| By Author | [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | Other Symbols ] |
| By Title | [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | Other Symbols ] |
| By Language |
|
Download this book: [ ASCII ] Look for this book on Amazon Tweet |
Title: The Life of Robert, Lord Clive, Vol. 2 (of 3) - Collected From the Family Papers
Author: Malcolm, John
Language: English
As this book started as an ASCII text book there are no pictures available.
*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Life of Robert, Lord Clive, Vol. 2 (of 3) - Collected From the Family Papers" ***
THE
LIFE
OF
ROBERT, LORD CLIVE:
COLLECTED FROM THE FAMILY PAPERS
COMMUNICATED BY
THE EARL OF POWIS.
BY
MAJOR-GENERAL
SIR JOHN MALCOLM, G.C.B. F.R.S. &c.
IN THREE VOLUMES.
WITH A PORTRAIT AND MAP.
VOL. II.
LONDON:
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.
MDCCCXXXVI.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
LONDON:
Printed by A. SPOTTISWOODE,
New-Street-Square.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
LIFE
OF
ROBERT, LORD CLIVE:
=CONTENTS=
OF
THE SECOND VOLUME.
----------
CHAPTER IX.
Success of the Expedition sent to the Northern Circars under Colonel
Forde, 1758.—Transactions at Madras.—Siege of that Place by Lally
page 1
CHAP. X.
Dutch Armament against Bengal, 1759, destroyed by Clive.—Proceedings in
England regarding the Government of Bengal.—Clive's Letter to
Pitt.—Clive returns to England, 1760
69
CHAP. XI.
Clive in England.—His private Life and Character
114
CHAP. XII.
Clive in England.—His Politics.—His Quarrel with Mr. Sulivan.—His
Right to the Jaghire disputed.—Parties at the India House.—Disasters
in India.—Clive called upon to resume the Government of
Bengal—Consents—Sets out for India, 1764
188
CHAP. XIII.
State of India during Lord Clive's absence, 1760-5.—Mr. Vansittart's
Government.—Deposition of Meer Jaffier.—Elevation of Meer
Cossim.—Massacre of Patna.—Restoration of Meer Jaffier.—Disorders in
Bengal
261
CHAP. XIV.
Clive assumes the Government of Bengal, 1765.—State of the Country and
of the various Services.—Military Arrangements.—Negotiations with the
Nabob of Bengal.—Treaty with the Nabob-Visier.—Settlement with the
King.—The Duannee acquired for the Company.—Discontents in the Civil
Service, and Reforms effected
317
Footnotes are located at the end of each chapter.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MEMOIRS
OF
LORD CLIVE.
----------
CHAPTER IX.
In the commencement of the last chapter mention was made of the sailing
of the expedition which Clive detached to the Northern Circars under
Colonel Forde, in September, 1758. Before narrating the operations of
that force, it will be necessary to take a short retrospect of the
affairs of the Deckan.
We have already seen[1] the success of Bussy in defeating the
combination formed against him at the Court of Salabut Jung. When he was
surrounded in the post he had taken at Hyderabad, Ibrahim Khan, to whom
he had intrusted the management of the Northern Circars, threw off his
allegiance. Bussy, sensible of the great value of the newly acquired
possessions, obtained the Subah's permission to march with the greater
part of his force to punish Ibrahim Khan, and settle the countries ceded
to him. He proceeded by the route of Bezoara to Rajahmundry. Ibrahim
Khan fled at his approach; but Vizeram Raz, the Hindu zemindar, or
ruler, of the country of Chicacole, joined him from his capital of
Vizianagur with a considerable body of men. Bussy thought it politic to
give Vizeram Raz every support; and the French troops were employed in
compelling the submission of his refractory chiefs, each of whom had his
petty fastness, and, relying on its natural or artificial strength, and
the devoted attachment and valour of his followers, yielded but an
imperfect obedience to his acknowledged lord, and seldom paid his
tribute until compelled by superior force.
The French arms were first directed by Vizeram Raz to the attack of
Rangarow, Rajah of Boobilee, against whom he cherished a deadly hatred.
The fort of this chief could not resist European artillery; but its
defenders scorned to yield. They fought to the last; and the Rajah, with
all those capable of bearing arms, except four who reserved their lives
for a deed of vengeance, fell during the siege or on the breach. A more
appalling spectacle than that of the carnage of these brave men awaited
the successful assailants. In the interior of this stronghold, they
found only the smoking ruins of houses, and the mangled and burnt bodies
of all who were its late inhabitants; neither age nor sex was spared in
the dreadful sacrifice: not a human being seemed to be left over whom
his enemies could triumph. As the horror-struck victors were
contemplating this scene of desolation and of death, an old man rushed
from the smoking ruins with a child in his arms. He was conducted to M.
Law, who commanded the party: "This is the son of Rangarow," said the
old man, "whom I have preserved against his father's will." The safety
of this boy was felt as some alleviation of the horrid catastrophe. He
was carried to Bussy, who received and treated him with that humanity
and generosity which belonged to his character[2], constituting himself
his guardian, and securing to him the terms offered to his father,
before his fort was attacked.
Three nights after this event the camp was surprised by a tumult, and
Bussy soon learned that two[3] of the four followers of Rangarow before
mentioned had made their way to the tent of Vizeram Raz, and stabbed the
inveterate enemy of their race[4] in thirty-two places. They might have
escaped, but they disdained flight. "Look here," they said to the guards
by whom they were attacked, "we are satisfied." Bussy, happy to leave
such a scene of horror and bloodshed, continued his march north to
Ganjam, where he received letters from his countrymen in Bengal, and
from the Nabob Suraj-u-Dowlah, urging his march to that country to
destroy the English. While waiting in expectation of persons from
Moorshedabad to arrange for his advance through Cuttack, he heard of the
fall of Chandernagore; on which he appears to have abandoned all
thoughts of proceeding to Bengal, though he no doubt contrived to feed
Meer Jaffier with hopes which might stimulate him to acts of hostility
against the enemies of France.
Bussy's next effort was against Vizagapatam, which was compelled to
surrender. His treatment of the English, whom he made prisoners, was
more than humane; it was kind[5] and liberal. From thence he went to
Rajahmundry, where he heard of a change at the court of the Subah very
unfavourable to the views and interests of the French in the Deckan.
In consequence of an intrigue between Shahnavaze Khan, the prime
minister, and the Subah's brothers, Nizam Ali Khan and Basalut Jung, the
latter two princes had come into power; and, having compelled the weak
Salabut Jung to intrust them with his great seal, had reduced him to a
cipher in his own dominions. The French officer left in charge of the
body of men which remained in the Subah's camp, had neither the talent
nor the influence to counteract these intrigues, and limited himself to
the guarding of Salabut Jung's person, and reporting to Bussy events as
they occurred. That experienced commander saw that no time was to be
lost. He immediately left Rajahmundry, and accomplished the march to
Aurungabad, a distance of more than four hundred miles, in twenty-one
days. He found on his arrival three separate armies; for Nizam Ali Khan
and Basalut Jung had each his own encampment, and the Paishwah Ballajee
Bajerow was in the vicinity; that ruler being, it was believed,
concerned in the plot laid to deprive the Subah of his power.
The force of Bussy, which consisted of nine hundred Europeans (two
hundred of which were cavalry) and five thousand five hundred sepoys,
with ten field-pieces, was more than equal to any of the armies, or
indeed to any two combined. All waited, therefore, to see the part he
would take. He was aided by Hyder Jung, who, having some claims[6] upon
the French, and being a man of ability, was raised in consequence by
Bussy, who obtained him a title from the Emperor of Delhi. This person
was consulted on all occasions, and displayed both talent and address:
but his influence made him many enemies, and these were increased by his
success in their own arts of intrigue, particularly in corrupting the
Governor of Dowlatabad, and gaining that impregnable fortress[7] for the
French, by whom it was kept as a place of security for Salabut Jung,
instead of being his prison, the purpose for which it is believed to
have been destined by the conspirators against his liberty, if not his
life.
The Nizam's brothers were compelled to give up the great seal of the
Deckan, which was not surrendered without undisguised marks of their
indignation, and loud protestations against the European influence which
now swayed the councils of their elder brother. Nizam Ali Khan, who
showed at this period both ability and boldness, was directed to proceed
to his government of Berar, and Basalut Jung to the charge of Adoni.
Before his departure Nizam Ali received the ceremonious visits of all
the chiefs and nobles in camp. Among others, Hyder Jung paid his
respects. When that Omrah was seated, Nizam Ali arose; but made a signal
for the former not to move, as he would immediately return. The moment,
however, that he left the apartment, his visitor was stabbed to the
heart. Letters, which had been previously prepared, were sent to Salabut
Jung, Ballajee Row, Basalut Jung, and Bussy; ascribing the death of the
French dewan or minister (for such Hyder Jung was termed) to accident;
but the truth could not long be concealed, and Nizam Ali fled with some
of his best horse to the city of Burhampore[8] in Berar.
Bussy directed a party to seize Shahnavaze Khan, who was believed to be
concerned in the murder; and that minister, with one of his sons, was
killed in an affray which took place from his followers opposing the
troops of Salabut Jung and the French, that were sent to make him
prisoner.
All was for some time in confusion. The principal chiefs in the army
hastened to disown any participation in the crime that had been
committed; and the Paishwah Ballajee Bajerow sent to Bussy to assure him
that he viewed the murder of Hyder Jung with detestation.
Salabut Jung was so greatly enraged with his brother, that Bussy could
not prevent his making some marches towards Burhampore; but he soon
succeeded in convincing him that the pursuit of Nizam Ali was as
impolitic as it would be useless. The fact was, that Bussy did not wish
that his nation should appear as the cause of discord in the Subah's
family; and he had, also, some anticipation, from the accounts which he
had received from Pondicherry, of the changes about to occur in the
councils of that settlement. With these impressions, his object was to
lead Salabut Jung to Golconda, where he would be conveniently situated
for any event which might occur. During this march, M. Conflans arrived
in camp with a letter from M. Lally, appointing him second in command to
Bussy, and announcing to the latter his intended recall. Bussy, on
receiving this intelligence, adopted measures to secure the garrison he
had left in Dowlatabad reaching him in safety. This accomplished, he
proceeded with the Subah to Hyderabad, where the commands of Lally were
received, directing him to abandon all his projects in the Deckan, and
to hasten with part of his troops to Pondicherry, leaving the remainder
under Conflans to protect the Northern Circars, and to garrison
Masulipatam, the able chief of which (Moracin) was also recalled.
The enemies of the French in the Deckan, and those who dreaded their
rise, saw Bussy's preparations to depart with surprise and delight.
None, however, could account for this sudden abandonment of an influence
and strength which had been established with such labour and ability.
Salabut Jung had very different feelings; he viewed the departure of
Bussy with deep despondency. It was the loss, as he said, to him, of his
friend and preserver; and his mind presented sad forebodings of his
future fate. These he communicated to Bussy, who supported him by an
assurance that he would return; and in that expectation he was no doubt
sincere; for, notwithstanding what he had heard of the character of
Lally, he could not have anticipated that any individual in M. Lally's
situation could have been so blinded by prejudice, and so misled by his
passions, as to abandon the advantages which a commanding influence in
the councils of the Deckan must have given to the French, at a period so
critical to their interests in India.
When Bussy had been compelled to march to Aurungabad, he left but a
small body of men in the Northern Circars; and Anunderauze, the
successor of Vizeram Raz, no longer overawed by the presence of a French
force, and desiring to throw off his dependence upon that nation,
courted the alliance of the British Government.[9] Clive appears at this
period to have been well-informed of the situation of parties at the
court of the Subah of the Deckan. He had received an overture from Nizam
Ali Khan, who, prompted by his hostility to Bussy, solicited the aid of
the English. In his answer to this letter[10], Clive gives that Prince
every assurance of friendship; and about two months[11] afterwards, he
informs him of his having sent Colonel Forde into the Circars, to retake
settlements in the Subah's dominions from which the English had been
expelled by the French; and requests Nizam Ali to aid him, and to obtain
the assistance of his brother the Subah in accomplishing that just
object.
To Anunderauze, Clive wrote[12] in terms calculated to conciliate his
continued friendship: he congratulated him on the advantages he had
gained over the French, and desired him to consult with Colonel Forde on
the operations necessary to expel that nation from the Northern Circars.
He also stated his expectation of the Rajah's benefiting so much by the
aid of this force, that he would contribute to defray its expenses. It
was a serious error[13] to repose such confidence on this source of
supply. It failed; and its failure caused great delays, and had nearly
defeated the whole object of the expedition.
Colonel Forde, after retaking Vizagapatam, marched towards Rajahmundry,
near which he engaged and completely defeated M. Conflans, who retired
rapidly towards Masulipatam, leaving his guns and camp equipage in the
hands of the English. Anunderauze, who remained in the rear, and either
from caution or fear took no part in this contest, appeared averse to
proceed any further south; nor was it until Colonel Forde had signed an
engagement which secured him great advantages, that he consented to give
him a small sum of money to relieve the urgent distresses of the English
troops, and to accompany him in his march. Fifty days were thus lost;
and the French had not only recovered from their panic, but their ally
Salabut Jung was advancing, and a small French corps of observation had
begun to plunder the countries in the rear of the English; while M.
Conflans, with his main body, prepared to defend Masulipatam, scarcely
expecting, however, that the English would attempt to attack a fortress
the garrison of which outnumbered the troops of the assailants. But the
result proved he was unacquainted with the bold character of the British
commander.
To increase the embarrassments of Colonel Forde, the treasure sent from
Bengal being prevented from reaching him by the operations of the French
corps of observation, the distress for want of money, added to other
grievances, caused the European part of his force to mutiny and leave
their lines, threatening to march away. Being desired to state
specifically their complaints, they demanded, through deputies, the
immediate payment of the prize-money due to them, and an assurance that,
if Masulipatam fell, they should have the whole of the prize-money, and
not half, as was the usage with the Company's troops, the other half
being reserved as the right of Government. The commander promised that
the prize-money due should be paid from the first treasure received; and
added, that he would recommend the full prize-money to be given them
should their valour be crowned with success. Satisfied with these
assurances, they returned to their duty, and the siege was prosecuted
with vigour.
Salabut Jung, with a large army, was now within forty miles; and his
mandates were issued to all Zemindars and others, to aid the French and
to act against the English. The alarmed Anunderauze, on hearing this
order, struck his tents, and marched sixteen miles towards his own
country. Colonel Forde sent after him, to represent the extreme folly of
his conduct: he could not (he directed his agent to explain to the
Rajah) expect to escape the numerous parties of horse of the Subah; and,
if he did, he had to encounter the French corps of observation, which
was in the neighbourhood of Rajahmundry: the capture of Masulipatam,
therefore, was the only chance he had for safety. The good sense of this
remonstrance had its effect: the Rajah returned; and Colonel Forde, in
order to inspire him and other natives with confidence, solicited and
obtained leave to send a person to the camp of the Subah to explain the
cause of the expedition, and its limited object of recovering the
English factories, and taking those of the French upon the sea-coast.
Mr. John Johnstone of the Civil Service, who had been the active
co-adjutor of Colonel Forde throughout this expedition, was deputed to
Salabut Jung; and the delay of a few days, which it was expected his
mission would create, was deemed of ultimate importance to the success
of the siege.
The situation of Colonel Forde was at this moment truly critical. Though
the principal breach appeared practicable, the advance to the attack was
over a deep morass, and the ditch of the fort could only be passed at
ebb tide: a garrison superior to the besiegers was within the walls; and
the army of the Subah was near Masulipatam, and on the point of forming
a junction with the French corps of observation. To add to these
difficulties, the ammunition for the heavy guns was nearly expended.
Under these circumstances, and having no hope of being able to effect a
retreat by land, Colonel Forde had only the choice between saving his
troops by embarking them, or immediately storming the fort. He
determined on the latter; and made a disposition for three attacks, one
of which was a false one, for the purpose of distracting the attention
of the enemy from the main attack on the north-east angle of the fort.
In addition to this disposition of his own force, the troops of
Anunderauze were directed to move along the causeway that crossed the
morass, and, by their skirmishing, to alarm the enemy at the principal
gateway, and to keep a part of the garrison employed in the ravelin and
outworks near it. To the Rajah's people was also entrusted the care of
the camp; for every man of the English force was engaged in the storm.
The attack commenced at midnight; and though a great proportion of the
troops soon forced their way into the interior of the place, a
straggling fire was kept up for some hours, when M. Conflans
surrendered, and the English found, in the morning, that their prisoners
amounted to five hundred Europeans, and two thousand five hundred and
thirty-seven Caffres, Topasses[14], and sepoys; being, altogether, far
more numerous than those by whom they were captured. The loss of the
French was small: the assailants had twenty-two Europeans killed, and
sixty-two wounded; fifty sepoys were killed, and a hundred and fifty
wounded.[15]
The French commander and his garrison had, from the first, treated too
slightingly the efforts of their besiegers. Their confidence, which was
increased by an expected re-enforcement from Pondicherry, was one of the
chief causes of the loss of the place. Few precautionary measures appear
to have been taken to give combination to the points of defence; and the
attack being made at night, and on so many quarters, distracted those in
the different works[16], whose contradictory and exaggerated reports so
embarrassed M. Conflans, that he remained in the centre of the fort with
his most select men, undecided where to direct relief, till he was so
surrounded as to be obliged to surrender at discretion.
Though these circumstances promoted the success of the English, they
only reflected higher honour upon the British commander and his gallant
soldiers. The irregularity and extent of the fortifications made Colonel
Forde foresee the confusion that must result from dividing his troops
both before and after they entered the place. He also calculated upon
that confidence with which the enemy's superior numbers were likely to
inspire their commander; and he anticipated the success which so
frequently crowns those daring attempts, which are made in contempt of
all the ordinary maxims of war.
The able and bold plans of their commander were admirably carried into
execution by his brave troops. The English soldiers, by their conduct,
well redeemed the crime of their recent mutiny; and we are informed, by
a contemporary historian[17], that "the sepoys behaved with equal
gallantry to the Europeans!"
M. Moracin, with a re-enforcement of three hundred men from Pondicherry,
arrived a few days after the place had fallen. On discovering what had
occurred, he sailed to the northward, where the attempt he made to
injure the English interests in the Vizagapatam and Ganjam districts
altogether failed, though he continued, for some period, to excite
considerable alarm.
Salabut Jung was encamped within fifteen miles of Masulipatam when the
fort was taken. He and his ministers were alike astonished at the
unexpected result of the siege; and, reproaching themselves as in part
the cause of the misfortune to their ally, they refused to negotiate
with Colonel Forde while there appeared a hope of their being joined by
the corps under Moracin; but finding that he had proceeded north, the
Subah evinced a wish to contract an alliance with the English. To this
he was induced by another and more powerful motive. Nizam Ali Khan had,
on the receipt of Clive's letters regarding Colonel Forde's expedition,
not only written to Clive[18] expressing his desire to co-operate
against the French, and his wish that Colonel Forde's force should join
him; but had also addressed Colonel Forde to the same purport, in answer
to a letter received from that officer. This correspondence with a
brother whom he had just cause to dread, combined with the movement of
Nizam Ali in the direction of Hyderabad, turned the scale of the Subah's
court in favour of the English; and, notwithstanding the remonstrances
of the leader of the French corps of observation, Salabut Jung concluded
a treaty with Colonel Forde, by which he ceded Masulipatam and eight
districts in its vicinity. The second article of this engagement
stipulated, not only that he was to have no French troops in his
service, but that he was not to allow that nation any settlement in his
dominions; the third article was in favour of Anunderauze; and by the
fourth Salabut Jung engaged never to give aid or protection to the
enemies of the English; who, on their part, stipulated not to aid or
protect those who were hostile to his person or government.
I have entered more minutely upon the progress and results of this
expedition, from its being solely and exclusively the measure of Clive.
Its consequences were very important, as tending to distract the enemy
at the period of the siege of Madras[19], and materially to weaken his
actual strength for subsequent operations[20]; but more so as they
destroyed (Clive's great object) the French connection with Salabut
Jung, and raised the military reputation of the English in the Deckan
above that of their European rivals. Besides all these advantages, the
occupation of the fort and dependent districts of Masulipatam was of
itself a valuable object. This possession was annexed to the presidency
of Fort St. George.
The government of Madras, anxious to add to the army in the field
against the French, desired that Colonel Forde should leave Masulipatam
with a garrison of five hundred sepoys, and send his remaining Europeans
(about two hundred) to Madras. This he objected to, upon the ground of
its exposing this important acquisition to recapture by the French
fleet. Clive approved of this, as of every part of Colonel Forde's
conduct throughout the late service. Besides those public thanks which,
as head of the government, he gave to this able officer and his gallant
troops, we meet, in Clive's private letters, with frequent and strong
expressions of his sense of the importance of the defeat of Conflans
near Rajahmundry, and the capture of Masulipatam. He justly concluded
that these achievements, independent of their immediate consequences,
were calculated to promote our permanent interests in the Deckan; a
point to which he always gave great importance, and to which he upbraids
his friends in the government of Madras for being too inattentive.
In a private letter to Mr. Pigot of the 21st of August, in which he
congratulates him on the raising of the siege of Madras, he observes, "I
know there are many in England, especially the envious, who have
endeavoured to persuade others, as well as themselves, that our wars in
India are trifling and insignificant; but our late exploits will, I
believe, induce another way of thinking, and add lustre to our quondam
victories.
"Colonel Forde may, I think, step forth, and very justly claim his share
of the laurels gained. His defeat of Conflans, with a great inferiority
of numbers, was an important stroke; but his taking by storm such a
place as Masulipatam, with a garrison within superior to the force which
attacked it, is what we seldom hear of in these our modern times.
"I cannot add much to what has been represented to you in our general
letter; only let me beg of you not to neglect the affairs of the Deckan;
they are of great importance, and I know the gentlemen at home think
them so. Besides, we never could be safe in Bengal, while the enemy is
so near at hand, and a strong squadron, which may give ours the slip,
and co-operate with them. If Colonel Forde had left Masulipatam with
only a garrison of five hundred sepoys, and it had been afterwards lost
(which I really believe would have been the case), what a load of
disgrace would have fallen upon us, for putting the Company to so great
an expense, and for losing all the fruits of our eminent successes in
these parts."
In another letter[21] upon the same subject to his friend Mr.
Vansittart, who was a member of council at Fort St. George, Clive
expresses similar sentiments. "The news from the coast," he observes,
"this year has been very important and interesting. The defence of
Madras will do much honour to our arms in India, and greatly heighten
our reputation as soldiers in these parts. I would gladly have given
some of my riches to share some of your reputation. I know it has been a
conceived opinion among the old soldiers in England, that our exploits
in India have been much of the same nature as those of Ferdinando
Cortez; but your foiling such a man as M. Lally, and two of the oldest
regiments of France, will induce another way of thinking, and add a
fresh lustre to all our former victories. Neither do I think Colonel
Forde's successes fall short of those of Madras. His victory over the
Marquis de Conflans was but one of the many we have gained over our
enemies in the like circumstances; but his taking such a place as
Masulipatam, with a garrison within superior to the force which attacked
it, is, I think, one of those extraordinary actions which we seldom hear
of in these modern times, and must gain him great honour when it comes
to be known at home. And now I have said thus much, I cannot help
thinking there has not been quite that attention bestowed on the affairs
of the Deckan their importance deserves. Much has been risked in not
sending Colonel Forde even a small assistance of money, which I think
might have been done without greatly distressing yourselves; and still
much more in not providing sea conveyances, or timely and sufficient
land escorts for the French prisoners.
"This expedition was undertaken more with a view to benefit the coast
than Bengal; and most of the Deckan forces would certainly have been at
the siege of Madras, if not prevented by the diversion given from hence.
Much I fear all our successes in the Deckan would have come to nothing,
if Colonel Forde had complied with the late order sent him, of leaving
only five hundred sepoys in Masulipatam, and coming, with the rest of
the forces, to Madras. Excuse me in thinking the gentlemen in council
have had too much at heart the securing to themselves Colonel Forde's
detachment, without sufficiently considering the consequences; for I can
never be persuaded that the addition of two hundred infantry would
either have lost or gained us a battle over M. Lally; but the
withdrawing them from the Deckan would certainly have rendered fruitless
all that has been done. You will be surprised at hearing the French have
landed upwards of five hundred Europeans at Ganjam with M. Moracin; but
it is really matter of fact, and has been confirmed to us by no less
than forty-seven deserters from thence, most of them English taken at
St. David's, and forced into the service. By the latest advices, they
were reduced, by death and desertion, to four hundred. I need say no
more on this subject, as the board will write very fully on this and
other matters of importance."
I shall now shortly refer to the occurrences at Madras, subsequent to
the great effort made to restore the British interests in Bengal. It
would be as unnecessary as it is foreign to my object to enter into a
detail of events which have been minutely described by several able
writers; but a general notice of them is required, not only to elucidate
the grounds of Clive's conduct, as far as relates to the aid he gave or
refused to Fort St. George, but as it is calculated to exhibit the
character of his mind, which, amid all those critical and important
events in which he was engaged in Bengal, appears to have dwelt with an
earnest fondness upon the scenes of his first efforts, and to have
retained the most anxious solicitude for the continued success of those
who were the friends of his youth, and his early associates in danger.
Absence appears, indeed, to have increased the interest he took in the
affairs of the coast of Coromandel; and from the period of his
proceeding to Calcutta till his departure for England, no occurrence of
any magnitude took place in the Madras Presidency, on which we do not
find numerous letters from Clive, which convey his opinion with equal
freedom upon the measures of the government, and upon the conduct of
individuals.
In 1757, the events of most magnitude on the coast were the capture of
Madura by Captain Caillaud[22], who commanded the British troops south
of the Coleroon; and the defeat of a party[23] which attacked Nellore,
where the brother[24] of the Nabob Mahommed Ali Khan continued in
rebellion. The fortress of Chittaput was taken by the French, owing to
aid being refused to Nazir Mahommed[25], the killadar (or governor) who,
holding this fortress independent of the Nabob, was an object of
jealousy, and he succeeded in instilling into the minds of the English
government a belief that the gallant defender of this important post was
in league with the French. Succour was delayed till too late. The brave
killadar resisted to the last; and, by his death on the breach, silenced
his calumniators, and left the rulers of Madras to regret their
unfortunate credulity and prejudice.
The capture of Chittaput was followed by the reduction of a number of
small fortresses in the Carnatic. The successes of the French in this
province balanced those of the English to the southward, where the
gallantry and judgment of Captain Caillaud, and the indefatigable
activity of Mahommed Esoof[26], the celebrated commandant of sepoys,
supported the cause of the English, and of the Nabob Mahommed Ali,
against the French and the rebel Maphuze Khan. The latter were aided by
several polygars, or petty Hindu chiefs, who possess the wild
mountainous tracts of this part of India; and who, from the attachment
and habits of their rude followers, are the most troublesome of all
enemies to the internal peace of the country.
These indecisive operations had no effect beyond keeping up the flame of
war between the French and English, through whom every native power in
India that they could influence became engaged in hostilities, in which
their interests were deemed subordinate to the primary object which the
two rival European nations alike cherished, of expelling each other from
the eastern hemisphere.
The French government in Europe appear, at this period, to have
determined on an effort to reduce the British settlements on the coast
of Coromandel; and the armament they prepared seemed adequate to the
object. Fortunately for the English, those who presided in the councils
of Louis 15th were either so completely ignorant of Indian policy, or so
inveterately prejudiced against their East India Company and its
servants, as not only to overlook the advantages that these had gained,
but to put aside as useless all who were acquainted with the scene, and
to substitute a commander and officers, who, whatever experience they
might have had in other quarters of the world, were profoundly ignorant
of that to which they were sent, with the expressed hope that, while
they reformed the gross abuses of the local government, they would
restore the tarnished lustre of the French arms.
The bold and extensive, though, perhaps, premature, schemes of Dupleix
had, at first, excited great expectations in France; but when, instead
of those successes which his sanguine mind had led his government to
anticipate, every despatch brought accounts of some failure or disaster,
national vanity, combined with prejudice and ignorance, induced the
ministers of that country to throw the whole blame on the Company and on
the individuals whom they had employed to manage their affairs abroad.
Their political and military conduct underwent equal condemnation; their
operations in the field were deemed unskilful, and their connections
with native princes, particularly that with the Subah of the Deckan,
were pronounced altogether chimerical, and calculated for no object but
that of feeding the ambition, or adding to the wealth, of those by whom
they were planned or conducted.
Though the form of the local government was not changed, controlling
powers were vested in Lieutenant-General Count Lally, who was sent in
command of this force, aided by a large staff of officers of high rank
and reputation.
The character of Lally, from former services, stood high as a gallant
soldier. He was, perhaps, skilled in European warfare, but he was wholly
ignorant of the different modes and usages of that science in India;
added to which, he was not of a temper to benefit by the experience of
others; and his mind appears, before he left France, to have been imbued
with the deepest prejudices against his own countrymen in India, as well
as the most sovereign contempt for the natives of that country. He was,
in consequence, alike indisposed to receive aid from the experience and
knowledge of the one, or from the alliance of the other; and evidently
expected to subdue all obstacles at the point of the bayonet.
Such was the man whom the French government sent to India. How different
was the conduct of the great Chatham! When the troops of his sovereign
were ordered to that country to support the national interests, he at
once decided[27] that neither Lawrence nor Clive should be superseded in
their command. Had the ministers of France been endowed with his wisdom,
and the troops they so judiciously sent to India been placed under
Bussy, there is every ground to conclude that the result of the ensuing
campaigns would have been very different. But such was the infatuation
or prejudice of the French ministers, that Bussy, slighted in the new
arrangements, was left, unnoticed and unhonoured, to submit to the
commands and bear the insults of an arrogant superior, whose jealousy of
his fame and popularity was increased into perfect fury at the
attentions shown him by all ranks, and by a memorial from the six
colonels[28] who had accompanied him from France, praying he would
nominate Bussy, yet only a Lieutenant-Colonel, a Brigadier General, that
he might command them, and that their sovereign might derive those
benefits which were to be expected from his name and experience.
Lally could not refuse compliance with such a request; but he
endeavoured, by bitter sarcasms as to their motives, to detract from the
just merits of those by whom it was made.
On the same evening that Lally landed with his troops from the fleet of
M. D'Aché, he ordered one thousand Europeans and as many sepoys to move
towards Fort St. David. They were led astray by their guides, and
arrived at the end of their first march, harassed, and without
provisions. To supply them, and to enable the remainder of his force to
follow, Lally resorted to means which filled the natives with alarm and
indignation. He pressed men of all castes and descriptions to carry
baggage, and derided the remonstrances of the Company's Governor, M.
Deleyrit, who was forced to submit; for, though he and his councils
retained their stations, they were placed completely under the control
of the Lieutenant-General.
Cuddalore could make no resistance. But a very different result from
what occurred was expected from Fort St. David. Its fortifications had
been greatly improved, and its garrison was efficient: if it did not
repel the assailants, no doubt was entertained but it would, for a
considerable period, employ all their means and arrest their operations.
But this hope was disappointed, and the place was surrendered before the
enemy's works were so advanced as to enable them to storm it. Mr. Call,
the chief engineer at Madras, in a letter[29] to Clive says, that he
considers "the place to have been lost rather through want of conduct
and proper management, than of bravery or the means of defending it."
Clive, as has been shown in the case of Colonel Forde and others, was
warm and even enthusiastic in his encomiums of those who were
distinguished in the service of their country. They not only became
entitled to his notice in his official capacity, but received every mark
of his private regard; and his utmost efforts were used to promote their
advancement. But, on the other hand, he held no terms with any man whom
he considered to have failed in this duty. His condemnation of such was
undisguised and unqualified. Neither the ties of friendship, the
suggestion of self-interest, nor the fear of resentment, had the
slightest effect in preventing the open expression of his opinions, when
there appeared a dereliction of those principles which he thought should
actuate every individual in the public employ.
Many examples will occur to illustrate this part of his character; but
none are stronger than we find in the letters he wrote to Madras, upon
hearing of the capture of Fort St. David. The thought of the easy
triumph of the French on a spot which had been ennobled by so many
gallant achievements of the English, pained him (as he states[30]) to
the soul, and he gives full vent to his indignation at those by whom
this feeling had been produced. Whatever justice there may be in the
sentence he passes on their conduct, the tone of elevated sentiment, and
the excellence of the military maxims which we find in these letters,
render them very valuable.
In a private letter[31] to Mr. Pigot, which expresses the deep interest
he takes in the affairs of the coast, Clive states concisely, but
strongly, his opinion upon the fall of Fort St. David.
"After waiting," he observes, "with much impatience, I have at last
received your favour of the 10th of July. Let me request of my friend,
if he has too much business upon his hands, that he will order one of
his secretaries to write me a few lines, for I am always doubtful of the
news I may receive from any other quarter.
"I cannot express to you my resentment and concern at the infamous
surrender of St. David. Had there been no powder at all left but for the
musketry, where was the excuse for giving up the place till a breach was
made, the covered way stormed, and the ditch filled? Were our enemies
supplied with wings, that they could fly into the place? I am fully
persuaded that, had M. Lally been obliged to make approaches to the top
of the glacis, the climate would have done him more injury than all the
powder and ball in the East Indies. I could wish, for the honour and
welfare of our nation, that a court-martial would make the severest
examples of the guilty in these cases. For the future, I would not leave
it in the power of a commanding officer to forfeit his trust, but give
him positive orders not to surrender any fort till a breach was made in
the body of the place, and one assault at least sustained."
In a letter to Mr. Orme of a similar date[32], he enters upon the same
subject.
"The advices," he observes, "you received of the bad condition of St.
David was nothing less than an introduction to the infamous surrender of
the place. I know not in what light you gentlemen of Madras may look
upon that inglorious transaction: for my part, I have seen the council
of war, and, from that only, think the severest example ought to be made
of those who have set their hands to that base capitulation.
"They say they had not above three days' powder! Where was the necessity
of throwing it so idly away? Had they no bayonets? Or, had they not
powder sufficient for small arms? I fondly flattered myself that the
hero[33] at Chittaput would, in some measure, have been an example for
us at St. David.
"I must drop this disagreeable subject with the melancholy reflection,
that Fort St. David so lost has given us cause to lament the departure
of the English reputation on the coast of Coromandel. May our future
actions retrieve all!"
In a subsequent part of this letter, Clive gives his opinion, that the
enemy should be met in the field; and, if not, he suggests the measures
that should be taken to promote the success of defensive operations.
"I do not flatter you," he adds, "in saying, I always had the highest
opinion of the strength and activity of your abilities. Let them be
exerted in pursuing vigorous measures; for you may depend upon it, Orme,
if these cautious maxims, which seemed to possess the majority of our
committee when I was with you, still prevail, we shall entail disgrace
upon disgrace on the nation, until we are become the scorn of Hindustan,
and have nothing left us without the walls of Madras. I insist upon it,
victory will not depend upon the trifling odds of a few; good conduct in
the commander, and a determined resolution in the officer and soldier,
will make up for the deficiency, and insure victory to the English over
M. Lally and his rabble—for I can call them by no other name, since I am
well assured the major part of his forces are not much better, being
composed chiefly of foreigners and deserters, raised by subscription:
possibly, the King may have spared the Company some good officers to
head them.
"The China and Bengal ships will bring you a reinforcement of twelve
hundred men, which, added to the garrisons of Madras and Trichinopoly,
will enable you to take the field with two thousand five hundred men.
Our superiority at sea, by the arrival of two seventy-gun ships, and one
fifty, will be beyond dispute. Of consequence, we shall have more
resources than the French: we may remedy the ill consequences of a
check, by having the sea open to us, and the assistance of our squadron.
Our enemies cannot say so much, for, if they should be defeated, they
must be confined within the walls of Pondicherry, and then their
distress for want of money will ruin them, if supplies are not soon
received, which cannot be effected without a superior force at sea, of
which I see but little probability. In the mean time, we can supply you
from hence with every thing you can possibly want. In short, if we look
upon ourselves in any shape a match for our enemies in the field, I am
fully of opinion a battle should be risked: a victory will be of more
consequence than the loss of ten Fort St. Davids. If the old
gentleman[34] take the field, Caillaud should be sent for at all events,
and a commission of Major given him that he may act as second.
"Should an offensive war not be thought prudent, I think methods may be
pursued which will near ruin the enemy without it. A body of Mahrattas
may be taken into pay, which will ravage the country in such a manner as
to prevent the French receiving any revenue from it. This will occasion
them to disband their blacks, and their whites will soon disband
themselves.
"You are acquainted with the disturbances in Golconda, and the
insurrection of the rajahs. I have sent agents there; and you may be
assured, if we remain at peace here (as at present there is the greatest
prospect) I shall send into these parts as large a force as can possibly
be spared, under the command of Colonel Forde. If the country be only
thrown into such confusion as to prevent our enemies collecting the
revenue, the expense and design of the expedition will be answered.
"I have wrote long letters both to Mr. Pocock and Mr. Pigot to enforce
vigorous measures. To the former, I have proposed the destruction of the
French squadron, even if they should be lying under the walls of
Pondicherry."
This letter, probably from the delay of the vessel[35] by which it was
to be forwarded, appears not to have been despatched for twelve days
after it was written; and there is a postscript of the 26th of August
added to it, which is peculiarly illustrative of the uncompromising
character of Clive's mind on those points that related to the duty which
he conceived every individual in the public service owed to the state.
Mr. Orme was his most intimate friend, and, from what he knew him to
have already written, Clive must have viewed him as the person to whose
pen he was to be indebted for his fame with posterity. That he did so,
is proved, indeed, by a letter to Mr. Orme[36] immediately after the
enthronement of Meer Jaffier; in which we find the following paragraph:
"I am possessed of volumes of materials for the continuance of your
History, in which will appear fighting, tricks, chicanery, intrigues,
politics, and the Lord knows what;—in short, there will be a fine field
for you to display your genius in. I shall certainly call at the coast
on my way to England: I have many particulars to explain to you relating
to this said History which must be published." Neither the ties of
friendship, however, nor the expectations of increased fame from the
partial pen of the historian, had sufficient influence to restrain his
free and severe opinion of one of the Council at Madras quitting his
post at such a moment.
"I have learned," Clive states in the postscript, "with great surprise,
from yourself, of your resolution of going home. I suppose it is never
to return. Your leaving the settlement at this juncture of time, when
the service of every individual is wanted, will justly expose you to the
censure and resentment of the Court of Directors."[37]
During these operations on shore, Sir George Pocock had made several
efforts to bring the French fleet to a decisive action; but their
superior sailing, the bad condition of several of the English ships, and
on one occasion the conduct of some of his captains, had always enabled
them to escape. Clive warmly sympathised with his gallant friend, in his
feelings upon these fruitless attempts against the enemy: at the same
time he could not refrain from associating in infamy and disgrace those
who had not supported the Admiral, with those who had surrendered Fort
St. David.
"You may be assured," Clive writes[38], "I felt much for you, when I
heard of the unequal fight between the two squadrons, for want of your
not being better supported by two or three of His Majesty's ships. The
unthinking world, who never bestow applause but where there is success,
would have been ready enough to have laid the censure at your door, if
you had not called the authors of the late miscarriage to a public
account. It is really a cruel case, after the eminent examples of
bravery and conduct shown by you personally, that a certain victory
should be snatched out of your hands by the misbehaviour of others. May
infamy and disgrace attend all those who are backward in their country's
cause; and may the worst of punishment attend those who so shamefully
gave up Saint David's to the French! I cannot think of that transaction
with common patience; every reflection about it pains me to the very
soul; and the more I inquire into facts, the more reason I have to
lament the lost reputation of the English on the coast of Coromandel. I
do not mean that St. David's would not have been taken at last; but it
certainly might have been made to cost M. Lally so dear, as to have
rendered his future attempts much more uncertain and precarious."
Lally found among the prisoners at Fort St. David a pretender[39] to the
throne of Tanjore; and, by threatening to support this man's claims, he
expected to obtain, through the fears of the Prince of that country, a
supply of treasure, of which he was in great want. To enforce compliance
with the large demand he made as the price of his forbearance, he moved
towards Tanjore. His march was the cause of equal distress to his own
troops, and to the natives of the country through which he passed. The
latter, alarmed by his indiscriminate violence and the licence he
admitted, particularly in seizing their cattle, fled the country; and we
may judge how general the desertion of their homes must have been, when
we are informed that the French army was almost starving in the midst of
plenty; for, while it found great stores of paddy, which is the name
given to rice before the grain is separated from the husk, there were
literally no persons to beat it out, as it requires before it can be
used as food. The troops had neither tents nor baggage; for, in the
common alarm at the violent measures of the French General, not even
bullock drivers could be persuaded to remain in the camp.
Some days after the arrival of the army at Tanjore, a treaty was
concluded, by which the King agreed to pay five lacs of rupees, and to
furnish some aid in Lally's intended attack of Trichinopoly. Fifty
thousand rupees of this amount were paid, and hostages interchanged for
the fulfilment of the engagement; but recurring points of irritation
soon broke this agreement. Lally charged the King with insincerity, and
with having no design but to gain time; while the other accused the
French General of many outrages, and particularly of having confined, on
groundless suspicion, forty of the contingent of horse with which he had
furnished him. Lally, seeing no prospect of an amicable termination to
these disputes and recriminations, determined, with the advice of his
officers, to attack the town; and he not only sent to the King to
denounce vengeance upon his city and dominions, but expressly directed
Colonel Kennedy[40], through whom this threat was conveyed, to state,
that it was the French General's intention to carry the Prince and all
his family as slaves to the Mauritius.
The counsels of the King of Tanjore had hitherto been fluctuating; they
were decided, however, by Lally's conduct, and every preparation was
made for defence. Captain Caillaud, who commanded in Trichinopoly, had
before sent five hundred sepoys; and, being now convinced of the King's
intention to oppose the French, sent a reinforcement of an equal number,
with a small party of gunners. The day of their arrival, Lally had
determined to retreat[41]; to which he was induced from want of
ammunition, distress for provisions, and alarm at the British fleet,
which was reported to be off Karical, a sea-port in the vicinity.
The Tanjore General Monack-jee, on receiving certain information of the
intended movement of the French, determined upon attacking them. He made
some impression from coming upon the camp by surprise[42], but was
compelled to retire: when, however, the army marched towards the
Carnatic, his harassing operations aggravated what they suffered from
fatigue and want of food; and we learn from authentic sources[43], that
the whole of the French force was obliged to live for several days upon
gram[44] and cocoa-nuts.
The natural violence and acrimony of Lally's disposition were greatly
increased by the bad success of this expedition. Instead of attributing
its failure to the real causes, his own want of local knowledge, his
obstinacy and presumption, he imputed it, and the privations the troops
had suffered, to the corrupt practices of the Company's servants, to the
general laxity of discipline and subordination in all departments of
their government, and to the dread which M. D'Aché and his squadron
appeared to have of the British fleet. These violent attacks produced
abuse and recrimination, and nothing could exceed the discord and
faction which at this period pervaded the settlement of Pondicherry.
Lally, after his return from Tanjore, found no difficulty in occupying
almost all the towns in the Carnatic, and, amongst others, Arcot, the
capital of the Nabob. Chingliput was the only place which the English
preserved; but, its consequence being fully appreciated, every measure
was adopted to strengthen its garrison and improve its defences. The
government of Madras were not induced by Clive's advice to try their
fortune in the field. They reserved their force unbroken for the defence
of Fort St. George, the siege of which it was evidently Lally's
intention to undertake, as soon as the season[45] permitted him to move.
In deliberating on the course they ought to pursue, they possessed more
correct information than Clive had procured regarding the actual
composition of Lally's force; from which it appeared, that though some
of his soldiers were of an indifferent description, others were of the
French line, and belonged to corps of high reputation. He had besides,
well equipped and well mounted, a body of three hundred European
cavalry, who, being the first of this branch seen in India, were likely,
added to his superior numbers of infantry, to give him a great advantage
in an action in the field; whereas they could be of comparatively little
benefit in a siege.
Governed by these considerations, they determined to await, within the
walls of Madras, the approach of the French army. The siege which took
place has been minutely described by a cotemporary historian.[46] It
continued for two months, the French having taken up their ground on the
14th of December, 1758, and retreated on the 15th of February, 1759.
The enemy's force consisted of two thousand seven hundred European
infantry, besides their cavalry, artillery, and sepoys. The garrison was
not more than a third inferior in number; and when, to that
circumstance, was joined the established character of the Governor, Mr.
Pigot, and of Colonel Lawrence, the commander of the troops, who was
aided by some of the most distinguished officers in India, there
appeared, from the first, but little doubt of the result. The most
remarkable event of the siege was a sally, soon after the enemy took up
their ground, by Colonel Draper; which, though not altogether
successful, was attended with a great loss to the French as well as to
the English: and Lally had to regret, which he did deeply, the loss of
two of his best officers, Major-General Saubinet and Count D'Estaing,
the former of whom was killed and the latter taken prisoner.
During the siege a corps of observation was kept by the French, under
the partisan Lambert; but this did not prevent their receiving almost as
much annoyance from the activity of the English parties without the
walls, as from the courage of those within. Two small corps, sometimes
acting separately, but oftener co-operating, hung continually upon the
outskirts of their camp, attacking and intercepting their supplies. One
of these, which had come from the southern territories, was commanded by
the celebrated Mahommed Esoof; the other by Captain Preston[47]: but
Captain Caillaud, who had been summoned from Trichinopoly, took the
command of both, and by his operations greatly increased the distresses
of the enemy.
While Madras was well stored with provisions, and had abundance of money
supplied from Bengal[48], the treasury of Pondicherry was completely
exhausted, and the conduct of Lally had destroyed credit. The violent
and irregular means adopted, to anticipate the revenues of the country,
had left the districts which the French occupied without the means of
furnishing either the money or the supplies that were necessary for the
subsistence of the troops. Notwithstanding the privations to which they
were subjected, the French European soldiers performed their arduous
duty with spirit and alacrity; and Lally fully appreciated their merits.
With the natives, however, his contempt and severity produced their
natural effects: they were loud in their clamours for pay, and, actuated
by discontent and resentment, deserted in bodies, and began to plunder
the country, under the pretext of obtaining payment of their arrears.
These circumstances, and the despair of success,—for he had made little
or no serious progress in the siege[49],—made Lally resolve upon
retreat; and that measure was almost converted into a flight by the
arrival of six ships with the reinforcements from Bombay. Not only his
battering train and camp equipage were left, but the sick and wounded.
The latter he recommended to the care and humanity of the government of
Fort St. George, from whom they received as much kindness and attention
as if they had belonged to the garrison.
Lally, before he left Madras, blew up the bastion and powder mill at
Egmore, and destroyed the Governor's garden-house, and many private
buildings. He had threatened to reduce the Black-Town of Madras to
ashes; and nothing, probably, prevented this threat from being put into
execution but the hurry of his retreat. This may be inferred from the
numerous instances of wanton severity he showed in the prosecution of
hostilities against the English. Among other acts, the seizure of the
persons of some ladies[50] at Nagapatam, and their harsh treatment, was
one of the least pardonable, as alike contrary to the usage of civilised
nations, and the boasted habits and character of his country. The
proceeding, as will be hereafter stated, forced the English to measures
of retaliation.
Clive had, from the moment he heard of Lally's intention to attack
Madras, anticipated his complete failure: he dreaded nothing but the
arrival of more troops from France, and the want of support from
England; but his alarm on these grounds was considerable, as we find
from a letter which he wrote to Mr. Pitt, (under date the 21st of
February, 1759,) informing him that accounts had been received of the
arrival at Mauritius of a third armament from France, and of the
expectation of a fourth.
"I presume," Clive observes, "it must have been in consequence of this
intelligence, that M. Lally took post before Madras, as I cannot think
he would have been so imprudent as to come there with a force not double
that of the garrison, were he not in expectation of a reinforcement.
Should that arrive upon the coast before our squadron from Bombay, or
should the enemy's fleet, by the addition of this third division, prove
unfortunately superior to ours, the event is to be feared. Much, very
much indeed,—perhaps the fate of India,—now depends upon our squadron.
Should it miscarry, our land forces, without some extraordinary
occurrence, will be in danger of being obliged to yield to the great
superiority of the enemy. Advice has been just received, that the French
were still carrying on the siege of Madras on the 25th of January. They
had been before it upwards of six weeks; but I have so high an opinion
of the gentlemen within, that I dare answer they will make such a
defence as will do honour to our nation, and end in M. Lally's
disgrace."
"The repeated supplies," Clive adds, "furnished the French from home,
compared with the handful of men sent out to us, affords a melancholy
proof, that our Company are not, of themselves, able to take the proper
measures for the security of their settlements; and, unless they are
assisted by the nation, they must at last fall a sacrifice to the
superior efforts of the French Company, supported by their monarch.
Within these eighteen months, have arrived at Pondicherry two thousand
five hundred men, and the third division will probably bring half that
number; whereas, we shall not have received, including Colonel Draper's
battalion, more than one thousand. It looks as if the French Government
were turning their arms this way, in hopes of an equivalent for the
losses they have reason to apprehend in America, from the formidable
force sent by us into that country. But I cannot bring myself to believe
that so valuable a possession as the East Indies, and which may make a
material difference in bringing about a peace, will be abandoned; and
therefore trust that the French armament will have been followed so
closely by one from us, as to get in time to prevent the designs of our
enemies.
"A son of the Great Mogul (but at present at variance with his father)
has approached the northern frontiers, where he has been joined by a few
disaffected people. As he has no authority from his father, he can
neither, I think, have wealth nor influence enough to make any
considerable progress. However, I have got every thing ready, and, in
case he advances further, I have determined to proceed myself to the
northward, in order to assist the Nabob in driving him out of his
dominions, which I make no doubt will be easily effected, even with the
small force we have. Would to God we could as easily remove our European
enemies from India!"
In a letter to Mr. Sulivan[51], of the same date[52], Clive anticipates
the result of Lally's operations.
"To give you my own opinion," he observes, "I think Lally will fail in
his attempt, so great is my confidence in the strength of the garrison,
and the experience and valour of the officers. The arrival of Captain
Caillaud with the sepoy and Tanjoreen horse, will distress our enemies
greatly, if not oblige them to raise the siege; and if they continue
till the arrival of our reinforcements, daily expected from Bombay, they
run the risk of a total defeat. I can no otherwise account for this
undertaking of the French general, than from his distressed situation
for want of money. He is really risking the whole for the whole."
Clive had from youth been engaged in efforts to prevent the
establishment of the French power in India, and his mind was constantly
and intently fixed on that object. He viewed the period of which we are
writing as a crisis: but he had no doubt of the result, except from
overpowering reinforcements arriving from France, and the English
settlement being left unsupported. From the moment he learned Lally's
proceedings on his march to Fort St. David and Tanjore, he foretold,
that if our resistance was protracted, that general must destroy
himself. In a private letter[53] to Mr. Pigot, he recommends him to
employ native horse[54] in laying waste the French territories. "By
ruining the country," he observes, "you will infallibly ruin M. Lally.
Remember, that he and his forces were obliged to eat gram before
Tanjore. May he be reduced to the same necessity in Pondicherry itself!"
Clive's letter to Colonel Lawrence, of the same date, exhibits, in an
equally strong manner, his sentiments upon this subject, as well as the
affectionate respect he continued to cherish for his friend and
commander. It is as follows:—
"My dear friend,
"I have heard with some surprise, that M. Lally has set himself
down before Madras, not with an intent, I believe, to besiege it in
form, or carry on approaches; if he does, I think he must be either
mad, or his situation desperate; at all events, I hope it will be
the means of adding fresh laurels to those already gained by my
dear friend.
"Colonel Forde has orders to join you with his forces; and we are
endeavouring to send you a complete company of one hundred rank and
file from hence. In short, we have put every thing to risk here to
enable you to engage Lally in the field. I hope Mr. Bouchier will
spare you some men from Bombay. I enclose you a short sketch of our
strength in these parts; and, considering how much depends upon
keeping up our influence in Bengal, you will say there never was a
smaller force to do it with.
"God give you success, which will be an increase of honour to
yourself, and of much joy to
"Dear Colonel,
"Your affectionate friend and servant,
(Signed) "ROBERT CLIVE."
_State of the European Force in Bengal, 6th Feb. 1759._
Doing duty. Military Artillery
Captains. 6 1
Lieuts. 6 8
Ensigns. 9 0
Serjeants. 36
Corporals. 29 5
Drummers. 20 2
Privates. 314* 86
* Whereof 140 are recruits.
The delight of Clive at the result of the siege was very great: it was
heightened by his warm feelings of friendship towards those who had so
nobly supported the reputation of the service of Fort St. George, to
which he had a pride in belonging. He congratulates Mr. Pigot[55] on the
fame he had acquired; but his greatest joy, as he repeatedly expresses,
was, that his venerated friend, Colonel Lawrence, should so brilliantly
close his Indian career.
The events upon the coast subsequent to the siege of Madras do not
relate to our subject. Suffice it to say, that, after some indecisive
operations in 1759, Lally, next year, suffered a signal defeat at
Wandewash, from an English army under the command of Colonel Coote. He
was soon after compelled to shut himself up with the remains of his army
in Pondicherry, which was immediately invested by the English. Before
this period, the increased irritability of his temper had led to
discontent in the local government, and among the inhabitants of that
settlement, almost amounting to sedition. The troops had been in a state
of serious mutiny from want of pay. They nevertheless did their duty
upon this occasion; but Lally had neither money nor provisions, and was
forced to surrender.[56] This unfortunate commander left Pondicherry
amid the insults of his countrymen; and on his return to France, he was
tried, condemned to death, and executed for crimes[57] of which he was
not guilty: for though his prejudice, violence, and tyranny, had no
doubt been one cause of the misfortunes of his country in India, his
courage, his zeal, and his loyalty were unimpeachable. But the voice of
his enemies was loud and vehement, and the ministers of France were glad
to save themselves from the disgrace brought upon the country by their
own want of foresight and judgment. The Count Lally was the victim they
offered to an incensed public. The principles of justice and the
feelings of humanity appear to have been alike violated by this act,
which a philosopher[58] of France truly denominated, at the period of
its perpetration, "A murder committed with the sword of justice."
Bussy, with a zeal and temper that do him equal honour, continued to
serve under Lally, and to offer his best advice, which was, however,
seldom regarded. Basâlut Jung, the brother of the Subah of the Deckan,
had evinced an anxiety to preserve the friendship of the French; and
Bussy strongly recommended that he should be declared Nabob of the
Carnatic, and invited to aid their operations. No measure could have
been more likely to support them. But Lally had precipitately proclaimed
the son of Chunda Sahib Nabob: a person who had neither influence nor
character to be a useful ally; and he was not only reluctant to repeal
his own measure, but disinclined to attend to any proposition of Bussy.
Overcome, however, by a sense of the urgent necessity of the expedient,
he detached that officer with a small body of troops to the camp of
Basâlut Jung at Kurpah. The French commander was received with honour;
but not being able to comply with the demands made by Basâlut Jung, one
of which was the immediate advance of four lacs of rupees, he was
compelled to return without being able to conclude an alliance with that
prince. He brought back with him, however, a body of four hundred
excellent horse, whom he had taken into service; and he was enabled,
through the credit he had with some of the native chiefs of the Deckan
army, not only to supply this party with money, but also the French
detachment by whom he was accompanied, who, like all Lally's troops,
were many months in arrear, and almost destitute of clothing, as well as
the means of obtaining food.
Bussy was made prisoner at the battle of Wandewash, (January, 1760,) but
was instantly released by Colonel Coote, from respect for his character,
and as a return for that kindness and consideration which he had
invariably shown to English prisoners.[59] Soon after this occurrence,
he returned to France, leaving behind him a name as fondly cherished by
the natives of India as by his countrymen. That further acquaintance
with the true history of remarkable events, which often diminishes the
fame of military commanders and statesmen, has hitherto tended only to
increase the reputation of Bussy. His courage and conduct as a soldier
stood high, before the genius of Dupleix, appreciating his character,
sent him into the Deckan.
Acting in that extensive country with a force, which, before he obtained
the cession of the northern circars, had only an uncertain and imperfect
communication with the coast, he supported, for a series of years, the
influence and interests of his country, in a manner which reflects the
highest honour on his qualities as a man, and on his talents as a
statesman. He thoroughly understood and held in respect the usages of
the people among whom he was placed. He united a kindness and
consideration for their errors and weaknesses with such a good faith and
firmness of purpose in the prosecution of his own objects, as to extort
respect even from those to whom he was opposed. This testimony to his
character is not wholly taken from the page of history, though all
writers agree in doing justice to his memory. The facts stated have been
confirmed to the writer of these pages, by many who acted with and
against Bussy, whose reputation, though now deservedly high in France,
is not, even at this period, so great in that country as it continues to
be with natives of the Deckan!
Clive, unless where their conduct compelled him to acts of severity, was
kind and liberal in his treatment of French prisoners. This appears from
a very voluminous correspondence[60], both official and private, with
individuals of that nation; but the wanton outrages of Lally made him
deem acts of retaliation indispensably necessary.
In several of his letters from Patna, Clive urged the committee at
Calcutta to destroy the buildings at Chandernagore, and transmitted to
them letters from Mr. Pigot and Mr. Vansittart, in proof of the wanton
outrages committed by Lally at Madras, particularly in levelling with
the ground the Company's country-house, and in having, without any
object, destroyed the country-houses of several private gentlemen, and
among others, that of Colonel Lawrence at St. Thomas's Mount. The
Committee could not deny these facts, nor the right of retaliating such
injuries; but, hesitating between the desire of attending to Clive, and
their alarm at the future consequences of the measure pressed upon their
adoption, they proposed to throw the odium of its execution upon the
Nabob. Of this Clive wholly disapproved, stating, at the same time, his
resolution, when he returned to Calcutta, to take the responsibility of
this act exclusively upon himself.
"As to your proposal," he observes in a letter[61] from Patna, "of
effecting it through the Nabob, I do not see what end it will answer.
Our known interest with him is such, that it will never be questioned we
were the advisers; and should an opportunity of retaliation ever offer,
(the apprehension of which I presume suggested the proposal to you,) it
will avail us little to attribute the fate of Chandernagore to the
Nabob. If the French should hereafter have it in their power to destroy
Calcutta, it will be matter of small moment whether they do it
immediately themselves, or make use of a like evasion, and employ some
of the country powers to effect it. So far from endeavouring to conceal
our being the authors of the destruction of Chandernagore, we ought to
make a merit of publishing it, as a laudable national revenge for the
unfortunate treatment we have received from the French. The rules of war
established among all civilised nations authorise and applaud reprisals
in such cases. I shall, therefore, very readily on my return take the
risk upon myself: and the more so, as (if I forget not) last year we
received directions from our masters[62] to that purpose."
I shall proceed in the next chapter to detail events which occurred
previously to Clive's leaving Calcutta. The material changes in those
vested with authority at Madras took place before that period, except
the resignation of Colonel Lawrence, who took the field on the siege of
Fort St. George being raised, but finding that his age and infirmities
disabled him from active service, retired to his native land, to enjoy
that repose in private life, which he now required, and to which he was
entitled by the active and able fulfilment, during more than twenty
years, of the most arduous public duties.
Colonel Lawrence must ever stand high among those officers who have
distinguished themselves in India. He neither was, nor pretended to be,
a statesman, but he was an excellent officer. He possessed no dazzling
qualities, and his acts never displayed that brilliancy which men admire
as the accompaniment of genius; but he was, nevertheless, a rare and
remarkable man. We trace in all his operations that sound practical
knowledge of his profession, which, directed by a clear judgment and
firm mind, secured to him an uninterrupted career of success, under
circumstances of great difficulty and danger. As one of the chief causes
of this success, we may notice the absence of that common but petty
jealousy, which renders men afraid lest they should detract from their
own fame by advancing that of others, and the influence of which is,
consequently, most fatal to the rise of merit. Lawrence early
discovered, and fully employed, the talents of those under his orders;
and we find him on all occasions much more forward to proclaim their
deeds than to blazon his own. To this quality, which is the truest test
of a high and liberal spirit, England is principally indebted for all
the benefit she has received from the services of Clive. It was the
fostering care and the inspiring confidence of his commander that led to
the early developement of those talents, which, by the opportunities
afforded him, were matured at an age, when most men are only in the
rudiments of their military education. Clive continued, through life,
fully sensible of the magnitude of his obligations to Lawrence, towards
whom he ever cherished the most affectionate gratitude.
When his venerated commander was on the point of retirement, with a very
moderate fortune, Clive settled 500_l._ per annum on him during
life.[63] "It gives me great pleasure," he observes to Lawrence on this
occasion, "that I have an opportunity given me of showing my gratitude
to the man to whom my reputation, and, of course, my fortune is owing."
This liberal annuity must have added to the comfort of his old age; but
its value was greatly enhanced by the warmth and delicacy of the
sentiments which Clive expressed upon this occasion. These expressions
of grateful obligation gave the retired veteran a right to associate his
own fame with that of the successful pupil to whose progress to fortune
and renown he had, by his early notice and encouragement, so greatly
contributed.
FOOTNOTES: CHAPTER 9
Footnote 1:
Vide Vol. I. p. 183.
Footnote 2:
The particulars of the storm of Boobilee are narrated, by Orme (vol.
ii. p. 254.), with the clearness and a feeling which do honoured to
that historian. Such scenes as are here described are but too common
in the history of India; where Hindus, of a high tribe, often take the
heroic, but barbarous, resolution of not leaving a living being for
their enemies to triumph over.
Footnote 3:
The other two remained concealed; but they were bound, by a vow, to
murder Vizeram Raz if the first attempt failed.
Footnote 4:
Rangarow, and his tribe, considered themselves of much higher race
than the Rajahs of Vizianagur; and their contempt of his family was
one cause of the inveteracy of Vizeram Raz.
Footnote 5:
"Bussy promised the English their property; and all they claimed as
such was resigned to them, without question or discussion."—Orme, vol.
ii. p. 263.
Footnote 6:
The father of Hyder Jung was governor of Masulipatam when Dupleix made
himself master of that important fortress, and is believed to have
betrayed his trust.
Footnote 7:
The small fortress of Dowlatabad stands at the distance of eight miles
to the north-west of Aurungabad. It is defended by walls and bastions:
but what renders it impregnable is the solid rock being scarped
perpendicular all round; and in no place is the scarp less than one
hundred and eighty feet. The entrance is by a long tunnel, in which
there are several traverses cut out of the rock. Shahnavaze Khan had
obtained possession of this fortress. The manner in which it was
seized by Bussy is minutely described by Orme, vol. ii. p. 345. Bussy
himself, attended by a number of officers and three hundred men, went
on the pretext of seeing the fort and paying a visit to the Killadar
(or Governor); and when the garrison were so stationed by the
Killadar, through respect for their guest, that they could make no
resistance, he was made a willing prisoner by the French general, and
such of his followers as made opposition expelled from the fort.
Footnote 8:
The rapidity of his flight was great: he is said to have reached
Burhampore in twenty-four hours. The distance is one hundred and fifty
miles.
Footnote 9:
A correspondence, between this petty prince and Clive, was opened
through the medium of an English merchant named Bristow.
Footnote 10:
Clive's answer to Nizam Ali Khan is dated 27th July, 1758.
Footnote 11:
17th September, 1758.
Footnote 12:
7th July, and 17th September.
Footnote 13:
Clive appears to have despatched treasure for this corps the moment he
learned that none was likely to be recovered either from Anunderauze
or the revenues of the country: but the activity of the French corps
of observation prevented, for some period, Colonel Forde from
receiving the benefit of this supply.
Footnote 14:
Native Christians, generally the descendants of Portuguese and Indian
parents; called Topasses, from their wearing hats (topees) like
Europeans, instead of turbans.
Footnote 15:
The killed and wounded were nearly one third of the whole; so that the
assailants, probably, hardly exceeded nine hundred, while the
prisoners were three thousand and thirty-seven. Arunderauze, with his
irregular native forces, was, indeed, at hand.
Footnote 16:
The troops in the ravelin, beyond the main gate, were kept at their
post by alarm at the false attack of the Rajah's troops, till the
assailants, who entered at the breach, shut the gate on them.
Footnote 17:
Orme, vol. iii. p. 489.
Footnote 18:
Letter received at Calcutta, 17th July, 1759.
Footnote 19:
Mr. Call, the chief engineer at Madras, writing to Clive, under date
the 11th October, 1758, observes, "I cannot but say you have added
much to your reputation by the detachment (Colonel Forde's) which you
have sent to our assistance on the coast. No sooner were your
apprehensions for the safety of Bengal somewhat lessened, than you
determined to support us."
Footnote 20:
Including prisoners, and the corps under Moracin, at least one
thousand Europeans, and nearly three thousand native troops, were
subtracted from Lally's force by the effects of Colonel Forde's
success.
Footnote 21:
26th August.
Footnote 22:
Captain Caillaud suffered two repulses before he succeeded in his
attack on Madura.
Footnote 23:
This party was commanded by Colonel Forde, then belonging to
Adlercron's regiment. The circumstances attending the repulse were
such as reflected no imputation on his character.
Footnote 24:
Neazballa.
Footnote 25:
Nazir Mahommed held Chittaput, and a small surrounding district, by a
sunnud, or grant, from the Subadar of the Deckan.
Footnote 26:
Mahommed Esoof was best known, in the early part of his career, by the
name of "the Nellore Commandant."
Footnote 27:
Vide Vol. I. p. 402.
Footnote 28:
The six colonels who signed this memorial were, D'Estaing, De
Landivisan, De la Fuère, Breteuil, Verdière, and Crillon. Their names
merit to be recorded. They belonged to the noblest families of their
country; and this act shows their patriotic feeling to have been as
honourable as their birth.
Footnote 29:
1st September, 1758.
Footnote 30:
Letter to Mr. Pigot, 14th August.
Footnote 31:
Ibid.
Footnote 32:
14th August.
Footnote 33:
Nazir Mahommed. I have before adverted to his gallant conduct: vide p.
26.
Footnote 34:
Colonel Lawrence.
Footnote 35:
Almost all communications between Madras and Bengal, at this period,
were by sea, which often occasioned a considerable interval between
the writing and despatch of a letter.
Footnote 36:
21st August, 1759.
Footnote 37:
Mr. Orme appears to have embarked for England about six months after
the date of this letter, but was obliged to leave the ship at the
Cape, being unable, from serious indisposition, to proceed further
until his strength was recruited.—(Letters from Mr. Vansittart to
Clive, 28th June, and 3d July, 1759.)
Footnote 38:
Letter to Sir G. Pocock, 14th August, 1759. A postscript is added to
this letter, of the 26th August; the same date as that to Mr. Orme.
Footnote 39:
This man's name was Gotica; he was uncle to the deposed King of
Tanjore, whom the English had supported in 1749.
Footnote 40:
Col. Kennedy was one of the hostages sent to Tanjore.
Footnote 41:
A breach had been made, but it was not deemed practicable. Two of the
principal French officers, General Saubinet and Count D'Estaing,
strongly advised a storm; deeming the breach, though imperfect, to be
assailable.
Footnote 42:
A considerable body, cavalry and infantry, of Tanjore troops, with
fifty Europeans, and one thousand English sepoys, were engaged in this
attack; which is chiefly remarkable for the attempt made upon the
person of the French General. A body of fifty horsemen advanced, at
daylight, to the French outposts: they inquired for Lally, saying they
wished to take service. They were conducted to the General, who, being
informed of their request, came out from a choultry to speak to them:
at this moment one of the Tanjore horsemen, supposed to be
intoxicated, fired his pistol into a tumbril, which, by its explosion,
gave a general alarm. The leader of the party, observing this, rode at
Lally, who, however, defended himself with a stick, and the man was
shot by an attendant, while the French guard succeeded in repelling a
charge made by his comrades.
Footnote 43:
Orme's History, and Clive's MSS.
Footnote 44:
A species of pulse upon which horses are fed in India.
Footnote 45:
The north-east monsoon commences, on the coast of Coromandel, in the
end of October; and military operations are difficult, and in some
parts almost impracticable, till towards the end of November.
Footnote 46:
Orme, vol. iii. p. 385.
Footnote 47:
Captain Preston's corps was from the garrison of Chingliput.
Footnote 48:
Orme, vol. iii. p. 453.
Footnote 49:
Mr. Vansittart, a member of the Council at Fort St. George, in a
private letter to Clive, dated 2d March, 1759, gives a general account
of Lally's operations, from which the following is an extract:—
"I am very glad," he observes, "to begin with acquainting you
that the siege of Madras is raised. Certainly it was an undertaking
too great for M. Lally's force, and it was undoubtedly a want of
men that obliged him to confine his approaches to so narrow a
front. I will send you a plan of them as soon as I can find one of
our engineers at leisure. The trenches are the weakest that ever
were seen, and yet they pushed them up close under our nose. Three
or four times small detachments sallied, and took possession of the
head of their sap almost without resistance. Our people retired
after destroying a little of the work, and then the enemy returned
and worked on. Their grand battery, the first that they opened,
tore our works a good deal, but our men were active, and got them
repaired in the night. This continued for a few days, but our fire
was not decreased. The enemy then lost all patience, and advanced
with all our defences in good order; when they got to the foot of
the glacis, they erected a battery against the east face of the
north ravelin, but they could never stand there for an hour
together, as we had a heavy fire both on their flank and front. In
three or four days they abandoned that, but still kept pushing on
their sap, and presently got up to the crest of the glacis, where
they erected another battery close to the north-east angle of the
covered way. This cost them very dear, and they well deserved to
suffer; for all our defences were yet perfect, nay, we had more
guns than we had at first.
"For six mornings running they opened this battery at daybreak, and
were obliged in an hour or two to shut up their embrasures. Their
loss there must have been very great; for it was raked from one end
to the other by the flank of the royal bastion, had a front fire
from the north-east bastion, and was overlooked by the demi-bastion
so with musketry, that it was absolutely impossible for a man to
live. At the end of six days they gave it up, and at the same time,
I believe, gave up all hopes of success. It is true they had opened
a narrow passage through the counterscarp of the ditch by a mine,
and had beat down so much clay from the face of the demi-bastion,
that there was a slope which a nimble man might run up, and that is
what M. Lally calls a breach; but his people were wiser than he, if
he proposed to assault it, and they refused. That letter of M.
Lally's is a most curious piece. I am glad it was intercepted, that
he may not say the arrival of the ships obliged him to raise the
siege, and that the officers and men of the garrison may have the
honour they deserve. Their duty was really severe, and what was yet
worse, they had not a safe place to rest in when off duty; for
there is not a bomb-proof lodgement in garrison, except the grand
magazine, and the casemates under the Nabob's bastion, where the
sick and wounded lay. Nevertheless there was a universal
cheerfulness from the beginning to the end; and (what M. Lally so
much expected) a capitulation never entered, I believe, into the
head of any one man in the garrison.
"The enemy retired by the way of Poonamallee, and, by our last
advices, were at Arcot. Our army is just now moving after them. We
had a difficulty to get coolies and bullocks for a camp, by which
many days have been lost. A large body of Mahrattas are upon the
borders of the province: we have made them handsome offers. If they
join us, it will be difficult for the French army to get to
Pondicherry, or if they only stand neuter, Colonel Lawrence will
have no objection to a trial of skill with the Lieutenant-general.
"I should not forget to mention that your old friend the Nellow
Subhadar was of great service during the siege. He brought a large
body of country horse and sepoys from Tanjore and Trichinopoly; and
being joined by Captain Preston with about fifty Europeans from
Chingleput, and afterwards by Major Caillaud, they occasioned a
powerful diversion. The French were obliged four times to send out
considerable detachments; but our people always kept their post,
till a scarcity of provisions forced them to move further off. The
enemy, however, lost many men in these different actions, besides
the hinderance it gave to their work."
Footnote 50:
Mr. Vansittart, in his letter to Clive of the 2d March, 1759 (quoted in
the last note), observes, "I believe I shall be obliged to apply to you
to lay hands upon some of the Chandernagore ladies, in order to exchange
against Mrs. Morse, Mrs. Vansittart, and some others, whom we sent away
in a boat for Sadras, just at the time that M. Lally borrowed that
settlement from the Dutch. They were received by the French officer, and
told they were prisoners. They have been kept there ever since; and two
days after the siege was raised I wrote to M. Lally, desiring he would
let me know his resolutions concerning my family: he sent back the peon
without an answer; nor have I got one yet. All this I could excuse if
they had but been treated with politeness; but it has been far
otherwise, as you will see by a letter I lately received from Mrs.
Vansittart, and which I send enclosed. I beg you will let Carnac explain
it to the French ladies at Bengal, that they may see, with thankfulness,
the different usage they have met with."
Footnote 51:
Mr. Sulivan was Chairman of the Court of Directors.
Footnote 52:
21st February, 1759.
Footnote 53:
6th September, 1759.
Footnote 54:
This advice, as appears from Mr. Vansittart's letter, (note, p. 50.) was
adopted.
Footnote 55:
"Your defence of Madras," Clive observes, in a letter to Mr. Pigot of
the 21st August, 1759, "and your foiling a man of Lally's rank, will
certainly gain you much honour at home; but what affords me most
pleasure is, the principal part you have acted in this famous siege. I
always said my friend would shine whenever an opportunity offered, by
what I saw of his behaviour, some years ago, near Verdiachelum woods."
Footnote 56:
Pondicherry surrendered to Colonel Coote in January, 1761. It had been
blockaded four months before the active operations of the siege, and
there were only two days' provisions for the fighting men when it
surrendered. The gallant regiments of Lorraine and Lally were reduced to
a small number, and these worn out with famine, disease, and
fatigue.—(Orme, vol. iii. p. 722.)
Footnote 57:
Mr. Orme justly remarks, that "if abuse of authority, vexations, and
exactions, are not capital in the jurisprudence of France, they ought
not to have been inserted, as efficacious, in the sentence of death."
The same author informs us that Lally was charged with treason, which
deprived him of the aid of counsel. Among other crimes, this unhappy
commander was accused of selling Pondicherry to the English; and was
believed (so credulous is national vanity) to have betrayed the
interests of his country to promote those of a nation that he hated, and
whom he treated (on all occasions when he had the power) with a severity
hardly consistent with the usage of civilised nations. The haughty
spirit of the veteran was unbroken by the persecution of his enemies.
His conduct throughout his protracted trial was collected, but proud and
indignant. When he heard his sentence he threw up his hands to heaven,
and exclaimed, "Is this the reward of forty-five years' service?" and
snatching a pair of compasses, which lay with maps on his table, struck
it to his breast; but it did not pierce to his heart: he then gave loose
to every execration against his judges and accusers. His scaffold was
prepared, and his execution appointed for the same afternoon. To prevent
him from speaking to the spectators a large gag was put into his mouth
before he was taken out of prison, whence he was carried in a common
cart, and beheaded on the Grève. He perished in the sixty-fifth year of
his age.—(Orme, vol. iii. p. 736.)
Footnote 58:
Voltaire.
Footnote 59:
So high did M. Bussy stand in the public opinion, that when the Nabob
Mohammed Ali wrote Mr. Pigot, the governor of Madras, congratulating him
on the recent victory, he added, that M. Bussy's being taken prisoner
was of itself equal to any victory, and at the same time suggested the
propriety of his being sent to him, when he would take good care of him!
Mohammed Ali even then, after some years' acquaintance with the English,
was astonished that M. Bussy was allowed to go on his parole to
Pondicherry; and as much afterwards, when he heard how well he was
received at Madras by every body there, before his departure for Europe.
D. H.
Footnote 60:
The letters of Clive's agents, also, mention many sums which he appears
to have given and sent to French officers. Mr. Vansittart, writing from
Madras, notices several individuals who have received considerable aid
(two captains one thousand rupees each); stating that they are grateful,
and have every disposition to repay Clive, but no ability; and that he
will lose his money.
Footnote 61:
27th May, 1759.
Footnote 62:
The instructions from the Court of France to Lally had been
intercepted, in which he was directed to destroy such of the British
settlements as fell into his power: in consequence of which the Court
of Directors gave orders to retaliate the same measures upon the
French settlements.—(Orme, vol. iii. p. 726.)
Footnote 63:
Extract from Clive's letter to his agents in England, 25th December,
1758:—"Having granted Stringer Lawrence, Esq., an annuity of 500_l._ per
annum during the term of his natural life, I desire you will pay the
same yearly to him or his order."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAP. X.
While Clive was exulting at the advantages gained over the French in the
Deckan and at Madras, and congratulating himself on the success which had
attended his personal efforts in Bengal, a new and alarming danger arose,
from a quarter altogether unexpected. Accounts had been received that the
Dutch were preparing a strong armament in Batavia: and it was further
added, that its destination was Bengal. To this report Clive at first
refused his belief. Mr. Hastings[64] had written him, that the Nabob was
led from several reasons to suspect that the Dutch were in league with the
Sovereign of Oude, and that the armament at Batavia was meant to
strengthen their factory at Chinsura; but Clive, in his answer to this
letter, did not give credit to the surmise. "Although it will be
necessary," he states[65], "to be upon our guard against the Dutch, yet I
have reason to think that the armament fitted out at Batavia is only
intended to garrison their settlements in Ceylon. Some intelligence lately
received confirms me in this opinion."
It was not easy for Clive, or for any person, to foresee such a course of
measures as the Dutch Government in India adopted at this period of
profound peace between the two nations in Europe. I shall, before
narrating what occurred, take a short review of the conduct of those in
charge of their factory at Chinsura, from the capture of Calcutta till the
period at which we are arrived.
The Dutch at Chinsura had, like others, suffered from Suraj-u-Dowlah, who
had compelled them to pay a fine of five lacs of rupees. This and other
oppressive acts made them rejoice at his downfall, and they addressed to
Clive a letter[66] of congratulation on his success in dethroning that
prince. Nevertheless, they did not recognise Meer Jaffier as Subah of
Bengal; and the consequence was, so hostile a feeling towards them in the
mind of that prince, that it required the continual good offices[67] of
Clive to preserve terms betwixt them. This was not easy; for their not
recognising him was a cause of just and frequent irritation to Meer
Jaffier. Clive notices the subject in a letter[68] to the Dutch Governor,
written in answer to one full of complaints.
"I am well acquainted," he observes, "with your attachment to the English,
and the service you have at all times been ready to show them; but give me
leave to observe, Sir, that good offices have always been reciprocal
between the two nations: and, indeed, this is no more than we mutually owe
each other, considering the close alliance and union of interests that
have so long subsisted between us. It gives me, therefore, much concern
that you should do me the injustice to reproach me with being in any shape
accessory to the obstruction which the Subah has thought proper to lay
upon your trade. I have, indeed, heard him make frequent complaints of the
ill behaviour of your government towards him; and was really much amazed
at his patience, in putting up so long with indignities which you would
not have ventured to offer either to Mohabit Jung[69] or Suraj-u-Dowlah. I
shall not pretend to inquire into your reasons for not acknowledging Meer
Jaffier, in the same manner as the preceding Subahs have always been, more
especially as you cannot be ignorant that he has received his sunnud from
the Mogul; but, for my own part, I cannot conceive how you and your
Council will be able to exculpate yourselves to your superiors for the
present stoppage of their trade, since it appears evident to me that you
have brought it upon yourselves, by your disrespect to a person of his
high station."
The act which gave rise to stopping the trade was one of public disrespect
to the Nabob, to whom the Dutch factory did not even pay the compliment of
a salute, when he passed Chinsura on his way to Calcutta. The mode in
which he resented this insult had its full effect. The Governor and
Council of Chinsura made a very humble apology, which was accepted, and
the prohibition on their commerce removed.
The chief complaints of the Dutch against the English were, the latter
having the monopoly of saltpetre at Patna, and their insisting that Dutch
vessels, coming into the river, should take English pilots. To the first
it was answered, that saltpetre had always been a monopoly, and that,
since the English obtained it, the Dutch had even bought the article
cheaper[70] than they had ever done before. With regard to the insisting
upon no pilot being employed in the river but English, it was stated to be
a measure forced on the Committee of Calcutta, by considerations of their
own safety; and that, until the danger was over, they could not allow
those of any other nation to be employed. These facts should have been
satisfactory to the Dutch, could the Superior Government at Batavia have
been contented to abandon, without a struggle, to another European power
the political pre-eminence in India: calculating, however, upon the
encouragement given them at the court of Moorshedabad, previous to the
expedition to Patna, they determined to make a bold effort to establish
such a force at Chinsura as might enable them to balance the predominating
power of the English in Bengal. I find among Clive's papers an account[71]
of this transaction; and as it exhibits, in a very clear manner, the
progress of this serious difference between the two nations, from its
commencement to its conclusion, I shall insert it at length. It is
entitled "A Narrative of the Disputes with the Dutch in Bengal," and is as
follows:—
"About the month of November, 1758, a prevailing party at the Nabob
Jaffier Aly Khan's Durbar, headed by Meeran his son, had prejudiced him to
look with an evil and jealous eye on the power and influence of the
English in the provinces, and taught him to think and look upon himself as
a cipher, bearing the name of Subah only. From subsequent concurring
circumstances, it must have been at that period, and from this cause,
that, we imagine, a private negotiation was set on foot between the Nabob
and the Dutch, that the latter should bring a military force into the
provinces to join the former, and balance our power and sway. The Dutch,
stimulated by envy at our very advantageous situation, and a sense of
their own very small importance, readily embraced the overture, and hoped
another Plassey affair for themselves.
Actuated by these golden dreams, and encouraged by the absence of our
troops on the Golconda expedition, the Director and his Council at
Chinsura forwarded remonstrances to Batavia, for this purpose, where, by
the event, it appears they had the intended effect. Subsequent to this
private negotiation was the advance of the Shah-Zada, and Governor Clive's
march to Patna in support of the Nabob and his Government, which perfectly
convinced him and his son of our faithfulness, affection, and attachment,
and struck an iniquitous party at the Durbar dumb, who were ever
insinuating to them that the English were aiming to be Subahs of the
country in breach of their treaty.
"Early in August we received advice that a powerful armament was fitting
out and embarking at Batavia, its destination not perfectly known, but
rumoured to be for Bengal. The Governor sent early notice of this to Meer
Jaffier, who immediately sent a Purwannah to the Dutch Governor, a copy of
which he forwarded to Governor Clive, demanding withal, by virtue of the
treaty subsisting with the English, that he should join his forces to
oppose and prevent any foreign troops being brought into his country.
"About this time a Dutch ship arrived in the river with European troops
and buggoses, of which the Governor advised the Nabob, who was much
embarrassed at the news; he, however, despatched a second Purwannah to the
Dutch, and ordered Omarbeg Khan Fouzdaar of Hooghley, immediately to join
the Governor with a body of troops, and repeated his demand of our
assistance, to prevent the Dutch troops or ships advancing up the river.
To the Nabob's first Purwannah, the Dutch sent a reply and solemn promise
of obedience to his orders; to the second, they as solemnly assured him,
the ship which was arrived came in by accident for water and provisions;
that she was drove from her destined port of Nagapatam by stress of
weather, and that she and her troops should leave the river as soon as
they were supplied.
"Notwithstanding these solemn assurances from the Dutch, it was judged
expedient to send a detachment of troops, joined with one of the Subah's,
under the command of the Fouzdaar's officer, to take possession of Tanna
Fort and Charnoc's Battery opposite to it, with orders to stop and search
all boats and vessels that passed, without giving them further
molestation; and parties were likewise sent out on each side of the river
to prevent any foreign troops advancing by land. In consequence of these
orders, every Dutch boat and budgerow was brought to, and those that had
no troops suffered to pass; amongst others, Mynheer Suydland, the Dutch
master-attendant, not only refused for sometime being either brought to or
searched, but struck the commanding officer at Charnoc's Battery. Himself
and another Dutch gentleman with him were made prisoners for a few hours,
until an order from the Governor went down for releasing them and the
budgerow, on board of which were found concealed eighteen buggoses, which
were conducted down under a guard by land, until within sight of their
ship at Fulta, and released. On these transactions, we received very long
remonstrances from the gentlemen at Chinsura, to which we replied, that,
as principals, we had, by the custom and laws of nations, a right to
search all vessels whatever, advancing up this river, not knowing but they
might introduce French troops into the country; and that as auxiliaries to
the Mogul, we were under a necessity, by solemn treaty, to join his
Viceroy in opposing the introduction of any European or foreign troops
whatever into Bengal; and that we should absolutely and religiously do our
duty to the utmost of our strength and power in both capacities.
"Early in October, Jaffier Ally Khan arrived here on a visit to the
Governor. During his stay with us, advice came from below, of the arrival
of six or seven more Dutch capital ships, crammed with soldiers and
buggoses. Now the Dutch mask fell off, and the Nabob (conscious of having
given his assent to their coming, and at the same time of our attachment
and his own unfaithful dealings with us,) was greatly confused and
disconcerted. He, however, seemed to make light of it; told the Governor
he was going to reside three or four days at his Fort of Hooghley, where
he would chastise the insolence and disobedience of the Dutch, and drive
them soon out of the river again.
"On the 19th of October he left Calcutta; and in place of his going to his
Fort at Hooghley, he took up his residence at Cajah Wazeed's garden, about
half way between that and Chinsura; a plain indication that he had no
apprehensions from the Dutch, whom he received there in the most gracious
manner he could, more like friends and allies than as enemies to him and
his country. In three or four days after his departure from Calcutta, the
Governor received a letter from him, wherein he informed him of 'some
indulgence he had granted the Dutch in their trade, and that they had
engaged to leave the river with their ships and troops as soon as the
season would permit.' The season permitting their immediate departure with
the greatest safety and propriety, the last condition in the Nabob's
letter, joined to his whole behaviour, convinced us, that leaving the
river was no part of their intention, but that, on the contrary, they had
his assent to bring up their troops if they could; which Colonel Clive was
determined they should not, as the Nabob had not withdrawn his orders to
oppose them, and in this he was heartily joined by his Council. Ruin to
the Company, if not to the country, must have been the inevitable
consequences of their junction with the troops they had in garrison at
Chinsura; which once accomplished, would have been beyond all doubt
attended with a declaration from the Government in their favour, and as
probably a union between them, which must have ended in our destruction. A
very few days justified our suspicions and resolutions; for in place of
the Dutch leaving the river, we received certain intelligence of their
moving up, and that they were enlisting troops under every denomination,
at Chinsura, Cossimbazar, and Patna, and this plainly with connivance of
the Nabob.
"Whatever may have been the joint or separate views of the Dutch and Nabob
against us, it is most certain they never could have had a more favourable
conjuncture to carry them into execution; for what with the unforeseen and
inevitable long stay of our troops on the Golconda expedition, the
detention on the coast of Coromandel of the forces appointed for this
settlement, and the necessity the Governor was under of leaving a
considerable party at Patna, in May last, our garrison here was
inconsiderable. Our Governor, with indefatigable despatch, made every
necessary disposition to circumvent the designs of our enemies; the
'Calcutta,' 'Duke of Dorset,' and 'Hardwicke' (the only ships we had in
the river), were ordered to proceed immediately to town; the detachments
at Tanna and Charnoc's were strengthened, and heavy cannon mounted at
each, as also on two faces of our new fort commanding the river. The Patna
party was recalled, and the militia put under arms. The Governor wrote
likewise to the Nabob in strong and peremptory terms, to send his son down
with his army to invest Chinsura; but the politics of the Durbar at this
period, we believe, ran counter, where we judge it was determined to let
the English and Dutch weaken and destroy one another, when they would
probably have attempted to reduce both, or join with the strongest.
"Soon as the Dutch thought their schemes ripe for action, they sent us an
immense remonstrance, recapitulating the whole of all their former ones,
and vowing vengeance and reprisals if we persisted in searching their
boats, and obstructing the advance of their troops up the river. To this
we replied, once for all, that we had given no insult to their colours, or
attacked or touched their property, or infringed their privileges; that
with respect to their bringing troops into Bengal, the Nabob knew best how
far it was incumbent on him to preserve the peace and tranquillity of his
country; that their boats had been stopped and searched, and the advance
of their troops opposed, by orders from the Viceroy, and under the Emperor
his master's colours, and by his troops; that they must apply therefore to
him, and that we were ready to interpose our friendly offices to mitigate
his resentment. This, it may be thought, savoured a little of audacity,
but facts vindicated us; as the Fouzdaar had neither withdrawn his troops
(which consisted of four or five hundred horse), nor the Nabob his orders;
and all that was done below was under the Government's colours.
Notwithstanding which, on receipt of the last Dutch remonstrance, we found
our sentiments a good deal embarrassed, doubting whether we should stand
justified to our country and employers, in commencing hostilities against
an ally of England, supposing they should persist in passing the batteries
below with their ships and troops. In this situation, we anxiously wished
the next hour would bring us news of a declaration of war with Holland;
which we had indeed some reason to expect by our last advices from
England. Another strong reason which determined us to oppose them, and on
which subject we had been guarded against by the Court of Directors, who
had intimated that in all likelihood the Dutch would first commence
hostilities against us in India.
"Thus circumstanced, the Dutch themselves removed all our difficulties by
beginning hostilities below, attacking with shot, and seizing seven of our
vessels, grain-boats, &c., tearing down our colours, disembarking our
guns, military stores, &c., from our vessels to their own ships, making
prisoners of the captains, officers, &c. They also began hostilities on
shore in our Purgunnahs off Fulta and Riapore, where they tore down our
colours, and burnt the houses and effects of the Company's tenants in
those parts. Amongst the vessels they attacked and seized was the 'Leopard
Snow,' Captain Barclay, whom we had despatched with expresses to Admiral
Cornish, to hasten his coming to our succour, which we judged would meet
him somewhere on the Arracan coast.
"On this event, we concluded, with the greatest probability, that the
Dutch had received intelligence of a rupture between them and us in
Europe, or that they were sure of the Nabob joining them, or of his
standing neuter at least; and having the utmost reason to suspect the
Nabob's whole conduct, Governor Clive apprised him of the acts of violence
the Dutch had committed below, adding, that as they had commenced actual
war against us, he should judge the quarrel now subsisted between them and
us only, desiring he would leave chastising the Dutch to us, and desist
from sending either his son or any part of his army to our assistance; but
that, if he would convince us of his sincerity and attachment, he should
directly surround their subordinates, and distress them in the country to
the utmost.
"Hitherto we knew not whether the Dutch intended to pass the batteries
with their ships and troops on board, or whether their intention was to
land the latter as high up as they could, and march them over land. The
Governor, however, made the necessary dispositions against both, as far as
our small body of troops would permit, consisting, on the whole, of about
two hundred and forty Europeans of the battalion, about eighty of the
train, and one thousand two hundred sepoys. The best troops and largest
proportion of these, with many volunteers draughted from the militia, and
part of the independent company, formed into a troop of horse, were
stationed at Charnoc's and Tannas under the command of Captain Knox.
Colonel Forde, on account of his ill state of health and dismission from
the service, had returned to us a few days before these troubles; and,
notwithstanding both, most obligingly and readily, at the Governor's
request, took upon him the command of the remaining troops in the
garrison, which marched to the northward the 19th of November; on which
day Mr. Holwell was ordered to take charge of Fort William with the
militia, consisting of about two hundred and fifty Europeans, besides some
of the Portuguese inhabitants; the Governor dividing his attention and
presence between both divisions, those at Charnoc's and those in the
field.
"The first stroke struck against the Dutch, was possessing ourselves of
Barnagore, from whence Colonel Forde passed over the river with his troops
and four field artillery to Serampore, the Danish factory, and marched
towards Chandernagore; not only with a view of striking terror into
Chinsura, but to be ready to intercept the Dutch troops, in case they
should disembark, and attempt to gain that place by land.
"During this period, the Dutch ships kept advancing with their captures
and prisoners, and our three ships in their rear, whose orders were
peremptorily to pass them and station themselves above the batteries,
where fire-boats and every other needful step was taken to destroy the
Dutch ships if they attempted to pass. The Dutch commodore sent two orders
to Commodore Wilson prohibiting his passing their ships, and that if he
attempted it, he would fire upon him.
"On the 21st of November the Dutch armament came to an anchor in Sankeral
Reach, whose point was within the range of our cannon from the batteries.
On the 23d of November they landed on the opposite shore seven hundred
Europeans, and about eight hundred Buggoses, and dropped down with their
ships to Melancholy Point, the lower end of the reach being near where our
three ships lay; of which advice was immediately despatched to Colonel
Forde, with assurance that he should be reinforced with the utmost
expedition by Captain Knox and the parties at the batteries, who were
accordingly recalled. On the 23d, orders were sent to our commodore to
demand immediate restitution of our ships, subjects, and property; or to
fight, sink, burn, and destroy the Dutch ships on their refusal. The next
day the demand was made and refused. True British spirit was manifested on
this occasion. Notwithstanding the inequality (the Dutch having seven to
three, and four of them capital ships,) we attacked them; and after about
two hours' engagement, the Dutch commodore struck, and the rest followed
the example, except his second, who cut and run down as low as Culpee,
when she was stopped short by the 'Oxford' and 'Royal George,' who arrived
two days before, and had our orders to join the other captains. The Dutch
Commodore had about thirty men killed, and many wounded: she suffered the
most amongst them, as did the 'Duke of Dorset' on our side, who was more
immediately engaged with her.
"On the same day (the 24th) Colonel Forde marched from the French gardens
to the northward, intending to encamp between Chandernagore and Chinsura.
In his march through the former, he was attacked by the Dutch with four
pieces of cannon, and the garrison from Chinsura, which had marched out
and lodged themselves in the houses and ruins of Chandernagore, at the
very time the Colonel entered with his troops at the southernmost end.
However, he soon dislodged them from their ambush, took their cannon, and
pursued them with some slaughter to the very barriers of Chinsura, which
he prepared to invest, being now joined by Captain Knox and the troops
from the batteries, and Charnoc's and Tannas.
"The next day Colonel Forde received certain intelligence of the near
approach of the Dutch troops from the ships, who had been, in spite of his
vigilance, joined by part of the garrison from Chinsura. He immediately
marched with two field-pieces, and met them on the plains of Bedarra
(about two coss from Chinsura), where they soon came to an action. The
Dutch were commanded by Colonel Roussel, a French soldier of fortune. They
consisted of near seven hundred Europeans, and as many buggoses, besides
country troops: ours of two hundred and forty infantry, and eighty of the
train, and fifty more Europeans composing the troops of horse,
independents and volunteers, and about eight hundred sepoys. The
engagement was short, bloody, and decisive. The Dutch were put to a total
rout in less than half an hour: they had about one hundred and twenty
Europeans, and two hundred buggoses killed, three hundred and fifty
Europeans and about two hundred Buggoses taken prisoners, with M. Roussel
and fourteen officers, and about one hundred and fifty wounded. Our loss
was inconsiderable. After this action, Colonel Forde returned, sat down
before Chinsura, and wrote for further orders. The Dutch were now as
abject in their submission as they had been insolent in their supposed
superiority. They wrote to Colonel Forde, and likewise to the Board here,
requesting he would cease hostilities and propose terms of amity.
"We judged we had sufficiently chastised and humbled them, without taking
their settlement (which must have surrendered on the first summons), and
agreed to enter on a treaty with them. Deputies were appointed, and things
brought to a speedy and amicable conclusion. They disavowed the
proceedings of their ships below, acknowledged themselves the aggressors,
and agreed to pay costs and damages; on which their ships were delivered
up to them.
"Three days after the battle of Bedarra, the young Nabob, with about six
or seven thousand horse, arrived and encamped within a coss of Chinsura:
this struck the Dutch with the deepest terror. Governor Clive was wrote
to, in the most supplicatory terms, to interpose, and not abandon them to
the violence of the Moors. The Governor interposed, and went directly to
the French gardens, that he might be a nearer check upon the young Nabob,
and prevent his proceeding to extremities with them. His friendly
interposition had its proper effect: the young Nabob received their
deputies; and after severe altercation, forgave them, and promised ample
protection in their trade and privileges, on the following terms:—That
they shall never meditate war, introduce or enlist troops, or raise
fortifications in the country; that they shall be allowed to keep up one
hundred and twenty-five European soldiers, and no more, for the service of
their several factories, of Chinsura, Cossimbazar and Patna; that they
shall forthwith send their ships and remaining troops out of the country;
and that a breach of any one of these articles shall be punished with
utter expulsion. These terms, ratified by the council of Hooghley, and the
Nabob (otherwise) satisfied for the trouble and expense of his march, he
broke up his camp and returned to the city."
"Thus ended an affair which, had the event been different, threatened us
in its consequence with utter destruction; for, had the Dutch gained the
same advantage over us, we have now the most convincing proofs to
conclude, that the remembrance of Amboyna would have been lost in their
treatment of this colony. Mr. Bisdom was in a dying condition during these
whole transactions, and opposed, jointly with Messrs. Zuyaland and
Bachracht, the violence of their proceedings; but they were over-ruled by
the rest of their council, led by Messrs. Vernet and Schevichaven, two men
of desperate fortunes and violent and evil principles, who, we doubt not,
will pay severely for their imprudence."
"There appears every reason to conclude from this narrative, as well as
from other accounts, that Meer Jaffier had originally given countenance to
an intrigue with the Dutch, carried on through Cajah Wazeed[72]; but there
can be no doubt that the conduct of Clive, on the subsequent invasion of
the Shah-Zada, had made a change in his sentiments. He readily, therefore,
gave the requisite orders to the Dutch, forbidding them to land any
troops. 'He declared to me,' Mr. Hastings[73] writes to Clive, 'that if
they brought any armed force into his country, he would look upon them as
enemies, and treat them accordingly.'"
Notwithstanding these professions, when the Dutch armament arrived with a
European force superior to that of the English, the Nabob appeared to
falter in his resolution. He had paid Clive a visit at Calcutta, and on
his return (as stated in the narrative) saw the principal persons of the
Dutch settlement at Chinsura; but instead of commanding them to send away
their ships (as he had promised) he treated them with such marked favour
and distinction, that Mr. Hastings, who accompanied him, wrote Clive[74],
that every day's transactions confirmed him more and more in his opinion,
that the Nabob was acting a treacherous part.
This communication, added to some suspicious circumstances, determined
Clive to take the strongest measures, with the primary view of recalling
the Nabob to a better understanding of his own interests; and, if that
failed, of counteracting his evil designs. He wrote to Mr. Amyate[75] to
acquaint Ram Narrain of the situation in which affairs stood, that he
might be prepared to act, if occasion required. He also directed Mr. Sykes
to seize the persons of Cajah Wazeed and his son before they reached
Moorshedabad, to which they were proceeding; having had full proof of
their combination with the enemies of the English. Cajah Wazeed has been
before mentioned as the agent of the French. He had for a period
transferred his allegiance to the English; but disappointed of the high
reward he anticipated, had subsequently directed all his influence and
ability (which were considerable) to their overthrow, through the means of
their European rivals. When the French cause appeared hopeless, he had
attached himself to the Dutch, and was no doubt the principal agent of all
their intrigues at the Court of Moorshedabad. The strongest presumptive
proof of Meer Jaffier's concern in this plot, was, the favour and
distinction with which he had recently treated Cajah Wazeed. Though that
person was employed by the Dutch, he was the subject of Meer Jaffier, who,
both on that account, and from his partiality to the man, was likely to
resent his seizure as an indignity and insult. Clive was quite aware of
this feeling, but he thought himself justified by the emergency of the
case. He expected that one of the effects of this decided measure would be
to alarm the Nabob in such a degree, as to arrest his progress in any plan
hostile to the English, in which he might have engaged; and, to add to
this effect, he wrote to Meer Jaffier, disclaiming all future connection
with him, unless he changed his course of action. Clive's object,
throughout this affair, was not to inculpate the Nabob, but to save him
from the consequences of his weakness and want of faith. With a thorough
knowledge of his character, he addressed himself to his fears, and the
result proved the correctness of his judgment. Mr. Hastings writes from
Moorshedabad on the 18th of November:—
"The particulars of my conversation with the old Nabob," he observes, "I
will acquaint you with, after I have seen him again to-morrow. He appeared
(and I am convinced was) extremely disturbed in mind, during the whole
time I was with him. He changed colour upon the receipt of your letter;
and when he had read it, he turned to me and told me, that you had broke
off all connection with him. He declared himself innocent of any deceitful
intention towards you, and offered to give every proof that you could
require of his friendship and sincerity."
In his letter of the 21st of November, Mr. Hastings observes, "Every thing
goes on in this quarter as it ought. The Nabob appears as zealous in the
cause as he was before remiss in it, nor will, I hope, give you any
further cause for complaining, at least in this affair. He has desired me
to endeavour to accommodate the misunderstanding which has risen betwixt
you and him, which office I cannot undertake more effectually than by
assuring you, that I do believe him now to be sincere. I have already
acquainted you fully with what has lately passed, nor need I trouble you
with a repetition of it. The Chuta Nabob[76] has lately written to me upon
the same subject, and has called upon Mr. Sykes and myself to declare how
earnest he was, from the beginning of these troubles, to join you, which I
know to be fact (so far as his word in that instance could be credited),
and Mr. Sykes' letters to you will sufficiently testify the same.
"The firmness which you have shown, and your resentment of the Nabob's
cold behaviour, have had every effect that could be wished for; and pardon
me, Sir, if I offer it as my opinion, that it would be proper so far to
change the style of your letters, as to show that you are satisfied with
his present conduct. The Nabob really wants that encouragement: whenever
you forsake him, his ruin will be inevitable; and he must shut his eyes
against the most glaring conviction, if he does not perceive it himself."
The only subject of complaint Meer Jaffier had now left was the seizure of
Cajah Wazeed, which he was too conscious indicated suspicion of himself.
Mr. Hastings, referring to this feeling, writes to Clive[77]:—
"I had a long conversation with the Nabob yesterday morning; the
particulars I need not acquaint you with, as it consisted of little more
than a repetition of his complaint of the distrust you have shown him. He
mentioned the affair of Cajah Wazeed yesterday, for the first time. I
excused your proceedings therein, from the necessity there was of seizing
him immediately, as he was the prime instigator of these troubles; and it
appeared from the long consultation held between him and the Dutch, the
evening before his departure, and their letter of defiance immediately
following it, that he was going up to strengthen their cause at the city,
where the Nabob was sensible he had many enemies. I added, that though it
was no time to stand upon the strictness of ceremony, when the enemy were
almost at our gates, yet that you had only given orders that Cajah Wazeed
should be seized on the way; but that no attempt should be made upon him,
if he was arrived within the districts of the city of Moorshedabad.
"I believe he was not satisfied with my reasons: he ascribed this event
entirely to your suspicions of himself, which I did not attempt to deny.
"The enclosed letter is in answer to your last. This is the last letter
the Nabob will write, till he hears what your present sentiments are with
respect to himself."
Clive, on receiving these assurances, readily forgave what had passed; and
the Nabob showed every disposition to give his aid. A few of his troops
co-operated in the attack upon the Dutch, but the young Nabob did not
arrive at Hooghley till after the armament had been destroyed.[78]
The strength of the small force which Clive had with him on this occasion
is stated in the narrative. It was divided into parties; some of which
were directed to stop and search the boats of the Dutch coming up the
river, and others to intercept any small bodies of men that might attempt
to reach Chinsura by land. Every line of orders or instructions on this
delicate and alarming occasion appears to have been written by Clive
himself. He, indeed, had at first no person of any distinction to aid him,
till Colonel Forde arrived from Masulipatam. This officer was in bad
health; and accounts had reached Bengal that the Directors had not
confirmed his nomination to the service; but neither indisposition, nor
disgust at this treatment, prevented him from offering his valuable
services to his friend and patron, at a crisis when they were so much
required. His skill and gallantry were alike conspicuous in attacking and
defeating so superior a force. This is shown by the narrative. According
to other accounts, his success was greatly to be attributed to the
position of the enemy at the period of the attack. It is stated upon good
authority, that foreseeing this advantage, but acting with the caution
which the attack upon the troops of a European nation not in a state of
war required, Colonel Forde wrote a note, stating, "that if he had the
Order in Council, he could attack the Dutch, with a fair prospect of
destroying them." Clive, to whom this note was addressed, received it when
playing at cards. Without quitting the table, he wrote an answer in
pencil, "Dear Forde, fight them immediately. I will send you the Order of
Council to-morrow."
Clive appears to have been upon the best footing with several of the
principal inhabitants of Chinsura, particularly their Governor, Mr. Adrian
Bisdom, who, though his name (as he stated) was often and freely used, had
been throughout hostile to the violent proceedings of his countrymen. We
find, indeed, in his letters during these differences, a tone of deep
regret at the violent measures resorted to by both parties, mixed with the
strongest expressions of personal regard for Clive, and gratitude for his
kindness both in his private and official station.[79] We discovered,
also, from his letters to Clive[80], that the large remittances the latter
had made through Batavia or Holland were not settled, and that the Dutch
East India Company were discontented, and had deferred the payment of the
bills, expressing their displeasure at the terms their local government
had granted. The conduct Clive pursued towards their armament was not
likely to make them view any transaction in which he was concerned in a
more favourable light; but the thoughts of himself, or his fortune, had no
weight in a question where the interests of his country were so deeply
involved.
A more critical situation than that in which Clive was placed by the
arrival of the Dutch armament can hardly be conceived. The responsibility
he took upon himself, in determining to oppose it, was great; but his mind
never faltered when the public welfare was to be promoted by his personal
hazard. When some of his friends remonstrated with him on the danger which
he incurred, in opposing, during the existence of peace, the passage of
the armament of a friendly power up the Ganges, he is said to have
answered, that "a public man may occasionally be called upon to act with a
halter round his neck." The inadequacy of his means was to him the most
appalling circumstance; but this was remedied by the wisdom of his plans,
and the vigour of their execution. The moderation he showed after victory
was calculated to allay, as far as possible, that feeling of hostility
which these proceedings must have excited. A very minute investigation of
the whole subject took place in Europe: but the Dutch Local Government, in
the treaty into which they entered with the English, had acknowledged
themselves the aggressors, and Clive had been so cautious in every step he
took, that his conduct could not be impugned; and he received, as he
merited, unqualified approbation for this last act of his government,
which terminated, as it was meant to do, all attempts of the Dutch to
rival the political power of the English in Bengal. Their views in that
country were thenceforward limited to objects of commerce.
By the events (A. D. 1759) narrated in the preceding chapter, Mahommed Ali
Khan, whom the Government of Fort St. George had so long supported, became
the undisputed Nabob of the Carnatic. Salabut Jung, the Soubahdar of the
Deckan, had entered into an alliance with the Company; and his brother
Nizam Ali, who was rising rapidly into power, was most favourably disposed
to cultivate their friendship.
The affairs of the small but important settlement of Bombay appeared as
prosperous as those of Madras. Surat, one of the principal sea-ports and
richest towns on the western side of India, had fallen into decay, as the
power of the Mogul government declined. This city, independent of its
wealth, had great value with the Mahommedans, from being the port at which
the pilgrims annually assembled on their way to the sacred tombs of their
prophet or of his descendants. The Emperor furnished the vessel which
conveyed to Jidda (a port in the Red Sea) those pilgrims who went to
Mecca. The convoy of this vessel, as well as the protection of the
commerce of Surat, had been for some time intrusted to the chief of
Jinjeera, who was styled the Admiral of the Emperor, and had, in virtue of
that office, an assignment on the revenues of Surat, amounting to the sum
of three lacs of rupees per annum. On the ground of this amount not being
regularly paid Seedee Massoud, the ruling chief of Jinjeera, had first
seized the castle of Surat, and afterwards greatly encroached upon the
other local authorities of that place. He died in 1756; and his son not
only retained this usurpation, but demanded one third of the revenues of
the city; another third was paid to the Mahrattas, as the price of their
abstaining from hostilities, and the remaining third was divided among
those officers who governed in the name of the Emperor of Delhi.
This division of authority, together with the intrigues and disputes to
which it gave rise, was ruinous to the prosperity of the town, and
attended with continual alarm and danger to the inhabitants. The English
factory, which had been settled at Surat for a century and a half,
suffered considerably during this distracted state of affairs, and the
Government of Bombay, consequently, listened with approbation to an
overture made by the principal officers and merchants of Surat, inviting
them to take the castle, to expel the Seedee, and on receiving an
assignment of two lacs of rupees, to become the future protectors of the
commerce of the port. An expedition was sent, which, after a short
opposition from the Seedee, completely succeeded; and the garrison of the
castle were compelled to surrender to the English, who acted throughout
with the sanction and aid of the officers of the Emperor.
An account of the events which had occurred was sent by Mr. Spencer (the
chief of Surat) to Delhi; from whence he obtained sunnuds[81], or deeds,
appointing the English Company governors of Surat Castle, and admirals of
the Emperor's fleet, and granting them an assignment upon the revenues of
the city for two lacs of rupees per annum.
These events added both to the strength and the fame of the settlement of
Bombay, and rendered it better able to cope with its predatory neighbours
the Mahrattas. The principal chiefs of that nation, however, were at this
period more occupied with the affairs of the northern than of the western
parts of India.
Alumgeer the Second was still the Emperor of Delhi; but he continued a
prisoner in the hands of his ambitious minister, who, himself surrounded
by Mahratta armies, and expecting another invasion of the Affghauns,
exercised but a precarious authority. The Shah-Zada was still in a state
of hostility; and having lately received countenance from the ruler of
Oude, he again threatened with invasion the territories of Bahar. This
danger would not appear to have been considered serious by Clive: but he
was very uneasy regarding the internal state of Bengal; and the last
months of his stay in India were devoted to arrangements for securing its
tranquillity.
The treasury of the Nabob had been exhausted by the great sums he had paid
as the price of his elevation. His extravagance, that of his son, and,
above all, the maintenance of large bodies of useless troops, aggravated
his distress. The slave of habit, and devoid of energy, Meer Jaffier was
incapable of remedying his condition, which became daily more
embarrassing. The conduct of his son, also, alarmed him; and from his
communications to Mr. Hastings, it evidently appeared that he sometimes
thought the impatient ambition of Meeran would lead him to accelerate, by
an act of violence, the hour of his succession. Yet, notwithstanding the
urgent advice of Clive[82], he would neither diminish the troops of his
son, nor cease to employ him in situations which were calculated to
increase his influence, and add to his power. The Nabob disliked the
superiority and influence of Clive, but he certainly was personally
attached to him.[83] He regarded him with the same dread and apprehension
which a wayward scholar bears his preceptor. Though he feared his anger,
he had complete reliance on his justice and good faith, and from habit
looked to him with hopes of every consideration that was possible for his
errors and weakness. With such sentiments, he was alarmed at the near
prospect of Clive's departure; and his feeling affords strong presumptive
proof, that, into whatever intrigues or plots Jaffier had been hurried or
led, he could not, at this period, have deliberately contemplated any plan
of hostility against the English power. If he had harboured any such
scheme, it is quite evident that Clive's quitting the scene was the only
event that could give it the least prospect of success.
The chief cause which alarmed Meer Jaffier and other natives of rank at
the intended departure of Clive was the fear of his successor not
exercising the same authority in checking and controlling the subordinate
officers of their government. They feared, and with reason, that spirit of
contemptuous superiority, which the extraordinary and sudden rise of the
English in Bengal had engendered among many of the Europeans in the
service of the Company, and still more the assumed influence and power of
the natives in their employment.
The Nabob and his chief managers had, notwithstanding Clive's efforts, too
great reason to complain of the insolent pretensions and fraudulent
practices of Gomastahs (or agents) employed by the gentlemen in office at
Calcutta, and in different parts of the country. Many of Clive's public
and private letters convey his sentiments very strongly upon this subject;
and from one of them we learn, that he had punished most severely a native
in his own service, for using his name as a sanction to some abuses. This
afforded him an opportunity, of which he availed himself, of stating to
the Committee of Fort William, the great importance of continued and
vigilant attention to a point, upon which the temper and good feeling of
their ally and his principal subjects must so much depend.
The alarm at Clive's return to England was not limited to the natives: all
the first civil servants, Mr. Amyatt, Mr. Holwell, Mr. Sykes, Mr.
Hastings, and many others, entreated him to remain some time longer. Their
sentiments are nearly similar. I shall, therefore, content myself with
stating those reasons which Mr. Hastings brought forward in support of his
arguments on this subject.
"I own," Mr. Hastings observes[84], "with great concern I learnt that your
resolution is fixed to return this season to Europe. The disinterested
regard which, without fearing the imputation of flattery, I may declare
you have ever shown for the Company's welfare, convinces me, that you
would not have determined upon this step, were it in the least respect
inconsistent with that principle. Yet permit me, Sir, upon this occasion,
to lay before you such consequences as, from my little experience of the
Durbar affairs, I apprehend may attend your absence.
"I am, and always have been, of opinion, that the Nabob is, both by
interest and inclination, heartily attached to the English; but I think it
as certain that the people about him, especially his Muttaseddies[85] and
the Seits, who are evidently great sufferers by the large acquisitions of
power which the English have obtained in this Government, would gladly use
every possible means to alienate his affections from us. At present, the
personal obligations which he confessedly lies under to you are sufficient
to intimidate them from any open attempts against us; but as your absence
will encourage these people to throw off the mask, and the Nabob is but of
an irresolute and unsettled temper, I don't think it possible that he can
hold out against the united influence of so many evil counsellors, as will
be perpetually instilling into his mind the necessity of reducing the
English power. I am the more apprehensive of their success, from the
expressions which he has frequently made use of, before the late attempt
of the Shah-Zada, intimating that he knew nobody amongst the English but
yourself to whom he had any obligations, and that nothing but his
friendship for you restrained him from retaliating the many insults which
he pretended to have received from the English.
"As there is nobody to succeed you with the same influence, and other
advantages which you possess, nothing but a large military force will
secure our privileges from being encroached upon, as soon as you quit the
country; not to mention the dangers we are threatened with from our
natural enemies the French, which, by your resignation of the service,
will be doubled upon us, and in which it is very probable the Nabob will
stand neuter. I believe I mentioned to you already, that, in conversation
with one of the Nabob's principal confidants, a day or two before I went
down to Calcutta, he inadvertently dropped, that the French had made some
overtures towards an accommodation with the Nabob through his means, and
seemed, by his discourse, to wish that it might be brought about; but
whether he spoke his own sentiments only, or the Nabob's, I could not
judge, as he would not explain himself further upon the subject. This
much, indeed, he added, that the proposal was at that time rejected. I do
not advance this as an argument that the Nabob is inclinable to favour the
French; but I think it would not be difficult to persuade him, that it
would be for his interest to suffer the French to come into his country
again, both for the increase of his revenues (a very prevailing argument)
and to balance the power of the English; and with regard to his engagement
by the treaty to succour the English against their enemies; I don't
apprehend it will be any further binding, than as it is for his advantage
to abide by it.
"Of the great consequence which a junction of the country forces would
prove to us in case of an invasion from the French, I would not presume to
say any thing in an address to you. If the French attempt any thing
against Bengal before your departure, I think I can answer for the Nabob's
readiness to assist you against them; but that he will exert himself as
zealously in our favour when you are gone, I greatly doubt.
"I know not in what light you may regard the proposal lately made from
Delhi, or whether the consideration of the further advantages that may
result from a nearer connection with that Court (in which your
intervention appears of indispensable necessity) deserve to be thrown into
the scale; though I must own it is my opinion, that nothing can contribute
so much to establish the power of the English in this country on the most
solid and lasting foundation as an interest properly established at that
Court.
"Such other arguments as might be produced for the necessity of your stay,
till affairs are a little more settled in this country, not coming
properly under my province, I shall pass over; nor should I have troubled
you with so much on this subject, but that, as these reflections have been
suggested to me by my particular employ at the Durbar, I thought they
might not so readily occur to, or carry the same weight with, any other
person; to which I may add, that, as I have in common with the whole
settlement an interest in your stay amongst us, I have a particular one
from the difficulties which I well foresee will attend me in my present
situation, as soon as I lose your influence."
Clive's correspondence at this period contains the fullest evidence, that,
independently of other motives, one great object of his return to England
was the hope of being able, by his personal representations and influence,
to obtain the adoption of measures which he thought calculated to preserve
India. He desired to obtain for the Governors of the three Presidencies
commissions from his Majesty as Major-Generals, in order that their
superior rank might put an end to the pretensions and independent powers
of his Majesty's officers, which had been found, on some occasions,
seriously to impede and injure the public service. He was also anxious, as
he stated in several letters, to arrive in England before peace was
concluded with France.
Writing to Mr. Vansittart upon these subjects, he observes[86], "All
things considered, my design is to get with the utmost expedition to
England. Supposing I set out in January, I may arrive the beginning of
May; and an answer to my proposals may come to hand the end of the same
year. My intention is to get you fixt in this government, and to have
Forde and Caillaud at the head of the military; and, if possible, to
prevail on the Directors" (for it entirely depends upon them) "to apply to
his Majesty for commissions of Major-Generals for the Governors, for the
time being, of the three Presidencies. If my interest prevails, I flatter
myself I shall have rendered the Company more service by my return to
England than by my stay in Bengal. If a peace should be on the tapis, I
may be of some use likewise; for convinced I am the Directors are not
masters sufficiently of the subject, and will probably conclude a peace in
Europe, which cannot possibly be abided by in the East Indies."
I shall, hereafter, have occasion to show the correctness of his
conjectures, with respect to the benefit which might be derived from his
presence in England on the expected occurrence of a peace with France.
To understand the causes of the contradictory orders from England, which
weakened and distracted the governments in India, it will be necessary to
take a short view of the actual state of the Court of Directors, and of
that of the proprietors at this period.
Mr. Payne was Chairman, and at the head of the majority by whom the
government of rotation was first appointed. To judge from the facts before
us, and, indeed, from his published narratives, we should believe Mr.
Holwell to have been the person who first suggested this expedient. He had
proceeded to England soon after he was released by Suraj-u-Dowlah; and his
claims and sufferings appear to have made a considerable impression upon
many of the Directors. Still he was too young a servant to be nominated
governor; but the plan of the rotation government gave him a share of that
dignity which he could not hope to hold alone; and he himself informs us,
that the Directors, after protracted discussions upon this subject, agreed
unanimously[87] in the scheme of vesting the government of Bengal in four
of their servants, Messrs. Watts, Manningham, Becher, and Holwell; but
this resolution, as stated at the period, was only intended as a temporary
measure.
A general reform of the settlement of Fort William was subsequently taken
into consideration, and a plan was adjusted at various meetings, at which
none were present but the two Chairmen, the Secretary, and Mr.
Holwell.[88]
About this period, violent opposition arose to the Chairman and his
friends, headed by his deputy Mr. Lawrence Sulivan, Mr. Stephen Law, and
several men of talent. This party were indefatigable in their exertions;
and, although they were a minority in the Court of Directors, they had
great influence with the Proprietors. They early declared themselves
decidedly hostile to the continuance of the rotation government; and when
the accounts of Clive's successes led to his nomination, Mr. Sulivan
proposed that a resolution should be added, to the following effect:—
"That the important changes in their affairs in Bengal, made the expedient
of the rotation no longer needful, but that Mr. Watts should be appointed
to succeed the Colonel."
After a debate on this question, in which the opposing parties were very
violent, Colonel Clive was nominated, but to be succeeded, on leaving
India, by the rotation government; and the proposed reforms in the
government of Fort William were directed to be carried into execution. The
minority, undismayed by their defeat, had recourse to the General Court,
and carried by their influence the proposition,—
"That the rotation of four should be abolished, and the government of
Bengal be conducted by a single Governor and Council as heretofore."
The Court of Proprietors, at the same time that it came to this
resolution, declared it had no intention of interfering with the
appointment of the Governor and Council, which belonged wholly to the
Court of Directors; in which this subject gave rise to further
discussions. The names of Mr. Watts and Mr. Holwell were brought forward
as successors to Clive; and the majority being in favour of the latter, he
was elected. This choice was no sooner made than the Chairman read a
letter he had previously received from Mr. Holwell, requesting, should he
be elected, to decline the station in favour of Mr. Manningham, who was
(he stated) senior, and whose claims were so great, that, if he were
superseded, he would in all likelihood retire; and his loss would be
seriously injurious to the public service.
Those who opposed Mr. Holwell's elevation gave him little credit for this
display of self-denial. It was certain, they alleged, that Mr. Manningham
was on the eve of his return to England, and that Mr. Holwell, if
appointed his successor, would have both the station, and the merit of
having waived his own pretensions in favour of a much older and more
deserving public servant. Whatever were his motives, his suggestion was
attended to. Mr. Manningham was (in the event of Clive's leaving India)
nominated Governor; and Mr. Holwell and Mr. Becher were appointed to be,
in their turn, his successors. Affairs continued in this state until the
general election of Directors in April, 1758, when the minority brought
forward a list of Directors in opposition to that of the majority, or
house-list. A violent contest arose, but the ballot terminated in favour
of the late minority; whose friends in the new direction outnumbered their
opponents. From this date, Mr. Sulivan, who became Chairman, acquired an
influence and power in the India House which he long maintained. He was,
at this period, greatly indebted to Clive, who gave him all his support,
believing him, from his talents and his former residence in India, more
fitted than any of his competitors for the management of the affairs of
the Company.
Writing to Mr. S. Law[89] on this subject, he observes:—
"It has given me much pleasure to hear Mr. Sulivan is at the head of the
Direction. Much more may be expected from one who has laid the foundation
of his knowledge in India, than from those who have no experience but what
they have pick't up in the city of London."
Clive, writing to Mr. Smyth King[90], ascribes the fall of Mr. Payne's
party to their "endeavours to keep up that absurd system (as he justly
terms it) of the rotation;" and in the same letter he says, "I have to
request you will support Mr. Sulivan as far as your interest goes; he
shall have all mine, because I am persuaded his endeavours are used for
the good of the service."
In almost all his letters[91] of this period to his friends in England, he
urges the same request, and upon the same grounds. He could, at this time,
have little anticipation, that he was strengthening the man, who was
hereafter to prove the most violent and powerful of all the assailants of
his fame and fortune.
When Mr. Sulivan had gained the ascendancy, his first measure was to stop
the vessels under despatch, and to change the commission of Government,
and indeed to annul all the appointments of his predecessor. Colonel Clive
was re-appointed Governor; Mr. Watts second and successor; after him,
Major Kilpatrick and nine other members of Council, who were to succeed
according to their seniority. Mr. Holwell was no more than fifth on this
list; but, by death and the departure for England of those above him, he
became, when Clive left India, the person to succeed him.
The Directors, in the contests and changes which have been described, were
believed to be as much (if not more) governed by personal attachments and
resentments, as by considerations of duty. The public clamour was loud
against them; and when, after stopping the ships, they applied for convoy,
Lord Anson (then at the head of the Admiralty) told them[92], "that in
place of labouring for the interest of the Company and the nation, their
sole aim seemed to be gratifying their private resentments, distressing
His Majesty's service, and embroiling their constituents' affairs."
The mind of Clive was naturally much occupied in devising the best means
of preserving to his country the valuable possessions in India which he
had been so greatly instrumental in acquiring. After what has been stated
of the conduct of the Court of Directors, it is not surprising that he
should have come to a conclusion, that the India Government in England, in
its actual condition, was incompetent to the large and increasing duties
which it had to perform. With regard to Bengal, while he saw no stability
in the administration of Meer Jaffier, a vision of its future greatness
was before him; and he submitted his thoughts upon this subject in a
letter to Mr. Pitt, whom alone, among the Ministers of England, he
considered competent to comprehend all the points and interests of this
important question. The following is his letter to that great statesman:—
"To the Right Hon. William Pitt,
"One of His Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State.
"Sir,
"Suffer an admirer of yours at this distance to congratulate
himself on the glory and advantage which are likely to accrue to
the nation by your being at its head, and at the same to return
his most grateful thanks for the distinguished manner you have
been pleased to speak of his successes in these parts, far indeed
beyond his deservings.
"The close attention you bestow on the affairs of the British
nation in general has induced me to trouble you with a few
particulars relative to India, and to lay before you an exact
account of the revenues of this country, the genuineness whereof
you may depend upon, as it has been faithfully extracted from the
Minister's books.
"The great revolution that has been effected here by the success
of the English arms, and the vast advantages gained to the
Company by a treaty concluded in consequence thereof, have, I
observe, in some measure, engaged the public attention; but much
more may yet in time be done, if the Company will exert
themselves in the manner the importance of their present
possessions and future prospects deserves. I have represented to
them in the strongest terms the expediency of sending out and
keeping up constantly such a force as will enable them to embrace
the first opportunity of further aggrandising themselves; and I
dare pronounce, from a thorough knowledge of this country
government[93], and of the genius of the people, acquired by two
years' application and experience, that such an opportunity will
soon offer. The reigning Subah, whom the victory at Plassey
invested with the sovereignty of these provinces, still, it is
true, retains his attachment to us, and probably, while he has no
other support, will continue to do so; but Musselmans are so
little influenced by gratitude, that should he ever think it his
interest to break with us, the obligations he owes us would prove
no restraint: and this is very evident from his having lately
removed his Prime Minister, and cut off two or three principal
officers, all attached to our interest, and who had a share in
his elevation. Moreover, he is advanced in years; and his son is
so cruel, worthless a young fellow, and so apparently an enemy to
the English, that it will be almost unsafe trusting him with the
succession. So small a body as two thousand Europeans will secure
us against any apprehensions from either the one or the other;
and, in case of their daring to be troublesome, enable the
Company to take the sovereignty upon themselves.
"There will be the less difficulty in bringing about such an
event, as the natives themselves have no attachment whatever to
particular princes; and as, under the present Government, they
have no security for their lives or properties, they would
rejoice in so happy an exchange as that of a mild for a despotic
Government: and there is little room to doubt our easily
obtaining the Moghul's sunnud (or grant) in confirmation thereof,
provided we agreed to pay him the stipulated allotment out of the
revenues, viz. fifty lacs annually. This has, of late years, been
very ill-paid, owing to the distractions in the heart of the
Moghul Empire, which have disabled that court from attending to
their concerns in the distant provinces: and the Vizier has
actually wrote to me, desiring I would engage the Nabob to make
the payments agreeable to the former usage; nay, further:
application has been made to me from the Court of Delhi, to take
charge of collecting this payment, the person entrusted with
which is styled the King's Dewan, and is the next person both in
dignity and power to the Subah. But this high office I have been
obliged to decline for the present, as I am unwilling to occasion
any jealousy on the part of the Subah; especially as I see no
likelihood of the Company's providing us with a sufficient force
to support properly so considerable an employ, and which would
open a way for securing the Subahship to ourselves. That this
would be agreeable to the Moghul can hardly be questioned, as it
would be so much to his interest to have these countries under
the dominion of a nation famed for their good faith, rather than
in the hands of people who, a long experience has convinced him,
never will pay him his proportion of the revenues, unless awed
into it by the fear of the Imperial army marching to force them
thereto.
"But so large a sovereignty may possibly be an object too
extensive for a mercantile Company; and it is to be feared they
are not of themselves able, without the nation's assistance, to
maintain so wide a dominion. I have therefore presumed, Sir, to
represent this matter to you, and submit it to your
consideration, whether the execution of a design, that may
hereafter be still carried to greater lengths, be worthy of the
Government's taking it into hand. I flatter myself I have made it
pretty clear to you, that there will be little or no difficulty
in obtaining the absolute possession of these rich kingdoms; and
that with the Moghul's own consent, on condition of paying him
less than a fifth of the revenues thereof. Now I leave you to
judge, whether an income yearly of upwards of two millions
sterling, with the possession of three provinces abounding in the
most valuable productions of nature and of art, be an object
deserving the public attention; and whether it be worth the
nation's while to take the proper measures to secure such an
acquisition,—an acquisition which, under the management of so
able and disinterested a minister, would prove a source of
immense wealth to the kingdom, and might in time be appropriated
in part as a fund towards diminishing the heavy load of debt
under which we at present labour. Add to these advantages the
influence we shall thereby acquire over the several European
nations engaged in the commerce here, which these could no longer
carry on but through our indulgence, and under such limitations
as we should think fit to prescribe. It is well worthy
consideration, that this project may be brought about without
draining the mother country, as has been too much the case with
our possessions in America. A small force from home will be
sufficient, as we always make sure of any number we please of
black troops, who, being both much better paid and treated by us
than by the country powers, will very readily enter into our
service. Mr. Walsh, who will have the honour of delivering you
this, having been my Secretary during the late fortunate
expedition, is a thorough master of the subject, and will be able
to explain to you the whole design, and the facility with which
it may be executed, much more to your satisfaction, and with
greater perspicuity, than can possibly be done in a letter. I
shall therefore only further remark, that I have communicated it
to no other person but yourself; nor should I have troubled you,
Sir, but from a conviction that you will give a favourable
reception to any proposal intended for the public good.
"The greatest part of the troops belonging to this establishment
are now employed in an expedition against the French in the
Deckan; and, by the accounts lately received from thence, I have
great hopes we shall succeed in extirpating them from the
province of Golconda, where they have reigned lords paramount so
long, and from whence they have drawn their principal resources
during the troubles upon the coast.
"Notwithstanding the extraordinary effort made by the French in
sending out M. Lally with a considerable force the last year, I
am confident, before the end of this, they will be near their
last gasp in the Carnatic[94], unless some very unforeseen event
interpose in their favour. The superiority of our squadron, and
the plenty of money and supplies of all kinds which our friends
on the coast will be furnished with from this province, while the
enemy are in total want of every thing, without any visible means
of redress, are such advantages as, if properly attended to,
cannot fail of wholly effecting their ruin in that as well as in
every other part of India.
"May the zeal and the vigorous measures, projected for the
service of the nation, which have so eminently distinguished your
ministry, be crowned with all the success they deserve, is the
most fervent wish of him who is, with the greatest respect,
"Sir,
"Your most devoted humble servant,
(Signed) "ROB^T. CLIVE.
"Calcutta,
"7th January, 1759."
The reader will, no doubt, be curious to learn Mr. Pitt's sentiments on
this very remarkable letter, and fortunately the means are preserved of
gratifying so natural a curiosity. Mr. Walsh, by whom the letter was
sent, on the 26th of November, 1759, gives Clive an account of his
interview with Mr. Pitt. That great minister, while he acknowledged the
practicability of the plan, was aware of the difficulties that attended
its principle and details. "It was not till six days ago that I had
admittance to Mr. Pitt. He had made one or two appointments, but was
obliged by business to postpone them, for certainly he has an infinite
deal on his hands. He received me with the utmost politeness, and we had
a _tête-à-tête_ for an hour and a quarter, of which I will endeavour to
sum up the particulars. He began by mentioning how much he was obliged
to you, for the marks you had given him of your friendship; and then
began on the subject of your letter. I said I was apprehensive, from my
not having had the honour to speak with him before, that he looked upon
the affair as chimerical: he assured me, not at all, but very
practicable; but that it was of a very nice nature. He mentioned the
Company's charter not expiring these twenty years; that upon some late
transactions it had been inquired into, whether the Company's conquests
and acquisitions belonged to them or the Crown, and the Judges seemed to
think to the Company. He spoke this matter a little darkly, and I cannot
write upon it with precision: he said the Company were not proper to
have it, nor the Crown, for such a revenue would endanger our liberties;
and that you had shown your good sense by the application of it to the
public. He said the difficulty of effecting the affair was not great,
under such a genius as Colonel Clive; but the sustaining it was the
point: it was not probable he would be succeeded by persons equal to the
task. He asked how long you proposed continuing there; that by your
letter he might conclude you intended to carry the business into
execution. I answered that no one's zeal for the public service was
greater than yours; but that I believed your ill health would oblige you
to return shortly. I then mentioned Van's abilities, and that he was
upon the point of being made Governor of Bengal. I observed to him that
it was necessary for him to determine whether it was an object for the
Company or the State; for I was persuaded, that, if the State neglected
it, the Company, in process of time, would secure it; that they would
even find themselves under a necessity to do it for their greater quiet
and safety, exclusive of gain. He seemed to weigh that; but, as far as I
could judge by what passed then, it will be left to the Company to do
what they please.
"I took an opportunity of mentioning that the French seemed to direct
their views greatly towards India; spoke of Dupleix's designs, Bussy's
letter, and Lally's armament, which, happily for us, had melted away to
nothing, but that in time of peace, if not somehow restrained, they
would certainly pour men into India, and be formidable in after times.
He asked me about Mauritius; whether the reduction of that would not be
laying the axe to the root, and how far it was practicable. I gave him
what information I was capable of on the subject, and referred him, for
further, to Speke, who I said was a clever officer, and, I believed, had
revolved the matter in his breast for some time past. Before parting, he
hinted to me a supply for this season of four men-of-war, and a thousand
men: these generally are granted pretty late, and we must imagine they
will be so this season, as an invasion has been seriously thought of,
and we are still doubtful as to the destination of Brest fleet. I don't
recollect any thing further, of any consequence, that passed in our
conversation. I might, indeed, acquaint you, that he asked very
particularly if I had any thoughts of returning to India."
The line of policy which subsequently marked our progress in India, is
strongly depicted in this conversation. Mr. Pitt saw, in their infancy,
the difficulties which have so long prevented the final settlement of
that country; and Mr. Walsh, tutored in the school of Clive, already
clearly discovered the future inevitable extension of our dominions and
power.
Clive's letter was written a twelvemonth before he left Calcutta.
Neither the events in India, nor those in England, were calculated to
alter the sentiments it contained, regarding the necessity for the
interference of the legislature of Great Britain in the administration
of the interests of the nation in India. The despatches received from
the Directors immediately before he resigned the Government, appear to
have excited equal disgust in his mind, and in the minds of his ablest
colleagues; and in the concluding paragraphs of a general letter to the
Directors, the Bengal Government expressed their sentiments with a
freedom, which, though becoming their high sense of the duty which they
owed to themselves and to their country, was but little suited to the
temper or constitution of their superiors.
The following are the observations made in this letter upon the conduct
of the Court of Directors.
"Having fully spoken to every branch of your affairs at this
Presidency, under their established heads, we cannot, consistently
with the real anxiety we feel for the future welfare of that
respectable body, for whom you and we are in trust, close this
address without expostulating with freedom on the unprovoked and
general asperity of your letter per the Prince Henry Packet. Our
sentiments on this head will, we doubt not, acquire additional
weight, from the consideration of their being subscribed by a
majority of your Council; who are at this very period quitting your
service, and consequently independent and disinterested. Permit us
to say, that the diction of your letter is most unworthy yourselves
and us, in whatever relation considered, either as masters to
servants, or gentlemen to gentlemen. Mere inadvertencies and casual
neglects arising from an unavoidable and most complicated confusion
in the state of your affairs, have been treated in such language
and sentiments, as nothing but the most glaring and premeditated
faults could warrant. Groundless informations have, without further
scrutiny, borne with you the stamp of truth, though proceeding from
those who had therein obviously their own purpose to serve, no
matter at whose expense. These have received from you such
countenance and encouragement, as must assuredly tend to cool the
warmest zeal of your servants here, and every where else, as they
will appear to have been only the source of general reflections
thrown out at random against your faithful servants of this
Presidency, in various parts of your letter now before us—faithful
to little purpose, if the breath of scandal, joined to private
pique or private and personal attachments, have power to blow away
in one hour the merits of many years' services, and deprive them of
that rank and those rising benefits which are justly a spur to
their integrity and application. The little attention shown to
these considerations, in the indiscriminate favours heaped on some
individuals, and undeserved censures on others, will, we apprehend,
lessen that spirit of zeal so very essential to the well-being of
your affairs, and consequently, in the end, if continued, prove the
destruction of them. Private views may, it is much to be feared,
take the lead here, from examples at home, and no gentlemen hold
your service longer, nor exert themselves further in it, than their
own exigencies require. This being the real state of your service,
it becomes strictly our duty to represent it in the strongest
light."[95]
This despatch was signed by Clive, and by Messrs. Holwell, Playdell,
Sumner, and M'Guire, Members of Council. I shall only so far anticipate
the narrative as to state, that it excited the utmost indignation and
violence at the India House.[96]
The Directors had immediate recourse to the extreme measure of removing
and commanding to be sent to England, the four gentlemen who had joined
Clive in this strong remonstrance. This vindication of their authority,
which they deemed necessary to prevent the further diffusion of the
contagion of disrespect and insubordination among their servants, was
attended with the most unhappy results. It deprived the public, at a
critical period, of the aid of some of the most moderate and experienced
of the civil servants in Bengal, and promoted to high stations others of
a very opposite character: and there can be no doubt, the result of
these changes was the massacre at Patna, one of the most shocking
catastrophes to be found on the page of the History of British India.
Clive was at no pains to conceal the sentiments which the conduct of the
Court of Directors had excited in his mind. In his answer to an address
from the European inhabitants of Calcutta, he observes:—
"I am so thoroughly sensible, Gentlemen, of this testimony of your
approbation of my conduct, that though the ill-treatment I received from
the Court of Directors in their last general letter, has fully
determined me in throwing up the service, yet I could waive all personal
considerations, and without hesitation comply with your request, did the
state of your affairs really require my making such a sacrifice to you.
But the additional credit you have gained throughout the country by your
late success over the Dutch, the arrival of Major Caillaud, with the
reinforcement from Madras, and the approach of the detachment lately
commanded by Colonel Forde, which you now shortly expect, ensure you
from the least shadow of danger for some time to come. In the interim,
proper measures may be taken at home for the better security of this
valuable settlement, to promote which, you may depend upon my exerting
my utmost interests; and I may perhaps be able to serve you more
effectually than by my continuing here."
Mr. Amyatt, the Chief of Patna, had written to Clive, expressing his
fear for the continued tranquillity of the country. Clive, in his
answer[97], observes, "Your reflections on the situation of affairs in
general are very just. I make no doubt but the troubles will begin again
in the North. The Nabob will be here in a few days, and I shall advise
him to take the field, the instant the weather will permit. He will have
a party of our troops with him, and, if it should be necessary, I will
accompany him myself. 'Venienti occurrite morbo,' is the advice given by
all physicians; and if the Nabob settles the Purneah country, and then
marches to the pass of Terriagully, the evil-minded will be overawed,
and probably your province of Bahar may remain quiet and in peace."
The arrival of the Dutch armament, while it prevented the proposed march
of the Nabob, gave encouragement to the Shah-Zada to repeat his invasion
of Bahar. Clive received advices of his movement in January, 1760, when
at Moorshedabad on a farewell visit to the Nabob; but he appears to have
had no alarm for the result, as Major Caillaud (whom the Madras
Government had at his request sent to command in Bengal) had arrived
with a considerable reinforcement of troops, and Colonel Forde's
detachment was daily expected. Besides being confident in the Commander,
and in the number and quality of the troops, Clive had every reliance
upon Ram Narrain; whose fidelity, however, he thought it proper on this
occasion to fortify, by repeating his solemn assurances of protection.
"You will deliver the inclosed" (he writes[98] to Mr. Amyatt), "which is
an encouraging letter to Ram Narrain; and at the same time assure him
yourself from me, that he may depend upon my taking care of his
interests; and that I will recommend him in so strong a manner to the
protection of Major Caillaud, who has now the command of the English
forces, that he may look upon himself as safe from any danger as if I
myself were at their head.
"Our forces move to Ghyreebaug to-morrow; and in a few days, I hope,
will proceed as far as Rajamahul at least, and further, should it be
found necessary. There has been some dispute, between the father and
son, who should go upon this expedition. I have thought it necessary to
come to the city to adjust this affair amicably, and I believe the old
man will make the campaign himself.
"The force with the Shah-Zada is so inconsiderable, that you can have
nothing to fear from him in your parts; and Ram Narrain's troops with
our detachment is an overmatch, I am well persuaded, for any number the
unfortunate Prince can bring into the field."
Clive's instructions to Major Caillaud are short, but decisive, as to
his opinion that no serious danger was to be apprehended. "I have this
morning" (he writes[99]) "received advice by a letter of Ram Narrain to
the Nabob; that Suraj-u-Dowlah was preparing to enter these provinces in
support of the Shah-Zada. I have, therefore, ordered two hundred men, in
addition to the reinforcement this day despatched to you, to be in
readiness to proceed after you. When these have joined you, with the
troops you already have, proceed with all expedition in conjunction with
the Chŭta[100] Nabob, settle matters with the Purneah Nabob, and then
endeavour to come up with the Shah-Zada before his party have gained
head, and before Suraj-u-Dowlah, should he really have such intentions,
can join him. If you meet with the Prince, I am persuaded you will give
a good account of him; and that the check he will receive will deter
others from making any incursions into the Nabob's dominions."
Clive returned from Moorshedabad, and after remaining a few weeks at
Calcutta, he embarked for England. He was succeeded by Mr. Holwell, who,
however, was soon superseded by Mr. Vansittart, (a member of the Council
at Fort St. George,) with whom Clive had long been in terms of intimate
friendship, and of whose integrity and abilities he had so high an
opinion, that he earnestly recommended the Directors to appoint him to
the government of Bengal. Mr. Vansittart states in several letters from
Madras, that all his expectations of attaining that station rested on
Clive, whose solicitude on this point appears to have been very great.
"I am preparing for you," (he observes in a letter to Mr.
Vansittart[101],) "many papers and accounts, which will give you some
insight into the affairs of this province, and of our great consequence
at this juncture in Hindustan. As I have fixed upon you for this
Government, it is necessary you should know how glorious a government it
may prove for you and the Company. I hope to God, my interest in England
will not fail me. I tremble when I think of the fatal consequences of
such a mercenary man as * * *.
"The expected reinforcements," (Clive adds) "will in my opinion put
Bengal out of all danger but that of venality and corruption."
I have before noticed Clive's exertions in favour of Mr. Sulivan. In one
of his letters to that Gentleman, he congratulates him upon his becoming
a Director, and assures him he will give him all his interest,
"Because," (he observes) "I was always of opinion the Company's affairs
could never be carried on to advantage, but under the management of one
of those gentlemen who brought home with them a just knowledge of India,
acquired by many years' experience."
In the same letter, Clive gives his opinion as to the future importance
of Bengal, and the measures best calculated to secure the greatest
benefits from that rich country. He also expresses his sentiments in the
freest manner, as to the character of the public servants best qualified
to fill high stations in India. I cannot refrain from quoting the
concluding paragraphs of this able letter.
"As the Company's privileges," (he observes,) "have been greatly
extended, so ought their views also; to conduct and carry on the affairs
of Bengal to advantage, not only requires servants of ability, but many
of them.
"Mr. Watts, I think, has not had that justice done to his merit which
his services at Moorshedabad, and since, have deserved; therefore I
cannot blame him for resigning. It was with much difficulty I prevailed
upon Messrs. Manningham and Frankland to give me their assistance
another year. They may, I believe, be prevailed upon to stay still
longer.
"Mr. * * * * has talents, but I fear wants a heart, therefore unfit to
preside where integrity as well as capacity are equally essential. Those
who are more immediately to supply the vacant seats of this Board I dare
not recommend to you, (Mr. Sumner excepted,) and I think it a duty I owe
to my employers to call your remembrance to Messrs. Vansittart and
Dupré, two gentlemen whose abilities and integrity would do credit to
any employ. The merit of the former shines with so peculiar and bright a
lustre, as must make his services coveted by every well-wisher to the
Company; and they cannot shine in my opinion to greater advantage than
at the Council Board of Calcutta. The Rev. Mr. Palk, without regard to
his cloth, was deemed worthy of a seat in the Committee at Madras. Mr.
Fullerton is not less so, and may be of equal utility in Bengal.
"There is not a gentleman on this side of the Cape so well qualified to
be your Major as Captain Caillaud; it is hard to say, whether his
abilities or zeal for your service be greater. I know not one so equal
to the task of carrying on a part or the whole of my designs, under the
direction of a President and Council, as that gentleman. If any accident
should happen to him, or he should choose to remain on the coast, let me
recommend as a fit person to succeed him Captain Carnac; I have had an
opportunity of studying him, and can assure you he is master of an
excellent heart, and of talents, in the military way, sufficient to do
honour to his employers. I believe this gentleman will be recommended to
you by Colonel Lawrence, and other hands, which will serve to illustrate
my account of him.
"I can declare to you, Sir, with great truth and sincerity, I have no
other attachment to particular persons than what their capacity of
serving the Company entitles them to. As I am independent in my
circumstances, so am I in my affections, where the good of the service
calls upon me to be so; and I should never have given Mr. Sulivan the
trouble of reading this letter, if I was not convinced he would look
upon every syllable of it as proceeding from the dictates of a heart
full of zeal and gratitude for the Company."
Mr. Sulivan had warmly congratulated Clive[102] upon his successes in
Bengal; and I have great satisfaction in giving that gentleman's answer
to Clive's letter just quoted; first, as it proves the congeniality of
their views; and, secondly, as it conveys, in the most unqualified
manner, a full approbation of Clive's conduct, as far as that was within
the knowledge of Mr. Sulivan, and that gentleman could have been
ignorant of no facts of any importance, except, perhaps, the grant of
the Jaghire.
This letter is as follows:—
"Sir,
"As there is a possibility you may still remain at Calcutta to
cherish and protect your own offspring, which certainly had been
sacrificed without your presence, I shall just confess the receipt
of your friendly and confidential letter; and every essential part
is, or will be, carried into execution. The many judicious
reflections you have made coincide with my own sentiments; and Mr.
Vansittart, so justly your favourite, will, I hope, firmly
establish this great and noble settlement.
"By our last advices, your situation was critical indeed; but I
trust the same Providence that has hitherto so wonderfully
protected you, has extricated you from that new labyrinth of
dangers.
"I cannot conclude without confessing myself much obliged for your
good opinion of my disinterested intentions. The Company have
certainly a grateful sense of their obligations to Colonel Clive,
and I hope ever to be esteemed,
"Sir,
"Your most obedient servant,
(Signed) "LAW. SULIVAN.
"_To Col. Clive._
"London, 7th Dec. 1759."
Clive, though he saw no immediate danger in the actual state of affairs
at the period of his departure, indulged no hope of the continued
tranquillity of the country. It was his decided opinion, that in India,
peace could only be made and preserved by our maintaining a strong and
commanding military force. All his sentiments on this subject are summed
up in the following short paragraph of a private letter to Mr. Stephen
Law, one of the leading Directors.
"Peace," (he observes[103],) "is the most valuable of all blessings; but
it must be made sword in hand in this country, if we mean to preserve
our possessions. There is no alternative; either every thing in India
must be reduced to their first principles, or such a standing force kept
up, as may oblige the Musselmans literally to execute their treaties."
Clive sailed from India on the 25th day of February, 1760, rich both in
fortune and in fame, far beyond any European who had ever visited that
country. His departure was viewed with regret by many, and with
apprehension by all who were interested in the prosperity of the British
nation. He left a blank that could not be filled up. "It appeared," (to
use the strong and expressive language of a contemporary observer,) "as
if the soul was departing from the body of the Government of Bengal."
FOOTNOTES: CHAPTER 10
Footnote 64:
Letter to Clive, 29th July, 1759.
Footnote 65:
3d August, 1759.
Footnote 66:
The following is a translation of this letter:—
"To Mr. Robert Clive.
"Sir,—As you have had the principal charge of the enterprise
against the late Nabob Suraj-u-Dowlah, we cannot refrain from
congratulating you upon your success. Wishing that the arms of His
Britannic Majesty may every where prosper and be triumphant, and
that your fame, Sir, may become more and more renowned, we have the
honour to be, with much consideration, &c. &c.
"Chinsura, 30th June, 1757."
Footnote 67:
M. Bisdom, the Dutch Governor of Chinsura, applied to Clive on all
occasions of embarrassment or difficulty; and his applications appear,
from the correspondence, to have been always treated with respect and
attention.
Footnote 68:
2d October, 1758.
Footnote 69:
Aliverdi Khan, the predecessor of Suraj-u-Dowlah.
Footnote 70:
We find in a letter from M. Bisdom to Colonel Clive, of the 25th July,
1759, the following passage:—"Referring to your last favour I cannot
refrain from offering you my grateful thanks on the subject of the
saltpetre." It appears, from a variety of documents, that Clive gave
every facility to the Dutch commerce in this as well as in other
articles.
Footnote 71:
This paper is not dated; but, from a correction in the rough copy, it
appears to have been drawn up in November, 1759; and was, no doubt,
transmitted to England at that period.
Footnote 72:
This person is styled Fakker-u-Toojar (a title signifying "Glory of
Merchants") in the correspondence; but we continue to call him Cajah
Wazeed, the name by which he is generally known.
Footnote 73:
4th August, 1759.
Footnote 74:
This letter is dated "Hooghley, Thursday evening;" probably the 12th of
November.
Footnote 75:
7th January, 1760.
Footnote 76:
Meeran, son of Jaffier Aly Caun.
Footnote 77:
Letter from Mr. Hastings, 23d November.
Footnote 78:
Clive states in his evidence before the House of Commons, that the
Nabob's horse were useful in pursuing the fugitives, after Colonel
Forde's victory.
Footnote 79:
When Clive wrote to M. Bisdom to warn him against the danger to be
feared from the advance of the Nabob's army, he offered protection, in
his own house, to Mrs. Bisdom, and any ladies she might bring with her.
I extract the following remarks on this subject from a very minute
official account of the whole transaction:—"This kind proposal of
Colonel Clive was accepted in the manner it deserved; and M. Bisdom's
sensible and polite answer manifests his having a suitable sense of the
favour, and, at the same time, expresses what was very true, that
though, from the rank he held, his name had been very freely used
throughout the whole of this transaction, yet his sentiments never went
along with it, but that he had always retained that respect for the
English nation, and that affection for his friends at Calcutta, which a
long acquaintance, and the exchange of reciprocal good offices, had
rendered equally sincere on both sides."
Footnote 80:
M. Bisdom, in a letter to Clive, under date the 26th of July, 1759,
observes, "With regard to the money sent to Batavia, I have no doubt it
will be credited; but, as no vessel has yet arrived, I can at present
say no more. As to the remittances to Europe, I must not conceal from
you that they are much displeased with the negotiation of the bills,
which they think unfavourable to our Company. I can, nevertheless,
assure you that your remittance will be paid after the Company's sale.
This has been stated to me by an individual of power in the Company.
This has been a great mortification to me. I had flattered myself that
the transaction would have given equal satisfaction to both parties; and
it proves exactly the reverse, which really grieves me. As soon as I
hear from Batavia, I will write you."
Footnote 81:
The sunnud, as admiral, is dated the 26th of August, 1759; that
constituting them governors of the castle, 4th of September, and the
assignment, the 18th of the same month.
Footnote 82:
Clive had, on many occasions, stated his sentiments very freely to the
Nabob, both in regard to the character of his son, and the persons by
whom that Prince was surrounded, particularly his Dewan Rajah Bullub.
The following extract from a letter to Mr. Hastings, dated 21st of
September, 1759, will show how decided he was in his opinions upon this
subject:—"What you write me," he observes, "about the young Nabob, does
not at all surprise me; it was what I always expected. Meer Jaffier's
days of folly are without number, and he had, long before this, slept
with his ancestors, if the dread of our power and resentment had not
been his only security. Sooner or later, I am persuaded, that worthless
young dog will attempt his father's overthrow. How often have I advised
the old fool against putting too much power into the hands of his
nearest relations. Tell him, from me, that Rajah Bullub is an aspiring,
ambitious villain; and, if he does not get him removed from his son's
presence, he will push him to some violent and unnatural resolution."
Footnote 83:
The letters of Scrafton, Hastings, and Sykes, afford abundant evidence
to the truth of the fact, that Meer Jaffier was personally attached to
Clive.
Footnote 84:
Letter from Mr. Hastings to Clive, 17th of August, 1759.
Footnote 85:
Muttaseddie means a "clerk;" but the plural term, as here employed,
describes all the subordinate civil officers of the government.
Footnote 86:
This letter is dated the 20th of August, 1759. Clive had written to Mr.
Pigot a few days before upon the same subject.
Footnote 87:
11th of November, 1757.
Footnote 88:
Holwell's Narrative, p. 156.
Footnote 89:
29th of December, 1758.
Footnote 90:
Id.
Footnote 91:
The grounds of Clive's strong support of Mr. Sulivan appear to have been
entirely public. Among other friends, he wrote (29th of December, 1758)
to his agent, Mr. Belchier, on this subject:—
"As I have," he observes, "great designs in view for the
advantage of the Company, I must request you will give all your
interest, and that of your friends, in favour of Mr. Sulivan, who,
I am persuaded, will pursue vigorous measures, now become
absolutely necessary."
Footnote 92:
Holwell's Narrative, p. 170.
Footnote 93:
The application is here limited to the government of Bengal.
Footnote 94:
Clive's prediction of the result of affairs in the Carnatic proved, as
has been shown, true to the very letter.
Footnote 95:
Although, in point of composition, the despatches of the Indian
authorities, both at home and abroad, at this early period of our
political administration, will not bear comparison with those of a later
date, they exhibit a degree of simplicity and plainness which is both
interesting and amusing.
Footnote 96:
In the first general letter to the Governor in Council, at Bengal, dated
21st of January, 1761, the Directors write, "We have taken under our
most serious consideration the general letter from our late President
and Council of Fort William, dated 29th of December, 1759, and many
paragraphs therein contain gross insults upon, and indignities offered
to, the Court of Directors, tending to the subversion of our authority
over our servants, and a dissolution of all order and good government in
the Company's affairs. To put an immediate stop, therefore, to this
evil, we do positively order and direct that, immediately upon receipt
of this letter, all those persons still remaining in the Company's
service, who signed the said letter,—viz. Messrs. John Zephaniah
Holwell, Charles Stafford Playdell, William Brightwell Sumner, and
William M'Guire,—be dismissed from the Company's service; and you are to
take care that they be not permitted, on any consideration, to remain in
India, but that they are to be sent to England by the first ships which
return home the same season you receive this letter."
Footnote 97:
7th of September, 1759.
Footnote 98:
7th of January, 1760.
Footnote 99:
22d of January, 1760.
Footnote 100:
Meeran.
Footnote 101:
20th of October, 1759.
Footnote 102:
The letter of congratulation, from Mr. Sulivan, is dated the 20th of
February, 1758. The following are the concluding paragraphs:—"If your
health would allow of a stay sufficient to fix the government of
Calcutta (recovered and infinitely extended by Col. Clive) on a solid
and lasting basis, the Company are deeply interested in their wishes
that you would remain to cherish and establish this noble colony beyond
the reach of danger. But should your own preservation determine a return
to your native country, may you live to receive the personal thanks of
your employers, together with higher honours intended you."
Footnote 103:
29th of December, 1758.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAP. XI.
However important the public services of individuals may be, however
entitled to the notice and gratitude of their country, their reputation
will lose much of its lustre, or receive additional splendour, from the
tenor of their conduct in the different relations of private life.
Speculative men may argue, that, if a statesman by his wise counsels, or a
general by his military talents, promote the interests and glory of his
country, it is of little consequence whether he is moral and virtuous. But
such a conclusion is unjust: for men who attain distinction, by becoming
objects of imitation, do infinite good or harm in the community to which
they belong, by the influence of their example. Few can hope to emulate
their higher qualities; but their failings and imperfections are within
the reach of every one, and are copied by the lowest, in the belief that
they thereby approximate themselves to him whom the public voice has
raised to such celebrity. This influence over society renders such persons
far more responsible than ordinary men, for every action, and becomes
therefore one test by which public characters must be tried. There is,
indeed, no way in which we can more satisfactorily confirm our opinion of
the superiority of an individual, than by accompanying him into the walks
of private life; for we may be assured that no stronger proof of his just
title to pre-eminence can be obtained, than his not being intoxicated with
his own elevation, and its effecting no alteration in his personal habits,
or in the ties of family or of friendship; while, on the other hand, we
may pronounce, that he who does not contemplate unchanged and undisturbed
his own fame and fortune, is deficient in that simplicity and strength of
mind, which are the most essential of all attributes in the composition of
a truly great character.
If there be justice in these remarks, the general historian even should
not lightly pass over the incidents of the private life of those eminent
men whose public deeds it is his duty to record; but with the biographer
such facts are of essential importance, not only as they develope the
character of the subject of his biography, but as they establish or
contradict the sincerity and truth of the alleged motives and principles
of his public acts. I am very anxious to do justice to this part of my
task, which for the sake of perspicuity I have separated from those
official details, which have hitherto occupied so much of our attention. I
can only hope the reader will experience the same satisfaction that I have
had, in escaping for a time from the description of battles, sieges,
crimes, and intrigues, to the less brilliant, though more pleasing subject
of domestic habits, and the formation and maintenance of those ties of
love and friendship which form the bonds of human society.
I have already spoken of the youth of Clive. In the review of his private
life in this chapter I shall limit myself to the period which elapsed from
his leaving England in 1756, until his return to that country in 1760.
During his short visit to England in 1753, Clive appears not only to have
revived all his family connections, but to have extended very considerably
the circle of his personal friends; and on his return to India, we
discover that he numbered amongst his correspondents men of the first rank
in his native land. Many of his private letters are addressed to Lord
Barrington, the Chancellor[104], the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Mr.
Henry Fox.
To the first of these noblemen, who was Secretary at War, Clive, in a
letter under date the 23d of February, 1757, acknowledges himself under
obligations for many marks of friendship, and particularly for his aid "in
the election of Mitchell." To Mr. Henry Fox he owns himself indebted for
much kindness; and he emphatically addresses him as the "patron and
protector of the East India Company." He writes[105] to the Archbishop of
Canterbury and the Lord Chancellor in terms which show that he had been
honoured with their particular notice and kindness during his short
residence in England.
Clive was in Parliament, but only for a few months; during which period,
though on friendly terms with some members of the administration, he
appears, as far as he engaged in public affairs, to have been in
opposition to the King's ministers.[106] It is very evident, from the
letters of his father at this period, that though he was
disappointed[107], he had established some political influence; for the
Duke of Newcastle, before he resigned the situation of Prime Minister,
expressed himself most anxious to give his father a situation; and though
this promise was never performed, the solicitude the Minister showed on
this and other occasions to conciliate Clive's friendship and support,
could only have proceeded from an impression of his talent, as he had at
this time nothing that could give him any influence on the ground of
wealth.
Though Clive's fortune was not large when he returned to England, he had
realised, from his prize-money, and from the emoluments of the civil and
military stations he had filled, a competence which would have satisfied a
less aspiring mind; but he never seems to have even contemplated
retirement from public life. Such a step, indeed, was neither consistent
with his ambition, nor the generosity of his disposition. His first use of
his wealth was to place all his family (and above all, his parents,) in a
state of comfortable independence. He greatly added to the joy of his
father, by appropriating a part of his fortune to save the family estate
of Styche, to relieve which, he probably advanced its full value, as we
find that it was transferred to him.[108] His father was delighted at his
son becoming the owner of this property. This we see from many letters;
and in one[109], written after Clive had sailed for India, he informs him
that he had been at "the old place, which," he adds, "I always loved, and
have kept the walls from tumbling, in hopes of seeing the new landlord
come and take possession."
Clive appears himself to have been quite alive to all those family and
local feelings, which have great value as associated with the earliest and
most vivid of our recollections and affections. To judge from his private
correspondence, no man ever more cherished such ties; for during the
busiest periods of his public life, his letters continually refer to his
relations and to the scenes of his boyhood; but above all, he speaks of
old Styche with a fond familiarity that conveys an idea of the pleasure he
must have had in becoming its possessor. Many of his letters upon these
subjects are addressed to his father, by whose answer to one of them we
may judge of the tone in which they were written. "Your letter," he
observes, alluding to himself, "made the _old man_ drop tears of joy, that
you still survive with honour and success. May you go on and prosper!"
Clive did not remain two years in England. When he returned to India,
accompanied by his lady, they left two infant boys; the eldest, Edward, is
the present Lord Powis; the second, Richard, died shortly after the
departure of his parents.
The great generosity of Clive to every branch of his family during this
short visit to his native country, together with the manner in which he
lived, and the expenses of his election, greatly diminished his
property[110]; and it would seem from his agent's letters, that he had
not, when he returned to India, more than three thousand pounds of
money[111]; the interest of which, together with a small annuity he had
purchased, he directed to be given to his father[112], whose letters are
full of gratitude for the comfort given to his declining age by the
liberality of his son.
"I am entirely obliged to you," he observes[113], in one of these now
before me, "for the comfortable subsistence I may expect from your
generosity, if I should live a few years longer. If among the dead, don't
forget the old place of our nativity; but let Ned[114] reside there. If
the Judge[115] does not take him, (as I think he will, if her Ladyship
pleases,) he will soon be with us, and will divert me in the decline of
life. I shall be desirous of living a little longer, in hopes of seeing
the joyful day when you and my daughter return to England; but whatever
events may happen before that time, God only knows, to whose pleasure I
desire to submit."
The house of Styche had been given by Clive as a residence to his uncle,
Mr. Robert Clive, who, with the other branches of the family, appears to
have taken an interest in its being improved and beautified. I cannot
refrain from making an extract from one of his letters on the subject.
"Things go on," he writes[116], "as usual at Styche, and I enjoy a very
comfortable existence, under your roof. My income enables me to keep house
while the family are in town; and when they come down, I am glad to see
them. Aunt Fanny is with me this winter. I am in hopes of seeing you here
again, and your most amiable lady, to whom I beg my most affectionate
compliments. O that these next ships might bring you over! But I am well
assured, your desire is towards your native country and your friends, and
that you will be with us as soon as you can. Styche is now leased to a
tenant; but as the term is expired within about two years, I think it will
be better not to renew it but only from year to year, that you may be able
to make such alterations as you please when you come to England. Mr.
Mackworth has consented to our having a road over the meadows, and we have
built a bridge for that purpose, which is a great convenience; many more
might be thought of and had, were you here with one of Rajah Dowlah's
millions. In the mean time, if you think of any thing that you would have
done, I shall think myself honoured by a commission from you."
Clive's return to India in 1755, and the successes which attended him
during the three following years, attracted more of the public notice from
being contrasted with the reverses which had attended the British arms in
Europe and America during this unpropitious period.
The success at Gheriah even, which (had the public mind not been full of
disappointment) would probably not have been mentioned, was spoken of in
all the newspapers of the day as an achievement of importance.
Mr. Smyth King, in a letter to Clive[117], observes, when alluding to this
event; "The news of your success could not have reached England at a
season more advantageous for the increase of your reputation; a season in
which there was a general clamour and indignation for the ignominy that
had been brought on our arms by the losses in the Mediterranean and North
America, of which you will hear so much: I need not say any thing. The
consequence has been driving out all the Ministry, Duke of Newcastle, Lord
Chancellor, Mr. Fox, &c. &c. Mr. Pitt, and a new set in the Treasury and
Admiralty, are now the steersmen: they have set out well at the opening of
Parliament: how long they will continue in the good course, time will
show. You will easily imagine how opportune and grateful the taking of
Gheriah was, notwithstanding the distance of the place, and its not being
so generally known. Colonel Clive was again in all the newspapers. I
believe you have made a maxim of what I have somewhere read, that 'a man
who has got himself a great name should every now and then strike some
_coup d'éclat_, to keep up the admiration of the people.'"
The capture of Calcutta, the taking of Chandernagore, the battle of
Plassey, and the dethronement and death of Suraj-u-Dowlah, with the
elevation of Meer Jaffier, were events which, at any time, would have
excited attention; but the impression they made was greatly increased by
the depressed state of the public mind at the moment when intelligence of
their occurrence reached England. They were hailed by all ranks, as
redeeming, in some degree, the national reputation that had been lost in
other quarters of the globe.
We meet, in a letter from his friend Mr. King, a concise and vivid
description of the causes which combined at this period to raise Clive's
fame in England.
"You are too well assured," that gentleman observes[118], "of the joy I
must have felt at the news of your great actions, for me to profess it:
they can add nothing to my admiration of your military capacity, which was
at the height, with what you had achieved for several years. I can only
tell you, what your love to your country will make you sorry for, that
your conduct shines with a peculiar brightness, from the unglorious doings
of our leaders of armies and admirals of fleets in Europe; and that the
name of a Clive is made use of in the public papers to reproach and
stimulate his superiors in rank, but not in fame. That you may judge how
little we have to boast of at home, I will give you a compendium of our
exploits since the beginning of the war.
"You already know Minorca is taken, for which Admiral Byng was shot, and
Blakeney, who defended it, adorned with a title and a riband, though it is
at this time undetermined whether his merit or demerit was the greater.
Lord Loudon went to America last year, with a great number of troops and a
strong fleet. All that we have heard from thence is, that the French have
taken several of our forts, but that we have taken none of theirs, nor
otherwise incommoded them.
"The Duke of Cumberland, in the beginning of the summer, put himself at
the head of a German army, to defend the Electorate of Hanover; but after
the loss of a battle, and being driven from post to post, was necessitated
to capitulate with the French General, Duke de Richelieu, and signed a
convention, whereby those favourite dominions are to be possessed by the
French King till he shall think proper to evacuate them. His Royal
Highness, a few days after his arrival in England, resigned all his
commissions. Ligonier is made Commander-in-chief of the army. Less than
two months ago, a fleet of about thirty ships of the line, commanded by
three admirals, attended with a number of transports, carrying ten
thousand land forces and three general officers, a noble train of
artillery, and every thing proportionable, sailed upon a secret
expedition; so secret, that it was never divulged, till this pompous
armada of near a hundred sail arrived at Spithead, then was it known that
the design had been against Rochelle; but that, after holding councils of
war for five days, in sight of the coast, it was judged proper to sail
home again and attempt nothing, for the Isle of Aix may be called nothing.
Thus has a million been expended to set the people in an uproar. The
Parliament is to meet in a fortnight; when it is expected they will find
out, as Shakspeare says,—
"'The cause of this effect,
Or rather say, the cause of this defect,
For this effect defective comes by cause!'"
The name of Clive was heard every where: we are assured the King himself
spoke of the Indian hero in the most flattering terms. Lord Ligonier
asked his Majesty, "Whether the young Lord Dunmore might go as a
volunteer to the army of the King of Prussia?" Leave was refused. "May
he not join the Duke of Brunswick?" was the next request. "Pshaw!" said
the King, "what can he learn there? If he want to learn the art of war,
let him go to Clive!"[119]
But a higher honour was reserved for Clive, and one he valued more than
all others. His name was not only brought forward, but held forth as an
example, by the celebrated William Pitt. That statesman, in his speech
on the Mutiny Bill, after adverting to the late disgraces which had
attended the British arms, said, "We had lost our glory, honour, and
reputation every where but in India. There the country had a heaven-born
general who had never learned the art of war, nor was his name enrolled
among the great officers who had for many years received their country's
pay. Yet was he not afraid to attack a numerous army with a handful of
men." After this he drew a character of Clive, which excited the
admiration of every one, but above all, of the father of the
distinguished individual whose name was honoured by such praise. The
above extract of Mr. Pitt's panegyric is from his letter to his
son[120], which is written in the pride of his heart, and concludes in
the following words: "Thus you are, with truth, honourably spoke of
throughout this nation: may you continue to be so, till you return to
your native country, and to the embraces of an aged father!"
Clive, in 1758, had written to his father to try whether he could not
obtain the appointment of General Governor of India. I do not find among
his manuscripts any copy of his letter on this subject, which is to be
regretted, as the notice taken of the suggestion by his friends proves,
that his clear and penetrating mind saw, and desired to avert, the evils
which were likely to result from the three presidencies (extended as our
connections with native states had become) continuing to be ruled by
distinct and independent authorities.
Clive's friends in England, to whom his father referred for advice, were
of opinion that the proposition would never be entertained by the Court
of Directors, and that regard for his interest should prevent its being
made. There was another reason for not agitating this question. A
motion[121] had some time before been brought forward in the Court of
Proprietors, to give Clive a sum of 6000_l._, which was opposed on the
ground of his having sufficient opportunities of acquiring fortune in
the course of the service. This had occurred before the news of the
battle of Plassey reached England. The reputation which that and
subsequent events gave Clive with the nation, and with his Majesty's
ministers, excited a spirit of jealousy amongst some of the Directors.
His father informs him that several leading men in the India House
appeared offended at the recommendations they had received of him from
persons of high rank and members of administration.
Clive knew the world, and was fully aware of the feelings which his
success was likely to produce; and judged wisely that his prospects of
future notice and reward might be impeded, instead of being promoted, by
the imprudent zeal of his friends. He was particularly apprehensive of
the effects of the natural feelings of his father, and wrote to Mr.
Belchier, one of his agents, to endeavour to repress the old gentleman's
desire to intrude the merits of his son upon all the great men of the
land.
"As this good news," he observes[122], "may set my father upon exerting
himself too much, and paying too many visits to the Duke of Newcastle,
Mr. Fox, and other great men, I desire you will endeavour to moderate
his expectations; for although I intend getting into Parliament, and
have hopes of being taken some notice of by his Majesty, yet, you know,
the merit of all actions is greatly lessened by being too much boasted
of. I know my father's disposition leads this way, which proceeds from
his affection for me."
It was not easy, however, to moderate either the language or the
expectations of a father whose pride in the public services of his son,
though great, was exceeded by the admiration and gratitude with which he
viewed the conduct of one, whose ties of duty and of love for his
parents and family appeared to gain additional strength as he advanced
in riches and in fame, and who seemed to place his chief happiness in
making those for whom he cherished regard or affection participators in
his own good fortune.
The moment, indeed, Clive found himself, from unexpected events,
abounding in wealth, his first object was to impart comfort to all who
had claims upon him, either from kindred or friendship. His gifts,
though liberal, had in them no spirit of prodigality. They were adapted
with judgment to the wants and dispositions of those on whom they were
bestowed: but it was the manner, even more than the substance, of his
acts which gave them value with those who loved him. His correspondence
with his family and friends will afford the best evidence of this fact.
Clive, in a letter[123] to his father, written shortly after the battle
of Plassey, giving him an account of the events which had occurred from
the capture of Chandernagore till the enthronement of Meer Jaffier,
informs him, that the Nabob's generosity will enable him to live in his
native country, in a manner much beyond his most sanguine expectation.
"I have ordered," he states in this letter, "2000_l._ to each[124] of my
sisters, and shall take care of my brothers in due time. I would advise
the lasses to marry as soon as possible, for they have no time to lose.
There is no occasion for you following the law any more: but more of
this when I have the pleasure of seeing you, which, I hope, will be in
twelve or fourteen months."
"You may order the Rector[125] to get every thing ready for the
reparation of old Styche. I shall bring his brother home with
15,000_l._, and also Mrs. Clive's brother. If I can get into Parliament,
I shall be very glad; but no more struggles against ministry: I choose
to be with them.
"Mrs. Clive will write my mother at large. My kind wishes attend her,
not forgetting my brothers and sisters."
When Clive resolved, as has elsewhere been stated, to defer his
departure for England, he directed his agents to add to the allowance
before given to his father and mother the sum of 500_l._ per annum, and
to keep a coach for them[126]: he also desired them to pay 25_l._ per
annum to each of his four aunts, and to two of Mrs. Clive's, to whose
other relations in England he gave liberal assistance. For her brother,
Captain Maskelyne, who was on the Madras establishment, Clive cherished
a very sincere regard; but I should conclude, from what appears in the
manuscripts in my possession that, though a pleasant and respectable
gentleman, Captain Maskelyne had little talent as an officer. His
conduct to part of the Nabob's family, while commanding at Arcot, had
been severely condemned by Mr. Pigot. We find amongst his letters to his
brother-in-law an indignant remonstrance against the treatment he had
met with from the Governor, who also wrote Clive fully upon the subject.
The latter in his reply[127] to Mr. Pigot states the great uneasiness
which the circumstance had caused him, but adds, that he derived
consolation from the belief, that it entirely proceeded from an error of
judgment. This instance, added to others, proves that, though the title
to Clive's regard rested more upon the heart than the head of the
individual by whom it was possessed, yet he was rigid in his principle
of never nominating any one to public station whose qualities did not
fit him to perform its duties. He regretted, as is shown by his letters,
that Captain Maskelyne did not accompany him to Bengal, as a member of
his family; but, instead of appointing him to one of the many high and
lucrative stations he had in his gift, he recommended him to go to
England, and added to his small means what he deemed necessary to place
him in independence[128]: and we are amused with the following passage,
in a letter[129] from Clive to his father:—"My brother-in-law, Captain
Maskelyne, goes by this conveyance, and will bring you this: he is worth
10,000_l._ or 11,000_l._ I beg you will assist in settling him in the
world, and in getting him a good wife."
In the same letter he observes, "Should you have occasion for money to
purchase commissions for my brothers, or to answer any other purpose
that may be for their advantage, you will apply to my attorneys, who I
desire may supply you accordingly."
The letter[130] from Mr. Clive to his son, acknowledging the receipt of
the accounts of his success, commences with one of those simple but
natural bursts of paternal affection that mock all imitation.
"Your last letter," he says, "gave me joy beyond all possibility of
expression. The whole kingdom is in transports for the glory and success
their countryman has gained. Come away, and let us rejoice together!"
In a subsequent letter, he dwells with true paternal feeling upon the
same subject.
"May Heaven," he writes[131], "preserve you safe to Old England, where
not only your friends and relations, but strangers who never saw you,
will congratulate you for the glorious actions you have done your
country. With what joy shall I embrace you! Oh, may I live to see that
day! Your mother and sisters are sitting with me round the fire,
drinking to your health and safe voyage."
Mr. Clive appears, from his own statement, to have been involved in his
circumstances, and to have felt much distress in becoming such a burden
to his son. In his answer to the letter which informed him of Clive's
agents being directed to give him the additional sum of 500_l._ per
annum, and to keep a coach for him, he observes[132], "I have received
your letter of the 9th of November, 1758, and am under the greatest
obligations that ever father was to a son, especially in the unhappy
circumstances my own imprudence and being bound for others hath rendered
me. Mr. Woolaston, for whom I was surety, is now dead; and what he owed
the government, together with what remained unpaid on my account, amount
to no less than 9000_l._ more than we have to pay. The Treasury, by
direction of the Duke of Newcastle, have postponed the payment to a
future day; but I fear that day will come before you arrive in England;
and when you come, what pretence have I to expect or desire you should
set me free, when I have already had your benevolence in so
extraordinary a manner? Thank God you have so much in your power! Let us
live on a fifth part of what you have so generously allowed me. If I am
free, I shall be content; and, while I live, bless Providence, and pray
for the increase of your happiness, who have saved a distressed family
from utter ruin."
The letters from Clive's mother breathe the truest maternal affection.
Her warmest gratitude is expressed for that comfort which he has
diffused throughout all his family, and above all, as the old lady
states, for his great kindness to "her girls."
The greater part of the letters from Clive's mother and sisters,
subsequent to his marriage, are addressed to Mrs. Clive, but docketed by
himself, and placed among his own papers; a proof of the value he
attached to the feelings which they expressed. They contain the common
topics of such correspondence, marked with a feeling of the warmest
affection for one who, amid all his public avocations, was continually
affording them proofs of his love and attachment. Towards Mrs. Clive
there appears to have been but one sentiment throughout the family: all
speak of her constant attention and kindness with gratitude, and appear
to rejoice as much in their brother's happiness in the married state, as
in the other instances of his good fortune.
Besides occasional acts of generosity, Clive continued incessant in his
endeavours to render happy, by his regard and attention, every branch of
his family, however distant. In this he was wholly disinterested, for
none of them (except, perhaps, Sir Edward Clive) were in a situation to
afford him the slightest aid; but they gave him, what he more valued,
their gratitude and affection.
The impressions produced by his conduct towards every one with whom he
was connected cannot be better shown than by inserting some short
extracts from the entertaining letters of one of his female cousins[133]
to Mrs. Clive in India.
"I don't know what title I must give you now[134], but I am sure I may
say, 'To the agreeable Mrs. Clive.' I have always wrote whenever I heard
the ships sailed, and by Captain Tully and Mr. King. Ill fate for you
and me, that so many fine thoughts should be sent to the bottom of the
sea! Neptune will be quite entertained. As to the name of Clive above
ground, the Colonel has made it so famous, that it is the only comfort I
have in still being a Clive. * * * * * * * He is in the highest esteem
in this part of the world, and does honour to all his relations. * * * *
Your father, my cousin Clive, dined with us yesterday, and read, or
tried to read, one of the Colonel's letters; but his joy, with
tenderness at the thoughts of such a son, made him burst twice into
tears before he could go on. Is it to be wondered at? for sure it must
be a pleasure so great, the strongest mind must be greatly affected.
Well, I sincerely wish you all safe on your native shore, with your bags
of money, and bushels of diamonds; with the Eastern Prince the Colonel
is so good as to say he will get for me. I can't possibly refuse him. I
have a taste to be a princess. As to Captain Clack, you are so good to
think of for me, if this Prince don't care to take so long a voyage,
don't leave the Captain behind. The war makes men very scarce. He shall
talk for ever, and I for ever have patience. I have been in town a
fortnight, at two plays; one, a new tragedy somewhat resembling the
story of The Children in the Wood. Did you ever read that old ballad?
Garrick is in as much vogue as ever; operas at a low ebb. I suppose you
are a complete mistress of harmony.
"I hope you will never receive this letter: not that I don't think it
very clever; but I wish the Colonel and all his family may be in a ship,
the sails filled with most prosperous gales, that will, soon as
possible, send you safe to your own country and friends; one of whom I
hope ever to be styled, which will always be a pleasure to your sincere
and affectionate cousin."
We meet the following passage in another letter from this lady, which
appears to have been written about the same period (for, like many
ladies' letters, it has no date.)
"I have a thousand things to say to you, and but a moment's time. I find
the bearer of this is a painter; hope the Colonel and you will let him
take your pictures. I should be glad of them in miniature. I begin to
fear the Colonel will not bring me the Eastern Prince till it is too
late: the bushel of diamonds runs strangely in my head. Fanny is going
to enter into the happy state of matrimony. I have seen the lover: upon
my word, a pretty, cherry-cheeked, agreeable young counsellor. I hear he
is called to the bar, and will have 500_l._ a year. I wish I had been
the Colonel's sister; not to detract from them; certainly he is a great
advantage to his family; and I believe, after my aunts and myself, that
horrid name of old maid will be extirpated out of the house of Clive.
"I have still a thousand things to say. Apelles is arrived, and must
have this letter: I don't know, but it may be of service to him, his
occasioning me to release you. Well, a little more. All diversions go on
as usual; a gloomy town—general mourning for the Princess of Orange; the
linen that is worn is crape, as yellow as saffron, and what they call
Turkey gauze, that looks like sarcenet: a sketch that the world is as
ridiculous as ever. A most elegant ball at Lord Sandwich's! I must not
say any more, only beg my respects and most sincere love to the Colonel.
I wish for your speedy return to England. Pray my love to cousin George,
who I would write to had I a moment, but will in the next ship."
Clive had appointed several of his relations and friends joint agents in
England; and he was very fortunate in having his near connexion, Sir
Edward Clive, Bart. (a Judge of circuit), as one of them. It appears to
have required all that gentleman's strictness to prevent his relation
suffering from the bad choice he had made of one of his men of business.
"One of your attorneys," Sir Edward remarks[135], "is a man I never can,
and never shall, accord with. I have several things to reveal to you
when you come home. I believe, in order to take care of your interest,
and (as I think) to protect your property, I must file a bill in
Chancery. When you arrive, you shall have an account of it: I don't
think any labour troublesome to serve you, but assure you (and Mr. King
knows it) I have had a great deal.
"It is a great pleasure," adds this respectable Judge, "to know that,
considering your father and his large family, God Almighty has put it
into your mind, as well as your power, to make him and them happy.
Assisting a parent must be the most agreeable sensation to good hearts.
I happened, in a small way, to have that happy opportunity. I call it
happy, and it affords me many agreeable reflections."
A few months after Clive sailed for India, his eldest sister[136]
married Sir James Markham, Bart.; and when he returned, he found that
three more had entered the matrimonial state, being much indebted (if we
are to believe their sprightly cousin already noticed) for their happy
settlement to the good fortune of having an Indian Colonel for their
brother.
Clive never forgot those to whom he was in any degree indebted for his
advancement. Several of his letters are addressed to Mr. Chauncey, a
gentleman who, though then retired, had, at one period, taken a very
active part in Indian affairs. In one of these letters[137], after
communicating to him the peace with Suraj-u-Dowlah, Clive observes, "If
I have been in any way instrumental in the late revolution, the merit is
entirely owing to you, who countenanced, favoured, and protected me, and
was the chief cause of my coming to India in a station which rendered me
capable of serving the Company. Accept, Sir, of my gratitude, and
sincerest wishes for your welfare. May you enjoy the blessings of peace
and retirement, and may success and every other happiness in this life
forsake me, when I forget how much I am obliged to you!"
However, a sense of gratitude had more value from being expressed in the
moment of victory, and from being addressed to an individual who had no
longer any power of promoting his views. I notice such facts, not only
because they are the truest indications of character, but as they
account for the zeal and attachment which Clive's numerous and
respectable friends displayed on many trying occasions. Neither his
wealth nor his fame could have inspired such feelings. Sincerity and
warmth of heart alone can kindle corresponding sentiments in honourable
minds.
Of Clive's friends in India I have already spoken. His ties with them
had been formed in the course of public service, and remained unbroken,
except in the rare cases, where he thought individuals parted from those
principles of action upon which his esteem was founded. His deep and
affectionate gratitude towards Colonel Lawrence has been mentioned. His
friendship for Mr. Pigot remained unchanged: not so that for Mr. Orme.
We find in one of his father's letters an observation upon his being
reconciled to that gentleman on his return to India in 1755. Mr. Clive
expresses his hope, in this letter, that Mr. Orme's History would be
speedily published, as the objections[138] on account of Mr. Chauncey
were at an end.
Clive, though his experience had rendered him singularly well acquainted
with the character of all classes of the natives of India, was very
little, if at all, versed in the languages of that country; but he
appears not only to have been most solicitous to avail himself of the
aid of those who had this advantage, but, when he found the acquirement
accompanied by integrity and talent, to recommend them, and place them
in the highest stations in the service. His notice and patronage of Mr.
Watts, Mr. Vansittart, and Mr. Hastings, afford ample proof of this
fact; and, on almost all occasions, public and private, when he brings
forward the names of those individuals, he adds some observations on the
great advantages they enjoy over others, from their knowledge of the
languages, the manners, and the habits of the people of India.
During his expedition to Bengal, Clive had only one of his relations in
his family, Mr. George Clive, for whom he cherished a very sincere
affection. The two persons to whom he appears to have been most attached
were Mr. Walsh and Mr. Luke Scrafton, both civil servants of the
Company, whose names have been frequently mentioned in the course of the
narrative. They continued through life in habits of the strictest
intimacy with their friend and patron. Of Mr. Walsh, Clive never speaks
without expressing great respect for his character; and of his regard
for Mr. Scrafton, whose lively disposition suited his own, we have many
proofs. Bad health obliging that gentleman to go to Madras, Clive wrote
by him to Sir George Pocock, in a style which evinced his kind and
anxious solicitude.
"The bearer of this[139]," he observes, "Mr. Luke Scrafton, is a young
fellow of great worth and honour. Much I fear he is too far gone to be
recovered by the coast air: he has been a constant attendant of mine in
all our expeditions, and can solve any question you may have to ask on
the subject of Bengal. For God's sake return him to me in good health
and condition!"
Clive was also on the most intimate terms with Captain Latham, a
distinguished officer of His Majesty's navy; and this intimacy was
increased from that gentleman's marriage to a relation of Mrs. Clive,
who had accompanied her to India. I have found numerous private letters
from Captain Latham, which are all written in the open manly style of a
British seaman, and bear a convincing testimony to the tone of Clive's
mind on all points connected with his friends. From the tenor of one, in
answer to a letter from Clive, written immediately after the
enthronement of Meer Jaffier, it would seem that Mrs. Latham was one of
those whom he considered (from the relation in which she stood to him)
entitled to participate in his good fortune. His conduct on this
occasion appears to have given sincere pleasure to Mrs. Clive; as the
letter in which his kindness and liberality are noticed is superscribed
with the word "Charming," in her own handwriting.
I have before mentioned the origin of Clive's regard for Colonel Forde;
the grounds upon which he selected him for the command of Bengal, and
the degree in which he deemed himself indebted to him for his great and
brilliant achievements. We have also seen the poignant feelings with
which he regarded the conduct of the Court of Directors towards this
able and gallant officer, who, immediately after the capture of
Masulipatam, had the mortification to find himself superseded by Colonel
Coote, who, a year before, had been his junior in Adlercron's regiment;
but, returning from India with fortune and reputation, had obtained a
Colonel's commission, and had just landed at Madras in command of a
regiment destined for Calcutta.
Though Colonel Coote had evinced, on the expedition to Bengal, those
qualities as an officer which subsequently made him so renowned, neither
his opportunities nor his achievements bore as yet any comparison with
those of Colonel Forde; but the successes of the latter were not known
in England at the period of Coote's appointment. Many, therefore, will
deny the justice of Clive's complaint of the conduct of his superiors on
this occasion; but even these must admire that warmth and decision, with
which he pledged himself to support an officer with whom he had no
private friendship, except such as had been formed in consequence of his
eminent public services.
The news of Colonel Coote's arrival reached Clive about the same period
as the account of Major Forde's capture of Masulipatam, and of the
conclusion of the treaty with the Subahdar of the Deccan. Desiring, at
such a moment, to afford every consolation to the mind of that
meritorious officer, he not only stated his opinion as to his superior
claims to those of the officer by whom he was superseded, but gave him
the most unqualified assurances of his future support.
"I can easily conceive," he observes in a letter[140] to Colonel Forde
upon this occasion, "that such rank and honour bestowed (I think I can
say without flattery) on one so much your inferior in every respect,
must give you much concern. I assure you it has affected me greatly, and
is one of my principal motives for wanting to push home with the utmost
expedition on the 'Royal George.' I flatter myself, the request I have
to make will not be denied me, which is, that you will stay in Bengal
all next year, provided Coote remains on the coast. If within that time
I do not get you a colonel's or lieutenant-colonel's commission, and an
appointment of Commander-in-chief of all the forces in India, I will
from that instant decline all transactions with Directors and East India
affairs."
Clive's resentment at the Court of Directors was increased by their
subsequently annulling Colonel Forde's appointment to Bengal, while his
attachment to that officer was greatly heightened by his admirable
conduct in the destruction of the Dutch armament. But there were other
feelings which may have influenced his mind. He certainly entertained at
this period a strong prejudice against Colonel Coote, which may possibly
have originated from the prominent manner in which that officer, when
only a Captain, was brought forward at Calcutta to support the alleged
rights of his Majesty's service against those of the Company. But we
have, nevertheless, proofs that Clive appreciated his talents from his
employing[141] him on all occasions, and particularly in detaching him,
after the battle of Plassey, in pursuit of the French corps. But at the
same time that he entertained this high opinion of his military talents,
he considered, from his whole conduct in Bengal, that he was mercenary
and prone to intrigue, and consequently an unfit person to be intrusted
with great powers on such a scene. I do not find among Clive's papers
any specific grounds to justify this opinion; and in the absence of all
such documents, we must conclude, from the high reputation which Colonel
Coote attained and supported, that it was erroneous; or, at all events,
that, if this eminent commander evinced in his youth any such
dispositions as those of which he was suspected, they were early
corrected: for though he never displayed any remarkable talents as a
statesman, he assuredly became as qualified for the chief military
command in India as any person that ever held that station; and during
his latter years, the love and esteem in which he was held by his
countrymen was even exceeded by the affectionate regard and attachment
of the native troops, whom he so often led to victory.
In giving this tribute to a soldier, whose memory I have venerated from
my earliest years, I must do justice to Clive by declaring my sincere
conviction (formed from the perusal of his numerous letters upon the
subject) that he was most sincere and conscientious in the opinion he
expressed, and upon which he acted. With such impressions upon his mind,
he certainly thought he was doing his duty to the public by his
endeavours to keep Colonel Coote at Madras; and he was so solicitous to
effect this object that he consented to the request of the government of
Fort St. George, that the regiment of that officer should remain for
some time at that presidency.
He enters fully upon this subject in his correspondence, both with Mr.
Pigot and Mr. Vansittart; but his letters contain merely a repetition of
his opinions as to Colonel Coote's unfitness for the general command of
the forces in Bengal, while he recognises the benefits to be derived
from his services in the mere military operations on the coast of
Coromandel. The success of Clive's efforts on this occasion proved
fortunate for the reputation of Colonel Coote, who, during the
subsequent year, established a high military character by the battle of
Wandewash and the capture of Pondicherry.
I have been compelled to enter more at length upon this subject than I
desired, from its being intimately connected with those disputes
regarding the employment of officers in India in which Clive became
involved on his return to England. Colonel Coote, when he revisited his
native country after the campaign of 1757, was received with favour and
distinction. He was possessed of a small fortune, his connections were
respectable, and his manners and address manly and agreeable. He became
more prominent from being the senior King's land officer employed on the
expedition to Bengal; and, from the comparatively low estimation in
which the Company's[142] officers were held at that period, his fame was
advanced to detract from their pretensions. He was represented as a
rising officer, of whom Clive was jealous; and it was believed by many
(till contradicted several years afterwards by his own evidence), that
it was through his advice and remonstrances that the army advanced to
the field of Plassey. Besides the influence and popularity which those
combined causes gave to this officer, he enjoyed the marked favour and
friendship of Mr. Sulivan, the Chairman of the Court of Directors, whose
subsequent rupture with Clive is in a great degree to be attributed to
their difference in opinion with regard to the respective pretensions
and merits of Colonels Coote and Forde.
Clive, at the period of his second visit to his native country, was
thirty-five years of age. We collect from his private correspondence,
that he retained much of that hilarity of disposition for which he had
been remarkable in youth. He was fond of female society; and many of his
letters show that he was by no means indifferent to those aids by which
personal appearance is improved. It was the fashion of the period to
dress in gayer apparel than we now do; and the European visiter at an
Indian Durbar, or Court, always wore a rich dress. We find in a
letter[143] to Clive, from his friend Captain Latham, a description of a
Durbar suit he was preparing for him, in which he says he has preferred
a fine scarlet coat with handsome gold lace, to the common wear of
velvet. He has also made up, he writes, a fine brocade waistcoat; and he
adds to this intelligence, that "it is his design to line the coat with
parchment, that it may not wrinkle!"
In a commission which Clive sent to his friend Mr. Orme, there is an
amusing instance of his attention to the most trifling parts of his
dress.
"I must now trouble you," he observes[144], "with a few commissions
concerning family affairs. Imprimis, what you can provide must be of the
best and finest you can get for love or money; two hundred shirts, the
wristbands worked, some of the ruffles worked with a border either in
squares or points, and the rest plain; stocks, neckcloths, and
handkerchiefs in proportion; three corge[145] of the finest stockings;
several pieces of plain and spotted muslin, two yards wide, for aprons;
book-muslins; cambrics; a few pieces of the finest dimity; and a
complete set of table linen of Fort St. David's diaper made for the
purpose."
In the list of packages which Mr. Richard Clive sent to his son in
Bengal, one is a box of wigs! Whether Clive had resorted to this
ornament from want of hair, or from deference to the fashion of the
period, I know not; but there is[146] an authentic anecdote of his
boyhood, which proves how essential a wig was considered to all who were
full dressed. Clive had, when very young, been admitted by a relation,
who was Captain of the Tower, to be one of the spectators when his
Majesty George the Second happened to visit that fortress. Nothing was
wanted in the boy's dress to prepare him for the honour of approaching
majesty except a wig! To supply this want one of the old Captain's was
put upon his head; and his appearance in this costume was so singular as
to attract the notice and smiles of the King, who inquired who he was,
and spoke to him in a very kind and gracious manner.[147]
In concluding this chapter on the private occurrences of Clive's life
during a period so eventful to his fame and fortune, I shall estimate,
as far as I have the means, the wealth he carried to England, as well as
the amount which he had, before he left India, given to, or settled
upon, his friends and relations. I have already shown, in the fullest
manner, how his great riches were acquired; and it is a grateful task to
record the generous manner in which a considerable portion of them was
distributed.
Clive, from what has been stated, may be said, when he returned to India
in 1755, to have been worth little or no money beyond what he had vested
for redeeming the small family estate, and giving his parents an
annuity. When he took possession of the government of Fort Saint David,
he embarked in trade, like others who filled similar stations; but, to
judge from his correspondence, he had not much success in his commercial
pursuits. We read of nothing but bad markets, or the want of means of
those who owed him money. He appears, before he embarked on the
expedition to Bengal, to have made a large speculation in benjamin,
which turned out badly. It is entertaining, when associated with the
scenes in which he became engaged, to pursue his remarks upon his
unprofitable adventure in this and other articles of trade.
After desiring his friend and agent, Mr. Orme, not to demand payment of
the money owing to him by Messrs. Pybus and Roberts, and that the
interest of the debt should be only 4 per cent., he observes[148], "You
have given me a most curious account of my adventure in the Grampus. If
I had not made better strokes in war than in trade, my money concerns
would by this time be drawing to a conclusion."
The whole of Clive's money, when he returned to India in 1755, appears
to have been in that country; for we find, from his correspondence, that
he had hardly sufficient uninvested cash in England to pay for his
annual supplies. He became anxious, however, after he attained great
wealth, to remit it home; but this, owing to various causes, was very
difficult. The public treasury was so rich from the successes in Bengal,
that, for a period, no bills were drawn upon the Directors; Clive,
therefore, had recourse to the Dutch Company, through whom he sent the
greater part of his fortune; he also transmitted a considerable sum in
diamonds[149] (a common mode at that time), and the rest in private
bills; and, latterly, two on the Company.[150]
I have carefully examined his letters to his agents, from the 21st of
August, 1755, when he advised them of his first remittance, till
January, 1759, when he made one of his last; and the amount of property
sent to England during that period is, as nearly as the difference of
exchange and the loss[151] on bills enable us to judge, 280,000_l._ Of
this I calculate that he received 210,000_l._ on the enthronement of
Meer Jaffier; and the remaining 70,000_l._ is made up by part of his
former fortune, his prize-money at Gheriah and Chandernagore, the
receipts from the high stations[152] he held, and the accumulation of
interest upon a considerable part of his property during the last five
years of his residence in India.
From what has been stated we may assume that Clive's fortune, before the
jaghire was settled upon him, did not amount to 300,000_l._ It appears
from documents before me that, previous to this grant, he had given
away, or vested for annuities, a sum not less than 50,000_l._[153] (more
than one sixth of his fortune), to render comfortable and independent
those for whom he cherished affection and gratitude.
Clive was, subsequently to these acts of generosity, enriched by the
grant of the jaghire, which he himself estimates at 27,000_l._ per
annum. With this addition, we may conclude he had an income of upwards
of 40,000_l._; a large amount, but far below what this Indian Crœsus
(for such he was deemed) was thought by his countrymen to possess.
FOOTNOTES: CHAPTER 11
Footnote 104:
Lord Northington.
Footnote 105:
23d of February, 1757.
Footnote 106:
In a letter from Mr. Richard Clive, dated 18th of April, 1755, we find
this subject mentioned. "I was glad," he writes to his son, "to hear
from you last post; and though you banter me about the election at
Dover, I think, as you are so near, and the electors so well disposed
to oppose the ministry, you have a fair opportunity to disappoint the
Duke of Newcastle; and after you are elected you can proceed on your
voyage."
Footnote 107:
Mr. Richard Clive, in a letter to his son on the 22d of December,
1756, expresses his sentiments on this subject with all the warmth and
partiality of a father. "Before I left London," he observes, "the Duke
of Newcastle repeated his promise to do for me; and the last time I
saw him, he told me it must be something in my own way.[a] I have
little expectation, especially at this time of life: but the great and
solid satisfaction I enjoy is to think I have a son, who is a
benefactor to the public, as well as his own private relations; and
though you may not have met with what might have been expected from
your countrymen, 't is no discredit to you, but a reflection on them
never to be erased."
Footnote a:
The law.
Footnote 108:
The transfer of the title-deeds of Styche is stated in his father's
letter of the 22d of July, 1756.
Footnote 109:
22d of December, 1756.
Footnote 110:
In a letter from his father, dated 22d of December, 1756, we find the
following curious account of the sale of Clive's establishment:—
"The coach £40 0 0
"Pair of horses 40 0 0
"A grey riding horse 12 12 0
"One horse broke his neck; another fell backwards; and one pair kept
to go in a chaise."
From this statement of property, we infer that Clive, while in
England, must have lived very expensively.
Footnote 111:
This is independent of the sum he had paid for Styche.
Footnote 112:
This appears, from Clive's letter to his agent, Mr. King, of 6th of
October, 1756.
Footnote 113:
29th of April, 1755.
Footnote 114:
Lord Powis.
Footnote 115:
Sir Edward Clive, a near relation, who always acted as one of Clive's
agents.
Footnote 116:
27th of December, 1757.
Footnote 117:
27th of December, 1756.
Footnote 118:
2d of November, 1757.
Footnote 119:
Extract of Mr. R. Clive's letter to his son, 1st of January, 1758.
Footnote 120:
6th of December, 1757.
Footnote 121:
Mr. King, who highly disapproved of this attempt, informs Clive that
the motion was made by a Proprietor at the suggestion of his father,
but withdrawn on seeing it was not relished by the Directors.
Footnote 122:
Letter to Mr. Belchier, 21st of August, 1757.
Footnote 123:
9th of August, 1757.
Footnote 124:
In Clive's letter to his agents, of the 21st of August, 1757, he
directs 2000_l._ to be paid to each of his five sisters, Rebecca,
Sarah, Judith, Frances, and Anne: this amount to be given for their
use for ever.
Footnote 125:
The Reverend Mr. Clive, his cousin.
Footnote 126:
This order is repeated as one some time before given in a letter to
Sir Edward Clive, Bart., and his other agents, dated 9th of November,
1758.
Footnote 127:
25th of December, 1757.
Footnote 128:
I have not been able to ascertain the exact amount Clive gave Captain
Maskelyne, but judge it must have been considerable from a passage in
one of his letters.
Footnote 129:
29th of December, 1758.
Footnote 130:
23d of March, 1758.
Footnote 131:
23d of December, 1758.
Footnote 132:
29th of July, 1759.
Footnote 133:
Miss Sarah Clive.
Footnote 134:
26th of December, 1758.
Footnote 135:
Letter to Clive, 24th of December, 1759.
Footnote 136:
Lady Markham is still alive, and, although upwards of ninety, in the
enjoyment of all her faculties.
Footnote 137:
23d of February, 1757.
Footnote 138:
What these objections were, or the cause of their termination, is not
explained; but Mr. Clive's letter proves that the first part of the
history was written before 1755.
Footnote 139:
14th of September, 1759.
Footnote 140:
24th of August, 1759.
Footnote 141:
Captain Coote commanded the troops detached to take Hooghley, and he
was, before the battle of Plassey, sent with the advance to attack
Kutwa.
Footnote 142:
Though Clive held the King's commission as Lieutenant-Colonel, he was
always considered as a Company's officer.
Footnote 143:
5th of August, 1757.
Footnote 144:
1st of August, 1757.
Footnote 145:
A corge is twenty pair.
Footnote 146:
This anecdote of his father was communicated by Lord Powis.
Footnote 147:
It is added that he was sent to school in a wig; but, as may be
supposed, was soon quizzed out of it by his play-fellows.
Footnote 148:
11th of March, 1758.
Footnote 149:
Clive sent sixteen thousand gold mohurs to his agents at Madras,
Messrs. Orme and Vansittart, with directions to purchase diamonds as a
remittance.
Footnote 150:
One of the bills on the Company was for 8000_l._, and the other for
32,881_l._ 12_s._ 2_d._ He advises his agents of these bills on the
9th of November and 23d of December, 1758.
Footnote 151:
Clive expected the bills on Holland to produce 183,000_l._, but, after
a vexatious delay, they were paid with great deduction. His father
states the loss upon this transaction as amounting to 10,000_l._
Footnote 152:
I consider the statement of the Committee of the House of Commons, of
Clive's receipts at Moorshedabad, to be exaggerated; but we shall have
occasion to notice this statement hereafter, particularly the note
annexed to it, in which it is asserted, in direct opposition to truth,
that Clive's jaghire was obtained at the same period as the donation
from Meer Jaffier. Mr. Mill copies the statement and note without
remark. (Vol. iii. p. 326.)
Footnote 153:
The following sums appear to have been given or settled upon his
relations and friends:—
Present to his sisters £10,000
Present to Captain Maskelyne and others 10,000
Money vested to produce an annuity for his father, of £500
Ditto, his aunts 150
Ditto, Colonel Lawrence 500
To keep a coach for his parents 300
———
Yearly amount of annuities £1450
Sum vested to produce the above 30,000
———
Total £50,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAP. XII.
Clive remained in his native country between three and four years; and
it will be proper briefly to narrate the events of his private life
during this period, to notice the part he took in the political
transactions of the times, and the connections he formed with persons of
power and influence, whether in the direction of Indian affairs, or of
the more general interests of the British empire. The knowledge of such
facts, connected as they became with his future career, is quite
essential to our subject.
The constitution of Clive had never been robust. He had been, for the
last two years in Bengal, freer than usual from the attacks of a
spasmodic complaint, to which he appears to have been more or less
subject from his earliest years. In 1759 he had a very violent attack of
rheumatism, and feared, at one time, that it might settle into gout; but
this apprehension vanished; and when he embarked at Calcutta he
describes himself as in excellent health.
When Clive reached England, he was received with distinction by his
Sovereign and the members of the administration; and, notwithstanding
the deep offence taken at his last public despatch, the Court of
Directors, and particularly their Chairman, Mr. Sulivan, welcomed him as
one to whom the Company were deeply indebted. The enjoyment, however, of
those flattering attentions was early interrupted by a violent and
dangerous illness, which for many months threatened to terminate his
existence.
Clive was not, for some time after his arrival, honoured by any public
mark of royal favour. This seems to have arisen from two causes: one,
his very long and serious illness; the other, his desire to obtain more
than the ministers were willing to grant. He, probably, at first
expected to enter the British House of Peers, and to have a red riband;
but, after a considerable delay, he received only an Irish peerage.
In writing[154] to his friend Major Carnac upon this subject, he
observes; "If health had not deserted me on my first arrival in England,
in all probability I had been an English peer, instead of an Irish one,
with the promise of a red riband. I know I could have bought the title
(which is usual), but that I was above, and the honours I have obtained
are free and voluntary. My wishes may hereafter be accomplished."
Clive had assumed a scale of expenditure suited to his income. He
engaged in elections to aid his friends in the administration, and to
give him the influence he desired in the prosecution of his plans for
his own advancement, and the furtherance of those which he thought
essential to the prosperity and security of the Indian empire. The
expenses into which he was early led, combined with his liberality to
his family, amounted to a very large sum[155]; and we can easily
conceive the alarm with which he received, while yet on a sick bed, an
intimation from Mr. Sulivan, that the Directors showed an inclination to
question his title to his jaghire.
He strongly and feelingly expresses his sentiments upon this subject in
a letter to Mr. Amyatt; "My arrival in England," he observes[156], "was
attended with every mark of respect that I could wish, and my interest
in Leadenhall Street might have been of as much consequence as I could
have desired, for the advantage of my friends; but a most severe fit of
sickness overset all. For twelve months it was difficult to pronounce
whether I was to live or die. In so dreadful a situation, I could not
think much of India, or indeed of any thing else but death. It is very
natural to think, the interest of a dying man could not be very great.
Under these circumstances, I had hints given me that either some
attempts would be made upon my jaghire, or some proposal made for giving
it up to the Company after a certain time, on a supposition, perhaps,
that I had not long to live. Accordingly I was given to understand by
Sulivan, that the gentlemen of the Secret Committee would wait upon me
on this subject. But health returning, this proposal was dropt, and I
have heard nothing more of it since. Although I have such an interest at
Court and in Parliament, that I should not be afraid of an attack from
the whole Court of Directors united, yet all my friends advise me I
should do nothing to exasperate them, if they are silent as to my
jaghire. Indeed it is an object of such importance, that I should be
inexcusable if I did not make every other consideration give way to it;
and this is one of the reasons why I cannot join openly with the Bengal
gentlemen in their resentments. It depends upon you, my friend, to make
me a free man, by getting this grant confirmed from Delhi, and getting
such acknowledgment from under the hands of the old Nabob, and the
present Nabob, as may enable me to put all our enemies at defiance. In
this, I am sure, you will be assisted by Vansittart."
The account of the deposition of Meer Jaffier, and the election of
Cossim Ali Khan, which had been planned by Mr. Holwell immediately after
Clive left Calcutta, will occupy the next chapter. I only so far notice
this revolution at present, as to state its effect on Clive's private
feelings; as it divided and rendered irreconcilable enemies the friends
in India whom he most valued. Though he deplored the revolution, and
anticipated its bad consequences to the reputation of the English
Government, he believed Mr. Vansittart to have been both disinterested
and conscientious in the part he took; and with this impression, while
he admitted the manly sincerity and honourable principles which dictated
the violent opposition of his friend Major Carnac, he decidedly blamed
the warmth and want of respect with which he had addressed his superiors
on this subject. Mr. Amyatt was much respected by Clive both for his
talents and integrity. He wished him to succeed Mr. Vansittart in the
Government, and was unwilling that his services should be lost by his
continued opposition, grounded on a measure which, as Clive truly
stated, however much to be regretted, was now past and could not be
recalled.
With such sentiments, Clive endeavoured to reconcile his friends to each
other. His efforts were not successful: but it is a remarkable testimony
to his personal character, that, during this period of violent collision
between the parties in Bengal, every individual engaged in the contest
referred to him, as to one on whose honour and judgment they had
implicit reliance; and his more particular friends, though opposed on
all other points, appear to have united whenever his interests were
concerned.
To understand the motives which induced Clive to take an active part in
the affairs of the India House, it is necessary to explain the actual
condition of the different parties who at this period took a share in
the management of the Company's concerns.
The legislature had not as yet directly interfered in the administration
of our Eastern possessions; but ministers and men of high rank and
influence had, nevertheless, great power and weight, both in the Court
of Directors and in the Court of Proprietors. This, however, appears to
have been seldom if ever exerted but to serve individuals, and to have
been more maintained to promote parliamentary influence, and as a means
of rewarding and attaching friends, than with any view to the benefit of
the public interests of either the Indian or the British empire.
Mr. Sulivan, as has been mentioned before, had attained an ascendency in
the direction, of which he was in complete possession when Clive came to
England. But though he had a majority of the Directors with him, he had
many and virulent opponents among the Proprietors. The most prominent of
these were gentlemen who had been in Bengal, who considered themselves
injured by the frequent supersession of the servants of that presidency
by those of Madras and Bombay, to which they considered Mr. Sulivan more
attached, and particularly to the latter.
Though Mr. Sulivan, as has been shown, professed great admiration of
Clive, and was much indebted to him for the station he had attained in
the direction, he appears to have early regarded him as a dangerous
rival. It is certainly to be concluded from what subsequently took
place, that the intimation regarding his jaghire was meant to repress
the ambition of Clive, as connected with Indian affairs; and for a
period it had the desired effect. This we learn from several of his
private letters. In one, to Mr. Pybus at Madras, he makes the following
observations on this subject[157]:—
"The Court of Directors seem to be much in the same situation as when
you left England. Sulivan is the reigning director, and he follows the
same plan of keeping every one out of the direction who is endowed with
more knowledge, or would be likely to have more weight and influence,
than himself. This kind of political behaviour has exasperated most of
the gentlemen who are lately come from India, particularly those from
Bengal. They are surprised I do not join in their resentments; and I
should think it very surprising if I did, considering I have such an
immense stake in India. My future power, my future grandeur, all depend
upon the receipt of the jaghire money. I should be a madman to set at
defiance those who at present show no inclination to hurt me. I have so
far fallen into their way of thinking, as to preside at a general
meeting of a club of East Indians once a fortnight; and this has all the
effect I could wish, of keeping Sulivan in awe, and of convincing him,
that, though I do not mean to hurt him, I can do such a thing if he
attempts to hurt me. Indeed I am so strongly supported by the Government
and by Parliament, that I should not be afraid of an attack from the
whole body united; but there is no necessity of wantonly exciting them
to attempts against my interest."
Clive, soon after he recovered from his illness, appears to have
established himself in great favour at Court; and the Queen stood
godmother to one of his children. These marks of royal favour, and his
connection with the administration, combined with his known opinion that
the British legislature ought to take a share in the management of the
national interests in India, tended much to increase Mr. Sulivan's
jealousy, and to alarm his ambition. His feelings, indeed, for some time
remained dormant; but from the first day of Clive's landing in England
there existed no cordiality between them. That no rupture ensued during
this period, is, in some degree, to be attributed to Mr. Sulivan being
in 1762 out of the direction by rotation. Before next general election,
circumstances occurred which decided Clive in the determination to
combine his interests with those of the great majority of Indians[158],
to oppose this autocrat of the India House.
We find, in one of Clive's letters[159] to Mr. Vansittart, what I
believe to be an honest statement of his feelings at the period at which
it was written; and it sufficiently indicates the part he afterwards
took to prevent the re-election of Mr. Sulivan.
"There is," he observes, "a terrible storm brewing against the next
general election. Sulivan, who is out of the direction this year, is
strongly opposed by Rous and his party, and by part, if not all, of the
East Indians (particularly the Bengalees), and matters are carried to
such lengths, that either Sulivan or Rous must give way. * * * * * * I
must acknowledge that in my heart I am a well-wisher for the cause of
Rous, although, considering the great stake I have in India, it is
probable I shall remain neuter. Sulivan might have attached me to his
interest if he had pleased, but he could never forgive the Bengal
letter[160], and never has reposed that confidence in me which my
services to the East India Company entitled me to. The consequence has
been, that we have all along behaved to one another like shy cocks, at
times outwardly expressing great regard and friendship for each other."
The appearance even of friendship could not long continue between
individuals actuated by such different interests and feelings. Lord
Clive was the first to avow openly his real sentiments; but, according
to his own statement, he had the completest proof that Mr. Sulivan was
the secret abetter of those who sought to ruin him both in fortune and
fame; and he ascribed to the encouragement of that gentleman the
numerous articles which appeared in the newspapers and other ephemeral
publications, traducing his character. This belief was confirmed by a
knowledge that the personal efforts of the ex-chairman were
unremittingly applied to exalt the name of Coote to a rivalry with that
of Clive. But what appears to have exasperated him in the highest degree
was the production of a letter[161] which Mr. Sulivan had written to his
friend Colonel Coote, in March, 1761, in which, when remarking upon some
disputes that the Colonel had with the government at Madras, he
observes; "The behaviour of the then Bengal gentlemen to you being
similar to their treatment of their masters, it puts an end to all
reasoning. Still your detention at Madras verifies that reflection of
Pope upon human foresight, 'Whatever is, is best;' and how much are we
indebted to Providence for this disobedience to our orders. Your country
and your friend share the honour of your masterly and prosperous
conduct."
In the same letter, when referring more immediately to Colonel Coote's
quarrel[162] with the gentlemen of Fort St. George, Mr. Sulivan adds:—
"Our people at Madras, we find, are hot-headed, but they are able,
generous, and open. I can smother their rebukes; but the ungrateful
wretches, late of Bengal, have hurt my temper. I pray keep up a friendly
correspondence with General Lawrence,—he is great and good. I adore him
for his distinguished and noble spirit."
The allusions in the latter paragraph of this letter were too plainly
directed against Clive to be mistaken; and considering that, at the
period when it was written, Mr. Sulivan was on professed good terms with
him, he deemed the expression of such sentiments unpardonable. But, on
the other hand, it might have been urged by Mr. Sulivan's friends, that
these sentiments, though brought to light by some breach of confidence,
were meant only for a private friend, and that there could be no breach
of friendship where none existed; that Lord Clive and Mr. Sulivan
belonged to different parties in politics; that their personal
connections and views, particularly as connected with the Indian
administration in England, were opposed to each other; and that, if Mr.
Sulivan had been led by considerations of interest to preserve outward
terms of cordiality with Lord Clive, his Lordship had been alone
restrained from attacking him by similar prudential considerations.
Amid the causes which tended to hasten a rupture between these
individuals, we must not omit the irritation produced by their
difference of opinion as to the merits and claims of the Company's
servants in India. Clive was the bold and persevering advocate of all
those who had gained and merited his friendship by the aid they gave him
in the performance of their public duties. Several of his
recommendations to Mr. Sulivan met with attention; but others were
treated with slight or delay. I have already mentioned Clive's feeling
respecting Colonel Forde. However great the claims of that officer, the
more recent successes of his rival, Colonel Coote, had fully justified
those who furthered his promotion in England; but Major Carnac had
distinguished himself in Bengal by the defeat of the Shah-Zada, the
surrender of that prince, and the capture of M. Law and the French who
were attached to him. These services, Clive thought, gave him a claim to
a superior commission. He was also very anxious to obtain a majority for
Captain Knox, who, independent of his services under him, had, on
several late occasions[163], established a reputation for skill and
gallantry, superior to any one of his standing in India.
At this period it was not uncommon to give superior commissions to those
who greatly distinguished themselves. Clive was the advocate of a
system, which, considering the actual state of the service, he thought
indispensable to reward and encourage men of talent and enterprise. Mr.
Sulivan, though he did not deny the merits of the persons brought to his
notice by Clive, appears to have been very reluctant to promote them, at
the hazard of creating discontent to others. He was, like other members
of the Court of Directors at that period, prompt to attend to the
frequent appeals made to them against the local government; and such
appeals were usually from those who had no pretensions to preferment but
that of seniority, and who were often persons quite unfitted, by their
habits and character, for the delicate and arduous duties which, at this
period, devolved upon officers intrusted with high military command.
Clive, by his notes in answer to the Chairman on these points, appears
to have been very impatient of the general reasoning with which his
applications were answered. He conscientiously felt, in supporting those
he brought forward, that he acted from no motive but that of the public
good; he saw that by such maxims our Indian empire never would have been
gained; and he was quite satisfied that the system which Mr. Sulivan
desired to establish, of directing the attention of the civil and
military servants in India to the government in England, was calculated
to subvert all authority in the local administration, and, in its
results, to distract, weaken, and distress our yet infant empire in the
East. Sulivan's were the principles of the head of a commercial company;
Clive's those of the founder and sustainer of an empire.
To understand all the motives which influenced Clive's conduct at this
period, it is necessary to advert to the changes in the British
administration, and especially, in so far as these affected the
individuals with whom he was most intimately connected.
The personal influence exercised by Lord Bute over the mind of his young
sovereign counteracted the wise and vigorous measures of Pitt; who, on
being thwarted in his design of anticipating the hostile intentions of
Spain, retired with his friends from the cabinet.[164] Aware of the
great popularity of his predecessor, Lord Bute (who succeeded Mr. Pitt)
tried every effort to increase the number of his adherents. Amongst
others, Clive was courted to give his support to the new administration.
His fame, his wealth, and the votes he commanded, gave importance to his
aid; and the terms offered him were alike tempting to his ambition and
interests: but his respect for the integrity and great talents of Mr.
Pitt had been increased by personal acquaintance[165], and he cherished
the sincerest attachment to Mr. George Grenville, who, on Pitt's
retirement, had resigned his situation as Treasurer of the Navy. Besides
these personal considerations, the measures of Mr. Pitt were congenial
with every sentiment of his mind; and he augured no benefit to the
nation from the less energetic character of his successor, whose avowed
eagerness for peace (he anticipated) would prevent its being concluded
on such favourable terms as the successes of the war gave grounds to
expect.
Governed by these motives, Clive rejected the overtures of Lord Bute. He
states the grounds of his conduct in a letter to Major Carnac, written a
month after the change of ministers occurred.
"Now that we are to have peace abroad," he observes[166], "war is
commencing at home amongst ourselves. There is to be a most violent
contest, at the meeting of Parliament, whether Bute or Newcastle is to
govern this kingdom; and the times are so critical that every member has
an opportunity of fixing a price upon his services. I still continue to
be one of those unfashionable kind of people who think very highly of
independency, and to bless my stars, indulgent fortune has enabled me to
act according to my conscience. Being very lately asked, by authority,
if I had any honours to ask from my sovereign, my answer was, that I
thought it dishonourable to take advantage of the times; but that when
these parliamentary disputes were at an end, if his Majesty should then
approve of my conduct by rewarding it, I should think myself highly
honoured in receiving any marks of the royal favour."
When the treaty of peace between France and England was in the course of
negotiation, the opinion of Bussy[167] was taken on all points connected
with the interests of his nation in India. No similar reference appears
to have been made to Clive, whose knowledge far exceeded that of every
other individual, on this important subject. But he was too earnest in
his desire to promote the future peace of India to allow any party
motives to prevent his offering every information that could aid
ministers in that part of the negotiation which related to our Eastern
possessions; he transmitted, therefore, a memorial to Lord Bute.
In this memorial Clive stated, that it was not now more than fifteen
years since the European nations, who had established factories in
India, were as much regulated and controlled in their concerns by the
native governments as the natives themselves. To the extortions to which
this exposed them, to the expense of their establishments, and to the
decrease in value in the Indian manufactures, he attributes the
disappointment of the expectations originally formed of great profits
from this trade. Dupleix (he observes), on the ground that commerce
alone must, under such circumstances, be a losing concern, suggested to
his government the policy of making conquests in India; territorial
revenue being, in his opinion, the only source by which a European
nation could derive wealth from that country.
"Acting upon the principles he recommended," to use the words of the
memorial, "Dupleix engaged in the contentions of the princes of the
country, and had, at one time, in a great measure, obtained his aim.
There remained nothing to complete it but the expulsion of the English
out of Hindustan. We were at that time wholly attached to mercantile
ideas; but undoubted proof of M. Dupleix's projects obliged us to draw
the sword, and our successes have been so great that we have
accomplished for ourselves, and against the French, exactly every thing
that the French intended to accomplish for themselves and against us."
After stating these facts, Clive proceeds to detail, in this memorial,
the extent to which concessions may be made at a general peace. He
expresses great anxiety that the French should, if possible, be limited
as to the number of men they are to maintain upon the coast of
Coromandel; but, under every circumstance, he is strenuous against their
re-admission to Bengal, except as merchants.
Lord Bute expressed his obligations to Lord Clive for this
communication.
"I have received[168]," he states, "your Lordship's letter, and the
paper accompanying it, in which you have offered your sentiments on the
interests of this country with respect to our possessions in the East
Indies, in a very clear and masterly manner. The lights you have thrown
on the subject could not fail of being acceptable to me. I return your
Lordship thanks, therefore, for the communication; and you may be
assured that I will make a proper use of them."
Every attention possible was given to Clive's suggestions; and by the
definitive treaty of peace, concluded in February, 1763, the French
government agreed not to maintain any troops in Bengal, or in the
northern circars. These were the chief objects to which he had directed
the attention of Lord Bute; but that minister (consulting only his
friend Mr. Sulivan, and the Directors) had inserted an article into the
preliminary treaty, by which the recognition, by the French, of the
title of Mahommed Ali Khan, as Nabob of the Carnatic, was obtained by
the English recognising the title of the ally of the French, Salabut
Jung, as Subahdar of the Deckan. Nothing could be more preposterous than
this guarantee (for to such it amounted) of the title of two Indian
princes standing in the relations the Subahdar of the Deckan and the
Nabob of Arcot did to each other, and to their European allies. Besides,
Salabut Jung had for some years ceased to be the ally of the French, and
was the ally of the English Government.
Clive, it would appear from the documents in my possession, only heard
by accident of this extraordinary article. He hastened to Mr. Wood, the
Under Secretary of State, whom he soon convinced of the embarrassment
and danger it might produce. Lord Bute being also satisfied by his
reasoning, it was, in forming the definitive treaty, so altered and
amended, that (as I have elsewhere remarked) it might have remained
innoxious, "had it not been subsequently converted by his Majesty's
ministers into a pretext for one of the most unjustifiable and
mischievous acts[169] of interference with the powers of the Company
that is to be found on the page of Indian history."
Clive was dissatisfied with the peace, and voted in the minority that
condemned that measure. His having come forward, under such
circumstances, to give his aid in improving the treaty, as far as the
interests of the Company were concerned, greatly increased his
popularity with the proprietors. He continued in opposition, though to
the sacrifice of his personal interests; nor was his conduct, on this
occasion, dictated by any hope of Mr. Pitt's restoration to power. He
evidently thought that great statesman had, by his own acts, barred
himself from all chance of future employment.
Writing to Mr. Vansittart, Clive observes[170]; "Mr. Pitt,
notwithstanding his great abilities and the many eminent services he has
rendered this nation, has become the most odious man living to the King,
nobility, and both parliaments. The King can never forgive him that
unfortunate visit to the city on the Lord Mayor's day, his popularity
was such, that it seemed as if _King William_ instead of _King George_
had been invited to that grand entertainment. As to the Privy Council,
he has honoured them in Parliament with the names of state cowards and
political misers. In short, his whole interest in Parliament is lost,
and it is very improbable, if not impossible, he should ever come into
employment again."
Ministers, unable to gain Clive, desired to give him every annoyance,
and by diminishing his wealth and reputation, to lessen his influence.
Lord Bute was Mr. Sulivan's friend and patron; and the latter was a
willing leader in this attack. The measures taken by his opponents
satisfied Clive that he had no means of supporting his own interests but
by a successful opposition to Mr. Sulivan at the ensuing general
election at the India House.
The share of stock, which at this period, entitled a proprietor to vote,
was 500_l._; and though it was supposed to be the _bonâ fide_ property
of the individual who voted, the law was not so strict but what it could
be avoided; and there is abundant evidence in the papers before me,
that, in these annual contests for the administration, all parties
"split votes" (as it was termed) to a very great extent.
Lord Clive, in the election of 1763, mentions his having employed
100,000_l._ in this manner; and we find in the following season, when
his friends (after he had left England) so far triumphed over Mr.
Sulivan as to bring Mr. Rous into the chair, that a bill[171] was
brought into the House of Commons, and ultimately carried, by which the
proprietor was compelled to swear, not only that the stock was _bonâ
fide_ his property, but that it had been in his possession a
twelvemonth. This measure put an end (as was intended) to a practice,
which, from being general, had ceased to be a reproach to individuals;
and which, when resorted to by one party, left the other no option but
following a bad example[172], or submitting to defeat.
Clive engaged in the contest at the general election at the India House
with all the ardour which belonged to his character. His first intention
appears to have been limited to the support of Mr. Rous; but I am led to
conclude, from a few papers still preserved upon this subject, that he
came forward personally as a candidate.
In a letter to Mr. Vansittart[173], adverting to what passed at a
numerous meeting of the proprietors, he observes:—
"That tremendous day[174] is over. I need not be particular about it;
you will have it from many hands. I should imagine there were present
not less than eight hundred proprietors. Numbers of neutral people went
off; and no small number of our friends, thinking our majority so great,
that there was no occasion for their presence. Indeed, upon the holding
up of hands, I thought we were at least two to one. This is really a
great victory, considering we had the united strength of the whole
ministry against us.
"Our cause gains ground daily, I should think we shall be stronger at
the election than we were in the General Court. However, this time only
can show, and I do not choose to be very sanguine, our opponents being
very active."
In a subsequent part of the same letter, anticipating success as
certain, he enters into particulars as to the share he proposed to take
in the affairs of the Company, and the arrangements he hoped to be able
to carry into effect. It is a relief, when accompanying him into such
scenes, to have the proof which this letter affords, that the
expectation of being better able to promote the interests and strengthen
the empire of India, was the leading motive which induced him to seek a
station, which he may deem it most fortunate for himself and the
interest of his country that he failed in attaining.
"If we should succeed," he adds in the letter before quoted, "I have no
thought of ever accepting the Chair; I have neither application,
knowledge, nor time, to undertake so laborious an employ. I shall
confine myself to the political and military operations; and I think I
may promise, you shall have a very large military force in India, such a
force as will leave little to apprehend from our enemies in those parts.
I propose having all the troops regimented; that there shall be kept up
at Bengal three battalions of infantry, consisting of seven hundred and
eighty men each battalion, and three companies of artillery, and four
battalions of sepoys; the same at Fort St. George. A much less number
will serve for Bombay. But more of this by the latter ships, when we see
the event of the thing."
From letters addressed to his friends in India, during the first two
years of his residence in England, it may be inferred that Clive, on his
return to his native country, had no intention whatever of involving
himself so deeply with the parties at the India House, and for some time
he had little intercourse with any of the Directors.
"The situation I am in at present," he observes in a letter to Mr.
Lushington[175], "and the part of the town where I now reside, seldom
gives me an opportunity of seeing any of the Directors, to whom I have
been very sparing of applications, since I do not like refusals."
From this and other facts we may collect that the desire to repel
attack, on one hand, and the zeal and confidence of friends, on the
other, hurried him into the contest in which he became engaged. His
cause was warmly espoused by many noblemen and gentlemen of the first
respectability. Almost all those who had served in India were of his
party, and brought with them their friends and connections. These
classes of proprietors were all-powerful at the quarterly meetings of
the General Court; but when Directors were balloted for, the election
was chiefly decided by persons in different walks of life, many of whom
seldom, if ever, attended those Courts; but, having bought stock, either
as a good investment of capital, or as the means of establishing an
influence with the Directors, or with Administration, they gave their
votes at elections as suited their respective interests. Mr. Sulivan had
in his favour a great majority of the Directors, and he was actively
supported by ministers; his strength was consequently great with this
class of voters, and with persons employed in England by the Company,
and the officers and dependents of Government. He numbered also, among
his friends, many of the merchants and tradesmen in the city, and nearly
the whole of the ship-owners and others connected with the trade to
India.
No election ever excited more interest than that now pending. Each party
summoned all its forces; but Clive was destined to sustain his first
defeat in a contest, in which we cannot but regret he should ever have
engaged. His victorious opponents lost no time in making him feel the
full weight of their resentment.
It has been already stated that Clive received his jaghire in 1759: the
grounds upon which it had been granted and accepted were, at that
period, placed upon the records of Government. He had enjoyed it four
years; receiving, annually, its amount from the Company. Immediately
after his return to England an intimation was conveyed to him, by Mr.
Sulivan, that the Secret Committee of the Directors desired to
communicate with him regarding this grant. He expressed his willingness
to meet them, and enter into any explanation; and, considering the
jaghire only as a life-rent, he was disposed to meet any fair
arrangement that could be suggested; but the subject had not been
re-agitated. Three years had passed, and his revenue from this source
was regularly paid by the Bengal Government to his agents in Calcutta.
Under such circumstances, whatever he might have apprehended from the
hostility of Mr. Sulivan, whom he had certainly provoked by an open and
determined opposition, he could not but be astonished to hear that the
first step the Directors took, after the election of 1763, was to
transmit orders to the Bengal Government to stop all further payments on
account of Lord Clive's jaghire, and to furnish them with an account of
all sums which had been paid to that nobleman and his attornies since
the date of the grant.
I find, among the MSS. in my possession, a short narrative of the
progress of this transaction, which presents, in a very compressed form,
a series of facts, a knowledge of which is quite essential to the clear
understanding of this question; I shall therefore give them in the words
of the writer.[176]
"By the ninth article of the treaty between the Company and Meer
Jaffier, at the time of the revolution in 1757, certain lands to the
south of Calcutta were ceded to the Company as perpetual renters, the
Nabob reserving to himself the lordship and quit-rents, which amounted
to near 30,000_l._ yearly; and the Company could never be legally
dispossessed so long as they continued to pay that quit-rent. The
Company farmed out these ceded lands for above 100,000_l._ a year, and
paid the quit-rent regularly to the Nabob till the year 1759, when the
Nabob, in consideration of the great services rendered him by Lord
Clive, assigned over to his Lordship, for life, that quit-rent. The
assignment passed through all the forms usual in the country; and Lord
Clive became grantee of the rent, under the same authority, precisely,
as the East India Company had become grantee of the lands. From this
period the rent was duly paid to Lord Clive, instead of to the Nabob;
nor was there any intermission of the payment until differences arose
between the noble Lord and Mr. Sulivan. It was intimated to his Lordship
that some scruples were entertained concerning any further payment; and
Mr. Sulivan himself, at last informed him, that the Court of Directors
were of opinion it ought to be retained for the Company's use. Lord
Clive replied, that he was entitled to it as well by the laws of England
as by the laws of India; that his right to the reserved rent was
established upon the same authority as the Company's right to the ceded
lands; that he was, notwithstanding, ready to concur in its devolving to
the Company after he should have enjoyed the possession of it a
reasonable number of years; and that he was desirous of a conference
with the Court of Directors upon the subject, any day they might be
pleased to appoint.
"It might have been imagined that the Court of Directors, if they had no
other objects upon this occasion than the honour and interest of the
Company and justice to an individual, would have paid some attention to
an acquiescence of this nature. But their resolution, under the
influence of their leader, was to resent the offence given them by the
noble Lord in the attempt he was meditating against their power; and
this was to be done, not by entering into the discussion of any terms of
accommodation, in which each party, contending for the right above
mentioned, might have met, but by putting an immediate stop to the
payment of the jaghire, and leaving upon his Lordship the difficulties
and vexation of recovering his property by a suit at law.
"There was, however, another secret motive to this violent and unjust
measure. It happened that Lord Clive and his parliamentary friends had,
for some time, acted in opposition to the court-party; and in this
country, where ministers maintain their power by the inflicting of
punishments, as well as by the distribution of rewards, it is no wonder
that they should endeavour to weary out by oppression those whom they
cannot allure by corruption. The Chairman of the East India Company was
known to be at enmity with Lord Clive. Him, therefore, they considered
as the aptest instrument with which the noble Lord might be tortured
into a change of political conduct; and the plan of mutual resentment
was no sooner resolved upon than executed.
"By one of the first ships which sailed for Bengal after the contested
election, the Court of Directors sent orders to the Governor and
Council, that they should no longer pay to the attornies of Lord Clive
the rent granted him by Meer Jaffier, but that they should in future
detain it in their hands, and carry it to the credit of the Company; and
that they should transmit to the Court of Directors an exact account of
all the sums already received by Lord Clive or his attornies on that
head, as his Lordship's pretensions to the jaghire would be settled in
England. The public letter conveying these orders assigned no reason for
their being issued; but a private letter[177] from Mr. Sulivan to Mr.
Vansittart, then Governor of Bengal, which was soon after produced on
oath in the Court of Chancery, declared that the payment of the jaghire
was stopped, because all cordiality between the Court of Directors and
Lord Clive was at an end. This vindictive plea, confidentially
communicated by the Chairman to his friend the Governor, could not,
however, be set up in a court of equity in justification of a flagrant
violation of right. The Company had, for some years, paid the jaghire
without objection; and even at this time of litigation they neither
claimed any title to it themselves nor pretended that there was any
other claimant than the present possessor. It is not necessary to
enumerate the absurd arguments and mean subterfuges to which the Court
of Directors were reduced, in answer to the bill filed against them by
Lord Clive in the Court of Chancery. It is sufficient to observe, that
the principal reasons which they assigned for discontinuing the payment
were, that the Company might one day or other be called to account by
the Emperor[178] of Hindustan for the money paid under the head of this
jaghire; that, therefore, Lord Clive was accountable to them even for
the sums he had already received; that, if the Nabob, Meer Jaffier, had
a right to grant the jaghire out of his own revenues, (which, however,
the Court of Directors did not admit,) yet as that Nabob had been
deposed by the Company's agents, the grant became of no effect.
"Such were the grounds upon which the right to the jaghire was
contested; and we may judge how very futile they were, by the sentiments
entertained of them by all the eminent lawyers of the time; for the
Court of Directors consulted gentlemen of the first reputation in the
profession. Among these were Mr. Yorke, the Attorney-general, and Sir
Fletcher Norton, the Solicitor-general, the substance of whose opinions
was, that it did not appear to be material to enter into such objections
as might be made either by the Emperor of Hindustan or the successors of
Meer Jaffier, to the form or substance of the grant of the lands to the
Company, or of the reserved rent to Lord Clive; that they both claimed
under the same granter, and that the East India Company could not raise
an objection against the grant to Lord Clive, founded on the want of
right and power in the Nabob, which would not impeach their own; that
the question was to be considered, not upon the strict absolute words
(according to the laws and constitution of the Moghul empire), but
relatively as between the East India Company, the grantee of the lands
from Meer Jaffier, and Lord Clive, the grantee of the same Nabob, of a
rent issuing and reserved out of those lands when granted to the
Company; that the question ought to be determined between his Lordship
and the Company upon the same principles as the like question would be
determined, arising between the owner of lands in England subject to a
rent, and the grantee or assignee of that rent, in a case where both
parties derived from the same original granter; that it was incumbent
upon the Court of Directors, in this instance, to turn chancellors
against themselves; and that it was for the honour of that great Company
to act upon such principles, not only with foreign merchants, trading
companies, and foreign states and sovereigns, but with their own
servants.
"Such was the opinion of the greatest lawyers. But the Court of
Directors, actuated, it should seem, rather by a spirit of resentment
than by principles of equity, although they could not hope for a
decision in their favour, determined still to withhold the jaghire, and
to protract the judgment of Chancery by such stratagems or delays as the
forms of judicial proceedings might chance to furnish them with."
Lord Clive complained (and apparently with great justice) of the mode in
which this measure relating to his jaghire was to be carried into
execution. The letter regarding it was sent to India without any
intimation to him; and when, on hearing that the government of Bengal
had been directed to stop all future payments to his agents, he applied
to the Court of Directors for a copy of their proceedings in a case so
deeply affecting his fortune and his reputation, they peremptorily
refused compliance with his request.
Under such circumstances, he had nothing left but to institute (as he
did) a suit in Chancery, and to give to his agents abroad the best
general instructions his want of minute information enabled him. Mr.
Vansittart, the Governor, was his principal agent; but conceiving that
his duty to him and that to his superiors might clash, he desired him on
such occurrence to devolve the charge of his interests on Major Carnac,
and in case of this gentleman not thinking proper to act, he nominated
Mr. Amyatt, Mr. Lushington, and Mr. Amphlett[179], his attornies.
The situation and feelings under which he acted on this remarkable
occasion are fully explained in the following letter to Mr. Vansittart:
"My dear Friend,
"Last night I received advice that the Directors had sent orders to
their President and Council of Bengal to pay into their cash the
amount of my jaghire, and not to grant me any bills of exchange on
that account. Without enlarging upon this subject, so arbitrary and
ungrateful a proceeding will give you a just idea of the principles
of those who have the management of the Company's affairs at
present.
"I am really at a loss what to desire of you about so delicate a
matter. Upon the whole, act like an honest man, and a man of
honour: do justice to your friend without injuring the Company; for
I am satisfied, the more this affair is inquired into, the more it
will be to my honour. At the same time, I am obliged to take every
step both against the Directors and the Governor and Council that
the law will admit of.
"Enclosed you will receive a letter to that purport, and if you
should judge it not improper to act as my attorney on this
occasion, I request you will act accordingly. I have sent Carnac a
duplicate of the power of attorney sent you by this conveyance, and
you will observe I have appointed the Major, Lushington, and
Amphlett, to act as may be thought most proper by you and Carnac,
with whom I request you will consult on this occasion.
"If you should find my information not exactly true, and that the
Directors allow you some latitude of judging of my right to the
jaghire, before you take such a step, these precautions of mine may
be laid aside for the present; but I have too good authority for
what I write; notwithstanding the Directors have refused giving me
a copy of the paragraph sent by this conveyance, which I demanded
in form.
"I am, dear Sir,
"Your affectionate friend and servant,
(Signed) CLIVE.
"Berkeley Square,
"April 28th, 1763.
"_To Henry Vansittart, Esq._"
In a letter to Major Carnac of the same date, after giving him similar
information regarding the conduct of the Directors, he observes:—
"Your friendship and regard for justice will, I am persuaded,
induce you to take every step in support of both my fortune and
reputation; and the more this affair of the jaghire is inquired
into, the more honour it will do me, and make the ingratitude of
the Directors appear in blacker light.
"What I wrote you last year is become now absolutely
necessary,—that the old Nabob, as well as the present one, should
acknowledge my right to the jaghire in the strongest terms. Meer
Jaffier will be surprised at this step, and may, if he pleases,
address a letter to the Company upon the occasion; a translation of
which must be enclosed.
"The opinion of the lawyers is, that the Directors' orders are
illegal; that the President and Council cannot, consistent with
their own safety, put them in execution; for which purpose I have
addressed a letter to the President and Council, forbidding them to
comply with the orders sent them, at their peril.
"Enclosed you will receive a power of attorney to act for me, if
you shall think necessary, provided Vansittart should decline it
from his being Governor. I have desired Van. to consult with you on
this matter; and you will observe that I have nominated Lushington
and Amphlett to act as my attorneys, if you should not think it
proper, or for my interest, to act for me.
"In case the Governor and Council should retain my money, or refuse
giving bills of exchange, you (or whoever acts as my attorney) are
immediately to commence a suit at law against the Company, and to
transmit a very exact account of all your proceedings, that it may
be taken up in England. I am not in the least doubt of making the
aggressors pay dear for the attempt; but their purpose will, in
some respect, be answered by their lawsuit, as it prevents me
becoming a Director next year. However, this will not prevent me
from bringing in my friends, which will be the same thing."
Lord Clive wrote to his friend, Mr. Amyatt, in much the same terms: he
observes, in the conclusion of this letter[180],—
"You, who know the honourable manner in which I acquired my
jaghire, will not be wanting to do me justice; at the same time, do
your duty to the Company as far as is consistent with equity and
your own safety; for I tell you very plainly, that if the Governor
and Council obey the orders received from the Company, they must do
it at their peril, and that I shall immediately commence an action
against them by my attorneys in Bengal.
"The letter I send to the Governor and Council, I am persuaded, you
will look upon as an act of necessity, in order to save my
undoubted property from the worst of enemies,—a combination of
ungrateful Directors."
From the sentiments entertained and expressed by Mr. Vansittart and Lord
Clive's other friends in Bengal, and the result of communications with
the Nabob and Emperor[181], there is no doubt that every step would have
been taken, and every document obtained, that could have confirmed his
right to the jaghire; but an arrangement which took place in the ensuing
year at the India House rendered all further proceedings unnecessary.
The violent animosities of parties in Bengal, which spread to England,
were brought to a crisis, in that country, by intelligence of the
dreadful massacre at Patna, and the murder of Mr. Amyatt, and those by
whom he was accompanied, at Moorshedabad. These events will be fully
noticed in the next chapter. Suffice it here to say, that they produced
the greatest alarm in the mind of every one connected with India.
The proprietors now turned all their attention to the state of Bengal;
where, besides what had occurred with the native government, the
recriminations of the opposed parties among their own servants had
brought to light a scene of corruption, division, and distraction in
their internal rule, which, if not early remedied, threatened to bring
complete ruin upon their affairs, and to disappoint all the golden
dreams of profit from their possessions in that quarter of India.
Under such circumstances it is not surprising that the eyes of almost
all should have been turned on Clive, as the only person fitted to
remedy the mismanagement and misrule of their Indian empire. At a very
full General Court he was unanimously solicited to return to India.
At the same time, the proprietors proposed to the Directors the instant
restitution of his jaghire; nor can there be a doubt (according to the
narrative[182] now before me) that this vote would have been carried by
a great majority; but Lord Clive, who was in Court, not thinking it
strictly honourable to take advantage of this sudden spirit of
generosity, and to carry, merely by his popularity, a case which was
depending at law, rose, and requested they would desist from their
liberal intentions; adding, that from being sensible of the impropriety
of going abroad whilst so valuable a part of his property remained in
dispute, he would make some proposals to the Court of Directors, which
would, he trusted, end in an amicable adjustment of this affair.
Lord Clive had now thrown off all disguise with Mr. Sulivan; they were
open and irreconcilable opponents. His Lordship, on this occasion,
pursued a course quite suited to the boldness and decision of his
character. After stating what he had done about the jaghire, he
concluded by observing, "There was another and more weighty obstacle to
his undertaking the management of the affairs in Bengal, without the
removal of which he thought it incumbent upon him to apprise them of his
positive determination to decline entering again into their service:
that he differed so much from Mr. Sulivan in opinion of the measures
necessary to be taken for the good of the Company, that he could not
consider that gentleman as a proper Chairman of the Court of Directors;
that it would be in vain for him to exert himself as he ought, in the
office of Governor and Commander in Chief of their forces, if his
measures were to be thwarted and condemned at home, as they probably
would be, by a Court of Directors under the influence of a Chairman,
whose conduct, upon many occasions, had evinced his ignorance of East
India affairs, and who was also known to be his personal and inveterate
enemy; that it was a matter totally indifferent to him, who filled the
chair, if Mr. Sulivan did not; but that he could not, consistently with
the regard he had for his own reputation, and the advantages he should
be emulous of establishing for the Company, proceed in the appointments
with which they had honoured him, if that gentleman continued to have
the lead at home."[183]
Mr. Sulivan, fearing he might fall a sacrifice to the resolution which
he saw the Court entertain of possessing on any terms the services of
Lord Clive, and knowing too well the frame of his Lordship's mind to
expect any change in sentiments he had so decidedly avowed, rose, and
expressed his concurrence in the opinion of the General Court as to the
talents of Lord Clive, with whom he could conceive no reason why he
should be at variance, it having been his desire to live in friendship
with him. After these professions, and some general observations of the
same tendency, Mr. Sulivan proceeded to represent the impropriety of
superseding (by the civil and military powers proposed to be granted to
Lord Clive) Mr. Vansittart, Governor of Bengal, and Major-General
Lawrence, who had lately been induced to return to Madras. He also
stated the disappointment which the nomination of Lord Clive would
create to Mr. Spencer, a Bombay servant lately nominated to the head of
affairs at Bengal. But the General Court were in no temper to listen to
such reasoning, and with one voice insisted upon the Directors making
the appointment. The Directors, as a last resource, desired to try the
question by ballot; but the bye-laws of the Company establish that no
ballot shall take place except by a requisition of nine proprietors.
Though upwards of three hundred were present, this number could not be
found to sign their names to such a requisition; and the Court, in
consequence, adjourned.
The Court of Directors, thus compelled to attend to the wish of the
Court of Proprietors, nominated Lord Clive Governor and Commander in
Chief of Bengal. There was some hesitation about the military commission
interfering with that of Major-General Lawrence, who, though advanced in
years, and infirm, had accompanied his near relation Mr. Palk, when that
gentleman was appointed Governor of Madras. But Clive intimated, that it
was far from his wish to supersede his old commander: all he required
was, that neither Major-General Lawrence nor any other officer should
have the power of interfering with his command in Bengal.
Lord Clive received his appointment[184] within a month of the general
election; and the Directors hurried their preparations for his
departure, from a desire that he should leave England before that took
place; conceiving, no doubt, that his doing so would evince a confidence
in their support, and prevent that opposition which several of them
expected, on the ground of their known hostility to the popular
Governor. A letter was, in consequence, written to Lord Clive by the
Secretary, informing him that a ship was ready to receive him. He
replied, that, for reasons he had assigned at the General Court, he
could not think of embarking, till he knew the result of the election of
Directors, which was to take place in the ensuing month. The Directors,
when they received this answer, declared that they considered it as a
resignation of the government. They therefore summoned a General Court,
at which one of the proprietors in their interest moved, that, as Lord
Clive declined the government of Bengal, they should proceed to a new
nomination; but his Lordship's declaration at the late Court had made
too deep an impression to be easily erased. The proprietors saw nothing
in his conduct but manly consistency with the sentiments he had before
so decidedly avowed; and, on the other hand, viewing the conduct of the
Directors as an unworthy artifice to evade compliance with their wishes,
they threw out the proposition with violence and clamour.
On the 25th of April, 1764, a very warm contest took place. Mr. Sulivan
brought forward one list of twenty-three Directors; and Mr. Rous (who
was supported by Clive) produced another. Notwithstanding his friend,
Lord Bute, was no longer minister, Mr. Sulivan succeeded in bringing in
half his numbers; but we cannot have a stronger proof of the degree in
which the attack of Lord Clive had shaken the power of this lately
popular Director, than the fact that his own election was only carried
by one vote. In the subsequent contest for the chair, Mr. Rous
succeeded; and Mr. Bolton, who was also of Clive's party, was nominated
his Deputy.
Soon after the election of the Directors, the Court took the subject of
the settlement of Lord Clive's jaghire into consideration; and a
proposition, made by himself, was agreed to[185], confirming his right
for ten years, if he lived so long, and provided the Company continued,
during that period, in possession of the lands from which the revenue
was paid.
Lord Clive, previous to his departure, communicated his sentiments to
the Directors, very fully, upon all points connected with affairs in
Bengal. The subject of his letters will be noticed hereafter. Suffice it
to say, that the same emergency which caused his nomination led to his
being vested with extraordinary powers; and he was, aided by a committee
of persons of his own naming, made independent of his Council. His
recommendations of different military officers were also attended to.
The King's troops being at this period recalled, all officers in his
Majesty's service were ordered to England. Major Caillaud, promoted to
the rank of Brigadier General, had been appointed to Madras; Major
Carnac's services were rewarded with a similar commission, and the
command of the troops in Bengal; Sir Robert Barker was appointed to
command the artillery; Majors Richard Smyth and Preston were nominated
Lieutenant-Colonels of the European corps; and Major Knox advanced to
the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, to command the sepoys.
The victory which Lord Clive obtained at the India House was followed up
by his friends, who, on the next general election (1765), strengthened
their party among the Directors very considerably; and Mr. Sulivan,
notwithstanding the active exertions of his adherents, was again
defeated. This success gave Clive the support he required during his
short but important administration of the affairs of Bengal. It laid,
however, the foundation of the future troubles of his life; for those
over whom he now triumphed cherished their resentments[186]; and their
ranks were early recruited by numerous malcontents from India, whom
Clive's reforms had either deprived of the means of accumulating wealth,
or exposed to obloquy. The efforts of his confederated enemies will be
noticed hereafter: the subject is mentioned here merely as a consequence
of his engaging personally in the politics of Leadenhall Street. How far
that step was one of wisdom, or of necessity, it is very difficult to
determine.
The twenty-four Directors were at this period elected annually; and they
had no sooner taken their seats than they were obliged to commence an
active canvass to maintain them. Their patronage was the great means by
which this was effected; and as that extended to almost every office in
India, the value of which rose in proportion to the undue exercise of
local authority, the Directors, generally speaking, might be said to
derive strength from the continuance of those abuses which, as managers
of the Company's concerns, it was their duty to correct. At the period
of which I am writing, a great change had taken place in this body.
Within the last ten years a number of the servants of the Company had
returned to England with large fortunes; all of those bought India
stock, to give them weight as proprietors; and many sought the
direction, either to support their own interest, or that of their
friends. Their efforts to influence elections brought them sometimes
into violent collision with each other, but oftener with those classes
of individuals who, before this change, had almost wholly monopolised
the management of the affairs of the East India Company.
To judge from the papers and pamphlets written by the different parties
concerned in the general elections, and the means taken to create and
influence the votes by ballot, we should pronounce that the India House,
at this period, presented, annually, a scene in which there was little
more of temper, and decorum of language, than at any popular election in
the kingdom. No person better knew the nature of these contests than
Lord Clive; and no one could be more anxious to avoid them. The
resolution he took and declared, of preserving himself personally clear
of them, was communicated to all his friends; and there can be no doubt
that he was sincere in desiring to abstain from mixing in a scene where
he might lose, but could not gain, reputation. But England is a country
where men who require support must give it. Lord Clive had grounds, from
his first landing in his native country, to dread an attack upon his
fortune. He ascribes (and no doubt justly) the forbearance of his
opponents to their dread of his influence, particularly with ministers
and at court; but that was now at an end, when his attachment to Mr.
Pitt and Mr. Grenville, and his disapprobation of the peace, led him, as
we have stated, to reject the overtures of Lord Bute, when that nobleman
added to his power, as the court favourite, that attached to the station
of Prime Minister of his country.
Lord Clive, under such circumstances, had no choice between bartering
his independence to obtain security to his fortune, and strengthening
himself, through other means, in order to resist the attack with which
he was threatened. He had many and warm friends among men of the first
rank and respectability in England; and a numerous body of Indians were
attached to him, either through gratitude, or from admiration of his
character. But all these persons had their own objects to serve; and a
continuance of their attachment could not have been expected by one who,
thinking only of himself, chose to be neutral in affairs which nearly
concerned their honour or their interest. To prevent, therefore, his
being left defenceless and at the mercy of those in whom he had no
confidence, Clive, we must suppose, was compelled to come forward; and,
once in the field, defensive measures (however prudent) were altogether
unsuited to his character. He immediately became the assailant; and his
short but active campaign at the India House, though chequered with
defeat and victory, was ultimately successful, from the same causes
which had made him so often triumph in very different scenes. His bold,
open, and uncompromising mind gave courage to his friends, and filled
with dismay the ranks of his enemies. But never was that good fortune
which attended this extraordinary man through life more conspicuous than
when it preserved him from sinking into the leader of a party at the
India House, and restored him to his proper sphere, to improve and
consolidate his former labours, and fix beyond dispute his claim to the
title of the Founder of the British Empire in India.
Lord Clive, notwithstanding the opinion he expressed of the imprudence
of Mr. Pitt, continued to entertain the greatest veneration for that
statesman. In a letter to Major Carnac, he expresses his delight at the
feelings of indignation with which Mr. Pitt heard of the conduct of the
Directors in stopping the payment of his jaghire. But the person to whom
Clive appears to have most completely attached himself was Mr. George
Grenville; and the connection between them rested upon principles alike
honourable to both. It was by the advice of Mr. Grenville that Clive
came to a compromise with the Directors; and he interfered, personally,
to bring the dispute between his Lordship and that body to an amicable
conclusion.
When Clive left England, he took care to free himself of all political
connections, except with his friend Mr. Grenville; and he requested the
members whom he brought into parliament, and those friends who from
gratitude chose to give him their personal aid, to make the support of
that statesman the rule of their conduct. We learn these facts from the
letters of Mr. Walsh to Clive, after the departure of the latter from
England.
In one letter, written when Mr. Grenville was in office, Mr. Walsh
observes, "There is no alteration in the administration; the coldness
and jealousy between them and Lord Bute seem to continue, and rather to
increase. Your friend Mr. Grenville maintains his ground very well;
indeed he appears to me to confirm his power daily, by his vast
application to business, and by the moderation and circumspection with
which he conducts himself. He is very sparing of promises, and
therefore, as I take it, means to keep those he makes, which is the sure
foundation for a durable administration. I am much inclined to think
that while he has any influence, there will be no unpopular steps taken
by the ministry. The day of the general warrants held till five in the
morning, when an amendment that destroyed the motion was carried by a
majority of thirty-nine. Before the debate, I spoke to Mr. Grenville,
and reminding him of what had passed when you introduced me to him, I
remarked that it was upon such occasions as the present that he had the
most want of assistance from his friends; and that I was apprehensive my
being no longer neutral, as I was last year, would, instead of being of
use to him as I meant it, be of detriment; and that, therefore, I left
it to his option, whether I should come down that day or not; upon,
which, he very handsomely desired me to come down by all means, and be
determined by the merits of the cause, and not only that day, but during
the whole session. I accordingly was there, and staid till one in the
morning, when the debate, having got amongst the lawyers, grew
excessively dull and tedious, and not being very well at the time, I
retired without voting at all."
In a subsequent letter[187], Mr. Walsh informs Lord Clive of the
unexpected change that had taken place in the administration. After
describing the different political parties that had arisen, and were
likely to arise, he adds, "As to me I do not propose being absolutely of
either party; your interest does not appear to me by any means to
require it, nor do my inclinations at all lead me to it. Mr. Grenville,
it is true, I consider as entitled personally to all your assistance;
but his connections are no ways to be justified. The man, therefore, not
his party, should have your support, and, agreeably to what you yourself
told him in my presence, that your ministerial attachments would cease
for ever with his quitting the administration, your plan henceforward
should be independency."
Lord Clive had a most tedious voyage to India. The ship put into Rio
Janeiro, from whence we find letters to all his friends in England.
Constantly alive to every object which affected, in the most remote
degree, the interest of his country, he communicated to Mr. Grenville
the observations which occurred to him upon the state of the colony,
which he had very unexpectedly visited.
"As a well-wisher to my country," he observes[188], "I cannot avoid
representing to you the deplorable condition of this capital settlement
of the Portuguese. I should think myself deserving of everlasting infamy
if I did not, with a battalion of infantry, make myself master of Rio
Janeiro in twenty-four hours. They have nothing here that deserves the
name of fortification: an unflanked garden wall with a rampart, with
some old unserviceable and honey-combed cannon, constitute the chief
strength of this place; and if the capital be in this defenceless
condition, what are we to think of the subordinate settlements on the
coast of Brazil. Bad as the Spaniards are, they could not fail, upon a
future war, of making a speedy and easy conquest of all the Portuguese
possessions in this part of the world, which would be of much more
consequence to Spain than the conquest of Portugal. If a hint of their
weakness could be conveyed to the court of Portugal, and the reformation
already begun there could be extended to the coast of the Brazils, it
might be the means of preserving their valuable possessions from falling
into the hands of the Spaniards sooner or later."
Mr. Grenville, after he left office, acknowledged the receipt of this
letter and some small presents from the Cape. He refers, in this
communication, to the change of administration which had so recently
occurred; and I quote his observations less from their connection with
the life of Clive than from the value which attaches to every sentiment
of one of the most honourable and eminent statesmen who belonged to this
period of English history.
"I take this opportunity," Mr. Grenville observes[189], "of repeating to
your Lordship my thanks, for the honour of your letter from the Brazils,
and for the sensible and useful observations contained in it; which I
immediately endeavoured to make the best use of in my power. I have
since then received an account of your very obliging present of some
wine, a sea-dog, and some birds from the Cape. The sea-dog was unluckily
lost in the voyage home, by jumping overboard, and the birds I have not
yet been able to get; but when I return to town, I shall apply to Mr.
Walsh for his assistance. The wine is safely lodged in my cellars, and
by the account of it, I make no doubt will prove excellent.
"Your Lordship will have heard long before this letter can reach your
hands, of the change which the King has been advised to make in his
administration, in consequence of which I have no longer the honour to
be in his Majesty's service. You will certainly have received many
comments upon this very sudden (and, from the situation of public
affairs when it happened, very unexpected) alteration; but as I am too
nearly concerned in this event to make them, I will only say, that I
sincerely wish it may be productive of benefit to the King and to the
kingdom, instead of being attended with that confusion and disorder
which is generally expected, if the present system should continue,
though that is thought not likely. For my own part, I can only say, that
I am in the same opinions, and shall endeavour to promote the same plan
for the public business out of office, which I did whilst I had the
honour to hold one. In these sentiments, those who are now in his
Majesty's service will probably not agree with me; but on the other
hand, I have reason to hope for the approbation of those who have done
me the honour to approve my conduct. I shall earnestly wish in every
situation, to preserve the good opinion and kindness which my friends
have so strongly expressed towards me upon the present occasion, and to
cultivate the good will and friendship which your Lordship has shown to
me. Our accounts here of the state in which you will find affairs in the
East Indies are too uncertain for me to be able to make any pertinent
observations upon them; I will, therefore, content myself with
expressing to you my warmest and most hearty wishes, that you may be
attended with the same success and honour to yourself, and the same
benefit to the public, in your present command, as your former conduct
in those countries so deservedly acquired."
Lord Clive had been flattered during his stay in England, by having a
vote passed that his statue should be placed in the India House along
with those of General Lawrence and Sir George Pocock. A medal[190] had
also been struck at the desire of the Society for Promoting Arts and
Commerce, in commemoration of the victory of Plassey, and its great and
important results. These honourable marks of regard and respect could
not but be gratifying; and, combined as they were with the enjoyment of
domestic[191] happiness, and the society of friends to whom he was
attached, they naturally rendered him very reluctant again to leave his
native country. The bad health he had for the first twelvemonth after
his return made him dread the effects of an English winter; but latterly
he appears to have overcome that feeling, though we meet, in his
letters, with occasional expressions of despondency, which indicate that
depression of spirits consequent on the nervous attacks to which he
continued to be subject.
Lord Clive purchased, as his town residence, the lease of the excellent
and spacious house, which still belongs to his family, in Berkeley
Square. He made several improvements on Styche; but the house and lands
being on a limited scale for his fortune, he bought the estate of
Walcot, and employed a celebrated architect[192] to render the mansion
suitable to the residence of his family. His kind attentions to his
parents appear to have been greater than ever; and when on the eve of
returning to India, though his agents' letters show that the purchases
he had made and the stoppage of his jaghire had so embarrassed him, that
he had no money at command, he generously gave a bond to each of his
five sisters for 2,000_l._, in addition to the present to the same
amount which he had before given them.
Lord Clive carried to India Mr. Strachey, and Captain Maskelyne, a
brother to Lady Clive. He exerted his utmost efforts to forward the
interests of her other brother, Mr. Nevil Maskelyne of Cambridge; and
these efforts, supported as they were by the great science and high
character of that gentleman, obtained for him the Regius professorship
at Woolwich.[193]
Mr. George Clive, who (as has been before stated) brought home a
moderate fortune, improved it by marriage; and was too comfortably
settled to return to India. Mr. Scrafton had become a Director; but his
grave duties do not appear to have deprived him of his usual high
spirits. In one letter, he warns Lord Clive, that he is now in a
different relation to him, being "one of his honourable masters." In
another, he gives a humorous account of some of their mutual
acquaintances and friends.
"I add this letter," he observes, "to give you an account of that arch
Tory Harry[194], who, having shook off a load of gout at Mortlake, is
come to town so pert, so envenomed with toryism, that he is quite
unsufferable. He goes about boasting of your Lordship's conversion,
abuses Mr. Pitt, impeaching his patriotism and honour, because a private
gentleman has left him an estate which he swears he has no right to, and
that the will should be set aside, for that the man who made it must
have been _non com._; trumps up the Duchess of Marlborough's legacy, the
Hanover millstone, &c. &c.; swears Lord Bute is the only man of merit,
and Tories the only true patriots. * * * * Young Walcot has married a
parson's daughter _sans un sol_; and Walsh has married a country-house,
that will run away with more money, and give him more plague, than half
the wives in England. Poor Daddy King is half eat up with the gout; has
just one hand left to play at cards, and the free use of his tongue, so
that he has as much enjoyment of his faculties as if his whole body were
at ease."
Lord Clive's friend Mr. Pigot returned to England before his Lordship
left it: his fortune[195] was reported to be very large; and through the
influence it enabled him to establish, he attained first a baronetcy,
and afterwards a peerage.
Mr. Orme had settled in England; and from his correspondence appears (at
this time) to have been engaged in finishing the second part of his
history. In a letter[196] now before me, he complains of the
obstructions which forms create to his examination of the records of the
India House; while he expresses his hope of meeting more facility from
the kind attentions of Lord Clive. Writing to that nobleman, he
observes, "I have had permission to poke into the records of the India
House, and have discovered excellent materials for the exordium of my
second volume; but the difficulty of getting them away is immense, for
every scrap of an extract that I desire is submitted to the
consideration of the Court of Directors; so that in three months, and
after making twenty-five journeys to the House, I have not got half what
I want. All because they wo'n't lend me old books, of which not a soul
in England suspected the existence until my rummages discovered them. I
am afraid, my Lord, that these gentlemen suspect that I shall make a
fortune by my book; and therefore think all the trouble and impediments
I meet with to be what I have no reason to complain of, as it is in the
way of trade.
"You, my Lord, have treated me differently; and pray continue to do so.
Make me a vast map of Bengal, in which not only the outlines of the
province, but also the different subdivisions of Burdwan, Beerboom, &c.
may be justly marked. Get me a clear idea of the different offices and
duties of Duan, Bukhshee, Cadgee, Cutwall, and all other great posts in
the government. Take astronomical observations of longitude, if you have
any body capable of doing it. I send you a skeleton of the Bengal map I
intend for my second volume, and I will hereafter send you the first
sheets of the book itself; which will contain matter entirely new, even
to us East Indians; but that cruel India House, and my paper
constitution, keep me back most terribly."
Among those he had left in India, Lord Clive regarded none with more
sincere friendship than Major Carnac[197]; and when he feared that that
officer would resign the service from disgust at the treatment he had
received, he wrote him in the most urgent manner, to take no such
precipitate step. He informs him, in one letter[198], that he had
exerted himself to the utmost, and would continue to do so while he
lived, to promote his views; and "if any accident happens to me," he
adds, "I have left you an annuity of 300_l._ per annum."
Mr. Amyatt had established himself very high in the opinion of Lord
Clive, with whom he maintained, for several years, a very intimate
correspondence, to which frequent reference has been made. Lord Clive
thought equally well of this gentleman's talent and integrity; and was
deeply grieved at hearing of his death. He had, it is true, recommended
Mr. Vansittart to be his successor, in preference to Mr. Amyatt; but the
latter was quite satisfied that this was done from a conscientious
conviction of Mr. Vansittart's superior competency to the station; and
he knew that Lord Clive had endeavoured, though unsuccessfully, to
obtain for him the succession of the government of Bengal, which had
been given to Mr. Spencer, a member of Council at Bombay, a gentleman
whom Clive had recommended to be at the head of his own presidency, but
against whose present nomination he remonstrated in the strongest
manner, on the ground of his abilities and character (though
respectable) not being such as to warrant the supersession of so many
civil servants at Bengal, and particularly of Mr. Amyatt.
We have often had occasion to notice the intimate footing on which Clive
had lived for many years with Mr. Vansittart, and the high opinion he
entertained of his virtue and abilities. Though condemning the
dethronement of Meer Jaffier, he ascribed the chief blame of that
measure to Mr. Holwell, and believed that his friend Van. (as he termed
him) had acted from necessity: but when Cossim Ali was left uncontrolled
to pursue his own course, and the Governor, acting on the system of
non-interference with the Nabob's authority, abandoned to his mercy the
rich Hindus and others, who had long looked to the English for
protection, Clive was unqualified in his condemnation of a policy which
he deemed calculated to injure the reputation, and with it the strength,
of the British Government. The opinions he gave on this subject were in
direct opposition to those contained in the minutes and memorials
published by Mr. Vansittart in defence of his conduct; and their wide
difference on a subject of such importance led to their being of
opposite parties in the India House.
Mr. Sulivan became the advocate of Mr. Vansittart, whose modesty,
moderation, and great virtue he contrasted with the bold, grasping
ambition of Lord Clive; and this circumstance, more than any other,
tended to loosen those bonds by which the two friends had been so long
united.
When persons are in the situation of Lord Clive and Mr. Vansittart,
every trifle obtains importance, and serves to widen the breach. Lord
Clive appears to have been, during the whole of his residence in
England, very desirous to establish himself well at court. Among other
attentions, he studied to gratify the curiosity of the King, by
obtaining for him some of the most remarkable animals of the East. He
wrote[199] several times to Mr. Vansittart to aid him in this object.
Some time after his application, Lord Clive received a letter from that
gentleman, intimating that he had sent home two elephants[200], a
rhinoceros, and a Persian mare, which he requested his Lordship would,
along with his brother, Mr. Arthur Vansittart, present to his Majesty.
When these animals reached England, Mr. A. Vansittart requested Lord
Clive would accompany him to court, to present them. The following
answer to this letter shows the first impression which this transaction
made upon his Lordship's mind.
"Upon the receipt of your letter," Lord Clive observes, "enclosing a
copy of a paragraph from your brother, I can plainly perceive, that Mr.
Vansittart, declining to comply with the request I made him, of
purchasing and sending home, on my account, an elephant, to be presented
to his Majesty by me, has taken that hint to send one home on his own.
This unkind treatment I neither deserved nor expected from Mr.
Vansittart. I am persuaded his Majesty will not think I am wanting in
that respect which is due to him, if I decline presenting, in another
person's name, an elephant which I intended to present in my own. At the
same time, I shall take care his Majesty be informed of the cause of my
desiring to be excused attending you to his Majesty, with Mr.
Vansittart's presents."
An explanation took place upon this subject; and it appears by a
letter[201] from Lord Clive to Mr. Vansittart in the following year,
that some blame attached to the captain of the ship, who acted,
according to Lord Clive's opinion, at the instigation of Mr. Sulivan.
But it is a justice we owe to the memory of the latter gentleman to
state, that Lord Clive was in such a frame of mind at the time he
listened to this accusation, as readily to believe that every thing
(whether public or private) which tended to annoy or injure him
originated with or was aggravated by, his rival for supremacy at the
India House.
Though several causes combined to interrupt that cordiality which had
once subsisted between Lord Clive and Mr. Vansittart, no open rupture
took place. The latter had left Calcutta before his successor arrived,
and returned to his native country with a moderate fortune[202], and a
character for integrity that was never impeached, even by those who
censured most severely the weakness and impolicy of many measures of his
government.
Lord Clive, in the hurry of leaving England, forgot to include Mr. Call,
the chief engineer at Madras (with Mr. Campbell[203] and Mr. Preston),
in his recommendation for a brevet commission as Colonel. He wrote[204]
from Rio Janeiro to the Chairman, Mr. Rous, entreating he would rectify
his mistake, and prevent so excellent an officer being hurt by neglect.
In the same letter he called his attention, in a very forcible manner,
to the merits of Colonel Forde.
"If Caillaud," he observes, "should not go to the coast of Coromandel,
pray do not forget Colonel Forde, who is a brave, meritorious, and
honest officer. He was offered a jaghire by the Subah of the Deckan, but
declined taking it upon terms contrary to the interest of the Company.
Lord Clive, General Lawrence, and Colonel Coote, have received marks of
the Directors' approbation and esteem; Colonel Forde has received none.
The two captains who fought and took the Dutch ships in the Ganges
received each a piece of plate; but Colonel Forde, the conqueror of
Masulipatam, who rendered the Company a much greater service by the
total defeat of all the Dutch land forces in Bengal, has not been
distinguished by any mark of the Company's favour."
I here close the account of Clive's second visit to his native country,
in which he resided more than three years. I have been minute in
relating the events of this period. They had, both as they related to
the friendships he formed and improved, and the hostility which his open
and warm temper provoked, a serious influence upon his future career;
and a knowledge of them is quite essential, both to the developement of
his character, and to the understanding of the subsequent part of these
volumes.
FOOTNOTES: CHAPTER 12
Footnote 154:
27th of February, 1762.
Footnote 155:
This fact he mentions in several letters. In one to Mr. Amyatt, after
entreating that gentleman to remain a short time longer in Bengal, to
succeed Mr. Vansittart in the government, he warns him against
retiring till possessed of an ample fortune. He notices the
disappointment experienced by many of their friends, by the discovery
of their inadequate means, and adds, that he had already spent[b] (in
a period of eighteen months) upwards of 60,000_l._
Footnote b:
This letter is dated 27th of February, 1762. Clive could not have
reached England before September or October, 1760, and had been a
twelvemonth on a sick bed.
Footnote 156:
27th of February, 1762.
Footnote 157:
27th February, 1762.
Footnote 158:
We have already noticed, that the most violent of Mr. Sulivan's
opponents were the gentlemen from Bengal, who formed, on this
occasion, a party, long afterwards known in the India House by the
name of the "Bengal Squad."
Footnote 159:
22d November, 1762.
Footnote 160:
For this letter, vide _antè_, p. 129.
Footnote 161:
In the heat of the canvass at the India House, in the beginning of
1763, a copy of this letter was obtained and circulated. One was sent
to Clive, who transmitted it to Mr. Vansittart, with expressions of
the most unqualified indignation.
Footnote 162:
Colonel Coote, when he took Pondicherry, supported by the Admiral,
desired to keep that fortress for the King of England, and appointed
an officer to command it. Mr. Pigot, and the gentlemen in Council at
Fort St. George, refused to advance pay to the army till the fortress
was given up; and having thus compelled that concession, removed the
commandant nominated by Colonel Coote.
Footnote 163:
The rapid march of Captain Knox to the relief of Patna in 1760, and
the severe action he afterwards fought with a handful of men against
Cuddim Hussun Khan, who had a considerable army, were exploits worthy
of Clive himself.
Footnote 164:
Mr. Pitt resigned on the 5th October, 1761.
Footnote 165:
We find in Clive's correspondence many allusions to his intercourse
with Mr. Pitt, whom he describes as impressed with the fullest
conviction of the importance of India to England. In a draft of a
private note to the Chairman of the Directors, (which is not dated) he
observes; "A few days ago I was with the Duke of Newcastle and Mr.
Pitt. The discourse of the former was truly in the courtiers'
style—many professions of friendship and regard, many offers of
service, without the least meaning in them; but the discourse of the
latter, which lasted an hour and a half, was of a more serious nature,
and much more to the purpose. The subject was the support and welfare
of the East India Company. Mr. Pitt seems thoroughly convinced of the
infinite consequence of the trade of the East India Company to the
nation; he made no scruple to me of giving it the preference to our
concerns in America. Indeed, a man of Mr. Pitt's influence and way of
thinking is necessary to oppose to the influence of Lord Anson, who
certainly is no friend to our Company."
Footnote 166:
23d November, 1762.
Footnote 167:
Bussy carried home a very large fortune, and through its influence he
attained great consideration. The favour he enjoyed at court was
increased by his connection with the Duc de Choiseul, whose niece he
married soon after his return to France.
Footnote 168:
Letter from Lord Bute, 1st September, 1762.
Footnote 169:
The act to which I here allude is the appointment of Sir John Lindsay,
ambassador from the King of England to the Nabob of Arcot. For an
account of this transaction, vide Political India, vol. ii. p. 36.
Footnote 170:
2d February, 1762.
Footnote 171:
The history of this bill is very curious, and is fully given in the
letters of Mr. Walsh and others to Clive. It was brought forward in
1764, and read twice; but owing to some informality in its wording,
was thrown out that session. This was imputed by Mr. Sulivan to the
measures of his opponents, many of whom would have been disqualified,
from not having had the stock for the prescribed period: they, on the
other hand, accused Mr. Sulivan of having so timed the bill, as to
establish his own votes and destroy those of his opponents.
Footnote 172:
Mr. Walsh, in a letter to Lord Clive, of the 14th of February, 1765,
after telling him of Mr. Sulivan's having split a number of votes, and
of Mr. Divon (a partner of Child's house) having split 30,000_l._ to
support him, informs Clive that he means to do the same with some of
his money. He adds, "I am splitting mine to the amount of 20,000_l._
It is a troublesome and dangerous business, but the act of parliament
will put an end to it."
Footnote 173:
19th March, 1763.
Footnote 174:
Clive here alludes to a quarterly meeting of the Court of Proprietors.
Footnote 175:
28th February, 1762.
Footnote 176:
The extract here quoted is part of a larger paper in defence of Lord
Clive's conduct, and believed to be written by the late Sir Henry
Strachey.
Footnote 177:
The contents of this private letter to the President of the Council at
Bengal were as follows:—"That all cordiality being at an end with Lord
Clive, the Court of Directors had stopped payment of his jaghire; a
measure which would have taken place years ago, had it not been for
him (Mr. Sulivan); and that, on this head, the said President was to
obey every order which he might receive from the Court of Directors;
and that more was not, nor must be expected of him."
Footnote 178:
Lord Clive, in his address to the proprietors in 1764, answers all
these objections in a very full and conclusive manner. In treating of
the supposed claims of the Emperor and the want of power in the Nabob
to grant a jaghire, he remarks, that the arguments used against him by
the Directors are exactly those which the Dutch government had
recently brought against them, in the affair of the destruction of
their armament in 1760; and he refers the Court, in answer to their
present plea, to the memorial they lately submitted to his Majesty; in
which, after justly describing the Emperor of Delhi as possessing,
beyond very narrow limits, only a nominal power, they observe; "The
Nabob makes war or peace, without the privity of the Moghul; that
there appears still some remains of the old constitution in the
succession to the state of Nabob; yet, in fact, that the succession is
never regulated by the Moghul's appointment: the Nabob in possession
is desirous of fortifying his title by the Moghul's confirmation,
which the court of Delhi, conscious of its inability to interpose,
readily grants. The Nabob of Bengal is, therefore, _de facto_,
whatever he may be _de jure_, a sovereign prince."
Footnote 179:
Mr. Amphlett (a connection of Lord Clive) was a civil servant of
Bengal; but his abilities as an engineer had led to his being employed
in improving the works at Fort William.
Footnote 180:
28th April, 1763.
Footnote 181:
The Shah-Zada (Shah Alum) had, before Clive's letters arrived,
succeeded to the throne of Delhi.
Footnote 182:
MSS. of Sir Henry Strachey.
Footnote 183:
I have extracted this summary of what Lord Clive said upon this
subject from the MSS. before quoted.
Footnote 184:
March, 1764.
Footnote 185:
This agreement between the Company and Lord Clive is as follows:—
"By indenture bearing date the 16th May, 1764, between the United
Company of Merchants of England trading to the East Indies on the
one part, and Robert Lord Clive on the other part, it is agreed,
that the said Company shall, for the term of ten years, cause to be
paid to Lord Clive, his administrators, &c. out of their treasury
in Bengal, (to be computed from the 5th May, 1764,) the full amount
of the said jaghire rents; provided nevertheless, that in case the
said Lord Clive should die before the expiration of the said ten
years, the Company shall make good the payment of the jaghire only
to the time of the death of him the said Lord Clive; provided also,
that in case the Company shall not be in actual possession of the
lands out of which the said jaghire issues, and the revenues
thereof, to and for their own use, and during the said term of ten
years, then and in such case, the said Company shall not be
compellable or subject to pay any further part of the jaghire than
shall accrue due during the said Company's actual possession of the
said lands out of which it issues."
Footnote 186:
Mr. Sulivan was not defeated without an active struggle. Mr. Walsh, in a
letter to Lord Clive of the 5th April, 1765, speaking of the contest,
observes:—"Lord Bute joined him (Mr. Sulivan) very strenuously, and got
the Duke of Northumberland to do the same. This change may appear
extraordinary; but abject submissions on the one part, and tender
solicitations on the other, are said to have brought it about!"
Footnote 187:
13th December, 1765.
Footnote 188:
14th October, 1764.
Footnote 189:
14th October, 1765.
Footnote 190:
The following is the account of this medal given by Mr. Stuart (commonly
called Athenian Stuart) by whom it was designed. "The medal commemorates
the battle of Plassey, and is in honour of Lord Clive. On one side is
his Lordship, holding the British standard in one hand, and with the
other he bestows the ensign of Subahship on Meer Jaffier. In the space
between, are grouped together a globe, a cornucopia, and an antique
rudder, to which the legend refers. The cornucopia symbolises the riches
with which Meer Jaffier atoned for the injuries done to our countrymen
by his predecessor; the rudder is for the augmentation of our navigation
and commercial privileges; and the globe, for our territorial
acquisitions; all of which were consequences of this victory. In the
exergue is written, '_A Soubah given to Bengal_.'
"On the other face of the medal is a victory seated on an elephant,
bearing a trophy in one hand, and a palm-branch in the other. The
inscription is '_Victory at Plassey_,' '_Clive Commander_.' In the
exergue is the date of the victory, and the mark of the Society for
Promoting Arts and Commerce."
Footnote 191:
In the collection of letters in my possession are many which prove the
happiness Lord Clive enjoyed, at this period, in his family; but he was
not exempt from severe afflictions. I have before mentioned the loss of
an infant boy, when he sailed on his second visit to India. When he left
Calcutta in 1760, his youngest boy was so ill, that he could not embark;
the child was left in charge of Mr. Fullarton, and died. A daughter, as
has been mentioned, was born to Lord Clive after his arrival in England;
and Lady Clive, when he sailed, was on the point of being confined
again.
Footnote 192:
Mr. (afterwards Sir Robert) Chambers.
Footnote 193:
Dr. Nevil Maskelyne is better known as Astronomer-Royal at Greenwich.
Footnote 194:
Mr. Harry Clive.
Footnote 195:
Mr. Watts estimated Lord Pigot's fortune at 400,000_l._ It had chiefly
been made (according to the same authority) by lending money at high
interest to the Nabob, the chiefs, and managers of provinces. This
practice was then too common to be considered as in any way
discreditable; though it was soon afterwards discovered to be one of the
most baneful and injurious to the public interests that the Company
could tolerate in any of their servants, but above all, in those high in
station.
Footnote 196:
21st November, 1764.
Footnote 197:
Major Carnac, in 1760, came to St. Helena with Lord Clive, and from
thence returned to Bengal.
Footnote 198:
June, 1764.
Footnote 199:
One of Lord Clive's letters to Mr. Vansittart is dated 17th December,
1762. The passage alluded to is as follows:—"I must again repeat my
desire of having a large elephant embarked for his Majesty, if the thing
be practicable, of which you must be a better judge than I, who are upon
the spot; and if you can send me any curiosities, such as antelopes,
hog-deer, nilgows or lynxes, I shall be much obliged to you."
Footnote 200:
One of the elephants was so large that it could not be embarked.
Footnote 201:
In this letter, which is dated January, 1764, Lord Clive observes; "I am
sorry there should be any mistake about the elephant; and although I was
somewhat affected at first at the commission you gave me to present the
elephant to his Majesty in your name, instead of my own, yet the thing
in itself appears to me to be of too trifling a nature for either of us
to think any more about it. Your brother will inform you in what manner
Sampson has acted, owing, I believe, to the instigation of Sulivan."
Footnote 202:
Mr. Walsh writes to Lord Clive, that Mr. Vansittart told him his fortune
did not exceed 2,500_l._ per annum.
Footnote 203:
Afterwards Sir Archibald Campbell, Governor of Fort St. George.
Footnote 204:
14th October, 1764.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAP. XIII.
Before resuming the narrative of Clive's life, and accompanying him on his
last visit to India, it will be necessary to take a general and concise
view of the events which had occurred in that country during the short
period of his absence. It would, indeed, be impossible, without such a
review, to understand the nature of the scenes in which he became engaged,
or the motives and grounds of the measures he adopted.
He was succeeded in the administration of the affairs of Bengal by Mr.
Vansittart; who, as he owed his elevation to Clive, was disposed, we may
conclude, to pursue the course of policy which Clive had marked out. But
however easy it may be for a man of moderate talent to follow genius in a
smooth and beaten track, it becomes impossible, where the road is rugged
and indistinct, and where the slightest deviation leads inevitably to the
widest separation from him who preceded.
This was the case with Mr. Vansittart. He had a clear perception between
right and wrong, in the abstract; but his letters and minutes, soon after
he was appointed governor, show that he was quite incompetent to take a
comprehensive view of the great and conflicting interests committed to his
charge, and still less to quell the violent passions that were in action.
He found evils of much magnitude, and he conscientiously desired to remedy
them; but he appears to have looked no further, and, consequently, to have
often exchanged bad for worse. Volumes have been written for and against
the measures he adopted: they will be here noticed only in a very cursory
manner.
I have stated, in the tenth chapter, that at the period of time when Clive
sailed for England, accounts had been received of the advance of the
Shah-Zada towards Patna; and that Colonel Caillaud had been detached with
a force to aid Ram Narrain in repelling the invasion. Alumgeer the Second
had been murdered by his minister, Umad-ul-Moolk[205]; and the
Shah-Zada[206], on becoming emperor, had assumed the title of Shah
Alum[207]; nominating, at the same time, Sujah-u-Dowlah (the ruler of
Oude) his vizier.
The young emperor was successful in his first action with Ram Narrain; but
the latter being reinforced by Colonel Caillaud and Meeran, the invaders
were, in their turn, defeated[208], and compelled to retire from before
Patna. The Emperor, however, instead of retiring towards Benares, took the
route of Moorshedabad, whither he was pursued, and obliged to retrace his
steps; and, after another ineffectual attempt to take Patna, he retreated
to Hindustan. The triumph of the Nabob's arms was completed by the defeat
of the rebel Raja of Purneah, by Captain Knox; but, in the midst of these
successes, an event occurred, which became the proximate cause of another
revolution in Bengal. The Prince Meeran, who has occupied so conspicuous a
part in this narrative, was killed[209] by lightning. This violent young
man had been at once the support and dread of the less energetic Meer
Jaffier. Though Meeran was sensible of the necessity of the aid of the
English, he was impatient of the state of dependence and control in which
the alliance with that nation had placed him; and the continual conflict
of his interests and passions rendered him turbulent and dangerous. To
Clive, alone, he was obedient; and a sentiment of attachment and respect
for that commander appears, on many occasions, to have checked him in
schemes that must have terminated fatally for himself, or his father. This
prince, with all his vices and errors, was generous to his dependents and
army; who, after his death, afraid of losing their arrears, surrounded the
palace, and threatened the life of their sovereign, against whom many of
his dependents took up arms; and, as if the misfortunes of the country
were to be complete, it was visited by a predatory incursion of the
Mahrattas.
Amid these scenes of war, mutiny, rebellion, and plunder, Mr. Vansittart
assumed the government of Bengal.[210] Mr. Holwell, who had been in
temporary charge, cherished the greatest prejudice against the reigning
Nabob. Meer Jaffier was, according to him, the author of all these evils;
and so entirely did he succeed in impressing the new governor with the
same sentiments that, within two months[211] from Mr. Vansittart's arrival
at Calcutta, a treaty was concluded with Meer Cossim Ali, son-in-law to
the Nabob, the general of the army, engaging that the Nabob should invest
him with full power as ruler of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa; in return for
which, he made over to the Company the fruitful provinces of Burdwan,
Midnapore, and Chittagong.
The ostensible causes of this revolution are honestly, indeed, but not
very satisfactorily, stated by the Governor himself in his narrative[212],
and seem to have been chiefly the financial difficulties of the Company's
affairs. The Nabob was to a certain extent in arrear, and other pressures
were felt. "The season had now begun," says Mr. Vansittart, "when our
forces were to take the field against a powerful enemy, whilst we had
scarce a rupee in our treasury to enable us to put them in motion. The
easy channel in which the Company's affairs ran, whilst the sums
stipulated by the treaty (with Meer Jaffier) lasted, had diverted their
attention from the distresses which must unavoidably fall on them,
whenever that fund should be exhausted; and continuing to act on the same
extensive plan in which they set out, they now found themselves surrounded
by numerous difficulties, which were heightened by the particular
circumstances of the country at this period, and weighed down with the
very advantages which they had acquired; that is, an establishment which
had lost the foundation on which it was built; a military force
proportioned to their connections and influence in the country without the
means of subsistence; a fortification begun upon the same extensive plan,
at a vast expense; and an alliance with a power unable to support itself,
and threatening to involve them in the same ruin."
Mr. Vansittart adds, that had indolence and weakness been the Nabob's only
faults, destructive as they were to the welfare of the country and of the
Company, he would have felt more severely the necessity of measures the
tendency of which was to dissolve the engagements between him and the
Company; but that in addition to this, he found a general disaffection to
his government and detestation of his person and principles in all ranks
of people. Even from this representation of the person principally
concerned in the revolution, it is plain that the measure "of not only
breaking a solemn treaty without previous warning and negotiation with the
prince with whom it was contracted, but even of dethroning that prince,
without attempting to remedy by some convention the temporary evils
complained of, was a rash and unjustifiable measure, particularly where
the change and all the articles of the new treaty were so obviously for
the advantage of one of the parties only."
The Governor went to Moorshedabad in the hope of persuading Meer Jaffier
to resign a power which he endeavoured to convince him he was alike unfit
and unworthy to use, and to place it in the hands of Cossim Ali, who was
his nearest connection, and the commander of his army. We cannot be
surprised that the Nabob should indignantly repulse these attempts to
render him the willing instrument of his own degradation. He refused to be
associated, in any way, with the proposed arrangements for the better
government of his dominions; and stipulated for nothing but permission to
retire to Calcutta, that his life might be safe from that danger to which
it must be exposed, if he remained at his own capital. His request was
granted; and Cossim Ali was proclaimed Nabob.[213]
The character of this chief stood high before his elevation. Of the crime
of guilty ambition, it is vain to think of clearing him; but if he
afterwards committed the greatest atrocities, and if his memory has
become, from his cruel deeds, an object of just abhorrence with the
English, it must not be forgotten that he was stung to madness, by the
conduct of individuals of that nation; that he was rashly raised to power,
by men who could not support him in its exercise, and driven to
extremities by others, who, in the pursuit of their own interests and
political views, appear to have thought all means justifiable, that could
accelerate his downfall.
There is no page in our Indian history so revolting as the four years of
the weak and inefficient rule of Mr. Vansittart. He was, as an individual,
virtuous and respectable, and his intentions were pure; but these personal
qualities were altogether insufficient to carry him through such a scene
as that in which he became involved. His apologists have imputed his
failure to the want of support from his associates in power, to that
spirit of cupidity and rapacity, which had been kindled by the successes
of Clive, and to the hopes and intrigues of the natives, which were
cherished and excited to action by those that were hostile to the Governor
and his plans.
These assertions are all true, but they only serve to prove the want of
that superiority of mind, that spirit of command in Mr. Vansittart, which
would have enabled him to sway the minds of his own countrymen, as well as
the want of that foresight which should have led him to abstain from the
adoption of measures extremely questionable in themselves, and which he
did not very clearly see that he could carry through. The only ground of
apology for _him, and that not a very sufficient one_, is, that he allowed
himself to be surprised in adopting the measure at all; and that even in
the instrument which he employed for executing the work, he was deceived
in the character of Meer Cossim, whose financial skill and ferocious
energy were both equally unforeseen. The truth, however, is, that many of
the acts of Mr. Vansittart's administration were less his own than those
of a selfish and domineering council.
The first year of the new Nabob's reign was marked by success against his
foreign enemies. Major Carnac, who now commanded the English troops in
Bengal, defeated the Emperor at Gyah; and a rebellion of the chief of
Beerboom and Burdwan was repressed by the aid of a detachment under Major
Yorke. Major Carnac, who had obtained just reputation from his military
operations, had acquired more with the natives of India by his generous
treatment of M. Law, who was compelled to surrender to him, and by his
humane and politic behaviour to the unfortunate emperor, whom he had
defeated, but whom he afterwards waited upon and attended as one of his
subjects.
The courteous behaviour of Major Carnac to the French commander excited,
according to the author of the Seer Mutakhareen, equal astonishment and
admiration. We cannot refrain from giving an account of the surrender and
treatment of M. Law in the words of the native historian.[214]
"When the Emperor left the field of battle, the handful of troops that
followed M. Law, discouraged by this flight, and tired of the wandering
life which they had hitherto led in his service, turned about likewise and
followed the Emperor. M. Law, finding himself abandoned and alone,
resolved not to turn his back; he bestrode one of his guns, and remained
firm in that posture, waiting for the moment of his death. This being
reported to Major Carnac, he detached himself from his main, with Captain
Knox and some other officers, and he advanced to the man on the gun,
without taking with him either a guard or any Telingas (sepoys) at all.
Being arrived near, this troop alighted from their horses, and pulling
their caps from their heads, they swept the air with them, as if to make
him a _salam_; and this salute being returned by M. Law in the same
manner, some parley in their language ensued. The Major, after paying high
encomiums to M. Law for his perseverance, conduct, and bravery, added
these words:—'You have done every thing which could be expected from a
brave man; and your name shall be undoubtedly transmitted to posterity by
the pen of history; now loosen your sword from your loins, come amongst
us, and abandon all thoughts of contending with the English.' The other
answered, 'that if they would accept of his surrendering himself just as
he was, he had no objection; but that as to surrendering himself with the
disgrace of being without his sword, it was a shame he would never submit
to; and that they might take his life if they were not satisfied with that
condition.' The English commanders, admiring his firmness, consented to
his surrendering himself in the manner he wished; after which the Major,
with his officers, shook hands with him, in their European manner, and
every sentiment of enmity was instantly dismissed on both sides. At the
same time the Major sent for his own palankeen, made him sit in it, and he
was sent to camp. M. Law, unwilling to see, or to be seen, shut up the
curtains of the palankeen for fear of being recognised by any of his
friends at camp; but yet some of his acquaintances, hearing of his being
arrived, went to him. The Major, who had excused him from appearing in
public, informed them that they could not see him for some days, as he was
too much vexed to receive any company. Ahmed Khan Koreishee, who was an
impertinent talker, having come to look at him, thought to pay his court
to the English by joking on the man's defeat; a behaviour that has nothing
strange, if we consider the times in which we live, and the company he was
accustomed to frequent; and it was in that notion of his, doubtless, that
with much pertness of voice and air, he asked him this question; 'And
Beeby (Lady) Law, where is she?' The Major and the officers present,
shocked at the impropriety of the question, reprimanded him with a severe
look and very severe expressions: 'This man,' they said, 'has fought
bravely, and deserves the attention of all brave men; the impertinences
which you have been offering him may be customary amongst your friends and
nation, but cannot be suffered in ours, which has it for a standing rule,
never to offer an injury to a vanquished foe.' Ahmed Khan, checked by this
reprimand, held his tongue, and did not answer a word. He tarried about
one hour more in his visit, and then went away much abashed; and, although
he was a commander of importance, and one to whom much honour had been
always paid, no one did speak to him any more, or made a show of standing
up at his departure. This reprimand did much honour to the English; and it
must be acknowledged, to the honour of those strangers, that as their
conduct in war and in battle is worthy of admiration, so, on the other
hand, nothing is more modest and more becoming than their behaviour to an
enemy, whether in the heat of action, or in the pride of success and
victory. These people seem to act entirely according to the rules observed
by our ancient commanders, and our men of genius."
The Emperor of Delhi this year[215] invested Cossim Ali as Subadar of
Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa; the latter agreeing to pay an annual tribute of
twenty-four lacs. The aid of the English was desired to fix the Emperor
upon the throne of Delhi; and in return, an offer was made of the Dewanee
of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa; but, though the project was entertained at
Calcutta, the want of funds for the expedition, and alarm at the
embarrassments in which it might involve the Company, prevented its
acceptance.
The consequence of the success of his arms, was a desire, on the part of
the Nabob, to avail himself of it to confirm his power, and to enable not
only to raise funds to discharge the heavy burdens imposed upon him as the
price of his elevation, but to enrich himself. No means appeared more
likely to effect these ends than the plunder of Ram Narrain, the
celebrated governor of Patna. Mr. Vansittart had anticipated this desire,
and had furnished Major Carnac with orders to protect a man, who had so
often merited, and so often received pledges of protection from the
British government. Happy would it have been for the English name and
interests, had the Governor persevered in this resolution!—but deceived by
the artful representations of Cossim Ali, and irritated by the opposition
and remonstrances of Major Carnac, who had (as his friend Clive
thought[216], most unnecessarily,) joined his opponents, Mr. Vansittart
appointed Colonel Coote to the command of the troops at Patna, as
preparatory to abandoning its ruler. But Coote, like Carnac, refused to be
passive, much less to be the instrument of a measure which they both
deemed a violation of pledged faith to an individual; and as such,
derogatory to the honour, and injurious to the interests of the British
nation. The consequence of this opposition, which, however laudable the
motives, was quite indefensible in military officers, was the removal of
Colonel Coote; after which Ram Narrain was seized, but no wealth was found
in his possession. His imprisonment, and subsequent execution, by order of
Meer Cossim Ali brought just reproach upon the English government: for
nothing but direct rebellion, or the most flagrant violation of his duty,
could have warranted the abandonment of one whom we had so repeatedly, and
so specifically, guaranteed against the apprehended avarice and resentment
of his superior's passions, which were aggravated by the protection that
policy had compelled us to give to this Hindoo ruler. That the conduct of
Cossim Ali was not to be anticipated, is a weak and inadmissible excuse.
The faith of the British nation should not have been committed to such
hands: for if there exists one ground of strength more than another to our
empire in India, it is the strict maintenance of such guarantees as that
which had been given to Ram Narrain. They can never be made without
creating hostility in the parties whose power they limit, or to whose
interests they are, or seem to be, opposed. Every artifice, and every
effort, therefore, will be used to induce us to break them; and when we do
so, we may be satisfied, that we lose more of real strength, by every such
act, than can be gained by the most brilliant victory.
One of the chief causes of the discord which prevailed in Bengal was the
exemption from duties on their private trade, claimed by the Company's
civil servants, who at that period were remunerated by their trade rather
than their salaries. The system of collecting customs on the transit of
goods in the interior of the country prevailed all over India; and in
Bengal much inconvenience was felt, and many quarrels arose, from the
number of tolls and inspections to which the Company's goods were liable,
in common with all others, in their transit to and from the marts of
purchase and sale. To obviate these, it was arranged with the Nabobs, in
explanation of the Emperor's firman, that the Company's flag and
_dustuck_[217], in their boats and other conveyances, should secure their
goods from search; and as their trade consisted solely of goods from
foreign parts for sale in the country, or of country goods for foreign
exportation, the privilege only partially interfered with the trade of the
interior. While the Nabobs and their officers were in full power, any
abuse of this privilege was easily checked. But when, after the accession
of Meer Jaffier, the English had become all-powerful, and it was dangerous
to interfere with their acts, or to question their proceedings, the
Company's servants, who had still the privilege of trading on their own
account, not only covered their private adventures, by passports under the
Company's name, but all their servants and dependents claimed an exemption
from internal duties on the same plea, and besides entered deeply into the
internal trade of the country. During the vigorous administration of Clive
such attempts had been rare; but when all fear of correction was lost in
the increasing weakness of his successors in the government, men set no
limits to their efforts to enrich themselves. The Nabob's revenue was
injured, and his authority insulted, in every quarter of his dominions, by
the exemptions claimed for the trade of European agents, and the respect
demanded for the persons of the lowest of their servants. Against their
pretensions and excesses he made the most forcible remonstrance, but in
vain. Many of the persons of whom he complained were members of Council;
and it was not surprising, therefore, that difficulties should occur in
any attempt made by the Governor to check and reform such abuses. Cossim
Ali became impatient of delay; and finding his representations produce no
effect, and that the orders of the government were either evaded or
disobeyed, he himself took, and authorized measures of violence, that
increased the discontent and hostility of the party opposed to Mr.
Vansittart; many of whom were the persons chiefly benefited by the abuses
complained of, who represented him as leaving British subjects and public
servants of the Company at the will and mercy of a capricious tyrant whom
he had unjustly raised to the throne.
To remedy these evils, Mr. Vansittart negotiated a treaty, by which, while
some advantages were left to the servants of the Company, many of the
privileges they had claimed were done away. This treaty, though
exceptionable in some of its clauses, might have operated well, had Mr.
Vansittart's Council been disposed to listen to reason, and had Cossim Ali
been more temperate. Trusting to his judicious and active administration
of the customs as one of the sources out of which he was to discharge the
heavy pecuniary obligations under which he had come to the English, he
adopted the strictest measures for enforcing their collection. The
adjudication and enforcement of all fiscal demands by the articles of the
treaty had (unfortunately as affairs stood) been left to the Nabob's
officers. Numerous collisions instantly ensued in all parts of the
country. "In truth," says Mr. Verelst[218], a dispassionate observer, "it
soon became a personal quarrel. Meer Cossim, in the orders issued to his
officers, distinguished between the trade of his friends, and of those who
opposed him, treating individuals with indecent reproach." The opponents
of Mr. Vansittart, who thought their interest injured, and who now formed
the majority of Council, combined in measures which soon led to an open
rupture.
So excessive were the claims made by the English and their native
servants, for carrying their goods free from the duties paid by the
Nabob's own subjects, that the whole commerce of the country was thrown
into confusion, and ruin was threatened to the Nabob's finances. As a
measure of justice to his own subjects, and to prevent the daily breaches
of the peace which occurred, he saw no remedy left, but to abolish all
customs in his dominions. An order was accordingly issued abolishing all
tolls and customs for the space of two years.
This act of the Nabob, though extorted by necessity, and so injurious to
his own revenue, was loudly exclaimed against as an infringement of his
engagements with the Company; and two agents[219] were sent to demand its
annulment. But before they could adjust differences, events were brought
to a crisis, principally through the impressions made upon the Nabob's
mind by the conduct of the majority of the Council.[220]
Mr. Vansittart informs Lord Clive of his measures for regulating trade;
but states his apprehensions of the result. These were but too fully
verified. The Nabob, alarmed by the assembly of all the Council from the
out-stations, and outraged by their seizure of some aumils (or revenue
officers) for the performance of his orders, became most violent, and was
rendered more so from the daily reports of the conduct of Mr. Ellis, chief
of Patna, who, from the first, had been the determined opponent of his
elevation. A knowledge of the disposition, and a belief of the hostile
intentions of this public agent, led him to stop two boats proceeding to
Patna with arms; and he added to this act of aggression a demand for the
removal of Mr. Ellis, and the English detachment from Patna. This conduct
was regarded as very little short of an open declaration of war; and as
such, it was treated by the majority of the Council, who issued orders to
Mr. Ellis, giving him the power (if he thought it right to exercise it) to
anticipate the Nabob's hostile designs by seizing upon the citadel of
Patna. The reins of government had fallen from the hands of Mr.
Vansittart, and were guided by a selfish and sordid majority.
It was in vain that Mr. Vansittart and Mr. Warren Hastings protested
against giving such discretionary power to a man known to be so violent.
They too truly anticipated the result. At the very moment Cossim Ali
(alarmed at having proceeded too far) released the boats, he heard of the
Fort of Patna being surprised and taken by the English troops, acting
under the orders of Mr. Ellis. Though it was immediately re-taken by his
troops, Cossim Ali's rage, at what he deemed a treacherous commencement of
hostilities, knew no bounds; and throwing away the scabbard, he became
furious in his resentment against the whole English nation, and all who
had adhered to them. Mr. Amyatt[221], one of the deputies sent to Monghyr,
was murdered on his way back to Calcutta. To Ram Narrain's death was added
the execution of the two Hindu Seits (or bankers), who had always been
supposed attached to the English interests; and notwithstanding the
entreaties and threats of the Governor, and the more direct menaces of
Major Adams, commanding the British forces, he glutted his vengeance with
the deliberate murder of Mr. Ellis and all the English (except one) who
had been taken prisoners at Patna. Their numbers amounted to one hundred
and fifty, of whom fifty were military or civil officers.
Subsequently to this act of atrocity[222], Cossim Ali and the German[223],
Sumroo, (who had been the instrument of the massacre,) fled before the
British troops, and found refuge in the territories of Oude.
Sujah-u-Dowlah, the prince of that country, not only refused to deliver
them up on the demand of the British commander, but, acting as an ally of
Cossim Ali, advanced to attack the English army, then under Major Munro,
from whom he received a signal defeat at Buxar. He was afterwards pursued
into his own country, and again discomfited, though he had been joined by
the Mahratta chief, Mulhar Row Holkar. So situated, this ruler adopted a
very politic and decided course. He would not, he said, bring a stain upon
his honour, by surrendering men who had sought his protection; but he
commanded Cossim Ali and Sumroo to quit his dominions, and repaired to the
British camp, throwing himself entirely upon the clemency of his enemy. To
this he was chiefly induced by the accounts which had been received of the
return of Clive, whom he could not hope to oppose, and whose resentment he
hoped to disarm by unqualified submission. His conduct and character were
represented in the most favourable light by Major Carnac, who earnestly
recommended that he should be treated with generosity, and confirmed in
his dominions. Such a measure, this sensible and liberal officer remarked,
would be more beneficial to our interests and reputation, than any change
we could make in this quarter of India.
The events that have been described led to the re-elevation of Meer
Jaffier to the Musnud; and we must, therefore, shortly revert to the
history of that prince.
Before Clive left India, Meer Jaffier had committed many acts that might
have been construed into infractions of the treaty with the English, and
more, that, strictly viewed, would have proved him ill suited for the high
station to which he had been raised: but Clive considered that his conduct
was less to be attributed to his character, which was weak and
vacillating, than to the galling nature of his dependent condition; and as
the relations between the Nabob of Moorshedabad and the English could not
be changed, without danger to the very existence of the latter, he judged
wisely, that, while Meer Jaffier abstained from hostility, however glaring
his defects, any change in the head of the native government would be
impolitic, and attended with consequences alike injurious to the
reputation and interests of the British government.
The departure of Clive was the most serious of all misfortunes to Meer
Jaffier. He required the most liberal toleration that enlarged policy
could give to his measures. He had, besides, a respect for the character
and a dread of the displeasure of Clive, which operated as a check upon
his excesses. Mr. Holwell (the temporary successor to Clive) could not
succeed to his influence over the mind of the Nabob, whose want of
personal deference must have aggravated the bad impressions the new
governor appears to have previously entertained of his character. But,
though Mr. Holwell has laboured to prove that Meer Jaffier, subsequent to
his combination with the Dutch, carried on a correspondence with the
Shah-Zada hostile to the English, the fact is not clearly established; and
if it were, the sound principles that regulated the conduct of Clive would
have led to its being passed over. The unhappy death of Meeran, however,
was the event which tended most to accelerate the revolution. It threw, as
has been shown, the army and country into equal confusion; and the step
taken by the Nabob of elevating his nearest connection[224] and most
efficient military leader, Cossim Ali, to the condition before held by his
son, proved the proximate cause of his ruin.
Cossim Ali's ambition was of too active a nature to render him content to
await the death of his father-in-law and benefactor; and he found, in the
distracted state of the Nabob's government, and in the prejudices of those
intrusted with the administration of the Company's affairs in Bengal,
ample grounds to proceed upon. He had also recourse to what he no doubt
deemed more certain means of effecting his object. He promised (and the
promise was afterwards made good[225]), large sums to those of the select
committee who had favoured his elevation. He anxiously desired to extend
his gifts to the members of the committee who were opposed to the measures
of the Governor; but they rejected his offers, and made such rejection a
strong ground of the sincerity of that protest[226] which they had entered
against the proceedings of the Governor and his party on this memorable
occasion.
The letter written by the secret committee of Bengal to the Court of
Directors, at the period of Clive's departure for England, has been
already noticed. It was, of course, deemed most contumacious; and as a
mark of their displeasure, the Court dismissed from their service the four
civil councillors.[227] Three of those dismissed were zealous supporters
of Mr. Vansittart; and their removal threw the power into the hands of a
majority, whose violence, in their opposition to him and Cossim Ali, led
to measures which precipitated the rupture with the latter, and all the
horrid acts by which it was attended.
On the breaking out of the war, the restoration of Meer Jaffier was urged
by the majority of the Council; and when the excesses of Cossim Ali put an
end to all hopes of a settlement with him, Mr. Vansittart and Mr.
Hastings, who were at first opposed to the measure, concurred in it. The
re-elevation was attended with few changes. He confirmed the
concessions[228] made by Cossim Ali, and restored the advantages of trade
to the English which that prince had taken from them. Meer Jaffier
survived his restoration to power but a short period; and that was
disturbed by mutinies in his army, and by the intrigues and corruption of
his court. He imputed all his misfortunes to the absence of Clive; and he
anxiously desired to protract his existence till the arrival of one, whom,
notwithstanding all their disputes and differences, he appears throughout
to have considered as his only true friend. The gratification of his wish
was denied him. He died a few months before Clive's arrival[229]; but the
warm and often-expressed sentiments of Meer Jaffier, on this point, show
that he was neither destitute of good feeling nor discernment. The
sincerity of his attachment was proved by the last act of his life, which
was to leave a legacy to his friend. The amount and destination of this
bequest shall be hereafter mentioned.
On the death of Meer Jaffier, doubts arose as to his successor. The first
claimant was Nujum-ud-Dowla, a youth of twenty, and son of the deceased;
and the second, his grandson (the son of Meeran), who was only six years
of age. After some deliberation, the decision was in favour of the former.
By the treaty[230] concluded with this prince, the military defence of the
country entirely devolved upon the English; the Nabob agreeing to keep no
more troops than were necessary for purposes of parade. The most
remarkable feature of this arrangement was, the agreement of the young
Nabob to appoint, with the advice and concurrence of the English
government, a Naib Subah (or vicegerent), to conduct the civil
administration of his country. At the time when Meer Jaffier was restored,
the choice of his minister was, of course, considered as being of the
greatest importance. While at Calcutta, he proposed to appoint to that
office Nundcomar[231], a Hindu of the worst character. To this Mr.
Vansittart strongly objected, recommending Mahommed Reza Khan, a
Mahommedan noble of talent and of reputed integrity, but who was opposed
(probably for those very qualifications) by the intriguing and corrupt
faction which had long governed the court of Moorshedabad. The Nabob soon
after left Calcutta, when Nundcomar followed; and, in spite of Mr.
Vansittart's remonstrances, being supported by the majority in Council
opposed to the Governor, he was intrusted with the direction of the
Nabob's affairs. Mr. Vansittart had left Bengal before the death of Meer
Jaffier; on which event, by the treaty that followed, Mahommed Reza Khan
(then at Dacca) was elevated to the rank of Naib Subah to his successor,
Nujum-ud-Dowla.[232]
Mr. Vansittart, or rather his council, has been reproached[233] (as Clive
was) for making Nabobs, without any reference or respect for the
legitimate authority of the Emperor of Delhi, or his Vizier,
Sujah-u-Dowla. But however politic it might have been to have gained the
sanction of such authorities after the measure was adopted, a previous
application would have been the height of folly and of weakness. Whatever
latitude of interference, or right of approbation, had been given to the
Emperor or his minister, would assuredly have been exercised for venal and
ambitious purposes; and the embarrassments, that must ever attend such
proceedings, would have been multiplied tenfold. Sujah-u-Dowla, it is
true, upbraided the English with their conduct in this particular. He
accused them of casting down and putting up Nabobs at their pleasure; but
this was to gain opinion, and afford a pretext for the hostilities he
meditated against their power. The very chief who made this accusation was
the proclaimed minister and servant of the Emperor; but he yielded him
neither obedience, nor a participation in the revenues of the wide and
rich territories of Oude. Names and forms, as connected with the different
relations of authority in the empire of India, continued to be observed,
and were so far of importance; but, as connected with the substance of
power, they had been, for a long period, wholly neglected; and though we
may agree with the historical antiquary, who judges from the principles of
times long past, and looks only to the theory of Indian government, that
the English were wrong, yet, if we take a dispassionate and comprehensive
view of the actual condition of India, we must, I conceive, not only deem
them defensible upon this point, but pronounce that, under the
circumstances in which they were placed, it was quite impracticable for
the local authorities at Calcutta to pursue any other line, without
sacrificing the interests committed to their care, and greatly increasing
the anarchy and bloodshed in the country, regarding the administration of
which the disputes existed.[234]
The changes that took place at Madras during Clive's absence from India
have little relation to these Memoirs, as that presidency continued,
during his second administration, almost unconnected with Bengal. Suffice
it, therefore, to say, that the power of the English Nabob (as he was
termed), Mahommed Ali Khan, was fully established[235]; the strong
fortress of Vellore was besieged, and taken from Mortiz Ali Khan, and part
of the Carnatic was assigned, as a jaghire, to the Company.
Another event occurred during this period[236], which created a great
sensation. The gallant Mahommed Esoof, who had so greatly distinguished
himself in the early campaigns of Lawrence and Clive, had been continued
in the management of Madura and Tinnevelly, which he had been the chief
instrument of reducing to order. He was, in this situation, subject to the
Nabob, to whom, and those around him, he was not long in becoming an
object of jealousy and hatred. The defalcation of revenue from exhausted
countries, and the haughty replies made by a proud soldier to reproaches,
added to the preparations he made to guard against the designs of those he
justly deemed his enemies, furnished ample pretexts for accusing him of
malversation and rebellion. The Company's troops were combined with those
of the Nabob for his reduction; which was not, however, effected, without
great waste of blood and treasure, and at last accomplished by an act of
treachery. A Frenchman in his service, of the name of Marchand, betrayed
him; and he was put to death by the Nabob, Mahommed Ali. This gallant
soldier, no doubt, became a rebel to the prince he served; but he may be
deemed, in some respects, the victim of those disputes for power which ran
so high, at this period, between the English and the Nabob. Mr. Pigot,
according to Mahommed Ali, forced Mahommed Esoof upon him as the manager
of the countries of Madura and Tinnevelly; and by his support and
countenance encouraged him in acts of contumacy and disobedience. Educated
as the Vellore Subadar had been, and knowing that the real power was
vested in the English, he appears to have looked exclusively to them, and
to have paid little attention to one he considered as having no more than
a nominal authority. But the departure for England of his friend Mr.
Pigot, and the succession of Mr. Palk, whose policy conceded to the Nabob
the real dominion of his country, left Mahommed Esoof without hope; and,
in the desperate struggle he made for his life, the former faithful
soldier of the English not only corresponded with their enemies, the
French, against whom he had so often and so gallantly fought, but declared
himself the subject, and displayed in his fort and country the banners, of
that nation. This last act of his life has not deprived his memory of the
honours that belong to it, as the bravest and ablest of all the native
soldiers that ever served the English in India.
Mr. Palk, formerly clergyman at Fort Saint David, who had risen, by his
moderation, good sense, and experience, to different offices of
government, was, when Clive returned to India, Governor of Madras. His
appointment to this station induced his friend and near connection,
General Lawrence, to quit his retreat, and revisit, as commander of the
troops, the scene of his former fame.
At Calcutta, Mr. Spencer from Bombay had succeeded to Mr. Vansittart. He
was governor at the time of the elevation of Nujum-ud-Dowla, and
participated in the money[237] that was distributed on that occasion.
These presents have been justly arraigned, as furnishing powerful motives
to the Company's servants for making revolutions by which they were
enriched; and it is one of the heaviest charges against Clive, that his
example was the origin of this baneful practice. The fact is not disputed;
but it happened in this case, as in most others, where small men attempt
to imitate great, that they reach only the defects, and fail in every
other part.
The princely presents which Clive merited and received were the rewards of
great services rendered to the parties by whom they were given, and in
which his first efforts were prompted by considerations that were
decidedly uninfluenced by sordid motives. Add to this, that whatever he
undertook prospered, and that all the individuals whom he elevated he
preserved, not only from their native enemies, but from the still more
galling encroachments and rapacity of the Company's servants. By such acts
he won the good opinion of all ranks in India. From the King to the
peasant the name of Clive inspired sentiments of respect and confidence.
What a contrast was presented by his successors in power! Money for
themselves was, in every engagement, one of the stipulations, and
_appeared_, though in some cases it might not have _been_, the leading
motive of their measures. All their measures failed: every one connected
with them was ruined. The character for good faith, which at Clive's
departure stood so high, was lost. No one trusted the word of an
Englishman. Many of those who engaged in these scenes were able and
virtuous; but there was no leading genius among them. The jealousy and
party spirit that pervaded the government at home multiplied checks and
cherished insubordination in those abroad; till nothing was heard but
accusations and recriminations.
The army, both European and native, had fallen into a very insubordinate
and mutinous state. The officers evinced this spirit on almost every
occasion where they deemed their personal interests affected; and many of
the privates deserted to the native powers. A most serious mutiny occurred
at the period when Major Munro took the command of the army[238] at Patna.
A battalion of sepoys left camp to join the enemy: they were intercepted
by a body of troops, and twenty-four of the ringleaders were brought
before a native court-martial, and sentenced to death. They were all
executed; and we are informed by an officer who was present, that an
incident occurred on this occasion, which not only created a great
sensation at the moment, but left a lasting impression on the native
soldiers of Bengal, being truly characteristic of their proud and
dauntless spirit.
When the orders were given to tie four of these men to the guns, from
which they were to be blown, four grenadiers stept out and demanded the
priority of suffering, as "a right," they said, "which belonged to men who
had always been first in the post of danger." The calm manner in which
this request was made, and the anxiety that it should be granted, excited
great sympathy in all who beheld it. The officer[239] on whose authority
this fact is stated, and who was an eye-witness of the scene, observes; "I
belonged on this occasion to a detachment of marines. They were hardened
fellows, and some of them had been of the execution party that shot
Admiral Byng; yet they could not refrain from tears at the fate and
conduct of these gallant grenadier sepoys."
When a strong sense of imminent danger, and a fear of total ruin to the
affairs of the Company and of the English nation in Bengal, excited
universal attention and alarm, all eyes were naturally turned on Clive, as
the only human being who could restore the reputation and interests of
this nation in India. He was in consequence, as has been stated, called
upon to proceed once more to that country, and he had courage to obey the
call, though convinced that the scene presented difficulties which were
almost insurmountable, and that he would have to perform duties that were
personally invidious, and calculated not only to interrupt but to destroy
all his prospects of future enjoyment.
There can be no doubt that Clive, in consenting, under such circumstances,
to return to India, was chiefly, if not solely, actuated by an honourable
ambition, and by an ardent desire to promote the interests and glory of
his country. His first stipulation, however, was, that his stay should be
limited to a very short period; and he pledged himself (and the pledge, as
will be shown hereafter, was nobly redeemed) not to enrich himself one
farthing by any pay or emoluments he might receive from the high station
to which he was nominated.
Though Clive had been restrained by many considerations, as well as by the
rapidity of events, from taking personally any decided part in the
disputes in Bengal, he had not been an unconcerned observer of those
scenes. Each party had addressed him with an equal solicitude that he
should approve and support them; but we do not meet in his private
correspondence with any full expression of his sentiments. He regretted,
it appears from his letters, the removal of Meer Jaffier from the throne;
but uninformed of the minute circumstances that had produced that measure,
he did not withdraw his confidence in the wisdom of the administration of
one, whom he so highly valued as Mr. Vansittart, till he saw him depart
step by step from all those maxims of policy he had laid down as the rules
of his own conduct, both in regard to native princes and other men of rank
and consequence in India.
The opposition of his views to those of his successor, as well as his own
difficulties, are clearly expressed in a letter he wrote to the Court of
Directors immediately before his embarkation.
"In obedience to your commands," Lord Clive observes[240], "I now transmit
the purport of what I had the honour to represent to you by word of mouth
at the last Court of Directors, with some other particulars which slipped
my memory at that time.
"Having taken into consideration your letter sent me by the Secretary, as
also the request of the General Court of Proprietors, I think myself bound
in honour to accept the charge of your affairs in Bengal, provided you
will co-operate with, and assist me in such a manner that I may be able to
answer the expectations and intentions of the General Court.
"As an individual, I can have no temptation to undertake this arduous
task, and nothing but the desire I have to be useful to my country, and to
manifest my gratitude to this Company, could make me embark in this
service, attended as it is with so many inconveniences to myself and my
family. I cannot avoid acknowledging that I quit my native country with
some degree of regret and diffidence, on leaving behind me (as I certainly
do) a very divided and distracted Direction, at a time, too, when
unanimity is more than ever requisite for the carrying into execution such
plans as are absolutely necessary to the well-being of the Company.
"I shall now enter into a short discussion of your political, commercial,
and military affairs in Bengal. Without searching into the causes of the
unhappy revolution in favour of Cossim Ali Khan, I shall only remark, that
if the same plan of politics had been pursued, after he was placed upon
the throne, as that which I had observed towards his predecessor, he might
with great ease have remained there to this day, without having it in his
power to injure either himself or the Company in the manner he has lately
done. Indeed, Mr. Vansittart's ideas in politics have differed so widely
from mine, that either the one or the other must have been totally in the
wrong. Soon after Cossim Ali Khan was raised to his new dignity, he was
suffered to retire to a very great distance from his capital, that our
influence might be felt and dreaded as little as possible by him:—he was
suffered to dismiss all those old officers who had any connection with, or
dependence upon us; and, what was the worst of all, our faithful friend
and ally, Ram Narrain, the Nabob of Patna, was given up; the doctrine of
the Subadar's independency was adopted, and every method was put in
practice to confirm him in it. We need seek for no other causes of the
war, for it is now some time that things have been carried to such lengths
abroad, that either the princes of the country must, in a great measure,
be dependent on us, or we totally so on them.[241] That the public and
continued disapprobation of Cossim Ali Khan's advancement to the
government, expressed by the gentlemen of Calcutta, increased the Nabob's
jealousy, is most true; and that it was the duty of every one, after the
revolution was once effected, to concur heartily in every measure to
support it, cannot be denied. It is likewise true, that the encroachments
made upon the Nabob's prescriptive rights by the Governor and Council, and
the rest of the servants trading in the articles of salt, beetle, and
tobacco, together with the power given by Mr. Vansittart to subject our
gomastahs (or agents) to the jurisdiction and inspection of the country
government, all concurred to hasten and bring on the late troubles; but
still the groundwork of the whole was the Nabob's independency. It is
impossible to rely on the moderation and justice of Mussulmen. Strict and
impartial justice should ever be observed; but let that justice come from
ourselves. The trade, therefore, of salt, betle, and tobacco having been
one cause of the present disputes, I hope these articles will be restored
to the Nabob, and your servants absolutely forbid to trade in them. This
will be striking at the root of the evil. The prohibition of dustucks to
your junior servants will, I hope, tend to restore that economy which is
so necessary in your service. Indeed, if some method be not thought of,
and your Council do not heartily co-operate with your Governor to prevent
the sudden acquisition of fortunes, which has taken place of late, the
Company's affairs must greatly suffer. What power it may be proper to vest
me with, to remedy those great and growing evils, will merit your serious
consideration. As a means to alleviate in some measure the dissatisfaction
that such restrictions upon the commercial advantages of your servants may
occasion in them, it is my full intention not to engage in any kind of
trade myself; so that they will divide amongst them what used to be the
Governor's portion of commercial advantages, which was always very
considerable."
Clive then proceeds to offer some observations upon the state of the
Company's military affairs in Bengal; and suggests the necessity of
keeping up an European force of four, or, at least, three thousand
men.[242] While he pays a just tribute to the high character of the Indian
army, and to the honour they had gained by their gallant exploits, he
laments the want of due obedience and subordination, so essential to the
interests of the service. To remedy this (which was rendered more
necessary by the removal of the King's troops at this time), he recommends
an immediate increase of field officers; and points out to the Court the
different individuals, who, from their character and services, had the
strongest claims upon their notice.
"I would recommend," he observes, "the appointing three field officers to
every battalion, a colonel, lieutenant-colonel, and major; and the
officers I would choose to command the battalions should be Majors Carnac,
Richard Smith, and Preston. You have already done justice to Major
Carnac's character by reinstating him in the command of your forces in
Bengal, and by acknowledging his services in the most public manner. This
gentleman will, I flatter myself, stand as high in your esteem as
Brigadier General Caillaud; and will, I hope, have the same rank and
appointments. The military merits of the other two gentlemen you are
likewise well acquainted with, having both received from the Court marks
of approbation for their distinguished services. To command your artillery
I would recommend Sir Robert Barker, whose abilities in that department
have been exceeded by no officer that ever was in your service. Your
sepoys are already commanded by Major Knox, whose merits I could wish to
have rewarded with a lieutenant-colonel's commission. Your horse, when
raised, should be commanded by a lieutenant-colonel, or major.
"I have very strong reasons to wish this idea of regimenting your troops
may take place; for without such a subordination I shall not be able to
enforce your orders for the reduction of your military expenses, which
have been a constant dead-weight, and have swallowed up your revenues. I
could wish, that whatever emoluments are unavoidable may fall to those few
who, having been long, are high in your service, whether civil or
military. Thus will the expense be scarce felt by the Company, in
comparison to what it is at present, when, for want of due subordination,
every one thinks himself entitled to every advantage; and the juniors in
your service be excited to exert themselves, from a certain knowledge that
application and abilities only can restore them to their native country
with fortunes honourably acquired."
In concluding the subject of military affairs, Clive submits to the
consideration of the Court his ideas and opinions on the proper mode of
levying troops in England. The method pursued at this period he considered
to be, in many respects, objectionable. In order that due attention might
be paid to the selection of recruits, and to insure, at all times, a
proper supply of efficient men, to meet any unexpected demands that might
arise in cases of sudden emergency, he suggests, that the Company should
apply to his Majesty for permission to maintain two battalions, of five
hundred men each, in England, with a proper proportion of officers; and,
as a reward to the important services of Colonel Coote and Colonel Forde,
he recommends that these two officers should be nominated to command them.
Clive appears to have referred much of the spirit of opposition that arose
in Bengal to the jealousy among the public servants of that presidency of
appointments, which they deemed supersessions, of civilians from Madras
and Bombay, to be governors of Bengal.
"The heart-burnings and disputes," he observes, "which seem to have spread
and overrun your settlement of Calcutta, arose, I must fear, originally,
from your appointment of Mr. Vansittart to the government of Bengal from
another settlement; although his promotion was the effect of my
recommendation. The appointment, therefore, of Mr. Spencer, from Bombay,
can only tend to inflame these dissensions, and to destroy all those
advantages which the Company only can expect from harmony and unanimity
amongst their servants abroad. The resignation of Messrs. Verelst,
Cartier, and many others of the senior servants, which must be the
consequence of Mr. Spencer's appointment, will deprive me of those very
gentlemen on whose assistance I depend for re-establishing your affairs in
Bengal."
The following letter from Clive relates to the same subjects, and contains
too many sound observations and wise reflections upon the actual state of
the affairs of India at this period to be omitted. Though the Court of
Directors did not comply with the wish of Clive, that he should have the
power (since vested in Indian governors) of acting, when occasion
demanded, upon his own responsibility, they did what was almost
tantamount,—they vested the power required in a select committee[243],
composed of persons from whom he had no opposition to apprehend, and who
were competent to all acts of administration, independent of the other
members of Council.
"I shall not enter," Clive observes, "into the motives which caused the
deposition of Meer Jaffier, nor into the fundamental cause of the present
war with Cossim Ali Khan. It is sufficient to say, that these two events
have lost us all the confidence of the natives. To restore this, ought to
be our principal object; and the best means will, in my opinion, be by
establishing a moderation in the advantages which may be reserved for the
Company, or allotted to individuals in their service.
"If ideas of conquest were to be the rule of our conduct, I foresee that
we should, by necessity, be led from acquisition to acquisition, until we
had the whole empire up in arms against us; and whilst we lay under the
great disadvantage of fighting without a single ally, (for who could wish
us well?) the natives, left without European allies, would find, in their
own resources, means of carrying on war against us in a much more
soldierly manner than they ever thought of when their reliance on European
allies encouraged their natural indolence. The last battle fought against
Cossim Ali Khan is a proof of this assertion, for never did the troops of
India fight so well.
"Nothing, therefore, but extreme necessity, ought to induce us to extend
our ideas of territorial acquisitions beyond the amount of those ceded by
Cossim Ali Khan, in his treaty with Vansittart. This necessity can only
arise from finding that nobody will trust us; and that the people of the
country are determined to try their strength with us to the utmost.
"But by this system of moderation it is not intended that the Nabob should
be left entirely independent of us. The moment he fancies himself in this
situation he will look upon us as enemies who have taken too much from
him, and whom it will be necessary, either to reduce to our ancient state
of mere merchants, or to extirpate. This, therefore, was the error of Mr.
Vansittart's conduct: he advised the Nabob to regulate his treasury, save
money, to form and discipline an excellent army, and to pay them well and
regularly, contrary to the practice of all the princes of India. By
following this advice punctually, Cossim Ali, in two years, thought
himself in a condition to bid us defiance, and was near being so.
"It ought, therefore, to be our plan to convince the Nabob that our troops
are his best, his only support against foreign enemies; and that our
friendship will be his best support against the plots and revolutions of
his own officers. Necessitated, by the extent of his dominions, to repose
large governments and great trusts in particular men, jealousies will be
perpetually subsisting. On the nice and disinterested management of these
will depend our importance. The principal officers must be convinced that
we will protect them from any capricious violences of their sovereign;
and, on the other hand, the Nabob must be convinced, that we will give
them up to his just resentment the moment their ambition alone leads them
to strike at him.
"To carry this balance with an even hand, the strictest integrity will be
necessary in every one who shall have a vote in your councils abroad. I
found myself every day assaulted by large offers of presents, from the
principal men of the province, not to support the Nabob in resolutions
contrary to their interests; and from the Nabob, to sacrifice them to his
capricious resentments.
"But even this conduct alone will not be sufficient to keep us from giving
umbrage. During Mr. Vansittart's government, all your servants thought
themselves entitled to take large shares in the monopolies of salt,
beetle, and tobacco, the three articles, next to grain, of greatest
consumption in the empire. The odium of seeing such monopolies in the
hands of foreigners need not be insisted on; but this is not the only
inconvenience: it is productive of another, equally, if not more
prejudicial to the Company's interests; it enables many of your servants
to obtain, very suddenly, fortunes greater than those which in former
times were thought a sufficient reward for a long continuance in your
service. Hence these gentlemen, thus suddenly enriched, think of nothing
but of returning to enjoy their fortunes in England, and leave your
affairs in the hands of young men, whose sanguine expectations are
inflamed by the examples of those who have just left them.
"This, therefore, will be the greatest difficulty which I shall have to
encounter; to persuade, or, if necessary, to oblige your servants to be
content with advantages much inferior to those which, by the prescription
of some years, they may think themselves entitled to. Yet if this is not
done, your affairs can never be settled on a judicious and permanent plan.
My fortunes, my family, and the other advantages I may be possessed of,
will naturally make me wish to accomplish my intentions for the Company's
service abroad as soon as possible, that I may return to my native
country, which, it cannot be imagined, that I quit without some regrets;
but if I should meet in your councils abroad men whom private interest may
render averse to my maxims, I shall, perhaps, instead of settling your
affairs as may be expected from me, find myself harassed and over-ruled in
every measure by a majority against me in council.
"It therefore rests with the Court of Directors to consider, seriously,
whether they should not intrust me with a dispensing power in the civil
and political affairs; so that whensoever I may think proper to take any
resolution entirely upon myself that resolution is to take place. The
French Company gave Mr. Godeheu sole and absolute control over all their
settlements to the east of the Cape of Good Hope, at a time when their
affairs were not in a worse condition than ours are at present. In India
we ourselves have had examples of supervisors. I myself was intrusted with
great powers by the gentlemen of Madras, when I went down to Bengal
against Suraj-u-Dowlah: the use which I made of these powers will, I hope,
justify my opinion, that I may, without danger, be intrusted with an
authority so highly necessary at present. The occasions of exerting it
will rarely happen, but will certainly happen at times, when all may be
lost for want of it. Moderation, I will venture to say, was always a part
of my character in political concerns; and as a means to induce the
gentlemen abroad to contract their views of private advantage within the
bounds essentially necessary to the interests of the Company, the first
step I shall take will be, to give up to them every commercial advantage,
as I did during my last residence in Bengal. I need not mention that these
advantages are, to a Governor, great, and adequate to his station.
"To prevent dissensions, I am willing to receive a military commission
inferior to General Lawrence's; but that gentleman has received from the
Court of Directors so very extensive a power over all their forces in
India, that the presidency, at which he resides, is, in fact, little less
than the residence of a Governor-general over all your settlements in
India. If ever the appointment of such an officer as Governor-general
should become necessary, it is evident that he ought to be established in
Bengal, as the greatest weight of your civil, commercial, political, and
military affairs will always be in that province. It cannot, therefore, be
expected that I should be subject to have any part of the military forces
allotted for that province recalled or withheld from me at the will of an
officer in another part of India; or that even the presence of that
officer in Bengal should, in any way, interfere with my military authority
in that province. It will likewise be necessary (at least until affairs in
Bengal are restored to perfect tranquillity) that whatever troops,
treasures, or other consignments may be destined from England to that
presidency, shall not, as usual, be stopped and employed by any of the
other presidencies at which they may chance to arrive in their passage
towards the Ganges."
Such was the prospect, and such were the anticipations, with which Clive
proceeded to India. The task was arduous, but his mind was resolved on its
full performance; and the next chapter will show that his efforts were
more than sufficient to surmount the obstacles that were opposed to his
success, although they proved even greater than he had apprehended.
FOOTNOTES: CHAPTER 13
Footnote 205:
More commonly called Ghazee-u-Deen.
Footnote 206:
Prince Royal.
Footnote 207:
Shah Alum signifies "King of the World."
Footnote 208:
22d February, 1760.
Footnote 209:
2d July, 1760.
Footnote 210:
August, 1760.
Footnote 211:
This treaty was concluded on the 27th September.
Footnote 212:
Vol. I. p. 98.
Footnote 213:
A curious and minute account of the progressive steps taken in effecting
this revolution is given in a letter to Clive (dated the 3d December,
1760,) from Mr. Lushington, who held the situation of linguist to the
army, and who was an eye-witness of the incidents he describes. After
detailing Mr. Vansittart's visit to Moorshedabad accompanied by a
hundred and eighty Europeans, six hundred sepoys, and four pieces of
cannon, that force might be used in case Meer Jaffier should refuse to
comply with his demands, and mentioning that he had delivered to the
Nabob three letters explanatory of his intentions, to which he waited a
final answer, Mr. Lushington proceeds:—"We waited all the next day; but
no answer coming, the Governor thought it proper not to lose any time,
and therefore ordered Colonel Caillaud to go by water with his
detachment, so early that he might surround the palace at daybreak;
sending at the same time a letter, acquainting the Nabob that he had
sent the Colonel to settle those affairs which he had conferred with him
about, and to which he had promised to give an answer, but none was
brought. The Nabob sent word to the Colonel he would give no answer
until the troops returned to Moraudbaug, as he never expected such
treatment from the English. Some few conferences were afterwards held by
Mr. Hastings and myself with several of the Nabob's ministers; but as
nothing could be agreed on I was sent back to Moraudbaug, to give an
account of our proceedings to the Governor, and to have his final order
whether we should storm the palace in case the Nabob refused to comply.
He answered he wished not to spill the blood of a man whom he raised to
such dignities, but that the affair must be finished before sunset. With
this I returned; and found, to my great surprise, Cossim Ali Khan's
standards, and the nobits[c] beating in his name. Colonel Caillaud now
told me that the Nabob had sent out the seals to his son-in-law, and
offered to resign the government if the English would be security for
his life. This was immediately agreed to, and a meeting was held between
the Colonel and the Nabob, who made the following speech, as well as I
can remember:—'The English placed me on the musnud; you may depose me if
you please. You have thought proper to break your engagements. I would
not mine. Had I such designs I could have raised twenty thousand men,
and fought you if I pleased. My son, the Chuta Nabob (Meeran),
forewarned me of all this. I desire you will either send me to Sabut
Jung (Lord Clive), for he will do me justice, or let me go to Mecca; if
not, let me go to Calcutta; for I will not stay in this place. You will,
I suppose, let me have my women and children; therefore, let me have
budgerows and be carried immediately to Moraudbaug.' The Governor saw
him soon after this, and he made much the same speech to him, adding, he
could be nowhere safe but under the English protection."
That Mr. Lushington did not concur very cordially in the measures
described, may be inferred from his concluding observations. "The
Company," he observes, "are to receive the countries of Burdwan,
Midnapore, and Chittagong, for this service. I, therefore, should be
glad to know how this Nabob will be any more able to pay his people than
the old man, after having given away a third part of his revenues."
Footnote c:
Large drums.
Footnote 214:
Seer Mutakhareen, vol. ii. p. 164.
Footnote 215:
1761.
Footnote 216:
In a letter to Major Carnac, dated the 7th of May, 1762, Clive observes,
"Although I am convinced of the goodness of your heart and intentions,
yet there is a warmth and fire in your disposition which often carries
you beyond the rules of prudence; and, whatever your friends in India
may say of the letter you sent the Board, I wish you never had wrote it,
for it gives room to such designing men as Sulivan to do you more
prejudice than you can imagine."
The same sentiments had been previously expressed by Clive, in a letter
to Mr. Vansittart, 3d of February, 1762. "I am most heartily concerned,"
he says, "that Carnac has been induced to take part with your enemies in
the Council. He has an excellent heart, and a very good understanding;
but the warmth of his temper in this instance has got the better of
both."
Footnote 217:
Dustuck, a permit, exempting goods from the payment of duties.
Footnote 218:
Verelst's View, p. 47.
Footnote 219:
Mr. Hall and Mr. Amyatt.
Footnote 220:
"The question is," Mr. Vansittart observes, in a letter to Clive, dated
the 25th of February, 1763, "whether the salt, beetle-nut, and tobacco
trade shall be carried on with the Company's dustuck, or pay duties to
the country government, and go with their dustuck. I am of the latter
opinion, and assured the Nabob I would not grant dustucks for these
articles, but that myself and any other English gentlemen who had a mind
to trade in them, should pay the government's duties and take out their
dustuck. This, and some rules I proposed for restraining the overgrown
power of the English gomastahs employed in carrying on this trade, and
giving the officers of the government their due authority, were
disapproved by the rest of the Council; and it was resolved to call down
the members from the subordinates to make the necessary regulations upon
these points at a full board. * * * * Where the abuses will end I know
not; for where the Nabob's officers have the power and the courage to
oppose and prevent the unlawful attempts of our gomastahs, they are not
contented with that, but, in their turn, oppress and injure in a most
extravagant and insufferable manner, so that it is a difficult matter to
keep a proper balance; and I shall be obliged to you if you will take an
opportunity of giving Mr. Sulivan your sentiments on the subject."
A very different view of this subject is taken by Major Carnac. In a
letter to Clive, dated the 26th of February, 1763, he observes: "Mr.
Vansittart's interview with the Nabob, instead of removing our
grievances, has occasioned their being exceedingly multiplied and
carried beyond sufferance. He, in conjunction with Mr. Hastings,
without consulting the rest of the Board, established a set of
regulations, whereby a duty of 9 per cent. is laid upon all articles
of inland trade without exception; and the disputes of our gomastahs
and others in our employ are subjected to the decisions of the Nabob's
officers. These concessions are so evidently shameful and
disadvantageous to us, that it is not to be conceived they could ever
have been submitted to, except by persons who were bought into them;
and, indeed, it is confidently asserted, and generally believed, that
Mr. Vansittart got seven lacs by his visit to Mongyr. The members of
the Council, then at Calcutta, passed a severe minute of censure upon
the President's procedure, and summoned the absent members, in order
to devise a speedy and effectual remedy for the complaints received
from every quarter. They have been some time assembled, and have
absolutely forbid the regulations being complied with, and have issued
out orders to repel by force any insults that shall in future be
offered, or obstructions to our trade. It is, indeed, high time," he
adds, "to overset the ruinous system which Mr. Vansittart has so
industriously endeavoured to establish: by a strange contradiction, he
deposes one Nabob under pretence of mal-administration, and then
asserts the successor to be independent, and master of his own
actions, and uses all possible means to render him so, and to increase
his power. We have so sensibly felt the ill use made thereof by Cossim
Ali Khan, that the man must be wilfully blind who does not see the
necessity of immediately checking his career, and the consequences
that must result from his being suffered to run on." From these
observations, it may safely be concluded, that the gallant Major was a
better soldier than statesman.
Footnote 221:
The following letter, dated the 15th of June, 1763, which we find
entered in the copy book of Mr. Amyatt, was meant to report to Mr.
Vansittart the failure of his mission. The original never reached its
destination. "I am favoured with yours of the 8th and 9th instant. We
waited on the Nabob, and delivered him your letter: he was highly
incensed, and expressed great contempt for us and our forces, and told
us he expected nothing else than a war; that we might go and remain at
our tents till we received the Council's orders, and then signify the
same to him by writing—which he supposed would be much the same as your
letters to him; if so, he should dismiss us, but expected Mr. Hay to
remain a hostage till those prisoners we had of his were released. The
stopping our arms is not equal to the seizing his aumils, he says; and
our troops being in his pay, they shall not remain at Patna; and peace
or war depended on their removal, which he found would not be the case.
All my endeavours to establish a friendship and confidence have been in
vain; nor can I convince him we did not intend breaking with him, or to
disgrace him by being obliged to seize his aumils, but necessitated so
to do. He seemed inclined to quarrel, or rather resolved we shall have
no influence, or free intercourse, or trade through his country, but
what he pleases. I have had a very disagreeable time with him, and shall
be heartily glad when free from this embassy, which I have, to the
utmost of my power, endeavoured to conclude, in bringing about a lasting
peace and friendship, and reconcile the Nabob to every body; but to no
purpose, nor can it be effected."
Footnote 222:
1763.
Footnote 223:
A well-informed friend of the author remarks, that he was not a German,
but a Frenchman or Swiss, of the name of _Sombre_, which, perhaps, had
been his _nom-de-guerre_ when in the French service.
Footnote 224:
Cossim Ali was his son-in-law.
Footnote 225:
Mr. Vansittart, in his communications with the Nabob, rejected this
present previous to the treaty, as it might appear the price of its
stipulations: but he intimated, at the same time, that there would be no
objection to such present after the obligations of the treaty were
fulfilled. The following is a list of the presents acknowledged to have
been received on this occasion:—
Mr. Vansittart rupees 500,000 £58,333
Mr. Sumner 240,000 28,000
Mr. Holwell 270,000 30,937
Mr. M'Guire 180,000 20,625
Mr. Smyth 134,000 15,354
Major Yorke 134,000 15,354
General Caillaud 200,000 22,916
Mr. M'Guire 75,000 8,750
————
£200,269
————
Vide Parl. Reports, vol. iii. p. 311.
Footnote 226:
This protest, which is in the form of a letter, is dated the 11th of
March, 1762.—Vide Parl. Rep., vol. iii. p. 252.
Footnote 227:
Messrs. Holwell, Pleydell, Sumner, and M'Guire.
Footnote 228:
The provinces of Burdwan, Midnapore, and Chittagong.
Footnote 229:
February 6, 1765.
Footnote 230:
February, 1765.
Footnote 231:
This man has been before mentioned. He was justly objectionable to the
British government on account of the various intrigues and treasons in
which he had been detected; and was imprisoned at Calcutta for his
correspondence with its enemies during the reign of Cossim Ali.
Footnote 232:
Vide Mill's British India, vol. iii. p. 318.
Footnote 233:
There is some confusion in Mr. Mill's account of this transaction (vol.
iii. p. 330.), from that accurate historian having overlooked the fact,
that the appointment of Nujum-ud-Dowla was managed by Mr. Spencer and
his council, Mr. Vansittart having previously set out for Europe.—See 3d
Report of Committee of 1773, p. 21.; and Scott's Hist. of Bengal, vol.
ii. pp. 439-447.
Footnote 234:
An exception must be made of the deposition of Meer Jaffier:
Suraj-u-Dowla, and Cossim Ali respectively forfeited their authority in
consequence of their unsuccessful attempts to destroy the power of the
English.
Footnote 235:
1763.
Footnote 236:
1764.
Footnote 237:
Vide Parliamentary Reports, vol. iii. p. 312.
Footnote 238:
1764.
Footnote 239:
Captain Williams' Memoir of the Bengal Native Army.
Footnote 240:
This letter is dated 27th April, 1764.
Footnote 241:
Clive's clear and practical mind here puts the question on its real
basis. There is no other alternative.
Footnote 242:
"For the good of the Company," Clive observes in the letter already
quoted, "I would propose that you should always have, in Bengal, four,
or at least three, thousand Europeans; to consist of three battalions of
seven hundred each; four companies of artillery of one hundred each; and
five hundred light horse."
Footnote 243:
This select committee was composed of Lord Clive, General Carnac, Mr.
Verelst, Mr. Sumner, and Mr. Sykes. The two latter accompanied Lord
Clive from England.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAP. XIV.
We have already adverted to the state of confusion in which affairs were
at Bengal when Lord Clive landed.
Never had an individual a more arduous task of reform; but he came to it
with great local knowledge, with a full acquaintance with the characters
of those by whom he was likely to be aided or thwarted, and with a mind
determined at all hazards to execute the great work to which he had been
called, almost by acclamation.
The public letters, papers, and minutes which were laid before Parliament,
regarding the transactions in Bengal, during the years 1765 and 1766,
illustrated as they are by the debates of 1772, gave a full and accurate
history of those two years; but it is in his volumes of private letters,
more than even in any public documents, that we must look for the motives
of Clive's conduct, during this most eventful period of his life. These
are so numerous, that it is difficult to select from them such as will
best give, in his own language, a just idea of the difficulties which he
had to combat, and of that unyielding firmness and determined resolution
by which they were overcome.
He writes to his friend General Carnac, under date the 3d May, 1765:—
"I arrived here this morning to take possession of a government,
which I find in a more distracted state, if possible, than I had
reason to expect.
"The measures taken, with regard to the country government, have
been at best precipitate; and the gentlemen here, knowing that the
arrangement of all affairs was absolutely vested in the committee,
might, I think, have avoided going the lengths they have, till my
arrival. But I am determined not to be embarrassed by the errors of
others, if in my power to remedy them. At least, I will struggle
hard that the disinterested purpose of my voyage prove not
ineffectual. Your resolution, my dear friend, and principles,
almost unparalleled in these climes, will, I am sure, co-operate
with me in every regulation for the public good. Verelst appears,
as far as I can hitherto judge, to be a man of honour and
integrity. Sykes may be thoroughly relied on, and Sumner must, for
his own sake, be a friend to the Company. It is impossible,
therefore, to doubt that we shall be able to settle every matter to
the satisfaction of our employers. The young Nabob should be
treated with respect, with dignity, and with that honour which
ought to be characteristic of Englishmen in Asia as well as in
Europe; but since we have experienced such a series of troubles
from the mismanagement of Subahships, it is our duty to guard
against future evils, by doing for ourselves what no Nabob will
ever do for us; and never trust to the ambition of any Mussulman
whatever, after what has happened. Peace upon a firm and lasting
foundation must be established if possible. And to obtain this
object, I conclude it will be necessary for me to march up to you
at camp, not to continue long there, but to enter into some treaty
with the King. Your long and extensive expedition I could wish had
been avoidable; but of that and all other affairs I will speak more
at large, when I have the pleasure of hearing from or seeing you.
For the present, I can only say, that our views ought to be
confined to Bengal and its departments, and so far I am sure may be
gone with justice; nor do I doubt, that a committee of gentlemen,
whose emulation is not excited by the distribution of loaves and
fishes, may acquire at this juncture immortal honour to themselves,
and lasting advantages to the Company. To-morrow morning I begin to
read over the papers, and minutes of Council, that I may, by seeing
what has been done, be able to form a clearer opinion of the plan
we ought now to adopt. This business will, I suppose, employ my
attention for two or three days, and then you shall hear from me."
In a letter to the same officer, under date the 6th May, Clive
observes:—
"I shall now inform you of this day's proceedings. Having met in
Council, after some debates, the field officers were established as
follows:—General Carnac, Colonel Smith, and Sir R. Barker are
Colonels of the first, second, and third regiments of Infantry; Sir
R. Fletcher, Major Peach, and Major Chapman, Lieutenant-Colonels;
Majors Champion and Stibbart, Majors. It was also proposed to fill
up the other vacancy, which I objected to, until General Carnac's
sentiments were known; a compliment I thought due to the commanding
officer. You will therefore point out to me whom you would have the
third Major, and he shall be appointed. I am informed you do not
think Major Champion has had justice done him, when these
appointments were made. Major Champion's merits were not known, or
he would most certainly have stood next in rank to Colonel.
However, Major Champion is satisfied with an assurance from me,
that whatever the Directors shall order on that head shall be
complied with.
"After this matter was settled, I desired the Board would order
those paragraphs relative to the power of the committee to be
transmitted to the chiefs and council of the subordinate
settlements, to the Commander-in-chief of the army, and to the two
presidencies of Madras and Bombay, that they might know what powers
the committee were invested with. I then acquainted the Board, that
the committee was determined to make use of the power invested in
them, to its utmost extent; that the condition of the country, and
the very being of the Company made such a step absolutely
necessary. Mr. Leycester then seemed inclined to enter into a
debate about the meaning and extent of those powers, but I cut him
short, by informing the Board, that I would not suffer any one to
enter into the least discussion about the meaning of those powers;
but that the committee alone were absolutely determined to be the
sole and only judges; but that they were at liberty to enter upon
the face of the consultations any minutes they thought proper, but
nothing more. Mr. Johnstone desired that some other paragraphs of
the letter might be sent to the different subordinates, &c., as
tending, I believe, in his opinion, to invalidate those orders.
Upon which I asked him, whether he would dare to dispute our
authority? Mr. Johnstone replied, that he never had the least
intention of doing such a thing; upon which there was an appearance
of very long and pale countenances, and not one of the council
uttered another syllable. After despatching the current business,
the Board broke up, and to-morrow we sit in committee, when, I make
no doubt, of discovering such a scene as will be shocking to human
nature. They have all received immense sums for this new
appointment, and are so shameless, as to own it publicly. Hence we
can account for the motive of paying so little respect to me and
the committee; and, in short, every thing of benefit to themselves
they have in this hasty manner concluded, leaving to the committee
the getting the covenants signed, which they say, is of such
consequence, that they cannot think of settling any thing final
about them until Lord Clive's arrival.
"Alas! how is the English name sunk! I could not avoid paying the
tribute of a few tears to the departed and lost fame of the British
nation (irrecoverably so, I fear). However, I do declare, by that
Great Being who is the searcher of all hearts, and to whom we must
be accountable, if there must be an hereafter, that I am come out
with a mind superior to all corruption, and that I am determined to
destroy those great and growing evils, or perish in the attempt.
"I hope, when matters are a little settled, to set out for the
army; bringing with me full power for you and me to settle every
thing for the best."
His own situation and that of the country, at the period of his arrival,
is forcibly depicted in a letter to Mr. Palk, Governor of Madras.[244]
"I wrote you a few lines last Saturday; since which matters do not
go on so well as I could wish. Nasib Cawn, either through treachery
or want of ammunition, has surrendered himself and army to the
enemy; and Sir R. Fletcher, who was going to his assistance with
one hundred Europeans, four battalions of sepoys, and four
field-pieces, will find some difficulty to get back, as I
understand the Rohillas, Mahrattas, and Sujah Dowla, intend to use
their utmost efforts to prevent it. He has gained the banks of the
Ganges, but I fear has no boats: however, as the General is
marching to join him, I hope the enemy will not be able to make any
impression before their junction, when I think there is not much to
apprehend. Whether Sujah Dowla intends to try his fortune in
another battle, or to harass and cut off our supplies, and detach
into the Bahar province, we know not. However, we are providing
against all accidents, by forming a second army from the
reinforcements lately arrived, who are already upon their march for
Patna, to cover that country or proceed further, as the situation
of affairs may require. Thus circumstanced, you will see the
necessity of reinforcing us upon all occasions when you can do it
consistent with the safety of your own settlement.
"Mr. * * * * and all the council have been guilty of such barefaced
corruption, that the committee have thought it absolutely necessary
to make use of the power given them, in its utmost extent. You are
addressed by this conveyance, and copy of the powers with which we
are invested has been sent to you.
"At the first meeting, the gentlemen began to oppose and treat me
in the manner they did Vansittart, by disputing our power, and the
meaning of the paragraph in the Company's general letter. However,
I cut that matter short, by telling them they should not be the
judges of that power, nor would we allow them to enter into the
least discussion about it; but that they might enter their dissents
in writing, upon the face of the consultations. This brought
matters to a conclusion, and spared us the necessity of making use
of force, to put the Company's intentions into execution. We
arrived on Tuesday, and effected this on Thursday. On Friday we
held a committee; and on Monday was read before the council the
following resolution from the committee book:—'Resolved, that it is
the opinion of this committee, that the covenants be executed
immediately by the rest of the council, and all the Company's
servants.' After many idle and evasive arguments, and being given
to understand they must either sign or be suspended the service,
they executed the covenants upon the spot. From this you will see
what I had the honour to inform you of, that I am determined upon
an absolute reformation; but here we must act with caution, until a
peace is established, which I do not despair of accomplishing
during the rains.
"It gives me infinite concern to inform you that Mr. Spencer (of
whom I had the highest opinion) is by no means the man of integrity
or abilities that I took him to be; being deeper in the mire than
the rest, and who appears to me to have been seduced and led astray
by Johnstone and Leycester, having never had any will or opinion of
his own, since he came to the chair. Indeed, the dignity of
governor is sunk even beyond contempt itself; and the name of
council only heard of in these parts. Would you believe that in his
letters to the Nabob and others he has submitted to write, 'I and
the council?'
"We are waiting the arrival of the Nabob and his ministry, to
determine whether we shall suspend them the service, or represent
matters in a general light leaving to the Directors to determine
their state; though I am persuaded they will never wait such a
decision, having all of them received large fortunes which they
bare-facedly confess, for absolutely and precipitately concluding
the late treaty with the young Nabob; not waiting for our
approbation, or leaving it in our power to rectify the least
tittle, without being guilty of a breach of faith.
"The large sums of money already received, and obligations given
for the rest, on account of this treaty, are so very notorious
through the whole town, and they themselves have taken such little
pains to conceal them, that we cannot without forfeiting our honour
and reputation possibly avoid a retrospection, as far back as the
receipt of the covenants and Meer Jaffier's death. If we should
call upon you hereafter for the assistance of Messrs. Broke,
Russell, Kelsall, Floyer, and two or three more, we are persuaded
your zeal for the service will not let you hesitate a moment about
sending them by the first conveyance. However, you will keep the
contents of this paragraph to yourself, till you hear from the
committee or me upon the subject.
"I have employed Mr. Vansittart[245] as Persian interpreter, but
cannot admit him to that share of confidence I wish to do, until
those matters are ended entirely, out of a point of delicacy
towards him."
Clive addressed a letter to Mr. Spencer at this period[246], which is
singularly illustrative of that bold and open manner which led him to
speak and write his sentiments with little if any of that reserve and
discretion which are necessary to less vigorous minds to insure their
unobstructed progress through life. Mr. Spencer was at this time still
in Calcutta.
"I have read over all the consultations from the death of the late
Nabob, Jaffier Ali Cawn, to the 4th April, 1765, in which it does
not appear to me that you and the gentlemen have given any solid
reasons for thus precipitately concluding a solemn treaty with the
present young Nabob. There could have been no danger in declining
an absolute conclusion of the treaty, until our arrival, which you
know was expected every day. I am most sensibly affected at the
treatment I have received from you and the gentlemen touching my
jaghire. The instructing your deputies to apply to the Nabob for a
sunnud to confirm the agreement made by the Company and me was
officious, and contrary to the instructions of the Court of
Directors, who more than once, in their last letter of the 1st of
June, say, this matter is to be conducted by Lord Clive in
conjunction with the council. Such a proceeding carries with it a
reflection upon my integrity, as if it was doubted whether I should
make use of the power I was invested with to perform what I had so
solemnly engaged to perform. However, before I leave India, I will
endeavour to convince this part of the world upon what principles I
act."
Clive was at this period most anxious to make peace with the native
states; and among other reasons that led him to seek this object, one of
the principal was, to establish subordination[247] in the army, and to
correct abuses in the civil administration, neither of which it was easy
to effect while war existed. One of his first steps had been to
establish the supremacy of the committee, which consisted only of five
members, over the council which had sixteen, including the chiefs of all
the principal factories. The members of council could not be expected to
suffer patiently the execution of measures, which not only reduced their
influence and power, but threatened investigation into their past
conduct, and destroyed their golden prospects for the future. A party
was soon formed against Clive, the head of which was Mr. Leycester.[248]
But one of the most able and energetic of Clive's opponents was Mr. John
Johnstone, who had distinguished himself for his zeal and activity when
employed with Colonel Forde at the capture of Masulipatam, and in
various other services. Mr. Johnstone was, as has been stated, one of
the members of the committee who had been the instruments of placing the
young Nabob on the throne, and who had received presents which they were
not disposed to return. On the contrary, they pleaded the example which
others, and especially Clive himself, had given, and refused to admit
that there was any just ground for considering conduct as criminal in
them which had been approved in their predecessors, placed under
circumstances which, according to their statement, were not essentially
dissimilar.
Clive[249], disregarding opposition, recorded his opinion that the
treaty with the Nabob was formed with precipitation; and while he
expressed in the most open and bold manner his opinion as to the motives
which had influenced those by whom it had been concluded, he declared
his determination to exercise his full powers to correct
mal-administration, to enforce the signature, by the civil servants, of
the covenant, as ordered by the Directors, which had hitherto been
evaded[250]; and above all, to put a stop to the shameful abuses and
wrongs which had arisen from Europeans in the civil service, and free
merchants engaging in the inland trade.
He was quite aware of all the odium and hostility which the sudden and
great reform he contemplated would bring upon him, both in India and
England; but, from the whole tenor of his private letters of this date
it is obvious, that the knowledge of this, so far from dispiriting, only
encouraged him to the great efforts he made. The following is an extract
of a letter to Mr. Sykes of the 29th June on the subject:—
"I fear the military as well as civil are so far gone in luxury
and debauchery, that it will require the utmost exertion of an
united committee to save the Company from destruction. However, let
us always appeal to the rectitude of our intentions, and we shall
be enabled to complete the arduous undertaking with great
satisfaction and honour to ourselves. Remember me to Verelst in the
kindest manner; tell him the Company and myself have no other
dependence, but upon the justness of his and your principles."
Lord Clive's anxiety to conclude a peace, made him determine,
immediately after his arrival, to proceed to Patna. He had also several
arrangements to effect at Moorshedabad[251], where affairs had fallen
into great confusion. His intention was to proceed, after settling
affairs in Bengal, to Bahar; and his colleagues in the committee
delegated to him their power to conclude a settlement with Sujah Dowla
and the Emperor of Delhi, with or without the aid of Brigadier General
Carnac.[252] Lord Clive had, however, left Calcutta but a short time,
before he was embarrassed by the wavering conduct of Mr. Sumner, the
senior member of the committee. His Lordship had proposed, for strong
and obvious reasons, that the members of council should be reduced from
sixteen to twelve, and that the chiefs of subordinate factories should
not be included. Their being in council, he argued, gave them an
increased local influence and power, that was often abused; and the
council were slow and reluctant to censure or punish the acts, however
much they disapproved of them, of members of their own body. Another
evil arose out of this system. Rise to council was in fact by seniority;
for when nothing appeared on record against an individual, his claim to
that station was almost invariably admitted. Mr. Sumner was adverse to
any change of this system. Clive, though annoyed at his conduct, which
he thought too compromising, endeavoured by every argument he could use,
to reclaim him to that decided course which he conceived it the duty of
the committee to pursue, and from which it was important they should not
be diverted, either by the opinions or remonstrances of the council: Mr.
Sykes continued firmly to support the Governor, but he was called away
to his duties at the court of the Nabob at Moorshedabad; and Mr. Verelst
had been before nominated to the station of supervisor of Burdwan and
Midnapore.
Placed under these circumstances, Lord Clive made every effort to
convince Mr. Sumner of the necessity of giving him a decided support
against the opposition raised by the council.
"I hope," he observes on one occasion, "my last letter will have
convinced you of the insignificancy of the struggles of the gentlemen of
council, as well as of their power, when compared with that of the
committee. If you will but convince yourself that they have laid
themselves under such a censure that nothing can excuse them at home,
and that the committee's upright and spirited conduct must gain the
universal applause, you will treat them with that contempt which they
deserve, by never suffering them to give a vote on any subject whatever,
when once it has fallen under consideration of the committee.
"But to convince you what opinion even Mr. Sulivan and our enemies must
have of our conduct, I refer you to the two enclosed letters of Mr.
Palk, who is Mr. Sulivan's oracle. Besides, I have seen a letter of his
to Mr. George Vansittart, wherein he speaks in the highest terms of what
we are about, and the absolute necessity of a reformation.
"The behaviour of the council is so shameless, abandoned, and
ungrateful, that I know not whether I shall not produce fresh
accusations against them, in that the subordinate chiefs, down to the
writers, have laid all the zemindars under contribution, of which I
shall soon be in possession of the most authentic proofs."
In almost all Clive's letters written at this period he dwells upon the
same subjects, expresses his opinion that the covenants should be
executed, and depicts the extent and enormity of the prevailing abuses
and corruption in the interior of the country, particularly by the
natives, whom men with local influence and power have employed as
agents. These have (as he states), by their exactions and tyranny,
rendered the English name odious.
The sentiments he entertained of his council are fully given in a letter
to Mr. Sykes, under date the 10th August.
"The behaviour of the council has convinced me they are children
and fools, as well as knaves, and I am not at all concerned, on the
Company's account, that they have demeaned themselves in the manner
you represent; for we may now, with great propriety, let the
sentiments of humanity give way to justice. For my own part, I am
determined, as one, to show them no more mercy; indeed it now
becomes necessary, as well for our own vindication as for the
advantage of the Company, to make an example of them, and represent
them in their proper colours to the Court of Directors.
"I wish you would get ready the Dinagepoor Rajah's evidence, as
well as the evidence of others, concerning Mr. Gray's conduct at
Malda, against we assemble at Calcutta; and also what other
evidences of other gentlemen whose conduct deserves our censure. I
can't help thinking Leycester has been guilty of other
misdemeanours at Dacca, &c. Burdett I am sure has."
In a letter[253] from Lord Clive to the Directors, he has the following
observations upon this subject:—"Upon my arrival, I am sorry to say, I
found your affairs in a condition so nearly desperate, as would have
alarmed any set of men whose sense of honour and duty to their employers
had not been estranged by the too eager pursuit of their own immediate
advantages. The sudden, and, among many, the unwarrantable acquisition
of riches, had introduced luxury in every shape, and in its most
pernicious excess. These two enormous evils went hand in hand together
through the whole presidency, infecting almost every member of each
department. Every inferior seemed to have grasped at wealth, that he
might be enabled to assume that spirit of profusion which was now the
only distinction between him and his superior. Thus all distinction
ceased; and every rank became, in a manner, upon an equality. Nor was
this the end of the mischief; for a contest of such a nature among our
servants necessarily destroyed all proportion between their wants and
the honest means of satisfying them. In a country where money is plenty,
where fear is the principle of government, and where your arms are ever
victorious, it is no wonder that the lust of riches should readily
embrace the proffered means of its gratification, or that the
instruments of your power should avail themselves of their authority,
and proceed even to extortion, in those cases where simple corruption
could not keep pace with their rapacity. Examples of this sort, set by
superiors, could not fail of being followed, in a proportionable degree,
by inferiors. The evil was contagious, and spread among the civil and
military, down to the writer, the ensign, and the free merchant."
In the answer from the Court of Directors to this letter[254] from
Clive, they observe; "We have the strongest sense of the deplorable
state to which our affairs were on the point of being reduced, from the
corruption and rapacity of our servants, and the universal depravity of
manners throughout the settlements. The general relaxation of all
discipline and obedience, both military and civil, was hastily tending
to a dissolution of all government. Our letter to the Select Committee
expresses our sentiments of what has been obtained by way of donation;
and to that we must add, that we think the vast fortunes acquired in the
inland trade have been obtained by a scene of the most tyrannic and
oppressive conduct that ever was known in any age or country."
In the letter of the same date as that of Lord Clive[255], from the
Select Committee of Calcutta above referred to, they express themselves
bound to lay open to the view of the Directors a series of transactions
too notoriously known to be suppressed, and too deeply affecting their
interest, the national character, and the existence of the Company in
Bengal, to escape unnoticed and uncensured. "Transactions," they add,
"which seem to demonstrate that every spring of this government was
smeared with corruption, that principles of rapacity and oppression
universally prevailed, and that every spark of sentiment and public
spirit was lost and extinguished in the unbounded lust of unmerited
wealth."
Lord Clive, in a letter to Mr. Sykes of the 20th August, informs him of
the happy conclusion of his mission to Benares, and of his having
obtained from the King the grant of the dewannee, or deed, for the
administration of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa; an arrangement to which he
very justly attaches the greatest value, and which may be viewed as
having crowned his efforts as a hero and a statesman, in fixing firm the
foundation of the British empire in India.[256] It is difficult, at the
present day, to appreciate that wisdom which appeared to attach a value
to the form, almost beyond the substance, of power. It is impossible to
satisfy those who judge such questions by philosophic rules, or others
who apply a European standard to Indian policy, of the weight of the
reasons which led Clive to give the consequence he did to an act, that
may appear to them as being more likely to augment, than to lessen, the
numerous obstacles which already opposed the good government of our
Eastern territories. It is not easy to convince such persons of the
degree in which he was enabled, by this grant, to reconcile to the rule
of strangers the various communities which formed the vast population of
India; nor can we compute the amount of strength which it took away from
princes, who had long been enemies to those Europeans whom they deemed
invaders and usurpers, but who were, from the moment the grant was made,
in the eyes of a great proportion of their subjects, if not in their
own, sanctioned in the exercise of the power they had attained, by the
authority of one who, however fallen, was still considered the
legitimate source of all rank and authority over that empire of which he
was hardly more than the nominal head.
Philosophers may smile at such impressions, may despise those who act on
such grounds; but as the bulk of human beings, in every country, are
swayed by impressions and prejudices more than by reason, wise and great
statesmen will continue to establish authority, and preserve peace, by
adapting their measures to the habits and feeling of the community,
instead of acting on theories which, taken in the abstract, have an
appearance of wisdom, but reduced to practice, by running counter to the
character and condition of the great mass of men, for whose benefit they
are intended, produce bitter fruits from fair but deceitful blossoms.
Previous to the conclusion of the negotiations at Patna, Mr.
Verelst[257], acting under the instructions of Lord Clive, had succeeded
in obtaining the acquiescence of the Nabob of Moorshedabad and his
ministers, to an engagement, by which it is stipulated, that 50 lacs of
rupees should be assigned for his support[258], and that of his family,
while the remaining revenue was allotted to the payment of restitutions,
expenses of the army, and allowance to the King.
Lord Clive, in a letter which announced to the Court of Directors his
having made peace, and obtained rights and privileges that gave them
resources which, well managed, were more than competent to maintain the
East India Company in that political power which a rapid succession of
events had forced upon them, entered fully upon the subject of the
future administration of their affairs, and, above all, the necessity of
a complete reform in their civil and military establishments, which, in
Bengal, he describes to be in the worst possible state, owing to many
causes, but to none more than the rise of youth to wealth and high
station, before they had either prudence or judgment; a rise inevitably
succeeded by their falling into a state of indolence and luxury, that
led to the increase of the evils it was his anxious object, and that of
the Select Committee, to remedy.
The measures he adopted to enforce obedience to the orders of the
Directors, regarding certain classes of their servants discontinuing
trade, were accompanied by a distribution among the seniors, of a
proportion of the profits of the salt monopoly, in shares accordant with
their rank. These shares, though large, were considered as nothing by
men who were enjoying the enormous profits that resulted from the
privileges which their influence and authority gave them as merchants.
This arrangement, consequently, caused great discontent among those
whose interests it affected; which was increased by his removal of civil
servants from many minor stations in the provinces, and ordering all
free merchants, except those that were specifically licensed, to return
to the presidency. An effectual check was also put, at this period, to
that system of violence with which the native gomastahs, or agents of
civil servants and free merchants, continued to enforce the passing
their goods, not only without paying duties, but without dustucks or
passes[259], which were granted when it was deemed expedient or proper,
on application. There is, in Clive's letter books, much correspondence
upon this subject; the whole tenor of which proves, that the effort made
by the committee to stop the inland trade, was one of the principal
causes of that combination of civil servants, which rapidly increased in
number and violence, when it was known, that Clive had requested that
four of the senior and best qualified civil servants of Madras should be
immediately sent to Bengal, in order to strengthen his administration of
the latter presidency.
The conduct of Mr. Leycester, one of the council, who placed himself at
the head of the discontented, forced the Select Committee to suspend
him. Mr. Gray and Mr. Burdett, two other leaders, went home; and severe
measures were taken with several juniors, who joined with their
superiors in order to arrest reforms, which threatened to destroy those
prospects of early and great wealth in which they so fondly indulged.
Clive heard, soon after his arrival, of Mr. Dudley being
deputy-chairman; and we find a long private letter[260], written in
1765, to that gentleman. In this, after commenting with his usual
freedom on the characters of persons connected with the conduct of
Indian affairs, both at home and abroad, he particularly alludes to Mr.
Sumner, his destined successor, who, however respectable, he was led to
believe, from what he has seen and heard, would not be found to possess
that energy and decision which were indispensable to carry into full
effect the system which he had introduced.
He concludes this letter with some strong opinions, as to the measures
that were necessary to insure the future welfare of Bengal:—
"If the Directors will empower me alone, or me in conjunction
with the present committee, to regulate matters, I can be
responsible for the consequences after my departure; if not, I much
fear, things will fall into the old channel, and to the advantages
arising from salt will be added every other that can be obtained.
"Remember the oath and penalty bond mentioned in my public letter.
"If you could, by increasing the Governor's salary, or ordering his
proportion of salt to be greater, insert in the oath, that the
Governor should not be allowed the liberty of private trade, but
attend only to the affairs of the Company, leaving trade to the
second, &c., I think the plan of government would be much more
perfect, as it would be less liable to abuses from the head.
"With regard to the magnitude of our possessions, be not staggered.
Assure yourself that the Company must either be what they are, or
be annihilated. Hitherto, at least, one can see no alternative;
for, in a moderate state, though the power might still be
preserved, corruption and frequent revolutions, must in the end
overset us. Never was there a time when affairs wore so strong an
appearance of prosperity and stability as the present.
"Irruptions of the Mahrattas may now and then interrupt our trade,
and impede the collection of our revenues; but I am persuaded that
nothing can prove fatal but a renewal of licentiousness among your
servants here, or intestine divisions among yourselves at home.
"I am sorry I cannot send the Directors, by this conveyance, a list
of the revenues; but I am as much convinced as that I now exist,
that when the revenues are all perfectly regulated, the Company
will receive, clear of civil and military expenses, and without
oppressing or overloading the inhabitants, a net income of
2,000,000_l._ sterling per annum.
"One arduous undertaking still remains behind; I mean, a thorough
examination into all the civil and military offices. The difficulty
is in the choice of men for a committee. We cannot easily find
servants here endued with such strict principles of honour as to
make them think it a duty they owe the Company to enter heartily
into the scrutiny, and recommend such wholesome regulations as may
in future prevent abuses.
"It is impossible for the Select Committee to go through the whole
themselves, nor can they expect to see a thorough reformation take
place, unless they are assisted with the zeal and assiduity of
others. If the gentlemen of Madras whom I have recommended were
here, I could be certain of having my plan soon completed. The
Directors will, I am sure, be surprised when they see what a total
inattention (to call it by no worse a name) there has been in the
gentlemen of council, with regard to their employment, and what
gross frauds have been committed by the natives acting under them.
"Still more will they be surprised, when they see the late military
expenses, compared with the present; for there is now a system of
economy, consistent with the true interest of the Company, and yet
the allowances are not reduced below what they ought to be.
"Neither the general nor committee's letter is very full upon the
subject of remittances. This year we shall probably draw upon you
to the amount of treasure sent to China. There still remains 24
lacs of restitution money to be paid, 3 lacs of donation, 30 lacs
of bonds and 10 or 12 lacs to be sent to Bombay; and if to this you
add 20 lacs to be sent to China, the whole will amount to 87 or 89
lacs. Our treasury at present is low, as we have not yet received
the benefit of our new grant; and large sums have been advanced for
the investment, which will exceed 40 lacs this year.
"The trade of salt, betle, and tobacco is now become an object of
the utmost importance, both to the Company and to individuals. If
the profits should greatly exceed what they are stated at, as some
are sanguine enough to imagine, you may be assured the Company
shall receive the benefit; for, if the clear gain should exceed a
certain sum, the indulgence will become too great. As matters are
settled at present, the Company will receive one half of the
advantages by allowing them a duty of 35 per cent. upon salt, which
is the principal article. The proprietors pay 10 per cent. for the
loan of money, and 5 per cent. may be allowed for the loss of boats
and wastage."
The Court of Directors appear, from their general letters sent by Lord
Clive, and those of subsequent date, to have been very anxious to put an
end to the internal trade carried on by their servants and their native
agents, which they considered as being alike oppressive to the
inhabitants of the country, and injurious to the native governments. It
constituted a great source of profit to individuals, but was, they
stated, directly opposed to the interests of the Company, and from the
mode in which it was carried on brought disgrace upon the English name.
In the general letter of April 26th, 1765, the Court observes, with
reference to the conduct of the civil servants who had charge of the
government before the arrival of Lord Clive, and who pretended that
their right to engage in the internal trade, and to have their goods
passed free of duty, was founded on the Emperor's firman to the
Company;—
"Treaties of commerce are understood to be for the mutual benefit
of the contracting parties. Is it then possible to suppose that the
court of Delhi, by conferring the privilege of trading free of
customs, could mean an inland trade in the commodities of their own
country, at that period unpractised and unthought of by the
English, to the detriment of their revenues and the ruin of their
own merchants? We do not find such a construction was ever heard
of, until our own servants first invented it, and afterwards
supported it by violence. Neither could it be claimed by the
subsequent treaties with Meer Jaffier, or Cossim Ali, which were
never understood to give one additional privilege of trade beyond
what the firman expressed. In short, the specious arguments used by
those who pretended to set up a right to it convince us they did
not want judgment, but virtue to withstand the temptation of
suddenly amassing a great fortune, although acquired by means
incompatible with the peace of the country, and their duty to the
Company.
"Equally blamable were they who, acknowledging they had no right to
it, and sensible of the ill consequences resulting from assuming
it, have, nevertheless, carried on this trade, and used the
authority of the Company to obtain, by a treaty exacted by
violence, a sanction for a trade to enrich themselves, without the
least regard or advantage to the Company, whose forces they
employed to protect them in it.
"Had this short question been put, which their duty ought first to
have suggested, 'Is it for the interest of our employers?' they
would not have hesitated one moment about it; but this criterion
seems never once to have occurred.
"All barriers being thus broken down between the English and the
country government, and every thing out of its proper channel, we
are at a loss how to prescribe means to restore order from this
confusion; and being deprived of that confidence which we hoped we
might have placed in our servants, who appear to have been the
actors in these strange scenes, we can only say, that we rely on
the zeal and abilities of Lord Clive, and the gentlemen of the
Select Committee, to remedy these evils. We hope they will restore
our reputation among the country powers, and convince them of our
abhorrence of oppression and rapaciousness."
In the general letter, under date the 19th February, 1766, recurring to
the same subject, they write:—
"With respect to the treaty with Nudjum-ul-Dowla, it is proper
here to insert, at length, the fifth article, which runs in these
words:—'I do ratify and confirm to the English the privilege
granted them by their firman, and several husbulhookums, of
carrying on their trade, by means of their own dustucks, free from
all duties, taxes, or impositions, in all parts of the country,
except in the article of salt, on which the duty of two and a half
per cent. is to be levied on the Rowana or Haughley market price.'
This fifth article is totally repugnant to our own order, contained
in our general letter, by the Kent and Lapwing, dated the 1st June,
1764; in which we not only expressed our abhorrence of an article
in the treaty with Meer Jaffier, literally corresponding with the
present fifth article, but in positive terms directed you, in
concert with the Nabob, to form an equitable plan for carrying on
the inland trade, and transmit the same to us, accompanied by such
explanations and remarks as might enable us to give our sentiments
and directions thereupon. We must remind you, too, that in our said
general letter we expressly directed, that our orders, in our
letter of the 8th February preceding, which were to put a final and
effectual end to the inland trade in salt, betle-nut, and tobacco,
and in all other articles produced and consumed in the country,
should remain in force, until an equitable and satisfactory plan
could be found and adopted. As, therefore, there is not the least
latitude given you for concluding any treaty whatsoever respecting
this inland trade, we must and do consider what you have done as an
express breach and violation of our orders, and as a detrimental
resolution to sacrifice the interest of the Company, and the peace
of the country, to lucrative and selfish views.
"This unaccountable behaviour put an end to all confidence in those
who made this treaty, and forces us to resolve on measures for the
support of our authority, and the preservation of the Company. We
do therefore pronounce, that every servant concerned in that trade
stands guilty of a breach of his covenants with us and of our
orders; and in consequence of this resolution, we positively
direct, that if that treaty is now subsisting, you make a formal
renunciation, by some solemn act to be entered on your records, of
all right under the said treaty, or otherwise, to trade in salt,
betle-nut, and tobacco; and that you transmit this renunciation of
that part of the treaty, in form, to the Nabob, in the Persian
language. Whatever government may be established, or whatever
unforeseen occurrences may arise, it is our resolution to prohibit,
and we do absolutely forbid, this trade of salt, betle-nut, and
tobacco, and of all articles that are not for export and import,
according to the spirit of the firman, which does not in the least
give any latitude whatsoever for carrying on such an inland trade;
and, moreover, we shall deem every European concerned therein,
directly or indirectly, guilty of a breach of his covenants, and
direct that he be forthwith sent to England, that we may proceed
against him accordingly. And every native who shall avail himself
of our protection to carry this trade on, without paying all the
duties due to the government equally with the rest of the Nabob's
subjects, shall forfeit that protection, and be banished the
settlement; and we direct that these resolutions be signified
publicly throughout the settlement."
These letters were meant to be in support of the measures Lord Clive was
supposed to have adopted; but the opinions of the Court in regard to the
salt trade differed essentially from those on which he had acted. This
subject, however, will be noticed hereafter. In a subsequent letter,
(May 17th, 1766,) after stating the earnest request they had made of
Lord Clive to remain one more season in Bengal, and giving their
sentiments on the importance of his services, they drew a strong and
just contrast between the conduct of the Select Committee, of which he
was president, and that of the Governor and Council, whose power it had
superseded.
"The article in the treaty with Shuja Dowla, stipulating a trade
duty-free, through his dominions, we direct to be confined solely
to the Company's trade; and even in that sense of it, we mean only
if his dominions produce any goods fit for the European markets, or
if it can be made the means of extending our trade in the woollen
manufactory, or any other European goods.
"We come now to consider the great and important affairs of the
dewannee, on which we shall give our sentiments with every
objection that occurs to us.
"When we consider that the barrier of the country government was
entirely broken down, and every Englishman throughout the country
armed with an authority that owned no superior, and exercising his
power to the oppression of the helpless natives, who knew not whom
to obey; at such a crisis, we cannot hesitate to approve your
obtaining the dewannee for the Company.
"When we look back to the system that Lord Clive and the gentlemen
of the Select Committee found established, it presents to us a
subah disarmed, with a revenue of almost two millions sterling,
(for so much seems to have been left, exclusive of our demands on
him,) at the mercy of our servants, who had adopted an unheard-of
ruinous principle, of an interest distinct from the Company. This
principle showed itself in laying their hands upon every thing they
did not deem the Company's property.
"In the province of Burdwan, the resident and his council took an
annual stipend of near 80,000 rupees per annum from the Rajah, in
addition to the Company's salary. This stands on the Burdwan
accounts, and we fear was not the whole; for we apprehend it went
further, and that they carried this pernicious principle even to
the sharing with the Rajah of all he collected beyond the
stipulated malguzary, or land revenue, overlooking the point of
duty to the Company, to whom, properly, every thing belonged that
was not necessary for the Rajah's support. It has been the
principle, too, on which our servants have falsely endeavoured to
gloss over the crime of their proceedings, on the accession of the
present Subah; and we fear would have been soon extended to the
grasping the greatest share of that part of the Nabob's revenues
which was not allotted to the Company. In short, this principle was
directly undermining the whole fabric; for whilst the Company were
sinking under the burden of the war, our servants were enriching
themselves from those very funds that ought to have supported the
war. But to Lord Clive and our Select Committee we owe, that the
Company are at last considered as principals in the advantages as
well as dangers."
Clive had recommended, that the Governor of Bengal should have an
adequate salary, and be restrained from trade. In one of his letters
already quoted, he strongly urged that he should be vested with
authority to take a resolution in cases of emergency entirely on
himself. He subsequently not only pointed out the expediency of making
Calcutta the chief seat of the government of India, but proposed, in any
future arrangement, the nomination of a Governor-general, with the full
powers he now enjoys. All these propositions have been adopted; but the
most important were not carried into effect till thirty years of
collision and confusion in the administration of the Indian Government,
through the means of separate and independent presidencies, compelled
the divided and jealous authorities in England to follow the wise
counsel of one whose experience and foresight enabled him to predict the
evils which must result from the weakness and distraction of their
government abroad, and the necessity of forming one uniform system for
the administration of our Indian territories, and placing them under one
efficient general rule,—the individual at the head of which should be of
a character that justified his being clothed with paramount power over
the whole.
Such was the magnitude of the evils that now weighed down the government
of Bengal. It was at this period of danger from external enemies
aggravated by a system radically corrupt, and in the continuance of
which the interests of almost the whole of the public servants, and of
all the free traders, were involved, that Clive evinced all the energy
of his extraordinary character. We trace that quality, however, more in
his private than in his public letters; and some extracts from the
former will exhibit, better than the most laboured detail, the nature of
the obstacles he had to encounter, and the measures he took to surmount
them, and to restore and fix, on a firmer foundation than ever, the
interests of his country in India. He observes, in a letter to Mr. Palk,
Governor of Madras, dated Calcutta, 4th May[261];—
"I have little more to say than that I arrived here yesterday,
and that all affairs, civil and military, are in a state of
confusion beyond what I had even reason to expect. I can see no end
to the troubles in these parts. Suja Dowla has been joined by the
Rohillas and Mahrattas, and he is marching down with them to make
another effort to recover his dominions, which, at present, are
entirely in our possession. Their apprehension seems to be, that
our principal object is to support the King, and establish him at
Delhi; and if this is the case, we may expect all India will go to
war with us. Such a continued scene of fighting as this seems to
open, will not, however, suit with us; and, in a very short time, I
believe I must march up to camp, in order to settle measures, if
possible, upon a pacific plan. I beg you will send us as many small
arms, as well as men, as your settlement can spare, out of the next
and succeeding ships."[262] * * * * *
In a letter to General Carnac, he describes the state of the Nabob of
Moorshedabad and his ministers, and the recent events at that court, in
the following terms[263]:—
"I cannot yet write you particulars; however, matters seem
drawing to a conclusion. The Nabob and Mahommed Reza Cawn are
arrived. The Seets and Roydulub will be here to-morrow, and I am
determined to give an impartial audience to all of them, who are
ready enough to disclose every transaction, and will prove to
demonstration, upon what grounds and principles the gentlemen have
been actuated, thus precipitately to conclude a treaty before our
arrival.
"Although Nundcomar may not prove guilty of the crimes laid to his
charge, yet, believe me, my dear General, he will do no honour,
either to the Nabob or to the Company, in any great or eminent
post, which he never was formed or designed for; and I can give you
unanswerable reasons against his being the principal person about
the Nabob, when I have the pleasure of seeing you. I am as fully
averse to Reza Ali Cawn's remaining in the great post of Naib
Subah. His being a Mussulman, acute, and clever, are reasons of
themselves, if there were no others, against trusting that man with
too much power; and yet the young man must have men about him
capable of directing and governing him; for besides his youth, he
is really very simple, and always receives his impressions from
those who are last about him. It is really shocking to see what a
set of miserable and mean wretches Nundcomar has placed about him,
men that the other day were horsekeepers. I proposed that three or
four of the principal families in Bengal shall assist him in his
government; and make no doubt of obtaining his own consent for
adopting such a plan as may make him perfectly easy in his own
mind, and do the English nation honour.
"I hope fifteen or twenty days will enable me to put affairs in
such a channel, that the gentlemen may go on with the reformation
during my absence; and upon my arrival we must heartily set about a
peace: for the expense is now become so enormous, (no less than 10
lacs per mensem, civil and military,) that the Company must be
inevitably undone, if the Mahrattas, or any other powers, should
invade Bahar and Bengal; for it will then be impossible to raise
money sufficient to continue the war. This is a very serious
consideration with me, and will, I make no doubt, strike you in the
same light."
Treating the same subject in a subsequent letter, Clive observes[264]:—
"Strange discoveries have been made, which prove your conjectures
about revolutions to be true. The enclosed will give you an idea of
what is intended. The more I see of the Nabob, the more I am
convinced of his incapacity for business: whether it proceeds from
want of natural abilities, or want of education, time will
discover; certain it is, the most difficult task we have is to act
in such a manner as not to put too great a restraint upon the
Nabob's inclinations, and yet, at the same time, influence him to
do what is for his own honour, and the good of the Company. There
is no submitting to be dictated to by every plaguy fellow about
him."
And again[265]:—
"There seems to me to have been a combination between the blacks
and whites, to divide all the revenues of the Company between them,
for the Nabob knows nothing about the matter. Large sums have been
taken out of both treasuries, by Mahommed Reza Cawn at Muxadabad,
and by Nundcomar at Calcutta. Every day convinces me, that so long
as that man with his instruments continue about him we shall never
have that influence which appears to me absolutely necessary, as
well for his own reputation as to prevent the revenues being
dissipated on a set of plaguy rascals."
The evidence which Clive about this time obtained from the officers of
the Nabob, of the sums paid to the different public servants on the
conclusion of the treaty, are stated in a letter to General Carnac[266],
with some severe remarks on the conduct of those who, on that occasion,
sacrificed the interest and honour of the public for venal objects. This
subject would, in its details, lead us too far. Suffice it to say, that
the strong measures which the discovery he made led him to adopt,
particularly that of suspending several of the older civil officers from
the service, added to the number of his enemies in a degree that made
them more powerful in England than in India, and was the chief cause of
that parliamentary inquiry into his conduct which took place on his
return to his native country. Meanwhile, however, the honest course of
investigation which he pursued, though fatiguing and painful to his
mind, and severe on his spirits, left him resolute and composed in his
sense of duty. He had a great object in view, the salvation of an
empire, through the repression of wrong, and the amendment of the public
character and morals. "Let me but have health sufficient to go through
with the reformation we intend," says he, in writing to his friend
Carnac, "and I shall die with satisfaction and in peace." The same
feeling, which seems at this period to have deeply penetrated his mind,
he expresses to many of his friends.
Clive, it appears from several letters to other friends, had been, at
this period, seriously hurt at the long, and, as he thought, the
mysterious silence of General Carnac. He was at last relieved by a
letter, which satisfactorily accounted for the apparent neglect of a
friend for whom he cherished so sincere an esteem. The following extract
from Clive's reply is singularly illustrative of his feelings, and of
the principles on which he acted:—
"The receipt of your letter[267], number eight, gave me as much
pleasure as your long silence gave me real concern. Indeed, I had
resolved to write no more, being convinced that, from some cause or
other, the friendship which had so long subsisted between us was
drawing towards a conclusion, since you had declined even giving me
your sentiments upon a subject or subjects in which I conjectured
we may have differed in opinion. But surely that could be no reason
for not writing at all; neither ought a difference of opinion,
where both are actuated by principles of honour and justice, in the
least diminish that cordial affection which hitherto hath
subsisted, and I trust will subsist to the day of our deaths.
"I was not ignorant, when a general Court of Proprietors prevailed
upon me to resume this government, what an odious as well as
arduous task I had undertaken. Foreseeing, in a manner, every thing
at the time which has since happened, I was determined, if
possible, to answer the expectations of the Proprietors, who did me
the honour to think me the only person who could, by my power and
influence (and example, I hope,) put a stop to that universal
corruption (some few instances excepted) which seems to have spread
itself over all Bengal.
"Although a reformation both in the civil and military department
appears to me absolutely necessary, yet if there be any thing which
can occasion you the least uneasiness, for God's sake let the whole
weight fall upon my shoulders. I can go through every thing with
pleasure, so long as I can, with truth, and without vanity, apply
to myself these beautiful lines of Horace:—
'Justum et tenacem propositi virum,'" &c.
Clive, in the following letter to his friend Walsh, dated 30th
September, 1765, gives full scope to his feelings, both as to public
transactions, and those connected with them:—
"Our friendship and connection have been of so many years'
standing, and I have always observed in you so much real warmth of
heart and zeal for my interest and honour, that I think of these
marks of your affection in this distant part of the globe with the
greatest satisfaction.
"To you, and to you only, I shall communicate every transaction of
consequence which has passed since our arrival, because I know you
have judgment and discretion to make a proper use of them.
"It will be needless to expatiate on the very great things we have
done for the Company, since the several papers which accompany this
will make you a perfect master of the whole of our proceedings.
"I have referred many of my friends to you for information; but you
will communicate to them what you think proper, Mr. Grenville
excepted, to whom I have been very explicit, having inclosed him a
copy of my letter to the Court of Directors, translation of the
treaty of peace, and a map of Bengal, with some marginal
explanations.
"You will therefore lay before him, without reserve, all papers of
a public nature; such as relate to individuals, and are not made
public, you may not think proper to reveal to any one. There is
only one paper which I could not send you, viz. the letter from the
Select Committee to the Court of Directors, being bound by oath not
to make any of our proceedings public until laid before council, or
communicated to the Court of Directors; neither of which being yet
done, with respect to the committee's letter, is the reason I
cannot send you a copy; but you will, undoubtedly, obtain a sight
of it from Scrafton.
"Had I known Mr. Sumner as well as I do at present, I would never
have consented to his being appointed my successor, let the
consequences be what they would. I did, indeed, entertain hopes,
that my example and instructions might furnish that gentleman with
a plan of conduct and political knowledge, which would have enabled
him to fill the chair with honour, and me to leave it with
satisfaction to myself. But I am sorry to inform you, that I had
been but a short time on board the Kent, before I discovered him to
be a man no ways fit to be my successor. His ideas of government
differ widely indeed from mine; add to this, his judgment is weak,
timid, and unsound, and resolution he has none.
"Nor was my opinion of him changed on our arrival here; for I was
frequently mortified with instances of his conduct, which made me
look forward with regret to the day on which he was to be intrusted
with the government of Bengal.
"When affairs of the utmost consequence to the Company were
transacting by me, at the distance of seven hundred miles from the
presidency, Mr. Sumner, governor for the time being, would have
yielded up some of the most material privileges of the committee to
Mr. Leycester, Gray, and Burdett, the most factious among the
counsellors; and, if I had not written to him very severely on the
subject, and prevailed on Mr. Verelst to hasten down from Burdwan
to remonstrate to him on the weakness of his conduct, I verily
believe he would have joined with those gentlemen in endeavouring
to abolish the power of the committee.
"Whether his behaviour arose merely from timidity of temper, or
from a consideration that his actions formerly, in the Burdwan
country, could not bear a scrutiny, if the resentment of those whom
he had been obliged to join in condemning should prompt them to
retaliate, I cannot say; but it is certain that his attention to
those gentlemen, guilty as they had been of the most notorious acts
of oppression, was mean and absurd. His conduct, upon the whole,
convinces me, that had he been in council during the late
transactions he would have stood next to Mr. Johnstone in the
donation list, which I almost wish he had, since the Company and I
should, by that means, have been freed from the apprehensions we
now labour under, on account of his succeeding me in the
government.
"Imagine not that I have exceeded the bounds of truth in this
description. A due regard to my own honour, as well as to the
advantage of the Company, obliges me to be thus plain; but it is
not my intention to impress you with ideas so far to the
disadvantage of Mr. Sumner, as that he may be set aside from the
government. I think I cannot go such lengths without hurting my own
reputation. I must make a point of his succeeding me according to
his appointment; and I hope affairs will go on very well, as long
as he has a good committee or council to watch him.
"If you can prevail upon the Court of Directors to empower me
alone, or me in conjunction with the Select Committee, to regulate
matters, I will be responsible for his good behavior: if not, I
much fear things will fall into the old channel; and to the
advantages arising from salt will be added every other that can be
grasped at.
"Remember the oath and penalty bond mentioned in my public letter.
If by increasing the Governor's salary, or ordering his proportion
of salt to be greater, there was a particular oath for the
Governor, whereby he should not be allowed the liberty of private
trade at all, but obliged to attend to the affairs of the Company
only, leaving trade to the second, &c., I think the plan of
government would be much more perfect, as it would be less liable
to abuses from the head.
"I have hinted to Dudley only my sentiments of Mr. Sumner, and he
knows from me that I have explained myself to you. Consult,
therefore, together about the matter; settle it, if possible, in
such a manner that I may not be taxed with breach of promise to Mr.
Sumner, and I may at the same time resign the government without
apprehension for the consequences.
------------------
"It would be endless for me to send you the particulars of every
act of extortion and corruption. I had prepared a great many, under
the hands and seals of the several zemindars and phousdars, in
order to make it impossible for such men to succeed in any of their
future designs; but the total overthrow of Sulivan and his party
makes such authentic proofs unnecessary, especially as we have sent
home sufficient to convince every impartial Director of the general
corruption and profligacy of their servants in Bengal.
"Among other papers, you will find a letter from the King to the
Governor and Council, in favour of General Carnac. The 2 lacs of
rupees he has given him is lodged in the public funds, until the
pleasure of the Directors is known. I shall only say that Carnac
has acted with such moderation and honour in the service of the
Company, and with such good deference and attention towards his
Majesty the Great Mogul, that the Directors must be the most
ungrateful of men, if they do not, by the return of this ship, or
the first conveyance, order him this money, with a due encomium
upon his services, disinterestedness, and modesty. I am sure your
interest will not be wanting to push this matter to the utmost, if
it be possible that such an order from the Court should meet with
the least resistance.
"I have determined to remain in this country until I receive an
answer to our proceedings. No consideration on earth shall prevail
upon me to stay beyond the month of December, 1766; and my friends
may be assured, if no accident happens to me, of hearing of me from
Europe in April or May, 1767. In the mean time I shall dedicate
every day of my life to the service of the Company; a thorough
reformation shall take place; every department, both civil and
military, shall be examined, and regulated by a disinterested
committee, upon oath; and the Directors will be surprised indeed at
the extravagancy, inattention, and frauds of their servants, both
civil and military, at the same time that they must be greatly
pleased at the reduction of their exorbitant expenses.
"Can you believe me, that the civil and military charges at the
time of my arrival, amounted to between 11 and 12 lacs per month?
"I have dropt all thoughts of what I mentioned to you from Rio
Janeiro, concerning my jaghire, and am resolved to let it rest as
it is.
"That you may assist with confidence the justice of my cause, I do
declare, by that God who made me, it is my absolute determination
to refuse every present of consequence, and that I will not return
to England with one rupee more than what arises from my jaghire. My
profits arising from salt shall be divided among those friends who
have endangered their lives and constitutions in attending me; the
congratulatory nuzzurs shall be set opposite to my extraordinary
expenses, and, if aught remains, it shall go to Poplar or some
other hospital."
Clive, the same day, wrote the following letter[268] to Mr. Grenville,
with whom, throughout this period, he appears to have kept up a constant
correspondence:—
"Give me leave to call to your remembrance some discourse we had
together about the Company's affairs (in which the honour and
interest of our nation was so much concerned), and to inform you, I
have now the particular satisfaction of seeing the great object of
my wishes nearly accomplished.
"The enclosed copy of my letter to the Court of Directors, and a
map of Bengal, with some marginal explanations, will open to you a
full view of the present great and flourishing condition of our
East India Company, and show how near it was to destruction, from
corruption, extortion, and luxury. If you have leisure and
inclination to be further acquainted with our transactions, Mr.
Walsh has orders from me to lay before you our proceedings. May
what we are about, in times of distress and necessity, contribute
towards lessening the debt of the nation. If you imagine the King
can find amusement in perusing any of these papers, or some
particular friends whom you can trust, I shall have no objection.
"I hope by this year's conveyance to send you a particular account
of the revenues of these provinces, which, put under proper
management, cannot fall far short of 4,000,000_l._ per annum.
"I return you many thanks for Mr. Strachey: I have found him in
every respect deserving your good opinion; and I must not forget to
express how thankful I am for the assistance you have given Mr.
Nevil Maskelyne, to obtain the Regius professorship.
"My best wishes attend Mrs. Grenville and all your family."
Clive observes, in a letter to Lord Halifax, of the same date,—
"I will not attempt entering into a detail of affairs in this part
of the world, especially as I have enabled Mr. Grenville to give
your Lordship a very explicit account of the prosperous and
flourishing condition of the East India Company: too prosperous,
without they have better heads and hearts to manage such grand and
extensive concerns than heretofore."
In the following letter[269] from Lord Clive to Sir Matthew
Featherstonhaugh he states,—
"We have just concluded a very honourable and advantageous peace
with Sujah-u-Dowlah. To convince him, as well as the Mogul empire,
of our moderation, we have restored to him all his dominions, upon
condition of paying to the Company 50 lacs of rupees, or
600,000_l._ (the half down, and security for the other half.) This
he very readily consented to, and has exactly complied with his
engagements; so that Bengal, by such a powerful alliance, will in
all probability enjoy tranquillity and peace for some time.
"Was I to paint to you the anarchy and confusion which reigned in
these rich provinces upon my arrival, you would be much surprised.
Indeed, the Company's affairs were at their last gasp, not from our
enemies, but from that universal licentiousness which had overrun
the whole settlement of Calcutta. Extortion and corruption were
practised openly and at noonday. The three kingdoms of Bengal,
Bahar, and Orissa, whose revenues amount to 4,000,000_l._ sterling
per annum, had been put up to sale, and the profits divided among
the civil and military; the Company's interests have been most
scandalously sacrificed; but on this subject let me refer you to
Mr. Walsh, who will give you such proofs of the venality,
corruption, and extortions of the Company's servants, as must give
you great pain, from the consideration of the national honour being
so much prostituted.
"We are making use of the power given the committee to check these
great and growing evils, and have made great progress already. Our
vigorous proceedings towards retrieving the national honour, and
obtaining for the Company those great and glorious advantages,
which they are so justly entitled to, will, I make no doubt, create
us many enemies; however, conscious rectitude will enable us to go
through our undertakings with pleasure. With regard to myself, I do
declare, upon the word of a gentleman, and upon my honour, that,
although history can scarce furnish an instance of any subject who
hath had such opportunities of acquiring an immense fortune, it is
my determined resolution to return to my native country not one
farthing richer than when I left it.
"The very great attention you have always paid to my interest, and
the favourable opinion you have always entertained of my abilities
and zeal for the Company, bind me to you by ties of the strongest
gratitude.
"The Company, in consequence of a grant from the Great Mogul, and
with the Nabob's approbation, are in possession of a clear revenue
of 2,000,000_l._ sterling; and all our expenses, both civil and
military, can never exceed the half of that sum in time of war, and
in time of peace, not more than 600,000_l._ per annum: so that, at
the worst of times, there will be a clear gain of 1,000,000_l._
sterling per annum to the Company. Neither are these revenues
chimerical or precarious: the rents are regularly paid; and we have
established such a force, that all the powers of Hindustan cannot
deprive us of our possessions for many years. Let me refer you to
Mr. Walsh for further particulars, who, I am persuaded, will
explain these matters much to your satisfaction.
"Although I find I cannot, as formerly, struggle with the
inclemency of this hot climate, yet I am determined to wait for an
answer to our despatches by this ship: my duty to my family will
not permit me to stay longer. I hope to kiss your hand in April or
May, 1767.
"The Duke of Devonshire's death has given me inexpressible concern:
the nation has lost a nobleman who was an honour to it, and we the
best and sincerest of friends. I could with pleasure have attached
myself to him for the remainder of my days."
The following letter[270] to his friend Scrafton exhibits a short view
of the prosperous state of the finances, and closes with a postscript
written on Clive's hearing of his friend's election to the office of
Director:—
"You must not expect a long letter from me, because I know you will
have many particulars from other friends, and because the public
business will really not allow me time for that purpose.
"Revolution upon revolution, rapacity, extortion, and corruption,
have at last reduced us to the necessity of doing the only thing
which could be done, to save the whole fabric from being ruined.
The King hath granted to the Company the dewannee of Bengal, Bahar,
and Orissa, and expresses himself in this manner:—'In consideration
of the great services rendered me by the English Company, and on
the condition of their paying me the annual tribute of 26 lacs, and
allowing sufficient for the support of the dignity of the Nizamut,
whatever remains of the revenues of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa, I
give to the English Company as a free gift, for ever and ever.'
"The Nabob's allowances are 53 lacs, which he signed and agreed to;
so that there will remain little short of 200 lacs to the Company,
clear of all expenses in collections. What think you of the stocks?
We shall draw bills for about 16 lacs this year, and, in future, I
believe, there will be an end to bills of exchange. Our investment
this year will exceed 40 lacs, and we shall send 15 lacs to China.
We have 24 lacs of restitution money to pay, and 30 lacs of bonds
to discharge, or we should not have drawn at all, even this year.
"We have concluded a firm and lasting peace with Sujah-u-Dowlah, by
giving him up all his country, for which he pays 50 lacs to the
Company: 25 down, and security for the rest in twelve months. I
have not leisure to entertain you with an account of our
proceedings with regard to the gentlemen of council: the upshot is,
as you have expressed yourself in one of your letters, 'There are
not five men of principle in the whole settlement.' I believe this
is the first instance of such a paper appearing upon record as we
have sent home.
"There is an account in our committee and consultation proceedings,
as large as a general return, with as many columns, specifying the
sums of money received, and to be received, by whom, and to whom,
and on whose houses drawn; in short, the Directors, when they first
see these papers, will imagine it to be an account of increase of
revenues. If you can get John Walsh into a humour of entertaining
you upon these matters, he is qualified to do it better than any
man in England. My time and paper grow short.
"I am, dear Scrafton,
"Yours, &c.
"CLIVE
"May it please your Honour,
"I did not know at the time I wrote the above, that your Honour
would have been one of my masters, as I might have saved myself the
trouble of writing so much, or referring you to Walsh. Believe me,
there is an absolute necessity of getting some of the Madras
servants here, or we shall never bring about a reformation. The
gentry here will do nothing with a good will.
"I am
"Your Honour's most obedient servant,
"CLIVE."
Clive, in answering a letter[271] from Mr. Fowke, a Director, observes,—
"I have received your letter of the 13th November, 1764, from the
contents of which I can easily perceive our affairs in Leadenhall
Street are not likely to be upon a solid foundation for some time:
indeed, Rous, though a very honest man, is the most unfit of all
men living to preside and govern a Court of Directors. I am now
convinced, a man of lighter principles, with more abilities, and a
certain degree of resolution, will manage both private and public
concerns to more advantage than Mr. Rous. My only hopes are, that
the next year's election will produce one or two men well versed in
the politics of India, and then Mr. Sulivan may be entirely
excluded.
"I am not at all surprised at your disappointment; nothing less
could have been expected from such a divided and distracted
Direction; nor should I be much surprised if something of a
disagreeable nature, touching my powers, should find its way to
India. If the Directors dare take such a step, woe be to them, for
I am pursuing measures so manifestly to the nation's honour, and
the Company's advantage, that envy and malice themselves will not
dare to enter the lists against us.
"Was I to enter into a detail of all our transactions in these
parts, volumes would not suffice. To Mr. Walsh, therefore, I refer
you, who will be perfectly informed of the great and glorious
things we have already done for this Company; too great, indeed,
for such a Company. I shall only say, that such a scene of anarchy,
confusion, bribery, corruption, and extortion was never seen or
heard of in any country but Bengal; nor such and so many fortunes
acquired in so unjust and rapacious a manner. The three provinces
of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa, producing a clear revenue of
3,000,000_l._ sterling, have been under the absolute management of
the Company's servants, ever since Meer Jaffier's restoration to
the subaship; and they have, both civil and military, exacted and
levied contributions from every man of power and consequence, from
the Nabob down to the lowest zemindar.
"The trade has been carried on by free merchants, acting as
gomastahs to the Company's servants, who, under the sanction of
their names, have committed actions which make the name of the
English stink in the nostrils of a Gentoo or a Mussulman; and the
Company's servants themselves have interfered with the revenues of
the Nabob, turned out and put in the officers of the government at
pleasure, and made every one pay for their preferment."
It may be questioned whether any of Clive's many and great achievements
called forth more of that active energy and calm firmness for which he
was distinguished, than was evinced in effecting the reform of the civil
service of Bengal. It created a host of enemies in India, several of
whom were men of talent, and possessed both of wealth and reputation.
These, when they returned to England, gave vent to their indignation
against one whom they represented as an arbitrary tyrant, who, having
made his own immense fortune in a rapid manner, now desired to obtain
fame by depriving others of the same advantages. They found, among the
Directors and the House of Commons, many who listened eagerly to their
grievances, and to accusations against a man whose fame and fortune made
him an object of envy and of calumny; and who, besides the numbers he
had rendered his enemies, by detecting and exposing their nefarious
conduct, had deeply offended others, of whose character and principles
he had a better opinion, by his impatience at their weak or undecided
conduct. Born, it may be said, to command, clear in his views of what
was right, and devoted to the public service, he was not only
uncompromising, but impatient of check or hinderance in the pursuit of
objects he deemed essential for the good name or interests of his
country. This impatience led him too often to evince indignation or
contempt of those who opposed him, or whose minds could not keep pace
with his own, but whose conduct and character merited more justice and
consideration.
But we must close this chapter, the events detailed in which occurred
within a twelvemonth of Clive's arrival in Bengal. The second year
afforded him a still greater opportunity of displaying his wisdom and
courage.
FOOTNOTES: CHAPTER 14
Footnote 244:
11th May, 1765.
Footnote 245:
Mr. George Vansittart, the brother of Henry, the late governor.
Footnote 246:
13th May, 1765.
Footnote 247:
Vide letter to Mr. Sykes, 7th July.
Footnote 248:
Vide letter to Mr. Palk, 14th July.
Footnote 249:
Vide letter to Mr. Spencer of the 13th May.
Footnote 250:
The Court of Directors, by the Lapwing packet, which left England in
June, 1764, sent positive orders, which reached Calcutta on the 24th
January, 1765, that all persons in the Company's service should
execute covenants, restraining them from accepting, directly or
indirectly, from the Indian princes, any grant of lands, rents, or
territorial dominion, or any present whatever, exceeding the value of
four thousand rupees, without the consent of the Court of Directors.
The letter further contained orders relating to private trade, and to
batta to the troops. The council assembled next day, 25th January. It
is remarkable that the subjects, both of the batta and of the private
trade, are noticed in the consultation, but no allusion whatever is
made to the matter of the covenants. At this crisis the old Nabob
died; and Mr. Johnstone and Mr. Leycester were immediately empowered
to negotiate with his son, the young Nabob, and accordingly did
conclude a treaty, 6th February, as has been already mentioned. About
twenty lacs of rupees were, on this occasion, promised, and the
greater part of it received, as a present to the Governor and several
members of council. (Verelst's Narrative, p. 51.; Third Report of
Select Committee of House of Commons, p. 21.) As upwards of three
months had elapsed at the time of Clive's arrival, and the Company's
orders regarding the covenants had not yet been put in force, the
Select Committee, immediately on meeting, issued an order for carrying
them into instant effect. Clive, in his letters, expresses great
indignation at the circumstances attending the treaty with the young
prince; and it is impossible not to agree with him in thinking, that
the delay in the signing of the covenants, and the subsequent presents
from the young Nabob, reflect light on each other.
Footnote 251:
Vide letter to Mr. Sumner of the 26th June.
Footnote 252:
Vide letter, Secret Committee, 21st June, 1765.
Footnote 253:
This letter is dated the 30th September, 1765. It is published in the
Third Report of the Select Committee of the House of Commons, A. D.
1772.
Footnote 254:
17th May, 1766.
Footnote 255:
30th September, 1765.
Footnote 256:
It may be mentioned, as a curious fact, that when the durbar for
conferring the dewannee on the Company was held, the Emperor having
none of the appurtenances of high condition or state along with him,
an English dining table, covered over, made the throne on which he sat
during the ceremony.
Footnote 257:
Vide letter from Mr. Verelst, 27th July, 1765.
Footnote 258:
An addition of 386,131 was subsequently granted.
Footnote 259:
Mr. Johnstone, who had resigned council, but who remained some time
settling the commercial concerns with Mr. Bolts, complains of his salt
being stopped; Lord Clive, in reply, says he should have applied for a
dustuck.
Footnote 260:
Letter to Mr. Dudley, 29th September, 1765.
Footnote 261:
1765.
Footnote 262:
At the time of Lord Clive's writing the letter quoted in the text, to
Mr. Palk, the Governor of Madras, which was the day after his
Lordship's arrival at Bengal, Suja Dowla was, as is mentioned in that
letter, threatening to invade our provinces with a large army, joined
by the Mahrattas and Rohillas. But he altered his tone very shortly
after; since it appears, by a letter written by him to General Carnac,
that he offered to make peace on any terms.
This letter, it appears from the public records mentioned in the
Report of the Select Committee of 1772, was received by General Carnac
on the 19th of May, 1765, and was probably written by Suja Dowla two
days before; which allows for his having received intelligence of Lord
Clive's arrival on the 3d of that month, and that it had the effect of
his proposing to make peace with the English.
The letter is worth transcribing in this place. (3d Rep. of Select
Comm. App. No. 84.)
_Suja Dowla to General Carnac._
"It is known all over the world, that the illustrious chiefs of the
English nation are constant and unchangeable in their friendship,
which my heart is fully persuaded of. The late disturbances were
contrary to my inclination; but it was so ordered by Providence. I now
see things in a proper light, and have a strong desire to come to you;
and am persuaded you will treat me in a manner befitting your own
honour. You have shown great favours to others; when you become
acquainted with me you will see with your own eyes, and be thoroughly
sensible of my attachment, from which I will never depart while I have
life. I am this day arrived at Belgram: please God, in a very short
time I shall have the happiness of a meeting with you. As for other
particulars, I refer you to Monyr-o-Dowla and Rajah Shitabroy."
(And with his own hand.)
"My Friend,—I regard not wealth nor the government of countries: your
favour and friendship is all I desire. Please God, I will be with you
very soon, when you will do for me what you think best."
The fame of Lord Clive having been so long established in India, it
will not be thought extraordinary by those acquainted with that
country, that the news of his return to it should have operated, as it
did, so instantaneously with Suja Dowla, in the manner expressed in
the above letter.
Lord Clive soon after concluded a treaty of peace with him, of which
an account is given in the letter of the Select Committee at Calcutta,
30th September, 1765, in the same Report, App., No. 86.
Footnote 263:
Calcutta, 20th May, 1765.
Footnote 264:
General Carnac, 27th May, 1765.
Footnote 265:
Ibid., 30th May, 1765.
Footnote 266:
8th June, 1765.
Footnote 267:
Mootagyl, 8th July, 1765.
Footnote 268:
Dated Calcutta, 30th September, 1765.
Footnote 269:
Dated Calcutta, 30th September, 1765.
Footnote 270:
Dated Calcutta, 25th September, 1765.
Footnote 271:
Dated 25th September, 1765.
END OF THE SECOND VOLUME.
LONDON:
Printed by A. SPOTTISWOODE,
New-Street-Square.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
_Publications_
OF
THE LATE SIR JOHN MALCOLM.
----------
=A HISTORY of PERSIA=. _Third Edition._ 2 vols. 8vo. 30_s._
=The POLITICAL HISTORY of INDIA=. A new Edition, revised, with an
additional Chapter on the Present State of India. 2 vols. 8vo. 1_l._
12_s._
=SKETCHES of PERSIA=. Second Edition. 2 vols. post 8vo. 15_s._
------------------------------------------------------------------------
● Transcriber's Notes
○ In the plain text versions of this book a carat is used before a
character to indicate that that character was superscripted in the
original.
○ A few cases of inconsistent spelling and hyphenation
were regularized. (Mahomed/Mahommed, hindu/hindo,
hindostan/hindoostan/hindustan)
○ The spelling of Shakespeare was not modernized.
○ Footnotes were gathered and placed at the end of each chapter.
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Life of Robert, Lord Clive, Vol. 2 (of 3) - Collected From the Family Papers" ***
Copyright 2023 LibraryBlog. All rights reserved.