Jafar, the commander-in-chief of the army; and Yar
Latif Khan, a man not of the first rank, who would seem to have started
the conspiracy, stipulating that, if it succeeded, he should be made
nawab. There is some ground, however, for supposing that the original
suggestion emanated from Jaggat Seth, a wealthy banker, who had received
personal insults from the Nawab. Another person of considerable weight
who was also implicated in the plot was Omichand, the wealthy Hindu in
whose garden the Nawab's camp had been pitched on that foggy night in
February when Clive marched through it. On that occasion he sustained a
somewhat heavy loss, but inflicted a much heavier loss upon the troops
of the Nawab, and thereby frightened the latter into treating for peace.
At an early stage of the proceedings Clive received overtures from Mir
Jafar, the commander-in-chief, who offered to aid the English against
the Nawab on condition that he should succeed him. The events which
followed included what in some respects were the most brilliant, and
were certainly the most questionable, incidents in Clive's career. While
his military reputation, already established by the defence of Arcot,
the victory at Kaveripak, and the operations before Trichinopoli, rose
higher than ever, and while he developed a capacity for civil and
political administration of the highest order, the fame of his exploits
was tarnished by a breach of faith which it is impossible to justify,
and by the acceptance of large sums of money from the native prince whom
he placed upon the throne of Bengal after the deposition of Suraj ud
Daulah.

The treaty provided for an offensive and defensive alliance with Mir
Jafar; for a prohibition against any resettlement of the French in
Bengal, and for the transfer of their factories to the English company;
for compensation for English losses at Calcutta, viz., to the company,
L1,000,000; to the European inhabitants, L500,000; to the native
inhabitants, L200,000; to the Armenians, L70,000; for the cession of all
land within the Mahratta ditch and 600 yards beyond it; for the cession
to the company of the Zemidari of the country to the south of Calcutta
as far as Kalpi, subject to the payment of the customary rent; for the
payment by the Nawab of all English troops sent to his assistance, and
for a prohibition against the erection of any new forts below Hugli.
Under a supplementary treaty Mir Jafar was to pay L500,000 to the army
and nav