of some eighteen lacs, and is now in gaol.  This balance he will wipe off in time in the usual manner:  he will beg and borrow to pay a small sum to the Treasury, and four times the amount in gratuities to the minister, and other persons, male and female, of influence at Court.  The rest will be struck off as irrecoverable, and he will be released.  He was a man respected at Delhi, as well on account of his good character as on that of his wealth; but he is here only pitied as an ambitious fool.

The wakeel, on the part of the King, with the Resident, has been uniting his efforts to those of Hoseyn Buksh,* the present Nazim of Salone, to prevail upon Rajah Hunmunt Sing, the tallookdar of Dharoopoor, to consent to pay an addition of ten or fifteen thousand rupees to the present demand of one hundred and sixteen thousand rupees a-year for his estate.  He sturdily refused, under the assurance of the good offices of Rajah Bukhtawar Sing, who has hitherto supported him.  Among other things urged by him to account for his inability to pay is the obligation he is under to liquidate, by annual instalments, a balance due to Bukhtawar Sing; himself, when he held the contract of the district many years ago.  Bukhtawar Sing acknowledges the receipt of the instalments, and declares that they are justly due; but these payments are, in reality, nothing more than gratuities, paid for his continued good offices with the minister and Dewan.

[* Hoseyn Buksh was killed in March following, by the followers of a female landholder, whom he was trying to coerce into payment.  He was killed by a cannon shot through the chest, while engaged in the siege of Shahmow, held by Golab Kour, the widow of Rajah Dirguj Sing, who had succeeded to the estate, and would not or could not pay her revenue.

A few days before, Hoseyn Buksh attached the crops of another tallookdar, Seodut Sing, of Dhunawan, who would pay no revenue.  A body of the King’s cavalry was sent to guard the crops, but the tallookdar drove them off, and killed one and wounded another.  Hoseyn Buksh then sent a regiment, the Futtehaesh, a corps of his own Seobundies, and six guns, to coerce the tallookdar.  Two guns were mounted on one battery, under the Futtehaesh regiment, and four on another, under the Seobundies.  A crowd of armed peasants attacked the battery with the two guns, drove back the regiment, captured the guns, and fired upon the soldiers as they fled.  They then attacked the battery with the four guns, and the Seobundies fled, taking their guns with them for four miles.  In their flight they had three men killed, and twelve wounded.  Hoseyn Buksh, on hearing this, sent his whole force, under his brother, Allee Buksh, to avenge the insult.  Seodut, thinking he could not prudently hold out any longer, evacuated his fort during the night, and retired, and Hoseyn Buksh took possession of the fort, and recovered his two guns.  His successor restored both Seodut and the widow, Golab Kour, to their estates, on their own terms, after trying in vain to arrest them.]