Europeans and 2,000 Sepoys, and Mozuffer Jung marched for Hyderabad on January 4, 1751. On entering the territory of the Nawab of Kurnool, an ambuscade was discovered; the French troops attacked and carried the defile, but in pursuing the Patáns, the Nawab of Kurnool, finding escape impossible, turned upon Mozuffer Jung, whom Bussy had been unable to restrain, and slew him, himself being immediately killed. Instant action was necessary: and Bussy, without hesitation, sent for Salabut Jung, the third son of Nizam-ool-Moolk, and caused him, with the consent of the army, to be proclaimed Soobahdar of the Deccan. By this measure, tranquillity was at once restored; and it is impossible not to award to M. Bussy the highest meed of honour for his ready presence of mind, and great ability and vigour of conduct. He was not exacting in his demands on the new soobahdar. He might have required and exacted many additional concessions to his nation, and no opposition would have been made to them; but he was content with the confirmation of what had already been confirmed by Mozuffer Jung, and with this even M. Dupleix was satisfied. The Nawab Admirable conduct of Bussy. Mozuffer Jung's agreements are confirmed. CHAPTER V. THE PROGRESS OF THE ENGLISH AND WAR IN THE CARNATIC (concluded), 1751 тo 1754. Complication of Carnatic affairs. A STRANGE Complication of affairs had now ensued. The English and French in the Carnatic, though their nations were at peace, had taken up different sides of native politics; and the real question at issue, the eventual local superiority, was to be fought out under cover of them. After the departure of Mozuffer Jung, the English would probably have acknowledged Chunda Sahib as Nawáb, if their ally, Mahomed Ally, were secured in Trichinopoly ; but to this Dupleix would by no means consent: and Chunda Sahib's first act, after Trichinopoly taking possession of Arcot, in February 1751, was to Sahib. advance to the siege of Trichinopoly with his own forces and 800 French auxiliaries. The former weak garrison of English soldiers sent to the aid of Mahomed Ally from Madras, has been already mentioned: and Lieutenant Clive was now despatched with a further reinforcement; but Mahomed Ally, perhaps distrustful of them, and under apprehension from the superior forces of his rival, called in the aid of the Mahratta chief, Moorary Ráo of Slege of by Chunda Arcot. Gooty, Nunjeráj, the regent of Mysore, and the troops of Tanjore. Meanwhile Clive, whose daring spirit and military Clive's extalent were becoming more and more developed, con- pedition to ceived the bold design of seizing Arcot while the troops of Chunda Sahib were drawn off for the siege of Trichinopoly; and, on his return to Fort St. David, laid his plan before Mr. Saunders, the governor of Madras, who at once appreciated the boldness and strategetic utility of the measure. 200 European soldiers, 300 Sepoys, and ten field-pieces, were all that could be spared; and with these Clive marched directly upon Arcot, through a tremendous storm of wind and rain, reached it on August 31, and took possession of it, unopposed by the garrison, who had fled. It was almost an open town; but the fort was tenable, and by strengthening the defences, and scouring the country around for supplies, he made the position very formidable. He takes possession of the city. As he had supposed, his movement at once attracted the attention of Chunda Sahib, and a force was detached from Arcot Trichinopoly for the siege of Arcot. It is impossible besieged. to follow the details of this siege, which forms one of the noblest exploits of Clive's remarkable life; but for seven weeks, Clive's noble relief from Madras having failed to reach him, he defence. bravely withstood the efforts of 10,000 native troops and 150 French. The fort was breached in several places; the scarcity was so great that the native troops drank the water in which rice was boiled, while they gave the rice to the Europeans; and the danger of capture seemed so imminent, that Clive despatched a messenger to Moorary Ráo, whose camp was about thirty miles distant, to come to his assistance. On November 14, however, the troops of Chunda Sahib, under their commander Rajah The assailSahib, advanced to the storm. There were two prac- ants are ticable breaches, and the defenders were reduced to evacuate the eighty Europeans and 120 Sepoys; nevertheless the assailants were beaten back with great loss, and during the night evacuated the town. In the evening a reinforcement, under Captain Kilpatrick, arrived from Madras, and any further attack by the enemy was impossible. Clive now assumed the Clive takes offensive, and was joined by about 600 Mahratta horse, the field. his own force being 200 Europeans and 700 Sepoys. With this, however, he defeated a combined French and native army under Rajah Sahib, at Arnee, and following up his advantage, His suc gave them another severe defeat at Caverypauk, where cesses. he captured twelve pieces of artillery. He would now have advanced to the relief of Trichinopoly, on which the strength of the French was concentrated; but the arrival of Major Lawrence beaten and town. from England placed him in a subordinate position. Never before, however, in India, had British troops fought as they had under Clive, and never had native Sepoys so bravely emulated them. They had beaten the French in every encounter, and had risen immensely in native estimation. Military The French surrender to Chunda Sahib The operations begun under Clive were successfully continued under Lawrence, who advanced to the relief of Trichioperations at nopoly, against which the French and Chunda Sahib Trichinopoly. had effected very little. Mahomed Ally's allies from Mysore and Tanjore, with those of Moorary Ráo, augmented his forces to an equality with those of Chunda Sahib, and in addition there were the English under Lawrence. After a series of operations, which are interesting and well repay the perusal of the student, the French and Chunda Sahib were shut up in Seringham in the fortified pagoda of Seringham on an island in Lawrence. the Cavery, opposite to Trichinopoly. Here they were summoned to surrender at discretion, and M. Law, their commander, agreed to the terms offered. 600 Europeans with 300 Sepoys laid down their arms, and became prisoners of war, and thirty pieces of cannon with a large quantity of military stores were taken possession of. Chunda Sahib had previously obtained permission to depart, and had fallen into the hands of Monajee, the Tanjore general. His fate is thus related by Major Lawrence, who states in his narrative that at a council on the is beheaded. subject, at which the native chieftains could not agree, 'I proposed that we should have the charge of him, and keep him confined in one of our settlements; this was by no means approved, and we parted without coming to any resolution; but some of Monajee's people put an end to the dispute by cutting off his head, which was done on June 3, 1752,' and it may be added that Major Lawrence was in no position to prevent the act. The war did not, however, end with the death of Chunda Sahib. The Mysore and Mahratta troops joined the French, for Mahomed Ally had failed in all his agreements with his allies, and most notably in respect of surrendering Trichinopoly to the Mysore troops, as he had promised to do. Lawrence urged that the whole of the Carnatic should be first cleared of the enemy; but this opinion was overruled by Mr. Saunders, who sent a totally inadequate force against the great fort of Ginjee, which proved a miserable failure. This raised Dupleix's hopes for a time, and his troops took the field; defeated at but they were encountered at Bahoor, near Fort St. David, on August 27, and totally defeated by Lawrence The French Bahoor. Continuation of the war, 1752. 1 Vide War in the Carnatic, 1761, Orme's History,' Mill's History,' vol. iii.; Beveridge's History,' vol. i. &c. • with the loss of eight guns, and all their military stores; the officer in command, M. Kirjean, with 100 Europeans, being taken prisoner. This action, with the capture of Covelong and Chingleput by Clive, which were in reality two very desperate enterprises, closed the campaign of 1752. In 1753, as soon as the monsoon closed, the Mahrattas and Mysoreans having meanwhile gone over to the French, the Campaign of war was opened by an attack by the allies upon Trichino- 1753. poly, in which an English garrison had been left under Captain Dalton. It had been occupied in perpetual checks of the Mysore troops, which sought to gain possession, and at length endeavoured to reduce the garrison by famine. Dalton's provisions were nearly at an end, when he apprised Lawrence of the fact, who marched at once to his relief; and by a curious coincidence, arrived on the same day as a French detachment, which reinforced the troops already in possession of the Seringham pagoda. After a series of minor operations, an action ensued near the fort, on Septem- Action at ber 20, 1753, in which the French, in a spirited charge Trichinopoly, with the bayonet, were defeated, and their commander, French M. d'Autuc, taken prisoner. The forces of the allies were still, however, very numerous, and Major Lawrence and a considerable number of the troops being temporarily absent, the fort was assaulted on the night of November 27; but the The French attempt failed, and the loss of the French was very repulsed from severe. The repulse was, however, followed by a success, in which a convoy from Madras was surprised and cut off by the allied Mahrattas and Tanjoreans, assisted by the French, and in this manner the war continued till October 1754, the one party at times pressing the siege, and the other endeavouring to raise it, which occasioned many interesting and varied achievements. and the defeated. the fort. Commis Suspension tween the English and At this crisis, M. Dupleix found himself superseded by M. Godeheu, who had been specially sent from France Arrival of to put an end to the war, and who reached India on stoner August 2, 1754; and on October 10, a suspension of Godeheu. hostilities was agreed upon between the French com- of hostilities. missioner and Mr. Saunders, governor of Madras, which Treaty be was continued for three months in anticipation of a general treaty. On December 26 the more formal French. treaty was executed, the first article of which specifies that the companies should renounce all 'Moorish dignities,' and refrain from further interference with native powers. The possessions of each were to be equalised, and are specified in the articles; and the treaty was to continue in force as made, pending the confirmation or otherwise of the respective authorities in Europe. At first sight there undoubtedly appears a decided sacrifice of interests by Failure of M. the French; and if the relinquishment of the Northern Circars had been actually included, no doubt would have been so. These territories, however, had been assigned by Salabut Jung to Bussy, in payment of his troops; and so fell out of the general category. But M. Dupleix's masterly policy for the sway of the Carnatic had been unduly broken up, his ally Chunda schemes. Sahib was dead; and though his son, a minor, survived, and was even put forward by Dupleix, the opposite party, strengthened by the English, had become too powerful. Dupleix's fate was a melancholy termination to his ambitious schemes. When he went back to France, his accounts proved his large claims on the Government; for, in support of his policy, he had not only used his own private funds to the extent of 300,000l., but had borrowed largely. These debts were, however, repudiated by the French Government; and though a letter of protection was granted to him against his creditors, he died of anxiety and vexation, and in poverty-a second victim to the short-sighted policy and ignorance of the French nation. Nor can the eminent services of Mr. Saunders be passed over without remark. It is Mr. Saunders. questionable whether they were ever recognised; certain at least, that they were never rewarded as they should have been. But for his undaunted resolution, and perseverance under all difficulties, Mahomed Ally, unworthy as he was, would never have been adequately supported. Mr. Saunders, with true good faith which never swerved, was determined that the French should not possess a governor of the Carnatic wholly dependent upon them; and, amidst all difficulties and perplexities, calmly and perseveringly worked out his purpose till the arrival of M. Godeheu placed the question beyond issue, in the treaty which was obtained from him, which, more than success against them in the field, humiliated the French in the opinion of the natives of India, and laid the foundation of British ascendency. Services of Proceedings Meanwhile M. Bussy had accompanied Salabut Jung, and the army had advanced as far as the Krishna river, when of Bussy. it was met by that of the Péshwah, who, instructed from Dehly, was acting in the interest of Ghazee-ood-deen, the late Nizam-ool-Moolk's eldest son, and therefore the real successor to his dominions. An action was imminent, when the Péshwah received news from Sattara which obliged him to return. Shao had died in 1751; but before his demise, having no male offspring, he was induced to adopt Ráma, or Rám Rajah, the son, as was alleged, of the second Sivajee, whose existence had hitherto been concealed; but before Shao's death the Péshwah had contrived to obtain an instrument from him, in which he and his descendants Fate of |