the Governors-general for uprightness, disinterestedness, and firmness, combined with moderation. He was also a man of cultivated mind and taste, and a zealous promoter of learning, both European and Asiatic.

CHAPTER VIII.

Origin of Nepâlese War-Plan of the War-Failure at Kalunga-Capture of that Fort-Failure at Jytak-Operations of Gen. Ochterlony-Of the third Division-Of the fourth Division-Surrender of Malân-Invasion of Nepâl-Treaty

of Peace.

LORD MOIRA reached Calcutta early in October, 1813. In the course of the following year he had to engage in war with a people with whom the British had as yet had few relations.

The kingdom of Nepâl is a valley, bounded on the south by the last and lowest range of the Himalaya mountains, by a loftier range of which on the north it is separated from Tibet. Its people are mostly of the Bhôt, or Tibetian race; but Hindoo colonies had settled in it, and their rajahs had made themselves sovereigns of the country. About the middle of the 18th century, the chief of a mountain tribe named the Goorkha, taking advantage of the feuds of the rajahs, made himself master of Nepal, and transmitted the sovereignty to his family.

As the dominions of the Goorkha princes extended for a length of 700 miles along the British frontier, from the province of Delhi to that of Purneah, in Bengal, and they were of a restless, encroaching disposition, they had so early as 1785 begun to appropriate portions of the British territory. Frequent remonstrances were made, but to little purpose; and in 1809 it was found necessary to employ force, to drive them out of some lands they had seized. The encroachments, however, were continued, and even on a greater scale; all attempts at negotiation failed; and in 1814 both sides prepared for war. Some of the wiser Goorkha chiefs advised accommodation; but Bhim Sah, who as regent governed for the rajah, who was a minor, was resolved to try the fate of arms. His reliance was on the valour of his regular troops, though only 12,000 in number, the strength and difficulty of the country, the ignorance of the British respecting it, and their want of experience in mountain-warfare.

The first question with Lord Moira was, whether the war should be defensive or offensive; and for obvious reasons the latter mode was preferred. The next was, whether the British troops should in one large body enter Nepâl, and march direct for Khatmandu, the capital, or make simultaneous attacks on the long line of the Goorkha conquests. In the former case, great and almost insuperable difficulties were apprehended in marching, and obtaining supplies for a large body of men in so rugged a country; while in the latter, it was to be expected that the chiefs and their people, who had been so recently subjugated, would take part with the British. The latter plan, therefore, was adopted; and it was determined to make the attack

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with four divisions, on different points of the frontier.

The first division, under Gen. Ochterlony, composed of 6000 men, was to act against the extreme west of the Goorkha line. The second, of 3500 men, under Gen. (late Col.) Gillespie, was to move more eastwards, and advance against Jytak, one of the principal fortresses of the enemy in those parts; the third, of 4500 men, under Gen. J. S. Wood, was to march from the frontier of Gorukhpûr for the fortress of Palpa; while the fourth, and largest, of about 8000 men, under Gen. Marley, was to advance by Mawanpûr, direct on Khatmandu.

But

The second division was the first to take the field. On the 19th October, its advance marched from Saharanpûr, and the main body followed on the 22nd. They moved through the Doon, or valley of Dehra, and came before the fort of Kalunga, only five miles from that Doon, situated on a steep detached hill. The fort was of stone, and quadrangular, and in the usual Goorkha manner strengthened by stockades. Its garrison consisted of 600 Goorkhas, under a gallant chief, who returned a bold defiance to the summons to surrender. Cannon having been drawn up, and a battery erected, it was resolved to storm (31st). The troops were divided into four columns, and a reserve; and it was intended to assail the four sides of the fort simultaneously. But three of the columns having to make a circuit, had not arrived when the signal was given, and a sally of the garrison having been repelled by the remaining column, Gen. Gillespie thinking the place might be carried by escalade, ordered the men to advance to the assault. the fire of the fort proved too severe, and they were forced to retire. Gen. Gillespie then crying that he would take the fort or lose his life, put himself at the head of the remainder of the column, and advanced against the gate. The men, however, hung back; and as their gallant leader was waving his sword to encourage them, a ball from the fort shot him through the heart. A retreat was then ordered, and the troops withdrew to Dehra, to wait for a battering-train from Delhi. When the train arrived (Nov. 24), the troops, led by Col. Mawbey, marched once more for Kalunga. A breach having been effected (27th), a storm was attempted, but it was repelled with loss, the number of the killed and wounded exceeding that of the garrison. Recourse was now had to bombardment; and as the interior of the fort afforded no shelter, the garrison was reduced in three days to seventy men, with whom the commandant fled from the place. The gallant defence of Kalunga greatly raised the courage of the Goorkhas, and had a material influence on the future events of the war, which might have been averted had Gen. Gillespie acted with common prudence, instead of headlong rashness.

The troops now moved westwards, and came within a few miles of the town of Nâhan, to the north of which the fort of Jytak lay, on the point where two mountain-ridges met. Here they were joined (Dec. 20) by Gen. Martindell, who took the command; and having occupied Nâhan, he advanced to the foot of the range on which Jytak stood. The ascent was extremely steep and rugged, and defended by stockades at various points. As it appeared that the garrison obtained their water from wells at some distance from the fort, it

was resolved to attempt to deprive them of it, and at the same time to carry a strong stockade, erected for the defence of the water. Two columns were formed; one under Major Ludlow, to move against the stockade, on the nearest side; the other, under Major Richards, to make a détour, and attack it in the rear. Both, however, met with ill-success; the first was driven back by the enemy; the second, having taken a position near the wells, gallantly maintained it against all the efforts of the garrison, until their ammunition was nearly expended, when they retreated by orders of Gen. Martindell, though Major Richards was confident, that if furnished with supplies he could have held the post. All military operations were now suspended in this quarter.

Gen. Ochterlony, who was opposed to Amar Sing Thapa, the ablest of the Goorkha leaders, was more cautious and judicious in his movements. This country being very mountainous, Amar Sing had constructed three strong stone forts on the mountain-ranges, each as usual supported by strong stockades. The first which the British troops came before (Nov. 2), named Nalagurh, surrendered when cannonaded. They then advanced against Ramgarh, which stood on a higher range. Amar Sing came to its aid with 3000 regular troops, and encamped with his right on the fort, and his left and front protected by stockades. Gen. Ochterlony deeming the front too strong, moved round their left to take them in the rear. receiving intelligence of the second repulse at Kalunga, fearing its moral effect on the troops on both sides, he resolved to wait for reinforcements, employing himself meantime in gaining information, and preparing for further operations. When the expected troops arrived (Dec. 27) he resumed the offensive, and by judicious movements in the direction of Malân, he drew the enemy from Ramgurh, and other posts, which were then occupied by the British. The severity of the weather and the ruggedness of the country impeded him so much, that he was not able to attempt any thing against Malân till the spring.

But on

The third division did not move till the middle of December. The way to Palpa lay through a difficult mountain pass, which the Goorkhas had strongly stockaded. The stockade was attacked, and would probably have been carried, but Gen. Wood thinking that it would be impossible to drive the enemy from the thickets in the rear of it, ordered a retreat. He then confined himself to the defence of the frontier till the spring, when at the express command of Lord Moira, he advanced to the town of Bhotwal, from which, however, he soon retired again to the plain; and as his troops were becoming unhealthy, they were placed, in May, in cantonments at Gorukhpûr.

The fourth and largest division having assembled at Dinapore near Patna, marched (Nov. 23) for Bettiah. Meantime a force under Major Bradshaw was succesfully employed in clearing the frontier forests of the Goorkhas. When the main army reached the frontier (Dec. 12), Gen. Marley, instead of advancing without his guns, as he had been directed, spent the rest of the month waiting for them, and this gave the enemy time to recover from the alarm into which Major Bradshaw's success had thrown them. The consequence was that they attacked two British out

posts, (Jan. 1) cut off one, and nearly destroyed the other. The troops now lost courage and began to desert; and Gen. Marley having a most exaggerated idea of the numbers and courage of the Goorkhas, made a retrograde movement to protect the depôt at Bettiah, leaving a strong division with Major Roughsedge to protect the frontier. Lord Moira, though very indignant at the conduct of Gen. Marley, reinforced him so largely, that his forces amounted to 13,000 men. But that incapable officer, after spending the whole month of January in indecision, suddenly quitted his camp one morning before day-break, without having given any notice of his intention. About the end of February, Gen. George Wood came and took the command, but he also acted on a timid policy, and effected nothing. While, however, the fame of the British arms was thus tarnished by the inefficiency of the commanders of these two divisions, Major Latter, who commanded a small force further eastwards, not only defended the boundary east of the Kûsi river, but formed a useful alliance with the rajah of Sikim, a small hill-state eastward of Nepal. At the same time Col. Gardner with a body of irregulars from Rohilcund had entered Kamaon to the north of that province, and appeared before Almora, its chief town. Another irregular force under Capt. Hearsey, also entered it from another side; but it was routed and its commander made a prisoner by the Goorkhas. A regular force under Col. Nicolls, joined Col. Gardner before Almora (April 8), and when everything had been prepared, a general attack was made (25th) on the stockades in front of it. After a brief resistance they were carried, and the troops established themselves in the town. Next morning, after a discharge of mortars on the fort, the garrison capitulated, on condition of being allowed to depart with their arms and personal property.

Gen. Martindell was at this time engaged in a blockade of the fort of Jytak, patiently waiting for the effects of famine on the garrison. Meantime Gen. Ochterlony was acting with more vigour against the Goorkhas at Malân.

In the month of April the British troops were encamped on the banks of a stream in the valley under the ranges on which Malân stood, while the Goorkha posts extended along the ridge from Malân to the fort of Surajgurh, most of the peaks being occupied and stockaded. In the centre of the line were two points named Ryla and Deothal, which seemed to be assailable, and the possession of which would cut Malân off from most of its outworks. These Gen. Ochterlony resolved to attack; and he sent (14th) a column against the former under Major Innis, and one against the latter under Col. Thomson. Another body led by Capt. Showers, was to move from Ratangurh, a post to the right of Malân occupied by the British, and attack the enemy's cantonments under the fort. These attacks proved, on the whole, successful, though Capt. Showers was repulsed and killed. Next day (15th) every effort was made to strengthen Deothal, as it was certain to be soon attacked; more troops and two guns were sent up to it, and stockades were formed. As was expected, Amar Sing, knowing that if he let the British remain on the mountain, they would soon reduce Malân, resolved to make every effort to drive them down. He, therefore, placed the troops

A. D. 1815.

under the command of Bhakti Sing, a leader of known intrepidity, for the attack, while he himself remained close at hand with the standard and the reserve. The Goorkhas advanced in a semicircle, turning both flanks of the British position. Though swept down by showers of grape from the fieldpieces, they rushed on like lions, and poured in such a close fire, that except three officers and as many men, all who served the guns were killed or wounded. The conflict had lasted two hours, when troops having joined from Ryla, Col. Thomson ordered a charge to be made with bayonets. At this the Goorkhas broke and fled, leaving Bhakti Sing dead on the spot. Amar Sing retired with the fugitives into the fort, and the body of the fallen leader was sent in to them wrapt in shawls by the victors. Next day two of his wives burned themselves with his corpse.

Most of the exterior works of Malân were carried in the remaining days of April; and on the 8th May, a battery was opened on the principal redoubt, and preparations were made for storming. But the main body of the garrison, deeming resistance hopeless, now came out and surrendered; and Amar Sing, after making a show of defence for a couple of days, sent his son to propose a convention. It was concluded on the following terms: the Goorkhas were to give up all their possessions west of the Jumna; and the garrison of Malân, part of that of Jytak, and all the members of the Thapa family, were to be allowed to retire to Nepâl with their arms and their private property. Most of the men entered the British service.

The defeat of their ablest leader made the court of Khatmandu now rather anxious for peace, and the remainder of the year was spent in negotiations. At length it became manifest that the only object of the Goorkhas had been to gain time, and that they intended making another appeal to arms. A force amounting to nearly 17,000 men was therefore assembled at Dinapore, and on the frontiers, with which Gen. (now Sir David 2) Ochterlony took the field early in February. He divided his force into four brigades, of which the first under Col. Kelly was to move to the right and endeavour to enter Nepal by Hariharpûr; the second under Col. Nicolls on the left by Ramnagar; while the two last, under Sir D. Ochterlony in person, would seek to penetrate to Makwanpûr by the Churiaghâti pass.

This pass being found both difficult in itself, and strongly defended by tiers of stockades, it was resolved to attempt to enter by another which was discovered, and which proved to be unguarded. It was a long deep ravine, between high banks covered with trees whose branches meeting over it excluded the light of day. On the night of the 14th, Sir D. Ochterlony entered this pass at the head of the third brigade, and on the fourth day he reached Hetaunda on the banks of the Rapti unopposed. Here he was joined by the fourth brigade; the Goorkhas having abandoned the stockades in the pass when they found that their position had been turned. On the 27th the British troops encamped within two miles of the fortified heights of Makwanpûr, and the following morning they took possession of the strong village of Sekhar-Khatri, which its garrison had evacuated.

He was first made a Knight Commander of the Bath,

and then a Baronet.

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At noon, however, the Goorkhas returned in greater force, and endeavoured to recover it. Additional troops came on both sides; and at five o'clock the Goorkhas were repelled with a loss of 500 men, that of the British being 45 killed, and 175 wounded. Next day Col. Nicolls joined with the second brigade. Col. Kelly had, meantime, forced the garrison to evacuate the fort of Hariharpûr. Preparations were now made for erecting new batteries against Makwanpûr, when the commandant, who was brother to the regent, sent to say that he had received the ratification of the treaty which had been previously agreed on. As Sir D. Ochterlony was invested with political as well as military authority, the treaty was concluded with some additional cessions of territory; and peace was re-established, and it has never since been disturbed.

The chief articles of this treaty were the abandoning all claims on the hill-rajahs west of the river Kali, and restoring all the territory taken from the rajah of Sikim, giving up the Tirai or lowlands at the foot of the hills along the southern frontier, and receiving a resident at Khatmandu. As the Nepalese set an exaggerated value on the Tirai, and the desire to retain it had been a chief cause of their breaking off the treaty, a part of it was restored to them to their great satisfaction.

It

This war was a necessary one; for, unless where justice plainly dictates, concessions can never be made to barbarians, as they will surely ascribe them to weakness. Had all the commanding officers been like Sir D. Ochterlony, it would also have been a brief and inexpensive war. was condemned at home of course from the commencement; but when terminated, the highest praises were bestowed on the Governor-general, who was created Marquis of Hastings, and thanks were voted to Sir D. Ochterlony and the officers and men engaged in the war.

CHAPTER IX.

Maratta Affairs-Murder of Gangadhar Sastri-Attack on Bhopal-State of things at Maratta Courts-The Pindarries-They ravage the British Territory-Preparations for destroying them-Attack on the Residency of PoonaNew Treaty with Sindia-British Troops attacked by the Cholera Morbus-Attack on Residency at Nagpur.

In the whole of India now, with the exception of the Punjab, there was no power save that of the Marattas capable of disturbing its tranquillity. These, as we have already stated, formed five independent states, all, however, more or less regarding themselves as one confederation, and the Peishwa as their legitimate superior. That prince, notwithstanding the treaty of Bassein, and the presence of the subsidiary force, still fondly clung to the hope of seeing himself once more the independent chief of the Maratta nation; and what he feared to attempt by force, he hoped to compass by intrigue; he therefore maintained secret agents at the courts of Nagpûr, Gwalior 3, and Indore.

Of all the Maratta princes the Guicowar of Gûzerât, whose capital was Baroda, was the one

3 Sindia had made this his residence.

M

most under British influence. He was in fact indebted to them for his political existence; and the exertions of the very able resident, Major Walker, had disentangled and arranged the embarrassed system of his finances, and restored him to independence and respectability. In 1804, the lease by which the Guicowar held of the Peishwa, a portion of the revenues of Ahmedabâd having expired, the former, with the approbation of the British, applied for a lease for ever, in order to put an end to all cause of future dispute. But the views of the Peishwa were quite different, and he refused to renew. In order to try to effect an arrangement, the court of Baroda sent to that of Poona a man named Gangadhar Sastri, and the guarantee of the British government for his safety was obtained. He met with a very cool reception at Poona, while some agents sent thither from a rival party at Baroda were listened to with favour. Aware that he could accomplish nothing, he was anxious to depart; but he remained at the earnest desire of the resident. The Peishwa's ministers now altered their conduct toward him; and Trimbakjee, that prince's chief favourite and adviser, held several private interviews with him, in which he assailed him on his weak side, his vanity, and not without some success. A marriage also was

concerted between his son and a sister of the Peishwa's wife; and he accompanied the court to a sacred place named Nasik, where the ceremony was to be performed. But in consequence of the refusal of his court to ratify a treaty which he had concluded, he deemed it incumbent on him to decline the proffered honour; and he still further offended the Peishwa by refusing to let his wife visit at the palace, in consequence of the licentious orgies of which it was the scene.

No signs of displeasure were, however, let appear; and Gangadhar was induced to accompany the Peishwa to another place of devotion at Punderpur, though the resident was not invited as usual. One evening, when he had gone home rather unwell from an entertainment, a message came from Trimbak inviting him to repair at once to the temple to perform his devotions, as it would be engaged for the Peishwa next morning. After repeated solicitations he went at length, and as he was returning from the temple escorted by some of Trimbak's soldiers, five men rushed on him from behind and murdered him. As neither Trimbak nor the Peishwa would make any efforts to discover and apprehend the assassins, and as Gangadhar had been under the protection of the British, the resident felt it to be his duty to insist on satisfaction. The actual assassins, there is little doubt, were the people from Baroda; but there is as little doubt of Trimbak and even the Peishwa having been concerned in the deed. They refused when called on to institute any inquiry; and the resident then, from prudential motives, taking no notice of the Peishwa's share, insisted on the arrest and delivery of Trimbak. The Peishwa, after making every effort in his power to avoid it, was forced to comply, and Trimbak was confined in the fort of Tanna in the isle of Salsette.

The territories of the Nawab of Bhopâl, which lay between those of Sindia and the rajah of Nagpûr, were an object of cupidity to these chiefs. In the end of 1813, each sent an army to the field; and the united forces laid siege to the capital.

A gallant defence was made by the Nawab and his son, and all the assaults of the besiegers were repelled; but famine at length began to prey on the garrison, and death and desertion reduced their number to about 600 men. Still they did not yield; and at length the retirement of the Nagpûr troops, for what cause is unknown, obliged those of Sindia also to withdraw.

The rajah of Nagpûr died in 1815; and as his heir was delicate and of weak intellect, it was found necessary to appoint a regent. After the usual struggle of parties the office was, with the consent of the resident, conferred on Apa Sahib, a nephew of the late rajah. As the opposite party were hostile to the British power, Apa Sahib deemed a close connexion with it his surest policy, and he signed the treaty of subsidiary alliance for which they had so long been anxious.

Sindia, after his disappointment at Bhopâl, remained quiet, but brooding over plans of vengeance which he did not perhaps even dream of executing. His great object was to establish the supreme authority of the Peishwa and consolidate the Maratta empire; and he secretly had agents at Poona and Nagpûr, and received cakeels from Nepâl and from Runjeet Sing the Sikh. The leaders of the Pindarries had pledged themselves to obey his orders.

The court of Indore had been the scene of atrocities and profligacy. On the death of Holkar Tulasi Bai, a woman of low rank but of beauty and talent, whom he had made his wife, having no children of her own, placed on the throne his son by a woman of inferior rank whom she had adopted, and she reigned in his name as regent. She was assisted by Balaram Seth as minister, and by Ghapur Khân, the brother-in-law of Ameer Khân, as commander of the forces. But when the former reproached her with her licentiousness, she caused him to be murdered. The latter then took arms to punish her, and after making a gallant charge herself in person at the head of the Maratta horse, she was obliged to take flight. A reconciliation was then attempted between her and Ameer Khân, under whom Ghapur Khân only acted; but events of greater importance just then occurred which attracted the attention of all parties.

During all this time, Ameer Khân was at the head of a large freebooting party in Rajputana, now aiding one Rajpût chief against another, and now plundering on his own account.

We have more than once had occasion to mention the Pindarries. These were bodies of irregular light-horse, which served without pay, receiving in lieu of it license to plunder. They had originated, it is said, in the time of the Mahommedan kingdoms of the Deckan; they had always served with the Marattas; and when Holkar and Sindia obtained territory themselves, they assigned portions of it on the Nerbudda to bodies of these marauders, which were named the Holkar Shahi, and the Sindia Shahi Pindarries; of which, the latter were by far the more numerous. The Pindarries were divided into several Durras, or companies, and their principal leaders at this time were Cheetoo, a Jât, Karim Khân, a Rohilla, and Dost and Wasil Mohammed, the sons of an officer of rank in the Nagpûr service. There was, as we may observe, no distinction of religion made among them: any

A. D. 1815-17.

one who would might join their bands. In their plundering excursions they presented an anomalous appearance; the leaders and a portion of the men were well armed and mounted, while the rabble rode ponies, and had all sorts of arms, from the matchlock and sword down to the club and pointed stick. They moved with great secrecy and celerity, avoided encounters with regular troops, and carried off every thing of value that they could lay their hands on.

For a long time they shunned the British territory, confining their ravages to those of the Peishwa, the Nizâm, and the rajah of Berâr, which they plundered regularly every year. At length, in January, 1812, a body belonging to the party of Dost Mohammed, ventured to penetrate through Bundelcund into Bahar, where they spread great alarm. They retired at the approach of the troops, but with so much booty as held out a strong inducement to repeat the attempt. The following year Cheetoo plundered in the district of Surat; but a conflict between him and the leaders of Karim Khân's party, in which he was worsted, and forced to fly, prevented any thing more from being attempted that year. At the end of 1815, the Pindarries entered and plundered the district of Masulipatam, and in the following spring a large body of them committed fearful ravages during ten days in that district, and those of Guntoor and Cudipah. In December they appeared in the northern Circars. The population was every where flying to the hills and woods for safety; and it was feared that they would have plundered the far-famed temple of Juggernâth.

Lord Hastings had seen clearly from the very beginning the absolute necessity of exterminating the Pindarries, if the peace and tranquillity of India were to be preserved. But the timid policy with respect to the East which was now in vogue in England, their own ignorance, and their dread of the senseless clamour of the opposition, deterred the British ministry from sanctioning the statesman-like views of the Governor-general. According to the usual practice of giving places of high trust and confidence to those who have most power and influence, not to those best qualified to fill them, the celebrated Mr. Canning was now President of the Board of Control, and certainly no one more ignorant of the real condition of India ever occupied that position; and the feeble timid policy which he enjoined, would speedily have lost that empire to England. Fortunately, the audacity of the Pindarries came to the aid of Lord Hastings, and he was suffered to pursue his own plans.

His first measure was to inform Sindia that the British government would no longer continue to observe that article in the treaty of 1805, which precluded it from forming alliances with other native states. As soon as this determination was made known, nearly all the Rajpût rajahs, and other minor powers, applied to be taken into alliance; and though treaties were not immediately concluded with all, they became allies in effect. Ameer Khân, too, offered the services of himself and his troops, if guaranteed in his actual possessions. Sindia remained tranquil.

Two events occurred at this time, which proved of future importance. The young rajah of Nagpûr died suddenly, and whether his death was natural or otherwise could not at the time be

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accurately ascertained. At all events, there appeared no proof that Apa Sahib was concerned in it; and he therefore succeeded to the vacant dignity. The other was the escape of Trimbak from Tanna. He immediately set about collecting troops; and though the Peishwa affected to be making exertions to take him, it was ascertained that he had had secret interviews with him, and had sent him supplies of money, and that he was strengthening his fortresses. Mr. Elphinstone, the resident, directed the subsidiary troops of both Poona and Hyderabâd to act against Trimbak's levies. They were accordingly speedily dispersed ; and the Peishwa, in consequence of his duplicity, was compelled to sign at Poona a treaty, far more stringent than that of Bassein. He was obliged to renounce all claims of supremacy over the other Maratta states, and all territorial rights and claims in the countries north of the Nerbudda.

Toward the end of 1817, Lord Hastings having matured his plans, prepared to act against the Pindarries. The troops of Bengal, about 61,000 in number, were formed into four main and two minor divisions. The centre division, under Lord Hastings himself, was at Cawnpore; the right, under Gen. Donkin, at Agra; the left, under Gen. Marshall, in Bundelcund; and on its left were the two smaller divisions, one under Gen. Hardyman, near Mirzapûr; and the other, under Gen. Toone, on the frontiers of South Bahar; the fourth division, the reserve, under Sir D. Ochterlony, was to cover Delhi. The army of the Deckan, under Sir T. Hislop, Commander-in-chief of the Madras army, formed five divisions, respectively commanded by Sir T. Hislop, and by Gens. Doveton, Sir J. Malcolm, Lionel Smith, and Col. Adams. These, with the troops from Gûzerât, under Gen. Keir, formed a force of 52,000 men ; and the entire British force thus called into action, amounted to 113,000 men, with 300 pieces of ordnance.

Before any of these troops had commenced acting against the Pindarries, the Peishwa madly rushed into war. He had hardly signed the treaty of Poona, when he renewed his intrigues with the other Maratta chiefs; he commenced a levy of troops, of which he collected a large number about Poona; and he made every effort to seduce the native officers and men in the British service from their allegiance. Though Mr. Elphinstone knew of his practices and intentions, he did not stop the march of the troops that were to act against the Pindarries; and the principal precaution which he adopted, was to move the quarters of the troops which had been cantoned on the east of the city to Kirki on the north, where there could be a ready communication with the residency which was on that side. To this the Peishwa, who knew the cause, strongly objected, but to no purpose; the troops moved to their new quarters, where they were joined by some reinforcements.