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 into II more ptiiisiouary.

Chai'. XII.] THE NABOB OF BENGAL PENSIONED. 0!)1

with a body of Mahratt<as. This confederacy was far more formidable in appear- a d. ncs. ance than in reality. The members, pursuing se[)ai-ate ends, had no common interest, and rendered their promised aid so tardily and so feebly that the riie Nabob nabob's affairs became desperate. As a last resource he recurred to negotiation, l,„,'".iioa and was delighted to find that he could obtain liberal terms. The impolicy of ^"'"'^"tiate- the treaty which had been made with the emperor had become apparent, and it was determined to modify, or if necessary set aside its most important provi- sions. At last, after long hesitation, it had been resolved to accept of the dewannee of the three provinces of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa, and thus by transferring the collection of the revenues as well as the military defence of the country to the Company, put an end to the possibility of future collision with the nabob.

The accomplishment of this important work was reserved for Clive, who wa.s The xaimb the first to suggest it, and had repeatedly explained the grounds on which he converts was convinced that it must sooner or later become absolutely necessary. On the 24!th of June Clive left Calcutta on this important mission, and proceeded first to Moorshedabad, where he obtained the consent of Nujum-ud-Dowlah to several important modifications in the treaty made with him when he was raised to the musnud. He would fain have placed himself under the guidance of Nuncomar, and was greatly dissatisfied that Mahomed Reza Khan had been forced upon him as deputy or naib-soubah. Without yielding to his complaints, advantage was taken of them to limit the exorbitant power of Reza Khan, by jissociating with him as colleagues the old dewan Roydullub, and tiie banker Juggut Seat, and at the same time exercising a vigilant superintendence over all the three, by means of a British resident. This, however, was only prelimi- nary to a still greater change. Under the treaty the military defence of the country was undertaken by the Company, who obtained for that purpose a per- manent assignment of the districts of Burdwan, Midnapore, and Chittagong. With this im})ortant exception, all the other revenues belonged to the nabob, who levied them in his own name, and for his own behoof, under deduction of the annual tribute payable to the Mogul. By the new arrangement tlie nabob was converted into a mere pensionary, and, instead of drawing an indefinite revenue, was restricted to an annual pension of fifty lacs of rupees. In future this was to be his only interest in the revenue, and he was to receive it not directly from the collectors, but at second hand from the Company, who in con- sequence became his paymasters. There cannot be a doul)t that the nabob would gladly have escaped from the degrading conditions thus imposed upon liini. Resistance, however, was out of the question, and unreserved compliance was his only alternative. The transaction which made the Company ab.solute mas- ters, of the three provinces of Bengal, Behar. and Oris.sawas now completed, but a ratification was still deemed necessary.

Low as the fortunes of the Mogul had fallen he was still nominally supreme, and continued to be appealed to as the valid disposer of kingdoms, long after he