Reference
L30/14/120/2
Title
From 'an East Indian' to Lord Shelburne:
Date free text
28 Nov 1782
Production date
From: 1782 To: 1782
Scope and Content
As Lord Grantham is treating with powers at war, offers advice from local knowledge of Bengal and intimacy with French lately there. French will want footing there they can take advantage of in future; you "may depend on the French Ministers having the best information possible from Mr Chevalier the late Governor of Chandernasore now residing at Paris whose abilities are equal to everything they can hope". Likely demands regarding Bengal:
[1] "Possession of Chandernasore with Liberty to erect fortifications and possibly a quantity of Land about it, nor to be limited in the Number of Troops.
[2] A free navigation of the River Houghley with the old Privilege of Pilots Sloops as before.
[3] Ground allotted them for a Factory at the Mouth of the River Houghley.
[4] Factories at the Subordinates, Patna, Dalla etc. as heretofore.
[5] That they shall be free from the Duties heretofore collected by the Zouzedar of Houghley nor their ships suffer any examination whatever.
[6] That they shall have their old proportion of saltpetre.
[7] That some province shall possibly be given up to them, very likely Burdwan to the Southward".
Shows how above are to be foiled:
[1] May be safely granted but the number of troops should be limited even if only 1000.
[2] No ships carrying above 1 tier of guns shall be permitted to pass our forts at Budgebudge or lay 3 miles below; this enables our forts to fire on any number of men of war; we have such forts on the river below Calcutta as would be an overmatch for 20 sail of the line; keep all their line of Battle Ships below our forts. In peacetime French ships converted into merchantmen having lower tier of ports closed but guns on board so if they get any of these up river a few sailors and stores put on board converts them in a few days into men of war; 2 such ships could destroy and plunder Calcutta. At least it would render a larger garrison necessary in Fort William than otherwise. Allow pilot sloops; "a restriction ought to be made respecting the examination of their Ships that no Great Guns or Small Arms be allowed except for the immediate Number of men in Chandernasore otherwise by having a large Arsenal in that place They will have arms ready to put into native hands after having stird them up to a Rebellion".
[3] Allow no fortifications fro "such a fort becomes immediate communication for the supply of Arms etc. to the Marrahtahs in the Northern parts of Orina"; prevent communication between their ships in the river and the native powers to the South.
[4] Allow but without fortifications; not to pass up river above, for example, Patna, to prevent intrigues with native powers to Northwood.
[5] Levying duty gives opportunity to examine whether any military stores are conveyed in ships.
[6] They will doubtless have this.
[7] If the revenues of some province must be given them it should be neither too far to North nor South and surrounded by our possessions to prevent intercourse with fleet below and native powers above - might provide a bait to Mr Chevalier who is an interested party and will certainly be head of French Department in Bengal, to induce him to mislead French Ministry in this point.
Will attend in person if can be of service if notice inserted in Morning Chronicle "That the Person who wrote the Letter signed an East Indian should call at the House where it was left".
Level of description
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