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C OORG 
 
 AND ITS RAJAHS 
 
 BY AN OFFICER 
 
 FORMERLY IN THE SERVICE OF 
 
 HIS HIGHNESS 
 VEER RAJUNDER WADEER, 
 
 RAJAH OF COORG. 
 
 LONDON: 
 JOHN BUMPUS, 158, OXFORD STREET, 
 
 M.DCCC.LVII. 
 
DEDICATIOTs\ 
 
 TO HIS HIGHNESS VEER RAJUNDER WADEER, 
 RAJAH OF COORG. 
 
 Honoured Prince, 
 Having, ere the "evil day" had arrived, received from 
 your Highness many proofs of kindness, condescension, and 
 generosity, I beg permission to dedicate the following nar- 
 rative to you, not only as a mark of my sincere gratitude, 
 but also as a token of my admiration of the philosophic 
 fortitude and dignified patience with which your Highness 
 has borne alike the wrongs of the oppressor and the 
 aspersions of the slanderer. 
 
 I have the honour to be. 
 
 Honoured Prince, 
 Your Highness's Most Obedient and Most Grateful Servant, 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 London, May, 1857. 
 
COORG AND ITS RAJAHS. 
 
 Midway on the Malabar coast of Cis-Gangetic India, between 
 Mangalore and Cannanore, is the port of BakuU. If a straight 
 line be drawn therefrom into the interior, it will touch Serin- 
 gapatam, and the hiU country which intersects it is Coorg. 
 This Raj is bounded on the north by Mysore ; on the south, 
 by the CoUectorate of Malabar ; on the east, by Mysore ; and 
 on the west, by Malabar and Canara : but before its subjuga- 
 tion by the British, in 1834, it was more extensive. Coorg 
 lies between N. lat. 11°. 56' and 13°. 45', and E. long. 75°. 25' 
 and 76°. 13'; its area, consequently, being about 1420 square 
 miles. The longest line that can be drawn through it from 
 north to south, measures 60 miles; and from east to west, 
 35 miles. The lowest parts of Coorg are not less than 3000 
 feet above the sea ; its highest peaks, which rise to a height 
 of 5682 and 5781 feet, have a full view of the Indian Ocean, 
 though at a distance of 40 or 50 miles. 
 
 The principal river is the Kaveri, which rises in the eastern 
 side of the Western Ghauts. Many streams and torrents flow 
 into it during its course eastward into Mysore, of which the 
 principal are the Soornavaty or Haringhee, and the Lechman 
 Teert. During the dry season, the Kaveri is reduced to very 
 insignificant dimensions, having scarcely either breadth or 
 depth. The minor streams intersecting Coorg vary only in 
 
size, which depends upon the length of their course. They 
 swell in the early part of June, and flow with a violent and 
 boisterous rapidity till October, when they gradually diminish 
 and become placid. During the western monsoon, every 
 rivulet roughens into a wild torrent. 
 
 The temperature in Coorg is low : a circumstance easily ac- 
 counted for, not only by the great elevation of the country, 
 but also by the proximity of the ocean to the south-west and 
 west, and the prevalence of the winds from those points. 
 Owing to these causes, the thermometer seldom rises higher 
 than 74°, or sinks below 60°, in the open air. During the 
 dry season, the range is a little higher, the daily extremes 
 being from 62° or 63° to 68° or 70°. The hottest months 
 are those of April and May, but even then the nights are cool. 
 The monsoon, which commences in June, continues during 
 July, August, and September. This is the rainy season, and 
 the air is in these three months so loaded with vapour that 
 the sun is rarely visible ; yet, notwithstanding this humidity, 
 the equality of temperature renders rheumatic affections, 
 coughs, colds, &c. extremely rare. Not so with asthmatic 
 afifections, chronic diseases of the liver, and dysenteric com- 
 plaints, which are, of course, exacerbated by the rarified and 
 often cold and damp air. 
 
 The country presents a succession of hills and valleys, placed 
 at a medium elevation between the sultry plains and the tem- 
 pestuous tops of mountains. Ravines and chasms, into whose 
 abysses the solar ray seldom penetrates, tell the tale of violent 
 and wide-spread disruptions, and awaken in the mind of the 
 traveller mingled emotions of awe and admiration. The pre- 
 vailing geological formations are primitive. Large masses of 
 felspar, of a cream colour, partially decomposed, and in the 
 state of what is called porcelain clay, are also of frequent 
 occurrence. 
 
 The whole of the eastern boundary — that is, in the direction 
 of Mysore — exhibits an almost uninterrupted and impervious 
 
fOTest. Here the underwood becomes very thick, and the 
 bamboo frequently rises to the height of 60 feet. In the 
 jungle roam elephants, tigers, chitas or hunting leopards, tiger- 
 cats, a few bears, wild dogs, bisons, elks, several species of 
 deer, wild boars, hares, and monkeys. Of the feathered tribes, 
 eagles, hawks, parrots, woodcocks, snipes, pigeons, and the 
 rhinoceros bird, or buceros, are the most common. Reptiles 
 are but few, among which may be mentioned the deadly cobra 
 di capello, several varieties of snakes, and a few alligators. 
 
 Coorg possesses many antiquities, but the most interesting 
 ones are certain earth fortifications or redoubts, called by the 
 natives kunnidegs. These are generally from 15 to 35 feet 
 high, with a ditch in front of 10 feet deep by 8 or 10 wide ; 
 and being in many places double, triple, or quadruple, their 
 linear extent cannot be less than between 500 and 600 miles. 
 The tradition respecting these works is, that in times of which 
 there exist no historical records, the people lived in a state of 
 general warfare, chief fighting against chief, and nada (dis- 
 trict), against nada. Whatever, however, may be the credit 
 due to this explanation, certain it is that the antiquity of these 
 works is evidently very great, as enormous trees, which must 
 have been the growth of centuries, are still found on many 
 parts of the walls. 
 
 The country has, for ages, been inhabited by a dozen tribes, 
 of which the highest in rank is that of the Kaveri Brahmin, 
 and the lowest that of slaves : the intermediate ones being 
 those who exercise trades or follow agricultural pursuits. 
 
 The inhabitants of Coorg are Nairs, and, consequently, 
 Brahminists of the Sudra caste. They are a bold and active 
 race of mountaineers, and, though once of lawless and pre- 
 datory habits, are much attached to their chiefs. " The men 
 of Coorg," says Thornton,^ " are a handsome, athletic race, 
 usually above the middle size, and, with scarcely any excep- 
 
 ' Gazetteer of India, Art. Coorg. 
 
tions, well limbed. The women are not -so tall in proportion, 
 but are well made and well looking, though rather coarse, but 
 fair in comparison with the men. Both sexes are laborious, 
 and industrious in the practice of agriculture, their main and 
 almost exclusive employment ; except that the men shoot and 
 hunt, partly to destroy animals injurious to their crops, and 
 partly for the produce of the sport. They are well clad, the 
 men wearing a turban, and a gown reaching to the feet, and 
 being girt round the waist with a shawl or handkerchief, to 
 which they attach the formidable Nair knife. The women 
 wear a loose cotton wrapper, reaching from the shoulders to 
 the knees, and a small white cloth tied round the head. Both 
 sexes daily, after labour, wash the whole body in warm water." 
 A principal cause of the strong and vigorous constitution 
 of the Coorgs, which has been greatly aided by the excellent 
 climate and open-air life of the people, is their custom of late 
 marriages. In former times, the Coorg men used to marry 
 when they had attained the age of thirty ; and even now they 
 do so at a comparatively ripe age. But they have a strange 
 and, to us, disgusting custom, a kind of marriage communism 
 within the family. The wives of the brothers of one house are 
 considered as common property ; and, as the juniors succes- 
 sively marry their wives in turn, these are common also to all 
 the brothers. The children, consequently, are rather children 
 of the family, or of the mother, than of the acknowledged 
 father. 
 
 It is not very difficult to conjecture how such a custom may 
 have taken root among this people. In warlike races, espe- 
 cially when under the influence of pantheistic ideas, the clan- 
 nish feeling and the family spirit often predominate over and 
 almost absorb individual consciousness and personal rights. 
 Among the Coorgs, the famUy property descends, accordingly, 
 not so much from father to son, as from generation to gene- 
 ration, the oldest member acting as head of the house. The 
 general state of warfare, which we have described above as 
 
existing ;n ancient times, very probably had also some share 
 in originating this custom, for the people must soon have been 
 exterminated under such a state of things, had not a remedy 
 been found for the evil by the surviving brothers of a family 
 becoming the rightful husbands of the widows; and thus a 
 second and undiminished generation might rise, in time, to 
 supply the place of the fallen. 
 
 The festivals of the Coorgs are few in number. The Kaveri 
 Habba (festival), and the Huttari or Huddari Habba, are the 
 two principal festive seasons. The former has reference to the 
 river, the most ancient object, no doubt, of Coorg worship ; 
 the latter to the earth, which, by its rich harvests, gives food 
 and plenty to the chosen race. A Baghavati festival is observed 
 all over Coorg, in the months preceding the monsoon. After 
 the sowing season, generally, at the first break of the mon- 
 soon, the Kailmutter, the festival of arms, is celebrated by the 
 youths* and men of Coorg. 
 
 The Coorgs are represented by the people of the plains as a 
 fierce, irascible, and revengeful race, not easily to be managed. 
 They have always been an unlettered nation. To the present 
 day, they are very ignorant, and, consequently, superstitious. 
 The prevailing worship is that of demons and departed spirits. 
 Charms and sorceries abound all over the country. Disease 
 among men and cattle is readily ascribed to the maledictions 
 and witchcraft of enemies. The dead annoy the living, and 
 demand sacrifices and other atonements. 
 
 As to the population of Coorg, the last official census was 
 made in 1839-40, when it was stated that there were in Coorg 
 17,096 Coorgs, and 64,341 people of other castes. The 
 Coorgs are the principal landholders of the country lying to 
 the south and west of Mercara. They have, from ancient 
 times, been lords of the soil, and still enjoy great privileges.' 
 They pay only five per cent, of the produce of their land, while, 
 other lands are assessed at ten, fifteen, and twenty per cent. 
 
 Coorg producesan annual rice harvest of the value of upwards 
 
of seven lacs of rupees, or £70,000. The Rajahs used to make 
 80,000 rupees annually by the sale of cardamoms, which, like 
 sandal- wood, were considered Government property. The whole 
 net revenue of Coorg amounted, in 1853, to 126,000 rupees. 
 The manufactures of the country are confined to a coarse kind of 
 blanket, which forms part of the dress of the common people ; 
 the cotton cloths which they use are all imported. 
 
 The chief towns of Coorg are Merkara, Somwarpet, Vera- 
 jenderpett, and Periapatam ; the latter was, in former times, 
 the capital, but, after the growth of the Mysore power, the 
 Rajahs lived at Mercara, a place more protected by the moun- 
 tains. This town, which is in 12°. 26' N. lat. and 75°. 30' E. 
 long., being about twenty miles north from the Pondicherrum 
 Pass, stands surrounded by an amphitheatre of hills. The 
 fort is a pentagon, with towers and bastions. Within was 
 the Rajah's palace, which was handsomely furnished in the 
 European style. 
 
 Eeudalism, very similar to that which obtained in Europe 
 during the middle ages, appears to have prevailed, in ancient 
 times, throughout Hiudostan. Its native princes, with the 
 title of universal monarchs, seem to have been invested only 
 with a delegated power, voluntarily conferred, by a numerous 
 and powerful band of subordinate sovereigns. The very title 
 of Maharajah, or Rajah of Rajahs, which the nominal head of 
 the vast empire of Hindostan anciently bore, evidently implies 
 no more than a kind of feudal jurisdiction over chieftains pos- 
 sessing absolute dominion in their own territories, but contri- 
 buting a stipulated sum and force or contingent to support 
 the grandeur of the imperial throne ; and, on great occasions, 
 ranging themselves, with succours proportionate to the extent 
 and population of their respective dominions, under the ban- 
 ners of one supreme chief. Thus, in ancient times, the Rajahs 
 of Coorg, who are mentioned by Ferishtah (a Persian historian 
 of the seventeenth century) as being independent sovereigns 
 as far back as the year 1538, were feudatories of the Ikkeri 
 
Government ; and when Hyder Ali, having taken Ikkeri^ incor- 
 porated that kingdom in his growing dominions, he considered 
 himself the liege lord of Coorg ; it is true that he was, for a 
 long time, foiled in his assertion of suzerainty, but he at last 
 succeeded, by dint of force and fraud, in coercing the refrac- 
 tory hill chiefs into a state of vassalage, and enforcing the pay- 
 ment of tribute. 
 
 It was not till about this time that Coorg became well 
 known to Europeans ; and, indeed, the English may be said 
 to have been first acquainted with it in the Mysore wars with 
 Hyder Ali and Tippoo Sultan, in which the Company were 
 engaged from the years 1783 to 1798. In the first of these 
 wars, Hyder Ali, victorious everywhere, ravaged the Carnatic, 
 besieged Madras, and had nearly expelled the English from 
 South India, when the Company sued for peace. In 1790, 
 when the war broke out with Tippoo Sultan, an enemy 
 scarcely less formidable and more implacable than his father 
 Hyder, the Company possessed not a foot of territory along 
 the whole fine of the Malabar coast, save a few struggling 
 commercial factories, which they contemplated abandoning, 
 from inability to defend them singly against the overwhelming 
 power of the Sultan. With these exceptions, this prince was 
 master of all the coast provinces lying between the Western 
 Ghauts and the sea ; he held every pass but one leading from 
 those provinces to the high table land of Mysore ; and pos- 
 sessed all the intervening country stretching from these moun- 
 tains to the Carnatic, one solitary spot alone excepted. In 
 that vast extent of country, reaching nearly from sea to sea, 
 the solitary spot the Sultan did not possess,, and the only pass 
 he could not command and bar against the English, were the 
 Principality of Coorg, seated on the very crest of the lofty 
 mountains looking down upon Malabar and the western coast, 
 and situated near the heart of Tippoo's dominions ; and the 
 Ghaut, or pass, leading directly from Coorg to the Com- 
 pany's chief factory of Tellicherry, aivd thus communicating 
 
10 
 
 with the sea, and with the Company's western stronghold, 
 Bombay. This defile was, in the hands of such a people, a 
 key to military operations in the country over which Hyder 
 Ali had established his dominion. That the possession of 
 Coorg was of the utmost importance to him, will still further 
 appear, when it is considered that the Mysore country is 
 guarded by a range of mountains rising to a surprising 
 height, and opposing to the eastern borders of the Carnatic 
 a mural front, having Ghauts or passes in various direc- 
 tions. These Ghauts, from which the whole chain of moun- 
 tains derives its name, give entrance into the lofty, fertile, and 
 populous plains of boundless view, which they support as but- 
 tresses do some immense and extensive terrace. The Mysore 
 country, being at least 2000 feet higher than the level of the 
 Carnatic, is thence called the table land ; the ascent to, which 
 is not to be accomplished, even by a single traveller, without 
 the fatiguing labour of many hours. The pathways up the 
 Ghauts are worked by the hand of man, along the deep-worn 
 channel of some rapid torrent, or skirting the hollow ravines 
 and winding excavations which have formed themselves on the 
 face of this mountain precipice ; and, in many of these passes, 
 the obstructions of art, as well as their natural ones, are 
 opposed to the progress of an invading army. It may well, 
 then, be imagined that Hyder Ali made many and desperate 
 attempts to become master of Coorg, and thus to gain the 
 means of extending his territories on the other side of the 
 Ghauts ; but he was continually unsuccessful, until feuds in 
 the family of the Rajah came to his assistance. By the trea- 
 chery of a relative, the whole family was surprised and carried 
 off to Seringapatam, and there placed in a strict and severe 
 captivity. 
 
 In the year 1780, Sing Rajunder, who had thus betrayed 
 the Horamale branch of the family into the hands of Hyder 
 Ali, died, leaving a natural son, Appajii, and two sons by his 
 queen, Veer Rajunder and Sing Rajunder, The former was 
 
11 
 
 then seventeen years old, the latter still of tender age. Hyder 
 All, who had destroyed the entire Horamale family, now de- 
 clared himself guardian of the two young Coorg princes, and 
 appointed a Brahmin, Subarasaga, who had formerly been in 
 the service of the Coorg Rajahs, Mamaldar or Governor of 
 Coorg. In the same year, he led his array against Arcot. 
 The Coorgs were indignant at the seizure of their princes and 
 the ascendency of the Brahmin, and, in the monsoon of 1782, 
 broke out into open insurrection. No sooner was Hyder Ali 
 informed of this, than he ordered the princes to be secured in 
 Garuru, a Mysore fort ; the Coorgs again flew to arms, and 
 swept the Mussulmans from the country. 
 
 Hyder Ali died in 1782, and was succeeded by his son 
 Tippoo, who, in 1784, having reduced Mangalore, marched 
 through Coorg, on his way back to Seringapatam, and com- 
 promised matters with the insurgents. The young Coorg 
 princes were kept prisoners at Periyaputtana. Before the 
 lapse of a year, the Coorgs rose again and defeated a force of 
 15,000 men sent against them from Seringapatam. Tippoo's 
 policy and zeal for his religion appear to have led him to 
 expect that these warlike Hindoo tribes might be subdued 
 like wild animals and tamed by violence, and that, by sub- 
 jecting the Coorgs and Nairs to the rites of his creed, they 
 would be the sooner reconciled to his yoke. Taking advan- 
 tage, therefore, of this last formidable resistance to his 
 authority, he marched against them with his whole force, the 
 Coorgs retreating before him into the depths of their forests, 
 which appeared almost inaccessible. Having, however, divided 
 his whole army into detachments, which formed a complete 
 " circle round the unhappy, fugitives, and closing in upon them 
 as huntsmen do in pursuit of game, he at length penetrated 
 into their most secret haunts, and carried off several thousands 
 of victims to undergo the abhorred punishments of circum- 
 cision and captivity. The rank of the young Rajah did not 
 save him from like treatment : he was made a Mussulman, a-nd 
 
13 
 
 enrolled among the Chelas (corps of slaves) ; and, though 
 strictly guarded, had the nominal command of a battalion, at 
 the time he made his escape. 
 
 In December, 1788, Veer Rajunder Wadeer, by the help 
 of his Coorg partisans, escaped from Periyaputtana with his 
 family, for whom he obtained a refuge at Kurchi, a sequestered 
 spot in Kiggadnad, near the sources of the Lakshmanatirtha 
 river. ^ Although the greater part of his subjects were groan- 
 ing in exUe, he nevertheless found, in the depths of the woody 
 recesses, a band of freemen who rallied round him with en- 
 thusiastic ardour. By a series of exploits that might adorn a 
 tale of romance, the young prince recalled his people from the 
 distant quarters to which they had been driven, organized 
 them into a regular military body, drove the oppressors from 
 post after post, and finally became undisputed ruler of Coorg, 
 expelling the Mahommedan settlers who had been forcibly 
 introduced, as above described. Thus, Veer Rajunder sus- 
 tained a successful contest against his mighty neighbour, in 
 whose eye Coorg had acquired great importance, as a decisive 
 struggle with the rising power of the East India Company 
 was impending, when the possession of Coorg by the enemy 
 might seal the fate of Seringapatam. The Company's Govern- 
 ment, on the other hand, was equally aware of the stratagetic 
 value of Coorg ; while Veer Rajunder dreaded and hated 
 Tippoo, from whom he could expect no mercy, and whose 
 assurances and promises he could never trust. All his hopes, 
 therefore, depended on his success in gaining the support of 
 a powerful ally, and his eyes were naturally directed towards 
 the rising star of the Company. The union of Tippoo's ene- 
 mies was effected without difficulty. Mutta Bhatta, an agent 
 of Veer Rajunder, arrived at Tellicherry, ostensibly for the 
 
 ' A British fugitive, who had also been lucky enough to effect his escape, saw this 
 Eajah, in 1793, at his residence at Nooknab, and describes him as » young man 
 buckishly dressed in nankeen pantaloons, European boots, and a shirt made in the 
 Enghsh fashion. 
 
18 
 
 purpose of purchasing a horse and other articles, but really for 
 that of having an interview with the Company's representative. 
 This he effected, and carried a letter back to Coorg, containing 
 a proposal for a cordial alliance. The Rajah cheerfully con- 
 sented. He agreed to procure draught cattle for the Bombay 
 army, and immediately commenced forays into the Mysore, 
 Tippoo's cattle being superior to those of Coorg. In a short 
 time he despatched upwards of 500 head to Tellicherry ; and 
 shortly after this proof of his sincerity, the Company con- 
 cluded with him the following agreement : — 
 
 Articles of Agreement entered into between BohertTaylor, Chief, 
 and Factors at Tellicherry, in behalf of the Honourable 
 United East India Company, on the one part, and Alery 
 Vera, Eajah of Coorg, on the other part. 
 
 1st. A firm and perpetual friendship shall subsist be- 
 tween both parties, as long as the Sun and Moon shall endure. 
 
 2nd. Tippoo Sultan and his adherents shall be con- 
 sidered as the common enemy of both parties, and in the 
 prosecution of the war, in which the Enghsh are at present 
 engaged, the Coorg Rajah shall, whenever it may be in his 
 power, do his utmost to distress the enemy, and admit the 
 English troops at any time to pass through his dominions, 
 should they have occasion to penetrate the enemy's country 
 from this (the Malabar) coast. He, moreover, engages to 
 furnish them with such supplies of provisions as his country 
 can afford, at reasonable rates, and to join the English army 
 with such a force as he can spare, whenever any operations 
 are carried on above the Ghauts (mountains), or in the country 
 of Tippoo Sultan. 
 
 3rd. The Rajah engages to give the Company the prefer- 
 ence in purchasing at a reasonable and moderate price such 
 articles of commerce as are produced in his country, and the 
 Company may want, and he engages not to permit any other 
 European nation to interfere in this respect. 
 
14 
 
 4th. The English East India Company engages to do 
 everything in their power to render him, the Coorg Rajah, 
 independent of Tippoo, in the same manner as the other 
 powers who have entered into an alliance with the Company ; 
 and they shall, whenever a peace takes place, insist upon it as 
 an express stipulation, that the Coorg Rajah shall be con- 
 sidered as the friend and ally of the Honourable Company, 
 and in no manner subject to the control or authority of 
 Tippoo, of whom he shall be declared totally independent. 
 
 5th. Should the Rajah's family, or that of any of his sub- 
 jects, have occasion, in the present troubles, to take refuge 
 at Tellicherry, the Company engages to receive them at the 
 foot of the Ghauts, and conduct them in safety to Tellicherry 
 under a guard of Sepoys, where they shall find an asylum 
 and be protected during the troubles ; a house shall be pro- 
 vided for them during their residence at Tellicherry, and the 
 families shall be returned in safety whenever required. In 
 testimony of the perpetual friendship that shall subsist be- 
 tween both parties, which neither party will ever disturb, we 
 jointly call God, the Sun, the Moon, and the World, to witness 
 this our agreement and mutual pledge of faith. 
 
 Concluded at Tellicherry, this 26th day of October, in the 
 year of the Christian Era 179K). 
 
 By Robert Taylor, Chief, and Factors, in the names of the 
 English East India Company, the Governor-General of Bengal, 
 and the Governor of Bombay, on the one part, and by Alery 
 Vera, Rajah, on the other, each of the parties present, that is 
 to say, the Chief and Factors of Tellicherry, and Alery Vera, 
 Rajah of Coorg, having hereunto put their names and seals at 
 TeUicherry, the day and year above written, and mutually 
 exchanged copies of this Agreement. 
 
 (Signed) Robert Taylor. 
 
 „ Lawrence Shaw. (Seal.) 
 
 „ Samuel Inge. 
 
 The Seal of the Rajah. (Seal.) 
 
15 
 
 It will be seen that by the second clause of the. above 
 Treaty, the Rajah agreed to permit the British troops to pass 
 through " his dominions, and penetrate into the enemy's 
 country from this (the Malabar) coast." The Bombay army, 
 under the command of General Abercromby, having by this 
 means a road opened to Mysore^ was enabled to land, advance, 
 and ascend the Ghauts, by the Heggala Pass, through Coorg, 
 and form a conjunction with the army df Lord Cornwallis, 
 who, thus timely and powerfully reinforced, defeated Tippoo, 
 and dictated a peace under the walls of Seringapatam, by 
 which the Sultan ceded half his dominions to the Company. 
 
 The Rajah, indeed, although unable, like the Nizam, to 
 bring to our assistance, crowds of troops, or such effective aid 
 as theMahrattas, yet, by receiving the British as a friendly 
 power, by collecting and furnishing, at his own cost, the indis- 
 pensable supplies of grain and cattle for their subsistence, and 
 by leading his own troops and fighting at their head, on the 
 side of the British, faithfully and to the utmost of his power, 
 performed his part of the Treaty, and did all to promote the 
 views and interests of the Company, notwithstanding the 
 repeated endeavours of Tippoo to gain him over. Upon one 
 occasion, the latter condescended so far as to send a confi.- 
 dential officer, Kadar Khan Kesagi, a friend of Veer Rajunder, 
 with an autograph of Tippoo, and letters from Mir Saduk, 
 the Prime Minister, and Purnayah, the Minister of Finance, 
 soliciting Veer Rajunder's forgiveness and friendship. Veer 
 Rajunder showed these letters to Sir Robert Abercromby, and 
 replied to Tippoo : " By similar fair speeches and promises, 
 you have formerly deceived and ruined Coorg. God has given 
 me one tongue, with which I have pledged fidelity to the 
 Company. I have not two tongues, like you." 
 
 It would have been impossible for so brave a man not to 
 have appreciated valour in others. Accordingly, we find that, 
 after the battle which terminated so disastrously for Tippoo 
 Sultan, the Rajah expressed his admiration and delight at 
 
16 
 
 British courage, by passing along the lines, addressing the 
 European soldiers, and enthusiastically exclaiming, that heroes 
 like the English ought to be carried in palanquins, and not 
 be made to march to the field of battle. How greatly his 
 services were appreciated will appear from the following : — 
 
 Declaration made hy Lieut. -General Sir Robert Abercromby, 
 Commander-in-Chief of the Bombay Army in the War 
 against Tippoo Sultan, dated Cannanore,S\8tMarch,n93. 
 
 Hallaree Veera Rajah, Rajah of Coorg, being desirous that 
 the situation in which he stands with regard to the Honour- 
 able English East India Company may be clearly understood 
 by all their servants, I hereby declare and certify — 
 
 1st. That the said Rajah at the commencement of the late 
 war with Tippoo Sultan (the Majah being then in possession 
 of the greater part of the Coorg country, the remainder of which 
 he afterwards recovered without the aid of the Company^, offered 
 his assistance to the Honourable Company, which was accepted, 
 and an agreement was accordingly entered into between him 
 on his own behalf, and Robert Taylor, Esq., Chief of Telli- 
 cherry, on the part of the Company, as will appear by the 
 records of that settlement. 
 
 2nd. That the Rajah entered most heartily into the war, 
 and supplied the Bombay army under my command with a 
 quantity of grain and cattle, without which the troops would 
 have been greatly distressed, and for which the Rajah has 
 hitherto declined taking any pecuniary compensation. 
 
 3rd. That from the commencement of the war till its con- 
 clusion, the Rajah continued most firmly attached to the 
 interests of the Company, notwithstanding the repeated at- 
 tempts of Tippoo to seduce him. 
 
 4th. That in March last, on settling the articles of the 
 Treaty of Peace, at Seringapatam, Lord Cornwallis, in con- 
 sideration of the noble and disinterested conduct of the Rajah, 
 determined to render him entirely independent of Tippoo, and 
 
17 
 
 to extend to him and his country the protection of the Com- 
 pany. The numberless objections that were made to this 
 were overruled, and the. tribute amounting to eight thousand 
 (8000) Hoons, said to have been annually paid to Tippoo from 
 the Coorg country, was transferred to the Company. 
 
 5th. That the Rajah readily agrees to pay the Company 
 annually (8000) Hoons for their friendship and protection, 
 though he declares that Tippoo never, received that sum from 
 his country. 
 
 6th. That no interference was ever intended on the part of 
 the Company in the interior management of the Rajah's 
 country, trusting that a Prince possessing the most liberal 
 sentiments will make the happiness of his people his constant 
 study. 
 
 Given under my hand and seal at Cannanore, this day, the 
 thirty-first of March, in the year of our Lord, one thousand 
 seven hundred and ninety-three. 
 
 [Seal] (Signed) Robert Abergbombt, 
 
 Lieut. -General. 
 
 N.B. — The Hoons are reckoned at three rupees each ; the 
 sum, therefore, that the Rajah will have to pay annually at 
 Tellicherry, amounts to twenty-four thousand rupees. 
 
 (Signed) Robert Abercrombt, Lieut.-General. 
 
 Great in every respect as Lord Cornwallis was, he was 
 greatest in his sense of justice. He had chastised and hum- 
 bled Tippoo, not for any attack on British power, but for a 
 wanton outrage on a British ally: and when he deprived 
 Tippoo of half his dominions, and forced him to pay three 
 crores of rupees, he partitioned the former fairly among the 
 allies, whose valour had aided the English, not forgetting the 
 Rajah of Coorg. 
 
 In the preliminaries of peace, no express provision had 
 been made for the Rajah's protection ; but in the draught of the 
 definitive Treaty, Tippoo was made to resign all pretensions to 
 
 B 
 
18 
 
 Coorg. For this provision in his favour, the Rajah was prin- 
 cipally indebted to Sir Robert Abercromby. As the besiegers 
 drew off their artillery and prepared for their departure for 
 their respective countries, Sir Robert Abercromby and Col. 
 James Hartley went to the Governor-General, and during a 
 visit of three days, interposed their good offices in behalf of 
 the Coorg ally. " We," said Sir Robert, " are retiring from 
 Bombay with our army. The Rajah of Coorg — our faithful 
 ally from the commencement of the war, who has served us 
 at all times to the utmost of his power, opened his country 
 to our troops, supplied us with provisions during the whole 
 course of hostilities, and risked his life in many a fight against 
 Tippoo, and to whom we have given the most solemn as- 
 surances of friendship and protection — will now be left to the 
 mercy of his still too powerful neighbour and dreadful enemy." 
 This remonstrance had, as has been seen, the desired efiect ; 
 and lucky was it for the Rajah that it had, for Tippoo had, no 
 doubt, destined him for a conspicuous example of the direful 
 consequences of renouncing his allegiance.^ It must be 
 confessed that Tippoo Sultan had just reason for complaint ; 
 the territory of the Rajah commanded the best approach to 
 his capital, from the sea ; and he insisted that to demand a 
 territory which abutted on his very capital, and was not conti- 
 guous to the country of any of the allies, was a real infringement 
 of the preliminary articles. No sooner, therefore, did he see the 
 condition in favour of Veer Rajunder, than he burst into a 
 paroxysm of fury that approached to absolute frenzy. " To 
 which of their territories," said he, " is Coorg adjacent ? Why 
 do they not ask at once for Seringapatam ? They know 
 
 ' Some idea of the fate which awaited Veer Eaj under, had he fallen into Tippoo'a 
 hands, may be formed from what befel seventeen British officers, and General Matthews, 
 who were all taken prisoners by him : the former were compelled to swallow the 
 infused juice of the milky-hedge-tree, and all miserably perished in the prisons of 
 Kavel Droog and Seringapatam. The General himself did not expire by poison ; but, 
 horrid to relate, had his head wrung from his body by the tiger fangs of the Jetties a 
 set of slaves trained up to gratify their master with this infernal piece of dexterity. 
 
19 
 
 that I would sooner have died iii the breach than have Con- 
 sented to such a cession, and durst not bring it forward till 
 they had treacherously obtained my children and ray treasure." 
 He refused, in consequence, to sign the treaty solely on this 
 ground, nor was it until Lord Cornwallis had repointed his 
 guns against Seringapatam, that Tippoo's hostage sons pre- 
 sented the document fully ratified to Lord Cornwallis, 
 
 Peace being concluded. Veer Rajunder was required to give 
 back the districts which he had lately wrested from the Sultan, 
 and informed that he was expected in future to pay his tribute 
 to the English Government. He was indignant at both thesfe 
 propositions, for he had expected some better reward for his 
 important services. Sir Robert Abercromby did all in his 
 power to pacify the brave ally, who had served him so well ; 
 but, of course, the Mysore territory had to be restored, and 
 the dream of an "independent principahty of Coorg" could 
 not be realized. Sir Robert humoured, however. Veer Rajun- 
 der, by the drawing up of a document, at his last meeting 
 with the Rajah, in March, 1793. In this paper, the Rajah 
 was permitted to assert, that he had been an independent 
 Prince, and had never paid tribute to Mysore, while, at the 
 same time, he declared his willingness " to pay, of his own free 
 will, the sum of 800 pagodas to the Company every year, for 
 their friendship and protection." The Company, on the other 
 hand, engaged to give no molestalion to the Eajah, and in no 
 wise to interfere with the Government of Coorg, as the Rajah 
 was quite competent to take care of his own affairs. 
 
 From this time to the end of his life. Veer Rajunder re- 
 mained the trusty friend of the Company, and his affairs 
 prospered. In 1795, he communicated to the English Go- 
 vernment, the intelligence he had obtained, through some 
 spies, that Tippoo Sultan was concerting plans with the Mah- 
 rattas; and in the beginning of 1799^ we find him again 
 actively employed in assisting the Bombay troops, marching to- 
 wards Seringapatam, with Coohes, draught cattle and elephants, 
 
20 
 
 grain, and sheep. The Rajah was present at the battle of 
 Sedaseer, of which he gave the following accurate and ani- 
 mated description in a letter addressed to the Governor- 
 General, who received it on the 12th of April, 1799. 
 
 " On Tuesday, Mag Bohd Amawasy, in the year Ka Gust, 
 about forty-one days ago, myself. Captain Mahoney, and some 
 other English Sirdars, went to the hill of Sedaseer, which is 
 within my territories. This mountain, which is exceedingly 
 lofty, the English Sirdars and myself ascended, and we 
 remained there. Having from thence reconnoitred, we ob- 
 served nothing for the first four or five hours (Malabar hours) ; 
 after this we observed one large tent in the direction of 
 Periapatara, which is within the territories of Tippoo Sultan, 
 and continued to see some other white tents rising ; a large 
 green tent then appeared, and then another tent, which was 
 red, and after that five or six hundred tents. Upon this, the 
 English Sirdars and myself were satisfied that it was the 
 army of Tippoo Sultan j we then returned to the English 
 army at Sadapoor, and acquainted the General that Tippoo's 
 army was at Periapatam. The army was accordingly pre- 
 pared, as were also the two battalions at Sedaseer, under the 
 command of Colonel Montresor. The enemy being apprised 
 of the English post at Sedaseer, and that it would therefore 
 be impossible to advance by the Sedapoor road, were ad- 
 vancing by the high road of Balala, through the talook of 
 Kigalnaad, three coss to the right of Sedapoor, the same road 
 by which Hyder Naik formerly invaded the Coorg country. 
 Upon receiving a report that they were approaching by the 
 Balala road, and were near to Veer Rajah-indra-pellak, we all 
 considered and determined that four or five thousand Coorgs 
 should Idc stationed on that road. They were accordingly 
 posted there, with orders to cut off Tippoo if he should ad- 
 vance. About one hundred or one hundred and fifty Coorgs 
 were attached to myself: arrangements were also made in 
 
21 
 
 the different paths which communicated between the two 
 frontiers. Things being in this state, we again reconnoitred 
 from the hill of Sedaseer, and General Hartley went in the 
 morning to Sedapoor. On the same day Tippoo, with his 
 whole force, began his march by the Sedaseer road. General 
 Hartley was prepared at this time. Tippoo's army advanced 
 close to the two battalions under the command of Colonel 
 Montresor, and there was a severe action. After the battle 
 commenced, the two battalions killed a great many of Tippoo's 
 people. Tippoo, unable to sustain the fire of the battalions, 
 and having no road by which to advance, divided his army 
 into five divisions, with the intention of getting into the rear 
 of Colonel Montresor's battalions, by a secret path. The 
 Colonel, having received intelligence of this division, made a 
 disposition of his forces so as to sustain both attacks, and 
 maintained the fight until the morning, uninterruptedly, till 
 two o'clock. The enemy were beaten and unable to show 
 their faces. When this information reached the main body, 
 General Stuart, in order to assist the force at Sedapoor, 
 marched with two regiments of Europeans, keeping the re- 
 mainder of the army in the plain of Karrydygood. Upon 
 this occasion I accompanied General Stuart. Tippoo, in 
 order to prevent the two regiments from advancing to the 
 relief of the troops of Sadaseer, was posted on the road be- 
 tween. General Stuart, upon approaching, ordered the two 
 regiments to attack the enemy. A severe action then ensued, 
 in which I was present. To describe the battle which Ge- 
 neral Stuart fought with these two regiments of Europeans, 
 the discipline, valour, strength, and magnanimity of the troops, 
 the courageous attack upon the army of Tippoo, surpasses all 
 example in this world. In our Shasters and Purranas, the 
 battles fought by AUered and Maharul have been much cele- 
 brated, but they are unequal to this battle ; it exceeds my 
 ability to describe this action, at length, to your Lordship. In 
 this manner Tippoo's army was beaten. The action with the 
 
22 
 
 two regiments lasted about tliree hours and a half. A Sirdar 
 of high rank with Tippoo, the Benky Nabob, fell in this 
 action ; the first and second buckshies of a body of 6000 men, 
 being wounded with musket balls, were taken prisoners. I 
 have also heard that five or six other officers of rank with the 
 enemy have fallen ; many of the enemy were slain, and many 
 wounded; the remainder having thrown away their muskets, 
 swords, and turbans, and thinking it sufficient to save their 
 lives, fled in the greatest confusion. Tippoo having collected 
 the remains of his troops, returned to Periapatam. 
 
 " Veer Rajunder Wadeer." 
 
 To this gallant resistance of the advanced brigade at Sada- 
 seer, the British army stood indebted, not only for its subse- 
 quent conquest of the Mysore, but for its very existence in 
 that country as an offensive power. Had the advanced posts 
 been carried, the whole of the Bombay force must have been 
 driven back, and its junction with that under General Harris 
 either totally prevented, or rendered ineffective ; while the 
 boast and triumph of Tippoo could not have failed to have 
 allured to his standard the inhabitants of Malabar, then ripe 
 for revolt; and thus, in proportion as the resources of the 
 Sultan would have been increased, those of the British VFould 
 have been diminished. 
 
 While Seringapatam was being besieged, the Rajah also 
 despatched an expedition of Coorgs, under Subaya and Bopu, 
 into the.Tolu country, the greater part of which was wrested 
 from thS' Mussulmans, and plundered in Coorg style. His 
 services, indeed, were considered so important, that the Earl 
 of Mornington, Governor-General of India, bore his testi- 
 mony to them in two official despatches, addressed to dif- 
 ferent officers of his Majesty's Government. The portion 
 of the first of these two letters which refers to the Rajah, is 
 as follows :— 
 
28 
 
 The Earl of Mornington, Governor-General of India, to the 
 Commissioners of Malabar. 
 
 Fort St. George, 10th April, 1799. 
 
 Gentlemen, — * * * The Rajah of Coorg has seconded 
 my views and the exertion of the Company's servants on this 
 occasion with a degree of spirit, energy, and fidehty which 
 confirms the high character he had justly obtained in the late 
 war. I have expressed my sense of his zealous attachment 
 and honourable services in a letter to him, which will be for- 
 warded to you by the Persian translator, with a copy for your 
 information. I think it proper to apprise you that I have 
 determined, as a testimony of the satisfaction which his con- 
 duct has afforded me, and with a view of encouraging the 
 imitation of his example among other tributaries of the Com- 
 pany, to reUnquish the tribute at present payable, by the 
 Rajah, and to substitute some annual acknowledgment of the 
 Company's claim on his allegiance. The Government of 
 Bombay will receive the necessary directions from me for 
 giving effect to this arrangement. I have no doubt that the 
 exertions of the Rajah, to collect grain for the use of the 
 army, will be continued so long as they shall be necessary, 
 with the same spirit that has hitherto distinguished them, 
 and I am equally confident that those exertions will be ably 
 and zealously seconded by you, and by those under your 
 orders on the coast of Malabar. 
 
 * * * I entirely agree with you in your construction 
 of the letter from Ayappin to the Rajah of Coorg, a copy of 
 which was enclosed in your despatch of the 26th March; and 
 I desire you will signify to the Rajah, that I have viewed 
 with the utmost contempt and indignation this weak and 
 insidious attempt of Tippoo Sultan to cast doubts upon the 
 faith of an ally whose attachment, fortitude, wisdom, and 
 integrity, have secured the affection and admiration of the 
 British Government. » * * * 
 
 I am, Gentlemen, &c. 
 
 (Signed) MouNiNGTON; 
 
24 
 
 The portion of the other letter, referring to the same, is as 
 follows : — 
 
 The Earl of Mornington to the Honourable Jonathan Duncan, 
 Governor of Bombay. 
 
 Fort St. George, 8th May, 1799. 
 SiE, — The exemplary conduct and distinguished character 
 of the Coorg Rajah, having rendered nie desirous of mani- 
 festing some public testimony of my approbation of his recent 
 services, the remission of his annual tribute to the Company 
 appears to me to be a measure which would combine the 
 effects of an honourable distinction and a profitable reward. 
 My intention is, that of the whole amount of the Rajah's pre- 
 sent tribute, which I understand to be about 24,000 rupees, 
 a sum not exceeding 1000 rupees be reserved to the Com- 
 pany, or that, in place of tribute, some article of considerable 
 value be annually required from him as an acknowledgment 
 of his allegiance to the British Government. .1 request that, 
 after having determined the nature of the acknowledgment to 
 be required according to your judgment, you will take the 
 necessary measures for carrying my intention into effect. I 
 think the arrangement should be made to take place from the 
 day of the junction of the army of Bombay with the detach- 
 ment commanded by Major-General Flood. 
 
 I am, &c. &o. 
 (Signed) MoaNiNGTON. 
 
 In addition to these testimonials, the Marquis Wellesley, 
 Governor-General, sent him, on the 23rd of May, a handsome 
 sword, accompanied with a letter of thanks ; General Harris 
 presented him with one of Tippoo's chargers, one of his 
 palkees (palanquins), and one of his howdas ; and the East 
 India Company commuted the money payment of the tribute 
 into the gift of an elephant, to be presented to them annually. 
 The Governor- General's letter was as follows ; — 
 
25 
 
 2'o the BcyUh t)f Coorg. 23rd May, 1804. 
 
 I have had frequent occasion to express to you the senti- 
 ments of approbation with which I have contemplated the 
 zeal and attachment which you have uniformly manifested 
 during a long course of years towards the British Govern- 
 ment ; I have been apprised of the views and wishes which 
 you entertain with respect to an extension of your territory. 
 The necessity of a previous investigation of the means of 
 framing an arrangement for that purpose has occasioned some 
 delay. 
 
 Being fully impressed with a sense of your merits as a 
 faithful friend and adherent of the British Government, and 
 being anxious to afford you a proof of the sentiments of 
 regard and respect which I entertain for your character, I 
 have directed Captain Mahoney, who formerly resided with 
 • you on the part of the British Government, to proceed to 
 your court for the purpose df carrying into effect the arrange- 
 ments which I. have adopted for an extension of your terri- 
 tory. I refer you for information respecting the details of 
 this arrangement to Captain Mahoney, who will attend you 
 for that purpose, and will have the pleasure of delivering 
 this letter. 
 
 As an additional mark of my personal regard and esteem, 
 I request your acceptance of a sword, which will be trans- 
 mitted to Captain Mahoney with the utmost practicable expe- 
 dition, for the purpose of being presented to you in my name. 
 (Signed) ' Welleslet. 
 
 The Marquis's illustrious brother, the Duke of Wellington, 
 at that time Colonel Wellesley, had also, in the previous year, 
 borne his testimony to the Rajah's services.^ In a letter to 
 Lord Clive, and dated Seringapatam, Jan. 1st, 1803, after 
 saying that no part of the Mysore territory can be given to 
 "NJeray, for political reasons connected with the relations of 
 
 1 Despatches, vol. i. p. 32. 
 
26 
 
 the recently established Government of Mysore to the Go- 
 vernment of the Company, he thus proceeds : — 
 
 " The services of the Rajah of Coorg, however, still deserve 
 remuneration. It appears by Captain Mahoney's accounts, that 
 he expended sums of money, and furnished supplies of cattle 
 and provisions, in the late war against Tippoo Sultan, of a 
 value amounting to about four lacs of rupees. If he had 
 consented to be reimbursed this expenditure, he would have 
 received bonds of the Bombay Government for this sum of 
 money, bearing interest at 13 per cent, per annum, in the 
 beginning of the year 1799, and in this manner would have 
 added two lacs of rupees to the sum above mentioned. It 
 may, therefore, be fairly concluded, that, by the liberality of 
 the Rajah, the Company's treasury is richer at this moment, 
 by not less than six lacs of rupees, than it would have been if 
 he had taken- payment of the money expended, and for the 
 supplies furnished by him. In this view of the question, I do 
 not take into consideration the nature of his services, or the 
 time at which they were rendered ; but I have stated, parti* 
 cularly, what the supplies furnished by him would have cost 
 the Company if they had been furnished by any other person, 
 as I found thereon the amount of the remuneration which I 
 intend to recommend your Lordship to grant him." 
 
 Veer Rajunder was now left in the free and full possession 
 of his principality, and lived on the most friendly terms with 
 the Mysore Residents, the Madras Governor, Sir George Bar.^ 
 low, Lord W. Bentinck, and the Governor-General, the Mar- 
 quis of Wellesley. About the time his first grandson was 
 born to him, he was passionately attached to his new wife, 
 the Ranee Mahadeva, who had borne him two daughters, and 
 he might -have lived and died a happy man if he had had a 
 son and heir, had not mistrusted his nearest relatives, and if 
 his violent temper had not often carried him beyond the 
 bounds of humanity. He lived in constant dread of poison ■, 
 
37 
 
 and it is highly probable that the frenzy which appeared at 
 times to seize him, and during which he committed acts he 
 sincerely regretted when he recovered his reason, was caused 
 by drugs administered to him in spite of all his caution. In 
 1807 he caused a history of his house to be written, a work 
 which, together with its translation, by Mr. Robert Abercromby, 
 is now in course of publication, by the orders and at the ex- 
 pense of the Government of Madras. 
 
 The concluding lines of this Rajendraname, or history, afford 
 a glimpse of the alternations of hope and fear which agitated 
 his heart. He thus expresses himself = — " On the 7th of the 
 Pushya month, Ractaxi year (1805), Captain Mahoney brought 
 the sword, sent by Marquis Wellesley from Bengal, and 
 fastened it round the Rajah's waist. In the Magha month 
 (Feb. 7, 1806), Veer Rajunder told Captain Mahoney, for the 
 information of the Governor-General, that on the day of his 
 second marriage, when he sat on the throne with his Ranee, 
 he had determined, that any son of his by this wife should be 
 his successor ; that his wife had borne him two daughters. 
 If any son be hereafter born of her, he would be the heir ; but 
 if it was the will of God that she should bear no son, then the 
 three sons of his concubine, called Rajashekerappa, Shishushe- 
 kappa, and Chandrashekarappa, should succeed to the throne. 
 Since the above date, two more daughters, in all four, have 
 been borne by the Ranee Mahadeva, who died at three o'clock, 
 on Sunday, the 7th of the month Jashta, 4909 Prabhava year. 
 As, by her death, the Rajah's hopes of having a son by her 
 were blasted, and he was afraid, lest, if the succession devolved 
 on the sons of another mother, they would create trouble to 
 the four daughters of his lawful Queen, the Rajah determined 
 that of the four daughters the eldest should be married, and 
 whatever son she might have, he should be named Veer Ra- 
 junder, receive the Rajah's seal, and the sword which was 
 presented to him by Marquis Wellesley, and be the successor 
 to the throne. If she should, however, have no son, the son 
 
28 
 
 of either of her younger sisters, according to seniority, should 
 be the successor, and so long as the line of any of his four 
 above-mentioned daughters continued, none of the heirs of 
 the other mother should succeed to the throne ; but, upon 
 the family of his four daughters being extinct, the fittest of 
 the above three sons, or their posterity, should succeed. The 
 Rajah, sensible of the instability of human life, and all other 
 things, has thought proper now to determine and record this 
 matter, in order that no wrong may hereafter occur ; and 
 he requests that the English Sarkar will be the guardian of 
 his family, and see the execution of the above-written will 
 attended to. 
 
 " In order that the Rajah's heirs may be acquainted with 
 his resolution, he has written a copy thereof, to which he has 
 affixed his seal and signature, and which is lodged in the palace 
 treasury." 
 
 We quote the above passage because it proves the Rajah's 
 fondness for the four daughters of his beloved Ranee ; his 
 morbid anxiety for being succeeded by a grandson, at least, 
 of his own name ; his fears regarding the safety of his beloved 
 daughter, in case of one of his other relatives (brothers) 
 succeeding him, and his absolute confidence in the English 
 Sarkar. 
 
 Great as was the state of mental excitement under which 
 the Rajah had been for some time sufiering, it was still further 
 increased by the death, in May, 1807, of his beloved Ranee 
 Mahadeva, and, as he suspected she had been destroyed by 
 sorceries, he dreaded a similar fate. Nor was this all : a con- 
 spiracy, in which the whole of his Coorg guards were impli- 
 cated, broke out, and was only suppressed by the massacre, in 
 the palace yard, of 300 Coorgs by the African troops in the 
 pay of the Rajah. Veer Rajunder is said to have himself shot 
 twenty-five of the insurgents from a balcony window. 
 
 A gloomy melancholy appears to have taken possession of 
 him from that moment ; the only object for which he cared to 
 
29 
 
 live being to obtain the sanction of the Supreme Government 
 for his settlement of the succession upon which he thought 
 the future happiness, if not the very safety, of his beloved 
 daughter and her sisters depended ; and, although his requests 
 were never distinctly granted, he believed they were. The 
 nearer his end approached the more suspicious he became. 
 Mistrusting his two brothers, Appajii and Ling Rajunder, 
 he one morning despatched executioners to bring him their 
 heads, and, although he afterwards relented, his repentance 
 came too late to save the life of Appajii. Ling Rajunder 
 escaped. On another occasion, he ordered four of his principal 
 officers to be put to death, and was overwhelmed with horror 
 and remorse when, on calling for them after his frenzy had 
 abated, he was informed that they had been executed in obe- 
 dience to his command. Fearing that these deeds might be 
 reported to the Supreme Government, and dreading their dis- 
 pleasure, he twice attempted his own life, once with a razor, 
 and once by swallowing poison ; but, on both occasions, was 
 recovered by Dr. Ingledew. . The Supreme Government, in 
 answer to the reports sent to them, pitied, pardoned, and com- 
 forted, by kind assurances, the poor distracted Rajah. All 
 was of no avail. When the gloom of the monsoon of 1809 
 set in, he sank by degrees. Upon his violence dimiuishingj 
 he felt more kindly towards his son-in-law, and appointed him 
 Dewan during Dewa Ammajee's minority. His mind now 
 fully recovered its tone : on the 9th of June he sent for his 
 favourite daughter, gave his seal into her hand, and expired. 
 He lies buried in one of the mausoleums which grace the hill 
 overlooking the town of Mercara. 
 
 Thus died Veer Rajunder" Wadeer, Rajah of Coorg, one of 
 the few Indians on whom Mill pronounces a eulogium : — 
 
 "The circumstances in which he (the Rajah) had been 
 placed by misfortune, broke many of the fetters which bind 
 the understandings of his countrymen ; and he manifested an 
 enlargement of mind seldom witnessed amongst those match- 
 
30 
 
 less slaves of prejudice. Not only had trials invigorated his 
 faculties, but he displayed a generosity and a heroism worthy 
 of a much more civilized state of society. Bred in adversity, 
 and obliged to submit to the duties of a rehgion which was 
 foreign to his caste, the Rajah's mind was indeed enlarged 
 beyond the prejudices which generally fetter the natives in 
 India : he was desirous of seeing, and being instructed ; went 
 on board the ships at Tellicherry ; was fond of conversing 
 with our officers ; of making himself acquainted with our dis- 
 cipline ; and on many occasions, particularly on horseback, 
 adopted the English dress." But the Rajah's character will 
 be better understood from the following circumstances. 
 
 At the time that the Bombay army was first ascending 
 the Ghauts, the Rajah, after clearing the greater part of his 
 country of the enemy, was employed in the blockade of Mer- 
 cara, which Tippoo had fortified with cannon, and maintained 
 as a post in the heart of his country. A detachment sent 
 from Seringapatam to relieve it was surrounded, and sum- 
 moned to lay down their arms. The officer who commanded 
 this corps having been friendly to the Rajah, and particularly 
 instrumental in assisting him to escape from Tippoo's power, 
 made himself known ; and having represented to him that he 
 should not only be dismissed from the Sultan's service if he 
 did not execute his orders, but that his master's vengeance 
 would be wreaked upon his innocent family, the Rajah allowed 
 him both to send in his provisions, and to return safe with 
 his detachment. 
 
 Pearful what appearance this transaction might have to his 
 friends the Enghsh, the Rajah explained the whole matter in 
 a letter to General Abercromby, and said that his allowing 
 the provisions to be thrown into the place was of no conse- 
 quence, and would not protract the siege a few weeks. 
 
 The General, fully convinced of the Rajah's sincerity, and 
 struck with his conduct, offered to send a detachment to assist 
 him in recovering Mercara from the enemy. This, with many 
 
31 
 
 expressions of gratitude, he declined ; saying, he should in 
 time be able to effect the object himself, and was determined 
 to regain his capital with his own troops. 
 
 The Rajah's generosity to his friend in the Sultan's service, 
 and his magnanimity in prosecuting the siege with his own 
 people, were soon rewarded by the- surrender of his capital, 
 which, with the spirit of a Spartan, he dismantled of its de- 
 fences — resolved to leave no harbour for his enemies, and that 
 his Coorgs should depend solely on their own bravery for the 
 defence of their country. 
 
 We have seen that, when dying. Veer Rajunder placed his 
 seal in the hands of his daughter Dewa Ammajee, which was 
 equivalent to the declaring her his successor ; and accordingly 
 she became, on the death of her father. Ranee of Coorg, 
 and was acknowledged as such in a letter of the Marquis of 
 Hastings, dated April, 2, 1809. She did not, however, retain 
 the dignity long, for Ling Rajunder Wadeer, the brother of 
 the deceased Rajah, made himself Regent of Coorg, and 
 guardian of his niece, before the end of 1810. In 1811 he 
 announced to the Government of Fort St. George that he had 
 assumed the Government of Coorg in his own name. Mr. 
 Cole, the Resident of Mysore, was ordered to make inquiry in 
 Coorg, as to the lawfulness of Ling Rajunder's claim to the 
 throne. The inquiry was not made, but the Resident's own 
 individual opinion was, that female succession in Coorg was 
 contrary to the Shasters, or laws. The Supreme Government, 
 in the mean time, put off the decision of the somewhat intri' 
 cate question until the Ranee should attain her majority, when 
 she might prove her claims ; and no protest was made against 
 Ling Rajunder's assumption of power. Before the end of 
 1812, Ling Rajunder had firmly established himself; fearing, 
 however, some change in the measures of the Supreme Govern- 
 ment, he prevented, as far as lay in his power, all communica- 
 tion between Coorg and the surrounding territory of the 
 Company. The frontiers were guarded, and nobody. was 
 
32 
 
 allowed to pass out or in without the Rajah's permission. 
 European visitors were treated with profuse hospitality, and 
 overwhelmed with civilities, but all communication between 
 them and the natives of the country was carefully prevented. 
 Ling Rajunder died in 1820, at the age of 45, after having 
 held possession of Coorg for eleven years. His elder brother. 
 Veer Rajunder, had died at about the same time of life. Like 
 him, he suspected that he died a victim to magic arts, era- 
 ployed by enemies among his own people. No doubt many 
 hated him in secret ; and it is not unlikely that poison may 
 have been administered to him, for poison was as freely used 
 in Coorg as sorcery. This prince has been accused of having 
 committed many cruelties and much oppression; but there 
 does not appear to be sufficient evidence forthcoming to sub- 
 stantiate the charge. His widow, inconsolable for the death 
 of her husband, committed suicide by swallowing diamond 
 dust, the custom of Suttee not being known in Coorg. She 
 was buried in the same tomb with her husband. 
 
 General Welsh, in his Military Beminiscences, gives the 
 following amusing account of a visit which he paid Ling 
 Rajunder in the year 1811 : — 
 
 "On the 19th of March, 1811, having heard much in 
 praise of the sport in Coorg, and being at leisure for such a 
 trip, I set out from Bangalore, having a letter of introduction 
 from the Honourable Arthur Cole, Resident at Mysore, and 
 in company with Lieutenant W. Williamson, a young man of 
 my own corps, both a keen and hardy sportsman as well as a 
 very agreeable companion. We travelled post, in palanquin, to 
 Verajenderpett, a distance of 150 miles. On the 22nd of 
 March, after a hearty breakfast, provided for us by the Rajah's 
 people gratis, we mounted two large elephants at daybreak, 
 and proceeded over hills and through vales, up and down, 
 zigzag, now at the bottom of deep ravines, then at the top of 
 precipices, till at last, after eight hours' fagging, we reached 
 the palace, built for the accommodation of Europeans, outside 
 
33 
 
 the stone fort of Mercara, the capital. The place is delight- 
 fully situated on an eminence near th& summit of a range 
 of lofty and difficult mountains. The pass up these moun- 
 tains being fortified and defended, however, would make it a 
 very strong place, for it completely commands every approach 
 on the other side. The distance we estimated at twenty-four 
 miles. The Rajah's own palace is inside the fort; but his 
 horse and elephant stables are outside, on the slope of the 
 glacis. The town is remarkably clean and well built ; about 
 half a mile off, by an excellent high road, and at the further 
 extremity, is a rising ground, with a strong mud barrier, 
 after entering which you come upon a small plain, with a 
 magnificent tomb, erected by the present Rajah to the memory 
 of his late brother and wife. It is much in the style of Ma- 
 hommedan edifices, being a wide square, with a handsome 
 dome in the centre, and four turrets at the angles. On the 
 top of the dome is a gold ball, with a weathercock above it, 
 and all the window-bars are made of solid brass. 
 
 " On this spot we met, by appointment, Maha Swami, at half- 
 past three in the evening. He was dressed in a major-general's 
 uniform, appeared to be about thirty years of age, with very 
 handsome features, and a person in which were joined both 
 activity and strength. He immediately shook hands with us, 
 and desired us to be seated, after a short conversation in Hin- 
 dustani, which he at first addressed to an interpreter, until he 
 found that I could speak and understand him in that lan- 
 guage. He then produced several rifles, ready loaded, ordered 
 cocoa-nuts to be hoisted on the tops of spears fifty yards off, 
 and then desired us to fire. Suffice it to say, he beat us both 
 most completely, splitting every nut he fired at in the centre, 
 while we either struck the sides or missed entirely. After 
 this, he asked us to take a ride with him ; a beautiful English 
 horse was brought to me, an Arabian to Lieut. Williamson, 
 and he himself also rode a very fine Arabian. We rattled 
 .about in the square for half an hour, when he desired us to 
 
 c 
 
34 
 
 alight and rest ourselves, and, taking a long spear, performed 
 several feats with it, still on horseback, with great grace and 
 dexterity. Oiu: horses being again brought, we remounted^ 
 and proceeded with him to the fort, the Rajah insisting on 
 our riding one on each side of him all the way. On entering 
 his palace, we were amused by a set of dancing girls, keeping 
 time to reels and country dances, played on two fiddles ; and 
 the Maha Swami showed us various portraits of himself, the 
 Prince of Wales, General Wellesley, &c. He then took us 
 into another apartment, and exhibited to us a dozen of highly 
 finished single and double rifles, byManton and Gover, fowling- 
 pieces, pistols, &c. ; then an air-gun, which he desired us to 
 try. It was now seven p.m., and torchlight had succeeded 
 the daylight in his court-yard ; we took aim out of the window 
 at various things, and hit them, and I even knocked down a 
 lime, a species of small lemon, off the top of a cocoa-nut, so 
 uncommonly true did it carry. His son and several relatives 
 were next introduced to us, all fine-looking boys; and the 
 heir apparent, being about seven or eight years old, dressed 
 in a general's uniform, with a sword by his side, put me in 
 mind of some old French prints, in which the girls are dressed 
 in hoops and farthingales, and the boys with bag-wigs and 
 small swords. Ram-fights, &c. were going on all this time in 
 the yard, as it were to amuse the attendants, and two of the 
 rams had four horns each ; then a lion made his appearance, 
 led by a dozen men with a strong rope. He appeared very 
 tame, played with his leaders, and suffered me to go up to 
 him and pat him on the back. Next came a large royal tiger 
 and two panthers, the former having his claws pared, but very 
 savage, trying every instant to break loose. We took leave 
 at half-past seven, quite pleased with the kind and affable 
 treatment of this prince, who, I am inclined to believe, is 
 adored by his people. 
 
 " T must now describe our own habitation, built on a small 
 island, surrounded by paddy ground, now dry, for the sole 
 
35 
 
 accommodation of Europeans. It is a large square, having a 
 hall in the centre, a large covered-in veranda all round it, and 
 four bedrooms projecting at the angles of the veranda, all on 
 the upper story, the lower rooms serving for the guard, 
 attendants, store-rooms, &c. It stands on a square of seventy 
 feet, the veranda having thirty-eight glass windows, with 
 Venetian blinds outside. The bedrooms have sixteen win- 
 dows, and the hall eight glass doors, every part being neatly 
 furnished in the English style, with beds, tables, card-tables, 
 writing-boxes, chairs, chandeliers, settees, &c. &c, ; and there 
 is an old butler, of my early Vebre friend. Colonel Ridgway 
 Mealay, and a dozen active servants, who very speedily pro- 
 duced an English breakfast or dinner, served up on handsome 
 Queen's ware, with every kind of European hquor ; and, what 
 is still more extraordinary, the cook bakes good bread. 
 
 " After all our exertions of this day, it may readily be sup- 
 posed we slept soundly, and on the morning of the 23rd, rose 
 betimes, as usual — a custom which I most strenuously recom- 
 mend to all young men doomed to spend their time in the 
 East — and went to visit the Rajah's stud and elephants ; and 
 amongst the latter found a young wiite one, about two years 
 old, most perfectly formed, with flaxen hair, light eyes, and 
 fair skin. Of these animals, as his country abounds in them, 
 he has great abundance. After breakfast, we were asto- 
 nished by a visit from the Maha Swami, in state. No longer 
 disguised in a European dress, he appeared in his native 
 robes, richly decorated with jewels ; and, in my eyes, he ap- 
 peared a much handsomer man. He sat a few minutes, and 
 then told us that he had received intelligence of a wild ele- 
 phant, and would, if we pleased, accompany us to go and 
 shoot Mm. To us this was the most acceptable offer he could 
 have made. We retired to prepare ourselves and our shootr 
 ing apparatus, and on our return from our own rooms, found 
 his Highness ready with elephants and attendants. Away we 
 set, the Rajah himself driving the one I rode, sitting across 
 
36 
 
 its neck, with a hook in his right hand and a knife in the 
 other, to cut down any small branches of trees likely to 
 incommode me in the excursion. Such a man, thought I, 
 at the head of his followers, must be invincible — so per- 
 fectly different from the effeminate grandeur of most Eastern 
 potentates. Arrived at the spot, which was only about a mUe 
 off, we dismounted; and, while the people were preparing 
 seats on trees for our reception, amused ourselves shooting 
 arrows at a mark, in which, as usual, the Rajah beat us 
 hollow. When all was ready, each climbed his own tree, the 
 Rajah between us, and sat in a snug little wicker box, with 
 three guns of the Rajah's each, and two of his eunuchs to load 
 our pieces. The Rajah had a single rifle, carrying a twelve- 
 ounce ball, and two double ones of one ounce each. Upon 
 the animal's approach, we made a general discharge at him ; 
 the creature rolled over instantaneously, carrying away several 
 small trees, as he extended his enormous bulk upon the 
 ground. It stood ten feet high, and was in excellent con- 
 dition ; the tusks were two feet outside, and nearly three feet 
 long, when extracted, and the length of the body was nearly 
 the same as its height. . . . Here, supposing our day's 
 work was concluded, we prepared to take leave, but we were 
 yet to learn something further of the kind attentions of this 
 excellent prince. He told us, that having kept us so long 
 from our own tiffin (luncheon), it being then three o'clock, 
 he had ordered a dinner to be brought out for us ; and, to 
 our surprise, we found a house built of leaves, a table and 
 chairs, a dinner, consisting of pillawe, mutton cutlets, curry, 
 &c., all ready for us. Nor was this all ; the Rajah followed 
 us in, and begged us to excuse him, as he was not very well, 
 but left his servants with guns, powder, shot, &c., and four 
 elephants, desiring us to amuse ourselves after dinner as we 
 pleased. We accordingly dined, and then beat a thick jungle 
 for game, though without success, it being the dry season, 
 when they retire into the most inaccessible parts of the moun- 
 
37 
 
 tains. At five p.m. we returned to our palace, well satisfied 
 with the adventures of the day. 
 
 " On the 25th of March, we paid our parting visit to the 
 Maha Swami, and received from him the following presents — 
 two gold-handled Coorg knives, two panther-skin caps, two 
 sandal-wood sticks, one royal tiger and two panther skins ; and 
 parted from him with mutual expressions of esteem and regard." 
 
 The present ex-Rajah, named after his illustrious uncle. 
 Veer Rajunder Wadeer, succeeded, and was acknowledged 
 vidthout difficulty by the British Government, which appears 
 to have desisted from any further investigation of the succes- 
 sion question, and to have entirely passed over the claims of 
 the Princess Dewa Ammajee. His Highness was only fifteen 
 years of age when he thus became his own master and the 
 sovereign of Coorg. His education, in the European sense 
 of the word, had been entirely neglected ; but he was a pro- 
 ficient in all Coorg accomplishments, being an excellent rider, 
 a good shot, and a dexterous gymnastic. Young and inex- 
 perienced in pubhc affairs, he intrusted the details of govern- 
 ment, external and internal, to the management of his late 
 father's Minister, Buswopah, an old and attached friend of 
 the family, and to whose care his father, when dying, had 
 especially confided him. Leaving, therefore, all business to 
 this Minister, the Rajah spent the greatest part of his time in 
 field sports, for which the forests and wilds of his country 
 afforded him peculiar facilities and ample space, in reviewing 
 his troops, or in receiving the visits of foreigners of distinction. 
 
 His regular army consisted, at this time, of about 10,000 
 infantry, and 1000 irregulars, besides 100 pieces of cannon 
 distributed among the different forts and passes. In cases of 
 emergency, also, every Zemindar fully equipped at his own 
 expense, with matchlock, sword, and shield, was liable to 
 military service during the continuance of hostilities. 
 
 Justice was administered by means of magistrates, who 
 were chosen from among the land proprietors. In cases 
 
38 
 
 involving capital punishnjent, that of decapitation, sentence was 
 pronounced by the Brahmins, in accordance with the Shasters j 
 but the Rajah could revoke the sentence at will. All religions 
 were tolerated at Coorg, but the most prevailing one was a 
 species of the Hindu. Idol worship was also practised. 
 
 In 1830 the Rajah, who was at that time twenty-six years of 
 age, was seized with a violent illness; and it being supposed that 
 a surgical operation would be necessary, Mr. Jeaffreson, an emi- 
 nent surgeon in the service of the Hon.East India Company, was 
 summoned from Bombay, to attend his Highness- Having ob- 
 tained permission from the authorities so to do, that gentle- 
 man, accompanied by Capt. Hill, of H.M.'s 54th Regt., set out 
 for Mercara, where he at length arrived, after a tedious and 
 somewhat perilous journey on horseback up the mountains. 
 Fortunately he found that there was but little or no occasion 
 for the employment of his professional skill, the account of the 
 Rajah's malady having been much exaggerated, so that he had 
 scafeely anything else to do than to enjoy the hospitality of his 
 illustrious and generous host. With Mr. Jeaflfreson's kind 
 permission we give the following interesting description of 
 his visit, as communicated by that gentleman, in a letter to 
 a friend : — 
 
 "Dear S. — Upon our arrival at the palace we were pre- 
 sented to the Rajah, who received us in the most cordial 
 manner, assuring us that, like his ancestors, he entertained a 
 particular regard and esteem for Englishnien. 
 
 " The interview concluded, we were conducted to a garden 
 outside the palace, in which the wildness of Indian mountain 
 scenery was agreeably contrasted with the elegancies of modern 
 horticulture. There we found a splendid bungalow, fitted up 
 for our accommodation, with every possible convenience. 
 
 " Round this residence grew flowers of the richest hues and 
 the sweetest perfume, while trees, laden with delicious fruit, 
 among whose branches perched wild birds of the brightest and 
 most variegated plumage, cast over us their agreeable shade. 
 
39 
 
 " Near this bungalow was a tank, made of black marble of 
 the highest polish and most elaborate workmanship, in the 
 centre of which rose a fountain, throwing up jets of water so 
 clear and pellucid that hundreds of large and beautiful fish 
 might be seen disporting in the basin, or else darting about 
 in every direction after their prey. This tank was the favourite 
 resort of the Rajah, who was wont to visit it daily, at noon. 
 Standing beside it, he would ring a small gold bell, he carried 
 in his hand, and, at its tinkling, all the fish collected together 
 in one spot, anxiously awaiting their food (young frogs, parched 
 peas, &c.), which an attendant threw to them from a basket. 
 
 "In another part of the garden was an immense black marble 
 i^tand, of pyramidal form, along the five front steps of which 
 were ranged hundreds of bleached skulls of elephants, being 
 the opima spolia of the chase. 
 
 " The Rajah was about the middle size, and by his muscular 
 and well-knit frame, seemed formed by nature to excel in those 
 athletic sports in which he still takes so much delight. His 
 physiognomy was at once prepossessing and intelligent ; his 
 nose aquiline ; his eyes large, bright, and expressive ; and his 
 whole demeanour bespoke dignity and command. 
 
 "The Rajah is a graceful and fearless horseman, an un- 
 erring shot, and wields his favourite weapons, the sword and 
 the spear, with great dexterity and address ; he is also a swift 
 runner, although upon one occasion I had the good fortune of 
 bearing off the palm from him in a foot-race ; as for wrestling, 
 I have no doubt that, were his Highness ' to try a fall' with one 
 of our Lancashire or Westmoreland lads, he would come off 
 victorious ; he is also a good draughtsman, and has an excel- 
 lent ear for music, of which he is particularly fond, having 
 kept in his pay, at Coorg, a regular band of European per- 
 formers, whose ability would command attention even in a 
 London concert-room. Within the palace was a large and well 
 arranged armoury, where might be seen specimens of every 
 description of weapon, offensive and defensive, from those of 
 
40 
 
 remote antiquity down to the modern rifle. The Rajah took 
 great deUght in exhibiting this collection. His Highness 
 often condescended to amuse us by giving us proofs of his 
 skill and address in athletic exercises, thus showing a strong 
 contrast to many other Indian princes, who, abandoned to 
 effeminacy and dissolute pleasures, pass their time in the 
 harem, surrounded by eunuchs, and given up et Veneri, et 
 cesnis et plumis Sardanapali. We were particularly gratified 
 at, finding that this prince, who could, if necessary, have 
 brought into the field a well-appointed army of 25,000 men, 
 was easy of access to his ryots, listening patiently to their 
 grievances, and manifesting towards them the utmost con- 
 sideration and kindness ; this ensured him, in return, their 
 loyalty and affection ; as a proof of which, whenever we 
 travelled with the Rajah, into the interior of the country, 
 hundreds of natives, men, women and children — who, from 
 curiosity, crowded round my companion and me, — an English- 
 man being a rara avis in those parts — received the Rajah 
 with every demonstration of respect and attachment. It 
 gives me the greatest satisfaction to mention this, being aware 
 that the most sinister reports have, for interested purposes, 
 been industriously propagated to the Rajah's prejudice. 
 Another fact, also, I think it my duty to state, in disproof 
 of such calumnies. Before leaving Bombay, several persons 
 residing there, and who had received intelligence that some of 
 their relatives in Coorg had been unjustly and most cruelly 
 put to death by the Rajah, desired me to make inquiries as 
 to the truth of such reports. This I did ; and it was with the 
 greatest pleasure I obtained the surest proof of the falsehood 
 of such allegations, by the appearance before me, in real flesh 
 and blood, of the very parties who were said to have been so 
 unceremoniously disposed of. 
 
 " Shortly after our arrival, I was suddenly awakened at mid- 
 night by my servant, who told me that the Rajah had sent for 
 me. Apprehensive that his Highness might have been seized 
 
41 
 
 with sudden indisposition,! proceeded, in all haste, to the palace, 
 and found, to my astonishment, that the Rajah had sent for Cap- 
 tain Hill and me to accompany him upon a hunting excursion. 
 Mounting a tall shikaree (hunting) elephant, without a houdah, 
 the Rajah, who himself performed the office of mahout or driver, 
 desired Captain Hill and me to place ourselves behind him, no 
 enviable situation, I can assure you, for us who had hitherto 
 been accustomed only to the convenience and luxury of a 
 palanquin. The night was dark and dreary, and the distance 
 to the hunting rendezvous not less than twenty English miles. 
 Arrived, about six o'clock in the morning, at the appointed 
 spot, we found that several tents had been pitched and an 
 excellent breakfast prepared for us, to which you may readily 
 imagine, the keen air of the Coorg mountains, no less than the 
 rough jolting of our monture, disposed us to do ample justice. 
 
 "Here the Rajah left us for a time, for the purpose, as 
 he said, of superintending certain preparatory arrangements, 
 which would occupy several hours, and proceeded towards 
 another collection of tents in sight of ours, and containing, 
 according to the custom of Eastern princes, some of his 
 numerous wives, who, although concealed from view, could 
 witness the sport. 
 
 " We were to be duly summoned when all was prepared. 
 Now, considering that the forest had to be ' drawn,' as it is 
 technically called ; that above 6000 men, huntsmen and others, 
 with every kind of implement, were to be employed in clear- 
 ing away the thickset, closely entangled jungle, from an area 
 of more than one square mile ; that strong and powerful nets 
 were to be placed in every rivulet, in order to prevent the 
 escape of such elephants as were known to be located within 
 a few miles of us — we did not regard eight or nine hours as 
 too long a time for such operations ; besides, we were the better 
 reconciled to the delays as it afforded us the opportunity of 
 taking a sound nap, and of thus indemnifying ourselves for 
 the loss of a night's repose. 
 
"The anxiously expected signal was at length given; all 
 was ready. On reaching the place indicated to us, we found 
 that the jungle had been cut away and cleared for a consi- 
 derable distance, and that two enormous trees, nearly in the 
 centre of this rude circle, had been selected, from which a 
 kind of capacious cradle, made of wickerwork, was suspended, 
 well secured by strong ropes, at the height of from twenty to 
 thirty feet from the ground, and into which, by means of a 
 rope-ladder, the Rajah, Captain Hill, and I, deposited ourselves, 
 accompanied by several attendants wearing green hunting 
 uniforms, who had the care of and loaded various rifles of 
 every kind, and by every maker. The Rajah, himself a most 
 excellent marksman, courteously declined taking any other 
 part in the sport than that of a spectator : in fact he had 
 issued strict orders to his soldiers and others to load their 
 guns with blank cartridges only, and not to shoot at any 
 animal except in self-defence — his Highness's wish being to 
 give us, his guests, all the credit of success. These prelimi- 
 nary arrangements completed, we had now only to await 
 patiently for the enemy's approach. To beguile the time the 
 Rajah recounted to us many of his 'hair-breadth 'scapes i' 
 the imminent deadly' jungle (that most perilous of all hunt- 
 ing fields), proving that, if the pleasure of the sport be 
 indeed great, it is often purchased at the risk of life or limb, 
 and requires, in the bold amateur, the utmost coolness and 
 resolution. 
 
 " Soon the report of volleys of musketry, intermingled with 
 the clangour of trumpets, the beating of drums, the yells and 
 hootings of the huntsmen, and the roaring of the beasts they 
 were driving before them, announced that the hunt had com- 
 menced. It was, indeed, a most exciting moment, and one 
 which can only be conceived by those who have already wit- 
 nessed such a scene. In proportion as the radius of the circle 
 diminished, these sounds increased in intensity, and we could, 
 at length, descry in the distance, hundreds of wild animals of 
 
43 
 
 every kind ; but we were advised to reserve our fire for our 
 expected guests, who soon made their appearance in the shape 
 of twelve elephants, one of them being of immense size and 
 uncommon beauty. ' I should like that one,' said the Rajah, 
 pointing to it, ' to be taken alive, as a present for the Governor- 
 General.' We assured his Highness that his wish should be 
 complied with, and then commenced our attack, the result 
 of which was that the other elephants, with the exception of 
 one which contrived to make his escape, soon feU, pierced by 
 our rifle balls, six to my share and four to that of Captain 
 Hill, leaving the twelfth, the elephant in question, our prize. 
 
 " About thirty tame elephants, trained to pass ropes round 
 the legs of the captive, immediately surrounded him, and 
 seemed to say, ' You are our prisoner,' a fact of which, 
 indeed, the poor animal's sorrowful but still indignant look 
 showed him to be but too cognizant. 
 
 " Thus secured, we escorted him to prison, preceded by a 
 band of music, and followed by the Rajah's numerous re- 
 tainers ; and in thi<s manner ended a hunt, in which Capt. Hill 
 and myself can boast of carrying off a heavier game-bag than 
 falls to the lot of most sportsmen — ten elephants. I am per- 
 fectly aware of the absolute necessity that there is for the 
 destruction of these magnificent animals — the ravages they 
 commit in the sugar plantations (the sugar-cane is their 
 favourite food) being to an enormous and ruinous extent; 
 but, nevertheless, when I consider their docility, their sagacity 
 (so great as to have gained them the epithet of half -reasoning), 
 and their many other excellent qualities, I am determined, 
 should I again visit India, never more to aim a rifle at them. 
 With the ferocious and blood-thirsty tiger the case is different : 
 he is the ruthless enemy and destroyer of our race, and him 
 I can pursue to the death with the utmost satisfaction. 
 
 "I was particularly gratified, therefore, on a subsequent 
 day, when, accompanied by the same princely cortege, I shot 
 the largest royal tiger I ever beheld, which was brought home 
 
44 
 
 and exhibited, by torch-light, in the court-yard of the palace, 
 and decorated with evergreens, and other appropriate emblems 
 of the chase, the band playing, the inhabitants being admitted 
 and marching round in procession, and the Rajah's wives, no 
 doubt, peeping at the royal show from the windows of the 
 harem : the sight was, indeed, at once novel and exciting to 
 us. The sports were frequently varied, and on several occa- 
 sions the Rajah took us, on moonlight nights, to different 
 concealed retreats in the dense forests, at a considerable dis- 
 tance from the palace. The jungle had been cleared in front 
 of these retreats, and tempting food (the flesh of various 
 animals) was regularly, for many nights successively, strewed 
 about. These temporary buildings being formed of logs of 
 timber, covered with brushwood, had several loopholes large 
 enough to admit the muzzles of our rifles, enabling us, also, to 
 see the cautious arrival of various animals, their gambols, &c. 
 In these places we secreted ourselves before nightfall, and 
 not even a whisper was permitted. At a given signal we all 
 fired simultaneously at such animals as we had selected for 
 our sport ; such as escaped would not, of course, return, per- 
 haps, for many nights, consequently we all adjourned to 
 another cachette of the same construction, but at some con- ^ 
 siderable distance off. Not the least interesting part of the 
 night's sport was that of watching the manoeuvres of these 
 animals, consisting of tigers, wild boars, chitas, jackals, 
 &c. &c. Some of these animals, although the natural prey of 
 one another, could not resist joining company at this sump- 
 tuous banquet, and entering, as it were, into a truce by 
 mutual consent, at the same time compelling each other to 
 observe a respectful distance by means of snarling and howl- 
 ing in the most hideous manner. 
 
 " After twenty-two days' stay with the Rajah — days replete 
 with amusement, pleasure, and interest, and which I shall ever 
 remember with unmixed satisfaction — the time arrived for our 
 leaving Coorg. 
 
45 
 
 " Upon the evening preceding our departure, Captain Hill 
 and myself proceeded to the palace to take our leave of his 
 Highness, the Captain being in full regimentals. The Rajah's 
 body-guard, a guard of honour, and the band, were all drawn 
 out on the occasion. On our arrival, the soldiers presented 
 arms, the band playing, ' God save the King,' in very good 
 style, a compliment to which Captain Hill responded by giving 
 his Highness the military salute, and I, by shaking him 
 heartily by the hand. When we bade the Rajah farewell, his 
 Highness was visibly affected ; a dead silence ensued for some 
 minutes, while sorrow was imprinted on every brow. It 
 seemed as if we had a presentiment that our next meeting 
 would not be a happy one ; and so it proved, for the very next 
 year the Rajah's troubles commenced. Of the subsequent 
 events connected with his Highness, his deposal by the 
 Hon. East India Company, his eighteen years' detention at 
 Benares, and his visit to England, where he is now residing, 
 respected and beloved by all who have the honour of his 
 acquaintance, I need not speak, as they are already known 
 to you. I shall therefore conclude by assuring you, &c., 
 
 " Wm. Jeaffreson." 
 
 We now approach the particular subjects which are con- 
 nected with, and, in fact, led to, the unhappy differences 
 between the Company and the Rajah, and ended in war being 
 declared against him. 
 
 In the lifetime of the Rajah's father and mother, one of his 
 sisters was married to a person named Chen Buswah, chosen 
 out of the body of the people, for he had no hereditary con- 
 nection with the royal family of Coorg. That sister died, and 
 the entreaties of the ladies of his family subsequently induced 
 the Rajah, although much against his own incUnation, to con- 
 sent to Chen Buswah's marriage with another sister, called by 
 the same name, Dewa Ammajee, as her aunt, the late Ranee 
 of Coorg, in order to prevent what would have been considered 
 
46 
 
 a degradation to the family, by Chen Buswah marrying any 
 person of inferior rank. Chen Buswah and his wife lived a 
 short distance from the capital, in a manner befitting their 
 station and connection with the royal family, the means of 
 maintaining their social position being provided by the Rajah. 
 Some time after the second marriage, and in the year 1832, 
 Chen Buswah became dissatisfied with what he considered 
 his subordinate condition, and, giving way to ambitious views, 
 meditated nothing less than to dethrone the Rajah. Foiled, 
 however, in this his wicked attempt, he determined upon 
 escaping, with his wife and followers, to the British frontier ; 
 to effect which, he one night drugged the two officers in 
 attendance upon him, bound one of them hand and foot, and 
 suspended him from the rafters of the house, where he was 
 afterwards found dead. His next step was to send on persons 
 before him, to announce that it was the Rajah himself who 
 was traveUing incoff. with the ladies of his family, and that no 
 person was to appear in the roads while ihe cortege was pass^ 
 ing. By this stratagem the roads were cleared for his advance, 
 and he was thus enabled to reach as far as the barrier between 
 Coorg and the Mysore country, without being observed or 
 molested. On arriving there, the jemadar, or officer in com- 
 mand of the post, suspecting something wrong, advanced 
 towards the party, and discovered Chen Buswah. The jemadM- 
 thereupon, acting according to his orders, refused to allow him 
 to pass the barrier, unless he had the Rajah's permission to 
 leave the country. An altercation ensued, and Chen Buswah 
 shot the jemadar dead on the spot. The jemadar's brother, 
 one of the guard, instantly levelled his matchlock at Chen 
 Buswah, but before he could discharge it, he also was killed 
 by one of the followers of Chen Buswah, who in the confusion 
 escaped with his party into the Mysore country. 
 
 These facts were speedily communicated to the Rajah, and 
 many of his subjects came forward, and offered to bring back 
 Chen Buswah, dead or alive, from Mysore. This offer he 
 
47 
 
 declined : relying on the good faith of the Company, and on 
 the friendly alliance, resting on treaty, which existed and had 
 been so long kept up between that Government and the 
 Sovereigns of Coorg, he wished that the former would deli- 
 ver up Chen Buswah on his being demanded. A friendly 
 communication was accordingly made by him to the Resident 
 of Mysore, who was at the time at Yelwall, his country seat, 
 only thirty miles distant from the Coorg frontier, and where, 
 as the Rajah heard, Chen Buswah was. A statement accom- 
 panied the demand, detailing the above circumstances, and the 
 bodies of the murdered men were embalmed, to enable the 
 Resident himself to see them, he being invited to ascertain the 
 truth. The answer received was to the purport and effect, 
 that the Company could not give up a person who had sought 
 its protection, as Chen Buswah had done. 
 
 Being very much surprised by this answer, the Rajah 
 addressed frequent letters, demanding Chen Buswah, in order 
 that he might be tried for the murders with which he was 
 charged. 
 
 So anxious was the Rajah to avoid a collision with his 
 friends and allies, that he addressed the following letter to 
 Mr. Jeaffreson, of the Hon. East India Company's service, the 
 gentleman who had paid him the visit above described. 
 
 (^I^anslation.) 
 
 " Murkaira.— Rajjab, 1248, Hegira. (March, 1832.) 
 " In the month of Zilhujja,1246, Hegira (1830) you favoured 
 me with a visit, and remained with me twenty-two days — an 
 interval of time which afforded you a sufficient opportunity for 
 observing my private character, as well as the system adopted 
 by me in the government of my dominions. 
 
 " I now regret to inform you, that a misunderstanding has 
 lately arisen between Mr. Casamajor, the Resident of Mysore, 
 and myself, the occasion of which was as follows :■ — One Chen 
 Buswah was living in Koyoung-garree Nur-appoo Gutta : he 
 
48 
 
 was a married man, and, in addition to having had a free 
 grant of land from me, had received many proofs of my royal 
 favour and kindness. This person, without any provocation 
 whatsoever, and solely instigated by his own evil passions, 
 collected together a number of armed followers, and, placing 
 himself at their head, raised the standard of revolt, for the 
 purpose of dethroning me. 
 
 " His attempt, however, proving unsuccessful, Chen Buswah 
 j&ed, and escaped to the British frontier, having, previously to 
 his so doing, cruelly tortured, and afterwards poisoned, a 
 person who had offended him, besides having, during his 
 flight, killed two men, and severely wounded one, who had 
 endeavoured to intercept him. 
 
 " This atrocious criminal has, I am sorry to say, received 
 protection from Mr. Casamajor, the British Resident at 
 Mysore : a circumstance the more extraordinary, since, from 
 the time that the friendship and aUiance between the British 
 Government and my ancestors first took place, we have been 
 blended together, like sugar and milk, or, as you would 
 express it, we have been hand-and-glove together, in short, 
 almost one and the same state. 
 
 " The extradition of criminals was, in fact, a constant and 
 invariable rule between us, and had, as is well known to 
 every British officer, been established for a very long time. 
 Acting, therefore, in perfect conformity therewith, I repeatedly 
 wrote to Mr. Casamajor, requiring him to deUver up to me 
 the said criminal; but although, in addition to so doing, I 
 thrice sent persons duly authorized to demand and receive 
 him, they as often returned empty-handed. I am sorry to 
 sav, that Mr. Casamajor still persists in his conduct, not even 
 deigning to reply to my requisitions. , 
 
 " I assure you, my dear sir, that the pain and mortification 
 occasioned me by this circumstance have been very great, 
 especially as I am, and always intend to be, the staunch and 
 faithful ally of the British Government. But it must be evi- 
 
49 
 
 dent to you, that the infringement of the above regulation 
 will, by lessening the respect of my subjects for me, cause 
 disaffection among them, and thus undermine the very founda- 
 tions of my authority. 
 
 " I cannot express the regret I feel at having to trouble a 
 British officer vpith my grievances ; but how am I to main- 
 tain my character as an independent prince, if my legitimate 
 authority be thus wrested from me ? 
 
 " Having, however, whenever called upon, cheerfully come 
 forward to assist the British Government with aid and rein- 
 forcements, I trust that I shall be treated by them in the 
 manner such services merit. 
 
 " In conclusion, I beg of you, my dear sir, to advise me 
 what I had best do in this matter. It is my sincere wish, I 
 assure you, still to observe all the terms of the alliance with 
 your Government as religiously as I have hitherto done ; and 
 aU I ask for, in return, is a reciprocal observance of the same 
 upon their part, and the consequent delivering up to me of 
 Chen Buswah and his adherents. 
 
 " I entreat you, therefore, to use your influence in amicably 
 arranging this untoward circumstance ; and by so doing you 
 will, at one and the same time, relieve me from great anxiety, 
 and ensure my lasting esteem and gratitude. 
 
 " And now, wha,t more can I say, than to desire you to 
 consider me as your friend, and that yoii will continue to 
 favour me, from time to time, with accounts of your health 
 and welfare. (Signed) "Veer Rajundee Wadeeb. 
 
 " To Wm. Jeaffreson, Esq." 
 
 The answer from Mr. Jeaffreson was as follows : — 
 
 (C%.) 
 " His Highness Samme Veer Rajunder Wadeer, Rajah of 
 
 Coorg, &c. &c. 
 " Honourable and dear Sir, — I have been favoured with 
 
50 
 
 your letter, and hasten to answer it, and sympathise with 
 your Highness on the distress which the circumstance 
 detailed in it must have occasioned, and which demands 
 immediate justice to render your future reign glorious, 
 secure, and happy, and which justice your treaty with the 
 English nation entitles yea to exact. I must, however, hope 
 and helieve, that there has been some misunderstanding, 
 or want of proper explanation, withheld from the Resident of 
 Mysore, or justice would have been dealt out to you, and the 
 murderers who have taken shelter under his jurisdiction given 
 up on a regulaf and formal request being made ; for this is 
 doubtless the first law of treaty between all nations, and one 
 that the English always hold the most sacred and inviolable. 
 It will afford me much satisfaction to render your Highness 
 any aid, and, accordingly, I beg to introduce the bearer of 
 this, by name Mohammed Ghyeasoodden Mooftee, a gentleman 
 wel acquainted with native law, as well as English manners 
 and customs, and native courts. He will confer with your 
 Highness, and point out the most easy way to gain redress for 
 your past wrongs, as well as to prevent a recurrence of them 
 in future. My friend wUl obey your instructions, and com- 
 municate your Highness's pleasure to me. In the mean time, 
 I beg to assure your Highness that I shall ever remain 
 " Your sincere friend and well-wisher, 
 
 (Signed) " W. Jeaffkeson. 
 
 "Bombay, 12th Jan., 1833." 
 
 The well-meant and friendly endeavours of Mr. Jeaffreson 
 were of no avail ; and, as time passed on without any atten- 
 tion to the Rajah's representations and remonstrances, he 
 became irritated to such a degree, as to write to the British 
 authorities in a style and touB which has since caused him 
 much pain. Other circumstances also occurred about the 
 same time to widen the breach. The Rajah, who took great 
 dehght in seeing Englishmen, opened up Coorg by pubUc 
 
51 
 
 roads ; and, to render these more attractive to British tratel- 
 lers, erected bungalows at proper intervals, where they wefe 
 not only entertained at his cost, but occasionally presented 
 with gifts of considerable value. This profuse generosity led 
 to abuses : the Resident of Mysore interfered, and orders 
 were issued to prevent travellers from passing through Coorg 
 without permission of the British authorities. This proceed- 
 ing, which appeared to the Rajah a very arbitrary one, 
 originated many angry discussions and disputes. 
 
 Nearly two years now passed, during which the breach 
 was still further widened by disaffected persons, who, coming 
 from Mysore, urged the Rajah to bid defiance to the East 
 India Company, assuring him that he would receive powerful 
 aid from that country, where, it was well known, disaffection 
 existed. The conduct of the Company also, in stopping, as 
 they now did, the payment of the interest due to him as their 
 creditor and holder of their public securities, exasperated the 
 Rajah still further ; so that it cannot be wondered at, if, 
 yielding to the representations and advice of his Minister, 
 Buswapah, he ordered the barriers to be strengthened, abattis 
 to be formed, stockades to be erected, and every possible 
 means of defence to be prepared. 
 
 Whatever may be the opinion formed of the Rajah's policy 
 in thus braving so powerful an adversary, it is certain, from 
 what is laid down by Vattel and other eminent jurisconsults, 
 that he had an undoubted legal right, both by the law of 
 nations, and particularly the customs recognised and acted 
 upon by friendly and allied states, to demand the extradition 
 of Chen Buswah, in order that he might be tried for the 
 crimes laid to his charge, in the country where it was alleged 
 he had committed them. 
 
 Matters continued in this unsatisfactory state until about 
 the close of the year 1833, 6r the beginning of 1834, vphen 
 the Madras Government deputed one of its members, Mr. 
 Graeme, to proceed to Mercara, for the purpose of discussing , 
 
52 
 
 the matter in dispute, and, if possible, of settling it amicably ; 
 but, most unfortunately, severe illness prevented the Rajah 
 from receiving that gentleman, who, in consequence, returned 
 to Bangalore. 
 
 It was not long after this that a person, calling himself 
 Canara Menon, arrived at the capital of Coorg. He stated 
 that he had come there, according to instructions, to meet 
 Mr. Graeme ; but, not being furnished with the proper creden- 
 tials, the Rajah believed him to be a spy, and caused him to 
 be arrested as such, intending to detain him as a hostage, in 
 order to compel the Company to do him (the Rajah) justice, 
 by delivering up Chen Buswah. 
 
 On becoming aware of this person's detention, Mr. Graeme 
 caused a demand to be made for his immediate release ; and 
 it was then, for the first time, that the Rajah understood that 
 Menon was Mr. Graeme's vakeel. A lengthened and ineffectual 
 correspondence ensued; neither party would yield, and the 
 Company, of course, supported their Resident, both in his 
 refusal to deliver up Chen Buswah, and in his demand to 
 have Canara Menon released unconditionally. On the 17th 
 of February, 1834, the Rajah received a letter from Lord 
 W. Bentinck, the Governor-General, in which, after remon- 
 strating with his Highness on the impropriety of his conduct, 
 his lordship adds : — 
 
 " But the deep interest which the British Government has 
 long felt in the welfare of the Coorg state, the hind friendship 
 and excellent services rendered hy your ancestors and prede- 
 cessors to the Government, as well as the recollection of the 
 circumstances attending the connection of the two states, which 
 since its commencement has been equally honourable to both, 
 still leads me to carry forbearance to the utmost limit. My 
 feelings towards you are those of parental kindness and solicitude ; 
 and I still venture to entertain an expectation of your return 
 to better feelings, and that recourse to hostile operations may 
 yet be averted. 
 
53 
 
 " It is my intention to proceed in a few days on my projected 
 visit to Mysore, and I liope to reach Bangalore about the 25th 
 instant. It will afford me sincere pleasure if, on my arrival 
 there, I shall receive a friendly answer. I trust that you will 
 be enabled to acquaint me of your having released Karoonagara 
 Menon, and forwarded him and his attendants in safety to the 
 'Company's territories. If this difficulty be removed, and 
 Satisfactory explanation on other points be afforded, negotia- 
 tions may be again commenced, and that harmony which 
 during a long period has so happily subsisted between the 
 states may continue uninterrupted." 
 
 The Rajah, acting, unfortunately, under the influence of evil 
 counsellors, did not allow this kind letter to change his deter- 
 mination. The consequence was, that a peremptory demand 
 was then made, intimating that, unless Canara Menon was 
 released within six days, and sent in safety to the Mysore 
 frontier, the Company would cease to treat the Rajah as a 
 friend and ally, and that hostilities would be forthwith com- 
 menced against him. Accordingly, soon after the expiration 
 of the specified time, the following proclamation was issued 
 by the Governor-General, declaring his Highness to be deposed, 
 and his country annexed to the Company's dominions. 
 
 Tfie Bast India Company s Proclamation. 
 
 The conduct of the Rajah of Coorg has, for a long time 
 past, been of such a nature as to render him unworthy of 
 the friendship and protection of the British Government. 
 
 Unmindful of his duty as a ruler, and regardless of his 
 obligations as a dependent ally of the East India Company, 
 he has been guilty of the greatest oppression and cruelty 
 towards the people subject to his government, and he has 
 evinced the most wanton disrespect of the authority of, and 
 the most hostile 'disposition towards the former, from whom 
 he and his ancestors have invariably received every degree 
 of kindness and protection. 
 
54 
 
 It would be needless to enumerate ihe several instances of 
 his misconduct ; but it is sufficient to state that, in conse- 
 quence of an asylum having been afforded in the British terri- 
 tories to his own sister, Dewammaji, and her husband, Channa 
 Basavappa, who, to preserve their lives, had fled from his 
 oppression, the Rajah has presumed to address letters replete 
 with the most insulting expressions to the Governor of Fort 
 St. George and the Governor-General of India ; that he has 
 assumed an attitude of hostility and defiance towards the 
 British Government; that he has received and encouraged the 
 proclaimed enemies of that Government ; and that he has 
 unjustifiably placed under restraint an old and faithful servant 
 of the Company, named Kulputty Kartiikara Manoon, who 
 had been formally deputed by the British representative for 
 the purpose of opening a friendly negotiation, thus committing 
 a gross outrage, not only upon the authority by whom the 
 above-named individual was deputed, but upon the established 
 rules of all civilized nations, by whom the persons of accredited 
 agents are invariably held sacred. 
 
 The ancient aUiance and the firm friendship which had so 
 happily subsisted between the predecessors of the present 
 Rajah and the Honourable Company, have caused his errors 
 to be treated uniformly with indulgence ; the most earnest 
 remonstrances have been in vain tried to bring him to a sense 
 of his obligations ; and it is not until further forbearance would 
 be culpable, that his Excellency the Right Honourable the 
 Governor in Council of Fort St. George, has resolved on 
 employing the only means left of vindicating the dignity of the 
 sovereign state, and of securing to the inhabitants of Coorg 
 the blessings of a just and equitable government. 
 
 It is accordingly hereby notified, that a British army is 
 about to invade the Coorg frontier ; that Virarajendra Wodear 
 is no longer to be considered as Rajah of Coorg ; that the 
 persons and property of all those who conduct themselves 
 peaceably, or in aid of the operations of the British troops, 
 
55 
 
 shall be respected ; and that such a system of government shall 
 be established as may seem best calculated to secure the 
 happiness of the people. 
 
 It is also hereby made known to all British subjects who 
 may have entered the service of Virarajendra Wodear, that 
 they are required to place themselves under the protection of 
 the British authorities, by whom they will be kindly received, 
 and their rights and privileges respected ; and that such of 
 them as may in any way render assistance to the enemy will 
 be considered as traitors, and punished accordingly. 
 
 This proclamation will be carefully made known in Chittle- 
 drog, Raidroog, Mysore, Malabo", and Canara, in order that 
 the relatives of such persons as have taken service in Coorg, 
 from those places or adjoining districts, may adopt the earliest 
 means of communicating its purport to the parties in whose 
 safety they are interested. 
 
 (Signed) J. S. Fraser, 
 
 Lieut.-Col. and Political Agent of His Excellency 
 the Right Hon. the Governor-General. 
 Issued at Bangalore^ this 15th day of March, 1834. 
 
 The die being now cast, the Rajah, in addition to his other 
 preparations, addressed proclamations to the people in the 
 Company's territories, calling upon the Hindoos and Mussul- 
 mans to rise, under the banners of the Haleri dynasty, against 
 the foreign despots, who aimed at the spoiling of castes, and 
 the destruction of the religion of Hindostan. 
 
 For the following fair, able, and interesting account of the 
 operations of the British forces, which now advanced upon 
 Coorg from the north, east, and west, we are indebted to Mr. 
 Murray's History of India : — 
 
 " The Coorg country, as to its capacity of coping with the 
 
 British power, might, from the small amount of its population, 
 
 have been considered as utterly contemptible. The extreme 
 
 " difficulty of the ground, however, composed altogether of lofty 
 
56 
 
 mountains, covered with the thickest and most entangled 
 jungle, defended by a race of determined valour, gave to it a 
 somewhat serious character. A force of 6000 men was placed 
 under Brigadier Lindsay, in whom was vested the supreme 
 command of the expedition ; and, marching from Mysore with 
 the main body, he entered Coorg on the 1st of April. The 
 troops were harassed by the difficulties of the road, which were 
 much increased by large trees cut down and laid across it, so 
 that they could scarcely accomplish above five miles in fourteen 
 hours. The enemy, however, did not venture to encounter 
 him, and all the stockades were found deserted. On the 6th, 
 the army entered, without resistance, Mudakerry (Mercara), 
 the capital, in which the British flag was displayed. The 
 campaign thus seemed to have been easily and triumphantly 
 terminated; and yet it acquired a somewhat disastrous cha- 
 racter, from the operations of three other detachments, which 
 entered the territory at different points. 
 
 " General Foulis, marching from Cannanore, on the western 
 coast, approached, on the 2nd April, the entrance of the Hugul 
 Ghaut, the principal opening from this side. The enemy .had 
 fortified it with three successive stockades, as well as with 
 breastworks and felled trees, at every hundred yards. Their 
 posts were driven in, and on the 3rd, at six in the morning, 
 the attack began. The first stockade was carried with trifling 
 loss ; but from that time till four in the afternoon, a series of 
 Very hard conflicts was maintained in carrying the successive 
 barriers, which the enemy defended with vigour, carrying on, 
 at the same time, a continued skirmishing from the wood. 
 The last stockade was only captured by attacking it in reverse, 
 as well as in flank. Next day, as the colonel continued to 
 advance, a flag of truce appeared, bearing a proposal from the 
 Rajah for a suspension of arms. He replied, that if the Coorg 
 troops did not fire, his would also abstain from doing so ; but 
 that nothing should prevent him from passing through the 
 Ghaut. He accordingly effected this march without opposi- 
 
57 
 
 tioii, and in the afternoon arrived at Hugul. His service was 
 now completed, with the loss of twelve killed and thirty-six 
 wounded ; but among the former was Lieutenant Erskine, a 
 very promising young officer. 
 
 " At the same time, Col. Waugh, from the north, advanced 
 upon a fortified position named Buck, seated on the brow of 
 a steep ascent, and accessible only by a narrow defile, through 
 a dense jungle. The assailing party was divided into two, 
 who were each to make a detour and take the stockade in 
 flank ; but being misled, it is said, by native guides, they both 
 met in front of that barrier. With characteristic valour, they 
 rushed forward to the attack ; but the place was so strong, 
 and so vigorously defended, that all their efforts were vain, 
 and their ranks were thinned by a most destructive fire. Upon 
 encountering this resistance, the commander directed Lieut. - 
 Colonel Mill to send part of his force to support the storming 
 party ; and immediately that officer, inspired by a too ardent 
 valour, led them on himself, and was followed by the whole 
 detachment. An impetuous assault was then commenced 
 against the stockade ; but being, in a great measure, built of 
 stone, it baffled every attempt, while a most murderous fire 
 issued from it against our countrymen. Mill was shot dead 
 on the spot, and several, while vainly attempting to rescue his 
 body, fell around him. Major Bird then determined to with- 
 draw the party, and, with little additional loss, brought it 
 under cover. In this most unfortunate affair, about 48 were 
 killed, including three officers, and 118 wounded. 
 
 "Another column, under Lieutenant- Colonel Jackson, ad- 
 vanced from Mangalore upon a position named BuUary Pett ; 
 and this officer learning that there was a strong stockade five 
 miles in front of him, sent Captain Noble with a detachment 
 to reconnoitre it. The latter made his way through a narrow 
 and winding path, till he arrived in front of the barrier ; and, 
 having completed his reconnaissance, he began his return, 
 when a running fire was instantly commenced from among 
 
58 
 
 the bushes. His party continued exposed, during the whole 
 of their retreat, to this assault from an invisible foe, whom 
 they could neither elude nor repel; and the casualties 
 amounted to 30 killed and 36 wounded. 
 
 " Colonel Jackson, after considering this loss, and the 
 reported strength of the position, thought it impossible to 
 attempt carrying the stockade without further reinforcements, 
 and fell back upon Coombla." 
 
 It must, doubtless, appear singular to all who read the 
 above narration, that Brigadier Lindsay should have been 
 able to enter Mercara without encountering any opposition 
 (the stockades having been deserted), while on every other 
 point so desperate and successful a resistance had been made ; 
 but the fact is, that upon the Rajah's retiring to Nalkanader, 
 the Dewans Bopu and Ponappa, who were left at Mercara, 
 determined, in conjunction with their friends, to betray their 
 unfortunate master, and surrender the capital to the Company. 
 Accordingly the Dewan Bopu, with a party of 400 Coorgs, 
 went to meet Colonel Fraser, the Agent of the Governor- 
 General, and, after surrendering themselves to him, conducted 
 the Company's troops to the capital. 
 
 The Rajah finding himself now in actual hostUe collision 
 with the British Government, whom he had been taught, from 
 his childhood, to consider as the friend and protector of his 
 family, became deeply distressed, and immediately despatched 
 flags of truce to all the columns, thereby putting a stop, at 
 once, to further bloodshed. It is evident, from the determined 
 stand made at the stockades attacked by Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Mill and Lieutenant-Colonel Jackson, that had his Highness 
 allowed the fighting to continue, not only the loss to the 
 British would have been much more severe, but the issue of 
 the contest would have been doubtful, as the strongest stock- 
 ades, barriers, and ghauts, were all in possession of the armed 
 Coorgs, who were congregated in great force, and would have 
 defended themselves to the last ; besides which, the country 
 
59 
 
 had, at this time, risen to a man, and assembled in and around 
 the capital. 
 
 Simultaneously with the sending of the flags of truce, the 
 Rajah released Canara Menon, invested him with a khelat, 
 or dress of honour, presented him with an elephant and 
 many other valuable presents, and despatched him in all 
 honour and safety to the British camp. 
 
 Upon the occupation of the capital by Brigadier Lindsay, 
 Colonel Fraser, the Governor-General's Agent, sent a summons 
 to the Rajah at Nalkanader, to come in and surrender, which, 
 after a short delay only, he obeyed. Accordingly, on the 
 night of the 23rd of April, 1834, accompanied by his whole 
 family, a train of about 2000 attendants, mostly unarmed, 
 and fifty palanquins containing his female establishment, he 
 arrived at Mercara, and reoccupied his palace, where he re- 
 mained a close prisoner. 
 
 On the 25th of April, Captain Carpenter had an interview 
 with the Rajah at the palace, and informed him that he had 
 instructions to conduct his Highness, as a state prisoner, to- 
 gether with his family, to Bangalore. A few hours after this 
 communication, the Rajah and his whole family began their 
 march, after having been required to surrender, and having 
 accordingly surrendered, to the British authorities his treasure 
 and valuables, amounting to about 15 or 16 lacs of rupees, or 
 £150,000 or £160,000 sterling, his Highness and his family 
 having been allowed to retain nothing more than their clothes 
 and ornaments in actual use. Anxious to save something, if 
 possible, from the rapacious hands of his conquerors, the 
 Rajah had, at Sirtekote, the first halting-place, caused a pit to 
 be dug, by those of his attendants in whom he placed the 
 greatest confidence, in the ground on which stood the kitchen 
 tent. In this pit he had deposited a considerable amount of gold 
 he had managed to conceal in his own palanquin, and in those 
 of his wives. After the gold had been so buried, and the men 
 present made to swear a solemn oath to the Rajah, that they 
 
60 
 
 would faithfully keep the secret, the ground was again 
 levelled, and kitchen fires lighted upon it. As might well be 
 expected, the Rajah was almost immediately betrayed by one 
 of his servants, a certain Mandria Uttaya of Nalkanader. 
 This man, having secretly returned to the spot where the 
 treasure was concealed, removed a considerable portion of it 
 for his own use, intending to repeat his visits as opportunity 
 might serve ; but suspicions having been excited, on account 
 of the quantity of gold in his possession, he was compelled 
 to confess the whole affair ; and the remainder of the treasure, 
 having been recovered, was afterwards, together with the 
 moneys and valuables above mentioned, distributed as prize 
 money among the troops engaged in the expedition. 
 
 The melancholy march now proceeded for some time 
 through the Rajah's own country, and if anything could add 
 to its painful character, it was to see the inhabitants of the 
 different villages through which it passed rushing out, crowding 
 round their Rajah, and with every demonstration of sincere 
 attachment lamenting his departure from among them. 
 
 As further proof of the esteem in which the Rajah was 
 held by his subjects, it may be mentioned, that on his being 
 deposed, as above, he issued a written order addressed to his 
 Dewan, Soobadar, Moonshee, &c. &c., requiring them to 
 state, in writing, the manner in which he had governed the 
 "country from the time of his assuming the reins of government 
 up to his dethronement, and whether they were satisfied or 
 not with his system of government. 
 
 The reply to this was a declaration signed by more than- 
 400 persons, expressive of their entire satisfaction with the 
 manner in which the Rajah had conducted his government 
 and administered justice among them. This document is 
 still in the possession of his Highness. 
 
 We add another equally important and convincing testi- 
 monial : — 
 
61 
 
 " The following representation is made by the under-signed 
 officials, Wallundar, and inhabitants of Coorg (here is inserted 
 a long list of official titles, such as Curleka, Dewan, Shamlyn, 
 &c.) in consequence of having been graciously desired to say, 
 without fear or doubt, what system of government we wish to 
 be estabhshed in Coorg, the Rajah Veer Rajundeer Wadeer 
 being deposed. 
 
 " 1. We do not wish that any substitute should be placed 
 over us as a Rajah. We all consent to be governed according 
 to the rules and customs of the British Government, if an 
 English Sudar is placed over us to examine into om' grievances 
 and to protect us. 
 
 " 2. The removal from this country to another place of 
 Veer Rajundeer Wadeer, the descendant of that race which 
 has, for so many generations, governed us and our forefathers, 
 causes us pain and brings shame to us. We therefore repre- 
 sent our grief to the British Government, and pray that the 
 JRajah may be allowed to remain here, although deprived of 
 all his power and authority. We will still remain obedient 
 to the great Government. In the time of the Sultan, the 
 great Rajah and his subjects were strictly faithful servants of 
 the Superior Government. If, in the same manner, and as we 
 have before petitioned, the Rajah is retained, and protected 
 here, all the people of this country will greatly rejoice. What 
 more shall we state to those who know all things ? 
 
 "Dated April 13, 1834." 
 
 . On the 12th of May the Rajah and suite reached Banga- 
 lore ; there he remained for some time a close prisoner, until 
 removed to the Fort of Vellore, where he continued until the 
 March following, when he and his family were escorted to 
 Benares, in Hindostan, the place assigned as his future resi- 
 dence, an annual pension being given him of 60,000 rupees, 
 or £6000 sterling. 
 
 Let us here pause to ask if the East India Company were 
 
62 
 
 justified in this their severe treatment of the unfortunate 
 Rajah. When the eminent services rendered to them by his 
 ancestors, more especially by his illustrious uncle Veer Rajun- 
 der Wadeer, are considered — services but for which they never 
 could have crushed the power of their mortal foe, Tippoo 
 Sultan, surely some lesser punishment than the loss of his 
 dominions, the plunder of his private treasures, and even the 
 confiscation, contrary to the law of nations,^ of \ns, funded pro- 
 perty, might have been meted out to him. Even Mr. Thornton, 
 the paid historian and apologist of the Company's iniquitous 
 deeds, is compelled to offer some apology for an act which 
 the not very scrupulous Catherine 11. would have hesitated to 
 perpetrate. " The annexation," he observes, " of the con- 
 quered territory to the British dominions is not, in the first 
 view, so clearly justifiable ; but a very few words of explanation 
 will show that, in this instance also, the right course was 
 taken. The Rajah was childless, and he had taken efiectual 
 measures to cut ofi" all pretensions to the succession not 
 derived from himself." There can be no better answer to 
 both these assertions than that the Rajah had a son. Prince 
 Chitter Shuiker, who was born in the year 1833, and was 
 consequently two years old at the time of his father's deposal. 
 What then becomes of Mr. Thornton's attempt at white- 
 washing his patrons ? But it was the Rajah's misfortune to 
 be conquered by a corporation, a trading corporation, whose 
 sole instinct is the auri ccecus amor, and whose moral responsi- 
 bility being nil, is perfectly indifferent as to the means by 
 which it accomplishes its ends. 
 
 For seventeen years the Rajah remained a state prisoner 
 at Benares ; with how much patience and dignity (qualities 
 rarely found under such circumstances, except in a mind at 
 ease with itself) he bore his severe misfortunes, the following 
 letters will amply testify : — 
 
 ' See Vattel'e Law of Nations, book ii. u. 18, s. 344. 
 
63 
 
 The Earl of Mlenborcmgh, Governor-General of India, to his 
 Highness Veer Bajunder Wadeer, Benares. 
 
 Allahabad, May 20th, 1841-3. 
 
 SiR,^I can assure you that I sympathise very sincerely 
 with your Highness in the position in which you and your 
 young family are placed. 
 
 Your Highness must be fully aware that there are public 
 considerations which often prevent the indulgence of personal 
 feelings, and that men placed in high stations are those who 
 are least permitted to follow the dictates of the heart. 
 
 Before I can venture to decide upon your Highness's appeal 
 to me, I must make myself acquainted with circumstances of 
 which, in consequence of my recent arrival in India, I am not 
 sufficiently informed, and I must communicate with the 
 Governments of Madras and Bombay, 
 
 The concurrent testimony of all my countryman, who have had 
 the good fortune to become personally acquainted with your 
 Highness, in favour of your character and conduct during your 
 residence at Benares, much strengthens my own feelings of sym- 
 pathy, and will make me very desirous that it should be found 
 practicable to make some arrangement satisfactory to your 
 Highness, and honourable to your exalted family. 
 
 I remain, with much regard and consideration. 
 Your Highness's faithful friend, 
 
 (Signed) Ellenborough. 
 
 Minute recorded by Lieut. -Colonel Carpenter, Agent to the 
 Governor-General of India. 
 
 Benares, 1st January, 1848. 
 
 The period for my departure from Benares and return to 
 Europe having arrived, I cannot part with his Highness the 
 Rajah of Coorg without giving him a testimonial of the senti- 
 ments with which he has inspired me. 
 
04 
 
 Since the Rajah quitted his palace in Coorg, in April, 1834, 
 he has been under my charge, and I have infinite satisfaction 
 in recording the quiet, peaceable, and exemplary behaviour of 
 his Highness, during the long period of nearly fourteen years 
 that I have been a constant observer of his conduct, and which 
 has been several times favourably noticed in my various reports 
 to the Supreme Government. 
 
 I am aware that, subsequent to the Rajah's deposal, nume- 
 rous charges of cruelty and oppression, whilst he reigned in 
 Coorg, have been brought against him; but I am bound in 
 justice to declare, that, during the whole time he has been 
 under my care, no evidence of a cruel disposition has ever been 
 exhibited ; on the contrary, his manners and habits are mild 
 and gentle in the extreme, and he has" invariably won the 
 regard and esteem of all parties with whom he came in contact 
 since he quitted Coorg. Unfortunately, previous to that event, 
 he had never seen more than half a dozen European officers in 
 his life. The Rajah is a perfect specimen of an innate gentle- 
 man, though naturally reserved and shy, so that it becomes 
 necessary to know him well to appreciate his many good and 
 amiable qualities : he is particularly susceptible of attention and 
 Mndness. 
 
 In conclusion, I earnestly recommend him and his family to 
 consideration, and heartily and sincerely bid him farewell, with 
 my best and warmest wishes that comfort and happiness may 
 attend them in every situation, and under all circumstances. 
 The Rajah's numerous children are especial objects of care and 
 anxiety to him, owing to the extreme difficulty of providing 
 for their future welfare, more particularly the little girl he is 
 in the habit of dressing in the European style. Any kindness 
 to her is peculiarly gratifying to the Rajah, and he is very 
 desirous that she shall be educated and brought up as if she 
 were an European : whatever arrangements he may wish to 
 make for the future provision of the child, will, I trust, receive 
 
65 
 
 the assistance and support of my successor, as far as it may 
 be in his power to grant it. 
 
 (Signed) T. D. Carpenteb, 
 
 Lieut.-Col. and Governor-General's Agent. 
 
 Cavrapore, November 8th, 1849. 
 
 My dear Rajah, — I was very sorry to find that I omitted, 
 on the day of my departure from Benares, to bid you farewell. 
 I can assure you that I separated from you with much regret ; 
 for during our intercourse, extending, as it did, over a period 
 of upwards of eighteen months, your mild and gentlemanlike 
 manners, and your very correct conduct on all occasions, com- 
 pletely won my good opinion and esteem. I shall ever feel a 
 deep interest in the welfare of yourself and family, and I sin- 
 cerely hope that the Court of Directors will sanction your 
 proceeding to England, and your taking your daughter to that 
 country to be educated there, because I think that a visit to 
 England would prove a source of great amusement and plea- 
 sure to yourself, and an English education could not fail to be 
 of the utmost advantage to your daughter. 
 
 I hope that you will write to me sometimes, for I should 
 derive great pleasure in learning any particulars concerning 
 yourself and your interesting family. 
 
 Mrs. Macgregor unites with myself in wishing you and 
 yours every happiness ; and I hope you will always consider 
 me, my dear Rajah, your sincere friend, 
 
 (Signed) G. H. Macgbegor. 
 
 In the year 1848, the Rajah applied to the local Govern- 
 ment for leave of absence to visit England. This journey was 
 projected with the view of accomplishing the object nearest to 
 his heart, that of carrying with him his daughter, the Princess 
 Gouramma, in order that, on her arrival in this country, she 
 might be baptized, educated, and brought up in the Christian 
 faith, and, at the same time, acquire English manners and 
 
66 
 
 English habits. The letter addressed by the Rajah to the 
 Governor-General, for leave of absence, was as follows : — 
 
 Benares, March 2, 1848. 
 
 My Lord, — I desire to address your lordship on a subject 
 which is near my heart, although I feel it an impropriety on 
 my part to enter into a detail of family matters. 
 
 My manner of life, by the blessing of God, and as man can 
 testify, for the last fourteen years that I have been under the 
 care and keeping of Government, has been without reproach. 
 Colonel Carpenter knows this, he having been uniformly with 
 me since I left my country ; and, besides this, several gentlemen 
 holding high offices at this place can give their testimony. 
 
 When I resided in my own country, I had a predilection 
 for European customs ; subsequently to my residence in this 
 province, this impression has been confirmed ; and, adverting 
 to the principles of the Christian religion as taught by its 
 Founder, it has become my anxious wish that my daughter 
 should receive a Christian education in England. 
 
 But in this design I can receive no aid from those with 
 whom I have affinity ; and, situated as I am here, I am unable 
 to effect it. My daughter has, for some time past, adopted 
 English habits and manners. This is known to Colonel 
 Carpenter and other officers resident at this station, who can 
 testify to it, if necessary. 
 
 I am anxious that she should proceed to England, to be 
 brought up at such a place and in such a manner as the 
 daughter of an English nobleman would receive her education. 
 
 If her gracious Majesty Queen Victoria should extend her 
 favour also to my daughter, my happiness would be complete. 
 
 I trust the British Government will not object to my 
 daughter, through your lordship's gracious interposition, 
 proceeding to Eijgland, suitably to her rank and condition. 
 The love of a parent to his child is obvious. I place my 
 confidence in your lordship's kindness, and state my request 
 
67 
 
 exactly as I wish. I am the first of native chiefs, your 
 lordship will observe, who has made this proposition. My 
 daughter's age is six years and six months ; and at this tender 
 age the good effects of education are more certain than at a 
 later period. It is not a great matter for your lordship to 
 assent to my request. We look to you for indulgent con- 
 sideration. Believe me to be sincere in my Well-wishes, and 
 to be anxious for an early intimation of assent to my request. 
 I remain, &c., 
 (Signed) Veek Rajunder Wadeer, 
 To the Right Hon. Earl DSIhousie, Rajah of Coorg. 
 
 Governor-General of India, &c. 
 
 After an interval of more than a year and a half, the Rajah 
 received the Governor-General's reply. It was as follows : — 
 
 Translation of a Khurreeta (^Letter) from the Most Nolle the 
 Marquis Dalliousie, Governor-General of India, to his 
 Highness Rajunder Wadeer, Bajah of Coorg. Dated 31«^ 
 August, 1849. 
 
 (After compliments :) — 
 I have much pleasure in acknowledging the receipt of your 
 friendly letter, announcing your intention to proceed to 
 England, together with a miniature of your daughter, whom 
 I had the pleasure of meeting at Benares, and entertain great 
 regard for her. The resemblance of this picture to the 
 original is striking, and therefore gratifies me very much. 
 With respect to your intention to visit England, I am unable 
 to give you permission until I obtain the sanction of the 
 Honourable the Court of Directors. In order to obtain their 
 early sanction, I have communicated with the Honourable 
 Court. 
 
 I hope you may always consider me your sincere friend and 
 well-wisher,^^ and continue to favour me with an account of 
 your health and welfare. — I am, &c., 
 
 (Signed) DAiiHdDsiE. 
 
6» 
 
 Above six months more elapsed before the arrival of the 
 wished-for permission, vrhich was conveyed in the following 
 terms : — 
 
 From, the Secretary to the Government of India, to the Super- 
 intendent of the Ex-Rajah of Coorg. 
 Foreign Department. From Supt. No. 35, dated 25th July, 
 1849, to do. No. 1487, dated 21st August, 1849. 
 
 Dated Fort William, 20th March, 1850. 
 
 Sib, — 1. With reference to the correspondence on the 
 subject of the wish of the Ex-Rajah of Coorg to send one of 
 his daughters to England for the purpose of receiving a 
 Christian education, and his desire to accompany her thither, 
 I am directed by the Governor-General in Council to inform 
 you that the Honourable the Court of Directors, to whom 
 the matter had been referred, has been pleased to consent to 
 the visit, and to sanction the Rajah's absence from India for 
 one year, with the understanding, however, that the Govern- 
 ment are to be put to no expense on his account. 
 
 2. You are requested to intimate to the Rajah the Honour- 
 able Company's decision, and to make such arrangements for 
 his Highness' journey as he may desire, reporting the same 
 for the information of the Government. — I have, &c., 
 
 (Signed) H. M. Elliot. 
 
 As it occurred to the Rajah that his visit to England, 
 determined upon for another and very diflPerent purpose, 
 might afford him an opportunity of bringing before the Home 
 Department of the Indian Government, certain pecuniary 
 claims (to be hereafter explained), which he had against the 
 East India Company, he communicated the circumstance, in 
 writing, to the late Major Stewart, the Governor's agent at 
 Benares, who suggested that, in order to prevent any doubts 
 arising as to the openness and straightforward character of 
 his (the Rajah's) proceedings, he should apprise the Local 
 
69 
 
 Government of his intention so to do. In accordance with 
 his advice, the Rajah formally intimated, the same to the 
 Governor-General of India, by the following letter which he 
 despatched two months previous to his leaving Benares : — 
 
 Translation of an Extract of a Letter from his Highness the 
 
 Rajah of Coorg, addressed to the Governor-General of 
 
 India, and forwarded to Major Stewart, dated %th of 
 
 October, 1851 :— 
 
 " You are aware that I have taken leave to go to England, 
 
 on account of my daughter. On my arrival in that country, 
 
 I intend to represent there those of my circumstances which 
 
 I have already done to your Government. I have, therefore, 
 
 informed you on the subject, considering you as my great 
 
 friend." 
 
 That this intimation duly reached the high authority for 
 w^hom it was intended, is proved by the following translation 
 of a letter from Major Stewart to his Highness the Rajah of 
 Coorg, dated 10th October, 1851 :— 
 
 " Your letter, enclosing one to the address of the Governor- 
 General, has been received, and its contents are known. 
 
 " In accordance to your wishes, the letter has been this day 
 sent to his lordship." 
 
 It will be observed that, in the letter addressed by Mr. 
 Elliot to Major Stewart, not the least intention is expressed 
 of appointing any person to accompany the Rajah to England, 
 an arrangement which could, therefore, only have been made 
 at the suggestion of the Major : this will be fully evident 
 from the following : — 
 
 Translation of a Letter from the Secretary to the Government, 
 dated nth December, 1850, No. 2835, in reply to a Letter 
 of this Residency, dated 'ilth ultimo, on the subject of the 
 arrangement for the Departure of his Highness the Rajah 
 of Coorg to England. 
 
70 
 
 " The Rajah should be informed, that he is deposed, and is 
 under the charge of the Government agent at Benares, and it 
 has been a matter of favour that permission is granted to his 
 Highness to proceed to England. The necessity of an IkglisTi- 
 man accompanying the Rajah is also approved by the Govern- 
 ment : that man should be a gentleman, and possessing the 
 confidence, and under the control of, the English Government. 
 No other Englishman should be allowed to accompany the 
 Rajah but the person who is selected by the Government, and 
 who may be going on a furlough to England. An engagement 
 should be entered into by that gentleman that he should 
 return to India after a year with the Rajah. The expense 
 of his journey should be incurred by the Rajah ; and on 
 the receipt of this letter the Rajah should be distinctly in- 
 formed that the expense of his journey, should be entirely 
 incurred by him, and that no Englishman, without the approval 
 of Government, shall be allowed to accompany him. The 
 Agent of Government is directed to find out a gentleman for 
 the above purpose, and to carry out those instructions with 
 every precaution." 
 
 On the 4th of September, 1851, Major Stewart wrote to 
 inform his Highness that Major Drummond, of the 3rd Bengal 
 Light Cavalry, had been appointed to accompany him to 
 England ; and the Rajah, in his reply, dated the 9th of the 
 same month, expressed his satisfaction at the selection of that 
 gentleman by the Government ; " for had I,'*' observes his 
 Highness, " of my own accord, engaged any other one for 
 the purpose, I should have been obliged to incur the expense ; 
 but, as he is appointed by the Government, lam relieved from 
 it, for which I am very grateful." 
 
 Major Stewart was determined that the Rajah should not 
 remain long in his agreeable error, and wrote the very next 
 day to say that his Highness was much mistaken in supposing 
 that he, the Rajah, would incur no expense on account of 
 
71 
 
 Major Drummond, for that, on the contrary, he must bear all 
 his charges, and that, if his Highness was not disposed to 
 pay them, he, Major Stewart, would report his refusal to the 
 Government, and prevent his going to England. 
 
 As if conscious that this selection of Major Drummond, 
 his particular friend, and who, be it observed, was not going 
 on furlough, might afterwards become the subject of animad- 
 version, Major Stewart most disingenuously endeavoured to 
 make it appear that he had mentioned the name of Major 
 Drummond to the Government authorities, at the Rajah's 
 particular request, an assertion which his Highness denied 
 most emphatically. The Rajah now requested Major Stewart 
 to inform him what would be the nature and amount of the 
 charges he was to incur on Major Drummond's account. The 
 Resident, as if desirous of leaving his friend as wide a margin 
 as possible, declined giving an explicit answer, but took the 
 opportunity of notifying to his Highness that he would also 
 have to defray Mrs. Drummond's passage to England. 
 
 The Rajah, naturally indignant at such an imposition, 
 remonstrated with Major Stewart upon the subject, riepre- 
 senting to him that as he (the Rajah) had already selected 
 competent female attendants for his daughter, he had no need 
 whatever for Mrs. Drummond's services. His expostulations, 
 as might be expected, were again met by the threat of his 
 journey being prevented, and he had, therefore, no alternative 
 but to acquiesce. 
 
 Major Stewart subsequently notified to the Rajah that the 
 expenses he would have to defray for Major Drummond were : 
 
 One year's salary, at £80 per month, £960 
 
 Passage money from Benares to Calcutta, 35 
 
 Do. from Calcutta to London, . 128 
 
 Do. for Mrs. Drummond, . . 128 
 
 Do. for Major D.'s return to India, 135 
 
 Total, . £1376 
 
72 
 
 If a desire to oblige his friend may be urged as an excuse 
 for Major Stewart, in thus saddling the unfortunate Rajah 
 with such an expense for a twelvemonth's trip to England, 
 surely there can no justification be found for the East India 
 Company's having sanctioned so monstrous a charge^a 
 charge stiU further increased by an item of £395. 6s. Id. for 
 hotel charges, made by Major Drummond, as incurred by him 
 at Mivart's establishment in London, where he and Mrs. 
 Drummond had remained from the 38th of May, 1852, to - 
 the 2nd of May, 1853. 
 
 A memorial, from which the preceding facts are extracts, 
 was forwarded, on the 16th December, 1856, to the Court of 
 Directors of the Hon. East India Company, praying them to 
 take the matter into their own hands, so as to render it un- 
 necessary for the Rajah to have recourse to legal measures for 
 compelling Major Drummond to refund the money he had 
 deducted from the Rajah's allowance, for the expenses he (the 
 Major) had incurred at Mivart's Hotel, the amount of which, 
 as before stated, was £395. 6s. Id. 
 
 By a letter dated the 9th March, 1857, the Court of Directors 
 decline acceding to the Rajah's request, enclosing, at the same 
 time, the copy of a letter from Major Drummond, purporting 
 to be a reply to the Rajah's memorial. 
 
 Major Drummond commences by stating that he was, by 
 no means, the first individual proposed by Major Stewart, to 
 the Rajah ; for that several gentlemen, and especially Major 
 Sandeman, had been named, but rejected by his Highness. 
 That Major Sandeman was to have received from the Rajah 
 20,000 rupees, for accompanying him to England, but that the 
 Major declined the appointment, induced so to do (to use his 
 own words), " by the disingenuousness of the Rajah, and the 
 foreshadowing of the consequences." Now, the fact is, that 
 Major Sandeman had promised, provided the Rajah would 
 consent to his accompanying him to England upon the above 
 terms, to reinstate him on his throne, by legal means ; when, 
 
73 
 
 however, the Rajah pressed him to sign a formal document to 
 that effect, he declined so doing. Thus the intended engage- 
 ment was at an end, and hence the charge of disingenuoumess 
 brought by the Major against the Rajah. 
 
 Major Drummond is wholly silent as to four most import- 
 ant facts : — 1 . That he (Major Drummond) was the intimate 
 friend of Major Stewart. 3. That he (Major Drummond) was 
 not going on a furlough to England, which was one of the 
 provisos of the Indian authorities. 3. That Major Stewart 
 threatened the Rajah, if he did not acquiesce in Major 
 Drummond's appointment, he would inform the Governor- 
 General of his refusal, and prevent his going to England at all. 
 4. That Major Drummond was a perfect stranger to the Rajah 
 before he came to Benares. — As to Mrs. Drummond's ap- 
 pointment, the Rajah, having already engaged proper female 
 attendants for his daughter, could not possibly have any reason 
 for saddling himself with this fresh expense. He therefore 
 remonstrated with Major Stewart upon the subject; but was 
 again met with the same threat, that he should not proceed to 
 the British shores unless he complied with this fresh item. 
 
 Major Drummond quotes a demi-official letter of his friend, 
 in which Major Stewart -says, " I beg to state that hotel ex- 
 penses, both for you and Mrs. Drummond, as long as she had 
 charge of the Rajah's daughter, were expressly considered part 
 of the expenses to be defrayed by him during the time of his 
 absence from Benares." 
 
 If such was indeed the case, it may be naturally asked, 
 why did Major Stewart, when the Rajah wrote to him to inquire 
 what his expenses would really be, reply, in his letter of the 
 24th September, 1851, "I cannot describe with accuracy 
 what will be incurred for Major Drummond in England " ? 
 
 In order to prove that the Rajah was aware that he should 
 have to pay the said hotel charges. Major Drummond produces 
 the copy of a deed lodged in Major Stewart's office, purporting 
 to have been entered into by the Rajah, and stating that 
 
74 
 
 " further (that is in addition to the monthly salary of 800 
 rupees), he would have to pay all travelling, hotel, and other 
 expenses." No such deed was ever signed by the Rajah, and 
 he challenges Major Drummond to produce either the original 
 or a duly authenticated copy of it. 
 
 The fact of the Rajah's paying the hotel charges at Calcutta, 
 and even in London, so long as Major Drummond remained 
 in his company, is no proof that he had bound himself to do 
 so ; still less is it a justification for the Major's continuing to 
 run up fresh expenses at the hotel after the Rajah had left it. 
 
 Major Drummond asserts that the Rajah has laid himself 
 open to a charge of inconsistency, because in his letter of the 
 20th December, 1853, he stated " that, with the exception of 
 800 rupees (£80) per month, the Rajah is not aware that he 
 has to incur any other expense on account of Major Drum- 
 mond, either as hotel charges or otherwise," while in Major 
 Drummond's note of the 24th of Julys 1852, or five months 
 previously, distinct reference was made to hotel and other 
 expenses on account of the Rajah. 
 
 Major Drummond here puts a very forced construction on 
 the Rajah's words, by making them appear to say, that he (the 
 Rajah) did not know of any such charges having been made 
 by the Major ; whereas the obvious meaning of his Highness 
 was, that he was not aware that his defraying of such charges 
 formed any part of the original engagement between the 
 parties. 
 
 The hotel charges in question were incurred by Majof 
 Drummond after the Rajah had quitted the hotel (Mivart's), 
 where Major Drummond still continued to remain, although 
 the Rajah ofiered him suitable accommodation in the residence 
 he had engaged at Brompton, and notwithstanding that, as 
 his Highness was under his charge, it was his duty to be as 
 near him as possible. 
 
 Lastly, Major Drummond endeavours to account for his 
 refusal to submit his accounts to the Rajah, by stating that 
 
75 
 
 he considered it his duty to forward them to the Governor- 
 General's agent at Benares. 
 
 It appears, however, that the Major acted prematurely in so 
 doing, and that his Honourable Employers took a far different 
 view of the matter, since by their letter of the 14th September, 
 1854, they directed him to forward to the Rajah a copy of 
 the said account. 
 
 It was mentioned at page 68, that one of the Rajah's 
 motives for coming to England was the prosecution of certain 
 pecuniary claims he had against the East India Company. 
 The nature of those claims is as follows. 
 
 At the time the Rajah surrendered himself and family to 
 Colonel (now General) James S. Eraser, he was a creditor of 
 the East India Company's Government to a very large amount, 
 as the holder of public stock of that Government, being part 
 of their funded Indian debt, secured by, and the principal 
 and interest payable out of, their territorial revenues. This 
 pubUc stock was represented by certain Government secu- 
 rities, or Government promissory notes, in the nature of 
 Exchequer Bills, and called. Company's paper. Part of that 
 stock actually stood in the books of the Hon. East India 
 Company, and part of the said securities was actually made 
 out, in the individual name of the Rajah. 
 
 The money so invested in, and secured by. Government 
 securities was originally lent to the Company's Government 
 in divers amounts, and at divers times, by the late Veer 
 Rajundur Wadeer, paternal uncle of the Rajah, and by the 
 late Ling Rajundur Wadeer, his father, both formerly and 
 successively Rajahs of Coorg. The late Rajah Ling Rajundur 
 Wadeer succeeded his brother the Rajah Veer Rajundur 
 Wadeer, and the now deposed Rajah again succeeded, on the 
 death of his father, which happened in the year 1821, by right 
 of inheritance, to the sovereignty of Coorg, as the sole heir 
 and representative by Hindoo law. 
 
 The Rajah was accordingly, at the time of the occupation of 
 
76 
 
 his country by British troops, entitled to, and held, the said 
 Government stock and Government securities. These he had 
 for some considerable time previously held and continued to 
 hold without any doubt or suspicion,' placing confidence in 
 the good faith of the Company's Government, and feeling safe 
 under the security and protection of the law of nations, the 
 principles of which the Company's Government, in common 
 with all civilized Governments, respect and observe. 
 
 One of those Government securities held by his Highness, 
 and which had been made out in his own individual name, was 
 to secure the payment to him of the sum of 203,900 sicca 
 rupees, the equivalent of which in British sterling money 
 is £22,938, together with interest payable thereon in the 
 mean time, and half yearly, at and after the rate of £4 per 
 cent, per annum. 
 
 The Government security was dated 1st May, 1832, and 
 registered as No. 1733 of the Government Four per Cent. 
 Loan of 1832-3. The following is a copy of this voucher : — 
 
 Tort Wdham, the 1st of May, 1852. 
 Promissory note at four per cent, for 203,900 Calcutta 
 sicca rupees. Registered at the Accountant- General's Office, 
 No. 1733, of 1832-33. 
 
 (Signed) J. Alexander, 
 
 Accountant-General. 
 
 The Governor- General in Council does hereby acknowledge 
 to have received from Veer Rajundur Wadeer, Rajah of Coorg, 
 the sum of 203,900 Calcutta sicca rupees, as a loan to the 
 Honourable the United Company of Merchants of England 
 trading to the East Indies, and does hereby promise, for and 
 on behalf of the said United Company, to repay the said loan, 
 by paying the said sum of 203,900 sicca rupees, to Veer 
 Rajundur Wadeer of Coorg, his executors or administrators, 
 or his or their order, on demand at the General Treasury at 
 Fort William, after the expiration of three months' notice of 
 
77 
 
 payment to be given by the Governor-General in Council, iii 
 the Government Gazette, and to pay the interest accruing on 
 the said su,m of 303,900 sicca rupees at the rate of four 
 per cent, per annum, by half-yearly payments, at the General 
 Treasury of Fort William, to the said Veer Rajundur Wadeer, 
 Rajah of Coorg, his executors or administrators, or his or 
 their order, until the expiration of three months after such 
 notice of payment aforesaid, when the amount of interest will 
 be payable with the principal, and such notice being consi- 
 dered as equivalent to a tender of payment, at the period 
 appointed for the discharge of this note all further interest 
 shall cease. The Governor- General in Council hereby further 
 engages that the said loan shall not be paid off before the 1st 
 of May, 1834. 
 
 Signed, by the authority of the Governor-General in Council, 
 
 H. J. Peince, 
 Secretary to the Government. 
 
 Received in cash the twelve months' interest due on this 
 note from 1st May, 1832, to the 1st May, 1833, sicca 
 rupees (8156) eight thousand one hundred and fifty-six. 
 
 Previous to the last-mentioned date, his Highness, as sole 
 heir-at-law and representative by Hindoo law of his deceased 
 father, the said Rajah Ling Rajundur Wadeer, held another 
 Government security, or Company's paper, registered as 
 3596 of 1822-3, and a like amount of Government stock in 
 the Madras 5 per cent. loan. This amount, in and by that 
 Government security, was acknowledged to have been received 
 from the said Rajah Ling Rajundur Wadeer by the Governor 
 in Council of Madras as a loan ; and the Governor in Council, 
 on behalf of the East India Company, promised to repay it to 
 him, his executors or administrators, or to his or their order, 
 with interest in the mean time payable half-yearly at the rate 
 of 5 per cent, per annum. Prom the time of the death of his 
 father, the Rajah received from the Madras Government the 
 
78 
 
 interest on this Government security as it accrued dde and 
 payable, the Government taking receipts from his Highness, 
 on the back of the said security, for the interest from time to 
 time paid to him according to usage, which receipts were 
 granted in the Rajah's own individual name. 
 
 The Rajah was therefore acknowledged to be entitled to the 
 said Government security, and the money thereby secured, in 
 succession to his said father ; and his Highness accordingly 
 continued to receive such interest until the date hereinafter 
 mentioned. 
 
 Notice was afterwards given by the East India Company's 
 Government that the said 5 per cent, loan would be paid off, 
 and the Rajah thereupon, instead of demanding and receiving 
 payment of the amount of such last-mentioned Government 
 security (which he was then entitled to, and would have un- 
 doubtedly received from the Madras Government), elected 
 and agreed to transfer the amount due thereon to another 
 loan called the 4 per cent, loan of the Bengal Government, of 
 the 7th of June, 1831, and to receive a new Government 
 security to secure a like amount of stock in that 4 per cent, 
 loan, upon giving up such 5 per cent. Government security. 
 
 This transfer was accordingly effected through the Resident 
 at Mysore, the political officer of the British Government, 
 who alone was authorised and empowered to hold political 
 relations and carry on all official communications with the 
 Rajah, as sovereign of Coorg. 
 
 The Rajah, in pursuance of this agreement, delivered up 
 the 5 per cent. Government security to that officer, who 
 thereupon granted to his Highness a formal written acknow- 
 ledgment, of which the following is a copy. That is to say : — 
 
 Mysore Residency, 20th December, 1831. 
 I hereby acknowledge that Veer Rajundur Wadeer, Rajah 
 of Coorg, has this day transferred into the Honourable Com- 
 pany's treasury a promissory note 3596 of 1822-28 for 
 
79 
 
 Calcutta sicca rupees, two lacs three thousand and nine hun- 
 dred in favour of Ling Rajundur Wadeer, late Rajah of Coorg, 
 for which he is entitled to receive a promissory note bearing 
 interest from the 1st of May, 1832, of the tenor and subject 
 to the conditions specified in the advertisement published in 
 the Government Gazette of the 9th of June, 1831, and inter- 
 mediately the same interest from the date of this acknowledg- 
 ment to the 30th of April, 1832. 
 
 (Signed) J. H. Casamajor, Resident. 
 
 The Rajah accordingly, in pursuance of that undertaking 
 on the part of the Resident at Mysore, afterwards duly re- 
 ceived the intermediate interest, due from the 20th December, 
 1831, to the 30th April, 1832, from the Madras Government ; 
 and in further pursuance of such undertaking on his part, 
 and in consideration of having surrendered the former 
 Government security, the Rajah received from the Bengal 
 Government, a Government security of the 4 per cent, loan in 
 his own individual name, which was the Government security 
 first above mentioned. 
 
 On that substituted Government security the Rajah re- 
 ceived the interest, by a special permission to that efiect, from 
 the Madras Government, that treasury being nearer to the 
 Rajah's country than the Bengal treasury. 
 
 It will thus be seen that the title of the Rajah to this 
 Government security, and to this principal money and inte- 
 rest secured thereby, was over and over again, and in fact 
 throughout, acknowledged and admitted by the Company's 
 Government. 
 
 A second of the Government securities, which the Rajah 
 held previous to, and at the time of, the occupation of the 
 capital of Coorg by the British troops, was a renewed Govern- 
 ment security issued by the Governor of Madras in Council, 
 registered No. 65 of 1828-29, of the 6 per cent. Madras 
 Government loan, to secure the principal sum of Madras 
 rupees 653,940 (£65,394), together with interest at the last- 
 
80 
 
 mentioned rate. The following is a copy of this Government 
 security : — 
 
 Fort, St. George, 1st February, 1811. 
 Promissory Note for 653,940 Madras Rupees. 
 The Right Honourable the Governor in Council does hereby 
 acknowledge to have received from her Highness Dewa Am- 
 majee, Ranee of Coorg, the sum of Madras rupees 653,940, 
 as a loan to the Honourable United Company of Merchants 
 of England trading to the East Indies, and does hereby pro- 
 mise, for and on behalf of the said United Company, to repay 
 and discharge the said loan by paying unto the said her 
 Highness Dewa Ammajee, Ranee of Coorg, her executors or 
 administrators, or her or their order, the principal sum of 
 Madras rupees 653,940 aforesaid, at the Presidency of Fort 
 St. George, agreeably to the order in which this note may 
 stand on the register of notes and bonds of this Presidency, 
 payable according to priority of date and number, according 
 to the condition of the advertisement published in the Madras 
 Government Gazette of 2nd December, 1809,. and by paying 
 the interest accruing thereon at the rate of sice per cent, per 
 annum, from the day of the date hereof, by half-yearly pay- 
 ments from year to year, in cash, at the General Treasury at 
 the Presidency, until the principal shall be discharged. 
 Accountant-General's Office. Registered as No. 65 of 1828 
 and 1829. 
 
 (Signed) F. F. Clementson, 
 
 Deputy Accountant-General. 
 
 Signed, by the authority of the Right Hon. the Governor in 
 Council, R. Clive, 
 
 Chief Secretary to Government. 
 
 I do hereby certify that the within is a registered promissory, 
 note, and that interest has been paid for two hundred and ten 
 months, or to the 1st August, 1828, as per register. 
 
 Examined, R. De Silva. Certified, 20th January, 1829, 
 
 F. F. Clemeistson, D.A.G. 
 
81 
 
 Madras, 2nd Octo|3er, 1829. Received in cash the twelve 
 months' interest due on the 1st August last, rupees 39,246-6-4. 
 Ftde letter from Government, dated 2nd December, 1829. 
 
 BiNNY AND Co., Attorneys. 
 
 Madras, 20th August, 1830. Received in cash the twelve 
 months' interest due on the 1st August, M. rupees 39,236-6-4. 
 Vide letter from Government, dated 25th August, 1830. 
 
 BiNNY AND Co., Attorneys. 
 
 Madras, 23rd Sept. 1831. Received in cash, the twelve 
 months' interest due on the 1st ultimo, M. rupees 39,236-6-4. 
 
 BiNNY AND Co., Attorneys. 
 
 The money invested and secured by the Company's paper 
 was originally lent by the late Rajah Veer Rajundur Wadeer, 
 the Rajah's paternal uncle since deceased, to the Madras 
 Government, and the original Government security granted, 
 which was for star pagodas 186,840, as well as the first sub- 
 stituted and the renewed Government security last herein- 
 before mentioned, were taken, as is not uncommon among the 
 natives of India, in the name of the Rajah Veer Rajundur 
 Wadeer's daughter. 
 
 This person, whose name was Dewa Ammajee, and who 
 was usually called Ranee of Coorg, by courtesy, and also to 
 distinguish her from another Dewa Ammajee, the sister of 
 the Rajah more particularly mentioned, for whom she has 
 been more than once mistaken by the officers of the British 
 Government, died previous to the occupation of Coorg by the 
 British troops, leaving neither child nor husband living. 
 
 The interest on the said original Government security for 
 star pagodas 186,840, and afterwards on the Government 
 security for Madras rupees 653,940, into which the pagodas 
 had been changed, as well as on the said last-mentioned 
 renewed Government security, was regularly paid by the 
 Madras Government to Ling Rajunder Wadeer, late Rajah of 
 
82 
 
 Coorg, the Rajah's deceased father, from the time of his suc- 
 ceeding the late Rajah Veer Rajundur Wadeer, his deceased 
 brother and the Rajah's uncle, up to the time of his the said 
 Ling Rajundur Wadeer's death ; and from that time, when 
 his Highness succeeded as Rajah of Coorg, up to the year 
 1833, such interest was regularly paid to him through his 
 constituted attorneys, the respectable firm of Binny and Co., 
 then and still carrying on business at Madras as merchants 
 and agents. 
 
 In the month of September, 1833, the Rajah transmitted, 
 as usual, the last-mentioned Government security for Madras 
 rupees 653,940, to his said agents and attorneys, to receive, 
 for and on his behalf, the interest which had accrued due and 
 payable thereon since the then last periodical payment made 
 to them by the Government. 
 
 Messrs. Binny and Co., in the usual course of business, 
 handed this Government security into the Madras Govern- 
 ment treasury, in order to obtain the interest due thereon, 
 allowing it to remain there for some considerable time, nor 
 was it returned to them until February, 1834, when it was sent 
 with a letter written and addressed to them by the Deputy 
 Accountant-General of Madras, dated the 8th of that month. 
 That letter was as follows : — 
 
 No. 4010. 
 To Messrs. Binny mid Co. 
 Gentlemen, — I am directed by the Accountant-General 
 to return to you herewith a promissory note of the Government 
 in favour of her Highness Dewa Ammajee, Ranee of Coorg, as 
 described in the margin,^ which accompanied your letter of 
 the 13th September last, the usual communication from Govern- 
 ment for payment to you of the interest due thereon (as stated 
 in a letter to your address from this department, dated 13th 
 December last), not having been received up to this date. 
 
 > 6 per cent. Pro. note, dated let Feb. 1811. Ko. 65 of 1828-29. M. re. 653,940. 
 
83 
 
 I am to beg that you will be pleased to acknowledge the 
 receipt of the bond. 
 
 I have the honour to be, Gentlemen, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 (Signed) S. Crawiord, 
 
 Deputy Accountant-General. 
 Fort St. George, Accountant-General's Office, 
 8th February, 1834. 
 
 Messrs. Binny and Co. thereupon wrote and addressed a 
 letter to the Rajah, as he has been since informed, dated the 
 10th February, 1834, enclosing a copy of the last-mentioned 
 letter, and informing him that they would hold " your High- 
 ness's bond," meaning the Rajah, and the said last-mentioned 
 security, until they should hear further from him. This letter, 
 and the copy of the Deputy-Accountant's letter, were for- 
 warded through the official channel of the Resident of Mysore, 
 under cover of a letter addressed to that officer. The Resi- 
 dent, however, did not forward to the Rajah the letters in- 
 trusted to him, but, as his Highness has since learnt, sent 
 them in that same month, accompanied by a letter written 
 by himself, to H. S. Graeme, Esq., another officer of Govern- 
 ment at Madras. The Rajah has been informed that in such, 
 letter the Resident of Mysore offered his advice to the purport 
 and effect, that it would be expedient, during the then present 
 state (that of hostility) of the relations of the Company's Govern- 
 ment with Coorg, to suspend the payment of interest on the first- 
 mentioned Government security of the Rajah, and to desire 
 Messrs. Binny and Co. to keep the last-mentiojied Govern- 
 ment security in deposit until further instructions from the 
 Government. Whether or no the information received by 
 the Rajah was correct, the fact is, that the Company's Govern- 
 ment have not paid any interest since that time to him, or to 
 any person on or in respect of either of such Government 
 securities, nor have such Government paid the principal moneys 
 thereby secured. 
 
84 
 
 On the 22nd of July, 1834, the same year in which the 
 Rajah surrendered himself and family to Colonel Eraser, the 
 Chief Secretary to the Madras Government wrote a letter to 
 Messrs. Binny and Co., to the purport and effect following, 
 that is to say, requesting them, by the direction of the Governor 
 in Council, to deposit with the Accountant-General the said 
 Government security for rupees 653,940 , standing in the 
 name of Dewan Ammajee, and informing them that the Govern- 
 ment would, if required, guarantee them against the conse- 
 quences of any claim which might be preferred against them 
 for the l-ecovery of that Government security. 
 
 In answer to that letter, Messrs. Binny and Co. wrote and 
 sent a letter to the Chief Secretary, bearing date the 24th 
 July 1834, which, after acknowledging the receipt of the last- 
 mentioned letter, proceeded in these words : — 
 
 " On the 13th September last, we received, under cover of 
 a letter from the Resident in Mysore, a letter from the late 
 Rajah of Coorg (meaning his Highness), enclosing a Govern- 
 ment promissory note, in the name of Dewa Ammajee, Ranee 
 of Coorg, for 653,940 rupees, with a request that we should 
 receive the interest due on it, as we had for many years past 
 been in the habit of doing. This, we presume, is the note 
 alluded to in the letter from Government, and which we beg 
 to disclaim any desire to retain possession of, or unwillingness 
 to comply with the wishes of Government in respect to it, more 
 particularly if protected by their guarantee from any pecuniary 
 responsibility consequent to our doing so. We at the same 
 time beg leave to submit that we are doubtful how far, as 
 agents, we can deliver up a Government promissory note 
 received from a constituent, to any one else, unless under his 
 order and authority, without committing a breach of faith. 
 We trust, therefore, that under the peculiar circumstances of 
 the case, we are not soliciting too much when we submit our 
 request, that the authority of the late Rajah of Coorg for our 
 delivering up the promissory note may be obtained, or, if that 
 
85 
 
 is not expedient, that the opinion of the Government law- 
 officer on the point in question may be taken, and furnished 
 to us for our guidance. In conclusion, we would beg that 
 hia Excellency the Right Honourable the Governor-General in 
 Council may be assured that the only cause for our hesitation 
 in complying with the request now conveyed to us, consists in 
 our fear of compromising our duties as agents. 
 
 " We have the honour to be, &c., 
 
 (Signed) " Binnt and Co." 
 
 The Chief Secretary to the Madras Government again wrote 
 to Messrs. Binny and Co., but not, as it would appear, until 
 the 4th April, 1837, and then only to the purport and effect 
 following, viz. : that the Government did not acknowledge 
 the proprietary right of the ex-Rajah of Coorg, meaning his 
 Highness, to the Government security standing in the name 
 of the late Dewa Ammajee, the daughter of the Rajah Veer 
 Rajundur Wadeer. 
 
 It did not appear from this communication what was the 
 particular ground upon which the Company rested their denial 
 of the Rajah's proprietary right to this Government security, 
 after having since the year 1821, when his Highness suc- 
 ceeded his father as Rajah of Coorg, up to the year 1831, paid, 
 as above mentioned, regularly to him, through his attorneys 
 Messrs. Binny and Co., the interest from time to time accruing 
 due and payable thereon. If, however, the Government by 
 such letter intended to set up the right of Dewa Ammajee to 
 this security, by reason of the same standing in her name, 
 it may be observed in reply : — 
 
 1st, That it is the custom throughout India for Hindoos to 
 make purchases of lands, and to take securities for moneys 
 lent, in the names of children and other members of their 
 families, which are known and familiarly described as " Be- 
 namee transactions" ; and, unless the contrary be shown by 
 evidence, they are treated as trusts for their own use a,nd 
 
86 
 
 benefit, and not for the individual benefit of the person whose 
 name may be used. 2ndly. That even if the Government 
 security in question vrere to be considered and treated as 
 having been given by the father to his daughter Dewa 
 Ammajee, as and for a provision for her, that lady had died 
 without leaving either husband or child even before the British 
 troops had occupied Coorg, and the Rajah was by Hindoo law 
 npon her death entitled as heir to succeed to the stock secured 
 by this document, and to hold in his own individual right such 
 stock, and the document or security representing the same. 
 
 No reason or ground has ever yet been assigned by the 
 Government, for not resuming the payment of interest to the 
 Rajah on the other Government security standing in his own 
 individual name, on the cessation of hostilities, which interest 
 the Resident of Mysore had advised should be suspended only 
 during the intermediate period, which was the utmost that 
 ought or could have been done by international law. 
 
 If, however, the Company's Government should set up any 
 claim either to the principal or interest of that Government 
 security, or to the principal or interest of the stock represented 
 by the other Government security standing in the name of the 
 late Dewa Ammajee, the following objections are confidently 
 made to any such claim . — First, that neither one nor other 
 of the two several portions of stock was seized (by an act 
 demonstrating an intention to seize and confiscate for the 
 purposes of the state) flagrante et nondum cessante hello, so as 
 to make a hostile seizure according to the law of nations. But 
 there are two strong and incontrovertible facts to show that 
 no such seizure or confiscation was then intended to be made : 
 first, that such stock was never appropriated as booty or prize, 
 although the booty found in cash and other property in the 
 palace at Coorg, to the amount of upwards of £30,000, was 
 seized and divided as prize, in the usual manner, among the 
 troops engaged ; secondly, that the several portions of stock, 
 or the value thereof, now still stand in the respective names of 
 
87, 
 
 the Rajah and the late Dewa Ammajee in the books of the 
 East India Company. That is to say, the sum of sicca rupees 
 203,900 now still stands in the individual name of his High- 
 ness, and the sum of Madras rupees 653,940 now still stands 
 in the name of the late Dewa Ammajee; the Government 
 thereby admitting their liability to pay the same respectively. 
 These sums have been from time to time brought forward in 
 the same names in the said books and accounts, as subsisting 
 charges against the territorial revenues of the Company. 
 
 But it was impossible that the Bengal or Madras Govern- 
 ment could have acted in any other manner, as representing 
 the Government of a nation hke Great Britain, which, in com- 
 mon with aU civilized nations of the world, respects and ob- 
 serves the rules of international law, in regard to war and its 
 consequences. By that law,^ stock in the public funds is 
 respected as a sacred deposit, kept under the guarantee of the 
 national faith, and is, therefore, unaffected by a war declared 
 against the sovereign or nation who may be the creditor. If, 
 through policy, the payment of the interest of the debt due to 
 the enemy should be suspended during the continuance of 
 hostilities, when these cease, the right to the interest and to 
 the principal revives. 
 
 The payment as heretofore of the interest due on the Govern- 
 ment securities, or Company's paper, not having been resumed 
 after the cessation of hostilities, nor on the Rajah's reaching 
 his final destination, he made several respectful applications to 
 the Government on the subject, through the Government agent. 
 
 1 " Everything that belongs to the nation ia subject to reprisals, whenever it can be 
 seized, provided it be not a deposit intrusted to the puhlie faith. As it is only in con- 
 sequence of that confidence which the proprietor has placed in our good faith that we 
 happen to have such deposit in our hands, it ought to be respected, even in case of open 
 war. Such is the conduct observed in France, England, and elsewhere, with respect to 
 the money which foreigners have placed in the public funds," — VatteVsLaw of Nations, 
 book ii. ch. 18, sec. ZiA. 
 
 " The state does not so much as touch the sums which it otves to the enemy. Money 
 lent to the public is everywhere exempt from confiscation and seizure in case of war." 
 — Ibid., book iii. ch. 5, see. 77, p. 323 ; and see also Emerigon, vol. i. p. 567 ; MarlerCs 
 Law of Nations, 277. 
 
88 
 
 To the first application only did he receive any answer, and 
 then he was merely informed verbally that the Government did 
 not recognise his claim. The last application made was in the 
 year 1847, in a statement submitted, at his instance, by the 
 Governor-General's agent to the Supreme Government of 
 India, with the Hke result as before. His position as a state 
 prisoner forbade the taking of any further steps to press home 
 the justice of his claims. Those claims the Supreme Govern- 
 ment never actually denied: his applications as mentioned 
 were only passed over in silence ; the fact being, that in the 
 financial books of the East India Company the securities appear 
 in his own name. — 
 
 Nothing could exceed the attentions paid by the East India 
 Company to the Rajah, on his arrival in the metropolis. He 
 was invited to their sumptuous banquets, and many of the 
 Directors felt honoured by introducing him to their private 
 circle, and by being considered as his friends. 
 
 The Rajah's first care was to concert measures for accom- 
 plishing the chief object which had brought him to the British 
 shores — the baptism, and subsequent English education, of 
 his beloved daughter. After anxious and mature deliberation, 
 he determined upon making known his wishes to her most 
 gracious Majesty, in writing, in the hope of interesting that 
 illustrious lady on behalf of his child ; and the letter which 
 he addressed to the Queen was as follows : — 
 
 Translation of a letter to her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen, 
 from his Highness the Rajah of Coorg. 
 (After compliments). 17th May, 1852. 
 
 I have most respectfully to represent to your Majesty, that 
 my ancestors, after much and sincere endeavour, procured the 
 friendship of the British Government. I also followed their 
 example, and most eagerly continued that friendship. 
 
 My present object is respectfully to submit, that if your 
 Majesty would be pleased to condescend to take my daughter 
 
^9 
 
 under your gracious protection and kindness, in a manner 
 becoming her position as a princess, it is my sincere and 
 earnest wish to have her brought up in the principles of the 
 Christian faith, as well as to givesher an English education. 
 
 Before leaving India, I intimafed this my desire to the 
 Local Supreme Government,^ and two or three years after, to 
 my great joy, I received permission to come to this country, 
 whither, after a long and fatiguing journey, T have arrived 
 with my young daughter. 
 
 As permission was granted me to come to this country, so 
 I humbly hope that your Majesty will condescend to take my 
 daughter under your Majesty's gracious protection ; and, after 
 having her baptized, your Majesty will be graciously pleased 
 to cause her to be brought up and educated in the same 
 manner as the daughters of the noblemen of this country, and 
 instructed to follow the right path. This is my earnest desire j 
 for I am convinced of the great good principles of your most 
 gracious Majesty. 
 
 I may be permitted respectfully to observe, that up to this 
 day no Rajah or Prince of India ever had conception of such 
 a design. I took the first step towards it, and came here. 
 This my object is worthy of your Majesty's support and assist- 
 ance in every way, especially as I have no one here of my own 
 countrymen. I, therefore, solely rely on the gracious kindness 
 and generosity of youj Majesty. When your Majesty, for the 
 sake of your gracious name, will condescend to protect my 
 child, she will then be happy and comfortable indeed, in every 
 way. This is a great act of charity and benevolence, and it is 
 well worthy of the countenance and support of sovereigns. 
 For one may do such an act of kindness towards one's own, 
 but to extend that benevolence to strangers, will be truly 
 worthy of your most gracious Majesty. 
 
 With the exception of your Majesty, no one else is able to 
 do this. Should this my object prove unsuccessful, I shall be 
 put to shame before all India. It is in your Majesty's hands. 
 
90 
 
 therefore, to protect my character in this matter. By the 
 mercy of the Almighty, I have hitherto passed my life in the 
 true faith ; this will be proved by my present intention. Al- 
 though self-praise is inconsistent, yet one is sometimes forced 
 to it. These few words, which Ihave respectfully submitted, 
 wUl be fully comprehended by your Majesty. For the Almighty 
 has given your Majesty a knowledge of all these things, and 
 has placed you over a great nation. What shall I say more 
 on this subject ? I humbly solicit the favour of a reply to 
 this my representation ; after which, on some auspicious day, 
 arrangements will be made for baptizing my daughter, when 
 your Majesty's infinite kindness and condescension will become 
 renowned. I am unacquainted with the English language, 
 and have, therefore, caused a translation of this letter to be 
 made in English, which is herewith forwarded. 
 
 May the Almighty bless your Majesty with health and hap- 
 piness ! — What more shall I say ? 
 
 It was with the utmost satisfaction that the Rajah received, 
 in reply, the following letter from the Right Honourable J. C. 
 Herries, M.P., President of the Board of Control : — 
 
 India Board, 7th June, 1852. 
 
 Mr. Herries is commanded by the Queen to inform his 
 Highness the Prince Veer Rajundur Wadeer that her Majesty 
 has received his letter of the 17th May. 
 
 Her Majesty has commanded Mr. Herries to explain to the 
 Prince Veer Rajundur Wadeer that it would not be in accord- 
 ance with the usages of this country that her Majesty should 
 take the charge of his daughter in the manner proposed hy 
 him. But her Majesty, being desirous of countenancing and 
 assisting the praiseworthy intention of the Prince Veer Rajun- 
 dur Wadeer to promote the instruction of his daughter in the 
 principles of Christianity, and to constitute her a member of 
 the Church of England, will confer with the Archbishop of ; 
 
91 
 
 Canterbury on the subject, and will appoint a time, under his 
 Grace's advice, for the performance of the ceremony of bap- 
 tism, at which her Majesty is graciously pleased to signify her 
 intention of being present, and of standing sponsor to the 
 young princess. 
 
 Thinking that it would be but a mark of respect to make 
 his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury acquainted with 
 his views respecting his daughter, the Rajah did himself 
 the honour of writing to that right reverend prelate, as 
 follows : — 
 
 Letter addressed to his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury, by 
 his Highness the Rajah of Coorg. 
 
 17th June, 1852. 
 
 My Loud Archbishop, — My principal object for coming 
 to this country, after an arduous and expensive journey, is to 
 place my beloved daughter under the care and protection of 
 her most gracious Majesty. If her Majesty will be graciously 
 pleased to receive my child under her Majesty's protection, 
 and support her as becoming her position in life, I am willing 
 that my daughter should be educated in the principles of 
 Christianity, and constituted a member of the Church of Eng- 
 land. My only anxiety in this matter is, that my daughter 
 be brought up as becoming her birth, so that I may not expe- 
 rience any humiliation when I return to my native country. 
 It is an act worthy of her Majesty's gracious consideration, 
 and I therefore trust and hope that your grace will also coun- 
 tenance and assist me to carry out my intention. 
 
 As your Grace kindly assured me, this morning, that I shall 
 not experience disappointment with regard to my object in 
 view, I entirely trust and rely on your Grace's kind assurance. 
 
 To the above letter his Grace the Archbishop was pleased 
 to send a reply as under : — 
 
92 
 
 Lambeth, June 19, 1852, 
 Sir, — I greatly approve your Highness's intention of 
 bringing up your beloved daughter in the principles of the 
 Christian religion. You thus do all that is in your power to 
 promote her present and her eternal welfare. With this object 
 in view, if it be your Highness's pleasure to leave the princess 
 in this country, and to make provision for her education here, 
 I shall be ready, if required, to give my advice concerning the 
 person to whose care she may be properly intrusted, and to 
 lend my assistance towards the accomplishment of the object 
 you have at heart ; in which I fervently hope, as I have before 
 said, that your Highness may not be disappointed. 
 
 I have, &c. (Signed) J. 
 
 In reply to the letter addressed to him by command of her 
 Majesty, and dated the 7th of June, the Rajah wrote as 
 follows : — 
 
 Translation of a Letter from Ids Highness Veer Rajundur 
 
 Wadeer, Bajah of Coorgh, dated \^th Tune, 1862. 
 To Her Most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria. 
 
 May it please your Majesty, — The letter which your 
 Majesty was graciously pleased to order to be addressed to 
 me, under date the 7th June, 1852, I duly received, and the 
 great gratification I experienced on my reading it cannot be 
 expressed. In my first letter to your Majesty I endeavoured 
 to explain my desires concerning my little daughter, in the 
 best way I could according to my custom, that in whatsoever 
 manner it may please your Majesty to dispose of my daughter, 
 your Majesty shall ever receive the honour and respect due to 
 so generous an action. I now further beg to pray that your 
 Majesty will be graciously pleased to inform me of the day 
 and hour on which I may come and make over my little 
 daughter to your Majesty's protection, because if my daughter 
 remain with me, she will not become acquainted with the 
 
93 
 
 manners and customs of this country, or the principles of the 
 Christian faith. It would be, therefore, no advantage to her 
 to remain with me, and it is for this reason that I desire to 
 give her up to your Majesty's entire care and protection ; and 
 I humbly trust that your Majesty will be graciously pleased 
 to accede to my request, so that when she is admitted into 
 the Christian faith she may have no further need of my care, 
 but remain entirely under your Majesty's august protection, 
 and I shall feel tranquil. These my intentions I have ventured 
 to address to your Majesty ; for my daughter is also very 
 anxious to live under the shadow of your Majesty's kind and 
 gracious protection. After considering this, I humbly hope 
 your Majesty will be graciously pleased to condescend to send 
 me a reply ; and if, as it is probable, I have failed in explaining 
 my wishes clearly in this letter, I trust your Majesty will be 
 pleased to send for me, that I may explain myself more fully 
 in your Majesty's august presence, and I humbly submit that 
 this would be the better way. May God bless your Majesty, 
 and long may your Majesty reign in peace and security ! 
 
 A few days afterwards the Rajah was gratified by receiving 
 the following invitation : — 
 
 To His Highness Prince Veer Majundv/r Wadeer. 
 
 The Lord Chamberlain is commanded by her Majesty to 
 invite his Highness the Prince Veer Rajundur Wadeer to 
 attend the christening of his daughter in the chapel at Buck- 
 ingham Palace on Wednesday next, the 30th instant, at a 
 quarter before one o'cleck. 
 
 June 28, 1852. 
 
 The ceremony took place accordingly at one o'clock in the 
 afternoon of Wednesday, the 30th of June, 1852, in the private 
 chapel of Buckingham Palace. The ceremony was performed 
 by the Archbishop of Canterbury, assisted by the Rev. Lord 
 Wriothesley Russell, Deputy Clerk of the Closet in Waiting, 
 
94- 
 
 and the Hon. and Rev. Gerald Wellesley, Domestic Chaplain 
 to her Majesty. Her Majesty the Queen was pleased to stand 
 sponsor. The other sponsors were, the Viscountess Hardinge, 
 Mrs. Drumniond, and Sir James Weir Hogg, Bart., Chairman 
 of the East India Company. The Princess was named by her 
 Majesty " Victoria." Prince Albert, the Prince of Wales, the 
 Princess Royal, Prince Alfred, and the Princess Alice, and 
 Prince Veer Rajundur, were present at the ceremony. Her 
 Majesty was attended by the Duchess of Atholl, Mistress of 
 the Robes ; the Viscountess Canning, Lady in Waiting ; Lady 
 Caroline Barrington, the Hon. Caroline Cavendish, and the 
 the Hon. Plora Mocdonald, Maids of Honour in Waiting ; 
 the Marquis of Exeter, Lord Chamberlain ; Lord Byron, Lord 
 in Waiting ; Colonel the Hon. C. B. Phipps ; Sir Frederick 
 Stovin, Groom in Waiting ; Major-General Buckley, Equerry 
 in Waiting; and Lieut. -Colonel Biddulph, Master of the House- 
 hold. The Marquis of Abercorn, Groom of the Stole, and 
 Colonel Bouverie, Equerry in Waiting, were in attendance on 
 the Prince. The Viscount Hardinge ; the Right Hon. John 
 C. Herries, President of the Board of Control for the Affairs 
 of India ; and Major Drummond, 3rd Bengal Light Cavalry, 
 were also honoured with invitations to attend the ceremony. 
 After the christening the distinguished circle were conducted 
 to the dinner-room, where luncheon was served. Prince Veer 
 Rajundur and the Princess Gouramma, attended by their suite, 
 left the Palace at twenty minutes past two o'clock. — 
 
 When the Rajah first arrived in this country, in March, 
 
 1852, the East India, Company agreed to allow him, for his 
 current expenses, the monthly sum of £100, to be deducted 
 from the original pension of £6000 ; but on the 20th of May, 
 
 1853, the Court of Directors notified to him that no further 
 remittance of his stipend would be transmitted to him after 
 the 20th of March ; and this they did upon the ground that 
 the leave of absence had been granted with the understanding 
 that his Highness was to return to Benares after the expira- 
 
95 
 
 tion of twelve months. No such condition, however, had ever 
 been entered into by the Rajah, the only one imposed upon 
 him by the Local Government having been that he should 
 defray his own expenses. 
 
 In vain did the Rajah urge the unsatisfactory state of his 
 health, and the consequent danger he should incur by being 
 compelled to return to India; the interest he naturally felt in 
 his daughter's welfare, &c. ; his anxiety to witness her suitable 
 establishment in life ; and, lastly, his wish to await the deci- 
 sion of the High Court of Chancery, upon the suit which he 
 had instituted against the Honourable Company. The Court 
 of Directors still persisted in refusing to resume the payment 
 of his pension, making his immediate return to India the 
 sine qua non of their doing so. 
 
 It was under these circumstances that, in the hope of 
 attracting the attention of the public to the Rajah's case, and 
 engaging their sympathies in his behalf, the following sum- 
 mary of it was inserted in the Daily News of November 18, 
 1856:— 
 
 A PEINCE DETHRONED BY THE EAST INDIA COMPANY. 
 TO THE EDITOR OF THE DAILY NEWS. 
 
 SiK, — Permit me to occupy a little of your valuable space, 
 by calling your readers' attention to the proceedings of the 
 Honourable East India Company. I have been given to 
 understand that the actions of that body in many instances 
 are somewhat illiberal, but I would submit that in my own 
 case they are particularly so ; and certainly not in accordance 
 with my own ideas of justice. 
 
 I am by birth and descent the rightful Rajah of Coorg, a 
 mountainous principality in the south-west of India, and for 
 thirteen years previously to the 24th April, 1834, I was an 
 independent Hindoo prince and sovereign in alliance with the 
 Honourable East India Company's Government, and as such 
 was almost universally loved, respected, and even reverenced 
 by my subjects. 
 
96 
 
 My ancestors were of vast service to the Company, in fact, 
 ray late uncle rendered them such assistance in the year 1799, 
 that they vrere enabled to cope with and finally completely 
 overthrow the famed Tippoo Sultan, with whom the Company 
 were at war, almost without intermission, from the year 1782 
 to 1799. That prince was master of all the coast provinces 
 lying between the western mountains and the sea, and pos- 
 sessed all the intervening country from thence to the Carnatic, 
 one solitary spot only excepted. That spot was the princi- 
 paility of Coorg ; and while the Rajah, my uncle, denied the 
 British troops entrance and exit, Tippoo Sultan's dominions 
 were impregnable; but when the Company entered into a 
 treaty with the Rajah of Coorg, he allowed the Bombay army 
 under the command of General Abercrombie to pass through 
 Coorg, forming a junction with the army of Lord Cornwalhs, 
 who, thus timely and powerfully reinforced, completely defeated 
 Tippoo Sultan, and dictated a peace under the walls of Serin- 
 gapatam, by which he ceded half his dominions unconditionally 
 to the Company. 
 
 In consequence of this the Company entered into a treaty 
 with the Rajah and his heirs for ever ; which said treaty was 
 to the effect that the Coorg territory should receive from the 
 East India Company whatever assistance was needed, and in 
 fact expressing the warmest and most enduring friendship for 
 my uncle the Rajah and his successors. I myself have ren- 
 dered the Company services on numerous occasions, and have 
 received testimonials from them of a most flattering nature ; 
 but during the last few years of my reign their behaviour 
 towards me materially changed ; and eventually led to my 
 dethronement and banishment. 
 
 In the year 1830, Chen Buswah (then one of my subjects) 
 married my sister, Dewa Ammajee (although much against 
 my wishes, and she was his second wife from our family, the 
 first having died). In consequence of his being connected 
 with royal blood, I provided for him from my own private 
 
97 
 
 purse in a manner becoming his station in life, and installed 
 him in a suitable mansion a short distance from my capital. 
 Things went on very well for some short time, but eventually 
 it would appear that he became dissatisfied with his (supposed), 
 subordinate position, and impatient of control ; in conseque^ce 
 of which he, one night, drugged two of the officers in attend^ 
 ance upon him, bound one, hand and foot, and suspended him^ 
 from the rafters of the house, where he was found dead iifthe 
 morning ; after which, Chen Buswah made off with his wife 
 towards the Mysore country. 
 
 By stratagem he managed to pass a great distance unmo- 
 lested, until he reached the barrier between my country and 
 Mysore ; on arriving there, however, he met with opposition, 
 as the officer in command, suspecting something wrong, at- 
 tempted to detain him. He was immediately shot dead by 
 Chen Buswah, and another officer, who offered resistance, met 
 with a similar untimely fate. 
 
 When these facts were communicated to me I immediately 
 sent a formal demand to the Honourable East India Company 
 (to whose territory he had fled) to surrender Chen Buswah as 
 a prisoner, to be tried for the murders he had committed ; to 
 which they replied that they could not deliver up a party who 
 had fled to them for protection. I afterwards, on several occa- 
 sions, made similar requests, but with the same ill success. 
 
 This preyed on my mind exceedingly, particularly as the 
 outrages committed by Chen Buswah were frequently com- 
 mented on by my subjects ; and therefore, instead of my anger 
 being appeased by frequent allusions to this circumstance, it 
 was constantly aroused, particularly as all my attempts were 
 futile. 
 
 Some months after this event, a party arrived at Coorg, 
 alleging that he came from Malabar for the purpose of seeing 
 Mr. Graeme (a member of the Madras Government) ; but, as 
 he had no credentials, I thought it probable he was a spy, 
 and ordered him to be detained as a hostage to compel the 
 
 G 
 
98 
 
 Company to do me justice by delivering up Chen Buswah ; 
 and 1 was assured by tbose around me that this step would 
 be the means of effectually accomplishing the object. To my 
 surprise, however, the Company merely sent a formal demand 
 for their messenger (as he afterwards in reality turned out to 
 be), which, not being complied with, was followed by another. 
 This I likewise considered I was not bound to obey. In con- 
 sequence I was declared to be no longer an ally of the Honour- 
 able East India Company, and informed that my territories 
 were annexed to the British possessions. Without any further 
 notice an army was despatched against me, and troops entered 
 my country at five different points. Finding myself in actual 
 hostile collision with the British Government (whom I had been 
 taught to consider from a child as my friends and protectors), I 
 ordered flags of truce to be despatched, and surrendered myself. 
 This was done for the purpose of saving bloodshed, as the 
 onslaught would otherwise have been terrible. The Coorgs 
 had congregated in an immense body, and were all armed 
 to the teeth, prepared to do the most deadly execution. My 
 palace was searched by the troops, and the valuables taken 
 therefrom to the extent of £30,000, and the proceeds divided 
 among the soldiery as prize-money. 
 
 Thus I became a state prisoner, and was hurried out of a 
 country which had given me birth, amidst the lamentations of 
 thousands of my subjects, who hovered around my cortege, 
 weeping and bemoaning my hapless fate. Such expressions 
 you will easily conceive, sir, however gratifying to the recol- 
 lection now, then only served to render my position less 
 endurable. In addition to this mark of respect from the 
 poorer classes of my subjects, some hundreds of the nobility 
 signed a memorial (which was thrust into my hand while I 
 was being hurried away) expressing the most heartfelt sorrow 
 at my departure, and concluding with a hope that my exile 
 would be but temporary, and that I should return to my 
 subjects again as their King, with renewed honour, and such 
 
99 
 
 expressions of kindness which made my heart, already filled 
 with grief, ready to burst with feelings such as no words can 
 express. 
 
 For fourteen years I was a prisoner at Benares, separated 
 from all that was most dear to me. Permission was ultimately 
 given to me by the Company for leave of absence for twelve 
 months ; and I came to England for the purpose of obtaining 
 some permanent provision for myself and infant daughter, and 
 to prosecute my claims against the Company, which consist in 
 my being entitled to £180,000 sterling, the amount of bonds 
 or promissory notes which I hold of theirs, and which said 
 amount (in rupees) was absolutely paid and advanced by my 
 ancestors and myself as a loan at a stipulated interest. The 
 said interest, however, the Company have refused to pay since 
 the year 1834. But this is not all. As my leave of absence 
 expired in March last, and I did not think it advisable to 
 return until some decisive step had been taken, I applied to 
 the Directors for a prolongation of my leave, and in reply 
 I received not only a positive refusal, but was informed, in 
 conclusion, that my pension would not be continued, actually 
 leaving me without any pecuniary resources whatever. 
 
 To make the already overflowing cup of bitterness more 
 galling, I am described in Thornton's History of British 
 India as tyrannical, haughty, and everything that a prince or 
 ruler ought not to be, and in fact that my whole life was 
 one of vice and infamy ; but from the foregoing you will easily 
 perceive that such is false, and the historian, in chronicling 
 these words, must certainly have endeavoured to dish up details 
 relative to myself in such a manner as to please the parties for 
 whom his work was written — not knowing or thinking that the 
 party on whom he had lavished so many disgraceful epithets 
 would ever be in this country to confront him, and not only 
 to deny the truth of the statement, but to te willing, ready, 
 and able to prove, that there is no foundation for that which 
 he has written. 
 
100 
 
 The same writer has stated that the inhabitants of Coorg 
 wished to become subjects of the Honourable East India Com- 
 pany ; but this is not true either. That they submitted I will 
 admit ; but wherefore ? They had lost their own sovereign, 
 and as the weaker party, and without a leader to direct them, 
 were forced to give into the stronger, let their feelings be what 
 they might. The above observations will doubtless convince 
 your readers that everything has been done to trample upon 
 my feelings during my exile, and to paint me as an object 
 unworthy the consideration or sympathy of an Englishman ; 
 but I am here, Mr. Editor, with a conscience guiltless of any 
 crime or offence even, other than as above expressed and ex- 
 plained. I cannot conceive I have in any way infringed upon 
 the Company's rights, or broken the treaty which my ancestors 
 made with them. But I will pass this over : my kingdom 
 has been taken from me, and I am an exile. I require only 
 that which I am in every respect entitled to by the law of this 
 land, by the law of nations and justice. I humbly but heartily 
 appeal to the British public, through the medium of your 
 valuable columns, to assist me in promoting my claims ; and, 
 from the hospitality I have already received, I feel sure that 
 my entreaties will not be in vain. 
 
 In conclusion, it may not be irrelevant to mention that I 
 have received the utmost kindness and condescension from her 
 most gracious Majesty Queen Victoria, to whose care I with the 
 utmost reliance commend my daughter. That amiable Queen 
 stood sponsor to my child at her baptism, which was solem- 
 nized ten months ago ; and at my wish and request she is 
 being brought up in the Christian faith, which will, I hope, 
 arm her with fortitude and resignation, and render her fitted 
 for that life which is to come. I doubt not she will realize a 
 fond father's most sanguine hopes and expectations ; and in 
 following the example of so excellent a Queen, she will be 
 fitted for a happier and a better world. 
 
 My gratitude to the English nation as a body can but cease 
 
101 
 
 with my life ; and even then I shall perchance leave one behind 
 who will live to show her own sentiments when my ashes rest 
 in peace. She will then vindicate my past actions, and no 
 doubt will convince Englishmen that my faults were not of 
 the heart, and that a too confiding nature only had been the 
 cause of my ruin, dethronement, and exile. 
 
 I have the honour to remain, sir, your obedient humble 
 servant. Veer Rajindek Wudair, 
 
 Once Rajah of Coorg. 
 23, Onslow-square, Brompton, Nov. 17, 1853. 
 
 The reader has already been informed of the kind manner 
 in which the Marquis Dalhousie responded to the Rajah's 
 request for permission to proceed with his daughter to England. 
 Upon learning, therefore, that his lordship had returned to his 
 native land, his Highness considered that he should be want- 
 ing in respect and gratitude, if he did not take an early 
 opportunity of congratulating his lordship upon his arrival, 
 and with this view he forwarded to the noble marquis a letter, 
 a copy of which is as follows : — 
 
 20, Clifton Villas, Warwick-road, Paddington, 
 May 22, 1856. 
 
 My Lord, — I take the earliest opportunity of most respect- 
 fully offering to your lordship my hearty and unfeigned con- 
 gratulations, not only upon your safe arrival in your fatherland, 
 but also upon your brilliant and successful career in the vast 
 peninsula of Hindostan — a career which, for the benefits it has 
 conferred upon the British empire in general, and upon India 
 in particular, may rival the renowned administration of a Clive 
 or a WelJesley. 
 
 Great, indeed, as is at all times the honour of being appointed 
 to wield the vice-regal sceptre over dominions so extensive, 
 and to sway the destinies of hundreds of millions of human 
 beings, it is, in your lordship's case, still further enhanced by 
 
102 
 
 the consideration of that high and responsible charge having 
 been wholly unsolicited, upon your part, and conferred upon 
 you from the sole conviction that your lordship would prove 
 to be — the right man in the right place. 
 
 Permit me, my lord, to say that while, in common with my 
 countrymen, I admire and appreciate, and am thankful for the 
 great and solid improvements which, under your lordship's 
 auspices, have been effected throughout India, I feel personally 
 indebted to your lordship for having permitted me, like other 
 Indian princes and chiefs, to visit this country of power and 
 civilization, in which I hope to have acquired no inconsiderable 
 knowledge and information. Great, however, as is this my 
 obligation to your lordship, it is but trifling when compared 
 with what I owe you for the high distinction you have pror 
 cured me in this world, and for those prospects which extend 
 so infinitely beyond it; inasmuch as, but for you her most 
 gracious Majesty Queen Victoria would not have done me the 
 distinguished honour of .standing sponsor to my beloved 
 daughter the Princess Gouramma, nor would the latter have 
 become, through the solemn rite of baptism, a member of 
 Christ's pure and holy Church. 
 
 My lord, I shall not attempt to express by words the feelings 
 of a heart over-fraught with gratitude ; all I can say is, I thanh 
 you, and shall ever consider you as the best of benefactors. 
 
 Would to God that these congratulations and assurances 
 were unalloyed, and that they could be addressed to one in the 
 full enjoyment of that first of blessings — health ! I trust, 
 however, that severely as your lordship may be afflicted (the 
 effect, no doubt, of our Indian climate and of incessant appli- 
 cation to onerous duties), a return to your native country may, 
 by removing the causes of your indisposition, restore to you 
 all your wonted vigour. 
 
 Fearful of trespassing too long upon your lordship's atten- 
 tion, I shall now conclude vrith the humble but earnest request, 
 that, so soon as your lordship is sufficiently recovered, I may 
 
103 
 
 be allowed the honour of paying ray respects and thanks to 
 you in a personal interview — an interview which will be but the 
 renewal of an acquaintance that commenced in 1849. It will, 
 doubtless, be in your lordship's recollection, that in the above 
 year, when your lordship was on your way from the north- 
 western provinces to Calcutta, myself and daughter had the 
 honour of dining with' your lordship at the house of Colonel 
 Macgregor, at Benares, and I beg to assure your lordship that 
 your kindness and affability to me upon that occasion will never 
 be obliterated from my mind. 
 
 With sentiments of the most devoted respect, I have the ho- 
 nour to remain, your lordship'smost obedient humble servant. 
 Veer Rajundur Wadeeb, late Rajah of Coorg. 
 
 To the Rt. Hon. Earl Dalhousie, K.T., P.C, M.A.. &c. &c. 
 
 His lordship replied as follows : — 
 
 Lord Dalhousie presents his compliments to his Highness 
 Veer Rajundur Wadeer, late Rajah of Coorg, &c., in reply to 
 the letter which he has received, dated 22nd May ; he begs to 
 state that he declines the interview which the Rajah requests. 
 
 Lord Dalhousie further begs to add, that, in the event of 
 their meeting elsewhere, he must decline to recognise any 
 acquaintance with the late Rajah of Coorg. 
 
 Brighton, June 2, 1856. 
 
 It was impossible for the Rajah to pass over, without observa- 
 tion, so gratuitous and unfeeling an affront as that contained 
 in the above note ; accordingly, on the 9 th of June, he thus 
 addressed his lordship by letter : — 
 
 Clifton Villas, June 9, 1856. 
 My Lord, — I have received your lordship's letter, in reply 
 to mine of the 2nd instant, and should have passed it over in 
 silence, but for the concluding paragraph, in which your lord- 
 ship is pleased to observe — " Lord Dalhousie further begs to 
 add, that, in the event of their meeting elsewhere, he must 
 
104 
 
 decline to recognise any acquaintance with the late Rajah of 
 Coorg." 
 
 Being wholly unconscious of having ever given to your lord- 
 ship the slightest cause of personal offence, I can only attribute 
 your lordship's unfortunate impression against me, to the 
 malicious and slanderous reports so industriously propagated by 
 my enemies ; but I humbly conceive that, before acting upon 
 those reports, your lordship's sense of justice and love of fair 
 play should, at least, have given me an opportunity of dis- 
 proving them, which, I rejoice to say, I can do, most fully and 
 triumphantly. 
 
 Not content, however, with refusing to grant me the honour 
 of an interview, your lordship has thought it not unbecoming 
 your rank and character, to convey that refusal in terms as dis- 
 courteous as they are unmerited on my part, and thus to aim 
 an additional shaft at the victim of injustice and oppression. 
 
 As your lordship may readily conceive, I have found, by 
 melancholy experience, how little sympathy attends misfortune; 
 but it appears I had yet to learn that mine could ever have 
 been considered, by one of your lordship's exalted station, as 
 a butt for unprovoked, unfeeling, and deliberate insult. 
 
 I have the honour to remain your lordship's obedient servant. 
 Veer Rajundir Waidaar, Rajah of Coorg. 
 Earl of Dalhousie, K.T., P.O., M.A., &c. &c. 
 
 Severe illness preventing the Rajah from accepting a card 
 of invitation which had been sent him, for the ceremony of 
 laying the first stoie of " The Strangers' Home " Institution, 
 his Highness addressed the following letter to the honorary 
 secretaries of the society : — 
 
 20, Clifton Villas, Warwick Road, Maida Hill West, 
 May 31, 1856. 
 Gentlemen, — Permit me to tender you my cordial thanks 
 for your polite invitation to be present at the interesting 
 
105 
 
 ceremony of laying the foundation-stone of the " Strangers' 
 Home/' &c., at the same time to express my sincere regret 
 that ill health compels me to decline it. I assure you I 
 greatly admire and fully appreciate the benevolent feelings 
 that have prompted the erection and endowment of such a 
 building as the one described in your prospectus, which has 
 been read and translated to me by a friend. 
 
 Gentlemen, it is my opinion that, while it is the duty of all 
 persons to whatsoever faith they may belong, whether they be 
 Christians, Mussulmans, or Hindoos, to give a helping hand to 
 this " labour of love," it is more especially incumbent upon 
 those who have amassed riches in the sunny clime of India, to 
 come forward in no niggard spirit upon the present occasion. 
 Now, as far as my own countrymen are concerned, I am fully 
 confident, that were the editors of the different English and 
 vernacular newspapers, at present circulating in India, re- 
 quested to notify gratuitously to their readers the objects and 
 requirements of this proposed institution, and were the magis- 
 trates and other public functionaries to make known the same 
 to opulent Indians, such as rajahs, princes, zemindars, nabobs, 
 mahajuns, &c., a sum would be raised amply sufficient to carry 
 out the objects of the society on a far more extensive scale 
 than is even now proposed. 
 
 It is also in the power of the Local Government to further 
 your views most efficiently, by making general, throughout 
 the Presidencies, the regulations now in force at Bombay, by 
 which all persons taking natives to England, in the capacity 
 of servants, are required to give security for their being sent 
 back to India when their services are no longer required. 
 Convinced, as I am, gentlemen, of the immense good, both 
 moral and physical, which will be effected by the institution, 
 to inaugurate which you are now assembled, I the more 
 deeply deplore that, owing to the peculiarly painful circum- 
 stances in which I am placed, in consequence of the denial of 
 my just claims by a powerful corporation, I am precluded from 
 
106 
 
 contributing to your funds in the degree becoming my rank, 
 or commensurate M'ith my wishes for the success of the 
 " Strangers' Home." My mite, however, such as it is, I 
 cheerfully bestow, and hope that on some future, and perhaps 
 not very distant day, when the dark cloud which now hangs 
 over me shall cease so to do, I may be enabled to convince 
 you that — " Non ignarus mali, miseris succurrere disco." 
 
 I have the honour, gentlemen, to hand you £5, and remain 
 your most obedient servant, 
 
 Veer Rajunder Wadaib, Rajah of Coorg. 
 To Lt.-Col. R. Marsh Hughes, and Major Tudor Lavie, 
 
 Hon. Secretaries to the " Strangers' Home." 
 
 The Morning Post, in giving insertion to the above letter, 
 made the following observations : — • 
 
 THE RAJAH OF COORG. 
 
 " We have much pleasure in inserting elsewhere the copy 
 of a letter addressed to the president and directors of " The 
 Strangers' Home" Society, by his Highness the Rajah of 
 Coorg. 
 
 " Prevented by severe illness from being present in person 
 upon that occasion, the Rajah availed himself of the oppor- 
 tunity to express, in graceful and feeling terms, his admiration 
 of so excellent an institution, and, at the same time, his regret 
 that, owing to the res angusta domi, his contribution was not 
 such as to enable it to be considered as the true exponent of 
 his good wishes for the success of so useful and philanthropic 
 a society. 
 
 " Charity and benevolence never appear so amiable as in 
 those over whom 'impends misfortune's threatening cloud,' 
 and who, forgetting their own sufferings, endeavour to alle- 
 viate the distresses of others ; and we are, therefore, the 
 more gratified by this manifestation of the unfortunate Rajah's 
 kind-heartedness, inasmuch as it tends to remove any un- 
 
107 
 
 favourable representations which may have been propagated 
 against him." 
 
 The Marquis of Dalhousie having in his minute of the 
 28th of February, 1856, taken, what appeared to the Rajah, 
 to be an erroneous view of two incidents — the adoption of 
 the Christian faith by the Maharajah Dulleep Singh, and the 
 Christian baptism of his (the Rajah's) daughter, his Highness 
 addressed the following letter to the editor of the Morning 
 Post:— 
 
 CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 
 
 July 2nd, 1856. 
 
 Sir, — My attention has been called to a minute of the 
 Marquis of Dalhousie, the ex-Governor-General of India, 
 which was recently published by order of the House of Com- 
 mons, and in which his lordship is pleased to say ; — 
 
 " There are two incidents connected with the families of 
 native princes which remarkably signalize the period we are 
 now reviewing, though they may not be regarded as of poli- 
 tical moment. 
 
 " The first is the adoption of the Christian faith by 
 Maharajah Dulleep Singh, the last of the rulers of the Pun- 
 jaub. The act was voluntary on the part of the boy, and, 
 under the guidance of God's hand, was the result of his own 
 uninfluenced convictions. * » * 
 
 " The other incident is of a similar nature : I refer to the 
 Christian baptism of the daughter of the ex-Rajah of Coorg, 
 under the special protection of her Majesty the Queen.'- 
 
 Sir, with respect to the former of these incidents, I think 
 that the noble marquis is entirely wrong when, in terms more 
 befitting a pious frequenter of Exeter Hall than an astute and 
 philosophic statesman, he attributes io uninfluenced convictions 
 that which was the mere result of education. The facts are 
 
 these : — • 
 
 In the year 1847, when Maharajah Dulleep Singh Bahadoor 
 was only nine years of age, he was forcibly separated from his 
 
108 
 
 mother, the Maharanee Jindan Kour, the only relative he had 
 left in the world, and transferred to the care of the British 
 authorities, as appears from the following extract of a letter 
 addressed by the Resident at Lahore to the Secretary of the 
 Governor-General of India, and dated Lahore, Aug. 20, 1847 : 
 
 " Sirdar Shere Singh asked me this morning, how the news 
 should be broken to the young prince ; and, as the sirdar said 
 that, although a boy, the Maharajah had already begun to 
 understand his mother's character, and the impropriety of 
 sundry goings-on in the palace, I advised a plain, but kind, 
 statement of the real truth, viz., that the Maharanee's repu- 
 tation was so notorious, her vices so incorrigible, and her 
 example so pernicious, that the Governor-General thought it 
 wrong to leave him with her any longer. Word has just been 
 brought that the Maharajah took this disclosure with much 
 indifference, is deeply engaged in playing, and sent me his 
 salaam" ! ! 
 
 So that, according to the noble marquis, here is a child only 
 nine years old, and who, up to that time, had never, in all 
 probability, heard the word — Christianity — pronounced, found 
 suddenly embracing that faith from the mere impulse of unin- 
 fluenced convictions. What wonderful precocity surely the boy 
 must have evinced ! 
 
 " In school divinity as able 
 As he that hight irrefragable.'' 
 
 Did the noble marquis never read in the Koran, " that every 
 child is born a Mahommedan, but that it rests with the parents 
 to make him either a Jew or a Christian " ? 
 
 None, perhaps, except the followers of the false prophet, 
 will assent to the former of these assertions ; but who is there, 
 with a single grain of common sense in his composition, be 
 he Christian, Jew, or Turk, that will object to the latter, or 
 not admit — 
 
 " 'Tis education forms the infant mind, 
 Just as the twig is bent the tree 's inclined." 
 
 As for myself, sir, although brought up in the Hindoo reli- 
 
109 
 
 gion, I no sooner assumed the reigns of government than, 
 utterly abhorring and detesting the worshipping of idols, I 
 emancipated myself from its trammels ; so much so, indeed, 
 that during my twenty years' exile at Benares, I never once 
 entered a pagoda or temple, averting even my eyes from 
 them ; while, to discourage superstition still further by my 
 example, I never, during the eclipses of the sun or moon, 
 bathed in the river Ganges — a rite considered so solemn by 
 the Hindoos, that, in order to fulfil it, thousands of thousands 
 perform a long and weary pilgrimage to the sacred city. 
 
 Not satisfied with having abjured a false religion, I should 
 have proceeded still further and embraced Christianity myself, 
 had I not feared that, by so doing, I should sow dissension 
 and ill will among a large circle of dear relatives and friends. 
 As it was, however, I have brought up one daughter in that 
 faith ; and had the East India Company, after deposing me, 
 confiscating my revenues, and seizing my treasures, assigned 
 me a more liberal allowance than they did, I might then have 
 saved a sufficient sum to defray the expense of having all my 
 children similarly educated. 
 
 I have the honour to be, sir, your most obedient servant, 
 Veer Rajunder Waddeer, Rajah of Coorg. 
 
 The Rajah finding that all his representations to, and expos- 
 tulations with, the Hon. East India Company failed to induce 
 them to render him justice, determined, at length, upon making 
 an appeal to Parliament ; and upon his forwarding a statement 
 of his case to the Marquis of Clanricarde, that nobleman most 
 generously undertook to introduce the subject before the House 
 of Lords. The following is an accurate report of the discus- 
 sion which took place on that occasion : — 
 
 THE RAJAH OF COORG. 
 
 The Marquis of Clanricarde called the attention of her Ma- 
 jesty's Government, and of their lordships, to the case of the 
 
110 
 
 Rajah, of Coorg. The Rajah of Coorg, it appeared, had for- 
 merly been one of their most loyal allies in British India, but 
 in course of time his country became involved in war, and he 
 was himself made prisoner. The Indian Government settled 
 a pension upon him, and removed him from his own country 
 to Benares, where he had lived for upwards of eighteen years, 
 during which time he conducted himself with the loyalty of a 
 good subject, and won the esteem of all who knew him. In 
 1850 he applied for leave to come to England fox the purpqse 
 of superintending the education of his daughter, whom he 
 wished to be brought up as a Christian. Leave was granted 
 to him by the East India Company for one year. Now, every 
 one knew that when the East India Company gave leave of 
 absence to their servants, they did not limit it to one year. 
 The Rajah represented that a year would be insufficient for his 
 object ; and he was formally informed that it was customary 
 to give leave for one year, and that he could apply, if he required 
 it, for an extension in England. He, accordingly, came to Eng- 
 land in 1853, and in the spring of 1853, he renewed his appli- 
 cation to be allowed to remain in England. His appHcation 
 was peremptorily refused ; and because the East India Com- 
 pany had, not the power to seize his person in this country 
 [kear, hear), they determined to stop his pension, with the ex- 
 ception of that portion of it that was necessary for the support 
 of his family. A more despotic act never was perpetrated. 
 {Hear, hear.) The Rajah had been now, in all, two-and-twenty 
 years a subject of England, and he had conducted himself in 
 the most loyal and becoming manner ; and the attempt to re- 
 move him from this country, he (the Marquis of Clanricarde) 
 must say, was a most tyrannical act, for which no reason had 
 been alleged. The only question was his desire to stay here. 
 His health was precarious, and his medical advisers had told 
 him that this country was more healthy for him than India ; 
 but the East India Company had sent their physician to ex- 
 amine him, and he said there would be no danger in his return- 
 
Ill 
 
 ing to India by a sea voyage at a certain season of the year ; 
 but he (the Marquis of Clanricarde) must repeat that the con- 
 duct of the Company was most tyrannical. And that was not 
 all. Their lordships would hardly believe that the person so 
 treated was at law with the East India Company, and was at 
 that moment prosecuting a suit in Chancery against them for 
 the recovery of property ; and they, under such circumstances, 
 exercised their power most tyrannically to get him out of the 
 way, at the very time when his presence in this country was of 
 the utmost importance. Was there one of their lordships who 
 would not allow that that was an act of tyranny ? and he was 
 sure that it was an act which the Parliament of this country 
 would not allow. {^Hear.) It was impossible, however, that any 
 British Minister could sanction the treatment of a prince in that 
 manner; and he was sure that his right hon. friend (Mr. Ver- 
 non Smith) would not sanction it, and therefore he had only to 
 ask the Government what were the grounds upon which the 
 East India Company insisted on the return of this nobleman 
 to India, or upon which, in default of such return, they claimed 
 the right to withhold the amount they had contracted to give 
 him while in this country. 
 
 The Duke of Argyle said, the noble marquis seemed better 
 informed upon the details of the Rajah's case than he was, for 
 he had not seen any of the papers, and was only acquainted 
 with the general state of the facts. He believed that the Board 
 of Control had no power whatever to compel the East India 
 Company to pay the allowance which they had withheld from 
 the Rajah. The noble marquis had stated the facts correctly, 
 and by his statement he implied, that the Company had power 
 to require the return to India of this prince, who was con- 
 sidered in that country to be a prisoner of war. He might 
 say, in relation to the question, that the East India Company 
 in this country exercised considerable power in reference to 
 those under them : and with reference to the Rajah, he might 
 say the fact was, this prince had been considered in India a 
 
prisoner of war, and when he asked for leave to come to Eng- 
 land, it was granted for twelve months, but whether with the 
 assurance that the period would be extended at its expiration 
 he could not say. It was quite clear, that if the Rajah had 
 been a private individual, no such leave would have been re- 
 quired ; but the East India Company, from the nature of his 
 position, having the right to grant or withhold it, the demand 
 made upon him to return at the expiration of the leave, could 
 hardly be stigmatized as a tyrannical or unjustifiable act. 
 He (the Duke of Argyle) did not think it desirable that this 
 prince should be allowed to remain in this country, expending 
 the allowance given to him by the East India Company ; and 
 with regard to his being engaged in carrying on a lawsuit in 
 the Court of Chancery against the East India Company, he 
 (the Duke of Argyle) thought that he could carry it on quite 
 as well by instructions to his lawyers. It was well known, 
 that in cases of this kind, correspondence was frequently car- 
 ried on in England by deposed Indian princes with their former 
 subjects, and therefore it was necessary that the East India 
 Company should act with caution. 
 
 The Earl of Ellenborough confirmed the accuracy of the 
 noble duke's statement, that the Board of Control had no 
 power whatever to compel the Court of Directors to pay the 
 prince the sum they agreed to give him during the year he 
 had leave of absence. The noble marquis had stated the 
 facts of the case correctly, and he (the Earl of Ellenborough) 
 must say that, taking into consideration all the circumctances, 
 the conduct of the Court of Directors, in refusing payment to 
 the prince, was very ungenerous and unwise {/tear, hear, hear); 
 but, at the same time, he agreed with the noble duke, that it 
 was neither for the advantage of native princes, nor generally 
 for the advantage of the Government of India, that those princes 
 should come and reside in this country, in order to prosecute 
 their claims. He had himself privately advised the Rajah of 
 Coorg, four years ago, to return to his own country, being quite 
 
113 
 
 confident that it would be more to his own credit and comfort 
 to rest in the midst of his family at Benares, where he was 
 very much respected, than to reside as an individual unknown 
 in this country. As to the suit against the East India Com- 
 pany for the recovery of his property, he could not comprehend 
 how a question of that kind between two sovereigns — for such 
 they were — could be made the subject of inquiry before the 
 Court of Chancery ; and he believed it would be found, in the 
 course of the investigation, that the property neither belonged 
 to the Court of Directors, nor the Government of India, nor 
 the Rajah, but to the Crown, and that it had been misappro- 
 priated by the Government of India. If this prince were dis- 
 possessed of his property in consequence of military operations, 
 it clearly, as the prize of war, belonged, not to the Government 
 of India, but to the Crown ; and if the Crown asserted its right, 
 the Rajah would be deprived of all excuse for not returning, and 
 the Company of any reason for conducting themselves towards 
 him in a manner most ungenerous and uncourteous ; under 
 these circumstances he would suggest that the attention of the 
 law officers of the Crown should be drawn to the subject. 
 
 It appearing to the Rajah, upon reading the Duke of Argyle's 
 speech, that his Grace had been misinformed upon some points 
 of his case, his Highness took the liberty of addressing the 
 following letter to the noble Duke : — 
 
 20, Clifton Villas, July 22, 1856. 
 My Lord Duke, — The very great respect which I entertain 
 for your Grace, as a member of the House of Peers, not less 
 than as filling so distinguished a post in her Majesty's Govern- 
 ment, would, I conf(;ss, under any other circumstances than 
 those in which I am placed, liave deterred me from taking so 
 great a hberty as that of addressing to your Grace a few remarks 
 upon what fell from your Grace's hps on Monday, 21st instant, 
 in the House of Lords, upon the occasion of the Marquis of 
 
 H 
 
114 
 
 Clanricarde's asking the Government a question respecting the 
 treatment I have received from the East India Company. Your 
 Grace is represented, in the report of the Kmes nevpspaper of 
 the 22nd instant, as having said — 
 
 1 . That I was considered in India as a prisoner of war. 
 
 2. That I had leave given me to come to England for one jear. 
 
 3. That, at the expiration of that time, I was desired to 
 return to India, and, although I asked permission to remain 
 longer, yet, as it was competent for the East India Company to 
 grant that request or not, their vsdthholding the permission 
 could not be considered an act of tyranny. 
 
 4. That the East India Company considered it objectionable 
 that persons in my situation should continue in England, ex- 
 pending here the revenue granted them by the Company. 
 
 5. That your Grace could not think that there was any reason 
 to impute to the East India Company a desire to impede me 
 in the prosecution of my lawsuit, because I being in India could 
 conduct that quite as well as if I were in England, through the 
 means of legal agents. 
 
 6. That very considerable inconvenience was experienced by 
 the local Government of India by the residence of individuals 
 in my position in England, for they carried on a correspondence 
 with their former subjects, inducing sometimes the beUef that 
 they would recover their power. 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 1. It is perfectly true, I am considered as a prisoner of war, 
 and have been so for twenty-two years : a length of detention, 
 however, which might, I humbly conceive, have entitled me to 
 the benefit of an act of amnesty, the more especially as, during 
 the whole of that time, I have comported myself to the un- 
 qualified satisfaction of the Company's officers, under whose 
 surveillance I was placed, as I can prove by their own letters, 
 which are in my possession. This severity, not to say tyranny, 
 on the part of the East India Company, becomes the more con- 
 spicuous when contrasted with the graceful clemency of her 
 
115 
 
 Majesty, who granted her free pardon to convicted traitors 
 (O'Brien and others), after a detention of eight years, being 
 only about a third part of mine. 
 
 2. My leave of absence was not given me on the conditiojn 
 that I was to return at the expiration of twelve months, nor 
 have the East India Company any evidence, written or parole, 
 to prove that it was granted under such a proviso. I perfectly 
 well remember that, upon that occasion, I asked the late Major 
 Stewart, my superintendent, whether, if I chose to return home 
 before the expiration of twelve months, or prolong my stay 
 beyond that term, there would be any objection to my so doing. 
 His reply was, " It is only a matter of form ; we ourselves 
 apply for one year's leave of absence, which, upon our appli- 
 cation, is always extended, although some inconvenience may 
 arise to the service therefrom; it is an understood thing." 
 
 3. I do not pretend to question the competency of the East 
 India Company to deny my request, but, circumstanced as I 
 am, their refusal renders them obnoxious to the charge, if not 
 of tyranny, at least to that of harshness and undeserved 
 severity. The East India Company were fully informed of the 
 objects for which I came to England, viz., to superintend the 
 education and progress of my daughter, and prosecute my claim 
 against them : objects which they well knew could not be ac- 
 complished within so short a period as that of one year. 
 
 4. It appears singular that the objection of the East India 
 Company to absenteeism should be suspended in the case of 
 Maharajah Duleep Singh, an Indian prince residing in this 
 country, and spending forty times more than is allotted to me ; 
 but, however this may be, the objection cannot possibly apply 
 to me, for out of the annual allowance of £6000 made to me 
 by the East India Company, £4320 is paid to my family at 
 Benares, and is spent by them there, and £480 is assigned to 
 my daughter's education and support in this country. 
 
 5. The fact of my being compelled to return to India would 
 be fatal to my suit in Chancery — 
 
116 
 
 a. 2t^ the loss of time incurred in commnnicating, even 
 
 should I be allowed so to do, with my solicitors, from 
 so great a distance. 
 
 b. By there not being any English solicitor or lawyer at 
 
 Benares with whom I could consult. 
 
 c. By the order which, there is no doubt, would be sent to 
 
 the British Resident at Benares, to prevent me from 
 holding any correspondence with parties in England. 
 
 6. I have no right to call in question the assertion of the 
 Honourable Company with respect to other persons similarly 
 situated as myself ; it may or may not be correct ; but, for 
 myself, I most solemnly and emphatically declare that I have 
 never taken part in any intrigues of whatsoever nature against 
 the Honourable Company, and that I have never held any 
 correspondence with any person or persons in Coorg who Were 
 my former subjects. The favourable opinion of my conduct 
 entertained and expressed by Lord EUenborough as Governor- 
 General, by Lieut.-Colonel Carpenter, Lieut.-Colonel M'Gregor, 
 and others, who, from their official situation, were fully compe- 
 tent to form a correct opinion, sufficiently exonerates me from 
 so unjust, because unfounded, an imputation. 
 
 Believe me, my Lord Duke, when I assure your Grace, it is 
 no idle wish to controvert what your Grace has been pleased 
 to advance, that has induced me to venture upon these remarks^ 
 Conscious that ever since my deposal I have never meditated, 
 much less performed, any act prejudicial to the East India Com- 
 pany, or their interests, I feel more acutely their unjust treat- 
 ment of me, and am the more anxious to vindicate myself. 
 The consequences of my obeying their order, would be the 
 exacerbation of my disease to a degree which would endanger 
 my life itself, and the infallible destruction of my suit in 
 Chancery, for the reasons above stated. 
 
 Apologizing to your Grace for thus encroaching upon your 
 very valuable time, I remain, &c. 
 
 His Grace the Duke of Argyle, &c. &c. 
 
117 
 
 The debate was resumed on the 35th of July, by the Marquis 
 of Clanricarde, who said : — 
 
 My Lords, I now rise to move for copies of any minute of 
 the East Indian Government in 1834, specifying the terms and 
 conditions of the allowance to be made to the deposed Rajah 
 of Coorg. The more I learn on the question of the tyranny 
 practised upon this unfortunate prince, the more discreditable 
 the conduct of the Indian Government appears. I hope that 
 the members of the Government in this House will give us an 
 assurance that Mr. Vernon Smith will inquire into this subject, 
 and that the result will be, that the Rajah of Coorg will be 
 allowed to reside in the capital of his sovereign, unless some 
 good reason should be shown why he should not do so. As 
 yet no reason whatever has been shown against it. I know it 
 is said that it is inconvenient for these Indian princes to be 
 coming over and spending their income in this country. But, 
 my lords, I should like to ask to whom it is inconvenient ? 
 It cannot be inconvenient to any honest man. I cannot under- 
 stand on what ground the East India Company require this 
 prince to spend his money in India, particularly as his allow- 
 ance from them is only £1200. I am astonished that they 
 should have the audacity to talk of the inconvenience of 
 spending Indian revenue in this country, when I hear of their 
 paying £700 to one counsel, and £600 to another, for giving 
 them bad advice. 
 
 My lords, the Rajah of Coorg is a man to whom the East 
 India Company are under great obligations, and instead of 
 allowing him £1200 a year, and refusing him permission to 
 reside in this country, he ought to have received very different 
 treatment at their hands. 
 
 A noble lord, the other night, expressed his astonishment 
 at the affairs of an Indian prince getting into the Court of 
 Chancery ; but I say, " Thank God we have a Court of Chan- 
 cery ! " The East India Company refused this unfortunate 
 prince the documents necessary to prove his claims, but they 
 
118 
 
 could not do that when the matter was carried into the Court 
 of Chancery. My lords, the conclusion to which I cannot 
 avoid coming is, that they want the Rajah to be forced out of 
 this country, that he may not be able to attend to his lawsuit 
 in Chancery, which he has instituted to enforce his rights. 
 
 My lords, so far from its being inconvenient that these 
 Indian princes should come to reside in this country, I think 
 nothing can be better calculated to educate and Christianize 
 the natives of India, than that those of them who can afford it 
 ■ should come over here, to inform themselves as to the manners 
 and customs, the literature and religion of this country. I 
 believe that the voluntary return of native princes, like the 
 Rajah of Coorg, to India, after they have lived for some years 
 at the centre of British civilization, and near the Court of their 
 Sovereign, is more calculated to benefit India, and consolidate 
 British power in that country, than any attempts, dictated by 
 a miserable jealousy, to send those princes back to their native 
 country. I venture to say, my lords, that there never was an 
 instance yet, in the history of nations, of a chief who, being 
 conquered, was driven from the capital of the conquering 
 country, against which he had no inclination to intrigue, and 
 of which he had become the subject. I do hope that the 
 Government will not object to this return, and that they will 
 take the case of this prince into their consideration. {Hear, 
 hear.) 
 
 The Duke of Argtle. — I explained the other night that I 
 did not feel called upon, on behalf of the Government, to de- 
 fend the course taken by the East India Company on this 
 subject. They do not feel called upon to express an opinion 
 either for or against it, because it does so happen that the law 
 for the payment of pensions does give a very large discretion 
 on that point to the East India Company. It is not a matter 
 in which the Government has full right to control the East 
 India Company. If Parliament should think fit to alter the 
 constitution of the Indian Government in that particular — if, 
 
119 
 
 at any future time, Parliament should think right to give the 
 Government more power — then it vyould be a different ques- 
 tion. But, hitherto, Parliament has exhibited considerable 
 jealousy in giving the Home Government power of control 
 directly over the revenues of India. Personally I may say, 
 that I rather agree with the noble marquis, and that I do not 
 see any harm in allowing this old prince to remain in London 
 as long as he wishes to do so. {Hear, hear.) I believe, how- 
 ever, he was in such a position as to require leave of absence 
 from India from the Company, I believe that, on condition 
 of spending a year in this country, leave was given for one 
 year, and, after the expiration of that period, the Company 
 signified their wish to the Rajah of Coorg that he should 
 return to India. 
 
 The Earl of Ellenborough. — I think the noble marquis 
 had better alter the terms of his motion. The Company will 
 say there is no minute, and one year wUl be lost. If " orders" 
 are then substituted, they will say there are no orders, and 
 another year will be lost. The noble marquis had better take 
 general words, and then the Company cannot escape from 
 making some return. 
 
 The Marquis of Clanricarde. — I am obliged to the noble 
 earl, and will adopt his suggestion. 
 
 The motion was then amended, and, as amended, agreed to. 
 
 The following petition was also presented (July 28, 1856) 
 to the House of Commons, by Mr. Milner Gibson :— 
 
 App. 1281. Mr. Milner Gibson. Sig. 1, 
 
 13,819. This petition of Veer Rajunder Waidar, late Rajah 
 
 of Coorg, 
 
 Humbly showeth, — That your petitioner was an inde- 
 pendent Hindoo Sovereign Prince until the year 1834, when 
 he was conquered by the East India Company's forces, and 
 sent a state prisoner to Benares. 
 
120 
 
 2. That the East India Company took possession of your 
 petitioner's dominions, seized his treasures and valuables, to 
 the amount of £150,000 sterling, and, in flagrant violation of 
 the law of nations, appropriated to themselves the capital of 
 £80,000 East India Stock, together with the dividends thereon, 
 which sum was held by your petitioner for moneys lent at 
 various times to the said East India Company, by the uncle 
 and father of your petitioner. 
 
 3. That, in the year 1852, your petitioner obtained leave of 
 absence for one year from the Local Government, for the pur- 
 pose of visiting England. 
 
 4. That, upon your petitioner's arrival in England, a 
 monthly allowance of £100 was made to him by the East 
 India Company. 
 
 5. That this monthly allowance was deducted from an 
 annual one of 60,000 rupees, assigned by the East India 
 Company to your petitioner upon his being deposed by them, 
 the residue thereof being paid to your petitioner's family at 
 Benares. 
 
 6. That, shortly after your petitioner's arrival in London, 
 he instituted a suit in Chancery against the East India Com- 
 pany, for the recovery of the aforesaid £80,000 stock, your 
 petitioner's claim to which the East India Company refused 
 to recognize, notwithstanding that the said stock stands in 
 your petitioner's name in the said Company's ledgers . 
 
 7. That, upon your petitioner's applying to the Local Go- 
 vernment for leave to visit England, he distinctly stated that 
 it was his intention so to institute the said suit. 
 
 8. That, after your petitioner had resided one year in Eng- 
 land, the East India Company stopped his monthly allowance 
 of £100, under the pretext that he had engaged to return to 
 India after the expiration of twelve months, an assertion con- 
 trary to fact, and one which the said East India Company have 
 no evidence, written or parole, to substantiate. 
 
 9. That the East India Company make your petitioner's 
 
121 
 
 immediate return to India the sine qua non of their renewing 
 the aforesaid monthly stipend of £100. 
 
 10. That three reasons prevent your petitioner's complying 
 with this harsh and unjust condition : — 
 
 (a.) The very precarious state of his health, as proved by 
 medical certificates. 
 
 (5.) His anxiety for the suitable estabhshment in life of his 
 beloved daughter, whom he brought over to this coun- 
 try for the purpose of being educated in the Christian 
 religion. 
 
 (c.) His wish to await the decision upon his case by the 
 High Court of Chancery. 
 
 11. That the East India Company's object in thus peremp- 
 torily insisting upon your petitioner's return to his native 
 country is that of crippling his resources should he attempt to 
 remain in England, or, should he consent to go back to India, 
 of obstructing the progress of his Chancery suit — 1. By the 
 loss of time incurred in communicating, even should he be 
 allowed to do so, with his solicitors ; 2. By there not being 
 any English solicitor or lawyer at Benares with whom he could 
 consult ; 3. By the order which, there is no doubt, would be 
 sent to the British Resident at Benares to prevent your peti- 
 tioner from carrying on any correspondence with parties in 
 England. 
 
 12. That ever since your petitioner's deposal, he has cau- 
 tiously abstained from engaging in any intrigues against the 
 East India Company ; and that, since his arrival in England, 
 he has never carried on any correspondence whatsoever with 
 any person or persons in Coorg. 
 
 Your petitioner, therefore, most humbly but earnestly en- 
 treats that your honourable House, exerting the power with 
 which it has been invested for defending the weak against the 
 strong, and vindicating the cause of the oppressed, will pro- 
 cure your petitioner redress, by obtaining for him the conti- 
 nuance of his aforesaid pension of £100 per month, together 
 
123 
 
 with the payment of all arrears of the same which may now 
 be due to him. 
 
 And your petitioner will ever pray, &c. 
 
 Veer Rajunder Waidar, late Rajah of Coorg. 
 20, Chfton Villas, Warwick Road, Maida Hill West, 
 July 23, 1856. 
 
 On August 4th the Rajah made his last appeal to the justice 
 of the Hon. Company, by the following letter : — 
 
 To the Honourable the Court of Directors of the Honourable 
 East India Company. 
 
 Honourable Sirs, — I duly received the answer you were 
 pleased to order should be returned to my last communication, 
 and although my regret is necessarily great at learning there- 
 from, that you still adhere to your determination of withhold- 
 ing the payment of my monthly allowance, yet that regret is, 
 in some degree, modified by the assurance, that " your refusal 
 to pay me my pension, in this country, has no reference to the 
 fact of my being engaged in litigation against the East India 
 Company." 
 
 As I apprehend, therefore, the reason of that refusal is now 
 confined to my declining to return forthwith to India ; but I 
 have yet to learn in what respect my remaining here a short 
 time longer, can be injurious to the Company, more especially 
 after the disclaimer you have made as above, touching my suit 
 in Chancery. 
 
 As regards the state of my health, Dr. Lewis, my medical 
 attendant, still adheres to his opinion, that until I am perfectly 
 convalescent, the voyage to India would be most perilous 
 for me. 
 
 With respect to my suit in Chancery, my removal to India 
 would inevitably prove fatal to it, if only from the loss of time 
 necessarily incurred in communicating with my legal advisers 
 here, even should I be allowed to do so, which is extremely 
 
123 
 
 doubtful, as well as from the fact, that there is no English soli- 
 citor or attorney at Benares with whom I could consult. 
 
 As to my pension, allow me, Honourable Sirs, to observe, that 
 had I insisted upon the whole of it (£6000) being paid to me 
 in this country, you might then, indeed, have been justified, by 
 circumstances, in your refusal to comply ; but it is only apor- 
 tioTi of that pension which I ask you to continue, in fact only 
 one-fifth part thereof. What then, let me ask, can be your 
 objection to my disbursing a sum comparatively so small, for 
 a short time longer, in this country ? 
 
 The same reason which induces you to withhold my pit- 
 tance ought, surely, to operate equally in the case of his High- 
 ness the Maharajah Duleep Singh, and yet you permit that 
 prince to expend the whole of his allowance, which is forty 
 times * greater than mine, in this country, nor have you im- 
 posed any limitation to his stay therein. 
 
 But in what are his Highness's claims to your indulgence 
 superior to mine? 
 
 Removed, when nine years old, from the Ranee, his mother, 
 he received an English education, and was brought up in the 
 Christian faith. Everywhere the object of attention and re- 
 gard, and, I believe, deservedly so, on account of his amiable, 
 unassuming, and prepossessing manners, he has been free from 
 aU those cares, anxieties, and afflictions, which have nearly 
 bowed me to the grave ; he has never known the humiUation 
 of having been vanquished in the field, the mortification of 
 having been despoiled of his treasures, and the irksomeness 
 of a twenty years' detention. Young, he has yet in prospect 
 many years of prosperity and happiness ; whereas if I, suffer- 
 
 * Terms granted to the Maharajah Duleep Singh Bahadoor, on the part of the Hon. 
 East India Company, 29th March, 1849, Art. 4, and ratified by Earl Dalhousie, Go- 
 remor-General, 5th April, 1849: "His Highness Duleep Singh shall receive from the 
 Hon. East India Company, for the support of himself, his relations, and the servants of 
 the state, a pension not less than four, and not exceedmg five lacs of Company's rupees 
 per annum."— Betum to an Order of the.Hon. House of Commons, dated 23rd May, 
 18S6. Bast India House, 7th July, 1836, p. 57. 
 
124 
 
 ing at once with age and infirmities, venture to throw a glance 
 upon the few years which Providence may still vouchsafe me, 
 I can descry nought but gloom and wretchedness, unless you. 
 Honourable Sirs, relent, and deign to shed over them a gleam 
 of comfort and a ray x)f hope. 
 
 Had I, Honourable Sirs, taken any part in intrigues against 
 your Honourable Company; had I assembled around me 
 disaffected natives, and concocted with, them schen:es for 
 annoying or injuring the East India Company; or had I 
 held a secret correspondence with any of my former subjects 
 in Coorg, for the purpose of endeavouring to recover my lost 
 power — then, indeed, I should have merited, and you, Honour- 
 able Sirs, would have been justified in inflicting upon me, this 
 act of undue severity ; but even you, yourselves. Honourable 
 Sirs, will fully acquit me of such conduct, holding, as I do, 
 the testimonials of your own officers to the invariable pro- 
 priety and correctness of my deportment. 
 
 Honourable Sirs, I feel confident that when you calmly 
 consider my case, as individuals, apart from your corporate 
 capacity, there is not one of you, who, laying his hand upon 
 his breast, will say — I approve of depriving the old Rajah of 
 Coorg of his monthly stipend — I approve of forcing this old 
 man, who has never done me any wrong, to return to India 
 at the peril of his life— I approve of separating him from his 
 daughter, " the child of his bosom," that child whose spiritual 
 Welfare was one of the chief objects of his coming to this 
 country — I approve of throwing insurmountable obstacles in 
 his way of obtaining what he considers his just claims, by 
 interposing oceans between him and his legal advisers. , 
 
 Will you, then. Honourable Sirs, approve, collectively, that 
 which you condemn, individually ? 
 
 Honourable Sirs, your physical power is undoubtedly great, 
 but it is not that alone which supports your vast empire : it is 
 the moral influence you have there obtained, that is the surest 
 bulwark of your dominion ; and any act, however trifling and 
 
135 
 
 insignificant it may appear, which is calculated to diminish 
 that influence, impairs your strength, and undermines your 
 authority. 
 
 Reflect that it is not my case alone which has recently been 
 brought before the British and, consequently, before the Indian 
 public ; and although an individual instance of injustice may 
 pass unnoticed, repeated ones may lead to the most deplorable 
 and fatal consequences. 
 
 I, therefore, Honourable Sirs, most humbly, but most ear- 
 nestly entreat and implore you to reconsider my case, not only 
 as the masters of a vast and powerful empire, but also as 
 Christian mqn desirous of " doing unto others as you would 
 yourselves be done unto," and as fellow-men, united to me by 
 the sympathies of our common nature. 
 
 By the exercise of your power you can abridge the few 
 remaining years still left me in this world. Will you do so ? 
 
 By the exercise of your justice you can render the residue 
 of my existence comfortable and happy. Will you do so ? 
 
 I am, with the most profound respect. Honourable Sirs, your 
 most obedient humble servant. 
 
 Veer Rajunder Waidar, late Rajah of Coorg. 
 20, Clifton Villas, Warwick Road, Maida Hill West, 
 London, August 4, 1856. 
 
 On the 13th of September, the Rajah had the satisfaction 
 of receiving from the Hon. Court of Directors a reply, the 
 copy of which is as follows : — 
 
 East India House, September 12, 1856. 
 Sir, — I am commanded by the Court of Directors of the 
 East India Company to acknowledge the receipt of your letter 
 of the 4th ultimo, and, in reply I am directed to inform you, that 
 as you state your return to India at the present time would 
 " inevitably prove fatal" to the lawsuit you have instituted 
 
126 
 
 against the East India Company, and as the Court of Directors 
 are desirous that no obstacle should be opposed to the adju- 
 dication of the said suit, on its own merits, you are permitted 
 to remain in England, until further communication with the 
 Government of India, of which notice will be given you. 
 
 I am directed to add that your pension will be paid in full, 
 by the Government of India, from the time of the suspension 
 of its payment. — I have, &c. 
 
 (Signed) J. D. Dickinson, Assist. Secretary. 
 
 To H.H. Veer Rajunder Wadeer, Ex-Rajah of Coorg. 
 
 Desirous of not interrupting the thread of our narrative, 
 we have hitherto refrained from noticing, with a view to re- 
 futation, the grave charges which, shortly before and after his 
 deposal, were brought against the Rajah. We shall now 
 proceed to offer a few observations upon them, premising, in 
 the first place, that it is important to remark that no attempt 
 has ever been made by the East India Company to establish 
 the truth of these charges, either oflJcially or by witnesses 
 confronted with the accused in a court of justice ; and that, 
 until this be done, the Rajah must be considered innocent of 
 them, by virtue of the well-known maxim of English law, 
 that no man shall be considered guilty until proved to be so. 
 Secondly, that accusations of this description are always 
 justly liable to suspicion, when they are known to be made 
 from interested motives ; and such was the case, for the East 
 India Company, being about to violate the law of nations by 
 the dishonest confiscation of the Rajah's funded property, 
 considered it necessary to palliate their injustice by blacken- 
 ing the character of their victim, and thus depriving him of 
 all public sympathy. "Those princes," says Howitt, "that 
 were once subjected to the British power or the British 
 friendship, were set up or pulled down just as it suited the 
 pleasure of their conquerors or their friends. If necessary. 
 
127 
 
 the most odious stigmas were fixed on them, to get rid of them; 
 they were declared weak, dissolute, or illegitimate." ^ 
 
 Such indeed has been the Company's invariable rule in all 
 similar cases. Is the annexation of an unoffending ally con- 
 sidered expedient ? — is the transfer of the contents of his full 
 coffers to their empty treasury deemed desirable ? — is the ex- 
 tinction of a burdensome debt regarded as convenient ? — the 
 word is given that all calumnies against him will be thank- 
 fully received by the Resident, to be afterwards chronicled by 
 mendacious historians, and propagated by hypocritical mis- 
 sionaries : the game is then started, and the unfortunate prince 
 is hounded on to ruin, and perhaps to death. 
 
 Two most serious charges have been brought against the 
 Rajah : — 
 
 1. That of having murdered his own sister and her children. 
 
 2. The perpetration of murder and oppression generally. 
 The circumstances under which the first of these charges 
 
 was ' made were these : — The Rajah had forwarded, through 
 the Court of Directors, to the Indian Government, a memorial, 
 dated June 8, 1853, on the subject of the stock standing hi 
 the name of his sister the Princess Dewa-Ammajee, whose heir 
 he was, and which stock amounted to 653,940 rupees, or 
 £65,394 steriing. After a lapse of more than a year, his 
 Highness received the following reply : — 
 
 Foreign Department, Fort William, 
 30th June, 1854. 
 SiBj — ^Your memorial, dated London, June 8, 1853, to the 
 address of the Court of Directors, having been duly forwarded 
 by that body to the Government of India, I have now the 
 honour, by direction of the Most Noble the Governor-General 
 in Council, to transmit to you the accompanying extract from 
 a despatch just received in reply fi-om the Hon. Com-t, con- 
 taining their decision on your claim to certain Government 
 
 ' The English in Ittdia, page 12. 
 
128 
 
 promissory notes belonging to the late Princess Dewa- 
 Ammajee. I have, &c., 
 
 (Signed) G. F. Edmonstone, 
 
 Secretary to the Government of India. 
 
 The extract accompanying the above letter was as follows : 
 
 Extract from a DesjjatcJi from the Hon. Court of Directors, 
 dated April 27, 1854; No. 16. 
 
 The claim of the Ex-Rajah to these promissory notes is 
 wholly untenable. He assumes to be the heir to the Princess 
 Dewa-Ammajee, who died at the commencement of the Coorg 
 war, having been, as appears from Lieut.-General Cotton's 
 letter of the 23rd September, 1853, put to death, with all her 
 children, by the Rajah, a few days before the advance of our 
 troops. Her effects, if they had rightfully devolved to him, 
 were included in the general confiscation of his property, 
 which took place at the conquest. 
 
 (Signed) G. P. Edmonstone. 
 
 Secretary to the Government of India. 
 
 It was on the 4th of April, 1837, that the Madras Govern- 
 ment, in a letter addressed by its secretary to Messrs. Binny 
 and Co., the Rajah's solicitors, frst denied the proprietary 
 claim of his Highness to the Government security standing 
 in the name of the late Princess Dewa-Ammajee, without, 
 however, assigning any ground upon which that denial rested. 
 Now, the Rajah having been deposed in 1834, the atrocity he 
 is accused of must have been committed prior to that time, 
 and have been known to the Company before 1837. Why, 
 then, did they not state the alleged crime as their reason for 
 denying his claim in 1837? Why did they suppress all 
 mention of it in the proclamation they issued upon declaring 
 war against his Highness ? Why did they not publish it to 
 the world prior to 1854, that is, more than twenty years after 
 
129 
 
 it was said to have been committed. Why, but that they hoped 
 the lapse of time might deprive their victim of every chance 
 of exculpating himself from so diaboUcal a charge, all the wit- 
 nesses who could have proved that the parties had died of 
 cholera, being no longer in existence? 
 
 Nothing could exceed the Rajah's astonishment at having 
 so monstrous a crime imputed to him ; and accordingly, on 
 the 23rd of November, 1854, he addressed the following 
 letter, in reply, to G. F. Edmonstone, Esq., Secretary to the 
 Government of India, Fort William, Calcutta : — 
 
 Sir, — I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 
 the 30th of June, 1854, enclosing an extract from a despatch 
 from the Honourable the Court of Directors, dated 27th April, 
 1854; and, as I have now appealed to the Courts of justice 
 for redress, I forbear from noticing your communication fur- 
 ther than by denying, with the greatest indignation and in 
 the most positive terms, the calumny contained in the extract 
 from the despatch, which states that I put the Princess Dewa 
 Ammajee and her children to death — a calumny which has 
 not the slightest foundation to rest upon, and the falsehood of 
 which would be at once proved by inquiry. — I have, &c., 
 (Signed) Veer Rajunder Wadeer. 
 
 November 23, 1854. 
 
 The second charge is contained in the following extract from 
 a letter addressed to the Rajah of Coorg, by S. Graeme, Esq., 
 the Resident of Napoore, and dated November 6, 1833 : — 
 
 " By the perpetration of murder, and the exercise of tyranny 
 over your subjects, you will cause mismanagement in your 
 kingdom : this does not become you, and you are recom- 
 mended to refrain from such a course of conduct." 
 
 The Rajah replied to this communication, on the 10th of 
 November, 1833, in these words: — 
 
 " The contents of your letter, dated the 6th inst., greatly 
 
130 
 
 surprised me. You charge me with the diabolical crimes of 
 murder and tyranny. / beg of you to let me know the names 
 of the parties I have put to death — the place — the date, on 
 which I am charged with the crimes alleged against me : 
 then I shall be able to furnish you with full particulars and 
 information." 
 
 On the 17th November, Mr. Graeme answered as follows : — 
 
 Camp, Mysore, 17th November, 1833. 
 I am in receipt of your letter, and in reply, after many 
 humble apologies, beg to state, that it was the mistake of the 
 translator. I do not bring such charges against you, and beg 
 of you to forgive me. What I meant was this : that you should 
 prevent your officers from doing anything of the sort.^ 
 
 An equally triumphant answer to a similar charge has been 
 already given, by Mr. JeafiFreson, in the following words : — 
 
 " Another fact also, I think it my duty to state, in disproof 
 of such calumnies. Before leaving Bombay (on a visit to the 
 Rajah), several persons residing there, and who had received 
 intelligence that some of their relations in Coorg had been 
 unjustly and most cruelly put to death by the Rajah, desired 
 me to make inquiries as to the truth of such reports. This I 
 did ; and it was mth the greatest pleasure I obtained the surest 
 proof of the falsehood of such allegations, by the appearance 
 before me, in real flesh- and blood, of the very parties who were 
 said to have been so unceremoniously di^osed of."^ 
 
 Had these charges against the Rajah, and particularly the 
 dreadful one of sororicide, been founded in fact, would not, we 
 repeat, the East India Company have gladly blazoned them 
 to the world in their proclamation — that is, in their official 
 apology for despoiling him of his throne and treasures ? In- 
 stead, however, of their so doing, the only specific charge they 
 
 ' The original letter is in the Eajah's posBession. 
 ' See page 40. 
 
131 
 
 brought against him was that of refusing to. deUver up 
 Canara Menon, whose detention was fully justified by the law 
 of nations. 
 
 As to the general accusations of cruelty and oppression, they 
 come with an ill grace from those whose power has been 
 cemented by blood, rapine, and corruption, and who, until 
 very lately, have connived at the infliction of torture upon 
 their unfortunate subjects.^ Quis tulerit Gracchos de seditione 
 querentes ? 
 
 But even these shadowy and undefined charges are most 
 satisfactorily disposed of by the memorial and statement 
 inserted elsewhere, as well as by the testimony .borne to the 
 same effect by Mr. Jeaffreson.^ 
 
 The truly flattering testimonials^ given in favour of the 
 Rajah's character and conduct, by Colonel Carpenter, Lord 
 Ellenborough, and Lieut. -Colonel Macgregor — all of whom, 
 from their having been on the spot, had ample opportunities 
 of judging of the truth or falsehood of such allegations — 
 furnish still further evidence in his behalf, arid cannot fail to 
 prove, to every unprejudiced and disinterested mind, the moral 
 impossibility of his having been guilty of the foul crimes so 
 falsely and cruelly attributed to him ; for as easily might " the 
 Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots," as a man 
 who had steeped his hands in the blood of those nearest to 
 him, could remain for years without betraying some indications 
 of the ferocity natural to him, or evincing some symptoms of 
 remorse for so dreadful a crime. 
 
 " Quo semel imbuta eat recens, servabit odorem 
 Testa din." 
 
 Ample time was given, before the Rajah's arrival in this 
 country, for the proofs, had there been any, of such atrocious 
 
 1 See, Is the Practioe of Torture in Madras toith the Sanation of the Anthorities of 
 Leadenhall Street 1 By Malcolm Lewin, Esq., &c., late Second Ju^ge of Sudder and 
 Poujdaree Adawlut of the Madras Presidency. 1856. 
 
 3 See pages 40, 60, 61. ^ See pages 63, 64, 65. 
 
132 
 
 crimes to have preceded him ; but the cordial reception he met 
 T^ith from the Directors of the Honourable East India Com- 
 pany — the distinguished honour conferred upon him by her 
 most gracious Majesty, who condescended to stand sponsor 
 to his Highness's daughter, the Princess Gouramma, and to 
 admit him to her levees and state balls — not less than the 
 alacrity with which so many distinguished members of both 
 Houses of Parliament came forward to advocate his cause 
 against the Court of Directors — prove to demonstration that 
 all the efforts of his traducers had failed in their effect, and 
 that the character of his Highness had come forth, like gold 
 from the fiery ordeal, with greater purity. 
 
 And now a word or two as to the origin and propagation 
 of these wicked libels. In the year 1830, Mr. Casamajor, the 
 Company's Resident at Mysore, having been sent on a mission 
 to Coorg, behaved in so insolent and domineering a manner 
 to the Rajah, that the latter, unable to brook such conduct, 
 wrote to the Governor- General to desire that his agent might 
 be recalled. The Local Government acquiesced, thereby ac- 
 knowledging the justice of the Rajah's complaint ; Mr. Casa- 
 major was removed, and, shortly after his departure, the sinister 
 reports in question were, for the first time, bruited abroad : 
 with whom they originated it will not, therefore, be difficult 
 to determine. 
 
 Two persons have been chiefly instrumental in circu- 
 lating these reports — thornton, the author of a history of 
 British India, and an American missionary, rejoicing in the 
 name of Moegling. Repudiating, as we do, the remotest in- 
 tention of imputing wrong motives to any one, yet, considering 
 that it is the bounden duty of a writer, before he gives cur- 
 rency to reports seriously affecting the character of individuals, 
 to satisfy himself as to their truth, we cannot but regret that 
 Mr. Thornton should have brought against the Rajah charges, 
 in support of which he has not adduced a single authority, 
 not even the shadow of a proof. That Mr. Thornton did not 
 
133 
 
 take the trouble to make the requisite inquiry as to the cor- 
 rectness of his allegations, will, we apprehend, be sufficiently 
 proved by the following passage from his work, and its refuta- 
 tion. •" The annexation," he says, " of the conquered territory 
 to the British dominions is not, on the first view, so dearly 
 justifiable ; but a very few words of explanation will show that, 
 in this instance also, the right course was taken. The Bcyah 
 was childless, and he had taken effectual measures to cut off 
 all pretensions to the succession not derived from himself. 
 The vacant throne was without a claimant, and the power 
 which had occupied the country M^as called upon to provide, 
 in some manner, for the administration of the Government."^ 
 What will the reader think of the accuracy of the writer of 
 the above passage when he is told that the Bajah of Coorg 
 had, at the time of his deposal, a legitimate son, now living, 
 and who, having been born in 1831, was two years old when 
 the country was annexed? 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Mcegling, an American missionary, is the other 
 person who has recently revived and given increased circulation 
 to these calumnious reports, in his work entitled Coorg Memoirs, 
 published at Bangalore in 1855. The malevolence and injus- 
 tice which, as far as the Rajah is concerned, this reverend 
 gentleman exhibits, is, indeed, painful in the extreme to every 
 well-disposed and unprejudiced mind. 
 
 Mr. Mcegling, in his Preface,^ observes-^-" A child of this 
 house (the Rajah's family) has found her way into the Church 
 of Christ ; and Queen Victoria, Sovereign of the greatest em- 
 pire of the world, has not been ashamed to bestow her name 
 and affection upon a daughter of the last of the Haleri Rajahs. 
 Auspicious omen for Coorg ! give, thanks unto the Lord, 
 for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever !" 
 
 Now, let us ask, through whose instrumentality did the 
 Church of England obtain this interesting neophyte, except 
 through that of her father the Rajah, who, in bringing his 
 
 1 Sistory of British' India, vol. 7. p. 214. ^ Page 5. 
 
134 
 
 daughter to this country for the purpose of having her trained 
 up in Christ's pure religion, must have acted either proprio 
 rnotu, or under influence from above : if the former, he is 
 surely deserving of commendation ; if the latter, he is, at least, 
 entitled to respect, as the recipient of divine grace. The 
 terms, therefore, of wretch, teller of barefaced lies, fool, and 
 coward, &c., heaped so unsparingly by this Christian mission- 
 ary upon his Highness, are equally unbecoming the reverend 
 author, either as a minister or a gentleman. 
 
 In the same page, Mr. Moegling assures his readers that " no 
 statement has been made without careful examination. Truth 
 has been told sine ird et studio"; and he then thus apostro- 
 phizes them — " Let such as know how to pray, offer up their 
 supplications for the salvation of Coorg. The judgment of 
 God has descended upon the race of the Rajahs !" 
 
 Now, had the Rev. Mr. Moegling made the necessary inquiries 
 as to the truth of the atrocious calumnies he was about to give 
 such extensive circulation to, he would have learnt that the 
 Rajah's sister and her family had been carried off by cholera ; 
 he must have known that Lord Ellenborough, Mr. Jeaffreson, 
 Colonels Carpenter and Macgregor, had all borne testimony 
 in the Rajah's favour ; he could not have been ignorant of 
 the regret expressed by the Rajah's subjects upon his being 
 deposed, or of the gratuitous charge brought against him by 
 Mr. Graeme — a charge which that gentleman afterwards re- 
 tracted, offering, at the same time, the amplest apology ; and, 
 lastly, the energy with which the Rajah's case was taken up 
 by the House of Lords, and the cordial reception given to his 
 Highness by the elite of the English aristocrary, must have 
 come to his knowledge : all which circumstances the reverend 
 missionary should have given publicity to, had he written, as 
 he asserts he did, sine ird et studio. Either, therefore, this 
 reverend author, this preacher of the Gospel, never did make 
 the careful examination which he assures his readers he did, 
 or, having made it, he has suppressed the truth. We leave 
 
135 
 
 him the choice of either horn of the dilemma, with this 
 friendly suggestion, that the next time he prays, it should be 
 for a greater supply of Chribtian- charity and love of truth, 
 and for a mind more disposed to do justice between man and 
 man. 
 
 As a further proof how little the assertions of this reverend 
 gentleman are to be depended upon, we quote the foUowmg 
 passages from his work : — 
 
 " The Government of the Company 
 succeeded (the deposition of the Ka- 
 jah), person and property were now 
 safe, peace and security were esta- 
 blished in Coorg." ^ 
 
 *' Little or nothing has been done 
 for the education of the people. No- 
 thing has been attempted systemati- 
 cally to raise them in intelligence and 
 character; on the contrary, it is a 
 common complaint that three vices, 
 drunkenness, sexual Ucentiousness, and 
 lying, have greatly increased during 
 the Company's reign. In former days 
 the native rulers suppressed drunken- 
 ness by summary and violent means ; 
 now, the Government draws a large 
 revenue from the sale of intoxicating 
 liquors. Prostitutes formerly were 
 turned out of the country, and Coorg 
 men severely punished and degraded 
 for intercourse with low-caste women; 
 now, the wicked and shameless may 
 do as they please. In past times, the 
 Bajah would, now and then, cut off a 
 man's tongue or his head, for having 
 spoken a falsehood; in these days, 
 the man who lies most impudently, 
 and swears most fearlessly, often 
 gains the cause : when lies do not 
 succeed, bribes do."^ 
 
 We certainly never expected to find, in a Christian minister, 
 the most sacred duty of whose vocation is to inculcate truth, 
 and promote charity and good will among men, so lamentable 
 a discrepancy between acts and professions : and, after such a 
 
 Page 206. 
 
 Page 28. 
 
136 
 
 specimen of what a missionary ought not to be, we trust that 
 our American brethren will, in future, exercise greater care 
 and circumspection in the choice of those upon whom they 
 impose so awful and responsible a duty. 
 
 Our little narrative being now brought to a conclusion, the 
 writer may be allowed to observe, that the objects of his work 
 will be sufficiently attained, if, in addition to affording amuse- 
 ment and information, it shall cause the policy and acts of 
 the Honourable East India Company to be watched with a 
 more vigilant eye than heretofore, and shall awaken in the 
 public mind a sympathy on behalf of the last of the Coorg 
 Rajahs, his Highness Veer RajunderWadeer, — 
 
 "a man more sinn'd against, than sinning." 
 
 THE end.