Page:A Comprehensive History of India Vol 1.djvu/619

 CHAP. X.J OMICHUND'S CASE. 5S5

loimer excellence of his understanding, he delighted in being continuall}- dressed ad. itst. ill the richest garments, ornamented with the most costly jewels. In this state of imbecility, he died about a year after the shock of his disappointment." On reading the account of the fatal effect of dive's " trick," few will be disjiosed to fleny that Orme is right when — admitting it to be imcertain whether Omichund would have betrayed the conspiracy, a-s " part of his fortune was in the power of the English, and he had the utmost venoreance of Jaftier and his confederates to fear "' — he says, " as his tales and ai-tifices prevented Surajah Dowlali from lieiieving the representations of his most trusty servants, who early suspected, and at length were convinced, that the English were confederated with Jaffier, the 2,00,0 rupees he expected should have been paid to him, and he left to enjoy them in oblivion and contempt."

Orme, while he thus expresses himself, does not .say one word in reprobation Futile at- -if the trick itself His language rather implies that he saw nothing wrong in justify the it either morally or politically, and would have ajiproved the declaration of "'"^''"""• (.'live when he said, in his examination by the committee of the House of ( '(Mumons, that he thought it " warrantable in such a case, and would do it again a hundred times. " Olive, in the course of the same evidence, seems to consider it sufficient for his own justification that "he had no interested motive in doing it, and did it with a design of disappointing the expectations of a rapacious man ;" that "he thought art and policy warrantable in defeating the l)ur|)oses of such a villain."' In judging Olive's conduct on this occasion, it is 'lut fair to view Omichimd's conduct in the woi'st possible light, and assume that if his demands had not been apparently conceded, he would have put his threat in execution. This was certainly Olive's belief; for immediately after Mr. Watts had acquainted him with the demand and the menace, he wrote in answer: — " I have your last letter, including the articles of agreement. I must lonfess the tenor of them sui^irised me much. I immediately repaired to Oal- <utta; and, at a committee held, both the ailmirals and gentlemen agree that Omichund is the greatest villain upon earth ; and that now he appears in the strongest light, what he was always suspected to be, a villain in grain. How- ever, to counterplot the scoundrel, and at the smne time to give him no room to su.spect our intentions, inclosed you vnW receive two forms of agreement - the one real, to be strictly kept by us. the other fictitious. In .short, this artair concluded, Omichund will be treated as he deserves. This you will ac([uaint Meer Jaffier w^ith. ' On the as.sumption, then, that Omichund deserved the worst epithets here aii])lied to him, the question still returns, Do the means employed to fru.strate his intentions admit of justification? — were they in accord- ance with honoui-. eqiuty. and sound policy? Sir John Malcolm undertakes to prove the affirmative; but lii.s elaborate argument only shows how comjiletely zeal for the reputation of his hero had warped his judgment, and blinded him

for the moment to the necessity of that good faith which he him.self inviolably Vol. I. 74