Memoirs of the Revolution in Bengal, Anno Dom. 1757

Colonel Clive having communicated these Proposals to the Select Committee, entrusted with the Management of the Affairs of the Factory, they sent Messieurs Walsh and Scrafton, as Deputies, to the Camp of the Suba, who, either deceived by this into an Opinion that he was still formidable to the English, or desirous of imposing upon the Deputies, behaved towards them with such a Mixture of Haughtiness and Contempt, as gave little Hopes of their making any great Progress in their Business; and therefore, after some Delay, the Vice-Admiral and the Colonel were obliged to resume their former Measures, and to think of making a fresh Impression on the Suba, that might convince him, he had as much to dread from the Land-Forces as the Fleet. In order to this, it was concerted, that a Detachment of Seamen, commanded by Captain Warwick, should land and join the Army, and that Colonel Clive should then force the Nabob's Camp. The Captain accordingly debarked, upon the Fifth of February, about One in the Morning: At Two they came up with the Forces, which were under Arms. By Three, every Thing was in Order, and they began to move towards the Enemy; the Sailors attending the Train, which consisted of Six Field Pieces, and one Haubitzer. About Five, the Action began, and the Artillery playing on the Right and Left, Colonel Clive marched his Troops directly through the Camp of the Suba; though he had between Forty and Fifty thousand Men, and obliged him, with great Loss, to dislodge, and even to abandon some of the Posts that he took after his Retreat; and this, with very little Detriment to his very small Army, not above Forty Men being killed, and not so many as Seventy wounded. This brisk Attack, seconded by a Letter from Vice-Admiral Watson, intimating, that this was a Specimen only of what the British Arms, when provoked, could perform, answered the Intention perfectly. The Suba immediately desired to renew the Negotiation, which went on with such Alacrity, that it was concluded and signed upon the Ninth, by which an end was put to a War, that had subsisted about Nine Months. This Treaty was conceived in the following Terms.

I. Whatever Rights and Privileges the King has granted the English Company, in their Phirmaund, and the Hushulhoorums sent from Delly, shall not be disputed, or taken from them; and the Immunities therein mentioned, be acknowleged and stand good. Whatever Villages are given the Company by the Phirmaund, shall likewise be granted, notwithstanding they have been denied by former Subahs. The Zemindars of those Villages not to be hurt or displaced, without Cause.

Signed by the Nabob, in his own Hand

I agree to the Terms of the Phirmaund.

II. All Goods passing and repassing through the Country, by Land or Water, with English Dusticks, shall be exempt from any Tax, Fee, or Imposition whatever.

I agree to this.

III. All the Company's Factories, seized by the Nabob, shall be returned. All Monies, Goods, and Effects, belonging to the Company, their Servants and Tenants, and which have been seized and taken by the Nabob, shall be restored; what has been plundered and pillaged by his People, made good by the Payment of such a Sum of Money, as his Justice shall think reasonable.

I agree to restore whatever has been seized and taken by my Orders, and accounted for in my Sincary.

IV. That we have Permission to fortify Calcutta, in such Manner as we may think proper, without Interruption.

I consent to this.

V. That we shall have Liberty to coin Siccas, both of Gold and Silver, of equal Weight and Fineness with those of Muxadavad, which shall pass in the Provinces.

I consent to the English Company's coining their own Imports of Bullion and Gold into Siccas.

VI. That a Treaty shall be ratified, by Signing and Sealing, and swearing to abide by the Articles therein contained; not only by the Nabob, but his principal Officers and Ministers.

I have sealed and signed the Articles, before the Presence of God.

VII. That Admiral Watson and Colonel Clive, on the Part and Behalf of the English Nation, and of the Company, do agree to live in a good Understanding with the Nabob, to put an End to these Troubles, and to be in Friendship with him, while these Articles are performed and observed by the Nabob.

I have sealed and signed the foregoing Articles, upon these Terms, that if the Governor and Council will sign and seal them, with the Company's Seal, and will swear to the Performance on their Part, I then consent and agree to them.

In this Treaty, the intelligent Reader will see, there were Three great Points sufficiently explained, to shew the Injustice and Oppression of the Suba, in his Attack upon the English Settlements, even upon Reflection in his own Opinion, tho' far from being as conclusive in respect to the Remedies and Indemnifications, that, in consequence of so full a Declaration, were to be procured. The First regarded the Possessions, Immunities, and Privileges, conceded to the East India Company, by the Royal Phirmaund, which Suraja Dowlat acknowleged to have violated, promised Restitution, and undertook, in the most solemn Manner, not to invade them again. But as this was conceived only in general Terms, these Rights, and the Limits of their respective Possessions, required a thorough Discussion. The next was, as to the Fortifications of Calcutta; the Legality and Expediency of which he now admitted in their utmost Extent, as being plainly necessary to the Security of the Place, the British Inhabitants, and even of the Mogul's Subjects, living under its Protection; and to this was added, the Coinage of their own Imports, in Gold and Silver, to which they had always a Right, though it had not been exercised. The last was, the full and immediate Compensation, which he stipulated, for all the Damages the Company, and those dependent upon it, had sustained; but which he contracted only to make, so far as the Produce of the Plunder should appear to have come into his Hands. It was evident, therefore, that, though in Words and in Appearance much had been obtained by the Peace, this still depended, in a great Measure, as to the most material Part, the Performance, on the proper Settling of these Articles, and the Liquidation of the Damages, in reference to which, the Sincerity of the Suba's Intention, and his Readiness to execute what he had undertaken, was almost the sole Security. In order to adjust these Points, without which the Treaty was of very little Consequence to those ruined and undone by the War, the Select Committee very properly made choice of Mr. William Watts, who had been their Chief at Cassimbuzar, who was one of the Members of that Committee, a Person well known to the Nabob, and who had been, as the Suba himself owned, the first innocent and causeless Victim to his Resentment, or rather Caprice. His Acceptance of this Commission, by which he was again to put himself into the Power of this unsteady Prince, in so critical a Conjuncture, and charged with so troublesome and intricate a Negotiation, was a very full Proof of his Fidelity to, and Zeal for, the Interests of the Company; as it likewise was an evident Testimony of the good Opinion of his Associates; who, upon mature Deliberation, invested him solely with so great a Trust.

He was, indeed, in every respect, fittest for this Employment (had there been any Competitor); an Employment, by far the weightiest, and of the most Consequence, of any in Bengal. He had been many Years in the Country; was well acquainted with the Language, as well as accustomed to the Manners and Disposition of the Inhabitants; was much esteemed, and had many Connections with them. He understood their Politics also, at least as much as such fluctuating Politics as theirs could be understood; the true Interest of the Province, and the Constitution of Indostan in general, and the State of the neighbouring Governments in particular. Besides, he was personally known to all the Ministers, and had received very singular Marks of Esteem from the Suba himself. Add to all this, that the Company, in case of the Death or Resignation of Mr. Drake, had appointed this Gentleman to the Government of Calcutta, which, taken together, proves, that this Choice was not the Work of Chance or Favour, but proceeded from mature Deliberation, and a just Regard to the Consequence of that Negotiation, in which he was to be employed.

The Perplexities springing from such a Variety and Complication of Matters that were to be adjusted, the Mutability of the Suba's Nature, and his Want of Judgment and Experience, and the Difficulties naturally arising in settling the Concessions, which had been just extorted from him by Treaty, were not the only Circumstances that embarrassed this Negotiation. The French, perfectly well informed of every Step taken or intended, and no less skilled in the Art of Intrigue, had most effectually retained several of those whom the Suba frequently consulted, or chiefly trusted, in their Interest by gratifying them with Presents. They had still a more powerful Tie on them than this, being in Debt Thirteen Lack of Rupees, or upwards of One hundred and Sixty thousand Pounds Sterling, to Juggut Seat, the greatest Banker in the Empire of Indostan, and the Second in Power in Bengal; to whose Advice for many Years past the Subas paid the greatest Attention. They very well knew, that Men might be false to their Benefactors; but they rightly judged, that even the worst of Men, more especially when avaricious, would be true, where they could not possibly be false, without betraying their own Interest. Under Circumstances like these, there was no Probability, indeed there was no Possibility, of so much as attempting any Thing, but in the Mode of the Court; that is, by opposing Corruption to Corruption, making Friends of the Mammon of Unrighteousness, and getting upon even Ground with those, with whom they were obliged to contend.

But in order to understand the whole of this Matter thoroughly, we must consider the State that Affairs were then in, with respect to the two contending Nations. Advice of the breaking out of the War, between Great Britain and France, arrived in India, the very Day after the Treaty was concluded with the Suba; and of course opened a new Scene. From being commercial and political Rivals, we were now become open Enemies; a Circumstance which we were very sure the French would improve, and which therefore it was our Duty not to neglect. We had at present a Fleet and an Army; for however small they might be, as Matters stood, they both deserved those Titles, and this gave us great Advantages. On the other Hand, the former was soon to quit the Coast, and perhaps Part of the latter, which was a great Disadvantage. The capital Point, therefore, was to avail ourselves of them, while they remained, so as to settle Things upon a stable Foundation, with regard to the French, as well as to the Nabob, before the Season came in which the Fleet was to return. In respect to the former, the Admiral and Colonel Clive, with the Assistance of the Select Committee, were to take the best Measures they could; and Mr. Watts was to regulate the latter; and his Success, or Want of Success, must have apparently had such an Influence upon the whole, that the Reader most certainly needs not be informed, how much depended upon his Courage, Conduct, and Capacity.

The Interest the French had in the Court of the Suba, and their Method of acquiring it, have been already stated. This they would have understood to be barely for their own Support and Security; but however, there were some Surmises, that it was also, and had ever been, not a little to our Prejudice. It was whispered, that the Favour shewn them, in Comparison of the Dutch, after the Destruction of our Settlements, when he affected to fine both Nations for augmenting the Works about their respective Factories, was, in Consideration of their having secretly furnished Artillery, when he marched against Calcutta. This was a Suspicion in the Indies, and as such only is mentioned; but it is very certain, that the Letters wrote Home to Europe were entirely in Suraja Dowlat's Favour, containing a very unfair, and, which was much worse, a very plausible, but utterly false Representation of the Grounds of the Quarrel, which was published to our Prejudice in all the foreign Gazettes.

When Mr. Watts set out for the Suba's Residence, he was accompanied by Omichund, an eminent Merchant of Calcutta, who was well known to the Suba, and his Ministers. This Merchant, Mr. Watts sent to Hughley, to discover, as far as he could, what were the real Intentions of the Moors, in case we attacked Chandenagore. He returned the next Day, February the Eighteenth, with a very distinct Account. He had been informed by Nuncomar, the Phousdar, or Governor of Hughley, that the very Day before, Two Persons, Seen Bawboo and Montra Mull, arrived from the Nabob, with a Lack of Rupees, as a Present to the French Factory; and also with Orders to the Phousdar, to assist the French, if attacked; or if they were the Aggressors, to assist the English. Mr. Watts was too well acquainted with the Genius of the Moors, and the Temper of the Suba, to be deceived by this Shew of Impartiality. He considered the Present as a Declaration in Favour of the French; and the Stile of his Orders as calculated to amuse the English. Omichund was entirely of the same Opinion. Mr. Watts, therefore, advised the Select Committee to attack Chandenagore without Delay, assuring them, that they had nothing to apprehend from the Resentment of the Suba; that if once the two Nations were engaged in Hostilities, the Moors would not come to the Succour of either; and that after all, there were but Three hundred Matchlock Men in Hughley. He saw from the Beginning the Mischief that was to be feared; and the only Remedy that could be applied. He therefore very freely pointed out the one, and very warmly recommended the other. It had been a very happy Event, if his Counsel had been then taken.

On the Twenty-first of February, in the Evening, Mr. Watts arrived in the Camp, and had his Audience of the Suba, who embraced him, gave him the strongest Assurances that every thing should be adjusted speedily, and to his Satisfaction; adding a Promise of the Surpau, (Sirrapah) or Vest of Honour, which, however, Mr. Watts declined receiving, till they came to Muxadavad. He was very soon sensible of the Difficulty of his Task, the Pains he must be at in tracing the Goods taken from their several Factories, the procuring actual Restitution in some Cases, an equitable Equivalent in others; the restoring a free Commerce, which had been stopped, by express Orders, from the very Beginning of the Troubles; and in doing all this, of the almost insurmountable Obstacles that the Mutability of the Suba's Inclinations, the Intrigues of the French, the Insinuations of Ministers, swayed solely by their own Interests, would throw in his Way. But he saw, that the true Source of all these Embarrassments was the Suba's Insincerity, and the Scheme he had formed of resuming his Despotism, in regard to the Europeans, by borrowing their own Assistance, and playing one Nation against another, till, by the weakening of their Forces in such Disputes, he became too strong for both. His Project was too great for his Capacity; he did what he could to execute it, but it was beyond his Force, and his very manner of managing it defeated his Design.

The public Declarations of this irresolute Prince, were diametrically opposite to the whole Tenor of his Conduct. He had no sooner concluded the Treaty with Us, than he wrote to Admiral Watson in the warmest Terms of Friendship, and in a very remarkable Letter to Colonel Clive assures him, that our Enemies should be his, as he expected that we should look upon his Enemies as ours; and that he depended upon the Assistance of the English for maintaining the future Tranquility of his Dominions. But when Mr. Watts communicated to him at large the Reasons that might induce us to reduce the French Settlement at Chandenagore, he made no Scruple of altering his Language. He then said, he would not suffer the Peace of his Territories to be violated by either Nation; that he would protect both, while they remained quiet; that he would assist the French with all his Forces, if we, after this, ever attacked them; and that he would join us in like Manner, if we were attacked by the French. All this, however, was far from imposing on those who were at the Head of our Affairs. Mr. Watts framed his Precautions so well, that he knew exactly the Measures which the Suba took, or was inclined to take, and gave the most early Intelligence of them to the Select Committee, who, from thence, were well enabled to take their own; by which his Schemes were disappointed without Noise, and without so much as suspecting their having any such Informations; though these came chiefly from his own Head-Spy, who, by an Application these Sort of People rarely can resist, Mr. Watts had brought over entirely to the Company's Interests.

By comparing his private Intrigues with some of his more public Transactions, there could not be a Shadow of Doubt left as to his real Intentions, though he always dissembled, and often disavowed them. Immediately after his Treaty with Us, and consequently after he knew that they were our Enemies, he bellowed upon them very conspicuous Marks of Kindness, and such as could not fail of affording Umbrage to the English. He made them, as has been before-mentioned, a Present of a Lack of Rupees in ready Money; he cancelled an Obligation they had given him for twice that Sum; he promised them the Privileges of a Mint; he proposed granting them a very considerable Augmentation of Territory; and even went so far, as to offer them the Possession of the City of Hughley. These were Circumstances that indicated their standing much in his good Graces, or that he expected from them Services equivalent to these substantial and extraordinary Benefits. The Truth, as far as it could ever be discovered, was this. They, and his Ministers in their Interest, made him believe their Strength in his Dominions to be very far beyond what it really was. Besides this, they magnified their Successes in other Parts, and took a great deal of Pains to persuade him, that Mr. Bussy, with a very numerous Army, was within a little Distance of his Territories, and might either fall upon, or come to his Support against, any Enemy, according as he should behave towards them. These Representations, the Nature of the Suba considered, may in some measure, and only in some measure, account for the Part that he acted.

As Mr. Watts was upon the Spot, watched every Motion of the Suba, knew exactly the Character of his Courtiers and principal Ministers, and had the most certain Intelligence of every thing that passed, he continued to represent the Necessity of attacking Chandenagore. He saw that, as far as his Timidity would suffer him to go, the Suba was already united to the French. He was satisfied that he dealt deceitfully with the English; more especially after Mr. Watts prevailed on Colonel Clive to write to the Suba, in the strongest Terms, that he might confide in him on every Occasion; and that on any Emergency he would march at his Request to his Assistance, against all his Enemies. After this, the Suba never mentioned any Desire or Thoughts of demanding Aid from the British Nation. Mr. Watts was therefore convinced that we could never gain him; and that, though now he temporized, he waited only a fit Season to act against us, in Conjunction with the French, upon whom he was daily heaping Favours, while it was with much Difficulty, and in consequence of repeated Sollicitations, he was ever brought to do common Justice to us. In this Situation Mr. Watts exhorted the Admiral, the Colonel, and the Select Committee, not to let slip this favourable Opportunity, and to apprehend nothing from the Suba's Resentment, who would never venture to give them any Succours, or take an open Part in their Favour, or to our Prejudice. But if the Fleet was once gone, and a fair Occasion offered, he would as certainly embrace it, and begin a new War, with as little Scruple as he had done the last, with more Advantage on his Side, and less on ours: Arguments, which, though strong and self-evident, did not meet with general Acceptance.

The Select Committee, though they paid great Deference to the Advice, and had a very just Sense of the Zeal, of Mr. Watts, for the Nation and the Company's Service; yet they were very unwilling to venture again upon Hostilities, from a strong Suspicion that the Suba, whether he actually joined the Enemy or not, would suspend the Execution of the Treaty, renew the Interruption of their Trade, and by that Means hinder their Investments for another Year. They knew so well, and dreaded so much, the Consequences that would have inevitably attended such an Event, that, in spite of all Mr. Watts could allege, they inclined to a Neutrality. This was an Expedient the Suba had proposed, and was another visible Indication of what were his secret and settled Intentions. The Sentiments, or rather the Sollicitations of the Select Committee, prevailed upon the Admiral and the Colonel to acquiesce in this Plan; insomuch that the latter wrote in very strong and pathetic Terms to the Suba, informing him, that whatever Representations of a contrary Nature he might have received, yet himself was very confident, that his Forces were able to reduce Chandenagore in Two days; nevertheless, in consideration of the great Repugnancy he shewed to the disturbing the Tranquility of the Province, he would, out of pure Regard to the Suba's Friendship, consent to such a Neutrality as he proposed, provided it was guarantied by him, and he solemnly undertook to act with all his Forces against that Nation by which it was first infringed.

When Mr. Watts saw, that after all he had offered against it, this Point was driven thus far, and that in all Probability it would be speedily concluded, he turned his Thoughts to the giving it still greater Security, and with that View advised, that Juggut Seat should undertake for the due Performance of whatever should be agreed upon by the French; which, considering the Influence that his Debt gave him over them, and the high Credit in which he stood with the Suba and his Ministers, appeared to be the only Method of giving to this Measure the utmost Consistency of which it was capable. This shews how perfectly well-disposed Mr. Watts was to facilitate any Step taken for the Company's Service, though ever so contrary to his own Opinion; and at the same Time affords a Proof of his thorough Knowlege of Men and Things in that Country, by which he was enabled to devise the Means of rendering this Convention more safe and more effectual, than any that had been proposed by such as had originally planned, and now pressed its Execution. But though he discovered so much Integrity, and so much Abilities in suggesting this additional Strength to a Neutrality, he still looked upon it as diametrically opposite to the Company's true Interest, and as the single Step that could ever put it in the Power of the Suba and the French, to bring their deep and dangerous Designs to bear.

But when all seemed to be absolutely settled, and nothing wanting to this Neutrality but the concluding and signing it in Form, the French themselves overturned it, by avowing that they had no sufficient Authority to support an Act of that Nature, which might be declared invalid by their Superiors. Mr. Watts immediately laid hold on and improved this very unexpected Incident, by representing, in the strongest Light, to the Suba, the Condescension shewn him by the British by accepting, and the Indignity offered to him by the French in rejecting, his Expedient. This had so great an Effect, that in the first Transport of his Resentment he directed a Letter to be written to Vice-Admiral Watson, in which he tacitly permitted the Attack of the French Factory, by recommending Mercy to the Enemy when it should be reduced; and desiring the military Operations of the English might be conducted with as little Prejudice to his Country, or Disturbance to his People, as it was possible. Mr. Watts, who had secured the Suba's Secretary to our Interest, engaged him to pen this important Epistle in a proper Stile, so as to permit the Attack immediately, and to dispatch it without Delay: Precautions, which were of the utmost Consequence, and which, in the Event, gave us all those Advantages we afterwards reaped, and which, through the Blessing of Divine Providence, we still possess in Bengal.