CiiAP. XII. J ARRIVAL OF THE DUTCH ARMAMENT. 661
as she had obtained a supply of water and {)rovisions. CIi' e refused to give any ad. 1759. credit to this pretence, and a detachment, composed partly of the nabob's and partly of the Company's troops, took possession of the fort of Tanna and the battery opposite to it, with orders to search all boats and vessels pjvssing up the river. Tliis proceeding called forth strong remonstrances from the re])resenta- tives of the Dutch company at Chinsurah, but Clive persisted, asserting that he was acting in obedience to the nabob's orders, and in fulfilment of obligations to which he was solemnly bound by ti'eaty.
In October, 1759, the Dutch armament, consisting of six or seven capital suspiti..u«
conduct of
sliips crowded with soldiers, arrived at Fulta. When the intelligence was MeerjaHier. received, Meer Jaffier was living in Calcutta as CUve's guest. His evident con- fusion left little doubt that he had been playing a deceitful part ; but he made light of the matter, and on leaving Calcutta boasted that he would soon chastise the insolence and disobedience of the Dutch. How he meant to fulfil this boast appeared a few days after, when a letter was received from him stating that he had granted the Dutch some indulgence in their trade, and that "they had (Higaged to leave the river with their ships and troops as soon as the setison would permit." The season could never be more favom*able for their departure than at that very time, and this fact, joined to other suspicious circumstances, made it certain that the nabob either had had an undei'standinir with the Dutch from the very first, or had been convinced by them that his own tortuous policy would be best promoted by allowing them to bring up their troops if they could. Clive was thus once more in a dilemma ; but as the nabob had not withdrawn his previous orders, he was still able to assert that he was acting under them. Hence, when the Dutch, deeming themselves ripe for action, sent a kind of mani- a nutch
f.ii •11I-111- 1 1 manifesto.
testo, in which they recapitulated their alleged grievances, and vowed vengeance an.i ciives and reprisals if their boats were searched and their passage up the river obstructed, he answered in name of the Company, that "we had given no insult to their colours, or attacked or touched their proj^erty, or infringed their privileges ; that with respect to their bringing troops into Bengal, the nabob knew best how far it was incumbent on him to preserve the peace and tranquillity of his country ; that their boats had been stopped and searched, and the advance of their troo])s opposed by orders from the viceroy, and under the emperor his master's colours, and by his troops ; that they must therefore apply to him, and that we were ready to interpose our friendly oftices to mitigate his resentment." After giving tliis answer, which under the circumstances may be thought, as he himself admits, to have " savoured somewhat of audacity," he lost no time in preparing to follow out the decisive course which he had resolved to ado]>t. His means, however, were not very adequate. There were only three British ships in the river to oppose the Dutch squadron of seven. The troops, also, were far fewer in number, and instead of being concentrated, were obliged to be airanged in two separate detachments — the larger one being stationed under Captain Knox
answer to it.
