that city of five hundred men, and marched with the rest of his force to Hooghly; "where," says Orme, "having likewise communicated his own terrors, he proceeded to carry them to the Nabob at Moorshedabad."
On the 2nd of January, 1757, the English once more became masters of Calcutta, where, however, some fierce disputes arose between the King's and Company's officers as to the right of command; by which some time was wasted, the public service impeded, and much ill-feeling engendered among brave men embarked in a common cause. Their divisions being at length healed, a force was detached to attack Hooghly; and the fleet having effected a breach in the fort, it was carried without loss by assault.
Meanwhile the Soubahdar was advancing, and on the 3rd of February the van of his army was seen in full march towards Calcutta; while some villages in the distance were in flames, and the terror of his approach prevented the country people from bringing provisions either to the town or to the British, army. Another cause of alarm was the intelligence of war having been declared between England and France, and a junction might therefore be expected between the Soubahdar and the garrison at Chandernagore, which comprised as many Europeans as the English had in the field. Under these circumstances negotiations took place between the contending parties, that resulted in a treaty by which the Soubahdar agreed to restore the Company's factories; while the English were permitted to fortify Calcutta, to coin money in their own Mint, all their merchandise to be exempt from tax, fees, or imposition of any kind, and all the privileges to be restored which had been granted them by the Mogul emperors from their first arrival in the province. No satisfaction, however, was obtained for the atrocities of the Black Hole; and the absence of any provision for this purpose is the greatest scandal attached to the treaty.
While the negotiations with the Soubahdar were in progress, the relative position of the French and English
