"
"That is a very good plan; but of course everything depends upon
whether, if the troops do rise in mutiny, the people of Oude should
join them. They are a fighting race, and if they should throw in
their lot against us the position would be a desperate one."
"Well, there is no doubt," the Doctor said, "that the Rajah of
Bithoor would be with us; that will make Cawnpore safe, and will
largely influence all the great Zemindars, though there is no doubt
that a good many of them have been sulky ever since the disarmament
order was issued. I believe there are few of them who have not got
cannon hidden away or buried, and as for the people, the number
of arms given up was as nothing to what we know they possessed. In
other parts of India I believe the bulk of the people will be with
us; but here in Oude, our last annexation, I fear that they will
side against us, unless all the great landowners range themselves
on our side."
"As far as I can see," Bathurst said, "the people are contented with
the change. I don't say what I may call the professional fighting
class, the crowd of retainers kept by the great landowners, who were
constantly fighting against each other. Annexation has put a stop
to all that, and the towns are crowded with these fighting men, who
hate us bitterly; but the peasants, the tillers of the soil, have
benefited greatly. They are no longer exposed to raids by their
powerful neighbors, and can cultivate their fields in peace and
quiet.
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