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22. to succeed him, his nephew & his reputed son. To the latter Wellesley offered the same terms as to the late Nawab, but they were refused. The other candidate, however, accepted them, & he was accordingly instituted as the new Nawab by the treaty of July 31st, 1801. His power was only nominal. The entire control of the country, civil, criminal, & military, as well as fourfifths of the revenue, was placed in the Company's hands. As Wellesley said in his declaration four days before the signing of the treaty, it was the "practical annexation of the Karnatik."
Tanjore
The little state of Tanjore in the South of the Karnatic offered to the Governor-General the same opportunity of interference. The rivalry between the two candidates for the vacant throne - the half-brother & adopted son of the late Raja - was terminated by the decision of the pandits, who pronounced in favour of the latter. As soon as the decision was made know, Wellesley made haste to conclude a treaty with the new Raja, similar to that which - as we have just seen - he afterwards adopted in the case of the Karnatik, so that Tanjore became hardly different from the actual pos-
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23. sessions of the Comapny.*
Surat.
The great seaport of Surat, lying some 160 miles to the North of Bombay, again presented a similar opportunity to the Governor-General. The Nawab & his son died at the same time, & the unexpected heir to the throne of Surat was approached by Wellesley, & persuaded early in 1800 to sign a treaty exactly corresponding to that which had been concluded with the Raja of Tajore a few months before.
Oudh: the Nawab Wazir
We have as yet said nothing of Northern India. Except for Oudh, indeed, Wellesley's work during his seven years of Governor-Generalship was done almost entirely from the southern point of view; that is, he directed his attention far more to the welfare of the Company's interests in the South than to that of its possessions in Bengal. But he gave his work where it was most needed. In Oudh, how[line] * Here again the dates of Hutton & the Dictionary of National Biography are at variance. The former gives November 26th, 1799, the latter October 25th, for this treaty.
