The Life of Robert, Lord Clive, Vol. 2 (of 3) / Collected from the Family Papers Communicated by the Earl of Powis

by John Malcolm

CHAP. XII.

Clive remained in his native country between three and four years; and it will be proper briefly to narrate the events of his private life during this period, to notice the part he took in the political transactions of the times, and the connections he formed with persons of power and influence, whether in the direction of Indian affairs, or of the more general interests of the British empire. The knowledge of such facts, connected as they became with his future career, is quite essential to our subject.

The constitution of Clive had never been robust. He had been, for the last two years in Bengal, freer than usual from the attacks of a spasmodic complaint, to which he appears to have been more or less subject from his earliest years. In 1759 he had a very violent attack of rheumatism, and feared, at one time, that it might settle into gout; but this apprehension vanished; and when he embarked at Calcutta he describes himself as in excellent health.

When Clive reached England, he was received with distinction by his Sovereign and the members of the administration; and, notwithstanding the deep offence taken at his last public despatch, the Court of Directors, and particularly their Chairman, Mr. Sulivan, welcomed him as one to whom the Company were deeply indebted. The enjoyment, however, of those flattering attentions was early interrupted by a violent and dangerous illness, which for many months threatened to terminate his existence.

Clive was not, for some time after his arrival, honoured by any public mark of royal favour. This seems to have arisen from two causes: one, his very long and serious illness; the other, his desire to obtain more than the ministers were willing to grant. He, probably, at first expected to enter the British House of Peers, and to have a red riband; but, after a considerable delay, he received only an Irish peerage.

In writing[^[154]] to his friend Major Carnac upon this subject, he observes; "If health had not deserted me on my first arrival in England, in all probability I had been an English peer, instead of an Irish one, with the promise of a red riband. I know I could have bought the title (which is usual), but that I was above, and the honours I have obtained are free and voluntary. My wishes may hereafter be accomplished."

Clive had assumed a scale of expenditure suited to his income. He engaged in elections to aid his friends in the administration, and to give him the influence he desired in the prosecution of his plans for his own advancement, and the furtherance of those which he thought essential to the prosperity and security of the Indian empire. The expenses into which he was early led, combined with his liberality to his family, amounted to a very large sum[^[155]]; and we can easily conceive the alarm with which he received, while yet on a sick bed, an intimation from Mr. Sulivan, that the Directors showed an inclination to question his title to his jaghire.

He strongly and feelingly expresses his sentiments upon this subject in a letter to Mr. Amyatt; "My arrival in England," he observes[^[156]], "was attended with every mark of respect that I could wish, and my interest in Leadenhall Street might have been of as much consequence as I could have desired, for the advantage of my friends; but a most severe fit of sickness overset all. For twelve months it was difficult to pronounce whether I was to live or die. In so dreadful a situation, I could not think much of India, or indeed of any thing else but death. It is very natural to think, the interest of a dying man could not be very great. Under these circumstances, I had hints given me that either some attempts would be made upon my jaghire, or some proposal made for giving it up to the Company after a certain time, on a supposition, perhaps, that I had not long to live. Accordingly I was given to understand by Sulivan, that the gentlemen of the Secret Committee would wait upon me on this subject. But health returning, this proposal was dropt, and I have heard nothing more of it since. Although I have such an interest at Court and in Parliament, that I should not be afraid of an attack from the whole Court of Directors united, yet all my friends advise me I should do nothing to exasperate them, if they are silent as to my jaghire. Indeed it is an object of such importance, that I should be inexcusable if I did not make every other consideration give way to it; and this is one of the reasons why I cannot join openly with the Bengal gentlemen in their resentments. It depends upon you, my friend, to make me a free man, by getting this grant confirmed from Delhi, and getting such acknowledgment from under the hands of the old Nabob, and the present Nabob, as may enable me to put all our enemies at defiance. In this, I am sure, you will be assisted by Vansittart."

The account of the deposition of Meer Jaffier, and the election of Cossim Ali Khan, which had been planned by Mr. Holwell immediately after Clive left Calcutta, will occupy the next chapter. I only so far notice this revolution at present, as to state its effect on Clive's private feelings; as it divided and rendered irreconcilable enemies the friends in India whom he most valued. Though he deplored the revolution, and anticipated its bad consequences to the reputation of the English Government, he believed Mr. Vansittart to have been both disinterested and conscientious in the part he took; and with this impression, while he admitted the manly sincerity and honourable principles which dictated the violent opposition of his friend Major Carnac, he decidedly blamed the warmth and want of respect with which he had addressed his superiors on this subject. Mr. Amyatt was much respected by Clive both for his talents and integrity. He wished him to succeed Mr. Vansittart in the Government, and was unwilling that his services should be lost by his continued opposition, grounded on a measure which, as Clive truly stated, however much to be regretted, was now past and could not be recalled.

With such sentiments, Clive endeavoured to reconcile his friends to each other. His efforts were not successful: but it is a remarkable testimony to his personal character, that, during this period of violent collision between the parties in Bengal, every individual engaged in the contest referred to him, as to one on whose honour and judgment they had implicit reliance; and his more particular friends, though opposed on all other points, appear to have united whenever his interests were concerned.

To understand the motives which induced Clive to take an active part in the affairs of the India House, it is necessary to explain the actual condition of the different parties who at this period took a share in the management of the Company's concerns.

The legislature had not as yet directly interfered in the administration of our Eastern possessions; but ministers and men of high rank and influence had, nevertheless, great power and weight, both in the Court of Directors and in the Court of Proprietors. This, however, appears to have been seldom if ever exerted but to serve individuals, and to have been more maintained to promote parliamentary influence, and as a means of rewarding and attaching friends, than with any view to the benefit of the public interests of either the Indian or the British empire.

Mr. Sulivan, as has been mentioned before, had attained an ascendency in the direction, of which he was in complete possession when Clive came to England. But though he had a majority of the Directors with him, he had many and virulent opponents among the Proprietors. The most prominent of these were gentlemen who had been in Bengal, who considered themselves injured by the frequent supersession of the servants of that presidency by those of Madras and Bombay, to which they considered Mr. Sulivan more attached, and particularly to the latter.

Though Mr. Sulivan, as has been shown, professed great admiration of Clive, and was much indebted to him for the station he had attained in the direction, he appears to have early regarded him as a dangerous rival. It is certainly to be concluded from what subsequently took place, that the intimation regarding his jaghire was meant to repress the ambition of Clive, as connected with Indian affairs; and for a period it had the desired effect. This we learn from several of his private letters. In one, to Mr. Pybus at Madras, he makes the following observations on this subject[^[157]]:—

"The Court of Directors seem to be much in the same situation as when you left England. Sulivan is the reigning director, and he follows the same plan of keeping every one out of the direction who is endowed with more knowledge, or would be likely to have more weight and influence, than himself. This kind of political behaviour has exasperated most of the gentlemen who are lately come from India, particularly those from Bengal. They are surprised I do not join in their resentments; and I should think it very surprising if I did, considering I have such an immense stake in India. My future power, my future grandeur, all depend upon the receipt of the jaghire money. I should be a madman to set at defiance those who at present show no inclination to hurt me. I have so far fallen into their way of thinking, as to preside at a general meeting of a club of East Indians once a fortnight; and this has all the effect I could wish, of keeping Sulivan in awe, and of convincing him, that, though I do not mean to hurt him, I can do such a thing if he attempts to hurt me. Indeed I am so strongly supported by the Government and by Parliament, that I should not be afraid of an attack from the whole body united; but there is no necessity of wantonly exciting them to attempts against my interest."

Clive, soon after he recovered from his illness, appears to have established himself in great favour at Court; and the Queen stood godmother to one of his children. These marks of royal favour, and his connection with the administration, combined with his known opinion that the British legislature ought to take a share in the management of the national interests in India, tended much to increase Mr. Sulivan's jealousy, and to alarm his ambition. His feelings, indeed, for some time remained dormant; but from the first day of Clive's landing in England there existed no cordiality between them. That no rupture ensued during this period, is, in some degree, to be attributed to Mr. Sulivan being in 1762 out of the direction by rotation. Before next general election, circumstances occurred which decided Clive in the determination to combine his interests with those of the great majority of Indians[^[158]], to oppose this autocrat of the India House.

We find, in one of Clive's letters[^[159]] to Mr. Vansittart, what I believe to be an honest statement of his feelings at the period at which it was written; and it sufficiently indicates the part he afterwards took to prevent the re-election of Mr. Sulivan.

"There is," he observes, "a terrible storm brewing against the next general election. Sulivan, who is out of the direction this year, is strongly opposed by Rous and his party, and by part, if not all, of the East Indians (particularly the Bengalees), and matters are carried to such lengths, that either Sulivan or Rous must give way. * * * * * * I must acknowledge that in my heart I am a well-wisher for the cause of Rous, although, considering the great stake I have in India, it is probable I shall remain neuter. Sulivan might have attached me to his interest if he had pleased, but he could never forgive the Bengal letter[^[160]], and never has reposed that confidence in me which my services to the East India Company entitled me to. The consequence has been, that we have all along behaved to one another like shy cocks, at times outwardly expressing great regard and friendship for each other."

The appearance even of friendship could not long continue between individuals actuated by such different interests and feelings. Lord Clive was the first to avow openly his real sentiments; but, according to his own statement, he had the completest proof that Mr. Sulivan was the secret abetter of those who sought to ruin him both in fortune and fame; and he ascribed to the encouragement of that gentleman the numerous articles which appeared in the newspapers and other ephemeral publications, traducing his character. This belief was confirmed by a knowledge that the personal efforts of the ex-chairman were unremittingly applied to exalt the name of Coote to a rivalry with that of Clive. But what appears to have exasperated him in the highest degree was the production of a letter[^[161]] which Mr. Sulivan had written to his friend Colonel Coote, in March, 1761, in which, when remarking upon some disputes that the Colonel had with the government at Madras, he observes; "The behaviour of the then Bengal gentlemen to you being similar to their treatment of their masters, it puts an end to all reasoning. Still your detention at Madras verifies that reflection of Pope upon human foresight, 'Whatever is, is best;' and how much are we indebted to Providence for this disobedience to our orders. Your country and your friend share the honour of your masterly and prosperous conduct."

In the same letter, when referring more immediately to Colonel Coote's quarrel[^[162]] with the gentlemen of Fort St. George, Mr. Sulivan adds:—

"Our people at Madras, we find, are hot-headed, but they are able, generous, and open. I can smother their rebukes; but the ungrateful wretches, late of Bengal, have hurt my temper. I pray keep up a friendly correspondence with General Lawrence,—he is great and good. I adore him for his distinguished and noble spirit."

The allusions in the latter paragraph of this letter were too plainly directed against Clive to be mistaken; and considering that, at the period when it was written, Mr. Sulivan was on professed good terms with him, he deemed the expression of such sentiments unpardonable. But, on the other hand, it might have been urged by Mr. Sulivan's friends, that these sentiments, though brought to light by some breach of confidence, were meant only for a private friend, and that there could be no breach of friendship where none existed; that Lord Clive and Mr. Sulivan belonged to different parties in politics; that their personal connections and views, particularly as connected with the Indian administration in England, were opposed to each other; and that, if Mr. Sulivan had been led by considerations of interest to preserve outward terms of cordiality with Lord Clive, his Lordship had been alone restrained from attacking him by similar prudential considerations.

Amid the causes which tended to hasten a rupture between these individuals, we must not omit the irritation produced by their difference of opinion as to the merits and claims of the Company's servants in India. Clive was the bold and persevering advocate of all those who had gained and merited his friendship by the aid they gave him in the performance of their public duties. Several of his recommendations to Mr. Sulivan met with attention; but others were treated with slight or delay. I have already mentioned Clive's feeling respecting Colonel Forde. However great the claims of that officer, the more recent successes of his rival, Colonel Coote, had fully justified those who furthered his promotion in England; but Major Carnac had distinguished himself in Bengal by the defeat of the Shah-Zada, the surrender of that prince, and the capture of M. Law and the French who were attached to him. These services, Clive thought, gave him a claim to a superior commission. He was also very anxious to obtain a majority for Captain Knox, who, independent of his services under him, had, on several late occasions[^[163]], established a reputation for skill and gallantry, superior to any one of his standing in India.

At this period it was not uncommon to give superior commissions to those who greatly distinguished themselves. Clive was the advocate of a system, which, considering the actual state of the service, he thought indispensable to reward and encourage men of talent and enterprise. Mr. Sulivan, though he did not deny the merits of the persons brought to his notice by Clive, appears to have been very reluctant to promote them, at the hazard of creating discontent to others. He was, like other members of the Court of Directors at that period, prompt to attend to the frequent appeals made to them against the local government; and such appeals were usually from those who had no pretensions to preferment but that of seniority, and who were often persons quite unfitted, by their habits and character, for the delicate and arduous duties which, at this period, devolved upon officers intrusted with high military command. Clive, by his notes in answer to the Chairman on these points, appears to have been very impatient of the general reasoning with which his applications were answered. He conscientiously felt, in supporting those he brought forward, that he acted from no motive but that of the public good; he saw that by such maxims our Indian empire never would have been gained; and he was quite satisfied that the system which Mr. Sulivan desired to establish, of directing the attention of the civil and military servants in India to the government in England, was calculated to subvert all authority in the local administration, and, in its results, to distract, weaken, and distress our yet infant empire in the East. Sulivan's were the principles of the head of a commercial company; Clive's those of the founder and sustainer of an empire.

To understand all the motives which influenced Clive's conduct at this period, it is necessary to advert to the changes in the British administration, and especially, in so far as these affected the individuals with whom he was most intimately connected.

The personal influence exercised by Lord Bute over the mind of his young sovereign counteracted the wise and vigorous measures of Pitt; who, on being thwarted in his design of anticipating the hostile intentions of Spain, retired with his friends from the cabinet.[^[164]] Aware of the great popularity of his predecessor, Lord Bute (who succeeded Mr. Pitt) tried every effort to increase the number of his adherents. Amongst others, Clive was courted to give his support to the new administration. His fame, his wealth, and the votes he commanded, gave importance to his aid; and the terms offered him were alike tempting to his ambition and interests: but his respect for the integrity and great talents of Mr. Pitt had been increased by personal acquaintance[^[165]], and he cherished the sincerest attachment to Mr. George Grenville, who, on Pitt's retirement, had resigned his situation as Treasurer of the Navy. Besides these personal considerations, the measures of Mr. Pitt were congenial with every sentiment of his mind; and he augured no benefit to the nation from the less energetic character of his successor, whose avowed eagerness for peace (he anticipated) would prevent its being concluded on such favourable terms as the successes of the war gave grounds to expect.

Governed by these motives, Clive rejected the overtures of Lord Bute. He states the grounds of his conduct in a letter to Major Carnac, written a month after the change of ministers occurred.

"Now that we are to have peace abroad," he observes[^[166]], "war is commencing at home amongst ourselves. There is to be a most violent contest, at the meeting of Parliament, whether Bute or Newcastle is to govern this kingdom; and the times are so critical that every member has an opportunity of fixing a price upon his services. I still continue to be one of those unfashionable kind of people who think very highly of independency, and to bless my stars, indulgent fortune has enabled me to act according to my conscience. Being very lately asked, by authority, if I had any honours to ask from my sovereign, my answer was, that I thought it dishonourable to take advantage of the times; but that when these parliamentary disputes were at an end, if his Majesty should then approve of my conduct by rewarding it, I should think myself highly honoured in receiving any marks of the royal favour."

When the treaty of peace between France and England was in the course of negotiation, the opinion of Bussy[^[167]] was taken on all points connected with the interests of his nation in India. No similar reference appears to have been made to Clive, whose knowledge far exceeded that of every other individual, on this important subject. But he was too earnest in his desire to promote the future peace of India to allow any party motives to prevent his offering every information that could aid ministers in that part of the negotiation which related to our Eastern possessions; he transmitted, therefore, a memorial to Lord Bute.

In this memorial Clive stated, that it was not now more than fifteen years since the European nations, who had established factories in India, were as much regulated and controlled in their concerns by the native governments as the natives themselves. To the extortions to which this exposed them, to the expense of their establishments, and to the decrease in value in the Indian manufactures, he attributes the disappointment of the expectations originally formed of great profits from this trade. Dupleix (he observes), on the ground that commerce alone must, under such circumstances, be a losing concern, suggested to his government the policy of making conquests in India; territorial revenue being, in his opinion, the only source by which a European nation could derive wealth from that country.

"Acting upon the principles he recommended," to use the words of the memorial, "Dupleix engaged in the contentions of the princes of the country, and had, at one time, in a great measure, obtained his aim. There remained nothing to complete it but the expulsion of the English out of Hindustan. We were at that time wholly attached to mercantile ideas; but undoubted proof of M. Dupleix's projects obliged us to draw the sword, and our successes have been so great that we have accomplished for ourselves, and against the French, exactly every thing that the French intended to accomplish for themselves and against us."

After stating these facts, Clive proceeds to detail, in this memorial, the extent to which concessions may be made at a general peace. He expresses great anxiety that the French should, if possible, be limited as to the number of men they are to maintain upon the coast of Coromandel; but, under every circumstance, he is strenuous against their re-admission to Bengal, except as merchants.

Lord Bute expressed his obligations to Lord Clive for this communication.

"I have received[^[168]]," he states, "your Lordship's letter, and the paper accompanying it, in which you have offered your sentiments on the interests of this country with respect to our possessions in the East Indies, in a very clear and masterly manner. The lights you have thrown on the subject could not fail of being acceptable to me. I return your Lordship thanks, therefore, for the communication; and you may be assured that I will make a proper use of them."

Every attention possible was given to Clive's suggestions; and by the definitive treaty of peace, concluded in February, 1763, the French government agreed not to maintain any troops in Bengal, or in the northern circars. These were the chief objects to which he had directed the attention of Lord Bute; but that minister (consulting only his friend Mr. Sulivan, and the Directors) had inserted an article into the preliminary treaty, by which the recognition, by the French, of the title of Mahommed Ali Khan, as Nabob of the Carnatic, was obtained by the English recognising the title of the ally of the French, Salabut Jung, as Subahdar of the Deckan. Nothing could be more preposterous than this guarantee (for to such it amounted) of the title of two Indian princes standing in the relations the Subahdar of the Deckan and the Nabob of Arcot did to each other, and to their European allies. Besides, Salabut Jung had for some years ceased to be the ally of the French, and was the ally of the English Government.

Clive, it would appear from the documents in my possession, only heard by accident of this extraordinary article. He hastened to Mr. Wood, the Under Secretary of State, whom he soon convinced of the embarrassment and danger it might produce. Lord Bute being also satisfied by his reasoning, it was, in forming the definitive treaty, so altered and amended, that (as I have elsewhere remarked) it might have remained innoxious, "had it not been subsequently converted by his Majesty's ministers into a pretext for one of the most unjustifiable and mischievous acts[^[169]] of interference with the powers of the Company that is to be found on the page of Indian history."

Clive was dissatisfied with the peace, and voted in the minority that condemned that measure. His having come forward, under such circumstances, to give his aid in improving the treaty, as far as the interests of the Company were concerned, greatly increased his popularity with the proprietors. He continued in opposition, though to the sacrifice of his personal interests; nor was his conduct, on this occasion, dictated by any hope of Mr. Pitt's restoration to power. He evidently thought that great statesman had, by his own acts, barred himself from all chance of future employment.

Writing to Mr. Vansittart, Clive observes[^[170]]; "Mr. Pitt, notwithstanding his great abilities and the many eminent services he has rendered this nation, has become the most odious man living to the King, nobility, and both parliaments. The King can never forgive him that unfortunate visit to the city on the Lord Mayor's day, his popularity was such, that it seemed as if King William instead of King George had been invited to that grand entertainment. As to the Privy Council, he has honoured them in Parliament with the names of state cowards and political misers. In short, his whole interest in Parliament is lost, and it is very improbable, if not impossible, he should ever come into employment again."

Ministers, unable to gain Clive, desired to give him every annoyance, and by diminishing his wealth and reputation, to lessen his influence. Lord Bute was Mr. Sulivan's friend and patron; and the latter was a willing leader in this attack. The measures taken by his opponents satisfied Clive that he had no means of supporting his own interests but by a successful opposition to Mr. Sulivan at the ensuing general election at the India House.

The share of stock, which at this period, entitled a proprietor to vote, was 500l.; and though it was supposed to be the bonâ fide property of the individual who voted, the law was not so strict but what it could be avoided; and there is abundant evidence in the papers before me, that, in these annual contests for the administration, all parties "split votes" (as it was termed) to a very great extent.

Lord Clive, in the election of 1763, mentions his having employed 100,000l. in this manner; and we find in the following season, when his friends (after he had left England) so far triumphed over Mr. Sulivan as to bring Mr. Rous into the chair, that a bill[^[171]] was brought into the House of Commons, and ultimately carried, by which the proprietor was compelled to swear, not only that the stock was bonâ fide his property, but that it had been in his possession a twelvemonth. This measure put an end (as was intended) to a practice, which, from being general, had ceased to be a reproach to individuals; and which, when resorted to by one party, left the other no option but following a bad example[^[172]], or submitting to defeat.

Clive engaged in the contest at the general election at the India House with all the ardour which belonged to his character. His first intention appears to have been limited to the support of Mr. Rous; but I am led to conclude, from a few papers still preserved upon this subject, that he came forward personally as a candidate.

In a letter to Mr. Vansittart[^[173]], adverting to what passed at a numerous meeting of the proprietors, he observes:—

"That tremendous day[^[174]] is over. I need not be particular about it; you will have it from many hands. I should imagine there were present not less than eight hundred proprietors. Numbers of neutral people went off; and no small number of our friends, thinking our majority so great, that there was no occasion for their presence. Indeed, upon the holding up of hands, I thought we were at least two to one. This is really a great victory, considering we had the united strength of the whole ministry against us.

"Our cause gains ground daily, I should think we shall be stronger at the election than we were in the General Court. However, this time only can show, and I do not choose to be very sanguine, our opponents being very active."

In a subsequent part of the same letter, anticipating success as certain, he enters into particulars as to the share he proposed to take in the affairs of the Company, and the arrangements he hoped to be able to carry into effect. It is a relief, when accompanying him into such scenes, to have the proof which this letter affords, that the expectation of being better able to promote the interests and strengthen the empire of India, was the leading motive which induced him to seek a station, which he may deem it most fortunate for himself and the interest of his country that he failed in attaining.

"If we should succeed," he adds in the letter before quoted, "I have no thought of ever accepting the Chair; I have neither application, knowledge, nor time, to undertake so laborious an employ. I shall confine myself to the political and military operations; and I think I may promise, you shall have a very large military force in India, such a force as will leave little to apprehend from our enemies in those parts. I propose having all the troops regimented; that there shall be kept up at Bengal three battalions of infantry, consisting of seven hundred and eighty men each battalion, and three companies of artillery, and four battalions of sepoys; the same at Fort St. George. A much less number will serve for Bombay. But more of this by the latter ships, when we see the event of the thing."

From letters addressed to his friends in India, during the first two years of his residence in England, it may be inferred that Clive, on his return to his native country, had no intention whatever of involving himself so deeply with the parties at the India House, and for some time he had little intercourse with any of the Directors.

"The situation I am in at present," he observes in a letter to Mr. Lushington[^[175]], "and the part of the town where I now reside, seldom gives me an opportunity of seeing any of the Directors, to whom I have been very sparing of applications, since I do not like refusals."

From this and other facts we may collect that the desire to repel attack, on one hand, and the zeal and confidence of friends, on the other, hurried him into the contest in which he became engaged. His cause was warmly espoused by many noblemen and gentlemen of the first respectability. Almost all those who had served in India were of his party, and brought with them their friends and connections. These classes of proprietors were all-powerful at the quarterly meetings of the General Court; but when Directors were balloted for, the election was chiefly decided by persons in different walks of life, many of whom seldom, if ever, attended those Courts; but, having bought stock, either as a good investment of capital, or as the means of establishing an influence with the Directors, or with Administration, they gave their votes at elections as suited their respective interests. Mr. Sulivan had in his favour a great majority of the Directors, and he was actively supported by ministers; his strength was consequently great with this class of voters, and with persons employed in England by the Company, and the officers and dependents of Government. He numbered also, among his friends, many of the merchants and tradesmen in the city, and nearly the whole of the ship-owners and others connected with the trade to India.

No election ever excited more interest than that now pending. Each party summoned all its forces; but Clive was destined to sustain his first defeat in a contest, in which we cannot but regret he should ever have engaged. His victorious opponents lost no time in making him feel the full weight of their resentment.

It has been already stated that Clive received his jaghire in 1759: the grounds upon which it had been granted and accepted were, at that period, placed upon the records of Government. He had enjoyed it four years; receiving, annually, its amount from the Company. Immediately after his return to England an intimation was conveyed to him, by Mr. Sulivan, that the Secret Committee of the Directors desired to communicate with him regarding this grant. He expressed his willingness to meet them, and enter into any explanation; and, considering the jaghire only as a life-rent, he was disposed to meet any fair arrangement that could be suggested; but the subject had not been re-agitated. Three years had passed, and his revenue from this source was regularly paid by the Bengal Government to his agents in Calcutta. Under such circumstances, whatever he might have apprehended from the hostility of Mr. Sulivan, whom he had certainly provoked by an open and determined opposition, he could not but be astonished to hear that the first step the Directors took, after the election of 1763, was to transmit orders to the Bengal Government to stop all further payments on account of Lord Clive's jaghire, and to furnish them with an account of all sums which had been paid to that nobleman and his attornies since the date of the grant.

I find, among the MSS. in my possession, a short narrative of the progress of this transaction, which presents, in a very compressed form, a series of facts, a knowledge of which is quite essential to the clear understanding of this question; I shall therefore give them in the words of the writer.[^[176]]

"By the ninth article of the treaty between the Company and Meer Jaffier, at the time of the revolution in 1757, certain lands to the south of Calcutta were ceded to the Company as perpetual renters, the Nabob reserving to himself the lordship and quit-rents, which amounted to near 30,000l. yearly; and the Company could never be legally dispossessed so long as they continued to pay that quit-rent. The Company farmed out these ceded lands for above 100,000l. a year, and paid the quit-rent regularly to the Nabob till the year 1759, when the Nabob, in consideration of the great services rendered him by Lord Clive, assigned over to his Lordship, for life, that quit-rent. The assignment passed through all the forms usual in the country; and Lord Clive became grantee of the rent, under the same authority, precisely, as the East India Company had become grantee of the lands. From this period the rent was duly paid to Lord Clive, instead of to the Nabob; nor was there any intermission of the payment until differences arose between the noble Lord and Mr. Sulivan. It was intimated to his Lordship that some scruples were entertained concerning any further payment; and Mr. Sulivan himself, at last informed him, that the Court of Directors were of opinion it ought to be retained for the Company's use. Lord Clive replied, that he was entitled to it as well by the laws of England as by the laws of India; that his right to the reserved rent was established upon the same authority as the Company's right to the ceded lands; that he was, notwithstanding, ready to concur in its devolving to the Company after he should have enjoyed the possession of it a reasonable number of years; and that he was desirous of a conference with the Court of Directors upon the subject, any day they might be pleased to appoint.

"It might have been imagined that the Court of Directors, if they had no other objects upon this occasion than the honour and interest of the Company and justice to an individual, would have paid some attention to an acquiescence of this nature. But their resolution, under the influence of their leader, was to resent the offence given them by the noble Lord in the attempt he was meditating against their power; and this was to be done, not by entering into the discussion of any terms of accommodation, in which each party, contending for the right above mentioned, might have met, but by putting an immediate stop to the payment of the jaghire, and leaving upon his Lordship the difficulties and vexation of recovering his property by a suit at law.

"There was, however, another secret motive to this violent and unjust measure. It happened that Lord Clive and his parliamentary friends had, for some time, acted in opposition to the court-party; and in this country, where ministers maintain their power by the inflicting of punishments, as well as by the distribution of rewards, it is no wonder that they should endeavour to weary out by oppression those whom they cannot allure by corruption. The Chairman of the East India Company was known to be at enmity with Lord Clive. Him, therefore, they considered as the aptest instrument with which the noble Lord might be tortured into a change of political conduct; and the plan of mutual resentment was no sooner resolved upon than executed.

"By one of the first ships which sailed for Bengal after the contested election, the Court of Directors sent orders to the Governor and Council, that they should no longer pay to the attornies of Lord Clive the rent granted him by Meer Jaffier, but that they should in future detain it in their hands, and carry it to the credit of the Company; and that they should transmit to the Court of Directors an exact account of all the sums already received by Lord Clive or his attornies on that head, as his Lordship's pretensions to the jaghire would be settled in England. The public letter conveying these orders assigned no reason for their being issued; but a private letter[^[177]] from Mr. Sulivan to Mr. Vansittart, then Governor of Bengal, which was soon after produced on oath in the Court of Chancery, declared that the payment of the jaghire was stopped, because all cordiality between the Court of Directors and Lord Clive was at an end. This vindictive plea, confidentially communicated by the Chairman to his friend the Governor, could not, however, be set up in a court of equity in justification of a flagrant violation of right. The Company had, for some years, paid the jaghire without objection; and even at this time of litigation they neither claimed any title to it themselves nor pretended that there was any other claimant than the present possessor. It is not necessary to enumerate the absurd arguments and mean subterfuges to which the Court of Directors were reduced, in answer to the bill filed against them by Lord Clive in the Court of Chancery. It is sufficient to observe, that the principal reasons which they assigned for discontinuing the payment were, that the Company might one day or other be called to account by the Emperor[^[178]] of Hindustan for the money paid under the head of this jaghire; that, therefore, Lord Clive was accountable to them even for the sums he had already received; that, if the Nabob, Meer Jaffier, had a right to grant the jaghire out of his own revenues, (which, however, the Court of Directors did not admit,) yet as that Nabob had been deposed by the Company's agents, the grant became of no effect.

"Such were the grounds upon which the right to the jaghire was 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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