1904 .] 
To 
Gr. N. Dutt— History of the Hcitwa Raj . 
211 
Patna, the 6tli February, 1777 . 
Simeon Droz, Esq., 
Chief of the Revenue Council at Patna » 
Sir, 
By this yon will perceive I am returned to Baragong with my De¬ 
tachment. As I was directed by yon only to co-operate with Syed 
Mahomed in the attack of Futty Shaw, I could by no means act as a 
principal. Seven days my detachment was with his camp every hour 
in expectations of coming to an action with the rebel; at last I even 
persnaded him to march within a hundred-and-fifty yards of his en¬ 
trenchments, thinking a push must then inevitably have been made to¬ 
wards seizing Futty Shaw, but whether his troops were averse to engag¬ 
ing in a jungle, I will nor cannot pretend to say, but certain it is that 
not a man of them advanced a yard further. At this period a person 
came to me from Syed Mohammed Khan requesting the attack might be 
postponed till the morning. As I thought this was the last push I 
would make to force him to act with me, and at that very time finding 
he was on the eve of settling his revenue-matters with the rebel, instead 
of abiding by his promise, I that instant thought proper to march my 
detachment to Baragong, as I am confident your intentions were for 
me to assist him in the attack and not to collect the Nabab’s revenue. 
Had Syed Mohammed Khan and his Council ever fully determined to 
drive the rebel out of the Perg. Jagnee, he would then have exerted him¬ 
self to the utmost, for in my opinion there was not the smallest probabi¬ 
lity of our being defeated, but every likelihood in the world of our 
succeeding ;and I am afraid (unless you consent to our attacking him 
with the Company’s troops only, and allow a greater force than I at 
present command, with a gun) we shall never meet with so great an 
opportunity as this time has afforded. 
I am, Sir, 
Your very obedient, humble servant, 
(Sd.) T. Harding, 
Lieut., 5th Battalion Sepoys. 
Camp Barragong , 29th January 1777. 
(Sd.) Shearman Bird, Secretary. 
(A true copy). 
Extract from a letter to the Chief and Provincial Council of Revenue at 
Patna, dated the 1st July, 1777. 
Para 5, 6tli February. —The season of the year is too far advanced 
to send a military force on a fresh attempt to seize Futty Shaw, but we 
