Among those who were introduced into the service by his interest, may be mentioned Mr. Gladwin, one of the first of the English in Bengal, who communicated to the public his acquirements in the eastern languages. He had gone out as a volunteer, in which situation he attracted the notice of Clive, who procured for him admission into the civil service. Clive's conduct, in this instance, is very characteristic of his friendly and energetic temper. Mr. Strachey writes Mr. Gladwin[126],—"His Lordship directs me to assure you, that if the recommendations he gave you, some time ago, should not procure you an appointment in the Company's service, he will further exert his interest in your behalf, nor desist till the point be attained."
Though a steady friend, he was not blind to the faults of those whom he patronised; and his correspondence contains many letters, in which he freely gives his opinions on their conduct, and his candid advice. An extract from a letter to Mr. Middleton[127] may be given as an example. "I have received your letter of the 19th of September," says he, "in which you express your concern at the censure passed upon you by the board, and imagine you may have done something to forfeit my friendship.
"To reason in this way, is to know but little of the duty of a governor in a public station. If the board were unanimous, which they really were, in thinking you and the other gentlemen had been wanting in diligence and attention to the Company's business, was it in my power to change or alter their sentiments? Or could I attempt such a thing consistently with my duty, or the principles upon which I have hitherto acted? The real truth of the matter is, that the relaxation of government for some years past, has introduced so much luxury, extravagance, independency, and indolence into Bengal, that every effort upon our part to reclaim this settlement is looked upon as a hardship, or an act of injustice; although it be absolutely necessary for the salvation of the whole." After some observations on the wrongheaded opposition which had been made by some of the younger servants, and the danger they thereby incurred, he adds:—
"To set aside the Governor, and speak as a friend, I entertain no doubt of the integrity of your intentions, and of your zeal for the service; but you are naturally of an indolent, good-natured, and hospitable disposition, which in private life may make you beloved by all that know you; yet, in a public station, these qualities may subject you to the greatest inconveniences. You become responsible, not only to the public for your want of attention, but for the want of attention of those acting under you, who will perpetually trespass on your good nature. The indulgence shown by you to the young gentlemen of the factory, which I myself was an eyewitness to, must have this consequence,—of their becoming very familiar, which in your present station they ought not to be, of being very supine and very neglectful of the Company's business, in which your own reputation is more immediately concerned. And I wish the mischief may only end here. After having led so luxurious, extravagant, and independent a life, there will be much to fear for themselves after your departure.
"The open manner in which you have expressed your sentiments and grievances, gives me a right to send you mine in return, which I do assure you proceeds from real friendship and regard for the interests of those who are acting under you. Perhaps they may not be looked upon in that light by said young men. If not, I wish future experience may not convince them to the contrary."
Such friendly remonstrances, from a man like Lord Clive, from one who had a right to command, should have had their effect; and, at all events, are creditable alike to his heart and understanding.
In the same spirit, and from a firm persuasion of the noxious effects of expensive habits in young men in the lower branches of the service, we find him refusing dustucks for the conveyance of a chariot and barouche to gentlemen who were only writers, as being quite unjustifiable.
Many of the imprudent and ill-advised officers who had been engaged in the mutinous proceedings, applied to him to be reinstated. This he peremptorily refused, as injurious to the public service: but, from his private letters we find that, in numerous instances, he advanced sums from his private purse, to enable them to subsist after their dismissal, and to convey them to their native country.
On the 16th of January, 1767, Lord Clive was well enough to attend, for the last time, a meeting of the Select Committee. On this occasion he laid before them a letter, in which, after mentioning that he had no prospect of recovering health, or even of preserving life, but by an immediate embarkation for his native country, and that this necessity would be most painful to him, did he not leave the country in peace and in a flourishing state, and in the hands of an upright and able government, he proceeds to exercise his authority for continuing the Select Committee, filled up the vacancies in its members, and laid down regulations for its guidance. He advises them not to be anxious to increase the revenues, especially where it could only be effected by oppressing the landholders and tenants, for that so long as the country remained in peace, the collections would exceed the demands. He points out some difficulties likely to result from the state of the currency, and strongly recommends that all Company's servants and free traders should be recalled from the interior; as, until that was done the natives could hardly be said to be masters of their own property: that the orders for the abolition of their salt trade being express, must be punctually obeyed.[128] "But, as I am of opinion," he continues, "that the trade upon its present footing is rather beneficial than injurious to the inhabitants of the country, and that a continuation of this indulgence, or some equivalent, is become absolutely necessary, and would be an honourable incitement to diligence and zeal in the Company's service, I flatter myself the Court of Directors will be induced to settle some plan that will prove agreeable to your wishes."
He evinced great apprehension (says Sir John Malcolm[129], speaking of Lord Clive's farewell letter,) of the danger to which the empire would be exposed by the revival of that spirit of corruption and insubordination which he had, with so much difficulty, subdued. "It has been too much the custom," he observes, "in this government to make orders and regulations, and thence to suppose the business done. To what end and purpose are they made, if they be not promulgated and enforced? No regulation can be carried into execution, no order obeyed, if you do not make rigorous examples of the disobedient. Upon this point I rest the welfare of the Company in Bengal. The servants are now brought to a proper sense of their duty. If you slacken the reins of government affairs will soon revert to their former channel; anarchy and corruption will again prevail, and, elate with a new victory, be too headstrong for any future efforts of government. Recall to your memories the many attempts that have been made in the civil and military departments to overcome our authority, and to set up a kind of independency against the Court of Directors. Reflect also on the resolute measures we have pursued, and their wholesome effects. Disobedience to legal power is the first step of sedition; and palliative measures effect no cure. Every tender compliance, every condescension on your parts, will only encourage more flagrant attacks, and will daily increase in strength, and be at last in vain resisted. Much of our time has been employed in correcting abuses. The important work has been prosecuted with zeal, diligence, and disinterestedness; and we have had the happiness to see our labours crowned with success. I leave the country in peace. I leave the civil and military departments under discipline and subordination: it is incumbent upon you to keep them so. You have power, you have abilities, you have integrity; let it not be said that you are deficient in resolution. I repeat that you must not fail to exact the most implicit obedience to your orders. Dismiss or suspend from the service any man who shall dare to dispute your authority. If you deviate from the principles upon which you have hitherto acted, and upon which you are conscious you ought to proceed; or if you do not make a proper use of that power with which you are invested, I shall hold myself acquitted, as I do now protest against the consequences."