P E S H W A. 
767 
thefe chiefs were, in faft, dependent allies of the Englifh 
government. Scindia had fubmitted to a peace which 
deprived him of his conqueds. Holkar continued for 
fome time to wage a predatory war againft the Englifh 
provinces. Scindia and Holkar had in truth ceafed to 
exercife the powers of civil government, and had become 
the mere leaders of military bands. For many years 
they had quitted their capitals, lived intents, and moved 
about with their armies, to extort contributions from 
neighbouring countries, or to praCtife the like rapine, 
under the name of revenue, on the countries which for 
this purpofe only they treated as their own. The coun¬ 
tries lituated between Bengal, the bafis of the penin- 
fula, and our acquifitions in Hindooflan, were for ten 
years the fcene of their wars, and the rajpoot princes 
■were their molt confpicuous victims. After the death of 
Holkar in 1811, his legitimate rights were exercifed by 
his widow, called the Baee, for an infant Ion ; but his 
army and his fpirit devolved on Meer Khan, a Mahome¬ 
tan general in his fervice, who feparated from his mailer’s 
nominal Hate, and became perhaps more formidable, 
becaufe no pretences or recollections of territorial fove- 
reignty difguifed his true character of a military adven¬ 
turer. 
The Pindarrees, or Mountaineers, (from Pinda, a San- 
fcrit word for mountain, which obvioufly recalls alfo the 
Pindus of Greece, Pindaniffas in Afia Minor, and Pen, or 
Ben, the Celtic word for height or head, which occurs 
in the names of fo many mountains,) were, however, 
more avowed and undiftinguifhed plunderers. They are 
the remains of the native armies (efpecially that of 
Scindia), which were neceffarily difbanded when lord 
Wellefley, by the eltablifhment of a general peace, had 
for the firft time fince the beginning of authentic hidory, 
condemned to inaCtion thofe innumerable chiefs, who 
with their bands of followers had always found plunder 
and advancement, fometimes power and fame, amidd the 
didraCtions of the Indian dates. About the year 1806, 
they encamped on the fouth bank of the river Nerbuddah, 
which continued to be their principal dation. Recruited 
by multitudes of fimilar character, they made perpetual 
inroads into the fertile countries to the fouthward; the 
dominions of the Nizam, the Rajah of Berar, and the 
Pethwa, into the company’s province called the Northern 
Circars; and they carried fire and fword almod within 
fight of the ramparts of Bombay. A defenfive fydem was 
found to afford no protection agalnft them. A line from 
Surat to Gangam is too long for defence. They made 
their attack or effected their efcape through pafies in the 
mountains, unknown to Europeans, or impaffable by 
them. The governments of India judly reprefented that 
the only remedy was to carry war into the feats of the 
Pindarrees, and finally to difperfe a dedruCtive banditti.. 
The government at home very naturally fhrunk from the 
expenfe and difcredit of new wars; and the hodilities 
with Nepaul occupied for two years all our difpofable 
force. See Nepaul, vol. xv. 
Among the fecondary Mahratta chiefs, the principal 
is the Guicawar Rajah, whole authority extends over 
great part of the opulent province of Guzurat. He had 
become a dependent ally of our government, and a fubfi- 
diary force was accordingly dationed at his chief city of 
Baroda. The mixture of territories among the Mahratta 
chieftains was as minute and intricate as among the 
members of the old germanic body. Three chiefs, fome- 
times divided a village, while one might have no land 
within a hundred miles. Scindia, for indance, had a 
town and fort within twelve miles of the Pelhwa’s capital 
of Poonah. From this fydem, fo fertile in difputes, con- 
fiderable differences had arifen between the Pefhwa and 
the Guicawar refpeCting fome intermingled land in Gu¬ 
zurat. The Englifh government, as the ally of both, 
became the mediator. A minider from the Guicawar, 
on his way to Poonah to negociate an accommodation, 
Vol. XIX. No. 1342. 
was murdered at the indigation of Trimbuckjee, a fa¬ 
vourite of the Pefhwa, probably with the view of precipi¬ 
tating his mader, a fuperflitious and effeminate volup¬ 
tuary, before he was aware, into a quarrel with the Bri- 
tifli government. Mr. Elphindone, the Britilh minider 
at Poonah, having obtained proofs of the guilt of Trim¬ 
buckjee, required that he diould be given up. He was 
in confequence fent prifonerto Tannah, a little negleCted 
fort on the idand of Salfette, twenty miles north of 
Bombay, and feparated only by a channel of about a 
hundred yards wide from the Mahratta fhore. From 
this place, as might have been expected, he made his 
efcape about the beginning of the year 1817, and foon 
collected a body of followers, who, in India, never fail to 
flock round a leader who calls them to plunder. Inter¬ 
cepted letters are faid to have proved that the Pefhwa 
was privy to the efcape and the revolt; and at this 
moment, had he been permitted to have reached his 
minider’s camp, a general war would have been inevitable. 
Strengthened by the apparent authority of the date, that 
able adventurer would have been joined very fpeedily by 
the numerous petty chiefs of his nation, whole appetite 
for plunder long redraint had rendered ravenous. The 
Pindarrees would have immediately poured down their 
cavalry to his aid. If he could have maintained himfelf 
but a few' months, Meer Khan and Scindia might have 
returned from Hindooflan, or might have occupied the 
Britifli forces there by inroads into our territory. All 
thefe evils were averted in a fingle night, without fpilling 
a drop of blood, by the fagacity and refolution of Mr. 
Elphindone. The danger had arifen fo fuddenly, that 
his indru&ions mud have been very general; but he 
determined, on his own refponfibility, to perform his 
duty, which evidently was to extinguifh the firlt fpark 
that threatened to fpread the flame of war through 
India. Having directed the fubfidiary force to occupy 
the avenues of Poonah, and the fortified temple of Par- 
bulty, which commands it from the fouth, he laid before 
the Pefhwa the proofs of his minider’s revolt, and re¬ 
quired him to receive Britifli garrifons into the famous 
hill-fort of Lowghur, which might interrupt the commu¬ 
nication with Bombay into Poorunde, where his treafure 
and archives were depofited, and two other hill-forts, 
the chief ftrong holds of his dominions. From that mo¬ 
ment, and by that vigorous policy, all apprehenfion of 
general war was removed. The very name of a Mahratta 
war became abfurd. Trimbuckjee kept up local revolts 
for a fhort time, and then efcaped to the Pindarrees at 
the clofe of the year 1817. 
The political difficulties which attended the adminiflra- 
tion of the date of Poonah, the danger of continuing to 
trud the Pefhwa, or of attempting to edablifh a new go¬ 
vernment, were doubtlefs very confiderable. This, 
however, has been effected. The military efforts of the 
governor-general were then directed to the reduction of 
the Pindarrees. Wherever they have been brought to 
aCtion, they have been defeated; but finally to expel 
them from all their fadnefles, and effectually to impofe 
upon their difperfed remains the habits of obedience and 
induftry, will be a work of much time and labour, if ever 
to be accomplifhed. For an account of the fubfequent 
proceedings, fee the article Nagfour, vol. xvi. p. 504. 
Dangers of a permanent nature doubtlefs attend the 
unprofitable and invidious extenfion of territory in the 
Eait, and the fubfidiary fydem which that extenfion 
rendered unavoidable. But it is too late for any practi¬ 
cal purpofe, to inquire whether that policy ought origi¬ 
nally to have been adopted, or could have been avoided. 
Britifh India has grown into a great though fubordinate 
date, which has its own political fydem, and all thofe 
relations towards neighbours which arife from a natural 
union or oppofition of intered. At a vad didance from 
Europe, it formerly moved in a fydem of dates altogether 
different from that to which the parent-date belonged. 
9 K Whatever 
