had to give the sanction of his presence to such a Court. In the great native kingdom of Northern India, Oudh, matters were advanced a stage farther. As far back as 1837, Lord Auckland saw that the cup of iniquity was there full to the brim, and solemnly reserved the right to assume the management of the misgoverned country. Ten years afterwards, Lord Hardinge, during the last twelve months of his administration, placed the King of Oudh under two years' warning; plainly telling His Majesty that, unless he amended, the British Government would have no option with regard to the performance of its duty.
The truth is that to whatever region of India we look, whether in the South, or in the centre, or in the North, the great Native States were fallen before the end of the first half of this century into a depth of misery and misrule, that imperatively demanded the intervention of the Suzerain power.
The attempt to control the destinies of India, without assuming the direct responsibility for the welfare of the people of India, was not confined, however, to our relations with the Feudatory States. Lord Hardinge also tried the system upon the unsubdued military races of the Punjab. The Sikh Power had performed an important service for the British in India. During our days of weakness in the last century, its bitter religious hatred of the Muhammadans was a source of safety
