| I. | That he will confirm all the Grants the former Nabob made us. | ||
| II. | He will make an Alliance with the English, offensive and defensive, against all Enemies, either Natives or Europeans | ||
| III. | Whatever French are in his Provinces of Bengal, Bahar, or Orixa, to be delivered up with all their Houses and Factories, and they never permitted to settle more in either of those Provinces. | ||
| IV. | On Account of the Company's Loss[[1]] | 1 | Crore. |
| V. | On Account of the Losses of Europeans | 30 | Lack. |
| VI. | Ditto Jentoows | 30 | Do. |
| VII. | Ditto Armenians | 10 | Do. |
| VIII. | Ditto for Omichund | 30 | Do. |
| IX. | Whatever Ground there is within the Calcutta Ditch, belonging to the Zemindars, to be given to the English, and Six hundred Yards without the Ditch all round. | ||
| X. | A Tract of Land, whose Rents in the King's Books amounts to 100,000 Rupees Yearly, to be bought at a reasonable Value, from the Zemindary, and the Nabob to assist us in the Purchase, we paying the annual Piscash or Revenue, as usual, to the Nabob. Whatever Profit may arise from this Zemindary, is to go towards paying our Military. | ||
| XI. | Whenever the Nabob wants the Assistance of our Troops, the extraordinary Expence to be paid by him. |
[1]. The Rupee is a Silver Coin, struck in the Moghul's Mints, with an Inscription of his Name and Titles, the Year of his Reign, and the Place at which it was struck. It weighs from 7 dw. 10⅓ gr. to 7 dw. 11 gr. and the Proportion of Allay to fine Silver, is as 1 or 2 to 100. One hundred thousand Rupees make a Lack, One hundred Lacks a Coroe or Crore, One hundred Crores an Arrib.
Table of Rupees.
| Lack of Rupees. | £. Sterling. |
|---|---|
| 1 | 12,500 |
| 10 | 125,000 |
| 20 | 250,000 |
| 30 | 375,000 |
| 40 | 500,000 |
| 50 | 625,000 |
| 60 | 750,000 |
| 70 | 875,000 |
| 80 | 1,000,000 |
| 90 | 1,125,000 |
| A Crore | 1,250,000 |
His Plan of the Treaty was returned, with Alterations: Some of the Articles were modified, and a Blank left for the Company's Demand, that in case Meer Jaffeir should think it too extravagant, Mr. Watts might have Liberty to moderate it, and he was desired to get it carried into Execution; but it will appear in the Treaty itself, which will be hereafter given, that Mr. Watts got the Treaty executed, without any Deduction or Modification. This was a Work equally arduous and hazardous, as Things then stood, when every Look, every Word, every Motion of his was suspected, and which at the same time rendered the procuring its Conclusion expeditiously a Circumstance of the utmost Consequence. In all this, the Risk might be truly said to fall entirely upon himself; so that it is not easy to imagine, how any Man's Circumstances could be more critical than his actually were in this Conjuncture. We shall however see, that they really became so afterwards, and this in a very high Degree, and in very many Respects, from Causes that could not be avoided, and which produced a Train of unforeseen Events.
It was pretty early known, that Meer Jaffeir had entertained no very favourable Notion of Omichund, but there was a Necessity of employing and trusting him notwithstanding, of which though the former did not complain, yet he did not dislike him the less. In the midst of these arduous Transactions, and when every one else had their Hands and their Hearts full, it came into Omichund's Head to practise a little upon Suraja Dowlat, probably that he might be sure of somewhat, however Things went. He mentioned to Mr. Watts this very fine-spun Project, to which, that it appeared wild and strange, was by no means the strongest Objection. It was, however, in vain to make any: there was Money he thought to be got, and, if it was possible, he was resolved to get it. On the Sixteenth of May he went to the Palace, where, exerting his admirable Faculty of magnifying the Utility and exalting the Credit of the Advice he had to give, and having first alarmed the Suba's timid Mind, by touching many Subjects he knew were disagreeable, and in the Close, when he saw him sufficiently amazed, condescended to hint, that he had found means, with great Difficulty, to come at a Secret of the last Consequence, and for the revealing of which he was sure to lose his Life, if it was so much as suspected that he had penetrated and disclosed it. Promises of every kind were made, and at length out it came, that the English had discovered all his Negotiations with Mr. Bussy, some Circumstances of which he mentioned; that, upon this, they had sent two Gentlemen to confer with, and to convince him, how much more it would be for his Interest to concur with them; and that they had made, or were upon the Point of making, a Peace; which, without doubt, must be at his Expence. As strange as it may seem, Omichund prevailed over a Man's Foibles, which he had studied, and deluded him into a firm Belief of all he said, and, in consequence of this, he procured a Perwannah, that is, an Order from the Suba to the Burdwan Rajah, one of his Officers, for the Payment of Four Lack of Rupees which he owed him, and the full Restitution of the remaining Part of the Money, and all the Goods, of which he had been despoiled at Calcutta. This he took wonderful Care to have immediately executed, for fear of Accidents, that very Night; neither did he remain within the Suba's Reach long after. He left Traces, however, behind him, that sufficiently justified Meer Jaffeir's Suspicions, and exerted that Power of perplexing, which he possessed in full as eminent a Degree as that of persuading. This was one principal Cause of those new Difficulties, to which Mr. Watts found himself exposed, when he thought the whole Stock of his Abilities small enough to deal with the old ones.
When the Agreement came to be offered to Roydoolub, one of the Suba's principal Ministers, but, notwithstanding that, one of the Parties to this Treaty, he made a Doubt as to the Possibility of complying with it. He said, the Treasury, since the Death of the Old Suba, Aliverdy Cawn, had been much drained, and that though Suraja Dowlat was indeed very rapacious, yet he managed his Affairs so ill, by keeping his Forces so long in the Field, as to have impoverished himself by a vast, and at the same time useless Expence. He also suggested, that possibly in the Confusion that commonly attends every Revolution, the Suba's Treasury might be plundered, and then they should remain bound, without having it in their Power to pay. But to remove these Difficulties, he proposed it as an Expedient, to divide whatever was found in the Treasury with the English. Mr. Watts, who understood these People perfectly, consented to sign the Treaty with such a Clause, subject to the Approbation of the Select Committee at Calcutta. But when Roydoolub reflected, that upon such a Division he could pretend to no Commission, as he might on Money issued in virtue of the Treaty, of which he had Hopes given him; when Things came to a Crisis, he relinquished his own Proposal, and resolved to sign the Treaty as it stood. It appeared, that the Apprehensions which occasioned these Disputes, and this Delay, were infused into Roydoolub by Omichund, who gave him to understand, that if once the English Army took Possession of Muxadavad, they would not leave it again in three Years. This old crafty Man was not satisfied with giving this Proof of his Skill in embarrassing; he went much farther; and as soon as he was himself out of Danger, divulged the Secret, which brought Mr. Watts, as well as Meer Jaffeir and the rest, to the very Brink of Destruction; while at Calcutta he represented the whole Design as become desperate and impracticable, because it was discovered. It was, indeed, wonderful, all Things, and more especially his Behaviour, considered, that it was not so. However, this Effect these Rumours had, that Confusion increased, Discontent spread itself more and more in the Suba's Camp, and the Divisions between him and his principal Officers grew daily wider and wider. Meer Jaffeir was fallen into open Disgrace, removed from his Office of Buxy, or Paymaster; upon which he withdrew, and continued in his Quarters with his Troops, and came no more near the Suba. A Circumstance that rendered it next to impossible for Mr. Watts, who was sensible that he had many Spies upon his Conduct, to have an Interview with him, whose House was entirely surrounded by the Nabob's Forces, without its being known; and this had given the Suba an Opportunity of executing his Threats, and if that had been a Thing he regarded, without much injuring his Reputation. The Matter, though so much embarrassed, being still absolutely necessary, and the time pressing, Mr. Watts went to him, in a covered Dooley, the Manner in which Women are conveyed in that Country, by which means he escaped Notice, and saw the Treaty which had been signed, sealed, and sworn to on the Koran, and upon his Son's Head, by Meer Jaffeir, with all the Solemnity imaginable, in the Evening of the Fifth of June. When this was once done, and authentic Advice received of its being done at Calcutta, it removed all Surmises, silenced every Suspicion, and by giving entire Satisfaction, made way for the taking those Measures which were requisite for carrying it into Execution.
But before we proceed farther, it will be proper to look upon this Treaty, which with such indefatigable Diligence Mr. Watts planned, prosecuted, and brought to bear, in despite of the Suspicions, Spies, and insidious Contrivances, of all his Enemies; by which the Company's Commerce, and all their Establishments in this Part of India, were secured, the Losses which the Inhabitants of those Places had sustained, repaired, and the Honour of the Nation vindicated.
Translation of the Treaty made
with Meer Jaffeir.
Wrote with his own Hand.