James Long believed that the British mercantile community and even the government unjustly and oppressively treated the indigo cultivators. His view concurred that of with Dinabandhu Mitra, who expressed his sentiments in a play entitled "Nil Darpan" (the original Bengali play was written by him) and published anonymously in Dhaka in 1860. Mitra sent Long a copy of the play as early as 1861. Long brought it to the notice of W.S. Seton-Karr, Secretary to the Governor of Bengal and ex-President of the Indigo Commission. Seton-Karr, sensing its importance, mentioned "Nil Durpan" in conversation with Lieutenant Governor Grant. Grant expressed a wish to see a translation of it and to print a few copies to be circulated privately among friends. After the discussion, Seton-Karr asked Long to arrange for a translation of the play in English. Michael Madhusudan Dutta translated it under the supervision of Long. Long, as the editor, cut out some coarse passages and wrote a short prefatory note for the play. When the translation was complete, Seton-Karr ordered the printing of five hundred copies in lieu of Grant's wish of a few copies. Then Long sent the translated manuscripts to Clement Henry Manuel, the proprietor of the Calcutta Printing and Publishing Press, to print five hundred copies, and the cost came to around Rs. 300. It was published in April or May 1861. Unknown to the Lieutenant Governor, Long began sending out the copies in official government envelopes that had the heading: "On her Majesty's Service". The translation revealed the nature of the oppression against the indigo workers. It naturally offended the establishment so much that the Anglo-Indian press started raising propaganda against the publisher and the translator. One of the leading newspapers named "The Englishman" and some indigo planters instituted a libel suit against Long and the printer C. H. Manuel. The words mentioned in Long's introduction to the play stated that what was presented in it was "plain but true". This was subsequently used by the planters in their prosecution of Long for publishing defamatory statements.