CuAP. III.] IL'VXDY TAXEX. 81 



the dragon, and they germinated mto an early and fear- a.d. 

 ful harvest of blood. ^^^^' 



The Adigar, foiled in his endeavours to reduce liis 

 sovereign to a pageant, turned to his remaining device 

 of provoking a war by aggression on British territory 

 and subjects. Nearly two years were spent in efforts to 

 this end ; first his agents excited insurrections, which 

 were speedily quelled, at ISTegombo and Manaar ^, and 

 next he himself sought alternately to embroil the governor 

 by secret charges against the king, and to infuriate the 

 king by insinuations against the governor.^ Overtures 

 for a treaty were made from Kandy, but on conditions so 

 inadmissible as to ensure their rejection. At length, 

 in April 1802, armed parties began to disturb the a.d. 

 frontier ; and a rich tavalam or caravan of Moors, British 1802. 

 s^ibjects, returning from Kandy to Putlam, were forcibly 

 deprived of their property by officers of the king. 



This was the " sufficient aggression " which the Adigar 

 had so long meditated. Compensation was evaded, 

 war ensued, and in February, 1803, a British force of a.d. 

 3000 men under General MacDowall took possession of ^^^ 

 Kandy, which they found evacuated by the inliabitants. 



The Idng fled to Hanguran-ketty, after firing the palace 

 and temples ; and the Enghsh general, in concert with 

 the perfidious Adigar, placed Mootoo Saamy, a compliant 

 member of the royal family, on the throne. The first 

 act of the new sovereign was to reahse the desired pohcy 



^ Mr. North to tlie Earl of Moii- 

 NINGTON, 15th Jimo, 1800 ( Wellesley 

 3ISS., p. 125). The pretext was the 

 imposition of a tax ou the wear- 

 ing of jewels. Mr. Nokth says, he 

 *' had evidence on oath that the 

 Adigar had at the same time attempt- 

 ed to organise a revolt at Colombo, 

 with assiu-ances of co-opcratiou from 

 Kandy." 



* Amongst other im-piitations by 

 which he alarmed the king, was the 



VOL. II. G 



insinuation tliat the 5000 British 

 troops assembled at Trincomalie 

 in 1801, under the command of 

 Colonel Wellesley, afteiTvards Dulce 

 of Wellington, and intended for the 

 reduction of Ratavia, were in reality 

 designed for the invasion of Kandy. 

 — Mr. North to tlu; M. of AVellks- 

 LEY, l.'ldi .Tune, 1801. This force 

 was subsoqnentlv conducted to Egypt 

 by Sir David Baird. 



