The Directors, in the contests and changes which have been described, were believed to be as much (if not more) governed by personal attachments and resentments, as by considerations of duty. The public clamour was loud against them; and when, after stopping the ships, they applied for convoy, Lord Anson (then at the head of the Admiralty) told them[92], "that in place of labouring for the interest of the Company and the nation, their sole aim seemed to be gratifying their private resentments, distressing His Majesty's service, and embroiling their constituents' affairs." The mind of Clive was naturally much occupied in devising the best means of preserving to his country the valuable possessions in India which he had been so greatly instrumental in acquiring. After what has been stated of the conduct of the Court of Directors, it is not surprising that he should have come to a conclusion, that the India Government in England, in its actual condition, was incompetent to the large and increasing duties which it had to perform. With regard to Bengal, while he saw no stability in the administration of Meer Jaffier, a vision of its future greatness was before him; and he submitted his thoughts upon this subject in a letter to Mr. Pitt, whom alone, among the Ministers of England, he considered competent to comprehend all the points and interests of this important question. The following is his letter to that great statesman:— "To the Right Hon. William Pitt, "One of His Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State. "Sir, "Suffer an admirer of yours at this distance to congratulate himself on the glory and advantage which are likely to accrue to the nation by your being at its head, and at the same to return his most grateful thanks for the distinguished manner you have been pleased to speak of his successes in these parts, far indeed beyond his deservings. "The close attention you bestow on the affairs of the British nation in general has induced me to trouble you with a few particulars relative to India, and to lay before you an exact account of the revenues of this country, the genuineness whereof you may depend upon, as it has been faithfully extracted from the Minister's books.