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36 the proclamation of a Muhammadan Empire at Delhi. From many quarters came rumours of plots and treasonable preparations. Seditious emissaries and Sepoy deserters entered the Presidency in large numbers, with the object of tampering with the army and of exciting disloyalty towards the Government. But it is satisfactory to record that their evil purpose was not fulfilled. With one solitary exception, the conduct of the Madras Native Army furnished an example of loyalty and fidelity, during this time of trial, which did it infinite honour. While, therefore, a considerable portion of these troops were employed in the thick of the fight in Oudh, in Bengal, and in Central India, it was nowhere necessary to call, within the limits of the Madras Presidency, for their active services.

In Bombay the Government had to deal with somewhat more turbulent races, and local risings took place at points within the Presidency. Here, as elsewhere, however, the Native Princes and States were generally conspicuous for their fidelity. The peace of Káthiáwár for instance — a country containing 188 separate States and as large as Greece — was preserved without the presence of a single European soldier. Moreover, although the mutinous spirit which infected the Sepoys of Bengal was also exhibited under one form or another in the Western Presidency, its progress was promptly checked. To the judgment and resolution of Lord Elphinstone, and to the energy, discretion, and vigilance of his lieutenants, was due the safety of this vital part of India; so that