Page:Gazetteer of the province of Oudh ... (IA cu31924073057345).pdf/47

HAR 39 one of Rs. 25,000 ; Chundeeka Buksh, of Birwa, with one of Rs. 25,000; and Somere Singh, of Rodamow, with one of Rs. 34,000. This is the rent-roll declared and entered in the accounts, but it is much below the real one. The Government officers are afraid to measure their lands, or to make any inquiries on the estates into their valne, lest they should turn rob- bers and plunder the country, as they are always prepared to do. They have always a num ber of armed and brave retainers, ready to support them in any ente rprise, and can always add to their number on emer- gency. There is never any want of loose characters ready to fight for the sake of plunder alone. A tallookdar, however, when opposed to his government, does not venture to attack another tallookdar or his tenants, stands too much in need of bis aid, or at least of his neutrality and for- bearance." It is rather curious that the large proprietors of Sandíla as it at present stands-Chaudhri Hashmat Ali, Fatehchand, Dhanpat Ráe—are not even mentioned. Theirs were chakladári estates, and apparently it was not con- sidered that their farms represented property, at all , Otlierwise it seems difficult to account for Colonel Sleeman's omission to mention men actu- ally in his camp. The history of tłe Hardoi taluqdars will be referred to further 011. Here it is only necessary to state that they are above the average in intelligence and enterprise. The present owners of Sandila and Bilgram are men of considerable ability. Rája Hardeo Bakhsh of Katiári is as fine-a specimen of' a feudal chief as Oudh can present. A just and kind landlord, an upright and truthful man, a soldier of approved courage, an adept in all manly exercises, he has also shown himself to be within his small range a statesman of prescience and broad views. He temporised with the rebels during the first months of the mutiny of 1857: he pretended submission to the usurper at Lucknow, knowing that if a sudden attack were made upon him in May or June he could not protect either himself or Messrs. Edwards and Probyn who had taken shelter with him. With the first fall of the rains, when his dominion became an island in the middle of pathless fens and girt by swift deep rivers, he threw off the mask and bade defiance to the rebels. He has been rewarded as he deserved for his unswerving loyalty. The good service which he rendered in war he coutinues in more peaceful times. His advice is always sound and unselfish, and no one's aid and society are more welcome in Hardoi, whether to those who follow the chase of the boar or to those who administer justice in the courts. His stalwart form and frank face are well known throughout. Unlike most of his class, his active habits induce him to be constantly on horseback. Noblemen of such ligh character are really a most important and beneficial power in the state. They are loved by their dependants with that fond fidelity which sterling goodness attracts, and which this primitive society is ready to tender. A wise good Hindu chief who belongs to the soldier caste, who was trained in a harsh school, whose religion still guides him to justice and benevolence, but not to bigotry, deserves to have his portrait drawn in these pages. He and his estate are to a certain extent self-made. He is not the hereditary chief of his clan, being descended from a younger son, and had many struggles with the former sovereigns of Oudh to preserve his property and liberty