ENG 
•{laving confenied to the refumption of the jaghires held 
by the begums, and to the connfcation of their treafures, 
and thereby involved my own name, and the credit of the 
company, in a participation of both meafures, I have a 
right to require and infid on the complete execution of 
them, and I look to you for their execution, declaring 
that T hold you accountable for it.” Mr. Hadings, in 
his defence, alleged, that he was ignorant of many tranf- 
aftions imputed to him refpefting this bufinefs. But of 
thofe which were in any degree material, he could not, 
with truth, plead ignorance. “ If Mr. Middleton did 
not give him an exaft account of the groans that were 
heaved, the tears that were died, the weight of the fet¬ 
ters, or the depth of the dungeon, he dated (fays Mr. 
Sheridan, vide his fpecch, June, 1788,) every important 
dep that was taken in the progrefs and winding up of this 
relentlefs tragedy.” In faff, nothing of moment was 
done without the exprefs command of Mr. Hadings; for 
even Mr. Middleton difcovered no fymptoins of alacrity 
in the execution of this direful commiffion. 
It may eadly be imagined, that the pendons allotted to 
the begums, and other jagheerdars, in lieu of their jag¬ 
hires, would be very ill and defeftively paid. In the 
month of March, 1782, the officer on duty at Fyzabad, 
major Gilpin, wrote to the refident: “ The women be¬ 
longing to the khord mohul, or leder palace, are in want 
of every necedary of life; and are driven to that defpera- 
tion, that they threaten to throw themfelves from the walls 
of the zenana.” In a fubfequent letter it is laid, “ The 
women in the zenana adembled lad night on the tops of the 
building, crying in a mod lamentable manner for food.” 
And in a third letter, “ The repeated cries of the women 
ior fubfidence have been truly melancholy. They beg 
mod piteouflv for liberty, that they may earn their daily 
bread by fervitude, or to be releafed from their mifery by 
immediate death.” At length the company’s refident, Mr. 
Bridow, ventured, of his own authority, to order the re. 
moval of the troops, and the releafe of tire prifoners, Ba- 
har and Jewar Ali Khan, who had now been confined and 
in irons for near twelve months. “ The quivering lips, 
(fays the commander of the troops at Fyzabad, fpeaking 
of their enlargement,) and the tears of joy dealing down 
the poor mens’ cheeks, was a fcene truly affefting.” The 
didrefl'es of the zenana, or feraglio, neverthelefs, dill con¬ 
tinued; and the women, breaking by frantic violence the 
facred bounds of the palace, exhibited themfelves in this 
date of degradation and defpair to the adoniffied inhabi¬ 
tants of Fyzabad, in the public bazar, or market-place, 
of that great and populous city. But after this aft of 
defperation, they do not appear to have been permitted 
to fuft'er equal extremity. 
In a letter from the bhow begum to the refident, Brif- 
tow, this unfortunate princefs fays, “ An accufation was 
framed againd me, which I had never conceived even in 
idea, of rendering affidance to rajah Cheyt Sing. Having 
feized my head eunuchs, Jewar Ali Khan and Bahar Ali 
Khan, they obliged them to fign a bond for fixty lacks of 
rupees. They were thrown into prifon with fetters about 
their feet, and denied food and water. I, who had never 
even in my dreams experienced fuch an oppreffion, gave 
tip all I had to preferve my honour and dignity. My 
fufferings did not terminate here. The didurbances of 
colonel Hannay and Mr. Gordon were made a pretence 
for feizing my jaghire. The date of the matter is this: 
When colonel Hannay was by Mr. Hadings ordered to 
inarch to Benares, during the troubles of Cheyt Sing, the 
colonel, who had plundered the whole country, was in¬ 
capable of proceeding from the union of thoufands of 
zemindars, who had feized this favourable opportunity. 
They haraded Mr. Gordon near Junivard, and oppofed 
his march. Mr. Gordon forded the river upon his ele¬ 
phant. In the mean time a letter was received by me 
from colonel Hannay, defiring me to efcort Mr. Gordon 
to Fyzabad. As my friendfhip for the Engliffi was al¬ 
ways lincere, I readily complied, and feat fome compa- 
2 A N D. 763 
nies of Nejeebs to efcort Mr. Gordon and all his effefts 
to Fyzabad ; where, having provided for his entertain¬ 
ment, I effefted his junftion with colonel Hannay. The 
letters of thanks I received from both thefe gentlemen 
are dill in my poffieffion. But is it not extraordinary, that 
notwithdanding-the judnefsof my caufe, nobody relieves 
my misfortunes r” 
In the letter of colonel Hannay, referred to by the 
begum, that officer, in the oriental phrafeology, fays:. 
“ Begum Saib of exalted dignity ! Your exalting letter, 
fraught with grace and benevolence, I had the honour 
to receive in a fortunate moment. Your faithful fervant 
repofeth his mod unbounded hopes and expeftation upon 
your highnefs, that Mr. Gordon may arrive at Fyzabad 
without apprehenfion or danger.” And Mr. Gordon 
exprelfes himfelf in a dill higher drain of refpe£t and 
gratitude: “Begum Saib or exalted dignity and gene- 
rofity ! Your gracious letter, in anfwer to the petition of 
your fervant from Goondah, exalted me. The welfare 
of your fervant is entirely owing to your favour and be¬ 
nevolence. Continue to exalt and honour me with your 
gracious letters. May the fun of profperity continually 
diine !” 
When the intelligence of thefe adonifhing tranfaftions 
reached the court of directors, that aflembly ordered a 
letter to be written to the governor and council, in which 
they fay, with reference to the iniquitous and enormous 
plan of feizure and refumption, “We hope and trud, 
tor the honour of the Britidi nation, that this meafure 
appeared fully judified in the eyes of all Hindoodan. 
It no where appears, from the papers at prefent in our 
podedion, that they, the begums, excited any commo¬ 
tions previous to the imprifonment of Cheyt Sing; and 
only armed themfelves in confequence of that tranfac- 
tion ; and it is probable, that fuch a conduft proceeded 
from motives of felf-defence, under an apprehenfion that 
they themfelves might likewife be laid under unwarrant¬ 
able contributions.” And the court exprefsly ordered 
an enquiry to be indituted into this matter, and, if the 
charge proved to be unfounded, that their jaghires diould 
be redored. But thisrequidtion was never complied with. 
On the departure of Mr. Francis from India early in 
1781, Mr. Hadings, upon whom the entire powers of 
government devolved, immediately didblved the pro¬ 
vincial councils, and edabliffied a committee of revenue, 
with powers in the highed degree defpotic. The gene¬ 
ral renewal of leafes coming under the confideration of 
this board, they determined, “ that as to the period of 
the leafes, it appeared bed to the committee to limit 
them to one year.” In this refpeft the committee of re¬ 
venue were lefs lenient than the famous committee of 
circuit. And they acted in direft ccntradiftion to the 
former opinion of Mr. Hadings, who then folemnly de¬ 
clared, “that the farmer, i.e. the government ledee, 
who holds his farm for one year only, having no intered 
in the next, takes what he can with the hand of rigour : 
he will be tempted to exceed the bounds of right, and to 
augment his income by irregular exaftions, and by rack¬ 
ing the tenants, for which pretences will not be wanting 
where the farms pafs annually from one hand to another. 
On the contrary, from long leafes the farmer acquires a 
permanent- intered in his lands: he will, for his own 
fake, lay out money in adiding his tenants, in improving 
lands already cultivated, and in clearing and cultivating 
wade lands.” All the evils fo clearly forefeen, and fo 
little regarded, added to thofe aridng from the groded 
peculation, took place under this new fydem ; the chief 
adminidrator and manager of which was one Govind 
Sing, a wretch loaded (as Mr. Hadings himfelf acknow¬ 
ledged) with reproaches, and of whom it dands upon re¬ 
cord, “that there was icarcely a family of rank in the 
three provinces whom he had not fome time or another 
didreded and affiifted—fcarcely a zemindary that he had 
not difmembered and plundered.” 
During the long adminidration of Mr. Hadings, va¬ 
rious 
