contested; and we may judge how very futile they were, by the sentiments
entertained of them by all the eminent lawyers of the time; for the
Court of Directors consulted gentlemen of the first reputation in the
profession. Among these were Mr. Yorke, the Attorney-general, and Sir
Fletcher Norton, the Solicitor-general, the substance of whose opinions
was, that it did not appear to be material to enter into such objections
as might be made either by the Emperor of Hindustan or the successors of
Meer Jaffier, to the form or substance of the grant of the lands to the
Company, or of the reserved rent to Lord Clive; that they both claimed
under the same granter, and that the East India Company could not raise
an objection against the grant to Lord Clive, founded on the want of
right and power in the Nabob, which would not impeach their own; that
the question was to be considered, not upon the strict absolute words
(according to the laws and constitution of the Moghul empire), but
relatively as between the East India Company, the grantee of the lands
from Meer Jaffier, and Lord Clive, the grantee of the same Nabob, of a
rent issuing and reserved out of those lands when granted to the
Company; that the question ought to be determined between his Lordship
and the Company upon the same principles as the like question would be
determined, arising between the owner of lands in England subject to a
rent, and the grantee or assignee of that rent, in a case where both
parties derived from the same original granter; that it was incumbent
upon the Court of Directors, in this instance, to turn chancellors
against themselves; and that it was for the honour of that great Company
to act upon such principles, not only with foreign merchants, trading
companies, and foreign states and sovereigns, but with their own
servants.
"Such was the opinion of the greatest lawyers. But the Court of
Directors, actuated, it should seem, rather by a spirit of resentment
than by principles of equity, although they could not hope for a
decision in their favour, determined still to withhold the jaghire, and
to protract the judgment of Chancery by such stratagems or delays as the
forms of judicial proceedings might chance to furnish them with."
Lord Clive complained (and apparently with great justice) of the mode in
which this measure relating to his jaghire was to be carried into
execution. The letter regarding it was sent to India without any
intimation to him; and when, on hearing that the government of Bengal
had been directed to stop all future payments to his agents, he applied
to the Court of Directors for a copy of their proceedings in a case so
deeply affecting his fortune and his reputation, they peremptorily
refused compliance with his request.
Under such circumstances, he had nothing left but to institute (as he
did) a suit in Chancery, and to give to his agents abroad the best
general instructions his want of minute information enabled him. Mr.
Vansittart, the Governor, was his principal agent; but conceiving that
his duty to him and that to his superiors might clash, he desired him on
such occurrence to devolve the charge of his interests on Major Carnac,
and in case of this gentleman not thinking proper to act, he nominated
Mr. Amyatt, Mr. Lushington, and Mr. Amphlett[179], his attornies.
The situation and feelings under which he acted on this remarkable
occasion are fully explained in the following letter to Mr. Vansittart:
"My dear Friend,
"Last night I received advice that the Directors had sent orders to
their President and Council of Bengal to pay into their cash the
amount of my jaghire, and not to grant me any bills of exchange on
that account. Without enlarging upon this subject, so arbitrary and
ungrateful a proceeding will give you a just idea of the principles
of those who have the management of the Company's affairs at
present.
"I am really at a loss what to desire of you about so delicate a
matter. Upon the whole, act like an honest man, and a man of
honour: do justice to your friend without injuring the Company; for
I am satisfied, the more this affair is inquired into, the more it
will be to my honour. At the same time, I am obliged to take every
step both against the Directors and the Governor and Council that
the law will admit of.
"Enclosed you will receive a letter to that purport, and if you
should judge it not improper to act as my attorney on this
occasion, I request you will act accordingly. I have sent Carnac a
duplicate of the power of attorney sent you by this conveyance, and
you will observe I have appointed the Major, Lushington, and
Amphlett, to act as may be thought most proper by you and Carnac,
with whom I request you will consult on this occasion.
"If you should find my information not exactly true, and that the
Directors allow you some latitude of judging of my right to the
jaghire, before you take such a step, these precautions of mine may
be laid aside for the present; but I have too good authority for
what I write; notwithstanding the Directors have refused giving me
a copy of the paragraph sent by this conveyance, which I demanded
in form.
"I am, dear Sir,
"Your affectionate friend and servant,
(Signed) CLIVE.
"Berkeley Square,
"April 28th, 1763.
"_To Henry Vansittart, Esq._"
In a letter to Major Carnac of the same date, after giving him similar
information regarding the conduct of the Directors, he observes:—
"Your friendship and regard for justice will, I am persuaded,
induce you to take every step in support of both my fortune and
reputation; and the more this affair of the jaghire is inquired
into, the more honour it will do me, and make the ingratitude of
the Directors appear in blacker light.
"What I wrote you last year is become now absolutely
necessary,—that the old Nabob, as well as the present one, should
acknowledge my right to the jaghire in the strongest terms. Meer
Jaffier will be surprised at this step, and may, if he pleases,
address a letter to the Company upon the occasion; a translation of
which must be enclosed.
"The opinion of the lawyers is, that the Directors' orders are
illegal; that the President and Council cannot, consistent with
their own safety, put them in execution; for which purpose I have
addressed a letter to the President and Council, forbidding them to
comply with the orders sent them, at their peril.
"Enclosed you will receive a power of attorney to act for me, if
you shall think necessary, provided Vansittart should decline it
from his being Governor. I have desired Van. to consult with you on
this matter; and you will observe that I have nominated Lushington
and Amphlett to act as my attorneys, if you should not think it
proper, or for my interest, to act for me.
"In case the Governor and Council should retain my money, or refuse
giving bills of exchange, you (or whoever acts as my attorney) are
immediately to commence a suit at law against the Company, and to
transmit a very exact account of all your proceedings, that it may
be taken up in England. I am not in the least doubt of making the
aggressors pay dear for the attempt; but their purpose will, in
some respect, be answered by their lawsuit, as it prevents me
becoming a Director next year. However, this will not prevent me
from bringing in my friends, which will be the same thing."
Lord Clive wrote to his friend, Mr. Amyatt, in much the same terms: he
observes, in the conclusion of this letter[180],—
"You, who know the honourable manner in which I acquired my
jaghire, will not be wanting to do me justice; at the same time, do
your duty to the Company as far as is consistent with equity and
your own safety; for I tell you very plainly, that if the Governor
and Council obey the orders received from the Company, they must do
it at their peril, and that I shall immediately commence an action
against them by my attorneys in Bengal.
"The letter I send to the Governor and Council, I am persuaded, you
will look upon as an act of necessity, in order to save my
undoubted property from the worst of enemies,—a combination of
ungrateful Directors."
From the sentiments entertained and expressed by Mr. Vansittart and Lord
Clive's other friends in Bengal, and the result of communications with
the Nabob and Emperor[181], there is no doubt that every step would have
been taken, and every document obtained, that could have confirmed his
right to the jaghire; but an arrangement which took place in the ensuing
year at the India House rendered all further proceedings unnecessary.
The violent animosities of parties in Bengal, which spread to England,
were brought to a crisis, in that country, by intelligence of the
dreadful massacre at Patna, and the murder of Mr. Amyatt, and those by
whom he was accompanied, at Moorshedabad. These events will be fully
noticed in the next chapter. Suffice it here to say, that they produced
the greatest alarm in the mind of every one connected with India.
The proprietors now turned all their attention to the state of Bengal;
where, besides what had occurred with the native government, the
recriminations of the opposed parties among their own servants had
brought to light a scene of corruption, division, and distraction in
their internal rule, which, if not early remedied, threatened to bring
complete ruin upon their affairs, and to disappoint all the golden
dreams of profit from their possessions in that quarter of India.
Under such circumstances it is not surprising that the eyes of almost
all should have been turned on Clive, as the only person fitted to
remedy the mismanagement and misrule of their Indian empire. At a very
full General Court he was unanimously solicited to return to India.
At the same time, the proprietors proposed to the Directors the instant
restitution of his jaghire; nor can there be a doubt (according to the
narrative[182] now before me) that this vote would have been carried by
a great majority; but Lord Clive, who was in Court, not thinking it
strictly honourable to take advantage of this sudden spirit of
generosity, and to carry, merely by his popularity, a case which was
depending at law, rose, and requested they would desist from their
liberal intentions; adding, that from being sensible of the impropriety
of going abroad whilst so valuable a part of his property remained in
dispute, he would make some proposals to the Court of Directors, which
would, he trusted, end in an amicable adjustment of this affair.
Lord Clive had now thrown off all disguise with Mr. Sulivan; they were
open and irreconcilable opponents. His Lordship, on this occasion,
pursued a course quite suited to the boldness and decision of his
character. After stating what he had done about the jaghire, he
concluded by observing, "There was another and more weighty obstacle to
his undertaking the management of the affairs in Bengal, without the
removal of which he thought it incumbent upon him to apprise them of his
positive determination to decline entering again into their service:
that he differed so much from Mr. Sulivan in opinion of the measures
necessary to be taken for the good of the Company, that he could not
consider that gentleman as a proper Chairman of the Court of Directors;
that it would be in vain for him to exert himself as he ought, in the
office of Governor and Commander in Chief of their forces, if his
measures were to be thwarted and condemned at home, as they probably
would be, by a Court of Directors under the influence of a Chairman,
whose conduct, upon many occasions, had evinced his ignorance of East
India affairs, and who was also known to be his personal and inveterate
enemy; that it was a matter totally indifferent to him, who filled the
chair, if Mr. Sulivan did not; but that he could not, consistently with
the regard he had for his own reputation, and the advantages he should
be emulous of establishing for the Company, proceed in the appointments
with which they had honoured him, if that gentleman continued to have
the lead at home."[183]
Mr. Sulivan, fearing he might fall a sacrifice to the resolution which
he saw the Court entertain of possessing on any terms the services of
Lord Clive, and knowing too well the frame of his Lordship's mind to
expect any change in sentiments he had so decidedly avowed, rose, and
expressed his concurrence in the opinion of the General Court as to the
talents of Lord Clive, with whom he could conceive no reason why he
should be at variance, it having been his desire to live in friendship
with him. After these professions, and some general observations of the
same tendency, Mr. Sulivan proceeded to represent the impropriety of
superseding (by the civil and military powers proposed to be granted to
Lord Clive) Mr. Vansittart, Governor of Bengal, and Major-General
Lawrence, who had lately been induced to return to Madras. He also
stated the disappointment which the nomination of Lord Clive would
create to Mr. Spencer, a Bombay servant lately nominated to the head of
affairs at Bengal. But the General Court were in no temper to listen to
such reasoning, and with one voice insisted upon the Directors making
the appointment. The Directors, as a last resource, desired to try the
question by ballot; but the bye-laws of the Company establish that no
ballot shall take place except by a requisition of nine proprietors.
Though upwards of three hundred were present, this number could not be
found to sign their names to such a requisition; and the Court, in
consequence, adjourned.
The Court of Directors, thus compelled to attend to the wish of the
Court of Proprietors, nominated Lord Clive Governor and Commander in
Chief of Bengal. There was some hesitation about the military commission
interfering with that of Major-General Lawrence, who, though advanced in
years, and infirm, had accompanied his near relation Mr. Palk, when that
gentleman was appointed Governor of Madras. But Clive intimated, that it
was far from his wish to supersede his old commander: all he required
was, that neither Major-General Lawrence nor any other officer should
have the power of interfering with his command in Bengal.
Lord Clive received his appointment[184] within a month of the general
election; and the Directors hurried their preparations for his
departure, from a desire that he should leave England before that took
place; conceiving, no doubt, that his doing so would evince a confidence
in their support, and prevent that opposition which several of them
expected, on the ground of their known hostility to the popular
Governor. A letter was, in consequence, written to Lord Clive by the
Secretary, informing him that a ship was ready to receive him. He
replied, that, for reasons he had assigned at the General Court, he
could not think of embarking, till he knew the result of the election of
Directors, which was to take place in the ensuing month. The Directors,
when they received this answer, declared that they considered it as a
resignation of the government. They therefore summoned a General Court,
at which one of the proprietors in their interest moved, that, as Lord
Clive declined the government of Bengal, they should proceed to a new
nomination; but his Lordship's declaration at the late Court had made
too deep an impression to be easily erased. The proprietors saw nothing
in his conduct but manly consistency with the sentiments he had before
so decidedly avowed; and, on the other hand, viewing the conduct of the
Directors as an unworthy artifice to evade compliance with their wishes,
they threw out the proposition with violence and clamour.
On the 25th of April, 1764, a very warm contest took place. Mr. Sulivan
brought forward one list of twenty-three Directors; and Mr. Rous (who
was supported by Clive) produced another. Notwithstanding his friend,
Lord Bute, was no longer minister, Mr. Sulivan succeeded in bringing in
half his numbers; but we cannot have a stronger proof of the degree in
which the attack of Lord Clive had shaken the power of this lately
popular Director, than the fact that his own election was only carried
by one vote. In the subsequent contest for the chair, Mr. Rous
succeeded; and Mr. Bolton, who was also of Clive's party, was nominated
his Deputy.
Soon after the election of the Directors, the Court took the subject of
the settlement of Lord Clive's jaghire into consideration; and a
proposition, made by himself, was agreed to[185], confirming his right
for ten years, if he lived so long, and provided the Company continued,
during that period, in possession of the lands from which the revenue
was paid.
Lord Clive, previous to his departure, communicated his sentiments to
the Directors, very fully, upon all points connected with affairs in
Bengal. The subject of his letters will be noticed hereafter. Suffice it
to say, that the same emergency which caused his nomination led to his
being vested with extraordinary powers; and he was, aided by a committee
of persons of his own naming, made independent of his Council. His
recommendations of different military officers were also attended to.
The King's troops being at this period recalled, all officers in his
Majesty's service were ordered to England. Major Caillaud, promoted to
the rank of Brigadier General, had been appointed to Madras; Major
Carnac's services were rewarded with a similar commission, and the
command of the troops in Bengal; Sir Robert Barker was appointed to
command the artillery; Majors Richard Smyth and Preston were nominated
Lieutenant-Colonels of the European corps; and Major Knox advanced to
the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, to command the sepoys.
The victory which Lord Clive obtained at the India House was followed up
by his friends, who, on the next general election (1765), strengthened
their party among the Directors very considerably; and Mr. Sulivan,
notwithstanding the active exertions of his adherents, was again
defeated. This success gave Clive the support he required during his
short but important administration of the affairs of Bengal. It laid,
however, the foundation of the future troubles of his life; for those
over whom he now triumphed cherished their resentments[186]; and their
ranks were early recruited by numerous malcontents from India, whom
Clive's reforms had either deprived of the means of accumulating wealth,
or exposed to obloquy. The efforts of his confederated enemies will be
noticed hereafter: the subject is mentioned here merely as a consequence
of his engaging personally in the politics of Leadenhall Street. How far
that step was one of wisdom, or of necessity, it is very difficult to
determine.
The twenty-four Directors were at this period elected annually; and they
had no sooner taken their seats than they were obliged to commence an
active canvass to maintain them. Their patronage was the great means by
which this was effected; and as that extended to almost every office in
India, the value of which rose in proportion to the undue exercise of
local authority, the Directors, generally speaking, might be said to
derive strength from the continuance of those abuses which, as managers
of the Company's concerns, it was their duty to correct. At the period
of which I am writing, a great change had taken place in this body.
Within the last ten years a number of the servants of the Company had
returned to England with large fortunes; all of those bought India
stock, to give them weight as proprietors; and many sought the
direction, either to support their own interest, or that of their
friends. Their efforts to influence elections brought them sometimes
into violent collision with each other, but oftener with those classes
of individuals who, before this change, had almost wholly monopolised
the management of the affairs of the East India Company.
To judge from the papers and pamphlets written by the different parties
concerned in the general elections, and the means taken to create and
influence the votes by ballot, we should pronounce that the India House,
at this period, presented, annually, a scene in which there was little
more of temper, and decorum of language, than at any popular election in
the kingdom. No person better knew the nature of these contests than
Lord Clive; and no one could be more anxious to avoid them. The
resolution he took and declared, of preserving himself personally clear
of them, was communicated to all his friends; and there can be no doubt
that he was sincere in desiring to abstain from mixing in a scene where
he might lose, but could not gain, reputation. But England is a country
where men who require support must give it. Lord Clive had grounds, from
his first landing in his native country, to dread an attack upon his
fortune. He ascribes (and no doubt justly) the forbearance of his
opponents to their dread of his influence, particularly with ministers
and at court; but that was now at an end, when his attachment to Mr.
Pitt and Mr. Grenville, and his disapprobation of the peace, led him, as
we have stated, to reject the overtures of Lord Bute, when that nobleman
added to his power, as the court favourite, that attached to the station
of Prime Minister of his country.
Lord Clive, under such circumstances, had no choice between bartering
his independence to obtain security to his fortune, and strengthening
himself, through other means, in order to resist the attack with which
he was threatened. He had many and warm friends among men of the first
rank and respectability in England; and a numerous body of Indians were
attached to him, either through gratitude, or from admiration of his
character. But all these persons had their own objects to serve; and a
continuance of their attachment could not have been expected by one who,
thinking only of himself, chose to be neutral in affairs which nearly
concerned their honour or their interest. To prevent, therefore, his
being left defenceless and at the mercy of those in whom he had no
confidence, Clive, we must suppose, was compelled to come forward; and,
once in the field, defensive measures (however prudent) were altogether
unsuited to his character. He immediately became the assailant; and his
short but active campaign at the India House, though chequered with
defeat and victory, was ultimately successful, from the same causes
which had made him so often triumph in very different scenes. His bold,
open, and uncompromising mind gave courage to his friends, and filled
with dismay the ranks of his enemies. But never was that good fortune
which attended this extraordinary man through life more conspicuous than
when it preserved him from sinking into the leader of a party at the
India House, and restored him to his proper sphere, to improve and
consolidate his former labours, and fix beyond dispute his claim to the
title of the Founder of the British Empire in India.
Lord Clive, notwithstanding the opinion he expressed of the imprudence
of Mr. Pitt, continued to entertain the greatest veneration for that
statesman. In a letter to Major Carnac, he expresses his delight at the
feelings of indignation with which Mr. Pitt heard of the conduct of the
Directors in stopping the payment of his jaghire. But the person to whom
Clive appears to have most completely attached himself was Mr. George
Grenville; and the connection between them rested upon principles alike
honourable to both. It was by the advice of Mr. Grenville that Clive
came to a compromise with the Directors; and he interfered, personally,
to bring the dispute between his Lordship and that body to an amicable
conclusion.
When Clive left England, he took care to free himself of all political
connections, except with his friend Mr. Grenville; and he requested the
members whom he brought into parliament, and those friends who from
gratitude chose to give him their personal aid, to make the support of
that statesman the rule of their conduct. We learn these facts from the
letters of Mr. Walsh to Clive, after the departure of the latter from
England.