HtSTORY OF EUROPE. 



199 



Delhi in the northern, to the river 

 Tunibudra, their southern bounda- 

 ry, 970 British miles ; and its ex- 

 treme breadth, from east to west, 

 across the peninsula, from the bay 

 of Bengal to the g'llph of Cambay, 

 about 900 miles. It was bounded 

 on the north, by the mountains of 

 Scwalie, which separated it from 

 Sirinigar and Cashmere ; on the 

 north-east, by Rohilcund and 

 Oude ; on the east, by the British 

 provinces of Benares, Bahar, Ben- 

 gal, part of Orissa, the bay of Ben- 

 gal, and the northern Circars ; on 

 the south, by the dominions of the 

 nizam in the Dcccan, the rivers 

 Krisna and the Tumbudra ; on 

 the west, by the Indian Ocean ; 

 and on the north-west, by the des- 

 erts of Moultan, the river Sursotee, 

 and the province of Sirhind : the 

 whole containing a population of 

 nearly 40 millions, and enabling 

 the different chiefs to keep on foot 

 a military establishment, of about 

 210,000 infantry, and 100,000 ca- 

 ral ry*. 



It may easily be supposed, that va- 

 rious attempts have been made, by 

 some or other of the sovereign chief- 

 tans, to gain the supreme dirfectionof 

 such an accumulation of strength 

 and resource, as this great empire, 

 collectively considered, presented to 

 the individual auibitiou of each : — 

 accordingly, we find, that the com- 

 paratively short period of Mahratta 

 history is, in agrcat measure, madeup 

 of their dissentions and intrigues of 

 their princes to accjuirc absolute do- 



minion over the whole. Themost ob- 

 vious mode to obtain this object, and 

 the most agreeable to the constitution 

 of the country, was by controlling 

 the councils of the peishwa, and 

 thus obtaining the sanction of his 

 name and office for the meditated 

 usurpation. Tho weakness of the 

 government of Poonah, during the 

 administration of several successive 

 peishwas, gave ample scope to the 

 execution of such a design ; and the 

 natural timidity, and weakness of 

 mind of the present sovereign, left 

 him and his authority at the mercy 

 of the most enterprising or most 

 powerful of the Mahratta chieftains. 



As it was the obvious interest of 

 the British government in India to 

 prevent such an accumulation of 

 power, as an union of the different 

 states of the Mahratta eirvpire would 

 throw into the hands of an individual, 

 and which misht eventually be fa- 

 tal to the existence of the English 

 name in Hindostan ; so it was the 

 policy of the diflerent governors ge- 

 neral to contract such alliances 

 with the pieshwa, as might preserve 

 him independent, and thus effec- 

 tually counteract the projects of the 

 more ambitious chieftains. It was, 

 therefore, on this principle, that the 

 raarquis Cornwailis concluded the 

 treaty of Poonah with that prince, 

 as the acknowledged represen- 

 tative df the rajah of Sattarah, and 

 supreme head of the Mahratla 

 confederacy, without reference to 

 any of the subordinate chiefs, at 

 the coramcncenieut of the war with 



Tippo 



* This immense tract of country comprehends the provinces of Delhi, Agra, 

 Ajiinere, MaKva, Guzerat, Candcish, Baglana, V'isiapour, the Kouiian, Kerac, 

 Cuttack, and part of Doulatabad, of which a great proportiou are liishiy feriiie 

 and populous, rich in grain, and abounding in villages and towns, which c:irry on 

 a considerable internal rommercc: of the inhabitants, unie tenths are HinJuos, the 

 Remainder Mahometans. 



O 1 



