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CHAP. 1.

1774.

his Majesty should take the field in person; and that BOOK V. the breach of that article annulled the contract. "But when the counterpart," says Col. Champion, "which he put into the hands of my interpreter, came to be examined, it appeared there was no such stipulation, nor did it ever exist even verbally."1 The decision of the English government is the next incident in the scene. Instructing on this subject the commander of their troops, when he had as yet sent them only a surmise, and the treaty had not been produced, "our engagements (they say) with the Vizir are to aid him in the conquest of the Rohilla country; and if he is opposed by Nujuf Khan, or the King himself, you are to pay no regard to either. We cannot" (they add) " entertain so bad an opinion of the Vizir as to suppose him capable of acting in avowed breach of a treaty; but if any plea of that kind should be made for contesting our right to occupy any part of the Rohilla country yet unconquered, it will be proper to put to him the question, whether such treaty does exist or not? If he should acknowledge such a treaty, you must undoubtedly abstain from further hostilities in abetment of his breach of faith." Yet after they were fully satisfied of the existence of such a treaty; and not only of the capability, but the resolution of the Vizir to act in avowed breach of it, they laid their commands upon the English general, to abet and support him, because "it is our intention,” say they, "to persevere in pursuit of the object which originally engaged us in the present enterprise, and to adhere strictly to our engagements with the Vizir,

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BOOK V. without suffering our attention to be diverted by - foreign incidents or occurrences," that is, by solemn 1774. treaties, or the breach of them.

From Fyzoolla Khan an early application arrived, offering to come to the camp upon the faith of the English, and to hold the district which had belonged to his family as a dependant or renter of the Vizir. His offers, variously modified, were frequently repeated, with great earnestness. But the Vizir persisted in his declaration, that he would allow no Rohilla chief to remain on the further side of the Ganges; and only offered him one of the districts in the Dooab which had been recently conquered from the Mahrattas. Fyzoolla Khan, with justice, observed, that this the Mahrattas would take from him the first time they returned to the country.

Towards the end of July, the united forces of the English and Vizir marched towards Fyzoolla Khan, who occupied a strong post on the skirts of the mountains, near Pattir Gur. At the beginning of September they came near the enemy, and as the Vizir began to exhibit a strong desire of an accommodation with the Rohillas, an active intercourse of letters and messengers ensued. Whether his mind was operated upon by the approaching arrival of the new councillors at Calcutta, or the dread which he pretended of assistance to Fyzoolla Khan from the Mahrattas and Afghans, he now made offer of terms to which a little before he would not so much as listen. He proposed to make Fyzoolla collector of the revenues, or Zemindar, of the whole territory of

1 Letter of 23rd May, and 14th July, App. ut supra, No. 27.

СНАР. 1.

Rohilcund, allowing six lacks of rupees per annum BOOK V. for his own expenses. But this offer, and even that of a jaghire of ten lacks of rupees in the Rohilcund 1774. country, were rejected. The Rohillas were so advantageously posted, with works thrown up in their front, that it was necessary to advance by regular approaches, and the army were so discontented, on account of hardship, arrears of pay, and ill-usage, either real or supposed, that the General was doubtful of their steadiness and order. After several days, in which the approaches were carried on, and the scouting parties of both armies were frequently engaged, it was at last agreed, that Fyzoolla Khan should receive a jaghire of fourteen lacks and seventyfive thousand rupees in the Rohilcund territory, and should surrender one-half of all his effects to the Vizir. Thus terminated the first Rohilla war.1

Before closing the account of the events to which the visit of Mr. Hastings to Benares gave birth, it is necessary to mention its effects with regard to the deserted Emperor. Upon receiving from him the grant of the dewannee, or the receipt and management of the revenues of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa, it was agreed that, as the royal share of those revenues, twenty-six lacks of rupees should be annually paid to him by the Company. His having accepted of the assistance of the Mahrattas to place him on the throne of his ancestors was now made

See the correspondence, Fifth Report, ut supra, App. No. 27, and Col. Champion's long defensive letter, Ibid. App. No. 45. See also No. 28, of the Bengal Treaties, in the Collection of Treaties, &c. with the native Princes, printed in 1812. Rampore, and some dependent districts, formed the territory bestowed upon Fyzoolla Khan.

CHAP. I.

BOOK V. use of as a reason for telling him, that the tribute of these provinces should be paid to him no more.

1774.

Of

the honour or the discredit, however, of this transaction, the principal share belongs not to the Governor, but to the Directors themselves; who, in their letter to Bengal of the 11th of November, 1768, had said, "If the Emperor flings himself into the hands of the Mahrattas, or any other power, we are disengaged from him, and it may open a fair opportunity of withholding the twenty-six lacks we now pay him."1 Upon the whole, indeed, of the measure, dealt out to this unhappy sovereign; depriving him of the territories of Corah and Allahabad; depriving him of the tribute which was due to him from those provinces of his which they possessed; the Directors bestowed unqualified approbation. And though they condemned the use which had been made of their troops in subduing the country of the Rohillas; they declare frankly, “We, upon the maturest deliberation, confirm the treaty of Benares."

The circumstance upon which, in summing up the account of his administration to his honourable masters, Hastings advanced the strongest claim to applause, was the alleviation of the pecuniary difficulties of the Indian government, and the improvement of the revenues. In the letters from the Bengal administration to the Court of Directors, under date 22d August, and 17th October, 1774, after presenting the most flattering picture of the financial situation to which the government was happily exalted, they advance a confident prediction, that in the

Fifth Report, ut supra, App. No. 12.

* Company's Letter to Bengal, 3rd March, 1775, Ibid. App. No. 46.

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course of the ensuing season, the whole of the bond BOOK V. debt would be discharged. And in that representation of the state of Bengal, which was published by Mr. Hastings in 1786, he declares, "When I took charge of the government of Bengal in April 1772, I found it loaded with a debt at interest of nearly the same amount as the present; and in less than two years I saw that debt completely discharged, and a sum in ready cash of the same amount actually accumulated in store in the public treasuries." This boasting exhibits some remarkable features, when the facts are sufficiently ascertained. No improvement had been made in the productive powers of the country, which is the only permanent and satisfactory source of an improved revenue. The gross revenues of the year ending in April 1772 were 3,13,63, 894 current rupees; the gross revenues of that ending in April 1774 were only 2,76,10,556. Hardly had any improvement been made in the net receipt. That for the year ending in April 1772, was 2,16,88,538 rupees, equal to 2,373,6501.; that for the year ending 1774, was 2,20,56,919 rupees, or 2,481,4041.3 In the next great department of financial administration, the expense of the civil and military services, instead of any retrenchment there had been an increase. In the year ending in 1772, the civil service is stated at 154,6201., the marine at 52,1617., the military at 1,164,3487., and the total expense, exclusive of buildings and fortifications, at 1,371,1291.1

1 Fifth Report, ut supra, p. 37, and App. No. 43.

* Memoirs relative to the state of India, by Warren Hastings, Esq., p. 21. Ibid. p. 8.

Fifth Report, ut supra, p. 7 and 35.

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