's troops, became a prey to the
incursions of the Polygars, who stripped them of the greatest part of
the revenues. Ongole, Nellore, and Palnaud, the only remaining
districts, had suffered, but in a small degree.

The misfortunes of war, however, were not the only evils which the
Carnatic experienced. The Nabob's aumildars, and other servants, appear
to have taken advantage of the general confusion to enrich themselves. A
very small part of the revenue was accounted for; and so high were the
ordinary expenses of every district, that double the apparent produce of
the whole country would not have satisfied them.

In this state, which we believe is no way exaggerated, the Company took
charge of the assigned countries. Their prospect of relief from the
heavy burdens of the war was, indeed, but little advanced by the
Nabob's concession; and the revenues of the Carnatic seemed in danger of
being irrecoverably lost, unless a speedy and entire change of system
could be adopted.

On our minutes of the 21st January we treated the subject of the
assignment at some length, and pointed out the mischiefs which, in
addition to the effects of the war, had arisen from what we conceived to
be wrong and oppressive management. We used the freedom to suggest an
entire alteration in the mode of realizing the revenues. We proposed a
considerable and immediate reduction of expenses, and a total change of
the principal aumildars who had been employed under the Nabob.

Our ideas had the good fortune to receive your approbation; but the
removal of the Nabob's servants being thought improper at that
particular period of the collections, we employed our attention chiefly
in preserving what revenue was left the country, and acquiring such
materials as might lead to a more perfect knowledge of its former and
present state.

These pursuits, as we apprehended, met with great obstructions from the
conduct of the Nabob's servants. The orders they received were evaded
under various pretexts; no attention was paid to the strong and repeated
applications made to them for the accounts of their management; and
their attachment to the Company's interest appeared, in every instance,
so feeble, that we saw no prospect whatever of success, but in the
appointment of renters under the Company's sole authority.

Upon this principle, we judged it expedient to recommend that such of
the Nabob's districts as were in a state to be farmed out might be
immediately