a 7' J^^.^ //.Kjr //^.^va; //,H,r, :.,/,/ ,/■/.„/,/,,;. ???/ EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA A HISTORY ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS IN INDIA, . AS TOLD IN THE GOVERNMENT RECORDS, THE WORKS OF OLD TRAVELLERS, AND OTHER CONTEMPORARY DOCUMENTS, FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD DOWN TO THE RISE OF BRITISH POWER IN INDIA. to > a • J. TALBOYS WHEELER, LATE ASSISTANT SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA IN THE FOREIGN DEPARTMENT AUTHOR OF "A HISTORY OF INDIA FROjM THE EARLIEST AGES;" "THE GEOGRAPHY OF HERODOTUS;" ETC. A NEW EDITION. CALCUTTA : W. NEWMAN & CO., 3, DALHOUSIE SQUARE, AND THACKER, SPINK & CO., 5 & 6, GOVERNMENT PLACE. 1879. CALCjura'A : ; ; PRINTED BY W. NEWMAN Ay^D'.QO., AjV'ni p'AJ<:T.qN PRESS, I,. HI'iSIQN.pOW . , •' . ^- '3-C rii E F A C E . rMllE subject-matter of tlic in'cscnt volume is, i^er- -^ haps, sufficiently told on the title-page. It may, however, be explained that the compiler was originally employed to report on the records of the Home Department in Calcutta, and intended to confine his extracts to the papers preserved there. As, however, he proceeded with the task it was dis- covered that the value of those records had been much overrated. They were incomplete in them- selves, and not only overloaded with detail, but were mostly written in the verbose style of the eighteenth century. Those of an early date had been destroyed in the great storm of 1737, or were lost at the capture of Calcutta in 1756 by the Nawab of Bengal. Those of a later date throw considerable light upon the progress of affau's during the transition period, when the Company's servants were beginning to exercise a political power in India ; but they do not furnish details as regards the social life of the early English settlers in Bengal, which is stiU a desideratum in Anglo-Indian history. r « 3^i i 'i iy PREFACE. The extracts given will suffice to sliow to wliat extent these records possess an intrinsic interest. In order, however, to complete the usefulness of the volume, and render it of historical value, the com- piler has heen led to extend his researches over a wider field. He has collected extracts from the works of old travellers and other contemporary authorities, which hring out the workings of the English element amongst the native population, not only at Calcutta, hut at Surat, Bomhay, and Madras. Surat was perhaps scarcely a settlement; it was only a house or factory. But it was the first factory which the English established in India ; and the pictm^es furnished by the old travellers, Mandelslo and Eryer, of English life at Surat in the reigns of Charles the Eirst and Charles the Second, will pro- bably have a charm for most readers. In like manner Eryer' s description of Bombay, some twenty years after its cession to the English by the Portuguese, will excite imperial interest. It throws fm'ther light upon that indomitable spirit of English enterprise which has converted a pestilential island into one of the great commercial cities of the world. As regards Madras, the compiler has had excep- tional sources of information. The old records of the commercial period, which were wanting in Calcutta, have been preserved at Madras. In 1860 PREFACE. V Sir Charles Trcvelyan, then Governor of Madras, opened wp the records of that Presidency to the compiler for the first time. The result was a puhlication of a series of extracts from the records ; and these extracts were illustrated, or rather held together, by an explanatory narrative. The work was puhhshed in three volumes under the title of " Madras in the Olden Time." That portion of the present volume which deals with Madras comprises a selection of such Madras records as are likely to interest general readers. Those which are only of local value, and likely to prove tedious to readers outside the Madras Presidency, have been generally excluded. Those which illustrate the primitive system of administration, the old English life within the walls of Port St. George and Black Town, or the rela- tions between the English residents and native population, have been reproduced in extenso, or in the form of an abridged summary. These again have been supplemented by extracts from the travels of Pryer and Hamilton. Something is thus opened up of the inner state of affairs dur- ing the seventeenth century, and early years of the eighteenth, and the way in which the Company's administration of Madras was regarded by strangers and interlopers. y[ rnEFACE. In dealing with Calcutta the compiler has pro- ceeded much on the same principle. The ahsencc of records prior to the capture of Calcutta in 175G has heen supplied by extracts or summaries from contemporary authoritieSj such as Holwell, the Syar-ul-Mutakherin, Stewart's History of Bengal, and otherw^orks of a like character. The following documents are specially w^orthy of notice: — ls(, — The letters of certain English envoys who went on a mission from Calcutta to Delhi as far back as 1715. This correspondence was discovered at Madras during the investigations of 1860 and 1861. 27id. — Extracts from Hamilton's Travels about 1720^ which furnish graphic pictures of old Calcutta life^ as well as sketches of all the European settlements in Bengal. 3rd, — HolwelFs Narrative of the Tragedy in the Black Hole in 1756. Holwell was one of the sufferers in that terrible catastrophe, in which a hundred and twenty-three persons were stifled to death in a small dungeon, whilst only twenty-three lived till the next morning. Of the remainder of the volume little need he said. It consists of extracts from the Calcutta records strung together by an explanatory narrative. There are some strange and lamentable episodes, such as the quarrel over the inland ti*ade and the massacre at Patna. All, however, may be left to tell their own story. / niEFACE. vii Tlic labour wliicli has been spent upon this /* volume is beyond all calculation. It cannot be judged by the results, but only from the voluminous records which have been carefully searched but yielded nothing. The time expended, hoTvever, will never be regretted should it aj^pear that the in- formation now collected from oris^inal or half -for- gotten sources has helped to throw more light upon the rise of British power in India. J. TALBOYS WHEELER. Calcutta, The 2Glh December ISTZ. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. IM>r.\ IX THE SEVENTEEA'TH CENTURY, A. P. IGOO TO 1700. Enrly English settlements .... Division of India: — Hindustan, Dekban, Peninsul Hindus under Muhammadan rule Afghans and Sloghuls . Moghul Empire in India Akbar, 1556-1605 . Policy of Akbar . Partialitj' for Hindus and Europeans Inherent weakness of Moghul rule Moghul despotism Land tenures .... Eenter and husbandman Proprietory right of the Sovereign Eights of inheritance refused to olRce-holdei Life in public Government in the provinces Eevenue system Presents Moghul Court Eebellions Jehangir, 1605-1627 . Shah Jehan, 1628-1658 Aurungzeb, 1658 to 1707 Bigotry and hypocrisy War between the four princes Eeign of Aurungzeb Eise of the Mahrattas . Sivaji, the Mahratta War against Sivaji Sivaji at Delhi Death of Sivaji, 1680 . Aurungzeb takes the field VAGV. 1 ib. 2 ib. 3 ib. ib. 4 5 ib. 6 ib. 7 ib. 8 ib. 9 10 ib. 11 12 ib. ib. ib. 14 ib. 15 ib. ib. 16 ib. X CONTENTS. Persecuting wars against Hindus 16 Wars in Rajputaua 17 CHAPTER II. ENGLISH AT SURAT AND BOMBAY. A. D. 1600 TO 1700. Early settlement at Surat Hostility of the Portuguese . Pomp of the President .... Visit of Mandelslo .... Surat Custom House .... Entertainment at the English house Order of the English Factory Tea English Garden Amusements at Surat . . ■ . Journey to Ahmadabad . . , . Eajput outlaws ..... Ahmadabad ..... Ahmadabad maintains 12,000 horse. The Governor's wealtl His Court His expense Mandelslo visits the Governor cf Ahmadabad Their discourse Dinner ....... A second visit to the Governor Opium ....... Character of the Governor of Ahmadabad His cruelty. Mandelslo leaves Ahmadabad Visit of Fryer to Surat .... The English Factory .... Full of noise The four Chief Offices .... The Company's Servants, and their Salaries The under factories modelled by this The Presidency ..... The advantage of being at the Council . The baseness of the Banians Number of persons in the Factory State of the President .... All places in India subject to the Presidency, with their conimo dities 18 ib. ib. 19 ib. 20 21 23 ib. ib. ib. 23 ib. ib. 24 ib. ib. ib. 25 ib. 26 27 28 iby ib. 29 ib. 30 ib. ib. 31 ib. ib. ib. 33 CONTENTS. XI Frcc- Si The Investment set on foot in the rains Tills trade raanaiijed by a Company better than by Their Freemen fjreater slaves than their Servants The Charges of the English Company not so i,a-eat as landers Their Charter pnt in force .... The course of the Presidents .... The English defend themselves with honour a, il>. !)(> ib. 91 [)2 ib. (13 ib. ib. ib. ib. 91 95 96 ib. 97 98 ib. ib. 99 ib. ib. ib. 100 ib. ib. 101 ib. CONTENTS. XV Nawab's friendship for the English I)iiti(l Khan, second Nawab oF thi- Carnatic More demands for money liesoUition of Governor I'ilt . Nuwab Dt'iiid Khan i^ives wa^' Governor Pitt's hospitality Preparation for entertainini,' the Nawab Ddiid The dinner ..... Return to St. Thome . Nawab proposes going on board the En How prevented .... Proposed visit to the Company's garden ; als Extraordinary demands of Aurungzcb IMoghul ideas of Europeans . Moghul ships .... English pirates .... Moghul threats .... Preparations of the English . Khafi Khan's visit to Bombay Bombay Castle .... Bombay Governor Demands of the Moghul on Governor Pitt Commotions at Madras . "Remonstrance of Governor Pitt Threats of Nawab David Khan Siege of Madras February to April . The English offer terms Da6d Khan raises the siege Death of William III . Proclamation of Queen Anne . Destruction of a Moghul armv Eight and left hands Closer relations with Dellii Curious trade report, 1712 Madras trade in 1712 Later records Changes in marriage laws Curious will, 1720 Captain Hamilton at Madras Site of Madras Prosperity of Madras during the wars Town Hall and Coi'poration Mayor's Court Khan nips I prev( nted r.ioE 102 ib. 103 ib. 101 ib. ib. 105 10(5 ib. ib. ib. 107 ib. ib. 108 ib. 109 ib. ib. 110 111 ib. 112 ib. 113 ib. ib. Ill ib. ib. 115 ib. 116 ib. 117 IIM UU 121 124 ib. 125 126 ib. XV i CONTENTS. PAGE Law at Madras 127 Pirates ib. Hamilton's voyage to Siam ib. Hamilton's grievance ......... 128 Inhabitants of Black Town * ib. Governor absolute 129 Sea-gate ........... ib. Mint, schools, &c ib. Diamond mines .......... 130 Working of the mines ib. Decrease of trade ib. Foreign trade ib. Population 131 St. Thome ib. Legend of St. Thomas . . , ib. Church at St. Thome 132 Company's garden ib. Decay of St. Thome 133 Eeorganisation of the Mayor's Court ...... ib. Grotesque procession ......... ib. Political relations .......... ib. Nawab of Arcot 134 Hindu and Moghul administration contrasted . . . . ib. Breaking up of the Moghul Empire ...... ib. Growing independence of the Nizam of Hyderabad . . . 135 Dependence of the Nawab of Arcot on the Nizam . . . . ib. Hereditary Nawabs . 13G Troubles in the Carnatic . ib. Mahrattas at Trichinopoly ib. Murder of the Nawab 137 Accession of the Nawab's son ib. Intervention of the Nizam ........ ib. Anwar-ud-din 138 Murder of the young Nawab ....... ib. Anwar-ud-din becomes Nawab ib. War between Great Biitain and France 139 Madras captured and restored ib. Peace in Europe : war in India ....... ib. Schemes of Dupleix ......... 140 Death of the Nizam : war for the succession ..... ib. Chunda Sahib, the French Nawab : Muhammad Ali, the English Nawab 141 French Nawab set up by Dupleix ....... ib. English claimant at Trichinopoly ib. CONTENTS. Xyil TAGR Failure of the French claimants to capture Trichinopoly . . lil Nazir Jung, the English Nizam 142 Triumph of the Englisli Nizam and English Nawab . . . ib. Revolution and transfomiation ....... ib. Murder of the English Nizam : triumph of the French Nizam . ib. Triumph of the French Nawab 143 Glory of Dupleix ....... . . . ib. French at Hyderabad under Bussy ...... ib, Salabat Jung, the French Nizam, cedes the Northern Circars to the French . . . . . . ^^ . ^ , . , . . ib. English Nawab besieged at yoHflinbowy ^■'--^-t, ^fj!!iy . . 144, Clive relieves Trichinopoly by the capture and defence of Arcot . ib. Glory of Clive 145 English Nawab at Arcot : French Nizani at Hyderabad . . ib. CHAPTER VI. ENGLISH IN BENGAL. A. D. 1640 TO 1750 Moghul obstructiveness . Old hatred of the Portuguese ]\Iussulman complaints against the Portuguese Revenge of Shah Jehan on Hughli, 1C32 English at Piply, 1633 .... English trade duty free, 1640 English factory at Hughli Saltpetre factory at Patna Absence of records at Calcutta War between the sons of Shah Jehan, 1666 Moghul wars for the succession Invasion of Bengal by the King of Arakan Ravages of the Rajas of Assam and Cooch Behar Amir Jumla, Viceroy of Bengal, 1658 Shaista Khan, Viceroy, 1664 . Punishment of the King of Arakan Suppression of Portuguese pirates . Complaints of the English Commutation of duties . Tavemier's journey from Agra to Dacca and Hughli, 1665-66 Agra ...... Bengal Revenue .... Rhinoceros ..... Aurungabad ..... 147 ib, ib. 148 149 ib. 150 ib. ib. ib. 151 ib. 152 ib. ib. 153 ib. ib. 154 ib. ib. ib. ib. 155 Xviii CONTENTS. VL6t River Ganges 155 Allahabad ib. Crossing a river 156 Benares ib. Patna 157 Eajmahal ........... ib. Parting from Bernier . . ' ib. Crocodiles ib. Dacca 158 Visits tbe Nawab 159 Hospitalities 160 Huglili ib. Tavernier's grievances ......... ib. Persecution of Hindus, 1680 ....... 161 Jezya demanded from Europeans ....... ib. The English oppressed ib. Mr. Job Channock ib. Ibrahim Khan, Nawab, 1689. Foundation of Calcutta . . . 162 Loss of the saltpetre trade ib. Hindu rebellion in Bengal, 1696 ib. Azim-u-shan, Viceroy, 1696 163 Foi-tification of Calcutta ib. English hold the rank of Zemindar il9. Objections over ruled 164 Murshed Kuli Khan, Nawab, 1707 ib. Zemindars oppressed ib. Employment of new collectors 165 Bemeasurement of lands ib. Subsistence allowances to Zemindars ib. Zemindars of Bhirbhum and Kishnaghur exempted . . . ib. Submission of Tipperah, Cooch Behar, and Assam .... 166 Administration of justice • . ib. Despotic powers 167 Kajas refused seats ib. Zemindars prohibited palanqviins ib. Eeasons for employing only Bengalis ib. Story of Raja Oudy Narain ib. Zemindari of Rajeshahi 168 Daily audit of accounts ib. Torture of Zemindars ib. Cruelties of the Deputy Dewan ib. Demands of Murshed Kuli Khan upon the English . . . 169 The Governor sets aside thi; privileges of the English, 1713 . , ib. English embassy to Delhi, 1715 , . 170 CONTENTS. XIX Judli Daur Delhi unknown to the English at Calcutta Records of the embassy preserved at Madras . Farrukh Siyar made Emperor by the two Sayyids Khan Dauran hostile to the two Saj-yids Extracts from the Madras rec irds . Reception of the English embassy at Delhi Embassy advised by Zoudi Khan . Breach between the Emperor and the two Sayyids Husain sent to be Viceroy of the Dekhan Daiid Khan ordered to cut off Husain . Expected rupture ...... Return of the Emperor to Delhi Sickness of Fariukh Siyar .... Death of Daiid Khan ..... Man-iage of Farrukh Siyar to the daughter of the English surgeon rewarded .... Business of the embassy delayed by the marriage Slow progress ...... Mutiny of the Moghul army at Delhi . Arrest and massacre of the Sikhs at Delhi Strange procrastination and forgetfulness of Khan More delays ... Fighting at the Moghul Court Alarm of the Moghul ..... Farewell audience ...... Troubles of the English doctor Death of Hamilton : inscription on his tomb . Bloody quarrels at Delhi .... Murder of the Emperor Farrukh Siyar . Captain Hamilton's account of the English settlements 1720 Ruin of Piply by the removal to Hugli and Calcutt Coxe's and Sagor Islands .... Anchorage at Rogue's River .... Danish house ...... Calcutta, Juanpardoa, and Radnagur Ponjelly Tanna Fort Governapore ....... Settlement at Calcutta by Job Channock, 1G90 Despotic power of Mr. Channock . Story of Mr. Channock's native wife Fort William and English houses . Story of Sir Edward Littleton ur K; ija PAGB 170 171 ib. ib. ib. ib. 172 174 175 ib. ib. 176 ib. ib. 177 ib. ib. 178 179 180 ib, 182 ib. ib. 183 ib. 184 185 ib. 186 ib. 187 ib. 188 ib. ib. ib ib! 189 ib. ib. 190 ib. XX CONTENTS. Mr. Weldoii Scandals about bribes Divine Service .... Governor's house .... Hospital, garden, and fish-ponds Docks on the opposite bank . Social Hfe of the English in Bengal English soldiers .... Transit duties levied by petty Eajas Different religions Injustice of the English Governors Story of Captain Perrin and Governor Sheldon Hamilton's interference Story of the Persian wine Territory and population of the Company Barnagul .... Danish colony Danish and French Companies Dutch factory at Chiusura Hughli . Cossimbazar . Murshedabad Malda . Patna . s settlement 190 191 ib. ib. ib. 192 ib. ib. 193 ib. ib. ib. 194 195 ib. ib. ib. 196 ib. ib. 197 ib. ib. ib. 198 ib. 199 lb. ib. 200 ib. ib. ib. 201 ib. ib. 202 203 ib. 204, 205 ib. 206 ib. Benares . Dacca . Chittagong . Sundiva A hundred pagans to one Mussulman Lightness of Moghul taxation Hamilton's imperfect information Death of Murshed Kuli Khan Rise of Aliverdi Khan . Raja of the Chukwars . Independence of the old Eaja : submission of the y Treachery of Aliverdi Khan Persian invasion under Nadir Shah, 17 Afghan conquest of Persia ; rise of Nad Causes of the Persian invasion of India Incapacity, corruption, and treachery Massacre, outrage, and spoliation . Breaking up of the Moghul Empire State of Bengal .... The Seits or Hindu bankers . oung Raja f38 -39 Shah CONTENTS. XXI Lawlessnesi5 of the Nawab Conspiracy ..... Rebellion of Aliverdi Khan, 174^1-12 Usurpation of Aliverdi Klian, 1742 Mahrattas invade Bengal. 1742-o0 War between England and France, 1741. Peace between English and French in India, 1754 PiQK 207 ib. ib. 208 ib. ib. 209 CHAPTER VII. CALCUTTA AND ITS CAPTUKK. A. D. 1750 TO 1756 State of Calcutta, 1750-5G . Mahratta ditch .... Population Calcutta of 1752 and 1876 compared European element at Calcutta Trade at Calcutta .... Social life Native life, Hindu and Muhammadan English supreme within the Company's bounds Administration of justice amongst the English Administration of justice amongst the Natives Revenue of the English at Calcutta Total revenue General use of cowries The Kotwal or head of police Subordinate factories ..... Changes in the transaction of business : abolition of like Omichund .... Suraj-u-daula, Nawab, 1756 .... Capture of the English factory at Cossimbazar Capture of Calcutta ..... Holwell's narrative of the tragedy of the Black Hoi DifHculfcy in writing the narrative Importance of Holwell's narrative Tranquillity of mind on the voyage to England State of the prisoners on the evening of the capture Factory in flames .... Bravei-y of Mr. Leech . Prisoners driven through the barracks into the Black M Eight o'clock .... The situation .... contr actors 212 ib. 213 ib. 214 215 216 217 218 ib. 219 220 222 223 ib. 224 ib. 225 226 227 ib. 228 ib. ib. 229 230 ib. 231 ib. xxu CONTENTS. • '('J l^espair Necessity for tranquillity Fearful prospect . Bribing the Jemadar : the Nawab Perspiration . Expedients for relief Nine o'clock . EflBuvia Water .... Sad results Kavings Diversion of the guards . Eleven o'clock IJank and distinction forgotten Centre of the Black Hole The platform Death of Mr. Eyre Insupportable thirst Thirst increased by water Strange refreshment Delirium Suffocation Half-past eleven till two o'clocl Suicidal temptation Mr. and Mrs. Carey Death of Mr. Carey Stupor .... Loss of sensation . Interval of unconscioiisness Carried to the window . llecovery of consciousness Release ordered Restoration . Slow opening of the door Demands of the Nawab for hidden Callous Nawab Nawab inexorable . Severe treatment J{eason for the Nawab's cruelty Further sufferings . Iron fetters Embark for Murshedabad Sufferings on the voyage Poor diet a preservation asleep the m PAOS 231 232 ib. ib. 233 ib. ib. 234 ib. ib. 235 ib. ib. ib. 236 ib. ib. ib. 237 ib. 238 ib. 239 ib. ib. 240 ib. ib. ib. 241 ib. ib. ib. 242 ib. ib. ib. 243 ib. ib. 244 ib. ib. ib. CONTENTS. xxiii PAGE Application to the Dut<;li at Chinsura 245. Ridiculous incident .......... ib. Refractory Zemindar ......... ib Attack on the Zemindar ib. Holwell dragged through the sun 246 Submission of the Zemindar ib. Return march .......... ib. Re-embarkation 247 Small mercies .......... ib. Humanity of Mr. Law, Chief of the French factory at Cossimbazar . ib. Over-indulgence ib. An-ival at Murshedabad 248 March through the city ib. More sufferings ib. Fever and gout . . . . . . . . . . ib. Humanity of the French and Dutch .•..,. ib. Mention of Warren Hastings 249 Better news ib. Hope of release ib. Conducted to the Nawab's palace . ib. No audience ib. Disappointments 250 Fears of the worst ib. Despair ........... ib. Release ib. Explanations .......... 251 Conclusion ..... ...... ib. Demolition of the Black Hole in 1818 ib. Appearance of the Black Hole in 1812 ...... ib. List of the sufferers in the Black Hole ...... 252 CHAPTER VIII. FIRST GOVEEXMENT OF CLITE. A. D. 1757 TO 1760. Calcutta recovered, January 1757. Colonel Clive Governor Attitude of the Nawab Defeat of the Nawab by Clive, February 1757 Objections to peace Lavish promises of the Nawab Difficulties with the French at Chandernagore Increase of French influence in the Dekhau under Bussy XXIV CONTENTS. Capture of Cliandernagore The Nawab inclines towards the French Alarming proceedings of the Nawab Difficulties of Olive French and English in Bengal Native conspiracy at Murshedabad . Clive makes terms with the conspirators Victory at Plassey, May 1757 Clive makes Meer Jaffier Nawab : presents and Joy and triumph at Calcutta . Wealth of Clive Meer Jaffier drives the Hindus into rebellion Nawab of Oude threatens Bengal . Clive averts the danger .... Difficult position of Clive Authority of the Nawab exercised by Clive. Mahrattas' and Moghuls' court : Clive . Euin of the French interest in the Dekhan The Shahzada threatens Bengal Defeated by Clive . War with the Dutch Meer Jaffier frightened . Clive returns to England, 1760 Policy of Clive : his letter to Pitt Clive offered the post of Dewan by refusing Previous scheme of Colonel Mill Clive's ideas of conquest Pitt's objections the Moghul Court compensation s fo: PAGK 257 ib. 258 ib. 259 ib. 260 ib. ib. 261 ib. 262 ib. ib. 263 ib. 264 ib. 265 ib. 266 ib. 267 ib. 268 ib. 270 ib. CHAPTER IX. CALCUTTA RECORDS : CHANGING NAWATi&. A. yy. 1760 TO 1763 ^Critical state of Bengal . 271 Governors Holwell and Vansittart . . 272 Bengal threatened . . . . . . ib. Nawab Jaffier deposed . . = . . ib. Installation of Nawab Cossim . 273 Invasion repelled . . ib. Records of the Home Office at Calcutta . . ib. Designs of Meer Cossim . ib. Shah Alam at Pntna .... 274 COXTENTS. XXV tbe help of as rcErards am Narain V Cossira English propose conducting Shah Alam to Delhi . Afghan influences predominating at Delhi Extracts from Calcutta records .... King Shah Alam returns towards Delhi ; fails to obtain the English Designs of Nawab Cossim upon the King Designs of the English upon the King . The English applj- to Shah Alam for other sunnuds Also for sunnuds for their Nawab at Arcot Designs of Nawab Cossim against the Hindu grandees Non-interference with the Nawab's servants : question Ram Narain Major Camac and Colonel Coote wished to protect R Governor of Behar, against Meer Cossim . Regrets the dispute with Colonel Coote . Miscellaneous incidents . . . ... Troubles in Bm-ma . . . ' . I'istress amongst French families in Bengal . State of afiiiirs with the Dutch Remonstrance with the Dutch respecting the West Coast Deputation of Mr. Warren Hastings to Nawab Mec question of the twenty lakhs, 1762 . Disputes in the Calcutta Council . Charge of treachery against Ram Churii : suspected forgery . Bequests of Omichund to the Magdalen House and Foundlin Hospital .......... Despatches from the Court of Drrectors reviewing events News of Shah Alam received via St. Helena .... Circumstances under which the Directors would have helped Shah Alam Remarks of the Directors on Bengal revolutions in general Colonel Calliaud charged with an attempt to assassinate the Shah zada ... Punishment if guilty Other Europeans, if implicated, to be punished in like manner Complaints of the heavy cost of revolution .... Tranquillity in Bengal most desirable Revenue of fifty lakhs yearly under the treaty with Meer Cossim most satisfactory ........ Real cause of the massacre of the English in Burma Highly dissatisfied with the disputes in the Calcutta Council . Further despatches to the Court of Directors Results of the mission of Warren Hastings to Meer Cossim . Proposed alliance with the Raja of Munipur against the King of Burma ........... PAGR 275 ib. ib. ib. 277 ib. 278 ib. 279 ib- 281 ib. ib. ib. 282 ib. ib. 283 ib. 284 ib. 28.5 ib. ib. 286 ib. 287 ib. ib. 288 ib. 289 ib. 290 ib. 291 xxvi CONTENTS. PASC Application of Shah Alam for help to recover Delhi . . . 291 Reply to Shah Alam : Mr. Vansittart proposes seeing the King at Monghyr 292 Mr. Vansittart will also conciliate Meer Cossim . . . . ib. Further enquiries about Ram Churn : implication of Nundcoomar in the forgery .......... ib. Dangerous character of Nundcoomar ...... 293 Despatches from the Directors ....... ib. Highly gratified with the general tranquillity and pi-osperity . . ib. An advance to Delhi would be most injudicious : the best policy is isolation and neutrality ........ 294 Nawab Meer Cossim ought to have been better suppoi'ted in claim- ing the sunnuds for Bengal, Behar, and Orissa, from Shah Alam 295 Approve of the refusal of the Dewani offered by Shah Alam : in- gratitude of the King ib. Surprised at the unwarrantable demand of twenty lakhs from the Nawab 296 Full apologies to be tendered to the Nawab in the name of the Company . . ib. Weak capacity of Mr. Vansittart 297 CHAPTER X. CALCUTTA RECORDS : PRIVATE TRADE. A. D. 1763. Bengal gomastas 298 Private trade ib. Extension of private trade inland ib. English flag and dustuck 299 Native respect for the English ib. Native agents or gomastas 300 Complaints against the gomastas . ib. Pretensions of Nawab Cossim 801 Recriminations between the English and the Nawab's officers re- specting the inland trade . 302 Discussion in the Board : all the Directors summoned to Calcutta . 303 Meeting of the fiiU Board at Calcutta ...... 304 Consultations, 15th February : Majors Adams and Carnac summoned ib. Measures for preventing disorders during the interval . . . ib. Consultations, 19th February : translation ordered of all Firmans, Husboolhookums, and Treaties ib. Consultations, 22nd February : matter in dispute reduced to questions ........... 305 Consultations, 1st March : majority agreed on the freedom from all duties : cede the duty ou salt to the Nawab . . . . ib. CONTENTS. XXvii PAGR Merits of the question submitted to the Directors . . . . 'MG Consultations, 5th March : rcfjulations for the mutual restraint of En' annimi, fifty pound paid here, the other at home : All the rest are half paid here, half at home, except the Writers, who have all paid here. The under Factories mo- delled by this. ENGLISH AT SURAT AND BOMBAY. 3I *' Out of the Council are elected the Deputy-Governor of The ndvantatro •n 1 1 « n -n • i . i f j **' beiii(f at tlio Bombay, and Agent 01 rersia ; the nrst a place 01 g^reat Council. trust, the other of profit ; thoug-h, by the appointment from the Company, the Second of India claims Bombay, and the Secretary of Surat the Agency of Persia, which is connived at, and made subject to the will of the President, by the interest of those whose lot they are ; chusing rather to reside here, where consignments compensate those emoluments ; so that none of the Council, if noted in England, but makes considerably by his place, after the rate of five in the hun- dred, commission ; and this is the Jacob's ladder by which they ascend. " It would be too mean to descend to indirect ways, which The bascncaa are chiefly managed by the Banians, the fittest tools for any ^ deceitful undertaking; out of whom are made brokers for the Company, and private persons, who are allowed two per cent, on all bargains, besides what they squeeze secretly out of the price of things bought; which cannot be well under- stood for want of knowledge in their language; which ignor- ance is safer, than to hazard being poisoned for prying too nearly into their actions : Though the Company, to encourage young men in their service, maintain a master to learn them to write and read the language, and an annuity to be annex- ed when they gain a perfection therein, which few attempt, and fewer attain. "To this Factory belongs twenty persons in number. Number of reckoning Swally Marine into the account; a Minister for Factory. Divine Service, a Surgeon, and when the President is here, a guard of English soldiers, consisting of a double file led by a Serjeant. " The present Deputy has only forty Moor-men, and a flag- man, carrying St. George his colours swallow-tailed in silk, fastened to a silver partisan; with a small attendance of horse with silver bridles, and furniture for the gentlemen of the house, and coaches for Ladies and Council. *' The President besides these has a noise of trumpets, and state of tho is carried himself in a Palenkeen, a horse of state led before 32 EARLY RECORDS OF RRITISH INDIA. him, a Miichal (a fan of ostriches' feathers) to keep off the sun, as the Omrahs or great men have ; none but the Emperor have a Sumbrero among the Moguls : Besides these, every one according to his quality has his menial servants to wait on him in his chamber, and follow him out. All places in " The Presidency of Surat is esteemed superior to all in the Presid'muy," India, the Agcucy of Bantam being not long since subordinate niodities. to it, but siucc made independent ; though the South Sea trade is still maintained from hence to Bantam with such cloth as is vendible there, from thence with dollars to China for sugar, tea, porcelaue, laccared ware, quicksilver, tuthinag and copper ; which with cowreys, little sea-shells, come from Siam and the Phillipine Islands; gold and elephants' teeth from Sumatra, in exchange of corn. From Persia, which is still \inder the Presidency, come drugs and Carmauia wool; from Mocha, cohar, or coffee. The Inland Factories subject to it, are Ahmadabad, whence is provided silks, as atlases wrought with gold ; Agra, where they fetch indico, chuperly, coarse cloth. Siring chints. Broach baftas, broad and narrow ; dimities, and other fine calicuts ; Along the coasts are Bombay, Rajapore for salloos; Carnear for dungarees, and the weightiest pepper ; Calicut for spice, ambergreez, granats, opium, with salt petre, and no cloth, though it give the name of Calicut to all in India, it being the first port from whence they were known to be brought into Europe : All which, after the Europe ships have unladen at Surat, they go down to fetch ; and bring up time enough before the Caffilas out of the country come in with their wares. The Investment " The places about Surat afford variety of Calicuts, but not set on foot iu , . , . ■, j_ i i i the Rains. guch vast quantities as are yearly exported, and moreover not so cheap ; which is the reason at every place the factors are sent to oversee the weavers, buying up the cotton-yarn to employ them all the rains, when they set on foot their investments, that they may be ready against the season for the ships: or else the chief broker imploys Banians in their steads, who are responsible for their fidelity. ENGLISH AT SUllAT AND BOMBAY. 33 . " On these wheels moves the traffick of the East, and has This trade inaiia;;cu ny a succeeded better than any Corporation preceeding-, or open Company better •' ^ '■ cj 1 than free- trade licensed in the time of Oliver Cromwell ; though how Trudcis. much more to the benefit of England than a free commerce, may be guessed by their already being over-flocked with Europe merchandise, which lowers the price. What then would a glut do, which certainly must follow, but debase them more, and enhance these ? " But lest the New Company should be exclaimed against as Their Freemeu too greedy monopolizers, they permit free traders on their than their Island Bombay; when, to speak truth, they are in a far worse condition than their servants ; being tied up without hopes of raising themselves : so that in earnest they find out that to be but a trick. "However, to confess on the Company's behalf, the trade TheChargQ? ., of the English (I mean on this coast) for some years lately passed has Company not ^ ' . 80 great as the hardly ballanced expences. They employing yearly forty sail Hollanders, of stout ships to and from all parts where they trade, out and home ; manning and maintaining their Island Bombay, Fort St. George, and St. Helens ; besides large sums expended to bear out the port of their Factors ; which notwithstandino- by impartial computation has been found inferior to the costs of the Hollanders, and therefore more to the profit of the English East India Company, than theirs, in the few years they have adventured ; so that I should mightily blame them should they prove ungrateful to His Majesty, who by his gracious favour has united them in a society, whereby they are competitors for riches (though not strength) with the notedest Company in the universe. • " This Charter was granted presently after the happy restora- Their charter tion of our Gracious Sovereign, when order began to dawn, and ^" dispel the dark chaos of popular community : Then was sent out a President, to put their Charter in force, and establish a graduation among their servants, which before was not observed ; only for order's sake, they did nominate an Agent ; the rest being independent, made no distinction. When as now, after a better model, they commence according to their standing, and are under a collegiate manner of restraint. C u EARLY KECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. The Course of the Presidents. The English defend themselves with honour egaiust 8evaji a second time. The Power of the President, III snccesB of the first Adventuree. " The last Agent was Agent Rivinton, who was abolished by the Company's sending out President Wynch, who lived not much more than two years : President Andrews took his place ; and he resigning, Sir George Oxendine held it till his death ; in whose time Sevaji plundered Surat ; but he defended himself and the merchants so bravely, that he had a khillut or Serpaw, a robe of honour from head to foot, offered him from the Great Mogul, with an abatement of customs to Two and an half per cent, granted to the Com- pany : For which his masters, as a token of the high sense they had of his valour, presented him a medal of gold, with this device : ' Non minor est virkis qnam qiKBrere parta tueri.' " After whose decease, the Honourable Gerald Aungier took the chair, and encountered that bold mountaineer a second time, with as great applause; when the Governor of the town and province durst neither of them shew their heads : " Fluctum enim toiius Barbarioe ferre iirhs una non poterat. "The enemies by the help of an Europe engineer had sprung a mine to blow up the castle ; but being discovered, were repulsed ; for though he had set fire to the rest of the city, they retained the castle, and the English their house. " The extent of the Presidency is larger in its missions than residency; in which limits may be reckoned an hundred Company's servants continually in the country ; besides the annual advenues of ships, which during their stay are all under the same command : Therefore what irregularities are committed against only the Presidency or Company, in case of non-submission, the persons offending are to be sent home, and dismissed their employments for refractoriness ; but if an higher Court lay hold of them in case of murder or any capi- tal crime, then they are to be sent to Bombay, there to have a legal trial, according to the laws of England, as the Presi- dent is created Governor of His Majesty's Island. " The ill-managing of which penalties formerly, or the in- validity to inflict them, may be the true cause of the unpros- perousness of the ancient undertakers ; who had this incon- ENGLISH AT SURAT AND BOMBAY. 35 veuiency still attending, to wit, the incorrig-ible stubbornness war with of their own men, after they had overcome all other difficulties, occasioned by the grant of the East to the Portugal, and West- Indies to the Spaniard. Nevertheless this fairy gift was the groimd of a long and tedious quarrel in each of the world^s ends ; so that our ships encountring with their Carracks, seldom used to part without the loss of one or both. Nay, the long-lived peo])le yet at Swalley, remember a notable skirmish betwixt the English and Portugals there, wherein they were neatly intrapped ; an ambuscado of ours falling upon them behind in such sort, that they were compelled between them and the ships in the road, to resign most of their lives; and gave by their fall a memorable name to a Point they yet call Bloody Point, for this very reason. But since these sores are fortunately bound uj) in that conjugal tye betwixt our sacred King and the sister of Portugal, laying all foul words and blows aside, let us see how the affairs stand betwixt them and the Dutch, who followed our steps, and got in at the breach we made. They made them more w^ork, not only beating them out of their South-Sea trade, but possessed themselves of all their treasures of spice, and have ever since kept them, with all their strong-holds, as far as Goa ; they only enjoying the gold trade of Mosambique undisturbed ; the Japanners having banished both their commerce and reli- gion. " Wherefore our ships almost alone, were it not for a little tuc Company the French of late, lade Calicuts for Europe : The Dutch have '""''' ^^' ^"'• a Factory here, that vend the spices they briog from Batavia, and invest part of the money in coarse cloth, to be disposed among their Planters, or sold to the Malayans, and send the rest back in rupees : So that w-e singly have the credit of the Port, and are of most advantage to the inhabitants, and fill the Custom-House with the substautialest incomes. But not to defraud the French of their just commendations, whose Factory is better stored with Mousieurs than with cash, they live w^ell, borrow money, and make a show : Here are French Capuchins, who have a Convent, and live in es- teem." 36 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Kudenessof the Mussulman niendicauts. Seamen. Subordination of Bombay to Surat. Dr. Fryer furnishes a curious account of tlie relations between the English and the Muhammad- ans at Surat : — " Going out to see the city of Surat, I passed without any incivility, the better because I understood not what they said ; for though we meet not with boys so rude as in Eng- land, to run after strangers, yet here are a sort of bold, lusty, and most an end, drunken beggars, of the Mussulman cast, that if they see a Christian in good clothes, mounted on a stately horse, with rich trappings, are presently upon their punctilios with God Almighty, and interrogate him. Why he suffers him to go a foot, and in rags, and this Kafir (Unbeliever) to vaunt it thus? And are hardly restrained from running a Bhtc/: {which is to kill whoever they meet, till they be slain themselves), especially if they have been at Hadji, a pilgrimage to Mecca, and thence to Juddah, where is Mahomet's Tomb ; these commonly, like evil spirits, have their habitations among the tombs. Nor can we com- j)lain only of this libertinism, for the rich Moormen them- selves are persecuted by these rascals. " As for the rest, they are very respectful, unless the seamen or soldiers get drunk, either with toddy or bang (a plea- sant intoxicating seed, mixed with milk) ; then are they mouarchs, and it is madness to oppose them ; but leave them to themselves, and they will vent that fury, by breath- ing* a vein or two with their own swords, sometimes slash- ing themselves most barbarously .'■' The allusions to Bombay in the foregoing extracts show that it was considered at this period to be a subordinate place to Surat. It had been given to the English in 1C61 as a portion of the dowry of Donna Infanta Catherina, sister to the King of Portugal, when she was given in marriage to Charles the Second. Some years elapsed before the English effected a settlement ENGLISH AT SURAT AND BOMBAY. 37 at Bombay. Dr. Fryer visited tlie Island about 1674, and has left the following description of Bombay and its surroundings : — "Let us walk the lounds. At distance enough lies The Town of *^ Bombay. the town, in which confusedly live the Eng-lish, Portugueze, Topazes, Hindoos, Moors, Cooly Christians, most fishermen. "It is a full mile in length, the houses are low, and thatched with oleas of the cocoe-trees, all but a few the Portugals left, and some few the Company have built, the Custom-house and Ware-houses are tiled or plastered, and instead of glass, use panes of oyster-shells for their windows (which as they are cut in squares, and polished, look grace- fully enough). There is also a reasonable handsome Bazar. " At the end of the town looking into the field, where cows and buffoloes graze, the Portiigals have a pretty house and Church, with orchards of Indian fruit adjoining. The English have only a Buryiug-place, called Mendam's-Point, from the first man's name there interred, where are some few tombs that make a pretty show at entring the Haven, but neither Church or Hospital, both which are mightily to be desired. " There are no fresh water rivers, or falling streams of P''«.si» water- ' o springs scarce. living water : The water drank is usually rain-water preserv- ed in tanks, which decaying, they are forced to dig wells into which it is strained, hardly leaving its brackish taste ; so that the better sort have it brought from Massegoung, where is only one fresh spring. "On the backside of the towns of Bombay and Maijm, Woods of are woods of cocoes (under which inhabit the Banderines, those that prune and cultivate them), these Hortoes being the greatest purchase and estates on the Island, for some miles together, till the sea break in between them : Over- against which, up the Bay a mile, lies Massegoung, a great fishing town, pecuharly notable for a fish called bumbelo, the sustenance of the poorer sort, who live on them and batty, a course sort of rice, and the wine of the cocoe, called toddy. The ground between this and the great breach 38 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. j'arell. Salt-Pans. MaijRi. Salvasons Malabar-hill. is well ploughed, and bears good batty. Here the Portugals have another Church, and Religious House belonging to the Franciscans. " Beyond it is Parell, where they have another Church, and demesnes belonging to the Jesuits ; to which appertains Siam, manured by Columbeens, husbandmen, where live the Frasses, or porters also ; each of which tribes have a Manda- dore, or superintendent, who give an account of them to the English, and being born under the same degree of slavery, are generally more tyrannical than a stranger would be towards them; so that there needs no other task-master than one of their own Tribe, to keep them in awe by a rigid subjection. " Under these uplands the washes of the sea produce a lunary tribute of salt left in pans or pits made on purpose at spring-tides for the overflowing; and when they are full jire incrustated by the heat of the sun. In the middle, between Parell, Maijm, Sciam, and Bombay, is an hollow, wherein is received a breach running at three several places, which drowns 40000 acres of good land, yielding notliing else but samphire; athwart which, from Parell to Maijm, are the ruins of a stone causeway made by penances. "At Maijm the Portugal s have another complete Church and House; the English a pretty Custom-house and Guard- house : The Moors also a Tomb in great veneration for a Peor, or Prophet, instrumental to the quenching the flames approaching their Prophet's Tomb at Mecha (though he was here at the same time) by the fervency of his prayers. " At Salvasong, the farthest part of this Inlet, the Francis- cans enjoy another Church and Convent; this side is all covered with trees of cocoes, jawks, and mangoes; in the middle lies Verulee, where the English have a watch. " On the other side of the great inlet, to the sea, is a great point abutting against Old Woman's Island, and is called Malabar-hill, a rocky, wood}'' mountain, yet sends forth long grass. A-top of all is o Parsee Tomb lately reared ; on its declivity towards the sea, the remains of a stupendous ^^ ENGLISH AT SURAT AND BOMBAY. 31) Pagoda, near a tank of fresh water, whicli the Malabars visited it mostly for. " Thus have we compleated our rounds, being in the eir- j^^'j^'i^ss of the ciimference twenty miles, the length eight, taking in Old- Woman's Island, which is a little low barren Island^ of no other profit, but to keep the Company's antelopes, and other beasts of delight. '' The people that live here are a mixture of most of the Mint peop'.c. neighbouring countries, most of them fugitives and vaga- bonds, no account being here taken of them : Others perhaps invited hither (and of them a great number) by the liberty granted them in their several religions, which here are solemnized with variety of fopperies (a toleration consistent enough with the rules of gain), though both Moors and Portugals despise us for it ; here licensed out of policy, as the old Numidians to build up the greatest empire in the world. Of these, one among another, may be reckoned 60000 souls; more by 50000 than the Portugals ever could. For which number this Island is not able to find provisions, it being most of it a rock above water, and of that which is overflowed, little hopes to recover it. However, it is well supplied from abroad both with corn and meat at reasonable rates ; and there is more flesh killed for the English alone here in one month, than in Surat for a year for all the Moors in that populous city. ''The Government here now is English ; the soldiers have English martial law : The freemen, common ; the chief arbitrator whereof is the President, with his Council at Surat ; under him is a Justiciary, and Court of Pleas, with a Committee for regulation of afi'airs, and presenting all complaints. " The President has a large commission, and is Vice-Regis : power and he has a Council here also, and a guard when he walks or Pres^ident.* rides abroad, accompanied with a party of horse, which are constantly kept in the stables, either for pleasure or service. He has his chaplains, physician, surgeons, and domes- ticks ; his linguist, and mint-master : At meals he has his trumpets usher in his courses, and soft music at the table; 40 EARLY RECOllDS OF BRITISH INDIA. If he move out of his chamber^ the silver staves wait on him ; if down stairs, the guard receive him ; if he go abroad the Bandarines and Moors mider two standards march before him. He goes sometimes in the coach, drawn by large milk- white oxen, sometimes on horseback, other times in palen- keensj carried by Cohors, Mussulman porters : Alwa3^s having a Sumbrero of state carried over him : And those of the English inferior to him, have a suitable train. Uiiheaithincss " But for all this gallantry, I reckon they walk but in oi Bom ay. chamel-houscs, the climate being extremely unhealthy ; at first thought to be caused by Bubsho, rotten fish ; but though that be prohibited, yet it continues as mortal : I rather impute it to the situation, which causes an infecundity in the earth, and a putridness in the air, what being produced seldom coming to maturity, whereby what is eaten is un- digested; whence follows fluxes, dropsy, scurvy, barbiers (which is an enervating the whole body, being neither able to use hands or feet), gout, stone, malignant and putrid fevers, which are endemial diseases: Among the worst of these. Fool Rack (brandy made of blubber, or carvil,by the Portugals, because it swims always in a blubber, as if nothing else were in it ; but touch it, and it stings like nettles ; the latter, because sailing on the waves it bears up like a Portugal Carvil : It is, being taken, a jelly, and distilled causes those that take it to be fools). English women. " To support their colouy, the Company have sent out English women ; but they beget a sickly generation ; and as the Dutch well observe, those thrive better that come of an European father and Indian mother : which (not to reflect on what creatures are sent abroad) may be attributed to their living at large, not debarring themselves wine and strong drink, which immoderately used, inflames the blood, and spoils the milk in these hot countries, as Aristotle long ago declared. The natives abhor all heady liquors, for which reason they prove better nurses. Longevity of "Notwithstanding this mortality to the English, the country uativesand i^ i -r. i i- -. t. Portuguese. pcoplc and naturalized rortugals live to a good old age. ENGLISH AT SURAT AND BCMBAY. 41 supposed to be tbe reward of their temperance ; indulging themselves neither in strong drinks, nor devouring fiesh an we do. But I believe rather we are here, as exotic plants brought home to us, not agreeable to the soil : For to the histier and fresher, and oftentimes the temperatest, the clime more unkind ; but to old men and women it seems to be more suitable. '' Happy certainly then are those, and only those, brought Misery and hither in their nonage, before they have a gust of our Albion ; English.^ or next to them, such as intoxicate themselves with Ltethe and remember not their former condition : When it is expostulated. Is this the reward of an harsh and severe pupilage ? Is this the Elysium after a tedious wastage ? For this, will any thirst, will any contend, will any forsake the pleasures of his native soil, in his vigorous age, to bury himself alive here ? Were it not more charitable at the first bubbles of his iufant-sor. rows, to make the next stream over-swell him ? Or else if he must be full grown for misery, how much more com- passionate were it to expose him to an open combat with the fiercest duellists in nature, to spend at once his spirits, than to wait a piecemealed consumption ? Yet this abroad and unknown, is the ready choice of those to whom poverty threatens contempt at home : What else could urge this wretched remedy ? For these are untrodden paths for know- ledge, little improvement being to be expected from barbarity custom and tradition are only venerable here ; and it is heresy to be wiser than their forefathers ; which opinion is both bred and hatched by an innate sloth ; so that though we seem nearer the heavens^ yet bodies here are more earthy and the mind wants that active fire that always mounts, as if it were extinguished by its Antiparistasis: Whereby society and communication, the characteristic of man, is wholly lost. What then is to be expected here, where sordid thrift is the only science ? After which, notwithstanding there is so general an inquest, few there be acquire it : For in five hundred, one hundred survive not ; of that one hundred, one quarter get not estates ; of those that do, it has not 42 EARLY RECORDS OP BRITISH INDIA. been recorded above one in ten years has seen bis country : And in this difficulty it would hardly be worth a sober man's while, much less an ing-enuous man's, who should not defile his purer thoughts, to be wholly taken up with such mean (not to say indirect) contemplations ; however, a necessary adjunct, wealth, may prove to buoy him up on the surface of repute, lest the vulgar serve him as ^sop's frogs did their first revered deity/' Knfriish Dr. Fryer visited Boml)av in stirring times. Sivaii embassy to * » o tj sivaji. -^^^ established his Mahratta kingdom in the Kon- kan. He was preparing for his coronation as E,aja. The English at Bombay sent an embassy to the Raja in the hope of opening up a trade through his dominions into the Dekhan. Fryer describes the progress of the embassy. Sivaji held his head -quar- ters at the great hill fortress of Uairee. At this time he was absent on a pilgrimage. Accordingly the Eni^lish ambassador halted at Puncharra, a town situated at the foot of the hill. Here he had an interview with Naraiuji Pundit, one of the Mahratta ministers. He begged the Pundit to persuade Sivaji of the profit that would accrue to him by the open- ing up of the trade ; for, as the Raja had been a soldier from his infancy, it was possible that he paid no attention to such matters. The Mahratta minister replied to the following effect : '' That he doubted not but it would be effected in a short Olnciousness Minist'er of State time; for that the King of Bijapur, who is owner of those tcEng the lish. cQuntrics (from whence most sorts of wares come) being weary of wars with his master, had sent several embassies to conclude a peace with him ; which he thought would be made up in two or three months, and then the ways would be free, and the merchants have os^ress and regress as formerly. ENGLISH AT SURAT AXD BOMBAY. 43 That the Rajali, after his coronation, would act more like a Prince, by taking care of his subjects, and endeavouring the advancement of commerce in his dominions ; which he could not attend before, being in perpetual war with the Great Mogul, and King of Bijapur. This is the substance of his (the ambassador's) discourse with Narainji Pundit, who seemed to him to be a man o£ prudence and esteem with his master: so after a little sitting he took his leave of him, having first pre- sented him with a diamond ring, for which he expressed a liking ; and his eldest son a couple of Pamerins, which are fine mantles. '^They continuing under their tent, found it very hot and Kairoe. incommodious ; wherefore they were glad when they heard the Rajah was returned from Purtabghnr, when the ambas- sador solicited Narainji Pundit to procure his leave to pass up the Hill into Rairee Castle : the next day they received order to ascend the hill into the castle, the Rajah having appointed a house for them ; which they did ; leaving Puncharra about three in the afternoon, they arrived at the top of that strong mountain, forsaking the humble clouds about sun-set. " Rairee is fortified by nature more than art, being of very The luii. difficult access, there being but one avenue to it, which is guarded by two narrow gates, and fortified b}^ a strong wall exceeding high, and bastions thereto : all the other part of the mountain is a direct precipice, so that it is impregnable, except the treachery of some in it betray it. On the moun- tain are many strong buildings, as the Rajah^s Court, and houses of other Ministers, to the number of about 300. It is in length about two miles and an half, but no pleasant trees or any sort of grain growls thereon. Their house was about a mile from the Rajah's Palace, into which they retired with no little content. " Four days after their ascent, by the solicitation of Narainji Audience with Pundit, the Rajah gave them audience, though busily em- '^"■''' ployed by many other great affairs, relating to his coronation and marriage. Our ambassador presented him, and his son Sambaji Rajah, with the particulars appointed for them ; 44 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. which they took well satisfied with them ; and the Rajah assured them we might trade securely in all his countries without the least apprehension of ill from him^ for that the peace was concluded. Our ambassador replied, that was our intent ; and to that intent the President had sent him to this Court to procure the same articles and privileges we enjoyed in Indostan and Persia, where we traded. He answered, it is well, and referred our business to Moro Pundit his Peshwa, or Chancellor, to examine our articles, and give an account what they were. He and his son withdrew into their private apartments, to consult with the Brahraans about the ceremo- nies preparatory to his enstalment ; which chiefly consisted in abstinence and purifying ; till which be over, he will hear no farther of business. They likewise departed to their lodgings. Sivaji weighed " About this time the Rajah, according to the Hindu custom, was weighed in gold, and poised about 16,000 Pagodas, which money, together with an 100,000 more, is to be distributed among the Brahmaus after the day he is enthroned, who in great numbers flock hither from all parts ©f his territories. Grants the '' Being earnest to press on his errand he came for, the EugUsh." ^^ ambassador sent to Narainji Pundit to know what was transacted in the articles ; but was returned for answer : — The Raj ail stopt his ears to all affairs, declaring he had granted all the demands, except those two articles, expressing our money shall go current in his dominions, and his on Bombay; and that he shall restore whatever wrecks may happen on his coasts belonging to the English, and inhabitants of Bom- bay : the first he accounted unnecessary to be inserted, be- cause he forbids not the passing of any manner of coins : nor on the other side, can he force his subjects to take those monies whereby they shall be losers ; but if our coin be as fine an allay, and as weighty as the Mogul's, and other Princes, he will not prohibit it. To the other he says, that it is against the laws of Koukan to restore any ships, vessels, or goods, that are driv,eji ashore by tempest, or otherwise ; and that should he grant us that privilege, the French, Dutch, ENGLISH AT SITRAT AND BOMBAY. 45 and other raeicliauts, would claim the same right ; which be could not graut without hreaking a custom has lasted many ag-es : the rest of our desires he willingly conceded, embracing with much satisfaction our friendship, promising to himself and country much happiness by our settlement and trade : notwithstanding Narainji Pundit did not altogether despair of obtaining our wrecks, because we enjoyed the same privi- lege in the Mogul and Deccan country. "Near a month after they had been here, Narainji Pundit The Ambassador sent word, that to-morrow about seven or eight in the morn- the coronation. ing, the Rajah Sevaji intended to ascend his throne ; and he would take it kindly if they came to congratulate him there- on ; that it was necessary to present him with some small thing, it not being the custom of the Eastern parts to appear before a Prince empty-handed. The ambassador sent him word, according to his advice he would wait on the Rajah at the prescribed time. " Accordingly next morning he and his retinue went to Coronatiou Court, and found the Rajah seated on a magnificent throne, and all his nobles waiting on him in rich attire ; his son Sambaji Rajah, Peshwa Moro Pundit, and a Brahman of great eminence, seated on an ascent under the throne ; the rest, as well officers of the army as others, standing with great respect. The English made their obeisance at a distance, and Narainji Pundit held up the diamond ring that was to be presented him : He presently took notice of it, and ordered their coming nearer, even to the foot of the throne, where being vested, they were desired to retire ; which they did not so soon, but they took notice on each side of the throne there hung (according to the Moor's manner) on heads of gilded lances many emblems of dominion and government ; as on the right-hand were two great fishes heads of gold, with very large teeth ; on the left, several horses' tails, a pair of gold scales on a very high lance's head, equally poised, an emblem of justice ; and as they returned, at the Palace gate stood two small elephants on each side, and two fair horses with gold trappings, bridles, and rich furniture ; which made 46 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. them admire how they Lrouglit them up the hillj the passage beiua: both difficult and hazardous. TheRaj;ih " Two davs after this, the Kajah was married to a fourth marries a fourth .«.,. iiji ii Wife. Wife, Without state ; and doth every day bestow alms on the Brahmans. sivaji sigus the " Some days after, Narainji Pundit sent word the Rajah had Articles. signed their articles, all but that about money. Then the rest of the Ministers of State signed them, and they went to receive them of Narainji Pundit, who delivered them to the ambassador with expressions of great kindness for our nation, and offered on all occasions to be serviceable to the English at the Court of tlie Rajah. ^' Value of the The description of the reception bv Sivaji of an forearoiiig *" description. English ambassador is very valuable ; it brings the English reader face to face with the court of the once famous Mahratta. Strangely enough it is not noticed in Grant Duff's Historv of the Mahrattas, Attempts at a CHAPTER III. ENGLISH AT MADRAS: 1600—1677. WHILST the English were establishing them- selves at Surat on the western side of India, the castem^sldc ' of India. they made many futile attempts to effect a settle- ment on the eastern side, known as the Coast of Coromandel. The trade on the Coromandel Coast was very valuable. The natives in this quarter had brought the art of painting or dyeing calicoes to the highest pitch of perfection. They w^re in great demand in Europe. Above all, they were in great demand in the countries further to the eastward ; in Burma, Siam and the Indian Archipelago ; espe- cially in what were known as the Spice Islands. The English, however, wanted something more want of a tem- mi 1 ^"""y '^^'^ fortiti- than a factory. They wanted a territory which they '^^''o"- could fortify. No such territory could be obtained in the Moghul dominions. The Moghuls would neither grant territory nor allow of any fortifica- tions. It would be tedious to narrate the many abortive Purchase of •^ Madras. attempts that the English made in this direction. 1639, 48 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. At last tliey succeeded in buying a piece of land from a Hindu Raja. It was in the remote Penin- sula, far away to the south and far away from the Mosrhul frontier. It was afterwards known as Madras. It was the first territory which the English secured in India. Madras founded, Madras was fouudcd in 1639. A site was chosen on the sandy shores of the Coast of Coromandel. The spot was hard by the Portuguese city of St. Thome. In the sixteenth century St. Thome was famous throughout the world of Christianity. St. Thomas the Apostle was said to have been martyred there. His bones were found, or were said to have been found, in a neighbouring mount. The city and cathedral of St. Thome were built to commemorate the legend.^ Territory and Thc EngHsli tcrrltory of Madras was a mere strip of land to the north of St. Thome. It ran six miles along the shore and one mile inland. It was exposed to the heavy surf which rolls in from the Bay of Bengal ; but it possessed one crowning advantage. There was a small island in the strip facing the sea ; it was formed on the land side by the river Koum. It was only four hundred yards long and about a hundred yards wide ; but it could be easily rendered secure against the predatory attacks of native horsemen. 1 The story of St. Thomas is told in the tenth book, of the " Lusiad " of Camoens. The " Lusiad " is a Portuguese epic composed in the sixteenth centm-y. It is known to English readers through the poetical translation of William Mickle. island. ENGLISH AT MADRAS. 49 A certain Mr. Day bought tlic strip from the wmtc Town. Hindu llaja of Chaudragheri.' The English agreed to pay a yearly rent of twelve hundred pagodas, or nearly six hundred pounds sterling, for this piece of land. They built a wall round the island. They laid out the enclosure in little streets and alleys, with a fortress in the centre. No one but Eu- ropeans were allowed to live on the island. It was accordingly known as "White Town." There was soon a large native settlement outside Biack Town. the island. It was inhabited by weavers and other people of the country ; hence it was known as "Black Town." White Town and Black Town were both included under the name of Madras. White Town was also called Eort St. George.^ 1 The Hindu Raja of Chandragheri deserves a passing notice. His name was Sri Eanga Raja. He was a descendant of the old Rajas of Vijayanagar, who had been driven out of the western table-laud in the previous century. He affected to live in state at the fortress of Chandragheri; about seventy miles to the south-west of Madras. His suzerainty was still respected by some of the local governors round about. The governors were called Naiks or deputies of the Raja. The strip of seaboard, afterwards called Madras, was within the government of the Naik of Chingleput. Sri Ranga Raja was a genuine Hindu. Like all Hindus, he was ardently desirous of perpetuating his family name to future ages, hi granting the land to the English, he expressly stipulated that the English town should be called Sri Ranga Raja-patauam, or " the town of Sri Ranga Raja." The grant was engraved on a plate of gold. The English kept the plate for more than a century. It was lost in 1746 at the capture of Madras by the French. The Raja of Chandragheri was outwitted by the Naik of Chingleput. The father of the Naik was named Chinnapa. The Naik set the Raja defiance. He ordered the town to be called Cliinna-patanam, or " the town of Chinnapa." The Raja was helpless. The Muhammadans were pressing towards the south. In 1646 the Raja fled away to Mysore. The English gave the name of Madras to their town on the Coast of Coromandel. To this day the native people call it by the old name of Chiuna-patanam. 2 The accompanying drawing of Fort St. George in 1677 is taken from Frver's Travels. 50 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Early perils. The Eiiglisli at Madras were at first exposed to great danger. The Hindu Raja was soon conquered by the Muhammadans of the neighbouriug kingdom of Golkonda. The officer of the Sultan of Golkonda w^ho commanded the country round about Madras was known as the Nawab. He was never contented with the yearly rent ; he wanted presents and exact- ed fines. Sometimes he laid an embargo upon all goods and supplies going to Madras until the money was paid. Sometimes he besieged the place. After the walls were finished, no native army ever cap- tured Tort St. George. Else of Madras. ^Qr somc ycars the houses in White Town were very few in number. The Europeans were few. There w^ere twenty or thirty servants of the Com- pany, and a few soldiers. The Portuguese at St. Thome were invited to build houses at Madras ; and many were glad to come and live under the protection of the English guns. Absence of Llttlc or uothiug is kuowu of Madras in those records prior to -i ■% r i6'0. early days. There are no records at Madras before 1670. The times, however, were very bad. In Eng- land there was civil war, followed by the Common wealth and the restoration of Charles the Second. In India the advance of the Sultan of Golkonda into the Peninsula, and the occasional inroads of Mahrattas, were a great hindrance to the trade. Capture of St. About 1662 a general of Golkonda captured the jfuhammadaus cltv of St. Thomc. Numbcrs of Portuguese were ot Golkonda. *' ^ driven out of the town. Many took refuge in ENGLISH AT MADRAS. 51 Fort St. GcorgCj and built houses there. This Portuguese population strengthened the place for a time, but caused much inconvenience in after years. In the year 1672 Madras was an important place. Madras in 1672. White Town contained about fifty houses laid out in twelve streets. In the midst was the large house of the Governor, where all the Company's servants took their early dinners. Some of the older servants were married, and lived in separate houses ; bat all were expected to be present at dinner, and to maintain order and decorum. The establishment at Madras was on the same plan E«ropean ■•■ establishment. as that at Surat, which has already been described. The Governor or Agent was of course the first member of Council. The Book-keeper was second in Council ; the Warehouse-keeper was third ; and the Customer was fourtli. The duties of these officers may bs gathered from their names. The duties of Customer were peculiar to the English settle- ments. He collected all customs, rents, and other taxes ; he also sat as Justice of the Peace in Black Town. The administration of justice will be brought under consideration hereafter. The Council met every Monday and Tuesday consnitations " * and general at eight o'clock for the transaction of business. ''^""■^• Everything was discussed and decided in Council. All that concerned the Company or their servants down to the most trifling point was duly laid before the Council. The Secretary was always in attend- ance. He kept a diary of all proceedings and 52 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. consultations. A copy of the diary was sent home every year, together with a general letter review- ing the proceedings; in reply a general letter was received from the Court of Directors. These records have heen preserved either in India or in England down to our own time. Merchants. '£]xQ mcmhers of Council were known as Mer- Faetors, Writers, and Apprentices, gj^^uts. Thosc uudcr thcm were graded as Factors, Writers, and Apprentices. The salaries were very small. The Governor of Madras drew only three hundred pounds a year ; the second in Council drew one hundred ; the third drew seventy ; and the fourth only fifty. Pactors were paid between twenty and forty ; Writers received only ten pounds, and Apprentices only five. But all were lodged and boarded at the expense of the Company. The salaries were very low. They were mere fractions of the real incomes. Fortunes were some- times acquired by private trade. Every servant of the Company was allowed to trade to any port in the East, so long as he paid the custom duties levied by the Company, and did not interfere with the trade between India and Europe. Again, it was impossible to prevent the receipt of presents from native merchants and others who sold goods to the Company. Throughout the whole period of the Company's monopoly there were always suspicions and complaints under this head. In addition to the foregoing, there was a Chaplain, on a hundred a year, who read prayers every day Private trade and presents. Chaplain and School- master, ENGLISH AT MADRAS. 53 and preached on Sundays. There was also a School- master, on fifty pounds a year, who taught the children in White Town. He was directed to teach Portuguese and native children, provided they were also taught the principles of Christianity according to the Church of England. The administmtion of iustice hy the Collector of A^'^ministratioa J •' of justice. Customs was of a primitive character. As far as natives were concerned there was no difficulty. xA-S Magistrate in Black Town, he flogged, imprisoned, or fined at discretion. But Europeans were dealt with in a different manner. The Governor and Council became the judges ; and twelve men were summoned to serve as jurors. In the White Town the public peace was main- Native police. tained by the Agent, as commander of the garrison. In the Black Town it was kept by a native public of&cer known as the Pedda Naik. In the early days of the settlement, twenty native servants, known as peons, sufficed to keep the peace. Subsequently the number was increased to fifty. In return the Pedda Naik was granted some rice-fields rent free ; also some petty duties on rice, fish, oil, and betel-nut. The office of Pedda Naik soon be- came hereditary after native fashion. It also drifted into native ways. The Pedda Naik and his peons came to an understanding with the thieves. They suffered thieves to escape on con- dition of receiving half of the stolen goods. They imprisoned the people who were robbed, in order to prevent their complaining to the Agent. 54 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. The discovery led to a cliange. The Pedda Naik was bound over to make good all losses by theft ; and the new system seems to have worked satis- factorily. Morals. Tlic neiglibourliood of Black Town was not conducive to the morals of the Fort. The younger men would climb over the walls at night time, and indulge in a round of dissipation. There were houses of entertainment known as punch houses. They are still called punch houses. They took their name from the Indian drink concocted by the convivial Factors at Surat. As already sbown, it was an essentially Indian drink called by the Hindustani name which signifies "five." Tbourielf ^^^- T^ryer visited Madras about the year 1674. He thus describes the place and its surroundings : — Went asiiore in « J went asliore in a Mnssoola, a boat wherein ten men a boat called a •' Mussooia, paddle, the two aftemiost of whom are the steers-men, using' their paddles instead of a rudder : The boat is not strength- ened with knee-timber, as ours are ; the bended planks are sowed together with rope-yarn of the cocoe, and calked with daymnar (a sort of rosin taken out of the sea) so artificially, that it yields to every ambitious surf, other- wise we could not get ashore, the Bar knocking in pieces all that are inflexible : Moving towards the shore, we let St. Thomas, which lies but three miles to the south of Maderas, and Fort St. George in the midway Maderas river in great rains opens its mouth into the sea ; having first saluted the banks of Fort St. George on the west : Towards the sea the sand is cast up into a rampire, from whence the fluid artillery discharges itself upon tis, and we on the shoulders of the blacks must force our way through it. Landed, .arc well « Though wc landed wet, the sand was scalding hot, which ■wetted at Fort o ' o ■' St. George. made me recollect my steps, and hasten to the Fort. As ENGLISH AT MADRAS. 55 it looked on the water, it appeared a place of good force. The outwork is walled with stone a good heighth, thick enough to blunt a cannon-bullet, kept by half a dozen ordnance at each side the water-gate, besides an half-moon of fire-guns. At both points are mounted twelve guns eying the sea, Maderas, and St. Thomas; under these in a line stand pallisadoes, reaching from the wall to the sea; and hedge in at least a mile of ground. On the soiith side they have cut a ditch of sufficient depth and breadth to prevent scaling the wall, which is a quarter of a mile in length afore it meets with a third point or bastion, facing St. Thomas, and the adjacent fields; who suffer a deluge when the rains descend the hills. From this point to the fourth, where are lodged a dozen guns more tliat grin upon Aladeras, runs no wall, but what the in- habitants compile for their gardens and houses planted all along the river parallel with that, that braces the sea. From the first point a curtain is drawn with a parapet; beneath it are two gates, and sally ports to each for to enter Maderas ; over the gates five guns run out their muzzels, and two more within them on the ground. " Over all these the Fort it self lifts up its four turrets. The Fort de- scriljcd* every point of which is loaded with ten guns alike : On the south-east point is fixed the standard; the forms of the bastions are square, sending forth curtains fringed with battlements from one to the other; in whose interstitiums wdiole culverin are traversed. The Governor's house in the middle overlooks all, slanting diagonally with the court. Entering the garrison at the out-gate towards the sea, a path of broad polished stones spreads the way to pass the second guard into the Fort at an humble gate ; opposite to this, one more stately fronts the High-street; on both sides thereof is a court of guard, from whence, for ev^ry day's duty, are taken two hundred men : There being in pay for the Honourable East India Company of English and Portuguez 700, reckoning the Moutrosses and Gunners. Langhoru Agent. 56 EARLY RECORDS OP BRITISH INDIA. Neat Dwciiinga. " The sti'eets are sweefc and clean, ranked with fine mansions o£ no extraordinary height (hecause a garrison -town) though beauty, which they conciliate, by the battlements and terrace walks on every house, and rows of trees before their doors, whose Italian porticos make no ordinary con- veyance into their houses, built with brick and stone. Portuguese " Edifices of common note are none, except a small Chapel Chapel. JIT* 1 1-1 TIT- the Fortugals are admitted to say Mass in. " Take the town in its exact proportion, and it is oblong. The English "The truc posscssoi's of it are the English, instaled therein masters ot '^ o -> Madias. \fy qyio of their Naiks or Prince of the Hindoos 90 years ago, 40 years before their total subjection to the Iloors j' who likewise have since ratified it by a patent from Golconda, only paying 7000 paffods yearly for royalties and customs that raises the money fourfold to the Company; whose Sir William Agent here is Sir William Laughorn, a gentleman of inde- fatigable industry and worth. He is Superintendent over all the Factories on the Coast of Coromandel, as far as the Bay of Bengala, and up Huygly river (which is one of the falls of Ganges, viz., Fort St. George alias Maderas, Pettipolee, Mechlapatan, Gundore, Medapollon, Balisore, Bengala, Huygly, Castle Bazar, Pattana. He has his Mint, and privilege of coining; the country stamp is only a Fanam, which is ^d. of gold ; and their Cash, twenty of which go to a Fanam. Moreover he has his Justiciaries; to give sentence, but not on life and death to the King's liege people of England ; though over the rest they may. His personal guard consists of 300 or 400 Blacks ; besides a band of 1500 men ready on summons : He never goes abroad without fifes, drums, trumpets, and a flag with two balls in a red field; accompanied with his Council and Factors on horseback, with their Ladies in palenkeens. ^ Dr. Fryer is mistaken in his chronology. Madras was founded'about thirty-five years before his visit. He is also mistaken about the rent paid to Golkonda, which was only twelve hundred pagodas. ENGLISH AT MADRAS. 57 " The English here are Protestants, the Portugals Papists, who have their several Orders of Fryers; who, to give them their due, compass sea and land to make proselytes, many of the natives being brought in by them. " The number of Enorlish here may amount to three hundred ; Number of 1 -n CI /-« Enerlish and of Portuguez as many thousand, who made Fort St. George Portugais. their refuge, when they were routed from St. Thomas by the Moors about ten years past, and have ever since lived under protection of the English. " Thus have you the limits and condition of the English town : Let us now pass the pale to the heathen town, only parted by a wide parade, which is used for a bazar, or market-place. " The Native town of Maderas divides itself into divers Black Town. long streets, and they are checquered by as many transverse. It enjoys some Choultries for Places of Justice ; one Exchange ; one Pagoda, contained in a square stone-wall ; wherein are a number of Chapels (if they may be comprehended under that class, most of them resembling rather monuments for the dead, than places of devotion for the living), one for every Tribe; not under one roof, but distinctly separate, visited a Pagoda n j'-r»i*"" Heathea though altogether, they bear the name ot one entire Pagoda, xempie. The work is inimitably durable, the biggest closed up with arches continually shut, as where is supposed to be hid their Mammon of unrighteousness (they burying their estates here when they die, by the persuasion of their priests, towards their viaticum for another state) admitting neither light nor air, more than what the lamps, always burning, are by open funnels above suffered to ventilate : By which custom they seem to keep alive that opinion of Plato, in such a revolution to return into the world again, after their trans- migration, according to the merits of their former living. Those of a minuter dimension were open, supported by slender straight and round pillars, plain and uniform up to the top, where some hieroglyph ical portraiture lends its assistance to the roof, flat, with stones laid along like planks upon our rafters. On the walls of good sculpture were 58 EARLY RFX'ORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. The English Tombs. The English Gardens. many images : The floor is stoned, they are of no great altitude ; stinking most egregiously of the oil they waste in their lamps, and besmear their beastly gods with : Their outsides shew workmanship and cost enough, wrought round with monstrous effigies; so that oleum et operam j^erdere, pains and cost to no purpose, may not improperly be applied to them. Their gates are commonly the highest of the work, the others concluding iii shorter piles. "Near the outside of the town the English Golgotha, or place of sculls, presents variety of tombs, walks and sepulchres ; which latter, and they stand in a line, are an open cloyster; but succinctly and precisely a Quadragone with hemispherical apartitions; on each side adorned with battlements to the abutment of every angle, who bear up a coronal arch, on whose vertex a globe is rivited by an iron wedge sprouting into a branch; paved underneath with a great black stone, whereon is engraved the name of the party interred. The buildings of less note are low and decent ; the town is walled with mud, and bulwarks for watch-places for the English Peons ; only on that side the sea washes it, and the Fort meets it. On the north are two great gates of brick, and one on the west, where they wade over the river to the washermen's town. " Without the town grows their rice, which is nourished by the letting in of the water to drown it : Round about it is bestrewed with gardens of the English ; where, besides gourds of all sorts for stews and pottage, herbs for sallad, and some few flowers, as jassamin, for beauty and delight; flourish pleasant topes of plantains, cocoes, guiavas, a kind of pear, jawks, a coat of armour over it like an hedge-hog's, guards its weighty fruit, oval without for the length of a span, within in fashion like squils parted ; mangos, the delight of India, a plum, pomegranets, bananas, which are a sort of plantain, though less, yet much more grateful ; betel, which last must not be slipt by in silence : It rises out of the ground to twelve or fourteen feet heighth, the body of it green and slender, jointed like a cane, the boughs flaggy ENGLISH AT MADRAS. 59 and spreading", undov wliof3G arms it brings forth from its preg-nant womb (which bursts when her month is come) a cluster of g-reen nuts, like wallnuts in green shells, but different in the fruit; which is hard when dried, and looks like a nutmeg. ''The Natives chew it with Chinam (lime of calcined ^vhat Pawn is. oyster-shells) and Arach, a convolvulus with a leaf like the largest ivy for to preserve their teeth, and correct an un- savoury breath : If swallowed, it inebriates as much as tobacco. Thus mixed, it is the only Indian entertainment, called Pawn. "These plants set in a row, make a grove that might delude the fanatic multitude into an opinion of their being sacred ; and were not the mouth of that grand impostor hermetically sealed up, where Christianity is spread, these would still con- tinue, as it is my fancy they were of old, and may still be the laboratories of his fallacious oracles : For they masquiug the face of day, beget a solemn reverence, and melancholy habit in them that resort to them ; by representing the more in- ticing place of zeal, a Cathedral, with all its pillars and pillasters, walks and choirs ; and so contrived, that whatever way you turn, you have an even prospect. " But not to run too far out of Maderas before I give you xatm-e of tuo an account of the people ; know they are under the bondage with the Moors, were not that alleviated by the power of the English, who command as far as their guns reach : To them therefore they pay toll, even of cowdung (which is their chiefest fireing), a prerogative the Dutch could never obtain in this kingdom, and by this means acquire great estates without fear of being molested. Their only merchants being Gentues, forty Moors having hardly cohabitation with them, though of the natives 30,000 are employed in this their monopoly. " The country is sandy, yet plentiful in provisions ; in all The country. places topes of trees, among one of which, on the top of a withered stump sate perching a Chamelion, clasping with its claws its rotten station, filling himself with his aerial food, 60 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. St. Thom6. History of St. Thomas, St. Thomaa Christiaus. a banquet which most other creatures else arise an hung-ered from : But to be confirmed in the truth of what we have only by tradition, I caused a Black who had a bow there, to fell him with an earthen pellet, which when he had, and after a small time he revived, and making- a collar of straw for his neck, he carried him to my lodgings, where I dieted him a month on the same provant. That he changes his colours at a con- stant time of the day, is not to be contradicted ; but whether he live by the air alone, I will not stand to it, unless there were a dearth of flies in the country : though for my part I never did see him eat any. In shape he comes nearest a newt ; wdth his lungs his body does agitate itself up to its neck ; he crawls on all four, and has a tail longer than his body, which all together was no more than half a foot ; he has teeth, and those sharp/^ Dr. Eryer also furnishes the following curious particulars respecting St Thome : — " St. Thomas is a city that formerly for riches, pride, and luxury, was second to none in India; but since, by the mutability of fortune, it has abated much of its adored excellencies. " The sea on one side greets its marble walls, on the other a chain of hills intercepts the violence of the inflaming heat ; one of which, called St. Thomas his Mount, is famous for his sepulture (in honour of whom a chapel is dedicated, the head priest of which was once the Metropolitan Bishop of India), and for a tree called Arbor Tristis, which withers in the day, and blossoms in the night. " About this Mount live a cast of people, one of whose legs is as big as an elephant's; which gives occasion for the divulging it to be a judgment on them, as the generation of the assassins and murtherers of the blessed Apostle St. Thomas, one of whom I saw at Fort St. George. "Within the walls seven Churches answertoasmany gates; the rubbish of whose stupendous heaps do justify the truth of what is predicated in relation to its pristine state. " The builders of it were the Portun^als. " ENGLISH AT MADRAS. 61 Such was tlic condition of Madras between 1G70 and 1677, as told by Dr. Fryer. It may now be as well to glance at the general daily life of the English at Madras, as it is told in the Government records. " Madras in llu Oldcu Time." CHAPTER IV. MADRAS UNDER GOLKONDA. 1670—1688. THE Madras records were investigated by the present writer seventeen years ago. At that time he published a number of extracts in three volumes under the title of "Madras in the Olden Time." The mass of these extracts has but little interest outside the Madras Presidency. It wiU be easy to indicate their subject matter by the following nar- rative, which has been drawn up from the earher records, and in which a selection of the more interesting extracts will be found incorporated. ^i"c^'"",V?^V* Sir William Lans^horn was Governor of Madras of Sir William ^ lon'-mi. from 1670 to 1677. He was present at Macbas at the time of Eryer's visit. He is indeed duly noticed by Eryer. The times were stormy. Charles the Second had been ten years on the throne of England. There was an alliance between England and Erance against the Hutch. A Erench fleet arrived in India. A Erench force landed at St. Thome, and took the place by storm. The Muhammadan army of Golkonda, under the command of a General named Bobba Sahib, was endeavouring to recover St. Thome from the Erench. Madras in Sir William Langhorn was thus hemmed around with daugcrs. He dared not help the Erench lest French invasion. dautrer. MADRAS UNDF.R GOLKONDA. 63 lie sliould provoke the wrath of Bobha Sahib. MeauAvhile, Bobba Sahib was angry because the English would not join him with men and guns to light against the French. All this while a Dutch fleet was cruising off tlie coast of Coromandel. The Dutch fleet had attacked the French at St. Thome, but was repulsed. It was daily expected that the Dutch would attack Fort St. George. At this juncture Sir William Langhorn resolved uobbasawb. in Council to propitiate Bobba Sahib by sending him a present of scarlet broadcloth and looking- glasses. Bobba Sahib, however, was still as angry as ever. In after years Bobba Sahib had cause to regret this exhibition of hostility, as will be seen by the following extract from the consultations of the Agency, dated 6th May 1678 :— " Bobba Sahib, formerly General of the King of Golconda^s force against the French at St. Thome, and in those days a Litter enemy to the English, but now in disgrace and debt, has been some days here trying all ways to borrow money, and to have an interview with the Governor^ which is refused him by reason of his former unkindnesses when he was in power, and he in despaif quits the place for Pullimalee, intend- ing to go to his own country.^' A year and a half passed away, and the French Proposed aban- I'll ' 1 • ' p oi 1 mi A -r-r-r. ■. . doiimeiitot' still remamed in possession oi St. Thome. Withm Madras. that time they had established a camp at Triplicane, the Muhammadan quarter of Madras ; and fortified it far more strongly than the English were fortified at Fort St. George. Sir William Langhorn and his Council were at one time contemplating the advis- ability of abandoning Madraspatanam altogether ; Oi EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. but afterwards decided on more energetic measures. At a Consultation held on the 2nd February 1674, it was recorded that the interests of the Honorable Company, as well as the lives of the residents at the Presidency, were staked upon the issue of the siege. Their enemies at sea and land were within musket-shot; their walls were slight and tottering ; they were pestered with the great native town close to them ; and the Dutch Governor- General was daily expected with a large fleet. Under these circumstances they resolved, after mature consideration, to enlarge and strengthen their fortifications as much as possible ; but their efforts in this direction do not seem to have much increased their strength, or to have rendered them more independent of the belligerent powers. Pour Erenchmen from Java were staying in Fort St. George; and in May, the Dutch and Mussul- mans peremptorily demanded their removal. For a long time Sir "William Langhorn refused to comply, because of the English alliance with France ; but at last the Muhammadan army fairly laid siege to Fort St. George, and would hear of no further delay. The Frenchmen, on their part, refused to leave the place unless they were permitted to go to St. Thome, and there the Dutch and Muham- madans would not allow them to proceed. At last, the President in Council resolved to send them under passports and an escort to Bijapore, another Muhammadan kingdom in the Western Dekhan> There thoy seem to have gone, loudly protesting, MADRAS UNDER GOLKONDA. 65 however, against tlie proceeding, inasmuch as they were subjects of the King of France, a friend and ally of the Crown of England. Por two years the Prencli held possession of sumndcr of ho French. St. Thome. At length, on the 26th August 1674., they surrendered to the Dutch, on the condition that the garrison should be transported to Europe. Fortunately for the Madras Agency, at that mo- Poate with the ment the news arrived from Europe that in the pre- ceding January peace had been concluded between England and Holland. But for the happy peace, the Dutch would have followed up the capture of St. Thome with the siege of Fort St. George ; and there can be little doubt that the fall of the place would have followed, for the fortifications were still but weak, and there were only two hundred and fifty men in garrison. Sir William Langhorn was a disciplinarian in Moral mies his way. He tried to promote public morals by lay- ing down the following rules. As far as drinking was concerned they were certainly liberal ; but those were the days of Merrie King Charles. No one person was to be allowed to drink above half a pint of arrack or brandy and one quart of wine at one time, under a penalty of one pagoda upon the housekeeper that supplied it, and twelve fanams upon every guest that had exceeded that modest allowance. Drunkenness was to be punished by a fine and the stocks. All persons addicted in any way to the social evil were to be imprisoned 66 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. at the discretion of the Governor, and if not re« claimed were to be sent back to England. All persons telling a lie, or absenting themselves from morning or evening prayers, were to be fined four fanams for each offence. Persons being out of White Town after eight o'clock, would be punished ; and any one committing the heinous offence of getting over the walls of White Town upon any pre- tence whatever, was to be kept in irons until the arrival of the ships, and then to be sent to Eng- land to receive further condign punishment on his arrival. It was also ordained that all persons swear- ing, cursing, banning or blaspheming the sacred name of Almighty God should pay a fine of four fanams for eacli offence ; that any two persons who should go out into the fields to decide a quarrel between them by the sword or fire-arms should be imprisoned for two months on nothing but rice and water ; that any soldier giving another the lie should be made fast to a gun, and there receive ten blows with a small rattan, well laid on by the man to whom he had given the lie ; and that any officer who should in any way connive at the offence, or at any mitigation of the punish- ment, should forfeit a month's wages. Low state of Notwithstanding these and other similar rules, public decorum was often outraged. Brawlings were not unfrequent, and were by no means con- fined to the barrrcks, the punch shops, or the warehouse, but even were to be occasionally heard morals. MADRAS UNDER GOLKONDA. 67 in the Council chamber itself. One little circum- stance which took place during the meeting of Council on 6th June 1676, is singularly illus- trative of the disturbances which occasionally arose. Nathaniel Keeblc, buyer of jewels, uttered some provocative words concerning the wife of Mr. Herries, a member of Council. Herries was of course present, and a fight took place in the Council chamber. The combatants were soon parted by the Governor and Council; but Keeble had received a bloody nose from the clenched fist of the indignant husband, and swore to be revenged upon him though he were hanged for it. Herries then swore the peace against Keeble, and the Gover- nor ordered the latter to be confined to his chamber until he had furnished security that he would keep the peace for the future. The same day, how- ever, Keeble broke from his arrest, leaped down the Fort walls, and sprained his leg; and was accordingly ordered to be confined in the " Lock house" until the arrival of the ships, when he could be dispatched to England. The next day, however, the whole matter was arranged. Natha- niel Keeble sent in his humble submission and promised amendment, and the Government merci- fully forgave him. Incidents such as these are sufficient to prove that, however strict rules might be laid down, yet the times were as lawless in Fort St. George as they were in Covent Garden or the Strand. That they were not worse is abundant- ly proved by the character of the literature and 68 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Rev. P.itrick Warner. condition of the people of England during the reign of the second Charles. About this period a certain Reverend Patrick Warner was Chaplain at Port St. George. He was much shocked at the low state of the morals in the settlement. He was also alarmed at the countenance which Sir William Langhorn had given to the Koman Catholics. It appears that the Portuguese had built and consecrated a new church within the Port, and that Sir William Lang- horn had ordered salutes to be fired in honour of the ceremony. Under these circumstances Mr. Warner wrote the following letter to the Court of Directors. It is dated 31st January 1676. " Right Worsliipfuls, Letters to the Directors. Vicious lives. " It is my trouble that I have so little acquaintance with your Worships^ because of this I could not take the confi- dence of writing to you, nor had I anything worth the writing, having then remained so short a while in this place ; but now having been a servant under you in the ministry of the Gospel some considerable time, I have to my grief met with that which maketh me, contrary to my inclination, break off my silence, and give you the trouble of these lines. " I have the charity to believe that most of you have so much zeal for God, and for the credit of religion, that your heads would be fountains of water, and eyes rivers of tears, did you really know how much God is dishonoured, his name blasphemed, religion reproached amongst the Gentiles, by the vicious lives of many of 3'our servants. Did I not therefore complain of them, I should not be faithful either to God or you, or to their own souls. And if it be not a desire to approve myself in some measure faithful unto all those, God the searcher of hearts and tryer of reins will one MADRAS UNDER GOLKONDA. 69 day discover, if it be not, I say, such a desire that moves me to the present uudertakiug-. " It may be for a lameutatioii to hear and see the horrid DrunkennesB. swearing and profanation of the name of God, the woful and abomiuable drunkenness and uucleanness that so much reign and rage among the soldiery ; and these not secretly or covertly, but as it were in the sight of the sun, and men refuse therein to be ashamed, neither can they blush/' •je ^ * * -x- " Most of those women are popish christians ; and if those Popcry, that marry them do not fall into the former inconveniences, they hardly escape being seduced by their wives and wives' families into popery. There have not been wanting in- stances of this also. Since I entered into this place, I have constantly refused to celebrate any such marriages except one that I was urged into, and this not before she had solemnly and before several witnesses renounced popery, and promised to attend upon ordinances with us ; but she had not been many weeks married when at the instiga- tion of some popish priests here she perfidiously fell from those promises. " I wish your Worships may consider it be not requisite to Evil marriages, inhibit such marriages, for the children turn either infidels or popish. I do also earnestly wish there may be more inspection taken what persons you send over into these places ; for there come hither some thousand murderers, some men stealers, some popish, some come over under the notion of single persons and unmarried, who yet have their wives in England, and here have been married to others, with whom they have lived in adultery j and some on the other hand have come over as married persons, of whom there are strange suspicions they were never married. These and other abuses there are among the soldiery. There are also some of the Writers who by their lives are not a little scandalous to the Christian religion, so sinful in their drunken- ness that some of them play at cards and dice for wine that they may drink, and afterwards throwing the dice which 70 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. shall pay all; and sometimes who shall drink all, by which some are forced to drink until they be worse than beasts. Others pride themselves in making others drink till they be insensible, and then strip them naked and in that posture cause them to be carried through the streets to their dwelling place. Some of them, with other persons whom they invited, once went abroad to a garden not far ofl', and there continued a whole day and night drinking most excessively, and in so much that one of the number died within a very few days after, and confessed he had con- tracted his sickness by that excess. A person worthy of credit having occasion to go the next day into the same garden could number by the heads 36 bottles, and the best of his judgment they were all pottles, for it is their frequent custom to break bottles as soon as they have drunk the wine, and this they have done sometimes within the walls of the Fort, and withal, sing and carouse at very unseasonable hours. And this their drunkenness is not alone, but in some attended with its ordinary concomitant uucleanness." ^ * ■^ ^ * Nepiect of " They can find time and leisure for these things, but cannot pu icworsiip. ^^^ ^^^ ^.^^ ^^ leisure for the worship of God, which is exceedingly neglected by all, notwithstanding your orders to the contrary. I have sometimes, having waited long enough, been forced at length to begin duty with only three or four persons present, and when we have done there hath not been above twelve or thirteen in all ; but who amongst the Writers are most guilty in this, your Worships may know by the enclosed list of their absence taken by me indifferently, some appointed thereunto by the Governors; of others no account is taken. Immorality of " g^t bccausc it is no less a sin to condemn the iust than j. to justify the wicked, I must bear witness for most of the young men, that they cannot, to the best of my knowledge, be accused of the former enormities. There are but a few of them that are guilty in the manner before described ; whose names I would have inserted, that so I might clear the MADRAS UNDER GOLKONDA. 7I others, but that tliey have been lately sick, and some small hopes there are that they may amend ; they have given some g^round to expect it. But if they shall return with the do^ to the vomit, I will, if it please God to spare me so long", give your Worships a more full account thereof by word of mouth, upon my arrival with the next ships; for as you liave already been informed, I intend to return with them, and 1 hope with your good leave so to do. Therefore what I have written may in charity be supposed, not to proceed from expectation of any advantage to myself, but from respect to the glory of God, and their good, and the encour- agement of succeeding ministers. " I did write, what the last year's ships give an account, in s»iutoata a letter to Captain Broockman, upon the civil usage I met with from the Governor and others of Council, and indeed generally from all as to mine own person, which I do not now retract, only I could wish they were more zealous. When I have complained of those former abuses, I have been told by several that persons here are a good deal more civilised than formerly they hav^e been. If it be so, there is a great cause to admire the patience and long sujQPering of God, but withal cause to fear that if those things be not reformed He will not always keep silence. The Governor I understand hath refused to listen to any that would prevent his firing of great guns, and then voUies of small shot by all the soldiers in garrison, at the consecration of a popish church within the walls ; if he be therein acquitted by you I have no more to say, but pray that God himself would dis- countenance that idolatry and superstition so much counten- anced by others, and prevent the hurt that may redound to the place and to your interests thereby. " One Mr. Mallory, formerly Surgeon's mate in the Presi- Maiiory and dent and now Surgeon's mate in this place, and another, Barnes, who formerly went to sea as master of some small vessel, but having wasted the money entrusted to him, lives now idly and out of any employment. These two are con- stant companions with any of the young men in whatever 72 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. debaucheries they were guilty of, and it gives ground for sus- picion that they may be guilty of enticing them thereunto. Warner's return. " There are somc other things that I would humbly have remonstrated to your Worships, but because I intend, if it shall so please God, to see you with the next ships, at which time if it be acceptable it may more conveniently be done. I do therefore at present forbear, only praying that God would continue to prosper your undertaking and enable you faithfully to design His glory therein, and lead you to the reasonable means that may conduce to His glory, in the en- couragement of godliness, and restraint of sin in these places where your power reacheth. I am or desire to be, Right worshipf uls, Your faithful servant. According to my station, Patrick Warner. Madras, ■January 31si 1676" Change of Sir William Langliorn left Madras in 1677. Governors at Madras. j^e was succeeded by a gentleman named Mr. Streynsham Masters. It was at this period that Sivaji, the founder of the Mahratta empire, attain- ed the height of his power. He had assumed all the insignia of a great Raja ; and, as already seen, an English deputation from Bombay had been present at his coronation. Suddenly he entered upon a campaign which is a marvel in history. It was more than equivalent to marching an army from Bombay to Madras. He set out from his country in the Western Ghats ; marched through the Dekhan from the north-west to the south-east ; and entered the Peninsula and went to Tanjore. On his way he passed by Madras. The entries in the MADRAS UNDER GOLKONDA. 73 diary or consultation books of tlie Madras Presidency will show the general state of alarm : — "14th May 1677. — Having this day received a message sivaji, the Mah- and a letter from Sevaji Raja by a Brahmin and two others of his people, requesting some cordial stones and counter }>oisons, we resolved to send him some, together with a civil letter, by a messenger of our own, as a small present, to- gether with some such fruit as these gardens afford, and to bestow upon his Brahmin three yards of broad cloth and some sandalwood, not thinking it good to require the money for so small trifles, although offered in his letter ; considering how great a person he is, and how much his friendship does already and may import the Honorable Company as he grows more and more powerful and obvious to them/' The value of the present thus sent to Sivaji is stated in the records at Madras ; the cost of the whole was something like sixty pagodas. A few days afterwards Sivaji sent for more Departure of T • Sivaji. cordials and medicmes. The English gladly re- sponded to his request. Indeed, Sivaji was the terror of India. Madras was constantly alarmed with rumours that he was about to attack the English and Dutch settlements. After a while the English were gladdened by the news that the Mahrattas had retired to their own country after having some bloody battles with the Naik of Mysore. The Mysore ruler was at this period a sovereign condition of of the same type as Sivaji. His army, like the Mahratta army, was composed of bandits. They committed atrocities worse than those of the Mah- rattas. The following extract from the Consultation 74 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. book of January 1679 shows the general character of their warfare : — " Their custom is not to kill, but to cut off the noses with the upper Hps of their enemies; for which they carry an iron instrument with which they do it very dexterously, and carry away all the noses and lips they despoyle their enemys of, for which they are rewarded by the Naik of Mysore ac- cording- to the number, and the reward is the greater, if the beard appear upon the upper lip. This way of warfare is very terrible to all that those people engag-e with, so that none care to meddle with them ; they being also a resolute people, and have destroyed many that have attempted them, for though they kill them not outright, yet they die by lingering deaths, if they make not themselves away sooner, as for the most part they do that are so wounded, the shame and dishonor of it being esteemed greater than the pain and difficulty of subsisting." Tbenose-cutting Thc account in the Madras records is fully con- Eaja of suranpatan. ^j-jj^ed by Dr, Eryor. lie refers to the Mysore ruler as the Eaja of Saranpatan, which is doubtless the same as Seringapatam. The extract is curi- ous : — " The Raja of Saranpatan must not be slipped by in silence, because his way of fighting differs from his neighbours; he trains up his soldiers to be expert at a certain instrument to seize on the noses of his enemies with that slight either in the field or in their camps, that a budget-full of them have been presented to their Lord for a breakfast ; a thing, because it deforms them, so abashing, that few care to engage with him ; and this he makes use of, because it is against his religion to kill any thing. He enjoys a vast territory on the back of the Zamerhin." The following miscellaneous extracts will ex- plain themselves. They also serve to illustrate the character of the early Madras records. JLVDRAS UNDER GOLKONDA. 75 Tlnmday, 28th October, 1G80. — ''The new ehnveh was Foundation of •'^ ' ' n Protestant dedicated by virtue of commissions directed to the Govern- f;i">rch at *' _ ... Madras. raent, and to Mr. Richard Portman the minister, from his Lordship the Bishop of London. The solemnity was per- formed in very good order, and concluded with vollies of small shot fired by the whole garrison drawn out, and the cannon round the Fort. The church named St. Mary's as at first intended, and from this day forward all public service to be there performed. " It is observable that at the dedication of a new church by the French Padres and Portuguese in 1675, Sir William Langhorn, then Agent, had fired guns from the Fort; and yet at this time neither Padre nor Portuguese appeared at the dedication of our church, nor so much as gave the Governor a visit afterwards to wish him joy of it.'' Monday, 22nd March, 1680. — " It fell under consideration Marriages of ., T- 1'j ^ • L I'l'otestantB and whether it consisteth with our religion and interest to admit cathoUes. of marriages between Protestants and Roman Catholics in this place, and upon the debate resolved : — "1st, That it is not against the law of God in Holy Scripture, nor the laws of England, and hath frequently been practised in England for Protestants to marry Roman Catholics. " 2nd, That the Roman Catholics of this place, being the offspring of foreign nations chiefly Portuguese, and born out of England, and not liable to the laws of England provided against Roman Catholics, they always owning themselves vassals to the King of Portugal. " 3rd, That it is our interest to allow of marriages with them, especially our men with their women, to prevent wickedness, and in regard there is not English women enough for the men, and the common soldiers cannot main- tain English women and children with their pay, as well as they can the women of the country, who are not so expensive and not less modest than our ordinary or common people are, and in matter of marriages we have already gained by them many hopeful children brought up in the Protestant religion. mixed marriages. 7(5 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. " It is also further to be remembered that these Komau Catholics of the Portuguese nation were invited hitherto upon our first settlement ; ground was given them to build upon ; a church and French Priests were allowed^ to encourage them to come in and inhabit here ; and they have been loyal and serviceable in the defence of the place in time of war, and are a great security to us on that account. Moreover, our greatest income arises from the customs upon their commerce/' ofTspringof TliG Protestaiit feelings which prevailed at the time were far too strong to permit these rules to he carried out. Two Chaplains were consulted hy the Governor and Council. The following rules were then added, for the maintenance of Protest- antism : — Thursday, 25th March, 1680.— "The marriages of Pro- testants with Roman Catholics being again taken into con- sideration, the Honorable Company's two Chaplains, Mr. Richard Portman and Mr. Richard Elliot, were sent for into the Council, and upon the debate it is concluded, resolved, and ordered, " That upon the marriage of a Protestant with a Roman Catholic, both the parties to be married shall solemnly promise before one of the Chaplains of the place by themselves, or some for them, before the Banns shall be published, and also in the Chapel or Church by themselves in person, upon the day of marriage and before the parties shall be married, that ALL the children by them begotten and born, shall be brought up in the Protestant religion, and herein due care shall always be taken by the overseers of the orphans and the poor." Oppression of Jn 1680 thc Enf::lish settlement suffered much Liugapa. ^ from a Golkonda general, named Lingapa, who had MADRAS UNDER fiOLKONDA. 77 been appointed to the commancl of the district.* His object was to raise the yearly rental from twelve hundred pagodas to two thousand ; or rather to threaten to raise it in the hope of procuring a present for himself. The records are too volumin- ous for extract. A native officer entered Black Town with drums beating and a flag flying, as though he had been high in command. He de- clared that he had been appointed to take the com- mand of the town for the Sultan of Golkonda. The Governor sent three files of soldiers after him and brought him into the Fort. After a short exa- mination the man was sent out of the town. It was soon discovered that Lingapa was at the Embar-o bottom of these proceedings. He placed an em- bargo upon the English settlement. For months no goods or provisions were procurable from the sur- rounding villages. Matters grew so serious that the English garrison was forced to make raids into the country to procure provisions and fuel. The English Governor contemplated leaving Madras alto- gether, and removing to the country of some Hindu Rajah further south. The embargo was broken through, but Lingapa continued to be very trouble- some. To make matters worse, he protected certain objectionable ship captains, who carried on a trade with India in defiance of the Company's charter. The Company had always regarded these interlopers * The Sultan of Golkonda was a Shiah Mubammadau. The name of Lingapa shows that he was a Hindu. 78 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. as pirates. The Governor of Madras was at last forced to come to terms with Lingapa. Seven thousand pagodas were sent to Lingapa, equivalent to about three thousand pounds sterling. Matters quieted down at once. Lingapa ceased to protect the interlopers ; the yearly rent of Madras was again fixed at twelve hundred pagodas. The Sultan of Golkonda sent a firman to the Governor of Madras ; and it will be seen from the following extract that the firman was received with every honour : — Firman from Mondajj , 12tJi November, 1683. — '' This afternoon at four o'clock, the Agent and Council (being- attended with the Factors and Writers, the Company's Merchants and two com- panies of soldiers) went to the Hon'ble Company's new Garden- house to receive the King of Golconda's firman ; after which, at the drinking of the King of Golconda's health, there was fired three vollies of small shot, and thirty-one great guns. When the ceremony was ended, the messenger that brought the firman attended upon the Agent to the Fort, where after drinkinar a health to Madana and Accana, the Chief Ministers of State, there was one volley more of small shot fired, and so the messenger was dismissed for the present." Troubles at Not loug aftcrwards there were internal troubles Madras. .n -i i . at Madras. There was a strike about taxes amongst the men who dyed the native calicoes and were known by the name of painters. The whole body left the Company's jurisdiction and went away to St. Thome. They threatened to murder all the native servants of the Company who refused to join them. They also stopped all provisions and goods coming to the town. The Governor and Council took strong measures. They entertained a hundred black Portu- MADRAS UNDER GOLKONDA. 79 giiese to keep guard over the washers, to prevent them following the evil example. The wives and children of the mutineers were taken out of their houses in Black Town, and driven into the pagoda. At last it was proclaimed hy beat of drum that unless the mutineers delivered themselves up within ten days, all their houses, goods, and chattels within the jurisdiction of the Company w^ould be confiscated. Eight days afterwards the ringleaders were arrested at St. Thome, and brought within the Company's territories. They were at once committed to prison ; the same evening all the rest came into the town and made their submission. Meanwhile a new Governor was appointed to Mr. wiiiiam ^ ^ Gyflbrd. Madras. His name was Mr. William Gyfford. In after years, the Directors referred to him as " our too easy Agent Gyfford." The origin of this epithet involves a story. At this period Mr. Josiah Child was Chairman Mr. joBiah ^ ChUd. of the Court of Directors. Child was a man of mark, but hard and overbearing in his ways. The Court of Directors had been anxious to raise a quit rent from all the householders in Madras, native and European. They hoped by so doing to defray the yearly charge for repairs and fortifications. Mr. Masters had succeeded in raising such a tax ; Local taxes. not for repairs or fortifications, but for promoting the sanitation of Black Town. On his departure all the native inhabitants of Black Town petitioned against the tax ; and " our too easy Agent Gyfford" abolished the tax. 80 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Eesointionof Oil tliG 20tli September 1682, the Directors the Uirectora. i /• -» t i wrote to the Government oi Madras as follows : — " Our meaning as to the revenue of the town is that one way or another, by Dutch, Portuguese, or Indian methods, it should be broug-ht to defray at least the whole constant charge of the place, which is essential to all governments in the world. People protected ought in all parts of the universe, in some way or other, to defray the charge of their protection and preservation from wrong and violence. The manner of raising which revenue we shall leave to your discretion, as may be most agreeable to the humour of that people." Inundation at Meantime there had been a great inundation of Madras. . , the sea at Madras. The cn-cumstance is described in the following entry : — Tuesday, 11th July. — '^ The sea having for about 10 days past encroached upon this town, and we, hoping as it is usual, that it would retreat again of itself, forbore any remedies to keep it off; but now that instead of its losing it mightily gains ground upon us, and that without a speedy course be taken the town will run an apparent hazard of being swal- lowed up, for it has undermined even to the very walls, and so deep that it has eaten away below the very foundation of the town, — and the great bulwark next to the sea side, with- out a speedy and timely prevention, will certainly, in a day or two more, yield to its violence : it is therefore ordered forthwith that the drum be beat to call all coolies, carpenters, smiths, peons, and all other workmen, and that sufficient materials be provided, that they may work day and night to endeavour to put a stop to its fury : for without effectual means be used in such an eminent danger and exigency, the town, garrison, and our own lives, considering all the fore- going circumstances, must needs be very hazardous and in- secure." MADRAS UNDER GOLKONDA. 81 On the 31st May 1683 the Directors remarked Directors insist . on local taxation. on the event in the lollowmg terms : — " We take notice of the great iniiudation that endangered our Town and Fort^ and we would have you endeavour to prevent such future * accidents by laying such a deep and strong foundation with chuuam, as you mention, that may be sufficient in all human probability to prevent damage by any such accident hereafter. And in all other respects we would have you to strengthen and fortify our Fort and Town by degrees^ that it may be terrible against the assault of any Indian Prince and the Dutch power of India, if we should happen to have any difference with them hereafter. But we must needs desire you so to contrive your business (but with all gentleness) that the inhabitants may pay the full charge of all repairs and fortifications, who do live easier under our Government than under any Government in Asia^ or indeed under any Government in the known part of the world. Their saying they pay customs is a frivolous objection, and relates only to their security at sea under our Passes, and under the guns of our Fort in port ; but the strong fortifying of the town, etc., and the raising new works is a security to their lives, houses, wives, and children, and all that belongs to them.'' These orders were frequently repeated from home. Petition of Ntitivcs of The results are set forth in the followin^^ extracts Madras. from the Madras Consultations : — Monday, 4th January 1686. — " This morning the heads of the several Castes appeared before the President and Council, to be heard according to their desire ; and after begging pardon for the great crime they had committed in raising such a mutiny, delivered in their Petition, translate whereof is as follows : — " ' To the Hon'ble Governor and Council. " ' The inhabitants of this town declare, that it is now forty years and upwards, from the foundation of this Fort, and that they were invited to people and increase the town upon 82 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA, the word and fiivouv of the^Eng-lish, under whom they have till now lived, receiving many honours and favours without paying any tribute or rent. Only in the time of the past Governor Mr. Master, who imposed a tax upon arrack, and upon paddy, and causing us to pay for cleansing the streets; also increasing the Choultry customs of goods imported and exported; also the rents of the fields of paddy, and ordered that double custom should be received of tobacco which came from other places, and because the owners could not pay said custom, they carried their tobacco to St. Thome, by which means the Choultry hath been hindered of the customs for- merly paid. Also the close siege this Town suffered, which upon your Honour's arrival was taken off, whereby this Town was newly revived from death to life, hoping that your Honour would have relieved us from all tributes and rents ; but instead thereof we find you go about to impose and increase other new tributes upon our houses, which can in no wise be, nor ought your Honour to do it. Wherefore we beg your Honour for the sake of the most high God, and in the name of the most serene King of England and of the Hou'ble Company, that you will free this Tuwu from so heavy a yoke, as is this tax laid upon our houses, seeing we are a poor people, and live upon our labour and trouble ; this Town having the fame, and is called place of Charity, and we shall live confident in your favours and assistances, and the whole Town lightened by your goodness, as they hope from your Honour. " ' Signed by the heads of the several Castes underwritten, viz.f chuliars, painters, tailors, husbandmen, coolies, washers, barbers, pariahs, comities, oilmakers, fruiterers, shepherds, potmakers, muckwas, patanava, tiaga, cavaree, nugabunds, pally, goldsmiths, chitties, weavers.'' ProceediDfrs of " Upou perusal of Said Petition, the President and Coun- cil told them, that it did not lie in their power totally to excuse them from contributing towards the charges of this Garrison, in regard it was the Right Honorable Company^s positive orders, they commanding to have the Black Town walled round at the charge of the Inhabitants ; and there the Madras Government MADRAS UNDER GOLKONDA. 83 was no remedy but that they must be conformable thereunto, it being a very small matter, only three fanams a year for a small house, six fanams for a middle size house, and nine fanams for a great house, which could be no burthen to them. But they continued very obstinate, and declared themselves un- willing and unable to pay, for reasons given in their Petition; and farther that it would breed a custom, and they feared it would be increased hereafter. But it was still replied it must be done, and they as positive on the other hand refused, offering two of their heads, if that would satisfy, to excuse them from this tribute and heavy yoke, as they call it. After which they were one by one asked whether they would leave the town, make war upon us, or submit to our orders and government ; to which they every one answered they would submit, but on a sudden all at once denied what they had said, and that they would not pay do what we would to them ; which forced us to cause the drum to beat, and declare our resolution that we would execute our orders declared to them yesterday by beat of drum of pulling down their houses, selling their lands, and banishing them the place. Which when they perceived us so much in earnest, at last submitted, promising to be obedient to our government, and that they would take off the prohibition laid upon their people and our prohibitions, and that all things should be at peace and q,uiet. So they were dismissed, and after awhile, the shops were opened, provisions brought in, and the washer-men, muckwas, catamaran-men, coolies, and servants returned to their several businesses ; and now it only remains that they be obedient in paying their contributions.^^ There are various entries in the Madras Con- siave hade at sultation Books respecting slaves. Tliey are print- . cd together in the present place, as they throw considerable light upon tlie public opinion of the time as regards slaves : — Monday f 18th Septcmler 1683. — " There being great number of slaves yearly exported from this place, to the 84 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. great grievfiuce of many persous whose children are very commonly privately stolen away from them, by those who are constant traders in this way, the Agent and Council, considering the scandal that might accrue to the Government, and the great loss that many parents may undergo by such actions, have ordered that no more slaves be sent off the shore again." Monday, 13th November 1683. — " An Order in English, Portuguese, Geutoo [^. e., Tamil], and Malabar, for the pre- venting the transportation of this country people by sea and making them slaves in other countries, was read and past and ordered to be hung up in four public places of this town. The contents are as followeth : — " Whereas formerly there hath been an ill custom in this place of shipping off this country people, and making them slaves in other strange countries. We, therefore, the present Governor and Council of Fort St. George, have taken the same into our serious consideration, and do hereby order that, for the future, no such thing be done by any person whatso- ever, resident in this place. And we do hereby also strictly command all our officers by the water side, whether they be English, Portuguese or Gentoos [i. e., Tamil-speaking Hindus], to do their utmost endeavours to prevent the same ; or else suffer such punishment, either in body or goods, as we shall think fit to inflict upon them. And if any person, being an inhabitant of this Town of Madraspatanam, shall hereafter presume clandestinely to do anything contrary to this our order, by shipping such slaves of this country and it be proved against him, — he shall pay for every slave so shipped off or sent away, fifty pagodas, to be recovered of him in the Choultry of Madraspatanam ; one-third for the use of the Honorable East India Company, one-third to the poor, and one-third to the informer.'''' Monday, 1st August 1683. — ''The trade in slaves grow- ing great from this Port, by reason of the great plenty of poor, by the sore famine, and their cheapness, — it is ordered for the future that each slave sent off this shore pay one MADRAS UNDER GOLKOXDA. §5 pagoda custom to the Right Honorable Company, and that the Justices do receive no more for the usual fee for register- ing and passport, than two fanams a head till the Council shall think fit to alter it as formerly." Thursday, 29{h Sejdember 1687. — " We do now order that Mr. Fraser (who being Land Customer has the best oppor- tunity for it) do buy forty young sound slaves for the Right Honorable Company, and dispose them to the several Mussoo- la Boats, two or three in each, in charge of the Chief man of the Boat, to be fed and taught by them ; and to encourage their care therein, it is ordered a short red broad cloth coat be given to each Chief man ; and that the Right Honorable Company's mark be embroidered with silk on their backs with the number of their rank and the boat, which are also to be so numbered, whereby we shall have them at better command, our business go more currently on, and easier thereby discover their thieveries." Thirsday, 2nd February 1688. — " In consideration of the several inconveniences that have happened by the exporta- tion of children stolen from their parents, to prevent which for the future, — it is ordered that no slaves shall be shipped off or transported, except such who are first examined by the Justices of the Choultry, and their several names registered in a book for that purpose ; for which the Justices are to receive two fanams for each slave. And whosoever shall offend against this same rule, and shall be convicted of stealing people, are to pay for the first fault five pagodas, and for the next to lose their ears in the pillory. And this order shall be fixed upon the several gates and in the Choultry." Monday y 14th May 1688. — " The custom by the export- Final prohibi- ation of slaves here, being now of little advantage to the trade. Right Honorable Company by their scarcity, and it having brought upon us great complaints and troubles from the country government, for the loss of their children and servants spirited and stolen from them, which being likely to increase, by the new government of the Mogul's who are 8(5 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. very averse, and prohibit all such trade in his dominions, and has lately expressed his displeasure therein against the Dutch for their exporting" of slaves from Metchlepatam. To prevent which prejudice and mischiefs for the future, and we having received a late letter from the Seer Lascar about it, — it is agi'eed and ordered that, after the 20th instant, no person inhabitant of this place, either Christian or other, do directly or indirectly buy or transport slaves from this place or any adjacent Port (whereby the Government may be any ways troubled or prejudiced) upon the penalty of fifty pagodas for each slave bought and transported against this our order. But in consideration that several persons in town have formerly bought slaves which still remain by them, by reason of their sickness or want of opportunity to transport them : — It is agreed tbat they be permitted to ship off such slaves, provided they give a list of them to the Justices of the Choultr}^, and produce them publicly there, to be duly ex- amined and registered. And the better to prevent any demands upon them hereafter, the Justices are ordered to proclaim the same by beat of drum; that no person may pretend ignorance thereof, and that all may come and make their demands for children and slaves stolen, and upon due proof, they be delivered to them free of charge.''^ Goikonda Meanwlille there had been a great change iu the threatened by i»«i-i« t n, i t n Aurungzeb. political horizon. In 1685, the Sultan of Golkonda was assailed by the Moghul Emperor Aurungzeb. The details of the war are of no interest. The Sultan, however, was in sore extremity ; he called upon the English at Madras to help him against the Moghul. The point is only important from its having elicited the following remarks from the Court of Directors ; they are evidently penned by Mr. Josiah Child : — icstrncfionsof "We know the King of Golconda is rich enough to pay the Directors. „ ., ... -ii-T i for any assistance you give him, either in diamonds or MADRAS UNDER GOLKONDA. §7 pagodas ; and tlicrefore we intend to l)e at no cliarge for his assistance against the Mogul, but what he shall pay us for beforehand, or put diamonds into your hands for the security- of our payment, both principal and interest. " For the King of Golconda's writing to you, you may English defy the acquaint him in a decent and friendly manner, that we are Goiuoiuia. none of his subjects; wherein we would have you be guided by the old Proverb, '' suaviter in niodo fortiter in ve." But if nevertheless he pretend to any dominion over your city, you may, when you are in a good condition, tell him in plain terms that we own him for our good friend, ally, and con- federate and sovereign and lord paramount of all that country, excepting the small territory belonging to Madras, of which we claim the sovereignty, and will maintain and defend against all persons, and govern by our own laws, without any appeal to any prince or potentate whatsoever, except our Sovereign Lord the King, paying unto him the King of Golconda our agreed tribute of 1200 pagodas per annum. And if ever he break with you upon these terms, we require you to defend yourselves by arms, and from that time renounce paying him any more tribute. It being strange to us that while he is oppressed by the Mogul on one hand, and by a poor handful of Dutchmen on the other, you should make yourselves so timorous and fearful of asserting our own King's just right and prerogative to that important place/' 1 • It may be as well to specify that a pagoda is equivalent to three rupees eight annas, and that its English value varied from seven shillings to half a sovereign. A fauam was a smiiU coin worth about twopcuco. CHAPTER V. MADRAS UNDER THE MOGHULS. Gulkouda conquered b)' Aurungzeb, Destruction of the English Factory at Hughli. 1688—1720. A BOUT 1688 there was a great change in the for- -^--^ tunes of Madras. The Sultan of Golkonda was conquered by Aurungzeb, and consequently the English settlement at Madras was brought under the paramount power of the Great Moghul. The change was effected at a remarkable crisis. The English in Bengal had been allowed to esta- blish a factory at Hughli. They had been prohibited from building any walls or fortifications, like those which they possessed at Madras ; they had conse- quently been exposed to the oppressions and exac- tions of the Nawab of Bengal ; and on one occasion, Mr. Job Charnock, the Governor at Hughli, was imprisoned and scourged by the Nawab.^ The result was that James the Third_made war upon the Em- peror Aurungzeb. A squadron of English men-of-war was sent into the eastern seas to capture and destroy the ships of the Moghul. xiurungzeb was soon in alarm. Every complaint was redressed. The war was brought to a close, but was never forgotten. It sufficed to keep the peace between the English and the Moghul authorities for a period of seventy years. * Orme's Hindustan, Vol. II. The Nawab of Bengal was afterwards known as the Subahdar. Charnock is often spelt Chaifuock. MADRAS UNDER THE MOtJJIULS. 80 The lisfht iu which the war was reo'ardcd by the wa. between Court of Directors may be gathered from the ^^"'''''"''* following remarks, which appear in a general letter, dated 27th August 1688 :— " The subjects of the Moghul cannot bear a war with the Englisb for twelve mouths toi^ether^ without starving and dying by thousands^ for want of work to purchase rice; not singly for want of our trade, but because by our war we ob- struct their trade with all the Eastern nations, which is ten times as much as ours, and all European nations put together. Therefore we conclude Fort St. George is now much more worth and secure to us, than ever it was in the mean King of Golconda's time ; for he had little at sea for us to revenge ourselves upon ; but now if new injuries should be offered us, we have a fat enemy to deal with, from whom something is to be got to bear our charges. Therefore we conclude that the Moghul's governors will never give us fresh provocations, nor deny you St. Thome, or anything else you shall reason- ably and fairly request of him. " No gi'eat good was ever attained in this world without throes and convulsions : therefore we must not grudge at what is past." The following extracts from the Consultation Mr. chamock at Madras, Books will suffice to tell the story of one result of the war in Bengal : — Thunday, 7lh March 1689.^'' Agent Charnock, his Council and the several Factors and Writers to the number of twenty-eight persons, being arrived from Bengal, who, having from tlieir disturbances and sudden surprising depart- ure thence, laden the Right Honorable Company^s concerns and remains in great confusion upon the several ships, of which we have received neither Invoices nor Bills of Lading- : it is therefore ordered that each Commander shall g-ive a list of what they have on board." 90 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Nawab of Bengal Mou(laf/,7th Ocloher 1069.— ''l!\ie " Pearl" frigate avriv- Sush'to ing yesterday from Vizagapatam, and by her came Bengal return. pcons, wlio brought US several letters and a firman from the new Nawab of Bengal, Ibrahim Khan, to the President, dated 2nd July, veiy kindly inviting us to return and resettlement, with assurance of a just and fair usage to the Right Honor- able Company^s servants and trade, and upon the former privileges, and to assist us in the recovery of our debts owing to us in those parts; much blaming the late Nawab^s injustice and cruelty to our people : which notwithstanding it is most acceptable news to us as we doubt not it will also be to the Right Honorable Company ; but our resettlement being a matter of great weight and importance, it is ordered and agreed that the Agent, etc., of the Bengal Council be sura- mond to a Council with us.'^ Thursday, 10th October. — " Agent Charnock and Council being this day joined with us in Council, the NawaVs letters and firman from Bengal to the President were perused and long debated on, and being concluded to be a happy good opportunity to return and settle in Bengal, that Government being under that famously just and good Nawab Ibrahim Khan, who has so kindly invited us to it, and faithfully en- gaged our peace and safety, of his honour the Agent has had long experience at Patna; . . . but the war continuing still at Bombay ... it is agreed that the General of Surat be advised as soon as possible thereof, and copies of the firman and letters sent bim, with our opinion thereof, desiring his advice and orders therein, and that a small vessel be fitted for that purpose, the overland passage being very uncertain and dangerous." Madras, a Durinff tliG latter years of the seventeenth century Sovereign State. o •/ »* Madras underwent a great change. It was no longer a fortified factory ; it had hecome a sovereign state. Accordingly other qualifications were neces- sary in men holding the higher appointments than MADRAS UNDER THE MOGHULS. f)! bad been necessary in tbe earlier days of tbe settle- ment. Tbe following remarks in a general letter from tbe Court respecting tbe appointment of a Mr. Higginson to be Second Member of Council are wortby of preservation. Tbey are as applicable now as tbey were two centuries ago. It is difficult perbaps to say wlio penned tbem ; but from all tliat is known of Mr. Josiab Cbild, it miii^bt be safelv inferred tbat be was tbe autbor : — " Let none of you think much or grudge at the speedy Qualifications advancement of Mr. Higginson. We do not do it out of any counciL° partiality to him, for he has no relation here to speak for him, nor ever had the ambition. to think of such a thing himself; neither have we done it out of any ill feeling or disrespect to any others now being of our Council, hut sincerely as we apprehend for the public good ; knowing him to he a man of learning, and competently well read in ancient histories of the Greeks and Latins, which with a good stock of natural parts, only can render a man fit for Government and Political Science, martial prudence, and other requisites for ruling over a great city. This, we say, with some experience of the world and knowledge of the laws and customs of nations, can alone qualify men for such a Government, and for treaties of peace or war, or commerce with foreign Princes. It is not being bred a boy in India, or studying long there and speaking the language, understanding critically the trade of the place, that is sufficient to fit a man for such a command as the Second of Fort St. George is, or may be in time; though all these qualifications are very good in their kind, and essotitially necessary to the well carrying on of the trade ; and little science was not necessary formerly, when we were in the state of mere trading merchants. But the case is altered from that, since his Majesty has been pleased, by his Hoyal Charters and during his Royal will and pleasure, to form us into the condition of a Sovereign State in India, that we may 92 EARLY RECORDS OF ERITISH INDIA. Difficulties between the Directors and the Council. Form of Muni- cipal Govern- ment : Natives mixed with Europeans. offeudj or defend ourselves, and puuish all that injure us in India as the Dutch do. " The great trouble we labour under is, that you cannot get out of your old forms, and your cavilling way of writing, or perverting or misconstruing, procrastinating or neglect- ing our. plain and direct orders to you; as if you were not a subordinate but a co-ordinate power with us ; which has and will (till you conform to our known minds and intentions) force us to make more changes in your Council than any- thing else could have induced us to; of which we hope we shall have no more hereafter, but that your well understand- ing and performance of our orders will cause us to change the style of our letters to you, as we hoped to have done before this, for which we more earnestly desire a fit occasion than you can yourselves." The Court of Directors at this period were anxious to form a municipal corporation, in which natives were mixed with English freemen. The question is an interesting one. The following paragraphs are extracted from the original instruc- tions sent out from England : — " If you could contrive a form of a corporation to be estab- lished, of the Natives mixed with some English freemen, for aught we know some public use might be made thereof; and we might give the members some privileges and pre-eminen- cies by Charter under our seal, that might please them (as all men are naturally with a little power) ; and we might make a public advantage of them, without abating essentially any part of our dominion when we please to exert it. And it is not unlikely that the heads of the several castes, being made Aldermen and some others Burgesses, with power to choose out of themselves yearly their Mayor, and to tax all the in- habitants for a Town Hall, or any public buildings for them- selves to make use of, — your people would more willingly and liberally disburse five shillings towards the public good, being taxed by themselves, than sixpence imposed by our despotical MADRAS UNDER THE iMOOIIULS. 93 power (notwithstanding- they shall submit to when we see cause)j were Government to manag-e such a society, as to make them proud of their honour and preferment, and yet only ministerial, and subservient to the ends of the Govern- ment, which under us is yourselves. " We know this can be no absolute platform for you. You Discretionary may make great alterations according- to the nature of the ^°"*"^®' place and the people, and the difference of laws, customs, and almost everything- else, between England and India; but this will serve as a foundation from whence to begin your consi- derations and debates concerning this affair, which will require great wisdom and much thinking and foresight, to create such a Corporation in Madras, as will be beneficial to the Company and place, without the least diminution of the sovereign power his Majesty has entrusted us with, and which we are resolved to exercise there during his Majesty^s royal pleasure and confidence in us." All this while, however, Madras was exposed to Madras m great perils. The English were often threatened"*"^'' by the Mahrattas. They were also threatened by the Moghuls, who had conquered the Sultan of Golkonda and were taking possession of all his dominions in the Dekhan and Peninsula as far south as the river Koleroon. The following extracts will serve to show the Relations , ^ between the early relations between the English and the Moghuls fio^Ms'^anV^^ and Malu-attas. It should be explained that the ^^"^'^''•^''•"'-' Sivaji, here mentioned, was not the celebrated f oimder of the Maliratta Empire ; for he had died as far back as 1680. The name was applied to his son Ram Raja, who was generally known as Sivaji, and sometimes as the " New Sivaji." Saturday, 29tli October 1687. — "Having received a letter Moghuls capture from Potty Khan, commissioned by the Mogul to be Souba- Madra" s^ilbmits to the Moghul. y.j, EARLY RECORDS OP BRITISH INDIA. dar of this part of the country, and Governor of Chingleput Fort as formerly, who advises us that the Mogul has certain- ly taken Golconda Castle, and the Sultan prisoner; and that all the considerable Forts and Towns in this country have already admitted the MoguFs colours and government, the Towns of Pulicat and St. Thome, our nearest neighbours, having also submitted thereto ; he also intimating to us the ceremony and solemnity that was generally performed at the news of the conquest, implicitly desiring and expect- ing the same from us ; which being a matter of no great weight or charge, and may oblige them, and the neglect do us a prejudice : — It is agreed and ordered that the servant that brought the letter be presented with perpetuanos, and that 15 guns be fired at the delivery of the President's letter to them, and 20 marcalls of paddy given among the poor, in respect to their customs in such cases/^ Application of a Saturday ^ 7tk January 1688. — This evening the Right Guardsman. Honorable Company's Chief Merchant acquainted the Presi- dent that one of the Mogul's Life Guards, seutj down into these parts to receive his rents, desired to wait upon him to-morrow ; but doubting he might be too prying and in- quisitive of the garrison, the President excused his coming then, as being Sunday, and desired it may be at nine this night. Three other Members of Council were sent for and were present at his coming, when after a long discourse of the Court and Government, he declared the occasion of his coming was, that he had i-eceived about a lakh of rupees and 6000 pagodas for the Mogul's account, and had left it at Poonamallee ; but in regard Sivaji's flying army was foraging those parts and robbing and plundering, desired our assistance, supply him with 300 horses, 500 soldiers and 500 peons to guard it as far as Kistna River; which he pressed hard, and that it would be most acceptable to the King (Aurungzeb). But the Governor considering the unreasonableness and dangerous consequence of undertaking such a charge, or intermeddling with things of that nature, returned him for answer, that we should l^e always ready to MADRAS UNDER THE MOGHULS. 95 serve the Mogul, but that he well knew Sivaji's forces, and that he had lately taken three Forts and a hundred Towns very near us, aud done many other mischiefs in the country, and that this place was also threatened by him, and that he was within twenty-four hours of us : therefore we could not spare our forces from our guard. Besides, that three or four hundred horse would signify little to Sivaji's three or four thousand in the field, though we feared not ten times so many here ; but there it would turn the King Aurungzeb^s money and our people into great danger. Thereupon desired him (the Mogul^s Life Guard) to consider well of it. Whereupon he desired permission to bring it into Town ; but hearing of our war in Bengal he requested that the President would give him his word and hand that he and his treasure should be safe, and have liberty to carry it away when he thought convenient. Which being agreed to by all, ho was told by the President that the Town was free to all persons, and that no prejudice should be done to him by the English, but that they should fare as we did, and that he might choose what place he pleased to reside in ; desiring him to send no more people than necessary, and those to be sober and civil. Whei*eupon he was dismissed with rosewater and betel, and seemed pleased with the dis- course and the entertainment." Friday^ 13th January. — " Letters last night advise that Mahratta Sivaji's forces had plundered Conjeveram, killed about 500 men, destroying the Town, and put the inhabitants to flight, dispersing themselves about the country, and many of them run hither ; and about twelve this day came a letter from Chingleput advising the Governor that they had certain news from the Mahratta camp, that they had drawn out a party of about 2000 horse and 5000 foot under the command of a General, to assault this place, giving them encourage- ment that the plunder should be their own. Upon which advice the Governor and Council ordered that the Portuguese and Geutoos [/. e., Hindus] should be summoned to their arms ; one man from each family that had two therein, and 96 EARLY llECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Aflairs at Uulkouda. Moehul negotiations. two from each family that bad six and many therein^ from 15 to 60 years of age." Simday, 6th May 1688. — " Letters from Mr. Chardin at Golcouda to the Governor, of April last, give the following account. That the Mogul would free his sou Shah Allum from his long confinement, but the Prince generously refused it except he would also enlarge Abul Hassan, the Sultan of Golcouda, because he (the Prince) was instrumentally the ruin of the Sultan ; having formerly engaged his word that neither the Mogul, nor he, should ever come with power to trouble him ; and that he would rather choose to lose his life, than break his faith and word with the Sultan of Golconda, which was confirmed by his faith. That Sivaji's troops, join- ed with Siddee Masson^s, are within six leagues of Golconda burning and destroying all before them, they expect them there in a little time. That Nabob Rowalloo Khan had sent his jewels and treasure into the castle, and he and his family are on the following thereof. That there are no soldiers in the Fort (of Golconda), nor provisions fit to withstand an enemy, so that if the enemy comes, he may with great faci- lity take the Fort. That the Dutch and the French are much in the Mahratta^s favour, and all roads are full of robbers. That the King of Persia marcheth in person with a great army after Sultan Akbar,' to give him help, in case the 60,000 horsemen he hath already sent be not sufiicient,- and sworn upon his beard that he will set him upon the Indostan throne." Monday, 18th March. — " Letters from the MoguFs Dewan [i. e.y Finance Minister] wherein he descants upon the small- ness of our rent and present, in consideration of the great profits and revenues we made of the place, which now was under the MoguFs dominion, and therefore not to be as in the Sultan of Golconda's time. His chief design herein being to get a great present from us, which being well con- sidered of, it is resolved not to concede to, since it can do us little kindness and may encourage their exactions. • ^ Akbar was a rebel son of Aurungzeb, who had fled to Persia. .MADRAS UNDER THE .MOCIIULS. 97 " Tlie Dowan's messcng-or, a fjrcat Moorman that was sent with the letter and to discourse more partieuhuly in this occa- sion, was sent for and civilly treated ; who, after many stories and mag-nifyin'^ his Master's interest and power in the Mo- gul's Court and this country ; the President told him that we were and should be very desirous to continue the Dewaii's friendship, which we hope he w^ould not deny ns, in considera- tion of the many great advantages our settlement and trade brought to the country ; and that he was misinformed of our profits by it, the Revenues not defraying" half the charge we were at in maintaining* it and the poor; however it was our own, given us by the grant of several sovereigns, and solely raised and built by the Right Honorable Company's charge from a barren sand; which we should defend against all op- posers of our right ; and so dismissed the Moor with calmer thoughts and expectations than he brought." Monday y 4th December 1689. — "Having received certain I'^s'^^n^s i" "'« -, . . . . ilahiatta Kiija. advice that Rama Raja, king of the Mahrattas, is come over land from his kingdom and army at Poona to the government and castle at Ginjee, and that the French and Dutch have already sent persons with considerable presents to congratu- late him into the country, each reported to be to the amount of nearly 1400 pagodas; and it being also expected that we should likewise pay our respects to him in the same nature, as well for the favourable assistance done the Right Honorable Company at Bombay, as also for the protection of our Garri- son and trade in his country ; and though he may expect to be visited by one of our Council, yet lest that should give sus- picion to the Mogul government and army in these parts and exasperate them against us, which they seem now inclined to from the late news and troubles at Bombay : —we therefore conclude it more safe and expedient that the Chief of Coni- mere,* with a suitable retinue, do go and visit Rama R:ija at Ginjee, with a present from thence, wherein not much to ex- ceed the amount of pagodas COO, Since the J'rench circum- ' Coniincrc was a small KiiLjlish faclory near Giiijuc or Jinjcc. It was wllliUrawu shortly afterwards. G 08 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Miih'attas be8ief,'e Poudichcrry. Mophul C'aruatic and Mahratta Caruatic, stances and ours in those parts are different, where they hav- ing their chief residence and settlement in that government, and lately built a considerable Fort at Pondicherry/' Tuesday, 10th December 1689. — "This day came news from Gouimere that the Mahrattas had besieged the French at Pondicherry, demanding great sum of money from them, notwithstanding they had lately received a considerable pre- sent from them ; and that the Conimere Government and the Dewan^s peons have likewise been very pressing with our merchants there for 1,000 or 500 pagodas a man loan from them/' The country between the rivers Kistna and Kole- roon is known by the general name of the Carnatic. Politically it was divided into a northern and a southern region, wliich may be distinguished as the Moghul Carnatic and the Mahratta Carnatic. The Moghul Carnatic had been previously a province of Golkonda ; it had now become a province of the Moghul ; it included the English settlement at Madras. The Mahratta Carnatic comprised the southern region wliich had been conquered by Sivaji the Mahratta ; it included the Prench settle- ment at Pondicherry. Frontier fortress Tlic froutlcr betwccn Moghul and Mahratta do- of Ginjce or jinji. niinion was formed at tliis period by the celebrated fortress of Ginjee or Jinji. This notable fortress was seated on three precipitous hills or rocks about six hundred feet high. They were connected by lines of works, and enclosed a large triangular plain inside. Por ages this fortress had been regarded as the strongest in the Carnatic. It had been the stronghold of the old Rajas of Chola. In 1677 it had been captured by the first Sivaji. MADRAS UNDER THE MOGHULS. 99 111 1689, as already seen, it was in the possession of liis son Ram Raja, It was the frontier fortress of the Mahrattas against the Moghiils. In 1G90 Zulfikar Khan commanded the Mosrhul zumkar Khan. ~ first Nawab of army in the Carnatic, He laid siege to Jingi. A ^^^ ^a^"*''''- rebellion broke out in the Moghul army. Mr. Elihu Yale was Governor of Madras. He supplied Zulfikar IChan with powder and rendered other services. As a reward he obtained a firman from the Mo- ghul general, confirming the English Company in the possession of all their settlements in Golkonda territory and Jinji territory. In 1691 the Mahrattas were still masters of English settle- T« •' -T-» T» • • 1 1 nieut at Fort Jinji. Ram Raja was sovereign over the whole ^^- ^■^''^'^^ country from Jinji to the river Koleroon. So firmly was his power established, that the English purchased the site of Port St, David^ from the Mahratta Raja. In 1692 Zulfikar Khan was still besies^ing Jinii. siegcofjinji He was accompanied by the youngest son of the Emperor Aurungzeb, named Kambakhsh.^ The Moghul army before Jinji was in wretched plight. In December 1692 the Moghuls were de- feated by the Mahrattas ; many of the Moghul officers fled to Madras in disguise, and were well entertained. In January 1693 an En owlish soldier in the Privations of ^ ^ the Moghuls. service of Zulfikar Khan returned to Madras. He 1 Fort St. Darid was about a hundred miles to the south of Madras, aud sixteen miles to the south of Poudicherry. * This prince was known to our forefathers as Cawn Box. In Herodo- tus and Xcnophon the name appears as Cambyses, 100 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Tronblos at the Uojjhul camp. Miihratta successes. broil ""lit a budget of news from the Moghul camp. Kambakhsli had tried to go over to Eam Raja ; he was seized and imprisoned by Zullikar Khan. The camp was reduced to starvation from want of provisions. Zulfikar Khan made a peace for twenty- four hom'S with Eam Haja, and then retired to Wandiwash, leaving most of his baggage at the discretion of the Mahrattas. In 1694 there was more news from the Moghul camp. Zulfikar Khan was quarrelling with his officers ; it was said that Aurungzeb had sent orders to arrest him. The Moghul horse were plundering the country. Zulfikar Khan sent ten camels load- ed with rupees to Eam Eaja ; they were inter- cepted by another Moghul general named Daud Khan. The Moghul officers were waiting an oppor- tunity to arrest Zulfikar Khan. The Mahrattas had poisoned the water ; they mixed milk hedges in some of the tanks, wliich killed abundance of people. In 1696 the Mahrattas were increasing in Zulfikar Khan straitened for money. increasing strength at Jinji. The English at Tort St. David were warned to be on good terms with Ham Haja a,nd his officers. The Mahrattas would certainly continue masters of the country, unless a consider- able army was sent to reinforce Zulfikar Khan. In the following March, Zulfikar Khan was in such straits for money that he sent to Madras to bor- row a hundred thousand pagodas, equivalent to above thirty-five thousand pounds sterling. Mr. Nathaniel Iligginson was Governor of Madras. He sent a pre- sent, but declined to lend the money. It was feared :\1ADKAS UNDER THE MOCIIULS. IQl tliat Zulfikar Khan would resent the refusal. He, however, distributed a small sum amongst his army, and ostentatiously praised the liberality of the English at Madras. His only object had been to gain time ; to amuse the soldiery with prospects of pay. In the followini:? November, it was feared that Nawab expected ^ to attack Zulfikar Khan would attack Madras. The follow- ^^"^''■'''^• ing extract from the " Consultations " shows the feeling which prevailed at Fort St. George : — Thursday y 5ih Novemler 1696. — " It may be objected that it is very pVobable that the Nawab Zulfikar Khan cannot make war against this place without the King-^s [i. e., Emperor's] order. But it may be also considered that the Nawab hath frequently done greater things than that, not only without but against the King's order. He has imprisoned Kambakhsh the King's sc^n ; and though the King for a time did express resentment, yet there followed no effect. He hath been fre- quently ordered to take Ginjee, and it hath been in his power to do it and destroy all the Mahrattas in the country ; but instead of that it appears plain that he hath joined council with them, and notwithstanding all the endeavours of his enemies, his father Vizier Asad Khan still prevails at court to keep the Nawab in his Government. And if he hath an interest to defend himself against so potent enemies, he caa more easily baffle any complaints that we can make to the King. And it is in his power, if he be so inclined, to trouble and plague us, and to raise new impositions to the stoppino* all business ; and it will not be in our power to procure a remedy at last, but by the same means that he and his officer now aim at, that is by a more considerable present.'^ In 1697 Zulfikar Khan had grown more for- jtosi.ui» midable. He had defeated the Mahrattas near Tanjore. In 1098 he captured Jinji. 102 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Nawab's fri.nd-; Zulfikai' Kliaii was one of the most distinguished sliip f.ir the ~ Kugihh. giandees of his time. He was not only in com- mand of the Moghul army in Jinji, but exercised a powerful influence at court. He was the adopted son of Asad Khan, the Vizier. He was inclined to favour the English at Madras. He had already granted firmans confirming them in the possession of their territorial settlements in Golkonda and Jinji. He now procured them firmans from the Vizier in the Emperor's name. The English were told that the firmans were ready on the payment of 'ten thousand pagodas, nearly four thousand ■ pounds sterling. There was some demur, but the money was paid. Baud Khan In 1701 Zulfikar Khan was succeeded by Daud eoconcl Nawab «' otthecaruatie. ^hau as Nawab of the Carnatic. The English sent him letters and presents. A present valued at seventeen hundred pagodas was given in public ; and a donation of three thousand rupees was given in private. The proceedings are su£B.ciently ex- plained in the following extracts : — Friday, 17th January 1706^ — " Daud Khan being ordered by the King- (Auruugzeb) Nawab of the Carnatic and Ginjee countries who has been several months on his march from the King's Camp. Two days ago we were advised, by people that we keep in his Camp to give us intelligence, that he was come to Arcot above four days' march from hence. We have had several letters of compliment from him, wherein he has desired sundry sorts of liquors, which accordingly have been sent him; and it being the custom of all Europeans to present all Nawabs and Governors when they come first to their Government in order to procure a confirmation of their privileges, besides at MADKAS UNDER THE MOGHULS. 1()3 present we are currying on 'a great investment here and at Fort St. David, and Lave a great deal of money spread up and down the country ; further a few days ago we have advice from Surat by Armenian letters that our affairs are embroiled there ; all of which induces us to consider of a con- siderable present for the Nawab and Dewan and their officers, and fitting- persons to send with it ; though before we heard the news from Surat, we intended to have sent two English- men, but altered our resolution, not knowing but that the troubles there may affect us here. So there being one Senor Nicholas Manuch, a Venetian and an inhabitant of ours for many years, who has the reputation of an honest man, besides he has lived at the King^s Court upwards of thirty years, and was a servant to one of the Princes, and speaks the Persian language excellently well ; for which reasous we think him the properest person to send at this time with our Chief Dubash Ramapab ; aud have unanimously agreed with the advice of all capable of giving it, to send the presents." The Nawab sent back the presents. It was clis- More demands T , , . 1 . TT - tor money. coYered that he was m a rage. He was bent upon having ten thousand pagodas hke Zulfikar Khan. He threatened to ruin Madras and set up St. Thome in its room. Mr. Thomas Pitt was Governor of Madras. He is Resolution of '■tit 1 ji 1PJ1 p Governor Pitt. said to have been the grandiather of the famous Earl of Chatham. At any rate, he had the Chatham spirit. He utterly refused to pay the money. Ten thousand pagodas had been paid to Zulfikar Khan on account of the firmans ; but no firmans were wanted from Nawab Daiid Khan. A new Nawab might come every month, and de- mand ten thousand pagodas in like manner. Governor Pitt prepared to resist to the last ; landed 104 EAItLT RECORDS OF iJRlTlSII INDIA. quotas of men out of the Europe sliips ; iucreasod the traiu bands ; and raised a force of Portuguese. N.nvabPuu,! Nawah Dui'id Khan beajan to ffive in. His '"^ officers expressed their fears that something would happen to their good friends the English unless the ten thousand pagodas were paid up. Governor Pitt was ol)durate. At last the Nawab condescended to receive the present which he had previously refused. The Nawab now became friendly and cordial. Govornor Pitt's Tlic followin£? cxtracts from the " Proceedinsrs" describe an entertainment that was given by Mr. Pitt to the famous Nawab Daiid Khan : — Propavation for Friday , 11th Juljj.TiOl. — " This day tlie Nawab sent lis Nnwah DiUui word that to-morrow himself, the Dewan, and Buxie would dine with us, and desired to know witli what attendance we would admit him.' We would fain have evaded it, but the messenger he sent, pressing us so hard for a direct answer, we sent him word that the honour was too great to desire it, and greater than we expected ; and if he pleased to come, he should be very welcome, and we be ready to receive him in the Garrison with one hundred horse. So all imaginable prepara- tion is ordered to be made, and Messrs. Marshall and Meverell (two of the Council), attended with ten Files of Grenadiers, ordered to meet and receive him at Mr. Ellis's Garden to conduct him into town.^' 1 These three officials — the Nawab, the King's Dewan, aiul the Buxie or Bakkshi — were appointed to every province in tlie Moghul empire. The Nawab held the military command of the province, and enforced obedience to the laws. The King's Dewan took charge of the revenues iu the name of the King, Padishah, or Emperor. He paid the salaries of all the higlier officials, iuciuding the Nawab. He remitted the surplus revenue to the iVIoghul Court as the King's due. Sometimes the Dewan also held the post of Nawab. The Buxie, properly Bakhshi, was Paymaster of the Army, but often held the rank of General, G MADiiAs UNi)i':i{ Tin-: .mcxiiiuls. 105 Saliirihvj, 12th Jnli/ 1701. — " Aliout twelve this noon, tlic The Dinner. Nawab, the King's Dcwan, and Buxie were couducted into town by Messrs. Marshall and ]\Ieverell ; the streets being lined with soldiers from St. Thome Gate up to the Fort, and the works that way manned with the Marine Company hand- somely clothed with red coats and caps, and the curtain of the Inner Fort with our Train Bands, all which made a ver}^ hand- some appearance. The Governor, attended with the Council, the Mayor, the Commanders of the Europe ships, and some of the Principal Freemen, received him (the Nawab) a little way out of the Gate of the Fort ; and after embracing each other, the Governor presented him with a small ball of Ambergrease cased with g-old and a gold chain to it, and then conducted him into the Fort and carried him up to his lodgings -, when after sitting some time, the Nawab was pleased to pass very great compliments upon us, commending the place as to what he had hitherto seen of it, and gave us all .assurance of his friendship ; after which the Governor set by him two cases of rich cordial waters and called for wine, bidding him welcome by firing 21 pieces of Ordnance. Soon after the Governor drank to him the Moghul's health with 31 pieces of Ordnance ; and the principal Ministers of State (our friends), as also the Nawab, Dewan, and Buxies, with 21 pieces of Ordnance each, all which healths the Nawab pledged in the cordial waters. So, soon aftei", the Dinner being ready, which was dressed and managed by a Persian inhabitant, the Gov- ernor conducted the Nawab into tlie Consultation room, which was very handsomely set out in all respects, the dinner consisting of about six hundred dishes, small and great, of which the Nawab, Dewan, and Buxie, and all that came with him, eat very heartily, and very much commended their enter- tainment. After dinner they were diverted with the dancing wenches. The Nawab was presented with cordial waters, French brandy, and embroidered China quilts, all which he desired. The Dewan, upon his promising us a Perwanna, had a Ruby Ring. The Buxie had one likewise offered him, but refused it, and seemed all day out of humour, occasioned, as Return to lOG EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. we are informed, by some words that had passed this day between the Nawab, Dewan, and him before they came hither. " About six in the evening they returned to St. Thome ; St. Thum(?. ^i^g Governor and Council, and gentlemen in town, with the Commanders of the Europe ships, waiting on them without the Gate of the Fort, where they mounted their horses and were attended by Messrs. Marshall and Meverell to the place they received them, and at their going out of St. Thomas's Gate were saluted with 31 pieces of Ordnance. Nawab proposes " Mcssrs. Marshall and Meverell returning, acquainted the t^hl^Eug'iisr''^ Governor that the Nawab desired to-morrow morning to go ^^'P**' aboard one of the Europe ships, and in order thereto that six Mussoolas [i. e,, Mussoola boats] might be sent to Triplicane ; which was accordingly done, and the English ships' boats ordered to attend him." How prevented. Sunday, -49U July 1701. — "About seven o'clock this /2>- morning Messrs. Marshall and Meverell went to Triplicane, in order to wait on the Nawab aboard the English ships, and the Commanders went off to receive him, but the Nawab having been very drunk over night, was not in a condition to go, and deferred it till to-morrow morning. " The Breakfast we intended aboard ship for the Nawab was sent to St. Thome, which he accepted very kindly." Proposed visit Tuesday, loth July 1701. — "This morning the Nawab Garden; also gent word to the Governor that he would make him a visit at the Company's Garden ; whereupon Narrain was sent to endeavour to divert him from it, which if he could not do, that then to advise the time of his coming. So Narrain about twelve at noon sent to the Governor to acquaint that the Nawab was coming with a great detachment of horse and foot with all his elephants, and what he meant by it he could not imagine. So the Governor ordered immediately to beat up for the Train Bands and the Marine Com{)any, and drew out a detachment of a hundred men under Captain Seaton to attend him and those gentlemen of the Council who went to the Garden to receive the Nawab. But Narrain MADliAS UNDER THE MOGHULS. 1()7 seeing- the Niiwub eomiug iii such a mauncrj told hiin it would create a jealousy iu the Governor^ and desired him to halt until he sent the Governor word and received his answer. But before the answer came, the Nawab was got into a Portuguese Chapel very drunk and fell asleep, and as soon as waked, which was about four o'clock in the afternoon, he ordered his Camp to march towards the little Mount, where he pitched his tents, and sent to the Governor to excuse his not coming" to the Garden, and desired him to send a dozen bottles of cordial waters, which were sent him/' About this time, the Emperor Aurimzeb took Extraordinary A (lemauus of an extraordinary resolution against the different ^^'^^^''''• European settlements in India. Both he and his subjects had suifered heavy losses from the depre- dations of European pu'ates. Accordingly, he ordered that compensation for these losses shoidd be made by the servants of the different European Companies. In the first instance, these demands were made Mo^hui ideas of on Surat and Bombay. Kliafi Khan, the Moghul historian, has drawn up a narrative from a Moghul point of view. He, moreover, records his own ex- periences of the English at Bombay. The narra- tive may prove an interesting introduction to the story of the proceedings of the Moghuls in the Carnatic, as told in the Madras records : — " Every year one of the Emperor's ships went from Surat Moghul ships, to the house of God at Mecca. There was no larger ship at Surat. It carried Indian goods to Mocha and Jedda. It brought back to Surat fifty-two lakhs of rupees in gold and silver, or more than half a million sterling. Ibrahim Khan was captain. It carried eighty guns and four hundred muskets, besides other implements of war. 108 EAIILY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. En{,'iisii viratos. « Tliis royal ship bad come within eight or nine days of Surat, when an English ship came in sights of much smaller size, and nothing a third or fourth of the armament. When it came within gunshot, the royal ship fired a gun at her. By ill luck the gun burst, and three or four men were killed by its fragments. About the same time, a shot from the enemy struck and damaged the mainmast, on which the safety of the vessel depends. The Englishmen perceived this, and being encouraged by it, bore down to attack, and drawing their swords, jumped on board their opponent. The Christians are not bold in the use of the sword, and there were so many weapons on board the roj'al vessel, that if the captain had made any resistance they must have been defeated. But as soon as the English began to board, Ibrahim Khan ran down into the hold. There were some Turki girls whom he had bought in Mocha to be his concubines. He put turbans on their heads and swords in their hands, and excited them to fight. These fell into the hands of the enemy, who soon became perfect masters of the ship. They transferred the treasure and many prisoners to their own ship. When they had laden their ship, they brought the royal ship to shore near one of their settlements, and busied themselves for a week searching for plunder, stripping the men and dis- honouring the women both old and young. They then left the ship, carrying off the men. Several honourable women threw themselves into the sea to preserve their chastity, and some others killed themselves with knives and daggers. Mogimi tiireats. " This loss was reported to Aurangzeb, and the news- writers at Surat sent some rupees which the English have coined at Bombay, with a superscription containino- the name of their impure King. Aurangzeb then ordered that the English factors who were residing at Surat should be seized. Orders were also given to Itimad Khan, Superintend- ent of the port at Surat, to make preparations for besieging the fort of Bombay. The evils arising from the English occupation of Bombay were of long standing. MADRAS UNDER THE MOLillULS. 109 " The Encrlish were not at all alarmed at these threatcniuirs. Preparations of T. -1 1 • 1 -1 T 1 the l!:iigli8li. But they were more active than usual in building bastions and walls, and in blocking up the roads, so that in the end they made the place quite impregnable. Itimad Khan saw all these preparations, and came to the conclusion that there was no remedy, and that a struggle with the English would result only in a heavy loss to the customs revenue. He made no serious preparations for carrying the royal order into execution, and was not willing that one rupee sliould be lost to the revenue. To save appearances, he kept the English factors in confinement, but privately he endeavoured to effect an arrangement. After the confinement of their factors, the English, by way of reprisal, seized upon every Imperial Officer, wherever they found one, on sea or on shore, and kept them all in confinement. So matters went on for a long time. " During these troubles I (Khafi Khan) had the misfor- Khafi Khan's tune of seeing the English of Bombay. I had purchased ^'"^ "^ °"' ^^' goods at Surat to the value of nearly two lakhs of rupees, and had to convey them along the sea shore through the possessions of the Portuguese and English. On arriving at Bombay, but while I was yet in the Portuguese territory, I waited ten or twelve days for an escort. The merchant for whom I acted had been on friendly terms with an Englishman, i. e., the Governor of Bombay, and he had now written to the Englishman about giving assistance to the convoy. The Englishman sent out his vakeel [/'. e., messenger], very kindly inviting me to visit him. The Portuguese captain and my companions were averse to my going there with such valuable property. I, however, put my trust in God, and went to the Englishman. I told the vakeel that if the conversation, turned upon the capture of the ship, I might have to say unpleasant things, for I would speak the truth. The vakeel advised me to say freely what I deemed right, and to speak nothing but the truth. " When I entered the fortress {i. e., at Bombay) I observed Rombay castic. that from the gate there was on each side of the road a 110 EAKLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. line of youths of twelve or fourteen years of age, well-dressed, and having excellent muskets on their shoulders. Every step I advanced, young men with sprouting beards, handsome and well-clothed, with fine muskets in their hands, were visible on every side. As I went onwards, I found Englishmen standing, with long beards, of similar age, and with the same accoutrements and dress. After that I saw musketeers, young men well-dressed and arranged, drawn up in ranks. Further on, I saw Englishmen with white beards, clothed, in brocade, with muskets on their shoulders, drawn up in two ranks, and in perfect array. Next I saw some English children, handsome and wearing pearls on the borders of their hats. In the same way, on both sides, as far as the door of the house where he (the Governor) abode, I found drawn up in ranks on both sides nearly seven thousand mus- keteers, dressed and accoutred as for a i*eview. Bombay " I then wcnt straight up to the place where he was seated on a chair. He wished me ' good day, ' his usual form of salutation, then he rose from his chair, embraced me, and signed for me to sit down on a chair in front of him. After a few kind enquiries, he enquired why his factors had been placed in confinement. I gave him to understand that it was on account of the capture of the royal ship. He replied, ' those who have an ill-feeling against me cast upon me the blame for the faults of others ; how do you know that this deed was the work of my men ? ' 1 told him that * there were English on board that were in his service. ' He said those Englishmen had deserted him and turned Mussulmans, and afterwards had gone away and joined the pirates. I thanked him for his explanation." 1 Khafi Khau translated by Professor Dowson in Elliot's History of India, Volume VII. The Professor has done good service in translating this work. I had formed a poor opinion of Khafi Khan for the undeserved praise he bestowed on Shah Jehan, But other contemporary writers of undoubted integrity, have taken the same favourable view out of pity for the misfortunes of that ill-fated sovereign. Professor Dowson's translation proves that Khafi Khan is at least honest, and not a court scribe. Many of the new facts he has brought to light are confirmed by European authorities. MADRAS UNDER THE MOGHULS. m Tlie procecdincrs of the Moffliuls at Madras were demands of the i- ^ O Moslml on of an equally violent character. The following «"^^™*"^ i''''- extracts from a letter, addressed by Governor Pitt to Nawab Daiid Khan, explains the nature of Aurung- zeb's demand from a European point of view : — " To His Excellency Daiid Khan. " This moruing- our Moollah came to me, who shews me the copy of an order said to be from the great Asad Khan, charging all Europeans with piracy, and that by a writing" they are answerable for the same. We have been informed that there was such a writing extorted from the English, French, and Dutch at Surat, which amongst us is of no value, being forced from us ; nor will the same be regarded more particularly by us, who have been so great sufferers ourselves ; and besides, our King have not been at so little charge as two hundred thousand pagodas to extirpate those villains. " Your Excellency said to the Moollah that you care not to fight us, but are resolved if possible to starve us by stop- ping all provisions. We can put no other construction on this, than declaring a war with all Europe nations, and ac- cordingly we shall act. Dated in Fort St. George, 6th February, 1702. Thomas Pitt.'' Next day Madras was in some trepidation. The commotions at •^ ^ Madras. following extract from the " Consultations " shows the agitation which prevailed amongst the na- tives : — Saturday/, 7th. — " This day the Nawab's forces plundered our out-towns of some straw and paddy, and drove away the inhabitants ; and the poor people that lived in our suburbs and Black-town, being so intimidated by the approach of the Moors army, and the preparations we made for our defence, several thousands deserted us; and the farmers of the tobacco and betel complaining that they could not collect 112 EARLY RECORDS OF JJIilTISII IIS^DIA. the revenues by reason of these troubles, and more parti- cuhuly betel being stopped, which would in a few days oc- casion great clamours amongst the inhabitants ; so that for the encouragement of all to steal it in, we have ordered that the farmers cease from collecting these revenues till the troubles are over. " Romoiistrancc of TliG foUowiiig Gxtract Is talvGn from another Governor Pilt. ^ letter of Governor Pitt to Nawah Daiid Khan : — " We have lived in this country nearly one hundred years, and never had any ill designs, nor can Your Excellency, or any one else, charge us with any ; and it is very, hard that such unreasonable orders should be issued out against us only, when they relate to all Europeans, none excepted as I can perceive; and whether it be for the good of your kingdom to put such orders in execution. Your Excellency is the best judge. " We are upon the defensive part and so shall continue, remembering the unspeakable damages you have not only done us in our estates, but also in our reputation, which is far more valuable to us, and will be most resented by the King of our nation. " Threats of Thc followin"" Gxtracts tell their own story : — Nawali Uii'id " '' ^''''"' Thursday, 12th Februari/ 1702.—" This day the Governor summoned a General Council to acquaint them with what mes- sage the Moollah had brought from the Nawab at St. Thome, which was such rhodomantade stuff that we could hardly give credit to it. He demanded possession of our Mint; that his people should come into our Town and view our Godowns, and take an account of our estates ; and that we should put one hundred men of theirs in possession of the Black town ; and that then he would write to the King (Aurungzeb) that we had obeyed his order, and make an attestation in our behalfs, unto which we must wait an answer. Otherwise he would fall in upon us, and make us surrender by force of arms, and cut us all off. He also told the Moollah that if we were merchants, what need had we of such a Fortification and so many Guns;- which is anarirumcnt which has been much used bv the New MADRAS UNDER THE MOGHULS. 113 Company's servants, since their droppinq- into this country ; and, as we have been informed, the same has been urg-ed to the King" and the great men of the Kingdom at the Camp. " It was agreed that no answer be returned to this message, as not being worth our taking notice of, but tacitly to defy their threats." JFednesdaj/, Slh April 1702. — '''The Nawab and his army siege of Madras, having lain here a considerable time, stopping all trade and February to provisions, and very much increasing the Company's charges, ^" " which has not only been very prejudicial to the Company in their trade and revenues, but likewise to the whole place in general; and finding now that they decline very much in tlieir demands, which we impute to the advice they have that the merchants' demands at Surat are satisfied ; we have thought fit, to prevent greater inconveniences, to employ our Selim Beague, an inhabitant of this town, to offer them the sum of 18,U0U Rupees ; provided they deliver up to our merchants the goods and money they have seized belonging to this place and Fort St. David ; which sum of 18,000 Rupees, considering the veiy long time they have been here, we believe will be no inducement for him to come again, or any of his successors hereafter ; and accordingly it is agreed that the President pays the said sum upon the terms aforesaid, and not otherwise." Sunday, 3rd May 1702. — " The Nawab and King's Officers The English having lain before this place upwards of three months, and '**''^'^ *"™*- interdicted all manner of trade and provisions coming into this place \ the latter growing dear make it uneasy to the inhabitants ; and there having been some overtures of ac- commodation from the enemy, whicii the Governor has been daily importuned by all sorts of people to accept of, occa- sions his summoning this General Council ; whom he ac- quainted with every particular as entered after this consulta- tion. Which being debated, it was agreed much by the majority that the proposals be accepted of; and that the same be negociated and settled by Chinna Sera])a and Narraiu, acquainting the Governor from time to time what progress they make therein.'^ H 11 J, EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. DitidKhan " Wliercas by a late ovdei' fVom the King- all trading' and raises the siege, pro^igio^g ^^ith tlie English has been interdicted at Fort St. George and Fort St, David, we the Nawab and Dewan do now reverse the said ordex*, and do grant them free liberty to trade in all places as heretofore they have done, without let or molestation; and to confirm the same to our people, do promise to give them our perwannas directed to all Foujdars, Killadars, Corrodees, Deshais, Destramokys, Poligars, and inhabitants of all places whereto they trade, to be carried by our Chobdars. " That whatever moneys, etc., have been taken away, either upon the roads or in towns, or in any place whatever, said moneys, etc., shall be returned to the value of a cowry, and our merchants set at liberty. " That the Villages, and all that has been taken from them, shall be returned, and due satisfaction made for all damages according to account. "And whereas their trade has been stopped by the King's order, goods and moneys seized, it is requisite that an order from the King be procured to revoke the former, which we oblige ourselves to do ; and upon compliance with the afore- said articles, twenty thousand Rupees is to be paid by the English to the Nawab, and five thousand privately to the Dewan ; of which sums half is to be paid upon clearing the Villages, returning the gram they have there seized, taking off" the stop on trade and provisions^ and sending the Chobdars to the aforesaid officers with perwannas to all parts of the country ; whereby to order our trade to be as free as for- merly, and to restore all goods which were seized, and now lie in St. Thome ; and when the whole business is completed the English to pay the other half." Tuesday f 5th May 1702. — " The siege raised \'' Death of VTilliam the Third died on the 8th March 1702. William III. KnTuue""' '^lie news did not reach Madras until the following MADRAS UNDER THE MOGHULS. II5 September, when Queen Anne was proclaimed with the following ceremonies ; — Thursday, 17th September. — " In pursuance to an order of Cousultatiou, the flag was early this raorniug hoisted, and at eight o'clock was lowered, when there was two volleys small shot and one hundred cannon discharged by the half minute glass, for the death of our late gracious King William the Third of blessed memory. Then the flag was again hoisted up, when the Mayor and all the Aldermen in their gowns on horseback, with twelve Halberteers and a Company of Grenadiers marching before them, proclaimed our gracious Queen Anne at the Fort Gate, Town Hall, Sea Gate, and Choultry Gate, with many huzzas and great demonstration of joy, with three volleys small shot and one hundred and one pieces of cannon discharged. And in the evening the Governor, attended by all the Gentlemen of the Council, with the Mayor and Aldermen and several other gentlemen in palanquins and horseback, to the Company's Bowling Garden, where there was a handsome treat provided ; all Europeans of fashion in the city being invited to the same, where they drank the Queen's health, and prosperity to Old England, with many others." The same vear a terrible disaster befell the Em- nestmction of a * Moghul Army. peror Aurungzeb : — Wednesday, 4th November. — "The President is advised from Masulipatam that the Moghul is pitching his Camp near some great mountains, from which of a sudden came so great fall of waters, that it swept away about 150,000 people, with elephants, horses, camels, and baggage, he himself narrowly escaping." [This event is noticed by Elphinstone, who, how- ever, reduces the number of people who perished to 12,000.] Mr. Pitt was Governor of Madras froai 1G98 to J^^.'"*^ ''^' 1709. During this period the native town was agitated by iutcrminablc quarrels between the right 116 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. and left hand castes, about the streets in which they were respectively to live and celebrate their w^ed- dings. This antagonism between the two hands is peculiar to Southern India. The details are far too lengthy to be introduced here. It will suffice to say that rules were laid down for the prevention of all such disputes for the future. Sri)£'°"' The administration of Mr. Pitt is also distin- guished by another circumstance. He succeeded in establishing friendly relations with the Moghul Court at Delhi. The circumstances were peculiar. Aurungzeb died in 1707. The event was followed by a terrible war between his sons. The elder gained the victory, but was fearful lest a younger brother should find a refuge in Madras, and make his escape to Persia. Accordingly a friendly letter w^as sent to Mr. Pitt, by an influential official named Zoudi Khan. The Moghul minister pro- fessed great kindness for the English and made a tender of his services to the Madras Governor. Mr. Pitt promptly asked for a firman confirming all the privileges which had been granted by Aurungzeb. The request was acceded to with equal promptitude. Shortly afterwards the prince who had caused all this anxiety was slain in battle. Curious trade Thc UGW Padishah died in the bcEfinninEf of 1712. report, 1712, ~ ~ Fresh wars and revolutions broke out, which had a bad efi'ect upon trade. The following extracts from a general letter sent by the Governor and Council at Madras to the Court of Directors in London furnishes some curious particulars MADRAS UNDER THE MOGHULS. II7 respecting tlie changes in trade. The letter is dated lJ=th October 1712:— " In obedience to your commands we shall lay before your Madras trade iu Honours the best account we can get concerning the consump- tion of broad cloth and other manufactures in the Moirhurs dominions. The coarse red and green broad cloth is chiefly used among the soldiers and ordinary Moormen for saddles, saddle cloths, sumpture cloth, covers, beds and cushions, for palankeens, carpets to sit upon, mantles to cover them from the rain and sometimes covering for their tents of pleasure. The fine broad cloth as scarlet, aurora^ some blue and yellow is used for the inside of tents, for vests or mantles in the rainy season among the great men ; covering cloths for the elephants and hackarys ; cloth to hang round their drums ; for shoulder and waist belts, scabbards to their swords and daggers; for slippers and for covers, beds and pillows, and for palankeens. The embossed cloth is used to hang round the bottom on the inside of the great men^s tents three feet high ; for spreading to sit upon, and cushions to lean against ; and for cloths to cover the elephants and horses. Perpetuanos are only used among the meaner sort of people for caps, coats, and covering cloths to sleep in during the rains. " And now we are upon this subject, we must inform your Honours that at least nine-tenths of the woollen manu- factures vended in these parts is among the Moors ; the Hindus making very little or no use of them. The greatest consumption is in the MogliuFs camp, which, when at Lahore or Delhi, is supplied wholly from Surat and Persia; but when at Agra, partly from Surat and partly from Bengal by way of Patna, from which ports the conveyance to the camp is easy and safe. But what is disposed of hereabouts is dispersed among the Nabob's flying armies in the Caiyiatic country, Bijapore and Golcondah, seldom reaching so far as Aurungabad, because the carriage is very changeable, and the roads are difficult and dangerous to pass. When King Shah 118 EARTT RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Alum' came down to GolcoiulaU with his army in the year 1708 to destroy his brother Kam Bakhsh, we immediately found a quicker vent than ordinary for our broad cloth ; and indeed for all other sorts of goods consumed among them. And when Daiid Khan was formerly Nawab of these parts, he always kept a good body of horse in pay, which obliged the neighbouring Governors to do the same, being always jealous of each other. And among these horsemen by much the greatest quantity of our broad cloth then imported was consumed, the trade from this place to their camps being very considerable. But now our Dewan, who is Subah of all this country, seldom keeps above five hundred horse with him ; and the Government in general being grown much weaker than in Aurungzeb's time, none of the great men keep up the number of horse allowed by the King, but apply the money to their own use ; and this has brought a considerable damp to our trade in general, but more especially upon the sale of your manufactures. For we have not only lost the camp trade, but the roads are become impassable for want of these horsemen to scour them as usual ; so that the merchants are discouraged from coming down with their money and diamonds to buy up and carry away our Europe and other goods as formerly ; and we cannot see any likeli- hood of better times till the Government is well settled and some active man em]:)lo3red on the Government of these parts.'' Later records. TliG Madras rccords of a later date contain little matter that will interest general readers. Between the years 1717 and 1720 a Mr. Collet was Gover- nor. At tliis period the English at Madras pos- sessed slaves in considerable numbers. Many kept slave girlSj and two charity schools were built for the * This Kiug or Padishah is known in history hy the name of Bahadur Shah. He was the sou aud successor of ^uruiwzcb. MADRAS UNDER THE MOGHULS. 119 cliildren of these slaves. There are many allusions to these slaves in the records, but nothing of perma- nent interest. A good understanding prevailed be- tween the English at Madras and the Nawab of Arcot, and on one occasion Mr. Collet had the honour of entertaining the minister of the Nawab, just as Mr. Pitt had entertained Daiid Khan. Mr. Collet's administration is also remarkable n.an-cs in marriage laws. for a change in the marriage laws laid down by Mr. Streynsham Masters. The following extracts explain themselves : — Thursday^ 2nd April 1719. — '^ The President represents tliat the Portuguese priests of St. Thome had very lately- taken the liberty to marry some Eng-lish people belong-ing to this city without leave; which practice he apprehended to be of dangerous consequence ; many of the young- Gentlemen in the Company's Service being of good families in England, who would be very much scandalized at such marriages as were like to be contracted here, without the consent of the President; particularly that one Crane, late chief Mate of ship " Falconbridge,'' was married to a Frenchman's daughter of this place on Sunday last ; and in order to it renounced the Protestant religion, which he had professed all his life till within a few days before. The other was one Dutton, an ordinary fellow, who was married a week befoi'e at St. Thome to Ann Ridley, whose father was formerly Governor of the West Coast. Her small fortune being in the hands of the Church, the minister, as one of her guardians, refused his consent ; on which they went to St. Thome, and found a priest to marry them there. The President adds that, to show his resentment of such a practice, he had ordered the Mettos not to suffer any of the Portuguese Padres belonging to St. Thome to come into the English bounds. He further proposed to the Board to consider of some proper orders to be given for preventing the like practices for the future. 120 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. After some consideration, it was agreed that an order be pub- lished in the Enj^lish and Portuguese lan<^ua<^es, and put u{> in writing at the Sea Gate and at the Portuguese Church, that if any Christian iuliabitant of Madras shall be married in this city, at St. Thome^ or elsewhere, without leave from the President; that if he be in the Comj^any's service he shall be liable to sueh penalty as we shall think fit ; but if the person so offending shall not be in the Company's service, and only a free merchant or inhabitant of the Town, he shall be expelled the English Government on the Coast of Coro- niandel. Also any parent consenting to, or promoting, such marriage, without leave as aforesaid^ shall be liable to the like penalty of expulsion." Monday, 6th April. — " The President informs the Board that on a full enquiry into the marriage of the Mate Crane, mentioned in last Consultation, he finds that the said Crane had been bred a Protestant, and continued to profess a Pro- testant religion till within a few days of his marriage; and then the woman whom he married refused to have the cere- mony performed in the P]nglish Church, because all Roman Catholics married there are obliged to subscribe a declaration that they will bring up their children in the Protestant reli- gion, by an order of Council dated the 25th of March 1680; and that on her refusal there to comply with that obligation, he had renounced the Protestant religion and declared him- self a Roman Catholic in order to marry her. The President therefore proposed to the consideration of the Boards whe- ther that order of Council, dated 25th of March 1680, should be repealed or not ; which being freely debated, it was un- animously agreed to repeal the general order, for the following reasons. " First, that the obligation is in its own nature unjust, and a violation of that natural right which all parents have to educate their children in that religion they think most ac- ceptable to God. Secondly, that such a promise can be no obligation on the conscience of any person, being unlawful iu itself. Thirdly, that the re(juiriug such a promise may be MADRAS UNDER THE MOGHULS. 121 attended wilh ill tdusoijiu'iico.s, us in tiie instance now before us; the woman relusinj;' to be married in the English Church for that reason only ; the consequence of which was, Crane's renounein<^ the Protestant religion and declaring- himself a Roman Catholic. " Ordered that the Secretary acquaint the Honorable Com- pany's Chaplain of the ])lace in writing with the repeal of the aforesaid order, and that he is not any more tu require such subscription/' " The President also acquaints the Board, that the severe methods which he had taken to show his resentment to the Portuguese priests of St. Thome, for marrying* any subject of this Government without his consent, had produced a very good effect ; for that the Padre Governor at St. Thome had sent him a very submissive letter or address, wherein he obliges himself, and th(jse of his fraternity subject to him, not to marry any f>ersons subject to this Government for the future, without asking his previous consent." In the records of this period there is entered a curious wiii. curious will, which serves to illustrate the ideas of young Englishmen in those days. Charles Davers was the fourth son of Sir Rohert Davers, Baronet. He arrived at Madras in 1717, being at that time eighteen years of age ; he died in 1720, aged twenty- one. His salary was only five pounds a year, yet it would seem that he had engaged in several trading adventures. His desire to have his name and memory perpetuated is very striking. The will tells its own story : — Thursday, 22nd September 1720.— '' In the name of God, Amen. I, Charles Davers, now of Fort St. George in East India, Merchant, being of sound and perfect mind and memory, do make and ordain this my last will and testament in manner and form fullowinu". 122 EAKLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. " Imprimis, I recommend my soal to God who o^ave it, lioping" through the merits of a crucified Saviour to obtain a joj'f ul resurrection ; and my body I commit to the earth to be decently interred ; and for all such worldly estates, as these which it has pleased God to bless me with, I give and bequeath as follows ; viz, " Imprimis, I leave unto the Charity School of this place 200 pagodas ; and desire the boys belonging to this School may attend me to the place of burial. Item, I leave unto the Master and Mistress of said School 20 pagodas each for mourning. I wish all piety and learning may attend them, and that they may infuse the same into the cliildren, by the help of our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Amen. " Item, I leave unto my friend Mr. Thomas Wright 20 pagodas for mourning. I wish all health may attend him in this world and happiness in the next. ^'Item, I leave 200 pagodas for a tomb to be erected in the burial place in form as follows. Four large pillars, each to be six covids high, and six covids distance one from the other ; the top to be arched, and upon each pillar a cherubim ; and on the top of the arch the effigy of Justice. My body to be laid in the middle of the four pillars, with a handsome stone atop of me, raised about four feet ; and this inscription in the stone : — ' Here lyeth the body of Charles Davers, fourth son of Sir Robert Davers, Bart., who dejjarted this life the of Anno Domini aged — .' The four pillars to be encompassed in with iron rails, which are to go from pillar to pillar ; and at eveiy square, steps to be raised with stones, so as people may read the inscription. "Item, I leave the Honorable Governor, Council, and Secretary of this place, each a gold ring of one pagoda and a half each value, with these words to be engraved in them, ' Charles Davers, obiit,' etc. To whom I wish all tranquil- lity, health, and prosperity. " Item, I leave unto Dr. Pitchers, the sum of 30 pagodas in case I die of my present illness, and that I did not j)ay him before I died. MADRAS I'NDER THE MOdllULS. 123 " Item, I leave imto iny friend, Mr. Paul L'oxley, 20 pag-o- daa for mourniiig- ; to whom I wish all health in this world, and happiness in the next. " Item, I leave unto the Minister that attend me 20 pago- das for a ring-. " Item, I leave unto my friend Mr. John Maubers 20 pago- das for mourning. " Lastly, I leave my two trusty and beloved friends Mr. George Sittwel and Mr. Catesby Oadham, my two executors of this my last will and testament, and desire them to see me carried to the place of burial in the manner follow- ing, viz. " My corpse to be carried from the Town Hall at seven o'clock at night, I desire that all the free merchants of my acquaintance to attend me in their palankeens to the place of burial ; and as many of the Company's servants as I have had any intimacy within my life-time ; that all that attend me may have scarves and hat-bands decent. I desire that Mr. Main, and the Charity boys, may go before my corpse, and sing a hymn ; my corpse to be cai'ried by six Englishmen or more if occasion ; the minister and the rest of the gentle- men following. I desire of the Honorable Governor that I may have as many great guns fired as I am years old, which IS now almost twenty-one. In case it is customary to pay the great guns firing I desire you to do it. I desire the favour of the Captain of the guard to attend me ; and that you present him with a gold ring the same as the Governor and Council. And now as to my Estate. I have 1086 ounces of silver, which my father sent me out this year. I am con- cerned with Mr. Thomas Theobalds in a respondentia bond in the ' George ' Brigantine. I have also an adventure with Captain James Hurdis, the prime cost being 72 pagodas and a half. I have at this time in my escritore about 100 pagodas, besides clothes and linen ; an account of which I always keep in my escritore. I desire of my two executors to accept of 30 pagodas each for mourning; and each a ring of 15 pagodas value, with my name and time of death en- graved upon it. 124 EARLY RECOllDS OF BRITISH INDIA. '' After my corpse is buried, Nvhicli 1 desire may be done very handsomely, the remainder of my estate I desire may be laid out ia rice, and be given to the poor at the burial place, as long- as it lasts. This I declare to be my last w^ll and testament. Charles Davers.^' Captain Wlulst Mr. Collet was Governor of Madras a naiiiiltou at Madras. Certain sea captain, named Alexander Hamilton, paid a visit to Madras. Captain Hamilton was a character in his way. From 1688 to 1723, a period of thirty-five years, lie was engaged in trading and travelling hy sea and land hetween the Cape of Good Hope and the Island of Japan. In 1727 he puhlished what he called " A new Account of the East Indies," in two volumes octavo. His account of Madras is an interesting supplement to the in- formation supplied from the Madras records. It is given in his own words : — Site of Madras. '' Fort St. Gcorgo or Madras, or, as the Natives call it, China Patam, is a colony and city belonging- to the English East India Company, situated in one of the most incommodi- ous places I ever saw. It fronts the sea, which continually rolls impetuously on its shore, more here than in any other place on the coast of Chormondel. The foundation is in sand, with a salt-water river on its back side, which obstructs all springs of fresh-water from coming near the town, so that they have no drinkable water within a mile of them, the sea often threatening destruction on one side, and the river in the raiuy season threatening inundations on the other. The sun from April to September is scorching hot; and if the sea-breezes did not moisten and cool the air when they blow, the place could not possibly be inha- bited. The reason why a Fort was built in that place is not well accounted for ; but tradition says, that the gentle- MADRAS UNDER THE MOGIIULS. 125 roan, wl\o received his orders to build a Fort on that coast, about the beginning- of King Charles IFs reign after his Restoration, for protecting the Company's trade, chose that place to mine the Portuguese trade at St. Thomas. Others again alledge, and with more probability, that the gentle- man aforesaid, which I take to be Sir William Langhorn, had a mistress at St. Thomas he was so enamoured of, that made him build there, that their interviews might be the more frequent and uninterrupted ; but whatever his reasons were, it is very ill situated." The soil about the city is so dry and sandy, that it bears no corn, and what fruits, roots and herbage they have, are brought to maturity by great pains and much trouble. If it be true, that the Company gave him power to settle a colony in any part of that coast that pleased him best, I wonder that he ehoosed not Cabelon, about six leagues to the southward, where the ground is fertile, and the water good, with the conveniency of a point of rocks to facilitate boats landing; or why he- did not go nine leagues farther northerl}^, and settle at Policat on the banks of a good river, as the Dutch have done since, where the road for shipping is made easy by some sand banks, that reach three leagues off shore, and make the high turbulent billows that come rolling from the sea spend their force on those banks before they can reach the shore. The soil is good, and the river commodious, and convenient in all seasons. Now whether one of those places had not been more eligible, I leave to the ingenious and those concerned to comment on.^ " However, the war carried on at Bengal and Bombay, by Prospority of the English against the Moghul's subjects, from 1685 to 1689, the' wars.""" ^ 1 It will have already been seen that this is mere local scandal. The site of the Fort was chosen in 1639 by a Mr. Day. - Hamilton was only acquainted with the local gossip ; he knew nothinp^ of authentic history. Cabelon would not have been a fitting site for an English settlement ; it was of the utmost importance to choose an island to keep off predatory horsemen. Again, Policat, properly Pulicat, was founded by the Dutch some ye.ars before the English founded Madras. At one time the English did settle at Pulicat, but left it on account of the Dutch. 126 EARLY RECOUDS OF BRITISH INDIA. made Fort St. Georg-e put on a better dress than he wore before ; for the peaceable ludiau merchants, who hate con- tention and war, came flocking thither, because it lay far from those incumberers of trade, and near the diamond mines of Golcondah, where there are, many times, good bargains to be made, and money got by our Governors. The black merchants resorting to our colony, to secure their fortunes, and bring their goods to a safe market, made it populous and rich, notwithstanding its natural incouven- iencies. The town is divided into two parts. One where the Europeans dwell is called the White Town. It is walled quite round, and has several bastions and bulwarks to defend its walls, which can only be attacked at its ends, the sea and river fortifying its sides. It is about 400 paces long, and 150 paces broad, divided into streets pretty regular, and Fort St. George stood near its center. There are two Churches in it, one for the English and another for the Romish service. The Governor superintends both, and, in filling up vacancies in the Romish Church, he is the Pope's Legate a latere in spiritualities. There is a very good hospital in the town, and the Company's horse-stables are neat ; but the old college, where a great many gentlemen factors are obliged to lodge, is ill kept in repair. Town-hall and " They have a Town-hall, and underneath are prisons for orpoia ion. jgjjtQi-g^ They are, or were a corporation, and had a Mayor and Aldermen to be chosen by the free Burgers of the town ; but that scurvy way is grown obsolete, and the Governor and his Council or party fix the choice. The city had laws and ordinances for its own preservation, and a court kept in form, the Mayor and Aldermen in their gowns, with maces on the table, a clerk to keep a register of transactions and cases, and attornies and solicitors to plead in form, before the Mayor and Aldermen ; but, after all, it is but a farce, for, by experience, I found that a few pagodas rightly placed, could turn the scales of justice to which side the Governor pleased, without respect to equity or reputation. Mayor's Couvt. « j^ smaller matters, where the case, on both sides, is but weakly supported by money, then the Court acts judiciously. MADRAS UNDER THE MOnilULS. 127 according to their eousciences and knowlodg'o ; but often against law and reason, for the Court is but a Court of conscience, and its decisions are very irregular; and the Governor's dispensing power of annulling all that the Court transacts, puzzles the most celebrated lawyers there to find rules in the statute laws. "They have no martial law, so they cannot inflict the Law at Madras, pains of death any other ways than by whipping or starving; only for piracy they can hang ; and some of them have been so fond of that privilege, that Mr. Yale hanged his groom (Cross) for riding two or three days' journey off to take the air; but, in England, he paid pretty well for his arbitrary sentence. And one of a later date, viz., the orthodox Mr. Collet, hanged a youth who was an apprentice to an officer on board of a ship, and his master going a-pirating, carried his servant along with him ; but the youth ran from them the first opportunity he met with, on the Island of Junk-Ceylon, and informed the master of a sloop, which lay in a river there, that the pirates had a design on his sloop and cargo, and went armed, in company with the master, to hinder the approach of the pirates, and was the first that fired on them — yet that merciful man was inexorable, and the youth was hanged. " That power of executing pirates is po strangely stretched Piiatea. that if any private trader is injured by the tricks of a governor, and can find no redress ; if the injured person is so bold as to talk of Lex talionis, he is infallibly declared a pirate. "In the year 1719 I went on a trading voyage to Siam, Hamilton's on the foundation of a treaty of commerce established in the ''''^''^'' '°'^""°' year 1684 between King Charles and tlie King of Siam's ambassador at London; but, in 1718, Mr. Collet sent one Powney his ambassador to Siam, with full power to annul the old treaty, and to make a new one detrimental to all British subjects, except those employed by Collet himself. It was stipulated, that all British subjects that bad not Collet's letter, should be obliged to pay eight per cent, new customs, and mcasurage for their ship, which come to about five hundrc<.l 128 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Hamilton's grievance. Iiilialiitants of Black Town. pounds sterlings for a ship of 300 tuns, to sell their cargoes to whom they pleased, but the money to be paid into the King's cash that he might deliver goods for it at his own prices, whether proper for their homeward markets or no. I coming to Siam, sent my second supercargo up to the city, with orders to try the market, and hire an house for the use of the cargo and ourselves. He could not get a boat to bring him back, before the ship arrived at Bencock {i. e., Bankok), a castle about half-way up, where it is customary for all ships to put their guns ashore. So then being obliged to proceed with the ships to the city, I understood the conditions of the new treaty of commerce, which I would, by no means, adhere to, but desired leave to be gone again. They used many persuasions to make me stay, but to no purpose, unless I might trade on the old and lawful treaty. They kept me from the beginning of August to the latter end of December, before they would let me go, and then I was obliged to pay measurage before they parted with me. " I wrote my grievance to Mr. Collet, complaining of Powney's villanous transactions, not seeming to know that they were done by Collet's order, and let some hints fall of Lex talionis, if I met with Powney conveniently, which so vexed Mr. Collet that he formally went to the Town-hall, and declared me a rank pirate, though I and my friends came off with above £3,000 loss. " I should not have been so particular but that I saw some printed papers at London in 1725, that extolled his piety, charity, and justice in very high encomiums ; but it must have been done by some mercenary scribbler that did not know him : but now he is dead, I will say no. more of him. " The Black Town at Madras is inhabited by Gentoos,' Mahometans, and Indian Christians, viz., Armenians and Por- tuguese, where there are temples and churches for each reli- gion, every one being tolerated, and every one follows his proper employment. It was walled in towards the land when Governor Pitt ruled it. He had some apprehension that the * The term (}entoo is nppHod in Madras to the Tamil spiaking Hindus who occupy the whole of the Ciiiuatic plain iu the Eastern IViiinsuhi. MADRAS UNDER THE MOGHULS. 129 Mog-hul generals in Golconda might some time or other plunder it, so laying the hazard and danger before the inhabitants, they were either persuaded or obli^d to raise subsidies to wall their town, except towards the sea and the White Town.' " The two towns are absolutely governed by the Governor, Governor in whose hands the command or the muitary is lodged ; but all other affairs belonging to the Company are man- aged by him and his Council, most part of whom are generally his creatures. And I have been and am acquainted with some gentlemen who have been in that post, as well as some private gentlemen who resided at Eort St. George — men of great candour and honour, — but they seldom continued long favourites at court. " One of the gates of the White Town at Madras looks Sea-gate. towards the sea, and it is for that reason called the Sea-gate. The gate-way being pretty spacious, was formerly the common exchange, where merchants of all nations resorted about eleven o'clock in the forenoon to treat of business in merchan- dize ; but that custom is out of fashion, and the consultation chamber, or the Governor's apartment, serves for that use now, which made one Captain Hard, a very merry man, say, ' that he could never have believed that the Sea-gate could have been carried into the consultation room if lie had not seen it.' " The Company has their mint here for coining bullion Mint, school!^ that comes from Europe and other countries, into rupees, which brings them in good revenues. The rupee is stamped with Persian characters, declaring the MoghuFs name, year of his reign, and some of his epithets. They also coin gold into pagodas of several denominations and value. There are also schools for the education of children ; the English for reading and writing English, the Portuguese for their language and Latin, and the ■Mahometans, Gentoos, and Armenians for their particular languages. And the English Church is well endowed, and maintains poor gentle- women in good housewifery, good clothes, and palanquins. ■ Here is iuiotlicr instaiice of Hamilton's iguoritncc. IIu was uot acf|uaiiittd with tlie sii'gi' of Madras l\v Nawah DniHi Khan. 130 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Diamond niiues. "The cliamoucl mities being but a week's journey from Fort St. Georg-e, make them pretty plentiful there ; but few great stones are now brought to market there, since that great diamond which Governor Pitt sent to England. How he purchased it Mr. Glover, by whose means it was brought to the Governor, could give the best account, for he declared to me that he lost 3000 pagodas by introducing the seller to Mr. Pitt, having left so much money in Arcot as security, that if the stone was not fairly bought at Fort St. George, the owner should have free liberty to carry it where he pleased for a market; but neither the owner nor Mr. Glover was pleased with the Governor's transactions in that affair. Working of tiie " Somc customs aud laws at the mines are, when a person '"'°'^''' goes thither on that affiiir, he chooses a piece of ground, and acquaints one of the MoghuFs officers, who stay there for that service, that he wants so many covets of ground to dig in ; but whether they agree for so much, or if the price be certain, I know not. However, when the money is paid, the space of ground is enclosed, and some sentinels placed round it. The Moghul challenges all stones that are found above a certain weight — I think it is about sixty grains ; and if any stones be carried clandestinely away above the sti- pulated weight, the person guilty of the theft is punished with death. Some are fortunate, and get estates by digging, while others lose both their money and labour. Deoroascof " Thc currcut trade of Fort St. George runs gradually slower, the trader meeting with disappointments, and some- times with oppressions, and sometimes the liberty of buying and selling is denied them ; and I have seen, when the Governor's servants have bid for goods at a public sale, some who had a mind to bid more durst not, others who had more courage and durst bid, were brow-beaten and threatened. And I was witness to a bargain of Surat wheat taken out of a gentleman's hands after he had fairly bought it by auction ; so that many trading people are removed to other parts, where there is greater liberty and less oppression. Foreign tiaiio. " The colouy at Madras produces very little of its own growth or manufacture for foreign markets. They had formerly MADRAS UNDEK THE MOCillULS. 1S1 a trade to Pegu, where many private traders got pretty good bread by their traflic and industry ; but the trade is now removed into the Armenians, Moors, and Gentoo's hands, and the Eng-lish are employed in building and repairing of ship- ping. The trade they have to China is divided between them and Surat, for the gold and some copper are for their own markets, and the gross of their cargo, which consists in sugar, sugar candy, alum, China ware, and some drugs, as China root, gallingal, &c., are all for the Surat market "Their trade to Persia must first come down the famous Ganges, before it can come into Fort St. George^s channels to be conveyed to Persia. They never had any trade to Mocha in the products and manufactures of Coromandel before the year 1713, ,and Fort St. David supplies the goods for that port, so that Fort St. George is an emblem of Holland in supplying foreign markets with foreign goods. " The colony is well peopled, for there is computed to be Population, eighty thousand inhabitants in the towns and villages ; and. there are generally about four or five hundred Europeans residing there, reckoning the gentlemen, merchants, seamen and soldiery. Their rice is brought by sea from Ganjara and Orissa ; their wheat from Surat and Bengal ; and their firewood from the islands of Diu, a low point of land that lies near jNIasulipatam, so that any enemy that is superior to them in sea forces may easily distress them." Captain Hamilton lias left tlie following account st. xhom^. of the neighbouring settlement at St. Thome. It is a curious supplement to the description of the same town by Dr. Fryer : — " St. Thomas is next, which lies about three miles to the Legend of southward of Fort St. George. The city was built by the Portuguese, and they made the Apostle its godfather; but before that it was called Meliapore. There is a little dry rock on the land within it, called the Little Mount, where the Apostle designed to have hid himself, till the fury of the pagan priests, his persecutors, had blown over. There was a 132 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Church at St. Thom6. Company's gulden. convenient cave in that rock for his purpose, but not one drop of water to drink, so St. Thomas cleft the rock with his hand, and commanded water to come into the cliit, which command it readily obeyed ; and ever since there is water in that clift, both sweet and clear. "When I saw it there were not above three gallons in it. He staid tliere a few days, but his enemies had an account of his place of refuge, and were resolved to sacrifice hira, and in great numbers were approaching the mount. When he saw them coming- he left his cave^ and came down in order to seek shelter some- where else and at the foot of the mount, as a testimony that he had been there, he stamped with his bare foot on a very hard stone, and left the print of it, which remains there to this day a witness against those persecuting priests. The print of his foot is about sixteen inches long, and, in pro- portion, narrower at the heel and broader at the toes than the feet now in use among us. He, fleeing for his life to another larger mount, about two miles from the little one, was overtaken on the top of it before he was sheltered, and there they run him through with a lance and in the same place where he was killed, he lies buried. "When the Portuguese first settled there, they built a church over the cave and well on the Little Mount, and also one over his grave on the Great Mount, where the lance that killed the Apostle is still kept as a relic ; but how the Portuguese came by that lance is a question not yet well resolved. In that church there is a stone tinctured with the Apostle's blood that cannot be washed out. I have often been at both mounts, and have seen those wonderful pieces of antiquity. "At the foot of the Great Mount the Company has a garden, and so have the gentlemen of figure at Fort St. George, with some summer-houses, where ladies and gentlemen retire in the summer to recreate themselves when the business of the town is over, and to be out of the noise of spungers and impertinent visitants, whom this city is ol'ten molested with. MADRAS UNDER THE MOGHULS. I33 " The city of St. Thomas was formerly the best mart town Decay of on the Coromandel coast, but at present has very little trade and the inhabitants, who arc but few, are reduced to great poverty. The English settling at Fort St. George were the cause of its ruin, and there is little prospect of its recovery.^' In 1727, some years after the visit of Captain Re-nrganisation "^ •'•of the Mayor's Hamilton, the Mayor's Com't at Madras was re- ^'''"^• organised by Royal Charter. It consisted of a Mayor and nine Aldermen, with power to decide all civil cases amongst the English inhabitants; but there was always an appeal to the Governor and Council. The change was carried out with much ceremony. All the gentlemen appeared on horse- back on the parade, and moved in the following procession to the Company's garden-house : — *' Major John Roach on horseback at the head of a Com- Grotesque procession. pany of Foot Soldiers, with Kettle drum, Trumpet, and other music. " The Dancing Girls with the Country music. " The Pedda Naik on horseback at the head of his Peons. " The Marshall with his staff on horseback. *' The Court Attorneys ou horse back. " The Registrar carrying the old Charter on horseback. '' The Serjeants with tlieir Maces on horseback, *■' The old Mayor on the right baud' and the new on the left. « The Aldermen two and two, all onf ^'^ l^alberdiers. horseback. " The Company^s Chief Peon on horseback, with his Peons, " The Sheriff with a White Wand on horseback. '' The Chief Gentry in the Town on horseback.^-* The further history of Madras shows the rise of Political relations. political relations betAveen the English and the Native powers. 134 EARLY RECORDS OP BRITISH INDIA. Nawab of Arcot, Hindu and Mophul administration coutrasted. Breaking up of the Moghul Empire. Madras was included in the Moghul province of Arcot. The English at Madras paid their yearly- rent of twelve hundred pagodas to the Nawah of Arcot. The Nawah was suhordinate to the Nizam of the Dekhan, and paid a yearly trihute to the Nizam.* The existing state of affairs may be gathered from the following extract from a general letter, dated 1733 :— " Before tins eountiy was conquered by the Mogul, it was divided into several circles under the government of particular Rajahs, which descended from father to son. Their revenues for the most part were from the produce of the land, and they therefore were always careful to keep up the banks of the tanks, or reservoirs of water, and to cleanse them of the mud ; of which they were at the expense them- selves, knowing that the land would produce more or less according as they had a quantity of water. But the Moguls who have now the government of the country, and are con- tinued in those governments only during pleasure, do not think themselves under the same obligation to be at that expense for their successors. By which means in process of time the tanks are almost choked up, and great part of the lands lie uncultivated for want of water. This alone would occasion grain to be scarce and of course dear ; to which if we add the rapacious disposition of the Moguls, altogether intent upon making the most of their governments while they continue in them, we need not seek far for the reason why, even within these ten years, the lands which are tenanted are let for more than double what they were before." In 1738-39, the power of the Moghul King or Padishah received a mortal blow from the Persian ' The Nawab of Arcot is sometiiues known as the Nawab of the Carnatic. The Nizam of the Dekhan is better kuown in the present day as the Nizam of Hyderabad. MADRAS UNDER THE MOGHULS. I35 invasion under Nadir Shah.' From that date tlie Mog-hul provinces began to grow independent of the Moi?hul court at Delhi. The Nizam of the Dekhan began to reign as a sovereign prince, and treated the Nawab of Arcot as his feudatory. The Nizam of the Dekhan, better known as the Growing independence Nizam of Hyderabad, was perhaps the most distin- °[ Hyderabad. guished man of his time. His real name was Cliin KuKcli Khan. He is best knoT\Ti by his full title of Nizam-ul-Mulk, or " Regulator of the State." He had served in the armies of Aurungzeb. He had filled important posts in the Court at Delhi. He had been appointed to the government of all the Moghul conquests in the Dekhan. He had engaged in frequent wars against the Mahrattas of Poona to the west, and those of Berar to the northward. He was becoming an independent prince. His do- minion extended from the river Godavari southward to the river Kistna. It was bounded on the west by the Mahrattas of Poona ; on the north by the Mahrattas of Berar ; on the east by the Bay of Bengal. The Nawab of Arcot was a deputy of the Nizam. Dependcneeof ^ "^ the Nawab of His province lay to the south of the Nizam's ^Izam?" ^^^ dominions. It extended from the river Kistna south- wards to the river Koleroon. It was bounded on the north by the Nizam's territory ; on the west by the Mysore country ; on the south by the Hindu ' The invasion of Nadir Shah was not directly felt at a remote settlement like Madras, excepting that it was followed by Jlahratta invasions in the Dekhan and Carnatic. It has an important bearing upon the progress of affairs in Bengal, and will be accordingly noticed hereafter in dealing with that Presidencv. 136 EARLY RECORDS OF 15RIT18H INDIA. kingdoms of Triclimo2:)oly and Tan j ore ; on the east by the Bay of Bengal. Hereditary Thc Nawabs wcpo beconilng hereditary. The appointment was made by the Nizam. The letters of investiture were received from the Vizier at Delhi. The Nawab paid yearly tribute to the Nizam. TrouwesiBthe About 1740, Pemusular ludla was in a turmoil. Chunda Sahib, a kinsman of the Nawab of Arcot, got possession of the Hindu kingdom of Tricliinopoly to the southward. The Nawab was angry because Chunda Saliib would not give up Tricliinopoly. The Nizam was angry because the Nawab had withheld all payment of tribute. The Mahrattas of Poena* collected chout and plunder in the terri- tories of the Nizam. The Mahrattas of Berar poured into the province of Arcot, and collected chout and plunder in the territories of the Nawab. The Nawab of Arcot was killed in a battle against the Mahrattas. TriSnopoi? Tlicrc was another complication. Subdar Ali, the son of the dead Nawab, succeeded his father on the throne of Arcot, without any regard to the Nizam. He bribed the Mahrattas to go away by a promise of two millions sterling, and the cession of the kingdom of Tricliinopoly. The Mahrattas took Tricliinopoly. They carried off Chunda Sahib as a prisoner. Chunda Sahib was kept a prisoner for several years by the Mahrattas, but was ulti- ^ strictly speaking, the Poona Mahrattas kept their head-quarters at Satara, and did not return to Poona until some few years afterwiirds. MADRAS UNDER THE MOiiUTLS. 137 mately released, and lived to play a prominent part in history. The Nizam was more ansrry than ever, The Murder of the "^ '' Nawab. Nawah of Arcot had defied Imn. He demanded instant payment of arrears of tribute from the Nawab. He threatened to dethrone the Nawab unless the money was paid. The Nawab was al- ready at his wits' end to pay the Mahrattas. He prepared for extremities. He moved into the strong fort at Vellore. He sent his women and treasures to Madras. He levied contributions from every town and fort in the Carnatic. A kinsman named Mortiz Ali refused to pay his quota. The Nawab was peremptory. Suddenly the Nawab was mur- dered at Vellore at the instigation of Mortiz Ali. Next morninoj Vellore was in a tumult. The Accession of the ^ Nawab's son. Nawab's oflS.cers clamoured for revenge. They were quieted for a while by promises of arrears of pay. Mortiz Ali was proclaimed Nawab. He went in great state to Arcot, but public opinion was against him. The Mahrattas at Trichinopoly declared against him. The Enghsh at Madras refused to give up the women and treasures of the murdered Nawab. His army demanded instant payment of arrears. He disguised himself as a woman and escaped to Vellore in a covered palanquin. A young son of the late Nawab was proclaimed Nawab. The boy was named Sayyid Muhammad. In 1743 the Nizam of Hyderabad marched to intervention ot "^ the Nizam. Arcot with a vast army of eighty thousand horse and two hundred thousand foot. He found the 3^38 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Carnatic in anarchy. Every governor of a fort, every commander of a district, called himself a Nawab. Eighteen Nawabs paid homage to the Nizam in one day. The Nizam was fmuous. The next man who dared to call himself Nawab was to be scourged. Amva.-ud-din. Tlic Nlzam apppointed a general of his own to be Nawab of Arcot. The new Nawab was poisoned. The Nizam appointed another Nawab named An- war-nd-din. The people of the Carnatic made a clamour. They did not want a new comer. They wanted a Nawab of the old family. New comers neglected the tanks and oppressed the inhabitants. The Nizam was willing to yield. He gave out that Sayyid Muhammad was Nawab ; that Anwar-ud-din was only a guardian. Murder of the lu Juuc 1744 thcrc was a wedding at Arcot in A"wa"r-uwin' tlic familv of thc Nawab. A band of Afghans becomes Nawab. "^ n ^-^. had long been clamouring for arrears of pay. On the day of the wedding they clamoured again ; they were turned out of the palace ; they feigned great contrition. In the evening the young Nawab was sitting in the hall of the palace with Mortiz Ali and other guests. His guardian was approaching the palace to join in the festivities. The young Nawab went out of the hall into the vestibule to receive his guardian on the steps. He was saluted with feigned respect by the very Afghans who had been so clamourous in the morning ; suddenly he was stabbed to the heart by the leader of the Afghans. The murderer was cut to pieces on the MADRAS UNDER THE MOGHULS. 139 spot. Mortiz Ali fled to VcUore. Anwar-ud-din dismissed the multitude. Both the kinsman and the guardian were suspected of heing concerned in the murder. The young Nawah was the last of the dynasty. After his death Anwar-ud-din was appointed Nawab by the Nizam. At tills crisis war broke out between Great Britain war between Great Britiiia and France. In 1745 an English fleet appeared at ""^ *''''""■''• Madras. Dupleix was governor of the Erench set- tlement at Pondicherry, about a hundred miles to the southward of Madras. There had always been Madras captured aud restored. commercial rivahy between the English at Madras and the Erench at Pondicherry. Dupleix was alarmed at the English fleet. He prevailed on the Nawab to forbid all hostilities between the English and Erench on the land. The English fleet made a few captures of French ships on the sea and sailed away. In 1746 a French fleet appeared off Madras under La Bourdonnais. The French broke the orders of the Nawab and bombarded Madras. The English surrendered the town of Madras and Fort St. George under promise of ransom. The Nawab was quieted by the assurance that Madras should be made over to liim. He was disappointed. He be- came furious. He attacked the French and was de- feated. In 17 18 the war was over. Madras was re- stored to the English by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. In Europe there was peace between Great Britain Peace in Eurpoe,- war in ludia. and France. In Pemnsular India there was no peace. The English and French at Madras and 140 KARLY KECOUDS OF BRITISH INDIA. PondicheiTv could not qiiict down under the treaty of Aix-la-Cliapelle. They had both imported sol- diers from Europe. There was enmity in their hearts. They only wanted an excuse for fighting. They espoused the cause of rival Nizams and rival Nawahs. They could not fight as hostile nations because of the peace in Europe. They afPected to be friends. They only came into collision as sup- porters of rival princes. Schemes of Duplclx had long been planning grand schemes. He wanted to establish French influence in the Carnatic ; to found a Erencli empire in India under the shadow of a Native power. He knew that the people hankered after the family of the old Nawabs. He procured the release of Chunda Sahib from the Mahrattas. He set up Chunda Sahib as a rival to Anwar-ud-din. At tliis moment news came that the Nizam was dead at Hyderabad. He is said to have been more than a hundred years old. Death of the Thc Nlzam died in 1748. His death was followed Nizam : war for the succession, j^y. ^ ^^j, £qj, ^l^g succcssiou. Hls cldcst SOU was at Delhi. His second son, Nasir Jung, was in prison for rebeUion. This second son escaped from his pri- son and claimed the throne. A grandson, Muzafir Jung, took up arms against liis uncle. Dupleix saw liis opportunity. He hoped to place a Erench Nizam on the throne of Hyderabad and a Erench Nawab on the throne of Arcot. He supported the grandson against the uncle, just as he was supporting Chunda Sahib against Anwar-ud-din. MADRAS UNDER THE MOUHULS. m Fortune smiled on Duplcix. He gained his object cimnda sainb. tho Freuc'li as regards setting up Cliunda Sahib as a French ^,Xm,„j^j, Nawab at Arcot. Anwar-ud-din was slain in battle. Naw'ab! ^"°"'^ His troops fled in confusion. His son Muhammad Ali escaped south to Trichinopoly. Henceforth Chunda Sahib, of the old Arcot dynasty, may be distinguished as the French Nawab, in opposition to Muliammad AH, the son of the new comer, who became known as the English Nawab. Dux3leix acliieved a signal triumph. The French French Nawab set up by marched to Arcot accompanied by their native ^upieix. allies. They enthroned Chunda Sahib as a French Nawab of Arcot. They went to Pondicherry in great glory. Dupleix was presented with eighty- one villages by the new Nawab. Dupleix had made a French Nawab of Arcot. Eng:iish claimant at Tricliinopoly. He had yet to make a French Nizam of Hyderabad. Meantime the English had espoused the cause of Muhammad Ali, who was still holding out at Tri- chinopoly. Dupleix urged Chunda Sahib to attack Trichino- Failure of the •111* • French poly ; indeed the immediate capture of Trichinopoly f^]^^^^^ '° was of paramount importance. It would ruin the '■^"''^"'^^'"'y- English Nawab and fix the French Nawab firmly on the throne. It would enable the confederate forces to march into the Dekhan and place a French Nizam on the throne of Hyderabad. But neither the French Nawab nor the French Nizam had any money. They delayed operations in order to squeeze Hindu Rajas. Suddenly news came that the uncle oi* the French Nizam had establislied himself on 1,^2 EARLY EECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. the throne of Hycleriibatl, and was marching into the Carnatic at the head of an overwhelming army. Nazir Jung, ihc Tho news was a crnshing blow to Dupleix and his English Nizam. . native alhes. The new ^izam, Isazu' Jung, was joined by all the Rajas and so-called Nawabs in the Carnatic. He was also joined by the English and the English Nawab ; consequently he is best distin- guished as the English Nizam. He passed Arcot, and marched fm^ther south with tlu'ee hundred thousand horse and foot, eight hundred guns, and tliirteen hundred elephants. Triumph of the Tlic Ercncli took the field with their native Enfrlish Nizam Nalvab.^"'^ allies; but then' cause was hopeless. To make matters worse, the officers of the Erench battalion broke out in mutiny. The Erench Nizam was forced to surrender. His uncle, the English Nizam, swore on the Koran not to hurt him. He went to pay homage to his uncle, but was thrown into irons. There was thus a complete revolution of affairs. The English Nizam was established at Hyderabad, and the English Nawab was estabhshed at Arcot ; whilst the Erench Nizam was a prisoner at Hyderabad and the Erench Nawab was a fugitive at Pondicherry. Rpvohition and Duiilclx was almost in despair. Suddenly there transformation. ■*■ was a change in the aspect of affairs. It was not a revolution, such as might have occurred in a Euro- pean court ; it was an entire transformation like a new scene in a pantomime. Murdornftho Thrcc turbulcut Afghan chieftains raised an English Nizam ; , FrSVizam ^''P^'^^^' ^^ tlic Nizaui s cauip ; the Nizam gallopped MADRAS UNDER THE MOGIIULS. I43 to the spot, and was shot dead. The French Nizam was taken out of his prison and placed upon the throne of Ilyderahad. This imcxi^ected news soon reached Pondicherry. Triumph cr the ■"■ French Nawab. Dupleix and Chunda Sahib w^ere wild with joy. They embraced one another like men escaped from shipwreck. In December 1750 the Erench Nizam of Hyderabad went to Pondicherry. He entered oiory of oupicix. the city with Duj)leix in the same palanquin. He appointed Dupleix to the charge of all the Carnatic country to the south of the Kistna. He appointed Chunda Sahib to be Nawab of Arcot under Dupleix. The French Governor had reaKsed his dream of emphe. In January 1751 the French Nizam returned to French at. «^ Hyderabad the Dekhan. He was accompanied by a j^rench '^'^'"' ^"'^^' force under Bussy. There was another revolution. The three Afghans were again in discontent. There was another uproar. The French Nizam was pierced through the brain with a javelin. Bussy w^as not discomfited. There were several state pri- soners at Hyderabad. He selected one that seemed likely to suit his purpose, and took him out of the prison, and proclaimed him Nizam of Hyderabad under the name of Salabat Jung. Bevolutions had followed one another with saiabatj.m^.the i'rench Nizam, bewildering rapidity. It is difiicult to realise the xorthcm circars political transformations. Dupleix had disj)layed ^^ genius, energy, tact, and audacity. His success was marvellous. Salabat Jung was a French Ni- zam in every sense of the word. He not only owed 144 EARLY KECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. his throne to the French, hut he was only main- tained on the throne by Bussy and his French army. He found that not only his throne hut his life depended upon the support of a French force. He ceded a territory six hundred miles in length along the eastern coast of the Dekhan, as a perma- nent provision for the maintenance of a French army. This territory, wliich rendered the French all-powerful in the Dekhan, was known as the Northern Circars. English Nawab Tlic fortuucs of thc Frcuch had reached their besieged at r^uuk-herry. gcnith. Thc Euglish had lost their footmg in the Dekhan; they all hut lost theu' footing in the Peninsula. There was not only a French Nizam of Hyderabad but a French Nawab of Arcot. The Enghsh and their Nawab were still holding out at Trichinopoly ; but the place was closely besieged by the French and their Nawab. The fall of Tri- chinopoly was a mere question of time ; it would have been followed by the ruin of the English and the destruction of theu* Nawab. Such was the crisis of the war ; the moment when Robert Clive gained name and fame. Clive relieves Robcrt CHvc was born in 1725; he came to Trichinopoly I)y "efcnTe'of Areot. I^^^^ ^^ l74i4i. Hc was a wrltcr in the Company's service at Madras. Subsequently he served as a volunteer in the war, and obtained a commission. In August 1751 he was a young Captain of twenty- six. He saw, with the instinct of a soldier, that nothing but the relief of Tricliinopoly could save tJic English and their Nawal) from destruction ; MADRAS UNDER THE MOGHULS. 115 that the only way to relieve Trichinopoly was to draw the enemy elsewhere. He proposed to cap- tiu'e Arcot, the old capital of the Nawahs. He led a small force from Madras to Arcot. He marched without concern throuo-h a terrible storm of rain and lightning. The garrison at Arcot was in alarm, and fled at his approach. He entered Arcot and occupied the fort. The enemy did exactly what Clive wanted them to do ; they sent an army of ten thousand men from Trichinopoly to recover Arcot. Clive had only a hundred and twenty Europeans and tAvo hundred sepoys. He held out at Arcot for fifty days. He resisted every assault. He filled up every breach as soon as it was made. He sallied forth at night and harassed the besiegers. He kept the enemy in constant alarm. His prowess spread far and wide. The Mahrattas were struck with admiration; and marched to his help. The commander of the besieging army was more al- armed than ever ; he threatened, he ofl^ered bribes ; he tried to carry Arcot by storm. All was in vain. He was compelled to break up liis camp, and leave Arcot in the possession of Clive. The story of the defence of Arcot is famous in cioiy of cuve. history. The name of Captain Clive was on every tongue. He was praised by WilKam Pitt, the great war minister of England. Pitt declared that Clive was a "heaven-born general." The defence of Arcot changed the fortunes of English Nawab the war. The Erench were still all-powerfid in the h xi'mb^au '"" "' Hekhan. Their Nizam, Salabat Jung, was still K 146 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. reigning at Hyderabad. But their cause was lost in the Peninsula. They were compelled to raise the siege of Trichinopoly. Their Nawah surrendered to a Hindu E-aja and was put to death. The English Nawab, Muhammad Ali, was placed on the throne of Arcot. In the end Dupleix was ruined. Chunda Sahib perished. In 1754 peace was made between the English and Erench in India ; it was agreed that the existina: status should be maintained — a Erench Nizam at Hyderabad, and an English Nawab at Arcot. Meanwhile Dupleix returned to Erance a bi'oken-hearted man. CHAPTER VI. ENGLISH IN BENGAL. 16iO— 1750. THE Eni^lisli found it far more difficult to settle Moghui obstvuc- '~^ ^ tiveness. in Bengal than in Madras. At Madras they purchased a site for a settlement from a Hindu E,aja ; they had built a factory and a strong fort fifty years before the Moghuls invaded Peninsular India. In Bengal the English found the Moghuls already in possession ; consequently they had great difficulty in establishing a trade ; at last they were allowed to establish factories, but were strictly pro- hibited from building fortifications of any kind. The Moghuls were always jealous of Europeans, oid hatred of the Portuguese . Shah Jehan, the father of Aurungzeb, became Emperor in 1628. He had special reasons for hating the Portuguese. They had established a settlement at Huglili, on the river of the same name, about a hundred and twenty nules from the Bay of Bengal. They had refused to help him when he rebelled against his father, and he never forgot the affront. Muhammadans had other complaints agamst the Mussulman complaints Portuguese. They are thus set forth by Khafi ^^'^JJ^g^. Khan in a fan* and impartial spuit: — " The officers of the King- of Portugal occuj)ieJ several portS; and liad built forts in strong- positions. They founded 148 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. villages and acted very kindly towards the people, and did not vex them with oppressive taxes. They allotted a separate quarter for the Mussulmans who dwelt with them, and ap- pointed a Kazi over them to settle all matters of taxes and marriage. But the Muhammadan call to prayer and public devotion were not permitted in their settlements : If a poor Mussulman traveller had to pass through their possessions,, he would meet with no other trouble ; but he would not be able to say his prayers at his ease. On the sea the Portu- guese are not like the English ; they do not attack other ships, provided the ships can show a pass from some Portu- guese commandant. If no such pass can be produced they will attack the ship. They will also attack the ships of Arabia and Muskat, with which two countries they have a long-standing enmity. If a ship from a distant port is wrecked and falls into their hands, they look upon it as their prize. But their greatest act of tyranny is this. If a subject of these misbelievers dies leaving young children and no grown-up son, the children are considered wards of the State. They take them to their places of worship, their churches, which they have built in many places ; and the Padres, that is to say the priests, instruct the children in the Christian religion, and bring them up in their own faith, whether the child be a Mussulman or a Hindu. They will also make them serve as slaves.^' ^ Revenge of Shah 'W'heii Shall Jeliaii became Padisliah he received Jenan on iiughh, 1632. i^-^^gj, complaints against the Portuguese from the Nawab of Bengal. They had fortified Hughli ; planted great guns on their walls and bastions ; carried on a traffic in slaves ; and set the Nawab and his officers at defiance. Shah Jehan was ex- ceedingly angry ; he remembered his old wrongs, and exacted a terrible revenge. Hughli was sur- rounded by a Moghul army ; a bastion was blown ' Sec Professor Dowson's translation of Kh.ifi Khun in Elliot's History of Indiii, volume vii. KXGLISH IN BENGAL. ] ji) up by a mine ; the shipping was set on fire and a large number of prisoners was sent to Agra. Sons and daughters of the Portuguese were placed in the imperial harem, or distributed amongst the grandees. Many jiarents were forced by threats of a cruel death to abandon Christianity and accept the Koran. ^ These horrors took place in 1632; one year English at pipiy, afterwards the English obtained permission to tmde in Bengal. The destruction of Huglili had not frightened them ; on the contrary, they hoped to get the Portuguese trade into their own hands. But the Moghuls were resolved that no Europeans whatever should defy them for the future. No English ships were allowed to enter the Huglili river; none were allowed to go beyond the port of Piply. In 1640 the Eno'lish obtained further privilei^jes En-iisi. imde ^ X O j^j^, j^^_^^ jyj^_ from the Moghul. One of the daughters of Shah Jehan had been severely burned by her clothes catch- ing fire. The factors at Surat were requested to send a surgeon to Court. A certain Dr. Gabriel Boughton attended on the princess, and effected a perfect cure. Shah Jehan was overjoyed, and told Dr. Boughton to name his own reward. The patriotic surgeon requested that the EngKsli Company might be allowed to trade in Bengal without payment of any duty. 1 According to Moghul story, Shah Jehan was worked upon by a favourite wife, who was a zealous or fanatical votary of Islam. Shah Jehan was himself as lax and indifferent on religious matters as any of his predecessors. The facts slated in the te.\t are taken from Stewart's History of Bengal ; occa- soiually other authorities are quoted. 150 EAELY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Enfriish factory TliG booii was ff milted ; Boucrliton obtained the at lluglili, '-' ' a firman, and proceeded overland to Bengal. He reached Piply, and saved an English ship from the payment of dntics. At that time Shah Shuja, the second son of Shah Jehan, was Viceroy of Bengal. Dr. Bonghton paid his respects to the Viceroy. He cured one of the ladies of the prince of some sickness. The English were then permitted to build a factory at Hughli, but without fortifications. Henceforth Dr. Boughton was the hero of the Com- pany's service, and obtained a lasting name in the early annals of British India. atPato'Z^**'*"'^ The English made large profits by their trade in Bengal. They built factories in other places be- sides Hughli, and sent home cargoes of silks, cottons, and other commodities. Especially they built a factory amongst the saltpetre grounds near Patna. Saltpetre was in great demand in those days, for civil w^ar was beginning between Charles the Eirst and his Parliament, and saltpetre was required for the manufacture of gunpowder. Absence of Nouc of tlic carly records have been preserved at Calcutta. They were all destroyed in 1756, when Calcutta was captured by the ruling Nawab. Duplicates have doubtless been preserved in the India Office, but have never been rendered available. It is, however, possible to glean a few facts from the histories of Stewart, Holwell, and others. ^v?'"J'^^„'''/",.-.. In 1656 there w^as a fratricidal war between the four sons of Shah Jehan for the possession of the imperial throne. Shah Sluija, Viceroy of Bengal, records at Calcutta, the sons of Shah Jehan, 1056, ENGLISH IN BENGAL. 151 took a part in the war, but was utterly defeated. The fate of this prince throws some light upon the existing state of affairs. lie bribed some Portuguese pirates to carry him with all his family and treasures from Dacca to Arakan. The King of Arakan was a half- barbarous pagan. At first he treated the imjoerial prince with hospitality and respect. After a while he began to hanker after the prince's jewels. Then he wanted to take one of Shah Slmja's daughters as a wife. The blood of the Moghul fired up at tliis insulting demand. It is needless to dwell on a sad story. The prince was despoiled of aU his treasures, and he and aU his household were brutally mm'dered. These wars for the succession broke out at the Mo-hai wars for the succession, death of every Moghul sovereign, and often whilst the sovereign was still alive. They were always attended with bloodshed, and productive of much misery. The country was laid waste and plundered. The people were at the mercy of every band of horsemen, whether marching to victory or flying for their lives. Hajas withheld their tribute; Zemindars kept back the rents. There was no one to keep the peace or protect the inhabitants. Law- lessness and rapine reigned supreme. Ben"*al did not escape the general anarchy. The invasion of ^ . Bengal by the King of Arakan, seeing that no attempt was made ^'"^ ^'^ ^'''''*"- to avenge the murdered prince, invaded Bengal with an army of Mughs. There were many Portu- guese pirates in his service; they were the scum of Goa and Malacca. In former times they had 152 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. RavaKes of the K:ijas of Assam and Cooch Behar. Amir Jumla, Viceroy- of Bengal, 1658. Shaista Khan, Viceroy, 1661. supplied the slave market at Huglili ; they still carried on the work of kidnapping and plunder in every creek and channel of the Sunderhunds. Some- times their galleys penetrated to Dacca, and they became the terror of Lower Bengal. Other destroying agents were at work, which can scarcely be realised in the present day. The Raja of Assam was plundering Bengal to the north- ward of Dacca. The Baja of Cooch Behar was engaged in other du'ections. All the Moghul soldiers of the province were far away to the west- ward ; they were engaged in the terrible struggle which was convulsing Hindustan. In 1658 the fratricidal war was over. Auruno^zeb ascended the throne of the Moghuls the same year that saw the death of Oliver Cromwell. The cele- brated Amir Jumla, the friend and adherent of Aurungzeb, was appointed Viceroy of Bengal. He laboured hard to restore order in Bengal. He in- vaded Assam as far as the Cliinese frontier, but lost the greater part of liis army. He perished of the disease wliich attacked him during that ill-fated expedition.^ Meanwhile, Aurungzeb was anxious about Bengal. In time of peace the province yielded a yearly revenue of half a million sterhng to the im- perial treasury, after payment of all salaries and expenses. In 1664 a kinsman of Aurungzeb, named ' The story of the Moghul invasion of Assam belongs to general history. It will be told in Vol. IV, Part 2, of the author's History of India. ENGLISH IX HEXCAL. l'):] Shaista Khan, was appointed Viceroy of Bengal.' This Muhammadan grandee has been praised to the skies as a pattern of excellence by courtly scribes. In reality he was an oppressor of the Moghul type, crafty and unscrupulous to the last degree. Shaista Khan punished the Kincj of Arakan, and Punishment ot J- o ' the Kin;,' of suppressed the Portuguese pirates, but he effected A'^^''^'"- his purpose by clever perfidy rather than by force of snpproRsion of arms. He tempted the pu'ates to join him with p'"'"^- their galleys by the promise of double pay. He employed them in destroying the fleet of Arakan. Having thus got them in his toils, he dismissed them from his service, and left them to starve and die. The En2:lish at Hui^lili bitterly complained of compiiints of the oppressions and exactions of Shaista Khan. Indeed, during the reign of Aurungzeb, the Nawabs of Bengal were very extortionate. That sovereign kept a very sharp eye on the revenue. The Nawab was not allowed to collect the revenue, and only drew liis regular salary ; consequently he was greedy of presents and bribes. The collection and disburse- ment of the revenues w^as the duty of an officer appointed direct by the Padishah and known as the King's Dewan. Every Dewan knew that his place and promotion depended on the amount of sm'plus revenue wliich he yearly remitted to the imperial treasury. Any collusion with the Nawab under the searching eye of Am'ungzeb was liable to be followed by ruin and confiscation. 1 Shaista Khau was uncle to Aurungzeb. He is the sume man that had such a narrow escape from Sivaji, the Mahratta. See ante, page 15. 5^54 EAIILY liECORDS OF DUITISH INDIA. Commutation of Slmista Kliaii ignored the grant of freedom from duties, duty which the English obtained from Shah Jehan. This was according to Moghul custom ; no sovereign or governor was liable for the engagements of his predecessor. Shaista Khan insisted on the payment of the duties. The English at Hughli found it expedient to commute the payment by a yearly present of three thousand rupees to the Nawab. Taveinicr's Somc Idca of tlic contcmporary state of Hindustan journey from ■'■ anTHu-hii?'' ^''^^ Bcugal may be gathered from Tavernier's Travels. i66o-ob. Tavernier was a Erench jeweller; he went from Agra to Dacca in 1665-66, and there had an adven- ture with the Nawab Shaista Khan. Erom Dacca he went to Hughli, w^here he made acquaintance with the English and Dutch factories. The follow- ing extracts from the itinerary of the jom-ney wdll speak for themselves^ : — Agra. Soi/i Aoven/der 1665. — " I departed from Agra towards Bengal.^' Bengal itovcnuc. Ist December, — " I met a lumdrcd and ten wag-gons, every wagg-ou drawn by six oxen, and in every waggon fifty thousand rnpees. This is the revenue of the province of Bengal, with all charges defrayed, and the Governor's purse well filled, comes to fifty-five lakhs of rupees." Rhiuoccros. 2n(l December. — " Crossing a field of millet, I saw a rhinoceros feeding upon millet canes, which a little boy of nine or ten years old gave him to eat. "When I came near the boy, he gave me some millet to give the rhinoceros ; who immediately came to me, opening his chops three or four times; I put the millet into his mouth, and when he had swallowed it, he still opened his mouth for more. * Tuveruiei's Travels in Iiulia, Book I, Clu'.p. S. ENGLISH IN BENGAL, I55 oili Beccmler. — " I arrived at Aurung^abad.' Formerly this AuruM-aiiaii. village had another name ; but being- the place where Anrung- zeb gave Jjattle to his brother Sultan Shuja^ who was Governor of all the 'province of Bengal, Aurungzeb^ in memor}^ of the\'ictory he hadVwon, gave it his own name, aud_built there a vcry_fi\ir house, with a garden, and a little mosque/' (jth December. — " I saw the river Gauges. Monsieur Ber- Rmr Ganges. nier, the King's physician, and another person whose name was Bachepot, withj^whom I travelled, were amazed to see that a river that had made such a noise in the world was no broader than the river Seine before the Louvre, believing before^that it had been as wide as the Danube above Belgrade. There is also so little water in it from March to June or July, when the rains fall, that it will not bear a small boat. When we came to Ganges,' we drank every one of us a glass of wine, mixing some of the river water with it, which caused a griping. But our servants that drank it alone were worse tormented than we. The Hollanders, who have a house upon the bank of the Ganges, never drink the water of this river until they have boiled it. But for the natural in- habitants of the country, they are so accustomed to it from their youth that the King and the Court drink no other. You shall see a vast number of camels every day whose busi- ness only it is to fetch water from the Ganges.'' 7th December. — '' I arrived at Allahabad. It is a great Aiiaimbad. city, built'upon a point of land where the Ganges and Jumna meet. There is a fair castle of hewn stone, with a double moat, where'the Governor resides. He is one of the greatest lords in India; and being very sickly, he has always about him ten Persian physicians. He had also in his service Claudius^Malle of Bourges, who''practises surgery and physic both together. This was he that advised us not to drink of Ganges water,';but rather to drink well water. The chief of these Persian physicians, whom this Governor hires with * This village must^not be confouuded with the city of Aurungabad iu the Dekhau, the head-quarters of the Viceroy of the Moghul Dekhau. 15(5 EARLY llEOORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. his money, one day threw his wife from the top of a battle- ment to the ground, prompted to that act of cruelty by some jealousies he had entertained. He thou<4'ht the fall had killed her, but she had only a rib or two bruised ; whereupon the kindred of the woman came and demanded justice, at the feet of the Governor. The Governor sending for the physician, commanded him to be gone, resolving" to retain him no longer in his service. The physician obeyed, and putting his maimed wife in a palanquin, he set forward upon the road with all his family. But he was not gone above three or four days^ journey from the city, when the Governor finding himself worse than he was wont to be, sent to recall him ; which the physician perceiving, stabbed his wife, his four children and thirteen female slaves, and returned again to the Governor, who said not a word to him, but entertained him again into his service.^^ Crossing a river- 8th December. — " 1 crossed the river in a large boat, having stayed from morning till noon upon the bank side expecting Monsieur Mai He to bring me a passport from the Governor. For there stands a daroga upon each side of the river, who will not suffer any person to pass without leave, and he takes notice what sort of goods are tx-anspoited, there being due from every waggon four rupees, and from every coach one, not accounting the charge of the boat, which you must pay beside. '' iienarcB. Hfji December. — "I reached Benares. It is a large city, and handsomely built, the most part of the houses being either of brick or stone, and higher than in any other cities of India; but the inconveniency is, that the streets are very narrow. There are many inns in the town ; among the rest one very large, and very handsomely built. In the middle of the court are two galleries, where are to be sold calicuts, silks, and other sorts of merchandise. The greatest part of the sellers are the workmen themselves, so that the mer- chants buy at the first hand. These workmen, before they expose anything to sale, must go to him that has the stamp, to have the King's seal set upon their linen and silks, otherwise they would be fined and lambasted with a good ENGLISH IN BENGAL. 157 cudgel. This city is situated upon the north side of Ganges tliat runs by the walls, and into whicli there fiills also another river, some two leagues upward towards the west. In Benares stands one of the idolators' principal pagodas.'^ 21si December. — " I arrived at Patna. It is one of the Paiua. greatest cities of India, upon the bank of Ganges, toward the west, not being less than two leagues in length. But the houses are no fairer than in the greatest part of the other cities of India, being covered with bamboo or straw. The Holland Company have a house there, by reason of their trade in saltpetre, which they refine at a great town called Choupar, which is also situated upon Ganges, ten leagues above Patna. " Coming to Patna, we met the Hollanders in the street returning from Choupar, who stopped our coaches to salute us. We did not part till we had emptied two bottles of Shiras wine in the open street, which is not taken notice of in that country where people meet with an entire freedom without any ceremony. " I stayed eight days at Patna.^^ 4th Jamiary 1666. — " I came to Rajmahal. It is a city Rajmaiui. npou the right hand of Ganges ; and if you go by land, you shall find the highway, for a league or two, paved with brick to the town. Formerly the Governors of Bengal resided here, it being an excellent country for hunting, besides that it was a place of great trade. But now the river having taken another course, above a good half league from the city, as well for that reason as to keep in awe the King of Arakan, and several Portuguese banditti, who are retired to the mouths of Ganges, and made excursions even as far as Dacca itself ; both the Governor and the merchants have removed them- selves to Dacca, which is at present a large city and a town of great trade.^^ 6th Januar/j. — " Six leagues from Rajmahal, I parted from Parting from Monsieur Bernier, who was going to Cossimbazar and thence ^"'""'"" to Hughli by land.'' 7th January.—'' I saw such a vast number of crocodiles, cocodiics. that I had a great desire to shoot at one, to try whether the ]5^ EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. vulo-ar report wore true, that a musket sliot would uot pierce their skiu. The bullet hit him iu the jaw, and made the blood g-ush out ; however he would not stay in the place, but plunged into the river. '^ 8tJi January. — " I saw again a great number lying upon the bank of the river, and made two shots at two with three bullets at a time. As soon as they were wounded, they turned themselves upon their backs, opening their throats, and died upon the spot.^' L,acca. 13tk January. — '^ I came to Dacca. It is a great town, that extends itself only in length, every one coveting to have a house by the Ganges side. The length of this town is above two leagues. And indeed from the last brick bridge to Dacca, there is but one continued row of houses separated one from the other, inhabited for the most part by carpenters, that build galleys and other small vessels. These houses are properly no more than paltry huts built up with bamboos, and daubed over with fat earth. Those of Dacca are not much better built. The Governor's palace is a place enclosed with high walls, in the midst whereof is a pitiful house built only of wood. He generally lodges in tents, which he causes to be set up in a great court of that enclosure. The Hollanders finding that their goods were not safe in the oidinary houses of Dacca, have built them a very fair house; and the English have another, which is reasonably hand- some. The church of the Austin Friars is all of brick, and is a very comely pile. " When I travelled last to Dacca, the Nawab Shaista Khan, who was then Governor of Bengal, was at war with the King of Arakan, whose naval force consists generally of 200 galeasses, attended by several other smaller vessels. These galeasses run though the Gulf of Bengal, and enter into the mouth of Ganges, the sea flowing up higher than Dacca. Shaista Khan, uncle to Aurungzeb, the present Moghul, and the best head-piece that ever was in all his territories, found out a way to corrupt several of the King of Arakan's captains, so that of a sudden forty g'aleasses. ENGLISH IN BENGAL. 1:50 coinmandeJ by Portuguese, came and joined themselves with him. To engag-e more firmly all the new muUitude to his service, he gave a larger pay to all tlie Portuguese ollicers, and to the soldiers proportiona1)ly. But those of the country had no more than their ordinary pay eloubled. It is an in- credible thing to see how swiftly these galea?ses cut their way in the water. Some are so long that they carry fifty oars of a side, but they have but two men to an oar : There are some very curiously painted, and upon which there is no cost of gold and azure spared. The Hollanders have some of their own to transport their goods ; and sometimes they are forced to hire others, whereby many people get a good livelihood.^' 14th January. — " Being the next day after my arrival at Visits the Dacca, I went to wait upon the Nawab, and presented him with a garment of cloth of gold, laced with a gold needlework lace of point of Spain, with a scarf of gold and silver of the same pointy and a very fair emerald jewel. Towards evening, being returned to the Hollander's house where I lodged, the Nawab sent me pomegranates, China oranges, two Persian melons, and three sorts of pears " loth January. — " I showed my goods to the Nawab, and presented him with a watch in a gold enamelled case, with a pair of little pistols inlaid with silver, and a very fair pros- pective glass. What I gave to the father and the son, a young lord about ten years old, stood me in about five thousand 1 ivies." 16th January. — " I treated with the Nawab about the prices of my goods : and at length I went to his steward to take my letter of exchange to be paid at Cossimbazar. Not but that he would have paid me my money at Dacca ; but the Hollanders, who understood things better than I did, told me it was very dangerous to carry money to Cossimbazar, whither there was no going but over the Ganges by water, the way by land being full of bogs and fens. And to go by water is no less dangerous, by reason that the boats which thev use are very apt to tip over upon the least storm, and 1(50 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. when the mariners perceive that you carry money along with Aou it is an easy thing- for them to overset the boat, and afterwards to come and take up the money that lies at the bottom of the river/'' 20th Javuary. — " I took leave of the Nawab, who desired me to come and see him again, and caused a pass to be delivered me, wherein he gave me the title of one of the gentlemen of his house, which he had done before, when he was Governor of Ahmedabad, when I went to him, to the army, in the province of Deccan, into which tlie Raja Sevaji was entered. By virtue of these passes I could travel over all the countries of the Great Moghul, as being one of his household/^ Hospitalities. 21st January. — " The Hollanders made a great feast for ray sake, to which they invited the English and some Portuguese, together with the Austin Friars of the same nation.^' 22nd January. — " I made a visit to the English. The President of the English ftictory at Dacca was Mr. Prat.'^ 29th January. — " I left Dacca in the evening. The Hollanders bore me comj)any for two leagues with their little barques armed, nor did we spare the Spanish wine all that time.^^ Hughii. 20i]i February. — " I arrived at Hughli, where I stayed till the 2nd of March, during which time the Hollanders bid rae very welcome, and made it their business to shew me all the divertisements which the country was capable to afford. We went several times in pleasure-boats upon the river, and we had a banquet of all the delicacies that the gardens of Europe could have afforded us ; salads of all sorts, colewarts, asparagus, pease ; but our chiefest dish was Japan beans, the Hollanders being very curious to have all sorts of pulse and herbs in their gardens, though they could never get artichokes to grow in that country. ^^ Tnvornioi's Tavemier had a grievance against Nawab Shaista gricvaiicea. Khan. The hill of exchange was stopped, and pay- ment was refused until he deducted twenty thousand ENGLISH IN BENGAL. 301 rupees from the sum total. Tavemier had also grievances against the Emjieror Aurungzeb, and some of the grandees at Delhi. The fact is only ■\vorth mentioning as an instance of the oppressive conduct of the Nawab, and the difficulties in the way of trading in India in the seventeenth century. About 1680 Aiu'uns^zeb bcffan to persecute the Persecution of ^ _ ° -•■ Hindus, 1680. Hindus. He was determined to make them Muhammadans. He carried on persecuting wars, and tiu'ned Hindu temples into Mussulman mosques. He collected the hateful tax known as the Jezya ; this was a capitation tax levied from all who refused to become Muhammadans ; it had been abolished in India by the celebrated Akbar. Shaista Khan was ordered to carry out tliis work Jezya demanded Irom Europeans, of persecution in Bengal. He levied the Jezya upon Hindus, and demanded it from Europeans. The English and Dutch refused to pay Jezya. Shaista Khan let them off on the condition that they brought liim a yearly present of Persian horses. Hitherto the English settlements in Bengal were The English oppressed. superintended by the Governor of Madras. In 1677 Governor Masters wrote to Shaista Khan from Madras, that if he continued Ids oppressions, the English would certainly withdraw from Bengal. In 1681 the Directors withdrew Bengal from the supervision of Madras, and apj^ointed the Agent at Hughli to be Governor of aU the factories in Bengal. Mr. Job Channock "was the most noted of the Mr. job C'hauuock. English Governors of Hugldi. He was cruellv 1(52 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. treated by Shaista Khan ; on one occasion he was scourged. At last, as abeady told in the Madras records, he left Bengal with all the Company's servants and effects and went away to Madras.' Ibrahim Khan Sliortlv aftcrwards Shaista Khan left Bensral. Nawab, 1689. ^ ^ cai"utu!°° ''^ Ihraliim Khan was appointed Nawab in his room ; he was the same man who is glorified in the Madras records as " the famously just and good Nawab Ibrahim Khan." - He invited the English to retm'n to Bengal. Mr. Channock returned, but not to Hughli. He was resolved to keep away from Huglili. He built a factory in the village of Chutanuttee, about twenty miles nearer the sea. This was the germ wliicli was afterwards to grow into the City of Palaces. Loss of the The relisrious zeal of Aiu'unorzeb seems to have saltpetre trade. ^ " reached the ears of the Sultan of Turkey. Both were Sunnis. The Sultan wrote to Auiamgzeb beg- ging him to forbid his subjects from selling saltpetre to Christians, as it was often burnt for the destruc- tion of good Muhammadans. Aurungzeb issued the necessary prohibition, and the English lost for a while their saltpetre trade at Patna. Hindu rebellion Tlic " f amouslv just aud £food Nawab Ibrahim" iu Bt'ugal, lti96. "^ '' ~ turned out to be a very weak ruler in Bengal. In 1696 the Hindu Bajas westward of the Hughli broke into open rebellion. The Paja of Burdwan was at the head of the rebels. The Nawab did nothing to stop the outbreak. He said that a civil ' Sec ante, page 90. ' Hid. ENGLISH IN BENGAL. 1(J3 war was a dreadful evil ; that many people were always slaug'htercd ; and that if the rebels were let alone, they ANOiild soon disperse themselves. The rebellion was not a formidable affair. The Azimusha.. . «-r,i Viceroy, luyo. so-called army of the Raja ot Burdwan was routed by fifty English soldiers in front of the factory at Chutanuttee. But Aurungzeb was very angry at the Hindu rebellion. He recalled the Nawab, and appointed one of his own grandsons to be Viceroy of the three united provinces — Bengal, Behar, and Orissa. The name of the grandson was Azim-u- shan. The Hindu rebellion was lucky for the Euro- F.^rtificatiou ^ Calcutta. peans. The Xawab had told them to defend them- selves, and they had run up walls and bastions round their respective factories. This was the origin of the three European forts or towns, namely, the EngKsh at Calcutta, the French at Chandernagore, and the Dutch at Chinsura. Both Chandernagore and Cliiusura were in the immediate neighbourhood of Huglili ; accordingly both were about twenty miles from Calcutta. Azim-u-shan, the new Viceroy of Bengal, was English how the rank of like the run of Moghul princes. He was idle, fond zemmdar. of pleasure, and ready to grant anything for money. By a suital)le present the English obtained a grant of the three callages of Chutanuttee, Govind- pore, and Kalicotta. The importance of tliis grant is liable to be overlooked. It raised the English to the condition of a Zemindar, similar to the posi- tion which thev alrcadv filled at Madras. They paid IGi EAELY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Objections over- ruled. Murshed Kuli Khaa Nawab, 1707. Zemindars oppressed. a yearly rent of Rs. 1,195 for the three villages ; this amount had been paid to the King's Dewan by the Zemindars who had previously held the villages. They administered justice amongst the natives of the three villages after the manner of Zemindars. In other vi^ords, they fined, whipped, and imprisoned at will, in the same way that the Justices at Madras punished offenders in Black Town. The Moghul Governor at Hughli did not like to see the English acting as Zemindars. He wanted to send a Kazi to Calcutta to administer justice in ac- cordance with Muhammadan law. But the English made another present to the Viceroy, and the Gov- ernor of Hughli was told to leave the English alone. Aurungzeb died in 1707. Azim-u-shan, the young Viceroy, went away from Bengal to take a part in the war for the succession. He left a deputy behind to serve both as Nawab and as King's Dewan. The new Nawab is best known by his title of Murshed Kuli Khan. The city of Mur- shedabad is named after him to this day. The main object of the new Nawab was to collect revenue and remit a large surplus to Delhi. He hoped by so doing to gain favour with the Moghul court. His proceedings are thus described by Stewart : — " Murshed Kuli Khan began to put in practice a system of the greatest oppression upon the Zemindars or Hindu Land- holders ; which, although it much augmented the revenue of the State, rendered his name dreaded and detested throughout the provinces. ENGLISH IN BENGAL. 165 " In order to make a full investigation of the value of the Empio\rapnt of " , new collectors. lands, he placed the principal Zemindars in close confinement, RemeaBurement and gave the collection into the hands of expert Auniiis, or col- lectors, who received the assessments from the farmers and paid the amount into the public treasury. He also ordered the whole of the lands to be re-measured ; and having- ascer- tained the quantity of fallow and waste ground belonging to every village, he caused a considerable proportion of it to be brought into cultivation ; for which purpose the collectoi'S were authorised to make advances of money to the lower order of husbandmen, to purchase stock, and to reimburse them- selves by a certain portion of the produce. " When he had thus entirely dispossessed the Zemindars of subsistence all interference in the collection, he assigned to them an allow- zemindars. ance, either in land or money, for the subsistence of their families, called nanhar ; to which was added the privilege of hunting, of cutting wood in the forests, and of fishing in the lakes and rivers : these immunities are called hunkar and julkar} " The only persons who were exempted from these despotic zemindars of , . 1 rr • ^ p m • 1 1 i t;' • i Bhirbhum and regulations were the Zemindars or Bhirbhum and Kishna- Kishnaj-hur, ■,,.-, , exempted. ghur. The first was a popular and virtuous character, named Assud Allah, an Afghan chief, who, with his followers, under- took to defend this territory against the wild Hindu moun- taineers of Jeharcund. This person dedicated half his income to charitable purposes, either in supporting the religious and learned, or in relieving the distresses of the poor and needy : he was besides attentive to all the duties of his religion, and deviated not from the ordinances of the law. To have attack- ed such a character would have exposed the Nawab to great opprobrium, and would have incited against him the popular clamour, and possibly would have injured him in the esteem of every devout Mussulman. " The other Zemindar owed his security to the nature of his country, which was full of woods, and adjoining to the 1 The literal meauing of these three words is, the business of bread, wood, and water. ICG EARLY RECORDS OF BRTTISII INDIA. mountains of Jeliarcund^ whitber, upon any invasion of the district^ be retired to places inaccessible to bis pursuers, and annoyed tbem severely in tbeir retreat : tbe country was besides unproductive ; and tbe expenses of collection, and of maintaining it, would have exceeded tbe amount of tbe revenue. " Tbese two Zemindars, tberefore, baving refused tbe sum- mons to attend at tbe court of Mursbedabad, were permitted to remain on tbeir own estates, on condition of regularly remitting tbeir assessment tbrough an agent stationed at Mursbedabad. Submission of " The Rajas of Tipperab, Cooeb Bebar, and Assam, whose arand^'"°''' countries, although they bad been overrun by tbe Mubam- ■^^*''"'' madan arms, had never been perfectly subdued, and who therefore continued to spread the umbrella of independence and to stamp the coin in tbeir own names, were so impressed with the idea of the power and abilities of Murshed Kuli Khan, that they forwarded to him valuable presents, con- sisting of elephants, wrought and unwrought ivory, musk, amber and various other articles, in token of their submis- sion : in return for which, the Nawab sent tbem dresses of honour, known as kbilluts, by the receipt and putting on of which they acknowledged his superiority. This interchange of presents and compliments became an annual custom during the whole time of bis government, without either party attempting to recede from, or advance beyond, tbe implied line of conduct. Administration " Mursbed Kuli Khan devoted two days in the week to the ofjusuce. administration of justice, presiding in person in court: and so impartial was be in bis decisions, and so rigid in the execution of the sentence of the law, that he put bis own son to death for an infraction of its regulations ; and his decisions thereby became celebrated throughout Hindustan. This, however, must be considered as respecting Muham- madans ; for in the collection of the revenues be allowed bis officers to be guilty of great cruelty and oppression; and wherever any person opposed his will, he marked him as tbe victim of bis reventje. ENGLISH IN BENGAL. 167 ^' Murslied Kuli Khaii continued to make the collections Despotic powers, through his Aumils by displacing the Zemindars, with a few exceptions^ where he found the latter worthy of trust and confidence. He admitted no charges for troops, but those paid and mustered by himself. Two thousand cavalry and four thousand infantry, under the command of Nazir Ahmad, who had been originally a, private soldier, were found sufficient to enforce the payment of all the revenues of Bengal : for so severe were his regulations, and such the dread of his power and resolution, that his commands were implicitly obeyed; and it was sufficient for him to send a single messenger to sequester a Zemindari, or to seize on a culprit at the greatest distance. '^ Such were the respect and dignity kept up by the Rajas refused Nawab at his court, that, in his presence, no person was allowed to salute or speak to another; nor were any of his officers or Rajas allowed to sit before him. "He prohibited the Zemindars, and other Hindus of Zemindars pro- opulence, from riding in palanquins ; obliging them to make quins, use of an inferior kind of conveyance, called a dooly, or chowpaleh. Whoever deviated, in the smallest degree, from his general regulations was certain to experience the effects of his resentment. " In the affairs of government he showed favour to no one ; Reasons for and always rewarded merit wherever he found it. He em- Bengaiiis. ployed none but Bengalli Hindus in the collection of the revenues, because they were most easily compelled by threats, or punishment to disclose their malpractices and their confederates; and their pusillanimity secured him from any insurrection or combination against the State. In the few instances in which he found that they had defrauded him, or had made away with the revenue and were unable to make good the deficiency, he compelled the offender, with his wife and children, to become Muhammadans. " Raia Oudy Narain, whose family had long enjoyed the story of Raja _ .,. [, , T . pr»-ii- T'-i ^"^y Narain. Zemmdari or the district oi Kajeshalii, was so distmguished by his abilities and application, that the Nawab entrusted 108 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Zernindari of Bajeshahi. Daily audit of accounts. Torture of Zemindars. Cruelties of the Deputy Dewan. him with the superintendence of the greater portion of tho collections, and placed under his orders Gholam Muhammad Jemadar, with two hundred horse, who in a short time became a great favourite of his principal ; but in consequence of his jiay having been kept back for many months, the Jemadar's people mutinied, and the Nawab, without in- quiring minutely into the matter, ordered a chosen detach- ment to quell the disturbance. A conflict ensued in the vicinity of the Raja's house, in which the Jemadar was killed and many of his people put to death. This circum- stance so hurt and terrified Oudy Narain, that he pat an end to his own existence. *' The Zemindari of Rajeshahi was in consequence taken away from the family, and conferred on Ramjewun and Kanoo Kenoor, two Zemindars who resided on the eastern side of the river, in consideration of their having been more punctual in the payment of their rents than the other Zemindars of Bengal. "The Nawab, however, never placed confidence in any man ; he himself examined the accounts of the exchequer every day ; and, if he discovered any of the Zemindars or others remiss in their payment, he placed either the principal or his agent in arrest, with a guard over him, to prevent his either eating or drinking till the business was settled : and" in order to prevent the guards from being bribed or negligent in their duty, he placed spies over them, who informed him of the smallest deviation from his orders. " A principal instrument of the Nawab's severity was Kazir Ahmad, to whom, when a district was in arrear, he used to deliver over the captive Zemindar to be tormented by every species of cruelty, as hanging up by the feet, bastinado- ing, setting them in the sun in summer ; and by stripping them naked, and sprinkling them frequently with cold water in winter. " But all these acts of severity were but trifles compared with the wanton and cruel conduct of Sayyid Reza Khan, who was married to Nufiisah Begum, the grand-daughter of the ENGLISH IN BENGAL. 169 Nawab, and who had been appointed Deputy Dewan of the province. In order to enforce the payment of the revenues, he ordered a pond to be dug", which was filled with every- thing disgusting, aud the stench of which was so offensive as nearly to suffocate whoever approached it : to this shocking place, in contempt of the Hindus, he gave the name of BiUoont, which, in their language, means Paradise; and after the Zemindars had undergone the usual punishments, if their rent was not forthcoming, he caused them to be drawn, by a rope tied under the arms, through this infernal pond. He is also stated to have compelled them to put on loose trowsers, into which were introduced live cats. By such cruel and horrid methods he extorted from the unhappy Zemindars everything they possessed, and made them weary of their lives." The proceedings of Mursliecl Kuli Khan as regards the English are also described by Stewart. The following extracts are interesting : — " Murshed Kuli Khan was sensible that Bengal owed Demands of much of its wealth to its external commerce : he therefore ichau npou'the gave every encouragement to foreign merchants, especially to °^ '^ the Moghuls and Arabians, from whom he only exacted the prescribed duties of 2 per cent., and did not permit the custom house officers to take more than their regulated fees; but he was too keen a politician not to observe with jealousy the fortified factories of the Europeans, and the great advan- tages which the English had over the merchants, in con- sequence of the firman and uishans, which they had obtained (he said) by means of bribery aud corruption, and which permitted them to trade, either duty free, or for the paltry consideration of 3,000 rupees per annum.' " When, therefore, Murshed Kuli Khan felt himself per- The Governor fectly secure in his government, he set at nought the privUeges onhe orders of the prince Siiuja, aud of the emperor Aurungzeb; inV^ ' and demanded from the English, either the same duties ' See ante, page 154. 170 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. that were paid by Hindu suLjects, or a constant renewal of presents, both to himself and to all inferior depart- ments. Such conduct, of course, irritated the Eng-lish agents, who wrote a detail of their grievances to the Directors of the Company in England, and solicited permission to send an embassy to Dehli, to complain to the emperor Farrukh Siyar of the Nawab^s conduct. Their suggestion was approved of by the Company ; and orders were sent to the governors of Madras and Bombay to unite their grievances in the same petition with those of Bengal. English embassy " The nomination of the ambassadors was left to Mr. Hedges, the governor of Calcutta, who selected, for this pui-pose, Mr. John Surman and Edward Stephenson, two of the ablest factors in the Bengal service, joining to them an Armenian named Khoja Serhaud, who understood both the English and Persian languages, and who had been for many years the principal merchant in Calcutta. Mr. William Hamilton also accompanied the embassy as surgeon. Delhi unknown " At that period the government of Calcutta were very to the English ^ . . ... „ o i ^ ^^ •It Calcutta. ignorant of the politics and intrigues or the court oi Dehli ; and the ambassadors had no other lights to direct their pro- ceedings, than such as they obtained from the Armenian, who, although he had never been at Dehli, had procured a certain degree of information from some of his countrymen, whose extensive commercial concerns led them over every part of India ; and w^ho was very solicitous to be admitted into this honourable commission in hopes of acquiring a large profit by the goods he should carry, free of charges and duties, in the train of the embassy. The presents designed for the emperor and his officers consisted of curious glass-ware, clock-work, brocades and the finest manufactures of woollen- cloths and silks, valued, altogether, at 30,000^., which Khoja Serhaud, in his letters to Dehli, magnified to 100,000/., and gave such a description of the varieties which were coming, that Farrukh Siyar ordered the embassy to be escorted by the governors of the provinces through whose territories it might pass. The train proceeded on the Gauges from Calcutta to ENGLISH IN BENGAL. 171 Patna, and thence by land to Dehli, where they arrived on the 8th of July, 1715, after a inarch of three months/^ Copies of all the letters received by the Governor Rfrords of the of Calcutta from the envoys at Delhi have been ^'^ ^' '''''''"• preserved at Madras. Before selecting extracts, it may be as well to offer a few explanations. Famikh Siyar was reiarnin^ as Padishah, or em- Farrukh siyar, " <-> ^ made emperor by peror at Dellii. He was fretting under the domination *^*^ ^'''° sayyids. of two brothers, his Yizier and Chief Amir, who had placed liim on the throne. Their names were Abdulla and Husain, but they are best known as the two Sayyids. A powerful sjrandee, named Khan Dauran, was Khan Daumn X o ' ' hostile to the hostile to the two brothers, and was consequently ^^^^ ^'^y^'is- intriguing against them. The first extract from the letters describes the Extracts from tlie Madiaa reception of the envoys at Delhi, and their being '■^''"'■^'• presented with certain nondescript vestments and ornaments, called seerpaws, culgees, and congers. It will be seen from what follows that they courted both the Vizier Abdulla and Khan Dauran : — " Delhi, 8th July 1715 . — We passed the country of the Reception of the , \ Enghsli embassy Jauts with success, not meeting- with much trouble, except at Deiw. that once in the night rogues came on our camp, but, being repulsed three times, they left us. We arrived at Furrukabad the 3rd instant (July), where we were met by Padre Stephanus, bringing two seerpaws, which were received with the usual ceremony by John Surman and Khoja Serhaud. The 4th, we arrived at Baorapoola, three coss from the city, sending the Padre before to prepare our reception, that, if possible, we might visit the King the first day, even before we went to the house wdiich was got for us. Accordingly the 7th, iu the morning, we made our entry with very good order ; there 172 Early records of British india. being sent a Munsubdar of two thousand, with about 200 horse and peons, to meet us ; bringing likewise two elej^hants and flags. About the middle of the city, we were met by the Sallabut Khan Bahadur, and were by him conducted to the palace, where we waited till about twelve o^clock till the King came out. Before which time we met with Khan Dauran Bahadur, who received us very civilly, assuring us of his pro- tection and good services. We prepared for our first present, viz., 1,001 gold mohurs, the table clock set with precious stones, the unicorn's horn, the gold escritoire, the large piece of ambergreese, the astoa and chelumgie Manilla work, and the map of the world. These, with the Honorable the Governor's letter, were presented, every one holding some- thing in his hand as usual. John Surman received a vest and eulgee set with precious stones ; and Serhaud a vest and cunger set with precious stones likewise, amid the great pomp and state of the Kings of Hindoostan. We were very well received; and on our arrival at our house, we were enter- tained by Sallabut Khan (Khan Douran's deputy) with dinner sufiicient both for us and our people. In the evening he visited us again and stayed about two hours. The great favour Khan Dauran is in with the King gives us hopes of success in this undertaking. He assures us of his protection, and says the King has pi-oraised us very great favours. We have received orders first to visit Khan Dauran as our patron; after which we shall be ordered to visit the Grand Vizier and other grandees. We would have avoided this, if we could, fearing to disoblige the Vizier; but finding it not feasable, rather than disoblige one who has been so serviceable, and by whose means we expect to obtain our desires, we comply with it." Embassy advised Ei'om tliG iiext Gxtract it will be seen that the by ^oudi Khan, envoys were acting under the advice of a certain Zoudi Khan. This was the very grandee who wrote to Governor Pitt at Madras' : — '' Delhi, 17 tk July : — We have lately sent to Your Honor the good news of our safe arrival here, the visit of the King, and ' See ante, page 116. ENGLISH IN BENGAL. I73 the civil treatment we met with, all which will, without doubt, be very welcome news. We have since visited several grandees as the Vizier (Abdulla Khan) and Khan Dauran ; where we were received with all the respect that could be expected, and g-ives me some hopes that all will end well ; but what ^ives me the most encouragement (for I am well acquainted with these nobles : as long- as they are expecting to get anything they are al- ways complaisant), is that the method we are at present taking is consistent and with the advice and counsel of Zoudi Khan. We visited that gentleman the 11th current, and met with the same treatment he has always given to Et)glishmen, with the highest acknowledgments of the favours he has received from them, that as yet he had never been able to retaliate any of them, but hoped he had now an opportunity of doing something. He pressingly advised us to do nothing without the advice, counsel, and order of Khan Dauran (and the main instrument of our affairs) Sallabut Khan ; that the turn of affairs at the Durbar obliged us to it. This, which he told us by word of mouth, he wrote me when I sent Your Honor's letter to him. We are convinced he advises like a friend, and were intent on the method, but at the same time very cautious how we any ways disoblige the Vizier ; we being very sure that Zoudi Khan was very intimate there, sent and advised him when we intended to visit, that he would use his interest for our better reception, intending to manage the Durbar by his means. He assured us that we might be satisfied as to the important Durbar. The good prospect we have of our affairs makes Khoja Serhaud very good-humoured, and at present tractable, in hopes he shall obtain his promised reward and considered that everything is come to its crisis. I take particular care that he remains so, and as much as possible persuade every one with me to do the like ; which I fear gains me but little good will. But as passion must now be curbed, except we expect to be laughed at, we must be very circumspect in our actions and counsels. '^ 171 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. breach between TliG HGxt Gxtract sliows Something of the pro- the Kni]ieror and , the two sayyids. grcss of the breach between the King, or Emperor, and the two Say y id brothers : — " Delhi, 4th August, — Three daj^s after our arrival here the King- left the city, under pretence of visiting a sacred place, about six coss from theuce. But the true reason (we are of opinion) was to clear himself of a kind of confinement, which he thought he suffered whilst in the Fort. Afterwards on the petition of his grandees to return to the city, the time of the rains being improper for travelling", he showed himself resolved to proceed either to Lahore or Ajmeer. Neither could all the arguments used avert his intended journey. This startled us, and con- sidering with how great trouble and risk we had brought the present thus far, and how to carry it on at this time of the year, we were something at a stand. At last we concluded to give the gross of our present in, notwithstanding the King was abroad. But in delivering* some of the fine clocks, they were ordered to be returned and kept in good order till he came back to the city, he having now determined only to visit a sacred place about forty coss from Delhi ; after which he would return. This stopped our presenting the remainder of our goods, but we concluded that it was necessary to at- tend his Majesty in this tour. We now continue in the camp, leaving Mr. Stephenson and Mr. Phillips to take care of what goods remain in the city ; and in case that the King should proceed further, that they may concert measures to bring the goods after us. We are in this interval preparing petitions to be delivered to his Majesty, hoping we shall do something for our Honourable Masters that has not been yet obtained. The patronage and management of this negotia- tion is in the hands of the greatest favourite at Court, Khan Dauran, and under him Sayyid Sallabut Khan. Withall, we being no ways unmindful of an old friend Zoudi Khan, without whose advice, we enter upon nothing. But he being ENGLISH IN BENGAL. 175 at present iu so low a station is not able to obtain the King's ear. However we are satisfied that in whatever lies in his power, he does and will assist us, but particularly in the Vizier's Durbar. " Husain Ali Khan is lately gone into the Dekhan iiusain sent to . . 1 /» 11 ii i i. „ be Viceroy of country, having the entire command or all that part or the Dekhau. his kiugdom. Your Honors have undoubtedly heard how great he has made himself even to vie with the command of his imperial Majesty, as lately appeared iu the disputes between himself and Amir Jumla' whilst at Court, when he obliged his antagonist, contrary to the Kiui^^s desires, to remove from Court to Patna, whereb}'', through the interest of Husain, and his ovvn mismanagement, he is quite ruined. "Wherefore we humbly recommend a very good cor- respondence with Husain, Otherwise, whatever we shall be able to do here will be of very little service before him.''-' New intri2:ues came to lis^lit. Daud Khan, tlie oaud Khan ~ ^ ordered to cut same man who besieged Madras in Governor Pitt's °^ ""'*'"• time, had been ajopointed Nawab of Guzerat. He received secret orders from the Emperor to cut off Husain. It will be seen from the following extracts that the English envoys at Delhi had some inkling of what was going on : — " Delhi, 31sl Auguat, — We have advices here that Husain Expected Ali Khan and Daud Khan^ are come to a rupture in Bur- hanpur, so that it is likely a battle will ensue, the latter having engaged many of the Dekhan country to his party. It is whispered at this Court that this is a design laid to involve Husain Ali Khan in trouble, and retrench his grandeur, which of late has not been very pleasing. » This Amir Jumla was one of the Emperor's favourites. He is distinct from the Amir Jumla who was Viceroy of Bengal under Aurungzeb. 2 The name of Daud is spelt in various ways in the old records, — Dawood, Daoud, Daood, &c. For the sake of uniformity it lias been spelt throughout the present volume iu the moderu mode. It seems to bo etjuivakut to the David of the Jews, 170 EARLY EECOKDS OF BRITISH INDIA, Return of the Emperor to Uelhi. Sickness of Farrukh Siyar. Teath of D6ud Khau. " The King-, proceediug" no further thau Paniput/ returned to the city on the 15th; but, being- a little disordered in his health; has not made any public appearance. So that we have not had an opportunity to deliver the remaining part of our present, or commence our negotiation, which shall be done by the 1st proximo/' " Delhi, 6th October. — We designed to have presented our petition on the first good opportunity; but His Majesty's in- disposition continuing, and Mr. Hamilton having undertaken to cure him, it has been thought advisable by our friends, as well as by ourselves, to defer delivering it till such time as it shall please God that His Majesty in some measure returns to his former state of health. Which advice, we intend to follow, considering that, whilst he is in so much pain, it can be but a very indifferent opportunity to beg favours of him. The first distemper the Doctor took him in hand for, was swellings in his groin, which, thanks be to God, he is in a fair way of curing ; but within these few days last past he has been taken with a violent pain, which is likely to come to a fistula; it hinders His Majesty from coming out, so naturally puts a stoj) to all manner of business, wherefore we must have patience perforce. " Your Honors will have heard of the death of Daild Khan in the Dekhan, slain in a battle with Husain Ali. (This was a desperate conflict, in which a matchlock ball struck Daud Khan at the moment when victory had declared on his side.) This has given a great deal of uneasiness to this Court, it being quite otherwise laid by the King and his favour- ites ; and that which was designed for Husain All's ruin, has proved a great addition to his former glories. The King at first seemed to resent it to his brother Abdulla, who not taking it so patiently as he expected, he has altered his resolution to sending Husain Ali Khan a seerpaw and other marks of favour. We have advised iu our letters to the 1 The shrine of a Muhammadan saint of great repute, and famous ia history as the scene of two of the grtatest battles ever fought in India ; viz., that which overturned the Afghan dynasty and established the Moghul emperors iu 1525 ; and that which nearly crushed the Mahrattas iu 1761. ENGLISH IN BENGAL. 177 Governor nnd Council of Madras to have particular rei^ard to the tVieudship of that great Amir ; otherwise whatever we shall be able to do here for that coast will be of little service, unless backed with his favour/' After this a marriage was arranged between the Marriage of Farrukh Sivar King and the daughter of the Raja of Marwar, ,^,'^j'^^^^^gj'^f/ or Jodhpiir. It was somewhat delayed by the ill- ^^^' ness of the King. Dr. Hamilton, the sm'geon to the envoys, succeeded in effecting a cure. The fol- lowing extract tells part of the story : — " Delhi, 7th December, — We write Your Honors the wel- English surgeon come news of the King's recovery. As a clear demonstration to the world, he washed himself the 23rd ultimo^ and accord- ingly received the congratulations of the whole Court. As a reward for Mr. Hamilton's care and success, the King was pleased on the 30th to give him in public, viz,, a vest, a culgee set with precious stones, two diamond rings, an ele- phant, horse, and 5,000 rupees ; besides ordering at the same time all his small instruments to be made in gold, with gold buttons for his coat and waistcoat, and brushes set with jewels. The same day Khoja Serhaud received an elephant and vest as a reward for his attendance on this occasion. " We have esteemed this as a particular happiness, and Business of the ,.,.,, . i. ii c cv ■ -I. eml'assy delayed hope it will prove ominous to the successor our anairs, it by the marriage. being the only thing that detained us hitherto from deliver- ing our general petition. So, pursuant to the orders we received from Khan Dauran, the King's recovery was suc- ceeded by the giving in the remainder of our present (reserv- ing a small part only till the ceremony of his marriage should be over) ; and then delivered our petition to Khan Dauran, by his means to be introduced to his Majesty. Sallabat Khan, who has all along managed our affairs under Khan Dauran, being at tliat instant, and some time before, much indisposed, we were obliged to carry it ourselves ; not without taking care to have his recommendation annexed. Since tlie delivery, Khoja Serhaud has bten frequently with Khan M 178 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Dauran, to remind him of introducing- it to His Majesty; but has always been informed^ no business can go forward till the solemnization of the King-^s wedding is over, when he has promised a speedy dis2:)ateh. All offices have been shut up for some days, and all business in the kingdom must naturally subside to this approaching- cereraonyj so that we cannot re- pine at the delay. " The Rajputs are likely to receive great honor by this wedding; the King having consented to all their desires in respect to the ceremonials ; and this evening goes on his throne attended by his whole nobility on foot, to receive his spouse. All the Fort and street through which he passes will be made resplendent with innumerable lights ; and in fine all will appear as glorious as the riches of Hiudoostan and two months indefatigable labour can provide." Slow progress. TliG followiiig Gxtracts sliow tliG cUsturbed state of public affairs : — '' Delkiy 8t/i January 1716. — As to the course of our nego- tiations, we can give but a very slender account of their progress ; for, although our affairs are fallen into the patron- age of one of the most able men in this Court to dispatch them, if he pleases, yet his dilatory methods of proceeding are such as must make us pursue our designs with patience for the present. Our petition is returned, after having passed the examination of the books ; the next that follows will be the King's signing; after which we shall take care to give Your Honors a particular account of it. " We have lately been surprized with the King's designs of departing from this place, but, God be thanked, he is delayed for some days at least. We shall make the best use we can of the delay, if possible, to effect our business before his departure, but which we cannot rely on. " Two nights ago Amir Jumla arrived in this place from Behar, attended by about eight or ten horsemen, much to the surprise of this city ; for it is but at best supposed that he has made an elopement from his own camp for fear of his eoldiers who mutinied for pa^^ The particulars of all w^hieh ENOLISn IN BENGAL. 179 we are not yet acquainted with, nor what reception he is like to meet with from his Majesty. " " Def/ii, 10th March. — Your Honors will doubtless have Mutiny of the . . . Slotjliul army at heard by flying reports the troubles that have possessed tins Delhi. place for the past month, occasioued by the coming of Amir Jumla and all his forces, as it is said without the King's order. All the Tartars mutinously joined to demand their pay, which they gave out they would force either from the Vizier or Khan Dauran. This was certainly the grounds of gathering forces on all sides, the Vizier himself having not less than 20,000 horse, all which continually filled the streets and attended him when he went to the King. Khan Dauran and the rest of the Amirs, or grandees, with their forces and all the King's household troops, kept guard round the I'ort for about twenty days. The Vizier was obstinately bent not to pay the Tartars anything, without very particular examination and accounts to be made up for the plundering the town of Patna ; which conditions the Tartars did not think to comply with till such time as they found the Vizier was not to be bullied ; when they seemed to be willing to come to a composition, which was effected by breaking their party, and the King's ordeis for Amir Jumla's procedure for Lahore. The King ordered Chin Kulich Khan^ to go and see Amir Jumla out of the city j divesting him of all his posts at Court, as also of his titles, Jaghir, etc., with his glorious additional titles, which are ordered for the future never to be used. It is the general observation of this city that this has only been a scheme laid, if possible, to entrap the Vizier, and take away his life ; but he has been so continually on his guard that nothing could be effected. So once more all is calmed, much to his (the Vizier's) honour, and the entire disgrace of all Tartars in general; they being almost all turned out of ser- vice a few great ones excepted. Amir Jumla is now twenty coss off this place on his way to Lahore, at present without any command post. But it is reported he will enjoy the former 1 This was the man who afterwards became famous as Subuhtlar, or Viceroy, of the Dekhan, uiulcr the name of " Nizam-ul-Mulkh," 180 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Arrest and niassaere of the Sikhs at Delhi. Str.aiige l)rocra^tinatiou and Ibrgetlul- ness of Khan Dauraii. by the King's favour. These troubles occasioned the shut- ting up all the cutcherries for this month, so that no busi- ness could possibly go on ; in which ours met the same fate with the rest, being just in the same state as a month ago. Khan Dauran very frequently promises that he will make an end with all possible expedient ; but he is such a strange dilatory man, and withal inaccessible, that we have occasion to summon the utmost of our patience. There is no help for it, for, with all this dilatoriness, he is the only reigning man in the King's Durbar, so that we hope he will at last con- sider, and for his own honour, see us handsomely despatched with all full grant to all our petitions. "The great rebel Guru (Bandu, the Sikh) who has been for these twenty years so troublesome in the province of Lahore, is at length taken with all his family and attendance by the Subahdar, or Viceroy, of that province. Some days ago they entered the city laden with fetters, his whole attendants which were left alive being about 780, all severally mounted on camels, which were sent out of the city for that purpose, besides about 2,000 heads stuck upon poles, being those who died by the sword in battle. He was carried into the presence of the King, and from thence to a close prison. He at present has his life prolonged with most of his officers, in hopes to get an account of his treasure in several parts of his kingdom, and of those that assisted him, when afterwards he will be exe- cuted for the rest. There are one hundred each day beheaded. It is not a little remarkable with what patience they under- go their fate, and to the last it has not been found that one has apostatised from the new formed religion.' ' " Delhi, 21st March. — We have frequently complained to Your Honors of the strange dilatoriness of our patron Khan Dauran. He is never known to sit out in public, and return answers to any manner of business ; so that what can be said to him in the way from his apartment to his palankeen, is 1 This religion was a sort of compound of Hinduism and Muhamniudiin- iara, in which the leading doctrines of both were reconciled by a strange kind of couiproiuisc. ENGLISH IN BENGAL, 1§1 all that can be got; which is so very little for a man of a great business, that many days pass before an opportu- nity can be had even for the least answer; and that his own servant, Sa^'yid Sallabut Khan, who has the management of our affairs under him, and is as intimate as any one with him, can do as little that way as other people. Wherefore the main part of all our business has been managed by notes. This has been a great occasion of the dilatoriness of our affairs ; all which w^e W'cre obliged to bear witli abundance of pa- tience ; still having very fair promises that our business should be done to our satisfaction. Nay, Khan Dauran himself very often, both by word of mouth, and in several notes, promised to do it. A few days ago when Serhaud went to pay his respects as usual to Khan Dauran, and put him in mind of our petition, he was very surprisingly asked what petition ? * Have not I done all your business ? ' To which Khoja Serhaud answered ; but the time and place not allowing of a further explanation, he got into his palankeen and went away. This strange forgetfulness made us, in very pathetic terms, enquire of Sallabut Khan what we might expect after so many promises of having our business effected to our satis- faction. When we had so long and patiently waited, and been at so great an expence, to be thus answered was very surpriz- ing, and what we did not nor could not expect in the least. We were answered that daily experience might convince us of the strange carriages and forgetfulness of that great man. Still bidding us not to despond, but that everything would go very well after so many fair promises as we before had received. This gave us but small satisfaction and the rather made us the more inquisitive, which gave us this further light, viz., that Khan Dauran had been advised by his own officers that it was not his business to persuade the Kino> to sign our petition, but that it was better to get the Vizier to advise the King what things were proper to be granted us. We were in hope that in case we would have got those peti- tions granted us by the means of Khan Dauran, that after- wards the Vizier would not gainsay it, as at least by a little bribery it might have passed. There have been several 182 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. More delays. Fighting at the Moghul Court, Alarm of the Woghul, endeavours made to get an opportunity to speak with Khan Daurau, so as to convince him; but none has been procurable. We fear the petition in this interim may be gone in, and will come out signed by the Vizier as before mentioned. " Yesterday the King, contrary to the advice of the Vizier, and purely on his own will, went out a hunting and all the grandees to their tents. The place at present mentioned is about eighteen coss off j but God knows what may be the de- signs of it, or where he will march to. This obliges us to follow him to-morrow or next day, leaving Mr. Edward Stephenson and Phillips behind to take care of the Honourable Company^s effects here. Should the petition come out signed as above mentioned, we shall be obliged to make a new address to the Vizier; which will not only protract this negotiation, but must lay us open to a denial, and at the best very expensive. We shall advise Your Honors as soon as we have any hopes of success, which God send, or what we shall be obliged to recede from." '^ Delhi, 20th April. — Whilst the King was encamped four- teen coss from Delhi in order to hunt, there happened a quarrel between the people of Khan Dauran and Mabmud Amil Khan, as they came from the Durbar; which, after their masters got into their tents, ended in a downright fight, wherein they fired with small arms, bombs and great guns for about two hours, notwithstanding the King's repeated com- mand to forbear, yet was it at last made up after about a hundred men were killed and wounded. The King was highly displeased with the liberty they took, and resented it to both of them. But at present all is made up, and His Majesty again reconciled to them.'' The story of the further delays that ensued may be passed over in silence. Suddenly the news reached Delhi, that the English at Siu-at had removed to Bombay, in order to escape from the oppression of the Nawab of Surat. The Court at Delhi was alarmed lest the English should again make war on ENGLISH IN BENGAL. 183 tlic Mogliul ships. Every demand was granted. A firman was made out and signed. The following extract describes the farewell audience : — "Delhi, 7th June 1717. — The 23rd ultimo, John Surman Farewell audi- received from his Majesty a horse and cung-er, as was pre- appointed; and the 30th ultimo we were sent for by Khan Dauran to receive our dispatches, which we had accordingly ; a serpaw and culg-ee being- given to John Surman, and serpaws to Serhaud and Edward Stephenson, as likewise to the rest of our companions. We were ordered to pass, one by one, to our obeisance ; then to move from the Dewan. We did S3. But when it came to Mr. Hamilton's turn, he was told the King had granted him a vest as a mark of his favour, but not for his dispatch. So he was ordered up to his standing again. Whilst he was performing this, the King got up. We were highly surprised at this unexpected mo- tion, not having the least notice of it till that minute, either from our patron or any of authority ; it being near a twelve- month since Mr. Hamilton had been in private with His Majesty, and in all this time not the least notice taken. We were very much concerned at his detainment, and the more because we were assured of his firm aversion to accepting the service, even with all its charms of vast pay, honour, &c. ; that if the King did detain him by force, if he outlived the trouble of his esteeming imprisonment, he might be endea- vouring at an escape, which every way had its ill consequences. " To free our Honorable Masters from any damages that Troubles of the might accrue to them from the passionate temper of the Kino-, °^'^ our patron Khan Dauran was applied to for leave, twice or thrice; but he positively denied to speak or even have a hand in this business, till our friend Sayyid Sallabut Khan had an opportunity to lay the case open to him, when he ordered us to speak to the Vizier, and, if by any means we could gain him to intercede, that he would back it. " We made a visit to the Vizier the 6th instant, and laid the case open to him in a petition from Mr. Hamilton, Ig4 EARLY ItEOOIlDS OF BRITISH INDIA. of how little service he could be without any phj^sic, language or experience iu the country medicines, or their nanies; besides which the heart-breaking distractions of being parted for ever from his wife and children would be insupportable, and entirely take away his qualificatious for the King's service ; that under the favour of His Majesty's clemency, with the utmost submission, he desired that he might have leave to depart with us. From ourselves we informed the Vizier that we should have esteemed this a very great honour, but finding the Doctor under these troubles not to be persuaded, we were obliged to lay the case before His Majesty, and we humbly desired he would use his inter- cessions to the King, that His Majesty might be prevailed upon to dispatch him. The good Vizier readily offered to use his utmost endeavours ; and since the case was so, the business was to gain the Doctor's dispatch without displeasing the King ; and he ordered a petition to be drawn up to His Majesty in the same form as that given to himself. It was sent him, and the Vizier was as good as his word ; writing a very pathetic address to His Majesty, enforcing Mr. Hamil- ton's reasons and backing them with his own opinion, that it was better to let him go. The King returned an answer, which came out the 6th, as follows : ^ Since he is privy to my disease, and perfectly understands his business, I would very fain have kept him, and given him whatsoever he should have asked. But seeing he cannot be brought on any terms to be content I agree to it ; and on condition that after he has gone to Europe and procured such medicines as are not to be got here and seen his wife and children, he return to visit the Court once more, let him go.' We hope in God the troublesome business is now blown over." Death of The English mission to Delhi, and story of Dr. Hamilton : in- -\r i i u^mh'""" °°^'' Hamilton's success in curmg the great Moghul, were long rememhered at Calcutta. Hamilton died soon after his retm-n to Bengal. The news of his death was sent to Delhi, hut the Emioeror, Earrukh Siyar, KXciLlSlI IN BENGAL. ] g5 would not believe it. lie sent an officer of rank to make enquiries at Calcutta. The tombstone of the dead surgeon is still to be seen. It bears an English ejiitaph, together Avith a Persian inscription, which has been thus translated : — " Willi-im Hamilton, Physician in the service of the Eng-- lish Company, who had accompanied the English ambassadors to the enlightened presence, and having- made his own name famous in the four quarters of the earth by the cure of the Emi)eror, the asylum of the world, Muhammad Farrukh Siyar, the victorious ; and, with a thousand difficulties, having- ob- tained permission from the Court which is the refug-e of the universe, to return to his country ; by the Divine decree, on the fourth of December 1717, died in Calcutta, and is buried here.'' Within two or three years of the departure of the cioody quarrels English mission from Delhi, the reign of Earrukh " Siyar was brought to a troubled close. The two brothers found it impossible to trust the sovereign whom they had placed on the throne. They sur- rounded the palace with their armies. During the night the wildest rumours were spreading through Dellii. Husain had brought up an army of Malu'attas from the Dekhan ; it was said that the Mahrattas were plundering the city. The Muham- madans turned out in a panic and massacred hun- dreds of Mahrattas. At early morning the tumult was over. All that night a tragedy had been going on in Mnrder of the Em icror the palace. Earrukh Siyar refused to leave the ^'''""'''i ^'^'"'' harem. It was no time for respecting the harem. Abdulla Khan ordered a band of Afghans to force 186 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. the doors. ParruMi Siyar was half dead with fear. The women filled the air with shrieks and screams ; they tried in vain to screen him. He was dragged from their arms and thrust into a dungeon. A hot ii'on was drawn across his eyes ; henceforth he was unfit to reign. A child was taken out of the state prison and placed upon the throne. The kettle- drums were sounded at the palace gate. The can- non hoomed through the morning air. All men knew that Farrukh Siyar had ceased to reign ; that another Emperor was reigning in his stead. Delhi was tranquil. Two months afterwards, Farrukh Siyar was murdered in his dungeon. His remains were huried in the famous tomb of Humayun.^ English settle- Tlic statc of Calcutta at this period is best ments in Bengal, ^'^'^- gathered from the narrative of Captain Hamilton, the same man who has described Madras and Fort Saint George in 1720, or thereabouts. Captain Hamilton furnishes not only a curious account of Calcutta, but notices all the English settlements in Bengal, beginning with Piply. The following extracts appear authentic : — Ruin of Piply by « Piplv Hes OH the banks of a river supposed to be a branch the removal to Hugii and of the Gano^es, about five leag-ues from that of Ballasore : Calcutta. . formerly it was a place of trade^ and was honoured with Eng-lish and Dutch factories. The country produces the same commodities that Ballasore does ; at present it is reduced to beg-g-ary by the removal of the English factory to Hug-hly and Calcutta, the merchants being all gone. It is now inhabited by fi.shers, as are also Ing-ellie, and Kidgcrie, two neighbouring islands on the west side of the mouth of Ganges. These 1 Scott's History of the Successors of Aurungzeb, ENGLISH IX BENGAL. Ig7 islands abound also in tame swine, where they are sold very cheap, for I have bought oue-aud-twenty good hogs, between 50 and 80 pound weight each, for seventeen rupees, or forty-five shillings sterling. Those islands send forth dangerous sand banks, that are both numerous and large, and make the navi- gation out and in to Hughly River both troublesome and dangerous ; and after we pass those islands, in going up the river the channel for shipping is on the east side, and several creeks run from the channel among a great number of islands^ formed by different channels of Ganges, two of which are more remarkable than the rest, viz., Coxe^s and Sagor Islands, where great ships were obliged to anchor to take in part of their cargoes, because several places in the river are too shallow for great ships to pass over, when their whole cargoes are aboard. " There are no inhabitants on those islands, for they are so coxe'sand pestered with tigers that there could be no security for human creatures to dwell on them ; nay, it is even dangerous to laud on them, or for boats to anchor near them, for in the night they have swimmed to boats at anchor, and carried men out of them ; yet among the Pagans, the Island Sagor is accounted holy, and great numbers of Jougies go yearly thither in the months of November and December, to wor- ship and wash in salt-water, though many of them fall sacrifices to the hungry tigers. " The first safe anchoring place in the river, is off the mouth Anchorage at - . . , , Id 1 Kogue's River, of a river about twelve leagues above bagor, commonly known by the name of Rogue's River, which had that ap- pellation from some banditti Portuguese, who were followers of Sultan Shuja, when Amfr Jumla, Aurungzeb's general, drove that unfortunate prince out of his province of Bengal ; for those Portuguese, having no way to subsist, after their master's flight to the kingdom of Arakan, betook them- selves to piracy among the islands at the mouth of the Ganges ; and that river having communication with all the channels from Chittagong to the westward, from this river they used to sally out, and commit depredations on those that traded in the river of Hughly. IftS EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Cfllculta, .Tiian- parrtua, and Kaduagur. Danish house. " About fivG leag-ues farther up, on the west side of the riv^ev of Hug-hly, is another branch of the Ganges, called Gang-a. It is broader than that of Hughly, but much shallower, and more incumbered with sand banks; a little below the mouth of it the Danes have a thatched house, but for what reasons they kept a house there, I never could learn. " Along the river of Hughly there are many small villages and farms, intersperst in those large plains, but the first of any note on the river^s side is Calculta, a market town for corn, coarse cloth, butter, and oil, with other productions of the country. Above it is the Dutch Bankshall, a place where their ships ride when they cannot get farther up for the too swift currents of the river. Calculta has a large deep river that runs to the eastward, and so has Juanpardoa ; and on the west side there is a river that runs by the back of Hughly Island, which leads up to Radnagur, famous for manufacturing cotton cloth, and silk romaals, or handkerchiefs. Buffundri and Trefiudi, or Gorgat and Cottroug, are on that river, which produce the greatest quantities of the best sugars in Bengal. " A little higher up on the east side of Hughly River, is Ponjelly, a village where a corn mart is kept once or twice in a week ; it exports more rice than any place on this river ; and five leagues farther up on the other side, is Tanna Fort, built to protect the trade of the river, at a place convenient enough, where it is not above half a mile from shore to shore ; but it never was of much use, for in the year 1686, when the English Company quarrelled with the Moghul, the Company had several great ships at Hughly, and this Fort was manned in order to hinder their passage down the river. One 60- gun ship approaching pretty near the Fort, saluted it with a broadside, which so frightened the Gov^ernor and his myr- midons, that they all deserted their post, and left their castle to be plundered by the English seamen. About a Governaporo. league farther up on the other side of the river, is Gov- ernapore, where there is a little pyramid built for a land- mark, to confine the Company^s Colony of Calcutta, or Fort Ponjelly, Tanna Fort. ENGLISH IN BEXlIAL. 189 ■William. On that side, and aLout a league farther up, stands Fort William. " TheEnjrlish settled at Calcutta about the year 1690, after settlement at ^ . , Calcutta by the Moii'hul had pardoned all the rohberies and murders com- Job ohanuock, f^ ' . 1690. mitted on his subjects. Mr. Job Channock beinj;- then the Com- pany's Agent in Bengal, he had liberty to settle an emporium in any part on the river's side below Hughly; and for the sake of a large shady tree chose that place, though he could not have chosen a more uuhealthful place on all the river ; for three miles to the north-eastward, is a salt water lake that overflows in September and October, and then prodigious numbers of fish resort thither ; but in November and Decem- ber when the floods are dissipated, those fishes are left dry, and with their putrefaction affect the air with thick stinking vapours, which the north-east winds bring with them to Fort William, that they cause a yearly mortality. One year I was there, and there were reckoned in August about twelve hundred English, some military, some servants to the Com- pany, some private merchants residing in the town, and some seamen belonging to shipping lying at the town ; and before the beginning of January there were four hundred and sixty burials registered in the clerk's book of mortality. " Mr. Channock choosino- the ground of the colony, where Despotic power ° ® . 1 '^^ Mr.Chanuock. it now is, reigned more absolute than a liaja, only he wanted much of their humanity, for when any poor ignorant native transgressed his laws, they were sure to undergo a severe whipi)ing for a penalty, and the execution was generally done when he was at dinner, so near his dining-room that the groans and cries of the poor delinquent served him for music. " The country about being overspread with Paganism, the story of Mr. •1 • -ii- 1 111 1 • <"liannock'.s custom of Wives burning with their deceased husbands, is Native wife, also practised here. Before the Moghul's war, Mr. Channock weiit one time with his ordinary guard of soldiers, to see a young widow act that tragical catastrophe; but he was so smitten with the widow's beauty, that he sent his guards to ' This name is somtimes spelt Cburuock. 190 EARLY RECORDS OF BIIITISII INDIA. Fort William and English houses. Story of Sir Edward Little- ton. Mr. Wt'ldou. take her by force from her executioners^ aud conducted her to his own lodg'ings. They lived lovingly many years, and had several children. At leng-th she died, after he had set- tled in Calcutta; but instead of converting her to Christianity she made him a proselyte to Paganism; and tlie only part of Christianity that was remarkable in him, was burying her decently. He built a tomb over her, where all his life after her death, he kept the anniversary day of her death by sacrificing a cock on her tomb, after the Pagan manner; this was and is the common report, and I have been credibly informed, both by Christians and Pagans, who lived at Calcutta under his Agency, that the story was really true matter of fact. "Fort William was built an irregular tetragon, of brick and mortar, called puckah, which is a composition of brick-dust, lime, molasses, and cut hemp ; and when it comes to be dry, is as hard and tougher than firm stone or brick. The town was built without order, as the builders thought most con- venient for their own affitirs ; every one taking in what ground best pleased them for gardening, so that in most houses you must pass through a garden into the house ; the English building near the river's side, and the natives within-land. " The Agency continued till the year 1705. Then the old and new Companies united, and then it became a split Government, the old and new Companies' servants governing a week about, which made it more anarchical than regular. Sir Edward Littleton was Agent and Consul for the new Company at Ilughly when this union of the Companies was made; and then he was ordered to remove his factory to Calcutta, and, being of an indolent disposition, had left his accounts with the Company run behind. He was suspended, but lived at Calcutta till 1707, when he died there. He was the only President or precedent in the Company^s service that lost an estate of seven hundred pounds per annum in so profitable a post in their service. "This double-headed Government continued in Calcutta till January 1707. Then Mr. Weldon anived with the Company's ENGLISH IN BENGAL. 101 commission to settle it at Bombay and Fort St. George, which were under the management of a Governor and Council, which those of the direction in England took to be a better way to promote their own creatures, as well as their own interest. His term of governing was very shorty and he took as short a way to be enriched by it, by harassing the people to fill his coffers. "Yet he was very shy in taking' bribes, referring those Seandais about ' ,. . bribes. honest folks, who trafficked that way, to the discretion of his wife and daughter, to make the best bargain they could about the sum to be paid, and to pay the money into their hands. I could give many instances of the force of bribery, both here and elsewhere in India, but am loth to ruffle the skin o£ old sores. " About fifty yards from Fort William stands the church Divine Service. built by the pious charity of merchants residing there, and the Christian benevolence of sea-faring men, whose affairs call them to trade there ; but Ministers of the Gospel being subject to mortality, very often young merchants are obliged to officiate, and have a salary of 50/. per annum added to what the Company allows them, for their pains in reading prayers and sermons on Sundays. " The Governor's house in the Fort, is the best and most Governor's . house. regular piece of architecture that I ever saw in India. And there are many convenient lodgings, for factors and writers, within the Fort, and some store-houses for the Company's goods, and the magazines for their ammunition. " The Company has a pretty good hospital at Calcutta, Hospital, where many go in to undergo the penance of physick, but iisii-ponds. few come out to give account of its operation. The Company has also a pretty good garden that furnishes the Governor's table with herbage and fruits; and some fish-ponds to serve his kitchen with good carp, calkops, and mullet. " j\Iost of the inhabitants of Calcutta that make any toler- able figure have the same advantages ; and all sorts ot provisions, both wild and tame, being plentiful, good and cheap, as well as clothing, make the country very agreeable. 192 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Docks on thp opposite bank. Social life of the Kn^lish in Bengal. Enfflish Boldiers. notwithstanding the iibove-mentioned inconveniencies that attend it. " On the other side of tlie river are docks made for repairing- and fitting- their ships' bottoms^ and a pretty good garden belonging to the Armenians, that had been a better place to have built their Fort and Town in for many reasons. One is, that, where it now stands, the afternoon's sun is full in the fronts of the houses, and shines hot on the streets, that are both above and below the Fort ; the sun would have sent its hot rays on the back of the houses, and the fronts, had been a good shade for the streets. " Most gentlemen and ladies in Bengal live both splendidly and pleasantly, the forenoons being dedicated to business, and after dinner to rest, and in the evening to recreate them- selves in chaises or palankins in the fields^ or to gardens, or by water in their budgeroes, which is a convenient boat that goes swiftly with the force of oars. On the river some- times there is the diversion of fishing or fowling, or both ; and before night they make friendly visits to one another when pride or contention do not spoil society, which too often they do among the ladies, as discord and faction do among the men. And although the * Conscript Fathers' of the colony disagree in many points among themselves, yet they all agree in oppressing strangers who are consigned to them, not suffering them to buy or sell their goods at the most advantageous market, but of the Governor and his Council, who fix their own prices, high or low, as seemeth best to their wisdom and discretion : and it is a crime hardly pardonable for a private merchant to go to Hughly, to inform himself of the current prices of goods, although the liberty of buying and selling is entirely taken from him before, "The garrison of Fort William generally consists of two or three hundred soldiers, more for to convey their fleet from Patna, with the Company's saltpetre, and piece goods, raw silk and some opium belonging to other merchants, than for the defence of the Fort ; for, as the Com})any holds their colony in feetail of the Moghul, they need not be afraid of any enemies ENGLIi^H IN BENGAL. I93 comiiii^ to dispossess them. Atid if they shoukl, at any time, quarrel again with the Moghul, his prohibiting his subjects to trade with the Company would soon end the quarrel. " There are some impertinent troublesome Rajas, whose ter- Transit duties ritories lie on the banks of" the Ganges, between Patna and Kaj'as. ^ ''* ^ Cossimbazaar, who pretend to lay a tax on all goods and mer- chandize that pass by, or through their dominions on the river, and often raise forces to compel payment; but some forces from Fort William in boats generally clear the passage, though I have known some of our men killed iu the skirmishes. " In Calcutta all religions are freely tolerated but the Pres- cifrerent byterian, and that they brow-beat. The Pagans carry their idols in procession through the town. The Roman Catho- licks have their Church to lodge their idols in, and the Mahometan is not discountenanced ; but there are no pole- mics, except what are between our High-church n)en and our Low, or between the Governor's party and other private merchants on points of trade. " The colony has very little manufactory of its own, for the Tniusticeof the Government, being pretty arbitrary, discourages ingenuity (iovernora. and industry in the populace ; for, by the weight of the Company's authority, if a native chances to disoblige one of the upper-house, he is liable to arbitrary punishment, either by fine, imprisonment or corporal sufferings. I will give one instance, out of many that I knew, of the injustice of a Governor of the double-headed Government in the year 1706. "There was one Captain Perrin, master of a ship, who took story of Coptaiu up about five hundred pounds on respondentia from Mr. Ralph eraTr^sheidJu'r Sheldon, one of the Governors, on a voyage to Persia, payable at his return to Bengal. Perrin, having dispatched his affairs in Persia sooner than he expected, called at Goa on hig way home, and bought a Surat-built ship very cheap, and carried her to Calicut and took in a quantity of pepper for the Bengal market ; and having brought iu his other ship good store of Persian wines, called at Fort St. George to dispose of what he could there, but, finding no encouragement from that N 194 EARLY RECOEDS OF BRITISH INDIA. market, carried it to Bengal. On bis arrival he compli- mented Mr. Sheldon with the offer of his pepper and wine, but he declined meddling with that bargain farther than with as much of the pepper, at the current price, as would balance his account of principal and respondentia. Accord- ingly Perrin delivered so much pepper, and, on the delivery, required his bond up, but the Governor told him, that he being a fellow troubled with the spirit of interloping in buying goods, and taking freights where he could best get them, he would keep that bond as a curb on him, that he should not spoil his markets for the future. Poor Perrin used all his rhetoric to get his bond up, but to no purpose ; and the Governor, moreover, gave his wine a bad name, so that he could not dispose of that either; and all this oppression was in order to strain him, that he might be obliged to sell his new purchased ship, at a low price, to him and his associates ; which, at last, he was obliged to do, holding a quarter part in his own hands, to secure the command of her to himself, which after all he could hardly do. Perrin made his com- plaint to me, but I was in no condition to assist him, because I, having three or four large ships at Bengal, was reckoned a criminal guilty of that unpardonable sin of interloping. How- ever I advised Perrin to comply with his inexorable master, on any terms of agreement whatsoever; which he endeavoured to do, that he might at least keep the command of his ship, where he was so much concerned, and had hardly done it but by accident. One day, meeting me on the green near the Fort, he stopt me to relate his griveances, and begged that, if he was turned out of his own ship, he might have an employ in one of mine, which I promised he should. Hamilton's in- " Sheldou cspicd US, out of a wiudow, holding a long con- fabulation, and being impatient to know about what, sent a servant to call Perrin ; and he, obeying the summons, was interrogated about what our discourse was ; and he told the promise I had made him. Sheldon told him that he was as capable to employ him as I could be. Perrin answered that he knew that, but wished that he would be as willing terfercnce. ENGLISH IN BENGAL. 195 too ; so Sheldon promisod that he should command his own ship to Persia. " But the wine still lay unsold, though it was scarce then story of the in Beng-al ; but the name that it got, first at Fort St. George, and afterwards in Fort William, stuck so fast to it, that none of it would go off at any price j so I advised him to carry it off in the night, in my boats, on board o£ one of ray ships, and I would try if I could serve him in selling it; ■which accordingly he did, and two gentlemen of the Council, being that season bound for England, coming one day to dine with me, I treated them, and the rest of my company, with that Persian wine, which they all praised, and asked me where I got it. I told them that, knowing that good wines would be scarce at Bengal that year, I had provided a good quantity at Surat, from whence I had come that season. Every one begged that I would spare them some chests, which I condescended to do as a favour; and next day sent them what they wanted, at double the price the owner de- manded for it, while he had it ; and so got off above a hun- dred and twenty chests, which enabled Mr. Perrin to satisfy most of his creditors.^ '^ The Companv's colony is limited by a land-mark at Territory and 11 11 11- p.ipulution of Governapore, and another near Barnagui, about six miles the Oimipauy's Til 1 Jill 1- 111 settlement. distant; and the salt-water lake bounds it on the land side. It may contain, in all, about ten or twelve tliousand souls ; and the Company's revenues are pretty good, and w^ell jiaid. They rise from ground-rents and consulage on all goods im- ported by British subjects ; but all nations besides are free from taxes. " Barnagui is the next village on the river's side, above Barnaf?ui. Calcutta, where the Dutch have the house and garden. " There are several other villages on the river sides, in the D.inisii colony. way to Huglily, which lies twenty miles above Barnagui, but none remarkable, till we come to the Danes' factory, which 1 It must be borne in mind that Cnptain Hauiiltou was an interloper, and therefore a natural enemy of the Company, and very prone to believe anything evil concerning them. 190 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. stands about four miles below Hughly ; but the poverty of the Danes has made them desert it^ after having- robbed the Moghul's subjects of some of their shipping, to keep them- selves from starving. Danish and " Almost ODDOsite to the Daue^s factory is Bankebanksal/ French Com. ^- '' panies. ^ place where the Ostend Company settled a factory, but, in the 3'ear 1723, they quarrelled with the Fouzdar or Governor of Hughly, and he forced the offenders to quit their factory, and seek protection from the Frencli at Chandernagore, where their factory is, but, for want of money, are not in a capacity to trade. They have a few private families dwelling near the factory, and a pretty little church to hear ]\Iass in, which is the cliief business of the French in Bengal. Tt'cMusu!^? ''About half a league farther up is Chinsura, where the Dutch emporium stands. It is a large factory, walled high with brick. And the factors have a great many good houses standing pleasantly on the river^s side; and all of them have pretty gardens to their houses. The settlement at Chinsura is wholly under the Dutch Company^s Government. It is about a mile long, and about the same breadth, well in- habited by Armenians and the natives. It is contiguous to Hughly, and affords sanctuary for many poor natives, when they are in danger of being oppressed by the MoghuPs Gov- ernor, or his harpies. Hughly. " Hughly is a town of a large extent, but ill built. It reaches about two miles along the river's side, from Chin- sura before mentioned to Bandel, a colony formerly set- tled by the Portuguese, but the Moghul's Fouzdaar governs both at present. This town of Hughly drives a great trade, because all foreign goods are brought thither for import, and all goods of the product of Bengal are brought hither for exportation. And the MoghuFs custom-house is at this place. It affords rich cargoes for fifty or sixty ships yearly. ' The term " BanksoU " has always beeu a puzzle to the English in India It is horrowed from the Dutch. The "Soil" is the Dutch or Danish " Zoll," the English " Toli." The Bauk-;oll was thus the place ou the " bank " where all tolls or duties were levied ou laudiiigf yroods. ENGLISH IN BENGAL. 197 besides wluit is carried to neig'hbouring countries in small vessels; and tliere are vessels that bring- saltpetre from Patna^ above fifty yards long", and five broad, and two and a half deep, and can carry above two linndred tons. They come down in the month of October, before the stream of the river, but are obliged to track them up ag-aiu, with strength of hand, about a thousand miles. To mention all the particular species of g-oods that this rich country produces is far beyond my skill; but, in our East India Company^s sales, all the sorts, that are sent hence to Europe, may be found; but opium, long- pepper and ginger are commodities that the trading shipping in India deals in, besides tobacco, and many sorts of piece goods that are not merchantable in Europe. " Now this being ray farthest travels up the famous Ganges, Cossimbazar. I must advance farther on the report of others, and so I begin with Cossimbazaar, about hundred miles north of Hughly, where the English and Dutch have their respective factories, aud, by their Companies^ orders, the seconds of Council ought to be chiefs of those factories. The town is large, and much frequented by merchants, which never fails of making a place rich. The country about it is very healthful and fruit- ful, and pi-odiiees industrious people, who cultivate many valuable manufactories. " Murshedabad is but twelve miles from it, a place of much Murshedabad. greater antiquity, and the Moghul has a mint there. It was, in former times, the greatest place of trade and commerce on the Ganges, but now its trade aud grandeur adorns Cossimbazaar. " About forty or fifty miles to the eastward of Murshedabad, Maida. on another channel of the Ganges, is Malda, a large town, well inhabited and frequented by merchants ; the English and Dutch had factories there, but whether they are con- tinued still, I know not. " Patna is the next town frequented by Europeans, where Patua. the English and Dutch have factories for saltpetre and raw silk. It produces also so much opium that it serves all the countries in India with that commodity. It is the place of 198 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. residence of the Viceroy of Bengal^ who is always of the blood royal. The town is larg-e, but the houses built at some distance from oue another. The country is pleasant and fruitful ; and the town lies in 20 deg-rees of latitude to the northward of the equator. Benares. " Bcnarcs Hcs about a hundred miles farther up the river, celebrated for its sanctity by all persons over India, where paganism prevails. Here are seminaries and universities for the education of youth, and to initiate them into the mys- teries of their religion. Auruugzeb restrained the priests from showing the madness of their zeal, for they found out some weak dotards, who, for ostentation, would go to the top of a high tower, and leap down where divers pointed weapons were placed in the spot they were to fall on, and among them they ended their silly lives. It is still in so much veneration that I have known young and old Banyans go from Surat thither overland, out of devotion, which is computed to be a distance of four hundred miles. The priests fill brass and copper pots, made in the shape of short-necked bottles, with Ganges water, which they consecrate and seal up, and send those bottles, which contain about four English gallons, all over India, to their benefactors, who make them good returns, for whoever is washed with that water just before they expire, are washed as clean from their sins as a new-born babe. Daoca. '^ I have ventured so far into this tenra-incogiiita on the Ganges, that I dare venture no farther, but must visit Dacca, which lies under the tropic of Cancer, on the broadest and easterraost branch of Ganges. The city is the largest in Bengal, and it manufactures cotton and silk the best and cheapest. The plenty and cheapness of provisions are in- credible, and the country is full of inhabitants, but it breeds none of tolerable courage, for five or six armed men will chase a thousand. Yet, about two centuries ago, Dacca had its own Kings^ but when Jehangir,the Emperor of the Moghuls, over-ran Bengal with a victorious army, a detachment of twenty thousand men was sent down to Dacca, on whose approach the poor Bengal King surrendered his kingdom. ENGLISH IN BENGAL. 199 without once drawing- his sword in its defence, and so it easily became annexed to the ^Mojj^huFs dominions. "That branch of the Gang-es disembogues into the sea at chittasonff. Chittagong, or, as the Portuguese call it, Xatigara, about fifty leagues below Dacca ; and this place confines the MoghuFs dominions to the eastwards. The distance between Sagor, the westernmost channel of the Ganges, and Cbittagong eastern- most, is about a hundred leagues, the maritime coast being divided into many small islands made by the currents of the Ganges, but very few are inhabited, because they are so pestered with tigers that there is little safety for other inhabitants; and there are also many rhinoceroses on those islands, but they are not so dangerous neighbours as the tigers, yet, when provoked, they will assault any living thing. Nature has endued him with two particular rarities out of her stores. One is a large horn placed on his nose. The second is a coat of mail to defend him from the teeth or claws of other fierce animals. His tongue is also somewhat of a rarity, for, if he can but get any of his antagonists down, he w' ill lick them so clean that he leaves neither skin nor flesh to cover their bones ; but he is seldom known to be an aggressor, except when he meets with an elephant; then he sharpens his horn and assaults, though he is much inferior to the elephant in bulk and strength, being no bigger than a very large ox, yet he often overcomes in spite of the elephant's teeth. " Sundiva is an island four leagues distant from the rest, suudiva. and so far it lies in the sea; it is about twenty leagues in circum- ference, and has three fathoms water within a mile of the shore, and it may serve to shelter small ships from the raging seas, and winds of the south-west monsoons. I was credibly informed by one that wintered there, that he bought 580 pounds weight of rice for a rupee, or half a crown, eight geese for the same money, and sixty good tame poultry for the same, and cloth is also incredibly cheap. It is but thinly inhabited, but the people simple and honest. " The religion of Bengal by law established, is Mahometan : a hundred yet ior one Mahometan there are above a hundred Pagans, Musauimaa. 200 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Lia;htnesB of Jloghul taxa- tiou. Hamilton's iniporleft iufurmatiou. Death of Mnr- blied Kiili Khau. Rise of Aliverdi Khuu. aud the public offices and posts of trust are filled promis- cuously with men of both persuasions. " The Hindus are better contented to live under the Mog-hul's laws than under pag-an Princes, for the jNIoghul taxes them gently, and every one knows what he must pay, but the pagan Kings or Princes tax at discretion, making their own avarice the standard of equity ; besides there were formerly many small Rajas, that used, upon frivolous occasions, to pick quarrels with one another, and before they could be made friends again, their subjects were forced to open both their veins and purses to gratify ambition or folly." Such were the European settlements in Bengal as they appeared to a ship captain in tlie early- years of the eighteenth century. Of the Moghul government of the Nawah, Hamilton knew no- thing. He says that a prince imperial resided at Patna as Viceroy of Bengal. But there had heen no Viceroy of Bengal resident in the province since the death of Aurungzeh in 1707. At the time of Hamilton's voyages up the Biver Hughli, Murshed Kuli Khan, or one of his successors, must have been Nawah of Bengal, residing at Murshedahad. Murshed Kuli Khan died in 1724. He was succeeded in turn by a son-in-law and grandson. Neither of these two Nawahs were men of any cha- racter. In 1712 the grandson was overthrown hy a rebel, named Aliverdi Khan. This man is a type of the adventurers who were abroad in those days. Aliverdi Khan is said to have been originally a hookah-bearer to the Nawab. He was ultimately made deputy governor of Behar. At this period he conquered most of the Hindu Bajas in Behar, ENGLISH IN BENGAL. 201 eitlicr by force or treachery. One story will serve as an illustration of his administration. There was a once famous Raia in Behar, known K..,iaoMh« CUukwara. as the Eaja of the Chukwars. He had a town, named Samba over against Monghyr. The English knew him well, for he levied duties on all goods going up or down the river between Calcutta and Patna, and there had been many a fight between the English escort and the Raja and liis followers. He was, in fact, one of those petty Rajas who col- lected, or tried to collect, arbitrary imposts on all goods i^assiug through their neighbourhood. No doubt these imposts were a kind of black mail. This Raia of the Chukwars had always set the independent of •^ '' the old Raja : Moghuls at defiance ; he would pay neither tribute the jouDrRak nor homage to Aliverdi Khan. He died about 1730 ; his son succeeded to the Raj. The son sub- mitted to Aliverdi Khan and paid a yearly tri- bute. Both sides feared treachery. Accordingly it was agreed that when the Raja paid his yearly tribute, he should be accompanied by tliirty fol- lowers and no more. In like manner it was asrreed that the ofiicer who received the tribute should also have only thirty followers. This rule was strictly observed for four years in succession. On the fifth year, when the tribute was about Treachd j of Aliverdi to be 2^aid, the Company s servants at Calcutta '^''^• w^ere sending goods and treasure to Patna under the charge of an escort of soldiers. The goods were in charge of a yomig merchant named llol- wcll. llolwell and the Major conmiandiug the 202 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. escort saw a boat passing by, and called on it to stop as they wanted some fish. The boat came up with six baskets on board. Instead of fish, they contained the bleeding heads of the Raja and liis thirty followers. All had been murdered by the treachery of the officer of Aliverdi Khan. It turned out that an ambuscade had been set by the order of Aliverdi Khan ; that the Haja and his thirty followers had all been treacherously attacked, murdered, and beheaded ; that the heads had been sent away to Patna to satisfy Aliverdi Khan. That same night the Haja's town of Samba was sacked and burnt by the forces of Aliverdi Klian.^ Persian invasion Mcanwhilc tlic forcc of tlic Moo'liul empire was muiiT Nadir '^ ^ shai,. 1738-39. ^^^^ wastlug away. Parrukh Siyar was little better than a pageant. His successors fooled away their time with concubines and bufi;oons, and left the administration in the hands of corrupt and unscru- pulous ministers. The empire of Akbar and Au- rungzeb was only held together under their feeble successors by the force of old routine and the prestige of a name. In 1738-39, the empire received a mortal blow. Nadir Shah of Persia advanced with a large army upon Delhi. The story of the invasion of Nadir Shah reveals the fact, that the Moghul empire was rotten to the core. It fur- nishes such a terrible picture of the defenceless state of Hindustan, and is so often referred to in ' Holwell's Tracts. Mr. Holwell states that he himself was an eye-wit- iiess, haviuj; been with the English boats at the time. ENGLISH IN BENGAL. 203 tlic later records, that it cannot be passed over in silence. The Persian empire was founded by the Sufi Afghan conquest ■•• "of Persia ; rise dynasty in the beginning of the sixteenth century, ''' ^'-"^^ ^^''^^ on the ruins of the great Tartar empire created in the fourteenth century by Timur. The Sufi dynasty lingered on for two centuries, and was then overthrown by an Afghan invasion shortly after the death of Aurungzeb in the beginning of the eighteenth century. The Afghan conquest of Pei*sia is one of the most horrible stories of rapine and outrage in the annals of the world. Amidst the general anarchy, a freebooter assumed the sovereignty of Persia, under the name of Nadir Shah. He founded a new Persian empii'e which threatened to rival that of Darius. He conquered all the region to the eastward, — Bokhara, Kabul, and Kandahar. It was natural that Nadir Shah should have ca„scs of the Persian invasion overrun Kabul and Kandahar. He scarcely wanted '"^ ^"'''''• to invade India ; he was drawn into it by the sense- less conduct of the Moghul and his ministers. He sent ambassadors to Delhi ; he received no con- gratulations, and no replies. His aml)assadors were not even dismissed ; they were kept waiting on at Court. He was surprised ; he grew exasperated. The way was open before him; the passes had ceased to be guarded. In former times, a yearly subsidy of twelve lakhs of rupees had served to block up the passes. Part of the money was dis- tributed to the hill tribes ; the remainder was spent 204 EAULY EECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. on garrisons. The worthless Vizier at Delhi kejit back the money for his own use. The posts were abandoned. The army of Nadir Shah moved on unchecked towards Delhi. Meanwhile no reports of the threatened danger reached the doomed capital ; or if any warnings were received, they were wholly disregarded until there was no possibility of repelling the invasion. Incapacity, At last tlic ucws arrlved at the Moghul Court that corruption, and , , treachery. Nadir Shall was coming. A vast mob of Hindu- stanis was gathered together to resist the Persian invaders. Nadii* Shah gained an easy victory. There was no real opposition. The two leading Moghul grandees were quarrelling for the post of Amir-ul- Umra, literally Amir of Amirs, otherwise the chief of all the grandees. One bribed Nadir Shah to return to Persia by a payment of two millions ster- ling ; and was rewarded for his success by being ap- pointed to the coveted post. The disappointed rival Avas so exasperated that in sheer revenge he opened up a communication with Nadir Shah ; told him that the two millions sterling was a mere drop in the ocean when compared with the vast riches wliicli were accumulated in the city and palace at Delhi. In this manner, out of the meanest spite and malice against the Emperor and his ministers, he prevailed ou Nadir Shah to advance and plunder Delhi. ^ ' This is the story told by the Mussulman author of the Siyar-ul- Mutakheriu. Chiii Kulich Khau, the Nizam of the Dekhan, is said to have been the man who purchased the return of Nadir Shah j whilst Sadut Khan, the Nawab of Oudo, is said to have been the traitor. ENCiLISir IX BEXCAL. 205 The story of what followed is horrible. Nadir Massacre, outra(?o, and Shah went to Delhi. lie took up his quarters in ^po'iat'on. the palace. His Persian troops were scattered over the city. Suddenly it was noised abroad that Nadir Shah was killed. The Hindustanis rose up and began to murder the Persians. Hundreds were slaughtered in the panic. The news reached Nadir Shah. He called together his forces. He ordered a general massacre. The mosque is still pointed out in the principal street of Delhi, known as the Chandni Chouk, where Nadir Shah took his seat wliilst the massacre was going on. The murders and outrages that were perpetrated in Delhi, imder the eye of the conqueror, are beyond description. Whenever the Persians found a dead comrade, thev desolated the whole neighbourhood, butchered the people, and committed unspeakable atrocities. In the evening Nadir Shah proclaimed a general par- don. The dead bodies were thrown up in vast heaps with the beams and rafters of the ruined houses, and the whole was set on fire. There was no distinction between Mussulman and Hindu. The spoil was beyond all computation. Besides the general plunder, the hoarded wealth of generations was carried off from the imperial palace at Delhi. The peacock throne vanished for ever. The capture and sack of Delhi by Nadir Shah nreakin^n pot " the Moghul heralded the downfall of the Moghul empire. The ^"^p""^- governors of provinces asserted their independence of the Moghul Emperor, and ceased to remit reve- nue to Delhi. The Mahrattas had long ceased to 206 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. fear the Mogliul power ; they had established do- minions in Malwa and Berar. But hitherto they had been kept toleraljly quiet, as far as Dellii was concerned, by the yearly payment of stipulated shares of the imperial revenue, under the name of chout. After the sack of Delhi by the Persians, there Avas no cliout forthcoming, to keep the Mah- rattas quiet, and they soon began to help them- selves. They began to plunder the Dekhan and the Carnatic, and they soon began to plunder Behar, Bengal, and Orissa. state of Bengal. Whcu Nadir Shah invaded Hindustan, the grand- son of Murshed Kuli Khan was Nawab of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa. The court of Murshedabad was a sink of iniquity and centre of oppression. There was no hope of redress from Delhi ; the court and capital of the Moghul were so prostrate that no heed was paid to Bengal. At last a conspiracy was formed asrainst the Nawab at Murshedabad ; and the conspirators opened up a secret communication with Aliverdi Khan, the deputy Nawab of Behar, who was residing at Patna. The seits, or It would bc dlfficult for any European pen to Hiudu bankers. . e -n r describe the open and avowed depravity or Mur- shedabad during the generation which preceded the rise of British power. One incident is told, wiiich was said to have driven the conspirators into rebellion; but it fails to convey an idea of the open and flagrant debauchery of the Nawab. The Seits or Setts were Hindu bankers settled at Mur- shedabad. Thev were the Rothschilds of India. EXGUSll IX r.EN(!AT.. 207 Their enormous wealth gave them unbounded influ- ence. If there was one man more than anotlier who might hope to escape from the oppression of the Nawab, it was Jugget Seit, the head of the family. A son or grandson of Juc^s^ut Seit was married Lawlessness .,[ ^ ^ ^ the Nawab. in great state at Murshedabad. There were ru- mours about the beauty of the bride; and the Nawab demanded that she should be sent to the X^alace and her face unveiled in his presence. The old Hindu banker prayed to be spared this terrible indignity. The Nawab was deaf to all his prayers ; threatened to surround his house with horsemen and carry off the bride by force. The banker submitted to the shame; he revenged the affront by promot- ing the conspiracy in favour of Aliverdi Khan. It would be useless to dwell on the progress of conspiracy. the intrio-ue between Murshedabad and Patna. It was reported at the time that the Nawab had sent his submission to Nadir Shah ; that the conspiracy was undertaken under a show of punishing the Nawab for his want of fidelity to the Moghul ; and it is very probable that the return of Nadir Shah to Persia, and utter prostration of Delhi, encou- raged Aliverdi Khan to make an attempt on the government of Bengal. In 1741-42, Aliverdi Khan marched an army Rebellion an _^ usurpation of fi'om Patna to Murshedabad. The N awab came A^ivmu Khan. out to meet the rebel, but his generals were trai- tors. His artilleiy would have sufficed to crush the rebellion ; but the guns were only loaded Avith 1711-42. 1742-50. 208 EARLY. IJECORDS OF BRITISH IXDIA. powder. Under such circumstances the Nawal) was soon killed, and then all the generals and grandees went over to Aliverdi Khan. usnrpatinn of In tlus fashlon, Aliverdi Khan usurped the throne Aliverdi Khan, -•- *'^- of Bengal. The Moghul Court at Delhi had been paralysed by the invasion of Nadir Shah, and had neither the power nor the will to interfere. Before that invasion the Moghul court had been compelled to make disgraceful treaties with the Mahrattas. After the invasion it was confidently asserted that the court at Dellii got rid of the Mahrattas by telling them to go and collect cJiout in Bengal. Mahrattas It Is impossiblc to unravel the intris^ues of this invade IJenf^al, ^' period. One thing is certain, that before Aliverdi Khan was fahdy established upon the throne at Murshedabad, the Mahrattas began to invade the provinces of Beliar and Orissa. These Maliratta invasions were repeated almost every year from 174<2 to 1750. It is needless to dwell on the murder, plunder, and outrage that ensued. The people fled from their houses, and crossed the Ganges in shoals, in order to escape to the jungles. The markets were deserted ; the lands were untilled ; and the whole country was a ruin. In 1750 there was peace. Orissa was abandoned to the Mahrattas, and the Nawab agreed to pay a yearly tribute, or chout, for Bengal and Behar. The great European event at tliis jD^i'iod was the war between England and Erance. News of the breaking out of the war reached Calcutta in 1744. The English at Calcutta and the Erencli at Chander- War between England and France, 1714. ENGLISH IN BENGAL. 209 nagore were compelled to live in peace. The Nawab strictly prohibited all hostilities between the two nations within his territories ; and he was strong enough to be implicitly obeyed. But whilst there was peace in Ben 1764 1766 CHAPTER VII. CALCUTTA AND ITS CAPTURE. 1750—56. State of Calcutta, A LL tliis wliile tlie Enfflisli settlement at Cal- 1750-56. ZA ^ ° ^ -^ -^ cutta was like an oasis of European civil- isation in a desert of Hinduism and Islam. The Englisli factory, with its warehouses, workshops, offices, and outlying houses, covered ahout a hun- dred acres on the hank of the Hughli. The native town consisted of three or four large villages, more or less remote from the English factory, and from each other. Some houses may have been huilt of brick and chunam ; some were made of clay and whitewashed; the bulk were hovels of mud and straw. There were pagodas, mosques, tanks, and two or three churches. But Calcutta was not a metropolis. The English factory was only an em- porium of the EngHsh trade in Bengal. Native villages near the factory were growing into a city under the stimulus of manufacture and trade. Mahratta ditch. Thc EugUsh at Calcutta were never attacked by the Mahrattas. As far back as 1742, the native in- habitants had been in great alarm, and obtained permission to dig a ditch at their own expense round the Company's bounds, viz., from the northern part of Chutanuttee to the southern part of Govindpore. CALCUTTA AND ITS CAPTURE. 213 It was known as the Mahratta ditch, and would have sufficed to protect the settlement against the flying parties of light Malu'atta horse. It ran along the ground now occupied by the Circular Hoad. If completed, it would have described a semicircle of seven miles. But the Malu'attas never came, and after six months the work was abandoned. The Mahratta ditch only extended three miles ; but, as far as it went, it served as a boundary of the English settlement at Calcutta on the land side. The population of Calcutta in the middle of the Population. eighteenth century is involved in some mystery. In 1752, it was estimated at four hundred thousand souls ; probably it was little more than half that number.^ The European element did not number more than two or three hundred souls. As com- pared with the native element, it was probably little more than one in a thousand. Between 1752 and 1876, the European element has Calcutta of 1752 and 1876 increased from two or three hundred to nine thousand ""■"P'^^^'i- souls. It has converted the group of native villages into a city of palaces. The roads, the streets, the squares, and the markets, are all European. The villages of mud and straw have grown into a metro- polis of brick and stone. The outlying village of Chowringhee, with the sm'rounding marshes and 1 Mr. Hoi well, who filled the post of English 2iemiiidar of Calcutta in 1752, calculated that there were fifty thousand houses within the Company's bounds, each containing on the average about eight inmates. Mr. Beverley, in his Report on the Census of 1876, points out that this estimate is empirical. The fifty thousand huts and hovels were not likely to contain on an average more than four or five inmates each. 214 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA- rice-fields, has become the aristocratic quarter of the European population. The swamp and jungle which separated Chowringhee from the river, has been formed into the large grassy plain known as the Maidan. The old city has passed away ; the land- marks have disappeared. Yet it is still possible to . picture Calcutta as it was in 1750; — when the British empire was about to dawn; when Eobert Clive w as making a name in the Madras Presidency ; wdien Warren Hastings was landing in Bengal for the first time. European eie- Tlic Europcau clcment in Calcutta was strictly ment at Calcutta. ^ ■ r i t commercial. All rank, excepting that of soldiers and ofiicers in the garrison, was expressed in busi- ness terms. The Company's servants were divided into the four grades of writers, factors, junior merchants, and senior merchants.^ The Governor was originally known as the Agent of the Court of Du'ectors. Tliis commercial term of " Agent" has outlived the growth of empne; to tliis day it is applied to the representatives of the Viceroy at the courts of Native Princes. The Gover- nor presided over a Council of ten or twelve members. Some were absent from Calcutta ; they served as Cliief s of inland factories at Dacca, Cossim- bazar, and Patna ; those wdio remained at Calcutta formed a Board with the Governor as President. Salaries were absurdly low^ ; they were only fractions of the real income. The Company's servants traded ^ The writers were originally termed " apprentices," but the latter name ha^ CALCl'TTA AND ITS CAPTURK. 229 with liiui : the \i\si in Durhai' before seven, when he repeated his assurances to me, on the word of a soldier, that no harm sliould come to us ; and indeed I believe his orders were only- general. That we shoidd for that night be secured ; and that what followed was the result of revenge and resentment in the breasts of the lower Jemadars/ to whose custody we were delivered, for the number of their order killed during the siege. Be this as it may, as soon as it was dark, we were all, without di.stinction, directed by the guard over us, to collect ourselves into one body, and sit down quietly under the arched veranda or piazza, to the west of the Black Hole prison, and the bar- racks to the left of the court of guard; and just over against the windows of the governor's easterly apartments. Besides the guard over us, another was placed at the foot of the stairs at the south end of this veranda, leading up to the south-east bastion, to prevent any of us escaping that way. On the parade (where you will remember the two twenty- four pounders stood) were also drawn up about four or five hundred gun-men with lig-hted matches. *^At this time the factory was in flames to the right and left Factoid in of us; to the right the armory and laboratory; to the left the """"''*• carpenter's yard : though at this time we imagined it was the Company's cloth warehouses. Various were our conjectures on this appearance ; the fire advanced with rapidity on both sides ; and it was the prevailing opinion that they intended suffocating us between the two fires : and this notion was confirmed by the appearance, about half an hour past seven, of some officers and people with lighted torches in their hands, who went into all the apartments under the eastei'ly curtain to the right of us; to which we apprehended they were setting fire, to expedite their scheme of burning us. On this we presently came to a resolution of rushing on the guard, seizing their scimitars, and attacking the troops upon the parade, rather than be thus tamely roasted to death. But to be satisfied of their intentions, I advanced, at the 1 The Duibar was the Assembly of the chief uieu at Court. - All officer of the rank of Sergeant.^ JU^irt^C^ 230 EARLY IIECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. request of Messrs. Baillie, Jenks and Revely, to see if they were really setting" fire to tlie apartments, and found the contrary ; for in fact, as it appeared afterwards, tbey were only searcliing for a place to confine us in ; the last they examined being- the barracks of the court of guard behind us. liravcryof " Here I must detain you a little, to do honour to the Mr. Leech. memory of a man to whom I had in many instances been a friend, and who, on this occasion, demonstrated his sen- sibility of it in a degree worthy of a much higher rank. His name was Leech, the Company's smith, as well as clerk of the parish ; this man had made bis escape when the ISIoghuls entered the Fort, and returned just as it was dark, to tell me he had provided a boat, and would ensure my escape, if I would follow him through a passage few were acquainted with, and by which he had tlien entered. (This might easily have been accomplished, as the guard put over us took but very slight notice of us.) I thanked him in tlie best terms I was able ; but told him it was a step I could not prevail on myself to take, as I should thereby very ill repay the attachment the gentlemen and the garrison had shewn to me ; and that I was resolved to share their fate, be it what it would : but pressed him to secure his own escape without loss of time ; to which he gallantly replied that '* then he was resolved to share mine, and would not leave me.'' Prisoners driven " '^^ my Self aud the world I should surely have stood ilarrafks*ii?to Gxcused in embracing the overture above-mentioned, could 1 the Black Hole, jjaye conceived what immediately followed ; for I had scarce time to make him an answer, before we observed part of the guard drawn up on the parade, advance to us with the officers who had been viewing the rooms. They ordered us all to rise and go into the barracks to the left of the court of guard. The barracks, you may remember, have a large wooden plat- form for the soldiers to sleep on, and are open to the west by arches and a small parapet-wall, corresponding to the arches of the veranda without. In we went most readily, and were pleasing ourselves with the prospect of passing a comfortable night on the platform, little dreaming of the infernal apart- ment in reserve for us. For we were no sooner all within the CALCUTTA AND ITS CAPTUKE. 231 barracks, than the guard advanced to the inner arches and parapet-wall ; and, with their muskets presented, ordered us to go into the room at the southernmost end o£ the barracks, commonly called the Black Hole prison; whilst others from the Court of Guard, with clubs and drawn scimitars, pressed upon those of us next to them. This stroke was, so sudden, so unexpected, and the throng and pressure so great upon us next the door of the Black Hole prison, there was no resisting it; but like one agitated wave impelling another, we were obliged to give way and enter ; the rest followed like a torrent, few amongst us, the soldiers excepted, having the least idea of the dimensions or nature of a place we had never seen : for if we had, we should at all events have rushed upon the guard, and been, as the lesser evil, by our own choice cut to pieces. "Amongst the first that entered were myself, Messrs. Eight o'clock. Bailiie, Jenks, Cooke, T. Coles, Ensign Scot, Revel}', Law, Buchanan, and others. I got possession of the window nearest the door, and took Messrs. Coles and Scot into the window with me, they being both wounded (the first I believe mor- tally). The rest of the above-mentioned gentlemen w^ere close round me. It was now about eight o'clock. " Figure to yourself, my friend, if possible, the situation of The situation. a hundred and forty-six wretches, exhausted by continual fatigue and action, thus crammed together in a cube of about eighteen feet, in a close sultry night, in Bengal, shut up to the eastward and southward (the only quarters from whence air could reach us) by dead walls, and by a wall and door to the north, open only to the westward by two windows, strongly barred with iron, from which we could receive scarce any the least circulation of fresh air. *' What must ensue appeared to me in lively and dreadful oeopair. colours, the instant I cast my eyes round, and saw the size and situation of the room. Many unsuccessful attempts were made to force the door; for having nothing but our hands to work with, and the door opening inward, all en- deavours were vain and fruitless. 232 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Necessity for tranquillity. Fearful prospect. Bribing the Jemadar : the Kawab asleep. " Observiug every one giving way to the violence of pas- sions, wliicli I foresaw must be fatal to them, I requested silence might be preserved, whilst I spoke to them, and in the most pathetic and moving terms which occurred I begged and iutreated that as they hadj)aid a ready obedience to me in the day, they would now for their own sakes, and the sakes of those who were dear to them and were interested in the preservation of their lives, regard the advice I had to give them. I assured them the return of day would give us air and liberty ; urged to them that the only chance we had left for sustaining this misfortune and surviving the night was the preserving a calm mind and quiet resigna- tion to our fate ; intreatiug them to curb, as much as pos- sible, every agitation of mind and body, as raving and giving a loose to their passions could answer no purjDOse, but that of hastening their destruction. " This remonstrance produced a short interval of peace, and gave me a few minutes for reflection : though even this pause was not a little disturbed by the cries and groans of the many wounded, and more particularly of my two companions in the window. Death, attended with the most cruel train of circumstances, I plainly perceived must prove our inevit- able destiny. I had seen this common migration in too many shapes, and accustomed myself to think on the sub- ject with too much propriety to be alarmed at the prospect, and indeed felt much more for my wretched companions than myself. " Amongst the guards posted at the windows, I observe d an old Jemadar near me, who seemed to carry some com- passion for us in his countenance; and indeed he was the only one of the many in his station who discovered the least trace of humanity. I called him to me, and in the most persuasive terms I was capable, urged him to commiserate the sufferings he was a witness to, and pressed him to endeav our to get us separated, half in one place, and half in another ; and that he should in the morning receive a thousand rup ees for this act of tenderness. He promised he would attempt it, and withdrew; but in a few minutes returned, and told me CALCUTTA AND ITS CArTUIMv 233 it \\'as impossible. L then thouybt 1 had been deficient in my ofier, and promised him two thousand. He withdrew a second time, but returned soon, and (with, I believe, much real pity and concern) told me it was not practical)le; that it could not be done but by the Nawab's order, and that no one dared awake him. " During^ this interval, thoug-h their passions were less perspiration. violent, their uneasiness increased. We had been but few minutes confined before every one fell into a perspiration so profuse you can form no idea of it. This consequently brought on a rag-ing- thirst, which still increased, in proj)or- tion as the body was drained of its moisture. " Various expedients were thought of to give more room Expedients for and air. To obtain the former, it was moved to put off their clothes. This was approved as a happy motion, and in a few minutes I believe every man was stripped (myself, Mr. Court, and the two wounded young gentlemen by me excepted). For a little time they flattered themselves with having gained a mighty advantage ; every hat was put in motion to produce a circulation of air; and Mr. Baillie pro- posed that every man should sit down on his hams. As they were truly in the situation of drowning wretches, no wonder they caught at every thing that bore a flattering appearance of saving them. This expedient was several times put in practice, and at each time many of the poor creatures, whose natural strengtli was less than others, or had been more exhausted, and could not immediately recover their legs, as others did, when the word was given to rise, fell to rise no more ; for they were instantly trod to death, or suff'ocated. When the whole body sat down, they were so closely wedged together that they were obliged to use many efforts before they could put themselves in motion to get up again. " Before nine o^clock every man's thirst grew intolerable, Nino o'clock, and respiration difficult. Our situation was much more wretched than that of so many miserable animals in an ex- hausted receiver ; no circulation of fresh air sufficient to continue life, nor yet enough divested of its vivifying par- ticles to put a speedy period to it. Effluvia. 231. EARLY RECORDS OP BRITISH INDIA. " Efforts were again made to force the door, but in vain. Many insults were used to the guard, to provoke them to fire in upon us (which, as I learned afterwards, were carried to much greater lengths, when I was no more sensible of what was transacted). For my own part, I hitherto felt little pain or uneasiness, but what resulted from my anxiety for the sufferings of those within. By keeping my face between two of the bars, I obtained air enough to give my lungs easy play, though my perspiration was excessive, and thirst commenc- ing. At this period, so strong a volatile effluvia came from the prison that I was not able to turn my head that way for more than a few seconds of time. Water. " Now cvery body, excepting those situated in and near the window, began to grow outrageous, and many delirious ; WATER, WATER, became the general cry. And the old Jema- dar, before mentioned, taking pity on us, ordered the people to bring some skins of water, little dreaming, I believe, of its fatal effects. This was what I dreaded. I foresaw it would prove the ruin of the small chance left us, and essayed many times to speak to him privately to forbid its being brought ; but the clamour was so loud it became impossible. The water appeared. Words cannot paint to you the univer- sal agitation and raving the sight of it threw us into. I had flattered myself that some, by preserving an equal temper of mind, might outlive the night ; but now the reflection which gave me the greatest pain, was, that I saw no possibi- lity of one escaping to tell the dismal tale. Sad results. " Until the water came, I had myself not suffered much from thirst, which instantly grew excessive. We had no means of conveying it into the prison, but by hats forced through the bars ; and thus myself, and Messrs. Coles and Scot (notwithstanding the pains they suffered from their wounds) supplied them as fast as possible. But those who have experienced intense thirst, or are acquainted with the cause and nature of this appetite, will be sufficiently sensible it could receive no more than a momentary alleviation ; the cause still subsisted. Though we brought full hats within the bars, there ensued such violent struggles, and frequent contests, CALCUTTA AND ITS CAPTURE. 235 to get at it, that before it reached the lips of any one, there would be scarcely a small tea-cup full left in them. These supplies, like sprinkling- water on fire, only served to feed and raise the flame. " Oh ! my dear Sir, how shall I give you' a conception of Kavinsra. what I felt at the cries and ravings of those in the remoter parts of the prison, who could not entertain a probable hope of obtaining a drop, yet could not divest themselves of ex- pectation, however unavailing ! And others calling on me by the tender considerations of friendship and affection, and who knew they were really dear to me. Think, if possible, what my heart must have suffered at seeing and hearing their distress, without having it in my power to relieve them ; for the confusion now became general and horrid. Several quitted the other window (the only chance they had for life) to force their way to the water, and the throng and press upon the window was beyond bearing ; many forcing their passage from the further part of the room, pressed down those in their way, who had less strength, and trampled them to death. "Can it gain belief, that this scene of misery proved enter- Diversion of the 1 1 • 1 n -n • guards. tainment to the brutal wretches without : But so it was ; and they took care to keep us supplied with water, that they might have the satisfaction of seeing us fight for it, as they phrased it, and held up lights to the bars, that they might lose no part of the inhuman diversion. " From about nine to near eleven, I sustained this cruel Eleven o'clock. scene and painful situation, still supplying them with water, though my legs were almost broke with the weight against them. By this time I myself was very near pressed to death, and my two companions, with JNIr. William Parker (who had forced himself into the window), were really so. " For a great while they preserved a respect and regard to Rank n"d me, more than indeed I could well expect, our circumstances forgotten." considered; but now all distinction was lost. My friend Baillie, Messrs. Jenks, Revely, Law, Buchanan, Simson, and several others, for whom I had a real esteem and affection. 236 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. liad for some time been dead at my feet, and were now trampled ui)on Ly every corporal or common soldier, who, by the lielp of more robust constitutions, had forced their way to the window, and held fast by the bars over me, till at last 1 became so pressed and wedg-ed up, I was deprived of all motion. wacrnoif " " Determined now to give every thing- up, I called to them, and begged, as the last instance of their regard, they would remove the pressure upon me, and permit me to retire out of the window to die iu quiet. They gave way ; and with mvich difficulty I forced a passage into the centre of the prison, where the throng was less by the many dead (then I believe amount- ing to one-third) and the numbers who flocked to the windows ; for by this time they had water also at the other window. Tiie i)i;uform. " ]n tbc Black Holc there is a platform' corresponding with that in the barracks : I travelled over the dead, and repaired to the further end of it, just opposite the other window, and seated myself on the platform between Mr. Dumbleton and Capt. Stevenson, the former just then ex- jdring. I was still happy iu the same calmness of mind I had preserved the whole time ; death I expected as unavoid- able, and only lamented its slow approach, though the moment I quitted the window, my breathing grew short and painful. ^^^^^^ ^f " Here my poor friend Mr. Edward Eyre came staggering over the dead to me, and with his usual coolness and good- nature, asked me how I did ! but fell and expired before I had time to make him a reply. I laid myself down on some of the dead behind me, on the platform ; and recommending myself to heaven, had the comfort of thinking my sufferings could have no long duration. [hfrsr'"^*"''''*^ " ^^y thirst grew now insupportable, and difficulty of breathini> much increased : and I had not remained in tiiis situation, I beheve, ten minutes, when I was seized with a 1 This platform was viiised between throe and fotir feet from the floor, open uudenieath : it extended the whole length of the cast side of the prison, and was above six feet wide. CALCUTTA AND ITS CAPTUKE. 237 pain in my breast, and palpitation of my heart, both to the most exquisite degree. These roused and obliged me to get up again ; but still the palpitation, thirst, and diflieulty o£ breathing increased. I retained my senses notwithstanding, and had the grief to see death not so near me as I hoped j but could no longer bear the pains I suffered without attempt- ing a relief, which I knew fresh air would and could only give me. I instantly determined to push for the window opposite to me ; and by an effort of double the strength I ever before possessed, gained the third rank at it, with one hand seized a bar, and by that means gained the second, though I think there were at least six or seven ranks between me and the window. ''In a few moments my nain, palpitation and difficulty of TWrst increased : . ^^ i^y water bi'eathing ceased ; but my thirst continued intolerable. I called aloud for " water for God's Sx\ke:" had been concluded dead; but as soon as they heard me amongst them, they had still the respect and tenderness for me, to cry out, " Give him water. Give him water \" nor would one of them at the window attera}>t to touch it until I had drank. But from the water I found no relief; my thirst was rather increased by it; so I determined to drink no more, but patiently wait the event; and kept my mouth moist from time to time by sucking the perspiration strange refresh- out of my shirt-sleeves, and catching the drops as they fell, like heavy rain from my head and face : you can hardly ima- gine how unhappy I was if any of them escaped my mouth. '' 1 came into the prison without coat or waistcoat; the season was too hot to bear the former, and the latter tempted the avarice of one of the guards, who robbed me of it when we were under the veranda. Whilst I was at this second window, I was observed by one of my miserable companions on the right of me in the expedient of allaying my thirst by sucking my shirt-sleeve. He took the hint, and robbed me from time to time of a considerable part of my store. This plunderer, I found afterwards, was a worthy young gentleman in the service, Mr. Lushington, one of the few who escaped from death. nieiit. 238 EARLY RECORDS OP BRITISH INDIA. l>elirium. Suffocation. I mention this incident, as I tliink nothing- can give you a more lively idea of the melancholy state and distress we were reduced to. " By half an hour past eleven the much greater number of those living- were in an outrageous delirium, and the others quite ungovernable j few retaining any calmness but the ranks next the windows. By what I had felt myself, I was fully sensible what those within suffered ; but had only pity to bestow upon them, not then thinking how soon I should myself become a greater object of it. " They all now found that water, instead of relieving, rather heightened their uneasinesses; and. Air, Air, was the general cry. Every insult that could be devised against the guard, all the opprobrious names and abuse that the Nawab of Bengal, or the new native Governor of Calcutta,^ could be loaded with, were repeated to provoke the guard to fire upon us, every man that could, rushing tumultuously towards the windows with eager hopes of meeting the first shot. Tiien a general prayer to heaven, to hasten the approach of the jBames to the right and left of us, and put a period to our misery. But these failing, they W'hose strength and spirits were quite exhausted, laid themselves down and expired quietly upon their fellows : others who had yet some strength and vigour left, made a last effort for the windows, and several succeeded by leaping and scrambling over the backs and heads of those in the first ranks ; and got hold of the bars, from which there was no removing them. Many to the right and left sunk with the violent pressure, and were soon suffocated ; for now a steam arose from the living and the dead, which afTected us in all its circumstances, as if we were forcibly held with our heads over a bowl full of strong volatile spirit of hartshorn, until safl[ocated ; nor could the effluvia of the one be distinguished from the other, and frequently, when I was forced by the load upon my head and shoulders, to hold my face down, I was obliged, near as I was to the window, instantly to raise it again to escape suffocation. ' Hajji Moiiikchund, appointed by the Nawab to bu Governor ol' Calcutta. CALCUTTA AND ITS CAPTURE. 239 *' I need not, my clear friend, ask your commiseration, when iiaif-past eleven I tell you that in this plight, from half an hour past eleven in the morning. till near two in the morning-, I sustained the weight of a heavy man, with his knees on my hack, and the pressure of his whole hody on my head. A Dutcli serjeant, who had taken his seat upon my left shoulder, and a bUick christian soldier bear- ing on my right ; all which nothing could have enabled me long to support, but the props and pressure equally sustaining me all around. The two latter I frequently dislodged, by shift- ing my hold on the bars, and driving my knuckles into their ribs ; but my friend above stuck fast, and as he held by two bars, was immoveable. " When I had bore this conflict above an hour, with a train Suicidai tempta- of wretched reflections, and seeing no glimpse of hope on which to found a prospect of relief, my spirits, resolution, and every sentiment of religion gave way. I found I was unable much longer to support this trial, and could not bear the dreadful thoughts of retiring into the inner part of the prison, where I had before suffered so much. Some infernal spirit, taking the advantage of this period, brought to my remem- brance my having a small clasp penknife in my pocket, with which I determined instantly to open my arteries, and finish a system no longer to be borne. I had got it out, when heaven interposed, and restored me to fresh spirits and resolu- tion, with an abhorrence of the act of cowardice I was just going to commit : I exerted anew my strength and for- titude; but the repeated trials and efforts I made to dislodo-e the insufferable incumbrances upon me at last quite exhausted me, and towai-ds two o^'clock, finding I must quit the window or sink where I was, I resolved on the former, bavin «• bore truly for the sake of others, infinitely more for life than the best of it is worth. " In the rank close behind me was an officer of one of the Mr. and Mrs. ships, whose name was Carey, who had behaved with much ^'"^'^' braveiy during the siege (his wife, a fine woman thouo-h country-born, would not quit him, but accompanied him into the prison, and was one who survived). This poor wretch 240 EAELY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Doath of Mr. Carey. Stupor. Loss of sensation. Interval of uncuusi-'iousuefs. liad been long* raving for water and air; I told him I was determined to give up life^ and recommended his gaining my station. On my quitting, he made a fruitless attempt to get my place; but the Dutch serjeaut who sat on my shoulder supplanted him. " Poor Carey expressed his thankfulness, and said he would give up life too ; but it was with the utmost labour we forced our way from the window (several in the inner ranks aj^pear- ingf to me dead standing^). He laid himself down to die : and his death, I believe, was very sudden ; for he was a short, full, sang-uine man : his strength was great, and I imagine, had he not retired with me, I should never have been able to have forced my way. " I was at this time sensible of no pain and little uneasi- ness: I can give you no better idea of my situation than by repeating my simile of the bowl of spirit of hartshorn. I found a stupor coming* on apace, and laid myself down by that gallant old man, the Reverend Mr. Jervas Bellamy, who lay dead with his son the lieutenant, hand-in-hand, near the southernmost wall of the prison. " When I had lain there some little time, I still had reflection enough to suffer some uneasiness in the thought, that I should be trampled upon, when dead, as I myself had done to others. With some difficulty I raised myself, and gained the platform a second time, where I presently lost all sensation : the last trace of sensibility that I have been able to recollect after my lying down, was my sash being uneasy about my waist, which I untied and threw from me. " Of what passed in this interval to the time of my resur- rection from this hole of horrors, I can give you no account; and indeed, the particulars mentioned by some of the gentle- men who survived (solely by the number of those dead, by which they gained a freer accession of air, and approach to the windows) were so excessively absurd and contradictory as to convince me very few of them retained their senses ; or ' Uuable to fall V>y the throng and equal pressure round. CALCUTTA AND ITS CAPTURE. 211 at least," lost them soon after they came into the open air, hy the fever they carried out with them. " la my own escape from absolute death the hand of heaven Canicd to lUo was manifestly exerted : the manner take as follows: "When the day broke, and the gentlemen found that no intreaties could prevail to get the door opened, it occurred to one of them (I think to Mr. Secretary Cooke), to make a search for me, in hopes I might have influence enough to gain a release from this scene of misery. Accordingly Messrs. Lushington and Walcot undertook the search, and by my shirt discovered me under the dead upon the platform. They took me from thence ; and imagining I had some signs of life, brought me towards the window I had first possession of. " But as life was equally dear to every man (and the stench Recovery of arising irom the dead bodies was grown intolerable) no one would give up his station in or near the window : so they were obliged to carry me back again. But soon after Cap- tain Mills (now captain of the Company's yacht), who was in possession of a seat in the window, had the humanity to offer to resign it. I was again brought by the same gentlemen, and placed in the window. " At this juncture the Nawab, who had received an account Beie.ise o£ the havock death had made amongst us, sent one of his Jemadars to inquire if the Chief survived. They shewed me to him : told him I had appearance of life remaining, and believed I might recover if the door was opened very soon. This answer being returned to the Nawab, an order came immediately for our release, it being then near six in the morning. " The fresh air at the window soon brought me to life ; and Bestoratio. a few minutes after the departure of the Jemadar, I was restored to my sight and senses. But oh ! Sir, what words shall I adopt to tell you the whole that my soul suffered at reviewing the dreadful destruction round me ? I will not attempt it ; and indeed, tears (a tribute I believe I siiall ever pay to the remembrance of this scene, and to the memory of those brave and valuable men) stop my pen. Q 24,2 EARLY RECOllDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Slow opening " TliG little streug'tli remaining' amongst the most robust who survived made it a difficult task to remove the dead piled up against the door; so that I believe it was more than twenty minutes before we obtained a passage out for one at a time. Pcmanflsofthe " I had soou reasou to be couvinced the particular inquiry biuueu treasure, made after me did not result from any dictate of favour, humanity, or contrition ; when I came out, I found myself in a high putrid fever, and^ not being able to stand, threw myself on the wet grass without the veranda, when a mes- sage was brought me, signifying I must immediately attend the Nawab. Not being capable of walking, they were obliged to support me under each arm ; and on the way, one of the Jemadars told me, as a friend, to make a full confession where the treasure was buried in the Fort, or that in half an hour I should be shot off from the mouth of a cannon.* The intimation gave me no manner of concern ; for, at that junc ture, I should have esteemed death the greatest favour the tyrant could have bestowed upon me. Callous Nawab. " Being brought into his presence, the Nawab soon observed the wretched plight I was in, and ordered a large folio volume, which lay on a heap of plunder, to be brought for me to sit on. I endeavoured two or three times to speak, but my tongue was dry and without motion. He ordered me water. As soon as I got speech, I began to recount the dismal ■ catastrophe of my miserable companions. But he stopped me short, with telling me, he was well informed of great treasure being buried or secreted in the Fort, and that I was privy to it ; and if I expected favour, I must discover it. N.iwab inesora- " I urged cvery thing I could to convince him there was no truth in the information ; or that if any such thing had been done, it was without my knowledge. I reminded him of his repeated assurance to me, the day before; but he resumed the subject of the treasure, and all I could say seemed to gain no credit with him. I was ordered prisoner under the General of the Household Troops. 1 A sentence of death conuuon iu Hindostan. ble. CALCUTTA AND ITS CAPTl'iai:. 213 "Amongst ilie c^uaril which canlod me from the Nawab, severe treat- one bore a huge Mahratta battle-axe, which gave rise, 1 imagine, to Mr. Secretary Cooke's belief and report to the fleet, that he saw me carried out, with the edge of the axe to- wards me, to have my head struck off. This I believe is the ouly aceouut you will have of me, until I bring you a better myself. But to resume ray subject : I was ordered to the cump of the General's quarters, within the outward ditch, something short of Omichund's garden (which you know is above three miles from the Fort) and with me Messieurs Coui't, Walcot, and Burdet. The rest, who survived the fatal night, gained their liberty, except Mrs. Carey, who was too young and handsome. The dead bodies were promiscuously thrown into the ditch of our unfinished raveUu, and covered with the earth. "My beings treated with this severity, I have sufficient Reason for the '' ^ "> ' _ Nawab's cruelty. reason to affirm, proceeded from the following causes. The Nawab's resentment for my defending the Fort, after the Gov- ernor, &c., had abandoned it ; his prepossession touching the treasure ; and thirdly, the instigations of Omichund ' in re- sentment for my not releasing him out of prison, as soon as I had the command of the Fort : a circumstance, which in the heat and hurry of action, never once occurred to me, or I had certainly done it; because I thought his imprisonment unjust. But that the hard treatment I met with, may truly be attri- buted in a great measure to his suggestion and insinuations, I am well assured, from the whole of his subsequent conduct; and this further confirmed to me, in the three gentlemen selected to be my companions, against each of whom he had conceived particular resentment; and you know Omichund can never forgive. " We were conveyed in a hackery' to the camp the 21st of FnTther suffef. June, in the morning, and soon loaded with fetters, and stowed all four in a seapoy's tent, about four feet long, three wide, and about three high ; so that we were half in, half out. ^ A great Hindu nierchaut of Calcutta. ^ A coach dratvu by oxeu. 244 EAELY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Iron fetters. Embark for Murshedabad. Sufferings on the voyage. Poor diet a pre- sarvation. All night it rained severely. Dismal as this was, it appeared a paradise compared with our lodging the preceding night. Here I became covered from head to foot with large painful boils, the first symptom of my recovery; for until these appeared, my fever did not leave me. " On the morning of the 22nd, they marched us to town in our fetters, under the scorching beams of an intense hot sun, and lodged us at the dock-head in the open small veranda, fronting the river, where we had a strong guard over us. Here the other gentlemen broke out likewise in boils all over their bodies (a happy circumstance, which, as I afterwards learned, attended every one who came out of the Black Hole). '' On our arrival at this place, we soon were given to under- stand, we should be embarked for Murshedabad/ where I think you have never been ; and since I have brought you thus far, you may as well take this trip with us likewise. I have much leisure on my hands at present ; and, you know, you may chuse your leisure for perusal. " We set out on our travels from the dock-head the 24th in the afternoon, and were embarked on a large boat containing part of the plunder. She bulged ashore a little after we set off, and broke one of her floor timbers : however, they pushed on, though she made so much water she could hardly swim. Our bedstead and bedding were a platform of loose unequal bamboos laid on the bottom timbers : so that when they had been negligent in bailing, we frequently waked with half of us in the water. We had hardly any clothes to our bodies, and nothing but a bit or two of old gunny -bag, which we begged at the dock-head to defend us from the sun, rains, and dews. Our food only rice, and the water along-side, which, you know, is neither very clean, nor very palatable, in the rains ; but there was enough of it without scrambling. " In short. Sir, though our distresses in this situation, covered with tormenting boils, and loaded with irons, will be ' The Ciipitiil of Bengal. CALCUTTA AND ITS CAPTURE. 245 tbou^^lit, and doubtless were, very deplorable, yet the grate- ful consideratiou of our being so providentially a remnant of the saved, made every thing else appear light to us. Our rice-and-water diet, designed as a grievance to us, was cer- tainly our preservation ; for, could we (circumstanced as we were) have indulged in flesh and wine, we had died beyond all doubt. " When we arrived at Hughly Fort, I wrote a short letter Application to to Governor Bisdom (by means of a pencil and blank leaf of Chinsura. a volume of Archbishop Tillotson^s sermons given us by one of our guard, part of this plunder) advising him of our miserable plight. He had the humanity to dispatch three several boats after us, with fresh provisions, liquors, clothes, and money; neither of which reached us. But, 'Whatever is, is right.* Our rice and water were more salutary and proper for us. " Matters ridiculous and droll abundantly occurred in the Ridiculous course of our trip. But these I will postpone for a personal recital, that I may laugh with you, and will only mention that my hands alone being free from imposthumes, I was obliged for some time to turn nurse, and feed my poor dis- tressed compauions. " When we came opposite to Santipore, they found the Refractory boat would not be able to proceed further, for want of water in the river ; and one of the guard was sent ashore to demand of the Zemindar i of that district light boats to carry prisoners of State under their charge to Murshedabad. The Zemindar, giving no credit to the fellow, mustered his guard of pykes, beat him, and drove him away. "This, on the return of the messenger, raised a most Attack on the furious combustion. Our Jemadar ordered his people to arms, and the resolution was to take the Zemindar and carry him bound a prisoner to Murshedabad. Accordingly they landed with their fire-arms, swords, and targets; when it occurred to one mischievous mortal amongst them, that the ' A renter or proprietor of laud. 24i6 EARLY RECOl^DS OF BRITISH INDIA. Submission of the Zcmiudar, taking me with them, would be a proof of their commission and the high offence the Zemindar had committed. iioiweii cirnfTKcd " Being immediately lugged ashore, I urged the impossi- through the sun. jjj|-^y ^f j^y Walking, covercd as my legs were with boils, and, several of them in the way of my fetters; and intreated, if I must go, that they would for the time take off my irons, as it was not in my power to escape from them ; for they saw I was hardly able to stand. But I might as well have petitioned tigers, or made supplication to the wind. I was obliged to crawl. They signified to me, it was now my business to obey, and that I should remember, I was not then in the Fort of Calcutta. Thus was I mai-ched in a scorching sun, near noon, for more than a mile and half; my legs running in a stream of blood from the irritation of my irons, and myself ready to drop every step with excessive faintness and un- speakable pain. ** When we came near the Cutcherry of the district, the Zemindar with his pykes was drawn up ready to receive us ; but as soon as they presented me to him as a prisoner of State, estimated and valued to them at four lakhs of rupees, ' he con- fessed himself sensible of his mistake, and made no further show of resistance. The Jemadar seized him, and gave orders to have him bound and sent to the boat : but on his making a further submission, and promising to get boats from Santipore to send after us, and agreeing to pay them for the trouble he had caused, he was released, and matters accommo- dated. " I was become so very low and weak by this cruel travel that it was some time before they would venture to march me back ; and th6 ' hard-hearted villains,' for their own sakes, were at last obliged to carry me part of the way, and support me the rest, covering me from the sun with their shields. A poor fellow, one of our Under- Gomastas of Santipore, seeing me at the Cutcherry, knew me, and, with tears in his eyes, presented me with a bunch of plantains, the half of which my guard plundered by the way. Beturn march. » 50,000/. CALCUTTA AND ITS CArTURE. 217 '' We departed from hence directly, in expectation of boats Rc-ombarkation. following- us, but they never came; aud the next day (I think the last of June) they pressed a small open fishing- dingy, aud embarked us on that, with two of our guard only; for in fact, any more would have sunk her. Here we had a bed of bamboos, something softer, 1 think, than those of the great boat; that is, they were something smoother, but we were so distressed for room that we could not stir without our fetters bruising our own, or each other's boils ; and were in woeful distress indeed, not arriving at Murshedabad until the 7th of July in the afternoon. We were all this while .exposed to one regular succession of heavy rain, or intense sun-shine, and nothing to defend us from either. " But then do not let me forget our blessings ; for by smaii mercies. the good-nature of one of our guard, we now and then lat- terly got a few plantains, onions, parched rice, with jaggree,' and the bitter green, called Curella : all which were to us lux- urious indulgences, and make the rice go down deliciously. "On the 7th of July, early in the morning-, we came in Humanity of sight of the French factory. I had a letter prepared for of the French Mr. Law the Chief, and prevailed on my guard to put simhazar. to there. On the receipt of my letter, Mr. Law, with much politeness and humanity, came down to the water-side, and remained near an hour with us. He gave the guai-d a geriteel present for his civilities, and offered him a consider- able reward and security, if he would permit us to land for an hour's refreshment : but he replied his head would pay for ihe indulgence. After Mr. Law had given us a supply of clothes, linen, provisions, liquors, and cash, we left his factory with grateful hearts and compliments. " We could not, as you may imagine, long resist touching over-iuduigence. our stock of provisions ; but however temperate we thought ourselves, we were all disordered more or less by this first indulgence. A few hours after I was seized with a painful inflammation in my right leg and thigh. 1 Molasses. 248 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Arrival at " Passing by oui" fort and factory at Cossimbazar, raised some melancholy reflections amongst us. About four in the afternoon we landed at Murshedabad, and were conducted to, and deposited in an open stable, not far from the Nawab^s palace in the city. March through " This march, I will freely confess to you, drew tears of " " ^' disdain and ang-uish of heart from me ; thus to be led like a felon, a spectacle to the inhabitants of this populous city ! My soul could not support itself with any deg-ree of patience ; the pain too arising from my boils, and inflammation of my leg, added not a little, I believe, to the depression of my spirits. More sufferiugs. " Here wc had a guard of Moors placed on one side of us, and a guard of Hindus on the other ; and being destined to remain in this place of purgatory, until the Nawab returned to the city, I can give you no idea of our sufferings. The immense crowd of spectators, who came from all quarters of the city to satisfy their curiosity, so blocked us up from morning till night, that I may truly say we narrowly escaped a second suffocation, the weather proving exceeding sultry. Fever and ffoiit. " The first night after our arrival in the stable, I was attacked by a fever ; and that night and the next day, the inflammation of my leg and thigh greatly increased ; but all terminated the second night in a regular fit of the gout in my right foot and ankle ; the first and last fit of this kind I ever had. How my irons agreed with this new visitor I leave you to judge : for I could not by any intreaty obtain liberty for so much as that poor leg. Humanity of the " During our residence here, wc experienced every act of Dutch. humanity and friendship from Mons. Law and Mynheer Vernet, the French and Dutch Chiefs of Cossimbazar, who left no means unessayed to procure our release. Our provisions were regularly sent us from the Dutch Tanksal ' and we were daily visited by Messrs. Ross and Ekstone, the Chief and Second there ; and indeed received such instances of commiser- ation and affection from Mynheer Ross as will ever claim my most grateful remembrance. ' The Dutch mint ueai Murshediibud. CALCUTTA AND ITS CArTURE. 249 " The whole body of Armenian merchants too were most Mention of kind and friendly to ns ; we were not a little indebted to Uustiags. the oblig-ing g-ood-natured beliavionr of Messrs. Hastings and Cliainbers, who gave us as much of their company as they could. They had obtained their liberty by the French and Dutch Chiefs becoming' bail for their appearance. This security was often tendered for us, but without effect. " The 11th of July the Nawab arrived in the city, and with Better ucws. him Bundoo Sing, to whose house we were removed that afternoon in a hackery ; for I was not able to put my foot to the ground. Here we were confirmed in a report which had before reached us that the Nawab, on his return to Hughly, made inquiry for us when he released Messrs. AVatts and Collet, &e., with intention to release us also ; and, that he had expressed some resentment for having so hastily sent us up to Murshedabad. This proved a very pleasing piece of intelligence to us ; and gave us reason to hope the issue would be more favourable to us than we expected. "Though we were here lodged in an open bungalow only, Hope of release, yet we found ourselves relieved from the crowd of people which had stifled us at the stable, and once more breathed the fresh air. We were treated with much kindness and respect by Bundoo Sing, who generally passed some time or other of the day with us, and feasted us with hopes of being soon released. ''The 15th we were conducted in a hackery to the Killa, i Conducted to *' the Nawab's in order to have an audience of the Suba, and know our fate, palace. We were kept above an hour in the sun opposite the gate ; whilst here we saw several of his ministers, brought out dis- graced, and dismissed from their employs, who but a few minutes before we had seen enter the Killa in the utmost pomp and magnificence. "Receiving advice that we should have no audience or No audience. admittance to the Nawab that day, we were deposited again at our former lodgings, the stable, to be at hand, and had the mortification of passing another night there. * The seat of the Navviib or Suba's resideuce in the city of Murshedabad. 250 EARLY RKCORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Disnppoint- uieuts. Fears of the worst. Despair. Release, " The 16th in the morning an old female attendant on the widow^ of the late Aliverdi Khan paid a visit to our g-uard and discoursed half an hour with him. Overhearing- part of the conversation to be favourable to us, I obtained the whole from him ; and learned, that at a feast the preceding- night the Begum had solicited our liberty, and that the Nawab had promised he would release us on the morrow. This, you will believe, gave us no small spirit ; but at noon all our hopes were dashed by a piece of intelligence from the guard implying that an order was prepared, and ready to pass the seal, for returning us in irons to Raja Monikchund, governor of AUyuagore, the name the Nawab had given to Calcutta. *' I need not tell you what a thunderclap this proved to us in the very height of our flattering expectations ; for I was, as to myself, well convinced I should never have got alive out of the hands of that rapacious harpy, who is a genuine Hindu, in the very worst acceptation of the vv^ord; there- fore, from that moment, gave up every hope of liberty. '* Men in this state of mind are generally pretty easy ; it is hope which gives anxiety. We dined and laid ourselves down to sleep; and for my own part, I never enjoyed a sounder afternoon's nap. '' Towards five the guard waked me with notice that the Nawab would presently pass by to his palace of Mooteejeel. We roused, and desired the guaid would keep the view clear for us. When the Nawab came in sight, we made him the usual salaam; and when he came abreast of us, he ordered his litter to stop, and us to be called to him. We advanced ; and I addressed him in a short speech, setting forth our sufferings, and petitioned for our liberty. The wretched spectacle we made must, I think, have made an impression on a breast the most brutal ; and if he is capable of pity or con- trition, his heart felt it then. I think it appeared in spite of him in his countenance. He gave me no reply : but ordered two of his officers to see our irons cut off, and to ' The dowager princess, graiuhnother of Surnj-u-daula. CALCUTTA AND ITS CAPTURE. 251 conduct us wherever we chose to g-o, and to take care we receive no trouble nor insult ; and having" repeated this order distinctly, directed his retinue to go on. As soon as our legs were free we took boat and proceedeil to the Dutch Tanksall, where we were received and entertained with real joy and humanity. " Thus, my worthy friend, you see us restored to liberty, at Expiauations, a time when we could entertain no probable hope of ever obtaining it. Tlie foundation of the alarm at noon was this : MoneloU, the Nawab's Dewan, and some others, had in the morning taken no small pains to convince the Nawab that, notwithstanding my losses at Allynagore, I was still possessed of enough to pay a considerable sum for my freedom ; and advised the sending me to Monikchund, who would be better able to trace out the remainder of my effects. To this, I was afterwards informed, the Nawab replied : ' It may be ; if he has any thing left, let him keep it : his sufferings have been great ; he shall have his liberty.' Whether this was the result of his own sentiments, or the consequence of his pro- mise the night before to the old Begum, I cannot say ; but believe, we owe our freedom partly to both. " Being myself once again at liberty, it is time I should conclusion, release you. Sir, also from the unpleasing travel I have led you in this narrative of our distresses, from our entrance into that fatal Black Hole. And, shall it after all be said, or even thought, that lean possibly have arraigned or commented too severely on a conduct which alone plunged us into these un- equalled sufferings? I hope not. ""^ The Black Hole was demolished in 1818. The Demolition of . the Bltiek Hole accompanying extracts trom a letter, signed " Asia- '° ^^^^• ticus," which subsequently appeared in the Asiatic Jom-nal of Bengal, will he read with interest. "The formidable Black Hole is now no more. Early in Appearance of the year 1812 I visited it. It was situated in the old fort inrnf "'*^" of Calcutta, and was then on the eve of demolition. Since that time the fort has come down, and on its site have been 252 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Lis< of the sufferers in the Black Uole, erected some extensive warehouses for the Company. I recollect forminof one of a party in Calcutta^ for the purpose of payin<^ a last visit to this melancholy spot. It presented, on entering", the appearance of an oven, being long, dark, and narrow. One window (if I recollect right) was the utmost, and this secured by bars. The escape of even the small number who survived the horrid fate of the rest is surprising, and can only be accounted for by the accident of their being near the window, and the night air, which in Beng-al is commonly damp, allaying the fever which con- sumed the rest." The following is a list of tlie persons wlio perislied in the Black Hole on the night of Simclay, the 19th of June 1756, appended to HolweU's Narrative. Sixty-nine soldiers are omitted from the list, as their names are unknown. It is supple- mented by a list of the sm^yivors. VICTIMS. Memhers of Council. E. Eyre, Win. Baillie, } Esq 's,; The Reverend Jervas Gentlemen in the Service. Mr. Jenks. Mr. Harod. „ Revely. „ P. Johnstone. „ Law. „ Ballard. „ Coastes, Ens. Mil. „ N. Drake. „ Valicourt. „ Carse. ,, Jeb, „ Knapton. „ Toriano. „ Gosling. „ E.Page. „ Biug. ., S.Page. „ Dod. „ Grub. „ Dalrymple. „ Street. Military Captains. Clayton. 1 Witherington Buchanan. CALCUTTA AND ITS CAPTURE. Lieutenants. 253 Bishop. Siinson. Hays. Bclluuiy. Blagg. i Ensiffns. Paccard. C. Wc(Uli'rl)urn. Scot. Dumbleton, Ens. Mil. Hastings. Serjeants, cf-f. Sergeant-Major Quarteruiustei- S( ^rgcant. Abraham, >> CartvvrightA sergeants of militia. BIcau, ) Hunt. Osburne. Purnell, survived the night, but died next day. Carey. Stephenson, Guy. Sea Captains. Porter. W. Parker. Caulker. Beiidall. Atkinson. Leech. &c., &c. LIST OP THOSE WHO SURVIVED THE BLACK-HOLE PRISON. Mr. Holwell. „ Court. „ Secretary Cooke. „ Lushington. „ Burdet. Ens. Walcot. Mrs. Carey, Capt. Mills. „ Dickson. „ Moian. „ John Meadows. And 12 military and militia blacks and whites, some of whom recovered when the door was open. CHAPTEE VIII. Calcutta recovered, January 1757. Colonel Olive, Governor. Altitude of the Kawab. FIRST GOVERNMENT OF CLIVE. A. D. 1757 TO 1760. ^T^HE news of the disasters at Calcutta soon -*- reached Madras. There was dismay at the capture of Calcutta. There were cries for ven- geance on the murderers of Englishmen. Captain Clive had been away to England. He had return- ed with the commission of Lieutenant-Colonel from King George the Second. He had joined Admiral Watson in an expedition against Gheriah, a nest of Hindu pirates on the western coast of India. He had helped in the destruction of Gheriah. He had returned to Madras to hear of the capture of Cal- cutta and tragedy of the Black Hole. Colonel Clive and Admiral Watson were soon on their way from Madras to Calcutta. In January 1757 the Enghsli fleet reached Calcutta. The native Gov- ernor of Calcutta, who had been appointed by the Nawab, fled in a panic. After a very little fighting the English flag was hoisted over Eort William. Calcutta was recovered on the second of Janu- ary 1757 ; from this date E-obert Clive was Governor of the English settlements in Bengal. Having recovered possession of the settlement of Calcutta,- FIRST GOVERNMENT OF CLIVE. 955 it was time to punish the Nawab for the massacre of Englishmen, and force him to make some com- pensation for the severe losses which had been sustained by the Company and the inhabitants of Calcutta. On the 10th of January the English attacked and capturcd the native town of Ilughli. These movements aroused the young Naw^ab. He appeared in the neighbourhood of Calcutta with an army of forty thousand men* He feigned friend- ship : he promised redress ; but it was di£&cult to believe liim. Every demand made by the English was delayed or evaded. The presence of his army was a menace to the English at Calcutta ; and some of his people w^ere beginning to enter the Company's bounds. On the 4tli of Eebruary Clive brought matters Defeat of the •^ ° Nawab by Clive, to a crisis. He called on the Nawab to withdraw February 1757. his army. The Nawab refused. Clive had little more than two thousand men, but two-thirds w^ere Em'opeans. He attacked the Nawab's camp at early morning. His success was marred by a fog, but it sufficed to fi'ighten the enemy. The Nawab retreat- ed from Calcutta and began to make overtures of peace. There were objections to making a peace with objections to peace. the Nawab. Watson thought that he had not been sufficiently punished ; and that the Nawab was only amusing the English in order to cover his retreat. The English generally were burning to avenge the atrocity of the Black Hole. But Clive was conscious of other dangers. Great Britain was 256 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. on the eve of a war with France. The Nawab mis^ht o form a league with the Prench at Chandernagore. If the Nawab's army was supported by a French force the English Company might find itself in danger. Under such circumstances Colonel Chve thought it would be best to make peace with the Nawab, secure compensation, and restore the Com- pany's settlement to its old footing, rather than endanger the safety of the settlement by protracted hostihties for the sake of revenge. Lavish promises CHvc thcreforc began to negotiate with the Nawab. of the Nawab, He found no diinculty as far as promises were concerned. The Nawab was ready to promise any- thing. He engaged to restore all the goods that had been taken from the English factories; he would pay for all that were lost or damaged ; he fixed the day on which fuU compensation was to be made. He granted all former privileges, and permitted the English to fortify Calcutta. A treaty was soon con- cluded ; the only question was whether the Nawab would fulfil its obligations. i^ifTuuitics with Peace having been made with the Nawab, the tlie French at chaudcrnagore. j^g^^ qucstiou was how to dcal with the French at Chandernagore. Clive proposed a neutrality in Bengal. But the French governor of Chander- nagore could not pledge himself to a neutrality ; he was bound to obey all orders he might receive from Pondicherry ; should he be told to attack the English, he would have no option. incrcnso of Tlils auswcr was perplexing ; the English in Bengal intheDckhan i^j^^ j^^al "Touuds for alami. French milucnce had uiuler llussy. o FIRST GO\"ERNMEXT OF CLIVE. 257 increased in India. M. Bussy had set up a Nizam at Hyderabad, and was all powerful in the Dekhan. He had obtained the cession of a large territory for the maintenance of a Erench force ; the new French dominion extended six hundred miles along the coast of Coromandel. It was certain that if M. Bussy joined the Erench at Chandernagore, the Nawab would court his friendship ; and if the Erench supported the Nawab, there was every rea- son to fear that Calcutta would be overwhelmed. Accordinsrlv Clive asked the Nawab for permis- capture of ^ '' -"- Chancleruagore. sion to attack the Erench at Chandernagore. At first the Nawab refused. Then he was alarmed at rumours that the Afghans at Delhi were aljout to invade Bengal; and he naturally wanted Clive to help him to keep the Afghans out of Bengal. At last he gave the required permission to Clive to attack the Erench. In March Chandernagore was captured by the English. Clive was now bent upon rooting the Erench me xawab inclines towards out of Bengal. Some fugitives from Chander- tiic French. nagore had fled to Cossimbazar, and found refuge in the Erench factory under M. Law. Clive de- manded the siuTender of the refugees. But the Nawab had ah*eady begun to lean towards the Erench. He had given money and arms to the Erench refugees. When Clive became more press- ing, the Nawab gave the Erench more money, and sent them away up country towards Patna, under pretence of banishing them from his dominions. To crown all, authentic reports were received by 258 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Colonel Clive tliat M. Bussy was marcliing a large force towards Bengal ; it was also discovered that the Nawab was sending friendly letters and pre- sents to M. Bussy/ Aianuing pro- j^y tMs timc Clive f ound that he could not trust ceedinjjs of the •' Nawab. ^i^g Nawab. Mr. Watts, a Company's servant, was sent to reside at Murshedabad. He reported that the Nawab was not only intriguing with the Erench, but evading the fulfilment of the treaty. The conduct of the Nawab was suspicious and threaten- ing. One day he would tear up Clive's letters and threaten to put Mr. Watts to death ; the next day he would beg pardon of Mr. Watts. He sent an army to Plassey, under the command of his prime minister, with the evident object of tln^eaten- ing the English at Calcutta. Clive requested him to Avithdraw the army. In reply the Nawab sent a further reinforcement to Plassey under the com- mand of Meer Jaffier. wfficuuics of Clive was now placed in a most difficult and trying position. He was hurried on by force of circum- stances into a line of action which no one had fore- seen. On recovering possession of Calcutta he would have been content with a certain amount of redress and compensation. All he wanted was to inflict such a punishment on the Nawab as would prevent him from making any future attempt on Calcutta. ' The determination of the Nawab to break with the English was obvious iu other directions. English merchants going to the Factories up country were arrested and sent back by the Nawab's orders. This was contrary to treaty, but the merchants were told that the Nawab would not regard the treaty.— Sec Verclst's Bengal, page 17. Clive, FIKST GOVERNMENT OF CLIVE. 259 But the war with France introduced new compli- cations. The Nawah had been inclined to pit the French agamst the English ; he had given an un- willing consent to the English capture of Chander- nagore ; he was inviting the French in the Dekhan to drive the English out of Bengal. The capture of Chandernagore had silenced the French for a while ; but nothing short of the destruction of the Nawab would prevent a renewal of the struggle between the French and English in Bengal. The state of Bengal in 1757 thus bore a strong Frond, aud Eug- resemblance to the state of the Carnatic a few short years before. Had there been a Dupleix in Bengal, he would have supported Suraj-u-daula as a French Nawab, and gone to war with the English. In like manner Clive was prepared to set up an English Nawab in Bengal, to counteract any joint efforts that might be made by the French in the Dekkan and Suraj-u-daula to drive the English out of Calcutta. Fortune played into the hands of Clive. The Native conspira- " cy at Murshed- grandees at Murshedabad were already disgusted ''''^'^• with the insolence of the Nawab. Many of them were alarmed at his threats. At last they formed a conspnacy to dethrone him. Jugget Seit, the Hindu banker, was a leader in the conspiracy ; so was the prime minister who commanded the army at Plassey ; so was Meer Jaffier who had joined the army at Plassey. The conspnators were timid after the manner of Bengalees ; they wanted Clive to help them ; they made overtures through Omichund, 200 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. the Hindu' contractor who had formerly served the Company." ciive makes It is nccdlcss to dwcll upon the plot. Clive terms with the - conspirators, jjiadc secTct tcrms with the conspirators. Mr. Watts escaped from Cossimbazar. Tlie NaAvab marched all his forces to Plassey, whilst Clive moved up from Calcutta. Clive and the Nawab met at Plassey. The battle was fouglit in June 1757, just a twelvemonth after the loss of Calcutta. Meer Jaffier had promised to go over to Clive ; but he only looked on and did nothing. Clive utterly routed the Nawab's army. The Nawab fled away, a helpless fugitive. Subsequently he fell into the hands of his enemies, and was put to death by a son of Meer Jaffier. Clive makes Meer Cllvc wcut ou to Murslicdabad aud placed Meer Jaffier Nawab. -r rv-> i Presents an,i Jaffier OU thc throuc. The new Nawab was profuse eomnensation. J- with presents and promises. The treasures of Suraj- u-daula had been estimated at forty millions sterling. In reahty they only amounted to a million and a half. Meer Jaffier engaged to pay a milhon to the Company ; three-quarters of a milUon as 1 See ante, page 224. Omichund subsequently threatened to divulge the whole plot to the Nawab, unless he was paid about three hundred thousand sterling. Clive duped him with a sham copy of a treaty, purporting to have been made between the Company and Meer JalRer, stipulating that the money should be given to Omichund. The real treaty contained no such clause. This trick, by which Clive personally profited nothing, has done more harm to his reputation than any other charge that has been brought against him. 2 Rleer Jaffier and Meer Cossim have become such current names in the Government records as well as in the Parliamentary debates, that it would be inexpedient to change them into modern spelling; othei'wise they ehould be styled Jafir Mir aud Mir Kuziui, or Amir Jafiir and Amir Kazim. compeusatiou. FIRST GOVERNMENT OF CLIVE. 261 compensation to tlic inhabitants of Calcutta, native and European ; also presents to Clive and members of Government. Half the money was paid down at once, and the remainder was promised at an early date. Boats went down the river from Mur- shedabad to Calcutta laden with treasure to the value of eight hunch-ed thousand pounds sterling. Few events in liistory have created a Erreater J^y and triumph '' "at Calcutta. revulsion of feeling than the victory at Plassey. The people of Calcutta had been depressed, not only by the caj)ture of the Pactory, but by the utter loss of all their worldly goods. But now the disgrace was forgotten in the triumph ; the poverty was forgotten at the sight of the treasiu'e. Orme says that the whole settlement was intoxicated with joy; quarrels were forgotten and enemies became friends. CKve received a vast money reward from Meer weaithofcuvo. Jailier. Large as it was, the time came when he expressd his sm'prise that he had not taken more. He had placed Meer Jafficr on the throne of the three provinces at a time when the trembling grandee might have expected death and destruction for his inaction at Plassey. Por the moment, the grandees at Murshedabad regarded Clive as the symbol of power, the arbiter of fate, the type of omnipotence who could protect or destroy at will. One and all were eager to propitiate CHve with presents; such has been the instinct of orientals from the remotest antiquity. They are ever ready to propitiate men in power with flatteries and 202 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. presents, just as they seek to avert the wrath or implore the protection of deity hy praises and sacrifices. Clive refused to accept any present, saving what came from the hands of Meer Jaffier. ivreerJaffier In duc coursc Clivc returned to Calcutta. He drives the Ilin- ji,,s into rebel- g^^^^ ^md causc for anxiety. The new Nawal) began to enter ujion a dangerous course of policy. Hitherto the Nawabs of Bengal, and of every other province under Mogliul rule, had employed Hindu ministers and renters in preference to Muham- raadans. The Hindus were a check upon the kins- men and retainers of the Nawab. They were more subservient and amenal^le to the Nawab. ]\Ieer Jaffier reversed this state of things; he sought to remove the Hindu prime minister, and some of the more powerful of the Hindu governors, and replace them by his own kinsmen. The result was that four different rebellions broke out at the same time. To make matters worse the Nawab of Oude was threatening to invade Behar and take possession of the three provinces of Ben- gal, Behar, and Orissa. Nawabofoude Tlio Nawab of Oude played an important -p^xri tlireatens , , ^ Bengal. jj^ ^\^q subscqucut history of British India. His name was Shuja-u-daula. His territories extended from Behar to the neighbourhood of Delhi ; from the banks of the Jumna to the mountains of Nepal. riivp averts the Clivc was oucc uiorc driven on by the force of cir- uauper. " cumstances. He had set up a new Nawab, who was equally incapable of keeping the peace in Bengal, or of keeping invaders out of the 2:)rovince. FIRST GOVERNMENT OF CLIVE. 263 Unless he interfered in the administration of affairs, Bengal would go to rack and ruin, and the Company's settlements be swamped in the general anarchy. He suppressed the rebellions within the three provinces by guaranteeing the safety of the Hindu officials. The prime minister escaped to Calcutta and was taken under English protection. , Clive especially guaranteed the Hindu governor of I Behar, named Bam Narain. This man ruled the country between Bengal proper and the dominions of the Nawab of Oude. By giving him a guarantee, he was kept from deserting Meer Jaffier and going over to the Nawab of Oude. The fear of an inva- sion, however, was soon over ; the Nawab of Oude was called away by troubles in the North-West. Meer Jaffier was forced to respect tlie guarantees DiffiruuposHiou of clive. of Clive, but he was very jealous of the inter- ference. Chve, however, could not help his position. He already saw that he had no alternative but to exercise a paramount power or abandon the coun- try. If Behar was invaded from -without, the Nawab had no one to look to but Clive. Mean- while, had the rebelKons of the Hindu governors continued in the provinces, they would have laid the country open to invasion. Meer Jaffier was w^ell aware of his weakness. Authority ot the Nawab He knew that he was helpless without Clive. Still ^1?;^'"^'^ ^^ his mortification was none the less. Before the capture of Calcutta, no Englishmen appeared at Murshedabad, except as supplicants for trading privileges. Since the battle of Plasscy, the English French interest in the Dekhau 264 EAELY RECOKDS OF BRITISH INDIA. were lords and masters. The Hindu grandees were making tlieir court to Clive, just as tlie English merchants during the previous century had been accustomed to make theu^ com't to the Nawah and his great men. M:ihrattas and Tlic victorlcs of CHvc liad made him famous in MD^'huls court Clive. India, before he went to Bengal. Before the battle of Plassey, the Mahrattas of Poona offered to help him against the Nawab of Bengal. After the battle, as will be seen hereafter, he received flattering overtures from the Mos^hul court at Delhi. Ruin of the Wliilst Clivc was tryincr to keep the peace in French interest t/ u i X Bengal, the Erench were making war in the South- ern Peninsula. The declaration of war in 1756 between Great Britain and Prance had revived the old struggle between the EngUsh and Erench in the Carnatic. A large Erench force landed at Pon- dicherry under the ill-fated Count Lally. Clive sought to create a diversion, by sending an expe- dition under Colonel Eorde to drive the Erench out of the Dekhan. The story of the expedition has lost its interest. It will suffice to say that Erench influence in the Dekhan was ruined by Lally. He recalled Bussy from the Dekhan. The conse- quence was that Eorde succeeding in expelling the Erench from the Dekhan. Subsequently Lally laid siege to Madras, but was compelled to raise it. He was next utterly defeated at Wandewash by Sir Eyre Coote. Pondicherry was taken by Coote and Lally returned to Erance, where he was condemned to death, and most unjustly executed. FIRST CSOVKHNMEXT OF ('LIVE. 205 INIcantime the En^rlisli in Bensral had troubles of The shaiuada their OA^^l. In the beginning of 1759 there was a ^'"»''^^- storm from the north-west. At Delhi, the King, or Padishah, was entirely in the hands of his Vizier, and was in danger of his life. His eldest son, known as the Shahzada, fled from Delhi to escape from the A^zier. After many adventures and wander- ings, the Shahzada appeared on the border of Behar. He gave out that his father, the King, had given him the government of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa. He was soon at the head of a large army. Clive marched to the frontier and soon disposed nefeated by -•- Clive. of the Shahzada. Meer Jaffier expressed much gratitude for tliis service. The Vizier at Delhi was equally pleased at the overthrow of the rebel prince. He sent the letters or sunnuds of investitui'e to Meer Jaffier, as Xawab of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa. He also sent a title of honour to Clive; subsequently the Xawab gave a jaghire to Clive for the maintenance of the title. It was given out that the grant of the jaghire was an act of grati- tude on the part of the Nawab for the defeat of the Shahzada.^ 1 This title led to the celebrated acquisition known as Clive's jaghire. In India under the Moghuls it was customary to give a giant of land with a title ; the recipient fanned out the lands at a comparatively high annual rate, and paid a smaller yearly quit-rent into the imperial treasury. After the battle of Plassey, the Nawab had ceded a large territory on the bank of the river Hughli to the English Company. The Company paid a quit-rent of thirty thousand pounds to the Nawab, and farmed out the lands for a hundred thousand pounds. The Nawab made over this quit-rent to Clive, which waa henceforth known as Colonel Clive's jaghire. 200 EAIU.Y RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. wnr will, the 111 1759 Clive was involved in hostilities with the Dutch. Dutch. A Dutch armament suddenly arrived from Batavia and sailed up the Hughli Ptiver. It turned out that whilst Meer Jaffier had been flattering Clive, he had been . intriguing with the Dutch at Chinsura ; and the Dutch had arranged to help liim with a fleet against the English. There was no war between Great Britain and Holland, and consequent- ly it was difficult for Clive to decide how to act ; yet it was ol)vious that the Dutch armament at Batavia threatened Calcutta ; that if the armanent effected a junction with the Dutch force at Chinsura, the two combined might overwhelm Calcutta. Clive took upon himself all the responsibilities of a war ; he fought against the Dutch, as it were with a halter round his neck. He barred the advance of the Dutch; he left them to begin the attack; he then routed them utterly. He compelled the Dutch to acknowledge themselves the aggressors and to pay compensation for all losses and damages. The Dutch government in Europe made loud com- plaints, but they had no remedy. Clive had beaten them both at diplomacy and at arms. Moor .Tamer Thc complicitv of Mccr Jaffier in the Dutch IrighteutU. . . expedition was beyond all doul)t. Indeed it might be conjectured that Clive got his jaghire, not because he had defeated the Shahzada, but because Meer Jaffier was in mortal terror lest Clive should punish him for liis intrigues with the Dutch. It seems far more likely that the jaghire was given as a peace- offering than as an act of gratitude. FIRST GOVERNMENT OF CLIVE. 2G7 In 1759-60 the Slializada again threatened Bchar, ciive rptums to snpported by the Nawab of Oude. Clive sent a "" force against the invaders under the command of Major Calliaud. The first administration of Clive was drawing to a close. He embarked for England in February 17G0. He was in the zenith of his fame at the early age of thirty- five. The policy of Clive at this period mav be gathered Poney of cuve = -•• "^ ■•- JO his letter to I'itt. from a remarkable letter which he addressed to William Pitt, dated the 7th of January 1759.' He told Pitt that no trust or reliance could be placed uj)on the Nawab, and still less upon the heir apparent to the throne at Murshedabad. A strong European force in Bengal was therefore indispensable, and Clive thought that two thousand European soldiers would put an end to all alarm. If the JSTawab or his successor proved troublesome, such a force would enable the English to assume the sovereignty of the country. It would be easy to obtain letters of con- firmation from the Court at Delhi by engaging to send a yearly tribute to the King, as His Majesty's share of the revenue of the province. The people of the country would rejoice at the change of rulers." 1 See Malcolm's Life of Clive, volume II, page 119. 2 Clive estimuted the gross revenues of Beugnl, Behar, and Orissa at three or four millions sterling. In the early years of the reign of Aurangzeb, the iin[)eri:il share of the revenue of Bengal amounted to fifty-five lakhs, or more than half a million sterling. In 1665-66 Tavernier saw this amount of money being carried in hard cash from Bengal to Delhi. (See ante, page 154.) Neither Tavernier, nor any one else, could estimate the gross revenue. Forty years later, when Nawah Murshed Kuli Khan was trying to in- gratiate himself with the Moghul Court at Delhi, he sent more than a million sterling to the imperial treasury as the king's share of the revenue of Bengal. 2(18 EARLY KECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. ciive onrered the ClivG f iii'tlier told Pitt that the Vizier at Delhi post of Ut'Wiiu , by the Moghui \^^^\ ah'eacly sounded him on this point. The Vizier Court : reasons «' J^ for refusing. ^^^^^ offered CUve the post of Dewan, or Collector of the revenue of Bengal, Beliar, and Orissa. Origin- ally the post of Dewan had been distinct from that of Nawah or Nazim. The Dewan was the financial minister who collected the revenue in the "name of the Emperor; paid all the official salaries from that of the Nawab Nazim down^vards ; and remitted the surplus to the imperial treasury at Delhi. The Nawab Nazim was the military commander of the province, who was supposed to keep the peace, and help the Dewan to collect the revenue. But the two posts of Dewan and Nawab Nazim had become united in one man ever since the days of Mui'shed Kuli Khan. Clive declined the separate post of ELing's Dewan. It would have excited the jealousy of Meer Jaffier, and he had not a sufficient Euro- pean force in Bengal to enable him to carry out the measure in the teeth of the Nawab. ^ Previous seheme Straiic^c to sav, Olive's scheme for the sjovern- of Culouel Mill. o 1/ ^ o ment of Bengal resembles one which had been drawn up twelve years previously by a Oolonel James Mill. In all probability Olive never saw it.*^ Oolonel James Mill had lived twenty years in India. He projected the conquest of the thi'ee provinces 1 It will be seen hereafter tliat the post of Kiug's Dewau was subsequently accepted by Clive in behalf of the Euglish Company. No historian, as far as 1 am aware, has referred to Mill's scheme. It lies buried in an appendix to Bolt's Affairs in Bengal, The original is very diffuse, like most English in the eighteenth century. The remarks in the text give all the points in Mill's memorandum. FIRST GOVERNMENT OF OLIVE. 2G9 of Bengal, Behav, and Orissa, under the flag of the Emperor of Germany. In 1710 he submitted his sclieme to Francis of Lorraine, the husband of Maria Theresa. "Tlie jMoghul empire," says Colonel Mill, "is overflowing with gold and silver. She has always been feeble and defenceless. It is a miracle that no European prince with a maritime power has ever attempted the conquest of Bengal. By a single stroke infinite wealth might be acquired, wliich would counterbalance the mines of Brazil and Peru. " The policy of the Moghuls is bad ; their army is worse ; they are without a navy. The empire is exposed to perpetual revolts. Their ports and rivers are open to foreigners. The country might be conquered, or laid under contribution, as easily as the Spaniards overwhelmed the naked Indians of America. " A rebel subject, named Aliverdi Khan, has torn away the three provinces of Bengal, Beliar, and Orissa from the Moghul empire. He has treasure to the value of thirty millions sterling. His yearly revenue must be at least two millions. The pro- vinces are open to the sea. Three ships witli fifteen hundred or two thousand regulars would suffice for the undertaking. The British nation would co- operate for the sake of the plunder and the promo- tion of their trade. The East India Company shoidd be left alone. No Company can kec}) a 270 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. secret. Moreover, the English Company is so dis- tracted as to be incapable of any firm resolution." ciive'8 ideas of It lias bccn said that Clive conquered Benj^al for couquest, ^ '-' the sake of the late Company. From his letter to Pitt it would seem that he did nothing of the kind- He mshed all conquests in India to be transferred to the British nation ; and he suggested to Pitt that the surplus revenue might be appropriated to the payment of the national debt. Pitt's objections. Pitt coucurrcd with Clive as regards the prac- ticability of the scheme, but he saAV difficulties in the way. The Company's charter would not expu'e for twenty years. The Judges had been already consulted, and decided that the conquests in India belonged to the Company and not to the Crown. Moreover, if the conquests were transferred to the Crown, Pitt was of opinion that they might en- danger the public liberties. It is a curious co- incidence that a single century should have precisely intervened between the day when Clive penned his letter, and the day when the direct government of India was assumed by the Crown.' 1 Only-ergbt weeks were wanting to complete the century. Clive wrote on the 7th of January 1759. The proclamation of the Queen's assuming the direct Government of India was made on the 5th of November 1858. T CH.1PTER IX. CALCUTTA RECORDS : CHANGING NAWABS. 17G0 TO 17G3. HE departure of Clive from Benf^al was followed critical state of ^ ^ Bengal. bv what may be termed the revolutionary period. Clive had foreseen that the existing status could not last. He had propounded his scheme of government to Pitt ; but the famous war minister had raised objections. Some decided step was absolutely necessary. Delay might be attended with serious danger. Hindustan was swarming with adventurers, Mahratta and Afghan. A helpless !N'awab with a rabble army would never repel the warlike bands from the north-west who were carving out princi- pahties in India. An English force could hold Bengal against all comers ; but there was no money to pay for it. The revenues of the Xawab were swallowed up by his rabble following ; and it was impossible to expect that the Company should provide for the defence of Bengal out of their profits as merchants. Eortunately Mahrattas and Afghans were at war against each other iii the Upper Provinces, or Bengal might have been overwhelmed at any moment, and all the advan- tages gained by the battle of Plassey might have been sacrificed at a simple blow. 272 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Governors Hoi well and Vansittart. Bengal threatened. Kawab Jaffier deposed. Clive was succeeded for a few months by Mr. Holwell as Governor of Calcutta. Holwell was the man who had written an account of his sufferings in the Black Hole. He was naturally spiteful against all Nawabs, and especially so against Nawab Jaffier. He was succeeded by Mr. Vansittart, a well-meaning man, who was soon called upon to take serious action. The Shahzada and Nawab of Oudh were turn- ing up again under novel circumstances. The King of Delhi had been murdered by the Vizier. The Shahzada proclaimed himself King under the name of Shah Alam, and appointed the Nawab of Oudh to be his Vizier. They raised an army and began to threaten Behar. The dethronement of Nawab Jaffier was thus per- haps a political necessity ; a stronger man was wanted for the place. Meer Cossim was pitched upon ; he had married a daughter of Nawab Jaffier, and was known to be a soldier of capacity. There was no difficulty as to terms. The Calcutta Council ex- pected a donation of twenty lakhs of rupees to be distributed amongst themselves. Meer Cossim was ready to promise payment, but Vansittart refused to take the money. Indeed so large a sum, equal to more than two hundred thousand pounds ster- ling, could scarcely have been forthcoming out of an empty treasury, with a dangerous enemy on the frontier.^ 1 Mr. Mill, and every historian after him, says that Mr. Vansittart took the money and distributed it. It will he seen herciifter that the charge was H caluuiuy as far as Vausiltuit and Warien Hastings are conceiued CALCUTTA RECORDS: CHANGING NAWABS. 273 Nawab Cossiiu was placed upon the throne witli- installation c t ^ ■*- Nawab Cossiin. out the slightest opposition. Meer Jaffier yielded to his fate, and gave up the post to his son-in-law. The people of Bengal cared nothing about the change of Nawabs, and thus the English could already depose and set up Xawabs at will. The English and Nawab Cossim took the field invasion ^ ^ , ^ repelled. against the King and Nawab Vizier. The details of the military operations are of no moment. It will suffice to say that the enemy was utterly routed. The Nawab Vizier fled back to Oudh. Shah Alam surrendered to the English, and took up his abode at Patna, the capital of Behar. The records in the Home Office at Calcutta becrin Records of ti.e ~ HoiuB Office :it about this period. The letters which passed be- ^'"'<"""'^- tween the Governor and Council at Calcutta and the Court of Directors at London form the most valu- able portion. The Governor and Council at Cal- cutta reported the progress of events. In reply the Court of Directors reviewed what had happened and passed their orders. These records are diffuse but intelligible ; they tell the actual state of affairs ; at the same time they show that neither the Board at Calcutta, nor the Directors at London, were able to read between the Hues. It is obvious from the records, assisted perhaps ^ot^m ' ^ ^^' by a knowledge of after events, to see that from the first, Meer Cossim was bent on emancipating him- self from the English. He did his best to with- draw from all intercourse with English. He put a stop to all money disputes with his allies by ceding s 27 i EARLY IfECORI)^ OF BRITISH INDIA. three districts,* yielding a yearly revenue of lialf a million sterling. He was under tlie impression that this revenue would satisfy the English once and for all, as it would suffice to maintain an English force in time of war, and to fill the coffers of the Company in time of peace. He left the English to administer the affairs of these three districts as they pleased. He thus entered upon the undisturbed possession of the remainder of the three provinces. Moreover, he moved his capital from Murshedabad to Monghyr. Murshedabad was not much more than a hundred miles from Cal- cutta. Monghyr w^as nearly three hundred miles. At Monghyr Naw^ab Cossim could train and dis- cipline an army without observation; and it will appear from the sequel that he formed an army at Monghyi' that fought against the English with an obstinate bravery far exceeding that of any native army encountered by Clive. Shah Aiani at All tlils whllc Sliali Alaui was livins^ in a verv anomalous position at Patna. He w^as nominally a rebel when he was defeated by Clive and Nawab Jaffier. He was nominally a King w^hen he was defeated by the English and Nawab Cossim. In reality he had hitherto been a 2)uppet in the hands of the NaAvab Vizier of Oudli ; and now he had siu*- rendered himself to the English and Nawab Cossim, ^ The three districts were Bunlwan, Midiiapore, and Chittagong. For some years no change was made in the native administration of the three districts. The Company's servants merely took the uett collections from the zemindars, or farmers of the revenue, and left the native zemindars to collect the revenues after their own fashion, and administer justice in their own way. Patua. CALCUTTA KECORDS: CHANGINCJ XWVAIJS. 2*75 and was living on their bounty at Patna. But for all this ShahAlam Avas Kinj?, and niiffht have mounted En-ush propose the throne at Delhi, if he could only have got there. ^''"" '° ^'^^^'^• The state of Delhi at this period is beyond any- thing that can be imagined from Eiuopean ex- periences. The anarchy and confusion Avas not brought about by the struggles of internal parties but by conflict between foreign enemies. Por years Delhi had been a bone of contention between Mah- rattas and Afghans. In 1759 the Vizier, supported by Mahrattas, had murdered the King, the father of Shah Alam. Since then the Vizier had been driven out of Delhi by the Afghans under Ahmad Shah Abdali. In January 1761, the Afghans under Ah- mad Shah Abdali had crushed the Mahi'attas at Panipat. The defeat was followed by a massacre of Mahrattas, which left Ahmad Shah Abdali undisputed master of Hindustan. Ahmad Shah Abdali was anxious to place Shah Afghan infiu- -■- enccsi predom- Alam upon the throne of Delhi. He raised a son of '^^^'"^'^tueihi. Shah Alam to the throne, until Shah Alam should himself arrive at Delhi. Shah Alam was then most anxious for the English to conduct him to Delhi. "What the English thought of this proposal may be gathered from the following extract of a general letter sent by Mr. Vansittart and Council at Calcutta to the Com-t of Directors. The President and Board at Calcutta are thus speak- Extracts from ■•■ Calcutta records. ing, as it were, to the Comi of Directors in London : — ''The first thing- that occnvs under the head of Country KinpShahAiam T> •ji-r>i • or~i A i« returns towards rowers IS the rroclamation or Shah Alam (formerly known ueihi; fails to 27o EAIILV RECORDS OF BRITI.^H TXfTTA. obi ain the help bv the iiame of tliG Sliahzada) as Kin"" of Delbi. He re- of the Euglisb. *' , , -ii i i • • n -r i niained at ratna till the beginniiig- ot June, and was ex- tremely desirous of having a body of English forces accom- panying' him to his capital ; but as we were uncertain of Colonel Coolers regiment coming down from the coast/ and the security of your possessions in Bengal was first to be regarded, we found it impossible to spare a sufficient detach- ment for undertaking so distant and so important a service. The King, therefore, being pressed by his relations at l)elhi to proceed thither with all expedition, and Shuja-u-daula, the Nawab of Oude, whom he has appointed his Yizier, having advanced to the borders of this Province to meet him, he determined not to wait longer for our assistance. The Na- wab Meer Cossim supplied him with considerable sums of money during his residence at Patna, and at the time of his departure caused Sicca Rupees to be struck in his name throughout these provinces ; of which having advised the President, it was agreed that the Siccas in the name of Shah Alam should also be struck in our Mint on the 15th of July, which was accordingly done, the usual notice being first given. Shah Alara is not, however, as yet gener- ally acknowledged. The late V^izier [at Delhi] has en- gaged some of the chiefs of the empire in his party, and has formed a considerable army to oppose the King and Shuja-u- daula on their way to Delhi. These last were by our freshest advices about ten days' march on this side of Agra, which was in the hands of the late Delhi Vizier, so that upon the whole the event of this affair is very doubtful.^ " We hope, however, that none of the contending parties will return this way, and that Bengal will continue to enjoy a state of tranqiiiliity." * The "coast" always refers to the Coroiiinndel Coast j in other words, to the Madras Presidency. Thus the Calcutta letter means that the Governor and Council were uncertain whether Culonel Coote would bring up his European regiment from Madras. Had they been assured on this point, an English foi'ce would even at this early period liave been sent to Delhi to place Shah Alam on tlie throne. AYhat the result would have been, lew cnu divine. - General letter :o Court, l£th November 17G1, paras. 56 to 71. CALCUrrA UECUUDS: CHANGIlXt; NAWAl'-S. 277 It ultimately turned out that neither the En2:lisli ppsie.mor nor Nawab Cossim -would help Shah Alani. At the "I'U" the Kiii,?. same time both were anxious to get what they could out of him. The name of Padishah, or King, was still held in profound respect throughout Hindu- stan ; and his sign manual sufficed for the grant of provinces. Meer Cossim had been made Kawab of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa by English prestige. He W'as anxious to sret letters of investiture from the King, under the King's seal. It would not only confirm his right to the three provinces, but render him independent of the English. He would be Xawab, not by the nomination of foreigners, but by the favour of the King. Shah Alam, on the other hand, insisted upon the payment of the old annual tribute as the imperial share of the revenue of the three provinces. He w'ould not give the letters of investiture without some guarantee that the imperial share would be paid. In the end Kawab Cossim agreed to pay the King an annual tribute of twenty-four lakhs, or tw^o hundred and forty thousand pounds sterling ; and by this large sacrifice of revenue secured the letters of investi- ture. Mr. Yansittart heard that Xawab Cossim had Desiffns of ti.e got letters of investiture for Bengal, Behar, and ^^"^ *^"'s- Orissa, and naturally followed the example. He asked the King for letters of investitui*e for the jaghire lands granted by Nawab Jaffier, and for the three districts ceded by Meer Cossim ; he also asked for similar letters investing Mahomed Ali, 27y KAKLY llECOKDS OF BKlTlSil INDIA. the English Nawah of Arcot, with the government of the Carnatic. ' Mr. Vansittart evidently thouglit that the request for the letters was a very simple one ; but he was told that no letters of investiture would be granted, unless the imj^erial share of the revenues of the Carnatic, as well as that of the three districts in Bengal, was sent to the King. He was evidently taken aback by the refusal. It will be seen hereafter that the Directors were equally offended with the King; they thought the King ought to have granted the letters of investiture out of gratitude to the English. The following extract from the letter to the Court already quoted sufficiently details the facts : — '' By the Nawab Cusslm's letter to tlie President, wliicli lie laid before the Board the 12th October, we are advised of his having received from Shah Alam the Sunuuds \_i. e., letters of investiture] for the three provinces. The English " We directed Maior Carnac and Mr. McGuire, and after- applj to Shah -i r\ ^ ^ ^ Ahim for other wards Coloncl Cootc aud Mr. McGuirc, to apiDly, as soon as Sunuuds. ' . i. y J ' Shah Alam should be acknowledged King, for Sunnnds for the Company^s possessions and privileges in Bengal, viz. : — " The zemindari of the pergunnahs or lauds about Cal- cutta granted by Meer Jaffier. " The jaghires of the districts of Burdwan, Midnapore, and Chittagong, granted by the present Nawab, and the confirmation of the freedom of our Mint. Also for Sunnuds " We directed also application to be made at the same time at Arcot. ' for the Sunnuds for the Provinces of Arcot in the name of the Nawab Mahomed Ali Khan, with whom we have been so long allied. These requests were made by Major Carnac, who was detached by Colonel Coote to escort the King to the borders of the Province; and the King wrote upon the 1 Sec ante, pnge 146. CAU'UTTA IJErOHDS: ('llAX(;iXi; XAWAl'.S. 271) papers of requests that thoy should be g'raiiteil whenever a proper tribute was remitted. The Major transmitted to us copies of the said papers of requests with the Kin^^^s super- scription, and advised us at the same time that the King had offered to confer on the Company the Dewani of Bengal on condition of our being- answerable for the Royal Revenues ; but as we were sensible that our accepting of this post would cause jealousy and ill-will between us and the Nawab, we thought it more prudent to decline it. "^ The next move of Xawab Cossim betrays the Designs of same desire to get rid of English interference which HiuduVrindecH. he had shown ever since he became Nawab. Clive had put an end to rebellions by giving guarantees of protection to Hindu grandees. Mr. Vansittart withdrew the guarantees. The subject was one of bitter controversy at the time. The general letter may be left to tell its own story : — '^ In your commands of the 13th March 1701/ you have Non-intcrferenec „ , . - ... . , with the lavoured us with your opinion in general as to our conduct Nawab's scr- with the country "•oveniment. We are very happv in the asrearardsRam „, ■ , ,, . Narain. coniiuence you are pleased to express in our management, and shall endeavour to conform to those views of economy and good order you therein recommend. Our sentiments with respect to protecting the servants of the countiy gov- ernment agree perfectly wi:h yours. Those who have re- ceived such protections have proved in general false friends to us, of which the transactions of Roy Doolub and Nund- comar,-^ mentioned in our advices of last season, may be * This offer of the Dewani is a repetition of the offer already made to Clive. In 17G5 it was accepted hy Clive, as will be seen in the nccount of liis second admini'tration of Bengal. It was offered in 1761 on the condition that the English would conduct Shah Alam to Delhi. - Not at Calcutta. * Roy Doolub was the Hindu Prime Minister of MeerJaffier; Nundr^nmar was the Hindu Governor of Hughli. The lives of both, as well as that of Kam Narain, had been guaranteed by Clive. 280 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. esteemed a proof. Those two, however, do remaiQ under our protection, but we shall take care that the number of them does not increase. Our Select Committee^s address of the 29th December 1759, which you take notice of, does not mention the particulars of the eng'ag-ements that subsisted between Ram Narain [Nawab of Behar or Patna] ;^ nor can we find them anywhere. We could, therefore, con- strue them no otherwise than as justice and equity and the constitution of the country would admit. We supposed them accordingly to be of this nature, that he should have the protection of the English as long- as he should duly give an account of his administration to the Subah" of Mur- shedabad, and be answerable to him for the revenues of the Behar Province according to their real produce, or at least according to the terms agreed with the late Nawab Jaffier Ali Khan, which were extremely easy. Upon this footing we were determined still to support him, and sent orders accordingly to Major Caruac early in the month of March, which orders we afterwards repeateil several times, and en- deavoured to the utmost of our power to bring him to an adjustment of his accounts with the Nawab [^. i rotors review- o ing events. Directors, and they proceeded to express them- selves to the following effect : — "Governor Hutchinson (Governor of St. Helena) informs us Nc«sof suah that the Lord Anson left Bengal the 23rd of March, and difs't.' Uelena, brought the news of the Shahzada^s being proclaimed Emperor ; that a faction, of which the late Delhi Vizier is at the head, had set up a nephew of the Shahzada to oppose him ; and that it was therefore supposed a detachment of the forces at Calcutta will join and march to Delhi with the troops the Shahzada can raise, and place him upon the throne.'^ " Although the Lord Anson has not yet arrived with your cireumstances advices, yet we have great reason, from the care ]\Ir. Hutchinson n^re^eto^s'w„uM 1 ,1 . 1 i_-i'iii- 1 have helped Shah always takes to send us any material intelligence he can Ahim. collect upon the arrival of our shipping, that what we have quoted from him as before mentioned is fact. We own, if your endeavours for setting the Shahzada upon the throne of his ancestors could be carried into execution without risk to the Company, and at a moderate expense, it may secure him in our interest, and be the means of settling the pence and quiet of the kingdom ; but, as a transaction of this kind depends upon many circumstances and unfoi'eseeu events, and you have most probably already embarked iu this under- taking, we are entirely at a loss to give you any directions, 1 Sepnrate letter fluted 8th April 1761. 2 Uesp.'iti'h, dated Loudou, 30th September 1761. Poslscri^l, dated 7tU October 1761. 28G EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA or even our sentiments thereupon^ in other than these g-eneral termSj that wo hope you have acted, and will act^ with the utmost caution on considering- all circumstances with that prudence and attention which an affair of such a serious and important nature requires. Remarks of the " Tliis is the third revolution in Beng-al wherein the very Directors on. . •' Beu^*''"- -^ \ ^ yn ix » z'adlf * "'* ^^'''" ^ reward of Ks. 50,000, or some such sum, to several black persons to assassinate the Shahzada. It is further reported that this paper was carried to INIr. Amyatt, the tlien chief of Patna, for him to sign, which he refused as a most infiimous measure. It is also added that this very paper is in the bands of a Sayyid in Bengal. We have always had the highest opinion of Colonel Calliaud, and have given many proofs of our regard to his merit and services. But this 1 Meer Cossim was called Cbuta Nnwab, or Little Nawab, before he was placed upon tlie throne of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa. CALCUTTA KECOTJDS: CHAXCINO NAWABS. 287 is an imputation of so exiraorJinary and serious a nature tliat we think it highly necessary it should be cleared up, as well in vindication oK Colonel Calliaud's character, as the honor, g-ood name, and interest of the Company, which are essentially interested therein. We, therefore, positively direct that you make the most strict and impartial enquiry into this affair ; and, should it be possible that Colonel Calliaud is guilty of such a crime (which we heartily hope will not be the case), he is immediately to be dismissed our service and sent to England by the first conveyance that offers. But, should he be at Madras, and he proves guilt}^ of what is here laid to his charge, 3'ou are to signify these our orders to our President and Council there, which are on no pretence to be evaded. " If Colonel Calliaud should, contrary to our hopes, be found Punishment if culpable, you are to make our resentment of so high a crime as public as possible, even to the Shahzada himself ; that all the world may know how jealous we are of the honor and reputation of the Company; and that we shall always, to the utmost of our power^ preserve the same unsullied by the severest resentment against any of our agents, of whatsoever rank or station, who shall violate the same. " Should any other Europeans, either in our service, or otherEuropenns, residing under our protection, be concerned in or accessory bVpuni she'd in'' to the crime imputed to Colonel Calliaud, they are also","''' "'"°°""' upon being found guilty, in like manner to be sent home immediately ; and, should any Natives of India be concerned therein, they are to be treated with the utmost severity.^ " In our letter of the 30th September last we gave you our compiaintsof sentiments in general upon the late revolutions in Bengal, revoiuiron!"^"'^ since which we are further informed of the Shahzada^s defeat, bis throwing himself upon your protection, and the immense expense of his maintenance out of the Comjiany^s money, of no less than one thousand rupees a day, and of some views of 1 If will suffice to say tliat the necessary explanations were furnished, and that Colonel Calliaud was fully and honourably acquitted of the charges broujjht against him. 2ft8 EARLY UECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. placing" bim upon the throne of Delhi. It is alleg-ed, indeed, that cave will be taken that the Nawab defrays the said daily expense^ which we hope will be the case, or at least that some other certain means be fixed upon to reimburse that expense and all other expenses on his account.^ Upon a view of the frequent revolutions, the great designs proposed to be executed, and the consequent heavy expenses too justly to be apprehended, we are filled with the utmost anxiety lest the events should turn out to the prejudice of our affairs; and, in particular, the scheme of assisting the Shahzada, we hope has been well considered, and, if entered upon, carried out with that prudence as may leave no room to impeach your conduct.- Tranquillity in " It is from a Quict Situation of affairs onlv in Beno-al that lii-n^al most i i i r- r i iiesirabio. wc Can hope to have the benent of the large revenues we are at present in possession of. A permanent tranquillity, there- fore, must be the constant object in view ; for, extensive as our territories and revenues are, they must be exhausted by the army, which, by your treaty with the present Nawab, is to be paid out of the produce of them. Revenue of fifty " Thc three districts granted to the Company by the treaty lakhs Yearly • ■> , -i -vt i -ii • j- f t under ihe treaty witli the present JNawaD, you say. Will in time 01 peace, under with Meer cossim most proper regulations, produce an annual revenue of fifty lakhs satisfactory. x r o .> i j and [upwards.^ This is a noble object and well worth your utmost care and attention, more especially at this time, when our wants are so great and our expenses so heavy. We shall accordingly depend upon your taking such prudent measures as may secure to us the quiet possession of those territories, and the collection of the revenues to as large an amount as may be consistent with the ability of the inhabitants, and ' The amount was paid by NaWab Cossim. The money was probably spent for the purpose of securing letters of investiture of the post of Nawab of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa. 2 General letter from 19th February 1762. 3 This was the estimated revenue of the three districts of Burdwan, Mid- napore, and Chittagong, which had beeu ceded to the Company by Meer Cossim on his accession. Fifty lakhs, roughly stated, are equivalent to about half a million sterling. CALCUTTA RECORDS: CHANGING NAWABS. 289 tliat humane lenity which we would always have observed on such occasions. "It gives us pleasure to observe that the King of the Reaieanspof tho Burmas, who caused our people at the Negrais to be so Kui^'Hsh iu" cruelly massacred, is since dead, and succeeded by his son, wlio seems to be of a more friendly and humane disposition. However, the intention of withdrawing all the remaining people and effects from thence is a right measure, especially as the country is so much involved in troubles as you represent it. We have reason to think the late King would not have proceeded to such a cruel extremity without some provocations. The President and Council of Fort St. George, under whose more immediate cognisance the aflfjiirs of that country falb appear by their last advices to be making some enquiries into the causes of the King's indignation against the English We therefore defer giving our sentiments thereon until we have the final result of those enquiries. We cannot omit observing, however, that it has been alleged the people belong- ing to some of the country ships had taken part with the Peguers and behaved in a hostile and violent manner. We hope by this time our President and Council have gone through the enquir}^ ; and, if they find any truth in this allegation, that the persons concerned have been duly censured, for we will never suffer our affairs to be embroiled by the indiscretions and bad conduct of private persons residing in India under our protection. You will be informed from Fort St. George whether any persons belonging to Calcutta have been any way guilty in this afijiii-, and we shall expect you will resent this behaviour as it shall appear to deserve. " It is very disagreeable to us to find so many pages in your nivhiy aissatia. diaries filled with dissents and disputes in the transacting !!i4u'''si'il''iho some interesting part of our affairs pointed out in your letter councu.'' of the 12th November 1761. We have read and re-considered the whole very attentively, and must express the great dissa- tisfaction it has given us to find our interest and the general welfare lost in these warm altercations.^' ^ > Sepamtc letter o.'' 66 liiirus., dated 17ll) December 1762. T 290 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Further TliG foregoiiig extracts may appear somewhat despatches to n i i j i the Court of tedious to mociem readers, but they reveal the en- Directors. ' *' ormous difficulties under which the English laboured dui'ing this troubled period. The Court of Directors were anxious that the conduct of their servants should be governed by right principles, but they were hasty in their conclusions. Meantime the President and Board at Calcutta were despatcliing further information to the Court of Du-ectors. The extracts from the general letters to England tell their own story : — Results of the " We acquainted Your Honors in our address of the Sth Warren Hastings April that Mr. Hastings was g-one on a deputation to the Nawab with a view chiefly to confirm the friendship between us^ and remove some little apprehensions that we had reason to imag-ine he had received from some false reports that had been industriously spread in the country ; and with further instructions from the majority of the Board to make a de- maud of the twenty lakhs he had offered the President and the other gentlemen present of the Select Committee at the time of concluding- the treaty for making him Nawab. To the first of Mr. Hastings^ instructions, the Nawab answered that the little disputes which fell out between his people and ours, and w^hich would sometimes unavoid- ably happen, did not weaken his confidence in our frieud- sliip, upon which he rested his chief dependence. To the second, he absolutely refused to comply with the demand for twenty lakhs, urging that he had fulfilled all his engage- ments, and was under no obligation to give such a sum or any sum to the Company or any person whatever. For further particulars we beg leave to refer your Honors to our corre- spondence with Mr. Hastings during his absence, and the memorial delivered to him by the Nawab, entered in Consul- tation of the 14th June.^ 1 General letter, Fort William, 30tb October 1762. CALCUTTA RECORDS: CHANGING NAWABS. 291 " In Consultation of the 4th October, the President sent to Proposed aiiianec the Board a letter wliieh he had receiv^ed from Mr. Verelst Munipur against at Chittagong-, eontainiuy,' an invitation which had been made Burma, to him and his Council by the Rajah of Meckley^ to assist him in obtaining- redress for some grievance he complained to have suffered from the Burmas, and enclosing- a i)a{)er of articles of alliance which the Rajah had tendered to be executed between him and us for this purpose ; which letter and articles of alliance being- taken into consideration, it was the opinion of the Board that the articles were very favour- able, and that the opportunity would be no less so if we could with propriety come into the scheme for obtaining- reparation from the Burmas for the repeated ill-treatment of our factory at Negrais ; but, as it was judged necessary and proper, before we proceeded further, to call for the opinion of Colonel Coote and Major Caruac upon the subject, the Secretary was ordered to summon them to the next consultation. "At our next consultation the Colonel (Coote) being indis- Application of posed could not attend, but the President and Major (Carnac) iieiVto r'^eovM being both present, the consideration of this aflfair was resumed, when the President laid before the Board translates of some letters which he had received from the King and Shuja-u-daula, earnestly soliciting the assistance of a large body of troops to enable the King to gain possession of the capital. This application, we are informed by a letter from Mr, Ellis to the President laid before the Board at the same time, has been, owing to a powerful alliance made by the former Vizier, Ghazi-ud-diu Khan,^ against Shuja-u-daula. As we cannot yet foresee what revolutions and troubles may be produced from this alliance, and how far they may affect Bengal, we judged it impro])er for the present to detach any Europeans to so distant a quarter as Meckley {i. e., Munipur) ; but it being likeiwse thought prudent not to lose the opportunity of contracting an alliance with the Rajah of IMeckley, it was re- solved to detach a force of six Companies of Sepoys, commanded 1 Meckley is a proviuce about 250 miles to the eastward of Chittagong, and Moiieypoor {i. e., Muuipur) is the capital of the said province. 8 (jhazi-u-diu was the Vizier who put to death the father of Shah Aluiu. 292 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Reply to Shah Alan) : Mr. Van- sittart proposes seeing the King at Moughjr. Mr. Vansittart will also concili- ate Meer Cossiui, Further enqui- ries about Ram Churn; implica- tion of Nund- cooinar in the forgery. by three Officers, to take a post there, and under tie direction of Mr. Verelst or one of his Council, make them- selves acquainted with the strength, nature, and dispositions of the Burmas, and of this intelligence to send us advice, but to proceed to no hostilities without our positive directions. We are hopeful that this undertaking will open to us a road for obtaining satisfaction for the many injuries we have suffered from the Burmas ; and, in case nothing disturbs our tranquillity to the northward, we shall certainly; embrace it. " In answer to the King's application for troops, the Presi- dent has wrote him a complimentary letter, informing him of his intended journey up the country, and that he will again pay his more immediate respects to him when he arrives at Monghyr. When the President arrives there, he purposes conferring with the Nawab on this subject; and, having by this means gained time to be further informed of the views and connections o£ the several chiefs, we shall pursue such measures as shall seem most proper for preserving the tran- quillity of these provinces, and securing the Company's possession and interests under our care. " With this view, as well as for the sake of a change of air, the President set out a few days past for Monghyr, where he will have an interview with the Nawab, and concert with him the most necessary measures for obtaining those salutary ends. This meeting, which the Nawab has frequently urged and requested, will, we are hojieful, have the effect of remov- ing entirely all those idle reports which a few busy people have industriously propagated about the country, with the design of alarming and making him uneasy; as likewise those mutual jealousies which it has not failed to cause between our people and the government in most parts of the country to the interruption of the private trade. " In our address of the 8th April 1762 by the Godolpliln, we informed you of an enquiry we had had before us concern- ing a parcel of letters stopped on the road to Cuttaek, and said to be a correspondence between Ram Churn and Kunder Khan ; and in our packet by that ship we transmitted our proceedings CALCUTTA RECORDS: CHANGING NAWABS. 293 at longtli in the said enquiry. We remarked to Your Honors lu our said address that several strong- circumstances appeared to give reason to believe that the whole packet was a forgery. Fresh circumstances appearing since to confirm the said belief, we entered into a further examination of this matter, our pro- ceedings wherein are likewise transmitted in the Godolphin's packet. This farther examination has fully convinced us that the letters were forged : and there is great reason to think that Nundocoomar was contriver thereof, with a design of ruinino* Kam Churn. \Ye cannot say there are such direct proofs as to fix the crime upon him with an absolute certainty; nor, indeed, is it possible there should be positive proofs while he and his Mun- shi (the only persons supposed to be present when the letters were forged) have resolution enough to persist in denyino* it. " The before-mentioned Nundcoomar is the same person Dangerous who was convicted some time ago of carrying on a corre- Nundcoo'nl'ir. spondence with the Burdwan Rajah of a nature inconsistent with his duty and hurtful to your interest. We find also that the same Nundcoomar was instrumental in carryino* on a correspondence between the Shahzada and the French Governor General before the capture of Pondicherry. This in- formation was given to the President, and by him being laid be- fore the Board, was proved by such positive evidence as to leave no room to doubt of the fact. The least we could conclude upon such crimes was, that Nundcoomar, being a person improper to be trusted with his liberty in your settlement, and capable of doing mischief if he was permitted to go out of this province, either to the northward or towards the Dekhan, should therefore be kept confined to his own house under so strict a guard as to prevent his writing or receiving letters." Subsequently the Coui't of Dii-ectors reviewed ucspatbcos from the events above recorded at considerable length, and expressed themselves to the following effect' : — " It gives us great pleasure to find that the country en- Highly gratified joys a perfect tranquillity. We earnestly recommend that you rraDquimty'^aucl ■ — prosperity. ' Gcucral Icttei with headings, London, 8Lb March 17G'3, 128 paras. 294 EARLY RECORDS OP BRITISH INDIA. use your best endeavours to keep it so, as the only means to secure to us the advantages we may hope for, and which we have in some deforce experienced by the investment you have made ; and in the agreeable assistance you have given Madras and Bombay to furnish money for our China ships which were to be despatched from them ; and as your senti- ments respecting the conduct to be held towards the Country Government, and adopted by you, coincide so fully with our orders, we shall not enlarge on this subject. An advance to " From the general view you have given us with respect to Delhi would be ° -.i ,i oi i i i i i i • most injudicious: your tfausactions With the ananzada who has been proclaim- the best policy *' n r- i i T is isolation and ed King at Delhi, as well as from the several proceedings neutrality. ° ' . ^ c i on the same subject, which appear at large in your Select Committee's Diary, we observe Major Carnae and Colonel Coote were both very solicitous to have engaged in the pro- ject of accompanying the King to the capital with a body of our forces. However, we are better pleased that the King left the province without our being obliged to engage in such a hazardous enterprise; and, had Colonel Coote's regiment arrived before the urgency of the King's afiPairs required his [?". e., the King's] moving forward to the capital, yet we should have hoped you would not, even then, have been tempted to engage in so distant an undertaking, but have contented yourselves with the right step you have taken in treating that Prince with all due respect during his stay in the Province of Bengal, and escorting him with a proper force to the borders. For, in short, our sentiments are, that, if we can secure our present possessions and privileges in l^engal, preserve the peace of the province, and the Nawab in the government, and prevent the borders from being invaded or disturbed by the neighbouring Rajahs or other Powers, we shall be fully satisfied, and think our forces judi- ciously employed in answering these principal points. For we are by no means desirous of making further acquisitions, or engaging our forces in very distant projects, unless the most absolute necessity sliould require it to answer one or other of the principal views before mentioned. CALCUTTA RECORDS: CHANGING NAWABS. 295 " The Suimiids being sent by the King to the Nawab for Nawab Meer the three provinces is a very agreeable circumstance. But havr b.cn bettor 1,1 1 T i • • i\ 11- supixirleil in although you do not mention in the general advices any com- iiaiminf; the ,. Til -NT 1 1 1 • 1 • ITT Sunnmls for plaints that the JNuwab made on his bemg obho-ed to pur- Kintrai, Behar, chase those grants at a much greater expense to him after «'>ah Aiam. the King passed the borders, than he vsrould have had to pay for them while the King was at Patna, if the Nawab had been properly supported in his pretensions by our Commanding Officer then there, yet something of this appears in your diaries ; and if true, surely our force and influence were not so effectually applied as they might have been. And, al- though we are unwilling to pass a censure on any particular person on this point, yet we hope to have no occasion in future even for a doubt that the interest of a Prince^ we are so closely connected with by treaty has been slighted. For, if the difficulties are multiplied upon him, and his power and influence not supported by us when he wants our assist- ance, he must suffer by such measures, as our interest must likewise do in the end. "Your refusal of the Dewani of Bengal offered by the Approve of the T7-- -1 1 n'r>i-ii-i rf fwsal of the King was right, and we are well satished with the lust and uewani offered prudent reasons you o^ive for declining that offer. However, ingratitude of '■ J » & _ 'the Kiu?. it seems something extraordinary to us that, at the time the King makes this advance, he should return the applications made to him for the Sunnuds to confirm our privileges and possessions in Bengal, in so loose and unsatisfactory a manner, and even to require a present before he passes the order in due form. The great services we had rendered His Majesty, and the generous treatment he met with from us, as well as from our ally the Nawab, during his stay at Patna, surely claimed a more distinguished treatment, and at least a full grant of our requests, without such an expensive demand annexed. The time and manner of the refusal seems like- wise very extraordinary ; your applications being returned at the very juncture Major Carnac was escorting him to the River Karamnassa, or borders of the province, a service which 1 By Prince is meant the Subahdar or Nawab in Bens;al. 296 EAELY EECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. must then be fresh iu the King-'s memory; and therefore there is reason to apprehend the King is not so cordially attached to us as we mig-ht have expected. However, if you judge the obtaining such Sunnuds to be absolutely neces- sary, you have, we doubt not, continued your application to have them perfected. It was a prudent consideration in you to add to your applications on this subject our ally the Nawab of Arcot, which we suppose you have or will con- tinue to do when you think it proper to move again in this affair; and if the King should succeed in his preten- sions to the throne, the sooner the grants are obtained, the less we apprehend will be the expense attending it. Surprised at the " We cannot Comprehend on what grounds the majority of unwarrantable , r~i -i i i i j_i t> dcniaiKi of twenty the Couucil, Contrary to the remonstrances made by the rre- lakli^ from the . -ii i-h/ittj* Kawab. sideut agamst it, could venture to authorise Mr. Hastings to demand of the Nawab in our name twenty lakhs of rupees, upon the bare pretence that he had made an offer of that sum to Mr. Yausittart and the Select Committee at the time of making the treaty for his accession, and which had been then so properly and so honorably refused. We rejoice at the just and spirited refusal he gave to that unwarrautable demand.' Full apologies to "And that we may vindicate ourselves in the mind of the NawabTu u!o '^'^ Nawab from such unfavourable impressions which this demand. Company."' or othcr Unfavourable circumstances, must naturally have left upon him, we direct that the President in your name do in the most respectful manner by letter acquaint him that we are truly sorry that the conduct of any of our servants has given him umbrage, or created in him a moment^s distrust of the sincerity of our friendship ; that we totally disapprove, and shall properly resent, all such misbehaviour ; and to assure him that it is our most earnest wish, and our posi- tive orders to you (which we strictly direct), that our servants join him in every reasonable measure for his support and welfare, and observe every engagement entered into i Separate letter, dated London, 13tli May 1763. CALCUTTA r.ECOUnS: CHANIJINC, NAWABS. 207 with him. You will acquaint him, likewise, that we shall have the honor to give him these assurances by letter the next opportunity ; the ship Pitt being upon the point of her departure, we have not leisure to do it now." It will be seen from the foregoing records that wonk capacity Mr. Vansittart was a man of good intentions. He ""■"»• had refused to receive any of the money offered by Meer Cossim; yet Mill's History, on very doubtful evidence, says that the twenty lakhs were paid at the time, equivalent to two hundred thousand pounds sterling, and that Mr. Vansittart received five lakhs, or fifty thousand pounds. But whilst Mr. Vansittart proves liimseK to have been strictly honom'able, it is certain that he lacked the capacity and strong will of Clive. It is a grave question whether he was justified in abandoning Pwam Narain to the tender mercies of the Nawab ; as a matter of fact, the Hindu grandee was deprived of all his wealth and put to death. CHve was bitterly incensed at the violation of his guarantee ; he declared that it set every Hindu in the thi'ee provinces against the English. CHAPTER X. CALCUTTA RECORDS: PRIVATE TRADE. Uensal gomastas. Private trade. Extension of private irade inland. A. D. 1763. rr^HE next batch of Calcutta records refers to -*- events quite as revolutionary as those connect- ed with the change of Nawahs. It refers to proceed- ings wliich were unquestionably lawless ; but the lawlessness was not that of Europeans, but that of their native agents or gomastas. This quarrel, so petty in its rise, led to the most lamentable results; to a war betw^een the EngHsli and the Nawab, which led to the dethronement of Meer Cossim and the restoration of Meer Jaf&er. The servants of the English Company derived theu' chief wealth from thek private trade. Their official salaries were almost nominal. They had carried on this private trade in the eastern seas from the earliest days of the British settlements in India. Every one traded in some way or other, from the governor of a settlement to the lowest servant of the Company, not excluding the chaplain and schoolmaster. Hitherto this private trade had been confined to the seaports. When the English became masters in Bengal, they sought to extend it inland. They began CALCUTTA KECOKDS: riilVATE TEADE. 299 to deal in country commodities, such as salt, betel- nut, and tobacco. They claimed to be free of all duties of every kind, by virtue of the privileges which had been guamnteed in unqualified language by existing treaties. When the Enghsh Company originally obtained Ensii>^h na^ and _ _ . ilustuck. from the Moghul the privilege of trading duty free, the officers of the Nawab insisted upon searcliing every boat and every person in the boat. Subse- quently it was agreed that whenever the boat showed the English flag and Company's dustuck or permit, no search was to be made, and all goods in the boat were to be passed duty-free. After the battle of Plassev, the English had N^ative respect " ^ lor the English grown all-powerful in Bengal. The grandees bent before them ; the natives regarded them with re- spectful awe. No one ventured to offer resistance. Those who had the best reason to hate them were the foremost to flatter and propitiate them, and only plotted against them in dark and secret ways. So long as Xawab Jaffier was reigning, every native of position sought the favour and protection of the English. When Jaffier was deposed, he refused to stay at Murshedabad. He begged that he might go either to Mecca or Calcutta ; he could not, he said, be safe in Bengal excepting under Enghsh protection.* There are no traces of any complaint of the harshness or injustice of the Enghsh ; their honesty and good faith in all commercial dealings 1 Malcolm's Life of Olive, Vol. II, page 268, note. When deposed, the Nawab wauted his case to be referred to the jodginent of Olive. 300 EAPtLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Native agents or gomastas. Complaints against the ffomastas. had won general confidence. The Vizier at Delhi, as already seen, was ready to entrust the collection of the revenues of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa to the English Company as rei^resented hy Clive/ It was not the English, but the native servants of the English, that terrified the people of Bengal. The employment of native agents or gomastas was already familiar to the English. In 1753 the Company had ceased to employ native contractors, and had dealt direct with weavers and artisans through the medium of these gomastas. The ser- vants of the Company employed gomastas in like manner to carry on the inland trade. The gomas- tas were entrusted with the English flag and Company's dustuck; they bought and sold duty free. Under such circumstances, the inland trade of Bengal soon grew into a vast monopoly in the hands of the servants of the Company and their gomastas. The monopoly was bad enough ; the conduct of the gomastas was far worse. Native servants of Em'opean masters are generally inclined to be pre- tentious and arbitrary towards their own country- men. It is easy to understand how they would condu.ct themselves in remote districts, when in- vested with the emblems of authority, and when the English name was regarded with awe. Bengallees of no character or position, who had been seen at Calcutta walking in rags, were sent out as the See ante, page 2( CALCUTTA RECORDS: PRIVATE TRADE. 301 E^omastas of English merchants, factors, or writers. They assumed tlie dress of English sepoys, lorded it over the country, imprisoned ryots and mer- chants, and \^Tote and talked in an insolent man- ner to the Nawab's officers. NaAvah Cossim com- l^lained that the gomastas plundered his people, injured and disgraced his servants, and exposed his government to contempt. The gomastas, he said, thought themselves the equals of the Company. In every district, village, and factory they bought and sold salt, betel-nut, ghee, rice, straw, bamboos, fish, ginger, sugar, tobacco, opium, and other native commodities. They forcibly took away the goods of ryots and merchants for a fourth part of their value, and obliged the ryots to give five rupees for articles which were not worth one.' Nawab Jaffier never ventured to make such com- pretensions of plaints. He depended solely upon the English for support ; he was the nominee of the English ; with- out them he was nobody and nowhere. Nawab Cossim liad taken warning by his example to sever himself as much as possible from the English. He had withdrawn to Monghyi*, secured letters of in- vestiture from the King, disciplined his army, wreaked his vengeance on the grandees who had been protected by the English in the time of Xawab Jaffier, and was in every respect prepared for the collision. He still made a show of friend- ship towards Governor Vausittart and Warren ' Verelst's View of Bengal. 302 EARLY RECOlliJS OF BRITISH INDIA. Hastings, a member of the Board. He ordered Ms officers not to liinder the gomastas of his friends, but to thwart the gomastas of his enemies. He raised the question of whether the Company's ser- vants had the right to carry on the inland trade duty free. No doubt he had the abstract right to levy duties as an independent ruler ; but he had abandoned this right by treaty ; and no exception whatever had been made as regards the duties on inland trade. It would have been expedient for the English servants of the Company to have abandoned that right, but in so doing they would have sacrificed the bulk of their incomes for the public service, and this was the point on which the question mainly turned. The records may now be left to tell the progress of the struggle : — Recriminations " The President havinei" laid before tlie Nawab tlie complaints between the '^ English aiKi the q( i\^q o^entlemen of Chittaofono-, Dacca, and Luckipoie, cou- Nawab s officers => » &^ •> i ' inland trade'''' ccming' the stoppagc of several of their boats at different chokeys {i. e., custom houses), also received from him a multitude of complaints from his (the Nawab^s) officers in several parts of the country against the English gomastas, but particularly those at Rungpoor, Silhet, Rangamutty, and other distant parts of the country, employed chiefly in the trade of salt, tobacco, betel-nut, and some few other articles of inland trade, which he urged we were restrained from before the troubles. The Nawab enlarged much upon the detriment his revenues suffered by the authority exercised by our gomastas in carrying on their trade in those distant parts, where we had no government to restrain them, and his was too weak to do it ; urging finally that he thought we had no rijjht to deal in those articles. CALCUTTA RECORDS: PRIVATE TRADE. 303 " The President and Mr. Hastino^s being- of opinion that the niscnRBion in 1 ^ • 1 L- -x li i.i -1 ,1 • the Hoard: all trade m snen articles ou^-iit not to he carried on to the preju- the nireoiors dice of the revenues of the Country Governmentj and that Calcutta. rules should be hiid down for the conduct of onr g-omastas and the officers of the Government, respectively, proposed to the Nawab articles for this purpose. The Nawab declined binding himself by these articles, but represented again in a letter to the President, just before his departure from Monghyr, the grievances before mentioned ; and the Presi- dent wrote him an answer concerning the regulations before proposed, and some other articles, and assuring him that the inland trade should be carried on upon that footing only, and our gomastas to be subjected in the manner therein mentioned to the officers of the Government. The rest of the gentlemen of the Council at Calcutta did not approve of the articles proposed in the letter before mentioned from the President and Mr. Hastings, nor of the President's letter to the Nawab, which had been transmitted them from the factory at Dacca, and determined, therefore, to call all the members of the Board to Calcutta, excepting those at Patna and Chittagong, whose great distance would make it incon- venient, that they might consider this affiiir. Certain it is, the officers of the Country Government have made a very ill use of the concessions made in their favour, and the restraints laid upon our agents and gomastas, as they have in many places stopped our trade entirely, and grossly insulted our agents and gomastas. The members of the Board called down on this occasion being arrived, we shall take this affiiir into con- sideration tomorrow, and lay down such rules for carrying on the inland trade, and for the conduct of our gomastas towards the Country Government, as shall appear most equitable and expedient for removing the grievances of both parties. In the meantime the President has represented strongly to the Nawab the insolence of his officers, and told him that till full and sufficient regulations are agreed on, our trade in any articles must not be interrupted ; and if any attempts are made to the contrary, we shall use our own force to remove all sucii ob- structions," 304 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. JTcotiiifr of the full Boaril at Calcutta. Cimsnltations, lotli February : Jlajors Adams and Carnac eummoned. Measures for preventing disorders during the interval. Consultations, 19th February: translation ordered of all Firmans, Hus- boolliookunis, and Treaties. Under the foregoing circumstances a full Board of all the members of Council was held at Calcutta. The proceedings began in Eebruary 1763 and lasted till the following April. The following extracts from a letter sent to the Court of Directors, dated 18th April 1763, will explain the nature and scope of the Consultations : — '^ Previous to our entering upon business, motions were made for summoning Major Adams and Major Carnac to sit at the Board on this occasion ; which motions being approved by the majority, those gentlemen were accordingly summoned. " Major Adams, being then at the cantonments near Ghy- rottee, could not be present that day. All that we concluded therefore at this meeting was, upon a due and serious con- sideration of the several letters received, to issue orders to the different subordinates, instructing them, until they should receive our further directions, to carry on both the Company's and private business in the same manner as before, paying such duties on certain articles in the latter branch as they usually did pay previous to the late regulations ; and on this footing to prevent, as far as possible, any violence being committed either by our people or the Governments ; but that, if any such insolencies should be attempted as to oblige them to make use of force, to endeavour to seize the principal person who might have thus endeavoured to injure us. And to prevent all pleas of ignorance, which might in such cases be urged on the part of the Government, the President at the same time wrote circular letters to the several Foujdars, informing them, as far as was necessary, of these regulations and orders. '' We met again on the 19th with an intention to consider the first article of the said plan compared with our Firmans, Husboolhookums, and subsequent Treaties; but many of these exact translations being previously required to enable us to judge properly on the question, we ordered translations to be accordingly prepared, and for that day proceeded on CALCUTTA RECORDS : PRIVATE TRADE. 305 tlie second article of the plan, relative to the Nawab's havinc^ shut up one of the gates of the city of Patna and ran an entrenchment into the river, which prevented the tracking* of boats on the side of the factory. Our opinions and deter- niination on these points, as well as regarding a gunge or wharf belonging to the said factory, which theNawab wanted to remove, are entered at large on the face of the consultation, to which therefore we refer you. " The translations and other necessary papers ordered to be consuifations, prepared being laid before us, were entered on the face of matter inXlJute the next consultation agreeable to the order in which they tiousf ^ '^"*^' ■were read ; and, being likewise fully considered and debated on at the Board, the substance of the whole was reduced into a set of questions, on which the several members were desired to deliver in their opinions in writing against the Tuesday following. " Accordingly, they were delivered in ; and it was found to consultations be the opinion of the majority that, from the tenour of our nrnjoiitTaVreed Firmans, Husboolhookums, and Treaties, we had an absolute f"omaii\TuUes: rii^ht to carry on our trade, as well foreign as inland, in the saiuo The" ^ "" Provinces of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa, by means of a dustuck (or permit) free of all duties or customs to the Country Govern- ment. But that the Nawab might have no room left for complaint, or to think that we intended pressing our rio-hts harder upon him than we had done on former Nawabs, it was agreed to continue to him a certain consideration in the article of salt. And by the sum of the answers to the question, * What that consideration should be ?' It was resolved, in consultation of the 2nd March, to allow him 2| per cent, upon the Hughly market price; and that salt was the only article of trade which should pay any customs whatever to the Country Government.' 1 The Consultations for 1762-G3, which have becu preserved in tlie Home Office, are in a very iuiperf'ect state. The correspondence and minutes are not entered in the Consultation volumes, but are only preserved in the bundles, and much is wanting. It appears, however, that the Firmans from the King had granted to the English Company absolute freedom from all duties; that these terms had bccu iigrccd to, both by Jaflkr Ali Kliau and u servants. 300 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Merits of the " Tlus being "become here an established and fixed resolution, ted to the Dirce- it now remains with Your Honors to judge of the justness of it, as well as of the validity of the arguments made use of on both sides on the occasion. Consultations, " Having determined that our o>omastas or agents should 5th Marcli : ® , n ■, m p ^ -kt ^ } regulations for 1)6 undcr uo actual coutrol of the oifieers or the JSawab s the mutual re- •n-t • -i • I'liii straint of (jovernmeut, but restrained by certain regulations which snoula English agents '' ° . and theNawab's be laid down, wc proceeded to settle such rejj^ulations as we thought necessary for restraining accordingly our agents and gomastas from interfering with any affairs of the Country Government, injuring the people or being injured by them, and for deciding disputes which might arise between them. For these ends we determined that a gomasta being ag- grieved by any dependant upon the Government should first make his application to the officer of the Government residing on the spot; from whom, if he did not receive immediate satisfaction, he should send his complaint to the Chief of the nearest factoiy, who should be empowered to take cognisance of the same, and demand or exact, if necessary, the satisfaction which the case might require. On the other hand, where the Government's people should have reason to complain against English gomastas or agents, we determined that they should be directed to give the said agent or gomasta notice of the complaint in writing, and require and recommend him to turn Cossim Ali Khanj that Mr. Vansittart had given up these privileges, ex- cepting as regards goods bought for exportation ; that he had agreed that English merchants should pay a duty of nine per cent, ad valorem to the Nawab on all articles of inland trade, such as salt, tobacco, and betel-nut ; and that he had suggested that all complaints should be settled by the Nawab's own oflScers. Tlie majority of the Board over-ruled these proceedings of Mr. Vansittart. It was urged that he had no right to abandon privilesres which had been freely granted. The idea of having questions settled by the Native Courts was especially denounced. If an Englishman or his agent gained a suit he would be obliged to pay the expenses of the Court, plus a chout of twenty- five per cent, on the money recovered. If he refused to pay, he never gained another suit, as it could then be the interest of the Native Judge to decide against him. Native merchants were sensible of the impossibility of carrying on business under such restrictions, and purchased the protection of some Liglitr native uthcial. CALCUTTA RECORDS: PRIVATE TRADE. 307 to settle the same in an equitable and amicable manner ; which if the gomasta or agent should refuse or neglect to do, that the Government's officer should then transmit an account of it to the Chief of the nearest English factory, who should be required to examine strictly into the affair, and decide it ac- cording to justice. Likewise, to render the whole everywhere effectual, we appointed a member of the Cossimbazar Factory Resident at Rungpoor, to take cognisance of the complaints and decide the disputes which might arise in the districts too distant from any of the established factories, and who should, at the same time, carry on and endeavour to improve the Company's silk investment made at that place. '' During the course of these deliberations, the President Mr. Vansittart's ._ .„ correspondence wrote frequently to the Nawab, hrst, to inform him that the with the Nawab, , . 1 , n 111 1 , ^ 1 1 7th March. regulations he had proposed could not talie place, ana afterwards, of the many complaints which arrived from all quarters against his officers, and for which we should expect to receive ample reparation. The first answer of any con- sequence to these letters arrived with us in Council the 7th of March. In the one of them he contained his answer with respect to trade in three propositions or demands, which are extracted and entered at length in the body of the consulta- tion.^ In the other there appeared throughout a general disinclination to give us any satisfaction for the interru{)tions and ill-usajre which we had received from the officers of his Government. And both letters, on the whole, seemed rather an evasion than any answer to the President's representation. " It was, therefore, agreed that a letter should be imme- Deputation of .. •• e ^ • ^ II t Messrs. Amyatt diately wrote him, containing our opinion ot his letters, and and Hay to the 1 The three demands of the Nawab are set forth in a letter entered upon the Consultations of the 7th March 1863. They were to the following effect : — (1). — That the Nawab should correspond only with the President and have nothing to do with the other members of the Board. (2), — That the English should abstain from all inland trade, and confine their trade to exports and imports. /3). That the English gomastas or agents were to be uinciuiblo to his (the Nawab's) own officers. 808 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Question of corresponding through the President or throug'h the whole Board, Abolition of all duties by the Nawab, 22nd March. giving him a full account of what had hitherto been resolved on by the Board in consequence of the reference made to the Firmans, HusbulhookumS; and Treaties, by the tenour of which the Board were determined to abide. It was at the same time resolved that Messrs. Aniyatt and Hay should be de- puted to the Nawab, to explain to him more fully the justice of those rights and pretentions, and settle with him the rule for levying the custom which we had agreed should be paid him ; and that for the former purpose they should be furnish- ed with copies of the said Firmans, Husbulhoohums, and Treaties. Of this resolution likewise the Nawab was now advised ; and further acquainted that, as we should examine into all the complaints against English agents and gomastas and cause them to make amends for whatsoever injustice it might appear they had committed, so we should insist upon justice against all those officers of his Government who might prove guilty of the obstructions and extortions laid to their charge, and that they should be obliged to make reparation for all losses occasioned thereby. "As the first of the before-mentioned propositions from the Nawab implied an ignorance of the natm-e of our Govern- ment, and the powers of the Council, Mr. Johnstone moved that a public letter should be wrote to him, explaining these points, and re-demanding the President's letter, which con- tained the regulations ; and that such letter should be signed by the whole Board, and go under the Company's seal. But the majority of the Council dissenting to the latter part of this motion, it was agreed that the point mentioned by Mr. Johnstone should be expressed in two additional para- graphs to the letter before ordered to be wrote nnder the sign and seal of the President. " On the 22nd March Mr. Johnstone laid before tlie Board copy of a sunnud and perwauna of the Nawab's which he had received in private letters from Patna, the foi-mer contain- ing an exemption of all duties whatever within his Govern- ment for the space of two years, and the latter to the Naib CALCUTTA RECORDS : PRIVATE TRADE. 309 of Patna enjoinino^ the strictest compliance witli the term of this siiimud. On these Mr. Johnstone desired the opinions of the Board might he collected, and a resolution come to before Messrs. Amyatt and Hay should proceed on their deputation. " This was accordingly done next council day, for the consultations, majority of the Board being of opinion that the Nawab as (Ut( rmination to Subah had no authority to take such a step; that it was done with tiie Nawab. with a view to prejudice the Company's business, and counter- act the measures which the Board had been taking for the welfare of trade in general; it was therefore resolved that a paragraph should be added to Messrs. Amyatt and Hay's instructions, directing them to represent this to the Nawab, and insist upon his revoking the suunuds and collecting duties as before. " Messrs. Amyatt and Hay now remained ready to set out consultations, *' •' . "^ . 3l>th ,March : when the Nawab's answer should arrive ; but, on receipt Nawab rcfuscs.to '- receive t lie thereof, it was found to contain rather a refusal than an deputation. acceptance of the visit, so far as we should regard the public business, from a conception, that his having abolished all kinds of duties rendered any further conference or regula- tions respecting trade altogether unnecessary. The further substance of his further letters congested is a repetition of his former remonstrances and I'ctorts, and a refusal to give us the satisfaction required fur the losses sustained by the disturb- ances. The several members were therefore desired to deliver in their opinions on those letters, whether they thought Messrs. Amyatt and Hay should proceed, or what other measures should be taken to briug these disputes to a con- clusion. " Accordingly, in consultation, the 1st of April, the opinions Consnitations, were given in and read; and the matter being also fully con- deputation sent sidered and debated on, it was resolved, in conformity to the Nawab toid that o ^ • • jiiii-\T 11 111 '• . bis refusal might voice or the majority, that the JNawab should be again written hrinsona • • J 1 • J 111 • n rupture. to, to insist on his receiving the intended deputation for treat- ing upon business ; and that Messrs. Amyatt and Hay should proceed to and wait his answer at Cossimbazar. The Presi- dent therefore addressed him, under that date, representing 310 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. the indecent style of his letters and the impropriety of his conduct; that these had been already such as would fully justify our coming to a rujiture : but, to show him how distant such a proceeding was from our thoughts, we acquainted him at once with our intentions that, with a view of settling the disputes in the country in the most effectual and speedy manner, and to avoid coming to extremities, we deputed Messrs. Amyatt and Hay to confer with him at Monghyr ; and that this commission treated on many other points, besides that of duties, tending to the welfare of his Govern- ment, as well as the Company's. That he accordingly ought to regard such an appointment as that of two gentlemen of the Board as the strongest mark of our friendship and confidence paid him; and that it therefore behoved him to write us immediately that he would receive the deputation in a suitable manner to treat upon business. That, if he refused so reason- able a demand, it would not be in our power to remove the suspicions and jealousies which he harboured in his mind ; and, as the alarms in all parts of the country must be attended with very great loss and detriment, both to his affairs and the Company's, that a breach of the friendship between us would infallibly ensue. That we once more assured him of our hearty resolution to support and assist him in every branch of his Government ; but that if he refused to receive the pre- sent deputation, it would be regarded in no other light than a declaration on his side of his intention to come to a rupture with us. Consultations, " Sincc the departure of INIessrs. Amyatt and Ha}-, we have Nawab^"^ ■ received two more letters from the Nawab, in one of which refusesTo receive he still declines receiving those gentlemen upon business for epu a ion. ^^^ peasous he had before given. But, as we had already resolved to be determined in our measures from the answer which he shall send to our letter of the 1st April, we thought it unnecessary to reply to those, and only transmitted copies of them to Messrs. Amyatt and Hay for their information. Nawab asked for " i^ quc of the President's letters to the Nawab he had denmle charges SP'"*' desired him to write what particular accusations he had to CALCUTTA IlECOKDS: PRIVATE TllADE. 311 lay to the chai-fxe of Mr. Ellis; as also to point out to liim any particular instances of the losses which he had sustained through the oppression and bad behaviour of Eug-lish gomas- tas. But we find from his answer, which is one of the above letters, that all he has to allege against Mr. Ellis, are the complaints which happened iu the course of last year; and as to the last he refuses to discuss the affair further/^ The most important point in the foregoins^ court of Direc I'll j_- ^ 1 1 11 -KT '^'"'^ comUiuii the extracts is the action taken by the Nawab to evade *^'''*'""^ ""'^'■<^- the pretensions. The English persisted in main- taining the privilege of carrying on the inland trade without the payment of duties. The Nawab abolished the payment of all duties for the space of two years. By thus abandoning all duties he broke up the monopoly by placing the native mer- chants on the same footing. No one could deny the right of the Nawab to abolish duties, excej)ting such as were blinded by their own interest. The Court of Du'cctors, having no interest whatever in the question, were enabled to see the matter in a just light. They strongly condemned the action taken by the Board at Calcutta. They administered rebukes to almost every one excepting Vansittart and Warren Hastings. The following extracts will sufficiently illustrate their feelings at this time : — '^ Unwilling as we always are to place too much confidence The Nawab to be in private informations, yet these are too important to pass Ingly"" '^'^'^'"^ ' unnoticed. If what is all stated is fact, it is natural to think that the Nawab, tired out and disgusted with the ill-usage be has received, has taken this extraordinary measure, finding that his authority and government a^re set at nought and trampled upon by the unprecedented behaviour of our servants and the agents em])loyed by them in the several 312 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. parts of the Nawab's dominions. If we are right in our conjecture^ we positively direct, as you vakie our service, that you do immediately acquaint the Nawab, in the Company's name, that we disapprove of every measure that has been taken in real prejudice to his authority and Government, particularly with respect to the wronging- him in his revenues by the shameful abuse of Dustucks; and you are further to inform him that we look upon his and the Company's interest to be so connected that we wish for nothing more than to have everything put on such a footing that the utmost harmony may be promoted and kept up between us.^ Colonel Caiiiaud " Having considered with the greatest attention every cir- acquitted. cumstancc of your proceedings with respect to the allegation against Colonel Caiiiaud for consenting to a proposal of the late Nawab Jaffier Ali Khan to cause the Shahzada to be seized or cut off, we are unanimously of opinion that he stands honourably acquitted of any design or intention upon or against the life of that Prince. Disapproval of " Although wc havc not received any letter from you since tlkcn^gTinT that which bore date the 14th February 1763, which gave us some general account of very disagreeable altercations with the Nawab, yet private advices have been received which take notice that the Nawab having made repeated complaints of the notorious abuse of Dustucks by which he lost great part of his customs, and having obtained no redress, he at once overset the Company's servants by declaring all goods custom free, so that their Dustucks are of no use. All the Nawab's " lu ordcr to promotc this harmony, you are most heartily fedxesseT " ^ and seriously to take under your consideration every real grievance the Nawab lays under, to redress them to the utmost of your power and prevent such abuses in future. And, with respect to the article of Dustucks in particular, you are hereby positively directed to confine this privilege as nearly as possible to the terms granted in the Firmans ; and you are to give the Nawab all the assistance you can to ' Separate letter, Loudon, 30tli December, 1703. CALCUTTA llECORDS : PRIVATE TRADE. 313 reinstate him in the full power of collecting" and receivings his revenues^ which as Subah he is justly entitled to. " We are impatient for your next advices, that we may be impatient for informed of your proceedings with respect to this important intculgcnee. affair, and that we may give you our sentiments thereupon in a more full and explicit manner, which we hope will be before the despatch of our last letters this season. " One great source of the disputes, misunderstandings, and Private trade difficulties which have occurred with the Countrv Government, of aii the Inis- .1,1.1 ,1 . , . „ ," understanding's appears evidently to nave taken its rise trom the un warrant- wtutheXawab. able and licentious manner of carrying on the private trade by the Company's servants, their gomastas, agents, and others, to the prejudice of the Subah, both with respect to his authority and the revenues justly due to him, the diverting and taking from his natural subjects the trade in the inland parts of the country, to which neither we nor any persons whatever dependent upon us, or under our pro- tection, have any manner of right, and consequently en- dangering the Company's very valuable privileges. In order, therefore, to remedy all these disorders, we do hereby posi- tively order and direct — " That, from the receipt of this letter, a final and effectual ah inland trade end be forthwith put to the inland trade in salt, betel-nut, to- ^"^ ^^ ^ '''"' *''^' baccos, and in all other articles whatsoever produced and con- sumed in the country; and that all Europeans and other agents or gomastas who have been concerned in such trade be immediately ordered down to Calcutta, and not suffered to return or be replaced as such by any other persons, " That as our Firman privileges of being- duty free are cer- Export and tainly confined to the Company's export and import trade "lonc^o bt'd^'uty only^ you are to have recourse to, and keep within, the liberty therein stipulated and given as nearly as can possibly be done. But, as by the connivance of the Bengal Government and constant usage, the Company's covenant servants have had the same benefit as the Company with respect to their export and import trade, we are willing they should enjoy the same, and that Duslucks be granted accordingly. But herein 311 EARLY RECOllDS OF BRITISH INDIA. All agents to be abolished. All trade to be carried on through the Company's Factories. All persons acting contrary to orders to be dismissed the service. Nundcoomar to be kept under surveillance. the most effectual care is to be taken that no excesses or abuses are suffered upon any account whatsoever, nor Dustucks granted to any others than our covenant servants as afore- said. However, notwithstanding any of our former orders, no writer is to have the benefit of the Dustuck until he has served out his full term of five years in that station. Free merchants and others are not entitled to or to have the benefit of the Company's Dustucks, but are to pay the usual duties. *' As no agents or gomastas are to reside on account of private trade at any of the inland parts of the country, all business on account of licensed private trade is to be carried on by and through the means of the Company's Covenanted Servants, resident at the several subordinate Factories, as has been usual. " We are under the necessity of giving the before-going orders in order to preserve the tranquillity of the country and harmony with the Nawab. They are rather outlines than complete directions, which you are to add to, and improve upon, agreeably to the spirit of, and our meaning in, them, as far as may be necessary to answer the desired purpose. And, i£ any person or persons are guilty of a contravention of them, be they whomsoever they may, if our own servants, they are to be dismissed the service; if of others, the Com- pany's protection is to be withdrawn, and you have the option o£ sending them forthwith to England if you judge the nature of the offence requires it. " From the whole of your proceedings with respect to Nund- coomar, there seems to be no doubt of his endeavouring by forgery and false accusations to ruin Ramchurn, that he has been guilty of carrying on correspondence with the Country Powers hurtful to the Company's interest, and instrumental in conveying letters betw^een the Shahzada and the French Governor General of Pondiclierry. In short, it appears that he is of that wicked and turbulent disposition that no har- mony can subsist in a society where he has the opportunity ot interfering. We therefore most readily concur with you, CALCUTTA RECORDS: PRIVATE TRADE. 315 tliai Nundcoomar is a person improper to be trustctl with liis liberty iu our settlements, and capaljlc of doing misehiet' if he is permitted to go out of the province, either to the northward or towards the Dekhan. "We shall therefore depend upon your keeping such a watch over all his actions as may be the means of preventing his disturbing the quiet of the public or injuring individuals for the future.^ "We are well pleased that you have enffaired no further f'lad that no • • V> • 1 f •»/• 1 1 help was iriven in assisting the Kaiah of Mecldey (i. e., Munipur) for '" the Kiijah of . . . ' Munipur. obtaining redress for some grievances he complained to have suffered from the Burmas. For, although the advan- tage offered by the Rajah may be specious, and you might have an opportunity of getting redress for the repeated ill-treatment of our settlement at the Negrais, yet the dis- tance of the object, the general weakness of our forces, and the uncertainty of success, surely are sufficient reasons for not proceeding upon new hostilities. We do not disap- prove, however, of your ordering the detachment of six com- panies of sepoys to take part at Munipore under the direc- tion of the Chief and Council of Chittagong- ; provided it may have been the means of cultivating a friendship with the said Rajah, and giving you an opportunity of being acquainted with the strength, nature, and dispositions of the Burmas; that such future use may be made of these cir- cumstances as may be really and essentially necessary for the Company's interest, and on no other account whatsoever. But we shall still be always well pleased with and applaud your endeavours for opening any new channels of commerce/' It would be tedious to proceed further with the c»mnt errora. extracts. It w^ill suffice to briefly refer to the man- ner in which the question was misunderstood in England. There was no question as to the treaty right of the English to trade free of duty. There may have been a question whether the right was 1 General letter, Loiulou, 22ml July 1761. 316 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Treaties only hurried agree- ments. Necessity for a dictator. Suspects the English. conferred only upon tlie trade of the Company, or whether it extended to the private trade of the Company's servants. But that was a question which did not affect the Nawab. The Company ask with some inconsistency why they, the masters, had not been allowed to share in a trade which had become so lucrative to their servants. But that was a paltry dispute between master and servant, with which history has nothing to do. The plain truth was that the so-called treaties were mere agreements patched up on the eve of a revolu- tion. The English were in a position to demand anything; the Nawab expectant could refuse no- thing. There was not even a show of deliberation, for there was no time to haggle over terms. The term " duty free " meant anything or everything. The crisis was one of those epochs in history when nothing could stop the quarrel but the strong arm of absolute power. Had Clive been in Bengal, he would have made himself arbiter in the dispute ; and both the Nawab and the English would have been compelled to submit to liis dictation. As it was, the moderate counsels of men like Vansittart and Warren Hastings were thrown to the winds, be- cause they were wanting in authority. No one heeded them ; both parties were bent on effecting theu' respective objects by force of will. Meantime Meer Cossim began to suspect the de- signs of the Enghsh. He had inklings of the nego- tiations between the English and the young King, Shah Alam. He knew that Vansittart and Warren CALCUTTA RECORDS: PRIVATE TRADE. 317 Hastings were sui^porting his pretensions. Doubt- less lie aseribcd their conduct to weakness ; especially when he saw that the Englisli Governor was thwart- ed by a majority of his own Council, an opposition which few Asiatics in the eighteenth centmy could have been made to understand. Meer Cossim must have been more sure of the sup- i?ciiar.pc of the Iliudu grauUeca. port of his grandees than his immediate jiredecessor. lie had despoiled some of the high Hindu officials ; but the blame fell upon the English, who permitted him to break the guarantee which had been given by Clive. The Hindu grandees were estranged from the English by the withdrawal of the guarantee ; and community of interests led them to make com- mon cause with the Nawab. Meantime the quarrel of the Nawab with the English only served to strengthen his position. The people were regarding the English as their oppressors, and looking to the Nawab for protection. CHAPTER XI. CALCUTTA RECORDS: PATNA MASSACRE. A. D. 1763. audacity. A ^ ^^^^^ Hme tlic Englisli never contemplated •^^ meeting any real resistance from Nawab Cos- sim. They expected that he would yield to threats. They had long ceased to fear him ; they treated him as a creature of their own creation. As for themselves, they never doubted their personal secu- rity, either at Calcutta, or at the more remote factories up-country. Patna, for instance, was in the heart of Behar. It was cut off from Calcutta by the Nawab's capital at Mongh}T.\ Yet Mr. Ellis, the Chief of the Englisli factory at Patna, had all along been one of the most violent opponents of the Nawab and his officials. lu-Hnieanussion Jt ^as uudcr sucli circumstances that the Ensr- lish Commissioners, Messrs. Amyatt and Hay, pro- ceeded from Calcutta to Mongliyr. They were ex- pected to induce the Nawab to withdraw his orders for the abolition of all inland duties. The Nawab was so angry that he would hardly give them a hearing. He rejected every proposition that they made to him. To make matters worse, an English boat attempted to pass Monghyr with a supply of CALCUTTA KEC0ni)8: PATNA MASSACRE. 310 arms for the factory at Patua. The NaAvab was furi- ous at the ncTVs, and stopped tlie boat at Mongliyr. The Eno'lish at Calcutta were equally furious at imperious action ^ ■•■ "^ of the Kuglish. the action of the Nawab. Messrs. Amyatt and Hay received orders from Calcutta to leave Mongliyr unless the Nawab allowed the arms to go on to Patna. This, however, was easier said than done. Mr. Hav was detained at Monsrhvr as a hostanre for the safety of the Nawab's officers who had been arrested by the English. Mr. Amyatt was permit- ted to return to Calcutta. Such was the course of events when a tragedy xerriwe results. was enacted at Patna, almost as terrible as that of the Black Hole. It raised an .outcry in England like that which followed the massacre at Cawn^Dore dm'ing the mutiny. In the present day the story of Patna has been forgotten ; but it may be revived by extracts from the jom'nals of the sufferers, for it is a lesson for all time. Mr. Amvatt left Mon^jhyr in srood spirits. The Mr. Amvatt , , ^ leaves Patna. Nawab entertained liim with a nautch the night before he went away, and he seems to have had no sense of danger. The story of his murder by the Kawab's retainers will appear hereafter. Whilst Mr. Amyatt was at Mongliyr, he carried Enffiish factorr * . c » ^i Patua. on a correspondence with Mr. Ellis at Patna. When he left Monghyr, Mr. Ellis took the alarm. There was an English force at the factory ; but the factory itself was untenable. Accordingly it was resolved by Mr. Ellis and the English at the factory to attack Patna and occupy the town. 320 EARLY IlECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Diaries at Patna. Anniversary din- ner of the battle of Plassey. Contemplated attack on the town of Patna. Pafna taken and lost. The following extracts from the journal of a gentleman at Patna describe the operations which followed : — " June 23rd, 1763.— This day I diued at the Factoiy with most of the Officers, &c., in commemoration of the Battle of Plassey, when I observed by the private conferences of Messrs. Ellis, Carstairs, &c., that the public embroils which had been long threatening- appeared to be coming near to a crisis, which made me take Carstairs aside and ask him whether he thought I was safe to stay longer in the city ; he told me, for that night I may, but no longer, and invited me out to his garden. " 24lh. — This morning I employed myself in settling matters with my Banian and getting my things sent out to Captain Carstairs's ; dined at the Factory, where the gentle- men kept everything very private; arrived at Carstairs's about four o^clock. Upon enquiry of him, understood that they intended attacking the city to-morrow morning, but he had just received a chit from Mr. Ellis, wherein he mentioned he had received intelligence by the foot post that Mr. Amyatt had been entertained by the Nawab with a nautch and came home highly pleased ; wherefore he thought their intentions of attack should be deferred till he heard from Mr, Amyatt himself, which he expected that evening, and should then give him immediate notice. Betwixt eight and nine a message arrived that he had heard from Mr. Amyatt, and that he had leave of the Nawab to proceed to Calcutta on the 24th ; wherefore he ordered the attack should be made on the morning. As they formerly agreed, most of the Officers supped with Carstairs, and I came into the Factory betwixt eleven and twelve, and found all the gentlemen making all preparations for the attack. " 2oth. — The Army moved from Bankipore at two o'clock in the morning, and they judged in the Factory that the Army would reach the city before four. Accordingly, about a qiiarter before four we heard a firing, upon which a party of sepoys who were stationed on the top of the Factory house I CALCUTTA RECORDS: PATXA MASSACRE.! 321 were ordered to keep up a [constant fire upon tlie rampart of the wall next the Factory, and two 3-pounders, which were also there, were ordered to play away upon the same rampart, and the two 2-i-pounders below kept up an incessant fire till daylig-ht (all this period very little firing- was returned from the city, as I believe they were all asleep when attack- ed) . We now observed all the walls lined with our colours and sepoys, which to be sure in our situation was very agree- able, and every minute furnished us with the agreeable news of everything going before us; in short, by nine we were con- fidently assured that we were in possession of every post ; then our great folks began ].[to look into the administration of the province; perwannahs^ were issuing out to the Foujdars'^ to continue their former obedience in sending in provisions, &e., to the city as formerly; Nuzzurs^ were coming in plenty to the Chief, and joy reigned in the face of everybody. Biscuits, wine, &c., were sent in to the Officers to refresh them ; numbers of wounded men were now coming out of the city, which employed Messrs. Ful- larton, Anderson, and self for the day; surmises now passed that we had not as yet got possession of the Fort, and by twelve was confirmed. About two o'clock Carstairs and Kinch came to the Factory and acquainted us that we were beat out of the city, and that it was not in their power to make one man stand; which was the case, for by all accounts less than a hundred men drove our whole Army out, and this sad misfortune was entirely owing to the plundering of our sepoys and soldiers, which turned their courage into avarice, and every one of them thought of nothing but skulking off with what they had got. By three o'clock most of the scat- tered Army returned into the Factory. "After this melancholy accident everybody was greatly Fiipi.t of the nonplused what was the most prudent step to be taken : as oude'.^ ^'"^"'^ * 1 Perwannahs were letters conveying orders. 2 Foujdars were military officers iu chiirge of towns, villages, or districts in behalf of the Nawab. ^ Xuzzui'B were coiiipliuientary offerings on occasion of rejoicing. vv Jj22 EAKLV UECOltDS OF LKITISU INDIA. in such case numbers of scliemes were proposed, and none could determine what was the most advisable ; at last it was fixed to proceed to Shuja-u-daula's province, [i. e., Oude,] but a great difficulty arose in the procuring- of boats. At last with much trouble there were collected as many as we thought would do, and agreed to set off the next evening. ^^ Surrender of the Tlie EnffHsli liacl captiiied Patna ; but soldiers Eudish to Mttr *^ _ -^ coBsim. Qjjd sepoys were alike wanting in discipline, and the town was recovered by tlie Kawab's troops tlie same day. Tlie Englisli were in a dilemma. Tliey conld not remain at tlie factory, for they could not bold it against the enemy. They conld not go down the river to Calcutta, for they would certainly be stopped by the Nawab at Monghyr. They had no aHernative but to go up the river into Oude. They made the attempt, but it failed; the stream was against them, and indeed everything was against them. In the end they surrendered to the Nawab. Some were imprisoned at Patna; others, including Mr. Ellis, were imprisoned at Monghyr. Diary of an Extracts fi'om tlic iournal of an Enoiish prisoner aii-atua. ^^ Patua tlii'OAV furtlicr light on the progress of affairs ; — Mor'b'T " Jf/(/?isl 6///. — Mr. Roaeh-'s boy arrived from Monghyr; brings news of Mr. Amyatt^s head being brought there some time ago ; that Mr. Chambers and some of the Cossimbazar Factory people are there also. Hear that we were thrice re- pulsed in the attack of the city of Muradabad, but the fourth attack carried everything ; that the old Kawab !Meer Jaflier is declared, jiiirdcr of Mr. " lltli. — Mcssrs. Beunct and Thomson were to-day brought Ensign Cooper, to US ; they givc us an account of Mr. Amyatt and Ensign Cooper being killed at Muradabad us follows : — They had CALCUTTA RKCORDS: PATXA MASSACRE. 323 embarked all the party, and sent the horses, &c., with the syces by h^ud. Meetini>; with contrary winds, it was ten days ere they reached Muradabad, when at once they saw troops drawn upon each side of the river with some great guns; they hailed them and desired them to come to, but nob taking notice of them seme of them fired, on which some of our sepoys began to fire also and killed somebody on the shore, on which great guns and volleys were fired, which induced them to put to the opposite shore where was the least tire. Mr. Amyatt, notwithstanding the tire, landed with a pair of pistols ; he took the Nawab's perwannah iu one hand and held it up to them, and a pistol in the other, and advanced to the top of the bank, where he was shot in the leg, and soon after cut to pieces. Eusign Cooper met with the same fate in making resistance, but the other gentlemen they can give no account of, but expect they were sent to Monghyr with Mr. Chambers and the others from Cossimbazar. They also inform us Mr. Hay and Mr. Gulston were left at Monghyr, and remain there yet. These gentle- men have sufi'ered greatly^ being put in irons, and brought up in one boat without cover and scarcely victuals or necessa- ries to cover them, being in all twenty-seven persons. The Nawab here allows ten rupees per day to the twenty-seven people left, and an addition of two rupees per day to us on account of these two gentlemen. "23rd. — As His Excellency! still continues at Monghyr, Nawab at , ,1 • 1 , , • . Monghyr. it gives us reason to ttunlc our troops are not yet in possession of the upper pass. " "24t/i. — Hear for certain our troops are at Shahabad ; that the enemy are repairing what of Monghyr they had destroyed; that everything was in the greatest confusion in His Excellency's camp ; that Somru had the management of everything. His Excellency had not eaten for three days, nor allowed his Nazir to be beat ; that he himself and Somru were at Monghyr and his army advanced to Gulgot Nullah, so that we may hourly expect some news. ' The Nawab Meer Cossiin. 324 EARLY EECORDS OF BUITISH INDIA. Murder of Kuropcans. Nawab marches from MongjT to Patna. Horrible rumours. Diary of Mr FuUarton Burvivor. sole " 2Gth. — This eveuing heard that ten Europeans at Barr had been tied and thrown into the river, so that from this we may guess what we are to expect ; have also an account that some perwannahs have arrived here to several jemadars of His Excellency's camp; some think he will be laid hold of by his own people, " 29th and 30fh. — Hear that His Excellency is two coss this side Ruinulla, and Somru with the Armenians at the nullah ; that his people are going off daily, and he is in great fear of his life ; that about three weeks ago he proposed cutting us all off, but was prevented by Somru^ the Arme- nians, and some of his jemadars. " Tuesday , 4th. — To-day, His Excellency arrived at Ram Na- rain's gardens, and to-morrow comes into the city. They have been very busy to-day mounting guns on the bastions of this place. Heard that Meer Jaffier's brother had made his escape. " Wednesday, 5ih. — Hear the Setts were cut off near Barr. " Thursday, 6th. — Heard this morning that Mr. Ellis and forty-seven gentlemen were cut off last night, so that doubtless our fate must be sealed in twenty-four hours, for which God prepare us all." An English surgeon, named PuHarton, was the sole survivor of the massacre. He had been a medical attendant upon the Nawab Meer Cossim, and never seems to have been in danger. When hostilities began Mr. Fullarton was at Monghyr. Subsequently he was sent to Patna, and was pre- sent there at the time of the massacre. The follow- ing extracts from his narrative show the com^se of events at Monghyr and Patna : — " July 6th. — Mr. Ellis with the rest of the gentlemen were brought to Patna. I petitioned to be sent to them, or be suffered to see them, both which were refused. " The 8th. — Mr. Ellis with the rest of the gentlemen were sent to Monghyr and there confined ; there was Bs. 45,000 of CALCUTTA RECORDS: PATXA MASSACRE. 325 the Company's cash on board the budgerow when Mr. Elb's was taken, and some plate which was given to him, but in the care of some of the Nawab's people, to be given him when he wanted it ; some time it remained with Coja Petruss, afterwards with Mamodom Khan. " The 16th. — I was sent down to Monghyr and there confined separately from the rest of the gentlemen, as I afterwards nnderstood they were all well used, though strictly confined. We had victuals sent us by the Nawab regularly twice a day. August 10th. — The Nawab left Monghyr, and the fort was left in charge of Mamodom Klian ; he treated us with the greatest lenity to appearance, and pretended to carry on a treaty with Mr. Ellis, but it was all a sham, for he never was in earnest. I was allowed to see the gentlemen on account of Captain Turner being ill, who afterwards died of a flux. '' September 13th. — Mr. Ellis and the rest of the gentlemen were sent from Monghyr; Messrs. ElUs and Greentree were in palankeens ; Lushingtnn, Smith, Lieutenant Bowen, Ensign McLeod, and one other gentleman whom I don^t remember, were on hox'seback ; the rest were in irons, some in dooleys, and some in hackeries, and after their arrival at Patna were confined in Haji Ahmad^s house. " September 19th. — I was sent from Monghyr to Patna and confined alone in the Killa. " October 5th. — Mr. Ellis with the rest of the gentlemen Massacre at were inhumanly butchered by Somru, who came that even- ^*"^* ^y somra. ing to the place with two companies of sepoys (he had the day before sent for all the knives and forks from the gentle- men) ; he surrounded the house with his people and went into a little outer square and sent for Messrs. Ellis, Hay, and Lushington, and with them came six other gentlemen, who were all terribly mangled and cut to pieces, and their bodies thrown into a well in the square and it filled up ; then the sepoys were sent into the large square and fired on the gentlemen there, and, rushing upon them, cut them into 326 EAP.LY IIEOORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Kiouses and threats of the Nawab. Flight of the Nawab. Escape of Dr. Fullartou. pieces ia the most inhuraau manner^ and tliey were iLrowii into another well, which was likewise filled up. " The 7th. — The Nawab sent for me and told me to get myself in readiness to go to Calcutta, for that he had been unlucky in the war, which, he asserted with great warmth, had not been of his seeking, nor had he been the aggressoi-, reproaching the English with want of fidelity and breach of treaty, but he said he had still hopes of an accommodation ; he asked me what I thought of it ; I told him I made no doubt of it. "When some of his people then present mentioned the affair of Mr. Amyatt^s death, he declared that he had never given any orders of killing Mr. Amyatt, but after receiving advice of Mr. Ellis^s having attacked Patna, he had ordered all his servants to take and imprison all the Eno-lish in his provinces wherever they could find them ; he likewise added that if a treaty was not set afoot, he would bring the King, the Mahrattas, and Abdulla^ against us, and so ruin our trade, &c.; he had finished his letters, and ordered boats and a guard to conduct me, when, upon the advice of some of his people, he stopped me and said there was no occasion for me to go. Aftei- his sending for me at first he ordered the sepoys in whose charge I was to go to their quarters ; two Moguls and twelve hurkaras to attend me, but to let me go about the city where I pleased. I then appli- ed for liberty to stay at the Dutch Factory, which was granted. " The 14(lu — On the approach of our army Nawab Cossim decamped with his troops in great confusion, and marched five coss to the westward of the city. The hurkaras that were with me having no orders about me, I gave them some money which made them pretty easy. " The 26th. — After giving money to a jemadar that had the guard to the westward of the Dutch Factory by the river side, I set out in a small boat, and got safe to the boats under command of Captain Wederburn that were lying opposite to the city on the other side of the river, and at 1 Ahuiiul Shah Abdali, the sovereign of the Afgh.tus. CALCUTTA RECUUnS: IWTNA MASSACIIE. 327 eleven o'clock that night avrivcd at tlie army under tlic com- mand of Major Adams, laying at Jutly. '' It is needless to dwell on the disaster. It will Ruin of Mccr Cossim. suffice to say that fifty-one Enp^lish gentlemen were slaughtered in cold hlood at Patna, together with a hundred others of inferior rank. The order was given by Nawah Cossim, but the massacre was directed by a deserter from the Prench army named Somru^ who had entered the service of the Nawab. The massacre rendered accommodation impossible. The war which followed led to the utter ruin of the Nawab. Meer Cossim was utterly beaten ; his tlu'eats weve vain and futile ; he fled away to Oude and took refuge with the Nawab Vizier. The Nawab Vizier of Oude was prepared to take re -.sive battle ■^ -^ _ of Buxar, 1761. advantage of the confusion of the times. He was still accompanied by the King, Shah Alam; he still hoped to get possession of Behar, Bengal, and Orissa. The military operations have lost their interest ; there was a mutiny of the sepoys in the English anny ; it was the first on record ; it was suppressed by blowing twenty men from iJ^ thek guns. Then followed the battle of Buxar ; it was fought on the 23rd October 1 764 ; it settled the fate of the English in India ; it placed the whole of Oude and the North- West Pro- vinces at the feet of the English at Calcutta. To * The real uanie of this mau was Walter Reinhardt. He deserted to the English and took the name of Summer ; the soldiers changed his name to Sombre because of his evil expression. Subsequently he entered the Nawab's service as stated in the text. 328 EARLY RECORDS OP BRITISH INDIA. all outward appearance, the English had become the paramount power, not only in Bengal, but in all Hindustan, from the left bank of the Jumna to the slopes of the Himalayas. Kestoration of Mcanwhilc Mccr Jaffier was restored to the thi'one Meer Jaffier. of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa. Mr. Vansittart re- tiu'ned to England and was succeeded by a Mr. Spencer as Governor of Bengal. Lord Clive had been raised to the peerage and appointed Governor of Bengal. A Select Committee of five members, T\ ith Lord Clive at their head, was formed for the exclusive management of all political affaii's. All these an'angements were reported to Calcutta in 1764. In 1765 Lord Clive was saihng up the Bay of Bengal with two of the members of the new Committee, for the purpose of taking over the supreme control of affairs. CHAPTER XII. SECOND GOVERNMENT OF CLIVE. 1765—1767. LORD CLIVE landed at Calcutta in May 1765. P}f;^«"f ^^'^ On his way up the Bay he had touched at Madras, and heard that Meer Jaffier had died the previous Eebruary. He was delighted at the news. He was anxious to introduce the new system for the government of the Bengal provinces, which he had unfolded to Pitt more than seven years before. He would set up a new Nawab who should be only a cypher. He would leave the administra- tion in the hands of native officials. The English were to be the real masters ; they were to take over the revenues, defend the three provinces from inva- sion and insurrection, make war and conclude peace* But the sovereignty of the English was to be hidden from the public eye. They were to rule only in the name of the Nawab and under the authority of the Moghul Emperor. Lord Clive had no missrivinsrs as to his newse«inff«p^ ~ o infant Nawab, scheme. He knew that there were two claimants to the Nawab' s throne, an illegitimate son of Meer Jaffier aged twenty, and a legitimate grandson aged six. He would place the child of six on the tlu'onc ,330 EATJLY RECORDS OF BRITISH IXDIA. nt Murslipdabad. He would carry out all his arrangements during tlie minority, without the possibility of any difficulty or opposition. Forestalled by Qu reacliiuoj Calcutta, Lord Clive found that he Governor " Spencer. j^^^ bccn forestallcd. Governor Spencer and Mem- bers of Council hiad refused to await the arrival of Lord Clive and the Select Committee. They were anxious to make fortunes bv installino; a new Nawab. Directly they heard of the death of Meer Jaffier, they sent a deputation of four of their number to A puppet Nawab tlic cltv of Murslicdabad. The deputation made a and Aative «' J- Mentor. huri'lcd bargain with a clever native grandee, named Mahomed Ptcza Khan. It was agreed that the young man of twenty should be made Nawab ; that Mahomed Eeza Khan should exercise all real power under the name of Xaib Subah, or Deputy Nawab ; that twenty lakhs of rupees, or more than two hun- dred thousand pounds sterling, should be distributed amongst the Governor and Council at Calcutta ; and to prevent any unpleasantness, like that which led Meer Cossim to withhold the twenty lakhs, the money was paid over at once in cash and bills obtained from Hindu bankers, and the deputation returned to Calcutta in great joy and exultation. Complaints of Lord CHvc did not hear all this at once. He the new Kawab. was sufficiently exasperated at the news that the young man of twenty had been made Nawab in- stead of the child of six. A few days after his arrival at Calcutta, he received a letter from the young Nawab. The prince was weak and stupid ; chnhng at the loss of the twentv lakhs, and SECOND fJOVERNMKNT OF CLTVE. ^oj impatient of liis state of pupila£i:e und(T Maliomed Heza Kliaii. lie complained to Lord Clivc that he had been treated with insult and indignity; that the money had been paid to the English gentlemen against his will ; that the treasury at Murshedabad had been unequal to the demand ; that most of the money had been raised by a forced loan extorted from the Seit bankers. Lord Clive w^as excessively anf^ry. He declared wrath ot Loai •^ ^ ^ '^ Clive. that blacks and whites had united together to plun- der the Nawab's treasury. Governor Spencer and his Council asserted that they had only followed the example set by Clive himself after the battle of Plassey. They forgot that circumstances had entirely changed. At Plassey Clive had rendered great public services to the Nawab and the Company, whilst there w^as no law whatever against the receipt of presents. At the death of Meer Jafficr, Spencer and his Council Imd rendered no services whatever ; moreover, stringent orders had been passed by the Court of Directors against the receipt of presents. Covenants to that effect had been received at Calcutta ; and the execution of the covenants had been purposely delayed by Governor Spencer and his Council until the English gentlemen had received the money. It is needless to dwell upon the scandal. Most of the gentlemen were return- ing to England, and Lord Clive left their conduct to be dealt with by the Court of Directors. Lord Clive did not set aside the Nawab. The Provisional prince had been installed by the English deputation, nu'asiircs. 332 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Treaty with the King and Nawab Vizier, Settlemeot of Oude. Conflicting policy of Spencer and Clive. and the arrangement had heen ratified hy the Gov- ernor and Council. But he restricted the authority of Mahomed E,eza Khan. He associated two Hindu grandees with Mahomed Eeza Khan, and thus distributed the powers of the Naih Subah amongst a council of three. Shortly afterwards, Lord Clive was called away from Calcutta to conclude a treaty with the King Shah Alam and the Nawab Vizier. The nego- tiations were of a complex character. There were three important questions which called for early settlement : — 1st. — Tlie future status of Oude and the Nawab Vizier. Snd. — The future relations between the English and the King, or Padishah. 3rd. — The future status of the Nawab of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa with regard to the King and the English. The first business was the settlement of Oude. This territory extended from Behar almost to Delhi. It formed a barrier between the three Bengal pro- vinces on one side, and the Mahrattas on the south and Afghans on the north-west. At this moment Delhi was in the hands of the Afghans. Governor Spencer had wanted to treat with the Afghans for the cession of Oude to the Afghan invaders, and restoration of the King to the throne of Delhi. Lord Clive set his face against this policy. He would have nothing to do with Delhi or the Afghans. He sought to restrict the SECOND GOVERNMENT OF CLIVE. 333 Eng'lish to the three provinces of Bengal, Echar, and Orissa, and to guard against their interference in the countries beyond. He was willing to restore the territory of Oude and the guardianship of the King to the Nawab Vizier. Lord Clive's idea was to establish the English owocts of cuve. ascendancy in Bengal, Behar, and Orissa under the authority of Mogliul sovereignty. In so doing he resuscitated some of the forms in the Moghul im- perial system. He sought to maintain the King j_by a settled yearly charge on the revenues of Oude and Bengal, which might be regarded as the King's share, and serve to strengthen the King's autho- rity. Lord Clive ffave back Oude to the Nawab Vizier. Restoration of " Oude to the He only insisted that the King should receive the pro vu^n fort i.e yearly revenue of the districts of Allahabad and '°^' Korah as his share of the revenue of Oude. So far the imperial sovereignty of the King was re- cognised in Oude. The King continued to reside at Allahabad, nnder the guardianshiji of the Nawab Vizier. In reality he was waiting for the tm^n of fortune which should carry him on to Delhi. Lord Clive next arranged the future government The Prwani of of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa. He accepted the "'"^'^•^'issa.""* post of King's Hewan for the three provinces in the name of the English Company. The English Com- pany, as King's Dewan, took over aU the revenue of the three provinces ; they engaged to pay the King a yearly rent of twenty-six lakhs, or at the existing rate of exchange, about three hundred >t'a2iui. 33i p:AlUiY liECOllDS OF IJRITLSII INDIA. thousand pounds sterling, as the imperial share. They were left to deal with the surplus revenue as they thought fit, and to make their own terms with the Nawab of Murshedahad. Provision for Lord Clivc next went to Murshedahad. He re- tlic Nawab quired the young Nawab to disband his rabble army. He arranged to take over the whole revenue of the three provinces. He agreed to pay a yearly sti- pend of fifty -three lakhs to the Nawab. ^ In this manner the English Company came into possession of the yearly revenues of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa. They paid twenty-six lakhs to the King, and fifty- three lakhs to the Nawab. The yearly payments were thus something less than a million sterling. The yearly receipts, however, were estimated at three or four millions. Out of the surplus they provided for the defence of the country and maintenance of the public peace. The balance was so large that the Company appropriated it to the purchase of o-oods and manufactiu'es in India and China. The o 1 Henceforth the Nawab was known as the Nawab Nazim. The outward form of the Governmnut of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa resemlled that which prevailed in the reign of Aurungzeb. There was a Nawab Nazim, who was responsible for the defence of the tliree provinces and the maintenance of the public peace, as well as for the administration of justice and enforcing obedi- ence to the law. There was a King's Dewan, who received the yearly reve- nues of the three provinces, and was responsible for all disbursements, as well as for the payment of the surplus to the King as his imperial share. The outward form adopted by Lord Olive was only a veil to conceal the real transfer of power. Lord Clive had taken away all military power from the Nawab Nazim and reduced him to a cypher. The Company as King's Dewiiu took possession of all the surplus revenue. In the time of Aurungzeb and his immediate successors,the yearly remittances to the King amounted to a million sterling. lu Lord Olive's time the King was only too glad to receive three hundred thousand pounds stcrhug. SECOND CJOVEIINMKXT OF CLIVE. 335 result was that within a few years the three Ben- gal provinces were literally drained of rupees.* The nature and results of this "-rant of the De- Kxposition of o' tlio policy by the yelcfl Cum- mitt CO at Calcutta. wani to the Company are fully set forth in the cor respondence hetw^een the Select Committee at Cal cutta and the Court of Directors. The letters to England explain the policy of Lord Clive. The letters from England expound the views of the Bu'ectors. The Select Committee begins^ : — " The time now approaches when we may be able to Kxisting status. determine, with some degree of certainty, whether our re- maining as merchants, subjected to the jurisdiction, encroach- ments, and insults of the country government, or supporting your privileges and possessions by the sword, are likely to prove most advantageous to the Compan3\ Whatever may be the consequence, certain it is, that after having once begun, and proceeded to such lengths, we have been forced to go on, step by step, until your whole possessions were put to the risk by every revolution effected, and by every battle fought. To apply a remedy to those evils, by giving stability and permanency to jouv government, is now and has been the constant object of the serious attention of your Select Committee. "The perpetual struggles for superiority between the Necessity for Nawabs and your Agents, together with the recent proofs newani.'^ *''" before us of notorious and avowed corruption, have rendered us unanimously of opinion, after the most mature deliberation, that no other method can be suggested of laying the axe to the root of all those evils, than that of obtaining the Dewanny of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa, for the Company, 13y establishing the power of tiie Great Mogul, we have like- wise established His rights; and his Majesty, from principles 1 The curious pbenomeua which followed these tiuiuicial arrangements will be explained in the next chapter. - Despatch of Select Committee at Fort William, dated 30th September 1705. Also despatch from the same, dalcd 31st January 1766. 336 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. of gratitude, of equity, and of policy, has tboug-ht proper to bestow this important employment on the Company, the nature of which is, the collecting all the revenues, and after defraying the expenses of the army, and allowing a sufficient fund for the support of the Nizamut, to remit the remainder to Dehli, or wherever the King shall reside or direct. But as the King has been graciously pleased to bestow on the Company, for ever, such surplus as shall arise from the revenues, upon certain stipulations and agreements expressed in the Sunnud, we have settled with the Nawab, with bis own free will and consent, that the sum of fifty-three lakhs' shall be annually paid to him, for the support of his dignity and all contingent expenses, exclusive of the charge of maintain- ing an army, which is to be defrayed out of the revenues ceded to the Company, by this royal grant of the Dewanny; and indeed the Nawab has abundant reason to be well satisfied with the conditions of this agreement, whereby a fund is secured to him, without trouble or danger, adequate to all the purposes of such grandeur and happiness as a man of his sentiments has any conception of enjoying ; more would serve only to disturb his quiet, endanger his government, and sap the foundation of that solid structure of power and wealth, which, at length, is happily reared and completed by the Company, after a vast expense of blood and treasure. Prospective " By this acquisition of the Dewanny, your possessions advantages. ^^^^ influence are rendered permanent and secure, since no future Nawab will either have power or riches sufficient to attempt your overthrow, by means either of force or corrup- tion. All revolutions must henceforward be at an end, as there will be no fund for secret services, for donations, or for restitutions. The Nawab cannot answer the expectations of the venal and mercenary, nor will the Company comply with demands injurious to themselves, out of their own revenues. The experience of years has convinced us that a division of power is impossible without generating discontent and hazard- ing the whole : all must belong either to the Company or to ' GG2,500/ at the curri'iit rsite of exclmuge. SECOND GOVERNMENT OF CLIVE. 337 tlie Nawab. We leave you to judge which alternative is the most desirable aud the most expedient in the present circum- stances of affairs. As to ourselves, we know of no other system we could adopt, that would less affect the Nawab's dignity, and at the same time secure the Com))any against the fatal effects of future revolutions than this of the Dewanny. The power is now lodged where it can only be lodged with safety to us, so that we may pronounce with some degree of confidence, that the worst which will happen in future to the Company will proceed from temporary ravages only, which can never become so general as to prevent your revenues from yielding a sufficient fund to defray your civil and military charges, and furnish yonr investments/' " The more we reflect on the situation of your affairs, the seit-prescrvation stronger appear the reasons for accepting the Dewanny of these provinces, by which alone we could establish a power sufficient to perpetuate the possessions we hold, aud tlie influ- ence we enjoy. While the Nawab acted in quality of Col- lector for the Mogul, the means of supporting our military estabhshment depended upon his pleasure. In the most cri- tical situations, while we stood balancing on the extreme border of destruction, his stipulated payments were slow and deficient, his revenues withheld by disaffected Rajahs, and turbulent Zemindars, who despised the weakness of his gov- ernment ; or they were squandered in profusion, and dissipated in corruption, the never-failing symptoms of a declining con- stitution and feeble administration. Hence we were fre- quently disappointed of those supplies, upon the punctual receipt of which depended the very existence of the Company in Bengal.''^ The letter from the Court of Directors approving? Approval ot the of tliis arrangement is very valuable. It lays clo^^^l ^''^«'^""^«- with much precision what were to be the relations between the Xawab Nazim and the English Presi- dent and Council. It shows that at this j^eriod there were strong objections to any interference in X 338 EAKLY EECOliDS OF BRITISH INDIA. the native administration. An English Resident was continued at Murshedabad; he was to take over the monthly payments from the Nawab's officers ; his chief duty was to protect the native administration from the encroachments of the Com- pany's servants. The following extracts are historical' : — SeutinieiiiB. ''We come now to consider the great and important affair of the Dewanny, on which we shall give you our sentiments, with every objection that occurs to us. Danger of the " When WO Consider that the barrier of the country crisis. government was entirely broke down, and every Englishman throughout the country armed with an authority that owned no superior, and exercising his power to the oppression of the helpless native, who knew not whom to obey ; at such a crisis, we cannot hesitate to approve your obtaining the Dewanny for the Company.^' Definition of the " We obscrve the account you ^ive of the office and power oflBce and power _ j a i of King's of the King^s Dewan, which in former times was ' the collecting of all the revenues, and, after defraying the ex- penses of the army, and allowing a sufficient fund for the support of the Nizamat, to remit the remainder to Delhi.' This description of it, is not the office we wish to execute ; the experience we already have had in the province of Burdwan convinces us, how unfit an Englishman is to con- duct the collection of the revenues, and follow the subtle native through all his arts, to conceal the real value of his country, and to perplex and elude the payments. We there- fore entirely approve of your preserving the ancient form of government, in the upholding the dignity of the Subah. Limitations of " We conccive the office of Dewan should be exercised the authority . . ii • i t exercised by the Only in superintendinof the collections, and disposal or the Company. . . revenues; which, though vested in the Company, should officially be executed by our Resident at the Durbar, under 1 Despatch from tie Directors to the Select Committee, dated I7th May 176G. SECOND GOVERNMENT OF CLIVE. 339 the control of tlie Governor and the Select Committee. The ordinary bounds of which control, should extend to Dothiugf beyond the superintending- the collection of the revenues, and the receiving the money from the Nawal/s treasury to that of the Dewanny, or the Company, and this we conceive to be neither difficult nor complicated : for at the annual Poonah the government settles with each Zemindar his monthly payments for the ensuing year ; so the monthly payments of the whole from the Nawab^s Dewan, is but the total of the monthly payment of each Zemindar ; which must be strictly kept up, and if deficient, the Company must trace what particular province. Rajah, or Zemindar, has falleu short of his monthly payments ; or, if it is necessary to extend the power farther, let the annual Poonah, by which we mean the time when every landholder makes his agreement for the ensuing year, be made with the consent of the Dewan or Company. This we conceive to be the whole office of the Dewauny. The administration of justice, the appointment of officers. Zemindar ries, — in short, whatever comes under the denomination of civil administration, — we understand is to remain in the hands of the Nawab or his ministers. " The Resident at the Durbar being constantly on the spot, cannot be long a stranger to any abuses in the govern- ment, and is always armed with power to remedy them. It will be his duty to stand between the administration and the encroachments always to be apprehended from the agents of the Company's servants, which must first be known to him ; and we rely on his fidelity to the Company, to check ail such encroachments, and to prevent the oppression of the natives." The Nawab Nazim died in May 1766. The event Death of the . , Nawab Naziiu. was reported home by the Select Committee m the following terms. They show that the Nawab Nazim was akeady of no moment in the administration : — "We are sorry to acquaint you, that on the 8th day Report of the of May, his excellency the Nawab Nudjuni al daulal breathed mitTee. °'^" 340 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Priyatc trade. Mutiny of the Civil Servants. his last, after a short ilhiess, incurred by some intemperance in eating", and increased by a gross habit, and unsound con- stitution. As he was a prince of mean capacity, bred up in total ignorance of public affairs, this event, which formerly might have produced important consequences in the provinces, can at present have no other effect than that of exhibiting to the eyes of the people a mere change of persons in the Nizamut. Nudjum al daulah dying without issue, his brother Syef al daula succeeded to his dignities; and pro- mises, from the mildness and pliancy of his disposition, to answer all the purposes of a Nawab to the people and to the Company. At present he is a youth not exceeding the age of sixteen, which more immediately and naturally brings the administration into the hands of persons in whom we can repose confidences''^ The minor details of Lord dive's second admin- istration have lost their interest. He did not put a stop to the private trade ; and it was only stopped in after years by a general increase of salaries. Lord Clive had to encounter a curious mutiny amongst the civil servants. The massacre at Patna had carried off many of the seniors. Many juniors were appointed to posts for which they were unfit. The Secretary's department was made over to a youth of only three years' standing. The post of Paymaster to the Army was held by another young writer, whilst three hundred thousand pounds sterling lay in his hands for months. The business of these offices was really transacted by natives ; ' As the Nawab Nazirn had been reduced to the position of a pageant the necessity for maintaining an expensive state ceremonial gradually died out. Accordingly, on the accession of the new Nawab Nazim, the yearly allowances were reduced from fifty-three lakhs to forty-one lakhs ; in 1770 they were reduced to thirty -one lakhs; and in 1772 to sixteen lakhs. Since 1772 there has been no further reduction. SECOND GOVERNMENT OF OLIVE. 3,j^l the most secret concerns were known in the hazar ; and serious ahuses prevailed in all directions. Lord Clive called ui) foiu* civilians from the '''>t;=i'ie" from i- Madras. Madras establishment and gave them vacant seats in the Bengal Council. The results of this mea- sure may be given in what appears to be Lord Clive's own words' : — " We are sorry to find that our endeavours to serve the opposition of ^ . ^1 1 i • • • i. 4. Ui^'ugal Civiliautf. Company in a manner the least injurious to your servants here, should be misconstrued. As soon as this measure be- came known, by reports from Madras, and previous to our laying any proceeding's before the Board, the young gentle- men of the settlement had set themselves up for judges of the propriety of our conduct, and the degree of their own merit: each would think himself qualified to transact your weighty affairs in Council, at an age when the laws of his country adjudge him unfit to manage his own concerns to the extent of forty shillings. They have not only set their hands to the memorial of complaint, but entered into associations unbecoming at their years, and destructive of that sul)ordi- nation without which no government can stand — All visits to the President are forbidden — All invitations fr om him and the members of the Select Committee are to be slighted — The gentlemen called down by our authority from Madras are to be treated with neglect and contempt — Every man who deviates from this confederacy is to be stigmatised and avoided — In a word, the members are totally to separate themselves from the head, decorum and union are to be set at defiance, and it becomes a fair struggle whether we or the young gentlemen shall in future guide the helm of govern- ment. Look at their names, examine their standing, inquire into their services, and reflect upon the age of four-fifths of the subscribers to this bill of grievances, who now support the association, and you will be equally surprised with us at the * Despatch from Sck-ct Comiuitteo, dated 31st Jauuary 17<)6. 342 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH IKPIA. presumptuous intemperance of youth, and convinced that a stop of three or four years in the course of promotion is in- dispensahly necessary, if you would have your Council com- posed of men of experience and discretion. Determination <( From this skctch of the bchaviour of your servants, vou of Cliye. ^ ■• s^ will perceive the dangerous pitch to which the independ- ent and licentious spirit of this settlement hath risen ; you will then determine on the necessity and propriety of the step we have taken : in the mean time we are resolved to support it, or we must submit to the anarchy and confusion conse- quent on subjecting- the decrees of your Select Committee to the revisal and repeal of young gentlemen just broke loose from the hands of their schoolmasters/^ Mntiny of the Loi'd Cllve had next to contend against a mutiny officers. of the officers of the army. The Bengal army had been regimented, and formed into three brigades ; one was at Monghyr, a second at Patna, and a third at Allahabad. Abolition of After the battle of Plassey the officers of the Bengal army received an additional allowance from the Nawab, known as double batta. The Du'ectors, when they took the place of the Nawab, refused to continue the double batta. The double batta was abohshed from the first of January 1766. The officers of the three brigades formed a secret league for throwing up then* commissions on a certain day unless the double batta was restored. They raised subcriptions for the purpose ; and some of the civil servants subscribed to the fund. Triumph of Thc story is nearly obsolete ; but the energy and genius of Lord Clive were never more conspicuous. The Bengal officers relied on forcing the Governor and Council to restore the batta, for the army was SECOND (^OVERN]\IENT OF CLIVE. 343 about to take the field against the Mahrattas. Lord Clive, ho\Yever, accepted every commission that was tendered. He gave commissions to deserving soldiers. He called up officers from Madi*as. He sent many officers under arrest to Calcutta, where they were afterwards shipped for England. At last the tide tm'ned; many officers began to repent. Lord Clive displayed as much leniency as he could, and the mutiny was brought to a close. Lord Clive left India in the becjinning of 1767. T'ord cuvn _^ ^ ^ leavos India, He was only in his forty-second year; he never ^^^^• returned to India. He died six years afterwards at the early age of forty- eight. Before he left India he penned an able state paper in which he ex- pounded his policy, domestic and foreign. The Poiiey for the following extracts are worthy of permanent record : — " The first period in politics which I offer to your cousi- Authority of the deration is the form of government. We are sensible that .Vduced^to a"'"'* since the acquisition of the Dewanny, the power formerly " ^^ *^''' belonging to the Subah [i. e., Nawab) of these provinces is totally, in fact, vested in the East India Company. Nothing remains to him but the name and shadow of authority. This name, however, this shadow, it is indispensably necessary we should seem to venerate ; every mark of distinction and re- spect must be shown him, and he himself encouraged to show his resentment upon the least want of respect from other nations. "Under the sanction of a Subah, every encroachment Na^ab to be that may be attemi)ted by foreign powers can effectually be saiisfTfordgn crushed, without any apparent interposition of our own ""*'°"®" authority, and all real grievances comi)lained of by them can, through the same channel, be examined into and redressed. 344 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Be it, therefore, always rememl)ered that there is a Subah ; that we have allotted him a stipend which must be regularly paid in support of his dig-nity ; and thatj though the revenues belong to the Company, the territorial jurisdiction must still rest in the chiefs of the country acting under him and this Presidency in conjunction. To appoint the Company^s ser- vants to the offices of Collectors, or, indeed, to do any act by an exertion of the English power which can equally be done by the Nawab at our instance, would be throwing off the mask, — would be declaring the Company Subah of the pro- vinces. Foreign nations would immediately take umbrage, and complaints preferred to the British Court might be attended with very embarrassing consequences. Nor can it be supposed that either the French, Dutch, or Danes would readily acknowledge the Company's Subahship, and pay into the hands of their servants the duties upon trade or the quit- rents of those districts which they may have long been pos- sessed of by virtue of the Royal firman or grants from former Nawabs. In short, the present form of government will not, in my opinion, admit of variation. The distinction between the Company and Nawab must be carefully main- tained, and every measure wherein the country government shall even seem to be concerned must be carried on in the name of the Nawab and by his authority. In short, I would have all the Company's servants, the supervisors excepted,^ confined entirely to commercial matters only, upon the plan laid down in the time of Aliverdy Khan. Revenue not to " It wiU not, I presume, be improper in this place to evil ., fa drain of observc that you ought not to be very desirous of increasing the revenues, especially where it can only be effected by oppressing the landholders and tenants. So long as the country remains in peace the collections will exceed the de- mands ; if you increase the former, a large sum of money will either lay dead in the Treasury or be sent out of the country, and much inconvenience arise in the space of a few years. Every nation trading to the East Indies has usually * The duties of supervisors will be duly set forth in the next chapter. SECOND GOVERNMENT OF OLIVE. 345 imported silver for a return in commodities. The acquisition of the Dewanuy has rendered this mode of traffic no lonj^er necessary for the English Company ; our investments may be furnished; our expenses^ civil and military, ])aid; and a large quantity of bullion be annually sent to China, though we import not a single dollar. An increase of revenue, therefore, unless you can in proportion increase your investments, can answer no good purpose, but may in the end prove extremely pernicious, inasmuch as it may drain Bengal of its silver ; and you will undoubtedly consider that the exportation of silver beyond the quantity imported is an evil, which, though slow, and, perhaps, remote in its consequences, will neverthe- less be fatal to the Indian Company. This point, therefore, I leave to your constant vigilance and deliberation. " The subject of moderation leads me naturally into a few No offensive reflections upon military affairs. Our possessions should be the defi-me of bounded by the provinces : studiously maintain peace, — it is AUahabad and the groundwork of our prosperity : never consent to act off^en- sively against any powers, except in defence of our own, the King's or the Nawab Vizier's dominions, as stipulated by Treaty ; and, above all things, be assured that a march to Delhi would be not only a vain and fruitless project, but attended with certain destruction to your army, and perhaps put a period to the very being of the Company in Bengal. " Shuja-u-daula, the Nawab Vizier of Oude, we must Political reia- observe, is now recovering his strength, and although I am u'-Xuia', the "''''^* fully persuaded from his natural disposition, which is cautious Oudo. and timid, and from the experience he has had of our disci- pline and courage, that he will never engage against us in another war, yet, like most of his countrymen, he is ambitious, and I am of oj^inion that, as soon as he shall have formed an arrav, settled his country, and increased his finances, he will be eager to extend his territories, particularly by the acquisition of the Bundelcund district, formerly annexed to the Subahship of Allahabad. It is even not improbable that he will propose an expedition to Delhi and desire our assistance, without which, I think, he has not courage to risk such an undert Jcing. Here, therefore, we must be upon nor 346 EAIiLY RECORDS OF BRITLSPI INDTA. guard, and plaiiih' remind the Vizier that we entered into an alliance with him for no other purpose than the defence of our respective dominions, and that we will not consent to invade other powers unless they should prove the agg-ressors by committing acts of hostility against him or the English, when it will become necessary to make severe examples in order to prevent others from attacking us unprovoked. With regard to his Delhi scheme, it must be warmly remonstrated against and discouraged. He must be assured, in the most positive terms, that no consideration whatever shall induce us to detach our forces to such a distance from this country, which produces all the riches we are ambitious to possess. Should he, however, be prevailed upon by the King to escort His Majesty to that capital without our assistance, it will then be our interest to approve the project, as it is the only means by which we can honourably get rid of our trouble- some royal guest. Three powers '' The Rohillas, the Jauts, and all the northern powers are ^tt°ntion'^:^^he^ at too great a distance ever to disturb the tranquillity of andThe^*^ ^'"^' thcse provinccs. Shuja-u-daula^s ambition, the King^s solici- Mahrattaa, tatious, and the Mahrattas, these are the three grand objects of policy to this Committee, and by conducting your measures with that address of which you are become so well acquainted by experience, I doubt not that the peace of Bengal may be preserved many years, especially if a firm alliance be estab- lished with the Subah of the Deccan, and Jauuji, the Nagpore Rajah, be satisfied with the chout proposed, to which, I think he is in justice and equity strictly entitled.^ Mahrattas " The Mahrattas are divided into two very great powers, stltesf poona"^" who at present areat variance with each other, vh., first, those and Nagpore. Mahrattas who possess a large part of the Deccan, whose Chief is Ram Rajah, well known by the Presidency of Bombay, and whose capital is Poena, about thirty coss from Surat. Secondly, those Mahrattas who possess the extensive province of Berar, whose Chief is Januji, and whose capital, Nagpore, is distant from Calcutta about four hundred coss. These last are called » Lord Clive's idea of paying chont to the Mahrattas of Berar occasioned imu-h political controversy in after years. SECOND GOVERNMENT OF CLIVE. 347 Rajpoot Mahrattas, and are those who, after the long war with Alivevdy Khan, oblig-ed him to make over the Ballasore and Cuttack countries and to pay a chout of twelve lakhs of Rupees/'' Lord Cliye's information respecting the Mah- rattas of the Dekhan is imperfect. Eam Raja was a puppet prince of the dynasty of Sivaji ; he was a state prisoner at Satara. The sovereign power was wielded by a hereditary line of Mahratta ministers who reigned at Poona under the name of Peishwas. "With Jauuji it is our interest to be upon terms of Mahrattasof friendship, for which purpose a Vakeel has been dispatched Berar, tob'e ' as appears upon the Committee proceedings ; and I would grant of chout. recommend your settling- of the chout with him agreeably to the plan I have proposed, viz., that we shall pay sixteen lakhs upon condition that he appoint the Company Zemindar of the Ballasore and Cuttack countries, which, though at present of little or no advantage to Januji, would in our possession produce nearly sufficient to pay the whole amount of the chout. Whatever the deficiency may be, it will be overbalanced by the security and convenience we shall enjoy of free and open passage by land to and from Madras, all the countries between the two Presidencies being under our influence ; but I would not 'by any means think o£ employ- ing force to possess ourselves of those districts ; the grant of them must come from him with his own consent, and if that cannot be obtained, we must settle the chout upon the most moderate terms we can. "The Mahrattas of the Deccan can onl}^ be kept quiet Mahrattas of and in awe by an alliance with Nizam Ali of Hyderabad, Western Deithnn, which has already in part taken place; and I have not the by an alliance least doubt that the ISubah^s own security, and the perpetual encroachments of the Mahrattas, will soon make him as desirous as we are of completing it. When this measure is 348 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. broug-ht to perfection, not only the Deccan Mahrattas, but Januji also, will have too mucb to apprehend from our influ- ence and authority so near home to be able to disturb far distant countries, and Beng-al may be pronounced to enjoy as much tranquillity as it possibly can, or at least oufjht to enjoy, consistent with our main object — security. " With regard to all other powers, they are so distracted and divided among-st themselves, that their operations can never turn towards Bengal/^ Objections of the Tlils policv clicl not meet the views of the Court Court ot 1 .7 Directors. q£ Dipgctors. In two general letters, dated respect- ively 20th November 1767, and 16th March 1768^ they remark as follows : — No security to be " From what appears in your proceedings, we think we oV)taiuc'd by /> i • ii> • i alliances vyith discem too great an aptness to confederacies or alliances with the Indian powers, on which occasion we must give it you, as a general sentiment, that perfidy is too much the characteristic of Indian Princes for us to rely on any security with them ; but should you enter into a treaty to act in concert with them in the field, one of our principal officers is to command the whole — a pre-eminence our own security and our superior military skill will entitle us to/^ The Nizam not " We entirely disapprove the idea adopted, of supporting as a balance of the Subah of the Deccan as a balance of power against the the Maiirattas. Malirattas. It is for the contending parties to establish a balance of power among themselves. Their divisions are our security : and if the Malirattas molest us, you must con- sider whether an attack from Bombay, when being near the capital of their dominions, may not be preferable to any defensive operations with the country powers on your side of ludia.'^ Failure of the Tlic f orciffn poHcv of Lord Chve and the Court toreipn policy ox «/ of iBoiaiion. q£ Dlrcctors calls for no further remark. It was a policy of isolation. The English were to lie snugly ensconced in the three provinces of Bengal, SECOND GOVERNMENT OF CLIVE. 3x9 Bcliar, and Orissa. The frontier of Oude was to form a permanent barrier against all further pro- gress. Within a single decade this policy was thrown to the winds. The domestic policy of Lord Clive was in like r.iiiurcof tao ddinostic policy manner doomed to fall. The " double £:overnment," "^ "''""Wc „ as it was called, of the English and the Nawab shared the fate of political shams. It was found useful, but only as bridging over the interval between Native administration and British administration. Meantime a solemn farce was played every year at Murshedabad. The annual Poona was held, when every landholder made his agreement as regards his payments of revenue for the coming year. The Nawab Nazim was seated on the throne at Mur- shedabad, as Subahdar of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa ; and the English Governor stood on his right hand, as representative of the Honorable Company in the quality of King's Dewan. There is a strange significance in Lord Olive's Pnppot scheme of a puppet Nawab. The same political ^j'^'^f^^""* sham was going on in every native court in India. In the imperial system of the Moghuls, the Kino- had become a puppet and the Vizier was sovereign ruler. In the Mogliul provinces the King's name w^as the symbol of authority, whilst Subahdars and Nawabs were sovereign princes. In the imperial system of the Mahrattas, the nominal King was a State prince at Satara, whilst the Peishwa, a hereditary minister, reigned in full sovereignty at 850 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Poona.^ The double government of Lord Clive was thus the outturn of political exigencies, which were producing the same results elsewhere through- out all India. 1 The Mahratta empire was a series of anomalies. Every Peishwa in succession received investiture from tlie imprisoned Raja at Satara. All the later Peislnvas affected to consider themselves as the servants of the Mogliul Kin^s of Delhi. The Mahratta confederacy was a sham. The Peishwa was regarded as the head ; but each of the confederate powers — Scindia, Hol- kar, the Guikowar of Barodn, and the Ehousla of Berav — intrigued to get the better of him and of each other. T CHAPTER XIII. BEGINNING OF BRITISH ADMINISTRATION. A. D. 1767 TO 1770. HE political system laid down by Lord Clive cuve-s system " '' perfect in theory; was warmly approved by the Dii-ectors. Indeed it was perfect in theory. By retaining a native ad- ministration it relieved the English of all the re- sponsibihties of government. By the rigid adherence to a poHcy of isolation it stopped all deahngs with native states outside the frontier. By taking over the surplus revenue, ample provision was made, not only for the maintenance of an army, but for the purchase of all commodities in India and China. This poKtical system, so perfect in theory, was impossible in p 1 J 1 • •! 1 • • practice. soon lound to be impossible m practice. Before Lord Clive left Calcutta, he modified the three principles it involved. He appointed English supei'visors, as noticed in his own memorandum, to check the native collectors of revenue in the districts.* He proposed to form an alhance with the Nizam of Hyderabad against the Mahrat- tas ; and although tliis stej) was forbidden by the Court of Dii'ectors, yet even they admitted the possible necessity of making war upon the Mahrattas from the side of Bombay. Last of all, Lord Clive ■ ^ 1 — ' See ante, page 344. 352 EARLV RECORDS OF BRITISH INDLV. discovered that tlie appropriation of tlie surjiUis revenue to the trade with China was draining the Bengal provinces of rupees, and creating a silver famine. Mr.vereist, Lord Clivc was succeeded by Mr. Verelst as Bengal : Govcmor of Benoral. Verelst was forced by circum- ndvanced policy. c '' stances to depart still further from Lord Olive's ori- ginal platform. The administration of Verelst has been overlooked by historians ; yet it has an in- terest for all time. Verelst was taught by expe- rience to adopt views and recommend measures which modified those originally expoimded by Lord Clive, and led to still further modifications by his successors. He saw that by api)ropriating the revenue of the country, the Enghsh had become responsible for the rightful government of the peoi)le in every branch of the administration. He saw that the Enghsh would soon be forced to hold the balance of j)Ower between the native states in Hindustan. Character of Vcrclst was a different man from Lord Chve. Verelst. He was not a soldier-statesman, ruhng the Bengal pro\inces by the force of will. He was a civilian, mindful of the welfare of the native population. Lord Olive's experiences were derived from hfe in camp, or negotiation with native officials and grandees. Verelst's experiences were derived direct- ly from the masses. He knew the people well. He had passed through the several grades of the Com- pany's commercial service. He had gained great credit as su2)crvisor of the collection of the revenues BEGINNING OF BRITISH ADMINISTRATION. 353 in the three districts ceded by Meer Cossim/ Altogether he was nearly twenty years in India, and seems to have been well versed in the thoughts and ways of the people at large. The rise of British power in Bengal is the story Revolutions of a ■^ . . ° '' decade, 1757-67. of a single decade. It begins with the battle of Plassey in 1757, and ends mth the departure of Lord Clive in 1767. It is one of the revolutionary episodes in the eighteenth century. It may not dazzle the imagination like the later annals of conquest which built up the British empire ; but it is more startHng to the actors ; and it effected far greater changes in the social and political re- lations between Englishmen and natives. Verelst served his apprenticeship in Bengal vereisfs experiences of during the old mercantile period. He was familiar [,'J,Jio'^^"'*""^^ with the times when the English in Bengal were all traders, and nothing but traders. Stories were told of fights with petty Bajas about tolls and transit duties ; but the ambition of merchants was to make good bargains and push their trading interests in Bengal. They made municipal laws and administered justice within their little zemindary ; but they took no heed of what was going on out- side the Company's bounds unless it affected trade. After the battle of Plassev, the English rose to sudden accession " of the Kuglish wealth and poAver at a single bound. Successes ^"j^^;'''' ''"^ followed one after the other with suchbewilderiDg rapidity that neither the English at Calcutta nor the Directors in London coidd realise their real ' See ante, page 274. 354 EAl^Y RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. position. Before one revolution was accomplislied it was upset by another. One Nawab was deposed because he was too weak ; his successor was deposed because he was too strong. Then followed the massacre at Patna, a disaster as terrible as that of the Black Hole. Next came the victory at Buxar as o^lorious and decisive as that of Plassev. The battle of Plassey had made the Enghsh masters of Bengal. The battle of Buxar and capture of Luck- now had carried them into the heart of Hindustan. Era of peace. Tlic sccoud administration of Lord Clive was an era of peace. So far his foreign policy was a success. By giving back Oude to the Nawab Vizier he raised a barrier between Bengal and the Mah- rattas, which remained undisturbed for years. Experimental Tlic domcstlc pollcv of Lord Clive was neces- political system J- »' sarily an experiment. Neither he, nor any of the merchants or military officers, knew anything or cared anything for the native administration of the country. Lord Clive thought it best to leave the native administration alone ; at any rate until some experience should be gained of its actual workings. Political considerations compelled him to be cau- tious. The East India Company would have alarmed native princes and Eiu"opean powers by the premature assumption of the sovereignty of Bengal. The nominal sovereignty of the Moghul still over- shadowed the land. The conservatism of the people of India was satisfied by the preservation of Moghul forms. No other European power could possibly interfere, so long as the Company acted only as of Lord Clive. BEGINNING OF BRITISH ADMINISTRATION. 355 King's Dewan, and the native administration was carried on in the name of tlie Nawal) Nazim. No harm could accrue from governing Bengal in the name of the Moghul, although the representative of the Moghul was living in empty and idle state at Allahahad. In like manner, no harm could accrue from exercising suzerainty in the name of a pageant Nawah, who wasted his days in the same emj)ty and idle state at Murshedabad. All this while the so-called Kins: was livinsr at The puppet O ""^ xx,j..ij, King at Allaha- Allahabad under the supposed guardianship of the ''"'^• Nawab Vizier. He had nothing whatever to do, directly or indirectly, with the government of the empire. The dream of his life was to go to Delhi, and sit on the throne of his fathers; but Lord Clive steadily refused to help him. The Nawab Nazim of Bengal was treated with The pa?eant Nawab Nazim. outward respect, but only as a pageant. Proba1)ly he exercised less power outside Murshedabad than one of the Company's native servants. The Eng- lish provided for the military defence of Bengal, concluded treaties, and made ready for war without the slighest reference to the King or Nawab Nazim. The native administration was left alone ; it was superintended by the Mussulman grandee, named Muhammad Reza Khan. This grandee had been appointed Deputy Nawab by Governor Spenser, diuing the general scramble for money which followed the death of Meer Jaffier. Muliammad Beza Khan exercised real and undivided control over the entire native administration of the three 356 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. provinces. Clive tried to introduce a check by appointing two Hindu grandees with co-ordinate powers; but, practically, the sole charge of the administration of justice and collection of revenue was left in the hands of Muhammad Eeza Khan. Relations be- Thc sliam of a Nawab's s^overnment was called tween the NizLmur"'^*''^ the Nizamut. The English were the real sovereigns, but everything was done in the name of the Nizamut. The Court of Du^ectors sent out the most stringent restrictions against any interference with the Nizamut. The people of Bengal were left entirely to the tender mercies of the Nizamut. The sole political duty of the Company was to take over the yearly revenue of the three provinces at the annual Poena at Murshedabad. Out of this revenue the Company paid the stipulated tribute to the King; the stipulated allowances to the Nizamut ; the salaries of their otvtl servants, civil and military. The sm-plus was placed in the coffers of the Company for the purposes of trade. Experience of Wlicn Vcrclst succccded Lord Clive as Governor native administration. ^£ Bcugal, hc was already alive to the evils of the existing system. He had been supervisor in turn of the three districts ceded by Meer Cossim. He had witnessed the oppression and corruption of native administration. He discovered that his predeces- sors had shared in the corrupt profits of the native collectors. It was these discoveries that led the Directors to make the remark already quoted, " that an Englishman was unfit to conduct the collection BEGINNING OF BRITISH ADMINISTRATION. 357 of revenue, and follow the subtle native through all liis arts." Verelst proved by his own conduct that the pians of vercist. Directors were mistaken. lie largely increased the revenues of the three districts ; he planned a way for protecting the cultivators from the oppressions of the zemindars. He induced the Directors to sanction the system inaugurated during the second administration of Lord Clive, under which English supervisors in every district were to interfere more or less directly in every branch of the administration. The so-called Native administration of Bengal kviu of ti^e Native adminis- was about as bad as could be imagined. It was ""''"<'''• not native in the proper sense of the word. It was an administration of foreigners. The officials were mostly adventurers from Persia; ignorant of the ways of the people and first principles of govern- ment ; without sympathies for Hindus ; brought up amidst the tyranny, corruption, and anarchy which for centuries had characterised Persian rule. Hindu officials had been much employed by Aliverdi Khan ; not out of any regard for the people, but as a check upon the Muhammadans. They were equally as extortionate, but were more easily de- prived of theu' ill-gotten gains. ^ Under such cir- cumstances the zemindars might oppress the ryots ; * Meer Jaffier, as already seen, began to squeeze the Hindu grandees, but was stopped by Clive. His successor, Meer Cossim, ruined several by his confiscations. It was a current saying that Muhaniuiadan grandees spent all their gains in profusion and debauchery; consequently when squeezed tbey disgorged nothing. Hindu officials were more temperate ; they absorbed wealth like a sponge; when squeezed they disgorged everything. 358 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Ignorance of the Enslish. Continued monopoly of inland trade. the collectors be in collusion with the zemindars ; the accounts might be cooked on all sides ; there was no one to control tlie collections except Mu- hammad Reza Khan. An English Resident was appointed at Murshedabad, but he could do nothing. The Company was King's Dewan; the Nizamut conducted the administration ; the constant cry of the Court of Directors was that no one was to interfere. The English knew nothing of what was going on, excepting what they could gather during their administration of the three districts ceded by Meer Cossim, — Burdwan, Midnapore, and Chittagong. To make matters worse, the monopoly of the inland trade in salt, betel-nut, and other articles of native consumption, continued in the hands of the servants of the Company. The irregular use of dustucks was prohibited ; some restrictions were introduced ; a few refractory European interlopers were sent back to England ; but the servants of the Company, from Members of Council doAvnwards, derived the bulk of their incomes from the inland trade ; and their gomastas or agents continued to oppress the people as in the days of Meer Cossim. Helplessness of Muliammad Reza Khan was utterly helpless. administration. Mccr Cossiui, wltli au army at his back, had been unable to resist the English. Muhammad Reza Khan was necessarily in the hands of the English. His place, power, and wealth depended on the will of the Company's servants. Neither he, nor the native officials under him, could interfere in the BEGINNI^'vernment where tyranny, corruption, and anarchy are predominant ; who are strangers to the customs, and indifferent to the welfare of this country ; and who cannot by any vigilance be restrained, or by any severit}^ be deterred, from practising their native oppressions, over a timid, servile, and defenceless people. Supreme " 2. The delegation of a trust and authority to one, or to authority lodged i • V • ,1 ^ ^^• • i •" -i p in ihe hands of a fcw, wliich rcomre the abilities and activity or many to one or a few. .... , • i , i e ,-\ execute ; an error which is notoriously the cause or those departments being worse administered, but give rise to a complex corruption, which is difficult, if not impossible, to be detected. The avenues of justice are by those means obstructed, and the injured are frequentl}' at a loss where to prefer their complaints, and in whom the right of decision is invested.^ imoraneeof '^ ^' ^^^ ignomuce of the real produce and capacity of the the Kngiish. country, in which we are necessarily kept by a set of men, who first deceive us from interest, aud afterwards continue the deception from fear of punishment, and a necessary regard to tlieir own safety. Host of native "4. The uumcrous train of dependents and underlings, cpeu en ». ^y|iom the coUcctors entertain ; whose demands, as well as the avarice of their principals, are to be satisfied from the ' This parngiiiph is evidently aimed at ]\ruliaminad Roza Khau. BEGINNING OF BRITISH ADMINISTRATION. 367 spoils of the industrious ryot, who thus loses all conficlence in the government, and seeks protection in other places, where he has better iiopes to see his industry rewarded. " 5. The venality which forms part of the genius of the Vcuaiuy. people, and which is known to be openly exercised, or tacitly allowed by government, without drawing any shame or dis- credit on the guilty, or being thought auy peculiar hardship on the injured. "6. The collusion of the collectors with the zemindars Collusions of whom the collector employs as a tool to serve his m.al})rac- zemiudars". tices, or admits an associate in his fraudulent gains. " 7. The oppressions to which the ryot is suijject from the Oppression of multitude of gomastahs and their dependents. ^^ " The Committee are convinced that this degree of power Summing up of without control, of knowledge without participation, and of influence without any effectual counteraction, is too important and replete in the consequences to be vested in any three ministers, or rather one single man ; who, allowing him the clearest preference for integrity, ability, and attachment among his countrymen, cannot be supposed superior to tempta- tion ; and at least ought not, in good policy, to be trusted so extensively and independently as has been necessarily the con- sequence of the present system :' while the Company are in reality the principals in the revenues of this countiy_, and the most interested in the good conduct of its govei*nment, every bar should be removed that tends to preclude them from a know- ledge of its real state. In the above causes, and others de- ducible from them, the Committee discerns, with great re^-ret the original source and present inveteracy of many of those evils under which these provinces are at present oppressed. " The frequent and peremptory restrictions which the Court Peremptory of Directors had thought proper to impose on us, and that SeTenc^' line of conduct from which no deviation was allowed, and the smallest surveyed with jealousy, have hitherto left us without any choice of measures, freedom of action, or power of re- formation. ' Here, again, Verelst is alliuliiigto Muiiauimiul Juza Kliau. 368 EARLY EECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Panetion of I'irei-tors to fcupra-visors. Necessity for interference. Secret corrup- tion and oppres- Biou, ''Their last letter lias now offered us the sanction that was so essentially necessary for the welfare and improvement of these provinces, as well as for our own vindication in the pur- suit of such plans as we mayjudge advisable to adopt. By that letter, the Directors seem to approve of the distribution and allotment of the country into farms, and of the appoint- ment of European gentlemen to supervise the different pro- vinces, and to control the conduct of the agents of the country government. From this permission, we have a well- grounded expectation of success to our design of introducing new regulations ; and the event will, we are flattered, be the strongest confirmation of the propriety of those regulations. " We have always acted as far as the nature of the occasion would allow with the most scrupulous regard to the rules l)rescribed to us by by our employers ; and, on our first acces- sion to the Dewanny, chose rather to assume the slow but certain conviction of experience for our guide, than attempt innovations on the precarious foundation of opinion. But now that whole pages of our records are filled with so many incontestible evidences, that great alterations are wanting to form a mode of collection, which may be restrictive to the collector, and indulgent to the ryot, we are happy in finding the sentiments of our employers so aptly correspondent to our opinion, and the necessity of the juncture. Every native of any substance or character in this country has been successively tried in the department of the collections. Fear, reward, severity, and indulgence, have all failed, and ended in a short political forbearance, or additional acts of dis- honesty and rapine. '' On an alarm of inspection, or at the annual Poona, they frame accounts to serve the occasion ; or by involving them in confusion and ambiguity, waste time till it becomes too late to continue the process against them, without hazarding new losses in the revenue : and thus the culpable not only escape punishment, but often obtain a prolongation of their appointments. Many flagrant grievances reach our ears, but, in a country of such extent, there are, doubtless, many more concealed from us j and, what is equally true under our BEGINNING OF BRITISH ADMINISTRATION. 309 present disadvantag-es, they are, and must remain, inexplorable ; we can neither redress g-rievanccs, nor effect improvements. With reo^ard to the former, our distance, and our too indirect information through ministerial channels, set the offender beyond our reach, and the impossibility of having time and competent knowledge puts the latter out of our power. " Enough has been said, and more might be produced, to Necessity for prove that the system, established and now pursuing in this cuuTvati°n, and country, is deficient in every particular that is requisite to°*"^° '"^^ *" defend and support the poor from the injustice and oppres- sion of the strong, and to increase its value to its possessors, by promoting the industry of the ryot and manufacturer. " That although we have seen these evils growing and prey- ing upon the vitals of the country, we have been unable to stop their progress, or afford effectual protection to the people. " Lastly, that we can never hope to emerge from that uncertainty and ignorance into which this system has thrown us, whilst we sit tamely and will admit of no variation in it. " Let us now turn our eyes and attention to a more pleasing prosperous scene ; to Burdwan, and the rest of the Company's proprie- tifre'emied tary lands, where we ourselves have been the managers. Plenty, content, population, increase of revenue,, without increase of burthen, are now the effects ; and form so forcible an argument in the comparative view, that nothing can strengthen, nothing can render it plainer or more convincing. '' And here the Committee cannot hesitate in drawing a Adminishation decisive conclusion — that the same or similar regulations of the provincoi. be established throughout the provinces in every distinct district. The same beneficial consequences to the country and Company may be expected from them, and by an in- creased security of the property of individuals, as also by an encouragement to cultivation and commerce, they may give a new flow to the circulation of specie, which is become so limited as to affect every rank and profession. "The Committee are sensible that much application, in- Extent of th« tegrity, good conduct, and time will be necessary to retrieve the desolations of the native collectors; to raise the sinking heart Z 370 EARLY RECOllDS OF BRITISH INDIA. of the rjot from despair to confidence and hope ; to re-people and settle the deserted and uncultivated tracts, and to take every advantage of the abundant fertility of the lands. Imperfect " The progress towards this desirable change must be gra- dual. We have yet but an imperfect knowledge of the soil, the productions, the value, the capacity of the various pro- vinces, and sub-divisions of the country. This, however, is the foundation on which, and which only, we can build with suc- cess and direct our grand design with judgment ; and to acquire this knowledge should therefore be our first care, by means of the minutest local investigation, for none other can give us an authentic record to refer to on every occasion as an established authority ; nor can we judge of the lenity, rigour, or propriety of any of our resolutions respecting the country, without such a work completely and accurately executed. Relations be- " The Committee concurring in the necessity of pursuing the tween the Supra- , . , rr i i i n t visors resident at abovc work lu the most effectual manner, that when perfected Murshedabad. ,.,». ,. they may proceed in the important business before them ; and being farther induced by the opinion of the Court of Direct- ors, expressed in their last letter of the 11th November 1768, agree unanimously to the following resolutions : — " That, in every province or district, a gentleman in the service be appointed, with or without assistance, in proportion to the extent of the district, whose office or department is to be subordinate to the resident of the Durbar.'"' Native adipinis. The liistructioiis to the Supervisors have become tration of jus- -•- obsolete, but the following remarks which refer to the native administration of justice are interesting and suggestive : — " It is difficult to determine whether the original customs or the degenerate manners of the Mussulmans have most con- tributed to confound the principles of right and wrong in these provinces. Certain it is, that almost every decision of theirs is a corrupt bargain with the highest bidder. The numerous offences which arc compromised by fines have left a great latitude for unjust determinations. Trifling oSendcrs, tice. BEGINNING OF BRITISH ADMINISTrvATION. 371 and even many condemned on fictitious accusations^ are fre- quently loaded with heavy demands, and capital criminals are as often absolved by the venal judge. Your conduct in all capital offences should be to enforce justice where the law demands it, checking every composition by fine or mulct ; and where any disputes arise in matters of property, you should recommend the method of arbitration to any other ; and inculcate strong-ly in the minds of the people that we are not desirous to augment our revenue by such impositions, but to acquire their confidence by the equity and impartiality of our proceedings, and by our tenderness for their happiness. The arbitrators should be men chosen by the parties themselves, and of known integrity, and whose circumstances may sup- pose them exempt from venality, and promise best to insure their rectitude. In capital crimes, the sentence should, be- fore execution, be referred to me, and by me to the ministers of the Nizamut, that they may ultimately approve or mitigate it, according to the peculiarity of the case. You are further to observe, that the want of regular registers of all causes and determinations have encouraged the natural propensity of the native judge to bribery and fraud by making him easy with respect to any future prosecution on a re-hearing of the cases whicb have been thus partially determined. Whereas, whilst a reference to records is always open, he must live in perpetual fear of detection. One of these registers should be lodged in the principal cutcherry of the province, and an authenticated copy transmitted to Murshedabad. As to suits on account of re- venues, these will, we are flattered, be much obviated in future by the happy consequences of our possessing a real, local, and undisguised knowledge of the country ; which we promise our- selves from the investigations above mentioned, and from your diligence and exactness in the performance of the several duties. *^ For the ryot being eased and secured from all burthens Leases to ryots. and demands but what are imposed by the legal authority of government itself, and future pottahs ' being granted him, specifying that demand ; he should be taught that he is to ' Leases. 372 EARLY RECOKDS OF BRITISH INDIA. regard the same as a sacred and inviolable pledge to liim, that be is liable to no demands beyond their amount. There can, therefore, be no pretence for suits on that account ; no room for inventive rapacity to practise its usual arts : all will be fair, open, regular. Every man will know what he can call and defend as his own ; and the spirit of lawless en- croachment subsiding, for want of a field for exercise, will be changed into a spirit of industry ; and content and security will take place of continual alarms and vexations. otiivr reforms. *' The instaucB whcrB venal, ignorant, and rapacious judges avail themselves of a crude and mercenary system of laws of the prevalance of licentiousness and the force of reigning habits and customs, have been already mentioned. I can only repeat, that it is your part to endeavour to I'eform all these corruptions which have encroached on the primitive rights of both the Mahomedans and Hindoos; particularly by abolish- ing the arbitrary imposition of fines, and recommending all in your power the more equitable method of arbitration. Control of Kazis "The officers of justice and Kazis who are established ra mi . ^^ ^^^^ Mahomedau law, as also the Brahmins, who administer justice among the Hindoos, in every village, town, and quarter, should all be summoned to appear, produce their Sunnuds, or authority for acting, and register them. Records, of what- ever cases are heard and determined, are to be sent to and deposited in the Sudder Cutcherry of the province, and monthly return thereof forwarded to Murshedabad. Reeistration of '' The register of Sunnuds is intended to deter any from sunnuds. excrcising a judicial, because lucrative function, who may not be legally appointed by government, if a Mahomedau, or fairly elected by his caste, if a Hindoo. And the depositing of all cases and determinations, added to the other regulation, will figure to the several oflJicers a vigorous and observant power, watching all their actions, and, in case of abuses, direct you at once to the culpable. FoHVit of caste. The pccuHar punishment of forfeiting castes, to which the Hindoos are liable, is often inflicted from private pique and personal resentment amongst themselves; and requires to be BEGINNING OF BRITISH ADMINISTRATION. 373 restrained to those occasions only where there may be a regu- lar process, and clear proofs of the offence before the Biali- mins, who are their natural judges. But when any man has naturally forfeited his caste, you are to observe that he cannot be restored to it without the sanction of government, which was a political supremacy reserved to themselves by the Maho- medaus, antl which, as it publicly asserts the subordination of Hindus, who are so considerable a majority of subjects, ought not to be laid down ; though every indulgence and privilege of caste should be otherwise allowed them. The f oUoAvins^ evidence about the oppressions of oppressions of ^ •*■ zemindars. the zemindars may be regarded as trustworthy : — " The truth cannot be doubted that the poor and industri- ous tenant is taxed by his zemindar, or collector, for every extravagance that avarice, ambition, pride, vanity, or in- temperance may lead him into, over and above what is gener- ally deemed the established rent of his lands. If he is to be married, a child born, honours conferred, luxury indulged, and nuzzurannas, or fines, exacted, even for his own mis- conduct, all must be paid by the ryot. And what heightens the distressful scene, the more opulent, who can better obtain redress for imposition, escape, while the weaker are obliged to submit.'" The drain of silver out of Hindustan was pro- praiaot suver; ducing the most lamentable results. The following extracts from a dispatch to the Court of Directors will throw some light on the subject : — " We have frequently expressed to you our apprehension lest the annual exportation of treasure to China would pro- duce a scarcity of money in the country. This subject be- comes every day more serious, as we already feel, in a very sensible manner, the effects of the considerable drain made from the silver currency. Experience will ever yield stronger conviction than the most abstract and refined reasoning. "Whatever sums had formerly been remitted to Delhi Nonreturn of were amply reimbur>ed by the returns made to the immense ^p**'® 374 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. commerce of Bengalj wliicli might be considered as the central point to which all the riches of India were attracted. Its manufactures found their way to the remotest part of Hindostan, and specie flowed in by a thousand channels that are at present lost and obstructed. All the European com- panies formed their investments with money brought into the country; the Gulphs^ poured in their treasures into this river ; and across the contment, an inland trade was driven to the westward to the extremity of the kingdom of Guzerat Vast exports " How widely different from these are the present cir- cumstances of the Nabob's dominions ! Immense treasures have lately been carried out of the provinces by Meer Cossim, which may possibly be reserved as a fund to excite future troubles. Each of the European companies, by means of money taken up in the country, have greatly enlarged their annual investments, without adding a rupee to the riches of the province. On the contrary, the increase of exports to Europe has proved so great a restraint upon the industry of private merchants, that we will venture to affirm the balance from Europe, in favour of Bengal, amounts to a very trifling sum in specie. We know of no foreign trade existing at present which produces a clear balance in money, except that carried on with the ports of Judda, Mocha, and Bassora, from whence not fifteen lakhs ^ in bullion have been returned in the course of four years. Threatened ruin « When the provinccs of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa came of Bengal. ..,.,. ., , , . , under your jurisdiction, they were much sunk m opulence, population, and manufactures, from their ancient importance. The almost continual irruptions of the Mahrattas, under the government of Alliverdy Khan, and the avarice of the ministers under the supineness of Seraj-u-doulah, the necessities of Meer Jaffier, and the iron hand of the rapa- cious and bloodthirsty Meer Cossira, struck equally at the property of the rich, and industry of the poor : and while it reduced the one to indigence, compelled the other to seek 1 The two Gulphs of Mocha aud Persia. ' 187,500^ BEGINNING OP BRITISH ADMINISTRATION. 375 safety in flight. If to these we add, first, the immense amount in specie and jewels to the value of between three and five crores of rupees ^ secreted or carried off by Cossim after his several defeats had obliged him to relinquish all hopes of a reinstatement : 2ndly, the royal tribute of twenty- six " lakhs and the expence of about twenty lakhs for a brigade, both paid annually out of the provinces, and consequently out of the sphere of our immediate circulation : 3rdly, the annual amount of our own, and the other nations' investments, for which no value is received into the country : stilly, the large exports of bullion to China and the different pre- sidencies duriug the three last years : and lastly, the un- avoidable misfortune and capital drain, the immense sums paid into the cash of foreign nations, for bills on their respective Companies. I say, the aggregate of these several exports must appear inevitable and immediately ruinous to the most flourishing state, much less be deemed tolerable to a declining and exhausted country ! Yet it is in this situation tlie Court of Directors, and the nation in general, have been induced to expect prodigious remittances in specie, from a country which produces little gold and no silver ; and where any considerable imports of both have, for a series of years, been rendered necessary to the trade of foreign Companies, by the general demands for draughts on Europe.^' It aiiT)ears from another calculation that during rise in the , value of rupees. three years the exports of buUion from Bengal exceeded five millions sterling, whilst the imports of bullion were little more than half a million. Meantime the rupee rose to an exchange value of two-and-sixpence. The views of Vcrelst on the political situa- views of vcreist on foicifju tion of Bengal as regards the native powers in*"'^''^- 1 Between 3,750,000?. and 6,250,000/. 325,060/. 370 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. ProBtration of the Moghul empire. Weakness of Native powers. Hindustan may be gathered from the foUowmg extracts : — " The first and great cause of our security is tlie general indigence of the Moghul empire. The invasion of Nadir Shah gave the first stroke to its power and opulence, but it fell not so heavily as is commonly imagined. It gave a mortal wound, it is true, to the overgrown wealth and arrogance of the Moghul grandees; but, as the blow was not pursued, its efiect was not immediately felt beyond the capital. The erup- tion of the Mahrattas ensued, their wide-extended ravages laid desolate almost everything on the south side of the Ganges, from near the frontiers of Behar on the east, to Sirhind on the north and west. Their undistinguishing rapine plunged cities and countries in one common ruin, and the empire must have sunk under their oppression, or fallen a prey to their ambition, if the defeat at Paniput had not put a period at once to their power and devastations.' The expeditions of Ahmad Shah Abdali succeeded, which, though neither so extensive, destructive, or bloody as those of the Mahrattas, still conduced greatly to exhaust a declining state; and though his sphere of action was chiefly confined to the Panjab and confines of Dehli, yet the vast sums he levied must have been severely felt throughout a country which produces no silver, and but very little gold. So large a decrease of specie naturally produced a decay of trade, and a diminution of cultivation ; and, though these evils have, in some measure, been palliated in our provinces by the annual imports of bullion, yet in the most flourishing interior parts, such as Benares, Mirzapore, &c., the fact is notorious, and beyond dispute. " The natural consequence of these circumstances has been, that the diff'erent native powers find their finances narrow, and their treasures unequal to the maintenance of a respectable army, or the prosecution of a war of any duration. When- ever, therefore, they are urged by ambition or necessity to.. 1 The Mahrattas were defeated by the Afghans under Ahmad Shah Abdali in 1761. BEGINNING OF BRITISH ADMINISTRATION. 377 enter 011 any expedition, they assemble new levies for the purpose with the most unreflectiug precipitancy ; they risk everything on one campaig-n, because they have seldom re- sources for a second ; and come to an engagement at all events, because the consequences of a defeat are less terrible than those which must ensue from the desertion or sedition of an ill-paid and disaffected army. As their troops, then, are chiefly raw men and aliens, they are without attachment to their general, or confidence in each other : a variety of indepen- dent commanders destroys all subordination and authority ; and the certainty of beggary and starving from the common accidents of war, throws a damp on the most ardent bravery. " These circumstances, I apprehend, gentlemen, have been Eugiah victories. very principal sources of our repeated victories over these immense Asiatic armies, which have fled before a handful of your troops ; and these will, I trust, either deter others in future, or ensure success against any who may be desperate enough to brave a force like ours, so strengthened by disci- pline, and rendered formidable by uninterrupted successes. " A second, and no less powerful reason for the security Disoord-incy .of Native of our situation, is the discordancy of the principles, views, pnuces. and interests of the neighbouring powers ; and which must ever defeat any project of accomplishing, by an association, what the wealth or power of a single one must prove unequal to. The majority of the present princes of Hindostan have no natural right to the countries they possess. In the general wreck of the monarchy, every man seized what fortune threw into his hands ; and they are, therefore, more studious to secure what they have already obtained, than to grasp at new acquisitions. Hence, the principal disturbances which have lately happened in Hindostan (Shuja-u-daula's invasion of Bengal excepted) have been accidental broils raised by the Mahrattas, Sikhs, and Ahmad Shah Abdali, whose views were rather extended to plunder than to territorial • possessions. Conscious that the maintenance of their usurped authority depends on their preventing any of the members from being too much depressed, or too much elevated, they 378 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. English holding the balance iu Hiudostan. Cliaraetcr and situation of na- tive powers. The Kinp Alain, Shah are become jealous and suspicious of each otLer, aud ever ready to throw in their weight against any one whom they see rising too high above the common level. For thisreason^ they at first looked on our successes with an evil eye ; still our generosity to Shuja-u-daula, our attention to our trea- ties and public faith, and, above all, our moderation in not pursuing our victories, begot a confidence in us they had not in their countrymen, and made them rather ambitious of our friendship than jealous of our power. " Thus circumstanced, it will always be easy for a watchful and active administration on our side to hold the general balance of Hindustan, and crush every combination in the bud, by spiriting up some neighbouring power, who may be either ill-disposed, or at least not favourable to the con- federates. A very little acquaintance with the disposition of the natives will shew their ardour for change, where they have a prospect of support ; and the situation of Allahabad, and the station of a brigade there, renders this plan still more practi- cable. Its situation makes it, in some measure, the key of the surrounding territories ; and its vicinity to the several countries of Shiija-u-daula, the Rohillas, Jauts, and Mah- rattas, enables us to penetrate their views with more certainty, and in case of necessity, to enter any part with our army in ten or fifteen days, where we can have either an ally to support, or an enemy to punish. It is for these reasons, we have been obliged to retain a brigade out of the pro- vinces. Our repeated resolutions in Committee will, I doubt not, evince our earnest desire to fulfil your orders on this head, and the necessity itself excuses us for keeping it there as long as these reasons shall subsist. " Such, gentlemen, seem to be the general causes of our present security here ; but they receive additional strength from the particular characters and situations of the several potentates themselves. " The King Sliah Alam, acknowledged emperor of Hindu- stan, retains little of the authority or dominions of his ancestors, but what he has derived from us. The provinces BEGINNING OF BRITISH ADMINISTRATION. 379 of Korah and Allahabad yield him a revenue of ahout twenty-seven lakhs 1 per annum, at a rack-rent ; this is almost exhausted, to support rather the name than the sub- stance of an army, whilst the Bengal tribute defrays the expences of his court and household, and enables him to live in an affluence, if not with a splendour, he never before enjoyed. His abilities are rather below mediocrity, and his character seems rather calculated for private life than a throne. He is religious as a man, affectionate as a father, and humane as a master ; but as a prince he is weak, indolent, irresolute, and easily swayed by the counsels of self- interested men : I cannot, however, think we have anything to apprehend from these dispositions ; the remembrance of what he experienced, when dependent on Shuja-u-daula, has created in him such a diffidence of Hindustan connexions as will effectually prevent him trusting himself to any of them again ; and, at the same time, he probably entertains a distant hope that the hand which has already raised him to his present independence, may one day be extended to restore him to his throne and right. '' The King has lately affected great earnestness to under- Anxiety of ti>e take his favourite expedition to Dehli. But the lowness of oeiifi/° ^" ''^ his finances threaten his project with a very sudden abortion. The weakness of his disposition is no less evident in the ad- ministration of his domestic affairs, than in the formation of his political schemes. Perpetual changes of his ministers and confidants have bred an uncertainty and distrust in the minds of all his adherents, which has checked public spirit, and produced a general turn to selfish pursuits. With a treasury so ill supplied, and a court so ill affected, it is more than probable, if he should advance, that he will be jn*eyed on by his own servants ; and being awakened from his delusion by a scene of beggary and contempt, will ultimately take protection in our provinces. " From these conclusions it was I formed my opinion . ' 337,500/. The King drew the revenue of Korah and Allahabad iu addition to the tribute which he drew from the English iu Bengal. 380 . EARLY KECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. some months ago, when I acquiesced in His Majesty^s requisition o£ two battalions ; and all circumstances since have served to corroborate that opinion. An occasion of demon- strating- the sincerity of our professions, without subjecting" us to any apparent inconvenience, were too inviting advantages to be neglected, and may be derived from our connections with his Majesty. Necessity for " As the ueccssity of retaining His Majesty under our retaininpr the . . , j.' l r l • • Kins at Allah- influence, or separating ourselves entirely irom nim, is a maxim in our system, and as the former seems most pro- bable, we should be careful how we allow strangers to assume the management of his councils. Our conduct towards him is plain. We must either contrive to guide him at a distance, or so to palliate, that, if unsuccessful, he may consider us as his protectors, our provinces as the place of his refuge. Superior advan- «: ^H thiuofs, at present, secm tending to the latter, and it tasre of the ir, ) r J & ^ Kiii-r removing jg ^yy evcut most to be wishcd : but I had rather His Maiesty to Bengal. ^ ' . should make the proposition, than that we should give the invitation. Disappointment may correct his impatience, and difficulties may teach him prudence. The treachery of Hin- dustan professions will prepare him better for the frank, plain declarations of his English allies ; and there is the greatest reason to believe he will return to us with repentance, shvya-u-dania, " The Nawab Shuja-u-daula is our next ally ; and, if Nawab Vizier . '' , it ^ , ^ , i of crnde. gratitude can be any tie on an Hindustan heart, we have every reason to consider him as connected with us by the most indissoluble bonds. His dominions, except the zemin- dary of Bulwant Sing, lie on the north of the Ganges, and extend to the hills ; and, though they are more thinly peopled than is common in this country, have been so much improved by his late regulations in them, as to produce annually near one crore and twenty-five lakhs of rupees.^ His increase of strength has kept pace with his increase of revenue. He has near eleven battalions of sepoys of all sorts, a good body of horse, and has made considerable additions to his artillery and magazines ; but, as his whole revenue can never support a > 1,563,500/. BEGINNING OF BRITISH ADMINISTRATION. 381 force which cau be really formiJahle to us, so it will always be in our power to direct the force he has to such purposes as may best conduce to the interest of the Honourable Com- pany and the general peace. The Nawab^s education, and perhaps disposition, have led him to be vain, aspiring-, and impatient. He is active, but desultory ; his judgment rather acute than sound ; and his generalship and policy more plausible than solid. From pride, or jealousy, he is afraid to employ men of abilities or rank in the several departments of his government ; he plans, directs, oversees, and executes everything himself ; so that the multiplicity of business, and his daily increasing infirmities, oblige him to leave his best designs imperfect and crude. His ambition, it is true, is always inciting him to form new projects, but his volatility induces him to be continually abandoning some, and his impetuosity often renders the remainder abortive. In a word, from a most careful review of his character and conduct, he seems a much proper instrument to accomplish the Company's main point, the maintaining themselves the empire of Hindustan, than an enemy who, from his strength or situation, could give them any material uneasiness or trouble." Mr. Verelst contemplated a measure, as resrards Proposed _^ ^ dethronement the Nizam of Hyderabad, which reads somewhat "^ "'*' ''^'^'""• strangely in the present day. The Nizam had proved refractory. He had joined Hyder Ali of Mysore in his war against the English at Madi-as. Verelst proposed to punish him, and set up another Nizam in his room. He proceeded after Moghul forms. He procured a grant from the King at Allahabad of the whole of the Nizam's dominions. The name of the person to whom the grant was to he made was left blank. The grant was sent to Madras. The English at Madras were told to depose 382 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. Grant of a blank firman to tlie Ensrlsh for the Subahdar- ship of the Dekhan, Ecfjrcts of VcrelBt. the Nizam, and set up another in his room. Tliey were at liberty to make their choice, and then to fill up the blank in the grant with the name of the new Nizam. The measure is fully explained in the following extract from a general letter ^ : — " By letters some time since received from the gentlemen at Madras, it appears that they laboured under great difficul- ties in the nomination of a Subali to the Moghul province of the Dekhan, in case Nizam Ali should, by an obstinate per- severance in his unjust measures, oblige them to deprive him of his government; and they were even pleased to request our opinion in a matter of so great importance. We ex- pressed ourselves with that unreserved freedom which we wish may mutually subsist between the two Presidencies ; and judging it expedient to secure the King's firman for the nomination of some other person, our President was desired to apply for the same to His Majesty, who has been pleased to comply with the request ; and in a letter lately received from him, he promised to despatch a blank firman within five days of the date thereof, to be filled with the name of any person we may judge most proper for the security and lasting tranquillity of your possessions on the coast. This is a power we should be loth to avail ourselves of, excepting in the case of the utmost necessity; and such we fear this will prove, if we can form our judgment from the present situa- tion of affairs.'''' Verelst was so convinced of the expediency of this measure, that a year afterwards he expressed his regret that it had not been carried out. The passage is worthy of extract : — *•' I could have wished the gentlemen on the coast " had been more deeply impressed with this idea, so that the reinforce- 1 Despatch to tbe Court of Directors, dated 3rd February 1768. 2 xhc presidency of Madras, on the coast of Coroniandel. BEGINNING OF BRITISH ADMINISTRATION. 353 ments sent from Bengal, instead of being scattered and dis- membered, mig'ht have struck the important blow we medi- tated against the Subah.' In this case, Hyderabad, weak and defenceless, must have fallen an easy j^rey before the Nizam could have even received intelligence of the expedi- tions; and,, as the capture must have more universally enforced a conviction of our power, so the generous restitution of it to a repenting enemy, must have highly exalted our moderation and disinterestedness.'^ The measure, liowever, was contrary to the policy Directors onnccl tlic of the Directors. They expressed their disapproyal '"■"='"• in the strongest terms. They ordered the grant to be cancelled. Verelst left Bengal at the end of 1769. He was neparturc of Vorclst. succeeded by Mr. Cartier, who in his turn gave place to Warren Hastings. The administration of Warren Hastings opens up a new era in Indian liis- tory, into which it is impossible to enter in the present volume. It has been seen more than once that witliin two possibility of an or three years of the battle of Plassey, the English o^er mndostan. entertained the idea of going to Delhi. Possibly tlie attempt might have proved a success, and even at this early period the Enghsh might have established a paramount power in Hindostan. But the course of events prevented the enterprise. Indeed, an Anglo-Indian empire under the existing system would have been productive of evil rather than of good. The appropriation of revenues for trading purposes, without regard for the people who ' Nizam Ally, Subab of the Dekban. 384 EARLY RECORDS OF BRITISH INDIA. paid it, was bad enough in Bengal ; it would have been fatal to the good name of the British govern- ment had it ever been extended into Hindostan. Failure of the It was destlucd that Bengal should be the schot)l visors. of English administrators ; that the English should not become masters of an Indian empne until they had learned how to rule it ; and this result was not effected until a later generation. The measure of appointing Supravisors was a move in the right direction, l)ut it proved a failure. An Englishman placed alone in a large district, surrounded by native influences of the worst character, was help- less to contend against the general corruption, and was often tempted to share in the spoil. Such appears to have been the fate of Yerelst's Supra- visors. INDEX. Ahmadabad, description of, by Mendelslo, 23. Akbar, reign of, 3 ; policy of, ib. ; partiality for Hindus and Europeans, 4. Alivcrdi Khan, Nawab of Bengal, his rise, 200 ; his treachery towards the Raja of the Chukwars, 201 ; his usurpation, 207 ; death, 225. Arakan, King of, his invasion of Bengal, 151 ; punishment, 153. Arcot, Nawab of, 134 ; dependence on the Nizam, 135 ; history of the wars of, 137 ; the French and English Nawabs, 141. Assam, ravages of the Raja, 152 ; submits to the Nawab of Bengal, 166. Aurungzeb, 12 ; bigotry and hypocrisy, 13 ; war between the four princes, ib. ; reign of, 14 ; rise of the Mahrattas, ib. ; takes the tield, 16 ; persecuting wars against Hindus, ib. ;wars in Rajputana, 17 ; threatens Golkonda, 86 ; conquers it, 88 ; persecutes the Hindus, IGl ; demands jezya from Europeans, ib. Bengal, English settlements in, 147 ; Moghul obstructiveness, ib. ; old hatred of the Poiiuguese, ib. ; Mussulman complaints against the Portuguese, ib. ; revenge of Shah Jehan on Hughli, 148 ; English at Piply, 149 ; English trade duty free, ib. ; English factory at Hughli, 150 ; saltpetre factory at Patua, ib. ; absence of records at Calcutta, ib. ; war between the sons of Shah Jehan, ib. ; Moghul wars for the succession, 151 ; invasion of Bengal by the King of Arakan, ib. ; ravages of the Rajas of Assam and Cooch Behar, 152 ; Amir Jumla, Viceroy of Bengal, 1658, ib. ; Shaista Khan, Viceroy, 1664, ib. ; punishment of the King of Arakan, 153 ; suppression of Portuguese pirates, ib. ; complaints of the English, ib. ; commutation of duties, 154; Tavernier's journey from Agra to Dacca and Hughli, 1665-66, ib. ; persecution of Hindus, 161 ; jezya demanded from Europeans, ib. ; the English oppressed, ib. ; Mr. Job Ohamock, ib. ; foundation of Calcutta, 162 ; loss of the saltpetre trade, ib. ; Hindu rebellion in Bengal, 1696, ib. ; fortification of Calcutta, 163 ; Engli.sh hold the rank of zemindar, ib. ; objections over-niled, 164 ; Murshed Kuli Khan, Nawab, 1707, ib. ; zemindars oppressed, ib. ; employment of new collectors, 165 ; re-measurement of lands, ib. ; subsistence allow- ances to zemindars, ib. ; zemindars of Bhirbhum and Kishnaghur exempted, ib. ; submission of Tipperab, Cooch Behar, and Assam, 166; administration of justice, ib. ; despotic powers, 167; Rajas refused 386 INDEX. seats, ib. ; zeiuiiidars proLibitod pal.'inquiiis, ib. ; reasons for employing only Bengallis, ib. ; English embassy in 1715 from Calcutta to Delhi, 170 ; Captain Hamilton's account of the English settlements in Ben- gal, 18G ; ruin of Piply by the removal to Hughli and Calcutta, ib. ; Coxe's and Sagor Islands, 187; anchorage at Rogue's River, ib. ; Danish hou.se, 188; Calcutta, Juanpardoa, and Radnagur, ib. ; Ponjelly, ib. ; Tanna Fort, ib. ; Governapore, ib. ; settlement at Calcutta by Job Channock, 1G90, 189 ; despotic i)ower of Mr. Channock, ib. ; story of Mr. Channock's native wife, ib. ; Fort WUliam and English houses, 190 ; stoi-y of Sir Edward Littleton, ib. ; Mr. Weldon, ib. ; scandals about bribes, 191 ; divine service, ib. ; Governor's house, ib. ; hospital, garden, an 1 fish-ponds, ib. ; docks on the opposite bank, 192; social life of the English in Bengal, ib. ; English soldiers, ib. ; transit duties levied by petty Rajas, 193 ; different religions, ib. ; injustice of the English Governors, ib. ; story of Captain Perrin and Governor Sheldon, ih. ; H amilton's interference, 194; story of the Persian wine, 195; territory and population of the Company's settlement, ib. ; Barnagul, lb.; Danish colony, ib. ; Danish and French Companies, 196 ; Dutch fac- tory at Chmsura, ib. ; Hughli, ib. ; Cossimbazar, 197 ; Murshedabad, ib. ; Malda, ib. ; Patna, ib. ; Benares, 198; Dacca, ib. ; Chittagong, 199 ; Sundiva, ib. ; a hundred pagans to one Mussulman, ib. ; lightness of Moghul taxation, 200 ; Hamilton's imperfect information, ib. ; death of Murshed Kuli Khan, ib. ; rise of Aliverdi Khan, ib. ; Raja of the Chukwars, 201 ; independence of the old Raja : submission of the young Raja, ik ; treachery of Aliverdi Khan, ib. ; Persian invasion under Nadir Shah, 202 ; Afghan conquest of Persia : rise of Nadir Shah, 203 ; causes of the Persian invasion of India, ib. ; incapacity, corruption, and treachery, 204 ; massacre, outrage, and spoliation, 205 ; breaking up of the Moghul Empire, ib. ; state of Bengal, 206 ; the Seits or Hindu bankers, ib. ; lawlessness of the Nawab, 207 ; con- spiracy, ib. ; rebellion of Aliverdi Khan, ib. ; usurpation of Aliverdi Khan, 208 ; Mahrattas invade Bengal, ib. ; war between England and France, ib. ; peace between English and French in India, 209. Black Hole, Holwell's narrative of the tragedy, 227 ; later notices of the building, 251 ; list of the sufferers, 252. Bombay, early English settlement at, 36; subordination to Surat, ib. ; the town of, 37 ; fresh-water springs scarce, ib. ; woods of cocoes, ib. ; Parell, 38 ; salt-pans, ib. ; Maijm, ib. ; Salvasong, ib. ; Malabar-hill, Ib. ; bigness of the island, 39 ; mixt people, ib. ; English Government, ib. ; power and state of the President, ib. ; unhealthiness of Bombay, 40 ; English women, ib. ; longevity of natives and Por- tuguese, ib. ; misery and mortality of the English, 41 ; visit of Khali Khan, 109. Buxar, decisive battle at, -327. INDEX. 387 t'lilcutta, fonndaiion of, 1G2; fori i lication of, 103; Cliannook's Rctllomont at, 189; slate of, about 1750, and general ajjpearancc, 212; Malnatta ditch, ib. ; population, 213 ; Cakutta of 1752 and 1876 compared, ib. ; European element at Calcutta, 214; trade at Ciilcutta, 215; social life, 216; native life, Hindu and Muhammadan, 217; English supreme within the Company's bouads, 218; administration of justice amongst the English, ib. ; administration of justice amongst the natives, 219 ; revenue of the English at Calcutta, 220 ; total revenue, 222 ; general use of cowries, 223 ; the Kotwal or head of police, ib. ; subordinate factories, 221; changes in the transaction of business : abolition of contractors like Oniichund, ib. ; accession of Nawab Suraj-u-daula, 225 ; capture of Calcutta, 226 ; Holwell's narrative of the tragedy of the Black Hole, 227 ; city recovered by Clive, 351 ; victory at Plassey, 260 ; universal joy, 261 ; Vansittart Governor, 272 ; disputes about private trade, 298. Cai-natic, first Nawab of, 99 ; second Nawab, 102 ; — see Arcot. Chandernagore, French at, 163; difficulties with Clive, 256 ; capture, 257. Channock, Job, flight fi'om Bengal to Madras, 89, 161 ; settlement at Calcutta, 189 ; his despotic power, ib. ; story of his native wife, ib. Child, Josiah, 79. Chinsura, Dutch factory at, 196. Chunda Sahib, the French Nawab of Arcot, 141. Clive, Kobert, relieves Arcot, 144; his fame, 145; recovers Calcutta after the Black Hole tragedy, 254 ; defeats the Nawab, 255 ; diffi- culties with the French at Chanderaagore, 256 ; afraid of Bussy, ib. ; captures Chandernagore, 257 ; victory at Plassey, 260 ; makes Meer Jaffir Nawab of Bengal, ib. ; his wealth, 261 ; difhculties, 263 ; exer- cises the authority of the Nawab, ib. ; courted by Moghuls and Mah- rattas, 264 ; threatened by the Shahzada and the Nawab Vizier, 265 ; victory, ib. ; war with the Dutch, 266 ; returns to England, 267 ; his letter to Pitt, ib. ; reasons for refusing the post of Dewan, 268 ; previous scheme of Colonel Mill, ib. ; ideas of conquest, 270 ; Pitt's objection, ib. ; second administration of Bengal, 329 ; his wrath at the measures of his predecessor, 331 ; settlement of Oudh, 333 ; set- tlement of Bengal, ib. ; exposition of his policy, 335 ; mutiny of the civil servants, 340 ; mutiny of Bengal military officers, 342 ; exposition of future policy, 343 ; its imperfections, 351. Cooch Behar, ravages of the Raja, 152 ; submission to the Nawab of Bengal, 166. Cossimbazar described by Hamilton, 196. Daud Khan, second Nawab of the Carnatic, 102; entertained at Madras by Governor Pitt, 104; besieges Madras, 113. Delhi, English embassy to, 170; contemporary state of affairs at, ib. 388 INDEX. Directors of East India Company, their desjiatches as regards policy, private trade, &c., 271—317. Dupleix, French Governor of PondlcheiTy, his political schemes, 140 ; liis glory, 143. English settlements in India, 1 ; at Surat, 18 ; at Bombay, 36 ; at Madras, 48 ; in Bengal, 147. FarruTih Siyar, Moghul Emperor at Delhi, Lis history, 171 ; receives an embassy from the English at Calcutta, ib. ; murdered, 185. Fort St. David, English settlement at, 99. Fryer, visit to Surat, 28 ; to Bombay, 36 ; to Madras, 54 •, to St. Thome, 60. Fullerton, Dr., his journal of the massacre at Patna, 324. Golkonda, subordination of Madras, 62 ; conquered by Aurengzeb, 88. Gyfford, Mr. William, 79. Holwell, bis nan-ative of the Black Hole tragedy, 227. Hugbli, destruction of the English factory at, 88 ; revenge of Shah Jehan, 148 ; English factory at, 1 50 ; described by Hamilton, 196. Hyderabad, — see Nizam. Hamilton, Captain, his description of Madras, 124; bis description of the English settlements in Bengal, 186. Hamilton, Dr., his troubles at Delhi, 183 ; his tomb at Calcutta, 184. India in the seventeenth century, 1 ; division of India — Hindustan, Dekhan, and Peninsula, ib. ; Mogbul empire, 3 ; breaking up of the empire, 205. Jehangir, reign of, 12. Khafi Khan, his visit to Bombaj', 109. Langhorn, Sir William, Agent at Madras, 56 ; his government, 62, Madras, English settlement at, 47 ; territory and island, 48 ; White Town, 49 ; Black Town, ib. ; early perils, 50 ; European establishment, 51 ; consultations and general letters, ib.; Merchants, Factors, Writers, and Apprentices, 52 ; private trade and presents, ib. ; Chaplain and School- master, ib.; administration of justice, 63 ; Native police, ib. ; morals, 54 ; Fryer's visit about 1674, ib. ; Madras under Golkonda, 62 ; pro- posed abandonment of Madras, 64 ; moral rules, 65 ; Ioav state of morals INDEX. 389 GO ; Reverend Patrick "Warner, 08 ; letter to tlie Directors, ib, ; visit ol" Sivaji, 72 ; innndation at Madras, ib. ; Directors insist on local tax- ation, 81 ; petition of natives, ib.; slave trade at Madras, 83; final probibition of tbe slave trade, 85 ; bistory of Madras under tbe ]\Iof,'buls, 88; municipal t,'overnment, 92; entertainment of Nawab Daiid Klian, 104: besieged by Daud Khan, 113 ; trade in 1712, 116; described by Captain Hamilton, 124 ; war of tbe Carnatic, 135. Mabrattas, rise of, 14 ; wars of Aurungzeb, IG ; ravages near Madras, 95 ; besiege Pondicbeiry, 98 ; at Tricbinopoly, 136 ; invade Bengal, 208. Malabar bill, 38. Mandelslo, visit tp Sural, 19 ; to Abmedabad, 22. Mayor's Court, original form at Madras, 92 ; reorganisation of, 133. Meer Cossim, installed Nawab, 272 ; bis designs, 273 ; attitude towards Sbab Alam, 277 ; efforts of Governor Vansittart to conciliate bira, 279 ; disputes about private trade, 298 ; massacre at Patna, 318 ; Fullerton's diaiy, 324 ; bis ruin, 327. Meer Jaffir, made Nawab of Bengal by Clive, 260 ; drives tbe Hindus into rebellion, 262 ; alarmed at Clive's defeat of tbe Dutcb expedition, 266 ; deposed, 272 ; restored to the throne, 328. Mill, Colonel, his scheme for the conquest of Bengal long anterior to Clive, 268. Moghul empire in India, 2 ; inherent weakness of Moghul rule, 5 ; Moghul despotism, ib.; land tenures, 6 ; renter and husbandman, ib. ; proprietary right of the Sovereign, 7 ; rights of inheritance refused to office-holders, ib. ; life in public, 8 ; government in the provinces, ib. ; revenue system, 9 ; presents, 10 ; Moghul Couri, ib. ; rebellions, 11 ; breaking up of the Moghul empire, 205, Muhammad Ali, the English Nawab of Arcot, 141. Municipal government at Madras, natives mixed with Europeans, 92 ; — see Mayor's Court. Murshed Kuli Khan, Nawab of Bengal, his oppressive administration, 164. Mm-shedabad founded by Murshed Kuli Khan, 164 ; described by Cap- tain Hamilton, 196. Mysore in the seventeenth century, 73. Nadir Shah, his invasion of India, 202. Nizam of Iljderabad, growing indej^endence, 135 ; wars for the succes- sion, 140 ; the English and French Nizam.s, 142 ; French at Hyderabad under Bussy, 143. Patna, English saltpetre factory at, 150; loss of the trade, 162; massacre of the English by Meer Cossim, 318 ; diaries of the siege and massacre, 320. 390 INDF.X. Piply, English at, 149 ; ruined by the removal to Hughli jiud Calcutta, 186. Pitt, Governor of Madras, resists the demands of Dafid Khan, 103 ; entertains the Nawab, 104; besieged by the Nawab, 113. Pitt, William, his objections to Clive's policy, 270. Plassey, Clive's victory at, 260. Pondicherry besieged by the Malirattas, 98. Portuguese hostility to the English, 18 ; Moghul complaints against, 147 ; revenge of Shah Jehan on Hughli, 148 ; suppression of the Portuguese pirates, 153. Eajputana, Aurungzeb's persecuting wars in, 17. St. Thome, Portuguese settlement at, 6 ; captured by the Muhammadans 50; description of, by Fryer, 60; description of, by Caj)tain Hamilton, 131. Seits or Hindu bankers, 206. Shah Alam proclaimed Emperor, 274; proposals for conducting him to Delhi, 275 ; designs of Nawab Cossim and the English, 277. Shah Jehan, reign of, 12 ; revenge on Hughli, 148 ; war between his sons, 150. Shuja-u-daula, Nawab of Oude, threatens Bengal, 262; defeated at Buxar, 327 ; settlement of Lord Clive, 333. Sikhs, massacre of, at Delhi described by the English embassy, 180. Silver, drain of, its causes, 373. Siva.ji, the Mahratta, 15 ; war against him, ib. ; goes to Delhi, ib. ; death of, 16 ; plunders Surat, 34 ; English embassy to, 42 ; audience, 43 ; coronation, 45 ; visits the neighbourhood of Madras, 73. Slave trade at Madras, 83. Supravisors, appointment of, in Bengal, 363 ; failure of the scheme, 384. Suraj-u-daula becomes Nawab of Bengal, 225 ; captures Calcutta, 226 ; narrative of the Black Hole tragedy, 227 ; defeated by Clive, 255 ; his lavish promises, 256 ; intrigues with the French, 257 ; conspiracy against him at Murshedabad, 259 ; defeated at Plassey, 260. Surat, early English settlement at, 18 ; hostility of the Portuguese, ib. ; pomp of the President, ib. ; visit of Mandelslo, 19 ; Surat Custom House, ib. ; entertainment at the English house, 20 ; order of the English factory, 21 ; tea, 22 ; English garden, ib. ; amusements at, ib. ; visit of Fryer, 28; attacked by Sivaji, 34; subordination of Bombay, 36. Tavemier, his journey from Agra to Hughli, 154 ; Agra, ib. ; Bengal revenue, ib. ; rhinoceros, ib, ; Aurungabad, 155 ; Eiver Ganges, ib. ; Allahabad, ib. ; crossing a river, 156 ; Benares, ib. ; Patua, 157 ; INDEX. 39X Rajinalial, ib. ; parting from Beruier, ib. ; crocodiles, ib. ; D:u.'ca, 158 ; visits tbe Nawab, 159; Lospitalitius, 100; lluglili, ib. ; Tavcniicr's grievances, ib. Vansittart, Governor of Calcutta, 272 ; history of his administration, 273 et scq. Verelst, Governor of Bengal, 351 ; his advanced policy, 352 ; his plans, 357 ; appointment of supravisors, 363 ; permanent value of his observa- tions, 365. Warner, Reverend Patrick, his letter to the Court of Directors on im- morality at Madras, 68. Zemindars, Bengal, oppressed by the Nawab Murshed Kuli Khan, 164. Zultikar Khan, first Nawab of the Carnatic, 99. ^K INITIAL FINB0.25^S' WIUU BE ASSESSED FOR FA'U p^NAUTY THIS BOOK ON THE ^^Jf^^^g ^^ THE FOURTH ^Ti INCREASE TO SO CHNTS^ON^^^^^ ^^^ DAY AND TO $100 ON OVERDUE. UD 21-100m-8,'34 513114 ^D ;0362 V M> w UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY