Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 5.djvu/386

372 The nabob of Arcot, or properly of the Carnatic, was one of the earliest of the allies of the English. The English, in the first place, obtained a grant of land from him surrounding Madras, in 1750. They were then too happy to assist the nabob against the French. For these aids, in which Clive distinguished himself, the English took care to stipulate for their usually monstrous payments. Mahomet Ali, the nabob, soon found that he was unable to satisfy the demands of his allies. They urged upon him the maintenance of large bodies of troops for the defence of his territory against the French and other enemies. This threw him more inextricably into debt, and therefore more inextricably into their power.



He became an unresisting tool in their hands. In his name the most savage exactions were practised on his subjects. The whole revenues of his kingdom, however, proved totally inadequate to the perpetually accumulating demands upon them. He borrowed money where he could, and at whatever interest, of the English themselves. Where this interest could not be paid, he made over to them, under the name of tuncans, the revenues of some portion of his dominions. These assignments directly decreasing his resources, only raised the demands of his other creditors more violently, and the fleecing of his subjects became more and more dreadful. In this situation, he began to cast his eyes on the neighbouring states, and to incite his allies, by the assertion of various claims upon them, which would give him an opportunity of paying them. This exactly suited their views. It gave them a prospect of