38 CONQUEST OF BENGAL. 



as altogether desperate, he repaired to the camp of the 

 English, and threw himself entirely upon their mercy. He 

 had been strongly urged, and high offers were even made 

 to induce him to bring with him Cossim All ; but a deep 

 sense of honour, not usual in an eastern potentate, deter- 

 mined him not to betray a person who had sought and re- 

 ceived his protection. He allowed him and a German, 

 Sumroo, his associate in the work of blood, to seek shelter 

 in the countries bordering on the Indus. Thus Carnac 

 had at once in his camp two princes holding the highest 

 rank in India, and the direct representatives of an empire 

 lately the most splendid and powerful in the world. 



Lord Clive, on receiving this intelligence, immediately 

 repaired to the British encampment at Allahabad, where 

 these two illustrious personages awaited his decision upon 

 their fate. It had been determined, in consequence of the 

 obstinate hostility displayed by Sujah Dowlah, to deprive 

 him of his territories and bestow them on the emperor. 

 But his lordship, on personal acquaintance, conceived so 

 favourable an opinion of the former, and judged him Iikelv 

 to be so much more effective ;is an ally and formidable as 

 an enemy than the young Mogul, that he determined to 

 restore him to his dominions, by whose inhabitants he wu 

 greatly beloved. To the emperor, the districts of Corah 

 and Allahabad were assigned ; and he agreed, that is, was 

 compelled, to grant to the company the dewannee or collec- 

 tion of the revenue, including in fact the entire sovereignty, 

 in the fine provinces of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa ; in re- 

 turn for which he was to receive annually twenty-six lacks 

 of rupees. Soon after, Nujeem-ol-Dowlah, the nominal 

 suhahdar of these provinces, was .obliged to retire on a 

 pension of forty-two lacks. Lord Clive then boasted that 

 the revenues of the ceded territory would exceed 2. r )0 lacks 

 of rupees, which, after the afloxe deductions and the liberal 

 allowance of 60 lacks for the expenses of government, 

 would leave 122 lacks of clear gain to the company. 

 These financial anticipations were very imperfectly realized; 

 but it was difficult for England not to be dazzled with this 

 splendid series of victory, by which her possessions, which 

 ten years before had included only an almost defenceless 

 fort at the mouth of the Ganges, now extended over all 



