which still exists, though it 
gradually decreases. These kardars, there- 
fore, took no pains with cultivation ; they 



were occuijied with jiillage. The canals could 
not be properly cleaned till the country was 
fairly settled ; and without this clearing there 
could be neither health nor crops in Scinde. 
When we conquered Scinde the canals were 
choked up, for the ameers having resolved 
on war, everything relative to agriculture 
appears to have been abandoned for some 
time before the battle of Meannee ; men were 
preparing for war. A plague of locusts fell 
upon Scinde. This was a heavy and exten- 
sive affliction ; it not only consumed this 
country, but, I am told, ravaged whole pro- 
vinces in Upper India, so that very small 
collections could be made there. Be that as 
it may, these locusts nearly destroyed the 
Scinde crop in 1814. The locusts were pre- 
ceded by a dreadful epidemic, which raged 
from the end of August, 1843, to Jaunarj', 
1844, destroying thousands, and leaving those 
who survived unable to work. The troops 
suffered less than the people of the country ; 
yet, out of seventeen thousand fighting men, 
thirteen thousand were helpless in the hos- 
pitals ; and of the remaining four thousand, 
not above two thousand could have made a 
day's march. Cultivation was abandoned, 
for no man had strength to work. To close 
this catalogue of ills which fell upon the cul- 
tivation and people of Scinde in 1843 and 
1844, the Indus suddenly fell, while the few 
crops which that year had been raised, \\ere 
yet on the ground, and a vast portion thus 
perished from want of water, for the river did 
not again rise." 

A powerful opposition was raised against 
Sir Charles among the Bombay officials, and 
a minute was recorded by the council, cen- 
suring the way in which Sir Charles supported 
the revenue of Scinde, which, it was alleged, 
was done by causing an artificially high jirice 
for grain after the revenue paid in that com- 
modity was received by the governor. This 
minute was absolutely false, and gave rise to 
discussions in parliament when the disgrace- 
ful fact came to light, that, although the 
Bombay government produced a copy of the 
faithless minute, no minute could be found of 
the complete confutation of the calumny. It 
was a curious circumstance, that Sir Charles 
himself predicted that such would be the case 
after his death. The falsehood was, as he 
foretold, revived: the refutation was sup- 
pressed. Those officials, in their commu- 
nications with the supreme government, re- 
presented Scinde as under " a pressure of 
financial difficulties," in consequence of the 
mal-administration of the governor, and the 
people as groaning under the excessive weight 
of taxation ■ caused by his arbitrary, incom- 
petent, and se-lfi.sh government. Sir Charles 



626 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXVII. 



replied to these animad versions, showing their 
utter falsehood, in a brief despatch to the 
governor-general, Dec. 15, 1845, the fol- 
lowing extracts from which will at once 
vindicate the aspersed hero, and disclose to 
the reader the lengths to which officials can 
go in injuring even men of the highest name 
who resist their interference, or refuse them 
homage : — 

Decemter 151A, 1845. 
Eight Honoubable Sib,— In answer to the extract 
from a letter of the Secret Committee, I have to say : — 

1. That transit duties were abolished in Scinde by 
Lord Ellenborough's orders in 1843. I am here to obey 
the orders which I receive. I cannot imagine why the 
" Secret Committee " should suppose I disobey those 
orders. The transit duties have not been reimposcd upon 
the people of Scinde, nor any new tax. 

2. There is no "pressure of financial difficulty" in 
Scinde : its revenues increase, and a surplus of about 
£260,000 sterling has already been placed to the credit 
of the Honourable Company, after defraying the cost of 
the civil government and 2,400 armed and disciplined 
police. 

3. The supreme government, at my recommendation, 
sanctioned the adoption of the Bombay customs code, 
and desired me to substitute this code for the destruc- 
tively severe system of the ameers in Scinde, and I have 
done so gradually. Like all changes having for object to 
diminish the receipt of taxation, it will probably reduce 
the revenue in a slight degree next year, but add to it 
afterwards. It is well understood by, and agreeable to 
the merchants and people, whose present burthens will be 
relieved. After the 1st of January, 1846, the heavy and, 
what is worse, the vexatious duties levied hitherto under 



the old system of the ameers will cease, aud be replaced 
by light import and export duties levied on the frontier, 
except on goods in transit through Scinde. lu fine, the 
Bombay regulations are adopted. 

4. I have the honour to enclose herewith a lithograph 
plan of the positions of the " Chokies," or custom-house 
ports which I am establishing at the entrances to Scinde' ; 
and I have been induced to hasten the establishment of 
these ports, for the purpose of preventing the entrance of 
opium not covered by passes. 

5. Though I regret that my conduct should have 
failed to obtain for me what I think it deserves, the con- 
fidence of the home authorities in a sufficient degree to 
overturn the baseness of secret information, which I have 
reason to suppose was sent from Bombay, I have, never- 
theless, the satisfaction of betieving that I possess the con- 
fidence of your Excellency. 

C. J. NAPIKR, 

Sir Charles left Scinde on the 1st of Oct., 
1847. Mr. Pringle, a civilian, an officer of 
the company, succeeded him. That officer, 
in a report the last day of 1847, praises the 
clemency, wisdom, moderation, and firmness 
of his predecessor. These good opinions were 
repeated by Mr. Pringle's successor, Mr. 
Frere, occasion having occurred for notice on 
his part of the principles of administration 
adopted by Sir Charles Napier. The suc- 
cessors of the military chief were men very 
competent to the duties imposed on them. 
They nurtured the prosperity which Sir Charles 
initiated, aud which he left as a happy legacy 
to Scinde. 



CHAPTER CXVII. 

WAR WITH CHINA— NAVAL AND MILITARY OPERATIONS-TREATY OF PEACE-OPENING 
OF FIVE PORTS TO EUROPEAN COMMERCE. 



The history of English interests in China, 
after the date with which the last chapter on 
this subject closed, continued for a number of 
years to be monotonous, disclosing no occur- 
rences of a kind to interest the readers of a 
work on the general concerns of the British 
empire in the East. Only for short intervals 
did concord prevail at Canton between the 
Chinese authorities and the English, or indeed 
any foreign traders. The trade of most 
European nations declined, except tliat of the 
English. The American commerce fluctu- 
ated, and on the whole made no observable 
progress. Edicts of the viceroy were con- 
tinually issuing against some practice or other 
of the English. At one time the presence of 
English ladies gave offence ; at another, some 
assault was committed by some drunken sailor 
on a Chinese subject ; then, questions were 
raised so frivolous and vexatious as greatly to 



try the temper of the British merchants, who 
petitioned their government to insist on a 
redress of grievances, and the admittance of a 
resident at Pekin. Remonstrances were made 
to the Chinese officials, in language respectful 
and proper ; to which replies were given almost 
always to the same effect, that if the English 
did not like the terms upon which they were 
permitted to trade, there was no occasion for 
them to come so far, and by staying at home 
collisions with the subjects of his celestial 
majesty would be avoided. There was no 
answering this logic, however unsatisfactory 
the English might have considered it. 

In the years 1830-31 the insults and ag- 
gressions offered by the Chinese authorities 
were intolerable, and it became necessary for 
the committee, to which the concerns of the 
East India Company were committed, to adopt 
measures of public remonstrance, addressed to 



Ohap. CXVII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



627 



the Chinese people as well as to the officials. 
An appeal was made also to the Governor- 
general of India to interfere, first hy negotia- 
tion, and, failing in that, by force. The 
English did not act with promptitude and 
spirit, such as alone the Chinese could un- 
derstand. Forbearance and petitions only 
brought fresh indignities. It was only when 
the officers of his celestial majesty felt that the 
course pursued was one involving danger and 
inconvenience to themselves, that they were 
open to conviction. The bad feeling which at 
this period arrived at such a height, was ag- 
gravated by the clandestine opium traffic, and 
the affrays which arose out of it. As the year 
1831 advanced, and at the beginning of 1832, 
the officers of the viceroy entered the foreign 
factories when they pleased, treated their 
inmates with violence and abuse, tortured 
servants and interpreters, and, finally, set 
about breaking up the landing-place opposite 
the factories. There appeared to be no 
motive for these outrages, but the wanton 
exercise of power, contempt and hatred of 
foreigners, and a desire on occasions to extort 
money. 

In February, 1832, Mr. Lindsay and the 
Rev. Mr. Gutzloff were dispatched to the 
north-east coast of China : their instructions 
were rather indefinite, and their voyage abor- 
tive, except so far as the acquisition of useful 
information was concerned. Some ships had, 
however, disposed of valuable cargoes of 
opium, woollens, and calicoes on the northern 
coasts. 

By an act of parliament, passed in the fourth 
year of his majesty's reign, entitled " An Act 
to regulate the Trade to China," it was, 
amongst other things, enacted that it might be 
lawful for his majesty, by any such order or 
orders as to his majesty in council might seem 
expedient and salutary, to give to the super- 
intendents mentioned in the act, or any of 
them, power and authority over the trade and 
commerce of his majesty's subjects within any 
part of the dominions of the Emperor of China ; 
and to impose penalties, forfeitures, or imprison- 
ments for the breach of any regulations, to be 
enforced in such manner as should be specified 
in the orders in council. This act came into 
operation April 21st, 1834. At the court at 
Brighton, on the iith day of December, 1833, 
an order in council was issued investing in the 
superintendents of trade appointed in virtue 
of that act, all the powers invested in the 
supercargoes of " the United Company of 
Merchants trading to the East Indies." " On 
the same day, another order in council was 
issued, instituting, in virtue of the said act, a 
court of justice, with criminal and admiralty 
jurisdiction, for the trial of offences committed 



by British subjects in the ports and harbours 
of China and within a hundred miles of its 
coasts. One of the superintendents mentioned 
in the act, was nominated to hold such court. 
The practice and proceedings of such court 
were to be conformable to those of the courts 
of Oyer and Terminer and Gaol Delivery in 
England. A third order in council was issued 
the same day, in virtue of the act already 
named, empowering the superintendents to 
levy and collect tolls from English ships enter- 
ing any port where these superintendents 
might reside. It was also ordered that 
within forty-eight hours of the arrival in a 
Chinese port of any British ships, a manifesto 
in writing, upon oath, specifying the particu- 
lars of the cargo, should be sent by the master 
or supercargo to the superintendent. Lord 
Napier was dispatched as the chief super- 
intendent of British trade, from Plymouth, in 
his majesty's ship Andromache. Matters had 
now arrived at an interesting epoch in the 
commercial connection between China and 
Great Britain. John Francis Davis, who 
succeeded Lord Napier as chief superinten- 
dent, observed of the juncture of affairs when 
Lord Napier was nominated to that office : — 
" On the 22nd April, 1834, the trade of the 
East India Company with China, after having 
lasted just two hundred years, terminated 
according to the provisions of the new act, 
and several private ships soon afterwards 
quitted Canton with cargoes of tea for the 
British Islands. One vessel had, previously 
to that date, sailed direct for England, under 
a special licence from the authorities of the 
East India Company. A most important 
national experiment was now to be tried, the 
results of which alone could set at rest the 
grand question of the expediency of free 
trade against the Chinese monopoly ; or 
prove how individual traders were likely to 
succeed against the union of mandarins and 
mandarin merchants." 

The number of superintendents which the 
new bill authorized was three, two others 
with Lord Napier were immediately nomi- 
nated. The East India company now stood in 
a new relation to China. Instead of having the 
exclusive possession of the tea trade, and all 
but the exclusive trade in other commodities, 
the bill of 1833 deprived the company of the 
power of trading between China and Great 
Britain, and threw the whole of the Chinese 
commerce open to the enterprise of individual 
merchants. One consequence of this was, 
that as the operation of the act began a few 
months after it was passed, the company had 
to sell their fine ships, and other trading pro- 
perty, at heavy loss. These great changes 
by the British government were carried out 



628 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXVII. 



without any notice to tlie Cliineso authorities, 
notwithstanding that the dangei' of sucli a 
course was pointed out by persons well ac- 
quainted with the temper of the Chinese 
government and people. 

On the ISthof July, 1834, Lord Napier 
arrived at Macao. Mr. Davis and Sir George 
Robinson accepted the offices of superinten- 
dents with his lordship. According to the 
instructions given to Lord Napier, by the 
foreign secretary, he was immediately upon 
his arrival to announce his mission in a com- 
munication to tlie viceroy. Tliat functionary 
refused to receive it, on the ground that Great 
Britain had no right to send a resident repre- 
sentative to Canton, without first obtaining the 
permission of the court of Pekin. His lord- 
ship had no means of communication with the 
viceroy but through the Hong merchants, 
which he properly refused. His hands were 
tied up by such minute instructions from 
home, that no discretion was left to him in 
the midst of difficulties of which the home 
authorities could be no judges, and which 
could only be met by promptitude and address, 
as the exigencies arose. The Chinese mean- 
while beset his lordship's house with soldiers, 
beat his servants, and continued to evince a 
feeling of rancorons hostility. His lordship 
was placed in a false position by the ignorance 
and wilfulness of the government at home, in 
spite of the warnings and protests of the Duke 
of Wellington, whose sagacious mind and 
oriental experience enabled him to foresee the 
issue of the pragmatical and conceited j^lans of 
Lord Grey. At last matters assumed so 
formidable an aspect of hostility, that Lord 
Napier was obliged to send for a guard of 
marines, and order the Imogene and Andro- 
mache frigates to the anchorage at Wham- 
poa. As this order was executed, the guns 
of the Bocca Tigris fort opened fire upon the 
British, cutting away some ropes and spars, 
and wounding a sailor. The broadsides of the 
English frigates soon silenced these demon- 
strations of anger. As Tiger Island was 
approached, a still heavier fire was directed 
against the English, and a still more formid- 
able reply was made to it. Each British ship 
had a man killed ; the fortifications of the 
Chinese were much damaged, and the destruc- 
tion of life among those who manned them 
was considerable. The men-of-war triumph- 
antly sailed up to the anchorage. The Chinese 
now stopped the trade, demanding the with- 
drawal of the frigates, and the retirement of 
Lord Napier from China. The East India 
company had warned the government of the 
consequences of its precipitate and high- 
handed legislation, and the fruits were now 
borne. As was nsual, the English, after for- 



midable demonstrations of resolution, gave 
way the moment their trade sustained injury. 
The Chinese by their obstinacy and ]ier- 
sistence gained a complete victory. The 
selection of Lord Napier for the important 
office committed to him might well have been 
questioned, as indeed it was both in England 
and China. His rank and party connections, 
not his fitness, determined the appointment. 
His lordship possessed excellent qualities, in- 
tellectual and moral, and was a useful public 
man; but no especial fitness was possessed by 
him for what might be called a Chinese em- 
bassy, or for a post which was even more 
difficult to fill than that of an ambassador. 
A few weeks after arriving at Macao, having 
abandoned the attempt to establish a residence 
at Canton, his lordship died, from the effects 
of the climate and the mortification which he 
felt at the failure of his mission, and the hu- 
miliation to which his country and himself 
were exposed by the incapacity of his govern- 
ment. This incapacity was the more to be 
regretted as the government of the day com- 
prised men of great reputation, and Lord 
Palmerston was the secretary-of-state npon 
whom the execution of the orders in council 
devolved. Great as his lordship's talents 
were for the discharge of any duties which 
might be imposed upon him in connection 
with the relations between the United King- 
dom and other parts of the world, his know- 
ledge of oriental affairs and of commerce was 
small, and his capacity to deal with them, in 
common with that of the rest of the cabinet, 
insufficient. It was, however, a cabinet which 
would not be taught, but was carried away by 
popular applause, and pride of newly acquired 
power. 

On the death of Lord Napier, the second 
superintendent assumed the chief direction of 
affairs. That gentleman was of opinion that 
an appeal to the government of Pekin should 
be prosecuted, but this had been forbidden 
by the instructions delivered to Lord Napier 
in case of any dispute, without first communi- 
cating with th^ British foreign secretary. 
At this juncture the great Congregational 
missionary. Dr. Morrisson, the Chinese in- 
terpreter to the superintendents, died. His 
loss was much felt because of his superior 
knowledge of the Chinese language and 
people. His sou and the Rev. Mr. Gutzloff 
were nominated in his stead. The viceroy 
issued edicts commanding the English to elect 
or obtain from England a merchant, not a 
royal officer, to manage the trade. Of these 
edicts Mr. Davis took no notice, believing 
that the Chinese would find it necessary them- 
selves to open communications with him. In 
January, 1855, BIr. Davis returned home; 



Chap. CXVIL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



629 



Captain Elliot, who had acted as secretary 
to the commission, became second, and Sir 
George Robinson first superintendent. 

The opening of tiie Chinese trade the pre- 
vious year facilitated smuggling, and tliis was 
more especially carried on in connection with 
opium. The edicts of the imperial govern- 
ment against the admission of the drug had 
been as numerous as inoperative, but so pro- 
digious was the increase of smuggling when 
the East India Company was deprived of the 
Chinese trade, that it became incumbent 
upon the imperial government to adopt 
vigorous measures to put a stop to it, or at 
once abandon all pretension to control con- 
traband commerce upon its coasts. The in- 
crease of the importation of opium tended to 
weaken physically the Chinese population ; 
to create poverty, idleness, and recklessness ; 
to drain the country of silver, and to weaken 
the bands of authority; the imperial govern- 
ment was therefore roused to exertion to 
check or stop the injurious import. 

Captain Elliot succeeded Sir George Robin- 
son as chief superintendent. He foresaw that 
the open and daring conduct of the crowds of 
opium smugglers who mingled with those 
who pursued legitimate commerce would 
bring on a war, or the expulsion of European 
traders. He earnestly importuned the British 
government to invest him, or a successor, with 
power to interpose and to punish English 
sulijects engaging in such unlawful dealings. 
The government refused to do this, substan- 
tially on the ground that it was not the pro- 
vince of foreign governments to act as revenue 
police or coast-guards for countries on whose 
shores their subjects smuggled. The govern- 
ment, however, declared that any smuggler 
resorting to force in case of attempts to arrest 
him by the Chinese authorities, should be 
considered as a pirate. This was more 
generous to China than just to the smugglers, 
whose dishonourable calling was no ground for 
acting towards them illegitimately. It was 
clearly the business of the mandarins to deal 
with the smugglers, Chinese or foreign, as 
best they could ; and of the English autho- 
rities to discountenance the traffic by moral 
means, and to afford no protection to English 
subjects embarked in it. 

The year 1838 opened at Canton unfavour- 
ably to commerce and to the prospects of 
peace. The Hong merchants had incurred 
enormous debts to the new traders under the 
free system. They refused to pay except by 
instalments, extending over a great number 
of years. The Chinese laws afforded to the 
barbarians no redress, there was only the old 
answer, " If you do not like the country, its 
laws, maxims, and customs, why don't you go 

VOL. U. 



away ? we do not wish you to stay." The 
Hong merchants had in this way cheated the 
English out of tliree millions of dollars. The 
amount of opium seized by the Chinese autho- 
rities amounted to two millions sterling. This 
opium was in many cases seized by mandarins 
who had connived at the illicit traffic, taking 
bribes to admit it, and seizing the contraband 
as well. The conduct of the Chinese officials 
was immoral and corrupt in these trans- 
actions. 

On the 12th of July, 1838, Sir Frederick 
Slaitland arrived in the ship of war Wellesley, 
and in consort with the war-brig Algerine, 
and was joined by the superintendent. The 
ships anchored in Tong-boo Bay, seven 
leagues south of the Bocca Tigris. The 
Canton government communicated in the old 
way through the Hong merchants ; the super- 
intendent sent back the despatches unopened, 
informing the bearer that the orders of the 
British government were peremptory to cor- 
respond only with the officers of his imperial 
majesty. 

Captain Elliot then proceeded to Canton, 
and sent an unsealed letter by a mandarin to bo 
communicated to tlie government. ]\rr. Davia 
thus relates what occurred : — " The paper 
was loft open with a view to obviate the dif- 
ficulty about the use of the character inn — a 
petition. It was conveyed to the viceroy, 
but the merchants returned it with a remark 
from his excellency that he could not take it 
unless it bore the character pin. Captain 
Elliot then declared that he had formally 
offered to set forth the peaceful purposes of 
the admiral's visit, and if the viceroy did not 
think fit to accept these explanations, his 
business at Canton was concluded, and ho 
should forthwith retire. A British boat, 
meanwhile, passing the Bocca Tigris was fired 
upon by the forts ; and when boarded by a 
mandarin, was required to state whether the 
admiral or any person belonging to him was 
there, as they should not be permitted to pass 
up. Sir Frederick, on being informed of this 
insult, remarked that he had come to China 
with a determination to avoid the least viola- 
tion of customs or prejudices ; but that ho 
was nevertheless resolved to bear no indignity 
to the flag. He accordingly proceeded forth- 
with to the Bocca Tigris with the vessels under 
his command, to demand a formal disavowal 
of these unprovoked attacks. A civil letter 
was soon received from the Chinese admiral 
Kwan (afterwards discomfited in action with 
the Volage and Hyacinth), asking the reason 
of Admiral Maitland's visit ; and in reply to 
this, a demand was made for reparation on 
account of the late insult. The result was 
the mission of a mandarin captain of war- 

4m 



G30 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXVII. 



junks to wait upon the British admiral, ac- 
companied by one of less rank ; and tlie 
expressions of disavowal of any intention to 
insult were written at the dictation of the 
higher officer by the hand of the other on 
board the Welleshy in the presence of the 
several parties. Sir Frederick Maitland sig- 
nified his satisfaction with this declaration, 
and after the exchange of some civilities, 
returned to his former anchorage, and soon 
afterwards sailed away." 

Only two months after this transaction the 
Chinese functionaries, irritated by the per- 
sistence of the smugglers, prepared to execute 
a native smuggler in the front of the factory ; 
the remonstrances of the Europeans upon so 
gross an outrage being treated with disdain, 
they boldly armed and drove the executioners 
and the attendant guards away. TJre people 
approved of the disjjersion of the party. 
Some of the Europeans, in the insolence and 
hardihood of their pride, contemptuously 
struck with sticks the lookers on ; these im- 
mediately resented, and at last a mob of 
thousands, armed with such missiles as could 
be obtained, attacked the factories. The 
Chinese troops drove back the mob. 

Captain Elliot offered to co-operate with 
the government in suppressing the river 
smuggling, and obtained a direct communi- 
cation from the viceroy, thus gaining a jire- 
cedent for carrying on official correspondence 
without the intervention of the ''' Hong." 

For some time matters wore a more tranquil 
aspect, and the smuggling was much re- 
pressed. Early in 1839, a high commission 
of his imperial majesty arrived at Canton, and 
at once proceeded to adopt measures of ex- 
traordinary severity and injustice to terrify 
the Europeans and stop the traffic. His first 
act was to execute a native opium dealer in 
the square in front of the factories. This 
operation was attended by so powerful a force 
that the merchants could only haul down 
their flags and protest against the barbarous 
outrage. The despatches of Captain Elliot 
describe the demands of Commissioner Liu 
as extraordinary even from an oriental tyrant. 
He issued an edict directly to the foreigners, 
demanding that every particle of opium on 
board the sliips should be delivered to the 
government, in order to its being burned and 
destroyed. At the same time a bond was 
required, in the foreign and Chinese lan- 
guages, that " the ships should hereafter never 
again dare to bring opium ; and that, should 
any be brought, the goods should be forfeited, 
and the parties suffer death ; moreover, that 
such punishment would be willingly sub- 
mitted to." He plainly threatened that if 
his requisitions were not complied with, the 



foreigners would bo overwhelmed by numbers 
and sacrificed ; but at the same time made 
some vague promises of reward to such as 
obeyed. 

Mr. Davis describes the events which fol- 
lowed with a brevity and completeness which 
will in a short compass ]ilace the reader in 
possession of the facts which led to what is 
popularly known in England as "the opium 
war :" — " On first hearing of the proceedings 
at Canton the British superintendent, always 
present where danger or difficulty called him, 
hurried up in the gig of her majesty's ship 
Lane, and made his way to the factories on 
tlie evening of the 24th March, notwithstand- 
ing the efforts made to stop him. The state 
of intense distress in which he found the 
whole foreign community may be estimated 
by stating that the actual pressing difHcuIty 
was the obstinate demand that Sir. Dent, one 
of the most respectable English merchants, 
should proceed into the city and attend the 
commissioner's tribunal. Captain Elliot's first 
step was to proceed to Mr. Dent's house, and 
convey him in person to the hall of the 
superintendents. He immediately signified 
to the Chinese his readiness to let Mr. Dent 
go into the city with himself, and upon the 
distinct stipulation, under the commissioner's 
seal, that he was never to be moved out of 
his sight. The whole foreign community 
were then assembled, and exhorted to be 
moderate and calm. On the same night the 
native servants were taken away and the 
supplies cut off, the reason given being the 
opposition to the commissioner's summons. 
An arc of boats was formed, filled with armed 
men, the extremes of which touched the east 
and west banks of the river in front of the 
factories. The square between and the rear 
were occupied in considerable force ; and 
before the gate of the hall the whole body ot 
Hong merchants and a large guard were 
posted day and night, the latter with their 
swords constantly drawn. So close an im- 
prisonment is not recorded in the history of 
our previous intercourse. Under these cir- 
cumstances the British superintendent issued 
a most momentous circular to his country- 
men, requiring the surrender into his hands 
of all the English opium actually on the coast 
of China at that date. In undertaking this 
immense responsibility, he had no doubt that 
the safety of a great mass of human fife hung 
upon his determination. Had he commenced 
with the denial of any control on the occasion, 
the Chinese commissioner would have seized 
the pretext for reverting to his measures of 
intimidation against individual merchants, ob- 
viously his original purpose, but which Cap- 
tain Elliot's sudden appearance had disturbed. 



CnAr. CXVII.] 



IN INDIA AND TIIR EAST. 



631 



He would have forced the whole into suhmis- 
sioii by the protracted confinomont of the 
persons he had determined to seize, and, 
judging from his proclamation and general 
conduct, by the sacrifice of their lives. On 
the 3rd of April it was agreed that the 
deputy superintendent should proceed down 
the river \\ith the mandarins and Hong mer- 
chants, and deliver over to the commissioner 
20,283 chests of ojiium from the ships which 
were assembled for that purjiose below the 
Bocca Tigris. The imprisonment and blockade 
in the meanwhile remained undiminished at 
Canton, and attempts were made to extort 
from the foreigners the bond, by which 
their lives and property would be at the 
mercy of the Chinese government. This was 
evaded." 

On the 4tli of May, v.-heu all the opium 
was delivered, the imprisonment of the Eng- 
lish ceased, with the exception of sixteen 
persons, who were retained until the 25th ; 
they were liberated under an edict never to 
return to China. The commission restricted 
the trade of all other foreigners, when all 
English subjects had withdrawn. The con- 
duct of Captain Elliot throughout these trans- 
actions was marvellously prudent and firm. 
The Duke Wellington described his conclud- 
ing act as one " of courage and self-devotion 
such as few men had an opportunity of show- 
ing, and, probably, still fewer would have 
shown." His grace characterized the con- 
duct of the Chinese commissioner and govern- 
ment with equal terseness. He " had never 
known a person filling a high station in 
another country treated in such a manner as 
Captain Elliot had been treated by the au- 
thorities of Canton." 

The English took refuge at Macao, but 
were driven thence by a military demonstra- 
tion on the part of Lin. An unarmed schooner 
was attacked by mandarin boots, and the crew 
murdered. Other aggressions followed. The 
English remained in their ships. The com- 
missioner demanded that all their vessels 
should enter the river, and that a man should 
he delivered up for execution to atone for the 
life of a Chinese lost in a drunken broil with 
some sailors, English and American. Pro- 
visions were not allowed to be sold to the 
English ships, which were supplied indirectly 
through Macao, and by various hazardous 
boat enterprises. An English ship of war, 
the Volagc, arrived most opportunely for the 
protection and supply of the Enghsh. Soon 
after an action was fought between the Eng- 
lish vessels and the war-junks of the enemy, 
which was conducted by the British naval 
officers in a manner highly to their credit. 
This conflict arose and was conducted in the 



following manner. On the 3rd of October 
the Chinese admiral left his anchorage, and 
stood out towards the English ships, which 
were got under weigh and moved towards 
the enemy. The war-junks then anchored 
in order of battle, and the British ships were 
" hove to." The English opened negotia- 
tions ; the admiral replied that an English- 
man must be given up to suffer deatli in 
atonement for the life of the Chinaman (pre- 
viously referred to), killed in a drunken 
brawl. Captain Smith, tlie senior officer, 
considered that the safety of the shii)s de- 
manded that he should repel this iiostile 
demonstration. " At noon, therefore, the 
signal was made to engage, and the ships, 
then lying hove to at the extreme end of the 
Chinese line, bore away ahead in close order, 
having the wind on the starboard beam. In 
this way, and under easy sail, they ran down 
the Chinese line, pouring in a destructive fire. 
The lateral direction of the wind enabled 
the ships to perform the same evolution from 
the other extreme of the line, running up 
again with their larboard broadsides bearing. 
The Chinese ans^vered with much spirit, but 
the terrible effect of the English fire was soon 
manifest. One war -junk blew up at pistol- 
shot distance from the Volage, three were 
sunk, and several others water-logged. The 
admiral's conduct is said to have been worthy 
of his station. His junk was evidently better 
manned and armed than any of the others ; 
and after having weighed, or perhaps cut or 
slipped his cable, he bore up and engaged her 
majesty's ships in handsome style. In less 
than three quarters of an hour, however, he 
and the remainder of his squadron were re- 
tiring in great distress to their former anchor- 
age, and, as Captain Smith was not disposed 
to protract destructive hostilities, he offered 
no obstruction to their retreat. It is to be 
feared, however, that this clemency was 
thrown away upon the Chinese, who have 
no conception of the true principles of such 
forbearance, and subsequent facts show that 
they actually claimed the victory. This they 
perhaps founded on the circumstance of her 
majesty's ships making sail for TNIacao, for the 
purpose of covering the embarkation of the 
English who might see fit to retire from that 
place, and of providing for the safety of the 
merchant ships. On the 4th of November, 
the Volage joined the fleet at Hong-Kong, 
and the Hyacinth was left at Macao to watch 
events in that quarter. It was time that the 
Chinese should receive such a lesson as 
the foregoing, for not long prior to it 
they had robbed and burned a Spanish 
brig, the Bilhaino, utterly unconnected with 
opium, under the plea that she was an Eng- 



632 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EJIPIRE 



[Chap. CXVII. 



lish vessel, though her proper flag wns flying."* 
The treatment which the unfortunate crew 
of this Spanish ship received was cruel, bar- 
barous, and unrelenting, affording no pretence 
of justification. 

There was still some trade carried on by 
the English through the intervention of the 
Americans, who were the only foreigners that 
submitted to the requisitions of the Chinese 
authorities. They carried out Chinese com- 
modities in their boats to the English ships, 
and received goods in rctui'n, driving for 
some time a profitable trade. This, however, 
was not permitted to last. The Chinese on 
discovering what took place, effectually put a 
stop to all commercial intercourse with the 
English. Captain Elliot could now do no- 
thing until instructions from his government 
arrived. 

The view taken by the British government 
was that a declaration of war could alone 
adjust matters. War was accordingly de- 
clared, and a powerful force sent to compel 
compliance with English demands. This war 
Wi-.B unpopular in England. The view taken 
of it by the mass of the peoj)lc was, that it 
was declared for the purpose of enforcing 
sales of opium, and that this was done to 
enrich the East India Company as the 
growers of that commodity. The narrative 
already given proves that the company had 
nothing to do with the transactions which led 
to the struggle. Tliese transactions began 
when the company was no longer permitted 
to trade with China, and were a consequence 
of throwing open the trade, which the Duke 
of Wellington, and other eminent persons well 
acquainted with the East, foresaw and foretold. 
Had the trade been continued in the hands 
of the company, such a war could not have 
broken out ; although on other grounds a 
rupture with China might have arisen. What- 
ever the advantages of giving freedom to the 
trade with China, the disadvantage at that 
particular juncture of opening a door for the 
smuggling of opium was attendant upon that 
event. Her majesty's government gave no 
countenance to the opium smugglers, but 
rather passed beyond its projier province in 
denouncing and thwarting it. Captain Elliot 
was willing to co-operate with the Chinese 
officials to suppress it, even by giving an ex- 
treme interpretation to his powers as chief 
superintendent, but the Chinese authorities 
treated his overtures contemptuously and arro- 
gantly, although unable to put a stop to it them- 
selves. Yet all these facts were suppressed by 
the parties who carried on the agitation against 

* The Chinese. By .lohn Francis Davis, Esq., F. R.S., 
and Governor of IIong-Kong : London, Cox, King William 
Street, Strand. 



the government of Calcutta and of London, in 
connection with the war. Apart from those 
who were actuated by party opposition 
against the section of English politicians then 
in power, the denouncers of the government 
consisted mainly of the members of the Peace 
Society, and of the Society of Friends, the 
former being chiefly composed of the latter. 
Lecturers were hired, men of clever debating 
powers, and eloquent, who convened meetings 
all over England, denouncing the war as 
neither forced upon us by necessity nor de- 
nianded by justice. The Chinese were repre- 
sented by these lecturers as an amiable and 
honest race, whose government was highly 
moral, and being virtuously intent upon pro- 
tecting its people from the enervating and 
dissipating effect of opium, adopted police and 
revenue regulations full of wisdom, which the 
English merchants and Captain Elliot, the 
English superintendent of trade, infringed in 
violation of international law, of natural right, 
and of the law of God. All these statements 
were false, except so far as that Englishmen 
were among the opium smugglers, as adven- 
turous English seafaring men will be found 
amongst smugglers off the coasts of every 
country whose revenue system allows a con- 
traband trade to become profitable. These 
allegations were, however, pretexts. The 
real motive with the Peace Society, and the 
religious body called Quakers, was to make 
an efficient and popular protest against war, 
which they believed, under any circumstances, 
to be contrary to the law of God, inexpedient, 
and in the long run injurious to the cause it 
was employed to promote. The occurrence 
of every war in which their country happens 
to be engaged brings out this party in a 
similar mode of action. The same or other 
orators are hired to preach down the jiolicy 
of the existing government which has entered 
upon the war, and because it has done so, 
and to arraign and denounce the Englishmen 
who may, however unjustly treated, have been 
the victims, and thereby the occasion of the 
hostilities. These agents of the Peace Society 
invariably represent their own countrymen 
as cruel and sanguinary, actuated by unjust 
views and selfish aims, and inflicting unde- 
served injury upon harmless and well-inten- 
tioned nations, who by British brutality are 
forced into efforts of self-defence. The policy 
of such representations is to rouse the English 
people to put a stop to the war itself, and so 
secure a victory to the peace principle. Pro- 
bably no public body, r.o society, no partj', 
ever adopted a line of procedure more dis- 
honest than this. If all war be unjustifiable 
on Christian principles in the opinion of the 
Society of Friends, the church of the Mora- 



CiiAP. CXVII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



G33 



viaiis, or any otlier religious association or 
church, it is the duty of such to put forth 
that opinion as a theological or social question 
to be discussed, and to extend it by a zealous 
and honourable propagandism ; but to pervert 
facts, to extenuate, deny, or conceal the crimes 
and injuries of races or nations that have made 
war upon England, and to cover witli obloquy 
by scandalous falsehoods the character and 
conduct of all English statesmen and men of 
the i)rofession of arms, who assert what they 
believe to be the rights of Englishmen by 
military force, is worse than war itself, less 
reputable than even an unjust appeal to arms, 
and is an exemplification of bigotry, tyranny, 
and aggression on the part of those who pro- 
fess liberality, benevolence, and peace, de- 
moralising to the public, and dishonouring to 
the cause of free discussion. 

The British government was extremely un- 
willing to go to war with China, and even at 
the last hour adopted all moans to avert it. 
This fact was kept out of sight by the agi- 
tators of the Peace Society, and of the Society 
of Friends, when common justice required 
that it should have its fair representation in 
the estimate which they invited the English 
people to form of their rulers and of the 
causes of the war. The government of her 
majesty felt it to be intolerable that in order 
to put down smuggling and smugglers, even 
if Englishmen had been exclusively the 
offenders, which was not the case, the Chinese 
officials should seize unoffending merchants, 
and the representative of her majesty, hold 
them for many weeks in durance, and menace 
their lives, unless others of their countrymen, 
the real offenders, should surrender the pro- 
hibited connnodity. The English represen- 
tative could only by the force of his character, 
by promises of indemnity, and by an appeal 
to the patriotism of his offending countrymen, 
on the ground of the danger to which he and 
the inoffensive merchants seized by the Chi- 
nese were exposed, obtain the surrender of 
the opium. The English government could 
not with justice refuse to make good the 
promise of indemnity, and it was right and 
just that the Chinese should be compelled to 
refund the money, to apologise for the out- 
rage offered to English subjects and the 
English representative, and to give guarantees 
for future rectitude towards lier majesty's 
subjects, who might carry on legitimate trade 
in their country. 

To the demands of the British government 
the Chinese especial commissioner and pleni- 
potentiary replied by a proclamation, couched 
in terms of vindictive violence and supercilious 
scorn, offering a reward for the heads of 
Englishmen, and to all who might succeed in 



setting fire to their ships. So bloody and 
truculent was this imperial manifesto, that 
when copies reached England, accustomed 
although Englishmen were to oriental blood- 
thirstiness in so many various Indian wars, 
rill classes were filled with horror, except tiie 
members of the Peace Society, who rather 
availed themselves of such documents as 
proving the lengths to which the amiable, 
sensible, quiet, industrious, virtuous Chinese 
might be driven by the injustice of English- 
men and their government. 

All efforts to avert war on the part of the 
British officials having failed, it was at length 
commenced with a resolution and spirit worthy 
of the object proposed. The British govern- 
ment, however, began with the errors in which 
English ministers usually begin hostilities. 
The military force was much too small. The 
naval department of the expedition was suffi- 
cient, but so few were the troops, that 
throughout the campaign they were exposed 
to great hardships; no reliefs could be ob- 
tained, when humanity, economy, and military 
science all conspired to demand such arrange- 
ments as would have ensured them. The 
comforts of the men were shamefully ne- 
glected. Their food was of the worst quality; 
many of the soldiers died from the badness of 
their provisions. There was an almost total 
neglect of sanitary arrangements for the 
troops both on board ships and on shore. 
The men were nearly as badly off for air, 
water, and the means of cleanliness, as those 
on board the plague-stricken transports which 
were used in the Crimean war at a later period. 
Tlie provision fur medical requirements was 
disgracefully inadequate. The soldiers cloth- 
ing was not regulated by the climate in which 
they were sent to make war : during the 
fierce summer of southern Cliina the men 
wore the flaming red jacket buttoned over 
the chest, and the hard stock buckled tight 
round the throat ; men fell dead both in 
action and on other duty from these causes, 
yet even the commanding officers were averse 
from any relaxation of " the regulation dress." 
The officers were well taken care of, and just 
as it occurred in the war around Sebastopol, 
the proportion of officers who fell in battle 
was considerable, while few died from disease ; 
whereas of the men a large portion of the 
whole array perished from sickness, induced 
by causes over which the government and com- 
manding officers had control. The men, nobly 
brave, generously devoted to their duty, loyal 
to their sovereign, and faithful to their officers, 
were treated with a contemptuous indifference 
by the chief authorities, civil and military, 
which cannot be too sternly denounced upon 
the page of history. 



63i 



HISTORY 01'' THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXVII. 



The expedition against China set out from 
Calcutta in April, 1810. The 17th of that 
month the last transport left the Hoogly. 

CAPTURE OF CIIUSAN. 
The first operations of a formidable naturij 
■were directed against Cliusan. It was made 
an easy conquest on the 6th of July, 1810. 
It was garrisoned by a considerable body of 
troops, amounting to 3G50. In little more 
than three months only 203G men wore fit for 
duty ; the rest were iu hospital or in the grave. 
■ Men conversant with the condition of these 
bravo fellows have written as follows : — 
" Between three and four hundred had been 
interred, and about fifteen hundred were sick. 
The gallant Camerouians were reduced to a 
perfect skeleton, and the brave 49th were 
scarcely in a better condition. No doubt this 
was mainly to be attributed to the ^^•ant of 
fresh and wholesome provisions, predisposing 
the constitution of the men to the agues and 
fevers epidemical in this place ; for wo find 
the sickness comparatively mild amongst the 
officers, who had moans of living on amore 
generous diet ; and that much sickness, it was 
said, prevailed among the Chinese. The sea- 
men and officers on board the ships were not 
sickly.* Dr. D. McPhorson says,f ' So groat 
was "the dread of exciting a bad feeling, and 
causing discontent among the natives, that 
our men were obliged to live in their tents 
when there were thousands of houses avail- 
able for that piarpose ; and without regard to 
the health of the men, or consulting medical 
authorities on the subject, positions were laid 
out for the encampment of the troops. Pa- 
rades and guard-mounting in full dress, with 
a thermometer ranging from ninety degrees 
to one hundred degrees, made the scenes ve- 
semble the route of garrison duty in India.' 
' Men were placed in tents| pitched ou low 
paddy-fields, surrounded by stagnant water, 
putrid and stinking from quantities of dead 
animal and vegetable matter. Under a sun 
hotter than that ever experienced in India, 
the men ou duty were buckled up to the 
throat in their full dress coatees; and in con- 
sequence of there being so few camp fol- 
lowers, fatigue parties of Europeans were 
daily detailed to carry provisions and stores 
from the ships to the tents, and to perform 
all menial employments, which experience 
has long taiight us they cannot stand in a 
tropical climate. The poor men, working 
like slaves, began to sink under the exposure 
and fatigue. Bad provisions, low spirits, and 

* Statement of a Bengal assistant-surgeon, recorded 
by Major Hough. 

t Madras army. Two Tears in China, 1842, p. 12. 
% Two Years in China, p. 21 , 



despondency drove them to drink.* This 
increased their liability to disease, and in the 
month of November there were barely five 
hundred effective men in the force.'f ' IMe- 
dical men, as is often the case, were put down 
as croakers, they were not listened to.'" 

It is horrible to relate of Englishmen and 
of British officials, that when the men were 
literally rotting awaj', the officers scarcely 
suffering anything, and it was proposed by 
the medical men to receive them on board- 
ship, where they might be preserved in 
health, the cold-blooded reply was, that "the 
authorities would not be justified in incurring 
the expense I" Such is the testimony of Dr. 
McPherson, who was a spectator of this 
hardened sacrifice of human life to save 
something about £100 a A&y. 

On the Gth of November, 18-10, a truce was 
concluded between the imperial commissioner 
and Rear-admiral Elliot. Subsequently orders 
arrived for the evacuation of the island, which 
took place on the 22nd of February, 1841, 
when the troops and ships of war proceeded 
to the Canton river. Before they arrived 
there, other events had transpired. It became 
plain that the Chinese made the truce avail- 
able to gain time, and had no intention of 
negotiating for peace. It was supposed by 
the emperor and his mandarins, that China 
was invincible, and that the barbarians would 
lose patience, liope, and courage, and leave her 
coasts. The time of the cessation of hostilities 
having transpired without the hostile officers 
coming to terms, the clash of arms was again 
renewed. 

BATILES OF CHEUMPEE AND TYCOCTOW. 

A force was disembarked on the 7th of 
January, 1841, upon the island of Cheumpee. 
The command of this detachment was con- 
fided to Major Pratt, of the 26th, or Came- 
ronian regiment. Major Hough gives the 
following brief account of the action there and 
at Tycoctow : — " The force under the gallant 
major consisted of men of the royal artillery, 
and marines, and seamen, six hundred and 
seventy-four ; 37th Madras native infantry, 
six hundred and seven : and Bengal volun- 
teers, seventy-six. Also one hundred invalids, 
who had arrived from Chusan. Her majesty's 
ships Calliope, Lane, and Hyacinth, under 
Captain Herbert, proceeded to bombard the 
lower fort, while the steamers Nemesis and 
Queen, threw shells into the hill forts and 
intrenchments on the inner side,- — the Welles- 
ley and other large ships moving up into mid- 
channel, in case they might be required. The 

* Sliamsoo — ro arrak to be had. 

t Out of 3C50 men, landed iu July, 1840. 




9 
1^ 






1^ 

i 
© 

m 






CnAP. CXVII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



635 



Chinese kept up a fire for an liour. Had the 
enemy's guns been a little more depressed, 
much mischief would have been done. When 
their firing had slackened a little, the infantry 
advanced. All the enemy's positions were 
carried, and their loss was great. In the forts 
there were eighty-two guns, and as many in 
the war -junks. Their force was about two 
thousand men, of whom six liundred must 
have been killed, and as many wounded. The 
fort of Tycoctow was carried by the division 
under Captain Scott, consisting of the Druid, 
Samarang, Modeste, and Columbine. The 
next day the signal of a flag of truce vs'as ex- 
hibited on board the Wellesleij." 
i The truce lasted for three days. On the 
fourth day, when the troops were in expecta- 
tion of renewing hostilities, a proclamation 
from Captain Elliot, announced that pre- 
liminaries of peace between the high com- 
missioner and himself had been agreed upon. 
It was in virtue of this agreement that orders 
had been sent for the evacuation of Chusan. 

OPERATIONS IN THE CANTON KIVER. 

These preliminary arrangements for peace 
were a blind for the prosecution of warlike 
projects and a new effort to wear out the 
English by procrastination. This was soon 
made apparent. Hong-Kong was taken pos- 
session of by the English ; the Chinese began 
liostilities in the Canton river by firing upon 
the English boats ; which resulted in a suc- 
cessful attack by the British upon the Chinese 
forts. In these operations her majesty's ships 
Welleshy, Calliope, Samarang, Druid, Herald, 
nnd Modeste were engaged with the batteries, 
and Major Pratt mastered the defences on the 
island of Wantong, taking 1,300 prisoners. 
The troops led by the major were detach- 
ments of his own gallant Cameronians, of her 
majesty's 49th regiment, the 37th Madras 
native infantry, volunteers from the Bengal 
infantry, and a few of the royal marines. The 
Blenheim, Melville, and Queen silenced, by 
their broadsides, the batteries of Arunghoy. 
Sir H. F. Senhouse, at the head of the ma- 
rines, landed and drove the Chinese from the 
works which they had constructed at such 
prodigious labour and expense, and defended 
with so much hope. The Chinese Admiral 
Kwan, who had on a former occasion behaved 
■with 60 much spirit, perished, his junk having 
been blown up. The light squadron of the 
navy advanced farther up the river, under 
Captain Herbert, of the Calliope, as its com- 
modore. At "the first bar" the enemy was 
found strongly posted on the left bank, close 
to Whampoa Eeach ; vessels were sunk to 
block the passage, and a fleet of forty war- 
junka was drawn across in order of battle. 



The Madagascar and Nemesis soon dispersed 
the flotilla, and after some hours' firing, silenced 
the batteries. The marines then, as usual, 
landed, driving before them, almost without 
opposition, ten times their number. A cap- 
tured Chinese, upon being interrogated as to 
the little resolution displayed in defending the 
batteries, replied, " If you must come in, wo 
must go out," and seemed to think this a con- 
clusive explanation of the facility of retreat 
displayed by his countrymen. Sir Gordon 
Bremer quickly joined Captain Herbert, and 
the advanced squadron, a portion of which 
soon arrived within sight of the walls of 
Canton. This several writers represent as 
the first time English ships of war were seen 
from Canton.* 

At the end of March, Sir Gordon Bremer 
left for Calcutta, in order to bring up rein- 
forcements. A convention w^as soon after 
entered into, by virtue of which the trade was 
partially reopened. This convention, like all 
other temporising expedients, only tended to 
prolong the war. Heavier metal than pro- 
tocols and agreements was necessary to 
impress China with the conviction of bar- 
barian superiority, and the imperative claims 
of justice. 

ATTACK ON C.VNTON. 
On the 2nd of Jlay Major-general Sir Hugh 
Goi}gh took the command of the forces. On 
the 24th, operations were commenced against 
Canton. Its " braves" were very boastful, 
and its officials still wrapped up in fancied 
security and unyielding pride. The plan of 
action was as follows : — The right column, 
in tow of the Atalanta, to attack and keep the 
factories. This force consisted of 309 men 
and officers of the Cameronians, an officer 
of artillery and 20 men, and an officer of 
engineers, the whole under command of Major 
Pratt. The left eoluum, towed by the Nemesis, 
in four brigades, to move left in front, under 
Lieutenant-colonel Morris. His majesty's 
49th (Major Stephens), 28 officers and 273 
men ; 37th Madras native infantry, Captain 
Duff, 11 officers and 219 men ; one company 
Bengal volunteers. Captain Mee, 1 officer and 
114 men; artillery (royal), under Captain 
Knowles, 3 officers, 33 men; Madras artil- 
lery, Captain Anstruther, 10 officers, 231 
men ; sappers and miners. Captain Cotton, 
4 officers, 137 men. Ordnance— four 12- 
pounder howitzers, four 9-pounder field- 
pieces, two G -pounders, three 5^ inch mortars, 
and one hundred and fifty-two 32-poundcr 

* Continuatioa of Hume and Smollett's Uislonj of 
England: Virtue & Co., City Road aud Ivy Line, 
London. Major Hough's account of the campaigain China. 
Annual Reijisler for 1841. 



03G 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXVII. 



rockets. Navalbrigade,nn(lerCaptain Boiioliier 
{Blonde) — 1st naval battalion, Captain Mait- 
\tmA {WeUesley), 11 officers, 172 men ; 2nd 
naval battalion, Commander Barlow {Ninirod), 
IG officers, 231 men. Reserve, nnder Jlajor- 
gonoral Burrell — Royal marines, Captain Ellis, 
9 officers, 372 men ; 18th Roj'al Irish, Lieu- 
tenant-colonel Adams, 2o officers, 495 men. 
The right column took possession of the 
factories before five o'clock, r.M. The left 
column reached near the village of Tsing-hae, 
the point of debarkation, about five miles, by 
the river Hue, above the factories. 

Sir Hugh's despatch contained the following 
passage: — '"The heights to the north of 
Canton, crowned by four strong forts, and the 
city walls, which run over the southern ex- 
tremity of these heights, including one ele- 
vated point, appeared to be about three and 
n-half miles distant ; the intermediate ground 
\indulating much, and intersected by hollows, 
under wet, paddy cultivation, enabled me to 
take up successive positions, until we ap- 
proached within range of the forts on the 
heights, and the nortliern face of the city 
walls. I had to wait here some time, placing 
the men under cover, to bring up the rocket 
battery and artillery." A strongly intrenched 
camp, of considerable extent, which lay to the 
north-east of the city, was taken and burnt. 

On the 2Gth, Sir Hugh Gough hoisted a 
flag of truce, and gave the Tartar general two 
hours to consider the necessity of a capitula- 
tion, or for the commissioner to decide upon 
yielding to the demands of the plenipoten- 
tiaries. No notice was taken of Sir Hugh by 
either official, and he was preparing to storm 
the place, when Captain Elliot stayed his 
sword, by announcing another agreement 
upon preliminaries. 

Sir Hugh Gough attacked the vast city 
■with less than three thousand men, and cap- 
tured the factories and the forts on the heights 
with a loss of only fourteen killed and ninety- 
one wounded. The naval commander re- 
ported an additional loss of six killed and 
forty-two wounded. The Chinese admitted 
ft loss of two thousand killed and wounded. 
A Chinese army of forty-five thousand men 
had been collected for the defence of the citv. 
This array was obliged, by the convention 
witli Captain Elliot, to evacuate the city. 
The military force at the disposal of the 
plenipotentiaries was absurdly small ; it might 
have burned or plundered Canton, but it could 
not conquer and hold it. The English con- 
sented to spare the place upon the payment 
of a ransom. The troops were brought from 
Canton, upon the execution of the convention, 
to IIong-Kong, where they suffered decima- 
tion by sickness, arising from the unhealthi- 



ness of the place and the want of sanitary care 
on the part of those in charge of them. 

The conduct of Captain Elliot and Sir G. 
Bremer did not give satisfaction to the autho- 
rities at Calcutta, nor London ; their measures 
were deemed too temporising. A more firm 
policy and active course of procedure were 
held by those in power to have more befitted 
the occasion. Accordingly, soon after, Sir G. 
Bremer returned to China from Calcutta, and 
lie and Captain Elliot went home. Rear- 
admiral Sir W. Parker, and Major-general 
Sir Henry Pottinger arrived as plenipoten- 
tiaries. It was at once determined by these 
high personages, that the war was not likely 
to bo brought to an issue on the Canton river, 
that a blow must be struck nearer to the 
metropolis of the empire. The time lost up 
to this period was most injurious to the cause 
for which the English fought, and to the men 
by whom these victories were obtained. 

CONQUE.ST OF AMOY. 

The first enterprise of the new plenipoten- 
tiaries was the subjugation of Amoy, off the 
harbour of which the fleet found a rendezvous, 
on the 25th of August. The defences of the 
harbour were very strong, consisting of a 
continued battery of granite a mile in extent. 
This granite wall was faced by mud and turf 
several feet thick, so as to conceal the fortifi- 
cation. The embrasures were roofed, and 
thickly covered with turf, so as to protect the 
gunners. This battery terminated at either 
end in a high wall, connected with rocks 
which were of great elevation and parallel to 
the beach. A channel six hundred yards in 
width between Amoy and the island of Ko- 
long-soo, was the entrance to the harbour. 
The fleet opened fire upon these fortifications 
in all their extent, and a dreadful cannonade 
was sustained for four hours by these works, 
without sensible injury. At last tlie troops 
landed, and assaile 1 by escalade the flanking 
wall. The task seemed almost impossible, 
but the grenadier and light companies of the 
Royal Irish forced their way through every 
difficulty, and drove the enemj' back. These 
gallant fellows were alone within the enemy's 
enclosure, with the whole host opposed to 
them. They acted as skilfully as bravely ; 
having driven the enemy back with the bayo- 
net, killing more men than had fallen from the 
fire of the whole fleet, they opened a gate, 
through which the rest of the army entered 
and took possession of the place. Ko-long- 
soo was an easier conquest, and contempora- 
neous with that of the great battery. The 
British acquired much provisions and stores 
useful in such a campaign. The quantity of corn, 
powder, and Chinese weapons captured was 



Chap. CXVII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



637 



enormous. The engineers blew up tlie maga- 
zines, broke up and inundated the arsenals, 
set fire to the war-junks and timber collected 
for building more, spiked five hundred cannon, 
and loft the dockyards and fortifications in 
desolation. A force of five hundred and fifty 
men were placed in Ko-long-soo, and the 
ships Pijlades, Druid, and Algerinc were left 
in the neighbourhood ; the rest of the arma- 
ment moved on. 

RECAPTURE OF CHUSAN. 
This place had been newly fortified, on the 
same plan as Amoy. The embrasures for 
guns were 270, but not half of these were sup- 
plied with cannon, nor were the remainder 
c>fficient in half their number. Other works 
had been raised on heights commanding the 
approaches. The attack was made on the 
1st of October, Sir Hugh Gough in person 
taking a very active part in the most dan- 
gerous portion of the enterprise. Two columns 
were landed, of 1,500 and 1,100 men respec- 
tively. The Btorra lasted for two hours, and 
was completely successful. The enemy lost 
1,500 men. Many mandarins were among 
the slain. The British left a garrison of four 
hundred men, and proceeded to Chinhae. 

CAPTURE OF CHINHAE. 

This place was strongly fortified, after the 
Chinese fashion, and being the key to the 
great and rich city of Ningpo, its defence 
and capture were regarded as very important 
by those upon whom these different duties 
devolved. The city is built on the left bank 
of the Ta-hffi, and was defended by a strong 
citadel. The ships took up their positions so 
as to shell the citadel, and enfilade the bat- 
teries. Sir Hngh adopted the same method 
of attack which had been successful in the 
assaidts elsewhere ; he landed separate 
columns, who cscaladed the flanking walls, 
and took the batteries in reverse. Captain 
Sir T. Herbert, It.N., Lieutenant-colonel 
Craigie, and Lieutenant-colonel Morris com- 
manded separate columns of attack. The 
bombardment was most destructive. The 
flight of shells and rockets rushed from the 
ships in a continual stream. The city was 
in some places a heap of ruins, and thousands 
of its defenders lay dead or dying, while only 
nineteen of the assailants were killed or 
wounded. A garrison of five luindred men 
was loft at Chinhae. The troops left in 
occupation of the conquered places caused 
such a deduction from the numerical force of 
the British as to tell seriously upon it, and 
there yet remained much work to perform 
before concession was likely to be wrung from 
60 obstinate an enemy. 

VOL. It. 



CAPTURE OF NINGPO. 
The Chinese had expended all their pre- 
caution on Chinhae, and, believing it to bo 
unassailable, took little thought about Ning- 
po. The Tartar troops had been so severely 
handled at the former place, that they were 
unwilling again to be brought into collision 
with British troops. The English force which 
landed for the purpose of storming this great 
city, did not exceed one thousand men. The 
gates were barricaded, but no one had the 
courage to defend the walls, which were es- 
caladed ; the Chinese assisted the escaladers 
to open the gates from within. The capture 
was made on the I3th of October, 1841. The 
English held possession, but so small was 
their force that the Chinese army in the field 
gained heart, and ventured to attack both 
Ningpo and Chinhae on the 10th of Jlarch, 
1842. The disproportion of numbers was 
very great, but the enemy after some fighting, 
and after succeeding in penetrating to the 
interior of the city of Ningpo, were repulsed 
with slaughter. They made a bold attack 
upon the ships with fire-rafts, which was 
skilfully averted. 

Intelligence reached the English commander 
that two intrenched camps were constructed 
at Tsekee, near the Segoon hills.* It was 
determined to disperse the army collected 
there. On the 15th of March the troops were 
embarked on board the steamers Queen, 
Nemesu, and Phlegethon, and early in the 
afternoon landed within four miles of the 
camps. The British plan of attack was the 
same as had been adopted at the other cap- 
tured places. Tiie enemy made a feeble re- 
sistance. The English had only three killed 
and twenty-two wounded ; all the killed and 
most of the wounded belonged to the sailors 
and marines ; her majesty's 49th regiment 
numbered the remaining wounded, which 
were four rank and file and three officers, 
Captain T. S. Reignolds, and Lieutenants 
Montgomcrie and Lane. 

Early in May the city of Ning-po was 
evacuated, and the expedition advanced up 
the Yang-tse-kiang ; two huudred men were, 
however, left in garrison upon the Pagoda 
Hill at Chinhae. 

On the 18th the expedition arrived at 
Chapoo, about fifty-five miles from Chin- 
hae;! '''° enemy was numerous, and made 
formidable preparations for resistance. The 
assailing force was small. The British, as 
usual, under Sir Hugh Gough, attacked in 
three colunms. The usual result followed — 
the enemy fled. In their flight a body of loss 
than three hundred Tartars had their retreat 

* Bingham says, on the hills, vol. ii. p. 297. 
t Ibid. 

4 N 



638 



HISTOliY OP THE BRITISH EMPIEE 



[CHAr. CXVII. 



cut off by the Oameronians. Thoy tlii-ew 
themselves into a joss-house, and supposing 
that thoy would receive no quarter, defended 
it with great resolution : it was loop-holed, 
situated in a defile, and altogether difficult to 
assail; cannon made no impression upon it, 
and the musketry fire upon the loop-holes did 
not effect much. Attempts to break open the 
door were futile, so strong was it, and those 
who made the attemi)t suffered from the cool 
fire of the Tartars ; amongst those that fine 
officer Lieutenant-colonel Tomlinson of the 
Royal Irish. Major Hough gives a different 
version, and perhaps the correct one, of his 
fall. There was, according to that officer's 
account, a wicket into which the soldiers 
might enter by single file ; Tomlinson bravely 
set the example, and as he entered was 
either shot or cut down.* Several of the 
officers and soldiery of the Royal Irish perse- 
vered in entering one by one, and suffered a 
similar fate. The gate was breached by bags 
of gunpowder, and the place previously fired 
by rockets ; the troops entered, putting the 
defenders to the bayonet or making them 
prisoners. The loss of the British in killed 
and wounded was sixty. The total loss of 
the Chinese was about sixteen hundred, but 
many wounded had been carried away while 
the Irish were storming the joss-house. The 
city was nearly destroyed by the fire of the 
British guns and rockets. The proportion 
of officers who were killed or wounded in our 
force, especially of superior officers, made this 
affair one of the most serious during the war. 

The expedition still advanced, effecting 
minor objects in its course, until the IGth of 
June, when her majesty's ship Dido, with 
eight transports containing troojas sent from 
India, joined the fleet. 

At Woo-sung, where that river forms a 
junction with the embouchure of the Yang- 
tse-kiang, and at Paoushan, bodies of Chinese 
troops had been dispersed, and collections of 
war material of various sorts destroyed, while 
the squadron waited for the arrival of rein- 
forcements. On the accession of force the 
armament proceeded to attack Shanghae.f 
The capture of Shanghae was effected with 
exceedingly little battle, although consider- 
able trouble and fatigue to both the maritime 
and military forces. The Admiral Sir W. 
Parker, the General Sir Hugh Gough, and 
Lieutenant-colonel Montgomerie especially 
exerted themselves. 

Immediately after this success still further 

* The Wai- with China. By Major Hough. 

t In the geographical portion of this work the reader 
will find a fuller account of the Chinese cities, and of 
China generally, than is to be found in any work not 
ciolusively occupied by information concerning that empire. 



reinforcements arrived. The Belleisle, from 
England, and a fleet of transports from India, 
brought the means of a still more vigorous 
prosecution of the war. Company's troops 
from both the Bengal and Bladras settlements, 
and her majesty's 98th regiment, with Lord 
Saltoun and other officers of distinction, 
joined the expedition. 

On the Gthof July seventy-three ships of war, 
including small craft, and attended by trans- 
ports, proceeded up the Yang-tse-kiang. On 
the 17th Captain Bouehier, in the Blonde, 
was ordered to blockade the entrance to the 
grand canal. A fine squadron was placed at 
his disposal, composed of the 3Iodesle, Dido, 
Calliope, Ghilders, Plover, Starling, and 
Queen and Nemesis steamers. Bouehier exe- 
cuted the task committed to him in an ad- 
mirable manner, cutting off the whole junk 
trade with Pekin, one of the severest blows 
that could be inflicted upon his celestial 
majestj^ On the lOtli the CornwalUs took 
up a position off the city of Tchang-kiang, at 
the entrance of the south grand canal, while 
her marines occupied the Island of Kinshan. 
On the 21st the rest of the ships destined to 
operate against that city were at their berths, 
and the troops were landed, divided in the 
old way and attacking upon the old plan. 
The 1st column was under the command of 
Lord Saltoun, an officer who had seen much 
war, and had always acquitted himself well, 
lie served in Sicily, 18O0-7; Corunna, 1808- 
1); Walcheren, 1809; Cadiz, 1811; Penin- 
sula ; Quatre Bras and Waterloo. Sir Hugh 
Gough in person superintended the operations 
of the 2nd column. The 3rd column was 
placed under Major-general Bartley. The 
Tartar garrison was not very large, but very 
superior numerically to their assailants. The 
troops which composed it were picked men, 
most of them of gigantic stattire and proved 
strength. They fought with desperate courage, 
under the impression, which the mandarins 
had inculcated, that the English would give 
no quarter. The guns at the embrasures 
were well served, the walls were high, and 
the gates strong. The engineers blew open 
the gates witli bags of powder, and on other 
points escalades were effected. It was not 
until a large portion of the city lay in ruins 
under shell, and shot, and rockets, or was in 
conflagration, and the Tartar troops were 
nearly all put to the bayonet, that the English 
were masters of the place. When all oppo- 
sition ceased, the eights that were disclosed 
filled the British with horror. Slany of the 
citizens, and especially persons of rank, had 
cut the throats of their wives and children, 
and hung themselves in their houses, rather 
than fall into the hands of an enemy whom 




SIR Ho IPOTXINSEIR.. 



"LONDON, JAMES S.VIRTUE . 



Chap. CXVIL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



G39 



they were taught to believe neitlier spared 
man nor woman in tlieir fury. Heaps of 
corpses were found lying in some of the 
houses to which the spreading flames had 
communicated themselves, and the odours of 
burning flesh told too truly what was taking 
place in others. Sir W. Parker, at the head 
of his marines, was frequently engaged in 
hand to hand conflicts with men who resisted 
with the wildest desperation. Lieutenant 
Crouch, R.N., and the crews in the boats of 
the Blonde suffered severely wliilo operating 
on the Grand Canal, and the boats were with 
difficulty saved. The list of casualties after 
this day's conflict was very heavy. Bingham 
relates that the "arms and .arsenals were de- 
stroyed, and the walls breached in many 
places." He also states that " the cholera 
broke out among our troops, and destroyed 
many men." The commanders-in-chief, to 
avert from Nankin the calamities that had 
befallen Tchang-kiang, dispatched the Tartar 
secretary with asummons and terms of capitu- 
lation to New-lden, viceroy of the two Kiang 
provinces. Kceying and Elepoo again at- 
tempted to open communications, but had not 
full power to negotiate. 

On the 11th of August the fleet and 4,500 
soldiers were assembled before Nankin, the old 
southern capital of the empire. The regular 
troops of the garrison did not amount to more 
than three times the number of their assailants, 
but an immense host of irregulars were within 
the walls. The Tartar general sued for an 
armistice of two days, as mandarins of the 
highest rank were on their way from Pckin 
to treat for peace. This was conceded, but 
with some misgivings that the only object of 
the enemy was to gain time. 

On the 17th of August a treaty of peace 
was signed between the Chinese commis- 
sioners and Sir Henry Pottinger, the British 
plenipotentiary. The following are its terms : 

1. Lasting peace aud friendsliip between the two 
empires. 

2. Cliina to pay twenty-one million dollars,* ia the 
course of the present and three succeeding years. 

3. The ports of Canton, Amoy, Foo-choo-foo, Ningpo, 
and Shaughae, to he thrown open to British merchants ; 
consular officers to be appointed to reside at them ; and 
regular and just tariff of impost and export (as well as 
inland trausit) duties to be estabUshed and published. 

4. The island of Hong-Kong to be ceded iu perpetuity 
to her Britannic majesty, her heirs and successors. 

5. All subjects of her Britannic majesty (whether 
natives of Europe or India), who may be confined in any 
part of the Chinese empire, to be unconditionally released. 

* Four million two hundred thousand pounds, at two 
shillings per dollar, 



6. An act of full and entire amnesty to be published 
by the emperor, under his imperial sign manual and seal, 
to all Chinese subjects, on account of their having hold 
service, or intercourse with, or resided under, the British 
government or its officers. 

7. Correspondence to be conducted on terms of perfect 
equality amongst the officers of both governments. 

8. On the emperor's assent being received to this 
treaty, and the payment of the first instalment, six million 
dollars, her Britannic majesty's forces to retire from Nan- 
kin and the Grand Canal, and the military posts at Chin- 
hae to bo withdrawn ; but the islands of Chusan aud Ko- 
long-soo are to be held nntil the money payments, and 
the arrangements for opening the ports, bo concluded. 

An imperial edict announced the ratifica- 
tion of the treaty on the 29th. 

The loss to the Ciiinese in this war was 
very great, independent of the humiliation, 
and the damage done to the prestige of the 
Pekin government in the estimation of the 
people. Three thousand pieces of cannon 
were taken, many very serviceable, — the 
majority only lit to sell for old metal. The 
Chinese war -junks were nearly all destroyed, 
but it is impossible to compute their number. 
Vast stores of arms, gingals, matchlocks, 
swords, spears, &c., were captured, which, 
although of no use to the British, were a 
heavy loss to the Chinese. Independent of 
the indemnity for the war, the ransom paid 
for Canton was G,GG9,615 dollars, nearly 
200,000 dollars were fomid in the treasuries 
of the different places captured. Two hun- 
dred tons of copper was taken at Chinhao. 
The total loss to China, in dollars, was about 
six millions sterling; the destruction of mate- 
rial for both war and peace was enormous. 
'Iho lesson taught to China was severe, but it 
did not produce the effect wliich the friends 
of peace would wish to find among the fruits 
of war to the vanquished. The Chinese did not 
profit by the ex])erience derived for any very 
long time, they relapsed again into the arro- 
gance and oppressivenesB which brought on 
the war. 

The conduct of the navy and army of Eng- 
land was in every way laudable throughout 
the war. The rewards which they received 
were not very munificent, but were on a much 
more liberal scale than was generally the case 
in the British service. A batta of six, twelve, 
and eighteen months, according to the time 
served in the expedition, was dispensed to the 
officers. Some promotions and brevet honours 
were given. 

Lord Saltoun remained in command of the 
army in China until the indemnity was secured 
according to the terms of the treaty. Sir 
Hugh Gough passed to other scenes of war- 
fare, with which his name will be coupled in 
British history. 



6iO 



HISTORY OP THE BIUTISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. OXVIII. 



CHAPTER CXVIII. 



WAR WITH THE MAHRATTAS OF GWALIOR— BATTLES OF MAHARAJPORE AND PUxNNIAR— 
DANGERS ON THE SIKH FRONTIER— LORD ELLENBOROUGH RECALLED— MR. BIRD 
GOVERNOR-GENERAL, pro. tern— SIR HENRY HARDINGE ARRIVES AS GOVERNOR-GENERAL. 

After his operations in Cliina, Lieutenant- 
general Sir Hugh Gongh was nominated to 
the command of the forces in India, and liis 
services were soon demanded in a sliort, deci- 
sivc, but sanguinary war. 

The treaty of Berharapore, in 1804, bound 
the Enghsh to maintain a force to act upon 
the requisition of the Maharajah of Gwalior to 
protect his person, liis government, and the 
persons and government of his heirs and their 
Buccessors. The maharajah of that date was 
Dowlut Rao Scindiah. Tliat chief died June 
18th, 1827. When on his death bed he sent 
for Major Stewart, the company's political 
agent, and informed him that he desired him, 
as acting for the company, to do as he thought 
best for the welfare of the state. The heir 
was JInmkogee Rao Scindiah, who maintained 
faithfully his relations to the company's 
government. At his decease, the heir was 
Tyagee Rao Scindiah , he was moreover adopted 
by tlie Maharanee Bazee Bae, the widow of 
his highness. The maharajah was a minor. 
The regency was, at the desire of the maha- 
ranee and the chiefs, placed in the hands of 
Mama Sahib, a competent person. The com- 
pany's government did not interfere, but 
acquiesced in the arrangements peaceably 
made by those most interested. The maha- 
ranee, with the fickleness of persons in her 
situation in India, expelled the sahib, and 
one Dada Khajee Walla, became her confi- 
dant, against the will of the chiefs, and 
without consulting the British government. 
The new functionary suppressed the corre- 
spondence of the English officials, which their 
government denounced as the assumption of 
an act of sovereignty, and rendering it im- 
possible any longer for the government of 
Calcutta to correspond with or through the 
usurping regent. Efforts to adjust these 
disputes by quiet means having failed, the 
governor -general, Lord EUenborougli, issued 
a proclamation, December 20th, 1843, setting 
forth the facts, and declaring the necessity of 
enforcing by arms the rights of the young 
maharajah in accordance with the terms of 
the treaty of 1804. 

An army assembled at Hingonah, under 
the command of Sir Hugh Gough. The 
governor -general attended the army. Vakeels, 
from certain of the Mahratta chiefs, sought 
to negotiate. This, however, was a scheme of 



the usurping regent to gain time, for he had 
resolved to appeal to force to assert the abso- 
lute character of his regency. The governor- 
general did not see through liis wiles, and in 
consequence of the inactivity of the English 
army for five days, in the very crisis of the 
occasion for which it appeared in the field, 
much loss of life occurred that otherwise 
might have been spared. It at last became 
obvious that battle must decide the questions 
at issue. The combinations of the commander- 
in-chief were such as to gain the marked ap- 
probation of the governor-general. The army 
was divided into two separate corps, or as 
Lord Ellenborough's post facto proclamation 
calls them, two wings. Sir Hugh Gough in 
person took the command of one, which was 
directed against Maharajpore ; and Major- 
general Grey was nominated to the command 
of the other, which was directed against 
Punniar. At each of these places a battle 
was fought contemporaneously, and, after 
victory decided both fields in favour of the 
British, the two corps formed a junction and 
united under the walls of Gwalior.* 

BATTLE or MAHARAJPORE. 
On the 29th of December, 184.3, the corpt 
d'annee under the command of Sir Hugh 
Gough, crossed the Kohuree river at dawn. 
The enemy had acquired great strength 
during the night, and was drawn up in front 
of the village, from which the battle took its 
name. Their position was strongly intrenched, 
and with considerable ability. Eighteen 
thousand men, of whom one-sixth were ca- 
valry, and one hundred cannon, defended the 
intrenchments. The cannon were too nume- 
rous for the number of troops they were in- 
tended to strengthen; some of them were very 
large ; the artillerymen were well instructed, 
especially the one gunner to each piece. 
Up to tills point the management of the Eng- 
lish had been at once tardy and precipitate ; 
there was haste witliout speed, there was 
talent without prudence and precaution ; the 
mind of Lord EUenborougli himself impressed 
the vi^hole proceedings, and Sir Hugh Gough 
did not display that independence of thought 
necessary, however difficult, when the go- 
vernor-general was in camp. A reconnaissance 

♦ For descriijtion of this plnce see descriptive and 
geographical portion of the work. 



Chap. CXVIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



C41 



took place, upon which the plan of action was 
formed to direct the chief attack upon the 
Chonda intronchment, where the guns and 
the enemy were supposed to be, as tlic 
village of Maharajpore was not then occu- 
pied. Brigadier-general Valliant's brigade 
was to lead the action, and JIajor-general 
Littler was to support the movement. The 
delay, want of vigilance and of effective recon- 
naissance, rendered the plan of battle abortive, 
and the rear became the column of att.ick, 
when the enemy suddenly opened fire from 
the village of Maharajpore. The grand 
elements of success, by Sir Charles Napier, 
in the two terrible battles of the Scinde cam- 
paign, especially in that of Jleannee, was the 
effective reconnaissance, and the previous cal- 
culation of every supposable contingency. So 
imperfect was the reconnaissance in the battle 
now related, that the Briti.sh hardly knew the 
precise position of the enemy they were about 
to attack, and were themselves surprised by 
the unexpected opening of a deadly fire upon 
troops who expected to be engaged in another 
part of the field. The governor-general. 
Lady Gough, and other ladies and civilians, 
were, in consequence of this want of manage- 
ment and foresight, in the most imminent 
danger, and for a short time exposed to the 
fury of a cannonade within easy range. The 
attacking army was not greatly inferior in 
number to that of the enemy. Perhaps never 
had an action been fought with any native 
power where so large a proportion of men to 
tliose of the enemy were ranged on the side 
of the English. The Mahrattas were, how- 
ever, much stronger in artillery, the English 
having only forty guns, a proportion of which 
were not ready for immediate use. When 
Sir Hugh Gough had been ordered to march 
from Agra, he was to have taken fifty batter- 
ing guns. Only ten were taken, the governor- 
general and commander-in-chief having been 
misled by the pacific assurances of such of the 
Mahratta chiefs as were in the interest of the 
niaharanee and the regent. Everything was 
to be carried with a high hand, and this lofty 
and magniloquent spirit characterised the 
direction of affairs throughout. Major-general 
Littler, instead of having to support Valliant, 
had to begin the action. A terrific cannonade 
was opened upon tliese soldiers, many of 
whom perished, who, by proper management, 
might have been saved. In the despatch of 
Sir Hugh the severity of this cannonade is 
referred to, as awakening the valour of tlie 
soldiers, and the usual phraseology of de- 
spatches about nothing being " able to with- 
stand the rush of British soldiers," celebrates 
the success of the attack ; but there is nothing 
E.nid to extenuate the faults which exposed 



these men unexpectedly to the havoc of a 
terrible artillery, which no means had been 
taken previously to silence or subdue. The 
39th foot, bearing upon their banners, since 
the battle of Plassey, " Primus in Indis," 
supported by the 56th native infantry, accord- 
ing to Sir Hugh Gough, " drove the enemy 
from their guns into the village, bayoneting 
the gunners at their posts." How they could 
be driven from their guns into the village, 
and bayoneted at their posts at the same 
time, passes the comprehension of a civilian. 
Probably the general meant, that the infantry 
ranged behind the guns were so " driven," 
while the artillerymen remained " at their 
posts" and died. Even this would not ex- 
press the fact, — many, both infantry and 
artillery, perished in defence of the guns, and 
the mass were driven in upon the village. In 
the despatch the commander-in-chief wrote 
that the 39th and 5(5th "drove the enemy from 
their guns into the village, bayoneting the gun- 
ners at their posts," and immediately adds, 
" Here a most sanguinary conflict ensued," <fec. 
It is difficult from this passage to gather where 
the sanguinary conflict took place, — whether 
at " their posts," the place immediately re- 
ferred to, or at the village into which the 
great body of the defenders were driven. 
According to tlie facts, however, the village 
was hotly contested, the Mahrattas throwing 
away their musketry or matchlocks, and using 
only their more congenial weapon the sword. 
The conflict was not of long duration : British 
skill and valour decided it with deadly 
promptitude. Sir Hugh's favourite and fea- 
sible practice in Ciiina he found available here 
also : General Valliant's brigade was ordered 
to take in reverse the village so fiercely as- 
sailed in front; this confused the gallant 
defenders, who ran wildly about, striking 
loosely at everything, and then falling before 
musket-ball and bayonet. Most of the men 
who defended the village perished, and the 
capture of twenty-eight cannon rewarded the 
exj)loit of the victors. On the extreme left 
of the British, Brigadier-general Scott was 
engaged with the enemy's cavalry, and, with 
disproportionate numbers, kept them all occu- 
pied. He and Captain Grant, with his horse- 
artillery, even menaced the riglit flank of the 
foe. Valliant's brigade, in conformity with 
instructions given before the battle, had sud- 
denly assumed a form not contemplated, 
moved against the Mahratta right, already 
threatened by Scott. His object of attack 
was Chonda, but on the way he had in suc- 
cession to storm three intrenchments. The 
Mahrattas clung to their cannon, unwilling to 
leave them in even the last extremity, causing 
heavy loss to the British, especially in officers 



6ii 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. CXVIII. 



of forward valom*. The 40th regiment lost 
two officers in command, Major Stopford and 
Captain Codrington, but liappily they sur- 
vived ; these gallant soldiers fell wounded 
under the muzzles of tlie guns, and bearing 
the flags which they chivalrously captured. 
While Valliant was t]ius impeded by obstacles 
of so formidable a nature, Littler, dashing 
through the enemy's line at the right of the 
captured village of Maharajporc, pursued his 
way over broken ground upon Chondar, where 
the 39th British regiment, led by Major Bray, 
and the SOth native infantry, led by Blajor 
Dick, gained the main position at the point of 
the bayonet. The battle was now over. It 
might have been easier won by good arrange- 
ments, but could not have been better fought 
by the gallant soldiers who conquered. The 
Mahrattas lost nearly one -fourth of their 
whole number. The British incurred a loss 
of 797 men, of whom lOG were killed, includ- 
ing seven officers, who were cither slain on 
the field or died of their wounds. 

BATTLE OP PUNNIAE. 

While Gongh was fighting the confnsed 
but successful battle of Maharajpoor, General 
Grey was winning the battle of Punniar. 
That officer acted with promptitude and 
vigilance ; the enemy were attacked without 
allowing them any time to strengthen their 
position, and with a small force a compara- 
tively easy conquest was made of a very 
strong position occupied by twelve thousand 
men, more determined in war than the natives 
of India usually are. The British loss was 
215 killed and wounded. The casualties 
would have been fewer had not the troops 
been fatigued by a long and sultry march. 

The junction of the two coijis d'armee, 
each having won a decisive battle, under the 
walls of Gwalior, awed the durbar into sub- 
mission. The Mahratta troops of his high- 
ness were disbanded ; a British contingent, 
consisting of four companies of artillery, two 
regiments of cavalry, and seven of infantry, 
was formed, the expense of supporting which 
was to be borne by the maharajah. This 
contingent soon became as much a native 
anny as that which was disbanded, and 
figured seditiously when the mutinies of 
1857 gave opportunity to the disaffected in 
every Indian state to betray their real feeling. 
The expenses of the war were paid by the 
state of Gwalior. 

The governor-general issued a proclama- 
tion, in which he panegyrized the dauntless 
courage of the British officers and men. lie 
exaggerated grossly the importance of the 
war, declaring what was obviously absurd, 



that " it gave now security to the British 
empire in India." 

It is difficult to imagine that by good 
statesmanship this war might not have been 
avoided, and by better generalship decided 
with little loss in a single action. The policy 
however was sound. The English fulfilled "a 
treaty which the usurping regent compelled 
them to enforce ; and the relations of the 
English to the Sikhs were at the time most 
critical. Lord EUcnborough, in his despatches, 
justified his policy on that ground. He ob- 
served that under ordinary circumstances the 
different parties in Gwalior might be left to 
fight out amongst themselves all questions 
of the ascendancy of ministers or ranee, who 
should be regent, and what chiefs ought to 
have most influenoe, but with a magnificent 
Sikh army menacing the British frontier, 
it was necessary to bring the affairs of 
Gwalior to a speedy termination. The policy 
of letting them alone would be the wisest in 
a time of peace, but should war break out 
with the Sikh army, then the Gwalior force 
would occupy a position of hostile watchful- 
ness, ready to deepen defeat into ruin, or 
embarrass succeesfal enterprise. Not know- 
ing how affairs with the maharanee of 
Lahore might issue, Lord EUcnborough 
thouglit it high time to settle matters with 
the maharanee of Gwalior. Still, when the 
whole case is impartially and comprehensively 
viewed, it is reasonable to think that prudent 
and skilful statesman.ship might have averted 
a conflict, and even secured the goodwill 
and aid of the government and army of 
the Gwalior Mahrattas in any collision with 
the Sikhs. As the policj' adopted towards 
Gwalior confessedly turned upon the threaten- 
ing aspect of the Punjaub, it is necessary to 
show what our relations were at that time 
with the strangely blended military and eccle- 
siastical power which occupied that country, 
and over which the young and amiable Jlaha- 
rajah Dhuleej) Singh then nominally reigned. 
It is the more necessary to review these rela- 
tions, as in a short time the most sanguinary 
wars India ever saw arose out of them, the 
account of which must be reserved for another 
chapter. 

From the period of the campaign from 
Peshawur in favour of Shah Sujah, our rela- 
tions with the Sikhs beyond the Sutlej became 
exceedingly disturbed. Notice has been in- 
cidentally given of the progress of that 
people, and in the descriptive and geo- 
graphical portions of this work the country 
which they occupy has been depicted. 

In 1805, when Holkar resisted English 
arms so stubbornly, and sought the aid of the 
Sikhs, we entered into treaty with them. 



Chap. CXVIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



643 



Rnnjeet Singh was the monarch of the Pun- 
jaub. That remarkable man was born in 
1780, and twelve years after, upon the death 
of his father, was proclaimed head of the 
Sikh nation. Eunjeet obtained Lahore from 
the Aflghans, and had already a position of 
influence and power in northern India. In 
1824, Cashmere, Peshawur, and Mooltau be- 
came his conquests. He then also reigned 
over the whole of the Punjaiib proper. He 
always showed a decided friendship for the 
English, whether from partiality or policy 
never could be determined.* lie died on the 
27th of June, 1839. At that juncture he was 
allied with England, for the restoration to the 
throne of Cabul of the expatriated monarch 
Shah Sujah. 

After the death of Eunjeet the affairs of 
the Sikh nation became pertnrbed, and the 
old friendship to the English was displaced 
by feelings of suspicion and dishke. The 
Mohammedans of the Punjaub always hated 
the British, and their hatred found vent when 
the expedition to Cabul by way of Peshawur 
was undertaken. This animosity and rooted 
jealousy extended until the chiefs were with 
difficulty restrained from attacking the army 
of General Pollock on his return from Cabul. 
Various revolutions delayed any attack upon 
the English, but the Sikh people being am- 
bitious of obtaining Scinde and Delhi within 
their empire, the English were regarded as 
impediments to the expansion of Sikh power. 
Apprehensions of encroachment were also en- 
tertained, but the common soldiery and all 
members of the Sikh nation who were not 
politicians, believed that the power which 
suffered such reverses in Affghanistan was 
not invulnerable. These reverses had caused 
the resistance to our aggressive policy in 
Scinde, and had also left the legacy, as the 
reader will learn, of long and sanguinary con- 
flicts with the Sikhs. The victories of Sir 
Charles Napier in Scinde had somewhat re- 
stored British prestige, but the same effect 
did not follow the conquest of Gwalior by Sir 
Hugh Gough. Tlio IMahrattas were not 
greatly superior numerically to the British, 
and yet they maintained in two pitched 
battles a regular and arduous fight. The 
fame of this Mahratta resistance spread all 
over India, and led the Sikh soldiery to 
believe that as they were, at all events in 
their own opinion, better troops than the 
Mahrattas, the ascendancy of the British 
in India might be disputed. An aggressive 
war at last became supremely popular in the 
Punjaub. 

Dhuleep Singh, a boy ten years of age, 

* History of ihe Sikhs. By Captain J. ©.Cunning- 
ham, Bengd Eugiueers, 



reputed to be the eon of Eunjeet Singh, as- 
cended the throne, and Heera Singh became 
vizier. The minister found it impossible to 
control the soldiery. The army which Eun- 
jeet had so well organized for conquest, and 
which he had so well controlled, now ruled 
the state. The vizier and various other 
eminent courtiers were put to death by the 
paramount power, the army. The maha- 
ranee had a favourite named Lall Singh. Her 
influence was great, and she used it with skill 
to promote him to the viziership. 

It soon became a settled policy with the 
more serious and reflecting chiefs to desire a 
war with the English, not for the sake of 
conquering them, which they believed to be 
impossible, but in the expectation of first 
getting the army away from the vicinity of 
Lahore, and then in the hope that they would 
be slain or dispersed by collision with the 
English. In such case it was supposed that 
the English would come to terms, and approve 
even of the policy. It was not calculated how 
the English might feel to the Sikh nation 
after losing thousands of brave men in a war 
for defence of their Indian dominions against 
a sort of military imperial republic, nor was it 
considered by these Lahore politicians how 
the expense of a war with the English would 
ultimately fall upon the Punjaub and upon 
the crown of Dhuleep Singh, the unoffending 
victim of such a conflict. Such was the state 
of the relations between the English and the 
Sikhs when war broke out. It was no doubt 
hastened by the knowledge on the part of the 
Sikh soldiery, that the government of Calcutta 
was bound to assist the mahar.ajah against 
all enemies. Should the military faction carry 
its spirit of revolt further, and the court of 
Lahore call for English aid, as was expected, 
it would probably be rendered. Some of the 
chiefs were favourable to such a course ; this 
was known throughout the Sikh army, and 
caused the murder of several eminent persons. 
It led the majority of the troops to the de- 
cision that a sudden attack with their whole 
force upon the English would break their 
power, at least compel the cession of rich ter- 
ritory, perhaps issue in the establishment of a 
Sikh empire all over India. The wildest 
dreams of ambition were cherished, the fiercest 
religious fanaticism fostered, and exultation 
spread through all ranks of the army ; and 
many classes of the people at the prospect of 
a grand war for empire, in which the banner 
of the Klialsa would float from Calcutta to 
Kohistan. 

The war which followed was not conducted 
under the auspices of him whose Indian 
administration did so much to stimulate and 
increase if not to create the feehng which 



G44 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRK 



[Chap. CXIX. 



caused it. Lord EUenborough was recalled. 
His passion for military glory offended the 
East India Company, Ever since the system 
sprung lip of nominating a peer to the general 
government of India, huge military enter- 
prises had been carried on at a ruinous ex- 
pense to the company. The English cabinet 
had a strong temptation to countenance Indian 
wars; they entailed no expense upon the 
English exchequer, gave immense patronage 
to the crown through the board of control, 
and the governor-general afforded support to 
a largo portion of the royal army, and in- 
creased the prestige of English power in 
Europe. Great was the indignation of the 
holders of Indian stock with the wars of 
Lord EUenborough, all of which were rashly 
waged, and that in Scinde aggressively, ra- 
paciously, and unrighteously to a degree 
revolting to the minds of 2ieaceable and just 
English citizens. The company determined 
to recall Lord EUenborough. They did so 
without the consent of the cabinet, and in 
spite of its protests. The order of recall 
arrived in Calcutta on the 1.5th of Juno, 1844. 
The government immediately devolved upon 
W. W. Bird, Esq., the senior member of the 
Bengal council. Lord EUenborough was 
feted in Calcutta, but the homage paid to 
him was chiefly by the military. On the first 
of August he set sail fur Europe. The Duke 
of Wellington manifested great indignation at 
his recall and the mode of it, and the party 
leaders in both houses intimated all sorts of 
threats against the East India Company for 



exercising its undoubted prerogative, and for 
doing so in the interest, as it believed, not 
only of the holders of East Indian stock, hut 
of India and of England. The noble viscount 
was created an earl by the government as 
some consolation for the attacks made upon 
him in the press both at home and in the 
East, and the general indignation which his 
policy excited in England. His political op- 
ponents generally made a very unfair and 
unscrupulous use of the unjjopularity excited 
by the conduct of his wars. 

The vacant governor-generalship was given 
to Sir Henry Hardinge, who v\'as an able 
general, and who as an administrator had 
given great satisfaction to Sir Robert Peel. 
The directors gave the new governor-general 
a grand entertainment, and in a long speech 
impressed upon him the necessity for peace, 
in order that economy might be possible, 
without which the welfare of the populations 
of India could not be promoted, as their con- 
dition depended upon social improvement, and 
the development of roads, railways, river navi- 
gation, educational institutions, &c. These 
things could not be afforded to them by the 
company, unless peace allowed of that financial 
prosperity always impossible where a war 
policy prevailed. Sir Ilenry Hardinge arrived 
in India at Calcutta, on the 23rd of July, and 
preserved indefatigably and wisely the policy 
assigned to him by the directors. The Sikh 
war, however, interrupted these dreams of pro- 
gress, and darkened for a time the financial 
condition of India. 



CHAPTER CXIX. 

THE SIKII WAR-BATTLES OF MOODKEE, rEROZESHAII, ALIWAL, AND SOBRAON— ADVANCB 

UPON L.\HORE— PEACE. 

On the 17th of November, 1844, the Sikh 1 habits of Indian races. He was, however, 
soldiery began the war. On that day the i warned by persons better competent to pro- 
detorniination to invade Ilindostan was taken J nounce an opinion on the subject than he 
at Lahore, and in a few days the troops ! could be, that the Sikhs were about to pass 
moved upon the Sutlej. On" the 11th of ! the river. It was the fashion, at government- 



December the invasion began. The Sutlej 
was crossed between llurrakee and Russoor. 
On the 14th, a corps of the army took up a 
position near Ferozepore. The new governor- 
general was as much taken by surprise as 
Lord EUenborough and his guard were at 
^Blaharajpore. Sir II. Hardinge assured the 
secret committee, in his correspondence with 
London, that there was no probability of the 
Sikh troops attempting to cross the Sutlej. 
Tliis opinion was excusable in Sir Henry, as 
being inexperienced in Indian affixirs and the 



house, especially in Lord EUenborough's time, 
to sneer at the civil service, particularly when 
civilians, however experienced, offered opi- 
nions which touched at all upon military 
matters. Sir Henry had, however, been 
warned by military men, as well as civUians, 
whose opinions should have received atten- 
tion, that the Sikhs would burst across the 
confines of their empire like a flooded river 
suddenly rising and overflowing its_ banks. 
Sir Ilenry and the commander-in-chief (Sir 
Hugh Gough) were slow in believing the 




THE MTH®W'«,'™ TKSC©10'HT lB[A,mMM©E, ©.CLB.&c. 



I.OHlHm. .lAirli.j J. Yiivj.1. 



Chap. CXIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



G45 



result, and as slow iu preparing against a 
contingency wliich had been probable for 
so long a time. Captain Nicholson and Jlajor 
liroadfoot, however, watched the luovements 
of the enemy, and furnished the government 
with all necessary information. The gar- 
rison of Ferozepore was the first threatened 
by the approach of the enemy. It consisted 
of seven thousand men, conmianded by Sir 
John Littler. They marched out, and boldly 
offered battle, which the Sikh leaders, Lall 
Singh, and the vizier, and Tej Singh, the 
commander-in-chief, declined. They, in fact, 
gave Captain Nicholson to understand that 
they had no desire for success, and would 
not attack an isolated division of the British 
army, as their object was to bring their own 
army into collision against the grand array of 
the British, that the latter might be broken 
up by defeat resulting from its presumption. 
The subsequent conduct of these chiefs hardly 
corresponded with these professions. The 
advance of the main army of the British, 
under Sir Hugh Gough, brought on the battle 
of Moodkee, the first of the war. 

When the troops arrived at that village, 
they were exhausted with fatigue and thirst. 
The general moved them on in quest of the 
enemy, whom it was known was in the neigh- 
bourhood, and likely to attack. Sir Hugh 
has been criticised for not drawing up his 
men in front of the encampment, and await- 
ing the arrival of the Sikhs. He advanced, 
however, and about two miles distant found 
them in order of battle. The scene of battle 
was a flat country, covered in part with a low 
shrubby jungle, and dotted v.ith hillocks, some 
of which were covered with verdure, but 
most of them bare and sandy. The jungle 
and the imdulated inequalities of the ground 
enabled the Sikhs to cover their infantry and 
artillery, presenting a good position, which 
was occupied by troops giving every indica- 
tion of having confidence iu themselves. 

The British force consisted of the Umballah 
and Loodiana divisions of the British army, 
which had just formed a junction. The 
number under Lord Gough's command did 
not exceed eleven thousand men, while that 
under Lall Singh and Tej Singh amounted to 
thirty thousand. The enemy had forty guns, 
the British a small proportion of artillery. 
The quality of the British force was well 
adapted to the undertaking. It consisted of 
the division under Major-general Sir H. 
Smith,. a brigade of that imder Major-general 
Sir J. M'Caskill, and another of that under 
Major-general Gilbert, with five troops of 
horse artillery, and two light field-batteries, 
under Lieutenant-colonsl Brooke, of the horse 
artillery (brigadier in command of the artil- 



lery force), and the cavalry division, consist- 
ing of her majesty's 3rd light dragoons, the 
body-guard, 4th and 5th light cavalry, and 
9th irreguar cavalry. The artillery of the 
enemy opened with formidable effect upon 
the twelve British battalions of infantry as 
they formed from echelon of brigade into line. 
The battery of horse artillery, under Briga- 
dier Brooke, for a time replied to so severe a 
fire without silencing it, but being reinforced 
by two light field-pieces, that object was 
accomplished. In order to complete the for- 
mation of his infantry without advancing his 
artillery too near the jungle, Sir Hugh Gough 
made a flank movement with his cavalry, 
under Brigadiers White and Gough, upon 
the left of the Sikh line. This was a bril- 
liantly executed and effective movement. 
The dragoons turned the enemy's left, and 
swept along the whole rear of their line of 
infantry and cannon. Perceiving the admi- 
rable execution of these orders. Sir Hugh 
directed Brigadier M'Tier to make a similar 
movement with the remainder of the cavalry 
upon the enemy's right. Had not the posi- 
tion of the Sikhs been so well chosen, these 
mancBUvres would have probably filled their 
ranks with consternation. As it wa.s, little 
more was effected than to surprise the enemy, 
distract his attention, and enable the English 
infantry to form and advance with less loss 
than otherwise would have been the case. 
The enemy was far advanced when the Bri- 
tish line of infantry charged, and the battle 
was fought in the dusk of evening and by 
starlight. The English attacked in echelon 
of lines. Amidst clouds of dust and smoke, 
deepened by the shadows of closing day, the 
English rolled their heavy musketry fire into 
the jungles, still approaching : sometimes the 
enemy fell back under this fire, or the close 
discharges of the horse artillery, which gal- 
loped up to the jungle ; in other instances 
the sand hills and the brushwood were con- 
tested amidst the dash of bayonets and the 
grapple of desperate conflict, when man meets 
man in a struggle of victory or death. To 
the bayonet of the English infantry Sir H. 
Gough attributed the success of his charge. 
The enemy was compelled to withdraw, leav- 
ing seventeen guns in the hands of the 
British. The army returned to camp about 
midnight, and rested on the 19th and 20th of 
December, to collect the wounded, bring iu 
the guns, and refresh the exhausted troops. 
Major-general Sir E. Sale died of his wound; 
Sir J. M'Caskill was shot through the chest and 
killed. The number of killed were two hundred 
and fifteen, wounded six hundred and fifty- 
seven ; total, eight hundred and seventy-two. 
The enemy killed and wounded many officers 

4 



646 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



CXIX. 



by firing from trees. This was a heavy loss 
to the small army of Sir Hugh Gougli. The 
death of Sale and M'Caakill, two of the best 
oflScers in India, was regretted by all the 
officers of the army, and by the gallant soldiers 
■who had so often followed them to victory. 

BATTLE OF FEROZESHAH. 

On the 21st the army marched to within 
three or four miles of Ferozeahah. Sir John 
Littler had been ordered to form a junction 
with the grand army, with as large a portion 
of the garrison of Ferozepore as could safely 
be withdrawn from it. The governor-general 
afterwards wrote a narrative of the junction 
of these forces, and the operations they were 
called upon to perform. Anything from the 
pen of Sir Henry Hardinge (afterwards Lord 
Hardinge) on a military subject will be eagerly 
read; his account is therefoi'e given of the 
complicated transactions which ensued : — 

" At half-past one o'clock the Umballah 
fqrce, having marched across the country dis- 
encumbered of every description of baggage, 
except the reserve ammunition, formed its 
junction with Sir John Littler's force, who 
had moved out of Ferozepore with five thou- 
sand men, two regiments of cavalry, and 
twenty-one field-guns. This combined ope- 
ration having been effected, the commander- 
in-chief, with my entire concurrence, made 
his arrangements for the attack of the enemy's 
position at Ferozeshah, about four miles dis- 
tant from the point where our forces had 
united. The British force consisted of six- 
teen thousand seven hundred men, and sixty- 
nine guns, chiefly horse artillery. The Sikh 
forces varied from forty-eight thousand to sixty 
thousand men, with one hundred and eight 
pieces of cannon of heavy calibre, in fixed bat- 
teries. The camp of the enemy was in the form 
of a parallelogram, of about a mile in length, 
and half a mile in breadth, including within 
its area the strong village of Ferozeshah ; the 
shorter sides looking towards the Sutlej and 
Moodkee, and the longer towards Ferozepore 
and the open country. The British troops 
moved against the last-named place, and the 
ground in front of which was, like the Sikh 
position in Moodkee, covered with low jungle. 
The divisions of Major-general Sir J. Littler, 
Brigadier Wallace (who had succeeded Major- 
general Sir J. M'Caskill), and Major-general 
Gilbert, deployed into line, having in the 
centre our whole force of artillery, with the 
exception of three troops of horse artillery, 
one on either flank, and one in support to be 
moved as occasion required. Major-general 
Sir H. Smith's division, and our small cavalry 
force, moved in a second line, having a 
brigade in reserve to cover each wing. A 



very heavy cannonade was opened by the 
enemy, who had dispersed over their posi- 
tion upwards of one hundred guns, more than 
forty of which were of battering calibre ; these 
kept up a heavy and well-directed fire, which 
the practice of our far less numerous artillery 
of much lighter metal checked in some degree, 
but could not silence ; finally, in the face of 
a storm of shot and shell, our infantry ad- 
vanced and carried these formidable intrench- 
ments ; they threw themselves upon the guns, 
and with matchless gallantry wrested them 
from the enemy ; but when the batteries were 
partially within our grasp, our soldiery had 
to face such a fire of musketry from the Sikh 
infantry, arrayed behind their guns, that, in 
spite of their most heroic efforts, a portion only 
of the intrenchment could be carried. Night 
fell while the conflict was everywhere raging." 
Sir Hugh Gongh thus narrates the events 
of that terrible night, and of the succeeding 
day : — " Although I now brought up Major- 
general Sir H. Smith's division, and he cap- 
tured and long retained another point of the 
position, and her majesty's 3rd light dragoons 
charged and took some of the most formidable 
batteries, yet the enemy remained in posses- 
sion of a considerable portion of the great 
quadrangle, whilst our troops, intermingled . 
with theirs, kept possession of the remainder, 
and finally bivouaccd upon it, exhausted by 
their gallant efforts, greatly reduced in num- 
bers, and suffering extremely from thirst, yet 
animated by an indomitable spirit. In this 
state of things the long night wore away. 
During the whole night, however, they con- 
tinued to harass our troops by the fire of 
artillery, wherever moonlight discovered our 
position. But, with daylight of the 22nd, 
came I'etribution. Our infantry formed line, 
supported on both flanks by horse artillery, 
whilst a fire was opened from our centre by 
such of our heavy guns as remained effective, 
aided by a flight of rockets. A masked bat- 
tery played with great effect upon this point, 
dismounting our pieces, and blowing up our 
tumbrils. At this moment Lieutenant-general 
Sir H. Hardinge placed himself at the head 
of the left, whilst I rode at the head of the 
right wing. Our line advanced, and, un- 
checked by the enemy's fire, drove them 
rapidly out of the village of Ferozeshah and 
their encampment ; then, changing front to 
its left, on its centre, our force continued to 
sweep the camp, bearing down all opposition, 
and dislodged the enemy from their whole 
position. The line then halted, as if on a 
day of manoeuvre, receiving its two leaders 
as they rode along its front with a gratifying 
cheer, and displaying the captured standards 
of the Khalsa army. We had taken upwards 




m 



f «n\ ' ^r 



Chap. CXIX,] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



6m 



of seventy-three pieces of cannon, and were 
masters of the whole field. 

"In the course of two hours, Sirdar Tej 
Singh, who had commanded in the last great 
battle, brought up from the vicinity of Fero- 
zepore fresh battalions and a large field of 
artillery, supported by thirty thousand Ghore- 
churras, hitherto encamped near the river. 
He drove in our cavalry parties, and made 
strenuous efforts to regain the position at 
Ferozeshah. This attempt was defeated, but 
its failure had scarcely become manifest, when 
the sirdar renewed the contest with more 
troops and a large artillery. He commenced 
by a combination against our left flank, and 
when this was frustrated, made such a demon- 
stration against the captured village, as com- 
pelled us to change our whole front to the 
right. His guns during this manoeuvre main- 
tained an incessant fire, whilst our artillery 
ammunition being completely expended in 
these protracted combats, we were unable to 
answer him with a single shot. I now 
directed our almost exhausted cavalry to 
threaten both flanks at once, preparing the 
infantry to advance in support, which, appa- 
rently, caused him suddenly to cease his fire, 
and to abandon the field." The enemy's 
camp " is the scene of the most awful car- 
nage, and they have abandoned large stores 
of grain, camp equipage, and ammunition." 
» The conduct and issue of this battle are 

given in the language of Sir H. Hardinge's 
narrative, and of Sir Hugh Gough's despatch, 
contrary to the plan generally observed in 
this work, because the mode in which this 
battle was fought, and the conduct of the 
whole campaign, especially up to this point, 
have been so much criticised in India and in 
England, and by military men in Europe and 
America. As to the battle itself, it has been 
observed, that the British artillery did not 
display the superiority usual in Indian warfare. 
The Sikhs are said to have fired three times 
for every two shots from the British guns. 
The position taken up by the British has been 
condemned. As before the battle of Moodkee, 
there was inadequate information. The in- 
telligence department of the army failed to 
prove itself effective. It has been even stated 
by military men that the British army marched 
along the rear of the Sikh position on which 
"face" of the intrenchments there were no 
guns, and took post in front of the lines from 
which the Sikh cannon were directed, and 
generally so fixed, that they could not have 
been turned to the reverse, had the attack 
been directed upon it. Tlie proportion of 
numbers to those of the well-equipped and 
well-disciplined enemy, was unjust to the 
British soldier. No adequate conception had 



been formed by the governor-general or the 
commander-in-chief of the task undertaken. 
The foe was underrated. The defective in- 
formation at Calcutta, and want of judgment 
among those who had the chief control of the 
campaign, and the responsibility of providing 
for it, cost fearful loss of valuable soldiers. 
So badly was the army provided, that, al- 
though only the second conflict of the cam- 
paign, and upon the confines of British terri- 
tory, the battle was all but lost for want of 
ammunition. As subsequently at Inkerman, 
and previously on so many hard-fought fields 
in India and elsewhere, the English soldier 
was left without ammunition at a most critical 
juncture. The commissariat, and carriage, 
were in a condition which caused the soldier 
much suffering. The intrenchments were 
undoubtedly stormed, but they were not 
generally formidable, not being more than 
eighteen inches high ; but the new force 
brought up by Tej Singh would probably 
have retaken the ground, had not an accident 
led him to withdraw. The English cavalry 
left the field, and marched to Ferozepore. 
This order the officers declared was given by 
official authority. If so, either a shameful 
blunder was committed, or a retreat was con- 
templated. The fact is, however, that the 
cavalry, or a large portion of it, left the field, 
and exposed the whole array to the most 
imminent peril. This blundering episode was, 
however, mistaken by Tej Singh for a grand 
measure to attack him in the rear ; and sup- 
posing that the English must have obtained 
reinforcements to attempt the like, deemed it 
prudent to withdraw his army. Thus an 
accident, such an accident as it was disgrace- 
ful should occur in any European army, ac- 
tually relieved the British of the presence of 
the enemy at a juncture when the men and 
their ammunition were nearly exhausted. It 
was natural that the British public should be 
dissatisfied with a battle where so many fell 
before a native force, and where at last an 
accident, itself discreditable to an army, caused 
the foe to retire at a juncture when, from 
another circumstance also disgraceful to the 
management of the force, there was an inade- 
quate supply of ammunition. Neither Sir 
Henry Hardinge nor Sir Hugh Gough showed 
the foresight, comprehensiveness, nor faculty 
of detail necessary to great commanders, or 
great statesmen. Both showed great ability 
in handling small numbers in action, and 
probably never on any field, by any com- 
manders, was more dauntless bravery shown. 
During the nights of suspense, when the 
wearied British soldiery lay down under the 
incessant fire of the enemy's artillery, which 
ploughed up the ground in various directions, 



Gi8 



HISTOEY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[CuAP. CXIX. 



Sir Henry Hardinge went among the soldiers, 
lay down among the groups, chatted with 
them in a tone of confidence, talked of " chas- 
titiing the Sikhs next morning if they were 
insolent," and thoroughly sounded the temper 
of the soldiers as to what reliance might be 
placed upon them in the dreadful conflict 
which awaited them. Sir Henry, with sleep- 
less energy was everywhere, and everywhere 
the soldiers received him with a heroic con- 
fidence in him, and reliance on themselves, 
displaying a surprising heroism. 

During the series of battles — for the con- 
flict was a series of struggles, not a single 
action — Sir Henry Hardinge exposed his 
person with romantic gallantry. Several 
members of his family were by his side in 
every peril. On one occasion a cannon-ball 
passed between him and his aid-de-camp, to 
whom at a short distance he was addressing 
some words. How Sir Henry, or any of his 
stafi' escaped, is astonishing. Sir Hugh Gough 
was also in the front of battle on his right, 
by word and gesture animating his men, and 
first in daring wherever' danger invited. Both 
these heroic men, whatever their errors as 
commanders, displayed the highest chivalry ; 
and each also in the action, whatever their 
deficiency of foresight previously, disjilayed 
experience and competency to command in 
battle. They were first-rate generals of divi- 
sion — they were more ; but whatever their 
subsequent successes or display of military 
skill, the conduct of the campaign, reviewed 
as a whole, was not marked by enlarged 
ability for the conduct of armies. 

The Sikhs retired to the neighbourhood of 
Sobraon, on the right bank of the Sutlej. 
Thither Sir Hugh Gough and the governor- 
general pursued, taking up a position from 
which they might observe the enemy in 
all directions. The following were the dispo- 
sitions made from this centre by both armies. 
The Sikhs manoeuvred from Sobraon, along 
the right bank of the Sutlej. The British 
army executed an oblique movement to its 
right and front. Major-general Sir H. Smith, 
supported by a cavalry brigade, under Briga- 
dier Cureton, was in this new allinement, 
still on the right, opposite to Hurreekee 
Puttun ; Major-general Gilbert in the centre; 
and Major-general Sir R. Dick on the left, 
covered again by cavalry. Major-general 
Sir J. Grey, at Attaree, watched the Nuggur 
ford. The troops of Major-general Sir J. 
Littler occupied the cantonment and in- 
trenchment of Ferozepore. There was no 
doubt that Sirdar Runjoor Singh Mujethea 
had crossed from Philour, and, not only 
threatened the safety of the rich and popu- 
lous town of Loodiana, but would have 



turned the right flank, and have intersected 
the line of our communication at Busseean 
and Raekote, and have endangered the junc- 
tion of our convoys from Delhi. Brigadier 
Godby commanded three battalions of native 
infantry at Loodiana. Major-General Sir H. 
Smith, with his brigade at Dhurmkote, and 
Brigadier Cureton's cavalry, were directed to 
advance by Jugraon towards Loodiana ; and 
his second brigade, under Brigadier Wheeler, 
moved on to support him.* Brigadier-general 
Godby was ordered to reinforce Major-general 
Smith. The march was a disastrous one. 
General Smith was thrown out of communica- 
tion with General Wheeler, a matter of serious 
strategical importance. The enemy hung 
upon Sir Harry's flank and rear with courage 
and pertinacity, executing difficult evolutions 
with skill and rapidity. According to Sir 
Harry's despatch, " a portion of the baggage 
fell into the hands of the enemy." The fact, 
however, was, a great deal was lost. It was 
placed, in the different manojuvres which the 
constancy and activity of the enemy compelled, 
between the two forces, and was captured. 

The sirdar took post in an intrenched camp 
at Budhowal, fifteen miles lower down than 
Loodiana. 

THE BATTLE OF ALIWAL. 

On the 28th of January, 1846, the battle 
so designated was fought by Sir Harry Smith. 
The cavalry, under the command of Brigadier 
Cureton, and horse artillery, under Major 
Lawrenson, formed two brigades under Bri- 
gadier MacDowell, 16th lancers, and the 
other under Brigadier Stedman, 7th light 
cavalry. The first division as it stood con- 
sisted of two brigades : her majesty's 63rd 
and 30th native infantry, under Brigadier 
Wilson, of the latter corps ; the 36th native 
infantry and Nusseree battalion, under Bri- 
gadier Godby, 36th native infantry ; and the 
Shekawatte brigade, under Major Foster. 
The Sirmoor battalion was attached to Bri- 
gadier Wheeler's brigade of the first division, 
the 42nd native infantry had been left at 
head -quarters. 

The regiments of cavalry headed the ad- 
vance of the British. As they approached 
they opened and wheeled to either flank, and 
the infantry and artillery formed line and 
approached. The scene was grand and im- 
posing. The glittering lines of the Sikhs 
flashed like silver in the sun, while their dark 
looming guns were pointed with well-judged 
range against the approaching ranks. 

The form of battle was peculiar; the left of 
the British line and the right of the Sikhs 
were remote, while the British right was very 
• Major Hough. 







'^#/-""" 



/ ■" I 



LIEU? ©EH>J SIR HARBY G .W. SMITH, BART G.G.I 



ay 



.^^z^/t-e^^^ i^ M^ ^^/^ 



LONDON. JAMES S. VIRTUE. 



Chap. CXIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



649 



near to the enemy, whose line as it approached 
the British, stretched far beyond. The dis- 
advantage of this outflanking extension of the 
enemy's left was counterbalanced by the 
judicious arrangements of Sir Harry Smith's 
cavalry on his extreme right. The grand 
object of the British was to secure the village 
of Aliwal. He directed the infantry of his 
right wing against that post. It was occu- 
pied by hill men, who made a feeble resist- 
ance, but the Sikh artillerymen died at their 
guns. The British cavalry on the right 
charged through the enemy's left, dividing 
his line, and breaking up a large portion of 
the army. At the same time the Sikhs 
opposed to the Britisli left, consisting of their 
best troops, outflanked the English line. 
Here a charge of British cavalry also turned 
the fortunes of the day. The British lancers 
were received by well-formed Sikh squares. 
The British rode through them ; but as they 
did so, the Sikhs closed behind, as some of 
the British squares did when partially pene- 
trated at Waterloo. The Sikh infantry re- 
ceived the English lances on their shields, 
breaking many of those weapons. Again the 
British charged through, and, by a happy 
manoeuvre, changed the lance from the lance 
hand. The Sikhs not being prepared for 
this, caught on their persons instead of on 
> their shields the thrusts of their foes. A third 
time the British cavalry rode through the 
squares before they were effectually broken and 
dispersed. It was a battle in which British 
cavalry effected wonders against infantry. 

The enemy endeavoured to rally behind 
Boondree ; but the hot pursuit of the British 
deprived them of this last resource of despair. 
Numbers were driven into the river, and 
shot down by musketry and discharges of 
grape as they struggled across. Fifty pieces 
of cannon were captured. On this occasion 
the superior skill of the British artillery was 
made apparent. Major Lawrenson, early in 
the action, on his own responsibility, galloped 
up within close range of the most destructive 
of the enemy's cannon and swept the gunners 
from their posts. In the pursuit, the play of 
two eight-inch howitzers made fearful havoc 
upon the dense and disordered masses of the 
fugitives. 

The loss of the enemy was extremely 
heavy, but could not be computed. When 
the dead bodies floated down the Sutlej to 
Sobraon, both British and Sikhs then first 
learned that a great battle had been fought, 
and these silent and appalling witnesses bore 
evidence, striking and conclusive, on which 
side victory lay. 

Among the officers who had distinguished 
themselves at Moodkee and Ferozeshah, none 



was more signally useful, or dauntlessly in- 
trepid, than Lieutenant-colonel Havelock, 
afterwards the saviour of British India. At 
Moodkee two horses were shot under him, 
but he escaped without a bruise. At Feroze- 
shah his heroic conduct attracted the admira- 
tion of all who had opportunity to observe it. 
The calm resoluteness of the man may be 
conceived from a single incident. During 
the bivouac on the first sad night at that 
place. Lord Hardinge, in his glorious efforts 
to encourage the men, came upon Havelock 
lying asleep from excessive fatigue, he had 
chosen a hag of gunpoicder for his pillow. 
To the exclamations of Lord Hardinge's 
astonishment the hero quietly replied, " I 
was so tired." 

BATTLE OF SOBRAON. 

On the left bank of the Sutlej, at Sobraon, 
the Khalsa army had collected its strength, 
and it was resolved by the British leaders to 
attack that post as soon as General Smith and 
the victors of Aliwal should form a junction 
with the army, and when siege artillery and 
other heavy ordnance should arrive from 
Delhi. The strange want of proper prepara- 
tion which had hitherto characterised the 
councils and operations of the British authori- 
ties still prevailed. The English were allowed, 
with a very small force of artillery, consisting 
of field-pieces, light guns, and howitzers, to 
march against intrenchments covered with 
guns of the heaviest calibre, worked by the 
most skilful artillerymen that any native power 
in India had ever possessed. Now, it was 
absolutely necessary to wait for a supply from 
the arsenal at Delhi, before the strong position 
of Sobraon could be attempted. It was well 
that Tej Singh, instead of recommencing the 
battle of Ferozeshah, did not march to Delhi 
and make an easy capture of the stores, upon 
which the British now relied to complete the 
war. 

Sixty-seven pieces of artillery were in 
battery upon the trenches which the enemy 
had constructed, and the greater part of the 
infantry were within the defences. The cav- 
alry, under Lall Singh, were dispersed along 
the river, observed by the British cavalry, 
under the gallant and skilful Generals Thack- 
well and Cureton. Lord Gough estimated 
the number of the enemy at 35,000 men. 
Major Hough says, that 20,000 men would 
exceed the actual number. The Sikhs them- 
selves afterwards stated their number to have 
been 37,000. The defences were not con- 
structed on scientific principles, yet excessive 
labour had made them strong. Hurbon, a 
Spanish officer, and Mouton, a Frenchman, 
aided the defence, but the haughty pride of 



650 



HISTOEY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXIX. 



tlie Sikhs persisted in measnrea which these 
ofScers opposed. There were several other 
French and Spanish officers of professional 
reputation in junior positions. 

Early in February, 1846, part of the siege 
train and stores arrived. Sir Harry Smitii 
joined on the 8lh. Some of the stores and 
heavy guns did not arrive until after the 
action was over. The battle commenced on 
the 10th of February. Before dawn a sur- 
prise was made on a post called Roode Wal- 
lah, or the post of observation. That post 
the British had allowed, from sheer negligence 
on the part of the superior officers, to fail into 
the hands of the enemy, just as they had 
allowed the defences of Sobraon to become 
formida))le without any efforts to retard or 
molest the foe, still waiting for guns and 
stores which should have been with the army 
from the beginning, as there had been ample 
time to prepare against an inroad which every 
one seems to have foreseen but the chief civil 
and military authorities. 

The surprise of Roode Wallah was success- 
ful, and soon after the possession of that posi- 
tion the battle began. It was an action 
exceedingly complicated, and the generalship 
of both sides was regarded as exceedingly de- 
fective. There was a want of scheme on the 
part of the Sikhs, and of concentrated 
authority and guidance; and similar defici- 
encies existed on the English side. There 
was also an impatience and impetuosity 
which sacrificed many lives, although the 
means of a more scientific attack were at 
hand. After all the delay, guns of a sufficient 
calibre were wanting in the hour of action, 
and the infantry were precipitated upon the 
formidable batteries without having been 
silenced by those of the British. The English 
infantry were formed into line for the attack 
as if the whole face of the trenches had been 
equallj' assailable, the result was the whole 
line was exposed to the enemy's cannon, and 
the devouring grape swept numbers away 
that by a more scientific arrangement would 
have been saved. After all, the men were 
obliged to crowd together in wedges or 
columns, and penetrate the gaps made in the 
intrenchments by the English artillery. The 
difficulty of entering the trenches was great; 
the Sikhs disputed every battery and every 
defence with fierce courage, giving and re- 
ceiving no quarter, cutting down and hacking 
mercilessly the wounded who fell into their 
hands. It is probable that the infantry 
might have failed to accomplish their arduous 
task, had not the cavalry aided them in an un- 
TiBual but not altogether unprecedented way. 
The sappers and miners broke down portions 
of the intrenchment, and let in the 3rd light 



dragoons, and afterwards the irregular native 
cavalry, in single file. There was room, when 
once in, for these cavalry to form to a certain 
extent, and charge the infantry ; while others 
with desultory impetuosity rode at the guns, 
sabreingthe gunners and capturing the cannon. 
Long and furious was the conflict, and never 
did men fight and fall more bravely than the 
Khalsa soldiery. At last, after the repeated 
ebb and flow of battle, the Sikhs were pushed 
back from all their defences, rallying and 
fighting as they slowly retired. It became 
necessary to cross the river, and they had not 
taken proper pains to maintain the communi- 
cations in their rear. An excellent bridge of 
boats had been constructed, but Tej Singh, who 
ran away at the beginning of the assault, 
broke the centre boat of the chain, either from 
treachery or from accident ; accordingly, when 
the retreating force came to that point they 
were stopped, or threw themselves into the 
river, and endeavoured to escape by swim- 
ming. As the fugitives retired to the bridge 
of boats they were cut down in great numbers 
by the pursuing troopers, and on the bridge 
were exposed to volleys of musketry, flights 
of fiery rockets, and showers of vertical grape 
— it was a carnage, a carnage most horrible 
for human arm to inflict, or human eye to 
witness ; multitudes perished in the river, piles 
lay dead upon the bridge, round-shot crashed, 
and bursting shells rent the bridge itself, and 
masses of the dead and dying sank together 
into the flood, which ran red with human 
gore. The Sutlej had risen that day seven 
inches, thus rendering the efforts of the fugi- 
tives to ford the river much more perilous 
than they could have supposed. Some faught 
their way along the banks and reached 
fordable spots well known to them, and in this 
way many thousands escaped to the opposite 
bank. They reassembled and took post on 
a distant elevation, but some dispersed, and 
others continued their flight to Lahore. The 
words of the poet were literally applicable 
when the rays of the setting sun fell upon 
the swollen Sutlej, the shattered batteries of 
Sobraon, and the exulting host of the British 
as they buried their dead, and tended the 
wounded : — 

" Night closed around the conquerors' way. 
And lightning showed the distant hill. 
Where those who lost that bloody day 
Stood few and faint, but fearless still." 

It would be difficult to award the meed of 
praise to any particular corps of the British 
army in this dreadful battle. The artillery- 
men throughout the Sikh war displayed un- 
daunted bravery, officers and men of the 
horse artillery galloping up close to heavy 
batteries, and, by their rapid discharges of 



Chap. CXIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



651 



grape, sweeping away the Sikh gunners from 
their guns. The 10th regiment of infantry, 
newly arrived, were exceedingly forward in 
the conflict, and the 3rd light dragoons 
merited the- eulogy of the commander-in- 
chief, when he said, " they seem capable of 
effecting anything possible to cavalry, aud of 
going anywhere that cavalry can go." The 
Groorkha regiments were exceedingly efficient. 
Sir Hugh Gough, in his despatch, said of them, 
" I must pause in this narrative, especially to 
notice the determined hardihood and bravery 
with which our two battalions of Goorkhas, 
the Sirmoor and Nusseree, met the Sikhs, 
wherever they were opposed to them. Soldiers 
of small stature, but indomitable spirit, they 
vied in ardent courage in the charge with the 
grenadiers of our own nation, and armed with 
the short weapon of their mountains, were a 
terror to the Sikhs throughout this great 
combat." 

The Sikhs acknowledged that their loss 
was nearly fourteen thousand men. The 
English suffered heavily ; many were ill after 
the battle from excessive fatigue and fever, 
arising from their exertions. Under the can- 
nonade and in the storm the loss was heavy. 
Major-general Sir R. Dick died of a wound 
received in the intrenchments. He was a 
gallant old Waterloo officer. Major-general 
Gilbert was slightly wounded ; and of the 
officers, killed and wounded, most suffered 
through the extraordinary courage they dis- 
played. Lieutenant-colonel Havelock (the 
future hero of Lucknow) had a miraculous 
escape, — a ball entered the saddle-cloth, killing 
his horse, without bo much as a bruise oc- 
curring to himself. 

Immediately upon the battle of Sobraon, Sir 
John Littler, who was posted with a very 
powerful division at Perozepore, crossed the 
river, and the main army prepared to follow. 
The cavalry dispositions were excellent, under 
the skilful arrangements of Generals Cureton 
and Thackwell. 

The intelligence of the battle of Sobraon did 
not create so much exultation as might be ex- 
pected in England or British India. It was 
indeed a great relief, as was also that of tlie 
battle of Aliwal ; but there existed much dis- 
satisfaction with the conduct of the whole 
campaign, and there was a disposition to 
throw more than his share of the blame upon 
Sir Hugh Gough, while Sir Robert Peel and 
his government were assiduous in screening 
from censure Sir Henry Hardinge. Both 
were favourites of the Duke of Wellington, 
for he knew the noble gallantry of the men, 
and their very great efficiency in serving in 
the highest commands, not actually supreme. 
The public were not, however, satisfied by 



even the military testimony of his grace, 
much more than by the special pleading of 
the plausible baronet. It was obvious that a 
great deal had been left unthought of by 
both the heroes of the war. Some of the 
most efficient soldiers and officers in the 
British service had perished, who, in all pro- 
bability, would have been preserved had the 
campaign, in all its aspects, civil, political and 
military, been conducted as it ought to have 
been. Guns, ammunition, supplies, were all 
wanting ; Delhi had been left exposed to 
a coup, if Tej Singh had been a skilful 
enemy, or loyal; egregious blunders had 
been committed, vast quantities of baggage 
was lost to an inferior enemy ; infantry at- 
tacked a wide area of trenches in line, 
although these trenches bristled with the 
heaviest ordnance, and when every officer 
and soldier knew that attack in column would 
not only have spared the men, but more 
easily have conduced to success. The ma- 
nagement of the campaign did not even 
improve as blunders and their consequences 
were developed. The enemy was allowed to 
seize an important post just before the battle 
of Sobraon ; that place was permitted to assume 
strength, which had a Wellington, a Napoleon, 
or a Havelock commanded, would, by skilful 
manoeuvres, have been prevented ; and at last 
infantry was compelled to storm intrench- 
ments with the bayonet, the guns of which 
were far from being disabled, because there 
was no longer an adequate supply either 
of artillery or musketry ammunition. Had 
the fire of the cannon and musketry upon the 
retreating force on the bridge of boats, on the 
fords, and on the fordless river, been as full 
and continuous as it was well directed, and as 
it would have been had the ammunition been 
adequate, nearly the whole Sikh army would 
have been destroyed. These things were 
discussed not only by military men, but 
among the middle classes of England, who 
had become more capable than formerly to 
canvass the conduct of military affairs. 

Having crossed the Sutlej, Sir John Littler 
pressed vigorously forward, and Kussoor feU 
to the British without a blow. The Sikhs 
re-collected at Umritsir, individually as brave 
as ever, but, collectively, enfeebled and de- 
pressed. Gholab Singh, of Jummoo, opened 
negotiations with Sir Henry Hardinge in the 
name of the infant sovereign, Dhuleep Singh. 
The English representative demanded a 
million and a half sterling as an indemnity for 
the expenses of the war, and the cession of all 
the country between the Beear and the Sutlej, 
as security against further aggression. The 
Sikhs were reluctant to concede so much, 
but Sir Charles Napier had marched up with 



652 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chav. OXX. 



reinforcements from Scinde, wliich deckled 
them. The English were unwilling to accept 
the concessions wliich they xiltimately ob- 
tained, but the season was, in Sir Henry 
Hardinge's opinion, tot) far advanced to justify 
any demands which might lead to renewed 
hostilities. Generally the reasoning of his 
excellency did not appear sound on this matter 
to the officers of the Indian army, and the 
members of the civil service ; but Sir Robert 
Peel and the Duke of Wellington, the govei-n- 
ment and parliament, approved of the policy 
Sir Henry adopted. 

The young maharajah tendered his sub- 
mission in person to the representative of the 
Queen of England, and on the 20th of Feb- 
ruary the British army arrived at Lahore, as 
the allies of Dhuleep Singh. The public entry 
of the maharajah with his new allies was a 
pageant at ouce gorgeous and impressive, 
occidental and oriental pomp strangely blend- 
ing in the scene. The ensigns of civil autho- 
rity and military power dazzled the eyes 
together. The insignia of Eastern royalty, 
and of that anomalous power, the great Com- 
pany Sahib, were, to the disciples of Govind, 
marvellously mixed. The population gazed at 
the great sight as if it were a scene of magic. 
Only a short time before the mighty array 
of the Khalsa (or Church) of the Sikh prophet 
marched forth from the gates of the capital : 
since then the Sutlcj had ran red with their 
blood, their unburied corpses lay along its 
banks, the prey of the Indian kite, the vulture, 
and the other savage creatures which infest the 
ground where battle had raged. The ponder- 
ous cannon — the pride of the Sikh soldiery, 
and which they knew so well how to direct — 
swelled the train of the conqueror, or lay in 
broken fragments upon the shattered trenches, 
which the valour of Sikh, sepoy, and Briton 



had stained with the blood of the brave. It 
was more like the relation of some Indian 
tale of gods and spirits creating strange phan- 
tasies among the abodes of men, than a reality. 
The Sikh could not realize it. • The beaten 
soldier stalked forth and viewed the anomaly 
with scowling brow, but miarmed hand — 
bewildered, baffled, wonder-struck, but not 
cowed. The Lahore citizen sulked, and 
gazed with an interest and listlessness as 
incompatible as they were obvious. The 
women, not so reserved or secluded as in India 
proper, were pleased with the pageant ; they 
uttered no joj' nor grief, but shared with 
' their husbands, sons, and brothers, in hatred 
' to the conquering stranger, who, carrying his 
[ machines and arts of slaughter from afar, over 
western and eastern seas and shores, now 
humbled the sacred Khalsa xmder the shadow 
of its citadel. 

The pageant passed away, English regi- 
ments garrisoned the metropolis of the Sikhs, 
General Littler held its military resources in 
his grasp, and a treaty professed to secure 
perpetual friendship and alliance between the 
East India Company and the jNIaharajah 
Dhuleep Singh. Gholab Singh managed to 
serve his sovereign and himself. He became 
the chief of the beautiful region of Cashmere. 
This was ceded instead of money, Gholab 
Singh purchasing it from the British. The 
new Maharajah of Cashmere, by the 3rd arti- 
cle of a treaty signed March 10th, gave the 
British three quarters of a milHon sterling for 
the territory. On the 15th of Jlarch, 1846, 
he assumed his title and his sovereignty. Thus 
ended the first Sikh war, as glorious as it was 
fatal to the valour of the Sikhs; as unfortunate 
for the reputation of English prudence and 
military skill, as it was glorious to the heroism 
of the English soldier. 



CHAPTER CXX. 



THE SECOND SIKH WAR—KEVOLT OF CHUTTtJR SINGH— MURDER, OF ENGLISH ENVOYS AT 
MOOLTAN— GALLANT CONDUCT OF LIEUTENANT EDWARDES— GENER.tL WHISH BOM- 
BARDS AND CAPTURES MOOLTAN— SENTENCE ON MOOLRAJ— ADVANCE OF LORD GOUGH 
—BATTLE OF RUMNUGGUR. 



The second Sikh war commenced almost im- 
mediately after the first had concluded ; at 
least the elements began to work which burst 
forth in an irruption of desolation and carnage 
once more. 

As soon as the treaty had been concluded 
referred to in the last chapter, the British 



government of India settled down into the 
conviction that, in the eyes of the Sikhs, the 
English were irresistible; and that however 
the Sikhs might murmur or create partial 
disturbances, a revolt against the last treaty, 
or the predominant influence of the English 
at Lahore, was highly improbable. Sir Henry 



I 




*5 rr- 






Chap. CXX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



663 



Hardinge's mind was filled with the delusion. 
He was utterly unacquainted with India, its 
people, its modes of thought, its political 
ethics. Circumstances had never directed his 
mind to the subject. He was not sent from Eng- 
land, any more than his predecessors, because 
he Icnew anything about India, or possessed 
any peculiar fitness. He was a political j?ro- 
Uge of Sir Robert Peel; had answered the 
baronet's party and political purposes well in 
certain situations at homo, and was rewarded 
with the honourable, lucrative, and, therefore, 
coveted post of governor-general of India. 
In Ireland he had made an expert, red tape, 
parliamentary partizan secretary. He held 
himself on polite and good terms with Irish 
politicians and Irish gentlemen, and was ad- 
mired by that gallant people for his chivalrous 
soldierhood. He had no qualifications which 
fitted him for the governor-generalship of 
India. There were hundreds of the com- 
pany's servants, and scores of servants of the 
crown, better adapted to the office. The old 
principle was maintained of making the office 
a reward for political partizanship or service 
in parliament, and with the old results. A 
second Sikh war broke out, finding the Eng- 
lish as little prepared as for the first, simply 
because they had exercised no foresight to 
prevent it, or to provide against its occurrence. 

On the 6th of April, 1847, Sir Henry, then 
Viscount, Hardinge, wrote to the secret com- 
mittee in London that the Sikh chiefs, com- 
prising the durbar of Lahore, were carrying 
on the government with a loyal desire to 
execute the treaty. At that time the majority 
of the durbar were plotting the destruction of 
the English. At the end of May (the 27th), 
he again addressed the secret committee, hold- 
ing forth the same assurances that all was 
well. In that letter he quotes the ojjinions of 
the British resident, no less gifted a person 
than Lieutenant-colonel H. M. Lawrence, 
that as usual all sorts of reports were raised 
of intentions on the part of the Sikhs, and 
even of the chiefs, against us, which were 
greatly exaggerated, and many obviously false. 
These " reports " seem to have been utterly 
rejected at government-house ; yet no man 
who had studied the religion, disposition, and 
antecedents of the Sikhs could doubt that 
those rumours had a basis in the wide -spread 
disaffection of chiefs and people to the alliance 
of Dhuleep Singh with the stranger, and the 
presence of the latter in any part of the Pun- 
jaubee empire. 

The first symptoms of opposition appeared 
in a resistance to the possession by Gholab 
Singh of the territory for which he had paid 
the English. It was necessary to have re- 
course to arras in order to put down, and keep 

VOL. II. 



down, a pretender who disputed the new maha- 
rajah's claim. Soon after, Chuttur Singh, an 
influential chief, raised the standard of revolt. 

The next indication of opposition was made 
by Moolraj, the khan or chief of Mooltan. 
That chief had in various ways given offence 
to the durbar of Lahore, or at all events to 
the English influence in that durbar. Re- 
monstrances having proved ineffectual, Mool- 
raj was addressed in terms which plainly 
intimated, that unless his conduct was shaped 
in conformity with the behests of the durbar, 
force, in the name of the Maharajah Dhuleep 
Singh, would be employed. Moolraj responded 
by resigning his government of Mooltan, and 
expressing his intention to resign it into the 
hands of any authorized person or persons 
sent to receive the trust. Whether this was 
a pre-arranged manoeuvre between Moolraj 
and the opponents of the English in the dur- 
bar it is difficult to determine ; it is probable, 
however, that had native officers only been sent 
to receive the surrender, it might have been 
made bond fide. The English resident ordered 
Mr. Agnew, of the civil service, and Lieu- 
tenant Anderson, of the Bombay army, to 
accompany Sirdar Khan Singh, who was nomi- 
nated to the dewan of Mooltan. Five hundred 
and thirty irregulars were sent as an escort. 
Moolraj made a show of surrendering his 
dewanee, but made pretexts cf delay. 

Meantime, insurrections began in the city, 
and the two Englishmen were slain. Mool- 
raj affected to be no party to this crime, but 
averred that he had no power to punish the 
perpetrators, who were popularly upheld. It 
was a foul and treacherous murder, in which 
Moolraj had complicity. If he were not the 
original plotter of it, he undoubtedly abetted 
the murderers after the deed. The mode in 
which the transaction took place has been 
recorded by the author of this history in 
another work, just issuing from the press, 
Nolan's Continuation of Hume and Smollett's 
History of England. The way in which it 
is there related, and the consequences which 
followed, are placed with brevity before the 
reader. 

On the 17th of April, the authority was sur- 
rendered in due form by Moolraj, and the object 
of the British officers seemed to be accom- 
plished. On the 18th they were attacked 
and desperately wounded; it w-as at first sup- 
posed from a sudden impulse on the part of the 
soldiery of Moolraj, but it was afterwards 
known to be the result of treachery. The 
officers, accompanied by the new governor, 
were carried to a small fort outside the town. 
A fire was opened upon the place from 
Mooltan, but it was ineffectual. A few days 
afterwards, however, the fort was attacked by 

4 p 



654 



HISTOEY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXX. 



the soldiers of Moolraj ; the Sikhs who gar- 
risoned the place, and among whom were the 
escort, treacherously opened the gates, and the 
assailants entered, foaming with rage, and 
demanding vengeance upon the infidel officers. 
Lieutenant Anderson was in a dying state ; 
but Mr. Agnew, although so badly wounded, 
defended himself with resolution to the last : 
both officers were murdered. Intelligence of 
these barbarities reached Lahore with the 
speed so peculiar to the East ; and a force of 
three thousand cavalry and some infantry was 
dispatched, under Sirdar Shere Singh, against 
the refractory city. There happened to be 
upon the Indus, at the head of a small force, 
a young and gallant officer who had served 
with distinction upon the staff of Lord Gough, 
and who was favourably known by his clever 
contributions to the India press on the state 
of the company's territory, civil and military : 
this officer was Lieutenant Edwardes. He 
was engaged in settling a disturbed district 
of country, and in collecting the land-tax due 
to Moolraj, as Sikh governor of Mooltan. At 
the same time. Colonel Van Cortlandt,a native 
of India, and a distinguished officer in the 
service of the company, occupied Dhera Ismacl 
Khan, also in the neighbourhood. Lieutenant 
Edwardes crossed the river into the Deerajat, 
whence he wrote to the Khan of Bhawulpore, 
requesting him to make such a movement of 
troops as would prevent Moolraj from falling 
upon either Edwardes or Cortlandt. The 
khan's territories were so situated as to 
enable him to effect a military disposition to 
accomplish this object. The khan made the 
required demonstration. When Edwardes 
crossed the Indus, he left a detachment of 
three hundred horse to protect the collection 
at Leiah, where, on the 18th of May, they 
were attacked by a body of cavalry exceeding 
their own in number, sent against them from 
Mooltan, with ten light field-guns (znm- 
booruks). The British force so manoeuvred 
as to attain a good position, although under 
the fire of the zumbooruks, and then charged 
brilliantly, dispersing the Mooltanese, and 
capturing their guns. 

Colonel Cortlandt was as prompt as Ed- 
wardes in the measures taken by him. He 
left the fort of Dhera Ismael Khan, and pro- 
ceeded by the base of the hills southward. 
On his route he was joined by a Beloochee 
chief, with one hundred of his wild followers. 
Cortlandt detached these, with a portion of 
his own troops, against the fortress of Sunghur, 
westward of the Indus. The commander of 
the fort refused the summons of surrender, 
and for six hours maintained a gallant resist- 
ance ; he then brought off the garrison by a 
skilful manoeuvre, reaching Mooltan in safety. 



Lieutenant Edwardes and Colonel Cortlandt 
effected a junction of their small forces, and 
on the 20th of May were attacked by a di- 
vision of the Mooltan array. The united 
forces of Cortlandt and Edwardes were so dis- 
posed that not more than one thousand five 
hundred men could be brought into action, 
while the enemy numbered three thousand. 
The artillery force of each was about equal. 
Edwardes was, however, joined by a body of 
irregular cavalry, and a part}- of Beloochees, 
which brought up the British force more 
nearly to an equality of numbers. The Sikhs 
in British pay happily showed no disposition 
to fraternise with the Mooltan army, although 
the calculations of Moolraj were based upon 
such an expectation. The enemy suffered a 
signal defeat and great slaughter The Be- 
loochees behaved remarkably well. The skill 
of British officers turned the balance in favour 
of the native army under their command. 

After this engagement, Edwardes, acting 
upon the authority which he possessed as a 
civil officer of the company, demanded a rein- 
forcement from the Khan of Bhawulpore, and 
in the meantime, recruited his force by Sikhs, 
Beloochees, Affghans, and men from the hiUs 
of various tribes. The faculty of organization, 
the ceaseless activity, and the courage of this 
young officer were surprising. Colonel Cort- 
landt was also equal to the part assigned him; 
but, although senior in military rank, the civil 
functions of the former gave him an especial, 
and, in some respects, superior authority. The 
Khan of Bhawulpore responded to the de- 
mands of Edwardes, and a plan was laid for a 
junction of their troops. In pursuance of this, 
the British crossed the Indus on the 10th and 
11th of June. Moolraj was informed by his 
spies of every movement, and the intelligence 
was conveyed to him with astonishing rapidity. 
He accordingly marched a large force to inter- 
cept either army, and beat both in detail. On 
the 14th he crossed the Chenab, leaving a con- 
siderable force on the other bank. This de- 
tachment marched to Khan Ghur, but on the 
following day crossed the river, being sur- 
prised at that place by the advance of Ed- 
wardes's irregulars. The Mooltanese had 
barely time to cross the Chenab, when the 
scouts of the English galloped into Khan 
Ghur. The Sikhs, instead of receiving Ed- 
wardes's force at that place, and practically 
attempting the scheme of Moolraj, encamped 
on the opposite side of the river, in observa- 
tion of the British officer and his little army. 
This delay and timidity was fatal ; for the 
lieutenant was soon joined by the infantry 
and a portion of the artillery of Cortlandt, 
whose cavalry were scouring the country. 
The situation of affairs became now interest- 



Chap. CXX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



665 



ing and important, for the Bhawulpore forces 
had arrived on the enemy's side of the Chenab, 
within twelve miles. Edwardes made a 
retrograde movement, so as to place him- 
self Opposite the Bhawulpore encampment. 
The enemy advanced to within four miles of 
that position. In the course of the night, 
the raw levies of Edwardes contrived to cross 
the river in a very irregular manner, and 
within dangerous proximity to the enemy's 
patrols, but were unmolested. On the 18th, 
early in the morning, the lieutenant crossed 
with the remainder of his men, except the 
horses and artillery, which remained with 
Cortlandt on the opposite side, for a more 
slow and safe transport across the river. 
Scarcely had the lieutenant gained the oppo- 
site bank than he was attacked by the Sikh 
army, which had been moving up from Bugur- 
rarah while he was gaining the passage. This 
was a terrible engagement. The sun had 
hardly risen upon river, and swamp, and un- 
dulating plains, when the Mooltanese forces 
fell upon the motley crowd of the British 
levies, and in such superior numbers that 
victory seemed certain. For nine hours the 
English officer resisted the onslaught, and by 
his valour, activity, presence of mind, and 
moral influence, kept his undisciplined forces 
in firm front to the foe. At last Cortlandt's 
guns were brought over, and made the con- 
test somewhat equal. Later in the day, two 
regular regiments belonging to the colonel's 
division arrived, with six guns, and the enemy 
panic-struck fled, leaving a large proportion 
of their troops upon the field, slain, wounded, 
and prisoners, with six guns, and their entire 
baggage and munitions of war. The conduct 
of Edwardes throughout the day was splendid, 
and laid for him a deeper foundation still than 
had already existed for his military reputation. 

Moolraj retreated to Mooltan, followed by 
the British, and the Khan of Bhawulpore, who 
had rendered hitherto but little assistance, 
and whose movements led to the suspicion 
that he had more sympathy with Moolraj 
than he dared to avow. 

On the 28th of June, a Sikh brigade under 
the command of Sheik Emaum-ood-deen, 
which had been dispatched by the govern- 
ment of Lahore, arrived to reinforce the 
English. The whole army appeared before 
Mooltan, consisting of eighteen thousand men. 

Emaum-ood-deen retired ; the bulk of his 
force remained, and was ultimately placed 
under the command of Shere Singh, who pro- 
fessed to be on the side of the maharajah and 
the English, but was in reality organizing a 
most perilous plot of treachery and treason. 
While, however, the shere maintained this 
profession of loyalty, he was rapidly joined 



by other sirdars with troops, under the same 
pretence, but also with the same aim. 

The Nawab of Bhawulpore, General Cort- 
landt, and Lieutenant Edwardes remained 
before Mooltan, constantly skirmishing with 
the enemy, their force being inadequate for 
the reduction of the place, but too strong to 
be easily beaten off Sir John Littler was of 
opinion that the forces under the British 
officers and their allies, should be left as an 
army of observation, and no offensive opera- 
tions undertaken against Mooltan until the 
general plans of the enemy became developed, 
and the English had gathered a main array 
sufficiently strong for the complete suppres- 
sion of revolt throughout the Sikh territories. 
The commander-in-chief had formed the same 
opinion, independent of Sir John Littler's 
communications. 

On the 13th of July, 1848, Lieutenant Ed- 
wardes warned his superiors that Shere Singh 
was a traitor, and was collecting forces to aid 
the revolt, under cover of co-operation with 
the English. Either the higher officials did 
not credit the sagacious judgment of Lieu- 
tenant Edvi-ardes, or they neglected to act 
upon it. Shere Singh had ample scope for 
maturing his plans. 

On the 22nd of July, a proclamation was 
issued against Moolraj, charging him with 
rebellion and murder. 

On the 18th of August, Major-general 
Whish, a distinguished artillery officer, arrived 
with a force of seven thousand men, and 
took command of the whole investing army. 
On the 12tii of September the place was bom- 
barded, and other operations undertaken, 
which prepared for the finale of the struggle. 
On the 14th Shere Singh marched from Mool- 
tan with his division, consisting of the finest 
soldiers of the Sikh army. Moolraj was 
anxious for the withdrawal of the sirdar ; had 
he remained, it is probable that the forces sent 
by the English government against Mooltan 
would have failed. Lieutenant Edwardes had 
contrived to ferment disputes between these 
chiefs by letters fabricated for the purpose of 
deceiving them. Each chief came into the 
possession of a supposed correspondence be- 
tween the other and the English, which the 
spies of Edwardes placed in their hands, pre- 
tending to betray him for sake of the Khalsa 
cause. The departure of Shere Singh involved 
operations elsewhere on the part of General, 
then Lord Gough, himself, as commander-in- 
chief of the grand army of the Punjaub, which 
had been collected for the suppression of the 
revolt. For nearly four months the operations 
before Mooltan were discontinued from want 
of reinforcements. The arrival in December 
of Brigadier-general the Hon. D. Dundas, 



656 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXX. 



with a division of Bombay troops, enabled 
General Whish to decide the contest. The 
enemy's intrenchments were attacked on the 
27th of December. A chance shell from one 
of the mortars blew np the magazine, causing 
extraordinary loss of life, and destruction of 
material. The grand "musjid" and many 
of the principal houses were laid in ruins. 
The granaries also were totally destroyed. 

Whish was now at the head of a very large 
army, amounting to fifteen thousand British, 
European and native, and seventeen thousand 
of the troops of the Rajah of Bhawulpore, and 
other allies ; he had also one hundred and 
fifty pieces of cannon. On the 2nd of Jan- 
uary, 1849, Mooltan, after a terrible can- 
nonade, was stormed. The resistance was 
desperate, the Sikhs fighting as at Moodkee, 
Fcrozeshah, and Sobraon, with the tenacity of 
men, and the ferocity of wild beasts. Old 
Runjeet Singh and his soldiers were well 
named, when called " the Lions of the Pun- 
ja<ib." It was not until the 21st that the 
citadel was surrendered. Moolraj demanded 
terms of capitulation. General Whish would 
hear of nothing but an unconditional surren- 
der. This was at last made, and the sirdar, 
with firmness and dignity, delivered himself 
a prisoner. He made no manifestations of 
grief, nor allowed depression to cloud his 
brow. He bore himself with uncommon for- 
titude until he learned that banishment from 
his country, not death, was to be his doom ; he 
then gave way to violent expressions of grief 
and despair, and begged to be executed in the 
country of his birth and of his love, rather 
than be sent away to drag out life miserably, 
as must be his fate when an exile. He was a 
murderer, and deserved a murderer's death. 
Such was pronounced upon him by a court- 
martial commissioned to try him, but he ob- 
tained the respite, which he would not accept 
as an act of clemency, but denounced as a re- 
finement of cruelty. 

Seldom did a conquered city display so 
terrible a scene as that witnessed in Mooltan. 
The dead and dying lay everywhere, and 
notwithstanding the cold season, the odour 
arising from putrescent corpses was intolerable. 
One of the first duties which the conquerors 
felt bound to impose upon themselves was the 
discovery of the bodies of their murdered 
countrymen, and their burial, or re -sepulture. 
The bodies were discovered cast into an ob- 
scure place, and covered with earth. They 
were exhumed and publicly interred, with 
military honours. Poor Anderson's own 
regiment was among the troops who effected 
the conquest, and theii band played the dead 
march as they followed the remains of their 
brave and talented comrade in arms. The 



coffins were deposited in a grave at the highest 
part of the fort, with every demonstration of 
respect, and much manifestation of sorrow for 
their loss, and the cruel end which they had 
experienced. 

The army of General Whish, which was 
set at liberty by this conquest, prepared to 
join the grand army under General Gough. 
Whish was a brave, prudent, and skilful 
artillerist, but rapidity of action was not 
among his soldierly qualifications. Dundas 
was even more tardy than Whish, and the 
progress made to join the commander-in-chief 
was so slow, as to baffle his lordship's calcula- 
tions, and the operations of the campaign. 

Before the junction of the two armies took 
place, various events befell that which Lord 
Gough commanded. He had been ordered 
to collect au army at Ferozepore. This duty 
was slowly and most imperfectly executed. 
The experience of the previous war was 
thrown away upon governor -general, com- 
mander-in-chief, and the executive of the 
army generally. All the defects of com- 
missariat and transport remained as they were 
when their deficiency nearly destroyed the 
British army in the previous Punjaub war. 
This is the testimony of every writer, and 
every officer acquainted with the affairs of 
British India at that time. On the 2l8t of 
November, 1848, Lord Gough joined the grand 
army at Saharun, a position from which he 
could march with nearly equal advantage 
upon any point of the territory where decisive 
events were likely to take place. 

The Punjaub takes its name from the five 
rivers which water it.* The Ohenab is the 
central of these five rivers. The theatre of 
opening war was between the Chenab and the 
Indus, and bounded by the confluence of these 
rivers. The town of Ramnuggur lay upon 
the left bank of the Chenab, stretching to a 
distance of a mile and a half from the stream. 
That place was the point of support and head- 
quarters of Shere Singh, who had, as before 
related, left the vicinity of Mooltan. He had 
now decided upon a separate line of opera- 
tions. An island was situated in the middle 
of the Chenab, at a bend of the river opposite 
Ramnuggur. Shere Singh occupied the 
island by a brigade, and with batteries erected 
there commanded the ford, or nullah, as a ford 
at low water, or any water course, natural or 
artificial, is called in the vocabulary of the 
country. Besides the forces on the right bank 
of the river and on the island, the Sikhs had 
a strong body of troops on the left bank, which, 
in the first instance, it appeared to Lord 
Gough ought to be dislodged. The strength 
of the main position of Shere Singh at Ram- 
* Sec geograpliical portion of this work, p. 32 



Chap. OXX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



G57 



imggnr was very great, it was flanked on 
one side by the laud in tlie river, on the other 
by a grove. Between the right bank and the 
island the communication was maintained by 
boats, with which the enemy was well supplied ; 
they were a peculiar tlescription of craft, 
suitable especially for this purpose. The ford, 
or nullah, between the island and the left bank 
was not very difficult, but the descent to it 
was steep. 

The whole of Shore Singh's arrangements 
were scientific. Lord Gough commenced his 
operations by directing the 8th light cavalry 
to advance along the left bank, supported by 
her majesty's light dragoons and the com- 
pany's light horse. The 8th skirmished, the 
enemy receding as the supporting cavalry 
came up. The horse artillery, in their ever 
forward valour, pushed into the deep sand on 
the margin of the river, and brought the 
enemy's position at Ramnuggur within range. 
The guns in position there were very heavy, 
and opening with precision upon the light 
pieces of the English soon silenced them, and 
forced the men to retire, leaving one or two 
ammunition waggons behind. The 14th light 
dragoons were directed to charge them, sup- 
ported by a regiment of native cavalry.* The 
11th dragoons was commanded by Colonel 
William Havelock, brother to the hero who 
afterwards won in India a renown immortal. 
Colonel William Havelock was one of the 
most intrepid officers in the service. During 
the " Peninsular war " in Spain, when a mere 
boy, he had signalised himself by extraor- 
dinary feats of daring worthy the old Norse 
sea-kings, from whom he is said to have been 
descended. Such enthusiasm did he inspire 
among the Spaniards, that although seldom 
willing to stand before the French, they would 
follow young Havelock anywhere. Generally 
when he led them a cry would go forth, 
" Follow the fair boy ! " and with a shout 
they would rush with him into dangers other 
officers could not induce them to encounter. 
This was the hero upon whom the task de- 
volved of charging with the 14th light dra- 
goons into the nullah. The author having 
described this action in the v/ork referred to 
in the note, will here quote the description of 
the heroic General Thackwell, who was an eye- 
witness. That officer having noticed the 
events already recorded on this page, goes on 
to say : — " It was while the enemy were thus 
apparently setting us at defiance, that Lieu- 

* In the author's Continuation of Hume and Smollett's 
History of England he described, upon what appeared to 
be adequate authority, this regiment as the 3rd ; General 
Thackwell says it was the 5th. See Nolan's Hume and 
Smollett, chap. Iv. p. 729, and Thackwell's Sikh War, 
p. 40. 



tenaut-colonel Havelock, of the 14th dragoons, 
requested permission to charge, and drive 
them from the bank. No sooner had the 
equivocal assent been accorded, than the 
flaxen-haired boy of the Peninsular, on whose 
deed of valour the military historian has 
proudly dwelt, entering into a hand gallop, 
at the head of his men, soon threw himself on 
the crowd of Sikhs who lined the high bank. 
The 5th light ! cavalry, under Lieutenant- 
colonel Alexander, ably supported the gallant 
14th. So impetuous was the onset of these 
determined warriors, and so energetically and 
effectually did Havelock and his troopers ply 
their swords, that the bank was swept in a few 
minutes of all its swarthy occupants, Avho, 
running hastily down the bank, across the 
sand, threw away their standards in their 
flight. Not contented with having driven the 
enemy from this position, Havelock, animated 
by that fiery spirit which glowed within him, 
instantly resolved to exceed the limits of his 
mission, and renew the offensive, contrary to 
the real wishes of the coramander-iu-chief, by 
continuing the charge on the discomfited 
enemy, and driving them back across the 
river. Yielding to his insatiable love of 
glory, he brandished his sword above his 
head, and calling on the squadron of the 14th, 
in reserve under Lieutenant-colonel King, to 
come and support him, dashed furiously down 
the steep declivity into the tract of sand in 
which, it will be remembered, the gun had 
been immovably fixed, and over which 
Captain Guvry had charged. The British 
cavalry becoming now fully exposed to view, 
the Sikh batteries opened a rapid and destruc- 
tive fire upon them. The Khalsa infantry 
also, summoning fresh courage, began to stand 
and open matchlock fire on their pursuers. 
The horses of the dragoons soon became ex- 
hausted in this difficult ground, their feet 
every moment sinking into deep sand or mud. 
Our cavalry were not only exposed to the fire 
of the batteries across the river, but some 
guns, which had been dragged to the left 
bank, had taken up a position near the green 
island above alluded to, and the presence of 
this artillery inspired the enemy with fresh 
courage. The deportment of Havelock was 
more that of a mortal confiding in the protec- 
tion of the 03gis of some divinity, than that 
of an ordinary human being. In the last 
charge, always in advance, he suddenly dis- 
appeared, and the latest glimpse of that daring 
soldier, disclosed him in the midst of the 
savage enemy, his left arm half severed from 
his body, and dealing frantic blows with his 
sword, so soon doomed to droop from his 
trusty right hand. His last words were — 
' Follow me ! ' Some days after the action, 



6S8 



HISTOEY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXX. 



a mutilated corpse was discovered, which the 
chaplain of the army, Mr. Whiting, recognised 
by the hair on the body to be that of this 
gallant but ill-fated sabreur. Such a death 
was worthy of William Havelock." 

The slaughter of the brigade commanded by 
Havelock was not the only misfortune which 
befell the army in the rash attempt upon the 
nullah. Major-general Cureton rode up with 
an order of retreat from Lord Gough. The 
moment he delivered the order he received 
two balls simultaneously, and fell dead from 
his horse. Thus two of the finest cavalry 
officers in the British, or in any other army, 
perished in this ill-fated charge. The troops 
retired discomfited and dispirited. 

On the 30th of November, Captain Nichol- 
son, whose services had so often proved avail- 
able in the civil department, discovered a 
small ford higher up the river ; he had also 
the address to provide some boats. At this 
point Major-general Thackwell was ordered 
to cross, and take the enemy on that flank, 
while Lord Gough remained in front watch- 
ing for any opportunity for striking a deadly 
blow, which the movement of Thackwell might 
create. It was not an easy task for the 
general to cross by the imperfect ford, and 
scanty supply of boats. His dispositions 
were skilful, but his difficulties were formid- 
able. On the 3rd of December he efiected 
the passage. Shere Singh did not, however, 
allow him to surprise his flank, nor to pass to 
his rear. He moved out an adequate force 
to check the movement of the English general. 
On the 4th of December Thackwell was him- 
self menaced on his flank by guns and cavalry. 
His orders fettered him. Nothing was left to 
his discretion, although he was quite as com- 
petent as the commander-in-chief to conduct 
diflicidt operations in the face of an enemy. 
Thackwell's orders barely allowed of his 
replying to the enemy's cannonade, but he 
made such able dispositions as deceived the 
enemy both as to the amount of his force and 
his intentions, and the Sikh force retired upon 
its main body. The action, chiefly an artil- 
lery battle, which arose from the flank move- 
ment of General Thackwell, takes the name 
of the battle of Sodalapore, although it was 
more a series of demonstrations and a duel of 
artillery than a battle. General Thackwell, 
having been a good historian of war as well 
as a distinguished actor, in his own words shall 
relate the course of a conflict which was better 
known to him than to any one who has told 
the tale of his success ; — " After a cannonade 
of. about two hours the fire of the enemy 
slackened, and I sent Lieutenant Patton to 
desire the cavalry on the right to charge and 
take the enemy's guns, if possible, intending 



to support them by moving the brigades in 
echelon, from the right at intervals, accord- 
ing to circumstances ; but as no opportunity 
offered for the cavalry to charge, and so little 
of daylight remained, I deemed it safer to 
remain in my position than attempt to drive 
back an enemy so strongly posted on their right 
and centre, with prospect of having to attack 
their intrenched position afterwards. From 
this position the Sikhs began to retire at about 
twelve o'clock at night, as was afterwards 
ascertained, and as was conjectured by the 
barking of dogs in their rear, I have every 
reason to believe that Shere Singh attacked 
with twenty guns ; and nearly the whole of 
the Sikh army were employed against my 
position, which was by no means what I could 
have wished it ; but the fire of our artillery 
was so effective that he did not dare to bring 
his masses to the front, and my brave, steady, 
and ardent infantry, whom I had caused to 
lie down to avoid the heavy fire, had no 
chance of firing a shot, except a few com- 
panies on the left of the line. The enemy's 
loss has been severe ; ours, comparatively, very 
small."* The force which had passed over with 
General Thackwell, and which foUowed after- 
wards, was a small one : — Three troops of 
horse artillery, two light field-batteries.f her 
majesty's 3rd light dragoons, two regiments 
of light cavalry, one irregular cavalry, her 
majesty's 24th and 61st regiments of infantry, 
five regiments of native infantry, and two 
companies of pioneers. The two 18-pounders 
and the pontoon train were sent back. 

Shere Singh was partly influenced in draw- 
ing in that body of troops by the cannonade 
with which Lord Gough played upon the 
island, and the batteries of Ramnuggur. 
Thackwell advanced from Wurzerabad, along 
the river until he arrived within a short dis- 
tance of Ramnuggur, where there was 
another ford. This enabled him to protect 
the passage across of a brigade of infantry, 
under General Godby. These plans led the 
enemy to abandon his position. General 
Gilbert, with a brigade of cavalry, was moved 
across, which caused Shere Singh to quicken 
his retreat. The proceedings of Lord Gough 
were so leisurely, that the Sikh general had 
no difficulty in moving away with impunity, 
and finding a strong position suitable to his 
projects. It was not until the 28th of Decem- 
ber that Lord Gough and the rest of the 
army crossed the river. The subsequent 
movements and struggles of both armies must 
be reserved for another chapter. 

* Seventy-tlu-ee men and forty-eight horses killed and 
wounded. 

t Thirty guns sent, two were sent away, leaving only 
twenty-eight guns. 



Chap. CXXI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



e&9 



CHAPTER CXXI. 

SHERE SINGH llETREATS FROM RAMNUGGUR TO RUSSOOL— BATTLE OF CHILLIANWAXLAH— 
OPERATIONS AGAINST RAM SINGH IN THE RAREE DOAB— STORMING OF THE DULLAH 
HEIGHTS— BATTLE OF GOOJERAT— DEFEAT AND SURRENDER OF THE SIKH ARMY- 
ANNEXATION OF THE PUNJAUB. 

The slow movements of the English en- 
abled Shere Singh to acquire new strength. 
His troops accumulated to the number of 
forty thousand men, all, or nearly all, in a 
high state of discipline, into which French and 
British officers had brought them during the 
latter years of Runjeet Singh's life, and for 
some time after his death. A powerful artil- 
lery of the heaviest calibre perhaps ever exer- 
cised in field operations, swelled the mag- 
nitude and strength of that army. This 
force of guns has been variously estimated 
from sixty -two to ninety.* Shere Singh 
marched to the Jhelum, where he took post 
near the village of Russool. The position 
which he had abandoned was very strong, 
but the movement of Thackwell led him to 
despair of holding it, and in choosing Russool 
he perhaps made a selection still more eligible 
for a grand contest. It also more easily led 
him to combine with Chuttur Singh, and 
other chiefs, and concentrate the whole. 
Chuttur had reduced the fort of Attock, after 
it had been well defended by Major Herbert. 
That officer contrived to send intelligence of 
its fall to the commander-in-chief, and to 
warn him that Chuttur Singh intended to 
form a junction with Shere Singh. The slow 
movements of Lord Gough were quickened 
by this information, and he resolved, if pos- 
sible, to bring the Sikhs to battle before the 
grand junction of their forces had taken place. 
This was a resolution which his lordship 
should have taken sooner, and the officials at 
Calcutta should have better provided him 
with means for the onerous task which thus de- 
volved upon him in the re-subjugation of the 
Puujaub. Lord Gough formed an erroneous 
opinion as to the strength of the ground 
taken up by Shere Singh, and as to its pecu- 
liarities, circumstances which considerably 
influenced the remainder of the campaign. 
When the commander-in-chief arrived before 
the village of Russool, he reconnoitered the 
enemy's lines, the right of which rested on 
the village of Luckneewallah, and Futteh- 
8hah-le-Chuck, the left on the village of 
Russool by the Jhelum, and the centre, where 
the main strength of the enemy was gathered, 

* Nolan's Continuatiou o£ Hume and Stnolleit; Hugh 
Murray; M^'or Hough; Thornton, The Three Presi- 
denciit. 



lay around the village of Chillianwallah. The 
position chosen was upon the southern ex- 
tremity of a low line of hills. That part of 
the range was more especially cut up by 
nullahs, intersected by ravines, and obstructed 
by craggy eminences, obstacles to the ap- 
proach of an assailing force which had been 
keenly observed, and skilfullj' discriminated 
by the artful and vigilant officer by whom 
the Sikhs were commanded. Lord Gough 
determined to bring the enemy to a general 
action, and prepared his measures accordingly. 
The author of this history may venture to 
say, that no description which has appeared 
of the battle tkat ensued has so particularized 
its changing fortunes, without encumbering 
the narrative by tedious or technical details, 
as the account which he published in his Con- 
tinuation of Hume and Smollett's England* 
which he therefore here transcribes. 

The advance to the ground chosen by the 
sirdar was impeded by a jungle, to avoid 
which, and to distract the enemy's attention. 
Lord Gough took a considerable detour to the 
right. He succeeded in avoiding the intri- 
cacies of the jungle, but not in distracting 
the attention of Shere Singh. That general 
moved from his encampment, and took ground 
in advance, a manoeuvre calculated to hide the 
strength of his position, and to disconcert any 
previous arrangements of the British com- 
mander. 

About noon on the 13th, Lord Gough was 
before the village of Russool, and finding a 
very strong picket of the enemy on a mound 
close to that place, his lordship, after some 
fighting, dislodged it. Ascending the mound, 
the general and his staff beheld the Khalsa 
army arranged along the furrowed hills in all 
the majestic array of war. The British officers 
gazed with admiration and professional ardour 
upon the long lines of compact infantry, and 
the well-marshalled cavalry, mustered in their 
relative proportions and positions with scien- 
tific exactness. The sirdar's batteries were 
chiefly masked by jungle. The scene was 
striking in its aspect, the magnitude of the 
events associated with it, and the excitement 
it stirred up within the hearts of the brave, 
Alas, how many noble hearts were necessarily 

* This work is now publishing by J. S. Virtue, Ivy 
Lane and City Road. 



GGO 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXXI. 



to bleed before victory crowned the arms of 
England, and that fine Khalsa army followed 
the destinies of England's Asiatic foes ! Lord 
Gough found that he could not turn the 
flanks of the sirdar's army, they were so pro- 
tected by jungle, nnless he detached a portion 
of his army to a considerable distance, which 
he deemed unsafe. The day was too far 
iidvanced to begin any operations. The en- 
gineer officers were ordered to examine the 
country in front, and the quarter-master- 
general was about to take up ground for the 
oncanipnient, when the enemy advanced some 
liorse artillery, and opened a fire upon the 
skirmishers in front of Russool. Lord Gough 
ordered his heavy guns to open upon the 
enemy's artillery, and for this purpose they 
were advanced to an open space in front of 
the village. Hhere Singh did not act with 
his usual good strategy in exposing the posi- 
tions of so many of his cannon which the 
jungle had concealed, and which might have 
remained hidden until an attack upon his line 
would have aflbrded him opportunity to use 
them with sudden and terrible'advantage, as 
he afterwards was enabled to do with those 
on his right. As it was, he replied to the 
Eritish cannonade with such a force of his 
field-artillery as constrained Lord Gough to 
draw up in order of battle, lest in the night 
the sirdar's guns should be moved still more 
forward, and open on his camp. His lord- 
ship, keeping his heavy guns on the centre, 
placed Sir Walter Gilbert's division ou his 
right, flanked by Brigadier Pope's brigade of 
cavalry, strengthened by her majesty's 14th 
light dragoons, and three troops of horde artil- 
lery, under Colonel Grant. This arrange- 
ment was necessitated by the large force of 
cavalry observed upon the enemy's left. On 
the left of the British line. Brigadier-general 
Camijbell's division was formed, flanked by 
Brigadier White's cavalry, and three troops 
of horse artillery under Colonel Brind. The 
demonstrations of the enemy were such that, 
late as was the hour, and weary as the troops 
w ere with marching, Lord Gough determined 
to attack at once. His lordship's critics, in- 
fluenced by the events which followed, have 
severely censured him for attacking under 
such circumstances, more especially as the 
ground was unknown to his lordship. It was 
true that sufficient time had not been obtained 
to reconnoitre the enemy's positions, but it 
was not correct to allege that Lord Gough 
was entirely unacquainted with the ground, 
as he had previously known it, esi)ecially the 
country to the left of the enemy. It was 
generally sujiposed by his lordship's censors 
that the attack was a wanton waste of life, 
and arose from the brave, rash, and unreflect- 



ing temperament of the general, and the irri- 
tation caused by the sudden and severe artillery 
fire opened upon him. On the other hand, 
the Duke of Wellington declared that he 
would, in Lord Gough's place, have acted as 
he had done ; and so full of confidence were 
the Sikhs in their numbers and resolution, 
that had not the general given battle, he 
would have been obliged to defend himself 
from a desperate night attack under circum- 
stances far less favourable. There can be no 
doubt, on the part of any who know the noble 
old soldier, that he acted from his sense of 
duty to his army and his country, and not 
from personal irritation. 

The battle began, or, it may be said, w-as 
resumed, by a heavy cannonade, which lasted 
for more than an hour, when Lord Gough 
ordered his left to advance, making a flank 
movement. In executing this manoeuvre, the 
troops exposed their own flank to a galling 
fire from heavy guns, the positions of which 
had remained covered by jungle, and the 
Sikh batteries were so placed as to pour a 
cross-fire, the most destructive, upon the 
British. When the 3rd and 4th brigades 
reached the enemy's guns, they were received 
by a cannonade so awful that they were 
obliged to retire. As soon as it was known 
that these two brigades were engaged, the 
5th, under Brigadier Mountain, was ordered 
to storm the centre. They were received 
with round-shot the moment they moved, 
with grape and canister as they advanced 
through the jungle, and, finally, with musketry 
within close and deadly range. I\Iany of the 
Sikh soldiers, at the cost of their own life, 
advanced and shot down the British officers. 
Brigadier Mountain had distinguished himself 
in China, and had the entire confidence of 
Lord Gough, under whom he had served 
there. Under his able guidance, the British 
stormed the batteries and spiked the guns, 
under a flank fire from other guns, which they 
also spiked ; while the enemy, without giving 
way, poured upon them musket-balls thick as 
hail. Detachments of musketeers took them 
on each flank; and some getting to their rear 
among the jungle, fired upon them with deadly 
aim. The British were thus compelled to cut 
their way back to their own lines through 
hosts of encircling foes. While this was going 
on upon the centre. Sir Walter Gilbert ad- 
vanced against the enemy's left. That general 
occupied the extreme right of his division, 
and Brigadier Godby the extreme left. 1'hey 
mai-ehed through a dense jungle almost un- 
molested, and then were confronted by in- 
fantry. Had the British at once charged with 
the bayonet, the result might for them have 
been less sanguinary : they, however, opened 



Chap. CXXL] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



G61 



fire, and the Sikhs, more numerous, returned 
the fire, and outflanked them. Two com- 
panies of the 2iid (or Queen's) British regi- 
ment charged with the bayonet, but were 
surrounded. Tliese gallant and skilful sol- 
diers immediately faced about, and after some 
file-firing, charged, rear-rank in front. At 
this critical moment a field battery arrived, 
and drove back the enemy by the precision 
of their fire. Several guns were here cap- 
tured by the British. Tlie heroism and losses 
of the 2nd regiment were very great. While 
the infantry had thus been engaged in close 
and deadly battle, the cavalry also were occu- 
pied both on the left and right. On the 
former flank of the British, Brigadier "White's 
brigade charged the enemy, covering the 
retreat of the infantry. On the extreme right. 
Brigadier Pope's brigade, strengthened, as 
has been already shown, by the temporary 
attachment of tlie lith light dragoons of the 
queen's army, were ordered to charge a body 
of the enemy's cavalry, the number of which 
was much superior. Instead of obeying the 
orders given, they wheeled riglit about, and 
galloped off the field, breaking through the 
artillery, upsetting artillerymen, drivers, and 
waggons in their course, until they reached the 
field-hospital. According to some narrations 
of this transaction, the men galloped away 
under a mistake of orders ; other accounts 
reia'esent this to have been impossible, because 
their own officers, and officers of the artillery, 
endeavoured to stop and rally them without 
success, except so far as a portion of the 0th 
lancers was concerned. The enemy was not 
slow to take advantage of this extraordinary 
flight ; they pursued — dashed in among the 
horse artillery- — cut down seventy-five gun- 
ners, and took six guns. The arrival of artil- 
lery reserves, the rallying of a portion of the 
Otli lancers, the steadiness of the infantry, 
prevented the destruction of the w-hole right 
wing. The fresh artillery which came up 
opened upon the Sikh cavalry with grape and 
canister with such precision and fury that 
they retreated. Two of the captured guns 
were recovered in the retreat. The Sikhs 
gradually withdrew, leaving the field of battle 
in possession of the British, who, on this ac- 
count, claimed the victory. The enemy, in 
the night, carried away all the guns which the 
British had spiked during the action, the four 
pieces of horse artillery which they took on 
the British right, and five stand of colours, 
and on these grounds also claimed the vic- 
tory ; and a salute of twenty-one guns in 
honour of the triumph was, as the English 
thought, most impudently fired. This was 
also done at Attock, in the capital of Chuttur 
Singh, and wherever the Sikh troops held a 

VOL. II. 



position. The Sikhs also claimed the victory 
for the same reason as the English did, being 
left in possession of the field. It was, in truth, 
a drawn battle. The Sikhs having began the 
engagement, and the English having retained 
the ground on which they fought, while the 
former withdrew their line, the battle may more 
correctly be said to have been won by the 
British; but the advantages gained were alto- 
gether on the part of the Sikhs, who continued 
to occupy for a month positions from which 
the British did not attempt to dislodge them. 
During that time Lord Gough waited for 
reinforcements, and felt the tardy arrival of 
some of the troops whose presence had been 
detained before Slooltau, as has already been 
shown. 

The loss sustained by the Sikhs it is im- 
possible to calculate ; according to themselves 
it was much less than that of the English ; 
and this is credible, when the strength of 
their position is considered, and the losses to 
which the unaccountable flight of Pope's 
brigade exposed the British right. The 
English loss, according to the official returns, 
was throethousand men in killed and wounded, 
nearly one-third of whom belonged to the 
former class ; this, however, did not compre- 
hend all the slain, for many were so horribly 
wounded by the close discharge of artillery 
that they died in a few days. The propor- 
tion of the wounded who were hit mortally 
was beyond that which usually occurs in 
battle. There were also many desertions of 
sepoy soldiers to Shere Singh, but more espe- 
cially of Sikh soldiery under Lord Cough's 
command. 

The flight of the large body of cavalry 
under Brigadier Pope was the subject of 
much investigation and criticism. The bri- 
gadier was too old for the duties imposed 
upon him ; he had no experience in war, and 
was placed in the command from seniority. 
This gave occasion in England to denounce 
the substitution of seniority for fitness, so 
common in the British army. Unhappily, the 
officer himself, who was so much concerned 
in the responsibility of the event, and who 
had been much respected bj' his brother 
officers and his commander, was placed be- 
yond all human accountability, for he fell in 
front of his fugitive soldiers. Colonel King, 
of the 14tli light dragoons, who succeeded 
Colonel Havelock, who fell at Ramnuggur, 
was also much censured. His defence was, 
that he did his utmost to rally his men in 
vain ; that they wore generally light small 
men, mounted upon light small horses ; 
whereas the cavalry immediately opposed to 
them were not only much more numerous, 
but cuirassiers, powerful heavy men, with 

4g 



662 



HISTOEY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXXI. 



long and superior swords, and admirably 
mounted. The colonel complained of the bad 
manufacture of the English weapons, which 
bent against the swords or cuirasses of the 
Sikh cavalry. When Sir Charles Napier 
arrived to command the forces in India late 
in the spring, he inspected the 14th, and ad- 
dressed them, referring to the allegations of 
their colonel, and telling them that they were 
fine, stalwart, broad-chested fellows, that 
would follow anywhere that they were led. 
Colonel King took this so much to heart that 
he retired from the field of inspection and 
shot himself. Sir William Napier (brother to 
Sir Charles) afterwards denied in the London 
newspapers that his brother intended to cast 
any reflection upon Colonel King. It was, 
however, generally believed in the army, that 
Sir Charles levelled a censure at the unfortu- 
nate officer, whose sensitive honour could not 
endure such a reflection from so high an 
authority. His fate excited deep commisera- 
tion, and the address of Sir Charles was dis- 
approved of indignantly by the whole army. 

The generalship of Lord Gough became the 
subject of anonymous criticism in India, and 
open attack in England ; but the brave and 
skilful general proved, at the subsequent battle 
of Gujerat, that he knew how to gain victory 
at as little cost of blood as it was possible for 
military knowledge to ensure. The late drawn 
battle — if such it may be called^was desig- 
nated the battle of Chillianwallah, after a vil- 
lage in the immediate neighbourhood of which 
the British had encamped. The Sikhs know 
it as the battle of Russool, the more appro- 
priate name to give it, as it was in its 
vicinity the chief strength of the Sikh position 
was found. 

The results of this battle were important ; 
the Sikhs became encouraged, and the Sikh 
generals felt that the superiority of the Eng- 
lish in natural talent or military science, was 
not such as to destroy the hopes of the sirdars 
to shake off the English yoke, and perhaps 
assert an ascendancy of the Khalsa over India. 
In England the shame and the alarm were 
great. Lord John Russell announced in 
parliament that Sir Charles Napier should be 
appointed to the command of the forces, and 
this was received with loud cheers. His lord- 
ship knew very well that the war would be 
over before Sir Charles could arrive to conduct 
it, but the announcement answered the end 
for which it was intended — it was mere par- 
liamentary " clap-trap." His lordship did not 
announce a reform in the military administra- 
tion, by means of which campaigns would be 
conducted by competent generals, whether 
successful or unsuccessful, with honour to 
themselves and their country. It is scarcely 



necessary to say that before Sir Charles Napier 
arrived. Lord Gough had retrieved his own 
renown and the credit of English arms. That 
Lord John Russell only made one of his 
customary plausible pretexts in this matter 
became pretty e^■ident, from the fact that 
no dispatch was shown in sending out Sir 
Charles. That gallant man had nc wish to 
go. Lord Dalhousie had now assumed the 
government of India, and w-ith him it was 
not likely that the mercurial and open- 
mouthed Sir Charles would ever agree. 
Before that could be brought to the test, 
the second Sikh war was over. 

The battle of Chillianwallah almost para- 
lysed Lord Gough. He ordered General 
Wheeler with a force to join him, and a re- 
serve under Sir Dudley Hill. Gholab Singh, 
the Maharajah of Cashmere, had sent ten 
thousand men to the sphere of action, but 
they behaved pretty much as the Spaniards 
did in the " Peninsular war," — they left the 
English and their opponents to fight, re- 
serving to themselves the opportunity to take 
such advantage as an armed neutrality might 
offer. 

Dost Mohammed of Cabul, our professed 
ally, caused considerable apprehension after 
the battle of Chillianwallah. He assisted the 
Sikhs with an army of twelve thousand men, 
and it was feared that a large army of Aff- 
ghans would pour upon India, with the energy 
and force of the Dooranee empire. The 
Affghan auxiliaries were chiefly cavalry, un- 
disciplined, tardy in their movements, and not 
zealous in the war. The Affghans were 
Mohammedans, and regarded the true Sikhs 
as heretics or infidels, and therefore did not 
deem it desirable to risk much to serve one 
class of infidels against another, although on 
the whole they preferred the Sikhs. 

When the government published, which 
they did ostentatiously, the list of guns, &c., 
captured at Chillianwallah, confidence was 
in a great measure restored to the army 
throughout India, for it was supposed that 
after all the rumours of failure there must 
have been a victory if cannon were left in the 
hands of the British ; for it was well-known 
that the Sikh soldier patted his gun as he did his 
horse, and regarded it with similar affection. 

Lord Gough was obliged to remain inactive, 
expecting reinforcements, which were under 
the command of Wheeler in one direction, and 
Whish in another. The progress of the latter 
was discreditably slow, especially of the Bom- 
bay colnmn, under the command of the Hon. 
General Dundas. Wheeler's force had hard 
and useful work to do, before they could join 
the grand army. This was the conquest of 
Ram Singh, chief of the Raree Doab. This 




771^7^1 




GHOLAB SINGH . 



■?Jy,^mi, a> ^/aM^^/?y ^ ayn, a.^aian^ a-L-u^) 



LONDON. JAMES S VIRTUK 







LONDON, JA.MES S VTRTtT.E 




■4 



fa 



■A 



S 




•^IISCOUIMT (SOUGH, G.G.B. &s. 



LONDON, JAHES S. VIRTUE. 



Chap. OXXI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



663 



leader occupied a formidable post in his ter- 
ritory, called the Dullah heights. 

In the middle of January Wheeler attacked 
this position, but so inaccessible was the fast- 
ness that the most he could do, and that 'with 
considerable loss, was to drive out Ram Singl; 
and his followers, whereas the gallant general 
hoped to accomplish either his capture or de- 
struction. On the 11th, Wheeler ordered the 
4th native infantry to take up a position to 
the northward of the enemy's post, so as to in- 
tercept him in case he should be obliged to 
evacuate the fort, and retreat in that direc- 
tion ; the main force tarried at Shorpore, 
where they had been in quarters, until the 
13th, the sappers, pioneers, and labourers 
being engaged in making a practicable road 
through an exceedingly difficult country, con- 
sisting of defiles and "ghauts." This road 
was laid for about seven miles, as far as the 
village of Cote on the course of the Ravee, 
about three miles distant from Ram Singh's 
position. On the 14th, the little army of 
General Wheeler took up ground under the 
Dullah heights. That day and the next was 
occupied in cutting roads, transporting guns 
and mortars upon elephants, and making 
arrangements for storming the fort. On the 
morning of the latter day, Captain Hicks, of 
the 3rd native infantry, was dispatched with 
four companies of that regiment, and Mr. 
Hodgson, with two companies of the Guide 
corps, to take post west of the Dullah heights, 
on the opposite bank of the Ravee. The pre- 
cautions taken by detaching these bodies of 
men were necessary from the topographical 
character of the neighbourhood. The Ravee, 
debouching from the mountainous region in 
which it has its birth, flows through a beauti- 
ful valley, where a series of hills lying from 
east to west presented an unequal ridge ; on 
this ridge, overlooking the river, the little vil- 
lage of Dullah was situated, in which Ram 
Singh had so cleverly fortified himself. In 
every direction from the village the rock 
dipped almost perpendicularly, beside being 
protected by the river, which wound partly 
around it. Access was by paths, partly lying 
in hollows formed by former streams, and 
partly cut through the rock. These paths 
were circuitous, and nearly covered with 
brushwood, admitting only by single file of 
an approach to the platform on which the 
village rested. On either side of the path 
were precipices from twenty to eighty feet 
deep, and huge boulders lay profusely across 
the way. Very few men might defend this 
position against very many. The 4th native 
regiment was to advance against the face of 
this defence, from the direction where it had 
taken post some days, and the signal was to 



be the firing of a gun from the British camp. 
The 3rd and the Guides were at the same 
moment ordered, by the same signal, to ad- 
vance against the west of the ridge, and crown 
a height visible from head -quarters. As soon 
as the success of this detachment was ascer- 
tained, the remainder of the 3rd regiment, and 
two hundred men of the 2nd irregular cavalry, 
who, with Lieutenant Swinton, had volun- 
teered to serve on foot, were to advance upon 
another face of the ridge, from the little vil- 
lage of Chulbarah, where they had been posted ; 
this party, ascending a spur of the hill on its 
left, was to co-operate opportunely with the 
advance of the other detachments. Major 
Fisher, at the head of a body of regular native 
infantry and irregular cavalry, with guns 
mounted upon elephants, were in support, and 
to ascend (the cavalry, of course, dismounting) 
when the various detachments had come well 
into action. There was yet another point 
upon which an ascent was to be attempted — 
that which was in front of the camp of the 
British. Major Davidson, with a few hundred 
Sikh auxiharies, regular and irregular, sup- 
ported by two companies of the 1st Sikh light 
infantry, under Lieutenant Peel, was ordered 
to make this attempt. At the moment for 
action, the signal gun was fired, but no one 
appeared to take any notice of it — no men were 
seen to make their way along the ridge. 
There was a long pause on the side of the 
British, the guns of the enemy at the same 
time firing. None of the detachments appear- 
ing on the ridge. Major Butler was ordered to 
attempt to storm it, in conjunction with the 
other party already appointed to ascend in 
front : this was happily accomplished, after a 
very sharp conflict. Major Davidson was shot 
through the hand. Lieutenant Peel was mor- 
tally wounded, and Lieutenant Christie killed. 
The detached parties, trusting to native guides, 
were purposely misled, and thus could not 
come into action. Ram Singh had by this 
means the way kept open for his retreat when 
resistance was no longer possible, and all the 
skilful arrangements that had been made to 
catch the eagle in his eyrie were disappointed 
by the treachery of the natives, who had been, 
unfortunately, too implicitly trusted in an im- 
portant service. 

BATTLE OF GUJERAT. 

Shere Singh maintained his post in the 
neighbourhood of Russool until the 1 2th of Eeb- 
ruary, when he retired with coolness and deli- 
beration. Lord Gough instituted a pursuit, but 
the Sikh cavalry covered the retreat of the 
army effectually. The approach, at last, of 
General Whish, greatly embarrassed the move- 



GGi 



HISTOEY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[OuAp. CXXI. 



menta of the Sildi chief. He was obliged, by 
the combinations which General Whish and 
Lord Gough were able to effect, to take post 
at Gujerat, where he requested Chnttur Singh 
to join him with his whole force, for he was 
too sagacious not to perceive that the war was 
approaching its crisis. Clmttur accomplislied 
the junction, and then the most formidable 
army the English had ever encountered in the 
East were drawn up in tlie lines of Gujerat. 
The number of men was scarcely less than 
eighty thousand ;* the pieces of ordnance were 
fifty-nine. The whole force of Lord Gough, 
after the junction of Whish, did not much ex- 
ceed twenty-five thousand men, but his artil- 
lery was superior to that of the enemy ; for, 
although Shere Singh's pieces were heavy 
metal, and liis artillerymen practised in battle, 
as well as thoroughly drilled on the French 
system, Whish had brought with him heavy 
guns, and the artillerymen, officers, and pri- 
vates of Lord Gough's army were excellent. 
The calibre of the Britisli guns was, for the 
first time during the two campaigns, superior 
to that of the Sikhs ; Major-general Whish 
was especially competent to direct that arm of 
the service. 

The troops under the command of Lord 
Gough were : Cavalry — Her majesty's 3rd, 
9th, and 14th light dragoons; Bengal 1st, 6th, 
Gth, and 8th light cavalry ; 3rd and 9th 
irregular cavalry; detachments of 11th and 
lith irregidar cavalry, Sciude horse. Artil- 
lery — Nine troops horse artillery, and four 
light field -batteries (one each of the Bombay 
army). Infantry- — Her majesty's 10th, 29tli, 
and 32nd foot; Bengal 2nd European regi- 
]nent : 8th, 13th, 15th, 25th, 30th, 31st, 32nd, 
3Gth, 45th, 46th, 51st, 62nd, 5Gth, G9th, 70th, 
and 72nd. In addition to these was a strong 
brigade, under the Hon. Major-general Duu- 
das, of Bombay infantry, consisting of the 
Ist Bombay European Fusiliers, and several 
native regiments. Shere Singh made the vil- 
lage of Gujerat liis head-quarters. It was 
curiously, and for military purposes, strongly 
situated between the Jhelum and the Chenab, 
but nearer to the Jhelum. It was nearly sur- 
rounded by a brook, which ran rather among 
than over the pebbles which lay in its bed, 
although in a few places pools of water were 
collected to some considerable depth. Between 
that brook and the town the main position of 
Shere Singh lay. Lord Gough resolved not 
to despise his enemy on this occasion, or by 
any act of precipitancy give him advantage. 
He also resolved to contest this battle upon 
the strictest principles of military science, so 
that no unfavourable critiques should be made 
Tipou his generalship at home. He began the 
* Jjord Gough'a estimate was 61,500. 



action by employing his superior force of 
artillerj', and contrived to use it to the utmost, 
causing great havoc in the ranks of the enemy, 
and smashing guns and tumbrils along his 
lines. 

Shere Singh strove to bring into efficient 
play that arm of war in which he was more 
particularly superior to his enemy — the 
cavalry. With his numerous horse he en- 
' deavoured to outflank Lord Gough. Vast 
bodies of cavalry were thrown on either 
flank, and the skill, energy, and courage of 
the British horsemen were taxed to the utter- 
most to prevent this design. Shere Singh did 
not, however, display his usual generalship on 
this occasion ; all his movements showed a 
mind perturbed and anxious. He did not 
conceal the position of his batteries as he had 
so cleverly done at Chillianwallah, but opening 
fire at long range betrayed the arrangement 
of his cannon before he could make the 
weapons seriously injurious to his foe. This 
fault, considering the superiority of artillery 
power on the part of the English, was irre- 
deemable. Lord Gough, having nearly silenced 
the Sikh guns, and out-manoeuvred their 
cavalry upon his flanks, attacked with his in- 
fantry, throwing his right against the left cen- 
tre, and the right of the enemy's left. The 
difRculty was in passing the deep empty brook, 
or nullah, in doing \vhich the gmis of the 
enemy could be brought to bear, as the 
English cannon would necessarily cease their 
fire. This impediment was found formidable ; 
some valuable lives wore lost in passing that 
" Rubicon ; " but success attended the attempt, 
in spite of the grape and canister of the field- 
pieces, and the rolling volleys of musketry. 
The English ascended the banks of the 
nullah, brought the bayonet to the chai'ge, 
dashed forward, penetrated the line, and sepa- 
rated the enemy's left and centre. Although 
that successful attack did not end the struggle, 
it virtually decided the battle. Shere Singh 
indeed must have seen, after his flank opera- 
tions had failed, that if the British infantry 
passed the nullah his guns would be lost, as 
well as the battle. Scarcely had the British 
right accomplished the purpose for which 
they were directed against the enemy's line, 
than the left also cleared the nullah, and 
turned his right wing, huddling together his 
flanks in a confused mass upon his centre. 
Even then tlie gallant Sikhs hoped for victory. 
Their cavalry charged the flanks of the vic- 
torious infantry, but were in their turn brought 
down by successive close rounds from the 
horse artillery, and then their broken squadrons 
were charged by the English cavalry. Thus 
left free to follow their course of conquest, the 
English infantry of both flanks wheeled round 



Chap. CXXf.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



665 



the village of Giijerat, pouring continuous 
volleys of musketry into the packed masses 
of the divided Sikh infantry, and inflicting 
horrible slaughter. The battle was won. 
Campbell and Dundas with their infantry, 
Gilbert, with cavalry and artillery, relent- 
lessly pursued, exacting a fearful vengeance 
for the losses at tlie nullah of Eamnuggur, 
and the hill-sides of Russool. The Sikh army 
was broken. Lord Gough rested the main 
body of his army, entrusting to General Gilbert, 
with the cavalry, liorse artillery, and light 
infantry, the further prosecution of pursuit. 
Thus, so far as active fighting was concerned, 
ended the second Sikh war. 

Sir Walter Gilbert pursued the enemy un- 
remittingly, tmtil at last a surrender was com- 
pelled. The Affghans deserted the fallen 
fortunes of their confederates, and fled through 
the Khoree Pass. The Affghans lost half 
their number in the field, and a large portion 
of the remainder in retreat. Dost Mohammed 
Khan subniittted to entreaties for peace, and 
as the English had no desire for another Aff- 
ghan war, they accepted his offers, and ex- 
tended forgiveness. The Sikh army surren- 
dered, forty-one guns were captured, and the 
whole Khalsa force remaining after so many 
fields of slaughter gave up their arms, and, 
obtaining a gratuity of a rupee each, dispersed 
to their homes. During the war the Sikhs 
lost one hundred and sixty pieces of cannon, 
and twenty thousand stand of infantry arms. 
The British guns taken at Ohillian wallah were 
all restored. The consequences of the Sikh 
war were the annexation of the Punjaub, and 
the entire destruction of the Khalsa army. 
The expense of treasure, by which the result 
was purchased, was very great. The cost of 
human life was also great. The policy of the 
British government, and the grounds of it, were 
made public in the following proclamation, 
issued on the 2yth of March, by the governor- 
general : — 

For many years, in the time of Maharajah Ruujeet 
Siogh, peace and friendship prevailed between the British 
nation and t)ie Sikhs. When Runjeet Singh was dead, 
and his wisdom no hmger guided the counsels of the state, 
the sirdar's and the Khalsa army, without provocation and 
without cause, suddenly invaded the British territories. 
Their army was again and again defeated. They were 
driven, with slaughter and in shame, from the country 
thty had invaded, and at the gates of Lahore the Maha- 
rajah Dhulecp Singh tendered to the governor-general the 
submission of himself and his chiefs, and solicited the 
clemency of the IJritish government. The governor- 
general extended his clemency to the state of Lahore ; he 
generously spared the kingdom which he had acquired a 
just right to subvert ; and the maharajah having been 
replaced on tiie throne, treaties of friendship were formed 
between the states. 

The British have faithfully kept their word, and have 
scrupulously observed every obligation which the treaties 
imposed upon them. But the Sikh people and their chiefs I 



have, on their part, grossly and faithlessly violated the 
promises by which they were bound. Of their annual 
tribute, no portion whatever has at any time been paid, 
and large sums advanced by the government of India have 
never been repaid. The control of the British govern- 
ment, to which they voluntarily submitted themselves, has 
been resisted by arms. Peace has been cast aside. British 
officers have been murdered when acting for the state ; 
others engaged in the like employment have been treach- 
erously thrown into prison. Finally, the army of the state 
and the whole Sikh people, joined by many of the sirdars 
of the Punjaub who signed the treaties, and led by a 
member of the regency itself, luive risen in arms against 
us, and have waged a fierce and bloody war for the pro- 
claimed purpose of destroying the British and their power. 

The government of India formerly declared that it 
desired no further conquest, and it proved by its acts the 
sincerity of its professions. The government of India has 
no desire for conquest now — but it is bound, in its duty, 
to provide fully for its own security, and to guard tlie 
interests of those committed to its charge. To that end, 
and as the only sure mode of protecting the state from the 
perpetual recurrence of improvoked and wasting wars, the 
governor-general is compelled to resolve upon the entire 
subjection of a people whom their own government has 
long been unable to control, and whom (as events have 
now shown) no punishment can deter from violence, no 
acts of friendship can conciliate to peace. Wherefore, the 
governor-general of India has declared, and hereby pro- 
claims, that the kingdom of the Punjaub is at an end ; 
and that all the territories of Maharajah Bhuleep Singh 
are now and henceforth a portion of the British empire iu 
India. 

His Highness the Maharajah shall be treated with con- 
sideration and with honour. The few chiefs who have 
not engaged in hostilities against the British sliall retain 
their property and their rank. The British government 
will leave to all the people, whether Mussulman, Hindoo, 
or Sikh, the free exercise of their own religious ; but it 
will not permit any man to interfere with others in the 
observance of such forms as their respective religions may 
either enjoin or permit. The jagheers, and all the pro- 
perty of sirdars and others who have been in arms against 
the British, shall be confiscated to the state. Tlie de- 
fences of every fortified place in the Punjaub, which is not 
occupied by British troops, shall be totally destroyed, and 
eCfcctual measures shall be taken to deprive the people of 
the means of renewing either tumult or war. 

The governor-general calls upon all the inhabitants of 
the Punjaub, sirdars and people, to submit themselves 
peaceably to the authority of the British government, 
which has hereby been proclaimed. Over those who shall 
live as obedient and jieaceful subjects of the state, the 
British government will rule with mildness and beneficence. 
But if resistance to constituted authority shall again be 
attempted — if violence and turbulence be renewed, the 
governor-general warns the people of the Punjaub that the 
time for leniency with them has passed away, and that 
their offence will be punished with prompt and most 
rigorous severity. 

The decisive measures which this proclama- 
tion indicated, had the desired effect. The 
Punjaub gradually settled down, its adminis- 
tration was committed to able men, and the 
people were taught to rely on their own 
peaceable industry and a just government for 
prosperity. A new era dawned upon that 
rich but distracted realm, which hecame the 
glory of Pjnglish government in India, so that 
when some years later the native army of 
Bengal, by which its subjugation was chiefly 



666 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXXI, 



effected, mutinied, the Siklis remained loyal. 
Among the officers who so nobly fought and 
conquered in that formidable war, none held 
a more useful and honourable position than 
Major-general Thackwell. It was the last 
campaign in which the gifted veteran ever 
fought. He returned to his country, and en- 
joyed the respect of all classes. Some notice 
of his career as a whole is desirable, as he has 
lately (April, 1859) paid "the debt of nature," 
and is numbered with the long line of de- 
parted heroes who have made the name of 
Great Britain illustrious. He entered the army 
in April, 1800, and during his career of nearly 
sixty years had gained the highest distinction 
in the service, particularly in the East Indies. 
Sir Joseph's services in the Peninsula are thiis 
recorded by Hart : — " Served the campaign 
in Gallicia and Leon under Sir John Moore, 
and was engaged in several skirmishes, and 
present at the battle of Corunna ; served the 
campaigns of 1813 and 1814 in the Peninsula, 
including the battle of Vittoria, the Pyrenees 
in front of Pampeluna, the 27th, 28th, 29th, 
and 30th July ; blockade of Pampeluna from 
the 18th to the 31st of October, when it sur- 
rendered : battle of Orthes, affair of Tarbes, 
and battle of Toulouse, besides many affairs 
of advanced guards, outposts, &c. Served 
also the campaign of 1815, including the 
action at Quatre Bras, the retreat on the fol- 
lowing day, and battle of "Waterloo. Com- 
manded the cavalry division of the army of 
the Indus during the Affganistan campaign ; 
was present at the storm and capture of Ghizni, 
and commanded the 2nd column of the 
army on its march from Cabul to Bengal." 
He commanded the cavalry division of the 
army of Gwalior throughout the Mahratta 
war in 1843, and commanded the cavalry 
division at the action of Maharajpore, on the 
29th December of that year. Sir Joseph 
greatly distinguished himself in the opera- 
tions against the Sikhs in the campaigns of 
1846 and 1849, for which eminent services 
he received the thanks of parliament and of 
the East India Company, and was rewarded 
in the last mentioned year by her majesty 
nominating him a Grand Cross of the Order of 
the Bath, the gallant general having formerly 
for his military services been made a Compa- 
nion and Knight of that Order. During his 
honourable career in the service he had been 
several times wounded. At Vittoria he was 
severely contused on the right shoulder, and 
at Waterloo he was so badly wounded that 
he had to have his loft arm amputated, and 
had two horses shot under him. On his 
return to England from the East Indies he 
was appointed Inspector-General of Cavalry 
in succession to his Royal Highness the Duke 



of Cambridge. In 1834 he was made a 
knight of the Hanoverian Order, had received 
the silver war medal and three clasps for his 
services in the Peninsula, a medal for Sobraon, 
where he commanded the cavalry, and a 
medal and clasps for the last Punjaub cam- 
paign, also the empty honour of the Dooranee 
Order for services in Affghanistan. In No- 
vember, 1849, he was appointed colonel of 
the 16th (the Queen's) regiment of light dra- 
goons (Lancers). He was an intimate friend of 
the late General Havelock, and of Lord Clyde, 
Sir Harry Smith, Lord Gough, and other 
noble and gallant veterans of the army. His 
commissions bore date as follows : — Cornet, 
22nd of April, 1800; lieutenant, 13th of June, 
1801 ; captain, 9th of April, 1807 ; major, 
18th of June, 1815 ; lieutenant-colonel, 21st 
of June, 1817; colonel, 10th of January, 
1837; major-general, 9th of November, 1846 ; 
and lieutenant-general, 20th of June, 1854. 

The United Service Gazette, for May, 1859 
gives the following interesting account of the 
last act of homage which his country paid to 
his gallantry, and long and efficient services : 
— " Lieutenant-General Sir Joseph Thack- 
well, G.C.B., was buried in Corkbeg church- 
yard, which is distant about a mile from 
Aghada House, and twenty miles from Cork, 
on the loth instant. The coffin was borne 
to the grave on the shoulders of his sorrow- 
stricken tenantry. The peasantry, who had 
swarmed to the spot from the neighbouring 
districts, lined the road from Aghada House 
to the church, as a last tribute of respect to 
one whose noble deeds of daring occupy an 
important place in history's pages. The Irish 
naval commander-in-chief. Admiral Talbot, 
with many other naval and military officers 
in full uniform, formed part of the funeral 
procession. The coast-guard from all the 
stations in the vicinity preserved order 
along the line of route. The badge and 
collar of a Grand Cross of the Bath, the 
insignia of a Knight of Hanover, and of the 
Dooranee Order, and the medals for the Penin- 
sular, Waterloo, Affghan, IMahratta, and Sikh 
campaigns, so well earned by the lamented 
decased, were tastefully arranged on a cushion, 
which was carried before the coffin by four 
officers. Notwithstanding all this glittering 
display, it was not a military funeral, there 
not being suflScient artillery, cavalry, and 
infantry at Cork to pay the honours due to a 
lieutenant-general. The gallant sahreiir's 
remains lie near the mausoleum of the Roche 
family, with which he was connected by mar- 
riage, a family of which Lord Fermoy, the 
lord-lieutenant of Cork, is the present head. 
No cavalry officer ever saw more service." 



Chap. CXXII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



667 



CHAPTER CXXII. 

GENERAL AFFAIRS OF INDIA UNDER THE GOVERNMENT OF SIR HENRY (LORD) HARDINGE- 
IJIS DEPARTURE— ARRIVAL OF LORD DALHOUSIE— HIS GENERAL POLICY. 



It was necessary in previous chapters, in 
order to maintain consecutive relation, to nar- 
rate the progress of hostilities in the Piinjaub 
to their termination, passing over all notice of 
civil affairs, and changes of government. 
This chapter will supply the omission. Very 
few governor-generals so much disappointed 
previous expectations as Sir Henry Hardinge. 
His nomination to the post commanded the 
general suffrage of his countrymen. Belong- 
ing to the Peel party, it was supposed that 
he would be the advocate of peace, yet imme- 
diately upon his arrival he had to wage a 
most dangerous war. He began that war 
most reluctantly, as he knew that the peace 
policy of Sir Robert Peel was popular in 
England. It is probable that had he made a 
warlike demonstration, such as became the 
empire he governed, and the real exigencies 
of the case, war might have been averted. 

His appointment to the high office was 
regarded in England with great favour, from 
the supposition that he would, by his military 
prestige, probably prevent war. This was 
an absurd expectation, for the Sikhs or the se- 
poys knewnothing of his European renown. It 
was also believed in England that his military 
skill would enable him to take such measures 
as would deter any Asiatic people from ag- 
gression or disturbance, and that if war broke 
out his capacity for military ari'angement 
would bring it to a speedy termination, by the 
use of those means which modern military 
science supplied, and the grand organization 
to which he was supposed equal. All these 
expectations were falsified. Very few civilians 
in the governmentof India allowed the country 
to " drift into war" so easily as did Sir Henry 
Hardinge. He acted in all respects similar to 
the Peelite cabinet of Lord Aberdeen subse- 
quently, when its weakness, temporising, and 
vacillation, not only allowed but invited Rus- 
sian aggression. Lord Aberdeen's demon- 
stration of ten thousand men, unprovided with 
any of the means necessary for a campaign, 
in order to deter the Czar Nicholas from 
launching his hosts against Turkey, was a 
policy anticipated by Sir Henry Hardinge, 
when he allowed the Sikhs, which he knew, 
or ought to have known, to constitute the most 
formidable native army which had ever ap- 
peared in India, to cross the frontiers and 
invade India. So far from fulfilling the 
hopes of his countrymen, when war did break 



out, by the efficiency of his military adminis- 
tration, want and confusion harassed the 
army at every step, and in consequence our 
ascendancy in India was placed in the greatest 
jeopardy. Sir Heury was regarded as a man 
of a frank and direct mind, but his policy in 
India was indirect, and his relation of public 
transactions uncandid. While, for instance, he 
was praising the native army for its heroism 
and loyalty in his orders of the day, proclama- 
tions, and despatches, he believed that army 
to be dangerously disloyal, and was by no 
means satisfied with either its zeal or courage 
in action. It has been alleged in extenuation 
of this, that ho praised the native troops from 
jjolicy. If so, he might have consulted truth 
as well as policy, in some degree, by moderat- 
ing the praise his conscience permitted him 
to bestow, and not mislead his own country- 
men, who trusted that his panegyrics of 
native loyalty and valour issued from his 
convictions. It was supposed that Sir 
Henry was capable of ruling India with a 
comprehensive policy, and that he would treat 
liberally, and with enlarged thought, all great 
public questions connected with our Asiatic 
empire. He did not display these qualities, 
but he put forth surprising vigour and activity 
in detail. He performed all routine duties 
with alacrity and dispatch, and transacted 
public business with readiness, clearness, and 
perfect order. He neglected no duty which 
he imposed upon himself, or thought was 
incumbent upon him officially ; but he inter- 
fered as little as possible with the routine of 
the offices even in military matters, and when 
he must have clearly seen that it was injurious 
to the public interests. His views were nar- 
row, and he not only tolerated but fostered 
the spirit of clique and partizan patronage, 
and this at a time when his government 
should from necessity have rested on the 
broad basis of justice and principle. 

Immediately upon his assumption of office, 
Sir Henry had to settle various disputes, in 
different directions, while the Sikh war was 
pending. In all these he showed an intense 
anxiety to conciliate and secure peace at all 
costs. There were disagreements between 
the Bombay government and the Rajah of 
Kalapore. The late prince had been a great 
robber, and a great devotee ; he died while 
making preparations for plunder and a pil- 
grimage. His death relieved the Bombay 



CCS 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXXII. 



presidential government of some trouble for a 
time ; but out of his decease differences among 
Ids ministers and tributaries arose, which 
remained as a legacy for Sir Henry Ilardinge's 
administration. A rebellion broke out. British 
troops were sent to uphold a cruel and unjust 
government against a people driven to revolt. 
The troops sent were inefficient. They were, 
as was customary when British troops took 
the field, unprovided with proper commis- 
sariat or material of war, and commanded by 
men in virtue of their seniority or connexions, 
not because they were possessed of the talent 
for command. Shame and defeat were the con- 
sequences. It was necessary to attack the fort 
of Samnughur, which rested on the sunmiit 
of a scarped rock. There were only tliree 
hundred men in its garrison, wretchedly 
equipped, yet they kept a large British force 
at bay for several weeks. Heavy guns were 
ordered up from Belganm, thirty miles off, 
which were moved at less than a mile and a 
half per day. Colonel Outram and Mr. Reeves, 
ai'riving as civil commissioners, offered an 
amnesty, which the brave garrison refused, in 
consequence of their determination never again 
to submit to the oppressions which the rajah 
had inflicted upon them. x\fter gross mis- 
management in almost every form, and the 
commission of military errors utterly discre- 
ditable to the English arms, and the loss of 
many good soldiers, the Kalaporean and 
Sawunt Warrce rebels were subdued. AYith 
that extraordinary good fortune \\'hich the 
English almost always have in some form, a 
man was found equal to the emergency. 
Colonel Ovans, who knew well the Indian 
character, a brave soldier, a good officer, and 
adroit political, brought order out of the 
chaos. Tlie miserable failures, civil and 
military, where Colonel Ovans was not pre- 
sent, strikingly illustrated the system. The 
governor-general and tlie commander-in-chief 
were too far away to be responsible for the 
disgraces inflicted upon the British name in 
Kalapore and Sawunt Warree, but they re- 
peated the errors on their own ground ; they 
were, in fact, themselves part of " the system," 
and among its most prominent abettors. 

During Sir Henry's government there were 
active operations on the Scinde frontier, in one 
of the most difficult countries in the world. 
These were conducted as fortunately and 
gloriously as military operations in other direc- 
tions were the reverse. The mountain robber 
tribes of Scinde were put down by that great 
military heretic, Sir Charles Najiier. He did 
not belong to " the system," and incurred the 
anger of all its orthodox upholders, who load his 
memory with opprobrium to this day, and hate 
it, because he put an end to cliqueism, row- 



dyism, gambling,military routine, and jobbery, 
in the army he commanded. Sir Charles, who 
bore the euphonious but not very compli- 
mentary soubriquet of Shitanka Chai, or the 
Devil's brother, politely imparted, for his 
activity and daring, by the Beloochees, swept 
the mountains of the robber hordes, making 
good soldiers of some, good agriculturists of 
others, and killing or compelling into exile 
all who persisted in resistance. Fortunately 
the responsibility of the Scinde exploits did 
not rest in Calcutta, or there would, in all 
likelihood, be disasters such as occurred 
wherever " the system" had its full scope. 
When in 1847 there appeared, at all events 
in the eyes of the governor-general, tokens of 
settled quietude in the Funjaub, and Sir Henry 
became Viscount Hardinge, he carried out 
the policy in favour at home, by reducing the 
army to a peace establishment. This he did 
so eagerly, and with so little discrimination, 
that it would have required the ingenuity of 
Lord Aberdeen, or Mr. Gladstone, or the 
conscientious peace principles of Mr. Cobdeu 
or Mr. Bright, to have rivalled him in the 
rapidity and success with which he dis- 
armed, while a treacherous and powerful 
enemy, whose habits and purposes it was 
his business to study, was preparing for 
another and more formidable struggle. The 
state of the revenue afforded some justifica- 
tion to Lord Hardinge. The treasury was 
empty, war had swallowed up its resources. 
Unnecessary and unjust war loft no funds for 
just and necessary war, such as that with the 
Sikhs \vas. The English government had 
pursued the same policy in India which it 
protested against in Europe, when carried out 
by Austria. As that jwwer guaranteed the 
thrones of all the despots in Italy, and was 
ever ready to interpose to uphold absolute 
monarchy against the people, no matter how 
aggrieved the latter, and thus created, en- 
couraged, and perpetuated tyranny and cru- 
elty, so the English guaranteed the despots 
of India against their subjects, however cruel 
and horrid the oppressions which the people 
endured. Rajahs and maharajahs, nizams, 
subhadars, and kings robbed and murdered 
witli the prospect of keeping down all revolt 
in their dominions by the aid of the British 
sepoys. This policy exhausted the treasury 
of India, and compelled the reduction of arma- 
ments when they ought to have been increased 
and strengthened. These reductions of Lord 
Hardinge were not skilfully effected. He left 
this too much to the civilians, and hence when 
the drum again beat to anna, it was difficult 
to find the material of war. The more skilled 
part of the army, such as cannot be easily 
recruited, was disbanded in a manner dispro- 



Chap. CXXII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



669 



portiouate, rash, and ilangerous. From the 
cool retreats of Simla, to wliich lie retired like 
a pliilosopber, lie reduced the expenses of tlie 
army one million sterling per annum; while 
the ranee at Lahore was disconsolate for the 
loss of her favourite Lall Singh, whom Lord 
Ilardinge had banished, and while she and he 
were gaining the whole Sikh array to their 
cause, Lord ILirdinge, with that business 
capacity with wliich he was endowed, set 
about many useful but costly works, all de- 
sirable and honourable, had the army been 
cared for first, and the Punjauh watched 
or garrisoned by a perfect force, provided 
with munitions, and all the appliances of 
an army even if small numerically. His 
lordship completed the grand trunk road from 
Calcutt.i to Benares, over which fifty-four 
bridges were erected. The Ganges canal, 
the formation of which had been begun under 
Lord Auckland's government, but stopped by 
Lord EUenborough, was recommenced by 
Lord Hardiuge. His lordship's good works 
were not confined to British India. He induced 
twenty-three of the petty princes to abolish 
infanticide, sutteeism, and slavery in their 
dominions. Tliis course he adopted as the 
result of directions from home, but he entered 
into the spirit of his instructions, and pursued 
these objects con amore. He also raised 
Bengal to a separate government. 

His lordship pared down the military ex- 
penditure on the eve of war, and increased 
the civil expenditure in the midst of com- 
mercial panic, and with a revenue deficit of 
two millions. His arrangements for improve- 
ment of the revenue were, however, admitted 
to be judicious, and had he remained and no 
war ensued, it was confidently affirmed by his 
friends that he would have seen a surplus in 
the troasurj'. He left India January IStli, 
1848, six days after the arrival of his suc- 
cessor, the Earl (afterwards Marquis) of 
Dalhousie. 

The Whigs were in office when Lord Dal- 
liousie was nominated to the grandest vice- 
gerency in the wide realms of the queen. He 
was not of their number, but of the influential 
followers of Sir Robert Peel, who bore a re- 
lation to the party like that which the bat bears 
to the bird and the mouse. His lordship had 
obtained among the juste milieu politicians, 
who claimed him as one of their circle, a 
reputation for extraordinary administrative 
ability. It does not appear, however merito- 
rious his past services in that respect, that he 
deserved the laudations bestowed upon his 
genius for government which his friends and 
party asserted he possessed. He was, however, 
young and vigorous, and very ambitious to 
distinguisli himself. His confidence in his 

VOL II. 



own powers at least equalled that reposed iu 
them by his friends. Immediately upon his 
arrival, commercial bankruptcy spread dis- 
aster over Calcutta and over India. Under 
the name of commerce and banking, vast 
swindling speculations were carried on by 
persons holding the highest places in society. 
It is not related that his lordship showed any 
remarkable tact or ability in dealing with such 
a condition of affairs. Perhaps it was too 
widespread, too pervading, too terrible in the 
ruin scattered, too complicated in tlio fraud 
and villany developed, for the powers en- 
trusted to him to mitigate or control, what- 
ever his capacity to employ them. 

The policy pursued by Lord Dalhousie in 
the settlement of the i'uiijaub in 184'J-50, 
was to endow the MahaiMJali Dhuleep Singh, 
who would not come of age until 1854,* with 
a munificent pension, and to treat the Sikhs, 
not as conquered enemies, but as free English 
subjects, enjoying the protection of the govern- 
ment in the same way as her majesty's 
European subjects. This policy has been 
crowned with success. Ho also acquired for 
her majesty the Koh-i-noor, or Mountain of 
Light, which is represented as the most pre- 
cious diamond in the world. At the Great 
Exhibition in London, in 1851, this gem was 
exhibited, and is therefore well known to 
multitudes of Englishmen. It was presented 
to the queen, at a levee, on the 3rd of July, 
1850, by the chairman and deputy-chairman 
of the East India Company. 

On May G, 1849, SirCliarles Napier lauded 
in Calcutta, as commander-in-chief. He im- 
mediately set about a reform of the army, 
in which he of course encountered the most 
decided opposition from all the patrons of 
routine. In the first six months of his com- 
mand he had to decide forty-six cases of 
courts-martial; the crimes imputed to officers 
being drunkenness, gambling, and dishonour- 
able actions arising out of these causes. 
While at Lahore, the eccentric but wise com- 
mander issued the following general order, 
certainly the most remarkable ever issued iu 
tlie British army, but one much required. 
Men like Lord Hardinge and Lord Gough 

* This young ijviiice is now resident in England, and, 
under the guidiince of ]3r. Mir AY. Logan, couduets 
liimself with a dignity and prudence uliicli has gained 
the esteem of statesmen and citizens. He is a frequent 
visitor of the conrt, is often invited by her majesty to 
select dinner parties, and is regarded by her with sympathy 
and respect. He is a pious Christian, fond of retirement, 
and benevolent. When he appears on pnblie occasions 
he is invested with elegant oriental costnnie, and wears 
the richest gems. The antlior, who has had opportunity 
of observing the manners of his highness, has been struck 
with his intimate acquaintance witli the language, customs, 
and observances of the country in which he has made his 
honourable e\i\c. 

4 It 



670 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXXII. 



winked at these things, rather than disturb 
"the system," or malte themselves unpopular; 
Sir Charles only regarded his country, his 
duty, and the honour of his profession : — " At 
ft late review of the troops on the jjlain of 
Meean Meer the following egregious defi- 
ciencies were evident to all : 1st. That some 
commanders of regiments were unable to 
bring their regiments properly into general 
line. 2ndly. One commanding officer of a 
regiment attempted to wheel his whole regi- 
ment as he would a company. Srdly. Several 
officers commanding companies were seen dis- 
ordering their companies by attempting to dress 
them from the wrong flanks. 4thly. When 
the line was ordered to be formed on the left 
column, some commanders deployed too soon, 
and ordered their lines thus improperly formed 
to ' double quick ' in order to regain their 
position. This was all bad; but it was worse 
to see the regiments on receiving the word to 
' double quick ' at once charge, with loud 
shouts, no such order to charge having been 
given by any one, nor the words ' prepare to 
charge:' nor did anything occur to give a 
pretext for such a disgraceful scene, exhibit- 
ing both want of drill and want of discipline. 
6thly. Bad as this was, it was not the worst. 
When these regiments chose to ' charge,' 
the commander-in-chief, to his astonishment, 
beheld the men discharging their firelocks 
straight up into the air ; and he saw some 
men of the rear rank actually firing off their 
muskets to the rear over their shoulders as 
their bearers (he will not call them soldiers) 
were running to the front. He feels assured 
that no such scene could have occurred in any 
other regiments in the army. If ever such 
again happen, he will expose the commanding 
officer of any regiment that so disgraces itself, 
in public orders, to the whole Indian army. 
In the course of his service he never before 
witnessed such a scene. No commander could 
go into action with a regiment capable of such 
conduct without feeling certain that it would 
behave ill. The commander-in-chief will, 
therefore, hold commanding officers respon- 
sible (for they alone are to blame), that any 
soldier, who shouts or charges, or fires with- 
out orders, be instantly seized, tried at once 
by a drumhead court-martial, and the sentence 
executed on the spot." 

This order was but a foretaste of the dis- 
cipline enforced by Sir Charles. Yet he was 
no martinet. All his regulations were based 
upon sound military princii)les. The general 
custom of patching up and expediency he 
loathed, and, whenever opportunity afforded, 
exposed. Sir Charles held the command of 
the army for a very short time. The oppo- 
sition he encountered in every attempt to 



establish reform led him to the conclusion 
that he could effect nothing serviceable to his 
country in his command. It was a high and 
honourable post, and most lucrative, such as 
Sir Charles would find not only suitable to 
his talents, but valuable, for he was compara- 
tively poor ; but as he took upon him the office 
with an honourable desire to do something 
useful in the public service, so he resigned it 
when he found there was no longer any hope 
of accomplishing his object. He gave his 
motives in brief, in a speech delivered at 
Kurrachee, where he was presented with a 
costly sword by the native chiefs : — " Lord 
Ellenborough treated me as a general officer, 
and the brave Bombay army seconded me 
nobly ; not, as is the custom now-a-days, for 
a general officer entrusted with the command 
to be told by a colonel and a captain that this 
thing is right and that thing is wrong. If 
general officers are unfit for command, in 
God's name do not appoint them to command 
— and I must say, there are nine out of ten 
who ought not to be appointed ; but I hold 
that when once a general officer is appointed 
to command, he ought to be treated as such ; 
he ought to know what is best for the army 
under his command, and should not be dictated 
to by boy-politicals, who do not belong to the 
army, and who know nothing whatever of 
military science. It is this that has caused 
me to resign the command." 

Dr. Taylor says: "During the eighteen 
months that Sir C. Napier held that office, 
forty-five officers of the Bengal army were 
tried by courts -martial, of whom fourteen 
were cashiered, six dismissed, seven lost rank, 
five were suspended, ten reprimanded, and 
but two honourably acquitted, one simply 
found not guilty, and four had their sentences 
commuted, or were pardoned." 

On the 6th of December, 1850, Sir W. 
Gomm arrived to succeed Sir Charles. Things 
soon went on in the old way; "the system" 
was too sacred to be disturbed by heterodox re- 
formers like Sir Charles. The Marquis Dal- 
housie displayed great activity. He had the 
vigour and ardour of youth, and really pos- 
sessed administrative tastes, with a fair show 
of capacity for government. He determined to 
see for himself the condition of the provinces. 
He passed into the upper provinces, tra- 
velled all through the Puujaub, Peshawur, 
and Cashmere. He adopted measures both 
civil and military, calculated to secure these 
provinces. He then came by the rivers, ex- 
amining their courses, and the countries on 
their banks to the capital of Scinde. From 
Hyderabad he passed to Bombay. He there 
embarked in a steamer for Goa, Colombo, 
Galle, in the island of Ceylon, Singapore, on 



Ohap. CXXII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



671 



tlie Malacca Peninsula, Malabar, and then 
steaming tlirough the bay of Bengal arrived 
at Calcutta. 

During Lord Dalhousie's early administra- 
tion the spirit of revolt among the Bengal 
sepoys displayed itself. It began in the Pun- 
jaub. The 66th regiment at Umritsir re- 
volted : the plea was, the denial of batta (extra 
allowance). The ringleaders were arrested 
and punished, and the regiment disbanded. 
Lord Dalhouaie favoured railways, and had 
the honour of initiating railway enterprise in 
India. Whatever the administrative care of 
Lord Dalhousie, there was a dash of the de- 
spotic in his measures, and this the English, in 
some cases, bitterly felt. The introduction of 
measures to deprive Europeans of their right 
of trial by jury, excited much antipathy, per- 
sonally, to his lordship, and a violent opposi- 
tion. The Europeans in the Mofussil were 
to be placed at the mercy of the magistrates. 
The measures intended to effect these objects 
were nicknamed by the English residents 
"the black acts." Lieutenant Waghorn died 
during tliis year ; a poor pension only was 
awarded to his widow, although he had ren- 
dered, by his postal enterprises, great service 
to the company and to India, to the crown 
and to England. 

In the year 1851, symptoms of disturbance 
manifested themselves in various directions. 
The mountain tribes on the Affghan borders 
showed a determination to plunder, as they 
had from time immemorial been accustomed 
to do. A force was collected at Peshawur, 
under the eyes of the ubiquitous governor- 
general, before whose energy time and space 
seemed to vanish. The Lawrences, and their 
political disciples, Major Edwardes, the hero 
of Mooltan, suppressed these disturbances, and 
like Sir Charles Napier on the Scinde frontier, 
turned robbers and marauders into loyal 
soldiers or peaceful agriculturists. These 
men, rude as they were, were amenable to a 
policy of consistent firmness and manly gene- 
rosity, justifying the saying of Horace, Argilld 
quidvis imitaberis uda. These wild moun- 
taineers had been previously deemed incorri- 
gible plunderers, like those described by 
Virgil, Convectarejuvatprcedas etvivere rapto. 
In the seaports a system of incendiarism 
sprung up, by which ships were set on fire, 
often when laden with a rich cargo for Europe. 

In January, 1851, the ex-peishwa, Bajee 
Eao, died at Benares ; his pension of £90,000 
per annum fell to the company. Meetings of 
Hindoos were held in Calcutta to protest 
against the government patronage of the 
Christian religion, and the proselyting charac- 
ter of the government schools. It was suffi- 
ciently evident that the government was 



using the public wealth of India to propagate 
religious opinions opposed to those held by 
the masses, from whom that wealth was ex- 
tracted. It was also obvious that heathen and 
Mohammedan religious institutions were sup- 
ported from the public treasury. The feeling 
which pervaded the native gathering at Cal- 
cutta was intensely, almost savagely bigoted. 
It had been well that no occasion had been 
given for such a spirit. Means were adopted 
to disconnect the government with the support 
of Mohammedanism and idolatry, but a large 
number of the civil and of the military were 
in favour of the state endowment of idolatry, 
as " expedient " and good in " policy." The 
minds of the natives throughout Bengal were 
much unsettled by an infamous transaction, 
on the part of the government, calculated to 
destroy all faith in public men in India, and 
to uproot all confidence in the English from 
the native mind. Deficiencies in various 
public accounts had been discovered, and the 
governor-general ordered a strict investiga- 
tion. In order to divert public attention from 
delinquencies by Europeans, a plan seems to 
have been formed among the officials to in- 
criminate wealtliy natives transacting business 
with the government. As a class, these 
natives are dishonest, but the disclosures of 
1848-49 enabled the worst of the native 
usurers to address a European accuser with 
the iu quoque. The progress of these pro- 
ceedings has been related by McKenna,* who 
presents the whole narrative of this great 
scandal with a brevity which cannot be im- 
proved, and the clearness and point of the re- 
lation be maintained. It is as follows : — 

Jotee Persaud, a wealthy native and ban- 
ker, being accustomed to engage in extensive 
transactions, and with great means and perfect 
organization at his disposal, undertook to sub- 
sist the Anglo-Indian armies during the wars 
in Aifghanistan and Gwalior, by native 
agency, and at a distance from any effective 
system of check and supervision. Irregulari- 
ties in detail occurred, and at the close of the 
war, all his accounts were not clear, distinct, 
or well vouched for. When the war was 
over, Jotee Persaud claimed a balance of half 
a million sterling from the Indian govern- 
ment. It was disputed, and of course not 
paid. Years of discussion and debate fol- 
lowed, the Indian authorities wearying out 
the pertinacious Hindoo. When hostilities in 
the Punjaub broke out, the military authori- 
ties applied to him to maintain the armies. 
Persaud at once declined to do so ; he refused 
to be again connected with their commissariat. 
Every effort was made to induce him to yield, 
and at last he did give way, but upon two 
* Continuation of Dr. Taylor's Histori/ of India. 



G72 



HISTOllY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



! Chap. CXXII. 



conditions, tliat his past ancai's should bo ad- 
justed as soon as tlio new war was over, and 
that a title of honour should be conferred 
on him. Ho accepted the new contract, 
and maintained the armies in the Punjaub 
campaign. 

Having fulfilled his part of the undertaking, 
he asked the Indian government to fulfil the 
stipulations, but was again disappointed. In- 
stead of the old balances being discharged, the 
now accounts were subjected to criticism, and 
to a more severe examination. One of the 
natives cmploj^ed in the commissariat came 
forward on the 30th of March, 1849, and made 
a deposition against Jotee Persaud, accusing 
him of corruption, embezzlement, and forger3^ 
The government ordered an investigation, which 
was referred to !Major Ramsay. He declared 
the accused to be blameless, and sent in his 
report to the military board. Two of the 
members agreed with him, and were about to 
quash the ease, when a third recommended it 
for the consideration of the governor-general 
and his council. Jotee Persaud had threat- 
ened an action for his demand, but while at 
Agra he was required to give bail to abide a 
trial for the charges brought against him by 
the government. ]\Ir. Lang, of Meevut, be- 
came responsible. Jotco Persaud was allowed 
his liberty, and went to Loodiana, from whence 
he fled to Calcutta, thinking that within the 
jurisdiction of the supreme court, he would be 
safe from the Agra judge. But the warrant 
was executed in Calcutta, and Jotee Persaud 
was taken to he tried at Agra. In the mean- 
time his bail was estreated, and treated 
roughly. Mr. Lang, a barrister of courage and 
talents, defended Jotoo Persaud with spirit. 
Although the court was composed of a judge, 
a jury, and a prosecutor nominated by the 
government, the defendant was acquitted. 

The trial lasted twelve days, in March, 
1851, and excited an interest imparalleled in 
the district. India was searched for witnesses 
wherewith to procure a conviction ; but not 
even then could a case be made out. In his 
defence, Mr. Lang called forward many high 
government employes to speak of Jotee Per- 
saud's services and cliaracter. After the trial 
the enthusiasm of the natives broke forth, and 
the people offered to carry Jotee Persaud in 
triumph from the court-house. The Indian 
authorities sought to clear themselves from the 
blame which these proceedings afforded for 
imputing to them — 1st, injustice in not settling 
their creditor's just claims; 2nd, ingratitude 
for not dealing liberally with one whose ser- 
vices were confessedly great ; 3rd, breach of 
faith for not fulfilling the engagements they 
had entered into with Jotee Persaud as an 
inducement to undertake the supply of the 



army ; and 4th, above all, a vindictive inter- 
ference with his proceedings against them in 
the Queen's Court, by concocting unsustainable 
criminal charges against him in their own 
courts, by showing, 1st, that they could not 
be expected to pay a debt which was not ad- 
mitted or proved to be justly due ; 2nd, that 
hero was no ingratitude in their acts, which 
wore founded on justice ; 3rd, that the delays 
in payment arose from the diflficulties of having 
satisfactory proofs ; and 4th, by stating that 
the investigation had been ordered, and bail 
had been required from Jotee Persaud months 
before he had commenced any action, and pre- 
vious to his flight to Calcutta. It is impos- 
sible to come to any conclusion favour- 
able to the authorities in this affair. It is 
more than jirobable that Jotee was not more 
honest than European commissaries are reputed 
to be. That he had his own way of making a 
profit, both by the government and the xmfor- 
tunate soldiers, and that way not commend- 
able, is also very likely ; but he was acquitted 
of fraud by the very persons which the govern- 
ment appointed to investigate the charges 
which they brought against him. Before the 
matter came before a court of law his accusers 
appointed his judges on the tribunal of inves- 
tigation, and they declared him innocent. A 
large debt was due to the man, and the offi- 
cials who had the honour of their country in 
keeping endeavoured to confiscate his claim. 
They, resolutely bent on this course, neverthe- 
less made fresh bargains with him when their 
own official helplessness made him indispen- 
sable. They then openly violate their new 
compact, and to uphold the iniquity of their 
proceedings, endeavour to ruin the man 
by resorting to subornation of perjury. There 
is nothing in the worst annals of the daj's of 
Clive, Vansittart, and Hastings —when these 
governors endeavoured to control the cupidity 
and tyranny of their countrymen — which sur- 
passes the infamy thus openly incurred in 
1851. Lord Dalhousie won no renown by 
his own conduct. Accustomed as he was to 
look personally into everything, why did he 
not investigate this affair, and stop the abomi- 
nation before the judges of the land acquitteil 
the man, whom his officials, by such desperate 
and flagrant violation of honour and honesty, 
sought to ruin. When faith is so often vio- 
lated in contracts by the government at home, 
in sight of the English public, and under the 
lash of parliament and the press, we cannot 
wonder that the like should occur in India, 
were it not for the destruction to the interests 
of the nation which is created there by de- 
stroying confidence in English honour in the 
native mind. 

In 1850 and 1851. Lord Dalhousie did 



Chap. CXXII.J 



O INDIA AND THE EAST. 



G73 



what lie could to forward public works. The 
Ganges caual was in the former year con- 
tinned on a scale of unprecedented magnitude. 
The proceedings of the governor-general 
during these years, in tiie Punjaub, have been 
already referred to elsewhere. The year 1850 
was signalised by another great improvement 
in India, that of abolishing all punishment in- 
flicted by Hindoos or Mohammedans, under the 
sanction of the law, upon persons changing 
their religion. This measure was violently 
opposed by all ranks and conditions of the 
natives, who hold the principle of coercion in 
religion. One of the provocations to the 
sepoy revolt a few years after, was this great 
and salutary reform : would that other pro- 
vocations to that crime had been as much to 
our honour ! During these two years, police 
and educational improvements were carried on 
under the auspices of Lord Dalhousie, the 
Lawrences, Montgomerie, and Edwardes, with 
some success, in Bengal, the upper provinces, 
and the Punjaub. 

In the civil administration of Madras during 
the general government of Lords Hardingeand 
Dalhousie, there was much to trouble the 
jjresidency. Attempts to restrict the liberties 
of the English residents, on the part of the 
government, caused opposition from them 
during the governor-generalship of Lord 
Hardinge, and the presidential government of 
the Marquis of Tweeddale. The noble marquis 
personally favoured liberty and religious free- 
dom, and in his general administration de- 
served well of his coimtry. Still, another 
measure of that nobleman produced much dis- 
cussion in India, and much discontent among 
the natives. In lSi7, a minute of council, in- 
troduced by him, made the Bible a class-book 
in the government schools. The disturbance 
of feeling on the part of the natives was, in 
the same year, increased by a decision made 
by the law courts on a question of reli- 
gious liberty. A young girl educated by the 
missionaries became a Ciiristian. Her mother 
demanded that she should be delivered up to 
her, with the avowed object of coercing, in 
matters of conscience, her Christian daughter. 
The woman's co-religionists made a fierce 
hubbub, and treating the matter as a question 
of creed and right, brought it into the supreme 
court. The girl being of sufficient age, was 
by the decree of the court allowed to do as 
she pleased. Tliis gave great ofi'enoe to the 
natives, who insisted that she should be com- 
pelled to resume her former religion. They 
hated liberty, civil and religious, as the genius 
of Brahminism and Mohammedanism alike 
taught them to do. The minds of the people 
throughout the Madras presidency became 
more and more agitated by religious intoler- 



ance and fanaticism. There was an arrogant 
tone in the mind of the natives on all religious 
questions ; they spoke, wrote, and acted as if 
they had the right and the power to compel 
the government to set at nought the scruples 
and rights of Christians, and to concede every- 
thing to their prejudices. The Mohammedan 
and the Brahmin were as intolerably fierce to 
one another as each was to Christians. At 
Gumsoor human sacrifices were attempted, 
and the whole district became disturbed, so 
that military interposition became necessary. 
An extension of greater religious liberty to 
the army further marked the era of pro- 
gress in Madras. Tlio baptism of five native 
girls at Madras, increased the ferment which 
previous events produced. The Slarquis of 
Tweeddale left in 1847, having completed 
many reforms, removed vexatious taxation, im- 
proved Madras, put down cruel native prac- 
tices, and opened the gate wider for the free 
labours of the missionaries. On the question 
of religious liberty, however, in Madras, as else- 
where in India, adhuc sub judice lis est. 

Henry Dickenson, Esq., the senior coun- 
cillor, took the government, ad interim, until 
the arrival of Sir Henry Pottinger, Bart. He 
landed April 7tli, 1848. That year was re- 
markable for an insurrection of the Moplahs at 
Calicut, who were only put down after terrific 
slaughter. These men were Mohammedan 
fanatics — 

"Men of the murderous saititty brood. 
To carnage and the Koran given." 
Their custom was to commit some furious 
and sanguinary outrage upon Christians and 
Brahmins, more especially the latter, then, 
exulting in having gained ",the surest way to 
heaven" by a passage of blood, shut them- 
selves up in some mosque or temple, and de- 
fend it with a determination to sell life as 
dearly as possible, and pass to paradise and 
the prophet from the sword or shot of their 
adversaries. Many conversions were made 
to Christianity among the natives after the 
arrival of that functionary, who regarded them 
with no favourable feeling. In 1850, a young 
native embraced Christianity ; his friends and 
his wife's friends forcibly withheld her from 
joining him. Ho appealed to the supreme 
court on a writ of habeas corpus. She was 
by the interposition of the judges restored to 
him. The natives treated this act of justice 
and righteous law — which was as much in their 
favour as in that of the Christian — as an inva- 
sion of their rights, their right to persecute. 
It is curious that in the vocabulary of Anglo- 
Indians, Madras is called " the benighted 
presidency," whereas there are more native 
Christians and more schools in it, in propor- 
tiuu to f opulation, than in cither of the other 



fi74 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EilPIRE 



[Ohap. CXXIII. 



presidencies. In the early part of Lord Har- 
dinge's government, Bombay was under the 
presidential sway of the amiable and enlight- 
ened Sir George Arthur, a good man, a good 
soldier, and a good governor. After his re- 
tirement in 1846, Sestock Robert Reed, Esq., 
senior councillor, assumed, pro tempore, the 
reins of power. In 184:7, Sir George Russell 
Clerk arrived as governor of that presidency. 
Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy,the celebrated Parsee 
merchant, much honoured by the previous 
governor, received additional iionour from Sir 
George. Scinde vyaa that year placed on the 
same footing ; with other British provinces, 
thus completing the act of unprincipled inva- 
sion and- spoliation witii which, in the history 
of that interesting region, the English name 
has been dishonoured. 

In 1849, Lord Falkland arrived as governor, 
in the room of Sir George Clerk, Then arose 
the discussion about the rajalik of Sattaru, of 
which so much was heard in England. Tiie 
rajah died witliout heirs. The government 
refused to recognise the principle of adoption 
sacred to native law all over Asia. The ra- 
jah's territories were annexed. His legal 
successor (legal in view of native law) claimed 
the throne, and hired advocates of eloquence 
and popular acceptonce in England to urge his 
claims upon the justice of the English people, 
parliament, and court. Those claims were 
urged in vain; a spoil was to be gathered by 
the Indian government, and when that was 
the case, the voice of Asiatic custom, or Mo- 
hammedan law, however formally recognised, 
was unheard. During Lord Falkland's 
government of Bombay, education, especially 
in English, made' rapid progress. In 1860 
many discoveries were made of the corruption 
and cruelty of the native: officialB; many of 



them were dismissed from their offices. In 
1851 disputes arose between the British 
government and the Nizam of the Deccan, 
which were not creditable to the governor- 
general, or to England. An account of these 
must be reserved for another chapter. 

It became obvious that the leading feature 
of the policy of Lord Dalhousie was " annexa- 
tion." He had annexed the Punjaub, confis- 
cated the dominion of the Rajah of Sattara, 
minor states had been quietly disposed of, and 
now demands were made upon the Nizam of 
the Deccan, incompatible with his rights and 
dignity to grant, and to British honour to de- 
mand. The policy of his excellency appeared 
to be an exemplification of 

" The good old rule, the simple plan. 
That they should take who have the power ; 
That they should keep who can." 

The temper of India at the time was not 
favourable to such a policy. His excellency 
was wanted of this. The certainty that as 
state after state was " brought within the com- 
pany's red line" (as old Runjeet Singh would 
say), native gentlemen of ability, civil and 
military, would be debarred of all hope of 
rising to eminence ; and as no scope would be 
left for ambition, their disloyalty would in- 
crease, and sedition and revolt employ their 
energies, Events would of themselves, in 
their own time, have brought these countries 
under ]5ritish sway, but Lord Dalhousie, 
like men who make haste to be rich, and 
pierce themselves through with many sorrows, 
provided a heritage of grief, and blood, 
and shame for his country, by the haste of his 
ambition. It may be, it probably was, an am- 
bition for her glory and aggrandizement, not 
his own; but the principle, and its operations, 
worked all the same against her. 



CHAPTER CXXin. 

GOVEENMENT OF THE MARQUIS OF DALHOUSIE FROM 1851 (continued)— CO^\)\SCr OF THE 
GOVERNOR-GENERAL TO THE NIZAM, AND ITS RESULTS— AFFAIRS OF X)UDE-THE 
SECOND BIRMESE WAR— TRE.\TY WITH DOST MOHAMMED. 



Gibbon, the celebrated historian, remarks, 
" Darkness is favourable to cruelty, but it is 
also favotirable to calumny and fiction." This 
remark applies to the negotiations and diplo- 
macy of our Indian empire. Deeds of annex- 
ation like that of Scinde and the rajalik of 
Sattara were contrived, and executed, after a 
tortuous diplomacy of pretences, before the 
English public could hear anything about it. 
Even the court of directors, almost always 
unfavourable to annexation, were helpless in 



the hands of the board of control and governor- 
generals, who did for a long series of years 
pretty much as they pleased, in spite of the 
protests of the company. It is true that the 
directors, in a fit of unwonted spirit, might 
recall a governor-general, as they did Lord 
Ellenborough, but this exercise of their ac- 
knowledged right would be talked down in 
the clubs, wrote down in the organs of 
government, disapproved of in parliament by 
the members of the ministry, and denounced 




THE MOST WCiBTT.H^ rmv. SfiAlMJlUnS ©F roAILM©17SIE, K.T. 



LO-NDON; JANE3 S VIRTUE 



Chap. CXXIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



675 



by tlie ministerial hacks in both houses. The 
real power of the company had been gone 
from the days of Pitt — their virtual power 
from 1833. 

In 1851 Lord Dalhousie demanded from 
the Nizam of the Deccan that he should give 
up to the British resident at Hydrabad* a 
portion of his territories of the annual value 
of £370,000, until his debt due to the com- 
pany was fully liquidated. The resident was 
empowered to occupy with troops the country 
demanded, in case his highness refused com- 
pliance. 

The relations of the nizam at that time 
to the British government of India were 
extremely delicate, and much dissatisfaction, 
real or feigned, was expressed at Calcutta 
with the way in which his highness governed 
his dominions. His state was, in fact, tri- 
butary, and he was held responsible for its 
good government according to an English 
standard, to which neither he nor his subjects 
had any desire to conform themselves. He 
was unable to cultivate any independent ex- 
ternal relations. He dare not make treaties 
or alUances, except under the direction or 
control of the governor-general of British 
India. He was indebted heavily to the 
English government for the pay of troops 
ostensibly used in his service, really employed 
to overawe him and his subjects. He was, 
by treaty, to maintain an army in alliance 
with the British, to be placed at their disposal 
whenever they might require such assistance. 
This treaty he probably never intended to 
observe ; at all events he acted without seem- 
ing to feel its obligation, as was customary 
with all the native princes. One of the advo- 
cates of annexation^ wrote at tlie period to 
which reference is here made, in terms which 
so accorded with the policy of Lord Dal- 
housie, that it would seem as if the policy of 
annexation had been deliberately adopted, 
and its application determined upon in refer- 
ence to all the native states, and that the 
word had gone out to all concerned in the 
East India interest to hold it up. At all 
events the number of books and pamphlets 
insisting upon the annexation policy which 
were published in 1860-52, was very re- 
markable. The work referred to contains 
the following bold assertion of the policy in 
reference to the Deccan, Oude, the states of 
Central India, and all the territories governed 
by princes born there. Concerning the nizam, 
the writer observes : — 

* The reader will remember tliat this ia the name of 
the metropolitan city of Scinde, as well as of the Deccan. 
See the geographical and descriptive portion of this work. 

t Horace St. John ; History of the British Conquests 
m India, Colburn, London, 1852. 



" A population of nearly eleven millions is 
ground under his sway ; his finances are in 
irretrievable confusion ; his ministers prey on 
him, he preys on the people, and daily the 
process of disorganization and decay is going 
on, while the prince sits on a throne which 
would not last one year without the assistance 
of the East India Company. Anarchy and 
oppression consume the resources and deso- 
late the face of a beautiful province, with an 
area of nearly a hundred thousand square 
miles. 

" This is an organized crime against hu- 
manity. It is for the British government 
to redeem the state of Hydrabad from the 
demoralization and poverty with which it is 
afflicted, and to spare its reputation the 
reproach of conserving an authority exercised 
only for the vilest of purposes. Corruption, 
profligacy, oppression, practised in all the 
departments of the nizam's administration, 
enfeeble and impoverish the country, and it 
is a shame that the English nation should 
lend itself to the support of a government so 
irretrievably weak and immoral, or to tho 
further injury of a people already debased, 
degraded, and undone. Charity may ascribe 
to the nizam the virtue of good intentions, 
but it is scarcely wise to adopt the Jesuit 
principle of dividing his motives from his 
acts, and judging him by the philosophy of 
Escobar. When a sovereign is set up by 
British authority, one question alone is to be 
answered — Is he fit or able to reign ? If he 
is, then there is no need of a contingent force 
to uphold him on his throne. If he is not, 
every aid extended to him is an offence against 
the people he oppresses. The nizam's domi- 
nions, however, will inevitably, sooner or 
later be absorbed in our own, and humanity 
will bless the occasion which rescues a fine 
country and a large population from the 
double curse of a tyranny at once feeble and 
destructive." 

Concerning the other states Mr. St. John 
says : — 

"With still more justice may these criti- 
cisms be applied to the principle of upholding 
the King of Oude. He is, as his prede- 
cessors have ever been, a feeljle, cruel, faith- 
less despot, and we are the janissaries of his 
sanguinary power. We have lately been 
assured by an Indian official, high in the 
estimation of the company, that he has seen 
the tax-gatherers in the territories of Luck- 
now, lighting their way through the country 
with tlie flames of forty villages at one time, 
set on fire because the wretched inhabitants 
were unable to satisfy those vampires — the 
agents of an oriental exchequer. It would 
be difficult, with the utmost license of style, 



G76 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISFI EMPIRE [Chap, CXXIII. 



to draw an exaggerated picture of the anarcliy 
and impoverishment which prevail in Oude, 
under a prince whose imbecility renders his 
.subjects equally contemptible with himself — 
fraco Re fa forte gciite fraca. ^Yhenever 
the British government determines, therefore, 
.to be consistent in its justice, it will do, what 
the king's want of faith gives it authority at 
any moment to resolve. It will withdraw its 
support from him ; he will assuredly fall ; 
and it will remain for the company, instead 
of keeping up a standing army to defend a 
people which has been robbed of all that was 
worth protecting, to undertake the duty which 
attaches to an imperial power, and make late 
atonement to Oude for all the misery with 
which it has been afflicted under its native 
governors. 

" In Nepaul, there does not appear any 
present necessity for interference, or in Nag- 
pore. But in the Gwalior state, the politics 
of Hydrabad seem to be continually repeated. 
A score of small states are dependant on this 
— the hereditary domain of Scindiah's family. 
The Guicowar's dominions, under the Baroda 
residency, present a picture of similar demo- 
ralization, which it is vain to cry out against, 
unless the whole territory is to be immediately 
annexed; for the subsidiary and the protec- 
tive system is inseparably bound up with 
those evils. While the British states occupy 
an area of 677,000 square miles, with a popu- 
lation of ninety-nine millions, the subordinate 
native states occupy an area of 690,000 square 
miles, with a population of only fifty -three 
millions; and thus one-half of India, with a 
third of its inhabitants, is iinder an inefficient, 
if not a destructive government, upheld and 
protected by the British arms. 

" The whole of these ought gradually to be 
annexed, and the fiction of native sovereignty 
abolished. Were it a harmless fiction, it might 
be allowed to continue ; but it is essentially 
injurious to India; and if in characterising 
the company's administration of its own pro- 
vinces, I employ terms of elevated panegyric, 
in dwelling on the system which upholds the 
coarse and savage tyranny of Oude, and the 
feeble and pernicious government of Hyd- 
rabad, I have no language to express con- 
scientiously my views except that of unquali- 
fied reprobation. The English people have 
to be instructed that their representatives in 
India support, at Lucknow, a king whose 
atrocities are ferocious, even in comparison 
with the usual acts of oriental tyrants ; that it 
protects in Cashmere a ruler who flays apman 
alive because he fails to pay his tax ; and that 
in Hydrabad, a miserable creature, the victim 
of his ministers, as well of his own imbecility 
and vice, is maintained in power because the 



British government, averse from conquest, de- 
sires to preserve its character for moderation. 

" Every year, however, that these evils are 
permitted to exist, will increase the ditfioulty 
of removing them, as well as the necessity we 
shun. Infallibly the rotten state of Hydra- 
bad vv'ill, sooner, or later, be incorporated as 
an integral province of our empire, and the 
longer this annexation is delayed, the more 
heavy and slow must be the labour of reclaim- 
ing it from barbarism to civilization. The 
ordinary question of history is thus reversed. 
It is not whether we have a right to con- 
quer (for the conquest is already made), but 
whether, having conquered, we have a right 
to impose on the provinces we have subdued 
cruel and feeble princes, whose only ambition 
is to gratify their degrading lusts, and whose 
sole power is one of destruction. Guilt, under 
these despots, is insolent, and innocence only 
is not secure. There is no law imposed to 
curb their licentious will, which is enforced 
under a prerogative derived from us. Every 
principle of morals, and every political maxim 
is thus violated and defied. When an imperial 
government assumes the privilege to appoint 
viceroys, they should be charged to distribute 
justice and preserve peace, not to riot in the 
excesses of despotism, or give authority to 
pillage and assassination. The unhappiness 
of those populations is enhanced by contrast 
with the felicity of their neighbours. It is 
futile to muse over the pleasant vision of 
creating new Indian states, under kings of 
Indian blood, who may receive the lessons of 
civilization from us. V\e cannot proselytise 
these princes to humanity. They will not 
embrace our ethics ; we must recognise their 
crimes. We may be gentle and caressing to 
them, but they will be carnifces to their 
people. We have dreamed too long over this 
idea. We have no moral authority to uphold 
them, and they have no claim to be upiield, 
for the prescriptive right to plunder and 
oppress any community is a vile and bloody 
fiction. The regeneration of such powers is 
impossible. It is time to relinquish the fancy 
The more we delay, confiding in a better 
future, the further will the chance be driven. 
' The hope is on our horizon, and it flies as 
we proceed.' " 

These words are exponent of the Dalhousie 
policy, as thoroughly as if written b}' his 
lordship himself. 

It is needless to trouble the reader with a 
long account of events, which in their detail 
offer no interest. It would be a recital of 
much the same story were we to show how 
one little state after another was swallowed 
uji by great imperial England. The Deccan 
was a grand prize, and it was seized without 



Chap. CXXIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



677 



compunction. The English resident made his 
demands ; the nizam was in no hurry to con- 
cede then?. Troops vs'ere ordered into his 
territory. 

Throughout the year 1849-50, much dissatis- 
faction existed at Calcutta with the govern- 
ment of Oude. It is believed that even so 
early as the close of the war in the Punjaub, 
Lord Dalhousie had contemplated the annexa- 
tion of that kingdom, the independence of 
which was held to be a sacred thing by both 
Mohammedan and heathen all over India. 
Lord Hardinge had visited that province, and 
remonstrated with the king upon the mis- 
government of his dominions, in violation of 
his especial treaties with the English. One 
of the earliest acts of Lord Dalhousie was to 
send Colonel Sleeman thither to investigate 
the state of the country. That officer ti'a- 
versed the whole of the Oude dominions, and 
liis report was most unfavourable. The 
country must liave sadly deteriorated since 
the days of Bishop Hebor, for no two accounts 
of any place could be more in contrast than 
that given by the divine and that by the 
colonel. Heber, however, took but a cursory 
view of the country ; Sleeman investigated 
its actual condition. Tlie enemies of Lord 
Dalhousie, and of the East India Company, 
affirmed that these accounts were got up by 
the colonel with a view to sustain Lord Dal- 
housie in following out his policy of annexa- 
tion. When, at a later date, General Outram 
was sent with the ostensible object of recon- 
ciling matters, and of recalling the king to a 
sense of duty in reference to his people, and 
his treaty obligations with the English, simi- 
lar allegations were made, and General Outram 
was criminated in a way such as his rectitude of 
character forbids those who know it to believe. 
The differences with Oude became more com- 
plicated and serious, until the final act of an- 
nexation by Lord Dalhousie set at work the 
elements of rebellion and mutiny, which lived, 
but slumbered, in the heart of India. 

The year 1850 began in the serenest tran- 
quillity. India was in perfect repose. The 
wars of Lords Auckland, Ellenborough, Har- 
dinge, and Dalhousie, had added fourteen mil- 
lions sterling to the public debt of India, and 
swallowed up besides six millions sterling of 
the current revenue. It was expected that 
Lord Dalhousie would prosecute peace by all 
means, and above all things avoid any attempts 
to enlarge the British territory, as it had been 
found by experience that the extension of 
British dominion lessened its security, and in- 
creased the debt, without any commensurate 
advantage. During 1850 and 1851 these 
pleasing expectations wore realized, notwith- 
standing that in Oude, that realm of political 

VOL. II. 



storms, Lord Dalhousie and his agents were 
playing with the lightning. On the north- 
west frontier the Afreedees gave some trouble, 
and Peshawur, the old cause of contention 
between Affghan and Sikh, was the cause of dis- 
putation and negotiation between Aflghan and 
Englishmen. Sir Colin Campbell found occu- 
pation for the freebooters of the frontier, 
although his operations were not very success- 
ful, and his co-operation with Calcutta not very 
harmonious. Kailways and electric telegraphs 
engaged the attention of the directors at home, 
and the councils in India. Laws favourable 
to religious liberty and education were also 
enacted, and improvements of various kinds 
devised and partlj' applied. 

For many years the government of Ava had 
been on unfriendly terms with that of Calcutta, 
and early in the year 1852, the arrogance, 
ignorance, and folly of that state, led once 
more to an appeal to arms to settle perma- 
nently the differences which could not be 
otherwise adjusted. 

SECOND BIRMESE WAR. 

A new viceroy of the Emperor of Birmah 
took up his residence in Kangoon. He seemed 
animated by a keen hatred to the English, and 
a resolution to avenge the disasters of the 
former war. His conduct was at first insult- 
ing only, which was borne tamely by the 
English, who dreaded the expense of another 
Birmose war. This endurance of affront pro- 
voked its renewal and aggravation, until it 
became intolerable. The property of English 
subjects was injured or invaded in various 
ways, and it became necessary at last to de- 
mand redress. Peaceful means were tried ill 
vain ; Commodore Lambert was sent with a 
ship of the line and some war-steamers. The 
commodore was received with much haughti- 
ness, and acts of violence still continuing, he 
was compelled to exceed his instructions, and 
makcsome active demonstrations of force. All 
Europeans whom the viceroy could seize 
were cast into prison, the rest fuund shelter 
on board the British ships. The dilatory 
policy of Lord Dalhousie throughout the con- 
test enabled the Birmese to gain confidence, 
and organize resistance ; prompt and decisive 
action, when an appeal to arms became inevi- 
table, would have saved many valuable lives, 
and have prevented much expense and trouble. 

On the 24:th of Febrnai'y, six steamers were 
dispatched from Bombay to Madras to embark 
troops for a Birmese campaign, under the 
command of General Godwin, who, as colonel 
of a regiment, had served in the previous war 
with Birmah. The troops consisted of two 
European and four native regiments, with four 
corps of artillery, chiefly Europeans. It was 

4b 



678 



HISTOEY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXXIII. 



the 29th of March before the aimament left 
the roads of Madras. A few days previous 
(the 25th) a force similar in all respects to 
that which left the roads of Madras, was dis- 
patched from Calcutta. The total number of 
men, exclusive of the naval service, did not 
much exceed eight thousand. An ultimatum 
had been sent by the governor -general, which 
ran out on the Ist of April. An officer was 
sent to Rangoon to obtain a reply — he was 
fired upon. This act the Birmeso knew well 
was contrary to European custom in war, was 
regarded as dishonourable and barbarous, and 
would excite strong resentment. Admiral 
Austin took command of the naval portion of 
the expedition. Both the naval and military 
commanders were advanced far in life, were 
inactive in their habits, and feeble from years. 
This circumstance excited much painful com- 
ment, to the effect, that notwithstanding all 
the nation had suffered from partizanship and 
routine in the selection of commanders, the 
system remained the same, as if incurable by 
any amount of calamity or experience. 

On the 5th of April Jlartaban was attacked 
by the Bengal force, and easily carried. The 
Madras troops arriving on the 7th, were in 
time to participate in an attack upon Rangoon. 
The place was stockaded, and garrisoned by 
twenty-five thousand Birmese troops. The 
pagodas on the heights were fortified, and 
contributed much strength to the defence. 
The enemy fought in the way they had done 
in the previous war, and their defences were 
not much improved, but strong ; their cannon 
were of heavier metal than in the former war. 
The stockades were cannonaded and bom- 
barded, and some of them stormed ; a marine 
force, consisting of eighteen hundred men, 
contributing prominently to the victory. The 
British lost seventeen men killed, one hundred 
and thirty-two wounded, and two officers from 
sun-stroke. The capture of Rangoon led to 
the immediate return of the inhabitants of 
Pegu, who hated the Birman yoke, and placed 
themselves willingly under the protection of 
the English. The British commander was 
one of those dilatory old generals, in which 
the civil authorities so frequently delight. He 
was desirous of doing nothing during the 
rainy season, from May to October, but the 
Birmese collected in such force at Bassein, a 
place of importance up the lesser Irriwaddy, a 
branch of the greater stream bearing that 
name, that it became necessary to dislodge 
them ; at all events, so the general thought. 
He accordingly ordered four hundred Euro- 
peans and three hundred sepoys, with a corre- 
sponding complement of artillery, sappers, and 
miners, to accomplish that object. This force 
descended the Irriwaddy, and ascended the 



minor branch to Bassein. The importance of 
steamers in expeditious of this nature was de- 
monstrated. This was an arm of war of the 
power of which the enemy had formed no idea, 
and their surprise, confusion, and dismay at 
its development, were very great. About 
seven thousand men sheltered in stock- 
ades defended the approaches to Bassein. 
The English, joined by a detachment of' 
marines, mustered about one thousand. They 
found behind the range of stockades, a mud 
fort, mounted with heavy guns. After an 
ineffectual fire on the part of the Birmese, and 
an impatient and gallant attack by the British, 
stockades and fort were stormed, and the enemy 
fled, leaving nearly one thousand men killed, 
wounded, and prisoners, in the hands of the con- 
querors. The Birmese infantry fought badly, 
except while under cover, but the artillerj'- 
men stood by their guns until they fell, 
pierced by the bayonets of their assailants. 
Major Errington, and a detachment of the 51st 
light infantry, behaved with distinguished 
gallantry. The British left about half their 
number as a garrison. 

On the 3rd of June a small force was sent 
in a steamer to attack the city of Pegu, the 
old capital of the province called by that name. 
One hundred Europeans, as many sepoys, and 
a few sappers and miners, composed the de- 
tachment. As the English approached, the 
enemy ran away. The English retired from 
the place without leaving a garrison, when the 
Birmese came back, and perpetrated great 
cruelties upon the Peguans for their hospitable 
reception of the English. During the remain- 
der of June the weather was inauspicious for 
active enterprises, and very trying to the 
health of the troops. General Godwin's pre- 
vious experience of the climate was not thrown 
away, his sanitary arrangements were skilful 
and successful. He sent to Calcutta earnestly 
desiring reinforcements, which ought not to 
have been needed; a sufficient force for the 
objects of the expedition should have been 
sent in the first instance. The reinforcements 
he required were sent, consisting of a few 
squadrons of light cavalry, a few troops of 
horse artillery, a field battery, some sappers 
and miners, and a few battalions of infantry. 
The governor-general also visited the seat of 
war, and conferred with the commander-in- 
chief as to a plan of future operations. 

In July an expedition was undertaken 
against Prome, which was opposed in its pro- 
gress up river, but dispersing the enemy's 
parties, it arrived, without loss, upon the rear 
of the Birmese general's army. The rein- 
forcements had not yet arrived, and some 
apprehensions were entertained that the enemy 
might be found in such overwhelming numbers 



Chap. OXXIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EABT. 



m 



as to defy attack. A couple of volleys were 
exclianged, and tlien tlie Birmese took to 
flight, leaving behind them twenty-eight guns, 
their standards, camp equipage, and the gene- 
ral's barge. It was September before Prome 
was captured, which was accomplished with- 
out incurring any resistance that deserved the 
name. The British did not garrison it, and 
when reinforcements arrived the enemy were 
again in possession, and determined, if possible, 
to hold it. An obstinate conflict ensued, but 
the dispositions of General Godwin and Briga- 
dier McNeil rendered the enemy's resistance 
productive only of destruction to his own 
troops. General Godwin's capturing and re- 
capturing of places caused much fatigue to the 
troops, and the loss, especially by conjo de 
soleil, of several ofiicers. There was a want 
of consistent and comprehensive plan on the 
part of the general's expeditions, which made 
them exhausting to his army and expensive to 
liis country. When Prome was the second 
time captured, there lay a force of six thousand 
Birmese near the place, who held the town in 
observation. Nothing could have been more 
easy than the dispersion of these men, which 
the general refused to attempt until more 
troops were placed at his disposal. It was 
rumoured in the army that his excellency had 
an objection to terminate the war too soon. 
Small detachments were ordered up by him 
from Rangoon with so little judgment that 
they were beaten in detail. It then became 
necessary to send from Rangoon a force of 
fourteen hundred men, including a newly 
arrived detachment of Sikh irregular horse. 
This brigade swept the country of the enemy. 
At Pegu, eight thousand men drew up in line 
and awaited a charge, by which they were 
broken and dispersed. The Sikh cavalry 
proved themselves most efficient, pursuing and 
cutting down the enemy's cavalry with zeal 
and courage. 

On December 28th, 1852, the governor- 
general, by proclamation, declared Pegu an- 
nexed to the British dominions. He also de- 
clared that he contemplated no further con- 
quests, but should the King of Ava refuse to 
hold friendly intercourse with the British 
government, he would conquer the whole Bir- 
mese empire. This proclamation produced an 



important result — a revolution at Ava on the 
part of those who were opposed to the con- 
tinuance of the war ; the king was deposed, 
and his brother reigned in his stead. While 
these things were going on, hostilities were, as 
in the previous war, waged from Arracan. 
The British marched through the Aen Pass, 
taking the stockades in flank, by which it was 
blocked up, and slaying or dispersing their 
defenders. This circumstance also contri- 
buted to the revolution. Negotiations were 
opened with the new emperor, and by July, 
1853, the Birmese troops had retired from the 
vicinity of Pegu, upon the dominions of Ava 
Proper. The feeling, however, was not ami- 
cable, and reason existed to doubt the sin- 
cerity of the new Birman court. The 
demonstrations made by the governor of Cal- 
cutta, of a firm intention to hold Pegu, had at 
last their due effect, and towards the close of 
1854 relations were established as amicable 
as the Birmese will allow themselves to 
maintain witli any foreign government. The 
year 1854: was not remarkable for any operations 
of a hostile kind in India, but affairs in Oude 
waxed worse and worse, and the policy of an- 
nexation by Lord Dalhousie, in reference to 
that country, was jilainly developed, although 
not actually accomplished. 

In 1855 amicable relations were established 
with Dost jMohammed, the ruler of Affghan- 
istan, who had proved himself an acute poli- 
tician. Hyder Khan (his son Akbar, the 
enemy of the English, had fallen a victim to 
the political jealousy of the other chiefs, and 
was poisoned) came down to Peshawur, and 
negotiated a treaty, by which Dost Mohammed, 
against whom we had made war in Afighan- 
istan, was recognised by the British govern- 
ment. This chief had been governor of 
Ghizni when the British stormed that jjlace. 
The treaty was negotiated with Mr. John 
Lawrence, brother to the Captain George 
Lawrence,who accompanied Sir W. Mac Nagh- 
ten to the quasi-friendly meeting with Akbar 
Khan, and who saw the brother of Hyder 
Khan murder the English minister. " O iem- 
pora mutantur, et mutamitr cum illos ! " 

Both the years 1854 and 1855 were in 
India 3ears of administrative improvement 
and material progress. 



4i. 



\ 



G80 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. CXXIV. 



CHAPTER CXXIV. 

HOME EVENTS -DISPUTES BETWEEN THE BOARD OF CONTROL AND THE COURT OF 
DIRECTORS DURING THE WHOLE PERIOD OF THE CHARTER OF 1833-4— VICIOUS 
PRINCIPLE OF APPOINTING GOVERNORS-GENERAL— RECALL OF LORD ELLENBOROUGII 
BY THE COURT OF DIRECTORS— DISCUSSIONS UPON THE APPOINTMENT OF LORD 
DALHOUSIE— HIS POLICY OF ANNEX.VTION C.VUSES UNEASINESS IN ENGLAND— NEW 
CHARTER 1853-4. 

The charter of 1833-4 placed tlie East India I directors were almost invariably for a policy 
Company in a position to tlie board of control, ■ of peace : the board of control and its iiomi- 
tu the cabinet, and to the country, so essen- ' nees, the governors-general, were generally 
tially different from its previous relations to ' the abettors of aggrandizement and war. 
any "of these sources of power and authority, I Scarcely were the arrangemenl.s of 1833 
that its history np to 1854 merges in the made between the board of control and tho 
general political history of the English go- [ directors, than the former resumed its offi- 
vernment. A relation of what transpired in cions, insolent, and domineering policy. Early 



the board of directory would prove uninte 
resting, unless to readers connected with either 
tlie company or witli India. During all that 
time, the directors were engaged in struggles 
with tho board of control, to retain some 
fragment of the power which was all but 
entirely wrested from their hands. The 
board made use of the name of the company 
and of the directors to screen itself from re- 
Hponsibility. If the policy pursued by the 
English cabinet was unpopular, the orators 
and organs of the press, who served the 
former, placed all evils at the door of the 
latter ; if occurrences in India pleased tlie 
English peojile, the cabinet took all the credit. 
In the one case the directors of the East India 
Compan}'- were represented as mischievous 
and incompetent, in the other they were 
treated as cyphers ; it was the president of 
the board of control, or the governor-general, 
or both, by whom all the good was accom- 
plished. The directors lield their tongues, — 
some from timidity, some from party sym- 
pathy with tho cabinet of the day, others to 
jilease the court; men of quiet and I'oserved 
dispositions among them said nothing, it was 
their habit to be silent; if they did make a 
demonstration, they were threatened with the 
abolition of their power, and some of the 
government faction would be instructed to 
ask some pointed and insulting question, or 
make a motion, which would at least afford 
an opportunity I'or conveying the impression 
that the company was no longer of any use to 
India or to England, that it was an obsolete 
existence, and the sooner it became defunct 
the better. The most shameless falsehood 
and effrontery were resorted to, by successive 
governments, to brow-beat the directors, un- 
dermine the influence of the company, and 
clutch the patronage which, by law and 



in 1834 an application, on the part of the 
crown, was made to the King's Bench for a 
mandamus, to compel the court of directors, 
"under the act of 1793," to transmit certain 
despatches to the East Indies, they having 
been directed to do so by the board of com- 
missioners for the affairs of India. These 
despatches related to claims made upon the 
King of Oude by certain unprincipled adven- 
turers and money-lenders. The directors 
wore unwilling to interfere, to embroil either 
the company or the government of India in a 
matter where they were not called upon by 
right or duty to take any part. The govern- 
ment might have waited a short time, as the 
act of 1833 would have come into operation 
on the 22nd of April, 1834. The board, 
however, would show its authority and domi- 
nate, and, therefore, insisted ujion immediate 
compliance. Sucli was the general spirit in 
which business between the two boards was 
conducted. The cry raised against a double 
government was factitious, it meant simply, a 
demand upon the company to give up what 
patronage and authority remained with them, to 
the minister for India. Double government, 
properly speaking, there was none ; for the 
board of commissioners or board of control, 
whiclievel' way it might be called, generally 
enforced its views, and nearly always with a 
high hand, and in a spirit and mode uncon- 
stitutional and improper. The firmness of 
the directors in the case of the mandamus 
prevented its execution. They protested 
against the folly and wickedness of the whole 
affair, and the deputy chairman preferred any 
consequence rather than inflict upon his con- 
science the stain of signing such a despatch. 
The matter became known to the public, 
the newspapers took it up, public opinion was 
for once with tho directors, the board of con- 



justice, belonged to the directors. The j trol became afraid of that public opiuiou it 




THE W? HCDMiBM LOIR.© MJSTGAXflE. 



LONDON JAMES S, VIRTUE. 



Chap. CXXIV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



681 



had so often, by scauJalously faitliless means, 
misled and prejudiced against the directors 
and the company. Lord Ellenborough gave 
notice of a motion in tlie lords, and this 
caused Earl Grey and his ministry to make a 
precipitate retreat. Throughout the whole 
of his political career, Earl Grey was a 
haughty and factions enemy of the company, 
and when in power betrayed a jealousy of the 
court of directors, and an eagerness to grasp 
their patronage, which, probably, no other 
minister had shown. Lord Ellenborough de- 
manded the reasons why the board of control 
refused to proceed with the mandamus, Earl 
Grey replied that he did not know. On the 
5th of May Lord Ellenborough brought for- 
ward his motion, and uttered a withering 
denunciation of the conduct of the ministry. 
The Duke of ^Yellington, in one of the most 
sensible and earnest speeches he ever de- 
livered in parliament, followed in the same 
Btrain. The lords-chancellora of England and 
Ireland delivered eloquent harangues for the 
purpose of making the motion a party ques- 
tion, in which they did. not succeed. . Finally 
the house of lords voted against the govern- 
ment, who winced more under the exposure 
than the vote. It was a vote of censure by 
the house of lords of the immorality and in- 
justice of Lord Grey's government in its Indian 
policy, and of its tyranny and unconstitutional 
treatment of the court of directors. On the 
8th of May Mr. Herries moved in the com- 
mons for the same papers refused, but ex- 
torted, in the house of lords. The govern- 
ment, intimidated by their defeat in the upper 
house, made no resistance. Sir Robert Peel, 
and several of the most eloquent members de- 
nounced the conduct of the cabinet, the board of 
control, and of its chief, JMr. Grant. None of the 
members, on either side, espoused the cause 
of the ministry, except Mr. Joseph Hume. 
That gentleman, always so liberal in home 
affairs, so watchful of the public expenditure, 
and so useful generally, sympathised in 
colonial matters, especially in East and AYest 
Indian affairs, with selfish and class interests. 
His mind was habituated to partial and unjust 
views of colonial affairs by siding with West 
Indian slavery, of which he was the industrious 
and but little scrupulous champion. The 
defeat of the board of control, in the attempt 
to coerce the court of directors into an inequit- 
able and impolitic line of action, rankled in 
the hearts of the ministry. The nature of the 
defeat, its modus operandi, the public ex- 
posure attending it, mortified; but did not do 
more than partially check Lord Grey's enmity 
to the company, which he communicated to 
the heads of his party. A short time, there- 
fore, was only permitted to elapse before the 



board of control renewed its aggressive policy 
towards the directors. Changes of ministry 
occurred at brief intervals, which established 
the Whigs in office for a time, more firmly, 
although with much diminished prestige. Sir 
John Cam Hobhouse became president of the 
board of commissioners for the affairs of India. 
He was a more courteous, but more insidious 
and less candid enemy of the company than 
Mr. Grant had been. Indeed, presidents of 
the board seemed to think that the real object 
for which they were appointed was not to 
co-operate w'ith the directors for the better 
government of India, but to study and apply 
such tactics of opposition to the East India 
company as would soonest destroy it, and 
turn over to the coteries who constituted 
ministries that valuable patronage which the 
directors jjossessed, and for which the parlia- 
mentary and party politicians hungered. 
The chief offices in India were not conferred 
on the company's best servants, or on persons 
selected from any class of Englishmen pecu- 
liarly fitted for tliem, but upon political par- 
tizans. In proportion as India was ruled by 
the board of control it ceased to be governed 
for the people of India, or of England, and 
was governed for party purposes and party 
patronage. During the twenty years which 
elapsed between the act of 1833, and the 
act of 18o;5, for the regulation of the com- 
pany's affairs, the directors showed an im- 
provement in the spirit of tlieir administration 
which no impartial person, acquainted with 
the history of the company, can deny. 

In August, 183i, a new feud, as fiercely 
maintained as the last named, broke out 
between the two divisions of the " double 
government." On the resignation of Lord W. 
Bentinck, Sir Charles Metcalfe, ex officio, 
assimied the vacated post jjro tempore. The 
directors, in view of the high talents of Sir 
Charles, his great experience of India, and his 
moral influence, deemed it inexpedient to dis- 
turb his possession of office, and confirmed 
him in his charge. This, as a matter of course, 
enraged the board of control, and a long and 
painful controversy arose. That Sir Charles 
possessed all the qualifications for the high 
office to which he was designated w'as not 
denied by the board ; the president placed his 
objections upon the narrow ground of patron- 
age. Sir Charles was a servant of the com- 
pany; the office, in the opinion of the cabinet, 
ought to be held by a servant of the crown. 
The grand question for the public, as to the 
fittest man, was left out of view by the 
ministry. A place was wanted for a minis- 
terial party-man, and, therefore, the excellent 
and enlightened appointment made by the 
directors should be overturned. India and 



682 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



LOhap. OXXIV. 



Indian appointmenta had been, at last, tho- 
roughly brought within the range of the 
disputes of home party factions, — an evil 
against which all statesmen, conversant with 
India and its peoples, had wai'ned successive 
governments. This contest continued until 
January, 1835, when Sir Robert Peel came 
into power. That minister was as much bent 
as his predecessors upon despoiling the com- 
pany of their patronage, but he did not pro- 
ceed to do so in the high-handed, haughty, in- 
solent manner displayed by Lord Grey, Lord 
J. Russell, and Mr. Grant. He thought it pos- 
sible by sly and slow metliods, not less surely 
to accomplish the same end. He began his 
ministerial career by conciliating the directors, 
in which he completely succeeded; and, acting 
in harmony. Lord Heytesbury was nominated 
to the office. Sir Charles Metcalfe being pro- 
visionally named as his successor. Sir Robert 
Peel failed to secure the support of the com- 
mons. The Whigs again came into power, and 
they resumed authority in the same arrogant 
spirit towards the company. They refused 
to recognise Lord Heytesbury, although he 
had been sworn into office. It was one of the 
most discreditable party moves of the age. The 
public disapprobation was strong, but the 
Whigs braved it. Discussions fierce and pro- 
tracted were maintained in parliament, which 
seriously damaged the government, and dis- 
played the party animosities which it cher- 
ished, in a most unfavourable light. 

Oa the Gth of May, 1836, the chairman 
and deputy chairman of the company ad- 
dressed a letter to the president of the board 
of control, an extract from which will show 
the just sentiments by which the court of 
directors was at that time animated : — -" The 
court do not forget that the nomination of 
Lord Heytesbury was made, and his appoint- 
ment completed, during the late administra- 
tion. But this fact, connected with his re- 
moval by the present ministers, fills the court 
with apprehension and alarm, as respects both 
India and themselves. It has always been 
the court's endeavour in their public acts, and 
especially in their nominations to office, to 
divest themselves of political bias ; and in 
the same spirit the}' now consider it to be 
their duty frankly and firmly to exjiress their 
decided conviction that the vital interests of 
India will be sacrificed if the appointments of 
governors are made subservient to political 
objects in this country ; and if the local autho- 
rities, and, through them all public servants, 
are led to feel that tenure of office abroad is 
dependant upon the duration of an adminis- 
tration at home ; and, further, that the revo- 
cation of an appointment, such as that of Lord 
Heytesbury, for no other reason, bo far as the 



court can judge, than that the ministry has 
changed, must have the effect of lessening the 
authority of the court, and consequently im- 
pairing its usefulness and efficiency as a body 
entrusted with the government of India." 

Whatever effect this letter may have had 
upon the convictions of the cabinet, it had 
none upon their policy. The general public 
had little opportunity of judging of the argu- 
ments and motives of the directors, for, im- 
fortunately, they had such a repugnance to 
publicity, and so habitually neglected to throw 
themselves, however strongly in the right, 
upon the judgment of the country, that their 
battles with the board of control were fought 
in the dark. The board, however, through 
its agents in parliament, and by the press, 
stirred up the country by the reiteration of 
misrepresentations. From these causes the 
public had seldom an opportunity of judging 
except from ex parte statements. Fierce 
debates ensued in parliament ; the ministry 
refused all papers and correspondence which 
might throw a light upon their motives and 
conduct. A motion was made to compel 
their production ; Sir Robert Peel spoke with 
peculiar eloquence and effect in condemnation 
of the conduct of the ministry, but the vote 
was made a party one by the government, and 
the motion for the production of papers was 
successfully resisted. Sir CamHobhouse and 
Mr. Vernon Smith were especially remarkable 
in the debate for their party feeling and dis- 
ingenuous arguments. Tlie appointment of 
Lord Heytesbury was triumphantly resisted 
by his whig antagonists. Mr. Edward Thorn- 
ton has justly observed upon the transaction 
— " It was one of the strongest instances on 
record, in which a power was exercised within 
the strict limits of the law, but in a manner 
altogether at variance with its spirit. It was 
one of those acts by which a political party 
loses far more in character than it can possibly 
gain in any other way." The nomination of 
a governor -general by the cabinet was an 
appropriate seqiiel to the previous conduct. 
After waiting until Lord William Bentinck 
arrived in England, during which time Sir 
C. Metcalfe conducted the government in a 
manner not at all in accordance with the 
policy of his successor, Lord Auckland was 
nominated. In a previous chapter this pro- 
fligate and calamitous appointment has been 
made the subject of comment. It is only 
necessary to say here, that it was profligate, 
because it was a mere party nomination to 
the government of a great empire, and that it 
was made purely to confer a good office upon 
a confederate, irrespective of his merits. That 
it was a disastrous appointment, the history 
of Lord Auckland's incompetency as governor- 



Chap. OXXIV.l 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



683 



general of India, already given, has abundantly 
shown. In the years immediately following 
these transactions, the company and the board 
of commissioners were much occupied by the 
relations of England to Persia, and the gravest 
discussions took place as to the designs of 
Kussia upon Hindostan by way of Persia. A 
sufficient account of the policy and i)roceed- 
ings of the company and the English govern- 
ment was given when relating the transactions 
preliminary to the Affghan war, so as to render 
unnecessary a further detail of them in con- 
nection with the discussions in the court of 
directors and the action taken by that body 
and the board of control. 

For some years but few disputes occurred 
between the two boards. The disaster atten- 
dant on Lord Auckland's policy led to hot 
discussions in parliament. The Whigs de- 
fended their measure with very little regard to 
the justice of the defence. The press, how- 
ever, teemed with severe articles, some of a 
sarcastic nature, turning into ridicule the 
claims of men to govern an empire whose 
judgment was so much at fault in nominating 
the lieutenant of a province ; others of the 
" leaders " were severe, stern, written with 
dignity, and political knowledge. The wars 
in Affghanistan, Scinde, and in China, led to 
many discussions in parliament, and the 
thanlcs of both houses were voted to the officers 
by whom victories were achieved. 

The appointment of Lord EUenborough to 
the government of India was another instance 
in which the board of control exercised its 
authority to the disadvantage of India and of 
England, in spite of the company. In the 
nomination of Lord EUenborough it is true no 
active opposition was offered by the court of 
directors, for it was well known how useless 
such opposition would have been. His ap- 
pointment was, however, against the general 
opinion of that body, and of parliament, and 
of the country. His nomination was regarded 
as a fault on the part of the Tories, as culpable 
as the appointment of Lord Auckland by the 
Whigs. He was a man of more ability than 
Lord Auckland, capable of perceiving talent 
in others more readily, of appreciating and 
honouring it more ; but he was as much of a 
partizan, and his attainment of so high an 
office was regarded as the result of mere 
party services. His career in India was so 
injudicious, involving so much danger and ex- 
pense — so fitful, capricious, eccentric, and un- 
certain — that the directors were obliged at last 
to recall him, without the consent of the board 
of control. This decisive act caused long and 
angry discussions between the board and the 
court. Parliament took up the dispute. The 
Duke of Wellington and Sir Robert Peel de- 



fended Lord EUenborough, justified his follies, 
and extenuated his errors with exceeding 
acrimony towards the company, and in a 
spirit as tlioroughly the expression of mere 
party as the Whigs displayed in their dishonest 
apologies for Lord Auckland. The country 
had come very generally to the conclusion 
that appointments to office, in the public in- 
terest, was not to be expected from either of 
the great sections of the higher classes, who 
divided the influence of parliament, and alter- 
nately shared the favours of the court. The 
estimate formed of Lord EUenborough, and 
of his career, by the English public, was that 
expressed in one of the most discriminating 
and eloquent passages in the History of the 
British Empire in India, by Edward Thorn- 
ton : — " It is certain, however, that his Indian 
administration disappointed his friends; and 
if a judgment may be formed from his own 
declarations previously to his departure from 
Europe, it must have disappointed himself. 
He went to India the avowed champion of 
peace, and he was incessantly engaged in war. 
For the Affghan war he was not, indeed, 
accountable — he found it on his hands; and in 
the mode in which he proposed to conclude it, 
and in which he would have concluded it, but 
for the rernonstrances of his military advisers, 
he jcertainly displayed no departure from the 
ultra-pacific policy which he had professed in 
England. The triumphs with which the per- 
severance of the generals commanding in 
Affghanistan graced his administration seem 
completely to have altered his views ; and the 
desire of military glory thenceforward sup- 
planted every other feeling in his breast. He 
would have shunned war in Affghanistan by 
a course which the majority of his countrymen 
would pronounce dishonourable. He might 
without dishonour have avoided war in Scinde, 
and possibly have averted hostilities at Gwa- 
lior, but he did not. For the internal im- 
provement of India he did nothing. He had, 
indeed, little time to do anything. War, and 
preparation for war, absorbed most of his 
hours, and in a theatrical display of childish 
pomp many more were consumed. With an 
extravagant confidence in his own judgment, 
even on points which he had never studied, 
he united no portion of steadiness or con- 
stancy. His purposes were formed and aban- 
doned with a levity which accorded little with 
the offensive tone which he manifested in their 
defence, so long as they were entertained. 
His administration was not an illustration of 
any marked and consistent course of policy ; 
it was an aggregation of isolated facts. It 
resembled an ill-constructed drama, in which 
no one incident is the result of that by which 
it was preceded, nor a just and natural prepa- 



CS4 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH E:kIPIRE [CaAr. CXXIV. 



ration for that which ia to follow. Everything 
in it stands alone and unconnected. His in- 
fluence shot across the Asiatic world like a 
meteor, and but for the indelible brand of 
shame indented in Sciudc, like a meteor its 
memory would pass from the mind with its 
disappeai'ance."* It is astonishingly strange 
that fourteen years after his recall, under cir- 
cumstances so discreditable to himself, he 
should have been made minister for India, 
with a seat in the cabinet of the government 
of the Earl of Derby, again to be driven from 
office by the voice of public opinion, in con- 
sequence of his party spirit, and incompetency 
to deal with Indian affairs. It is if possible 
still more strange that his renewed errors 
found abettors among those to whom the re- 
sponsibility of the government of this great 
empire were committed, and his conduct dis- 
cussed in the spirit of faction, not of patriotism. 
His party had learned nothing during all 
these years, as his appointment to such an 
ofiioe proved, and the faithless defence of his 
conduct also proved, when public indignation 
left it impossible for the government to retain 
his services. 

The decisive act of the directors in recalling 
Lord Ellenborough gave a fresh stimulus to 
the board of control to watch every opportu- 
nity for invading their independence. The 
double government worked badly, not because 
of its constitution, but because the higher 
classes represented by the government of the 
day were anxious to gain the entire patronage. 
It was impossible to govern India with a 
steady and consistent policy while this was the 
case. Professor Wilson was right when he 
wrote that some influential and independent 
body must always be maintained between the 
English cabinet and the people of India, if 
that country be governed with impartiality 
and a constant intelligible policy. The more 
power the board of control assumed, the 
less attention parliament jsaid to Indian 
affairs. If India, or an Indian governor, wore 
to be the subject of a. party debate, the par- 
liamentary benches were well filled ; if the in- 
terests of India, of England in India, of the 
relations of our oriental possessions to the 
empire, were to be discussed, tlie benches were 
empty of all or nearly all but those by whom 
the ministerial whip, or the member whose 
motion was to be debated, " made a house." 
Mr. Horace St. John, in his work entitled 
British Conquests in India, has truly ob- 
served : — " Whether the popular legi.slature is 
now so far educated to an acquaintance with 
the history, the religion and laws, manners, re- 
sources, industry, trade, arts, castes, classes, 
opinions, prejudices, traditions, local feelings, 
* Vol. vi., close of the history. 



actual condition, or wants of India, seems to 
admit of little doubt. Such knowledge is still 
peculiar to a few. The technicalities of the 
most abstruse sciences are not more unintelli- 
gible to the general body of persons in this 
country, than the very names of Zillah and 
Sudder courts. Some who possess this infor- 
mation in a greater or less degree, desire par- 
liament to adopt tlie whole legislative control 
of India, because they imagine every member 
is equally well instructed with themselves ; but 
from 1834 to 1852, small change in this respect 
is observable. Whenever Asiatic topics were 
then introduced, they were listened to impa- 
tiently, treated with indifference, and eagerly 
dismissed. ••' Such subjects are not only unin- 
teresting, but obnoxious, to the general body 
of the house. This feeling is no more than 
natural in that senate. It is the prevailing 
tone of the country, which is undoubtedly very 
ill -acquainted with the social and political 
state of the East. 

" Consequently, nothing can be more dan- 
gerous than to trust to parliament alone for a 
watchful and wi&e administration of the details 
of Indian affairs. It may, and generally does, 
decide justly in great controversies on impe- 
rial pohcy ; but if ever the minute and subor- 
dinate points are forced on the daily and con- 
tinual attention of parliament, it will assuredly 
resign their settlement into the hands of the 
ascendant statesman of the day.f It would 
give him, what a prime-minister has himself 
described as a dangerous and unconstitutional 
amount of power, a power which should excite 
the jealousy of all in this nation who are 
attached to our institutions. | That minister 
without a corrupt sentiment in his breast, or 
a corrupt practice in his own scheme of action, 
will assuredly, under the conditions of his 
political existence, employ the power and 
patronage thus confided to his will in obtain- 
ing the command of parliamentary supremacy." 

From the recall of Lord Ellenborough to the 
appointment of Lord Dalhousie, various use- 
ful laws were passed for India by the imperial 
parliament — these could not be enumerated 
and described except in a history of the sta- 
tutes regulating Indian affairs. Sir Henry 
llardinge and Sir Hugh Gough, it has been 
already observed in passing, were raised to 
the rank of peers, the former to that of a vis- 
count, the latter to that of a baron ; and sub- 
sequently Lord Gough was promoted a stop 
in the peerage. Pensions were also conferred 
upon these noblemen, and their heirs male 

* In an important debate ia the conimoas (May, 
1852), scarcely forty members would remain to hear the 
subject discussed, 

t Wilson, is., 5G3. 

% Earl of Derby: Speech, April 2, 1852. 



Chap. CXXIV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



685 



■within two generations ; various rewards were 
distributed to the naval and military officers 
who distinguished themselves in the Chinese 
war, and to the military officers who served in 
Gwalior and the two Punjaub wars. Promo- 
tion was not bestowed on a liberal scale to offi- 
cers of inferior rank, non-commissioned oflicers, 
and soldiers. Thanks were given in parlia- 
ment to the great actors, civil and military, 
who took the leading parts in the great trans- 
actions which passed in India up to the time 
when Lord Dalhousie resigned his govern- 
ment. He was himself promoted a step in 
the peerage. The appointment of that noble- 
man to the momentous responsibilities of 
governor-general of India, was due to the 
influence of the Duke of Wellington and Sir 
Robert Peel. The latter regarded him as " a 
promising young man," a description scarcely 
appropriate to the office of governor-general 
of India. Sir Robert considered him a dis- 
ciple of his own ; and was proud of that tact for 
administrative routine which Sir Robert suc- 
ceeded in imparting to Mr. Gladstone, Mr. 
Sidney Herbert, his own son Frederick, and 
others of his pupils in parliamentary and offi- 
cial service. There was no difficulty, there- 
fore, in gaining the assent of Sir Robert to 
the nomination, but Lord Dalhousie, like Lord 
Ellenborough, was essentially the Duke of 
Wellington's nominee. However just his 
grace in the administration of armies or 
peoples, he was never a warm advocate for 
promotion for merit. He held the principle 
of aristocratic patronage to be perfect. Those 
who were his own warm admirers had always 
good chance of high office, provided they pos- 
sessed tact for business (a sine qu& noii with 
the duke), were well born (another indispen- 
sable requisite), and were endowed with bold 
and active habits, or were presumed to be so. 
Hence Sir Henry Hardinge, the Napiers, the 
Somersets, Lord Raglan (as he afterwards 
became) especially, and Lord Dalhousie. All 
these men were smart in business, or exact 
and regular in routine, or bold and energetic. 
None of these men possessed genius, or even 
large capacity, except the Napiers. The duke 
himself had no confidence in the prudence of 
Sir Charles or Lord Ellenborough, but all these 
men were upheld and abetted by him, as were 
others, from the action of the causes just 
alleged. All were clever men, fit for high and 
important, but subordinate offices. Perhaps 
Sir Charles Napier, in spite of his overbearing 
temper and rashness, had ability for the office 
of governor-general of India; none of the rest 
had the qualities necessary for a post requiring 
such various and nicely balanced qualifications. 
Rumour ascribed motives for the appointment 
of Lord Dalhousie which did not increase 



either the political or personal reputation of 
the duke. No doubt his grace believed that 
Hardinge, Ellenborough, and Dalhousie, were 
all competent for the office. He was conscien- 
tious in the support he gave them, but had 
they not been connected with himself, and 
had they not been idolaters of his genius and 
his glory, he would have judged them with a 
stern impartiality, which he did not exercise 
in reference to them. No governor-general 
that ever served England in that office had the 
ability for it that the duke himself possessed, 
who seemed to have an intuitive ])erception 
of the char.icter of the peoples of India, and the 
way to deal with them. It is, however, indis- 
putable that those whom he patronised in the 
office of governor-general, while they made a 
career brilliant and eventful, involved the em- 
pire in much alarm, occasioned vast bloodshed, 
perpetrated gross injustice, ruled the people 
arrogantly and tyrannically, although with 
administrative energy and ai)ility. 

In the year 1853 it became necessary to 
determine the new constitution of the East 
India Company, as the charter of 1833, which 
came into effect in 1834, was only to last 
twenty years. It would be tedious and unin- 
teresting to place before our readers the dis- 
cussions which occupied the attention of par- 
liament on this subject. It is, however, 
necessary to give a succinct account of the 
important changes which then took place. 

On June 3rd, 1853, Sir C. Wood introduced 
in the house of commons a bill for the govern- 
ment of India, which, with some slight modi- 
fications, became law. The principal features 
of this measure may be thus epitomized ; — 
The relations of the board of control and the 
court of directors to remain as before. The 
thirty members of the court to be reduced to 
eighteen ; twelve elected in the usual way, 
and six nominated by the crown from persons 
who have resided in India for ten years, either 
as servants of the company, or as merchants 
or barristers. One-third of the whole number 
to go out every second year, but to be again 
eligible. The directors to receive salaries of 
£500 a year, and the chairman and deputy- 
chairman £1000 a year. No change was 
made in the general control which the gover- 
nor-general exercises over the Indian govern- 
ment ; but a lieutenant-governor of Bengal 
was to be appointed ; the lieutenant-governor 
of Agra to be continued ; and a new presi- 
dency on the Indus to be created. A com- 
mission to be appointed in England to digest 
and put into shfipe the draughts and reports 
of the Indian law-commission appointed in 
1833. It was also proposed to enlarge the 
legislative council ; giving the governor-gene- 
ral power to select two councillors, the heads 

4:T 



686 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXXV. 



of the presidencies one councillor each, and 
making the chief-justice of the Queen's Court 
and one other judge memhers, in all twelve ; 
the governor-general to have a veto on their 
legislation. The privilege hitherto exercised 
by the court of directors of nominating all 
students to Haileyhury and Addiscombe to 
cease, except in respect to the appointments 
to the military service, which were still to re- 
main in their hands. The admission to the 
colleges, and consequently to the service, to be 
thrown open to public competition ; properly 
qualified examiners being appointed by the 
board of control. The act to continue in force 
imtil parliament should otherwise determine. 



On the 20th of August the act was passed. 
On the second Wednesday in April, 1854, it 
provided that the eighteen directors under the 
new constitution should be appointed. This 
provision was carried out according to law, and 
the authority of the old court ceased on that 
day. A more enlarged description of the act 
of 1853, vi'hich came into operation in 1854, 
would be unnecessary, as in a few years, in 
consequence of the mutiny and rebellion of 
1857, the East India Company's control over 
the political affairs of India was abolished. 
The new act, together with the circumstances 
which led to it, will be noticed in future 
pages of this work. 



CHAPTER CXXV. 
ANNEXATION OF OUDE— LAWS AFFECTING THE TENURE OF LAND IN BENGAL. 



It has been shown in previous chapters that 
in no part of India did the agents of the com- 
pany hold terms less amicable with a native 
state than in Oude. Both the government 
of that country and the government of Eng- 
land violated their agreements. The King 
of Oude consented to govern his subjects in 
a certain way which accorded with the views 
of the company, which declared itself unable 
in conscience or equity to hold up the king's 
government unless his people were ruled in 
a just way, and so as not to endanger the 
peace of the contiguous British territory. 
His majesty never so governed his people. 
His court was infamous, and the country 
impoverished and distracted; nevertheless, 
the people were loyal from traditionary and 
fanatical feeling, and the independence of 
Oude was held to be a sacred thing all over 
India. The English government failed in its 
pecuniary stipulations. Sums were borrowed 
which were never repaid, and borrowed in 
such a manner, and the lender so treated, 
as would naturally leave the impression 
that the borrower never intended to pay. 
Whatever may have been the conduct of the 
kings of Oude to their own subjects during 
the nineteenth century, their assistance in 
money, more especially to the English go- 
vernment on occasions of emergency, w-as 
most valuable, and was not acknowledged 
with gratitude or generosity. The following 
is the language of the author of How to Make 
and how to Break a Treaty : — " It was 
during the residency of Mr. I. R. Davidson 
that the first Punjaub campaign was raging. 
All India was looking in terror at the fierce 



and uncertain contest. The enemies of the East 
India government did not hesitate to scheme 
and make proposals for the overthrow of their 
government. Dinapore and Benares were 
rife with intrigue. Whispered messages to 
Nepaul were daily increasing the uncertain 
position of the East India Company. The 
government paper, that certain criterion of 
the state of public feeling, was at the lowest 
point ever known. There was then every- 
thing to induce the Oude government to 
assert their independence, or at any rate give 
themselves airs. One move in that direction, 
and the East India rule would have been 
thrown back one hundred years; and who 
shall say to what extent the loss might not 
have extended ? But no ; Oude was firm. 
In the East India government's peril was 
clearly seen Oude's constancy. Her men 
cheerfully given from her own army for the 
company. Her horses at the service of the 
irregular corps, then being raised in hot 
haste, and her minister directed to tender 
every and any aid that the East India com- 
pany might require.* These are not wild, 
enthusiastic flatteries. These are the accounts 
of well-known realities. If Lord Hardinge 
has but an iota of the magnanimity for which 
we give him credit, he will not fail to bear 
witness to the gallant conduct of Oude on 
this occasion, and we look to him for it." 

Lord Dalhousie, in his annexation policy, 
having fixed upon Oude as a rich province, 
determined to take it, after the fashion in 
which Lord EUenborough took Scinde. The 

* The minister Newab Ameenood Dowlah received a 
letter of thauks ou this occasion. 



Chap.CXXV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE P]AST. 



687 



agents of tlie noble marquis, well aware of 
Lis policy, made representations in harmony 
with it. During the whole period of Lord 
Dalhousie's government until the annexation 
took place, the British residents at the court 
of Oude interfered in every matter of govern- 
ment, and with an impertinence utterly humi- 
liating to the king. In 1854, the king 
banished one Kurrun Ulimud, a Moonshee, 
for perjury and sedition. This man had been 
the spy of the British resident, who inter- 
fered on his behalf in terms of menace and 
insolence utterly subversive of the royal 
authority. The courts of law were inter- 
fered with, British troops were ordered out 
upon the sole authority of the resident to 
execute his decisions in cases where he had 
been imposed upon, and in which in no case 
should he have interfered. The result of 
such conduct was to create or increase the 
confusion and disorder in the king's domi- 
nions, on account of which the annexation 
was afterwards ostensibly effected. What- 
ever the weakness or wickedness of the court 
of Oude, the faults of its government have 
this [extenuation, that it was impossible to 
preserve order while Lord Dalhousie's agents 
and the resident were dictating in every 
department. Colonel Sleeman, the English 
representative, ruled as a despot, and dic- 
tated as a conqueror. 

On the 6th of December, 1854, General 
Outram arrived at Lucknow. His commis- 
sion was to inquire if the reports of Colonel 
Sleeman concerning the condition of Oude 
were correct. Thegeneral confirmed the repre- 
sentations of the colonel, after a brief inquiry, 
over BO extensive a field, of less than fifteen 
weeks. On the 18th of March, 1855, his report 
was made. The general, however, took care 
to guard himself from responsibility in thus 
bolstering up the annexation project, by de- 
claring that he had no knowledge or expe- 
rience of Oude, and only reported upon the 
basis of what he found in the records of the 
residency, and what he was told by the 
agents whom Colonel Sleeman employed. 
During the time the general was preparing 
his report, disturbances occurred between the 
Mohammedans and Hindoos, such as are 
common all over India. This was made a 
pretext by Lord Dalhousie for the use of 
armed force in the interest of the British 
government. 

On the 18th of June, 1855, Lord Dalhousie 
made, what is called in Indian state vocabu- 
lary, " a minute," based upon the report of 
Outram , itself resting upon the general report 
of Colonel Sleeman, who had been sent to 
Oude to get up such a report. In this minute 
his excellency placed before the court of direc- 



tors a review of the condition of Oude, and 
suggested " the measures which appeared 
incumbent to take regarding it." These 
amounted to the seizure of the revenues of 
Oude, and appropriating the surplus to the 
advantage of the company. The disposal of 
the king was a matter of difficulty ; but, on 
the whole. Lord Dalhousie and the council of 
Calcutta were favourable to leaving him a 
nominal sovereignty. The directors and the 
board of control approved of the proposals in 
the main, and left the carrying out of the 
measure entirely to the governor-general's 
discretion. This was intimated in a despatch, 
dated the 2l8t of November, 1865. By the 
end of 1855, therefore, his excellency was 
invested with full power to do as he pleased ; 
and he pleased to do that which no doubt 
every member of the council of India which 
now meets in Leadenhall Street will admit, 
set India in a flame, and was impolitic beyond 
any measure, however foolish or extravagant, 
perpetrated by any governor-general, from 
the day the board of control made the office 
a party one, and a reward for the members of 
a class. Military preparations were promptly 
made to carry out the plan purposed. 

On the 30th of January, 1856, General 
Outram informed the prime-minister of Oude 
of the intention to take possession of the 
kingdom. To the remonstrances and argu- 
ments of his majesty there was but one an- 
swer, sic volo, sic juheo. It was insisted that 
his majesty should accept and sign a treaty 
voluntarily surrendering his kingdom. This 
he refused to do. Three days of grace were 
allowed him for the acceptance of this bill. 
He still treated the proposal with indigna- 
tion. " Accordingly, on the 7th of February, 
1856, Major-general Outram issued a pro- 
clamation, previously prepared at Calcutta, 
wherein it was declared that ' the British 
government assumed to itself the exclusive 
and permanent administration of the terri- 
tories of Oude,' and that ' the government of 
the territories of Oude is hereafter vested 
exclusively and for ever in the honour- 
able East India Company.' Having thus 
assumed the government of Oude, he pro- 
ceeded to constitute its civil administration, 
in accordance with instructions previously 
addressed to him for his guidance by the 
supreme council at Calcutta, appointing nume- 
rous commissioners and other officers, at large, 
and in some cases excessive salaries, payable 
from the revenues of the kingdom of Oude, 
to administer the affairs of the country in 
various departments. As may fairly be pre- 
sumed, to his disappointment, if not to his 
surprise, the officials of the Oude govern- 
ment all refused to enter the service of the 



688 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXXV. 



East India government. The disbanded Oude 
army declined to enter the regiments wliicli 
were being raised. Every inducement by 
confronting them witli armed regiments to 
prove their helpless position, by tempting 
them with payment of arrears, and with the 
ofi'er of receiving young and old alike into the 
ranks, failed for a long period. They de- 
clared they had no arrears to claim from his 
majesty ; and one gallant subhadar of one of 
the regiments stepped in front of his comrades, 
and stated, he had served his majesty and his 
forefathers for forty years, and would enter 
no other service. That active officer, Briga- 
dier Gray, who was pi-esent on this occasion, 
is challenged, if ho can, to deny the truth of 
these assertions. In virtue of the proclama- 
tion, these gallant men, by their conduct on 
this occasion, might be accounted rebels ; but 
in spite of the risks they encountered, they 
thus manifested their devotion to the regime 
of their slandered rulers and princes. 

" His Majesty the King of Oude having 
determined to repair to England to lay his 
case before the throne and parliament, applied 
to the resident for his sanction ; but that 
functionary, not respecting the misfortunes 
even of a king, treated his majesty's applica- 
tion in an imperious manner, and endeavoui-ed 
to deter and prevent him from accomplishing 
his wishes. In order still more pointedly to 
mark his discourtesy, the resident, on frivo- 
lous pretexts, held to bail his majesty's prime- 
minister, Syed Allie Nuque Khan, a noble- 
man of royal descent from the family of Delhi, 
and of distinguished rank, who, from the 
commencement to the end of his political 
career has uniformly proved himself a sincere 
and steadfast adherent of the British govern- 
ment, and who has received the commenda- 
tion of the British authorities. At the same 
time, other high and distinguished officials 
were held to bail, and placed under surveil- 
lance at Lucknow by the British authorities. 
The records, public acts, official documents, 
and other papers of importance to his ma- 
jesty to enable him to establish his claim for 
the restoration of his kingdom, were seized 
by the resident and his officials. The prime- 
minister, as wo stated, was obliged to give 
security, and to the eflect that he would not 
depart from Lucknow. The same plan was 
followed with the minister of finance. Rajah 
Balkishen, and also with the keeper of the 
government records. Baboo Poorun Chum ; 
and the king was thus deprived of the ser- 
vices of these officers, and of their testimony, so 
indispensable to the maintenance of his rights 
in this country. An attempt was even made 
to prevent the king's own departure by the 
arrestof twenty-two of his personal attendants, 



and by the seizure of his carriage horses; but he 
came away with others, and his family have now 
preceded him to England, to seek redress for 
this spoliation, at the hands of the English 
parliament. 

" That no claim might be wanting in this 
behalf, since the confiscation of the Oude 
territory, the royal palaces, parks, gardens, 
menageries, plate, jewellery, household fur- 
niture, stores, wardrobes, carriages, rarities, 
and articles of tertu, together with the royal 
museum and library, containing two hundred 
thousand volumes of rare books and manu- 
scripts of immense value, have been seques- 
tered. The king's most valuable stud of 
Arabian, Persian, and English horses, his 
fighting, hunting, riding, and baggage ele- 
phants, his camels, dogs, and cattle, liave all 
been sold by public auction, at nominal prices. 
His majesty's armoury, including the most 
rare and beautiful worked arms of every 
description, has also been seized, and its con- 
tents disposed of by sale and otherwise. The 
queen mother, to whom General Outram 
descended to offer money* to induce her to 
persuade the king to sign the treaty, has also 
reason to declare that the ladies of the royal 
household have been treated in a harsh and un- 
feeling manner; that, despite their protest, and 
a most humble petition which they sent to the 
political commissioner, they were, on the 23 rd 
of August, 185G, forcibly ejected from the 
royal palace of Chuttar Munzul by officers 
who neither respected their persons nor their 
property, and who threw their effects into 
the street; and that a sum of money which 
had been specially left by the king to be 
appropriated for their maintenance, was pre- 
vented by the British authorities from being 
so applied." f 

The annexation of Oude was effected 
without a war. The king believed that an 
appeal to the Queen of the United Kingdom 
and her parliament would reinstate him in 
his honours, and he discouraged all attempts 
on the part of his troops or people to defend 
his throne. General Outram was appointed 
the governor-general's agent for the govern- 
ment of the province, and the plan of govern- 
ment was as nearly as possible identical with 
that established in the Punjaub. The sys- 
tem of police was that established in Scinde 
by Sir Charles Napier, when governor of that 
province. Thus the year 186G witnessed one 

* " His lordship iu council will have gathered from the 
trauslation of the coufcrence which I held with the quecu 
mother, that I promised that lady an annual stipend of 
one lakh of rupees, provided that the king would accept 
the treaty." — Oude Bhie-iook, p. 291 ; and sec pp. 
285-6. 

t " Dacoitee in excehis." 



CiiAr. CXXV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



G89 



of the most remarkable events which had 
occ\irred in the history of the British empire 
ill India : one of tlie oldest states, and in alliance 
with the East India Company, was, by the 
simple Avill of the English government, an- 
nexed. It is scarcely necessary to say, that 
the agitation excited by the measure in India 
was very great ; at first, the people were 
a|ipalled, after a time they prepared for mu- 
tiny and revolt. 

The condemnation of Lord Dalhousie and 
the government was very strong in England, 
and the severest criticisms were made in the 
public press upon the whole system of our 
Ii;dian government. In India, the people 
of Oude maintained a sullen silence, but they 
prepared for insurrection ; and, in order to 
make it more effectual, endeavoured too suc- 
cessfully to corrupt the Bengal native army, 
wliich was mainly recruited from Oude and 
the surrounding provinces of British India.* 
Unfortunately, the disposition of the talook- 
dars and soldiery of Oude to revolt was 
shared in by the whole of tlie inhabitants, 
even by those who might be supposed likely 
to profit by a change of masters. The con- 
duct of Lord Dalhousie, his ministers, and 
officials, was not calculated to soothe tlie irri- 
tation and indignation which his policy had 
created. The state of Oude between the 
annexation and the great revolt has been 
described in a petition to the house of com- 
mons, from the King of Oude ; the following 
extract will suffice : — " Since the military 
occupation and annexation of the kingdom 
of Oude, the coimtry lias been tlirown into 
a state of much confusion. Tliat whereas 
during the reign of the sovereign of Oude, 



* As tlie anneiation of Oude was undoubtedly the maia 
cause of the dreadful mutiny of 1857, the reader may wish 
to consult the voluminous documents extant on the subject. 
la doing so, the following may be perused with interest, 
iu the order which follows : — 

1. The treaties concluded between the East India Com- 
pany and the rulers of Oude from 17C5 to 1837, published 
in the collection of East India Treaties, laid before the 
House of Lords, 24th June, 1853. 

2. The correspondence aud minutes of the government 
of India amongst the " papers relating to Oude," pre- 
sented to the houses of parliament by command of Her 
M&jesty, 185G. 

3. The notification from the Right Ilononrable the 
Earl of Auckland, Governor-general of India, to His Ma- 
jesty the King of Oude, 8lh July, 1839, on the subject of 
the recent treaty under date 11th September, 1837, and 
His Majesty's reply thereto sent with the case. 

4. The remonstrance on the part of the governor-gene- 
ral of India, Lord Hardinge, delivered to the King of 
Oude, 23rd November, 1847, sent with the case. 

5. The letter of the Honourable Court of Directors to 
the Governor-general of India, lOlh December, 1850, re- 
lative to the assumption of the govcinmcnt of Oude, 
ordered by the House of Commons to be printed, 5th 
February, 1857. 



and whilst happiness prevailed within the 
kingdom, no emigration took place therefrom, 
but, on the contrary, the subjects of Great 
Britain in Hindostan evinced a disposition to 
immigrate thereto, and settle therein ; since 
the .ymexation of the territory to the British 
dominion, numbers of persons liavefledfrom the 
kingdom of Oude, and immigration has wholly 
ceased. That it is computed that not less 
than one hundred thousand persons, including 
civil servants of the government, and the dis- 
banded troops who have refused to take the 
company's service, have been deprived of 
their means of subsistence ; that the business 
of the country having been transferred from 
the natives to the British oiScers and forces, 
the retainers of the zemindars have been 
thrown out of their situations ; that the na- 
tives holding- office as writers, clerks, &c., 
have been turned away and replaced by com- 
pany's servants ; that all allowances and pen- 
sions being stopped, many of the recipients, 
including members or near connexions of the 
royal family, have been reduced to extreme 
poverty ; that the conduct of the British to 
the natives of the lower class is complained of 
as harsh in the extreme ; that justice cannot 
now be obtained at Lucknow ; and that crime 
is committed with so much impunity, that 
even the royal palace itself has been broken 
into and pillaged of money and jewels to a 
large amount." Lord Dalliousie seems to 
have been aware of the danger, although 
unwilling to acknowledge the cause or redress 
the grievances he had inflicted. He urged 
upon the company and the government the 
necessity of preserving a sufficient force of 
European regiments. He argued, requested, 
entreated, remonstrated in vain. While 
danger was threatening on every hand, the 
authorities in England were withdrawing the 
European regiments, without sending out 
reliefs. Tliis policy was suicidal, and was 
persisted in with an infatuated conceit 
of judgment by the board of control and 
the company, notwithstanding warnings the 
most clear and urgent from men of tlie highest 
authority on Indian affairs, as well as from 
the governor-general. At last the denoue- 
ment came, the blow was struck, and all Oude 
burned in insurrection. It is barely just to Lord 
Dalhousie to show that whatever his ambition, 
or his errors in working it out, he was 
prescient of the necessity for keeping up tlie 
European branch of the army in India, not 
only after the annexation of Oude, but 
throughout his government. Ho saw soon 
after his arrival the danger of jilacing too 
much confidence in the native troops, and the 
absolute necessity of preserving in the army 
of India, ia all its presidencies, a larger pro- 



690 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXXV. 



portion of the European element. Several of 
the leading journals of London attributed to 
Lord Dalhousie an opposite line of conduct, 
and blamed him for the small number of 
European troops in India when the mutiny 
of 1857 broke out. Nothing could be more 
opposed to truth than these aUegatious. 
Copies of certain despatches and minutes 
during the governorship of India by the 
Marquis of Dalhousie, received by the court of 
directors, or by the president of the board of 
control, from the government of India, for an 
increase of European troops subsequent to the 
acquisition of the Punjaub, Pegu, Nagpore, 
Sattara, Jhansi, Berar, or other districts, have 
been submitted to parliament and printed, on 
the motion of Mr. W. Vansittart, M.P. The 
Marquis of Dalhousie, so far back as Septem- 
ber, 1848, earnestly requested the addition of 
at least three European regiments of infantry 
to the army in India, from which so large a 
number of British troops had been withdrawn, 
and this request w-as complied with by the 
India -house authorities. In March, 1849, 
two other regiments of infantry were ordered 
to be added to the queen's forces in India. 
On the 5th of February, 1853, a secret letter 
was written by the Indian government, con- 
sidering the regular force which would be 
required for the permanent occupation of the 
newly-acquired province of Pegu, and recom- 
mending that one regiment should be added 
to the number of European infantry in each 
presidency. This increase was ordered, the 
total addition including 71 officers and 2,7G0 
rank and file. 

In September, 1854, a most important 
minute was issued by the governor-general 
in council, and transmitted to the directors of 
the India-house, in which, with reference to 
the then state of India and the war in Europe, 
the diminution of the British force then at the 
disposal of the government of India was most 
earnestly deprecated. The minute appears 
to have been elicited by an order for the recall 
of the 25th and 98th regiments from India 
without being relieved until the close of 1855. 
It illustrates most strikingly Lord Dalhousie's 
sagacity, and we recommend an attentive 
perusal of it to all persons in possession of the- 
parliamentary paper in which it is included. 
" The imprudence and impolicy of weakening 
our force of European infantry at the present 
time," writes the marquis, " will be made 
evident, I think, by a brief review of the 
amount of [that force which we actually 
possess, of the position in which wo stand, 
and of the contingencies and risks to which 
we are liable." lie shows that the army had 
been very inconsiderably augmented during 
the past seven years, notwithstanding the 



great changes which had occurred in the 
interval, and the vast mass of territory ac- 
quired by recent conquests. He warns the 
directors of the danger of countenancing the 
prevalent belief (in India), that we were (in 
1854) grappling with an enemy (the Russians) 
whose strength would prove equal to over- 
power us, by withdrawing troops from India 
to Europe ; and he reminds them that " India 
has to play her own part in this contest, that, 
unlike Canada and the colonies, she is in 
close proximity to some of those powers over 
which the influence of Russia is supposed to ex- 
tend, and that she is already indirectly affected 
by the feelings to which the war has given 
rise ;" he adds, " it is at least possible that 
those feehngs may be quickened in the hostile 
action which she will be called upon to meet 
by force of arms." This spirited remonstrance 
of Lord Dalhousie against the weakening of 
our military force was unavailing, for the 
authorities at home, " looking to the exigen- 
cies of the war in Europe and the general 
tranquillity of India," confirmed the order for 
the return of the two regiments. Another 
long "minute" was issued by the governor- 
general on the 6th of February, 1856. In 
this state paper the marquis, following the 
jjrinciples and guidance of Lord \^'elle8ley, 
endeavours to determine what are the wants 
of the government of India in respect of 
European infantry throughout the territories 
for which it is responsible, and to show how 
those wants may best be supplied. The 
various considerations adduced must lead, he 
thinks, to the conviction that the European 
infantry in Bengal ought to be reinforced, 
and he names nineteen battalions as the 
minimum force of the European infantry 
which ought to be maintained upon the Ben- 
gal establishment ; — tw-enty, he adds, would 
be better, and even more not superfluous. 
Having reviewed the Avants of the several 
presidencies in succession, and in minute de- 
tail, the governor-general concludes that the 
minimum force of European infantry which 
can be relied on as full}' adequate for the 
defence of India and for the preservation of 
internal quiet is thirty-five battalions — nine- 
teen for Bengal, nine for Madras, and seven 
for Bombay. Of these twenty-four were to 
be queen's and eleven company's regiments. 
The idea of permanency being essential to 
the usefulness of this force, it was proposed 
by the marquis that the twenty-four queen's 
regiments should be declared by the home 
government to bo the establishment of royal 
infantry for India, and that a formal assurance 
should be given that no one of these regi- 
ments should at any time be withdrawn with- 
out relief, unless with full consent of the court 



Chap. CXXV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



691 



of directors. It was further proposed to add 
a fourth reghnent of European infantry to 
each of the armies of Bengal and Madras by 
converting two regiments of native infantry 
into one of European infantry ; in each, re- 
spectively, disbanding the native officers and 
sepoys, and transferring the European officers 
to the new European corps. 

The result of these minutes does not appear 
from the returns, but the public know that 
Lord Dalhousie expostulated in vain. 

While the events which issued in the an- 
nexation were passing in Oude, changes were 
being effected in the laws of land tenure in 
Bengal, which, although salutary in them- 
selves, led to discontent, and prepared the 
talookdars and zemindars for rebellion. There 
existed great difficulties in the way of reform 
of any kind in India, of which persons in 
England could form no conception. The 
sympathy of the people was with despotism, 
and they preferred freedom to cheat, and the 
chances dependant upon a speculation in 
fraud, to law and justice. When the English 
put forth any enactment which protected the 
oppressed, but which also prevented the op- 
pressed from defrauding or imposing upon 
their tyrants, they felt no gratitude for such 
interposition. They were of course very de- 
sirous to be released from any disability under 
which they lay, provided the power which 
rescued them loft them still an opportunity of 
resorting to chicanery in their dealings with 
others ; but on the whole they preferred the 
most grinding tyranny under which men 
could suffer, if it also admitted the precarious 
hope of winning back their own by deceit and 
intrigue. Just laws, dealing equally with all, 
were regarded with aversion, unless where 
some tradition of creed allied such a law to 
long maintained customs. Early in 1856 the 
legislative council took up a measure which 
was designated " the Sale law." It was an 
excellent remedy for some of the greatest im- 
pediments to the prosperity of Bengal. The 
measure was introduced to the council on the 
authority of no less important and compe- 
tent a person than Mr. Grant, and was admi- 
rably devised for its purpose. It would be 
impossible to give the reader a correct notion 
of the subject without detailing the state of 
the land tenure at the time in Bengal, and the 
way in which that tenure worked against the 
progress of agriculture, the settlement of 
European planters, and the prosperity of the 
country. The following description of " the 
Sale law," and of the circumstances which 
called for it, was written by a gentleman then 
on the spot, and familiar with the project, and 
the disctissions to which it gave rise : — " Un- 
der the perpetual settlement the whole of 



Bengal has been divided into estetes held by 
landlords on the tenure of a fixed quit rent to 
the company. While this rent is paid no act 
short of treason can deprive a proprietor of 
his estates. Should he not pay up to the 
hour, however, his estate goes to the hammer. 
In practice few estates are thus sold, and the 
tenure may be regarded as a free holding sub- 
ject to a land tax. These estates, however, 
are often of vast size. The landlord, often an 
absentee, cannot manage them himself. Farm- 
ing, in the Enghsh sense, he never dreams of, 
and the collection of rents from perhaps 100,000 
cottiers — there are more than 2,000,000 on 
the Burdwan estate — is too heavy a task for 
an Asiatic. He sublets it for ever. The 
sub-tenant, whom we call a talookdar, holds 
of the zemindar, as the zemindar holds of 
government. In English phrase, he has a 
perpetual lease from the tenant of the crown. 
Two-thirds of the whole land of Bengal is 
thus held, including almost all the indigo fac- 
tories, sugar plantations, and European farms. 
The tenure would seem to an English farmer 
rational enough. Unfortunately, Lord Corn- 
wallis, when he established the perpetual 
settlement, in order to secure the government 
rental, arranged that, in the event of failure to 
pay the quit rent, the sale should vitiate all 
encumbrances whatsoever. Whenever, there- 
fore, an estate goes to the hammer every lease 
upon it is ipso facto void. Because Stowe is 
sold, all the John Smiths on the property are 
deprived of the leases they have paid for. 
The zemindars, thoroughly aware of the law, 
use it in this fashion : — They lease the lands 
to wealthy tenants, suffer them to raise the 
value of the property, fail to pay the quit rent, 
and at the consequent sale buy in their own 
estates, under a false name, clear of all encum- 
brances. The threat of such a proceeding 
has actually been employed in one instance 
within my knowledge to extort money from 
the manager of a great indigo concern. Of 
course with such a tenure improvement be- 
came impossible. Jlen will not lay out capital 
in improving a property their right to which 
may he destroyed at any moment without any 
fault of their own. They considered them- 
selves, with justice, as tenants-at-will instead of 
leaseholders. The evil has long been felt, but 
hitherto a reform has been considered impos- 
sible. It would be, it was alleged, a breach 
of the perpetual settlement. At last the evil 
became unendurable. Captain Craufurd, 
manager of the Indigo Company's affairs, 
agitated the question vigorously. He demon- 
strated that the present tenure prohibited ad- 
vance. The press took up the subject, assert- 
ing that a radical change would involve no 
breach of faith. Officials seized upon the 



692 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[CiiAP. cxxv. 



question as soon as there appeared a gleam of 
liope, and at last it assumed a practical form. 
A proposition was brought forward, strongly 
supported by the government of Bengal, for , 
keeping leases inviolate in the event of a sale, i 
iSo long as the money bid for an estate would 
Cover the government arrear, the leases were 
to be held intact. The new proprietor would i 
buy land subject to the leases upon it. In the 
event, however, of the sum bid not being suffi- j 
cient to pay that arrear the leases must be i 
violated and the encnmbrances cleared away, i 
This proposal, it is evident, secured the lease- | 
holder in every event but one. A reckless 
zemindar might grant away portions of his 
cttate at peppercorn rents till nobody would 
buy the whole subject to such leases. This 
contingency would be of frequent occurrence, 
and Mr. Grant therefore has proposed a new i 
scheme. It goes further than the former on<^ 
further than the boldest reformers have dared j 
to hope. Mr. Grant proposes that every ta- j 
lookdar, or permanent leaseholder, shall have 1 
tl;e right to call in a government surveyor, i 
If this official on examination reports that the \ 
rent paid under the lease is sufficient to pay ' 
the government rent, he is secured for ever. I 
^^'hatever becomes of the estate his lease 
cannot be touched or his rent raised, lie is 
of course bound by his lease to pay the rent 
agreed on with his landlord to his landlord ; but 
the zemindar can no longer by fraud annul his 
own agreements, nor can he by folly cause the 
ruin of every one under him. Two-thirdsof the 
land vsers- — not landowners^ — of Bengal thus 
exchange tenancy-at-will for a leasehold j-ight. 
They have always contracted and paid for the 
latter form of tenure, but hitherto, from the 
defect of the law, have been unable to secure 
it. The advantage of this reform to the 
zemindar is scarcely less than to his tenant. 
It is insecurity which has kept down the price 
of land in Bengal. It is calculated that on the 
average almost all zemindaries return a clear 
25 per cent, upon the purchase- money ; yet 
thousands prefer the government o per cent, 
simply for its security. In other words, the 
funds are held to be more secure than landed 
property in the proportion of five to one. 
Some other changes have been introduced, 
all tending to increase the security of land, of 
which the following is, perhaps, the most im- 



portant : — Hitherto it has been dangerous for 
a great proprietor to quit his estate. His 
agent may want it for himself. In that case 
ho fails to pay the government rent. No 
subsequent payment is of any avail. The 
estate is put up to auction, and bought by a 
bidder employed by the knavish agent. It is 
now proposed to permit the proprietor to de- 
posit in the collector's hands any amount of 
company's paper he pleases. Up to the value 
of that paper he is safe. He may go to Eng- 
land for two years or ten, or, if he chooses, he 
may deposit so much paper that the interest 
shall be equal to the government rent. In 
that case he is secure for ever, happen what 
ma}'. I have described this innovation at 
some length, but you will readily perceive that 
it alters not only the tenure of land, but the 
whole constitution of society in Bengal. It 
makes the leaseholder a free man. It deprives 
the landowner of a terrible instrument of co- 
ercion, ejectment at will, the right to which be 
had formerly by his own lease abandoned. It 
creates a class of yeomanry of small free land- 
holders, a class most urgently required." It 
could not be expected that changes so mo- 
mentous would be unopposed ; yet for some 
time the parties most interested, in a selfish 
sense, remained silent, and, in fact, no opposi- 
tion was made such as would undoubtedly have 
been offered had it not been for the impression 
entertained throughout the Bengal provinces 
that " the Company's Raj " would soon come to 
an end. The feelings nurtured in Onde had 
communicated themselves all through these 
provinces, and there was not only a general 
expectation of successful disturbance, but a 
knowledge of the means by which success 
was to be secured. The native landholders 
were not in ignorance, as were the company's 
officers, civil and military, as to the military 
revolt then preparing. The rebellion pre- 
vented the application of " the Sale law" by the 
council in its original form, but, while some of 
the reforms then discussed in connection with 
it have not even yet been carried, much has 
been done. The agitation on " the Sale law " 
greatly increased the agitation of the classes 
venally interested, but they avoided demon- 
strations, hoping that the power that interfered 
with their customs would soon perish in a new 
and grand struggle. 



Chap. CXXVI] 



IN INDIA AND THE FAST 



693 



CHAPTER CXXVI. 

PERSIAN WAR— ITS CAUSES— INVASION OF HERAT— EXPEDITION TO THE PERSIAN GULF- 
CAPTURE OF BUSIIIRE, JIOHAM-MERAH, AND AKWAZ— PEACE NEGOTIATED AT PARIS. 



I 



The circumstances which originated the Per- 
sian war of 185G were of tlic same nature 
as those which issued in tlio Alifghan war. 
Minute details of the jiolioy of Russia towards 
Persia, and, through Persia, towards British 
India, were given in the account of events 
preliminary to that war. 

Although peace and, apparently, good re- 
lations were then established, a had feeling 
lurked in the Persian court. The desire to 
invade Affghanistan was not abandoned, and 
the Russian government kept up the bad 
feeling without actually urging Persia to a 
war. Russia was anxious to keep open a 
cause of contention which she might one day 
turn to account, and yet afraid to provoke the 
power of England to any operations in the 
Persian Gulf which might increase her in- 
fluence over the court of Teheran. When 
the war with Turkey, England, and France 
broke out, Russia was of course desirous to 
create a diversion by the instrumentality of 
Persia. Her instigations took effect only 
when a hostile movement of Persia could be 
no longer of use, peace between the European 
powers having been proclaimed. 

The policy of Persia continued the same as 
when it occasioned the Affghan war. That 
policy was expressed with singular clearness 
by Hoossein Khan, a Persian ambassador, in 
a communication to Prince Metternich, in 
1839. Prince Metternich observed upon this 
letter, that it was "expressed with a precision 
scarcely eastern," as the following extract will 
show : — 

" The shah is sovereign of his country, and 
ns such he desires to be independent. There 
are two great powers with whom Persia is in 
more or less direct contact — Russia and the 
English power in India. The first has more 
military means than the second. On the 
other hand, England has more money than 
Russia. The two powers can thus do Persia 
good and evil ; and in order above all to 
avoid the evil, the shah is desirous of keeping 
himself, with respect to them, within the 
relations of good friendship and free from all 
contestation. If, on the contrary, he finds 
himself threatened on one side, he will betake 
himself to the other in search of the support 
which he shall stand in need of. That is not 
what he desires, but to what he may be 
driven, for he is not more the friend of one 
than of tiie other of those powers : ho desires 
to be with them on a footing of equal friend- 

VOL. u, 



ship. What he cherishes above all is his 
independence, and the maintenance of good 
relations with foreign powers." 

Tills letter puts the shah's policy in tne 
most favourable point of view. The idea of 
compensation on the side of Affghanistan, for 
territory lost on the frontier of Russia, per- 
vaded the Persian court, and it was some- 
thing like a point of honour to take Herat 
whenever opportunity might jiresent itself. 
On the 21st of July, ISol, Colonel Shiel, then 
minister of England at the Persian court, 
informed his majesty that the views of Eng- 
land, as to the independence of Herat, re- 
mained unchanged. 

During the latter part of 1851 Herat was 
much disturbed, and the khan asked for 
Persia's help to maintain his .authority. The 
shah promised aid if required, and entered 
into negotiations which had for their object 
to extort certain oriental forms from the khan 
which would constitute recognition of the 
shah's sovereignty. On the other hand, Dost 
Mohammed of Cabul was jealous of Persian 
interference at Herat, and threatened to march 
an army from Candahar, to counteract the 
shah's policy. 

In the spring of 18u2, a Persian expedition 
advanced against Herat. The city was occu- 
pied ; various oppressions were perpetrated ; 
several Affghan khans were seized and sent 
to Persia. These acts followed assurances the 
most pacific, offered to the English minister. 
Falsehood the most scandalous was resorted 
to for the purpose of concealing intentions 
dishonest and aggressive. Herat was finally 
annexed to Persia. When the cabinet at 
London became aware of these transactions, 
Lord Malmesbury, the minister for foreign 
affairs, refused to hold intercourse with the 
Persian ambassador. 

In consequence of the resistance offered 
by Colonel Shiel, and his menaces of the 
active displeasure of England, the shah at 
last became alarmed, and on the 2oth of 
January, 1853, signed an engagement re- 
nouncing all sovereignty, and promising not 
to interfere by arms in the affairs of Herat, 
but reserving the right to march an army into 
its neighbourhood in case any other power did 
the like. 

The Persian government, in making so 
satisfactory a settlement, threw the English 
off their guard, which was the only object the 
Persian court and ministers had in view, 

4o 



694 



HISTORY "OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chav.CXXVI. 



having never intended to perform any of the 
stipulations. The firmness of the English 
minister constrained their observance. 

The temper and spirit of the Persian court 
became intensel)' irritable towards the English 
ambassador and his suite. A circumstance 
arose which brought this out painfully. On 
the 15th of June, 1854:, Mr. Thomson, the Eng- 
lish minister, wrote to Lord Clarendon, then 
minister for foreign affairs, informing him 
that he had chosen one Meerza Hashem Khan 
as the. Persian secretary to the British mission. 
This person was courtly, learned, and in every 
way suitable to the office assigned to him. 
Lord Clarendon confirmed the appointment. 
The Persian court immediately persecuted 
the favourite of the English mission. The 
Hon. C. A. Murray succeeded Mr. Thomson, 
and he also favoured Meerza Hashem. The 
Persian court continued its persecution, and 
finally seized and imprisoned the khan's wife. 
Mr. Murray demanded satisfaction for this 
outrage upon the staff of the British mission, 
and the release of the lady. His demands 
were treated with disdain, and Mr. Murray 
felt bound to maintain the dignity of the 
government he represented by striking his 
flag on the 20th of November, 1865. 

The Persian prime-mini.ster put a report 
into circulation that both Mr. Murray and 
his predecessor had intrigues with the khan's 
wife, and therefore employed him in the em- 
bassy. The Persian jjremier at last made the 
allegation to Mr. Murray himself, in a despatch. 
On the 5th of December, after having endured 
many insults, he left Teheran. 

The Persian court then endeavoured to 
transact business with England through the 
English ambassador at the Porte. On the 
2nd of January, 1856, the Persian charge 
d'affaires at Constantinople laid a long com- 
plaint before the English ambassador there 
against Mr. JTurray, Mr. Thomson, Consul 
Ktevons, and, in fact, all persons connected 
with the English mission at Teheran. The 
Persian court was as much opposed to the 
consul as to the ministers. The Persian 
ministers drew up a scandalous document 
for publication in Europe, incriminating the 
English ministers at their court of immorality. 
This document breathed a malignant hostility 
unusual between belligerent states, and utterly 
disgraceful in its conception and expression. 
Had all the English ministers been immoral, 
the fact would not have affected the merits of 
the dispute. The sacredness of the persons 
and property of all persons, Persians or others, 
engaged in the service of the English embassy, 
and of their families, had been violated spite- 
fully and without provocation, and for this 
Wrong redress was demanded. 



It is probable that all these disturbances 
were got up by the Persian government to 
cover their polic)' towards Herat, for at the 
end of 1855, Prince Sultan Moorad Meerza 
was sent with a force of nine thousand men 
against that place. 

The fall of Kars during the war with 
Russia was circulated all over Asia. The 
fall of Sebastopol was not known for long 
after. The Russians had the means of pro- 
ducing this double effect. The consequence 
was, the Persians were emboldened, as were 
also the Oudeans, and other enemies of Eng- 
land in India. The shah determined to 
accomplish the long-cherished purpose of his 
court, to annex Herat. 

In July, 185fi, Lord Clarendon caused the 
ultimatum of his government to be delivered 
to the Persian charge d'affaires at Constan- 
tinople. He about the same time instructed 
the governor-general of India to collect forces 
at Bombay for operations in the Persian Gulf. 

The ultimatum of the British government 
was in the following terms : — " The sadr 
azim (prime-minister) to write in the shah's 
name a letter to Mr. Murray, expressmg his 
regret at having uttered and given currency 
to the offensive imputation upon the honour 
of her majesty's minister, requesting to with- 
draw his own letter of the 19th of November, 
and the two letters of the minister for foreign 
affairs of the 26th of November, one of which 
contains a rescript from the shah resjjecting 
the imputation upon Mr. Murray, and de- 
claring, in the same letter, that no such fur- 
ther rescript from the shah as that inclosed 
herewith in copy was communicated, directly 
or indirectly, to any of the foreign missions 
at Teheran. A copy of this letter to be com- 
municated officially by the sadr azim to each 
of the foreign missions at Teheran, and the 
substance of it to be made public in that 
capital. The original letter to be conveyed 
to Mr. Murray, at Bagdad, by the hands of 
some high Persian officer, and to be accom- 
panied by an invitation to Mr. Murray, in 
the shah's name, to return with the mission 
to Teheran, on his majesty's assurance that 
he shall be received with all the honours and 
consideration due to the representative of the 
British government; another person of suitable 
rank being sent to conduct him, as mehman- 
dar, on his journey through Persia. Mr. Mur- 
ray, on approaching the capital, to be received 
by persons of high rank deputed to escort him 
to his residence in the town. Immediately 
on his arrival there, the sadr azim to go in 
state to the British mission and renew friendly 
relations with Mr. Murray, leaving the secre- 
tary of state for foreign affairs to accompany 
him to the royal palace, the sadr azim re- 




LIEUT. - &ENJERAL S1I18. JAMES OUTRAM, G. G. 



'/W???y a- 



tffA/i./.ftM^' ^y^^^i^c<m^ /^//^ ^J%-/m/u, 



! oNr"^'.; JAV- 



Chap. CXXVI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



ceiving Mr. Murray, and conducting him to 
the presence of the shah. At noon on the 
following day, the British flag to be hoisted 
under a salute of twenty-one guns, and the 
sadr azini to visit the mission immediately 
afterwards, which visit Mr. Murray will re- 
turn, at latest, on the following day before 
noon. Satisfaction being thus given, and 
friendly relations restored, the settlement of 
the questions of Herat, of Meerza Hashem 
and of his wife, remains to be stated. Should 
Herat be occupied by the shah's troops, his 
inajesty to engage to withdraw them without 
delay. Should that city be in any way me- 
naced, though not occupied by the shah's 
troops, his majesty to engage not to allow 
them to occupy it on any account. In either 
case, the engagement being solemnly given, 
the British mission to defer to his majesty's 
wish, if renewed, respecting Meerza Hashem, 
by not insisting on his appointment at Shiraz; 
the Meerza's wife, however, to be restored to 
him, and himself to enjoy the security, emo- 
luments, and position offered by the Persian 
government in a former stage of the ques- 
tion. The whole of the correspondence 
respecting Meerza Hashem may then be 
mutually withdrawn and cancelled, it being 
to be understood that no objections will be 
made by the Persian government to the ap- 
pointment, as heretofore, of a British corre- 
spondent at Shiraz till that and other matters 
can be arranged by a suitable convention." 

The ultimatum failed to secure redress. 
A series of fresh outrages were offered at the 
embassy upon such servants of the British 
government as remained there. Tidings of 
the forces clustering at Bombay reached Te- 
heran, but the Persian, undismayed, ordered 
more troops to be sent to garrison his me- 
naced provinces. Orders were sent to Consul 
Stevens to quit Persia, and take the means 
usual in such cases to secure the liberty and 
property of British subjects. 

On the 24th of September, the president 
of the board of control was requested to for- 
ward to India, by the next mail, orders for 
the expedition to move to the Persian Gulf. 
On the 17th of October, Feruk Khan arrived 
at Constantinople as minister plenipotentiary 
of the shah. He entered into negotiation 
with Lord Stratford de Kedcliffe, and con- 
sented to terms of peace, but raised so many 
obstructions to them in detail afterwards, that 
no reliance could be placed in tho sincerity of 
his negotiations. 

On tho 1st of November, the governor- 
general of India declared war against Persia. 
Three proclamations were issmed by his ex- 
cellency, which, when they arrived at Con- 
etantinople, caused the Persian plenipotentiary 



to withdraw from all further negotiations, and 
to treat his former agreements as null and 
void. Major-general Outram, K.C.B., had 
returned to England from Oude, and while 
at home was in consultation with the British 
government concerning the Persian expedi- 
tion. He was appointed to command it, and 
arrived in Bombay for that purpose. He 
took the command of " the second division of 
the army of Persia," and proceeded witli it 
to the Persian Gulf. The 1st division, under 
Major-general Stalker, had already been 
dispatched. The brigadiers of this division 
were Wilson and Honner ; Brigadier Tapp 
had charge of the cavalry, and Brigadier 
Trevelyan the artillery. When the second 
division arrived at the Gulf, Lieutenant- 
general Outram holding the command in 
chief, that of the second division was reserved 
for Brigadier Havelock, C.B., deputy adju- 
tant-general of her majesty's forces in India, 
who arrived afterwards. Brigadiers Hamilton 
and Hale commanded the brigades of that 
division. The cavalry of both divisions was 
placed under Brigadier Farol, O.B. Colonel 
Stuart, of the 14th light dragoons, commanded 
the cavalry of the second division. Brigadier 
Hill commanded the whole of the artillery 
force. 

In the geographical portions of this work 
descriptions arc given of the Persian Gulf 
and its shores, and Bushire is particularly 
described. A reference to these descriptions 
will enable the reader to follow with some 
ease the proceedings of the troops during this 
expedition. 

The arrival of Sir James Outj-am was fol- 
lowed by active operations. Tlie army 
marched round the head of the Bushire Creek, 
a heavy road, for the most part of loose sand. 
The army was drawn up iu the following 
order : — Two lines of contiguous quarter- 
distance columns. First line : first brigade, 
first division — her majesty's Glth regiment, 
and 20th regiment native infantry. First bri- 
gade, second division — 78th Highlanders, and 
26th regiment native infantry. Second brigade, 
first division — 2nd European light infantry, 
and ith Bombay rifle regiment, native in- 
fantry. Second lino : 3rd light cavalry (two 
squadrons) ; 3rd (Blake's) troop horse .irtil- 
lery ; Nos. 3 and 6 field-batteries ; one ris- 
salak of Poonah horse. An advance guard 
was formed seven hundred yards on the right 
of all under Colonel Tapp, of the Poonah 
irregular horse, composed of one troop 3rd 
light cavalry, two guns horse artillery, two 
companies of her majesty's 64th regiment, 
and two companies of 20th regiment native 
infantry; the rearguard, under Major Hough, 
consistinsj of his own, tlic 2nd Beloochee bat* 



GOG 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXXVI. 



talion, and one troop of Poonah horse, was 
drawn up on the left. Tlie first night's 
bivouac was one of terrible storm ; hail 
and rain with bitter blasts swept over the 
crouching host. Early in the morning, the 
march was directed against Brasjoon. Before 
one o'clock, the Persian videttes were seen 
reconnoitering. They fell back as the Bri- 
tish approached, and the main army was 
soon after seen in rapid retreat. The ad- 
vance guard of the British clime up with 
the enemy's rear, and skirmished. The 
Persians behaved with spirit. One officer 
and several men were wounded, and Briga- 
dier Ilonner had a narrow escape from a 
bullet which pierced his saddle. The enemy's 
intrenched camp fell into the hands of the 
English, and largo stores of ammunition, 
food, and fodder which it contained. For 
two days the army rested, so far as marching 
or fighting was concerned, but was busily 
occupied in searching for grain, guns, and 
treasure, said to have been buried by the foe. 
Some quantities of corn and treasure were 
found, and some guns discovered in the wells. 
The military governor of Brasjoon was taken 
prisoner. 

On the 7th the army retraced their steps 
to Biishire, bringing with them much of the 
booty they had acquired. The march was 
conducted leisurely. After midnight, the 
army was astonished to hear a volley of mus- 
ketry in the rear, followed by the cannonade 
of two pieces of horse artillery. The shots 
gradually increased for half an hour, when 
the whole force became enveloped in a skir- 
mishing fire. The Persian cavalry rode up, 
making every possible noise, shouting and 
blowing trumpets. The bugle-calls of the 
British army were familiar to the enemy, from 
the circumstance of British officers having 
been engaged in drilling his army a few years 
previously. This knowledge was used to 
create disorder in the British lines. Some of 
the buglers, riding close up in the dark to 
the 78th Highlanders, sounded the " cease 
fire," and afterwards, " incline to the left." 
The Highlanders remained steady. The 
yelling, shouting, and bugle-calls at last 
ceased, and the British lay by their arms, 
waiting in silence for the meeting. Before 
dawn five heavy guns were opened by the 
enemy with accurate range, wounding several 
officers, killing and wounding soldiers and 
camp-followers, and baggage animals. In 
the morning the enemy was seen with his 
force in order of battle. 

There is but little information extant of 
the contest which ensued, and of its results, 
except what is contained in Sir James Outram's 
own account, which is as follows : — 



To Ids Excellency Lieutenant-general Sir H, Somerset, 
Commander-in-chief, Bo7nbay. 

Cami) uear liushire, Feb. 10th. 

Sib, — I have the honour to report for your excellency's 
information that the Persian Exiieditionary Force obtained 
a signal victory over the Persian army, commanded by 
Shooja-ool-51oolli in person, on the Stii inst. 

The enemy's loss iu killed and wounded must have been 
very great. It is impossible to compute the amount, but 
from the number of bodies which strewed the ground of 
contest, estending several miles, I should say that full 700 
must have fallen. Two brass 9-pouuder guns, with their 
carriages and horses, eight mides, laden with ammunition, 
and several hundred stand of arms, were taken ; and the 
Persian commander-inehief, with the remainder of his 
army, only escaped annihilation owing to the numerical 
weakness of our cavalry. 

The loss on our side is, I am happy to say, compara- 
tively sniaU, attributable, I am inclined to believe, to the 
rapid advance of our artillery and cavalry, and the well- 
directed lire of the former, which almost paralyzed the 
Persians from the commencement. I have, however, to 
regret tlie loss of Lieutenant Frankland, 2ud European 
regiment, who was acting as brigade-major of cavalry, and 
was killed in the first cavalry charge ; Captain Forbea, 
also, who commanded and most gallantly led the 3rd 
cavalry, and Lieutenant Greentrec, 64th foot, were severely 
wounded. 

Keturns of the killed and wouuded, and also of the 
ordnance stores taken, are annexed. 

I myself had very little to do with the action, being 
stunned by my horse falling with me at the commence- 
ment of the contest, and recovering only in time to resume 
my place at the head of the army shortly before the close 
of this action. 

To Major-general Stalker and Colonel Lngard, chief 
of the staff, is the credit due for successfully guiding our 
troops to victory on this occasion. 

At daybreak the Persian force,* amounting to between 
6,000 and 7,000 men, wiih some guns, was discovered on 
our rear left (north-east of our line of march) iu order of 
battle. 

Our artillery and cavalry at once moved rapidly to the 
attack, supported by two lines of infantry, a third protect- 
ing the baggage. The firing of the artillery was most 
excellent, and did great execution ; the cavalry brigade 
twice charged with great gallantry and success ; a standard 
of the Kashkai regular infantry regiment was captured by 
the Poonah horse, and the 3rd light cavalry charged a 
square, and killed nearly the whole regiment ; indeed, 
upon the cavalry and artillery fell the whole brunt of the 
action, as the enemy moved away too rapidly for the in- 
fantry to overtake them. By ten o'clock the defeat of the 
Persians was complete. Two guns were captured, the 
gun ammunition, laden upon mules, fell into our hands, 
and at least 700 men lay dead upon the field. The num- 
ber of wounded could not be ascertained, but it must have 
been very large. The remainder tied in a disorganized 
state, generally throwing awjiy their arms, which strewed 
the field in vast numbers, and nothing but the paucity of 
our cavalry prevented- their total destruction and the 
capture of the remaining guns. 

The troops bivouaced for the day close to the battle- 
field, and at night accomplished a march of twenty miles 
(by another route) over a country rendered almost impas- 
sable by the heavy rain which fell incessantly. After a rest 
of six hours, the greater portion of the infantry continued 

* Guards, 900 ; two Karragoozloo regiments, 1,500 ; 
Shiraz regiment, 200 ; four regiments of Sabriz, 800 ; 
Arab regraent, 900; Kashkai, 800—5,100; Sufeng- 
ehees, 1,000. Cavalry of Shiraz, 300 ; Eilkhanee, 500— 
800. Total, 0,900; guns (said to be), 18. 



Chai-. CXXVI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



G97 



their march to Biishire, which they reached before mid- 
night, thus performing auotlier most arduous march of 
forty-four miles under incessant raiu, besides lighting and 
defeating the enemy during its progress within the short 
period of fifty hours. The cavalry and artillery reached 
camp this morning. 

The result is most satisfactory, and will, I trust, have a 
very beneficial effect upou our future operations. 

The greatest praise is due to the troops of all arms for 
their steadiness and gallantry in the field, their extraordi- 
nary exertions on the march, and their cheerful endurance 
of fatigue and privation under circumstances rendered 
doubly severe by the inclemency of the weather, to which 
they were exposed without shelter of any kind ; and [can- 
not too strongly express the obligation I feel to all nndcr 
my command for the almost incredible exertions they have 
undergone and the gallantry they have displayed on this 
occasion. 

To Major-general Stalker and to Colonel Lugard my 
especial thanks are due. 

To the heads of the several departments, as well as to 
every officer belonging to those departments, and to my 
personal staff (including Lieutenant-colonel Lord Dunkel- 
lin, who volunteered his services as aide-de-camp), I am 
much indebted. From all I received every possible assist- 
ance, and, although I do not now specify by name the 
department and personal staff, and other officers alluded 
to, I shall hereafter take an opportunity of bringing them 
individually to your excellency's notice. Indeed, when all 
have behaved so nobly, it is difficult to specify individuals. 

The rapid retreat of the enemy afforded but little op- 
portunity for deeds of special gallantry. I have already 
alluded to the successful charges made by the 3rd cavalry 
and Poonah horse, under Captain Forbes and Lieutenant- 
colonel Tapp, and to the very efficient service performed by 
the artillery under Lieutenant-colonel Trevelyan. The 
brigadiers commanding the infantay brigades — Wilson, 
Stisted, and Honner — with the several commanding offi- 
cers of the regiments, and indeed every officer and soldier 
of the force, earned my warmest approbation. 

To the medical officers of the force I am under great 
obligation for their untiring exertions thronghout these 
arduous operations. 

I cannot conclude without alluding in strong terms to 
the valuable assistance I have received from JIajor Taylor, 
whose services were placed at my disposal by the Hon. C. 
A. Murray, C.B. 

I have the honour to be, &c., 

J. OUTRAM, 
Lieutenant-general commanding Ej-peditimiarg Force. 

Total killed. — Europeans, 3 ; natives, 7. 
Total wounded. — Europeans, 31 ; natives, 31. 
Grand total.— Killed, 10; wounded, 62—72. 
Died of wounds since the action — 3 Europeans and 3 
natives. 

M. Stovell, Superintending Surgeon. 
Ist. Division Persian Expeditionary Field Force. 

The following is the return of ordnance captured on the 
morning of the 8th inst., at Bivonac Khooshab : — 

One brass guu, Persian inscription, vent good, 9-poun- 
dcr, length feet, bore 4.2, of Persian manufacture. 

One ditto, ditto, spiked, 9-pounder, length 6 feet, bore 
4.2, of Persian manufacture. 

These guns are in good travelling order, mounted on 
travelling field carriages, each limber fitted with a limber 
box to contain about thirty rounds of ammunition. One 
gun was taken with three horses, harness, &c., complete. 

The carriages are of block trail constructions; the 
cheeks of one require to be replaced. 

Eighteen rounds of ammunition and some food were in 
the limber boxes. 

Besides the above were 262 rounds of gun amnmnition, 



which I destroyed before leaving the bivouac on Sunday 
evening. The mules, eight in number, which carried it, 
I have brought into camp. I have 350 stand of arms, and 
I think fully treble that number must have been taken by 
camp followers and others. 

One gun was spiked by our horse artillery, as they had 
to leave it when following ou in pursuit. 1 have since re- 
moved the spike. 

B. K. FiNNIMORE, 

Captain, Field Commissary of Ordnance, P.E.F.F. 

The precise force under Sir James Outram'a 
command on this occasion was as follows : — 
3rd cavalry, 243 ; Poonah horse, 17G — 41i) 
sabres ; 64th foot, 780 ; 2nd Europeans, G93 ; 
78th Highlanders, 739—2,212 European in- 
fantry ; sappers, 118 ; 20th native infantry, 
442; 4th rifles, 523; 2Gth native infantry, 
479 ; Beloochees, 4G0— 2,022 native infantry. 
Total, 4,Go3. 3rd troop horse artillery, 6 ; 
3rd light field battery, G ; 5th light field bat- 
tery, G— Total, 18 guns. Camp.— 37G Eu- 
ropeans; 1,4GG native infantry; 1 company 
of European artillery ; and 14 guns. 

The troops rested on the field of battle, 
and refreshed themselves ; but in a few hours 
after, they took up their old position; on the 
line of march heavy rain fell, and their suffer- 
ings were great : no army ever displayed 
more patience, unless indeed tbe men whose 
heroic fortitude endured, without murmuring, 
the horrors of the Crimean war. The cold to 
which the heroes of the Persian expedition 
were exposed was intense, the season was 
especially severe, although the winter of that 
part of Persia is generally cold and wet, with 
heavy hail-storms. Almost every kind of 
bad weather common to that climate at that 
season fell upon the little army of General 
Outram, which without a murmur encountered 
every task imposed upon it, and every diffi- 
culty that impeded. On the night of the 
battle, men and officers literally lay in mire, 
and when the march was resumed, it is no 
exaggeration to describe it as made knee-deep 
in mud. Rain continued to fall, accompanied 
by a sharp, biting wind throughout the re- 
mainder of the way to Bushire, where the force 
arrived without another combat, or losing a 
straggler. So perfect were General Outram's 
arrangements, that oven the dead were car- 
ried with the army, that they might bo buried 
in the English lines with military honours. 
This had an excellent effect upon the soldiery, 
for it caused them to feel that they were com- 
manded by men who sympathised with them. 
There had been but one officer slain, so that 
the cavalcade of death, with that exception, 
was made up of private soldiers, and one or 
two non-commissioned officers. This concern 
to show respect to the men in humblest rank 
was attributable to General Outram, but all 
the officers caught the generous infection. 



G9S 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. OXXVI. 



They participated in the toil and sufferings of 
tlieii' hrave followers, and identified themselves 
with theiu in manly and soldierly sympathy. 

On the morning of the 11th of Febrnary, 
Lieutenant Frankland, and the brave soldiers 
vpho died, received sepulture together, with 
all the honours which could be paid to their 
remains. On the previous morning, the 10th, 
the force marched into the lines of Bushire, 
amidst the cheers of those who had remained 
tn camp, and of the sailors and marines 
from the ships. On the same morning the 
lieutenant-general in command issued a ju- 
dicious order of the day, not resembling those 
frigid orders which issued from Lord Raglan, 
Sir James Simpson, and Sir E. Oodrington, in 
the Crimea, but one warm with admiration of 
the noble qualities which the soldiers had dis- 
played, and which indirectly appealed to their 
patriotism 

The rain descended in torrents for several 
days following that on which the force re- 
turned to Bushire. A few fine mornings 
enabled the troops to take exercise. During 
the interval Brigadier-generals Havelock and 
Hamilton arrived from India, and assumed 
the commands to which they had previously 
been appointed : Havelock commanding the 
second division, and Hamilton the first brigade 
of that division. From the 14th of February 
the weather again assumed its former cha- 
racter, and the lines were deluged with rain ; 
nevertheless, so excellent were General Ou- 
tram's arrangements, that the army was in 
vigorous health and excellent spirits. Rein- 
forcements gradually arrived, but the heavy 
surf on the sea-shore prevented troops from 
landing, and also the dispatch of supplies for 
men and cattle. The good management of the 
commissariat — a rare piece of fortune in Eng- 
lish armies — prevented any inconvenience. 
General Outram saw personally to everything ; 
like the great Duke and Sir Charles Napier, 
he entered into all the detail of his arm}', 
while he never suffered a mere routine to 
formalise the service, and prevent the exer- 
cise of foresight, and of capacity for judging 
of events as they arose. 

On the night of the 22nd of February the 
enemy's camp fires were seen upon the hUls, 
of which there was a prospect from the lines. 
The enemy's patrols avoided all demonstra- 
tions by day ; at night they watched oppor- 
tunity to cut off camp-followers. The English 
fortified their lines, erecting fine strong re- 
doubts, and mounting them with heavy G8- 
pounders. Thus matters proceeded until the 
4th of March, when a change of weather en- 
abled the general to embark forces for an ex- 
pedition against Mohammerah.* 
* For description see geographical portion of this work. 



EXPEDITION TO MOHAMMERAH. 

The circumstances attending the embarka- 
tion and the arrival before Mohammerah have 
been described by an eye-witness and partici- 
pator in the events of the war. Captain G. H. 
Hunt, of the 78th Highlanders. The descrip- 
tion is at once condensed and graphic, and has 
all the lifelike force of that which a competent 
witness relates : — " It was now known that 
General Outram's arrangements were to be as 
follows, — viz., General Stalker to remain in 
command at Bushire, with Brigadiers Wilson, 
Honner, and Tapp ; the troops to remain 
being two field-batteries and the mountain 
trains, the entire cavalry of the first division, 
three companies each from her majesty's 
G4th, and the Highlanders, the 4th rifles, 26th 
native infantry, and the Belooch battalion; 
Sir James proceeding himself with the re- 
mainder, to the number, of all arms, of about 
four thousand men— those left for the defence 
of Bushire counting about three thousand. 
The different accounts of Mohammerah stated 
it to be held by from ten to thirteen thousand 
men, with numerous cavalry in its neighbour- 
hood, and seven of the shah's best regular 
regiments among its garrison. The works of 
the fort or batteries were described as very 
formidable earthen parapets, eighteen or 
twenty feet thick, with heavy guns on the 
river face. To encounter these, until the 
troops should land and carry the batteries, 
were the broadsides of the Clive and Falkland 
sloops, and Ajdaha, Feroze, Semiramu, Vic- 
toria, and Assai/e frigate steamers ; which 
must, however, face the enemy's fire at the 
distance of about one hundred yards. The 
difficulty of the enterprise, however, seemed 
only the more to determine the general to 
accomplish it ; and camp gossip affirmed that 
an ill-timed remonstrance from the Turkish 
government against our attacking a place so 
near their own (a neutral) territory, had 
materially hastened our chief's movements, 
and that the arrival of any portion of the 
expected cavalry and artillery would be the 
signal for an immediate advance. 

" On the Gtli of March, before the trans- 
port Kingston put to sea, the Falkland sloop 
sailed for the Euphrates ; and about the same 
time her majesty's Glth regiment embarked 
in the Bride of the Sea transport ; and, even 
while these events were occurring, the Feroze, 
Pottinger, and Pioneer steamers entered the 
roads, bringing a troop of horse artillery and 
some of the long-looked-for Scinde horse ; so 
the departure of the entire expedition now 
became imminent. Intelligence was also 
brought in this day, stating so confidently 
that the new Persian commander-in-chief, 
with considerable reinforcements, had joined 



Chap. CXXVI.] 



IN INDIA AND TUE EAST. 



699 



the army recently beaten by us, and intended 
an advance, that strong hopes, if not actual 
expectations, were entertained that he might 
be induced, when the departure of bo large a 
portion of our force became known, to attack 
the camp and try the strength of our new 
redoubts, and thus give the troops remaining 
behind an equal opportunity of honour and 
distinction with ourselves. On the afternoon 
of the Cth, the Kingston, with four other 
transports, got clear of the Bushire roads, 
and were off the island of Karrack early next 
morning. This formed no exception in deso- 
late rocky appearance to its sister islands in 
the gulf. A detachment of the 4th rifles 
held it as a coaling-station for the Indian 
navy. The mouth of the Euphrates was made 
by daylight on the 8th, with the Falkland 
sloop under all sail leading into it ; and after 
being aground on the bar for about an hour, 
the Kingston anchored by noon among the 
eight or ten ships that had then arrived ; 
others continuing to reach the anchorage in 
the course of the day. A considerable por- 
tion of the expedition had assembled in the 
river, and the cavalry patrols of the enemy 
evinced great curiosity at our movements, 
coming down close to the water's edge to 
make their observations within easy gun- 
range, but no shot was fired at them. A day 
or so previously to our arrival, one of their 
superior officers held an inspection of about 
three thousand of their infantry abreast of the 
shipping, and evidently intended for obser- 
vation." A considerable body of their irre- 
gulars, both horse and infantry, still occupied 
the village of Mahamur, opposite to the an- 
chorage, and had pickets established in some 
ruined buildings within rifle-range. The 
Persian horsemen came within easy range, 
performing feats of horsemanship such as 
equestrian showmen might display in Eng- 
land. They flourished their swords, poised 
their lances, and seemed very desirous to 
impress the English with the idea that the 
horsemen of Persia were dangerously active 
and expert in encounter. 

While the troops were impatiently waiting to 
be led against Mohammerah, General Stalker 
committed suicide at Bushire. That officer, 
finding that he was to be left in command 
on the departure of Sir James Outram against 
Mohammerah, was overwhelmed by a sense 
of responsibility. In important commands, 
under the chief direction of some other officer, 
he was very efficient ; and in the public and 
private communications of the commander- 
in-chief was much honoured. When, how- 
ever, he believed that a superior force would 
attack the lines which it would be his duty 
to defend, he shrunk from a responsibility to 



which he was unequal, and deprived himself 
of life. In the war with Russia, two British 
admirals acted in the same way from a similar 
cause ; and soon after the death of General 
Stalker, Captain Ettensey, the naval chief of 
the expedition, also perished from his own 
hand, from the consciousness of his incom- 
petency for the great task devolved upon him. 

The promotion of officers in the British ser- 
vice by routine, purchase, and favouritism, 
is often as irksome to the victims of such unsuit- 
able honour, as it is unjust to the country 
which is injured, and to meritorious officers 
who are neglected. 

Until the 23rd of March the fleet, with 
troops on board, remained at anchor. The' 
enemy, during the interval, worked hard at 
the defences. Captain Maisonneuve, of the 
Sibylle, a French ship of war, then observing 
matters in the Persian Gulf, under the pre- 
tence of a display of alliance, made energetic 
representations to the British of the strength 
of the enemy's positions and the incompe- 
tency of the English, with such means as 
they had at their disposal, to attack it suc- 
cessfully. The French captain professed a 
warm alliance, although not actually intend- 
ing to unite his fire to that of the British 
fleet against the foe ; but it is not at all im- 
probable that the polite captain would have 
preferred that the English did not try to take 
Blohammerah, but, yielding to his opinion^ 
have abandoned the enterprise, and incurred 
the disgrace of doing so. Active prepara- 
tions continued until the dawn of the 26th, 
when the attack began. During these prepara- 
tions, the sailors of the Indian navy showed 
an intelligence, order, and activity which the 
royal navy might well admire, and could not 
surpass, perhaps not equal. 

On the night of the 26th, and before davra 
of the 26th, a most gallant as well as useful 
manoeuvre was performed. A raft, with two 
eight-inch and two five-inch mortars, was 
moored behind a low island in the middle of 
the river, and fronting the most powerful 
battery which the enemy possessed. " The 
cool daring of the men who placed, and the 
little band of artillery who remained on this 
raft for several hours of darkness in the middle 
of a rapid river without means of retreat, 
and certain destruction staring them in the 
face, should the enemy, within but a few 
hundred yards, be aroused to the fact of their 
presence, reqtiires no commendation. The 
simple narrative of the event as it occurred 
is sufficient." Happily, the enemy was not 
" aroused to the fact of their presence" until 
at day -dawn the first shell sent from the raft 
fell into the centre of the battery, slaying 
eleven, of the enemy. The Persian soldiers 



700 



IlISTOliY OF THE BRITISH EMTIRE 



[Chap. CXXVI. 



were engaged at pvaj'er when the shell fell 
among them ; so sudden was the explosion, 
and so terrible the eft'oct, that those who 
were not themselves among the victims 
were filled with wonder and consternation. 
" The attacking ships got nndor weigh as the 
first shot was fired, and proceeded to engage 
the hatteries, going into action as follows : — 
The Semiramis, with the commodore's pen- 
dant flying of Captain Young, Indian navy, 
and towing the Clive sloop, led the squadron, 
followed by the steam-frigates 4;'(Za7ta,i'''e;'o.i;e, 
Assa^e, Victoria, the latter towing the Falk- 
land sloop, which she cast off when in posi- 
tion. The leading ships passing the low-er 
batteries, and opening their guns as they 
could be brought to bear, were soon at their 
respective posts, followed in quick succession 
by the near division ; and but few minutes 
had elapsed after the Semiramis had fired 
her first gun before the action became gene- 
ral, the Persian artillery replying with spirit. 
The morning beifig very clear, with just suf- 
ficient breeze to prevent the smoke from col- 
lecting, a more beautiful scene than was then 
presented can scarcely be imagined. The 
ships, with ensigns flying from every mast- 
head, seemed decked for a holiday ; the river 
glittering in the early sun-light, its dark, 
date-fringed banks contrasting most effectively 
with the white canvas of i\\& Falkland, which 
had loosened sails to get into closer action : 
the sidky-looking batteries just visible through 
the grey fleecy cloud which enveloped them ; 
and groups of brightly-dressed horsemen 
flitting at intervals between the trees where 
they had their encampment, formed altoge- 
ther a picture from which even the excite- 
ment of the heavy cannonade around could 
not divert attention."* 

The Berenice, with General Havelock and 
the Highlanders on board, led the colunm for 
disembarkation. So crowded were the decks 
of the Berenice, that had a single shot plunged 
into the mass, the havoc m.ust have been 
dreadful. Providentially, that peril was es- 
caped. The conduct of the Indian navy in 
covering the landing was beyond praise. 
They kept up so terrilde a fire of broadsides 
at the critical moment, as to prevent the 
enemy from being able to give sufiicient 
attention to the transports and their precious 
freights. Those vessels were all armed, some 
witii only one gun, others with several guns 
or mortars, and the fire from these was di- 
rected most skilfully. The reckless exposure 
of the sailors of the Indian navy must have 
filled the enemy with surprise, as it did the 
British army with admiration. The enthu- 

* Ouiram and Ilaotlock's Persian Camjiaitjit. By 
George Townsend, pp, 3-1!), 250. 



siasm of these gallant tars equalled their 
audacity; in the midst of the furious can- 
nonade they cheered vociferously each de- 
tachment of the troops as they passed between 
the ships on their way to what appeared still 
greater dangers, and more formidable en- 
counters. The infantry and some field artil- 
lery were landed by two o'clock, but the 
creeks of the river were filled by the rising 
of the tide, so as to intercept the passage of 
the horse artillery, and the 14th light dra- 
goons. The general ordered the troops he 
had with him to advance ; the grenadier 
company of the gallant G4th keeping up a 
fire upon the enemy's matchlock-men while 
the troops passed. The troops arrived at the 
extremity of the date-grove which covered 
the line of advance, and hid the enemy's posi- 
tion. At once the lines of the Persians broke 
into view as the troops emerged beyond the 
intercepting wood. By this time the loud 
duel between the ships and batteries had 
nearly ceased ; an explosion in the chief 
magazine of the defences had silenced many 
of the guns, and created alarm among the 
Persian troops. 

The position of the enemy as presented to 
General Outram from the verge of the date- 
grove consisted of the town and batteries, 
flanked by intrenched encampments, which 
were thrown hack to the rear of the j)lace. In 
front of these lines large bodies of troops were 
massed. Upon these lines the British marched. 
The formation was as follows : — a line of con- 
tiguous quarter-distance columns ; a field- 
battery on the right. Next came the 7Sth 
Highlanders ; next the 25tii native infantry, 
(one wing), her majesty's G4th regiment, the 
light battalion, and 23rd Bengal light infantry, 
the whole covered by a cloud of skirmishers. 
The point of attack was the camp' to the left 
rear of the town of Mohammerah, where the 
shah-zada had evidently pitched his cavalry 
and guns, and had been with them in person. 
His infantry had occupied the other encamp- 
ment, about five hundred yards to the right 
of this, and had also been quartered in con- 
siderable numbers in the batteries and date- 
groves adjacent. Up to the moment of our 
advance, these troops were drawn up in order 
of battle, outside the boundary of the shah- 
zada's camp, the right of their line far out- 
flanking our left, which had actually no pro- 
tection when it had once advanced into the 
open plain, beyond the 23rd native light 
infantry being slightly thrown back. This 
great risk, however, caused no hesitation. 
The scene which followed was singular. The 
i British advanced in compact order of battle, 
' with hold bearing and confident step, when, 
: to their astonishment, as if the hosts of the 



Chap. CXXVI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



701 



enemy were a dissolvinu; view, they melted 
away. The Persian soldiery refused to fight, 
battalion after battalion vanished, and with 
such rajjidity, that before the English could 
recover from their astonishment, the grand 
nrmy of the shah had disappeared. I'^very 
tent remained standing, and the ground was 
covered with arms and ammunition, accoutre- 
ments and garments, shot and shell which had 
fallen in the camp from the British guns and 
mortars. No wounded men were seen, but 
the dead were scattered around in bloody 
profusion. Some of the wounded had in part 
been sent into the interior, others were hid- 
den by the townspeople. The inefficiency 
of the British shells was proved by the 
numbers which lay among the enemy's tents 
without having burst. Before retreating the 
Persians had destroyed their grand magazine. 
As the cowardly Persian army glided away, 
crowds of bolder Arab robbers approached 
to plunder the camp. These were driven off by 
a few of the advance men of the 14th light 
dragoons, and the rearguard, while Sir James 
Outram pursued the fugitive army. The 
Scinde horse made desperate exertions to 
overtake them, but could only come upon un- 
fortunate stragglers who were wounded. The 
English were powerless to pursue from the old 
cause of inefficiency in this respect — an inade- 
quate force of cavalry. Indeed, so small was 
the number of the English army, that it is as- 
tonishing the enemy did not try the ordeal of 
battle. The Arabs fell upon the wounded 
fugitives, murdering them partly from love of 
plunder and partly from animosity. 

Eighteen beautiful brass guns and mortars 
were found in the camp, amongst them a llus- 
sian 12-pounder, cast in 1828, bearing an in- 
scription which stated that it was a present 
from the Emperor Nicholas of Russia to the 
shah. The total loss of men in slain by the 
enemy was probably about five hundred, they 
acknowledged a loss of three hundred. The 
wounded who died on the retreat, and those 
murdered by the Arabs, would increase the 
numbers by several hundreds. Their total 
loss could not be less than one thousand men. 
The British loss was ten men killed and thirty- 
one wounded, including Lieutenant Harriss of 
the Indian navy. The fire of the Persians was 
good, hulling the ships, and cutting up the 
rigging ; several boats were much injured, and 
one sunk, the mortar raft was also damaged, 
and in great danger of being sunk. Many 
lives were saved on board ship through the 
l)rotection afforded by trusses of hay placed 
round the sides of the vessels. 

When the British had time to examine the 
position which they had conquered, they were 
much amazed at its strength, and the skill 

VOL. II. 



shown in constructing and mounting the 
batteries. The scene was thus described by 
an officer on the staff of the army, who ex- 
amined the works and witnessed the havoc 
made by the fire from our ships : — " The 
strength of the batteries was found to have 
been by no means exaggerated, and consider- 
able skill was displayed both in their position 
and construction. Nothing but stout hearts 
within them was required to have made their 
capture matter of bloody price to the victors : 
happily for us these were wanting. Solid 
earthworks, open in rear, with parapets 
eighteen feet thick and twenty-five in height 
— the embrasures easemated, and revetted with 
date-stumps (which the heaviest shot will not 
splinter), and the whole interior thickly studded 
with pits full of water to catch our shells 
— had been the work cut out for us. The 
north battery had embrasures for eighteen 
guns, and stood on the right bank of the Ka- 
roon, at its junction with the Euphrates, and 
looked across and down the stream of that 
river. The south battery had eleven guns, and 
was on the opposite bank of the Karoon, com- 
manding in the same direction. A small fort 
between the north battery and the town, and 
connected with the former by a long intrench- 
ment, with embrasures for guns, mounted eight 
or ten guns. This intrenchment, crowded 
with infantry, had kept up a heavy mus- 
ketry fire during the whole action ; and from 
the broken pieces of arms and appointments 
lying about, as well as patches of blood-stains 
in ail directions, our shot must have told 
fearfully among its occupants. Several minor 
batteries of from two to four guns each were 
on either bank, and just outside the west face 
of the town, on the right bank, was a very 
carefully made and strong work for ten guns. 
The whole of the works bore the madis of 
very rough treatment from our shot, though 
they were far from being mined. Outside the 
small fort connected with the north battery was 
a capsized brass 12-pounder, with the carriage 
smashed, and three dead horses harnessed to it, 
all evidently killed at the same moment, if not 
by the same shot. A captain of their artillery 
and three gunners were also lying dead beside 
it. A letter found on the officer stated his 
expectation of a great battle on the morrow, 
and foreboded his own fate — committing his 
wife and children to the care of his brother at 
Teheran. This letter was subsequently for- 
warded to the address it bore by the British 
political agent at Bagdad. 

" Two other handsome field guns and a largo 
brass mortar were found deserted near the 
brass 12-pounder, the accident to which had 
prevented tiie enemy carrying them off; and 
thev must have had some frightful casualties 

4x 



702 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXXVI. 



in their ranks while their men were delayed in 
the attempt. Some few corpses remaining on 
the spot presented horrible spectacles : a huge 
African, in particular, struck on the back of 
the head by a round-shot, which had carried 
away all the bones of the skull and face, lay 
across another dead soldier, with the hideous, 
eyeless black mask that had once been a coim- 
tenance, still as it were mowing and grinning 
at the beholder. The scene of the explosion 
of their grand magazine also afforded some 
ghastly objects, and the damage it had occa- 
sioned was frightful — legs, arms, and heads — 
wretched mutilated remains of humanity — 
protruding among the blackened, blasted ruins. 
The effect of the 68 -pounder shot upon the 
date -trees was most extraordinary, a single 
one sufficing to snap the largest. The im- 
mense size and range of these missiles had 
occasioned the greatest terror and astonish- 
ment among the Persian troops, and doubtless 
was their excuse for their subsequent das- 
tardly misconduct. Much discouragement 
was also said to have been created in their 
ranks by the loss of Agha Jhan Khan, surteep, 
or general of division, and their most able chief, 
who fell desperately wounded very early in 
the day, while showing a most gallant example 
in the north battery. 

" The 27th and 28th of March were occupied 
in removing the guns, collecting the stores, 
&c., and in landing supplies and our own 
tentage for the troops, who, with the exception 
of those to whom the Persian tents had fallen 
prize on occupying their camps, had up to this 
time been living entirely in the open air." 

EXPEDITION TO AKWAZ. 

While the British were encamped at Mo- 
hammerah. Sir James Outram ascertained 
that the enemy had retreated, with the inten- 
tion of reaching Akwaz, about one hundred 
miles distant, on the river Karoon. It was 
the grand depot of provisions of war of all 
kinds for these provinces. The British com- 
mander-in-chief conceived the idea of sending 
up some steamers, with a small detachment 
of troops, and of damaging or destroying the 
place before the retreating force could reach 
it. The steam squadron consisted of the 
Comet, Planet, and Assyria, under Com- 
mander Rennie, of the Indian nav}', whose 
experience in river warfare in Birmah and 
China had been considerable. 

" The troops told off for the service were, 
one hundred and fifty men from the flank 
companies of the 64th regiment, and a like 
number furnished by the light and Captain 
McAndrew's companies of the Highlanders. 
Each steamer took one hundred men, the 
light companies of the Highlanders going on 



the Comet ; Captain Goode's grenadiers, of the 
64th, on the Planet; and Captain McAndrew, 
with part of his own Highlanders and part of 
the light company of the G4th, on the Assyria. 
The expedition was accompanied by the fol- 
lowing officers, irrespective of the troops : — 
Captain Wray, deputy quartermaster-general 
of the army ; Captain Green, military secretary 
to Sir James; Captain Kemball, political agent 
and consul at Bagdad ; and several other 
officers. The steamers left Mohammerah about 
ten o'clock on the morning of 29th March, the 
Comet leading and lending a tow-rope to the 
Assyria, she being of lesser power ; the Planet 
brought up the rear. A gunboat, carrying two 
24-pounder howitzers, was also in tow of each 
steamer." After sunset of the first day's sail, 
a party of officers landed, and discovered the 
ground upon which the enemy had bivouaced 
in their retreat, and the wheel-marks of five 
guns were made out, besides those of a carriage 
of narrow axle. Getting under weigh again 
at daylight the next morning, the ruined 
mosque of ,Imaum Subbeh was reached early 
in the afternoon ; and the steamer running 
alongside the bank, a few officers landed to 
explore, again finding the marks of the 
enemy's halting-ground. The five guns had 
been parked near the ruin, which stood close 
to the waterside, and the shah-zada him- 
self had evidently occupied the little shelter 
afforded by the few date-trees in its immediate 
neighbourhood. The wheel-marks of the 
small carriage were agam made out, and, 
judging from the freshness of the impressions 
in the clay and other appearances, not more 
than twenty-four hours could have elapsed 
since the retreating army had passed. Several 
fresh-made graves also gave evidence that 
they had buried their dead by the way ; and, 
from the absence of the usual scraps of food 
around the bivouac fires, and similar indica- 
tions at the picketing-places, they were evi- 
dently pressed for both provisions and forage. 
Again the little squadron got under weigh, 
and on arriving at the Arab village of Ismaini, 
it was learned that the enemy had passed the 
previous daj' ; the force consisting of seven 
regiments, two thousand horse, and four guns ; 
and another gun, with a broken carriage, towed 
in a boat along the river close by their line 
of march. On the 31st, at dawn, the brisk little 
Comet cast off' the Assyria, and putting on full 
power, made up river, expecting to capture 
the boat on board of which was the gun. Soon 
after nine in tlie morning, a straggler from 
the rearguard was captured. He was so 
exhausted with fatigue, hunger, and fear, that 
no information could be extracted from him. 
From the Arabs it was soon after ascer- 
tained that the enemy's army had reached 



Chap. CXXVI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



T08 



their destination, towing their boat with the 
gun safely up to the city. The remainder of 
the little squadron joined in the evening, and 
a position was talcen up for the night. Early 
on the morning of the 1st of April, the 
squadron steamed up towards Akwaz. The 
Persian army was descried on the right bank 
of the river, the town was situated on the left. 
" They had a most formidable cavalry force, 
certainly over two thousand ; four large 
masses of infantry were partly screened by a 
low range of sand-hills, which ran along their 
front ; and three guns were distinctly seen in 
position near a small mosque in their centre, 
a fourth being on a slope below and to the 
left of it. Their line fronted down the river, 
and at a slight angle to it, their left resting 
immediately upon its bank. Our small fleet 
steamed slowly up to within three thousand 
yards of the position, all busied either in sur- 
veying the river, reoonnoitering the force in 
front, or observing the patrols of cavalry 
which were now riding within rifle-shot 
abreast of us, and watching our movements. 
A boat beneath the left bank for some minutes 
escaped with very casual notice ; but sus- 
picions being roused, it was determined to 
examine her. A cutter from the Comet, 
taking two officers of the party and a cor- 
poral's guard of the Highlanders, accordingly 
boarded her (the crew jumping overboard as 
the cutter approached), when she proved to 
be the much-coveted prize, a splendid 12- 
pounder brass gun being found in her. While 
hoisting this on board the Comet, a couple of 
horsemen approaching closer to see what we 
were doing, a shot was fired at them from 
one of Colonel Jacob's new rifles. The effect 
of this was most ridiculous : though not 
striking either. They both turned at once, 
galloping back at speed to the picket of some 
thirty cavalry which they had come from, and 
which also withdrew to a more respectful 
distance. Some Arabs next hailed us from 
the shore, one was brought on board, and it 
was ascertained that the garrison of Akwaz 
did not exceed five hundred infantry and 
thirty horse, left to protect the stores, which 
had scarcely been touched by the enemy 
before our approach. The information ap- 
pearing reliable, it was determined at once to 
attempt reaching the town by landing on the 
left bank, and circling clear of cannon-range 
to its east face ; when, should it be found 
defended in much greater force, a simple re- 
connaissance was to be made, and an orderly 
return to the boats; but if practicable, the 
town was to be carried, and the stores burnt. 
A gunboat was ordered to go iip the river as 
far as possible without rashness, and open fire 
■with two howitzers. There were only two 



small boats on the side of the river where the 
Persian army lay, so that men could not be 
sent over in any great numbers to assist the 
garrison of the city. The gunboat per- 
formed its mission admirably ; Mr. Hewett, 
mate of the Indian navy, directed the fire with 
great coolness and skill, although a very 
young man. Dispositions were made of a 
most ingenious nature to make the enemy 
believe that the British force opposed to them 
was only the advance guard of a great flotilla, 
and of the whole army of Sir James Outram. 
A high jungle, screening the formation of the 
troops, enabled this happy imposition to be 
practised, rendering it impossible for the 
enemy to form any correct estimate of the 
numbers. " A single line of skirmishers, each 
man ten or twelve paces apart, first issued 
from the bushes on the plain, in view of the 
enemy ; the supports followed these, at about 
one hundred yards' interval, also in single 
rank, and with files very much loosened. At 
another interval of about one hundred yards, 
the three main detachments advanced, about 
two hundred yards apart, each in columns of 
threes, and opened out to very wide intervals. 
The light company of the Highlanders was on 
the left, and on entering the town had to turn 
to the left, and, getting under cover at the 
water's edge, to endeavour to keep down the 
fire. Captain Goode's grenadiers of the G4th 
were in the centre, and were to move on the 
body of the town, and at once begin destroy- 
ing the stores. Captain McAndrew's detach- 
ment on the right, composed partly of High- 
landers and partly of men of the 64th, was 
to turn to the right on entering, and, watching 
any troops that might attempt the upper face 
of the town, also destroy whatever magazines 
or stores fell in his way." 

The garrison of the town ran away, and 
crossing far up the river, joined the main 
army. The sheik, with a long retinue of 
religious persons, came out to solicit protec- 
tion, which was afforded, on condition that 
he would disclose the position of the maga- 
zines, and aid in their destruction. He was 
assured that private property would be spared 
and the inhabitants treated with respect. 

The Persian army remained still in posi- 
tion, and it was necessary for the troops to 
act with the greatest circumspection. A 
lucky cast from one of the howitzers pitched 
a shell into the shah-zada's quarters, nearly 
destroying a mosque. His excellency became 
so alarmed that he gave orders for the army 
to retreat upon Shustu, his nearest depot, 
but a long distance for an army without pro- 
visions, as all their stores lay in the city which 
they were unable to save. Ten thousand 
men thus fled before three hundred, surren- 



704: 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. CXXVI. 



dering a city ami extensive magazines of 
food and ammunition. One who witnessed 
the retreat of the Per.sians thus described it : 
— " Their infantry, keeping in four distinct 
masses, went off first, marching very rapidly 
on a course parallel to the river, taking the 
four guns seen in position with them ; and 
they were also said to have had three others 
of lighter metal. A small green palanquin 
carriage, with glass windows, and a ' takh- 
teraidan,' or mule-litter, in which Per.sian 
women of rank usually travel, were conspi- 
cuous in the midst of a strong escort. This 
was the carriage, the tracks of which had 
been found at their several bivouacs. The 
cavalry brought up the rear, and a magni- 
ficent appearance this great body of horse 
presented. They certainly exceeded two 
thousand in number, appeared well mounted, 
and were dressed in long blue frocks, with 
trousers of lighter colour, a white belt, and 
the high black lambskin cap peculiar to the 
Persians. A sabre and long matchlock slung 
across their backs appeared to be their only 
arms, as (unusual with Asiatics) no lances 
were visible among them. The pick of the 
Bactdyari tribes, reputed the shah's best 
cavalry, were present among the number. 
They carried three standards with them, but 
in crimson cases, not flying. One of these 
horsemen remained concealed behind a wall 
until their whole army had proceeded about 
a mile, then suddenly starting from his hiding- 
place, he fired his matchlock at the town, as 
if in defiance, and galloped off at speed after 
his comrades. This was the last man seen 
of the Persian army. 

" Before their rearguard had advanced 
many hundred yards out of their lines, the 
gunboat crossed, taking Captain Wray, Lord 
Schomberg Kerr, and Captain Green, with 
twenty of the Highlanders, and with utter 
impunity exploded a quantity of ammunition 
deserted by them ; although — a few minutes 
after this took place, and when the ]iarty 
might easily have been cut off from the boat, 
had a few of their horsemen possessed the 
courage to dash back — they unlimbered a 
light gun and sent a shot at some Arab 
marauders who had swam the river and 
commenced plundering the lines they had 
abandoned. The town had been entered 
about half an hour before midday, and it 
was about two o'clock when the last of the 
enemy was seen. During the whole of this 
time the work of destroying the stores had 
been going on, Major Kemball first compel- 
ling the Arabs to carry down to the steamers 
as much of the flour and wheat as stowage could 
be found for them, and, as payment for their 
labour, threw open to them the remainder. 



" Besides the immense quantity of grain 
thus carried off and scattered by us, fifteen 
cases of perfectly new firelocks and bayonets 
were taken, fifty-six fine mnles in capital 
condition, a handsome horse of the shah- 
zada's, a number of new pack-saddles, with 
their appointments, and a great many new 
intrenching tools of different descriptions. 
The whole of these were brought away in 
the boats. The firelocks captured were of 
English manufacture, and had the Tower 
mark upon them. A large flock of sheep 
was also among the prizes. Of these, as 
many were brought off as the boats could 
hold, and the troops and seamen consumed 
many more during the stay which it was now 
decided to make at Akwaz, both for the moral 
effect and for political reasons ; the remainder 
of the flock was presented to the sheik of the 
town on the departure of the expedition." 

Captain Selby, noticed elsewhere in this 
work as so useful an officer in his marine sur- 
veys, was of great service in this expedition. 
He commanded the Comet, and his surveys 
of the river and of the Persian Gulf on former 
occasions enabled him to guide the little 
squadron in safety. 

During the 2nd and 3rd of April, the poli- 
tical agent who accompanied the expedition 
remained at Akwaz, receiving the submission 
of the sheiks of tbe surrounding districts. 
While these events were occurring, negotia- 
tions for peace were going on at Paris, which, 
on the 4th of March, was concluded. This 
intelligence arrived at ■Mohammerah on the 
same day that the expeditionary force arrived 
at that place on its return from Akwaz. Sir 
James Ontram put himself into communica- 
tion with the nearest Persian authorities in 
reference to the fulfilment of the treaty. He 
arranged that a small garrison should remain 
in Bushire, and the rest of the troops return 
to India. Great dissatisfaction was created 
among the army of Persia b}^ the easy terms 
which the Persian ambassadors obtained at 
Paris. The general impressions were, that 
the French emperor, or his foreign minister, 
were more anxious, by the interposition of 
Franco, to prevent the acquisition of renown 
and influence by the English in Persia, than 
to secure a tried and faithful ally such terms 
as honour and justice might demand. It 
was thought that Lord Clarendon showed 
too little fii-mness, and that he and Lord 
Palmerston displayed more eagerness to please 
the French emperor than comported with the 
dignity of England. These noblemen did 
not expect that the operations in the Persian 
Gulf would be so successful. They, no doubt, 
calculated upon the expedition being con- 
ducted with the usual blunders of an English 



Chap. CXXVI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



705 



campaign. They did LOt recollect, or did 
not know, that Outrani and llavelock were 
men who rose by their merit, and were not the 
creatures of a pragmatical governor-general, 
or a servile commander-in-chief. Had there 
been a just conception in the English cabinet 
of the capacity and resources of the majority 
of the officers who led tITe army of Persia, 
better terms would have been insisted on. 
The troops engaged in the Persian expedition 
became a useful reinforcement to the army 
in India struggling against the mutineers and 
rebels of the Bengal provinces and Central 
India. From that circumstance the reader 
will be interested in the destination of the 
troops which left Persia in May, I808. In a 
field-force order, made at the camp, Moham- 
mcrah, Uth of May, 18u7, the followipg dispo- 
sitions were made as to the places to which 
the troops tlien departing should be sent : — 

1st. " The third troop of horse-artillery to 
Kurrachee : first company second battalion 
of artillery to Kurrachee ; reserve companies 
to Bombay ; her majesty's G4th regiment to 
Vingorla ; her majesty's 78th Highlanders to 
Bombay ; light battalion to Bombay ; Madras 
sappers and miners to Bombay. 

2nd. " The 23rd native light infantry and 
the 2Gth native infantry are transferred to the 
first division, and will proceed to Bushire, 
with the detachment of Scinde horse and laud 
transport corps now at Mohammerah. 

3rd. " The staff of the second division will 
return to Bombay, with the exception of the 
engineers, ordnance, and commissariat de- 
partments, which will proceed to Bu.shire and 
await further instructions. 

4th. " Brigadier-general Jacob, C.B., will 
command the troops stationed at Bushire, 
which will be organized as follows : — cavalry 
brigade : 3rd regiment light cavalry, Scinde 
horse, Poonah horse, Aden troop, 14th king's 
light dragoons — Brigadier Stewart. Artillery 
brigade : 4th troop horse artillery, 3rd light 
field-battery, 5th light field-battery, 8th light 
field-battery, three companies of the second 
battalion artillery, four companies of the 
fourth battalion artillery — Lieutenant-colonel 
Trevelyan. Infantry : 20th regiment native 
infantry, 2Gth regiment native infantry — first 
brigade, Colonel Macan. Fourth Bengal na- 
tive infantry, 23rd regiment native light in- 
fantry, Beloochee battalion — second brigade. 
Colonel Honner.* 

6th. " The Lieutenant-general avails him- 
self of this opportunity to return his warmest 
thanks to the whole of the troops placed under 
his command for service in Persia, for their 
very exemplary conduct since their arrival 

' This force subsequently went to India, in time to 
render service in the suppression of the mutiny. 



in this country, evinced by the fact of Bcarcely 
one instance of misconduct on the part of 
any individual having been brought to his 
notice. This entire absence of crime amongst 
60 large a body of troops assembled in camp 
redounds to the credit of both officers and 
men, and is the strongest possible proof of 
the high state of discipline of the force ; 
whilst their conduct throughout the expe- 
dition to Brasjoon, and in the engagement at 
Khoosh-aub, bore ample testimony to the 
gallantry of all ranks before an enemy, and 
to their cheerful and patient endurance of 
fatigue and hardship under most trying cir- 
cumstances." 

In the remainder of " the order," his ex- 
cellency thanked the officers of his force for 
their signal skill and gallantry, selecting 
Brigadier-general Havelock, C.B., and Bri- 
gadier-general Wilson, K.H., as especially 
worthy of honour. 

On the 15th of May, Brigadier-general 
Havelock, with the staff' of his late division, 
embarked on board the Berenice, the vessel 
on board of which he had been, and which so 
providentially escaped when under fire of the 
batteries of Mohammerah. The Berenice 
arrived on the 23rd of May at Bombay, where 
the unwelcome intelligence of the mutiny 
smote every ear and every heart. The High- 
landers and the G4th regiment were imme- 
diately, without landing, dispatched for de- 
barkation nearer to the scone of action. How 
little did the authorities of Bombay suspect 
that the experience and hardihood acquired in 
Persia had qualified those troops for sublime 
services in India 1 As little was it supposed at 
Bombay or anywhere else in India, that Have- 
lock was to be the saviour of our Asiatic pos- 
sessions, and that in him Britain would find 
a genius equal to the terrible emergency 
Providence permitted to arise. 

Havelock, and most of his officers, had dis- 
embarked at Bombay, although the men still 
" kept the ships." He did not again embark 
in the Berenice, but in the Erin, on the 1st of 
June, following the troops which had been 
sent forward. A storm arose, and the Erin 
struck upon a reef off the Island of Ceylon, 
near a small civil station called Caltitra, 
between Galle and Colombo. The loss of all 
on board was imminent, and had that pre- 
cious freight of genius and devoted loyalty 
perished, India, humanly speaking, would 
have been lost to England. The cowardly 
Lascars (native sailors) refused to go aloft 
and ease the ship, or make any exertion 
whatever below. They huddled together in 
craven fear and fanatical apathy, while the 
English officers performed their work for 
I them. To the firmness, coolness, and genius 



706 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. CXXVII. 



of Havelock it was mainly due that every 
soul on board did not perish. 

On the 8th of June Havelock and his 
officers embarked on board the Fire Queen. 
On the 12th the ship entered the roads of 
Madras. She arrived at Calcutta the 17th of 
June, bringing also Sir Patrick Grant, the 



new commander-in-chief of the army of the 
Bengal presidency. The arrival of those 
officers at Calcutta, especially Havelock, 
caused joy and hope in the midst of the 
depression and gloom which then predo- 
minated. The causes of this despondency 
will be related in another chapter. 



CHAPTER CXXVII; 

DEPARTURE OF LORD DALHOUSIE-ARRIVAL OF LORD CANNING AS GOVERNOR-GENERAL 
—BREAKING OUT OF A SEPOY MUTINY— WANT OF FORESIGHT AND DECISION ON 
THE PART OF GOVERNMENT— DISBANDING OF REGIMENTS AND PUNISHMENT OF 
INDIVIDUAL OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS-PROOFS OF A MOHAMMEDAN CONSPIRACY. 



Early in March, 1856, Lord Dalhousie retired 
from the government of India. His successor. 
Lord Canning, arrived previous to that event. 
These two men met at Government House, 
amidst festivities and splendour.* The most 
eventful incidents of British Indian history 
had occurred during the government of Lord 
Dalhousie, but even these were destined to be 
surpassed in magnitude and importance by 
those which afterwards taxed the powers and 
experience of Lord Canning. Lord Canning's 
difficulties were in the main created by Lord 
Dalhousie. To deal with this legacy of diffi- 
culties Lord Canning did not possess any 
extraordinary abilities. He had been con- 
sidered an apt man of public business, with 
the family talent for diplomacy ; he had been 
as good a postmaster-general as his prede- 
cessors in that office, which is not a very high 
commendation. Ho inherited a great name, 
and was a favourite of Lord Palmerston, under 
whose auspices he went to India. Much more 
could not be said for him. His reception at 
Calcutta was described in the chapter which 
treated of the social condition of India. His 
government, previous to the breaking out of 
the mutiny, was not in any way remarkable. 
That event surpassed all others in Anglo- 
Indian history, in its importance and its danger, 
and brought out a heroism and talent on the 
part of the British in India — of all ranks— such 
as excited the admiration of their countrymen 
and of the world. The causes of the mutiny, 
and even the immediate occasion of it, have 
been referred to bo frequently in the course of 
this history, that it is unnecessary further to 
discuss them. In the chapters which treat of 
the social condition of India, and of the Indian 
army, and in tlio introduction, sufficient has 

* Tlie reader will find an account of their meeting in 
chapter xivii., under the head of "The social condition of 
India." 



been written on this subject to render it only 
requisite to make incidental reference to it as 
the narrative of facts proceeds. 

MUTINY OF THE BENGAL ARMY, AND INSUR- 
RECTION IN THE BENGAL PROVINCES. 

The annexation of Oude had disgusted and 
enraged the sepoys of the Bengal army, who 
were generally recruited from that country, or 
from the contiguous province of Upper Ben- 
gal. Independent of that circumstance, while 
the government pampered the Brahmins and 
high-caste Mussulmans, it became less careful 
of offending the religions prejudices of tho 
soldiers. Instances had occurred of these pre- 
judices having been invaded in various ways 
without creating revolt, but the government 
did not know that in every such case bad 
feeling was created, which was quietly but 
actively diffused. Cases of military revolt 
had, however, occurred so often in Indian 
history in consequence of the superstition of 
the sepoys taking offence, that the government 
and its officials had lessons of prudence so 
plainly given, that none but persons judicially 
blinded, or utterly incompetent, could have 
been heedless. All such monitions proved in 
vain ; the government and the officials acted 
like men governed by some irresistible fate. 
Quod Deus vult perdere prius dementat, might 
be pronounced in every department of the 
Bengal government, without impiety, so 
blindly did each proceed in precipitating the 
awful catastrophe which impended. Various 
indications were afforded before Lord Dal- 
housie left India, and immediately after the 
arrival of his successor, that the native army 
was in an unsettled state ; that the troops 
were not respectful to their officers, not loyal; 
and that they brooded over some real or sup- 
posed grievances, not simply with discontent, 
but with vindictive feeling. These indications 



Ohap. OXXVII.l 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



70t 



of the temper of the troops were noticed all 
over Bengal and the annexed provinces. A 
sense of alarm was felt by loyal natives and 
independent English settlers. In Calcutta, it 
was impossible to visit the bazaar without per- 
ceiving that the natives of all classes expected 
some serious and important event, and that 
society was perturbed. All these portents of 
a coming storm were pointed out to the 
government, but its officials, civil and military, 
refused to hear the rustling of the leaves, and 
only awoke from their stupidity when the trees 
themselves were snapped by the tempest. 
When at last the hurricane of sedition burst 
forth, the government was utterly unprepared 
for such a calamity, and were stunned by the 
tidings of disaster and devastation. 

The first decisive indication of a state of dis- 
trust on the part of the sepoys occurred at 
Dum-Dum, where a school of musketry was 
established. The feeling was first shown there 
at the close of 1S5G. On the 22nd of January, 
1857, Captain Wright, of the 70th native 
infantry, brought under notice of Major 
Bonteim, the commandant, the existence of dis- 
satisfaction among the men. His report stated 
that " a very unpleasant feeling existed among 
the native soldiers who were at the depot for 
instruction, regarding the grease used in pre- 
paring the cartridges, some evil-disposed per- 
son having spread a report that it consisted of 
a mixture of the fat of pigs and cows." Captain 
Wright added, " The belief in this respect has 
been strengthened by the behaviour of a classic 
attached to the magazine, who, I am told, 
asked a sepoy of the 2nd grenadiers to supply 
him with water from his lotah ; the sepoy re- 
fused, observing he was not aware of what 
caste the man was ; the classic immediately 
rejoined, ' You will soon lose your caste, as ere 
long you will have to bite cartridges covered 
with the fat of pigs and cows,' or words to 
that effect. Some of the depot men, in con- 
versing with me on the subject last night, said 
that the report had spread throughout India, 
and when they go to their homes their friends 
will refuse to eat with them. I assured them 
(believing it to be the case) that the grease used 
is composed of mutton fat and wax ; to which 
they replied, ' It may be so, but our friends 
will not believe it : let us obtain the ingredients 
from the bazaar, and make it up ourselves ; 
we shall then know what is used, and be able 
to assure our fellow soldiers tliat there is 
nothing in it prohibited by our caste.' " After 
some delays, such as may well surprise any 
person acquainted with the importance of 
allowing the native troops to take up a reli- 
gious or caste prejudice, the men were paraded, 
and asked if they had any grievances or com- 
plaints. About two-thirds of the men, and all 



the native commissioned officers, stepped to 
the front and respectfully stated that a suspi- 
cion had gone abroad that the fat of kine and 
swine was used in the preparation of the car- 
tridges for the Enfield rifles. It was well 
known (hat the Mohammedan regarded swine's 
flesh as abominable, while those of the Brah- 
minical religion holding kine to be sacred, 
would have their religious prejudices shocked 
by the use of fat from the animal in the making 
up of their cartridges. The men prayed that 
\^ax and oil should be used. General Hearsey, 
commanding at Barrackpore, acquainted the 
deputant adjutant-general of the forces with 
the true state of affairs, of which the general 
formed an accurate estimate. He recommended 
that the men should be allowed to obtain from 
the bazaar whatever ingredients for preparing 
the cartridges would answer that end, and 
satisfy the religious scruples of the sepoy. 

The deputy adjutant-general took three 
days to " con over " the affair, and then sent 
the correspondence to the military secretary, 
who answered, on the 27th January, that the 
governor-general in council had adopted 
General Hearsey's suggestion, which might be 
carried out as well at tJmballah and Sealkote, 
if the men wished it. The inspector-general 
of ordnance was applied to for information as 
to what the composition used in the arsenal for 
greasing the cartridges of the rifle muskets 
consisted of, " whether mutton fat was or is 
used, and if there are any means adopted for 
ensuring the fat of sheep and goats only being 
used ; also, whether it is possible that the fat 
of bullocks and pigs may have been employed 
in preparing the ammunition for the new rifled 
muskets which has been recently made up in 
the arsenal." The reply was, that the grease 
used was a mixture of tallow and beeswax, in 
accordance with the instructions of the court 
of directors ; that the tallow was supplied by 
a contractor ; but that " no extraordinary pre- 
caution appears to have been taken to ensure 
the absence of any objectionable fat." The first 
ammunition made in the arsenal was intended 
for the 60th rifles, and it was probable that 
some of this was issued to the depot at Dum- 
Dum. The inspector-general regretted that 
"ammunition was not prepared expressly for 
the practice depot, without any grease at all," 
but the subject did not " occur to him." He 
recommended that the home government 
should be requested not to send out any more 
made ammunition for the Enfield rifles.* 

On the 28th of January, General Hearsey 
again informed the government that the idea 
was deeply seated in the minds of thesoldiers, 
that the government intended to deprive them 

* The Sepoy Revolt; Us Causes and Us Consequences. 
By Henry Mead. 



70S 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Ch.vp. CXXVII. 



of caste by a deceitful trick, and tlien by foixe 
to make them Christians. The general assured 
bis superiors, that so completely had this idea 
taken possession of the sepoys, that " it would 
be idle and unwise to attempt its removal." He 
also stated that incendiary fires had taken place, 
which were the work of the disaffected soldiers, 
and perpetrated with the object of disturbing 
the country, exasperating the natives, and thus 
creating a sympathy with their own sedition. 
It seems almost incredible that the govern- 
ment, in the face of this and other evidence, 
wrote home making light of the whole affair, 
and informing the court of directors that the 
explanations offered to the sepoys had satisfied 
them. The directors have been blamed for not 
foreseeing the magnitude and peril of the crisis 
when its first indications gave them warning. 
It is not wonderful that they should accept 
the assurances of Lord Canning and his coun- 
cil that all was well, more especially as the 
president of the board of control (Mr. Vernon 
(?milh), and the premier. Lord Palmerston, 
were satisfied with the competency of Lord 
Canning to determine all matters on the spot, 
and with the accuracy of his advices. While 
the English government and the Indian govern- 
ment were crying " peace, peace, here was 
no peace." Had all the officials at Calcutta 
been blind, or had the dispatches which were 
received from the provinces been addressed 
to men without reason, they could not liave 
acted with less forethought, or shown less 
judgment. Viscount Canning had evidently 
taken up the government in the spirit in which 
Lord Dalhousie had laid it down — that India 
might be regarded as secure and prosperous. 
In the last "minute" of the government of 
the IMarquis Dalhousie, he thus recorded his 
conviction, while reviewing the history of his 
own eight years of office : — " I enter on the re- 
view with the single hope that the honourable 
court of directors may derive from the retro- 
spect some degree of satisfaction with the past, 
and a still larger measure of encouragement 
for the future." This minute was perused 
by Viscount Canning with confidence in Ids 
predecessor and himself, and hence the false 
security in which he wrapped himself, and the 
dulness of all around him to the real signs of 
the time. 

On the 11th of February, General Hearsey 
wrote to the government declaring that they 
" dwelt on a mine ready for explosion." He 
pointed out the peculiar facts connected with 
several fresh instances of incendiarism, as 
proving that they had been perpetrated by 
the soldiery. The general declared that de- 
positions had been made before him and other 
authorities that the soldiers had conspired 
throughout the Bengal army to i^revent the 



government from forcing them to abandon 
their religion by compelling them to break caste 
in biting cartridges greased wilh tlie fat of for- 
bidden animals. The general sliowed how he 
had jiaraded the men, and di.ssuaded them 
from their dangerous proceedings, and added 
these ominous words: — "You will perceive 
in all this business the native officers were of 
no use ; in fact, they are afraid of their men, 
and dare not act; all they do is to hold them- 
selves aloof, and expect by so doing they will 
escape censure as not actively implicated. 
This has always occurred on such occasions, 
and will continue to the end of our sovereignty 
in India. ^Vell might Sir C. lletcalfe say, 
' that he expected to awake some fine morning, 
and find that India had been lost to the 
English crown.' " The procedure of the go- 
vernment, on the receipt of new and most 
alarming communications from various parts, 
was slow, uncertain, and, at last, when action 
of a determined kind was taken, it was 
haughtily confident, severe, and impolitic. 

The sepoys at Barrackpore took measures to 
corrupt those of the 19th regiment at Berham- 
pore. That regiment, on the night of the 
19th of February, suddenly assembled, and 
made demonstrations of revolt. Colonel 
IMitchel, who commanded the garrison, iiume- 
diately ordered out other troops at the station, 
which were a squadron of irregular cavalry, 
consisting of one hundred and eighty men; 
there were also two piec3s of cannon, manned 
by six native gunners each. He there ad- 
dressed the I'Jth, demanding the reason of 
their parading without orders ; they alleged 
that it arose from a report that European 
troops had been ordered up to the station to 
murder them unless they consented to violate 
their religion by biting the greased cartridges. 
Colonel Mitchel addressed them in terms which 
blended firmness and prudence. The cavalry 
and artillery remained lojal, and the infantry, 
at last, consented to lay down their arms and 
submit to their duty. They were invited to 
test the cartridges. This the native officers 
did in the presence of the men, and pronounced 
the greater number free from grease of any 
kind, but that grease had been used in pre- 
paring the more highly glazed paper of one 
set of the cartridges. The men were informed 
that a plan would be adopted of loading with- 
out biting the cartridge, but although this 
satisfied the majority for the time, the good 
faith of government, as to the maintenance 
of its promises not to interfere with their re- 
ligion, was not trusted. The regiment, how- 
ever, continued to perform its duties. It will 
be observed that the irregular cavalry and 
artillerymen remained loyal, and that their 
loyalty saved the station, for there was aot a 



Chap. CXXVII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



.709 



European quartered there. This furnitilics 
proof of tlie sincerity of the infantry in the 
allegations they made as to the causes of dis- 
affection. The artillery and cavahy had 
nothing to do with such cartridges, and there- 
fore not only made no complaints, but were 
ready to fire on their mutinous co-religionists 
had they continued in revolt. The artillery 
and cavalry, however, sympathised with the 
grievances of the infantry, but not being them- 
selves in^ olved in them, were easily satisfied 
as to the remedies proposed. The 19th had 
been seduced by the men of the 34th, stationed 
at Barrackpore, who promised co-operation, but 
failed to render it in the hour of trial. 

When Lord Canning heard of the transac- 
tions at Berhampore, he determined upon 
making an example of the 19th regiment, 
although the corps had returned to its duty, 
and had evidently misconducted itself, not from 
a mutinous disposition, but from a sincere con- 
viction that the government had violated its 
engagements never to enforce observances or 
practices upon its native soldiery at variance 
with their religion. Lord Canning ordered 
the Oriental steamship to Rangoon, to con- 
vey the 84th regiment of the royal line, quar- 
tered there, to Barrackpore; to which place 
also a wing of the o3rd regiment, stationed at 
Fort "William, was ordered ; and some artillery 
was to accompany these detachmcntp. The 
mutinous native regiment was, at tlie same 
time, ordered to march from Berhampore to 
Barrackpore. This last order was, that the 
regiment might be disbanded in the presence 
of the garrison, and of various detachments 
called in from a certain distance. It might 
be supposed that a measure of such importance 
would be kept secret by the select few whom 
it was necessary should co-operate in carry- 
ing it out — this, however, was not the case ; 
scarcely had the resolve been taken when it 
was known and discussed among the sepoys 
at Barrackpore. The 34th regiment of 15en- 
gal native infantry quartered there was one of 
the most fanatical and disloyal of the fervicc. 
This corps, which, as already shown, had caused 
the uneasy feeling in the 19th at Berhampore, 
immediately laid a plan for frustating the in- 
tentions of the government. The authorities 
had no information of the exact state of feeling 
in the 34th. They were dull of understanding 
to observe the indications of things at Barrack- 
I)ore, as well as everywhere else. The order 
to march to Barrackpore was given to the 
19th, and the 34th was commanded to relieve 
that corps. The latter advised the former to 
mutiny on the road, assuring it that European 
troojis had been sent for to massacre it; a 
particular part of the road was specified for 
the revolt ; the officers were, according to the 

VOL. It. 



plan of the 34th, to be at once murdered, a 
signal was to be given, and (he 34th would 
march out and join the mutineers. I'his 
correspondence fell into the hands of Colonel 
Mitchell, who acted with undaunted courage 
and perfect skill. Wlicn he reached a par- 
ticular part of the road he suddenly halted the 
regiment, so thatat the appointed time for the 
revolt the corps was not at the a]i])ointed 
])lace. Before the hour arrived he iiehl a 
durbar of the native officers, whom lie en- 
gaged in acts of courtesy and well- assumed 
confidence. The men could not act according 
to the concocted plan, the expected signal, of 
course, never reached the 34th at Barrackpore; 
and thus, by the presence of mind, good sense, 
and cool resolution of Colonel Mitchell, the 
scheme of the mutineers was frustrated, and 
scenes of blood and horror averted, similar to 
those which soon afterwards took place in so 
many parts of India. The 19th was marched 
to its destination, and the arrangements of the 
government were completed for breaking up 
the corps. It is but justice to say, that at 
the core the battalion was loyal, that the men 
had no disposition to mutinous acts ; it was as 
brave and well-disciplined a body of native 
infantry as any in the service, as might be ex- 
pected from its having so efficient a com- 
mander. It was only under the suspicion, 
not at all unreasonable, that the government, 
either from design or carelessness, had en- 
dangered its caste, that it was disposed to any 
hostile action. The men had been informed by 
natives actually engaged in the manufacture 
of the obnoxious cartridges, that their casto 
was gone ; this information had been accom- 
panied with sneers and insults which goaded 
the men almost to madness, loyal althoiigh 
they were. The reports which reached them 
from the 34th, about disbanding and massacre, 
left them, in their own opinion, no alternative 
but revolt. 

While these transactions were taking place, 
others of a still more formidable nature 
occurred in the 34th regiment. That corps 
was cowardly, but still more truculent. One 
of its number, a desperate fanatic, in a state 
of intoxication, rushed on the parade-ground 
on Sunday, the 29th of Jlarch, shouting "deen, 
deen," ("religion, religion,") and taunted his 
comrades to come forth and fight for their 
faith against the Ferringhees. The eerjeant- 
major arrived at the moment, the fanatic fired 
at him, but was too drunk with bhang to hit 
the mark. This was immediately in front of 
the quarter-guard, numbering nineteen men, 
who turned out and enjoyed the sight, crowd- 
ing around the serjeant-major, and preventing 
him from taking any decided action against 
the mutineer, who reloaded his piece, and shot 

4 Y 



710 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. CXXVII. 



the horee of the adjutant, who just then rode 
up to see what was the matter. As the adju- 
tant fell, the mutineer attacked him with his 
side arms, and the quarter-guard struck the 
serjeant-major and the fallen officer with the 
butt-ends of their muskets. Both men would 
have been murdered in a few moments if 
General Hearsey had not galloped up, fearing 
that a revolt was beginning : he ordered the 
guard to rescue the adjutant and serjeant- 
major ; they refused — their pieces were not 
loaded. He presented a revolver, declaring 
that he would shoot the first man who refused 
to move forward; they obeyed, and rescued 
the intended victims of assassination. The 
jemadar gave orders in opposition to those of 
the general; but the resolution and authority 
of the latter prevailed. The jemadar and 
guard were subsequently arrested. The name 
of the fanatical sepoy was Mungul Pandy, and 
he has received an unenviable notoriety in 
India, not only by being the first man who 
Btriick a blow for the cause of the mutineers, 
but from the fact of his name having, from 
that circumstance, been given to the mutineers 
and to all sepoys who excite the hostility or 
contempt of the English. 

The evening after this affair with the 34;th, 
the 19th entered from Barrackpore, and the 
next day they were drawn up on parade to 
hear the decision of the governor -general and 
commander-in-chief. It was an imposing 
sight when the four thousand sepoys of the 
garrison, the offending regiment, the European 
artillery and infantry which had arrived for 
the occasion, and various detachments from 
other stations, assembled to hear the order of 
the day. The first part of tlie document re- 
capitulated the events which led to the situa- 
tion, the order then declared : — 

The regiment has been guilty of open and defiant 
mutiny. 

It is no excuse for this offence to say, as had been said 
in the before-mentioned petition of the native officers and 
men of the regiment, that they were afraid for their 
religion, and that they apprehended violence to them- 
selves. 

It is no atonement of it to declare, as they have therein 
declared, that they are ready to fight for their government 
in the field, when they have disobeyed and insulted that 
government in the persons of its officers, and have ex- 
pressed no contrition for their heavy offences. 

Neither the 19th regiment, nor any regiment in the 
service of the government of India, nor any sepoy, Hindoo, 
or Mussulman, has reason to pretend that the government 
has shown, directly or indirectly, a desire to interfere with 
the religion of its troops. 

It has been the unvarying rule of the government of 
India to treat the religious feelings of all its servants, of 
every creed, with careful respect ; and to representations 
or complaints put forward in a dutiful and becoming 
spirit, whether upon this, or upon any other subject, it 
has never turned a deaf car. 

But the government of India expects to receive, in 



return for this treatment, the confidence of those who 
serve it. 

From its soldiers of every rank and race it will, at all 
times and in all circumstances, enforce unhesitating obe- 
dience. They have sworn to give it, and the governor- 
general iu council will never cease to exact it. To no 
men who prefer complaints with arms iu their hands will 
he ever listen. 

Had the sepoys of the I9th regiment confided in theii 
government, and believed their commanding officer, in- 
stead of crediting the idle stories with which false and 
evil-minded men have deceived them, their religious 
scruples would still have remained inviolate, and them- 
selves would still be, as they have hitherto been, faithful 
soldiers, trusted by the state, and laying up for future 
years all the rewards of a long and honourable service. 

But the governor-general iu council can no longer have 
any confidence in this regiment, which has disgraced its 
name, and has lost all claim to consideration and in- 
dulgence. 

It is therefore the order of the governor-general in 
council, that the 19th regiment N. I. be now disbanded ; 
that the native commissioned and non-commissioned 
ofiicers and privates be discharged from the army of 
Bengal; that this be done at the head-quarters of the 
presidency division in the presence of every available 
corps within two days' march of the station ; that the 
regiment be paraded for the purpose ; and that each man, 
after being deprived of his arms, shall receive his arrears 
of pay and be required to withdraw from the cantonment. 

The European officers of the regiment will remain at 
Barrackpore until orders for their disposal shall be re- 
ceived from his excellency the commander-in-chief. 

This order is to be read at the head of every regiment, 
troop, and company iu the service. 

The arms were piled, the colours deposited, 
and the lUth native infantry was erased from 
the army list. 

The men of the 19th received the sentence 
with regret. They begged to be enlisted in other 
corps, offered their services anywhere to be 
led against the enemies of the company, and, 
finally, besought that if they must be dis- 
missed the service, they would be allowed to 
attack the 34th regiment, the cause of their 
disgrace, and punish it at once for its treachery 
to them, and disloyalty to the government. 
Some of these requests could not be granted, 
and all were refused. They dispersed iu 
various directions, some perished of cholera 
on the road, some were employed as gate- 
keepers, and retainers of rich natives ; none 
were at any time afterwards found in arms 
against the government, and several fought 
bravely, and as volunteers, against the muti- 
neers. The wisdom of disbanding this regi- 
ment is open to question. The motives lor 
doing so were, however, stated at length in 
the sentence already quoted, and which 
assumes importance as a public document, 
because it declares the policy of Viscount 
Canning's government towards the refractory 
sepoys at the beginning of the revolt. That 
policy was not, however, consistently carried 
out, for the conduct of the government towards 
the 34th regiment was slow and vacillating, 



Chap, OXXVII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



711 



although to it the mischief connected with tlie 
19th was attributable, and the men had 
attacked and nearly murdered several of their 
officers. The commander-in-chief remained 
iu the cool sanatorium of the Himalayas ; the 
government at Calcutta had time for all the usual 
frivolities of a court, but for five weeks it re- 
mained undecided what was to be done with 
the 3ith regiment. These rebels and mur- 
derers remained all that time unpunished, 
Lord Canning advocating palliatives, his 
council urging decision. Meanwhile, Mungul 
Pandy and the jemadar, who was a high caste 
Brahmin, were hanged. These men feared the 
loss of caste more than death. They died in 
the spirit of martyrs, Pandy exulting in the 
opportunity afforded him of suffering for his 
faith, shouting "religion, religion," and urging 
his brethren to revolt, to the last. The conduct 
of these men evinced that there was a sincere 
belief among the sepoys that the government 
intended to persecute their creed. 

Two sepoys of the 70th regiment were 
transported for conspiring to attack the fort, 
and one of their officers was dismissed the 
service for treason. It is obvious that how- 
ever allowable it might be, taking a morcyful 
view of the subject, to dismiss an officer for 
neglect of duty, or incapacity, such leniency 
was inapplicable to high-treason. It en- 
couraged the revolters when they saw that, 
after all, in case of failure, it might be no 
worse than dismissal. Lord Canning had 
imbibed the idea that the honour and ad- 
vantage of serving the English were so great, 
that for a sepoy to be deprived of the oppor- 
tunity was the heaviest punishment that could 
be infficted upon him short of death. There 
were other penalties which the sepoy dreaded 
much more than either. 

With great difficulty, and not until nu- 
merous reports of fresh proofs of extensive 
disaffection had reached them, the govern- 
ment at Calcutta were brought to believe that 
something decisive must be done. Had not 
events thwarted the purposes of Lord Canning, 
the 84th British regiment would have been 
sent back to Birniah, and the capital of India 
been left for protection to a wing of the 53rd 
royal regiment and the doubtful body-guards. 
All the while the rebellious sepoys were in 
receipt of their pay, an expense to the empire 
as well as a danger. The system of disband- 
ing without any punishment, was better than 
supporting disaffected regiments and paying 
royal troops to watch them. 

On the 6th of May, nearly six weeks after 
the attempt of the 34th to murder some of 
their officers, the troops in and around Cal- 
cutta were concentrated at Barrackpore, to 
witness the disbanding of the guilty portion 



of the 34th. The crime committed was coa- 
certed mutiny and attempted murder, the 
punishment inflicted was as follows : in the 
presence of the assembled troops, seven com- 
panies of the 34th were paraded and ordered 
to pile their arms, and to strip off their uni- 
forms ; having no means of resistance, they 
obeyed. Means were taken to prevent any out- 
rage or disorder by the disarmed sepoys. An 
order of the day, or proclamation (it is difficult 
to give a precise designation to so anomalous 
a document), was issued by the government, 
explaining tlie necessity the government was 
under to inflict punishment, and threatening 
certain and speedy penalties upon all military 
insubordination. The public felt that it was 
an absurdity to give the name of punishment 
to the disbanding of a regiment that wished to 
serve no longer, and tlie soldiers of which were 
deserting. A painful impression was left on 
the minds of all loyal natives as well as Euro- 
peans, that the document was rather an excuse 
for leniency and weakness, than a proclama- 
tion intended to vindicate justice. Confidence 
in the vigour of the governor -general was im- 
paired. The continued absence of the com- 
mander-in-chief from the head-quarters of the 
army vi'as the subject of universal animadver- 
sion. Time was consumed in consulting him at 
so vast a distance, and his counsels were neither 
very enlightened nor decisive. With the dis- 
banding of the seven companies of the 34th, 
the government was satisfied that the mutiny 
was at an end. There had been abundant 
evidence to the contrary, but the government 
thought proper to ignore it. The authorities 
might have known that altogether, irrespective 
of the discontent of the sepoys, means had been 
taken to sow disaffection throughout India, 
more especially throughout Bengal and its non- 
regulation provinces. These efforts originated 
in Oude, but a bad state of feeling existed in 
Mohammedan India for some years preparatory 
to such an attempt. When the war with Russia 
broke out, much excitement was created in 
the minds of the Mohammedan populations of 
all India, from Cabul to Calcutta and Cape 
Comorin. When the western allies insisted on 
reforms in Turkey, an opinion gained ground 
iu India that the allies merely aided Turkey to 
betray her, and that by a treacherous alliance, 
the ascendancy of the religion of Mohammed, 
and of the grand Padisha, was destroyed. 
Thus the war in Turkey prepared the way for 
a Mahommedan struggle in India, in Persia, 
— everywhere. The peoples of these nations 
were excited by the events in Constantinople, 
which were told in innumerable tales of ex- 
aggeration all over Asia. And when to this 
excitement was added the persuasion that the 
time had arrived for a Mohammedan holy 



712 



HISTORY or THE BRITISH EMPIRE [CnAr. CXXVII. 



war, the followers of the prophet became frantic 
with fanaticism. There was also a general feel- 
ing that the English sway would only last one 
hundred years in Bengal. In 1757 Clive com- 
pleted its conquest; in 1857 it was believed 
that it would be restored to the followers of the 
true faith. The IMohammedans found no diffi- 
culty in inducing the Brahmins to join them 
against English power. It had for many years 
interfered with Brahminical rites and customs, 
such as suttee, thugism, infanticide, &c., as well 
as with the operation of Mohammedan law in 
some respects. A prophecy was circulated, 
which was to the effect that in 1857 the 
English would be destroyed. The govern- 
irient seems to have had no intelligence of this 
state of feeling, although evidence of it was 
abundant. Tokens of conspiracy and combi- 
nation, for some purpose or purposes, were 
visible, but no steps were taken to unravel 
their meaning. Soon after the annexation of 
Oudo, chappictees were sent all over eastern 
and north-eastern India, in a manner which 
excited great surprise, but no adequate means 
to jjenetrato the mystery were adopted. From 
some place, probably in Oude, six cakes of 
unleavened bread were sent to some other 
place, and were delivered to the head man of 
tiie village, or the chief religious authority of 
the place, with the intention to distriisute 
them, and to invite each recipient of a cake to 
repeat the process, and so on. This proceeded 
until the chappictees were conveyed every- 
where, with significant but enigmatical ex- 
pressions, only to be comprehended by the 
faithful of either of the creeds allied for the 
destruction of the foreigner. The agents of 
this conspiracj' corrupted the sepoys, whose 
minds were prepared by the causes already 
detailed. It was evident that some commu- 
nications, 'secret from the government, were 
passing among the natives of India, which an 
active and intelligent government would have 
risked much to discover. Had the like oc- 
curred in the dominions of the Russian czar, 
the French emperor, or the Austrian kaiser, 
means would soon have been adopted to chock 
the progress of the mysterious cakes, and find 
some clue to their meaning. The English 
government in India is as absolute as that of 
any of the despotisms named, but was not so 
vigilant or systematic, and its chief officers 
were not so responsible. The following very 
remarkable words were used by Mr. Disraeli, 
in a speech in the house of commons, made 
with the design of showing that the govern- 
ment of India had not proved itself vigilant 
or competent : — " Suppose the Emperor of 
Russia, whose territory, in extent and cha- 
racter, has more resemblance to our Eastern 
possessions' than the territory of anv other 



power — suppose the Emperor of Russia were 
told — 'Sire, there is a very remarkable cir- 
cumstance going on in your territory ; from 
village to village, men arc passing who leave 
the tail of an ermine or a pot of caviare, with 
a message to soine one to perform the same 
ceremony. Strange to say, this has been 
going on in some ten thousand villages, and 
we cannot make head or tail of it.' I think 
the Emperor of Russia would say: 'I do not 
know whether you can make head or tail of 
it, but I am quite certain there is something 
wrong, and that we must take some precau- 
tions ; because, where the people are not 
usually indiscreet and troublesome, they do 
not make a secret communication unless it is 
opposed to the government. This is a secret 
communication, and, therefore, a communica- 
tion dangerous to the government.'" 

Many Irish and Scottish officers inter- 
preted the cakes as a token to prepare for 
war, but they were bantered, or laughed at. 
In olden Celtic times, the clans of Scotland 
sent round signals of war in a similar way, 
and with the words often repeated in India 
when the cakes were left, " To be kept until 
called for." The very same language and 
the very same plan of procedure has been 
adopted in Ireland in the case of insurrection 
or agrarian disturbance in the memory of 
living men : " the holy straws," and " the 
holy turf," sent round during agitations of 
comparatively recent occurrence, exemplify 
this. Blany in India who expressed a sense 
of insecurity, were censured by their supe- 
riors, civil and religious, until men were too 
much discouraged to express their minds; a 
false security, having its birth in pride and 
arrogance of race, stultified the chief officials, 
and led them to "pooh-pooh" all efforts to 
call attention to the real condition of India. 
In England, among the chief persons in the 
houses of legislature, in the cabinet, and in a 
lesser degree among the directors of the East 
India Company, a similar state of mind existed. 
India was supposed to be completely at the 
feet of England, incapable of making a hos- 
tile effort. "When tidings of the mutiny 
reached England, even at a later period than 
that of the disbanding of the 31th native in- 
fantry, and when at Meerut a far more serious 
revolt occurred, and even when Delhi was in 
arms, and the effete king used his property 
and influence against the company, the go- 
vernment, parliament, and to some extent the 
press, of England, refused to believe that the 
people of India had any sympathy with the 
revolt. It was supposed that they were too 
contented and happy under English rnle to 
desire to escape from it. The rebellion in 
India was called "a mutiny," a "sepoy re- 



Chai'. CXXVII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



713 



volt," a " disturbance created by pampered 
sepoys, and some of tbe vagabond popula- 
tion of the cities ;" but a great rebellion of 
native princes and peoples, over a large por- 
tionof India, as well as a revolt of the Bengal 
native army, few would allow it to be con- 
sidered. Even when the native contingents 
in the service of certain allied or tributary 
princes deserted, and made war against the 
comjjany, and when the whole people of the 
kingdom of Oude were in arms, officials and 
newspapers, and the people of England gene- 
rally, persisted in regarding it as a sepoy 
revolt. There was an extraordinary dispo- 
sition among men, both in India and in Great 
Britain, to shut their eyes to the real facts of 
the case. 

Such was the state of affairs in the military 
condition of Bengal, and as to the state of 
mind in reference to it among the English in 
India and at home, when the next episode in 
tlie sad history of the revolt occurred. Before 
relating it, some account of the forces in India 
at that moment will be acceptable to the 
reader. In the chapter on the military affairs 
of the East India Company very full infor- 
mation is given concerning the numbers, 
equipments, and character of its arm)'. Cap- 
tain Rafter furnishes the following statement 
of the force when the revolt broke out : — 

Bengal presidency. — Queen's troops: Two 
regiments of light cavalry, fifteen regiments 
of infantry, one battalion of GOth rifles. Com- 
pany's regular troops : Three brigades of 
horse artillery, European and native, six bat- 
talions of European foot artillery, three bat- 
talions of native foot artillery, corps of royal 
engineers, ten regiments of native light cavalry, 
two regiments of European fusiliers, seventy- 
four regiments of native infantry, one regi- 
ment of sappers and miners. Irregular and 
contingent troops : Twenty-three regiments 
of irregular native cavalry, twelve regiments of 
irregular native infantry, one corps of guides, 
one regiment of camel corps, sixteen regi- 
ments of local militia, Shekhawuttie brigade, 
contingents of Gwalior, Joudpore, Malwa, 
Bhopal, and Kotah. 

The European troops here mentioned in 
the company's regular army were those who 
were enlisted in England or elsewhere by 
the company's agents, quite irrespective of 
the royal or queen's army. The above 
forces, altogether, amounted to somewhat over 
150,000. 

Madras presidencj/. ^Queen's troops : One 
regiment of light cavalry, five regiments of 
infantry. Company's regular troops : One 
brigade of horse artillery, European and na- 
tive, four battahons of European foot artillery, 
one battalion of native foot artillery, corps of 



royal engineers, eight regiments of native 
light cavalry, two regiments of European in- 
fantry, fifty-two regiments of native infantry. 

No irregular or contingent troops appear 
in this entry. 

Bombay presidency/. — Queen's troops : One 
regiment of light cavalry, five regiments of- 
infantry. Company's regular troops : One 
brigade of horse artillery, European and na- 
tive, two battalions of European foot artillery, 
two battalions of native foot artillery, corps 
of royal engineers, three regiments of native 
light cavalry, two regiments of European 
infantry, twenty-nine regiments of native in- 
fantry. Irregular and contingent troops : 
Fifteen regiments of irregular native troops. 

The European and native troops in the 
service of the company are not marked with 
sufficient distinctness by Captain Eafter. 

" The European element in the armies has 
been regularly augmenting. In 18.37 there 
were 28,000 European troops in India ; in 
1850 the number was 44,000, comprising 
28,000 queen's troops, and 1G,000 belonging 
to the company ; while the new charter of 
1854 allowed the^company to raise 24,000, 
>.)f whom 4000 were to be in training in Eng- 
land, and the rest on service in India. What 
was the number in 1857 becomes part of the 
history of the mutinj'. In the whole Indian 
army, a year or two before this catastrophe, 
there were about 5000 European officers, 
governing the native as well as the European 
regiments ; but of this number so many were 
absent on furlough, or leave, so many more 
on staff appointments, and so many of tlie 
remainder in local corps and on civil duties, 
that there was an insufficiency of regimental 
control — leading, as some authorities think, 
in great part to the scenes of insubordination ; 
for tike native officers were regarded in a very 
subordinate light." 

Such was the condition of the Anglo-Indian 
army when the suppression of revolt at Dum- 
Duni, Beramporo, and Barrackpore, led the 
government to believe that India was safe 
from her own sepoys. It is the more sur- 
prising that the suppression of open revolt 
near Calcutta should have inspired such secu- 
rity, because all the while the government 
was receiving intelligence, and even official 
reports, of evidences of sedition among the 
troops of the distant garrisons. During the 
whole period from the revolt of the 19th to 
the disbanding of the 34th, incendiary fires 
occurred in the military cantonments of the 
Punjaub, occupied by Bengal troops ; and in 
the Cis-Sutlej territories they were as open 
and daring as the conduct of the government 
was unaccountably inert and time-serving. 
It is impossible to acquit the government of 



714 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. CXXVII. 



the charge of not having taken proper pre- 
cautions on the ground of being unable to 
obtain information as to the state of feeling 
of the troops, or the cause of that state of 
feeling, after the perusal of the following 
report made by Captain Howard, magistrate 
of the Umballah cantonment, when, at the 
close of April, an appalling list of inceudiitry 
acts alarmed that officer, and caused him to 
address the government with marked earnest- 
ness on the subject : — " The emanating cause 
of the arson at this cantonment I conceive 
originated with regard to the newly intro- 
duced cartridges, to which the native sepoy 
shows his decided objection ; it being ob- 
noxious to him from a false idea — which, now 
that it has entered the mind of the sepoy, is 
difficult to eradicate — that the innovation of 
this cartridge is derogatory both to his caste 

and his religion That this has led to 

the fires at this cantonment, in my own pri- 
vate mind I am perfectly convinced. Were 
it the act of only one or two, or even a few 
persons, the well-disposed sepoys would at 
once have come forward and forthwith in- 
formed, but that there is an organised, leagued 
conspiracy existing, I feel confident. Though 
all and every individual composing a regi- 
ment may not form part of the combination, 
still I am of opinion that such a league in 
each corps is known to exist ; and such being 
upheld by the majority, or rather connived 
at, therefore it is that no single man dared to 
come forward and expose it." 

An investigation was instituted early in 
May as to whether any efforts were making 
to create sedition among the soldiery or people 
by native princes or ecclesiastics, or by foreign 
influence. The last source of evil influence 
was suspected, but could not be proved. The 
native press had been extremely anti -British 
and bigoted. Many of its conductors were 
notorious atheists, and these were amongst 
the most violent in calling upon the people 
to defend their religion. It was discovered 
that the largest influence in unsettling the 
minds of the people was that of wandering 
Brahmins and fakeers, both having imited to 
stir up the people against English power. 
That most of the native princes and rich 
native landholders knew this, and sympa- 
thised with it, could not then be discovered, 
but was soon made plain by their appearing 
with arms in their hands wherever there was 
a chance of success. At all times the Englisli 
had to contend in India with the use of the 
wandering and mendicant religious classes by 
disaffected or deposed princes, to stir up fana- 
ticism ag linst British authority. More than 
thirty yeurs since, Sir John Malcolm de- 
Hcribed a state of things in his day identical 



with that which, with larger influence and 
more decided energy, operated in 1867. Sir 
John then wrote :— " My attention has been 
during the last twenty-five years particularly 
directed to tliis dangerous species of secret 
war against our authority, which is always 
carrying on by numerous though unseen 
hands. The spirit is kept up by letters, by 
exaggerated reports, and by pretended pro- 
phecies. When the time appears favourable, 
from the occurrence of misfortune to our 
arms, from rebellion in our provinces, or fiom 
mutiny in our troops, circular-letters anil 
proclamations are dispersed over the country 
with a celerity almost incredible. Such docu- 
ments are read with avidity. The contents 
in most cases are the same. The English are 
depicted as usurpers of low caste, and as 
tyrants who have sought India with no other 
view but that of degrading the inhabitants and 
of robbing them of their wealth, while they 
seek to subvert their usages and their reli- 
gion. The native soldiery are always ap- 
pealed to, and the advice to them is, in all 
instances I have met with, the same — ' Your 
European tyrants are few in number — kill 
them ! ' " 

That the native princes and landholders 
throughout the Bengal provinces and Central 
India were in concert with the religious in- 
cendiaries of 1857, many documents showed, 
when, during the conflict, such papers fell 
into the hands of the conquerors ; among 
these, none was so remarkable as that which 
was addressed to the Rajah of Nepaul by the 
King of Oude while the insurrection was 
raging. Jung Bahadoor showed the letter to 
the British resident, to whom also he fur- 
nished a copy of his reply. Lord Canning 
expressed to the maharajah his cordial thanks 
for the proof of his loyalty and good faith 
thus evinced. 

Abstract translation of a letter from Ramzan Alee Khan 
Mina Birjees Kndder Bahadoor to his highness the 
Maharajah of Nepaul, dated 1th of Jeth Sumvnl, 
1915, corresponding with \9thMai/, 1858. 

After compliments — It is knoivn to every one that my 
ancestors brought the British into Hiudostan, but Bul- 
vunt Sing, the Rajah of Benares, was a cause of much 
annoyance to them, and therefore the province of Benares 
was given to them. A treaty was then signed by the 
British, in which they wrote that they would never act 
treacherously as long as the svm and raoon should exist. 
But they have broken that treaty ; and, dethroning my 
father, Wajid Alee Shah, have 'sequestrated his state 
palaces, and everything he liad. Every one is acqiiainted 
with this event as it took place only in Sumvut, 1913. 

After taking Lucknow they intended to make war with 
you, for which purpose they collected a large force and 
magazine at Colonelgnnj, which is situated below the 
Hills ; perhaps you are aware of this event. 

In former years gi'eat intimacy existed between our 
houses, insomuch that your forefathers built a bungalow 



Ohap. OXXVIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



716 



for my ancestors, for shooting and hunting purposes, in 
Bootwal. 

The British some time ago attempted to interfere with 
the faith of both the Hindoos and Mohammedans, by pre- 
paring cartridges with cows' grease for the Hindoo, and 
that of pigs for the Mohammedans, and ordering them to 
bite them with their teeth. The sepoys refused, and were 
ordered by the British to be blown away from guns on 
the parade ground. This is the cause of the war breaking 
out, and probably you are acquainted with it. 

Bat I am ignorant as to how they managed to get your 
troops, which they brought here, and began to commit 
every sort of violence, and to pull down temples, mosques, 
imambarras, and the sacred places. 

Yon are well aware of the treachery of the British, and 
it is proper you should preserve the standard of religion, 
and make the tree of friendship between you and me 
fresh. 

Translation of a letter from Ms excellency the maharajah 
Jung Bahadoor to Birjees Kudder Bahadoor^ of Luck- 
now. 

Your letter of the 7th, Jeth Soode, Wednesday, corre- 
sponding to the 19th of May, 1858, to the address of his 
highness the maharajah of Nepaul, and that of 13th Jeth 
Vudee of the present year, Tuesday, corresponding to the 
11th May, 1858, to my address, have reached their re- 
spective destinations, and their contents are fully under- 
stood. In it is written that the British are bent on the 
destruction of the society, religion, and faith of both 
Hindoos and Mohammedans. 

Be it known that for upwards of a century the British 
hare reigned in Hindostan, but up to the present moment 
neither the Hindoos nor the Mohammedans have ever com- 
plained that their religion has been interfered with. 

As the Hindoos and Mohmamedans have been guilty of 
ingratitude and perfidy, neither the Nepaul government 
nor I can side with them. 

Since the star of faith and integrity, sincerity in words, 
as well as in acts, and the wisdom and comprehension of 
the British, are shining as bright as the sun in every 



quarter of the globe, be assured that my government will 
never disunite itself from the friendship of the exalted 
British government, or to be instigated to join with any 
monarch against it, be he as high aa heaven; what 
grounds can we have for connecting ourselves with the 
Hindoos and Mohammedans of Hindostan ? 

Be it also known, that had I in any way been inclined 
to cultivate the friendship and intimacy of the Hindoo and 
Mohammedan tribes, should I have massacred five or six 
thousand of them in my way to Lucknow ? 

Now, as you have sent me a friendly letter, let me per- 
suade you,that if auy person, Hindoo or Mohammedan, who 
has not murdered a British lady or child, goes immediately 
to Mr. Montgomery, the chief commissioner of Lucknow, 
and surrender his arms, and make submission, he will be 
permitted to retain his honour, and his crime will be 
pardoned. 

If you still be inclined to make war on the British, no 
rajah or king in the world will give you an asylum, and 
death will be the end of it. 

I have written whatever has come into my plain mind, 
and it will be proper and better for you to act in accord- 
ance with what I have said. 

When General Anson, the commander-in- 
chief of the forces in India, heard of the state 
of excitement in which the Bengal troops in 
the Cis-Sutlej and Trans-Sutlej territories, 
more especially the former, had continued, 
and the alarming fires which had spread 
around the cantonments, he hastened to 
Umballah, and issued an order of the day, 
intended to appease the discontent of the 
soldiery, but its effect was to encourage them 
to feel their importance, and believe that the 
government of India was afraid of them. 
The decisive step on the part of the sepoys, 
that which set all the Bengal provinces in a 
flame of revolt, was the mutiny at Meernt. 



CHAPTER CXXVIII. 

REVOLT OF THE SEPOYS AT MEERUT— MASSACRE OP OFFICERS, WOMEN, AND CHILDREN- 
FLIGHT OF THE MUTINEERS TO DELHI— REVOLT OF THE GARRISON THERE, AND IN- 
SURRECTION OF THE PEOPLE— MEASURES OF GOVERNMENT PREPARATORY TO AN 
ADVANCE OF THE BRITISH FORCES UPON DELHI. 



DoBiNO the latter weeks of April the sepoya 
at Meerut showed much excitement, and 
incendiary fires, such as have been noticed 
in the last chapter as occurring elsewhere, 
were frequent ; no room was left for doubt 
that they were the work of the soldiery. It 
BO happened that the European force at that 
station was very powerful in proportion to 
the native troops. This was the more re- 
markable, as at most of the stations in the 
Bengal provinces there were scarcely any 
European soldiers. The English regiments 
were chiefly in the Punjaub upon the Affghan 
frontier, and in a few other places, where, 
as in Meerut, they were in comparatively 
considerable number. This arrangement was 



singularly inappropriate to the normal con- 
dition of India, as well as to its especial re- 
quirements at that time. The Punjaub and 
Pegu were supposed, as newly annexed pro- 
vinces, to require European garrisons; yet 
Oude, the most recently annexed, the annexa- 
tion of which excited so'much ill-will amongst 
the natives not only of Oude itself, but of all 
Bengal and of the Bengal sepoys, was guarded 
chiefly by troops discontented by the annexa- 
tion. At Meerut, the English force consisted 
of the Gth dragoon guards (carbineers), 600 
strong. These troopers were only in part 
provided with horses, and these were of a 
very inferior description ; a battalion of the 
60th rifle regiment, 1000 strong ; a troop of 



716 



HISTORY OF THE BlUTISH EMPIRE 



|Ohap. CXXVIII. 



horse artillery, and 500 artillery recruits ; 
the whole numbering about 2200, exclusive 
of staff officers, and the officers and other 
Europeans connected with the sepoy regi- 
ments. The force of natives, which only out- 
numbered tlio Europeans by a few hundreds, 
consisted of the 3rd Bengal cavalry, and tlie 
llth and 20tli Bengal infantry. 

Under such circumstances no apprehension 
of revolt was entertained, and it is nearly 
certain that none would have taken place had 
the sepoys been engaged in a dynastic or 
political conspiracy merely, or were they dis- 
contented about batta, severity of discipline, 
or any of the ordinary causes of complaint 
with Indian soldiers. Tlie conviction had 
seized their minds, beyond all hope of eradi- 
cation, that the cartridges were ceremonially 
unclean to both Hindoo and Mussulmans. 
Some of them undoubtedly were ; the general 
suspicion rested upon a partial fact, sufficient 
to justify resistance. The prejudices of the 
sepoy and the good faith of the government 
had not been kept in view by the officials 
charged with the duty of preparing the ammu- 
nition ; and when the sepoy discovered that 
in any instance he had been trifled with on 
the all-important subject of religion, his faith 
was gone for ever. Had not this been the 
reality of the case the native soldiers would 
not, as in many cases, have precipitated them- 
selves upon certain death as the alternative of 
using the hated cartridge. It has been alleged 
that the plea of caste must have been only a 
pretence, as the same cartridges were used 
against the English, wliich they refused to 
use in their service. Those who use this 
argument overlook the casuistry wliich in 
false religions justifies to the consciences of 
their professors the most contradictory con- 
duct. In using the cartridges against the 
English the end sanctified the deed in the 
opinion of those men; and many, believing that 
they had already lost caste, in sheer despair 
and vengeance resorted to them. 

On the 23rd of April it was determined 
by the English officers at Meerut, to put an 
end to all uncertainty by testing the spirit of 
the sepoys. Colonel Smyth, of the 3rd Bengal 
native cavalry, ordered out a portion of his 
regiment for parade on that day, to teach 
them the mode of loading adopted under 
general orders in deference to the prejudices 
of the troops against biting cartridges which 
might be glazed with forbidden substances. 
The previous evening he instructed the 
havildar-major and his orderly in the new 
system, and the latter having fired off a 
carbine, the colonel believed that the regiment 
would entertain no objection upon the follow- 
ing morning. That night, however, the 



orderly's tent was set on fire, and also a vete- 
rinary hospital close to a magazine. These 
circumstances caused uneasiness as to the 
issue of the next day's experiment. When 
that day arrived, the appointed parade was 
held, and the liavildar-niajor fired off a car- 
bine without biting the cartridge. The men 
refused to receive the cartridges. It was 
pointed out to them that they were not new 
cartridges, but the old ones, to which they 
had been accustomed; still they refused. This 
was a new i)hase of the spirit of mutiny, more 
dangerous than had been displayed elsewhere, 
for if the troopers would neither use cartridges 
new nor old, upon a plan which did not re- 
quire them to be pressed with the teeth, how 
was it possible for them to serve as soldiers? 
On the 25th an investigation took place 
before the deputy judge-advocate, and the 
men admitted that there was no evidence of 
any impure substance being in the cartridges, 
but they were told that they were unclean, 
and they believed their informants, and re- 
fused to accept the declarations of tlieir 
officers. The judge assured them that the 
cartridges were such as had always been in 
use, and his assurances appeared to satisfy 
their scruples, for they expressed contrition, 
and promised to use the cartridges whenever 
called upon. 

On the (Jth of May the general in com- 
mand of the station. Major-general Hewitt, 
deemed it necessary to prove the sincerity of 
the men. He ordered a parade for the 6th 
of May. On the 5th cartridges were dis- 
tributed ; eighty-five of the sowars, as the 
native cavalry of Bengal are called, refused 
to receive them. The general ordered their 
arrest. They were tried by court-martial, 
found guilty of mutinj', and sentenced to 
imprisonment and hard labour for different 
periods varying from six to ten years. In 
presence of the whole of the troops in can- 
tonment, they were stripped of their uniforms, 
ironed, and marched away to the common 
jail two miles distant, in the village of Meerut. 
The native troops looked on in silence upon 
these proceedings, but with scowling coun- 
tenances. 

Then began a scries of blunders on the 
part of the chief military authorities, but for 
which the terrible results which followed 
could not have happened. The convicted 
"sowars" were handed over to the civil 
authorities, and guarded only by police. 
This would of course have been quite proper 
under ordinary circumstances, but the occa- 
sion demanded peculiar precautions. These 
events occurred on the Sith of May. When 
the native soldiers were dismissed from 
parade, they went to their lines in a state of 



CuAi'. OXXVllI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



717 



intense excitement and resentment. The 
punisliment inflicted on them had deprived the 
sufferers of caste, — they were manacled as 
felons, and degraded. Measures were in- 
stantly taken by the whole native force to 
mutiny ; their plans were well laid, and were 
executed with fatal facility. Notwithstanding 
the menacing behaviour of the men as they 
left the parade ground, the generiil took no 
precautions against outbreak, not even to 
have their conduct kept under observation. 
The regimental officers were as incautious as 
the staff. Tliey retired to their bungalows 
in different directions near the lines. The 
native officers alone held intercourse with the 
men, and they also were disaffected. It is 
probable that the mutineers opened communi- 
cations immediately with the native troops in 
Delhi, inciting them to revolt, and informing 
them of their own intention to march thither 
when they had executed the work of ven- 
geance at Meerut. 

On Sunday, the 10th of May, between five 
and six o'clock in the evening, when the 
European portion of the garrison were pro- 
ceeding to church, or preparing to do so, 
open revolt began. In choosing the hour of 
religious service, the mutineers selected a time 
when the chance of resistance to themselves, 
or escape by their intended victims, was less 
than at any other time, even than at night, 
when sentinels might give alarm, and persons 
would in its silence be more likely to catch 
the first sounds of the movement. Throughout 
the day indications of great restlessness were 
shown by the sepoys; it was noticed by the 
Europeans, even by ladies and children, but 
no precautions were taken ; the officers re- 
mained confident in their comparatively strong 
force of Europeans, and boldly careless of 
what the sepoys thought or did. It was 
strange that he upon whom the chief respon- 
sibility devolved, should not have proved more 
vigilant than others. 

Suddenly the native troops turned out and 
set fire to their cantonments, attacking first 
the bungalow of Mr. Greathead, the civil 
commissioner, who and whose lady, by con- 
cealing themselves upon the roof, found means 
to elude their pursuers, and ultimately escape. 
As soon as the disturbance burst forth, Colonel 
Finnis, of the 11th native infantry, rode to 
meet his men, and recall them to a sense of 
their duty. He was shot down. He was the 
first who fell in resisting the great sepoy 
revolt— the first murdered Englishman of the 
many who thus perished. Vaiious ofiicers 
were shot as they attempted to curb the 
violence of their men ; officers, ladies, and 
even children, were shot or bayoneted, as 
they returned from worship. While the 

VOL. il. 



infantry were engaged in firing the canton- 
ments, the ?.rd cavalry hastened to the jail, 
where they were joined by the police, and 
released the eighty-five sowars, and with 
them one thousand two hundred criminals, 
the vilest refuse of a truculent and dishonest 
population. Troopers, police, and convicts, 
all fraternised, and hastening to the lines, 
joined the revolted infantry in the work of 
destruction ; the villagers of Meerut, and the 
populace generally, abetted the work. Then 
commenced the worsts horrors of the occasion. 
Deeds of infamy were perpetrated too vile to 
describe ; the victims of assassination were 
hacked with swords, perforated with bayonets, 
or riddled with balls ; every indignity was 
offered to the dead, every cruelty to the 
dying. To particularise instances of suffer- 
ing on the part of Europeans, and deeds of 
desperate atrocity on the part of the revolters, 
would be impossible within the limits of any 
work not exclusivelj' dovotod to a history of 
the mutiny. During two hours this havoc 
raged, and throughout that time no opposition 
was offered by the European portion of the 
troops. The general seems to have been 
paralysed by surprise ; for until the work of 
destruction and massacre was accomplished, 
the European troops did not arrive in the 
cantonments of the sepoys. The rifles did 
arrive in time to open a fire upon the re- 
treating enemy, who returned it ; a few sepoys 
fell under the shots of the rifles. The car- 
bineers were sent several miles on a wrong 
road ; went astray ; came back when it was 
too dark to see what was to be done, or how 
to do it. A civilian might well suppose that 
troops quartered a couple of miles from other 
troops of the same army would know tlie way 
to their lines. The sepoys marched to Delhi. 
The road was good, the moou soon rose; 
but no pursuit was instituted. The general 
pleaded, in excuse for this omission, that it 
was necessary to protect the European can- 
tonments from the vagabonds who had escaped 
from prison. There were men enough for 
both objects; a few hundred infantry would 
have kept off the marauders, while the car- 
bineers, rifles, and horse-artillery might have 
pursued the fugitives. Some of the carbineers 
only had lances ; these did follow a few miles 
on the Delhi road, and cut down some strag- 
glers. The open mutiny of the Bengal army 
began with a great success. The mutineers 
burned down a camp, and murdered officers, 
ladies, and children, literally in the presence 
of a superior force of European soldiers. 
When tidings of the scandalous incompetency 
which marked the management of the whole 
transaction reached Calcutta and London, the 
council and the cabinet, the Europeans of the 

iz 



718 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. OXXVIII 



Indian capital and the people of England were 
indignant and astonished. The governor- 
general of India seems to have thought that 
his first duty was conciliation. He put forth 
a proclamation, in wliich the reader will see 
that all was done in the way of reconcilement 
that could be done, after the revolt at Meerut. 
Whatever were the errors there — whatever 
the want of vigour at Calcutta, the following 
proclamation shows that liis excellency did 
not evince a vindictive spirit, but one of great 
forbearance and clemency. 

Caste Proclamation. 

Fort William, Home Department. 
Mmj 16, 1857. 

The governor-general of India in council has warned 
the army of Bengal that the tales by which the men of 
certain regiments have been led to suspect that offence to 
their religion or injury to their caste is meditated by the 
government of India are malicious falsehoods. 

The governor-general in council has learnt that this 
suspicion continues to be propagated by designing and 
evil-minded men, not ouly in tlie army, but among other 
classes of the people. 

He knows that endeavours are made to persuade 
Hindoos and Mussulmans, soldiers and civil subjects, that 
their religion is threatened, secretly as well as openly, by 
the acts of government, and that the government is seek- 
ing in various ways to entrap them into a loss of caste for 
purposes of its own. 

Some have been already deceived and led astray by 
these tales. 

Once more, then, the goveruor-general in council warns 
all classes against the deceptions that are practised on 
them. 

The government of India has invariably treated the 
religious feelings of all its subjects with careful respect. 
The goveruor-general in council has declared that it will 
never cease to do so. He now repeats that declaration, 
and he emphatically proclaims that the government of 
India entertains uo desire to interfere with their religion 
or caste, and that nothing has been, or will be, done by 
the government to affect the free exercise of the observ- 
ances of religion or caste by every class of the people. 

The government of India has never deceived its sub- 
jects, therefore the governor-general in council now calls 
upon them to refuse their belief to seditious lies. 

This notice is addressed to those who hitherto, by 
habitual loyalty and orderly conduct, have shown their 
attachment to the government and a well-founded faith in 
its protection and justice. 

The governor-general in council enjoins all such persons 
to pause before they listen to false guides and traitors, who 
would lead them into danger and disgrace. 

By order of the governor-general of India in council, 
Cecil Beadon,- 
Secretary to the government of India. 

After the terrible havoc at Meerut, the first 
idea of the general of the cantonments was to 
march at once and attack Delhi, but news 
arrived thence that the whole city was in arms, 
that the garrison had revolted, placed the king 
at the head of the insurrection, and that armed 
men in numbers had flocked at once to his 
standard from the surrounding country. 
Efforts to obtain advice or aid from the com- 
mander-in-chief had been unavailing. Not- 
withstanding the disorderly state of the Ben- 



gal army for so long a time, his excellency had 
gone on a shooting party in the Himalayas, 
and could not be found : he was at last heard 
of at Umballah. No adequate means of ob- 
taining information of wliat was passing in 
and around Delhi, were put forth — time was 
lost, the commander-in-chief was dilatory, the 
counsels of Calcutta were confused. There were 
no proper means for moving an army, there 
was no commissariat, there were no camels, no 
elephants, no draft horses, not horses suffi- 
cient for the European cavalry ; there were no 
depots of provisions for troops in the field, no 
medicine chests. The commander-in-chief was 
as helpless as if he had been suddenly set down 
in the middle of Africa. He had been 
appointed to his high office, not for his fitness, 
but on account of his connexions. He was 
old, took no thought of the state of India, was 
not a man capable, intellectually, of compre- 
hending a large subject ; physically, he was 
ill and enervated, utterly unfit for any com- 
mand whatever. He lingered, unable to do 
anything, although his courage, which was 
well known, urged him to advance, and he 
desired to do so without guns or provisions ; 
but so disorderly and distracted was the whole 
commissariat system, that he was unable to 
march at all. He remained at Kurnaul until 
the 27th of May, when he died of cholera. 

During all that period the rebels and muti- 
neers were strengthening themselves at Delhi, 
having first massacred every man, woman, and 
child upon whom they could lay their hands. 
News of these terrible excesses, and of the 
formidable preparations for resistance made in 
Delhi, continued to arrive at Meerut, Agra, 
and Calcutta, during the period of inactivity. 
From day to day tidings more and more dark 
and sanguinary reached Meerut and Agra, 
borne by fugitives who had escaped the 
slaughter, and wandered wounded and ex- 
hausted, hiding in the jungle by day, and 
travelling through by-ways at night. Very 
little information could be gained from the 
natives, who were in league with the muti- 
neers, and the whole police of the province 
went over to them. Delhi, and the province 
of which it was the capital, were in revolution, 
and the descendant of the Moguls, bearing the 
title of King of Delhi — a pensioner of the 
English government — had been proclaimed 
king, emperor, and padishaw. At Meerut, 
executions took place, by hanging or blowing 
away from guns, of the miscreants who had 
perpetrated outrages at that station. A 
few of the fugitive sepoys, who had dropped 
behind wounded on the night of the 10th of 
May, were found in the neighbourhood, con- 
victed, and executed. 

On the 11th of May, Mr. Colvin, the lieu- 



Chap. OXXVIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



719 



tenant-governor of the upper provinces of Ben- 
gal, received at the capital of these provinces, 
Agra, correct intelligence of the events which 
had taken place at Meenit. He immediately 
telegraphed to Calcutta. On the 12th, the 
lieutenant-governor sent a telegram announc- 
ing that emipsaries from Delhi were passing 
to the other stations to excite revolt. On the 
13th he used the telegraph to inform the 
government that all passengers between 
Meerut and Agra were molested and robbed 
by the inhabitants, and recommended that the 
troops employed in Persia should be sent up 
the country to Agra. Mr. Colvin was obliged 
to collect information without any assistance 
from the general at Meerut during the first 
three days after the mutiny. On the 14th 
Mr. Colvin sent a telegram to the governor- 
general that he had received a letter from the 
King of Delhi, informing him that the muti- 
neers had taken possession of his person, 
court, and palace ; that he had received news 
of a probability of revolt at Muttra, the sepoys 
having been persuaded that the government 
had mixed ground bones with their flour ; and 
that Scindiah had offered the services of a 
battery and of his body-guard. The commu- 
nication of the lieutenant-governor contained 
intelligence of the murder of the English com- 
missioner, and of Miss Jennings and Mr. Cohen. 
In this telegram, Mr. Colvin, notwithstanding 
his former appeal for the help of the army of 
Persia, stated that he had no need of troops. 
The next day he sent a telegram to Lord 
Canning, announcing the slaughter of thirty 
persons at Delhi, the proclamation of the heir- 
apparent as king, the plunder of the Delhi 
treasury, containing half a million sterling, 
the loyalty of Bhurtpore and Gwalior, the 
satisfactory condition of affairs at Agra, — and 
the lieutenant-governor's conviction that pro- 
clamations and assurances from the governor- 
general and himself, would prevent the exten- 
sion of the mutiny I The conduct of Lord 
Canning and his council was supine, and the 
assurances of Mr. Colvin rendered it more so 
than it otherwise would have been. Lord 
Elphinstone informed his lordship, from Bom- 
bay, that he had means of at once communicating 
to London the state of affairs. It had been 
well if the governor of Bombay had done so 
on his own responsibility. Lord Canning saw 
no occasion for any unusual effort to send 
home any communication. On the 19tli of 
May he wrote to the directors, at which date 
he had information from Lucknow of the 
threatening aspect of affairs there. The de- 
spatch to the company showed that the 
governor -general had no real appreciation of 
the state of India, or of what was requisite for 
the suppression of sedition. It seems utterly 



incredible that any educated man in the posi- 
tion of Lord Canning should have sent home 
so ordinary a despatch in a crisis so terrible, 
after the destruction of the cantonments of 
Meerut, the massacres there and at Delhi, and 
while the capital of Hindostan, with its trea- 
sures and munitions of war, were in the hands 
of a rebel people, and a revolted army. 

" The necessit}' for an increase of the sub- 
stantial strength of the army on the Bengal 
establishment, that is to say, of the European 
troops on this establishment, has been long 
apparent to us ; but the necessity of refraining 
from any material increase to the charges of 
the military department, in the present state 
of our finances, has prevented us hitherto from 
moving your honourable court in this matter. 
The late untoward occurrences at Berhampore, 
Fort William, Barrackpore, and Lucknow, 
crowned by the shocking and alarming events 
of the past week at Meerut and Delhi, and 
taken in connection with the knowledge 
we have lately acquired of the dangerous 
state of feeling in the Bengal native army 
generally, strange, and, at present, unaccount- 
able as it is, have convinced us of the urgent 
necessity of not merely a positive increase of 
our European strength, but of a material in- 
crease in the proportion which our European 
troops bear to the native regular troops on the 
establishment. We are of opinion that the 
latter is now the more pressing necessity of the 
two. 

" We believe that all these objects, political, 
military, and financial, will be immediately 
attained in a very material degree by taking 
advantage of the present opportunity in the 
manner we have now the honour respectfully 
to propose; and we see no other way in which 
all the same objects can be attained in any 
degree, now or prospectively. We recom- 
mend that the six native regiments, which are 
in effect no longer in existence, should not be 
replaced, whereby the establishment of regular 
native infantry would be reduced to sixty- 
eight regiments; and that the European oflficers 
of these late regiments should be used to officer 
three regiments of Europeans to be added to 
your establishment at this presidency. 

" We confidently affirm that the govern- 
ment will be much stronger, in respect of all 
important internal and external purposes, with 
three additional European regiments of the 
established strength, than it would be by 
embodying six native regiments of the 
established strength ; and we anticipate no 
inconvenience in respect of minor objects, in 
time of peace and tranquillity, from the con- 
sequent numerical reduction of regular troops. 
Indeed, the financial result of the measure, if 
carried out as we propose, will leave a con- 



■20 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Ciup. CXXVIII. 



sideiable surplus available, if it should be 
thought fit so to employ it, for an augmenta- 
tion of irregulars, who, for all such minor 
objects, are much better, as well as much 
cheaper, than regulars of any description." 

The policy of the government at Calcutta 
was adopted in London. The "outbreak" 
was treated by the board of control as of no 
great consequence, in fact, as a means of 
effecting a pecuniary saving in the military 
department. The more experienced members 
of the India-house knew better, but their 
opinions were overruled by official personages, 
and Mr. Mangles " ran a race" with Mr. 
Vernon Smith in confidential assurances to 
parliament and the public, that the thing was 
of no moment at all. Lord Palmerston seems 
to have taken up the views communicated to 
him by the president of the board of control 
and the chairman of the court of directors; 
but the more sage men in Leadenhall Street 
shook their heads and uttered words, few but 
ominous, which found their way into society, 
and caused uneasiness among the English 
public. The London press generally, especially 
the Times newspaper, treated the matter in the 
light Lord Canning placed it. The Sunday 
ISmes, the Morning Advertiser, and a few other 
journals, sounded alarm, and so far influenced 
public opinion, as to prevent the government 
from altogether ignoring the idea of danger. 

At Calcutta, Lord Canning concealed the 
information which he received from Agra and 
other quarters from the European public. 
Whatever was gleaned by it was from the 
native merchants, who were early informed of 
everything, and informed their European 
friends that the statements of the government 
press were efforts official and semi-official to 
conceal disaster and massacre. The Euro- 
peans at Calcutta and the independent press 
became hostile to Lord Canning and his 
policy of concealment, and of taking things 
easy, and from that moment his lordship 
became the enemy of a free press. When 
Lord Canning wrote the despatch last quoted, 
there was not a single Eurojiean soldier, ex- 
cept the officers attached to the native regi- 
ments, nt Cawnpore or Allahabad ; and the 
same state of things existed at a great number 
of inferior stations. When the miatineers 
marched from Meerut to Delhi, there was not 
a European soldier there, although it contained 
the chief treasures and munitions of war for 
northern India. On the 18th of May, tlie 
day before Lord Canning wrote, the general 
at Jleerut reported that the reinforcements 
for an advance upon Delhi were unable to 
move for want of carriage. Benares, the 
great native capital of Bengal, had no forti- 
fications, and no cannon except " half a 



bullock battery." Barrackpore had no artil- 
lerymen, and but six guns, to man which 
sailors had been sent from Calcutta. Matters 
continued to remain in this state for a long 
time, from the incompetency of those in high 
office, and the confusion which prevailed in 
the direction and arrangement of the army 
materiel. On the 16th of May, three days 
before Lord Canning's despatch, Sir Henry 
Lawrence telegraphed from Lucknow — " All 
is quiet here, but affairs are critical ; get 
every European you can from Ciiina, Ceylon, 
and elsewhere ; also, all the Goorkhas from 
the hills; time is everything." Lord Canning, 
to his credit, acted ufion the advice of Mr. 
Colvin, concerning the troops in the Persian 
Gulf, and that given by Sir Henry Lawrence 
was also followed. Lord Elphinstone offered 
aid from Bombay on the 17th, which was 
accepted. At the same date, Sir John Law- 
rence suggested that he could raise five 
thousand from the police and guides in the 
Punjaub, to be followed by one thousand more : 
this proposal was accepted. From every quarter 
offers of timely aid and wise counsel were 
given to the governor-general, all of which 
he accepted, on the grounds upon which they 
were offered — the imminence of the danger 
and seriousness of the crisis. Yet, after all, he 
wrote a despatch to the directors underrating 
the danger, suppressing the worst features of 
the revolt, and suggesting weak palliatives I 

When his lordship recommended a few 
European regiments, on a plan of cheap sub- 
stitution for the usual forces, there were at 
Calcutta, at Barrackpore, and Duni-l)um, in 
its neighbourhood, at Dinapore, and in all 
Bengal, from Port William to Agra, not three 
thousand European soldiers I The following 
statement of forces, native and European, 
appeared in an official source of information : 
— " At the outbreak of the mutiny there were 
in Calcutta, and the adjoining stations of Dum- 
Dum and Barrackpore, two regiments of Euro- 
pean infantry, the .53rd and 84th, mustering 
about 1,700 effective men. These, with the 
10th at Dinapore, and a company of artillery 
at Fort AVilliam, comprised the whole English 
force between the capital and Agra, nine 
hundred miles distant. The native corps con- 
sisted of the 2nd grenadiers, 43rd and 70th 
native infantry, the Calcutta militia, and the 
remnant of the 34th, in all 4,000 men, sta- 
tioned within the limits of the presidency 
division. At Bcrhampore there was the G3rd 
native infantry ; at Dinapore, the 7th, 8th, 
and 40th, together with a regiment of irre- 
gular cavalry. Benares was occupied by the 
o7th and the Loodianah regiment of Sikhs. 
The Gth were at Allahabad ; the Goth at 
Ghazepore; the 2nd cavalry, 1st and 63rd 



Chap. CXXVIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



721 



native infantry, at Cawnporo. The total 
available force of Europeans throughout this 
great extent of country was not more than 
2,500, against 14,000 native troops. A 
thousand English volunteer infantry, 400 
cavalry, and 1,500 sailors, were at the disposal 
of government a week after the revolt became 
known." 

In reference to the volunteers, the editor of 
the Friend of India observed : — " It only 
needed the utterance of a few words of ordinary 
sympathj' and encouragement to draw out the 
entire available European population : no 
great price to pay for such service aa they 
were able and willing to perform ; but small 
as was the estimated cost. Lord Canning 
grudged it. It was not until the 12th of June 
that he consented to the enrolment of a volun- 
teer corps; and only then, after much mis- 
giving as to the propriety of showing special 
favour to any particular class of the population. 
The use that might have been made of such 
auxiliaries was pointed out at the time with 
sufficient clearness ; but at this moment we 
can see that it would have been literally in- 
valuable." As troops arrived from the sister 
presidencies, from the outlying provinces on 
the Bay of Bengal, &c., there was no proper 
provision made for them. They suffered 
hunger and thirst, inconvenience the most 
oppressive from unsuitable clothing, improper, 
and even unhealthy quarters, and contemptuous 
neglect. Instead of assembling the troops, as 
Clive, Hastings, Wellesley, or Napier would 
have done, addressing to them words of en- 
couragement, and showing them how their 
courage and constancy were the hope of 
England, they were sent up the country with- 
out notice, or any stimulus or hope, save what 
rested in their own brave hearts and noble 
sense of duty. Never were British soldiers 
treated more conturaeliously, accustomed as 
they are to such treatment from men of rank, 
than the heroes who landed at Calcutta for the 
salvation of India were by Lord Canning and 
the members of his government. The autlior 
of Yotmg America Abroad, who was in Cal- 
cutta when Lord Canning arrived there, was 
justified in the severe comments he made upon 
the cold, haughty, and insolently imperious 
bearing which he attributed to him. The 
sneer of Jung Bahadoor of Nepaul, when sub- 
sequent blunders provoked it, was well earned 
already, " How do the English hope to keep 
India with such rulers ?" 

DELHI MUTINY AND MASSACRE. 

Having shown how the events of Meerut 

were regarded by the government of India, 

it is desirable to leave it in the midst of its 

preparations to avenge the disaster, and to 



return to the mutineers. In fourteen hours 
the rebel force reached Delhi, the gates of 
which were opened to them by their comrades. 
On the road they met several Europeans 
travelling by " dak," who were murdered. 
On entering, the work of slaughter began : 
the 3rd cavalry rode about through the city 
searching for British officers, into whose faces 
they discharged their pistols. The otlier 
mutineers, joined by the Delhi garrison, were 
less discriminate, revelling in promiscuou.s 
slaughter. The 3rd cavalry entertained a 
peculiar vengeance against the European offi- 
cers, because of the court-martial at Meornt. 
It must not be supposed that the officer in 
command at Delhi, Brigadier Graves, had 
taken no precautions. He had received infor- 
mation of the events at Meerut before the 
arrival of the mutineers at the gates of Delhi. 
He paraded his men, and appealed to their 
loyalty ; they responded with cheers, but all 
the while had resolved to betray and murder 
him. The regiments which composed the 
garrison were the o8th, 54th, and 74th in- 
fantry of the Bengal army, and a battery of 
Bengal artillery, manned by natives. There 
were besides many native artillerymen to 
serve the guns of position in the city, especially 
at the magazine and arsenal. The 54th and 
74th had shown no disposition to revolt ; the 
38th was a notoriously insolent and stubborn 
corps since 1852, when it succeeded in resist- ^ 
ing the authority of Lord Dalhousie when he 
ordered it to Pegu. The whole force occupied 
cantonments two miles north of the city. 
Critics have given the opinion that had these 
troops been marched out against the muti- 
neers when tidings of the mutiny arrived, and 
had the INIeerut European force pursued, that 
the former would have remained loyal, and 
the revolters have been killed, captured, or 
dispersed. Brigadier Graves resolved upon a 
defensive policy, and selected the Flagstaff 
tower as n refuge for the women and children. 
That building was circular in form, built of 
brick burnt in the sun, and strong; it was 
situated on the heights near the cantonments, 
about a mile and a half north of the Cashmcio 
gate of the city, which was the nearest to it. 
The resources of Delhi, in ammunition and 
material of war, were enormous, and had five 
hundred men remained faithful, including a 
proportion of artillery, the city might have 
been defended against twice the number of 
the Meerut mutineers. 

The events which transpired within the 
city on the arrival of the Meerut battalions, 
have never appeared in a connected form, and 
never can be presented in consecutive order, 
so terrible was the massacre, and so little did 
those who escaped know of anything which 



722 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. OXXVTII. 



did not appear before their own eyes. Major 
Abbot was the senior officer among tliose who 
escaped to Meerut, and his account of what 
occurred was substantially as follows : — He 
described a few troopers of the 3rd as having 
first entered by the bridge of boats. Colonel 
Ripley of the 54th confronted them with a 
wing of his regiment, but the men refused to 
fire, alleging that their muskets were not 
loaded. The guard of the 38th also declared 
that they had no ammunition. Scarcely had 
the mutineers made good their entrance, when 
the troops of the Delhi garrison turned upon 
their officers ; six officers of the Sith imme- 
diately fell under the bullets and bayonets of 
their own men — Colonel Ripley, Captains 
Smith and Burrows, Lieutenants Edwards, 
Waterhill, and Butler. Major Abbot ad- 
dressed the men of the 74tli, telling them that 
the time had arrived to prove their fidelity to 
him, and calling upon volunteers to follow him 
to the Cashmere gate, he marched forth 
attended by a considerable number. On 
arriving at the gate the men took possession, 
and seemed disposed to resist any attack. 
They remained in this state until three o'clock, 
when they were startled by a heavy firing of 
guns, followed by a terrific explosion. Lieu- 
tenant Willoughby had fired the magazine, to 
prevent its stores from falling into the hands 
of the rebels. There were two magazines at 
, Delhi, one at the cantonments to supply the 
troops there quartered, and one in the city which 
was the depot of ammunition for northern 
India. It was situated between the Selingush 
Fort, and the Cashmere gate, so that the 
explosion shook the earth under the feet of 
Major Abbot's party. The magazine con- 
tained 300 guns and mortars, 20,000 stand of 
small arms, 200,000 shot and shell, and large 
stores of materiel of war corresponding with 
such munitions. When the explosion of the 
vast mass of powder and shot and shell took 
place, the men at the Cashmere gate became 
intensely excited, and showed symptoms of 
sympathy with their co-religionists, whom 
they supposed engaged in a fierce and dan- 
gerous struggle, the nature of which they 
could not at the moment comprehend. The 
native officers stepped forward and advised 
the major to fly from the city. Shots were 
whizzing around him, and piercing cries 
broke upon his ear, the soldiers of the 38th 
were shooting their officers. Major Abbot 
begged his men to follow him to attempt 
their rescue, but they replied, " It is of no 
use, they are all killed now, we can save no 
one ; we have saved yoti and are happy, you 
shall not perish." The men formed a circle 
around him, and hurried him away towards 
the cantonments. At that moment several 



carriages drove up on the road to Kurnaul ; 
the major inquired who they were. The 
men replied, " They are our officers flying for 
their lives; follow their example, we can pro- 
tect you or them only for a little longer — fly I " 
Major Abbot asked them for the colours, 
which they gave him, and placing him and 
Captain Hawkej' on one horse, they followed 
the carriages and escaped. The major's first 
impulse was, with the captain, to stay and 
endeavour to the last to check the mutiny, 
but his regiment declared, " You can do 
nothing, you can save no one ; it is time to 
fly I" and they urged him forward with every 
demonstration of affectionate interest in his 
safety. Those portions of the 74th with which 
the major was not present, mutinied when 
the magazine blew up, and shot some of their 
officers. In this way Captain Gordon and 
Lieutenant Revley fell, Ensign Elton, Cap- 
tain Tytler, Captain Nicoll, Captain Wallace, 
Lieutenant Aislabie, and Farrier-sergeant 
Law made their escape through extraordinary 
dangers, and arrived at Sleerut after thirty -six 
hours of perilous wandering. Major Abbot 
attributed the insurrection to the King of 
Delhi and his family. His opinion is of im- 
portance from his knowledge of the proceed- 
ings of the court, and the judgment he dis- 
played in his efforts to check the progress of 
the mutiny. He thus wrote upon the subject 
in his report to the government, as the senior 
surviving officer of the garrison : — " The in- 
surrection was organised and matured in the 
palace of the King of Delhi with his full 
knowledge and sanction, in the mad attempt 
to establish himself in the sovereignty of this 
country. It is well known that he has called 
on the neighbouring states to co-operate with 
him in thus trying to subvert the existing 
government. The method he adopted appears 
to have been to gain the sympathy of the 
38th light infantry, by spreading the lying 
reports now going through the country, of 
the government having it in contemplation to 
upset their religion and have them all forcibly 
inducted to Christianity. The 38th, by in- 
sidious and false arguments, quietly gained 
over the 54 th and 74th native infantry, each 
being unacquainted with the other's real 
sentiments. I am perfectly persuaded that 
the 64th and 74th were forced to join the 
combination b)' threats that the 38th and 
o4th would annihilate the 74th if they 
refused ; or, vice versa, that the 38th and 
74th would annihilate the 54th. I am almost 
convinced that had the 38th not been on 
guard at the Cashmere gate, the results would 
have been very different; the men of the 74th 
would have shot down every man who had 
the temerity to assail the post." 



Chap. CXXIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



723 



While Major Abbot was so gallantly pre- 
serving the loyalty of a portion of his regi- 
ment, and with them using his best efforts to 
check the progress of the insurgents, other 
events were taking place elsewhere, as at the 
magazine, to which reference has already been 
made. The palace of the king was, however, 
the great centre of action. A portion of the 
3rd cavalry from Meerut proceeded thither, 
while the others were galloping about to 
shoot the officers of the garrison. When they 
arrived at the palace, they were received by 
the king and his court as friends and subjects. 
Had he ordered the gates to be shut, and 
made his palace the sanctuary of such English 
as were within it, or might have found their 
way thither, the insurrection would have been 
suppressed, or at all events the lives of the 
English seeking asylum within the walls of 
the building would have been safe. No mu- 
tineers would have dared to violate that 
sanctuary ; every true Mussulman would have 
defended the person and palace of the king, 
and all within it at his orders. The excuses 
made by him of being under constraint were 
not only not accordant with facts, but were 
absurd. When Mr. Eraser, the British com- 
missioner, perceived the approach of the 
mutineers, he, with his assistant, Captain 
Douglas, hastened to the palace that he might 
observe the conduct of the king at a moment 
that would test his loyalty. Mr. Fraser and 
the captain were attended by several other 
persons. The moment they entered the 
palatial precincts they were shot. Soon after, 
the Rev. Mr. Jennings, the chaplain, was 
murdered ; his daughter and another lady 
shared his fate, after having been treated 
with every indignity which a Mohammedan 
would consider the worst and vilest his own 
wife or daughter could suffer. Several Euro- 
peans who hid in the palace gardens were 



found tied to trees, and shot or sabred. AU 
the robbers of the neighbourhood were en- 
couraged by the mutineers, as at Meerut, to 
help themselves. The banks and rich shops 
were plundered ; women were treated with 
indignity, and tortured to death or hacked to 
pieces; babies were lifted up and ripped open 
or hewn by the ferocious troopers in the 
presence of their parents. The cruellies to 
women and children were generally inflicted 
in the presence of husbands and fathers, who 
were then put to death. No mercy was 
shown ; the troopers pointing to the marks of 
the irons on their wrists, which had been 
caused by their punishment at Meerut, thus 
justified their murder of women and babies. 
Numbers of European traders, civilians, clerks, 
half-caste natives, and any natives supposed 
to be Christians, were butchered. To possess 
European blood, or be suspected of being a 
Christian, was sufficient cause for a merciless 
death to be inflicted. 

While these events transpired at the palace 
and in the streets, the magazine was the scene 
of a heroic defence, as recorded while noticing 
the conduct of the 74:th at the Cashmere gate. 
Lieutenant Willoughby, in order to prevent the 
sepoys from possessing themselves of the mili- 
tary stores and ammunition, blew up a large 
portion of the magazine, and escaped to Meerut, 
where he died of his wounds. The success of 
the mutineers was complete. All the Euro- 
peans in Delhi at the beginning of the revolt 
were slain or fugitives. What happened 
within the city before the siege cannot be 
related upon European testimony. The king 
and the heir-apparent assumed regal power 
and dignity. The British treasury, of more 
than half a million sterling, was guarded by 
the king's relatives for his own use, the city 
acknowledged his government, and the Mussul- 
mans everywhere proclaimed the Delhi Raj. 



CHAPTER CXXIX. 

MUTINy AT BENARES— ITS SUPPRESSION BY COLONEL NEILL— MUTINY AT ALLAHABAD, ALSO 
SUPPRESSED BY COLONEL NEILL— MUTINY AT CAWNPORE— TREACHERY OF NANA SAHIB 
—GALLANT DEFENCE BY GENERAL WHEELER-CAPITULATION OF THE BRITISH, AND 
THEIR MASSACRE— MURDER OF FUGITIVES FROM FOTTYGHUR— MUTINY AT THAT 
PLACE— ASSUMPTION OF THE MAHRATTA SOVEREIGNTY BY NANA SAHIB. 



It has been already shown that the outbreak 
at Meerut was preceded by many ominous 
symptoms of deep-rooted disaffection and con- 
templated revolt on the part of the sepoys of 
the Bengal army. Before narrating the siege 
of Deliii, it is desirable to trace the progress 
of revolt in other directions. These were un- 



doubtedly encouraged and stimulated by the 
events at Meerut and Delhi. Towards the 
latter place the hopes and wishes of the 
whole native army of Bengal turned. It would 
require a volume to disclose all the separate 
incidents of disobedience, mutiny, and open 
revolt. In a work which comprises the 



724 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXXIX. 



history of tlic British empire in India and 
the East, such minute details would be out of 
keeping. It will suffice to direct the reader's 
attention to the grand theatres of mutiny: the 
outbreaks of discontent beyond these regions 
were like the effects prodnccd by a storm 
which has burst in fury over a certain area, 
and scatters some of its force upon the out- 
skirts of the territory over which it has passed. 
Before noticing any other of the scenes of 
action, it is desirable to relate the condition of 
things at Benares. That city, the grand 
capital of Indian heathenism, is so situated as 
to form a groat central position, from which 
the forces of the government could radiate as 
it were to Onde, to Agra, and the north-west. 
Lord Canning, although deficient in his plans 
to push up reinforcements from Calcutta, had 
shown considerable activity and energy in 
bringing such reinforcements as were available 
from the shores of the Bay of Bengal, and his 
correspondence, by telegrams, with tiie Madras 
and Bombay governments was maintained con- 
stantly. Lord Harris in the one government, 
and Lord Elphinstono in the other, seconded 
the views of the governor-general, and exerteil 
themselves to the utmost. By the end of May 
the Ist Madras fusiliers, under the command 
of Colonel Neill, landed at Calcutta. ITpon 
their arrival, the railway train to Eaneegunge 
was about to start : the distance was one 
hundred and twenty miles, and it was of the 
utmost importance that the men should be 
conveyed up the country as quickly as pos- 
sible, as information arrived from every quarter 
that the native troops were mutinous — Delhi 
and the restoration of the Moguls filling every 
mind. Tiie cartridge question, although still 
the ostensible occasion of dispute, was in 
reaUty lost in questions of nationality, and 
race, and (in a larger sense than a debate 
about caste) of creed. Colonel Neill was 
pertly told by a railway official, that unless he 
had his men in the train in a few minutes it 
would proceed without them. His reply was 
characteristic, he ordered a file of soldiers to 
arrest the agent ; the other officials were 
secured in like manner. Tiiey of cour.<;e pro- 
tested, but the colonel wasted no words with 
them ; ho was a man of action. He seized 
the train, placed his men in it, ordered en- 
gineers and stokers to steam on, and arrived 
in due and rapid course at the destination to 
which the train conducted. Colonel Neill, 
and a portion of his fusiliers, arrived at Benares 
just at the crisis of affairs there. The native 
regiments then stationed at that great city 
were the 37th Bengal infantry, the Loodianah 
foot, the 13th Bengal irregular cavalry. The 
Europeans were the artillery of Blajor Oli- 
phant'a battery, a detachment of the Ist 



jMadras fusiliers, one hundred and fifty men 
of " the brave Irish of the 10th" (as Colonel 
Herbert Edwardes described them ). Informa- 
tion of a certain nature had been given to the 
authorities that the 37th native infantry v as 
about to mutiny, that the cavalry would fol- 
low their example, and that the Sikhs were 
doubtful, the Mussulmans and the Hindoos 
among them being ready to join the muti- 
neers, the pure Sikhs being overawed and 
afraid for their own safety. The night of the 
Irtli of June was the expected period of the 
revolt. A parade, without arms, of the native 
regiments was ordered for that evening. Some 
companies of the 37th assembled as ordered, 
other companies piled their arms, and while 
in the act some of the men turned and fired 
upon their officers. This example was fol- 
lowed by the rest. The Sikhs, supposing that 
there was no safety on the side of the govern- 
ment, discharged a volley upon the Europeans. 
The three guns poured grape into the Sikhs, 
who charged them, but wore repulsed from 
the very muzzles of the cannon, by devouring 
discharges of grape. Thrice the gallant Sikhs 
came up with the bayonet, thrice were they 
swept away by the close fire of the guns. Lieu- 
tenant-colonel Spottiswood, of the 37th, took 
some port-fires and ignited the inflammable 
material in the sepoy lines; the flames spread, 
and threw up such a light as to expose to view 
the sepoys, who from cover were firing upon 
the Europeans. In a few minutes one hundred 
of the mutineers lay dead, and twice as many 
were wounded ; they fled in confusion. Some 
of the irregular cavalry and Sikhs remained 
loyal, some neutral ; the resolution of the Euro- 
peans decided them. Major Guire, of the 
cavalry, was murdered at the beginning of the 
mutiny ; two ensigns were wounded, and eight 
men. The Sikhs submitted, and some of the 
cavalry returned craving pardon, and declar- 
ing that they acted under alarm created by 
the threats of the sepoys. Colonel Neill acted 
with terrible promptitude and deci.sion,execnt- 
ing the ringleaders, pardoning the seduced. 
scouring the country and bringing in pri- 
soners, who were at once dealt with as their 
cases really required. While the colonel was 
reducing the chaos to order, he was com- 
manded by the governor-general to march to 
Allahabad. The curt reply of the colonel 
was — "Can't do it — wanted here." 

The most guilty sowars and sepoys were 
confined in the fort, and when their guilt was 
made clear, were blown away from guns, — a 
punishment which they more dreaded than 
any other. 

At Jaunpore the Sikh detachnK^nt murdered 
some of their officers and, joined by the 37th, 
plundered the treasury.. 




GEMffi]R.AJL HJEILIL, 



0.^/1,? W-, a- ■! Jy!^.cm^Ui/^yi- i^jc oytu/^tiA/f^^. 



'T 



T.)OW JAMKG :i VlhTTJt;. 



Chap. CXXIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



72« 



MUTINY AT ALLAHABAD. 
Allaliabad, upon which Neill at first refiieed 
to march when directed, was iu a state of 
great danger, and was a most important 
Btation. There was a large arsenal there, 
ammunition and arms for forty thousand men, 
a very large fort; and, situated on the con- 
fluence of the Ganges and Jumna, it held a 
most influential military relation to the lower 
provinces. The number of cannon at this 
place was great, of giinuers there was not 
one ! The population were all desperate 
fanatics, and amounted to seventy -five thou- 
sand. The condition of the arsenal was 
such as no discreet government would have 
allowed. The place was garrisoned by a 
battalion of Sikhs, and some companies of 
the Oth native infantry quartered in the fort, 
and a wing of the Gth in cantonments. Except 
those working at the magazine, there was not 
a single European soldier in the garrison. 
Thus everywhere in the Bengal provinces the 
strong places were left in the custody of 
mercenaries, while the Europeans were 
scattered in remote stations. The treasury 
was a temptation to the disaffected, as were 
also the great military stores. On the even- 
ing of the Gth of June, a parade of the (ith 
native infantry was ordered. These men had 
volunteered to march against Delhi. They 
were assembled to hear Lord Canning's thanks 
for their loyalty and devotion. When the 
paper was read the men gave three cheers, 
after the fashion of British soldiers. In four 
hours afterwards they had murdered seventeen 
of their officers, all the women and children 
upon whom they could lay their bauds, and 
marched off in a body to Delhi, the band 
playing " God save the Queen." Scenes of 
plunder and devastation now occurred at Allah- 
abad, and throughout the whole neighbour- 
hood, which beggar description. The loyal 
Sikhs were especially dextrous iu their work, 
plundering alike friend and foe. Private as 
well as public property fell under the hands 
of the devastators. The houses of Europeans 
around Allahabad were given to the flames : 
the railway-stations shared a similar fate, the 
lines of rails were torn up for twenty miles, 
the telegraph lines were cut down, the sepoys 
considering that the " lightning dak" (or post) 
was magical, and ojiposed to true religion. 
The steam-engines were for some time left 
uninjured, the sepoys fearing to approach them 
lest they should go off like a gun and blow 
them away ; they fired into them from a 
distance, riddling them with balls. Kobbery, 
ruin, and violence continued until the 11th of 
June, when Colonel Neill, and a detachment 
of his fusiliers arrived. The colonel's repu- 
tation for vigour had preceded him, and the 

VOL. It. 



poor Europeans, bereft of everything, felt 
that while he was near life at least would be 
safe. The colonel's first care was the sanitary 
state of the fort — fifty died of cholera the day 
he arrived, and desjiair brooded over every 
living heart. He at once adopted measures 
so skilful, and inspired such confidence, 
activity, courage, and hope, that the disease 
abated as if by a miracle, and almost dis- 
appeared. He came as a saviour to the 
suffering Europeans at Allahabad. He at 
once adopted towards the mutineers and in- 
surgents, the course he took at Benares — 
rigour before clemency. No time-serving, 
useless talking, pompous promises, trick, or 
humbug of any kind marked his proceeding. 
To all these things the general government 
trusted, although constant evidence was 
afforded that the sepoys saw through them. 
Having, tiirough the mercy of God, by the 
use of enlightened means, saved the garrison 
from pestilence, his next care was for the pro- 
perty of the town, and the preservation of 
order. He put an end to the drunkenness and 
riot of the soldiery of all classes by simple and 
efficacious means. He published a proclama- 
tion, giving a few hours for the restoration of 
jniblic property, and declaring that all per- 
sons found in possession of the like after the 
time had expired should bo hung. Everybody 
knew that he said what he meant ; property 
was restored with marvellous rapidity, and 
some who could not make up their mind to 
restitution paid the penalty. There was a 
portion of the town of Allahabad occupied by 
Brahmins, who were lazy, dishonest, and 
treasonable. These men, wrapt up iu the 
pride of caste, ])aid no attention to the 
colonel's proclamations, and did their best fo 
keep up the general disquietude. He did not 
send deputations to them, nor tell them he re- 
lied upon their loyalty, as the Calcutta officials 
would have done ; he shelled their quarter of 
the town, and a few hours sufficed to make 
those whose lives were not sacrificed abject iu 
their submission. He then formed a httlc 
movable column of fifty of his fusiliers, a few 
of the sowars who had remained obedient, the 
railway officials, volunteers, and three com- 
panies of Sikhs. Not far from the town, 
a fanatical moulvie, and two thousand rebels, 
had intrenched themselves. Seeing so small 
a body of opponents, they boldly left their 
trenches and advanced. Neill delivered a fire 
of Enfield rifles at five hundred yards, which 
brought down so many of them that their 
ranks became disordered, and but for the 
fanatical exertions of their loader, they would 
have turned : ho, with desperate exertions, 
led them on, and on approaching to half the 
distance another volley of Enfield rifles spread 

6a 



726 



HISTOEY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. CXXIX. 



destruction and terror among them ; they ran 
in confusion to their intrenchments, there, 
well covered, they relied on their guns, which 
were so numerous and well served that Neill, 
careful for his troops, held back. Their 
ammunition having been expended, they cut 
the electric wire into slugs, and used pieces of 
the railway and of the engines — these proved 
to be more formidable than the regulation 
" charges." Neill burnt down all the houses 
of the disaffected, capturing or dispersing the 
inmates ; he harassed the moulvie, picking 
off with his rifles the most forward of his ad- 
herents, until he at last fled with his followers 
from the neighbourhood. His nephew was 
captured, and, while a prisoner, attempted to 
murder an officer of the Sikhs ; the soldiers 
trampled the wretch until life was extinct. 
Neill and his men scoured the country, slay- 
ing, dispersing, or capturing predatory bands. 
The sepoy captives he shot, the non-sepoy 
rebels he hung. The terror of his name 
spread through all the Bengal provinces, and 
^ fabulous accounts of his bravery formed the 
staple of the stories at the bivouacs of the rebels. 
Allahabad was saved, and its neighbourhood 
cleared of insurgents. 

MUTINY AT CAWNPORE. 
Throughout the month of May the regi- 
ments in the garrison of Cawnpore showed 
symptoms of disaffection. The officer who 
commanded was one of the most skilful and 
gallant in the company's service. Major- 
general Sir Hugh Wheeler. Many Euro- 
peans whose bungalows were burned, or who 
were insulted in the bazaar, left the station. 
The place was crowded with the families of 
officers and civilians serving in Lucknow and 
other stations in the upper provinces. General 
Wheeler did not fail to communicate to his 
government the precise state of things ; he 
received advice which was worth nothing, 
but the supplies which competent manage- 
ment might have provided, did not arrive. 
The general moved to intrenchments the 
public records, and such portions of his gar- 
rison and people as his wisdom deemed best. 
He was anxious for the safe keeping of the 
public treasury, which the sepoys guarded 
and refused to leave, making the usual pro- 
testations of loyalty. Wheeler knew well 
the value of such professions, but it was pru- 
dent to give an apparent acquiescence for 
the moment. He, however, immediately took 
measures which he felt certain would secure 
the safety of the treasure. He applied to 
the Rajah of Bithoor to send him a guard ; 
the rajah being a warm friend of the English, 
as they universally thought, the expedient 
seemed discreet. His highness sent two hun- 



dred Nujeebs, armed with matchlocks, and 
two pieces of cannon. The residence of the 
rajah was within a few miles of Cawnpore, 
and he was strong in influence, wealth, and 
armed retainers. This person was the infa- 
mous Nana Sahib, whose protestations of 
sympathy were lavishly bestowed, while he 
watched the opportunity for vengeance. He 
was naturally a brutal voluptuary, and blood- 
thirsty ; his relations to the English were 
such as made him utterly vindictive to them. 
When the Mahratta empire was dissolved, 
and the Peishwa was dispossessed of his last 
remnant of power, he was allowed to live at 
Bithoor, and take the title of rajah from that 
place. Having no legitimate children, he 
adopted Nana Sahib, and left him property 
amounting to four millions sterling. A pen- 
sion, allowed to the Peishwa by the English 
government, lapsed, according to English 
usage, from failure of heirs male. Nana 
Sahib pleaded oriental usage and law, and, 
as the adopted son of the Peishwa, claimed 
the pension, which the English refused to 
grant. From that hour he became their deadly 
enemy. He, however, concealed this enmity 
under the mask of an admiration for Euro- 
pean civilization, and a taste for English 
manners. He accordingly entertained, d la 
Anglais, English civil and military officers 
at his palace at Bithoor. It appeared to be 
his ambition to be regarded as an English 
gentleman : he spoke the English language, 
filled his palace with Englisli furniture and 
pictures, used horses and carriages capari- 
soned and equipped in English fashion, but 
professed withal to be a profound Hindoo 
devotee. In the chapters on the social con- 
dition of India, the habits of life of this chief 
were described in illustration of the manners 
and customs of a high-bred native of the 
Anglo-Indian type. 

Sir Hugh Wheeler's force for the defence 
of Cawnpore consisted of two companies of 
Europeans, and eight guns. The supply of 
provisions was short. The sepoys in garrison 
were numerous. On the morning of the 5th 
of June, the whole of the native troops mu- 
tinied. They first set fire to their lines, then 
marched on the treasury, where they Avere 
joined by the guards lent by the Nana. 
£170,000 was packed on elephants and carts, 
and the whole force marched out with the 
intention of proceeding to Delhi. The Nana, 
however, placed himself at the head of the 
mutineers, and brought up six hundred re- 
tainers, with four guiLS, from Bithoor, and 
the force halted. On the afternoon and night 
of the 5th, he was irresolute what course to 
take, but early on the morning of the 6th, he 
made hostile, demonstrations against Cawn- 



Chap. OXXIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



727 



pore. He sent a body of sowars (irregular 
native cavalry) into the town to kill all the 
Europeans, Eurasians, and native converts, 
whom they could reach, without attacking 
Sir Hugh Wheeler's intrenchments. The 
work was done con amore. They had also 
been ordered to set fire to the town, which 
they performed most effectually. " The wind 
was blowing furiously at the time, and when 
the houses were fired, a few moments suf- 
ficed to set the whole in a blaze. The noise 
of the wind, the roaring of the fire, the wild 
cries of the mutineers, maddened with excite- 
ment and raging for blood, these, mingled 
with oaths, and prayers, and shrieks of an- 
guish, formed an atmosphere of devilry which 
few of our countrymen would wish to breathe 
again. A few of the residents fought with 
the fury of despair ; but they were a handful 
against many thousands of enemies, and silence 
gradually settled over the place which a few 
hours previously was fair and flourishing." * 

The Nana's next step was to declare him- 
self, by beat of drum, sovereign of the Mah- 
rattas ; he planted two standards, one of 
which was proclaimed as the standard of 
Mohammed, the other of Huneyman, the 
monkey god. Around the former the Mo- 
hammedans, to the number of several thou- 
sands, crowded; around the latter only a few 
Budmashes and robbers gathered. Thus the 
two great sovereignties of India were set up 
again in the persons of the King of Delhi as 
the Great Mogul, and of Nana Sahib as the 
Peishwa of the Mahrattas. A position was 
taken up by the mutineers in front of the 
intrenchments, which Sir Hugh Wheeler and 
his little band defended with romantic gal- 
lantry, hourly expecting help whence no help 
came. Various assaults were repelled at 
great cost to the mutineers, who, at last, can- 
nonaded the intrenchments almost with im- 
punity, as Sir Hugh could only direct against 
their position, during a portion of the attack, 
a single gun. Meanwhile, Europeans — men, 
women, and children — were daily dragged 
from their hiding-places in the town and 
surrounding country, and put to death. Be- 
fore slaying them, torture was resorted to, 
and every form of indignity. Barbarities at 
once puerile and disgusting afforded the Nana 
infinite delight. In some instances he caused 
the noses and ears of his victims to be cut off 
and hung round their necks as necklaces. 
" An English lady, with her children, had 
been captured by his bloodhounds, and was 
led into his presence. Her husband had been 
murdered on the road, and she implored the 
Nana for life ; but the ruffian ordered them 

* Tke Sepoy Revolt ; Us Causes and Us Consequences. 
By Henry Mead. I/ondon : G. Routledge & Co. 



all to be taken to the maidan and killed. On 
the way the children complained of the sun, 
and the lady requested they might be taken 
under the shade of some trees ; but no atten- 
tion was paid to her, and after a time she and 
her children were tied together and shot, 
with the exception of the youngest, who was 
crawling over the bodies, and feeling them, 
and asking thorn why they had fallen down 
in the sun. The poor infant was at last killed 
by a trooper." 

One hundred and twenty-six persona es- 
caping from Futtyghur, arrived opposite 
Cawnpore during the investment of the in- 
trenched position of the English. The Nana 
brought guns and musketry to bear upon 
these unfortunate and helpless persons, and 
gave them the alternative of landing under 
his protection, or of having the boats sunk. 
Some got away, refusing to trust him; others 
accepted his promises of security as their 
safest chance. He violated his solemn pro- 
testations. " When they were collected toge- 
ther, he ordered his men to commence the 
work of slaughter. The women and children 
were dispatched with swords and spears ; the 
men were ranged in line, with a bamboo run- 
ning along the" whole extent and passing 
through each man's arms, which were tied 
behind his bade. The troopers then rode 
round them and taunted their victims, revil- 
ing them with the grossest abuse, and gloat- 
ing over the tortures they were about to 
inflict. When weary of vituperation, one of 
them would discharge a pistol in the face of 
a captive, whose shattered head would droop 
to the right or left, the body meanwhile being 
kept upright, and the blood and brains be- 
spattering his living neighbours. The next 
person selected for slaughter would, perhaps, 
be four or five paces distant ; and in this way 
the fiends contrived to prolong for several 
hours the horrible contact of the dead and 
the living. Not a soul escaped ; and the 
Nana Sahib thanked the gods of the Hindoos 
for the sign of favour bestowed upon him by 
the opportunity vouchsafed thus to torment 
and slay the Christians." For twenty-two 
days the garrison held out, hoping against 
hope. They could not persuade themselves 
that neither from Lucknow, Allahabad, nor 
Calcutta, would help arrive. What actually 
occurred at last can only be gathered from 
desultory sources of information. These crept 
out little by little, and the public mind of 
India, of England, and of all the world, not 
inhabited by heathen or Mussulmans, was 
filled with horror at the recital. Lord Can- 
ning published the following as the first 
authentic intelligence given to the natives of 
India of the event : — 



728 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap, CXXIX. 



Allahabad^ July ^th. 
Colonel Neill reports that he had received a note, dated 
night of the 4th, from Major Renaud, of the Madras 
Fusiliers, commanding the advance column sent towards 
Cawnpore, that he had sent men into that place, who re- 
ported on their return that, in consequence of Sir Hugh 
\Vheeler being shot through tlie leg, and afterwards mor- 
tally, the force had accepted the proifer of safety made by 
the Nana Sahib and the mutineers. The Nana allowed 
them to get into boats, with all they had, and three and a 
half lacs of rupees; that after getting them into boats fire 
was opened on them from the Ijauk, and all were destroyed. 
One boat got away ten miles down the river, was pursued, 
brought back, and all in her taken back into barracks and 
shot. One old lady was alive on the 3rJ, at Futtehpore. 

The rumours which were spread in con- 
nection with the treatment of the victims of 
Cawnpore were innumerable, but rivalling 
one another in the pictures they gave of the 
atrocities of Nana Sahib and his followers. 
Reports that all the women murdered at 
Lucknow had been first violated, tinder cir- 
cumstances of cruelty savage and appalling, 
influenced the Europeans in India with a 
desire for vengeance which it was difficult to 
slake. The floating tales of this nature which 
circulated so extensively, greatly exaggerated 
the facts, but enough of the horrible remained 
true to justify the English community in 
India in demanding that English honour 
should be vindicated, and punishment in- 
flicted upon the criminals with a stern hand. 
When the numbers destroyed by the rebels 
became more clearly ascertained, the distress 
of relations and friends, and of the whole 
English community in India, was beyond the 
power of pen to describe. The following were 
certainly known to be in the intrenchments 
on the 6th of June ; of these many fell in 
dreadful battle, the rest by a more cruel 
destiny : — First company, 6th battalion, artil- 
lery, 61 ; her majesty's 32nd foot, 81 ; her 
majesty's 84th foot, 60 ; 1st European fusi- 
leers, IS ; English officers, mostly of mutinied 
regiments, 100 ; merchants, writers, clerks, 
&c., 100 ; English drummers of mutinied 
regiments, 40 ; wives and children of English 
officers, 50 ; wives and children of English 
soldiers, 160 ; wives and children of civilians, 
120; sick, native officers and sepoys, 100; 
native servants, cooks, &c., 100. 

A few of those who had served within 
these intrenchments escaped almost by mi- 
racle. Mr. Shepherd, a gentleman connected 
with the commissary department, left the 
trenches, disguised as a native cook, and was 
imprisoned by Nana Sahib, remaining in cap- 
tivity while the murders were perpetrated, 
and, finally, escaping when the rebels re- 
treated. The others who were saved were 
British officers. They were with the gar- 
rison, who, according to the stipulation made 
with the Nana, were permitted to go down 



the river in boats. One of these gentlemen 
published an account of his escape. After 
describing the embarkation, and the progress 
of the treacherous attack. Lieutenant Dela- 
fosse continues : — " We had now one boat, 
crowded with wounded, and having on board 
more than she could carry. Two guns fol- 
lowed us the whole of that day, the infantry 
firing on us the whole of that night. On the 
second day, 28th June, a gun was seen on 
the Cawnpore side, which opened on us at 
Nujjubgurh, the infantry still following us on 
both sides. On the morning of the third day, 
the boat was no longer serviceable ; we were 
aground on a sandbank, and had not strength 
sufficient to move her. Directly any of us 
got into the water, we were fired upon by 
thirty or forty men at a time. There was 
nothing left for us but to charge and drive 
the villains away ; and fourteen of us wero 
told ofT to do what we could. Directly we 
got on shore the insurgents retired, but having 
followed them up too far, we were cut off 
from the river, and had to retire ourselves, 
as we were being surrounded. We could 
not make for the river ; we had to go down 
jiarallel, and came to the river again a mile 
lower down, where we saw a large force of 
men right in front waiting for us, and another 
lot on the opposite bank, should we attempt 
to cross the river. On the bank of the river, 
just by the force in front, was a temple. Wc 
fired a volley, and made for the temple, in 
which we took shelter, having one man killed 
and one wounded. From the door of the 
temple we fired on every insurgent that hap- 
pened to show himself. Finding that they 
could do nothing against us whilst we re- 
mained inside, they heaped wood all round 
and set it on fire. When we could no longer 
remain inside on account of the smoke and 
heat, we threw ofT what clothes we had, and, 
each taking a musket, charged through the 
fire. Seven of us out of the twelve got into 
the water, but before we had gone far, two 
poor fellows were shot. There were only 
five of us left now, and we had to swim whilst 
the insurgents followed us along both banks, 
wading and firing as fast as they could. After 
we had gone three miles down the stream 
[probably swinmiiug and wading by turns], 
one of our party, an artilleryman, to rest 
himself, began swimming on his back, and 
not knowing in what direction he was swim- 
ming, got on shore, and was killed. When 
we had had got down about six miles, firing 
from both sides [of the river] ceased, and soon 
after we were hailed by gome natives, on the 
Oude side, who asked us to come on shore, 
and said they would take us to their rajah, who 
was friendly to the English." The friendly 



Chap. OXXIX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



729 



rajah sheltered Licutennnt Delafosse, Mow- 
bray, and Thompson, with some others, who 
souglit his protection, throughout the month 
of July, until they exchanged his hospitality 
for the ranks of their countrymen. 

It is difficult to give any correct relation of 
the fate of the Englishwomen dragged from 
the boats, not only because the narratives of 
snrvivors is so different, but because the scenes 
in which the relaters substantially agree are 
too indelicate to place before our readers in 
their atrocious details. 

The first demand of the Nana was that 
they should all enter his harem ; they replied 
that they preferred death. Amongst these 
ladies the daughter of Sir Hugh Wheeler has 
been represented by all narrators as displaying 
extraordinary courage. Before her capture 
she is represented as having shot down five 
sepoys with a revolver. Mr. Shepherd relates 
that she was taken away by a sowar (trooper), 
as his particular prize, who convoyed her to his 
liut, that she then seized his sword, cut off his 
head, and threw herself into a well to escape 
outrage. An ayah (native nurse) of a Euro- 
pean family says that it was in the hut, after 
cutting off the trooper's head, that she shot 
down four other sowars. Another account 
represents her as having been taken away by 
the trooper in the retreat of the mutineers. 
This story has two versions : one describes 
the conduct of the sowar as generous, the 
other represents him as carrying her about as 
his victim. 

THE MUTINY AT FUTTYGHUR. 

Futtyghur was a military cantonment 
higher up on the banks of the Ganges than 
Cawnpore, and not far from Ferokabad. 

At the end of May the troops in those can- 
tonments were the 10th regiment of native 
infantry (Bengal is always understood, unless 
especial mention is made of a corps as belong- 
ing to Bombay or Madras), and small detach- 
ments of other regiments. Unmistakable indi- 
cations were made of an intended mutiny, so 
that it was deemed desirable to send the 
women, children, and non-combatants on 
to Cawnpore. The communications between 
these places had been so intercepted that the 
officers at either station were ignorant of the 
situation of their comrades at the other. 

On tlie 4th of Juno boats were freighted 
with this preci'ous charge, and they were sent 
down the Ganges. 

After a short voyage, the demonstrations of 
hostility offered by the natives, caused the 



wanderers to separate info two parties. One 
of these, headed by Mr. Probyn, the collector, 
sought refuge with a zemindar, named Herden 
Buksh, living twelve miles from Futtyghur. 
The other party persisted in the voyage to 
Cawnpore. Tlic first party numbered forty 
persons ; the second, one hundred and twenty. 
It is impossible to judge when these parties 
separated, or how many of both wero slain 
before the one reached Cawnpore and the 
other found refuge with the zemindar. Few 
survived to tell the tale, and their talents for 
narrative have not been very eminent. Some 
of them found their vi'ay back to Futtyghur, 
others were arrested and slain at Bithoor. 

On the 18th of Juno, the 10th infantry 
mutinied, and set fire to the cantonments at 
Futtyghur: the 41st, from the opposite shore 
of the Ganges, joined them, the treasure 
was seized, and the officers menaced. The 
river by that date had fallen so low that 
flight by boat was deemed unsafe, and the 
Europeans resolved to defend a post, which 
they selected as the most tenable which they 
could make available. One hundred persons 
took up this position ; thirty were European 
gentlemen, the rest women and children. 
Tliey defended this place until the 4th of 
July, when, several military officers of rank 
having fallen, and most of the rest being 
wounded, longer defence became impossible. 
They took to their boats, under a terrible fire 
from their enemies. The boats were pursued, 
with a persistent thirst for blood. Some of 
the ladies jumped overboard, to avoid capture. 
Some were shot iu their boats. One of the 
boats stranded ; those on board leapt into the 
water, some wero shot down, some drowned, 
others swam to land, and were captured and 
mutilated; a few found shelter from compas- 
sionate persons while wandering along the 
shore. One boat only reached Bithoor; Nana 
Sahib murdered all on board. 

The fate of the first arrivals from Futtyghur 
has been already related. 

The monster of Bithoor was not contented 
with the cruelties he had inflicted, but hearing 
that a British force was advancing, which he 
could hardly hope to resist, he resolved to cut 
off the noses and right hands of all the Ben- 
galee clerks in the pay of commercial firms, or 
of the civil service, and of all persons who 
were known to be able to read or write or 
speak English. Such was the state of things 
at Cawnpore, when the tramp of British 
soldiery was heard, and the hour of retribu- 
tion was nigh. 



730 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. OXXX. 



CHAPTER CXXX. 

THE MUTINY IN OUDE— DEFENCE OF LUCKNOW BY SIR HENRY LAWRENCE— HIS DEATH- 
MUTINY IN ROHILCUND AND THE DOAB— MUTINY IN CENTRAL INDIA— MUTINY IN THE 
PUNJAUB, AND ITS SUPPRESSION— UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT AT MUTINY IN SCINDE. 



Throughout the month of May the sepoys 
displayed a mutinous spirit all over Oude ; 
hut it was met with sufficient skill and address 
to keep it under, so far as open revolt and 
massacre were concerned. In time the spirit 
of disaffection increased, and Sir Henry 
Lawrence, who conducted the government of 
the province, suffered inconceivable anxiety, 
and displayed an ability and courage which 
render his name immortal. About the 
middle of June, Colonel Neill, then at Allah- 
abad, as seen in the last chapter, received a 
letter from Sir Henry, announcing that See- 
tapore and Shahjehanpore, Baraitch, and 
Fyzabad, were taken by the mutineers, and 
that the revolters from these places, from 
Jeypore, and from Benares (where Neill had 
driven them), were advancing against Luck- 
now. On the 19th the government of Calcutta 
learned that cholera had broken out in Luck- 
now, and that Sir Henry had no hope of 
reinforcements unless by chance from l)ina- 
pore. In Benares, it was learned a few days 
later that Sir Henry had got rid of all his 
sepoys by a dextrous piece of pohcy, and 
that he was himself ill, and had appointed a 
provisional council in case of his death, or in- 
capacity by sickness. He held the residency, 
the cantonments, and commanded the city. 
He also occupied a fort called Muchee Bhou- 
chan, which he garrisoned by 225 Euro- 
peans. This place was three quarters of a 
mile from the residency, and was strong. 
The residency and the fort were his chief re- 
liance in case he should be pressed by the 
enemy. Before the end of June his commu- 
nications were cut off, and Lucknow sur- 
rounded by an immense host, not merely of 
mutineers, but of rebels, well accustomed to 
the use of arms, and raging with hatred against 
the English government. 

On the 27th of June he had supplies for 
two months, during which time he had 'no 
fear that the enemy could capture his positions. 
At the end of June the whole province of 
Oude was in arms, and the royal family active 
in the insurrection. There were now three 
royalties set up in hostility to the English, that 
of Delhi, Oude, and the Mahratta. On the 30th 
of June Sir Henry resolved to attack a force of 
eight thousand rebels, encamped on the Fyza- 
bad road, near the Koobra canal. His force 
was as follows : — Artillery — Four guns, horse 
light field battery ; six guns, Oude field 



battery; and one 8 -inch howitzer. Cavalry — 
one hundred and twenty troopers of Ist, 2nd, 
and 3rd Oude irregular cavalry ; and forty 
volunteer cavalry, under Captain Radcliffe. 
Infantry — three hundred of her majesty's 
32nd foot ; one hundred and fifty oi 13th 
native infantry ; sixty of the 48th native 
infantry ; and twenty of the 71st. The 
enemy skilfully planned an ambush, their 
success in doing so was the more easily 
achieved as Lawrence bore himself far too 
confidently. He did not show as signal 
a military capacity on this occasion as he had 
always shown capacity for government. The 
rebels attacked him at Chinhut. The Oude 
artillerymen in his service cut the traces of 
the horses, overturned the guns in a nullah, 
and deserted to the enemy during the first 
moment of surprise; they were probably aware 
of the ambush. To this misfortune was 
added the want of an adequate supph' of 
ammunition, of which he should have assured 
himself before he set out. He was beaten. It 
was not a retreat, but a confused flight. The 
officers and men fell in great numbers, and so 
wretchedly arranged was the retreat, as well 
as the advance, that it is wonderful how a 
single man of the party reached Lucknow. 
This shameful defeat caused all the subsequent 
disasters. The enemy gained courage, their 
enthusiasm rose to the highest pitch, while the 
English became depressed. Lawrence resolved 
to abandon the cantonments, the fort, and 
another strong post, to fortify himself in the 
residency, and await succour. At midnight 
on the 1st of July he blew up the fort, con- 
taining two hundred and forty barrels of 
powder, and three millions of ball cartridges. 
This resolution on the part of Sir Henry has 
been much lauded, but the fact was obvious 
to the humblest soldier that it was the only 
thing that could be done to afford the defence 
the slightest prospect of success. By his 
marvellous faculty of administration he col- 
lected six months' provision in the residency. 
His courage equalled his industry. On the 
night of the 1st of July, a shell was thrown 
by the enemy, which exploded in the room he 
occuiiied, but he declined taking up his 
quarters in a more secure place. On the 2nd 
of July a shell also burst in the same place, 
inflicting upon him a wound which eventually 
proved fatal. He immediately appointed 
Brigadier Inglis his military, and Major 




*fr.B. 'ij-fMj/r/^^/ji . 



r^ 



SDR HEKRT LAWKJEKfeJE 



Qj^^^i^^ 



>j^^<^ c.^-j^^^^s^?^' ^/?z^ J^^?%^ 



LONDON JAMES S, VIRTUE. 



Chap. CXXX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



731 



Banks his civil successor ; and on the 10th of 
July died. The defence of the residency now 
devolved upon the gallant Inglis. 

It is necessary before returning to the de- 
fence of Lucknow, to glance at some of the 
other stations in Oude and elsewhere. Fyzabad 
was the scene of incipient mutiny on the 3rd 
of June. On the 8th it became open and de- 
cided. After the most solemn professions of 
loyalty and devotion on the part of the 
sepoy garrison, they suddenly rose and made 
prisoners of their officers. Next morning 
Dhuleep Singh, the chief of the insurgents, 
announced that the officers might go away, 
taking their private property. 

The troops quartered at Fyzabad, were — 
the 22nd regiment native infantry ; the 6th 
regiment irregular Oude infantry; the 6th 
troop of the 15th regiment irregular cavalry ; 
No. 5 company of the 7th battalion of artil- 
lery ; and No. 13 horse battery. The chief 
officers were Colonels Lennox and O'Brien; 
Major Mill, Captain Morgan, Lieutenants 
Fowle, English, Bright, Lindesay, Thomas, 
Ouseley, Cautley, Gordon, Parsons, Percival, 
and Currie; and Ensigns Anderson and 
Ritchie. Colonel Goldney held a civil ap- 
pointment as commissioner. The Europeans 
were placed in boats and directed to make 
their way to Dinapore. It was intended to 
murder them on the river. Some of the fugi- 
tives took to the land, leaving all their pro- 
perty behind, and made for Goruckpore. 
They were attacked by mutineers, and would 
have been killed, had not Meer Mohammed 
Hossein Khan rescued them, sheltered them 
in a zemindar fort, disguised and hid them, 
and, by a succession of stratagems preserved 
them until the collector of Goruckpore, at the 
head of a party, came to conduct them away 
in safety ; they thence reached Calcutta with- 
out losing an individual of their number. Of 
those who went by river, some reached 
Dinapore, others were slain or drowned. A 
portion left the boats and perished on land of 
privation or fatigue. The whole population 
was against them. One woman was delivered 
of a baby on the route. A lady, with two 
children, seven and three years of age, and a 
baby eight months old, after sufl'ering consi- 
derable privations, and losing her infant by 
death, escaped. A sergeant-major was cap- 
tured and dragged from village to village as 
an exhibition, subjected to unheard of cruel- 
ties and indignities. He at last escaped. 

The mutinies at the other garrisons were 
similar — slaughter and rapine followed revolt 
everywhere. Neither Lawrence nor Inglis 
could obtain any assistance except from 
Nepaul. Jung Bahadoor was not only willing 
to render it, but he sent troops. Lord 



Canning requested him to withdraw them, 
still labouring under the fatal hallucination 
that the army was in the main loyal, and that, 
at all events, the people were so. The Ne- 
paulese chief marched back his troops at a 
season most trying, many of them perishing 
on the way by cholera. When his array had 
reached the capital, a message from Lord 
Canning arrived, requiring the assistance of 
ten thousand men. Jung Bahadoor afforded 
the aid required, but neither he nor his troops 
entered so heartily into the cause as at first. 
He expressed his astonishment how the Eng- 
lish, with such rulers, could expect to hold 
India. The Goorkha chief also extended 
refuge and assistance to such fugitives as 
reached the confines of his country. 

MUTINY IN EOHILCUND. 

All the districts of this province were re- 
bellious, and the Bengal troops stationed in 
it still more so. Bareilly was one of the most 
important places of Rohilcund, and it was 
like other such places, garrisoned wholly by 
native troops. Two regiments of infantry, 
the 68th and 18th, one of cavalry, the 8th, 
and a battery of native artiller}', were stationed 
there. The officers were the only English 
soldiers in the place. The usual staff of civi- 
lians was to be found there, and many women 
and children. The native population was one 
hundred thousand. The chief officers dis- 
played the infatuation by which the military 
authorities were characterized elsewhere : the 
sepoys were implicitly trusted ; the officers 
did not know them. Early in 'May, symp- 
toms of insurgency led to the adoption of 
some precautionary measures ; the ladies and 
children were sent to the sanitary stations in 
the hills : Nynee Fal received many of them, 
where they were comparatively safe. On 
the Slst of May the sepoys revolted ; the too 
confiding general of the station was one of 
the first men shot by the mutineers ; others 
were murdered, some escaped, the canton- 
ments were fired, and rapine ruled in Bareilly. 
Nineteen native troopers remained faithful, 
and escorted a number of their officers to 
Nynee Fal. The rebels, headed by a very 
old chief, Khan Bahadoor Khan, were com- 
pletely successful. The khan, like others of 
the rebel chiefs, had been in receipt of a pen- 
sion from the company, a mode of securing 
their loyalty, which always failed, as the 
pension was regarded as a right, and a sense 
of injury experienced, whatever its amount, 
because it was not more. This man, like 
Nana Sahib, was the associate of the English, 
assuming their manners, and affecting their 
tastes. These men everywhere were the 



732 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXXX. 



bitterest enemies of tlie British. Intimate 
intercourse, and close knowledge of us, seemed 
to exasperate the educated natives against 
botli our race and rule. This old chief of the 
Bareilly mutineers imitated our manners so 
closely, that he had the captive Europeans 
arraigned as rebels against the King of Delhi, 
tried by law, found guilty, and hanged. 

Moorshedabad is half way between Bareilly 
and Meerut, and was, as to the insurrec- 
tion, a place of importance from that cir- 
cumstance. Here, as elsewhere, the treasury 
was captured in June, but the European 
population were enabled to make a timely 
escape to Meerut. 

At Shahjehanpore the mutiny was marked 
by a peculiar activity. The troops rose on 
the 31st of May, a day on which so gene- 
rally the sepoys revolted. It was the Sab- 
bath. The mutineers, as elsewhere, selected 
the hours of worshij). They surrounded the 
church, and put nearly the whole of the con- 
gregation, and the Rev. Mr. M'Collum, to 
death within the building. Those who es- 
caped were hunted through the country, shot 
at, and sabred, until only one or two remained 
of all who had joined in Christian worship on 
that last Sabbath in May at Shahjehanpore. 
All Rohilcund, like Oude, fell to the rebels. 
One by one, and in small parties, fugitives 
reached Nynee Fal, where the neighbourhood 
of the Goorkhas deterred the enemy from 
pursuing, although the prize was much de- 
sired. The slaughter of such a large number 
of women and children as the most vindictive 
visitation to the whites, was eagerly expected. 
Bands of mutineers watched in the neigh- 
bouring jungle for many a day in the hope of 
accomplishing this exploit. All around Ro- 
hilcund and Oude the insurrection grew and 
spread. In the Doab blood and fire marked 
the rebel track in every direction. From 
Allahabad, where Neill was victorious, to 
Ferokabad, and far beyond it to the upper 
country, all was desolation and vengeance. 
Futtyghur and Muttra obtained notoriety 
among the places in these districts where 
rebellion signalized itself. AUyghur was held 
by a few faithful native soldiers, under the 
command of a gallant young officer, named 
Cockburn : and by this means the road be- 
tween Meerut and Agra was kept tolerably 
open. Agra itself, however, was doomed to 
experience the force of the wide-sweeping 
storm. The garrison there consisted of two 
regiments of native infantry and the 3rd 
Europeans, with a small detachment of artil- 
lery. On the 1st of June there was a dis- 
armament of the natives. This was timely, 
for a conspiracy to murder all the officers was 
afterwards discovered. Most of the disarmed 



sepo)'s escaped and made their way to Delhi, 
or into Oude ; the remainder were a source of 
anxiety and alarm, although deprived of their 
weapons. The police and jail-guard deserted, 
and the population showed deadly hatred to 
the Europeans of every class. Mr. Colvin 
held Agra well, and threw out parties in every 
direction, who chastised rebel bands. 

THE MUTINY IN CENTRAL INDIA. 

Nagpore had a strong garrison of native 
troops. Mr. Plowden, the commissioner, by 
address and courage, succeeded in inducing 
them to surrender their arms, in which he was 
aided by the loyalty of the Madras native 
cavalry. By the end of June he had quieted 
every symptom of disturbance. 

Further north, in Central India Proper, 
Major Erskine showed similar qualities to 
those employed by Mr. Plowden at Nagpore. 
The Saugor and Nerbuddah districts were in- 
tensely agitated, but skilful management, civil 
and military, averted many disasters. 

The Bundelcund territory suffered much, 
and Jansi was the capital of revolt and out- 
rage. The native troops mutinied on the 4th 
of June, seized the Star Fort, and massacred 
many of the officers in the cantonments, the 
rest escaping to the Town Fort, where they 
barricaded themselves, and offered resolute 
resistance. After a long and desperate fight, 
the garrison, no longer able to hold out, sur- 
rendered, on condition of having life spared, 
to wliich the mutineers, by the most sacred 
oaths known to their religions, pledged them- 
selves. Those oaths were violated at Jansi, 
as everywhere else. The perjured liorde 
bound the captive men in one row, and the 
women and children in another. The men 
were first slaughtered, and then the women 
and children ; the children being first hewn 
in pieces before their mothers' eyes. In this 
ease the women were neither tortured nor 
violated ; a speedy death accomplished the 
bigoted vengeance of their persecutors. Nine- 
teen ladies, twenty-three children, twenty-four 
civil servants and non-commissioned officers, 
and eight officers, were the victims of the 
massacre. It was afterwards proved that the 
inciter to this deed of blood was the Ranee of 
Bundelcund, a chieftainess ambitious of ruling 
that province. 

Lieutenant Osborne, at Rew'ah, hearing of 
these things, had the address to induce the 
maharajah to place his troops at the disposal 
of the company. With indomitable energy 
and ceaseless activity he provided for the 
security of a vast district, surrounded by 
others in which mutiny and rebellion waved 
their red hands triumphant. 

In various places besides these noticed, the 



Chap. CXXX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



738 



same scenes occurred — successful insurrection, 
murder, and tlie flight of suck as escaped, 
under all the circuniBtances of privation and 
suffering which might be supposed endurable 
by human beings. 

At Nusserabad there were a few squadrons 
of Bombay lancers, who charged the Bengal 
artillery when in mutiny, and stood by their 
officers to the last, but the station was lost. 
At different periods of the mutiny symptoms 
of disaffection were shown in the Bombay 
army, but as a whole it remained stanch. 

At Neemuch the insurgents were also suc- 
cessful, but most of the garrison escaped. The 
wife and three little children of a sergeant 
remained behind, and, although alone amidst 
sokliers, they were murdered. 

The dominions of Holkar caught the infec- 
tion. The maharajah himself remained the 
ally of the company. His troops revolted. 
The loss of life to Europeans was great at 
Miiow and Indore, as elsewhere. In July all 
the dominions of Holkar were filled with 
revolt. Mhow was held by a handful of Euro- 
peans, until the arrival of troops from Bombay 
quelled the insurrection in Central India. 

The conduct of Scindiak, tke old rival of 
Holkar among tke Makratta ckieftains, from 
generation to generation, was also faitkful. 
In Holkar's dominions the revolt did not begin 
until July. In Scindiah's it commenced in the 
middle of June. The whole of tke Gvvalior 
contingent mutinied, comprising several tliou- 
sand choice native soldiers. Finding that 
they could not induce tkoir ckief to lead tkem 
against the English, they marched forth to join 
the insurgents on other fields of enterprise. 

MUTINY IN THE PUNJAUB. 

During tke revolt in other directions tke 
preservation of order in the territory of the 
Punjaub was of the utmost importance. It 
was the government of Sir John Lawrence 
that found tke means of reducing Delhi. Lord 
Stanley, in his place in the house of commons, 
wken minister for Indian affairs, declared that 
had the mutiny been successful in the Punjaub, 
India would liave been lost. 

When the mutiny at Meerut was heard of at 
Lahore, the excitement among the sepoy regi- 
ments was intense, and every evidence that 
could be afforded of a determination to revolt 
M'as supplied. Sir John Lawrence was not 
at the seat of government, he was at a place 
called Rawul Pindee, partly for tke purpose 
of recruiting kis healtli. M'ken tidings of tke 
events at Meerut reached the other authorities, 
they took prompt methods to avert similar 
catastrophes in the Punjaub, and more espe- 
cially in tke neigkbourkood of Lakoro, Umrit- 
sir, and Umballak. Tke gentlemen in autko- 

VOL. II. 



rity at and near Lakore were Mv. Montgomery, 
Mr. McLeod, Mr. Roberts, Colonel Macpher- 
son, Colonel Lawrence (a member of Sir John's 
family). Major Ommaney, and Captain Hutch- 
inson. These officials formed a council, and 
deliberated upon the plans best to be adopted 
to preserve the Punjaub from mutiny and 
massacre. Apprehensions were chiefly enter- 
tained concerning the station of Meean Meer. 
It was resolved by the council to disarm the 
sepoys, and introduce additional troops, Euro- 
peans, within tlie fort. On the 13th of May a 
parade was ordered, when, after some skilful 
manoeuvres, the native corps were brought into 
a position by which the European infantry 
and artillery could, in case of a conflict, act 
with great advantage. The native regiments 
were the IGth, 2Gth, and 49th Bengal infantry, 
and the 8th Bengal cavalry. Wlien the 
moment arrived for giving such a command, 
with the least prospect of enforcing its obe- 
dience, the order to pile arms was given to 
the infantry, and the order to unbuckle swords 
(the troopers were dismounted) given to the 
cavalry. The command was obeyed with 
the greatest reluctance, and not until the 
European artillery and infantry were about to 
open fire. Arrangements were then made as 
to the discipline and quarters of the disarmed 
sepoys, whicli were effectual in preserving 
order. The capital of the Punjaub was in 
this manner secured. Umritsir was the next 
important ^lace in the territory administered 
by Sir John Lawrence. Immediately after 
the disarming at Lakore, a detachment of the 
81st regiment was sent there. The fort of 
Govindgurh and certain cantonments con- 
tained the garrison by which the second city 
of the Punjaub was defended. The troops 
stationed there were the 59th native infantry 
of the Bengal army, a company of native 
artillery, a companj' of European artillery, and 
a light field battery. The native troops 
offered no opposition to any arrangements 
made concerning them, and the opposition on 
the part of tlie Sikh population to the Moham- 
medan population and sepoys was so strong 
that security was assured in Umritsir. Next 
to Umritsir, Ferozepore became the object of 
consideration. That place is situated in the Cis- 
Sutlej provinces of the empire of old liunjcet 
Singh. It was important only for its garri-on, 
and its position near tke west bank of tke 
Sutlej. At tke time of tke mutiny tke canton- 
ments of Ferozepore contained the 45th and 
47th Bengal native infantry, the 10th Bengal 
native cavalry, her majesty's Gist regiment, 150 
European artillerymen, one light field battery 
of horse artillery, and six field guns besides. 
Wken tke news of the mutiny at Meerut was re- 
ceived, tke menof the native regiments mani- 

6b 



734 



HISTOEY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXXX. 



fested uneasiness, but when tidings arrived that 
Delhi was in their hands, an enthusiastic sym- 
patliy for the cause of the king was manifested 
in every way short of open revolt in his name. 
Brigadier-general Innos, commanding tlie sta- 
tion, endeavoured to effect a different arrange- 
ment of the troops in quarters, but was resisted, 
and scenes arose similar to those recorded else- 
where. The two native infantry regiments and 
the chief part of the sowars escaped from the 
cantonments with their arms, after having fired 
the bungalows of their officers, the church, and 
other buildings : but for the heroism of a few 
Europeans their attempt to seize and ignite 
the magazine would have been successful. 
The Gist European regiment remained all the 
while in forced inaction, the position which 
they occupied in reference to the native regi- 
ments not affording, in the general's estimation, 
the prospect of a successful attack. Thus in 
consequence of mal-arrangements on the part 
of the superior officers, the native corps were 
allowed, almost with impunity, to plunder and 
burn an important station. The consequence 
of this mismanagement was that the stations 
of Jnllundur, Jhelum, and Sealkote became at 
once disturbed. At Jnllundur were stationed 
the 6th Bengal native cavalry, the 36th and 
61st native infantrj', a troop of horse artillery, 
and the 8th or Qneen's own Irish. As soon 
as the first symptoms of disturbance were 
manifested, arrangements of an effective cha- 
racter were made, and the Rajah of JuUundur, 
who exercised the suzerainty of a small terri- 
tory in the neighbourhood, remained loyal and 
gave the aid of his troops. The result was 
that the native regiments were overawed, 
and overt acts of riot and shouting ceased, 
although a brooding gloom hung upon the 
faces of the sepoys, and foreboded that if an 
opportunity for insurrection arose, it would 
not be lost. 

In the eastern portion of the Punjaub the 
town of Phillour was regarded as important. 
It was intended by the sepoy garrison to rise 
on the 15th and secure its vast magazines, but 
succour arising from JuUundur, by a detach- 
ment of the Qneen's Irish, the place was 
saved. It was afterwards discovered that all 
the sepoy garrisons in the Punjaub, especially 
in the Eastern Punjaxib, had agreed to rise on 
the 15th, murder their officers, and the fami- 
lies of married officers, to kill all Europeans, 
civil and military, and to make Phillour their 
rendezvous and depot, calculating upon the 
possession of its large military stores. The 
premature outbreak at Meerut, on the 10th, 
baffied all the plans of the mutineers, put the 
English on the qui vive, and laid a train of 
consequences which prevented the success of 
the mutiny, not only in the Punjaub, but over 



all the provinces of Bengal. At Jhelum, on 
the right bank of the river bearing the same 
name, about six companies of the 24th native 
infantry were stationed. They showed some 
symptoms of sedition, and it was deemed 
necessary to disarm them. For this purpose, 
three companies of her majesty's 24th were 
sent from the hill station of Kawul Pindee, 
accompanied by a detachment of horse artil- 
lery. The 14th native infantry received the 
Europeans, on parade, with a volley of 
musketry, to which the latter replied, but the 
sepoys maintained a well-directed fire, be- 
neath which many Europeans fell. Had the 
24th been ordered to charge with the bayonet, 
many British lives would have been spared, 
for the sepoys seldom awaited the charge of 
the English. The 14th were, however, allowed 
to get under the cover of their cantonments, 
where they had loopholed their huts and walls, 
firing from which they kept the 24th at 
bay. It was not until three pieces of cannon 
opened upon their position, that they aban- 
doned it and fled. The 24th were not in a 
condition to pursue, so the mutineers suc- 
ceeded in effecting their escape to Delhi. At 
Sealkote, the sepoys professed loyalty up to 
the very moment of revolt. The officers 
trusted to their professions — as they did 
generally. On the 9th of July, the 46th 
native infantry, and a wing of the 9th native 
cavalry, rose, set fire to the cantonments, and 
made open revolt ; they were joined by the 
14th, driven from Jhelum. After murdering 
many persons, and blowing up the magazine, 
they marched for Delhi. A flying column 
was organized at Jhelum to pursue them. 
Brigadier Nicholson, at the head of another 
column, made arrangements for intercepting 
them. The fugitives were hemmed in be- 
tween both forces, and, fording the Ravee, 
took up a position on an island, where nearly 
all perished under the fire and steel of their 
pursuers. 

There were various risings of the disarmed 
regiments in the Punjaub, some so desperate 
that they would be utterly unaccountable ex- 
cept that fanaticism drives men to madness. 
The most remarkable of these outbreaks was 
one which excited excessive attention in 
Europe, and engaged the press of England in 
fierce discussions. The British parliament 
was also made the scene of debate in connec- 
tion with it, by a motion introduced to the 
house by Mr. 'Gilpin, in March, 1859, a year 
and seven months after the event. The re- 
volt and destruction of the 26th native 
infantry caused these prolonged discussions. 
Mr. Cooper, a civil officer in the service of the 
Honourable East India Company, was the 
person chiefly concerned in suppressing the 



Ohap. CXXX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



786 



revolt and punishing the revolters. His own 
account of the transaction, although of some 
length, is given, because no abstract or abridge- 
ment of an event which caused such angry 
controversy in society and in the senate at 
home, could do justice to all the parties con- 
cerned. Mr. F. Cooper, deputy-commissioner 
of Umritsir, published a work entitled The 
Crisis in the Punjauh, in which he set forth 
his own doings, and laid the ground for the 
attacks which were made upon liimself per- 
sonally, and upon the severe policy of the 
English civil and military officers to whom 
the government of the Punjaub was committed. 
" The 26th native infantry, stationed under 
surveillance at Meean Meer, was disarmed on 
the 13th of May, 1857. Whether there had 
been any preconcerted scheme among the 
disarmed regiments to escape is not known, 
although it is generally understood that lots 
had been drawn, and that had the 26th suc- 
ceeded, the 16th (grenadiers) had engaged to 
follow in their wake. Some say that the 
noonday gun was to be the signal of a general 
rise. Society was shocked, however, on the 
30th of July, to hear of another foul murder 
of a commanding officer, Major Spenser, and 
the rise of the 26th regiment. Lieutenant 
Montagu White narrowly escaped. He was 
enticed into the lines by some sepoys, who 
affected sorrow at the murder, and was about 
to dismount, when a warning voice in his ear 
told him to beware. He galloped off; but not 
before some hand had aimed a felon stroke at 
him, and wounded his horse. The sergeant- 
major was also killed, and the regiment pre- 
cipitately fled; adust storm (as was the case 
at Jullundur when the mutiny arose) raging 
at the time, favouring their immediate escape, 
and conceaHng its exact direction. They 
were not, however, unmolested ; and it is 
feared that the ardour of the Sikh levies, in 
firing when the first outbreak occurred, preci- 
pitated the murders and frightened all, good, 
bad, or indifferently disposed, to flight. From 
subsequent statements, since taken down, it is 
concurrently admitted that a fanatic of the 
name of Prakash Singh, alias Prakash Pandy, 
rushed out of his hut brandishing a sword, 
and bawling out to his comrades to rise and 
kill the Feringees, selected as hie own victim 

the kind-hearted major 

" Another panic arose at AnarkuUee, and 
the thundering of cannon at Meean Meer into 
the then empty lines of the fugitives spread 
the utmost alarm. It was taken for granted 
that the fugitives must flee southwards, and 
accordingly Captain Blagrave proceeded with 
a strong party from Lahore to the Hurriki 
ghat (near to which Sobraon was fought),; 
and from Umritsir, was detached in the same 



direction, a force (one hundred and fifty Pun- 
jaub infantry and some Tawana horse) under 
Lieutenant Boswell, a rough and ready soldier, 
who was superior to all hardships. They had 
to march in a drenching rain, the country 
nearly flooded. Sanguine hopes warmed their 
hearts amid the wretched weather. But, alas 
for their hopes ! intelligence reached the 
deputy commissioner that the mutineers had 
made almost due north ; perhaps in hopes of 
getting to Cashmere, perhaps to try their luck 
and by preconcerted plan to run the gauntlet 
of those districts in which Hindostanee regi- 
ments, some with arms, some without arms, 
still existed. Suffice it to say, that it was re- 
ported at midday, on the Slst of July, that 
they were trying to skirt the left bank of the 
Ravee, but had met with unexpected and de- 
termined opposition from the tehseeldar, with 
a posse of police, aided by a swarm of sturdy 
villagers, at a ghat twenty-six miles from the 
station. A rapid pursuit was at once organ- 
ized. At four o'clock, when the district officer 
arrived with some eighty or ninety horsemen, 
he found a great struggle had taken place ; 
the gore, the marks of the trampling of hun- 
dreds of feet, and the broken banks of the 
river, which, augmented with the late rains, 
was sweeping a vast volume, all testified to it. 
Some hundred and fifty had been shot, mobbed 
back into the river and drowned inevitably, 
too weakened and famished as they must have 
been after their forty miles' flight to battle with 
the flood. The main body had fled upwards 
and swam over on pieces of wood, or floated 
on to an island about a mile from the shore, 
where they might be descried crouching like 
a brood of wild fowl. It remained to capture 
this body, and having done so, to execute 

condign punishment at once 

" There were but two boats, both rickety, 
and the boatmen unskilled. Tlie presence of 
a good number of Hindostances among the 
sowars might lead to embarrassment and acci- 
dental escapes. The point was first how to 
cross this large body to the main land, if they 
allowed themselves to be captured at all (after 
the model of the fox, the geese, and the peck 
of oats). This was not to be done under two 
or three trips, without leaving two-thirds of 
the mutineers on the island, under too scanty 
a protection, and able to escape, while the first 
batch was being conveyed to the main bank ; 
nor also without launching the first batch when 
they did arrive, into the jaws of the Hindo- 
stanee party, who in the first trip were to be 
left ostensibly ' to take care of the horses ' on 
the main land. From the desperate conflict 
which had already taken place, a considerable 
struggle was anticipated before these plans 
could be brought into operation. The trans- 



T3G 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXXX. 



lation of tlie above fable to the aged Sikli 
sirdar, who accompanied, and to the other 
heads of the pursning party, caused intense 
mirth, and the plan of operations after this 
formula elicited general approval. So the 
boats put off with about thirty sowars (dis- 
mounted of course) in high spirits ; most of 
the Hindostanee sowars being left on the bank. 
The boats straggled a little, but managed to 
reach the island in about twenty minutes. It 
was a long inhospitable patch, with tall grass : 
a most undesirable place to bivouac on for the 
night, with a rising tide ; especially if wet, 
dispirited, hungry, without food, fire, or dry 
clothing. The sun was setting in golden 
splendour, and as the doomed men with joined 
palms crowded down to the shore on the 
approach of the boats, one side of which 
bristled with about sixty muskets, besides 
sundry revolvers and pistols, their long 
shadows were flung far athwart the gleaming 
waters. In utter despair forty or fifty dashed 
into the stream and disappeared, rose at a 
distance, and were borne away into the in- 
creasing gloom. Some thirty or forty sowars 
with matchlocks (subsequently discovered to 
be of very precarious value) jumped into the 
.shallow water, and invested tlie lower side of 
the island, and being seen on the point of 
taking pot-shots at the heads of the swim- 
mers, orders were given ' not to fire.' This 
accidental instruction produced an instanta- 
neous effect on the mutineers. They evidently 
were possessed of a sudden and insane idea 
that they were going to be tried by court- 
martial, after some luxurious refreshment. 
In consequence of whicli si.\ty-six stalwart 
sepoys submitted to be bound by a single man 
deputed for the purpose from the boats, and 
stacked like slaves in a hold into one of the 
two boats emptied for the purpose. Leaving 
some forty armed sowars on the island, and 
feeling certain that after the peaceful submis- 
sion of the first batch (or peck of oats) the 
rest would follow suit and suit, orders were 
given to push off. On reaching the shore, 
one by one, as they stepped out of the boats, 
all were tightly bound ; their decorations and 
necklaces ignominiously cut off; and, under a 
guard of a posse of villagers, who had begun to 
assemble, and some Sikh horse, they were 
ordered to proceed slowly on their journey 
back, six miles to the police-station at Ujnalla. 
Meanwhile the Hindostanees (the geese) had 
been dispatched to the island back in the 
boats with an overawing number of Tawana 
sowars ; and it was gratifying to see the next 
detachment put off safely, though at one time 
the escorting boat got at a great distance from 
the escorted, and fears were entertained that 
escape had been premeditated. However, by 



dint of hallooing, with threats of a volley of 
musketry, the next invoice came safely to 
land, and were subjected to the same process 
of spoliation, disrobement, and pinioning. At 
any moment, had they made an attempt to 
escape, a bloody struggle must have ensued. 
But Providence ordered otherwise, and 
nothing on the side of the pursuing party 
seemed to go wrong. Some begged that their 
women and children might be spared, and 
were informed that the British government 
did not condescend to war with women and 
children. The last batch having arrived, the 
long, straggling party were safely, but slowly, 
escorted back to the police-station, almost all 
the road being knee-deep in water. Even 
this accident, by making the ground so heavy 
— not to mention the gracious moon, which 
came out through the clouds and reflected 
herself in myriad pools and streams, as if to 
light the prisoners to their fate — aided in 
preventing a single escape. It was near mid- 
night before all were safely lodged in the 
police-station. A drizzling rain coming on 
prevented the commencement of the execu- 
tion ; so a rest until daybreak was announced. 
Before dawn another batch of sixty-six was 
brought in, and as the police-station was then 
nearly full, they were ushered into a large 
round tower or bastion. Previously to his 
departure with the pursuing party from Um- 
ritsir, the deputy commissioner had ordered 
out a large supply of rope, in case the num- 
bers captured were few enough for hanging, 
(trees being scarce), and also a reserve of 
fifty Sikh levies for a firing party, in case of 
the numbers demanding wholesale execution, 
as also to be of use as a reserve in case of a 
fight on the island. So eager were the Sikhs 
that they marched straiglit on end, and he 
met them half way, twenty-three miles be- 
tween the river and the police-station, on his 
journey back in charge of the prisoners, the 
total number of which when the execution 
commenced amounted to two hundred and 
eighty-two of all ranks, besides numbers of 
camp followers, who were left to be taken 
care of by the villagers. As fortune wo<ild 
have it, again favouring audacitj', a deep dry 
well was discovered within one hundred j'ards 
of the police-station, and its presence fur- 
nished a convenient solution as to the one re- 
maining difficulty, which was of a sanitary 
consideration — the disposal of the corpses of 
the dishonoured soldiers. The climax of 
fortunate coincidences seemed to have arrived 
when it was remembered that the 1st of 
August was the anniversary of the great 
IMohammedan sacrificial festival of the Buckra 
Eed. A capital excuse was thus afforded to 
permit the Hindostanee Mussulman horsemen 



Chap. CXXX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



737 



to retuni to celebrate it at Umritsir, while 
the single Christian, unembarrassed by their 
presence, and aided by the faithful Sikhs, 
might perform a ceremonial sacrifice of a 
different nature (and the nature of which they 
had not been made aware of) on the same mor- 
row. When that morrow dawned sentries were 
placed round the town to prevent the egress of 
sight seers. The officials were called ; and 
the\- were made aware of the character of the 
spectacle they were about to witness. 

" Ten by ten the sepoys were called forth. 
Their names having been taken down in suc- 
cession, they were pinioned, linked together, 
and marched to execution ; a firing party 
being in readiness. Every phase of deport- 
ment was manifested by the doomed men, 
after the sullen firing of volleys of distant 
musketry forced the conviction of inevitable 
death ; astonishment, rage, frantic despair, the 
most stoic calmness. One detachment, as 
they passed, yelled to the solitary Anglo- 
Saxon magistrate, as he sat under the sliade 
of the police-station performing his solemn 
duty, with his native officials around him, that 
lie, the Christian, would meet the same fate ; 
then, as they p.issed the reserve of young Sikh 
soldiery who were to relieve the executioners 
after a certain period, they danced, though 
pinioned, insulted the Sikh religion, and called 
on Guugajee to aid them ; but they only in 
one instance provoked a reply, which was 
instantaneously checked. Others again pe- 
titioned to bo allowed to make one last 
'salaam' to the sahib. About 150 having 
been thus executed, one of the executioners 
swooned away (he was the oldest of the firing- 
party), and a little respite was allowed. Then 
proceeding, the number had arrived at 237, 
when the district officer was informed that the 
remainder refused to come out of the bastion, 
where they had been imprisoned temporarily 
a few hours before. Expecting a rush and 
resistance, preparations were made against 
escape; but little expectation was entertained 
of the real and awful fate which had fallen on 
the remainder of the mutineers ; they had 
anticipated, by a few short hours, their doom. 
The doors were opened, and, behold 1 they 
were nearly all dead ! Unconsciously, the 
tragedy of Holwell's Black-hole had been re- 
enacted. No cries had been heard during the 
night, in consequence of the hubbub, tumult, 
and shooting of the crowds of horsemen, 
police, tehsoel guards, and excited villagers. 
Forty-five liodies, dead from fright, exhaus- 
tion, fatigue, heat, and partial suffocation, 
were dragged into light, and consigned, in 
common with all other bodies, into one com- 
mon pit, by the hands of the village sweepers. 
One sepoy only was too much wounded in the 



conflict to suffer the agony of being taken to 
the scene of execution. He was accordingly 
reprieved for queen's evidence, and forwarded 
to Lahore, with some forty-one subsequent 
caj)tures from Umritsir. There, in full parade 
before the other mutinously-disposed regi- 
ments at Meean Meer, they all suffered death 
by being blown away from the cannon's 
mouth. The execution at Ujnalla commenced 
at daybreak, and the stern spectacle was over 
in a few hours. Thus, within forty-eight 
hours from the date of the crime, there fell by 
the law nearly five hundred men." 

The reader of these terrible details will not 
be surprised that indignation was felt by many 
in England, and regret and grief by all who 
perused them. Letters were read in the 
house of commons by Mr. Gilpin, written by 
Mr. Montgomery and Sir John Lawrence, 
approving of the conduct of Mr. Cooper, in 
terms which were not qualified by any refer- 
ence to the sanguinary vengeance put forth. 
General Thompson, in a fierce and withering 
denunciation of all the commissioners, branded 
the act of Mr. Cooper as one of the most cruel 
and vindictive recorded in history. The 
judgment of these events, and of the chief 
actors in them, pronounced by Lord Stanley, 
in the debate brought on by Sir. Gilpin in the 
house of commons, influenced public opinion 
in England, and brought the controversy to a 
termination. His lordship thus pronounced 
his own verdict, as the minister of the crown, 
offioiall}' connected with India: — "It is im- 
possible to deny that these transactions to 
which reference has been made, are such as 
cannot be heard or read, even at this distance 
of time, without great pain or regret. And I 
will go further, and say that that pain is greatly 
increased by the tone and the spirit in which 
these transactions have been described, both in 
the despatch written at the time, and in the 
book subsequently published by the gentleman 
who gave instructions to the Sikhs engaged 
in these transactions. There is a tone of flij)- 
pancy, and an appearance of exultation at that 
great sacrifice of human life — a sacrifice of life 
made not in the lieat of action, nor after a 
judicial process — which is utterly at variance 
with good taste and good feeling. Making 
all allowances — and we wore bound to make 
the very largest allowances for the ciicuni- 
stances of time and place —it was impossible 
not to condemn the language in which Jlr. 
Cooper has written of these transactions. 
What the house has to consider is, not the tone 
in which Mr. Cooper has written, but of the 
circumstances which took place at Meean 
Meer. Now, what were the circumstances ? 
The regiment in question, the 26th native 
infantry, being strongly suspected of an inten- 



738 



HISTOEY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXXX. 



tion to join in the mutiny, was placed under 
restraint. • It remained under restraint for a 
period of about six weelcs. I thinlc it was on 
the 28th of July that the attempt to revolt 
was made. It has been said, in vindication of 
that attempt, that it was merely an effort on 
the part of these troops to escape, and that 
that effort was made because they were to be 
sent in small parties among a population that 
was hostile to them, which was tantamount to 
committing them to inevitable destruction. 
Now, I apprehend that this is simply a mistake 
in fact. It is quite true that at a later period 
regiments were disarmed and discharged in 
small parties, but no general disarmament of 
troops had taken place when this outbreak 
arose. Escape, then, is not the word to apply 
to such a transaction; and even if it had been 
a movement of escape on the part of the troops, 
though a single fugitive may possibly escape 
in this way, when a large body of men attempt 
to escape they must be prepared to resist force 
by force, and the attempt, therefore, on the 
part of a regiment imder these circumstances 
to escape from the place where they were kept 
under surveillance would, in fact, on their part, 
lead to the inference that they were prepared 
to meet any force that might resist them. It 
is said that at the time of this outbreak these 
troops were not in arms. That is undoubtedly 
the case ; but every one who knows India 
knows that arms are not difficult to be obtained 
there. They probably would not have suc- 
ceeded in making their way any very great 
distance, but it is impossible to describe them 
as any other than insurgents. When did they 
make tlie attempt ? the time that Delhi was 
taken. Every man of them, if they had 
escaped, would have gone to swell the ranks 
of the insurgents. At the time of the attempt 
there was already arrayed against the imperial 
forces an enormously disproportionate force of 
sepoys. I say, then, that whatever may have 
been their motive at the moment of this out- 
break, it is impossible to treat it as anything 
but mutiny and insurrection. Then, it is said 
that the Sikhs fired upon these troops before 
the murders were committed. Now, we have 
not, and probably we never shall have, full 
and circumstantial evidence of what occurred 
at the time. But we know this, — we know 
that an outbreak was expected for some days 
before. We know that an outbreak actually 
took place upon that day, — the 30th of July, — 
and it is only reasonable to suppose that as 
English officers were present, or, at least, at 
no great distance, any attack made upon them 
by the Sikhs was owing to a previous outbreak 
on their part. But was this outbreak a mere 
panic, and was it merely by way of self- 
defence ? If that was the case, how came 



those two European officers to be murdered 
as they were ? It may be said that those 
murders were the work of an individual only. 
We do not find that any attempt was made 
upon that individual by these sepoys, or that 
they endeavoured to disconnect themselves in 
any way from the crime which he liad com- 
mitted. But, admitting that the first murder 
was the work of an individual only, what was 
the case as regards the murder of the second 
officer? A plan was laid to entice him within 
the lines, and when they had brought him 
there an attempt was made on his life, with 
which he narrowly escaped. The object in 
this case could not be to get rid of an incon- 
venient witness, for the facts must have been 
public and notorious ; nor was it any imme- 
diate danger to which the regiment was ex- 
posed. It appears to have been, as far as we 
can judge, a premeditated murder, and this 
must be borne in mind in coming to any de- 
cision on the facts. It is unfortunately true 
that out of seven hundred men nearly five 
hundred suffered death, some by execution. 
These facts were known, and are referred to 
in a despatch addressed by Lord Canning to 
Sir John Lawrence, in which the governor- 
general states that ' great credit is due to Mr. 
Cooper for his exertions.' We have evidence 
that every authority in India regarded this 
punishment as necessary. Two officers had 
been murdered by these men without any 
purpose; the result of the escape of the regi- 
ment would have been, that it would have 
joined the insurgent forces ; and a severe 
example appears to have been necessary, to 
prevent similar risings elsewhere. Reference 
has been made to a note addressed to Mr. 
Cooper by Mr. Montgomery. This note is 
couched in hasty language ; it could not have 
been deliberately employed. In that note it 
appears there was a large force in the neigh- 
bourhood ; they were troops of tlie same 
garrison ; they were similarly disarmed, but 
under the same temptation to rise, and not 
unlikely to yield to it. Probably Sir John 
Lawrence and those in command thought, if 
a severe punishment were inflicted on the first 
body, as an example, it might prevent a similar 
mutiny by other regiments, and, in the end, be 
the saving of many lives. I have now stated 
what I apprehend may fairly be stated in 
vindication or palliation of the course pursued, 
but in stating my sincere conviction on the 
subject, I cannot but wish that an indiscrimi- 
nate execution of these men had not taken 
place, that some selection had been made, 
that there had been some previous investiga- 
tion. But it is one thing to wish that an act 
of this kind had not been done, and another 
thing to pass a formal censure upon it. Only 



Chap. OXXX.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



789 



by great exertions — by the employment of 
force, by making striking examples, and in- 
spiring terror — could Sir J. Lawrence save 
the Punjaub ; and if the Puiijaub had gone 
the whole of India would have been lost with 
it. Sir John Lawrence has declared this act 
was necessary ; and the governor-general has 
confirmed the opinion. Taking all this into 
consideration, and remembering that we, at 
this distance of time and place, are hardly fair 
judges of the feehngs of men engaged in such 
a conflict, I hope the house will pass over the 
transaction with that silenee which is some- 
times the most judicious comment." 

By great determination and decision Sir 
John Lawrence and his coadjutors, whose co- 
operation was most efficient, saved the Pun- 
jaub, especially by the plans adopted of rais- 
ing troops and disposing of them. This was 
more particularly exemplified in the western 
provinces of Sir John Lawrence's govern- 
ment. Peshawur, bordering on Affghanistan, 
was at first supposed to be in the greatest 
danger; but events proved otherwise, by 
bringing out the administrative talents of 
the ofiiciala, civil and military, in that region. 
There were fourteen thousand men in the 
British pay in military occupation of the 
western frontier province. Three thousand 
were Europeans, infantry and artillery. Eleven 
thousand were Bengal troops, of which three 
thousand were cavalry and artillery. There 
was also a small force of Sikhs, and of those 
mountaineers who are half Affghans and half 
Punjaubees. The hill tribes which inhabited 
the neighbourhood of the great passes were 
partly in the pay of Colonel Edwardee, and 
were ready at that officer's call to serve the 
government in the field. On the 13th of 
May, Major-general Keid, commanding at 
Peshawur, received a telegraphic communi- 
cation concerning the mutiny at Meerut. 
He instantly called a council of war, in which 
he was assisted by Brigadiers Chamberlain 
and Cotton, and Colonels Edwardes and 
Nicholson. It was resolved that Major- 
general Reid should assume the command of 
all the troops in the Punjaub, that Brigadier 
Cotton should bo placed in command of the 
forces in the province of Peshawur, and 
that a flying column should be formed at 
Jhelum, from which point expeditions were 
to be undertaken against any part of the 
territory of the Punjaub menaced by mutiny 
or insurrection. The troops composing this 
column it was agreed should be composed of 
as few sepoys as possible. Europeans, Sikhs, 
Affghans, borderers, &c., were, as far as pro- 
curable, to constitute the force. The following 
troops were its constituents : — Her majesty's 
27th foot, from Nowsherah ; her majesty's 



24th foot, from Rawul Pindec; one troop 
European horse artillery, from Peshawur; 
one light field-battery, from Jhelum; the 
guide corps, from Murdan; the IGth irregular 
cavalry, from Rawul Pindee ; the Ist Punjaub 
infantry, from Bunnoo; the Kumaon battalion, 
from Rawul Pindee; awing of the 2nd Pun- 
jaub cavalry, from Kohat ; a half company of 
sappers, from Attock. 

At Peshawur, every military precaution 
was taken to secure treasury, ammunition 
and stores from the hand of the incendiary 
and from sudden capture. Colonel Edwardes 
found enthusiastic support among the hill 
men, who flocked to his banners in great 
numbers, and supported the authorities, not 
only with zeal, but enthusiasm. 

On the 21st of May, startling news reached 
Peshawur ; the 55th native infantry had mu- 
tinied. The 27th (Enniskilliners) had been 
removed from Nowsherah, to form a portion 
of the movable column ; this encouraged the 
55th, stationed at Murdan, to hope that it 
might revolt with impunity. They placed 
their officers under arrest. The colonel, 
Spottiswoode, committed suicide from grief 
and mortification that his corps, of which he 
thought so highly, had become rebellious. 
Immediately on receiving this news, the au- 
thorities at Peshawur resolved to disarm the 
Bengal regiments on the morning of the 22nd. 
This was effected vi'ith great skill, military 
and political. Three native infantry regi- 
ments, the 24th, 27th, and 5l8t, and one 
cavalry regiment, the 5tli, were compelled to 
lay down their arms. A subahdar major of 
the 51st was hanged for treason and mutiny. 
The disarmed sepoys were placed under guard 
of European and Sikh troops. This accom- 
plished, relief was sent to Murdan ; the 55th 
was attacked there, two hundred of them 
killed or taken, and the rest dispersed in 
flight. The fugitives sought the hills, where 
they expected help ; but the tribes there, 
under the influence of Colonel Edwardes, 
seized such of them as escaped the sword 
and shot of the pursuing English. The 
captives were brought back to Murdan, and 
in parties of five and ten were blown away 
from guns. Four other regiments of Bengal 
soldiers were disarmed in the fort garrisons, 
originally placed at the foot of the hills, to 
keep in check the hill marauders, who had 
grown so loyal under the clever management 
of Edwardes. Some of the disarmed regi- 
ments wore disbanded, and sent away in 
small parties. Several natives of influence. 
Brahmin or Mohammedan fanatics, were ar- 
rested, and upon proof of their treason from 
their own letters, hung. 

Sir John Lawrence urged upon Viscount 



740 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXXX' 



Canning the adoption, east of tlie Sutlej, of 
the means of pacification which had been so 
successful in liis own hands ; but the governor- 
general did not approve of recommendations 
which were as triumphantly successful as 
tiicy were obviously sensible. Sir John's 
plan of meeting the difficulty of a free press 
at such a season was as diflerent from that of 
Lord Canning as were all his other measures. 
Sir John arranged to supply the papers with 
authentic political intelligence, so as to pre- 
vent useless alarms and dangerous specula- 
tions. The press co-operated with his go- 
vernment, and the advantage was signal. 
Had Lord Canning adopted measures as 
r.itional and liberal, he would not have in- 
curred the hostility of the whole of the 
Enghah press in India, and of a large portion 
of it in England. 

While Sir John and his gallant and able 
coadjutors met all difficulties which arose in 
the Punjaub, they were harassed with care 
in relation to the regions beyond the fron- 
tiers of their own government. Oudo and 
the Agra regions kept them in continual 
alarm. Delhi being, at first, the grand centre 
of rebellion, it became necessary to unite all 
the available forces in the north-west against 
it. Prom causes, over which Sir John Law- 
rence had no control, the reign of insurrection 
and disorder was permitted to i^revail in the 
once gorgeous capital of llindoostan for a 
period which made vengeance slow, and re- 
flected dishonour upon the military manage- 
ment of a people whose courage, perseverance, 
and enterprise had made them masters of 
India. While supineness, fickleness, time- 
serving, and incompetency characterized the 
j)roceeding8 of the English authorities, civil 
and military, the Delhi raj was active and 
energetic. The roads were kept open by 
armed patrols to favour the approach of fresh 
mutineers, and of armed natives from every 
quarter, while the communications of the 
English were cut off. Had Ilavelock had the 
men in the cantonments at Meerut, or at 
Umballah, he would have marched upon 
Delhi, and swept the city of those hordes of 
ill-governed men who were without a single 
leader of military talent. While the English 
did nothing, and appeared not to know what 
to attempt, the new government of Delhi 
adopted bold and eftieient moans for spreading 
revolt in the British army, and disaffection in 
all the populations of Upper Bengal. The 
following proclamation, which was issued ex- 
tensively, and by numerous copies, shows the 
spirit of the ministers of the Delhi ruler, and 
the earnestness with which his aims and those 
of his adherents were prosecuted. A Moham- 
medan native paper iu Calcutta daringly pub- 



lished it; wandering dervishes. Brahmins, and 
I'akeers, spread copies of the document from 
Peshawur to Port \^'illiam with extraordinary 
rapidity, and, finally, circulated it all over 
India. Merchants, bankers, and men, whose 
calling and position might well be supposed 
to attach them to the company's rule, were 
suspected of multiplying copies of the pro- 
clamation, and of wishing at heart for the suc- 
cess of the revolution. This document had 
great effect among the Punjaubees of the 
Brahminical and Mohammedan religions, but 
had not anv influence over those of the Sikh 
faith :— 

Be it known to all the Hindoos and Mohammedans, 
the subjects and servants on the part of the officers of the 
Kiiglish forces stationed at Delhi and Meerut, that all the 
Europeans are united in this poiut — first, to deprive the 
army of their religion ; and then, by the force of strong 
measures, to Christianize all the subjects. In fact, it is 
the absolute orders of the governor-general to serve out 
cartridges made up with swine and beef fat. If there be 
10,000 who resist this, to blow them up; if 50,000, to 
disband them. 

For this reason we have, merely for the sake of the 
faith, concerted with all the subjects, and have not left 
one infidel of this place alive; and have constituted the 
Emperor of Delhi upon this engagement, that whichever 
of the troops will slaughter all their European officers, 
and pledge allegiance to him, shall always receive double 
salary. Hundreds of cannon and immense treasure have 
come to hand ; it is therefore requisite that all who find 
it difficult to become Christians, and all subjects, will 
unite cordially with the army, take courage, and not leave 
the seed of these devils in any place. 

All the expenditure that may be incurred by the sub- 
jects in furnishing supplies to the army, they will take 
recei|its for the same from the officers of the army, and 
retain them by themselves — they will receive doulile jiriee 
from the emperor. AYlioever will at this time give way 
to pusillanimity, and allow himself to be overreached by 
these deceivers, and depend upon their word, will ex- 
perience the fruits of their snlimissiou, like the inhabi- 
tants of Lueknow. It is therefore necessary that all 
Hindoos and the jMohammedans should be of (uie mind in 
I his struggle, and make arrangements for their preserva- 
tion with the advice of some creditable persons. Whcre- 
ever the arrangements shall be good, and with whomso- 
ever the subjects shall be pleased, those individuals shall 
be placed iu high offices in those places. 

And to circulate copies of this proclamation in evei;y 
place, as far as it may be possible, be not understood to be 
less than a stroke of the sword. That this proclamation 
be stuck up at a conspicuous place, iu order that all 
Hindoos and Mohammedans may become apprised and 
be prepared. 

If the infidels now become mild it is merely an ex- 
pedient to save their lives. Whoever will be deluded with 
their frauds he will repent. Our reign continues. Thirty 
rupees to a mounted, and ten rupees to a foot soldier, will 
be the salary of the new servants of Delhi. 

The intense bigotry of this production 
shows the grand motive- power of the rebel- 
lion. The allusion to the conduct of the 
British at Lueknow by the annexation of Oudc, 
proved how thoroughly that event sank into 
the hearts, lived in the memories, and exas- 
perated the fanaticism of the sepoys. This 



Chap. CXXX.j 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



741 



missive produced mucli agitation in the Pun- 
jaul), and on the hill frontiers, but Edwardes 
kept his hill men loyal ; and the Aftghans 
had too recently tasted the danger of war 
with the English to try it so soon again. Sir 
John Lawrence, subduing every element of 
discontent in the Punjaub, devoted his ener- 
gies to enable the arm}' before Delhi to subdue 
that city. The army from Umballah, sent 
to besiege Delhi, had been augmented on its 
way by troops from the hill stations, British 
•nnd Goorkhas, and by troops sent forward 
from the Punjaub. Among these reinforce- 
ments was the corps of guides. This was a 
local Punjaubee force, raised after the cam- 
paigns on the Sutlej, to act either as guides, 
or as regular troops, as occasion might re- 
quire. They were recruited from all the 
tribes of Northern India and its frontiers, but 
more especially from all the tribes inhabiting 
tlie Punjaub, and from contiguous countries, 
British and independent. They were picked 
men in stature and appearance, and regard to 
their intellectual acquirements was also had 
in their selection. These were marched from 
the frontiers of Affghanistan to join the. array 
of General Barnard. When Sir John Law- 
rence, and the other Punjaub commissioners, 
heard that the insurgents of Meerut marched 
upon Delhi, they rightly concluded that such a 
corps as the guides would be of great use, 
and Sir John so arranged as to send them 
with the utmost celerity. They marched to 
Umballah, sixty-eight miles in thirty-eight 
hours. A fter resting there until the staff of the 
array made arrangements for their further 
progress, they joined the army in the field, after 
another astonishing display of their marching 
capabilities by day and night, and under the 
burning sun of a climate and a season so try- 
ing to soldiers. And from that time forth 
until Delhi fell, Sir John never ceased to 
conduce to that catastrophe by all the sup- 
])llc3 and reinforcements which care, fore- 
sight, enterprise, and activity could accom- 
plish. 

The Punjaub remained in peace during the 
further progress of the ins\irrection in other 
regions. Scinde, the neighbouring province 
to the Pnnjaub, also enjoyed undisturbed 
repose. The chief commissioner, Sir. Prere, 
displayed great ability, and General Jacobs 
preserved the loyalty of the army, more espe- 
cially of the troopers of the Scinde horse, 
gome sixteen hundred men, who were chiefly 
Mohammedans. One Bengal regiment in the 
province entered into a conspiracy to murder 
the few European officers of the Scinde horse. 
Captain Merewether, with the alacrity and 
courage for which he won reputation, seized 
the ringleaders, executed them, and quelled 

VOL. II. 



at once all disposition to disturb the loyalty 
of the Scinde horse. 

Such was the progress of the great Indian 
mutiny ; it remains yet to show how it was 
extinguished. In the Punjaub and Scinde it 
will be seen that it was crushed as soon as it 
showed itself. In Allahabad, and a few other 
places, it met with a similar fate, as alroady 
related ; but at Delhi, Cawnporc, and through- 
out Oude, it was triumphant, and stern con- 
flicts and protracted campaigns were neces- 
sary to trample it out. In other chapters the 
siege and capture of Delhi, the re-conquest of 
Cawnpore, the defence of Lucknow, and the 
campaigns in Oude and Central India, will 
be related. Before approaching those sub- 
jects, it is desirable to present the reader with 
the most recent returns made by the India- 
house, and the board of control, as to the num- 
ber and quality of the troops, distinguisMng 
Euroi^ean from native, in India at the time the 
revolt broke out. 

Beuffal Jnny, Mui/ 10, 1857. 

Military Divibioiis. ]'uroi>C!ms. NaUves. Total. 

Presidency \fiU 13,976 15,190 

Diuapoie 1,597 15,003 16,660 

Cawupore 277 3,725 6,002 

Oude 093 ]1,319 12,312 

Saugor ....... 327 10,6-J7 10,954 

Jlecrut 3,096 18,357 21,453 

Sii-Uind 4,790 11,049 15,839 

Lahore 4,018 15,939 19,957 

Peshawui- 4,613 15,916 20,529 

Pegu 1,763 692 2,455 

22,698 118,663 141,361 



Tlie above shows the number of men in 
the military divisions or districts named. 

Several of the garrison towns gave name to 
a military division of territory, but itself con- 
tained only a moderate garrison. For in- 
stance, the mihtary division or district of 
Dinapore is represented in the above list as 
containing H;,Gt;o men, whereas the garrison 
town or cantonment of that name had only 
4000 men. The stations which contained 
the largest numbers of Bengal troops were 
the following : — 



Pcsliawur . . 


. 9,300 


Sealkolc . . 


. 3,500 


Lahore . . . 


. 5,300 


Benares . . 


. 3,200 


Meerut . . . 


. 5,000 


llawul Pindee 


. 3,200 


Lucknow . . 


. 5,000 


Bareilly . . 


. 3,000 


JuUundur . . 


. 4,000 


Jfooltaa . . 


. 3,000 


Dinapore . . 


. 4,000 


Saugor . . . 


. 3,800 


Umballah . . 


. 3,800 


Agra . . . 


. 2,700 


Cawnpore , . 


. 3,700 


Nowsherah 


. 2,600 


Delhi . . . 


. 3,600 


Jhelum . . . 


. 2,400 


Barrackpore . 


. 3,500 


Allahabad . . 


. 2,300 



The number of soldiers in the Punjaub was 
40,000. As to the whole of the Bengal pro- 
vinces, the troops were stationed at IGO can- 
tonments, garrisons, or other places. The 
I Europeans comprised 2271 commissioned 



742 



HISTOEY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE LChap. CXXXI. 



officers, 1602 nou-commissioned officers, and 
18,815 rank and file ; the natives comprised 
2325 commissioned officers, 5821 non-com- 
missioned officers, and 110,617 rank and file. 

Madras Army, May 1 0, 
Military Divisions. EuroD«ans. 

Centre 1,680 

Mysore 1,088 

Malabar 604 

Northern 216 

Southern 726 

Ceded Districts . . , 135 

South Mahratta ... 16 

Nagpoor 369 

Nizam's 1,322 

Penang and Malacca . 49 

Pegu ...... 2,S80 



1857. 

Natives. 
6,430 
4,504 
2,513 
6,169 
5,718 
2,519 
375 
3,505 
5,027 
2,113 

10,164 



Total. 
8,010 
5,592 
3,117 
6,384 
6,444 
2,674 
391 
3,874 
6,349 
2,162 
13,034 



10,194 49,737 69,931 



These troops were dispersed in about forty 
stations. Pegu was a non-regulation pro- 
vince of Bengal, but it was, as the list shows, 
garrisoned by Madras troops. This arose 
from the convenience of sending them from 
Madras across the Bay of Bengal. Those 
sepoys remained loyal. There were 2000 



Madras troops on service in Persia and China 
not enumerated in the above list. 

Bombay Army, May 10, 1857. 
Military Divisions. 
Bombay Garrison 
Southern . . . 
Poonah .... 
Northern . . . 
Asseerghur Fortress 
Sciade .... 
Rajpootana . . 



About 5000 of the above numbers were 
Bengal or Madras sepoys. About 14,000 
men belonging to the Bombay army were 
absent, garrisoning Aden or Bushire,^ in the 
Persian Gulf. In all India, on the 10th of 
May, when the sepoys rose in arms at Meerut, 
there were soldiers, 238,002 in the service of 
the company, of whom 38,001 were Euro- 
peans, and 200,001 natives; 19 Europeans 
to 100 natives. Such were the military 
elements nmidst which the great struggle 
began. 



Europeans. 


Natives. 


Total. 


695 


8,394 


4,089 


283 


5,108 


5,391 


1,838 


6,817 


8,655 


1,154 


6,452 


7,606 


2 


446 


448 


1,087 


6,072 


7,159 


50 


3,312 


3,362 


5,109 


31,601 


36,710 



CHAPTER CXXXI. 

ADVANCE OF A BKITISH ARMY AGAINST DELHI— SIEGE OF THE CITY— EMBARRASSMENTS OF 
THE BRITISH FROM DEFECTIVE MILITARY ORGANIZATION AND WANT OF INTELLI- 
GENCE—THE SIEGE— BOMBARDMENT— STORM— CAPTURE OF THE KING OP DELHI, HIS 
, BEGUM, AND HEK SON, BY CAPTAIN HODSON— CAPTURE OF TWO OF THE KING'S SONS, 
AND GRANDSON— ATTEMPT TO RESCUE THEM— THEY ARE SHOT BY CAPTAIN HODSON— 
DEATH OF BRITISH OFFICERS OF TALENT AND DISTINCTION. 

On the death of General Anson, the com- 
mand in chief of the army devolved upon 
General Sir H. Barnard, K.O.B., who had 
served as chief of the staff with the army in 
the Crimea. He arrived before Delhi on the 
8th of June. One of the native regiments 
deserted in a body, entered the city, aided in 
its defence, and headed a fierce assault upon 
the British almost immediately upon their 
arrival. When Sir H. Barnard arrived before 
Delhi, he found that his army was unable to 
effect anything for want of guns. When the 
guns arrived there were no gunners, and no 
other men who knew how to fire the cannon ; 
a fresh delay took place in order to obtain a 
supply of artillerymen. Sir Henry was not 
permitted to take up a position before Delhi 
unopposed. When the army was within 
four miles of the city, it came upon a village 
called Bardulla Serai. The guides, and some 
other detachments, remained at different dis- 
tances in the rear, the force which formed the 



encampment consisted of — Head-quarters and 
six companies of her majesty's 60th rifles ; 
ditto, and nine companies of her majesty's 75th 
foot ; 1st Bengal European fusiliers ; 2nd 
ditto, head-quarters and six companies ; Sir- 
moor battalion (Goorkhas), a wing; head- 
quarters detachment sappers and miners ; her 
majesty's 9th lancers ; ditto 6th dragoon 
guards (carabiuiers), two squadrons ; horse 
artillery, one troop of 1st brigade ; ditto, two 
troops of 3id brigade ; foot artillery, two com- 
panies ; and No. 14 horse battery ; artillery 
recruits, detachment. The British arrived near 
the place already named before dawn, and 
descried thence the lines of watch-fires where 
the sepoy outposts bivouaced. While the 
advance guard was feeling its way in the dark- 
ness, guns and mortars opened upon them ; the 
sepoys had information of the advance, and did 
not wait to be attacked within the city or the 
lines, which they had resolved to defend. As 
dawn began to break the English reconnoitred. 



Chap. OXXXI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



748 



and found the enemy intrenched, the in- 
trenchments armed with heavy guns well 
manned. It became necessary to attack in 
force. The assailants were divided into three 
columns, under Brigadiers Showers, Graves, 
and Grant. The first was ordered to advance 
on the main trunk road ; the second to take 
the left of the same road ; the third to cross 
the canal, and stealthily gain the rear of the 
enemy's position, and upon a given signal to 
attack. The guns were placed on each side 
of the main trunk road, but in very exposed 
situations. The English advanced, and were 
met by a fire the most steady and well-directed; 
round-shot and shell, succeeded by grape and 
canister, caused considerable loss, and it soon 
became evident that the fire of the English 
guns was not sufficient to silence that of the 
intrenchments. The 76th and 1st regiments 
(Europeans) were ordered to charge the guns, 
and in doing so, passed at double quick over 
open ground swept by the cannonade. The 
guns were reached; such of the gunners as 
fled not were bayoneted or sabred. The com- 
binations of the British general were carried 
out by his brigadiers effectively, and the 
enemy, out-generaled, fled utterly discomfited, 
leaving all the guns behind them. Colonels 
Chester and Welchman behaved very gal- 
lantly, the former, acting adjutant-general, 
was killed by a cannon-ball. 

The sun was now pouring his rays upon the 
field so lately contested, and the heat began 
to be excessive, but Sir Henry believed that 
the only safe course was to follow up the first 
blow, and prevent the sepoys from rallying or 
returning to the ground they had occupied. 
He advanced hia whole force at six o'clock in 
the morning, ordering Brigadier Showers and 
Archdale Wilson to proceed by the main road 
with two columns of the army, while he, with 
a brigade under General Graves, turned off 
through the old cantonments, the scene of re- 
volt and massacre the previous month. Both 
divisions of the army had to fight their way 
step by step, so determined was the resistance 
of the mutineers. As the British approached 
they perceived that a rocky ridge in front of 
the nothern face of the city was occupied by 
the rebels in great force, especially of artillery. 
The commander-in-chief resolved by a ilank 
movement to turn the right of this ridge, and 
relied for success upon the capacity of his 
troops to accomplish this movement with 
rapidity, and a strict preservation of the order 
of advance. Sir Henry led on the 60th 
rifles, commanded by Captain Jones, the 2nd 
Europeans, under Captain Boyd, and a troop 
of horse artillery, under Captain Money. He 
accomplished the manojuvre in the most skilful 
and gallant style, ascending the ridge, turning 



the enemy's flank, and sweeping the muti- 
neers from the whole line of their position, 
which was strewn with guns, arms, and 
accoutrements, as the coasts of Southern India 
covered with wrecks and surf under the blasts 
of the monsoon. The enemy lost twenty-six 
guns, a fine camp equipage, which the mili- 
tary stores of Delhi had supplied, and a large 
stock of ammunition. Brigadiers Wilson and 
Showers, advancing along the main road, 
ascended the ridge when the conquest had 
been effected. Besides Colonel Chester, al- 
ready named, the slain in both actions were : — 
Captains Delamain and Eussell, and Lieu- 
tenant Harrison. The wounded comprised 
Colonel Herbert; Captains Dawson and Gre- 
ville; Lieutenants Light, Hunter, Davidson, 
Hare, Fitzgerald, Barter, Rivers, and Ellis ; and 
Ensign Pym. In all, officers and privates, 
there were fifty-one killed and one himdred 
and thirty-three wounded. Nearly fifty 
horses were either killed or wounded. Among 
the captured articles was found a cart, sup- 
posed by the captors to contain ammunition, 
but which when examined was found to be 
filled with the mangled limbs and trunks of 
Christians slaughtered during the insurrection 
within the city and cantonments. 

During the conflict several Europeans were 
seen heading the mutineers. Various specu- 
lations were set afloat by this circumstance. 
A few believed them to be French, more 
generally they were thought to be Russians ; 
some officers averred that both French and 
Russians were there, judging from their ap- 
pearance and bearing — this was the general 
impression, although the idea that they were 
British deserters was also entertained. Ven- 
geance was vowed against these men, all re- 
solving to give them no quarter. 

The British soon found that Delhi was not 
to be taken by a coup. That might have been 
done had General Hew^ett the skill and spirit to 
have followed the mutineers from Meerut ; the 
massacre had then never taken place, some ot 
the troops would not have revolted, and Delhi 
would not have become the stronghold of in- 
surrection. On the 8th of June the place was 
made too strong to be conquered by storm. 
If the reader will consult Captain Lawrence's 
military plan of Delhi and its cantonments 
(the unpublished plans of the Honourable East 
India Company), the positions of the defences 
can be better understood than by letter-press 
description. 

The position taken by Sir Henry Barnard's 
army was that of the former cantonments, not 
quite two miles from the northern wall of the 
city. A rocky ridge interposed between it 
and the city, and this was occupied by Eng- 
lish outposts. On the extreme left of the lino 



744 



HISTORY OF THE BRITJSH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXXXI. 



of posts established on this range was tlie 
Flagstaff Tower ; on tlie extreme right was a 
hoiiBc with a square courtyard, and a Laugh 
or garden. This was called Hindoo Rao's 
house ; in the centre was an old mosque. 
The ridge of elevated ground did not maintain 
a parallel between the city and the canton- 
ments, the right from the British lines being 
much nearer to the enemy. From the right 
extreme of the ridge the ground descended 
sharply, so that the post of Hindoo Rao's 
house and garden was regarded as very im- 
portant, and three batteries were placed there, 
supported in successive positions by the rifles, 
guides, and Goorkhas. The house was very 
strong, the batteries were carefully placed, 
and the positions of the supporting infantry 
were well screened. As time wore on, the 
British were in a situation similar to that 
which they had occupied before Sebastopol — 
they were the besieged rather than the be- 
siegers. The city was not invested, reinforce- 
ments of rebels constantly arrived, whilst 
those of the British came up slowly and in 
small detachments. Sorties were made on a 
grand scale ; the English were obliged to 
stand on the defensive, and much time was 
consumed without anything being effected. 
The result of such a state of things all over 
India was disastrous. The universal belief of 
the natives was that the English could not 
take Delhi, and from all quarters accessions of 
force reached the Mogul capital, while insur- 
rection was everywhere fomented in the name 
of the emperor. 

Scarcely had the English taken up their new 
position when they were attacked. On the 9th 
a strong force advanced against the ridge, and 
was repulsed promptly and with little loss. 
Captain QuintinBattye of the guides, an officer 
of great promise, was mortally wounded. The 
guides distinguished themselves in driving the 
mutineers from a position on the ridge, which 
they attained by the celerity of their movements, 
and where alone they fought with any obsti- 
nacy. The 10th was spent in skirmishing. 

On the 12th two columns moved out, one 
against each flank of the ridge. They were 
signally defeated, Major Jacobs especially dis- 
tinguishing himself. Several hundreds of the 
enemy were put hors cle combat. The muti- 
neers were strengthened by two regiments, one 
of cavalry and one of infantry, from Rohilcund, 
who marched into the city with colours flying 
and bands playing, the European drummers 
and fifers having been compelled to play them 
in. This scene tended to discourage the 
native troops in the English lines. On the 
13th, a place called Metcalfe House, near the 
British left, was occupied by the rebels, who 
immediately began to fortify it. Thej' were 



enabled to do so unmolested. On the 17th a 
fire was opened by the mutineer artillery 
against the English right, striking the house 
of Hindoo Rao, and killing and wounding 
some officers and men on duty. The enemy 
were also observed erecting a battery at a 
large building known as the Eedghal. Tiie 
rifles and Goorkhas, supported by cavalry 
and horse artillery, drove out the enemy, but 
not until after a sharp combat. The I'Jth of 
June was a day of intense anxiety. The rear 
of the British lines was guarded by Brigadier 
Grant. Information fortunately reached him 
that two regiments of mutineers, lately arrived 
from Nusseerabad, had volunteered, sujiported 
by cavalry and artillery, to fall upon the rear 
of the English. Grant reconnoitred, and found 
the enemy still stronger than his information 
led him to believe, within half a mile of his 
position. He attacked them; they fought in 
the confidence of numbers, and seldom behaved 
so well when under British command. The 
contest ended in favour of the English, but not 
until many gallant men fell killed and wounded. 
Among the slain was Colonel Yule, of the 
9th lancers ; he had fallen wounded, and was 
found next morning with his throat cut, and 
stabs and gashes alio verbis person. Lieutenant 
Alexander was also killed. Captain Daly and 
six subalterns were wounded ; nineteen pri- 
vates were killed, and seventy-seven wounded. 
Several, both Europeans and natives, among 
the common soldiers behaved with signal 
valour. Sir Henry Barnard displayed re- 
markable care, caution, and vigilance. He 
brought in safety his convoys, reconnoitred 
every movement of the foe, and guarded his 
lines at every point. 

The 23rd of June was a day of importance. 
It was the anniversary of the battle of Plassey, 
and the mutineers desired to mark the day, !iy 
some desperate effort, as one of humiliation to 
the English. It was also a Mohammedan and 
a Hindoo holiday ; thus various motives com- 
bined to incite the enemy to a grand attack. 
The columns of the enemy maintained renewed 
assaults throughout the whole day, and the 
position of the English was at times critical. 
A plan had been laid to come upon the English 
rear, but the previous night the bridges over 
the canal had been broken down by the 
English sappers, which frustrated the attempt, 
and kept a considerable number of the enemy 
fruitlessl}' occupied. The heat w:a3 so great 
that many officers and men fell down ex- 
hausted, and some were the victims of covji 
de soleil. At one o'clock in the afternoon the 
mutineers made a fierce attack upon a position 
occupied by the guides, who were left without 
ammunition- — a common occurrence in British 
armies. The delay which occurred in pro- 



CuAP. CXXXI] 



IN INDIA AND THE ExVST. 



745 



curing a supply foi' tlie gallant guides, wovilj 
probably have proved fatal, but a Sikh regi- 
ment opportunely arriving from the Punjaub, 
advanced to the position, and routed a far 
superior force of the enemy. 

The 1st European regiment was engaged in a 
desperate contest in the suburbs, where, from 
house to house, a sanguinary conflict raged. 
The total loss of the British was thirty-nine 
killed, and one hundred and twenty-one 
woiinded ; among the former were Lieutenant 
Jackson, among the latter Colonel Welchman, 
Captain Jones, and Lieutenant Jloney. The 
loss of the enemy was very heavy, and they 
appeared for several days to be discouraged, 
but their reinforcements were so large that 
they again gained heart ; while the English, 
scarcely able to maintain their position, sick, 
exhausted with fatigue, inadequately supplied 
with the necessaries of an army, were dis- 
pirited. There is a tone of despondency in 
the despatches of Sir Henr_v, which shows that 
he was apprehensive of the destruction of his 
army unless speedy succour arrived. By the 
end of June, the mutineers had surrounded 
Delhi with batteries. The English had only 
fifteen siege guns and mortars, placed in bat- 
teries too distant to effect anything. The 
European troops were only three thousand ; 
the Hindoo cavalry and infantry, few in num- 
ber, were not trusted, and the guns were 
worked chiefly by men of that sort, who proved 
themselves inferior to the artillerymen among 
the mutineers. The guides, Sikhs, and Goor- 
khas, taken together, did not amount to five 
thousand men: but there was confidence in 
them, and they fought well. 

When Sir John Lawrence had suppressed 
revolt in the Punjaub, he sent up the depots 
of the regiments before Delhi, and some flank 
companies, also fresh battalions of Punjaubees, 
guides, and Sikhs, and what Goorkha corps 
were in his province and available, also a wing 
of the Cist European regiment, which was 
followed by detachments of others; he kept 
the communications open, and thus provisions 
and medicines were obtainable. Food became 
plentiful, and the army was healthy when July 
began. Sir Henry and his troops felt that the 
Punjaub was a safe and sufficient base of 
support, and hope once more brightened the 
countenances of the besiegers. Notwithstand- 
ing that there were so many causes to cheer 
the English, there were still these two discou- 
raging circumstances, — volunteers and muti- 
neers flocked from all parts to augment the 
rebel garrison, and so great were the resources 
of the place, that the enemy had everything 
required for their defence. It became obvious 
that Lieutenant Willoughby had not de- 
stroyed so much ammunition as was sup- 



posed ; the explosion, however destructive to 
life among the marauders, left intact vast 
resources of guns and ammunition. 

On the 1st of July an attack was made 
upon Hindoo Rao's house by about five 
thousand sepoys. Tiic officer in command 
had but 150 men, guides ; Jfajor Reiil, 
who commanded the pickets on the extreme 
right, sent him 150 of the rifles, and these 
three hundred men maintained for twenty - 
two hours a combat against nearly twenty 
times their number, and at last the enemy 
retired. Animadversions were made through- 
out the army, upon the arrangements which 
left a post so important to be defended for so 
long a time by so few men, against a whole 
division of the enemy, especially as Brigadier 
Chamberlain and some reinforcements had 
arrived that morning. 

The next morning Rohilcund regiments of 
mutineers, from Bareill}', Moorshedabad, and 
Shahjehanpore, amounting to five regiments, 
and a battery of artillery, marched into Delhi, 
with bands playing and flags flying. This 
reinforcement led the king and the mutineers 
to believe that they would be able to exjiel 
the English from the neighbourhood, and the 
Bareilly leader was named commander-in-chief. 
That night the Bareilly force undertook an 
expedition in the rear of the English, for the 
twofold object of cutting off their communi- 
cations with the Punjaub, and capturing their 
depot at Alipore. Major Pope and a strong 
detachment attacked them, and drove them 
back to the city ; the major's force with diffi- 
culty effected this end, for the rebels fought 
with confidence and obstinacy, and the Eng- 
lish returned utterly exhausted, having suf- 
fered severely. 

On the 4th of July Colonel Baird Smith 
arrived to take charge of the engineer staff. 
On the 5tli General Barnard died, worn out 
with fatigue, and having proved himself a 
careful and a brave commander, and capable 
of handling a small force on the defensive 
against a more numerous enemy with judg- 
ment and patience. Major-general Reid as- 
sumed the command, to which, from ill-health, 
he was unequal. 

In July the English were exposed to a new- 
danger. There were two Hindoo regiments 
with the force, and in the Punjaub regiments 
there were many ; suspicion fell upon them ; a 
plot was detected, a Brahmin was hung for 
attempting to induce the soldiers to shoot 
their officers ; a large portion of the Hindoos 
joined the enemy when skirmishing, the rest 
were pa/tZ-njJ and dismissed the service, and 
thus allowed to go into Delhi, and sicell the 
ranks of its garrison. 

The English established a picket in the 



746 



HISTOEY OF THE BRITISH EMPIEE [Chap. OXXXI. 



Sulzee Mundee Buturbs ; on the 14th of July 
this was attacked, and the house of Hindoo 
Rao, in great force. The defenders had to 
maintain a long and unequal contest, and were 
left to do 80 without help for a great length 
of time ; the help at last sent was inadequate, 
but by sheer dint of hard fighting. Brigadier 
Showers and his European and Punjaub 
infantry drove away the enemy. The killed 
and wounded of the English exceeded two 
hundred men. 

The weather changed, and much rain fell, 
when siclcness came upon the army, and it 
was found that the hot season was more 
healthy than the cooler but damp period by 
which it was followed. By the end of July 
the sick amounted to twelve hundred men, 
and the rest were kept perpetually on the 
.alert, although Sir John Lawrence had sent 
nearly three thousand men during the last 
fortnight into the north, one third of whom 
were European fusiliers. 

Major-general Reid despaired of the capture 
of Delhi, and his health no longer allowed of 
the exertion required from the commander of 
such an army. He resigned, and the chief 
command devolved upon Brigadier-general 
Wilson, who, as a good artillerist and a plod- 
ding, painstaking, persevering man, was con- 
sidered capable for the operation, although not 
regarded as an officer adapted to the conduct 
of a diversified campaign. One officer said of 
him, that " he was born to take Delhi, and for 
no other purpose." When General Wilson 
took the command, he and General Showers 
were the only generals in perfect health. One 
hundred and one officers had been killed and 
died of sun-stroke, cholera, wounds, or were 
then sick or wounded. Only 8000 men re- 
mained of the original army and reinforce- 
ments, half of whom were European. Of 
those called artillerymen, were many natives, 
of little use except for physical strength ; and 
the Punjaub sappers and miners were merely 
unskilled labourers. The entire force, ac- 
cording to General Wilson's report to Mr. 
Colvin, was : — 

Infantry — Officers and Men. 

H.M. 8th foot head-quarters .... 198 

H.M. 61at foot „ 296 

H.M. 7Bth foot „ 513 

H.M. 60th Rifles „ 299 

Ist Europeaa Bengal Fusiliers .... 520 

2na „ „ „ .... B56 

Guide Infantry 275 

Sirmoor battalion, Goorkhas .... 296 

1st Punjaub Infantry 72S 

4th Sikh Infantry 345 

—4023 

Cavalry — 

H.M. Carabiniers 1B3 

H.M. 9th Lancers 428 

Guide Cavalry 388 



Ist Punjaub Cavalry 148 

2nd „ ■ „ 110 

Bth „ „ (atAlipore) . . . 116 



Artillery and Engineers — 

Artillery, European and native . . . .1129 

Bengal Sappers and Miners 209 

Punjaub ,, „ 264 



-1293 



-1602 



6918 



Besides these effectives there were as non-effectives 765 
sick, 351 wounded — 1116. 

General Wilson at once adopted means of 
discovering the numbers and quality of the 
troops opposed to him, which he thus re- 
ported : — Bengal native infantry — 3rd, 9th, 
11th, 12th, 16th, 20th, 28th, 29th, 30th, 36th, 
38th, 44th, 46th, 64th, 67th, 60th, eist, 67th, 
68th, 72nd, 74th, 78th. Other native infan- 
try — 6th and 7th Gwalior contingent, Kotah 
contingent, Hurrianah battalion, together with 
2600 miscellaneous infantry. Native cavalry 
— portions of five or six regiments, besides 
others of the Gwalior and Malwah contin- 
gents. There arrived in the city mutinous 
regiments from Meerut, Hansi, Muttra, Luck- 
now, Nusserabad, JuUundur, Ferozepore, 
Bareilly, Jhansi, Gwalior, Neemuch, AUy- 
gurh, Agra, Rohtuk, Jhuggur, and Allahabad. 
The numbers were estimated by General 
Wilson at 16,000 infantry, of whom 12,000 
were sepoys, the remainder volunteers ; 4000 
cavalry, well horsed, and well disciplined. 
The artillery were numerous in proportion, 
and had every description of supply. The 
perpetual combats reduced the number of 
General Wilson's effective troops, notwith- 
standing the reinforcements which gradually 
arrived from the Punjaub through the inde- 
fatigable industry and good management of 
Sir John Lawrence and his colleagues. On 
the 8th of August, Brigadier-general Nichol- 
son arrived with the advance guard of a bri- 
gade, organized under his command in the 
Punjaub, and which in that region had ren- 
dered most important services. On the 14th, 
the main body of the brigade arrived. It 
consisted of her majesty's 62nd (light in- 
fantry), the wing of her majesty's 6l8t, which 
had remained in the Punjaub when the 
other wing had been sent on to Delhi, the 
2nd Punjaub infantry, two hundred horse 
from Mooltan, and some guns. The brigade 
numbered eleven hundred Europeans, and 
fourteen hundred Punjaubees. This acces- 
sion of force was a great relief to the over- 
worked soldiers, wearied with combat and 
exposure to the sun, but it was too small to 
enable General Wilson to make any attempt 
upon Delhi. General Nicholson, however, 
brought the welcome tidings that Sir John 




©ENEK.AL SIR A)R(GH©A1E WILSOM, KAIRT. KX.B. 



ru^k/miy oy o/A^^'Gy^taAA /en^ -go^L^^ ^ /A(^ 



LOHDON. JAW.E5 S VIRTUE 



Chap. OXXXI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



747 



Lawrence had organized a new siege train at 
Ferozepore, which was on ita way to enable 
General Wilson to subdue the fire of tlie 
city. The arrival of General Nicholson in- 
spired new life in the Enghsh camp. He 
was an officer of extraordinary energy, and 
of the bravest courage. 

On the night of the 14th of August, an 
occasion arose for putting his military excel- 
lence to the test. A detachment of the mu- 
tineers were observed by General Wilson to 
move along the Rohtuk road, with the object, 
as the general supposed, of reaching Sorree- 
put, or of disturbing the Jheered rajah, who 
was faithful to the English, and procured 
them supplies. Hodson's horse, already a 
terror to the " pandies," went out after them, 
and turning aside, by a flank movement, got 
before their line of march, and after a despe- 
rate battle, dispersed them. The escape of a 
lady, the wife of a civil officer of the com- 
pany, to the English lines on the 19th, caused 
great animation among the troops. She was 
probably the only European that had re- 
mained alive in the place up to that time. 

BATTLE OF NUJUFFGHUR. 
Soon after Nicholson's arrival, it was his 
fortune to have an opportunity of showing 
his ability to command. General Wilson 
received information that a strong force of 
mutineers was dispatched by night to Baha- 
doorgbur, for the purpose of intercepting the 
siege-train from the Punjaub. This force 
was commanded by Bukhtor Singh, who had 
distinguished himself in promoting the revolt 
at Bareilly (to be related elsewhere). General 
Wilson committed to his newly-arrived and 
intrepid young brigadier the task of meeting 
Bukhtor Singh, dispersing his force, and 
clearing the way for the siege-train. The 
troops placed at Nicholson's disposal were — 

H.M. 9th Lancers (Captain Sanell) One squadron. 
Guide cavalry (Captain Sandfoid) ] 20 men. 

2nd Pnnjaub cavalry 80 „ 

Mooltan horse 

H.M. Cist foot (Colonel Ueuny) 420 „ 

Ist Bengal Europeans (Major Jacob) 380 „ 

1 st Punjaub infantry (Coke's) 400 „ 

2nd Punjaub infantry (Green's) 400 „ 

Sappers and Miners 30 „ 

Horse artillery (Tomb's & Olphert's) Sixteen guns. 

Captain (now Major) Olphert being ill, the command of 
his troop was takeu by Captain Kemington. 

With these he sallied forth at dawn on the 
25th of August, crossed two swamps, and 
effected a rapid march through other difficul- 
ties, until he reached a place half way between 
Delhi and the reported destination of the 
mutineers. Nicholson here learned that they 
had crossed the Nujuffghur Jheel, and would 
probably encamp at midday, during the heat. 



near the town of Nujuffghur. He pursued, 
the way being covered three feet deep with 
water. After a harassing march of ten miles, 
he, at five o'clock iu the evening, came in 
sight of the mutineers. They were astonished, 
but not daunted, at seeing a British force ; 
for the division of Bukhtor Singh v/as com- 
posed of six regiments of mutineer infantry, 
three of irregular cavalry, and the pick of 
their field artillery, numbering thirteen guns ; 
in all, seven thousand men. He immediately 
took up a good position, the key of wliich 
was an old serai on his left centre, where he 
put four guns in battery. The plan of Nichol- 
son was partially to subdue the fire of the 
guns, and then storm the serai, and tlien 
sweep down their line of guns to the bridge. 
This he put into execution with extraordinary 
celerity, routing the mutineers, and capturing 
all their guns. The village of Nujuffghur 
was, however, desperately defended, when 
Lieutenant Saunders invested it, and left no 
possibility of escape. The gallant lieutenant 
fell in the successful execution of his duty, 
the mutineers were bayoneted, the village 
burned, and the bridge blown up. Lieu- 
tenant Gabbet was also killed, and twenty-five 
rank and file. Major Jacob, Lieutenant 
Elkington and seventy men were wounded. 
The mutineer horse were utterly inefficient, 
or the victory must have been longer con- 
tested and more hardly won. 

While Nicholson was absent on this expe- 
dition, the fact was learned at Delhi, and an 
attack upon the mask battery was made iu 
great force, in the hope that the weakened 
English lines would be unable materially to 
reinforce it. General Wilson repulsed the 
attack with little loss to himself, and great 
loss to the mutineers. 

Early in September, the long-expected and 
much-desired siege-train arrived, and with it 
the 4th Punjaub infantry, the Patau irregular 
horse, and reinforcements to her majesty's 
8th, 24th, 52nd, and 60th regiments. The 
same day a Beloochee regiment came from 
Kurrachee. After all these supplies, the 
army did not number more than nine thou- 
sand men, effective for all purposes, including 
grass cutters, syce bearers, labourers, native 
infantry, recruits yet undisciplined, &c. More 
reinforcements were wanted, and they were 
on their way. The sick and wounded reached 
the enormous proportion of three thousand and 
seventy, and there was every likelihood that 
the number of the wounded would increase, 
as became actually the case, so that Wilsou 
was still importunate for help. 

On the 7th of September, the enemy first 
perceived the skilful and huge preparations 
made to cannonade the city The works 



748 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXXXI. 



proceeded until the lltli, eacli battery open- 
ing fire as it was formed. The enemy formed 
counter-works, and with skill and courage 
thwarted tlie English sappers and labourers, 
and killed and wounded a considerable num- 
ber ; they incessantly sent forth sorties, infan- 
try, cavalry, and artillery, who showed skill 
and discipline. Still the work went on, and 
uu the 11th the heavy siege-guns and mortars 
vo\nited forth their missiles of destruction. 
The English were deficient in foot artillery- 
men, but the gunners and men of the horse 
artillery volunteered to serve, as did also the 
cifficers and men of the infantry and cavalry. 
The Sikh battery was especially well served, 
and " won golden opinions from all sorts of 
men." During the llth, 12th, 13th, and the 
morning of the 14tli, the bombardment con- 
tinued, and the mutineers behaved in the most 
gallant manner, skilfully meeting every emer- 
gency as it arose. On the evening of the 
loth, breaches appeared to be made in the 
city wall near the Cashmere bastion, and the 
Water bastion. Lieutenants Ureathed, Home, 
Jledlcy, and Lang, were ordered to examine 
and report. This was a perilous undertaking, 
but was performed in the most intrepid man- 
ner; the reports were, that both breaches 
Mere practicable. The assault was ordered 
for the llth. The assaulting army was thus 
organized : — 

First Coltinm. 

UllIUAUIEK-GENEKAL NlCUOI.SON. Men. 

II.JI. TSthfoot (Lieut-colonel Herbert) . . 300 

1st Bengal Eiiro|ican3 Plajor Jacob) .... 250 
2u<l Puiijaub Infantry (Captaiu Greeu) .... 450 

Second CoUtmn. 

Bkigauikr Jonks. 

11. M. Sth foot (Lieut.-colonel Greathed) . 250 

2iid i'ciigal Europeans (Captain Boyd) .... 250 

4tli Sikli Infantry (Captain llotlincy) . . . 350 

Third Column. 

Colonel Campbell. 

n.M. o2ndfoot (Major Vigors) .... 200 

Kumaon Goorkhas (Captain Kamsay) . . . 250 

Ist I'unjaub lufaatry (Lieut. Nicholson) . . . 500 

Fourth Colninu. 
Majou Keu). 
Sirmoor Goorkhas ^ g,,^;^^^ Cishmcre Contin- 
OuiJe Infantry ^ ^f ,,,j^i^^ ^^ ^^ 

Kumpeau pickets ( ^„^^^^,.„ .... 8.-^0 

Native piekeis y 

lieserce. 

BmOADIER LONGt'lELD. 

II.M. filsl foot (Lieut.-colonel Ucacou) . . 250 

4Ui Punjaub Infantry (Captain Wilde) .... 450 

Belooch battalion (Licut.-colouel Farquhar) . 300 

.Iheend auxiliaries (Lieut.-colonel Dunsford) . 300 

'I'he following engineer olTicers were attached to the 

several columns. 

To the 1 St colnmn, Lieuts. Medley, Lang, and Bingham. 

„ 2nd „ „ Greathcd, Ilovcndcn, and 

I'cmberton. 
„ 3rd „ „ Home, Salkeld, and Tandy. 

„ 4th „ „ Slaunsell and Tenuant. 

„ Ittserve „ Ward and Thackeray. 



The order of attack was as follows : — The 
first column to assault the main breach, and 
escalade the face of the Cashmere bastion. 
This column was to be covered by a detach- 
ment of the tiOth. The second column to 
enter the breach at the Water bastion, having 
a similar detachment of rides to cover their 
approach. The third column to attack the 
Cashmere gate, preceded by a party of en- 
gineers, under Lieutenants Home and Sal- 
keld, to blow open the gate with petards and 
powder. This attempt was to be covered by 
a party of the ubiquitous rifles. The fourth 
column to force an entrance at the Cabul 
gate. A rifle party also covered this ap- 
proach. The reserves were further strength- 
ened, as a dernier ressoit, by the remainder of 
the rifles. The cavalry, under Brigadier 
Grant, were disposed so as to guard the lines, 
the sick, and wounded, and prevent the 
enemy from making a sortie in any direction. 
At four o'clock on the morning of the llth, 
the assault began. The rifles skirmished, and 
on dashed the columns at the double cpiick, 
Nicholson's first. The assailants suffered 
terrihly from the well-directed and soldierly 
play of the mutineer artillery. The Englisli 
officers and men, especially the former, co- 
vered themselves with glory ; no danger 
daunted, no obstacle remained uusurmoxmted. 
The breaches were entered by the first and 
second columns almost simultaneousl 3% Nichol- 
son leading. The tw-o columns wheeled to 
the right, and drove the desperate mutineer.s 
along the ramparts, captured successively the 
batteries, the tower between the Cashmere 
and lloree bastions, the Jloree bastion, and 
the Cabul gate. The Bum bastion and La- 
hore gate defied every assault, the mutineers 
meeting the approaching victors with cool 
and resolute steadiness, and mowing down by 
volleys of musketry officers and men as they 
approached. Nicholson led his men along 
a narrow lane against the Lahore gate ; the 
passage was swept by grape and musketry, 
and the noble young general fell desperately 
wounded. The grief and indignation of his 
soldiers was unbounded ; their efforts were 
fierce, but the lane was swept by bullets, 
as a tunnel by a fierce wind, or a penetrating 
torrent. The troops made good their con- 
quests to the Cabul gate, threw^ up sand-bags 
for shelter, and turned the vanquished guns 
against the city. While the first two columns 
were thus alike successful and baffled, 
that directed against the Cashmere gate 
dashed on enthusiastically, under a fire, near, 
precise, and deadly. The Cashmere gate 
was of prodigious strength, and a party of 
marksmen, stationed at a \Yicket, rendered all 
approach to it little short of certain death. 



CuAP. CXXXI.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EA.ST. 



7i» 



It was necessary that this gate should be 
forced by tlie engineers. Two parties of 
these were formed, led by Lieutenants Home 
and Salkeld, assisted by Sergeants Smith and 
Carmichael, attended by sappers carrying 
bags of powder, which they laid. Home was 
for a moment stunned, but speedily recovered; 
Carmichael was killed, and a native, named 
Madhoo, fell with him. How Lieutenant 
Home and his small party ever reached the 
gate is almost inconceivable ; they had to 
clamber across a broken bridge in the light 
of a fine bright morning, under the eye and 
rifle-range of the mutineers. As soon as the 
bags were laid, the party slid down into the 
ditcli to make way for the party by whom 
the powder was to bo fired, which was headed 
by Lieutenant Salkeld. Colonel Baird Smith 
thus rejjorted the exploit: — "Lieutenant 
Salkeld, while endeavouring to fire the charge, 
was shot through the arm and leg, and handed 
over the slow-match to Corporal Burgess, 
who fell mortally wounded just as he had 
successfully accomplished the onerous duty. 
Havildar Tilluh Singh, of the Sikhs, was 
wounded, and KamloU Sepoy, of the same 
corps, was killed during this part of the ope- 
ration. The demolition being most successful. 
Lieutenant Home, happily not wounded, caused 
the bugler (Hawthorne) to sound the regi- 
mental call of the o2nd, as the signal for the 
advancing columns. Fearing that amidst the 
noise of the assault the sounds might not be 
heard, he had the call repeated three times, 
when the troops advanced and carried the 
gateway witii complete success." Sergeant 
Smith, fearing that tlie match had not taken, 
rushed forward, but saw the train burning, 
and had barely time to cast himself into tlie 
ditch, when the ponderous mass of wood and 
stone blew into fragments. The thii'd column 
rushed through the gate, when the bugle-call 
of Lieutenant Home broke upon their ear. 
Sir Theophilus Metcalfe guided this body 
through byways to the great thoroughfare, 
called the Chandnee Chowk, in hope of gain- 
ing the Jumma Musjid. The column was 
assailed with desperate bravery, and driven 
before the sepoys for an English mile, near 
to the gate by which it entered, where, with 
difficulty, it took up positions of some strength. 
But for the supports, it would have been 
beaten out of the city, so determined were 
the sepoys, and so great their numbers. Tlie 
reserve pressed on to the support of the third 
column, and all their help was required. The 
reserve, as well as the third column, esta- 
blished itself within the gate. The attack 
under !JIajor Reid on the western suburbs 
failed, arising from the inefficiency of the 
Cashmerian contingent, the bravery and num- 

VOL. 11. 



hers of the sepoys, and their contempt for 
the native force under Captain Dwyer's com- 
mand. After a fearful conflict for jiossession 
of the Eedghah, the whole attack on the 
western side was abandoned. The English 
held the posts there, even within the gates; 
the enemy showed unflinching resolution, and 
even threatened the English flanks and rear. 
Night closed over the sanguinary scene, the 
EnglLsh having lost eight oflicers killed, and 
fifty-two wounded; one hundred and sixty- 
two English, and one hundred and three native 
soldiers killed, five hundred and twelve Eng- 
lish, and three hundred and ten natives 
wounded. The first and second columns 
held all the towers, bastions, and ram])arts, 
from the vicinitj' of the Cashmere gate to the 
Cabul gate ; the third column and the reserve 
held the Cashmere gate, the English chnrch, 
Skinner's house, the Water bastion, Ahmed 
Ali Khan's house, the college-gardens, and 
many bnildings and open spots in that part of 
Delhi ; while the fourth column, defeated in 
the- western suburbs, had retreated to the 
camp or the ridge. 

On the morning of the 15th, the British 
dragged fresh mortars into position between 
the gates of Cashmere and Cabul, so as to 
command the imperial palace. A battery 
was also raised in the college-gardens. "When 
day dawned, the advanced posts skirmished, 
and the work of blood began again. The 
mutineers loopholed the houses and walls, 
and thence took patient and eflioient aim. 
The loth wore awa}', on the whole, in favour 
of the defenders. On the Kkli, the college- 
garden batteries breached the magazine — part 
of which Lieutenant ^Yilloughby had blown 
up on the 11th of jMay. It was stormed 
and taken by the Punjaubees and Beloochees, 
supported by a wing of the Gist. The loss 
was slight, and the advantage decisive. The 
enemy abandoned the western suburb, which 
was taken possession of by a native battalion, 
sent down from the house of Hindoo Rao. 
The ICth ended on the whole in favour of 
the British. 

The 17th dawned upon both parties eager 
for slaughter, and each resolute to assert its 
superiority. On this day a series of combats 
began for the possession of the ramparts, 
which were continued into the next day. The 
struggle issued in the interest of the English. 
Drawing a line from the magazine to the 
Cabul gate, all north of that line was now in 
the hands of the English, On the 18th the 
English throw forth columns of attack against 
the south part of the city, capturing the great 
buildings successively. The magazine, now 
in the hands of the English, supplied mortars, 
with which they shelled the palace, and the 



750 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 



[Chap. CXXXI. 



strong houses occupied by tlie mutineers. The 
women and children began to flee, carrying 
with them the wounded. General Wilson 
allowed them to escape. Many sepoys took 
advantage of this indulgence to get away 
from the city. 

Early ou the lUth-the Bum bastion, before 
which so many men and officers fell, was taken 
by surprise, by a party from the Cabul gate. 
Captain Hodson reconnoitred with his horse 
along the northern and western face of the 
city, and took possession of a cavalry camp 
which the enemy had formed there. 

An attack was made upon the palace ; the 
gates were strong, but were blown open by 
gunpowder. The place was found deserted, 
except by the woiluded, &c., and a body of 
Mohammedan fanatics, who fought to the last. 
The city was now conquered, at an expense 
of four thousand men killed, missing, and 
wounded, out of about double that number 
engaged in the actual conflict. The havoc 
among the sepoys was terrific. No quarter 
was given on either side. The sepoys in 
despair shot themselves, or rushed upon the 
bayonets of the assailants, and perished. Many 
of the inhabitants cut the throats of their 
wives and children, believing that the English 
had hearts like themselves, and would murder 
the helpless. Their astonishment was as 
great as their gratitude was feeble when 
they found that the English spared women, 
children, and wounded, and regarded every 
non-combatant enemy as under their protec- 
tion. The English soldiers slew all the male 
inhabitants they encountered. 

The English lost many men from sickness 
and fatigue, and nearly six hundred horses 
fell dead from over work, or were killed by the 
bullets of the enemy. 

The sights which met the gaze of the 
English when, the enemy being completely 
vanquished, they had time to look around 
them, were horrible. Christian women had 
been crucified naked against the houses, and 
native women and children, butchered by the 
sepoys, to avert the same fate at the hands of 
the English, lay scattered in streets and 
houses. Shattered ruins, mangled limbs, dead 
bodies, slain and wounded horses, lay in pro- 
fusion in every direction. The English found 
large sums of money on the persons of the 
dead and wounded. The Sikhs and Beloo- 
chees, and most especially the guides, were 
expert in these discoveries. The English 
soldiers, breaking the spirit depots, drank to 
excess ; and in this state bayoneted numbers of 
the inhabitants, who had found temporary 
security in hiding-places. 

The king, and his family and retainers, fled 
from the city with the multitude. Captain 



(afterwards Major) Hodson was at that junc- 
ture assistant quartermaster-general, and in- 
telligence-officer on General Wilson's staff. 
On the 21st this officer learned that the king 
and his retinue had left by the Ajmeer gate, 
and had gone to the Kootub, a palace nine 
miles distant. Hodson, ever energetic and 
enterprising, wished to go in pursuit. Wilson, 
ever careful and cautious, hesitated. Zeenat 
Mahal, a begum and great favourite of the em- 
peror, came to the camp, offering terms to the 
English, as if the royal person was too sacred 
for the victorious English to molest, and as if 
majesty still belonged to the imperial fugitive. 
Sepoys and armed retainers were rapidly 
gathering round the king, and Wilson be- 
lieved that he could not spare troops to attack 
them. Hodson, chafing under this timid 
pohcy, at a moment when everything was to 
be gained by daring, and much might be lost 
by timidity or time-serving, requested per- 
mission to go after the king with his horse, 
and offer him -his life on condition of sur- 
render. He started forth, with fifty troopers, 
to Hoomayoon's tomb, distant from the palace 
about three miles. He sent a message to the 
king, who replied that he would give himself 
up to the captain, if with his own lips he 
repeated the assurance of his safety from per- 
sonal violence. To this Hodson assented. The 
king came forth with his retainers. Hodson 
met him at the gate of the splendid tomb. 
The captain was the only white man amidst 
several thousand natives, but fear for the con- 
sequence he had none. 

The king, Zeenat Mahal, and her son Jumma 
Bukt, were brought to Delhi by Hodson, and 
delivered to the civil authorities. 

The next morning Hodson, with his 
troopers, started again, before any fresh inter- 
dict could be laid ui)on his daring. He went 
in pursuit of three of the princes, who had 
been the inciters of the atrocities which had 
taken place in Delhi, and who had themselves 
perpetrated disgraceful scenes. These princes 
were concealed in the tomb of Hooma- 
yoon. Hodson succeeded, by dint of dextrous 
manceuvre, in getting possession of these royal 
personages. The tomb was occupied by 
armed scoundrels from the city. He sternly 
ordered them to lay down their arms and 
depart,— they obeyed. He sent a carriage on 
to the city with the prisoners, and a small 
escort; he, having dispersed the vagabonds 
from the neighbourhood of the tomb, followed 
with his troopers. Overtaking the cavalcade, 
he found the equipage surrounded by a mob, 
who were bent upon rescuing the prisoners. 
An officer of the troop thus relates what 
followed : — " This was no time for hesitation 
or delay. Hodson dashed at once into the 




©lENlBlSi^lL MUG MOIL !S OK. 



<2J^..imi' O' ^/)a4M4A.<i^/^ m/ •/'^" 



LONDON , .lAMi:S 'j.VIRTUK. 



Chap. CXXXII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST 



761 



midst — in few but energetic words explained 
' that these were the men who had not only 
rebelled against the government, but had 
ordered and witnessed the massacre and 
shameful exposure of innocent women and 
children ; and that thus therefore the govern- 
ment punished such traitors, taken in open 
resistance ' — shooting them down at the 
word. The effect was instantaneous and 
wonderful. Not another hand was raised, not 
another weapon levelled, and the Mohamme- 
dans of the troop and some influential moul- 
vies among the bystanders exclaimed, as if 
by simultaneous impulse, ' Well and rightly 
done ! Their crime has met with its just 
penalty. These were they who gave the 
signal for the death of helpless women and 
children, and outraged decency by the expo- 
sure of their persons, and now a righteous 
judgment has fallen on them. God is great ! ' 
The remaining weapons were then laid down, 
and the crowd slowly and quietly dispersed. 
The bodies were carried into the city, and 
thrown out on the very spot where the 
blood of their innocent victims still stained 
the earth. They remained there till the 24th, 



when, for sanitary reasons, they were removed 
from the Ohibootra in front of the Kotwallee. 
The effect of this just retribution was as 
miraculous on the populace as it was deserved 
by the criminals." 

General Nicholson died of the wounds ho 
received in the capture of Delhi. The Hon- 
ourable East India Company granted his 
widowed and bereaved mother the sum of 
£500 a year pension. Lieutenant Philip Sal- 
keld was one of the best and bravest officers 
who fell in that memorable conflict. He sur- 
vived until the 10th of October, when his 
wounds proved fatal. He was a native of 
Dorsetshire, and son of a clergyman. He, and 
his companion, Lieutenant Home, who sur- 
vived the assault, received the Victoria Cross ; 
! but the latter did not live long to wear it, for 
on the Ist of October he was mortally wounded, 
while in pursuit of the fugitive rebels. 

Having brought the siege of Delhi to a 
close, our readers must now be conducted to 
other scenes, partly contemporaneous with, 
and partly consequent upon, the physical and 
moral triumph achieved over the capital of 
the insurrection. 



CHAPTER CXXXII. 



ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE RELIEF OP CAWNPORE AND LUCKNOW— MARCH OF COLONEL 
NEILL-S COLUMN UPON CAWNPORE— ITS SUCCESS— MARCH OF OUTRAM AND HAVELOCK 
UPON LUCKNOW— RELIEF OP THE RESIDENCY— ADVANCE OF SIR COLIN CAMPBELL 
TO LUCKNOW— REMOVAL OF THE GARRISON TO CAWNPORE. 



On the Ist of July Colonel Neill sent off a 
column of relief to rescue General Wheeler 
and his little garrison, who were then sup- 
posed to be living. The force dispatched by 
the gallant Neill consisted of two hundred 
men of the Madras Fusiliers, two hundred of 
the 84th foot, three hundred Sikhs, and one 
hundred and twenty irregular cavalry. Major 
Eenaud commanded the whole. It was in- 
tended to send another column forward as 
soon as possible. Before the second column 
could be prepared for its destination, and 
indeed only a few hours after the departure 
of the first, Brigadier-generalHavelockarrived 
at Allahabad, and took the command of all 
the troops there, the government at Calcutta 
having given him the direction of the expedi- 
tionary forces designed to relieve both Cawn- 
pore and Lucknow. In the chapter on the 
Persian war the arrival of General Havelock 
at Calcutta was noticed. Thence he pro- 



ceeded, as quickly as possible, up country 
with such troops as he could take, after 
having dispatched others to strengthen Neill 
at Aliahabad. Two days after Havelock's 
arrival, and before Neill's second column of 
relief was organized, Captain Spurgeon was 
sent forward towards Oawnpore, with one 
hundred Madras Europeans, armed with the 
Enfield rifles, twelve artillerymen, and two 
6-poimder guns. Land conveyance being 
unattainable, this party went up the river by 
the steamer Brahmapootra. Its progress was 
opposed by a fire of musketry and a cannon 
from the Oude side of the river. The party 
landed, defeated the enemy, and captured the 
gun. Major Renaud had to skirmish with 
rebels day by day, for the whole population 
was hostile. On the 10th he learned what 
had occurred at Cawnpore, and the same day 
the sepoys and insurgents reached Futtehpore, 
to intercept the relieving troops. The force 



■52 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. CXXXIT. 



of Major Renaud was eight liimdred and 
twenty men and two guns ; that of the rohels 
was three thousand live hundred men and 
twelve guns. Havelock was anxious to 
strcngtlieu at once the major's party, but 
the forces at his disposal were extremely 
small, and reinforcements arrived only in 
driblets. Havelock was of opinion that if be 
had " one thousand Europeans, one thousand 
Sikhs, and one thousand Goorkhas, be could 
thrash everything ; " but, alas, he could only 
gather together about two thousand men of 
all arras. 

It was on the 7th of July that Havelock 
mustered bis little army at Allahabad ; on the 
12th be formed a junction with the advanced 
column, after a terrible march under the fierce 
sun of an Indian July. The main body of the 
enemy occupied strong posts at Futtehpore. 
The trunk road was alone available for the 
attacking party, the fields on each side being 
laid deep under water. The city of Futteh- 
pore was only approachable through a fire 
directed under the cover of mango groves, 
enclosures, loopholed walls, and other defences. 
The British leader, having determined to give 
battle, sought to draw on the enemy to an 
imprudent onset against himself. He placed 
bis eight guns across the road, protected by 
one hundred meu of the 64th, armed with 
the Enfield rifles. The enemy paused ; during 
the hesitation Havelock advanced, his infantry 
coming on at deploying distance, covered by 
rifle skirmishers, the few cavalry he possessed 
on the flanks. The G4th, his own regiment, 
formed his centre, the Highlanders his right, 
the S-4th and the Sikhs his left. The enemy 
fled precipitately, awed by the range of the 
rifles, the rapidity of Captain Maude's guns, 
and the steady advance of the infantry. Their 
attempts to defend some hillocks, and high 
walls bounding garden enclosures, were de- 
feated with the ease and skill characteristic of 
Havelock. He turned every defence with 
- such celerity and prudence that he incurred 
hardly any loss in dispossessing the enemy of 
tlie strongest posts. Having driven them 
through the city, capturing their guns, Have- 
lock hoped that the battle was won ; but the 
enemy drew up beyond the city in a well- 
chosen position. The English were nearly 
exhausted, and the irregular native cavalry 
showed symptoms of going over to the foe. 
The moment was critical, but Havelock was 
the man for a crisis. He again advanced, 
using his men cautiously, and throwing for- 
ward the skirmishers and guns; the enemy 
was again routed. Havelock congratulated 
himself that seldom was a success so great 
achieved with a loss so small. He did not 
lose a single European; six native soldiers 



were killed and three wounded. After alter- 
nate marching and repose, most skilfully 
and judiciously distributed, so as not to ex- 
haust the men, and yet achieving celerity of 
advance, Havelock again came up with the 
foe on the 15th. They were posted at the 
village of Asang, some twent)' miles from 
Cawnpore. The sepoys made little resistance, 
the fame of Havelock and his army of Persia 
had reached them, antl the previous battle of 
Futtehpore dispirited them. They retreated 
precipitately before the advance guard, under 
Colonel Tytler, leaving guns and baggage as 
trophies of the easy triumph. 

The captured position was within five miles 
of another intrenched position, at the head of 
a bridge crossing the Nuddee. This was 
carried by Havelock in the most gallant style. 
Tlie action was fought on the same day as 
that at the village. In both battles Havelock 
had only twenty-six meu wounded, chiefly of 
the Madras Fusiliers ; among the wounded 
was Major Renaud. One man was killed. 
The enemy suffered severely. The moral 
effect of these triumphs was signal; the British 
became so confident, and regarded the enemy 
\\ith such contempt, that they were willing to 
attack against any odds. The enemy was 
appalled by the celerity of the British, and the 
skill with which they were handled. The 
name of Havelock, although little known in 
England, was regarded with much respect by 
the sepoys who had fought in the various 
campaigns where the hero bad distinguished 
himself. So bad bad been the conduct of the 
sowars of the Oude and Bengal cavalry that it 
became necessary to dismount them. 

The next task of General Havelock was to 
march upon Cawnpore itself. Nana Sahib 
resolved to confront him, but the sweeping 
victories of the British general alarmed him, 
and excited his vengeance to the uttermost. 
According to the generally received opinion, 
it was after the passage of the Nuddee by 
Havelock that the Sahib ordered the massacre 
of Cawnpore. Having perpetrated that san- 
guinary act, he advanced with his army to 
Akerwa, as at that place the road to the can- 
tonments diverges Iroui the road to the town. 
Five fortified villages, the approaches in- 
trenched, and sujjporting one another, de- 
fended his position. The march from the 
Pandoo Nuddee to Akerwa was sixteen miles, 
which was accomplished during the niglit, 
but amidst clouds of dust ; the night, too, was 
heavy and sultry, and the men were greatly 
tired by their exertions. On reconnoitring 
the position, Havelock saw that to attempt to 
storm it in front would be destruction ; he 
therefore resolved to make a flank movement, 
coming upon the enemy's left. The baggage 



Chap. CXXXII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



753 



remained three miles in the rear, at IMaliaraj- 
pore. On the IGth the troops were halted until 
the heat of the day had subsided, a friendly 
mango grove affording shade. Clumps of 
this wood extended along the left front of the 
enemy's position, and enabled Havelock to 
execute, unobserved, the flank movement 
which he had already resolved. When the 
enemy at last detected the attempt to turn 
their left, evident signs of astonishment and 
alarm were indicated; large bodies of cavalry 
and strong detachments of guns were thrown 
forward against the advancing British, in the 
hope even yet of frustrating the manoeuvre. 
It was in vain ; the resistless courage of the 
British, and of their wise and energetic chief, 
overbore all opposition. The villages were 
captured, seven guns fell to the victors, a force 
ten times their number was dispersed, the 
Nana was humbled on the field of battle in 
the presence of his retainers and the mutineers, 
who were discontented with his command. 
Havelock had only six men killed, but nearly 
one hundred wounded, among whom were 
several of his bravest officers. All fought 
well; if any surpassed, the general's own son. 
Lieutenant Henry Marsham Havelock, and 
Major Stirling, of the 64th, were the success- 
ful competitors for glory. 

The little army of conquerors rested on the 
field of battle, and on the 17th entered Cawn- 
pore. The battle of Akerwa had given the 
city to them as their prize : during the night 
the enemy blew up the arsenal and magazine, 
and abandoned the place. Havelock had 
marched one hundred and twenty-six miles, 
fought and gained four battles, and captured 
twenty-four guns in ten days. On entering the 
city, it was the bitter disappointment and grief 
of the conquerors to find that those whom 
they fought to rescue were beyond all help. 

Havelock followed the enemy to Bhitoor. 
Pour thousand men, chiefly sepoys, defended 
the post the Nana had chosen. Two streams 
lay between the assailants and assailed, which 
could not be forded ; there were bridges, but 
they were fortified. This obliged Havelock 
to storm the position in front, which was 
accomplished with chivalrous valour, and the 
enemy chased for miles, but the English being 
without cavalry, could not maintain pursuit. 

The palace of the murderer was given 
to the flames, his guns were captured, and 
his intrenchments levelled. 

Havelock sent to Allahabad, where Neill re- 
mained in command, urging that officer to come 
to his assistance with what troops he could 
collect. Neill hastened forward with less than 
three hundred soldiers, and was nominated to 
the command of Cawnpore. This gallant 
soldier immediately proceeded to secure the 



place, and to bring to account all persons 
guilty of any participation in the late atroci- 
ties. He caused the high caste Brahmins to 
wash off the blood from the ensanguined floor 
where much of the slaughter had been perpe- 
trated. Many he hung, and manymore he blew 
away from guns. 

Neill's work at Cawnpore was as effectual 
as it was in itself revolting to his gallant 
heart. He avenged the fallen by many a 
sacrifice, and with his small garrison awed 
rebellion into stillness. Ilavelock's task was 
to advance upon Lucknow, where the brave 
garrison, under Brigadier-general Inglis, were 
maintaining a wondrous defence. Havelock 
surmounted all the difficulties which impeded 
his passage into Oude. He had scarcely 
marched six miles from the Ganges when he 
was met by a messenger from Lucknow, who 
had made his way through the enemy, and 
after encountering various perils, reached the 
general. He brought a plan of the city, pre- 
pared by Major Anderson, and various details 
of an important' nature from the pen of 
General Inglis. A man of less purpose and 
resource than Havelock must have shrunk 
from the undertaking before him. He had 
but fifteen hundred men, after the losses in- 
curred by battles, sickness, and sun-stroke. 
The number of his guns was ten, and these 
badly mounted. He could easily have brought 
with him twice that number, if cattle had 
been procurable ; but he would not have 
had a sufficient number of artillerymen to 
work them. He had received information 
from Lucknow that the enemy was strong in 
numbers, ordnance, and position. The Nana 
had again collected his forces, and with three 
thousand men was preparing to place himself 
between Havelock and the Ganges, so as to 
cut off the general's retreat upon Cawnpore. 
Seldom, if ever, was a commander placed in 
circumstances more trying and difficult — sel- 
dom, if ever, did one snatch victory and 
honour from fortune with so much glory. 

On the 29th of July, at Oouao, the enemy 
intercepted his march. They occupied a for- 
tified village, protected on each flank, so as 
to render it impossible to turn either. The 
position was stormed. The beaten enemy, 
as if reinforced, drew up in line upon the open 
plain. Havelock followed, and gained anotlier 
decided victory, capturing the enemy's guns, 
and with his invincible infantry putting a 
host of sowars, as well as sepoys, to flight. 
During these desperate encounters, Jupah 
Singh, a lieutenant of Nana Sahib, hung upon 
the British flank, watching for the least symp- 
tom of disorder to fall upon it. Disease now 
broke out in the British ranks, and carried off 
numbers. Havelock advanced to Busherunt- 



754 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. CXXXII. 



gunge, a fortified place, defended by a nume- 
rous and vindictive foe. Ho captured it before 
the sun set, thus gaining another victory on 
that day of glory. 

Cholera, dysentery, fever, all now smote 
the little band. To proceed without reinforce- 
ments would be annihilation. His few soldiers 
were in great destitution of all the requisites 
of an army. The general gave the reluctant 
but absolutely necessary order to retire upon 
Mungulwar. On the 31st they reached that 
place in their retrograde movement. From 
his halting-ground he sent back the sick and 
wounded to Cawnpore. Neill sent forward 
every disposable man that he had, and swelled 
Havelock's little band to the number of four- 
teen hundred Europeans; no natives remained, 
desertion, battle, sickness, and disbanding had 
annihilated them. Havelock's volunteer ca- 
valry reconnoitred the surrounding country, 
and as this corps consisted of officers be- 
longing to disbanded or revolted corps, they 
were very efficient, and were able to bring in 
valuable intelligence of the enemj^'s move- 
ments. It was discovered that the Nana's 
people had blocked up the line of march, and 
also the line of retreat, and the rebels were full 
of hope that they would cut off Havelock's 
entire force. The English chief having 
learned that his sick and wounded had 
reached that place in safety, and having re- 
ceived the small reinforcement sent forward 
by Neill, again advanced, and a second time 
found the enemy in force at Busheruntgunge. 
The disparity of force was such that victory 
could only be obtained by superior general- 
ship. The English chief threw his little force 
of cavalry in' front, disposing of them so as to 
make their numbers appear much greater 
than they were, while he sent his guns and 
infantry to turn the enemy's flanks. The 
clever manner in which tlfese dispositions 
were made, and the great celerity of move- 
ment characteristic of Havelock, led to signal 
success. The shells of the English created 
such havoc in the town that the enemy fled, 
and in their flight " ran the gauntlet" under 
a terrible fire of grape and rifle balls. Two 
guns were captured, and many of the rebels 
slain. The intelligence now received by 
Havelock left him no hope that with the 
force at his command he could force the road 
to Lucknow, far less conquer his wa^' to the 
relief of the residency. He again retired upon 
Mungulwar, and thence telegraphed to the 
commander-in-chief. Sir Patrick Grant, inform- 
ing him of the precise condition of affairs. 

On the morning of the 11th of August, 
General Havelock's men numbered one thou- 
sand; sickness, sun-stroke, and the late battle, 
had reduced the force with which his second 



advance was made by nearly one-third. Neill 
had only two hundred and fifty men at Cawn- 
pore able to do duty, and death had reduced 
the invalids to about an equal number. The 
enemy between Mungulwar and Lucknow 
numbered thirty thousand ; and there were 
at least three strongly-fortified positions on 
the road. At Bhitoor they had again col- 
lected in considerable numbers. All the 
zemindars and villagers had joined the se- 
poys. Such was the position of affairs when 
the English commander learned that four 
thousand rebels had advanced to the position 
of Busheruntgunge, from which the sepoys 
had been already twice driven by signal battle. 
It was necessary to dislodge these. During 
his march, the country people flocked armed 
to the enemy's lines, so as nearly to double 
the numbers in occupation of the strong de- 
fences which an abundant supply of labour 
had enabled them to throw up. Havelock 
found the obstacles greater on this occasion 
than on the two former instances of combat 
there. An advanced village, named Boursekee 
Chowkee, was defended by a strong redoubt. 
A party of the 78th Highlanders, without 
firing a shot, or uttering a shout, charged 
and captured this battery. Lieutenant Crowe 
was the first man to enter the redoubt, where, 
for a few moments, he remained unsupported, 
displaying the most heroic intrepidity. Have- 
lock recommended him for the Victoria Cross, 
which high honour he obtained. The loss of 
the enemy was very heavy, that of Havelock 
slight ; but every man by which the number 
of the British was diminished told terribly 
upon the little force, and rendered a success- 
ful advance against Lucknow more hopeless. 
Havelock determined to retire on Cawnpore, 
whither he arrived on the night of the 13th 
of August. It was well that this movement 
was executed, for Nana Sahib, with the ac- 
cession of the greater part of three revolted 
or disbanded regiments of sepoys, a large 
body of sowars, and a crowd of Mahrattas, 
was preparing to attack the diminutive gar- 
rison of Cawnpore. Havelock and Neill con- 
cocted a plan for dispersing these forces. 
Neill, with a few hundred men, attacked the 
extreme left of the Nana's army which me- 
naced Cawnpore, gained a victory, and drove 
the enemy from the immediate vicinity of the 
city. Havelock, mustering all the men which 
he and Neill had at their disposal, marched, 
on the 16th, to Bhitoor, and once more 
attacked that place. The Nana had about 
ten thousand men in a position before Bhitoor, 
which the experienced Havelock declared 
was one of the strongest he had ever seen. 
The brigadier had just thirteen hundred men. 
The plans laid for the attack were such as 




DETENDER OF THE GARRISON AT LUCKNOW. 



oyyi^TW^ ,Z, 



Chap. OXXXII.] 



IN INDIA ANt) THE EAST. 



IBS 



only a man of genius could conceive ; they 
were well calculated to effect great results 
with little cost of blood. The advance of the 
7Sth Highlanders, and Madras European Fusi- 
liers, upon the principal point of attack, was 
at once so rapid and orderly, so cautious, and 
yet fearless, that the enemy were struck with 
astonishment, yielded to panic, and wore 
utterly defeated. Some of the mutineers 
fought with greater courage than had been 
anywhere displayed by them, except at Delhi. 
Neill now demanded that a body of troops 
which had been marching and fighting for 
six weeks without intermission should have 
rest, or they must sink by sheer exhaus- 
tion. Havelock yielded to the opinion of his 
glorious colleague, and awaited reinforce- 
ments. In vain, however, did he telegraph ; 
the incompetency at Calcutta marred every- 
thing. Help from Allahabad was impossible ; 
there, and at Benares, the English were in 
daily alarm of attack or insurrection. The 
condition of Havelock now became one of 
the most imminent peril. So far from hoping 
to reach Lucknow, he telegraphed that he 
must abandon Cawnpore, as he had only 
seven hundred men fit for duty, while thirty - 
seven thousand mutineers and rebels menaced 
him on every side. He sent his sick and 
wounded to Allahabad. He could bring into 
the field eight efficiently mounted guns. The 
enemy, he knew, had thirty field-guns, well 
manned, and with all necessary materiel. He 
declared his willingness to " fight anything, 
and against all odds," but reminded the Cal- 
cutta authorities that " the loss of a single 
battle would be the ruin of everything in 
that part of India." 

On the 23rd of August, he heard from 
Lucknow that the garrison was suffering to 
extremity, that there were one hundred and 
twenty sick and wounded, two hundred and 
twenty women, and two hundred and thirty 
children. During the remainder of August, 
Havelock remained at Cawnpore, which place 
was almost invested by the rebels. 

Major-general Sir James Outram was ap- 
pointed to a local command, which placed him 
over Neill and Havelock. Sir Jamea arrived at 
Dinapore August the 18th. Just then Sir 
Colin Campbell landed to take the command 
of the army in India. Outram was finally 
ordered to advance witli such reinforcements 
as could be brought together from Allahabad 
to Cawnpore, and thence, with Havelock and 
Neill, to resume the march upon Lucknow. 
Outram found that seventeen hundred men 
had arrived at Allahabad ; with about four- 
teen hundred of these he proceeded to Cawn- 
pore. Outram, on his way, heard of a ma- 
noeuvre of the enemy to interrupt the com- 



munications between Cawnpore and Allahabad. 
Committing a small body of troops to Major 
Vincent Eyre, that officer mounted some on 
elephants, some on horses, and by various 
expedients accomplished a forced march aud 
a surprise, cutting up nearly the whole. 

On the 15th of September Outram reached 
Cawnpore. He was Havelook's senior officer, 
and the command of the relieving force de- 
volved upon him. He immediately issued 
an order of the day, declining to deprive 
Havelock of the command; that the noble 
deeds of that officer pointed him out as the 
general upon whom the honour of relieving 
Lucknow ought to devolve ; that Brigadier- 
general Havelock was promoted to the rank 
of Major-general, and that he, Sir James 
Outram, would accompany the force in his 
civil capacity as commissioner of Oude, and 
as a volunteer. He actually assumed the 
command of the volunteer horse. This noble 
act on the part of the gallant Outram was 
appreciated by his country, which was proud 
of the chivalry and magnanimity he displayed. 

On the 19th of September the British 
crossed the Ganges. On the 21st, they came 
up with the rebels at Mungulwar ; a battle 
ensued, in which the English disjilayed per- 
fect knowledge of the art of war, turned with 
ease the positions, and with little loss drove 
the enemy headlong, capturing four guns. 
The soldier whose personal valour on this 
occasion was most conspicuous was Sir James 
Outram, who, sword in hand, charged the 
guns, and set an example of dauntless bravery 
to the little army. This was the chief 
struggle on the march. 

When the British arrived at Lucknow, 
they had to fight their way through lanes of 
streets, and by enclosures, every wall loop- 
holed, and every defensible spot fortified. 
Through every obstacle the heroic soldiers 
forced their way, and arrived wearied, but 
victorious, at the residency. The joy of the 
garrison at Lucknow on the arrival of Have- 
lock was such as they alone can feel who « 
have escaped such great and terrible perils. 
From the death of Sir Henry Lawrence, 
already recorded, until Havelock forced his 
way to the residency, the little garrison was 
exposed to incessant attacks from enemies as 
cowardly as they were cruel. The state of 
excitement in which the beleaguered British 
were, upon the approach of the all-conquering 
Havelock, forms one of the most romantic and 
touching stories in a history so abounding in 
them. On the 22nd of September, spies made 
their way into the residency, and announced 
that Havelock was at hand. On the next 
day they heard a furious cannonade, but dis- 
tant ; the 24th, the cannonade nearer, but still 



766 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. CXXXII. 



distant, was renewed, and every ear listened 
with breathless suspense ; the bridge of boats 
across the river was covered with fugitive 
sepoys. Still hope was chequered with fear, 
for the spies had informed General Inglis 
tliat the relieving force was small, not much 
iiliove two thousand men, while it was known 
tliat more than fifty thousand rebels were 
prepared to dispute their entrance to Luck- 
now. At last the British were heard fighting 
their way through the streets. One* of 
those who fought ami suffered within the 
residency, a civilian, thus narrates the events 
of that exciting and all-important mo- 
ment : — " The immense enthusiasm with 
wliich they were greeted defies description. 
As their hurrah and ours rang in my ears, I 
was nigh bursting with joy. The tears started 
involuntarily into my eyes, and I felt — no I 
it is impossible to describe in words that 
sudden sentiment of relief, that mingled feel- 
ing of hope and pleasure that came over me. 
The criminal condemned to death, and, just 
when he is about to bo launched into eter- 
nity, is reprieved and pardoned, — or the 
shipwreckedsailor, whose hold on the wreck 
is rela'xing, and is suddenly rescued, can alone 
form an adequate idea of our feelings. Wo 
felt not only happy, happy beyond imagina- 
tion, and grateful to that God of mercy, who 
by our noble deliverers. Generals llavelock 
and.Outram, and their gallant troops, had thus 
snatched us from immineiit death; but we also 
felt proud of the defence wo had made, and the 
success with which, with such fearful odds to 
contend. against, we had jjreserved, not only 
our own lives, but the honour and lives of 
the ^yomen and children entrusted to our keep- 
ing.. As our deliverers poured in, they con- 
tinued to greet us with loud hurrahs ; and, as 
each garrison' heard it, we sent up one fear- 
ful shout to heaven — ' Hurrah I ' — it was not 
' God help us ' — it was the first rallying cry 
of a despairing host. Thank God, we then 
gazed upon new faces of our countrymen. 
AVe ran up to them — officers and men, with- 
out distinction— and shook them by the hand, 
how cordially who can describe? The shrill 
tones of the Highlanders' bagpipes now 
pierced our ears. Not the most beautiful 
music ever was more welcome, more joy- 
bringing. And these brave men themselves, 
many of them bloody and exhausted, forgot 
the pain of their wounds, the fatigue of over- 
coming the fearful obstacles tliey had com- 
batted for our sakes, in the pleasure of having 
accomplished our relief." 

Immediately on joining the garrison at the 
residency Sir James Outram assumed the 

* Mr. L. K. lluiUz ]ieei' I'crsonal Narrative, p. 321. 



supreme authority. Generals Havelock and 
Inglis, who had so nobly distinguished them- 
selves in the responsibility of independent 
commanders, acted in obedience to the orders 
of his excellency the commissioner for Oude 
and commander of the British forces in that 
and neighbouring provinces. From the death 
of Sir lloury Lawrence to the arrival of 
Outram and Havelock,General Inglis defended 
the residency with indomitable fortitude, and 
with a skill which raised him to a high place 
amongst British generals. The defence of 
the residency of Lucknow by Inglis would 
require a whole volume to do it justice. Its 
details, chiefly military, or records of suffer- 
ings and faith on the part of the garrison, are 
alone suitable to an especial narrative of that 
sei}arate episode of Indian war. 

The relieving army did not possess sufficient 
strength to drive away the rebels. The whole 
force was hemmed in until a fresh relief, under 
the command of Sir Colin Campbell, arrived 
in November. During that interval fierce 
attacks were made upon the garrison, and 
much heroism was required for its defence. 
Provisions ran short, cholera was among the 
soldiers and civilians, so that brief as was the 
space of time which elapsed until the arrival 
of Sir Colin, it was spent arduously aud 
anxiously. As soon as Sir James Outram 
perceived that he could not withdraw the 
garrison, he determined to enlarge the space 
occupied by his troops, both from military 
and sanitary considerations. Part of the 
newly-arrived force had maintained a position 
outside of the enclosure during the night 
after their arrival ; means were taken to secure 
and even extend that position. It was deemed 
desirable to include within it the clock-tower, 
the jail, a mos(iue, the Taree Kattree, the 
palace called Pureed Buksh, the Pyne Bagh 
(or garden), and other buildings, gardens, and 
houses. The 2Gth was a day of conflict and 
toil to secure these objects, to collect the 
wounded without the residency, and bear them 
to a place of safety. 'Wheu the palaces and 
other buildings were thus brought within the 
garrison enclosure they were regarded no 
longer with respect, but their contents were 
made a spoil by the conquerors, according to 
the usages of war in such cases. Mr. Kees 
(already quoted) gives a graphic description 
of what then occurred : — " Everywhere might 
be seen people helping themselves to what- 
ever they pleased. Jewels, shawls, dresses, 
pieces of satin, silk, broadcloths, coverings, 
rich embroidered velvet saddles for horses 
and elephants, the most magnificent divan 
carpets studded with pearls, dresses of cloth 
of gold, turbans of the most costly brocade, 
the finest muslins, the most valuable swords 







LONDON JAMES S VIRTUE 



Chap. CXXXII.] 



m INDIA AND THE EAST. 



757 



and poniards, thousands of flint-guns, caps, 
muskets, ammunition, cash, books, pictures, 
Jiuropean locks, English clothes, full-dress 
officers' uniforms, epaulettes, aiguillettes, 
manuscripts, charms ; vehicles of the most 
grotesque forms, shaped like fish, dragons, 
and sea-horses ; imauns, or representations of 
the prophet's hands ; cups, saucers, cooking- 
utensils, china-ware sufficient to set up fifty 
merchants in Lombard Street, scientific in- 
struments, ivory telescopes, pistols, and (what 
was better than all) tobacco, tea, rice, grain, 
spices, and vegetables." 

Sir James organized a system by which 
some intelligence might be almost daily 
learned of the proceedings of friends and 
foes. His first information was that one of 
the royal princes, a child eight or nine years 
old, had been made King of Oude, or viceroy 
to the King of Delhi, and he was supported 
by a council of state. Sir James also learned 
that Sir Mountstuart Jackson, his sister, and 
other fugitives from Setapore, were prisoners 
in the city, and that the day of their execution 
was appointed. 

Throughout the month of October there 
was much fighting; General Inglis com- 
manded in the residency, General Havelock 
in the outer portion of the defence : liis was 
undoubtedly the post of danger, labour, and 
anxiety, and the genius which characterized 
his advance from Cawnpore was displayed in 
his defence of the Lucknow residency. In 
order to facilitate the advance of Sir Colin 
Campbell, Havelock was incessantly engaged 
blowing up houses and clearing streets, so as 
to lessen the opposition which the commander- 
in-chief would receive. About four miles 
from the residency was a place called Alum 
Bagh, where Havelock had left a few hundred 
men on his advance, and with them his 
stores and baggage, sick, wounded, and camp 
followers. The enemy got between these 
two places, cut off the communication, and 
laid siege to both. The Alum Bagh garrison 
was enabled, however, to keep open a portion 
of the Cawnpore road, and the garrison there 
maintained communication, sending some 
reinforcements and considerable supplies to 
the Alum Bagh. Thus on the 3rd of October 
a convoy arrived of a valuable nature, which 
three hundred men were enabled to escort. 
On the 14th a second convoy was dispatched 
from Cawnpore, but was driven back by the 
enemy. A third convoy was successful. 
Colonel Wilson skilfully kept open the com- 
munication with such driblets of troops as 
from time to time reached Cawnpore. The 
rebels left the Alum Bagh comparatively un- 
molested, nearly their whole energies being 
devoted to the subjugation of the residency. 

VOL. II. 



ADVANCE OF SIR COLIN CAMPBELL. 
When Sir Colin arrived in India he found 
it necessary to remain some weeks at Calcutta 
to mature his plans, and organize reinforce- 
ments and supplies. Troops from various 
quarters were arriving at Calcutta. They were 
dispatched at the rate of about ninety a day. 
Detachments from China arrived, and two 
war steamers were placed at the service of 
the governor-general by Lord Elgin, the 
plenipotentiary of her Britannic Majesty for 
China. Captain Peel, R.N., was sent up the 
country with a body of five hundred seamen, 
and heavy cannon. The mercantile marines 
at Calcutta gallantly volunteered to serve with 
Captain Peel. That officer and his sailors, 
with Colonel Powel and a detachment of 
troops, were marching from Allahabad to 
Cawnpore, when they were attacked by two 
thousand sepoys and two thousand insurgents. 
A battle was lought, which was severe in its 
contest, and serious in its consequences. 
Colonel Powel was shot. Peel took tlie com- 
mand, and fought with the skill of a general, 
defeating and utterly dispersing the enemy, 
but incurring heavy loss. He had to rest 
his men, regain fresh force, and then proceeded 
to Cawnpore. Various detachments made 
their way thither. The conquest of Delhi 
had set free a portion of the besieging army, 
which joined the other reinforcements. 

At last Sir Colin reached Cawnpore, and on 
the 9th November began his march to Luck- 
now, with the following force : her majesty's 
8th, 53rd, 7oth, and 93rd foot ; 2nd and 4:th 
Punjaub infantry; her majesty's 9th lancers; 
detachments 1st, 2nd, and 5th Punjaub 
cavalry ; detachment Hodson's Horse ; de- 
tachments Bengal and Punjaub sappers and 
miners ; naval brigade, 8 guns ; Bengal horse 
artillery, 10 guns ; Bengal horse field-battery, 
6 guns ; heavy field-battery. Total — about 
700 cavalry, and 2,700 infantry, besides 
artillery. The general officers by whom he 
was assisted were General Mansfield, as chief 
of the staff; Brigadier-generals Hope Grant, 
Greathed, Russell, Adrian Hope, Little, and 
Crawford. Little commanded the cavalry, 
and Crawford the artillery. Captain Peel 
commanded the naval brigade ; Lieutenant 
Lennox, the engineers. 

Sir Colin arrived with little opposition at 
Lucknow. He was much aided in his advance 
and in the plans he formed, by intelligence 
from the garrison brought by Mr. Cavanagh, 
a civil servant of the company, who won the 
Victoria Cross by the heroism he displayed in 
this adventure. On Sir Colin's side the 
portion of the combined operation was per- 
formed with heavy loss, so desi)erately was 

6 E 



%88 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. CXXXII, 



he resisted ty the sepoys in their fortified 
positions. That loss would have been more 
heavy but for the extraordinary courage, skill, 
and adventure of Captain Peel, who laid his 
great guns "alongside" (as a sailor would 
Bay) the Shah Nuzeef, a fortified mosque, and 
■with his heavy shot, at so close a range, swept 
destruction against everything opposed to 
them. But for the fire of the Enfields, borne 
by the Highlanders, Peel and his sailors must 
have perished before they could have dragged 
their big gnns to so close a position. Camp- 
bell resolved not to force his way through 
the long narrow lanes where Havelock and 
Outram suffered so severely, but, profiting by 
their experience, and the information trans- 
mitted to him by them, lie made his approach 
l^y the south-eastern suburb. In order to 
effect this, it was necessary that Havelock 
should co-operate in a bold and skilful 
manoeuvre, flavelock's part in the transaction 
was performed with his usual skill and courage, 
and was the measure which insured Sir Colin's 
success. The operations of Sir Colin were a 
series of isolated sieges and bombardments of 
palaces, mosques, and huge public buildings. 
To spare his men he used his cannon delibe- 
rately and amply, and thus step by step, but 
still with heavy loss, conquered his way until 
he entered the residency. Ten officers were 
killed and thirty-three wounded ; among the 
latter were Sir Colin himself and Captain 
Peel. Of the rank and file one hundred and 
twenty-two were killed, and three hundred 
and forty-five wounded. The loss of the 
enemy was estimated at four thousand slain ; 
the wounded and many of the dead were 
borne away. Once more the joy of the 
delivered resounded in the residency of Luck- 
now, and, as on the 25th of September, grate- 
ful hearts poured out their expressions of 
thanksgiving to their deliverers. 

Sir Colin resolved to convey the garrison to 
Cawnpore, and abandon Lucknow, as unten- 
able by so small a force, in the presence of an 
enemy which, notwithstanding all losses, was 
estimated at fifty thousand men, for after every 
defeat numbers still flocked to the standard of 
revolt. The orders given for departure were, 
that the wounded should first be removed 
to the Dil Koosha, four miles distant. The 
women and children were to proceed the next 
day to the same place, accompanied by the 
treasure and such stores as it was judicious 
to move. It was necessary that this work 
should be performed in silence and secrecy, 
to avoid the confusion and sacrifice of life 
■which must ensue if the enemy should be on 
the alert. There were three places in which 
the helpless processions must come under the 
fire of the enemy, which was usually directed 



upon the defences; some were wounded in 
passing, and- some of the native attendants 
were killed. Lady Inglis distinguished her- 
self by a fortitude and generosity worthy of 
her gallant husband. When the non-combat- 
ants were safely conducted beyond the perils 
of the residency, the military evacuation of 
the place was commenced. The conduct of 
it was under the guidance of Sir James 
Outram, and excited the admiration of Sir 
Colin Campbell and of the whole army. So 
effectually was the enemy deceived by the 
arrangements, that the whole force was brought 
quietly off before the movement was even 
suspected. One man only was left behind; 
Captain Waterman, from a mistake of orders, 
occupied a post when all besides had departed. 
When he discovered his real situation he 
sought safety, and reached the conmion 
rendezvous in a state of utter exhaustion. 
Not a soldier perished in this masterly 
manoeuvre, and so well was it executed that, 
long after the whole army had left, the enemy 
continued to pour shot and shell into the 
intrenchments where the English were sup- 
posed to be. When the sepoys found that 
the English had brought off their women and 
wounded, the children, stores, and treasure, 
they were filled with fury, and blew away 
from guns the four Englishmen who had been 
prisoners in the citj'. One event threw a 
gloom over all the glory of this achievement : 
Havelock, by whom Outram was chiefly 
assisted in the great undertaking, died of over 
fatigue, exhaustion, and anxiety. The lamen- 
tations of the army were great, and tliose of 
his country not less so. He was buried in 
the Alum Bagh. England lost in him one of 
the greatest of her warriors and purest of her 
sons. She failed to recognise his greatness 
until life was waning, and rendered him post- 
humous honours. 

Immediately after the sad event of Have- 
lock's death, Sir Colin commenced his march 
for Cawnpore. He intended to rest his weary 
charge at the Alum Bagh, but on the 27th he 
heard heavy firing in the direction of Cawn- 
pore, which, fearing some disaster, led him to 
hasten the march. On the 28th, leaving 
Outram in charge of a part of the force at 
the Alum Bagh, he hastened forward, messen- 
gers having arrived to assure him that 
General Windham, who had been left in 
Cawnpore, had been beaten by the Gwalior 
contingent, which, after it had mutinied, hung 
around that neighbourhood. The events at 
Cawnpore which led to these disastrous 
tidings, and which were subsequently con- 
nected with Sir Colin's advance, were de- 
scribed by Captain Monson as follows : — 

" On the 26th November General Windham 



Chap. OXXXIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



759 



left his carap near Dhuboulee with 1200 
infantry, 100 sowars, and eight guns, and 
marched against the Gwahor mutineers ap- 
proaching from Calpee. He met the ad- 
vanced body of the enemy in a strong posi- 
tion, on the other side of the dry Pandoo 
Nuddee, carried it with a rush, and cleared 
the village (Bowsee), half a mile in rear. 
The appearance of the main body of the 
rebels, however, induced him to repair to- 
wards Cawnpore, and he encamped on the 
Jooee plain, in front of the town, with the 
copse and canal on his left flank. 

" About noon, on the 27th, the enemy at- 
tacked his camp, and after a resistance of five 
hours, at length compelled him to retreat 
through the town. On the morning of the 
28th, the enemy, having been reinforced from 
Sheorajpore and Shewlee, advanced, took 
possession of the town, and erected batteries. 
Colonel Walpole, on the south side of the 
canal, gained some advantage, and captured 
two IS-poundera ; but our outposts, between 
the town and the Ganges, were driven back, 
the church and assembly rooms were occupied 
by the mutineers, and a battery erected be- 
tween the two. A few of the enemy's guns 
were spiked in the course of the day ; but 
this exploit entailed heavy loss. 

"Sir Colin Campbell arrived at the intrench- 
ment at dusk on the 28th, and his troops 
began to cross the Ganges at 10 a.m., on the 
29th ; the enemy's fire on the bridge being 
kept down by heavy guns placed on the left 
bank of the river, whilst the march of the 
troops was covered by a cross-fire from in- 
trenchments. At 6 p.m., November 30th, 
the whole of the troops, baggage, families, 
and wounded, had crossed over, and the 
troops occupied a position encircling Sir H. 
Wheeler's intrenchment. An attack on our 
outposts, Ist December, was repulsed, and on 
the 3rd, Sir Colin Campbell, by judicious 
arrangements, had forced the enemy to slacken 



their fire. An attempt, on the 4th, to de- 
stroy the bridge, by means of a fire-boat, 
failed ; and another attack on our left picket 
was repulsed on the 6th. 

" On the morning of the 6th, General 
Windham received orders to open a heavy 
bombardment from intrenchments, so iis to 
deceive the enemy with respect to our in- 
tended attack. As soon as the fire began to 
slacken. Sir Colin concentrated his forces, 
threw forward his left, and proceeded to 
attack the enemy's right, crossing the canal 
thus: — Brigadier Walpole on the right. Briga- 
diers Hope and Inglis in the centre, and the 
cavalry and horse artillery, two miles further 
to the left, threatening the enemy's rear. 
Driving the enemy before them, our troops 
reached and captured his camp; the 23rd 
and 38th were left to guard it. Sir Colin 
Campbell, preceded by the cavalry and 
horse artillery, pursued the enemy to the 
fourteenth milestone on the Calpee road ; 
whilst General Mansfield, with the Kiflea, 
93rd, and fourteen guns, turned to the right, 
and drove another body of the rebels, en- 
camped between the town and the river, 
from their position at the Subadar Tank. 
The enemy, still in great force, but hemmed 
in between our intrenchment and the Subadar 
Tank, retreated towards Bhitoor ; not, how- 
ever, without making several unsuccessful 
attacks against our positions at the Subadar 
Tank, the captured camp, and the intrench- 
ment." 

Cawnpore was now safe. The non-com- 
batants of Sir Colin's convoy were sent under 
safe guard to Allahabad, and thence to Cal- 
cutta, where they arrived amidst the most 
extraordinary demonstrations of joy, and 
amidst many grateful utterances to the 
heroic men by whom their rescue had been 
effected. 

The further exploits of Sir Colin and his 
army will be related in another chapter. 



CHAPTER CXXXIII. 

OPERATIONS FROM CAWNPORE UNDER THE DIRECTION OF SIR COLIN CAMPBELL- 
CONQUEST OF LUCKNOW, SHAHJEHANPORE, AND BAREILLY— SUPPRESSION OF THE 
MUTINY IN OUDE, ROHILCUND, AND NEIGHBOURING DISTRICTS. 



The first operation of Sir Colin Campbell 
after the defeat of the Gwalior contingent at 
Cawnpore, and the escape of the liberated 
garrison of Lucknow to Calcutta, was to order 
Brigadier Walpole to take a column of troops 
to clear the western Doab near the Jumna, 



of the rebels gathered there. This was an 
important preliminary to any advance upon 
Lucknow. On the 18th of 13ecemher, Wal- 
pole left Cawnpore, and as he marched 
restored order, dispersing armed parties which 
had been formed by the Gwalior mutineers. 



760 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. CXXXIII. 



He then marched towards Etawah, for the 
purpose of sweeping the country around Agra 
of the rebel bands which infested it. After 
partially effecting tliis object, he was ordered 
to co-operate with Brigadier Seaton and with 
Sir Colin himself in the capture of Furruck- 
abad. It was important to achieve the 
capture of that place, from its position being 
the key of the Doab, Rohilcund, and Oude. 
In January, 1858, the junction of these 
officers was formed, and Furrnckabad and 
all the surrounding country subdued. The 
rebels, however, escaped with very little 
punishment, owing to their greater swiftness 
of march, and their being unencumbered 
with the vast baggage which always attends 
European troops in India. Other brigadiers, 
such as Rowcroft, Franks, and Hope Grant, 
were also engaged in moving by a concerted 
scheme upon the grand scene of future action. 

Sir Colin was better enabled to mature his 
plans, as they were not likely to be inter- 
rupted by any new revolts in the Bengal 
provinces. The Bengal army was gone, the 
seditious chiefs were already in arms, the 
districts which could be affected by their 
means were already insurgent ; whereas Dellii 
was conquered, the Punjaub was tranquil 
and loyal, the country between Delhi and the 
Punjaub was kept in order by the ability 
and courage of Van Cortlandt ; the Bombay 
and Madras presidencies were able on their 
own frontiers to menace the mutineers, and 
also send some help to Calcutta ; and troops 
were arriving fast from England, although in 
detachments numerically small, and showing 
that the government in London had formed 
notions of aid inadequate to the emergency. 
By the middle of January, 1858, however, 
the number of troops landed in India from 
England was estimated at 23,000 men. Some 
of these were landed at Madras and Bombay, 
and were necessary to supply the places of 
other troops already sent to Bengal, or sent 
up the country ; others which had landed at 
Calcutta were necessary for that city, Bar- 
rackpore, Benares, Allahabad, Eastern Bengal, 
&c., which had all been nearly denuded of 
troops, that had already become invalided or 
fallen in battle. Portions of the reinforcements 
were landed in ill-health, and others imme- 
diately succumbed to the climate, consisting 
as they did of mere raw lads. So that after 
all. Sir Colin did not receive troops at all 
approaching the number requisite for the 
proper accomplishment of the great task 
before him. 

During this period of the inactivity of the 
commander-in-chief, Jung Bahadoor and his 
Goorkhaswere capturing rebel chiefs, and dis- 
persing rebel hordes along the Oude frontier. 



That leader, and Brigadiers Rowcroft and 
Franks, formed a cordon from Nepaul to the 
Ganges, such as they supposed would hem in 
the rebels of Oude. 

Although Sir Colin remained in Futtyghur, 
his brigadiers were engaged in active opera- 
tions, for the rebels boldly approached head- 
quarters, and made dispositions as if to shut 
up the general there. On the 27th, Adrian 
Hope gained a splendid victory over a supe- 
rior force. Soon after, he gained a second 
victory, which was more severely fought. 
In this, Major Hodson, the gallant cavalier 
who organized " Hodson's Horse," was fatally 
wounded. 

These different operations had the effect of 
drawing away or clearing away the rebels 
from extensive districts beyond, and Agra 
became again free, and a centre of active 
operations against the mutineers, many of 
whom were brought in prisoners and exe- 
cuted. At this time so great was the leniency 
displayed at Calcutta, that mutineers are 
alleged to have appeared in its streets selling 
their uniforms. 

On the 11th of February, Sir Colin at last 
began his march against Lucknow. It was a 
slow one, especially as the general brought 
with him 200 pieces of cannon. He was also 
checked by what might be called a rebel 
army of observation, which had assembled 
with remarkable celerity at Calpee. 

Sir Colin was now approaching the Alum 
Bagh. Brigadier Franks had fought his way 
through the districts of Azinghur, Allahabad, 
and Juanpore, defeating the rebels at all 
points, and was approaching the grand army 
under Sir Colin. When this junction was 
formed, the " Juanpore field force " formed a 
fourth infantry division under Franks. 

While this bold brigadier awaited on the 
frontier the orders of Sir Colin, he snatched 
a glorious victory from the rebels. He crossed 
into Oude near Sengramow. A rebel army 
sent from Lucknow, commanded by Xazim 
Mahomed Hossein, advanced in two divisions, 
hoping to surprise Franks. The brigadier 
surprised them, caught the divisions, and 
beat them in detail, utterly routing the whole 
force. He captured six guns, and slew 800 
men. A desperate race was now run between 
the nazim and the brigadier as to which 
should obtain possession of the fort of Bad- 
shaigunge, commanding the pass and jungle 
so notoriously bearing the same name. The 
generalship of Franks gained the object. The 
nazim, joined by Bunda Hossein, another dis- 
tinguished leader of the Oudeans, resolved to 
attack Franks. More than GOOO of their 
forces were revolted sepoys and sowars, the 
rest insurgents, but well accustomed to the 



Chap. CXXXIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



761 



uae of arms. Each party endeavoured to 
out -manoeuvre tlie other, and at last the col- 
lision came, not at the fort, but near Sultan- 
pore. The position of the enemy was good, 
the generalship of Franks better; he, by 
skilful and intricate manoeuvres, such as our 
generals are not usually expert in employing, 
totally confused and discomfited the enemy, 
capturing twenty guns, and all their ammu- 
nition and baggage. About 1800 rebels were 
left killed or wounded on the field, among 
whom were several rebel chiefs. The day of 
vengeance had indeed come. The baffled 
sepoys and insurgents fled to Lucknow, 
leaving the road open to Franks if he should 
choose to join the commander-in-chief in that 
way. In the three battles, Franks lost two 
men killed, and sixteen wounded. 

Jung Bahadoor approached the great 
centre of conflict more slowly than the com- 
mander-in-chief himself. 

At the beginning of IMarch, Brigadier 
Seaton captured, levelled, and burned a num- 
ber of villages round Futtyghur, slaying and 
expelling bodies of rebels in every instance. 
One impediment to the advance of Sir Colin 
had been the neighbourhood of the Gwahor 
contingent, who were well equipped, well 
armed, and, it was believed, well commanded. 
Brigadier Maxwell encountered their force 
near Cawnpore, and routed it, having only a 
few men wounded. Brigadier Hope Grant 
had severe fighting in driving out the rebels 
from various small but strong forts and posts 
which they occupied between Cawnpore and 
Futtyghur. He slew about fifteen hundred 
rebels, and did not himself lose twenty men. 
His skilful combinations and fire saved his 
men, when every European was so precious. 
Still the rebels perpetually appeared where 
least expected, and the presence of the Nana 
Sahib, or of the Gwalior contingent, now 
here, then there, as if by magic, kept the 
English officers much harassed, and conti- 
nually on the qui vive. 

The hour was gradually arriving when 
Lucknow must resist the might of England 
or perish. The plans of Sir Colin were every 
day telling. The brigadiers on the frontiers, 
and the Goorkha chief, were closing in and 
making narrower the circle within which, 
apparently, the rebellion must assert its vita- 
lity. Sir Colin advanced to Lucknow. Along 
the right bank of the Goomtee, for five miles, 
palaces and public buildings stretched away; 
farther from the river lay a dense mass of 
narrow streets and lanes. Beyond the build- 
ing called the Muchee Bhawan, there was a 
stone bridge over the river. Near the resi- 
dency there was an iron bridge, and a bridge 
of boats near the building called the Motee 



Mahal. The rebels, while in undisturbed 
possession, had fortified the place, and made 
it immensely strong. Ditches, earthworks, 
,bastions, batteries, loopholed walls, fortified 
houses, gardens, enclosures, barricaded streets 
and lanes, guns mounted on domes and public 
buildings, piles of rubbish, and rude masonry 
of enormous thickness, — in fine, all resources 
which a great city could supply to mutinous 
soldiery were brought into requisition. The 
defenders were very numerous, comprising 
the whole population of three hundred thou- 
sand persons, Oude soldiery and retainers of 
various chiefs to the extent of fifty thousand, 
and sowars and sepoys, deserters from the 
army of Bengal, thirty thousand. A moulvie, 
a Mussulman fanatic, who perpetually in- 
cited the Mohammedans to acts of hostility, 
was supposed to aim at the throne himself. 

On the 1st of March, Sir Colin, in his camp 
at Buntara, considered his plan of attack. 
He resolved to cannonade the city on each 
extremity, so as to enfilade the defences. 
His first preparation was for crossing the 
river. The enemy had removed the bridge 
of boats ; the iron and stone bridges were 
commanded by batteries, and vigilantly 
watched. To invest the city was impossible, 
from its great extent. Attended by Generals 
Archdale Wilson, Little, Lugard, Adrian 
Hope, and Hope Grant, he advanced to the 
Dil Koosha palace and park on the eastern 
extremity of the city. This movement was 
for strategical purposes. The enemy's horse 
watched and menaced the approach. As the 
troopers retired, the guns of the defence 
opened with rapid and well-sustained fire. 
Sir Colin carried the Dil Koosha and the 
Mohenud Bagh, and occupied them as ad- 
vanced pickets. Sir Colin perceived from 
the summits of the conquered parts that the 
defences could only be stormed at a terrible 
sacrifice of life, and success might be doubt- 
ful ; that the conquest of the place must be 
effected by artillery. He sent for his siege- 
train, and other heavy guns, and placed 
them in position. His army lay with its 
right on the Goomtee, and its left extending 
towards the Alum Bagh, covering the ground 
to the south-east of the city. The Dil 
Koosha was head -quarters. On the 4th, the 
English lines were extended to Babiapore, a 
house and enclosure further down the right 
bank of the river. The inhabitants began to 
flee from the city, to the annoyance of the 
court and the mutineers, who calculated upon 
the townspeople making a desperate resist- 
ance. On the 5th, General Franks, after his 
splendid victories, joined the commander-in- 
chief. The army under Sir Colin was now 
about twenty-three thousand. He had cal- 



762 



HISTORY OP THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. CXXXIII. 



culated upon having a force exceeding thirty 
thousand, as the least which afforded a pros- 
pect of complete success. The engineers had 
been preparing, since the Ist, the means of 
forming two bridges near the English ad- 
vanced post of Babiapore, so as to operate 
upon the left as well as the right bank of the 
river. The bridges were completed in spite 
of the attempts of the enemy to obstruct 
them; and to Sir James Outram was en- 
trusted the command of the forces destined 
to operate on the opposite bank of the river. 
A remarkable exemplification of the power 
of science and modern scientific discovery in 
•war, was shown in the use of the electric wire. 
Lieutenant Stewart followed Sir Colin Camp- 
bell, in the novel capacity of chief of his elec- 
tric staff, with his wires, galvanic batteries, 
poles, &c. These were laid along from Allah- 
abad, where the governor-general was, to 
Cawnpore, thence to the Alum Bagh, thence 
to Sir Colin's head-quarters, and thence over 
the river to the head-quarters of Sir James 
Ontram, when that officer and his corj)s 
iVarmee crossed the newly-made bridges. 

On the 6th, the first important combat 
commenced ; previous conflicts were mere 
skirmishes. Sir James was then attacked in 
force, but with little loss repelled assaults 
which were continued all day. On the 7th, 
these assaults were renewed with still more 
energy, and yet less success. 

On the 9tb, Sir James opened his batteries 
upon the key of the enemy's position in that 
quarter, the Chukhur Walla Kathee. He 
drove the enemy fiom their positions by the 
resistless fire of his guns ; they abandoned 
strong posts which might have been easily 
defended, and which Outram seized, advancing 
his infantry as that of the enemy receded. 
Crossing a bridge over a nullah, he advanced 
his right flank to the Pyzabad road. Some 
Mohammedan fanatics barricaded themselves 
in the Yellow House, and were with difficulty 
conquered ; some fled, but most of them 
perished. Several villages were seized by the 
conqueror, and he advanced to the king's 
garden or Padishaw Bagh, opposite the 
Fureek Buksh palace. These conquests 
enabled him to open an enfilade fire on the 
defences' of the Kaiser Bagh. "When the 
Yellow House was captured byOutram,Camp- 
bell ordered a cannonade against the Mar- 
tiniere. This was chiefly conducted by Sir 
William Peel and his sailors, and so skilfully 
did he cast ball, red-hot shot, shell, and 
rocket into the enclosures occupied by the 
sepoys, that great destruction of life was 
caused. Captain Peel received a musket- 
ball in the thigh, which was extracted im- 
mediately, aud he insisted ou returuiug to his 



duty. Sir Edward Lugard, and a body of 
Highlanders and Sikhs, stormed the Mar- 
tiniere without firing a shot ; the loss was 
small. All these successes had been planned 
by Sir Colin himself, who issued his orders 
with minute particularisation. 

On the 10th, Outram'a heavy guns raked 
the enemy's outer line of defence, while 
vertical shot fell among the groups of infantry 
whenever collected near that line. He con- 
quered by his fire the head of the iron 
bridge completely, and nearly subdued the 
defence at the head of the stone bridge. 
General Lugard captured Banks House, and 
mounted guns there — an important object to 
the attack. 

The first or outer line of defence was now 
conquered. Outram on the 11th took possession 
of the iron bridge leading from the canton- 
ment to the city, and drove the rebels out 
from all their positions between that bridge 
and the Padishaw Bagh on the left bank of the 
river. On Sir Colin's side, Brigadier Napier, 
using the blocks of buildings for apjiroaches, 
sapped through them, bringing up guns and 
mortars as he advanced his works, and bom- 
barded the palaces of the Begum Kotee. 
When a breach was made, Lugard and Adrian 
Hope, with their Highlanders. Sikhs, and 
Goorkhas, stormed the place. The resistance 
was desperate, and the conflict sanguinary, 
but the British were victors. Napier con- 
tinued to sap on through houses, garden 
walls, and enclosures, turning them all to 
account for cover, and again brought up the 
artillery to open its destructive charges upon 
the next interposing defence. While the 
attack on the Begum Kotee was going on, 
Jung Bahadoor arrived. His force was 
directed to cover the left wing of the British 
as its allotted task. The capture of the 
Begum Kotee was one of the most sanguinary 
scenes of war. The rooms of the palace were 
strewn with dead sepoys, while fragments of 
ladies' apparel, and other tokens of oriental 
grandeur, rent and blood-stained, lay around. 
Mr. Russell declared that the horrid scenes in 
the hospital of Sebastopol, were inferior in 
appalling aspect to the rooms of that gaudy 
palace filled with the festering dead, and 
slippery with gore. From this building the 
sapping was continued to the Eman Barra, in 
the same way as before, through buildings and 
enclosures. So intricate were the passages, 
that it was the 13th before the guns and 
mortars for battering and breaching the Eman 
Barra could be brought forward. On that 
day Jung Bahadoor and his Nepaulese seized 
many out-buildings, and circumscribed the 
limits of the enemy. On the 14th the Eman 
Barra was breached and taken. The Sikhs, 



Chap. OXXXIII.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



768 



pursuing the enemy from the captured post, 
turned the third or inmost line of defence, 
entered the Kaiser Bagh, and, followed by 
supports from Franks' brigade, a number of 
the most important public buildings, loopholed 
and defended by cannon, were taken without 
a shot. Sir James Outram, from his side, 
with cannon and rifle aided the work of the 
14th. 

On the 15th Sir Colin perceived that the 
defences were untenable, and that final 
victory must soon crown his efforts. The 
enemy also perceived this ; crowds of the 
people were fleeing from the city, and the 
sepoys were with difficulty kept in the de- 
fences. The plunder of the palaces followed 
their capture : costly garments, Indian 
jewellery, precious stones, gold and silver, 
lace and specie, were the prizes of the con- 
querors. Luxuriant viands also gratified the 
hungry and refreshed the weary. 

On the night of the 14th and the morning 
of tlie 16th many of the sepoys fled towards 
Upper Oude and Rohilcund. Sir Colin does 
not appear to have been prepared for this, 
and in consequence many desperate characters 
got safely away to rob and murder elsewhere. 
On the 16th Outram crossed the engineers' 
bridge, and marched right through the city 
to intercept fugitives if possible. He then 
received a proposition from the begum,offering 
to compromise matters. Outram refused any 
terms but those of unconditional surrender, 
and conquered his way to the residency, of 
which he took possession. Hard fighting 
began near the iron and stone bridges, and a 
great slaughter of rebels ensued. Their 
ingenuity and local knowledge enabled many 
to escape by means which the English could 
not frustrate. On the 17th the British were 
completely masters of the city. The enemy 
gathered in force outside its precincts and 
fought a battle, but Outram and Jung Baha- 
door routed them with slaughter, capturing 
their guns. So bold were the rebels that in 
their retreat they attempted the Alum Bagh. 
Here Jung Bahadoor fought several severe 
combats, defeating the assailants. During 
the final day of combat in the city Mrs. Orr 
and Miss Jackson were rescued from an ob- 
scure house, where they had been imprisoned. 
After the city was subdued it was discovered 
that the moulvie and a strong body of fol- 
lowers were concealed in one of the palaces : 
the place was stormed, the prime -minister 
was slain, but the moulvie escaped ; shot 
and sabre left few of this straiige garrison to 
become fugitives. Sir Colin lost nineteen 
officers killed, and forty-eight wounded, and 
more than eleven hundred men. The loss of 
the enemy was many thousands, but the great 



majority escaped from indifferent pursuit. An 
earlier flight than could have been expected, 
according to the rules of war, baffled the 
general. Lucknow was taken, but the rebel 
army was in the field. 

CAMPAIGN OF THE COMMANBER-IN-CHIEF 
AFTER THE FALL OP LUCKNOW. 

When the Europeans in Calcutta, and when 
the people of England, heard that the rebels 
had been allowed to escape from Lucknow 
with impunity, there was. severe criticism 
upon the strategy of the British chief, and 
much discontent. This was increased when 
it was learned that Sir Colin lingered at Luck- 
now until the hot season, in all its fury, fell 
upon the plains of India. It was certain that 
no prompt energetic action, no bold and 
enterprising undertakings, followed the con- 
quest of Lucknow. Mr. Montgomery, the 
colleague of Sir John Lawrence, was ap; 
pointed civil commissioner in the room of Sir 
James Outram, for whom other work and 
other honours were reserved. He was ap- 
pointed military member of the council at 
Calcutta. ^ _.,, 

In Rohilcund the chiefs of rebellion were 
now congregated ; Khan Bahadoor Khan 
assuming the sovereignty. Among the chiefs 
collected around him was Nana Sahib, who 
fled to Bareilly with four hundred troopers. 
He took part in the defence of Lucknow, but 
did not distinguish himself by his courage. 
It was rumoured that, failing in Kohilound, 
the rebels would try their fortunes in Central 
India. Sir Colin, acting upon this supposition, 
so disposed his forces as to guard as many as 
possible of the ghauts on the Jumna and the 
Ganges, and so prevent the rebels accomplish- 
ing that object, and enclose the war within 
Rohilcutid, leaving the actual disturbances in 
Central India to be dealt with by the presi- 
dencies of Bombay and iVIadras. Jung Baha- 
door and his Goorkhas returned home, feel- 
ing or affecting displeasure vi;ith the want of 
respect shown to them. Sir Edward Lugard 
was directed by the commander-in-chief to 
march to Arrah and attack Koer Singh, who, 
after many wandering depredations, was back 
again in his own district. Lord Marke Kerr, 
with a small force from Benares, had con- 
fronted this chief, and saved Azinghur, but 
his troops were too few to expel the rebels. 
Sir Edward Lugard made for Azinghur, 
A powerful force of the enemy got into his 
rear ; Lugard returned and beat them. 
Lieutenant Charles Havelock, nephew of the 
hero of Lucknow, fell by an obscure enemy. 

On the I5th of April, Lugard reached 
Azingliur, fought and gained a battle, and 
captured the place. The enemy, as in most 



rci 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. CXXXIII. 



other instances, escaped. Brigadier Douglas, 
with a portion of the troops, was sent in pur- 
suit. After five days' chase Douglas over- 
took, defeated, and wounded Koer Singh. 
On the 21st, Douglas again came up with 
him while crossing the Gauges ; guns, trea- 
sure, and ammunition were captured, but 
Koer Singh succeeded in crossing the river. 
He retreated to his own dominion at Jugdes- 
pore. Captain Le Grande was then at Arrah, 
with one hundred and fifty men of H. M. 
3oth, fifty sailors, and one hundred and fifty 
Sikhs. He marched out to intercept Koer 
Singh, who, with two thousand dispirited 
men, without guns, took post on the skirt of 
a jungle. Le Grande attacked, but suddenly 
a bugle sounded retreat in the rear of the 
British. Le Grande hesitated, his men fell 
into confusion, and finally fled with dastardly 
precipitancy, followed by Koer Singh, who 
cut down and pursued them to Arrah. It 
was agreed on all hands that the cowardly 
and incompetent conduct of the men of the 
35th caused this disaster. Le Grande and 
various other officers fell. Koer Singh's fol- 
lowers now became aggressors, and it re- 
quired the skill of various British officers to 
maintain their positions. The insurgents 
fought better than the mutineers had fought. 
Douglas, after resting his troops, followed 
Koer Singh into his own region, and tho- 
roughly swept it of rebellion, clearing the 
jungle, and suppressing the insurrection. 

Sir Hope Grant had a column placed at 
his disposal to follow the rebels northward 
from Lucknow. He chased for some time 
the moulvie, and the begum and her para- 
mour ; but infamous as were this trio, the 
people everywhere sided with them, and they 
out-mnnoeuvred Grant. He was as unsuc- 
cessfuJ in this pursuit as he had been in pre- 
venting the escape of the rebels from Lucknow, 
and returned to head-quarters utterly baffled. 
Rohilcund continued in arms ; the great 
cities and towns, such as Bareilly, Shahjehan- 
pore, and Moorshedahad, were in the hands of 
the rebels. Khan Bahadoor Khan ruled at 
Bareilly, and his force was not to be despised. 
It became apparent to everybody how serious 
the consequences of the bad generalship 
which allowed the rebels and mutineers to 
escape from Lucknow. The plan of the 
commander-in-chief now was to scour the 
borders of the province with two columns, 
which, setting out in opposite directions, 
should meet at Bareilly, the capital, where 
two of the Delhi princes had taken shelter 
with Bahadoor Khan. Brigadier Jones vv'as 
ordered to advance from Roorkee witli what 
was designated the Roorkee field-force, and 
to take a direction south-east. The other 



column was to leave Lucknow, under Briga- 
dier Walpole, and was called the Rohilcund 
field-force. This was to march north-west- 
ward. The Roorkee field-force at once began 
its operations, under tlie spirited manage- 
ment of Brigadier Jones. The formation 
of the Rohilcund force was delayed a little. 
Following the operations of these forces 
separately, the Roorkee field-force first re- 
quires notice, as first in action. It consisted 
of three thousand men, eight heavy, and six 
light guns. It was a perfect little brigade, 
comprising engineers, cavalry, &c., in due 
proportion. Having marched from Roorkee, 
they on the 15th of April prepared to cross 
the Ganges to the left bank. The enemy 
was intrenched on the opposite side at the 
most advantageous ghaut. Jones brought his 
light troops across elsewhere, surprised the 
enemy, took his intrenchments in flank, dis- 
persed their defenders, and brought over 
the heavy guns and baggage at the ghaut. 
Jones marched on, sweeping all before him, 
until the 21st, when he was obstructed on 
the banks of a canal. He again took the 
enemy's position in flank, captured all his 
guns and elephants, and sent him away in 
mad flight, so that pursuit by regular troops 
was impossible. The loss of the brigadier's 
force in these transactions was one officer 
killed, and some men wounded. Moorshedahad 
was the next important place. The English 
had friends there among the natives, and the 
Rajah of Rampore was an ally. On the 2l8t 
of April, while Jones was beating the rebels, 
and capturing their elephants and cannon, 
the shah-zada (heir of the Delhi throne, or, 
at all events, one of the princes of that house), 
named Eeroze Shah, marched to Moorsheda- 
had to demand tribute and rations for his forces. 
He was refused, through the influence of the 
Rajah of Rampore, and a conflict was the 
consequence. The shah-zada pillaged the 
neighbourhood in order to obtain what he 
required. While his imperial highness was 
thus engaged, Jones, very much to his asto- 
nishment, arrived, attacked him, beat his 
forces, captured many of his chiefs, saved the 
town of Moorshedahad, and extended the 
authority of the Rampore rajah. Jones waited 
at that place further orders from Lucknow, 
in connection with the other column, with 
which he understood he was to co-operate 
against Bareilly. Walpole marched with six 
thousand men, and hearing that a body of 
rebels had sought the protection of one of the 
country forts situated at Roowah, he resolved 
to attack them. When he arrived, he, with- 
out any proper preparation, or even recon- 
naissance, and although possessing a power- 
ful artillery, ordered his infantrv at once to 



Chap. CXXXIIL] 



TN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



7(j« 



attack it. The place was strong,— houses 
encircled by a wall, protected by bastions, 
every surface loopholed. The infantry were, 
of course, repulsed with slaughter, and the 
gallant Adrian Hope, one of the most talented 
officers in the service, perished. The impos- 
sible task had been committed to that officer, 
wlio saw the folly of the order assigned to 
him, but obeyed. The supports were so 
badly arranged as to be too late, the reserves 
were sent to a place remote from the attack, 
and all was confusion on the side of the 
British, and triumph on the side of the rebels, 
of whom there were only a few hundreds in 
the place. Walpole brought up his heavy 
guns to batter a breach, but the enemy stole 
away in the night, leaving the English general 
to batter his way in, or take some shorter 
method if he chose. The place was easy of 
investment, but was not invested ; the enemy 
were permitted there, as everywhere else by 
Sir Colin Campbell and his officers, to make 
good their retreat with impunity, to unfurl the 
standard of resistance elsewhere. Walpole 
redeemed his honour at Sirsa, beating the 
enemy by the judicious use of his artillery 
and cavalry, driving them across the Eam- 
gunga with heavy loss. The "Pandies" 
were too hotly pressed to destroy the bridge 
of boats, over which Walpole brought his 
army and equipage, and halted until joined 
by the commander-in-chief. 

Sir Colin, at the head of the remainder of 
his army, marched towards Futtyghur, where 
he arrived on the 25th of April, and thence 
sent for Brigadier Penny, who had com- 
manded in Delhi, and had made various 
flying expeditions round that territory. He 
was ordered to bring such troops as he 
could collect into the combined operations by 
which Rohilcund was to be conquered. He 
was to march towards Merumpore Muttra, 
between Shahjehanpore and Bareilly. The 
commander-in-chief marched direct into 
Bohilcund. On the 27th, the junction with 
Walpole was effected at Zingree, near the 
Ramgunga. They at once marched to Jellal- 
abad. The moulvie occupied Shahjehanpore 
with a strong force. Sir Colin's dispositions 
were made to shut him up there, which he 
might have done, had he been as active or 
acute as the moulvie, who completely out- 
generaled the general, and departed with his 
troops to Oude, doubling upon the com- 
mander-in-chief. This was most dishearten- 
ing to his excellency, and to the whole British 
army. Nana Sahib had been with the moulvie; 
before retreating, he unroofed all the build- 
ings. He thus deprived the English of shade 
in the midst of the hot season. Sir Colin 
found a deserted town of dilapidated houses, 

VOL. II. 



where he had hoped to pen up powerful 
enemies, and bring them to decisive battle, 
or immediate surrender. His plans so far 
were costly, cumbrous, slow, and abortive. 
The death of Sir W. Peel, of small-pox, at 
Cawnpore, added to the disheartenment of 
the British army. 

The month of April wore away : Bareilly 
was not captured, Rohilcund was not con- 
quered, although it had been invaded from all 
quarters by four different armies, numerous, 
and perfectly equipped. The rebellion proved 
itself possessed of a vitality for which neither 
the governor-general nor the commander-in- 
chief were prepared. In Rohilcund, and all 
around it, people and chiefs were in arms, 
and no less than ten distinct columns of Bri- 
tish were kept in harassing marches, beneath 
a burning sun, without being able to produce 
any decisive effect upon the insurrection. 
A successful exploit by Brigadier Seaton, 
at Kaubur, in which he cut up a large number 
of the enemy, and captured their baggage, 
and the papers of their leaders, threw light 
upon the plans of the insurgents generally, 
showing that they were acting in consort in 
Central India, Upper Bengal, Oude, and 
Rohilcund. 

On the 2nd of May, Sir Colin Campbell 
set out from Shahjehanpore to attack Bareilly. 
On the 3rd ho was joined by the column of 
Brigadier Penny, which had moved thither 
from their sphere of operations to the west of 
Rohilcund. En. route, Penny, by careless- 
ness, allowed his troops to fall into an am- 
bush, and \\ith difficulty liis army was saved 
from destruction ; by the dint of hard fighting 
they beat the enemy and resumed their 
march. General Penny, who seems to have 
been the least vigilant officer in his host, 
was slain, and many officers were wounded 
through his inadvertence. He was killed by 
a rush made upon him by a body of fanatics. 
The beaten rebels marched to Bareilly, and 
strengthened that garrison. Colonel Jones, 
of the carabiniers (not to be confounded with 
the brigadier commanding the Roorkee field- 
force), brought on the brigade to Sir Colin. 
Brigadier John Jones marched from Moorshed- 
abad towards Bareilly, operating at the same 
time with Sir Colin from an opposite direc- 
tion. Jones was resisted on his march, but 
drove the rebels headlong before him. Ar- 
riving at Bareilly, he won the bridge,which the 
rebels defended stoutly; and, at the same time, 
the cannon of Sir Colin thundered tidings of 
his apjiroach from the opposite side of the 
place. This was followed by a sudden charge 
of rebel cavalry upon the baggage in the rear 
of Sir Colin's army, which created such con- 
fusion as to leave further hostile operations 

6r 



766 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. CXXXIV. 



that day impossible. Many had sunk on the 
march from fatigue, weakness, and sun-stroke. 
There were, however, plenty of troops fresh 
enough, and there was time enough to have 
entered the city and stormed it. Sir Colin, 
still preserving his dilatory tactics, halted on 
the plain, and so disposed his forces that, as 
usual, where either he or his brigadiers com- 
manded, the enemy escaped with impunity. 
Even on the 6th, Sir Colin spent his time 
cannonading old houses. It was not until 
the 7th that he learned that General John 
Jones was at the opposite side of the city. 
Sir Colin then entered, ordering the brigadier 
to do the same. The rebels had fled, taking 
with them such portable things as were of 
most value. 

Scarcely had Sir Colin Campbell left Shah- 
jehanpore to march upon Bareilly, than the 
rebels, numbering eight thousand men, re- 
turned. Colonel Hall, and a few hundred 
men, had been left behind as a garrison. 
These for eight days defended tliemselves, a 
defence which would have proved utterly 
unavailing had not Hall, with more foresight 
than his general, laid up provision and ammu- 
nition behind a strong and intrenched posi- 
tion. After suffering suspense, and conti- 
nually fighting for nine days, the little bnnd 
was saved. Sir Colin hearing at Bareilly of 
Colonel Hall's situation, sent back Brigadier 
Jones, with a well-appointed force, who beat 
the rebels in a pitched battle and relieved 
the place. 

Brigadier Jones soon found that he had 
not defeated the grand force of the enemy, 
and that future struggle was in store for liim. 
The Moulvie of E'yzabad, the Begum of Oude, 
the Shah-zada of Delhi, and Nana Sahib, unit- 
ing their forces, attacked Shahjehanpore on 
May 15th. The English general fought for 



very life throughout the day, so numerous, 
powerful, and persistent were his enemies. 
Of the four chiefs named, all displayed great 
courage, even the lady termed the begum, 
except the Nana, who kept out of range, 
being a notorious coward. When Sir Colin 
heard this news, he hastened back with a 
portion of his forces. On the morning of the 
18th, he arrived at Shahjehanpore. He was 
attacked the same day by a force, chiefly 
consisting of newly -raised Rohilla cavalry, 
splendidly mounted, good riders, expert 
swordsmen, and exceedingly gallant. Their 
cannon were numerous and well appointed. 
Sir Colin with difficulty repulsed the enemy, 
his own troops, wearied with marching, and 
sufifering from heat, having been the portion 
of the army engaged. Campbell ordered Bri- 
gadier Coke to join him. On the 24th, Sir 
Colin and Coke marched to the place (Mo- 
humdee) which the chiefs had occupied as 
head-quarters, and whence they had issued 
to attack Shahjehanpore. They were gone. 
In the abandoned forts guns and treasure 
were found buried. 

While the commander -in-chief was in Rohil- 
cund, Sir H. Grant was engaged around Luck- 
now. Large bodies of rebels sprung up as if 
by magic. He gained battle after battle, but 
not until the hot season was over was any 
quiet ensured around the capital of Oude. 
Active operations by the brigadiers of the 
various movable columns in the north- 
western provinces also continued through the 
liot season. In the central region of the 
Ganges, Sir Edward Lugard maintained a 
career of heroic exploits until the provinces 
there were controlled, and insurrection quelled. 
Sir Colin broke up the Rohilcuud field-force, 
and considered the rebellion in that province 
and Oude subdued. 



CHAPTER CXXXIV. 

VARIOUS MUTINIES AND INSURRECTIONS, AND THEIR SUPPRESSION— CAPTURE OF JHANSI 
AND CALPEE BY SIR HUGH ROSE— REVOLUTIONS IN GWALIOR— SURRENDER OF THE 
CITY TO TANTIA TOPEE— FLIGHT OF SCINDIAH— CAPTURE OF THE CITY AND FORTRESS 
BY SIR HUGH ROSE— RESTORATION OF SCINDIAH— DEATH OR CAPTURE OF THE CHIEF 
LEADERS OF THE REVOLT— DISPERSION OF THE REBEL BANDS— END OF THE MUTINY 
AND INSURRECTION. 



DiNAPOEE was one of the most important 
stations in India. A vast district of country 
belonged to that military division. It is 
situated in the very populous province of 
Behar, between Oude and Bengal proper. 
The eastern portion of northern India would 



fluenced by the loyalty or defection of the 
district of Dinapore. That district comprised 
the rich and poi)ulous city of Patna, winch is 
within a short distance of the military sta- 
tion. The country around is fertile and cul- 
tivated, and remarkable for the number of 



necessarily, at such a crisis, be much in- I rich iudigo plantations. The chief civil au- 



Chap. CXXXIV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST, 



wt 



thority, Mr. Taylor, resided at Patna ; the 
chief military authority was Major-general 
Lloyd, who resided at the cantonments. 
So feeble was he at the time of the mutiny, 
that he had to he lifted on his horse, and 
was incapable of using any exertion such 
as the superintendence of a large military 
station required. He had been a brave and 
efficient officer before his powers failed 
through age and exhaustion. The troops at 
the station were three regiments of Bengal 
Bative infantry — 7th, 8th, and 40th. The 
European troops were a wing of her majesty's 
10th foot, two companies of her majesty's 
37th, and two troops ot horse artillery. Evi- 
dence of the sedition of the native regiments 
was abundantly afforded through the months 
of May, June, and July. The officers de- 
clared that it would be easy for the European 
force to disarm the native regiments, but 
General Lloyd doubted their power to do so, 
and besides declared against the necessity of 
it, as his sepoys were loyal. 

On the 24th of July, General Lloyd was 
at last convinced that some precautions should 
be adopted. He ordered the percussion-caps 
to be takeni out of the magazine which the 
sepoys guarded. This was done amidst 
turbulence on the part of the 8th regiment, 
but only a feeble attempt was made to inter- 
rupt the proceeding. The general, instead of 
at once disarming this regiment, gave the 
sepoys until four o'clock to consider whether 
they would give up the magazine quietly, 
which contained a large store of ball-car- 
tridges. He then went on board a steamer 
on the river, without empowering any one 
else to act. While the general was absent, 
the sepoys revolted ; they filled their pouches 
with ammunition, removed their families, and 
set things in order for the march to Delhi. 
The 10th and 37th Europeans stood to their 
arms, but it was not known that the general 
was asleep on board a steamer, and the second 
in command lost much time in looking for 
him. The sepoys began to shoot at their 
officers, but none were killed. The sick 
European soldiers and their guard mounted 
on the hospital, and opened fire into the 
masses of the sepoys, who broke and fled. 
The European troops, without orders, attacked 
the mutineers, who fled at the first dis- 
charge, leaving apparel, cooking utensils, and 
numbers of their families behind them. A 
squadron of cavalry would have succeeded in 
dispersing or cutting them up. The muti- 
neers proceeded to Arrah, fourteen miles off. 
Pursuit was possible, as there were elephants 
at Dinapore by means of which it could have 
been instituted. The rebels went along at 
leisure, burning aad plundering aa tkey pro- 



ceedflJ. Intelligence of their devaetationg, 
and the leisurely way in which they were 
committed, reached Dinapore hour by hour, 
but the general would give no orders. He 
was entreated to save Arrah, but still issued 
jio commands. On the evening of the 27th, 
one hundred and ninety men of the 37th were 
sent by steamer to relieve the few Europeans at 
Arrah, who were bravely defending themselves. 
The vessel soon grounded, and remained fast 
until the afternoon of the 2'Jth, when another 
steamer was dispatched, which took them on 
board : it also bore seventy Sikhs, and one 
hundred and fifty men of the 10th. These 
troops disembarked twelve miles Irom Arrah, 
and marched towards it. Captain Dunbar, 
who commanded the party, believed native 
testimony as to the condition of things 
at Arrah : he was informed that the sepoys 
had abandoned the place ; he therefore 
pushed on, although ignorant of the road, 
and in the darkness of rapidly-falling night, 
without throwing out an advanced guard, or 
making any dispositions to prevent surprise. 
When he arrived at a mango tope, through 
which the road passed, a fire of musketry 
was opened from both sides of the way. 
The sepoys were in ambush, having pre- 
viously sent native emissaries for the pur- 
pose of deceiving the English captain. The 
British were thrown into confusion by the 
suddenness of the attack. Volley after volley 
swept down their numbers, and no orders 
were given to advance or retreat. Incredible 
as it may seem, this European force remained 
through the night exposed to this fire, from 
which darkness and the timidity of their 
enemies were the only protection. When 
morning dawned, half the force lay dead or 
wounded. Dunbar ordered a retreat ; the 
wounded remaining behind were shot or 
bayoneted by the sepoys, who followed 
closely, throwing themselves with great 
rapidity upon the British flanks, and firing 
wherever there was cover. Captain Dunbar, 
Lieutenant Sale, Ensign Erslcine, Lieute- 
nants Ingleby and Anderson, volunteers, the 
mate of the steamer, and railway -engineer, 
also volunteers, and one hundred and fifty 
soldiers, were killed ; scarcely a man of the 
remainder escaped being wounded. 

General Lloyd was now more helpless than 
ever — he neither performed nor attempted 
anything. Tidings of this disgrace filled 
all the surrounding country, and men every- 
where prepared for revolt. Meerut, Delhi, 
Cawnpore, Luckuow, Dinapore, were words 
of encouragement and hope to all the dis- 
affected. Every disaster was made known 
far and near, while news of English successes 
travelled with comparative tardiness. 



76S 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. CXXXIV. 



Major Vincent Eyre was at Buxar^ and 
rightly judged that General Lloyd was in- 
capable ; that the prestige of the English 
name would be ruined all over Behar and 
Bengal; and that the fatal news would pene- 
trate to Oude, and to the upper provinces, 
and everywhere strengthen disaffection, un-» 
less speedy relief was given to Arrah. He left 
Buxar with one hundred and fifty of her 
majesty's 5th Fusiliers, and three guns. As 
soon as he arrived within range, he opened 
fire upon the besieging sepoys, who fled 
without resistance, and the little garrison 
was at once and with ease relieved. When 
Eyre arrived, the loyal residents were in 
great straits. They numbered fifteen Euro- 
peans and fifty Sikhs. The Europeans were 
chiefly composed of railway clerks and 
indigo-planters. Fifty of the mutineers had 
fallen under the fire of the garrison, but not 
one of the little band had been hit. The 
rebels were mining the defences, and would 
have succeeded in blowing them np had 
not Eyre arrived with his Northumbrian 
Fusiliers. All the property, private and 
public, in the neighbourhood had been de- 
stroyed by the rebels. 

The danger of Patna being looted was now 
apparent. The opium godowns contained 
property to the amount of two millions ster- 
ling. Its defenders were Rattray's Sikhs, 
without guns. The defence proved sufficient 
to deter the fugitive mutineers. 

In August, all Behar was disturbed, con- 
fusion and disorder reigned everywhere. 

When Vincent Eyre relieved Arrah, two 
hundred Europeans of the 10th were sent to 
him from Dinapore upon his urgent demand, 
and that of Mr. Taylor, the civil commissioner 
at Patna. One hundred Sikhs arrived from 
Patna, so that the major had a force of five 
hundred men. With the greater portion of 
this body he set out for Jugdespore, where 
the Rajah Koer Singh, who had assisted the 
mutineers at Arrah, was in arms with his 
retainers, and a large body of sepoys. The 
fort at Jugdespore was strong, and the roads 
thither wore cut up and flooded. Eyre arrived 
at the place through all difficulties. The 
10th foot begged for leave to avenge the 
ambuscade on the Arrah road. Permission 
was given ; led by Captain Patterson they 
rushed upon the enemy with a shout, and fell 
upon them with the bayonet in the utmost 
fury, slaying all who resisted, and driving the 
sepoys in panic before them. Jugdespore 
surrendered, Eyre killing three hundred of 
its defenders ; of his own force six men were 
wounded. Koer Singh fled to the jungle, 
where he had a house tolerably fortified. 
Captain L'Estrangc was dispatched thither; 



he destroyed some of the houses of the Koer 
Singh family, and swept the country of its 
adherents. 

All through the month of August the Dina- 
pore mutineers wandered about looting. Koer 
Singh collected various bands of marauders 
and marched into Bundelcund, spreading 
devastation as they went. Isolated corps and 
detachments of sepoys mutinied and murdered 
their officers all along the course of the 
Ganges. Amidst so much weakness and con- 
fusion Mr. Money, the magistrate at Gayah, 
showed great activity and intelligence, tracing 
rebel sepoys to their villages, and arresting 
them suddenly, the reluctant jJolice being 
awed by his firmness, boldness, and air of 
authority, as well as by surprise at his extra- 
ordinary intelligence. Some of the military 
officers, as Major Home, assumed local 
authority, and by dash and decision kept all 
quiet in their neighbourhood, proclaiming 
military law. 

In September all Behar and Lower Bengal 
were afflicted by roving bands of robbers and 
mutineers ; thirty millions of people were 
agitated by the residta of the revolt at Dina- 
pore. In Eastern Bengal tlie agitation was 
intense. Complications arose in Assam. 
Native pretenders were disposed to call the 
people to arms. There were no troops to send 
eastward from Calcutta, but a body of sailors, 
by some severe fighting and hard toil, kept 
the rebellious in awe. 

INSURRECTION IN AND AROUND AGRA. 

Agra, as the seat of government for the 
north-western or upper provinces of Bengal, 
and the residence of a lieutenant-governor, 
was a place of prime importance. To this 
place fugitives from Central India, from 
Bareilly, from Oude, and other regions made 
their way, until two thousand children, and 
nearly four thousand adults, chifly noncom- 
batants, occupied the fort. The sepoys 
gradually revolted or deserted ; even those 
who had previously assisted in disarming 
mutineers, or attacking insurgents, caught 
the prevailing epidemic of disaffection, and 
mutinied. Various actions took place in 
the neighbourhood ; the garrison sallying out 
against hordes of rebels twenty times their 
number. Brigadiers Polliale and Cotton 
rendered good service, but the former officer, 
although efficient in the field, was not gifted 
with talents for organization, and was less 
enterprising than skilful in battle. The people 
of Agra, especially the Mohammedan rabble, 
aided by mutineers, destroyed the city, con- 
suming the buildings and plundering all pro- 
perty, private and public. During the 
summer and autumn of 1857, the fort of Agra, 



Chap. CXXXIV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



769 



with its numerous refugees and cliildren, held 
out uuaided. The Kotah contingent, com- 
prising seven hundred men, infantry, cavalry, 
and artillery, upon which much reliance liad 
heen placed,mutiuied,andaddedto the horrors 
that filled the once imperial city during three 
months of trial and suffering. 

THE MUTINY BETWEEN DELHI AND EEROZE- 
PORE DURING THE AUTUMN OF 1857. 
In this vast district energy and ability 
were displayed by General Van Cortlandt, 
which entitled him to the gratitnde of the 
British nation. The general was a native 
of India, and had been in the service of 
Runjeet Singh. He was received into the 
service of the company, and distinguished 
himself at Mooltan and elsewhere during the 
Sikh war. He assembled a small force of 
Sikh irregulars, and moved on Sirsah, where, 
as well as in the Hissar, Hansce, and Rohtuck 
districts, the rising had been universal. 
Within ten days these newh' raised troops 
defeated vastly superior bodies of men in 
actions at Odhwala and Khyrakay, and retook 
Sirsah. Here he was reinforced by a large 
body of Bikaneer troops, and advanced on 
Hissar. The walled town of Hansee being 
attacked by the rebels in force, the general 
threw forward one thousand Rajpoots, who 
relieved the town, and held it till his arrival 
with the remainder of his forces. From 
Hansee he detached a large body of troops to 
Hissar to repel a threatened attack. Two 
thousand five hundred rebels advanced -up to 
the very gates on the 19th of August, but 
were repulsed and completely routed, with a 
loss of upwards of three hundred men. At 
Mungalee, early in September, another action 
was fought with the rebels, in which they 
were completely routed. General Van Cort- 
landt then advanced with his whole force, and 
drove the enemy from Jumalpore, where they 
had taken up a strong position, and cleared the 
whole country to Rohtuck, within a few miles 
of Delhi. The whole of the country from Sir- 
sah to Delhi was utterly hostile ; and massacres 
occurred at Sirsah, Hissar, and Hansee. Its 
importance, both politically and strategically, 
was immense, interposing between the Pun- 
jaub and Delhi. Van Cortlandt, with a force 
entirely native, and composed of most hetero- 
geneous materials, with but nine European 
officers, reconquered these districts, collected 
the revenue, retook the stations of Sirsah, 
Hissar, Hansee, and Rohtuck, re-established the 
custom's line, diverted from Delhi a consider- 
able force under Shah-zada Mohammed Azeem, 
whom he afterwards compelled to evacuate 
the country, and, with his lieutenants, totally 
routed the rebels in fourhardly-fought actions. 



MADRAS AND BOMBAY. 
In Madras the troops remained loyal, 
although for the most part Mohammedans. 
This arose from the peculiar system of the 
Madras armj', from the remoteness of the 
presidency from Delhi and Oude, the great 
traditional centres of native power, and from 
the large population of native Christians scat- 
tered through the presidency and connected 
with some of the native corps. There were 
agitations, arrests made by the sowars and 
sepoys themselves when emissaries from 
Bengal tampered with them, and some few 
disturbances, but the presidency remained 
loyal, its troops served in Central India 
against the rebels, and supplies of men and 
munitions were spared from Madras for Cal- 
cutta and other portions of Bengal. 

In Bombay also the army was in the main 
loyal, although it excited much apprehension. 
The irregular troops in the north-west of the 
presidency were disposed to revolt, some 
deserted, and were captured and hung. At 
Kolapore, however, mutiny displayed itself. 
The 27th Bombay native infantry, without 
the slightest indication of dissatisfaction, 
suddenly rose on the 1st of August, the festival 
of Buckree Eed. Three of their officers were 
instantly murdered. They plundered the 
treasury, murdered a native woman, the 
mother of their own jemadar, performed sun- 
dry acts of religious devotion, and left the 
station in a body ; the native officers of the 
corps remained loyal. Immediately, as in 
other cases, the surrounding country for a vast 
distance became agitated and disturbed. Vigi- 
lance, circumspection, and activity character- 
ised the proceedings of the English authorities, 
and a Mohammedan conspiracy was discovered 
which had its ramifications throughout the 
presidency, its chief strength being in Poonab, 
Sattara, Belgaum, Dharwar, Rectnagherry, 
and Sawunt Waree. The Rajah of Sattara and 
his family were implicated. Mr. Rose, the 
commissioner, arrested him and placed him 
and the ranee imder surveillance at Poonah. 
The religious leaders of the Mohammedans at 
that place had drawn up a plan for the 
massacre, not only of the Europeans, but of 
the native Christians at Poonah, Sattara, and 
Belgaum, which would have been put into 
execution but for the detection of the scheme. 
The first step of the proposed measures of 
revolt, was the blowing up of the arsenal at 
Poonah. The native regiments were dis- 
armed, the leading Mohammedan devotees 
arrested, and the disaffected awed by the dis- 
play of vigour. Numbers of the captured 
27th were blown away from guns at Kola- 
pore and Rectnagherry. One of the chief 
conspirators at Belgaum was a moonshee, who 



770 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. CXXXIV. 



received one hundred and fifty rupees a month 
for teaching the ofiBcers Hindostanee. 

The uneasiness at Bombay, Madras, and 
Calcutta, was very great as to how the Nizam 
of the Deccan would act at this juncture. 
He and his court happily remained faithful, 
as did also his troops. The populace of Hy- 
derabad broke out into tumult ; they were 
fanatical Mohammedans. Grape-shot from 
the guns of the horse artillery tamed their 
fanaticism, and there was no more insurrec- 
tion. The irregular and some regular troops 
of the Bombay army in several instances re- 
fused to obey orders, and openly said that 
the King of Delhi was their rightful sove- 
reign. Some deserted, but most were reduced 
to obedience. 

ARRIVAL OP REINFORCEMENTS FROJI ENG- 
LAND AND NEPAUL— EXPEDITIONS OF THE 
CONQUERORS OF DELHI. 

At last, in November and December, troops 
arrived at Calcutta from England in such 
numbers as to inspire hope. Had it not been 
for the aid derived from China, from the army 
returning from Persia, from Madras, Bombay, 
and the Cape of Good Hope, the troops ar- 
riving from England would have found all 
the Bengal provinces in the hands of the 
sepoys and insurgents. At the close of No- 
vember, four thousand five hundred newly- 
arrived troops were collected at Calcutta, and 
eleven men-of-war were anchored in the 
Hoogly. As the forces arrived, they were 
sent up the country, especially to the head- 
quarters of the commander-in-chief. 

Jung Bahadoor, with nine thousand Goor- 
khas, descended from the hills, and in the 
month of December appeared upon the thea- 
tre of conflict. He drove the Oude rebels 
from Goruckpore and Azimghur back into 
Oude. This movement enabled various officers 
in Northern India to co-operate with Sir 
Colin Campbell in Eis plans for the recon- 
quest of Oude. Sir James Outram, with 
about four thousand men, held post at the 
Alum Bagh, between which and Cawnpore 
the communications were kept open with 
diflBculty. Colonel Seaton, at the head of a 
portion of the force which conquered Delhi, 
marched south-eastward between the Jumna 
and the Ganges. His first object was the 
subjugation of the Rajah of Minporee. On 
his way, Seaton had to fight several actions, 
in which Captain Hodson, and his Horse, 
performed prodigies of valour. He captured 
guns, cut up the enemy, dispersed rebel 
hordes, and slew in battle, or executed many 
zemindars, leaders of revolt. Brigadier 
Showers commanded another column of the 
conquerors of Delhi, and with it swept a 
circle of extensive radius over the disturbed 



districts from Delhi to Agra, slaying and 
dispersing rebels ; he then returned with his 
column to Delhi. 

SUPPRESSION OF THE MUTINY IN CENTRAL 
INDIA, RAJPOOTANA, AND BUNDELCUND— 
CONQUEST OF JHANSI AND OF CALPEE. 

Sir Hugh Rose was placed in command of 
a body of Bombay troops, called the Central 
India field-force, and with this, as a flying 
column, he preceeded to restore order in 
those provinces where, in a former chapter, 
mutiny was described as having gained as- 
cendancy. He was ordered to fight his way 
northward to Jhansi, and subdue the rebel 
garrison of that place. His force was divided 
into two brigades, which sometimes acted far 
apart. The actions fought were generally in 
the open field, or in the vicinity of jungles 
and passes; and everywhere Sir Hugh rolled 
away, or cut through the living ramparts that 
obstructed his progress. The Rajah of Sha- 
gur, an independent district, joined the rebels. 
Rose and Sir Robert Hamilton, seized and 
confiscated his territory. Nana Sahib's bro- 
ther, at the head of a vast mob of looters, 
was plundering various districts, and threat- 
ening the flanks of Sir Hugh's division. 
Brigadier Stuart, with one of Sir Hugh's 
brigades, operated to the south of Jhansi, and 
swept through Malwa, beating the rebels 
everywhere. 

A body of troops, called the Rajpootana 
field-force, was collected in the Bombay pre- 
sidency. It was strong in European cavalry, 
infantry, and artillery, as well as in good 
native troops. General Roberts commanded 
it, and Brigadier General Lawrence attended 
it as political agent. On the 10th of March, 
this force marched from Nusserabad against 
Kotah. The rajah was faithful; the contingent 
had mutinied. The rajah held a portion of the 
city, and co-operated with General Roberts, 
who, by skilful generalship, captured the place 
without the loss of an ofiicer, and losing onl}' 
a few men ; fifty guns were captured. The 
rebels, as usual, got away with no loss after 
that which they suffered in the bombardment 
and advance. 

General Whitlock, in a direction east of 
Jhansi, pursued wandering bands of rebels 
with such celerity as to leave them no rest, 
cutting up and dispersing them in every 
direction. 

Sir Hugh Rose, having laid siege to Jhansi, 
maintained it with vigour. On the 1st of 
April, an attempt was made to raise the 
siege by a rebel army, under a Mahratta 
chief, named Tantia Topee, a relative of 
Nana Sahib. This chief proved to be a 
braver man and better general than his kins- 
man, the Nana. He fought with courage, 



Chap. CXXXIV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



771 



manceuvred with skill, and was very expert 
in choosing his field of battle. In his efforts 
to raise the siege of Jhansi, or make his way 
into the fortress, Tantia fought a pitched 
battle with Sir Hugh Eose. Victory rested, 
as usual, with the arms of the British general. 
He pursued Tantia two miles beyond the 
river Betwa, taking eighteen guns, and slay- 
ing fifteen hundred of his followers. Two 
of the mutineer regiments of the Gwalior 
contingent were in the ranks of Tantia; 
these fought with fury and obstinacy, and 
suffered severely. 

The result of this battle was of great im- 
portance. The Ranee of Jhansi saw from 
the walls the defeat of her confederates. She 
effected her escape that night with a chosen 
band of her followers. The city was taken by 
storm. The garrison endeavoured to escape 
when they saw that the English had made 
secure their entrance, but Rose had taken 
measures to prevent this, and the slaughter of 
the enemy was signal. As the town people 
had aided the garrison they were made par- 
takers of the vengeance. 

Possessed of Jhansi Sir Hugh found his 
difficulties great. The Kotah rebel contin- 
gent infested the roads, the country people 
were in arms, and Tantia Topee was re- 
cruiting his forces at Calpee. The number 
of sick and wounded was great. While he 
remained at Jhansi settling affairs in that 
city, and reorganizing, he threw out parties 
in every direction, which scoured the country, 
dispersing bands, chastising rebel rajahs, 
razing forts, and defeating mutineers. Major 
Gall in one of these excursions captured a 
fort belonging to the Rajah of Sumpter. 

While Sir Hugh Rose and Whitlock were 
leading their troops to victory, more than a 
thousand faithful sepoys of the Bengal army, 
with an equal number of Madras thrown into it 
by Whitlock, maintained the safety of Saugor, 
and kept at bay a country swarming with rebels. 

Scindiah cut up the Kotah mutineers who 
sought shelter in his territory from the sword 
of General Roberts, and captured or destroyed 
ten guns. This band was accompanied by a 
large number of fugitive women and children, 
who now in their turn suffered the hardships 
and perils of flight, which had been in so 
many cases imposed upon the families of the 
English. 

The Rajpootana field-force performed 
numerous desultory exploits, and dispersed 
many bands of Rajpoot and Mahratta rebels. 
The Gujerat field-force disarmed the country, 
and hung or blew away from guns rajahs and 
native officers of the Bombay army detected in 
treasonable correspondence with Tantia Topee, 
Nana Sahib, and other rebel leaders. 



While these events were occurring under 
General Rose, General Whitlock with his 
Madras troops was engaged successfully in 
the troubled district of Bundelcund. On the 
lyth of April he defeated seven thousand 
rebels, under the command of the Nawab of 
Banda. He captured the Nawab, and his 
guns, slew five hundred of his retainers, and 
dispersed his whole force. 

The rebels now became exceedingly anxious 
for Calpee. Ram Rao Gohind, a Mahratta, 
had collected three thousand men of his race, 
and three guns. Tantia Topee had made up 
his force to ten thousand men, composed of' 
mutinous sepoys and sowars, about one thou- 
sand Mahratta horse, and not much less than 
seven thousand Ghazees, or fanatics. Calpee 
is on the right bank of the Jumna, and de- 
rived importance from being a place of sup- 
port for the insurrection, and from being on 
the main road from Jhansi to Cawnpore. 

On the 9th of May Sir Hugh Rose, on his 
way to Calpee, had arrived at Kooneh, where 
Tantia Topee and the Ranee of Jhansi inter- 
cepted his march. The enemy was intrenched ; 
Rose beat them out of their intrenchments, 
captured the town and several guns, and 
made much havoc, especially in the pursuit. 
The British, and the general himself, princi- 
pally suffered from exposure to the sun. 
His advance to Calpee was resisted perpe- 
tually, but in vain : as the torrent bears away 
the branch which falls across its course, so the 
forces of the rebels were swept away in his 
progress. Maxwell, from Cawnpore, Whit- 
lock, from the south, Riddell, from Etawah, 
were all acting in a combined system of 
operation with Sir Hugh Rose. As he 
approached Calpee, skirmishes were frequent, 
occurring daily, almost hourly. A nephew 
of Nana Sahib was the most active chief in 
obstructing Sir Hugh's approach. On the 
18th Rose shelled the earthworks which had 
been constructed by Nana Sahib some time 
before. On the opposite bank of the Jumna 
Maxwell opened fire next day, which was a 
surprise to the rebel chiefs, who believed him 
to be at Cawnpore. On the 20th a sortie was 
made in force and with skill; the enemy after 
fighting with energy were beaten in. On 
the 22nd the rebels, galled by the fire of 
Maxwell's heavy guns, attacked Sir Hugh 
Rose's position. Rose drove back a force of 
fifteen thousand men. The enemy evacuated 
Calpee in the night with silence, caution, and 
celerity. It was difficult, perhaps impossible, 
to prevent this, as long nullahs and scattered 
topes favoured a concealed flight. They left 
all their guns behind. Rose found a well- 
stocked arsenal, foundries, and material of all 
kinds, vast in quantity, and of great value. 



772 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE [Chap. OXXXIV. 



The enemy had retreated chiefly b)^ the road 
to Gwalior, which Rose had least guarded. 
(Sir Hugh sent a flying column in pursuit, 
but the fugitives were too nimble, and far 
outstripped their pursuers. 

REVOLUTION IN GWALIOR. 

Sir Hugh Rose having captured Calpee, 
like Sir Colin Campbell wlien he had cap- 
tured Bareilly, believed that the rebellion in 
that part of India was subdued. He did not 
even yet know the people among whom he 
was, nor the troops he had so often conquered. 
Like Sir Colin Campbell he issued a glowing 
address to his troops, congratulating them on 
tlie end of their labours, and, again like Sir 
Colin, he had scarcely done so when new and 
great alarms called him to the field. On the 
day Sir Hugh addressed his soldiers the fugi- 
tives from Calpee entered Gwalior, drove 
Scindiah from his throne, and convulsed all 
Central India by their success. This was 
on the 1st of June. 

When Tantia Topee encamped near Gwa- 
lior, Scindiah sent to Agra for succour, but 
none could be given ; he himself fled thither, 
after having in vain appealed to his troops 
to meet the enemy. Three thousand cavalry, 
six thousand infantry, and artillery, with eight 
guns, went over to Rao Sahib, nephew to Nana 
Sahib. The body-guard fought until nearly 
cut to pieces ; tlieir remnant, with persistent 
bravery, escorted their sovereign off the field. 

Nana Sahib was proclaimed as Peishwa 
of the Mahrattas, a title which he had pro- 
claimed for himself at Cawnpore. Rao Sahib 
was made chief or sovereign of Gwalior. 
Scindiah had immense treasures which were 
seized, all the royal property was confiscated, 
and the rich citizens plundered. The escape 
from Calpee was the ruin of Gwalior. The 
surrounding rajahs flocked to the capital, 
bringing their retainers. A large army was 
thus organized, and with ample resources in 
money and stores to supply it. 

Sir Hugh Rose was ill when he conquered 
Calpee. Probably to that circumstance it 
was owing that the rebels escaped thence. 
When tlie tidings reached him of the 
fall of Gwalior, he hastened to repair the 
disaster. Collecting all the forces he could 
bring together from every quarter, he marched 
upon the place. On the IGth of June, he 
arrived near the old cantonments. Rose re- 
connoitred the place, and immediately resolved 
to attack the cantonments. The attempt was 
successful : the slaughter of the fugitives 
frightful, — some of the trenches formed be- 
yond the cantonments were nearly choked 
with the dead. Sir Hugh encamped within 
the vanquished lines. 



The Ranee of Jhansi organized forces to 
intercept Rose's reinforcements, and in doing 
so fought a battle with Brigadier Smith, in 
which she fell. Tantia Topee assumed the 
direction of those operations which she had 
guided, and fought with skill and energy. 
Smith, however, was victorious. His contin- 
gent was joined by the general-in-chief, who 
effected a flank movement to that side of the 
city. The next day he stormed the chief of 
the fortified heights held by the enemy, who, 
finding that no obstacles impeded the English, 
became panic-struck, and fled out of the 
place. The British cavalry pursued the 
broken fugitives, cutting them down in vast 
numbers, until the plains were strewn with 
their dead. 

All was conquered except the great rock 
fort, into which some of the rebels had 
retired. Two young officers, who were 
appointed with a small party to watch a 
police-station near the fort, resolved to sur- 
prise it in the night. Aided by a blacksmith, 
they, with their few soldiers, forced their way 
in, and, after desperate figliting, won the 
place. The attempt was planned by Lieute- 
nant Rose, who perished in executing it. His 
companion, Lieutenant Waller, secured the 
prize. Soon after, Scindiah was reinstated 
upon his throne. 

SUPPRESSION OF THE MUTINY. 

The main body of the rebels had retreated 
to Kurawlee. Thither Rose sent light troops 
in pursuit. Brigadier Napier took the com- 
mand. On arriving at Jowla Alipore, he 
observed the enemy in great force, with 
twenty-five guns. After all their signal 
defeats and losses, they had an ample com- 
mand of materiel of war. Napier had not a 
thousand men ; the enemy counted ten times 
that number. The gallant brigadier, worthy 
of his name, achieved a swift, glorious, and 
complete victory, capturing all their guns. 
After a vain pursuit of the nimble fugitives, 
the conqueror returned to Gwalior. 

Tantia Topee, with another body of about 
eight thousand in number, directed his way 
to Geypore, the chief of the Rajpoot states. 
He carried with him the crown jewels, and 
the treasure of Scindiah. This daring and 
active chief now kept Central India in 
agitation. 

.•-ir Hugh Rose, worn out with toil, retired 
from liis command, and the Central India 
field-force was broken up. Sir Edward 
Lugard soon after also retired, worn out with 
fatigue and anxiety. In this way almost all 
the eminent men which the mutiny had called 
forth as able commanders dropped away gra- 
dually, and gave place to others who followed 




!=3 



H E 



&s rt 






Chap. CXXXV.] 



IN INDIA AND THE EAST. 



773 



up with success tlic work of pacification. 
The neck of the Indian rebellion was now 
broken. Proclamations of amnesty and par- 
don were issued by the government to all 
who would seek mercy — exceptions in cases 
of actual murder, and of the great ringleaders 
of insurrection, being of course made. These 
proclamations told upon vast numbers, but 
many remained contumacious to the last. 

After the hot season of 1858, the rebellion 
became a guerilla war, and a pursuit of ban- 
dits. The great leaders were discomfited, 
the minor rajahs and chiefs were captured, 
hung, blown away from guns, or, submitting, 
were pardoned. The moulvie was killed 
in an encounter with one of the Rohilcund 
rajahs, who deemed it his interest to side 
with the English. The moulvie was a sincere 
zealot, and was probably the man who devised 
the scheme of the revolt, and created the 



rebellion. Nana Sahib's cowardice kept him 
from the path of danger, and he escaped caj)-- 
ture. He ultimately iled into the Nepaul 
dominions, with a band of followers. The 
Nana's nephew fell in one of the combats in 
Central India, after the flight of the rebels from 
Gwalior. Tantia Topee for some time eluded 
pursuit, and wandered about, a wretched, 
but gallant fugitive, until at last he became a 
prisoner, and paid with his life the penalty 
of his misdeeds. With the removal of that 
remarkable man from the scene of so many 
horrors, so great struggles, and so much blood- 
shed, the last spark of rebellion expired. 

In the summer of 1859, thanksgiving was 
offered for the entire suppression of the 
insurrection, but it was in fact subdued at the 
close of the campaign of 1858, with the ex- 
ception of roving bands of marauders, for the 
suppression of which the police were adequate. 



CHAPTER CXXXV. 

PRINCIPAL HOME EVENTS CONNECTED WITH INDIA AFTER THE ENACTMENT OF THE LAW 
OF 1851, TO THE ABOLITION OF THE COMPANY'S POLITICAL CONTROL, 1858. 



Thkue were few events occurring imme- 
diately after the new constitution of the com- 
pany, in any way calling for notice in a general 
history of our empire in the East. The new- 
act of 1854 came into operation on the day 
nominated, but some time elapsed before it 
worked with facility in the India-house. In 
1855, the policy of Lord Dalhousie was much 
discussed by the English public, and from that 
time to the close of his career, the directors 
were constantly engaged with difficult sub- 
jects which he brought before them, or in 
discussions arising from his measures ; and 
when the mutiny began, his annexation of 
Oudc proved to be the grand difficulty of 
India. 

Without any formal reversal of the policy 
of Lord Dalhousie, Lord Canning was nomi- 
nated as his successor. On other pages of 
this history his arrival in Calcutta, the spirit 
in which he assumed the government, and the 
policy which he pnrsued, have been brought 
before the reader. That policy was viewed 
in England from the standing-point of party 
politics. 

When the news of the revolt arrived in 
England, with the opinion of Lord Canning as 
to its partial and tempor<iry nature, the boai'd 
of control and the court of directors discussed, 
in the usual tedious way, the propriety of send- 
ing out reinforcements. The fatal words of 
Lord Canning, making light of the mutiny, 

VOL. ir. 



checked the zeal of the English authorities 
upon whom the duty devolved of sending aid. 
The long sea route was preferred to the over- 
land route ; and heavy sailing-vessels, some of 
them the worst sailers in Europe, and hardly 
sea-worthy, were preferred to swift steamers. 
Lord Palmerston implicitly trusted to the 
opinions of Lord Canning, who was his no- 
minee and friend. 

A great conflict of parliamentary opinions, 
concerning the administration of Lord Can- 
ning, arose in connection with a proclamation 
intended to encourage the submission of such 
insurgents as were disposed to lay down their 
arms, and to deter the continuance of revolt 
on the part of the obstinate, bj' threatening 
consequences the most formidable which, in 
the opinion of the governor-general, he could 
hold out. 

The government of Lord Palmerston hav- 
ing been displaced, and Lord Derby at the 
head of the tory party having assumed 
office. Lord EUenborough was nominated to 
the presidency of the board of control, instead 
of Mr. Vernon Smith. Lord EUenborough 
disapproved of the proclamation, or thought 
it a good occasion for a party move. He 
wrote a despatch which was almost vitupera- 
tive, and caused it to be circulated amongst 
the adherents of government in parliament, 
some of whom published it. The document 
was so indiscieot, and the party motive of 

6 a 



774 



HISTORY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE IN INDIA. 



the writer so obvious, tliat irrespective of the 
merits of the proclamation, a strong feeling 
arose in the country against the administra- 
tion of Indian affairs by Lord Ellenborough. 
The house of commons were prepared to give 
an adverse vote, which would have com- 
pelled Lord Derby's government to retire, 
but the resignation of Lord Ellenborough at 
once relieved India of the danger of his fur- 
ther connection with it, and the cabinet from 
being displaced. The general opinion in 
England was that Lord Canning's procla- 
mation was too severe to be politic, but those 
who raised the outcry against it, were the very 
men who had heaped upon him continued 
censure for his lenity. Lord Canning pru- 
dentlj' gave discretion to those by whom 
the proclamation would have to be carried 
out. The opinions of Mr. Montgomery and 
Sir James Outram harmonised with those of 
the English public, and Lord Canning was 
influenced by such experienced councillors. 
Mr. Vernon Smith, the ex-president of the 
board of control, placed his party and Lord 
Canning in much disadvantage by concealing 
letters written by the governor-general to 
the board of control, which Mr. Smith ought, 
as a matter of public duty, to have handed to 
Lord Ellenborough. This circumstance much 
irritated the liberal party in parliament. 

At last, public opinion seemed to demand 
that the government of the East India Com- 
pany should cease. Bills to effect this were 
brought in by the great opposing parties. The 
views entertained by Lord Stanley and Lord 
Palmerston were more nearly allied than those 
of other members on opposite sides of the 
legislature. After long discussions, need- 
lessly protracted, intolerably tedious, deve- 
loping but little wisdom on the part of our 
legislators, a bill passed the legislature for 
the future government of India, depriving 
the East India Company of all political con- 
nection with the country, and governing it 
by a minister of the crown responsible to par- 
liament, aided by a council. The Act, which 
passed the legislature August 2nd, 1858, was 
entitled, "An Act for the better Government 
of India." 

With the abolition of the East India Com- 
pany's political existence, this work appro- 
priately closes. Perhaps the time had arrived 
when that political anomaly, brilliant as it 
was, should cease to exist ; but the unpreju- 



diced historian cannot fail to admit that, as a 
governing power, it was the most unique and 
remarkable in the world. Granted that faults 
have been committed, and much left undone 
that ought to have been done, still what has 
been accomplished fairly deserves the admira- 
tion of posterity. That an association of 
merchants, almost unaided by the home 
government, should have established the basis 
of an Eastern empire fifteen thousand miles 
from home, is a remarkable phenomenon. 
Aided by a long roll of eminent servants, of 
their own rearing, they extended their domin- 
ions to their present dimensions, and gradually 
introduced the institutions of civilised com- 
munities. 

Under the company's later auspices, private 
j)roperty was protected; barbarous customs 
Mistrained; justice equitably administered; 
[native chiefs and princes compelled to observe 
itne law; an efficient police established; tole- 
ration of religious opinions ensured ; and 
'tindustry protected. 

V 1 It is to be hoped that with the gentle 
sovereignty of Her Most Gracious Majesty 
Queen Victoria, the country may enter on a 
new era of peace and prosperity. European 
colonization — much neglected by the com- 
pany- — should be zealously promoted. Wher- 
ever the experiment has been made, it has 
been successful ; and a marked improvement 
has been observed in the neighbourhood. 

The fallacies concerning the climate have 
vanished before practical experience. In the 
higher regions a European temperature can 
be found ; while in the plains the inconveni- 
ences of the climate liave been much exagge- 
rated. The staple products of the country 
are valuable, and capable of increased deve- 
lopment, offering an extensive field for agri- 
cultural enterprise. 

To the ardent political economist India 
opens up a fruitful scene of action ; while the 
no less hopeful Christian missionary sees a 
wide sphere for Gospel labours. The one 
hopes for the social regeneration of the coun- 
try by introducing the advantages of civiliza- 
tion ; the other believes in the possibility of 
advancing the cause of Christianity by the \ 
permanent residence of practical Christians. 
Should either, or both, of these aspirations be 
realized, the natives of India will have no 
cause to regret the transference of their alle- 
giance to a foreign sovereign. 



THE END. 



LONDON; PRINTED BT J. 8. VlRTaS, CITY ROAD. 









mGHT HON. LORB STANLEY. 

PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL OF INDIA. 



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"LONDON, JAMES S. VIRTUE. 



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