India & Punjab - A Journey Through The Kingdom Of Oude, In 1849-1850; Sleeman, Major-General, Sir W.H. (Resident at the Court of Lucknow), with private correspondence relative to the annexation of Oude to British India. By Direction Of The Right Hon. The Earl Of Dalhousie, Governor-General. With Private Correspondence Relative To The Annexation Of Oude To British India, &c - finely bound by W. Nutt as an Eton. Sir William Henry Sleeman (1788-1856) was a British soldier and administrator in India. While serving as Resident at the court of the King of Oude in Lucknow he travelled around the kingdom and made reports to the Governor-General regarding its proposed annexation by the East India Company. His letters and diaries reveal him as a capable and just administrator, who was at pains to weigh all the evidence for and against annexation, and who believed that reform of the existing administration would be possible. Sleeman described the kingdom of Oude as suffering from maladministration, lawlessness and corruption, but he stressed that illegal annexation would lead to resentment and rebellion. This book, containing Sleeman's account of his journey and a selection of his private correspondence opposing annexation, was published in 1858 London. In original red embossed cloth with gilt pictorial titles.