AfcTSl ' from Certain Gentle - rren of the Council at Bengal, to the Honourable The Secret Gommlt. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES LETTER PROM CERTAIN Gentlemen of the Council at BENGAL, TO THE HONOURABLE The SECRET COMMITTEE For Affairs of the Honourable United Company of Mer- chants of England trading to the Eaft-Indies, CONTAINING REASONS agalnft the REVOLUTION in Favour of M E i R Cos SIM ALY CHAN; which was brought about by Go- vernor VANSITTART, foon after his Arrival in that Province. LONDON: Printed for T. BECKET and P. A. DE HONDT, in the Strand. MDCCLXIV. [Price ONE SHILLING.] ADVERTISEMENT TH E following Letter is pubh'med to enable the Proprietors of India Stock to judge of the primary caufe of the prefent commotions in Bengal, and of the true motives for depofing Jaffier Aly Cavvn. The friends of the Gentleman who accompliflied that revolution have handed about an apology for fo extraordinary a ftep : It cannot t then be deemed improper to make public the reafons on the other fide. If names ought to have any weight in determining queftions of jhis kind, there are two fubjoined to the prefent Letter, thofe of Colonel Coote and Major Carnac, which have a Title to command the higheft veneration from every lover of his country. Both of thefe Officers have performed actions which might vie with the moft brilliant of antiquity. Neverthelefs, it is with equal juftice acknowledged, that after the ftroke was flruck, fome gentlemen approved of what had been done, who bear the faireft and moft amiable characters . But though the wifeft and the beft may fometrmes differ in points of fo interefting a nature, yet it is from facls and argwcnents alone k that the impartial ought to decide. 354908 - . . TO THE HONOURABLE The SECRET COMMITTEE For Affoirs of the Honourable United Com- pany of Merchants of England trading to the Eaft-Indies. Copy. r7 liM HONOURABLE SIRS, I. TT T gives us the greateft concern to be obliged to addrefs you, in the manner we are now under the neceflity of doing j but as 'we have publicly declared our diflent from the late revolu- tion in the kingdom of Bengal, and expreffed our entire difapproba- tion of the meafures purfued confequent thereto ; it is our duty to acquaint you with our reafons for having differed in opinion from the gentlemen who were acceflbry to that revolution, left ill-minded people mould reprefent our oppofition as a faction, fnftead of owing its rife, as it really does, to our ftrict regard to what we think con- ducive to the honour of our country, and the interefts of our em- ployers. Had the whole Board been confulted, we dare affert, this meafure would have been rejected by the majority; and we humbly refer to you, whether the opinion of every member thereof ought not to have been taken by the prefident, before he ventured upon fp bold a flep as the fubverfion of a government. B 2. You [ 4 ] . 2. You were informed, lafl year, of the furprliing revolution in favour of Mir Mohammed Coflim Aly Chan, which would necef- farily be reprefented in the moil favourable light, by the gentlemen who promoted it. But whatever judgment you may have been led to entertain of the meafure, from their account of it, we cannot but think you will judge as ill of it as we do, when you are truly in- formed of the circumftances with which it was attended, the man- ner in which it was executed, and the fteps that have been fince taken to fupport it: Of thefe we will give you as fuccinct an account as pofTible. 3 . At a time, when there was not the leaft appearance of a rup- ture or difguft between- us and the Nabob Jaffier Aly Chan ; on the contrary, a friendihip and harmony fubfifted ; Mir Coffim Chan, his fon-in-law, came down to Calcutta, on fome pretence or other, to viiit Mr. Varifittart ; and having ilaid a fhort time, he returned. to Morfhedabad. A few days after Mir Coffim's departure, Mr. Van- iittart went up to Mormedabad, on the pretence of a viiit to the Nabob. Colonel Caillaud, with a party of two hundred Europeans and fome Seapoys, attended him; who, to remove the fufpicion which fuch a force would have neceffarily occafioned, it was pre r tended were going up to Patna, to reinforce the army there. When Mr. Vanfittart arrived at Moradbaug, the Nabob paid him two viiits, at the laft of which Mr. Vanfitlart, without any previous notice of his intentions, gave him the three letters, mentioned in conful- tation of the loth of November, 1760; of which copies have been tranfmitted you. The abruptnefs with which thefe letters were pie- lented him, one clofe upon the other, and the unexpected propofals contained in them, terrified the Nabob ; and he was entirely at a lofs how to act, but defired time to confider on what was to be done. Mr. Vanfittart, feeing his perplexity, ftrongly infifled on his imme- j diately t 5 1 diately naming fome perfon, from among his relations, to take charge of the Subaihip ; and very particularly recommended Cofiim Aly Chan, who was fent for, and the Nabob was defired to flay till he came ; but Coffim Aly Chan delayed fo long, and the Nabob was in fuch anxiety of mind, and > defirous to >be releafed from the vi- fit, being greatly fatigued, that Mr. Vaniittart was obliged, in order to fave appearances, to fufler his departure to the palace, after hav- ing detained him much longer than his inclination. That night and the day following paffed in concerting meafures with Coflim Aly Chan, how to put in execution the plan before agreed on in Calcutta ; a treaty having been figned for this purpofe, in September, 1760, while Cqffim Aly Chan was down here. In confequence of thefe deliberations, our troops clandeftinely crofled the river, the next night, under Colonel Caillaud, and being joined by Coffim Aly Chan and his party, furrounded the Nabob's palace. A letter from Mr. Vanfittart was fent in to the Nabob, demanding his immediate compliance with what had been propofed to him ; to which the Nabob returned for anfwer, " That fuch ufage was what he never " expected from the Englifh ; that whilft a force was at his gates, " he would enter into no terms; and that it was his defire our " troops might be returned to Moradbaug." A meflage was then fent, informing the Nabob, that if he did not directly comply, they mould be obliged to ftorm the palace. Aftonifhed and terrified by this menace, he opened the gates, exclaiming, <{ That he was be- -" trayedj that the Englim were guilty of perjury and breach of " faith ; that he perceived their deiigns again ft his government ; " that he had friends enough to hazard at leail one battle in his de- ' fence ; but although no oaths were facred enough to bind the " Englifh, yet as he had fworn to be their faithful friend, he would " never fwerve from, his engagement, and rather fufFer death than :' draw his fword againft them." So fufpicious was he of being B 2 fold. fold, that, " He defired to know what fum of money Coffim Aly " Chan was to give for the Subafhip, and he would give half as " much more to be continued : he hoped, however, if they intended " to dethrone him, they would not leave him to the mercy of his " fon-in-law, from wnom he feared the worft, but rather wimed " they would carry him from the city, and give him a place of " fafety in Calcutta." This laft requeft of the Nabob's, the effedT: of his fear and defpair, was immediately laid hold of, and conftrued in the light of a voluntary refignation. Accordingly, our troops took pofieffion of the pakce ; Mir CoiTim Chan was raifed to the Muf- hud i and the old Nabob was hurried into a boat, with a few of his women and neceffaries, and fent away to Calcutta, in a manner wholly unworthy of the high rank he had fo lately held ; as is alfo the fcanty fubfiftence allowed him here by his fuccefTor. 4. Thus was Jaffier Ali Chan depofed, in breach of a treaty founded upon the moft folemn oaths, and in violation of the national faith. A prince of whofe friendmip and attachment you have had many fignal proofs ; in whofe caufe our arms have, with much ho- nour, been employed ; and by a firm adherence to whom, the Englifh had acquired, throughout the whole country, fo univerfal a cha- racter of fidelity and conftancy, that the moft perfect confidence was placed by the natives in them. 5. The advantages to be reaped by the Company, from the revo- lution, were, the grant of the Zamindarries of Burduan, Midnapoor, and Chittagong ; the payment of the balance due from Nabob Jaffier Aly Chan ; with a prefent of five laack of rupees from Coffim Aly Chan, towards defraying the expences of the war againft the French, on the coaft of Coromandel. Of thefe, Mr. Vanfittart, on his re- turn to Calcutta, acquainted the Board ; and, at the fame time, in judifi- r 7 i j unification of his proceedings, laid before them a memorial ; copies of which were tranfmitted to you, by the (hips of the laft feafon. 6. This memorial is introduced with a lift of crimes laid to Jaffier Aly Chan's charge j which, to thofe unacquainted with the Eaftem governments, will appear deferving of the higheft refentment from a civilized nation. Yet fuch is the ftate of politics in every Afiatic court, that, through the apprehenfions of the fovereign, and the in- trigues and artifices of the great men about him, inftances of cruelty and oppreflion are but too frequent ; and even the moft beloved among them are too much to be taxed with committing, or at leaft conniving at, acts of violence -, but it mould be confidered, that many of thefe are done by perfons in power, without their know- ledge ; and that, as there are no regular punimments for criminals of ftation, and who may be fo powerful that it would be dangerous proceeding openly againft them, recourfe is often had to the dagger or poifon to punifti the guilty. This was the cafe in moft of the in- ftances alledged againft Jaffier Aly Chan -, none of which fhew greater proofs of cruelty, than that which CofTim Aly Chan difco- vered when, being in poffeffion of the palace, he was defirous of making the firft act of his power the aflaffination of Jaffier Aly Chan therein, and was very much difpleafed, when he found we in- tended to give him protection at Calcutta. Since his acceffion to the Subadorie, we could produce to you numberlefs inftances of his ex- tortions and cruelties, but that it would run us into an exorbitant length ; and he feems to have made the more immediate objects of his ill ufage, thofe who have been the moft avowed friends of the Englim. We (hall only particularife Ramnarain, whom he dif- poiTelTed of the Naibmip of Patna, in which it was always thought found policy in us to fupport him, on account of his approved faith ; and he now keeps him in irons, till he has been fleeced to the utmoft, [ 8 ] , when there is no doubt he will be difpatched. Moft, if not all thofe who efpoufed the Englim intereft, have been laid under the heavieft contributions, and many have died under the force of torture, to exact money from them ; others have been either bafely murthered, or (which is a common practice among Gentoos) unable to furvive the lofs of honour, have made away with themfelves. 7. It is infinuated in the memorial, that the Nabob's avarice and cruelty had made him the deteftation of all good men, and that he was in the hands of bad minifters, under whofe mal-adminiftration the country was greatly opprefTed : as an inftance whereof, the Scarcity of grain in die city;is produced. To thefe minifters are afcribed the great difficulties the Nabob laboured under, for want of money to anfwer the expences of the government, and to pay the army, rendered mutinous for want of their arrears; betides which intefline danger, the provinces were threatened with an invafion by the Shahzadah with a powerful army, and feveral of the Rajahs and Zamyindars, were on the point of revolting, to encounter all which there was nothing but a difaifected army. Mr. Vanfittart appeals to every by-ftander for the truth of thefe facts, and of the imminent peril to which the country was expofed ; he declares his intentions were only to remove the bad minifters, for which purpofe he carried up with him the party of Europeans and Seapoys. He proceeds to fet forth the manner in which the old Nabob was removed from the government, and Coffim Aly Chan railed. He fays, People in general were pleafed with the revolution; and makes a merit of its being effected without the leaft difturbance in the city, or a drop of blood fpilt. He concludes with reprefenting the anxiety the Nabob exprefied to get from the city, through fear of Coffim Aly Chan; and obferves, that he appeared pretty eafy and reconciled to the lofs of his power, which he owned to be rather a burden than a plea- lure, [ 9 ] fore, and too much for his abilities to manage fmce the death of his fon ; and that the enjoyment of the reft of his days in fecurity, under the Englifh protection, feemed to be the chief object of his wifhes. 8. It is very natural for any perfon who takes an uncommon ftep, to endeavour to vindicate himfelf by the moft fpecious arguments, and the moft plaufible reafoning he can devife ; and nothing lefs could be expected from Mr. Vanfittart, after having brought about fo unprecedented a revolution. He has told his ftory with all the aggravations the nature of it would admit : notwithstanding which, we do not imaging the reafons he has given in fupport of fo violent a meafure will prove fatisfactory to the world. He takes great pains to blacken Mir Jaffier's character, in order to prejudice men's minds againft him j and lays great ftrefs upon the fcarcity of grain in the city 5 but w? apprehend Mr. Vanfittart does not judge fo harfhly from that circumftance, after what he himfelf experienced laft year 5 for notwithftanding all the care, we are not to doubt, he has taken, grain was never known fo fcarce in Calcutta before, info- much that numbers daily perilhed. 9. Want of money was the great difficulty the Nabob laboured under; but this did not proceed from any fault of his, but from the diftracted ftate in which the country had been ever ftnce Colonel Clive's departure ; fo that a very fmall part of the revenues came in- to his treafury. The Burdwan and Nuddea countries were affigned over to the Company for the payment of the Nabob's debt. Mid- jiapoor, the frontier to the fouth-weft, was overrun by the Marat- tas > Beerboon, and other Zaciindaries, with the province of Pu- rea, under Kuddum HufTein Chan, were affected towards the Shahzadah, who had under contribution the whole province of Bahar, [ 1 ] Bahar, except the city of Patna and a fmall diftrift around it. Chit- tagong, the eaftern barrier, did little more than defend itfelf againft the incurfions of the Muggs* inhabitants of Aracan, who ufed every year to come into Bengal for plunder. There remained only the Dacca province, the diftricts round Morfhedabad, the Radfhy and Dinagepoor countries, to fupply 'the immenfe expence of the war. And here lay the Nabob's diftrefs, that with one fourth parti if fo much, of the accuftomed revenue^, he was obliged to maintain an army greater than any Nabob did before him: and the Englim army was not the leaft considerable part of the burthen j for trufting moft to them, he paid -them firft; which preference was the caufe t)f difcontent to the country troops 1 .- And tho' the force we had in the field, againft an enemy whom Colonel Clive had, but a very Yhort time before, drove out of the country, far exceeded thofe the Colonel had with him, yet no material advantage was gained over them, : but the country was overrun and ravaged by them, and by frequent marches and counter-marches, our own armies became as deftfuctive as tho/e of the invaders. No wonder then at the peril- busr condition to which- Mir Jaffier was reduced 3 to extricate him from which, it behoved us to exert our utmoft abilities ; inftead whereof, he was treated with the greateft indignity by us, and Ibafely turned out of his government. i o. To remove bad Counfellors from a Prince is certainly meri- torious ; but it does not feem to us that any thing was ever defigned againft the Nabob's minifters; on the contrary, that the fole intent "was to difplace the Nabob himfelf, is pretty evident, by the treaty before-mentioned, made in Calcutta. Had there been the leaft at- tempt to convince him in a friendly manner of any errors in his ad- miniftration, or of the neceility of difmiffing from his prefence thofe who. ill-advifed him, it is not to be doubted that he would have hearkned hearkned to reafon. That he was not obflinate againft: good advice, .may be concluded from the extraordinary influence which Colonel -Clive had over him; in proof whereof, we need only call to mind how violently he was- incenfed againft Rajah Ram Narrain, and Roy Dulub ; yet the Golonel, by gentle methods, without having recourfe to any other force than that of perfuafion, perfectly recon- ciled him to the former, and obtained his permiffion for the latter to refide at Calcutta, and bring thither with him his family and .effeds. 1 1. The people in general, very far from being pleafed with the revolution, (as alleged in the memorial) were extremely duTatisfied thereat. Had Comm Aly Chan been before in efteem among them, or pofTejOfed any mare of influence or power, they might perhaps .have overlooked the circumflance of his rife, and a feries of popu- lar actions might in time have reconciled them to the ufurpation. But he was defpifed and difliked before he came to the Mufnud, and his behaviour fince has been fo oppreffive and tyrannical, that it could not fail confirming the public hatred of him. 12. The little diflurbance at Morfhedabad upon the occasion, .proceeded from the apprehenfions all degrees of people were under : from fo large a force being brought into the chy in the dead of -night ; and Mir Jaffier, noways fufpicious of the faith of the Eng- liih, had taken no precautions for his own fecurity. Such is the fuperiority of our arms, and fo great the dread of our forces in this country, that had we gone openly to work, we mould have met with little or no difficulty ; which renders our having proceeded by 'ftealth and treachery the more inexcufable : and we are truly forry to have occafion to obferve, that the means by which this meafure was brought about have thrown an indelible ilain upon our national C character, character, and injured us as much in the opinion of the natives, as- it has of all the European colonies in this part of the world. 13. It is afterted in the memorial, that Mir Jaffier was eafy un-- der the lofs of his power, which he is faid to have owned to have been rather a burthen to him : but it is evident, on the contrary, from his declarations fince, and his letters to the company and* Colonel Clive, that he was very unwilling to part with his govern- ment ; and that he greatly regrets the deprivation of it. He was ne- ceffitated, indeed, to fubmit -, and in hopes of being redrefled fome time or other by the Company, judging that fuch a ftep could never be approved at home, he very wifely chofe, rather than truft him- felf with his fon-in-law, to wait patiently for that redrefs in fafety at Calcutta. So far he might appear reiigned to his fate ; yet this can never be' conftrued as an abdication of his government, though it has teen induftrioufly endeavoured to make the world k>ok upon it in that light. 14. We have now, Honourable- Sirs, laid before you a true ac- count of the revolution. The projectors perhaps thought the ad- vantages it was to bring the Company would be a fufficient atone- ment for the meafure, and enfure them the approbation of their matters. It is true the Company have a confiderable addition of ter- ritory, and do now receive a large yearly revenue-; but as great, if not greater advantages might have been procured by more honorable me'ahs: and the present tranquil ftate of the 'country, whkh fecures to the Company as well as the Nabob the full enjoyment of their revenues, is not the effect of Mir Coffini Chan's Nabobfhip, but of an event which would equally have happened, had Jaffier Aly Chan been continued on the Mufnud, as can be eafily made to appear. 1. SQOU [ 13 ] 15. Soon after Coffim Aly Chan was fixed in the Nabobfhip, the Company were nominally inverted with the Zamyndaries of Burd- ^wan, Midnapoor and Chittagong : and only nominally ; for our firft demands upon the two former of thefe, for the payment of the re- venues, were refufed. 1 6. So bad an impreffion of us did the revolution create in the minds of the country people, that the Burdwan Rajah, who, in Jaffier Aly Chan's time, had often expreffed his earneft defire that the Company might continue to colleft the revenues of his diftridt, as they had all along done, on account of the Tunckaws, arid th^t 'they would procure the Zamyndarie for themfelves from the Nabob "j yet after the breach of our faith to the old Nabob, concluding no reliance was to be placed in our engagements, he immediately flew off from his former declarations, and inftead of acquiefcing under our government, he began to aft in open rebellion ; he flopped our trade, raifed a large force, invited the Marattas into his country, \vith-held the payment of his revenues, and acting in conjunction with the Beerboon Rajah, he efpoufed the caufe of the Shahzadah, with whom "he entered into correfpondence. 17. Several other Zamyndars who had remained quiet whilfl Jaffier Aly Chan was Nabob, now finding the government overfet, thought themfelves at liberty to withdraw their allegiance, and would not acknowledge Mir Caffim, but joined the Shahzadah -, whofc party, by thefe frequent defections, wasitrengthened with fupplies both of troops and money, and whofe followers were greatly encouraged by his having been able to maintain his ground, and continue in our dominions the whole preceding campaign, in defiance of the Englifh army. and after fecuring Patna by a garrifon t to prevent its being plundered by that rabble of troops whofe duty it was to. defend it, he pumed on with the Englifh army as faft as he could towards the Prince. He came up with him three day& inarch from the city, the confequence of which brought on an action wherein he gained a compleat victory *, and reduced the Shah in a few days after to the neceffity of putting iiimfelf under the protection of the Englifh. The Major's fuccefs, as it put an end to the hopes of all the rebellious Rajahs and Zamyndars, fo it at once quelled all commotions, and eftablifhed the fo long wifhed for tranquillity in the country ; and the different provinces were now brought into order, and rendered in a condition to pay their refpeclive revenues ; the Nabob's treafury was enriched, and he was enabled to difcharge the * This battle was the moft remarkable of any which has lately been fought in India, Plafly not excepted ; and may even be compared to that of Alexander againft Porus. 4 arrears [ '5 1 arrears of his army, and to advance the money he had engaged to pay the company. 20. Whatever merit there is then in the prefent tranquillity, is to be afcribed to our fuccefs againft the Prince, which, by putting an end to the. war in the country, reduced it to a ftate of perfect obedience. And as all the old Nabob's difficulties proceeded from his dominions being the feat of war, and the default of his revenues on that ac- cout, there is not the leafl doubt, had our arms met with the fame fuccefs during his government, but that he would -have extricated himfelf with equal eafe. 2 1 . After what has been fet forth, we believe few will imagine that Mir Jaffier was depofed by reafon either of a want of ability to rule, or of his bad principles. We would willingly indeed fuppofe, that it proceeded rather from the want of a true knowledge of the country policy, and from an error of judgment, than from lucra- tive views, had not Mr. Vanfittart, and others of the projectors, made no fecret that there was a prefent promifed them by Caffim Aly Chan of twenty lack : 'tis true, they make a merit that this was not to be delivered till the Company's debt was paid, and his army fatif- fied. We have to obferve on this occafion, that feveral of us have had offers from the Nabob of very confiderable fums to join in his meafures, which we have conftantly made publick, as well as refufed ; and if we, who have always oppofed thofe meafures, have been thus tried with pecuniary temptations, what may be concluded of thofe Gentlemen who have fupported the Nabob on every occafion ? 22. If the Nabob has purchafed the power he is inverted with* it is to be expected he will of courfe make the moft of it, by extort- ing money from his fubjects, and oppreffing every province as much T 16 ] -as he can ; and as the. fate of Jaffier Aly Chan muft have convinced him how little we regard the moil facred engagements, he will of neceffity endeavor to eftablifh himfelf on a foundation lefs precarious than the friendfhip of the Englifh. That he already begins to do 'fo, is evident from his ftill increafmg the number of his troops (not- withstanding the prefent tranquillity) and to render them the more 'formidable, he is arming and difciplining as many Seapoys as he can procure, in the European manner: and to fecure himfelf as much as poffible from us, efteeming his capital Morfhedabad (the fcene of liis predecefTor's fall) too near our fettlements, he is about erecting a large fort at Rajahmaul, which he propofes to make his place of refidence, where he hopes to be out of our reach. 23. When any Member of the Board fuggefts, that the Nabob's "behaviour argues a fufpicion of us, for that if he really confided in, and fincerely regarded us, he would not put himfelf to the unnecef- fary expence of keeping fo large an army in pay, nor treat fo ill thoie who are avowedly our friends ; it is replied, " The Nabob is mafte^r " of his country; and being independent of us, is at liberty to rule *' and act as he pleafes." But furely Caflim Aly Chan cannot be more fo than his predecefibr was : and if it be true that the Nabob of Bengal is independent of the Englifh, and. matter of his own actions, how can the gentlemen juftify their proceedings againft Mir Jaffir, whom they called to fo fevere an account for the admi- niftration of his own government, as to depofe him, tho' he had not been guilty of any offence to our nation, nor ever deviated from his treaty^? 24. Inftead of checking the overgrowing power of the prefent Nabob, it is daily promoted ; and he has even the abfolute com- mand of our army at Patna, the.Chkf there, having dire&ipns to let him r '7 r him have what number of our troops he pleafes to demand, without' being allowed to judge of the nature of the fervice for which they- are demanded. This you will obferve, Honourable Sirs, in the in-- ftruc~tions given to Mr. Ellis, dated the 22d September laft, and in the confultation of the fame day, where fome of our opinions on that procedure are entered. We cannot help expreffing how much we fear that an ill ufe will be made by him of this power over our- forces, and that they will fooner or later be employed for fuch pur-- pofes as will render us more odious to the whole country, bring greater difcredit upon our arms, and reflect farther difhonor upon our na- tion. 25. Notwithstanding this zealous attachment to Caffim Aly Chan, , there can be no reafon to hope he will acl: the part of a faithful ally towards us. What dependance can be had on a perfon who fo rea- dily entered into the fcheme of deppling not only his lawful mailer, but his patron under -whofe immediate care he was brought up ? who ' fhewed fo much difloyalty to his natural Sovereign*, the King of In- doftan, as to evade even acknowledging him, till he was in a man- ner obliged to it by our repeated- defires ? and who betrays a conti- nual diftruft of thofe who have appeared any way attached to us ? 26. The Nabob's undutiful behaviour to the King, proceeded in great meafure from his jealoufy of the regard we profefled for him, and his fears that we mould reduce his authority, by fubjecting the Subamip to its primitive dependency on the Mogul, and obliging him to pay the royal revenues. He therefore fet every engine to work to create a rupture between us ; he endeavoured to make the * Formerly the Shazadah who was defeated by Major Carnac, in that famous battle near Patna, as related above, and who, on the death of his father, became King of indoftan, and confequently Sovereign of Bengal, which is one of the pro- vinces of his empire. King King uneafy, and to iriflill notions into him of his being in danger 1 from us, in order to get him out of the country. He excited a mutiny in the King's camp, which, had it not been for the timely afliftance fent by Major Carnac, might have proved fatal to his Majefty. He repeatedly urged Mr. Vanfittart to difmifs him; and forged leN ters tohimfelf and the Prefident, as from the King, complaining of being forcibly detained by the Major, and expreffing his anxiety by not being allowed to leave the country. That thefe letters were forged, -his Majefty hath folemnly declared, by an atteftation under his own hand; and teftified his abhorrence of fo infamous a pro- ceeding. The Nabob, however, at laft fo far prevailed, by corrup- tion and intriguing with fome of the courtiers, as to bring about what he had fo much at heart, the King's being fent away without re- ceiving any affiftance from, us, or being paid any part of the revenues of this Subafhip. This rebellious behaviour of the Nabob juftly in- cenfed the King, who declared that he would not fuffer him to continue in his Subamip, whenever, he had power fufficient to pre- vent it. 27. His Majefty, 'before his departure, gave fiie moft unquef- tionable proof of his hatred to Coflim Aly Chan, and of his efteern for the Englim, by the voluntary offer he made them of the De- wanny of Bengal. This poft is the collection of the revenues of all the provinces fubjecl: to -the Nabob, which are to be accounted fot with the court of Delhy. It differs from the Subadaree ; the latter rbeing the command of the troops, and the charge of the jurifdiction ; in the provinces, the expences whereof are paid out of the revenues ;by the Dewan. It was formerly a feparate office, but the Nabobs of Bengal, taking advantage of the late commotions in the empire, have aflumed it to themfelves. From the nature of the office, ;it is evident that. the king, diftrufting the Nabob, intended that" we mould [ 19 J fliould be a check upon him, and be anfvverable for the revenues* no account of which he could get from Coffim Aly Chan, who de- tained them for his own ufe. This appointment would have brought the Company about fifteen laacks yearly, exclufive of the lands of fiurdwan, Midnapoor, and Chittagong, which his Majefty alfo of* fered to confirm to them ; and to eflablim their intereft and in- fluence, not only in thefe provinces, but as far as the city of Delhy itfelf, to which place our commerce might then, with the utmoft fafety, have been extended. 28. It is hard to conceive why fo honorable and advantageous an offer (hould be reje&ed ; it is alledged it would be the fource of continual difputes between us and the Nabob, and occallon too great a dimi- nution of his power ; but furely this confideration, admitting it to be true, ought not to ftand in competition with the honor and in- terefts of the Company, which would be greatly promoted by fuch an appointment; what renders this refufal the more extraordinary is, that it is well known application was made to the King, foon after Mr. Vanfittart's arrival, in Jaffier Aly Chan's time, .for the funadi or grants of the province of Bengal, which were actually drawn ut to be fent to us; but the revolution, in favour of Caflim Aly Chan, taking place in the interim, an entire flop was put to the Negotia- tion. 29. The Nabob was fo inveterate againft all thofe natives who were known to be in our intereft, that he ufed his utmoft endeavours to prevail on Colonel Coote and Major Carnac, to confent to his proceeding to the moft unjuftifiable feverities againft them, particu- larly againft Rajah Ramnarain, having offered the Colonel five Laack of Rupees, provided he would concur in the deftruftion of that un- happy man, who has fince been given up to him by the board. The D Colonel's [ 20 ] Colonel's refufal of this money, we are well convinced, was tKe motive of his (the Nabob's) unjuft fufpicion and refentment againft him, . which appears not only by the Colonel's Letters on the face of the proceedings of the board, but alfo by Coffim Aly Chan's own declaration to him, that he could not be his friend unlefs he re- ceived his prefent. v.!' t ; t ?.y>ui?tfi 30. The fame fpirit of refentment, which actuated the Nabob againft Colonel Coote, was equally ftrong againft .Major Carnac, whom he alfo endeavoured to buy over to ferve his ends but in vain. The Nabpb faw, with a jealous eye, the many .diftinguiming marks of favor the King conferred on him, and would fain have made a breach between them, which not being able to effecT:, he wrote fe- yeral letters of complaint againft him to .the Prefident, who from prejudice, was top much inclined to. believe them, and fought all op- portunities of blaming his con4uc~t at the board, and of putting the worft conftru&ion. upon all his endeavours, for the publick fervice of which -many jpftancjes could be produced. - bs:i:, r i sni'"!G>.-i';;!i-^ & fiwIO v^A >~&-T *'- - ^.31...^. flagrant . injuftice- was done Major Carnac in calling him a way -from PatjQja, when the detachment ftill left there, was large enoqgh .to. ren(Jer the command adequate to his rank, and where he might have been of fervice : whereas his prefence was unnecefTary at Calcutta, as the Colonel was going down, . 32.. A very fignal infult offered by Caffim A]y Chan to the En-. gliih nation, was the intercepting, by his order, a letter which Ma- jor Carnac, when commanding the army, had wrote to the King, which the Nabob opened and fent to the Prefident. This letter, with .others from the Nabob, was minuted in confultation of the 5th of Auguft, and it was inlinuated to contain proof of a plot, con- 3 , certed [ *I J certed between the Colonel, Major, Ramnaraih and Shitabray, to create a frefh revolution. Much pains were taken to .find out my- fterious meanings in the letter, and hints were thrown out to pre- pofTefs the board, that fuch a combination was actually on foot ; however, after the clofeft fcrutiny into the letter, and the ftricteft examination of Shitabray, who was called down from Patna for that purpofe, the board gave it unanimoufly as their opinion, that there were not the leafl grounds to fuppofe any fuch combination, the ridicule whereof was fo confpicuous,- that Av6 do not imagine even thofe who fo ferioufly promoted the enquiry could ever have believed it. 33. The material part of ;this letter related to an' application, which the Major (by Colonel Coote's directions) made to the King, to be put in pofleffion of fome fort in Shuja Dowlah's country upon the Ganges; which, had our troops attended .his Majefty, as we muft have marched through Shuja Dowla's territories,, would have been abfolutely necefTary for a place of arms, and to keep up our communication. The flopping fuch a letter, or indeed any one from a perfon in fo public a character as the Major then was, might be of the moft fatal confequence, was allb a public affront, and one that never was before offered by any Nabob : yet no fatisfaction has ever been obtained from him, although wrote to publickly on that head. 34. You will now, Hon ble Sirs, be able to compare the prefent with the preceding government. So momentous a ftep as fubverting the former one, we conceive, ought not to have been undertaken till after the moft mature deliberation, and from a thorough knowledge of the country, its connections and interefts. But this' was far from being the cafe. Mr. Vanfittart had only been three months in D 2 Bengal, t * J Bengal, and in fo fhort a fpace of time can hardly be fuppofed ta have acquired fo perfect a knowledge of matters as to be able to determine, that it was abfolutely neceffary to annul a treaty which had been ratified, in the moft folemn manner, by Admiral Watfon, and Colonel Clive, together with a regularly-authorized felecl Com* mittee, guarantied by the credit of the Company, and the honour of the nation* 35^. The gentlemen*, who were the promoters of this revolution* have coincided remarkably in each others opinion during the laft year's confutations : in return, the President has not failed to fhew them partiality, of which we will give you a remarkable inftance : notwithstanding, in your letter to this prefidency, dated 21 Jan. 1761, you were pleafed> in the moft pofitive terms, to order the difmiflion of Meffieurs Sumner, Playdell and Mac Guire ; yet, on the i oth of Auguft, when, in coafequence of Mr. Mac Guire's dif- mifliofl, Mr. Ellis was appointed chief at Patna, Mr. Vahfittart propofed in Council, that Mr. Mac Guire mould, remain in the chief-mip till - ; Mr. Elli&'s arrival, which could not be effected in lefs than two months. The queftion was abfolutely put to the Board, but carried, in the negative ; the other gentlemen not ckuiing to be guilty of fo glaring a deviation from their matters' orders : and at Mr. Yanfittart's defire, this propofal of his own was not entered on the face of that confutation, Here it will be neceffary alfo to ob- ferve, that Mr. Holwell, after the Hon ble Company had (hewn him fo plain a mark of their difpleafure, as to remove him from the Chair to feventh in council, at firft wavered, whether to continue ia the fervice or not, till (as he declared) he had a private conference with Mr. Vannttart -, after which he remained in both council and committee till the very day on which, Mr. Vanfittart took leave [ 23 ] leave of the Board, to proceed to Mormedabad, in order to execute the plan which had been formed -, and then Mr. Holwell resigned. 36. The Armenian minifters of the revolution, Cojah Petruce and Kojah Gregory, are in the higheft degree of favour with the Nabob and his adherents ; the former refides in Calcutta, retained by Coflirn Aly Chan, a known fpy upon every tranfaction of the Englim, of which he never fails to give his matter the moft regular intelligence, as was too apparent to both Colonel Coote and Major Carnac, when they were at Patna. The latter of thefe Armenians has ports of the greateft truft near the Nabob's perfon -, and through the means of thefe men, the Armenians in general are fetting up an independant footing in the country, are carrying on a trade greatly detrimental to our inveftments in all parts, and commit daily acts of violence, which reflect no fmall odium on the Englifh, who are fuppofed to encourage their proceedings. 37. It is this fyilenri of administration which we have conftantly oppofed, as thinking your affairs could, not poffibly profper under it. And you will now be able to account for many differences at the Board,' which will appear through the courfe of our confutations, and which will doubtlefs furprize. you till the real caufe is known; As we have hitherto denied our afTents to nieafures becaufe we deemed them contrary to your interefts, though the adopting them would have turned out greatly to our private emoluments; fo you may reft affured it mall ever continue an invariable maxim with us v to make your honour and advantage the fole object of our attention, -.. , 38. You have been acquainted, Honourable Sirs, that the King has applied for your afliftance, to fettle him on the throne-, and- to recover fuch parts of his territories as are ftill in th$ hands of rebels* ' it [ 24 ] "It is our opinion, that ~we have troops enough to form an army for the enterprize ; and as we have no European enemy to fear, the forces requiiite for this fervice can without danger be fpared. The Nabob's large army, which is now a burthen upon the provinces, and only kept up to fcreen him from the King's Power, and through his jealoufy of us, would afford a confiderable addition, and at the fame time eafe the country of an immenfe expence. Shujah Dow- lat, one of the moft powerful men of the empire, would join with his forces ; befides many other confiderable powers, friends to the King, from different parts, would flock to the royal ftandard, fliould we ever take the field -, and our army moft probably (as the King himfelf has frequently declared) would march to the gates of Delhy without oppofition. We moft humbly fubmit to you, whe- ther fo glorious an opportunity of aggrandizing the Company in Indoftan mould not be embraced ; and leave it to yourfelves to judge the reputation and advantages which would refult to them, if through the means of the Britifh arms, his Majefty mould be efta- blimed on his throne. For want of our aid, he is now actually at a Hand, and unable to profecute his journey to his capital. - But mould you be unwilling to extend your connections further up the country, and inftead of accepting the Dewanny of Bengal, choofe to confine your views to your new acquifitions, and to the trade of Bengal alone, we beg leave to offer it as our opinion, that we ought to maintain an intereft in the country, independent of the Nabob, by fupporting in power fuch men as have proved themfelves our friends : This will ferve as a balance againft him, fhould he .entertain evil defigns againft us. 40. We have now given you a fair relation of things, and, con- jfcious of the goodnefs of our intentions, we cannot but flatter our- felves 3 [ 25 1 felves, we {hall meet with your approbation in the part we have ta- ken. We {hall therefore conclude with the aflurance, that our en- deavours fhall never be wanting to promote the honour and interefh of our Employers, their fuccefs being the object of our moil fervent wifhes. We are, with the greateft refpeft, Honoured Sirs, Your moft faithful And dutiful Servants, FORT WILLIAM, nth March, 1762* (Signed) EYRE COOTE, P. AM Y AT T. JOHN CAR N AC, W, E L L i s. S. B AT SON. H. V E R E L S T. 27 35 LOS AN 1111111111 A 000017668 5