COORG.

he has received and encouraged the proclaimed enemies of that Government; and that he has unjustifiably placed under restraint an old and No. XXXIV. faithful servant of the Company, named Kulputty Karnikara Manoon, who had been formally deputed by the British representative for the purpose of opening a friendly negociation, thus committing a gross outrage, not only upon the authority by whom the above-named individual was deputed, but upon the established rules of all civilized nations, by whom the persons of accredited agents are invariably held sacred.

The ancient alliance and the firm friendship which had so happily subsisted between the predecessors of the present Rajah and the Honourable Company have caused his errors to be treated uniformly with indulgence. The most earnest remonstrances have been in vain tried to bring him to a sense of his obligations, and it is not until further forbearance would be culpable that His Excellency the Right Honourable the Governor General, at the suggestion and with the concurrence of the Right Honourable the Governor in Council of Fort St. George, has resolved on employing the only means left of vindicating the dignity of the sovereign State, and of securing to the inhabitants of Coorg the blessings of a just and equitable government.

It is accordingly hereby notified that a British army is about to invade the Coorg territory; that Virarajendra Wodyar is no longer to be considered as Rajah of Coorg; that the persons and property of all those who conduct themselves peaceably or in aid of the operations of the British troops shall be respected; and that such a system of government shall be established as may seem best calculated to secure the happiness of the people.

It is also hereby made known to all British subjects who may have entered the service of Virarajendra Wodyar, that they are required to place themselves under the protection of the British authorities, by whom they will be kindly received, and their rights and privileges respected; and that such of them as may in any way render assistance to the enemy will be considered as traitors and punished accordingly.

This proclamation will be carefully made known in Chittledroog, Raidroog, Mysore, Bellary, Malabar, Canara, in order that the relatives of such persons as have taken service in Coorg from those places or

VOL. V.

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COORG. adjoining districts may adopt the earliest means of communicating its Nos. XXXIV. purport to the parties in whose safety they are interested.

FINAL PROCLAMATION OF THE ANNEXATION OF COORG IN 1834.

Whereas it is the unanimous wish of the inhabitants of Coorg to be taken under the protection of the British Government, His Excellency the Right Honourable the Governor General has been pleased to resolve that the territory heretofore governed by Virarajendra Wodyar shall be transferred to the Honourable Company.

The inhabitants are hereby assured that they shall not again be subjected to native rule; that their civil rights and religious usages will be respected; and that the greatest desire will invariably be shown by the British Government to augment their security, comfort, and happiness.

(Signed)

J. S. FRASER, Lieut. Col., and Political Agent.

Camp at Mercara, 7th May 1834.

PART II.

TREATIES, ENGAGEMENTS, AND SUNNUDS

RELATING TO

THE MADRAS PRESIDENCY.

THE CARNATIC.

ARMAGON between Nellore and Palicut was the first station of the British on the Coromandel coast. In 1639 the station was changed to Madras, the Hindoo governor of which district offered to build a fort at his own cost and to exempt the trade from customs duties, provided the English would settle there. The new settlement received the name of Fort St. George, and was in 1653 made a separate Presidency. When war broke out in Europe in 1740, the English possessions on the Coromandel coast consisted of Fort St. David and a tract of territory around Fort St. George, extending about five miles along the coast and one mile inland. In the hostilities between England and France which extended to their respective possessions in India, Madras was captured by Labourdonnais in 1746, but was restored after the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle. It would be out of place to take any notice in detail of the military and political operations of the English and French in India during this war, or the war which again broke out two years after the proclamation of peace. The struggle for supremacy hinged upon the contest of two rivals for the Nawabship of the Carnatic.

The Carnatic was one of the subdivisions of the great soubadarry of the Deccan. Nizam-ool-Moolk, Soubadar of the Deccan, had appointed Sadut Oolla to be Nawab of the Carnatic. He died in 1732, and

CARNATIC. was succeeded by his nephew Dost Ali, whose daughter married Chunda Sahib, the Finance Minister. At this time the Rajah of Trichinopoly, who was subordinate to the Nawab, refused to pay his dues, and Chunda Sahib marched to punish him, upon which the Hindoo Rajahs invited the assistance of the Mahrattas. In the contest which ensued Dost Ali was killed, and Chunda Sahib was carried prisoner to Poonah. Nizam-ool-Moolk then appointed one of his own officers, Anwar-oodDeen Khan, to the vacant Nawabship. In the meantime Chunda Sahib was released from captivity and his claims to be Nawab were supported by the French. Anwar-ood-Deen Khan and his eldest son were killed in battle, and the second son Mahomed Ali was supported by the English. It was during this war that Clive made his celebrated defence of Arcot against the army of Chunda Sahib. This contest, which was prosecuted with much determination and various success, during which the French were reduced to great straits and Chunda Sahib was compelled to take refuge with the Rajah of Tanjore, by whom he was murdered, resulted in the conclusion of a Treaty (No. XXXVI.) between the English and French in December 1754, subject to confirmation in Europe, by which Mahomed Ali was practically left Nawab of the Carnatic, and the English and French agreed to restore their possessions, with exception of places specified, to the native powers, and to put their establishments on an equal footing.

Hostilities, which in the interval had never entirely ceased, were carried on with redoubled vigour after the declaration of war between England and France in 1756. Through their influence at the Court of the Soubadar of the Deccan, the French had obtained the Northern Circars. They captured Fort St. David and laid siege to Madras, and the siege was raised in February 1759 only by the arrival of an English fleet. The tide of war however soon turned in favor of the English. The French were driven from their settlements, and in January 1761 Pondicherry surrendered; but the settlements were restored by the Treaty of Paris in 1763, the 11th Article of which recognised Mahomed Ali as Nawab of the Carnatic and Salabut Jung as Soubadar of the Deccan. By the overthrow of the French, Mahomed Ali was established as Nawab of the Carnatic without a rival. But he had contracted large debts to the English, on whom the expenses of the war chiefly fell. In consideration of this and of the services rendered him by the English, the

Nawab conferred (No. XXXVII.) on them districts yielding an annual CARNATIC. revenue of upwards of four and a half lakhs of Pagodas, for which they had also obtained a Firmaun from the Emperor of Delhi. As the result of the war with Hyder Ali, the Madras Government were thrown into great pecuniary difficulties, and they applied for aid to the Nawab, on the ground that the expense of the military defence of his country fell on them. The Nawab however appealed to a Treaty (No. XXXVIII.) concluded in 1781 with the Bengal Government, by which he was exempted from all pecuniary demands beyond the expense of ten battalions of troops, and was recognised as hereditary sovereign of the Carnatic, besides obtaining the promise of the restoration of Tanjore and certain districts occupied by Hyder Ali. Against this Treaty the Madras Government remonstrated, and at length after much negociation it was agreed (No. XXXIX.) on 2nd December 1781 that the revenues of the Carnatic should be transferred to the British Government for five years, the Nawab receiving one-sixth for his private expenses.

No sooner was this assignment made than the Nawab set himself to defeat it. By artfully taking advantage of misunderstandings then existing between the Supreme Government and the Government of Madras, he succeeded in obtaining an order in January 1783 for the restoration. of his revenues, which order the Madras Government did not carry out, as the arrangements of December 1781 had in the meantime been approved by the Court of Directors. The Board of Control, however, which had just been created, took the management of the Carnatic affairs out of the hands of the Court of Directors, and ordered the restoration of the revenues to the Nawab, and the assignment of twelve lakhs a year for the payment of his debts to the Company and to private creditors. Therefore by the preliminary Treaty of 1785 (No. XL.) it was arranged that the Nawab should pay twelve lakhs of Pagodas a year towards the payment of his debts, and four lakhs to meet current charges, territorial security being given for punctual payment. The expense of the peace establishment was estimated at twenty-one lakhs, and it was proposed that this should be met by the Madras Government, the Nawab, and the Rajah of Tanjore, in proportion to their respective At this rate the Nawab's contribution would have been ten

revenues.