self; for Tippoo, bent on war, was already in the field. Cornwallis at once accepted an offer of alliance made to him by Nana Furnawees, the Mahratta chieftain, who had equal cause with the nizam to dread the ambition of their restless neighbour.

Operations were commenced in the summer of 1790, but the campaign has little interest. The allies under General Medows, at first successful, were smartly checked by their antagonist in their attempt to force the passes of the Ghauts. The territory of Travancore, however, was secured from invasion, and a few other trifling advantages were gained by the English.

Dissatisfied at the general results, however, Lord Cornwallis himself now took the command, and the campaign of 1791 opened favourably indeed for the allies. The passes were captured, and the army of the governor now upon the plateau of Mysore had no natural obstacle to impede their progress. Bangalore was stormed and carried with great gallantry; and Cornwallis being joined by the nizam's army, turned westward towards Tippoo's capital of Seringapatam, in which neighbourhood Tippoo, having, as was his wont, studiously avoided general engagements, had concentrated his forces. The hostile armies met at Arikera. Tippoo was defeated; but the British general, unable from failure of supplies, to continue operations, withdrew to Bangalore.

The reduction of some mountain fortresses kept the troops employed for a while; and by-and-bye (1792) Cornwallis, having completed his preparations, moved once more towards Seringapatam. This stronghold was literally surrounded by the allies; and Tippoo, perceiving his danger, decided upon opening negotiations with the English governor. With great difficulty a treaty was concluded by which Tippoo surrendered half his territory to the allies, and consented to pay a large sum towards the expenses of the war. The maritime province of Malabar was, by this treaty, made over to the English.

Relieved at length from all anxiety with regard to the ambition of Tippoo, Lord Cornwallis was at liberty to

carry out those changes in the administration for which, rather than his military undertakings, he is especially celebrated. Of these, the reform of the land-tenure in Bengal holds the foremost place. The change was as follows. The revenues of the various provinces of the dominions of the Moguls, their details and method of collection, had been settled before the Company had initiated that policy of conquest which by-and-bye was to transfer them to their management. Up to the year 1761, the Company had had no hand in this; when, however, at the present date, the dewany or financial management of Bengal was surrendered to the English by the Emperor of Delhi, the duties of adjustment and collection naturally passed into their hands.

No change was then effected either in their incidents or method of collection--the tenures remaining as previously fixed, and the taxes being collected and paid in the usual manner by officials termed zemindars. Many and great changes had necessarily taken place since at the command of Akbar, the survey and valuation of lands had been made; and the new proprietors were not blind to the necessity of a readjustment. It was, however, deemed inexpedient to make any alterations, and so matters went on as they had been wont to do, till the period of Lord Cornwallis' appointment to the governorgeneralship, when the directors drew attention to the irregularities of the system, and Cornwallis was instructed to deal with the subject.

His plan was to vest the property of the soil in the zemindars. It was a question as to whom the lands belonged. Some contended that they were the property of the state; others, of the people. Cornwallis and his council inclined to the latter opinion. Their measure, however, was a compromise, inasmuch as, instead of bestowing them upon the cultivators, they made them over in perpetuity to the zemindars, to whom they had ever been accustomed to look for the revenues accruing therefrom. The zemindars were to be responsible still for the payments; and the cultivation of the land was provided

for by a system of leases whereby the ryots or cultivators were secured in their tenures; and thus, a never-failing revenue was ensured.

The change was considered advisable, and no doubt was well intended; but unfortunately the reform was made without due regard to the feelings, habits, and prejudices of the people whom it so greatly concerned. Hence, although it was productive of certain advantages, its drawbacks were greater. It secured a permanent revenue to the Company; but it unfortunately barred all provision for emergencies, and took no account of a prospective advance in value; and, while it tended to create a local aristocracy of wealth, it brought ruin to the door of many a substantial yeoman.

Among the judicial reforms of Lord Cornwallis, was the separation of the offices of tax-collector and judge, hitherto vested in one man. The evils attending such an arrangement were so glaring, that no statesmen, endued with the slightest sense of justice, could withhold reform in this direction.

To further the administration of justice, Lord Cornwallis established certain courts, in some measure analogous to our county-courts, over which a judge holding high rank was appointed. Provision was made for appeal from the decisions of these judges; but unfortunately, through its restrictions, the natives were, as a rule, excluded from its benefits. The injustice of this was so palpable, that the government was constrained to modify the system. The area of exclusion was accordingly narrowed; and four tribunals of appeal in place of one, namely at Calcutta, Patna, Dacca, and Moorshedabad, were at the same time established.

He likewise abolished judges' fees, and rendered easier the process of pleading in the courts. He reformed the penal laws, and established courts of circuit, rendering it incumbent upon the judges to report, on their return, the condition of the country whose judicial affairs they administered, and to give an account concerning the general working of the law.

CHAPTER XVI.

ADMINISTRATION OF SIR JOHN SHORE AND EARLY YEARS OF THE MARQUIS WELLESLEY'S REIGN.

Mahratta Struggles-Defeat of Holkar by Scindia at Dukhairee— Rejection of the Nizam's Appeal-Settlement of the Succession of Oude-Resignation of Sir John Shore-Arrival of Lord Mornington-Contracts Alliances-Outbreak of War with Tippoo-Tippoo, beaten, retires to SeringapatamSiege of Seringapatam and Death of Tippoo-Advancement of Lord Mornington-Position of Tippoo's Dominions-Settlement of Affairs in the Carnatic-Of Oude.

THE administration of Sir John Shore followed that of Lord Cornwallis in 1793. His efforts were mainly devoted to the development of the measures of his predecessor, in the enactment of which he had taken no unimportant part. His term of office was a short and eminently peaceful one. Had he been anxious to gain military distinction, current events would have given him ample opportunity to make trial of his skill in this direction; but, rightly or wrongly, he chose to observe a rigid neutrality.

The chief interest of the times immediately preceding and following the defeat of Tippoo at Arikera, was centered in the Mahratta country, where a continuous struggle for supremacy was going on between the great chieftains Mahadajee Scindia, Mulhar Rao Holkar, and Nana Furnawees. The former had grown exceedingly powerful; and, through the services he had rendered the emperor, had been entrusted with the management of the affairs of the court of Delhi. Holkar had gained for himself great military renown; and Nana, who was the ministerial head of the Mahratta nation, jealous of the abilities and power of these chieftains, endeavoured to play them off

against each other, thinking that their mutual enmity might remove the danger their ambition threatened. A battle took place between these rivals at Dukhairee, in which Holkar was signally defeated. The victor's death, which occurred soon after the engagement, removed the chief cause of anxiety from Nana, and he now felt at liberty to settle an old score with the nizam.

The nizam did not consider himself strong enough to withstand the Mahratta force unaided; and so he appealed for protection to the English. That protection was refused; and in this, Sir John Shore's policy has been condemned; because it left open a way for French intrigue, and led, by-and-bye, to complications of a most serious character. Disappointed by the English, he began to make preparations upon his own account; and such were his exertions, that when he took the field it was at the head of an army of 100,000 men. The forces of his antagonist were slightly superior in regard to numbers. The action which ensued at Khurdlah, though almost a bloodless, was a decisive one. It ended in favour of the Mahrattas; and after the action a treaty was concluded, in every way advantageous to the victors.

Sir John Shore resigned his authority in 1798, after a reign of three years, and was succeeded by Lord Mornington. The period of his sway, though far from brilliant, had not been altogether uneventful. An attempt on the part of the home government to alter the constitution of the Indian army occasioned a serious mutiny, which was only quelled with the greatest difficulty. His most memorable transaction was that in connection with the succession in Oude; and in the settlement of this difficulty he displayed a firmness of purpose worthy of Hastings himself. His administration, however, had been pronounced on the whole weak, and his recall had long been determined upon. That his administration had been conducted with some credit is evident by his advancement; for, ere he had quitted the land of his labours, he was rewarded by a peerage. He henceforth took his seat in the upper house as Lord Teignmouth.