Page:A history of the military transactions of the British nation in Indostan, Volume 1.djvu/140

132 Mr. Dupleix with the sovereignty of 81 villages in the neighbourhood of Pondicherry: after which he took the field with Murzafa-jing, and encamped about 20 miles to the west of the city.

Mahomed-ally, the second son of An'war-odean Khan, fled from the battle of Amboor directly to Tritchinopoly, where his mother, with the greatest part of his father's treasures, had been sent for security, on the first news of Chunda-saheb's approach to the Carnatic. This city was much better fortified than any place of the same extent under An'war-odean Khan's government; nevertheless there remained little hopes of defending it against Murzafa-jiug. assisted by the French troops, unless the garrison was reinforced by a body of English; and Mahomed-ally, not doubting but they would be convinced of the necessity of stopping the progress of the French, applied to them, as soon as he arrived at Tritchinopoly, for assistance. He asserted, that both Murzafa-jing and Chunda-saheb were rebels to the empire: that Nazir-jing was the real Soubah appointed by the Great Mogul; that he himself was the real Nabob of the Carnatic, having obtained the reversion of the Nabobship from Nizam-al-muluck; and that he daily expected to receive the confirmation from Nazir-jing: a few days after he affirmed that he had received the patents of his appointment.

Whilst Mr. Dupleix was prosecuting a plan which he knew to be entirely agreeable to the views of the monarch and ministers of France, the agents of the English East India company were not authorized from the court of directors to involve their affairs in the risk and expences of military operations: for having neither suspected the views of Mr. Dupleix, nor, until the transitory expedition to Tanjore, entertained any such views themselves, they had neglected to ask, and consequently the directors to give, such a power to exert themselves as the present emergency of affairs required: at the same time they retained their ancient reverence to the Mogul government. Murzafa-jing, for ought they knew, might be the Mogul's representative, and so might Nazir-jing: they were in the same uncertainty of Mahomed-ally's title; and therefore dreaded the risque of subjecting the company's settlements in all parts of India to the resentment