230 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1809. 



mended by Mr. Petrie, late go- 

 vernor, and still a member of coun- 

 cil, set itself to garble the army to 

 its mind, and by a system of in- 

 trigue, particularly by presents 

 and promises to tlie Soubadhars to 

 separate the inclinations of the 

 native troops from the autho- 

 rity of their officers. The unpre- 

 cedented and harsh measures pur- 

 sued by government raised in 

 the minds of all the military a 

 universal haired mingled with con- 

 tempt, which rendered their mind 

 indifferent as to consequences. A 

 compliment paid by Sir G. Bar- 

 low to the force stationed at Hy- 

 drabad, with a view of detach- 

 ing them from other divisions of 

 the army, was deemed a greater 

 insult than any that had hitherto 

 been shown to the army. The 

 officers of that subsidiary force, 

 apprehensive that so unexpected a 

 compliment might possibly have 

 impressed their brother officers 

 with an idea that they tacitly ap- 

 proved of the acts of government, 

 addressed to the different divisions 

 of the array a paper, declaring 

 that they vievied with the most 

 lively emotions of concern, the 

 extreme acts of power by which 

 so many respectable officers had 



been displaced from their com-' 

 mand, and suspended from the 

 service and their resolution to 

 contribute to their support. The 

 discontents of the army, at first 

 expressed in indignant declara- 

 tions and memorials at Masuli- 

 patam, Hydrabad, and Seringa- 

 patam, burst into action. The 

 officers of Hydrabad, on the 15th 

 of June, forwarded an address to 

 Sir G. Barlow, recommending an 

 abrogation of his orders, suspend- 

 ing a number of officers from the 

 service; on the 8th of July they 

 absolutely refused to permit a 

 battalion to be moved from the 

 subsidiary force, though directly 

 ordered by the government ; and 

 on the 2Lst of the same month, 

 they made a peremptory demand 

 of indemnity to the officers of 

 Masulipatam. In this situation of 

 affairs, a test was framed by the 

 government, requiring the officers 

 to whom it was tendered to pro- 

 mise that they " would obey the 

 orders and support the authority 

 of the governor in council of Fort 

 St. George.''* In many instances, 

 when officers were sent for to 

 ht-ad-quarters to subscribe the 

 test, their return from thence 

 was cut off by troops drawn up 



to 



• Recourse had been had before to a test of another kind. Sir G. Barlow, 

 although aware that no officer, excepting those who held situations at the will of 

 the government, would voluntarily go where colonel Munro was frequently to be 

 iiiet, sent cards, inviting the officers of one regiment in Fort St. George to dinner 

 on the 1st of ]\Iarch, and to those of another to dinner on the 4thof Maixh. The 

 greatest part of the officers of both regiments sent apologies. In order to prevail 

 on the apologizing officers to consent to dine at the governor's, various threats and 

 promises were conveyed to them through tlie medium of lieutenant colonel Barclay. 

 His efforts wore altogether ineffectual. Colonel Barclay was directed by Sir G. 

 Barlow to apply for tue assistance of major-general Goudie. The officers invited 

 on the 1st of INIarch were induced by a very natural apprehension of danger to 

 their own interest, at last to accept of the invitation. The officers invited on the 

 4th did not go, but they were required to make an apology, which they did by 

 stating in writing, that •' in declining to accept Sir G. Barlow's invitation, they 

 did not mean any disrespect towards the public character of the governor." These 

 -bickerings about invitations to dinner became the sulyect of ridicule, and other 

 amotions throughout the whole presidency. 



