The Government of Fort St. George appear resolved to withhold the expression of their sense of that benefit which the substance of their dispatch obviously shows flowed from my observation and conduct. Sir George Barlow, through his secretary, Lieutenant-Colonel Barclay, to me, under date the 12th of July, states, that, "in consequence of the information which I had communicated" from Masulipatam, he had ordered the assembling of a considerable force near Madras; and it is to this precautionary measure, adopted upon my information, to which the Government of Madras ascribes in a great degree the success of its subsequent proceedings: and it seems also to have entirely escaped the recollection of the Government, that if I had not, by my exertions, reclaimed the garrison of Masulipatam from their design of marching to join the Hyderabad force, and prevented from the 4th till the 22d of July their committing any outrage, that a great part of the army would, during that eventful period, have been precipitated into a rupture before the Government had time for executing any plan for the defeat of their designs. I do not mention these circumstances with a view of claiming any merit from my exertions at that period; but to show that the same principle, which led to an unfounded insinuation against my character, has caused an omission of every fact that could bring my services to the favourable notice of my superiors.
I shall resume my narrative, and state shortly what share I had in the transactions at Madras, from my return from Masulipatam till the arrival of Lord Minto at that settlement.
I have already stated that Sir George Barlow directed me, before I went to Masulipatam, to write the draft of a letter to the commanding officers at Hyderabad and Jaulnah, and had approved of what I had written. I had carried a copy of that draft to Masulipatam, and had, on my first violent discussion with the officers of that garrison, adduced it as a proof of the moderation and temper with which the Governor had acted. In a short period, however, it appeared that no such document had reached Hyderabad, and I was exposed to the charge of intended deception. I addressed a note to Colonel Barclay the day after I arrived at Madras, stating this fact, and begged that he would, by his answer, enable me to repel such a charge[63]. I received the following reply, dated Fort St. George, 28th July 1809.
"Dear Malcolm,
"I have just received your note of this date. I recollect perfectly well, that before your embarkation for Masulipatam you put into my hands, to be delivered to Sir George Barlow, a paper in the form of a draft of a letter to be written to Colonel Montresor, on the subject of addresses from the Hyderabad subsidiary force. I delivered the paper according to your desire. I know that Sir George Barlow did not approve of it; and I believe that no letter of the nature of it was sent to Colonel Montresor.
"I remain, &c. &c.
(Signed) "R. BARCLAY."
Greatly surprised at this answer, I wrote the following note:
"Dear Barclay,
"There must be a mistake, as the draft I gave you was written, by direction of Sir George Barlow, from a memorandum now in my possession, which I had read to Sir George not half an hour before, and of which he at that moment approved, or he would not have desired me to put it in the shape of a letter. I beg the nature of the request I made in my note of yesterday may not be misunderstood. I am aware Sir George Barlow, when he asked my opinion on the question of the reply to be made to the representation from the Hyderabad force, might, even if he approved my suggestion at the moment, be led by a thousand considerations to alter his sentiments before the tappal[64] was dispatched; but as I sailed for Masulipatam under the impression that no change had occurred in his opinion, and made use of the information I had upon the subject, to satisfy misguided men that they were in error regarding his disposition towards them, and by doing so have subjected myself to a charge of intended deception, I was naturally anxious to clear my character from this imputation; and the circumstances were evidently such, that it appeared in my mind I would be enabled to do so without the slightest embarrassment to either you or Sir George Barlow. If, indeed, I had not been satisfied of this, I should never have written, at a moment like the present, upon such a subject. Your note conveys no idea but that I had, without any previous communication with Sir George Barlow, sent a draft of a letter to him through you, of which he disapproved; and so far from answering the object for which it was solicited, could make no impression but that my assertions were founded on an ill-grounded presumption of my possessing an influence over the judgment of Sir G. Barlow. This, you must be aware, is exactly opposite to the circumstances of the case, as I have stated them to you at the period of their occurrence; for I told you it was by desire of Sir George Barlow I gave you the draft.