Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 10.djvu/629

* INDIA. 551 INDIA. and the policy of Hastings was successful, both in the council and in the field. In 1784 Pitt instituted the Board of Control under a Cabinet Minister. By this act the English Gov- ernment began to deprive the Company of its monopoly of political power in India. Lord Cornwallis (q.v. ), who succeeded Hastings in 1786, was both Govornor-General and commander- in-chief. To check the corruption of tlie English revenue officials, he made the zemindars (native collectors of revenue) proprietors of their dis- tricts on condition of paying a fixed annual sum to the Company. He also improved the judicial administration by forbidding a revenue oUioial to act as a judge. These were his chief reforms. With the Xizam, the Mahrattas, and the Ra,jah of Coorg as allies, Cornwallis in 1790 made war on Tippu, Sultan of Jlysore, who had invaded Travancore, then under British protection. Terms ■were dictated to Tippu at his capital, Seringapa- tam, and he wa.s compelled to cede half of his domains to the Company. Cornwallis was suc- ceeded by Sir John Shore (1793-98), whose rule was in no respect memorable. Shore was fol- lowed by the Marquis of Wellesley (1798-1805). The British Empire in the East, like that of Na- poleon I. in Europe, could be maintained only by constant fighting. Tippu broke his faith by in- triguing against the English, both with the French and with native princes. His bad faith .cost him his crown and life; in Jlay, 1799, Seringapatam was stormed and Tippu killed. The Hindu dynasty displaced by Hyder All was restored, and the adraini-stration was carried on successfully for the .voung Rajah by Sir Arthur Welleslej', afterwards Duke of Wellington. In the famous battle of Assaye in 180.3, he defeated the Mahrattas under Sindhia, and the victories of Ix)rd Lake in Northern India extended consid- erably the dominions of the Company. As Lord Wellesley's policy was too aggressive to suit the views of the East India Company, he was super- seded by Lord Cornwallis, who returned to India only to die. Lord ^linto, who governed from 1807 to 1813, organized the districts conquered by Wellesley. This administration was peace- ful — a reaction of the profit-seeking Company against the ambitious policy of Minto's prede- cessor. The Marquis of Hastings (1813-23) con- quered the Gurkhas of Nepal, forced the Mah- ratta ruler of Indorc to cede a great part of his territories, crushed the robber gangs called Pin- daris. and made the British power supreme in India. The next administrations were those of Earl Amherst (1823-28) and Lord William Ben- tinek (1828-3.5). The first was signalized by the first Burmese War, the second by the suppression of suttee and the thugs. It w^s Bentinck, in fact, who introduced the idea of governing India for the good of the governed. The Earl of Auck- land (1836-42) followed Bentinck. He is known chiefly by his unjustifiable and disastrous attempt to make British influence paramount in Afghan- istan (q.v.l. An unexpected insurrection in Kabul compelled the retreat of the British army, which was overwhelmed in the Kurd- Kabul Pass ( 1 842 ) . Auckland was succeeded by the Earl of EUenborough (1842-44). The 'army of retribution' proceeded to Kabul soon after Lord EUenborough took the reins of gov- ernment. Kabul was sacked and several public buildings razed to the giound, after which the country was evacuated and Dost Mohammed al- lowed to reoccupy his throne. The conquest of Sindh by Charles Napier, followed by its annexa- tion, also belongs to this administration. Lord EUenborough having been recalled by the East India directors, from alarm at his martial ten- dencies, Sir Henry Hardinge (1844-48) was sent to take his place. The attention of the new Gov- ernor-General, however, was soon diverted from works of peace to battle with the bravest people of India. Ever since the death of Runjit Singh, the ally of the English in 1839, the Punjab had been in a state of disorganization. The Sikhs, uneasy at the conquests made by the British in Sindh and Gwalior, resolved to invade British territory. The first Sikh war (184.5-46) com- menced on the part of the Punjab bj- the pas- .sage of the Sutlej, and was followed by the bloody battles of Mudki, Firozshah, Aliwal, and Sobraon, in which, after hard fighting, the Sikhs were defeated with great slaughter. The result of the war was that a British Resident and Brit- ish troops were stationed at Lahore, although the boy prince, Dhulip Singh, was acknowledged as Maharajah under a protectorate. The Cis- Sutlej States, the .Jalandhar Doab, and the region between the Ravi and the Sutlej were annexed. The administration of the Marquis of Dal- housie (1848-56), who succeeded Hardinge, is memorable for the commencement of superb pub- lic works, the introduction of cheap uniform postage, railways, telegraphs, improvements in government, and social progress generally; a second Sikh war, ending in the victory of Guja- rat, February 21. 1849; a second Burmese war. finished in 1852; and the annexation of four kingdoms — the Punjab, Pegu, Nagpur. and Oudh. besides lesser territories, such as Satara. The organization of the Punjab into a model prov- ince, soon to become notable for prosperity as well as for its faithfiilness to England, was a splendid achievement, of which I>.ilhousie had reason to be proud. WTien Lord Can- ning (1856-62) assumed office, everything prom- ised peace and prosperity. With the early days of 1857, however, came the first mutterings of the storm that was to sweep over a large portion of British India. At the commencement of the year cakes of flour were circulated mysteriously through the region of the tapper Ganges ; by this means the ni#ives were concerting rebellion. Treasonable placards appeared at Delhi, and other suspicious occurrences gave warning of native disaffection or conspiracy. The chief causes of discontent seem to have been the an- nexation policy and the rapid introduction of modern European improvements, which, by threatening to destroy the whole native civiliza- tion of India, roused the fears and superstitions of Hindus and Mohammedans alike. At the same lime the English civil and military officials failed to respect the religious feelings of their subjects. For instance, the Enfield rifle with its cart- ridge, greased with tallow and lard, was at this time put into the hands of the Sepoys without explanation or precaution; and General Anson, the commander-in-chief, snublied caste, and was against all concession to the 'lieastly prejudices' of the natives. It must be remembered that the Hindu considered the cow sacred, and he would lose caste by tasting anything prepared from its meat, while the Mohammedan was not permitted by his religion to eat pork. Suddenly the dis-