The Life of Lord Clive

Four days after the meeting of the Council Clive wrote to Watson : " I took the first opportuiity of a little spare time to call a Council of War for the division of that share of the prize moifey which belongs to the army. [...] Catain Brohier the Madras engineer who had been transferred to Bengal in order to reconstruct the ruined fortifications of Calcutta was on board and the following letter written by him at the moment is an interesting addition to the records of the time : DB SIR —We sailed from Madras the 20th Ult° reached Vizagpr the 24 and found the place invested by the Van of MonsT de Bussy's Army I we [...] I was Informed yesterday by the Sergeant of the Grenadiers Vevergy tat he was endeavouring to Corrupt him to desert' & to Carry over as many of the men with him as he Could The Sergeant seeming to Come into his scheme Induced him to disclose the Project he had formed for his Escape by the Connivance of a seapoy one of the Guard that attended him. [...] Clive found that he could not recruit from the younger men a competent staff of administrators and in July he suggested to the Court of Directors that they should send out " capable young gentlemen for the civil service." The increase of his military force the organisation of it and more than all the 1 To the Ilonble George Pigot and Gentlemen of the Select Committee of Fort St. [...] In a letter written to Pigot the day before he left Mushidabad Clive informed him that Meer Jaffier intended to take the field at the close of October and march towards Patna in order to watch the movements of the Nawab of Oudh and to awe any of the chiefs of Behar who might be inclined to rebel.