lost the unenviable character their restlessness had secured them, and came to be one of the most peaceable, industrious, and law-abiding communities of the peninsula.

Lord Hastings was slow, indeed, to receive the due recognition of the service his vigorous policy had rendered to India and to England. The Court of Directors, though awarding him all credit for the brilliancy and success of his military undertakings, entirely disapproved the act of annexation as contrary to their orders, and to the spirit of the policy which they had so long endeavoured to pursue. Neither were they much better pleased with his schemes for the amelioration of the condition of the natives. Nevertheless, his perseverance in this direction, especially in that portion of his plans which related to education, contributed in no mean degree to the welfare and happiness of the people of India.

The administrative labours of Lord Hastings were happily not confined to the newly annexed territory, in which, be it remembered, he was largely assisted by the enlightened governor of Bombay. Under his wise supervision the financial affairs of the land were ably managed; for, notwithstanding the enormous expenses of the wars, an annual surplus was now declared, and the credit of the Company maintained. A great change had taken place in the character of Indian officials since the days of Clive and Warren Hastings. Little opportunity was now afforded for that system of peculation and extortion which was once the scandal of the age. India had come to be better understood, and its affairs were thus managed in accordance with the principles that should govern all well regulated states. To this satisfactory condition of things, the exertions of the present governor-general, no less than those of his immediate predecessors, had contributed.

CHAPTER XX.

LORD AMHERST'S ADMINISTRATION.

Resignation of Lord Hastings-His Reasons-Temporary Rule of Mr. Adam-Prosecution of Mr. Buckingham-Arrival of Lord Amherst--Arrogance of the King of Burmah-War Declared against the Burmese-Successes of Captain Campbell-Of the Burmese General, Bundoola-Mutiny of Sepoys -Capture of Donabew, and Death of Bundoola-Treaty of Yandaboo and Close of Burmese War-Bhurtpoor-Its Capture-Lord Amherst Quits India, and is succeeded by Lord William Bentinck.

IN 1821, after an administration of eight years, Lord Hastings tendered his resignation. He was induced to take this step through the scandal, rightly or wrongly, attaching to his name in the affair of the great Hyderabad banking-house of Palmer & Co. Not that by taking such a step he signified any complicity in this ugly transaction; but the suspicion to which he was subject, and the unrelenting opposition he experienced from the Calcutta court, had rendered his position anything but an enviable one. This affair of the bankers is regarded as the one great blot upon his otherwise benign and judicious reign. Its effects are said to be traceable in that portion of the country with which the transaction is more especially identified to this day; and, whether he was a party to it or not, the circumstance, as associated with his administration, will for ever be identified with his name.

Lord Hastings, though he had sent home his resignation so early as 1821, did not retire from the theatre of his triumphs till the beginning of the year 1823. He was temporarily succeeded in office by his most inveterate

opponent at the council board, Mr. Adam, whose brief administration is marked by one event only—namely, the vindictive prosecution of a newspaper editor named Buckingham. The practical successor of Lord Hastings was Lord Amherst, whose Indian career began in 1823. He found plenty of employment to his hand in the threatening attitude of the Burmese, a people whose territory lay contiguous to the Company's dominions of Bengal.

So early as the year 1814, their king, under pretence of making a pilgrimage to the sacred city of Benares, had marched out of Ava, his capital, and encamped by the Brahmapootra upon the frontier of Bengal. This menacing position he maintained till the year 1818, when he despatched a peremptory order to the governor to surrender to him the eastern portion of Bengal as far as Bagrutty, with threats of coercion in case of a disregard of his mandate. The order, as a matter of course, was not complied with; indeed, the document was regarded as a counterfeit, and, therefore, no notice was taken of it.

The threat of the Burmese monarch, meanwhile, was not carried out. His territorial usurpations, however, were permitted to progress; and, before attempting an attack on Bengal, he seized upon the independent and contiguous state of Assam, and annexed it to his dominions. His proceedings, however, had been narrowly watched, and Lord Hastings was fortunately not unprepared for the contingency. He had good reason to shun a contest with this people if possible; for their country was difficult of invasion, and its climate not of the best; and he therefore had recourse to negotiation. But the Burmese sovereign, bent upon a quarrel, had promptly despatched a powerful force under his greatest general, Maha Bundoola, towards the Bengal frontier; and, the governor, having no alternative, at once issued a proclamation of hostilities (1824).

Everything pointed to the conclusion that this war with the Burmese would be no light undertaking; and so it proved. Finding that it was impossible, by reason of the alternation of wood and marsh land, which charac

terises the eastern portion of Bengal, to enter the Burmese country landwards, an expedition was despatched thither by sea, under Captain Campbell, to Rangoon, at the mouth of the Irrawady. The place was taken, as was also Martaban, in Tenasserim; but here success for a time ended. The capture of Rangoon, however, had the effect of drawing off the Burmese general from Bengal, where he had greatly distinguished himself by driving in the various detachments of the British forces stationed to watch his movements; and, with an army of 60,000 men,

he turned southwards to measure swords with the invaders of his country. The struggle now began in earnest. It opened somewhat favourably for the British, who, after carrying the stockaded positions of the enemy, forced him to withdraw. Other expeditions were not so favourable; and, to the embarrassment of the governor, some of the sepoy regiments, inspired with a needless dread, broke out into mutiny at Barrackpore.

The prompt action of Sir Edward Paget brought them back to their allegiance. The old routes which, from their

extremely irksome and hazardous character, had indirectly led to this spirit of insubordination, were abandoned, and operations were confined to the Irrawady. The main object of attack was the strong position of Donabew, which was defended by a garrison of 12,000 men under the direction of Bundoola himself. The first assault failed; but, upon the besiegers being reinforced by the main army under Sir Archibald Campbell, their efforts were more successful; for, having lost their commander, who was killed by the bursting of a shell, the Burmese garrison retreated, leaving their fortress, and also their stores in their enemy's hands.

An attempt was now made to bring about a cessation of hostilities; but the king, who still had an army of 50,000 men in the field, was not disposed to accept the terms offered him by Sir Archibald, and the war continued. Its ultimate issue, however, was a foregone conclusion. Sir Archibald's subsequent operations were attended with almost unvarying success, and the English forces soon reached Yandaboo, within a day or two's march of the capital. Hither the Burmese sovereign sent envoys to sue for peace (1815), which was granted him upon the condition of his ceding to the English the provinces of Assam, Arracan, and Tenasserim. The war had lasted two years; and while due tribute must be paid to the bravery of the enemy's troops, and to the skill of the Burmese commanders, the prolongation of the struggle was occasioned rather by natural obstacles and lack of foresight; and-extraordinary as it may appear— by the superstition of the Hindus, who considered their enemies to be possessed of supernatural powers, than by the resistance they met with from the enemy.

The Burmese were now quiescent; but Lord Amherst's task was not completed. The fortress of Bhurtpoor, it will be remembered, was associated with one of the most unfortunate failures in connection with British arms in India; and so baneful an effect had this failure upon the native tribes of the north, that, considering it to be an invulnerable stronghold, the disaffected had long intended