l with
their native agents, to buy dear and sell cheap; they monopolised the
trade in the necessaries of life, and grew rich upon the miseries of the
helpless people. Private trade and extorted presents enabled many a man
who as a mere youth had obtained a writer's place to return to England
after a few years with a handsome income. Mir Kasim saw his people
starving, his officers ill-treated, and his treasury robbed, and
prepared for revolt. Conscious of the impending danger, Vansittart made
an agreement with him as to tolls. The council at Calcutta indignantly
repudiated the agreement, and Mir Kasim was furious. Open hostilities
began in June, 1763. One of the council, who was sent on an embassy to
Kasim, was killed by his troops. Patna was seized by the English; it was
retaken, and some 200 English were made prisoners. A little army under
Major Adams, routed the nawab's forces, and on October 11 Monghyr was
taken. Mir Kasim caused all his prisoners, save five, to be massacred,
and fled for refuge to Shuja-ud-Daula the nawab wazir of Oudh. Patna was
taken by storm and Bengal was completely subdued.

Mir Jafar was again made nawab, and paid large sums both to the company
and its servants as compensation for their losses. The war, however, was
not over, for the nawab wazir espoused the cause of Mir Kasim, and, in
conjunction with the Mughal emperor, Shah Alam, threatened Bengal. Major
Hector Munro took command of the British army, and found it in a
mutinous condition; desertions to the enemy were frequent. He captured a
large body of deserters, caused twenty-four of the ringleaders to be
blown from guns, and by his dauntless conduct restored discipline among
the troops. With about 7,000 men, of whom only some 1,000 were
Europeans, he inflicted a crushing defeat on the allied forces, 50,000
strong, at Baxar on October 23, 1764. The enemy lost 6,000 men and 167
guns. Oudh lay at the disposal of the English, and Shah Alam sought
refuge with the conquerors. Early in 1765 Mir Jafar died, and the
council at Calcutta, without consulting the emperor, appointed his son
to succeed him, receiving in presents from him L139,357, besides money
unaccounted for. These revolutions and wars cost the company much money,
and, while its servants were enriching themselves, it incurred heavy
debts. Clive was called upon to put an end to the maladministration of
Bengal. He refused to return to India while Sullivan was chairman of the
court of d