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I have aleady given you an account of the events here and the measues taken against the threat of the Marhattas. Meanwhile, I have received a letter from Hafiz Rahmat Khan; I am sending a copy of the reply I sent to him. As it is paramount that we stop the advance of the enemy I had written to you earlier that you, as an experienced and able General, should be appointed to face this challenge. -- Enclosue: Copy of the reply sent to Hafiz Rahmat Khan on the 27th Rabi al-Avval. -- -- Thank you for your letter of the 16th of Rabi al-Avval. You wrote that Navab Najib al-Daulah with his friends Rajah Madhu Singh, Munir al-Daulah and others are all ready and prepared to face the Marhattas and that it was necessay that we all agree on a commom front. The Marhattas have arrived vey near to here. They have appealed to you to settle this matter by negotiations but you have not accepted their terms as you fear that this would open the doors to the whole county. It was therefore necessary that we join each other, face them together, and open negotations with them when our position is strong so that impressed by our strength they may agree to favouable terms for peace. -- I had earlier brought this matter to the notice of the English and they advised me that as the rainy season was appoaching it would be adviseable to start the campaign after the rainy season was over. I agree with them in this matter and will be going to see them soon to dicuss this further.

Memorandum regarding the amounts, except jewels, sent by Mir Qasim to Mr [Arthur] Vanistart and Mr Hastings at Calcutta during the year 1167, or 1169 Bangla. -- Details of sums sent through khvajah Parvish, Turab Ali Khan, Jagatseth Mihtab Rae, Khvajah Aratun, etc. -- Income received from Monghyr through Hidayat Allah and Hariprashad during the month of Phagan. -- Income received by Ramchiran during the year 1167 from traders, landlords, etc. -- Enclosure: Memorandum regarding amounts of money Khvajah Pidroshan received from his employees. -- From Chand Ghosh, Jagannath Bisvas, Kashinath Bakhshi, Khushhal, Ram Singh, Tejram, Sudra Ram, and Ramkishor.

I have already sent you a detailed report earlier. Now I have received the enclosed reports from the army of H.M.; these are enclosed for your information. -- Enclosure 1: Auda Harkara had sent the following report from the camp of H.M. on the 9th of Zi Qa'dah and it was received at Azimabad on the night of 14th of this month. -- On Thursday the 7th of Zi al-Qa'd the march started. Early in the morning, when three ghari of night remained, H. M. woke from his slumber and went to Aish Mahall to pray and recite his vazifah; afterwards he rode on an elephant with Miyan Yaqut. Akbar Ali Khan and his staff came to pay their respects. On their way they were welcomed by Nawab Mumtaz al-Daulah Bahadur, Nawab Munir al-Daulah Bahadur and a number of other courtiers on foot. During the journey Fath Ali Khan presented a nazranah. When seven ghari of the day had passed they had managed to cover a distance of four Karoh; they stopped at Jaldarpan in Kanvarpur. When two gharis of the day remained H.M. went into Aish Mahall and Nawab Bahadur Ali Khan, Nawab Sahib-I Alam Bahadur, Rao Sujit Rae, Rae Khairati? Ram, Rajah Ram Nath, Nawab Munir al-Daulah, and Nawab Mahdi Ali Khan came to see him. After the evening prayers he went into the palace. At the time of departure, he had sent Ghulam Nabi Khan to discuss some affairs with Bare Colonel Sahib. Three ghari of the night had passed when Colonel Smith Bahadur, Mr Marstan Sahib, Hashton Sahib, Handar Sahib, etc. came to see him in the Aish Mahall. Colonel sahib told him that he had received news that the Marhattas were on the run and if permitted he would like to go to Sivrajpur and establish a cantonment there and H.M. could go to Allahabad and rule from there. H.M. agreed to this proposal. He enquired from the Colonel Sahib why this proposal was not put forward earlier. The Colonel replied that it was because we were facing danger from the Marhattas as well as from the Rohillas. H.M. sent a letter to Hafiz Rahmat Khan in the care of Akbar Ali Khan. It was learnt that the vakil of Raghunath Rao Marhatta, Nalaji Bhallah Pandit, had arrived in the camp of H.M. and is staying in Bajhari Ganj and Hafiz al-Mulk has left Jahanabad to go to Junjundi? -- On Friday the 8th of Zi al-Qa'd yakpas of the night remained when the drums for march were sounded. H. M. woke up early in the morning and after offering his prayers he rode on an elephant. As is customary, the courtiers came out to welcome him. Afrasayab Khan, a protégée of Nawab Najaf Khan Bahadur the Faujdar of Fathpur came to see him. He offered a nuzr of five ashrafis. At the time four gharis of the day had passed they had travelled nearly five Karohs. They entered the boundaries of Fathpur and established a camp there; H.M ordered the advance tent to be sent. When five ghari of the day remained he went into the Aish Mahall; Nawab Bahdur Ali Khan, Hisam al-Din Khan and others came to see the H.M. Afterwards, one hundred and one rupees, twelve goats, six chickens which Afrasiyab had sent were presented before H.M. In addition a deer sent by the state of Mir Fazl Ali Khan was brought in and given to Munir al-Daulah Bahadur. Two pieces of letter-bags and a copy of Shahnamah sent by Hafiz Rahmat Khan and Duidi Khan were brought in by Jagat Rae. Half a ghari of the day remained when he went into Mahall Sare. News was received that yesterday that Colonel Sahib has come two Karoh from Kanvarpore and is staying near Sarae Shahzadah. The English force with the armies of Rae Khairati Ram and Sujit Rae, after marching day and night from Kujkanjur, reached Farhpore and this morning on the orders of Colonel Sahib attacked the enemy force and then returned to Kapurnagar. Rae Khairati Ram and Sujit Rae are with Colonel Sahib. -- Enclosure 2: Auda Harkara had sent the following report from the camp of H.M. on the 10th of Zi Qa'dah and it was received at Azimabad on the night of the 16th of this month. -- On 9th Zi al-Qa'd, when four ghari the of night remained the march drums were sounded. Four ghari of the night remained when H. M. woke and after offering his prayers rode on his elephant; Miyan Daulat rode with him. As usual people came to welcome the procession. After travelling five karoh they reached Sarae Noshah and encamped there. -- Today, Sunday the 10th of Zi al-Qa'd, the royal procession marched from Sarae Noshah and reached Nahyah Kanun. It is estimated that after traveling continuously they will soon reach Allahabad. The English force is staying in Sivrajpore on the banks of the Ganges. Rae Khairati Ram and Rae Sujit Rae are with the Colonel Sahib. The Colonel Sahib wants to come and see H.M; Dahu sahib with two platoons of tilangas is in Kodah Jahanabad. Hafiz Rahmat Khan, Inayat Khan and other Rohila sardars have, after marching from Janjandi, reached Kanauj. It is assumed that they will soon reach Farrahabad. It is rumoured that some of the army of Raghu Nath Rao has reached Anbalavan; they want to chase them and then return. Harkaras belonging to the Colonel Sahib had gone to Fathpore to bring milk and eggs but Afrasiyab Khan, a servant of Nawab Najaf Khan, did not respond to their request in time. The Harkaras came back with harsh words against him and complained to Colonel Sahib who has put him under guard.

I have already sent you my reports. At this moment the situation is that I have sent a letter to my master who should have received it by now. It included a detailed report about the affairs here. It has been long time since I received any news of your well-being; please do write me a few lines.

I am very pleased to learn from your letter that you are happy and well. I am sending Mir Muhammad Alam to give you details of the affairs here.

After looking after the affairs of the Districts of Murshidabad for two months I have now reached the fort of Ranghur [Rangpore?] on Thursday the 22nd of Zil-Hajjah, year 6, and have started managing the affairs here. I need not write to you about the difficulties I face as you are fully aware of the situation here.

I have just received two letters from the Nawab, one is addressed to Mr Wajih and the other to you. I have been instructed by the Nawab to receive a reply to these letters as soon as possible and send them to him. I am enclosing both these letters and request that you send me the replies so that I can pass them on to the Nawab. Earlier, after receiving the account of the Dutch, he wrote to the Director of Dutch East India Company at Chochrah. The letter was delivered to him by the peshkar of Fakhr al-Tajjar/Chief trader, Sada Shiv. As a result, the Company currency from Calcutta was made common currency in Chochrah. There were three other clauses in the agreement with the Dutch, which were all accepted by them, including the removal of their check post.

The districts of Salimabad, Sundhargul, Lakhardiya, etc. are part of my state and the cultivation of these lands is in the name of Rajah Lakhi Narayan. Most of your employees who travel between Calcutta and Jahangirnagar pass though these lands and give all sorts of troubles to people living here. In the same way, the employees of the Kothi Lakhi with the help of other people who come here on elephants for their business also disrupt and damage the work of the artisans and businessmen. It is therefore requested that you appoint two companies of guards to protect the two Kothis and the people of these areas.

News report from the Camp of the Prince. -- One munshi and two harkaras belonging to Shitab Rae are present in the camp of the Prince. Two other men of Shitab Rae are with the French forces. Four men belonging to Rajah Ram are also in the service of the French. Two of these men were caught while sleeping; the other two are still there. A letter from Rajah Dulabha Ram addressed to Khudadad Khan was received here; a reply has been sent. Rajah Ram, Narayan Singh, Mathra Mall, etc. present news reports to the Prince which they receive from their men in Bengal. A bank draft of twelve thousand rupees addressed to the French was received at Benares from Azimabad. This was forwarded to Chatarpore but the French had left that place thirteen days ago so the bank draft was returned to Benares. -- Here no one trusts people from Bengal. We have to do everything with great care and cleverness. Two of my men are in the camp of Pihalvan Singh and other two are with Khudaddad Khan in Benares; two other are in the Camp of Monsieur Lally; fourteen other are present in the camp of the Prince. Thirteen, including a chef, are with me. As it all involves many expenses I will be coming to see you in a few days to discuss this. I hope you have read my earlier petitions in this respect. At present Chatu Babu and Bhaghari Harkara of Mathra Mall are in Benares and Himmat Singh who was with the French with four of his men has left Benares for Calcutta. A Bengali man, called Khvajah Pitrus belonging to the Tate tribe and an inhabitant of Hujrah, who was employed by the messenger of Torimall and who was sent to the French camp will be returning soon.

I am enclosing a letter which I received from Badr al-Daulah Bahadur from Farrukhabad. As I find it difficult to respond to it I am passing this responsibility to you so that you can sort this trouble and disorder and establish peace and tranquillity in the country.

Thank you for your letter of the 13th of Rabi al-Avval, received here on 21st of this month, informing me that from a copy of a petition of the vakil of Januji Khoslah who had come to Azimabad with a petition you have come to know that I had a meeting with him during which I disclosed to him some of our secrets and suggested to him that he would bring glory to his master if he did not go back immediately. -- My dear Sir, I am a true and faithful servant of the Company and I am not so stupid as to reveal our secrets to anyone. The truth is that three days after you had left the vakil first came to see Mir Zain al-Abidin and then came to see me and wanted to discuss various issues. I told him that I had no authority to negotiate with him. He told me that you had asked Mir Zain al Abidin to go and negotiate with Januji; I told him that I had no knowledge of that. Later, he told me that he wanted to come and see you. I did not allow him to do so and he is still here. Now that you have indicated in your letter that if he was still here he could come and see you I will allow him to do so. Meanwhile, Mubariz al-Mulk Muin al-Daulah told me that he had sent Januji's letter with his letter to you and that we should wait for you reply. Now you have written to me that I have spoken to him. I do not talk to anyone except you, His Majesty and the Nawab Vazir. These vakils look for secrets all around them. He came to know about the departure of Mir in Benares and straightaway rushed here. -- Enclosure 1: You have complained for not receiving letters from all parts of India. Among the nobles, notables and rajas of Hindustan known to me whosoever wants to write sends his letter to me. If you wish, in future I can send all these letters to you or return to the sender. I am here to obey your orders. One of my messengers, Rae Sujit Rae, is at the court of the king and sends reports from there. Rae Jyali Ram who used to be there is with Colonel Smith now. -- Enclosure 2: You have written to me that we have harkaras to bring news from the army of Raghunath Rao to Azimabad and yet we have not received any news from the Rao's army. My dear sir, the Rao was in Kansi and my harkaras were with him there. As soon as Rao came to Gwalior the rainy season has set in and we had to postpone this work; moreover, there was nothing new to report. Previously the news of the prince running away from the capital and coming to Farrukhabad was received; this was conveyed to you. Following your wishes we had appointed our harkaras to bring news from his camp. -- Enclosure 3: You have written regarding the financial administration of the Province of Bihar; I am busy day and night working that out. Previously, I used to have Munir al-Mulk Mr Middeton to help me and now Nawab Mubariz al-Mulk Muin al-Daulah Bahadur Muzaffar Jang is here to help me. The result is that we have completed the accounts for 1173. A small sum needs to be collected and it will be collected soon. The accounts for 1174 are also under control. This may have been conveyed to you by Nawab Sahib.

The prince arrived at Bagh Ja'far Khan on the 22nd of Rajab. A soldier with a gun protects the Kothi where the prince is staying. The prince has full confidence in him and he fulfils all his requirements. -- Please pay six rupees as expenses to Bhiku Jamadar for bringing this news to you. Shankar Thakur and Nahar Singh would like to come and see you.

I have arrived at Ganga Prashad today, Wednesday the 20th of Rajab and have encamped here. We received news that today on the 17th of Rajab, San 6, when two gharis of the day had passed Maharajah Ram Narayan Bahadur after consultation with Shah Shakir Khan sent two speedy messengers to take a message to the Prince. Our harkaras are there to report on the matter. I will send you their report when I received it. God willing, I will march from here to Shahabad and will encamp there.

As I and Nawab Madar al-Daulah have sworn on the Quran and on Amir al-Momin Ali ibn Abi Talib that we will spend the rest of our lives in harmony as friends and brothers it was decided that the district of Dacca, except the outlying districts, which according to the tradition of Shahamat Jang Bahadur had come to the Nawab Sahib, would be given to me by Hazrat aqdas-i Ala. From the rest of his wealth, state, etc. two portions would come to me and one to the Nawab. If there is any disagreement we should remember that we have taken oath of Hazrat Ali.

Thank you for your kind letter asking me to make sure that the Dutch ships depart from this area. They have assured me in writing and verbally informed me that they are waiting for the crew to return and as soon as they do the ships will depart from Muhammadpore? The letter from the Dutch authorities is enclosed for your information.

I am anxious to receive news of your welfare and good health. Meni Noks? will be able to explain to you about my own affairs in detail. -- After receiving the unjustified accusations of Mr Barton I had no option but to call a meeting of the elders and mahajans of the city to discuss and resolve this matter. As a result a delegation of six people was sent to the aforesaid person and whatever dialogue took place between the two parties were dually written and signed and sealed both by His Highness and members of the committee as well as a representative of Jagat Seth and the mahajans of the city. The original document was sent to Murshidabad and a copy of this document with attestation by His Highness is being sent to you [Clive] for information. The more I show my lamentation the more he gets ready for enmity and civil war so that he could defame me and blame me for everything.

Yad-dasht/Receipt. -- The sum of one Lac rupees owed by the Nawab for the upkeep of the Company's army during the month of Zi al-Qa'd has been received from Maharajah Ram Narayan and the salaries of the army paid from this amount.

In the beginning the Dutch East Company used to conduct their business from their Kothis. Later, they started bringing in their ships and soldiers from their country and started creating wars. Because of this parvanahs forbidding them to trade in India were issued. Now they are trying to destroy the country of the King Emperor. Therefore an agreement has been reached between the English East India Company and ourselves that the English company would help to destroy the Dutch ships on the sea and ashores and to protect the country from their further invasions.

I have known Sayyid Fath Ali Khan for a number of years and we are close friends. He used to have the jagir of Damarpak with an annual income of sixteen thousand rupees. Now, because of the invasion of the English/Angrezan, his enemies have occupied a number of villages belonging to his state. As the livelihood of his brothers, sons and grandsons depends on the income of these villages it is requested that, with the approval of Mr Masklain/MasClain, I send them to Calcutta so that they could get acquainted with Navab Shuja al-Mulk Bahadur and he could help them in regaining the possession of their ancestral jagir. It is regretted that because of the uncertain circumstances the Khan himself is unable to accompany them to Calcutta.

The army of the Prince left Mohna? on the 19th of Sha'ban, San 6, and went along the banks of the river Garam/Karam nalah. On the same date the Prince received a petition from Beni Bahadur to come and see the prince but he was advised that he should wait for a few days; therefore, Beni Bahadur is now waiting in Benares. At the same time two harkaras have arrived; if you wish I can arrest them and send them to you. Please do let me know as soon as possible.