ENGLAND. 
754 
largely for the provifion of the company’s inveftments ; 
“ but this (the court of directors, in their general letter 
of December, 1776, fay,) we pofitively forbid in future.” 
The aftonifhment into which fir John Clavering and his 
colleagues were thrown, on being apprized of this extra¬ 
ordinary (late of things in Bengal, was much increafed by 
the alarming information of a_war, into which the gover¬ 
nor-general had recently entered, in conjunction with the 
vizier Sujah ul Dowla, nabob of Oude, for the abfolute 
conquefl and extirpation of the nation of the Rohillas, 
inhabiting the fertile and beautiful province of Rohil- 
cund, fituated to the northward of the dominions of the 
vizier, and bounded by the high range of mountains di¬ 
viding Hindooftan from Tartary. It was not pretended 
by Mr. Mailings, that the company had received any in¬ 
jury whatever from the Rohilla nation ; but that we en¬ 
gaged in the war folely as allies.of the nabob vizier. The 
caufes or pretexts of the quarrel, with refpeCt to the 
vizier himfelf, were of a nature palpably unreafonable 
and unjuft. The Rohilla nation, being involved in hofti- 
lities with the Mahrattas, had applied to the vizier for 
afiiftance, who agreed to furnifti them with a large body 
of troops for an equivalent in money. But, through the 
dilatory, or perhaps infidious, policy of the vizier, the 
auxiliary troops did not arrive till the enemy were re- 
pulfed. The Rohilla government, therefore, objected 
to the payment of the promifed flipend ; on which the 
vizier, with the concurrence of Mr. Hallings, determined 
to declare war againft the Rohillas, for the purpofe of 
adding fo defirablea territory to his dominions. Such is 
the Rohilla ftatement of the cafe. Neverthelefs, fir Ro¬ 
bert Barker, and the other officers employed in this expe¬ 
dition, (Irongly attefl the performance of the fervice con¬ 
tracted for by the vizier, in their refpeCtive examinations 
at the bar of the houfe of commons. The Rohillas, in 
the higheft degree alarmed, offered to fubmit the whole 
caufe of difpute to the arbitration of the Englifit ; but 
this was declined by Mr. Haftings, who urged the vizier 
in ftrong terms to the execution of his defign, declaring 
to him, “ That it would be abfolutely neceflary to perfe- 
vere in it until it fhould be accompli(hed; and that he 
could not hazard or anfwer for the difpleafure of the 
company, if they fhould find themfelves engaged in a 
fruitlefs war, or in a ruinous expence for profecuting 
it.” This apprehenfion was founded on very reafonable 
grounds; for the court of directors, in their inftruCtions 
to the fupreme council, had laid it down as an unaltera¬ 
ble maxim, “ That they were to avoid taking part in the 
political fchemes of any of the country princes, particu¬ 
larly of the nabob of Oude, of whofe ambitious difpofi- 
tion they were well apprized.” 
A confiderable body of troops under colonel Champion, 
being detached to the aid of the vizier, entered the pro¬ 
vince of Rohilcund, and a pitched battle took place, in 
which Hafiz Rhamel, the principal leader of the Rohillas, 
and many other of their chieftains, were flain. The whole 
country, defcribed as “ a garden not having one fpot in 
it of uncultivated ground,” was, in confequence of this 
war, converted into a barren wade, and in a great meafure 
depopulated, either by the rigours of military execution, 
or by forcing the wretched inhabitants beyond the moun¬ 
tains, to wander and perifh in the Tartarian deferts. For 
this fervice, the vizier had agreed to pay into the trea- 
fury of Calcutta the fum of forty lacks of rupees ; and 
Mr. Haftings, in vindication of his conduCt, alleged, and 
in his memorable parliamentary defence entered upon 
record, the following very extraordinary reafons: “Tire 
acquifition of this film to the company, and of fo much 
fpecie added to the exhaufted currency of our provinces, 
that it would give wealth to the nabob of Oude, of which 
we fhould participate; that he ftiould be always ready to 
profefs, that he did reckon the probable acquifition of 
wealth among his reafons for taking up arms againft his 
neighbours; that it would eafe the company of a confi¬ 
derable part of their military expence, and preferve their 
troops from inactivity and relaxation of difcipline; that 
the Rohillas are not a nation, but a body of foreign ad¬ 
venturers, who had made a conqueft of the country about 
fixty years before. See the article Hindoostan. That 
this province would be a rnofl commodious acquifition, 
and the weaknefs of the Rohillas, with the open and de- 
fencelefs ftate of the country, promifed an eafy conqueft- 
and finally, that fuch was his idea of the company’s difl 
trefs at home, added to his knowledge of their wants 
abroad, that he fhould have been glad of any occafton to 
employ their forces which faved fo much of their pay and 
expences.” 
The principal of the Rohilla chieftains, who efcaped 
from the decifive battle of St. George, was Fyzoola Khan, 
who retired to a remote part of the country with his treal 
fures, and the fhattered remains of the Rohilla army ; 
and after the death of Hafiz, renowned throughout the 
eaft for the fuperiority of his intellectual talents and per- 
fonal accomplifhments, Fyzoola Khan was very generally 
acknowledged as the head of this unfortunate nation. 
Finding his utter inability to continue the war, he fued 
in very ftibmiflive terms for peace ; which the vizier, 
through the interceftion of colonel Champion, thought 
proper to grant; and a treaty was accordingly figned at 
Lali-Dang, OCtober 1774, agreeably to which Fyzoola 
Khan was confirmed in the poffeflion of Rampore, Shaw- 
abad, and fome adjoining diftriCts ; on condition of giving 
up half his treafure, and of furnifhing a certain ftipulated 
quota of troops when called upon. Thus the Rohilla 
war ended : but it was fubfequently condemned in deci¬ 
five terms by a formal refolution of the court of directors 
in London, paffed November 1775, “ as contrary to the 
exprefs and repeated orders of the court, and inconliftent 
with the principles both of policy and juftice ;” and this 
refolve was, with the omiflion of the laft word, confirmed 
b y a vote of the court of proprietors. 
After having made the acquifition of Bengal, the com¬ 
pany at home feemed fully fatisfied with the extent of 
their conquefts ; and the difpatches of the court of direc¬ 
tors were from that period filled with rigorous injunctions 
to avoid all offenfive wars, in which they appear perpetu¬ 
ally apprehenfive that the ambition, temerity, and ava¬ 
rice, of their fervants in India would involve them. Ne¬ 
verthelefs, at the diftance of half the globe from the fcene 
of aCtion, it was impoflible not to allow in the execution 
of their orders fome latitude of difcretion. “ The fixa¬ 
tion of affairs, (fay they, in their general letter of the 
30th of June, 1769,) may be varied by unforefeen events 
at the very moment we are writing; whenever you think 
yourfelves obliged for our fecurity upon emergent occa- 
fions to adopt meafures of a contrary, i. e. hoftile ten¬ 
dency, you are to give us very full reafons for fuch 
deviations.” In another letter they fay, “ You mult 
undoubtedly act according to the emergency of affairs 
and again, in another difpatch, “ As we know not what 
alliances may be formed to juftify us in carrying our arms 
beyond the bounds of the provinces, we are prevented 
from propofing any precife plan for your guidance in this 
refpeCt.” 
Thefe neceflary and unavoidable conceffions on the part 
of the directors, Mr. Haftings, in his minutes of defence, 
converts into a juftification of the Rohilla war; although 
the Rohillas were as unwilling as they were unable to do 
any injury to the company. The real grounds of the 
war, however, appeared fufiiciently obvious. The pre¬ 
text held out was, that the vizier, as an ally of the com¬ 
pany, was entitled to our afiiftance ; and that, as guaran¬ 
tees of the treaty between him and the Rohilla chiefs, we 
were bound to grant it. Without adverting to the juf. 
tice or injuftice of the vizier’s demand on the Rohillas, 
it is enough to fay, that this pretended guarantee con¬ 
fided only in the treaty being figned at the requeft of the 
Rohillas themfelves, from their well-grounded diftruft. 
of the vizier, in the prefence of fir Robert Barker, com¬ 
mander in chief of the company’s forces, as a witnefs of 
the 
