LORD CLIVE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 201, 3 December 1910, Page 9

LORD CLIVE.

A GRKAT ENGLISHMAN. FOUNDER OF AN EMPIRE. '.'ln the history of the- world, there lias been only one such man, Robert Clive." These words must awaken in the minds of Englishmen the stirring events which occurred 154 years ago, and which, to the shame of Britain, have never received the recognition tliev deserve. The story of Robert Olive is an object lesson which cannot fail to send a thrill of pride into the heart of every Englishman (says a London paper). Horn near Market Drayton, of respectable parents, Clive was educated at the Grammar School of that town, where he soon exhibited a national propensity both for fiir-hting and adventure, lie ascended the high tower of Market Drayton Church, and let himself down several feet over the parapet upon a stone spout, which was shaped like a dragon's head, and bestrode it out of a pure spirit of mischief. His father, who was a solicitor, hoped to make a lawyer of liim, but Robert: would have none of it, so eventually a writership in the East India Company's service was obtained for him, and he sailed for Madras in 1743. He entered upon his duties, heartily disliking the clerky work of an office, and one day he was found in his room by a fellow-clerk, looking the picture of defection, with a pistol lying on the table. ''Fire that pistol out of the window," said Clive, abruptly. The clerk did so, and as the report rang through the apartment, Robert Clive, who had a sort of dreamy faith in destiny, leaped to his feet, and exclaimed exultantly, "There is something reserved for me to do, then. Twice I vainly snapped the pistol at my own head." CHALLENGED TO A DUEL. He was reckless in his habits, and rude to his superiors. Upon one occasion the Governor of Madras ordered him to apologise for his language to a secretary.. As a refusal would have been followed by instant dismissal from the service, Clive sullenly obeyed the order. Then the good-natured official asked him to dine with him to soothe- his ruffled feelings. "No, sir." was Clive's angry reply, "I have not been ordered to dine with you." Having a good deal of time for leisure, Clive got into the habit of gambling, and one day he commenced playing with a couple of officers. He lost heavily to them, but detected one in the act of cheating. He declared he would not pay, and naturally a violent quarrel ensued, which ended in a challenge to a duel. Clive had no hesitation in giving satisfaction, and pistols were chosen for the combat. Tt was agreed that they should approach one another from a certain distance, and fire when they pleased. Clive fired first, and missed, and he was at the mercy of his adversary, who came quite close to him and put his pistol at his head, telling; him to ask for his life. Clive did so. The officer then demanded aij apology, but he sternly refused. "Then I will shoot you," exclaimed the officer. "Shoot," replied Clive. "I said you cheated, and I say so still.". The officer lowered his pistol, muttering as he did so that the man was mad, and the affair terminated. "A HEAVEN-BORN GENERAL." AVhen Clive reached Madras, the political aspect was stormy. The East India Company had settlements at Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, and the entihe offensive and defensive forces attached to the company's establishment, so far as East India was concerned, consisted of a few score English soldiers and a not much greater number of ill-disciplined Sepoys, all badly armed. There were three forts of no great strength, Fort William at Calcutta, Fort St. George at Madras, and Fort St. David at Cuddalore, The French and the Dutch in their settlements had taken a better estimate of the necessities of their positions, and had provided themselves with well-equip-ped troops. Dupleix, the French Governor of Pondicherry, was an ambitious man. who aimed at political power, and he was well supported by recular troops from France, who had trained great numbers of Sepoys on the European model. Such was the position of the rival companies in India when war broke out between France and England. At this moment the French Admiral, Labourdonnais, made a descent upon the Coromandel coast, and captured Madras and Fort George. Clive and others managed to make their escape to Fort David,"which was soon invested by the French under General Dupleix. It was now that Clive found his true vocation. He acted as a sharpshooter throughout the siege, and wherever there was a. post of danger he was always to be found 'foremost among the defenders. Dupleix raised the siege on the arrival of some English ships off the coast, but the work done bv Clive was recognised by his receiving an ensigncy in the company's service. military abilities were soon to he put to the test..

THE STEfIE 6F ARCOT. The '"prestige of English arms in India dates from the siege of Areot," says an English writer. The great Lord Chatham pronounced Clive to he "a heaven-born general," and it is true that while performing feats of arms which have rarely, if ever, been surpassed, Clive had neither read books nor conversed with men capable of giving him instruction in the military art, yet the defence he employed at Areot was such as would have done credit to the best masters in the science of war. The only man to whom Clive can be likened is Napoleon, but he had undergone military training, and was not summoned from the clerk's desk to the connuest of an Empire. The facts of the siege of Areot were these: Clive persuaded the Covernor of Fort St. David to allow him to attempt the capture of Areot. a town with a hundred thousand inhabitants and fifteen hundred troops, while Clive : s force amounted to two hundred English and three hundred Sepoys. TTe effected the capture of the place, but was soon be9ie<rni<l within by 10.000 .Ijndian nnd French soldiers. His fate seemed hopeless. Imf. such was his power in animating those under him and converting them into hemes, that he sustained a siege for llftv days. Kalions became scarce, and the Sepnvs came to Clive. "not to complain 'if (heir -canty fare, but to propose lliat all 1 lie rice should be given to (he Europeans, who required more nourishment than the natives of Asia. I lie (liiii gruel. thev said, in which the rice was boiled, would suffice for them." Then caiue a -iimmons to Clive to capilulale. nli'eriiiQ- him the honors of war. but (hi- Hive -fernlv rejected. The following day the great assault was made bv 10.000 besiegers, who were det'eal>"l al even- point, and abandoned even tlieii 'ii'jL'a'je to Clive and his victorious in :i. I)e-criliin/ hi- own sensations dur in;' i his momentous lime. Clive saiil: Ihe tame of Filmland, (he honor am' i" ' ye-i - of Oie company. whiidi all seem ed in an especial maimer entrusted ft no- l;.".;)inL'. so lifted me np and sustain ■1 ip'' thai Ihe constant exertion re tinired of me was scarcelv felt, r ] l; ,, " •irr-enjilin-nf of -UC..-CSS from (lie 1110 ment the dash at, Areot was determine upon, which never wavered." Clive had realised before it had dawn ed upon other people that so long a: Ihe French were dominant in India ther was little chance for the English. Whei we remember that his English, troop; were recruited from pen pitched out o the hold of a transport ship upon th

stamina had been debased and weakened by vicious- habits, the marvel is that he was able to turn them into soldiers. As he described it, he remembered that, after all, they were made of the real soldier -stuff, so he had them well generalled, fed, clothed and drilled, and then led them into battle. They did not belie him, for in their first engagement they killed 100 of the enemy, and captured the command French officer and '25 soldiers, as well as "250 Sepoys. THE GREAT BATTLE OF I'LASSEY. It is, of course, the great battle of Plassey which immortalised the fame of Clive. On that engagement hung the fate of India. Lord Macauley gives a brilliant picture of the scene: "The day broke, the day which was to decide the fate of Tndia. At sunrise the. army of the Nabob, pouring through many openings of the camp, began to move towards the grove where the English lay. Forty thousand infantry, armed with firelocks, pikes, oows and arrows, crossed the plain, t'hey were accompanied by 50 pieces of ordnance of the largest size, each tugged by a long team of white oxen, and each pushed on from behind by one elephant. Some smaller guns, under the direction of a few French auxiliaries, were perhaps more formidable. The cavalry were 15,000. drawn, not from the effeminate portion of Bengal, but from the bolder races which inhabited the northern provinces, and the practised eye of Clive could perceive that both the men and horses were more powerful than those of the Carnatie. The force which Clive had to oppose this great multitude consisted of only 3000 men. But of these nearly 101)0 were English, and all were led by British officers, and trained in the English discipline. . Conspicuous in the ranks of-the little army wereithe men of the 30th Regiment, which still bears on its colors, amid many honorable additions won under Wellington in Spain and Gascony, the name of Plassey, and the proud motto, 'Primus in India.' What was_ the result? With the loss of 22 soldiers killed and 50 wounded Clive had scattered an army of nearly 60,000 men, and subdued an Empire larger and more .populous than Great Britain. The fact was, the name of Clive had become a terror." HIS UNTIMELY END. It is sad to reflect upon the treatment Clive received at the hands of his own countrymen. Jealousy and anger lay at the root of the charges of impeachment which were brought against ihim. No reformer who clears away the corruption and errors, such as Clive found in the administration of the company's affairs in India, can fail to make enemies. He was charged in the House of Commons with receiving a present of £200,000. In his defence he said: "Sir, when I recollect entering the Nabob's treasury at Murshedabad, with heaps of gold and silver to the right and left, and these crowned with jewels"—striking his hand violently upon his forehead—"by God, sir, I stand astonished at my .own moderation." ( Although there was no actual vote of censure, the exposure of this attack upon his honor weighed heavily upon Lord Clive's spirits. lie became dejected, and retired to the country, where once again the thought of self-destruction came over his depressed mind. A lady entering the library where he was sitting begged him to sharpen a pencil for her, and put a small penknife into his hand. She retired from the room, leaving the knife in Clive's 'hand, and in a few moments he was dead. Although there are several monuments in the church of Moreton—sav, +o the memory of the members of the Clive family—there is none of the great man himself. It may be said he needs none, for India is his imperishable monument. Lord Macauley has left it on record, th-at "Clive, like most men who are born with strong passions, and tried by strong temptations, committed great faults, but England has scarcely ever produced a man more truly great, either in arms or in council."