FOOTNOTES: CHAPTER 10
[64]. Letter to Clive, 29th July, 1759.
[65]. 3d August, 1759.
[66]. The following is a translation of this letter:—
"To Mr. Robert Clive.
"Sir,—As you have had the principal charge of the enterprise against the late Nabob Suraj-u-Dowlah, we cannot refrain from congratulating you upon your success. Wishing that the arms of His Britannic Majesty may every where prosper and be triumphant, and that your fame, Sir, may become more and more renowned, we have the honour to be, with much consideration, &c. &c.
"Chinsura, 30th June, 1757."
[67]. M. Bisdom, the Dutch Governor of Chinsura, applied to Clive on all occasions of embarrassment or difficulty; and his applications appear, from the correspondence, to have been always treated with respect and attention.
[68]. 2d October, 1758.
[69]. Aliverdi Khan, the predecessor of Suraj-u-Dowlah.
[70]. We find in a letter from M. Bisdom to Colonel Clive, of the 25th July, 1759, the following passage:—"Referring to your last favour I cannot refrain from offering you my grateful thanks on the subject of the saltpetre." It appears, from a variety of documents, that Clive gave every facility to the Dutch commerce in this as well as in other articles.
[71]. This paper is not dated; but, from a correction in the rough copy, it appears to have been drawn up in November, 1759; and was, no doubt, transmitted to England at that period.
[72]. This person is styled Fakker-u-Toojar (a title signifying "Glory of Merchants") in the correspondence; but we continue to call him Cajah Wazeed, the name by which he is generally known.
[73]. 4th August, 1759.
[74]. This letter is dated "Hooghley, Thursday evening;" probably the 12th of November.
[75]. 7th January, 1760.
[76]. Meeran, son of Jaffier Aly Caun.
[77]. Letter from Mr. Hastings, 23d November.
[78]. Clive states in his evidence before the House of Commons, that the Nabob's horse were useful in pursuing the fugitives, after Colonel Forde's victory.
[79]. When Clive wrote to M. Bisdom to warn him against the danger to be feared from the advance of the Nabob's army, he offered protection, in his own house, to Mrs. Bisdom, and any ladies she might bring with her. I extract the following remarks on this subject from a very minute official account of the whole transaction:—"This kind proposal of Colonel Clive was accepted in the manner it deserved; and M. Bisdom's sensible and polite answer manifests his having a suitable sense of the favour, and, at the same time, expresses what was very true, that though, from the rank he held, his name had been very freely used throughout the whole of this transaction, yet his sentiments never went along with it, but that he had always retained that respect for the English nation, and that affection for his friends at Calcutta, which a long acquaintance, and the exchange of reciprocal good offices, had rendered equally sincere on both sides."
[80]. M. Bisdom, in a letter to Clive, under date the 26th of July, 1759, observes, "With regard to the money sent to Batavia, I have no doubt it will be credited; but, as no vessel has yet arrived, I can at present say no more. As to the remittances to Europe, I must not conceal from you that they are much displeased with the negotiation of the bills, which they think unfavourable to our Company. I can, nevertheless, assure you that your remittance will be paid after the Company's sale. This has been stated to me by an individual of power in the Company. This has been a great mortification to me. I had flattered myself that the transaction would have given equal satisfaction to both parties; and it proves exactly the reverse, which really grieves me. As soon as I hear from Batavia, I will write you."
[81]. The sunnud, as admiral, is dated the 26th of August, 1759; that constituting them governors of the castle, 4th of September, and the assignment, the 18th of the same month.
[82]. Clive had, on many occasions, stated his sentiments very freely to the Nabob, both in regard to the character of his son, and the persons by whom that Prince was surrounded, particularly his Dewan Rajah Bullub. The following extract from a letter to Mr. Hastings, dated 21st of September, 1759, will show how decided he was in his opinions upon this subject:—"What you write me," he observes, "about the young Nabob, does not at all surprise me; it was what I always expected. Meer Jaffier's days of folly are without number, and he had, long before this, slept with his ancestors, if the dread of our power and resentment had not been his only security. Sooner or later, I am persuaded, that worthless young dog will attempt his father's overthrow. How often have I advised the old fool against putting too much power into the hands of his nearest relations. Tell him, from me, that Rajah Bullub is an aspiring, ambitious villain; and, if he does not get him removed from his son's presence, he will push him to some violent and unnatural resolution."
[83]. The letters of Scrafton, Hastings, and Sykes, afford abundant evidence to the truth of the fact, that Meer Jaffier was personally attached to Clive.
[84]. Letter from Mr. Hastings to Clive, 17th of August, 1759.
[85]. Muttaseddie means a "clerk;" but the plural term, as here employed, describes all the subordinate civil officers of the government.
[86]. This letter is dated the 20th of August, 1759. Clive had written to Mr. Pigot a few days before upon the same subject.
[87]. 11th of November, 1757.
[88]. Holwell's Narrative, p. 156.
[89]. 29th of December, 1758.
[90]. Id.
[91]. The grounds of Clive's strong support of Mr. Sulivan appear to have been entirely public. Among other friends, he wrote (29th of December, 1758) to his agent, Mr. Belchier, on this subject:—
"As I have," he observes, "great designs in view for the advantage of the Company, I must request you will give all your interest, and that of your friends, in favour of Mr. Sulivan, who, I am persuaded, will pursue vigorous measures, now become absolutely necessary."
[92]. Holwell's Narrative, p. 170.
[93]. The application is here limited to the government of Bengal.
[94]. Clive's prediction of the result of affairs in the Carnatic proved, as has been shown, true to the very letter.
[95]. Although, in point of composition, the despatches of the Indian authorities, both at home and abroad, at this early period of our political administration, will not bear comparison with those of a later date, they exhibit a degree of simplicity and plainness which is both interesting and amusing.
[96]. In the first general letter to the Governor in Council, at Bengal, dated 21st of January, 1761, the Directors write, "We have taken under our most serious consideration the general letter from our late President and Council of Fort William, dated 29th of December, 1759, and many paragraphs therein contain gross insults upon, and indignities offered to, the Court of Directors, tending to the subversion of our authority over our servants, and a dissolution of all order and good government in the Company's affairs. To put an immediate stop, therefore, to this evil, we do positively order and direct that, immediately upon receipt of this letter, all those persons still remaining in the Company's service, who signed the said letter,—viz. Messrs. John Zephaniah Holwell, Charles Stafford Playdell, William Brightwell Sumner, and William M'Guire,—be dismissed from the Company's service; and you are to take care that they be not permitted, on any consideration, to remain in India, but that they are to be sent to England by the first ships which return home the same season you receive this letter."
[97]. 7th of September, 1759.
[98]. 7th of January, 1760.
[99]. 22d of January, 1760.
[100]. Meeran.
[101]. 20th of October, 1759.
[102]. The letter of congratulation, from Mr. Sulivan, is dated the 20th of February, 1758. The following are the concluding paragraphs:—"If your health would allow of a stay sufficient to fix the government of Calcutta (recovered and infinitely extended by Col. Clive) on a solid and lasting basis, the Company are deeply interested in their wishes that you would remain to cherish and establish this noble colony beyond the reach of danger. But should your own preservation determine a return to your native country, may you live to receive the personal thanks of your employers, together with higher honours intended you."
[103]. 29th of December, 1758.