duce into his remaining territory a good system of government. About the same time another treaty was made, under which the nawáb of Farrukhabad was mediatised and the civil and military administration of his district assigned to the company.
While these measures were being taken, the danger from Cabul was still threatening. Indeed it was the risk of an invasion by Zamán Shah which mainly impressed upon Wellesley the necessity of strengthening his authority in Oudh. But this, he felt, was not sufficient. He determined that the most effectual method of preventing aggression by the amír of Cabul would be to compel him to act upon the defensive in his own country. He accordingly despatched a native envoy, and subsequently Captain (afterwards Sir John) Malcolm [q. v.] to Persia to negotiate a treaty with the shah. Malcolm's embassy was a very costly affair, but its main object had already been accomplished by the native envoy who had preceded Malcolm, and had incited Muhammad Shah, the brother of the amír, to invade the amír's dominions. From that time there was no further risk of an invasion by Zamán Shah, who shortly afterwards perished in battle.
Another measure which Wellesley had much at heart was the expulsion of the French from the islands of Mauritius and Bourbon, whence, by means of privateers, they were able to inflict serious loss upon Indian commerce. He also contemplated the expulsion of the Dutch from Java. His plans, however, were frustrated by the perversity of Peter Raynier [q. v.], the admiral in command on the Indian station, who declined to place the fleet at Wellesley's disposal without express orders from the admiralty. Both expeditions had in consequence to be abandoned, and the two French islands remained in possession of the French for eight years longer, greatly to the detriment of Indian commerce.
Very shortly afterwards, however, the force which had been collected, reinforced by a large contingent of troops from Bombay, was despatched, under orders from home, to Egypt for the purpose of turning the French out of that country; Wellesley remarking to General Baird, who was placed in command, and had commanded the storming party at Seringapatam, ‘that a more worthy sequel to the storm of Seringapatam could not be presented to his genius and valour.’ The object of this expedition was achieved without bringing the Indian contingent into action, the mere report of its approach, combined with the energetic measures of Sir John Hely-Hutchinson (afterwards second Earl of Donoughmore) [q. v.], who had succeeded Sir Ralph Abercromby [q. v.] in command of the English force, sufficing to drive the French general to capitulate.
The peace of Amiens shortly afterwards followed, and under its provisions Wellesley was instructed to restore to the French Pondicherry and other places which had been French possessions. It was a strong measure to disregard these instructions, but Wellesley did disregard them. He felt that the duration of the peace was very uncertain, and that if war broke out again the restoration of these places to the French would seriously imperil British interests in India. He accordingly instructed Lord Clive, the governor of Madras, to refuse the restoration of Pondicherry pending a reference to London. Before the answer came the war in Europe had been resumed, and Wellesley was ordered to recapture ‘any ports or possessions which the French may have in India.’ This had been rendered unnecessary by Wellesley's prescient refusal to act upon the previous orders.
About this time Wellesley received from the home government what he naturally regarded as a high honour, viz. the rank of captain-general and commander-in-chief of all the forces in the East Indies. It gratified his military instincts, which were very strong, and it gave great satisfaction to the army, to which he had endeared himself by his sagacious direction of the Mysore war, and by his generosity in refusing to accept, at the expense of the army, the donation of 100,000l. which had been offered to him out of the Seringapatam prize-money. During the greater part of this time Wellesley's relations with the court of directors were far from satisfactory. They resented his somewhat autocratic proclivities, and they especially disapproved of his mode of exercising his patronage. They overruled his appointment of Henry Wellesley as resident at Lucknow, and they refused to sanction his nomination of Major Kirkpatrick as political secretary. They insisted upon all such appointments being held by members of the covenanted civil service. They refused to sanction the staff salary which it was proposed to assign to Colonel Arthur Wellesley while serving in Mysore. Irritated by interference of this description, Wellesley in 1802 applied to be relieved, but the state of things in India compelled him to remain. Again in 1803, keenly resenting the attitude of the court, he requested that he might be relieved in the following year; but before his application could be complied with the discontent which had shown itself on the part of the rulers of the
