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14 to be reinforced with an army from Bombay, led by General Stewart, who was advancing to meet him. But before the union was effected, Tipu, who had ventured to attack the Western army, was repulsed with heavy loss. Tipu retired to Seringapatam, but again advanced to meet the combined armies. On March 27th - a fierce battle took place at Malwilli, some thirty miles east of the capital. Tipu was again defeated, & once again retired to Seringapatam. The British forces followed him & prepared to take his stronghold by assault. The walls were shelled & a breach made by April 3rd. The assault was fixed for the next day, & proved entirely successful. The fortress was taken & Tipu himself died fighting bravely at the walls. The Partition of Mysore. The war was now at an end. There was no question even of a treaty: there was no one with whom to treat. It only remained for Mornington to decide how to dispose of Tipu's dominions. Haidarabad had been in alliance with the Company against Mysore, & had indeed given some little assistance in the war. Here, then, were expectations to be fulfilled. The Marathas, too, though they had taken no part in the struggle, looked to see their very
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15 neutrality rewarded. Indeed, as they had given nothing but passive support, whatever they might get, would - as Mornington himself said - be but a gift. But the Governor-General's decision as to the partition of Mysore was influenced, not so much by how little the Nizam, & the Marathas deserved, as by what was most advantageous to the Company. Three things were necessary to this end. First, that the two states in question should be as satisfied with their lot as was possible; secondly, that - while the Company retained territory extensive enough to be proportionately greater than the provinces assigned to the native states - it should nevertheless not take more than it could well manage; & thirdly that the balance of power should be maintained. How was Mornington to satisfy these three conditions seemingly so self-contradictory? How was he to overcome the difficulty that if he gave away enough to satisfy his allies, he would fail to leave enough for the Company; or that he might upset the balance of power; or that if he took for the Company a proportionately large amount of territory, it would very likely prove to be more than the Company
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16. could maintain? His solution of the problem was the only one that could fit the circumstances. He resolved that both the native states & the Company should receive a comparatively small part of Mysore, & that the remainder should be formed into a new state, completely cut off from the sea, & of course much diminished in size. It was to be governed, under the protection of the Company, by the heir of the long line of Hindu Monarchs from whom Tipu's father had seized the throne. And, after the lapse of more than a century, the descendant of the prince enthroned by Wellesley, is ruling in Mysore at the present day. Macauley has accused nine-tenths of the gentlemen of England of confusing Oudh with Travancore. This is perhaps an exaggeration: but at least they would be none the wiser if they heard to whom was assigned [Mujuad?] or Gurramkonda, Gooty or Koimbatur. We will only say that to the Nizam was given a large & solid piece of country from the North-East of Mysore, which - it will be remembered was transferred to the Company in 1800:* the Company [line] * See above: page 11; line 15.