the price of his sudden elevation; and that no letter was to be presented by the Resident until the money was paid, or security given for its punctual payment; that the Governor-General himself wanted two crores of rupees, but some members of the Government would be satisfied with a crore and half each, and others even with one crore each, provided that these sums were paid forthwith.”  In relating this story, which the Resident had heard from many others within the last few days, the King observed, “that he was too well acquainted with the character for honour and justice of the Honourable Company’s Government, to give the slightest credit to such scandal, the more especially since no demand of the kind had been made on the accession of either of the last two Kings, who were known to be rich, while he was equally well known to be poor; but that nothing but the arrival of this despatch confirming him on the throne, could convince many, even well-disposed persons, of the utter groundlessness of such wicked rumours; that many poor but respectable persons, who had been weak enough to believe such rumours, would feel much relieved when they heard the salutes which were now being fired, for they had apprehended, that they might be severe sufferers by being compelled to contribute their own property, in order to enable him to make up the peshkush, or tribute, required by the British Government, since the late King had squandered the ten crores, which he found in the treasury on the death of his father.”

It is certain, that a great portion of the population of Lucknow expected that some such demand would be made by the British Government from the new sovereign, since his right to the throne could be disputed, not only by Moonna Jan, the supposed son of the late King, but by the undoubted sons of Shums-od Dowlah, the elder brother of the present King, whose rights were barred only by that peculiar feature of the Mahommedan law elsewhere adverted to in this Diary.  Every day of delay, in promulgating the final orders of the Supreme Government, tended to add to this number; and by the time that these final orders came, by far the greater portion of the city were of the same opinion.  The fears of the people tended to add to their numbers, and give strength to the opinion, for all knew, that there was but little left in the reserved treasury, that the expenses greatly exceeded the annual revenue, and that the troops and establishments were all greatly in arrear; and all believed that a general contribution would have to be levied to meet the demand when it came.*