Page:The Marquess of Hastings, K.G..djvu/195

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INTERNAL AFFAIRS
187

a long time; but as they did not affect British interests, there was no ground for interference, until 1813, when frequent raids were made across the Rann into protected territory. These marauding expeditions called for chastisement, and necessitated the partial subjugation of Cutch, which was not entirely accomplished until 1822, when it was finally incorporated into the Indian Empire, and placed under the control of the paramount authority of Calcutta.

The internal tranquillity of provinces under the direct rule of the Company was disturbed only slightly during the nine years of Lord Hastings' administration. Popular insurrections unfortunately took place at Bareilly and Cuttack in 1816 and 1817 respectively, which, though they caused much anxiety at the time, were put down without much difficulty. In the former case the cause of the disturbance was a reform which was hastily introduced in the collection of the police-tax, and appears to have arisen from mismanagement on the part of the local authority; in the latter case, where the discontent spread over a much wider area, the inhabitants had undoubted grievances, and it is satisfactory to be able to record that as soon as order was restored, fitting redress was applied, and the discontent was allayed.

The large landowners in the Doáb, called Tálukdárs, also gave some trouble about this time, to which allusion should be made. These local chiefs had been allowed to arrogate to themselves powers of sovereignty over their tenants which were oppressive and