bers of his family slaughtered. Wásil Muhamad, who was also endowed with a farm, chafed under surveillance, and finally poisoned himself. A more romantic retribution awaited Chitu. He wandered about, almost without followers, joined some Mahratta fugitives, was attacked and chased into Málwa, about February, 1819, and finally entered a forest near Kántapore. The place was hard by the Bágli pass, leading down the Vindya range to his home at Etwás; and it seems as if some instinct had brought the hunted creature there to die. He got no farther; some troopers, finding his horse wandering about with an empty saddle, made diligent search until they discovered, among the haunts of tigers in the wooded glades, the arms, dress, and severed head of the once-dreaded freebooter.

Thus the primary object of the expedition was attained. But the British officers were like men who, searching the wood for a wasp's nest, should rouse the wolves. We must now recur to the exertions rendered necessary by the infatuated misconduct of the Peshwa and the Bhonslá of Berár.

[Same authorities. See also "Political and Military Transactions during the Administration of Lord Hastings," 1812-23. H. T. Prinsep. London, 1825.]

SECTION 2.-- In the last week of February the Peshwa, Báji Ráo, forded the Godávari, hoping to get into Holkar's country, where he still hoped to find adherents. Here he found the way barred by Hislop, and turned towards the northern part of the Nizám's dominions. He was now completely expelled from his own territory; and the Pindaris had been virtually dispersed. Hislop therefore repaired to Aurangabad, and there laid down his command of the Army of the Deccan, which was partly sent into cantonments, the residue being left to aid Elphinstone and Munro in the pacification of the Mahratta country. The Peshwa, having been joined by the flower of Holkar's horse under an enterprising officer named

Ram Din, proceeded towards Nágpore to solicit help from Apa Sahib. Here he was pursued by columns under Lieutenant-Colonel Scott, Colonel Adams, and General Doveton, the last of whom encountered him near Seoni, between Jabalpore and Nágpore; the Peshwa was completely routed, anddeserted by most of his followers-fled northward towards Burhanpore.

But

While the displaced ruler was thus wandering, his late dominions were being rapidly reduced to order. On the roth February Satára was surrendered, and, a few days later, the famous fastness of Sinhgarh, twelve miles south-west of Poona, was besieged. This was the headquarters of Siváji, founder of the Mahratta Empire in the seventeenth century, and was by situation almost impregnable, standing about 2,300 feet above the surrounding plain on a steep ascent partially scarped. the walls were old, and the south side began to crumble after a week's battering. The troops in garrison-among whom there were no native Mahrattas-surrendered to avoid an assault.* General Pritzler treated them with liberality, which was not thrown away, but had a good effect on subsequent occasions. Purindar was taken in the same way on 15th March; and on 9th April, Wasiota, the last fort about Satára, surrendered after some mortar-practice. On the following day Mr. Elphinstone went to Satára and installed the Rája-the descendant of Siváji--with due ceremony, and with an announcement that the Peshwa's reign was at an end.† He proceeded thence towards Khándes, settling the country, which he describes as much wasted, and with no cultivation save that just about the vil

* Blacker 240, and plan 22. In the "Imperial Gazetteer" it is quite erroneously, and twice over, said to have been " stormed," which would have been a serious task; as it was, no bloodshed occurred on the British side.

The text of the proclamation-dated 11th Feb., 1818-will be found in Wilson (Appendix to vol. VIII.).

For

ages, which were themselves ruinous and half-deserted. the next nine months he continued to apply to the settlement of Maharashtra all his knowledge, wisdom, and justice. The total area of the country under his administration was estimated at 50,000 square miles-about the size of all England -with a population of four millions (it is nearly double now). Into these tracts, differing as they did in many respects, he was unwilling to introduce either the Bengal system of tenure and revenue, or the complicated "Regulations" of law and procedure. His own method, as he wrote at the time, was to learn what systems were in existence and to preserve them unimpaired. He admired the agriculturists and sympathised with their depressed condition; and he made Munro and Malcolm his models in dealing with them. He endeavoured to be on friendly terms with the officials and greater landowners, and even undertook the difficult task of conciliating the Brahmans who long formed a hostile element in the city of Poona and other large towns. The feudal holdings of the nobility presented two distinct classes. To those granted by the legitimate Governments of the past he proposed to give full recognition, making them "hereditary in the fullest sense of the word." To later grants he applied an elastic rule, recognising prescription and good conduct. The urban Brahmans were a class hard to deal with. The ex-Peshwa-whose superstition was among the less discreditable elements of his worthless character-had shown them great favour and purchased their goodwill at a cost which could not be emulated by an economic government. Elphinstone proposed, however, to maintain all permanent endowments, and to found prizes for Sanscrit learning; these-in the form of the Poona College-still subsist. In the great matter of land-settlement he did away with the system of contracts under which capitalists had been able to rack-rent the actual cultivators on paying a lump-sum to the public fisc. A light assessment was to be

made on the area under plough, the amount being collected and paid by the village office-bearers. The rest of the revenue was raised from customs-dues, and other sources familiar to the people. For the redress of minor grievances he maintained the old system of panchait, or village arbitration, placing it under the general control of the collectors of districts. In laying these foundations he was occupied till the Spring of 1819, when he left to take up a new and well-merited preferment-the Governorship of the Bombay Presidency.

His example had been his friend Munro, a man of equal ability and benevolence; no doctrinary, and quite free from aggressive patriotism. Munro deplored the subsidiary system, and did not wish for universal dominion, observing that the inhabitants of all the British Provinces suffered for want of a career, and were "certainly the most abject races in India." Yet this wise and good man wrote the epitaph of the Peshwa's Government in these scathing terms:

"It was fortunate for India that the Peshwa commenced hostilities, and forced us to overthrow his power: the Mahratta government from the first has been one of devastation. It was continually destroying all within its reach, and never repairing. The effect has been a diminution of the wealth and population of a great portion of the peninsula of India." And again: "All other Hindu states took a pride in the improvement of their country by construction of temples, tanks, canals, and other public works. The Mahrattas have done nothing of the kind; their work has been chiefly DESOLATION."

The subverted President of this organized anarchy still hoped to find a friend in the Bhonslá. But a correspondence between the two chiefs, of which portions were found by Elphinstone, and by him transmitted to Jenkins, revealed the infatuation and duplicity of the Nágpore potentate, who was at once arrested, while forces were sent to reduce his remaining strongholds. A small body of native horse and foot, with