CHAP. III. State of affairs on the coaft of Coromandel. Mahie taken. Nabob of Arcot. Strong Indications of Hyder Ally's indifpofition to the government of Ma dras, and of bis defigns upon the Carnatic. Neglect of preparation. Dif fentions in council. Hyder invades the Carnatic with a great army. Country ravaged; Conjeveram burnt. Arcot befieged. Gen. Sir Hector Monro marches with the army from the Mount, in order to form a junction with Colonel Baillie, and to relieve Arcot. Hyder raifes the fiege, and places his army in a pofition to prevent the junction. Baillie defeats Meer and Tippoo Saib; but Hyder's whole army being in his way, is unable to proceed on his march. Colonel Fletcher fent with a chofen detachment to reinforce Baillie. Defperate action between Hyder's army and the united detachment. Singular gallantry difplayed by that small body of men. Accidental blowing up of their powder, changes the fortune of the day, and occafions the lofs of the whole corps. Great flaughter; Colonel Fletcher killed; and Baillie, with a small number of Europeans, taken prisoners. General Sir Hector Monro retreats to Chingleput, and from thence to Madras. Deplorable flate of the country, and of the Company's affairs. Guntoor circar reftored to Bazalet Jung; and a conciliatory letter fent to the Nizam. Hyder renews the fiege of Arcot. Takes the city, and afterwards the fort or citadel. Vigorous measures taken by the Supreme Council for the relief of the Carnatic. Sir Eyre Coote arrives at Madras with a large fum of money and a reinforcement of Europeans from Bengal: takes the command of the army. Mr. Whitehill fufpended from his office of Prefident and Governor. I've T was not a little fingular, as well as unfortunate, that while measures of irritation, tending ftrongly to hoftility with the neighbouring powers, were pursued by the government of Madras, no fuitable military preparations were made, nor means provided, whether for diverting the confequences which might be apprehended from thofe meafures, or for fupporting the defigns which fome of them apparently indicated. Hyder Ally's indifpofition towards that government, as well as his intimate connections with the French, were publicly known. He affected to make a diftinction between that prefidency and the Company at large; for whom, and for the Éng lifh in general, he occafionally profeffed good wishes and regard; but took no pains to disguise his jea loufy of the former. Befides the failure on the fide of Madras, in not acting up to the conditions of the treaty of 1769, at the time that Hyder was dif treffed and overborne by the Ma rattas, various other matters which afforded ground for complaint and difguft had fince occurred. It is probable that he was of late induftrious in feeking or watching for occafions of this nature; but it should likewise seem that he was not without fome well-founded caufes of complaint. A gentle man of confiderable rank and com mand in the Company's military [D] 3 fer fervice, was fo fenfible of it, that he did not fcruple in a letter to the prefidency, indirectly to arraign their conduct, by complaining of the many things which had been done to irritate Hyder's government, without their providing in any manner against the inevitable confequences. It was even the general opinion, both with natives and foreigners, that nothing lefs than Hyder's being fo deeply engaged as he was in the Maratta war, could have prevented his marching to the affiftance of the French, when Pondicherry was reduced in 1778. His behaviour, with refpect to the expedition against the French fort and fettlement of Mahie, in the beginning of the following year, not only afforded a demonstration of his attachment to that nation and indifpofition to the government of Madras, but might have been confidered as an index to his future conduct. Mahie was fituated in the territories of one of the fmall princes on the Malabar coaft, who, with his neighbours, being overruled by the fortune of Hyder Ally, had been forced to fubmit to a dependence on him. Hyder made this circumftance a pretext for affecting to confider Mahie as a part of his dominion, and in a high and authoritative tone, remonftrated against the expedition. He declared, that many Europeans, French, English, Dutch, Danes, and Portuguese, had established factories, or were individually fettled in his dominions for the purpofes of commerce, and to the mutual benefit of his own fubjects and theirs: that they were all under his protection, and fhould fully receive it: that he had nothing to do with their particular quarrels: that he should confider the intended attempt on Mahie as a direct attack upon himself; and that he would accordingly repel and revenge it to the utmost of his power. At the fame time, his vakeel, or refident, at Madras, denounced, in plain terms, an irruption into the Carnatic if the expedition took place. These threats occafioned fome paufe in the profecut on of the measure ; but Hyder being ftill engaged in war, and the expulfion of the French from Mahie confidered as a matter of the utmost importance, it was at length determined to encounter the confequences.. Col. Brathwaite's rapid fuccess in the reduction of that place, defeated Hyder's views for its preservation; but he treated it upon all occafions as an injury of a nature not to be borne, and in a manner which indicated his determination of obtaining in due time full fatisfaction. Little doubt feemed now to remain as to the part which Hyder would take whenever he was difengaged from the Maratta war; and this difpofition became foon more dangerous, from the number of troops which the French were continually fending to their African iflands of Mauritius and Bourbon; as well as the ftrong fquadron which they not long after difpatched from Europe, for the fupport of their intereft in the Eaft. Yet, with all this diffatisfaction and ill temper on the fide of Hyder Ally, the commander in chief of the British forces in India has fince recorded his opinion, by a written written minute in the council of for the fervice of the artillery, or Although the Nabob of Arcot was most shamefully and culpably negligent in every thing that depended upon himself relative to preparation and defence, yet he was a vigilant watchman with refpect to the prefidency, and gave them repeated warnings of the approaching danger. He had been early in advifing the wholefome measure of drawing the troops together in the Carnatic, and of forming one or two camps in fuch pofitions as would appear the best calculated for preferving the communications, and for protecting the country in cafe of invafion.He stated, in fupport of his advice, the fuddennefs of the irruption, if it took place, and the rapidity with which the enemy's horfe would overspread the country; the difficulty and danger which would then attend every attempt to collect the troops, if they lay fcattered in remote quarters; and, what would be icarcely lefs pernicious, the impracticability of procuring, under the general impreffion of terror, bullocks (which are generally uted in India) a fufficient number of those na-. tive coolies, or porters, who are, neceffary to all armies in that country, for the purpose of affifting in the conveyacce both of baggage and provifions. He at the fame time declared, that he had neither treasures nor cavalry upon which he could found a hope of making an effectual refiftance. The nabob's intelligence and advice were both good, but his rooted enmity to Hyder Ally ren dered them fufpected, and probably, not always without reafon. He had long urged the prefidency to an alliance with the Marattas against Hyder; a proposal, which if it had been otherwife approved of, the measures pursued on the other fide of India would have rendered impracticable. Towards the clofe of the year 1779, the prefidency received intelligence from the nabob of the peace concluded between Hyder and the Marattas, with fome faint sketch of the alliance formed between thofe powers and the Nizam against the English. This was not at first credited; but by the end of the year was too well confirmed. Although the nature and extent of the new confederacy were not exactly known, yet, as things ftood, a peace of any fort between Hyder and the Marattas, might have been confidered as the fignal of a war with the former. Though this feemed in fome fort to be understood at Madras, and that the ruinous confequences of an invafion of the Carnatic were fully difplayed in their correfpondence with Bengal, yet that government relied fo much upon an accommodation between the other [D] 4 pre prefidencies and the Marattas, as the certain means of averting the evil, that it perhaps flackened their endeavours to provide for the laft extremity in cafe of failure. They did not believe that Hyder would have ventured upon a war, if the difputes with the Marattas were fettled (an opinion which, however, appears fufficiently problematical); and they perhaps depended too much upon the accommodating fpirit of the other parties. "is right to act in all things with "prudence and forefight." 1780. Notwithstanding thefe circumftances, it appears by a letter from the prefident to the court of directors, in the following month of February, that all apprehenfions of a war with Hvder was then over at the prefidency. But a letter which Hyder fent in the following month to March 19, the prefident, was confidered by Admiral Sir Edward Hughes (who commandThe governor of Fort St. George ed the Britifh fquadron in the Inhad already employed a private dian feas) as containing fuch eviperfon to convey a letter to and dent teftimonies of his hoftile difto open a fecret negociation with pofition, that he thought it his Hyder, hoping by a direct per duty to difpatch a copy of it home fonal communication, to be able to the fecretary of ftate. This to fettle or remove the exifting letter contained a fhort but exdifferences, and at any rate to ac plicit detail of various causes of quire a real knowledge of his fen- complaint which he had exhibited timents. Hyder's anfwer to his againft that government, from the letter, correfponded with the cold conclufion of the treaty in the and haughty manner in which he year 1769, to the prefent time, treated the bearer of it. He ob- and conveyed in a language and ferved, that when a friendship, manner, which not only fhewed confirmed by a folid treaty, had that thofe injuries were fresh in fubfifted between the Company and memory, but likewife expreffed a him, he imagined it would daily ftrong fenfe of their not being yet increase, and not have been broken accounted for. It concludes with through, as he afferted it had been the following expoftulation:on our fide. He faid, that out of "When fuch improper conduct confideration for the friendship of " is purfued, what engagements the king of England and the Com-"will remain inviolate? I leave pany, whom he had confidered as one, but now thought otherwise, he had not yet taken vengeance. He concluded in the following abrupt fentences: "It is no mat"ter! But if you, henceforth for"getting all treaties and engage"ments of the Company, ftill are "intent on breaking with me, "what advantage can attend writ❝ing to you? You are ac. quainted with every thing; it "it to the judgment of you and "your council to determine, on "whofe part the engagements and "promifes have been infringed." He expreffed himself to the fame purpofe, in a letter of anfwer which he had written a fhort time before to Bombay, relative to fome English gentlemen who had been imprisoned in his dominions, and whom he releafed upon the applicatiuo of that prefidency: he in formed formed them, after ftating his and he was fo deeply in arrear to complaints, that he had given his officers and troops, that all orders to his officers to oppofe by difcipline and order had long been arms any future encroachment on at an end, and mutiny and deferhis territories, by the government tion everywhere prevailed in his of Madras; but, as there were no army. His cavalry, in particular, differences between him and Bom- were totally ruined. They debay, he declared, that his refent- ferted, that is to fay, they marched ments fhould fall only on thofe who off at noon day with their horses were the authors of injuftice. and arms by whole regiments. His beft regiment of horfe was, in thefe circunftances, recovered and brought back by the generosity and public fpirit of a British mili tary officer, who advanced his whole fortune for the payment of their arrears. This gentleman being afterwards obliged to return to England for the recovery of his health, was exceedingly distressed for the money which he had fo applied, until it was advanced on the nabob's account, by the go. vernment of Madras. Such were the indications of the future ftorm. As the fummer advanced, every thing was in motion in Hyder's dominions. Large bodies of his troops were affembled on the borders of the Carnatic, particularly in the neigbourhood of thofe gauts, or difficult paffes through the mountains, which afford the only means to an army of penetrating into that country; great magazines were formed, artillery, and all the equipments of war brought forward; Hyder himfelf advanced from his capital of Seringapatam to the frontiers; and the most evident marks were difplayed on all hands of the approaching danger. In this ftate of things, the means of defence provided by the government of Madras and the Nabob of Arcot, in order to preferve the Carnatic, were not by any means fo abundant as might have been defired. It is neceffary however to relate the fituation of both. That prince, through the ill government of his affairs, and a diffipation of his treasures (for which it is difficult to account) was in debt to all the world; to the Company, to his army, and to individuals. He borrowed from all who would lend, and never paid. His garrifons were without ftores, ammunition, or provifions; On the other fide, the government of Madras had a gallant and well-difciplined army, amounting to fomething about 30,000 effective men; and had been lately reinforced by the arrival of Lord Macleod, with a new raised regiment of a thousand men froin England. But this force, which would have been fo confiderable in its effect, if collected and acting in a body, was rendered weak and inert, by its being broken into fmall parties, difperfed at great diftances, whether in quarters, garrifons, or upon various detached fervices. A confiderable party, but much more so with refpect to the nature and value of the troops than their number, were, in this feafon of danger, fent to affift Gen. Goddard in the Guzerat war. The application from Bengal for this reinforcement, were |