CHAPTER 18

46. [In October 1805 (Grant Duff 601).]

47. [Jean Baptiste de la Fontaine Filoze (1775-1840) assisted in the campaign against Thomas in 1801. In the war with the English, part of his brigade under Dupont was defeated at Assaye. He was afterwards ill-treated by Sindhia, but was reinstated. Some of his descendants are still in Sindhia’s service (Compton,European Military Adventurers, 352 ff.; Sleeman,Rambles, 115, note). He is frequently mentioned in Broughton,Letters written in a Mahratta Camp.]

48. To increase his importance, Sindhia invited the British envoy and suite to be present on the occasion, when the princely demeanour of the Rana and his sons was advantageously contrasted with that of the Mahratta and his suite. It was in this visit that the regal abode of this ancient race, its isles and palaces, acted with irresistible force on the cupidity of this scion of the plough, who aspired to, yet dared not seat himself in, ‘the halls of the Caesars.’ It was even surmised that his hostility to Jaipur was not so much from the refused war-contribution, as from a mortifying negative to an audacious desire to obtain the hand of this princess himself. The impression made on the author upon this occasion by the miseries and noble appearance of ‘this descendant of a hundred kings,’ was never allowed to weaken, but kindled an enthusiastic desire for the restoration of his fallen condition, which stimulated his perseverance to obtain that knowledge by which alone he might be enabled to benefit him. Then a youngSub., his hopes of success were more sanguine than wise; but he trusted to the rapid march of events, and the discordant elements by which he was surrounded, to effect the redemption of the prince from thraldom. It was a long dream—but after ten years of anxious hope, at length realized—and he had the gratification of being instrumental in snatching the family from destruction, and subsequently of raising the country to comparative prosperity.

49. I witnessed the commencement and the end of this drama, and have conversed with actors in all the intermediate scenes. In June 1806 the passes of Udaipur were forced; and in January 1808, when I passed through Jaipur in a solitary ramble, the fragments of this contest were scattered over its sandy plains.

50. [Amīr Khān, ally of the Pindāris and ancestor of the present Nawābs of Tonk. A treaty between him and the British was signed on December 19, 1817, by which his State was recognized. He died in 1834. See his Life by Basāwan Lāl, translated by Thoby Prinsep; Malcolm,Memoirs of Central India, 2nd ed. ii. 325 ff.]

51. Harem.

52. I knew him well—a plain honest man.

53. Alluding to the custom of infanticide—here, very rare; indeed, almost unknown.

54. With my mind engrossed with the scenes in which I had passed the better part of my life, I went two months after my return from Rajputana, in 1823, to York Cathedral, to attend the memorable festival of that year. The sublime recitations of Handel in ‘Jephtha’s Vow,’ the sonorous woe of Sapio’s ‘Deeper and deeper still,’ powerfully recalled the sad exit of the Rajputni; and the representation shortly after of Racine’s tragedy of ‘Iphigénie,’ with Talma as Achille, Duchesnois as Clytemnestre, and a very interesting personation of the victim daughter of Agamemnon, again served to waken the remembrance of this sacrifice. The following passage, embodying not only the sentiments, but couched in the precise language in which the ‘Virgin Krishna’ addressed her father—proving that human nature was but one mode of expression for the same feelings—I am tempted to transcribe:... “Mon père,Cessez de vous troubler, vous n’êtes point trahi.Quand vous commanderez, vous serez obéi:Ma vie est votre bien. Vous voulez le reprendre,Vos ordres, sans détour, pouvaient se faire entendre;D’un œil aussi content, d’un cœur aussi soumis,Que j’acceptais l’époux que vous m’aviez promis,Je saurai, s’il le faut, victime obéissanteTendre au fer de Calchas une tête innocente;Et respectant le coup par vous-même ordonné,Vous rendre tout le sang que vous m’avez donné.”

... “Mon père,Cessez de vous troubler, vous n’êtes point trahi.Quand vous commanderez, vous serez obéi:Ma vie est votre bien. Vous voulez le reprendre,Vos ordres, sans détour, pouvaient se faire entendre;D’un œil aussi content, d’un cœur aussi soumis,Que j’acceptais l’époux que vous m’aviez promis,Je saurai, s’il le faut, victime obéissanteTendre au fer de Calchas une tête innocente;Et respectant le coup par vous-même ordonné,Vous rendre tout le sang que vous m’avez donné.”

... “Mon père,

Cessez de vous troubler, vous n’êtes point trahi.

Quand vous commanderez, vous serez obéi:

Ma vie est votre bien. Vous voulez le reprendre,

Vos ordres, sans détour, pouvaient se faire entendre;

D’un œil aussi content, d’un cœur aussi soumis,

Que j’acceptais l’époux que vous m’aviez promis,

Je saurai, s’il le faut, victime obéissante

Tendre au fer de Calchas une tête innocente;

Et respectant le coup par vous-même ordonné,

Vous rendre tout le sang que vous m’avez donné.”

55. Bappa Rawal.

56. The kusumbha draught is made of flowers and herbs of a cooling quality; into this an opiate was introduced.

57. The simple but powerful expression of the narrator.

58. The tribe of the Rana.

59. That is, without adoption even to perpetuate it.

60. A respectful epithet to the prince—sire.

61. By the same mother.

62. He was nearly carried off by that awful scourge, the cholera, and, singular to remark, was the first person attacked at Udaipur. I remained by his bedside during the progress of this terrible visitation, and never shall I forget his grateful exclamation of surprise, when after a salutary sleep he opened his eyes to health. Shirji Mehta, his chief adviser and manager of his estates, merry as ever, though the heir of Mewar was given over, was seized with the complaint as his master recovered—was dead and his ashes blanching on the sands of the streamlet of Ar within twelve hours! Jovial and good-humoured as he was, “we could have better spared a better man.” He was an adept in intrigue; of Ambaji’s school; and till death shall extinguish the whole of this, and better morals are born, the country will but slowly improve. [Mahārāna Jawān Singh (1828-38) succeeded on the death of his father, Bhīm Singh, on March 31, 1828. He gave himself up to debauchery, and died without issue on August 30, 1838, being succeeded by his adopted son, Sardār Singh.]

63. Since this work has gone to press, the author has been rejoiced to find that an heir has been born from the last marriage by a princess of Riwa of the Baghela tribe.

64. See genealogical descendants of Rana Jagat Singh. Appendix, No.VIII.

65. This was written at Udaipur in 1820. This old intriguer then attempted to renew the past, as the organ of the Chondawats, but his scheme ended in exile to the sacred city of Benares; and there he may now be seen with his rosary on the consecratedghatof the Ganges.

66. Brigadier-General Alexander Knox had the honour of dissolving these bands in the only way worthy of us. He marched his troops to take their guns and disperse their legions; and, when in order of battle, the gallant General taking out his watch, gave them half an hour to reflect, their commander Jamshid, second only in villainy to his master, deeming ‘discretion the better part of valour,’ surrendered.

67. There are full this number of princes holding under the British.

68. This veteran attended me during all these troubles, as the medium of communication with the Rana. Though leagued with the Chondawats, he was a loyal subject and good servant. I saw him expire, and was of opinion, as well as the doctor who accompanied me, that his death was caused by poison. The general burst of sorrow from hundreds collected around his house, when the event was announced, is the best encomium on his public character.

69. This monstrous villain (for he was a Goliath) died soon after Mewar was rescued, from a cancer in his back.

70. Satidas, Kishandas, and Rup Ram.

71. Bapu Sindhia shortly outlived his expulsion from Ajmer, and as he had to pass through Mewar in his passage to his future residence, he was hooted by the population he had plundered. While I was attending the Rana’s court, some one reporting Bapu Sindhia’s arrival at his destination, mentioned that some pieces of ordnance formerly taken from Udaipur had, after saluting him, exuded a quantity of water, which was received with the utmost gravity by the court, until I remarked they were crying because they should never again be employed in plunder: an idea which caused a little mirth.

Degraded Condition of the Rājputs.—The history of the Rana’s family has now been traced through all the vicissitudes of its fortunes, from the second to the nineteenth century, whilst contending for existence, alternately with Parthians, Bhils, Tartars, and Mahrattas, till at length it has become tributary to Britain. The last chapter portrays the degraded condition of their princes, and the utter desolation of their country, in a picture which embodied the entire Rajput race. An era of repose at length dawned upon them. The destruction of that vast predatory system, under the weight of which the prosperity of these regions had so long been repressed, was effected by one short campaign in 1817; which if less brilliant than that of 1803, is inferior to none in political results. The tardy policy of the last-named period, at length accomplished, placed the power of Britain in the East on an expugnable position, and rescued the Rajputs from a progressing destruction.

Alliances with the British.—To prevent the recurrence of this predatory system it was deemed politic to unite all these settled States, alike interested with ourselves in its overthrow, in one grand confederation. Accordingly the Rajput States wereinvited to shelter [472] under our protecting alliance; and with one exception (Jaipur), they eagerly embraced the invitation. The ambassadors of the various governments followed each other in quick succession to Delhi, where the treaties were to be negotiated, and in a few weeks all Rajputana was united to Britain by compacts of one uniform character;[1]insuring to them external protection with internal independence, as the price of acknowledged supremacy, and a portion of revenue to the protecting government. By this comprehensive arrangement, we placed a most powerful barrier between our territories and the strong natural frontier of India; and so long as we shall respect their established usages, and by contributing to the prosperity of the people preserve our motives from distrust, it will be a barrier impenetrable to invasion.

Treaty with Mewār.—Of all the princes who obtained succour at this momentous crisis in the political history of India, none stood more in need of it than the Rana of Udaipur. On January 16, 1818, the treaty was signed, and in February an envoy was nominated; who immediately proceeded to the Rana’s court, to superintend and maintain the newly formed relations.[2]The right wing of the grand army[3]had already preceded him to compel the surrender of such territory as was unjustly held by the lawless partisans of Sindhia, and to reduce to obedience the refractory nobles, to whom anarchy was endeared from long familiarity. The strongholds in the plains as Raepur, Rajnagar, etc., soon surrendered; and the payment of the arrears of the garrison of Kumbhalmer put this important fortress in our possession.

In his passage from Jahazpur, which guards the range on the east to Kumbhalmer on the Aravalli west, a space of 140 miles, the limits of Mewar, only two thinly peopled towns were seenwhich acknowledged the Rana’s authority. All was desolate; even the traces of the footsteps of man were effaced. The babul (mimosa[acacia]Arabica), and gigantic reed, which harboured the boar and the tiger, grew upon the highways; and every rising ground displayed a mass of ruin. Bhilwara, the commercialentrepôtof Rajputana, which ten years before contained six thousand [473] families, showed not a vestige of existence. All was silent in her streets—no living thing was seen except a solitary dog, that fled in dismay from his lurking-place in the temple, scared at the unaccustomed sight of man.[4]

Cession of Kumbhalmer.—An envoy was dispatched by the Rana to congratulate the Agent, who joined him in the British camp at Nathdwara; and while he returned to arrange the formalities of reception, the Agent obtained the cession of Kumbhalmer; which, with the acquisitions before mentioned, paved the way for a joyful reception. The prince, Javan Singh, with all the State insignia, and a numerous cortège, advanced to receive the mission, and conduct it to the capital. A spot was fixed on in a grove of palmyras, about two miles from the city, where carpets were spread, and where the prince received the Agent and suite in a manner at once courteous and dignified.[5]Of him it might have been said, in the language applied by Jahangir to the son of Rana Amra—“His countenance carried the impression of his illustrious extraction.”

Arrival of the Author as Agent.—We entered the city[6]by the gate of the sun; and through a vista of ruin the mission was inducted into its future residence, once the abode of the fair Rampiyari.[7]Like all the mansions of Rajputana, it was a quadrangular pile, with an open paved area, the suites of apartments carried round the sides, with latticed or open corridorsextending parallel to each suite. Another deputation with themehmani, consisting of a hundred trays of sweetmeats, dried fruits, and a purse of one thousand rupees for distribution amongst the domestics, brought the Rana’s welcome upon our arrival in his capital, and fixed the next day for our introduction at court.

At four in the afternoon, a deputation, consisting of the officiating prime minister, the representative of the Chondawats, with mace-bearers and a numerous escort, came to announce the Rana’s readiness to receive the mission; which, with all the ‘pomp and circumstance’ peculiar to these countries, was marshalled in front of the residency, thronged by crowds of well-dressed [474] inhabitants, silently gazing at the unusual sight.[8]The grand Nakkaras having announced the Rana in court, the mission proceeded through streets which everywhere presented marks of rapine, hailed by the most enthusiastic greetings. “Jai! jai! Farangi ka Raj!” “Victory, victory to the English Government!” resounded from every tongue. The bards were not idle; and the unpoetic name of the Agent was hitched into rhyme. Groups of musicians were posted here and there, who gave a passing specimen of thetappas[9]of Mewar; and not a few of the fair, with brazen ewers of water on their heads, welcomed us with thesuhelia, or songs of joy. Into each of these vessels the purse-bearer dropped a piece of silver; for neither the songs of the suhelia, the tappas of the minstrel, nor encomiastic stave of the bard, are to be received without some acknowledgement that you appreciate their merit and talents, however you may doubt the value they put upon your own. As we ascended the main street leading to the Tripolia, or triple portal, which guards the sacred enclosure, dense masses of people obstructed our progress, and even the walls of the temple of Jagannath were crowded. According to etiquette, we dismounted at the Porte, and proceeded on foot across the ample terrace; on which were drawn up a few elephants and horse, exercising for the Rana’s amusement.

The Palace at Udaipur.—The palace is a most imposing pile,of a regular form, built of granite and marble, rising at least a hundred feet from the ground, and flanked with octagonal towers, crowned with cupolas. Although built at various periods, uniformity of design has been very well preserved; nor is there in the East a more striking or majestic structure. It stands upon the very crest of a ridge running parallel to, but considerably elevated above, the margin of the lake. The terrace, which is at the east and chief front of the palace, extends throughout its length, and is supported by a triple row of arches from the declivity of the ridge. The height of this arcaded wall is fully fifty feet; and although all is hollow beneath, yet so admirably is it constructed, that an entire range of stables is built on the extreme verge of the terrace, on which the whole personal force of the Rana, elephants, horse, and foot, are often assembled. From this terrace the city and the valley lay before the spectator, whose vision is bounded only by the [475] hills shutting out the plains; while from the summit of the palace nothing obstructs its range over lake and mountain.

A band of Sindis guarded the first entrance to the palace; and being Saturday, the Saktawats were on duty in the great hall of assembly. Through lines of Rajputs we proceeded till we came to the marble staircase, the steps of which had taken the form of the segment of an ellipse, from the constant friction of the foot; an image of Ganesha guarded the ascent to the interior of the palace, and the apartment, or landing, is called Ganesha deori, from the Rajput Janus. After proceeding through a suite of saloons, each filled with spectators, the herald’s voice announced to ‘the lord of the world’ that the English envoy was in his presence; on which he arose, and advanced a few paces in front of the throne, the chieftains standing to receive the mission. Everything being ruled by precedent, the seat allotted for the envoy was immediately in front and touching the royal cushion (gaddi): being that assigned to the Peshwa in the height of Mahratta prosperity, the arrangement, which was a subject of regular negotiation, could not be objected to. The apartment chosen for the initiatory visit was the Surya mahall, or ‘hall of the sun,’ so called from a medallion of the orb in basso-rilievo which decorates the wall. Close thereto is placed the Rana’s throne, above which, supported by slender silver columns, rises a velvet canopy. The Gaddi, or throne, in the East is but a hugecushion, over which is thrown an embroidered velvet mantle. The chiefs of the higher grade, or ‘the Sixteen,’ were seated, according to their rank, on the right and left of the Rana; next and below these were the princes Amra and Javan Singh; and at right angles (by which the court formed three sides of a square), the chiefs of the second rank. The civil officers of the State were near the Rana in front, and the seneschal, butler, keeper of the wardrobe, and other confidential officers and inferior chieftains, formed a group standing on the extreme edge of the carpet.

The Rana’s congratulations were hearty and sincere: in a few powerful expressions he depicted the miseries he had experienced, the fallen condition of his State, and the gratitude he felt to the British Government which had interposed between him and destruction; and which for the first moment of his existence allowed him to sleep in peace. There was an intense earnestness in every word he uttered, which, delivered with great fluency of speech and dignity of manner, inspired deep respect and sympathy. The Agent said that the Governor-General was no stranger to the [476] history of his illustrious family, or to his own immediate sufferings; and that it was his earnest desire to promote, by every means in his power, the Rana’s personal dignity and the prosperity of his dominions. After conversing a few minutes, the interview was closed with presents to the Agent and suite: to the former a caparisoned elephant and horse, jewelled aigrette, and pearl necklace, with shawls and brocades; and with the customary presentation of essence of rose and the pan leaf the Rana and court rising, the envoy made his salaam and retired. In a short time the Rana, attended by his second son, ministers, and a select number of the chiefs, honoured the envoy with a visit. The latter advanced beyond his residence to meet the prince, who was received with presented arms by the guard, the officers saluting, and conducted to his throne, which had been previously arranged. Conversation was now unrestrained, and questions were demanded regarding everything which appeared unusual. After sitting half an hour, the Agent presented the Rana with an elephant and two horses, caparisoned with silver and gilt ornaments and velvet embroidered housings, with twenty-one shields[10]of shawls, brocades, muslins, and jewels; to prince Amra, unable from sickness to attend his father, a horse andeleven shields; and to his brother, the second prince, Javan Singh, a horse and nine shields; to the ministers and chiefs according to rank: the whole entertainment costing about 20,000 rupees, or £2000. Amidst these ceremonials, receiving and returning visits of the Rana, his chiefs, his ministers, and men of influence and information commercial and agricultural, some weeks passed in silent observation, and in the acquisition of materials for action.[11]

Political Divisions of Mewār.—For the better comprehension of the internal relations, past and present, of Mewar [477], a sketch is presented, showing the political divisions of the tribes and the fiscal domain, from which a better idea may be formed of Rajput feudal economy than from a chapter of dissertation. The princes of Mewar skilfully availed themselves of their natural advantages in the partition of the country. The mountain-barriers east and west were allotted to the chiefs to keep the mountaineers and foresters in subjection, whose leading passeswere held by a lord-marcher, and the quotas of his quarter; and while strong forts guarded the exposed northern and southern entrances, the crown-land lay in the centre, the safest and the richest. The exterior, thus guarded by a cordon of feudal levies composed of the quotas of the greater fiefs; the minor and most numerous class of vassals, termedgol, literally ‘the mass,’ and consisting of ten thousand horse, each holding directly of the crown independent of the greater chiefs, formed its best security against both external aggression and internal commotions.

Desolation of Mewār.—Such is a picture of the feudal economy of Mewar in the days of her renown; but so much had it been defaced through time and accident, that with difficulty could the lineaments be traced with a view to their restoration: her institutions a dead letter, the prince’s authority despised, the nobles demoralized and rebellious, internal commerce abandoned, and the peasantry destroyed by the combined operation of war, pestilence, and exile. Expression might be racked for phrases which could adequately delineate the miseries all classes had endured. It is impossible to give more than a sketch of the state of thedas sahas Mewar, ‘the ten thousand townships’ which once acknowledged her princes, and of which above three thousand still exist. All that remained to them was the valley of the capital; and though Chitor and Mandalgarh were maintained by the fidelity of the Rana’s servants, their precarious revenues scarcely sufficed to maintain their garrisons. The Rana was mainly indebted to Zalim Singh of Kotah for the means of subsistence; for in the struggle for existence his chiefs thought only of themselves, of defending their own estates, or buying off their foes; while those who had succumbed took to horse, scoured the country, and plundered without distinction. Inferior clanships declared themselves independent of their superiors, who in their turn usurped the crown domain, or by bribing the necessities of their prince, obtained his patent for lands, to which, as they yielded him nothing, he became indifferent. The crown-tenants purchased of these chiefs the protection (rakhwali) which the [478] Rana could not grant, and made alienations of the crown taxes, besides private rights of the community, which were often extorted at the point of the lance. Feuds multiplied, and the name of each clan became the watchword of alarm or defiance to its neighbour: castles were assaulted, and their inmates, asat Sheogarh and Lawa, put to the sword; the Meras and Bhils descended from their hills, or emerged from their forests, and planted ambuscades for the traveller or merchant, whom they robbed or carried to their retreats, where they languished in durance till ransomed. Marriage processions were thus intercepted, and the honeymoon was passed on a cliff of the Aravalli, or in the forests on the Mahi. The Rajput, whose moral energies were blunted, scrupled not to associate and to divide the spoil with these lawless tribes, of whom it might be said, as of the children of Ishmael, “Their hands were against every man, and every man’s hand against them.” Yet notwithstanding such entire disorganization of society, external commerce was not stagnant; and in the midst of this rapine, the produce of Europe and Kashmir would pass each other in transit through Mewar, loaded it is true by a multiplicity of exactions, but guarded by those who scorned all law but the point of honour, which they were paid for preserving.

The Condition of Udaipur.—The capital will serve as a specimen of the country. Udaipur, which formerly reckoned fifty thousand houses within the walls, had not now three thousand occupied, the rest were in ruin, the rafters being taken for firewood. The realization of the spring harvest of 1818, from the entire fiscal land, was about £4000! Grain sold for seven sers the rupee, though thrice the quantity was procurable within the distance of eighty miles. Insurance from the capital to Nathdwara (twenty-five miles) was eight per cent. The Kotharia chief, whose ancestors are immortalized for fidelity, had not a horse to conduct him to his prince’s presence, though his estates were of fifty thousand rupees annual value. All were in ruins; and the Rana, the descendant of those patriot Rajputs who opposed Babur, Akbar, and Aurangzeb, in the days of Mogul splendour, had not fifty horse to attend him, and was indebted for all the comforts he possessed to the liberality of Kotah.

Reorganization of the State.—Such was the chaos from which order was to be evoked. But the elements of prosperity, though scattered, were not extinct; and recollections of the past, deeply engraved in the national mind, became available to reanimate their moral and physical existence. To call these forth demanded only the exertion of moral [479] interference, and every other was rejected. The lawless freebooter, and even the savage Bhil, feltawed at the agency of a power never seen. To him moral opinion (compared with which the strength of armies is nought) was inexplicable, and he substituted in its stead another invisible power—that of magic: and the belief was current throughout the intricate region of the West, that a single individual could carry an army in his pocket, and that our power could animate slips of paper cut into the figures of armed men, from which no precaution could guard their retreats. Accordingly, at the mere name of the British power, rapine ceased, and the inhabitants of the wilds of the West, the ‘forest lords,’ who had hitherto laughed at subjection, to the number of seven hundred villages, put each the sign of the dagger to a treaty, promising abstinence from plunder and a return to industrious life—a single individual of no rank the negotiator. Moreover, the treaty was religiously kept for twelve months; when the peace was broken, not by them, but against them.

To the Rajput, the moral spectacle of a Peshwa marched into exile with all the quietude of a pilgrimage, effected more than twenty thousand bayonets, and no other auxiliary was required than the judicious use of the impressions from this and other passing events, to relay the foundations of order and prosperity—by never doubting the issue, success was insured. The British force, therefore, after the reduction of the plans enumerated, was marched to cantonments; the rest was left for time and reason to accomplish.

Form of Civil Government.—Before proceeding further, it may be convenient to sketch the form of civil government in Mewar, and the characters of its most conspicuous members: the former we shall describe as it was when the machine was in regular action; it will be found simple, and perfectly suited to its object.

There are four grand officers of the government:

The first, the Pardhan, or civil premier, must be of the non-militanttribe. The whole of the territorial and financial arrangements are vested in him. He [480] nominates the civil governors of districts, and the collectors of the revenue and custom; and has fourteenthuas, or departments, under him, which embrace all that relates to expenditure.

2. The Bakhshi must also be of a non-militant tribe, and one different from the Pardhan. His duties are mixed civil and military. He takes the musters, and pays mercenaries, or rations, to the feudal tenants when on extra service, and he appoints a deputy to accompany all expeditions, or to head frontier-posts, with the title of Faujdar, or commander. The royal insignia, the standard, and kettle-drums accompany him, and the highest nobles assemble under the general control of this civil officer, never under one of their own body. From the Bakhshi’s bureau all patents are issued, as also all letters of sequestration of feudal land.

The Bakhshi has four secretaries:

3. The Suratnama[13]is the auditor and recorder of all the household expenditure and establishments, which are paid by his cheques. He has four assistants also, who make a daily report, and give a daily balance of accounts.

4. The Sahai. He is secretary both for home and foreign correspondence. He draws out the royal grants or patents of estates, and superintends the deeds of grant on copper-plate to religious establishments. Since the privilege appertaining to Salumbar, of confirming all royal grants with his signet the lance, has fallen into desuetude, the Sahai executes this military autograph.[14]

To all decrees, from the daily stipend to thepatta, or patent of an estate, each minister must append his seal, so that there is a complete system of check. Besides these, the higher officers of government, there are thirty-sixkarkhanas, or inferior officers,appointed directly by the Rana, the most conspicuous of which are the justiciary,[15]the keepers of the register-office, of the mint, of the armoury, of the regalia, of the jewels, of the wardrobe, of the stables, of the kitchen, of the band, of the seneschalsy, and of the seraglio.

There was no want of aspirants to office, here hereditary; but it was vain to look [481] amongst the descendants of the virtuous Pancholi, or the severe Amrachand, and the prediction of the former, “Dust will cover the head of Mewar when virtue wanders in rags,” was strictly fulfilled. There appeared no talent, no influence, no honesty; yet the deficiency was calculated to excite sorrow rather than surprise; to stimulate exertion on their behalf, rather than damp the hope of improvement; though all scope for action, save in the field of intrigue, was lost, and talent was dormant for want of exercise.

Incapacity of the Rāna.—The Rana’s character was little calculated to supply his minister’s deficiencies. Though perfectly versed in the past history of his country, its resources, and their management; though able, wise, and amiable, his talents were nullified by numerous weak points. Vain shows, frivolous amusements, and an ill-regulated liberality alone occupied him; and so long as he could gratify these propensities, he trusted complacently to the exertions of others for the restoration of order and his proper authority. He had little steadiness of purpose, and was particularly obnoxious to female influence. It is scarcely to be wondered that he coveted repose, and was little desirous to disturb the only moment his existence had presented of enjoying it, by inviting the turmoils of business. No man, however, was more capable of advising: his judgment was good, but he seldom followed its dictates; in short, he was an adept in theory, and a novice in practice. The only man about the court at once of integrity and efficiency was Kishandas, who had long acted as ambassador, and to whose assiduity the sovereign and the country owed much; but his services were soon cut off by death.

Such were the materials with which the work of reform commenced. The aim was to bring back matters to a correspondence with an era of their history, when the rights of the prince, thevassal, and the cultivator, were alike well defined—that of Amra Singh.

Relations of the Rāna with his Nobles.—The first point to effect was the recognition of the prince’s authority by his nobles; the surest sign of which was their presence at the capital, where some had never been, and others only when it suited their convenience or their views. In a few weeks the Rana saw himself surrounded by a court such as had not been known for half a century. It created no small curiosity to learn by what secret power they were brought into each other’s presence. Even the lawless Hamira, who but a short while before had plundered the marriage dower of the Hari queen [482] coming from Kotah, and the chief of the Sangawat clan, who had sworn “he might bend his head to woman, but never to his sovereign,” left their castles of Badesar and Deogarh, and “placing the royal rescript on their heads,” hastened to his presence; and in a few weeks the whole feudal association of Mewar was embodied in the capital.

Return of the Exiles.—To recall the exiled population was a measure simultaneous with the assembling of the nobles; but this was a work requiring time: they had formed ties, and incurred obligations to the societies which had sheltered them, which could not at once be disengaged or annulled. But wherever a subject of Mewar existed, proclamations penetrated, and satisfactory assurances were obtained, and realized to an extent which belied in the strongest manner the assertion that patriotism is unknown to the natives of Hindustan. The most enthusiastic and cheering proofs were afforded that neither oppression from without, nor tyranny within, could expel the feeling for thebapota, the land of their fathers. Even now, though time has chastened the impressions, we should fear to pen but a tithe of the proofs of devotion of the husbandman of Mewar to thesolum natale: it would be deemed romance by those who never contemplated humanity in its reflux from misery and despair to the ‘sweet influences’ of hope; he alone who had witnessed the day of trouble, and beheld the progress of desolation—the standing corn grazed by Mahratta horse—the rifled towns devoted to the flames—the cattle driven to the camp, and the chief men seized as hostages for money never to be realized—could appreciate their deliverance. To be permitted to see these evils banished, to behold the survivors of oppression congregated from the mostdistant provinces, many of them strangers to each other, and the aged and the helpless awaiting the lucky day to take possession of their ruined abodes, was a sight which memory will not part with. Thus on the 3rd of Sawan (July),[16]a favourite day with the husbandman, three hundred of all conditions, with their waggons and implements of labour, and preceded by banners and music, marched into Kapasan;[17]and Ganesha was once again invoked as they reconsecrated their dwellings, and placed his portrait as the Janus of the portals. On the same day, and within eight months subsequent to the signature of the treaty, above three hundred towns and villages were simultaneously reinhabited; and the land, which for many years had been a stranger to the plough-share, was broken up. Well might [483] the superstitious fancy that miracles were abroad; for even to those who beheld the work in progression it had a magical result, to see the waste covered with habitations, and the verdant corn growing in the fields where lately they had roused the boar from his retreat! It was a day of pride for Britain! By such exertions of her power in these distant lands her sway is hallowed. By Britain alone can this fair picture be defaced; the tranquillity and independence she has conferred, by her alone may be disturbed!

Attraction of Capital.—To these important preliminary measures, the assembly of the nobles and recall of the population, was added a third, without which the former would have been nugatory. There was no wealth, no capital, to aid their patriotism and industry. Foreign merchants and bankers had abandoned the devoted land; and those who belonged to it partook of her poverty and her shame. Money was scarce, and want of faith and credit had increased the usury on loans to a ruinous extent. The Rana borrowed at thirty-six per cent; besides twenty-five to forty per cent discount for hisbarats, or patents empowering collection on the land; a system pursued for some time even after his restoration to authority. His profusion exceeded even the rapidity of renovation; and the husbandman had scarcely broken up his long-waste fields, when a call was made by the harpies of the State for an advance on their produce, while he himself had been compelled to borrow at a like ruinous rate forseed and the means of support, to be paid by expectations. To have hoped for the revival of prosperity amidst such destitution, moral and pecuniary, would have been visionary. It was as necessary to improve the one as to find the other; for poverty and virtue do not long associate, and certainly not in Mewar. Proclamations were therefore prepared by the Rana, inviting foreign merchants and bankers to establish connexions in the chief towns throughout the country; but as in the days of demoralization little faith was placed in the words of princes, similar ones were prepared by the Agent, guaranteeing the stipulations, and both were distributed to every commercial city in India. The result was as had been foreseen: branch banks were everywhere formed, and mercantile agents fixed in every town in the country, whose operations were only limited by the slow growth of moral improvement. The shackles which bound external commerce were at once removed, and the multifarious posts for the collections of transit duties abolished; in lieu of which chain of stations, all levies on goods in transit were confined to the frontiers. The scale of duties [484] was revised; and by the abolition of intermediate posts, they underwent a reduction of from thirty to fifty per cent. By this system, which could not for some time be comprehended, the transit and custom duties of Mewar made the most certain part of the revenue, and in a few years exceeded in amount what had ever been known.

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