STATE OF THE KARNATltf. 103 threatened danger, and even to turn it to his own profit 1 c ^ p - It did not seem so certainly, yet Dupleix proved that it , could be done. It was when the European enemy 1744. appeared most threatening, that the policy adopted from the commencement — the system inaugurated by Martin and carried on by his successors — the system of treating the natives of India as friends and as equals, bore its natural fruits. From the menaces of Mr. Morse, Dupleix appealed to the friendship of the successor of Sher Khan Lodi and of Dost Ali. The reply he re- ceived showed that the esteem, which the Naw wabs of the Karnatik had always professed to feel for the representa- tive of the French nation, was no transient or fair-weather sentiment. Anwaru-dm Khan, the representative, though not the relative, of those chieftains, had inherited their traditions ; he responded to the call made upon him with a fidelity to professions not always exercised in Europe, and Pondichery was saved. To render the account of subsequent events more clear and intelligible, it is necessary that we should state very briefly the principal events that had occurred in the Karnatik since we last left it. The Karnatik suffering from the famine caused by the invasion of the Marathas ; Chanda Sahib a prisoner at Satara ; his brother-in-law, Nawwab Safdar Ali, pressed by his feudal superior, the Subadar of the Dakhan, for arrears of revenue : such was the condition of the Karnatik in the middle of 1741. It was worse for the people than for the ruler. The people had been plundered and were starving. Safdar Ali, on the con- trary, had had his treasures well guarded at Pon- dichery. Notwithstanding his professions, he had still abundance of wealth to pay up the arrears de- manded by the Subadar. But he did not choose to pay them. The Subadar had not supported his demands by force, and Safdar Ali was resolved not to yield to a mere verbal request. He amused therefore the Suba-
