yielded to a demand to surrender three forts as a guarantee for the future, but he still refused to discountenance the proceedings of the Trimbakjí.
A disturbance at Cuttack having at this crisis occasioned a delay in the transmission of the Governor-General's instructions upon the circumstances which had arisen, Elphinstone acted on his own responsibility, and on the 6th May gave the Peshwá a month of grace within which to cease all connection with his favourite. A few days later the instructions so anxiously expected reached Poona, and therein three contingencies were considered and provided for: — If Bájí Ráo consented to deliver up Trimbakjí, and honestly endeavoured to put a stop to the disturbance which he caused, before the arrival of the instructions, then the treaty of Bassein, although grossly violated by recent events, was to be renewed in its old form; if, after this date, he fulfilled his obligations, the treaty was to be modified, and additional security taken against an untrustworthy ally; and lastly, if he refused, and still persisted in his hostility, he was to be deposed. The month was slipping by; the Resident took possession of the three forts, collected his forces, and was preparing for action, when the Peshwá, finding all further resistance useless, at last issued a proclamation offering a substantial reward for the apprehension of the escaped murderer, and thereby enabled Elphinstone to come to terms with him by a fresh compact, which, signed the 13th June, replaced the relations established at Bassein in 1802.
