Page:A history of the military transactions of the British nation in Indostan, Volume 1.djvu/385

Book V the Mysoreans now gave to the French, 400,000: in all 6,842,000 rupees, equal to 855,000 pounds sterling. The accessions which the English had made during the war to the usual incomes of their settlements on the coast of Coromandel, were no more than 800,000 rupees, drawn annually from lands lying to the north of the Paliar mortgaged by the Nabob to reimburse the great sum of money they had defrayed on his account in military expences. It was therefore evident that no motive of ambition had induced them to carry on this war: on the contrary, the continuance of it was deemed, and perhaps with reason, incompatible with the existence of the company; otherwise it would be impossible either to account for, or excuse the conduct of the directors, by whose orders the presidency of Madrass was obliged to conclude a truce on such precarious and unequal terms as would enable the French to recommence the war with double strength, if the conditional treaty were not accepted by their ministry in Europe; who for this very reason might be strongly tempted to reject it. However the English kept one advantage in their power, by not releasing 650 prisoners whom they had taken during the war more than the French had taken from them; and they derived another advantage of the greatest consequence, by the removal of Mr. Dupleix from the government of Pondicherry. He departed on his voyage to Europe on the 14th of October, having first delivered his accounts with the French company to Mr. Godeheu, by which it appeared that he had disbursed on their account near three millions of rupees more than he had received during the course of the war. A great part of this sum was furnished put of his own estate, and the rest from monies which he borrowed at interest from the French inhabitants at Pondicherry, upon bonds given in his own name. Mr. Godeheu referred the discussion of these accounts to the directors of the company in France, who pretending that Mr. Dupleix had made these expences without sufficient authority, refused to pay any part of the large balance he asserted to be due to him: upon which he commenced a law-suit against the company; but the ministry interfered and put a stop to the proceedings, by the king's authority, without entering into any discussion of Mr. Dupleix's claims, or taking any measures to satisfy them.