begun.

The Rajah acted like a fool His gifts lay not in the heroic line.

and a coward.

First he seems to have imagined, that his brave Coorgs would never allow the English to cross the frontier, and that he might keep himself out of harms way by going with his women, his band of musicians and his treasures to

1. It is well known that the Kaffers, Nasara (Christian) low Pheringhies, with the view of converting people of other religions to their dirty faith, have, ill intentionally, polluted the Devastanums, Muszeeds, and other temples at Bangalore, Cuddapah, Mussulibunder, Nagroor, Rameepet and several other countries, sent out their Padres and ruined them. This circumstance being certainly too well impressed on the mind of every one, what more need be said ?

2. Those who have from time to time strenuously attempted to convert, by force, people of other religions to their faith, have by the commands of God, perished-but set this aside, an instance in proof of this may be given. Tippoo Sultan attempted to force all the other religions, to embrace his religion; and with this view ruined a great number of people, destroyed the Hindoo temples and committed various sorts of oppressions; which acts not being acceptable to God, he was destroyed. This fact is well known to all of you. Now, the Kaffers, Nasara, low Pheringhies have in like manner commenced to destroy the religion observed by people of different castes, and to introduce their own religion. When evil comes, people lose their senses. When death comes, medicine avails naught; thus then their end is fast approaching. There is no doubt of it. The Hindús and Musulmans having respectively consulted their Shasters have found, that, if for the protection of their religions, these Kaffer, Nasara, Pheringhies be now fought with, God will help us, and make us successful. There is no doubt of this, so let all be fully convinced of it.

3. These Kaffers, Nasara, low Pheringhies have now wickedly determined to wage war with the Halery Samstanam, and have accordingly collected some black people of Hindoostan, whom they are going to send in front, that they may all be cut down, and the race thus annihilated in some degree, thinking that by these means they will be able easily to convert the rest to their faith. It is, therefore, to protect people of all castes against such invasion, the Halery Samstanam have determined to meet with arms those Kaffers, Pheringies, Nasaras. Accordingly, if all of you will join the army of the Halery Samstanam, you will not only be defended, but you will also render the devastation of those Kaffers, Pheringhies, quite easy; after this is done, you will be protected and enabled to live

OCCUPATION OF MERCARA.

20

Nalkanadu palace, a point almost inaccessible to an army, if tolerably secured and defended. He took care to carry with him all his family, that he might destroy them all, if necessary, in order to render it impossible for the English Government to transfer the principality, or the property of the murdered Devammaji, to

happy and contented, following the religion of your respective castes unmolested. Do not think, that another such opportunity will offer itself again.

4. To avert the evil which threatens you now, we have taken all this trouble and published this proclamation. Should any of you pay no attention to it, but keep yourself neutral, you will at last find yourselves under the yoke of the Pheringhies, lose your caste, and experience the greatest misery to the end of your lives, and after death you will not be admitted before God, for having thus sinned against him. Do not doubt this. Therefore, if ye, people of all countries, join the Halery Samstan and help it, you will meet with every kind of protection from it, and be able to live happy. Accordingly it is expected, that all of you will come forward and help the Halery Samstanam.

5. P.S.It is further hereby commanded. Those Nasaras, Kaffers, Pheringhies will, in crder to get possession of the Halery Samstan, spare no pains to gain you over. They will even give ten, where one would be enough. Let not this allure you and make you swerve from your real intention or lead you to entangle yourselves; for," after they attain their object, they will oppress you, and violate your religion. Be sure of this.

(True Copy and Translation)

Signd. F. CLEMENTSON,
Pl. Collector

The East Indian Company's Proclamation.

The conduct of the Rajah of Coorg has, for a long time past, been of such a nature as to render him unworthy of the friendship and protection of the British Government.

Unmindful of his duty as a Ruler, and regardless of his obligations as a dependant ally of the East India Company, he has been guilty of the greatest oppression and cruelty towards the people subject to his government, and he has evinced the most wanton disrespect of the authority of, and the most hostile disposition towards the former, from whom he and his ancestors have invariably received every degree of kindness and protection.

It would be needless to enumerate the several instances of his

any other heir of Dodda Virarajendra, and thus secure his wealth and his country to himself. Mad scheme of debauched inanity!

After a while he began to doubt of ultimate success, and dreaded, it would seem, the vengeance of the Company, if he urged his Coorgs to fight. He sent orders,

misconduct, but it is sufficient to state that, in consequence of an asylum having been afforded in the British Territories to his own sister Devammaji and her husband, Channa Basavappa, who to preserve their lives had fled from his oppression, the Rajah has presumed, to address letters replete with the most insulting expressions to the Governor of Fort St. George and the Governor General of India, that he has assumed an attitude of hostility and defiance towards the British Government, that he has received and encouraged the pro⚫ claimed enemies of that Government, and that he has unjustifiably placed under restraint an old and faithful servant of the Company, named Kulputty Karnikàra Manoon, who had been formally deputed by the British representative for the purpose of opening a friendly negotiation, 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 Honorable 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 Honorable the Governor General, at the suggestion and with the concurrence of the Right Honorable 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 Wodear 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 Wodear, that they are required to place themselves under the protection of the British authorities,

SURRENDER OF THE RAJAH.

203

therefore, to the different parties, who had proceeded to the frontiers to repel the invaders, not to fight the Company's troops. Consequently serious fighting took place only in one place, near Somavarapett. Devan Bopu met General Fraser, and offered to conduct the Company's troops to Mercara. His party, some four

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

Issued at Bangalore this 15th day of March 1834.

(Signed) J. S. FRASER, Lieut. Col. and Political Agent of H. E. the Right Hon. the Governor General.

Counter Proclamation of Viraraja.

Translation of a copy of a Proclamation from the Territory of Coorg.

The explanation of a Proclamation, issued for the knowledge of the bad English people, who are mean slaves and servants of the auspicious feet of the Halery Samsthan Maharaja.

In answer to a proclamation of the bad Englishman, son of a whore, who in a state of forgetting Mahadeva (God) and through pride had written on a paper whatever occurred to his mind, for the purpose of giving information to the inhabitants of Halery Samstan, and fastened the same near the boundary, I, the slave of my Master's Majesty, let you know as follows, that the proclamation (containing the evil subjects) which was fastened in the boundary by the wicked Englishman, the son of a slave, is not at all possible even to be seen with our eyes or hear with our ears, and in the very time of tying the said proclamations, which are replete with indecent subjects, the hearts of all of us, who are the servants of the king's feet, were inflamed as the fire through wind. The wicked Christian European, the son of a slave, who resolved to prepare this, should be beheaded, and his head thrown out, the hands, mouth and head of the person, who wrote this, should be cut off, and the generation of the low caste, blasphemer and bad European

hundred men, surrendered to the General. This was on the 9th April. On the 10th April the English flag was hoisted at Mercara. General Fraser offered to the Rajah life and honorable treatment, if he surrendered; and Viraraja was not slow to save himself. He had buried a considerable part of his treasure and murdered his relatives, at Nalkanadu.* Basava, the Devan, who was to be the scapegoat, received orders to betake himself to the jungles, and went to live with a Kuruba family in an inaccessible part of the western mountains, not far from Nalkanadu.

On the 12th April the Rajah came to Mercara and had a meeting with General Fraser. He was terribly frightened. He had entertained some hope of being allowed to remain in Coorg, though shorn of his authority; but he soon found, that his exile was determined upon.

should be burnt down. These hopes are to be soon effected. All the above subjects are certain. All the wicked Europeans, the sons of whores, have evil intentions. Very well, very well, we will fill up all your bellies according to your wishes. Be this known to you, written on Sunday, 6th decreasing Moon of the mouth of Palguna, of the year Vijaya, corresponding with 30th March 1834. Except Nilammaji and Devammaji, sister of Doddaviraraja, Rajammaji, his own sister, and six illegitimate descendants of the family, viz three little children who had been given to a Kuruba, living in the Nalkanadu jungle, Subamma, an illegitimate daughter of Doddavirarajendra, her son Virappa, and Viramma a daughter of Sheshappa, an illegitimate son of Doddavirarajendra. These were the remains of three families, Dodda Virarajendra's, consisting of thirteen persons, Appaji's, consisting of 10 persons, and Lingaraja's, consisting of 6 persons in 1809, according to a document, signed by Doctor Ingledew after the death of Dodda Virarajendra. The four daughters of Dodda Virarajendra had eight children. Devammaji had four. Muddammaji died childless in 1819. Rajammaji had one son. Mahadevammaji had two sons and one daughter. According to this proportion, the twenty nine members of the Coorg Rajah family must have multiplied greatly in twenty four years. But seven only, including the Exrajah himself, were alive in 1834, when he surrendered to General Fraser.