1 PAPERS
2 t
3 CONNECTED WITH THE
4 Atministration of Mysore.
5 GENERAL MEMORANDUM ON MYSORE.
6 ——
7 Mysort, a large province in Southern India, is situated between 11°
8 45/ and 14° 55’ North latitude, and 74° 55’ and 78° 45’ East longitude.
9 Its extreme breadth from East to West is 230 miles, and its extreme
10 length from North to South is 190 miles. Its superficial area
11 was calculated by Colonel Mackenzie at 27,000 square miles. It is
12 completely surrounded by the Collectorates of the Madras and, Bombay
13 Presidencies. On the Eastern frontier the nearest part is about 120 miles
14 from the Sea; but on the Western, owin to a deflection in the line of
15 Ghauts, the ruined fort of Govardanghiri Droog is not more than tei
16 miles distant from the obscure port of Byloor.*
17 Such are the boundaries-of the kiigdom of Mysore as fixed by the
18 Conquerors of Tippoo Sultan ; but the Mysore of History had very dif-
19 ferent limits. Under the old Rajahs they were for ever fluctuating ac-
20 cording as the vigor or incapacity of the reigning prince depressed him
21 into the position of a tributary Poligar, or elevated him to that of an’
22 independent Power ; but at no time do their dominions, though stretch-
23 ing considerably farther to the South, appear to have included any thing
24 like so great an area, as the Province’ which the British Government
25 bestowed on their descendant. Under Hyder Ali, on the other hand, the
26 limits were widely extended in every direction. In addition to the coun-
27 try now called Mysore, his authority extended over the present English
28 * The history of this territory from the earlicst period up to the conquest, has been rolat-
29 ed in great detail by Colonel Wilks in his “ Historical Sketchcs of the South of India ;”
30 and its state immediately afterwards was reported upon by Dr, Buchanan, by order of Mar-
31 quess Wellesley, in a work which extends to three ‘closely-printed quarto yolumes, every
32 page of which teems with valuable information.