The first mention of his intention to bestow this gift on Clive is in a letter[275] from Mr. Hastings, in which he observes, "He (the Nabob) expresses the most grateful sense of the services which you have performed for him, and declared to me his resolution to use every means in his power to procure an order from the Court[276] for your jaghire, being ashamed that you should do so much for him without the prospect of reaping any advantage to yourself by it."
This letter was written immediately after the Nabob had received full accounts of the flight of the Shah Zada, and the happy result of the expedition to Patna. It was not surprising that he, knowing the source to which he owed his safety on this occasion, should be anxious to reward Clive; but we learn from Mr. Sykes, who, a few months afterwards, was appointed to act for Mr. Hastings at Moorshedabad, that Meer Jaffier was influenced by additional motives to this munificent act.
In his evidence before the House of Commons, Mr. Sykes stated to the Committee[277], that the Nabob, speaking to him of the expedition to Patna, "mentioned the sense he entertained of Lord Clive's conduct towards him, and likewise in reducing the Shah Zada to such necessity as to apply to his Lordship to put him under the English protection; he mentioned, also, that he owed his government to Colonel Clive before, and this was the second time he was indebted to him for it; that he had been a means of having honours conferred on Colonel Clive, in creating him an Omrah of the Empire, but that he had given him nothing to support these honours: he had frequently had it in his thoughts, but never entered seriously upon it till now; that he had thoughts of giving him a jaghire in the Patna province, but found it would be attended with inconvenience to the officers of his government; and that Jugget Seit had fallen upon a method of obviating these difficulties, by giving him the quit-rent arising from the lands ceded to the Company to the southward of Calcutta; that he thought it would interfere the least with his government, and stood the clearest in relation to the Company's affairs.
"Mr. S. said that, to the best of his remembrance, he mentioned to the Nabob that he thought it was a large sum; but the Nabob told him that it was very little adequate to the services he had received from the Colonel, but more especially for his behaviour upon the capture of Moorshedabad, when the whole inhabitants expected to be put under contribution; and that none of them had experienced a conduct of that kind, for that their persons, as well as their properties, were entirely secured to them."
Mr. Sykes states, that the Nabob, having prepared the deeds, desired him to be present at the delivery of them to Clive; which took place when the Nabob went to meet and welcome him on his return from Patna.
The next mention of this subject is made in a letter[278] to Clive from Mr. Hastings, after his return to Moorshedabad, in which he observes, "The Nabob desired me to draw out the form of the letter to be written to the Council about your jaghire." This letter was a few days afterwards transmitted to Calcutta.
I shall have occasion, hereafter, to speak of this grant, which gave rise to great discussion; but we must, nevertheless, make some observations upon the subject in this place.