My dear Barclay,
I shall be glad to see Sir Arthur's papers. When I wrote to Sir George, and proposed that he should, along with every decided step, make some reappointments, I, of course, meant to include several that I did not mention by name: but if this principle is acted upon, Government cannot be too large in their first order: any thing little will spoil all. Gentlemen who lose by these arrangements, should be declared, in public orders, to have the right of succession to the first vacancies.
There are more letters, advising Masulipatam to be kept: and in one of to-day from the committee at Hyderabad, I find they are equally public there in their proceedings; so I suppose you must have heard from that quarter, no order for the movement of a corps in any of these divisions will be obeyed, nor even the removal of an officer; so that the necessity of some measures being adopted is quite indispensable. Perhaps Sir George Barlow will wish to see me at Madras, with the report of the committee; but this will be, perhaps, too great a delay. Taylor or Irton should command this regiment.
I saw a letter from Hyderabad to-day, written under a conviction that the Bengal army had taken up their cause. This, I have told them, is one of a thousand dangerous errors into which they are led; but I do not think they believe me, for they are completely infatuated.
TO SIR GEORGE BARLOW.
Masulipatam, 17th July, 1809.
Dear Sir,
I have this moment received a letter from Lieutenant-Colonel Barclay of the 12th instant, from which I observe, that you deem it impolitic to adopt any measures of the nature I suggested in my letters of the 5th and 6th July from this place. If I did not consider the present as one of the most serious crises that ever this Empire was placed in, I certainly should not again intrude myself upon your notice; but I feel bold in the consciousness that I am performing a duty of the most sacred nature; and you will, I am assured, pardon the earnestness with which I solicit leave to be allowed to report to you personally the result of the proceedings here, and of all I have seen or heard connected with the general combinations in the army, as well as those means by which I think it may be averted, or its objects (if it does occur) in some degree defeated. It is quite impossible for me to convey to you in any letter the extensive information I now possess upon this subject; and I should only be four days in going to Madras, and could return, if required, with equal celerity. Little time would be lost by my making this journey; and I feel satisfied its result might be of the utmost consequence to the public interest.