Page:A history of the military transactions of the British nation in Indostan, Volume 1.djvu/414

406 march against Salabad-jing, who it was hoped would be so much alarmed by this measure as to consent to dismiss the French troops from his service, on condition that the English retired from the banners of the Morattoes: and if he persisted in his attachment to the French, it was determined to weary him into a compliance by vigorous hostilities, in conjunction with the Morattoes.

This enterprize required a commander of much experience in the military and political systems of the country; and captain Clive, who was at this time preparing to return to India, offered to conduct it: the company had rewarded the services which this officer had already rendered, by appointing him governor of Fort St. David, and by obtaining for him a commission of lieutenant-colonel in the king's service; but from that dependance on the ministry to which their affairs will always be subject, whilst engaged in military operations, the court of directors, in compliance with very powerful recommendations, appointed lieutenant-colonel Scot to command the expedition. This officer went to India in the preceding year, in the post of engineer-general of all their settlements, but died soon after his arrival at Madrass. The company, however, for fear that this or any other accident might prevent him from undertaking the expedition, desired colonel Clive to proceed to Bombay before he went to the coast of Coromandel, that if necessary he might be ready to supply colonel Scot's place. The troops sent from England for this service were three companies of the king's artillery, each of 100 men, and 300 recruits; who arrived at Bombay in the end of October; where colonel Clive finding that colonel Scot was dead, proposed to the presidency to undertake the plan recommended to them; but they, possessed by too much caution, imagined that it could not be carried into execution without infringing the convention made by Messrs. Saunders and Godeheu: this judgment, however, had no foundation either in the truce or in the conditional treaty, in which all mention, both of Salabad-jing and of the French troops in his service, seemed to have been studiously avoided. The court of directors had explained their whole plan to the presidency of Madrass; but the ship which had the letters on board was unfortunately wrecked on a rock lying eight hundred miles to the east of the Cape of Good Hope, within sight of the continent of Africa; and the