Lord Falkland may possibly be deterred by apprehensions that late events may have altered the tone of feeling at home towards him; but I am persuaded that he would be glad to carry this measure into effect. I will send you a copy of the Government letter to the Resident here; and you may get from the agent's office a copy of that sent on the same date to him, though you may not readily find that office under the new arrangements. You will, I think, have a strong case, and I wish you success in it.
Yours affectionately,
(Signed) W. H. SLEEMAN.
To Captain Jas. Sleeman.
Lucknow, 4th November, 1853.
My Dear Malcolm,
I should recommend for the Baee a money stipend for life of five thousand rupees a-month, with the understanding that if she adopted a child she would have to provide for him out of her savings from this stipend, and out of her private property. All the Rajah's private property, save what he may will away to others, will of course be left to her, to be disposed of as she may think fit. But this stipend should be independent of those to be continued to the stipendiaries of the Rajah. There are several who have nothing else to depend on but the stipends which they now receive from the Rajah; and it must be borne in mind that they have no longer Bajee Rao, Benaek Rao, the Jhansi and Saugor chief, to go to. This will be the last of the Brahmin dynasties founded in that part of the world by the Peshwas. Our Government should therefore be liberal in taking possession of the estate as an escheat.
The Mahratta language in accounts should at once be done away with; but out of the revenues of the estate, Government should found a good school for English and Hindoo, and Persian; and, above all, for a very good hospital and dispensary, under well educated and tried surgeons, native and European, capable of throwing out branches.
All the public officers of the Rajah should have stipends or employment, or both, in proportion to their period of service and respectability. If they take employment the stipends should be deducted from their salaries while in office, as in our own service.