requesting that the prisoners might be surrendered to him.  The Resident, in his reply to His Majesty’s, letter, told him, that he could not so far violate the promise he had given, but that he would send them to answer any other charges that might be brought against them, in any open and impartial Court that might be appointed to try them; and if they should be found guilty of other crimes, His Majesty might order any sentence passed upon them, short of death, to be carried into execution.

Charges of many successful attempts of the same kind, and many atrocious murders perpetrated by the ruffians, in distant districts of Oude, were preferred against them; and they were prevailed upon to give up their arms, and to submit to a fair and open trial, on the other charges preferred against them, on condition that they should neither be put to death nor in any way maimed, or put in fetters, or subjected to ill-treatment before trial and conviction.  The Resident offered them the alternative of doing this or leaving the Residency, after he had read to them the King’s letter, and told them, that his promise extended only to saving their lives and escorting them to the Residency; and, that he would not be answerable for their lives beyond the court-yard of the Residency, if they refused the conditions now offered.  They knew that their lives would not be safe for a moment after they got beyond the court-yard, and submitted.  Their arms and the fifty thousand rupees were sent to the King.  At four in the afternoon, the four prisoners were made over to the King’s wakeel, on a solemn promise given under the express sanction of his Majesty, of safe conduct through the streets, of freedom from fetters, or any kind of ill-treatment before conviction, and of fair and open trial.

But they had not gone two paces from the Residency court-yard, when they were set upon by the very people sent by the King to take care of them on the way; the King’s wakeel having got into his palkee and gone on before them towards the palace.  They were beaten with whips, sticks, and the hilts of swords, till one of the four fell down insensible, and the other three were reduced to a pitiable condition.  The Resident took measures to protect them from further violence, recalled the wakeel; and, after admonishing him for his dishonourable conduct, had the prisoners taken unfettered to a convenient house near the prison.  The wounded minister wrote to the King, earnestly praying that the prisoners might not suffer any kind of ill-treatment before conviction, after a fair and impartial trial.  The Resident reported to Government all that had occurred, and stated, that he should see that the promises made to the prisoners were fulfilled, that, should they be convicted before the Court appointed to conduct the trial, of other crimes perpetrated before this assault on the minister, they would be subject to such punishment as the Mahommedan law prescribed for such crimes.  Three of them, Tuffuzzul Hoseyn,