The tourist's guide to Lucknow (1899)/Chapter 1
CHAPTER I.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF OUDH BEFORE THE
ANNEXATION.
1. To enable the reader to form some idea of the state of affairs in Oudh before that eventful period in the annals of British India, known to all History as the revolt of the sepoy army in 1857,[1] it will be necessary to give, by way of introduction to my narrative, the following particulars, taken from reliable sources, of a few Kings of Oudh, whose misrule, having become a public scandal and a reproach to the Paramount Power, resulted in the annexation of the Province by the East India Company in February 1856.
2. The founder of the Oudh dynasty which has become extinct by the ex-King’s death at Garden Reach, Calcutta, on the 21st September 1887, in his sixty-eighth year, was Saadat Khan, a Persian, who, coming as a merchant from Naishapur, in Khorasan, attained to high power and influence at Delhi, and received the appointment of Subadar (Governor) of Oudh from the Emperor, Muhammad Shah, of Delhi, in 1732, a position which he retained until his death in 1739. The capital remained at Fyzabad till 1775, when Asuf-ud-daulah removed it to Lucknow, and the rulers retained the title of Nawab Vizier, or Chief Minister of the Empire.
3. Gazi-ud-din Haidar was the first person to obtain the title of King in 1819. It was during his reign that Lucknow was visited by Bishop Heber in 1824. It then possessed a considerable population, crowded together in mean houses of clay, traversed by lanes of the filthiest description, and so narrow, that even a single elephant did not pass easily. “The principal street was of commanding appearance, wider than the High Street at Oxford, but having some distant resemblance to it in the color of its buildings, and their general form and Gothic style. Swarms of mendicants occupied every angle and the steps of every door. Of the remaining population, all were armed—a sure index of prevailing turbulence and general insecurity of life and property. Grave men in palanquins counting their beads, and looking like Mollahs, all had two or three sword-and-buckler lackeys attending on them. People of consequence, on their elephants, had each a sowarree with shield, spear, and gun; and even the lounging people of the lower ranks in the streets and shop-doors had their shields over their shoulders and their swords sheathed in one hand."
4. The maladministration[2] of the kingdom under native rule was proverbial, but it grew more intolerable during the reign of the late King, Wajid Ali; and, after many remonstrances and much deliberation, the kingdom was made a province of British India. It will thus be seen that the annexation of Oudh, though thought at the time to be a fatal act, was rendered obligatory on the British Government in order to relieve the five millions of suffering inhabitants from tyranny and oppression, brought about by the natural indolence of the King, who permitted the administration to fall completely into the hands of worthless minions by whose misrule the condition of the kingdom grew worse.
5. The profligate Court of Lucknow, however, had sunk into a hopelessly feeble state long before Wajid Ali Shah ascended the throne in 1847, for in 1831 Lord William Bentinck had called upon his predecessors for reforms, which were, however, never introduced. It may here be added that all communications between the Governor-General and the King had to pass through the Resident, who represented British interests, and for whom a force was maintained, officered from the Line of the Bengal Army, the cost of which was a charge upon the revenues of Oudh.
“In April 1831, Lord William Bentinck, while on a tour in the Upper Provinces, paid a ceremonial visit to Lucknow, and, at a private interview, severely remonstrated with the King, Nasir-ud-din Haidar, on his dissolute habits, and threatened to take over the management of the kingdom unless the desired reforms were effected. This was repeated in the beginning of 1835, but the warning was unheeded by the King, whose time was wholly engrossed among the five European associates of his dissipation, viz., the barber, (de Russett, whose son, a merchant of this name, was killed in the Cawnpore Massacre of 1857); tutor (Wright); painter and musician (Mauntz); librarian (Croupley), and Captain Magness.”
6. In October 1847, Lord Hardinge, in a personal interview with the King, Wajid Ali, solemnly assured him that the British had, as the Paramount Power, a duty to perform towards the cultivators of the soil, and that, unless the King adopted a proper arrangement in the revenue and judicial departments of his Government so as to correct abuses now existing, it would be imperative on the British Government to carry out the orders of the Court of Directors. Two years were specified for carrying out the necessary reforms.
7. His Majesty’s character and habits were not, however, such as to encourage the prospect of improvement. Nothing could be more low or dissolute.[3] Singers and females, provide for his amusement, occupied all his time. The singers were all Domes, the lowest caste in India. These men, with the eunuchs, became the virtual sovereigns of the country. They meddled in all state affairs, and influenced the King’s decisions in every reference made to him. This resulted in the misrule which prevailed, and with which Colonel Sleeman reproaches the King in a letter dated August 1853 — “Your Minister has dismissed all the newswriters, who formerly were attached to Amils of districts to report their proceedings, on the ground that such officers are unnecessary, so that you can never learn the sufferings of the people, much less afford them redress. In regard to affairs in the city of Lucknow, your eunuchs, your fiddlers, your poets, and your Majesty's creatures, plunder the people here, as much as your Amils plunder them in the distant districts."
8. Since the Government had lost faith in Wajid Ali Shah ever being able to bring about the desired reforms, the Governor-General, Lord Dalhousie, directed Colonel Sleeman, who was Resident at the Court of Lucknow in 1851, to make a tour through the country, and, after personal inspection, to report upon its actual state. The account he furnished was a continuous record of crime, misery, and oppression. Large tracts of fertile land were over-grown with jungle, the haunts of lawless characters, who levied blackmail at will on travellers and others.
9. Petty chiefs had established themselves in isolated forts, from whence they set the King's authority at defiance; and the Royal troops were constantly being ordered out into the district for the purpose of bringing such refractory landholders, as withheld the state revenue, under subjection. After some slight resistance the garrison would capitulate, and the King's troops, having ransacked the country in the neighbourhood and along the line of march, would return to the capital, bringing with them the Government dues, or so much of it as they were able to extort from the defaulters, who were terribly maltreated for their temerity, before being released, in order to act as a deterrent to others similarly disposed. To such an extent had this element of armed independence established itself that, in the year 1849, there were in Oudh 246 forts, or strongholds, mounted with 476 pieces of cannon, all held by landholders of the first class, chiefly Rajputs. Each fort was surrounded by a moat and a dense fence of living bamboos, through which cannon-shot could not penetrate, and men could not enter except by narrow and intricate paths. These fences were too green to be set on fire, and so completely under the range of matchlocks from the fort, that they could not be cut down by a besieging force.
10. The revenue was collected by Amils, aided by the 100,000 soldiers in the service of Zemindars, of whom half were in the King's pay. The Amils and other public functionaries were men without character, who obtained and retained their places by bribing court officials. They oppressed the weak by exacting, very often, more than what was due, but those that had forts, or by combination could withstand the Amils, made their own arrangements. The revenue was thus gradually diminished. Numerous dacoities (highway robbery), or other acts of violence attended with loss of life, were annually reported, and the reports of hundreds of others that occurred used to be suppressed by the corrupt officials. In short, neither life nor property was safe under this semblance of a Government, and there was no alternative but for the British to take over the administration.
11. Owing to these causes the country was in a state of perpetual unrest, so that it cannot be wondered that the peaceful inhabitants longed for a change. Colonel Sleeman used to be literally besieged along his entire route by the villagers who had some grievance to relate or wrong to be redressed. He gives a pitiful detail of the numerous applicants who crowded to him for help and restitution. Every day, as he travelled throughout the country, scores of petitions were presented to him. "with quivering lip and tearful eye," by persons who had been plundered of all they possessed or who had their dearest relatives murdered or tortured to death, and their habitations burned to the ground by gangs of ruffians, under landlords of high birth and pretensions, whom they had never wronged or offended. For this misery the native officials of the King of Oudh were answerable besides the Talukdar,[4] who not only oppressed the peasant by heavy exactions, but also endeavoured to deprive him of his proprietary right in the soil.
12. Under native rule the Talukdars of Oudh were not mere middle-men, employed to collect revenue from cultivators, but heads of powerful clans and representatives of ancient families; they were, in reality, a feudal aristocracy, based upon rights in the soil, which went back to traditional times and we're acknowledged by their retainers. At the time of annexation, 23,500 villages, or about two-thirds of the total area of the province, were in their possession.
13. Colonel Sleeman,[5] though averse to annexation as a system, stated in his report that, with all his desire to maintain the throne in its integrity, past experience did not permit him to entertain the smallest hope that the King would ever carry out any system of government calculated to ensure the safety and happiness of his subjects. He did not think that, with a due regard to its own character as the Paramount Power in India, and the particular obligation by which it was bound by solemn treaties to the suffering people, the Government could any longer forbear to take over the administration, and to make some suitable provision, in perpetuity, for the King when dethroned.
14. On every side the necessity for interference in the affairs of Oudh was most pressing, but the Marquis of Dalhousie, though determined to annex the province, was compelled to postpone action for the present. being then engrossed by the war with Burma and the preparations for a coming struggle with Persia.
Subsequently the Governor-General drew up a comprehensive minute in which he denounced the shameful abuse of power that had existed for years in Oudh, and stated that inaction on the part of the British Government could no longer be justified. He, however, thought that the prospects of the people might be improved without resorting to so extreme a measure as the annexation of the territory and the abolition of the throne; hence he proposed that the King should retain the nominal sovereignty, while the entire civil and military administration should pass into the hands of the Company. The Home authorities. however, resolved upon annexation, involving the absolute extinction of Oudh as a Native Government, and the final abrogation of all existing treaties with it, a measure which was at length decreed and announced to all the Empire by a simple proclamation, dated Fort William, the 11th February 1856.
15. Prior to announcing the annexation, Lord Dalhousie, still acting with caution in a matter of such moment, had appointed Colonel (afterwards General Sir James) Outram Resident in Oudh, with instructions to make another thorough inquiry into the condition of the people. His report was in substance the same as those which had been submitted by his predecessor; and the Indian Government then resolved that this condition of chronic anarchy, which had reduced the people of Oudh to extreme misery, should no longer be permitted to exist.
16. Seeing that it was hopeless to expect reforms from the native ruler, a treaty was proposed to the King, by which the civil and military authority of Oudh would be vested in the British Government solely and for ever, and the title of King of Oudh continued to Wajid Ali and his lawful male heirs; it provided for his being treated with due respect, and, under the treaty, he would have retained exclusive jurisdiction within the walls of the palace at Lucknow, except as to the infliction of capital punishment. The King was to receive an allowance of twelve lacs a year for the support of his dignity, besides three lacs for palace guards. His successors in the title were to receive twelve lacs a year, and his collateral relatives were to be provided for separately. He was allowed three days to consider but refused to sign the proposed treaty, upon which refusal the Government formally annexed the province and introduced its own system of administration
17. The Resident then took over the government of the country; and a detailed account is given below of the interview, immediately before this occurred, between him and the King, at the Zard Kothi Palace, on the morning of February 4th, 1856 :—
"General Outram, accompanied by Captains Hayes and Weston, proceeded at 8 A.M. to visit His Majesty by appointment. The approaches to, and the precincts of, the palace were unusually deserted; the detachments of artillery on duty at the palace, together with the detachments of His Majesty’s foot-guards, were unarmed, and saluted without arms; the artillery was dismounted, and not a weapon was to be seen amongst the courtiers and officials present to receive the Resident on his entering the palace. The Resident was received at the usual spot, by His Majesty in person, with the customary honors.
"During the conference, in addition to the Prime Minister (Nawab All Naki Khan), His Majesty's brother (Sekunder Hashmat), the Residency Vakil (Mushee-ud-Daulah), his Deputy (Sahib-ud-Daulah), and the Minister of Finance (Raja Balkishen), were present.
"The Resident, after assuring His Majesty that, from kindly consideration to his feelings, he had been induced to forward, through the Minister, a copy of the Most Noble the Governor-Generals letter, two days ago, to afford the King ample time to peruse and reflect on the contents of His Lordship’s letter, now felt it his duty, in pursuance of his instructions, to deliver to His Majesty in person the Governor-Generals letter in original. His Majesty, after attentively perusing the letter, observed that he had already been made acquainted with its purport and contents, not only by the Minister, but by the copy of the letter which the Resident had been good enough to transmit, and for which the King expressed his obligation. After abrief pause, His Majesty turned towards the Resident, and said, 'Why have I deserved this? What have I committed?' The Resident replied that the reasons which had led to the new policy, were explicitly, clearly, and abundantly detailed in His Lordship's letter to His Majesty, and that he was unable to discuss the subject, or to deviate in any way from the tenor of the instructions with which he had been honored; but the Resident had little doubt that, on mature reflection, the King would readily acquiesce in the proposals made by the British Government. His Majesty should consider how amply and liberally the Government had provided for His Majesty’s maintenance. The King's titles, honors, rank, and dignity would be scrupulously preserved and transmitted to His Majesty's descendants, in the male issue, in perpetuity. His Majesty's authority would be absolute in his palace and household, always excepting the power of life and death over the King's servants and subjects thereunto appertaining. His Majesty's relatives and confidential servants would likewise be adequately provided for; and the Resident had every reason to hope that His Majesty's good sense would induce him to meet the Wishes of Government. The Resident was bound, by the solemn discharge of his duties, to announce to His Majesty that the treaty of 1801[6] no longer existed. The systematic oppression and misrule which had existed in Oudh ever since its ratification, the violation of all the solemn obligations which the rulers of Oudh had faithfully bound themselves to perform, as one of the high contracting parties to that Treaty, had necessarily caused its infraction, and rendered it imperative on the British Government to adopt a policy which should secure the lives and properties of His Majesty's suffering subjects. That policy had been commended by the Honorable the Court of Directors; it had been sanctioned and approved of by Her Majesty's Ministers unanimously; and the Most Noble the Governor-General of India had been directed to carry into effect the measures alluded to prior to His Lordship's departure from India. Under these circumstances, the Resident was persuaded that His Majesty would readily acknowledge that the Governor-General had no authority whatever but to give effect to the commands of the Home Government, and with this View had directed that a treaty should be prepared for submission to His Majesty, which, embracing every suitable, adequate, and ample provision for His Majesty's maintenance, and omitting nothing which could in any degree redound to the King's honor, titles, and dignity, transferred the administration of the government of Oudh into the hands of the East India Company.
"His Majesty received the treaty with the deepest emotion, and handed it to Sahib-ud-daulah, with directions that, it should be read out aloud: but that confidential servant of the King, overcome by his feelings, was unable to read but a few lines; on which the King took the treaty from his hands, and carefully perused each article.
"His Majesty then gave vent to his feelings in a passionate burst of grief, and exclaimed —
"Treaties are necessary between equals only: who am I now, that the British Government should enter into treaties with me? For a hundred years this dynasty has flourished in Oudh. It has ever received the favour, the support, and protection of the British Government. It has ever attempted faithfully and fully to perform its duties to the British Government. The kingdom is a creation of the British, who are able to make and to unmake, to promote and to degrade. It has merely to issue its commands to ensure their fulfilment: not the slightest attempt will be made to oppose the views and wishes of the British Government: myself and subjects are its servants."
"His Majesty then again spoke of the inutility of a treaty: he was in no position to sign one. It was useless; his honour and country were gone, he would not trouble Government for any maintenance, but would proceed to England, and throw himself at the foot of the throne to entreat a reconsideration of the orders passed, and to intercede for mercy. The Resident begged His Majesty to reflect that, unless the King signed the treaty, he would have no security whatever for his future maintenance, or for that of his family; that the very liberal provision devised by the British Government would evidently be reconsidered, and reduced; that His Majesty would have no guarantee for his future provision, and would have no claim whatever on the generosity of the Government. The Resident's instructions were concise, clear, and definitive: the resolution of the Government irrevocable and final; and the Resident entreated the King to consider what evil consequences might alight upon His Majesty and family by the adoption of any ill-judged line of conduct. The Prime Minister, Nawab Ali Naki Khan, warmly seconded and supported the Resident's advice; and protested that he had done everything in his power to induce His Majesty to accede to the wishes of the British Government Here upon His Majesty's brother exclaimed that there was no occasion for a treaty. His Majesty was no longer independent, or in a position to be one of the contracting Powers. His office was gone, and the British Government was all-powerful. His Majesty, who was moved to tears, recapitulated the favors which his ancestors had received at the hands of the British Government, and pathetically dwelt upon his helpless position. Uncovering himself, he placed his turban in the hands of the Resident, declaring that now his titles, rank, and position were all gone, it was not for him to sign a treaty, or to enter into any negociation. He was in the hands of the British Government, which had seated His Majesty's grandfather on the throne, and could, at its pleasure, consign him to obscurity."
"The Resident felt himself unable to act in any other way than up to the tenor of his instructions, and assured His Majesty that at the expiration of three days, unless His Majesty acceded to the wishes of the British Government, the Resident would have no alternative but to assume the government of the country."
"After some further conversation, and the expression of the unalterable reluctance of the King to sign the treaty then and there, the Resident intimated that no, further delay than the three days could be permitted, and then with the usual ceremonies and honours, took his leave of the King."
18. The King declined to accept the deposition[7] as a final act. He surrendered his rule to Sir James Outram, and enjoined on all his subjects to pay him due obedience; and then set out for Calcutta, ostensibly en route to England to plead his cause before Her Majesty, But he was not permitted to proceed beyond Calcutta where he settled down in Garden Reach.[8] A provision of twelve lacs of rupees ( £ 120,000) per annum was made for him (this he formally accepted in October 1859), and a separate allowance was sanctioned for his collateral relations. When the King's departure from Oudh was decided on, there was a great deal of controversy about the choice of an Agent to act for His Majesty. The King's advisers also immediately set about efforts for his restoration; and shortly after, with this object, the King's brother, H. H. Prince Mirza Sekunder Hashmat Bahadur, accompanied by the ex-King's mother, set out for England on a royal deputation to the Queen, but their mission having failed, they settled in Paris, where they both eventually died.[9]
19. A contemporary thus pathetically describes the departure of the ex-King from the capital :—
Departure of the King for Calcutta.
"The King left his Palace yesterday evening at eight o'clock on his way to Calcutta, whence he wishes to proceed to England. He has arrived this morning at Cawnpore. I was present at the time he came out of the Palace gates, and the scene which I then witnessed will ever be forcibly impressed on my mind. He at first wished to go out by the north gate, but hearing that a crowd of people had collected at the east gate to witness his departure, he changed his mind, and passed through the midst of them, though in a closed carriage, in company with his son and principal wife. The enthusiasm of the people was immense; to me it was surprising, for I believed natives incapable of displaying so much feeling. The air resounded with shouts — Badshah salamat greeting to thee, oh King!) Badshahat phir banirahe, (May your kingdom again be established!) Lundhun se hukum ajaway, (May the order arrive from London!) [I suppose to overturn the present State of affairs] Badshah salamat, salamat! was heard everywhere. Then deep curses were imprecated on the heads of the Feringis, and I felt anything but comfortable at that time, Indeed, I thought it prudent then to take myself off, for I thought it very possible that I might become a victim to a multitude exasperated against the Europeans. The King's wives, concubines and female palace attendants crowded into the closed turrets and houses surrounding the enclosure and set up a wail long and continued, a wail heart-rending in the extreme. All were affected, and tears streamed down many cheeks."
20. The journey to Calcutta took exactly two months, His Majesty spending some time at Cawnpore and Allahabad before he embarked for Calcutta in the Steamer "General MacLeod," which arrived there, with His Majesty on board, on the 13th May 1856. For a year after coming to Calcutta the King lived under no restraint, but the outbreak of the-Mutiny in 1857 destroyed the last hope of his being restored to his kingdom. He was then made a State Prisoner[10] in Fort William,[11] and afterwards provided with the well-known residence at Garden Reach, near Calcutta, where he spent the remainder of his days. Here he maintained at large establishment and lived with some show of regal splendour upon the munificent pension awarded him by Government.
21. After the annexation of the Province affairs wore a serene aspect, which seemed to augur well for the future. The settlement of the country was progressing favourably and the people appeared satisfied with the new arrangements; but this state of tranquillity was not fated to last long, for as the year advanced, elements, though not of immediate danger, manifested themselves. It was suspected that the King‘s emissaries were actively at work inciting the people to hostility; and none were more inimical to the British at that time than the discharged soldiery of the Native Government, which may be put down at about 60,000. These men fostered the hope that the native raj (reign) would be restored, and they were prepared for any enterprise having for its object the attainment of this cherished wish. These were the characters let loose upon Oudh who scattered the seed of disaffection towards the new government throughout the land, and doubtless swelled the ranks of the mutineers when the rebellion broke out.
22. At that time Lucknow was one of the most flourishing cities in India. The central part was very densely populated; and the scenes in the principal streets were most lively. Mounted Cavaliers, clothed in Cashmere stuffs elaborately embroidered with gold, and preceded by attendants carrying gold and silver mounted sticks, swords, spears, and wands of office, passed to and fro in acontinuous stream. Certain dignitaries, seated in open palanquius Ia covered litter suspended from poles by which it is borne on the shoulders of men), richly painted and gilded, mingled in the throng, followed by their armed retainers, and with, occasionally, a mounted escort, their horses richly caparisoned in red and green trappings: others, perched aloft on the backs of elephants, were seated in gracefully carved howdahs,[12] which were, in some instances, of silver. The attendants of the more wealthy inhabitants included the various races from all parts of India; and the effect produced by their diversified costumes was extremely picturesque.
23. The Kingdom of Oudh, as has been shown, was annexed in February 1856; and British administration was scarcely established, and the chaos of the past reduced to order, when the revolt of the Native Army arrested progress, and ultimately plunged the country into a worse condition than it was before. The people were once more incited to lawlessness, and by June 1857 all authority was lost in the Province. In consequence of the impending danger, the military were ordered to garrison the Residency, the rendezvous selected for all non-combatants loyal to the British cause, who flocked thither and so materially aided in the defence of the place that it now stands a monument of England's supremacy in the East!
The Right Hon'ble the Earl of Canning, G. C. B., G. C. S. I., Governor-General of India, expressed his admiration of the defence of the Residency in the following words:—
"There does not stand recorded in the annals of war an achievement more truly heroic than the defence of the Residency at Lucknow."
"There were events that made a deeper impression on the minds of the English public; military exploits more grand and comprehensive; episodes more fatal, more harrowing; trains of operation in which well-known heroic names more frequently found place—but there was nothing in the whole history of the Indian Mutiny more admirable or worthy of study than the defence of Lucknow by Brigadier Inglis and the British who were shut up with him in the Residency. Such triumph over difficulties has not often been placed upon record. Nothing but the most resolute determination, the most complete soldierly obedience, the most untiring watchfulness, the most gentle care of those who from sex or age were unable to defend themselves, the most thorough reliance on himself and on those around him, could have enabled that gallant officer to bear up against the overwhelming difficulties which pressed upon him throughout the siege. He occupied one corner of an enormous city, every other part of which was swarming with deadly enemies. No companion could leave him, without danger of instant death at the hands of the rebel sepoys and the Lucknow rabble; no friend could succour him, seeing that anything less than a considerable military force would have been cut off ere it reached the gates of the Residency; no food or drink, no medicines or comforts, no clothing, no ammunition, in addition to that which was actually within the place at the beginning of July, could be brought in. Great beyond expression were the responsibilities and anxieties of one placed in command during eighty-seven of such days—but there was also a moral grandeur in the situation, never to be forgotten."
- ↑ By the year 1857, exactly a hundred year had passed since Clive had won the battle of Plassey (23rd June 1757,) and thus laid the foundation of the British Empire in India. The centenary of the foundation of this Empire, instead of being kept as a time of general rejoicing, was fraught with one of the greatest calamities that ever befell the English nation.
“The mutiny,” writes Lord Roberts, “was not an unmitigated evil; for to it we owe the consolidation of our power in India, as it hastened on the construction of roads, railways, and telegraphs so wisely and thoughtfully planned by the Marquis of Dalhousie, and which have done more than anything to increase the prosperity of the people and preserve order throughout the country." - ↑ If ever there was a device for insuring maladministration, it is that of at Native Ruler and Minister both relying on foreign bayonets, and directed by a British Resident. Even if all three were able, virtuous, and considerate, still the wheels of Government could hardly move smoothly. If it be difficult to select one man, European or Native, with all the requisites for a just administrator, where are three, who can and will work together. to be found? Each of the three may work incalculable mischief, but no one of them can do good if thwarted by the others. It is almost impossible for the Minister to be faithful and submissive to his Prince, and at the same time honest to the British Government.
- ↑ The Oudh rulers were weak, vicious and dissolute, but they have seldom been cruel. and have invariably been faithful and true to the British Government.
- ↑ The term Talukdar mans holder of a Taluka, or collection of villages, farmed out to him by Government, to whom he is responsible for payment of the land revenue assessed.
- ↑ Disabled by ill health, Colonel Sleeman quitted India at the commencement of 1806, and died on his voyage to Europe. He was succeded at the Lucknow Residency, by General Sir James Outram.
- ↑ By the treaty of 1801 the kingdom of Oudh had been placed under the protection of the British, and the King had been guaranteed security as long as he ruled well and (peaceably. But the Government had gone from bad to worse; an the anarchy and oppression in Oudh had been such as to endanger the peace of the surrounding British districts. The suflerings of the people themselves were terrible; and the British guarantee prevented their rising in insurrection with any prospect of success.
- ↑ Notice of his deposition was given on tho 4th February 1856 and Wajid Ali Shah ceased to reign from the 7th.
- ↑ Garden Reach is one of the suburbs of Calcutta.
- ↑ The Queen of Oudh went to England in the steamship Ripon. She arrived at Southampton on the 20th of August 1856.
- ↑ The King was liberated on 9th July 1859.
- ↑ The fort was built by the English in 1696, and was named after the reigning English sovereign, William III.
- ↑ A howdah resembles a sedan chair placed on the back of an elephant,