ART. III-A Narrative of the Political and Military Transactions of British India, under the Administration of the Marquis of Hastings, 1813 to 1818. By H. T. Prinsep, of the Honourable East India Company's Civil Service, Bengal, London. Murray, 1820. Pp. 494. 4to.

In directing our attention to the present work of Mr. Prinsep, in which he gives an account of the wars in which India has been recently involved, under the administration of Marquis Hastings, it is far from our intention to perplex either ourselves or our readers with the details of Indian politics. It is wonderful, indeed, to contemplate the vast ascendancy which Great Britain has acquired on the continent of India by the overruling influence of her policy and her arms-how skilfully her warriors and statesmen have improved every opportunity for farthering their schemes of universal dominion-with what art and management they have disposed all the members of their extensive and mighty empire into one grand scheme of alliance and subordination, which they can always wield at pleasure to their own purposes-what unity has always animated their counsels-with what vigour their well-digested plans have been executed-and with what apparent ease they have uniformly prostrated all resistance to their wide-extending power. All this it is curious to contemplate, and to consider such a strange, anomalous, and unexampled domination of a few foreigners over vast and populous empires. But to describe historically, and in detail, all the different members of the confederacy which is thus held together by British influence, and to explain in what relation each stands to the grand moving power which gives life and unity to the whole, involving, as it must, many barbarous names, unknown and uncouth to British ears, would afford neither amusement nor instruction; and we doubt whether any of our readers would follow so tiresome a detail.

It is not our intention to try so dangerous an experiment upon their patience. The work of Mr. Prinsep contains a very clear and condensed account of the military transactions in India, during the years 1817 and 1818; of the nature of the Pindaree war, as well as of the other wars which sprang out of that contest; of the general and successful result of the whole; and of the important accessions both of territory and influence, which accrued to the British in India, from the humiliation or destruction of every rival power. Mr. Prinsep, it may be necessary to state, is a civil servant of the East India Company in Bengal. We cannot, of course, expect from him that tone of bold and

fearless remark, which distinguishes other writers on the same subject: some partiality towards that power on whose favour he depends for advancement, may be naturally looked for; and Mr. Prinsep will accordingly be found to be liberal of praise, and sparing of censure. At the same time, he is candid and liberal in his views, and he never attempts to gloss over iniquity or cruelty, either by a concealment, or by a misrepresentation of facts; but, stating the transaction fairly, he leaves it, without comment, to the reprobation of his readers. His style is fluent and vigorous; and, considering that he has compressed within the narrow limits of an ordinary-sized quarto volume, the complicated transactions, whether warlike or political, of two eventful years, we cannot see that he can be justly accused of being either tedious or diffuse.

It may readily be conceived by our readers, that we hold our Indian empire by the tenure of our superior power alone. It is not in nature, indeed, that we should rule over so many prostrate or dependent states by any other principle. It is impossible that a subdued enemy can be well affected to his conqueror. The seeds of incurable jealousy are sown, indeed, in the very situation of the two parties: the one, anxious to secure his conquest, and to confirm the thraldom of his new dependent; and the other, equally impatient of the degrading yoke, and eager to cast it off. Applying this principle to our Indian empire, it is manifest, that this vast political mass cannot depend for its existence on any natural tie of subordination or policy; there can be no feeling of affection between the conquerors and the conquered; the weak must no doubt yield obedience to the strong; but it is not a willing obedience-they do not like the subjection to which they are compelled, and they naturally grasp at the first opportunity which offers, for the recovery of their independence.

Such, then, is the relation in which the British government stands to the various powers in India, some of them reduced to absolute dependence others independent, but jealous of our great and growing power. The British are naturally watchful of every movement among the native powers-they are always ready to suspect disaffection, which, it must be admitted, generally exists, and only waits for a favourable opportunity to break forth. The Indian states consider the British as the common enemies of their independence, in whose universal sway they dread sooner or later to be swallowed up. From such reciprocal feelings of jealousy and ill-will, war naturally arises, and peace seems indeed impossible, except in the extinction of one or other of these rival interests. To this state, matters have

ulent spirits. But in an era of peace they became he country, being united together in bands, preyindustrious inhabitants, and committing every sort I disorder. At the peace of 1805, it was expected orderly bands would quietly disperse, and be graed in the mass of the community. But it happenise; these hordes of freebooters continued everyrease in numbers as well as in consistency and Scindia and Holkar, probably from a hope that, in war with the British, they might prove useful auxiy did not openly encourage them, made no active r suppression. These predatory bands passed under ame of the Pindarees, and in 1814, the actual miich could be mustered by them amounted to 40,000 y had leaders appointed, of tried valour and enterwhom they went on distant expeditions for the purlering the peaceful country. Several of these exI been attended with the most signal success, and home loaded with spoil. The fame of these extracted new adventurers to the troops of the Pindaere farther recruited by deserters from the loose cahments of Scindia and Holkar, who willingly ree precarious pay which they enjoyed from these chances of booty afforded under the Pindaree standinder was the sole object of these associations, their uliarly constituted for this especial purpose. It conspecies of irregular light cavalry, trained to celerity t, and to hard marching. With this view it was until the rainy season should close, and the rivers e practicable, to exercise the horses, and to prepare g marches and hard work. When the season for nmenced, the horses were shod, and a leader of tried conduct was chosen. The expedition then set forting of many thousands of freebooters. Out of eveut 400 were well mounted; the favourite weapon Do spear from 12 to 18 feet long; but, as fire arms al in the attack of villages, every 15th or 20th man carried a matchlock. Of the remaining 600, 400 rently mounted and variously armed, and the re) composed an irregular train of attendant slaves and ers, poorly mounted on wild horses, and keeping up eneral mass as they best could. A body so constitutit camp equipage of any kind, would, as may readily ed, move along with a rapidity such as to defy all

they were accordingly accustomed to spread their

now nearly been brought. The late wars, of which Mr. Prinsep's work contains so satisfactory a narrative, were soon brought to a brilliant close by the valour and discipline of the AngloIndian troops; and the British have now triumphed over every foe. There no longer remains any power that can oppose them with the least hope of success. The dependent states who were engaged in the late combination against them, have been still farther weakened and reduced; some of them have been formally incorporated with the British dominions, and their former rulers either expelled, or pensioned off and maintained as stateprisoners; while the other powers have become dependents on British authority, with the exception of Scindia, who is so reduced, and so strictly watched, that the least movement on his part must be the signal for his immediate and certain destruction. A short sketch of the state of India previous to the late wars will be a necessary introduction to the following abstract of Mr. Prinsep's work.

The relations formed by the British with the native powers of India from the time they were fixed by Lord Cornwallis and Sir George Barlow in 1805, to the arrival of the Marquis of Hastings in India in the year 1813, had undergone little variation. But it was manifest that this, like every other settlement concluded by force of arms, would only endure so long as necessity enforced it. On every occasion, accordingly, when the British force appeared to be seriously occupied, symptoms of disaffection began to appear, and that chain of subordination and dependence by which the Anglo-Indian government had bound the native powers into a species of general league for its own purposes, was in danger of being broken. The reverses sustained by the British at the commencement of the Nepaul war gave occasion to the display of this spirit, and it was only by the vigorous movements of General Ouchterlony, which brought that war to a brilliant close, and fully revived the old and salutary terror of the invincible superiority of the British arms, that the disaffection of the native powers was overawed. Another occasion, however, soon occurred, in which the native states, tempting their fate, took up arms in the vain hope of subverting the British power. The causes of this rash and ill-concerted movement, we shall endeavour briefly to explain.

It had, from time immemorial, been felt as a serious evil in the Indian community, that owing to the general and constant turbulence of the country, too great a proportion of the population was trained to habits of disorder and military license, and were unfit for any species of quiet industry. While war raged in the country, there was abundance of legitimate employment