[191] 22d August, 1757.
[192] By Clive's letter to Colonel Adlercron (dated 27th September)
it appears that some of the officers had resisted his endeavours to
make an arrangement that should put an end to the discontents which
had arisen from the share of a private soldier being less than that
of a seaman. Clive, to effect this purpose, was willing to make a
considerable deduction from his own share. Major Kilpatrick, and
several other officers of rank, cheerfully concurred in this object,
but it was violently opposed by others; and Captain Armstrong, who
commanded at Calcutta, refused to publish Clive's order upon the
subject. He was brought to a court-martial, but acquitted. Clive
refused to approve the sentence; and concluded his letter to Colonel
Adlercron with the following just observations on the subversion of
the principles of discipline by Captain Armstrong's conduct:--"You,
Sir, will be the best judge whether setting aside my order, by any
indirect and underhand methods, to serve a self-interested view;
whether assembling the officers together without a proper authority,
and even disputing the rank of the officers given by me, especially
in the case of Lieutenant Corneille, be consistent with the duty and
obedience which is due to the commanding officer; and I cannot help
thinking it was the duty of Captain Armstrong to have given out my
orders, when ordered to do so by the Governor, even if he thought them
unjust: for if officers are allowed to disobey the orders of their
superiors (unless in cases of an extraordinary nature) there must be
an end to all discipline and subordination. If I took upon me to act
wrong, justice was open to them by complaining to you, Sir, or any of
my superiors."
[193] 16th November, 1757.
[194] Clive found himself compelled to decline the offer of Captain
Weller, in terms which, although they disappointed his forward zeal,
must have gratified him. His employment, distinct from his corps,
would, in effect, have superseded several officers in the Company's
service, whom it would naturally have rendered discontented.
[195] This officer belonged to Col. Adlercron's regiment.
[196] In a letter, under date the 2d of August, 1757, to his friend
Mr. Pigot, he observes, "If I was to consult my own interests only,
every thing conspires to make me desirous of leaving this province. An
unhealthy climate, a bad constitution, a genteel competence, a possible
reverse of fortune, are strong motives to have done so; but a superior
consideration to all these obliges me to continue some time longer."
[197] 6th November, 1757.
[198] The letters from Mr. Scrafton, at this period, convey a vivid
picture of the state both of Meer Jaffier's mind and his own. In his
letter of the 3d November, in which he reports a visit to the durbar,
he describes the Nabob as looking very grim when he approached. For
half an hour he took no notice of him, but abused every one present;
then turning quickly round, he said to Scrafton, "What have you to say
to me?"--"What! here, Sir?" Scrafton replied.--"We will go there,"
said the Nabob, pointing to a small room. Mr. Scrafton, ashamed of
this proceeding, tried to change the subject by saying, "Have you
written for the Colonel?"--"Yes, with his whole army, to be sure."--"Do
you know the expense?"--"Will a lac per month do? But I shall not
settle with you; when Sabut Jung comes, I will talk with him about
it." Mr. Scrafton, after commenting upon the passion displayed by
the Nabob on this occasion, and representing the danger of rebellion
from his violent conduct, concludes by entreating Clive to hasten to
Moorshedabad, leaving his army to follow. "We are lost," he says, "if
we do not act as principals." In two letters written subsequently,
Mr. Scrafton gives a further account of the Nabob's distraction,
irritation, and alarm at the treachery and rebellion with which he is
surrounded. In his communication to Clive, of the 7th November, he
states, "I hope you are set out. Our honour, our interests, and our
reputation, are all at stake." He closes this letter in the following
words:--"The Nabob pitched his tent in the garden yesterday, and had
about two hundred men with him. Not an officer has joined him yet
with any forces; nor will they till Roy Dullub marches. His son is
absolutely ill with grief and shame, and goes no more near his father.
Sir, I can only say, if you don't set out, with or without troops,
permit me to go to Calcutta. I can't carry that authority, that sway,
which the Company's affairs require; and will not stay on the terms I
am now with the Nabob. I clearly comprehend the political disease of
the Nabob's affairs, but it is you only that can apply the remedy. I
was an hour alone with Roy Dullub: I see all their schemes, and what
all these seeds of division will inevitably produce. I conclude with
this sentence; that if Sujah-u-Dowlah joins Ram Narrain, adieu to the
Nabob and the remainder of the treaty, for he certainly carries Bengal."
[199] When Ram Narrain was believed to have joined the Vizier of
Oude, Clive (according to Scrafton) advised the Nabob to remove him
openly. The Nabob dreaded the consequences of such a direct proceeding.
Subsequently to this, Ram Narrain fully satisfied Clive, through Roy
Dullub, that he had no treasonable intentions, and required only
security for his life and a continuance in his employment. A conviction
of his sincerity led Clive to advise the Nabob to the course he pursued.
[200] 23d December, 1757.
[201] Dated Rockypoor, near Patna, 18th February, 1758.
[202] 18th February, 1758.
[203] 6th March, 1758.
[204] 12th January, 1758.
[205] A small copper coin, forty to a rupee.
[206] Clive early saw all the evils that would arise from the conduct
of the natives employed by the English, and adopted every measure he
could to check the growth of this danger; but this subject will be
fully noticed hereafter.
[207] Mr. Scrafton, in his private letter, under date 15th May, 1758,
observes, "In the morning, early, I was informed the young Nabob's
troops were ready for a march, and presently Petrus came to me and
told me the Nabob had got his cannon loaded and his troops ready.
I sent him to know the cause. The Nabob, when he had dismissed his
servants, put on a face of importance, and Petrus asked him what all
these preparations were for. He said Roy Dullub was not true to him,
and that he was afraid of Sabut Jung; that if Sabut Jung would send
him his promise and faith to attempt nothing against him, it was well;
if not, he would leave the city with those who were faithful to him,
and go to his father; and, if any body offered to stop him, he would
fight his way. That Roy Dullub had brought down a relation of Sunder
Sing's, who had wrote to an officer in his service to offer his oath of
fidelity to Cunjoo Beharry, which he had actually given. In short, he
gave to understand that Roy Dullub was his enemy, and if you did not
give him some security one of them must fall. I intend to go to him
in the evening, and set his brain right if I can. He has entertained
some Tellingays (about fifty) that are come _via_ Ballasore. Either he
shams, and has orders sent him by Goolam Hassen Khan and Monickchund,
who arrived yesterday, to attempt Roy Dullub's life, or his fears have
got the better of his _blockhead-ship_. The old Begum sent for Petrus
and fell a blubbering, saying that she had but that son, and could not
spare him."
[208] In the indecisive action between Sir G. Pocock and M. D'Aché, one
of the enemy's vessels was stranded. It was reported at Moorshedabad
that two were taken.
[209] The Hardwicke Indiaman.
[210] The date of Clive's private letter to Mr. Watts is the 22d June,
four days previous to the date of the above public letter and of his
answer to it, in which he accepted the government.
[211] Nov. 11. 1757.
[212] This probably alludes to the diamond-hilted sword which the Court
of Directors voted Clive for his services in the Carnatic.
[213] Mr. Mill, when noticing the Council's request to Clive, observes,
"Convinced that he alone had sufficient authority to overcome the
Nabob into the performance of his obligations, the Council (including
the four gentlemen who were appointed governors) came to a resolution
highly expressive of their own disinterestedness and patriotism, but
full of disregard and contempt for the judgment and authority of their
superiors."--Mill, vol. iii. p. 244.