"Never was a conspiracy conducted as publicly and with
such indiscretion as this was, both by the Moors and the
English. Nothing else was talked about in all the English
settlements, and whilst every place echoed with the noise of
it, the Nawab, who had a number of spies, was ignorant of
everything. Nothing can prove more clearly the general
hatred which was felt towards him."[[99]]
M. Sinfray had returned to Murshidabad, but could not obtain an interview with the Nawab till the 8th of June, when he found him still absolutely tranquil; and even on the 10th the Nawab wrote to Law to have no fears on his account; but this letter did not reach Law till the 19th.
"I complained of the delay in the strongest terms to
Ramnarain, who received the packets from the Nawab, but it
was quite useless. The Nawab was betrayed by those whom
he thought most attached to him. The Faujdar of Rajmehal
used to stop all his messengers and detain them as long as
he thought fit."
This officer was a brother of Mir Jafar.[[100]] The Seths and the English had long found the chief difficulty in their way to be the choice of a man of sufficient distinction to replace Siraj-ud-daula on the throne. At this moment the Nawab himself gave them as a leader Mir Jafar Ali Khan, who had married the sister of Aliverdi Khan, and was therefore a relative of his. Mir Jafar was Bukshi, or Paymaster and Generalissimo of the Army, and his influence had greatly contributed to Siraj-ud-daula's peaceful accession. He was a man of good reputation, and a brave and skilful soldier. It was such a person as this that the Nawab, after a long course of petty insults, saw fit to abuse in the vilest terms in full Durbar and to dismiss summarily from his post. He now listened to the proposals of the Seths, and towards the end of April terms were settled between him and the English.[[101]] The actual conclusion of the Treaty took place early in June, and on the 13th of that month Mr. Watts and the other English gentlemen at Cossimbazar escaped under the pretence of a hunting expedition and joined Clive in safety. As soon as he heard of this, the Nawab knew that war was inevitable, and it had come at a moment when he had disbanded half his army unpaid, and the other half was grumbling for arrears. Not only had he insulted Mir Jafar, but he had also managed to quarrel with Rai Durlabh. Instead of trying to postpone the conflict until he had crushed these two dangerous enemies, he begged them to be reconciled to him, and put himself in their hands. Letter after letter was sent to recall Law, but even the first, despatched on the 13th, did not reach Law till the 22nd, owing to the treachery of the Faujdar of Rajmehal. Law's letter entreating the Nawab to await his arrival certainly never reached him, and though Law had started at the first rumour of danger, before getting the Nawab's letter, he did not reach Rajmehal till the 1st of July. The Nawab had been captured in the neighbourhood a few hours before the arrival of his advance-guard. Gholam Husain Khan says that Law would have been in time had the Nawab's last remittance been a bill of exchange and not an order on the Treasury, for—
"as slowness of motion seems to be of etiquette with the
people of Hindustan, the disbursing of the money took up
so much time that when M. Law was come down as far
Rajmehal, he found that all was over."
Law, who was nothing if not philosophical, remarked on this disappointment:—
"In saving Siraj-ud-daula we should have scored a great
success, but possibly he would have been saved for a short
time only. He would have found enemies and traitors
wherever he might have presented himself in the countries
supposed to be subject to him. No one would have acknowledged
him. Forced by Mir Jafar and the English to flee to
a foreign country, he would have been a burden to us rather
than an assistance.
"In India no one knows what it is to stand by an
unfortunate man. The first idea which suggests itself is to
plunder him of the little[[102]] which remains to him. Besides,
a character like that of Siraj-ud-daula could nowhere find a
real friend."
Siraj-ud-daula, defeated by Clive at Plassey on the 23rd of June, was, says Scrafton,—
"himself one of the first that carried the news of his defeat
to the capital, which he reached that night."
His wisest councillors urged him to surrender to Clive, but he thought this advice treacherous, and determined to flee towards Rajmehal. When nearly there he was recognized by a Fakir,[[103]] whose ears he had, some time before, ordered to be cut off. The Fakir informed the Faujdar, who seized him and sent him to Murshidabad, where Miran, Mir Jafar's son, put him to death on the 4th of July.