Clive appears to have been upon the best footing with several of the principal inhabitants of Chinsura, particularly their Governor, Mr. Adrian Bisdom, who, though his name (as he stated) was often and freely used, had been throughout hostile to the violent proceedings of his countrymen. We find, indeed, in his letters during these differences, a tone of deep regret at the violent measures resorted to by both parties, mixed with the strongest expressions of personal regard for Clive, and gratitude for his kindness both in his private and official station.[[79]] We discovered, also, from his letters to Clive[[80]], that the large remittances the latter had made through Batavia or Holland were not settled, and that the Dutch East India Company were discontented, and had deferred the payment of the bills, expressing their displeasure at the terms their local government had granted. The conduct Clive pursued towards their armament was not likely to make them view any transaction in which he was concerned in a more favourable light; but the thoughts of himself, or his fortune, had no weight in a question where the interests of his country were so deeply involved.
A more critical situation than that in which Clive was placed by the arrival of the Dutch armament can hardly be conceived. The responsibility he took upon himself, in determining to oppose it, was great; but his mind never faltered when the public welfare was to be promoted by his personal hazard. When some of his friends remonstrated with him on the danger which he incurred, in opposing, during the existence of peace, the passage of the armament of a friendly power up the Ganges, he is said to have answered, that "a public man may occasionally be called upon to act with a halter round his neck." The inadequacy of his means was to him the most appalling circumstance; but this was remedied by the wisdom of his plans, and the vigour of their execution. The moderation he showed after victory was calculated to allay, as far as possible, that feeling of hostility which these proceedings must have excited. A very minute investigation of the whole subject took place in Europe: but the Dutch Local Government, in the treaty into which they entered with the English, had acknowledged themselves the aggressors, and Clive had been so cautious in every step he took, that his conduct could not be impugned; and he received, as he merited, unqualified approbation for this last act of his government, which terminated, as it was meant to do, all attempts of the Dutch to rival the political power of the English in Bengal. Their views in that country were thenceforward limited to objects of commerce.
By the events (A. D. 1759) narrated in the preceding chapter, Mahommed Ali Khan, whom the Government of Fort St. George had so long supported, became the undisputed Nabob of the Carnatic. Salabut Jung, the Soubahdar of the Deckan, had entered into an alliance with the Company; and his brother Nizam Ali, who was rising rapidly into power, was most favourably disposed to cultivate their friendship.
The affairs of the small but important settlement of Bombay appeared as prosperous as those of Madras. Surat, one of the principal sea-ports and richest towns on the western side of India, had fallen into decay, as the power of the Mogul government declined. This city, independent of its wealth, had great value with the Mahommedans, from being the port at which the pilgrims annually assembled on their way to the sacred tombs of their prophet or of his descendants. The Emperor furnished the vessel which conveyed to Jidda (a port in the Red Sea) those pilgrims who went to Mecca. The convoy of this vessel, as well as the protection of the commerce of Surat, had been for some time intrusted to the chief of Jinjeera, who was styled the Admiral of the Emperor, and had, in virtue of that office, an assignment on the revenues of Surat, amounting to the sum of three lacs of rupees per annum. On the ground of this amount not being regularly paid Seedee Massoud, the ruling chief of Jinjeera, had first seized the castle of Surat, and afterwards greatly encroached upon the other local authorities of that place. He died in 1756; and his son not only retained this usurpation, but demanded one third of the revenues of the city; another third was paid to the Mahrattas, as the price of their abstaining from hostilities, and the remaining third was divided among those officers who governed in the name of the Emperor of Delhi.
This division of authority, together with the intrigues and disputes to which it gave rise, was ruinous to the prosperity of the town, and attended with continual alarm and danger to the inhabitants. The English factory, which had been settled at Surat for a century and a half, suffered considerably during this distracted state of affairs, and the Government of Bombay, consequently, listened with approbation to an overture made by the principal officers and merchants of Surat, inviting them to take the castle, to expel the Seedee, and on receiving an assignment of two lacs of rupees, to become the future protectors of the commerce of the port. An expedition was sent, which, after a short opposition from the Seedee, completely succeeded; and the garrison of the castle were compelled to surrender to the English, who acted throughout with the sanction and aid of the officers of the Emperor.
An account of the events which had occurred was sent by Mr. Spencer (the chief of Surat) to Delhi; from whence he obtained sunnuds[[81]], or deeds, appointing the English Company governors of Surat Castle, and admirals of the Emperor's fleet, and granting them an assignment upon the revenues of the city for two lacs of rupees per annum.
These events added both to the strength and the fame of the settlement of Bombay, and rendered it better able to cope with its predatory neighbours the Mahrattas. The principal chiefs of that nation, however, were at this period more occupied with the affairs of the northern than of the western parts of India.
Alumgeer the Second was still the Emperor of Delhi; but he continued a prisoner in the hands of his ambitious minister, who, himself surrounded by Mahratta armies, and expecting another invasion of the Affghauns, exercised but a precarious authority. The Shah-Zada was still in a state of hostility; and having lately received countenance from the ruler of Oude, he again threatened with invasion the territories of Bahar. This danger would not appear to have been considered serious by Clive: but he was very uneasy regarding the internal state of Bengal; and the last months of his stay in India were devoted to arrangements for securing its tranquillity.
The treasury of the Nabob had been exhausted by the great sums he had paid as the price of his elevation. His extravagance, that of his son, and, above all, the maintenance of large bodies of useless troops, aggravated his distress. The slave of habit, and devoid of energy, Meer Jaffier was incapable of remedying his condition, which became daily more embarrassing. The conduct of his son, also, alarmed him; and from his communications to Mr. Hastings, it evidently appeared that he sometimes thought the impatient ambition of Meeran would lead him to accelerate, by an act of violence, the hour of his succession. Yet, notwithstanding the urgent advice of Clive[[82]], he would neither diminish the troops of his son, nor cease to employ him in situations which were calculated to increase his influence, and add to his power. The Nabob disliked the superiority and influence of Clive, but he certainly was personally attached to him.[[83]] He regarded him with the same dread and apprehension which a wayward scholar bears his preceptor. Though he feared his anger, he had complete reliance on his justice and good faith, and from habit looked to him with hopes of every consideration that was possible for his errors and weakness. With such sentiments, he was alarmed at the near prospect of Clive's departure; and his feeling affords strong presumptive proof, that, into whatever intrigues or plots Jaffier had been hurried or led, he could not, at this period, have deliberately contemplated any plan of hostility against the English power. If he had harboured any such scheme, it is quite evident that Clive's quitting the scene was the only event that could give it the least prospect of success.
The chief cause which alarmed Meer Jaffier and other natives of rank at the intended departure of Clive was the fear of his successor not exercising the same authority in checking and controlling the subordinate officers of their government. They feared, and with reason, that spirit of contemptuous superiority, which the extraordinary and sudden rise of the English in Bengal had engendered among many of the Europeans in the service of the Company, and still more the assumed influence and power of the natives in their employment.