CHAP. VI.
The events which have been so minutely detailed in the preceding chapter are memorable from being connected with the foundation of our Indian empire. They have a peculiar importance to us, as they affect the fame and reputation of the individual by whom this rapid and extraordinary change in the condition of the English in Bengal was effected.
From the period of the capture of Chandernagore, till Meer Jaffier was established upon the throne, Clive was unaided in the great and difficult task he had undertaken. He rested solely upon his own judgment, which in almost all cases was in opposition to that of the persons with whom he was associated.
Admiral Watson, though he had withdrawn himself from any participation in the enterprise, stated honestly and decidedly his doubts of its success. The Select Committee of Calcutta threw off all responsibility. Thus unaided and alone, Clive had to counteract treachery, to stimulate timidity into action, and when the period arrived, openly and boldly to confront danger. He was throughout this arduous labour supported by the conviction, that the end he sought was indispensable to the interests, and indeed to the safety, of the government he served, and that the means he employed were the only ones by which it could be accomplished. With this conviction he proceeded towards his object with a caution and firmness that have seldom been equalled, and never surpassed.
His success was great beyond all expectation; but it has been erroneously attributed to the battle of Plassey. It was not the result of that action, but of the whole series of his measures, and of the operation of well laid plans carried into execution by the same wise and firm mind by which they had been formed.
The moderation with which Clive exercised the great power which he acquired will be shown hereafter. I shall confine myself in this chapter to a detail of the immediate consequences of his success, and to an examination of his conduct throughout the scenes which preceded and followed the dethronement of Suraj-u-Dowlah; and endeavour to lay all the facts before the reader, in such a manner as will enable him to judge how far Clive has merited the reproaches which have been cast upon his memory by those who have desired to find in the record of his glory the means of destroying his reputation.
The great amount which Meer Jaffier had stipulated to pay by his first treaty was increased by the addition of the sum of fifty lacs, as a donation to the army and navy, besides a gift to[163] each of the Members of the Secret Committee, and of Council. In addition to these sums, Meer Jaffier was induced by gratitude and policy, as well as by usage, to make liberal presents to those who had been the immediate instruments of placing him on the throne. No exact account of the latter presents exists on record, but that of Clive is stated by himself to have amounted to sixteen lacs of rupees, or 160,000l.
The treasures of Suraj-u-Dowlah had been greatly over estimated by Mr. Watts, who states, in one letter[164], that they were computed to amount to 40,000,000l. sterling, a sum so extravagantly beyond what the revenues of the country could have enabled Aliverdi Khan, or his successor, to amass, that it is quite extraordinary how such a belief could have been entertained.
The city of Moorshedabad suffered in no degree from this change. Clive, while he accepted on grounds that he deemed just the liberality of the Prince he had placed upon the throne, so far from laying himself under obligation to others, refused every present offered him by Roy Dullub, Jugget Seit, and the wealthy inhabitants of the capital. This conduct was alike necessary to support his character, and to give an example to the army, with whom the large sum which it was settled they should receive as prize or donation, (for it was indifferently called by both names) had the usual effect of a sudden influx of money among such a body of men.
Disputes arose of a very serious nature, as to the division of prize money with the navy. In order that this, and various other points, should be equitably settled, Clive assembled a council of war, to which officers were deputed from every branch of the troops employed. It was agreed, that every question should be decided by the majority; and so selfish were the principles by which many of them were influenced, that, contrary to the strong protest of Clive, a resolution was carried, that the officers[165] and sailors belonging to the squadron, which came with the army on this expedition, should not share the prize money.
The majority of the Council of War came to a further vote, that the money should be immediately divided; but this Clive thought so unjust to the navy, whose agents were not present, that he immediately over-ruled their votes, and broke up the council. His letter to Admiral Watson of the 7th of July fully explains his conduct on this occasion.
"I took the first opportunity," he observes, "of a little spare time to call a Council of War for the division of that share of the prize money which belongs to the army. I am sorry to say, that several warm and selfish debates arose; and I cannot help thinking, that the officers belonging to the navy with the expedition have had injustice done them, in not being allowed to share agreeable to the land division, which was carried against them by a great majority.—Enclosed I send you the proceedings of the Council of War. The last article, after having been in a manner agreed to, was again brought upon the carpet; and notwithstanding I represented to the gentlemen, in the strongest sense, that the money could not be divided till it was shroffed, and the agents of both parties present, without the greatest injustice to the navy, they still persisted in giving their opinions for an immediate division of the money; upon which I over-ruled their votes, and broke up the Council of War.
"Yesterday I received the enclosed paper and protest, which you have with my answer. I have put those officers who brought the paper in arrest, and ordered Captain Armstrong, one of the ringleaders, down to Calcutta this morning. The Major was deputed to me by the officers to desire I would forget and forgive what was past, upon a proper acknowledgment in writing: I promised to comply with his request, so that I beg you will not make this public, till you hear further from me."
The answer to the officers, of which Clive sent a copy to the Admiral, is too remarkable a document to be omitted. It singularly exhibits the openness and decision of his character. It is addressed to the "Officers who sent the remonstrance and protest," and proceeds:——
"Gentlemen,
"I have received both your remonstrance and protest. Had you consulted the dictates of your own reason, those of justice, or the respect due to your commanding officer, I am persuaded such a paper, so highly injurious to your own honour as officers, could never have escaped you.
"You say you were assembled at a council to give your opinion about a matter of property. Pray, Gentlemen, how comes it that a promise of a sum of money from the Nabob, entirely negotiated by me, can be deemed a matter of right and property? So very far from it, it is now in my power to return to the Nabob the money already advanced, and leave it to his option, whether he will perform his promise or not. You have stormed no town, and found the money there; neither did you find it in the plains of Plassey, after the defeat of the Nabob. In short, Gentlemen, it pains me to remind you, that what you are to receive is entirely owing to the care I took of your interest. Had I not interfered greatly in it, you had been left to the Company's generosity, who perhaps would have thought you sufficiently rewarded, in receiving a present of six months' pay; in return for which, I have been treated with the greatest disrespect and ingratitude, and, what is still worse, you have flown in the face of my authority, for over-ruling an opinion, which, if passed, would have been highly injurious to your own reputation, being attended with injustice to the navy, and been of the worst consequences to the cause of the nation and the Company.
"I shall, therefore, send the money down to Calcutta, give directions to the agents of both parties to have it shroffed; and when the Nabob signifies his pleasure (on whom it solely depends) that the money be paid you, you shall then receive it, and not before.
"Your behaviour has been such, that you cannot expect I should interest myself any further in your concerns. I therefore retract the promise I made the other day, of negotiating either the rest of the Nabob's promise, or the one third which was to be received in the same manner as the rest of the public money, at three yearly equal payments.
"I am, Gentlemen,
"Your most obedient, humble servant,
(Signed) "Robt. Clive."Moorshedabad,
5th July, 1757."
The officers to whom this letter was addressed sent an acknowledgment of their error; to which Clive instantly replied in the following terms:—
"Gentlemen,
"I have ever been desirous of the love and good opinion of my officers, and have often pursued their interest in preference of my own. What passed the other day is now forgotten, and I shall always be glad of an opportunity of convincing you how much
"I am, Gentlemen,
"Your most obedient, humble servant,
(Signed) "Robt. Clive."Moorshedabad,
9th July, 1757."
On the 19th of July Clive wrote to Admiral Watson,—"Since my last letter, the officers of the army, sensible of their error, have thought proper to retract, and all is forgotten on my part."
Admiral Watson in his answer to Clive (of the same date) expressed his gratitude for the part he had taken in favour of the navy; and we find, in a letter from Captain Latham to Clive, dated the 3d of July, an honest proof of Admiral Watson's approbation of his proceedings at this period:—"The Admiral drinks every day," Captain Latham observes, "a bumper to your health." The amount of the sums to be given, as a donation to the members of the Committee, Council, and others, had not been determined before Meer Jaffier was enthroned. When a settlement was made, Admiral Watson put forth his claim, which was opposed on the grounds of his never having sat in the Committee, or taken any part or responsibility in the plans and operations by which the revolution was effected. When this point was referred to Clive, he denied that Admiral Watson had a specific right, but admitted his claim from his association in the public service, and the zeal and talent with which he had co-operated. On this ground, he proposed that the Admiral's share should be made equal to the Governor's and his own, by a deduction of ten per cent. from each portion of Meer Jaffier's donation, and instantly remitted that deduction from what he had received on this account. His example was followed by a considerable number; but others were more tenacious of what they had obtained; nor were the heirs of the Admiral successful in compelling them by law to this act of liberal justice.
The conduct of the Select Committee before the battle of Plassey had excited Clive's just indignation. "I have received[166]," he observes, "a letter from Mr. Drake, in answer to my letter to the Committee, which is very unusual on such important occasions; and I cannot help thinking, that had the expedition miscarried, you would have laid the whole blame on me."
A subsequent communication[167] called forth more severe animadversions. "I have received" (he indignantly states) "your letter of the 23d instant[168], the contents of which are so indefinite and contradictory, that I can put no other construction upon it than an intent to clear yourself at my expense, had the expedition miscarried. It puts me in mind of the famous answer of the Delphic oracle to Pyrrhus, 'Aio te, Æacide, Romanos vincere posse.'"
But all angry feelings were soon lost in those of joy and triumph. Within a few months the European and native inhabitants of Calcutta had experienced a transition from the most abject state of poverty and misery to one of exaltation and abundance. The cruel author of their wrongs had lost his fortune and his life. The French were, with the exception of a small party, expelled from Bengal; and the Prince, who was raised to the sovereignty of that country, owed his crown to the British arms, and must trust to them for his support. For a period, all eyes and all hearts turned with admiration and gratitude to him by whom this great change had been chiefly effected.
But such sentiments are not enduring; and a few years only elapsed before acts, which were approved and applauded at the moment of their occurrence, were brought forward as accusations against the man, to whom his country owed the establishment of her empire in India. It is not, however, intended to anticipate an account of those events which gave rise to this change of feeling in individuals, or public bodies: but I have dwelt thus minutely upon the transactions of this remarkable epoch of Clive's life, and of Indian history, for the purpose of affording materials to determine how far those writers are correct, or justified by facts, who, referring chiefly to documents furnished by his accusers, have censured and condemned many parts of his conduct, both military and political, during this short but memorable expedition.
It has already been shown, that throughout this eventful period the military operations of Clive were subordinate to his political negotiations. But independent of this fact, which placed his conduct as a military officer beyond the common rules of judgment, I confess that I have little faith in the correctness of that general criticism which refers exclusively to the numbers and quality of the troops engaged, and to the ground upon which the conflict was decided. Even in Europe, where the character of the troops is known, and their fidelity to their banners undoubted, it is much oftener the genius of the commander, exercised during the changing moments of a battle, than the best preconcerted plan, which decides the combat. The mere tactician rests entirely on his plans; if they fail, he is lost: but the eye of an able leader penetrates the mind of his own army and that of the enemy, and by exciting valour to extraordinary efforts, or pressing upon faltering opponents, he snatches a victory which is the more glorious from having been gained contrary to all calculations of art. In India, success in war depends far less upon plans and evolutions than on a correct knowledge of the nature of the enemy's force. The character and composition of the incongruous materials of which eastern armies are formed have already been explained. From some part of this body the most resolute resistance may be expected, from their attachment to their chief. Others, probably from being lukewarm in the cause, and discontented with their leader, require only a pretext to fly. No corps places confidence in, or expects support from, that which is next to it. The consequence is, that the mere suspicion of treachery, or any misfortune or misconduct in the Prince under whom these bands are for the moment united, dissolves the whole. These facts will account for the frequent defeat of large armies in India by a few disciplined and united men. Yet the armies thus discomfited contain thousands of the same tribes and nations of whom a few hundreds (when attached to their chiefs and loyal to the cause for which they fought) have been found to resist, with the aid of very slight defences, all the efforts of a large and highly disciplined European force.
I have already stated, in the course of this narrative, the successive causes which combined to prevent Clive's return to Madras, after the fall of Chandernagore, and have afforded the reader ample materials to judge this question from the most authentic documents.
To deny to Clive the right of exercising his judgment amid the exigencies of the public service in which he was placed would be to deny him the means of consulting and promoting the interests and honour of his country. When he acted, as he did upon this occasion, against the positive and reiterated orders of the government of Madras, he did so under a deep and alarming responsibility: but in such extreme cases, the greater the hazard which an individual incurs the greater his merit, if he can establish that the public interests have been promoted by his conduct. The dangers which threatened the English settlements on the coast of Coromandel were great, but they were prospective, and the issue uncertain. The dangers at Bengal, had Clive abandoned the scene, were immediate; and even if we suppose that Calcutta had not been retaken by the resentful Suraj-u-Dowlah, aided by the party of French[169] who still remained, it was certain that all those impressions and advantages which had been gained by the combined efforts of Admiral Watson and Clive would have been lost, and future armaments required to restore the English in Bengal to that power from which they had fallen, and which was henceforth indispensable to their existence; for from the moment they had been compelled to undertake offensive operations against the native sovereign of the country their reverting to their former condition of merchants was impossible.
Such was the actual situation of affairs. The penetrating eye of Clive saw, at this moment, the future importance of Bengal; and though fully aware of the dangers that threatened Madras, rested, with a confidence that was not disappointed, upon the able civil and military officers[170] to whom its affairs were entrusted. He had no such consolatory feelings when he looked to those[171] on whom the chief authority must devolve at Calcutta; and the details which have been given fully prove the correctness of that judgment which he early formed upon a point so important in the decision of the question.
Orme ascribes Clive's disobedience to his "being convinced that the Nabob would never fulfil the terms of the treaty." The situation of this writer[172] gave him the completest means of forming a correct judgment; and the events which we have detailed fully prove, that from the day on which Chandernagore fell Clive could at no period have quitted the scene of action without an abandonment of the public interests. The facts already stated will also show that, as long as a hope existed of its practicability, he laboured to effect such a settlement as would enable him to return to Fort St. George.[173]
The next point on which the character and conduct of Clive have been arraigned, is the treatment of Omichund. The charges which have been brought against him on this ground are of a nature that require a clear understanding of the subject, which I shall endeavour to convey to the reader, that he may form his own opinion upon the whole question.
Omichund, who was a wealthy Hindu merchant, residing at Calcutta, was employed for some period in providing the Company's investment, and at the same time carried on large dealings on his own account; and was much connected, not only with Hindu merchants, but with the ministers of that religion at the court of Moorshedabad. The latter connection led to his occasional employment by the heads of the English factory, as a medium of communication with the ministry of the Nabob of Bengal.
The pre-eminence Omichund obtained, no doubt excited envy; and some of the accusations brought against him might have been fabricated; but a deterioration in the quality, and an increase of the price of the articles furnished by him to the Company, gave sufficient grounds to suspect some dishonest proceedings.
A new system[174] of providing the investment was adopted, and Omichund lost the profitable employ he had hitherto monopolized. Though fond of display, and maintaining a large establishment of followers, his ruling passion was avarice. The loss he sustained by this change rankled in his mind, and was believed to have rendered him personally hostile to those entrusted with the Company's affairs at Calcutta. He appears, as he withdrew from intercourse with them, to have laboured to strengthen his connexion with the Nabob's court, and to have contracted a particular intimacy with the Rajah Dullub, whose son Kishendass, when he came to reside at Calcutta, was received and treated by Omichund with kindness and hospitality.
Suraj-u-Dowlah had endeavoured to persuade his predecessor, Aliverdi Khan, that the English were plotting against him, and giving protection to his subjects. The moment he succeeded to the throne, he demanded that Kishendass should be delivered up; but the extraordinary mode in which this demand was made, through a man[175] who came clandestinely to Calcutta, and went first to Omichund's house, gave rise to a belief that this communication was part of an intrigue to re-establish the importance of the latter person. With such impressions, and having intercepted, after the commencement of hostilities, a letter from Ram Bam Sing (the Nabob's head spy) to Omichund, advising him to remove his effects from Calcutta, it is not surprising that the Committee should have suspected their former contractor to be one of the principal instigators of the attack with which the English settlement was threatened. A conviction of this fact led to his being seized, and imprisoned in the fort. His guest Kishendass, and his brother-in-law[176] Hazarimul, were also made prisoners: the search after the latter was attended with circumstances of violence, which led to the death of several of Omichund's family.
When Calcutta was taken, Omichund and Kishendass were released, and treated with civility by the Nabob; a circumstance which confirmed some in the belief of their treachery: but, as the former lost money and property to an amount of four lacs of rupees, it is sufficiently obvious that, though he might have stimulated the Nabob's anger against the English, he never could have desired results which involved his own ruin. But it is a common fate of such intriguers to raise the storm they cannot control, and by whose fury they themselves are overwhelmed.
The dismissal of Omichund from his employ as contractor for the investment, his imprisonment, and the cruel fate of part of his family, were circumstances calculated to have separated him for ever from any connection with the English: but all feelings and passions in his mind were absorbed by the desire of gain. To that object his abilities, which were considerable, were invariably and unceasingly directed. He had established himself, after Calcutta was taken, at the Nabob's court; first ingratiating himself with the favourite of that prince, Mohun Lal; and afterwards with Suraj-u-Dowlah himself. When Clive came to Calcutta, Omichund was the ready medium to aid in promoting peace, and had so far established himself in favour, that Mr. Watts, when he went to Moorshedabad, was permitted to employ him in his negotiations.
The object of Omichund was to stand so well with both parties as to make his profit of each, on the ground of his real or reputed influence with the other. There can be no doubt, from his character and the scenes in which he was employed, that he had recovered a great part of his losses before he prevailed upon the Nabob to direct, not only the restoration of his property, but the payment of four[177] lacs of rupees that had been plundered from his house at Calcutta. Suraj-u-Dowlah also gave him an order, commanding the Rajah of Purneah[178] to pay him a debt he had long owed him of four lacs and fifty thousand rupees.
Omichund, as has been shown, became an active agent in forming the confederacy against Suraj-u-Dowlah; and when possessed of the secrets of the different parties concerned, he threatened to reveal the whole plot, unless an article was introduced into the treaty, stipulating that he should receive thirty lacs of rupees on the enthronement of Meer Jaffier.
The enormity of this demand, great as it was, appears to have been viewed as a slight consideration in comparison to that of the time and manner in which it was made. It was the companion of the road watching his opportunity, and turning upon his fellow-traveller to threaten him with instant destruction unless he complied with all his demands. Few have endeavoured to excuse, or even to extenuate, the deep and daring guilt of Omichund; but many have questioned the fitness of the mode that was adopted to disappoint his avarice, and at the same time to avert the consequences of his threatened treachery.
Deceitful professions, promises, and engagements, which are adopted at a particular crisis to lull suspicion for the moment, can never be defended but in those extreme cases where, after confidence has been established, the violation of faith by one party enables him to take such advantage of the other as gives the latter no alternative except a counterplot, or submission to fraud and injustice. In such a case, the most scrupulous would find an excuse for the retaliation of deceit, provided it could be proved to be the only means of placing the parties on the footing upon which they stood before the aggressor broke faith, and, abusing the confidence placed in him, demanded terms of unreasonable and extravagant advantage. This appears to be the exact position in which Omichund stood. After vicissitudes of favour and disgrace, he had been restored to confidential employment, from which he had already derived great advantages. He must have been certain, had he continued faithful and honest, not only of recovering his losses, but of being liberally rewarded. Every consideration, however, of duty and of interest, gave way before a prospect of acquiring, by one well-timed and daring act of perfidy, great and sudden riches. "Secure to me, under a sealed treaty, thirty lacs of rupees, or I will this night inform the Nabob of your plot for his dethronement, and have you all put to death," was the direct emphatic meaning, if not exact words, of his speech to Mr. Watts. This is proved by three short notes written by that gentleman on the day the communication was made; by Clive's letters written the moment he learned what had passed; by the evidence of Mr. Sykes; and by the expedient which it was thought necessary to adopt, to disappoint his avarice and to guard against his treachery. Orme, describing the conduct of Omichund on this occasion, observes[179], "Grounded on his importance by knowing the secret, he held out the terror of betraying it to secure his own advantages. Whether he would have betrayed it is uncertain; for part of his fortune was in the power of the English, and he had the utmost vengeance of Jaffier and his confederates to fear. However, the experiment was not to be tried." The same author adds, "But, on the other hand, as his tales and artifices prevented Suraj-u-Dowlah from believing the representations of his most trusty servants, who early suspected, and at length were convinced, that the English were confederated with Jaffier, the twenty lacs of rupees he expected should have been paid to him, and he left to employ them in oblivion and contempt."
It was not twenty lacs of rupees, but thirty, that Omichund expected; for he was promised five per cent. upon the whole amount, independent of what was specified in the fictitious treaty. He had stipulated with a sword, or rather a dagger, in his hand, that he should receive this great sum, though his unpaid losses did not exceed two lacs. The distinct ground upon which he demanded the remainder was, his power to extort it: the very extent of the sum proved the extortion. If he had succeeded in his object, this subordinate agent would have received much more than double the amount of the sum fixed to be divided between the Governor, Military Commander, Select Committee, and Members of Council; and his share of the Nabob's donations would have been equal to two thirds of what had been stipulated as the reward of the services of the whole army and navy.
There is another view of this question to be taken, to which the circumstances of the moment gave great importance. The recently established influence and power of the English, compelled them to confide their public, as well as private, concerns, to native associates and agents: and, with reference to the ruling passions of the Hindus, we may affirm, that an example more likely to be detrimental to their future interests could not have occurred than a successful issue of the treachery of Omichund.
These considerations, however, relate only to the policy or impolicy of complying with his demand. We have now to examine the mode that was adopted to defeat its object; and here, it must be admitted, that of all modes by which his machinations could be defeated, a fictitious treaty appears the most seriously objectionable; but the alternative of complying with his demand, or of framing such a treaty, was forced upon the Committee of Calcutta. Omichund demanded that document as the condition of refraining from his threatened communication to the Nabob. No verbal promise could satisfy a person who was conscious of having broken every tie with those by whom he had been trusted. He demanded, therefore, what he thought the most sacred of all pledges that could be given; and it was obvious, that they must either comply with his request, deceive him with a false treaty, or vitiate the real one by the insertion of an article not meant to be performed.
It is here to be remarked, that Omichund was no party to the treaty. That treaty was contracted between the Committee at Calcutta and Meer Jaffier; and both these parties were agreeing to the fictitious treaty, which was prepared for the sole purpose of being shown to Omichund, to lull him into security till the hour of danger from his hostility was past. This distinction is important: for, though it does not clear the parties concerned of deliberate deceit towards an individual, it removes all imputation of their having brought a stain on the good faith of the State, by the substitution, to the party with whom they treated, of a false for a real engagement.
Clive was the person who proposed the expedient of a fictitious treaty; and his sentiments were unanimously adopted by the Committee.
Admiral Watson, it is stated, refused to sign this engagement; but it is at the same time affirmed, and apparently on undoubted testimony, that he offered no objection to the signature of his name[180] by another person. The Admiral had withheld himself from taking any active part in the scenes at Moorshedabad; and, in the proceeding towards Omichund, he probably conceived that he was not called upon, by that sense of necessity that influenced others, to lend his name to an act which must have been repugnant to the feelings even of those who deemed themselves compelled by duty to have recourse to such an artifice.
Orme, speaking of the difference which arose between Mr. Watts and Omichund, after explaining the grounds upon which he supposes the latter to have acted, observes, that if his demand had been realised, it would have been 650,000l. "The audacity of the pretension," he adds, "implied malignant art; but it is said he threatened to reveal the conspiracy to the Nabob, if not complied with. If so, the boldest iniquity could not have gone further."
I have already shown, that Omichund did threaten to inform the Nabob. Indeed, nothing but a conviction of his resolution to take that step unless his avarice was gratified, could possibly have called for the extreme measure which was adopted. The author already quoted gives a pathetic account of the effect which the communication of the deception had upon Omichund. He was, Mr. Orme states, overwhelmed by it at the moment, fainted on the spot, was carried home, evinced symptoms of a disturbed reason[181], and subsequently went upon a pilgrimage to a holy Hindu shrine near Maulda, whence he returned in a state of idiotism, from which he never recovered.
The story of the termination of Omichund's life is affecting, and must make an impression upon every well-constituted mind. We view with pity the effects which the sudden dissolution of his golden dreams had upon this wretched, though wealthy Hindu; but we cannot allow the feelings in which we indulge to subdue our judgment. While we give a tear to weak and suffering humanity, we must do justice to those who deemed themselves compelled by circumstances, and by the situation in which they were placed, to repress all private feeling, and even to incur obloquy, in the performance of their public duty. With such sentiments I cannot, like Mr. Mill[182], proclaim my sympathy and regret for this martyr to avarice; and stamp, with the term of "consummate treachery[183]," the expedient by which his exorbitant demands and wicked designs were disappointed and frustrated; far less can I admit the truth of the historian's remark, "That Clive was a person to whom deception, when it suited his purpose, never gave a pang." This general and sweeping assertion, far from being supported by any facts that have come to my knowledge[184], is contradicted by every evidence we possess, and is altogether contrary to the general character of his open and manly, but sensitive mind. I do not pretend to look into the hearts of men, and to pronounce dogmatically upon their inmost thoughts and feelings; but, in admitting that Clive, in the extraordinary situation in which he was placed, resisted art by art, and counteracted the treachery of the enemies of the Government he served, by deceiving them, I am satisfied, from all his own statements, as well as from those of others, that he had recourse to such an expedient only because he considered himself to be called upon to employ it, by the duty he owed to his country. He may, like other men, have erred, both in his objects and in the mode of their accomplishment; but I deem the whole history of his life, and, above all, the unbounded confidence we find placed in him, both by the natives of India and by his own countrymen, to be altogether incompatible with the truth of the charge, that he was a man "to whom deception, when it suited his purpose, never gave a pang."
The wealth Clive acquired by the revolution which placed Meer Jaffier upon the throne, excited envy at the moment, and became afterwards a subject of reproach, and even of accusation; I shall, therefore, offer a few observations upon the subject.
I have elsewhere[185] adverted to this point, and shown that Clive, in accordance with the usages of the Company's service in India, at that period, received presents, as Commander in Chief, to a very large amount. His acceptance of this reward (as it was termed) of his labours and success, was open and avowed; and, though subsequently made the subject of a charge against him, we do not find that at the time any one arraigned, either the amount of the donation, or the principle of receiving it. The fact is, that at that epoch of our Indian government, the public officers of the Company had very limited salaries: their perquisites and advantages, when employed on civil, military, or political stations, appear to have been such as had been enjoyed by native functionaries, performing the duties to which they, in times of conquest and revolution, had succeeded. These, on ordinary occasions, were derived from a per centage on particular branches of revenue, privileges of trade, or presents from inferiors, and were always considerable; but when such events occurred as negotiating a peace[186], or replacing a monarch upon a throne, the money, gifts, and territorial grants to the chief instruments of such changes, were limited only by the moderation of one party and the ability of the other.
Public servants[187], in receiving, instead of a regulated salary, the fees and profits which had been enjoyed by the natives to whose offices they had succeeded in newly-acquired territories, only followed the usage of the country; and they were sanctioned in it by their own Government. It suited the character of the Indian administration in England, and was altogether adapted to that of our first rule in India. That it was loose, undefined, and liable to great abuses, is admitted. The evils of such a system became manifest, and were remedied; but assuredly, while it continued, the public servant, who drew his emoluments from open and recognised sources, was no more blamable than some of the first men in England, who hold offices that continue to be paid by fees or fines, in the manner established by their ancestors.
Clive, independent of the share of the donation to the Select Committee, of which he was a member, was offered a present of sixteen lacs of rupees[188] by Meer Jaffier, after he had placed that prince on the throne; and he took it, as a boon which he deemed himself fully warranted in accepting. He acquired, on this occasion, as he stated, great wealth; but its acquisition injured no interests either of individuals or of the state he served; and did not, in the slightest degree, compromise the obligations of public duty; for the gift was unsolicited, free, and unconditional.
Of the sense Clive entertained of this transaction we have the best proof, not only in his private, but in his official letters, in which he announced this sudden and surprising influx of riches. In his letter, under date the 20th of August, 1757, to Mr. Mabbot, one of the principal Directors, after giving an account of the revolution he had effected, he adds, "I have the pleasure to acquaint you, that the greatest success at Golconda could not have equalled the present one for advantages, either to the Company or myself."—"Indeed," he concludes, "there is nothing but the good of the service can induce me to stay in this unhealthy climate." In all his letters to his attorneys, to his friends and relatives, we find the amount of this donation represented as great; and he distinctly states in one letter, that he had no desire whatever to conceal the Nabob's liberality, which he thought was as honourable to that prince as to himself. There is, however, no document which more fully establishes the character of this donation, and the view that he took of it, than his letter to Mr. Payne, of the 25th of December, 1757. After alluding to the envy which his good fortune had excited, he observes, "The Nabob, of his own free will, for the service rendered him, made me a present much beyond my expectations; part of which I bestowed on those immediately about me, and one or two of the principal officers. I never made the least secret of this affair, but always thought the world ought to be acquainted with the Nabob's generosity. If I had been disposed to grow rich by receiving presents from any other hands but those of the Nabob, surely no one had ever the like opportunity; but there is not that man living, among the daily temptations which offered, who can accuse me of receiving any thing of value but from the Nabob himself. I have troubled you with these particulars," he concludes, "because among some it may be considered as a crime my being rich. If it be a crime, you, Sir, are truly acquainted with the nature of it."
The Court of Directors, in their letter to the Select Committee at Bengal, dated the 8th of March, 1758, fully recognise the usage upon which presents were at that period given and received by their public servants. After stating their decision that the surplus of the sums received, after the reimbursement of losses, should be deposited in the Company's treasury, they add, "We do not intend, by this, to break in upon any sums of money which have been given by the Nabob to particular persons, by way of free gift, or in reward of their services." In the subsequent changes in the Direction, a more hostile spirit arose against Clive; and, among other accusations, one grounded on his acquisition of wealth by this present, and by the subsequent grant of a jaghire (or estate), was brought forward. To this charge we find an animated reply in his well-known letter to the Court of Proprietors. "The Nabob, then," Clive writes, "agreeable to the known and usual custom of Eastern princes, made presents, both to those of his own court, and to such of the English who, by their rank and abilities, had been instrumental in the happy success of so hazardous an enterprise, suitable to the rank and dignity of a great prince. I was one, amongst the many, who benefited by his favour. I never sought to conceal it; but declared publicly, in my letter to the Secret Committee of the India Directors, that the Nabob's generosity had made my fortune easy, and the Company's welfare was now my only motive for staying in India. What injustice was this to the Company? They could expect no more than what was stipulated in the treaty. Or, what injunction was I under to refuse a present from him, who had the power to make me one, as the reward of honourable services? I know of none. I had surely, myself, a particular claim, by having devoted myself to the Company's military service, and neglected all commercial advantages. What reason can then be given, or what pretence could the Company have to expect, that I, after having risked my life so often in their service, should deny myself the only honourable opportunity that ever offered of acquiring a fortune without prejudice to them, who, it is evident, could not have had more for my having less? When the Company had acquired 1,500,000l. sterling, and a revenue of near 100,000l. per annum, from the success of their forces under my command,—when ample restoration had been made to those whose fortunes suffered by the calamity of Calcutta,—and when individuals had, in consequence of that success, acquired large estates,—what would the world have said, had I come home and rested upon the generosity of the present Court of Directors? It is well known to every gentleman in Bengal, that the honour of my country and the interest of the Company were the principles that governed all my actions; and that had I only taken the advantageous opportunities that presented themselves, by my being Commander-in-chief, at the head of a victorious army, and what by the custom of that country I was entitled to, the jaghire itself, great as it is, would have been an object scarce worthy my consideration. The city of Moorshedabad is as extensive, populous, and rich as the city of London; with this difference, that there are individuals in the first possessing infinitely greater property than any in the last city. These, as well as every other man of property, made me the greatest offers, (which, nevertheless, are usual upon such occasions, and what they expected would have been required,) and had I accepted these offers I might have been in possession of millions, of which the present Court of Directors could not have dispossessed me; but preferring the reputation of the English nation, the interest of the Nabob, and the advantage of the Company, to all pecuniary considerations, I refused all offers that were made me, not only then, but to the last hour of my continuance in the Company's service in Bengal; and do challenge friend or enemy to bring one single instance of my being influenced by interested motives to the Company's disadvantage; or to do any act that could reflect dishonour on my country or the Company in any one action of my administration, either as governor or commanding officer."
That Clive was far from being influenced by sordid motives was never more clearly proved than during the period of which this chapter treats. While it was yet thought a settlement might be effected with Suraj-u-Dowlah, an offer had been made to pay the amount of 3500l., which he had personally lost at the capture of Calcutta. His reply to this communication was short, but conclusive: "Pray think no more of my losses," he states in a letter to Mr. Scrafton; "I would not be thought mercenary or selfish for the world."
His liberal behaviour toward Admiral Watson has been noticed. On this occasion, and on several others[189], he chose rather to diminish the amount of his own portion than allow further demands upon the Nabob. Of his great generosity to his family and friends I shall speak hereafter. Those who desire to detract from his title to praise for such conduct, on the ground of his wealth, are little acquainted with the effect that riches usually have upon men possessing less liberal minds; in whom they oftener generate a spirit of cupidity than a desire, such as Clive felt, to dispense to others the relief and blessings they can afford.
I have it in my power to add a remarkable testimony to show the circumstances under which Clive acted upon the occasion to which I have alluded.
A highly respectable gentleman, long resident in Suffolk, who had filled official stations in India, a few years ago addressed a letter to the present Lord Powis; in which, after stating facts that will be hereafter noticed, he informs his Lordship that it being known he was on personal grounds discontented with his father, he was summoned, in 1773, as an evidence before the Committee of the House of Commons who investigated the charges against him: "I of course attended," he observes, "but was far from being inimically disposed to his Lordship; and never can I forget what passed at the Committee on that day. Governor Johnstone, after some deliberation, suddenly rose, and with apparent exultation observed, 'It was now sufficiently proved on the proceedings, that his Lordship had received upwards of 100,000l. soon after the battle of Plassey;' when Lord Clive, rising from his seat, calmly replied, that 'If any gentleman of the Committee had privately asked him if that charge was true, he should have frankly acknowledged to him that he had received a much larger sum;' adding, 'but when I recollect entering the Nabob's treasury at Moorshedabad, with heaps of gold and silver to the right and left, and these crowned with jewels,' striking his hand violently on his head, 'by God, at this moment, do I stand astonished at my own moderation.'"
A guilty mind seeks concealment. Such, evidently, was not the object of Clive on this or any other occasion of his life; and those, even, who condemn his actions, must acknowledge that they were grounded upon a complete conviction in his own mind that they were not only defensible, but consistent with his principles of honour as a gentleman, and with those of his duty as a public servant.
I have, in this chapter, stated, with much freedom, my difference of opinion from Mr. Mill, on some points connected with the revolution at Moorshedabad; I have great pleasure, however, in referring to his subsequent general remarks on this subject.
The chairman of the Select Committee of the House of Commons of 1773, when he brought up its report, made a motion, that the House should inquire into the circumstances of the death and deposition of Suraj-u-Dowlah, the fictitious treaty, and other matters which took place on the elevation of Meer Jaffier. This was rejected, on the plea of the reports of the Committee not being evidence. Mr. Mill deems this ground of rejection a "subterfuge of the nature of a legal shuffle:"—"but there were other considerations," he states, "to which the House never adverted, which fairly recommended the rejection, or at least a very great modification, of the penal proceeding; that the punishment threatened was more grievous than the offence; that it was punishment by an ex-post-facto law, because, however contrary to the principles of right government the presents received from Meer Jaffier, and however odious to the moral sense the deception practised upon Omichund, there was no law at the time which forbid them; that the presents, how contrary soever to European morals and ideas, were perfectly correspondent to those of the country in which they were received, and to the expectations of the parties by whom they were bestowed; that the treachery to Omichund was countenanced and palliated by some of the principles and many of the admired incidents of European diplomacy; that Clive, though never inattentive to his own interests, was actuated by a sincere desire to promote the prosperity of the Company, and appears not, in any instance, to have sacrificed what he regarded as their interests to his own; and that it would have required an extraordinary man, which no one ought to be punished for not being, to have acted, in that most trying situation in which he was placed, with greater disinterestedness than he displayed."[190]