and checked the ambition of the strong; the absence of such a power, however imperfectly wielded by the Mughals, had produced disorder, and had interfered with the prosperity of British possessions. England alone could occupy this position, and the assumption of so onerous a responsibility was not only the natural result of her commanding prestige and ascendency in the East, but was also the direct consequence of the Governor-General's determination to stamp out altogether the bands of organised freebooters that infested the country.
Lord Hastings did not despair of carrying out his design by peaceable means, and spared no pains to induce the native chiefs to co-operate with him against the Pindárís; he hoped to establish in this manner a community of interests, by which to arrive at an understanding with the most considerable princes of Central India, and so promote the public and general tranquillity. In his own words, 'it was his boast to have an earnest desire to accomplish everything by pacific means, and to be able to declare with sincerity, that the exclusive object of his present preparations was to get rid of the greatest pest that society ever experienced'; and if he had not the full sanction of the home authorities upon the measures he proposed, yet he took the whole responsibility of this action upon himself, and felt sure that the result would justify him in the eyes of British public opinion[1]. But he did not disguise from himself that negotiations might
- ↑ Prinsep, ii. 23.
