Page:History of the French in India.djvu/180

 158 LA BOURDONNAIS AND DUPLEIX. chap. English Governor and myself. But all had been con- 1V ' eluded at the time of their arrival." He added : " if 1746. nevertheless these gentlemen wish to employ themselves during their stay in this town, I will find them employ- ment." At the same time he addressed the Council, taking up high ground; acknowledging that all the then French establishments in India were under the Governor-General of Pondichery, he claimed the right of disposing of Madras, because he had conquered it. He disavowed, in fact, all subordination to Pondichery. The next morning he put the seal to his declarations, by sending to Madras the copy of an unsigned convention with Governor Morse, by which he bound himself to restore Madras to the English on receiving bills for 1,100,000 pagodas, payable at certain dates not very distant.* Then ensued between the two men a contest injurious to the cause which they had equally at heart, to the country to which they belonged, and fatal in its result to the fortunes of one of them. Dupleix, feeling that this restoration of Madras was in effect to leave Pondichery open to attack, the moment La Bourdonnais and his squadron should have sailed to the islands, determined to maintain the authority which the King and the Company had conferred upon him. La Bourdonnais, on his side, unwilling to submit to any authority, and im- patient of all control, declared that the Minister having left to him, as admiral, the sole conduct of his operations, he was even on Indian soil independent of the Govern- ment of Pondichery. Admitting that the phrase, " master of his operations," used by the French Minister to La Bourdonnais, seemed to convey to him an independent thousand rupees or £421,666 sterling. The terms were 500,000 pagodas, payable in Europe at six months' sight, in five letters of exchange of 100,000 each; and 600,000 in three equal payments of 200,000 pagodas each, the first payment to be made one month, and A He second one year, after the arrival of the ships from Europe. A pagoda is worth nearly nine shil- lings.
 * Equal to four lakhs and forty