HISTOHY OF EUROPE. 



SOD 



armies, and to limit their retreat 

 to the neighbouring station of Boor- 

 haraporo." Thus capriciously and 

 insultingly reverting to the terms of 

 the first proposition, which had been 

 positively rejetted by col. Collins, 

 Upon this unprincipled and unquali- 

 fied condudt of the confederate chief- 

 tains, the resident made immediate 

 arrangements tor quitting (he camp of 

 Scindiah, and commenced his march 

 towards Aurungabad, on the second 

 day following. 



From the whole scope and tenor 

 of this negociation, it was manifest 

 that the objei;! of the chieftains was 

 to endeavour to form such a pacific 

 arrangement with general \V^ellesley, 

 as should induce him to withdraw 

 his army to its remote stations, in 

 which case, the periodical rains 

 •would prevent its assembling at the 

 advantageous position it then occu- 

 pied for a considerable period ; whilst 

 they could, from the proximity of 

 the post to which they agreed to 

 retire, have struck, at the most op- 

 portune period to them, a severe 

 blow against the peishwa and the 

 nizam, and thus have subverted the 

 British interests in the Dcccan. — 

 Such being the views of the rajah 

 of Berar and of Scindiah, and with 

 the positive evidence that every 

 hour produced of their determined 

 hostility, it was impossible for the 



British government, If at all alive 

 to its interests in India, or if aware 

 of the absolute necessity there exisis 

 of preserving, undiminished and 

 without a flaw, the lustre of its 

 glory in that part of the globe, and 

 its decided superiority over the na- 

 tive powers of India, to avoid the 

 calamity of war. 



At this most critical and impor- 

 tant conjuncture, there existed cir- 

 cumstances, independently of those 

 we have detailed, which if not of 

 themselves forming a sufficientground 

 for commencing hostilities, at least 

 greatly contributed to establish the 

 necessity of the measure. 



Wc have already had occasion 

 repeatedly to advert to the force in 

 the pay of Scindiah, and commanded 

 by M. Perron. This force, at the 

 present m.oment, was augmented to 

 48,000 efficient men, with a train 

 of 464 pieces of ordnance ready to 

 take the field, and stationed in a 

 commanding situation nearCoel, oa 

 the most vulnerable point of the 

 British frontier. This army it had 

 been for some time the practice of 

 general Perron, gradually and near- 

 ly totally to officer with French 

 subjc(!'ls, to the exclusion of British 

 adventurers, and even removed many 

 of the latter description who had 

 held situations in it since its first 

 formation.* But formidable as the 



con- 



* The regular corps in Scindiah's service were first formed by Monsieur de Boigne, 

 a native of Savoy. In his early lite, he had served as a subaltern officer in the.s(;r- 

 vice of Russia. We find him, in 1783,' an officer in the body ^uard of lord Ma- 

 cartney, at Madras. Apprtiieiisive that his being a foreigner would impede his pro- 

 luotiony lie relinquished his situation in the company's troops ; and, having pro- 

 cured letters to Scindiah (the father of the present chief of that nnine) he pro- 

 cured an appointiiiriu in his army. In process of time, M. dc Boisinn g;iincd the 

 inost. unbounded ii)fliience over his master, who bestowed upon him, for his ser- 

 vices, an extensive and valuahlf- jag/ih-e in the Donah, one of the provinces he had 

 iuhducd, principally by the aid of de Boijne's bii<i;idp.. From the death of Mad- 

 I liagec, and tiie accession of Doulut llao .Scindia, M. de Boitrne piiiicipally resided 

 upon his own j.ighire until 1798, when he leruintd toEurupe with a princely fortune. 

 Vol. XLIV. ^ P He 



