ENGLAND. 
758 
from them, and whofe condttft in Sujah Dowla’s country, 
the Rohilla country, Bengal, and the Carnatic, they were 
well acquainted with. Otherwife, in the end, they would 
be obliged to forfoke their religion, and become the (laves 
of Europeans.” Upon this they exchanged oaths, and a 
great army was fent to occupy the Ghaut, or pafs of Tul- 
licanoon. Mr. Martyn, the Bombay refident at Poonah, 
had encouraged the Englifh to believe, that as foon as 
their army fhould arrive at the Ghaut, Holkar would join 
them with all his forces. The Englifh, truding to this, 
waited there with impatience for a whole month, but no 
one appeared to join their dandard. They then marched 
forward, although much harafTed by the Mahrattas, who 
at length completely cut off their fupplies of provifions. 
The Englifh then determined upon retreating back to 
the.Ghaut; but Siccaram, gaining intelligence of their 
march, detached a large body of troops to intercept them. 
An obdinate engagement enfued on the 13th of January, 
1799, in which the Englifh, being furrounded and over¬ 
powered, loft two hundred Europeans and twelve hun¬ 
dred fepoys. No poflibility of efcape now remained; and 
on the renewal of hoftilities on the 15th, by a heavy can¬ 
nonade from the Mahrattas, a gentleman, Mr. Farmer, 
advancing from the Englifh camp, the firing ceafed. The 
chiefs of the Mahrattas fent for him into their prefence, 
and Mr. Farmer addreffed them in the following words : 
“ We are only merchants—when difputes prevailed with 
you, Ragonauf Row came to us, and demanded our pro¬ 
tection. We thought he had a right to the government, 
and gave him our aflidance. Nothing but ill fortune at¬ 
tends him, and we have been brought to this miferable 
date by keeping him with us. You are matters to keep 
him from us. We fhall henceforth adhere to the treaties 
that have formerly taken place between 11s ; be pleafed 
to forgive what has happened.” The minifter anfwered, 
“ Ragonaut Row is one of ns—what right could you have 
to interfere in our concerns with him ? We now defire you 
to give up Salfette and Baffeen, and what other countries 
you have polfelfed yourfelves of. Adhere to the treaty 
made in the time of Bajalee Row, in September, 1761, 
and afk nothing elfe.” 
Next day at noon Mr. Farmer returned, and told Scindia 
“ that fie had brought a blank paper, figned and fealed, 
which the Mahratta chiefs will fill up as they pleafed.” 
Scindia told the chiefs, “ that although they had it in 
their power to make any demands they pleafed, it would 
not be advifable to do it at this time. For our making 
large demands would only fow refentment in their hearts, 
and we had better demand only what is neceffary. Let 
Ragonaut Row be with us ; let Salfette and the pergun- 
nahs in Guzzerat be redored; let the Bengal army return 
back.” Thefe articles being wrote out on paper, in Per- 
fiun, Mahratta, and Englifh, fealed with the company’s 
feal, were figned at Worgaum, by general Carnac and 
feven officers. Hoffages were given for the due perform¬ 
ance of them. After this the Mahratta furdars fent them 
victuals, which they needed much. The Englifh and 
i'epoys, grounding their arms, marched out, efcorted by 
two thoufund Mahratta horfe. 
Intelligence of this difadrous event having reached 
Calcutta, Mr. Haftings declared in council, that general 
Goddard, in cafe of the failure of the Poonah expedi¬ 
tion from Bombay, had his exprefs orders to recur to his 
negociations with Moodajee Boofla, which implied his 
return to Berar. But that officer, regardlefs of that in- 
firuction, proceeded by forced marches to Surat, agree¬ 
ably to the requifition of the prefidency of Bombay. This 
government, in their difpatches to the fupreme council, 
after dating the defeat of their army, have the effrontery 
to fay, “ that they did not think themfelves obligated by 
the conditions of the fubfequent treaty ; but that, having 
intentions to enter into another, they had tranfmitted di¬ 
rections to general Goddard accordingly.” Mr. Hadings 
expreffed his approbation of the tenor of this difpatch, 
and, declaring “that the treaty, being made by perfons 
1 
unauthorifed to fubfcrlbe to fuch conditions, was inva. 
lid ; propofed that general Goddard be commidioned to 
negociate at the court of Poonah for the renewal of the 
treaty of Poorunder; and that the prefidency of Bombay 
be required to prepare for fervice, whether offenfive or 
defensive.” 
Mr. Francis entered in the council-book his reafons for 
diffenting from the governor-general. He admitted “ the 
probability, that peace might be obtained on the terms 
of the treaty of Poorunder, provided this government be 
itfelf in earned in purfuit of its prefent objeCt, and dif¬ 
fered not itfelf to be entangled in the defperate fchemes 
of thofe who conditute the government of Bombay. The 
re-edablifhment of peace on the Malabar coad, I deem, 
(faid this able counfellor,) to be effential, not merely to 
the profperity of the India company, but to their exid- 
ence. Let a war upon that coad be conducted how it 
may, the difference between conqued and defeat, in my 
judgment, is little more than -the delay or acceleration of 
the ruin of all our refources. The annexed account flvews 
that, during the lad five years, they have received liitle 
lefs than 116 lacks of current rupees direCtly out of the 
revenues of Bengal. Yet their bond-debt accumulated 
daily, and now amounts to thirty-eight lacks. By the 
month of OCtober, the prefident Hornby fays, their finances 
will be utterly exhauded; in the interval they will want 
a fupply of thirty lacks. Of this fum the prefident pro- 
pofes to borrow’ twenty lacks, but doubts the poflibility 
of raifing fo" large a fum ; and if it could be borrowed, he 
fays, they have no funds to pay the intered. We fhould 
therefore confider how long we can maintain a war on fuch 
a footing, before we engage in it.” To this the governor- 
general was pleafed to declare, “ that, from his anxiety to 
avoid controverfy, he Ihould decline any reply.” 
A letter was then read by the governor, in anfwer to 
the difpatches from Bombay, which, though drongly ob¬ 
jected to by Mr. Francis and Mr. Wheeler, received the 
fanCtion of Mr. Barwell, and of fir Eyre Coote, who had 
now taken his place at the board as commander-in-chief 
of the company’s forces. In this letter the governor, in 
name of himfelf and council, acquaints the prefidency of 
Bombay, “ that the government of Bengal refufes to ra¬ 
tify even the fmalled tittle of the treaty or convention 
of Worgaum ; that general Goddard was inveded with 
full powers to conclude-a pacification with the court of 
Poonah, on the terms prefcribed in his indruCtions; and 
that, if the Mahratta miniders fhall rejeft thofe propo- 
fals, and the company be reduced to the neceffity of de¬ 
fending its rights by an open war, a latitude of aCtion is 
left to general Goddard, to avail himfelf of the fituation 
which fortune fhall prefent to him. Mr. Hadings, in 
order to enforce the general fydem of policy contained in 
this letter, moreover declared to the council, “ that he 
never would fuffer the objeCt to be lod, for which the 
detachment now commanded by general Goddard was fird 
appointed.” This paffed in the month of June, 1779; 
and by a letter from general Goddard, dated October fol¬ 
lowing, the governor and council were informed, as they 
had every reafon to expe£t, “ that the peidiwa’s minider 
had, in plain and pofitive terms, declared to him that his 
mader would not accede to the propofals made by gene¬ 
ral Goddard, or conclude peace with the Englifh, unlefs 
Ragonaut Row, who had efcaped, was delivered up to 
him, and Salfette furrendered to the Mahratta govern¬ 
ment ; that, in confequence of this declaration, general 
Goddard had broken off the negociation, and prepared 
for war.” As was predicted by Mr. Francis, the whole 
Mahratta race, including the rajah of Berar, together 
with Hyder Ally Khan, and the nizam or fubah of the 
Decan, in the highed degree exafperated, now refolved, 
with the adidance of the French, to endeavour to expel 
the Englifh nation from India. 
In the progrefs of the war, the government of Bengal 
foon found itfelf reduced to the extremed neceffity for 
money to defray the enormous expence of its complex 
and 
