STREETS AND HOUSES
were ordered to "attend on the Parade on Monday, 20th November, at six of the clock, in the morning." A week later, it was notified that, "several of the inhabitants of this town having absented themselves from attending the Militia," a list of their names was to be affixed at the Fort gates, and, in case of future non-attendance, "they may expect to meet with proper resentment from the Board." Evidently the new orders were unpopular, and the threat too vague to induce obedience, for four years later, in 1756, the Court in severe terms desired to know the reason why a Militia had not been formed, and insisted that their orders should be carried out without delay, "as, at this time in particular, a regular Militia may be of the greatest importance for the defence of the settlement."
This grave warning must have risen accusingly in the minds of many members of the Calcutta Board, when, a few weeks later, they hurriedly prepared to defend Calcutta against the army of Suraj-ud-Dowlah. On the approach of the nawab, a body of Militia two hundred and fifty strong, including Europeans, Armenians, and Portuguese, was hurriedly got together, under the command of civilian officers, among them Mr. Holwell, commanding the first
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