Page:A history of the military transactions of the British nation in Indostan, Volume 1.djvu/139

Book II. had ordered the presidency of their settlements on the coast of Coromandel to be continued here.

Mr. Boscawen, during his stay at Madrass, discovered that the Indian Roman Catholics residing at St. Thomé, who composed the greatest part of the inhabitants of this place, were, by the influence of their priests, attached to the French, as brethren of the same persuasion. By the constant intercourse arising from the vicinity, the priests of St. Thomé were enabled to get intelligence of the transactions of the English at Madrass, and never failed to communicate them to Mr. Dupleix, who gave out that Murzafa-jing had made over the property of St. Thomé, to the French company. Mr. Boscawen, to remove the present inconveniencies, and to prevent the greater detriments which would arise by the establishment of a French garrison in the town, took possession of it for the English company. The town had for many years belonged to the Nabobs of Arcot; and after the death of An'war-odean Khan seemed to belong to nobody, for there were no officers either civil or military acting with authority in the place. All the suspected priests were banished: and one of them, who had been sent by Mr. Dupleix from Pondicherry, was transported to Europe. The English flag was hoisted in the town, and a small redoubt, capable of containing about 30 men, was raised at the mouth of the river.

In the mean time Murzafa-jing and Chunda-saheb were employed at Arcot in settling the affairs of their new government: they summoned all the chiefs of districts, and governors of forts, friends as well as foes, to pay a contribution, which they received from many, and, amongst the rest, Mortiz-ally, the governor of Velore, paid 700,000 rupees. After having thus established the reputation of their authority as sovereigns, they proceeded with the greatest part of their army, accompanied by the French battalion to Pondicherry, and made their entry into the city with great pomp. Mr. Dupleix received them with all the ostentatious ceremonies and oriental marks of respect due to the high rank they assumed, and spared no expence in his entertainment of Murzafa-jing, to raise in him a high opinion of the grandeur and magnificence of the French nation. Here they settled the plan of their future operations: and Chunda-saheb presented