Page:Dupleix and the Struggle for India by the European Nations.djvu/99

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DUPLEIX

upon the French Governor the title of Nuwáb of the territories between the river Krishna and Cape Comorin, including Maisur and the entire Karnátik; he bestowed upon him as a personal gift the village of Valdávar, with the lands depending on it; he created him a Commander of Seven Thousand, one of the highest honours known under the Mughals; he directed that the French coins should be the recognised currency of Southern India; he confirmed the sovereignty of the French Company over Masulipatam and Yanáon, and finally assured Dupleix that he was the adviser to whom he would turn in all his political actions.

The conduct of Dupleix on this occasion was marked by a self-denial as politic as it was patriotic. Dupleix was not a self-seeker. His aim was the glory and interest of France. In negotiating with native princes he never allowed flattery or self-interest to turn him from the direct line of policy he had marked out. On this occasion he accepted with professions of gratitude the personal honours conferred upon him: he accepted for France the cession of territory about Masulipatam and Yanáon. But he did not, he felt he could not, accept the title of Nuwáb of the Karnátik. Leading forward Chandá Sáhib, he presented him to the new Subáhdár as an old and tried friend upon whom that honour had been already conferred, and solicited confirmation of it. His renunciation produced the very best effect. Chandá Sáhib was at once invested. But of the three principal actors