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London : T. FISHER UNWIN, Paternoster Square, E.C
.e>AΒ»^
BRITISH INDIA
BY
R. W. FRAZER, LL.B., I.C.S. (retired).
LECTURER IN TELUGU AND TAMIL UNIVERSITY COLLEGE AND IMPERIAL
INSTITUTE, &C.
^^^
oA
T. FISHER UNWIN
PATERNOSTER SQUARE
NEW YORK: G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
MDCCCXCVI
MiCROfOfiMED BY
PRESSRVATION
SliRVICES
DATE 3AN041991
Copyright by T. Fisher Unvvin, 1896
(For Great Britain).
Copyright by G. P. Putman's Sons, 1896
(For the United States of America).
PREFACE.
I HAVE considered it best not to include in foot-notes
or in the body of this short' Story of Indian History
references to the many authorities I have consulted.
To have done so would have broken the narrative
and been of no service to the reader for whom the
Story is intended. As far as possible original sources
of information have been relied on, while all recent
works of any importance on Indian History have
been read or consulted. To the numerous works
of Sir W. Wilson Hunter β including the " Rulers
of India" Series he has edited β I would especially
acknowledge indebtedness?, and this with particular
gratitude as it was his writings which first, over
twenty-five years ago, inspired me with a love for
India and its people.
Sir George Birdwood's exhaustive and learned
" Report on the Old Records of the India Ofifice,"
Captain Mahan's " Influence of Sea-Power upon
History," Professor G. W. Forrest's " Selections
from the State Papers of the Foreign Department
of India," and " The History of the Portuguese in
Vin PREFACE.
India," by Mr. F. C. Danvers, have all been most
valuable and suggestive.
Throughout the Story attention has been centred
more on the main factors which led to the foundation
and expansion of British Empire in India than to mere
details of military operations or of administration.
The early history of commerce between the East
and the West, the gradual passing of the course
of that commerce from the Mediterranean to the
route round the Cape of Good Hope, the long
struggle between the Dutch, French, and English
for predominance which ultimately left England
at the close of the seventeenth century in com-
plete possession of the seas and absolute command
over the Eastern trade, are traced for the purpose
of enabling the reader to gain a clear insight into
the primary factors underlying British Dominion in
India. The gradual decay of the Mughal Empire
and loosening of all controlling authority over
outlying principalities are shown to have been the
secondary elements which left India as a field for
the statesmancraft of Hastings, who extended the
British influence from its secure basis in the delta
of the Ganges β where it had been established by
Clive β across India to Bombay in the west and down
to Madras in the south.
After a careful consideration of the State Papers,
edited by Professor Forrest, Sir John Strachey's
" Hastings and the Rohilla War," Sir James Stephen's
" Nuncomar and Impey," Sir Alfred Lyall's " Warren
Hastings," Mr. Beveridge's " The Trial of Maharaja
Nanda Kumar," and contemporary papers,, I have
PREFACE, IX
endeavoured to give an unbiassed account of the
career and policy of Warren Hastings.
The further conquests and acquisitions by a long
series of Governors-General, from those of the Mar-
quess Wellesley down to the annexation of Upper
Burma, in the present day, by Lord Dufferin, have
been but the inevitable results of the policy inaugu-
rated by Clive and Hastings.
The important article, by Sir W.Wilson Hunter
in the May number of the Fortnightly Review for
1896, detailing the discovery by him of evidence that
as early as 1681 a movement was started by Fell,
Bishop of Oxford, for the purpose of the " Conversion
of the Natives" to Christianity, was unfortunately
received too late for reference in the account of
Education and early efforts made for the spread of
Christianity in India.
Miss E. J. Beck has kindly placed at my disposal
two photographs taken by her, and reproduced on
pages 55 and 338 ; while to the kindness of the
publishers of Mr. James Samuelson's " India Past
and Present," I am indebted for permission to re-
produce the photograph on page 293.
The spelling of Indian words is that adopted by
the Government of India in Sir W. Wilson Hunter's
Gazetteer of India : β a as in wom^n ; a as in ftzther ;
i as in pol/ce ; / as in intr/gue ; ^ as in c^ld ; Β« as in
b^^ll ; u as in s^/re ; ^ as in gr^y. The popular mode
of spelling is used in the case of well-known places,
and in extracts the mode of spelling used therein
is retained.
R. W. FRAZER.
LoNDOx Institution.
CLASSIFIED CONTENTS.
Early History of Indian Commerce .
PAGE
1-26
Ancient Trade, 1-4 β Invasions of Alexander the Great, 4-6
β Intercourse between East and West, 6-8 β Muhammad,
8-10 β Cities of the Mediterranean, 11-12 β Portuguese Dis-
coveries and Trade, 12-20 β Dutch and Enghsh, 21-22 β
Early Travellers, 22-24 β Early Voyages, 24-26.
II.
Rise of the Honourable East India Coi\ipany 27-47
The First Voyage, 27-30 β Subsequent Voyages and Hostility
of Portuguese and Dutch, 31-36 β Profits of Eastern Trade,
36-38 β Early Settlements, 39-40 β Wars with Holland and
France, 41-45 β England remains supreme maritime power,
45-46 β The United Company or Honourable East India
Company, 46-47.
III.
India on the Eve of Conquest
48-67
Early Invasions of India, 48-56 β The Aryans, 51-55 β Mu-
hammadan Invasions, 55-57 β ^The Mughal Emperors, 57-67
β The Embassy of Sir Thomas Roe, 59-62 β Break-up of
the Empire, 62-66 β Anarchy and Weakness of Oriental
Troops, 65-67.
xi
XII CLASSIFIED CONTENTS.
IV
rAc;E
French Efforts to Establish an Empire
IN India 68-77
French in South India, 68-69 β The Maraihas and Native
Princes of South India, 69-70 β Dupleix and French Sue- -,^^
cesses, 70-75 β Capture of Madras and Siege of Trichino- /
poh, 71-75 β Chve to the rescue, 77.
Robert Clive 78-118
Early Life, 78-80β Defence of Arcot, 83-84β At Kaveripak,
85-86β At TrichinopoH, 86-88β Returns to England, 89β
Arrival at Madras, 90 β Black Hole of Calcutta, 91-93 β
Defeat of Siraj-ud-Daula, 95-96 β French surrender Chan-
dranagar, 97 β Aminchand deceived, 97-98 β Plassey, 99-102
β French driven from Northern Circars, 103 β Dutch
defeated at Biderra, 104 β French Reverses in South India,
105-106 β Return to England, 107 β Misrule in Bengal,
107-111 β CHve sent out to restore order, 111-112 β Reforms
and Discontent, 113-115 β Famine and Parliamentary
Inquiry, 117 β Death ; Lord North's Regulating Act of
1773 ; The New Governor-General and Council, 118,
VI.
Warren Hastings 119-150
Early Service, 120-122 β Rise of the Marathas, 122-123 β
The RohillaWar, 125-127β Story of Nanda Kumar, 129-133
β Hastings First Governor-General,' 13c β His Council and
Philip Francis, 130-135 β "Declaration of Independence"
and War with France, 134-135 β Hastings calls on Raja of
Benares, and Nawab of Oudh for contributions, 137-139 β
The Begams of Oudh, 139 β Maratha War, 140-143 β War
with Haidar Ali, 144-147 β Sea fights with French, 147-
148 β Peace of Versailles, 148 β Pitt's New India Bill, 149β
Impeachment of Hastings, 150 β Character, 150.
VII.
Lord Cornwallis and Sir John Shore . 151-160
War with Tipu, 152-154 β Permanent Settlement, 154-158 β
Judicial Reforms, 158-159 β Private Trade allowed, 159.
CLASSIFIED CONTENTS. xiil
VIII.
Establishment of British Supremacy β
Marquess Wellesley. . . . 161-185
War with Tipu and Capture of vSeringapatam, 163-168β
Death of Tipu, 167-168β Treaty of Lucknow, 169-171β The
Maratha Armies, 171-174β Treaty of Bassein, 174β Manitha
War, 175-180β Monson's Retreat before Holkar, 178-180 β
Siege of Bhartpur, 180 β Recall of Wellesley and " Admira-
tion and Gratitude " of the Company, 181 β Second Adminis-
tration of Lord Cornwallis, 181 β Mutiny at Vellore, 181-
183β Lord Minto, 183β Conference of Tilsit, 183β Capture
of Java, 184 β Conversion of Debt, 185.
IX.
Marquess of Hastingsβ Exti^nsion of Influ-
ence over Native States . . . 186-200
Ghurka War, 188-190 β The Pindari War, 190-191 β Ma-
ratha War, 192-197 β Banking Firm of Palmer and Co., 198
β Resignation, 198 β Indian Trade thrown open, 198-199 β
Revenue Settlement of Madras, 199β Christianity in India
and a Bishop appointed, 199-200.
X.
Lord Amherst β First Burmese War . 201-204
War Proclaimed, 202 β Bengal Sepoys refuse to cross the
Sea, 202 β Peace, 203 β Siege and Capture of Bhartpur, 203-
204.
XI.
Lord William Bentinck β Commencement
OF Modern History of British India 205-215
Financial Reforms, 205-206 β Revenue Settlement of North-
west Provinces, 206 β Abolition of Sati or Widow-Burning,
206-211 β Suppression of the Thags, 211-214 β Renewal
of the Charter ; trade to China thrown open, 214 β Lord
Macaulay and Education, 214-215.
XIV CLASSIFIED CONTENTS.
XII.
Lord Auckland β Lord Ellenborough β
Afghanistan 216-239
Afghanistan and the Punjab, 216-217 β Treaty of Turk-
manchi, 217 β Siege of Herat, 218 β Russian Embassy
received at Kabul, 218-219 β War Declared, 219 β The Cam-
paign, 219-224 β Occupation of Afghanistan, 223-226 β Out-
break at Kabul, 227 β British Position Untenable, 229 β
Macnaghten makes terms, 229 β Secret Negotiations, 230 β
Assassination of Macnaghten, 230 β The Retreat, 231-233
β Dr. Brydon reaches Jalalabad, 233-234 β The Avenging
Army, 235-236 β Lord Ellenborough and Withdrawal from
Afghanistan, 235-237 β Conquest of Sind, 237-238 β Final
Maratha War, 238-239.
XIII.
1L,0RD Hardinge β The Sikhs and Annexa-
tion OF THE Punjab 240-259
Ranjit Singh, Character and Conquests, 240-244 β The
' Sikhs and their Gurus, 245-246 β The Army or Khalsa, 247-
249 β First Sikh War, 250-255 β Lord Dalhousie and the
Second Sikh War, 255-258 β Annexation of the Punjab, 258-
259-
XIV.
The Mutiny 260-317
Annexations of Lord Dalhousie, 262-268 β Oudh, 262-264 β
Doctrine of Lapse, 265 β Rani of Jhansi and Nana Sahib,
266-267 β Railway Minute and Despatch of Sir C. Wood,
268 β The People of India, 268-270 β The Sepoys and
Previous Mutinies, 270-272 β Conversions to Christianity,
273-274 β Unrest and Intrigues, 274-276 β The Greased
Cartridges, 276-277 β Manghal Pandi, 278 β Mutiny at
Meerut, 280-282β The Rebels at Delhi, 283-285β The
English before Delhi, 285-286 β Measures of Lord Canning,
286-288 β Defence of Arrah, 288-289 β Neill at Benares and
Allahabad, 289-290 β Wheeler's Defence of Cawnpur, 290-
291 β Massacre of the Garrison, 291-294 β Henry Lawrence
secures Lucknow, 294 β Havelock's March to Cawnpur, 294-
298 β Attempts to reach Lucknow, 299-300 β John Lawrence
holds the Punjab, 301 β Fall of Delhi, 302-303 β Havelock
and Outram reach Lucknow, 303-305 β Sir Colin Campbell's
Relief of Lucknow, 305-309 β Retreat, 309 β Final Capture
CLASSIFIED CONTENTS, XV
pa(;k
of Lucknow, 310β Sir Hugh Rose in Central India, 311-314
β India passes from the Company to the Queen, 314 β The
Proclamation, 315β Changes in the Sepoy Army, 315β The
Debt from the Mutiny, 315-316β Financial Reforms, 316β
Death of Lord Canning, 316-317.
XV.
India under the Crown . . . 318-352
Lord Elgin and Sir William Denison, 318 β The Wahabis,
318-319β The Bhutan War, 319-320β Sir John Lawrence,
Governor-General (Viceroy) 319 β Famine in Orissa, 321-
322β Irrigation and Railways, 323-324β Financial Crisis in
Bombay, 324 β Afghanistan and " Non-intervention," 325-
2>2-j β Lord Mayo and Russia, 327-328 β Financial Reforms,
328-329 β Assassination of Lord Mayo, 329-330 β Lord
Northbrook and Afghanistan, 331-332 β Famine, GAekwar
of Baroda, 333-334β Lord Lytton, 334 β Queen proclaimed
Empress of India, 334 β Famine in South India, 334 β
License Tax, 334 β Embassy forced on Afghanistan, 334-
336 β Assassination of Sir Louis Cavagnari, 337 β War, 337-
341β Disaster at Maiwand, 341 β March of Sir Frederick
Roberts, 341-342 β Reforms of Lord Ripon, 342 β Lord
Dufferin and Annexation of Upper Burma, 342 β The Claim
to Panjdeh, 343-344 β Lord Lansdowne and the National
Congress, 344-345β Manipur, 345-346β Chitral, 346-351β
Limits of British Territory, 351-352.
XVI.
Moral and Material Progress under
British Rule 353-39Β°
Extent, Religions, and Languages of India, 353-355 β Army
and Defences, 356-361 β Financial Alarm, 362-364 β Agri-
cultural Population, 364-366 β Land Tax and Revenue, 366-
368 β Administration, 368-370 β Employment of Natives,
370-374 β Railways, Roads, and Sanitation, 374-375 β The
Tansa Reservoir and Periyar Project, 375-377 β Coal,
Petroleum, Iron, 377-378 β Suez Canal, 379-380 β Cotton
and Cotton Duties, 380-382 β Imports and Exports, 382-384
β Education and Christianity, 384-387 β English and
Universities, 387-388 β Ultimate Tendencies, 389-390.
Index 391
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
CALCUTTA {From DanieWs ^^Picturesque Voyage page
to India,'" 1810) .... Frontispiece
MAP OF INDIA facing I
MAP OF ANCIENT CARAVAN ROUTES ... 9
INDIAN SHIPS 13
KING OF KOCHIN 18
OLD EAST INDIA HOUSE 27
MUHAMMADANS PRAYING 55
AKBAR . 59
FORT ST. GEORGE 72
ROBERT, LORD CLIVE 79
FORT OF ARCOT 82
WARREN HASTINGS ... . . . I36
TIPU SULTAN 153
GOVERNMENT HOUSE, CALCUTTA .... 162
DE BOIGNE 173
WIDOW-BURNING 207
OUTRAM 221
KABUL 228
RANJIT SINGH 242
SEAT OF MUTINY 26 1
HENRY LAWRENCE 279
xvii
XVlll
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
MEMORIAL WELL AT CAWNPUR
SIR COLIN CAMPBELL, LORD CLYDE
FAMINE GROUP FROM MADRAS
KABULIS
MAP OF AFGHANISTAN .
MEKONG RIVER
MAP OF STEAM NAVIGATION
RIVER SCENE
293
306
334
334
338
343
361
379
390
THE STORY OF BRITISH INDIA.
I.
EARLY HISTORY OF INDIAN COMMERCE.
V|^^HE strange story of the rise and fall of once
migjity nations is one to which we dare not close
our eyes, firm though our belief may be in the
abiding strength of the material resources of our
own civilisation. The story tells how other civilisa-
tions crumbled to pieces amid all the pride and glory
of their manhood ; it tells how nation after nation,
city after city, rose to opulence and power as each
in turn became the centre of commerce between the
East and the West, only to sink into insignificance
and decay as if they had been struck by magic, when
the course of that commerce drifted elsewhere.
On the banks of the Nile an ancient civilisation
was evolved and nurtured, the secrets of which now
lie half-buried amid its tombs and monuments
beneath the desert sand that sweeps ceaselessly over
the land. Yet in the days of Joseph " all countries
came into Egypt ... for to buy corn." Fifteen hun-
dred years before the advent of Christ its merchants
2 EARLY HISTORY OF INDIAN COMMERCE:.
brought indigo and muslins from India, and porcelain
wares from far-off China, and the fame of its mariners
was great, the memory of their going to and fro living
long in fable. The great King Sesostris (Ramses II.),
as narrated by the historian Diodorus the Sicilian,
sent forth, even before the days of Moses, " a navy of
four hundred sail into the Red Sea . . . conquered all
Asia . . . passed over the river Ganges, and likewise
pierced through all India to the main^ Ocean."
Again in the rich alluvial tracts lying between the
Tigris and Euphrates the Babylonians and Assyrians
once held sway, surrounded by. all the pomp and
splendour of wealth and luxury. Their ships^ went
forth to bring from India the teak wood wherewith
the people of the city of Ur buildcd their palaces ;
the gold of the East, with which they gilded their
temples ; the Indian muslins, silks, pearls, and spices,
of more value than fine gold. Diodorus tells us how,
two thousand years before Christ, the famed Queen
Semiramis carried overland a fleet of two thou-
sand boats to the Indus, which she crossed at the
head of three million foot-soldiers and two hundred
thousand horsemen, and then fought the Emperor
Stabrobates only to fall back defeated, wounded
herself in many places.
Now the palaces and temples of Babylon and
Assyria lie prone, and in our museums the fine work
of her cunning men is an empty show to the passing
crowd.
Tyre, the city of the Phoenicians, grew in the days
of Hiram to be the mistress of the seas and the
" merchant of the people for many isles." Westward
TYRR MISTRESS OF THE SEAS, %
to Carthage, to Tarshish in Spain, round Libya, till,
as we are told by Herodotus, the sun was on their
right, the Phoenician ships sailed, some going East
down the Red Sea to Arabia and Ophir.
When Solomon received a mandate from his
father David to build the Temple to Jehovah, it
was from Tyre that he summoned wise men to
bring back spices and frankincense from the land of
the Queen of Sheba, gold and silver, sandal-wood,
ivory, apes, and peacocks from the land of Ophir,
so that the Temple might be adorned and Solomon
exceed " all the kings of the earth for riches and for
wisdom." He founded " Tadmor in the Wilderness "
as a resting-place for the caravans travelling across
the desert towards Babylon, the " city of merchants,"
where were gathered together embroidered vestments
and woven carpets, shawls, of many colours, gems and
pearls and brazen vessels brought from the Indies,
from Malabar, Ceylon, and the further East by the
Arabian mariners.
Tyre resisted all the continued efforts of the
Assyrians to destroy her commercial prosperity : she
remained the mistress of the seas only to fall before
the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, in 585 B.C., as
of her it had been foretold by the Prophet Ezekiel,
"they shall make spoil of thy riches and make a
prey of thy merchandise, and they shall break down
thy walls and destroy thy pleasant houses, and they
shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in
the midst of the water."
When in 558 B.C. the Babylonian Empire fell to
Cyrus, the wealth from the East no longer passed to
4 EARLY HISTORY OF INDIAN COMMERCE.
Phcenicia and Syria through Tadmor, but stayed with
the Persians. Under Darius Hystaspes the Persian
Empire advanced its conquests as far as the Punjab,
whence it drew a yearly tribute of three hundred
talents of gold, employing in its armies the Indian
soldiers, who, clothed in white cotton and armed
with bows and arrows, marched with Xerxes towards
Greece and fought under Mardonius at Plataea.
It was not until the time of Alexander the Great
that the trade from India once more resumed its
ancient route down the Persian Gulf, along the Tigris
through Palmyra, the Tadmor of old, to enrich the
cities of the Mediterranean.
Alexander the Great, born in 356 B.C., succeeded
his father, Philip of Macedon, at the age of twenty.
Having first curbed the northern barbarians who,
under Attalos, came swarming down on his kingdom
from the Danube, he razed Tyre to the ground,
reduced Syria and Egypt to submission, and founded
the city of Alexandria. He then passed on towards
the East, where he broke in pieces the empire of Cyrus,
swept up the wealth of Babylon and Susa and slew
Darius, thus avenging the insults that Xerxes and
Mardonius had offered to the altars and temples of
Greece, leaving nought to tell of the wealth and
power of the Persian nation save the burned ruins of
Persepolis and the rifled tomb of Cyrus. Marching
into Bactria, he founded another Alexandria, now
known to us as Herat, there pausing for three years
before he set out, in 327 B.C., for his invasion of India.
Crossing the river Indus, near Attock, on a bridge
of boats, he defeated Porus, the Indian ruler of the
ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 5
Punjab, in a pitched battle near the well-known
modern battlefield of Chilianwala, where, in memory
of his victory, he established a city which he called
Bucephala, after his charger Bucephalus, slain during
the conflict.
Many are the stories told of the marvels seen by
Alexander and his soldiers in their marches through
the sacred land of the Five Rivers. With awe-
stricken wonder they had seen elephants seize armed
soldiers in battle and hand them to their drivers for
slaughter; they had seen in the dense forests serpents,
glittering like gold, whose sting was death, and
pythons of huge girth capable of swallowing a deer ;
they had heard of ants, the colour of cats and the size
of Egyptian wolves, that dug up the gold hid in the
sands of the deserts of Afghanistan, and mangled the
Indians who came on camels to carry off the pre-
cious metal ; they had seen fierce dogs seize lions and
allow their limbs to be cut off one by one before they
relinquished their hold ; they had razed the cities of
the Kathians, of whom it was told that their custom
was to burn widows along with their deceased hus-
bands ; they had listened when Alexander was
rebuked by the Indian sages, who told him that of
all his conquests nothing would remain to him but
just as much earth as would suffice to make a grave
to cover his bones, and they had seen with astonish-
ment the ascetic sage Kalanos, wearied of life, give
his begging bowl and rug to the Conqueror of the
World and ascend the funeral pyre without emotion,
moving not as the flames slowly carried his soul to
rest. Ere they left India one more wonder, stranger
6 EARLY HISTORY OF INDIAN COMMERCE.
to their eyes than all others, awaited them. As they
sailed down the Indus for the ocean, the tide, a
phenomenon as yet unknown to them, came rolling
up the river, tossing on its mighty bore their frail
ships, while, in the words of the historian Arrian, " to
add to their terror, monstrous creatures of frightful
aspect, which the sea had left, were seen wandering
about." The rising tide rescuing them from their
position, Alexander's invading army gladly turned its
back on India, leaving behind more or less permanent
colonies of Macedonians and allies in Bactria, Taxila,
the Punjab, and Sind.
From the writings of the scientific men and
historians who accompanied the Macedonians on
their raid into India, the Western world obtained the
first reliable accounts respecting the social and
religious life of the people of India at this early
period.
After the death of Alexander, India (as far as con-
quered) and Bactria fell to Seleukos Nikator, who
made an alliance with the renowned Indian monarch
Chandragupta, to whom he gave his daughter in
marriage, sending Megasthenes to reside as ambas-
sador at the capital Palibothra, said to have been a"
mighty city, ten miles long by two miles broad,
strongly defended, entered by sixty gates, its entire
army numbering 400,000 men with 20,000 cavalry.
For many centuries the interchange of ideas
between the East and West continued, the wide-
spreading influence of which is even at present but
little realised and but seldom acknowledged.
Asoka, the Constantine of Buddhism, grandson of
EAST AND WEST. 7
Chandragupta, ascended the throne about 260 B.C.,
and from the inscriptions which he caused to be
graven on rocks wc learn that the intercommunication
between the East and the West was close enough at
this period to enable him to send forth missionaries
to Antiochus of Syria, to Ptolemy Philadelphus of
Egypt, to Antigonus of Macedon, to Megas of
Cyrene, and to Alexander of Epirus, to proclaim in
their lands the gospel of self-control and respect for
all life as taught by Buddha.
Pliny, who died 79 A.D., lamented the drain of gold
from Rome to India, which in his days amounted to
the sum of ;^2,C)00,CX)0 sterling, sent annually in
exchange for silks, pearls, sapphires, gems, cinnamon,
spices, and other Eastern luxuries, for which fabulous
sums were paid, and Roman coins of all the em-
perors, from Augustus to Hadrian, are still dug up in
numbers all over South India.
It is now almost certain that from the West,
probably through Palmyra, India first learned to
construct architectural buildings and to carve in
stone, having, previous to the invasion of Alexander
the Great, worked out her own artistic ideals, as far
as we know, in wood.
There still remains unexplained the strange re-
semblance in form between the Indian and Classical
drama, and the close connection between early
Indian and Greek philosophy.
The Indian astronomer Garga, who wrote in the
first century B.C., said that the Greeks were very
barbarians, yet he hesitated not to confess that their
astronomy was worthy of study. Later astronomers,
8 EARLY HISTORY OF INDIAN COMMERCE.
such as Aryabhatta and Vardha Mitra, not only
adopted the Greek zodiac and its divisions, but
made use of the Greek names sHghtly orientaHsed.
There were many routes by which this intercom-
munication of ideas, reHgious, artistic, and social, could
have taken place. There was the well-known route
by the Persian Gulf through Palmyra, a city which
became so renowned that Aurelian, jealous of its
wealth and power, razed it to the ground in 273 A.D.,
and carried off its Queen Zenobia. Arab marinei's
also sailed from India and the further East, keeping
close to the coast till they reached Berenice in the
Red Sea, whence the goods were transported to
Coptos, thence down the Nile to Alexandria. Under
such emperors as the cruel and dissipated Com-
modus, the plundering barbarian Caracalla, and the
infamous Eleogabalus, the wealth that came from
the East through Alexandria to the imperial city of
Rome passed away to Constantinople, founded in
320 A.D., and to the rising cities along the Medi-
terranean.
So the trade between the East and the West grew
and flourished till suddenly a new power arose,
claiming for itself the temporal and spiritual supre-
macy over the whole known world.
From the deserts of Arabia came forth the haughty
message to Christendom, that Muhammad had pro-
claimed himself as the only Prophet of the One
True God. To all idolaters he gave the choice
between accepting his mission and teachings, and of
being put to the sword ; while all Christians and
Jews were to be subdued and made to pay tribute
MUHAMMAD,
to his followers, who now came swarming from their
tents, drunk with a new religious fanaticism, eager to
seek fresh homes in the stately palaces of the lands
they were soon to overrun.
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To the successors of Augustus and Artaxerxes
summonses were sent, calling on them to bow down
and acknowledge the Divine mission of the new
Prophet. The Roman Empire β with its capital at
lO EARLY HISTORY OP INDIAN COMMERCE.
Constantinople β then extended over all the lands on
the borders of the Mediterranean Sea, its commands
being obeyed from the Atlantic to the Euphrates,
while in Persia the ancient dynasty of Cyrus and
Darius had been reinstated when Artaxerxes, in the
third century, was proclaimed king, and the religion
of Zoroaster, the belief in Ormuzd and Ahriman, the
contending powers of light and darkness, once more
restored.
In answer to the summons of the Prophet, the
Roman emperor, Heraclius, fearing danger from
Arabia, sent back presents ; the proud Persian
monarch tore the letters he received in pieces and
scattered it to the winds, hearing which Muhammad
swore that so he would scatter the Persian power.
Within the space of eight years Bostra, Damascus,
Heliopolis, Jerusalem, Aleppo and Antioch fell before
the Crescent, and Syria passed for the next three
hundred years under the sway of the followers of
Muhammad, Persia falling in 636 A.D., after the battle
of Kadesia. In 640 Amru marched into Egypt and
took possession of Alexandria, leaving the Arabian
conquerors in command of the Red Sea and the
Persian Gulf, the two great trade routes from the
East.
One route alone remained by which Eastern pro-
duce could reach the cities of the Mediterranean free
from the prohibitory dues exacted by the Muham-
madan conquerors : that by the Indus along the
ancient route by the banks of the Oxus, across to
the Caspian, thence to the Black Sea, Constantinople,
and the Mediterranean. To gain possession of this
CniES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN. I I
route, and to avoid the duties enforced at Alexandria,
amounting to one-third the value of all produce
exported, Venice, founded in 452 A.ix, on the islets of
the Adriatic by fugitives from North Italy, strove
incessantly, knowing well that alone by a command
of the Eastern trade could she rise to be mistress
of the seas. To the pilgrims of the Fourth Crusade
she agreed to give shipping if they would but for a
time forget their holy mission and aid in reducing her
rival Constantinople. The compact was made. In
1204 Constantinople fell, the rich homes of its peace-
ful citizens being given over to rapine and flarnes, its
art treasures, the finest and most prized that the
world has ever known, being broken in pieces and
trampled underfoot by the marauding crusaders and
hired mercenaries of the merchants of Venice. Count
Baldwin of Flanders was enthroned Emperor of the
East, the Venetians holding the forts to gain command
over the Eastern trade. Of these advantages on the
Black Sea Venice was, however, soon deprived by
Genoa, Pisa, and Florence β cities now eager to enter
into the competition for the monopoly of the gems,
spices, and silks of India sent to the further West in
exchange for Easterling or sterling silver. Pisa gave
up the struggle after her defeat at Meloria in 1284,
and in 1406 fell subject to Florence, which, under
the Medici, had become the city of bankers for all
nations. Genoa fought on down to the fifteenth
century when Venice again became supreme, selling
the valued products of India to the Flemish mer-
chants who sailed with them to Sluys, then the
seaport town of Bruges, to Bergen in Norway,
12 EARLY HISTORY OF INDIAN COMMERCE.
Novgorod in Russia, to the many associated towns
of the Hanseatic League, and also to their steel-
yard or warehouse on the Thames.
In these Western cities it was known that the
costly goods they so prized came from the East, but
the way there was unknown. In Portugal Prince
Henry the Navigator spent his life in endeavouring
to discover how his ships might reach the Indies by
sailing round Africa. In i486 Bartholomew Diaz
went south with three ships, and discovered what he
called " The Cape of Tempests," renamed in joy
" The Cape of Good Hope " by King John II.
In 1492 Columbus, a Genoese, after offering his
services in vain to Genoa, Portugal, and England,
sailed away to the West, hoping thus to reach India,
and discovered America.
When Emmanuel succeeded John II. as King of
Portugal, he resolved to send a gentleman of his
household, Vasco da Gama, to find out if land lay
beyond the wild southern seas.
On the 8th of July, 1497, Vasco da Gama sailed
from the Tagus with three small ships, the Sam
Gabriel the Sam Rafael, and the Sam Miguel ^^.o!^ of
some 100 to 120 tons burden, having crews amounting
in all to 170 men.
By the time Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of
Good Hope the pilots and sailors were so wearied
from the incessant labour of working the pumps to
keep the frail ships afloat, and so terrified by the
heavy seas, that they mutinied and demanded that
their leader should turn back and no further seek
to brave the unknown perils of a trackless ocean.
14 EARLY HISTORY OF INDIAN COMMERCE.
Vasco da Gama at once placed the pilots in irons,
threw all the charts and instruments of navigation
overboard, declaring that God would guide him,
and other aid he required not ; if that aid failed,
neither he nor any of the crews would ever again
see Pprtugal. So the ships had to toil on, many of
the sailors dying of scurvy, a disease now heard of
for the first time in history. Their labours were at
length rewarded. Eleven months after they had
left home they sighted the west coast of India, and
cast anchor near the city of the Zamorin, or Ruler
of the Seas, whence many people came crowding
to the beach, wondering greatly at the Portuguese
ships.
The Zamorin and his Indian subjects were willing
to open up a friendly intercourse with Vasco da
Gama and his sailors, but the Arab mariners, or
Moors, as they were called, who for many centuries
had held in their own hands the trade between the
west coast of India and the Persian Gulf, or Red Sea,
were unwilling to see any rivals in their lucrative
business. Having succeeded in inducing Vasco da
Gama to come on shord, they carried him off on
various pretexts through the malarious lagoons bor--
dering the coast, hoping that he might resent
their treatment and so give them some excuse to
slay him and drive away his ships. By quiet patience
he eluded all the plots laid against him, until his
ships were laden with such scanty stores of pepper,
cinnamon, and spices as his captains were able to
purchase. Vasco da Gama at length obtained his
release, and departed from Calicut, vowing to come
THE PORTUGUESE. I5
back and wage a war of extermination against the
Moors β a vow which he and his successors ever
afterwards barbarously and ruthlessly endeavoured
to fulfil. From Calicut he sailed back towards
Cannanore, where we hear, as recorded by Caspar
Correa ^ in his account of Vasco da Cama's
voyages, of one of the many strange prophecies told
in the East. It is there recorded, "In this country
of India they are much addicted to soothsayers
and diviners. . . . According to what was known
later, there had been in this country of Canna-
nore a diviner so diabolical in. whom they believed
so much that they wrote down, all that he said,
and preserved it like prophecies that would come to
pass. They held a legend from him in which it was
said that the whole of India would be taken and
ruled over by a very distant king, who had white
people, who would do great harm to those who
were not their friends ; and this was to happen a
long time later, and he left signs of when it would
be. In consequence of the great disturbance caused
by the sight of these ships, the King was very
desirous of knowing what they were ; and he spoke
to his diviners, asking them to tell him what ships
were those and whence they came. The diviners
conversed with their devils, and told him that the
ships belonged to a great king, and came from very
far, and according to what they found written, these
were the people who were to seize India by war and
peace, as they had already told him many times,
' " Lendas da India," translated by the Hon, E, J. Stanley for the
Hakluyt Society.
l6 EARLY HISTORY OF INDIAN COMMERCE.
because the period which had been written down
was concluded."
The king and his counsellors were so assured of
the truth of this prophecy, that they received the
Portuguese with great honour and friendship, pressing
on them more presents and goods than could be
stored away in the ships, which were soon able to
sail away with ample cargoes of pepper, cinnamon,
ginger, cloves, mace, and nutmegs.
Such was the commencement of the modern
history of commerce between the East and the West.
Vasco da Gama reached Portugal in 1499 to the
great delight of the" king, who immediately assumed
the title of " Lord of the Conquest, Navigation, and
Commerce of Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia, and China,"
a title confirmed in 1502 by a Bull from Pope
Alexander VI.
The profits of the voyage being found to be sixty
times the expenses incurred. King Emmanuel deter-
mined to send to the East " another large fleet of
great and strong ships which could stow much
cargo, and which, if they returned in safety, would
bring him untold riches."
Vasco da Gama never forgave the Moors for their
treatment of him on his first arrival at Calicut. When
he visited the coast again, in 1502, he captured two
ships and sixteen small vessels, and having cut off
the hands and ears and noses of eight hundred
unfortunate Moors, who formed the crews, he broke
their teeth with staves, placed them all in a small
ship which he set on fire and allowed to drift ashore,
so that the Zamorin might judge of the fierce wrath
Z AMOR IN OF CALICUT. 1 7
of the Portuguese sailors. No wonder the Portuguese
historian writes, as recorded in the Introduction to
the Hakluyt Society's account by Correa, " The con-
quest of India is repugnant to us, and strikes us with
horror, on account of the injustice and barbarity of
the conquerors, their frauds, extortions and san-
guinary hatreds ; whole cities ravaged and given to
the flames ; amid the glare of conflagrations and the
horrid lightning of artillery, soldiers converted into
executioners after victory."
The native princes were determined not to sur-
render without one final struggle. Against Cochin,
where Duarte Pacheco, a Portuguese captain, had
been left in command of a little over one hundred
Portuguese soldiers and three hundred Malabar native
troops, the Zamorin of Calicut advanced at the head
of an immense army of fifty thousand troops and
numerous cannon, aided by a sea-force of some three
hundred ships.
P^or five months he strove to drive the handful of
Portuguese from India. Time after time his troops
were defeated, ten thousand of them being slain, and
all his ships sunk save four. He at length retreated,
finding that his undisciplined native troops could not
avail against PZuropean soldiers, and Duarte Pacheco
was left victorious, the first to show to the West
the possibility of founding an empire in India, and
the first of the long line of heroes whose services to
their country were repaid by neglect or insult, poverty
or death.
Before the trade from the P^ast finally passed to.
the Atlantic the Portuguese had to fight one more
3
X ^
o ^
fa I'
o ^
2 .^
DO.M LOUR EN CO DE ALMEIDA. 1 9
fight. The Sultan of Egypt, seeing that the course
of commerce, through his dominions to the Medi-
terranean ports, was passing to the new route round
the Cape of Good Hope, resolved to gather together
a great fleet and send it to India to destroy the
Portuguese ships now trading at Cochin, Cannanorc,
and Quilon. Dom Louren^o de Almeida, aged
eighteen, son of Dom FVancisco de Almeida, the first
great Portuguese Viceroy of India, met the Egyptian
and an allied native fleet off Chaul, where, after two
days' fighting, the Portuguese were defeated and
forced to retreat.
Dom Lourengo's ship was surrounded, and he him-
self wounded. Disdaining to yield, he fell fighting
amid a brave band of heroes, as told in Mickle's
well-known translation of Camoens : β
' Bound to the mast the god-Hke hero stands,
Waves his proud sword and cheers his woeful bands ;
Though winds and seas their wonted aid deny,
To yield he knows not, but he knows to die."
With fierce wrath the Viceroy hastened to avenge
the death of his son. He ravaged and burned the
hostile city of Dabhol, scattered the Egyptian and
allied native fleet of two hundred ships, plundering
and burning them all with the exception of four, and
slaying three thousand of the Moors, thus establishing
the supremacy of the Portuguese in the Eastern seas.
The same sad fate, allotted to so many who strove
to knit together the East and the West, followed the
footsteps of the first great Viceroy of India. De-
prived, by orders from home, of his command, he
20 EARLY HISTORY OF INDIAN COMMERCE,
departed from India in proud anger to meet with
an ignominious death in a petty fray with some
Kaffir savages at Saldanha Bay in Africa β perhaps
a happy release from the slow, cankering life of
neglect and contumely meted out to Pacheco, La
Bourdonnais, Dupleix, Lally, Clive, Hastings, and
many others who lived to be judged by their fellow-
countrymen, whose fight they had fought and won.
For a century the Portuguese held the " Gorgeous
East in fee," trading unmolested from the Cape of
Good Hope to the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, to
the Spice Islands and China, their possessions along
the Atlantic, in Africa and Brazil, filling up the full
measure of a mighty empire destined to fall to pieces
and sink to decay when the trade from the East
passed from its hands.
Francisco de Almeida, the first Viceroy, saw clearly
that Portugal could never establish a great colonising
empire in India, that territorial possessions would
prove too heavy a drain on her population and
resources. His constant admonition to King Em-
manuel was that the trade with India would ulti-
mately fall to the nation whose forces ruled the
seas.
His successors, brave and wise men as many of
them were, saw but the immediate present ; they
possessed not the divine gift, granted but to few of
India's early administrators, such as Almeida, Dupleix,
Clive, and Hastings, of viewing all events that
passed before them as mere phases in the world's
history, directed and moulded by the irresistible
prmciples which govern the destiny of nations, and
DUTCH AND ENGLISH. 2 1
not as springing from the irresponsible actions of men
or chance decision of battles.
Alfonso de Albuquerque, the next Viceroy, deemed
that by the prowess and valour of his European
soldiers he could establish a lasting empire for his
people in the East. In 1510 he captured Goa, which
soon grew to be the wealthiest and most powerful
city in the East ; he reduced Ormuz, thus closing the
Persian Gulf to the Arab traders ; he built a fortress
at Socotra to command the Red Sea, and left the
coast from the Cape of Good Hope to China in
the hands of his successors.
Portugal held the commerce of the East, sending
its goods north to Bruges, Antwerp, Amsterdam,
Nuremberg, and Augsburg, until she became united
with Spain in 1580, when the Dutch, who, under
William of Orange, had in 1572 shaken off the
Spanish yoke, could no longer trade with Lisbon. It
was then that the Dutch, determining not to be de-
prived of their share in the Eastern trade, sent their
navicfators to the north-east, hoping to discover some
new route to India and learn something of its com-
merce.
The defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 left the
seas free for the Dutch and English to sail south
round the Cape of Good Hope and take part in
the commerce of the Eastern world, independent of
Portugal.
In 1595 one Jan Huygen van Linschoten, a West
Friesland burgher, who had travelled to India with
the Archbishop of Goa, returned home after thirteen
years' residence in the P^ast and published a cele-
22 EARLY HISTORY OF INDIAN COMMERCE.
brated book, in which he gave a full account of the
route to India as well as of the commerce carried on
there by the Portuguese. In 1595 the Dutch de-
spatched four ships under Cornelius Houtman to sail
round the Cape of Good Hope ; in 1602 trading
factories were set up in Ceylon and along the west
coast of India, and in the farther East from Batavia
in Java to Japan and China.
By this time news had also reached England of the
wealth of India. Thomas Stevens, the first English-
man who ever visited India, had sailed from Lisbon
to Goa in 1579 and had become Rector of the Jesuit
College at Salsette. From there, in a series of letters
written to his father, he aroused the interest of the
English people in the East by the vivid account he
gave of the trade of the Portuguese and the fertility
of the land.
In 1583 three English merchants, Ralph Fitch,
James Newberry, and William Leedes, started over-
land for India. They were made prisoners by the
Portuguese at Ormuz, to the despair of Newberry,
who wrote : " It may be that they will cut our throtes
or keepe us long in prison, God's will be done." They
were, however, spared, and sent on to Goa where
they saw Thomas Stevens and the celebrated Jan van
Linschoten. Escaping, after many adventures, from
Goa, they travelled through a great part of India,
giving in letters home an interesting account of the
country and the customs of the people, all strange
and wonderful to these first English travellers. From
Bijapur, Fitch writes that there " they bee great
idolaters, and they have their idols standing in the
EARLY TRAVELLERS. 23
woods which they call Pagodes. Some bee like a
Cowe, some like a Monkie, some like Buffles, some
like peacockes, and some like the devill." Golconda
is described as "a very faire towne, pleasant, with
faire houses of bricke and timber." Fitch then made
his way to Masulipatam, on the east coast, " whether
come many shippes out of India, Pegu and Sumatra
very richly laden with pepper, spices and other
commodities." Agra is described as " a very great
citie and populous, built with stone, having faire
and large streetes." " Fatepore Sikri and Agra are
two very great cities, either of them much greater
than London and very Populous. Between Agra and
Fatepore are twelve miles and all the way is a market
of victualls and other things as full as though a man
were still in a towne." " Hither," we are further told,
" is a great resort of merchants from Persia and out
of India, and very much merchandise of silke and
clothe and of precious stones, both Rubies, Diamants
and Pearles."
John Newberry departed from Agra for home,
journeying through Persia ; William Leedes took
service as jeweller with the Emperor Akbar, and
Ralph Fitch continued his travels, proceeding towards
Bengal, noting the power and influence of the Brahman
priests, who, he says, are " a kind of craftie people
worse than the Jewes." The myriad temples, the
bathing ghats, and sacred wells of Benares call forth
his wonder, but one custom struck him with more
surprise than all other things he had heard of or seen
in the course of his travels β the custom of widow-
burning. " Wives here," he writes, " doe burne with
24 EARLY HISTORY OF INDIAN COMMERCE.
their husbands when they die, if they will not, their
heads be shaven, and never any account is made of
them afterward." Travelling from Benares towards
Patna he found that the road was infested with bands
of robbers ; nevertheless he managed to reach Bhutan
in safety, returning to " Hugeli, which is the place
where the Portugals keepe in the country of Bengala,"
and thence sailing for home he arrived at Ceylon,
where the king was very powerful, " his guard are a
thousand thousand men, and often he commeth to
Columbo, which is the place where the Portugals have
their fort, with an hundred thousand men and many
elephants. But they be naked people all of them,
yet many of them be good with their pieces which be
muskets."
Fitch reached home in 1591, after an absence of
eight years from his native country, where, in the
meantime, more certain and accurate knowledge of
the route to India and the Portuguese commerce had
been gained.
In the year 1587 a large Portuguese ship named
the San Filippe had been captured by Sir Francis
Drake off the Azores on its way from Goa to Lisbon,
and amid great rejoicing towed into Plymouth, where
its papers were examined and its cargo of Eastern
produce found to be of ^108,049 value.
A few years later another great ship, the largest in
the Portuguese navy, the Madre di Dios, was also cap-
tured off the Azores on its way home from India,
brought into Dartmouth, and her cargo of jewels,
spices, nutmegs, silks, and cottons sold for ^150,000;
the papers found in her giving a full account of the
GEORGE RAYMOND AND JAMES LANCASTER. 2$
trade and settlements of the Portuguese in the
Eastern seas.
In 1 591 three ships, the Penelope, the Merchant
Royal, and the Edward Bonadventwe, sailed under
command of George Raymond and James Lan-
caster, on the first voyage to India from England.
By the time they reached the Cape of Good Hope
scurvy had so weakened the sailors, and the tem-
pestuous seas and storms so damaged the ships, that
the Merchant Royal had to be sent home with fifty of
the crews. Six days after, on " the 14th of September,
we were encountered," witnesses James Lancaster in
his account as recorded by Hakluyt, " with a mighty
storme and extreeme gusts of winde, wherein we lost
our general's companie, and could never heare of
him nor his ship any more." So Lancaster had to
sail on, the Bonadventure alone being left out of the
three ships to encounter more sore perils and trials,
for " foure dayes after this uncomfortable separation
in the morning toward ten of the clocke we had a
terrible clap of thunder, which slew foure of our men
outright, their necks being wrung in sonder without
speaking any word, and of 94 men there was not one
untouched, whereof some were stricken blind, others
were bruised in the legs and armes and others in their
brests, others were drawen out at length as though
they had been racked. But (God be thanked) they
all recovered saving only the foure which were slaine
out right."
Lancaster reached India, cruised about for some
time in the Eastern seas, pillaging such Portuguese
vessels as he captured, and then sailed for home, passed
26 EARLY HISTORY OF INDIAN COMMERCE.
the Cape, reached the West Indies and the Bermudas,
where he and nearly all his remaining sailors landed
on a desert island, "but in the night time, about
twelve of the clocke, our ship did drive away with
five men and a boy onely in it ; our carpenter secretly
cut their own cable, leaving nineteen of us on land
without boate or anything, to our great discomfort."
From this position Lancaster and the few survivors
of the ill-fated expedition were rescued by a French
ship, and arrived at Dieppe on the 24th of May, 1 594,
having "spent in this voyage three yeeres, five weekes
and two dayes, which the Portugals performe in halfe
the time."
In 1596 a second effort was made to reach India,
Captain Benjamin Wood sailing in charge of the
Beai% the Bears Whelp, and Benjamin, but neither he
nor his ships were ever heard of again.
Renewed and more vigorous efforts were now
necessary, for the Dutch, were gradually monopolising
the trade with the East. In 1599, they raised the
price of pepper in the English market from 3s. to 8s.
per pound, and the Lord Mayor of London imme-
diately called together a meeting of the principal City
merchants to consider what course should be pursued. '
On the 22nd of September, Sir Stephen Soame, the
Lord Mayor, sundry aldermen, and others of less
dignity, such as grocers, drapers, vintners, leather-
sellers, skinners, and haberdashers, met together at
Founders' Hall, Lothbury, and there agreed β "with
their owne handes to venter in the pretended voiage
to the Easte Indies, the which it may please the Lord
to prosper."
wmBB^s^gm
OLD EAST INDIA HOUSE.
(From ^^Gentleman's Magazine^'' 1784.)
II.
RISE OF THE HONOURABLE EAST INDIA COMPANY.
One year after the merchants of London had first
assembled together they received the announcement
that it was Her Majesty's pleasure " that they should
proceade in their purpose," the Lords of the Council
28 RISE OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY.
shortly after admonishing them "that you should
therein use all expedicion and possible speede to
advance the same, knowing that otherwyse you may
much prejudice yolirselves by your staggeringe and
delaies."
Four ships, the Malice Scourge, of 600 tons, the
Hector, of 300 tons, the Ascension, of 260, the
Susan, of 240, and a small pinnace were accordingly
purchased and made ready for sailing when a diffi-
culty arose. The Lord Treasurer strove to place Sir
Edward Michelborne, a Court favourite, in charge of
the expedition β a proposal which the City merchants
objected to, giving as their reason that " they purpose
not to employ anie gent in any place of charge or
comaundent in the said voiage," their intention being
"to sort their business with men of their own quality."
The Malice Scowge, rechristened the Red Dragon,
was placed in charge of James Lancaster, with a crew
of 202 men. Captain John Davis, the famous North-
West navigator, being pilot ; John Middleton was
made commander of the Hector, with 108 men ;
William Brand commander of the Ascension, with 82
men ; and John Heywood commander of the Susan,
with 88 men; the Guest, a small vessel of 130 tons,-
being purchased to accompany the fleet as a
victualler.
On the 31st of December, 1600, the merchants
received " The Charter of Incorporation of the East
India Company by the name of the Governor and
Company of Merchants of London trading into the
East Indies," with power to export ;^30,ooo in bullion
out of the country, the same to be returned at the
FIRST VOYAGE. 29
end of the voyage, the Charter being granted for a
term of fifteen years.
On the 2nd of April, 1601, the four ships started
on their memorable voyage, having on board the sum
of ;^28,742 in bullion, and ^6,860 worth of British
staples, such as cutlery, glass, and hides, wherewith
they hoped to open up a trade in the Eastern seas.
This laudable enterprise they commenced, after the
fashion of the times, by capturing, on the 21st of
June, a Portuguese ship bound from Lisbon to the
East Indies, and taking from her 146 butts of wine,
much oil and other goods, " which was a great helpe
to us in the whole voyage after." By the time the
ships reached Saldanha Bay, now known as Table
Bay, the crews of three of the ships were so weakened
by scurvy, from which disease 105 in all died, that
they had not strength left even to let go their anchors,
the crew of the Dragon alone escaping, as they
abstained as much as possible from eating salt meat
and drank freely of lemon juice. James Lancaster
went ashore to " seeke some refreshing for our sicke
and weake men, where hee met with certaine of the
Countrey people and gave them divers trifles, as
knives and pieces of old iron and such like, and made
signes to them to bring him downe Sheepe and Oxen.
For he spake to them in the cattels Language, which
was never changed at the Confusion of Babell, which
was Moath for oxen and kine, and Baa for Sheepe,
which language the people understood very well
without any interpreter."
Recovering their health and strength they sailed
30 mSE OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY.
and on the 5th of June anchored off Achin. Here
a treaty of peace was drawn up between James
Lancaster and the King, who took more interest
in cock-fighting than in Hstening to the letters from
Queen EHzab^th to " her loving brother, the great
and mightie King of Achem." Seeing that he could
obtain but small store of goods or pepper, on account
of failure in the previous year's harvests, " the generall
daily grew full of thought how to lade his shippes
to save his owne credit, the merchants' estimation
that set him aworke, and the reputation of his
countrey : considering what a foule blot it would
be to them all in regard to the nations about us,
seeing there were enough merchandise to be bought
in the Indies, yet he should be likely to return
home with empty ships." Sailing away to the
Straits of Malacca a Portuguese ship of 1,900 tons
was sighted, on the 3rd of October, and, as told in
the journals of the voyage, transcribed in " Purchas
his Pilgrimes," published in 1625, "within five or six
dales we had unladen her of 950 packes of Calicoes
and Pintados, besides many packets of merchandise :
she had in her much rice and other goods whereof we
made small account." In the simple narrative we are
further told that " the Generall was very glad of this
good hap, and very thankfull to God for it, and as he
told me he was much bound to God that had eased
him of a very heavy care, and that he could not be
thankfull enough to Him for this blessing given him.
For, saith he, He hath not onely supplied my neces-
sities, to lade these ships I have ; but hath given me
as much as will lade as many more shippes as I have,
if I had them to lade.'
SECOND VOYAGE. 3 1
Delighted at their good fortune they sailed on to
Bantam, in Java, where " wee traded here very peace-
ably, although the Javians be reckoned among the
greatest Pickers and Thieves in the world."
The ships returned to England in the summer of
1603, the Court Minutes of the Company stating that
on the 1 6th of June of that year the Ascension
appeared in the river with a cargo of 210,000 lbs. of
pepper, 1,100 lbs. of cloves, 6,030 lbs. of cinnamon,
and 4,080 lbs. of gum lacquer. The Lord High
Admiral demanded one-tenth of the value of the
prizes taken at sea, and a further sum of ;^9I7 had to
be paid for Customs dues ; nevertheless, the voyage
was successful enough to encourage the East India
Company to subscribe together a sum of ;^6o,450 for
a second expedition which sailed in 1604 in charge
of Henry Middleton.
Reaching Bantam, two of the four ships which
formed the fleet were laden with pepper and the
other two sailed on to Amboyna. The Portuguese
and Dutch were here found to be engaged in a
fierce war. Each was determined to gain the mono-
poly of the trade in the Moluccas, but both were
equally determined to combine against a new com-
petitor. Middleton, finding himself unable either to
open up factories, or enter into friendly negotiations
with the natives, was obliged to depart with his ships
unladen. Although one of the ships was lost at sea,
the Company, on casting up their accounts, found
they had made a profit of 95 per cent, on the entire
capital subscribed for their two first ventures.
This lucrative source of wealth soon brought forth
32 J^ISE OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY.
competitors eager to share in its profits. In 1604
James I., in direct contravention of the Company's
exclusive right of trading with the East, gave permis-
sion to Sir Edward Michelborne, whom the London
merchants had refused to place in charge of their
first expedition, to sail on a voyage of discovery to
China, Japan, Corea, and Cathay. Starting with
the Tiger, a ship of 240 tons, and a small pinnace,
the Tiger's Whelp, Sir Edward Michelborne sailed
east, where he captured and pillaged some Chinese
vessels. The voyage is memorable for the fact that
the simple-souled John Davis, the North-West
navigator, who accompanied the expedition, was
treacherously slain by some Japanese pirates whom
he allowed to come on board his ship under the
belief that they were peaceable traders bringing some
useful information.
Notwithstanding the interference of these private
traders or " interlopers " the Company continued to
send their ships to the East. In 1606 three ships
went to Bantam for pepper and to Amboyna for
cloves ; the latter sold in England for Β£16,2^^, the
original cost being ^2,947 15s. The two ships sent
out on the fourth voyage in 1607 were lost, neverthe-
less the Company made on its third and fifth voyages
a net profit of 234J per cent.
By degrees trade was opened up at Surat and
Cambay, where cloths and calicoes were purchased
and carried to Bantam and the Moluccas to be ex-
changed for the more valued spices and pepper. The
Charter, as renewed by James I. in 1609, granted the
Company not only the exclusive right in perpetuity
PORTUGUESE OPPOSir/ON. 33
of trading to the East Indies but also the right
of holding and alienating land β concessions which
inspired so much confidence that the subscriptions
for the sixth voyage reached the sum of ;^82,ooo.
The sixth voyage is memorable for the fact that the
largest merchant ship then in England, the Trades
Increase, of 1,100 tons, was sent out to the East.
The Portuguese made strenuous efforts to pre-
vent the adventurers trading at Surat, whereon the
English commander, Sir Henry Middleton, captured
one of their ships laden with Indian goods, so that
the profits of the voyage amounted to ;^I2I 13s. 4d.
per cent. The Trades Increase, however, struck on
a rock and subsequently capsized β a calamity which
so affected Sir Henry Middleton that he died of grief.
The power and trade of the Portuguese had
rapidly waned from 1580, when they were united
with Spain under Philip II.; but in the East they
still strove to hold their once opulent settlements.
In 161 2 four Portuguese galleons and twenty-five
frigates attacked the English fleet under Captain
Best at Swally, off Surat, and were driven off with
heavy loss. In 161 5 they made one final effort to
drive from the vicinity of Goa and Surat the English,
whom they describe in a. letter to the King as "thieves,
disturbers of States, and a people not to be permitted
in a commonwealth." Eight galleons, three lesser
ships, and sixty frigates came up with the Nezi>
Vea/s Gift, the Hector, the Merchant's Hope, and the
Solomon, off Swally, the natives anxiously looking on
to see the contest between the two great European
powers. Three of the Portuguese ships drew alongside
4
34 ^!SE OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY.
the Merchant's Hope, which was boarded, but after an
obstinate fight they were driven off with a loss of
some five hundred men, the three ships set on fire and
allowed to drift ashore, the rest of the fleet retreating
during the night after a severe cannonade.
For many reasons it was impossible that Portugal
could ever have established a permanent empire in
India. The union with Spain, the smallness of her
population, the deterioration of her soldiers from
habits of pampered luxury and intermarriage with
native women, added to their heavy losses in war, are
facts lying on the surface. Recent researches have
brought to light graver reasons why the native powers
themselves were nothing loth to be relieved from the
contamination of a so-called civilisation introduced
by foreigners who had lived amongst them and grown
wealthy for a period of over one hundred years. The
Portuguese historians tell how the tomb of the great
Portuguese Viceroy, Don Francisco de Almeida,
was, for many years after his death, visited both by
Muhammadans and Hindus, who prayed that he
might rise up and defend them from the barbarities,
cruelties, and greed of his successors. From 1560 the
tortures and the burnings at the stake of supposed
witches, sorcerers, and Christians suspected of heresy,
native and European alike, not only made every per-
son within its jurisdiction fearful for his honour, life,
and liberty, but also sent a shudder of horror through
Europe when the full tale of its iniquities was made
known. The whole history is summed up by the
Portuguese editor of Correa's history : "Perfidy pre-
siding over almost all compacts and negotiations . , .
PORTUGUESE LOSSES. 35
conversions to Christianity serving as a transparent
veil to covetousness : these are the fearful pictures
from which we would desire to turn away our eyes.
... It was, therefore, to this moral leprosy, to these
internal cankers, that Caspar Correa chiefly alluded,
and to which Diogo do Conto attributed the loss of
India, saying that it had been won with much truth,
fidelity, valour, and perseverance, and that it was lost
through the absence of those virtues." ^
From their settlements and fortresses in the Eastern
seas the Portuguese were rapidly driven out by the
English and Dutch. In 1622 Ormuz, at the entrance
of the Persian Gulf, was captured by the English fleet,
assisted by a Persian army under Shah Abbas, the
Portuguese population of over two thousand souls
being transported to Muscat, The prize-money due
to the Company from this conquest was estimated at
;f 100,000 and 240,000 rials of eight, of which James I.
claimed i^ 10,000, his share as King, and the Duke
of Buckingham ii^ 10,000, his share as Lord High
Admiral, the Company not being permitted to send
any ships from England until they consented to pay
these amounts.
A few years later, in 1629, the Emperor Shah
Jahan captured the Portuguese settlement at Hugh',
carried off some four thousand men, women, and
children, slew over one thousand of the garrison, and
took three hundred ships of the fleet. From all sides
disaster soon followed. Goa was blockaded by the
Dutch, who gradually gained entire control over the
^ " Lcndas da India," tr. by the Hon. E. J. Stanley ; Introduction,
p. li.
36 RISE OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY.
trade in .the Spice Islands, Java, Ceylon, and on the
mainland, leaving Portugal by the middle of the seven-
teenth century stripped of her wealth and deprived
of her commerce.
As the trade in the East gradually fell from the
hands of the effete and degenerate descendants of the
early Portuguese adventurers the struggle commenced
between the Dutch and English, each eager to seize
this source of wealth, the true value of which was
yearly becoming more apparent. In the nine voyages
made by the Company up to 161 2, the average profit
on each share held by the London merchants had
been 171 per cent. From 161 3 to 161 6 four voyages
were made, the subscriptions being united as an in-
vestment for the joint benefit of all the proprietors.
Owing to the opposition shown by the Dutch to the
English trade in the Spice Islands the profits made
on each of these four voyages fell to ^^89 los. per
share of ;^ioo. In spite of this the subscriptions
increased to ;^ 1,600,000, subsequently expended in
three voyages on a second joint stock account.
In 1 62 1 the subject of the Eastern trade excited so
much controversy in England that Thomas Nun
issued his celebrated tract as a counterblast to the
growing contention that " it were a happier thing for
Christendom (say many men) that the navigation of
the East Indies, by way of the Cape of Good Hope,
had never been found out." He pleaded that, as a
result of the discovery of the route to India by the
Cape, " the Kingdom is purged of desperate and
unruly people who, kept in awe by the good discipline
at sea, doe often change their former course of life
THOMAS nun's TRACT. -i^-j
and so advance their fortunes." He then asserts that
the new trade with the East "is a means to bring
more treasure into the Realme than all the other
trades of the Kingdome (as they are now managed)
being put together."
Respecting the ships which had been employed in
the Eastern seas he gave the following succinct infor-
mation : " Since the beginning of the trade until the
month of July last, anno 1620, there have been sent
thither 79 ships in several voyages, whereof 34 are
alreadie come home in safetie richly laden, foure have
been worne out by long service from port to port in
the Indies, two were overwhelmed in the trimming
thereof, six Jiave been cast away by the perils of the
Sea, twelve have been taken and surprized by the
Dutch, whereof divers will be wasted and little worth
before they be restored, and 21 good ships doe still
remayne in the Indies."
The profit made by the voyages is summed up as
follows: " First there hath been lost ;^3 1,079 in the
six shippes which are cast away, and in the 34
shippes which are returned in safety there have been
brought home ;^356,288 in divers sorts of wares which
hath produced here in England towards the general
stock thereof ;^ 1,9 14,000. ... So there ought to re-
main in the Indies to be speedily returned hither
^^484,088." Elsewhere he shows in detail how
pepper, mace, nutmegs, indigo, and raw silk, which
would have cost ;^ 1,465,000 if purchased at the old
rates, could now be purchased in the East Indies for
about ;^5ii,458.
The opposition of the Dutch to English enterprise
38 RISE OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY.
in the East yearly became more openly aggressive
until finally, in 1623, the Massacre of Amboyna sowed
the seeds of that bitter animosity which sprang up
between the two nations, leading to a long series of
conflicts for the supremacy of the seas.
At Amboyna, in the Moluccas, Captain Towerson
and his English factors, eighteen in number, occupied
a house in the town, the Dutch holding a strong fort
garrisoned by two hundred of their soldiers. Suddenly
Captain Towerson and his assistants were seized on
a charge of conspiring to surprise the Dutch strong-
hold. It was in vain that the prisoners protested their
innocence ; the torture of the rack, according to the
barbarous custom of the day, was applied until they
were forced, in their agony, to admit the truth of the
accusation. Captain Towerson, nine English sailors,
nine natives of Japan, and one Portuguese were be-
headed, praying forgiveness from each other for having
in their torment confessed to the false accusation.
The indignation excited in England on receipt of
news of this outrage was carefully heightened by the
Directors of the East India Company who widely
distributed a picture depicting, in all the exaggerated
extravagance capable of being conjured up by th6
imagination of the time, the tortures inflicted on the
English factors, coupled with the statement that the
Dutch had sued the London Company for the ex-
penses of a black pall wherewith the body of Captain
Towerson had been covered.
The oppressions of the Dutch, however, continued,
the English trade gradually decreasing until by
1628-9 the Company had incurred debts to the
GABRIEL BOUGHTON. 39
amount of ^^"300,000, shares of ;^ 100 falling down to
Β£^0, although previously shares of Β£60 had been sold
"by the candle " for as much as ;^I30.
To add to the depression permission was given, in
1635, to a rival Company under Sir William Courten
to trade with the East. In 1640 the King, as usual in
grievous want of money, forced the old Company to
sell him on credit all the pepper they had in store for
the sum of ;^63,283 lis. id., which the King imme-
diately sold for ;^50,626 17s. I d., ready cash ; it does
not appear that the Company ever received any com-
pensation, beyond some i^ 13,000 owing for Custom
dues.
The Company, driven by the Dutch from the
Eastern Archipelago gradually commenced to estab-
lish factories and settlements along the coast of India.
In 1632 a factory was reopened at Masulipatam under
an order known as the " Golden Firman," obtained
from the Muhammadan King of Golconda. This
settlement soon became the chief place of trade in
India, its affairs being regulated by a Council. The
Chief of the Council, Mr. Francis Day, made a visit to
the Portuguese settlement at St. Thome, the supposed
place of martyrdom of St. Thomas the Apostle, and
founded there in 1640 a new factory and centre of
trade known as Madras town. A more important
concession was obtained in 1636 by Mr. Gabriel
Boughton, surgeon of the HopewelL He was sum-
moned to attend the Emperor's daughter who, through
her clothes catching fire, had been badly burned. De-
lighted with the rapid recovery of his daughter, under
the hands of the skilful English surgeon, the Emperor
40 RISE OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY.
Shah Jahan, at Mr. Boughton's request, granted the
Company permission to establish a factory at Hugh' and
to make a settlement lower down the coast at Balasor
where a fort was built which soon became the strong-
est position held by the Company on the east coast.
Bombay, given by the Portuguese to Charles II.
on his marriage with Catherine of Braganza, as part
of her dower, was leased by the King in 1669 to the
Company on a rent of ;^io per annum β a possession
which from 1685 grew to be the chief port of trade on
the west coast.
While the London merchants were thus establish-
ing centres of trade abroad, efforts were being made
by the home Government to undermine the growing
enterprise of the Dutch who, in 1622-3, had founded
New Amsterdam, now N-ew York, in America, and in
1650 commenced the colonisation of the Cape of
Good Hope. By the Navigation Act, passed in 165 1,
Cromwell not only prepared the way for the future
extension of English shipping and commerce, but
struck a decisive blow at the prosperity of the Dutch,
then the carriers of the world's sea-borne trade. By
this Act no goods from the East, from Africa or from
America, were allowed to be imported into Great β’
Britain unless carried in ships belonging to England
and her colonies.
In the war which ensued the Dutch had much to
lose ; attacks could be made on their rich merchant
ships and their supplies cut off. England, on the
other hand, had but little carrying trade to defend
and was secure in her own agricultural resources. The
Dutch fleet, under Martin Tromp, was defeated by
DUTCH AND FRENCH. 4 I
Blake off Dover in 1652 β a defeat retrieved by the
end of the year when Tromp won a decisive victory,
afterwards sailin<^ down the Channel with a broom
flying at his masthead to show that he had swept
the English from the seas. In March, 1653, Blake
and Monk defeated Tromp and De Ruyter in the three
days' fight off Beachy Head. In August Tromp was
killed in the engagement off the Texel peace being
afterwards concluded between the rival powers, neither
able to gain much advantage by continuing the
conflict.
France was now commencing her struggle for
participation in the commerce of the world. As
early as 1604 French companies had been formed
and ships sent out to the East, but no serious efforts
had been made to interfere with the Dutch and
English. It was not until the year 1664 that Colbert,
successor to the great finance Minister Mazarin, suc-
ceeded in arousing the interest of Louis XIV. in
a scheme for enriching France by a fostering of her
resources and development of her commerce. The
exclusive right of trading to the East was granted
to a powerful Company, formed with a capital of
fifteen million francs, while as a basis for naval
operations in the narrow seas, Louis XIV., in 1662,
purchased from Charles II. the fortress of Dunkirk
taken by England in 1658 from the Spanish Nether-
lands.
In 1664 France laid claim to the whole of the
Spanish Netherlandsβ a claim which, if enforced,
would have enabled her to open up the Scheldt to
navigation and divert the commerce from the Dutch
42 RISE OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY.
at Amsterdam to Antwerp, whence the trade had
drifted after its sack in 1576 by the Spaniards. The
whole history of the next fifty years centres round
this poHcy of Louis XIV., which by its failure left
the trade to the East and the supremacy of the seas
in the undisputed possession of England.
At first France met with a short but brilliant suc-
cess, typical of all her subsequent enterprises to gain
an Eastern Empire. Colbert fixed on an adventurer,
Francois Caron, formerly cook and chief steward on a
Dutch man-of-war, who by his erratic versatility had
risen to be Member of Council of the Dutch settle-
ment at Batavia, to inaugurate the new policy, and
despatched him to India, in 1667, as Director-General
of French commerce. Caron succeeded in establish-
ing factories at Surat and Masulipatam, earning for
himself the order of St. Michel from Louis XIV. as
a reward for the rich cargoes he sent home. Em-
boldened by his success he seized the Dutch settle-
ment at Trinkamali in Ceylon, and took St. Thome
from the Portuguese, only to find his adventurous
career cut short by his recall on the news reaching
Colbert that the Dutch had recaptured Trinkamali
and ignominiously driven the French out of Ceylon.
Caron, on his way home, heard that his failure had
sealed his fate ; in endeavouring to escape, the ship in
which he sailed foundered and he was drowned, thus
escaping the ignominious fate of his successors La
Bourdonnais and Dupleix who strove with all the
power of their imaginative genius to accomplish a
task foredoomed to failure β the foundation of French
supremacy in India. It was not in the East but in
VVAJ? WITH HOLLAND. 43
Europe that the real struggle took place between the
Western nations for maritime supremacy on which
command over the destinies of India could alone be
based.
In England the policy of weakening the commercial
prosperity of the Dutch continued incessantly with a
fixedness of purpose which seemed inevitably to work
towards its result, success. Charles II. continued the
commercial policy of Cromwell, enacting by his Navi-
gation Act, which ruled the importation of goods into
England down to 1 849, that no goods of Turkey or
Russia should be carried into England unless borne
by British ships, while a long list of scheduled goods
were absolutely forbidden, under any conditions, to
be imported from Germany, Holland, or the Nether-
lands.
The commercial rivalries soon led to open hostilities,
culminating, early in 1665, in a declaration of war
between England and Holland. The English fleet
beat the Dutch off Lowestoft, only to meet with a
disastrous reverse in the famous four days' fight off
Dover β a reverse retrieved by the defeat of the
Dutch off the North Forelands and the burning of the
Dutch ships in their harbours. Content with this suc-
cess Charles II. neglected his navy, allowing many of
his best ships to be paid off. The day of awakening,
however, came when De Ruyter appeared at Graves-
end and in the Medway, burned the English ships at
Chatham and seized Sheerness.
The Plague and the Great Fire had already broken
the spirit of the English nation ; the fires from the
burning ships in the river completed the disasters.
44 ^^^SP- OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY.
Peace was restored by the Treaty of Breda in 1667,
England gaining New York and New Jersey, the
Dutch once more consenting to salute the English
flag on the high seas.
Holland too was glad to be at peace. Not only was
her maritime power threatened but her very existence
as a nation was at stake. Louis XIV. had finally
rejected the statesmanlike policy of Colbert β a policy
pressed on him by Leibnitz who, with prophetic
insight, pointed out how the trade from the East
would be held by the nation wise enough to com-
mand the immediate and ancient route by way of
the Persian Gulf and Red Sea β a route England
is obliged to hold to-day in order to safeguard her
own commercial supremacy. *' The possession of
Egypt," wrote Leibnitz, " opens the way to con-
quests worthy of Alexander ; the extreme weakness
of the Orientals is no longer a secret. Whoever has
Egypt will have all the coasts and islands of the
Indian Ocean. It is in Egypt that Holland will be
conquered ; it is there she will be despoiled of what
alone renders her prosperous, the Treasures of the
East."
Louis XIV. thought otherwise. He longed for the '
territorial expansion of his dominions in Europe. He
seized Franche Comte and parts β now Belgium β of
the Spanish Netherlands. In 1670 he induced Charles
II. to enter into the Secret Treaty of Dover so that
both nations might unite to crush Holland, whose
people were detested by the English King, and whose
commercial prosperity he would gladly see destroyed.
The Dutch, under De Ruyter, showed in South wold
IVA/^ WITH FRANCE. 45
Bay that they could successfully resist the allied
fleets, while on land William of Orange, afterwards
William III. of England, accepted as Stadholder on
the murder of the De Witt brothers at the Hague
in 1672, successfully held Amsterdam by cutting the
dykes and inundating South Holland. Louis had to
retire baffled. In the next year Charles II., after the
brilliant though indecisive attack made off the Texel
by the Dutch fleet under Prince Rupert, was forced
to make peace and withdraw his alliance from the
French.
Holland, in her efforts to preserve her independence,
had been obliged to neglect her Eastern possessions
and turn her attention from the increase of her navy
and shipping to the strengthening of her army and
land defences, while at the same time she was gradu-
ally becoming more and more involved in debt.
By the Treaty of Augsburg, in 1686, Holland had
to join Sweden and Savoy in again opposing the over-
weening ambition of Louis XIV. β an alliance joined
by England in 1689, the year after William of Orange
had landed at Torbay, driven out James II. and
accepted the throne in hopes of seeing his lifelong
ambition crowned by the crushing of his great rival,
the French monarch. At Beachy Head Admiral
Tourville succeeded in defeating the combined
Dutch and English fleets in 1690, but two years later
the crowning victory of Admiral Russell off Cape La
Hogue again established the naval supremacy of
England. By the Treaty of Ryswick, in 1697, Louis
XIV. was forced to surrender all his conquests in the
Netherlands and beyond the Rhine, receiving back
46 RISE OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY.
the French settlement at Pondicherry on the east
coast of India which had been captured by the Dutch.
Although England was thus gradually freed from
all fear of Holland as a commercial rival in the
East, France still struggled for mastery. Louis
XIV., aiming at universal dominion, sought, in 170c,
on the death of Charles II., the Spanish King,
whose sister he had married, to unite in his own
person the thrones of France and Spain. Against
his pretensions Holland, Austria, and England com-
bined. The French fleet was defeated in Vigo Bay ;
Gibraltar was taken by Rorke ; the victories of
Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde, and Malplaquet
followed, leaving Louis humbled and helpless, glad
in 17 1 3 to sign the Peace of Utrecht, by which the
defences of Dunkirk were to be razed to the ground,
Nova Scotia and Newfoundland ceded to England,
and Holland, now no longer a naval power to be
feared, left in safe possession of her Spanish Nether-
lands.
England remained the supreme maritime power to
pursue her career and gain, without chance of failure,
the monopoly of the commerce of the East. Holland
was crippled ; the subsequent efforts made by France,
are merely interesting as historical facts, for without a
command of the seas she was powerless to compete
with England in the East. In India itself the Com-
pany had but little to fear. The Mughal Empire was
falling to pieces, the people separated from each other
by differences of race, religion, language, customs, and
local tradition, lacked the essential elements where-
with to combine in a national sentiment of opposition
THE UNITED COMPANY. 4/
to the invasion of a foreign power whose resources
and strength were secured on the seas.
In 1693 the Old English Company had lost its
Charter, notwithstanding the fact that it had ex-
pended ';^90,C)00 in efforts to bribe the Privy Council,
for a new Company, known as the London Company,
had lent the Government two millions sterling at 8 per
cent., and in return had been granted the exclusive
right of trading to the East. In 1702 a compro-
mise was effected by the exertions of Godolphin,
the two Companies being amalgamated under the
title of the United Company of Merchants trading
to the East Indies β a Company better known as "The
Honourable East India Company," under whose rule
the British Empire was established in India and
maintained down to the Mutiny when the Crown
assumed direct control.
IIT.
INDIA ON THE EVE OF CONQUEST.
In India the reign of Aurangzib the Great Mughal
had come to a close in 1707, the dying Emperor in
his last hours pouring forth his lamentations over the
ruin overshadowing the empire founded by his fore-
fathers. " I have not done well by the country or
its people," he cried, in despair, " the army is con-
founded, and without heart or help even as I am."
Into India the Mughal Emperors had come as
foreigners. Two hundred years before the death
of Aurangzib, at the time when Dom Francisco de
Almeida, the first Portuguese Viceroy, reached India
with twenty-two ships and 1,500 soldiers, Babar the
Lion, the Chagatai Tartar, sixth in descent from Timur
or Tamerlane at the head of his northern barbarians
had descended through the passes of Afghanistan
to found the Mughal Empire. Through the same
passes from time immemorial warlike races had swept
down on the sun-steeped plains of the F'ive Rivers
and rich alluvial tracts of the Ganges and Jumna
to conquer the effete dwellers therein and subdue
48
EARLY INVASIONS. 49
them to their will. In India history repeats itself
with monotonous sameness. In its enervating plains,
far removed from the invigorating sea-breeze and the
bracing cold of the mountain ranges, the keen eye,
undaunted heart, and relentless arm of the successive
hardy northern immigrants slowly but surely tend to
change to the placid look, folded hands and brooding
mind of the Eastern Sage, who, content to dream
his dream of life, wearily turns from the conflict and
dire struggle for existence, time after time introduced
by the more warlike northern conquerors ever coming
and going like the monsoon storms.
Who the first inhabitants of India were we know
not. In primeval days, wild, savage people inhabited
the land, wandering to and fro along the riversides
in search of food. The only records they have left
of their existence are the chipped flint or quartzite
arrow-heads, scrapers, and axes, dug up to-day in the
alluvial deposits of the great river valleys. By
degrees these aboriginal inhabitants became more
civilised. They learned to smooth and polish their
rude stone implements, perforating them with holes
so as to attach them to handles. As time went on
they made gold and silver ornaments, and manu-
factured earthen pots, which are still discovered in
the strange tombs, constructed of upright stone slabs,
wherein they buried their dead.
From their homes in the river valleys, lowlands
and open country, these primeval people of India
were gradually driven by other invading races to the
lofty mountain ranges, where, amid the dense forests,
their descendants still live undisturbed, retaining all
5
50 INDIA ON THE F.VE OF CONQUEST.
their primitive simplicity, superstitions, beliefs, and
habits. During the taking of the Census of 1872
it was ascertained that one-twelfth of the population
of India, nearly twenty millions of human beings,
consisted of these living fossils of primeval times.
Therfe they remain, a strange study to the historian
and anthropologist : worshippers of spirits, ghosts
and demons ; worshippers of snakes, trees, mountains,
streams, and aught that inspires wonder, fear, or
terror, but little affected by the efforts of their British
rulers to inculcate the most primary elements of
civilisation, except in so far as their grosser habits of
human sacrifice, infanticide, and intertribal war and
bloodshed have been sternly suppressed.
Respecting the earliest invasions of India there
exists but the vaguest and most unreliable evidence.
The whole south of India is at present inhabited
by a people speaking cognate languages which have
been grouped together and called Dravidian. Inas-
much as these languages show strong affinities with
northern languages such as the Biluchi, the Ugrian
of Siberia, the Finnish, and that used in the Behistun
inscriptions of Media, it has been conjectured that
the people of the south entered India from the north-
west, and were gradually driven to their present
habitat by stronger and more recent invaders. On
the other hand, it has been contended that the
Dravidians of South India are the sole surviving
remnant of a great race originally inhabiting a wide
continent now submerged, but once stretching from
India to Madagascar, Africa, and Melanesia. Another
race, designated as the Kolarian. is presumed, on even
THE ARYANS;, 5 I
weaker evidence, to have entered India from the
north-east and, checked in its conquering career by
the Dravidians, to have been driven back to its present
home in the north and north-east of the Deccan.
Again, along the lower slopes of the Himalayas
we find a people giving clear evidences of their descent
from some early Chinese or Mongolian immigrants.
The first invading race whose history we can trace
with something approaching to accuracy was the
Aryan, who entered India probably about the time
of Abraham, some two thousand years before the
Christian era.
The language of these invaders was the ancient
Sanskrit, from which, through two early vernaculars
the Sauraseniand Magadhi, all the modern languages
of North India are descended. It belongs to the
same family as the Greek, Slavo-Lettic, Teutonic,
Celtic, and Latin of the West. From this fact it has
been contended that all these languages must have
sprung from some original common parent language
spoken by an united Aryan people once living to-
gether in some common home. So far the evidence
seems unassailable ; still the question as to where was
the Early Home of the Aryans remains unanswered.
Professor Max Miiller holds that it was somewhere
in Asia ; Dr. Schrader says that it was in European
Russia ; Herr Penka sees grounds for believing that
it was somewhere in Scandinavia ; while Mr. Huxley
asserts that it was in Europe, somewhere east of the
Central Highlands and west of the Ural range of
mountains.
Wherever the Aryans came from it is certain that
52 INDIA ON THE EVE OF CONQUEST.
they invaded India as foreigners, possessing all the
rude vigour and determination to succeed in the
struggle for life characteristic of dwellers in cool and
northern climes. They found India inhabited by the
descendants of the aboriginal races and later invaders
on whom they looked down with haughty contempt.
In their Vedic hymns, which they sang to their Divine
Beings, the Devas, or Bright Ones, they have left the
record of their wars, their victories, hopes, and aspira-
tions. To their god Indra, the Indian Zeus, they
sang their song of praise, for he it was who " flays
the enemy of his black skin, he kills him, he reduces
him to ashes."
Wearing armour and helmets, with horses and
chariots, armed with bows and arrows, swords and
battle-axes, drinking their intoxicating Soma juice,
and eating the flesh of buffaloes, bulls and cows, they
drove before them their enemies whom they describe
as scarcely human, black, no-nosed, godless, infidel,
and eaters of raw flesh. They gradually conquered
the land of the Five Rivers β the Indus, Jehlam,
Chenab, Ravi, and Sutlej, advancing by the sixth
century B.C. as far as the upper reaches of the Ganges
and Jumna. In the holy land of Brahmavarta, lying
between the Sarasvati and Drishadvati, the singers
of the Vedic hymns, the priests, or Brahmans, as they
came to be called, founded their chief schools of
learning, whence to the south, and north, and further
east, they spread the civilising influence of their high
culture and moral force of character. In the days
of the Lawgiver Manu it was held of Brahmavarta
*' that by a Brahrjian who has been born in that land
ARYAN CONQUESTS. 53
shall all men on earth be instructed as to their cha-
racter." To-day in every Hindu village of India the
cultured Brahman will be found to move supreme,
his learning to be honoured, the high ideas of morality
he inculcates respected, his deep ponderings over the
mystery of creation, the soul and Divine Essence
revered and studied. From the earliest times these
reciters of the Vedic hymns, who grew to be
family priests or Brahmans, offerers of the burned
offerings to their deities, were held to be the first
among men, the very mouthpiece of the gods, created
by a special creation from the head of the Creator.
Kings and warriors were but sprung from the arms
of the Creator to conquer the unbelievers and subdue
them to the will of the priestly legislators. The black
aboriginal races were all sprung from the feet of the
Creator for servile labour. Gradually the divisions of
the people according to colour, race, occupation, or
religion extended itself until each caste, or class,
became rigidly separated from the other, its traditions
and customs stereotyped for ever by the priestly
ordinances enunciated, and believed in as though
they were revealed to the Brahmans from before all
time. Even death itself could put no end to these
caste distinctions between race and race, between
occupation and occupation, between one religious
sect and another. Let but the individual overstep
the narrow limits allotted for his course of life and
duty in this world, his soul or undying part would,
after having reaped its punishment as awarded by the
gods, return to earth to be reborn, sometimes in a
man of a lower grade of society, sometimes as an
$4 INDIA ON THE EVE OF CONQUEST.
animal, or in case its transgressions were great, as
a creeping or crawling insect, or as an evil spirit ever
to roam without rest.
The Aryans in their ancestral homes had wor-
shipped the expanse of the heavens, the rosy-fingered
Dawn, the Sun, the God of the Storms, and the
good God the Giver of Fire to Mortals ; but in their
new homes in the East they, for the first time, fully
realised the exceeding might and majesty of Nature
in all her varied manifestations. Slowly along with
the growth of a belief that man was possessed of a
Soul, an immortal undying principle within himself,
grew the knowledge that behind all the phenomena
of Nature lay the unchanging, omnipotent, and om-
niscient principle, the eternal essence, Brahman, ever
manifesting itself in different places, times, and forms.
Unfortunately the rude superstitions, savage customs,
and primitive beliefs of the aboriginal inhabitants and
despised servile classes were tolerated and accepted
to a certain extent by a large portion of their more
civilised conquerors. The influence of the teaching
of Buddha, from the sixth century B.C. onward, made
but small impression on the great mass of the people,
for not only did he and his followers live apart from
the general community, seeking out their own salva-
tion by avowed renunciation of the world, but the
subsequent worship of their relics and images spread
far and wide an idolatry which in more or less
debasing forms gradually enslaved the religious
sentiments of the uneducated Hindus.
The seventh century of our era saw a strange
change come when the devastating wave of Muham-
THE MUHAMMADANS.
55
madan invasions commenced to sweep over North
India. These new invaders, vowed by their creed to
root out idolatry in the lands which they conquered,
and to subdue disbelievers in the One True God and
Muhammad as the Prophet of that God, not only
desolated the land, but broke in pieces the Hindu
idols, razed to the ground the magnificent temples
MUHAMMADANS PRAYING.
of North India, and slew, in their fanatic zeal, the
Brahman priests and Buddhist monks. Raid after
raid, invasion after invasion, took place. Mahmud
of Ghazni, after twenty-five years' fighting and seven-
teen incursions, succeeded, in the year 1030, in
subduing the western districts of the Punjab. The
story is told how he was offered an enormous ransom
56 INDIA ON THE EVE OF CONQUEST.
if he would spare the sacred idol in the holy temple
of Somnath. He scornfully replied that he was a
breaker and not a seller of idols, and, cleaving the
image asunder, was astonished to see pour out at
his feet a vast store of jewels which had been con-
cealed there by the priests. From the temple he
carried back to Afghanistan the sandal-wood gates
which Lord Ellenborough fondly, though erroneously,
imagined he recovered and restored to the Hindus
after the Afghanistan War in 1842.
The first Muhammadan Emperor who firmly
established his sway in India was Kutab ud di'n, a
Turki slave. He raised himself to power about 1206,
and his own historian records that in his days " the
realm was filled with friends and cleared of foes ; his
bounty was continuous and so was his slaughter."
More terrible were the woes and sufferings of the
people under the Emperor Muhammad Tughlak,
who ruled from the year 1325 to 1351. With
fiendish cruelty, akin to the animal lust of a man-
eating tiger, his fierce nature could only be appeased
by deeds of inhuman wickedness. Enclosing large
tracts of country he drove the inoffensive inhabitants
towards the centre so that he and his favourite com-,
rades might revel in man-hunts, slaughtering human
beings as though they were wild beasts. His nephew
who rebelled against him, was flayed alive, and no
one in the kingdom dared afterwards to dispute his
dictates.
These terrors were but a prelude to the storm
which burst over the land in 1 398, when Timur, or
Tamerlane, collected together all the wild roving
THE MUG HALS. 57
bands of Tartary, and swept down through the north-
west passes of Afghanistan across the Punjab towards
Delhi. The imperial city surrendered under a promise
of safety, only to be given up to the flames and
pillaged by the fierce horsemen who slew the inhabi-
tants so that the streets were rendered impassable for
the space of six days. Tamerlane and his savage
soldiery retreated laden v/ith the hoarded-up wealth
of centuries, leaving naught behind them but the
ruins and ashes of burned cities and the wailing of
the desolate inhabitants.
After his departure India was for a time left in
peace. Muhammadan Emperors were enthroned at
Delhi while local chieftains held independent sway in
the more distant provinces.
At length, in 1526, Babar the Lion marched down
at the head of his hardy northern horsemen from the
Afghanistan side of the mountains and established
the rule of the Mughals.
Nothing illustrates more forcibly the fact that the
Mughals, as well as their successors, were foreigners
in the land of India than the words in which Babar
records his first impressions on seeing the sunlit
plains of India. " I had never before seen countries of
warm temperature," he wrote, "nor the country of
Hindustan. Immediately on reaching them I beheld
a new world : the grass was different, the trees dif-
ferent, the wild animals of a different sort, the birds
of a different plumage. The manners and customs
of the wandering tribes of a different kind. I was
struck with astonishment, and indeed there was room
for wonder."
58 INDIA ON THE EVE OF CONQUEST.
Again he writes in the same Memoirs : " Hindustan
has but Httle to recommend it. The inhabitants are
not good-looking, they have no idea of the pleasures
of society, they have no genius or generalising talent,
neither polish of manner, amiability or sympathetic
feeling, neither ingenuity or mechanical invention,
nor knowledge or skill in architecture, they have no
decent houses, good fruit, ice or cold water, they have
neither baths nor colleges, neither candles nor candle-
sticks ; if you want to read or write by night you
must have a filthy, half-naked fellow standing over
you all the time with a glaring torch."
Under the early Mughal Emperors the whole of
India north of the Vindhya range of mountains was
united into one great empire, its cities adorned with
stately palaces, tombs, temples, and mosques, ranging
from the Mausoleum of Humayun, with its tall
Persian dome and glazed tiles, on to Akbar's palace
and fort at Agra, his fairy buildings and imposing
mosque at Fatehpur Si'kri, his own tomb, the most
stately and graceful ever designed and erected by any
monarch of the East, down to the gorgeous buildings
such as the Taj Mahal, the fort, palaces, and Great
Mosque at Delhi, and many others which the luxu-
rious taste of Shah Jahan revelled in seeing grow up
around him.
The long and beneficent reign (1556 to 1605), of
Akbar, an enlightened monarch whose fame rivals
that of Louis XIV. and Elizabeth, saw not only the
consolidation of the empire in the north, but also
witnessed the gradual decay of the Portuguese settle-
ments, and ended with the advent of the Dutch and
MUGHAL EMPEROHS.
59
English merchants. Jahangir succeeded his father
Akbar to an empire extending over Kandahar and
Kashmir in the north, over Malwd, Gujarat, and
Sind in the west, to Orissa and Bengal in the cast.
Sir Thomas Roe, ambassador from King James I.
to the Court of Jahangi'r, gives in his \vell-kn(j\vn
letters a full and fairly accurate account of the
country and social life at this period. On all sides
the English ambassador discerned signs of coming
changes. " Beware," he wrote to the Company β
"beware of scattering your goods
in divers parts and engaging your
stocke and servants farre into
the country, for the time will
come when all in these king-
domes will be in combustion,
and a few yeares warre will not
decide the inveterate malice laid
up on all parts against a day of
yengeance."
At his first interview the am-
bassador presented Jahangir with
some presents, and unfortunately,
also, with a case of wine, whereon Jahangir immediately
got so drunk that business had to be suspended.
"In fact," as Sir Thomas Roe writes, " there is nothing
more welcome here, nor did I ever see men so fond of
drink as the King and Prince are of red wine. . . .
I think 4 or 5 casks will be more welcome than the
richest gems in Cheapside."
Although Jahangir indulged in nightly debauches
with his nobles a strict silence was ever supposed to
AKBAR.
(From Holticti's *' Mogul
Emperors.")
60 INDIA ON THE EVE OF CONQUEST.
reign in Court circles on the subject. The Emperor
once being reminded by an incautious companion
of a previous night's saturnaHa, expressed extreme
astonishment and made dihgent inquiries respecting
those who were present, " fined some one, some two,
some three thousand rupies, some lesse, and some that
were neerer his person he caused to be whipped before
him, receiving one hundred and thirtie stripes with a
most terrible instruement, having at each end of foure
cords, irons like Spurrowels, so that each stroke
made foure wounds. When they lay for dead on the
ground, he commanded the standers by to foot them,
and after, the Porters to breake their staves upon
them. Thus most cruelly mangled and bruised they
were carried out, of which one dyed in the place." /
Although Sir Thomas Roe was, like most Eng-
lishmen, entirely out of sympathy with his Eastern
surroundings and the modes of thought of the people
with whom he came in contact, still his remarks are
of historical value, as being those of a cultured man
of shrewd, common sense, whose imagination never
led him into excesses of extravagant praise or
vulgar abuse. His remarks may therefore be taken
as giving an accurate though somewhat prosaic de-
scription of the outward conditions of social life in
India at the time he wrote. In one of his letters,
dated from Ajmere, on January 27, 161 5, he says:
" The buildings are all base, of mudde, one story
high, except in Surat, where are some stone houses,
but I know not by what policie the King seekes
the ruine of all the ancient Cities which were bravely
built and now lye desolate and ruined. His owne
6 /A' THOMAS ROE. 6 1
houses arc of stone, both in good forme and faire, but
his great men build not, for want of inheritance, but
as farre as I have yet seene live in Tents, or houses
worse then a cottager ; yet where the King affects, as
at Agra, because it is a city erected by him, the
Buildings are (as is reported) faire and of carved
stone." Marching with the Emperor's retinue near
Godah, which is described as a land fruitful in corn,
cotton and cattle, he incidentally mentions that in
the fields by the roadside he saw the bodies of one
hundred naked men who had been slain for a crime
then very common β highway robbery. Further on
he passed an embassy carrying as a gift to the
Emperor the heads of three hundred rebels who had
been put to death in Kandahar. Godah he describes
as the best town he had seen in India, " for that there
were some houses two stories high, and such as a
Pedler might not scorne to keepe shop in, all covered
with tyle."
Sir Thomas Roe, having wasted much time in
fruitless endeavours to induce the Emperor to sign
a treaty granting trading privileges to the Company
in perpetuity, wrote home that in his opinion it was
inadvisable to seek to acquire land in India, or even
to erect forts along the sea coast, "by my consent
you shall no way ingage yourselves but at sea where
you are like to gaine as often as to lose. . . . It is the
beggering of the Portugall, notwithstanding his many
rich residences and territories, that he keepes souldiers
that spend it: yet his garrisons are meane. He
never profited by the Indies, since he defended them.
Observe this well."
62 INDIA ON THE F.VE OF CONQUEST.
Finally the ambassador beseeches that never again
should a gentleman of his rank be sent on an
embassy to the Mughal Court : " A meaner agent
would among these proud Moors better effect your
business. My quality often for ceremonies either
begets you enemies or suffers unworthily. ... I have
moderated according to my discretion but with a
swoln heart."
It was not long before Sir Thomas Roe's fore-
bodings as to the future perils and troubles which
lay in store for the empire proved true. When, in
1658, the Emperor Shah Jahan, who had succeeded
his father Jahangir in 1627, was reported to be dying,
his four sons broke into open rebellion, declaring that
the sword alone should determine the right of suc-
cession. The city of Agra was panic-stricken, the
inhabitants closed their shops and waited the issue in
fear and trembling. At length Aurangzib, the third
son of the sick Emperor, who had diligently acquired
the reputation of being a devout Muhammadan,
Puritan, ascetic, and saintly in all his habits, defeated
his brothers, two of whom, Dara and Murad-Bakhsh,
he put to death, the third, Shujd, escaping to be
never heard of more. Shah Jahan was placed iq
captivity, where for six long years he mourned hi::
sad fate and that of his murdered sons.
Aurangzib succeeded to the great Mughal Empire,
then possessing an army of three hundred thousand
horse and four hundred thousand foot, and a yearly
income of nearly ninety millions sterling. Before he
became Emperor he had subdued three of the five
great independent kingdoms of the south, and before
THE MA R At H As. 63
him still remained unaccomplished the task of uniting
to the empire the two more southern kingdoms of
Golconda and Bijapur, then held by representatives
of the Kutab Shdhi and Adil Shdhi dynasties. For
twenty years he wasted his resources in endeavouring
to conquer these kingdoms, and when at length they
fell he was obliged to remain at the head of his troops
for twenty years longer endeavouring to keep order
in his unwieldy dominions, and drive back his ever-
increasing foes.
With the Rajput princes of Rdjputana, whom he
had alienated from the throne by his religious intole-
rance, he was obliged to make treaties of peace ; with
the Sikhs in the Punjab, whom his persecutions had
changed from a religious sect into a nation of fierce
soldiers, sworn to die fighting in defence of their
faith, he waged a war of extermination, torturing
and slaying their captive leaders with fiendish cruel-
ties ; while the Marathas, who under Sivaji had risen
to power in the Deccan, harassed his armies, cut off
his supplies, and forced him to yield them chauth,
or one-fourth of the revenue which they claimed a
right to levy by force of arms from all the kingdoms
of the south. In 1664 Sivaji, at the head of his
horsemen pillaged and burned Surat as far as the
English factory, which was only saved from the
flames by the heroic defence of the Governor, Sir
George Oxindon,
From the letters of the courtly French physician
Dr. Frangois Bernier, who travelled through North
India from 1656 to 1668, it is easy to see how the
distress of the people was daily increasing, and the
64 INDIA ON THE EVE OF CONQUEST.
power of the Emperor to preserve peace and order
over his extended dominions was passing away, so
that it needed but a firm hand to wrest the sceptre
from out the feeble hold of the effete descendants of
Babar. The keynote to the situation is to be found
in the remark of Bernier : " The Great Mogol is a
foreigner in Hindustan, a descendant of Tamerlane,
chief of those Mogols from Tartary who, about the
year 1401, overran and conquered the Indies. Con-
sequently he finds himself in a hostile country con-
taining hundreds of Gentiles to one Mogol, or even
to one Mahometan."
As a matter of fact it was ascertained by the
Census of 1891 that while the population of India
amounts to 287,223,431, but 57,321,164 were classified
as Muhammadan, of whom it would be difficult to
say how many are merely converted Hindus. It
must be remembered, too, that the inevitable law of
India, with its enervating climate, is that the land
can never be long held or firmly governed by a race
which does not periodically renew its strength and
manhood by fresh recruits drawn from northern or
temperate climes.
Thus Bernier wrote : " It should be added, how--
ever, that children of the third and fourth generation,
who have the brown complexion and languid manner
of this country of their nativity, are held in much less
respect than new-comers, and are seldom invested
with official situation."
Equally important is the observation, with regard
to the early European settlers, made by John Fryer,
^ surgeon to the Company, who travelled in India
FRANCOIS BERNIER. 6$
during this period, "the Company have sent out
EngHsh women, but they beget a sickly generation,
and as the Dutch well observe those thrive best that
come of an European Father and Indian mother."
The whole history of the period is summed up by
Sir W. Wilson Hunter as follows : " The ancestors of
Aurangzib, who swooped down on India from the
North, were ruddy men in boots ; the courtiers among
whom Aurangzib grew up were pale persons in petti-
coats. Babar, the founder of the empire, had swum
every river which he met with during thirty years'
campaigning : the luxurious nobles around the
youthful Aurangzib wore skirts made of innumerable
folds of finest white muslins, and went to war in
palanquins."
That the people themselves could suffer but little
from a change of their effete rulers may be seen from
the description given by Bernier and other travellers
in India of the general insecurity of life and property.
" No adequate description can be conveyed," wrote
Bernier, " of the sufferings of the people. The cudgel
and the whip compel them to incessant labour for the
benefit of others ; and, driven to despair by every
kind of cruel treatment, their revolt or their flight is
only prevented by the presence of a military force."
Again he remarks : " As the ground is seldom tilled
otherwise than by compulsion, and as no person
is found willing and able to repair the ditches and
canals for the conveyance of water, it happens that the
whole country is badly cultivated." More sweeping
is his statement, "It is owing to this miserable system
of government that most towns in Hindustan are
66 INDIA ON THE EVE OF CONQUEST.
made up of earth, mud, and other wretched materials ;
that there is no city or town which, if it be not already
ruined and deserted, does not bear evident marks of
approaching decay."
Another French traveller, Tavernier, who made
voyages to India from 1640 to 1667 says : " You may
see in India whole provinces like deserts from whence
the peasants have fled on account of the oppression
of the Governors. Under cover of the fact that they
are themselves Muhammadans they prosecute (?)
these poor idolaters to the utmost, and if any of the
latter become Muhammadans it is in order not to
work any more ; they become soldiers or Fakirs
who are people who make a profession of having
renounced the world and live upon alms, but in
reality they are all great rascals."
Dr. Fryer in his letters gives even a more dismal
account of the people, who he says are " drudges
to their Masters and Prince, who here as in all
India is sole Proprietor of lands ; allowing the oc-
cupiers no more than a bare subsistence, and not
that when a bad year fills not the Publick granaries ;
drubbing the poor Hindus till their bones rattle in
their skins, they being forced often to sell their,
children for rice."
Even the Brahman priests suffered at the hands of
those of their own faith, the Mardthas, who, says Dr.
Fryer, " have now in limbo several Brachmins, whose
flesh they tear with pincers heated red hot, drub them
on the shoulders to extreme anguish, though accord-
ing to their law it is forbidden to strike a Brachmin."
More important still is the account given by
WEAKNESS OF ORIENTALS, 6/
Bernier of the essential weakness of Oriental troops
so soon to be pitted against armies disciplined and
held together by English officers. This weakness
was not only the very basis of the policy of Dupleix
and Clive, it not only rendered the conquests of
the English inevitable and certain so long as they
could pursue their course free from European rivalry,
but further it is the basis, at least the material
basis, on which the stability of the British rule in
India is to-day firmly established free from all fear
of internal attack. " I could never see," wrote
Bernier, "these soldiers destitute of order and
marching with the irregularity of a herd of animals,
without reflecting upon the ease with which 25,000
of our veterans from the army of Flanders . . .
would overcome these armies, however numerous."
" These immense armies," he continues, " frequently
perform great feats, but when thrown into confusion
it is impossible to restore them to discipline."
In short, the time had come when some foreign
power was destined to stand forth and fulfil the
dream of Akbar as fashioned by the late Poet
Laureate : β
" I watch'd my son
And those that follow'd, loosen stone from stone
All my fair work ; and from the ruin arose
The shriek and curse of trampled millions, even
As in times before ; but while I groan'd
From out the sunset poured an alien race
Who fitted stone to stone again, and Truth,
Peace, Love, and Justice camq and dwelt therein,"
IV.
FKENCII EFFORTS TO ESTABLISH AN EMPIRE IN
INDIA.
For long the Dutch, French, and English trading
Companies had been content to restrict themselves to
commerce ; their interests not travelling outside the
limits of their settlements along the sea coast. Their
servants were merchants engaged in trade, drawing
but a poor salary. The English president of a
factory such as Surat received ^500 a year, the head
merchants ;^40 a year after they had first served for
five years as writers on a yearly salary of ^10, and
then for three years as factors on ^20 a year.
These merchants were for the most part unnoticed
by the Mughal Emperors, though they were sometimes
harassed by the native governors who ruled over the
territories in the vicinity of their settlements. Neither
the English nor Dutch ever dreamed of interfering in
the internal politics of the country, or even of acquir-
ing land more than sufficient for the defence and pro-
tection of their trading stations.
The English settlement started at Madras in 1639,
on land granted by the ruler at Chandragiri, gradually
68
FRENCH JN SOUTH INDIA. 69
extended itself five miles along the coast and one
mile inland. North and south of Madras from the
river Kistna to Cape Comorin, the land was known
as the Karnatik ruled by a native Governor or Nawab,
subordinate to a Viceroy or Nizam of the south, w^ho
held his office direct from the Emperor at Delhi.
Tan j ore and Trichinopoli w^ere under the charge of
their native Rajas, or Chieftains, who were accountable
to the Nawab.
In 1672 when the last native ruler of Bi'japur, Sher
Khan Lodi, found himself in want of money, he
borrowed it from the French, and, according to Oriental
custom, gave them in return the right to collect the
revenues arising from the district around Pondicherry.
Here Francis Martin fortified his position, making it
secure against the raids of wandering Marathas who
in 1677 ^wept past Madras and pillaged the interven-
ing villages.
In 1740 these Marathas to the number of ten
thousand came swarming down on the south and
slew^ the Naw^ab of the Karnatik. Safdar All', his
successor, deemed it wise in the disturbed state of
affairs to send his mother and family to the safe
keeping of the French at Pondicherry β a precaution
also adopted by Chanda Sahib, Raja of Trichinopoli,
who sent there his wife and property.
The next year the Marathas, on their annual raid,
carried off Chanda Sahib to their northern fortress of
Satara, leaving one of their own leaders, Morari Rao,
with fourteen thousand picked troops in charge of his
territories. The Viceroy of the south, Nizam-ul-Mulk,
drove out Morari Rao and in place of Safdar All
70 FRENCH EFFORTS IN INDIA. "
who had been assassinated, nominated in 1743, one
Anwar-ud-Din, a soldier of fortune, to the governor-
ship of the Karnatik.
When England became involved in war with
France, on the death of Charles VI. of Austria,
respecting the succession of Maria Theresa, the
English ships appeared in 1745 off Pondicherry,
then held by its new Governor, Joseph Francois
Dupleix. Anwar-ud-Din, remembering the services
rendered by the French to the former Governor of
the Karnatik, and to Chanda Sahib, in protecting
their families from the Marathas, at once came to
the rescue and threatened vengeance against the
English unless their ships departed from before the
factory of his friends and allies. The English ships
sailed away, and on returning the next year found
that the French Admiral La Bourdonnais had arrived
from Madagascar with a fleet of nine ships having on
board 3,342 men, including 720 blacks. After a fight
at long range, lasting from four in the afternoon until
seven in the evening, the English admiral deemed it
advisable to retire to Ceylon, leaving the French fleet
to sail for Madras, then held by some three hundred
men, including two hundred so-called soldiers. The
chief of Madras, Governor Morse, applied in vain to
the native Governor of the Karnatik for protection.
Forgetting the Eastern maxim that those seeking
favours should not appear before kings or rulers
with empty hands, his envoys carried no presents
with them, nor did they bring, like the French, any
record of services rendered in the past, so they
returned to Madras with their mission unaccom-
CAl'TURR or .\fADkAS. 7 1
plished. On September i8th the French- batteries
and ships opened fire, and Fort St. George sur-
rendered on the 2 1 St after having lost five men.
Dupleix had promised the Governor of the Karnatik
to hand over to him Madras when taken. Unfortu-
nately the French Admiral La Bourdonnais had
agreed to restore Madras to the English for the sum
of Β£421,666, payable in Europe in six months, and,
as it was afterwards alleged, for a personal present
of ;^40,ooo β a false charge of which he was acquitted
by his own Government.
The quarrel between the French admiral and
French general waged fierce and long, Dupleix
striving with all the tenacity, skill, and finesse of
which he was so perfect a master, to oppose La
Bourdonnais and prevent Madras being restored to
the English. In the midst of their disputes the
annual monsoon storm burst, on the night of October
1 3th, and of the admiral's eight ships four foundered,
two were virtually destroyed, and two rendered un-
seaworthy, while over twelve hundred of his men
perished in the seas.
The plans of La Bourdonnais were wrecked. He
hastened home to add his name to the long list of
those whose fame and life have been sacrificed in their
efforts to found their countries' fortunes in the East.
He was cast into the Bastille, where he lay for three
years in solitary confinement, dying shortly after his
release of a broken heart.
Dupleix was left with Madras to sell or to destroy.
He tore the treaty of La Bourdonnais in pieces, and
sent the English garrison in captivity to Pondicherry,
Β§1
Β§3
β’^
FRENCH SUCCESSES. 73
a few daring spirits escaping to find a refuge in
Fort St. David β a weak fortress twelve miles south
of Pondicherry β garrisoned by a handful of soldiers,
one hundred Europeans, and one hundred sepoys.
The Governor of the Karnatik was, however, de-
termined that the French should not hold Madras.
He advanced at the head of six thousand horse and
three thousand foot to compel Dupleix to keep his
promise, certain that the host he commanded was
sufficient to drive all foes out of his territories.
For one hundred years the foreigners had been
overlooked by the native rulers. As traders they
had come and gone peacefully. If they dared to
transgress the will of the Emperor or disobey the
dictates of his Viceroy in the south, there were ten
thousand native soldiers, foot and horse, for every
foreign soldier then in India.
The rude awakening was now to come. Four
hundred of the French garrison sallied out with
two small field-pieces to meet the charge of the
native cavalry. Slowly the French force opened
out, and seventy of the foremost native troopers
fell before the rapid fire of the French guns. The
Nawab and his army turned and fled, leaving the
French masters of the field without the loss of a
single man.
The weakness of native troops, when not under the
discipline and firm rule of European officers, had been
shown by the Portuguese in 1 504, when Pacheco, with
a little over one hundred Europeans and a few hundred
native soldiers of the King of Cannanore, defeated the
Zamorin of Calicut, driving back an army of fifty
74 FRENCH EFFORTS IN INDIA.
thousand with heavy loss. It was pointed out by
Leibnitz to Louis XIV. ; it was known to Dupleix ;
it was afterward recognised by De Boigne when he
counselled Scindia's invincible Maratha infantry never
to dare face the Company's troops ; it was seen later
by Baron Hiigel, who told Ranjit Singh that the
Sikhs would inevitably fall back defeated before the
English battalions.
While the army of the Nawab halted on the banks
of the Adyar river, wondering over its defeat, the
brave but ill-fated Mons. Paradis marched forth
against it from Pondicherry with two hundred and
thirty Europeans and seven hundred sepoys. The
French were now without guns, yet, rushing through
the river, they drove the terror-stricken army before
them, the pursuit continuing through the streets of
St. Thome. Fresh troops from Madras appeared on
the scene and completed the rout. Those left of the
Nawab's forces found refuge behind the walls of
Arcot, whence they spread the tidings far and wide
of the newly discovered power of the foreign traders.
There was none now to stay the advancing tide of
French supremacy. The English entrenched at P'ort
St. David were but a few hundred in number, supT
ported by some hastily armed peons or servants.
There they held out, although the P>ench advanced
against them four times, until Rear-Admiral the Hon.
E. Boscawen, who had arrived from England with
fourteen hundred regular troops joined the fleet of
Admiral Griffin, and came to the rescue with thirty
ships, of which thirteen were ships of war. The
English were now in turn able to lay siege to Pondi-
DUPLEIX. 75
cherry ; but after an investment, lasting from Sep-
tember 6th to October 17th, during which they lost
one thousand and sixty-five men, and the French but
two hundred Europeans and fifty natives, the mon-
soon storm burst and the fleet had to sail away,
leaving Pondicherry safe in the hands of the French.
By the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle peace was restored,
and, to the mortification of Dupleix, Madras was
given back to the English in exchange for Cape St
Breton. *-c^-^A/vi>^^,v4,
In 1748 the Viceroy of the south died, leaving the
succession to his son Nasfr Jang β a succession disputed
by Muzaffar Jang, a grandson of Nizam-ul-Mulk.
Dupleix again played his game with consummate
skill. Throwing in his lot with Muzaffar Jang, who
had been joined by the Marathas and Chanda Sahib,
freed from his imprisonment at Satara, the combined
army advanced against Anwar-ud-Din, Governor of
the Karnatik.
At Ambiir Anwar-ud-Din was shot through the
head by a stray bullet, his army scattered, his son,
Muhammad All, escaping to Trichinopoli to seek the
protection of the English. Chanda Sahib was im-
mediately proclaimed at Arcot as Governor of the
Karnatik, and the French were given as a reward
for their aid eighty-one villages near Pondicherry.
Dupleix had succeeded at length in gaining political
influence over the internal affairs of the south, stand-
ing forth as the friend and ally of the Viceroy,
Muzaffar Jang, and the Nawab Chanda Sahib. The
Flnglish, on the other hand, had cast in their lot with
the two defeated candidates, Nasir Jang and Mu-
76 FRENCH EFFORTS IN INDIA.
hammad All. Whichever side, French or English,
would now succeed in successfully supporting their
rival claimants might ultimately hope to reign supreme
over the whole political affairs of the south of India.
The French quickly followed up their success by
capturing, in the night-time, with a loss of but twenty
men, the fortress of Gingi, a stronghold of Nasir Jang,
always held to be impregnable β a success which
enabled them to induce most of the native troops to
forsake the cause of Nasir Jang, who soon afterwards
was shot through the heart by one of his own allies.
Muzaffar Jang and Chanda Sahib were at once, amid
a scene of Oriental pomp, respectively installed Vice-
roy of the South, and Governor of the Karnatik,
Dupleix receiving in return the title of Commander
of Seven Hundred Horse and the right to coin
money current all over the south.
The French were now dictators over the affairs of
the Karnatik, ruling in the name of Chanda Sahib.
As the new Viceroy Muzaffar Jang was being
escorted by Mons. Bussy and three hundred French
soldiers to his capital at Aurangabad he was attacked
by some opposing native forces and slain, pierced
by a javelin in the forehead. The position was at
once retrieved by Bussy. Salabat Jang, a son of
Nizam-ul-Mulk, was proclaimed Viceroy, Bussy re-
maining with his troops at Aurangabad to support
the new administration.
The policy of Dupleix had succeeded beyond
expectation ; the English were left without allies,
their only friend, Muhammad All, aided by six
hundred Englishmen, was closely besieged at Tri-
POSITION HOPELESS. JJ
chinopoli by nine hundred Frenchmen and the
army of Chanda S^hib. The position seemed
hopeless. There was, however, one Englishman
forthcoming who, by his reckless daring, dogged
tenacity, and stubborn perseverance, not only suc-
ceeded in thwarting the diplomatic ingenuity by
which Dupleix had made the French influence
supreme in the native states but in establishing, for
the first time, the prestige of the English in India.
This man was the ill-fated Robert Clive.
V.
ROBERT CLIVE.
Clive was born on the 29th of September, 1725,
near Market Drayton in Shropshire. Wayward and
reckless as a schoolboy, he early showed signs of
those talents which he afterwards so conspicuously
exercised. Legend loves to tell how he climbed the
high steeple of Market Drayton, and there, to terrify
the townspeople, seated himself on the edge of a
projecting stone. The story is also well known how
he levied blackmail on the shopkeepers, threatening
to break their windows unless they submitted to his
demands and those of his schoolfellows.
In the year 1744 he landed at Madras as a writer
in the service of the East India Company. There
he listened in gloomy silence to the empty talk of
his brother writers whose lives were wasted in idle
folly and reckless dissipation. In bitter grief he
wrote home, " I have not enjoyed one happy day
since I left my native land." At length his proud
spirit, finding no relief from its surging thoughts,
sought refuge from inaction in death. The pistol,
well loaded and primed, was twice pointed at his
78
CLIVF. IX MAD§AS. 79
head, twice it missed fire ; a moment afterwards a
friend entered the room, and seeing Chve sitting
ROBERT, LORD CLIVE.
{From Mdlco! Ill's " Life ofClivi'.")
morose and silent, raised the pistol and discharged
it from the window at the first touch of the trigger.
From that day Clive woke to life, He was well
80 ROBERT CLIVE.
assured in his ovv^n mind that he had been spared for
some great purpose, to take some great part in the
history of his people β a part he afterwards played with
a recklessness which can only be accounted for on the
supposition that he believed he bore a charmed life.
In Malcolm's " Life of Clive" it is told how, during a
duel with an officer whom he had accused of cheating
at cards, he missed his antagonist, who thereupon
advanced, and holding his pistol to Clive's head
threatened to fire unless an apology was at once
made. " Fire and be d d," said Clive ; " I said
you cheated, and I say so still."
During the siege of Pondicherry, having obtained a
temporary commission as ensign, he greatly distin-
guished himself, but on the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle
had to return to the uncongenial employment of
measuring cloth and checking office accounts. A
welcome relief soon came. The native ruler of
Tanjore, Raja Sahuji, being deposed, appealed to the
English to reinstate him. As a reward for this service
he offered to bear all the expenses of the war and on
reinstatement to surrender to the Company the fort
and lands around Devikota. The English failed in
their efforts to restore Sahuji ; still, they determined to
have their promised reward. Major Lawrence, with
six ships, fifteen hundred native troops and eight
hundred Europeans, sailed up the Coleroon and
having breached the fort directed Clive, who had
again obtained a temporary commission as lieutenant,
to advance with the native troops and thirty-four
Europeans across a deep rivulet to storm the breach
and capture the fort. Clive charged at the head of
TRICHINOPOU, 8 1
his troops ; the sepoys held back, and of the Europeans
twenty-six were cut to pieces by the enemy's horse-
men. Clive, however, escaped, having, in the words
of Lawrence, behaved with "a cool courage and a
presence of mind which never left him in the. greatest
danger. Born a soldier, for without a military
education of any sort or much conversing with any of
the profession, from his judgment and good sense, he
led an army like an experienced officer and brave
soldier."
The fort was afterwards taken and with the sur-
rounding lands, which brought in a revenue of 36,0CXD
rupees, given over to the Company.
Clive was next directed to proceed from Madras
with one hundred English and fifty sepoys, to the
relief of the force at Trichinopoli where Muhammad
All, was hemmed in by the French and the army of
Chanda Sahib. For this duty Clive was nominated
by the Governor, Mr. Saunders, the order in Council
stating, " We will give him (Mr. Robert Clive) a brevet
to entitle him to the rank of Captain, as he was an
officer at the siege of Pondicherry and almost the
whole time of the war distinguished himself on many
occasions, it is conceived that this officer may be of
some service."
The genius of Clive shone ever brightest in times
of extreme danger and in situations where others
might well deem all was lost, when by a clear and
quick perception of all surrounding facts he rapidly
evolved plans for safety or victory which his calm
coUraee and inflexible determination sooner or later
enabled him to carry into execution. He saw that the
7
< >
*>.
J
DEFENCE OF ARCOT. fi-^
situation at Trichinopoli was hopeless, but he noticed
that Chanda Sahib, in over-eagerness to crush the
English, had summoned all the troops from the
capital at Arcot, leaving its weak fortifications de-
fended by only i,ioo sepoys. Clive at once deter-
mined to make a bold dash for the capture of Arcot,
intending to hold it until Chanda Sahib and the
French should be compelled to come to its rescue
and raise the siege of Trichinopoli. Hurrying back
to Madras, he persuaded the Governor to place at
his disposal all the available troops, two hundred
English and three hundred sepoys, with whom and
three small guns he set out on his heroic enter-
prise.
At Arcot, sixty-nine miles from Madras, consterna-
tion reigned. Travellers brought in word that Clive
and the English soldiers were advancing ; that they
had been seen marching unconcerned thn^ugh a
fearful storm of thunder, rain, and lightning. On
receipt of the news the garrison fled, leaving the
fort to Clive and his small band of Europeans and
sepoys. For fifty days Clive held out against the
allied troops sent against him. He repelled assault
after assault ; he led charges to drive the enem>'
from their advanced entrenchments; he even marched
out to protect some new guns coming to his aid
from Madras. The sepoys, in this memorable de-
fence of the fort of Arcot, stood side by side with
the English soldiers to whom they gave their scanty
portion of boiled rice, saying that they could live
on the water in which it had been boiled.
The brilliant stratagem conceived by the master-
84 ROBERT CIJVE.
mind of Clive succeeded : Chanda Sahib and his
French allies were obliged to send troops to aid in
the siege of Arcot, thereby weakening the forces
before Trichinopoli and infusing fresh courage into
Muhammad All and his dispirited supporters. The
fort was breached, by aid of the newly arrived troops,
and Clive was left with but eighty Europeans and
one hundred and thirty sepoys to defend the dis-
mantled walls one mile in circumference.
On November 14th the enemy, intoxicated with
* bhang and drunk with the fury of their religious
fanaticism, advanced in four divisions ; tw^o divisions
headed by elephants with iron plates on their fore-
heads to break in the gates, two divisions to mount
the breaches. Clive and his handful of heroes fought
for their lives along the crumbling walls. From post
to post they hurried, driving back the swarming foe,
Clive, with his own hands working the guns, at one
shot clearing seventy men off a raft on which they
strove to cross the moat. After an hour's fight the
besiegers were driven back, having lost four hundred
killed and wounded iii their attack, while of the
defenders only four Europeans and two sepoys fell.
Clive was reinforced from Fort St. David with two
hundred Europeans and seven hundred sepoys, and
at once marched out from behind his ramparts,
captured the fort of Timeri, joined a band of one
thousand Marathas under Moniri Rao, and fought his
first decisive battle against the French and their
allies, beating a force double his own in numbers at
Arni, seventeen miles south of Arcot. He then drove
the French from Conjeveram, reinforced Arcot, and
KAVERIPAK. 85
returned victorious to Fort St. David to receive the
congratulations of the Governor and Council.
The French and their allies followed, raiding the
country up to St. Thomas' Mount, but when Clive
sallied forth against them from Madras at the head of
380 Europeans and 1,000 sepoys, with three field-
pieces, they retreated to Kaveripak, a village lying
ten miles east of Arcot. There they concealed their
artillery and cavalry in a dense grove of mango-trees
by the side of the main road, along which they knew
Clive must advance, and in a deep channel on the
other side they hid away their infantry. As Clive*
and his troops marched leisurely down the road, in
easy confidence, they were suddenly met by a fire
from a battery of nine guns, which swept their ranks
at not more than 250 yards' distance.
Clive, undoubtedly, over and over again led his
troops with reckless carelessness into positions such
as this, from which nothing but his own genius, which
seemed to draw inspiration from the very presence
of danger, could have ever extricated them. It is
easy to cavil at his conduct and tell the tale of
disaster that might have followed if he had failed ;
but fail he never did, for with a charmed life he
faced his enemies amid the smoke and hurry of
battle with the same cool determination with which
he afterwards faced his opponents in the Council
Chamber.
It was late in the afternoon when Clive and his
troops marched into the midst of their enemies at
Kaveripak, and little time remained for action. With
a small body of infantry and two guns he held back
/
86 ROBERT CLIVE.
the enemy's cavalry, directing the rest of his troops
to seek shelter from the guns in the water-channel
by the roadside, and thence keep up a fire on the
French infantry.
For two hours the artillery fire continued, the
cavalry repeatedly charging Clive's guns and bag-
gage. At length it was discovered that the French
had neglected to defend the back of the grove where
their guns were posted. Clive secretly despatched
two hundred Europeans and four hundred sepoys to
within thirty yards of the French battery, whence they
poured in a volley among the gunners, who fled,
leaving their guns behind them. The victory, though
decisive, was dearly won ; forty of Clive's European
troops and thirty sepoys lay dead. The newly won
prestige of the French in the south had, however,
been shattered. Clive, before he returned to Madras
razed to the ground a city Dupleix had founded
and called after his own name, overturning the
triumphal column therein erected, on which was
emblazoned in many languages a full record of the
French victories
From Trichinopoli the French, heedless of the
remonstrances of Dupleix, retreated to the neigh-
bouring island of Srirangam, leaving Chanda Sahib
to his fate. To cut off their retreat and to prevent
reinforcements reaching them, Clive took up a posi-
tion in the village of Samiaveram, eleven miles north
of the island, where now the French were practically
isolated.
On the night of April 14, 1752, Clive, wearied from
a long day's operations he had carried out in order
NIGHT ATTACK' O.V CUVE. %J
to prevent a relieving force from Pondicherry break-
ing through the EngHsh and joining the French, lay
down to sleep in a rest-house near the entrance
gateway of the village temple. The camp was
quiet : the English soldiers, Maratha troopers, and
allied sepoys were sleeping uneasily in and near the
temple, while close at hand the sentinels, but half
awake, paced to and fro. In the dead of night seven
hundred of the enemy's sepoys and eighty Euro-
peans stole silently towards the camp, guided by a
band of deserters from the English. The drowsy
inquiries of the sentinels were answered by whispers
that the force was a relief sent from Lawrence.
Silently making their way to the front of the temple
gate, the enemy first gave notice of their presence by
pouring volley after volley amid the sleeping soldiers.
In an instant the camp awoke in startled surprise.
Moans from the dying and confused cries from the
awakened soldiers were mingled with the clatter of
arms and heavy boom of the enemy's muskets.
Through the shed where Clive lay sleeping, the bullets
flew ; a soldier by his side was shot dead, and a box
at the foot of his cot was shattered to fragments.
Deeming that the firing close at hand came from
his own troops, blindly repelling some imaginary
attack, Clive rushed forward and beat down the
guns with his hands, commanding the firing to
cease. He was attacked by six Frenchmen, seriously
wounded, and summoned to surrender. Wounded
and faint though he was, he grasped the situation in
a moment. Raising himself, he cried out to the
French soldiers that they were surrounded, and
^8 ROBERT CLIV^.
ordered them to surrender. His tone and manner
carried instant conviction ; the six Frenchmen in the
confusion gave up their arms. The native troops
broke away to fly from the vengeance of the fierce
Marathas, who were afterwards heard to declare that
not a single sepoy who entered the camp that night
escaped with his life. The remaining French soldiers
with the European deserters sought refuge in the
temple where, as it was found impossible to dislodge
them, they were shut in till dawn. In the morning
the temple was stormed, and after the French had
lost twelve men, Clive, weak and faint from his
wound, was led to the temple gate by two sergeants
who stood by his side supporting him. As he stood
swaying to and fro offering terms one of the deserters
fired ; the shot missed Clive, slaying the two ser-
geants who were standing slightly in front. Horrified
by the treacherous act the French threw down their
arms and capitulated.
Shortly after the entire French troops under
Captain Law surrendered to Lawrence, and the re-
lieving force under d'Auteuil to Clive, who, now
completely broken down by the arduous campaign,
returned home in 1753.
Dupleix remained still striving to re-establish the
French influence with the native rulers of the south.
But the French Company realised not the value of his
acquisitions, and knew not the meaning bf his policy.
Traders they were, and their profits were now falling
fast. Acquisition of territory or bearing of Eastern
titles by their Governors in the East had for them no
interest. In vain Dupleix pleaded for time ; in vain,
DUPLEIX AND CLIVE. 89
in order to carry out his designs, he expended the
wealth he had accumulated by private trade or gained
from foreign princes ; he was ignominiously recalled,
and his successor Godeheu, who arrived in 1754, re-
signed the exclusive right over the rich and fertile
Northern Circars which Dupleix had succeeded in
gaining for the French, and gave up all claim to the
sounding titles so eagerly sought after by his prede-
cessor. Insulted and laughed at at home as an
impostor when he pressed his claims for the return
of the money he had spent in the service of his
country, Dupleix sank deeper and deeper into poverty
and dejection, until at length, three days before his
death, he wrote in the bitterness of despair, " My
services are treated as fables, my demand is denounced
as ridiculous ; I am treated as the vilest of mankind ;
I am in the most deplorable indigence."
Clive, on the other hand, had been feasted and
toasted by the Court of Directors, and presented
with a diamond-hilted sword, " as a token of their
esteem and of their sense of his singular services,"
which he refused to receive until his old friend and
commander, Major Lawrence, was also likewise
honoured.
Clive soon grew tired of an inactive life in England.
The excitement of a contested election led to nothing
but loss of time, patience, and money, so in 1755 he
sailed again for India, having accepted a commission
of lieutenant-colonel in the British Army, the ap-
pointment of Governor of Fort St. David and the
succession to the Governorship of Madras. He
reached Fort St. David on the 20th of June, 1756.
go ROBERT CLIVE,
the day of the dire tragedy of the ]Mack Hole of
Calcutta.
Siraj-ud-Daula, Viceroy of Bengal, Behar, and
Orissa, had long watched, with growing distrust and
haughty anger, the dominant position gradually
acquired by the English and French traders in his
dominions. Forts had been built, fortifications raised,
refuge given to those flying from his wrath or cupidity,
while round Calcutta the famed Maratha ditch had
been laboriously dug, though never completed, to
keep out the Marathas, who levied chauth from all
villages in reach of their flying cohorts.
Not satisfied with the assurances given him by the
Governor of Calcutta that the new fortifications had
not been raised against the native powders, but in view
of the coming war between France and England,
Siraj-ud-Daula first captured the English factory at
Kasimbazar, and then marched for Calcutta at the
head of his forces, followed by the robber-bands in the
neighbourhood to the number of some forty thousand,
all eager to share in the sack of the rich city of the
English traders. Of riches there were but little at
Calcutta, and of defences virtually none. There were
obsolete shells and fuses, dismantled guns, walls too.
weak to support cannon, and warehouses built in the
line of fire to the south. The garrison consisted of
one hundred and eighty men, of whom only one-third
were Europeans. Gallantly the handful of English-
men set to work to erect outlying batteries, and dig
trenches, they were even reduced to seek ammunition
and help from the French and. Dutch factbries β an
aid, however, withheld. The women and children
CAPTURE OF CALCUTTA, 9I
took refuge in the ships lying in the river, two
Members of Council, officers of militia earning un-
dying Infamy, and subsequent dismissal for desertion,
by volunteering to accompany the fugitives and re-
fusing to return even when taunted for their cowardice.
The Commandant, Captain Minchin, likewise fled,
accompanied by the Governor, Mr. Drake, who un-
luckily escaped the parting shots fired after him by
his comrades, with whom he lacked courage to re-
main as they slowly turned to meet the foe. Well
might it be imagined that history could never hand
down a tale of fouler shame and infamy. So might
the garrison have thought were it not for the fact
that as they turned, with despair in their hearts, to
meet their swarming foes, they saw the last of the
ships sail out of sight. Captain Young of the
Dodolay finding courage sufficient to declare that
it would be dangerous to wait near or even to
send a boat to take off his countrymen. Prayed to
return and bear away the wounded, he refused ;
prayed to send a boat with ammunition, for that in
the fort was all but exhausted, he refused ; prayed to
throw a cable to the Prince George, which had
stranded in endeavouring to return, he refused, saying
he needed all he had for the safety of his own ship.
For five days the garrison, headed by the famed
civilian, Mr. Holwell, held out until out of one
hundred and seventy men fifty were wounded and
twenty-five killed. At length Holwell had to sur-
render, delivering up his sword to Siraj-ud-Daula on
a promise that no harm should befall his followers.
To those who have not Hved in the burning plains
g2 ROBERT CLIVE.
of India during the long months, when the brazen
rays of the sun pass away towards the close of evening,
and the blasts of the hot winds cease, only to be
succeeded by the dead, stifling heat when even the
birds fall to the ground gasping with open beaks for
breath, no pen can ever convey an idea of the suffer-
ings of those who died in agony on that night of the
20th of June, when Calcutta was surrendered to
Siraj-ud-Daula.
As the night approached the prisoners, one hundred
and forty-six in number, all wearied and many
wounded, were gathered together in the fort. In the
guard-room a space of eighteen feet square had been
walled in to form a prison cell. It had but two small
iron-barred windows, opening into a low verandah.
Into this cell, known to history as " The Black Hole
of Calcutta," the prisoners were driven at the point
of the bayonet.
Holwell has told the story of that night, which,
once read, ever haunts the memory, like the wild
imaginings of a fevered nightmare, with vivid pictures
of unutterable woes and fearful sufferings.
The first words of Holwell, advising the struggling
crowd to make more room by removing their gar-
ments, were drowned by the cries of the weak and
moans of the wounded. After some time the com-
mand to sit down was obeyed, but many had no
strength to rise again, and were soon trampled to
death. With frantic shrieks the living cried for air ;
with frenzied struggles they fought for the water their
guards held out, the few drops that reached their
parched lips but increasing their laging thirst. The
BLACK HOLE OF CALCUTTA. 93
guards came close with lanterns to watch the scene, but
no words of foul abuse could rouse them to shoot their
victims, nor promises of reward induce them to unbar
the door, or even remove the dying. The narrative
ends before the full tale of suffering was complete, foi
the narrator, Mr. Holwell, tells nothing after 2 a.m.
when he wrote, " I found a stupor coming on apace,
and laid myself down by that gallant old man, the
Rev. Mr. Jervas Bellamy, who lay dead with his son
the Lieutenant hand in hand."
In the morning twenty-three survivors were carried
out of the " Black Hole," amongst them one woman,
Mrs. Carey, whose husband had perished. I'rom out
the whole dark history there comes but one ra}^ of
consolation, for, from the evidence collected by Dr.
Busteed in his " Echoes from Old Calcutta," it is clear
that Mrs. Carey was .spared the ignominious fate it
was long believed she suffered, as narrated by Hol-
well, Orme, Macaulay, and other historians. It seems
now certain that she was released and lived in honour,
down to the year 1801, among her own people.
It is possible that Siraj-ud-Daula ma}' have known
nothing of the events that transpired during the
night, but when details of the slaughter were brought
to him in the morning he displayed neither emotion
nor regret, venting his rage at finding but ;^5,ooo in
the Treasury by ordering that Hol\\ell and the
European survivors .should at once quit Calcutta
under pain of having their noses *and ears cut off.
On news of the disaster reaching Madras Clive was
directed to hasten with all available troops to Bengal,
accompanied by the English fleet under Admiral
94 ROBERT CLIVE.
Watson. It was not until the end of the year that
the ships sailed up the Hugli and landed Clive and
his troops at Maiapur. After a weary march of
fifteen hours over swampy land the force arrived
late at night within one mile and a half of the fort
of Baj-baj, twelve miles from Calcutta, where, weary
and tired, they lay down to rest in the bed of a
dried-up lake, intending to attack the fort in the
morning. They were here surrounded by the enemy,
who, as soon as all were sleeping in the camp, opened
fire and seized the guns, which had been left unpro-
tected and unguarded. Clive had again, with careless
indifference, marched straight into the midst of the
enemy, but again his presence of mind saved him.
Advancing his soldiers the guns were recovered, the
foe driven off with heavy slaughter, and in his own
words, " the skirmish in all lasted about half an hour,
in which time ... 9 private men were killed and 8
wounded." In the meantime the guns from Admiral
Watson's fleet breached the fort, and a body of sailors
landed to co-operate with Clive. One of the sailors,
named Strahan, being intoxicated, lost his way, and
stumbled about until he reached the fort, which he
entered through one of the breaches. Finding him- "
self alone in the midst of the garrison he fired his
pistol, and cut right and left with his cutlass, crying
lustily that he had captured the fort. The sepoys,
deeming they had been surprised, seized their arms,
fired random shots in all directions, and then fled.
The English troops, hearing the strange commotion,
came to the rescue and took possession of the fort.
So the night of strange accidents closed, and, on
CLIVR AT CALCUTTA, 95
Strahan being ordered up for punishment in the
morning, he indignantly swore that if he was flogged,
he would never again so long as he lived, take another
fort by himself.
The fort at Hugh' was captured by Captain Eyre
Coote with a loss of two Europeans and ten sepoys,
after which the avenging force raided the surrounding
country, returning to Calcutta with a booty of some
;^ 1 50,000.
Siraj-ud-Daula, raging at the insult offered to his
power, at once collected together troops to the number
of 40,000, and marched again towards Calcutta, his
course being marked by the smoke and flames from
the villages his followers burned and plundered.
Clive collected together all his troops β 650 European
soldiers, 600 sailors from Watson's fleet, 14 field-
pieces, with 1 50 European artillery, and 800 sepoys β
and started on February 4th, at three o'clock in the
morning to drive Siraj-ud-Daula's immense army from
before Calcutta. In a dense fog he marched on, his
troops pausing now and then to fire, they knew not
where, to their right and left. A rocket from the
enemy's outposts exploded the ammunition in the
cartouche-box of one of Clive's sepoys, and was
followed by explosions from the ammunition of other
sepoys close by. Still they pressed on, the guns in
the rear mowing down their own troops in front,
none recognising friend or foe in the dense mist.
The cavalry of Siraj-ud-Daula, riding close up to
Clive's troops, broke back when met by a voile}' fired
at random in the direction of the charging horses.
In the early morning, on the fog rising, Clive retired
96 ROBERT CLIVE.
and reached Calcutta towards noon, having lost two
field-pieces, twenty Europeans, and one hundred
sepoys in his daring assault.
The enemy was thoroughly cowed. Siraj-ud-Dauld
withdrew his troops and sued for peace, for not only
did he fear the next move of Clive, but from the
north came the dreaded news that the Afghans,
under Ahmad Shdh Durani, had invaded the land
and captured the imperial city of Delhi.
Clive was nothing loth to enter into a truce. War
had been declared between Great Britain and France,
and he was anxious to obtain the aid and consent of
Siraj-ud-Daula to an attack on the French settlement
at Chandranagar. A treaty of alliance, offensive and
defensive, against all common foes, was accordingly
entered into. Siraj-ud-Daula agreed to give up all
the factories and property he had taken. The
Company was granted permission to fortify Calcutta,
to coin money at their own mint, and to carry their
merchandise through native territory without payment
of tolls.
The treaty signed, the Viceroy wavered in his
promise to aid the English in their attack on the
French settlement. The fame of the troops of Buspy
had reached his ears, and it was whispered abroad
that a great French army was advancing from
Haidarabad to drive the English out of India.
Admiral Watson was, however, not to be thus
trifled with. He at once demanded that Siraj-ud-
Daula should keep his word, else, as he wrote, " I
will kindle such a flame in your country as all the
water of the Ganges shall not be able to extinguish.
FRENCH LOSSES. 97
Farewell ; remember that he who promises you this
never yet broke his word with you or with any man
whatsoever."
With or without the consent or aid of the Viceroy
it was at length decided that Chandranagar should
be attacked before Bussy could come to the rescue.
At Chandranagar the French had but a feeble
garrison of 146 Europeans and 300 sepoys, supple-
mented by 300 civilians and sailors hastily armed.
Against these Admiral Watson brought up his fleet β
The Kcnty of 64 guns ; The Tiger^ of 60 guns ; and
The Salisbury^ of 50 guns β while Clive advanced by
land with 700 Europeans, 1,500 sepoys and artillery.
Defence was not long possible ; treachery showed
Watson a safe passage for his ships, the bastions
were swept of their defenders, 100 of the garrison
were slain, and on the 23rd of March, 1757, the
fort surrendered.
This success of the English so roused the fear and
anger of Siraj-ud-Daula, that he wrote to Bussy,
praying him to march from the Deccan to his aid.
The letters fell into the hands of Clive, who summed
up the situation by declaring '* the Nawab is a villain
and cannot be trusted ; he must be overset or we
must fall."
Mir Jafar, the Commander of Siraj-ud-Daula's
force, was bribed with the promise of being made
Viceroy if he could succeed in bringing over his
troops to the side of the English and aid in deposing
Siraj-ud-Daula.
The contemplated treachery of Mi'r Jafar was
known to many, but the secret was well kept, Amin-
8
98 ROBERT CLIVE.
chand, a wealthy Hindu banker, being the chief agent
in carrying out the negotiations. At the last moment
Clive found his carefully laid plans likely to fail, for
Aminchand suddenly declared that he would reveal
the plot to Siraj-ud-Daula unless he received a
promise that his share of the spoil should be 5 per
cent, on all the treasures at Murshidabad, or a sum
of 30 lakhs of rupees, more than ^300,000. Clive
bought the silence of Aminchand, promising to give
him all he desired, and to sign a deed to that
effect. To Watts, Resident at the Viceroy's Court,
and chief agent in the revolution, Clive wrote:
"Omichund is the greatest villain upon earth . . .
to counter-plot the scoundrel and at the same time to
give him no room to suspect our intentions enclosed
you will receive two forms of agreement, the one real
to be strictly kept by us, the other fictitious." The
real treaty, signed by all the allies, was on white
paper, the fictitious treaty was on red paper, similarly
signed, with the exception of the signature of
Admiral Watson, which was forged when he bluntly
refused to have anything to do with the intrigue.
Clive, when afterwards asked before the House of
Commons to defend his action, haughtily replied that
he thought " it warrantable in such a case, and would
do it again one hundred times." The announcement
of the forgery was, after the battle, made by Clive in
the following words : " Omichund, the red paper is a
trick ; you are to have nothing."
In after years, when the Duke of Wellington
traced out on the field of Plassey the lines on which
was fought the first great battle, establishing the
PLASSEY. 99
supremacy of the English in India, his admiration
for the genius of CHve must have been mingled
with feeHngs of sorrow that the fame of the great
General would ever be tarnished by that one act of
calculated deceit.
At Plassey Clive stood with nine small guns and a
band of 3,000 men, of whom 2,100 were native troops,
surrounded by 35,000 infantry, 15,000 cavalry of
fierce and warlike Pathans, 53 pieces of artillery, and
a body of Frenchmen forty to fifty in number. Clivc
paused long before venturing to attack, for he knew
that if Mir Jafar again turned traitor and joined
his forces to those of the Viceroy none among the
British troops would escape to tell the tale.
The danger of Ihe situation is seen from the fact
that Clive for the first time called together a council
of his officers, to whom he proposed the question,
" Whether, in our present position, without assistance,
and on our own bottom, it would be prudent to
attack, or whether we should wait till joined by some
native power ? "
Clive's own name heads the list of those who voted
for no further advance. Eyre Coote's name heads the
list of those who voted for immediate attack. When
the Council broke up Clive wandered apart by him-
self, and after some hours spent in solitary meditation
beneath the shade of the trees by the river bank he
returned to tell his officers to prepare their men to
cross the river on the following morning, for he had
determined to risk all in one great effort to establish
the supremacy of the English in India. On the 23rd
of June, 1757, as the first rays of the hot morning
100 ROBERT CUVE.
sun blazed across the wide field of Plassey, Clive
ascended to the roof of a small hunting hut in which
he had lain without sleep during the night. To his
right were the troops of the wavering traitor, Mir
Jafar, now biding his time to cast in his lot with the
side likely to win. Should Clive be defeated, Mir
Jafar's cavalry were- ready to sweep down on his rear
and pillage his baggage ; should the hosts of Siraj-
ud-Daula fall back, the troops of his trusted Com-
mander-in-Chief would range themselves beside those
of Clive. From where stood the camp of Mir Jafar,
38,000 of the enemy, with the French and their guns
in the centre, stretched in a semicircle round the
soldiers of Clive, still sleeping quietly in a large
mango grove guarded by a ditch and strong mud
banks. As Clive watched the scene in front of him
the first shot from the French guns woke the English
and laid low two of their number. Soon the heavy
artillery of the enemy was in full play, answered back
by Clive's six light guns. Eagerly the serried masses
of Siraj-ud-Daula pressed forward to drive the
handful of English into the deep Bhagirathi, but
Clive's soldiers lay safe behind the shelter of the mud
banks, and the shells and shot sang harmlessly over-
head amid the branches of the mango-trees. By
noon the rain came down in torrents, and the enemy's
ammunition, soaked through and through, was ren-
dered useless, so that their fire gradually slackened,
while Clive's guns and ammunition had been covered
up and kept dry.
Mir Madan, chief of the native cavalry, loved and
trusted by Siraj-ud-Daula, determined in one brave
PLASSF.V. 10 1
effort to silence the English gunners, but as he
charged at the head of his cavalry he fell dead before
the flying grape-shot. With frantic haste Sirjij-ud-
Daula gave orders for the troops to fall back. He
called Mir Jafar to his side, told him of his loss,
and casting his turban at the traitor's feet, prayed
him to fight against the foreign foe. Mir Jafar, vow-
ing that he would bring up his troops and defend
his chief, hastened away to send word to Clive to
advance and win the day. The English charged
from their entrenchments, taking care to fire now and
then on the treacherous troops of Mi'r Jafar to make
them keep their distance. By five o'clock the whole
army of Sirdj-ud-Dauld was in full retreat, the brave
band of Frenchmen in the centre standing firm until
Clive drove them from their position and captured
their guns. The Viceroy fled, leaving behind his
wealth, baggage, cattle, elephants, and artillery, and
five hundred of his troops dead and wounded on the
field.
After the battle of Plassey, in which the English
lost seven Europeans and sixteen sepoys, Mir Jafar
presented himself to receive the reward of his
treachery. As the English soldiers presented arms
he started back in alarm at the rattle of the muskets,
but his coward heart took courage when Clive
advanced and saluted him as Viceroy of Bengal,
Behar, and Orissa.
At Murshidabad, the capital of the Viceroy, the
rich merchants and bankers came forward and bowed
down in lowly supplication before their conquerors,
praying that their city might be spared the horrors
I02 ROBERT CUVR.
of rapine and plunder. To the right and left of Clive
was stored up the long-accumulated wealth of the
richest provinces of India. In the treasure-house
of Siraj-ud-Daula gold and silver were heaped
high. The custodians came forward and crowned
Clive's head with jewels. In after years, when he
was charged before the House of Commons with
over-greed, he boldly exclaimed, " By God, Mr.
Chairman, at this moment I stand astonished at
my own moderation ! "
For the Company he claimed the right to hold all
the lands south of Calcutta, 882 square miles, on
payment of the usual rent. He claimed a sum of
10,000,000 rupees as compensation for previous losses
and for the expenses of the campaign. For those
who had suffered during the capture of Calcutta by
Siraj-ud-Daula he claimed 8,000,000 rupees. For the
army 2,500,000 rupees, for the navy 2,500,000 rupees,
and other large sums for the Governor and Select
Committee at Calcutta. For himself he demanded
besides 280,000 rupees as Member of the Committee,
200,000 rupees as Commander-in-Chief, and 1,600,000
rupees as a private donation β in all, 2,080,000 rupees.
Be it remembered that at the time when these awards
were made the rupee was worth two shillings and
sixpence.
Mir Jafar, who had put Siraj-ud-Daula cruelly to
death, was left to raise these sums from his subjects
as best he could. The result was a rebellion, to quell
which Clive was called on for aid, and in return
received further rights for the Company. It was not
long before the new Viceroy had again to plead for
DUTCH AND FRENCH. IO3
the assistance of the Company's troops in repelling a
threatened invasion of his dominions by the son of
the Emperor of Delhi and the Nawdb Wazir of Oudh.
In return Clive was granted a right to retain in his
own hands the rent of the lands south of Calcutta
which, according to the agreement after Plassey, had
been annually paid by the English to the Viceroy.
By this agreement Clive virtually became landlord to
the East India Company. The amount, some ;^30,ooo
yearly, was paid to him from 1765 until his death in
1774, when the right to collect and keep the rent
passed to the Company.
The supremacy of the Company firmly established
in Bengal, the richest province in India, needed
but to be maintained and supported by the care-
ful husbanding of the resources and revenues of
the newly-acquired lands, so that it might finally
grow powerful enough to triumph over all rivals. The
Dutch still had their settlement at Chinsurah, twenty
miles above Calcutta, and in the Deccan the French
under Bussy supported the Nizam, or Viceroy, Salabat
Jang, the revenues of the " Northern Circars," or
districts of Ganjam, Vizagapatam, Godavari, and
Kistna, some seventeen thousand square miles in
extent, having been assigned to them for the main-
tenance of their troops.
On Bussy being summoned south for the purpose
of joining in a French attack on Madras, Clive
entered into an alliance with the local Raja of
Vizianagram, and sent a force under Colonel Fordc,
to the Northern Circars. Masulipatam, fell, position
after position was speedily captured, and the French
T04 ROBERT CLIVE.
driven out of the Northern Circars and deprived of
their main source of revenue.
The Dutch at Chinsurah, finding CHve's forces
weakened by the absence of Forde and his troops,
demanded that their ships should be allowed to pass
Calcutta without being searched and placed under
the charge of an English pilot as was the custom,
and that the trade in saltpetre, then kept exclusively
in the hands of the English Company, should be
thrown open. Receiving no satisfactory reply to
their demands, the Dutch openly declared war by
capturing some English ships in the river. Clive at
once collected together a body of armed volunteers,
hastily recalled Forde from the Northern Circars,
while Admiral Cornish, with three men-of-war, sailed
up the river, and destroyed six of the Dutch ships,
the last of the squadron being captured at the mouth
of the river. As soon as Colonel Forde reached
Calcutta he marched out with 320 Europeans, 800
sepoys, and 50 European volunteers. At Biderra,
near Chinsurah, he found himself opposed by a Dutch
force of 700 Europeans and 800 Malays. Seeing the
force assembled against him he wrote to Clive for
advice. Clive, who was playing whist, sent back a
hurried message in pencil, " Dear Forde, fight therri
immediately, I will send you the order in Council to-
morrow." Forde fought on November 25, 1759, only
50 Dutch and 250 Malays escaped, and .the struggle
by the Dutch for supremacy in India was ended.
The French were now alone left to struggle for a
short time longer against the growing power of the
English.
LAT.LY. 105
Fort St. David had fallen before Count Lally,
Baron de Tollendal. Madras held out, though closely
invested by the French troops from December, 1758,
to February, 1759. Enraged at the long resistance,
out of patience with the incompetence and ignorance
of his officers, the overbearing and haughty spirit of
Lally at length broke forth. He threatened to har-
ness the members of the Council at Pondicherry to
his waggons when they delayed in sending him sup-
plies or money. Knowing nothing of the country,
he rejected with contempt the advice, founded on long
experience, of Bussy, estranging all by his hot temper
and hasty measures. Ignorant of the ways of the
people of India, and caring nothing for their offended
pride, he drove the high caste merchants and
Brdhmans to carry on menial works in his camp.
By February, 1759, his supplies had almost failed,
his native troops were fast deserting, and his Euro-
pean soldiers making overtures to join the enemy,
so when the English fleet under Admiral Pocock
appeared in sight he was reluctantly obliged to raise
the siege of Madras, leave behind him his sick and
wounded, his artillery and ammunition, and retire to
Pondicherry, where the news of his failure was
received with unconcealed joy.
In September of the same year the French
Admiral Comte d'Ach6, with eleven ships of the
line, after two hours' cannonade with the English
fleet of nine ships under Admiral Pocock, finally
sailed away from the coast, leaving Lally to his fate,
an abandonment in the words of Captain Mahan,
"which necessarily led to the fall of the French
\
1 06 ROBERT CLIVE.
power in India, never again to rise." In January,
1760, Count Lally was finally defeated by Eyre
Coote at the battle of Wandewash ; Bussy was taken
prisoner, the French retreating to Pondicherry, which
capitulated in January of the next year.
Dupleix and La Bourdonnais had been already
sacrificed as a reward for their endeavours to work
out a future for their country in the East ; now Lally
the brave, the impetuous hero of many a fight,
thanked on the field of battle by Marshal Saxe, and
rewarded by Louis XV. with a colonelcy in the Irish
Brigade of Dillon, was to fall the last victim. Sent
to accomplish a task, impossible so long as the French
power was not secured on the seas, in European as
well as Eastern waters, he failed, as Dupleix and
La Bourdonnais had failed, and for his failure, on
returning to France, was thrown into the Bastille, con-
victed of having betrayed the interests of his king
"and as a reward for 35 years' service," as he
bitterly moaned, brought forth gagged and bound,
driven on a cart used for refuse, to the Place de
Greve, where he was executed.
Through all these contests Clive had the sea-power
of England to support him. With unerring insight
he had turned from the south, where no advance into
the heart of India was possible, and firmly established
the British power in the rich, alluvial tracts of Bengal
amid a tame and law-abiding populace, where the
Company might in peace consolidate its strength,
make surer its foothold, and slowly, at its own chosen
time, advance further and further, each step being
secured before the next was attempted, until finally
CLIVR LEAVES BENGAL, XOJ
their power had crept all over the land, up the Ganges
to Benares, further on to the Himalayas, gaining
wealth, power, and strength, to raise armies to subdue
the south and west, plant the British standard by
the Indus, sweep in the garnered wealth of Oudh,
and then hand over the dominions and trade its
servants had won and fostered to the safe-keeping of
the Queen-Empress.
On the 25th of P^bruary, 1760, at the age of thirty-
five, Clive sailed for England, where he received from
George III. an Irish Peerage as Lord Clive, Baron
Plassey, as a reward for the services he had rendered
to his country, for, in the words of Earl Stanhope,
" Whatever gratitude Spain owes to her Cortes, or
Portugal to her Albuquerque, this β and in its results
more than this β is due from England to Clive. Had
he never been born, I do not believe that we should β
at least in that generation β have conquered Hindoo-
stan ; had he lived longer, I doubt if we should β at
least in that generation β have lost North America."
Clive remained in England, and the Government
of Bengal passed into the hands of Mr. Vansittart.
The French were still fighting in the south. The
sums Mir Jafar had agreed to pay after the battle of
Plassey had not been fully paid, and the money was
wanted. English writers on ^5 a year, factors on
;^I5 a year, junior and senior merchants on ;^30 and
Β£^0 a year, a president on ^^300 a year, his coun-
sellors on from ^^40 to ;^ioo, were engaged in trade,
all determined, more or less, to make a speedy
fortune and return to England, while the army was
growing, and the pay of the soldiers in arrears. Some
I08 ROBERT CLIVE.
method to meet the growing expenses had to be
found. Accordingly Mr. Vansittart wrote to the
Court of Proprietors that in consequence of "the
general confusion and disaffection of the country, and
the very low state of the Company's treasury, one or
other of these resolutions was immediately necessary
β either to drop our connexions with the country
Government and withdraw our assistance : or to
insist on more ample as well as more certain provision
for the support of the Company's expense."
The Viceroy was old, said to be debauched and
indolent, while his son-in-law, Mir Muhammed Kasiiti
bid high for the post. In the dead of night, Mir Jafar
was removed and Mir Kasim installed on condition
that he should pay the arrears due to the Company,
grant the revenues of Bardwan, Midnapur, and
Chittagong, and 50 lakhs of rupees towards the
expenses of the war in the south. The Governor,
Mr. Vansittart, was to receive ;^30,C)00, Mr. Holwell,
;f 27,000, others sums of ;^2 5,000, ;Β£"20,ooo, and
i^ 1 3,000. The revenues of the whole of Bengal were
now in the hands of the servants of the Company.
Having the right of free passage, without payment of
tax or toll, for the inland produce, in which they
traded, they commenced for a consideration to
smuggle the goods of native traders ; they even
forced the villagers to buy and sell at prices fixed
by themselves.
The new Viceroy daily became more alarmed
Unable to obtain redress, and unwilling to allow the
power to pass from his hands without a struggle, he
commenced to prepare for war, now inevitable, by
MALADMINISTRATION. IO9
organising his troops under two soldiers of fortune,
Reinhardt an Alsatian, and Markar an Armenian.
When two ships from Calcutta appeared at Mungir
carrying arms for the English troops at Patna, he
detained the ships and placed the officers in charge
under guard. Mr. Ellis, the English Governor, re-
torted by seizing the city. The Viceroy's troops
under Reinhardt and Markar came to the rescue.
Ellis and his followers were hemmed in, cap-
tured and placed in imprisonment. War was at
once proclaimed. Mir Kasim's forces were defeated
by Major John Adams at Katwa and Gheria, forty
thousand of them being driven back with fearful
slaughter from the fortress at the gorge of Undwa
Nala. Mir Kasim, incensed at the success of the
Company, gave orders that Mr. Ellis and the
prisoners should be instantly executed. On the
5 th of October, 1763, Walter Reinhardt, sur-
named Sambre by his companions, and Samru by
the natives, forced two companies of his sepoys
to carry out the order, and Ellis, with two
hundred unarmed men, women, and children, w^ere
foully massacred. Patna was soon afterwards cap-
tured by Major Adams ; but Mir Kasim escaping,
under the escort of Samru, sought protection in
Allahabad with Shuja-ud-Daula, Nawab Wazi'r of
Oudh, where the Emperor, Shah Alam, driven from
Delhi by the Afghans, had also taken refuge.
Between the three, an alliance offensive and de-
fensive against the English was entered into, and
with fifty thousand followers they advanced to
Baksar near Patna. From here Mir Kasim was
no ROBERT CLIVE.
driven forth by his alHes, weary of his cowardice
and inabihty to raise the funds he had promised
towards the expenses of the war. He died soon
afterwards in abject poverty.
Hector Munro, having with prompt and unrelent-
ing severity quelled the first Sepoy Mutiny in India
by blowing from the guns twenty-four of his mutinous
troops, advanced against the allied forces whom he
defeated with terrible slaughter in the decisive battle
of Baksar on the 23 rd of October, 1764.
Benares immediately surrendered, and Allahabad
capitulated to Sir Robert Fletcher, leaving the Nawab
Wazir of Oudh, deserted by Samru, no alternative
but to sue for peace on terms to be dictated by the
English. The result of this decisive victory, second
only to Plassey,was fully recognised by Clive,who wrote
to Pitt, in 1766, "It is scarcely hyperbole to say, to-
morrow the whole Mogul Empire is in our power."
Mir Jafar, again installed as viceroy, died soon after-
wards, and left a legacy of 5 lakhs of rupees to Clive,
who handed the amount over to the treasury at
Calcutta to form a fund for the relief of officers and
soldiers invalided or disabled during service, as well as
for widows of officers and soldiers dying on serviceβ
a fund known for over a century as " Lord Clive 's
Fund," which reverted to the heirs of Clive when
India was transferred from the East India Company
to the Crown.
On the death of the Viceroy, Mr. Vansittart and his
Council, in direct contravention of a recent order from
the Court of Directors prohibiting their servants from
receiving any presents, installed the illegitimate son of
CUVE RESTORES ORDER. Ill
Mir Kasim on receiving a sum of lO lakhs of rupees
to be divided among them as they should elect.
The Court of Directors in London was now
thoroughly alarmed at these arbitrary proceedings of
the Calcutta Council, as well as at the rapacity and
private trade of their servants which threatened
financial ruin to the Company's own affairs. They
accordingly wrote to the Governor of Bengal : " One
grand source of the disputes, misunderstandings, and
difficulties which have occurred with the Country
Government appears evidently to have taken its rise
from the unwarrantable and licentious manner of
carrying on private trade of the Company's servants.
... In order, therefore, to remedy all these disorders,
we do hereby positively order and direct, β That from
the receipt of this letter, a final and effectual end be
forthwith put to the Inland Trade in Salt, beetle nut
and tobacco, and all other articles whatsoever produced
and consumed in the Country."
. Fearing that this order would not be effectually
carried out, the Court of Directors supplemented it
in 1764 by praying Clive to proceed to India and
place their affairs in order. This determination was
conveyed to the Council at Bengal in the following
words : β " The General Court of Proprietors having,
on account of the critical situation of the Company's
affairs in Bengal, requested Lord Clive to take upon
him the station of President, and the Command of the
Company's Military forces there, his Lordship has
been appointed President and Governor accordingly."
Clive landed at Calcutta on the 3rd of May, 1765,
having full power to act with a Select Committee of
112 ROBERT CLIVE.
four members independent of the Bengal Council.
When one member of the old Council, Mr. Johnstone,
ventured to ask some questions respecting the new
power of the committee, Clive, as he himself writes,
haughtily asked him " if he would dare to dispute our
authority ? Mr. Johnstone replied, that he never had
the least intention of doing such a thing ; upon which
there was an appearance of very long and pale
countenances, and not one. of the Council uttered
another syllable."
Within two days of Clive's arrival every act of the
Council, especially their indecent haste in installing a
new Viceroy, and their reception of presents, had been
censured by Clive, who sums up his judgment on
their procedure by writing, "Alas! how is the English
name sunk ! I could not avoid paying the tribute of
a few tears to the departed and lost fame of the
British Nation (irrecoverably so, I fear)."
Clive landed on Tuesday ; the following Monday
the Select Committee directed that a covenant not
to take bribes or presents for the future should be
signed by all Members of Council, and by all the
Company's servants, who, as Clive writes, " after
many idle and evasive arguments, and being given
to understand that they must either sign or be
suspended the service, executed the covenants
upon the spot." Soon after Clive was able to write
respecting the future of the Company's affairs in
India, and his words are as applicable to-day as
they were then : " I am persuaded that nothing can
prove fatal, but a renewal of licentiousness among
your servants here, or intestine divisions among
yourselves at home."
REFORMS. I I 3
How far the general corruption and laxity had
spread during his absence may be judged from one
of his letters home, in which he declares, " I fear the
Military as well as Civil are so far gone in luxury
and debauchery, that it will require the utmost
exertion of our united Committee to save the
Company from destruction."
Noteworthy are his words as he viewed with alarm
the position which he was sent out to face : " If ideas
of conquest were to be the rule of our conduct, I
foresee that we should by necessity be led from
acquisition to acquisition until we had the whole
Empire up in arms against us." He dwells carefully
on the great danger that may arise if once the
natives throw off their " natural indolence," combined
to carry on a " war against us in a much more
soldierly manner than they ever thought of"
Having placed the internal affairs of the Company
on a firm basis, Clive proceeded to conclude peace
with the Nawab Wazi'r of Oudh, for, at that period,
he conceived it essential, as he wrote, " to conciliate
the affections of the country powers, to remove any
jealousy they may entertain of our unbounded
ambition, and to convince them that we aim not
at conquest and dominion, but security in carrying
on a free trade."
The territories of the Nawab Wazi'r of Oudh were
restored on his paying half a million sterling for the
expenses of the war. Allahabad and Kora, yielding
a revenue of 2,800,000 rupees yearly, were retained
and given to the Emperor Shah Alam in exchange
for the perpetual right, or Diwanship, over the entire
9
114 ROBERT CLIVE.
revenues of Bengal, Behar, Orissa, and the Northern
Circars, the Emperor receiving in exchange an
annual tribute of ^^260,000, and the new Viceroy an
annual allowance of ;^6oo,ooo wherfewith to pay his
dancing girls. The collection of the revenues in
these districts was left in the hands of the native
agents, for, as the Directors wrote, they were aware
" how unfit an Englishman is to conduct the collection
of revenues and to follow the subtle native thought,
all his art is to conceal the real value of his country^,
to perplex and elude the payment." By this arrange-
ment Bengal, Behar, and Orissa virtually became
the property of the Company β a property likely, in
the opinion of Clive, to yield a yearly revenue of two
millions sterling. The acquisition, in fact, exceeded
everything that could have been conceived by the
wildest imagination of Dupleix and in the words of
Clive, " To go further is, in my opinion, a scheme so
extravagantly ambitious, that no Governor and Council
in their senses can accept it unless the whole system
of the Company's interests be first entirely new
remodelled."
As a barrier between the limits of the Company's
territories and the north of India, the puppet
sovereign of Oudh was left in power, while the
Emperor held the strong fortress of Allahabad, to
keep in check all Maratha and Pathan invaders.
Nothing remained for the Company but to consolidate
their position, secure themselves in their own pos-
sessions, conciliate the natives, train, discipline, and
augment their army, hoard their resources, and be
prepared for what the future might bring forth.
DISCONTENT. 1 1 $
In order to carry out the policy of the Directors,
Clive reorganised the entire system of the inland
trade. The sale of salt had been virtually monopo-
lised by the Company's servants, who paid neither
duty nor toll, or at most a small one of 2\
per cent. That this was a lucrative business may
be seen from the fact that with good management
it paid over 200 per cent, on the capital ex-
pended. It was, however, declared illegal as well as
the trade in betel nut, tobacco, and all articles not
intended for import or export. Some effort at
compensation, to the senior military and civil officers,
was made by Clive, who formed a fund to carry on
the trade under public management in the profits of
which they were to participate in fixed proportions
according to their rank β a system, however, not finally
approved of by the Directors.
This measure, and the curtailment of a special
allowance made to military officers when on active
service or away from headquarters β a privilege en-
joyed since the days of Plassey β resulted in open
mutiny, two hundred officers threatening to resign
their commissions on the same day unless this
allowance was restored.
Sir Robert Fletcher, Commandant at Mungir,
secretly encouraged the movement, while the civil
officers at Calcutta subscribed a sum of i^ 16,000 for
the benefit of any officers who might be cashiered.
Clive was not to be intimidated in his efforts to
carry out the Directors' instructions. Sir Robert
Fletcher was cashiered, new officers were ordered
up from Madras, those who had combined were tried
Il6 ROBERT CLIVE.
by martial law, six were convicted of mutiny, the rest
allowed to recall their resignations only on their fully
recognising that they were permitted to continue in
the service as an act of extreme grace and favour.
Clive remained in India one year and a half,
during which time, in the words of Macaulay, he
"effected one of the most extensive, difficult and
salutary reforms that ever was accomplished by any
statesman."
His health breaking down he determined to return
home, notwithstanding that the Directors urged him
to remain, for as they wrote : " The general voice
of the Proprietors, indeed, we may say, of every man,
will be to join in our request, that your Lordship will
continue another year in India," their opinion being :
"Your own example has been the principal means
of restraining the general rapaciousness and corrup-
tion which had brought our affairs so near the brink
of ruin."
Clive, however, could not be induced to remain.
He left India finally on the 29th of January, 1767,
at a time when, in consequence of brilliant hopes
held out for the future trade of the Company, the
price of Stock had gone up to 263, and the dividends
had risen from 6 to 10, and even to 12 J per cent.
In i60)Z the Company had advanced to the Crown
two millions sterling at 8 per cent, interest; in 1702,
one million ; in 1730, four millions sterling without
interest; in 1744, on extension of their Charter, one
million sterling at 3 per cent. ; so that by 1758 a
total debt of i^4,200,cxx) at 3 per cent, was owed
them, while, on the other hand, they had to pay
PAR LI A ME NT A K V fXQ UIR Y I I 7
;Β£^400,ooo to the Exchequer yearly, on account of the
revenue derived from their newly acquired position in
India.
These fair hopes of prosperity, however, did not
last lon^. In the south of India Ilaidar All had
risen to power, extended his kinj^dom of Mysore as
far north as the Kistna, established a maritime force
on the west coast at Man^alore, and by 1769 had
ravaged the country round Madras up to St. Thomas'
Mount, impoverishing the Madras Government.
In 1770 Bengal was devastated by a fearful famine
during the course of which one-third to one-half of
its inhabitants died, the trade becoming totally dis-
organised, and the revenues remaining uncollected.
By 1773 the Company were virtually bankrupt.
Although their shares paid a dividend of 6 per cent,
the year before, they had been obliged to borrow to
the extent of ^1,290,000, their Capital Stock, amount-
ing to ;^4,ooo,ooo, being represented by effects and
credits in England, China, India, St. Helena, and on
the sea, by a sum of ^^"2,930,658 los. lod.
An application to the Government for a loan of
i^ 1, 000,000 to enable them to carry on their business
led to an inquiry into the whole affairs of the Com-
pany, and an impeachment of Clive's administration,
particularly his dealings with Siraj-ud-Daula and Mir
Jafar.
As a result it was ruled by the Commons that all
the acquisitions made by military force in India, or
acquired by treaty with foreign powers, did by right
belong to the State, while, with regard to Clive, they
left the question unvoted on as to whether or not he
Il8 ROBERT CLIVE.
had " abused the power with which he was entrusted,
to the evil example of the servants of the public, and
to the dishonour and detriment of the State," con-
tenting themselves with passing a resolution that
" Robert, Lord Clive, did render great and meritorious
services to his country " β a resolution which did little
to soothe the worn-out spirit of the victor of Plassey,
who died by his own hand, after great physical
suffering, at his house in Berkeley Square in 1774.
The Company was released from the annual pay-
ment of the ^400,000, it was lent ;^ 1,500,000 for
four years, being, however, debarred from declaring
a dividend of more than 6 per cent, on their business
till the loan was repaid. Lord North's Regulating
Act of 1773 at the same time definitely established
Parliamentary control over the whole affairs of the
Company. Copies of all papers respecting civil or
military affairs in India were to be sent to the
Secretaries of State and Lords of the Treasury
within fourteen days of receipt. The Governor-
General in India was to be nominated by Parliament,
he was to hold office for five years, and to have a
casting vote in a new Council of four members. A
Supreme Court of Justice was established for Cal-
cutta, with a Chief Justice and four Puisne Judges,
who, with the aid of a jury of British subjects, were
to try all offences except petty trade disputes, which
were left to the former, or Mayor's, Court.
The first Council appointed under the Act con-
sisted of Richard Barwell, General Clavering, the
Hon. Colonel Monson, and Philip Francis, the first
Governor-General being Warren Hastings.
VI.
WARREN HASTINGS.
No Governor-General of India has ever been called
on to undertake a task more complex in all its details
than that undertaken by Warren Hastings when he
was summoned by the Directors of the East India
Company to assume charge of their affairs in Bengal.
No Governor-General has had more difficulties to
encounter, not only from opposition in his own
Council Chamber, but also from those at home whom
he served, and from whom he might have hoped for
encouragement and some amount of loyal support ;
no Governor-General has been so traduced, maligned,
and misrepresented by those whose enmity he had
roused by thwarting their self-interested intrigues or
by an exposure of their frauds and incapacities, as
well as by those who had full opportunities of
judging the full value of his public services, but
who deemed it well to sacrifice him for private or
party purposes.
Recent impartial and judicial research has done
much to clear the chareicter of Hastings from many
wildly reckless and even false charges. Still, no sober
I20 WARREN HASTINGS.
inquiries or calm decisions will ever blot away the
memory of the words of impassioned eloquence and
dramatic force with which nearly every official action
of his life was denounced by the greatest orators of
his time, who used all their unrivalled powers to
impress the imagination of their audience with the
enormity of the offences charged against him by
the malice of his enemies.
Of Hastings it can be truly said that all he accom-
plishedβ and it was much β was done because he saw,
with a foresight vouchsafed only to a genius such as
his, what the interests of the Company, and those of
his country, demanded for the extension of commerce
and the firm establishment of the British rule in the
East whereon that commerce could alone be based.
Arriving in India at the age of nineteen, in October,
1750, Hastings, like Clive, was first employed in the
ordinary clerical duties attached to the office of a writer
in the East India Company's service. In the year
1754 he was transferred to the factory at Kasimbazar,
on the Ganges. There his chief occupation seems to
have been the making of bargains with the native
traders for the supply of silk stuffs to be sent home
to enrich the London merchants. In 1756 happened
the dire catastrophe of the Black Hole of Calcutta.
Hastings, in the confusion, escaped from Kasimbazar
and made his way down the Ganges, joining the
refugees, and afterwards took part as a volunteer
in Clives campaigns. Pathetic as is much in the
history of Hastings, no more pathetic fact is recorded,
in all its meagre details, than that his first wife, the
widow of a Captain Campbell, whom he married in
EARLY SERVICE. 121
1756, died in 1759, leaving two children, who did not
long survive.
On the return of Clive to England, Hastings, then
in his twenty-ninth year, was appointed Member of
Council at Calcutta. In the years of deplorable
mismanagement which followed, Hastings, in the
words of Macaulay, " was never charged with having
borne a share in the worst abuses which ensued,
and it is almost equally cert*ain that, if he had
borne a share in those abuses, the able and bitter
enemies who afterwards persecuted him would not
have failed to discover and proclaim his guilt."
After ten years' service in the enervating climate of
Bengal he returned home with but a comparatively
small income. His generosity to his relatives and
financial losses soon left him no option but to apply
once again to the Court of Directors for employ-
ment in their service in the East β an application
at once acceded to, for Hastings had, as the
Directors recorded in their order appointing him
second Member of Council at Madras, " served us
many years upon the Bengal establishment with
great ability and unblemished character." Borrow-
ing money wherewith to buy an outfit, he sailed, in
1769, from Dover, to build anew his fortunes in a
life of exile in the East.
On the long voyage out a romantic attachment
sprang up between him and Mrs. Imhoff, whom he
afterwards married on a divorce being obtained from
her husband, a German baron. At Madras, in ad-
dition to his duties as Member of Council, he acted
as export warehouse keeper until the year 1772, when
122 WARREN HASTINGS.
he was directed to proceed to Calcutta to assume
charge of the Government, and, if possible, evolve
order out of the chaos into which the affairs of the
Company had lapsed.
From Clive he received a letter of advice, beseech-
ing him to " be impartial and just to the public,
regardless of the interest of individuals, where the
honour of the nation and the real advantage of the
Company are at stake, and resolute in carrying into
execution your determination, which I hope will at
all times be rather founded upon your own opinion
than that of others," and at the same time " always
flattering yourself that time and perseverance will
get the better of everything."
The problem before Hastings was how to secure
from attacks by native powers the territories won by
Clive, how to raise revenue from them sufficient to
satisfy the expenses of administration, the demands
of the Directors, as well as the heavy and sudden
liabilities to be incurred for wars which he knew
must inevitably occur in the near future. In order
to effect these objects " it is impossible," as he wrote
in a letter to Sir George Colebrooke, " to avoid
errors ; and there are cases ... in which it may
be necessary to adopt expedients which are not to
be justified on such principles as the public can be
judges of"
A gf-eat power had arisen in the west and north
of India which for a time seemed as though it would
succeed in founding a Hindu dominion on the ruins
of the Mughal Empire, and dictate its orders to the
servants of the Company. The Marathas had from
MA NAT HAS. 123
the seventeenth century β when first as predatory
bands of raiding and robbing horsemen they were
led forth annually from their mountain homes lying
amid the highlands of the west by their great leader
Sivaji β grown to be an organised force of fighting
soldiers, who under their chieftains levied contribu-
tions far and wide over all the rich villages lying
outside the Company's possessions at Bombay, Cal-
cutta, and Madras.
As the successors of Sivaji became weak and
effeminate their power passed to the hands of their
astute Brahman ministers, or Peshwas, who fixed
their headquarters at Poona. At the same time
successful leaders gathered around themselves bands
of horsemen who claimed the right to pillage and
levy contributions over defined districts, all, however,
rendering a more or less loyal allegiance to the
Peshwas. Holkar, descendant of a shepherd, assumed
sovereignty around his capital at Indore. Sindhia,
whose ancestors were hereditary slipper-bearers to
the proud Peshwas, established himself in power at
Gwalior, while Baroda fell to the Gaekwars, and
Nagpur to the Bhonslas. One final effort to break
this great rising Hindu nationality and restore the
sway of the Mughals was made by the Muhammadan
ruler of Afghanistan, when Ahmad Shah Durani,
at the head of his Turkoman cavalry, came riding
through the north-west passes to chastise the idola-
trous Marathas for their insolence in driving the
Emperor from Delhi and conquering the neigh-
bouring lands of the Punjab.
On the fatal field of Panipat Ahmad Shah Durani
124 VVAJ^J^EJV HASTINGS.
cut to pieces 200,000 of the light Maratha horsemen,
slew the bravest of their chieftains, including the son
and cousin of their Peshwa β or, as the news was
wailed amid their mountain homes, " Two pearls
have been dissolved, twenty-seven .gold mohurs have
been lost, and of the silver and copper the total
cannot be cast up."
Terrible though the calamity was that had fallen
on the Marathas, they soon gathered themselves
together to dispute the sovereignty with the East
India Company. In 1769 they raided south, de-
vastating the territories of the fierce Haidar All,
and by 1 771 they had once again in their power
the Emperor at Delhi, forcing him to surrender to
them the districts of Kora and Allahabad, handed
to him in 1765 by Clive, in return for the grant of
the Governorship over Bengal, Behar, and Orissa.
In consequence of this defection of the Emperor from
the side of the English, Hastings not only resumed
possession of the districts of Kora and Allahabad,
but withheld the annual tribute of ^^300,000 which
it had. been customary to pay him from the revenues
of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa.
Hastings, so far as the Company's possessions and
interests were concerned, had brilliantly succeeded in
counterplotting the wily Maratha stratagems whereby
they hoped to rule through the permission of the
Emperor. He had now to play a bolder game re-
quiring all the insight his genius could inspire β to
carry to a successful conclusion. The Company's
possessions in Bengal, Behar, and Orissa had been
won by Clive ; it yet remained to place them under
RO HILL AS. 125
a firm and wise administration ; it yet remained to
secure them from all possibility of Maratha invasion,
so that the Company might have time to secure its
position and gain strength and power for its ultimate
expansion. Between the Company's possessions and
the Marathas it was necessary to build up a strong
and friendly native state which might receive, and
if possible break, the first rude shock of an invading
army.
To the west of Bengal and Behar lay Oudh, ruled
by its Nawab Wazir, Beyond Oudh, stretching north-
east to the Himalayas, lay the land of the Rohillas,
a fierce race of Pathan warriors who came originally
from beyond the Indus, conquered the rich, fertile
plains, and subdued the effete Hindu peasantry.
With the Rohillas the Mardthas had a deadly feud,
not only because they were of different nationality
and religion, but because the Rohillas had stood by
and allowed the Afghans to slaughter the Marathd
chieftains at Panipat. The Marathas did not wait
long for vengeance. In 1772 they swarmed down
on the Rohillas, who were obliged to turn in their
distress to Shuja-ud-Daula, the Nawab Wazir of
Oudh, to whom they offered 40 lakhs of rupees if he
would come to their aid and drive back the maraud-
ing invaders. With the assistance of the forces from
Oudh, strengthened by an English brigade under
Sir Robert Baker, the Marathas were driven from
Rohilkhand ; but, as might have been expected,
Hafiz Rahmat Khan, beloved chief of the Rohillas,
refused to pay the Nawab Wazir of Oudh the
promised subsidy of 40 lakhs of rupees. When
126 WARREN HASTINGS.
the demand was pressed he threatened to join his
forces to those of his former foes, the Marathas,
and raid the territories of Oudh and those of the
Company.
Hastings at once summoned the Nawab Wazir to
meet him at Benares, so that they might concert
measures for the future defence of their possessions.
At the meeting which ensued it was decided that the
Rohillas should be driven from Rohilkhand by a
united force of Oudh and the Company ; that the
Nawjib Wazir should, after the campaign, take pos-
session of the outlying districts of Rohilkhand, as
well as Kora and Allahabad held to have been ceded
by the Emperor ; and that the Company in return
should receive the 40 lakhs of rupees, as well as a
further sum of 210,000 rupees monthly, during the
time its troops were engaged in the field, for war
expenses. By the victories of Plassey and Baksar
Clive won a foothold for the Company in India ;
by this treaty, as Hastings wrote, the Nawab
Wazir would obtain " a complete compact state shut
in effectually from the frontiers of Behar to the
mountains of Thibet, while he would remain equally
accessible to our forces from the above provinces
either for hostilities or for protection. It would give
him wealth, of which we should partake, and give
him security without any dangerous increase of
power. It would undoubtedly, by bringing his
frontier nearer to the Marathas, for whom singly he
would be no match, render him more dependent on
us, and cement the union more firmly between us."
As to the essential morality of these colossal in-
R OH ILL A WAR. 12/
trigues of Hastings, neither his age nor our age, in a
compulsory struggle for existence, can judge. The
same problem, differing in none of its essential details,
lies before us to-day in our determination to hold our
possessions in Africa as a field for the outlet of our
productions, as well as in the consistent efforts of
Russia to gain seaports in the Mediterranean or in
the North Pacific, so as to establish a commercial
prosperity for herself in the future, by means which
are inevitably destined to end in success. All we are
concerned with is the fact that Hastings in his deal-
ings with the native powers had but one main ideal
before him β that of serving the interests of the East
India Company, and establishing on a secure basis the
foundation of the British Empire in India, so that
the commercial enterprise of the London merchants
should have its necessary development. If in this
there be discovered any taint of turpitude, not by
Hastings alone but by the nation at large must the
blame be borne.
Rohilkhand was conquered, Hafiz Rahmat Khan
died bravely fighting, along with two thousand of his
troops, while the remaining Rohillas were sent forth,
across the Ganges, to seek new settlements for them-
selves in the districts round Meerut. The usual horrors
of war accompanied the campaign, but in the pillaging
and burning of villages which ensued neither did the
British troops take part nor was Hastings cognisant
of them. By all means in his power he reprobated
and sternly suppressed vindictive violence to the
conquered and oppression of the peaceful Hindu
peasantry.
128 WARREN HASTINGS,
The Company's territories once rendered secure
from all fear of invasion, their administration was
inaugurated on a system which in its essential details
has lasted down to our own days. Up to the time
of Hastings the administration of Bengal, Behar,
and Orissa, and the collection of the land revenue
had been left in the hands of the native officials, Mu-
hammad Raza Khan being placed in charge of Bengal,
and Shitab Rai β a brave soldjer who had fought
for the Company during the outbreak at Patna β
in charge of the local government at Behar. Rumours
had, however, reached the Court of Directors that the
revenues were being misappropriated by these two
officials and their native subordinates. The care of
their revenues, as well as their trade, had now become
a matter of vital importance to the London merchants,
who accordingly sent notice to Hastings that they
deemed it full time "to take upon themselves, by
the agency of their own servants, the entire con-
trol and administration of the revenues." The govern-
ment was to be directed from Calcutta, English
officials were to proceed to the local headquarters
and, aided by the subordinate native officers, com-
mence as collectors, the administration and collec-
tion of the land revenues, Muhammad Raza Khan
and Shitab Rai were to be removed from their
posts, sent to Calcutta, and there tried for peculation
and past misdeeds. This change from native to Euro-
pean supervision over the collection of the revenues,
one sooner or later inevitable, was primarily due to
the intrigues of a Brahman of high caste and ancient
lineage. He, Nanda Kumar, had blazoned forth the
NANDA KUMAR. 129
alleged peculations and maladministration of Mu-
hammad Raza Khdn and Shitjib Rai, hoping that by
their downfall he would rise to power, and be placed
in supreme revenue control. Ever has the cunning
of a Brahman swayed the councils of rulers and
princes in India, but now for the first time in history
the astute Brahman's intrigues had travelled beyond
the land of his birth, and worked their way among the
simple London merchants. In vain Hastings told the
Court of Directors that "From the year 1759 to
the time when I left Bengal in 1764, I was engaged
in a continued opposition to the interests and designs
of that man, because I judged him to be adverse to
the welfare of my employers." By the Directors
Hastings was exhorted to listen to the words of
their trusted adviser, Nanda Kumar, and bring Mu-
hammad Raza Khan and Shitab Rai to trial.
Knowing well that the mind of a Brahman is like a
mirror in which only the face of the fool who looks
therein is reflected, Hastings, who could read all
events and all the ways of men, bowed his head and
ventured no further to tell the Directors how Nanda
Kumar had deceived them. His loyal obedience to
the dictates of the Directors was received by them
with extreme gratification, for, as they wrote, it was
"a great satisfaction to find that you could at once
determine to suppress all penal resentment when the
public welfare seemed to clash with your private
sentiment with regard to Nundcoomar."
Muhammad Raza Khan and Shitab Rai were
arrested, tried, and acquitted of the charges brought
against them. Nanda Kumar was left brooding in
10*
>
130 IVARREN HASTINGS.
silent rage over his thwarted plans, for the men he
sought to ruin had been declared innocent of the
charges brought against them, and their offices given
to English officials. To him one concession was made.
His son. Raja Gurdas, was appointed manager to the
affairs of the minor Viceroy of Bengal, whose guar-
dian was the Manni Begam, widow of the late Vice-
roy. Nanda Kumar remained silent, hoping that the
power of a Brahman could in time work all things to
his will.
Three of the new Council appointed under the
Regulating Act of Lord North arrived in India, and
Hastings became the first Governor-General with a
yearly salary of ;^2 5,000. General Clavering, Colonel
Monson, and Philip PVancis, all men of strong- pre-
judices, and totally unacquainted with the ways of
India, came to aid Hastings with advice, while
Sir Elijah Impey and three judges were to form
a new Court of Justice. The fourth Member of
Council, Mr. Richard Barwell, was already a member
of the Government of Bengal.
It cannot fairly be said that Philip Francis, the
most remarkable among the newly landed councillors,
is the most contemptible character in Indian history,
for India is a land in which intrigue and slow-witted
cunning have given scope for the talents of many men
more ignoble than Francis. If he had remained in
England he might probably in those scurrilous days
have risen to some position of despicable notoriety.
If he were not Junius he was capable of being a
Junius. His character is summed up by Macaulay :
" He must also have been a man in the highest degree
PHILIP FRANCIS. I3I
arrogant and insolent, a man prone to malevolence,
and prone to the error of mistaking his malevolence
for public virtue."
Ikit a character such as his was doomed to failure
in India, though unfortunately it found full scope
in venting its malevolence in after days against
Hastings in England. Such a character is common
in the East. It could be read by the natives and by
Hastings who was saturated with Oriental feelings,
just as a learned man reads a book written in a
language to him well known.
The three new Members of Council, headed by
Philip Francis, commenced on their arrival a sys-
tematic, hostile investigation into the past adminis-
tration of Hastings. The Treaty of Benares was
condemned, the Rohilla war declared unjust, and
the mode in which it had been carried on denounced
as sanguinary and vindictive. The newly appointed
agent at Lucknow was removed, the troops recalled
from Rohilkhand, and the Nawab Wazir ordered
to pay up all the arrears due to the Company under
the treaty. On the death of the Nawab Wazir, on
the 6th of February, 1775, the majority of the Council
forced on the young Nawab Wazir, Asaf-ud-Daula,
a new treaty. A sum of one crorc and a half of
rupees was to be paid at once on account of the
arrears due by the State, an increased monthly
subsidy of 50,000 rupees was demanded for the pay
of the Company's troops quartered in Oudh, while the
revenue from the territories surrounding Benares was
annexed by the Company to whom the Raja of
Benares, Chait Singh, became feudatory.
132 WARREN HASTINGS.
The news went forth among the natives that
Hastings was no longer supreme ; that his power had
been usurped by agents of the Company sent from
England to depose him. Nanda Kumar at the
same time took note that Philip Francis was eager
to gain the Governor-Generalship, and more than
willing to listen to any lying words that would aid
him in ruining Hastings.
On the nth of March, 1775, Francis appeared
before the Council, and presented a letter from
Nanda Kumar, accusing Hastings of having re-
ceived bribes of ^100,000 and ^^40,000 from Mu-
hammad Raza Khan and Shitab Rai for releas-
ing them from the charges of embezzlement and
malpractices. In the same letter Hastings was
further charged with having received bribes of 3
lakhs and 54,000 rupees from the writer, Nanda
Kumar, and from the Manni Begam for the appoint-
ments of Nanda Kumar's son and the Manni Begam
to the Viceroy's establishment. Hastings having pro-
tested at the insult offered to him at his own Council
table, withdrew with indignation, and was followed
by his sole supporter, Richard Barwell. An inquiry
was held by the remaining three ; Nanda Kumar was
examined, the documents were impounded, and the
entire evidence submitted to the judges, by whom it
was sent home to the Directors. The evidence
remained unnoticed till the famous trial of Hastings
ten years afterwards, when it was produced in support
of the seventh article of impeachment of which
he was found not guilty.
Nanda Kumar might well tremble when he found
TRIAL OF NAN DA KUMAR. I 33
that his cunning could not compass the downfall of
the Governor-General. He himself had been guilty
of forgery, a forgery of a bond purporting to be the
acknowledgment of a debt due by a Hindu banker,
on whose death in 1769 he had presented the forged
bond, and been paid the money mentioned therein.
The bond, torn to show that it had been paid and
cancelled, was filed in the Mayor's Court. To many
the secret of this forgery was known, but it had
been found impossible to get possession of the docu-
ment from the Mayor's Court. At length, after more
than a year's efforts the document was surrendered
in April, 1775, and Nanda Kumar was arrested on a
charge of forgery. He was tried by the Chief
Justice, three puisne judges, and an English jury.
The trial lasted seven days, and, according to Sir
James Stephen, who exhaustively examined the
whole of the evidence, " no man ever had, or could
have, a fairer trial." Nanda Kumar was found guilty
and sentenced to be hanged. In vain he looked
round for help. In vain he prayed Francis to inter-
vene, and save from pollution the sacred body of a
Brahman, so that " I shall not accuse you in the day
of judgment of neglecting to assist me in the ex-
tremity I am now in." Francis knew too well there
was no hope for his former ally. Of Nanda Kumar's
guilt there could be no doubt. Justice, stern and
unrelenting, must be meted out, equally to high caste
Brahman and to low caste worker with his hands.
Nanda Kumar was hanged before his own people
on the 5th of August, 1775, and as Francis wrote,
" After the death of Nundcoomar, the Governor, I
134 WANREN HASTINGS.
believe, is well assured that no man who regards his
own safety will venture to stand forth as his accuser."
The death of Colonel Monson in September, 1776,
left Hastings, with the vote of Barwell, strong enough
in the Council to revoke a resignation he had sent
home some time previously, while the death of
Clavering, in August, 1777, set him free to carry out
a line of consistent policy towards the native states,
the true bearings and tendencies of which he alone
could understand.
Dangers which threatened the very existence of
the newly founded British Empire in India were now
crowding in from all sides.
In 1773, when the English Parliament lent the
East India Company the sum of ;^ 1,500,000 in order
to save the credit of the Directors, it became necessary
that Lord North should devise some means whereby
the Company might in time repay the loan. The
Company at that time had 17,000,000 pounds of tea
lying unsold in its warehouses. This tea was liable
to a duty of 25 per cent, on exportation. In order to
assist the Company in selling this tea the export duty
was remitted, and in its place a duty of 3 per
cent, exacted on its sale in America. The tea was
thrown into Boston Harbour, and on the 4th of
July, 1776, the "Declaration of Independence" was
issued by Congress, the thirteen colonies throwing off
their allegiance to England.
The news soon reached India that General Bur-
goyne and 5,000 English troops had, on the 17th of
October, 1777, surrendered to General Gates at Sara-
toga, news, followed, a month later, by the intelligence
THE DUEL, 135
that France had declared war against England. Not
only was France to be dreaded in the Eastern seas,
but the armies of the Marathas were threatening
Bengal, and the Nizam and Haidar All were preparing
to crush the English in the Dcccan and in the south.
Hastings had to be prepared to meet these dangers,
and to find means for defraying all the expenditure
and extraordinary outlay that would necessarily have
to be incurred. As he wrote at the time, " If it be
really true that the British troops and influence have
suffered so severe a check in the Western world, it is
the more incumbent on those who are charged with
the interest of Great Britain in the East to exert
themselves for the retrieval of the national losses."
Francis, " mistaking his own malevolence for public
virtue" still opposed, still demanded explanations,
still wrote long minutes in order to expose what he
considered the weakness, dishonesty, or impolicy of
all Hastings' preparations for the coming struggle.
Believing in a promise of neutrality held out by
Francis, Hastings had allowed his friend Barwell to
leave India, and now, to his astonishment, found the
opposition of Francis more aggressive than ever.
His slow wrath at last burst forth. In a letter to
Francis he charged him with being guilty both in
his private and public life of conduct " devoid of truth
and honour."
A duel ensued ; Francis received a bullet in his
side, and soon after, on the 17th of August, 1780,
deemed it advisable to leave India for England, there
to carry on his rancorous opposition to the policy of
the Governor-General.
WAKREX HASTINGS.
{From ''Memoirs by Warren Hashiigs, 1786.")
CHAIT S/XG/f. 137
In India Hastinj^s was now unfettered ; he but
needed funds for the pressing public necessities.
Chait Sint^'h, Raja of Benares, had become feudatory
to the Company, undoubtedly bound to render, in
addition to his annual tribute of 22 lakhs of rupees,
service and aid in case of war. The time had come
when he should join in the general defence of the
ruling power, so Hastings called on him to pay a
contribution of 5 lakhs of rupees for aid against their
common enemies. On the demand being repeated in
the f(3llowing year, Chait Singh strove to evade pay-
ment by sending 2 lakhs of rupees privately to the
Governor-General as a bribe to abstain from further
demands. After some delay Hastings paid the
money into the public treasury and peremptorily
called on Chait Singh to pay up in full all arrears,
and further to supply a force of 2,000 cavalry for
general defence. Chait Singh pleaded his inability
to provide either troops or more money, whereon
Hastings imposed on him a fine of 50 lakhs of
rupees for delay, and proceeded himself to Benares
to collect the amount. The subsequent impeachment
of Hastings by the House of Commons before the
House of Lords was due to the amount of this fine
inflicted by Hastings on Chait Singh. When the
motion for the impeachment of Hastings was before
the House of Commons, Pitt astounded friends and
opponents alike by unexpectedly declaring that he
would vote for the impeachment because he con-
sidered the fine unjust. " I therefore," he said, " shall
agree to the motion before the House. I^ut I confine
myself solely to the exorbitancy of the fine, approving
138 WARREN HASTINGS.
every preceding as well as subsequent part of Mr.
Hastings' conduct, throughout the whole transaction."
It still remains one of the mysteries of history
why Pitt should have thus sacrificed Hastings to the
malignity of his enemies. Pitt, when goaded into
anger by the universal condemnation of his logic,
rose and said, " I think the fine of five hundred
thousand pounds imposed by the Governor-General
on Cheyt Sing exorbitant. My honourable and
noble friends think otherwise." No wonder that
Mr. Dempster, according to Wroxall, "one of the
most conscientious men who ever sate in Parliament,"
retorted, " Mr. Hastings has been the saviour of our
possessions in the East ; and if he merits impeach-
ment for any act of his whole life, it is for having
been so weak a man as to return to this country with
a very limited fortune."
When Chait Singh would not pay the fine he was
placed under arrest by Hastings and two companies
of sepoys were directed to guard him. The holy city
of Benares rose in fanatic alarm. Its narrow streets
swarmed with bands of armed men loudly calling
for the release of their Rajd. The sepoy guards,
unprovided with ammunition, were all ruthlessly
massacred. Reinforcements hurrying to the rescue
were fired on and driven back. Hastings in the
confusion escaped to the fortress of Chanar on the
south of the Ganges, some thirty miles distant from
Benares, whence with evident indifference to the
cmeute which surged around he proceeded to issue
directions respecting the more important affairs of
the Maratha movements. The disturbance was soon
liEGAMS OF OUDH. 139
quelled : Chait Singh fled, carrying off his treasures,
leaving behind a nephew who was installed as Raja,
the tribute being raised by the addition of some
i^200,000.
Oudh had next to be forced to contribute to the
general defence of peace and security against the
threatened storm of anarchy.
From Oudh a sum of over one million sterling (one
and a half crores of rupees) was due to the Company
for military and civil charges. When the Nawdb
VVazir died, in 1775, he left treasures amounting to
some two millions sterling, which were seized by his
wife and mother, known to history as the Begams of
Oudh, who also possessed lands yielding a yearly
income of Β£^ofxx:>.
By an agreement between the new Nawab Wazir,
Asaf-ud-Daula, and Hastings it was decided that the
landed estates of the Begams should be resumed by
the Xawab in consequence of their undoubted partici-
pation in the insurrection at Benares, but that the
revenues accruing from the estates should be con-
tinued to them for life. The debts due to the Com-
pany were to be paid from the treasures left by the
deceased Nawab Wazi'r. The residence of the Begams
was surrounded by British troops, and the custodians
forced to surrender upwards of one million sterling
of the late Nawab Wazir's hoarded wealth. The
Company was enriched, Asaf-ud-Daula obtained the
lands held by the Begams, and in return presented
Hastings with a gift of 10 lakhs of rupees. This
gift, according to the custom of the times, might have
been retained by Hastings as a private donation.
140 WARREN HASTINGS.
He, however, reported the circumstance to the
Directors, asking if he might be allowed to keep
the money β a request to which the Directors curtly
declined to accede.
At this time the affairs of the Company were
in a condition from which Hastings could alone
retrieve them. As he wrote, " I much fear, that
it is not understood as it ought to be, how near the
Company's existence has on many occasions vibrated
to the edge of perdition, and that it has at all times
been suspended by a thread so fine that the touch
of chance might break, or the breath of opinion dis-
solve it : and instantaneous will be its fall whenever it
shall happen. May God in His mercy long avert it."
Hastings had secured Bengal and Behar, but round
Bombay the Marathas held sway, and Haidar All
was threatening the south. At Poona Ragunath
Rao, commonly known as Raghuba, had assassinated
his nephew, the ruling Peshwa, and assumed the
sovereignty for himself. His hopes were, however,
dashed to the ground When the widow of the pre-
ceding Peshwa was declared to have given birth to
an heir, brother to the prince whom Raghuba had
removed from his path. Raghuba was driven forth
from Poona, and fled to the English at Bombay,
promising them, in return for their aid in re-
storing him to the Peshwaship or hereditary rule
over the Marathas, the harbour of Bassein and the
island of Salsette, possessions the English had long
coveted. The bribe was too tempting to resist, so
the Government of Bombay determined to become
Kine-makers on its own account. At the fatal field
wargAon. 141
of Arras the Marathas and English met for the first
time in their long series of conflicts ; Colonel Keating
winning the day but losing 222 of his men.
Bombay was, however, subordinated to Calcutta,
so Francis β who had not yet been removed from
the path of Hastings β and his supporters directed that
the war should be suspended, Bassein surrendered,
and 12 lakhs of rupees paid to the Maratha:; for
the expenses they had incurred. The truce did
not last long. The Marathas sought French aid,
and the Bombay Government again espoused the
cause of Raghuba. Four thousand men and six
hundred Europeans were despatched from Bombay
under Colonels Egerton, Cockburn, and Camac to
force the English alliance and Raghuba on the
Poona regency, while Hastings sent an envoy to
win the Bhonsla ruler of Nagpur from joining the
Western Marathas. By slow marches the Bombay
troops arrived within eighteen miles of Poona, were
there surrounded and obliged to retreat. At
Wargaon, an unconditional surrender was made, the
English commanders agreeing to give back all their
acquisitions and surrender two hostages for the
carrying out of this disgraceful convention. The
Bombay Government had framed their policy and
shown their incapacity to carry it to a successful
conclusion ; the Marathas had easily triumphed over
them in diplomacy and warfare. Removed though
Hastings was from the scene of action by over one
thousand miles, he resolved to venture on the most
brilliant military movement ever conceived, up to that
time, by the English in India. Collecting together
142 WARREN HASTINGS.
nine battalions of native troops, composed of 6,234
men, a body of sepoy cavalry from Oudh, and artillery,
he placed them in charge of Colonel Leslie and 103
English officers, and bade them march across India,
accompanied by some 30,000 camp-followers, to the
aid of the Bombay Government.
Colonel Leslie was soon replaced by an abler
officer. General Goddard, who, hearing of the defeat
of Egerton, made his way to Surat, avoiding the
Maratha force at Poona. This march might well
have been considered impossible, or, in Hastings' own
words, " astonishing and impracticable " ; it, however,
as he said, " has shown what the British are capable
of effecting." The force marched on into Gujarat,
took possession of its capital Ahmaddbad, and then
falling unexpectedly on the Maratha camp put it to
rout.
Through Central India Captain Popham had been
directed to march towards Gwalior, a fortress of the
Rana of Gohad held by the Marathas under Sindhia,
deemed so safe from assault that Sir Eyre Coote
declared it would be little less than insanity to
advance to its attack. For two months Popham
watched the precipitous rock on which the fort
was built, devising means whereby he might assault
it. On the night of the 3rd of August, 1780, two
companies of sepoys, led by Captain Bruce, brother
of the Abyssinian explorer, and four lieutenants, sup-
ported by twenty Europeans and two battalions of
native troops, advanced to the foot of the fortress.
Their feet were wrapped in cotton, and by means of
ladders they silently scaled the first defence, a solid
CAPTURE OF GWAl.lOR. 143
wall of smooth rock, sixteen feet high. Above, a
steep ascent of forty yards was climbed. A few of
the sepoys were then drawn up a scarped wall thirty
feet high by ropes let down by some spies, and when
joined by the rest rushed forward and overpowered
the garrison, gaining possession of the famed fortress.
The fall of his stronghold dismayed Sindhia, and
for the first time taught the Mardthas that their efforts
to found their fortunes on the break up of the Mughal
Empire were futile, for a foe was in their midst whom
they could never hope to overcome. Colonel Camac
had in the west retreated through Malw^ before
Sindhia, only to double back, on the night of the
24th of March, fall on the Mardtha camp, which he
utterly routed, slaying numbers, seizing the standards,
thirteen guns, and all the enemy's camels and ele-
phants. Goddard's troops had, however, been driven
from Poona down the Bore Ghat with a loss of
nearly five hundred men, including eighteen European
officers, by an overwhelming force of sixty thousand
Marathas.
Sindhia was, however, anxious to make peace, so
that he might stand forth as leader of the Maratha
confederacy, assured of the goodwill of the English
with whom he negotiated terms.
The Bombay Government obtained the islands of
Salsette and Elephanta, the Marathas agreed to make
no alliances or friendships with any European nation
except the English, the Gaekwar received back
Gujarat, Sindhia retained all his possessions west
of the Jumna, the fortress of Gwalior was sur-
rendered to the Rana of Gohad and Rdghuba set
144 WARREN HASTINGS,
aside with a pension of 25,000 rupees per month.
The EngHsh influence was thus estabhshed by
Hastings across the whole of India from Calcutta
to Bombay, the general pacification being concluded
in May, 1782, by the Treaty of Salbai.
In the meantime Haidar All in the southβ enraged
by the neglect of the Madras Government to defend
him, according to an agreement of 1769, from the
attacks of the Mardthas β had increased his army,
officered it with French and European soldiers of
fortune, waiting his time for revenge on his faithless
allies. On the outbreak of the war between France
and England, Hastings seized not only the French
settlements at Chandranagar and Pondicherry, but
also Mahe on the west coast. From Mahe Haidar
All had drawn his supplies, from Mahe came the
French officers who trained his troops and the French
soldiers who manned his artillery. His wrath was
further raised from the fact that Mahe was within
his territories, and he had vowed to sweep into the
sea any of the English who dared to interfere either
with it or with his allies the French.
Collecting together a huge army of 15,000 infantry,
2,800 cavalry, 4,000 armed retainers, and accompanied
by the strongest artillery then in India, and 400
French and European officers, he hastened down
from the Highlands of Mysore to spread over the
peaceful villages of the lowland plains a devastating
war with all the suddenness and violence of a
monsoon storm. The Madras Government had no
money, and but 6,000 troops to oppose the
fierce Mysore monarch. From the fort of St. George
hAIDAR Al.f. 145
the English merchants saw in the night-time
the sky reddened for miles around with the flames
from burning villages and their own residences. A
force of 3,700 men, marching down along the coast
from Guntur under Colonel Baillie, was surrounded
at Peramb^kam and slaughtered, only 300 officers and
soldiers escaping to meet with a worse fate in the
dungeons of the implacable Mysore chieftain. In
chains and misery they fretted out their lives ; the
mother of Sir David Baird, remembering the irascibility
of her captive son, is famed for having remarked, with
Spartan simplicity, on hearing of his fate, that she
was sorry for the man who was chained to "our
Davie."
Sir Hector Munro, the hero of Baksar, who, on
hearing of the defeat, marched out from Madras
with five thousand troops, had to throw his guns into
a tank and find safety in flight back to Fort St.
George. Lieutenant Flint, emulating the fame of
Clive at Arcot, held the fort of Wandewash with
three hundred sepoys against the victorious forces of
Haidar All. β
Not only had Hastings extricated the Bombay
Government from its difficulties with the Marathas,
but now in the south he had to uphold the effete
Madras authorities by sending men and money from
Bengal. Just as in 1780 he had despatched Colonel
Goddard at the head of an army to fight the Marathas
in the west, so now he sent Colonel Pearse to march,
even further, at the head of five thousand men, to
fight Haidar All in the south, while by sea he sent
the funds he had gathered together and the one man
II
146 WARREN HASTINGS.
he could trust, the veteran Commander Sir Eyre
Coote who had succeeded General Clavering in the
Council.
Flint was relieved at Wandewash, and the stores
landed at Pondicherry by the French admiral for
the use of Haidar All were destroyed.
Coote then moved with his small force to Cud-
dalore, where he was hemmed in on the sea-coast
between the overwhelming army of Haidar All
and the ships of the French. In vain Haidar
All prayed the French to stand by and strike an
annihilating blow at the outwitted English com-
mander ; the admiral, Count d'Orves, sailed aw^ay,
losing his final chance of establishing the influence
of France in South India. Amid the sand-heaps, at
Porto Novo, Coote won his glorious victory over the
Mysore troops, of whom upwards of ten thousand
were slain.
By August, 1 78 1, Coote was joined by the forces
from the north, under Colonel Pearse, whose sepoys
suffered terribly from cholera on their journey through
the coast districts. At Pollilur, near the scene of
Colonel Baillie's defeat, Haidar All was again
defeated, driven from the pass of Sholinghar and
obliged to raise the siege of Vellore, which important
fortress Coote had relieved. A terrible disaster
befel the English troops at the beginning of the
year 1782. A fort:e under Colonel Braithwaite of
100 English and 1,800 sepoys was surrounded by
an army under Tipii, the son of Haidar All, assisted
by 400 Frenchmen. All would have perished were it
not that the French gallantly rushed forward and saved
S/R EYRE COOTE. 147
some of the English officers from the fierce slaughter
of the Mysore soldiers.
On the 8th of April of the same year Bussy
landed at Porto Novo with 1,200 new French troops,
seized Cuddalore and there entrenched himself,
giving the veteran Coote an opportunity of fighting
his last fight against Haidar All and Tipi'i, whom
he drove back from their chief arsenal in the plains,
th^ fort of Arni.
The end was, however, at hand. On the 7th of
December, 1782, the fierce and brave Haidar All
died, in his last words praying his son Tipu to make
peace with the English, whose power neither the
defeat of Baillie nor of Braithwaite could lessen.
Coote had repaired to Calcutta to recruit his
health, and on his return the ship in which he
sailed was chased by four French frigates. Worn
out by fatigue and anxiety the brave old general fell
paralysed as he watched the chase, and died two days
after he reached Madras.
On the seas duel after duel had taken place
between the French Admiral Suffren, and the
English Admiral Sir Edward Hughes. In one of
the engagements the French had twelve ships and
the English but nine, in another the English had
eighteen and the French fifteen. Were it not that
Admiral Suffren's skilful tactics were frustrated
by his incompetent and disloyal captains, the
English admiral's dogged tenacity and determination
to fight his ships till they sank would scarcely
have saved the greater part of his fleet from
disaster. As it was the French admiral was weary
148 WARREN HASTINGS.
of the war, and when the news of the Peace of
Versailles reached him in September, 1783, it was
with a sigh of relief that he exclaimed, " God be
praised for the peace ! for it was clear that in India,
though we had the means to impose the law, all
would have been lost."
On the shore the French, ijnder Bussy, were still
entrenched at Cuddalore, where the English had lost
heavily and were in want of provisions. On the ist
of July the welcome flag of truce was hung out by
the French, announcing the Peace and proclaiming
that they could no longer fight for Tipii against the
English.
Tipu had been winning back the territories of his
father on the west coast ; he had captured Manga-
lore, gallantly held for nine months by Captain
Campbell, and sent the English officers and men
in chains to Seringapatam, deporting some thirty
thousand of the inhabitants of Kanara and Malabar
to Mysore, where they were forciby made Muham-
madans.
Colonel Fullerton had, however, approached with
an overwhelming force within reach of Seringapatam,
when Lord Macartney directed all hostilities to be
suspended, and sent envoys to negotiate a peace with
Tipu. On the nth of March, 1784, the Mysore
monarch consented to sign a treaty whereby a mutual
restoration of all conquests made during the war
was agreed to, Tipu further promising to surrender
upwards of one thousand Englishmen and one thou-
sand sepoys held chained in his mountain prisons
in Mysore,
HASTINGS LEAVES INDIA. 1 49
The work of Hastings was accomplished. Bom-
bay was saved, the Mardthds held in check, Sindhia
reconciled, the Nizam made an ally, and the
Madras Government supported in its weakness. As
he said before the House of Commons, in proud
disdain of its censures, " I enlarged and gave shape
and consistency to the dominion you held there ; I
preserved it ; I sent forth its armies with an effectual
but economical hand, through unknown and hostile
regions, to the support of your other possessions ; to
the retrieval of one from degradation and dishonour ;
and of the other from utter loss and subjection. I
maintained the wars which were of your formation,
or that of others, not of mine." And this at a
time when all from whom he m.ight have expected
some measure of support, sedulously laboured to
" weaken my authority, to destroy my influence and
to embarrass all my measures." Yet in 1782 the
Directors had resolved to recall him, alleging that
" he had 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," a resolution with which, however, the pro-
prietors refused to agree.
After the general pacification, Hastings waited but
to place the financial affairs of Benares and Oudh on
a satisfactory basis before he finally determined to
return home and join his wife, whom, next to the
honour and welfare of his country, he dreamed of
hourly.
His determination was quickened when, on the
20th of December, 1784, he received a draft of Pitt's
150 WARkEN HASTINGS.
new India Bill, curtailing the power of the Governor-
General, and vesting the entire civil, military, and
revenue affairs of the Company in the hands of six
commissioners appointed by the Crown.
The sad story yet remains to be fairly and ade-
quately told of how Hastings was sacrificed by Pitt,
delivered over to the malignity of Francis and those
whose self-seeking intrigues and narrow-witted policy
he had so sternly repressed and so proudly ignored.
It remains to be told by some writer with the
accuracy of to-day, yet with all the imagination of
a Macaulay, how unjustly he suffered under the per-
fervid eloquence of Burke and melodramatic rhetoric
of Sheridan, how nobly he bore the disgrace of seven
years of criminal trial before an incompetent tribunal
which perfunctorily pronounced him not guilty of the
charges conjured up against him by the malice of his
enemies.
His life, his heroism, his proud reserve, and confident
assurance that all his failings and faults arose from a
single-minded desire to carry out the intentions of
his time, are summed up in the words by which he
declared his own vindication and his accusers' con-
demnation : " I gave you all ; and you have rewarded
me with confiscation, disgrace and a life of impeach-
ment."
VII.
LORD CORNWALLIS AND SIR JOHN SHORE.
In 1782 Lord CornwalHs, then a prisoner of war
on parole, after the capitulation of Yorktown to
Washington, was asked by Lord Shelburne if he would
proceed to India as Governor-General. Lord Corn-
walHs curtly refused, for, as he said, he saw no reason
why he should run the risk of being " disgraced to
all eternity " in efforts " to fight Nabob princes, his
own Council, and the Supreme Government, whatever
it may be."
When the India Bill of Pitt placed the chief power
in the hands of the Governor-General and three
Councillors, and a subsequent Act gave the Governor-
General authority to act in cases of emergency with-
out the concurrence, or even in opposition to the
opinion of his Council, Lord CornwalHs consented to
assume the office. One very important limitation of
his powers had, however, been laid down by Parlia-
ment. It had been enacted that British rule in India
should not be extended further than over the terri-
tories acquired by Clive and consolidated by Hastings.
The wording of the Act was peremptory : " Whereas
151
152 LORD CORNWALLIS AND SIR JOHN SHORE.
to pursue schemes of Conquest and Extension of
Dominion in India, are measures repugnant to the
Wish, the Honour, and the PoHcy of this Nation . . .
it shall not be lawful for the Governor-General and
Council of Fort William, without the express com-
mand and authority of the said Court of Directors,
or of the Secret Committee of the said Court of
Directors, in any case, except where hostilities have
actually been commenced or preparations made for
the commencement of hostilities, against the British
Nation in India, or against some pf the Princes or
States dependent thereon, or whose territories the
said united Company shall be at such time engaged
by any subsisting Treaty to defend or guaranty,
either to declare War or commence hostilities, or
enter into any Treaty for making War against any of
the Country Princes or States in India."
This Act had but little effect in checking war or
in staying the extension of the Company's possessions
By the Treaty of Mangalore, the Raja of Travancore
had become an ally of the English, consequently, on
his being attacked, in 1790, by Tipu Sultan, Lord
Cornwallis considered that the terms of the Act
justified him in declaring war against the common
enemy, the Mysore ruler.
The Nizam of Haidarabad was summoned to send
aid ; the Marathas, hoping to recover the territories
lying between the Kistna and Tungabhadra which
Raghuba had surrendered to Haidar Alt', expressed
their eagerness to join in the fray.
In January, 1791, Lord Cornwallis, as Commander-
in-Chief, took command of the assembled troops before
"tippoo sultaux."
[From Bcatson's " War with Tippoo Sultaun.")
154 LORD CORNWALLIS AND SIR JOHN SHORE.
the fort of Vellore. Bangalore was first captured,
whereon Tipu put to death nineteen English youths
whom he still held captive in contravention of the
treaty of 1 784. Cornwallis, not waiting for his Maratha
allies, hurried on to Seringapatam, the inland capital
of Mysore. There his supplies gradually failed, and,
his communications being cut off, he was obliged to
destroy his siege trains, throw his shot into a river, and
retreat to Bangalore. General Abercromby, who was
advancing from the Malabar coast, had to abandon
his guns at the top of the mountain passes and save
his contingent by retreating to the plains. So far
fortune had favoured Tipu, but the next year Corn-
wallis captured the important fortress of Nandidrug,
situated thirty miles from Bangalore, on the summit
of a steep fortified hill, 5,000 feet above the sea level.
The equally important fortress of Savandriig, 4,000
feet above the sea level, next fell.
The united forces of the Nizam and Cornwallis
then laid siege to Seringapatam ; the Marathas
occupying themselves in the congenial task of
raiding the Mysore dominions on the north and
north-east. Hemmed in on all sides, Tipu Sultan had
to capitulate, agree to surrender half his territories to
be divided among the allies, pay a war indemnity
of 3,000,000 rupees, release all the prisoners he still
retained, and deliver up his two sons as hostages for
the due observance of the treaty.
Far more important than this war with Mysore
was the Permanent Settlement of the land revenues
of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa.
When first the direct control of the collection of
PE IMMANENT SETTLEMENT. I 55
the hind revenue in the Company's possessions was
assumed by the Government, in 1772, it was ascer-
tained that the rayats, or cultivators, had been in the
habit of paying- a fixed share of the produce, either in
grain or in money value, to local landholders called
Zamindars. Under the rule of the Mughals these
Zami'ndars paid the Emperor nine-tenths of what
they received, retaining one-tenth for themselves,
being obliged to render true accounts of their receipts.
They possessed the power of levying local cesses, they
could transfer their title by gift or sale, and on death
their right to collect the revenue passed to the heir
on payment of a fine or present to the Emperor.
In all cases where it was deemed advisable to set
aside the Zamindar he received lands or money by
way of compensation for the loss of his rights.
Hastings, on undertaking the management, had
leased out the right to collect the land revenues for
terms of five and ten years to the Zamindars or to
others who bid for the office. He had further made
the Company's writers collectors of the Government
share, and placed controlling officers or supervisors
over them, while local Revenue Councils were gradu-
ally formed for the chief centres, such as Dacca,
Murshidabad and Patna. Finally the chief super-
vising revenue authority was centralised at Calcutta,
in a Board of Revenue of which the Governor-
General was a member.
From 1777 to 1780 the Zamindars were granted
annual leases to collect the revenue at rates calcu-
lated on those previously paid.
These rapid changes did not recommend them-
156 LORD CORN W ALUS AND SIR JOHN SHORE.
selves to an English Parliament anxious to preserve
the rights of the Zami'ndars, which they looked upon
as similar to those of British landlords. Accordingly,
in 1784, by 24 Geo. cap. 25, it was enacted that,
whereas " divers Rajahs, Zami'ndars, Polygars,
Talookdars, and other native landholders within the
British territories in India, have been unjustly de-
prived of, or compelled to abandon or relinquish,
their respective Lands, Jurisdictions, Rights and
Privileges," the Court of Directors should take
measures, for "establishing, upon principles of
Moderation and Justice, the permanent Rules by
which their respective Tributes, Rents, and Services
shall be in future rendered and paid to the said
United Company by the said Rajahs, Zami'ndars, &c."
The Court of Directors in their Despatch of the
1 2th of April, 1786, went no further than to direct
that a ten years' settlement should be made with the
local Zami'ndars.
Lord Cornwallis, with the assistance of Mr. John
Shore, a Bengal civilian, afterwards Lord Teign-
mouth, studied closely, from 1786 to 1790, the whole
question of land revenue in Bengal. In 1789 a pre-
liminary ten years' settlement was made with the
Zami'ndars, the amount to be paid by them to the
Company being determined from an examination of
the old accounts and the payments previously made.
In 1793 this settlement was made permanent, and the
amount to be paid by the Zami'ndars fixed in per-
petuity at a total sum of about three millions sterling.
While the Zami'ndars were thus allowed to gain the
full benefit of the increased rental accruing from im-
PERMANENT SETTLEMENT, I 57
proved cultivation and from new lands being brought
under tillage, as well as from advances in price of
produce due to improved means of communication
and other causes, the State was for ever debarred
from participating in the gain from this increasing
unearned increment. On the other hand, only such
cultivators as could prove an hereditary right were
granted the security of holding at a fixed rental,
while the Zamind^rs were empowered to raise the
customary rates paid by others by means of a civil
suit. The loss to the State can be estimated from
the fact that at present, while the Zamind^rs pay a
revenue of but three and a quarter millions, the
annual rental is upwards of thirteen millions sterling.
The immediate result to the Zamindars was
disastrous, for, possessing insufficient powers to re-
cover the rent from the cultivators, they were unable
to pay the State demands, and their rights to collect
the revenue were sold wholesale in order that the
amounts they had guaranteed might be realised. As
a matter of fact, in a very short space of time the
former hereditary right to collect the land revenue
was sold away from the ancient Zamindars into the
hands of new leaseholders.
The tenants suffered more than all. Those who
could not show an hereditary right to hold at the
old rate of assessment had little remedy against being
rack-rented, while on failure to pay the rent de-
manded, their property was liable to distraint and they
themselves to be thrust into prison. This deplor-
able state of affairs continued until the Bengal Land
Act of 1859 removed some of the evils, though the
158 LORD CORN \V ALUS AND SIR JOHN SHORE.
main faults of the system continue to the present day.
By this Act cultivators holding land since 1793 were
to possess their tenements without the Zamindars
having power to raise the rental ; all cultivators
holding land for twenty years were to be presumed
to have held since 1793, unless the Zamindar could
prove the contrary ; while all those holding for
less than twelve years were left to form contracts
respecting their rental as best they could with the
Zamindars. This last class of tenants β those holding
for less than twelve years β were, by the Bengal
Tenancy Act of 1885, allowed to claim compensation
for improvements they had made in their holdings, as
well as for loss by disturbance in case they were
obliged to relinquish their lands in consequence of
excessive advancement of rent.
This first essay of the British in India in the
making of land-laws, cannot be held to have been
particularly successful. It has excluded the Govern-
ment from participating in the ever-increasing pros-
perity accruing from peace and the development of the
chief source of wealth of the country, its agricultural
produce ; it has not secured to the cultivators their
full share of these benefits, whereby a contented
and prosperous community might have been reared,
while the Zamindars have gained an enormous in-
crease of wealth without any exertion on their part
and without any incentive to apply it to the welfare
of their tenants or the general prosperity of the com-
munity.
More successful were the efforts made by Corn-
wallis to establish on a new basis the entire judicial
EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS OF THE COMPANY. I 59
system in force in the Company's dominions. In
each district, or chief city, Civil Courts were estab-
lished, presided over by one of the Company's
senior writers, assisted by a junior writer and a
registrar. Four Appellate or Provincial Courts were
established in Calcutta, Patna, Dacca, and Mur-
shidabad, presided over by three judges and two
junior European assistants, learned Hindu and
Muhammadan lawyers being attached to expound
the native law. P'rom these local courts appeals
were heard by the Sadr Diwani Adalat, or Presidency
Court, presided over by a Chief Justice and Puisne
Judges. For the administration of criminal justice
the judges of the Provincial Courts went on periodical
circuits of jail delivery, appeals being allowed to a
Central Appellate Court, or Nizamat Adalat, presided
over by three judges, assisted by natives who ex-
pounded the Hindu and Muhammadan law.
For these labours Lord Cornwallis was allotted, on
his retirement from India in 1793, a pension of
^5,000 a year, and the Directors ordered that his
statue should be placed in the India House, so that
" his great services might ever be held in remem-
brance."
In the same year the exclusive trading rights of
the Company to the East were extended for a further
period of twenty years, with the important proviso
that private individuals might be allowed to trade to
the extent of 3,000 tons of shipping.
Sir John Shore, the successor of Lord Cornwallis
ruled as Governor-General from 1793 to 1798.
During his tenure of office the troops of the Nizam
l6o LORD CORNWALUS AND SIR JOHN SHORE.
of Haidarabad met with an overwhelming defeat
from the Marathas on the fatal field of Kurdla. As
a result the Nizam once more commenced to enlist
French troops whom he placed under the command
of the famed Raymond, with permission to carry the
colours of the French Republic, and bear the cap of
liberty on their regimental buttons.
In Oudh the reigning Nawab Wazi'r died and a
new claimant, Saadut All, was installed. The annual
subsidy to the Company was raised to ^^760,000
and a special donation of 2 lakhs of rupees
claimed, notwithstanding the fact that, two years
before, the Nawab Wazir had agreed to pay for four
regiments of cavalry instead of the two he was
previously obliged to retain.
All these events were but preparatory to the many
changes that took place during the administration of
the Great Proconsul, the Marquess Wellesley, who
succeeded Sir John Shore as Governor-General in
1798 and ruled until 1805.
VIII.
ESTABLISHMENT OF BRITISH SUPREMACY β
MARQUESS WELLESLEY.
(1798β 1805.)
With the advent of Lord Mornington β or, as he
is better known, the Marquess Wellesley β the cold
touch of the iron hand of the British rule was felt
for the first time by the native princes who still held
sway in the land of their forefathers surrounded by
all the glamour and pomp of an Oriental despotism.
The insanely vaunting Sultan of Mysore, the proud
Nizam of Haidarabad, the puppet Nawab Wazir of
Oudh, the fierce Maratha chiefs Sindhia, Holkar, the
Bhonsla, the Gaekwar, and the Peshwa, were one and
all forced to bow their heads before the imperious
dictates of the new Governor-General. The aged
Emperor Shah Alam, deprived of his eyesight by
the savage stab from the dagger of the insurgent
Rohilla barbarian Ghulam Kadir Khan, was glad to
hide himself away as a pensioner of a race his
ancestors were wont to despise as low-caste traders.
On the foundations of the British Empire in India,
J 2 ^^^
β’J :2
w eg
26
1^
TIPV Sl'f.TAX. 163
laid by Clive and secured by Hastings, the stately
structure of British supremacy over all the native
powers in India was now to be built. The new
Governor-General, assured of the support of a strong
war ministry at home, and certain of the friendship of
Pitt, was able, without fear of impeachment, to carr)-
out his policy of making every ruling prince in India
subordinate to, and dependent on, the one supreme
British Power. This policy he carried out ener-
getically and consistently, notwithstanding the many
remonstrances and rebukes he received from the
Court of Directors, all of which he treated with un-
concealed contempt. " No additional outrage, injury,
or insult," he wrote, " which can issue from the most
loathsome den of the India House will accelerate
my departure when the public safety shall appear to
require my aid."
The first to fall beneath the heavy hand of the
new Governor-General was Tipu Sultan, the Tiger of
Mysore. Lord Mornington landed at Calcutta on
the 17th of May, and on the 8th of June he received
a paper the contents of which sealed the fate of the
ruler of Mysore. It was a proclamation from the
F'rench Governor of Mauritius, or Isle of France,
announcing that ambassadors had been received from
Tipu asking for French aid to drive the English out
of India and calling for volunteers to join in the
enterprise. This proclamation, added to the fear that
Buonaparte, wearied of the West, would, after the
conquest of Egypt, seek to emulate the fame of
Alexander the Great and attempt the conquest of
India, determined Lord Mornington to break the
164 ESTABLISHMENT OF BRITISH SUPREMACY.
power of Tipu and make the native states disband
their French soldiers and dismiss their French officers.
In order to carry out his poHcy the Governor-General
had many difficulties to overcome. In the south the
Madras Government, dreading to rouse the wrath of
Tipu by making any effort to prepare for the coming
war, reported that it would be fully six months before
they could equip an army and place it in the field,
while the new Nawab of the Karnatik, not only
refused aid but opened up a treasonable correspon-
dence with Tipii.
At Haidarabad the forces of the Nizam consisted
of fourteen thousand mutinous troops, disciplined by
French officers, who held lands as security for their
pay. Captain, afterwards Sir John, Malcolm, induced
the Nizam to enter into a secret agreement, whereby
these French troops were to be replaced by six
thousand sepoys and artillery commanded by English
officers, paid for by a subsidy of 201,425 rupees.
The French officers were then forced to surrender,
and were ultimately sent home to France. The terri-
tories of the Nizam remained safe under the protec-
tion of the Company, and the Haidarabad Subsidiary
Force, raised to twelve thousand in i8cx), has since
been maintained by the Nizam, who ceded lands for
its pay and maintenance.
All fear of a French invasion was removed when
the news reached India that the French fleet had
been defeated off the mouth of the Nile by Nelson,
nevertheless the Governor-General was determined to
deprive the native states of their French officers and
to continue his preparations against Mysore. Tipu,
MYSORE WAR. 1 65
who was vainly seeking aid from the Sultan of
Turkey, the Afghans, and Marathds, replied to all
the letters of the Governor-General by evasive and
flippant answers until war was formally declared
against him on the 22nd of February, 1799.
Assisted by his brother, Colonel Arthur Wellesley,
afterwards Duke of Wellington, who had arrived in
India in 1796, and loyally supported by Lord Clive,
the Governor of Madras and son of the Victor of
Plassey, the Governor-General gathered together in
the south an army, under General Harris, better
equipped, disciplined, and supplied than any force
that had yet taken the field in India.
From Madras General Harris, with the main army
and a contingent from the Nizam, marched on
Seringapatam. General Stewart, with a force of
6,4(X) men, marched from Bombay through the coast
districts, and after an obstinate fight of six hours
drove back Tipii's army of 1 2,cxx) troops with heavy
losses from the Siddeshwar Pass.
The news of the victory was conveyed to the
Governor-General by the friendly Raja of Coorg in
the following words : " A severe action ensued, in
which I was present . . . the discipline, valour,
strength, and magnanimity of the troops, the
courageous attack upon the army of Tipu, sur-
passes all examples in this world. In our Shasters
and Parana's battles . . . have been much cele-
brated, but they are unequal to this battle ; it
exceeds my ability to describe the action at length
to your Lordship."
Tipu, smarting from his defeat, hastened to oppose
1 66 ESTABLISHMENT OF BRITISH SUPREMACY.
the main army, now slowly advancing on his capital
at the rate of less than six miles daily. At Mal-
villi he met with a terrible reverse, General Harris
slaying upwards of i,ooo of his troops. Beaten
in the field, Tipu retreated to his defences of
Seringapatam, which he and his officers had sworn
to die together defending.
The siege commenced on the 5th of April, its
opening operations being memorable for the defeat
sustained by the "Iron Duke" in the grove of Sul-
tanpet. This grove, cut up by water-channels and
trenches, was held by an advanced body of Tipii's
outposts securely entrenched. To drive them from
their position Colonel Arthur Wellesley advanced on
the night of the 5th of April, at the head of his own
regiment, the 33rd. As they drew near under cover
of the darkness, they were suddenly met by a fierce
fire of musketry and rockets. The ranks were
thrown into confusion, and many of the men killed,
whereon the rest broke and retreated, Wellesley
receiving a wound in the knee from a spent bullet.
The next morning he advanced again to the attack,
and with the 94th Regiment, two battalions of sepoys,
and five guns drove the enemy from the grove.
By the 4th of May the fort of Seringapatam was
breached, and the honour of storming it allotted to
General Baird, one of the unfortunate officers taken
prisoner on the defeat of Colonel Baillie at Peram-
bakam, and for four long years kept a close prisoner
in chains in the dungeons of Mysore. The oppor-
tunity had come when he was to undertake the
congenial task of "paying off old scores" for all the
CAPTURE OF SKRIXGAPATAM. 1 6/
terrible sufferings he and his fellow-prisoners had
undergone. At ten minutes past one o'clock in the
afternoon the signal to advance was given. The
attacking party of 2,494 Europeans and 1,882
sepoys waited breathless, in the" trenches, until
General Baird rose up and, waving his sword, cried
out, " Now, my brave fellows ! follow me, and prove
yourselves worthy of the name of British soldiers."
Amid a shower of bullets which swept their ranks,
the troops dashed across the intervening river, and
within seven minutes from the time of leaving the
trenches the British flag was planted on the summit
of the breach. Beyond lay a deep ditch still to be
crossed. The inner ramparts were crowded with
the soldiery of Mysore, in the midst of whom stood
Tipu, dressed in a light-coloured jacket, wide trousers
of flowered chintz, a dark red silk sash and jewelled
turban, firing at his advancing foes from guns loaded
and handed to him by his attendants. At length,
being wounded, he mounted his horse and endea-
voured to make his way towards his palace through
the crowd of retreating soldiers. As he neared the
narrow gateway leading from the inner ramparts
he received a second wound and again a third, his
horse was shot dead, and he fell to the ground.
Being abandoned, he lay weak and faint. A passing
soldier, seeing his richly jewelled belt, strove to
snatch it from him, whereon the fierce Tiger of
Mysore raised himself and struck wildly, only to
fall back shot through the temple, x^mid the dead
and dying the monarch was found, robbed of his
jacket, turban, and sword-belt.
1 68 ESTABLISHMENT OF BRITISH SUPREMACY.
The body, borne by his personal attendants and
escorted by a guard of Europeans, was carried
through the thronged streets of his capital, where
were gathered together the sorrowing inhabitants of
the town. By the side of his father Haidar All he
was laid to rest in the Mausoleum of the Lai Bagh ;
the chief Kazi came forward to perform the funeral
rites, and alms were given to the holy men and to
the poor who crowded round. As the mourners
stood by his grave bewailing the downfall of their
dreaded chieftain a wild storm burst forth, the
thunder rolled and the lightning flashed, many in
the town and in the camp were injured or struck
dead β an event held by the natives as proclaiming
that the independent rule of their prince had passed
away and the rule of the English Raj taken its place.
Seringapatam and all the passes leading down to
the plains, as well as the entire western sea-coast
and the districts of Koimbatur, Darapuram, and
Mujnad on the south and east,- were held by British
troops, and to the Nizam, the districts on the south
of his territories were allotted.
The descendant of the last Hindu rulers of Mysore,
an infant of five years, Krishna Raj, was taken from
the lowly position into which his family had fallen
after Haidar All had usurped the power, and placed
on the throne, where until 1810 he ruled over the
curtailed dominions under the guidance of the able
Maratha Brahman Purnaiya. On becoming inde-
pendent the new Mysore Raja so misgoverned the
state that he was deposed in 1831, and the manage-
ment placed in charge of Briti-sh officials. In 1881
OUDH, 169
the native rule was restored in the person of his
adopted son, Chama Rajendra Wodigar, an en-
hghtened prince who ruled the destinies of his
people up to his death in 1894.
To Lord Mornington the Company allotted an
annuity of ;^5,ooo for twenty years. By the Crown
he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of all the forces
in India and to his ill-concealed annoyance he was
further honoured by being raised one step in the Irish
Peerage, so that henceforth he became the Marquess
of Wellesley instead of Lord Mornington.
One result of the war was the removal of the
Nawab of the Karnatik from the civil and mili-
tary control of his dominions on account of the.
treasonable correspondence he had carried on with
Tipii, full evidence of which was discovered in the
archives of Seringapatam. His revenues were placed
under British' control, one -fifth allotted for his
pension, and the remainder set aside to pay his
private debts and those due to the Company.
Tanjore was also taken under the administration of
the Company on the 26th of November, 1799, on the
occasion of the installation of Sarboji, a son of the
late Raja.
Oudh had next to be dealt with : by a treaty made
by Sir John Shore, in 1797, with the Nawab Wazir,
the latter had agreed to receive three thousand Eng-
lish troops, for the protection of his frontiers, and to
guarantee a sum of ;^76o,ooo yearly for their pay.
By the Governor-General it was soon considered
advisable that additional British troops should be sent
to Oudh to defend its frontiers from Maratha raids
170 ESTABLISHMENT OF BRITISH SUPREMACY.
and to ward off attacks likely to occur in consequence
of a threatened invasion of the north of India from
Afghanistan by Zeman Shah, ruler at Kabul. The
Navvab Wazir was called on to guarantee the pay of
these troops. In vain he pleaded his inability to pay
even for the troops already entertained by the former
treaty with Sir John Shore. In vain he pointed out
his inability to pay the amount he owed to the
European traders and adventurers who carried on a
lucrative business in his dominions by lending him
money at exorbitant rates of interest to relieve his
more pressing necessities. Sooner than guarantee the
pay of the extra troops he offered to resign his ruler-
ship, leave his own country and go on a pilgrimage.
The Marquess of Wellesley was not to be thus trifled
with. The Nawdb Wazir was informed that the
European moneylenders would be removed from
Oudh, but that if he resigned his high office his
territories would be annexed by the Company, as
it was impossible to hand over the government to
the eldest, or any of the Nawab's sons, for as the
Governor- General wrote : " What rational hope
could be entertained that any of these young
princes would be competent to the correction of
those evils which his Excellency himself, aided by
all his knowledge and experience of public affairs,
has confessed himself unable to remedy." For the
Nawab Wazir there was no course open but to
entertain a subsidiary treaty.
Accordingly, in July, 1801, by the Treaty of Luck-
now, the Nawab Wazir agreed to cede, in lieu of a
subsidy, for the expenses of the perpetual defence of
TREATY OF LUCK NOW. I7I
his dominions by the Company, the whole (jf the
fertile lands lying between the Ganges and Jumna
known as the Doab, as well as Rohilkhand and the
district of Gorakhpur. For the administration of these
new acquisitions the ablest of the revenue and judicial
officers in the Company's service were formed into a
Board, presided over by the Hon. Mr. Henry Welles-
ley, afterwards Lord Cowley, " to whose discretion,
address, and firmness," as the Governor-General wrote
to the Directors, they were " principally indebted for
the early and tranquil settlement of these extensive
and fertile territories."
The answer of the Directors was characteristic.
First they resented the patronage of a lucrative
appointment being taken out of their hands, and
directed " that Mr. Wellesley be forthwith removed,"
an order which was not carried out by the Board of
Control. They then voted that the new acquisitions
of the Company had been wTested from the Nawab
Wazi'r " violently and compulsorily," that his consent
had been extorted and that the treaty was in direct
violation of existing treaties.
The Governor-General was, however, too busy in
endeavouring to frustrate the efforts of the Maratha
princes to found sovereignties for themselves on the
ruins of the Mughal Empire either to care for or to
resent this rebuke. From Berar to Orissathe Bhonsla
of Nagpur held sway. The rich plains of Gujarat
were claimed by the Gaekwar of Baroda. Sindhia of
Gwalior held possession of the blind Emperor Shah
Alam at Delhi, while his powerful rival, Holkar of
Indore, had gained for himself the chief place among
172 ESTABLISHMENT OF BRITISH SUPREMACY.
the Maratha chieftains by driving forth Sindhia's
troops and the Peshwa, Baji Rao, from Poona and
instaUing there his own nominee. Baji Rao fled to
the protection of the EngHsh, and on the 6th of
December, 1802, entered into the Subsidiary Treaty
of Bassein, which virtually placed the Company at
the head of the Maratha Confederacy. The Peshwa,
acknowledged over-lord among the Marathas, agreed
to abide by the advice of the Governor-General in all
things, to cede territories yielding a revenue of 26
lakhs of rupees yearly for the pay of a permanent
British force for the protection of his dominions, and
to dismiss his own French and foreign officers. Both
in England and in India the treaty was vehemently
attacked by those who held that it must inevitably
result in war. By others it was held that the treaty
was absolutely necessary β even if followed by war β
to check the growing power of the Marathas and the
influence of their French commanders, especially that
of General Count de Boigne. War was not long
delayed, but when it broke out the Marathas had lost
their chief strength. In former days the hardy
Marathas, mounted on their swift ponies, swept like a
swarm of locusts down from their mountain homes on
the fertile plains, devastated the villages of the peace-
ful lowland cultivators, burned and laid waste all
they could not carry off to their forest homes. No
army could long follow their swift course and rapid
retreat, for behind them they left no forage for cattle
nor grain for the troops; the tanks they breached and
the wells they filled up or poisoned. If attacked in
their strongholds they had but to hold out till their
MA RATH AS
173
foes were exhausted for want of provisions and
obliged to retire, when they could again sally forth,
cut up the harassed troops, and wage a guerilla
warfare, in the tactics of which they had no rivals.
Seeing the success of the Company's disciplined
infantry sepoys, they deemed that if they submitted
DE BOIGNE.
{From Coniploji's "Military Advcutiircs of Hindustan^' β
T. Fisher llnwinJ)
to be formed into battalions of foot-soldiers supported
by artillery they would be able to meet the Company's
troops on equal terms and in overwhelming numbers.
In 1784 Sindhia had summoned the Savoyard Benoit
de Boigne to the command of his troops, and for
eleven years the name of the commander was a
terror among the opposing native powers, the batta-
174 ESTABLISHMENT OF BRITISH SUPREMACY,
lions he raised and drilled becoming renowned as
invincible. Yet no one knew better than De Boigne
the inherent weakness of the system he had succeeded
in founding. His constant advice to Sindhia was
that it would be better to disband the whole of the
battalions rather than venture to place them in the
field to face the Company's troops.
When the inevitable fight did take place it was
found that the system De Boigne had organised,
though, as he foretold, it did break down, was no
contemptible one. After the battle of Laswari which
the Marathas had to fight without the aid of their
French officers. General Lake in a secret despatch
to General Arthur Wellesley, wrote : " The sepoys of
,the enemy behaved exceedingly well, and if they had
been commanded by French officers, the affair would,
I fear, have been extremely doubtful." The main
faults of the new system were evident. The French
officers in the pay of the native princes had neither the
authority nor the power over their semi-independent
and often mutinous levies that was pos.sessed by the
Company's officers over their well-paid and systematic-
ally recruited sepoys. Further, when once the batta-
lions raised by the French officers were defeated and
scattered, the loss was complete and irretrievable, for
there existed neither means nor resources to raise
fresh battalions to replace the soldiers swept away
When, after the Treaty of Bassein, the Peshwa was
triumphantly escorted back to Poona by a force under
General Arthur Wellesley, Sindhia viewed the situa-
tion with undisguised alarm, and summoned his
brother chieftains to join him in striking a final blow
ASS A YE. 175
for Maratha freedom. The Bhonsla hurried up his
levies, but Holkar held sullenly aloof, waiting to see
how events would develope. The united armies of
Sindhia and the Bhonsla amounted to some 100,000
men, well drilled, and supported by hundreds of
cannon ; General vVellesley and Colonel Stevenson
had an army of 15,000 men ready to march at a
moment's notice ; while in the north General Lake
had 10,000 men, and in Gujarat General Murray
commanded 7,000 more troops.
A demand made by General Wellesley that Sindhia
should withdraw his troops within his own territories
was ignored, whereon war was declared on the .3rd of
August, 1803. The campaign was opened by Wellesley,
who in four days captured the fortress of Ahm.ad-
nagar, and on the 23 rd of September, at the head of
4,500 men, came up with the combined armies of
Sindhia and the Bhonsla numbering 50,000 men,
30,000 being cavalry, with 100 guns, at the famed
field of Assaye. When Wellesley saw the vast
army stretched out before him he determined to
attack at once without waiting for the arrival of the
remainder of his forces under Colonel Stevenson. As
the British infantry advanced a withering fire from the
enemy's guns held them back until 360 men of the 19th
Dragoons and the 4th Native Cavalry charged and
sabred the Maratha gunners. In this charge the horse
of Lieutenant Alexander Grant was wedged between
the wheel of a carriage and its gun which the artillery-
man fired before Grant could cut him down. The
guns once silenced the infantry advanced, the Marfl-
thas were chased from the field with enormous losses,
176 ESTABLISHMENT OF BRITISH SUPREMACY.
ninety-eight guns were left behind, the cavalry having
ridden off at the first signs of reverse. In this battle
of Assaye, the most daring and brilliant ever fought
against the Marathas, General Arthur Wellesley lost
over one-third of his force in killed and wounded.
The fort of Aligarh was taken by General Lake,
who defeated Sindhia's troops under their French
commander Perron, Delhi was then captured and
afterwards Agra with its treasures, arsenal, and 162
pieces of cannon.
At the crowning victory of Laswari Lake with
three regiments of dragoons and five regiments of
native cavalry charged again and again through
Sindhia's invincible battalions who valiantly stood
their ground, " the fellows " as Lake wrote, " fought
like devils or rather heroes. Pray God I may never
be in such a situation again." It was not till the
British infantry came up and charged with bayonets
that the field was won. Fourteen of De Boigne's
battalions were destroyed, and 7,000 men out of
the total strength of 9,000 picked Marathas were
slain, while the English loss was only 824 men killed
and wounded.
On the east coast Colonel Harcourt drove the
forces from Nagpur out of Orissa, captured Masuli-
patam, and received from it^ hereditary guardians
the custody of the famed temple of Jagannath. In
the west the Bhonsla's troops were totally defeated
on the wide plain in front of the village of Argaon,
and the campaign closed on the 29th of November
with the capture of the stronghold of Gawilgarh. On
the 17th of December the Treaty of Deogaon was
HOLKAR. 177
signed, by which the Bhonsla of Berar agreed to
submit in future all his war disputes to the arbitration
of the Governor-General, to dismiss his French and
American officers, to cede Cuttack to the Company,
and other lands to the Nizam, over whose villages he
for ever relinquished claim to exact " chauth."
Sindhia, with his boasted battalions destroyed, and
his chief strongholds captured, signed the Treaty of
Surgi Arjangaon on the 30th of December, by which
he yielded not only his rich lands lying between the
Ganges and Jumna, but all those north of the Rajput
states of Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Gohad, renounced
his claims on the Emperor, on the Nizdm, and on the
Gaekwar, delivered up Ahmadnagar to the Peshwa,
and, to complete his humiliation, agreed to employ no
more French or American officers in his armies.
A storm of controversy, congratulation, and con-
demnation arose in England and in India over
these rapid wars and bewildering treaties, but amid
it all the Governor-General proudly stood unmoved,
complacently surveying the vast territories across
which he had advanced the British rule.
Of the Maratha rulers Jeswant Rao Holkar alone
remained independent. Raging with fury at the
successes of the Governor-General, he hurried up
from Malwa, calling on the Rajputs, Rohillas and
Sikhs to join their troops with his in one mighty
effort to roll back the wave of conquest now sweep-
ing on towards their lands and principalities. He
wisely abstained from taking the open field, where
he knew that his troops would be swept away by the
well-drilled and disciplined Company's soldiers. He
178 ESTABLISHMENT OF BRITISH SUPREMACY.
saw that his best poHcy was to avoid a general action
and retreat before the slow-moving British troops
until they were worn out and deprived of supplies, and
then harass their outposts, and attack them in detail.
On the advance of General Lake and General
Monson he fell back, and allowed them to capture
his stronghold of Rampura. On the approach of the
rains Lake was compelled to move into cantonments,
leaving to Monson the seemingly simple task of
following up the retreating army. With five batta-
lions of sepoys and four thousand irregular horse
Monson pursued Holkar through the Mahandwara
Pass, across the Ghambal River. He carried with
him no stock of provisions, and in his hurry neglected
to secure his communications over the many river-
channels and watercourses he rapidly crossed. His
supplies soon failed, the rain fell incessantly, the
roads became mud tracks through which it was
well-nigh impossible to drag the native carts crowded
with camp-followers and the wives and children of
the sepoys, who always accompany native troops on
the march. In the rear the rivers were so swollen as
to be unfordable, and no boats had been collected
and left in readiness in case of need, the soldiers
were dispirited, and it was impossible to drag the
guns or ammunition waggons further. The one
chance of safety, and that a doubtful one, was to
attack Holkar, who seemed not unwilling to fight.
Monson hesitated for a moment, then turned and
commenced his disastrous retreat, not staying to
answer the insulting messages of the Marathas, who
called on him to fight or surrender. The retreat-
RETREAT OF M ON SOX. . 1/9
ing troops, in want of food, wet and cold from
the incessant rain, marched wearily on through the
heavy mud, pausinjr only to fire on the Mar^thd
cavalr)-, who swept down every now and then to
slay belated stragglers or to cut up the sepoys
guarding the baggage. The guns, sunk deep in the
mud, had to be spiked and left behind, and the
ammunition destroyed. The deep rivers had to be
crossed on elephants or rafts, or else a halt called
until some ford was discovered, Holkar's wild
cavalry daily grew bolder, while from the neighbour-
ing mountains the savage Bhi'ls crept down to
plunder and slay the wounded and carry off before
the very eyes of the sepoys the unprotected women
and children. Many of Monson's native soldiers
and irregular cavalry sought safety in flight, the
remainder, their last gun left behind, struggled on,
halting now and then for a few hours' rest. Wearied,
hungry, and dazed from want of sleep, the dejected
band at last formed themselves into a square,
where they were mowed down in hundreds by the
Maratha guns. The remnant in endeavouring to
escape were cut down by Holkar's swordsmen, a
few of the sepoys escaping to Agra, there to spread
abroad the news of the retreat of Monson and the
glorious victory of Holkar β a story still sung in the
villages of Central India in the long, hot evenings.
The full extent of the disaster was expressed by
Lord Lake in the words he wrote : " I have lost five
battalions and six companies, the flower of the army,
and how they are to be replaced at this day, God
only knows."
l8o ESTABLISHMENT OF BRITISH SUPREMACY.
Arthur Wellesley, surveying the whole campaign,
the reckless advance without supplies into a hostile
country where no efforts had been made to keep
open communications, summed up the situation by
rejoining : " In my mind . . . the detachment must
have been lost, even if Holkar had not attacked
them with his infantry and artillery."
Holkar had but a short-lived success. Driven,
along with his ally the Raja of Bhartpur, from
before Delhi by Lord Lake, he fled down the Doab,
burning the Company's villages. From before Dig
he was driven by General Frazer, who fell mortally
wounded along with twenty-two of his officers and
623 of his men, leaving to Lord Lake the capture of
the citadel and final defeat of Holkar, who escaped
to the Punjab, where he was forced to accept a
treaty.
Before the impregnable fortress of Bhartpur Lake
lost three thousand of his men in futile and obstinate
efforts to reduce it, and was finally obliged to retire
on an assurance from its Raja that the alliance with
Holkar would be renounced and an indemnity of
20 lakhs of rupees paid towards the expenses of the
war.
The London merchants, whd feared to accept the
responsibility of administering the vast extent of
territory they had acquired, and who were goaded into
anger by the contemptuous indifference with which
the Governor-General treated their remonstrances,
dreaded to speak out boldly their opinions to the
haughty Napoleon of India. They had congratu-
lated him on the early results of his operations against
RECALL OF WRLLESLEY. l8l
the Mar^thcls, but had cautiously reserved to them-
selves the right of fully inquiring into, and expressing
their mature judgment on, the justice and policy of
entering on the war. They, however, showed their
personal resentment at his conduct by ordering the
abolition of a college he had founded at Calcutta for
the training of junior civil servants, a scheme after-
wards carried out in its intent by the establishment,
in 1805, of the East India College at Haileybury.
Above all things the Directors were alarmed at
the state of the finances. The Company's debt at
home and in India had risen from ;^i 7,059, 192 in
1797 to i^3 1,638,827 in 1806, while their expenses
and interest on debt amounted to ;^ 17,672,0 17, with a
revenue of i^i 5,403,409.
With relief they heard of the defeat of Monson,
and gladly seized what they had long sought, the
opportunity of recalling a Governor-Genferal whom
they feared, and of whose power they were jealous.
The services rendered them by the Marquess Wellesley
could not be overlooked, so in 1841 it was agreed to
erect a statue to him as a " permanent mark of the
admiration and gratitude of the East India Com-
pany."
Lord Cornwallis, who came out a second time to
India to succeed the Marquess Wellesley, died shortly
after taking up his appointment, and was succeeded
by a Bengal civilian. Sir George Barlow, who held
office until the arrival, in 1807, ^^ the next Governor-
General, Lord Minto.
The interval was marked by the sepoy mutiny at
the fort of Vellore, eighty-eight miles from Madras.
1 82 ESTABLISHMENT OF BRITISH SUPREMACY.
There the family of Tipu had been allotted apart-
ments and allowed to live in semi-regal state, kept
under a more or less strict surveillance by a guard of
370 European troops and 1,500 sepoys, under the
command of Colonel Fancourt.
In the south it had been considered necessary, in
order to produce an appearance of military uniformity
among the Company's troops, that all the sepoys should
dress alike, shave their beards, cut their moustaches,
bear no caste marks, and wear a tall glazed hat
instead of their usual turbans. The sepoys, sus-
picious by nature, saw in these new regulations some
deep underlying purpose β some insidious attack upon
their religion, or an attempt to break-through the
hereditary customs of caste, so that the Company's
soldiers might grow to be all of one faith, and of one
race, severed for ever from their kinsmen in the villages
of their forefathers. The rumours of discontent and
warnings that secret meetings were being held at
night-time among the sepoys were received by the
European officers with disbelief, or else ignored.
At dawn on the loth of July, 1806, the pent-up
feelings of the sepoys burst forth in open mutiny.
Colonel Fancourt was shot down on the threshold
of his own house in the fort, .volley after volley was
poured into the barracks where the unarmed Euro-
pean soldiers vainly endeavoured to screen them-
selves behind their beds and scanty furniture. A few
survivors, officers and men, made their escape to the
ramparts of the fort, pulled down the green flag of
Tipu, there planted by the mutineers, drove back
their assailants at the point of the bayonet, and
VELLORE MUTINY. 1 83
entrenched themselves in one of the bastions, where
they waited for help. On the news reaching Arcot,
nine miles distant, Colonel Gillespie galloped to the
rescue at the head of his dragoons and native cavalry,
followed close by his guns. Reaching Vellore, he was
drawn up to the ramparts of the fort by the defenders,
the gates were opened for his cavalry, who charged
in and cut down from 300 to 400 of the mutineers,
the rest of whom were captured, and, after trial by
court-martial, shot or punished according to their
guilt, the number of the regiment being erased from
the Army List.
Lord Minto, who succeeded Sir George Barlow,
landed at Calcutta in 1807.
Pledged though the new Governor-General was to
a policy of retrenchment and non-interference with
the independent or semi-independent states, he soon
found that the time had not yet come when the sword
might be sheathed and the lands of the Company rest
safe from invasion or internal disturbances.
Beyond the Company's territories lay the lands of
the warlike Sikhs in the Punjab, ruled over by Ranjit
Singh, the Lion of Lahore. Beyond were the un-
known mountains and valleys of Afghanistan, where
Shah Shuja reigned, and further still lay Persia. It
was known that Napoleon, thwarted in his ambitious
schemes of diverting the trade from the East, round
the Cape of Good Hope, to its ancient route through
Egypt to the Mediterranean, had, in 1807, at the
Conference of Tilsit, sought the aid of the Russian
Plmperor Alexander in a final effort to extend his
conquests over Asia to the far-off Ganges. Above
184 ESTABLISHMENT OF BRITISH SUPREMACY.
all things it was therefore deemed necessary that Lord
Minto should, if possible, gain the friendship of the
Ruler of the Punjab, the Amir of Afghanistan, and
the Shah of Persia, so that the Company's territories
might be safeguarded in case of an invasion from the
West.
Although this threatened danger passed away
when Napoleon invaded Spain in 1808, and made
war against Russia in 18 12, still, in the meantime,
the Governor-General had sent envoys to enter into
friendly negotiations with the outlying powers :
Metcalfe to Lahore, Elphinstone to Peshawar, and
Malcolm to Teheran. Though little immediate
benefit resulted from these negotiations, save that
Ranji't Singh renounced all claims over the Sikh
chieftains on the Company's side of the Sutlej, they
form the connecting link between the policy of the
times of Clive, Hastings, and Wellesley, and that of
to-day, when it is considered necessary to exhaust
almost all the available resources of India in extend-
ing the frontier defences, and making them strong
enough to withstand any possible attack from Russia,
whose conquering career towards the East first com-
menced some seventy years ago.
Though Lord Minto capliured Java in 18 10, and
Abercromby freed the Eastern seas from the depre-
dations of French ships by the capture of Mauritius,
the Directors of the Company were more interested in
securing the financial prosperity of their possessions
than in seeking new annexations. In the last three
years of Lord Minto's administration the Company's
affairs were so prosperous that there was a balance
LORD MINTO.
i8s
of ;^ 1 0,000,000 over investments, of which nearly
i!"2,ooo,000 was sent home in bullion. As a result of
this increasing prosperity the Directors were enabled
to convert their debt of ;^27,ooo,ooo from a loan of
12 per cent, to a new one at 6 per cent., saving by
the conversion an annual payment of ;^592,ooo.
IX.
MARQUESS OF HASTINGS (1814 β 1 82 3). β EXTEN-
SION OF INFLUENCE OVER NATIVE STATES.
By a cynical fate Lord Moira, who in Parliament had
consistently denounced what he called the injustice
whereby British rule had been established in India,
and had vehemently opposed the encroachments of
Wellesley, was forced, when he himself became
Governor-General, to continue the very policy he
had so strenuously condemned, in order to evolve
peace and prosperity out of the chaos of anarchy into
which the land had drifted since the removal of the
firm hand of the Great Proconsul. Lord Moira, in
fact, saw that by the sword alone could the disbanded
Maratha and marauding free Jances of Central and
Northern India be held in subjection.
Anarchy, civil war, fire, rapine, and ensuing famine
may be held by some, who know not of them, to be
less baneful than the slow, grinding exactions of a
civilised government. But those who have seen in
India the burning remains of once peaceful villages ;
heard the tales of the fiendish and unutterable tor-
I36
PINDAR is. 1 87
tures meted out to unoftending peasants to make
them disclose their wealth or from sheer lust ; viewed
with senses stayed the bodies of once-loved women
and lisping children done to death by foul outrage,
or slaughtered to satiate the savage fierceness of
bands of roaming robbers, must ever hope that, so
long as the British rule holds sway in India, the
sword may never be hidden till the unrestrained
passions of man have learned to submit themselves
to the dictates of a civilised government.
Nine years of timid evasion of the responsibilities
of ruling the territories handed over to the Company
by Clive, Hastings, and Wellesley had gone far to
pluitge the whole centre of India into a state of
chronic civil war. Robber bands of Marathas,
Pindaris, Ghurkas from Nepal, and fierce Pathans
from beyond the frontiers roamed far and wide,
raided the villages, and even exacted contributions
from those in British territories. The Pindaris, some
fifty thousand in number, rode out yearly, from their
safe retreats in the valleys of the Narbada, to rob and
plunder amid the villages of Rajputana, away to the
east across the sacred lands of Puri, south over the
deep flowing waters of the Kistna, where they devas-
tated and burned all they could not carry away. On
their approach the unarmed folk fled from their
villages and left them at the mercy of the robbers.
When the villages were surrounded and flight found
to be impossible, the inhabitants sought refuge in
death, grouping themselves together with their wives
and children in their leaf-thatched huts which they
fired, preferring to perish in the flames rather than
^A^
1 88 MARQUESS OF HASTINGS
submit to the wanton insults and fiendish cruelties
of their relentless foes.
Through Central India the unwieldy and ill-paid
armies of Sindhia and Holkar roamed, and laid waste
the land for miles on either side of their marches,
until the inhabitants, bereft of grain and food, were
driven to follow the camp, and beg the soldiers to
buy their children so that they should not starve.
Not a single ray of heroism, of chivalry, or even of
vulgar bravery illuminates the dark page of history
recording the progress of the Maratha troops. The
soldiers, when unpaid, lived by pillage ; their chiefs
squandered their time in debauchery and drunken
orgies ; a civilised government determined and strong
enough to enforce law and order could alone have
saved the land and the people from the grievous
burden and miseries untold.
Nepal, the hill country stretching for seven hundred
miles along the southern slopes of the Himalayas,
north of Oudh and Rohilkand β occupied by the
Ghurkas, a race of Rajput descent, who had assumed
sovereignty over the aboriginal inhabitants of the
land β first bid open defiance to the British Govern-
ment. Shut in from the lowland plains by the
feverish and almost impenetrable forests stretching
along the base of the Himalayas, known as the Tarai,
they had gradually extended their influence to the
south, east, and west, organising and disciplining their
forces, descending on the Company's villages, carrying
off the cattle, demanding tribute, and asserting their
right by force of arms to encroach on British territory.
When ordered to retire and remain within their own
GHURKA WAR. iSQ
limits or else accept the alternative of war, the brave
and hardy mountaineers haughtily replied that the
soldiers of the Company had already failed to take the
lowland fortress of Bhartpur β " how, then, was it
likely that they should storm the mountain fastnesses
constructed by the hand of God ? "
Though the Ghiirkas numbered but 12,000 fighting
men, yet their prowess was so renowned that the
Governor-General deemed it necessary to despatch
24,000 men and 64 guns in four divisions to reduce
them to submission. Against their stronghold of
Kalanga, or Nalapani, an open enclosure surrounded
with stone w^alls. General Gillespie, the suppressor of
the Mutiny of Vellore, advanced with 1,000 Europeans,
2,500 sepoys, and 1 1 guns. The fort was gallantly
defended by 600 Ghurkas, who repeatedly drove back
their assailants, the brave General Gillespie falling shot
through the heart. The garrison held out, and not till
there were but 70 survivors left did the fort surrender,
its defence β’ having delayed the expedition for over a
month.
From the west a detachment under General
Ochterlony dragged their guns up the mountain-
sides, over almost inaccessible paths covered with
snow, secured each pass and occupied post after
post until the Ghurkas consented to accept the terms
imposed on them.
The British troops were no sooner withdrawn than
the Ghurkas repented of their submission and refused
to carry out the treaty. Lord Moira, now created
Marquis of Hastings, had again to despatch General
Ochterlony, created a baronet for his previous sue-
190 MARQUESS OF HASTINGS.
cesses, at the head of twenty thousand men, including
three European regiments, to tame the hardy hill-men,
who knew not what it was to be defeated. The
expedition started in February, 1816, and, after a
series of swift and brilliant operations, the hill-men
were obliged to recognise the futility of further
resistance.
By the Treaty of Segauli the Company obtained
possession of the hill stations of Simla, Masiiri, and
Naini Tal, and the limits of the Ghiirka rule were
marked out by stone pillars, so that the two powers
might rest side by side in peace without fear of further
encroachments. Since the Treaty of Segauli the
brave little Ghiirkas have enlisted in our native army,
forming some of its finest fighting regiments, and
have followed the fortunes of the Company and of
the Crown in many a battlefield, and taken part in
many a heroic defence.
Far different from the hardy hill Ghiirkas were the
fierce Marathas and robber Findari's who had now
to be reclaimed from their predatory habits. Under
their leaders, Kari'm, Chi'tu, and Wasil Muhammad,
the Pindaris raided the lands of Rajputana, of the
Nizam, and of the Company, destroyed the crops,
and tortured with horrible refinement of cruelty
the unarmed and panic-stricken inhabitants. As
the wild Pinddris passed swiftly over the land
they were followed by a noted soldier of fortune.
Amir Khan, who had gathered round him an army
of well-paid Pathans amounting in number to up-
wards of 10,000 infantry, 15,000 cavalry supported by
artillery, by whose aid he exacted from the chieftains
P/NDAR/S. 191
of Rajputana contribution and tribute. For lon<^ the
Governor-General pleaded with his Council and with
the Directors for permission to put an end to the
horror;-, perpetrated by these robber bands. Woe-
fully he lamented that he feared the indifference of
the Company arose from the fact that he had " been
culpably deficient in pointing out to the authorities
at home the brutal and atrocious qualities of these
wretches."
At length, in 18 16, the long-delayed permission
came. That there should be no failure the largest
army up to then assembled in India under the
Company's rule was drawn round the haunts of the
Pindaris. From October, 1817, a force of 120,000
men and 300 guns closed in from Bengal on the
north-east, from the Deccan on the south, and from
Gujarat on the west. Amir Khan, .seeing that all was
lost, surrendered, and was allowed to retire to his
principality, now known as Tonk.
The Pindaris vainly strove to escape in detach-
ments through the steel fence that surrounded them ;
by the end of January, 181 8, they were all captured,
dispersed, or annihilated. Karim surrendered, and
was allotted lands in Gorakhpur whereon to live
peaceably and recount to admiring hearers the glories
of his past days. Wasi'l Muhammad was captured,
and, thwarted in an attempt to escape, committed
suicide. The last of the famed freebooters of Central
India, Chitu, was deserted by his follovv'ers and after-
wards found mangled by a tiger in the jungle, his sole
remaining friend being his horse, which stayed grazing
by his side.
192 MARQUESS OP HASTINGS.
The Maratha armies still passed to and fro gather-
ing strength, hoping that they might yet throw off
the yoke of the foreigner. In Malwa Jeswant Rao
Holkar, debauched and drunken, had died in 1811,
raving mad from his excesses. His widow, Tulsi
Bai, and one of her lovers, Amir Khan, had assumed
the regency during the infancy of Malkar Rao, son of
the late chieftain. To the east were the dominions
of the powerful Daulat Rao Sindhia, who, curbed by
the Governor-General in his raids on the territories of
Bhopal and Nagpur, now fretted over his wrongs, and
watched with interest the brave resistance of the
Ghurkas, and extended his protection to the Pindaris.
Baji Rao II., the Peshwa who reigned at Poona,
was the acknowledged head of the whole Maratha
Confederacy. Dissolute, ambitious, weak, and fickle,
yet outwardly sanctimonious and ever engaged in
pious deeds, he waited but for the time when, with
the aid of Holkar and Sindhia, of the Bhonsla and
the Gaekwar of Baroda, he would be strong enough
to repudiate his engagements with the Company and
once again stand forth as hereditary leader among
the Marathas. With the Gaekwar of Baroda the
Peshwa found it impossible to open up negotiations,
for the English there held sway, through the Resi-
dent, Colonel Walker, during the imbecility of the
reigning prince. The Prime Minister of Baroda was
a high Brahman named Gangadhar Sastri, whom the
Peshwa dreamed he might bend to his will and by
bribes seduce into an offensive alliance against the
English. An opportunity soon arose. The Gaekwar
rented certain villages from the Peshwa, who prayed
THE PESHWA. 193
Gangadhar Sdstri to come to Poona to settle out-
standing accounts and the financial affairs of the
two states. The astute Brahman minister, however,
knew too well the mind and cunning of the Peshwa,
so refused to travel to Poona until the British
Resident consented to guarantee his safety. The
guarantee was given, and Gangadhar Sastri went
to Poona, where he was feasted and honoured,
wealth and alliances promised him if he would
agree to join in the coming war against the
English. When it was found that the Brdhman
would not turn traitor or receive the proffered
bribes, the Peshwa determined that at least he
should not be allowed to carry back the secrets he
had learned to the ears of the English Resident at
Baroda. The Peshwa had a low favourite, one
Trimbakji', willing, in order to gain his master's
favour, to violate all the traditions and ordinances
of his forefathers and commit the unpardonable sin
of killing a Brahman. On a day holy to the
Hindus, Gangadhar Sastri was prayed by the Peshwa
and by Trimbakji to visit a famed temple at Pandar-
pur, and there offer up his prayers to the gods and
present holy offerings to the temple priests. The
pilgrimage was made, the religious rites performed,
but as the unsuspecting Brahman left the temple
the swords of the hirelings of Trimbakji hewed him
to pieces.
When the news reached the Governor-General the
Peshwa was ordered to deliver up Trimbakji to
justice, and, as a punishment for his part in the crime,
to cede territories yielding an income of 34 lakhs
ig4 A/ARQUESS OF HyiSTINGS.
of rupees, and to pay for new troops quartered in
his dominions. Still firm in his belief in the power
of his intrigues, and enraged at his losses β especially
at that of his favourite, who had escaped to lead
an outlawed life β the Peshwa determined to resist
the demands. With his wealth he strove to spread
sedition among the soldiers of the Company and
gain them over to his side ; he levied troops from
his feudatories, hoping to hide his designs from
the vigilant eyes of the Company's Resident at his
capital. The Resident, Mountstuart Elphinstone,
discerned danger when he saw the Peshwa's troops
gathering round his cantonments. He had scarcely
time to remove the English garrison to Kirki, some
three miles distant from Poona, and send for aid
to Bombay, when the storm burst. The Residency
and European houses were first given up to flames,
and then the Peshwa's army of 18,000 cavalry and
8,000 foot swarmed out of Poona to annihilate the
small Kirki garrison who bravely marched out to
meet the advancing hosts. Between the two armies
lay a deep morass. Eight thousand picked Maratha
horsemen charged down on Elphinstone's force,
plunged into the deep mud, and there, as they
rode over each other in their confusion, were shot
down in hundreds. The infantry turned and fled in
disastrous retreat to Poona, leaving their guns and
the field to the victorious garrison of Kirki. On
reinforcements arriving from Bombay, the Peshwa,
at the head of his troops, was driven from Poona
and forced to retreat into Khandesh. There he
was turned back by British troops and obliged to
DEFEAT OF THE PESHWA. 1 95
retreat south towards Poona. Colonel Staunton, at
the head of 5CX) men, 300 irregular horse, and two
<^uns manned by twenty-four Europeans, was at
once directed to march from Sirur to assist in the
defence of the capital. This force, after a long
night's . journey, suddenly found itself, in the early
morning, surrounded by the whole Maratha army of
the Peshwa, 20,000 horsemen and 8,000 foot, most
of them fierce Arab mercenaries. Ahead lay the
village of Koragaon, the shelter of whose mud walls
was gained by Staunton and his handful of men,
but not before many of the Arabs had seized the
best positions. Without sleep, without food or water,
the defenders held out all day, repelled attack after
attack, and at times sallied out to meet the masses
hurled against their slender defence. Five out of
eight of the British officers were killed or wounded,
271 of the devoted 800 were dead or disabled, and
towards night-time one of their guns was captured.
Lieutenant Pattinson, a giant six feet seven inches
in height, was lying on the ground wounded, shot
through the body ; but on hearing the news he rose,
rushed forward, and with the butt of his musket
knocked over right and left the Arabs who held
the gun. Pattinson fell shot once again, and was
carried away to die. The gun for which he had
given his life was recaptured, the garrison saved,
and the Marathas sullenly retired, their whole army
unable to subdue a single regiment of British troops.
The Maratha army was pursued, hunted down, and
dispersed, the Peshwa ultimately deeming it wise to
enter into negotiations with Sir John Malcolm for
196 M^iRQUESS OF HASTINGS.
surrender. Deprived of his sovereignty, granted a
pension of ;^8o,ooo annually, with permission to reside
at Bithur, near Cawnpur, his name disappeared from
history, and his personal property passed, on his
death, to his adopted son, Nana Sahib.
In Malwa, Tulsi Bai had placed herself and the
young Holkar under British protection, only to
be soon afterwards murdered by her own troops.
General Hislop and Sir John Malcolm at once
advanced against the mutinous army, which they
found, on the 21st of December, 1817, strongly
posted on the far side of the Sipra River, near
Mehidpur.
Having crossed by a ford in the face of the enemy,
the British cavalry charged under a heavy fire. In
the fierce fight which ensued thirty-five of Hislop's
officers were wounded β three fatally β and eight
hundred of his troops lost ; the Maratha force of
Malwa lost three thousand men, all their artillery
and stores, while the remainder retreated in disas-
trous flight.
Holkar was forced to accept a subsidiary treaty
and alliance with the English, and resign all his
claims for tribute over the chiefs of Rajputana, his
estates in Malwa being restored to him considerably
curtailed.
In Nagpur the Maratha Prince, Apa Sahib, who
had risen to power by strangling the former Bhonsla,
his idiot cousin, showed signs of hostility towards the
Company when news reached him that the Peshwa
had broken loose at Poona. Undismayed by the
successes of the British troops elsewhere, the Bhonsla
sItabaldI. 197
still continued his preparations for war. At length
affairs became so threatening that the British Resi-
dent deemed it wise to move his force of fourteen
thousand men to two peaks of the isolated Si'tabaldi
Hills lying between Ndgpur and the Residency.
Twenty thousand Mar^thas and four thousand Arab
mercenaries laid siege to the position, and succeeded
in driving a British guard from the peak nearest
the city. Captain Fitzgerald prayed again and
again to be allowed to charge, at the head of his
three troops of Bengal cavalry, into the midst of
the Mardthiis, now crowding round on the level
plain at the base of the hill. His commanding
officer, angered at the repeated demands, at length
sent back the answer, " Tell him to charge at his
peril." " At my peril be it," cried Fitzgerald, as he
gave the order to charge, with the result that the
enemy was put to rout and the Arabs driven from
the hill. When British reinforcements advanced to
the assistance of the Resident the Bhonsla surren-
dered, and consented to place all his military power
under the control of the Company, to cede Berar
and the lands lying near the Narbadd.
Peace was restored all over Central India, the
Pindaris and Pathan freebooters dispersed, the
Mardtha armies defeated, and their chieftains re-
duced to subjection ; the Sikhs alone remained in
the Punjab to try their strength against the ever-
victorious arms of the Company.
Hastings had been made a G.C.B. in 18 19, granted
a sum of ;^6o,0(X), to relieve the pressing necessities
due to his reckless generosity, and received a vote
198 MARQUESS OF HASTINGS. -
of thanks from both Houses of ParHament, only to
fall at the very summit of his fame and popularity.
His ward had married Sir William Rumbold,
partner in the banking firm of Palmer & Co., at
Haidarabad β a fact used by the firm as showing
that the sanction, or countenance, of the Governor-
General had been given to their lending nearly a
million sterling at exorbitant rates of interest to the
Nizam's Government, where the money was squan-
dered and misapplied, instead of being devoted to
public purposes. Stung by the aspersions made on
his good faith, Lord Hastings resigned the govern-
ment of India, and returned home to receive the
appointment of Governor and Commander-in-ChieJ
of Malta.
During the time of Lord Hastings' administration
many changes had taken place in the affairs of the
Company. In 1808 a Secret Committee of the House
of Commons inquired into the whole business of the
Indian trade, and sat for four years. The Charter
of the Company, which had in 1793 been renewed
for a period of twenty years; expired in 18 14. By
Parliament the Charter was again continued for a
further period of twenty years, with very irtiportant
and noteworthy alterations. The principles of free
trade had gained so rapidly in England that the
Company was only allowed to retain the monopoly
of trading to China, but the whole of the Indian
markets, with certain restrictions, were thrown open
to competition. A great expansion of trade im-
mediately took place ; the price of cotton fell one-
half, pepper one-quarter, while the rates of freight
S//^ THOMAS MUNKO. 1 99
Fell from nearly Β£2^ to less than ^i the ton. In
fact, as Mill writes in his " History of British
India" : "The Government of India overcame all its
temporary financial difficulties, and upon the restora-
tion of peace was provided with ample means to
meet every demand. At no previous period in the
history of the country was the credit of the Ikitish
Government more firmly established, or was the
prospect of financial prosperity more promising
than at the commencement of the year 1823, when
the Marquis of Hastings retired from the guidance
of the pecuniary interests of India."
Notwithstanding the heavy war charges of upwards
of 9 millions sterling yearly, the surplus of revenue
over expenditure and interest on debt amounted in
the last year of Lord Hastings' administration to
over i\ millions sterling.
The most permanent memorial of these years of
prosperity was the revenue settlement made by Sir
Thomas Munro in Madras. Under this system each
cultivator became a direct holder of the land, paying
to the Government its share of the produce, calculated
in money, on the average output estimated from a
comparison of the actual yield of each field during
a normal year and the past accounts. This settle-
ment was made permanent for a period of thirty
years, when it became liable to revision, the rates
of revenue demanded from each cultivator varying
according to the lands held at from sixpence to
twenty-five shillings an acre.
The same period is signalised by the long debate
in Parliament on the subject of Christianity in Indift
200
MARQUESS OF HASTINGS.
and the dangers or advisability of the State con-
trolling the work of the missionaries and chaplains
sent out from home. A bishop was ultimately
appointed to Calcutta, and three archdeacons for
the control- and superintendence of the Company's
chaplains.
X.
LORD AMHERST (1823 β 1 828). β FIRST BURMESE
WAR.
The five years of Lord Amherst's Government
saw the expansion of the Company's possessions
towards the East over Assam, Arakan, and Tenas-
serim.
To the east of the Bay of Bengal the land of Burma
was inhabited by a people of Tibeto-Chinese origin,
possessing Mongolian features with a fair or yellow
complexion. The Burmese proper β the Burmese of
Ava β dwelt along the upper reaches of the Irawadi,
held in its lower courses by the Talaings of Pegu.
Incessant warfare between rival princes was broken
by devastating waves of invasion from the barbarians
of China on the north or incursions of the armies of
Siam on the south. ^
About the middle of the eighteenth century a
renowned adventurer, Alompra the Hunter, rose to
power in the north, drove out the invading Talaings
from Ava, and then advancing south, conquered Pegu,
and founded the city of Rangoon near the mouth of
the river. The successors of Alompra spread their
202 LORD AMHERST.
rule over Arakan, invaded Assam, Manipur, and
Cachar, and at length, growing bold, encroached on
the Company's territories. When the King of Ava
was remonstrated with his fury knew no bounds at
the insult he conceived he had received. The Viceroy
of Pegu received orders to proceed to Calcutta, arrest
the Governor-General, and bring him to Ava, bound
in golden fetters, for execution. War was proclaimed
by Lord Amherst on the 24th of February, 1824.
7\t that time Burma was an unknown land ; nothing
of its history, geography, or powers of resistance could
be learned from even the most experienced of Indian
authorities. On the declaration of war the Bengal
sepoys alleged that their caste rules prevented them
from travelling by sea, so the troops from the north
had to be sent overland from Chittagong to Arakan,
and up the Brahmaputra to Assam, Madras being
called on to send her less scrupulous sepoys by sea
to Rangoon. When Rangoon was reached it was
found that the Burmese fighting men had disappeared
into the surrounding jungles, and that the inhabitants
had fled, leaving the town empty of provisions. The
advance of the invading force, through the dense
and fever-laden jungles that covered the land, was
delayed by the Burmese who defended each posi-
tion with stockades of interlaced trees and bamboos,
twenty feet high, against which artillery was use-
less. For two years the weary war dragged on,
the Burmese, driven from post to post, at length
became so demoralised that they fled in their
thousands from behind their stockades if a single
English soldier appeared in sight. It was not until
FIRST BURMESE WAR. 203
20,000 British troops had been lost, through disease
or while fighting, and 14 millions sterling expended,
that the King of Ava, in 1826, sued for peace,
granted him on condition that he relinquished all
his claims to Assam, ceded Arakan and Tenas-
serim, paid a war indemnity of one million sterling,
agreed to accept a British Resident and enter into
a commercial treaty.
Rumours of the disastrous campaign had spread,
full of exaggeration, throughout North India. The
Marathas, Pindaris, and Jats once again showed signs
of insubordination. The Jat chieftain of Bhartpur,
in Central India, openly defied the authority of
the Governor-General, and placed his infant cousin,
the rightful heir, whose succession had been recog-
nised by the British authorities, in prison. Lord
Amherst hesitated to give orders for an attack on the
impregnable fort, so Sir David Ochterlony, who, on
receiving news of the revolt, had marched against it
from Delhi, was peremptorily ordered to retire. The
rebuff sank deep into the heart of the brave old
general who had fought under Warren Hastings and
Sir Eyre Coote, and served for fifty years in the
Company's service. He resigned his appointment
as agent in Malw^l and Rajputana, and died two
months afterwards in deep dejection. The news had
now travelled through the bazaars of Central India
that the Company's troops were obliged to halt in
their conquering career before the famed fortress, and
that there were still hopes of the Marathas being able
to defy the dictates of the Governor-General. Dread-
ing the effect of these rumours on the half-subdued
204 LORD AMHERST.
chieftains of Central India the Governor-General at
length directed the Commander-in-Chief, Lord Com-
bermere, to capture the fort, bring the defiant Raja
to submission, and thus check the spread of a
threatened outbreak among the Marathas.
By the 23rd of December, 1825, 25,000 men were
assembled before Bhartpur, and 130 heavy guns
poured forth an incessant fire on the citadel. The
artillery failing to make an impression or effect a
breach on the sun-baked walls, upwards of sixty feet
thick, a mine was driven under the main battery of
the fortress, filled with ten thousand pounds of powder
and exploded. Slowly the whole bastion, crowded
with the unsuspecting infantry and artillerymen, rose
in the air. A mighty roar held the onlookers
spellbound, the flames and smoke leaped forth, and
the rising mass was hurled to pieces, dealing death
among both besieged and besiegers. In the morning
the breach was gained, and after a desperate fight the
strongest fort in India, which had so long defied the
Company's soldiers and sepoys, was captured. Its
defences were razed to the ground, its name is now
almost forgotten in Europe, save that it is borne on
the colours of the Royal Munster Fusiliers, who had
marched sixty miles in eighteen hours to be present at
the final assault, the fifth in which they had taken part.
"Many were the reforms which pressed for attention
during the administration of Lord Amherst, none of
which could be fully carried out till the time of Lord
William Bentinck, during whose rule (1828-183 5)
commenced what may be fitly called the Modern
History of British Administration in India.
XL
LORD WILLIAM BENTINCK (1828 β 1835). β COM-
MENCEMENT OF MODERN HISTORY OF BRITISH
INDIA.
The first task taken in hand by the new Governor-
General was the invidious one of restoring the financial
equilibrium disturbed by the late Burmese war. For
the five years ending 1829 the annual extraordinary
charges had amounted to ;^2,878,ooo, the expenditure
in 1828 exceeding the income by one million sterling.
The first saving of ;^20,ooo annually, effected by
abolishing the extra allowance granted to the Com-
pany's officers when on duty in districts far removed
from headquarters or when engaged in war, brought
down such a storm of censure and indignant remon-
strance on the Governor-General that he found it
advisable in 1830 to restrict the Press from all dis-
cussion of the reduction which had been approved
by the Court of Directors.
A further annual saving of ij millions sterling
was carried out by a reduction of the military
forces in the three Presidencies, while civil expend i-
205
206 LORD WILLIAM BENTINCK.
ture was curtailed by the employment, as far as
possible, of natives in the public service.
In the North-west Provinces Robert Mertins Bird
inaugurated the system of collecting the land revenue
from the village community as a whole β -a system
essentially different from that established in Bengal
by the Permanent Settlement with the Zammdars,
or that carried into effect in Madras by Sir Thomas
Munro.
The most striking of all the reforms made during
the administration of Lord William Bentinck was the
abolition of the custom whereby high-caste Hindu
widows deemed it their sacred duty to burn them-
selves on the funeral pyre of their deceased husbands,
a custom especially in vogue in Lower Bengal. The
custom was a barbarous one of very ancient times,
its later revival in India being due to special and
localised causes. Long before the time of Lord
W. Bentinck efforts had been made to suppress this
outrage against every feeling of humanity and reason.
In the time of Akbar, the great Mughal Emperor,
laws had been enacted to prevent the rite being
carried out by the Hindus, .it being absolutely for-
bidden to burn widows unless permission was granted
by the local Governors at the request of the widow.
In the Portuguese dominions it is recorded, in the
Commentaries of Alfonso de Albuquerque, as pub-
lished by the Hakluyt Society, that : " If any Hindu
died his wife had to burn herself of her own free will,
and when she was proceeding to this self-sacrifice it
was with great merry-making and blowing of music,
saying that she desired to accompany her husband to
C3 cq
Β§2
208 LORD WILLIAM BENTINCK.
the other world. . . . However, when Alfonso de Albu-
querque took the city of Goa he forbade from that
time forth that any more women should be burned,
and though to change one's customs is equal to death
itself, nevertheless they were happy to save their lives,
and spake very highly of him because he had ordered
that there should be no more burning."
The widow who burned herself on the death of her
husband was called a Sati, a feminine noun derived
from a Sanskrit verb, " sad," meaning " to be," so that
a Sati expresses the idea of " a woman who is " β a
woman deemed to exist above all others, a woman
virtuous, brave and religious enough to obey the
ordinances handed down from of old, and sacrifice
herself on her husband's tomb. In India, it must be
remembered that social customs and religious duties
are so interwoven one with the other that the breach
of even the most unimportant detail of family life,
habits of eating, drinking, or ablution become the
subject of religious sanction, bringing down on the
defaulter the Divine wrath. Though the primary
reasons for widow-burning can be found in the
primitive elements of savage society, and in the desire
of the husband that the wife may have no interest in
his decease, still, in India there were special reasons
for its survival and encouragement, especially in the
lower provinces of Bengal, where it was most pre-
valent, the number of widows annually burned, some
voluntarily, some driven by force to the funeral pyre,
or led stupefied with opium or intoxicating drugs,
amounting to upwards of 600 to 800.
In Lower. Bengal the law-books most in use or-
WIDOW BURN INC. 209
dainecl from of old that a widow, if childless, should
be entitled to the use of her husband's property after
his decease, but that she had no power to dispose of
such property by gift, sale, or mortgage. It was
therefore impossible for the childless widow to spend
the property on the periodical performance of the
numerous and costly religious rites which the Hindu
religion and the Brahman priesthood had ordained
to propitiate the soul of the deceased and hasten
its journey through the realms where punishment
was awarded for its evil deeds. It therefore became
necessary to free the property from the possession
of the widow, so that it might pass into the hands
of other heirs competent to distribute it to the Brah-
man priesthood for the presumed benefit of the
deceased. The custom of burning widows was in
vogue among ruder races with whom the Aryans in
India had come in contact, as indeed it had been a
custom among the Aryans themselves in very old
times in their primeval homes in the west. Still
nowhere in the Vedas β the writings held by all Hindus
to declare the revealed Will of God β could any direc-
tion for the unholy rite be found. When efforts were
made to finally put an end to the custom in British
India, the difficulty was speedily surmounted by the
astute Brdhman priesthood. One text in the Rig
Veda gave directions for the conduct of the widow,
on the decease of her husband. It told her that she
should array herself with jewels and then without
tears and without sorrow " go up to the altar first."
The Sanskrit word for " first " is " agre," which
by a slight clerical alteration was made to read
15
2IO LORD WILLIAM BENTINCK.
"agneh," "of the fire." Having thus mutilated the
text the Brahman priests declared that the rite of
widow-burning was a custom inculcated on all high-
caste Hindu widows by a Divine ordinance, and that
the intention of the Governor-General to suppress the
custom was a direct attack on the Hindu religion.
The Government of Lord William Bentinck, with
the concurrence of all civilised natives, passed an Act
on December 4, 1829, declaring that the "practice of
burning or burying alive the widows of Hindus be
illegal and punishable by the Criminal Courts."
One unforeseen result followed on the passing of
this Act. The high-caste widow was left alive, but
with no future.
A girl of high caste in India is betrothed at the
age of three or four. Though this early form of
marriage is imperfect and revocable until the final
ceremony takes place, some time afterwards, when
the bride and bridegroom take seven steps round
the family altar, still if the husband die in the mean-
time, or afterwards, the girl becomes a widow, to
whose relations the very idpa of her remarriage is
abhorrent, for she is considered for ever spiritually
united to the deceased, whose future existence depends
in part on his wife's good or evil deeds.
It was not till the Act XV. of 1856 was passed that
an effort was made to encourage the remarriage of
these Hindu widows, by enacting that " no marriage
contracted with Hindus shall be invalid by reason of
the woman having been previously married or be-
trothed."
That this Act had but slight effect may be seen
THAGS. 211
from the last Census Returns, where it is shown that
there are 23,(X)0,ooo widows in India, 10,165 of them
under four years of age, and 51,876 of them between
five and nine. For those who are of respectable
families, there is but little alleviation from the dull
routine of a life which is deemed to have failed in its
primary purposes, that of being a wife and mother,
for we find from the same Census Returns that in
India there are but 543,495 women who can read or
write, the number of those who can neither read nor
write being 127,726,768, while there are but r8 per
cent, of girls of school-going age attending school.
An equally important service rendered to India
during the administration of Lord William Bentinck
was the rooting out of the Thags, or professional
robbers, whose hereditary occupation was the poison-
ing or strangling of travellers. Some estimate of the
widespread operations of these criminals can be
obtained from the fact that between the years 1826
and 1834, 1,562 of the members of this strange sect
were tried, 1,404 of them being convicted and
sentenced to be hanged or else transported for life'.
The existence of Thags in India had been known
for a long time. In the days of Akbar, it is recorded
that five hundred of them were hanged, while the
accounts of early travellers are full of stories respecting
the insecurity of the roads and dangers of travelling
on account of the atrocities of these professional
murderers.
Thevenot, a French traveller in India in the seven-
teenth century, gives a detailed account of the opera-
tions of the Thags, as carried on between Agra and
212 LORD WILLIAM BRNTINCK.
Delhi. He quaintly details how " the cunningest
robbers in the world are in that country. They use
a certain slip, with a running noose, which they can
cast with so much sleight about a man's neck, when
they are within reach of him, that they never fail, so
that they strangle him in a trice. They have another
cunning trick also to catch travellers ; they send out
a handsome woman upon the road, who, with her hair
dishevelled, seems to be all in tears, sighing and com-
plaining of some misfortune, which she pretends has
befallen her. Now, as she takes the same way that
the traveller goes, he easily falls into conversation
with her, and finding her beautiful, offers her his
assistance, which she accepts ; but he hath no sooner
taken her up behind him on horseback than she
throws the snare about his neck and strangles him."
These Thags wandered to and fro by road and
river, disguised as travellers or rich merchants, wait-
ing for an opportunity to ingratiate themselves into
the company of unsuspecting wayfarers, with whom
they journeyed till they found a suitable place and
time to murder them and 'carry off their valuables.
The strangest fact about these stranglers was that
they travelled about in bands all bound together by
the strictest vows. Their operations were carried on
with the utmost secrecy, no traveller whom they had
ever met being allowed to escape to tell the tale of
his adventures. All their deeds were supposed to be
carried out in honour of the dread Goddess Kali or
Bhavani. To her the pickaxe, which they always
carried with them to dig the graves of their victims,
was consecrated, even the noose with which they
THAGS. 213
strangled their victims was held sacred. After each
successful raid, offerings were made in the temples of
the goddess. Their terrible profession was, unknown to
the British rule, openly recognised by the native land-
holders and heads of villages, who shared in their booty
or purchased their blood-stained and ill-gotten gains.
On being captured and brought before the English
Officers of Justice, the Thags did not hesitate to
proudly recount the full number of the fearful murders
they had perpetrated, never evincing the slightest
signs of repentance or remorse or in any way giving
evidence that they considered their undertakings as
aught but holy and blameless. The story of their
deeds, as detailed by themselves, is now preserved in
manuscript in the archives of the India Office at
Whitehall, and form the weirdest record of human
depravity and wayward wickedness that could possibly
be found in the history of any people laying claim to
be considered sane and reasoning beings. Yet when
these savages were not engaged in their so-called
sacred and lucrative employment they settled down
as peaceful cultivators till the season arrived, and the
omens were propitious, for their operations.
The writings of two semi-orientalised and astute
administrators, Colonel Sleeman and Colonel Meadows!
Taylor, at length drew public attention to the subject,
whereon a special department for the suppression
of the Thags was inaugurated. Within six years
nearly all the members of the fraternity were hanged,
transported, or else sent to the Central Jail at Jabal-
piir to end their days in carpet-making or some other
useful and harmless occupation.
214 LORD WILLIAM BENTINCK.
In isolated parts of India cases of murder still occur
similar to those perpetrated by the Thags, and no
officer who has moved among the more ignorant
classes of the natives and read their thoughts would
venture to assert that if once the strong hand of a
civilising power were removed, crimes, equally savage
md unreasoning, would not again spring to life and \
)e casually ignored by the dreamy dwellers in the i
soothing plains of India.
The Charter of the Company was renewed in 1833
for a further period of twenty years, but the exclu-
sive right of trading with China was abolished, while
the Proprietors' dividend of some ^^"630,000 was in
the future to be paid by an annuity on the revenue.
Lord Macaulay was sent out as an additional or law
member of the Governor-General's Council to stamp
the impress of his imaginative and versatile genius on
the administration, legislation, and history of India.
The first question he had to consider was whether
the higher education of the natives of India, and the
official correspondence, should be carried on in the
classical languages of the East or in English. His
opinion has become historical more for the vigour and
brilliancy of the language in which it was expressed
than for any knowledge he possessed of, or new light
he threw on, the facts he was called on to consider.
Although he confessed that he knew nothing of the
classical languages of the East, still he held " that a
single shelf of a good European library was worth the
whole native literature of India and Arabia," and
further, " that all the historical information which has
been collected from all the books written in the
MACA ULA V. 215
Sanskrit language is less valuable than what may be
found in the most paltry abridgment used at pre-
paratory schools in England. In every branch of
physical or moral philosophy the relative position of
the two nations is nearly the same."
By the Resolution of 1835 it was decided that the
official language of India should be English and that
for the future it should be the medium through which \f
the higher education of the natives should be imparted,
for as Macaulay urged : " Whoever knows that lan-
guage has ready access to all the vast intellectual
wealth which all the wisest nations of the earth have ^
created and hoarded in the course of ninety genera- '
tions. It may safely be said that the literature now
extant in that language is of far greater value
than all the literature which 300 years ago was
extant in all the languages of the world together.
Nor is this all. In India, English is the language
spoken by the ruling class. It is spoken by the higher
class of natives at the seats of Government. It is
likely to become the language of commerce through-
out the seas of the East. It is the language of two
great European Communities which are rising, the
one in the south of Africa, the other in Australasia ;
communities which are every year becoming more
important and more closely connected with our Indian
Empire. Whether we look at the intrinsic value of
our literature or at the particular situation of this
country we shall see the strongest reason to think that
of all foreign tongues, the English tongue is that which
would be the most useful to our native subjects."
XIL
LORD AUCKLAND (1836 β 1 842). β LORD ELLEN-
BOROUGH ( 1 842 β 1 844). β AFGHANISTAN,
Beyond the Company's dominions the Punjab,
ruled over by Ranji't Singh, still remained unannexed.
Further to the west was the wide-flowing Indus, a river
the glories of which had from of old been sung by
the Vedic Rishis. It was to the ancient poets the
boundary of the Holy Land of the Five Rivers
separating the Aryan people from the wild, fierce
tribes beyond. It was the unconquered, mighty,
swift as a young horse, fair as a maiden, clothed in
rich garments, gems, and sweet flowers. Like a
king of battle it roared with the roar of a bull,
leading its tributaries to the front ; from before all
times its path had been dug out by the gods so
that their worshippers might be protected by its
sea of waters. Beyond lay the boundaries of the
world, precipitous mountain ranges, bleak and almost
trackless, weird and forbidding, raising their peaks
higher and higher towards the lofty barriers of the
Hindu Kush and lonely solitudes of the Pamirs closing
in Afghanistan from Central Asia
RUSSIA AND AFGHANISTAN. 21/
In 1809 Shuja-ul-Miilk, grandson of the first Saduzai
King of Afghanistan, xAhmad Shah, had been driven
forth from his kingdom, and came bearing with him
the famed Koh-i-nur diamond wherewith to bid for
the alliance of Ranjit Singh, the Lion of Lahore.
Shah Shuja returned to Afghanistan without the
Koh-i-nur. In exchange for it he received from
Ranjit Singh some Sikh warriors, by whose aid he
hoped to take Kandahar. Dost Muhammad Khan,
a rugged, honest, self-taught, and self-reliant soldier
of the Barakzai clan, who had assumed sway in
Afghanistan, again drove out the weak and distrusted
Shah Shuja, only to find to his rage and mortification
that the crafty ruler of the Punjab had in the mean-
time seized the adjoining province of Peshawar, the
most prized of all the possessions of Afghanistan.
He immediately applied to Lord Auckland for assist-
ance in recovering his lost territories from Ranjit
Singh.
To Lord Auckland the situation was perplexing.
He dared not make an enemy of Ranjit Singh, yet he
was anxious to gain the alliance of Afghanistan, for it
was important that a series of friendly independent
or semi-independent states should be interposed
between the Company's possessions and the rapidly
advancing armies of Russia. By the Treaty of
Turkmanchi, in 1828, Russia had wrested from
Persia some of her districts on the north-west, and
received over 3J millions sterling as an indemnity
for the war expenses as well as an acknowledgment
of a right to keep an armed fleet on the Caspian. To
counterplot this extension of Russia's influence, Lieu-
2l8 LORD AUCKLAND.
tenant Alexander Burnes was sent in 1830 on an
embassy to Ranjit Singh, in 1832 to Bokhara, and
in 1836 to Afghanistan. The Amir was willing to
agree to resist all Russian intrigues, and remain the
firm ally of the Indian. Government if Lord Auckland
would but consent to assist him in the recovery of
Peshawar. To this Lord Auckland would not con-
sent. Dost Muhammad was informed that it had
never been the custom of the British Government
to interfere in the affairs or disputes of independent
states.
The Persian troops, led by a Russian General,
and assisted by Russian officers, had laid siege to
Herat, the gateway to Afghanistan and India, where
the garrison held out under the command of Eldred
Pottinger. An expedition was at once sent from
Bombay up the Persian Gulf, and landed on the
island of Karak which so frightened the Shah of
Persia that he at once withdrew his troops from before
Herat. The siege was raised on the 8th of September,
1838, and India was left free from all Russian intrigues
in that direction. A graver danger threatened from
Kabul. Dost Muhammad, weary of the demands
of Lord Auckland, who would give no promise of
support in return, had dismissed Burnes on the
26th of April, 1838, and received the Russian envoy
Captain Viktevitch. It was at once determined
by the Governor-General and his advisers that
Dost Muhammad should be deposed, and that a
King, friendly to the English, should be placed
on the throne of Afghanistan. On the ist of
October, 1838, a proclamation was issued from
INl'ASION OF AFGHANISTAN. 219
Simla announcing that the Supreme Council had
directed the assemblage of a British force for
service beyond the Indus, in order " to gain for the
British nation in Central Asia that legitimate
influence which an interchange of benefits would
naturally produce." The new King had, however,
to be found to replace the self-willed Dost
Muhammad. Shah Shuja, who had been thrust
forth from Afghanistan by his own people, resided
at Ludhiana, a pensioner of the East India Company,
and was willing to promise all things, to remain a
firm ally of the English, to banish the Russians,
and leave Peshawar safe in the keeping of Ranji't
Singh. It was therefore further proclaimed by the
Governor-General that " His Majesty, Shuja-ul-Mulk,
will enter Afghanistan surrounded by his own troops,
and will be supported against foreign interference and
factious opposition by a British army. The Governor-
General confidently hopes that the Shah will be
speedily replaced on his throne by his own subjects
and adherents, and when he shall be secured in
power, and the independence and integrity of
Afghanistan established, the British army will be
withdrawn."
Under Sir Willoughby Cotton, an army of 9,500
picked men, and four times the number of camp
followers, crossed the Indus at Rohri, while Sir John
Keane, with 5,600 men from Bombay, advanced along
the Indus to join the main body from Bengal, our
"ancient and faithful ally," Ranjit Singh, refusing to
allow a large force to pass through his dominions
towards the direct route to Afghanistan by way of the
220 LORD AUCKLAND.
Khaibar Pass, As the expedition passed through
Sind, held to be a tributary of Afghanistan, its chief-
tains were reduced to submission and made to pay
tribute, the PoHtical Agent having been directed to
inform them that if they resisted, "neither the
ready power to crush and annihilate them, nor the
will to call it into action were wanting if it appeared
requisite, however remotely, for the safety and
integrity of the Anglo-Indian Empire and frpntier."
After a long and weary journey through unknown
deserts where neither supplies nor water could be
obtained, the expedition under Cotton reached the
Bolan Pass on the loth of March. It had already
suffered heavy losses in horses, camels, and camp
followers, the baggage having been plundered on the
route by the uncouth Baluchi robbers who came swarm-
ing round. Through the bleak Bolan Pass the dis-
pirited, cold, and half-fed soldiers held on their way
till they reached Quetta, where Sir John Keane
assumed command, and led them on through the
Khojak Pass towards Kandahar.
On the 8th of May his Majesty Shah Shuja was
paraded through the streets of Kandahar at the head
of the combined British troops to receive the homage
of his wondering subjects who turned away in sullen
indifference from their new King, those alone remain-
ing whom British gold had won, or hopes of future
favours held subservient. On the 2 1st of July the
British army carried Shah Shuja on to Ghazni with
but two days' supplies in the camp and no prospect
of obtaining more in a hostile land. The gates of
Ghazni were blown open by Lieutenant Durand,and in
222 LORD AUCKLAND.
the desperate struggle which ensued for the possession
of the fortress Colonel Sale was cut across the face
with a tulwar, two hundred of the British troops fell,
killed and wounded, and the fierce Afghan defenders
lost five hundred of their number before they sur-
rendered their stronghold and its supplies to the hated
foreigners and their puppet King. On the fall of
Ghazni the Governor-General obtained an Earldom,
Sir John Keane a Peerage, Macnaghten and Pottinger
Baronetcies. Dost Muhammad, on hearing the news
of the fall of Ghazni fled from Kabul across the
Hindu Kush, accompanied by his son, Akbar Khan.
For six days and nights the brave James Outram and
George Lawrence, w ith one hundred followers, rode
after the flying monarch, past the fortified Afghan
villages, over the steep passes of the Hindu Kush to
Bamian, but their guides had been bribed to delay on
the road, so the exiled King escaped to seek aid far
away. Shah Shuja, brilliantly arrayed and decked
with jewels, was led on a white charger through the
bazaars of Kabul, where the people rose not to salaam
before him, but sat scowling beneath their shaggy
eyebrows at the foreigners who had come to seek out
the secrets of their homes and rule them with a rod
of iron.
The Governor-General had proclaimed that when
the King of Afghanistan " shall be secured in power,
and the independence and integrity of Afghanistan
established, the British Army will be withdrawn."
The King who could alone be established in power
in Afghanistan was the able ruler, Dost Muhammad,
w^ho had for a time fled, and the British army sub-
SHAH SHU J A. 223
sequently withdrawn was not the army that paraded
Sh^h Shuja through the streets of Kabul as their
chosen ally, but the army that came to avenge its
slaughter and acknowledge the right of Dost Mu-
hammad to reign.
Ten thousand British soldiers remained in Afghan-
istan during the winter of 1839 to support the weak
Shah Shuja. To conciliate the fierce Pathan hill
robbers of the passes lying between Kdbul and the
Punjab a yearly subsidy was promised them by the
British envoy, while to the Ghilzai tribesmen an annual
allowance of ;^3,ocx) was meted out in order to
induce them to abstain from raiding the convoys
travelling to and from Ghazni and Kandahar. The
winter passed away in ominous quiet. At the request
of Shah Shuja the Ikitish troops were removed from
the spacious and well-fortified citadel, the Bala
Hiss^r, which commanded the city from the west,
and lodged in an open space, surrounded by weak
mud walls, known as the cantonments, a position well
within range of the neighbouring forts and hills.
Still no one dreamed of danger. Dost Muhammad
was an exile in Bokhara, where the British envoys,
Connolly and Stoddart were kept in cruel captivity
and afterwards murdered. D'Arcy Todd was sup-
posed to have won by his gold the friendship of the
ruler of Herat, while, in November, 1839, the Russians
had fallen back with fearful loss to Orenburg after
their disastrous effort to penetrate the .sandy deserts
lying round Khiva.
Peace seemed assured from the Indus to the Oxus.
Shah Shuja listened with becoming submission to the
224 LORD AUCKLAND.
advice of Sir William Macnaghten, the British envoy,
while Dr. Lord ruled and raided the chieftains round
Bamian, beyond the Hindu Kush, as though he were
King over the lands of the weak Shah Shuja. Wise
men had declared before the war began that the
difficulties would only commence when the army had
fully occupied the land, and that not a man would
return alive to tell the tale of Afghan treachery and
vengeance. All these gloomy forebodings were
forgotten, and the envoy rode through the streets of
Kabul in fancied security. The English officers
brought their wives from India, the nobles of
Afghanistan came to visit the gardens in the canton-
ments, bringing presents of grapes, melons, and
peaches, eager to learn how to grow potatoes, peas,
and other vegetables. None seemed to note, or if
they did, to care, how the rage daily burned in the
hearts of the wild, fierce Afghans, as the hated
foreigners wandered through their villages and passed
down their streets, treating with haughty contempt
their jealous looks. A tremor of unrest ran through
the garrison, and the guns were hastily mounted
within the mud walls of the cantonments when the
news came that Dost Muhammad had been released
by the Khdn of Bokhara, and was advancing towards
Bamian at the head of an army of Uzbek and
Hazara cavalry. Later on came the tidings that the
Bengal cavalry had refused to charge against the
advancing foe and had looked on while Dr. Lord was
slain, and their officers, Fraser and Ponsonby, driven
back, wounded and disabled, to carrj^ the news of
their defeat to Sir Robert Sale. It was but a shadow
DOST MUHAMMAD. 22 5
that had fallen across ths path of the British envoy.
On the evening of the 4th of November, 1840, Sir
William Macnaghten was riding home sad and
dejected by the side of (leorge Lawrence, when " a
robust, powerful man, with a sharp aquiline nose, highly
arched eyebrows, and a grey beard and moustache
which evidently had not been trimmed for a long
time," rode rapidly up to them, dismounted from his
horse and seized the stirrup of the envoy, bowing
down in submissive salutation. It was the unfortunate
Dost Muhammad who, weary of his exile and know-
ing that he could no longer resist his fate, had ridden
in to surrender. He was escorted into India by Sir
VVilloughby Cotton, where he was allowed to reside,
being granted a pension of ^,'20,000 a year, his free
and open manners, his strength of character and
honesty making his former foes regret that they had
ever quarrelled with him. Shah Shuja, on the other
hand, is bluntly .described by General Nott as
" certainly as great a scoundrel as ever lived." He
was despised and hated by his ow^i subjects, his
British allies would have been glad if they could
have honestly abandoned him. The occupation of
Afghanistan was costing the Indian Government over
I J millions sterling annually; the military officers,
chafing at the secret intrigues and vacillating policy
of the political officers, were weary of the whole
business, and contented themselves with prognosti-
cating ultimate failure and disaster.
Herat had been abandoned when it was found that
its ruler had only pretended friendship so long as he
could obtain money from the British envoy stationed
iC
226 LORD AUCKLAND.
there. On Sir William Macnaghten the Governor-
General impressed the necessity of making all possible
financial retrenchments : consequently the yearly
subsidy to the hill tribesmen was withheld, whereon
they once again commenced their old guerilla war-
fare, and had to be bought off by Sale, who, while
endeavouring to return to India, was attacked by them
in the defiles of the Khurd Kabul passes. In the
midst of all the uncertainties and dangers gathering
round, the Governor-General appointed General
Elphinstone to the command of the army of occu-
pation, notwithstanding the brave old soldier's remon-
strances that he was physically unsuited for the post,
for as he wrote "if anything were to turn up I am
unfit for it, done up in body and mind."
Not only was the Commander-in-Chief incompetent
to command the army, not only were the cantonments
practically defenceless, but the envoy, Sir William
Macnaghten, was pledged to see nothing but success
follow from all his negotiations, notwithstanding the
fact that he had received reliable news that the
Afghans had sworn that not a foreigner would leave
the country alive, and his destined successor, Sir
Alexander Burnes, lived in the city, carrying on in
fancied security his own intrigues in the midst of
bitter foes, who met nightly to discuss how they
might avenge the insults he had showered on them.
Sudden and swift as a raging cyclonic storm the
devious course of the pent-up fury of the Afghan
race burst on the unsuspecting garrison, guilty and
innocent alike. No pen has dared to fully tell the
tale of insult the Afghans may have had to avenge ;
the terrible vengeance they poured forth on the in-
vaders of their land and homes will ever overshadow
and obliterate the memory of the acts and deeds they
so savagely and indiscriminately punished.
/ On the 1st of November, 1841, Sir William Mac-
naghten wrote that all was well, that the land " was
perfectly quiet from Dan to Beersheba." Early the
next morning the bazaars of Kabul were filled with
excited crowds of armed Afghans, who surged to
and fro calling for the blood of " Sikandar " Burnes
and the gold in the British Treasury. As Sir
Alexander Burnes looked forth from the house
where he had chosen to live in the midst of the
city, he heard the angry roar and saw the Treasury
in flames and his own stables burning. Well he
must have known what the outbreak meant, well he
must have felt that he of all men could hope for no
mercy. As he came forth to speak the bullets flew
past him, and below, the wild eyes of the Afghans
told their hate and savage determination to reap a
fearful vengeance for all past wrongs. The brave
Broadfoot fell by his side ; still the crowd called for
the life of "Sikandar" Burnes. Burnes and his
brother, disguised as natives, essayed to escape
unnoticed through the surrounding crowd, but as
they stole out they were cut to pieces by the
cruel, sharp, heavy knives of the infuriated Afghans
Shah Shuja's sepoy guards tried to make their way
through the crowded streets, where they were fired at
from the housetops and forced to retreat. From the
city, where the Treasury and house of Burnes were in
flames, guns opened fire on the King's palace. From
LORD AUCKLAND.
the British force of five thousand fighting men at the
cantonments no help came. George Lawrence, who
rode to the King for orders, was cut at by an Afghan,
one of his escort was wounded, and he had to flee for
his Hfe. Captain Sturt of the Engineers, son-in-law
of Sir Robert Sale, was stabbed at the palace gates and
KABUL.
{From ^^ Journal of an Afghanistan Prisoner,''
by Lieut. Vincent Eyre.)
carried back senseless to the cantonments. The King,
pallid with fear, not knowing whom to trust, gave
orders and then countermanded them, kept the British
force, w^hich had arrived about noon from the Siya
Sang heights, waiting so long that there was nothing
left for them to do but cover the retreat of the sepoy
FLIGHT. 229
guards from the city. In the cantonments Mac-
naghten rode sadly to and fro, wondering how they
would receive the news in India, trying to persuade
himself that the outbreak would soon be over, while
Brigadier Shelton declared his willingness to fight,
but his belief that there was no hope for the army
of occupation but instant flight from the land so
full of ill-fate to the British. The day wore on
and nothing was done. / Inaction was followed by
despondency, soon to give way to sullen indifference.
From the surrounding villages the. tribesmen thronged
into the city. From Jalalabdd to Kabul, and from
Kabul to Kandahar the land was full of fierce foes.
The fort holding all the supplies, stores, and pro-
visions for the army of occupation was abandoned
to the enemy, leaving but two days' food in the
cantonment for a garrison of five thousand men and
over twelve thousand cynp followers. The British
position was untenable. /From the neighbouring hills
and surrounding fort^ the Afghans picked off the
garrison with unerring aim, firing from rests their
long Jazails or guns, which carried further than the
English muskets. There was no course open to the
envoy but to make the best terms he could with
the enemy and secure his retreat to India. On
the nth of December he promised to give back to
the chiefs their chosen King Dost Muhammad, and to
abandon Shah Shuja if the British army were allowed
to march in safety out of Afghanistan. The treaty
once made, Macnaghten repented. He could not
bear to think that his long-hoped march of triumph
would be turned to an ignominious retreat, and all his
230 LORD AUCKLAND.
bombastic boast over the success of his mission to
be silenced for ever. He determined to make one
final struggle to extricate himself from his difficulties
before he surrendered. Secret negotiations were
opened up with some of the treacherous Afghan
chiefs to see if they could be bribed to take the
side of the English and abandon the national cause
and Dost Muhammad. To Akbar Khan, son of Dost
Muhammad, the envoy offered the sum of ;^300,ooo,
a pension of ;^400,ooo, and to make him Prime
Minister if he would yet stay his hand and support
the still reigning sovereign, Shah Shuja. To all
Akbar Khan feigned to agree. He asked Mac-
naghten to come out from the cantonments and
meet him on the neighbouring slopes of the Siya
Sang hills, where the new treaty migVit in secret
be ratified. The envoy, though warned not to trust
himself within the power of the Afghan, would not
listen. Perhaps he still trusted in his own diplomatic
powers, or it may be he resolved to stake his life in
a final effort to retrieve the situation. With George
Lawrence, Captain Colin Mackenzie, and Captain
Trevor he rode forth on the 23 rd of December to
meet Akbar Khan, who sat waiting on a mound not
three hundred yards from the cantonments, surrounded
by his chieftains and guards. As they drew near the
Afghans closed round, Akbar Khan seized Sir William
Macnaghten by the left wrist, and as the envoy
struggled and cried out, " For the love of God ! "
Akbar Khan in a sudden fury of passion drew a
pistol from his waist and fired. Macnaghten fell,
and in an instant was hewn to pieces by the sharp
THE RETREAT. 23 1
knives of the guards. The envoy's head was carried
to Kdbul, paraded through the city, and then hung
up in the market-place for the crowd to jeer at.
Lawrence and Mackenzie were seized and carried
away on horseback, Trevor was cut down as he
struggled to escape. The garrison watched the
affray from the cantonments, in their consternation
crowding round Macnaghten's escort as it rode back,
to learn full details of the disaster. The cry was for
an immediate retreat on Jalalabad, where Sir Robert
Sale was entrenched. On New Year's Day of 1842
all the enemy's demands were acceded to. Hostages
were given for the immediate evacuation of the country.
The spare guns, arms, and ammunition were delivered
up, the army retaining only six field-pieces. All the
money in the military chest was paid over to the Afghan
chiefs, 6J lakhs of rupees being promised to them when
the retreating force was again safe on Indian soil.
All around, the frozen ground lay buried a foot
deep beneath the falling snow. In the cantonments
the sullen British soldiers, the cowering sepoys, the
half-starved camp followers as they crouched round
their flickering fires made up of stolen furniture, the
women β some with new-born children β all heard with
weary indifference the order given for the march
across the bleak mountains for Jaldlabad. By many
the words which Lady Sale, in those sad hours, kept
repeating to herself must have been remembered with
an equally woful significance : β
" Few, few shall part where many meet,
The snow shall be their winding sheet ;
And every turf beneath their feet
Shall be a soldier's sepulchre."
232 LORD AUCKLAND.
On the morning of the 6th of January 4,500
fighting men, enough in fair fight to have hurled the
cowardly Afghans back to their dens, 12,000 camp
followers, men, women, and children passed over the
razed cantonment walls on the long march which
few survived to tell of. Before the rear-guard had
joined in, the deserted houses in the cantonments
were pillaged and burned, the baggage and spare
stores carried awa}\ As the half-frozen camp
followers sank weary by the roadside, they were slain
by the marauding Afghans who followed up their
retreating foe, firing with their long-ranged Jazails
into the straggling ranks.
Through deep snow, through icy rivers, brooks, and
rivulets the band marched on, their clothes frozen
and stiff, to reach their camp, only five miles out from
Kabul, where neither food nor tents awaited thern.
That night many sank to sleep who never woke.
The survivors needed no bugle-call to summon them
in the early morning to rise and once again face
death. The guns were spiked and left behind, the
numbed sepoys threw away the muskets they could
no longer carry. In front lay the long journey of
one hundred miles to Jalalabad over precipitous
mountain-peaks. From the hillsides the Ghilzai
mountaineers rolled down rocks, and fired into the
crowded mass of soldiers and camp followers. Before
five miles' march was accomplished 500 soldiers and
2,500 followers had fallen. Women carrying infant
children struggled on; Lady Sale, with a bullet in her
arm and three bullet-holes through her mantle, had
to remain behind and comfort her daughter, who sat
thf
DR. BRYDON. 233
weeping by the side of her husband, the gallant
Engineer officer Sturt, now wounded to death by the
stroke from an Afghan knife. The end was close at
hand. On the next day, the 9th, the surviving women
and children, along with Lawrence, Pottinger, and
Mackenzie, were given up as hostages to Akbar Khan.
Not a single sepoy of those who left Kabul on
6th of January lived to reach the Haft Kotal Pass on
the morning of the loth, and by night-time of the
same day only 250 white men reached the Tazin
Valley, 8,200 feet abov'e the sea level. The next
day two hundred fought their way on to the Jagdalak
Pass, where PLlphinstone and Shelton were detained
as hostages by Akbar Khan. The remainder still
fought with all the desperation of despair, tore dow n
the barricades of stone and interlaced trees that
blocked their path, and turned again and again to
face their relentless foes. Step by step death marched
by the side of the last {q.\n remaining victims. The
hill clansmen had sw^orn to let no foreign foe escape
alive through their mountain passes, of \Yhich they
held themselves the hereditary guardians. With calm
patience they followed the dwindling band of heroes.
/ Ox\ the road to Gandamak the last survivors fell
one by one. At Fathabad six officers, all that re-
mained, stayed to beg for food, and but three escaped
to ride on towards Jalalabad. Two were cut down
when within two miles of safety, and Dr. Brydon alone
remained, except those left behind as hostages, out
of the 16,500 who had marched out of K^bul. By
his side rode a fierce Afghan horseman, waiting for
an opportunity to rush in and slay the last of the
2 34 . LORD AUCKLAND.
foreigners. Dr. Brydon's wearied horse made one
fatal stumble, the Afghan rode in and Brydon's sword
was severed at the handle and his knee deep wounded.
As Brydon learned forward in pain, the Afghan, fear-
ing the Englishman was about to draw a pistol, rode
away in haste, leaving the sole survivor to carry the
news of the fatal retreat to Jalalabad, where the
garrison gazed forth from the walls, wondering what
strange fate brought the jaded horseman from the
lonely mountains across the desert valley. β /
All night the beacon fires blazed forth, andrhe clarion
note of the trumpet sent forth by the sentinels on the
walls of Jalalabad died away to a moan up the
mountain-sides, as if in mournful lament that there
was no one left to steal forth from the long valley
of death. From trembling lip to trembling lip the
tale of woe was whispered among the defenders of
Jalaldbdd, but along the bleak hillsides of the Khurd
Kabul Pass the fallen bodies of the soldiers lay wrapt
around with deep silence, where they remained, the
sole memorials of the disastrous advance of the British
army into Afghanistan.
Of those that left Kabul 120, including Lady Sale
and Lady Macnaghten, remained alive in the hands
of Akbar Khdn, while a few sepoys escaped to
Peshawar to spread the story of retreat through the
villages of the Punjab.
The garrison at Ghazni had surrendered, the officers,
including John Nicholson, who afterwards fell at the
siege of Delhi during the Mutiny, being taken
prisoners to Kabul. At Kandahdr Nott and Raw-
linson β afterwards Sir Henry- β held out ; at Jala-
WITHDRA WAL. ^ 235
labad Sale, Broadfoot, and Lawrence remained
entrenched.
Lord Auckland sank beneath the crushing weight
of the " unparalleled errors " and " unparalleled disas-
ters " which had signalised his Governor-Generalship,
and he returned home, to leave to other hands the
rescue of the prisoners and relief of the garrisons still
bravely holding out at Kandahar and Jalaldbad.
Lord Ellenborough reached Calcutta as the new
Governor-General on the 28th of February, 1842,
the herald of a new policy according to which Sale
was to be relieved at Jalalabad, and Nott at Kandahar,
after which the troops were to be " withdrawn ulti-
mately from Afghanistan, not from any deficiency of
means to maintain our position, but because we are
all satisfied that the King we have set up has not, as
we were erroneously led to imagine, the support of
the nation over which he has been placed."
Shah Shuja, as a matter of fact, was killed at Kabul
on the 5th of April, and his body thrown into a ditch,
Akbar Khan having assumed the sovereignty in the
absence of his father. Dost Muhammad.
Not till the same month was General Pollock,
aided by George Clerk and Henry Havelock, able
to restore heart to the sepoys of the relieving force
who had lost all confidence in their officers, and lead
them through the Khaibar Pass.
Jalalabad once relieved. Lord Ellenborough was
reluctantly obliged to consent that the garrison from
Kandahar should join the troops under Pollock and
Sale at Kabul and rescue the prisoners from the hands
of Akbar Khan.
236 LORD AUCKLAND.
Ghazni was accordingly taken and razed to the
ground by Nott, and the Khurd Kabul passes cleared
of the opposing tribesmen by General Pollock. By the
14th of September the British colours were flying once
more over the citadel at Kabul, and the prisoners,
with the exception of General Elphinstone, who had
died regretted by all, safe among their friends and
relations. The Great Bazaar was blown up, and
unfortunately much of the city was given over to
indiscriminate pillage and plunder.
On the 1st of October, 1842, exactly four years
after Lord Auckland's unfortunate declaration of war
the future policy of the Governor-General was declared
by proclamation from Simla by the Secret Depart-
ment of the Indian Council in the following high-
sounding words : β " Disasters unparalleled in their
extent, unless by the errors in which they originated,
and by the treachery by which they were completed
have in one short campaign been avenged upon every
scene of past misfortune ; and repeated victories in the
field . . . have again attached the opinion of invincibility
to the British rule.
" The British Army in possession of Afghanistan
will now be withdrawn to the Satledge. The
Governor-General will leave it to the Afghans
themselves to create a government amidst the
anarchy which is the consequence of their crimes.
"Content with the limits nature appears to have
assigned to its empire, the government of India will
devote all its efforts to the establishment and
maintenance of general peace, to the protection
of the Sovereigns and Chiefs its allies, and to
the prosperity and happiness of its own faithful
subjects.
"The rivers of the Punjab and the Indus, and the
mountain passes, and the barbarous tribes of Afghan-
istan, will be placed between the British army and an
enemy approaching from the west β if, indeed, such
an enemy there can be β and no longer between the
army and its supplies."
The army returned to India in triumph ; Dost
Muhammad went back to Afghanistan to establish
his rule firmer than it had ever been, his last per-
plexing remark to the Governor-General being that
he could not understand why he had been deprived
of his " poor and barren country."
The answer to the question lies in the future. As
long as the ruler of Afghanistan holds his state
independent from foreign influence and is able to
preserve internal peace and prosperity, it will be to
the interests of British rule in India to court his
alliance, support his administration, and by all pos-
sible means strengthen his position.
In 1842 the lesson was learned that Afghanistan
held the elements out of which an independent and
united nationality might possibly in time be evolved,
and that, notwithstanding the vast distance of the
British army from its basis, and the follies of its com-
manders, its power could not ultimately be resisted
by any state surrounding its borders.
One immediate result of the w^ar with Afghanistan
was the conquest of Sind by Sir Charles Napier.
Sind was originally subordinate to Afghanistan, its
Muhammadan rulers, or Amirs, holding a semi-inde-
238 LORD AUCKLAND.
pendent authority along the lower valleys of the
Indus. After the retreat of the British army from
Kabul some of the Amirs became refractory, as was
their wont when occasion offered, and repudiated the
treaties they had made to preserve peace. Lord
EUenborough thereupon resolved to declare war with
them and annex their country. The political morality
of this resolution was tersely summed up by Sir
Charles Napier, who wrote, "We have no right to
seize Sind, yet we shall do so, and a very advanta-
geous, useful, and humane piece of rascality it will be."
Sir Charles Napier marched with 2,700 men against
the army of Sind, consisting of over 20,000 Baluchi's,
whom he completely defeated at the battle of Miani.
The final result of the victory was telegraphed by
Sir Charles Napier to the Governor-General in the
following words : " I have Sind (sinned)." "P^t^^vt .
One last war occupied Lord EUenborough before
he was recalled, in June, 1843, by the Directors who
were more than dissatisfied with his erratic policy
and fondness for military display. On the death of
Jhankuji Sindhia, in 1843, his widow, Tara Bhai, a
girl of twelve, adopted a relative aged eight as son
and heir, whom she succeeded in having enthroned
at Gwalior as Jaiaji Rao Sindhia. The Governor-
General and Tara Bhai disagreed on the choice of a
regent, a disagreement which ultimately resulted in
a declaration of war. The army of Gwalior, which
had reached upwards of 30,000 infantry and 10,000
cavalry, was defeated by the Commander-in-Chief,
Sir Hugh Gough, at Maharajpur, both sides losing
heavily.
MARA TH AS.
239
In a final battle at Panniar on the same date,
December 29, 1843, the Marathas were finally over-
thrown. The Governor-General forced his terms on
the state, the Mardtha army was reduced in num-
bers, and the English contingent raised to a
disciplined force of 10,000 sepoys, a force which
afterwards caused considerable trouble and anxiety
during the Mutiny of 1857.
XIII.
LORD HARDINGE (1844 β 1848;. β THE SIKHS AND
ANNEXATION OF THE PUNJAB.
Probably the most marvellous character in Indian
history is Ranjit Singh, the Lion of Lahore, who for
nearly fifty years held the Punjab in the hollow of
his hand.
In 1836 Baron Hiigel, who was then travelling
in the Punjab, writes : " Ranjit Singh is now 54
years old. The small-pox deprived him, when a
child, of his left eye, whence he gained the surname
of Kana, one eye, and his face is scarred by the same
malady. His beard is thin and grey, with a few dark
hairs in it ; according to the Sikh religious custom, it
reaches a little below his chin and is untrimmed. His
head is square and large for his stature, which, though
naturally short, is now considerably bowed by disease ;
his forehead is remarkably broad. His shoulders
wide, though his arms and hands are quite shrunl
he is the most forbidding human being I have ever
seen. His large, brown, unsteady, and suspicious
eye seems driving into the thoughts of the person
with whom he converses, and his straightforward
240
,1
RANJIt SINGH. 241
questions are put incessantly and in the most laconic
terms. His speech is so much affected by paralysis
that it is no easy matter to understand him."
Such was Ranjit Singh, the craftiest if not the
ablest sovereign who ever founded an empire in India.
Drunken, dissipated, avaricious, cruel, and debauched,
he yet, in the words of Sir Lepel Griffin, " possessed in
an extraordinary degree the qualities without which
the highest success cannot be attained. Men obeyed
him by instinct and because they had no power to
disobey." Illiterate, unable to write, signing his orders
with the impress of his hand dipped in saffron, he
read all men, noble or mean, as if their thoughts
were spread out before him. Though he deemed that
his hospitality had not been fully extended to Gover-
nors-General or British envoys unless he reeled from
their presence intoxicated with his favourite beverage
of " brandy prepared for him, in which were the
strongest sauces compounded from the flesh of every
kind of animal, beef excepted, pearls and jewels, musk
opium," yet no man found him otherwise than fasci-
natingly courteous and clever, able to overreach all
in the subtle finesse of diplomatic intrigue. Callous,
selfish, cold, and false, outrager of all laws of morality
and even decency, deformed, paralysed, with fiendish
cynicism acknowledging the children of his many
wives as his own, he was yet followed to the funeral
pyre by the tears and lamentations of his subjects.
Four of his Ranis, veiled and clothed in white silk,
held his hands ; seven of his fair and beauteous slave
girls, some not fourteen years of age, barefooted and
calm, sat at his feet, while the flames from the sandal-
17
-;^.r-j
HAXJIT SIXGH.
{From " The Court and Camp of Runjcct Sing," by the
Hon. W. G. Osborne.)
RAN J It SINGH. 243
wood and aloes carried their souls and that of their
lord to the abode of the gods ; even his Prime Minister,
Rcija Dhyan Singh, overcome for the time, had to be
forcibly restrained from seeking death when the son
of Ranjit Singh fired the pyre.
Many are the stories told of Ranjit Singh, whose
greed and rapacity were the pivots on which all his
actions turned. When Shdh Shujd, driven out from
Afghanistan, reached India, a hospitable reception
was offered him by Ranjit Singh, who had learned
that the exile carried with him the famed Koh-i-nur
diamond, the early history of which fades away amid
legendary lore and idle fables. It was described by
the Hon. W. G. Osborne, military secretary to the
Earl of Auckland, as " a jewel rivalled if not sur-
passed in brilliancy by the glance of fire which every
now and then shot from the single eye of the Lion
of Lahore." It shone for many years on a pillar
placed on the summit of Akbar's tomb ; it was
worn by Shah Jahan and Aurangzib ; it was
carried away from Delhi by Nddir Shah, and became
the property of Ahmad Shah Durani, from whom it
descended to Shah Shuja.
By threats, entreaties, and promises Ranjit Singh
induced the exiled Afghan King to deliver to him
the celebrated jew^el, which finally, in 1849, ^^s
surrendered to the Queen of England. Nothing
once desired by Ranjit Singh was allowed to re-
main unacquired. He expended 60 lakhs of rupees
and the lives of twelve thousand men before he
finally wrested from the Governor of Peshawar the
second wonder of the East, the wondrous mare Laili,
244 LORD HARDINGE.
a treasure which few could ever induce him to
exhibit, perhaps, because (and this has ahvays been
a disputed point) he never obtained the famed mare,
some other less valuable horse having been sub-
stituted to deceive the avaricious monarch.
Ranjit Singh, at the age of twelve, came into
possession of the lands of his forefathers, and head-
ship of the Sukarchakia Confederacy. Following
the time-honoured custom of his race, he murdered
with his own hands his mother and her lover. By
the time he was twenty years of age he had extended
his influence over the neighbouring districts. He
was then welcomed as Governor of Lahore by the
inhabitants, who were glad to escape from the lust
of their three profligate rulers who had devastated
the city, unroofed the houses, and driven forth half
the citizens to seek shelter elsewhere, from plunder
or worse. By degrees he brought beneath his sway
all the varied chieftains, who, originally cultivators,
had after the raids of Ahmad Shah Durani and the
Afghans, risen to power by gathering round them
bands of fighting men to conquer and annex the
territories which they held, until compelled to ac-
knowledge the supremacy of the new ruler of
Lahore. As Ranjit Singh looked round he saw
that if he desired to hold the Punjab independent
of Afghanistan and the English possessions, he
must organise and discipline an army capable of
united action against all invaders. Up to the
time of Ranjit Singh, local chieftains had enrolled
under their banners bands of Sikh fighting men,
each horseman clad in coat of mail, gold inlaid
THE SIKHS. 245
helmet, and Iieron's plume, or gay-coloured flowing
silk raiment, and armed with spear, matchlock,
sword, and round shield of buffalo hide slung across
his back. These bands considered themselves free
to come and go, serve or desert, as the chances of
reward or plunder became more or less certain.
They formed a brotherhood, in which all were equal
and united in a common, fierce, religious fanaticism β
the Sikh faith. The Sikhs numbered in the time of
Ranji't Singh, probably what they were found to be at
the last Census of 1891, not two millions, while the
Muhammadans and Hindus of the Punjab exceeded
twenty-two millions. The word Sikh merely means
disciple β a disciple of a religious teacher,or guru, w^hose
duty it is to teach and expound the Adi Granth or
sacred Bible of their religion, a book held to be a
revelation from God. Nanak, son of a shopkeeper of
Talwande, near Lahore, was the first guru, or teacher,
of the Sikhs. Born in 1469, he died at the age of
seventy-one, leaving behind him the Adi Granth, a
book still daily worshipped, still preserved with more
than superstitious awe in the Golden Temple of
Amritsar, the sacred shrine of Hari in the Pool of
Immortality. Through the Adi Granth runs the
faint sound of a message proclaimed, afterwards in
clarion notes, by a poet and prophet of New England.
In India the message was no new one ; it had been
proclaimed over and over again, Nanak gave it but
a new and local significance, teaching it to Hindus
and Muhammadans alike β to the Hindus, rank
idolaters, to the Muhammadans, believers in one
God and Muhammad the Prophet of that God.
246 LORD HAKDINGE.
The new teacher did not claim for himself any
Divine attributes, nor did he assert that he had
received any special revelation. Influenced by the
prevailing Muhammadanism of the Punjab, he de-
nounced idolatry, and social distinction founded on
caste laws. Influenced by the Pantheistic teaching
of purer Hinduism, he taught an universal brother-
hood, based on the belief that all life is but an
emanation from a Divine Creator known under
various names, as Supreme Being, God, Brahma,
Govinda, or Hari the appellation chosen by the
Sikhs. The idea that the human soul, or that the
phenomenal world could exist as separate from the
Eternal Cause from which it is evolved, was held
to be a delusive fancy, ever leading men astray.
The soul of man was liable to transmigration
through a continued series of births in bodily forms
until, by an accumulation of virtuous deeds done
during life, the result of all past transgressions was
washed away, and no further rebirth was necessary.
The gurus, or Sikh teachers, also claim the power
to grant exemption from these continual transmigra-
tions.
Nanak was followed by a series of teachers, until
finally, the tenth, and last Guru, Govind Singh,
appeared. His father, Tej Bahadur, the ninth Guru,
had been cruelly tortured and put to death by the
fanatic Mughal Emperor Aurangzib. To avenge his
death and protect the followers of the Sikh faith
from persecution, Govind Singh determined to unite
the disciples together into a brotherhood of soldiers.
Every Sikh soldier on initiation was baptised with
THE K HALS A. 24/
a mixture of water and refined sugar, stirred by a two-
edj^ed dagger, after which he became a member of the
Khalsa, or Army of the Guru, and to his name the
title Singh or Lion was affixed. He had to give up
the use of tobacco, vow to carry a sword and dagger,
not to cut his hair or beard, to abandon the Indian
loin-cloth and wear short drawers reaching to the knees,
to renounce the custom of female infanticide, then
universal in the Punjab, and to free himself from
the laws of caste. Guru Govind Singh having banded
these disciples together into an army breathing fanatic
hatred of all Muhammadans and oppression, it be-
came the dream of Ranjit Singh's life to make that
army invincible. In 1839 the Khalsa consisted of
29,168 men with 192 guns, officered, drilled, and
disciplined after the manner of European troops.
To his aid he summoned officers of acknowledged
ability from many lands, the most noted being
Generals Ventura and Allard, who had served under
Napoleon, Colonel Court a Frenchman, Colonel
Gardner an Irishman, and General Avitabile a
Neapolitan, a name still remembered in terror by
the wild robber tribes, whose raids he punished
with relentless severity ; certain frontier villages
having been granted to him rent free on condition
that he annually delivered fifty Afn'di heads to the
Lion of Lahore.
Ranjit Singh wisely resolved to live in peace with
the Company, being far-seeing enough to know that
the Khalsa could not prevail against its forces.
Even in 1809, when the Governor-General, Lord
Minto, decided to take the Cis-Sutlej chieftains
248 LORD HARDIN GE.
under English protection, Ranjit Singh bowed his
head and strove no longer to extend his supremacy
beyond the Sutlej. Until his death in 1839 he
remained the friend and faithful ally of the
British Government.
Baron Hligel gives a strange account of a con-
versation he held with Ranjit Singh respecting the
rival forces. "'You have seen divisions of all my
troops/ observed Ranjit Singh to me, ' tell me what
you think of them.' I answered that what I had seen
exceeded anything that I could have anticipated.
He still pressed for a more definite answer, and. I
continued, ' The world knows what these troops have
done for you. The answer to your question has
been given by your cannon from Ladak to Multan,
from the Sutlej to the heart of Afghanistan.' ' You
evade my question,' said Ranjit Singh. I answered
that he was a much better judge of soldiers than I.
' Tell me,' he persisted, ' what you think of my troops
compared with those of the East India Company?'
' You require me to do so ? ' ' Yes,' he said. My
attendant had on an imitation Kashmir shawl of
mine, while one of his suite wore a genuine and
very beautiful one. I showed him both, saying,
' This is genuine, the other is imitation β which of the
two is the best ? ' He looked at me, and said, after
a short pause, ' You have expressed my own opinion,
but do you believe that a battalion of my army could
engage with one of the Company's battalions?' 'My
answer is already given in my last question β I do
not.' "
On the death of Ranjit Singh, the master hand
THE K HALS A. 249
that had held in check the surging forces of
fanaticism, ever latent in the Khalsa, was withdrawn.
At Lahore the usual struggle for supremacy took
place. Legitimate descendants of the Lion of Lahore
were assassinated, leaving impostors and soldiers
of fortune to fight amongst themselves. At length
Jindan, a favourite wife of Ranjit Singh, succeeded
in having her son Dhulip Singh, an infant of five years
of age, proclaimed Maharaja, while the real power
remained in the hands of her brother, Jowahir Singh,
and her lover, a good-looking Brahman. The army
daily gained power, dismissed their foreign officers,
Avitabile and Court, and nominated as their repre-
sentatives a Council of five delegates.
This army, under Tej Singh its Commander-in-Chief,
had grown during the six years succeeding the death
of Ranjit Singh, so that it numbered over 70,000 in
1845, more than double what it was in 1839. To keep
this vast army in pay and to prevent it growing
mutinous, it had been despatched to attack Gulab
Singh at Jammu and also against the Governor of
Multan. Everything warned the Governor-General
to be prepared, for to all it was evident that the time
must soon come when the Khalsa in its folly would
encroach on English territory. Avitabile and Court,
foreseeing danger, fled, and took refuge in the
Company's dominions. Sir Henry Hardinge moved
up troops to the frontier β a course objected to by
the Khalsa, an objection carefully fomented by the
regency at Lahore, who saw their safety best secured
by diverting the attention of its army from the capital.
In November, 1845, the Khalsa numbering 60,000
250 LORD HARDINGE.
soldiers, with 40,000 camp-followers and 150 guns
crossed the Sutlej and advanced to Firozshah, where
they entrenched themselves under Lai Singh, sending
forward a division to Miidki to attack the advancing
British troops. An obstinate fight ensued on the
19th of December, the Sikh and British infantry
being about equal in number, the Sikh cavalry
however, exceeded ours fully twenty times. The
English captured seventeen guns, but lost nine
hundred men killed and wounded,- including Major-
General Sir Robert Sale, the defender of Jalalabad.
On December 21st the Governor-General and Sir
Hugh Gough advanced against the main army,
entrenched at Firozshah, about ten miles from Miidki
where Sir J. Littler joined Sir Hugh Gough with over
5,000 men and 24 guns, thus increasing the British
force to 16,700 men and 68 guns. The Governor-
General volunteered as second in command.
The Khalsa, numbering from 30,000 to 70,000 men-
remained behind their entrenchments, which extended
a mile long and half a mile broad, with the village of
Firozshah in their centre. Never before in the annals
of Indian history was there fought a battle so momen-
tous and critical, and never before was the dogged
perseverance of British soldiers and fierce valour of
Sikh infantry so conspicuously displayed. The
British army was in position by 3 p.m., and as the
advance took place the Sikh artillery opened fire at a
distance of three hundred yards. The Governor-
General in a letter gives the details of the opening of
the conflict in the following words : " The batteries
were carried by our brave British Infantry. Sir John
THE FOUR BATTLES. 25 I
Littler told me H.M.'s 62nd gave way when almost in
the battery, but what is the fact ? One hundred and
eighty-five men were killed and wounded in ten minutes
by grape and canister, and can he or any other officer
be surprised that boys, who never before heard a ball
whistle should turn back ?" All day long the stubborn
fight continued, and when night fell there came no
peace to the weary, cold, and thirsty soldiers. The
Governor-General, in a letter to Sir Robert Peel,
describes the weird scene which the battle-field dis-
closed. " A burning camp in our front, our brave
fellows lying down under a heavy cannonade, which
continued during the whole of the night, mixed with
the wild cries of the Sikhs, our English hurrah, the
tramp of men, and the groans of the dying." In the
English camp there was talk of retreat ; amid the
Sikhs there were rumours of treachery, for some of
their horsemen were riding hard for the Sutlej, and
the treasury had been plundered. In the grey morning
the British soldiers, without food or water, their fingers
numbed with cold, seized their muskets, and again the
long, stubborn fight commenced. The Sikhs were at
length driven from their position with the loss of
103 pieces of cannon, but the British force lost
2,415 killed and wounded, including 103 officers.
The wearied troops with their ammunition expended
would have been glad to rest with the field dearly
won, but the cavalry outposts galloped up and
announced the advance of Tej Singh from Firozpur,
with a fresh Sikh army of some twenty thousand
infantry, five thousand cavalry, and seventy guns-
Between the retreating Sikhs and the British army
252 LORD HARDINGE.
Tej Singh drew up his troops, and his artillery opened
fire, which the English guns without ammunition were
unable to answer. Gallantly the exhausted British
cavalry β the 3rd Dragoons β charged into the midst
of the Sikhs, and their very weight drove before them
the lighter horsemen. Tej Singh at once abandoned
the field, left behind him seventy-three guns, and
followed the main force towards the Sutlej. Whether
Tej Singh retreated from prudence, cowardice, or
treachery, is unknown ; the fierce fight was over, and
once again the Company had triumphed, having
defeated the boldest and bravest troops that had yet
faced it in the East.
The Sikh army, under Tej Singh, retreated to a
strong position on the right bank of the Sutlej, below
its junction with the Beas, and there, skilfully en-
trenched, constructed a pontoon bridge across the
river to secure retreat.
In the meantime Sir Harry Smith had driven a
formidable body of the Khalsa from Aliwal across the
Sutlej, and inflicted on them another terrible loss.
The 1 6th Lancers, followed by the 3rd Light Native
Cavalry, charged through the Sikh square of infantry,
and the discomfited foe fled. They left their guns and
stores on the field of battle, and in their endeavours to
cross the river numbers were drowned or else slain
by the artillery which opened fire on them from the
banks.
Sir Harry Smith, proud of his victory, which in his
report he described as " one of the most glorious
victories ever achieved in India by the united effort
of Her Majesty's and the Honourable Company's
THE FOUR BATTLES. 253
troops," joined the Commander-in-Chief, and the united
forces closed round the formidable Sikh entrench-
ments at Sobraon, where thirty thousand of the
best fighting men of the Khalsa, supported by
seventy heavy cannons, awaited the attack.
On the morning of the loth of February, 1846, the
Bengal Home Artillery galloped forward to within
three hundred yards of the Sikh entrenchments
which swept in a semicircle round a bend in the
river Sutlej. The infantry followed, and soon the
conflict raged, centre, right, and left. No Sikh gave
or sought quarter ; fiercely the British troops were
driven back from their batteries, the ist European
Regiment alone losing 197 men out of their reduced
strength of 400, twelve of their officers being killed
or disabled. It was not, as Sir Hugh Gough in his
despatch writes, " until the Cavalry of the left, under
Major-General Sir Joseph Thackwell, had moved
forward and ridden through the openings in the
entrenchments made by our sappers, in single file,
and reformed as they passed them, and the 3rd
Dragoons, whom no obstacle usually held formidable
by horse, appears to check, had on this day, as at
Firozshdh, galloped over and cut down the obstinate
defenders of batteries and field works, and until the
full weight of three divisions of Infantry, with every
field artillery gun which could be sent to their aid,
had been cast into the scale, that victory finally
declared for the British. The fire of the Sikhs first
slackened, and then nearly ceased, and the victors
then pressing them on every side, precipitated them
in masses over their bridge and into the Sutlej, which
254 LORD HARDIXGE.
a sudden rise of 17 inches had rendered hardly
fordable. In their efforts to reach the right bank
through the deepened water they suffered from our
horse artillery a terrible carnage. Hundreds fell
under this cannonade, hundreds upon hundreds were
drowned in attempting the perilous passage. Their
awful slaughter, confusion and dismay, were such as
would have excited compassion in the hearts of their
conquerors, if the Khalsa troops had not, in the
earlier part of the action, sullied their gallantry by
slaughtering and barbarously mangling every wounded
soldier, whom, in the vicissitudes of attack, the fortune
of war left at their mercy."
The four great Sikh battles, Mudki, Firozshah,
Aliwal and Sobraon, were over. On the i8th of
February the Governor-General was met by the Maha-
raja Dhulip Singh, a child of eight years, and Gulab
Singh, the Minister, and at Lahore, in full darbar a
treaty of peace was signed. By this the Sikh army
was reduced to twenty-four thousand men and fifty
guns, the territories between the Beas and the Sutlej
were ceded to the English, and \\ millions sterling
demanded as indemnity for the expenses of the war ;
lands including Kashmir being made over to Gulab
Singh on payment of i^7 50,000. The Koh-i-niir
diamond was produced from a tin box delivered over
to John Lawrence β who for a time lost it β for
transmission to the Queen of England. A British
force of nine thousand men with a Resident, Major
Henry Lawrence, of the Bengal Artillery, was to remain
at Lahore for a year, a period afterwards extended, to
support the authority of the Maharaja Dhulip Singh :
f\1XS AGX/'.W A\n AXDERSOX. 255
\A\ Singh was appointed Prime Minister, and Tej
Singh Commander-in-Chief of the reduced Sikh force.
Raja Lai Singh, the Queen-Mother's lover, did not
long hold his power ; found guilty of conspiring to
prevent the delivery of Kashmir to the new Governor,
Gulab Singh, he was banished from the Punjab, not-
withstanding the entreaties and tears of the Queen-
Mother. As the result, the English troops were
retained in the Punjab for eight years, and a Council
of Regency with Henry Lawrence as Resident, was
appointed to act during the minority of the infant
Maharaja.
The Land of the Five Rivers was at length at rest,
and when Lord Hardinge left for England in 1848,
and Lord Dalhousie succeeded it was confidently
hoped that a long period of peace was in store for the
Company.
Lord Dalhousie, however, had not been six months
in the country before the news came that a second
Sikh war was close at hand. Miilraj, the Sikh
Governor of the important city of Multan, in the
middle valley of the Indus, had offered to resign
sooner than give an account of his stewardship to Sir
PVederick Currie, Resident at Lahore during the
absence of Henry Lawrence. Mr. Vans Agnew of
the Civil Service, and Lieutenant Anderson, assistants
to the Resident, were despatched to receive the
resignation of Mulr^j and to take charge of the
city fortress. All went well, until suddenly, as the
two officers were riding through the city gates, they
were attacked, severely wounded, and only saved from
death by being borne awa}- by their slender escort to
256 LORD HARDING E.
a Muhammadan mosque, unfortunately commanded by
the guns of the fort which now opened fire on the
defenceless Englishmen. A fanatical crowd pressed
near, the mosque was entered where Lieutenant
Anderson lay on a cot unable to move, his hand held
by Vans Agnew, himself sorely wounded.
Calmly they met their fate, " foretelling the day
when thousands of Englishmen should come to
avenge their death and destroy Mulraj, his army,
and fortress."
The news was carried to the nearest English
officer. Lieutenant Herbert Edwardes, then engaged
in pacifying the Bannu district. Gathering together
some hastily raised Pathans, he marched against
Mulraj, whom he drove back into the fortress of Multan.
In vain Herbert Edwardes appealed tothe Commander-
in-Chief for aid, for guns, and a mortar battery with
which he might lay low the fortress. Lord Gough
refused to move troops so far during the hot weather,
and Edwardes was left alone to bay at Mulr^ij during
the long summer months of 1848. The revolt spread
far and wide ; the Khalsa once more panted to meet
the English troops, and down through the Khaibar
Pass swarmed the Afghans, for once having forgotten
their religious feud in their longing to unite with the
Sikhs, and drive their common foe from the Punjab
and regain possession of Peshawar.
The Queen-Mother, detected in her intrigues
against the English, was sent from Lahore to
Benares. Lord Gough now found that instead of
a revolt at Multan he had the whole army of the
Khalsa to deal with. From Sind, Bombay, and
LORD GO UGH. 25/
Firozpur, troops were hurried towards the Punjab,
Lord Dalhousie publicly declaring on October 5,
1848, that if the Sikhs want war "they shall have
it with a vengeance."
It was not until January, 1849, that Multan fell
before the continued assaults of seventeen thousand
troops under General Whish, after forty thousand
shell and shot had poured into it from seventy heavy
cannon.
For Lord Gough the campaign opened disastrously :
in an ill-advised and precipitate attack on the
enemy's position at Ramnagar he lost one of his
guns and some of his best officers, including Colonels
Havelock and Cureton. Angry at his reverse, Lord
Gough did not wait for the troops from Multdn to
join him, but determined to force an action on the
Sikhs who now occupied a strong position at Chilian-
wdla, its front covered with thick jungle interspersed
with ponds and swamps through which it was im-
possible for either infantry or cavalry to advance in
order. Lord Gough commenced the battle with his
usual tactics. The infantry were ordered to advance
and capture the enemy's guns at the point of the
bayonet. In its efforts to gain the Sikh guns, the 24th
Foot lost its colours, 23 officers, and 459 men. Gilbert's
division was outflanked by the enemy, while the
3rd Dragoons, who had ridden forward at a trot,
wheeled round in obedience to a mistaken order, and
retired before the Sikh horse which rode through
the artillery and captured four guns. Darkness put
an end to the terrible day of disaster, and though the
Sikhs were forced back, the Commander-in-Chief
18
258 LORD HARDINGE.
lost 89 of his officers, and 2,337 i^en were left on
the field of battle wounded or dead. When the news
reached home, Lord Gough was recalled, and Sir
Charles Napier hurriedly despatched to succeed him
as Commander-in-Chief
It was not until eight days after the battle of Chilian-
wala, that Multan was captured, and General Whish
released to join Lord Gough with over 9,000 of his men.
On the 20th of February the armies faced each other
for the last time in Indian history. The Sikhs, to
the number of some 50,000, were strongly posted
in front of the fortified town of Giijrat with sixty
cannon. The English, about 20,000 faced them.
For two hours and a half the ninety English guns
played incessantly on the Sikh artillery, and not
until it was silenced did the infantry and cavalry
advance, and drive before them the Khalsa, which fled
in dismay, having left behind fifty-three guns, its
standards, ammunition, tents, and stores. General
Gilbert, with a light force of 12,000 horse and foot,
chased the retreating foe across the Punjab, and on
March 12, 1849, the last cannon was surrendered
at Rawal Pindi, where the remaining Sikh soldiers
came forward and delivered up their arms.
The Punjab, over one and a half times the area
of England and Wales, was at the mercy of Lord
Dalhousie, and he determined to annex it. The
Maharaja Dhulip Singh, who died an exile in 1893,
was allowed a pension of ^12,000 a year, increased to
one of ;^ 1 5,000 in 1856, and to ;^25,ooo in 1862. A
Board, consisting of Henry Lawrence, John Lawrence,
and Charles Greville Mansel, was formed for the
'' nOAA'DS RARELY HAVE ANY TALENT." 259
administration of the new provinces β a system of
government which drew from Sir Charles Napier
the criticism, " Boards rarely have any talent," with
the caustic remark that the Punjab Board formed no
exception to the general rule. The Board was finally
dissolved in 1852, and John Lawrence left as Chief
Commissioner to loyally serve under the iron rule of
Lord Dalhousie, by whom the Sikh army was dis-
solved, the great chieftains shorn of their power and
authority, the people disarmed and enabled, under a
lenient revenue system and freedom from an oppres-
sive taxation, to settle down to a peaceable life, free
from all danger of revolution or external violence,
so that when the Mutiny burst over the north of
India, the Punjab stood firm and its soldiers rode
forth to fight loyally and willingly for their foreign
rulers.
J XIV.
THE MUTINY.
The last great wave of conquest after having over-
lapped, in its onward course, the mountain barriers of
Afghanistan, receded to leave the limits of British
rule firmly established over the Land of the Five
Rivers.
The first great wave on which Clive rose supreme
had swept in gradually from the sea, slowly crept
along the littoral tracts down on the rich alluvial
plains of Bengal, on towards Lucknow, whence it
retreated but to gain strength for its second advance
not fifty years later, in the days of the Marquess
Wellesley, Pausing for a moment in its new-grown
power, it then suddenly burst forth far and wide,
overwhelmed the hosts of Haidar All and Tipu
Sultan, dashed from before its path the fierce
Maratha foemen, enfolded within its embraces the
royal cities of Agra and Delhi, and bore away amid
its seething waters the feeble Mughal Emperor and
the proud Peshwa of Poona.
The third great wave of conquest, in the days of
Lord Dalhousie, spread over one-third more of India.
262 THE MUTINY.
The Punjab was conquered and annexed, and the
overweening insolence of the Burmese humbled,
Tenasserim, Arakan, and Assam seized, thus leaving
open the road up the river to Ava.
The many other annexations of Lord Dalhousie
were the result of local and political causes, each of
which must form its own justification for the course
pursued. The keynote to the policy had been struck
in 1803, when the Raja of Coorg was deposed and
pensioned by Lord William Bentinck on account of
fiendish cruelty and misgovernment, his state in
Mysore annexed, its inhabitants placed under British
protection, and assured that never more would they
have a native ruler placed over them. In Lord
Dalhousie's time it became inevitable that Oudh, the
richest garden of India, should be similarly dealt
with.
Clivc, on acquiring the Diwani of Bengal, Behar,
and Orissa, had been content to enter into an alliance
and treaty of friendship with the rulers of Oudh, to
whom the advice of the Company was administered
through a Resident stationed at Lucknow, the capital.
The administration was carried on by the Nawab
Wazir's own native officers, but the Company was
virtually responsible for holding the state secure
from invasion and free from internal revolution. It
was impossible that such a system could work for
long without showing its inherent weakness. The
Naw^b Wazi'r, or, as he was afterwards styled, the
King of Oudh, freed from all restraint and responsi-
bility, and relieved from danger of revolt on the part
of his subjects, gradually sank into depraved de-
ANNEXATIOX OF OUDH. 263
bauchery. With listless indifference he viewed the
misrule which spread over the country, where the
strong and callous rose to power, the weak and
helpless became slaves to the greed and lust of tax-
collectors and local magnates, and those alone re-
mained secure from the barbarities of marauding;
bands and exactions of their rulers who entrenched
themselves behind the mud walls of their villages.
Lord Wellesley declared in 1801 that nothing
could save the dominions of Oudh from utter ruin
save the control of the entire civil and military
authority by the Company. In 1831 Lord William
Bentinck threatened to depose the King unless the
affairs of the State were amended. In 1837 Lord
Auckland drew the attention of the King to the
wilful oppression, anarchy, and insecurity which pre-
vailed in his dominions, and declared his intention
of assuming the management of the country if the
misrule did not cease β a proceeding which, if carried
out, might have obviated the necessity of annexation.
The disapproval by the Court of Directors of this
policy, though communicated to Lord Auckland, was,
however, not conveyed to the King by the Governor-
General. In 1847 Lord Hardinge, in soldier-like
language, informed the King that if within two years
the administration was not reformed, the duty of the
British would be to assume the government itself.
Colonel Sleeman was despatched to make a pro-
longed journey through Oudh, and reported, in 1851,
that " great crimes stain almost every acre of land in
his dominions, neither age nor sex nor condition are
spared." He further reported that " the soil is good
264 THE MUTINY.
and the surface everyv/here capable of tillage, with
little labour or outlay " ; and " that five years of good
government would make it one of the most beautiful
parterres in nature." In his opinion " the only alter-
native left appears to be for the paramount power to
take upon itself the administration " ; and if this were
done "at least nine-tenths of the people of Oudh
would hail the change as a great blessing." In 1854
Colonel Outram made a full report on the anarchy
that prevailed, the vile life of the King, and the misery
of the unprotected cultivators, seventy-eight of whose
villages were on an average yearly burned and
plundered, the inhabitants tortured, slain, or sold into
slavery. His opinion was that " in upholding the
sovereign power of this effete incapable dynasty, we
do so at the cost of five millions of people." Yet he
wrote more in pain than in anger, for " I have ever
advocated the maintenance of the few remaining
native states in India so long as they retain any prin-
ciple of vitality, and we can uphold them consistently
with our duty as the permanent power in India, and
in accordance with our treaty pledges."
In 1855 the Court of Directors finally decided that
the annexation of Oudh should be carried out by
Lord Dalhousie, who, on the 13th of February, 1856,
recorded that, " in humble reliance on the blessing
of the Almighty (for millions of His creatures will
draw happiness from the change), I approach the
execution of this duty gravely and not without
solicitude, but calmly and altogether without doubt."
The King Wajid All received a pension of ;^i20,cx)0
a year, and after appealing in vain through a mission
THE DOCTRINE OF LAPSE. 265
to England against the sentence, withdrew from
Oudh and took up his residence in Calcutta.
The further annexations of Lord Dalhousie were
deliberately carried out because he considered they
were not only expedient but just.
To every Hindu it is necessary that there should
be a son, real or adoptive, to carry out the funeral
rites enjoined by his religion as obligatory for the
salvation of his soul after death. The adopted son,
whether nominated by the deceased or appointed
with his consent by his widow, has an undoubted
right under Hindu law to succeed to the private
property of his father by adoption, but without the
consent of the paramount power the adopted son has
no inherent right to succeed to the dependent ruler-
ship or chieftainship of his adoptive father's terri-
tories. If the paramount power refuse to recognise
the adoption the estate lapses by default to the
paramount power.
Satara was the first state to which Lord Dalhousie
applied the doctrine of lapse.
After the Mardtha war of 1818, when the power of
the Peshwa was broken in pieces, a portion of his
territories was bestowed on the last descendant of
Sivaji, who was taken from prison and nominated Raja
of Satara with the succession continued to his " sons,
heirs, and successors."
In 1839 the Rdja was deposed and his brother
installed in the chieftainship. To the brother there
were no heirs, but in his last moments he adopted a
son. The Court of Directors thereupon decided, in
accordance with the opinion of the Governor-General,
266 THE MUTINY.
that "we are fully satisfied that by the general law
and custom of India a dependent principality like
that of Satara cannot pass to an adopted heir without
the consent of the paramount power ; that we are
under no pledge, direct or constructive, to give such
consent ; and that the general interests committed to
our charge are best considered by withholding it."
Accordingly Satara was annexed, and this policy
was consistently followed out by Lord Dalhousie in
other cases where he deemed that the establishment
of a permanent British rule would be more conducive
to the happiness and welfare of the people than a
native government.
It was not until after the Mutiny that Lord
Canning formally proclaimed that this policy of
annexation was finally abandoned, that all friendly
chiefs would be allowed for the future to pass on
their succession to adopted sons.
Another annexation made by Lord Dalhousie was
that of the wild hill country to the south-west of
Bengal known as Sambalpur, which lapsed to the
Company on the death of its ruler, who had declined
to accept an heir.
The next case the Governor-General had to deal
with was the Maratha state of Jhansi, ceded by the
Peshwd in 1817, which had gone through a period of
disorder and misrule during the chieftainship of its
first two rulers. When the Rajd died in 1853, leaving
no male heirs, Lord Dalhousie refused to acknowledge
the right of the adopted son, took possession of the
estate, and granted to the enraged widow a pension
for her maintenance β a proceeding which implanted
NANA SAHIB. 267
ill her the seeds of an undying hatred and treasured
store of vengeance against the British Government,
which she poured forth unrelentingly during her
short but brilliant career in the Mutiny.
Many other minor states were similarly annexed,
the most important being Nagpur, a tract now form-
ing four-fifths of the Central provinces, with 113,279
square miles of territory, and a population of twelve
millions of people.
In the south the old title of Nawab, or local
Governor of the Emperors at Delhi, was allowed to
lapse on the death, in 1855, of the last holder without
heirs, an uncle, Azim Jah, being given an allowance
ultimately fixed at ^^30,000 a year.
The most noted, and the most ill-fated, of all Lord
Dalhousie's acts, was the withdrawal of the pension
of ;^8o,ooo a year from Ndna Sahib, the adopted son
of Baji Rao, "the last of the Peshwas." On the
death of Baji Rao, Nana Sahib obtained the fortune
left by his father by adoption, and the estate he had
lived on at Bithur, but he was deprived of the
Peshwa's life pension. Nana Sahib sent emissaries to
E^ngland, and fomented intrigues far and wide.
What part he took in the Mutiny will never be
fully known, except as far as it is certain that he was
responsible for the massacre of Cawnpur.
Well might . Lord Dalhousie write as, on the
journey home, he surveyed the changes which had
come over India in his days : " During the eight
years over which we now look back the British terri-
tories in the East have been largely increased.
Within that time four kingdoms have passed under
268 THE MUTINY.
the sceptre of the Queen of England, and various
chieftainships and separate tracts have been brought
under her sway."
Many greater changes than these Lord Dalhousie
lived to see before he left India, and many more he
knew were soon to come. In 1853 his famous Rail-
way Minute clearly indicated the main lines on
which the great system of railways has been ex-
tended in India by public companies working under
a State guarantee.
In 1854 Sir C. Wood, afterwards Lord Halifax,
drafted the despatch which set forth a new scheme
of State education in India, according to which the
vernacular languages, and neither English nor the
classical languages, were to be the main channel for
the instruction of the native population.
The introduction of the telegraph and half-anna
postage was to the bewildered gaze of the old-fashioned
conservative .native a sign that a new era had dawned
on the East, and that for good or evil the old would
soon pass away. The time seemed already drawing
nigh when the habits, customs, and even religion of
the foreigners might supersede the very principles on
which the whole fabric of social law and order of the
land had for long ages been patiently, if somewhat
fantastically, built up by the cunning hands of the
priestly guides, the Brahman hierarchy, men held
sacred, honoured as possessed of secret lore, and as
the hereditary custodians of all the revealed ordi-
nances of the Divine Creator.
Round about throbbed the deepest emotions which
could sway the whole life of a people. To the
THE SEPOYS. 269
natives the coming and going of their rulers mattered
not ; they Hved in a land accustomed for long cen-
turies past to ever-changing scenes of continuous
strife and warfare, to the rise and fall of principalities
and empires, all more splendid in their barbaric pomp
and wealth than the strong iron rule of the British.
Even nature itself was ever restless, storms, famines,
and pestilence arising sudden amid profound calm
and quiet, to rage to and fro and then pass away
leaving the stillness of death behind. The people
had long learned to bow their heads before the con-
quering hands of their invaders, and the swift, sudden
vengeance of their many gods, who dwelt far away in
the changing heavens or abode near at hand in the
sacred groves, and on the thresholds of their homes.
Amid all changes the village life remained unaltered :
the cultivator heeded not the passing wave of con-
quest, the village folk still listened to the legendary
tales of old, they still held to the customs and occu-
pations of their forefathers, and the power of the
Brahmans held sway.
So long as no more than the customary amount of
taxation was exacted it mattered not much who
ruled the land. Of national life, national feeling,
there is even now but little ; the people of India are
divided from one another by race, language, and
sentiment even more than are the Russian, German,
French, Italian, English, from one another in the
West.
For one hundred years the inhabitants of the land
had watched unmoved the growth of the English
power. The rule of the Mughal Emperor had faded
2 JO THE MUTINY.
away, the last representative lived in obscurity in his
palace at Delhi, surrounded by a few -retainers, and
the order of the Governor-General had gone forth that
on his death the child of his favourite wife would be
removed from Delhi, the imperial city of his fore-
fathers, and deprived of the title and dignity of King.
From the time when Clive defended Arcot native
troops had fought willingly under the command of
the English. When Siraj-ud-Daula sealed his fate
by the outrage of the Black Hole of Calcutta, Clive
brought with him from Madras, where there were ten
thousand sepoys, two well-drilled battalions to aid
the English troops, then but some nine hundred in
number. Eight years afterwards the English had
disciplined nineteen battalions of Bengal sepoys, each
battalion one thousand strong. Assured of the
loyalty of these native troops, the rulers would keep
in check the disbanded troopers and Talukdars,
hereditary rent-collectors or landlords of Oudh ;
they could enforce the decisions of the I nam Com-
missions, who had in a few years examined the titles
and confiscated three-fifths of thirty-five thousand
estates for want of title β estates granted to the
holders by former native rulers for services rendered
without any formal record ; they could neglect the
brooding hate of the heir to the throne of the
Peshwas and silent wrath of the widowed Rani of
Jhdnsi, deem that the fierce soldiers of Holkar and
Sindhia would cease to dream of lawless rapine and
deeds of bravery, that men whose fortunes had been
carved out by the sword would rejoice when naught
was left them to fight for. Through all the sepoy
PREVIOUS MUTINIES. 2J\
would stand firm so long as his pay, his caste, his
hereditary habits and religious sentiments were left
untouched, but in defence of these he had often
shown how calmly he could sacrifice even his life.
y In 1764, when on the eve of the battle of Baksar
the prize-money demanded by the English troops
was withheld from the sepoys in proportions they
considered their due, their native officers came forth
and openly declared that their troops would not fight
in the coming battle. Four tall grenadiers, who had
often led their comrades in many an action, and held
as a right the foremost post in hours of peril, now
stepped forward and claimed the privilege of dying
first of those condemned to death for mutiny. They
were tied to guns and blown to pieces. Twenty-four
of the sepoys had the same retribution meted out to
them by the unflinching command of Major Hector
Munro, who knew the danger that lurked beneath
rebellion not speedily repressed.
At Vellore, in 1806, the sepoys, roused by insults
and childish repressions, again rose in mutiny,
murdered their officers and the European soldiers
quartered in the fort, only to fall themselves, slain
beneath the sabres of Gillespie's dragoons. The same
note of warning had again and again been sounded ;
the sepoys stolidly and consistently showing that,
willing as they were to fight for the English, they
would not tamely brook interference with their
cherished rights, habits, and beliefs./
The 47th had been mowed down rather than sail
across the black waters during the first Burmese war ;
the 34th had been struck off the army list sooner than
2/2 ^ THE MUTINY.
march to Sind without receiving extra allowance ;
the 66th had been disbanded for refusing to serve in
the Punjab without extra pay. Lord Dalhousie had
to acknowledge the right of the 38th to refuse to
embark for service in Arakan during the second
Burmese war, while Lord Canning found, to his
surprise, that nine-twelfths of the whole Bengal army
could absolutely refuse to serve beyond the seas.
Sir Charles Napier resigned his office as Com-
mander-in-Chief when Lord Dalhousie refused to
acknowledge the necessity for exceptional treatment
of the troops in the Punjab. The Governor-General
at the time wrote as follows : " There is no justifica-
tion for the cry that India was in danger. Free from
all threats of hostilities from without, and secure,
through the submission of its new subjects, from
insurrection within, the safety of India has never for
one moment been imperilled by the partial insubordi-
nation in the ranks of the army." This view was sup-
ported by the Duke of Wellington in his memorandum
on the matter : " A close examination of the papers
sent to me by Sir Charles Napier himself, with his
report of the transaction, convinced me that there was
no mutiny of the troops at Wazirabad in December,
1849, ^^d January, 1850. There were murmurings
and complaints, but no mutiny. But it appears,
according to Sir Charles Napier's statement, that
there existed in the country a general mutiny, which
pervaded the whole army of 40,000 men in the
Punjab in the month of January, 1850."
Vigorous and triumphant as the policy of Lord
Dalhousie was there were not a few who saw the
CHRISTIANITY, 2/3
elements of danger in the rapid changes that had
taken place during his administration. A period of
rest was needed to allow both the people and their
rulers to determine to what extent the ideals and
principles of Western progress and development
might with advantage and safety be introduced into
the East. Lord Palmerston had, in 1855, expressed
a hope not unlonged for by many, when, at the banquet
given by the Court of Directors, he announced that
" perhaps it might be our lot to confer on the count-
less millions of India a higher and nobler gift than
any mere human knowledge" β a gift that, with a
fervour rising above criticism, English officers had
endeavoured to induce their sepoys to accept^/ " I
have been in the habit," declared an English officer
in 1857, "of speaking to natives of all classes, sepoys
and others, making no distinction, since there is no
respect of persons with God, on the subject of our
religion, in the highways, cities, bazaars, and villages
β not in the lines and regimental bazaars. I have
done this from a conviction that every converted
Christian is expected, or rather commanded by the
Scriptures, to make known the glad tidings of salva-
tion to his fellow creatures." /
Many more forcible instances might be given of
commanders and administrators seeking to spread
abroad the faith in which they found their surest
solace in this world and firmest hopes of a hereafter,
were it not for the fact that it is absolutely impossible
that any scheme devised for the conversion of the
natives of India to Christianity could affect their feel-
ings of good or ill-will.
J19
274 '^HE MUTINY.
To the majority of the natives of India, who are
still sunk in superstition, animism, and fetishism, the
subject of religion, as apart from social observances,
has but little meaning or interest, while for the
educated class all discussion on the subject is received
with open-minded candour, so long as no effort is
made to interfere with their customs and social
ordinances.
Thus the law proposed by Lord Dalhousie and
passed by Lord Canning to encourage the remarriage
of Hindu widows, a law striving to alter a custom
founded on religious sentiment, was destined to
remain a dead letter and of but little practical
importance.
There were dangers, far deeper and independent
of these, known to all men, yet when they came
those who had watched their growth were unprepared
to meet them. In February, 1856, Dalhousie had
spoken warning words in Calcutta with reference to the
Santal insurrection when he said, " No prudent men
having any knowledge of Eastern affairs would ever
venture to predict a prolonged continuance of peace
in India β insurrection may rise like an exhalation
from the earth, and cruel violence worse than all the
excesses of war, may be suddenly committed by men
who to the very day on which they broke out in their
frenzy of blood, have been regarded as a simple
harmless and timid race." In August, 1855, Lord
Canning, at the farewell banquet given by the
Directors, sent his hearers away wondering at the
solemnity of his words, as he gave warning that
" We must not forget that in the sky of India, serene
THE NATIVE ARMY. 2^$
as it is, a small cloud may arise, at first no bigger
than a man's hand, but which growing bigger and
bigger may at last threaten to overwhelm us with
ruin."
When Lord Canning reached India he found there
were but 45,332 European troops to 233,000 sepoys,
and 12,000 native gunners to 6,500 European, while
for the 750 miles stretching from Barrackpur to Agra,
there was only one European regiment at Dindpur.
Lord Dalhousie's remonstrances, minutes, and warn-
ings had been neglected, two European regiments
had been withdrawn for service in the Crimea, and
not replaced ; others had been sent to the Persian
Gulf under Sir James Outram to force the Shah to
retire from Herat.
Strange stories came from the Crimea : it was
rumoured that the English had been defeated by the
Czar, who was now prepared to invade India. A
/ proclamation was posted on the walls of the Jumma
/ Musjid at Delhi, in which all true Muhammadans
were called upon to be ready to join an army, soon to
be sent by the Shah of Persia to restore the true faith
and drive the English out of India. Among the people
it was whispered that it had been prophesied of old
that a white race should rule for one hundred years
in the sacred land of India, and that now the days
were numbered up since the field of Plassey. Rumours
of change flew with winged speed. All men knew that
strange things were happening of which they hesitated
to speak ; midnight meetings of the sepoys were
followed by sudden and sullen disrespect towards
their officers. Nana Sahib was passing to and fro from
2/6 , THE MUTINY.
Bithur to Kalpi, to Delhi and Lucknow. A learned
Mulvi from Faizabad in Oudh had journeyed through
Delhi, Meerut, Patna, and Calcutta, preaching sedition,
deftly weaving the hidden threads of a widespread
conspiracy before the very eyes of the English
officers, who smiled at the superstitious ways of the
people who were sending Chapatis, or small pieces of
unleavened bread, from village to village, none know-
ing why or by whose order, but all feeling that some
strange secret was abroad in their midst.
Louder grew the rumours ; the sepoys spoke out
their fears that the English desired to break down
their laws of caste and customs so that they might
sail over the seas and conquer the world. All might
have passed without history knowing of the strange
story were it not that the whole edifice of folly was
crowned by a stupendous blunder, fraught with fatal
consequences.
The old " Brown Bess " musket had been discarded
for the English rifle, which required specially greased
cartridges. Some cartridges had been sent out from
England, some were manufactured at Calcutta and
at Meerut. Suddenly, fropi January, 1857, the news
spread like wildfire that the cartridges had been
greased with the fat of pigs and cows β the first an
animal abhorred by all Muhammadans and even
English people residing in the East, the last an
animal held sacred by all Hindus, the slaying of
which is even to-day prohibited in many purely
native states and resented so much by the Sikhs
from sentiment, and not from religious feeling, that
it was accounted one of the primary causes of
DISCONTENT. 277
the second Sikh war. It was impossible to retrieve
the blunder, it was impossible to explain it away or
reassure the natives that no such cartridges would in
the future be issued, that the sepoys might manu-
facture their own cartridges or have full proof that no
polluting material would be used.
Panic spread, carefully fomented by the cunning
skill of the discontented.
At Barrackpur fires broke out in the cantonments
and civil lines ; at Berhampur, 1 20 miles to the north
of Calcutta, the 19th Native Infantry flatly refused
to receive even the percussion caps served out to
them on parade, and the anger of their commanding
officer, Colonel Mitchell only increased their sus-
picions.
At Barrackpur Colonel Hearsey endeavoured to
allay the excitement of his troops, the 34th Native
Infantry. He assured them that they might grease
their own cartridges, that it was childish to suppose
the Government had any desire to interfere with
their caste or religion : his words fell on unbelieving
cars.
In Calcutta the news was received with consterna-
tion ; plots had been discovered whereby the fort was
to be seized by the natives and all the English mur-
dered during a garden-fete to be given by Maharaja
Sindhia at the Botanical Gardens across the Hugh' β
a plot supposed to have been frustrated by the rain
falling and the proposed fete-day being abandoned.
From Calcutta to Dinapur, some 300 miles away^
there was but a single English regiment on which the
safety of Bengal depended. The 84th was hastily
27B THE MUTINY.
summoned from Rangoon while the 19th Native
Infantry, having on its muster 400 high caste
Brahmans, was, on March 31st, paid off and dis-
banded, the sepoys, as they marched away vowing
vengeance on the 34th Native Infantry, who had
told them the story of the polluted cartridges.
' Two days before a young sepoy of the 34th Native
Infantry, Manghal Pandi, marched out in front of the
Quarter Guard and fired at his adjutant, whom he cut
down v/ith his sword. As the two struggled on the
ground, only one single Muhammadan out of all the
assembled sepoys came to the assistance of the
English officer. If the promptitude and presence of
mind displayed on the occasion by the commanding
oflficer, Colonel Hearsey, had been afterwards shown
at Meerut, the Mutiny would have been quickly
checked. Having heard the news he hastily rode
down wit'h his two sons to the parade-ground. As he
approached, cries of warning came that the sepoy was
taking aim: "Damn his musket !" cried the colonel,
who turned and charged his son, in case he fell, to
ride the mutineer down. Manghal Pandi waited not ;
grounding his gun he placed his foot on the trigger
and fell wounded to the ground. On the 8th of April
he was hanged in front of the regiment, which was
disbanded towards the end of the month. By many
it was considered that a fatal leniency had been shown,
especially in the case of some of the sepoys who had
struck their adjutant when he was attacked by Manghal
Pandi. /
Meanwhile the panic spread to Ambala, one
thousand miles from Calcutta. There the sepoys
HENRY LAWRENCE.
(From " A Year on the Punjab Frontier," by Major Herbert Edwardcs.)
280 THE MUTINY.
refused to receive the cartridges, and Lord Canning
refused to give way, for now there were no grounds
for suspecting that they had not been properly
manufactured.
From Cawnpur worse news came, for there the
sepoys would not accept the Government flour, which
they alleged had been mingled with the dust of cow
bones so that the caste of the Hindus might be
destroyed.
From Oudh came similar news. Sir Henry
Lawrence had to disarm the 7th Oudh Irregular
Infantry who likewise refused to receive the cart-
ridges. From Meerut came the worse tidings of all
β eighty-five troopers of the 3rd Native Cavalry had
declined even to touch the cartridges. They were
tried by court-martial, and in May awarded from
six to ten years' imprisonment each.
On the morning of the 9th of May the eighty-five
men were marched down to the parade-ground, and
in front of a regiment of English dragoons, the 60th
Rifles, a strong force of horse and foot artillery,
and the nth and 20th Regiments of the Native
Infantry, they were stripped of their uniform, heavily
ironed, and marched to the gaol, where they were
placed under a guard of sepoys.
On the morning of the next day, Sunday, General
Hewitt telegraphed to headquarters that the sentence
had been carried out, and that the behaviour of the rest
of the native troops was excellent, while private letters
received from the officers of the native regiments told
that the sepoys were never behaving better. The day
passed as usual in the English cantonment, the
I
MUTINY AT MEERUT. 28 1
English officers and European soldiers waited for the
long, hot day to cease when in the quickly fading
twilight the tolling of the bell would rouse them for
the church parade. In the distant sepoy lines wild
commotion raged ; there all spoke of the foul injustice
meted out to the eighty-five troopers who had pre-
ferred to leave a regiment, so long their home, rather
than lose their honour here and hopes of an eternal
hereafter. They spoke of the coming downfall of the
English rule ; of the Emperor at Delhi who was ready
to proclaim himself once more and gather round his
banner all who would fight against the revilers of the
true Muhammadan faith and defilers of the caste-laws
of the Hindus. The native servants collected in groups
behind their masters' bungalows, and spoke in whispers
of the coming night, a few stole forward at the last
moment to beg those they had long served not to go
that evening to the church. Some of the English
officers having heard of the excitement hastened to
the lines where the sepoys were quartered. Colonel
Einnis, commandant of the nth Native Infantry rode
up to address the sepoys ; he was riddled with bullets,
his death being followed by that of Captain Mac-
donald of the 20th.
The 3rd Native Cavalry had, in the meantime,
gone to the gaol and brought back in triumph their
eighty-five imprisoned companions to join with the
sepoys of the nth and 20th, who had now broken
into open mutiny.
The bazaars soon thronged with crowds armed with
sticks, staves, spears, and swords eager for the coming
carnival of riot, plunder, and unrestrained licence.
262 THE MUTINY.
The Europeans in the cantonments on their way to
church saw in the distance the flames shoot out from
the west, where the bungalows were burning, while
nearer and nearer sounded the musket-shots and cries
of the mob as it issued forth from the city to shoot them
down as they hurried home in their carriages and en-
deavoured to escape through the swiftness of their
horses. Though there were enough English troops,
artillery, rifles, and carabineers to scatter the muti-
neers and all the badmashes of the city from out
of Meerut, there was no head to guide them, no
Gillespie as at Vellore, no Hearsey as at Barrackpur,
to lead them forth and save India from the horrors
that ensued. Useless it is now to recall the mournful
tale of divided counsel, repudiated responsibility, and
senile incapacity which held the English troops in
check that night of the i8th of May, while English
women were crying for help or waiting for death to
relieve them from an even more dreadful fate, while
innocent children were being hewn in pieces, while
houses were being burned and plundered by escaped
malefactors, and the raging mob of vile wretches
which an Eastern city ever holds in its midst was
roused to lawless passion by scenes of bloodshed and
destruction.
All night long the fires raged in Meerut ; the Euro-
pean civil inhabitants sought shelter with their wives
and children in the gardens surrounding the smoulder-
ing embers of their late homes ; women left without
their husbands were brutally murdered, a few being
guarded safely to places of refuge by faithful troopers
and servants.
THE REBELS AT DELHI. 283
In the morning the marauding bands crept back to
the city and neighbouring villages, and the garrison
was left to gather together the mutilated corpses of
the slain in the theatre of the station.
The sepoys, terrified by their deeds, escaped to
their homes ; the cavalry rode on to Delhi, there to
proclaim the effete King once more Emperor of India.
The overwhelming force at Meerut took no ven-
geance on the guilty city, nor were the mutineers
followed to Delhi, which was left to its fate.
Early in the morning of the nth of May the
escaped cavalry bivouacked in the Diwan-i-Am, or
Public Hall of Audience, at Delhi, where they clamoured
for the aged Emperor Bahadur Shah to claim his
Empire and receive their homage, for the English
garrison at Meerut had been defeated.
Captain Douglas, the commandant of the palace
guards, Mr. Jennings, the chaplain, his daughter and
a lady staying with them, were soon slain ; Mr. Eraser,
the commissioner, was cut down in the palace at the
foot of the stairs, his head paraded through the streets
and carried to the Mughal Emperor, that he might
know of the fall of the English rule.
Swift flashed the news to Ambala, the signaller
having to fly before the mutineers ths moment he
sent the message.
The English bungalows were burned, the Delhi
College sacked, Mr. Taylor, the principal, and his
assistants killed, and men, women, and children were
hunted out and murdered. Mr. Beresford, of the
Delhi Bank, with his wife and two daughters bravely
defended themselves with spears on the roof of their
284 THE MUTINY.
home until at length they were slain, thus escaping
the insults, torments and cruel death which awaited
those who were captured and murdered afterwards
on the 13th and i6th of May, when nigh on fifty
captives were ruthlessly butchered in the palace.
Colonel Ripley marched his sepoys, those of the
54th Native Infantry, from their cantonments on the
ridge outside Delhi against the mutineers in the
city ; but as he gave the order to charge he was cut
down, and received fifteen wounds ; of his officers.
Captains Smith and Burrows, Lieutenants Edwards
and Waterfield, and Dr. Dopping were killed, and
Captain Gordon, of the 74th, fell shot through the
heart.
^ The 38th Native Regiment, now also openly
mutinous, deserted to join the rebel camp in the
city. On the ridge the English officers, the rescued
women and children, were grouped together in the
flagstaff tower, doubting if it were better to fly or
wait for aid from Meerut or Agra. Suddenly from
the city a vast column of black smoke rushed upward,
and the flames leaped high, throwing a lurid light far
and wide, followed by a mighty roar, the signal to
the survivors that for them no longer remained any.
hope. Lieutenant Willoughby and his garrison of
eight heroes, sooner than yield their charge, had
blown up the powder magazine, and scattered death
and destruction amid the mass of natives who swarmed
on and around its wall. Of those who escaped from
the city by being lowered from its ramparts, and of
those who hurried from the flagstaff tower, many fled to
the open country, to be there slain by the villagers ;
DELA y. 28
Others, men bleeding from many wounds, women
carrying infants but a few months old, slowly stole on
during the night-time or else wearily wandered on in
the daytime, bareheaded and barefooted, faint beneath
a burning sun, sometimes beaten, sometimes insulted,
occasionally meeting with kindness, and snatching a
hasty meal stealthily brought to them by those natives
who deplored their forlorn condition but feared to
aid them openly. At length, after many days and
nights of pain, they were released from their suffering
by death or else happily found refuge among friends
at Agra, Karnal, or Ambala. Delhi was left in the
hands of the rebels, where the aged Emperor again
sat on the throne of his forefathers, whence he issued
his feeble orders to the troops who, under the nominal
command of Mirza Mughal, the Emperor's son,
defied all authority, pillaged, robbed and plundered
the merchants, bringing back to the people memories
of the old days when Nadir Shah devastated their
land. /
Wfen the news reached Ambala the Commander-
in-Chief, General Anson, had to wait nearly a month
before he could assemble together 3,800 troops, it
being found even then absolutely impossible to collect
the necessary transport.
Ere the avenging army reached Karnal on the 27th
of May, General Anson was seized with cholera and
died; It was not until the 8th of June that the small
army, now under General Barnard, reached Badliki-
Sarai, six miles from Delhi, where they found the
mutineers strongly entrenched, and determined to
dispute the passage by the Trunk Road.
286 THE MUTINY.
The Europeans, 3,000 in number, supported by one
battalion of Gurkhas and twenty-four guns, drove the
enemy back into Delhi, and captured twenty-six of their
guns. Unable to enter the city, the British troops
took up their position along the historic ridge running
two miles to the north and west of the fort, within
range of the heavy guns, howitzers and mortars of
the mutineers. To assault the fort was found im-
possible. Eight thousand sepoys, well drilled, well
provisioned, with more than enough guns, stood
entrenched behind the massive masonry walls, 12 feet
thick, seven miles in extent, strengthened by nume-
rous bastions, each holding ten to fourteen heavy
pieces of artillery, surrounded by a wide, dry ditch 24
feet deep. To the mutineers new allies flocked daily,
until by the end of June the force at Delhi reached a
total of 30,000, watched by a British army of 6,500
men.
The Europeans could do little but entrench them-
selves, hold the ridge, and wait anxiously for reinforce-
ments from Calcutta, nine hundred miles away, or
from the Punjab, where John Lawrence had 10,000
Europeans in twelve regiments, 36,000 Bengal sepoys,
and 20,000 irregular Punjab troops and police.
Small hope of help from the Bengal sepoys, for of
seventy-four infantry regiments but six remained true.
In the Punjab John Lawrence could do little more
than maintain his position, secure the arsenal at
Firozpur with its siege train and stores of ammunition,
disarm his native troops, or if they mutinied attack
and disperse them.
In Oudh Sir Henry Lawrence was left to face some
UNPOPULARITY OF CANNING, 28/
twenty battalions of native troops with one British
regiment, while at Allahabad, the key to the disturbed
districts, the sepoy regiments mutinied on the 8th of
June.
In the whole of India there were but 39,000 British
troops to face 225,000 more or less disaffected sepoys.
From England upwards of 30,000 soldiers were sent ;
from Bombay, Ceylon, and Madras troops were
summoned, while Lord Elgin hastened to land the
force destined for the China war. Amid the clamoui
of impetuous counsel, and hasty cries for indiscriminate
vengeance against the whole native race. Lord Canning
stood calm and resolute. Well was it for England
that in the solemn hour when her foster-children went
forth and proclaimed that they were not of her kith
and kin, she found one man strong enough to stand
forth and proclaim, " I will not govern in anger. . . .
I will never allow an angry and undiscriminating act
or word to proceed from the Government of India as
long as I am responsible for it."
What need to dim the glory of the picture by
stories of futile squabblings of piqued volunteers and
angered pressmen, when Lord Canning faced India
mutinous from Nagpur to Bombay, from Simla to
Haidarabad ; when John Lawrence, Edwardes, and
Nicholson held the Punjab safe in the hollow of their
hand ; when Henry Lawrence did his duty at Luck-
now, when the names of Havelock and Outram will
ever be associated, by all those who boast of British
blood, with the memories of undying deeds ; when
John Colvin uncomplainingly laid down his head
on the table in the fort of Agra to die, wearied
288 THE MUTINY.
with many troubles and lapsed hopes; when Colin
Campbell, cautious and careful, slowly and surely
rolled the mutineers before him ; when Sir Hugh
Rose, Baron Strathnairn, of Strathnairn and Jhansi,
rode through Central India with lightning speed,
breaking down almost impenetrable fortresses just
" as a pack of cards falls at the touch of a hand " !
Of ultimate success Canning never doubted, though
day by day came news of fresh and overwhelming
disasters.
Calcutta had at the outbreak of the Mutiny
but one English regiment, there being none other
nearer than Dinapur, where three sepoy regiments
mutinied on the 25th of July. At Arrah, twenty-
five miles to the west of Dinapur, the Europeans,
nine in number, with six Eurasians, sent off their
women and children, and took refuge in a small
double-storied billiard-house, the front verandah of
which had been bricked up without mortar or
cement by Vicars Boyle, a railway engineer. Fifty
Sikhs were sent to their assistance, the command
being taken by Herwald Wake the magistrate. On
the morning of the 27th of July the siege commenced.
The mutineers of the 7th, 8th, and 46th Native
Infantry, aided by levies under Kunwar Singh, a
local landowner, surrounded the billiard-room and
commenced the assault.
The next day two small cannons were brought to
play on the weak walls, mines were sunk, fires lighted
and bags of chillies thrown on them in the hope that
the wind would carry the suffocating smoke to the
garrison and force them out ; still the little band held
THE DEFENCE OF A A' RAH. 2J^9
out, making sorties every now and again to drive
back their assailants or destroy the mines, while those
inside the fort remained busy digging a well for water
or casting bullets.
On the night of the 29th, 415 British soldiers
and Sikhs, under Captain Dunbar, hurried to the
rescue from Dinapur. They fell into an ambuscade,
were driven back with fearful slaughter, and only fifty
men and three officers escaped to sail down the river
and carry the news of the disaster to* the weeping-
women and despairing garrison at Dinapur.
Wake and Boyle held out in their bungalo.w against
3,000 native mutineers until the 2nd of August, when
Major Vincent Eyre of the Bengal Artillery, on his
way from Cialcutta to Allahabad, turned aside with
three guns, 154 men of the 5th Fusiliers, 18 volun-
teers and othersβ in all 320 men β drove the 3,000
mutineers from before Arrah at the point of the
bayonet, and relieved the heroic garrison.
At Benares, the Holy City of Pilgrimage for all
Hindus, whose very ground is counted so sacred that
even an outcast foreigner dying within ten miles of
its centre is deemed worthy of a future home in the
abode of the gods, the garrison of three sepoy regi-
ments, in the absence of any European soldiers,
mutinied ; disorder and wild excitement spread
among the fanatic inhabitants of the city until, on
the 3rd of June, Colonel Neill, hurried up from
Madras with his " Lambs," the 1st Madras Fusiliers,
swept out the rebels and kept the city quiet, meting
out to the guilty a stern and unrelenting vengeance.
Further on at Allahabdd, at the junction of the
20
290 THE MUTINY.
Ganges and Jumna, 809 miles from Calcutta by river,
and 503 miles by road, where there were again no
European soldiers, the sepoys had broken out and
murdered fourteen of their officers. Lieutenant
Brasyer, with 65 European invalid artillery, a small
body of Sikhs and 100 European volunteers stubbornly
held the fort until Neill and 40 of his " Lambs " came
up from Benares, seven of whom fell dead on the road
as they staggered on beneath the blazing rays of a
June sun. Allahabad was saved, the mutineers
punished with terrible severity, peace restored, and
Neill left free to gather in supplies and turn his
attention to his beloved fusiliers who were dying of
sunstroke, cholera, and drink.
To advance further was impossible ; reinforcements
were needed, bullocks and native followers could not
be obtained. At Cawnpur, 125 miles higher up the
river on the south of the Ganges, forty-two miles south-
west of Lucknow, Major-General Sir Hugh Wheeler,
seventy-five years of age, fifty of which had been
spent in service in India, was in charge with three
sepoy regiments and but sixty European artillerymen.
Nana Sahib, the adopted son of the last Peshwa of
the Marathas, resided a few miles away on his estate
at Bithur, his heart full of hatred against the English,
who had refused to continue to him the pension held
to have lapsed on the death of his adoptive father.
To the English officers at Cawnpur Nana Sahib
was well known β they had visited him, dined, hunted,
driven, and played billiards with him ; all were assured
of his friendly loyalty.
When at length the bitter truth dawned on Sir
THE GARRISON AT C AWN PUR. 29 1
Hugh Wheeler that his sepoys were not to be trusted,
he prepared for defence. A mud wall four feet high
was hastily thrown up round two thatched bungalows
used as hospitals, where the garrison determined to
entrench themselves. The cantonments and iragazine
were left unprotected, and messages for aid sent to Sii-
Henry Lawrence at Lucknow and to Nana Sahib at
Bithur. Provisions were hastily collected, gaps were
made in the mud wall to receive ten guns, and by the
5th of June the doomed garrison of 465 men, includ-
ing 70 invalids, with 200 women and 200 children,
found themselves surrounded by 3,000 mutineers
commanded by Nana Sahib's Commander-in-Chief
Tantia Topi. For twenty-one days the garrison
fought for life ; within the first week all the artillery-
men were dead or disabled. The thatched hospitals,
where the wounded lay, were fired by red-hot
cannon balls ; beneath the shattered walls crouched
the women and children ; along the broken-down
entrenchment the men fought on, while from the
rebel camp the iron hail of shot and shell ceased not.
When the mutineers found courage to charge over
the mud embankment they were again and again
driven back by the heroic band now weakened by
exposure, hunger, and thirst. Round the only well
the bullets flew, and many a brave soul fell when
taking his turn in drawing water.
From Havelock at Lucknow came no help, Neill
was powerless at Allahabad. The men at Cawnpur
could have fought their way through the surrounding
sepoys, but then they would have had to leave the
women and children behind. On the 27th of June
292 THE MUTINY.
the despairing garrison entered into a treaty with
Nana Sahib, who agreed to let them march out with
their arms and sixty rounds of ammunition to each
man, and promised them safe conduct down the river
to Allahabad. In the early morning of the 27th of
June the wounded men and wearied women were
carried to the boats drawn up at the Sati Chaura ghat
on the banks of the Ganges, one mile to the north-
west of the entrenchments, where the craven coward
Tantia Topi had concealed sepoys and guns along the
river-banks, with orders to open fire on the men,
women, and children they could not conquer and
feared to face.
When tlxe unsuspecting victims were huddled to-
gether in the leaf-thatched native boats, deeming
they had at length escaped from the horrors that had
for so long crowded round them, a bugle sound from
the banks gave the signal for attack.
The straw-thatched roofs of the boats, amid which
burning embers had been cunningly concealed, were
soon in flames ; the native oarsmen fled, and all
efforts to shove the heavy budgerows from the bank
were found unavailing. The guns poured forth a
withering storm of grape, many were shot, many
perished amid the flames, many were cut to pieces
by the riverside. Those who survived were brought
back to Nana Sahib at 'Cawnpur, two officers,
Mowbray-Thomson and Delafosse, with two privates,
Murphy and Sullivan, alone escaped, after many
weird adventures by swimming six miles down the
river to Oudh. Of the survivors brought to Nand
Sahib the men were instantly shot, and, on the
THE MEMORIAL WELL AT CAWXPUR.
294 THE MUTINY.
approach of Havelock, the women were massacred
β a slaughter afterwards terribly avenged by the
ungovernable wrath of Neill.
Far away, amid the burning plains of India, the
sad Memorial over the Cawnpur well marks the
spot where the dead and dying were hastily buried
together.
From . a similar fate the garrison at Lucknow,
forty-two miles away across the river Ganges, were
saved by the forethought of Henry Lawrence. Driven
back by the mutinous sepoys from Chinhat, where
he had advanced to meet them, Lawrence retreated
to the defences he had raised round the Residency.
By the ist of July upwards of 60,000 rebels surged
round his entrenchments, defended by a scattered
force of 927 Europeans and 665 faithful sepoys.
All that was possible to be done in the way of
storing provisions and ammunition was done by
Lawrence, but ere the siege had well commenced,
a shell passed through the room where he lay, and
wounded him mortally. Within two days he died,
his sole wish being that no epitaph should be written
above his grave save that which told that Henry
Lawrence had " tried to do his duty."
The garrison under Colonel Inglis, of the 3i2nd
Regiment, held on bravely against the mutinous
sepoys and the few rebellious Talukdars who had
brought their followers to join in the struggle.
From Calcutta Canning hurried up troops to the
relief of Lucknow, the command being entrusted to
the soldier-saint, Henry Havelock. Of a race not yet
extinct, Havelock knew no fear of man, yet in his
" HAVELOCKS SAINTS. 295
dying words to Outram, the Bayard of India, can
still be heard the weird, solemn echo from the limits
of man's tether : " I have for forty years so ruled my
life that when death comes I might face it without
fear." Stern, serious, and reserved, he had early in
life joined the Baptists, his wife being daughter of the
famous Serampur missionary, the Rev. Dr. Marshman.
His soldiers whom he not only sternly disciplined
but earnestly prayed with, were well known in those
days as " Havelock's Saints," and, though sneered at
for their piety, were wondered at for their unswerving
steadiness and cool courage. Sir H. Harding, who
had watched the deep earnestness and unfaltering
course of Havelock's life, took full measure of the
hero when he declared that, " if ever India should
be in danger, the Government have only to put
Havelock at the head of an army and it will be
saved."
Many a fight had Havelock fought ; at Khurd
Kabul, Jalalabad, Maharajpur, Mudki, Firozshah,
and Sobraon, to find himself a Colonel in 1854, after
forty-two years' service, and a Major-General in 1857
at the age of sixty-two, with the one ambition that
had ever fired his soul β the ambition of command-
ing an army in the field β unattained. There was
no campaign in the world's history the full details of
which he had not mastered, and the leading move-
ments of which he had not panted to put in
practice.
Hurrying from the war in China he landed at
Calcutta on the 17th of June, and was introduced to
the Governor-General by Sir Patrick Grant the new
296 THE MUTINY.
Commander-in-Chief who had travelled with him
from Madras, as the man who was to save the
garrison at Cawnpur, and Sir Henry Lawrence at
Lucknow. By the time Havelock reached Allahabad
on the 30th of June, the garrison at Cawnpur had
fallen ; but, not knowing the sad news, the relieving
force, on the 7th of July, commenced their memor-
able march for the relief of Cawnpur and Lucknow.
Havelock was at the head of some 1,500 Europeans
and a little band of volunteer cavalry under Captain
Barrow, Major Renaud having started beforehand,
on the 30th of June, with two guns, 400 men of the
Madras Fusiliers and 84th Regiment, with 300 Sikhs.
As the small army strode on to meet death from the
foe, from sunstroke, cholera, and disease β for but 250
of them crossed the Ganges for Lucknow β the news
was sent back from Renaud's advance column that
Cawnpur had fallen.
There were men in the relieving force who knew
what it was to fight β men of Neill's God-forgotten
" Lambs " ; men of the 78th, the Ross-shire Buffs,
who would listen in stern silence to the long-spun
heroic appeals of Havelock, but who swore in wild
rage to take a terrible revenge on the murderers , of
the women and children at Cawnpur ; men of the 84th
who had served with Wellington, and 100 of whose
number were at Cawnpur and Lucknow ; men of the
64th whom Havelock had commanded in Persia ;
Brasyer's Sikhs and Maude's artillery who, when the
staggering bullocks broke down, dragged their guns
themselves to the front. There was the plucky band
of twenty badly-mounted volunteers under Captain
neill's lambs. 297
Barrow, who waited not for the order to charge, but
rode straight through the sepoys amid the cheers of
Havelock and his regulars. Cholera moved among
them, the sun pitilessly slew them ; still they fought
on. On the 13th of July, at Fatehpur, they won for
Havelock his first battle, scattered the sepoys in four
hours' fight, and captured eleven guns ; on the 1 5th
they rushed the sepoy entrenchments, but Renaud fell,
to fight no more ; the same afternoon they crossed
the bridge over the Pandu Nadi, and charged into the
midst of the rebel gunners, for nothing could sta;,-
them. Though the garrison at C awn pur was now
known to have been massacred, the news had come
that the women and children were alive, and, with
Havelock, the soldiers cried, " With God's help we
shall save them, or every man of us die in the
attempt."
Beyond Mahdrajpur Nana Sahib came out with
eight guns and 5,000 of his troops, and arranged his
sepoys in a crescent one mile and a quarter across
the road to Cawnpur, where he bid defiance to
Barrow's 20 gentlemen volunteers, 1,100 infantry,
and 300 Sikhs. While the Fusiliers and Barrow's
handful of cavalry drew the fire of the enemy's
centre, the left was rolled in by the Ross-shire Buffs,
who charged down in slow, swinging run on the
guns, and hurled the rebel sepoys before them,
pausing only for a moment to cheer the gentlemen
volunteers as they dashed down the Trunk Road
into the midst of the enemy's sowars.
The weary, sunstricken soldiers had to press on,
for in the distance the mutineers had rallied, and
298 THE MUTINY.
Nana Sahib rode in front of them on an elephant.
The daring band of Enghshmen, hardly able to
carry the weight of their muskets, had to pause
and crouch on the ground while over their heads
the cannon balls came hissing. The captured guns
had been left behind, and Maude's battery could
no longer advance. " Rise up," cried Havelock, " the
longer you look at it, the less you will like it !
The 64th rushed forward, led by Major Stirling and
headed by Lieutenant Havelock, the General's son
and aide-de-camp, for which he got the Victoria
Cross ; in the rear the ground was strewn with
wounded, and the enemy broke in total rout.
Ndnd Sdhib galloped off in haste, for he knew the
hated Feringhi soldiers who had so wildly fought
their way from Allahabad were hurrying to view,
with maledictions against his name, the well at
Cawnpur, where the women and children lay asleep.
Cawnpur was gained ; the British soldiers wandered
over the entrenchments, wondering how the gar-
rison had held out, and how frail women had so
heroically borne their part in the unequal conflict.
In the well of Cawnpur lay the uncovered remains
of 118 women and 92 children, brutally murdered.
The wrath of General Neill was terrible and not to
be stayed, for, as he wrote, " My object was to inflict
a fearful punishment for a revolting, cowardly, and
barbarous deed, and to strike terror into the rebels.
No one who has witnessed the scenes of murder,
mutilation, and massacre can ever listen to the word
' mercy ' as applied to these fiends."
Still the task was not finished ; news came from
ADVANCE TO LUCK NOW. 2Cg
Lucknow that Sir Henry Lawrence was dead, and
that in overwhelming numbers the rebels swarmed
around the Residency.
The Ganges rolled between and had to be bridged ;
beyond, the rice-fields were flooded, the rain fell in
torrents. Yet Havelock and his force, now 1,500
strong, of whom 1,200 were Europeans, twelve
small guns, and two troops of mounted infantry,
set forth on the 20th of July for the relief of
Lucknow β a seemingly hopeless task. By the time
that the advanced Oudh sepoys were driven back
from Unao, nine miles out, and again from Bashi-
ratganj, six miles further on, the gallant band
had lost one-sixth of its European force, the enemy
was still in front, Lucknow was surrounded with
rebels, and cholera and dysentery were mowing down
Havelock's troops. If any further advance took
place it was certain that not a man would have
lived to reach the Bailey Guard Gate at Lucknow.
So the gallant band had to sullenly and sadly
move back to Cawnpur. On the 4th of August
the attempt was again essayed, but to fail ; again
on the nth of August a final struggle was made,
the enemy beaten back a third time from Bashi-
ratganj, and Havelock had to recognise the im-
practicability of the task he had undertaken.
One more fight had to be fought by the wearied
troops, who, on the i6th of August, advanced to
Bithur, where they gained a brilliant victory over
4,000 rallied sepoys of Nana Sahib. In the midst of
all Havelock's struggles the bitter news came that his
command had passed to Major- General Sir James
300 THR MUTINY.
Outram, to whom the duty of reheving Lucknow
was now entrusted by right of seniority.
Outram, the Bayard of India, was not the man to
fear to act as his chivalrous nature prompted him.
On reaching Cawnpur on the 13th of September, he
penned his famous order in which he waived his
right to reheve the beleaguered garrison : " The
Major-General, therefore, in gratitude for, and ad-
miration of the brilliant deed of arms achieved by
Brigadier-General Havelock and his gallant troops,
will cheerfully waive his rank in favour of that
Officer on this occasion, and will accompany the force
to Lucknow in his Civil capacity as Chief Com-
missioner of Oudh, tendering his Military Services to
Brigadier-General Havelock as a volunteer. On the
relief of Lucknow the Major-General will resume his
position at the Head of the Forces."
By the 19th of September Havelock rode out at
the head of a well-equipped force of 2,388 Euro-
pean infantry, over 100 volunteer horsemen under
Barrow, 282 artillery under Maude, Olpherts, and
Eyre, with Major Cooper of the Bengal Artillery in
command, 341 Sikh infantry, and 59 native cavalry.
Outram showed his profound contempt for the
mutineers by never drawing his sword during the
campaign, trusting only to his gold-headed malacca
cane, with which he dealt sounding blows on the
backs of the flying sepoys.
Before the first day's march had ended the rebels
were driven right through Mangalwar, past Bashirat-
ganj, and by the end of the second day the booming
of cannon from Lucknow could be heard.
''HOLD ON TO PESHAWAR^ 3OI
By the 23rd the gardens of the large square en-
closure, known as the Alambagh, were in sight. In
front stretched the long line of mutineers. While
Olpherts and Eyre drove in the enemy's centre and
left, the infantry captured the Alambagh, and chased
the sepoys across the Charbagh Bridge spanning the
canal, two miles beyond which lay Lucknow. When
the long day's work was at last over the glad news
reached the wearied soldiers that Delhi had fallen.
From the 13th of May, when Captain Henry Daly
rode in from Mardan, having covered 580 miles in
twenty-two marches, at the head of 800 Guerilla
guides, troops had poured towards the ridge at Delhi,
until by August, there were there assembled 8,748
men, of whom 3,317 were Europeans.
From Peshawar John Lawrence had sent 300
veteran Sikh artillerymen, 1,200 hastily raised Sikh
sappers and miners, he even hesitated if he should
not hand Peshawar over to the Afghan monarch,
Dost Muhammad, and send all his regular troops
to Delhi, depending on 7,000 faithful levies of the
Rajas of Jind and Nabha and the Maharaja of
Patiala, aided by 1,000 Sikhs, to hold the Punjab.
" Tell them," wrote Edwardes in hasty expostulation,
" they can have no more men from the Punjab."
" Give up everything," wrote Nicholson, " but Pesha-
war, Lahore, and Multan." " Hold on to Peshawar
to the last," Canning answered from Calcutta
Lawrence held on to the Punjab, but he deter-
mined to play his last stake. Leaving himself but
4,000 European troops, he sent his " Movable
Column " to the front, and on the 14th of August
302 THE MUTINY.
Nicholson, unconquered swordsman, terrible in his
wrath, unrelenting in his vengeance, held in venera-
tion by his troopers, and worshipped as the very
incarnation of the God of War by the wild Sikh
soldiery, rode towards the ridge at the head of 2,500
men, all ready to follow their leader up to the very
gates of Delhi.
On the 4th of September siege guns, waggons, and
ammunition enough to grind "Delhi to powder," were
carried down by sixteen elephants from Firozpur.
On September 6th 3,300 effective British troops,
5,400 sepoys, and 2,500 soldiers sent by loyal allies,
waited before Delhi, there being in hospital over 3,000
sick and wounded. By the 13th the city walls were
breached, and before daybreak of the 14th of Sep-
tember four columns marched to the assault.
From the third column a brave band of heroes crept
forth to hang the powder-bags on the spikes of the
Kashmir Gate to blow it to pieces. Sergeant Car-
michael laid the train and fell dead ; Lieutenant
Salkeld, R.E., seized the match, and then fell, shot
through the arm and leg ; Corporal Burgess fell mor-
tally wounded as he fired the train ; Lieutenant Home,
R.E., and Bugler Hawthorne then sounded three
times the advance, and over the rebels who had been
killed by the explosion the column charged through
the gateway and entered the city. The second
column entered by the water bastion, while the first
column, led by Nicholson, swarmed up the breach
near the main guard. As Nicholson's tall form
strode down the narrow streets waving his sword to
encourage his men forward against a gun that swept
FALL OF DELHL 3O3
the road, the hero fell, wounded to death. With
Nicholson 60 officers and 1,085 "^^"^ were slain in the
capture of the city, the siege itself, which lasted from
the 30th of May to the 20th of September, having
cost the lives of 2,151 Europeans and 1,686 natives,
who fell fighting on our side.
Bahadur Shah, the last Emperor of the Mughals,
fled for refuge to the tomb of his ancestor, Humayun,
some six miles from Delhi. Thither rode Hodson, of
Hodson's Horse, born leader of wayward spirits, un-
hesitating in his lofty disdain and cold contempt of
official routine and halting prudence. He seized the
Emperor from amid his wavering attendants, brought
him-back to Delhi, and delivered him up to justice.
Again he rode out to the tomb and captured the
three princes, but as he led them towards Delhi he
shot them dead on the public road, alleging that
he feared the crowd might attempt a rescue.
The Emperor was tried for rebellion, treason, and
murder, and deported a State prisoner to Rangoon,
where he died on the 7th of November, 1862, being
buried in the night-time near his bungalow, so that
none might know the resting-place of the last of the
great Mughal Emperors.
Outram and Havelock were, on the 23rd of Sep-
tember, before the Alambagh, when the news reached
them of the fall of Delhi. There the reserve am-
munition, stores and baggage, wounded and sick of
the relieving force were left behind, under a guard
of European troops, the main body pressing on for
their fatal march, on the 25 th of September, for the
Relief of Lucknow.
304 THE MUTINY.
In an attack on the Yellow House by the Char-
bagh Bridge, Outram was shot through the arm, and
Mdude lost his best artillerymen. Here the first
serious check came, for the bridge was swept by six
guns strongly posted and entrenched. From the
neighbouring houses by the canal-sides the mutineers
kept up a heavy fire of musketry. Maude's two guns,
now worked by volunteer artillerymen, opened fire
across the bridge at 150 yards' range, and here
some of his gunners were blown to pieces, the fire
from their own guns having exploded their powder
pouches. At all costs the bridge had to be carried.
The Madras Fusiliers and 84th were eager to charge.
Young Havelock, Arnold, and Lieutenant-Colonel
Fraser Tytler advanced amid a storm of grape
from the heavy guns ; Arnold fell shot through both
thighs, Tytler and his horse were seen struggling
on the ground, and Havelock alone was left to
cheer on the Fusiliers as they sprang forward to
clear the way. The bridge taken, the 78th High-
landers held it while the army of relief crossed
by the right bank of the canal, and made their way
towards the Secundra Bagh under a heavy fire
from the Muti Masjid and the Mess House, until
they found themselves face to face with a battery
posted in front of the Kaisarbagh or King's Palace.
As the main body hesitated, the 78th, who had left
the bridge and marched by a short route to the
left through the crowded streets, suddenly dashed
forward on the flank of the battery, spiked the guns
and cut down the rebel gunners. In front of the
now combined force lay the narrow streets leading
RELIEF OF LUC KNOW. 305
to the Bailey Guard of the Residency. On each
side the high houses were full of sepoys to the house-
tops, the cross-alleys were crowded with desperate
men.
Outram vehemently protested against the fatal
march almost into the valley of death until at length
he turned away and cried out to Havelock to lead
on the troops " in God's name."
From the housetops, from the windows, from the
cross-streets, there poured an unrelenting fire on the
devoted band, who could only stay now and then to
send a volley through the side-alleys held by masses
of sepoys and infuriated women.
Outram, on his big Australian horse, was the first
to scramble through a breach on the left of the
Bailey Guard, and in a moment " big, rough-bearded
soldiers," writes a lady, one of the survivors of the
garrison, " were seizing the little children out of our
arms, kissing them with tears rolling down their
cheeks, and thanking God that they had come in
time to save them from the fate of those at Cawnpur."
To the besieged Havelock brought no supplies, his
food and baggage had been left at the Alambagh.
The provisions in the Residency were, however, found
to be much larger than had been reported. The
defences were extended, and thereby necessarily
weakened, being more exposed to the mining opera-
tions. The garrison was reinforced but not relieved.
The Relief of Lucknow had yet to come β a relief to
be effected by Colin Campbell.
Sir Colin Campbell β Old Khabarder, or Old Take-
Care, as his soldiers loved to call him β was on
21
SIR COLIN CAMPBELL, LORD CLYDE.
.<>//? COLIN CAMPIillJ.. 307
the nth of July, 1857, asked when he could start
from England to take the chief command in India.
"To-morrow," he curtly replied. He was then sixty-
five years of age. He had seen service in the
American War of 1842, in the second Sikh war of
1848-9, he had commanded the Highland Brigade in
the Crimea, at Alma, and Balaklava. On the 17th
of August, 1857, he landed at Calcutta to take chief
command. " No advance will take place without me,"
he wrote to Outram on the 28th of September, " even
if it be made with a single regiment," and to the
Duke of Cambridge he afterwards added, " The des-
perate street-fighting so gallantly conducted by Sir
James Outram and General Havelock β the only
course open to them β must, if possible, be avoided in
future." It was not, however, until the 3rd of Novem-
ber that the Commander-in-Chief reached Cawnpur,
and placed himself at the head of a small army of
5,000 men and 30 guns. Nearly 2,500 of these were
composed of Colonel Greathed's column, which had
marched from Delhi and driven 7,000 of Sindhia's
rebellious troops from before Agra. At Cawnpur he
left General Windham with 500 English troops and
550 native infantry and gunners to hold the canton-
ments and bridge of boats across the Ganges and to
watch the rebel force from Gwalior and Kalpi.
On the loth of November Colin Campbell was
met by Lucknow Kavanagh, who nobly won the
Victoria Cross by passing from the Residency dis-
guised as a native and making his way through
60,000 rebels, massed in and around the city, to
carry plans and news from Outram to the Com-
308 THE MUTINY.
mander- in -Chief. Instead of advancing straight
through Lucknow ^Sir CoHn Campbell fought his
way by the suburbs, captured the Dilkusha, or Palace
of Heart's Delight, and the Martiniere College, a
building erected by a French officer of fortune,
Claude Martin. The Secundra Bagh, a square 450
feet each way, held by the rebels, was carried by the
93rd Highlanders, the 53rd, and 4th Punjab Rifles,
who slew 2,500 of the best fighting-men in Oudh,
a brigade of three full regiments.
The Shah Najaf, a strong, domed mosque, with
thick, heavy walls forty feet high, held out against
the English cannonade for the whole afternoon, until
Captain Peel, of the Shannon, and his British sailors
came to the rescue, and in the words of the Com-
mander-in-Chiefs despatch " the heavy guns were
within 20 yards of the Shah Najaf, where they
were unlimbered and poured in round after round
against the massive walls of the building, the wither-
ing fire of the Highlanders covering the naval brigade
from great loss. But it was an action almost unex-
ampled in war. Captain Peel behaved very much as
if he had been laying the Shart?zon alongside an
enemy's frigate." A breach was at length made,
but when Adrian Hope and fifty of his men climbed
in they found the building deserted.
On the 17th the Mess House, after six hours'
fighting, was carried by a detachment of the 53rd
and a company of the 90th Foot, led by Captain
Wolseley, now Commander-in-Chief of the British
army, the British flag being placed on its summit amid
a shower of bullets by Lieutenant Roberts, now Field-
RETREAT FROM LUC KNOW. 309
Marshal Lord Roberts. The observatory and Pearl
Palace were next carried, followed by the historic
meeting between Campbell, Havelock, and Outram.
TheΒ» congratulations were soon damped by Sir
Colin Campbell's order that within twenty-four
hours the garrison and army should quit Lucknow
and march back to Cawnpur.
The wounded and sick were carried out and by
the night of the 22nd of November, the last man
had marched from the entrenchments at Lucknow.
One officer, Captain Waterman, was in the con-
fusion left behind asleep. On waking up he found
the well-known haunts abandoned and silent, and
himself surrounded by some 40,000 rebel sepoys,
who were still firing on the deserted posts. From
this strange scene of war and silent desolation he
escaped to join the rear-guard, half-crazed from fear.
On the 23rd of November the Commander-in-Chief
was able to write, " The movement of retreat of last
night by which the final rescue of the garrison was
effected was a model of discipline and exactness.
The consequence was that the enemy was completely
deceived, and the force retired by a narrow tortuous
lane, the only line of retreat open, in the face of 50,000
enemies without molestation."
On the morning of the 24th of November the soul
of the noble-minded Henry Havelock passed away.
He died at the Dilkusha Gardens at the age of
sixty-two.
As the soldiers marched on to Cawnpur they buried
him in the Alambagh gardens, where they carved
the letter H. on a tree to mark his last resting-place.
3IO THE MUTINY.
He did not live to receive the baronetcy and pension
granted him, they had to be handed on to his son
and widow, yet from all came tributes to the memory
of the heroic soldier-saint.
Outram was left to guard the Alambagh ; Colin
Campbell, with the garrison he had relieved, marched
back to Cawnpur, only to find that in his absence
General Windham had been defeated by Tantia Topi,
and was now surrounded by an army of 25,000 rebels,
mostly mutinous troops of Sindhia from Gwalior.
Sir Colin Campbell at once sent his sick, wounded
and the rescued women and children away to Alla-
habad, and then led out his troops against the army
surrounding Cawnpur under the command of the
Nana Sahib, Tantia Tppi, and Koer Singh the Raja
of Jagdispur. The enemy's right was driven in by
three brigades under Adrian Hope, Walpole, and
Inglis, and their artillery silenced by a 24-pounder
dragged up by Peel's sailors. The whole of the
Gwalior contingent retreated, being pursued and cut
up for a distance of fourteen miles. Nana Sahib
escaped to a ferry over the Ganges, twenty-five miles
above Cawnpur, all his guns and baggage were
taken, and his followers driven into the river, the
boats in which they endeavoured to escape being
fired on and sunk.
By the middle of March, 1858, Lucknow was finally
recaptured, but the rebels were unfortunately allowed
to escape across the Gumti, to swarm for months
afterwards round Nana Sahib in Rohilkhand and
the leading chieftains in Oudh, until they were
driven over the^ frontier into Nepal, where they
5/^ HUGH ROSE IN CENTRAL INDIA. 3II
perished miserably in the jungles or surrendered to
the overwhelming forces that slowly closed in on
them from all sides.
While Sir Colin Campbell, who had been raised to
the peerage as Lord Clyde, was slowly and cautiously
driving the rebels before him in Oudh and Rohilk-
hand, Sir Hugh Rose, by his rapid marches in Central
India, carried out without a single check a series of
operations which for brilliancy, dash, and daring are
without a parallel in the history of military operations
in India. Starting from Holkar's capital at Indore
where he had restored order, he, early in 1858, with
two columns of 4,500 men, including four native
regiments, captured the forts of Rathgarh and
Barodia, and by the 3rd of February relieved the
garrison at Sagar, where a handful of Europeans
had for eight weary months desperately defended
170 women and children from the rebel sepoys.
On the 13th of February he captured the strong
fort of Garhakota and forced the pass of Mundinpur,
by taking the enemy's defences in the rear, which
so terrified them that they fled panic-stricken, and
left clear the road to Jhansi, where, ten months before
Captain Skene, the Resident, and sixty-seven English
men, women, and children had been marched in re-
ligious procession through the town and slain, amid
the fierce cries of the fanatic Muhammadan priests.
The fortress, built of solid granite, sixteen to twenty
feet in length, on a steep precipitous rock, was held
by 11,000 men, headed by their fierce Rani Ganga
Bdi, who had sworn an undying vengeance against
the English rulers for having refused to recognise
312 THE MUTINY.
her adopted child as heir to her dead husband's
principaHty.
For eight days the bristhng guns from the fort
answered back shot for shot the besieging batteries.
Sir Hugh Rose at length determined to save his
ammunition and assault the almost dismantled fort
and city. Before the attack could be delivered news
came that Tantia Topi had crossed the river Betwa?
and was marching at the head of 20,000 troops to
the Rani's aid. Sir Hugh Rose at once left his
heavy guns playing on the city, and with 1,500 of
his men marched to meet Tantia Topi, who advanced
at the head of his hosts confident of an easy victory.
Before the British artillery and cavalry the rebels
fell back dismayed, the ground for sixteen miles was
strewn with abandoned guns, stores, and ammunition,
1,500 of Tantia Topi's troops fell, the rest, disbanded
and broken, fled across the Betwa back towards
Kalpi. The wearied troops of Sir Hugh Rose, some
of whom had not for seventeen days and nights taken
off their clothes nor unbridled their horses, had to
turn back for the attack on Jhansi. After a desperate
resistance the fort fell, and half the garrison was
slain, but the brave Queen escaped on horseback
with her infant stepson through the outposts of the
British camp.
The forces of Tantia Topi and those of the escaped
Jhansi Rani made a stand at Kunch, whence they
were driven after a fight which lasted from daybreak
till nine at night on the 7th of May, with a loss of
six hundred men and fifteen guns, the pursuit being
maintained by the exhausted British troops at foot-
THE RANI OF J H ANSI. 313
pace. Under a terrible heat, reaching iioΒ° in the
shade, natives and Europeans struggled on, many
falling dead by the roadside, many in greater numbers
than those slain by the enemy being carried back
delirious.
Sir Hugh Rose, who was himself three times
rendered insensible from sunstroke, wrote on the
22nd of May after the final attack, when the rebels
were driven out of Kalpi, "It was 119Β° in the shade,
and 200 men out of less than 400 of the 25th Native
Infantry fell out of the ranks stricken by the sun."
On news of the success of the campaign. Lord
Canning at once telegraphed to Sir Hugh Rose,
"Your capture of Kalpi has crowned a series of
brilliant and uninterrupted successes. I thank you
and your brave soldiers with all my heart."
During the campaign Sir Hugh Rose and his
force suffered so severely that under medical advice
he was ordered to take immediate leave to Bombay
and send his troops into cantonments.
Preparations had been made for a cessation of
military operations when news was received that
Sindhia's troops at Gwalior had mutinied and placed
themselves, their fort with its arsenal-guns and
supplies, under the command of Tantia Topi, and
the Rani of Jhansi, who now had a force of some
18,000 troops to oppose to the worn-out British
army. On the i6th of June Sir Hugh Rose, joined
by Brigadier-General Napier, drove the rebels from
the Morar cantonments, while Brigadier Smith cap-
tured the heights to the east of Gwalior. In the
engagement the Jhansi Queen, wearing her usual
314 THE MUTINY.
manly costume, a red jacket and trousers and white
turban, was slain in a charge of the 8th Hussars,
the rebel army thus losing their noblest and bravest
leader who died amid the universal mourning of her
people at the early age of twenty.
By the 19th of June Gwalior was captured by
Lieutenants Rose and Waller, who, with a handful
of men, crept up the hillside and broke in the gates
of the fort, Rose paying with his life for the daring
enterprise.
The Gwalior mutineers threw away their arms and
ammunition and fled far away over the country, pur-
sued by General Napier. Tantia Topi was captured
by Captain, afterwards Sir Richard, Meade, and
executed at Sipri on the 1 8th of April, 1859; Nana
Sahib disappeared in the Nepal jungles and was
never heard of more, though an occasional tele-
gram in our daily papers still announces some
foolish story of his reappearance. The surrender
of the last 4,000 of his followers to Brigadier
Holditch put an end to the final period of the
Mutiny.
Peace once restored, the Government of India passed
from the Company to the Queen, who, on the ist of
November, 1858, in her Proclamation β the Magna
Charta of the people of India β declared the future
policy of British rule in India: "We hereby announce
to the Native Princes of India that all treaties,
engagements made with them by or under the
authority of the Honourable East India Company
are by us accepted, and will be scrupulously
maintained, and We look for a like observance on
THE queen's proclamation. 315
their part. We desire no extensions of Our present
territorial possessions ; and while We will permit no
aggression upon Our dominions or Our Rights to be
attempted with impunity, We shall sanction no en-
croachment on those of others, We shall respect the
rights, dignity, and honour of Native Princes as Our
own ; and we desire that they β as well as our own
subjects β should enjoy prosperity, and that social ad-
vancement, which can only be secured by internal
peace and good government. We hold ourselves bound
to the Natives of Our Indian territories by the same
obligations of duty, which bind us to all Our other
subjects, and those obligations by the Blessing of
God, we shall faithfully and conscientiously fulfil.
Firmly relying Ourselves on the truth of Christianity
and acknowledging with gratitude the solace of re-
ligion, we disclaim alike the right and the desire to
impose our convictions on any of our subjects."
To all those who had remained loyal and rendered
services, rewards in money and land, honours and
decorations, were bestowed with no stinting hand,
while to repentant Talukdars of Oudh who were
guiltless of shedding blood their estates were returned
with an hereditary and permanent title.
In the sepoy army sweeping changes were made.
At the close of the year preceding the Mutiny, the
army, which consisted of six natives to every Euro-
pean, was after the Mutiny reduced to the proportions
of two natives to one European, and the artillery was
placed almost entirely in the hands of Europeans.
The Mutiny left behind it a heavy burden on the
people of India. The National Debt had grown from
3l6 THE MUTINY.
59J millions sterling to nearly 89 millions, and the
three years of the Mutiny ended in a deficit of over
30 millions sterling β a serious one when, with an income
of not 37 millions, it was estimated that the year i860
would end in a further deficit of 6J millions. To
restore the financial equilibrium Mr. Wilson, the new
Finance Minister, was obliged to place an income-tax
of 4 per cent, on all incomes above Β£^0 a year, and
2 per cent, on all incomes from i^20 to Β£^0, but had
to relinquish a proposed taxation of tobacco, and a
license-tax on trades and professions. Mr. Samuel
Laing, who succeeded Mr. Wilson, abolished the
income-tax on all incomes under ^^50 a year, and
effected a reduction of 3J millions on military
expenses, and half a million on civil expenditure.
During the period from 1856 to 1862 the natural
growth in the land revenue, showed an increase of
2j millions sterling so that Lord Canning was able
to declare in 1862 "that he left India in peace and
prosperity."
Blind, weak, and incapable as Lord Canning's de-
tractors judged him, still the proudest boast of his
country will ever be that while hasty counsel urged
him to wage an almost justifiable war of retribution,
he had courage to declare that " no taunts or sarcasrris,
come from what quarter they may, will turn me from
the path which I believe to be that of my public
duty." He had stood calm, proudly reserved and
unmoved though the raging storm of race hatred
surged around and almost threatened to sweep him
away in its tempestuous passion. He had risked his
reputation and sacrificed his life to carry out his trust
THE END.
317
in the full determination to deliver it again into her
Majesty's hands " without spot or stain from any act
or word." He left India tired, wan, and broken
down, to receive, within a few months' time, the
news that he was a dying man with the weary cry,
" What ! so soon ? "
XV.
INDIA UNDER TIIK CROWN.
Lord Elgin succeeded Lord Canning on the 1 2th
of March, 1862, and died within two years. The work
of Government was carried on by Sir WilHam Denison,
Governor of Madras, until the arrival of the new
Viceroy, Sir John Lawrence, who reached India on
the 1 2th of January, 1864.
India was in the meantime engaged in a disastrous
frontier campaign, which at one time called forth for
its suppression the whole available military resources
of the Government. To the west of the Indus, amid
the fastnesses of the outlying spurs of the Hindu Kush,
a band of fanatic Muhammadans, known as Wahabis,
had formed a colony, whence they had spread sedi-
tious exhortations to all true Muhammadans to aid
with money, arms, and prayers in an unrelenting war
against unbelievers. To their strongholds of Sitana,
Jadun, and Malka in the Mahaban, or Mountains of
the Great Forest, mutinous sepoys from the lowlands,
wild Pathans and fierce Afridis flocked in numbers,
all eager to join in raiding the lowland villages
and glad to swell the band of those whose lawless
THE WAN A. its. 319
instincts were sanctioned by a fanatic zeal for the
welfare of the Muhammadar faith. In 1853, ^"d
again in 1858, their fastnesses had been raided and
their abiding-place at Sit^n^. burned to the ground,
but still recruits from the Mrhammadan cities in the
Punjab, in Behar and Benga, flocked to the standard
of revolt.
At length, in October, 1863, Brigadier-General Sir
Neville Chamberlain, was directed to march against
them at the head of /,ooo picked troops. At the
Ambela Pass he was met by a force of 15,000 fighting
men who had assembled to resent the threatened
invasion of their mountain homes. The British force
was hemmed in, and for three weeks the camp could
only hold its own. From all quarters new troops were
hurried forward, the pass was cleared, and by the 15th
of December General Garvock, brought the tribesmen
to terms. On the 22nd of December the Wahabi
settlement at Malka was burned, and the expedition
retired, having lost over one-tenth of its total number.
Three weeks after the Ambela campaign was ended,
Sir John Lawrence arrived in India, where he ruled
until January, 1869, having, during his long service
from the time he first landed on the 9th of February,
1830, held every post from Assistant to the Resident
at Delhi up to Viceroy. A few days before he
reached Calcutta Mr. Ashley Eden had been de-
spatched from Darjiling on a mission to the capital of
Bhutan, a wild, unsettled country lying amid the
Himalayas to the north of Assam and Bengal, whence
the wild Buddhist Tartars who inhabited the land
yearly raided the lowland valleys, carrying off the
320 INDIA ui:der the crown.
cattle from the British villages. The Embassy and
its slender escort of ont" hundred sepoys, struggled on
through the snow-clad ; nountain ranges, their passage
opposed by the native ci^efs who extorted bribes from
the envoy and delayed his progress. When Punakha,
the winter capital, was reached, Mr. Ashley Eden was
subjected to many gross ii^sults, and ultimately forced,
under threats of imprisonment, to sign a humiliating
treaty whereby it was agreed that the passes- leading
from Assam should be surrendered to Bhutan. To
this treaty the British envoy affixed his signature,
taking care, however, to add that he signed " under
compulsion." He then escaped by night and brought
back to India the news of the result of his mission.
The treaty was at once repudiated, and three months
given to the rulers of Bhutan to send in their sub-
mission. No answer was received and war was
declared. The forts commanding the passes from
Bengal were captured and occupied, but Colonel
Campbell and a garrison of five hundred men were
surprised while holding Diwangiri, and though they
easily repelled the first assaults, their ammunition ran
short and the water was cut off, so they were obliged
to retire, and leave behind two guns and their sick and
wounded to the care of the enemy. Brigadier Henry
Tombs hurried up with reinforcements and soon
terminated the ignominious warfare against a con-
temptible and ignorant foe. The eighteen dwars, or
passes, leading from Bengal and Assam, were sur-
rendered by the Bhutias under promise of a yearly
subsidy, thus adding a tea-growing district some i8o
miles long by 20 to 30 broad to British territory.
FAMINE. 321
Urgent though the necessity was of keeping the
land secure from invasion and the peaceful lowland
villages safe from pillage and the firebrand, the new
Governor-General had to devise means to meet a
nearer danger arising from the ravages of pestilence
and famine. From time immemorial the husbandmen
in the rich river valleys of India have ploughed their
lands, sown their seed, and reaped the produce calmly
indifferent to the coming and going of their foreign
rulers, knowing that to all alike they must pay tribute.
War to them is but one of the great evils flowing from
princes and kings whose rulo must be endured, but
from the two great terrors, arising from gods and
immortals β pestilence and famine β they fly in terror
or else sit silent in their homes waiting for death.
In the year 1866 utter desolation spread over the
district of Orissa and one million of its inhabitants,
one-fourth of the entire population, perished from
starvation. The district lay within easy reach of
plenty, and was fertile enough to have exported
50,000 lbs. of rice the previous year, yet in 1867 it
was rendered an uninhabitable desert.
These alluvial littoral tracts, lying along the shores
of the Bay of Bengal, were then not only shut in from
Central India by high mountains and inaccessible
from the sea while the monsoon winds raged, but were
unapproachable from the north or south in consequence
of the bad roads and unbridged rivers, over which lay
the only means of communication from Calcutta or
Madras.
When, in September, 1865, the rains failed and the
fields were parched, the people prayed for remission
322 INDIA UNDER THE CROWN. -
of the land revenue, for there remained to them neither
money nor food. It is impossible for the British
administration in India to tell what grain lies hidden
under ground in the village store-pits, or how much is
held back by the merchants who hope to gain a rich
harvest when prices rise high or when scarcity passes
into actual famine. So in 1865 the chief Revenue
authorities saw no reason for alarm ; the land of Orissa
was the richest in India ; rice was reported to be held
in plenty by the village merchants, and it was expected
that more would be imported by private enterprise
when prices commenced to rise. In May, 1866, the
news suddenly reached Sir John Lawrence that the
people were actually dying in their thousands, that
along the sandy and worn-out roads no carts could
travel, while ships laden with food lay tossing at the
mercy of the waves near the coast, no boat from the
shore being able to reach them on account of the
monsoon winds. Famine amid surrounding plenty
devastated Orissa and Ganjam. Cholera, fever, and
disease stalked abroad among the emaciated people
who strove to support life by eating the shrivelled
leaves of the stunted shrubs and earth from the
ant-hills.
When the long-looked-for rain at length came, the
wide Mahanadi rose in flood, broke its high banks,
and spread its waters over a district one thousand
square miles in extent. The new-sown crops were
covered, and \\ millions of the despairing population
driven from their homes.
The terrible loss incurred during the short course
of the Orissa famine, and the suddenness with which
PKOTECTIVE WORKS, 323
the disaster passed beyond control, compelled the
Government in 1868, when the rains again failed in
Northern India, to notify to the district officers that
they would be held directly responsible for all loss of
life that could possibly be prevented. Wells were
immediately dug, the land revenue was remitted, food
from Oudh was hurried to the threatened districts
in British territory, where loss of life was happily
averted, while in the native states of Rajputdna up-
wards of half a million people perished in two years.
The question of prevention and mitigation of famine
long remained the gravest problem of Indian ad-
ministration. During recent years all the skill and
resources within reach of a Western civilisation have
been ceaselessly called upon to devise means whereby
these sufferings of the people might in some degree,
at least, be alleviated. A new Department of Irriga-
tion, for the purpose of planning and constructing
canals for the protection of districts liable to drought
or floods, was instituted under Colonel Richard
Strachey. New works, costing some quarter of a
million sterling, were carried out before John Law-
rence left India, and plans had been prepared for
others, estimated to cost at least ^^30,000,000, within
ten years.
The construction of railways was pushed forward,
and 1,556 miles of rail were opened up in five years,
so that India, which possessed only 21 J miles of rail-
way in 1853, had 4,000 miles opened up by 1868.
These railways, which cost ;^i 7,000 per mile, were
constructed with money raised upon the security of
a State guarantee of 5 per cent, interest, so that
324 INDIA UNDER THE CROWN.
the shareholders incurred no risk. It was not till the
Northern Punjab Railway was commenced that State
railways were constructed and money raised at from
3 to 4 per cent, the line being carried out on the
narrow-gauge system, or one metre in width, costing
only some Β£6,QOO per mile.
Though the rice-growing districts on the east
coast suffered so terribly from famine, the cotton-
growing tracts on the west had enjoyed undreamed-
of prosperity.
During the period of the American Civil War the
demand for Indian cotton, for the Lancashire mills,
in consequence of the supply from America having
ceased, became so great that the price in Bombay
rose fourfold. When the war came to an abrupt
close in 1865, the American cotton, with its long
staple, again easily ousted the Indian cotton in the
home markets, and the Indian merchants and culti-
vators were suddenly deprived of their new-found
means of wealth. The wages of labour fell to their
normal condition ; the cotton merchants in Bombay
failed one after another. Companies, started in the
days of prosperity for visionary schemes of land re-
clamation, mining, tea-planting, and every form of
wild and impossible project, immediately collapsed.
The final blow came in 1866, when the Bombay
Bank, empowered by a new charter granted in 1864
by Sir Bartle Frere, the Governor of Bombay, to
make large advances on other than Government
securities, failed, half its capital was lost in place of
which it held some two millions of useless debts.
Not only were the merchants involved in the ruin.
RUSSIAN ADVANCES. $2$
but also many of the Government officials who had
trusted their long-earned savings to a bank they had
considered secure from its close connection with the
Government. The general depression was further
increased by the fact that the extraordinary expendi-
ture on reproductive works, joined to an increasing
ordinary expenditure resulted in a deficit of eleven
millipns sterling during the three years from 1866 to
1869.
The financial position was undoubtedly grave, and
yearly became more complicated, owing to demands
for funds over and above those necessary for internal
defence, development of the resources of the country,
and protection against famine and pestilence.
The pressing nature of these demands can be
best estimated from the fact that from the year
1800, when Paul I., the Russian Czar, strove to gain
the aid of Napoleon in his first advance from the
Caspian towards Herat, Kandahar, and the Indus,
down to the year 1885, when Mr. Gladstone de-
manded an immediate vote of i^i 1,000,000 from
the English Parliament to prepare for a war which
appeared inevitable, the Indian Goivernment has
deemed it .necessary to spend upwards of 70
millions sterling in securing the north-west passes
from any possibility of invasion, while the annual
expenditure on frontier fortifications has increased so
grievously as almost to lend justification to the
present contention that the finances of India have
been reduced to the verge of bankruptcy.
The question first came within the sphere of
practical politics six months before John Lawrence
326 INDIA UNDER THE CROWN..,
landed in Calcutta, when the Amir of Afghanis-
tan, Dost Muhammad, died at Herat, and left his
kingdom to liis son Sher All, passing over his two
elder sons Afzul and Azi'm, both born of a mother
less noble than the mother of Sher All. In 1864
Muhammad Afzul Khan rose in rebellion and pro-
claimed himself Amir at Balkh ; Azim hurried from
his Governorship at Kuram to the aid of his elder
brother, while among the other sixteen of Dost
Muhammad's sons a fratricidal war commenced.
Towards the fighting brothers Lawrence steadily
maintained a policy of " non-intervention " ; and to
whichever brother succeeded in establishing himself
in power at Kabul, Herat, or Kandahar, friendly
letters of congratulation were sent.
By September, 1868, Sher All succeeded in
establishing himself as Amir of Afghanistan, his
brother Azim fled as a fugitive to Turkestan, and
Abdur Rahman, son of Afzul, escaped to Khiva,
thence to Bokhara and Tashkend, in Turkestan,
where he received a pension of 18,000 roubles from
the Russian Government. When Sher All was com-
pletely in possession of his father's dominions the
Viceroy offered him a sum of ;^6o,ooo, along with
3,500 muskets, in accordance with the strongly ex-
pressed opinion of Sir Henry Rawlinson, who wrote :
"Whatever the price it must be paid, of such para-
mount importance is it to obtain at the present
time a dominant position at Kabul, and to close
that avenue of approach against Russia."
Unfortunately the ruler of Afghanistan was now
wearied with the English, who had stood aloof during
AFGHAN/STAN. 32/
times of trouble and dissension, only to come forward,
when peace was established, to make friends with him
when he had risen to power. More than once Sher
All sought to gain the aid and alliance of Russia β
a course Sir John Lawrence determined to oppose,
for, as he wrote to the Home Government, it was
now time to inform Russia " in firm but courteous
language that it cannot be permitted to interfere in
the affairs of Afghanistan."
Lord Mayo succeeded to the Governor-Generalship
in 1869, and Sher All came to Ambdla hoping to
gain from the new Viceroy an alliance offensive and
defensive against all his enemies. From Lord Mayo
the Amir could obtain no treaty, no promise of a
fixed allowance, not even a recognition of himself
and his descendants as possessing a right to rule in
Afghanistan. The Governor could only declare that
" we are prepared to give him all the moral support
in our power ; and that in addition we are willing to
assist him with money, arms and ammunition, native
artificers, and in other ways, whenever we deem it
desirable to do so."
To Lord Mayo it seemed well that the people of
Afghanistan should gradually and surely learn that
on no pretext would a British soldier cross their
frontiers to interfere in their internal affairs. He
hoped that an agreement could be made with Russia
whereby both nations would consent to abstain from
interfering with the dominions held by Sher All,
and accept the Oxus as the northern boundary of
Afghanistan.
In January, 1873, the boundaries to the north of
328 INDIA UNDER THE CROWN. --
Afghanistan were fixed, Russia consenting to waive
any objections to Badakshan and Wakhan being in-
cluded in the territories held by the Amir, Sher All.
The safest policy for the Indian Government to
pursue, with regard to Afghanistan had been in-
dicated by Sir John Lawrence in the following
words : " We think it impolitic and unwise to
decrease any of the difficulties which would be en-
tailed on Russia, if that Power seriously thought of
invading India, as we should constantly decrease
them if we left our own frontier and met her half-
way in a difficult country and possibly in the midst
of a hostile or exasperated population. We see no
limit to the expenditure which such a move might
require, and we protest against the necessity of
having to impose taxation on the people of India."
In his opinion the threatened danger could only
be averted by " husbanding our finances and con-
solidating and multiplying our resources in quiel
preparation for all contingencies which no Indian
statesman should disregard."
The importance of this policy was further forced on
Lord Mayo by the fact that, in addition to the deficit
of eleven millions sterling accruing from the years
1866-69, the estimates for 1869-70, his first year of
office, disclosed on examination a further probable
heavy deficit of nearly if millions sterling. Not-
withstanding the urgency of providing for a possible
recurrence of famine and the necessity of opening up
the resources and trade of the country by an exten-
sion of railways, as well as providing for the defence
of the North-west Frontier, Lord Mayo wrote : " I am
DEATH OF LORD MAYO. 329
determined not to have another deficit, if it lead to
the diminution of the Army, the reduction of Civil
Establishments, and the stoppage of Public Works."
By curtailment of the grant for public works, by
reduction of the amount for local expenditure, by
raising the income-tax from I to 2j per cent., and
by increasing the salt duties in Bombay and Madras,
the Viceroy succeeded in changing an expected
deficit of i^ 1, 650,000 into a surplus of ;^ 108,000.
During the next three years, from 1 870-1 to 1872-3,
Lord Mayo's financial reforms resulted in a surplus of
;{:5,840,i34.
All Lord Mayo's efforts for the welfare of India
came to a sad close on the 8th of February, 1872,
when he was stabbed by a convict while inspecting
the convict settlement of the Andaman Islands.
A vivid and impressive account is given in the
Life of Sir James Fitzjames Stephen, edited by
his brother, Leslie Stephen, of the solemnity of the
mournful procession, when the body of the dead
Viceroy was borne through the streets of Calcutta.
The terrible reality seems to have struck the minds
of all the sorrowing onlookers that they were but
a band of foreigners asserting their right to wage
a war for Western civilisation amid a hostile people
who would willingly free themselves, if possible,
from the galling restraints under which their peace
and prosperity were assured. In a letter from
Calcutta, dated February 23, 1872, Sir James
Stephen described his feelings, which must have
been common to many of the onlookers : " I never
expected to be impressed by a mere ceremonial.
330 INDIA UNDER THE CROWN.
but there were some things almost oppressive from
their reality and solemnity. . . . The whole road was
lined with troops on both sides, but they stood at
intervals of several yards, and there was an immense
crowd close behind, in some places in between them.
. . . I saw some suspicious-looking fellows grinning
and sneering and showing their teeth myself, and
I felt as if I could have killed them. No one who
has not felt it can imagine how we all feel out here
in regard to such matters. When Lord Mayo was
stabbed I think every man in the country felt as if
he had been more or less stabbed himself . . . There
was a dead silence all the way and the Europeans as
grim as death."
A few days after he describes the scene when the
coffin was carried to the ship. " You cannot imagine
the awful solemnity which all this precaution gave the
whole thing. It was like marching through a city
half dead and half besieged. . . . There was a stern
look of reality about the whole affair quite unlike
what one has seen elsewhere. Troops and cannon
and gun-carriages seem out of place in England . . .
but it is a very different matter here where everything
rests upon military force. The guns and the troops
are not only the outward and visible marks of power,
but they are the power itself to a great extent."
Facts such as these, apparent to most British
officials in India, military and civil alike, have a
significance more or less definitely indicated by the
tacit silence universally held by all thoughtful men
when their opinion is sought on Indian affairs, for
they know full well the appalling catastrophe that
LORD NORTH BROOK. 33 1
would sweep over the land, rolling away innocent
and guilty alike, if once the spring were recklessly
loosened which at present holds all quiet in a
seeming sleep of peace and amity.
When Lord Northbrook landed at Calcutta in May,
1872, and assumed charge of the Government from
Lord Napier, India was at peace, the finances satis-
factory, and hopes entertained that the income-tax
might be abohshed, a surplus of ij millions being
expected on the year's estimates. Trade was pros-
perous, having grown rapidly since the opening in
1869 of the Suez Canal. The new Viceroy was free
to view calmly the pressing questions daily becoming
more important, arising from the steady advance of
Russia towards the Hindu Kush.
By 1865 General Kaufmann reached Samarkand,
and Bokhara had become tributary to the Czar. By
June, 1873, Khiva fell, and the territories of the Khan
up to the right bank of the Oxus were annexed.
The Amir of Afghanistan, alarmed for the safety of
his own kingdom, at once sent an envoy with all
speed to Simla to learn from Lord Northbrook if he
could depend on the English for help in the event
of his own lands being invaded.
England had been assured by the Russian Govern-
ment that Afghauistan lay outside the sphere of
her conquests, so Lord Northbrook sent back word
to the Amir that there was no cause for alarm j
that the English Government was prepared to
aid him with money and supplies, and in case of
necessity even to send troops to his help, if he con-
tinued to follow the advice of the Viceroy and give
332 INDIA UNDER THE CROWN.
no cause of offence by aggression against Russian
territory. The Amir received the message of the
Viceroy with scant courtesy. The arms forwarded to
him were accepted, but five lakhs of rupees, offered
as a compensation for the loss of a portion of
Seistan, were not accepted. Sher All had deter-
mined to set his face away from the ruling powers
in India, and closely watch the advance of Russia.
In Lord Salisbury's opinion, however, it was neces-
sary that the Amir of Afghanistan should be called
upon to receive a British Agency at Kabul, so
that immediate information might be obtained of
Russian operations on the frontiers, and timely
remonstrances be made at St. Petersburg by a
British envoy. Lord Northbrook thought otherwise.
He knew well the inveterate objection the Amir had
always manifested to the presence of British officers
at Kabul, and he was satisfied that accurate informa-
tion of the affairs of Afghdnistan could be obtained
from the native Indian envoy then resident at the
Court of the Amir. The Viceroy and his Council
accordingly felt compelled to protest against the
policy of forcing a British Embassy on Afghanistan,
and in 1876 the Viceroy felt it necessary to request
that he should be relieved, on the grounds of ill-
health, from the duties of his office.
During Lord Northbrook's administration three
important events happened. In 1873-4 a threatened
famine in Lower Bengal was averted by timely
relief and the purchase of grain. The Gaekwar
of Baroda was tried on a charge of having en-
deavoured to poison the British Resident, Colonel
FAMINE. 333
Phayre, by mixing poison with his sherbet, and
after a famous trial depoGed for misgovernment.
During the cold weather of 1875-6 the visit of the
Prince of Wales produced an outburst of emotional
loyalty, showing how deep down in the hearts of
the people still lay their devotion to the ideal of a
feudal sovereignty.
Lord Northbrook was succeeded by Lord Lytton,
whose imaginative and poetic temperament found full
play in inaugurating the scene of Oriental pomp and
splendour, amid which the Queen of England was
proclaimed Empress of India on the ist of January,
1877.
To those who lived in the south of India during
1876 and 1877 the memory of those years will ever
be associated with the wave of desolation of famine
which swept awa)^ 5J millions of the population who
died in silent suffering, notwithstanding all efforts
made to save them. To succour the starving people
over eleven millions of tens of rupees were expended
by the Government.
In order to cany out a complete scheme of protec-
tive works against future famines, and to construct
new canals and railways, a special license tax on the
profits, exceeding ^^200 a year, of all trades and
professions was imposed, and with the income thus
raised 16J millions of rupees were expended on pro-
tective works from 1880 to 1895.
From the south, where the famine raged, the atten-
tion of Lord Lytton was directed to the Amir of
Afghanistan who, in the words of the Viceroy,
" pretends to hold the balance between England
334
INDIA UNDER THE CROWN.
FAMINE GROUP FROM MADRAS.
ANOTHER FAMINE GROUP FROM MADRAS.
THE TWO IRON POTS. 335
and Russia, independent of either." That the Amir
should distinctly understand the true nature of his
relationship to the two empires, each watching with
i^rowing impatience every move made to checkmate
the other's advance, was told by the Viceroy the un-
pleasant truth that " his position is rather that of an
earthen pipkin between two iron pots." At the same
time the Amir was informed by Lord Salisbury that
neither by the treaty of 1855, nor by Lord Mayo in
1869, nor by Lord Northbrook in 1873, "was any
assurance given of unconditional protection."
To one thing, however, the Amir was resolved not
to submit, and that was the entry of any English
envoy into his dominions. He knew that the ap-
pearance of an English officer at Kabul would goad
his wild, fanatic subjects to fury, and that neither
his own position nor the envoy's life would be
safe. The Amir had also doubts respecting the in-
tentions of the English, for he had seen the British
troops, in November, 1876, take up a permanent
advanced position at Quetta on the south of his
dominions β a move he deemed, not unnaturally, to be
the first step in the advance towards Kandahar and
Herat. The Amir accordingly, in his reply to the
Viceroy, stated that he objected to the appointment
of an envoy, for " We mistrust you, and fear you
will write all sorts of reports about us, which will
some day be brought forward against us and lead
to your taking the control of our affairs out of
our hands." Lord Lytton, finding that neither
diplomatic finesse nor harsh threats could force an
envoy on Afghanistan, peremptorily refused to enter
33^ INDIA UNDER THE CROWN.
into further negotiations with the Amir, who was
left for the future to take what course he deemed
fit for the preservation of the independence of his
own dominions.
In Europe the Russians had crossed the Balkans
and forced on Turkey the Treaty of San Stefano,
only to be held in check by England, who mobilised
her forces and brought to Malta sepoys from India.
Still, if England could stay the course of Russia
towards the Mediterranean, Russia could strive to
shake to its very foundations the British rule in India.
Before the Peace of Berlin had been signed Stolietoff
was hurrying from Samarkand to Kabul bearing to
the Ami'r a treaty of friendship and alliance. As soon
as the news reached the Viceroy that a Russian
Embassy had been received by the Amir, and that
Russian soldiers were to be seen in the bazaars at
Kabul, he determined, whether the Amir desired it or
not, to send an English officer to Afghanistan.
From Peshawar Sir Neville Chamberlain was
directed to march with a small escort to Kabul
through the Khaibar Pass. At All Masjid, the
first fort commanding the mountain pass, Major
Cavagnari received a polite intimation that if the
embassy advanced further its passage would be
resisted by force of arms.
In vain Lord Lawrence pleaded that the English
nation should refrain from imperilling its position by
advancing beyond its own strong boundaries on the
Indian frontier to wage war against a foe that would
never tamely submit to foreign invasion. In vain
X^orcJ Northbrook urged that since the signing of the
S/A' LOUIS CAVAGNARI. 337
Treaty of Berlin all fear of danger had passed away.
War was declared against the Amir on the 21st of
November, and before the year was out General Sir
Samuel Browne was encamped with a conquering
force at Jalalabdd ; Sir Donald Stewart had marched
from Quetta up the Pish in Valley to Kandahdr,
and General Frederick Roberts had made his way
through the Kuram Valley. The Amir, accom-
panied by a remnant of the Russian Embassy, fled
from his capital. On the 21st of February, 1879,
he died at Balkh, forsaken by his allies, and left his
son, Yakub Khan, to make what terms he could
with the English who now held Afghanistan. On
the 26th of May the Treaty of Gandamak was
signed, by which the external policy of Afghanistan
was placed under British control, the districts of
Kuram, Pishin, and Sibi ceded, the control over
the tribes guarding the Khaibar and Kuram passes
relinquished, and a permanent British envoy and
escort accepted at Kabul. With calm resignation
Sir Louis Cavagnari, William Jenkins of the Civil
Service, Dr. Kelly, and Lieutenant Hamilton, V.C.,
with seventy-five of the Guides, rode into the Bala
Hissar on the 24th of July, 1879, to meet the fate
foreshadowed by those who knew the deep hatred
that rankled in the hearts of the fanatic tribesmen
of Afghanistan against the intruders in their land.
For five weeks the embassy remained at Kabul in
the Residency near the Amir's palace. Each day Sir
Louis Cavagnari reported that all went well. Suddenly,
on the 3rd of September, the pent-up storm burst
forth. The city rabble, led on by the wild soldiery
23
338
INDIA UNDER THE CROWN.
of Herat, came clamouring to the Residency gates.
The defenders fought long for their lives ; they fell
one by one, and the last of the Guides perished amid
KABULIS.
the flames of the Residency. Lord Lytton had, at
last, more than justifiable grounds to exact the ut-
most penalty from the new Amir for his treacherous
SIR FREDERICK' ROBERTS AT KABUL. 339
violation of a treaty of safe conduct to a British
Embassy.
Major-General Sir Frederick Roberts, at the head
of a force of 5,500 men and twenty guns, marched
through the Kuram Valley, and received the sub-
mission of Yakub Kh^n on the 2nd of October.
On the 6th the whole Afghan force of some thirteen
regiments was driven before the advancing force,
and by the 1 1 th Sir Frederick Roberts was before
the Residency viewing the burnt ruins where Cavag-
nari and his band had bravely fought and died.
All guilty of murder or treachery were hunted out
and punished, the Amir was deported to India, and
the British army of seven thousand men encamped
on the heights overlooking Kabul. Towards the
end of the year the tribesmen gathered together,
and marched in from all sides against the handful of
English troops. On the iithof December General
Massey was sent out towards Ghazni with four horse-
artillery guns, a troop of the 14th Bengal Lancers,
and two squadrons of the 9th Lancers, to aid General
Macpherson in scattering the tribesmen who were
swarming in from the west towards Kabul. As
General Massey advanced he suddenly found himself
face to face with upwards of 10,000 Afghan fighting
men, who immediately opened fire on the British
troops. A charge of two hundred of the Lancers
into the midst of the foe held them back for a
short time, but at a loss of sixteen men and two
officers. The British force were outnumbered, and
retreated. Lieutenant Hardy, of the Horse Artillery,
fell beside his gun, which had to be spiked, and
340 INDIA UNDER THE CROWN.
the three remaining guns were abandoned in a deep
watercourse whence they were afterwards brought in
by Colonel Macgregor.
As General Massey's force retired, keeping the
enemy at bay, two hundred men of the 72nd High-
landers, ordered out by Sir Frederick Roberts, came
to the rescue, and gaining the village Deh Mazung at
the gorge of a pass in the hills to the west of the
Sherpur cantonments, prevented the further advance
of the Afghan tribesmen. The Afghdns, defeated in
their attempt to rush the cantonments, took posses-
sion of the hills near Kabul. To their aid reinforce-
ments poured in from all sides, and daily assailed
the position held by an army little more than
that which had retired in the winter of 1841. Sir
Frederick Roberts, knowing that the enemy would
soon deliver themselves over into his hands to be
heavily smitten and broken in pieces, quietly waited
his time, and withdrew the whole of his troops into
the cantonments. Ever cool and ever cheerful he
was to be seen at all hours of the day and night
passing from post to post, encouraging each soldier,
leaving nothing to chance.
On the last night of the Mohurrum, the 23rd of
December, the ninety years' old chief of Ghazni,
Mashk-i AMm, who, by his influence, had fanned
a religious war of extermination against the un-
believers, sent forth from the heights of Asmai the
signal, a flartie of fire, for a final attack. Some
30,000 fierce clansmen and trained soldiers, led by
howling ^bands of Ghazis, rushed down on the
camp. Within the entrenchments dead silence
THE AMIR. 341
reigned, to each man his post had been allotted.
When the Afghdn host drew close the sullen roll of
the musketry rang out from the trenches and bastions
and volley after volley was poured into the dense
mass of advancing foes. For hours the fierce
Afghans strove to gain the defences, till, taken in
the flank by four guns sent out from an opening in
the hills to the north, they broke, pursued by the
cavalry, and left their thousands dead behind, the
survivors escaping to carry the news of their defeat
far and wide through the villages of Afghanistan.
On the 20th of July, 1880, by the direction of Lord
Ripon, who had succeeded Lord Lytton, it was an-
nounced to the chiefs and sardars at Kabul by Mr.
(now Sir) Lepel Griffin that the Viceroy and Govern-
ment of the Queen-Empress had decided to recognise
as Amir of Afghanistan Abdur Rahman Khan, grand-
son of Dost Muhammad, who had long been a
pensioner in Russian territory.
A few days later, on July 27th, a terrible disaster
befel General Burrows' Brigade at Maiwand. Ayub
Khan, brother of Yakiib Khdn, had marched from
Herat to Kandahdr, and there met two Bombay
regiments, six companies of the 66th, a troop of
horse artillery, and some native cavalry, which he
utterly routed, inflicting on them a loss of 964 killed
and 167 wounded.
Before Abdur Rahmdn could be left in safety at
Kdbul his opponent, Ayiib Khan, had to be crushed
and the reverse to the English troops retrieved. On
the 9th of August Sir Frederick Roberts, at the
head of 10,000 men, 2,835 being Europeans, set out.
342 INDIA UNDER THE CROWN.
without wheeled artillery, on his famous march from
Kabul to Kandahar 320 miles distant. The force
reached Robat on the 28th, the distance, 303 miles,
having been covered in twenty days, and in the battle
of Kandahar, fought on the ist of September, Ayub
Khan was defeated, his army dispersed, some 1,000
of his troops slain and all his guns captured.
The British troops were gradually withdrawn from
Afghanistan, and the Kuram and Khaibar Passes
relinquished in the year 1880-1. On the ist of April,
1 88 1, Kandahar was evacuated and Abdur Rahman
left to consolidate his power and extend his sway
over his subjects.
The remainder of Lord Ripon's administration was
devoted to the peaceful development of the resources
of the country. He abolished the import duties, espe-
cially those on cotton goods ; he enlarged and extended
the principle of local self-government, set free the
vernacular press from the restrictions imposed on it
by Lord Lytton, extended the criminal jurisdiction
of native Civil servants of the grade of District Magis-
trate, re-established the Department of Revenue and
Agriculture, and made efforts for the encouraging of
primary education on the lines recommended by an
Education Commission which he appointed.
The final expansion of British India took place
during the Viceroyalty of Lord Dufferin, who, on the
1st of January, 1886, annexed Upper Burma^ Mandalay
having been captured in November, 1885, by General
Prendergast, in consequence of the barbarities and
intolerance of King Theebaw.
In 1885 it seemed that war was almost inevitable
PANJDE/f. 345
between Russia and England. On the frontier of
Afghanistan Sir Peter Lumsden and a Russian
Commission were engaged in laying down the
boundaries of the i\mir's dominions and those of
the Czar. Both sides laid claim to Panjdeh at the
junction of the Kushk and Murghal Rivers. The
Afghan general, Shams-ud-Din. moved his soldiers
344 INDIA UND'Ell THE CROWX.
across the Kushk River, and was ordered to retire by
the Russian general, Komaroff. He refused, and five
hundred of his force were shot down in less than an
hour by the Russian Cossacks and Turkomans. At
the time the Amir Abdur Rahman was at Rawal
Pindi on a visit to Lord Dufferin, and the expected
war, for which the English Parliament had, at the
request of Mr. Gladstone, voted an immediate grant
of eleven millions sterling, was happily averted by
the Amir withdrawing his claim to Panjdeh, his right
to Zurfikar being recognised in exchange.
For the first time in the history of British rule in
India the native princes eagerly pressed forward in
the supposed emergency with offers of aid in money,
transport, and men, some even offering to maintain
their own troops at the front if the Viceroy would but
accept their offer to repel what was feared would be
the commencement of a Russian invasion.
On the 3rd of December, 1888, the Marquis of
Lansdowne landed at Bombay, having been appointed
to succeed the Earl of Dufferin, created Marquis of
Dufferin and Ava for his services during his Vice-
royalty.
Many and varied were the problems that presented
themselves for solution during the administration of
Lord Lansdowne. First there were the questions in
connection with the National Congress, or assemblage
of representatives from all parts of India, which first
met in 1886, and still continues annually to hold
meetings in December of each year, to formulate and
press on the Government measures which it deems
essential in consequence of the newly awakened
MAN I PUR. 345
hopes and aspirations of the more educated natives.
There were also questions connected with local repre-
sentation and freedom of members of the Legislative
Council to discuss finance and financial legislation,
and questions respecting the newly aroused, bitter,
and often sanguinary feuds between different religious
sections of the community in India, all of which await
their solution in the future.
The condition of affairs at Manipur, on the borders
of Assam, and in Chitral, a state lying between
Afghanistan and the North-west frontier, were of
more immediate interest. All that is at present
known, and it is doubtful if more ever will be
known, of the true facts of the former is that in
the Hill state of Manipur, having an area of
about 4,500 square miles, the ruling chief was,
in September, 1890, driven out from his territories
by his own brother, the Senapati, or leader of the
army, and another of his brothers proclaimed Regent
in his place. The chief fled .first to Mr. Grimwood,
the Viceroy's agent at Manipur, thence to Calcutta.
The Viceroy at once directed Mr. Quinton, Com-
missioner of Assam, to proceed to Manipur and
recognise the newly appointed Regent as chief of
the state, but at the same time directions were
given that the Senapati should be captured and
removed. With an escort of four hundred Ghurkas
Lieutenant-Colonel Skene left Assam and marched to
Manipur, where he summoned the newly appointed
Regent and the Senapati to meet him in public
Darbar, the intention being that the Senapati should
there be apprised of the intentions of Government
346 INDIA UNDER THE CROWN.
and publicly arrested. As the Senapati, however, did
not deem it wise to attend the Darbar, an attempt
was made on the 24th of March to arrest him at his
own house. He resisted, and in turn attacked the
Residency. Mr. Quinton, Mr. Grimwood, and Colonel
Skene, were outnumbered, and when they went with
a flag of truce to the Regent they were treacherously
assassinated.
The escort retreated from the Residency, but on
the arrival of reinforcements order was restored. The
Senapati and those guilty suffered the penalty of
death, the Regent was transported for life, and a
minor representative of the ruling family nominated
by the British Government to the chieftainship, a
political Resident being placed in adminstrative charge
during the minority of the young Raja.
Chitral, a state larger than Wales, inhabited by
some eighty thousand wild and reckless hill-men,
had for long preserved its independence, hid away
as it was amid the surrounding vast mountain ranges.
Separated from Russian territories by the state of
Wakhan, Chitral guards the Ishkamun and Baroghil
Passes leading across the Hindu Kush β the great
watershed between India and Central Asia β to the
Pamirs.
In 1876 the Chief of Chitral sought to enter into
friendly relations with the Maharaja of Kashmir β a
policy in which he was encouraged by the Indian
Government, as it was hoped that thereby effectual
control might be ultimately gained over the northern
passes, and to some extent a voice in the external
affairs of Chitral itself In 1878 a treaty was
C MITRAL. 347
successfully drawn up under Lord Lytton's auspices
between the Chief of Chitral and the Maharaja of
Kashmir. By this treaty it was agreed that an
English agency should be established at Gilgit on
the northern frontier. This position was to be gar-
risoned by Kashmir troopers, for the purpose of
observing and reporting on Russian intrigues and
tribal movements in the scarcely known tracts lying
between Kashmir and the Pamirs. This agency was
withdrawn in 1881, but re-established under Lord
Lansdowne in 1889, with instructions that the Resi-
dent was from time to time to visit Chitral, and if
possible open up a road thence to Peshawar.
In August, 1892, the Mehtar, or ruler, of Chitral
died. His second son, aged twenty-five, Afzal-ul-
Miilk, murdered all his brothers within reach, and
sent word to the Viceroy that he had been acknow-
ledged chief with the "unanimous consent of his
brothers," requesting at the same time that an
English agent should be sent to Chitral.
It was not long before the new chieftain was
deposed by his uncle, Sher Afzal, who was in turn
driven out from Chitral by the old Mehtar's eldest
son, Nizam-ul-Mulk, who had returned from Gilgit,
where he had won the favour of the agent. Colonel
Durand. Sher Afzal retired to Badakshan, where
he became a pensioner of the Amir of Afghanistan,
and Surgeon-Major Robertson was deputed by the
Viceroy to visit Chitral and report on the state of
its affairs.
While the British Government was considering the
policy most expedient to pursue with regard to the
348 INDIA UNDER THE CROWN.
State the question suddenly developed fresh compli-
cations from the fact that the new chief, Nizam-ul-
Mulk, was, on the ist of January, 1895, shot at a
hunting party at the instigation of Amir-ul-Miilk, his
half-brother.
The Amir of Afghanistan had undertaken, by the
Durand Agreement of November 12, 1893, '^ot to
interfere with Chitral, but, strange to say, when
Umra Khan, Chief of Jandol, a neighbouring state
lying between Chitral and Peshawar, attempted in
the confusion to seize Chitral, he was joined, on
February 21st, by Sher Afzal, who had somehow
escaped from the custody of the Amir.
Four days later the fickle tribesmen of Chitral
joined the two insurgent chieftains, and raised the
standard of revolt against their new chief and his
English supporters. Surgeon-Major Robertson was
driven into the fort, and on the 13th of February wrote
that he was holding out with 240 men and had ample
supplies for three months. On the 3rd of March 200
Kashmir infantry, under Captain Campbell, advanced
from the fort to reconnoitre the position of the enemy.
They were driven back with a loss of twenty-three
killed and thirty wounded. Surgeon-Captain Whit-
church bravely won the Victoria Cross for bearing
Captain Baird, who was mortally wounded, through
the attacking enemy three miles back to the fort.
Cut off from the outside world, the defenders
gallantly held the fort from March 3rd to April 17th,
in which time lOi of their number were wounded, 40
fatally. The full' strength of the garrison consisted
of 99 men of the 14th Sikhs, 301 of the Kashmir
MARCH OF COLONEL KELLY. 349
Infantry, under the command of Surgeon-Major
Robertson, the agent. Captains Townshend and
Campbell, Lieutenants Gurdon and Harley, and
Surgeon-Captain Whitchurch.
On the 19th of March orders were given for the
1st Division of the ist Army Corps, 15,000 strong,
to march from near Peshawar through the Swat and
Dir country and attack the rebels from the south.
On the 1st of April the army, -fully equipped
and provisioned, started under Lieutenant-General
Sir Robert Low. On the 3rd of April the Mala-
kand Pass, 3,500 feet high, was forced, and 12,000
of the enemy driven from a strong position they
tried to defend. Further on the Panjkora River
had risen and was impassable. A bridge was built,
and Lieutenant-Colonel Battye, after a gallant day's
fighting, in which he succeeded in driving the tribes
from the hills on the far side of the river, fell mortally
wounded in the hour of victory. On the 17th of
April the advancing force from the south defeated
Umra Khan. In the meantime Colonel Kelly had
marched from Gilgit, two hundred miles north-east
of Chitral, with four officers and two hundred men
of the Pioneers crossed over the Sandur Pass, 1 2,400
feet high, through 4J feet of snow, and on the
5th of April reached Lashpur, thirty of his men
having been struck down with snow-blindness, and
twenty-six having fallen frostbitten during the march.
On the 9th Mastuj was occupied, its garrison relieved,
and the force, now increased to 640 men, drove the
enemy before them and reached Chitral by the 20th
of April, there to find that the besieging force had
350 INDIA UNDER THE CROWN.
fled and that the garrison was released from its long
imprisonment of forty-seven days.
Chitral once subdued, the same question, which has
run through all Indian politics since the time when
Lord Lawrence formulated his policy of non-inter-
vention with territories and chieftains lying outside
the strict limits of British India, once again pressed
for solution. Should the British force be withdrawn
from Chitral, or "should the position be strengthened
and improved by making a road from Peshawar
and placing an agent permanently at the Mehtar's
capital ? On the one hand it was urged that an
advanced position on the very borders of Russian
territory, the opening-up of the country by roads
and consequent civilisation of the savage races,
would only prepare the way for a Russian advance
from Bokhara towards Kashmir, Gilgit and the
Punjab. On the other hand, it was contended that
an English agent and English troops at Chitral
would effectually frustrate any possible intrigues or
sudden incursions from beyond the passes of the
Hindu Kush.
The question received the full attention of the most
experienced officials in India and England. On the
13th of June, 1895, Sir Henry Fowler, then Secretary
of State for India under a Liberal Government, sent
to the Viceroy a telegram directing that no European
force or diplomatic agent should be retained at
Chitral, that the state should be abandoned to a new
native ruler, Shuja-ul-Mulk, and no effort made to
open communications with it from Peshawar. This
decision the Government of India regretted, but,
LIMITS OF BRITISH TERRITORY. 35 1
at the same time, loyally accepted. Before action
on it took place a Conservative Government came
into ofifice, and on the 8th of August Lord George
Hamilton, the new Secretary of State for India,
reversed the policy of his predecessor and tele-
graphed to the Viceroy that Chitral should not be
abandoned, and that a military force should be located
near at hand with a political agent in charge so that
effectual control should be kept over the passes.
Chitral thus remains the most advanced post in
British India, guarding the passes through which
Alexander the Great probably advanced on the first
historic invasion of India β passes, however, through
which it seems absolutely impossible that any advance
in modern times could ever be contemplated or
considered feasible.
This tendency towards expansion of British terri-
tory in the East is inevitable, however much it may
be regretted. To the far East over Burma towards
the Mekong River, beyond the Indus from Chitral
to British Baluchistan, it has spread, and in 'the future
it must as certainly extend till it touches the boun-
daries of Russian dominion. Before that time comes
strange changes will have taken place β changes that
must shake to their very foundations the Empires of
the West and decide the great question of the future :
the contest among the nations of Europe for final
supremacy, not only over India but also over the
further Eact β a contest in which the East must in-
evitably fall vanquished so long as physical force is
to decide the pre-eminence of the hardy dwellers
in Northern climes over their effete and perhaps
352 INDIA UNDER THE CROWN.
more degenerate brethren in the enervating regions
of tropical lands.
At the present moment the whole world throbs
to its centre with eagerness to enter on the mighty
contest β a contest which all know cannot be long
delayed. So portentous appear to be the coming
changes that none seems to know whether it were
wise to hope that some solution may come speedily
or that for a time the West may be allotted oppor-
tunity to reconsider her position in the history of the
world's civilisation before her irresistible material
resources are again sent forth to bend and mould
to her ways the sedate and placid peoples whose
necks are already bent before their coming con-
querors.
XVI.
MORAL AND MATERIAL PROGRESS UNDER BRITISH
RULE.
England's mission in India as pioneer in implant-
ing the rudiments of Western Civilisation, nurtured
under the dire necessity of a struggle for existence in
which only the fittest tend to survive, has as yet but
hardly commenced. The extent of country that has
fallen under her sway and the varied people she there
rules, present a problem more than suffi6ient to tax to
the utmost the resources she holds at her command.
According to the last Census Report, ably com-
piled by the Census Commissioner, Mr. Baines, the
rule of the British in India extends over the following
provinces and feudatory states, the latter having a
larger population than that of the United States,
Haidarabad alone being equal in extent to the
whole of England and Scotland, while Rajputana
and Central India exceed the entire German
Empire.
24 353
354
PROGRESS UNDER BRITISH RULE.
Province, State, or At^ency,
Bengal
Madras
jN.-W. Provinces
[Otidh^
Punjab
(Bombay
iSind
Central Provinces
{Upper B II nil a
\ Lower Burma
Assam
Berar
A j mere
Coorg
(Aden
\ Quetta, &c.
Andamans ...
Total, British Provinces
Haidarabad
Rajputana ...
Central India
Mysore
Baroda
Kashmir
States connected with Bombay
,, β Madras
β β Central Provinces
β ,, Bengal ...
β β N.-W. Provinces
Punpb
Fort Steadman, Shan Outposts...
Total, Feudatory States
Grand Total, India
Area in ~
Population,
β >quare Miles.
1891.
151,543
71,346,987
141,189
35,630,440
83,286
34,254,254
24,217
12,650,831
110,667
20,866,847
77,275
15,985,270
47,7Β«9
2,871,774
86,501
10,784,294
83,473
2,946,933
87,957
4,658,627
49,004
5,476,833
17,718
2,897,491
2,711
542,358
1,583
173,055
80
44,079
β
27,270
β
15,609
964,993
221,172,952
82,698
11,537,040
130,268
12,016,102
77,808
10,318,812
27,936
4,943,604
8,226
2,415,30
80,900
2,543,952
69,045
8,059,298
9,609
3,700,622
29,435
2,160,511
35,834
3,296,379
5,109
792,491
38,299
4,263,280
β
2,992
595,167
66,050,479
1,560,160
287,223,431
India not only exceeds in extent the whole of
Europe, leaving out Russia, but its people are divided
one from the other in race, language, and physical
characteristics, as greatly as are the varied nationalities
of the West. In religion they are subdivided as
follows : β
CENSUS RETURNS.
.55
Religion.
Brahmanic
Animistic
Sikh ...
Jain ...
Zoroastrian ,
Buddhist
Jew ...
Christian
Musahnan
Minor forms
Unreturned ,
Total
Population (1891).
207,731,727
9,280,46/
1,907,833
1,416,638
89,904
7,131,361
17,194
2,284,380
57,321,164
185
42,.578
287,223,431
According to the census returns they are grouped
together as speaking languages belonging to the
following families : β
Population
Languages by Linguistic groups β
Returning.
^A. Aryo-Indic
195,463,807
B. Dravidian
.
52,964,620
C. Kolarian
.
2,959,006
D. Gipsy Dialects
.
401,125
E. Khasi
178,637
F. Tibeto Burman
.
7,293,928
G. Mon Annam
229.342
H. Taic, or Shan
,
178,447
Family -
J. Maylayan
K. Sinitic
L. Japanese
M. Aryo-Eranic
N. Semitic
0. Turanic
P. Aryo-European
Q, Basque
R. Hamitic or Negro
β’
4,084
713,350
93
1,329,428
55,534
659
245,745
9,612
Language unrecognisable
363
Return left blank
β’
19,659
Total enumerated by Parent Tongue..
262,047,440
Population not enumerated by Parent Tongue
25,175,991
Total
287,223,431
356
PROGRESS UNDER BRITISH RULE.
The almost incredible ignorance of the mass of
the people may be estimated from the following
figures : β
Number able to
read and write per
Country.
i,ooo 0
each Sex.
Males.
Females.
United States {White)
725
706
Ireland
554
501
Ceylon
26Q
29
United States {Coloured)
254
217
India, i88i
91
4
β 1891
109
6
To keep this vast empire in peace, and resist all
possible danger of invasion, the army, according to
the returns of 1893-4, has a sanctioned establishment
as follows : β
British troops ...
Miscellaneous officers
i Bengal
Native troops - Madras
( Be mbay
84,513
32,305
28,818
Total
Corresponding total for ih'92-3 ...
73,080
901
145,636
219,617
218,786
The native reserves amount to a total of 13,316,
the effective strength of the volunteers being 25,908,
with 19,294 contingents from feudatory states, or-
ganised and trained by British officers for service in
the field. The proportion of Europeans to natives in
the regular army is about two to one, and about equal
INTERNAL PEACE. 35/
to the subsidiary forces of reserves, volunteers, and
feudatory contingents.
Almost the whole of the effective artillery, the forts,
and arsenals are in the possession of British troops,
and every position of vantage is practically unassail-
able by native troops. The defences of Delhi were
in 1890 secured against all possibility of attack, and
by 1 891 the railway bridge over the Jumna was pro-
tected by fortifications. Similarly Agra, Cawnpur,
Lucknow, Allahabad, and all chief cities where dis-
affection is ever to be feared, have been so secured as
to furnish safe retreat for the British colony in case
of sudden attack. It is to be hoped that in future no
efforts will be spared for the necessary extension of
similar defences and construction of like harbours of
refuge, where the military authorities, after full con-
sideration and due consultation with the Civil autho-
rities, deem them imperative. So long as there is
danger of grave disorder arising from outbursts of
fanatical zeal, race hatred, or lawless lust, which may
at any moment occur and spread far and wide, in
remote and at present unprotected portions of India,
it is the first duty of the Government to see that
their civil officers and outlying military posts are not
exposed to any avoidable risk in carrying on their
duties of administration.
While the internal peace of India has been secured,
the problem of defence against any possible attack
from the north-west or east still occupies the earnest
attention of the Government.
The conquest of Sind in 1843, and the acquisition
of the Punjab in 1849, advanced the boundaries of
358 PROGRESS UNDER BRITISH RULE.
British India to the high mountains and table-lands
of Khelat and Afghanistan. From the west of Kashmir
the mountain ranges, running south for 1,200 miles to
Karachi, the seaport town of Sind, are held to the
northward by fierce, fanatic Pathans, to the southward
by more tractable Baluchi's, who submit to the rule of
their hereditary chieftains, both races together being
able to turn out some 200,000 fighting men. From
Peshawar, the Khaibar Pass is open towards Kabul ;
further south the Tochi and Giimal Passes give access
to Ghazni, while from the plains of Sind the Bolan
Pass leads to Quetta and Chaman, thence through
the Khojak Pass to Kandahar.
The route from the Khaibar Pass was secured, in
1893, by defensive works at Peshawar, by entrench-
ments and batteries stretching 7J miles in extent
along the river Indus at Attock, and further back
by fortifications at Rawal Pindi, extending in a
quadrilateral of five miles, which would take some
10,000 men to defend. At the other passes adequate
precautions for defence have been taken, the most
important being those in connection with the route
from Kandahar to Quetta on to the plain of Sind, with
which the name of the great hero diplomatist, Sir
Robert Sandeman, will, so long as the British Empire
in India lasts, be ever associated. For upwards of
400 miles north, from the sea to the Indus, the ad-
ministration of the Sind frontiers lay in the hands of
the Sind Government, whose duty it was to watch
the Khan of Khelat and the territories over which he
ruled, a tract of country larger than Great Britain.
These lands were inhabited by Baluchi and Brahui
DEFENCE. 359
tribes, who held the passes and roads leading from
India towards Kandahar, Her^t, and Persia. Through
Sir Robert Sandeman's indomitable perseverance
and strong determination, the Khan of Khelat was
induced, in 1876, to enter into a treaty by which
hfe agreed not only to refer his disputes with his
feudatories to the British Government, but also to
allow British troops to occupy Quetta, a post now
almost impregnable.
After the Afghanistan war of 1878, Sir Robert
Sandeman succeeded in securing the districts now
known as British Bakichistan, included in 1887 in
British territory. In 1890 the Zhob Valley was
occupied, and the Giimal Pass opened up for traffic.
Quetta has further been connected with Sibi by
two railways, one through the Harnai Valley and
one through the Boldn Pass leading to Chaman six
miles beyond Quetta by a tunnel 2J miles long.
The difficulties of constructing these railways have
been almost insurmountable, in consequence of the
ever-recurring landslips and floods. On the Mush-
kaf Valley line, in the Boldn Pass, upwards of
twenty tunnels had to be constructed in a distance
of sixty miles ; lower down nine bridges were swept
away in 1892; in other places the rails were carried
away by floods and had to be relaid nine and ten
times ; while in other parts the line has over and
over again been covered for miles by landslips.
While every available effort has thus been put for-
ward to make the frontiers from Karachi to Chitral
unassailable from the west, the north is secured by
the mighty mountain ranges of the Himalayas, im,
360 PROGRESS UNDER BRITISH RULE.
passable for an invading army, and possessing peaks
such as those of Kanchajanga and Mount Everest,
over four miles in height.
On the south-east the conquest of Upper Burma
has brought the British dominions in touch with those
of the French, and the Mekong River now forms the
boundary between these two rival powers in the East
To the north-east the limits between China and
Burma were satisfactorily demarcated in 1894, the
state of Kiang Hung, on the left bank of the
Mekong, being ceded to China, and the state of
Kiang Kheng to Siam. By handing over this northern
Shan State of Kiang Hung along the banks of the
Mekong, to China, an intermediate zone to the south
was left to form a buffer state between British and
French boundaries. By the declaration of January
15, 1896, between France and England, it was finally
agreed that, " From the mouth of the Nam Huok
northwards as far as the Chinese frontier, the thalweg
of the Mekong shall form the limits of the possessions
or spheres of influence of Great Britain and France."
This closing together of British and French territories
along the Mekong will entail future military ex-
penses and possibly give rise to many complicated
questions of international policy. At present the
most pressing problem seems to be the necessity of
connecting Burma with the south of China by a
railway carried through the Kiang Hung State, so
as to open up a *new and important route to tap the
mineral and agricultural resources of India-China and
Yunnan.
While India is thus almost in touch on its north-
THE MEKONG.
361
west and south-east frontiers with the advancing
soldiers of Russia and France, and therefore com-
pelled to make adequate defence against all possible
risk of invasion by land, the great seaports Karachi,
Bombay, and Calcutta have been placed in a com-
plete state of defence against naval operations,
leaving, for financial and other reasons, the security
of Rangoon and minor ports a matter for serious
though future consideration.
362 PROGRESS UNDER BRITISH RULE.
Although the necessity of holding India free from
every possible and probable internal disturbance and
safe from external invasion is the primary duty of
a civilised Government without which none of its
functions, such as the moral and material advance-
ment of the people entrusted to. its charge, can be
accomplished, yet there may be limits beyond which
no Government, with a due regard to financial con-
siderations, can prudently advance. Military strate-
gists, if left unchecked by all financial considerations,
could only find the actual realisation of their ideals
in making the defences entrusted to their care abso-
lutely impregnable from all possible combinations of
attack. That it is however practically impossible to
carry out, at the present time, many admirable and
probably necessary schemes for defence must be
admitted, when the financial position of India is
recognised as demanding the most careful considera-
tion, and even scrutiny, before further expenses are
incurred without the very gravest necessity.
The first note of financial alarm was sounded in
the year 1885, when it was proposed to increase the
army in India by io,OOD British and 20,000 native
troops. Since then the average annual expenditure
up to 1892-3 on special defensive works has been
over 5,550,5 1 1 rupees, while the cost of minor military
expeditions, including that in Upper Burma and Mani-
pur, has exceeded Z\ millions of tens of rupees, the
increase on army effective service alone being 12
millions of tens of rupees more in 1892-3 than it was
in 1882-3.
In addition to these burdens on the financial re-
FALL OF THE RUPEE. 363
sources of India, the cost of civil administration has
increased by nearly 3 millions of tens of rupees
from 1882-3 to 1894-5. The interest on public debt
has grown at the rate of 3 millions of tens of rupees
annually during the last twenty years.
Another serious item to be considered is the loss
annually incurred from exchange, due to the fact that
money to the amount of 16 millions sterling has to
be remitted from India to England in order to pay
for home charges, such as interest on debt, about
2j millions ; interest on railway, about 5 J millions ;
military charges and pensions, 3J millions ; civil
pensions, ij millions; and stores, \\ millions. The
whole. of this is paid in England in gold, and raised
in India in silver rupees. During recent years the
value of silver, in relation to gold, has fallen con-
siderably ; the rupee, instead of being worth 2s., was
valued at but a little over thirteen pence in 1894-5.
As the rupee falls in value or purchases less gold, more
of the silver revenue of India has to be sent yearly to
England ; the loss in exchange, in 1894-5, amounted
to 14,752,000 of tens of rupees.
By Act VIII. of 1893 an effort was made to stay
the falling value of the rupee, and if possible to
facilitate the introduction of a gold coinage into
India. The Indian mints were closed to the un-
restricted coinage of silver into rupees by the public;
gold at the same time being accepted at the Govern-
ment treasuries at the rate of one sovereign for fifteen
rupees, or gold received at the mint at the ratio of
IS. 4d. for the rupee.
The revenues of India, from which these increasing
364 PROGRESS UNDER BRITISH RULE.
expenses of the army, military defences, civil ad-
ministration, and loss by exchange have to be met,
are raised for the greater part from that portion of
the population least able to bear any increase of
taxation.
The population of British India amounted to
221,172,952 in 1891 β an increase of 22,312,349 during
the ten years from 1881. Two-thirds of this vast
population live by agriculture, the land revenue
contributing a total of 25,492,300 of tens of rupees
out of a total revenue of 92,024,900 of tens of rupees.
(Budget estimate for 1894-5.) This agricultural
population is as a class poor, living so near the very
verge of subsistence that a scarcity prolonged for a
year gives rise to widespread distress, bringing many
to the borders of starvation ; a second year's failure
of rain results in a calamity such as that of 1876-8^
when four millions of people died in the south, not-
withstanding every effort made by the Government
to save life.
Nine-tenths of the population live in villages not
having over 5,000 inhabitants, and four-fifths live in
villages not possessing 1,000 inhabitants ; the average
village of India contains about 363 inhabitants. In
each village there is the hereditary moneylender,
eager to advance money to the cultivators at rates
of interest varying from i to 50 per cent., on the
security of the land which, since the advent of British
rule has acquired an ever-increasing value. Under
the ancient Hindu law no moneylender could re-
cover more interest on a loan than the amount of
principal he had advanced ; under British rule he can
THE MONEYLENDER.
365
recover to any amount, and to recover his debt sell,
not only the tenant's crop, but take possession of the
land under a judgment decree. In native states this
transfer of land from a cultivator to a creditor is
never allowed; in villages under British rule it obtains
to so great an extent that Sir Griffith Evans declared,
during the course of a recent debate in the Legis-
lative Council of Calcutta, that " It is one of the
grave political dangers of the future. . . . We are
ousting the warrior peasantry by our laws and courts
to put in the usurer. We shall want our army one
day to keep him in."
The following return from the last Census report
shows the extent to which this transfer of land, from
a law-abiding, industrious class to the idle and
pampered moneylenders, has taken place under
British laws : β
Per-centajje of
Per-centafie of
Landholders,
Landholders,
&c., amongst
State.
&c., amongst
Province.
, _
2-^1-"
c = 5
β 3 -^ 0
,
^;s|
oi
^;S|
Β«i
0 tiDO
5-2
S3
3 Β«
III
^<^
H<SU
Bombay
0-24
31-22
Haidanibad
5-21
15-31
Madras'
6-54
1777
Baioda
5-68
2-60
Central Provinces
556
3674
Bombay States
4-29
551
Berar
2-54
23-21
Central Provnice
Assam
38-02
67.65
States
10-82
i3-4Β«
N.-W. Provinces ...
18-28
46-57
Punjab
7-96 'IS-;;
That is to say, two-thirds of the usurers of Assam
have become landholders, and nearly one-half of them
366 PROGRESS UNDER BRITISH RULE.
in the North-western Provinces have ousted the original
hereditary cultivators, who have taken to other occu-
pations, or more frequently become serfs and day-
labourers. Some effort was made, in consequence
of the agricultural riots in Bombay, to protect the
cultivators by the Deccan Agriculturists' Relief Acts
of 1879 and 1 88 1, which enacted that when the land
was mortgaged, the court, on failure of the tenant to
repay the loan, could direct the land to be culti-
vated for seven years for the benefit of the money-
lender, the debtor and his family being allowed
sufficient to support them out of the proceeds, after
which time the land is restored to the tenant.
Nothing short of a general law, applicable to all
India, will adequately meet this grave danger.
At present the land-tax is paid in silver, often
borrowed by the cultivators, in the absence of agri-
cultural banks, from the moneylenders at exorbitant
rates of interest. So long as this method of collecting
the revenue at fixed dates exists, and the people are
not allowed the option of commuting their rents for
a payment in grain, or prohibited by law from part-
ing with their rights and interests in the land they
hold, it is hopeless, if not actually fraudulent, to
endeavour to raise a higher revenue from the smaller
cultivators.
The opium revenue, chiefly on opium grown on
about half a million acres in Benares and Berar,
fell from over 9 J millions of tens of rupees in 1884
to under 6J millions of tens of rupees in 1894. This
source of income, if it does not finally disappear, will,
for a variety of causes, be liable to still further de-
SOURCES OF REVENUE. 367
crease, notwithstanding the fact that the Report of
the Opium Commission, presented on the i6th of
April, 1895, showed that no evil effects were to be
anticipated from the rational use of the drug by
Eastern people.
While the tax on opium is chiefly paid by the
Chinese consumer, the revenue derived from the
Government monopoly of the sale of salt, whether
imported from Cheshire, or made by evaporation of
salt water in shallow tanks along the seashore, or
collected from the salt lakes of Rajputana, or dug
from the salt hills of the Punjab, is paid by the
Indian consumer, who by a series of irritating laws is
prohibited from engaging in the simple manufacture
of an article so necessary for the health of an
agricultural community and their cattle. The total
revenue derived by Government from this monopoly
amounted to 8,346,200 tens of rupees, in 1894 raised
from a duty of 6s. 9d. per cwt., and the cost of salt
to a family of five may be estimated at about two
rupees annually. The excise duties bring in but 5J
millions of tens of rupees, and as tobacco is free
of duty, the incidence falls at about fourpence per
head, while in England it amounts to six times as
much.
It can thus be seen that there is but little hope of
any great increase of revenue in the immediate
future. Sir David Barbour, during the course of the
International Bimetallic Conference in 1894, summed
up the financial position of India as follows : " An
Eastern country governed in accordance with ex-
pensive Western ideas, an immense and poor popu-
368 PROGRESS UNDER BRITISH RULE.
lation, a narrow margin of possible additional tax-
ation, claims for additional expenditure greatly in
excess of possible additional revenue, a constant
tendency for expenditure to outgrow revenue, a
system of government in India favourable to increase
of and unfavourable to reduction of expenditure, no
financial control by intelligent and well-informed
public opinion, either in India or in England."
At present the ordinary appeal in all these matters
is to the Secretary of State for India who is aided
by a Council of fifteen members appointed for a term
of ten years, the members being mostly chosen on
account of their intimate acquaintance with the affairs
of India, where they have held high office. By the
Act of 1858 which transferred the Government of
India to the Crown, the Secretary of State in Council
has control over the expenditure of the revenues of
I-ndia. In pressing matters, where secrecy and de-
spatch are required, such as those of foreign policy,
the making of war, or the affairs of native states, the
Secretary of State acts independently of his Council.
In India the Governor-General, commonly called
Viceroy, and his Council are appointed by the Crown
for a term which custom has loosely fixed at five
years. The Council consists of five members ; two
nominated from the Civil Service, the third a mili-
tary officer, the fourth a barrister in charge of the
legislative department, and the fifth a member in
charge of the finances. An additional member by
an Act of 1874 may be appointed for the charge of
public work, and the Commander-in-Chief is always
an extraordinary member.
ADMINISTRATION. 369
With the vote of the Viceroy a war poh'cy can
usually find the support of a majority in the Council
capable of overruling any financial remonstrance or
opposition.
The Legislative Council consists of the above
Executive Council, strengthened by the addition of
from ten to sixteen members, of whom not more
than six may be officials.
By Lord Cross's Act of 1892, the members of the
Legislative Council of the Governor-General, as well
as those of the Local Governments in Madras, Bom-
bay, Bengal, North-west Provinces, and Oudh, have
been granted the privilege of discussing, and asking
questions on any financial statement, but members are
by the Act forbidden to propose any resolution, or to
take any division in respect of any financial question.
Madras and Bombay, including Sind, are each
administered by a local Governor, appointed by
the Crown, with an Executive and Legislative
Council ; Bengal is ruled by a Governor-General
with an Executive and Legislative Council, likewise
the North-west Provinces, while the Punjab has no
Legislative Council, Assam and Burma and the Central
Provinces being governed by a Chief Commissioner.
For internal administration and civil and criminal
jurisdiction British India is subdivided into 250
districts, each district, averaging in extent some 3,859
square miles, presided over by a senior member of
the Covenanted Civil Service and two or three junior
Covenanted -assistants. These Covenanted Civilians
are the successors of the former writers or factors
appointed and sent out by the East India Company.
25
370 PROGRESS UNDER BRITISH RULE.
By degrees, as the Company acquired territory, the
factors assumed administrative functions, and in
1800, Lord Wellesley founded his college at Fort
WiUiam for their systematic training. In 1805
the Company, not approving of Lord Wellesley's
efforts, founded their own college at Haileybury,
where civilians were educated for two years before
being allowed to proceed to India. In 1853 the
power of nominating their officers was withdrawn
from the Company, and the appointments filled by
candidates selected by open competition, a system
which still continues.
In order to extend the employment of natives in
the higher administrative posts, usually reserved for
Covenanted Civilians, a statute of 1870 empowered
the authorities in India to nominate natives to these
appointments, and by the rules drawn up in 1879,
one-sixth of the appointments made each year were
reserved for them. The result of the appointments,
made in accordance with these rules, was found not
to be so satisfactory as had been hoped. A Public
Service Comrhission, appointed in 1886, therefore
recommended that the rules of 1879 should be
annulled and a new service of the higher native
officials in the Executive and Judicial services con-
stituted, to be called the Provincial Civil Service, to
which about one-sixth of the appointments usually
held by the Covenanted Civil Service should be open.
Of the 824 ordinary appointments held by members
of the Covenanted Civil Service 93 were thrown
open in 1892-3 to selected native officers of the
Provincial Service.
CIVIL SERVICE EXAMINATIONS. 3/1
On the 2nd of June, 1893, the House of Commons
passed a resolution that " all open competitive
examinations heretofore held in England alone for
appointments to the Civil Services of India shall
henceforth be held simultaneously in India and
England, such examinations in both countries being
identical in their nature, and all who compete being
finally classified in one list according to merit." The
Government of India, to whom this resolution was
referred, pointed out to the Home Government the
danger of lowering the present number β some 731
β of higher European officials now employed in
governing a populace of 217J millions of natives.
It urged that these Covenanted Civilians " represent
the British Government in India. In the eyes of
the people they are the British Government. It is
to their personal influence, their impartiality, justice,
and efficiency, their physical and moral fitness, that
the due administration of the Empire is entrusted.
Upon them, and not immediately upon military force,
our strength rests. Any weakening of their influence
or deterioration of their efficiency would imply a
relaxation of the restraint of Government,and a rever-
sion/r(^ tanto to the condition from which the countr}'
emerged only when it came into British possession."
The matter was finally summed up in the follow-
ing Memorandum forwarded by the Government of
India to the Secretary of State on the ist of
November, 1893 : β
" In the discussions in the House of Commons and
elsewhere frequent mention has been made of the pro-
visions of section 87 of the Statute 3 & 4 Will. IV.,
372 PROGRESS UNDER BRITISH RULE.
c. 85, and of the declaration embodied in Her Majesty
the Queen's Proclamation of November I, 1858.
The first of these enacted ' that no native of the
said territories, nor any natural-born subject of Her
Majesty resident therein, shall, by reason only of his
religion, place of birth, descent, colour, or any of
them, be disabled from holding any place, office, or
employment under the said company.' This pro-
vision, as is evident from its language, conveys no
pledge of employment to any class, but merely
declares that no person shall be subject to a dis-
ability on account of the matters stated. As
observed by the Court of Directors, its object was
' not to ascertain qualification, but to remove dis-
qualification.' The same Statute (sections 103-107)
limited the supply of ' the vacancies in the civil
establishments in India ' to candidates nominated for
admission to the East India Company's College at
Haileybury ; and at that time it need hardly be said
that under this method of ' providing for the due
qualification of persons to be employed in the Civil
Service of the Company,' the admission of natives of
India to that service could, under any conceivable
circumstances, scarcely have been contemplated.
Her Majesty's Proclamation of 1858, while an-
nouncing Her Royal will and pleasure that, ' so fat-
as may be, her subjects, of whatever race and creed,
be freely and impartially admitted to offices in Her
service, the duties of which they may be qualified by
their education, ability, and integrity duly to dis-
charge,' similarly limited, in the words italicised, the
admission of natives of India to such offices by the
INDIA CIVIL SERVICE. 3/3
paramount necessities of the Empire. The Statute
of the same year (21 & 22 Vict, c 106, s. 32),
under which appointments to the Indian Civil
Service are still regulated, evidently contemplated
such appointments being made according to the
results of an examination conducted in London
under the superintendence of the Civil Service Com-
missioners. And it was in order to give effect to the
Proclamation of 1858, in such manner as to counter-
act, so far as might be, the difficulties imposed by the
Statute of 1858 on natives of India in coming to
London to be examined, that the Statute of 1870
was passed into law. This Statute is restricted in
its operation to natives of India. While other
natural-born subjects of Her Majesty can gain
admission to the service only by the door provided
by the Act of 1858," natives of India need not have
recourse to that mode of entrance, but can be
admitted β on proof of ' their education, ability, and
integrity' β by the procedure laid down in the Act
of 1870. But the qualification expressed in the
Proclamation of 1858 β 'so far as may be' β still
holds good ; and although the Government of India
for the last twenty years have assiduously endea-
voured to promote the entrance into the higher
offices of the Indian Public Service of duly qualified
natives, the necessities of our position in the country
continue to limit the possibilities of such admission."
According to the last Census of 1891 there were
but 90,169 English, Scotch, or Irish in India out of
the population of 288J millions. In the Provincial
Services there were 2,449 natives of India employed
374 PROGRESS UNDER BREriSH RULE.
in higher judicial and executive work. Altogether,
out of 114,150 appointments carrying an annual
salary of over 100 tens of rupees, 97 per cent, were
held by natives of India. The full details show that
there were 2,395,162 persons connected with the
administration; 118,135 employed in local adminis-
tration, and 3,086,856 in village service.
The administration of India, while yearly giving
increased scope for the employment of natives of
recognised ability, must be supervised by European
officers who, by their independence from the rivalries
ever recurring between conflicting religious bodies
and by their freedom from race antipathies, are able
to act impartially, and with determination in the sup-
pression of local disorder or more serious outbreaks.
In place of the great inland cities of old, such
as Agra, Delhi, Allahabad, Benares, and Lucknow,
where emperors once reigned and priests held sway,
surrounded by all the glamour of Oriental splendour
and sacerdotal pomp, great seaport centres of com-
mercial activity and Western enterprise have steadily
grown to take their part in the history of the world's
commerce : Calcutta, with its population greater than
that of Glasgow ; Bombay, with a population exceed-
ing that of Leeds and Sheffield ; and Madras, possess-
ing a population more numerous than that of Dublin.
In 1856 there were but 300 miles of railway open
in British India; by 1871 the three great modern
cities of Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras had been
placed in railway communication with each other,
since which time the land has been traversed by a
complete system of subsidiary lines opening up to
RAfLlVAYS, ROADS, AND SANITATION. 3/5
commercial enterprise the most important routes.
The total length of rail sanctioned and opened up
by the 31st of March, 1895, ^^as 21,072! miles, while
there were 18,85 5 J miles ready for traffic, and it is
certain that a great increase may be looked for in the
immediate future, from the fact that a Parliamentary
Committee laid down, in 1884, the requirements of
India at no less than 60,000 miles of rail. Of
227 millions sterling expended up to 1892 on the
construction of these railways, the Indian Govern-
ment provided the sum of 153 millions sterling β an
investment which would now show a fair profit were
it not that the earnings are in silver, and 5 per cent,
interest was guaranteed on money raised in England
for the construction of the earlier lines.
At the same time roads well constructed, bridged,
and metalled along their entire course have replaced
the few tracks, known as trunk roads, constructed
under native rule. The chief towns have also been
drained, placed in a sanitary condition, and as often
as possible provided with an abundant supply of
pure drinking water brought from storage areas by
means of engineering works which rival, in many
cases, anything of a similar character possessed by
cities of the West. Thus Bombay is now supplied
with water from the Tansa Reservoir, the construc-
tion of which commenced in 1886 and was finished
in 1892 at a cost of ;^ 1,500,000. In order to carry
out this scheme an artificial lake, from six to seven
square miles in area, was formed in the hills about
fifty-five miles north-west of Bombay, by construct-
ing a dam almost two miles long across a natural
3/6 PROGRESS UNDER BRITISH RULE.
valley where the reservoir was formed. The* water
was conveyed through masonry conduits, over bridges,
and through four miles of tunnels to Bombay in quan-
tities sufficient to supply the town with upwards of
20,000,000 gallons daily.
Equally important are the great engineering works
that have been carried out for distributing the surplus
water of rivers and reservoirs to such tracts as are
suitable for artificial irrigation, in order that the food
supply of the country may be increased, and practical
immunity afforded against famine. Over 13,000,000
acres of land now receive irrigation from artificial
sources of supply, the water being distributed by
over 16,000 miles of main and branch canals and
24,000 miles of minor channels, of which 16,000 are
navigable, upwards of 32 millions sterling having been
expended by the Government on these works alone.
The most remarkable project undertaken by
Government for the purpose of irrigating an insuffi-
ciently supplied area, is that known as the Periyar
Project in South India, only recently completed.
The Periyar River had from of old carried off the
surplus rainfall from the western ghats of Travan-
core to the sea near Cochin. The clouds borne in
from the sea pour down their rain on these western
barriers to the extent of 100 inches of rain yearly, the
eastern side receiving but a fitful supply carried off
by the slow-flowing Vaiga River through the rich
lands of Madura and Ramnad, towards the east
coast. The bold idea was conceived of diverting
the excess flood of the Periyar River from its usual
course to the west, and leading it by a tunnel
TJiE PERIYAR PROJECT. 2i77
thrcyugh the mountains into the Vaiga River, so that
the lowland plains of Madura and Ramnad might
receive the benefit of the copious supply of rain
falling on the Travancore Mountains.
A dam, 155 feet high, 1,200 feet long, and 166
feet wide at its base, was constructed across the
upper valley of the Periyar River. An artificial
lake was thereby formed in the western mountains
capable of retaining over 13,000 millions of cubic
feet of surplus water. The water of the lake was
then carried in a deep channel for 5,400 feet north-
ward towards a tunnel, pierced in the mountains, ij
miles long, 12 feet wide, through which it was led
towards the Vaiga River to flow east and be dis-
tributed by minor works over 1 50,000 acres of land
in Madura and Ramnad.
Concurrently with the rapid increase of railways,
roads, and navigable canals, the mineral resources of
the country are being rapidly developed.
The first coal mine, worked under British methods,
was opened at Raniganj in 1820. Since then mines
have been worked in Sind, the North-west Provinces,
Oudh, Rajputana, Mysore, and Kashmir. In 1880
the total output from Bengal and the Central Pro-
vinces, then the only sources of supply, was 1,019,793
tons. In 1894 the output reached 2,774,093 tons,
from nine well-recognised centres of supply. During
the past four years the import of coal into India, where
it is sent at merely ballast rates, fell from 656,867
tons to 591,007 tons, and it appears certain that
before long India will be able to supply sufficient coal
not only for her own wants, but even for exportation.
378
PROGRESS UNDER BRITISH RULE,
The supply of petroleum, especially from Burma
and Assam, and in a minor degree from the Punjab
and Baluchistan, is increasing, as may be seen from
the following return : β
Produced in
Β»
1888.
1891.
.89.
.1893.
Burma
Baluchistan
Punjab
Assam
Gallons.
2,794,000
34,000
2,000
Gallons.
5-793,000
138,000
2,000
23,000
Gallons.
8,698,000
3,000
2,000
22,000
Gallons.
10,276,000
2,000
82,000
Total
1
2,830,000 6,136,000
8,725,000
10,360,000
The gold mines of India also yield satisfactory and
promising returns, the output from the eight principal
mines of Mysore being as follows : β
1888.
1892.
1893.
1894.
Quantity of gold ex-
tracted
Approximate value of
gold extracted
Ounces.
35,034
Rx.
193,059
Ounces.
163,188
Rx.
980,000
Ounces.
207,135
Rx.
1,449,000
Ounces.
209,714
Rx.
1,540,000
Although iron is smelted as a local industry in
many parts of India, and the ore is found in great
richness in many places, it is only now worked after
European methods at Barrackpur with ^ny degree
of commercial success.
The modern development of India as a factor in
the commercial history of the world may be said to
date from the year 1822, when the idea of trading
THE SUEZ CANAL, 379
from London to the East by means of steam navi-
gation was first proposed, although it was not until
the i6th of August, 1825, that the first steamer, the
i . ""' ' T β β " β--7
T . .
f\ .i^ ^
1 -'" '
' 1 V y., 1
β r*
xl" ^ r\a \
^Kr/jd^ / \^ .^
β’ -><>:
I - ;
1 - r;
/ -f
β’Wr.r
?5
'^^.-β’kv?'
- /":>; .-
r\
Enterprise^ of 479 tons register, reached Calcutta,
after a long journey of 106 days.
In 1840 Ferdinand de Lesseps conceived the
380 PROGRESS UNDER BRITISH RULE.
idea of carrying out the project of joining the Red
Sea to the Mediterranean by a canal 100 miles long
from Suez to Port Said, so as to once more bring
the commerce of the East to its ancient route and
restore prosperity to the cities of the Mediterranean
ports. The opposition of England on political grounds
to the construction of the canal forced French and
other foreign capitalists to raise the requisite sum
for the carrying out of the project. By the 17th of
November, 1869, the canal was opened for naviga-
tion, ;^20,C)00,C)00 sterling having been spent on its
construction. On the 25th of November, 1875, the
English Government purchased shares to the extent
of ;^4,ooo,ooo in the Suez Canal, where the interests of
the English had become so predominant that out of
3,425 ships passing in 1890, 70 per cent, were British.
The growth in trade that has ensued, between the
United Kingdom and India, can be estimated from
the fact that when the exclusive monopoly of the
Company was drawing to a close in 18 14 the total
trade was but ;^ 1,870,690, while in 1894, of
;^2i 5,824,333 sterling of British products exported
abroad, India was a customer for goods to the
value of ;Β£'29,300,o69.
Cotton and cotton manufactures form the mobt
important items of Indian trade amounting to one-
fourth of the whole.. The cheap production of cotton
goods in India roused the animosity of English
manufacturers as early as the year 1700, when they
succeeded in getting an Act of Parliament passed
to prevent these goods coming into England to
compete with home products. β’ The introduction of
THE COTTON DUTIES. 38 1
new processes of especially the use of steam power,
gave to England an easy supremacy in the manu-
facture of textile goods over the laborious process
of the hand looms of the East, Lancashire growing
thereby in wealth and property, the village industry
in India gradually declining.
In the year 185 1 the first cotton mill was started
in Bombay, and in 1859 the Finance Minister, James
Wilson, raised the import duty on cotton yarns from
5 to 10 per cent. Mr. Samuel Laing reduced the
import duty again to 5 per cent, a rate which Lord
Northbrook refused to lower. Under the rule of
Lord Lytton the finer cotton goods β those made
of yarn lighter than thirties β were exempted from
duty on importation into India β a policy of so-called
free trade carried further by Lord Ripon, who
abolished the import duty. Notwithstanding this
the Indian mills succeeded in competing success-
fully in the coarser class of goods with those of
Lancashire. In consequence of the pressing financial
embarrassment of India, the import duty on cotton
goods was reimposed towards the close of 1894, and
an excise duty levied on all cotton yarns produced
in India of counts over twenty, in which it was
hoped the Lancashire mills would retain an easy
monopoly, so that the trade in the coarser class of
goods might be left in the hands of native mill-
owners. The recent legislation of 1896 has reduced
this import duty to 3J per cent, ad valorem on
piece goods and cotton manufactures, and imposed
a duty of 3J per cent, on woven goods of all counts
manufactured by Indian mills.
382
PROGRESS UNDER BRITISH RULE.
For long it was considered that the Indian mills
could not produce yarns of a higher count than
twenty-fours, but of late it has become evident that
India can produce goods of as fine a quality as those
imported from abroad if the manufacture proves a
financial success. There are now over 140 cotton
mills in India which employ some 1 30,000 labourers.
These mills are gradually being brought under the
regulations of the English Factory Act, with the
intention of reducing the time of labour to eleven
hours, with one hour's rest in the middle of the
day, and of restricting the hours of employment of
women.
The principal articles of merchandise imported
into India and the growth of the trade during
the course of five years is as follows : β
1889-90.
1893-4-
Rx.
Rx.
Cotton goods and yarn
29,873,928
32,377,469
Metals, including hardware and cutlery.
6,802,177
7,S8o,282
Oils, chiefly mineral
2,645-213
3,570,188
Silk, raw a'j.d manufactured
2,845>i59
3,188,053
Sugar
2,200,049
2,824,190
Machinery and mill work
2,435,3Β«5
2,518,038
Woollen goods
1455,235
1,892,04^
Chemicals, drugs,dyes, and medicines,&c.
1,280,556
i,Β«37,570
Provisions
1,596,565
1,782,868
Apparel
1,296,394
1,578,049
Liquors
1,465,144
1,458,204
Railway material
i,Β«2 1,337
1,242,977
Coal
1,308,590
972,588
Spices
Β«52,350
Β«73,655
Salt
Β«94,532
791,067
Glass and glassware
647,127
788,480
Paper and pasteboard ...
407,479
494,208
Umbrellas
314,106
4Β«o,933
niPORTS AND EXPORTS.
383
The exports of Indian merchandise are shown in
the next list : β
1.S89-90.
1K93-94.
I. Grain and pulse
. 16,528,225
16,325,142
2. Cotton, raw
. 18,668,404
13,296,670
3. Seeds
..
β’ 10,627,553
16,753,251
4. Opium
..
. 10,115,936
8.019,428
5. Cotton yarns and cloth ...
..
6,753,743
6,242,558
6. Jute, raw
..
. 8,639,861
8,524,130
7. Tea
..
β’ 5,277,650
6,585,835
8. Hides and skins
..
. 4,524,261
5,801,328
9. Indigo
β’ 3,863,084
4,182,128
10. Jute manufactures
..
. 2,791,242
3,441,787
II. Coffee
. 1,489,872
2,002,171
12. Wool, raw
..
. 1,085,637
1,079,772
13. Dyes (other than indigo)
..
683,288
841,073
14. Lac
..
. +88,513
960,330
15. Provisions
..
624,425
873,877
16. Wood and timber
870,119
589,764
17. Silk, raw
..
639,818
698,099
18. Oils, including parafBn wax .
555,007
535,881
19. Sugar
..
917,179
892,741
The following, showing the imports of tea from
India, China, and Ceylon, to England points out
clearly the rapid growth of the demand for India and
Ceylon tea and the corresponding decrease in the
demand for the more delicate China tea.s. The
quantities are given in lbs. ooo's omitted.
From India.
From Ceylon.
1884
6^,208
2,211
143,771
1885
64,382
4,242
139,673
1886
73,467
7,144
145,308
1887
84.645
13,062
119,799
1888
89,874
22,509
105,735
1889
95,384
32,673
88,558
1890
101,771
42,491
73,743
1891
109,638
61,900
62,284
1892
111,711
66,042
57,051
1893
115,023
72,631
56,209
384 PROGRESS UNDER BRITISH RULE.
While from the earliest days of the Company the
development of commerce and increase in the wealth
of the country has received the first attention of
its Western rulers the intellectual and moral welfare
of the people have also claimed the earnest attention
of the State.
The first step taken under the rule of the Company
towards connecting the State with the education of
the people was, in 1781, when Warren Hastings
founded a Muhammadan College at Calcutta, an
enlightened policy carried on by Mr. Jonathan
Duncan who established a college at Benares, in
1 79 1, for the encouragement of Sanskrit learning
among the Hindus.
The Rev. H. B. Hyde, in one of a learned and
painstaking series of articles to the Indian Chmxh
Quarterly Review has recently pointed out that in
1788 Mr. John Owen, Chaplain to the Bengal Presi-
dency, addressed a memorial, signed by all the
chaplains then stationed at Calcutta, to the Govern-
ment, urging that schools should be established, " in
proper situations for the purpose of teaching our
language to the natives of these provinces," so that
" the beneficence of Great Britain would acquire a
more glorious Empire over a benighted people than
conquest has ever yet bestowed." This very curious
and interesting petition, which, as Mr. Hyde remarks,
has been overlooked by all historians, does not appear
to have received any attention from Government.
From the year 1799 the renowned Baptist mission-
aries Marshman and Ward, who had settled at a
small Danish settlement at Serampur, set up a print-
EDUCATION. 385
ing press and commenced to print and distribute
vernacular literature, and by 181 5 they had estab-
lished twenty schools in the vicinity of Calcutta, with
upwards of 800 native children.
For the first time, either at home or abroad, the
principle that the instruction of the people was an
essential part of the duties of the State was clearly
enunciated by the Charter Act of 181 3. By this Act
it was declared that " it shall be lawful for the
Governor-General in Council to direct that out of any
surplus which may remain of the rents, revenues, and
profits arising from the said territorial acquisitions,
after defraying the expenses of the military, civil, and
commercial establishments, and paying the interest
of the debt, ... a sum not less than one lac of rupees
in each year shall be set apart and applied to the
revival and improvement of literature, and the
encouragement of the learned natives of India, and
for the introduction and promotion of a knowledge of
the sciences among the inhabitants of the British
territories in India." The lakh of rupees herein re-
ferred to was transferred to a General Committee
of Public Instruction, appointed by the Bengal
Government in 1823, for the purpose of devising
measures " with a view to the better instruction of
the people, to the introduction among them of useful
knowledge, and to the improvement of their moral
character."
The more advanced natives of India were naturally
eager that these State Funds should be employed
in encouraging the study of English instead of
Eastern learning. The Committee of Public Instruc-
26
386 PROGRESS UNDER BRITISH RULE.
tion, however, preferred to found Oriental colleges at
Agra and Delhi, thereby drawing down on them-
selves, in 1824, the retort of the Court of Directors
that " in professing to establish seminaries for the
purpose of teaching mere Hindu, or mere Muham-
madan literature, you bound yourselves to teach a
great deal of what was frivolous, not a little of what
was purely mischievous, and a small remainder,
indeed, in which utility was not in any way con-
cerned." The object of the Directors in thus urging
the necessity of an English education was to raise
a class of natives fitted for employment in the civil
administration, so that gradually English would be-
come the language in which public business might
be transacted β a policy sedulously supported by the
educated class of natives, and, as a rule, reprobated
by the Indian officials.
When the renewal of the Company's Charter was
proposed to the House of Commons in 1833 by Mr.
Charles Grant, President of the Board of Control, it
w^as laid down that the duty of the Company was the
"extending the commerce of this country, and of
securing the good government, and promoting the reli-
gious and moral improvement of the people of India."
Lord W. Bentinck, acting under the influence of
Lord Macaulay, announced on the 7th of March that
he was "of opinion that the great object of the
British Government ought to be the promotion of
European literature and science amongst the natives
of India, and that all the funds appropriated for the
purpose of education should be best employed on
English education alone."
STRICT NEUTRALITY. 387
A new difficulty immediately arose. It was con-
tended that by the favour shown by the Government
towards the education of the natives in English
learning and modes of thought, attempts were being
made to undermine the native religions and gradually
convert the people to Christianity. The point was
plainly expressed by the Rev. Alexander Duff who,
on examination on the subject before the House of
Commons in 1835, said, "We cannot but lament that
no provision whatever has been made for substituting
the only true religion β Christianity β in place of the
false religion which our literature and science will
inevitably demolish."
These doubts and hopes were put an end to by
Lord William Bentinck who, as quoted by the learned
Syed Mahmood in his recent valuable " History of
English Education in India, " declared that " the funda-
mental principle of British rule, the compact to which
the Government stands solemnly pledged is strict
neutrality. To this important maxim policy, as well
as good faith, have enjoined upon us the most scrupu-
lous observance. The same maxim is peculiarly
applicable to general education. In all schools and
colleges supported by Government this principle can-
not be too strongly enforced, all interference and
injudicious tampering with the religious belief of the
students, all mingling direct or indirect teaching of
Christianity with the system of instruction, ought to
be positively forbidden."
The despatch of Sir Charles W^ood in 1854 laid
down the principle that English was to be a medium
of instruction only in the higher branches of education,
388
PROGRESS UNDER BRITISH RULE.
and that the vernacular was to be employed in the
lower grades of schools Under the terms of the
same despatch universities were to be established for
the Presidency chief towns, after the model of the
University of London for examining pupils and
granting degrees in arts, law, medicine, and civil
engineering ; those of Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay
in 1857, of the Punjab at Lahore in 1882, and of
the North-western Provinces at Allahabad in 1887.
According to the Report of an Education Com-
mission of 1882, presided over by Sir William Wilson
Hunter, it was decided that Government should
gradually withdraw from all direct work in connec-
tion with secondary education, and leave such schools
to be supported by private efforts supplemented by
grants in aid. The number of colleges teaching for
universities and schools, and their progress during
ten years since that date is shown by the following
statement : β
\
1881-82.
1
1 1891-92.
Xo.
Pupils.
Xo.
Pupils.
University {^J^^fes^Vonal Z
Secondary
Primary
Normal
Technical
86
24
4,432
90,700
135
189
8,127
2,411
418,412
2,537,502
4,949
8,503
104
37
4,872
97,109
152
402
12,985
3,292
473,294
2,837,607
5,146
16,586
Total
95,566
2,979,904
102,676
3,348,910
The following list gives the increase during five
ENGLAND S PRIME FUNCTION.
389
years of what may be called the higher educated
natives of India : β
University.
Matriculation.
Intermediate
Examination.
Bachelor
of Arts.
Master
of Arts.
Candidates.
Passed.
Pa.ssed.
Passed.
Passed.
Calcutta
Madras
Bombay
Allahabad
Lahore
27,612
36,467
6,718
4,602
11,022
9,457
4,143
2,909
1,859
3,810
4,236
1,740
810
472
1,592
1,211
492
355
153
266
21
18
58
9
Total ...
Annual Average
90,751
18,150
29,390
5,878
11, 068
2,213
3,803
761
372
54
The full effects of these efforts for the intellectual
improvement of the people of India must be looked
for in the future. Sir Alfred Lyall has in his
" Asiatic Studies," pointed out that " England's prime
function in India is at present this : to superintend
the tranquil elevation of the whole moral and intel-
lectual standard." The ideals to be aimed towards
and the results to be attained by England in thus
carrying out her great mission in the history of the
world's progress, have, with philosophic calm and
poetic insight, been traced out by Sir Raymond West
in the course of an Address to the Ninth Oriental
Congress of 1892 in the following words : β
" There is no great need for a large multiplication
of secondary schools and of colleges affiliated to the
Universities, but there is need for access to them
being made easy to ability, and great need for their
teaching being raised and widened, if those who pass
390
PROGRESS UNDER BRITISH RULE.
through them and become the intellectual leaders of
India are to be equal to their high calling, and are to
take a part honourable to themselves and their nation
in the creation of an imperial spirit which shall super-
sede all ideas of severance, and further that fusion of
the philosophies of the East and West to which we
may now look most hopefully for the moral and
intellectual advance of mankind."
INDEX.
Abdur Rahman Khan, Amir, 326,
341
Abercromby, General, 154
Aboriginal inhabitants, 49
Adi Granth, 245
Administration, 369
Afghanistan, 219, 227, 231, 326
Agra, capture of, 176
Agriculturists' Relief Act, 366
Ahmadabad, 142
Ahmadnagar, 175
Ahmad Shah Durani, 123
Aix la Chapclle, Treaty of, 75
Akbar, Emperor, 59
Alambagh, 301
Alexander the Great, invasion of
India, 4
Aligarh, fort of, taken, 176
Aliwal, battle of, 252
Allahabad, 113, 124, 126, 287
AUard, General, 247
Ambala, mutiny at, 278 ; troops
assembled at, 285
Ambela campaign, 319
Amboyna, massacre of, 38
America, 134
Aminchand (Omichund), 98
Amherst, Lord, 201-4 'β > war with
Burma, 201
Amritsar, 245
Anderson, Lieutenant, 255
Anson. General, at Ambala, 285
Anwar-ud-din, 70
Arakan ceded, 203
Arcot Fort, capture and defence
of, 83, 85
Argaon, 176
Army, 275, 3 15, 356, 362
Arnold at Charbagh Bridge, 304
Arrah, defence of, 288, 289
Arras, battle of, 141
Aryan languages, 52 ; early
home, 52
Asaf-ud Daula, 131, 139
Asoka, 7
Assam, 203
Assaye, 175
Astronomy,. Indian and Greek, 7
Auckland, Lord, 216-19
Aurangzib, 62, 63
Avitabile, General, 247 β’
Ay lib Khan, 341
B
Babar, 48
Badljki Sarai, battle of, 286
Bahadur Shah, Emperor, 283 ;
death, 303
Bailey Guard, 305
Baillie, Colonel, 145
Baines, Mr., Census Commis-
sioner, 353
Baird, General, 145, 167
Baj-Baj, capture of, 94
392
INDEX.
Baji Rao, 172, 192
Baker, Sir Robert, 125
Baksar, battle of, no
Baluchistan, 359
Baptist missionaries, 384
Barbour, Sir David, 367
Barlow, Sir George, 181
Barnard, General, 285
Baroda, Gaekwar of, 333
Barodia, capture of, 311
Barrackpur, mutiny at, 277
Barrow, Captain, his volunteer
cavalry, 296, 297
Bar well, Richard, 130
Bashiratganj, battle of, 299
Eassein, 140 ; treaty of, 172
Begams of Oudh, 139
Benares, 131, 137, 138, 289
Bentinck, Lord William, 205-15 ;
abolition of widow-burning,
206 ; suppression of Thags,
211
Berhampur, mutiny at, 277
Berlin, Peace of, 336
Bernier, Francois, 63
Bhartpur fortress, siege of, 180 ;
capture of, 204
Bhils, 179
Bhonsla of Nagpur, 123, 141,
177, 196
Bhutan war, 319, 320
Biderra, battle of, 104
Bijapur, 63
Bird, Robert Mertins, land
settlement, 206
Bithiir, Nana Sahib, defeated at,
299
Black Hole of Calcutta, 92
Bombay leased to Company by
Charles II., 40 ; cotton crisis,
324 ; water supply of, 375
Bore Ghat, 143
Boughton, Gabriel, of the Hope-
well^ 39
Breda, Treaty of, 44
Boyle, Vicars, at Arrah, 288
Braithwaite, Colonel, 146
Brasyer, Colonel, at Allahabad,
290
Browne, General Sir Samuel, 337
Bruce, Captain, 142
Brydon, Dr., 233
Burgess, Corporal, 302
Burke, 150
Burma, Upper, annexed, 342
Burnes, Alexander, 218, 226
Burrows, General, 341
Bussy, 76, 103, 106, 147
Busteed's " Echoes from Old
Calcutta," 93
Battye, Lieutenant - Colonel,
death of, 349
Camac, Colonel, 141
Campbell, Sir Colin, 305 ; at
Cawnpur, 307 ; Lord Clyde,
311
Canning, Lord, 274-317
Cape of Good Hope discovered,
12
Carmichael, Sergeant, 302
I Caron, conquests, recall, and
death, 42
Cartridges, greasing of, 276
Cavagnari, Sir Louis, 336-8
Cawnpur, sepoys mutiny, 280 ;
defence of, 290 ; memorial
well at, 292
Census report, 353
Chait Singh, 131, 137, 138
Chaman, 359
Chamberlain, Sir Neville, 319,
336
Chanar, 138
Chanda Sahib, 69
Chandranagar, 97, 144
Chapatis, 276
Charbagh Bridge, 301, 304
Charter of Company, 198
Chauth, 177
Chilianwala, battle of, 257
China, 360
Chitral, 346-51
Christianity, 199, 273, 384-9
Civil Service, 369
Clavering, 130, 134
Clive, 78-118 ; defence of Arcot,
84 ; surprised at Kaveripak, 85 ;
at Samiaveram, 87 ; capture
of Calcutta, 94 ; Plassey, 99 ;
INDEX.
393
returns to England, 107 ; at
Bengal, 11 1 ; his acquisitions
and policy, 112; army and
Civil Service reforms, 113;
death, 118
Coal, 377
Cockburn, Colonel, 141
Columbus discovers America, 12
Commerce, ancient and mediae-
val, 1-12
Commons, House of, resolution
of 1893, 371
Company, finance of, 205 ; ex-
clusive right of trading to
China abolished, 214. Sec
Finance
Competitive examination, 371
Congress, National, 344
Connolly, 223
Constantinople founded, 8 ; sack
of, II
Coote, Eyre, 99, 106, 142, 146
Conversion of debt, 185
Coorg, 165, 262
Cornwallis, Lord, 151-60; Mysore
war, 152
Cotton, 324, 342, 380, 381
Cotton, Sir Willoughby, 219
Council, legislative, 369 ; vice-
roy's, 368
Court, Colonel, 24.7
Cross, Lord, Act of 1892, 369
Cuttack ceded, 177
Currie, Sir Frederick, 255
Dalhousie, Lord, 255 ; second
Sikh war, 257 ; annexations,
262 ; Oudh, 264 ; doctrine of
lapse, 265 ; Nana Sahib, 267 ;
Railway minute, 268 ; on
mutiny, 274
Dangers from moneylenders,
365
De Boigne, 173
Debt, Public, 363
Deccan Relief i\ct, 366
Declaration of Independence,
134
Defence of chief cities, 1^']
Delafosse, 292
Delhi, capture of, 176 ; mutiny
at, 283 ; siege of, 286 ; capture,
302, 303
Denison, Sir William, 318
Deogaon, Treaty of, 176
Dhulip Singh, 249, 254, 258
Dilkusha, capture of, 308
Diodorus and ancient India, 2
Districts, administrative, 369
Diwangiri, 320
Dost Muhammad Khan receives
Russian envoy, 218 ; war with,
219 ; flight, 222 ; surrender,
225 ; restored as Amir, 237,
326
Drake, Sir Francis, captures the
San Filippe, 24
Drama, Indian and classical, 7
Dravidians, 51
Duff, Rev. Alexander, 387
Dufferin, Lord, 342
Dunbar, Captain, defeat near
Arrah, 289
Dupleix, 70 ; holds Madras, 71 ;
his policy, 75-7 ; his recall
and death, 89
Durand, Lieutenant, 220 ; agree-
ment, 348
Dutch commerce, 40 ; sea fights,
41 ; defeat at Biderra, 104
E
Eden, Ashley, 319
Education, 268, 342, 356, 384-9
Ed ward es, H., 301 ; siege of
Multan, 256
Egerton, Colonel, 141, 142
Elephanta, 143
Elgin, Lord, 287, 318
Ellenborough, Lord, 235-9
Ellis, Governor of Patna, 109
Elphinstone, Mounlstuart, 194
English to be ofticial language,
215
Evans, Sir Gril^th, 365'
Exchange, 363
Exports and imports, 382, 383
Eyre, Major Vincent, relieves
Arrah, 289
394
INDEX.
F
Famine in 1770, 117 ; in Orissa,
321 ; in Lower Bengal, 333 ;
in South India, 334 ; effects
of, 364
Fatehpur, battle of, 297
Finance, profits of early voyages,
31, 32, 36, 37 ; of Company in
1693, 47 ; difficulties of Warren
Hastings, 122 ; of Company in
1773, 116, 117, 134 ; prosperity
under Lord Minto, 185 ; in
1823, 199 ; of Company, 205 ;
after Mutiny, 316 ; under Lord
Mayo, 329 ; difficulties, 362
Firozshah, battle of, 250
Fitch, Ralph, visits India, 22 ;
his travels, 23 ; his account of
widow-burning, 23
Fitzgerald, Captain, 197
Fletcher, Sir Robert, 115
Flint, Lieutenant, 145
Forde,Colonel,capturesNorlhern
Circars, 104 ; defeats Dutch,
104
Fort St. David, 73, 105
Fowler, Sir Henry, 350
France, and Company, 41
Francis, Philip, 130, 132, 133,
135
Frazer, General, death of, 180
French in India, 68-76 ; sur-
render to Lawi-ence, 88 ; final
losses, 105 ; in Tongking, 360
Frere, Sir Bartle, 324
Fryer, Dr., 66
Fullerton, Colonel, 148
Gaekwar, 123, 143
Gandamak, Treaty of, 337
Gangadhar Sastri, death of, 193
Gardner, Colonel, 247
Garhakota, capture of, 311
Garvock, General, 319
Gawilgarh, capture of, 176
Genoa, struggle for commercial
supremacy, 11
Ghazni, capture of, 220
Ghurkas, 188 ; w^ar, 189, 190
Gilbert, General, 257, 258
Gillespie, Colonel,^ at Vellore
183 ; in Ghurka war, 189
Gladstone, Mr., 325, 344
Goddard, Colonel, 142
Godeheu succeeds Dupleix, 89
Gohad, Rana of, 143
Golconda, southern kingdom of,
63
Gold coinage under Act VIII.
of 1893, 363
Gold-mines, 378
Golden Firman, 39
Gough, Lord, 250 ; at Chilian-
wala, 257 ; at Ramnagar, 257 ;
at Gujnit, 258
Govind Singh, tenth Sikh Guru,
246
Grant, Lieutenant Alexander,
175
Grant, Charles, 386
Greathed, Colonel, 307
Greek influence on Indian art,
literature, and science, 7
Greeks in India, 4
Griffin, Sir Lepel, 341
Grimwood, Mr., at Manipur, 345
Gujarat, 142
Gujnit, battle of, 258
Gwalior, capture of, 142, 314
H
Hafiz Rahmat Khan, 125, 127
Haidar, Ali, 124, 144
Haidarabad, subsidiary force,
164
Hamilton, Lord George, 351
Hamilton, Lieutenant, 337
Harcourt, Colonel, 176
Hardinge, Sir Henry, 249
Hardy, Lieutenant, 339
Harris, General, march on Ser-
ingapatam, 165
Hastings, Warren, arrival in
India, 120 ; member of council,
Madras, 121 ; Rohilla war,
125-7 ; Nanda Kumar, 132 ;
Chait Singh, 137 ; impeach-
ment, 197 ; Maratha war, 141 ;
Haidar Ah, 145 ; leaves India,
149 ; character, 150
INDEX.
395
Hastings, Marquess, 186-200 ;
Ghurka war, 188 ; Findari
war, 191 ; Manitha war, 196
Havelock, Lieutenant, wins Vic-
toria Cross, 298 ; at Charbagh
Bridge, 304
Havelock, Henry, 235 ; sent to
relieve Lucknow, 294 ; battle
of Fatehpur, 297 ; battle of
Pandii Nadi, 297 ; of Maha-
nijpur, 297 ; battle at Unao
and Bashiratganj, 299; relieved
by Outram, 299 ; at Lucknow,
301 ; death, 309
Hawthorne, Bugler, 302
Hearsey, Colonel, 277, 278
Henry the Navigator, 12
Herat, siege of, 218
Hewitt, General, at Meerut, 280
Hodson, captures Emperor and
slays the three Princes, 303
Holkar, 123 ; Jeswant Rao, 177 ;
defeats Monson, 178
Hoi well, 91 ; story of Black
Hole of Calcutta, 92
Home, Lieutenant, 302
Hope, Adrian, 308, 310
Hiigel, Baron, 240, 248
Hughes, Admiral, 147
Hugli, factory at, 40
Hunter, Sir W. Wilson, and
Education Commission, 388
Hyde, Rev. H. B., 384
Impey, Sir Elijah, 130
Import duties, 342
Imports and exports, 382-3
Income-tax, 316
India Bill of>itt, 151
Indore, 311
Inglis, Colonel, defends Luck-
now, 294
Iron, 378
Irrigation department, 323
J
Jagannath, 17')
Jahangir, 59
Jal/ihibAd, defencj of, 231, 234,
235
Java, capture of, 184
Jenkins, William, 337
Jhansi Rani, 267, 311, 314
Jind, Raja, 301
K
Kaisarbagh, 304
Kandahar, defence of, 234 ;
evacuated, 342
Karnatik, 69, 169
Kashmir, Gat.-, of Delhi, 302
Kaufman, General, 331
Kavanagh, Lucknow, 307
Keane, Sir John, 219
Keating, Colonel, 141
Kelly, Dr., 337
Kelly, Colonel, his march to
Chitral, 349
Khaibar Pass, 358
Khalsa, army, of Si,khs, 247
Khekit, Khan of, 359
Khiva, 331
Kolarian, 51
Kora, 124, 126
Koragaon, defence of, 195
Krishna Raj, 168
Kiinch, battle of, 312
Kirki, garrison of, 194
Kurdla, 160
La Bourdonnais captures
Madras, 70
Laing, Samuel, 316
Lally, Count, 105
Lai Singh, 255
Land, permanent settlement,
154-158 ; Bengal Act of 1859,
157 ; settlement in Madras,
199 ; settlement in North-
west Provinces, 206 ; Tax,
366
Lansdowne, Lord, 344
Lake, General, 174
Lapse, doctrine of, 265
Las war i, battle of, 174, 176
Lawrence, Major, French sur-
render to, 88
396
INDEX.
Lawrence, Henry, 254, 258, 280,
294
Lawrence, John, 258, 286, 318
Leibnitz, advice to Louis XIV., 44
Leslie, Colonel, 142
Lesseps, Ferdinand de, 379
License-tax, 334
Littler, Sir J., 250
Low, Colonel, 349
Lucknow, Treaty of, 170 ; Resi-
dency at, 294 ; defence of,
294 ; advance on, 300, 301 ;
retreat from, 309 ; final cap-
ture of, 310
Lumsden, Sir Peter, 343
Lyall, Sir Alfred, 389
Lytton, Lord, 334-341
M
Macartney, Lord, 148
Macaulay, Lord, 150 ; opinion
on Oriental literature, 214
Macnaghten,' Sir William, 227,
230
Macnaghten, Lady, 234
Macpherson, General, at Kabul,
339 ,
Maharajpur, battle of, 238, 297
Mahe, 144
Maiwand, battle of, 341
Malcolm, Sir John, 164
Mangalore, Treaty of, 152
Manipur, 345
Manni Begam of Oudh, 132
Mansel, Charles Greville, 258
Manithas, 6, 69, 123, 125, 154,
171,172, 188
Markar, 109
Martiniere, 308
Massey, General, at Kabul, 339
Masulipatam, capture of, 176
Maude's Battery, 296, 297, 304
Mauritius, capture of, 184
Mayo, Lord, 327 ; financial re-
forms of, 329 ; death, 329
Meade, Sir Richard, 314
Meerut, arrest of mutineers at,
280 ; mutiny, 281
Megasthenes, Ambassador to
Chandragupta, 6
Mehidpur, battle of, 196
Mekong River, 351, 360
Meloria, battle in 1284, 11
Mess-house at Lucknow, 304
Mill's " History of British India,"
199
Minto, Lord, 183-5
Mir Jafar, 97 ; puts Siraj-ud-
Daula to death, 102
Mitchell, Colonel, 277
Moneylenders, 367
Monson, Colonel, 130, 134
Monson's retreat before Holkar,
178, 179
Mornington, Lord, 161
Mudki, 250
Mughal Empire, 57-67
Mughal Emperors, last of, 303
Muhammad, his teaching, 8 ;
conquests, 10
Muhammad Raza Khan, 128, 132
Mulraj, 255
Miiltan, 255
Mundinpur, battle of, 311
Munghal, Pandi, 278
Munro, Sir Hector, quells mutiny,
no, 145
Munro, Sir Thomas, 199
Mushkaf Valley Railway, 359
Miiti Masjid, 304
Mutiny at Vellore, 181 ; early
mutinies, 271-2 ; at Berham-
pur, 2^7 ; at Ambala, 278 ; at
Allahabad, 287 ; cause of, 287.;
at Benares, 289 ; defence of
Cawnpur, 292 ; defence of
Lucknow, 294 ; Delhi cap-
tured, 303 ; relief of Lucknow,
305 ; retreat from Lucknow,
309 ; capture of Lucknow,
310 ; debt of, 315
Muzaffar Jang, 75
Mysore wars, 152, 165
N
Nabha Raja, 301
Nagpur, 267
Nana Sahib, 196, 267, 275, 290,
297, 299, 310, 314
Nanak, 245
INDEX.
397
Xanda Kumar, 12S, 132
Nandidriig, 154
Napier, Sir Charles, and Sind,
238 ; on Mutiny, 272, 313
Napoleon, Conference of Tilsit,
National Congress, 344
Natives, employment of, in Civil
Service, 370
Navigation Act of Cromwell,
40 ; of Charles II., 43
Nawab of Karnaiik, 69 ; title
lapses, 267
Nawab Wazir, 125, 131
Neill, Colonel, at Benares, 289 ;
at Allahabad, 290 ; at Cawn-
pur, 298
Nelson, Lord, 164
Nepal, 188
Newberry, John, visits India, 22
Nicholson, John, 234, 301, 302
Nizam of South India, 69, 164
Nizamat Adalat, 159
North, Lord, Regulation Act of
1773, 118
Northbrook, Lord, 331
Nott, General, 234, 236
Nun, Thomas, his Tract, 36, 37^
Nundcoomar. SfcNanda Kumar
O
Ochterlony, General, and
Ghurka War, 189 ; death of,
203
Omichund. S,cc Aminchand
Ophir, 3
Opium, 366
Orissa Famine, 321
Ormuz, conquest of, 21 ; cap-
tured by English fleet, 35
Cudh, 113, 123, 125, 139, 169,
262, 263, 264, 280
Outram, 222, 300
Oxus River, 327
Palmer and Co., banking firm
of, 198
Palmerston, speech in 1855, 273
Palmyra, the Tadmor of old, 3 ;
influence oi its art on India,
7 ; razed to the ground, 8
Pandu Nadi, 297
Panjdeh, 343
Panipat, 123
Panjkora River, 349
Panniar, battle of, 239
Patiala, Maharaja of, 301
Pearse, Colonel, 145
Peel of the Shannon, 308
Periyar project, 377
Permanent settlement, 154-8
Perron, 176
Peshawar held by John Law-
rence, 301
Peshwa, 123, 140, 172, 192, 196
Petroleum, 378
Phayre, Colonel, 334
Philosophy, Indian and Greek, 7
Pindaris, 187, 191
Pitt, Indian Bill of, i^o, 137
Pliny, 7
Pocock, Admiral, relieves
Madras, 105
Pollilur, battle of, 146
Pollock, General, 235
Pondicherry, 69, 144
Poona, 140
Popham, Captain, 142
Population, 364 ; poverty of, 364
Porto Novo, battle of, 146
Portuguese in India, 12-36 ;
early Viceroys, 20 ; loss cf
Empire, 35
Postage, 268
Pottinger's defence of Herat,
217
Prendergast, General, 342
Press, freedom of, 204, 342
Proclamation of Queen, 314, 372
Provincial Civil Service, 370
Punjab, 216 ; Board, 258 ; aii-
nexation of, 258
Purnaiya, 168
Queen proclaimed Empress,
334 ; Proclamation of, 372
Quetta, 335, 359
Quinton, Mr., 345
398
INDEX.
R
Ragunath Rao (Raghuba), 140
Railways, 323, 359, 375
Ramnagar, battle of, 257
Rangoon, 202
Ran jit Singh, 184, 217, 240, 243,
248
Rathgarh, capture of, 311
Rawlinson, Sir Henry, 234, 326
Raymond, George, first voyage
to India, 25
Raymond, 160
Regulation Act of 1773, 118
Reinhardt, 109
Remarriage of Hindu widows,
210
Renaud, Major, 296
Revenue, opium, 366 ; salt, 367
Ripon, Lord, 342
Roberts, Lord, 308, 337, 339, 342
Robertson, Surgeon-Major, 347,
349
Roe, Sir Thomas, his embassy,
59
Rohilkhand, 125
Rohillas, 123, 125, 127
Rose, Sir Hugh, in Central
India, 311-13
Rumbold, Sir William, 198
Rupee, fall of, 363
Russia, 183, 217, 324, 331, 336,
344
Ryswick, Treaty of, 45
Saadut Ali, 160
Sadr Diwani Adalat, 159
Safdar All, 69
Sagar, relief of, 311
Salbai, Treaty of, 144
Sale, Sir Robert, 250
Salisbury, Lord, and Afghani-
stan, 335
Salsette, 140, 143
Salkeld, Lieutenant, 302
Sambalpur lapses, 266
Sambre, or Samru, 109
Sandeman, Sir Robert, 358
San Stefano, Treaty of, 336
Satara annexed, 266
Sati, or widow-burning, noticed
by Greeks, 5 ; by Ralph Fitch,
23 ; 206
Savandrug, 154
Secundra Bagh, 304 ; captured,
308
Segauli, Treaty of, 190
Senapati at Manipur, 345
Sepoys, 270, 275
Seringapatam, 154 ; capture of,
167
Settlement, land, 154-8 ; in
Madras, 199 ; in North-West
Provinces, 206
Shah Alam, 109, 113, 161
Shah Jahan, 62
Shah Najaf captured, 308
Sher Ali, 326, 332
Sheridan, 150
Sherpur cantonments, 340
Shitab Rai, 128, 132
Sholinghar, 146
Shore, Sir John, 156, 159
Shuja-ud-Dauhi, 109, 125
Shuja-ul-Miilk, driven from
Kabul, 217 ; restored by Eng-
lish, 220 ; slain, 235
Siam, 360
Sikhs, 183, 245 ; persecution of,
246 ; first war, 250-4 ; second
war, 257
Sind, 220 ; annexed, 238
Sindhia, 123, 238, 313
Sinij-ud-Daula, 90-102
Sitabaldi, defence of, 197
Sitana, 319
Sivaji, 63
Skene, Captain, 311, 345
Sleeman, Colonel, and Thags, 213
Smith, Sir Harry, 252
Soame, Sir Stephen, 26
Sobnion, battle of, 253
Spanish Armada, 21
Staunton, Colonel, 195
Steam Navigation, 379
Stephen, Sir James, on trial of
Nanda Kumar, 133, 329
Stephen, Leslie, 329
Stevens, Thomas, visits India,
22 ; his letters, 22
Stewart, Sir Donald, 337
INDEX.
399
Stirling, Major, 298
Strachey, Colonel Richard, 323
Suez C?nal, 331, 380
Suffren, Admiral, 146
Sultanpet, 166
Surji Arjangaon, Treaty of, 177
Swally, tight off, 35
Tanjore, 169
Tansa reservoir, 375
Tantia Topi, 291, 310, 312, 314
Tara Bhiii, 238
Tavernier, 66
Taxation, 364. Scr Revenue and
Land
Taylor, Colonel Meadows, and
Thags, 213
Tea, 383
Tej Singh, 249, 252, 255
Telegraph, 268
Tenancy Act, Bengal 1885, 158
Tenasserin ceded, 203
Tennyson, Poem Akbar, 67
Thackwell, Sir Joseph, 253
Thags, 211-.3
Theebaw, King, 342
Thevenot, account of Thags, 211
Tilsit, 183
Timur, or Tamerlane, 56
Tipu Sultan, 147, 154, 163, 167
Todd, d'Arcy, 223
Tombs, Brigadier, 320
Towerson, Captain, massacred
at Am boy n a, 38
Trade, 185 ; to India thrown
open, 198
Trades increase, 33
Travancore, 152
Trichinopoli, siege of, ']']
Tulsi Bai, 196
Turkey and Russia, 336
Turkmanchi, Treaty of, 217
Tytler, Col. Fraser, 304
U
Umra Khan of Jandol, 348
Unao, battle of, 299
Universities, 388
Utrecht, Treaty of, 46
Vans Agnew, 255
Vansittart, Governor of Bengal,
107
Vasco da Gama sails for India,
12 ; taken prisoner, 14 ; his
revenge on the Moors, 16
Vellore Mutiny, 181
Venice founded, 1 1
Ventura, General, 247
Versailles, Peace of, 148
Viceroy's council, 368
Viktevitch at Kabul, 218
Voyages, early, 29, 31, 32, 33 ;
later, 36
W
Wahabis, 318
Wake, Herwold, at Arrah, 288
Wandewash, 145
Wargaon, convention of, 141
Water supply, 375
Waterman, Captain, 309
Watson, Admiral, 94
Wellesley, Marquess, i6i-8r
Wellesley, Colonel Arthur, 165
Wellesley, Hon. H., 171
West, Sir Raymond, 389
Wheeler, Sir Hugh, at Cawnpur,
290
Whish, General, captures Multan,
257
Whitchurch, Surgeon-Captain,
Widow-burning, 206
Willoughby at Delhi, 284
Wilson, Mr., Finance Minister,.
316
Windham, General, 307, 310
Wolseley, Captain, 308
Wood, Captain Benjamin, 26
Wood, Sir C. (Lord Halifax).
268, 387
Yakub Khan, 337, 339
Yunnan, 360
Zamindars, 155
Zhob Valley, 359
Silent Gods & Sun-Steeped Lands
Second Edition. Price 3s. 6d.
By R. W. FRAZER, LL.B., I.C.S. (rktireo)
Awards from Government of Madras for High Proficiency in Sanskrit,
Uriya, and Telugu ; Secretary and Principal Librarian, London Institution.
SOME PRESS OPINIONS.
Speaker. β " These stories by Mr. R. W. Frazer are a landmark
in the history of our hterature, for they are the first imaginative
treatment by a scholar and a poet of the vast mass of information
which has slowly been accumulating about the people and their
lives . . . Those who love poetry will care for it ; those whose ears
are attuned to a slow, chant-like rhythm, with antiphonic clauses
full of colour and a stately music, will not find the formality of its
style anything but suggestive of the Oriental imagery with which
it teems."
Indian Magazine. β "A series of stories not only terribly weird
and fascinating, but containing a distinct underlying current of
thought respecting many pressing questions β religious, social, and
political β in India of to-day,"
Mr. Coulson Kernahan, in the Literary World. β " Such a
book could onl^. have been written by a man who is steeped β to
borrow a word from his title β to the finger ends in Indian lore and
Indian superstition."
Vanity Fair. β "These weird, dramatic, half-savage, wholly
mystical idylls which Mr. Frazer has woven in this remarkable
book."
β Home News. β " The sketches bear, in short, the stamp of uni-
versal truth, and are the work of an artist in letters who is at the
same time a scholar and a philosopher."
Academy. β "The author has succeeded in permeating every page
with the spirit of India . . . with a spirit and a force which can
spring only out of an intimate and scholarly knowledge of history
and of modern conditions in the East."
New Age. β " It is a good long time since I have read a more
fascinating book. Mr. Frazer's prose, simple and unelaborated as
it is, has that quality of imaginative expressiveness which belongs
only to the prose of a potential poet."
Queen. β "Told with such skill that one goes on reading story
after story until the book is finished."
Sunday Times. β "The glamour of the East is over the whole
book. Everywhere the language has the languor and rhythm of
slow moving leaves and heaving waters."
Christian World. β "Mr. Frazer is a polished writer, and
possesses the art of story-telling in a high degree."
London : T. FISHER UNWIN, Paternoster Square, E.G.
UNWIX BROTHERS, THE GRESHAM PRESS, WOKIXG .\ND LONDON