New History of the Marathas v3.c37.s2.60

v3.c37.s2.60

At the same time Mahadji was fully alive to the drawbacks of this plan. He had accurately gauged the strength of British arms and the ramifications of their diplomacy with Malet and Kennaway planted at Poona and Haidarabad, working under the guidance of Lord Cornwallis. He, therefore, moved cautiously, giving out his grievances against Nana Phadnis and his desire to exact satisfaction for them. The various British Residents tried to fathom Sindia’s motives and reported each in his own way what they learned and gathered on the subject of Sindia’s plans, suggesting action for restraining his growing power. He gave out as his ostensible objects (1) the settlement of his claim of several crores against the Poona Government for the expenses he had incurred during his operations in north India since 1777 under the Peshwa’s orders ; (2) he was ready to prove that he had not bagged heaps of money by his capture of Delhi and swallowed them instead of paying it to his master ; (3) he also demanded an authoritative decision of his vexatious disputes with Ali Bahadur and Tukoji Holkar. These and other points were certainly given out as the ostensible objects of his visit, but the real object which he had set before himself, as disclosed in the extensive literature of the period, was the resuscitation of the Maratha Government with a view to meeting the threatening dangers which surrounded it.