Page:History of the French in India.djvu/170

 148 LA BOURDONNAIS AND DUPLEIX. ci iap. place should be regulated in a friendly way by M. de la ,_. '._, Bourdonnais, the Governor, or his deputies, the two last 1746. engaging on their part to deliver faithfully to the French the goods and merchandises received or receivable from merchants, the books of account, the arsenals, ships, provisions of war and supplies, together with all the property appertaining to the English Company, without reserve ; besides materials of gold or silver, merchandises, goods, and any other effects whatever, contained in the fort or town, to whomsoever they might belong, without exception. The garrison was to be conducted to Fort St. David, as prisoners of war. But should the town of Madras be ransomed and restored, the garrison might be allowed to re-occupy it, as a means of defence against the natives. But in this case, an equal number of French prisoners (made elsewhere) were to be restored to the French. The sailors were to be sent to Gudalur, and their exchange begun with those actually in Pondichery, the remainder to proceed in their own ships to England. But they might not carry arms against France until regularly exchanged, either in India or in Europe. On the same day that this capitulation was signed, La Bourdonnais wrote a few hurried lines to Dupleix. His first letter, dated 2 p.m. on the 21st, simply states that he had just entered Madras at the head of 500 men, and that the white flag had been hoisted on the ramparts. The second, dated 8 p.m. of the same day, is more im- portant, as showing the view which La Bourdonnais entertained at the time regarding the conditions he had granted. In this he says, — " The haste with which I informed you of the taking of Madras did not allow me to enter into any detail ; I was too much occupied in relieving the posts of this place. The English surren- dered to me with even more precipitation than I wrote you. I have them at my discretion, and the capitulation