But during Lord Mayo's Viceroyalty, as during {107} every other General-Governorship, cases of Feudatory misrule--pure, simple, and incorrigible--took place. In such instances he did not hesitate to interfere in a manner that left no doubt as to the interpretation which he gave to the duties of the Suzerain Power. He held that until everything had been done to render the English surveillance in a Native State as efficient as possible, he had no right to complain of the Chief. He realised that the process by which an Indian State casts its old skin of anarchy is necessarily a slow one. He kept his hands clean of any faintest stain of annexation. But he made every Feudatory in India clearly understand that if he persistently misgoverned his subjects, the sceptre would be taken out of his hands. The State of Alwar afforded an example of this class. It was founded in the latter half of the last century, by a Rajput soldier of fortune, and had an area of 3000 square miles, a population of three-quarters of a million, and an army of about 7000 men. In 1863 the young Hindu Chief attained his legal majority. His first act was to take vengeance on the President of the Native Council of Regency who had governed during his minority. In seven years he not only squandered a cash-balance of 172,287 pounds saved during his minority, together with the regular revenue of 200,000 pounds _per annum_, but he had plunged the State into debt to the extent of 160,000 pounds. The current taxes were so forestalled, that the balance due for the whole year would suffice but for two {108} months' expenditure; the Maharaja having hit on the clever financial device of rewarding his creatures by 'orders on the harvest!' Some of the items of his expenditure will repay notice. Over 4000 pounds a year were assigned to 'men whose sole duty it is to make _salams_ to the Chief'; over 5000 pounds to singers and dancing girls; and 1900 pounds to wrestlers. 'The Maharaja manifests the utmost contempt of decency, drinking publicly with low Muhammadans, and getting drunk nearly every day.' The revenues formerly spent on the administration of justice and police had 'been devoted to the Chief's private pleasures.' 'Indeed, the Chief himself is on terms of intimacy with two _dakait_ leaders,' i.e. heads of robber gangs. He had confiscated the public lands assigned for the support of his troops, and for the maintenance of religion, or for the relief of the poor--one of the latter grants being 270 years old.