'History of the Province of Gohud' [‎34v] (68/72)

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now related, clearly and conclusively prove that the kingdom
of Gohud formed the ancient hereditary state of the Maha
Eana's ancestors, that it was more than once wrested from
them by the Mahrattas, and recovered by the Maha Eana's
predecessors by force of arms and the aid of British troops,
and that on two separate occasions, 1779 and 1804, the pos
session of these territories was confirmed to the then reigning
O O
Maha Rana by solemn Treaties entered into by the British
Government with the present Rana's predecessors. It has
been shown that the Treaty of 1779, which apparently was
not known to the Governor-General, Lord WelJeslev, has
c. '
never to this day been either abrogated or annulled in any
formal or legal manner. It accordingly becomes a question
whether, according to the established law of nations, this
Treaty is not to be regarded as still in force. It is an
admitted and well known principle of public law, which has
been enunciated afresh by the Conference lately sitting in
London on the " Black Sea" question, and to which principle
all the Powers of Europe have given their assent, " that the
obligations of Treaties cannot be repudiated at pleasure, and
that no one Power can release itself from the engagements of
a Treaty or modify its stipulations save with the consent of
the contracting parties, and that this absolutely binding
character of Treaty obligations applies to all such engage
ments, however old they may he
The Treaty of 1804 makes no mention of the Treaty of
1779, but may be considered as affirmative and declaratory
of the same, as by the second article the possession of Gohud
and its dependencies to the Rana is which pos
session was secured to the Rana already by the eighth article
of the Treaty of 1779. The Treaty of 1806, which Rana
Keerut Singh was compelled, against his solemn protest, to
sign, while it had the effect of saving to the British Govern
ment an annual expenditure of fifteen lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees of rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. , pay
able to dependants of Scindiah, under the terms of the
seventh article of the Treaty of Peace, involved the loss to