280 BRITISH INDIAN GOVERNMENT. 



of anarchy. It was therefore determined to place these 

 branches under British agency, and to bring them as much 

 as possible under the control of the government at Calcutta. 

 This change was extremely momentous, involving compli- 

 cated arrangements, of which it was not always possible 

 to foresee the practical consequences. It proved, accord- 

 ingly, that the new system contained many imperfections ; 

 yet the attachment which the natives of India always mani- 

 fested for Mr. Hastings, shows that he had not neglected 

 their welfare, and though the alteration could not be accept- 

 able, made it as consistent as possible with their feelings 

 and interests. 



He found the pecuniary affairs of the company at a point 

 of extreme depression, and an anxiety to relieve them in- 

 volved him in the most questionable part of his proceedings. 

 The situation of the provinces on the Upper Ganges af- 

 forded him opportunities which he too readily embraced. 

 The Vizier, or Nabob of Oude, an ally of England, having 

 conceived the design of conquering Rohilcund, and expel- 

 ling the Patan race by whom it was occupied, solicited aid ; 

 offering In return forty lacks of rupees, with the mainte- 

 nance of the British troops sent to his assistance. The go- 

 vernor-general consented ; and the English in this expedi- 

 tion found, as usual, that nearly all the hard fighting de- 

 volved upon them, while they had the mortification to see 

 their allies indulge in outrageous acts of cruelty and rapine. 

 This severity has been represented, though without suffi- 

 cient reason, as producing the entire extirpation of the 

 Rohillahs ; and the reproach incurred in consequence of it 

 fell to a considerable extent on the European auxiliaries. 



In the same quarter, the governor-general availed him- 

 self of another somewhat doubtful mode of recruiting the 

 company's finances. To the individual claiming the still 

 lofty character of Great Mogul, after being driven from tho 

 main seat of his government, had been assigned under 

 British protection the provinces of Corah and Allahabad. 

 With the view, however, of regaining possession of his 

 capitals, he had been induced to form an alliance with 

 the Mahrattas, and even to join their standard. These war- 

 riors soon carried him in triumph to Delhi and Agra ; but, 

 according to their custom, made him a virtual prisoner, exer- 

 cising in his name all the power of the empire. They even 



