Chapter IX (7)

Lord Clive, under such circumstances, had no choice between bartering his independence to obtain security to his fortune, and strengthening himself, through other means, in order to resist the attack with which he was threatened. He had many and warm friends among men of the first rank and respectability in England; and a numerous body of Indians were attached to him, either through gratitude, or from admiration of his character. But all these persons had their own objects to serve; and a continuance of their attachment could not have been expected by one who, thinking only of himself, chose to be neutral in affairs which nearly concerned their honour or their interest. To prevent, therefore, his being left defenceless and at the mercy of those in whom he had no confidence, Clive, we must suppose, was compelled to come forward; and, once in the field, defensive measures (however prudent) were altogether unsuited to his character. He immediately became the assailant; and his short but active campaign at the India House, though chequered with defeat and victory, was ultimately successful, from the same causes which had made him so often triumph in very different scenes. His bold, open, and uncompromising mind gave courage to his friends, and filled with dismay the ranks of his enemies. But never was that good fortune which attended this extraordinary man through life more conspicuous than when it preserved him from sinking into the leader of a party at the India House, and restored him to his proper sphere, to improve and consolidate his former labours, and fix beyond dispute his claim to the title of the Founder of the British Empire in India.

Lord Clive, notwithstanding the opinion he expressed of the imprudence of Mr. Pitt, continued to entertain the greatest veneration for that statesman. In a letter to Major Carnac, he expresses his delight at the feelings of indignation with which Mr. Pitt heard of the conduct of the Directors in stopping the payment of his jaghire. But the person to whom Clive appears to have most completely attached himself was Mr. George Grenville; and the connection between them rested upon principles alike honourable to both. It was by the advice of Mr. Grenville that Clive came to a compromise with the Directors; and he interfered, personally, to bring the dispute between his Lordship and that body to an amicable conclusion.

When Clive left England, he took care to free himself of all political connections, except with his friend Mr. Grenville; and he requested the members whom he brought into parliament, and those friends who from gratitude chose to give him their personal aid, to make the support of that statesman the rule of their conduct. We learn these facts from the letters of Mr. Walsh to Clive, after the departure of the latter from England.

In one letter, written when Mr. Grenville was in office, Mr. Walsh observes, "There is no alteration in the administration; the coldness and jealousy between them and Lord Bute seem to continue, and rather to increase. Your friend Mr. Grenville maintains his ground very well; indeed he appears to me to confirm his power daily, by his vast application to business, and by the moderation and circumspection with which he conducts himself. He is very sparing of promises, and therefore, as I take it, means to keep those he makes, which is the sure foundation for a durable administration. I am much inclined to think that while he has any influence, there will be no unpopular steps taken by the ministry. The day of the general warrants held till five in the morning, when an amendment that destroyed the motion was carried by a majority of thirty-nine. Before the debate, I spoke to Mr. Grenville, and reminding him of what had passed when you introduced me to him, I remarked that it was upon such occasions as the present that he had the most want of assistance from his friends; and that I was apprehensive my being no longer neutral, as I was last year, would, instead of being of use to him as I meant it, be of detriment; and that, therefore, I left it to his option, whether I should come down that day or not; upon, which, he very handsomely desired me to come down by all means, and be determined by the merits of the cause, and not only that day, but during the whole session. I accordingly was there, and staid till one in the morning, when the debate, having got amongst the lawyers, grew excessively dull and tedious, and not being very well at the time, I retired without voting at all."

In a subsequent letter[187], Mr. Walsh informs Lord Clive of the unexpected change that had taken place in the administration. After describing the different political parties that had arisen, and were likely to arise, he adds, "As to me I do not propose being absolutely of either party; your interest does not appear to me by any means to require it, nor do my inclinations at all lead me to it. Mr. Grenville, it is true, I consider as entitled personally to all your assistance; but his connections are no ways to be justified. The man, therefore, not his party, should have your support, and, agreeably to what you yourself told him in my presence, that your ministerial attachments would cease for ever with his quitting the administration, your plan henceforward should be independency."

Lord Clive had a most tedious voyage to India. The ship put into Rio Janeiro, from whence we find letters to all his friends in England. Constantly alive to every object which affected, in the most remote degree, the interest of his country, he communicated to Mr. Grenville the observations which occurred to him upon the state of the colony, which he had very unexpectedly visited.

"As a well-wisher to my country," he observes[188], "I cannot avoid representing to you the deplorable condition of this capital settlement of the Portuguese. I should think myself deserving of everlasting infamy if I did not, with a battalion of infantry, make myself master of Rio Janeiro in twenty-four hours. They have nothing here that deserves the name of fortification: an unflanked garden wall with a rampart, with some old unserviceable and honey-combed cannon, constitute the chief strength of this place; and if the capital be in this defenceless condition, what are we to think of the subordinate settlements on the coast of Brazil. Bad as the Spaniards are, they could not fail, upon a future war, of making a speedy and easy conquest of all the Portuguese possessions in this part of the world, which would be of much more consequence to Spain than the conquest of Portugal. If a hint of their weakness could be conveyed to the court of Portugal, and the reformation already begun there could be extended to the coast of the Brazils, it might be the means of preserving their valuable possessions from falling into the hands of the Spaniards sooner or later."

Mr. Grenville, after he left office, acknowledged the receipt of this letter and some small presents from the Cape. He refers, in this communication, to the change of administration which had so recently occurred; and I quote his observations less from their connection with the life of Clive than from the value which attaches to every sentiment of one of the most honourable and eminent statesmen who belonged to this period of English history.

"I take this opportunity," Mr. Grenville observes[189], "of repeating to your Lordship my thanks, for the honour of your letter from the Brazils, and for the sensible and useful observations contained in it; which I immediately endeavoured to make the best use of in my power. I have since then received an account of your very obliging present of some wine, a sea-dog, and some birds from the Cape. The sea-dog was unluckily lost in the voyage home, by jumping overboard, and the birds I have not yet been able to get; but when I return to town, I shall apply to Mr. Walsh for his assistance. The wine is safely lodged in my cellars, and by the account of it, I make no doubt will prove excellent.

"Your Lordship will have heard long before this letter can reach your hands, of the change which the King has been advised to make in his administration, in consequence of which I have no longer the honour to be in his Majesty's service. You will certainly have received many comments upon this very sudden (and, from the situation of public affairs when it happened, very unexpected) alteration; but as I am too nearly concerned in this event to make them, I will only say, that I sincerely wish it may be productive of benefit to the King and to the kingdom, instead of being attended with that confusion and disorder which is generally expected, if the present system should continue, though that is thought not likely. For my own part, I can only say, that I am in the same opinions, and shall endeavour to promote the same plan for the public business out of office, which I did whilst I had the honour to hold one. In these sentiments, those who are now in his Majesty's service will probably not agree with me; but on the other hand, I have reason to hope for the approbation of those who have done me the honour to approve my conduct. I shall earnestly wish in every situation, to preserve the good opinion and kindness which my friends have so strongly expressed towards me upon the present occasion, and to cultivate the good will and friendship which your Lordship has shown to me. Our accounts here of the state in which you will find affairs in the East Indies are too uncertain for me to be able to make any pertinent observations upon them; I will, therefore, content myself with expressing to you my warmest and most hearty wishes, that you may be attended with the same success and honour to yourself, and the same benefit to the public, in your present command, as your former conduct in those countries so deservedly acquired."

Lord Clive had been flattered during his stay in England, by having a vote passed that his statue should be placed in the India House along with those of General Lawrence and Sir George Pocock. A medal[190] had also been struck at the desire of the Society for Promoting Arts and Commerce, in commemoration of the victory of Plassey, and its great and important results. These honourable marks of regard and respect could not but be gratifying; and, combined as they were with the enjoyment of domestic[191] happiness, and the society of friends to whom he was attached, they naturally rendered him very reluctant again to leave his native country. The bad health he had for the first twelvemonth after his return made him dread the effects of an English winter; but latterly he appears to have overcome that feeling, though we meet, in his letters, with occasional expressions of despondency, which indicate that depression of spirits consequent on the nervous attacks to which he continued to be subject.

Lord Clive purchased, as his town residence, the lease of the excellent and spacious house, which still belongs to his family, in Berkeley Square. He made several improvements on Styche; but the house and lands being on a limited scale for his fortune, he bought the estate of Walcot, and employed a celebrated architect[192] to render the mansion suitable to the residence of his family. His kind attentions to his parents appear to have been greater than ever; and when on the eve of returning to India, though his agents' letters show that the purchases he had made and the stoppage of his jaghire had so embarrassed him, that he had no money at command, he generously gave a bond to each of his five sisters for 2,000_l._, in addition to the present to the same amount which he had before given them.

Lord Clive carried to India Mr. Strachey, and Captain Maskelyne, a brother to Lady Clive. He exerted his utmost efforts to forward the interests of her other brother, Mr. Nevil Maskelyne of Cambridge; and these efforts, supported as they were by the great science and high character of that gentleman, obtained for him the Regius professorship at Woolwich.[193]

Mr. George Clive, who (as has been before stated) brought home a moderate fortune, improved it by marriage; and was too comfortably settled to return to India. Mr. Scrafton had become a Director; but his grave duties do not appear to have deprived him of his usual high spirits. In one letter, he warns Lord Clive, that he is now in a different relation to him, being "one of his honourable masters." In another, he gives a humorous account of some of their mutual acquaintances and friends.

"I add this letter," he observes, "to give you an account of that arch Tory Harry[194], who, having shook off a load of gout at Mortlake, is come to town so pert, so envenomed with toryism, that he is quite unsufferable. He goes about boasting of your Lordship's conversion, abuses Mr. Pitt, impeaching his patriotism and honour, because a private gentleman has left him an estate which he swears he has no right to, and that the will should be set aside, for that the man who made it must have been _non com._; trumps up the Duchess of Marlborough's legacy, the Hanover millstone, &c. &c.; swears Lord Bute is the only man of merit, and Tories the only true patriots. * * * * Young Walcot has married a parson's daughter _sans un sol_; and Walsh has married a country-house, that will run away with more money, and give him more plague, than half the wives in England. Poor Daddy King is half eat up with the gout; has just one hand left to play at cards, and the free use of his tongue, so that he has as much enjoyment of his faculties as if his whole body were at ease."

Lord Clive's friend Mr. Pigot returned to England before his Lordship left it: his fortune[195] was reported to be very large; and through the influence it enabled him to establish, he attained first a baronetcy, and afterwards a peerage.

Mr. Orme had settled in England; and from his correspondence appears (at this time) to have been engaged in finishing the second part of his history. In a letter[196] now before me, he complains of the obstructions which forms create to his examination of the records of the India House; while he expresses his hope of meeting more facility from the kind attentions of Lord Clive. Writing to that nobleman, he observes, "I have had permission to poke into the records of the India House, and have discovered excellent materials for the exordium of my second volume; but the difficulty of getting them away is immense, for every scrap of an extract that I desire is submitted to the consideration of the Court of Directors; so that in three months, and after making twenty-five journeys to the House, I have not got half what I want. All because they wo'n't lend me old books, of which not a soul in England suspected the existence until my rummages discovered them. I am afraid, my Lord, that these gentlemen suspect that I shall make a fortune by my book; and therefore think all the trouble and impediments I meet with to be what I have no reason to complain of, as it is in the way of trade.

"You, my Lord, have treated me differently; and pray continue to do so. Make me a vast map of Bengal, in which not only the outlines of the province, but also the different subdivisions of Burdwan, Beerboom, &c. may be justly marked. Get me a clear idea of the different offices and duties of Duan, Bukhshee, Cadgee, Cutwall, and all other great posts in the government. Take astronomical observations of longitude, if you have any body capable of doing it. I send you a skeleton of the Bengal map I intend for my second volume, and I will hereafter send you the first sheets of the book itself; which will contain matter entirely new, even to us East Indians; but that cruel India House, and my paper constitution, keep me back most terribly."

Among those he had left in India, Lord Clive regarded none with more sincere friendship than Major Carnac[197]; and when he feared that that officer would resign the service from disgust at the treatment he had received, he wrote him in the most urgent manner, to take no such precipitate step. He informs him, in one letter[198], that he had exerted himself to the utmost, and would continue to do so while he lived, to promote his views; and "if any accident happens to me," he adds, "I have left you an annuity of 300_l._ per annum."

Mr. Amyatt had established himself very high in the opinion of Lord Clive, with whom he maintained, for several years, a very intimate correspondence, to which frequent reference has been made. Lord Clive thought equally well of this gentleman's talent and integrity; and was deeply grieved at hearing of his death. He had, it is true, recommended Mr. Vansittart to be his successor, in preference to Mr. Amyatt; but the latter was quite satisfied that this was done from a conscientious conviction of Mr. Vansittart's superior competency to the station; and he knew that Lord Clive had endeavoured, though unsuccessfully, to obtain for him the succession of the government of Bengal, which had been given to Mr. Spencer, a member of Council at Bombay, a gentleman whom Clive had recommended to be at the head of his own presidency, but against whose present nomination he remonstrated in the strongest manner, on the ground of his abilities and character (though respectable) not being such as to warrant the supersession of so many civil servants at Bengal, and particularly of Mr. Amyatt.

We have often had occasion to notice the intimate footing on which Clive had lived for many years with Mr. Vansittart, and the high opinion he entertained of his virtue and abilities. Though condemning the dethronement of Meer Jaffier, he ascribed the chief blame of that measure to Mr. Holwell, and believed that his friend Van. (as he termed him) had acted from necessity: but when Cossim Ali was left uncontrolled to pursue his own course, and the Governor, acting on the system of non-interference with the Nabob's authority, abandoned to his mercy the rich Hindus and others, who had long looked to the English for protection, Clive was unqualified in his condemnation of a policy which he deemed calculated to injure the reputation, and with it the strength, of the British Government. The opinions he gave on this subject were in direct opposition to those contained in the minutes and memorials published by Mr. Vansittart in defence of his conduct; and their wide difference on a subject of such importance led to their being of opposite parties in the India House.

Mr. Sulivan became the advocate of Mr. Vansittart, whose modesty, moderation, and great virtue he contrasted with the bold, grasping ambition of Lord Clive; and this circumstance, more than any other, tended to loosen those bonds by which the two friends had been so long united.

When persons are in the situation of Lord Clive and Mr. Vansittart, every trifle obtains importance, and serves to widen the breach. Lord Clive appears to have been, during the whole of his residence in England, very desirous to establish himself well at court. Among other attentions, he studied to gratify the curiosity of the King, by obtaining for him some of the most remarkable animals of the East. He wrote[199] several times to Mr. Vansittart to aid him in this object. Some time after his application, Lord Clive received a letter from that gentleman, intimating that he had sent home two elephants[200], a rhinoceros, and a Persian mare, which he requested his Lordship would, along with his brother, Mr. Arthur Vansittart, present to his Majesty.

When these animals reached England, Mr. A. Vansittart requested Lord Clive would accompany him to court, to present them. The following answer to this letter shows the first impression which this transaction made upon his Lordship's mind.

"Upon the receipt of your letter," Lord Clive observes, "enclosing a copy of a paragraph from your brother, I can plainly perceive, that Mr. Vansittart, declining to comply with the request I made him, of purchasing and sending home, on my account, an elephant, to be presented to his Majesty by me, has taken that hint to send one home on his own. This unkind treatment I neither deserved nor expected from Mr. Vansittart. I am persuaded his Majesty will not think I am wanting in that respect which is due to him, if I decline presenting, in another person's name, an elephant which I intended to present in my own. At the same time, I shall take care his Majesty be informed of the cause of my desiring to be excused attending you to his Majesty, with Mr. Vansittart's presents."

An explanation took place upon this subject; and it appears by a letter[201] from Lord Clive to Mr. Vansittart in the following year, that some blame attached to the captain of the ship, who acted, according to Lord Clive's opinion, at the instigation of Mr. Sulivan. But it is a justice we owe to the memory of the latter gentleman to state, that Lord Clive was in such a frame of mind at the time he listened to this accusation, as readily to believe that every thing (whether public or private) which tended to annoy or injure him originated with or was aggravated by, his rival for supremacy at the India House.

Though several causes combined to interrupt that cordiality which had once subsisted between Lord Clive and Mr. Vansittart, no open rupture took place. The latter had left Calcutta before his successor arrived, and returned to his native country with a moderate fortune[202], and a character for integrity that was never impeached, even by those who censured most severely the weakness and impolicy of many measures of his government.

Lord Clive, in the hurry of leaving England, forgot to include Mr. Call, the chief engineer at Madras (with Mr. Campbell[203] and Mr. Preston), in his recommendation for a brevet commission as Colonel. He wrote[204] from Rio Janeiro to the Chairman, Mr. Rous, entreating he would rectify his mistake, and prevent so excellent an officer being hurt by neglect. In the same letter he called his attention, in a very forcible manner, to the merits of Colonel Forde.

"If Caillaud," he observes, "should not go to the coast of Coromandel, pray do not forget Colonel Forde, who is a brave, meritorious, and honest officer. He was offered a jaghire by the Subah of the Deckan, but declined taking it upon terms contrary to the interest of the Company. Lord Clive, General Lawrence, and Colonel Coote, have received marks of the Directors' approbation and esteem; Colonel Forde has received none. The two captains who fought and took the Dutch ships in the Ganges received each a piece of plate; but Colonel Forde, the conqueror of Masulipatam, who rendered the Company a much greater service by the total defeat of all the Dutch land forces in Bengal, has not been distinguished by any mark of the Company's favour."

I here close the account of Clive's second visit to his native country, in which he resided more than three years. I have been minute in relating the events of this period. They had, both as they related to the friendships he formed and improved, and the hostility which his open and warm temper provoked, a serious influence upon his future career; and a knowledge of them is quite essential, both to the developement of his character, and to the understanding of the subsequent part of these volumes.

FOOTNOTES: CHAPTER 12

Footnote 154:

27th of February, 1762.

Footnote 155:

This fact he mentions in several letters. In one to Mr. Amyatt, after
entreating that gentleman to remain a short time longer in Bengal, to
succeed Mr. Vansittart in the government, he warns him against
retiring till possessed of an ample fortune. He notices the
disappointment experienced by many of their friends, by the discovery
of their inadequate means, and adds, that he had already spent[b] (in
a period of eighteen months) upwards of 60,000_l._

Footnote b:

This letter is dated 27th of February, 1762. Clive could not have
reached England before September or October, 1760, and had been a
twelvemonth on a sick bed.

Footnote 156:

27th of February, 1762.

Footnote 157:

27th February, 1762.

Footnote 158:

We have already noticed, that the most violent of Mr. Sulivan's
opponents were the gentlemen from Bengal, who formed, on this
occasion, a party, long afterwards known in the India House by the
name of the "Bengal Squad."

Footnote 159:

22d November, 1762.

Footnote 160:

For this letter, vide _antè_, p. 129.

Footnote 161:

In the heat of the canvass at the India House, in the beginning of
1763, a copy of this letter was obtained and circulated. One was sent
to Clive, who transmitted it to Mr. Vansittart, with expressions of
the most unqualified indignation.

Footnote 162:

Colonel Coote, when he took Pondicherry, supported by the Admiral,
desired to keep that fortress for the King of England, and appointed
an officer to command it. Mr. Pigot, and the gentlemen in Council at
Fort St. George, refused to advance pay to the army till the fortress
was given up; and having thus compelled that concession, removed the
commandant nominated by Colonel Coote.

Footnote 163:

The rapid march of Captain Knox to the relief of Patna in 1760, and
the severe action he afterwards fought with a handful of men against
Cuddim Hussun Khan, who had a considerable army, were exploits worthy
of Clive himself.

Footnote 164:

Mr. Pitt resigned on the 5th October, 1761.

Footnote 165:

We find in Clive's correspondence many allusions to his intercourse
with Mr. Pitt, whom he describes as impressed with the fullest
conviction of the importance of India to England. In a draft of a
private note to the Chairman of the Directors, (which is not dated) he
observes; "A few days ago I was with the Duke of Newcastle and Mr.
Pitt. The discourse of the former was truly in the courtiers'
style—many professions of friendship and regard, many offers of
service, without the least meaning in them; but the discourse of the
latter, which lasted an hour and a half, was of a more serious nature,
and much more to the purpose. The subject was the support and welfare
of the East India Company. Mr. Pitt seems thoroughly convinced of the
infinite consequence of the trade of the East India Company to the
nation; he made no scruple to me of giving it the preference to our
concerns in America. Indeed, a man of Mr. Pitt's influence and way of
thinking is necessary to oppose to the influence of Lord Anson, who
certainly is no friend to our Company."

Footnote 166:

23d November, 1762.

Footnote 167:

Bussy carried home a very large fortune, and through its influence he
attained great consideration. The favour he enjoyed at court was
increased by his connection with the Duc de Choiseul, whose niece he
married soon after his return to France.

Footnote 168:

Letter from Lord Bute, 1st September, 1762.

Footnote 169:

The act to which I here allude is the appointment of Sir John Lindsay,
ambassador from the King of England to the Nabob of Arcot. For an
account of this transaction, vide Political India, vol. ii. p. 36.

Footnote 170:

2d February, 1762.

Footnote 171:

The history of this bill is very curious, and is fully given in the
letters of Mr. Walsh and others to Clive. It was brought forward in
1764, and read twice; but owing to some informality in its wording,
was thrown out that session. This was imputed by Mr. Sulivan to the
measures of his opponents, many of whom would have been disqualified,
from not having had the stock for the prescribed period: they, on the
other hand, accused Mr. Sulivan of having so timed the bill, as to
establish his own votes and destroy those of his opponents.

Footnote 172:

Mr. Walsh, in a letter to Lord Clive, of the 14th of February, 1765,
after telling him of Mr. Sulivan's having split a number of votes, and
of Mr. Divon (a partner of Child's house) having split 30,000_l._ to
support him, informs Clive that he means to do the same with some of
his money. He adds, "I am splitting mine to the amount of 20,000_l._
It is a troublesome and dangerous business, but the act of parliament
will put an end to it."

Footnote 173:

19th March, 1763.

Footnote 174:

Clive here alludes to a quarterly meeting of the Court of Proprietors.

Footnote 175:

28th February, 1762.

Footnote 176:

The extract here quoted is part of a larger paper in defence of Lord
Clive's conduct, and believed to be written by the late Sir Henry
Strachey.

Footnote 177:

The contents of this private letter to the President of the Council at
Bengal were as follows:—"That all cordiality being at an end with Lord
Clive, the Court of Directors had stopped payment of his jaghire; a
measure which would have taken place years ago, had it not been for
him (Mr. Sulivan); and that, on this head, the said President was to
obey every order which he might receive from the Court of Directors;
and that more was not, nor must be expected of him."

Footnote 178:

Lord Clive, in his address to the proprietors in 1764, answers all
these objections in a very full and conclusive manner. In treating of
the supposed claims of the Emperor and the want of power in the Nabob
to grant a jaghire, he remarks, that the arguments used against him by
the Directors are exactly those which the Dutch government had
recently brought against them, in the affair of the destruction of
their armament in 1760; and he refers the Court, in answer to their
present plea, to the memorial they lately submitted to his Majesty; in
which, after justly describing the Emperor of Delhi as possessing,
beyond very narrow limits, only a nominal power, they observe; "The
Nabob makes war or peace, without the privity of the Moghul; that
there appears still some remains of the old constitution in the
succession to the state of Nabob; yet, in fact, that the succession is
never regulated by the Moghul's appointment: the Nabob in possession
is desirous of fortifying his title by the Moghul's confirmation,
which the court of Delhi, conscious of its inability to interpose,
readily grants. The Nabob of Bengal is, therefore, _de facto_,
whatever he may be _de jure_, a sovereign prince."

Footnote 179:

Mr. Amphlett (a connection of Lord Clive) was a civil servant of
Bengal; but his abilities as an engineer had led to his being employed
in improving the works at Fort William.

Footnote 180:

28th April, 1763.

Footnote 181:

The Shah-Zada (Shah Alum) had, before Clive's letters arrived,
succeeded to the throne of Delhi.

Footnote 182:

MSS. of Sir Henry Strachey.

Footnote 183:

I have extracted this summary of what Lord Clive said upon this
subject from the MSS. before quoted.

Footnote 184:

March, 1764.

Footnote 185:

This agreement between the Company and Lord Clive is as follows:—

"By indenture bearing date the 16th May, 1764, between the United
Company of Merchants of England trading to the East Indies on the
one part, and Robert Lord Clive on the other part, it is agreed,
that the said Company shall, for the term of ten years, cause to be
paid to Lord Clive, his administrators, &c. out of their treasury
in Bengal, (to be computed from the 5th May, 1764,) the full amount
of the said jaghire rents; provided nevertheless, that in case the
said Lord Clive should die before the expiration of the said ten
years, the Company shall make good the payment of the jaghire only
to the time of the death of him the said Lord Clive; provided also,
that in case the Company shall not be in actual possession of the
lands out of which the said jaghire issues, and the revenues
thereof, to and for their own use, and during the said term of ten
years, then and in such case, the said Company shall not be
compellable or subject to pay any further part of the jaghire than
shall accrue due during the said Company's actual possession of the
said lands out of which it issues."

Footnote 186:

Mr. Sulivan was not defeated without an active struggle. Mr. Walsh, in a letter to Lord Clive of the 5th April, 1765, speaking of the contest, observes:—"Lord Bute joined him (Mr. Sulivan) very strenuously, and got the Duke of Northumberland to do the same. This change may appear extraordinary; but abject submissions on the one part, and tender solicitations on the other, are said to have brought it about!"

Footnote 187:

13th December, 1765.

Footnote 188:

14th October, 1764.

Footnote 189:

14th October, 1765.

Footnote 190:

The following is the account of this medal given by Mr. Stuart (commonly called Athenian Stuart) by whom it was designed. "The medal commemorates the battle of Plassey, and is in honour of Lord Clive. On one side is his Lordship, holding the British standard in one hand, and with the other he bestows the ensign of Subahship on Meer Jaffier. In the space between, are grouped together a globe, a cornucopia, and an antique rudder, to which the legend refers. The cornucopia symbolises the riches with which Meer Jaffier atoned for the injuries done to our countrymen by his predecessor; the rudder is for the augmentation of our navigation and commercial privileges; and the globe, for our territorial acquisitions; all of which were consequences of this victory. In the exergue is written, '_A Soubah given to Bengal_.'

"On the other face of the medal is a victory seated on an elephant, bearing a trophy in one hand, and a palm-branch in the other. The inscription is '_Victory at Plassey_,' '_Clive Commander_.' In the exergue is the date of the victory, and the mark of the Society for Promoting Arts and Commerce."

Footnote 191:

In the collection of letters in my possession are many which prove the happiness Lord Clive enjoyed, at this period, in his family; but he was not exempt from severe afflictions. I have before mentioned the loss of an infant boy, when he sailed on his second visit to India. When he left Calcutta in 1760, his youngest boy was so ill, that he could not embark; the child was left in charge of Mr. Fullarton, and died. A daughter, as has been mentioned, was born to Lord Clive after his arrival in England; and Lady Clive, when he sailed, was on the point of being confined again.

Footnote 192:

Mr. (afterwards Sir Robert) Chambers.

Footnote 193:

Dr. Nevil Maskelyne is better known as Astronomer-Royal at Greenwich.

Footnote 194:

Mr. Harry Clive.

Footnote 195:

Mr. Watts estimated Lord Pigot's fortune at 400,000_l._ It had chiefly been made (according to the same authority) by lending money at high interest to the Nabob, the chiefs, and managers of provinces. This practice was then too common to be considered as in any way discreditable; though it was soon afterwards discovered to be one of the most baneful and injurious to the public interests that the Company could tolerate in any of their servants, but above all, in those high in station.

Footnote 196:

21st November, 1764.

Footnote 197:

Major Carnac, in 1760, came to St. Helena with Lord Clive, and from thence returned to Bengal.

Footnote 198:

June, 1764.

Footnote 199:

One of Lord Clive's letters to Mr. Vansittart is dated 17th December, 1762. The passage alluded to is as follows:—"I must again repeat my desire of having a large elephant embarked for his Majesty, if the thing be practicable, of which you must be a better judge than I, who are upon the spot; and if you can send me any curiosities, such as antelopes, hog-deer, nilgows or lynxes, I shall be much obliged to you."

Footnote 200:

One of the elephants was so large that it could not be embarked.

Footnote 201:

In this letter, which is dated January, 1764, Lord Clive observes; "I am sorry there should be any mistake about the elephant; and although I was somewhat affected at first at the commission you gave me to present the elephant to his Majesty in your name, instead of my own, yet the thing in itself appears to me to be of too trifling a nature for either of us to think any more about it. Your brother will inform you in what manner Sampson has acted, owing, I believe, to the instigation of Sulivan."

Footnote 202:

Mr. Walsh writes to Lord Clive, that Mr. Vansittart told him his fortune did not exceed 2,500_l._ per annum.

Footnote 203:

Afterwards Sir Archibald Campbell, Governor of Fort St. George.

Footnote 204:

14th October, 1764.

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CHAP. XIII.

Before resuming the narrative of Clive's life, and accompanying him on his last visit to India, it will be necessary to take a general and concise view of the events which had occurred in that country during the short period of his absence. It would, indeed, be impossible, without such a review, to understand the nature of the scenes in which he became engaged, or the motives and grounds of the measures he adopted.

He was succeeded in the administration of the affairs of Bengal by Mr. Vansittart; who, as he owed his elevation to Clive, was disposed, we may conclude, to pursue the course of policy which Clive had marked out. But however easy it may be for a man of moderate talent to follow genius in a smooth and beaten track, it becomes impossible, where the road is rugged and indistinct, and where the slightest deviation leads inevitably to the widest separation from him who preceded.

This was the case with Mr. Vansittart. He had a clear perception between right and wrong, in the abstract; but his letters and minutes, soon after he was appointed governor, show that he was quite incompetent to take a comprehensive view of the great and conflicting interests committed to his charge, and still less to quell the violent passions that were in action. He found evils of much magnitude, and he conscientiously desired to remedy them; but he appears to have looked no further, and, consequently, to have often exchanged bad for worse. Volumes have been written for and against the measures he adopted: they will be here noticed only in a very cursory manner.

I have stated, in the tenth chapter, that at the period of time when Clive sailed for England, accounts had been received of the advance of the Shah-Zada towards Patna; and that Colonel Caillaud had been detached with a force to aid Ram Narrain in repelling the invasion. Alumgeer the Second had been murdered by his minister, Umad-ul-Moolk[205]; and the Shah-Zada[206], on becoming emperor, had assumed the title of Shah Alum[207]; nominating, at the same time, Sujah-u-Dowlah (the ruler of Oude) his vizier.

The young emperor was successful in his first action with Ram Narrain; but the latter being reinforced by Colonel Caillaud and Meeran, the invaders were, in their turn, defeated[208], and compelled to retire from before Patna. The Emperor, however, instead of retiring towards Benares, took the route of Moorshedabad, whither he was pursued, and obliged to retrace his steps; and, after another ineffectual attempt to take Patna, he retreated to Hindustan. The triumph of the Nabob's arms was completed by the defeat of the rebel Raja of Purneah, by Captain Knox; but, in the midst of these successes, an event occurred, which became the proximate cause of another revolution in Bengal. The Prince Meeran, who has occupied so conspicuous a part in this narrative, was killed[209] by lightning. This violent young man had been at once the support and dread of the less energetic Meer Jaffier. Though Meeran was sensible of the necessity of the aid of the English, he was impatient of the state of dependence and control in which the alliance with that nation had placed him; and the continual conflict of his interests and passions rendered him turbulent and dangerous. To Clive, alone, he was obedient; and a sentiment of attachment and respect for that commander appears, on many occasions, to have checked him in schemes that must have terminated fatally for himself, or his father. This prince, with all his vices and errors, was generous to his dependents and army; who, after his death, afraid of losing their arrears, surrounded the palace, and threatened the life of their sovereign, against whom many of his dependents took up arms; and, as if the misfortunes of the country were to be complete, it was visited by a predatory incursion of the Mahrattas.

Amid these scenes of war, mutiny, rebellion, and plunder, Mr. Vansittart assumed the government of Bengal.[210] Mr. Holwell, who had been in temporary charge, cherished the greatest prejudice against the reigning Nabob. Meer Jaffier was, according to him, the author of all these evils; and so entirely did he succeed in impressing the new governor with the same sentiments that, within two months[211] from Mr. Vansittart's arrival at Calcutta, a treaty was concluded with Meer Cossim Ali, son-in-law to the Nabob, the general of the army, engaging that the Nabob should invest him with full power as ruler of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa; in return for which, he made over to the Company the fruitful provinces of Burdwan, Midnapore, and Chittagong.

The ostensible causes of this revolution are honestly, indeed, but not very satisfactorily, stated by the Governor himself in his narrative[212], and seem to have been chiefly the financial difficulties of the Company's affairs. The Nabob was to a certain extent in arrear, and other pressures were felt. "The season had now begun," says Mr. Vansittart, "when our forces were to take the field against a powerful enemy, whilst we had scarce a rupee in our treasury to enable us to put them in motion. The easy channel in which the Company's affairs ran, whilst the sums stipulated by the treaty (with Meer Jaffier) lasted, had diverted their attention from the distresses which must unavoidably fall on them, whenever that fund should be exhausted; and continuing to act on the same extensive plan in which they set out, they now found themselves surrounded by numerous difficulties, which were heightened by the particular circumstances of the country at this period, and weighed down with the very advantages which they had acquired; that is, an establishment which had lost the foundation on which it was built; a military force proportioned to their connections and influence in the country without the means of subsistence; a fortification begun upon the same extensive plan, at a vast expense; and an alliance with a power unable to support itself, and threatening to involve them in the same ruin."

Mr. Vansittart adds, that had indolence and weakness been the Nabob's only faults, destructive as they were to the welfare of the country and of the Company, he would have felt more severely the necessity of measures the tendency of which was to dissolve the engagements between him and the Company; but that in addition to this, he found a general disaffection to his government and detestation of his person and principles in all ranks of people. Even from this representation of the person principally concerned in the revolution, it is plain that the measure "of not only breaking a solemn treaty without previous warning and negotiation with the prince with whom it was contracted, but even of dethroning that prince, without attempting to remedy by some convention the temporary evils complained of, was a rash and unjustifiable measure, particularly where the change and all the articles of the new treaty were so obviously for the advantage of one of the parties only."

The Governor went to Moorshedabad in the hope of persuading Meer Jaffier to resign a power which he endeavoured to convince him he was alike unfit and unworthy to use, and to place it in the hands of Cossim Ali, who was his nearest connection, and the commander of his army. We cannot be surprised that the Nabob should indignantly repulse these attempts to render him the willing instrument of his own degradation. He refused to be associated, in any way, with the proposed arrangements for the better government of his dominions; and stipulated for nothing but permission to retire to Calcutta, that his life might be safe from that danger to which it must be exposed, if he remained at his own capital. His request was granted; and Cossim Ali was proclaimed Nabob.[213]

The character of this chief stood high before his elevation. Of the crime of guilty ambition, it is vain to think of clearing him; but if he afterwards committed the greatest atrocities, and if his memory has become, from his cruel deeds, an object of just abhorrence with the English, it must not be forgotten that he was stung to madness, by the conduct of individuals of that nation; that he was rashly raised to power, by men who could not support him in its exercise, and driven to extremities by others, who, in the pursuit of their own interests and political views, appear to have thought all means justifiable, that could accelerate his downfall.

There is no page in our Indian history so revolting as the four years of the weak and inefficient rule of Mr. Vansittart. He was, as an individual, virtuous and respectable, and his intentions were pure; but these personal qualities were altogether insufficient to carry him through such a scene as that in which he became involved. His apologists have imputed his failure to the want of support from his associates in power, to that spirit of cupidity and rapacity, which had been kindled by the successes of Clive, and to the hopes and intrigues of the natives, which were cherished and excited to action by those that were hostile to the Governor and his plans.

These assertions are all true, but they only serve to prove the want of that superiority of mind, that spirit of command in Mr. Vansittart, which would have enabled him to sway the minds of his own countrymen, as well as the want of that foresight which should have led him to abstain from the adoption of measures extremely questionable in themselves, and which he did not very clearly see that he could carry through. The only ground of apology for _him, and that not a very sufficient one_, is, that he allowed himself to be surprised in adopting the measure at all; and that even in the instrument which he employed for executing the work, he was deceived in the character of Meer Cossim, whose financial skill and ferocious energy were both equally unforeseen. The truth, however, is, that many of the acts of Mr. Vansittart's administration were less his own than those of a selfish and domineering council.

The first year of the new Nabob's reign was marked by success against his foreign enemies. Major Carnac, who now commanded the English troops in Bengal, defeated the Emperor at Gyah; and a rebellion of the chief of Beerboom and Burdwan was repressed by the aid of a detachment under Major Yorke. Major Carnac, who had obtained just reputation from his military operations, had acquired more with the natives of India by his generous treatment of M. Law, who was compelled to surrender to him, and by his humane and politic behaviour to the unfortunate emperor, whom he had defeated, but whom he afterwards waited upon and attended as one of his subjects.

The courteous behaviour of Major Carnac to the French commander excited, according to the author of the Seer Mutakhareen, equal astonishment and admiration. We cannot refrain from giving an account of the surrender and treatment of M. Law in the words of the native historian.[214]

"When the Emperor left the field of battle, the handful of troops that followed M. Law, discouraged by this flight, and tired of the wandering life which they had hitherto led in his service, turned about likewise and followed the Emperor. M. Law, finding himself abandoned and alone, resolved not to turn his back; he bestrode one of his guns, and remained firm in that posture, waiting for the moment of his death. This being reported to Major Carnac, he detached himself from his main, with Captain Knox and some other officers, and he advanced to the man on the gun, without taking with him either a guard or any Telingas (sepoys) at all. Being arrived near, this troop alighted from their horses, and pulling their caps from their heads, they swept the air with them, as if to make him a _salam_; and this salute being returned by M. Law in the same manner, some parley in their language ensued. The Major, after paying high encomiums to M. Law for his perseverance, conduct, and bravery, added these words:—'You have done every thing which could be expected from a brave man; and your name shall be undoubtedly transmitted to posterity by the pen of history; now loosen your sword from your loins, come amongst us, and abandon all thoughts of contending with the English.' The other answered, 'that if they would accept of his surrendering himself just as he was, he had no objection; but that as to surrendering himself with the disgrace of being without his sword, it was a shame he would never submit to; and that they might take his life if they were not satisfied with that condition.' The English commanders, admiring his firmness, consented to his surrendering himself in the manner he wished; after which the Major, with his officers, shook hands with him, in their European manner, and every sentiment of enmity was instantly dismissed on both sides. At the same time the Major sent for his own palankeen, made him sit in it, and he was sent to camp. M. Law, unwilling to see, or to be seen, shut up the curtains of the palankeen for fear of being recognised by any of his friends at camp; but yet some of his acquaintances, hearing of his being arrived, went to him. The Major, who had excused him from appearing in public, informed them that they could not see him for some days, as he was too much vexed to receive any company. Ahmed Khan Koreishee, who was an impertinent talker, having come to look at him, thought to pay his court to the English by joking on the man's defeat; a behaviour that has nothing strange, if we consider the times in which we live, and the company he was accustomed to frequent; and it was in that notion of his, doubtless, that with much pertness of voice and air, he asked him this question; 'And Beeby (Lady) Law, where is she?' The Major and the officers present, shocked at the impropriety of the question, reprimanded him with a severe look and very severe expressions: 'This man,' they said, 'has fought bravely, and deserves the attention of all brave men; the impertinences which you have been offering him may be customary amongst your friends and nation, but cannot be suffered in ours, which has it for a standing rule, never to offer an injury to a vanquished foe.' Ahmed Khan, checked by this reprimand, held his tongue, and did not answer a word. He tarried about one hour more in his visit, and then went away much abashed; and, although he was a commander of importance, and one to whom much honour had been always paid, no one did speak to him any more, or made a show of standing up at his departure. This reprimand did much honour to the English; and it must be acknowledged, to the honour of those strangers, that as their conduct in war and in battle is worthy of admiration, so, on the other hand, nothing is more modest and more becoming than their behaviour to an enemy, whether in the heat of action, or in the pride of success and victory. These people seem to act entirely according to the rules observed by our ancient commanders, and our men of genius."

The Emperor of Delhi this year[215] invested Cossim Ali as Subadar of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa; the latter agreeing to pay an annual tribute of twenty-four lacs. The aid of the English was desired to fix the Emperor upon the throne of Delhi; and in return, an offer was made of the Dewanee of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa; but, though the project was entertained at Calcutta, the want of funds for the expedition, and alarm at the embarrassments in which it might involve the Company, prevented its acceptance.