No member of the royal family or aristocracy of Oude is
ever admitted to speak to or see his Majesty, and these contemptible
singers are admitted to more equality and familiarity than his own
brothers or sons ever were; they go out, too, with greater pomp than
they or any of the royal family can; and are ordered to be received
with more honours as they pass through the different palaces. The
profligacy that exists within the palace passes all belief, and these
things excite more disgust among the aristocracy of the capital than
all the misrule and malversation that arise from the King's apathy
and incapacity.
Should your Lordship resolve upon interposing effectually to remedy
these disorders, I think it will be necessary to have at Lucknow, for
at least the first few months, a corps of irregular cavalry. We have
no cavalry in Oude, and none of the King's can be depended upon. The
first thing necessary will be the disbanding of the African, or
Hubshee corps, of three hundred men. They are commanded by one of the
eunuchs, and a fellow fit for any dark purpose. They were formed into
a corps, I believe, because no man's life was safe in Lucknow while
they were loose upon society.
I think the King will consent without much difficulty or reluctance
to delegate his powers to a Regency, but I am somewhat afraid that he
will object to its being composed of members of his own family.
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