CHAP. 8. 1767. tained a tedious, unequal conflict, which greatly BOOK IV reduced and disheartened his army, till 1765; when the Mahrattas agreed to retire, upon condition that he should restore the districts wrested from Morari Row, relinquish all claims upon the territory of Savanoor, and pay thirty-two lacks of rupees. He hastened to give order to his recent conquests in the east, which the late interruption of his prosperity had animated into rebellion. As his forts and garrisons had remained firm, these disturbances were speedily reduced, and he immediately turned his eye to new acquisitions. Having employed the greater part of the year 1765 in regulating the affairs of his government, and repairing his losses, he descended into Canara in the beginning of 1766, with the declared intention of making the conquest of Malabar. After an irregular war of some duration with the Nairs, the whole country submitted; and a few subsequent struggles only afforded an opportunity for cutting off the most refractory subjects, and establishing a more complete subjection. He had accomplished this important enterprise before the end of the year 1766, when he was which should have saved him from the pecuniary exaggerations mentioned above. "I have found it proper," he says, to distrust my manuscripts in statements of numbers more than in any other case. In no country, and in no circumstance, is it safe to trust to any statement of numbers that is not derived from actual returns. Even Sir Eyre Coote, whose keen and experienced eye might be considered as a safe guide, and whose pure mind never harboured a thought of exaggeration, states the force of Hyder, in the battle of Porto Novo, 1st of July, 1781, to have been from 140,000 to 150,000 horse and irregular infantry, besides twenty-five battalions of regulars; when it is certain that the whole did not exceed 80,000." Hist. Sketches, p. 461. CHAP. 8. 1767. BOOK IV recalled to Seringapatam, by intelligence of the utmost importance. Madoo Row had issued from Poona; Nizam Ali, with an English corps, was advancing from Hyderabad; the English had already sent to attack some of his districts which interfered with the Carnatic; and all these powers were joined, according to report, in one grand confederacy for the conquest of Mysore. Nizam Ali, however, and the English, were the only enemies whom it was immediately necessary to oppose; and the Nizam, as we have already seen, he easily converted into an ally. In this state of his kingdom and fortunes, he began his first war with the English, in 1767.1 He was exasperated, not only by the readiness with which, in the late treaty with the Nizam, the English had agreed to join in hostilities against him, but by an actual invasion of his dominions. Under the pretence that it formerly belonged to the Carnatic, but chiefly induced, we may suppose, by the consideration of the passage which it afforded an enemy into the heart of that country, the English had sent a Major, with some Europeans and two battalions of Sepoys, into Baramahl, who, unhappily, were just strong enough to overrun the open territory, and enrage its master; but were unable to make any impression upon the strong forts, much less to secure possession of the country. It was by means of Maphuz Khan, the brother of the English Nabob, who had acted as an enemy of the English from the period of his recall as renter of Madura and Tinivelly, that Hyder effected his alliance For the Life of Hyder, the Researches of Col. Wilks, p. 240-278, are the best source of intelligence. CHAP. 8. 1767. with the Nizam. The English corps, under Colonel BOOK IV Smith, which had followed the Nizam into Hyder's dominions, had separated from his army, upon intimation of the design which that faithless usurper was supposed to entertain. The Nabob Mohammed Ali, who had early intelligence of the views of the Nizam, urged the Presidency to attack his camp before the junction of the Mysorean. The advice, however, was neglected, and in the month of September, Colonel Smith was attacked on his march, near Changama, by the united forces of the new allies. He sustained the attack, which, for the space of an hour1 was vigorously maintained; and for that time repelled the enemy. He found himself, however, under the necessity of flight; and marching thirtysix hours, without refreshment, he arrived at Trinomalee. He here enclosed himself within the walls of the fort, from which he soon beheld the surrounding country covered by the troops of the enemy, and desolated with fire and sword. He remained not long an idle spectator, though his weakness compelled him to act with caution. He encamped for a few days under the walls of Trinomalee, and afterwards near a place called CalishyWâcum, about ten miles further to the north. While the army lay in this situation, Hyder planned an expedition, from which important consequences might have ensued. He detached into the Carnatic 5000 horse, who marched without opposition to the very The action commenced at two, and continued till dark. With regard to the subsequent retreat Colonel Wilks states, that the men had been twenty-seven hours without refreshment or repose when they arrived at Trinomalec on the 4th.-W. CHAP. 8. BOOK IV precints of Madras. The place was completely taken by surprise. The President and Council were 1767. at their garden houses, without the town; and had not the Mysoreans been more eager to plunder, than to improve the advantages which their unexpected arrival had procured, the seizure of the English chiefs might have enabled them to dictate the terms of peace. Before the rains compelled the English army to retire into cantonments at Wandewash, Colonel Smith attacked the enemy, with some advantage,' before Trinomalee. In the mean time Nizam Ali, whose resources could ill endure a protracted contest, or the disordered state of his government a tedious absence, grew heartily sick of the war; and during the period of inactivity signified to the English his desire of negotiation. As a security against deception Colonel Smith insisted that he should first separate his troops from those of Hyder. But in the mean time the period of operations returned; and the English commander, now respectably reinforced, marched towards the enemy, who in the month of December had taken the field on the further side of Velore. The two armies met, and came to action, between Amboor and Wanumbaddy, when Hyder and his ally were defeated, and fled to Caverypatnam. This disaster quickened the decision of the Nizam, who now lost not any time in separating his troops from the Mysoreans; and commencing his negotiation "With some advantage" means the entire defeat of the Allies, with a loss of above 4000 men, 64 guns, and a large quantity of military stores. The Nizam immediately after the battle, withdrew from the scene of action, and Hyder fell back within his own frontier. Wilks ii. 41.-W. CHAP. 8. 1768. with the English. A treaty was concluded between BOOK IV the Subahdar, the Nadob, and the English, in February 1768; by which the titles of the Nabob, and the grants which he had received were confirmed the former conditions respecting the Northern Circars were renewed; the dewannee, or revenues, in other words the government of the Carnatic Balagaut, a country possessed by Hyder, was in name consigned to the English, subject to a payment of seven lacks per annum to the Nizam, and the tribute or chout to the Mahrattas; the English agreed to assist the Nizam with two battalions of Sepoys, and six pieces of cannon, as often as required; and the tribute due to the Nizam for the Circars was reduced from nine lacks perpetual, to seven lacks per annum, for the space of six years.1 1 Collection of Treaties (printed 1812), p. 364, 372. The Presidency held up to the Directors the necessity of supporting the Nizam, as a barrier against the Mahrattas-a policy of which the Directors entirely disapproved. Bengal Letter, 16th March, 1768; Fifth Report, Secret Committee, 1781, Appendix No. 6. See too a letter, 13th May, 1768, Rous's Appendix, p. 517, in which the connexion with the Nizam is strongly reprobated. "It is not," they say, "for the Company to take the part of umpires of Indostan. If it had not been for the imprudent measures you have taken, the country powers would have formed a balance of power among themselves. We wish to see the Indian Princes remain as a check upon one another, without our interfering."-They declare expressly, "With respect to the Nizam and Hyder Ali, it is our interest that neither of them should be totally crushed." To the same purpose, see Ib. p. 529. In another letter, dated 17th March, 1769, after telling the Madras Presidency, that they had paid no regard to the above injunctions, and to the whole tenor, which was to the same effect, of all the instructions of their employers, they say, "It is with the utmost anxiety and displeasure that we see the tenth article of the treaty with the Subah, by which he cedes to the Company the Dewannee of the Carnatic Balaghaut; a measure so totally repugnant to our most positive and repeated orders, not to extend our possessions beyond the Carnatic. .... Our displeasure hereat is aggravated, by the disingenuous manner in which these affairs are represented to us in your advices." They ex |