with it before, Hyder affected much furprife and alarm at this intelli. gence, and confulted the officers on the means of removing the minister from his office. Some days were fpent in forming his arrangement, after which he proceeded to the minister's houfe, on pretence of paying him a vifit, and ftationing a party of foldiers at the door, entered the house with a numerous train of attendants, and made prifoners, without refiftance, the Delaway and his whole family. A detachment was now fent to reduce the fort; but the Rajah fubmitted voluntarily, and thus avoided the death which awaited his minifter. A few days afterwards, the Rajah, fending for Hyder Ally to court, caufed him to be feated near the throne, and declared that it had long been his intention to depofe Gorachuri from the office of Dalaway, and to confer it on Hyder; that measure being now happily effected without his interference, he cheerfully refigned into his hands the conduct of pub. lic affairs." Hyder, perceiving the Rajah fufficiently intimidated, was profufe in his proteftations of fidelity, and alleged the minifter's defign upon his life as the fole caufe of the commotion which had taken place. Next day, however, he repaired again to court, and demanded a funud (grant), conferring the office of Dalaway on him and his pofterity for ever. The Rajah, dreading the confequences of a refufal, acquiefced in this demand, and contented himself with requiring an ahed-nama (a contract) for him and his heirs, acknowledging their allegiance, and ftipulating obedience. Thus Hyder Ally acquired the real fovereignty of Srirunga-puttun, but continued his refpectful behaviour to the titular prince; all conques are made in his name, and prefents are fent to him on fuch occafions. From this time, Hyder paid affiduous court to the fubahs of the Deccan; frequently tranfmitting petitions, and fometimes pefhcuth (tribute), in hopes of obtaining the diftinc. tions of rank, though long without fuccefs. Some years afterwards, Bydri Sumbhu, Rajah of Bednore, died without iffue; though previ ous to his demife he had adopted a young Brahman, named Rajah Maha Budhi. The widow, however, affumed the government, and Maha Budhi fled to Srirunga-puttun, where he folicited Hyder to inveft him with the Raj (kingdom of Bednore, and to expel the queen. Hyder accordingly marched againft the Rani of Bednore, and defeated her: fhe took refuge in the fort, which was reduced after a fiege of twenty-feven days. The Brahman, with whom Hyder had concluded a treaty, now thought himself at the fummit of his ambition, when the latter caufed him to be put to death, and thus added the Raj of Bednore to his previous acquifitions. Kirparaj, the zemindar of Sunda, which was dependant on Bednore, wifely fubmitted himself and country to the dominion of Hyder. After affeffing the territory of Bednore and Sunda, by afcertaining the actual produce, he caufed the lands contiguous to the city of Bednore, which had been for fome time neglected, to be again brought into cultiva. tion, and changed the name of the city to that of Hydernagurs. It was about this time that the fubah of the Deccan, Nizam-ud-dowla, conferred on Hyder the title of Nuab Hy. der Ally Khan, Bahauder, and invefted him with the ufual infignia" of *Thefe infignia are the Mahi, or fifh's head figured on the extremity of a mace; the Nowbet, a fmall drum founded before perfons of quality; and the Khelat, or honorary drefs. of nobility. In 1178 (1764) he directed his arms against the countries of Coorga and Malabar; thefe had, from a very early period, been fubject to the Rajahs of Anagundi, who once ruled with undifputed fway over the fix Subahs of the Deccan*. The Coorja Rajah, who was by birth a Naïr, came out to meet him: hof tilities were continued for a month with various fuccefs; till at laft the Rajah, fuffering a total overthrow, fhut himfelf up in the fort of Coorga. The fiege lafted three months and eight days, when the place furrendered on the 14th Mohurrim, 1179 (1765); but the Rajah had previoufly fled into Malabar. Hyder, after fixing the revenue of Coorga, appointed Mahommed Sama to the government, and proceeded in perfon against Rajah Lekhymen Raj, who had afforded fhelter to the Rajah of Coorga. The fiege of his principal ftrong hold lafted four months, when the Rajah deftroyed himself by poifon, and his children were fuffered to live on figning an abdication of their rights. Two years afterwards he enlarged his poffeffions in Malabar. At a fubfequent period Nizam-ud-dowla applied to Hyder to affift in expelling the Mahrattas from Sera, which he happily effect ed; though the latter, taking advantage of Hyder's wars with the petty princes of Malabar, foon returned, and made themselves once more mafters of that fircart, from whence they were again expelled by Ally. The forts of Gojimder, Badami, and Dharwar, though of great natural ftrength, he conquered from Roghu Raw within the fpace of one year. The Mahratta chief, Morari Row, was expelled from Guti, and that district added to the dominions of Hyder. Raïdurg and Sitoldurg, with the adjacent diftricts, were poffeffed by two brothers, named Porfuti Burma, and Juggoti Burma; they fuftained the repeated attacks of Hyder during a period of five years, but were at laft forced to fave themselves by flight, whilft their inacceffible faftneffes ferved to augment the ftrength of their enemy. The territory of Kirpa, which belonged to Halim Khan, was his next valuable conqueft, and, when united with his previous acquifitions, conftitute a dominion fo powerful as to overawe the Deccan. Of his long wars with the English nation it were tedious to enter into particulars; fuffice it to say that no decifive action had put a period to hoftilities, when, on the first of the Moon Mohurrim, 1197 (1782), the Nabob relinquifhed his earthly fovereignty to his fon Futteh Ally Khan, commonly named Tipu Sa. hib, and to Curim Sahib, both of them legitimate. Hyder Aily Khan was unquestionably a perfon of great prudence, valour and magnanimity : among our cotemporaries it were vain to feek for his equal. THIRD MEMOIR ‡; being part of a fpeech delivered at the IndiaHoufe by Mr. Moore on the 18th November 1799. "Neither Hyder Ally nor his fon ** B 4 Tippoo *The Rajahs of Anagundi are defcendants of the antient Monarchs of Bijanagur whofe authority extended over the whole of the peninfula; but there is reafon to doubt whether it ever prevailed over the whole country fouth of the Nerbudda. Though it be inconteftibly true that there never exifted a fubah of Sera, yet the pofitive teflimony of this writer is here given, who calls it a fircar. The Mogul divilion of territory was as follows: A fubah was divided into fo many fircars; a fircar into fo many pergunnahs; and a pergunnah into fo many mahls. The term chucla feems afterwards to have been adopted, inflead of fircar; and in Bengal they have both given way to the word zilla, ufed to denote the fame fub-divifion. With the intelligent proprietor from whofe fpecch the third memoir has been ex 2 tracted, Tippoo were tyrants, as they had been that day called. We may learn from printed, as well as from living information, that Hyder Ally was regularly trained to arms under his father, Nadim Naic, who was a general of 10,000 horfe in the fer. vice of the empire, and fettled at Divanelli in the country of Bangalore*. We first heard of Hyder as a commander in Nafir Jung's army before Pondicherry, about the middle of the prefent century, from whence he retired to affume the office of commander in chief of the Myfore army, which devolved to him by law on the death of his brother, Ifmael Naic, on whom that office had been conferred, with the complete ceffion of the fortrefs of Bangalore and that country, before partially held by his father, as a hef under the empiret. This grant had been conferred on Hyder's hrother, for a fignal conqueft obtained over the Mahrattas; fo that, on the death of his father and brother, Bangalore became wholly vefted in Hyder's family, and Hyder thence became commander in chief of the two armies. Various were the contelts to which the Deccan was then fubject; but Hyder, who had learnt his tactics in the French camps un der M. de Maiffin and M. de Buffi, always obtained the laurel. In thefe contefts the fubah of Sera had been feized by the Mahrattas, and Bazalet Jung (the Nizam's brother) could not retake it without the affilance of Hyder. Hyder affifted, and achieved the conqueft; in confequence, tracted, the tranflator of the preceding ones has not the honour of being in any degree acquainted. He well knows, however, that whatever comes from hin is entitled to relpect; and explicitly difclaims all intention of infinuating that Mr. Moore has advanced a fingle fact which he did not believe to be true. The moft curfory perufal of the foregoing memoirs will detect a wide difcrepancy in various important particulars: and Mr. Moore feems to have extracted his wholly from a French publication, the tranflation of which is intitled "The hiflory of Ayder Ali Khan, Nabob Bahauder; or New Memoirs concerning the Eaft Indies, by M. Le Maitre de la Tour." A much lefs degree of acumen than Mr. Moore evinces in the courfe of his fpeech, might have been fufficient to difcover the little reliance which is to be placed in a work replete with more grofs and palpable errors, and with more unfounded invectives against the English nation, than are ufually to be found in the writings, even of the author's countrymen. It may not be fuperfluous to furnifh an example." "The Mahrattas," fays M. Le Maitre, "had lately received a confiderable check on the banks of the Kilna, in a battle they had loft against the united armies of the Grand Vifir of the Empire, and of Abdalla, king of the Patanes, in which 60,000 Mahrattas were left on the pot. Abdalla and Suja Dowla, finding too much difficulty in forcing a pallage over the Kifna, made ufe of ftratagem: They pretended to quarrel, and Abdalla departed as if intending to return to his own dominions. Raguba, being advifed of this, paffed the Kifna to attack Suja Dowla, who pretended to avoid him; but, fending intelligence to Abdalla, the two allies joined, and forced their enemy." It is unnecellary to pursue the quotation: every one knows that neither Ahmed Shah, (whom this author calls Abdalla), nor Shujah-ud-dowla, Vifir of the Empire, ever fet their foot in the Deccan, nor approached the banks of the Crifna. But who was this Vifir ? "The Grand Vifir was Shah Abdin Khan, or otherwise named Suja Dowla, who fucceeded his grandfather Nizam El Moloue, and his father Grouzeddy Khan. He is, befides, fovereign of an extenfive territory on the Ganges." Here we find Sujah-ud-dowla, Vifir of Oude, confounded with Gazy-O'Dun Khan, the defcendant of Afof Jah. After thefe quotations, perfons converfant in the politics of Hinduftan during the prefent century, will be qualified to appreciate the teftimony of M. Le Maitre de la Tour. *Vide M. Le Maitre, page 49. + It appears very fingular that, by the law of Myfore, a Hindu principality, one Mahommedan fhould fucceed his brother in the office of Commander in Chief. Of this brother, Ifmael Naic, neither the Nabob Sumfam-ed-dowla, nor the anonymous biographer, make the flighteft mention: both faying that Hyder fucceeded his father in the command of a party of foot foldiers. It will be found in M. Le Maire, page 68. fequence, the Nizam, Bazalet Jung, and the then Vifir, Shuja-ud-dowla (afterwards our friend), obtained from the Emperor a firman, vefting Hyder with the fubahdary of Sera, including Myfore, heretofore tributary to the empire as a dependancy of his fubah. Thus Hyder became the fovereign of Myfore, and there can be no doubt that this his imperial patent will be found amongst their state archives at Seringapatam. But it does not appear that this grant to Hyder made any difference to, or was felt by the old Nand Rajaht, until the intrigues of the Durbar against Hyder made it necellary for Hyder's own fafety. Hyder, obliged to take the field against fome of the reftlefs neighbours who furrounded him, during his abfence entrusted the government of Sera to his coufin and brother in law, Mirza Ally. Mirza, having gambled away the revenues, formed a confpiracy against Hydert. Myfore was always governed by an aristocracy of Brahmans, under a fyftem of blind fuperftition and prieftcraft, as are many other tributaries in the Deccan, where the original principles of the Hindû fuperftition ftill prevail in their fulleft political operation. Under this ariftocracy of Myfore, the Rajah, or King (as he has been called), is a complete ftate flave and prifoner. The Rajah, whoever he may be, in his office as head of the province, unites the emblems of royalty and the priesthood, wholly committing the concerns of the world to a Daya, or Regent, of their election; and to give it the greater fanctity amongst the people, under a pretence of being folely occupied with the facred myfteries and the contemplation of a future ftate, it was made their ftanding ordinance, that he fhould only make his appearance twice a year, in the united robes of royalty and the priesthood. At the period I am fpeaking of, Hyder held the office of Dayva, or regent, as well as of Sipuh-falar, or commander of the forces. But, during his abfence with the army, these Brahmans, with a view to change the regent in favour of a paramour of one of the ladies of the court, pof feffed of a great deal of money, entered into the confpiracy with Hyder's coufin Mirza, to whom, as before mentioned, he had entrusted the government of Sera. Difcovering this confpiracy, what was done? What could any one have done? Hyder invited, if you will, he enfnared the old Nand Rajah and the two Princes to Seringapatam; declaring, that his horde of religious impoftors fhould have all the facred myfteries for themselves, as he found it more advifable for the fafety and protection of the ftate that the Rajah should be seen twice a year at Seringapatam. Out of the revenues of Myfore, Hy. der continued the ancient Cullum. dan (or privy purfe) of two lacks of Both of the Perfian authorities, and M. Le Maitre himself, place the expulfion of the Mahrattas from Sera, fubfequent to the affaffination of the Minifter, and virtual depofition of the Rajah of Mylore. Mr. Moore has not flated his authority for thus inverting the order of facts. We have already flated, that Sera never was a fubah its Hakim therefore never had, nor pretended to, any authority over Myfore, which could juftify Hyder in the depofition of the Rajah, even if this fuppofed dignity were compatible with the order of events. ; +Nandoraj, whom Mr. Moore calls the old Nand Rajah, was not the Prince de pofed by Hyder, but his brother. The Rajah of Mylore was confined, depofed, and dead, many years before his brother experienced the treatment mentioned by Mr. Moore. +Vide M. Le Maitre de la Tour, page 190. The Rajahs of Myfore were Rajputs, and not Brahmans; with the emblems of priesthood, therefore, they could have no concern. of rupees to the Rajah, to expend under his own eye, in an establishment for his household; and appropriated another to the ufe of each of the two Princes, on whom he conferred commands in his army; and I have no doubt, if living, they are now amongst the prisoners in the English camp." Further ANECDOTES of TIPPOO SULTAUN, Extracted from Colonel BEATSON's Account of the late War in Myfore. [We have made the following Extracts from Colonel Beatfon's Publication, with a view to furnish our Readers with every poffible information relative to this extraordinary character.] During the laft feven years of feem to have proceeded from the Tippoo Sultaun's life, his condu& impulfe of the moment; and it is had been a continued fcene of folly, impoffible to trace any one fixed caprice, and weaknefs. He appears principle on which he regulated his to have been accomplished, and his conduct. His arrangements in every favourite employment of late was department conveyed the idea of to write memorandums of the most an unfettled and capricious mind. trivial occurrences. He was fond Every year, often every month, of reading, fcrupulously attentive prefented a new change of fyftem; to matters of religion, and a rigid and before it was at all comprehendchaftifer of drunkenness and other ed, a fresh plan was introduced, and vices. as quickly abandoned: a particular All his actions of recent date fet of features or caft of countenance was *This act of generofity is thus related by M. Le Maitre: "On the valuation of Nand Rajah's income, it was found to equal four lacks of rupees, two of which were given him for his own maintenance." The tranflator is not furnished with a correct copy of Mr. Moore's very able, argumentative and comprehenfive fpeech: he believes, however, that it is afferted that Hyder and Tippoo were not ufurpers, and were not tyrants. He thinks he has proved that Hyder could derive no title to the throne of Myfore from a fuppofed appointment to a fuppofed fubahdary; that Sera never was a fubah, but a component part of the fubah of Bijapur; and that the conqueft of Sera, and this appointment, were at any rate fublequent to his ufurpation. It only remains to prove that they were tyrants, and without recalling to mind the cruelties exercifed by Tippoo on our countrymen, whom the fortune of war had thrown into his hands, it will be judged fufficient to mention the treatment experienced by the inhabitants of the countries he had conquered, and who had become his fubjects. Of this number were the inhabitants of Calicut, whofe antient fovereign, though driven to the mountains, ftill preferved the affections of his former fubjects. A Catholic miffionary, who refided at the time in a contiguous diftrict, furnishes the following dreadful particulars of the tyrant's barbarity: "He was preceded by 30,000 barbarians, who butchered every perfon who came in their way; and by his heavy cannon, under the command of General Lally at the head of a regiment of artillery. A great part of the inhabitants of Calicut, both male and female, were hung. He firft tied up the mothers, and then fufpended the children from their necks. The cruel tyrant caufed feveral Chriftians and Heathens to be brought out naked, and made faft to the feet of his elephants, which were then obliged to drag them about till their limbs fell in pieces from their bodies. This happened in the year 1789, at which time I refided at Vera poli; I had then an opportunity of converfing with feveral who had efcaped the fury of this mercilefs tyrant." Vide Bartolomeo's Voyage to the Eaft Indies. The above expedition of Tippoois imputed by Mr. Duncan, the refpectable Governor of Bombay, to a determination to convert to the Mahommedan faith, or on failure to extirpate the whole race of Rajahs, Nairs and other Hindûs, "many of whom," fays Mr. Duncan, were accordingly feized on and circumcifed, whilft others efcaped; or, failing in the attempt, put themfelves to death to avoid lofs of caft." Thefe examples only relate to the conduct of Tippoo; the character of his father, as pourtrayed by his actions, will speak for felf in the foregoing pages. |