“The hurry in which I left him, and his anxiety for my speedy communication of his successes, gave no time for a formal communication to the Governor-General and Council, of the particulars of his successes, and of the arrangements which he wished to be adopted. He wrote a short account of the first to the Presidency of Fort St. George; and gave me a public letter to the Commander in Chief of the Military Establishment of that Presidency to which I particularly belong, in attestation of the services I rendered in the negociation between him and the Governor of Bidanore, for the surrender of that Capital and Province. A copy of that letter I have the pleasure to lay before you.
“As I was charged with a particular commission from Hyat Sahib, the Manager of the Bidanore Province, to the Governor-General and Council, as appears by his letter, which I had the honour of presenting to you, General Mathews gave me, in verbal instructions, and memorandums written in his own hand, the particulars of what he wished me to represent to your Government: he gave me, besides, short notes of introduction to two of the Members of Government, whom he knew personally——referring them to me for an account of his situation, and, allowing me, I believe, more credit than I deserve, for the share I had in contributing to his final acquisition of Bidanore without drawing a sword.
“It would be tedious, and more fit for the detail of conversation than of a public address, to inform you of the various steps that led to the surrender of the Capital and Province of Bidanore. I had had several conferences with Hyat Sahib before Hyder’s death, and endeavoured to suggest to him the advantage which would arise to him From a revolt in favour of the Company. My efforts in these conversations ended ultimately in the most rigorous distress to myself: I was put in irons, and remained so for four months, in a situation only of existence, without any hopes of ever escaping. When General Mathews had stormed the Ghauts, Hyat Sahib sent for me, and, after various struggles, and much indecision, agreed to my proceeding to the English camp; and I conducted General Mathews, almost unattended, into Bidanore. Hyat Sahib at length agreed to submit: but as, in his various conversations with me before and after that event, he made a very particular distinction between the Government of Bombay and the chief Government of the English in Indostan, so he proposed that I should immediately depart, after he had given up the place and all the forts of the Province, with a letter to you, to obtain your sanction to me to his arrangements with the English General.
“These arrangements were not even clearly defined before my departure; and so anxious was he for my speedy arrival at Calcutta, that he only gave me the general propositions that are contained in his letter.
“Permit me here to observe, that it is by the treatment which Hyat Sahib meets with, that the other Chiefs of Hyder’s Country will estimate the advantage of abandoning the interests of Tippoo Sahib, or will confirm their dependence upon him. Tippoo was prevented by his father from all intercourse with the Governors of his Provinces, or any interference in country affairs; so that those left in charge at his father’s death are strangers to him, and are men to whom he has little attachment. He is, besides, considered to be of a cruel disposition. His father was cruel upon a political principle: he is thought to be so from nature.
“The unfortunate differences about money which arose in General Mathews’s camp, and of which you will probably hear from the Presidency of Bombay, took up much of the General’s time, and may have retarded his operations: however, his success in the reduction of Mangalore gives a security to his conquests. The revenues of the Bidanore Province are about twenty lacks of pagodas per annum.
“The particular situation of the Capital merits attention. It is placed in a valley of considerable extent in circumference: according to the best observation I could make, there is an ascent to it, from all sides, of near seven miles: it can only be approached by four roads, which are cut among the hills, and which were judiciously fortified with great pains by Hyder: woods, to the depth of many miles, are a frontier round its skirts; and where these admitted a passage, Hyder took the precaution to plant bamboos and thorns—so that I have little fear but that General Mathews will be able to defend these passes; and as for provisions, and military stores of all kinds, that were found in Bidanore, of the latter particularly, what, according to General Mathews’s own declaration, would equip nine such armies as his.
“Cundapore is the next sea-port to Bidanore, and is distant about fifty miles: Mangalore is distant about a hundred miles. The road leading from Mangalore joins with that from Cundapore, where the ascent of the hills commence: another road from Bidanore leads to Seringapatam, and a fourth into the Marhatta Country.
“It was from the lower Country, along the sea-coast, between Onore and Mangalore, which is watered by many rivers, and is the best cultivated Country I ever saw, that Hyder got the greatest part of his provisions for his army in the Carnatic; and, independent of the advantages which the Company have gained by the acquisition of these Countries, the consequent losses of the Mysoreans are immense, and such as will disable them from assisting the French in the Carnatic.
“It becomes not an Officer of my rank to make any observations that relate to the conduct of the different Governments of my Employers; but I am obliged to observe, in justice to Hyat Sahib’s declaration to me, that he will not rely upon any arrangement made in his favour by the Governor and Council of Bombay, unless he has a speedy answer to his letter from this Government. He has requested me to return with that answer, and with the sanction of the Governor-General to the cowl given to him by General Mathews. Though I am worn down by my sufferings in prison, and my health can scarcely enable me to be carried by land, I am ready to undertake this service; for I know it is the greatest I may ever have it in my power to render to the Company and to my Country.