"This expedition was undertaken more with a view to benefit the coast than Bengal; and most of the Deckan forces would certainly have been at the siege of Madras, if not prevented by the diversion given from hence. Much I fear all our successes in the Deckan would have come to nothing, if Colonel Forde had complied with the late order sent him, of leaving only five hundred sepoys in Masulipatam, and coming, with the rest of the forces, to Madras. Excuse me in thinking the gentlemen in council have had too much at heart the securing to themselves Colonel Forde's detachment, without sufficiently considering the consequences; for I can never be persuaded that the addition of two hundred infantry would either have lost or gained us a battle over M. Lally; but the withdrawing them from the Deckan would certainly have rendered fruitless all that has been done. You will be surprised at hearing the French have landed upwards of five hundred Europeans at Ganjam with M. Moracin; but it is really matter of fact, and has been confirmed to us by no less than forty-seven deserters from thence, most of them English taken at St. David's, and forced into the service. By the latest advices, they were reduced, by death and desertion, to four hundred. I need say no more on this subject, as the board will write very fully on this and other matters of importance." I shall now shortly refer to the occurrences at Madras, subsequent to the great effort made to restore the British interests in Bengal. It would be as unnecessary as it is foreign to my object to enter into a detail of events which have been minutely described by several able writers; but a general notice of them is required, not only to elucidate the grounds of Clive's conduct, as far as relates to the aid he gave or refused to Fort St. George, but as it is calculated to exhibit the character of his mind, which, amid all those critical and important events in which he was engaged in Bengal, appears to have dwelt with an earnest fondness upon the scenes of his first efforts, and to have retained the most anxious solicitude for the continued success of those who were the friends of his youth, and his early associates in danger. Absence appears, indeed, to have increased the interest he took in the affairs of the coast of Coromandel; and from the period of his proceeding to Calcutta till his departure for England, no occurrence of any magnitude took place in the Madras Presidency, on which we do not find numerous letters from Clive, which convey his opinion with equal freedom upon the measures of the government, and upon the conduct of individuals.