you in the bosom of my friends, the hatred which I bear against these oppressors of the human race. If will assist me, in a short time not an Englishman shall remain in India; you have the power and the means of effecting it, by your free negroes; with these new citizens (much dreaded by the English) joined to your troops of the line, we will purge India of these villains. The springs which I have touched have put all India in motion, my friends are ready to fall upon the English; for everything here relies on my discretion. Your enemies, as I have apprised you, shall be mine."-Tippoo to the Representatives of the People residing in the Isles of France, &c. A letter from M. Ripeaud to " Citizen Sultaun Tippoo" establishes the fact, that General Raymond the commander of the French auxiliary force in the service of the Nizam, had opened a correspondence with the king of Mysore : "I repeat to you, that your interests are as dear to me as those of my own nation; and you may rely on the frankness of my heart; but Raymond appears to make advances to you: do you appear to accept and return this confidence, and allow me to act a part with him. Be assured that he will submit himself to your pleasure: subtle as he is, I will outwit him, and you shall be satisfied." Among the papers found at Seringapatam were the drafts of several letters in the Persian language, addressed by Tippoo to Zemaun Shah. The following short extract will serve as a specimen "These circumstances, which are as well known from east to west, as the sun in the centre of the heavens, suggested to my mind that, agreeably to the command of God and his apostle, declared in these words, "Slay the divisors of the Godhead," we should unite in carrying on a holy war against the infidels, and free the region of Hindostan from the contamination of the enemies of our religion.-The followers. of the faith in these territories always assembling at a select time on Fridays, offer up their prayers in the words -Oh God, slay the infidels who have closed thy way! Let their sins return upon their own heads, with the punishment that is due to them!'-I trust that Almighty God, for the sake of his beloved, will accept their prayers, and through the merit of a holy cause, prosper our mutual exertions to that end.-And through the influence of the words, Thine armies shall conquer,' will render us victorious and successful." The following is an extract of a letter from Zemaun Shah to Tippoo Sultaun : "As the object of your well-directed mind is the destruction of the infidels and the extension of the faith of the prophet, please God, we shall soon march with our conquering army to wage war with the infidels and polytheists, and to free those regions from the contamination of these shameless tribes with the edge of the sword; so that the inhabitants of those regions be restored to comfort and repose: be therefore perfectly satisfied in this respect. With regard to your request for deputing two persons to reside at our court, with a view to strengthen the ties of friendship, we have to express our acquiescence. "We have sent a few articles hereunder mentioned, as a memorial of our regard, by your ambassadors, who have explained to us the message with which you had commissioned them." We have quoted enough to demonstrate the magnitude of the dangers which threatened the British power at the crisis when Lord Wellesley arrived in India, and at the same time to afford an irrefutable confirmation (if further confirmation be necessary) of the correctness of the views of the Governor-General and the wisdom of his proceedings, with reference to the intriguing and enterprising Sultaun of Seringapatam. (4.) Correspondence between Major-General Baird and General Harris respecting Colonel the Honourable Arthur Wellesley's Appointment in Seringapatam. "SIR, TO LIEUTENANT-GENERAL HARRIS, COMMANDER- 66 "Camp, Seringapatam, 6th of May, 1799." Having, in a letter which I had this morning the honour to address you, given a detailed account of the assault of the fort of Seringapatam, the conduct of which you did me the honour to intrust to me, permit me now, Sir, to address you on the subject of the events which have taken place since that time. "Having been honoured with the conduct of the assault, and having executed that duty to your satisfaction, I naturally concluded that I should have been permitted to retain the command of Seringapatam, or, at least, that I should not be superseded in it by a junior officer. Judge, then, my surprise, when expecting to have the honour of delivering to you the keys of Seringapatam, in the palace of the late Tippoo Sultaun, and of congratulating you on the most brilliant victory that ever graced the British arms in India, to have an order put into my hands by Colonel Wellesley, by which I found myself instantly superseded in the command by that officer. I am really ignorant what part of my conduct could merit such treatment. "When, on a former occasion, Colonel Wellesley was appointed to the command of the detachment serving with his Highness the Nizam, while I remained in charge of a brigade, you informed me that matters of a political nature made it necessary to have that officer with the Nizam's army. Although I severely felt the appointment of a junior officer to so distinguished a command, while I remained in an inferior station, I submitted to the necessity which you informed me dictated the measure; but this second supercession I feel most sensibly, as it must have the effect of leading his Majesty and the Commander-in Chief in England to believe that I am not fit for any command of importance, when it has been thought proper to give the command of Seringapatam to Colonel Wellesley, while he, at the same time, continues to hold the command of the Nizam's detachment. "In camp it is rumoured to have been at my own request that another officer was appointed to the command of Seringapatam; you, Sir, must know that this is not the case. The request, if made, must have been made by me to you; and, so far from its ever being my intention to make such a request, if (after the assurances I have repeatedly received from you, that you would take the first opportunity of placing me in a situation more adequate to the rank I hold than that of the command of a brigade,) I had deemed it necessary to make any request to you, it would have been to be placed in the command of Seringapatam; and when I reflected that my two seniors, belonging to the coast army, continued to stand appointed to the northern and southern divisions of the Carnatic, and that the Hon. Col. Wellesley, the next junior to me, stood appointed to the command of an army, while I remained in charge of a brigade, I should have felt that I was hinting a doubt, which I never entertained, of the sincerity of those assurances, if I had made a particular application for the command of Seringapatam-indeed I could not think it necessary. "Some mistake may have arisen from my having, through Major Beatson, expressed a desire that the whole storming party might be relieved from camp; so that order might be established, and troops more equal to take the fatigue of guard-mounting during the night, be placed in the fort; and I wished to be relieved for a short time, that I might myself have had the honour of reporting our success, and informing you in person of every particular relative to the storm. This not having been found convenient, I desired Captain Young, Deputy Ajutant-General of His Majesty's troops, who was proceeding to camp at daylight next morning, to inform you that, as I was much recovered from the fatigues of the preceding day, I wished not to be relieved till I had examined the state of the works and ascertained the number of cannon captured. I received a letter from Captain Young, long before Colonel Wellesley superseded me, informing me that he had made my request known to you. 66 "I cannot but feel obliged by your having enabled me to act so distinguished a part in the storm, though I find so little attention has, in every other instance, been paid to my requests, that I am almost led to believe my being employed on that occasion, was owing to my being the only officer of rank who had made a voluntary offer of his services. "I request that copies of this letter may be transmitted to his Royal Highness the Duke of York, Commander-in Chief, for the information of his Majesty; that, at the same time he is informed of my having been twice superseded by Colonel Wellesley, he may be in possession of such reasons as you shall think proper to give for it, that he may be satisfied the measure was dictated by necessity, and not by any want of capacity on my part to fill the situation. D. BAIRD." "I have the honour, &c. |