yet by no means answered the high expectations of its founder.

Bishop Middleton breathed his last on the 8th July, 1822. His successor was the pious and amiable Reginald Heber.

CHAPTER XI.

Lord Amherst Governor-general-The Burman Empire

War with the Burmese-Capture of Rangoon-Progress of the War-March for Prome-Reduction of DonabewOccupation of Prome-Reduction of Aracan-Successive Defeats of the Burmese-Conclusion of Peace-Mutiny at Barrakpore-Affairs of Bhurtpore-Capture and Demolition of the Fortress.

THE person appointed to succeed Lord Hastings had been that brilliant orator and statesman, George Canning; but the sudden death of his rival, Lord Londonderry, just at this conjuncture, had opened to his view a career much more suited to his taste, and he declined the pomp of Indian sovereignty. The high office was then conferred on Lord Amherst, and he reached Calcutta on the 1st August, 1823, eight months after the departure of his predecessor.

Though the whole of India was under British sway, and no internal commotions were to be apprehended, there was a power on the confines which had not yet experienced the British prowess, and with which causes of quarrel had been for some time accumulating. This was the Burman empire in the eastern peninsula, which, being of recent formation, still retained the vigour to which it owed its origin.

The peninsula, named by the ancients the Golden Chersonese, by the moderns India beyond the Ganges, is watered by three great rivers, running nearly parallel from north to south. They are named the Irrawaddy, the Menam, and the Cambodia. The first runs through the kingdoms of Ava and Pegu; the second, through that of Siam; and the last through Cochin China. From between the mouths of the Irrawaddy and the Menam, stretches the long narrow peninsula of Malacca; on the western coast of the great peninsula, and joining India, lies the country named Aracan. Further north is a state named Cachar, and above it the valley of Assam, through which flows the upper course of the Brahmaputra.

Ava, the people of which are named the Burmans, seems to have depended on the kingdom of Pegu. In the first half of the last century, the Burmans revolted and reduced Pegu; but they were soon after brought back to their former state of subjection. This, however, did not long continue; a Burman, named Alompra, who commenced operations with only a couple of hundred followers, and augmented his forces as he prospered, eventually succeeded in erecting the Burman dominion on the ruins of that of Pegu, the whole of which he conquered. He also subjugated Aracan and Manipur, in the eastern part of Cachar; and Assam fell under the power of the Burmans, in consequence of their being called in by rival claimants of the throne.

The occupation of Aracan and Assam brought

the Burman dominions into contact with those of the British. The Burmans, insolent with success, committed sundry acts of aggression; and they even had the audacity to claim of Lord Hastings the surrender of Chittagong, Dacca, and Moorshedabad, in Bengal, as having been originally dependencies of Aracan, with a menace of hostilities in case of a refusal. Lord Hastings treated the demand with cool contempt, and there the matter rested when he left India. Soon, however, after the arrival of Lord Amherst, the Burmans made preparations for the conquest of Cachar, whose rajah applied to the British for protection. As it must either be given, or the Burmans be allowed to extend their frontier along the whole east of Bengal, the government saw it was no time for hesitation. Accordingly, troops were marched from Dacca to Sylhet, on the frontiers of Cachar; and when the Burmans invaded that country from Assam and Manipûr, the British acted against them. The immediate cause of war, however, between the two powers was the invasion by the Burmans of the little island of Shahpoorea, off the coast of Chittagong, on which the British had placed a guard of thirteen Sepoys, three of whom were killed, and the rest driven off. As the Burman court would give no satisfaction for that outrage, and still advanced its claim to Chittagong, and the other districts, no alternative remained but war; and on the 5th March, 1824, war was declared.

The plan adopted for the ensuing campaign was, that while a force, under Gen. McMorine, should move along the banks of the Brahmaputra, and enter Assam, where the people were known to be ill-disposed toward their Burman masters, a much larger force, under Sir Archibald Campbell, should attack Rangoon, on the southern coast of Pegu. The former moved from Goolpoor on the 13th, and after encountering much difficulty from the state of the country over which they had to march, entered Assam; but the Burmese retired as they advanced, and the gradual reduction of the whole country was effected without much difficulty.

The great expedition was to be composed of troops from Bengal and Madras; and Port Cornwallis, the Great Andaman Isle, was the place of rendezvous. The whole number of troops to be employed, European and native, exceeded 11,000 men, all of which, but about 2000, were to come from Madras. In the beginning of May, all the troops, except the second division of the Madras forces, having arrived, the expedition sailed, accompanied by the Liffey, Commodore Grant, and three other small king's ships, some of the Company's cruisers, and the Diana steamer, the first of these vessels ever employed in war. On the 9th, they were off the mouth of the Rangoon river, and at noon, on the 11th, the fleet reached the town itself. The Liffey quickly silenced the fire of the enemy, the authorities and the inhabitants fled from the town, and at four o'clock the British flag was waving over it. As the Burmans, like the Nepâlese, made great use of stockades in war, and were very expert in the construction, and courageous in the defence of them, the attacks on these defences gave employment to the British troops for the remainder of the month, and many brilliant actions, though of course on a small

A. D. 1824-25.

scale, were performed. Ill-health at this time having obliged Commodore Grant to retire, the chief naval command remained with Capt. Marryat, of the Larne sloop of war.

During the month of June, some more stockades were attacked and carried, at one of which Major R. H. Sale of the 13th regiment distinguished himself by being the first man to mount the enemy's works. But now the effects of the usual error in our Asiatic wars, the not gaining the requisite previous knowledge of the country, began to be felt. The country was all jungle and swamp, and the provisions had all been removed by the Burmese. Dysentery and fever soon, therefore, began to thin the British ranks; to advance was impossible, and even to remain seemed hazardous. The king of Ava had now sent one of his highest ministers to take the chief command, with orders to drive the British out of the country. The latter had fortunately been reinforced by the second division from Madras, when (July 1) the Burmese general made his attack; but his troops were speedily driven into the jungle, their usual place of retreat, with the loss of 100 men, while the British had not even a single man killed or wounded. The Burmese general was immediately superseded; and his successor prudently resolved to confine his operation to the defence of stockades.

The principal stockade of the enemy was on a point of land where the river divides into two branches; and to defend it there were other stockades on the banks of the river. Two columns of attack were formed by the British, one under Gen. Macbean to go by land, the other under Sir A. Campbell to proceed in boats. Capt. Marryat having silenced the firing of the Burmese artillery, the men of this last column pushed off in boats, landed, scaled, and carried the first and second stockades; and the enemy then evacuated the only one remaining in that place. The other column meanwhile had reached the stockades against which it was directed. In ten minutes they had scaled and carried the first stockade they came to, at a second they met a more obstinate resistance, but they carried it also, and then proceeded to attack a third. The Burmese general, who had just been sitting down to dinner when the British first arrived, and who had gone on with his meal, merely ordering his chiefs to go and drive them away, now found it necessary to come to the place of action. The struggle was now hand to hand, and either himself or another chief of high rank was slain in single combat by Major Sale. This third stockade was carried, and then four others in succession, the whole affair having lasted only half an hour, in which time the British had not fired a single shot. The loss of the Burmese was from 800 to 1000 men, their general, and three other chiefs of rank, and thirty pieces of artillery.

An attack on a place named Kyloo proved a failure; but the town of Marteban, on the east side of a bay of that name, was captured, and a great quantity of guns and ammunition was found in its arsenal. But at Ramoo in Chittagong, misfortune befel the British: a party of 350 Sepoys under Capt. Noton, being cut to pieces by the Burmese. The chief, named Mengee Maha Bundoola, who commanded on this occasion, was immediately summoned to court, and the chief command of the

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army that was to act against the invaders was confided to him. He set out at the head of a large force, and on coming in front of the British position (Dec. 1) he commenced, and with singular rapidity, threw up a line of circumvallation around it, so that with the exception of the channel of the Rangoon in their rear, the British were surrounded. At the same time attempts were made to destroy the shipping, by sending fire-rafts down the stream. The Burmese were suffered to go on with their works for two or three days, the only interruption being a dash among them on the afternoon of the first day, by the gallant Sale, and a small detachment, in which he killed a good number of them and carried off arms and tools. At length (5th) Sir A. Campbell resolved to be the assailant. The point of attack was the enemy's left wing, against which two columns under Majors Sale and Walker were directed, while the flotilla under Capt. Chads, was to move up a creek in their rear, and thence to cannonade them. The undertaking was eminently successful; the enemy fled with great loss, that of the assailants was trifling; but Major Walker was among the slain. Two days after (7th), a general attack was made in four columns on the enemy's right, centre, and left. The Burmese, though at first somewhat daunted, made a gallant defence, but they were soon routed and driven into the jungle.

The Burmese army having reassembled and being reinforced, moved down to the vicinity of Rangoon. Their plan was to set fire to that town, which was built of very inflammable materials, and thus destroy the British stores and magazines. The town accordingly was fired (14th) in several places, and simultaneously; but the garrison succeeded in extinguishing the flames, though not till half the place had been consumed. Next day an attack was made on the Burmese army, one of the boldest deeds that have been achieved in our wars in the East. They were at least 20,000 men occupying a position of great strength, and all the forces that could be spared for the attack did not exceed 1500 men! Sir A. Campbell divided his small force into two columns, with one of which he proposed himself to attack the enemy in front, while the other under Gen. Willoughby Cotton, should make a détour, and on a given signal fall on the Burmese rear. When all was ready, and Gen. Cotton had answered the signal, the artillery opened, and the troops advanced with their scalingladders. The Burmese deemed them mad; but they saw them still advance and fix their ladders, and in fifteen minutes the British were masters of the whole of these formidable works, and the Burmese flying on all sides.

The military events of the year 1824 thus closed. Early in the following year, Sir A. Campbell, in order to hasten the termination of the war, having received reinforcements, resolved to advance to Prome, on the Irawaddy, the second city of the kingdom of Ava. Leaving 4000 men with Gen. McCreagh at Rangoon, he marched (Feb. 13) at the head of a column of about 2500 men for the banks of the Irawaddy, along which a watercolumn of about 1000 men with a large train of artillery under Gen. Cotton was to proceed in a flotilla of sixty boats, escorted by those of the ships of war at Rangoon. Major Sale was meantime with a corps of 750 men to occupy Bassein, on a

branch of the Irawaddy of that name, and then to join the main army.

Sir A. Campbell had proceeded a considerable way on the road to Prome, when tidings of an unpleasant nature from the water-column, caused him to retrace his steps. This column had gone on prosperously till it reached the town of Donabew (Mar. 8), on which, on its refusal to surrender, they made an attack in two columns; but this proving a failure, Gen. Cotton re-embarked his troops. A fatiguing march of some days brought Sir A. Campbell to this place (28th). On perceiving the extent of the works, he preferred as he said, "loss of time to loss of men," and he resolved to proceed with much caution. He summoned the flotilla to his aid, and on its appearing (27th) the garrison made a sally, bringing with them seventeen war-elephants carrying armed men on their backs. It was remarked that though the British cavalry charged these animals and shot down their riders, they showed no symptoms of fear, and retreated in good order into the fort. The garrison gained nothing by this sally; the boats came up, the troops erected batteries, and on the first day they opened them (April 1), Bundoola, who was in the fort, being killed by a rocket, the other chiefs were unable to retain the men, who departed in the night and made for the jungle. The English found in this place grain enough to last the troops for several months.

Sir A. Campbell now resumed his march for Prome, which place he reached (April 25) without encountering any opposition. He found it deserted by the enemy, who had left in it 100 pieces of cannon, and large supplies of grain. As the rains were now setting in, the troops halted at Prome, where they remained all through the rainy season. Sickness prevailed, but not by any means to the same extent as at Rangoon.

While the main force was thus advancing into the heart of the enemy's country, the British troops were not inactive in other quarters. A force acting under the command of Col. Richards had cleared Assam of the Burmese, and an attempt was made to march a corps through Cachar and Manipûr toward Ava; but the state of the country and of the weather rendered it impracticable. A much more important move was made in the direction of Aracan. An army of 11,000 men which had been assembled at Chittagong under Gen. Morrison with a flotilla under Com. Hayes attached to it, commenced its march along the coast in January. It was intended, that after having reduced that province, it should cross the mountains to Ava, and co-operate with the army on the Irawaddy. It was not till the end of March that the army and flotilla, having ascended the river on which Aracan stands, came in view of that city. They found the enemy from 8000 to 10,000 strong, occupying a range of hills through which a single pass, defended by several pieces of cannon and 3000 men, led to the town. The troops at first attempted to scale the hill in front, but the corps sent forward for this purpose under Gen. Maclean, found the ascent so steep, and the fire of the enemy so galling, that they were obliged to give over the attempt, not, however, until every one of the officers had been wounded. It was now resolved to change the point of attack and make it on the right, which being protected by a small

man.

lake, and having a steeper ascent, was more negligently guarded. To divert the enemy's attention a battery was raised and began to play on the works at the pass; but in the night, a party under Gen. Richards made the attack on the works on the right, and carried them without the loss of a In the morning the Burmese, after a feeble resistance, abandoned the hills, and the city of Aracan was occupied by the British. The Burmese troops were now withdrawn from all their positions, and the whole province was given up to the invaders. But it soon appeared that nothing more could be effected in this quarter. The project of crossing the mountains, proved to be impracticable; the rainy season brought with it fever and dysentery, which were fast sweeping away the troops, and the only plan to save them, was to withdraw them altogether. This was done accordingly, divisions being left on two islands and on a part of the more southern coast that appeared to be less unhealthy.

As soon as the rainy season was over, Sir A. Campbell was preparing to resume operations, as it was reported that a large Burmese army was approaching. Overtures for an amicable arrangement having been made by the British some time before, a truce to the 18th Oct. was concluded, and a formal interview took place between the two commanders-in-chief to treat of the terms of peace; but as Sir A. Campbell demanded both territory and money, and the Burmese were not inclined to grant either, after the truce had been further extended to the 2nd of November, hostilities were resumed.

The English were somewhat unlucky in the commencement. The Burmese having pushed forward a division to within a few miles of Prome, a body of native infantry was sent to fall on their left, while another body should attack them in front. But both were repulsed; and the Burmese army, elate with this success, continued to advance, forming stockades and intrenchments as it proceeded. As they moved slowly, the British general resolved to be once more the assailant, and, forming two columns, under himself and Gen. Cotton, he made a general attack on their line (Dec. 1); while the flotilla, now under Sir James Brisbane, cannonaded them. Gen. Cotton's column, having first reached the lines, carried the stockades opposed to them in about ten minutes, and slaughtered all they met. The Burmese fled in a panic; and as they were attempting to pass the river, they were mowed down by the horse artillery of the other column, which had moved rapidly, and got round into their rear.

Next day (2nd) the troops advanced to attack the enemy's centre, which was strongly intrenched among hills, inaccessible by land except by one narrow pathway, protected by seven pieces of cannon, while several batteries commanded the river. But a brigade, led by Col. Sale, quickly carried all the works in front, and then drove the Burmese from their entire position, while the flotilla passed their batteries, and captured their boats and stores. There now only remained the right corps of the Burmese army. This was attacked (5th) in flank and rear by the troops, and in front by the flotilla, and it was speedily driven into the woods.

The British army now continued its march for Ava, but it began to suffer dreadfully from cho

A. D. 1826.

lera. By the end of the month they were at Patanago, on the left bank of the Irawaddy; while Melloon, on the opposite bank, was occupied by the Burmese army. Negotiations for peace had been going on, and in the first week in January (1826) a treaty was signed. An armistice till the 18th was concluded, to obtain the ratification of the king. This, however, did not arrive at the appointed time; and next day (19th) the British batteries were opened on Melloon, and after a cannonade of two hours, the troops destined for the attack pushed off across the river. The brigade, under Col. Sale, arriving first, without waiting for the others, landed, and forming, under Major Frith (for Col. Sale had been wounded in the boat), rushed on, and scaled the works, from which the enemy fled, and the other brigades soon completed the rout. The army now continued its forward march, till one day (Feb. 8) intelligence came that a Burmese army was lying about five miles ahead, on the road along which they were proceeding. This was a force of about 18,000 men, commanded by a general, whose title was Nawung Thuring, or Prince of the Setting Sun, and who, having represented to the king that the preceding defeats had been entirely owing to the incompetence of the generals, pledged himself to drive the invaders out of the country. He had disposed his troops in the form of a crescent, the main road running through the centre; and as his flanks were covered by jungle, he expected, that as the British could only attack in front, he would be able to envelope them. The British were not able to bring more than 2000 men into action, yet they hesitated not to attack (19th); but, instead of making the attack in front, as was expected, they managed to make it on the flanks. It was the first time the Burmese had ventured to meet the invaders in the field, and they stood the charge at first with firmness, but they were soon obliged to give way, and they fled as usual to the jungle; and the victors entered the town of Pugan, where they found abundance of guns, stores, and ammunition. The march was then resumed for Ava, and the army had reached Yandabo, within four days' march of that city, when the ratification of the treaty of peace was brought by Mr. Price, an American missionary, and Mr. Sanford, an English surgeon, who was a prisoner to the Burmese, both of whom had been for some time past employed by the king, in his negotiations with Sir A. Campbell.

By this treaty the Burmese ceded Assam, Aracan, and the country south of Marteban, along the coast of the peninsula. They also resigned all claim to Cachar and the adjoining provinces. They further agreed to pay a crore of rupees, one-fourth down, another at the end of one hundred days (on payment of which the British were to quit the Burman territories), a third at the end of a year, and the fourth at the end of two years. A minister from each state was to reside at the court of the other, and a commercial treaty was to be framed.

Thus terminated the Burmese war. Of its necessity, there can hardly be a doubt in the mind of any one acquainted with the character of the people of the East; for the contest must have come sooner or later. The skill of the officers, and the valour of the troops, are also beyond question; and we doubt if the government was so much to blame,

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as it is generally supposed to have been, in the matter of information and supplies.

In the commencement of the Burmese war occurred the mutiny at Barrakpore. The 47th, and two other native regiments, were stationed at that place, and under orders for Rangoon. The Hindoos have in general a dislike to proceeding by sea; they were terrified by the accounts of the swamps and jungles of the Burmese country, and the fate of the detachment at Ramoo had greatly alarmed them. The 47th, when ordered to appear on parade in marching order one day (Oct. 30) came without their knapsacks. On the reason being required, they said they were too old; they were told that new ones were on the way. They then declared that they would not move unless they got double batta, as increased pay had been given to bullock-drivers and others; and they heard that everything was very dear in the Burmese country. Communication being had with Sir E. Paget, the commanderin-chief, the regiment was again paraded, but it now broke out into open mutiny. Sir E. Paget then came, and as it was thought that the other two regiments could not be relied on, two king's regiments and some artillery were brought from Calcutta. The 47th was drawn up, and the command given to order arms; it was obeyed: that to ground arms followed, and but one man obeyed. Some guns in the rear then opened a fire on them, and the whole regiment broke and fled. Some were killed, many were made prisoners, of whom a few were executed, and others sentenced to hard labour, and the number of the regiment was struck out of the army-list. This mutiny, however, was not of a dangerous character like that of Vellore ; it was, in the language of the Court of Inquiry held on it, "an ebullition of despair at being compelled to march without the means of doing so." As a proof, hardly one of their muskets was found to be loaded, though every man had forty rounds of ball-cartridge.

During the Burmese war also, the affairs of Bhurtpore occupied the attention of the British government. The rajah having died in 1823 without issue, his brother Buldeo Sing assumed the government, and was acknowledged by the British authorities, it having appeared that the claim of Doorjun Sâl, the son of a younger brother, who pretended to have been adopted by the late rajah, was quite unfounded. Buldeo Sing, aware that he could not live very long, was anxious to get his young son and heir acknowledged as his successor by the British government, and Sir D. Ochterlony, the resident in Malwa and Rajputana, was very desirous of having this reasonable wish gratified. The government hesitated lest there might be some one with a better title; but the resident, who knew the truth, and assumed the consent of the government, performed the ceremony of the investiture of the young rajah (Feb. 1825), and a few days after Buldeo Sing breathed his last.

Doorjun Sâl immediately began to act. Having gained over some of the troops, he attacked and took the fort, seized the young rajah, and murdered that youth's maternal uncle. Sir D. Ochterlony instantly summoned troops from all parts, collected a large battering-train, and prepared to lay siege to Bhurtpore, and issued a proclamation to the

Jâts, calling on them to rise in defence of their lawful prince. It is highly probable that, as he anticipated, the force which he would have brought before it, would have reduced Bhurtpore in a fortnight, and the event have exalted the British name in the eyes of the natives. But caution and timidity prevailed in Calcutta; and orders were sent to him to countermand the march of the troops. The declarations of Doorjun Sâl that he had no intentions of usurping the throne, that he had been driven by the oppression of the rajah's uncle to act as he did, were heard with favour, and the gallant old veteran was almost treated with insult. In his communications with the Governor-general, he defended his conduct with great warmth, and tendered his resignation, which was received with a sort of cold civility. It was proposed, for he had not been one of the amassers of wealth in India, to recommend that an income sufficient to make him comfortable for the rest of his life should be settled on him; but his death at Meerut shortly after (July 15) frustrated this design. The affairs of Rajputana were now confided to the able hands of Sir Charles Metcalfe.

The government soon found that their system of non-interference would not answer. A quarrel broke out between Doorjun Sâl and his brother Madhoo Sing; and the latter having failed in an attempt to seize the fort of Bhurtpore, retired to that of Deeg. Marattas and other military vagabonds began to flock to him, and it was quite evident that a system of plunder would soon commence, and that it would not be confined to Bhurtpore. The governor and council at Calcutta deliberated; two members declared for interference, Sir E. Paget took nearly the same view, but Lord Amherst was still for inaction. At length when Sir C. Metcalfe arrived from Hyderabâd where he had been resident, he was called on to state his views; and he showed in so clear and masterly a manner the absolute necessity of armed interference in case negotiation should not succeed, that the Governor-general was convinced, and that course resolved on.

Sir C. Metcalfe did not succeed in his efforts to settle matters by negotiation. Doorjun Sâl revived his claim to the throne, and relying on the strength of Bhurtpore, which had formerly repelled the British arms, he resolved to dare the worst. An army exceeding 20,000 men was assembled under Lord Combermere, the new commander-in-chief, and on the 10th December it appeared before Bhurtpore. Messages were sent into the fort offering a free passage, and safe conduct to the women and children, but the brutal Doorjun Sâl would not suffer them to depart. Batteries were erected; but as they were not found sufficiently powerful, recourse was had to mines; and breaches having been effected, the troops advanced to the assault (Jan. 18). The enemy made a bold defence, but at four in the afternoon the fort was in the hands of the British. Doorjun Sâl was captured as he was attempting to escape with his family. The formidable fort of Bhurtpore was levelled to the ground, and the whole country sub

5 He had been fifty years in India, in the service of the Company. He was by birth an American, his father being one of those who adhered to the mother-country in the quarrel with the Colonies.

THE successor of Lord Amherst was Lord William Bentinck, whom we have seen on the occasion of the mutiny at Vellore, recalled by the Court of Directors from the government of Madras. His family interest, however, was high, and he was appointed by the Canning administration to succeed Lord Amherst. He had not proceeded to India when the death of Mr. Canning occurred, which broke up that ministry. This, however, made no change to him, as he had interest also with those who succeeded to power, and he sailed for India in February, 1828.

Little of importance took place during the administration of Lord William Bentinck. The conduct of the rajah of Coorg, in the Deckan, who was the very opposite of his chivalrous father, proved so atrocious, that it was found necessary to deprive him of his power, and with the manifest approbation of the people, to incorporate his territory in the British dominions (1834). Treaties also to secure the navigation of the Indus, were formed during this period with some of the chieftains of Sinde, by Mr. (now Sir Henry) Pottinger.

It fell to the lot of Lord William Bentinck, soon after his arrival in India, to have to give effect to the orders of the Company respecting the reduction of the half-batta, as an allowance was named which had been made to the military officers in their service. This, of course, caused great dissatisfaction, and Lord Combermere went so far as to resign his office of Commander-in-chief. But these were the days of retrenchment, and the officers had to submit. Another measure of the Governor-general's was, the doing away with flogging in the native army, a rather anomalous proceeding, while it was retained in the European regiments. His greatest and best act was the abolition of Suttee, or the practice of self-immolation by Hindoo widows, a practice which had existed from times before India became known to Europe. This deed will ever remain a monument to his fame.

Lord William Bentinck sailed from India in May, 1835, after a government of seven years.

While Lord William Bentinck was administering the affairs of the Company in India, the term of their charter had expired, and the advocates of free-trade in England had obtained their final triumph over them. The only exclusive branch of trade we may recollect that had been reserved to the Company in 1813, was that to China; and this was now vigorously assailed.

The British traders had here a fair subject of