disbanded more than half his army, and reduced the cost, while he
improved the efficiency of the other half, to bring his expenditure
within his income, now so much diminished by the cession of the best
half of his dominions to the British Government. He assessed, or
altogether resumed, all the rent-free lands in his reserved half of
the territory; and made all the officers of his two lavish and
thoughtless predecessors,* disgorge a portion of the wealth which
they had accumulated by the abuse of their confidence; and, at the
same time, laboured assiduously to keep within bounds the powers and
possessions of his landed aristocracy.

[* Asuf-od Dowlah and Wuzeer Allee.]

Hakeem Mehndee exacted from the landholders of Bahraetch two annas in
the rupee, or one-eighth, more than the rate they had hitherto paid;
and his successor, Hadee Allee, exacted an increase of two annas in
the rupee, upon the Hakeem's rate. It was difficult to make the
landholders and cultivators pay this rate, and a good deal of their
stock was sold off for arrears; and much land fell out of cultivation
in consequence. To facilitate the collection of this exorbitant rate,
and at the same time to reduce the cost of collection, he disregarded
systematically the salutary rule of Saadut Allee Khan, who had died
in 1814, and been succeeded by his do-nothing and see-nothing son,
Ghazee-od Deen Hyder; and transferred the khalsa estates of all
defaulters to the neighbouring tallookdars, who pledged themselves to
liquidate the balances due, and pay the Government demand punctually
in future. This arrangement enabled him to reduce his fiscal,
military, and police establishments a good deal for the time, and his
tenure of office was too insecure to admit of his bestowing much
thought on the future.

As soon as these tallookdars got possession of khalsa villages, they
plundered them of all they could find of stock and other property;
and, with all possible diligence, reduced to beggary all the holders
and cultivators who had any claim to a right of property in the
lands, in order to prevent their ever being again in a condition to
urge such claims in the only way in which they can be successfully
urged in Oude--cut down all the trees planted by them or their
ancestors, and destroyed all the good houses they had built, that
they might have no local ties to link their affections to the soil.
As the local officers of the Oude government became weak, by the
gr