our countrymen, and to initiate in the one case a struggle, which, considering its arduous character, its length, and its many vicissitudes, has scarcely a parallel in the annals of the country.

The struggle was occasioned, in the first place, by a dispute respecting the Northern Circars, a province lying between Orissa and the sea. The value of this territory to the Bengal council had long been apparent; and the authorities there had done their utmost to get possession of it. This province had originally been granted by Salabat Jung to M. Bussy by way of reward for services performed in his behalf. It had more recently been made over to the English by the emperor; but, as at the time of transfer it was in the possession of the nizam, who was independent of the court of Delhi, the gift was little more than nominal.

Nizam Ally, now called upon to execute the imperial will, gave an uncompromising refusal. An accommodation was, however, effected, and for a time the matter dropped. It was, by-and-bye, discovered that the nizam was carrying on an intrigue with Hyder Ally; and their forces were by agreement united for the purpose of coercing the English. Together they mustered a formidable array; and, when eventually they encountered Colonel Smith, who had been sent with a force of 7000 men to operate against them, the advantage of the contest lay with them. The English commander, however, having rallied under the walls of Trincomalee, the tide of success was turned, and they were overthrown with considerable loss. This victory was so decisive that Hyder's son, Tippoo, immediately retreated from before Madras, to which town he had laid siege; and the confederates, being subsequently defeated in several minor engagements, Nizam Ally soon became weary of the contest, and entered into negotiations with the English commander.

Altogether, he had good reason for taking this step; for, to increase his embarrassment, an army had entered the Deccan from Bengal, and was already within a short

distance of Hyderabad, his capital. The terms of the treaty were less favourable to the English than might have been expected, considering their success in the field. Possession of the Circars, with the exception of the district of Guntoor, was guaranteed to the English; and an offensive alliance between the contracting parties was entered into against Hyder Ally, who was forthwith proclaimed a usurper, and his dominions declared forfeited.

Now, it was a very easy matter to denounce their enemy; it was, however, quite another to depose him; and this the new allies soon found to their cost. The court of directors, whose views were adverse to an extension of territory, were by no means pleased with the offensive alliance their servants had contracted with the nizam. But it was too late to recede. The proud spirit of Hyder had been thoroughly roused by the indignity; and he was as anxious as he was prepared to resent it. He commenced proceedings by advancing against Bangalore; and, having captured it, he raised funds by means of the ransom demanded for the release of his numerous prisoners. The conduct of the war against Hyder was committed to Colonels Smith and Wood, who commenced operations in June 1768. The campaign opened favourably for the English; and Hyder, fearing lest the Mahrattas should join his enemies, made overtures for peace. But the Madras council would not be satisfied with Hyder's proposals. Negotiations were therefore broken off, and the contest reopened in earnest.

The progress of the war showed that the Madras authorities had most seriously underrated the ability and resources of their adversary, who, after having defeated Colonel Wood at Oossoor, and recovered the fortresses of which he had been earlier deprived, was on his way to Madras itself. So little prepared was the garrison for defence, that the council had no alternative but to treat with their triumphant enemy. There was, fortunately, little difficulty in opening negotiations; for the Mahrattas seemed upon the point of casting in their lot with Hyder's enemies; and Hyder, as skilful a politician as soldier,

was not so presumptuous as to hope for success against such a combination. If Hyder hated the English, he thoroughly despised the Mahrattas, and this he made no attempt to conceal. The business, however, was badly managed; and Hyder, annoyed at certain unfair treatment to which he had been subjected, struck southward -his head filled with another and a grander scheme.

The peace of Fontainebleau, which, in 1763, closed the Seven Years' War in Europe, had restored to the French their lost possessions in India. They had, accordingly, notwithstanding the protests of Clive and others, once more gained a footing in the peninsula; and Pondicherry, as of yore, was their head settlement. To M. Law, the French governor, Hyder now began to make overtures. Hyder, however, was not the man to place too firm a reliance upon allies; and he sought, therefore, to anticipate the advantages of a French alliance by giving his enemies no rest. By skilful manoeuvring he drew Colonel Smith from the neighbourhood of Madras; and, after leading him a perplexing chase, arrived at St. Thomé, a few miles from that city. The consternation within its walls was great, for the garrison had been despatched to

operate against Hyder in the open country. The place, however, was spared the humiliation of surrender; for Hyder, contrary to all expectations, once more offered to negotiate.

A treaty was concluded upon the basis of a mutual restitution of conquests, and an alliance, offensive and defensive, between the covenanting parties. The entire affair had been most disastrous to the English; who, in addition to a considerable pecuniary loss, had fallen materially in the estimation of the natives. And thus ended the second conflict with Hyder Ally. The treaty, in one of its provisions, was violated by the English shortly afterwards. No sooner were the terms of it ratified than Hyder, flushed with success, commenced war on the Mahrattas; and in this undertaking he was so thoroughly unfortunate that he was constrained to call upon the English to fulfil their engagement by sending him an English brigade. The Madras authorities were willing enough to do this; but their hands were now tied by the presence of an envoy from England, who forbade further hostilities. Hyder, thus abandoned by the English, was miserably despoiled by his enemy. He never forgave the perfidy, and, as he termed it, cowardice of his English allies.

CHAPTER XII.

ADMINISTRATION OF WARREN HASTINGS.

Conspiracies-Disappointment of the Emperor-Departure of the Mahrattas from the Doab-Betrayal of the Rohillas by the English Withdrawal of the Emperor's Pension-Arrival of the Members of Council-Rearrangement with the VizierAccusations against Hastings-Execution of Nuncomar.

WARREN HASTINGS entered upon his office as governorgeneral of Bengal in 1772. Events of great moment had of late transpired in different corners of the peninsula, which furnished him with abundant employment. The great interest of this period seemed to centre upon Oude, where the game of plot and counterplot was proceeding with unflagging zeal; the emperor, the vizier, the English, the Mahrattas, and Rohillas, vieing with each other in the exhibition of their skill at chicanery and double-dealing.

The Mahrattas, as was previously stated, had become a formidable power in Northern India; and the estimation in which they were held is exhibited in the overtures so often made by neighbouring states for their alliance. After the defeat of the confederates at Buxar in 1764, it will be remembered, Shah Allum, the titular emperor of Delhi, had ceded to the English the dewany or collectorship of the revenues of Bengal and the neighbouring provinces; and had received in return two small districts in the province of Oude. He had hoped that the English, to whom he had behaved so liberally, would have aided him, when opportunity should serve, in securing for him the substance as well as the shadow of dominion by placing him upon the throne of Delhi. By-and-bye, disap