Page:History of the French in India.djvu/475

 STRAINED RELATIONS BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES. 449 succeed in occupying both Madura and Tinivelli — CP ^ P * it must not the less be regarded as a failure. The Eng- lish soldiers, commanded by an officer ignorant of the 1755. country, were allowed to insult the religion and to deride the prejudices of the people ; the money gained in the foray was not sufficient to pay the expenses of the expedition ;* and, worse than all, an example was given of the little respect entertained by the government of Fort St. George for the most solemn engagements when its own interests were concerned. De Leyrit had not been an inattentive spectator of this action on the part of the English. No sooner had he landed than he ad- dressed to the Madras Government a strong remonstance on the infraction of the treaty. It was replied to him, however, that Colonel Heron's expedition was not an act of war in any sense of the word ; that the Nawwab was simply engaged in the collection of his rents. However specious this reply might have appeared, de Leyrit was for the moment forced to be content with it ; for Admiral Watson was on the coast, and de Leyrit, new to the scene, felt that it would be impolitic to in- augurate his career as Governor by a renewal of hostili- ties. He determined, therefore, to rest satisfied with his protest, inwardly resolving, however, to follow the example so imprudently set him. Accordingly when, some few weeks later, he found that the rents due from the lands west of Utatur and south of the Valaru river, known by the name of Tirur, and in which the French had been empowered to act as agents of the Raja of Maisur, were not paid into the Pondichery treasury, he sent Maissin at the head of 500 Europeans and 1,000 sipahis to make arrangements which should be satis- factory for the future. The English made no opposi- tion to this movement. But when the French, succeed- ing in Tirur, were tempted to move against the more Trichinapalli in June, was ordered to tial and found guilty of malversation. G G
 * Colonel Heron, on his return to Madras, tried there by a court mar-