Chapter I (5)

Admiral Watson had for some time carried on a correspondence with the Nabob, from which it appears that he was as anxious as Clive to convince Suraj-u-Dowlah it was for his interest and safety, as well as for that of the English, that Chandernagore should be attacked. "The ready obedience," he observes in one of these letters, "I paid to your desire, in not attacking the French, will, I persuade myself, convince you, that nothing but the strongest necessity could make me again apply to you on that subject. I beg you will give your most serious attention to what I am going to say. Immediately on the receipt of your past letters, I not only gave over thoughts of attacking the French, but invited them to enter into a treaty of neutrality, and to send people to settle the terms; but judge what must have been my surprise, when, after they were in some manner settled, the French deputies owned that they had no power to secure us the observance of the treaty, in case any commander of theirs should come with a greater power after my departure! You are too reasonable not to see, that it is impossible for me to conclude a treaty with people who have no power to do it; and which, besides, while it ties my hands, leaves those of my enemies at liberty to do me what mischief they can. They have also a long time reported, that Monsieur Bussy is coming here with a great army. Is it to attack you? Is it to attack us? You are going to Patna. You ask our assistance. Can we, with the least degree of prudence, march with you, and leave our enemies behind us? You will then be too far off to support us, and we shall be unable to defend ourselves. Think what can be done in this situation. I see but one way. Let us take Chandernagore, and secure ourselves from any apprehensions from that quarter; and then we will assist you with every man in our power, and go with you, even to Delhi, if you will. Have we not sworn reciprocally, that the friends and enemies of the one should be regarded as such by the other? And will not God, the avenger of perjury, punish us, if we do not fulfil our oaths? What can I say more? Let me request the favour of your speedy answer."

Subsequent to the despatch of this letter, the accounts received from Moorshedabad completely satisfied the Admiral of the Nabob's insincerity. Suraj-u-Dowlah, while he delayed the execution of the engagements he had entered into with the English, intrigued with French agents, and detached a body of men to reinforce the Governor of Hooghley, which it was fully believed was meant to aid the neighbouring garrison of Chandernagore.

This intelligence caused the Admiral to address him in a style calculated to put an end to all further evasions:--"I now acquaint you," were the concluding words of this letter[104], "that the remainder of the troops which should have been here long ago (and which I hear the Colonel told you he expected), will be at Calcutta in a few days; that in a few days more I shall despatch a vessel for more ships and more troops; and that I will kindle such a flame in your country, as all the water in the Ganges shall not be able to extinguish. Farewell! remember that he who promises you this never yet broke his word with you or with any man whatsoever."

Suraj-u-Dowlah appears to have been alarmed at this communication; to which he replied in two notes, one dated the 9th, the other the 10th, of March. In the first, he endeavours to excuse himself for his want of punctuality in fulfilling his engagements with the English. In the second, he gives, though in general terms, that permission which had been so long desired, to attack Chandernagore. "You have understanding and generosity," he observes: "if your enemy, with an upright heart, claims your protection, you will give him his life; but then you must be well satisfied of the innocence of his intentions; if not, whatsoever you think right, that do."

Mr. Watts, Resident with the Nabob, had communicated to the Committee the fullest evidence of that prince's intrigues with the French; and, in his letter to Clive of the 1st of March, he asserts that he had advanced them one lac of rupees; and gives his opinion that the capture of Chandernagore is quite indispensable for the security of the English.

Mr. Watts's letter to the Committee closed (as appears by a letter from Mr. Drake to Clive) in the following words: "If you have not concluded with our enemies, I am persuaded you may attack without being under any apprehensions from the Nabob." In another letter to Clive, of the 10th of March, the Resident observes, "This serves to enclose a copy of my letter to the Committee, by which you will observe the Nabob has given his verbal consent for attacking Chandernagore."

In a letter of the 11th of the same month, Mr. Watts states, that the Nabob desired him to inform Colonel Clive that if he attacked the French he would not intermeddle.

The receipt of these letters, and the arrival of reinforcements from Bombay, led to the attack of Chandernagore being ultimately determined upon. The negotiation for an armistice, which was far advanced, was broken off. The letters subsequently written by the Nabob[105], retracting his assent to this measure, were deemed an indignity; and the very ground which he urged, the expected advance through Cuttack of Bussy, was considered an additional reason for hastening the siege.

Clive commenced operations by land, and displayed his usual judgment: but the early fall of this settlement must be chiefly ascribed to the daring boldness and admirable skill and intrepidity of Admiral Watson, and to the valour of those under his command.

Few naval achievements have excited more admiration; and even at the present day, when the river is so much better known, the success with which the largest vessels of this fleet were navigated to Chandernagore, and laid alongside the batteries of that settlement, is a subject of wonder. The Kent and Tiger, with the flags of Admirals Watson and Pocock on board, were the only vessels engaged.[107] They were so close, that the musketry from the tops and poop were most annoying to the enemy, who behaved with great gallantry, keeping up a heavy and destructive fire: nor did they offer to capitulate till their batteries were a heap of ruins, and all their guns dismounted.

Though the outworks of Chandernagore had been taken by Clive, no breach had been made on the land side; but, while the battery guns and mortars opened upon the town, the troops were pushed forward, and, from the tops of the houses adjacent to the wall, kept up a galling and destructive fire; which, as it increased the loss of the French, no doubt hastened their surrender.

We cannot give a better account of the immediate causes which led to the attack of Chandernagore, than in the words of Clive in his report to the governor of Fort St. George.

"I acquainted you," he observes, "that the neutrality with the French was not likely to be concluded. I continued encamped on the same ground; and, on the 7th instant, received a letter from the Nabob, desiring me to join against the Affghans, the van of whose army was attempting an irruption into this province. Accordingly, I began my march the next morning; and, thinking it a convenient opportunity to prevail on him to suffer us to take Chandernagore, I wrote him word of our having endeavoured to conclude a neutrality with the French, but that the Director and Council were not vested with proper powers for that purpose; that, whilst we were engaged at a distance assisting him against his enemies, the French, joined by Monsieur Bussy, might make an attempt on Calcutta; and that therefore I should wait off Chandernagore, in hopes of receiving his leave to attack it. Accordingly, on the 12th I encamped at the back of it, within a mile of the fort; and on the 13th the Admiral received a letter from the Nabob, the purport of which was, that we might act as we pleased with respect to the French; and, having intelligence at the same time that the troops he had sent to their assistance were withdrawn, I summoned the place to surrender that night; but, receiving no answer, the next morning I attacked their western battery, which they defended very briskly the whole day, but at night abandoned it. A detachment I sent about noon to the southward took post in a garden near the fort, and within some of their batteries. The loss they had sustained at the western battery, and the apprehension of their retreat being cut off by our detachment, made them likewise desert that night all their works to the southward; among the rest, a strong half-moon on the river side, mounting heavy metal, and a battery of three guns playing down the channel, both which must have annoyed our ships greatly in their passage up. The batteries to the northward were all quitted at the same time.

"On the 19th, the King's ships got to the Prussian gardens, about a mile from the fort; but it was the 23d before they attempted to pass the vessels which had been sunk by the enemy, opposite to the half-moon. They weighed at daybreak, and in less than an hour were abreast of the fort. A thirteen-inch mortar of ours, with several cohorns and royals, had played incessantly the whole night; and when the ships weighed, we opened two batteries very near the walls, one of four pieces of cannon, the other three, all twenty-four-pounders; and kept a continual discharge of musketry from the adjacent houses. In short, the fire from the ships and the shore was so great, that they capitulated in three hours. A copy of the terms granted them is enclosed. You will observe the surrender is made to Admiral Watson; but common report will be just in publishing how great a share the land forces had in this conquest!" Clive, in his evidence before the House of Commons, states, "that Admiral Watson's fleet surmounted difficulties which he believes no other ships could have done, and that it was impossible for him to do the officers of the squadron justice on that occasion."

In a private letter[108] to Mr. Pigot, written upon the same occasion, Clive observes, "I make no doubt but the forces are impatiently expected at Madras. It is a very great blow that has detained them--no less than the attack and taking of Chandernagore; of more consequence to the Company, in my opinion, than the taking of Pondicherry itself. It was a most magnificent and rich colony; the garrison consisted of more than five hundred Europeans and seven hundred blacks, all carrying arms; three hundred and sixty are prisoners, and near one hundred have been suffered to give their parole, consisting of civil, military, and inhabitants. Nearly sixty white ladies are rendered miserable by the loss of this place. However, nothing has been wanting, either on the Admiral's part or mine, to render their condition supportable: their clothes, their linen, and every thing have been suffered to go out.

"I must refer you to the Committee's letter for many particulars. I fear I shall not be able to send a list of military and artillery stores by this conveyance, which are very great, and will abundantly supply Calcutta. By the Nabob's letters, you will find of what a wavering and pusillanimous disposition he is. However, I am in hopes this last stroke will fix him. He has already performed almost every article of the treaty; paid Mr. Watts the three lacs of rupees; delivered up Cossimbazar, and all the other factories, with the money and goods therein taken. The gentlemen write from thence, that little or nothing is wanting.

"Our stay till August, which is now become unavoidable, will, I hope, settle every thing here in the most advantageous manner for the Company, and perhaps will induce the Nabob to give up all the French factories. This will be driving them out root and branch. I am well informed, without Chandernagore, the Islands must starve, and Pondicherry suffer greatly. My inclinations always tend towards the coast; and I hope to be with you, with a very considerable force, in September. The lateness of the season makes the passage now very uncertain; and the length of it would certainly cause the loss of a great part of our forces.

"It was with great reluctance Mr. Watson consented I should sign the articles of capitulation, though drawn out in his name, notwithstanding it was impossible the fort could ever have been taken without our assistance.

"We attacked the enemy six or seven days before the ships, and drove them from eleven batteries, one of them by the river side, of very heavy metal, under which were sunk four or five ships and vessels to prevent the passage of the squadron, which could never have been effected without mastering that battery. We erected one of five[109] twenty-four-pounders within a hundred yards of the south-east bastion, and another of three twenty-four-pounders within a hundred and fifty yards of the north-east bastion; besides which, we manned all the tops of the houses, and kept up such a fire of musketry, that the enemy could not appear either on the ramparts or bastions, by which means the fire was insignificant to what it would have been."

From this letter, and from one he wrote to Mr. Mabbot, the Chairman of the Directors, there can be no doubt that Clive's intention was to return to the coast as early as he could, and that he expected everything would be settled by September, when the season would be favourable for that voyage; but the jealousy and alarm of the Nabob at the rising power of the English were greatly increased by the fall of Chandernagore; and his character and past actions gave no security against his intrigues and hostility, unless overawed by the presence of a superior force, and the establishment of a commanding influence at his court. The President of the Committee at Calcutta was unequal to the duties now performed by Clive; nor was there one officer in Bengal upon whom these could devolve with the slightest hope of preserving, much less of improving, the advantages that had been obtained.

Placed in such circumstances, Clive, though he had received repeated orders to repair to Fort St. George, was not therefore exempted from the duty of exercising his judgment as to the course which it was best for the general interests of the Company that he should pursue; and he had to balance against that obedience which he owed, and was anxious to pay to his superiors, the imminent danger which his departure from Bengal would produce. The attack of Chandernagore had been indispensable to give security to the English against an European enemy: but the very success which had attended their arms upon this and other occasions was likely, with a prince of Suraj-u-Dowlah's character, to involve them in a further and more extensive scene of hostilities.

This Clive foresaw before that operation commenced; and, writing to the Committee at Calcutta upon this subject, he observed, "If you attack Chandernagore, you cannot stop there; you must go further. Having established yourself by force, and not by the consent of the Nabob, he by force will endeavour to drive you out again." In a private letter to Mr. Pigot, written a month after the fall of the French settlement[110], he gives a vivid description of the Nabob's character, and of the motives and feelings which he supposes to agitate his weak and vacillating mind, at a period critical both for himself and for the Company's establishments in Bengal.

"The most of the articles of the peace," he observes, "are complied with; yet, from the tyranny, cowardice, and suspicion of the Nabob, no dependence can be had upon him. No consideration could induce him to deliver up the French: it is true he has ordered them out of his dominions, and they are at some distance from his capital; but he has retained them secretly in his pay, and has certainly written to Monsieur Deleyrit and Bussy, to send men to his assistance. One day he tears my letters, and turns out our vakeel, and orders his army to march; he next countermands it, sends for the vakeel, and begs his pardon for what he has done. Twice a week he threatens to impale Mr. Watts: in short, he is a compound of every thing that is bad, keeps company with none but his menial servants, and is universally hated and despised by the great men. This induces me to acquaint you there is a conspiracy going on against him by several of the great men, at the head of whom is Jugget Seit himself, as also Cojah Wazeed. I have been applied to for assistance, and every advantage promised the Company can wish. The Committee are of opinion it should be given as soon as the Nabob is secured. For my own part, I am persuaded, there can be neither peace nor security while such a monster reigns."

"Mr. Watts and Omichund[111] are at Moorshedabad, and have many meetings with the great men. The last letter I received from Mr. Watts, he desires that our proposals may be sent, and that they only wait for them to put every thing in execution; so that you may very shortly expect to hear of a revolution which will put an end to all French expectations of ever settling in this country again. The Patans, who were coming this way, have been pacified by a sum of money, and are returning to their own country. Had they approached near, every thing would have been overset in this country, from three fourths of the Nabob's army being against him. It is a most disagreeable circumstance, to find that the troubles are likely to commence again: but the opinion here is universal, that there can be neither peace nor trade without a change of government."

When Chandernagore was taken, Clive's next object was to root out the French from this quarter of India. This appears from all his letters, public and private. It was, as he repeatedly states, his confirmed opinion, that the English and their European rivals could not have coexistence, as political powers, in India; and both had gone too far to be able to recede. The superiority was, therefore, to be decided by the sword; and on this ground, he deemed it to be his duty to follow up the success which had attended the British arms, by the pursuit and capture of such of the European enemy as yet remained in Bengal.

The corps under the command of M. Law, when joined by the deserters and French officers, and men who had broken their parole, or escaped from Chandernagore, amounted to only a hundred Europeans and sixty sepoys; but they were, notwithstanding his protestations to the contrary, protected by the Nabob, who evidently looked to them as auxiliaries in a war which he anticipated with the English.

The hopes with which the French continued to feed him, and in which they themselves probably indulged, of receiving reinforcements from Bussy through Cuttack, were not of a nature to be treated with neglect. The great plan formed by Dupleix, and executed by Bussy, of establishing a paramount power and influence in the Deckan, had, to a great degree, succeeded; and though commercial considerations had, during the short interval of peace in Europe, led to an opposite policy, which condemned the whole system pursued by the French governor as one of irrational ambition, and irreconcileable with the interests of the French company, the moment war with England occurred, prudential resolutions were forgotten, and every preparation was made to establish the French supremacy in India. Godeheu, who succeeded Dupleix, and who, at first, appeared only anxious to abandon all his predecessor had gained, now sought to preserve and improve every advantage which yet remained, as the result of former measures. Bussy was promised early support, and directed to maintain the possessions ceded to France, which extended six hundred miles along the coast of Coromandel, and Orissa, from Moodappely south, to the pagoda of Juggernaut, north.

Under such circumstances, nothing appeared more likely, than that this able and enterprising officer should have reinforced his countrymen in Bengal: and the probable consequences of a party of any strength co-operating with the Nabob, were of a character that justified all the jealousy and alarm which Admiral Watson and Clive entertained upon this subject; and quite authorised them in those decided measures they adopted for the permanent security of the British factories and territories in Bengal and Bahar. To have stopped short--much more to have left the country--before this important object was accomplished, would have been to cast away the fruits of their success, and to have uselessly wasted all the blood and treasure that had been already expended in this memorable expedition.

That these were the sentiments of Clive at this period, is proved by the purport of all his letters, public and private; and these afford strong evidence that he by no means contemplated success as certain. In a letter (dated the 11th of March) to Mr. Orme, who was his agent at Madras, he requests him to remit his money to Calcutta, to be sent to England, as "the times were dangerous." Such facts are important, as they prove, that the measures he found himself compelled at this period to adopt originated in a sense of duty, and not in that spirit of ambition, and desire of wealth and personal aggrandizement, which have been stated by some as the chief, if not sole, motives of his conduct at this remarkable epoch of his life.

I have already spoken of the designs of the French, and the means they had of carrying them into execution. I shall now examine how far they were likely to be aided by Suraj-u-Dowlah.

Aliverdi Khan, the grand-uncle and predecessor of the reigning Nabob, had protected those European factories which he found established under the authority of firmans, or mandates, from the emperors of Delhi. He gained an increase of revenue by the duties on that commerce which the enterprise of these foreign merchants encouraged; and he taxed the wealth they accumulated, by making them give to him or his officers occasional presents, and by compelling them to contribute their portion of the sums he had so frequently to pay the Mahrattas, to purchase either exemption from attack, or the retreat of their predatory bands from Bengal. The sums thus levied were, during Aliverdi's government, not immoderate; and the policy of that able prince made him so vary the time of his demands, that they came at distinct periods, and under different pretexts, upon the different factories: for though, no doubt, fearful of the union of the Europeans settled in his country, he was sufficiently acquainted with their national jealousies to know, that nothing but a dread of ruin, operating at the same moment upon them all, could lead them to combine in any effort to oppose his demands.

His grand-nephew, Suraj-u-Dowlah, was of a very different character from Aliverdi Khan. The latter, trained amid the vicissitudes of fortune, showed, in every measure he adopted, that he merited the throne which he had usurped. His successor, cradled in prosperity, came into power without an effort, and evinced, in every action, a weak and feeble mind, that had no objects but those of self-gratification, which he sought by means that were usually as cruel and unjust, as they were arbitrary and violent. This prince early showed that he owned no check upon such dispositions but that of personal fear: his cowardice fully equalled his presumption, and both were excessive. In looking round for objects of plunder after he ascended the musnud, or throne, the English settlements at Cossimbazar and Calcutta attracted his peculiar attention, on account of the reputed wealth, not only of the Europeans, but of the natives who had settled under their protection. The injuries and cruelties he had, in the prosecution of this object, inflicted upon the nation and upon the individuals whom he had wantonly attacked, were of a nature which a mind like his could not believe would ever be forgotten or forgiven. The disgrace he had sustained, in being obliged to fly before the British arms, and to purchase peace by concessions and a partial restitution of plunder, rankled in his breast; and, alarmed at a power he had hitherto contemned, he sought the alliance of the French, whose co-operation he now regretted he had not earlier obtained.

The government of Chandernagore had so far conciliated him, that they refused to join the English in their efforts to compel him to make reparation for his injustice and oppression; though the armistice which they desired was offered them as the reward of their adopting a cause which, had commercial considerations alone regulated their proceedings, was obviously that of every European settled in Bengal. But Suraj-u-Dowlah well knew that other feelings actuated both the English and French, and that each desired the total expulsion of the other from his territories. Acting upon this knowledge, and with that deep exasperation which belongs to the wounded pride of a despot, he secretly courted the French, to avenge himself on those by whom he had been defeated and humbled. He at first sent aid to Chandernagore. His subsequent assent, imperfect as it was, to the attack of that place, was only extorted by the fear of the moment; and it was retracted almost as soon as given. He still cherished hopes that the French garrison might repel their enemies; but their early surrender, and the whole character of the attack, particularly the tremendous fire of the men-of-war, filled his mind with a mixture of dread, and irreconcileable jealousy and hatred, towards a nation who, in a few months after he had exulted in his triumph over their defenceless factory, had established themselves in his country, in a position which already caused the native princes and chiefs to view them as the future arbiters of India.

The British commanders were, no doubt, at this period prepared to consent to any settlement, which gave them indemnity for the past, and security for the future, rather than incur the hazards of war, at a moment when they could, in case of reverse, expect no succour: for the very force by which it must be carried on was urgently required on the coast of Coromandel. But the mind of Suraj-u-Dowlah was quite incapable of comprehending the nature and force of such grounds of action. He probably thought they would act as he would have done if success had favoured his arms: perhaps he still rested on his own strength, and the hopes held out by the French. Whatever were his motives, so far from showing a disposition to pursue a course which might lead the British authorities to confide in him, he hurried on to the adoption of every measure that could produce a contrary impression; and, in a very short period subsequent to the fall of Chandernagore, it became quite obvious, that his continuing Nabob of Bengal was irreconcileable with every prospect of peace to the English settled in that country; and that the departure of the fleet, and a very considerable proportion of the troops, for Madras, would be the certain signal for renewed hostilities. But the immediate causes of the war, which terminated in the dethronement and death of this ill-fated prince, must now be stated.

The sentiments Clive had formed of the Nabob's character and policy have been fully given in his letter[112] to Mr. Pigot, already quoted. The proofs that his conclusions were just are to be found in various documents, but particularly in the letters from Mr. Watts[113], and in the communications made by the Nabob to the French officers Bussy and Law, some of which were intercepted at the time, and others found after the battle of Plassey.

Before Chandernagore was taken, accounts of the Nabob's overtures to Bussy had been sent by Mr. Watts, the correctness of whose statements was corroborated at that period from other quarters, and their truth subsequently confirmed, by the copies of the letters being found at Moorshedabad.

In a letter to Bussy, about the end of February, the Nabob observes[114]: "These disturbers of my country, the Admiral and Colonel Clive (Sabut Jung[115]), whom bad fortune attend! without any reason whatever, are warring against Zubat ul Toojar[116] (M. Renault), the governor of Chandernagore. This you will learn from his letter. I, who in all things seek the good of mankind, assist him in every respect, and have sent him the best of my troops, that he may join with them, and fight the English; and if it become necessary, I will join him myself. I hope in God these English, who are unfortunate, will be punished for the disturbances they have raised. Be confident; look on my forces as your own. I have wrote you before for two thousand soldiers and musqueteers under the command of two trusty chiefs. I persuade myself you have already sent them, as I desired; should you not, I desire you will do me the pleasure to send them immediately. Further particulars you will learn from M. Renault. Oblige me with frequent news of your health."

In another letter, written in the end of March, the Nabob adds: "I am advised that you have arrived at Echapore. This news gives me pleasure: the sooner you come here, the greater satisfaction I shall have in meeting you. What can I write of the perfidy of the English? They have, without ground, picked a quarrel with M. Renault, and taken by force his factory. They want now to quarrel with M. Law, your chief at Cossimbazar; but I will take care to oppose and overthrow all their proceedings. When you come to Ballasore, I will then send M. Law to your assistance, unless you forbid his setting out. Rest assured of my good will towards you and your Company; and to convince you of my sincerity, I now send purwannahs (orders) to Deedar Ali, and Ramajee Pundit, and to Rajaram Singh, that, as soon as you may enter the province, they may meet and lend you all possible assistance, and not, on any pretence, impede your march, both at Cuttack, Ballasore, and Midnapore."

Copies of these letters had been seen at the time of dispatch by Cojah Wazeed, who had communicated their contents to Mr. Watts; and this intelligence was corroborated by the fact that servants of the Nabob, in charge of an elephant and jewels for M. Bussy, had passed Ballasore; and by the protection given to M. Law, who, notwithstanding his professions to the contrary, was retained in the service of Suraj-u-Dowlah.

That prince at first seemed not to oppose the surrender of this small party of the French to the English; he afterwards pretended to banish them from his dominions, and they marched from Moorshedabad for Patna, but in consequence of a note[117] from the Nabob, M. Law remained at Rajhmahal, the manager of which district had been directed to supply him with money, and to aid him, in every way he could, until Bussy's approach.

The Nabob by these acts, by his positive refusal to allow the English to proceed up the river, by his non-performance of some of the articles of the treaty, and by his advancing a part of his army to Plassey, had placed himself in a position hostile to the Company: but he artfully desired to throw the odium of renewed hostilities upon the English. He complained of the continuance in the field of the troops under Clive, and of the fleet's lying off Chandernagore. If the British commanders would return to Calcutta, or leave the river, he would, he said, withdraw his advanced corps from Plassey, and remain on friendly terms, as he would then be convinced that the object of the English was commerce, not war! This was the purport of several communications; but every day brought proof of their insincerity, and shewed that the Nabob's sole object was to lull them into a fatal security, till, from the departure of their force and the arrival of his French allies, he could accomplish his design of extirpating them from his dominions.

An intercepted letter[118] from M. Law to the chief of one of the lesser French factories, afforded, of itself, proof of this fact, had any been wanting: but the indiscretion of the Nabob was too great to allow him to conceal his designs; and a number of the chief nobles and ministers of his government, who had long been discontented with his rule, perceiving what must early happen, sought the alliance of the English, concluding that they must desire the dethronement of a prince whose continuance in power was incompatible with their existence.

One of the chief causes that had hitherto kept the Nabob in check, was the dread of the Affghân conquerors of Delhi: but news had arrived of their prince Ahmed Abdalla having returned to his own country, and its effects were soon visible in the threatening language and conduct of Suraj-u-Dowlah towards the resident, who now earnestly recommended Clive to lose no time in decidedly attaching himself to the party already formed against the Nabob. In one letter[119] Mr. Watts observes, "Jugget Seit, Runjutroy, Omichund, and others, in short all degrees of persons, are persuaded he (the Nabob) will break his agreement, and attack us whenever he is disengaged, or our forces weakened by your leaving us and the departure of the men-of-war, or whenever he can be assisted by the French."

The resident commences a letter, written two days after the one quoted, with the following strong expression: "The Nabob will not keep his agreement. This you may depend upon." He mentions that Suraj-u-Dowlah himself publicly speaks in this tone; but adds that three fourths of his army were his enemies.

The most serious of all the dangers with which the English were threatened at this period, was the expected arrival of Bussy, of whose real movements they had no correct intelligence. We find a letter, under date the 14th of May, A. D. 1757, from Mr. Drake, Governor of Calcutta, to Colonel Clive, which states: "The report that has so long been rumoured of M. Bussy's march into this province is now verified, by advice from the Ballasore factory of the 10th instant, certifying that M. Bussy was advanced five days on this side Cuttack, with seven hundred Europeans and five thousand sepoys."

This was the very circumstance, the probability of the occurrence of which had constituted the chief ground on which the Admiral and Clive had urged the Nabob to give them substantial proof of his friendly disposition, by abandoning wholly all connection with their enemies. Admiral Watson, in his correspondence with him, had insisted strongly upon this point. Alluding to the Nabob's frequent evasions upon this and other subjects, the Admiral writes in his letter[120] of the 19th of April, "I observe in your letter the following particulars, viz. That for my satisfaction, and according to our mutual agreement to look upon each other's enemies as our own, you have expelled M. Law and his adherents from your dominions, and given strict orders, &c. &c. My brother, Mr. Watts, who is entrusted with all the Company's concerns, always writes me the particulars of your intended favours towards us; but I have never found that what he writes is put into execution; neither do I find that what you wrote me in your letter, dated the 1st of Rajub (22d of March), is yet complied with. You therein assured me that you would fulfil all the articles you had agreed to, by the 15th of that moon. Have you ever yet complied with them all? No.--How then can I place any confidence in what you write, when your actions are not correspondent with your promises? Or how can I reconcile your telling me in so sacred a manner you will be my ally, and assist me with your forces against the French, when you have given a purwannah to M. Law and his people to go towards Patna, in order to escape me, and tell me it is for my satisfaction, and in observance of the mutual agreement, you have taken this measure? Is this an act of friendship? Or is it in this manner I am to understand you will assist me? Or am I to draw a conclusion from what you write? or what you do? You are too wise not to know, when a man tells you one thing, and does the direct contrary, which you ought to believe. Why then do you endeavour to persuade me you will be my friend, when at the same time you give my enemies your protection, furnish them with ammunition, and suffer them to go out of your dominions with three pieces of cannon? Their effects I esteem a trifling circumstance, and as far as they will contribute to do justice to your people who are creditors to the French Company, I have no objection to your seizing them for their use; for money is what I despise, and accumulating riches to myself is what I did not come out for. But I have already told you, and now repeat it again, that while a Frenchman remains in this kingdom, I will never cease pursuing him: but if they deliver themselves up, they shall find me merciful, and I am confident those who have already fallen into my hands will do me the justice to say, that they have been treated with a much greater generosity than is usual by the general custom of war."

Clive, in several letters to Mr. Watts, written immediately after the fall of Chandernagore, urges the surrender or expulsion of the French, as an indispensable condition of the Nabob's continued friendship with the English. Every artifice was used by Suraj-u-Dowlah to evade compliance with this urgent and repeated demand. He first pleaded the debts due by the French to his subjects:--he was told, that the property of their Company could be made responsible for such debts. He next stated the loss of revenue to the Emperor, from duties paid on their trade:--this duty[121], he was told, had been estimated at 60,000 rupees, and would henceforward be paid by the English. Driven by these propositions from every ground of evasion, and not yet willing to declare openly his real intentions, the Nabob publicly directed the march of M. Law towards the dominions of the vizier of Oude, but with no design, as has been before shown, that the French should leave his territories.

During the siege of Chandernagore, Roydullub, the principal minister of Suraj-u-Dowlah, had been sent, with a considerable body of men, to occupy an entrenched camp at Plassey. This armed force, which was meant to awe the English into attention to the Nabob's wishes, was not only continued after the French settlement was taken, but was reinforced by a party under the Bukhshee[122] (or commander of the army), Jaffier Ali Khan, and the future intentions of the Nabob were almost publicly proclaimed, when his officers not only prevented the passage of a few sepoys up the river to Cossimbazar, but stopped the supplies of ammunition and stores necessary to restore that factory to its former state.

These orders, Mr. Watts wrote Clive, the Nabob's officers were commanded to enforce, by cutting the noses and ears of every one that attempted to pass the stations where they were posted.

Such a state of affairs could not continue long. The important events of which they were the prelude will occupy the next chapter; but before we enter upon the narrative of them, it will be useful to take a concise view of the nature and construction of the power of Suraj-u-Dowlah, as well as the reputation and influence of his principal leaders and officers: for without such knowledge it is quite impossible to understand, much less to judge, the conduct of Clive in those wide scenes of intrigue, war, and negotiation, into which he was at this period compelled to enter, or else to abandon his half-executed enterprise.

FOOTNOTES:

[102] The distance of the northern part of the country ceded to Bussy was not two hundred miles from Calcutta, through Cuttack.

[103] Admiral Watson's letter, dated March 6th, 1757.

[104] 7th March, 1757.

[105] Mr. Scrafton, in a letter to Mr. Watts, dated the 20th of March, 1757, written by desire of Colonel Clive, observes, "The ten[106] letters received from the Nabob yesterday are sufficient evidences of his irresolution and variable disposition. Besides these letters, one Mutrumul, whom the Nabob mentions as a person in whom he has great confidence, has been here. The chief purpose of his embassy seems to be to act as a mediator, if peace is to be effected between the French and us; but, if not, it should appear the Nabob will trouble himself no more about it. At all events, things no longer remain upon the Nabob's determination. The ships and batteries will all begin to play at daybreak in the morning; and two days will, at the utmost, decide their fate."

[106] _Sic_: query, _two_?

[107] Owing to the anchor of the Kent not holding, she drifted from her appointed station to that fixed upon for the Salisbury, close to the south-east bastion; and the latter vessel was, consequently, thrown out of action.

[108] 29th March, 1757.

[109] Called a four-gun battery in Clive's report to the Governor of Fort St. George, p. 194.

[110] 30th April, 1757.

[111] Omichund was a native agent employed by Mr. Watts. A full account of this person will be given hereafter.

[112] Vide p. 199.

[113] Mr. Watts continued through this period Resident at the Nabob's court at Moorshedabad.

[114] Reports of House of Commons, vol. iii. p. 221.

[115] Sabut Jung (which signifies "daring in war") is the title by which Clive is to this day known among the natives of India.

[116] Zubat-ul-Toojar, the title of the French chief, means "the essence or excellence of merchants."

[117] The following is the translation of the note from Suraj-u-Dowlah to M. Law: "I send you ten thousand rupees for expenses. Remain quiet at Rajhmahal. When M. Bahadre, &c. come on this side Cuttack, I will then send for you." Parliamentary Reports, vol. iii. p. 221.

[118] The following is a copy of this letter: "Je viens de recevoir une lettre du Nabob, par laquelle il m'ordonne de retourner à Muxadabad. Il vient, dit-il, se joindre à nous, pour tomber sur les Anglais. J'ai reçu aussi une lettre du Sieur Çhangeau, qui me donne d'assez bonnes nouvelles. Je suis surpris, que vous ne m'avez pas écrit; car je ne puis croire que vous soyez tout-à-fait ignorant de ce que se passe. J'envois M. de Sinfray au Nabob, avec lequel il est chargé d'entrer en négociation. Il a ordre de rester à notre loge. Comme il est votre ancien, vous aurez la bonté de le reconnoître pour chef, et de lui obéir en cette qualité. Peut-être irai-je bientôt vous trouver."

[119] 26th April, 1757.

[120] Ive's Voyage, p. 149.

[121] The particulars of this offer are in a letter from Mr. Walsh to Mr. Watts of the 11th April, 1757, written by order of Colonel Clive.

[122] Bukhshee, literally means "Paymaster;" but that office is, in native armies, almost invariably associated with the station of commander-in-chief.

CHAP. V.

The power established by the Mahommedans in India has never varied in its character from their first invasion of that country to the present time. The different qualities of the individuals by whom it has been exercised, have introduced a variety of shades both in the mode and substance of their rule, but the general features have remained the same. The Mahommedan emperors of Delhi, the Subadars of divisions of the empire, and the Nabobs and chiefs of kingdoms and principalities, supplanted and expelled, or extirpated, sovereigns and princes of the Hindu military tribe:--but while they succeeded to the power which these potentates had held, the management of the finance and revenue, and all those minuter arrangements of internal policy, on which the good order of the machine of government must ever depend, remained very nearly in the same hands in which the Mahommedans had found them. The unwarlike but well-educated Hindus of the Brahmin or the mercantile castes continued, as under the martial princes of their own tribe, to manage almost all the concerns of the state. A Hindu, under the denomination of minister, or as Naib (or deputy), continued at the head of the exchequer; and in this office he was connected with the richest bankers and monied Hindus of the country. Princes had private hoards,--but there was no public treasury. Advances were made to individuals and bodies of men by bankers (denominated Seits or Soucars), who were repaid by orders on the revenue, and obtained a double profit on the disbursement and the receipt of money. The proud and thoughtless Mahommedan prince, anxious only for the means necessary for his purposes of pleasure or ambition, was not over-scrupulous as to the terms he granted to the financial agents: and the advantages they gained, combined with their simple and frugal habits[123], enabled them to amass immense wealth. This they well knew how to employ, for purposes both of accumulation, and of establishing political influence; commanding, as they did, the money resources of the country, the prince, his officers, and army, were all in a great degree dependent upon them; and to treat them with extreme severity was certain to incur obloquy, and often defeated its aim, since, by their natural character, they were as patient of suffering as they were tenacious of their gains.

Besides, the wealth of Hindu ministers and managers was usually deposited with bankers; and the injury done to credit by acts of injustice or oppression towards any of the latter class, affected such numbers, as to prove ruinous to the reputation, and often to the interests, of the despot by whom it was attempted.

The Hindu ministers, or revenue officers, had not the same number of retainers as the Mahommedan. They were, therefore, seldom in the same degree objects of jealousy or dread: but though they were from this cause less exposed to extreme violence, they were more frequently objects of extortion; and for this they were better prepared, both from the great profits they made, and from their parsimonious habits.

A very quick and intelligent Mahommedan prince[124], on being asked why he gave so decided a preference to Hindu managers and renters over those of his own religion, replied, "that a Mahommedan was like a sieve,--much of what was poured in went through; while a Hindu was like a sponge, which retained all, but on pressure gave back, as required, what it had absorbed!"

But there were other reasons which prompted Mahommedan princes to employ and encourage Hindus, both at their court and in their armies. They formed a counterbalance to the ambition and turbulence of their relatives, and of the chiefs and followers of their own race. This feeling operated from the emperors on the throne of Delhi, when in the very plenitude of their power, down to the lowest chief: and it is from its action combined with that influence which the wealth and qualities of the Hindus obtained, that we are, in a great measure, to account for the easy establishment and long continuance of the Mahommedan power in India. The new dominion was attended with little of change, except to the Hindu sovereign and his favourites. The lesser Rajas (or princes) gave their allegiance and paid tribute to a Mahommedan instead of a Hindu superior, while their condition and local power continued nearly the same.

Hindu ministers and officers served probably to greater profit the idle and dissipated Moghul, than they could have done a master of their own tribe; and as there was complete religious toleration, and their ancient and revered usages were seldom or never outraged, they were too divided a people upon other subjects to unite in any effort to expel conquerors, who, under the influence of various motives, left to them almost all, except the name, of power.

From the composition and character of such governments, it is obvious that neither individuals nor the community can recognise, much less feel an attachment to what we call the state, as separated from the persons who, for the time being, preside over the different branches of its administration. The sovereign has his servants and adherents; his tributaries, chiefs, commanders, and officers have theirs; but the latter owe no fidelity or allegiance, except to their immediate superiors. Each individual of this body has personal privileges, and enjoys protection in certain rights, from established usages, which, affecting all of the class to which he belongs, cannot be violated with impunity: but as there is no regular constitution of government supported by fixed succession to the throne, men derive no benefit from the state, and owe it therefore no duty. From these facts it is evident that nothing can be so erroneous as to judge the conduct of the natives of India, amid the changes and revolutions to which the governments of that country are continually exposed, by those rules which apply to nations which enjoy civil liberty and equal laws. Treachery and ingratitude to their chief or patron are with them the basest of crimes: and obedience and attachment to those who support them, the highest of virtues. According as they fail in, or fulfil, the obligations which the relations of the society in which they live impose, men are deemed infamous or praise-worthy: and to the reciprocal ties by which such bands are held together, the prince and chief are as often indebted for their safety, as their followers for the just reward of their devoted service. The monarch is secure upon his throne no longer than while he can preserve a body of personal adherents. The chief that is threatened by his sovereign looks to his followers for support or revenge; while the latter, in the lesser vicissitudes to which they are subject, expect with equal confidence the protection of him to whom they give their allegiance.

In countries where men are influenced by such motives, the dethronement of a prince is regarded as no more than the fall of a successful leader or chief of a party; and the frequency of such an occurrence has perhaps tended, more than all other causes, to temper the exercise of despotic power, and to compel sovereigns who owned no other check to seek its continuance, by reconciling to their rule those by whom it was so liable to be subverted.

The construction of the government of Suraj-u-Dowlah was like that of other Mahommedan states: but the elements of which it was composed wanted the controlling spirit of a superior like Aliverdi Khan.

Among the chiefs of the army there were several who early took alarm at the excesses of their young prince, and who, confiding more in their own influence and strength than in his justice or consideration, assumed an attitude of very doubtful allegiance.

The greater number of these leaders enjoyed jaghiers, or estates, on the produce of which they maintained a band of followers. The principal person of this class was the Bukhshee, or commander, of the army, Meer Jaffier, a soldier of fortune, who had raised himself so high in the estimation of Aliverdi Khan, that he had not only promoted him to the highest military rank, but had given him his daughter in marriage.

The country of Bengal has ever been famous for the wealth and talent of the higher classes of its Hindu inhabitants; and we find, throughout its history, that these have filled the chief offices of the state. This was the case at the period of which we are treating. The managers and renters--of whom Ramnarrain the governor of the province of Patna, and Raja Ram the manager of Midnapore, were the principal--were almost all Hindus. Nor were the station and influence of this tribe less in the army and at court. Monick Chund, who had been governor of Calcutta, held a high military rank, and Roydullub, the dewan, or minister of finance, had great influence, which was increased by his being intimately associated with Jugget Seit, the representative of the richest soucar, or banking firm, in India; and who, through means of his riches and extensive connections, possessed equal influence at Lucknow[125] and Delhi as at Moorshedabad.