Madras, had promised that prince that he would transfer it, after he had captured it, to the Nuwáb for disposal. But when the Nuwáb called upon him to fulfil his promise, he displayed great unwillingness to comply. He wished, at least, to level its fortifications, to dismantle it before making it over. The Nuwáb, however, had despatched his son with a force to take possession. To dismantle the place in the presence of that force was impossible. Dupleix determined then to use every diplomatic means at his disposal to persuade the Nuwáb to allow him to retain it. But the young prince who represented the Nuwáb was impatient, and precipitated a contest by cutting off the water supply of the town and fort. The French governor, Desprémesnil, despatched then 400 men and two guns to recover the water springs. It was the first contest on the Coromandel coast between the settlers of either nation and the indigenous population. Up to that time French and English had carefully refrained from all acts of hostility towards the children of the soil. In the princes of the coast they had recognised their landlords, their masters, to whose complaisance they owed the permission to maintain trading stations on the coast. They were to be courted, persuaded, won over, but never opposed. The sortie from Madras of the 2d November 1746 was, then, a rude infringement of a custom till then religiously observed. Its consequences were momentous. The fire of the two French field-pieces, well directed and continuous, put to flight the cavalry of the Nuwáb. The water springs were regained without the loss by the French of a single man, whilst about seventy Mughal horsemen bit the dust.
The son of the Nuwáb, Máphuz Khán by name, was not present on this occasion. When he heard of it he attributed the result to accident, to bad leading, to any
