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HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAVY. 75 ;

he opened a conference with Mr. Harris for the accommodation
of differences. On these negotiations ending abortively, Sir
John Chikl embarked at Bombay on the 9th of October, 1G88,
and again appeared off Surat with a fleet of seven ships ; and,
though on this occasion he might have taken, or destroyed, the
whole of the fleet of Yakoob Khan, the Seedee, from political
considerations he avoided hostilities. Thus, as has so often
happened when civil conjraissioners have hampered the action
of military or naval commanders, the honour of the Service and
of the British name, and, as eventually appeared in this instance,
the interests of his master, were sacrificed to political exigencies.
Muchtar Khan soon threw off the mask of friendship which he
had assumed, seized and imprisoned Mr. Harris and Mr.
Gladman on the 2Gth of December, 1{)(S<S. ordered all the Com-
pany's goods in Surat to be sold, and offered a large reward for
Sir John Child, alive or dead.
Sir John continued with the fleet off Swall}', in the hope of
finding some means of rescuing Mr. Harris and the Council
but, on the IGth of January, 1GS9, finding all his attempts at
negotiation ineffectual, he returned to Bombay, and, on his
passage, fell in with a Mogul convoy of trading vessels, of
which he captured fort}'.
Hamilton, writing from a personal knowledge of events, says, in
his " New Account," that before seizing this fleet, which he did
against the advice of most of his council. Sir John Child asked
the opinion of some sea officers, " and one. Captain Hilder, being
the eldest, advised him not to meddle with the corn fleet, because
it would straiten the army, and force them to look abroad for
provisions, where it might best be procured, and perhaps might
affect Bombay, which was in a great measure beholden to their
neighbours for sustenance and firewood ;" however, with the
presumption and fatuity that .marked all his proceedings.
Sir John refused to act on the advice of this experienced
officer.
While matters were in this situation, the fleet of the Seedee,
Yakoob Khan, consisting of eleven ships and seventy galivats,
were at Danda-Rajahpore, whence they put to sea and appeared
off Bombay. Owing to the absence of part of his fleet,
which had proceeded to Europe, Sir John Child was unable to
persevere in his resolution of attacking the Seedee's ships; on
the contrary, this fleet, disembarking a large force, made several
descents on the island, and, having got possession of Malum,
Mazagon, and Sion, the Governor and his garrison were
besieged in the castle.* The Company's troops amounted to
only two thousand five hundred men, of whom only a small
proportion were Europeans ; and they would have been starved
into a surrender, but that the Company's cruisers put to sea,
* Bruce's " Annals," vol. ii., p. 601 to Oil.