He was succeeded by his second son, the ex-King Wajid Ali, as Moostapha Ali Khan, the eldest son of the late King, was physically unfit to reign (see para 80), and his claim to the throne was, therefore, passed over in favour of Wajid Ali, who surpassed his father in profligacy and accordingly effected the downfall of his house. Amjud Ali Shah died on the 13th February, 1847, and was buried in the Mukbarah (Mausoleum) in Huzrutgunge, opposite the Delhi and London Bank. It was originally furnished with costly fittings, all of which were plundered by the Mutineers. Two of the principal chandeliers cost 5,000 dollars each. After the Mutiny and until the completion. in 1860, of Christ Church, the services of the Church of England were held in this building.
Amjud Ali left, in the reserve treasury, ninety-two lacs of rupees, one hundred and twenty-four thousand gold mohurs, and twenty-four lacs in Government paper—total one crore and thirty-six lacs. The ex-King, when in possession of royalty, was accustomed to spend, out of the reserve treasury, large sums over and above the Whole revenue of the country.
II.—WAJID ALI SHAH, 1847—1856.
Wajid Ali, the last of the line of the Kings of Oudh, succeeded to the throne on the death of his father, Amjud Ali Shah. His chief architectural work was the Kaiser Bagh, and, having completed it, he gave himself up to voluptuousness and neglected all State matters. Every thing that ministered to the craze for adornment, appetite, and luxuriousness was supplied and indulged to the highest degree possible. The palace halls were nothing less than harems of polygamy. Few sovereigns have ever been so utterly forgetful of the duties of a governor of men, or more thoroughly steeped in selfishness and pleasure, than was Wajid Ali Shah. His territories at length, from his misrule and neglect, became an unequalled scene of outrage and bloodshed, and a refuge for the dacoits (robbers) of Northern India, who would cross the Ganges at night and plunder in the British Territories all around, making good their retreat into Oudh before daylight. He acquiesced in the suggestion of his Ministers that he should relinquish to them the management of the affairs of the State and the perusal of all business documents, which work, they pointed out, was unsuitable for one of his dignified position. He was still, however, to hear certain classes of important cases and reserve to himself the affixing of the great seal to particular decisions. But too soon all cases, together with the power of affixing the seal, were left to the discretion of the State
