Chapter IX (9)

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.