Clive's second term of office as Governor of Fort William supplies the key to a correct and comprehen- sive understanding of his place in history as an admi- nistrator. But, it is regrettable that historians have not studied it with the dispassionate care and attention it rightly deserves. Clive's administrative policy and measures have hitherto been either warmly and zeal- ously justified and even extolled on the one hand, or roundly and unequivocally criticised and censured on the other. Obviously, both these approaches are uncritical and inaccurate.