the situations open to natives, are insufficient to support the incumbents. Since the annexation of the province to Kumaon, the business has been conducted in the Oordoo or Hindoostanee, and chiefly in the Deva Nagree character, to the great satisfaction of the people, who can now transact their own business and understand the proceedings of the courts. The establishment of the police and revenue departments, consists of a Peshkar a Kanongo, a couple of writers and twelve chuprassees; who would be quite sufficient for all the business of the province, so quiet and well disposed are the inhabitants, were it not for the gangs of banditti who occasionally come up from the plains. To check these there are five duffadars and thirty-five burkundauzes, (police constables) who are all armed with carbines from the Government magazine, stationed at different posts along the lower range of hills; and during eight months of the year are strengthened by small detachments from the Sirmoor or Kumaon Battalion.

MILITARY FORCE.

161. The military force stationed within the Doon, consists of that Battalion, which is a local corps; its head-quarters are at Delira. From its origin it is denominated a Goorkha corps, having been raised in 1815 from men who came over from the Goorkha service, but there are few real Goorkhas now among them. Probably of the whole about four-tenths are inhabitants of Gurhwall, two-tenths of Kumaon; three-tenths of the whole Nipalese territory, and one-tenth from various other places in the hills, including a very few from the plains. The English officers are one commandant, a second in command, and Adjutant ; unifrom green with red facings; the men are armed with neat and serviceable fusées. The bazar establishment is kept up in an excellent manner; major Young (now Colonel) requires the shop-keepers and others attached to maintain carriage for the articles in which they deal; consequently the corps is ready to move at a moment's warning. In October, 1824, when a serious disturbance occurred in the Suharunpoor district, a party of 200 men, besides officers commissioned and non-commissioned, received the order to march at 7 one evening and at 3 the next morning moved out without any requisition made for carriage to the civil authority. The shop-keepers of the bazar had their own the native officers had servants and poneys; and with few exceptions the men carried their own baggage. Including the servants of major Young, who commanded the detachment, and of Mr. Shore, the civil officer, who accompanied it, the total of camp followers did not probably exceed half the amount of fighting men. The detachment made a forced march of twenty-seven miles that day over a bad road; next day being joined on the road by 150 men more of the same corps, who came from Suharunpoor, where they were stationed, accompanied by Mr. Grindall the Magistrate, Mr. Royle the Civil Surgeon, and captain Debude, an Engineer officer employed in surveying in this part, but who volunteered his aid on the occasion; it proceeded thirteen more and found the insurgents about 800 or 900 strong, posted in a small mud fort close to the village of Koonja.

162. These were headed by three notorious bandit chiefs; they had within a month plundered the town of Bhugwanpoor; attacked and carried off about 18,000 rupees of Government treasure in dispatch to the Collector's treasury, besides committing various minor acts of plunder and outrage in which many people were killed and wounded by them. They were so emboldened by their success, and by the hostile feeling which was at that time exhibiting itself towards the British Government all over that part of the country, that they induced Biji Sing, the owner of the fort of Koonja, to join them and give them shetter in his fort. There Kulloo, the chief of the dakoits, assumed the name and title of Rajah Kullian Sing, and sent notices round to the different landholders in

that part of the Saharunpoor district and in the Doon, demanding certain sums, in default of which he threatened to plunder the villages. They had resolved to plunder Suharunpoor itself on the night of the day which proved so fatal to them. Indeed, as the detachment had neither guns or scaling ladders, and the walls of the fort were in good order, the insurgents looked with confidence to the result; and in derision talked of beating off and cutting up the hill monkeys, as they called the men of the Sirmoor Battalion, and then carrying into effect the intended plunder of Suharunpoor.

163. On the 3d October, 1824, the second day after leaving Dehra, the detachment arrived before the fort; and were saluted by a fire of matchlocks and wall pieces; there seemed at first little prospect of effecting any good; as the fort appeared safe from attack without either guns or ladders, and the party far too small to surround it or prevent the escape of the insurgents in a body, which would have left them at liberty to prosecute their designs of plunder: the state of the country, too, rendered it extremely probable that they would be joined by parties of considerable strength which were forming all over the district either for that purpose, or to plunder on their own account. Every circumstance urged the adoption of prompt measures. It was suggested by Mr. Shore, and seconded by Captain Debude, to form a battering ram of a young tree, and to attempt by such means to breach the gate. Accordingly all preparations being completed under cover of a small grove and temple near the gate, a flanking party was thrown out on each side to keep down the fire from the walls, (in which fortunately there were no loop-holes; so that the besieged were obliged to put their heads over to fire) the ram slung by ropes, to be worked by the men without any standard frame work, was moved up to the gate, followed by the main body. After some time the gate was forced open, and the men rushed in. A great many of the insurgents jumped down the walls and escaped, but all the best men retreating into the small rooms and houses with which the fort was filled, fought sword in hand to the last with that desperation, which the certainty of being killed on one side or hanged on the other, generally inspires; nearly a third of the insurgents were cut up; the Goorkhas' loss was forty killed and wounded.

164. The people all over that part of the country had adopted a notion that the British were going to evacuate some of the north-western provinces; and in many instances even those who were peaceably disposed had objected to pay the revenue, observing that the money might as well remain in their hands until the change of Government should have been completed, to prevent their being called upon to pay it twice: but the greater part were actuated by a decidedly hostile feeling, which many did not hesitate to show. The effect of the storm of this fort was, to use the words of a neighbouring Magistrate, like an electric shock: it happened at an auspicious moment and was productive of important public benefit ; in which terms the service was most handsomely acknowledged by Government. Detachments from this Battalion have been constantly employed in checking the gangs of banditti, who, occasionally lurking in the hilly and jungly ground between the Doon and the plains, are ready for any opportunity of plunder. The corps also formed part of the force under Sir David Ochterlony in the Pindary campaign, and a portion of it was at Bhurutpoor.

CHARACTER.

165. There is always a difficulty in drawing a general character of the people of any province, which might be expected to be greater than usual in one like this, where so many races are intermixed: but though, of course, there are many shades of distinction, the following may be taken for as near a description as any general one can be. The chief

feature of the people is their laziness and apathy, and this is probably to be attributed to the tyranny and oppression which had existed for so many years previous to the accession of the British authority, which has so completely broken the spirit of the people, that they seem to be infinitely more deficient in energy than those of the plains, and till lately to be almost wanting in desire to raise themselves in the world. They are, however, a simple race, little addicted to falsehood, and excessively quiet; thieving and, indeed, crimes of all sorts, being extremely rare.

166. In civil money causes the debt is generally owned by the defendant, and a bad season or other excuse for non-payment pleaded; with a promise, which is generally performed, to pay as soon as he is able; one man only has been confined for debt since February 1823. The criminal and miscellaneous department, consists perhaps of a few complaints of petty assault; altogether, the hearing of complaints, and receiving petitions, of all sort in matters relating to the Doon alone, does not require, on an average, above an hour a day. Thefts and other crimes are few, amounting to only one hundred and eighteen in four years, among a population of about 24,000, of which fourteen were gang robberies committed by people from the plains. Murder is almost the only serious crime committed, and that is very rare, only one having occurred in four years; it is usually perpetrated from jealousy or to destroy some poor old wretch who is supposed to be a wizzard or a witch.

167. The people are docile, and are persuaded without much difficulty, to attempt any thing which may better them, and on the whole, will not disappoint any one who quietly endeavours to do them good. With a little encouragement they are ready enough to communicate their wants and feelings and even to speak in a very unreserved way when they are allowed to do so; of which many amusing instances are constantly occurring, some of which are subjoined in a note. The influx of people from the plains, consequent on the establishment of the convalescent depôt at Landour, will not tend to improve their morals,”

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

168. The Doon has on the whole slightly improved since it came under the British authority; but by no means so fast as it might have done, had circumstances allowed Government to have appointed a civil officer to the particular charge of it from the first. It is indeed greatly to the lamented that this could not have been done, for some years will yet elapse before the evil consequences of the mode in which the valley was managed for several years after it was taken possession of by the British. The oppressions of the Goorkhas had been such that the accession of our Government was hailed with delight: those who remained in the province looked forward not merely to the enjoyment of justice and their rights, but to a little encouragement and assistance to enable them in some measure to recover their former prosperity; and those who had been expatriated were looking forward to the hope of returning to their former homes. The annexation, however, of the Doon to Suharunpoor, blighted all these prospects. The evil consequences of this have been already alluded to; for while on the one hand no assistance whatever was given to the people, on the other they suffered severe extortion and oppressions from the Government native officers, and from the servants of English gentleman who came into the valley on parties of pleasure: and it is no exaggeration to say, that after several years' experience of the British administration, the inhabitants of the Doon actually regretted the change of masters: and the emigrants who at first expected to be enabled to return to their former homes, soon relinquished the

idea; finding themselves better off where they were in the Sikh territory to which the greater number had gone.

169. The state of the district is such that it requires not merely negative care, by which is meant preventing oppression and malpractices by the Government native officers, and in other respects leaving the people to improve themselves, a plan which would answer admirably with most parts of the country under the British Government; but positive and unremitting care and vigilance to prevent the province from retrogarding. The people require being stimulated into a little energy; but mere words will not effect this, unless accompanied by actions to prove to them that the person is in earnest. A hundred rupees, for instance, laid out properly in assisting them to dig a well, will induce the inhabitants of a large village to labor at the work at their leisure hours, to an extent, that a similar quantity of hired laborer would have cost perhaps 1,000 rupees. Of this there were several instances during the last year, but the officer in charge not having authority from Government to do so, advanced the money out of his own private funds.

170.

Were a discretionary authority given to make occasional advances of money for digging wells, clearing forests, cutting small canals for irrigation, and making roads, there can be no doubt that the province would improve more in the next ten years, than it will, as matters at present are carried on, in fifty. It is no exaggeration to say that, had an officer been appointed with such powers in the year 1814, the land revenue alone would now have been full 30,000 rupees yearly, instead of not quite half that amount, although the total Government outlay in advances would not probably have exceeded 10,000 rupees; and that in a few years more this sum would have been doubled by the encrease of land brought under cultivation.

171.

When at last a civil officer was appointed to reside in the Doon in 1823, the circumstances were very different; nine years more had passed over and still found the people in the same apathy and with the same want of spirit to exert themselves in which they had been for half a century, and what was worse, the moral influence of the British name had ceased to have any effect. At first so great were the hopes entertained, that a person of mild temper, with a little tact, and with authority to give some assistance in money, might have stirred up the people to make great exertions, and have succeeded in bringing back almost all the emigrants; but when Mr. Shore went to reside in the Doon, he found the above feeling not only as strong as ever, but to it was added a repugnance to have any communication with an Englishman, or with a Government officer of any description. It was also much more difficult to induce the expatriated people to return. Nine years had carried off many of the old stock, many of the existing race had either been born since the emigration of their families, or were so young at the time as scarcely to recollect their former homes, and they plainly answered that they were well off in their present abode, that they heard that the British Government was not better than that of the Goorkhas, and that they should not think of moving unless considerable assistance in money were given them to build their houses, dig canals, or otherwise promote their comfort.

172. It was sometime before the people could be induced to conquer their dislike to personal communication with the officer in charge of the district; but, by perseverance, this was effected, and he could not help feeling an interest in them. The province is on the whole now beginning to show an alteration for the better: in 1823 there were only seven carts; there are now more than a hundred. There is in the different villages an evident spirit of improvement succeeding to the former apathy; the people work harder

than they did, lands which have lain waste for perhaps thirty years or more, are now breaking up; men who hitherto lived from hand to mouth as labourers, are now borrowing money to procure cattle and implements of husbandry, and they find people willing to lend. Some new villages are annually taken by men who have capital to bring them into cultivation, but the improvement is but a tithe of what might have been effected, by a resident officer with power to assist the people with advances of money; and were this authority given now, the result would soon prove the truth of these observations.

173. To view the present state of the Doon, and wander over the jungles, seeing remains of tanks, wells of masonry, regular planted mango and other fruit groves, hedges and other vestiges of what it once was, is lamentable beyond conception; and brings to one's mind fearful pictures of the miseries which must have accompanied its desolation ; it should at least induce those who have the power, to give assistance towards bringing it to its once prosperous state.

Dehra Doon, Assist. Commrs, office, April 30th, 1827.

F. J. SHORE.