१८५७ का स्वातन्त्र्य समर (वीर विनायक दामोदर सावरकर - अंग्रेजों द्वारा छपने से पूर्व प्रतिबन्धित महाग्रन्थ)

THE VOLCANO
Lord Dalhousie soon realised that the treaty of 1837 was,
as a matter of fact, a great blunder. For in the annulment of
the old treaty was lost a very strong and a very hypercriti-
cal reason for the annexation of the independent princi-
pality of Oudh. The article in the treaty of 1801, demand-
ing that the Nabob should rule for the happiness of his
subjects, was an incontrovertible argument for annexing
Oudh at the sweet will of the Company. How could this
mistake of 1837 be repaired ? Why, by simply denying
the fact that the treaty was ever entered into. Without any
indirect methods, the Nabob was informed that no such
treaty as the one of 1837 was ever entered into. A short
time after the treaty of 1837, the English, as it would
appear, remembered the treaty perfectly well. Indeed in
1847, Lord Hartington had publicly and unmistakably
acknowledged this treaty. Col. Sleeman in 1851 had fur-
ther testified to the treaty. Nay, in that very year 1853,
not only was mention made of this treaty, but it was
actually appended to the list of the existing treaties in the
Company's records for that year !³ So the English
denied, aye, altogether, that there was ever any such
treaty ;—the very existence of a treaty which they had
acknowledged just a minute before was denied by them
even before the pen which had written the acknowledg-
ment had been laid down ! And thus, Wajid Ali Shah
was informed that the Company would consider it neces-
sary to take over the administration of his kingdom if he
did not introduce the happy regime !
But it must not be forgotten that all these important
issues had been decided on long before Dalhousie even
reached the shores of Hindusthan. All his predecessors,
moved by unholy designs, had prepared the way to swal-
low this province, and their endeavours, characterised by
low cunning, had almost succeeded. To Dalhousie was
reserved the last act of consummation, the last stroke of
3. Dalhousie's Administration, Vol. II, p. 367.
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