after telling him of Mr. Sulivan's having split a number of votes, and
of Mr. Divon (a partner of Child's house) having split 30,000_l._ to
support him, informs Clive that he means to do the same with some of
his money. He adds, "I am splitting mine to the amount of 20,000_l._
It is a troublesome and dangerous business, but the act of parliament
will put an end to it."
Footnote 173:
19th March, 1763.
Footnote 174:
Clive here alludes to a quarterly meeting of the Court of Proprietors.
Footnote 175:
28th February, 1762.
Footnote 176:
The extract here quoted is part of a larger paper in defence of Lord
Clive's conduct, and believed to be written by the late Sir Henry
Strachey.
Footnote 177:
The contents of this private letter to the President of the Council at
Bengal were as follows:—"That all cordiality being at an end with Lord
Clive, the Court of Directors had stopped payment of his jaghire; a
measure which would have taken place years ago, had it not been for
him (Mr. Sulivan); and that, on this head, the said President was to
obey every order which he might receive from the Court of Directors;
and that more was not, nor must be expected of him."
Footnote 178:
Lord Clive, in his address to the proprietors in 1764, answers all
these objections in a very full and conclusive manner. In treating of
the supposed claims of the Emperor and the want of power in the Nabob
to grant a jaghire, he remarks, that the arguments used against him by
the Directors are exactly those which the Dutch government had
recently brought against them, in the affair of the destruction of
their armament in 1760; and he refers the Court, in answer to their
present plea, to the memorial they lately submitted to his Majesty; in
which, after justly describing the Emperor of Delhi as possessing,
beyond very narrow limits, only a nominal power, they observe; "The
Nabob makes war or peace, without the privity of the Moghul; that
there appears still some remains of the old constitution in the
succession to the state of Nabob; yet, in fact, that the succession is
never regulated by the Moghul's appointment: the Nabob in possession
is desirous of fortifying his title by the Moghul's confirmation,
which the court of Delhi, conscious of its inability to interpose,
readily grants. The Nabob of Bengal is, therefore, _de facto_,
whatever he may be _de jure_, a sovereign prince."
Footnote 179:
Mr. Amphlett (a connection of Lord Clive) was a civil servant of
Bengal; but his abilities as an engineer had led to his being employed
in improving the works at Fort William.
Footnote 180:
28th April, 1763.
Footnote 181:
The Shah-Zada (Shah Alum) had, before Clive's letters arrived,
succeeded to the throne of Delhi.
Footnote 182:
MSS. of Sir Henry Strachey.
Footnote 183:
I have extracted this summary of what Lord Clive said upon this
subject from the MSS. before quoted.
Footnote 184:
March, 1764.
Footnote 185:
This agreement between the Company and Lord Clive is as follows:—
"By indenture bearing date the 16th May, 1764, between the United
Company of Merchants of England trading to the East Indies on the
one part, and Robert Lord Clive on the other part, it is agreed,
that the said Company shall, for the term of ten years, cause to be
paid to Lord Clive, his administrators, &c. out of their treasury
in Bengal, (to be computed from the 5th May, 1764,) the full amount
of the said jaghire rents; provided nevertheless, that in case the
said Lord Clive should die before the expiration of the said ten
years, the Company shall make good the payment of the jaghire only
to the time of the death of him the said Lord Clive; provided also,
that in case the Company shall not be in actual possession of the
lands out of which the said jaghire issues, and the revenues
thereof, to and for their own use, and during the said term of ten
years, then and in such case, the said Company shall not be
compellable or subject to pay any further part of the jaghire than
shall accrue due during the said Company's actual possession of the
said lands out of which it issues."
Footnote 186:
Mr. Sulivan was not defeated without an active struggle. Mr. Walsh, in a
letter to Lord Clive of the 5th April, 1765, speaking of the contest,
observes:—"Lord Bute joined him (Mr. Sulivan) very strenuously, and got
the Duke of Northumberland to do the same. This change may appear
extraordinary; but abject submissions on the one part, and tender
solicitations on the other, are said to have brought it about!"
Footnote 187:
13th December, 1765.
Footnote 188:
14th October, 1764.
Footnote 189:
14th October, 1765.
Footnote 190:
The following is the account of this medal given by Mr. Stuart (commonly
called Athenian Stuart) by whom it was designed. "The medal commemorates
the battle of Plassey, and is in honour of Lord Clive. On one side is
his Lordship, holding the British standard in one hand, and with the
other he bestows the ensign of Subahship on Meer Jaffier. In the space
between, are grouped together a globe, a cornucopia, and an antique
rudder, to which the legend refers. The cornucopia symbolises the riches
with which Meer Jaffier atoned for the injuries done to our countrymen
by his predecessor; the rudder is for the augmentation of our navigation
and commercial privileges; and the globe, for our territorial
acquisitions; all of which were consequences of this victory. In the
exergue is written, '_A Soubah given to Bengal_.'
"On the other face of the medal is a victory seated on an elephant,
bearing a trophy in one hand, and a palm-branch in the other. The
inscription is '_Victory at Plassey_,' '_Clive Commander_.' In the
exergue is the date of the victory, and the mark of the Society for
Promoting Arts and Commerce."
Footnote 191:
In the collection of letters in my possession are many which prove the
happiness Lord Clive enjoyed, at this period, in his family; but he was
not exempt from severe afflictions. I have before mentioned the loss of
an infant boy, when he sailed on his second visit to India. When he left
Calcutta in 1760, his youngest boy was so ill, that he could not embark;
the child was left in charge of Mr. Fullarton, and died. A daughter, as
has been mentioned, was born to Lord Clive after his arrival in England;
and Lady Clive, when he sailed, was on the point of being confined
again.
Footnote 192:
Mr. (afterwards Sir Robert) Chambers.
Footnote 193:
Dr. Nevil Maskelyne is better known as Astronomer-Royal at Greenwich.
Footnote 194:
Mr. Harry Clive.
Footnote 195:
Mr. Watts estimated Lord Pigot's fortune at 400,000_l._ It had chiefly
been made (according to the same authority) by lending money at high
interest to the Nabob, the chiefs, and managers of provinces. This
practice was then too common to be considered as in any way
discreditable; though it was soon afterwards discovered to be one of the
most baneful and injurious to the public interests that the Company
could tolerate in any of their servants, but above all, in those high in
station.
Footnote 196:
21st November, 1764.
Footnote 197:
Major Carnac, in 1760, came to St. Helena with Lord Clive, and from
thence returned to Bengal.
Footnote 198:
June, 1764.
Footnote 199:
One of Lord Clive's letters to Mr. Vansittart is dated 17th December,
1762. The passage alluded to is as follows:—"I must again repeat my
desire of having a large elephant embarked for his Majesty, if the thing
be practicable, of which you must be a better judge than I, who are upon
the spot; and if you can send me any curiosities, such as antelopes,
hog-deer, nilgows or lynxes, I shall be much obliged to you."
Footnote 200:
One of the elephants was so large that it could not be embarked.
Footnote 201:
In this letter, which is dated January, 1764, Lord Clive observes; "I am
sorry there should be any mistake about the elephant; and although I was
somewhat affected at first at the commission you gave me to present the
elephant to his Majesty in your name, instead of my own, yet the thing
in itself appears to me to be of too trifling a nature for either of us
to think any more about it. Your brother will inform you in what manner
Sampson has acted, owing, I believe, to the instigation of Sulivan."
Footnote 202:
Mr. Walsh writes to Lord Clive, that Mr. Vansittart told him his fortune
did not exceed 2,500_l._ per annum.
Footnote 203:
Afterwards Sir Archibald Campbell, Governor of Fort St. George.
Footnote 204:
14th October, 1764.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAP. XIII.
Before resuming the narrative of Clive's life, and accompanying him on his
last visit to India, it will be necessary to take a general and concise
view of the events which had occurred in that country during the short
period of his absence. It would, indeed, be impossible, without such a
review, to understand the nature of the scenes in which he became engaged,
or the motives and grounds of the measures he adopted.
He was succeeded in the administration of the affairs of Bengal by Mr.
Vansittart; who, as he owed his elevation to Clive, was disposed, we may
conclude, to pursue the course of policy which Clive had marked out. But
however easy it may be for a man of moderate talent to follow genius in a
smooth and beaten track, it becomes impossible, where the road is rugged
and indistinct, and where the slightest deviation leads inevitably to the
widest separation from him who preceded.
This was the case with Mr. Vansittart. He had a clear perception between
right and wrong, in the abstract; but his letters and minutes, soon after
he was appointed governor, show that he was quite incompetent to take a
comprehensive view of the great and conflicting interests committed to his
charge, and still less to quell the violent passions that were in action.
He found evils of much magnitude, and he conscientiously desired to remedy
them; but he appears to have looked no further, and, consequently, to have
often exchanged bad for worse. Volumes have been written for and against
the measures he adopted: they will be here noticed only in a very cursory
manner.
I have stated, in the tenth chapter, that at the period of time when Clive
sailed for England, accounts had been received of the advance of the
Shah-Zada towards Patna; and that Colonel Caillaud had been detached with
a force to aid Ram Narrain in repelling the invasion. Alumgeer the Second
had been murdered by his minister, Umad-ul-Moolk[205]; and the
Shah-Zada[206], on becoming emperor, had assumed the title of Shah
Alum[207]; nominating, at the same time, Sujah-u-Dowlah (the ruler of
Oude) his vizier.
The young emperor was successful in his first action with Ram Narrain; but
the latter being reinforced by Colonel Caillaud and Meeran, the invaders
were, in their turn, defeated[208], and compelled to retire from before
Patna. The Emperor, however, instead of retiring towards Benares, took the
route of Moorshedabad, whither he was pursued, and obliged to retrace his
steps; and, after another ineffectual attempt to take Patna, he retreated
to Hindustan. The triumph of the Nabob's arms was completed by the defeat
of the rebel Raja of Purneah, by Captain Knox; but, in the midst of these
successes, an event occurred, which became the proximate cause of another
revolution in Bengal. The Prince Meeran, who has occupied so conspicuous a
part in this narrative, was killed[209] by lightning. This violent young
man had been at once the support and dread of the less energetic Meer
Jaffier. Though Meeran was sensible of the necessity of the aid of the
English, he was impatient of the state of dependence and control in which
the alliance with that nation had placed him; and the continual conflict
of his interests and passions rendered him turbulent and dangerous. To
Clive, alone, he was obedient; and a sentiment of attachment and respect
for that commander appears, on many occasions, to have checked him in
schemes that must have terminated fatally for himself, or his father. This
prince, with all his vices and errors, was generous to his dependents and
army; who, after his death, afraid of losing their arrears, surrounded the
palace, and threatened the life of their sovereign, against whom many of
his dependents took up arms; and, as if the misfortunes of the country
were to be complete, it was visited by a predatory incursion of the
Mahrattas.
Amid these scenes of war, mutiny, rebellion, and plunder, Mr. Vansittart
assumed the government of Bengal.[210] Mr. Holwell, who had been in
temporary charge, cherished the greatest prejudice against the reigning
Nabob. Meer Jaffier was, according to him, the author of all these evils;
and so entirely did he succeed in impressing the new governor with the
same sentiments that, within two months[211] from Mr. Vansittart's arrival
at Calcutta, a treaty was concluded with Meer Cossim Ali, son-in-law to
the Nabob, the general of the army, engaging that the Nabob should invest
him with full power as ruler of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa; in return for
which, he made over to the Company the fruitful provinces of Burdwan,
Midnapore, and Chittagong.
The ostensible causes of this revolution are honestly, indeed, but not
very satisfactorily, stated by the Governor himself in his narrative[212],
and seem to have been chiefly the financial difficulties of the Company's
affairs. The Nabob was to a certain extent in arrear, and other pressures
were felt. "The season had now begun," says Mr. Vansittart, "when our
forces were to take the field against a powerful enemy, whilst we had
scarce a rupee in our treasury to enable us to put them in motion. The
easy channel in which the Company's affairs ran, whilst the sums
stipulated by the treaty (with Meer Jaffier) lasted, had diverted their
attention from the distresses which must unavoidably fall on them,
whenever that fund should be exhausted; and continuing to act on the same
extensive plan in which they set out, they now found themselves surrounded
by numerous difficulties, which were heightened by the particular
circumstances of the country at this period, and weighed down with the
very advantages which they had acquired; that is, an establishment which
had lost the foundation on which it was built; a military force
proportioned to their connections and influence in the country without the
means of subsistence; a fortification begun upon the same extensive plan,
at a vast expense; and an alliance with a power unable to support itself,
and threatening to involve them in the same ruin."
Mr. Vansittart adds, that had indolence and weakness been the Nabob's only
faults, destructive as they were to the welfare of the country and of the
Company, he would have felt more severely the necessity of measures the
tendency of which was to dissolve the engagements between him and the
Company; but that in addition to this, he found a general disaffection to
his government and detestation of his person and principles in all ranks
of people. Even from this representation of the person principally
concerned in the revolution, it is plain that the measure "of not only
breaking a solemn treaty without previous warning and negotiation with the
prince with whom it was contracted, but even of dethroning that prince,
without attempting to remedy by some convention the temporary evils
complained of, was a rash and unjustifiable measure, particularly where
the change and all the articles of the new treaty were so obviously for
the advantage of one of the parties only."
The Governor went to Moorshedabad in the hope of persuading Meer Jaffier
to resign a power which he endeavoured to convince him he was alike unfit
and unworthy to use, and to place it in the hands of Cossim Ali, who was
his nearest connection, and the commander of his army. We cannot be
surprised that the Nabob should indignantly repulse these attempts to
render him the willing instrument of his own degradation. He refused to be
associated, in any way, with the proposed arrangements for the better
government of his dominions; and stipulated for nothing but permission to
retire to Calcutta, that his life might be safe from that danger to which
it must be exposed, if he remained at his own capital. His request was
granted; and Cossim Ali was proclaimed Nabob.[213]
The character of this chief stood high before his elevation. Of the crime
of guilty ambition, it is vain to think of clearing him; but if he
afterwards committed the greatest atrocities, and if his memory has
become, from his cruel deeds, an object of just abhorrence with the
English, it must not be forgotten that he was stung to madness, by the
conduct of individuals of that nation; that he was rashly raised to power,
by men who could not support him in its exercise, and driven to
extremities by others, who, in the pursuit of their own interests and
political views, appear to have thought all means justifiable, that could
accelerate his downfall.
There is no page in our Indian history so revolting as the four years of
the weak and inefficient rule of Mr. Vansittart. He was, as an individual,
virtuous and respectable, and his intentions were pure; but these personal
qualities were altogether insufficient to carry him through such a scene
as that in which he became involved. His apologists have imputed his
failure to the want of support from his associates in power, to that
spirit of cupidity and rapacity, which had been kindled by the successes
of Clive, and to the hopes and intrigues of the natives, which were
cherished and excited to action by those that were hostile to the Governor
and his plans.
These assertions are all true, but they only serve to prove the want of
that superiority of mind, that spirit of command in Mr. Vansittart, which
would have enabled him to sway the minds of his own countrymen, as well as
the want of that foresight which should have led him to abstain from the
adoption of measures extremely questionable in themselves, and which he
did not very clearly see that he could carry through. The only ground of
apology for _him, and that not a very sufficient one_, is, that he allowed
himself to be surprised in adopting the measure at all; and that even in
the instrument which he employed for executing the work, he was deceived
in the character of Meer Cossim, whose financial skill and ferocious
energy were both equally unforeseen. The truth, however, is, that many of
the acts of Mr. Vansittart's administration were less his own than those
of a selfish and domineering council.
The first year of the new Nabob's reign was marked by success against his
foreign enemies. Major Carnac, who now commanded the English troops in
Bengal, defeated the Emperor at Gyah; and a rebellion of the chief of
Beerboom and Burdwan was repressed by the aid of a detachment under Major
Yorke. Major Carnac, who had obtained just reputation from his military
operations, had acquired more with the natives of India by his generous
treatment of M. Law, who was compelled to surrender to him, and by his
humane and politic behaviour to the unfortunate emperor, whom he had
defeated, but whom he afterwards waited upon and attended as one of his
subjects.
The courteous behaviour of Major Carnac to the French commander excited,
according to the author of the Seer Mutakhareen, equal astonishment and
admiration. We cannot refrain from giving an account of the surrender and
treatment of M. Law in the words of the native historian.[214]
"When the Emperor left the field of battle, the handful of troops that
followed M. Law, discouraged by this flight, and tired of the wandering
life which they had hitherto led in his service, turned about likewise and
followed the Emperor. M. Law, finding himself abandoned and alone,
resolved not to turn his back; he bestrode one of his guns, and remained
firm in that posture, waiting for the moment of his death. This being
reported to Major Carnac, he detached himself from his main, with Captain
Knox and some other officers, and he advanced to the man on the gun,
without taking with him either a guard or any Telingas (sepoys) at all.
Being arrived near, this troop alighted from their horses, and pulling
their caps from their heads, they swept the air with them, as if to make
him a _salam_; and this salute being returned by M. Law in the same
manner, some parley in their language ensued. The Major, after paying high
encomiums to M. Law for his perseverance, conduct, and bravery, added
these words:—'You have done every thing which could be expected from a
brave man; and your name shall be undoubtedly transmitted to posterity by
the pen of history; now loosen your sword from your loins, come amongst
us, and abandon all thoughts of contending with the English.' The other
answered, 'that if they would accept of his surrendering himself just as
he was, he had no objection; but that as to surrendering himself with the
disgrace of being without his sword, it was a shame he would never submit
to; and that they might take his life if they were not satisfied with that
condition.' The English commanders, admiring his firmness, consented to
his surrendering himself in the manner he wished; after which the Major,
with his officers, shook hands with him, in their European manner, and
every sentiment of enmity was instantly dismissed on both sides. At the
same time the Major sent for his own palankeen, made him sit in it, and he
was sent to camp. M. Law, unwilling to see, or to be seen, shut up the
curtains of the palankeen for fear of being recognised by any of his
friends at camp; but yet some of his acquaintances, hearing of his being
arrived, went to him. The Major, who had excused him from appearing in
public, informed them that they could not see him for some days, as he was
too much vexed to receive any company. Ahmed Khan Koreishee, who was an
impertinent talker, having come to look at him, thought to pay his court
to the English by joking on the man's defeat; a behaviour that has nothing
strange, if we consider the times in which we live, and the company he was
accustomed to frequent; and it was in that notion of his, doubtless, that
with much pertness of voice and air, he asked him this question; 'And
Beeby (Lady) Law, where is she?' The Major and the officers present,
shocked at the impropriety of the question, reprimanded him with a severe
look and very severe expressions: 'This man,' they said, 'has fought
bravely, and deserves the attention of all brave men; the impertinences
which you have been offering him may be customary amongst your friends and
nation, but cannot be suffered in ours, which has it for a standing rule,
never to offer an injury to a vanquished foe.' Ahmed Khan, checked by this
reprimand, held his tongue, and did not answer a word. He tarried about
one hour more in his visit, and then went away much abashed; and, although
he was a commander of importance, and one to whom much honour had been
always paid, no one did speak to him any more, or made a show of standing
up at his departure. This reprimand did much honour to the English; and it
must be acknowledged, to the honour of those strangers, that as their
conduct in war and in battle is worthy of admiration, so, on the other
hand, nothing is more modest and more becoming than their behaviour to an
enemy, whether in the heat of action, or in the pride of success and
victory. These people seem to act entirely according to the rules observed
by our ancient commanders, and our men of genius."
The Emperor of Delhi this year[215] invested Cossim Ali as Subadar of
Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa; the latter agreeing to pay an annual tribute of
twenty-four lacs. The aid of the English was desired to fix the Emperor
upon the throne of Delhi; and in return, an offer was made of the Dewanee
of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa; but, though the project was entertained at
Calcutta, the want of funds for the expedition, and alarm at the
embarrassments in which it might involve the Company, prevented its
acceptance.