During his abode in India, Lord Cornwallis made many changes in the modes of collecting the revenue, and administering justice.

We have already given a sketch of the villagesystem of India, as it is now understood by those most competent to judge, in which the sovereign and the village-community are joint-proprietors of the soil. But in the time of Lord Cornwallis this knowledge had not been attained, and, led by European ideas, the servants of the Company were almost unanimous in regarding as such the Zemindars; this opinion Mr. Francis held most strenuously. The body of the Zemindars were regarded as the proper aristocracy of India; and so strongly was Lord Cornwallis imbued with this feeling, that he would brook no delay for inquiry. The Zemindars of Bengal and Bahar were declared to be the lawful owners of the soil, the ryots were left at their mercy, and a settlement, first for ten years, but almost immediately after declared to be perpetual, was made with them, for the sum which they were to pay the government as land-tax. The government thus parted with its own legitimate rights, as joint-proprietor, in the vain hope of creating a respectable native aristocracy, for such the Zemindars have never become, and the ryots, though secured to a certain extent by pottahs, or leases, against arbitrary acts, were not protected from excessive rents in the pottah.

The financial and judicial powers were now separated, and the collector of a district was no longer, as in Hastings' plan, to preside in its courts. In every Zillah, or district, and in every large town, a servant of the company, with a registrar and one or more assistants, was appointed to be a judge. He was also to be aided by native expounders of the law. To avoid too great a press of business, he could refer to his registrar suits in which the value of the litigated property did not exceed 200 rupees; and native commissioners were stationed in different places of the Zillah, with the power of arbitrating as far as the value of 50 rupees. From both of these inferior jurisdictions there was a power of appeal to the Zillah court; and from this last suitors might appeal to one of the four provincial courts of appeal of Calcutta, Patna, Moorshedabâd, and Dacca, in each of which there were three judges, with registrar and other assistants. From these courts finally lay an appeal to the Suddur Dewannee Adaulut, composed of the governor and members of council with native assistants.

The judges of the provincial courts were also to act as judges of circuit for gaol-delivery. Their courts were to be held once a rionth in the four cities, four times a year in the district of Calcutta, and twice a year in each Zillah. From these criminal courts an appeal lay to the Suddur Nizâmut Adaulut, in which the governor and members of council sat at Calcutta. These courts were guided by the Mohammedan law; but for the mutilations which it enjoins were substituted various periods of imprisonment.

For purposes of police, every Zillah was divided

which was stationed a Darogha, or constable, with a number of assistants selected by himself. He acted under the judge of the Zillah-court, who was invested with the authority of a magistrate for the apprehension, committal, and, in minor cases, trial of the offenders.

None of the measures of Lord Cornwallis produced the effects he had anticipated. Crime went on steadily increasing, litigation augmented the number of suits to an alarming extent, and it was soon found necessary to make great alterations. The legislator, in fact, was not aware of the difficulty that existed; he forgot that the character of a people cannot be changed all at once, and that the work of many years cannot be achieved in one year.

The new Governor-general was one of the most upright and honourable men that ever had served the Company in India. But he was greatly deficient in the energy and in the political sagacity requisite for his high station, as very soon appeared. The restless perfidious Marattas made a demand on the Nizâm for chout, and on his declining to pay it invaded his dominions; and as it appeared that Tippoo was about to join them, the Nizâm called on the English for assistance, according to the treaty concluded with Lord Cornwallis. But Sir John Shore refused; maintaining the strange principle, that as the alliance was tripartite, the secession of one party relieved the other two from their mutual obligations. The Nizâm was consequently obliged to make the best terms he could with the Marattas. Hurt by the conduct of the British, he now requested that two battalions of their troops which were in his pay might be withdrawn. This being done, he proceeded to organize a large body of regular infantry which was commanded by French officers. M. Raymond, a fierce republican, held the chief command; the tri-colour flag was their standard; a correspondence was opened with the French prisoners in Pondicherry, and a mutiny was excited in a battalion of the English Sepoys. But fortune proved as ever adverse to the French in India. Just at this time, the Nizâm's son rebelled; application was made to the English for aid, and they gave it with such promptitude, that the angry feelings of the Nizâm began rapidly to subside.

In 1795, died Mohammed Ally, the Nabob of the Carnatic, at the age of seventy-eight. He was succeeded by his eldest son Omdut-ul-Omrah. Lord Hobart, the Governor of Madras, chiefly with a view to the extrication of the wretched people of the country from the fangs of that vile brood of English usurers, by whom their very vitals were sucked out, proposed that he should cede certain territories to the Company. The supreme government went still further, and required that he should cede the whole of his dominions. But while Lord Hobart would have employed force, they would only use negotiation; and the consequence was, that things remained just as they

were.

In this year, as the Dutch were now in alliance with the French republic, the whole of their possessions in India and the Indian seas were reduced.

In 1797, the Vizîr of Oude died. He was succeeded by his reputed son, Vizîr Ally, who was

recognized by the British government. But the Governor-general, when, shortly after, on his way to Oude to examine more closely into the matter, was met at Cawnpore by the minister of Oude, who gave him satisfactory proof that Vizîr Ally was not in any way the son of the late Vizîr, but the child of another person by a menial servant, from whom he had purchased him, and then reared him as his heir; and that finally the only true heir to the throne was Saadut Ally, the brother of the late Vizîr. After giving the subject a great deal of consideration, and ascertaining the real sentiments of the people, the Governor declared in favour of the real heir, and Vizîr Ally was reduced to a private station, with an allowance, however, more suited to his usurped than to his real rank. In the treaty with the new Vizîr, the annual subsidy was fixed at 76 lacs of rupees, and the English force in Oude at 10,000 men. The fort of Allahabâd was also surrendered to the British.

The Governor-general sailed for England in March, 1798. He was raised to the Irish peerage by the title of Lord Teignmouth.

CHAPTER II.

Lord Mornington Governor-general-Intrigues of TippooArrangement with the Nizâm - Fruitless Attempts to treat with Tippoo-Invasion of Mysore-Siege and Capture of Seringapatam-Death and Character of TippooSettlement of Mysore-Dhoondia.

LORD Hobart had been promised the government of India, but the appointment, it is not well known why, was cancelled. Lord Cornwallis was then appointed a second time, but his appointment also was revoked; and the choice of the ministry finally fell on the Earl of Mornington, a nobleman in the prime of life, of the most splendid talents, and who, having been for two years a member of the Board of Control, had been induced to make himself well acquainted with the affairs of India. He embarked toward the end of 1797, accompanied by his brothers Arthur and Henry; the former, then Colonel of the 33rd regiment, and destined to be England's greatest general; the latter, as soon appeared, a skilful diplomatist. At the Cape, he met and read the despatches going home from India, and he also met there and conversed with Major Kirkpatrick, who had been resident at some of the Indian courts. He felt himself, therefore, competent on reaching Calcutta, (May 17th, 1798,) to enter at once, and with confidence, on the active duties of his office.

On the 8th June, some one brought to Calcutta a most extraordinary document. It was a proclamation issued by Gen. Malartie, Governor of the Mauritius, recounting a proposal of the Sultân of Mysore to the French for an alliance, in order to expel the English from India, and inviting citizens of every description to enter the Sultân's service. The whole project seemed so wild and absurdfor who could suppose that men in their senses would thus seek, as it were, to put on their guard those whom they intended to attack ?-that Lord Mornington was at first inclined to regard it as a forgery, and then as an artifice of M. Malartie;

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but inquiry proved its genuineness; and he then, in order to be prepared for action, directed Gen. Harris, who was acting as temporary governor at Madras, to collect the forces of that presidency.

The leading passion of Tippoo's soul was burning hatred of the English name and nation, and the destruction of their power in India was the object of all his thoughts. He had with this view endeavoured to excite Zemân Shâh, the Afghân, to invade India from the north-west; at Poona, his emissaries laboured to detach the Marattas from the English connexion; and at Hyderabad, his agents, aided by the French officers in the service of the Nizâm, laboured for the same purpose. But it was to France, the fame of whose victories was now blazed through the world, that he looked for most effectual aid. During the late war he had sent, though ineffectually, an embassy to Paris, and now he renewed his efforts on the following occasion.

Some time in the year 1797 a French privateer put into the port of Mangalore to refit. Its captain, named Ripaud, who pretended that he was second in command at the Mauritius, asserted that he had been sent expressly to learn the Sultân's views with respect to a joint-alliance against the English. He was immediately admitted to Tippoo's presence, with whom he had many conferences; and though the Sultan's ministers had ascertained from the crew that he was not what he pretended to be, their infatuated master would not listen to them. It was arranged with the adventurer that he should ostensibly enter the service of the Sultan, who was to purchase his vessel, and send it with a lading to the islands, and with two vakeels on board. After some delay the vessel sailed, and proceeded to its destination. The vakeels were received by the governor with the greatest honours. Their despatches on being opened, contained a plan of joint operation for the conquest of the English and Portuguese possessions in India; for which purpose the Sultân would require them to furnish (so completely had he been duped by Ripaud), a force of from 30,000 to 40,000 men, of which from 5000 to 10,000 should be veteran troops, and the further aid of a fleet! Gen. Malartie, who had no force whatever at his disposal, could only offer to send the proposals to France, and meantime he issued the above-mentioned silly proclamation. In March the vakeels returned to their master, taking with them about 100 volunteers, both white and black, mostly the rabble of the islands. These citizens forthwith formed a Jacobin club on the improved model, of which the Sultân became a member, under the title of Citizen Tippoo. The tree and cap of liberty were raised, the emblems of royalty were burnt, and an oath of enmity to that institution taken, and all the wild fooleries of these vagabonds were viewed with approving eyes by the despot, because they shared his hatred of the English.

Lord Mornington, with the foresight and decision which marks the true statesman, resolved not to allow Tippoo to choose his own time, but to attack him at once, in case of his refusal to comply with the terms he would propose to him. For France at that time, it must be recollected, had a large naval force, and she, who in 1796 sent a fleet and army to Ireland, and this very year another to Egypt, might easily send to sea a fleet carrying troops enough to make Tippoo a formidable enemy;

the Marattas also might join the confederacy, and the Dûranee Shâh pour his troops into Hindustan.

The members of council at Madras hinted at the danger of provoking Tippoo to make, like his father, a sudden irruption into the Carnatic, if they began to make preparations for war. But the Governorgeneral was not to be daunted by such considerations; and he insisted on their reforming and increasing their military establishment at once.

A subsidiary treaty was formed with the Nizâm, and the force to be maintained in his territories was fixed at 6000 men. The French officers and serjeants in his service were to be dismissed, and the corps commanded by them to be broken up; and no Frenchman was to be taken into his service, or allowed to reside in his territories, without the consent of the Company.

The force under the French amounted now to about 14,000 men, only inferior to the British Sepoys, and well supplied with artillery. Raymond was dead, but his successor, M. Péron, was a far abler officer. As it was feared that it would not submit quietly, no attempt was made till a force from Madras had joined the British troops at Hy. derabâd. The resident then called on the Nizâm to fulfil that article of the treaty; and when he hesitated, the British troops were marched near to the station of the French, and he was told that they would act without him. Being now compelled to choose between the two, he sent a body of 2000 horse to aid the British. A mutiny soon broke out in the French corps, and the officers, to escape the fury of their men, surrendered. The whole body of 11,000 men (the rest being away on a detachment), laid down their arms on a promise of their arrears of pay and of being continued in the service. The officers were sent to Calcutta, and thence to England, whence they were transmitted to France at the express desire of Lord Mornington, who also took care to secure for them their property and the arrears of their pay.

An attempt was made to conclude a similar treaty with the Peishwa; but it proved a failure, chiefly owing to the influence of Sindia.

Lord Mornington proposed to obtain from Tippoo the following securities against his hostile intentions: the cession of the whole of his possessions on the Malabar coast; payment of the expense caused by the preparations for war; the admission of residents from the allied powers at his court; and the expulsion and continued exclusion of all Frenchmen from his service and dominions. When intelligence of the destruction of the French fleet at Aboukir by Lord Nelson arrived, it was communicated to him to show him how futile was his reliance on French aid. He was requested, but in vain, to let an English officer proceed to his court to explain the views of the allies. A letter from the Grand Seignior, calling on him to aid him against the French, was inclosed in one sent to him by the Governor; but he made no reply, and it was discovered, that an embassy from him to the French Directory was about to sail from the Danish port of Tranquebar. Lord Mornington, who had come in person to Madras, now resolved to suspend all further negotiations till the army should have made some impression on his territory.

As it was deemed expedient that Sir Alured Clarke, the Commander-in-chief in Bengal, for whom the command of the army in the Carnatic

had been destined, should remain at Calcutta, lest Zeman Shah should invade India, the chief command was entrusted to Gen. Harris. The army contained 21,000 men, of whom about a third were Europeans. Corps under Lieut.-cols. Brown and Read were to act to the south of Mysore, to collect and convoy provisions. The Bombay army, of about 6000 men, under Gen. Stuart, was to advance from Malabar.

Toward the end of February, the Bombay army ascended the Ghâts, and in the beginning of March the army of the Carnatic, joined by the contingent from Hyderabâd, and by the troops of the Nizâm, which raised it to 37,000 men, ascended from the east, and entered the territory of Mysore. As the Bombay force was the smaller, Tippoo resolved to direct his first efforts against it, and on the 6th March, he suddenly attacked, in front and rear together, a division of three battalions of Sepoys, stationed at Sedasseer, under the command of Col. Montresor. Never was a more gallant resistance offered; for hours they stood and repelled the repeated charges of the enemy, till at length Gen. Stuart came up, and after a sharp conflict, drove off the troops that were acting on their rear, and then those in front. Tippoo then drew off his forces, and advanced to oppose Gen. Harris.

On the 9th, the allied army entered the territory of Mysore; and so slow was its progress, in consequence of the great quantity of artillery and of stores of all kinds which accompanied it, that it did not advance at the rate of more than seven miles a day, and it was not till the 27th that it reached Mallavelli, within forty miles of Seringapatam. Here they found Tippoo occupying some heights, whence he cannonaded them; and a general action ensued, in which the Sultân was defeated. Supposing they would advance by the road taken by Lord Cornwallis, and on which he had destroyed all the forage, he moved now so as to be able to act on their rear on that route. But Gen. Harris took a more southern direction, and crossing the Caveri some miles to the east of Seringapatam, entered a country which had not been wasted. When Tippoo heard of this movement, a chill struck him to the heart, and he said to his officers, "We have arrived at the last stage. What is your determination ?" "To die with you," was the reply; for despondency had seized on all.

Though the British when they crossed the river were only twenty-eight miles from Seringa patam, owing to the want of a sufficient number of draftbullocks, they were five days marching thither. At length, on the 5th April, they arrived on the ground to the south of the city, occupied by the Bombay army in the late war. Tippoo had there formed a new line of entrenchments, which could be supported by the guns of the fort, and his infantry lay between it and the river. The next day Gen. Floyd was sent with a strong division to bring up Gen. Stuart. The Sultân tried in vain to prevent their junction, and on the 15th the Bombay army joined that of the Carnatic.

On the 9th, Tippoo had written to Gen. Harris, asserting that he had strictly adhered to treaties, and demanding the reason of the advance of the English armies, The general referred him for a reply to the letters of the Governor-general, which he had not answered. The works of the besiegers were advanced every day. They had

A. D. 1799.

established themselves on the north side of the river also; and on the 20th a battery from that side began to play against the works of the fort. Tippoo now became alarmed, and he wrote to inquire what was the pleasure of the English.

Lord Mornington, as Mill candidly owns, among his other great qualities, possessed the important one of sagacity in the choice of his instruments, and magnanimity in investing them with full powers to act of themselves, in the affairs with which he had entrusted them. He had appointed Lieut.-cols. Wellesley, Close, and Agnew, as commissioners to advise and assist, but not to control the general, and he had furnished him with drafts of two treaties, which he was to propose to Tippoo at his option. As scarcity of provisions was apprehended in the camp, and it was evidently Tippoo's interest to wear away the time, if possible, in negotiation, Gen. Harris determined, with the assent of the commissioners, to offer the Sultân the less favourable treaty, and to insist on its acceptance, and the fulfilment of two of the articles within eight-and-forty hours. In addition to the requisitions formerly made by the Governor-general, of the reception of residents at his court, and dropping of all connexion with the French, he was now required to surrender one-half of his dominions, pay the allies two crores of Sicca rupees, half down, half within six months, and give his four sons and four of his generals as hostages. To these terms Tippoo made no reply, and the works of the besiegers advanced.

On the night of the 26th, Col. Wellesley attacked and carried, though with no trifling loss, the enemy's line of intrenchments. Tippoo now (28th) condescended to reply to the general's proposals, and he stated that he was about to send two vakeels to discuss them. But as his object evidently was to gain time, Gen. Harris refused to receive them, unless accompanied by the hostages and the money; he gave till three o'clock next day for a reply. No reply came; the Sultân passed alternately from grief to stupor, but at times expressing his belief that his capital would still repel the enemy.

On the 30th, a battery began to play on the west angle of the fort; a second was then constructed, which commenced firing on the 2nd May. On the evening of the following day the breach was reported practicable; and early in the morning of the 4th the troops destined for the assault assembled in the trenches, in order that the enemy might not be put on their guard by perceiving any unusual movement. The hour of noon, when the orientals take their repose, was selected for the attack. The storming party consisted of 2400 Europeans, and 1800 Sepoys, divided into two columns; the command, at his own request, was given to Major-general Baird, who had been for some time a prisoner in Tippoo's hands.

At a few minutes after one, Gen. Baird stepped out of the trench, and, drawing his sword, cried, "Now, my brave fellows, follow me, and prove yourselves worthy of the name of British soldiers." Both columns rushed at once from the trenches, under cover of the firing from the batteries. The river, though then shallow, was wide, and its bottom rocky; the discharge of rockets and musketry from the fort was incessant, and numerous troops hastened to the defence of the breach. Yet, in

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seven minutes from the time that the troops issued from the trenches, the British flag was waving on its summit. When all the troops had come up they divided, one column going to the right, the other to the left, and they were to meet over the eastern gateway. The first met with little resistance; the second suffered severely from the fire of the enemy, its commander, Col. Dunlop, and all the principal officers being either killed or wounded. It however drove its opponents before it, and finally joined the other party over the gateway, and the whole of the works were now in the possession of the British.

The palace only remained to be reduced; and as soon as the men had been halted and refreshed so as to be ready to attack in case of its refusal to surrender, Gen. Baird sent Major Allen to offer, on condition of immediate surrender, protection to the Sultân and every other person in it. Major Allen advanced, bearing a white cloth fastened to a sergeant's halberd, and followed by some troops. The killidar and another officer descended by an unfinished part of the wall to meet him. He gave them most positive assurance, that the promises he made should be fulfilled, but required to be admitted instantly into the palace. To this they objected strongly, but were finally obliged to yield; and Major Allen taking with him two officers, one of whom spoke the native language with fluency, the whole party ascended by the broken wall, and then went down on a terrace where were a great number of armed men. Here, to give them confidence, he took off his sword, and handed it to the Sultân's officers. They assured him that Tippoo was not in the palace. He urged them not to delay a surrender, lest the troops outside should grow impatient of restraint. The killidar and the others then went away, and the British officers soon began to feel rather uneasy. Major Allen had thoughts of trying to get back his sword, but he wisely refrained. The people however on the terrace seemed to be very anxious for the surrender, and they begged that the flag might be held up in a conspicuous place, in order that the British troops might not force the gates. Major Allen now sent an urgent message to the sons of Tippoo, who were in the palace, and they replied that they would admit him as soon as a carpet could be spread for the purpose. Soon after the killidar came and conducted him to their presence. There were two of these princes, one of whom had already been as a hostage in the hands of the English. They assured Major Allen that their father was not in the palace, and on the solemn and reiterated assurances of the major for their safety, they gave orders to throw open the palace-gates, and admit the conquerors. Gen. Baird, who was before the gates, then ordered Major Allen to lead the princes to his presence. With the utmost reluctance they consented, and the general, whose feelings, beside the old irritation, had been excited by intelligence of Tippoo having murdered a number of English prisoners, had some thoughts of not keeping the conditions made with them unless they told where their father was. He however finally assured them of protection. The whole palace was then searched, except the zenana, on which a guard was left to prevent the escape of the Sultan if he was in it. The killidar was then severely threatened, and at length he declared that Tippoo lay wounded in a distant

part of the fort, to which he offered to conduct them; and then he led them to a gateway on the north side, where they found the Sultân's palankeen and one of his confidential servants lying wounded under it. He pointed to the spot where his master had fallen, and there among a heap of slain was found the dead body of Tippoo.

About noon of this day, Tippoo, who was now sunk in despondency, and who, bigot as he was, had had recourse to the superstition of the Bramins to discover the future, having performed the requisite ceremonies, sat down to eat his midday meal. He had been informed by two spies, and by one of his principal officers, that the English would certainly make the assault that day; but he would not believe it. He had not finished his meal when he heard that the storm had commenced. He hastened to the northern rampart, and placing himself behind one of the traverses, fired several shots, and it is said with effect, at the English as they approached. Having received a slight wound, he mounted a horse and rode to another part. As he advanced he received a ball in his right side, and then another in his left breast, and his horse also was shot under him. His faithful servant urged him to discover himself to the English, but the terrors of conscience forbade, and he cried, "Are you mad? Be silent." His servant then placed him in his palankeen under an arch of a gateway. An English grenadier who came up attempting to seize his rich sword-belt, Tippoo grasped his sword and made a blow at him, and the soldier fired and shot him through the temple.

Such was the end of Tippoo Sultân, a man in whom there is nothing to admire or esteem, unless we regard as such implacable hatred, savage cruelty, deep treachery, and blind religious zeal, united with gross superstition. Yet the philosophic historian of our Indian empire extends his favours to this prince also, for he was the bitter foe of the English. He glosses over his bad qualities, refuses to give credit to the details of his cruelties, extols him as a wise ruler, under whom agriculture, blighted elsewhere by English influence, flourished in Mysore, and commends the strict fidelity to him of his officers, without perhaps being aware that all their families were kept as hostages at Seringapatam.

The loss of the British during the whole of the siege was about 1500 killed, wounded, or missing; of the enemy there fell about 8000 in the storm alone. Tippoo's two elder sons and Kummur-udDîn, and his other commanders, all made their submission, and all the fortresses on the coast of Canara surrendered to Gen. Stuart when he returned to Malabar.

Guns, stores, and treasure to a great amount were found in Seringapatam. There were 929 pieces of cannon, 100,000 stand of arms, with abundance of swords, accoutrements and ammunition. In specie and jewels there was upwards of 1,100,000%., which was distributed among the troops. But the most remarkable capture was Tippoo's library, in which was found a large collection of state-papers, which revealed his incessant activity to raise up enemies to the English; for it contained his correspondence with the French, the Afghans, the Marattas, the Nizâm and his officers, and even with Mohammed Ally of Arcot; and it fully proved

the wisdom of the measures for his overthrow adopted by Lord Mornington.

The conquered territory was now to be disposed of. By the laws of war it might be divided between the British and the Nizâm; but Lord Mornington did not think it prudent to enlarge too much that prince's dominions, and he deemed it the better policy to divide a large portion of territory between him and the English, reserving a smaller portion for the Marattas, in case of their agreeing to a treaty to be proposed to them, and to form a new kingdom of Mysore out of the remainder.

The choice of a ruler for this kingdom was the next subject of deliberation. If one of Tippoo's sons was reinstated, it was feared that the British | dominion would never be secure. Hatred of the English having been instilled into him from his birth, he would probably be for ever plotting against them; and as the power of the French had now attained an alarming height, and their passion for intrigue was so notorious, they might through his means excite another war in the south of India. It was therefore resolved to set Tippoo's family aside, and to place on the musnud the nearest male descendant of the former rajahs of Mysore. This proved to be a child only five years old, living with the rest of the royal family, in the utmost poverty, at Mysore, the ancient capital. As Tippoo had! turned the palace there into a store-house, it was found necessary to erect a temporary shed for the ceremony of the enthronement, which was performed in the presence of Gen. Harris, the commissioners, and the Nizâm's chief officers. Out of delicacy toward the sons of Tippoo, this ceremony was not performed until after their departure for the Carnatic, where they were henceforth to reside, with an allowance from the Company far beyond any thing they had enjoyed during the lifetime of their father.

As this was in effect the creation of a new state, and the rajah could have no rights or claims but what he derived from those who raised him to the throne, Lord Mornington resolved to exclude the evil of double government, which had proved so mischievous in Arcot, Tanjore, and Oude, and to save the people of Mysore from the fangs of the Madras usurers. By the treaty made with the rajah, the British were to undertake the entire defence of his country for an annual subsidy of seven lacs of star-pagodas, and they were to have the power of regulating, when needful, the management and collection of the revenues, or of bringing under their own management any part of the territory of Mysore. He was also bound in the most stringent manner neither to employ Europeans, nor to suffer any of them to remain even a day in his territories, without the consent of the Company. The fort and island of Seringapatam were declared to belong to the Company, "in full right and sovereignty for ever," and stores and provisions from any quarter were always to enter it tax-free. We thus see that the Company was the actual sovereign of the country, and the rajah merely its viceroy; a shadow to veil from Indian eyes the real case, and to obviate European declamation about British ambition and cupidity. For the happiness of the people, it was the best form of government that could at that time be adopted.

As the Peishwa refused the territory intended for him, on the terms proposed, the whole of the