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Rh councils, which I shall endeavour to preserve during the remainder of the time which may be allotted to me.' Francis of course pursued the crooked tenour of his old ways, surprising Hastings by the 'levity' with which he made and revoked his promises of support to this or that measure proposed in Council. But for the present he always found himself in a minority of one.

Wheler's arrival in December brought Francis an ally whom Hastings vainly tried to conciliate. But Barwell's steadfast loyalty ensured to Hastings the full benefit of his casting vote. 'The two junior members may tease, but they cannot impede business,' wrote the Governor-General to Laurence Sulivan; and he took all fair advantage of his hard-won ascendency. Anderson's Commission pursued its task without further hindrance. Muhammad Baza was presently turned out of the office which Clavering had revived for his behoof; and the Nawáb of Bengal, now twenty years old, was relieved of the costly guardianship which he no longer required. By an arrangement made with the Nawáb of Oudh, his regular force of Sepoys, commanded by British officers, was transferred to the Company's service, while the cost of its maintenance was secured by a special charge upon the land-revenues of Oudh. In this measure, which Hastings viewed mainly as the amendment of a faulty system. Sir Alfred Lyall notes 'the formal beginning of that remarkable and extensive organisa-