IT has been represented to us, that the garrison of Râmdoorg pro­posed to capitulate, but that you intimidated them [by your answer], and thereby threw away the favorable opportunity [or the advantage thus offered]. Where was the propriety of this [proceeding]? It is well. You must still encamp before the said fortress; and sending for battering guns from Dhârwâr, and collecting together the materials for trenches, by these means strike such a terror into the garrison as may induce them to submit: upon their doing which, you may permit them to march out of the fort with their arms. After putting a proper garrison in the place, you are to direct such of the enemy as are included in the capitulation, to be conducted, with their arms, beyond the Kishna.

Nursia, the Taalûkdâr of Nugr, has, of course, sent you, in pur­suance of our orders, two hundred Coolies.* Let their arrival be reported to us.

You and Meer Kumrûddeen Khân must keep united, both in word and thought, and execute every business of the Sircar in an able and creditable manner,* agreeably to what we have formerly and repeatedly written on this subject.

N. B. A letter of the same tenor and date was written to Kumrûddeen.

The foregoing letter furnishes a clear proof, that whatever the degree of general confidence reposed in Bûrhânûddeen by the Sultan might be, the latter, neverthe­less, kept spies upon his brother-in-law; who were encouraged to animadvert freely on his conduct; and to whose representations considerable attention was paid. Indeed it appears, from several of the documents among the state papers found at Seringapatam, that the Sultan had organized a very extensive system of espionage throughout his dominions, and in almost every department of his government.

His envoys at foreign courts, his military commanders, his governors of forts and districts, were all diligently watched; or, at least, ordered to be so: but as the spies, thus employed, were, in general, very well known, it may be safely presumed, that their integrity was often corrupted, and their vigilance as often eluded. The practice of placing spies over public functionaries is, no doubt, very common under all the governments of India: but I am inclined to think, that few of them have carried it so far as was done by Tippoo Sultan; of whose regula­tions for this department an outline (consisting of a short edict on the subject), will be found in Appendix F.