Complex sentence: But when Zulfiqar Khan requested 100,000 "pagodas" from the Madras Council, Nathaniel Higginson (first Mayor of Madras) sent a present, but declined to lend the sum asked.
Split into simpler sentences: But when Zulfiqar Khan requested 100,000 "pagodas" from the Madras Council. Mr. Higginson sends a present, but declines to lend the sum asked.