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which obliges him to take medicine daily.

He is from five feet eight to nine inches high; is now rather inclined to fat, although, a few years fince, he was very thin: his face is round, with large full eyes: and there is much animation and fire in his countenance: he wears whiskers, but no beard: he is very active, and fometimes takes long walks.

He has eleven children, of whom only two are in marriage; the elder, a girl of seven years; the younger, a boy of four years.

The eldest of his natural children, is a girl of feventeen years; the fecond, a fon of fifteen years-He is a great favourite, and accompanies his father upon all occafions-his name is Gullaum Heyder. Another fon, Abdul Khalick, is ten years old.

His difpofition is naturally cruel: his temper is paffionate and revengeful; and he is prone to be abufive; and his words are falfe and hypocritical, as fuit his purposes.

His policy, thus far differing widely from his father, has been ruinous to his revenues, as well as hurtful to his government. He profeffes him felf Naib to one of the twelve prophets, who, the Mahommedans believe, are yet to come; and he perfecutes all other cafts, forcing num. bers to become Muffulmen. He is jealous of, and prejudiced againft, his father's favourites; most of whom he has removed from their offices, giving to fome leffer appointments. When compared to his father, his understanding and judgment are fuppofed to be inferior: he is efteemed as good a foldier, but a lefs fkilful general and he is wanting in that great refource, which his father fo eminently difplayed in all cafes of danger. His father difcriminated merit, rewarded it liberally, and pun ished guilt with the utmoft rigour of a defpot he gives little encouragement or reward; and he punishes

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more from the influence of paffion and prejudice than from any atten-' tion to justice. His father was affi

duous in gaining the attachment of his army: he is rather negligent of it; and being very parfimonious, he is led to impofe upon his troops, whenever opportunities offer: he fometimes retains their pay for feveral months, and has his own focars to lend his money at an enormous intereft, which is flopped when the pay is iffued.

On Tippoo's return to Seringapapatam, after the conclufion of the war with the English, he took an inventory of his property of every kind, which, in treafure and various other articles, on valuation, flood at twenty crores of pagodas: in the treasury, Bahaudry pagodas (four rupees each,) five crores: the remaining fifteen crores were in jewels, valuable clothes, &c. &c.; and Elephants Camels Hoifes

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700

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11,000

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The treasure, and other valuable property, is now kept entirely at Seringapatam. Formerly fome part of it was kept in Biddinore, and it is faid, that at the time of General Matthew's taking it, there was a treafure of twenty-five lacks of pagodas, befides four crores of pagodas value, in gold, filver, &c.

The full collections amounted to five crores and ninety-two lacks of Cunteary pagodas (of three rupees each;) the expence of febundy, &c. one and a half crore ; deficiencies in the collections, from various caufes, L12

which

which lay over, fixty lacks; for building and repairing forts, making docks, and building ships, one crore and eighty-two lacks; paid into the treafury, two crores. Total, five crores and ninety-two lacks.

Since Tippoo affumed the government, the revenues have diminished greatly, in confequence of his having adopted a different policy from his father. He removed from the hamauldaries, all the Brahmans, and others of the Hindu caft, who were well verfed in country business, and put Muffalmen in their places. He forbade the fale of arrack and gunja throughout his dominions, which had produced a very confiderable revenue to the circar. He removed, from the Biddinore and Soanda countries, about 70 oco Chriftian inhabitants, who were the cultivators of the ground, by which the revenues of thefe countries fuftained a great lofs. The Biddinore country alone yielded to Hyder a net revenue of eighteen lacks of pagodas: it has fince fallen to ten lacks.

From thefe and other causes, arifing from bad management, Tippoo's revenues have been greatly diminished; infomuch that his net revenue did not exceed, after the foregoing deductions, the first year, one and a half crore, inftead of two, as in his father's time; and every fucceeding year only one crore. He has not thrown any money into the flanding ,treafury fince his government, and he has drawn from it fifty lacks of pagodas.

Since the conclufion of the late war, he has thrown into Seringapa tam, provifions for 100.000 men, for twelve months; and into his other forts, provifions in proportion to their fength and importance: and as a precaution to prevent treachery, he has appointed, to fome of his principal forts, fix killedars; to others, three; to others, two; fuch as are not intended for defence have only

one. Although all thefe are com monly called killedars, yet properly speaking, there is but one killedar; the others go under the denomination of munfhoor (or counfellors.) The first is buckfhy, or commander of the fepoys; the fecond, buckhy of the peons; the third, buckthy of the commatties and artificers; the fourth, darogah, in charge of the works; the fifth, darogah, for superintending the making of bricks and chunam.-When Tippoo writes, he addreffes the killedar and munfhuraun; when they write to him, it is, in like manner, from the killedar and munfhuraun: they have all their refpective orders from the circar; and each is at liberty to detect the other, if any thing is done contrary to order.

The Eftablishment of his Forces.
Cavalry.

His own ftable, horfe for fer

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Commatties

10,000

Peons for carrying dooleys, &c. and working at the roads with the Commatties 60,000

Total 70,000

Two Riffallas of Topaffes, one of them having a Company of Europeans attached to it, of 100 ftrong

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A fentinal is called ezuddar; the rounds, kirwaun; the parole, nifhane; a guard, munkulla: each tub nas two galloper guns, three pounders, and each riffalla has two fix pounders. A koufhoun, or legion, is compofed of one tub of cavalry, four riffallas of infantry, and two eighteen pounders. The gallopers are drawn by mules, and all the draught cattle belong to 900 the circar. Each koufhoun has an elephant attached to it, which is harneffed like a horfe, to affift the guns through difficulties. The cavalry and infantry are clothed alike, in a 180 ftriped blue and white ftuff, of coun150 try manufacture. The artillery have 250 alfo a cotton stuff, white ground, with large round blue fpots.

50

Total 630

With the party, 1 fix pounder. Tippoo has made great alterations in the establishment of his troops. His father was partial to his cavalry, and kept up a much larger body than he does; he is partial to his infantry, and has made great augmen tation to them: 5000 of his own table horse are formed and trained regularly, and 2000 are as Mogul horfe; and there are not above 3000 of the hired horfe that can be called good cavalry-the reft are more of the plundering kind. He has adopt ed Perfian terms for the words of command, which were heretofore given partly in English and partly in French; he has alfo altered the terms for the formation of the troops. In the cavalry, a troop (95 ftrong) is called a yews; the fubidar, a yew dar; a jemidar, furkele: a regiment (four yews) is called a tub: the commander, tubdar: a morwkoub is compefed of four tubs; the commander mowkoubdar: the troopers are called ofkur. In the infantry, a company (125 ftrong) is called a jork; the fubidar, jowkdar ; a jemidar, furkele: a battalion of four jowks is called a riffalla; the fepoys are called jih.

The Manner of his paffing his time in Camp.

He rifes fometimes at 7 o'clock, but more commonly at eight or nine in the morning; on halting days, washes and takes medicine, the barber then begins to fhave him, during which the head aukbar neoife, or news-writer, comes in with the letters that have arrived by the tappauls, and relates the news of the different countries, as he has received it. The officer commanding his guard then comes in, and makes his report; after which the adjutants of cors come, and make a report of their refpective corps. About twelve o'clock he goes to dinner, which is over in about an hour: he then holds his durbar, and tranfacts all business, civil and military, until five o'clock; he then gives out the parole, which he takes from the planets, or figns of the zodiac, writing it himself in a book, which is depofited with his own guard, where the adjutant-general (for each cutcherry has an adjutabt-general) comes and takes it; after which he lays down and fleeps about an hour, rifes, and makes his fecond meal: the mounchies, or fecretaries, are then called in; they.

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read the letters that have been received during the day, and he gives his orders for anfwering them :-all this done, and the letters prepared for dispatch, about two or three in the morning he goes to rest. On marching days, where there is no immediate exigency, the army feldom moves before eight o'clock, after Tippoo has taken his breakfast: he goes in his palankeen, on the march; and if any thing particular occurs, he immediately mounts his horfe. The order of march is varied according to circumstances; during his late war against the Mahrattas, as they were greatly fuperior to him in cavalry, his infantry marched in four colums,

thus,

with the cavalry and bag

} gage in the centre: he encamps in a fquare; his infantry and guns occupying the four faces-the cavalry, within the fquare; each face has an open ftreet in its centre, with a buz zar. A koushoun forms the picquet of the front face, and is advanced from twelve to fifteen hundred paces; a riffalla is advanced from it, about five hundred paces; and on the march all thefe picquets form the advance and rear guards, and flank ing guards to the columns. The infantry are difencumbered of their baggage on the march, bullocks being allowed by the circar for carrying it.

The army marches, in common, about four cofs Sultany*; in expedition, the whole army marches about fix or seven cofs Sultany; but a body of horfe only, in order to make a push, have gone, in little more than a day and a night, a very confiderable distance. During the late war in the Carnatic, Hyder marched with

a body of horfe, from Oombly, near Tritchinopoly, to Chillimbrum, in 27 hours; he moved off at three o'clock in the morning, and at seven the next morning, he reached Chillimbrum-a diftance of about seven gow, or twenty eight cofs, equal to feventy miles; the third day his infantry and guns came up. At the commencement of Tippoo's late war against the Mahrattas, he lay with his army at Perour, in the Riadurg country: marching at three o'clock in the morning, he arrived, at feven o'clock the next morning, at Kirchungood, near to Adoni, and attacked a body of 4000 Mahratta plunderers.

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He keeps in his pay 300 hircarrahs, at three pagodas a month each fuch as prove themselves moft active and clever, are employed for intelligence.

Befides thefe, he ftations news-writers in fuch principal places as he thinks neceffary; and thefe are inftructed to write in the style of foucars, and the intelligence required is made applicable to the coins, &c treated of; fo that if a letter is intercepted, no difcovery is made: fhould there be any thing that cannot be fo introduced, it is given verbally to the bearer of the letter. Tippoo feldom rewards with prefents; and when he does, they are very trifling, perhaps not more than five rupees.

Thefe Anecdotes place the character of Tippoo Sultaun in its true light. His abilities have undoubtedly been over-rated. He was neither fo wife a ftatesman, nor fo able a general, as he has been reprefented. Though he poffeffed a confiderable fhare of prudence, and was not wanting either in promptitude or judgment, yet was he greatly deficient in

that

*The Sultany cofs has been established by Tippoo; and the principal roads through, his dominions have three trees, of particular kinds, planted on one fide, to mark the cofs. The Carnatic cofs is about 2 miles; the Cunteary, or old Myfore cofs, is about three piles; the Sultany cofs is about four miles.

that comprehenfion and vigour of mind, which are effential ingredients in the compofition of all true great nefs. Selfish, cunning and rapacious, in government as well as in war, he acted upon narrow principles.

His Revenue Regulations, which are certainly framed with great abiIity, and which feem well calculated to enrich both the Prince and People, were fruftrated in their operation by his fhifting and fhallow policy. As a Warrior, he was brave, cautious, and intrepid: but his courage was tinctured with ferocity; and his firmness proceeded from obftinacy, rather than from a juft confidence in his own powers; and he never difplayed any depth of forefight, or fpirit of enterprize. As a Politician, he fhewed little difcernment, and lefs fagacity: though his understanding was full of artifice, he feldom employed it fuccefsfully; and the fchemes which he laid to over-reach his enemies, generally proved abor tive. Cruel in his difpofition, and impetuous in his temper, he was often guilty of enormous acts of tyranny; though, for the most part, his prudence taught him to rule over his own fubjects with a degree of justice, that rendered them lefs oppreffed than those of any other Mahommedan Prince in India. Tippoo was ambitious to furpafs his father in every thing; and he had the vanity to imagine that he was infinitely fuperior to that extraordinary man. But in truth he furpaffed him in nothing but the low arts of private treachery and public intrigue. Hyder was not only endowed with great genius, but with many exalted virtues he was a confummate ftatef man, an enterprifing warrior, a generous conqueror, a faithful ally, a

ftrict obferver of the laws of war, a benevolent fovereign, a Mahommedan free from fuperftition, a fteady friend, and an indulgent parent. Tippoo's talents were not much above mediocrity; the qualities of his heart were greatly below it in ftate affairs, he was narrow-minded and prejudiced in the conduct of his army, he never fhewed any masterly generalfhip; the few victories which he gained, were fullied with the most atrocious cruelties: in his alliances, he was faithful, out of hatred to his enemies, not from any principle of honour or integrity: in war, he dif regarded almost all the rules that are obferved by civilized nations: in the administration of his government, he was lenient only because it fuited his own intereft; in his religion he was a fierce and gloomy bigot; he was unfufceptible of friend flip, and deftitute of parental tenderness.-Hyder, without the benefits of education, rofe himfelf, by the dint of his own. abilities, from a private ftation, to the throne of a powerful kingdom. Tippoo, though inftructed from his earliest youth in the art of politics, and left by his father at the head of the best disciplined army that any Indian Prince had ever commanded, loft that kingdom to his posterity, and facrificed his army, by the groffeft mifmanagement. Hyder had the addrefs to render the affiftance of the French fubfervient to his own purpofes. Tippoo allowed himself to be duped by their intrigues, and to be made the mere inftrument of their ambitious projects.

Nor did Tippoo differ lefs from his father in private, than in public life. The father poffeffed the utmost franknefs of manners, enlivened with humour and cheerfulness: the fon was proud,

+ See the Myforean Revenue Regulations, tranflated by Burrish Crifp, Efq. from the Perfian original under the feal of Tippoo Sultaun, in the poffeffion of Col. John Murray. -See alfo, a Differtation on the Revenues of Myfore, at once lumineus and concie, in an historical and political view of the Deccan, by James Grant, Elq. printed for J. Debrett, 1797.

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