Page:Vizagapatam.djvu/51

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POLITICAL HISTORY.

received an unwise summons from Lally, the new Governor of the French at Pondicherry, to join him, with all the troops he could spare, to help in the war in the Carnatic and the siege of Madras.

Ananda Rázu, the new head of the Vizianagram family 'dissatisfied with the arrangements made by M. Bussy on the death of his predecessor, had waited,' says Orme, 'an opportunity to take his revenge,' As soon as Bussy was summoned south, he captured Vizagapatam from the French garrison which was holding it, sent news of the event to Madras, and invited the English there to join him in expelling the French from the Northern Circars. The Madras authorities, however, had their hands too full with affairs in the south, so Ananda Rázu repeated his offer to the English in Bengal. 'The project seemed delusive or chimerical to all but Clive,' but eventually, in spite of the protests of the other Members of the Calcutta Council, Colonel Forde was despatched by Clive to Vizagapatam by sea with a force of 500 Europeans (including artillery), 2,000 sepoys and 100 lascars, and arrived on the 20th October 1758. Mr. John Johnstone had been sent in advance to arrange matters with Ananda Rázu and had been put in possession of the Vizagapatam factory on the 12th September. The Madras authorities sent up Mr. Andrews and several assistants to help him in re-establishing the settlement and also despatched an officer to act under Colonel Forde.

The force moved out of Vizagapatam on the 1st November, and on the third joined Ananda Rázu at Kasimkóta. Progress southwards was at first very slow. Orme says —

'Various excuses were employed by the Rajah to extenuate this delay; but the real cause was his repugnance to furnish the money which Colonel Forde demanded, who was not a little offended at his evasions. Mr. Andrews, who, having been chief of Madapollam, had long been personally known to the Rajah, adjusted their differences by a treaty, which stipulated that all plunder should be equally divided; that all the countries which might be conquered should be delivered to the Rajah, who was to collect the revenues; but that the seaports and towns at the mouths of the rivers should belong to the company, with the revenues of the districts annexed to them; that no treaty for the disposal or restitution, whether of the Rajah's or the English possessions, should be made without the consent of both parties; that the Rajah should supply 50,000 rupees a month for the expences of the army, and 6,000, to commence from their arrival at Vizagapatam, for the particular expences of the officers. He held out likewise other proposals of future alliance, which he had not yet authority to ratify.'

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