against the supposed French designs on India : Shah Shuja received him at Peshawar on March 5, 1809 : the negotiations produced little result, as Shah Shuja was himself ejected from Afghanistan in 1809. Elphinstone was appointed Resident at Poona in 1811. In 1815 he insisted on the surrender of Trimbakji Danglia, the Peshwa's minister, for the murder of Gungadhar Sastri, the minister and envoy of the Gaekwar of Baroda, at Poona. In 1817 Elphinstone concluded the treaty dated June 13, of Poona, as dictated to the Peshwa, who, however, continued to intrigue. Elphinstone was, for a time, superseded by Sir T. Hislop, the General commanding the Army collected against the Pindaris : the Peshwa eventually attacked the British force at Kirki on Nov. 5, 1817, and was defeated : Elphinstone's residence at Poona, library, and papers were all burnt : he himself showed great skill and military courage : he annexed the Peshwa's territory, as ordered, and administered it, interfering as little as possible with native usages. He was Governor of Bombay from Nov. 1819, to Nov. 1827 : instituted legislative and judicial reforms, had a code of Regulations drawn up, and advanced popular education. The Elphinstone College was founded in his honour. He travelled in Europe, 1827-9, and led a retired life : twice refused the offer of the Governor-Generalship of India, and declined the Under Secretaryship of the Board of Control and a special mission to Canada. He wrote An Account of the Kingdom of Caubul and its Dependencies in Persia, Tartary and India, 1815 : his History of India, 1841, for which he was called the Tacitus of modern historians : and The Rise of British Power in the East, edited in 1887 by Sir E. Colebrooke. He was not ambitious, occupied his time with study, and maintained his interest in Indian affairs, being regarded as the Nestor of Indian statesmanship. He was a Vice-President of the Royal Asiatic Society. He combined through life a keenness for field sports with his love of books and the despatch of public business. Bishop Heber wrote of him, "Of Mr. Elphinstone everybody spoke highly" : no Indian civilian has gained a greater name as a statesman and a ruler. He died Nov. 20, 1859 : a statue was erected in St. Paul's Cathedral in his honour.
ELPHINSTONE, WILLIAM GEORGE KEITH (1782–1842)
Maj-General : son of Hon. William FuUerton Elphinstone, Director of the E.I. Co. : entered the Army, 1804, in the 24th foot : served with distinction in various parts of the world : Lt-Colonel of the 33rd foot in 1813, and served with it at Waterloo : made C.B. : A.D.C. to George IV. 1825 : became Maj-General, 1837 : commanded the Benares Division, 1839-41, when, in the first Afghan war, he succeeded Sir Willoughby Cotton as Commander in Chief at Kabul, towards the close of 1841, and, on the murder of Sir W. Macnaghten, on December 23, 1841, failed entirely, through old age and ill-health, to take measures for the safety of the force. During the disastrous retreat of the Army from Kabul, in Jan. 1842, he surrendered as a hostage of Akbar Khan : and died of dysentery at Tezin on April 23, 1842.
ELSMIE, GEORGE ROBERT (1838–)
I.C.S. : Born Oct. 31, 1838 : son of George Elsmie : educated at Marischal College and University, Aberdeen, and Haileybury : joined the Bengal Civil Service, 1858 : Judge, Chief Court, Panjab, 1878-85 : Financial commissioner, Panjab, 1887-93 : Member of the Governor-General's Legislative Council, 1888-93 : Vice-Chancellor, Panjab University, 1885-7. Author of Epitome of Kabul Correspondence, 1864; Notes on Peshawar Crime, 1884; Lumsden of the Guides, 1899; Field Marshal Sir Donald Stewart, 1903 : C.S.I. , 1893.
EMPSON, WILLIAM (1791–1852)
Born in 1791 : educated at Winchester and Trinity College, Cambridge : B.A., 1812 : between 1823 and 1849 wrote largely for the Edinburgh Review, "a valued contributor on political, legal, and literary subjects" : he edited the Review from 1849 to 1852. His friendship with Dr. Arnold, begun at Winchester, continued through life. He was appointed in 1824 Professor of Polity and the Laws of England at the E.I. Co.'s College, Haileybury. His lectures, especially those on general jurisprudence and Indian law, were much appreciated by the better students. He was much liked by his pupils, over whom he had considerable
