Rambles and Recollections of an Indian Official Part 66

10. Mill observes upon these transactions: 'The conduct of the Company's servants upon this occasion furnishes one of the most remarkable instances upon record of the power of self-interest to extinguish all sense of justice and even of shame. They had hitherto insisted, contrary to all right and all precedent, that the government of the country should exempt all their goods from duty; they now insisted that it should impose duties upon all other traders, and accused it as guilty of a breach of the peace towards the English nation, because it proposed to remit them.' [W. H. S.]

The quotation is from Book iv, chapter 5 (5th ed., 1858, vol. iii, p.

237).

11. The 3rd of October was the day of slaughter at Patna. The Europeans at other places in Mir Kasim's power were also ma.s.sacred; and the total number slain, men, women, and children, amounted to about two hundred. Sumroo personally butchered about one hundred and fifty at Patna.

12. Our troops, under Sir David Ochterlony, took the fort of Makwanpur in 1815, and might in five days have been before the defenceless capital; but they were here arrested by the romantic chivalry of the Marquis of Hastings. The country had been virtually conquered; the prince, by his base treachery towards us and outrages upon others, had justly forfeited his throne; but the Governor- General, by perhaps a misplaced lenity, left it to him without any other guarantee for his future good behaviour than the recollection that he had been soundly beaten. Unfortunately he left him at the same time a sufficient quant.i.ty of fertile land below the hills to maintain the same army with which he had fought us, with better knowledge how to employ them, to keep us out on a future occasion.

Between the attempt of Kasim Ali and our attack upon Nepal, the Gorkha masters of the country had, by a long series of successful aggressions upon their neighbours, rendered themselves in their own opinion and in that of their neighbours the beat soldiers of India.

They have, of course, a very natural feeling of hatred against our government, which put a stop to the wild career of conquest, and wrested from their grasp all the property and all the pretty women from Kathmandu to Kashmir. To these beautify regions they were what the invading Huns were in former days to Europe, absolute fiends. Had we even exacted a good road into their country with fortifications at the proper places, it might have checked the hopes of one day resuming the career of conquest that now keeps up the army and military spirit, to threaten us with a renewal of war whenever we are embarra.s.sed on the plains. [W. H. S.]

The author's uneasiness concerning the att.i.tude of Nepal was justified. During the Afghan troubles of 1838-43 the Nepalese Government was in constant communication with the enemies of the Indian Government. The late Maharaja Sir Jang Bahadur obtained power in 1846, and, after his visit to England in 1850, decided to abide by the English alliance. He did valuable service in 1857 and 1858, and the two governments have ever since maintained an unbroken, though reserved, friends.h.i.+p. The Gorkha regiments in the English service are recruited in Nepal.

13. Aasaye (a.s.sye, Asai) is in the Nizam's dominions. Here, on the 23rd of September, 1803, Sir Arthur Wellesley, afterwards Duke of Wellington, with less than 5,000 men, defeated the Maratha host of at least 32,000 men, including more than 10,000 under European leaders.

Ajanta, or Ajanta Ghat, is in the same region. (Owen, _Sel. from Wellington Despatches_ (1880), pp. 301-9.)

14. His tombstone bears a Portuguese inscription: 'Aqui iaz Walter Reinhard, morreo aos 4 de Mayo no anno de 1778.'

(_N.W.P. Gazetteer_, vol. ii, p. 96.)

15. According to this statement she must have been born in or about 1741, not in 1753, as stated by Atkinson. If the earlier date were correct, she would have been ninety-five when she died in 1836.

Higginbotham, referring to Bacon's work, says she died at the age of eighty-nine, which places her birth in 1747. According to Beale, she was aged eighty-eight lunar years when she died, on the 27th January, 1836, equivalent to about eighty-five solar years. This computation places her birth in A.D. 1751, which may be taken as the correct date. The date of her baptism is correctly stated in the text.

16. She added the name n.o.bilis, when she married Le Vaisseau.

(_N.W.P. Gazetteer_, vol. ii, p. 106, note.)

17. The author spells the German's name Pauly; I have followed Atkinson's spelling. The man was a.s.sa.s.sinated in 1783.

18. This circ.u.mstance indicates that the execution of the slave girls took place in 1782. (See _N.W.P. Gazetteer_, vol. ii, p. 91.)

19. The darker aide of the Begam's character is shown by the story of the slave girl's murder. By some it is said that the girl's crime consisted in her having attracted the favourable notice of one of the Begam's husbands. Whatever may have been the offence, her barbarous mistress visited it by causing the girl to be buried alive. The time chosen for the execution was the evening, the place the tent of the Begam; who caused her bed to be arranged immediately over the grave, and occupied it until the morning, to prevent any attempt to rescue the miserable girl beneath. By acts like this the Begam inspired such terror that she was never afterwards troubled with domestic dissensions.' (_N.W.P. Gazetteer_, 1st ed., vol. ii, p. 110.) It will be observed that this version mentions only one girl. According to Higginbotham (_Men whom India has Known_, 2nd ed., s.v. 'Sumroo'), this execution took place on the evening of the day on which Le Vaisseau perished in 1795. (See _post._) He adds that 'it is said that this act preyed upon her conscience in after life'. This account professes to be based on Bacon's _First Impressions and Studies from Nature in Hindustan_, which is said to be 'the most reliable, as the author saw the Begam, attended and conversed with her at one of her levees, and gained all his information at her Court'. But Bacon's account of the Begam's history, as quoted by Higginbotham, is full of gross errors; and Sir William Sleeman may be relied on as giving the most accurate obtainable version of the horrid story. He had the beat possible opportunities, as well as a desire, to ascertain the truth.

20. Atkinson (_N.W.P. Gazetteer_, vol. ii, p. 106) uses the spelling Le Vaisseau, which probably is correct, and observes that the name is also written Le Va.s.sont. The author writes Le Va.s.soult; and Francklin (_Military Memoirs of Mr. George Thomas_, London, 8vo reprint (Stockdale), p. 55) spells the name phonetically as Leva.s.so. 'On every occasion he was the declared and inveterate enemy of Mr.

Thomas.'

21. Thomas was an Irishman, born in the county of Tipperary. 'From the best information we could procure, it appears that Mr. George Thomas first came to India in a British s.h.i.+p of war, in 1781-2. His situation in the fleet was humble, having served as a quarter-master, or, as is affirmed by some, in the capacity of a common sailor. . . .

His first service was among the Polygars to the southward, where he resided a few years. But at length setting out overland, he spiritedly traversed the central part of the peninsula, and about the year 1787 arrived at Delhi. Here he received a commission in the service of the Begam Sumroo. . . . Soon after his arrival at Delhi, the Begam, with her usual judgement and discrimination of character, advanced him to a command in her army. From this period his military career in the north-west of India may be said to have commenced.'

Owing to the rivalry of Le Vaisseau, Thomas 'quitted the Begam Sumroo, and about 1792 betook himself to the frontier station of the British army at the post of Anops.h.i.+re (Anupshahr). . . . Here he waited several months. . . . In the beginning of the year 1793, Mr.

Thomas, being at Anops.h.i.+re, received letters from Appakandarow (Apakanda Rao), a Mahratta chief, conveying offers of service, and promises of a comfortable provision.' (Francklin, op. cit., p. 20.) The author states that Thomas left the Begam's service in 1793, after her marriage with Le Vaisseau in that year. Francklin (see also p.

55) was clearly under the impression that the marriage did not take place till after Thomas had thrown up his command under the Begam. He made peace with her in 1795. The capital of the princ.i.p.ality which he carved out for himself in 1798 was at Hansi, eighty-nine miles north- west of Delhi. He was driven out at the close of 1801, entered British territory in January 1802, and died on the 22nd of August in that year at Barhampur, being about forty-six years of age. A son of his was an officer in the Begam's service at the time of her death in 1836. A great-granddaughter of George Thomas was, in 1867, the wife of a writer on a humble salary in one of the Government offices at Agra. (Beale.)

22. This incident happened in 1788. (See _N.W.P. Gazetteer_, vol. ii, p. 99; _I.G._, 1908, vol. xii, p. 106.)

23. 'A more competent estimate may perhaps be formed of his abilities if we reflect on the nature and extent of one of his plans, which he detailed to the compiler of these memoirs during his residence at Benares. When fixed in his residence at Hansi, he first conceived, and would, if unforeseen and untoward circ.u.mstances had not occurred, have executed the bold design of extending his conquests to the mouths of the Indus. This was to have been effected by a fleet of boats, constructed from timber procured in the forests near the city of Firozpur, on the banks of the Satlaj river, proceeding down that river with his army, and settling the countries he might subdue on his route; a daring enterprise, and conceived in the true spirit of an ancient Roman. On the conclusion of this design it was his intention to turn his arms against the Panjab, which he expected to reduce in a couple of years; and which, considering the wealth he would then have acquired, and the amazing resources he would have possessed, these successes combined would doubtless have contributed to establish his authority on a firm and solid basis.' He offered to conquer the Panjab on behalf of the Government of India, for the welfare of his king and country. (Francklin, pp. 334-6.)

24. A small town in the Bulandshahr district of the North-Western Provinces, seventy-three miles south-east of Delhi. Its fort used to be considered strong and of strategical importance.

25. Afterwards Lord Teignmouth.

26. Major Bernier was killed at the storm of Hansi in 1801. His tombstone at Barsi village was found ninety years later (_Pioneer_, Dec. 14, 1894). For epitaph of Joseph Even Bahadur see _N.I.N. & Qu._, vol. i, note 265.

27. Francklin says that the troops overtook the fugitives 'at the village of Kerwah, in the begum's jaghire, four miles distant from her capital', (p. 58.)

28. 'For three days it lay exposed to the insults of the rabble, and was at length thrown into a ditch.' (Francklin, p. 60.)

29. According to George Thomas (whose version of the story is given by his biographer), the Begam, when the mutiny broke out, was actually preparing to attack Thomas. A German officer, known only as the Liegeois, strenuously dissuaded the Begam from the proposed hostilities, and was, in consequence, degraded by Le Vaisseau. The troop then mutinied, and swore allegiance to Zafar Yab Khan.

(Francklin, p. 37.)

30. Thomas says that the overtures came from the Begam. 'In a manner the most abject and desponding, she addressed Mr. Thomas . . .

implored him to come to her a.s.sistance, and, finally, offered to pay any sum of money the Marathas should require, on condition they would reinstate her in the Jagir. On receipt of these letters, Mr. Thomas, by an offer of 120,000 rupees, prevailed on Bapu Sindhia to make a movement towards Sardhana.' After negotiation, Thomas marched to Khatauli, and 'publicly gave out that unless the Begam was reinstated in her authority, those who resisted must expect no mercy; and to give additional weight to this declaration, he apprised them that he was acting under the orders of the Maratha chiefs.' After some difficulty, 'she was finally reinstated in the full authority of her Jagir'. This version of the affair, it will be noticed, does not quite agree with that given more briefly by the author.

31. The paper was written by a Muhammadan, and he would not write Christ _the Son of G.o.d_. It is written 'In the name of G.o.d, and his Majesty Christ'. The Muhammadans look upon Christ as the greatest of prophets before Muhammad; but the most binding article of their faith is this from the Koran, which they repeat every day: 'I believe in G.o.d, who was never begot, nor has ever begotten, nor will ever have an equal,'--alluding to the Christians' belief in the Trinity. [W. H.

S.] For Mohammed's opinion of Jesus Christ see especially chapters 4 and 5 of the Koran.

32. To my mind the circ.u.mstances all tend to throw suspicion on the Begam. The author evidently was disposed to form the beat possible opinion of her character and acts.

33. After the Begam's death the revenue settlement of the estate was made by Mr. Plowden, who writes in his report, as quoted in _N.W.P.

Gazetteer_, 1st ed., vol. iii, p. 432, 'The rule seems to have been fully recognized and acted up to by the Begam which declared that, according to Muhammadan law, "there shall be left for every man who cultivates his lands as much as he requires for his own support, till the next crop be reaped, and that of his family, and for seed. This much shall be left to him; what remains is land-tax, and shall go to the public treasury." For, considering her territory as a private estate and her subjects as serfs, she appropriated the whole produce of their labour, with the exception of what sufficed to keep body and soul together. It was by these means . . . that a fact.i.tious state of prosperity was induced and maintained, which, though it might, and I believe did, deceive the Begam's neighbours into an impression that her country was highly prosperous, could not delude the population into content and happiness. Above the surface and to the eye all was smiling and prosperous, but within was rottenness and misery. Under these circ.u.mstances the smallness of the above arrear is no proof of the fairness of the revenue. It rather shows that the collections were as much as the Begam's ingenuity could extract, and this balance being unrealizable, the demand was, by so much at least, too high.'

The statistics alluded to are:

Average demand of the portions of the Begam's Rs.

Territory in the Meerut district . . . . 5.86.650 Average collections . . . . . . 5.67.211 Balances . . . . . . . . 19.439

'Ruin was impending, when the Begam's death in January, 1836, and the consequent lapse of the estate to the British, induced the cultivators to return to their homes.'

Details of the Begam's military forces are given in _N.W.P.

Gazetteer_, vol. iii, p. 295. For the last thirty years of her life the Begam had no need for the large force (3,371 officers and men, with 44 guns) which she maintained. In her excessive expenditure on a superfluous army, in her n.i.g.g.ardly provision for civil administration, and in her merciless rack-renting, she followed the evil example of the ordinary native prince, and was superior only in the unusual ability with which she worked an unsound and oppressive System. She left 700,000. The population of Sardhana town has risen from 3,313 in 1881 to 9,242 in 1911.

34 Zafaryab Khan died in 1802 or 1803. His son-in-law, Colonel Dyce, was employed in the Begam's service. 'The issue of this marriage was: (l) David Ochterlony Dyce Sombre, who married Mary Anne, daughter of Viscount St. Vincent, by whom he had no issue. He died in Paris in July, 1851. In August, 1867, his body was conveyed to Sardhana and buried in the cathedral. (2) A daughter, who married Captain Rose Troup. (3) A daughter, who married Paul Salaroli, now Marquis of Briona. The present owner of Sardhana is the Honourable Mary Anne Forester, the widow of David Ochterlony Dyce Sombre, and the successful claimant in the suit against Government which has recently been decided in her favour.' (_N.W.P. Gazetteer_, vol. iii (1875), p.

296.) This lady, in 1862, married George Cecil-Weld, third Baron Forester, who died without issue in 1886. (Burke's _Peerage_.) Lady Forester died on March 7, 1893.

35. In the original edition these statistics are given in words.

Figures have been used in this edition as being more readily grasped.

The amounts stated by the author are approximate round sums. More accurate details are given in _N.W.P. Gazetteer_, vol. iii (1875), p.

295. The Begam also subscribed liberally to Hindoo and Muhammadan inst.i.tutions. Her contemporary, Colonel Skinner, was equally impartial, and is said to have built a mosque and a temple, as well as the church at Delhi.

The Cathedral at Sardhana was built in 1822. St. John's College is intended to train Indians as priests, There are, or were recently, about 250 native Christians at Sardhana, partly the descendants of the converts who followed their mistress in change of faith. 'The Roman Catholic priests work hard for their little colony, and are greatly revered and respected. At St. John's College some of the boys are instructed for the priesthood, and others taught to read and write the Nagari and Urdu characters. The instruction for the priesthood is peculiar. There are some twelve little native boys who can quote whole chapters of the Latin Bible, and nearly all the prayers of the Missal. Those who cannot sympathize with the system mast admire the patience and devotion of the Italian priests who have put themselves to the trouble of imparting such instruction. The majority of the Christian population here are cultivators and weavers, while many are the pensioned descendants of the European servants of Begam Sumru, and still bear the appellation of Sahib and Mem Sahib.' (_N.W.P. Gazetteer_, vol. iii (1875), pp. 273, 430.)

The Begam's palace, built in 1834, was chiefly remarkable for a collection of about twenty-five portraits of considerable interest.

They comprised likenesses of Sir David Ochterlony, Dyce Sombre, Lord Combermere, and other notable personages. (_Calcutta Review_, vol.

lxx, p. 460; quoted in _North Indian N. & Q._, vol. ii, p. 179.) The mansion and park were sold by auction in 1895. Some of the portraits are now in the Indian Inst.i.tute, Oxford, some in the Indian Museum, Calcutta, and some in Government House, Allahabad. A long article by H. N. on Sardhana and its owners appeared in the _Pioneer_ (Allahabad) on December 12,1894.

36. A miniature portrait of the Begam is given on the frontispiece to volume ii of the original edition. Francklin, describing the events of 1796, in his memoirs of George Thomas, first published in 1803, describes her personal appearance as follows: 'Begum Sumroo is about forty-five years of age, small in stature, but inclined to be plump.

Her complexion is very fair, her eyes black, large and animated; her dress perfectly Hindustany, and of the most costly materials. She speaks the Persian and Hindustany languages with fluency, and in her conversation is engaging, sensible, and spirited.' (London ed., p.

92, note.) The liberal benefaction of her later years have secured her ecclesiastical approval, and I should not be surprised to hear of her beatification or canonization. Her earlier life certainly was not that of a saint.

37. In her younger days she strictly maintained Hindustani etiquette.

'It has been the constant and invariable usage of this lady to exact from her subjects and servants the most rigid attention to the customs of Hindoostan. She is never seen out of doors or in her public durbar unveiled.

'Her officers and others, who have business with her, present themselves opposite the place where she sits. The front of her apartment is furnished with _chicques_ or Indian screens, these being let down from the roof. In this manner she gives audience and transacts business of all kinds. She frequently admits to her table the higher ranks of her European officers, but never admits the natives to come within the enclosure,' (Francklin, p, 92.)