]
[** A punchaet was assembled at Lucknow, to decide the suit between
Benee Madho and Futteh Bahader, at the instance of the Resident: and
they awarded to Benee Madho a balance due on account of thirty
thousand rupees, which Futteh Bahader has to pay before he can
recover possession of his estate.]
_January_ 5, 1851.--Halted at Onae, in consequence of continued rain,
which incommodes us, but delights the landholders and cultivators,
whose crops will greatly benefit by it. The halting of so large a
camp inconveniences them, however, much more than us; for they are
called upon to supply us with wood, grass, and straw, for which they
receive little or no payment; for the Kings people will not let us
pay for these things, and pay too little themselves. Those who attend
us do not plunder along the road; but the followers of the local
authorities, who attend us, through their respective jurisdictions,
do so; and sundry fields of fine carrots and other vegetables
disappear, as under a flight of locusts along the road. The camp-
followers assist them, and as our train extends from the ground we
leave to that to which we are going, for twelve or fourteen miles, it
is impossible, altogether, to prevent such injuries from so
undisciplined a band. The people, however, say, they suffer much less
than they would from one-fourth of the number under a contractor
marching without an European superior, and I give compensation in
flagrant cases.
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