FIVE 
 
 L E T T E R S, 
 
 FROM A 
 
 FREE MERCHANT In BENGAL, 
 
 WARREN HASTINGS, EJq. 
 
 fir 4 5 14
 
 FIVE 
 
 LETTERS, 
 
 FROM A 
 
 FREE MERCHANT in BENGAL, 
 
 T O 
 
 JVu4RREN HASTINGS, Efq. 
 GOVERNOR GENERAL 
 
 OF THE 
 
 HONORABLE EAST INDIA COMPANY'S 
 SETTLEMENTS IN ASIA ; 
 
 CONVEYING 
 
 Some free Thoughts on the probable Caufcs of the 
 Decline of the Export Trade of that Kingdom ; 
 
 AND A 
 
 Rough Sketchf or Outlines of a Plan^ for rejloring it to its 
 former Splendor. 
 
 / 
 
 Z A^ X) A' : 
 
 I'RINTED IN THE YEAR M,DCC,LXXVII. 
 RErRINTED M,DCC,LXXXIII. '
 
 HF 
 
 ) 3-7^3 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 FROM A 
 
 FREE MERCHANT in BENGAL, 
 
 T O 
 
 WARREN HASTINGS, Efq. 
 
 HONOURABLE SIR; 
 
 YOUR reftoration to power, though by fuch 
 an accident as that of the death of Colonel 
 Monfon, has given great pleafure to the well 
 withers to the profperity of Bengal, particularly 
 as it has happened at fo critical a time, when the 
 leafesof the whole lands of the kingdom are to be 
 renewed. You have now an opportunity (uninter- 
 rupted by the cavils of felfifh and interelled men) 
 to exert your acknowledged abilities in Afiatic 
 ^;<^ financing, as well as to corred: any miftakes which 
 you might have made in your former adjuftmenr, 
 by the Committee of Circuit. 
 
 A [What
 
 ( 2 ) 
 
 What you have done fince your accelTion to tht 
 chair, in fettling the Company's revenues on a 
 proper bafis, and regulating their civil and mili- 
 tary expences, is well knov/n to every man at 
 home and abroad, the leaft converfant in the af- 
 fairs of this country. I (hall draw from it the only 
 argument I think neceflary to prove, that it is 
 from your integrity and abilities alone, we can 
 hope to fee effcded what yet remains undone, to 
 make the natives of this country the happieft peo- 
 ple under the fun, and the pofieflion of thefe prO' 
 vinces the brighteft gem in the Britifh crown. 
 
 Convinced that the extraordinary pains taken 
 by your enemies, to accumulate falfe and unfup- 
 ported charges againft you, by every unjuftifiablc 
 means, in the hope thereby to overwhelm you in 
 the opinion of the Englidi nation, will be feen 
 through and defpifed, I have not a doubt of youF 
 triumphing over them from the juftice of your 
 eaufe. Yet Ihould I be miftaken, and the fupe- 
 rior miniiterial intereft, fo much boafted of by 
 themfelves and agents, Ihould prevail for the pre- 
 fent, you muft, and will, in the end, be confulted, 
 and advifed with, by your Prince and fellow fub- 
 jeds, in order to bring to perfedion the greac 
 work you have begun. 
 
 My intention in addrefiing this to you, is with 
 the hope, that fome of the hints it contains will 
 
 we
 
 ( 3 ) 
 
 be of ufe, when you fhall come to form a plan 
 for reftoring the now languifbing export trade of 
 this country. Simple, crude, and undigefted, as 
 they are, fuch a penetration as yours will extraft 
 fomething ufeful from them. I fhall, therefore, 
 without further apology, go on to point out, what 
 I think have been the caufes of the decline of trade 
 in this kingdom, and the means to retrieve it. 
 
 I HAVE frequently heard it affirmed, that the 
 Hindoo, or original native inhabitants of thefe 
 provinces, were in a better fituation with refpeft 
 to the fecurity of their perfons and property, be- 
 fore the Englifh conquered the country, than 
 they have been fince. This I conftantly denied, 
 from being well convinced, that a genuine native 
 Bengal tiller, or manufaflurer, that is capable of 
 judging, if left to his choice, would rather live 
 under the government of the Englifli, than under 
 that of their ufurping Nabobs, which the Englifh 
 drove out, or their predecelTors the Moguls. A 
 conquefl of Bengal ! when that phrafe is applied to 
 the Hindoo inhabitants, it is improper ; to them - 
 it has been fimply a change of mafters. Many mil- 
 lions of them know no difference between the Ma- 
 hometans who entered their country from the north, 
 and the Chriftians who came from the fouth, by 
 the Bay of Bengal. Both have hitherto governed 
 them by the fame agents ; both left them in quiet 
 polleflion of their religion, their cuftoms, and 
 A 2 their
 
 ( 4 ) 
 
 their manners. A poor fimple inoffenfive race of 
 tillers and manufaflurers, as pufillanimous, tri- 
 fling, and infignificant, as the women and children 
 of any other country. Conquer thefe ! you never 
 thought of it. But they had placed over them 
 fom€ ages before, by the defcendants from that 
 great foldier of fortune Tamerlane, orTimurBegg, 
 a fet of tafk mafters, who ft ripped them of every 
 thing acquired by their induftry, except a very 
 bare fubfiftence. To them fucceeded the rapa- 
 cious revolting Subahs, or Nabobs, whom the 
 Englifli drove out. I have often lamented that 
 Clive did not, after the battle of Plalfey, proceed 
 diredtly to the Caramnafla, whipping before him 
 the motley tribe of freebooters which compofed 
 the Nabob's army, until he had driven the whole 
 out of the country. 1 fay I wilh he had done this 
 at once, becaufe his negle«5ling to do it then, has 
 given caufe to many evils fmce, which would 
 thereby have been prevented. Such an entire 
 change of mafters, would have been a fortunate 
 circumftance to the real native inhabitants of this 
 country, as it would be eafy to make appear : but 
 at prelent, my time is taken up in attempting to 
 point out remedies for the evils, which the con- 
 queft of the country by the Englifli hath brought 
 about. 
 
 When the favourites of the Mogul Princes, who 
 had obtained appointments in thele provinces, ac- 
 quired
 
 ( 5 ) 
 
 quired riches, they Tent it to Dellhy, or fome re- 
 mote part of the empire, together with the neat 
 proceeds of the revenue, or carried it with them 
 out of the country, if they were recalled. In pro- 
 cefs of time, thefe officers of the Emperors, or 
 their defcendants, taking advantage of the confu- 
 fions in the empire, fet up for themfelves, and be- 
 came the reigning Princes of the country. The 
 colledled treafure was then locked up in their own 
 coffers, and not fent out of the provinces. 
 
 During the government of the Moguls, and 
 that of the ufurping Subahs, the trade of the coun- 
 try remained open and free to the adventurers of 
 all nations, who entered it by the Bay of Bengal, 
 in fliips richly laden with filver and gold^ which 
 they left behind, in exchange for the wrought ma- 
 nufadtures and raw materials, the produce of the 
 country. From whatever fe6bion of the globe 
 thefe merchant-adventurers came, they brought 
 with them fome bullion, as their import cargo, 
 whatever it was, would not produce fufficient to 
 pay for the goods they exported. I well remember 
 the nature of the trade to this kingdom, before the 
 Englifh took charge of it ; and I believe I keep 
 within the bounds of truth, when I fay, that the 
 balance of trade in favour of this country, which 
 was brought to them by the Europeans, and the 
 people poffeffing the territories on the eaft and 
 weftern fides of the Bay of Bengal, amounted to a 
 
 million
 
 ( ^ ) 
 
 milliou fterling annually, not one ounce of which 
 was in thofe days again exported. 
 
 Such was the ftate of the kingdom when the 
 Englifh were obliged, in felf defence, to wage 
 war with the ufurping Subahs, or Nabobs, whom, 
 in the end, they drove out, and in proce'fs of time, 
 took the government into their own hands. In 
 the ftruggle for power, there can be no doubt, but 
 that the natives fuffered in perfon and property ; 
 but whether the Nabob's, or the Englifh army, 
 fhould prove victorious, a very numerous majority 
 among them would not have given three farthings ; 
 ignorant, as they then were, of the good fortune 
 the change brought them. To plough their fields, 
 and weave their cloth in quiet, was all they 
 wiilied ; nor were they capable of judging under 
 the government of which of the contending powers 
 they lliQuld be moft at their eafe. 
 
 Suppose a very numerous flock of iheep, which 
 had for fome ages been tended by a fmall number 
 of fliepherds, who, for their own intereft, covered 
 them tolerably well from beafts of prey, but at the 
 end of each year, llripped them quite bare of their 
 fleece, which they fold, and locked the money up 
 in their own coffers ? 
 
 Again : fuppofe that another gang of fhepherds, 
 from another country, and of a very difi\::rent caft, 
 
 having
 
 ( 7 ) 
 
 having a quarrel with the old (hepherds, attack 
 and drive them out, feize their wealth, and lay 
 claim to the (heep ; thefe laft, though greatly in- 
 ferior in number to their predecedors, yet excel 
 them in every art of managing a flock, in making 
 fences, and defending them from beafts of prey, 
 as well as in the arts of civilization, and adts of 
 tendernefs and humanity ; will not the laft ftate of 
 fuch a flock, or, to drop the metaphor, fuch a 
 people, equally hclplefs, though not quite fo in- 
 nocent, be better than the firll ? 
 
 I MADE the above digrefTional remark, purely 
 tofhew, that the ftate of the natives is exadlly fimi- 
 lar to what it was before the capture, as far as it 
 relates to their cuftoms, ufages, civil and religious 
 rights; for of thefe no attempts have been made 
 to alter them ; protefcion from foreign enemies is 
 infinitely more fecure •, and their oppreflions from 
 government, I am well aflured, much lefso 
 
 I RETURN now to the original caufe of the decline 
 of foreign trade, and the reafons why there is great 
 fums of money annually lent out of the kingdom, 
 and very little imported for the purpofes of trade, 
 which are the evils brought on by the conquefl: 
 made of the country by the Englifh, and which I 
 wifh to fee remeaied. 
 
 The
 
 ( 8 ) 
 
 The efforts the Company had made in the late 
 war, to maintain their acqulfitions in the Eaft 
 Indies, had, in fome meafure, diftrefied their af- 
 fairs at home : they expeded, and they had a right 
 to expefl, that their inveftments from Bengal 
 would be annually increafed, from their new 
 funds of wealth, without fending out in their fhips, 
 any more bullion from England. After the year 
 
 1757, '^^^y ^^^^ ^^"^^ °^ "^"^ ^° Bengal: nay, 
 they ordered their fcrvants in Bengal, to fend mo- 
 ney to Madrafs and to China. The war with 
 France prevented the (hips of that nation from 
 coming here : and about the fame time, the Dutch 
 began to be fupplied on eafy terms by private peo- 
 ple, and of courfe imported no more money. From 
 this period, to the war with CofTim Ally in 1763, 
 the fums of money fent out of the kingdom, by 
 public and private people, were immenfe: and 
 the above mentioned Prince is faid to have carried 
 with him large fums in his retreat from the pro- 
 vinces. 
 
 Notwithstanding the vafl: exportation of 
 wealth, there was yet left fufficient for a full and un- 
 impeded circulation, for the purpofes of commerce. 
 For whether the furplus was fecreted by private per- 
 fons, locked up in the treafury of the Nabobs, 
 carried off by the Mogul officers, or re-exported 
 by the new poffelTors, it did not afFefl the welfare 
 of the kingdom, whilft there yet remained fufficient 
 
 for
 
 ( 9 ) 
 
 for to anfwer all the purpofes of mercantile circula- 
 
 tion. 
 
 About the time Lord Cllve returned the laft 
 time to India, a fcarcity of currency was complain- 
 ed of at the prefidency, but not much felt in the 
 provinces •, and even this evil, fo much talked of 
 at Calcutta, the Englifli feat of government, was 
 removed for the prefent, by throwing into currency 
 a number of gold mahors, of a new flandard and 
 value. 
 
 It was in the beginning of the government of 
 Mr. Verelft, and during his adminiftration, that 
 the caufes of the ruin of the export trade took 
 place, and have increafed annually, until fome of 
 the beft branches are nearly loft. 
 
 Lord Clive, on his return to Europe, laid fuch 
 flattering ftatements of the lituation of the Compa- 
 ny's affairs in India before the nation, that it had 
 much fuch an effe<5l on the minds of the Direflors 
 of the Company, Proprietors of Stock, and people 
 in general, as the fouch fea bubble had fome fifty 
 years before. Dividends were increafed; ftork 
 rofe; the miniftry put in for a fliare in the name of 
 government; and the managers in Leadenhall- 
 Street, ufcd every means of ftock jobbing chicane- 
 ry to keep the power in their own hands. Great 
 latitude was given in contracts for goods; and 
 
 hich 
 
 V 
 
 (
 
 ^ 
 
 ( lo ) 
 
 high freight paid for fhips, to fuch as could pro- 
 cure votes, in order to keep the then rulers of the 
 Company in the direction of their affairs. Verelfl: 
 was called on eagerly, and for God's fake, to fend 
 them fupplies -, and this gave the firft idea of buy- 
 ing goods here for the Company with ready mo- 
 ney -, the moll fatal ftroke to the trade of this 
 country, that could poffibly have entered into the 
 head of man. 
 
 Whilst every man in and out of tiie fervice, at 
 Bengal, exclaimed bitterly againft fending bullion 
 out of the country, they all agreed, that the belt 
 mode to relieve the Company, was to increafe the 
 cargoes of their returning fhips, by opening the 
 warehoufe door for the reception of goods, to be 
 paid for with ready money. The Company's 
 ftandard for goodnefs in quality, could not be at- 
 tended to ; for that would have fhutout almoft all 
 that were offered. That line, like the lineof refti- 
 tude, once forfaken, is hard to be recovered. 
 Goods were admitted of fo inferior a quality, that 
 it deftroyed the very purpofe for which they were 
 bought. The amount of the invoices from Ben- 
 gal were increafed -, but the account fale in Europe 
 fell fhort. Complaints were made ; but it was too 
 latej the evil fpirit once admitted, introduced 
 others more wicked than himfelf. The eagernefs 
 of the inhabitants to procure goods to fell to the 
 Company, gave caufe to the debafing of the ma- 
 
 nufaflures
 
 ( II ) 
 
 nufaflures all over the kingdon-. The Dutch, 
 the French, private adventurers, dealers of all ^ 
 kinds, became the impatient rivals of each other. 
 The fhips from Europe could not return withouc 
 cargoes ; and the manufa(5turer5 finding a vend 
 for their goods, however ill wrought, took lefs 
 pains in making of them. How far tlie evil has 
 fince extended, and into what innumerable branches 
 it has fprcad out, might be thought tedious, it' 
 not invidious, to relate. The faft is notorious >/ 
 and plain. I feel no pleafure in dwelling on it, 
 further than Is necelTary, to point out the caufes 
 of the decline of trade, the bad efFetfts of which are 
 nov/ fo feverely felt. 
 
 The Company foon became fenfible of the evil 
 tendency of the new mode of procuring goods, 
 and after throwing the whole odium of it on their 
 fervants abroad, in the eyes of the nation, gave 
 orders to revert back to the old methods of pro- 
 curinor their invellments. 
 
 I HAVE faid, that though in the days of theSu- 
 bahs, the people were full as much, if not more, 
 oppreffed, than they have been at any time fmce, 
 yet the fources from whence wealth flowed into 
 the kingdom, remained open. But this could not 
 lono; be the cafe after a chang-e of mailers. The 
 Englifh never can aflimilate with the natives of 
 Bengal ; it is not to the intereft of their country 
 
 thac
 
 ( 12 ) 
 
 that they fhould. They come -to fettle in this 
 country but for a time, and with a view to the 
 bettering of their fortune ; when that is efFedled, 
 they return, and ever will return, if they live to 
 effedl the purpofe for which they come. A Euro- 
 pean, and a Hindoo Banyan, the firft day they 
 
 I meet, are as much inclined to ferve and afTift each 
 other, as on the day they feparate, though they 
 may have been matter and fervant for twenty 
 years. The tie arofe at firft from a view to their 
 mutual intercft, in the moft grofs and pecuniary 
 fenfe of the word. It is not poflible they can have 
 any other. They wrangle about accompts the firft 
 
 \l month of their acquaintance ; they do the fame the 
 laft week, perhaps day, that they are together. 
 The European hath procured what he came for, 
 and will ftay no longer : the Hindoo has made 
 the moft of the European's courage, influence, 
 and adventurous mercantile abilities, he pofiibly 
 could. They part in general, with as little feeling 
 for each other, as a travelling gueft doth with his 
 roadfide landlord, and take leave of each other in 
 much the fame language : ' Adieu, Mafier Charge- 
 
 * well^ fays the European, ^ your entertainment is 
 
 * very good, hut your boufe is confounded hot* To 
 which the Hindoo replies, ' God blefs your honour ; 
 
 ' * / hope you will recommend me to any of your friends 
 ' that may chance to come this way* 
 
 Iif
 
 ( 13 )• 
 
 In fuch a revolution as that mentioned above, 
 it was impoffible but that numbers of individuals 
 among the conquerors, muft have acquired large 
 property : They did acquire it ; and with it they 
 feem to have obtained the deteftation of their 
 countrymen, and the appellation of Nabobs as a 
 term of reproach. Yet they took it not from the ^ 
 poor Iheep above alluded to, but from their tyran- 
 nical taik- mailers, who had forced the new comers 
 into a war of felf defence, which, however, ended 
 in driving away the former fhephcrds ; after which 
 they fhared the fpoil among themfelves. 
 
 It is much eafier for their countrymen to abufe 
 them for feizing the fpoil, than to prove, that in 
 fimilar circumftances, they would not have done 
 the fame thing : and it is owing to mere accident, 
 that it proved more pernicious in their hands, 
 than in the hands of their predecefibrs in the go- 
 vernment. 
 
 The great wealth which had for a long courfe 
 of time flowed into Bengal, came from the weft ; 
 unluckily the late conquerors of the country came 
 alfo from the well. Pofieffed of fo immenfe a trea- 
 fure, they were impatient to tranfport it to their 
 own country, where alone they could enjoy it. 
 Here again I am induced to form another wiih, 
 which, at firft view, like that in which I lamented - 
 LordClive*s not having proceeded to the entire con- 
 
 queft
 
 C 14 ) 
 
 qucfl of the kingdom, immediately after the battle 
 of Plaffey, inftead of making an unfubftantial peace, 
 wears but a very indifferent appearance; yet the 
 evil confequences which have flowed from its not 
 haying been put into execution, will juftify it. I 
 wiHi then that Lord Clive and his Council, had fliip- 
 ped off for Europe, or for China, if you like it bet- 
 ter, every rupee of the wealth acquired by the con- 
 quefl^ or that could have been found in the country, 
 excepting what was barely fufficient for the purpo- 
 les of commerce and internal circulation •, or even 
 to have funk it in the fea, would have been lefs per- 
 nicious, than the evils whicli have enfued by the 
 means which have been ufed to remit it to Europe. 
 
 It has been already obferved, that foon after 
 the battle of Plafiey, the Europeans of all nations 
 ceafed to bring bullion with them to Bengal j let- 
 ters of credit ferved their purpofe full as well. It 
 was the fame with the country fhips -, the owners 
 and captains of which, had only to give tolerable 
 fecurity, that the money they took up at Bengal, 
 fliould, in three, four, or even five years, be fent 
 
 yx to Europe, to obtain what fums they pleafed. This 
 facility of obtaining money on very moderate terms, 
 gave rife to a rpirit of adventure, as pernicious to 
 the manufaftures of. this country, as ftock jobbing 
 is to fair trade : innumerable fchemcrs arole, who 
 
 4 undertook the fending money to Europe, by every 
 roat through which it formerly found its way to 
 
 India, 
 
 V
 
 ( n ) 
 
 India. Thefe unnatural attempts to force back 
 the dream of wealth to its fountain head, had the 
 fame effeft in mercantile polity, as the attempting 
 to force a great river, with all its fupplies and ac- 
 quifitions of water, after a long courfe of running, 
 back through the little channel from whence it took 
 its rife : it overwhelmed the fchemers with ruin. 
 Had it ended there, it would not have fignified 
 much i but its baneful influence extended much 
 further, Thefe new adventurers became rivals to yj 
 the Company, and to one another. Their eager- 
 nefs to buy up the manufaflures of the country, 
 raifed the price, and funk the real value : for the 
 goods were fo much debafed, that though they 
 cpft more than thirty per cent, above what the fame 
 goods had formerly cod, yet at the markets to 
 which they were carried, they would not produce 
 any thing like their prime colt, and many of them , « 
 would not fell at all. At this unlucky period, the ^ 
 kingdom was vificed by that mod dreadful of all 
 calarhities, a famine, which fwept away, perhaps, 
 one fourth part of the labouring people : this in« 
 creafed the difficulty of obtaining wrought goods, 
 and contributed dill more to the debaling of their 
 texture, which, by its edcfls, aimed entirely an- 
 nihilated the former great and beneficial trade of 
 white cloth, from Bengal to the Gults of Mocha 
 and Perfia. /\ 
 
 In
 
 A 
 
 ( 16 ) 
 
 In the Afiatic feftion of the globe, the filk and 
 cotton manufa6tures of Ikngal, which were for- 
 merly fo famous all the world over, had now loft 
 their value, and were no longer fought after: 
 others were found out which anfwered the purpofe 
 full as well, and came much cheaper. Yet the 
 European nations flill coveted the goods of this 
 country. Firft, from a jealoufy to one another ; 
 fecondly, for the fake of the raw materials it pro- 
 duced ; thirdly, from their having nothing to fub- 
 ftitute in place of the coarfe and fine cotton cloths 
 of Bengal, which, inferior as they were, to thofe 
 formerly manufaftured. Hill fold for a fmall profit 
 in Europe ; and laftly, the Englifh Eaft India 
 Company had no other method of drawing home 
 the tribute from their Indian fubjefts. The trade 
 carried on in the country veflels, inftead of being, 
 as formerly, in fav^our of Bengal, was abfolutely 
 againfl it. I will feleft two or three inftances 
 from a great number, which I could produce in 
 proof of what I fay, and then quit the difagreeable 
 fide of the queftion. 
 
 Before the capture of Calcutta, a fliip of five 
 hundred tons, belonging to Surat or Bombay, 
 when fhe made a voyage to Bengal, came full 
 loaded with cotton •, the proceeds of her cargo 
 amounted to about eighty thoufand rupees ; but 
 as this was infufficient to load her home with fugar, 
 fait petre, raw filk, and filk piece goods of va- 
 rious
 
 ( I? ) 
 
 rious kinds, fhe either brought with her a letter 
 of credit, the exchange on which was in favour of 
 Bengal, or the balance in cafli. 
 
 A SHIP of the fame dimenfions now, when fhe v 
 has fold her cargo of cotton, lades on board a 
 cargo of coarfe rice, and with the balance in money, 
 proceeds to the Coromandel coaft, or Ifland of 
 Ceylon, where having fold the rice, and purchafed 
 dollars, fhe goes on to Batavia for fugar, as that 
 article is not now to be had at Bengal, cheap and 
 in plenty as heretofore. If fhe proceeds home di- 
 re6t, the returns are made in money, rice, fome 
 trifling quantity of raw filk, and filk piece goods, 
 all of which the captain, or fupercargo, would 
 willingly make over to any perfon, that would in- 
 fure them the difference in the exchange, between 
 Bombay and Bengal current rupees, without other 
 advantage of any kind, to reimburfe them for the 
 ihip's charges, freight, and premium on money ; 
 and thisbecaufe the markets ofSurat and Bombay, 
 are fupplied with fugar and raw filk, much better 
 and cheaper from China ; a very late and new dif- 
 covery, which has arofe from the negleft to culti- 
 vate the firfl, and in debafing the quality of the 
 laft, and highly pernicious to the trade of thefe 
 provinces : fo that if there was not a faie for cotton 
 at Bengal, the trading communication between 
 thefe two Englifh prefidencies, would abfolutely be 
 at an end. As to the eaflern trade, formerly fo a 
 
 B advantageous
 
 ( j3 ) 
 
 adv.intageonstb this kingdom, it is carried on at* 
 mofl: intircly by the icheming remittance-mongers 
 above mentioned, under every pofiible difadvan- 
 tage. Before, and even fince, the capture of Cal- 
 i/ cutta, the tra/Jer to the eaftward carried with him 
 from Bengal, rice for ballad, a little fait petre, 
 with fome piece goods ;. but Patna opium was the 
 principal article : it was generally good, and coft 
 from two hundred and feventy-five to three hun- 
 dred and fifty rupees per cheft. This difference iri 
 the price depended on the demand abroad, not as 
 now, an eagernefs for remittance of property to 
 Europe. His cargo fold, the returns to Bengal 
 were made in pepper, fome little tin, cloves, dam- 
 mar, and rattans, but mollly in virgin gold, which 
 , contributed much to the enriching of this country. 
 
 Our prefent adventurers hurry out with what 
 they call opium, for which they pay more than 
 double the former price : piece goods are fo de- 
 bafed they will not fell, fo that now they do not 
 export any •, fait petre is become too dear,, and 
 rice fpoils the opium, that is what they call fuch, 
 for in fa6t it is a vile infamous compound, which 
 in a few months dries up to powder. I mean not 
 to indulge in myfelFthefpirit of inveftive, and here 
 once for all declare, that in my complaining, I 
 have no particular individual in view : but I can- 
 not omit to fay, that I feel for the honour of my 
 countrymen, when they fink fo much below the 
 
 charadter
 
 ( >9 ) 
 
 c^ara<5ter of Englifli merchants, in the miferable 
 arcs they permit to be iifed, to give this adulterated 
 ftufF the appearance of opium, in order to impofe 
 on the Mallays. Tin, pepper, and other articles V 
 fit for the China market> is what they feek, which 
 they put on board large fhips, appointed to meet 
 them in certain ftations to take their cargoes, by 
 way of remittance to China, where the proceeds 
 are paid to the Englifh, French, Danes, Swedes, 
 &c. for bills on Europe. — The veflel returns to 
 Bengal with a cargo of vile lumber. 
 
 Heretofore the European fhips, exclufiveof the 
 Company's goods, brought, under the denomina- 
 tion of private trade, articles for fale, to the 
 amount of, perhaps, ten thoufand pounds per 
 fliip ; the returns were made in different kinds of 
 fiik and cotton goods, the manufactures of Bengal* 
 If the captain and officers had money to fpare, it 
 was depofited in the Company's calh here, and ^1 
 they were repaid in London; An increafe of Eu- 
 ropean inhabitants, and our full proportion of 
 luxury, hath produced vend for double the quan- 
 tity of thofe articles of private trade. The manu- 
 factures, debafed as they are in quality, and raifed 
 in price, will n^ longer anfwer the purpofe of the 
 captain and officers, to carry them to Europe, 
 The Company, I think, admit each fliip to pay 
 in about five thoufand pounds into their treafury, 
 for bills on Europe. The balance which arifes on yv- 
 B 2 the
 
 ( 20 ) 
 
 the fale of the private trade, imported on eight 
 fhips, may be eftimated to amount annually to 
 one hundred thoufand pounds, and this is carried 
 out of the kingdom in calh. It will anfwer no 
 purpofe to multiply particular inftances, in proof 
 of the great ruin which is thus advancing with 
 quick and- large ftrides towards us^ A good Eng- 
 lifhman will feel fufficient mortification in taking 
 one general view of the deplorable difference of 
 thefituation in the balance of trade, as it relates to 
 the future welfare of this great mercantile kingdom. 
 
 Twenty-five years ago, veiTels, of whatever fize 
 or denomination, or from whatever quarter of the 
 globe they imported, brought with them a tribute 
 of gold and filver, which they left behind on the 
 banks of the Ganges. — What a cruel reverfe do we 
 experience ! There is not a veffel v/hich now trades 
 to this port, from fhips of the firft magnitude and 
 figure included, down to a paltry fait importing- 
 dony from the coaft of Oriffa, that doth not carry 
 money out of the country. 
 
 You, Sir, who are blelTed with the generous 
 feehngs of a noble heart, who love your country, 
 and know its mercantile interefts, v/ill be but too 
 well convinced, that I need not produce other 
 difagreeable inftances to prove the truth of my 
 poftulatum. Here then let it reft -, I turn from it 
 with great pleafure to a more plealing talk ; for I 
 
 feel
 
 ( 21 ) 
 
 feel as full a conviflion on my mind, that the re- 
 medy is as certain, and within our reach, as that 
 the ruin is inevitable, if the exportation of cafh is 
 .permitted to be carried on for a few years longer. 
 
 Prompted by gratitude for the public good you 
 have done, I would here willingly offer up a tribute 
 •of praife in the flile of honeft panegyric, but I 
 want language, and the necefiary talents to do 
 you juftice. Befides, you enjoy a godlike pleafure 
 in going on filently to do your duty, leaving ex- 
 ternal rewards to the juftice of your country. 
 
 I SET out with boldly affirming, that the genuine 
 
 native inhabitants of this country, have hadT)n the 
 
 whole, their condition bettered by the late change 
 
 ofmafters. The lower and moll ufeful fort of them, 
 
 are an inoffenfive, quiet, frugal people, wedded to 
 
 the foil which they cultivate, neatly andcleanly, 
 
 in the ftile and manner of their forefathers. They 
 
 have very little knowledge of, or intercourfe -with, 
 
 their fuperior lords. They increafe and multiply ; 
 
 plant their field in due feafon; near unto which, 
 
 under the Ihade of fome friendly grove of trees, 
 
 they ered their little huts, which are compofed of 
 
 mud, fmall flicks, ftraw, and mats. Simple as 
 
 they are, by annual repairing, they ferve them 
 
 from generation to generation. From thefc they 
 
 watch their growing liar veil ; and in thefe they 
 
 fpin their thread, and weave the cloth, to procure 
 
 which.
 
 ( 22 ) 
 
 which ye come fuch a diftance from home. They 
 render to Csefar fuch things as are C£efar*s, and 
 fleep contented with what is left them. Scorpions 
 flins: the heart of that man wh.o would difturb 
 their innocent repofe, or make their pittance lefs ! 
 Englifhmen will not ! They duift not do it. Op- 
 prelTing and deftroying the poor naked natives, and 
 the timely fending Nabobs to fleep with their fathers, 
 is mere declamation, critically introduced to ferve 
 the ambitious purpofes of felfifh individuals, by 
 the wretched Bolts, and yet more wretched Dow. 
 As to population, for which we mull depend on 
 the above harmlefs order of beings, I am certain it 
 is in a much better way than in the days of their 
 former mafters ; for they are better covered from 
 internal and external injuries. Corn grows as kindly; 
 the {\\k v/orm feeds as eagerly, and fpins as well : 
 the earth is not more fleril, or doth i: render up its 
 ireafures with greater reludancy, or in lefs abun- 
 dance, to its Chriftian lords, than in the days of 
 yore, to its Hindoo or Mahometan rulers. The 
 barriers to the kingdom are fo well fecurcd, as to 
 infure peace to the provinces to as diftant a period 
 as you pleafe. The fea is your own •, and there is 
 yet remaining in the country, money fufficient for 
 circulation, and every purpofe of commerce. 
 Forgive the injuries you have received, confign 
 the paft to oblivion, and boldly begin the work 
 ^new. The above. Sir, are the materials you 
 J)aye to work with , nor do I wifh them put into 
 
 better
 
 ( 23 ) 
 better hands. But the work expecfted from you is 
 great, it is arduous. The prolp^i^riLy ot your mo- 
 ther country, and the happinefs of this, in a great 
 degree depend on it. You have the talents ne~ 
 ceflary ; honefty, courage, humanity, and perfe- 
 verance ; ufe them. Sir -, the caufe is a glorious 
 one, in which, if you liicceed, (and i have not 
 the fliadow of a doubt but that you will,) it will 
 raife you to the point to which every noble and 
 generous foul looks up — honeft Jame, 
 
 There is one, and but one remedy, for all our 
 prefent, as well as for thofe evils which we appre- 
 hend will come upon us. It is the rcftoring, as 
 foon as poffible, not only the manufadtured goods, 
 but alio the raw materials for trade, to their pri- 
 mitive goodnefs and price. You have laid the 
 foundations on which to ere£t this glorious ftruc- 
 ture ; the moment is favourable to go on with the 
 building. Look down on, and leave behind you, 
 the miferable pianners of new taxes, whofe parroE 
 jargon means nothing more than raifmg their in- 
 tereft at home, by forming fchemes of drawing 
 money into the treafury, however opprelTive to 
 the farmers, manufacturers, and merchants, under 
 the flale and worn out cant, of its being for the in- 
 tcrefl. of our honourable majlers the Eajt India Com" 
 fany. It is not the Company's only, but the na- 
 tional intereft, which is blended in, r.nd interwoven 
 with, the profperity of Bengal, No narrow, 
 
 wretched
 
 C 24 ) 
 
 wretched tide-waiter's plan, will fuit the occafion. 
 It mud be a fcheme in which the whole legal 
 power of the Hate mufl be employed, and a fteadi- 
 nefs equal to your own to put it in execution. 
 
 In the reafoning I may hold, and the h'nts I 
 may aive, I mean to avoid meddling, as much as 
 poflible, with the financing branch. I am by no 
 means mailer of the fubjeil ; and if I was, to you 
 my remarks would be ulelefs, as I know you have 
 abilities to form, and fteadinefs to abide by your 
 own plan, which hitherto hath proved fo falutary, 
 and which, with fome few alterations, which you 
 have now the opportunity to make, promifes fo 
 well in future. 
 
 There is not in any country in the world, of 
 which I have any knowledge, a more pernicious 
 race of vermin in human fhaoe, than are the nu- 
 merous cafl of people known in Bengal by the ap- 
 pellation of Sircars ; they are educated, and trained 
 up to deceive ; fervile, mean, artful, cowardly, 
 and flavifli. Their knowledge of writing and 
 .figures, and the indolence of their mafters, induces 
 a neceffity of employing them ; but the inflant 
 you delegate to them the leaft degree of power, 
 they are changed into tyrants the moft unfeeling 
 ^nd mercilefs in the univerfe. 
 
 Soon
 
 ( 25 ) 
 
 Soon after your acceffion to the government, 
 you diQodged a neft of thefe blood-fuckers, and 
 by fo doing, gave relief to the general trade of the 
 country, the good effeds of which were immediate- 
 ly felt all over the kingdom. This was in abo- 
 lifhing the chowkies placed on the banks of the 
 rivers. They were a grievous and opprefllve bur- 
 then to the merchancs'who tranfported goods from 
 one province to another. Thtfe, with the tax on 
 marriages, and fome others fupprefled fmce, em- 
 ployed a number of vile Sircar coUedors, yet 
 brought little into the public coffers. 
 
 There are dill remaining other fuch likegriev- 
 ances, under the denomination of government 
 cuftom-houfes, or inland chowkies. I wilh the 
 colle^lions made at thefe, were compared wich the 
 expences for keeping them up, and the balance in 
 favour of the ftate, fet againft the hardfnips, the 
 teizing, perplexities and oppreffions, which the 
 people in general fuffer from the numerous band 
 of petty colleftors, who are always felefted from 
 the Sircars above mentioned, I dare believe you 
 would, on a view of fuch comparative ftatement, 
 abolifh the v;hole. It muft be that the people 
 would find great relief from a general fuppreflion 
 of all kinds of chowky duties, it Ihould be pub- 
 liflied in every village all the country over -, nor 
 fiiould the officers of government be permitted to 
 levy fuch duty under any pretence whatever. As 
 
 things 
 
 7
 
 C 26 ) 
 
 things are now, the harpies above mentioned col- 
 
 kft twelve per cent, and the ftate benefits not one. 
 
 I COME next to the duties levied at Calcutta, on 
 / goods manufadured in the country, and thofc ex- 
 prefsly for the purpofe of exportation, exclufive of 
 the inland oppreflions where the cloth is made. 
 The government cuftom mafter draws two and one 
 half per cent, the Calcutta cuftom-houfe two per 
 cent, the fees of both offices, expence in landing, 
 houfing for examination, and refhipping, brings 
 ^ the charge up to five per cent. Can this be right ? 
 Our export trade is already extremely decayed, 
 and will not the continuation of fo fevere an impoft 
 fink it ftill lower ? The loading your own articles 
 of exportation with heavy duties, is contrary to the 
 policy obferved by all the flates in Europe, who 
 pretend to the lead knowledge in commercial 
 polity. 
 
 Since you, Sir, paid off the Company's bond 
 debt, their revenue is no longer mortgaged. Your 
 land tax and falc duties, after aniwering every de- 
 mand ol the ftate for the current year, leave you a 
 large annual balance: you therefore do not want 
 the money arifmg from thefe injudicious taxes. But 
 admitting that you do want it, lay it additionally 
 on the imports, all of which, except the article of 
 cotton, had better be burthened than the manu- 
 fa(5tures of the kingdom, on a great and free ex- 
 portation of which our whole depends. 
 
 We
 
 ( 27 ) 
 We are certain great part of our export trade is 
 loft. We can give a tolerable guefs from what, acci- 
 dents it has been loft. The evil daily grows upon 
 us. Attempts muft be made to check this evil. 
 But as no man can lay that his particular plan 
 will anfvver the intended purpofe better than that 
 of his neighbour, it behoves the wifdom of go- 
 vernment to attend to every thing which is oftered- 
 It cofts them nothing : Nor is th-re any fcheme fo 
 atrial, but fomething ufcful may be extracted from 
 it. The invention of the brazen bull made it clear 
 to the tyrant, that the maker was a horrid monfter, 
 unworthy to live. Schemes to lay taxes, and grind 
 the face of the poor, are eafy to plan — There arc 
 five hundred Empfons and Dudley s to one Colbert. 
 You, Sir, I am confident, wilh to fill the national 
 fpunge, until its commerce flows again in the 
 natural channel. If I prove fo happy as to contri- 
 bute one fingle idea towards ir, I (hall feel my re- 
 ward •, for I love my country, and am interefted in 
 the welfare of every branch of the Britilli empire. 
 
 I HAVE been affured by a perfon well verfed in 
 the revenue dc-partmenr, that the colledlions have, 
 fince your acceftion, been put on fo certain a foot- 
 ing, that with the leaft economy in the civil and 
 military departments, there will remain at the end 
 of each year, a balance in the treafury of one hun- 
 dred and tv/enty lacks of rupees.
 
 ( 28 ) 
 
 I HAYS alfo heard that it is a refolution of go- 
 vernment, that one hundred lacks of this treafure, 
 fliall be fet afide as a facred fund, not to be touch- 
 ed but in cafes of extreme neceffity ; and that the 
 furplus of each fucceeding year, after deduding 
 about eighty lacks for the purpofes of the Compa- 
 ny's inveftment, fhall be fhipped off, as hath been 
 the cafe this year, to fupply the Company's fettle- 
 ments at Bombay and China. 
 
 Did the export trade of the kingdom flourlQi as 
 it formerly did, and bullion, though in a much 
 fmaller proportion, flow in from all quarters, as 
 before the conquefh, a large fum of money being 
 every year locked up in your fcparate fund, and 
 ample fupplies fent annually to oiher fettlements, 
 it would not fignify much. But as it is but too 
 evident, that the very reverfe of this is the cafe, is 
 it not to be feared, that fuch locking up with one 
 hand, and fending abroad with the other, v/ill but 
 too fcon cramp the general circulation in all the 
 provinces, and render it impoffible for the farmers 
 to pay their rents ? Can it be neceffary for me to 
 repeat here, that the Company's Ihips carry out eve- 
 ry year, more private property in gold and filver, 
 than the Company in any period of time imported ? 
 Providence, for wife purpofes, which muft be evi- 
 dent to every reflefting perfon, has denied to this 
 country, mints of the precious metal, which, in 
 various Iliapes, ferve the inhabitants of the whole 
 globe for figns in trade. 
 
 A MAH
 
 ( 29 ) 
 
 A MAN of a ftudious and pious turn of thinking, 
 finds his gratitude railed, and his foul refrefhed, ia 
 contemplating the goodnefs of God, in the difpofal 
 of what man eagerly feeks after in all quarters of 
 the world, as the good things of this life. He 
 views with' wonder and aftonifhment, the Spa- 
 niard and Portugueze, toiling on both fides the 
 great fouthern continent, in the weftern world, in 
 queft of filver and gold, which as foon as they have 
 obtained, they fly with it to the northern hemi- 
 fphere, where, with equal avidity, it is fnatched 
 from them, by the Englilli, Dutch, and French, 
 and tranfported with ftill more toil, and at greater 
 rifk of health and life, to the extremes of the eaft- 
 ern world, and there bartered away for the produce 
 of thofe diftant countries j while the Indian, with 
 llill greater avidity and eagernefs than the former 
 poiTcfTors, commits the glittering fpoil, once more, 
 to coffers, chefts, or into holes and corners of the 
 earth. 
 
 The legiflator will note thefe providential ar- 
 rangements as well as the philofopher, and if he is 
 wiie, and deferves the appellation of good, he will 
 iludy, and draw benefit from a knowledge of, but 
 never attempt to counteraft them, and will reftrain 
 fuch abufe in individuals, by every legal mode 
 ■which wifdom can devife. 
 
 After
 
 C 30 ) 
 
 After the fevere drainings to which thefe pro- 
 vinces have been fubjeft for near twenty years, I 
 much fear we cannot fpare fo large a fum as one 
 hundred lacks, to be taken out from our poor re- 
 maining ftock of currency : I alfo think it unne- 
 ceflary. The great army you keep on foot, the 
 credit of your arms, and the extreme debilitated 
 and di{Vracled fta:e of al! the powers of Hindooftan, 
 from whofe fituation an invafion of thefe provinces 
 can be apprehended, fecures you for many years 
 againfteven the fear of an attack on the land fidej 
 nor will it (except we fall a fleep, and invite them 
 to it) be pofTible for the French to collect a force 
 at the IHands of France, with which to attack you, 
 without your knowing of it time enough to fruftrate 
 fuch an attempt, dther from Europe or in India ; 
 and by no other means, or from any other quarter, 
 can you be diflurbed. Your fund will, therefore, 
 be a means onjy to accelerate our dreaded diftrefs, 
 without being of ufe. Or fhould you be induced, 
 by your apprehenfions in any future time, to think 
 fuch a ftock of cafh in hand necefiary, I boldly 
 affirm, that by offering the Company's fecurity, in 
 bonds bearing an annual inttreft of fix per cent, re- 
 deemable at will, you might coUeft into your trea- 
 fury, at a fhort warning, great part of the private 
 cafh in the kingdom. 
 
 The Company's annual income here, has been 
 fixed to a tolerable degree of certainty ; and though 
 
 the
 
 ( 5' ) 
 
 the civil and military difburfements have been re- 
 duced greatly fince your acceffion, yet now you 
 have again the power in your hands, there is ftill 
 room enough left for further curtailings and fav- 
 ings in both thefe departments. The money that 
 can be faved, muft neither be fent out of the coun- 
 try, nor locked up in coffers, but thrown back into 
 circulation as foon as poflible, after it comes to 
 your hands, 
 
 I BELIEVE the Company's annual indents for 
 goods of the produce of Bengal, amount to one 
 third more than the quantity that has hitherto been 
 fent home to them. It has been faid, that there 
 was neither money to pay for, nor goods to be had, 
 to fuch an amount. I affirm, on the contrary, that 
 the means are in your hands to furnifh both, with- 
 out the lead opprelfion, and by the moft falutary 
 ways imaginable •, and that by the year in which 
 the Company's charter will expire, the great pur- 
 pofes undermentioned will be fully anfwered, may 
 be clearly made to appear. 
 
 Firft, The Company's debts will be entirely 
 paid off at home and abroad. 
 
 Secondly. The private property now in Bengal, 
 
 and what Hiall in future be acquired, 
 
 fhall have an eafy and equitable channel 
 
 of remittance to Europe, by means of 
 
 bills on the Company. 
 
 Thirdly,
 
 C 32 ) 
 
 thirdly. That the French, Dutch, and other 
 European nations who trade to Bengal, 
 muft, as heretofore, bring with them 
 bullion, to pay for tiie largcft part of 
 their cargoes, or find it not pofliblc to 
 trade to this kingdom at all. 
 
 Fourthly, That the Company's fettlements of Bom- 
 bay and Bencoolen, may be fupplied 
 with proper and faleable goods in luffi- 
 cient quantities, to prevent the neceflity 
 of fending out of the current fpecie, 
 which has been, and continues to be, fo 
 very injurious to this country. 
 
 I AM very fenfible that fuch an apparent altera- 
 tion in the general plan of condufting the Compa- 
 ny's affairs, will require their fanftion to give it 
 permanency : but as the experiment may be tried 
 without any additional expence, under the conduft 
 of their prefent fet of fervants, 1 fee no objedtion 
 they can have to it, as no polTible evil can arife 
 from the trial. 
 
 The board of trade muft be called upon, to lay- 
 before the fuperior council, eftimates of the quan- 
 tities of goods of each particular fort indented for 
 by the Company, which can be provided at the 
 chiefships, and different nurungs, under their ma- 
 nagement, in the courfe of one year, with their 
 
 prices
 
 ( 33 ) 
 prices fet oppolite to each article, as well as the 
 full length, breadth, quality, and finenefs, agreeable 
 to rnufters given in by the Company's forters. 
 
 That at the fame time they afcertain the fums of 
 money which will be necefTary for them to have, 
 fpecifying in what parts of the kingdom it will be 
 wanting, and the feafons of the year it will be 
 proper for them to have the money, dividing it 
 into two, or, if pofTible, into three equidiftant pe- 
 riods of time, and the number of annoes, or fix- 
 teenth parts, of the whole that will be wanting at 
 each of the different aurungs or chiefships. 
 
 That the Company's covenanted fervants of all 
 ranks, who are employed in the mercantile de- 
 partment, and who fhall be deemed by the board 
 oi trade to be competent judges of the goods which 
 they offer to provide, fliall be permitted, under 
 the regulation hereafter to be mentioned, to en- 
 gage in contrafl with the Company. 
 
 That the form of the contrafts be as fimple and 
 plain as pofTible, drawn up by the Company's fo- 
 licitor, and have the fandion of the fuprerne court 
 of judicature. 
 
 That there be three principal ccntradors, whe- 
 ther Europeans, natives, or both, bound jointly, 
 and feparatcly, in every engagement : and in order 
 
 C to
 
 ( 34 )' 
 
 to prevent their engaging for more than they can- 
 provide, it fliall be an invariable rule, that a failure 
 incontraftj (hall preclude the perfon fo failing, from 
 ever being admitted to contract with the Company 
 in future. 
 
 The cloth to be fiamped in one corner of each 
 end with a die, on which the names, or initial 
 letters, of the contraftors who delivered in the 
 cloth, be engraved, and on one fide of it, the name 
 of the forter who pafTed it. Lifts of the names of 
 the contrafbors, with remarks on their condufb as 
 Company's merchants, be tranfmitted, by the firft 
 and laft fhips of every feafon, to the Company. 
 
 That impofts and duties" on cloth, whether of 
 filk or cotton, of every fpecies and kind whatever^ 
 be totally abollfhed. That all Rajahs, Zemindars, 
 and every kind and fpecies of officers under the go- 
 vernment, be prohibited, in the moft exprefs terms,, 
 fromexafling any kind of tax on the weavers and 
 makers of filk or cotton cloth, filk winders, or fpin- 
 iiers of thread. 
 
 That a warehouf^ be opened in Calcutta, under 
 iome fuch denomination as the Company's ready 
 money forting godown, and this under the infpec- 
 tion of a committee, compofed of three members 
 of the board of trade, the export warehoufekeeper, 
 his deputy, and the Company's cloth-forter for the 
 
 time
 
 ( 35 ) 
 time being, refiding in Calcutta, where the Com- 
 pany's ftandard mufters of every kind of goods in 
 which they deal, be depofited, and a book kept, 
 in which be entered the contrad rates that the Com- 
 pany pay for each particular fort. That on a proper 
 application to tliis committee, any perfon, whe- 
 ther European or native, be permitted to bring any 
 goods of their own, which fhall be compared with 
 the Company's, and if equal in all refpecfls, and the 
 owners requeft it, the qualifying forting ftamp of 
 •the committee fhall be put, and he, or they, be 
 permitted to have extrafts from the book of rates, 
 in order, if they wifh to provide ready money goods 
 at their own rifk and expence, they may have every 
 afliftance poffible to direft them. 
 
 That the board of trade be no otherways limi- 
 ted in the quantity of goods to be contracted for, 
 and bought with ready money, than by the Com- 
 pany's annual indent ; as it is to be fuppofed, they 
 will increafe their indents, when they find goods are 
 to be had. 
 
 This committee fhould advertife, that they will 
 fit fo many days in a week all the year round, to 
 receive fuch goods as may be tendered, not lefs 
 in quantity than one hundred pieces of a fort, and 
 every way equal to the Company's mufters of the 
 fame kind, and pay for them in ready money, or 
 in notes on the treafury. 
 
 C2 It
 
 si 
 
 \ 
 
 ( 36 ) 
 
 Ir will alfo be neceflary to make inveflrrierits for 
 the markets in India, and for the following reafons. 
 
 It has been noticed already, that the eagernefs 
 of individuals to tranfmit to Europe their fuddenly 
 acquired and immenfe wealth, contributed more 
 than any other caufe, to the raifing the price, and 
 lowering the goodnefs, of the principal rnanufg.c- 
 tured goods of Bengal. 
 
 When the Englifh, Dutch, and French de- 
 mands of cafh for the year were fupplled ; when 
 the fchemers of fending goods to Europe, on Por- 
 tugueze, Danifh, and French bottoms, failed j 
 when, by accounts from conftituents in England, 
 it was known that there was a great lofs on dia- 
 monds, and that gold and filver fell greatly fhort 
 at home, of its eftimated value in India, new me- 
 thods were to be found out for tranfmitting money 
 to Europe. Men, unacquainted with commerce, 
 were eafily made to believe, that the manufactures 
 of Bengal, fold well at all the ports in India ; and 
 provided they could but tranfport their money, 
 without lofs, to Buflbrah, Surat, Bombay, Ben- 
 coolen, Madrafs, China,, in lliort, almoft any where 
 out of Bengal, it would not be difficult, from thofe 
 diftant places, to tranfmit it to Europe, without 
 the heavy difcount to which all the other modes 
 were fubjeft. This glimmering of hope fet the bufy 
 ones to work, and when once the contagion took 
 
 place^
 
 ( 37 ) 
 place, it fpread like wild fire. Rich chiefs ofpro" 
 vinces, colle^ors of the revenue, fait agents, fortunate 
 foldiers, lawyers, doctors, taylors, barbers, and U7tder- 
 takers ; all ! all ! became^ or employed, fiiper cargoes 
 and export merchants ! 
 
 This rich, fpirited, but inexperienced corps, 
 joining themfelves to the commercial line, increafed 
 the demand for all forts of goods. Unluckily for 
 the manufadures of this kindom, thefe fudden and 
 unexpected demands, produced the fame effeds 
 which they ever have, and ever will produce, a ge- 
 neral debafing of the quality of the goods fo eagerly 
 fought after. The advantacreous terms on whxh 
 the foreign companies obtained money, induced 
 them to enlarge ih&ir homeward bound cargoes. 
 Our Company was ftraining every nerve, to do the 
 fame thing at the fame time. All this combining 
 did abfolutely, in the fpacc of four or five years, 
 raife the price of the manufj6tures of Bengal, one 
 with the other, full thirty per cent, above the for- 
 mer prices ; at t' e fame time ic funk the goods 
 more ih^n twenty per cent, in their real intrinfic value. 
 I could c'.efcend to fuch particular inftances in fup- 
 port of the above afifertions, that would but too 
 well convince the mod ftubborn Sceptic at a dil- 
 tance, of their being true. We who are on the 
 fpor, eafiiy believe what we fo fcverely feel: There 
 is not even the fhadow of a doubt remaining, that 
 
 fnould our Europe and country (liips, contintue to 
 
 carry 
 
 v/
 
 ( 38 ) 
 
 carry out money in the manner they have done, 
 and now do, that a very few years more will drain 
 off fo much of our current fpecie, as to caufe a flag- 
 ration in the circulation in fome parts of the king- 
 dom. No matter where it begins; it will bring 
 on a mortification in that part, that will endanger 
 the whole body'. 
 
 The relief that you» Sir, formerly gave, by pre- 
 venting money being fent out of the provinces, to 
 \ pay the troops ftationed in the Nabob of Oude^s do-- 
 \ minions, has, undoubtedly, poftponed our fate for 
 fome years. The great favings you made, the firft 
 two years after your accefllon, in the civil, military, 
 and marine deparcments, have proved refrefliing 
 and warm cordials to the drooping fpirits of the go- 
 vernm.ent ; and had you not been interrupted, you 
 might by this time, have done great things to- 
 wards the revival of tiae export trade : But, Sir, it 
 languilhes cruelly yet ; nor will it ever recover, but 
 by bringing back the manufadlures to their primi' 
 tive goodnefs and price. 
 
 \ Some very fpirited and enterprifing efforts have 
 
 \ been made to recover the trade of the Gulfs, by 
 
 private perfons under your own patronage, but hi- 
 
 \ therco without efFecft, The Minerva failed at Suez 
 
 the former year •, the Alexander at Juddah, lafl 
 
 year; I wifli her better fortune at Suez, this year; 
 
 f^ Th?ir cargoes were made up of goods manufadur- 
 
 c4
 
 ( 39 ) 
 cd in Bengal, and were called in the invoice hj 
 their proper names, but the cloth was badly fabri« 
 cated, and the prices too high. The merchant- 
 adventurers from this port, came home difpirited ; 
 and foreigners will have nothing to do with your 
 filk or cotton cloth, for the ports in India. 
 
 In this general decay of trade, and defpondency 
 of private adventurers, what is to be our remedy ? 
 Why really. Sir, all your efforts, at the expence 
 of your private fortune, will not do. The ftate 
 mull interpofe •, and if you undertake to recom- 
 mend or manage it, fomething yet may be done. 
 Throw not this poor produflion afide, until you 
 nnd a better. You ftand pledged to the Engliflji 
 nation, for recovering the affairs of Bengal. They 
 look to you for relief : You mull not difappoint 
 them. 
 
 The Governor and Council of Bombay muff be 
 written to, to fend round mufters of fuch kinds of 
 filk, and filk piece goods, of the manufa6lure of 
 Bengal, as will ferve the market of Surat and 
 Bombay, together with an eflimate of their value 
 at thofe ports, and the quantities which they will 
 be able to fell annually of each fort-: Thefe muft 
 ^be provided at leaft to fuch amount, as will anfwer 
 the demand. Bombay will have on Bengal for 
 their annual fupplies. Some fugar and fait petre 
 ^ay alfo be fent. Let them have proper goods 
 
 to
 
 ( 40 ) 
 
 to fell, and they will never want circulating cur- 
 rency. But it will be to the urmoft degree of folly 
 indifcreet, to continue fending away your own 
 fpecie to fupply iheir wants. 
 
 • 
 An inveftment of proper goods for Buflbrah, 
 amounting to four lacks of rupees, for Mocha of 
 three lacks, and one of ten lacks for Suez, fhould 
 be provided. There is not the lead doubt, but if 
 thefe goods could be had, wrought up to their 
 primitive goodnefs, and nearly at the prices paid 
 for them about the year 1750, but they would an- 
 fwer every expence of fending, and produce re- 
 turns in bullion, with an advanced gain, clear of 
 every mercantile charge, of at leaft twelve to fifteen 
 ■per cent. This money, or fuch part of it as was 
 abfolutely neceffary for China, might be fent there 
 in cafh, or cotton, from Bombay \ and 1 am cer- 
 tain that the markets on that fide of India, would 
 take off more well wrought Bengal goods, than 
 would fupply money for all their demands of cafli 
 at Bombay ; leaving the returns from the Gulf, to 
 be brought back to Bengal, or fent to China, as 
 mod neceffary ; which return, I have a confidence, 
 might be increafed in a few years, by proper ma^ 
 nagement, to thirty lacks of rupees annually. 
 
 The fettlemcnt of Bencoolen, though very ad- 
 vantageous to the Company in their pepper trade, 
 cannot exift without an annual fupply of filver. 
 
 Gold
 
 ( 41 ) 
 Gold being the produce of the country, they have 
 no currency in that metal j and the inhabitants be- 
 ing in continual want of many even of the necef- 
 faries of life, they fend for them to Batavia, which 
 port hath hitherto drained them of all their filver. 
 It would be better that the Company fupply them 
 from home, than permit them to drain more fpecie 
 from Bengal. But as they often ufc the mode of 
 bartering goods in exchange for their pepper, would 
 it not be as well that they fend indents and mufters 
 of fuch goods as they can ufe in barter, and have 
 them fupplied every year ? Thefe goods fhould 
 be provided in the manner of the other inveft- 
 ments, and a charge oi fifteen per cent, put at the 
 foot of the invoice, in which the opium they want 
 for the ufe of the weft coaft, fhould be included, 
 and an offer made of them to the Company's fer- 
 vants at that price. I believe thefe indents v/ould 
 run up to near three lacks of rupees annually. I 
 will give you my reafons for this opinion hereafter, 
 and conclude thefe rough outlines of the plan by 
 obferving, that there are many other little drains, 
 which may be flopped by means fimilar to the 
 above. 
 
 I AM not one of thofe defponding beings who 
 think the kingdom ruined •, I know the contrary. 
 1 know that the wealth of this happily fituated 
 country is inexhauflible ; but it lays below the 
 furface of the earth. Concinue to cover your fub- 
 
 jeds
 
 ( 42 ) 
 
 jcfts from tyranny and oppreflion, and they wlU 
 draw it out, and work it up, ready for your ufe: 
 
 Our evils felt and apprehended, have arifen 
 from accidental caufes, to v/hich we did not advert, 
 until we felt the effedls : They are now known, 
 and may be removed by a proper application of the 
 means in our hands. 
 
 I wiL-L fuppofe that all has been done, or is now 
 in hand to be done, which is necelfary or eligible, 
 in the legiflative, financing, and political lines. 
 If this be the cafe, you have no immediate ufe for 
 your military powers. Let the fword reft in the 
 fcabbard, (with a proper attention to difcipline, it 
 -will notruft,) while you once more look back t® 
 your firft principles. " A view to the advantages of 
 commerce, drew the fubjecls of Great Britain into 
 this country. lis intereft hath been to long neg- 
 kcted : Take it up anew, and you will foon reftorc 
 every thing to that ftate, to which the mercantile 
 intereft of this kingdom muft be brought back, or 
 all your vicftories, your politics, and your plans 
 of jurifprudence, will avail nothing. 
 
 The Company are out of debt here : and fome 
 men of good calculating abilities have affirmed, 
 that if the prefidency of Bengal continued to fend 
 home annually, an inveftment of eighty lacks of 
 rupees, tbe Company would be difcncumbered of 
 
 all
 
 ( 43 ) 
 
 all their difficulties in Europe, before their charter 
 will be out. That an interruption hath been given 
 to your meafures, and thereby to an annual in- 
 creafe of fuch remittance, is to be lamented. It 
 cannot be recalled ; but you may again i'et. the 
 wheels a going, and fpin the thread anew. In- 
 ftead of eighty, fend the Company home one hun- 
 dred and twenty lacks of rupees in the goods they 
 indent for, until they have ftock in hand, above 
 what is necefTary to pay their debts, their current 
 charges, and the dividends on the capital ftock. 
 They cannot permit you to draw on them for mo- 
 ney : Increafe the inveflment as much as poffible, 
 and that impediment will be removed, and with it 
 every evil we now feel or apprehend. / 
 
 If (as I have heard) your favings amount to one 
 crore, or hundred lacks of rupees, annually, it is 
 twenty lacks more than what is wanting for the 
 current fervice, including the Company's inveft- 
 ment. This furplus will anfwer the purpofe of 
 buying goods for fupplying the Company's other 
 fettlements, in the manner above propofcd, with- 
 out fending a rupee out of the country. 
 
 Buj yet we want forty lacks of rupees, to in- 
 creafe the Company's inveftment to one hundred 
 and twenty, in order to enable them to bear being 
 drawn on for four hundred thoufand pounds an- 
 nually, by which means we Ihali turn the current 
 
 of
 
 ( 44 ) 
 
 of private remittance into our own channel, and 
 oblige the other European nations, to bring in fiU 
 ver to pay for their homeward bound cargoes, or 
 ceafe to come here ; as alfo to put a final ftop to 
 the pernicious cuftom offending out bad manufac- 
 tured goods, which hath brought the trade of Ben- 
 gal, into fo ill repute with the people in Afia. 
 
 Let fubfcription books be opened at the treafu- 
 ry, for the receipts of forty lacks of rupees, on the 
 following conditions. 
 
 The Company to receive the current rupee at 
 two fhillings fterling, and give a receipt for the 
 fame, payable in London, at the expiration of one 
 thoufand two hundred days from the date, with a 
 fimple uncompounding intereft of three per cent, 
 per annum. 
 
 No perfon to be permitted, either in his own name, 
 or that of a conftituent, to fubfcribe for more than 
 fixty thoufand current rupees for the firfb year, 
 which (hall be paid into the treafury at three diftant 
 periods, and in the equal fums of twenty thoufand 
 rupees at each payment. 
 
 Should the whole not be fubfcribed the firft 
 month after the books are opened, pcrfons who 
 fubfcribed for fixty thoufand at firft, fhall have 
 permiflion to add what further fums they chooJe, 
 until the forty lacks are completed. 
 
 I HAVE
 
 ( 45 ) 
 
 I HAVE eftimated the annual receipts, at twenty 
 Jacks above what is wanting for the immediate and 
 current ufe of government, and for the Europe in- 
 vellment at eighty, as it now Hands, which twenty 
 lacks I propofe to apply to the purchafing of goods 
 for the Gulfs and Bencoolen, for the purpofe of 
 keeping alive the export Indian trade, and the fup- 
 plying the Company's foreign fettlements: Not 
 that 1 think it the whole furplus of each year. In- 
 deed I have been told, that Ihould things continue 
 quiet for five years, and the annual furplus be put 
 to no ufe, that mofl: of the current fpecie of the 
 kingdom, would be accumulated into the Com- 
 pany's coffers. If this is really the cafe, why not 
 at once abolifh the heavy and unnatural weight of 
 taxes on your own articles of export ? 
 
 No errors in the above reafoning, ought to be 
 employed as arguments in oppofition to forming 
 fome plan for reviving the trade of this port. The 
 writer by no means offers this as a perfed* one. If 
 it fuggefts to you, or to the Company, a fingle 
 thought that may be ufeful to this country, and of 
 conicquence to Great Britain, he will think him- 
 felf amply rewarded. He is not in the fervice, 
 therefore cannot draw pecuniary benefit from its 
 being adopted, or more than his (hare of the in- 
 convenience, as a fingle fubjeft, in its being over* 
 looked or negle6led. He cannot write for fame ; 
 for he owns himfelf deficient in every talent requi- 
 
 fite
 
 ^ 
 
 ( 46 > 
 
 fite for a writer, whofe plan may come to be can- 
 vafTed in public, but that of fpeaking truth, draw- 
 ins; his materials from his own obfervation and ex- 
 perience, and his ideas (fuch as they are) from his 
 own head. He is even incapable of arranging 
 them in any tolerable degree of order. In fhort, 
 he knows nothing. But that he feels great morti- 
 fication at feeing the credit of the manufadured 
 goods of this kingdom decline fo faft, and moil 
 fincerely wiflies to have them reftored to their pri- 
 mitive texture and goodnefs. 
 
 From the long internal peace which this country 
 hath enjoyed ; from the apparent certainty of its 
 continuing for a courfe of years, in its prefent hap- 
 py ftate of repofe \ from the increafing ftate of the 
 revenue, by which the Company have been made 
 eafy in their circumllances •, from the facility with 
 which you may raife money to fupply fuch a plan; 
 from the advantage fuch an increafe of the Com- 
 pany's home inveftment to one third more, will 
 bring to my country, in her prefent untoward 
 lituation with her colonies -, from the general fatif- 
 fa£lion and content it will oive the gentlemen 
 in Europe, who depend for fubfiftence on their 
 money in India, when they fee a door opened for 
 its coming home, on lafe and equitable terms j 
 from the certainty I am in, that fuch a plan, pro- 
 perly fupported, will oblige our rivals in the Indian 
 trade, to bring us filver in exchange for our goods, 
 
 or.
 
 ( 47 ) 
 
 or, which will do full as well, abfent themfelvcs 
 entirely ; from the eafe with which this fcheme majr 
 be attempted, without any material rifk or con- 
 fiderable expence ; from the impoflibility of the 
 trade of private adventurers providing a remedy, 
 and the neceflity of a public interpofition ; and 
 above all, from the conveniency of the time to at- 
 tempt it in ; I wifh to fee fome fuch plan, or a bet- 
 ter, if it can be found, tried without delay. 
 
 In all I have faid, I have carefully avoided giv- 
 ing any offence. 1 do not mean to give any in 
 what I have yet to fay. Cavilling and finding 
 fault, is the province of mock patriots, difcarded 
 or would-be ftatefmen. If I mention what I think 
 an error in management, it is purely to introduce 
 what appears to me a better mode to be adopted 
 in future, and not to refle6l on the managers. I 
 wlih to fee the French, Dutch, Danes, &c. oblig- * 
 ed, by good honeft mercantile policy, to bring 
 money, or give up their trade in thefe provinces. 
 On fuch principles, and in fuch an open and fair 
 way, I would leflen their trade hither all I could. 
 
 The fhips the Company fend yearly for their 
 eighty lacks of goods, are fo filled with trade, pub- 
 lic and private, military ftores for Madrafs and 
 this place, that they cannot by any means, bring 
 with them marine ftores fufficient to fiipply the y 
 country fliips. The French draw great advantage 
 
 fron^
 
 ( 48 ) 
 
 . / from this. Now if you increafe your inveflment 
 one third, you want a third more tonnage. And 
 fhould the Company objedl to your takinj^ fo much 
 money for bills on them, let them fend one third 
 of it out in marine ftores : The fales will be certain: 
 for our rivals, without having much to do with 
 the country fhips, import and fell to the Englifh, 
 full as much as I mention. I would infert a lift of 
 the articles which they import, and we want, but 
 the cuftom-houfe book can inform you better, or 
 I am miftaken. 
 
 If the Court of Dire6t:ors fay, we want no more 
 cloth, nor will we take up any more fhips, I beg 
 your permiffion. Sir, to addrefs a few words to 
 them before I conclude this letter, as I really mean 
 all this in good part, and have no other mode of 
 introdudion to them. 
 
 HONORABLE SIR and SIRS : 
 
 IF you increafe your inveftment from Bengal one 
 third, on the eafy terms I propofe, you will 
 prevent the French getting money from private 
 perfons here, whilft you will faddle them with ad- 
 ditional rilk and expence, oblige them to bring 
 filver, and at the fame time enable yourfelves to 
 uadcrfcU them at home. You v/ill difable them ft ill 
 
 more.
 
 J 
 
 ( 49 ) 
 
 inore, by fending us marine llores. But if neither 
 of thefe propofals meet your approbation, pray at- 
 tend to what follows. 
 
 My meaning is not to offend you. I only wifh 
 to circumvent Monfieur in what he is doing to the 
 prejudice of our nation ; trading here to our dif- 
 advantage. You mull, in future, fend at leaft 
 eight fliips annually to Bengal. You allow eighty 
 tons of kentledge to each fhip, for which you pay 
 freight, on an average, at the rate of twenty-five 
 pounds per ton, and that on fix hundred and forty 
 tons, comes to fixteen thoufand pounds fterling. , /\ 
 Order the captains to land their kentledge, and 
 fend them on board the fame dead weight in an- 
 chors, grapnels, fmall guns, three and four pound- 
 ers, with fhot, for the country fhips, and complete 
 the tonnage with bar iron. You will gain ten 
 
 thoufand pounds by thefe articles, and Mon- 
 fieur may keep his to himfelf. Order home by 
 each fhip, in lieu of the kentledge, an addition of 
 one thoufand bags of fait petre, and fell it for 
 what it will fetch in Europe. It cofts you very 
 little here. It will prevent your rivals from carrying 
 home fo much as tliey do in times of peace, and in 
 time of war. Order the fait petre warehoufe at Pat- 
 'na, to be locked up to all but yourfelves. If your 
 captains fay they cannot fhift, or navigate their 
 Ihips, but with kentledge, tell them it is a mlf- 
 take, which has its foundation in prejudice arifing 
 
 D from
 
 ( 50 }■ 
 
 fVom long prafticc. I have been owner of fix of 
 thofe fliips, after they had ferved their time out 
 with you, and the firft thing I did, after I bought 
 them, was to fell their kentledge. The fhip fwam 
 in the Indian Seas very well without it. The 
 fame weight of fait petre, will anfwer the purpofc 
 jufl: as well. Should a fhip by accident, be kept in 
 India a feafon or two,, to render any particular fer- 
 vice, here are old condemned guns enough, which 
 fhe may have for kentledge, until ftie be loaded 
 for Europe. 
 
 This kingdom. Gentlemen, is very populous, 
 rich in native articles of trade, and wants only a 
 continuance of what it now enjoys, good govern- 
 ment. It is all your own ; you may mould it as 
 you pleafe. Rritain, and Britain only, can defend 
 it ; and in return, it will fend you annually, a very 
 ample tribute of well wrought goods, fufficient tp- 
 fupply all the nations of Europe ; and in fo doings 
 it muft be your own fault, if you ha;ve rivals ii>; 
 trade to this country much longer. 
 
 Honourable Sir and Sirs^ 
 
 Arguments
 
 ( 51 ) 
 
 Arguments to prove the neceffity of an interpo- 
 fitlon of the ftate, to fupply a remedy whilfl: yet 
 in its power, croud fb fafl into my mind, that 
 were I to introduce the half of them, they would 
 fwell this addrefs to an enormous fize ; nor can I 
 think they will be neceffary. When duty and in- 
 tereft draw the fame way, other inducements are 
 feldom wanting to put men in adtion. If ever an 
 individual and a national duty, and an individual 
 and national intcrefl, were combined together, 
 they are in this inftance. Pad miftakes, at home 
 and abroad, fhould be forgotten; and the whole 
 body of Eaft India Proprietors, Direftors, and 
 their fervants abroad, join in one public fpirited 
 refolution, to relieve thefe provinces, by a re- 
 lloration of their trade to its former fplendor. 
 
 It doth Colonel Dow great honour, that the le- 
 giflative powers of his country, in forming the late 
 A<5b of Parliament for regulating the affairs of the 
 Eaft India Company, feem to have taken many- 
 hints from his third volume. But was I in the 
 Colonel's fituation, the pleafure I ftiould receive 
 from that, would not by any means counterpoife 
 the pain I ihould feel, on refleding that I had, by 
 that work, contributed extremely, and very un- 
 juftly, to fix in the minds of my fellow fubjedts, a 
 rooted deteftation to their countrymen, who have V 
 been ferving the Company in this country. In the 
 digrefiive parts of his Hiftory of Hindooftan, there 
 
 D 2 are
 
 C 50 
 
 arc rilany infinuations (but not one well authenti* 
 Gated faft) which convey ideas to the mind much ro 
 / their prejudice. He is now in the command of a 
 (V very important fortrefs on the frontier of the Bahar 
 province. I have heard that the commanding ofH- 
 ter on that ftation, may make a very handfomc 
 fortune in a few years. Nothing could convey to 
 the Colonel's mind, a truer idea of the barbarity ©f 
 the infinuations which are to be found in plenty in 
 His books, than my hinting in this place, that the 
 means ufed for making the fortune above mention- 
 ed, are opprefliVe to the people under his com- 
 mand, by obliging them to purchafe their daily 
 provifion at a market, where no perfon can fell 
 any thing, except fuch as are licenfed fo to do by 
 /Ns^ himfelf. But I diflikefuch indirect means of filling 
 a book with infinuations and allufions •, it is invol- 
 ving thejufl: and the unjufl: indifcriminately, in one 
 general ruin. There is, I think, a better and more 
 generous way of telling ftories to the public, and 
 that is in plain Englifli, and juft as they happened ; 
 in which mode I will relate one or two,, and then- 
 conclude this Letter, 
 
 At the time Dow's Hiflory firfl: reached India, 
 an Englifli gentleman at the court of the Vizier 
 Stfjah ul Dcwlah, explained to that Prince, the cha- 
 radler Colonel Dow had drav/n of him in his Hil- 
 tory of Hindooftan. The Prince at firft looked fe- 
 rious, but foon recovering himfelf, laughed very 
 
 heartily,.
 
 ( 53 ) 
 
 heartily, and told the gentleman, that he in fomc 
 meafure deferved the charaftsr which Dow had 
 given of him : " For knowing, as I did^ laid he, 
 " that he was a Writer of Hi ft or )\ IJJwidd mt have 
 ■"" refufed him the grant of fome Salt Petre Farms in 
 " my Country^ which he applied to me for. ^* 
 
 Mahommed Reza Cawn did not keep his temper 
 -quite fo well in a fimilar fituation ; for on his 
 being told what a figure he made in Dow's book, 
 ^^ This,'' exclaimed the Nabob, '-'■ is ungrateful and 
 " intolerable. When that man was firfl introduced to 
 " me^ I was informed that he was an ingenious per f on. 
 *' 1 received him as a friend of the gentleman who had 
 ^'^ recommended hi^n., and, as is our country cufiom^ 
 *' made him a handfome prefcnt, to ollige that gentle- 
 '' man, who was alfo a friend of mine. But had I 
 " known that he was a drawer -cf chara^'crs, I moji 
 *' certainly would have come up to his price, and hav^ 
 *' had a good one -, it would have coji him no mpre 
 " trouble -, and for the matter offaS, he is juji a^ 
 '' good a judge of one m the other. 
 
 LETTER lU
 
 r 5+ 1 
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 FROM .A 
 
 FREE MERCHANT in BENGAL, 
 
 TO 
 
 WARREN HASTINGS, E/j. 
 
 HONOURABLE SIR; 
 
 WHETHER, as your enemies hope and be- 
 lieve, a veflel is now on her way from 
 Europe with dilpatches, containing your recall, 
 agreeable to the refolution of a myfterious majority 
 of aCourt of Diredors, held in May laft, or that 
 the Proprietors of Eaft India Stock, have refolution 
 and virtue fufficient, to abide by their reafonable 
 determination, of having you heard in your own 
 defence, before they confent to your condemnation, 
 I know not •,. nor would a knowledge of the fadt, 
 cither way, encourage me to go on, or deter mc 
 ffom continuing to addrefs thefe letters to you ; 
 
 for
 
 ( is ) 
 
 ■for there is nothing in them, but what pertains 
 equally to every Britifh fubjefl ; and your name is 
 placed at their head, as being, from your long ex- 
 perience, intenfe application, and great abilities, 
 the bed, though not the only judge, of the matters 
 they contain. 
 
 To fecure and increafe the commercial connec- 
 tion between Great Britain and her Afiatic pofTef- 
 fions, is a matter of fuch importance to the wel- 
 fare of the kingdom, that it becomes the duty of 
 every individual Englifhman, who can throw new 
 light on fo interefting a fubjeft, to do it in the beft 
 manner be can. In my former Letter, \ pointed 
 out fome of the caufes of the decline of the export 
 trade of Bengal, and gave you a few hints relative 
 to the means which, I think, would conduce mod 
 to the recovery of it. In the prefent Letter, I iliall 
 treat of the trade of India more generally, and at- 
 tempt to point out how it may be better conneded 
 than it is atprefent, with a view to national utility. 
 That the articles of raw filk, muflins, white and 
 printed cotton cloths, and fait petre, may be pro- 
 cured at Bengal, in as great quantities as the Com- 
 pany fhall finc^ vend for in Europe, is an undoubt- 
 ed fad. It is a!fo indifputably true, that the fur- 
 plus.ofthe teritcrial revenue, the private property 
 <)f perfpns who acquire fortunes in the Company's 
 fcrvice, and are willing to pay their money into 
 ihe public cafh on eafy terms, for Bills on Europe, 
 
 together
 
 ( 56 ) 
 ftogether with the fales of the Britifh cloth, copper, 
 iron, and marine ftores, which the Company do, 
 and always mull fend out, will produce a fund luf- 
 ficient to pay for them, without draining the Eng- 
 lifli nation of one ounce of her bullion. 
 
 That the Eaft India trade muft be conducted 
 by a company of merchants, with exclufive rights 
 and priviledges, I take for granted ; but that this 
 company fhould have interefts fubverflve of, or 
 running counter to the general intereft of the Hate, 
 is ridiculous to fuppofe, and folly to aiTert. The 
 great principle of their conftitution is, that as ma- 
 ny of their fellow fubje6ts as poffible, fhall benefit 
 by the inftitution of fuch a fociety ; and as few as 
 poffible, receive damage or hurt therefrom. It 
 muft be for the intereft of the flate, that every dif- 
 covery, tending to enlarge, connect, and fccure 
 the trade to Afia, fhould be made public. It can- 
 not, therefore, be for the true intereft of the Com- 
 pany, that fuch difcovery fhould be kept private : 
 yet in writing with the freedom which every man 
 muft do, who hopes to do good by what he writes, 
 he lays himfelf open to the refentmentof the Com- 
 pany and their officers. This jealoufy of the Eaft 
 India Company,which fo ftrongly prevailed at home 
 and abroad, until the pafllng of the late Aft 'of 
 Parliament for regulating their affairs, contributed 
 extremely to the keeping the nation in the dark, as 
 10 the true ftate of the n:itional traffic to Afia, and 
 
 was
 
 ( SI ) 
 
 was the principal caufe of the eftablifhed averfion, 
 which the people in general have conceived againft 
 their fellow fubjeits who have afted in Afia. If a ^ 
 fervant of the Company, wrote his private fenti- 
 ments on the ftate of affairs abroad, or blamed in 
 any fhape the management at home, and this was 
 difcovered by the indifcretion of his friend, or by 
 his letter being intercepted, which was in the 
 power of the Company, and their fervants both 
 abroad and at home, the perfon fo writing was 
 difmifled the fervice. If a perfon, not in the ^r^ 
 Company's employ, was found guilty of this hor- 
 rid crime, againft the reigning defpot and his divan 
 in Leadenhall-Street, the proteflion of the Com- 
 pany was withdrawn, and the culprit purfued by 
 their refentmenr, until he left the country from pure 
 pecefTity. 
 
 Sir G. Cokhrooke was the lail of thofe narrow 
 minded defpots, whofe mifcrable management v 
 brought ruin on the Company, and difgrace on the 
 nation. How was it pofTible that the affairs of a 
 great and powerful ftate, as by their poffcffions in 
 Afia, the Eaft India Company had infenfibly be- 
 come, Ihould be conduced with fuccefs, on a pal- 
 try, ftock-jobbing, 'Change-Alley plan ? The ^ 
 whole of their police was to keep the nation 
 in the dark ; to feed their veteran band of 
 annual voters, with favourable jobs and contrails ; 
 (and to amufe the Proprietary in general, with pro- 
 
 jni fes 
 
 A
 
 ( 5S ) 
 
 mifcs of dividends which they were unable to malcc 
 good -, and in the end, to abufe the nation with 
 •frightful tales of the rapacious management of 
 their fervants abroad, on whofe pretended avari- 
 cious peculation, they laid the whole blame of their 
 own mifcondud. 
 
 The door is now opened, by which the nation 
 may have true information as to the real nature and 
 ftate of its trade to Afia. Though there is yet a 
 portion of the old felfifh, four, jealous leaven, in 
 and about the heads and hearts of the managers in 
 Leadenhall-Street, which will ferment at the idea of 
 an individual prefuming to treat on Afiatic mercan- 
 tile affairs, v/hich fo few of them underftand; and 
 was I notio entirely divefted of all hopes and fears, 
 as I really am, with refped to their fmiles or frov/ns, 
 I fnould, perhaps, bedcterred,byoneorotlierof thofe 
 flaviih pafTions, from writing my fentiments with 
 the freedom of an Englifhman. This is not a de- 
 claration of war, it is only to befpeak peace. I 
 fhall avoid to mention the names of individuals, but 
 of fuch whofe general condud is well known to 
 have deferved national honour, or national con- 
 tempt, and thefe I deem legal game, and fhall cry 
 them up, or hunt them down, as they occafionally 
 come in my way. If the word conqueft, caufes 
 the idea of that demi-god Clive, covered over with 
 laurels, adding the Afiatic continent to the Britilh 
 empire, to ru(h into my mind, or the unclafiical 
 
 word
 
 ( 59 ) 
 
 Vf ox <\ jobbing, drags there the paltry Knight, array- 
 ed in a bob wig and garb of a broker, pedling 
 away rich provinces, in lome dark alley near the 
 Royal Exchange, it will be all one to me ; I fliall 
 do juftice to both, without fear of, or partiality to, 
 any man, or body of men. I addrefs to the name 
 of Hajiings without his knowledge •, but that is to 
 draw the attention of the public, to whom, in fad, 
 I write, and at whofe tribunal I wifh to be tried. 
 
 There are many well meaning men, and good 
 citizens, who think that the government Ihould 
 take the opportunity of the Company's charter 
 being nearly out, to lay the trade to the Eaft In- 
 dies entirely open. At no period of time has this 
 notion been a juft one, as it relates to national 
 mercantile profperity. The trade to this dillanc 
 country, never can be carried on with advantage to 
 the public, but by an incorporated body, with con- 
 fiderable exclufive priviledges, and a very capital 
 flock, to enable them to maintain and fupport large 
 fa6tories in the different provinces of the Mogul 
 empire. Thefe faftories having one common in- 
 tereft in view, contribute to fupport one another. 
 If, by accident, the fhips of the Company fail of 
 a cargo at one, they proceed to another, and are 
 fure to be laden home with goods, within the li- 
 mited time for which they are chartered. By efta- 
 blifhing independent, and confequently rival houfes, 
 as is done in Europe, you Jofe this great advan- 
 
 ^
 
 ( 6o ) 
 
 tagc. All the governments in Hindooftan are en- 
 tirely defpotic. There are no written laws, to 
 which the whole body of the fubjects can indiffer- 
 ently appeal, and by the power of which, each 
 individual, whether native or alien, is defended in 
 perfon and property. The will of the prefent 
 reigning defpot is the law. And had the European 
 national companies, no other mode of having their 
 property fecured, than the will of every capricious 
 petty Prince, in whofe territory they may, for the 
 conveniency of commerce, chance to refide, nothing 
 could be fo uncertain and infecure. The trade 
 from Europe to Afia, differs in the modes of car- 
 rying it on, from that of all other traffic on the 
 face of the earth. The merchant muft have in 
 htm a power to prote6b his own property, from the 
 rapacity of the Prince in whofe territory he refides. 
 The Portugueze, the Dutch, the EngliPn, and the 
 French, ever fince their firft refort to India, by the 
 Cape of Good Hope, have been obliged to carry- 
 on their national traffic with arms in their hands. So 
 far arming is proper: but when this neceffary 
 principle of defence, comes to be changed for of- 
 fence, the military fpirit deftroys the mercantile. 
 To what a low and wretched (late are the Portu- 
 gueze now fallen ! How poor, trifling, and con- 
 temptible, is their trade to India in our days ! It 
 is little better with the French, fince the Englilh 
 Gripped them of their poffeffions in the lall war. 
 Even that little would foon be loft to them, but 
 
 for
 
 ( 6t ) 
 
 for that fclfifh narrow fpirit, which yet remains 
 amongft the managers in Leadenhall-Street. The 
 Dutch have firm footing in the Iflands of Java, the 
 Spice Illands, and on Ceylon. Whilil they hold 
 thofe poirefTions, their trade to India will continue 
 to be of great national importance ; when they 
 lofe thofe Iflands, their trade to Aiia will fink to no- 
 thing. They knaw its confequence, and will, as 
 long as they can, fupport it with the whole power 
 of their fhate. It fliould feem that there is no room 
 for any confiderable trade to be kept up from Eu- 
 rope to Afia, but by the maritime powers, as they 
 are called. The Dutch enjoy almoft the whole 
 trade on the eaftern fide of the Straits of Sunda and 
 Malacca, and the Englifli that of all India Proper, 
 to the weft of thofe Straits, except Ceylon. That 
 the French will make fonie efi-orts, and that per- 
 haps fliortly, to recover a greater portion of the 
 Afiatic trade, I think likely enough. If they fuc- 
 ceed, the EngliQi may thank themfelves- I dare 
 believe, that that truly great minifter, Mr. Pitt, 
 (fori hate to remember his tide,) hath many times 
 repented tiic having ahered his plan for attacking 
 the Ifies of France. He Lid ordered the Britifh 
 fquadron then in India, under the command of 
 Admiral Cornifh, to cruife off the Iflands of Mau- 
 ritius and Bourbon, where he propofed that it 
 ihould be joined by a confiderable force from Eu- 
 rope. The Admiral obeyed his orders, and con- 
 tinu«d to cruife until he had loll a thoufandfeamen, 
 
 and
 
 ( ^2 ) 
 
 and quite ruined the fquadron under his command. 
 No advice was fent, or, which was the fame thing, 
 none arrived to acquaint the Admiral, that 'John 
 \{ Bu/i had altered his refolution, and was gone to 
 beat his head againft Belleifle, on the coaft of 
 France, by which means the opportunity was loft, 
 cf putting an end for ever to the French trade to 
 Afia. Such opportunities feldom offer in the 
 courfe of human affairs. The great and penetra- 
 ting foul of Pitt faw it, and prepared to fnatch the 
 lucky moment. What fecret fpring in the Vv^heel 
 of government it was, which turned him afide 
 from putting an end to the war by fuch a noble 
 ftroke, that would have ftabbed to death, the poor 
 remains of the French power to theeaftward of the 
 Cape of Good Hope, hath never yet, and perhaps 
 never will tranfpire. 
 
 The fubje<fls of the European nations above 
 ^ mentioned, ever fince they fiift traded to India, 
 have been at war with the natives, or with one 
 another, as auxiliaries to the natives. Lay open 
 your trade, and you will have a houfe, cftablifhed 
 by the merchants in Lombard-Street, at war v^/ith 
 another fet up by thole of the city of Briftol, and 
 both attacked by the honourable fociety of merch- 
 ants from Liverpool. Here are no great wholefale 
 merchants, from whom you can obtain a large 
 quantity of ready wrought goods on demand ; and 
 for contractors, except you can protect and fup- 
 
 port
 
 ( 63 ) 
 
 port them, agalnfl: the rapacity of the officers of 
 their own government, and advance them the mo>- 
 ney for the goods you want, many months before 
 hand, they never can fupply you. Even the EaH: 
 India Company,, with all their wealth and all their 
 power, have every year, outftanding balances, re- 
 maining due to them from money advanced for 
 goods, which they never can recover, fufficient to 
 ruin private adventurers. Though I fpeak now of 
 Bengal, the fame is true of every other part of 
 India. The Dutch, with all the advantages of a 
 regular ellablifhed company, interwoven with, 
 and fupported by their ftate ; though they gain 
 confiderably on the fpices, tin, pepper, Batavia 
 arrack, &c. which their (hips import annually into 
 Bengal, from Batavia ; yet they find it extremely 
 difficult to procure a lading for two, or at moft 
 three, fhips from Bengal to Europe; and are be- 
 fides, fo great lofers on the whole, by their fadory 
 at Chinfura, on the banks of the Ganges, that 
 they moft certainly would withdraw their fervants, 
 was it not that they would, in that cafe, be obliged 
 to buy their muflins, raw filk, and fait petre, at 
 the port of London. This, and the advantages 
 they draw from the opium which they carry from 
 hence to Batavia, is the only motive to their con- 
 tinuing their Bengal trade. 
 
 Tome, who am extremely dull ofcomprehen- 
 iion, it appears very extraordinary, that the Dutch 
 
 have
 
 ( 64 ) 
 
 have found means to draw a line round the Moluc- 
 ca Iflands, which, on pain of confifcation of our 
 fliips, and death to the navigators, they forbid 
 us to approach -, who will not let us have a 
 clove grain, bit of mace, or fingle nutmeg, but 
 at their own price ; yet are permitted by us, to 
 carry out of this kingdom, as much opium and 
 
 V fait petre as they want. Serve them with the fait 
 petre and opium, in the fame manner they do us 
 with refpefl to the fpice trade ; put a flop to their 
 obtaining private bills at the amazing advantage of 
 fifteen per cent, difcounted by the drawer, and 
 Mynheer will wafli his hands of the Ganges, and 
 fend to London for the articles of trade, imported 
 
 ^ into Europe from this country. If this is the fitua- 
 
 tion of the trade to Bengal, of a rich, opulent, and 
 powerful company of merchants, trading to Afia 
 for more than one hundred and fifty years, with 
 every pofTible advantage, and it really is their 
 fituation at prefent, and has been for Ibme time, 
 how are private Englifh adventurers to benefit 
 themfelves, or their country, by the trade to Afia 
 being laid open. 
 
 I KNOW fome fenfible men in Calcutta, who have 
 expreffed concern, at the great refort of French 
 private fhips this feaibn to the river of Bengal, on 
 a fuppofition, that it portended certain advantages 
 to arife from that mode of condufling the French 
 Afiatic trade, which would probably increafe fo, 
 
 as
 
 ( ^5 ) 
 
 ji.s to become hurtful to the Englilh Eaft India 
 Company. As the importation of fifteen fhips 
 from Europe^ bearing French colours, in the 
 courfe of one feafod, and Ibme of them very capital 
 ones, carried a very formidable mercantile appear- 
 ance,* I was at fome pains to inveftigate this mat- 
 ter to the bottom -, and nothing can be more cer- 
 tain, than that if thofe private lliips depended only 
 on the gains to be made by their outward and 
 homeward bound cargoes, every man concerned in 
 them as owners, mud inevitably be ruined. The 
 amount of their invoices out, were in general very 
 trifling ; the articles, French cloth, copper, iron, 
 marine (lores, and French liquors of all forts. Moil 
 of thefe articles would not produce the Europe 
 price, and many of them were totally unfaleabie. 
 Such puny rivals will private adventurers ever 
 prove to a well ellabiiflied mercantile company; 
 For their homeward bound cargoes, befides the 
 unfavourable proceeds of their outward bound, 
 they brought thofe pernicious bills On private per- 
 fons, amounting in the whole to about 150,000/. 
 fterling. No provifion having been made of goods 
 with which to load them home, they are obliged 
 to take all kinds of cloth, the refufe of the Englifli 
 and Dutch Companies, very ill wrought, and at 
 much higher rates : And the whole amount of the 
 returning cargoes of thefe fifteen private Ihips, will ^v^ 
 
 /^This Letter was written in 1776. 
 
 E no:
 
 ( 66 ) 
 
 not equal the returns made to the Englifh Eaft Iri- 
 dia Company on four of theirs. Are fach traders 
 to be envied ? Can they continue long to be rivals 
 to the Englifh in this branch of trade ? It is im- 
 poflible. Yet to fuch a fituation (perhaps without 
 knowing, and therefore not intending it) would the 
 advocates for laying open the Englifh trade to Afia, 
 reduce this branch of the national commerce. 
 
 1 WOULD not trouble you, or myfelf, v/ith faying 
 more on the fubjed of thefe private traders with 
 French colours, could I confider them merely as 
 fuch •, but I conceive the foundation of the voyages 
 of thtfs pretended merchant lliips, to be deeper 
 laid than is generally imagined. Thofe who con- 
 ceive that the French nation will fubmit to be mere 
 private traders to Afia, longer than until they are 
 ready, and fee a favourable opportunity to have 
 another ftruggle with you for the fuperiority, have 
 a different opinion of French faith, and French po- 
 licy, to what I have.- 
 
 The internal refources of the French nation, 
 arifing from their form of government, and con- 
 nefted fituation of the kingdom, enable them to 
 Ihake off any difficulties under which they may la- 
 bour, after a long and unfuccefsful war, much 
 Iboner than any other ftate in Europe. They have 
 not been idle, or bad economifts, for the lafl four- 
 teen years. The peace of Paris was a bitter pill 
 
 for
 
 ( C7 ) 
 
 for theni to fwallow, nor have they yet digefled If, 
 At the Ifles of France, Pondicherry, Chanderder- 
 nagore, and their other places of abode in Afia, 
 they do what they can to recover their mercantile 
 influence. Tiiefe fettlemcnts are fupported by the 
 ftate, and muft continue fo to be, until by foms 
 favourable ftroke, they recover from the fliocksre- 
 teived in the iaft war. Trading in private fhipS 
 Only, will never efFe6t that, 1 am not of opinion 
 that they will rifl^ a war with great Britain, merely 
 on account of the Afiatic trade ; but that they are 
 preparing in all quarters of the globe, to make 
 another effort to recover their mercantile influence, 
 I think is plain enough. 
 
 Every one of the private trading iliips which 
 come to India, touch, at the French Iflands. They 
 bring out men, ftores, and provifions, to the 
 Iflands, and to Pondicherry, for which they receive 
 a freight from the government. Thofe of them 
 which come to Bengal, carryback, on the King's 
 account, fait petre, rice, wheat, peas, oil, ghee, 
 and other provifions, for which they are alfo paid 
 a freight. Thefe freights out and home, thougii 
 butfmall, yet when added to the little they gain 
 by their trade, will jufr ferve to pay their expencesj 
 and keep alive a Ipirit of mercantile adventure in 
 the nation, until better times. In the interim, the 
 government are forming magazines, and training 
 Teamen, AYhen they are ready to ftrike, they will 
 
 E 2 Ibike. 
 
 /N
 
 ( 63 ) 
 
 ftrike. But to conceive that the French, or th(? 
 lubjetfls of any other nation, can carry on a private 
 trade to India, with the lead profpecl of advantage 
 to themfelvcs, or their country, whilft they are 
 oppofsd by fuch opulent and well eftablifiied 
 Companies as the Englifli and Dutch, fliews great 
 ignorance in the nature of the trade, by the Cape ot- 
 Good Hope to the Eaft Indies. 
 
 The Portugueze firft difcovered the abovemerf- 
 tioned rout by fea to Afia. They begged fome 
 few fpots of ground from the natives, on which to 
 fettle themfelves at firft, bought others, and ftole 
 the remainder. The fuperiority of their difcipline, 
 and the ufe of fire arms, gave them [o great an ad- 
 vantage over the pufiUanimous, inoffenfive natives 
 of Afia, that in a few years, they poiTefiTed moft 
 of the good trading ports on the fea coaft all over 
 India. Had they left at home, their priefts and 
 their fuperftilion, and could have prevented the 
 fubje(5ts of the other nations of Europe, from fol- 
 lowing them by the fame rout, their empire in Afia,- 
 might have become permanent and durable. Buc 
 their great rivals the Dutch and Englifh, who had 
 laid afide their ridiculous reverence for the fee of 
 Rome, came for cloth and fpice, and not to make 
 v^N;;\profelytes, or depopulate whole regions, to ftock 
 Heaven with unwilling Chriftians ■, and being fub- 
 je6ts of flates better fituated, better governed, 
 and of a genius every way better calculated to en- 
 
 eourao-e
 
 ( % ) 
 
 courage and fupport an extenfive commerce, they 
 Toon circumvented and diflodged the men, whofirft 
 fhewed them the way by lea, to thefe rich mercan- 
 tile regions. 
 
 Bigotry and fuperftition, which at firft infa- 
 tuated and mifled the Portugueze, in thtrir ma- 
 nagement of their new Afiatic empire, is at length, 
 by a ftrange turn in human affairs, become of fome 
 ufetothem. In that wild, romantic, and barba- ^ 
 rous attempt, of forcing the native Hindoos of all 
 denominations, to become Chriftians, they formed 
 a numerous body of ftrange animals, in the fhape 
 of human beings, called country born Portugueze 
 Chriftians. Thefe inhabit the fea coaft formerly 
 held by their creators, whofe every bad quality 
 they have imbibed, together with their fuperftition, 
 to which they have added quantum fufficient of 
 their own Pagan rights, which together, make up 
 the moft monftrous reprefentation of original 
 Chriftian purity, that the higheft enthufiaftic ima- 
 gination can poffibly conceive. Thefe veterans, 
 to a man, adhere to the caufe of the Portugueze, 
 and by pedling, picking, and ftealing, contribute 
 all in their power, to fupport thofe fhadows of the 
 antient Portugueze grandeur in Afia ; the cities of 
 Goa and Damaun, on the coaft of Malabar; Mo- 
 fambique, on the eaftern fide of Africa j and Ma- 
 cow, in China. But the furrounding independent 
 inhabitants, th^ Mahrattas, Co'fFrees, and Chinefe, 
 
 defpife,
 
 ( 70 ) 
 
 defpife, and treat them with the ntmoft degree oF 
 contempt. In this low, miferable, and helpkTs 
 flate of their Afiatic fettlements, what advantage 
 doth the Fortugueze nation draw, from granting 
 licenfes to private fhips to trade to India ? None 
 at all. And in cafe of a war with either of the 
 maritime powers in Europe, they would be driven 
 out from every one of them in the courfe of one 
 year. 
 
 yj The Dutch have fucceeded to mod of the Per-- 
 
 tugueze original fettlements in India. But their 
 trade on the weftern fide is greatly decayed j and 
 but for fome miftakes, and 1 think, unneceflary 
 connivances in the Englifh, would have long fince 
 funk to nothing. I fay unneceluiry, becaufe they 
 are by no means, an open, generous, fpirited rival 
 in trade ; heavy, lelhQi, jealous, and gormandiz- 
 
 . / ing. They have engroffed alm.oit the whole trade 
 of the eaftern fide of India. The Englilh, and the 
 Engliih only, have one prefidency, and a few out 
 factories, on the weft coaft of Sumatra. On thefe 
 the Dutch at Batavia, have ever looked with a jea- 
 lous eye. At their defire, and with their conni- 
 vance, the Count d'Eftaing broke his parole, and 
 failed from the Mauritius, in the late war, with ^ 
 fmall force, and deftroyed them ; and by the fame 
 means they will be deftroyed, while the French 
 poffefs the Illands, and the Dutch hold Java, \vher> 
 ever there is a war in Europe between Great Britain 
 
 an4
 
 ( 70 
 
 and Fiance. I fliall fay nothing of Balambangam : 
 the plan iifclf was a foolilli one, formed by an en- 
 thuiiaft, and adopted by the Company, more with 
 an intention to ferve particular perfons, than with 
 a view to public good. But Jones is dead, and 
 Herbert ruined, and the Dutch, liice the Devil, 
 grown wifer than of yore. They afled themfelves 
 at Aniboyna : Agents did the bufinefs full as vvdi 
 at Balambangam. If you fay this laft is conjecture, 
 and may be faife, I reply I have a right to rifk it. 
 I well know the national charafler, and mercantile 
 policy, of the people of whom I fpeak. I faw, 
 and felr, their attempt on Bengal, in the year 
 1759. '^^^ national interefl", hor.our, and the 
 lives of all the King of England's l^jbjeds then in 
 Bengal, depended on the adlvity, fteadinefs, and 
 undaunted courage, of one great man, and he 
 faved them from Aniboyna part the fecond. Alas ! 
 poor Clive ! Accept here a tear of gratitude, (hed 
 in honour of thy memory, by a lover of Old Eng- 
 land. 
 
 Nick Frog could not be made happier, than by 
 feeing his old rival, John Buil^ become fo muddy 
 headed, as to lay the trade of Afia open to all his 
 tenants •, becaufe I fuppofe the wit of man 
 could not devife a fcheme, fo likely to give the 
 Dutch the afcendency over the Englifh in their trade 
 to India. I could very well defcribe the treatment 
 fingliHi private fhips would meet v/ith at Dutch 
 
 portSj
 
 ( 72 ) 
 
 ports, to which they might refort in qnefi; of car- 
 goes, but it might be thought invidious -, for the 
 proverb fays it is not proper that the truth fhould 
 be fpoken at all times, and here, 1 hope, it would 
 be needlefs : for furely that day will never come, 
 when our rulers Ihall be fo wanting to their duty, 
 as to try fuch an experiment, ^s that of laying open 
 the trade to Afia. 
 
 The Danes poffefs a fmall fettlement or two, on 
 the coaft of Malabar-, Tranquebar, on the coaft 
 of Coromandel ; and Fort Frederick, in Bengal, 
 Their trade has neither increafcd nor diminifhed 
 much for a long courfe of years. They a6t pru* 
 dently and fairly with the natives, have force 
 enough to fecure the property of the merchant liv- 
 ing under their protection, and their trade being- 
 confined to three or four fhips in a feafon, not very 
 richly laden, they manage fo as to carry it on very 
 quietly, and within their ov/jn bound?. They pay 
 court to the Englifh, and receive many favours 
 from them, who could, if fo inclined, annihilate 
 their trade in a month. But Bull and Frog are ani- 
 mals of different natures and difpofitions, and con-? 
 fequently aft differently in fimilar fiiuations. I 
 Jiaye no quarrel with the Danes, yet I could willi 
 to fee them oblio;ed to brino- filver to Beno;al, to 
 pay for their goods as heretofore, inftead of bills, 
 and this refts with us, and not with them. Simple 
 |S is their fnanner of condi^ding their trade, weal;
 
 ( 73 ) 
 
 as in reality their forts and faflories are, deprive 
 them of them, and at once their trade is no more,- 
 They could not give the merchant, manufaftiirer, 
 and weaver, the neceiTIiry proteftion, and without 
 if, in vain would they attempt to carry it on by 
 fingle private fliips, or houfes of commerce, which 
 cannot exift in Alia, but by force, or at leaft the 
 appearance of it, and by a body of native merch- 
 ants and traders, collefted together by degrees, 
 lodged and protefted within your own diftri6l?, 
 and habituated to your cuftoms and manners for a 
 long courfe of years. Such in general is the fitua- 
 tion of the trade, carried on by the feveral ftates of 
 Europe, round the Cape of Good Hope to Alia. 
 The Swedes, indeed, have fome trifling traffic that 
 way, but it is moftly to China. The Spaniards 
 have hitherto kept poffeffion of the town and har- 
 bour of Manilla, with the furrounding iflands on 
 the coaft of Luconia, from a mixed principle, 
 made up of delpotic pride and fuperftition. Its 
 mercantile advantages are very trifling; for it 
 ferves only to convey a few of the manufatlures of 
 Afia, to the Spanilli dominions in the South Seas. 
 There is a kind of law eftabliflied among the trad- 
 ing nations in Europe, which prefcribes their rout 
 to thofe iflands by the Pacific Ocean ; but the law 
 of nature points out a more dire<5t way, by the 
 Cape of Good Hope, and the Straits of Malacca, 
 Sunda, or Batty. Since the capture of Manilla by 
 ^he Englifh in the late warj the Spaniards have 
 
 j>ai4
 
 ( 74 ) 
 
 paid more attention to it. The country round is 
 fruitful and populous. There are vail numbers of 
 that motley race of mortals, whofe religion is made 
 up of Chriftianity and Paganifm •, but thefe being 
 a compound of Spaniard and Malay, they are a 
 ftouter, and more robufl: race of people, than thofe 
 which fpring from the Portugueze ingrafted on the 
 Hindoo. The Spaniards will not pay you the ran- 
 fom money for the town, but would have no ob- 
 jeflion to return your vifit to fome of your fettlo- 
 ments on the coaR of Coromandel. Since the late 
 war, they have prohibited the Englifh from ap- 
 proaching thofe iflands under any pretence whatfo- 
 ever. For my part, I do not know a place in the 
 world, where a large body of forces may be difci- 
 plined, and prepared to a6t, with greater fecrecy, 
 than at thofe iflands. A perfon the lead conver- 
 fant in the nature of the trade and monfoon winds, 
 which prevail in the Indian Seas, will difcover at 
 one view, with what facility a jun6lion could be 
 formed of the French forces at the French Iflands, 
 and the Spaniards at Manilla, in order to attack 
 your fettlemcnts in India, A Spanifh fquadron, 
 or fingle fhips, with military ftores, and a good 
 corps of officers, may fail from Europe declaredly 
 for the Weft Indies, and pafs the Cape of Good 
 Hope, and fo through the Straits of Sunda to the 
 Manillas, where there is no want of flout refolute 
 fellows, religioufly attached to the fervice. Difci- 
 pline makes foldiers, and here is no want of mcn^ 
 i The
 
 ( 75 ) 
 
 The neighbourhood of that rich, plentifut, and 
 populous town of Batavia, will be no hindrance 
 to (uch an attempt. As I know the conduft the 
 Dutch held at the Ifland of Carrack, in the Gulf 
 of Perfia, when the Englilli loft their fettlement at 
 Bundarick ; their behaviour at Batavia, when the 
 French took Bencoolen ; and faw the whole of 
 their attempt on Bengal, under Colonel Rufieli, 
 in 1759-, I own I am fully perfuaded, that they 
 •will never omit an opportunity of fhaking our 
 power in India, even though in the attempt, they 
 rifked a partof theirown. With fuch numerous, 
 powerful, and irreconcileable m.ercantile rivals on 
 all fides of you, is this the time proper for trying 
 experiments ? Surely no man will anfwer in the 
 afHrmative. 
 
 The ample and permanent territorial pofTeflions 
 row held by the Eaft India Company, give to the 
 Englifh nation, that exclufive right to the trade to 
 Afia, with refpeft to the other nations in Europe, 
 (the Dutch excepted,) which charters granted 
 formerly to particular focieties in each flate, were 
 fuppofed to have conveyed to individuals. What 
 then would be the confequence of laying open the 
 trade to Afia, but the giving back to our rivals^ 
 |:he advantages which, at an immcnfe expence of 
 blood qind treafqre, we have acquired over them ? 
 
 Tt?«
 
 ( 76 ) 
 
 The duties, and other impofts, on the Afiatic 
 goods, imported by the Company, bring a neat 
 million fterling into the national coffers. It incrsafes 
 annually, and will continue to increafe, while 
 proper attention is paid to this beneficial branch of 
 national commerce. Numbers of individuals g-row 
 rich by the fame means which are ufed to fill the 
 national fpunge : And Montefquieu will tell you, 
 that immenfe fortunes acquired by merchants in the 
 way of trade, though it increafes luxury, is by no 
 means prejudicial in a monarchial ftate. 
 
 The regular forces kept on foot at the Compa- 
 ny's different provinces in Afia, amount to fixty 
 thoufand effeftive men ; thefe give the neceffary 
 proteftion to the trade we carry on, and are paid 
 out of the furplus proceeds of the territorial re- 
 venue. They are cloathed in Britifh cloth, and 
 are at all times ready to oppofe to our Europeari 
 invaders, or Afiatic enemies. A good miniftry 
 will watch over the managers of this rich mercan- 
 tile mine, but be very cautious how they wantonly 
 change the eflablilhed mode of management, 
 
 I REALLY dont know how your fyllematical 
 writers contrive to keep fo cooly clofe to the matter 
 in hand j here am I now quite at a lofs, whether I 
 fhould return back to my plans for connefting and 
 extending the Company's Afiatic commerce, or 
 noWj, that I have got hold on the military eflablilh- 
 
 rnent^
 
 ( 77 ) 
 
 ment, whether I had not better proceed at once to 
 carry on the lines of communication^ between the 
 Company's troops Oationed at Bengal and Bombay, 
 by extending the chain of pofts from Calcutta, by- 
 Allahabad, to Agra, to Delhi^ to Poonah, and 
 lb round by Surat to Bombay ; then fly down the 
 coafl of Malabar to Anjango •, there crofs over the 
 peninfula through the kingdom of Travancore, 
 Myfore, all through the Carnatic, to Madrafs, 
 and on again to Mafulipatan, Ganjam, Catrack, 
 Midnapore, and fo home to Calcutta. Here is a 
 pretty little circle for you : Pray, Sir, take the 
 map, and obferve how eafily all this is to be effed- 
 ed, and how finely it furrounds and fecures to you, 
 the whole, or greateft part of the trading inhabitants 
 of India Proper. But I am deterred from mount- 
 ing a poney to whofe paces I have not been accuf- 
 tomed, by obferving the ridiculous and contemp- 
 tible figure a man exhibits, who will be meddling 
 out of his own profeffion. General John Claver-^ 
 ing knows juft as much of forming plans for col- 
 lefting the revenue, providing an inveftment, 
 dreffing opium, or making fait, as I do of marches 
 and counter marches. Prithee, old veteran^ dif- 
 mount from that unfeemly hobby-horfe, which pro- 
 vidence hath not given you the talents to manage^ 
 and no longer rifk the national intereft, and your 
 own neck, by obllinately attempting to govern an 
 animal, that ftoops to nothing but gentle ufage, 
 common honefty, and common fenfe. 
 
 This
 
 C 7S ) 
 
 This lafl: digreflion, which hath flolen on nie t 
 know not how, has funk my fpirits into a kind of 
 ilate of defpondency. 1 fancy that I fee the glo- 
 rious mercantile edifice, which, for a long courfe 
 of years, I have been wifhingto fee perfected, fink- 
 ing down to ruin, and crumbling into dull. 
 
 The perfidious, enthufiaftic, and fuperRitious 
 condu<5t of the Portugueze, on their firft fettling in 
 Afia, gave the Princes of the country a very indif- 
 ferent opinion of the fenfe and morals of the Euro- 
 peans, who had found a way by fea to their domi- 
 nions. The bloody quarrels which foori after 
 enfued, betv/een the firil comers and their iriime-* 
 diate followers, did not remove their prejudices. 
 They foon difcovered, that to gain a point in trade 
 over their rivals, thefe bold and daring vifitors 
 would facrifice every idea of honour and good faith. 
 The firft inducement for brin2;in2; about a com- 
 mercial intercourfe between the inhabitants of the 
 eaft and weftern feftionof the globe, viz. a friendly 
 and equitable exchange of the European articles 
 of trade for thofe cf Afia, was forgotten or laid 
 afide. Treaties ofFenfive and defenfive, v/ere en- 
 tered into ; and the indolent, pufil'animous Afiatic 
 defpor, furrendered the valuable mercantile com- 
 modities of his country, to thofe among the ncvf 
 comers, \tho couid beft defend him from, or re- 
 venue him of his enemieSc 
 
 This
 
 ( 79 ) 
 This joining a fpiric for conquefi, to the eager 
 mercantile avidity which firft gave motion to the 
 adventurers, introduced anew principle of conducft, 
 greatly injurious, if not abfolutely deftructive, of 
 their true interefl. It would lead me too far from 
 the fubje(5l which firft prompted me to the writing 
 of thefe Letters, or I could prove by a great num. 
 her of inconteftible facT:s, that the firft caufe of the 
 decline of the power of the Portugueze, the French, 
 and of the prefent debilitated, feeble, declining 
 ftate of the Dutch commerce in India, was entirely 
 owing to their injudicioufiy mingling too great a 
 portion of the military leaven in their mercantile 
 polity, and an unnatural ingraftment of military 
 heads on mercantile bodies. I could wifh our ru- 
 lers would feriouQy confiderthis matter, and take 
 warning from the fate of their neighbours. 
 
 Before the war which terminated at Aix-Ia- 
 Chapelle in 1748, the Englifli had kept pretty 
 clofe to their firft mercantile principle. So far 
 were they from thinking of making conquefts, 
 that they fuff'ered on the coaft of Malabar, at Ben- 
 gal, and in many other parts of India, many inju- 
 ries and infults, from the native Princes and their 
 officers. The few troops they had, were rather for 
 fhow than ufe; and thofe were ftationed within their 
 fa<ftories, to cover them from the ravan;es of free- 
 booters, and not to annoy the furrounding country 
 powers. In this ftate they carried on an extenfivc 
 
 and
 
 ( ^o ) 
 
 and beneficial branch of trade ; protected by tlicJ 
 warlike charadter, and great maritime power, of 
 the Hate to which they were fubjeds, until the' reft* 
 lefs ambition of the French on the coaft of Coro- 
 mandel, called them forth to a6tion. On this ftagc 
 the great Clive firft made his appearance in a mili- 
 tary charadter, and by his example, roufed the 
 martial genius of his countrymen, and dragged the 
 cautious, prudent meafurer of cloth, from behind 
 the counter to the camp. Their appearance there 
 was become neceiTary and juftifiable ; for it was in 
 defence of tiie priviledges and immunities, which 
 had been granted to them by the Mogul Princes,- 
 as a body of Englifh merchants, trading under the 
 fandbion of a royal phirmaun to their dominions. 
 The confcqucnces of that war, and tiie fucceeding 
 one with the country powers, are well known ; but 
 they have led the Englifli Eaft India Company very 
 far from the original intention, and nature of their 
 conftitution, and have opened a wide door for in- 
 novation. There is yet time and opportunity, for 
 them to revert back to firft principles. Armed 
 thy are, and armed they muft remain, in order to 
 keep up the influence they have (I may fay) acci- 
 dently acquired •, but there is no necelTity for their 
 running the rifle of meeting the fate of their prede- 
 cefiTors, contemporaries, and rivals in India, by 
 changing their government from a civil mercantile 
 body, into a military defpotifm. How near they 
 have lately approached to this fatal change, the 
 
 conduft
 
 ( 8i ) 
 
 ccnducft of General Claveringand Colonel Monfon 
 ar Bengal, and of General Sir Robert Fletcher and 
 Colonel Stewart at Madrafs, are evidence fufficient. 
 
 If the placing General Clavering at Bengal, 
 General Carnac at Bombay, and General Fletcher 
 or Colonel Stewart at Madrafs, is to prepare the 
 way for changing thofe mercantile prefidenGies into 
 tnilitary governments, like Gibraltar or Mahon, or 
 as a preparative for taking the garrifons into the 
 hands of government, and laying open the trade 
 to Afia, I fiiall be forry for it •, and feel again that 
 difagreeable fenfation, which weighed down my 
 heart, on the firfl. intelligence we received here, 
 that a civil war had broke out in America. The 
 Ions of Britain united, may brave the world to armsc' 
 Divided, what will they prove, but the poor Pna- 
 dows of a declining flate, Vv'hofe name and great 
 adlions may, like that of the ancient Romans, be 
 handed down to pofterity, but the government, or 
 the people themfelves, be no more to be found ? 
 Or if continuing to exifl, will be reprefented as 
 modern Rome, and the miferable Italians, do the 
 old midrefs of the world, and her hardy veteran"^. 
 If the Englidi trade to Afia is to be laid open, the 
 Crown muft take polleffion of the Company's land.s, 
 forts, and garrifons. The intereft of the ftate and 
 of individuals, v/ill be different ; and though 
 enough may be dragooned out of the natives, to 
 pay the wages of their mafters in leaflet robes, 
 
 F how
 
 V 
 
 C 82 ) 
 
 how IS tlie furplus, fLould any remain, to be remit- 
 ted to the Englifli ireafury r Not in fpecie, for wc 
 (hall have none left : not by private traders, for 
 they will be rivals to one another, and fmugglers in 
 theftate. Thofeofthem will be the moft favour- 
 ed, who (hall find the means to ftand higheft in the 
 opinion of the military defpot, prcfiding at each 
 of the prefidencies. Hath it ever yet in the courfe 
 of human affairs been known, that military gover- 
 nors, fet over the didant provinces of a ftatc, have 
 pioved themfclves friends to liberty, or promotersof 
 trade ? Thofe v/ho expeft it of them, have attend- 
 ed very little to the influence a prejudice contraded 
 by education, hath over the human mind. 
 
 The man who wifiies, or hopes, to make thef 
 natives of Bengal ufeful to Great Britain, muft 
 ftridtly follow your plan of increafing the confump- 
 tion, and exportadon of the furplus grain, and 
 manufactures of this kingdom. The cultivator 
 of the foil, and manufadurer of the cloth, and 
 other articles of the export trade, are fo blended 
 and coni:iecled together, that the oppreffion 
 or injury offered to one, is immediately felt by 
 ^ the other. On the principles on which the 
 Eafl India Company are founded, and the efta- 
 blifned mode by which their affairs are now under 
 your management condufled, every good national 
 purpofe for holding thefe provinces, is anfwered. 
 The moment you change the form of governmenr, 
 
 and
 
 ( i3 ) 
 
 and lay the trade open,- every good now accruing 
 io the Englilh nation, will be loll:. 
 
 I KNOW thfit tliere afe many well meaning men, 
 who think that the Britiih empire is become too 
 cxtenfive and unweildy, to be longer properly go- 
 verned on the principle of a fimple or limited mo- 
 narchy, and that the introdu6lion of niilitary go- 
 vernors into its diftanc provinces, is but a natural 
 fymptom of its near approach to dcfpotifm, Tho' 
 I mufl own that there are many ftrong arguments 
 in favour of th^t opinion, yet I hope that there is 
 fpirlt and ftrength enough left in the conftitution, 
 to enable it to revert bick in time to its firft princi- 
 ples. There is not a doubr, but that too great a 
 portion of the military fpirir, hath been introduced 
 into the management of the affairs of the Eaft India 
 Company abroad. 7 he influence acquired by the 
 miniftry in Lcadenhall- Street, will not leffen that 
 fpirit. An opportunity will foon offer, from the 
 expiration of the Company's charter, to new ma. 
 del the form of government in thefe diftanc pro- 
 vinces. There are two things which muff be a- 
 voided at that crirical period, both of which, I 
 itiuch fear, the miniilry will labour to effcd, be- 
 caufe they will prepare the way for the introdu6tior> 
 of defpotifm, to which the princes and minilfers^ 
 in all the monarchies that have ever yet appeared 
 on the face ot the earth, have had a ftrong propen- 
 fity, I riiean by taking the Company's landed pof- 
 
 F ?. Idlions 
 
 V 
 
 /^
 
 ( U ) 
 
 Teflions into the hands of government, and incoi*- 
 porating the India flock with the national debt, 
 for which they will grant government fecurity, and 
 lay open the trade to Afia. Let any man who 
 thinks thefe fears chimerical, advert to what large 
 ftrides have been made by a venal Houfe of Com- 
 mons, within thefe laft twelve years, towards fur- 
 nifhing the Prince with the powers of an abfolute 
 government. 
 
 Every one of the nations who have traded to 
 Afia by the Cape of Good Hope, commenced with 
 the true fpirit of merchants, juftice, equity, punc- 
 tuality, and moderation. Whilfl they adhered to 
 thofe principles, their trade flourifhed, and ex- 
 tended over all Afia j but when, intoxicated by 
 fuccefs, and allured by ambition, they negleded 
 thofe prudent maxims, or changed them, by ad- 
 mitting by degrees, too great a portion of the 
 military fpirit, from that period their influence as 
 merchants declined. The chicanery of politics, the 
 blaze of war, and clafh of arms, kept up the ball 
 for a time, but thefe produced their ufual fruit— 
 opprelTion, poverty, flavery, and rags. Where is 
 now the grandeur and pride of Ormus, and of 
 Goa ? Sunk even lower than that of Pondicherry 
 and Chandernagore ; and the condition of thefe 
 are, God knows, miferable enough. 
 
 It mufl: be admitted, that the nature of the Brr- 
 tifh government, the fpirit and genius of her peo- 
 ple.
 
 ( 85 ) 
 
 pie, her naval power, and peculiarly happy fitusr 
 tion, promifes a longer duration to her empire, 
 than has hitherto happened to any preceding one 
 which has hitherto appeared on the face of the 
 earth. But all this will not prevent her decline, if 
 the principles on which (he was governed, ih raifing 
 to fuch imperial greatnefs as fhe now enjoys, be 
 regleJled and forgotten, Jf the military fpirit fup- ^ 
 plants the mercantile, in any part of her wide ex- 
 tending dominions, that part will firft be fenfible of 
 the change : nor would any part of her vaft empire 
 decline fo foon, in conlequence of fuch a change, 
 as her Afiatic provinces. They pay their tribute 
 in rich merchandize. The colle6lors of this tribute 
 mull be trained up merchants, who muft alfo pof- 
 fefs the civil power, and hold the purfe ftrlngs. 
 To this power the military muft be fubordinate, or 
 the whole will degenerate into tyranny, under whofe 
 baleful influence, no mercantile plant can ever 
 ^ourifli. 
 
 Whoever fiiall be minifter at the termination 
 of the old charter, if he wifhes to increafe the 
 power of the crown by any poffible means, without 
 regard to the true intereft of the nation, the cant 
 will be renewed, of the impropriety there is in a 
 company of merchants holding kingdoms in fubjec- 
 tion, and polTciring, .in bar to all other of his Ma- 
 jefty's fubjeds, an exclufive right to fo extenfive 
 an,d beneficial a branch of trade as that to Afia. 
 
 Myriads 
 
 .'N
 
 ( S6 ) 
 
 Myriau's of pamphleteers will be employed, fet 
 fpeeches will be made, and the great leviathan will 
 be amuled with a barrel, whilfi: the ftate projeclors 
 run away with the fl:iip. That is, the Company'^ 
 original flock, with what the minifler lliall pleafe 
 to allow them for their forts, garrilons, lands, and 
 tenements, will be, in the language of '(Change- 
 Alley, confoUdated. King's officers will be fer.t to 
 govern thefe mercantile provinces, the Eall India 
 Company annihilated, and the trade laid entirely 
 open to all his Majefty's fubjefts ; and the folid, 
 and almoft exclufive benefits, now enjoved by the 
 Englifli nation, divided amongft all the nations of 
 the world-, and all this brought about to fecure the 
 Miniftry thirty additional votes in the Houfe of 
 Commons. This is one fide of the picture ; bu? 
 thank God, there is yet another not fo glaring per- 
 haps, but infinitely m* re fjjidj for it hath truth, 
 experience, and national profperity, for its objeft. 
 
 V There is not a man, the lead converfant in the 
 
 nature of commerce, but will admit, that it would 
 be more for the intereft of a kingdom, confiituted, 
 governed, and fituated, like Great Britain, to fend 
 to Afia, a million ftcriing annually in bullion, and 
 have the returns in the articles of merchandize, 
 than to receive double ihe fum from thef^ provin- 
 ces in fpecie, by v.'ay of tribute, without any trade 
 at ail. How infinitely more advantageous will her 
 intercourle with thefe provinces be, when k fnall 
 
 be
 
 C S; ) 
 
 be made to appear, that the managers of this great 
 and important branch of national commerce, have 
 i;: in their power, without fraud, rapine, or any 
 other illegal means, to export annually to a certain 
 fale In India, a million and a half worth of the 
 wrought manufa6lures of the naiion •, and to niake 
 returns from Alia to the port of London, in rich 
 articles of Afiatic merchindize, which would find 
 ready falc in Europe, to the full and neat amount 
 of 4,500,000/. fterling annually. I have as clear 
 an idea of the manner how the above .exports and 
 imports may, with fa'^ety, eafe, and honour to 
 Great Briain, be effefled. as I have of any of the 
 mofl fimple propofition in arithmetic ; and when I 
 fat down to write thefe Letters, I conceived that it 
 was very eafy to communicate the idea to you, Sir, 
 and others, whofe interefb, as well as duty, it is, 
 to know it as well as I do ; but in attempting the 
 elucidation, I have found difficulties, of which, at 
 firfl, I had not the Icaft conception. We have, 
 in the long ftruggle for power, which has been 
 ]:ept up with various fuccefs, and with various forts 
 of enemies, for m.ore than twenty years, deviated 
 widely from our firft principles. Corruptions, 
 mifmanagements, deviations, lind innovations, 
 have vitiated the original conftitunon of tiie Com- 
 pany. A military fpirit hath grown up, and almoft 
 fupprcfild the mercantile fpirit; and this hath 
 cauled fo j^reat a chancre in the order of thino;'^, that 
 } have frequently found, that though my pollula-
 
 C 88 ) 
 
 turns and reafoning thereon, were true, and appli- 
 cable to the conftitution of the Company, as a 
 mercantile body, yet appeared chimerical, and al- 
 mofl: ridiculous, when applied to them in their pre- 
 fent unfettled flate. They are become fomeihing 
 more than merchants, and Icfs than fovereign 
 Prince?, Whilft the managers at home, fay that 
 trade is their only object, their military fervants 
 abroad pant afrer conqueri:?. They are precifely 
 in that dangerous fit ;ation, whfre fh;" Portugueze, 
 the Dutch, and the French, have been before 
 them. Security, profperity, and duration, point? 
 back to rheir firft principles. Ambition, avarice, 
 and faife pride, looks forward to conqueft and do- 
 minion •, and that will breed the worm which de- 
 flroyed the grandeur and mercantile influence, of 
 their pred'^cv'flbrs in Afia-, and if purfued, will ul- 
 timately deftroy them. If, at the approaching fa- 
 vourable crifis, of the termination of the Compa- 
 ny's charter, it fhali pleafe God to direft the hearts 
 of our rulers, to grant another charter, formed and 
 digefted on the true national mercaLtile principles, 
 where the military fhallbe totally fubfervient to the 
 civil power, the commanding officer having a feat 
 in council in military affairs only, and where the 
 Hate fhall referve to themTelves, a fufficient con- 
 trolling power over the Company, to prevent fo, 
 necefiTary and ufcful a body of men, from forming 
 srial fchemes, of raifing the dividends on the ftocic 
 into a bubble, to the difcredic of the nation, and 
 
 prejudice
 
 ( ^ ) 
 
 prejudice of individuals, on the one hand ; and on 
 the other, from finking into low, dark, defigning, 
 felfifli, ftock -jobbing pedlars, whofe fpirit and prin- 
 ciples is as foreign from that of a candid, ingeni- 
 ous body of Englifh merchants, as that of a band 
 of banditti, is from that of a corps of brave offi- 
 cers. I will here rifl<; one thought, which may 
 probably, if made a claufe of fome future act of 
 Parliament, or charter, be a check on the foremen- 
 tioned evils -, vii:. that the new Company Ihall di- 
 vide the firft year, no more than Jix per cent, the 
 ^ccondi feveUi and the third eighty at which it fliall 
 continue to be fixed, and never rife higher. That 
 all the furplus Hiall be formed into a ftock, (imilar 
 to the national finking fund, and fet apart to fup- 
 ply extraordinary contingencies, or be applied ta 
 make up the dividend eight per cent, if by lolTes at 
 fea, or other unfjrefeen accidents, the next annual 
 proceeds fliould fall fl:iort, and be infufficient for 
 that purpofe. And this furplus fund to be under 
 ;he controul of Parliament. 
 
 I HAVE already faid, that I ufed your name with- 
 put your knowledge. Indeed thefe Letters are of 
 fuch a nature, that they cannot be Ihewn to any 
 one for advice. One would objefl to their being 
 too bold •, another, that the reafoning is too gene- 
 ral •, and a third, that it is too particular. The 
 Direflors will be angry, and perhaps order the 
 ^.uihor home ; the military v/ill be for having 
 
 him
 
 J 
 
 C 90 ) 
 
 him tied up to the halbert-, the midiftry will laugf^ 
 at him j and the critics mince his lucubrations all 
 to all fcraps. But you. Sir, who know him very 
 well, and who, as I laid fomewhcre before, will 
 be called upon by your Prince and country, to 
 give your afiiftance in forming and digtfting a 
 code of laws, to be inferted in the new charter, 
 (if one is to be granted, which, for the honour and 
 happinefs of my native country, I hope will be the 
 cafe,) will bear with the blunders, incorrt-dions, 
 and other faults, in the hope of finding fome fcv/ 
 mercantile Ideas, which may be of ufe to you in 
 the great national undertaking; abovementioned. 
 
 This Letter is, by unforefeen digrelTion, become 
 already fo very long, that was 1 now to enter into a 
 difculTion of the matters propofed in the firfl parr, 
 it would fwell into a book. I (hall, therefore, dole 
 it here, and endeavour, in a third, which I will 
 take the liberty to addrefs to you, whether you 
 continue in the government or nor, to lay down a 
 plan, for combining and fixing the national trade 
 to Afia in fuch a manner, as v^ill make it perma- 
 nent, and for ever ufeful to the Englifh nationc 
 
 LETTER IIL
 
 ( 9« ) 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 FROM A 
 
 FREE MERCHANT In BENGAL, 
 
 T O 
 
 WARREN HASTINGS, E/^, 
 
 HONOURABLE SIR-, 
 
 I HAVE already addrcflcd to you two Letters on 
 the fubjeiSl of Afiatic commerce; this is a 
 third •, and lb interefting and unbounded is the fub- 
 jedl, I cannot promife that all I have to f^y, will 
 be included in this. 
 
 From the roofl: early period of time, Europe has 
 fupplied Afia with Qlver and gold, and received in 
 return, fpices, odoriferous gum?, rich filks, muflins, 
 and coarfe callicoes. The mines in Europe were 
 wrought to fupply this great drain, until the more 
 f ich ones in th? New World were difcovered. From 
 
 tha?
 
 ( 92 ) 
 
 that period, Spain imported from her American do- 
 minions, as much as was wanted for the ufebothof 
 Europe and Afia. To find out the tracks the pre- 
 cious metals found, by which to penetrate into the 
 interior parts of Hindooftan, would require a more 
 minute difcufllon, than is neceflary for my prefent 
 purpofe. Suffice it to fay, that from the River 
 Indus, along the coafts of Guzurar, Cambaya, and 
 Malabar, fouth, to CapeComorin, and from thence 
 northward, along the coaft of Coromandel and 
 Orifia, to the Ganges, there are difperfed great 
 numbers of rich trading cities, to which, both be-' 
 fore, and fince the difcovery of the pafiage round 
 the Cape of Good Hope, moft of the trading na- 
 tions of the earth, have found means to convey fil--- 
 ver and gold, which they gave in exchange for the 
 rich articles of merchandize, both wrought and un- 
 wrought, the produce of the great Afiatic peninfa- 
 )a, known by the name of India Proper. 
 
 The influence the Englilli Eafl India Company 
 have acquired in this rich and extenfive country, 
 in particular on the lea coafl, defcribed in the above 
 paragraph, is well known to every body. The 
 Portugueze, the Dutch, and the French, have, in 
 their turns, enjoyed great influence, and great 
 power i but by changing their conduct, and from 
 peaceable merchants becoming military tyrants, 
 their influence and power have funk to nothing, 
 and their names h-ive become names of reproach 
 
 over
 
 ( 93 ) 
 over all Afia. On their fird trading to India, the 
 line was very judicious, and carefully drawn be- 
 tween the civil and military power. The laft, 
 whilft trade was the fole objedt of tiieir employers, 
 were prudently held in a ftate of entire dependence 
 on the firft. They traded with arms in their hands, 
 it is true ; but it was more with a view to the fe- 
 curity of their own property, than with intention 
 to plunder that of others. When they had, by 
 fervile adulation, and byprelents to the Princes of 
 the country, obtained a grant of a fmall diftrifb 
 or territory, whereon to erect fa6tories, they wailed 
 them round, and the troops employed to guard 
 them, were permitted by the neighbouring Princes, 
 or dates, as things neceflary to the credit of an 
 opulent body of merchants, whom they permitted 
 as fuch to refide among them. Whilft this firft 
 principle of mercantile polity was flriclly adhered 
 to, and their troops were confidered as guards, or 
 watchmen fet over their merchandize, and only in- 
 creafed, as the faflories multiplied or extended, 
 the nation from whence they came, drew real be- 
 fit from their Afiatic commerce ♦, but no fooner 
 was this moderate mercantile fpirit vitiated by, or 
 changed for, that of the military, from that mo- 
 ment did the real intereft of their native country 
 decline in India. When leaving the profefTion of 
 merchants, they affeded to be conquerors, and 
 from private citizens, became fovereign Princes, 
 blinded and led on by their pafiions, they left be- 
 hind
 
 ( 94 ) 
 
 Mnd their firft principles, and the catdftrophe W'a^ 
 for ever, and at all times, inevitably the fame. 
 
 A Prince of the Blood of the Houfe of Rraganza, 
 afked an old Portugueze Admiral, what would be 
 the belt means to recover the national trade to In- 
 dia. " Recall four fifths of your troops, hang up 
 *' nine tenths of the priefls, apply the money which 
 " is fpent in maintaining of them, to augment your 
 " naval poweV,'* /aid the old veteran^ " and the 
 " trade will recover of itfelf." " I was fenr," faid 
 General Lally, " to India to ruin one Companyj 
 " and have ruined two.'* He did not advert fuffi' 
 ciently to one circumflance, which was, that the 
 Englidi Company had not, at that time, deviated 
 fo much from mercantile principles as the French 
 had done, or his obfervation would have been as 
 applicable to the conditicn of the former, as it was 
 to that of the latter. Lally's impatient militar;^ 
 fpirlt, finilhed the work Du PlefTis' ambition had 
 begun, and totally ruined the trade of France to 
 Afia. 
 
 The EngliQi Eafl India Company have fo far 
 deviated from their firfl principles, on the coad of 
 Coromandel, as to become military auxiliaries to a 
 rapacious defpot, inftead of a refpedable body of 
 merchants, in alliance with a powerful Prince, 
 whofe country they were meant to benefit, as well 
 as their own, by a due regulation of the tariff. The 
 
 troops
 
 ( 95 ) 
 
 iroops of the Nabob are now in arrears of pay i 
 for as that P/inee ektends his dominions, his fub- 
 jeds are but the more opprefied ; and as the mili- 
 tary fpirit increafes, the mercantile fpirit declines. 
 Another war in the Carnatic, will moR likely ruin 
 both, by transferring the power to other hands. 
 Lord Pigot faw this, and wiflied to prevent it, by 
 refloring the Tanjour country to its proper Prince ; 
 but the military fpirit had accjuired too great an af- 
 cendency in the Council at Madrafs. Thcfe mer- 
 cantile managers for the Company, had loft fight 
 of their firll profcffion. Inftead of attending to the 
 commercial concerns of their employers, or of their 
 own, they had lent tluir money, at high intereft, 
 to the Nabob, who could not pay them, but by 
 orievoufly oppreffing both his old and new fubjecls. 
 To enable him to do this, that they might draw 
 from him the advantages propofed, they violently 
 divefted his Lordiliip of the government. If this 
 manoeuvre dorh not bring after it the ruin of the 
 Carnatic, before the Company can interpofe, ic 
 will be becaufe the French pre not yet quite ready, 
 or that Hyder Ally is accidentally, and fortunately 
 for us, employed in fubduing the Dutch fettle- 
 ments on the IVIalabar coaH. 
 
 It may not be amifs to enquire here, how it has 
 happened that the Dutch, who contributed much 
 to drive the Portugueze out of India, have not 
 themfeives fuffered the fame fate from the French 
 
 or
 
 C 9^ ) 
 
 or the Engllfh. As to the French, they, from the 
 nature of their government, fet out with too great 
 a portion of the military fpirit, and that fpirit will 
 for ever prevent them from having any very per- 
 manent commercial eftablifhments in any part of 
 the world, far diftantfrom the parent Hate j as fuch 
 ellablilliments can only be prote6led by a great 
 naval power ; and a great naval power is imprac- 
 ticable for a monarchial ftate to form, and main- 
 tain for any long time, whofe principle of govern- 
 ment borders {^o nearly on defpotifm, as doth that 
 of France. A very fmall portion of the mercantile 
 fpirit, was mixed up in the government of the fet- 
 tlements they formed in Afia. The military fpirit 
 preponderated too much, and this added to the 
 lively capricious difpofition of the nation, hurried 
 them on to conquefi: and dominion, by which they 
 were themfelves ruined, before they had time to 
 fix themfelves fecurely, and attempt the ruin of 
 their rivals. Befides, a Frenchman will not deign 
 to quarrel with a Dutchman, whilfl an Englifhman 
 is to be found. Had they fucceeded in their attack 
 on Madrafs in the late war, the Englifli power in 
 India, would in confequence, have been extremely 
 reduced, and then the Dutch would not have efcapc:d 
 them long. The fettlcments of that Republic in 
 Afia, are precifely in the fame fituation as the Re- 
 public itfelf is in Europe ; they hang fufpended by 
 a fingle hair. It is neceflary to the balance of 
 power, accidentally eftabliflied between the leading 
 
 flates
 
 r 97 ) 
 
 flates ia Europe, that the Republic Hiould exlft; 
 and on that precarious tenor flie will exift, until 
 foine two or three of the leading dates on the con- 
 tinent, fliall have fettled among themfelves, io 
 what manner to fliare her fpails. The Englifh, 
 her natural friends, will interpofe, and may, for a 
 time, protradl her fall : but fall llic mufl:, and that, 
 perhaps, fooner than is generally imagined. When 
 the Dutch covertly aflift the French, to reduce the 
 power of the Englifli in Afia, they may be faid to 
 be infatuated, and totally blind to their real in- 
 terefts ; for their very being as a trading ftate in 
 Afia, depends on the power of the Englifh, more 
 than on their own. Here they are quite ripe for 
 deftrudion ; and but for the fortunately accidental 
 interpofition of the Englifil power, which the com- 
 mercial jealoufy of the Dutch will not permit therri 
 to fee, they would have been ruined long ago. Ri- 
 gid virtue, fevere economy, and unfullicd mercan- 
 tile probity, are the principles ort which their fta'e 
 v/as eftabliflied. How far they have adhtred to 
 their firfl principles, as it relates to their charafter 
 as a nation, or their fituation in Europe, I am not 
 here to examine ; but that they have forgot them 
 all in Afia, I lliali prefently make appear. It is 
 fomewhat ftrange, that the people of the colonics, 
 fent out, or planted, by a mercantile republic, as 
 well as the fubjecls which they acquire by foreign 
 conqueft^, have been governed on principles very 
 different from the fpirit which animated the parent 
 
 G ftate,
 
 ( 98 ) 
 
 {late, in all ages of the world •, but fo it is, and 
 ever has been •, and this may be proved by referen- 
 ces to the hiftory of the Tyrians, the Athenians, 
 the Carthaginians, Venetians, Genoefe, and Hol- 
 landers. How it comes to pafs that a people, 
 whofe fpirit of government is eftablifhed on virtue 
 and economy, Ihould, on the inilant they acquire 
 foreign dominions, call in a new principle by which 
 to manage them, and that the moft daftardly to 
 which the human mind is fubje6l, (fear,) and 
 thereby fow the feeds of their own deftruflion, is 
 to me inconceiveable.* The Ifland of Ceylon is 
 rich in various articles of merchandize, very ex- 
 tenfive, and prodigious fertile -, was formerly well 
 peopled, and well cultivated •, but fince the total 
 conqueft of it by the Dutch in the war of 1762, 
 when they lubdued tlie kingdom of Candy, it 
 
 * The writer, when thefe Letters were compofed in 1776, had 
 in his mind our injudicious attempt to tax the Americans, bylaws 
 to which they had not given their alTent. The confequences are 
 too well known, and includes another inftance of the folly of pa- 
 rent ftatcs, firft permitting colonies to become numerous^, and im- 
 bibe the fpirit of liberty and independence, and then make attempts 
 to enflave them. The Dutch fettlers at the Cape of Good Hope, 
 were on the point of iryrng their ftreagth with their parent ftate,- 
 when the late war intcrpofed, and roufed the Dutch from their 
 flumber at home ; and though they may find it difficult to caufc 
 (he French to withdraw their troops entirely from the Cape of 
 Good Hope, when ever that event fhali take place, they will fend 
 a fufficient number of their own, to overawe the colonifts ; if not, 
 the la'ter will foon fallow the example of America, and declare 
 theml'eives independent. 
 
 wears
 
 ( 99 ) 
 
 v^'fears a different face. The inhabitants are reduce"d 
 to nearly one half. The furvivors are perfect 
 flaves, and permitted to cultivate nothing but the 
 cinnamon tree and pepper fhrub ; for the produce 
 of whic^h, their tafkmafters allow them a moft ml- 
 ferable pittance. Was a foreign povVer to land on 
 the Ifland, the natives would revolt to a man. How 
 long they would have been free from fuch a vific, 
 and whac would have been the Confequences of it, 
 had the French fucceeded on the Coromandel coaft, 
 in the lace war, I will leave them to determine. 
 They have fubdued and lurrounded the Ifland of 
 Java in the fame manner. Here they draw their 
 principal advantage from the induHry of the Chi- 
 nek. But fo rigidly fevere is their government^ 
 both of the native Javans and of the Chinefe, and 
 fo ill affedled are both thofe cafts of people to iheir 
 defpotifm, that was a (Irong fquadron of fhips to 
 appear on their coaft, with a force equal to that 
 fent by the Englifli in the late war, from Madrafs 
 to the Manillas, the Dutch would be driven from 
 the Ifland in a month. The Spice Ifiands are held 
 by the fame tenure, and indeed, fo are all their 
 poirefTicns to theeaftward ; and nothing could pre- 
 vent their finkinor into the fame miferable inficrnili- 
 cance with their predecelTjrs th^ Porcugueze, but 
 that the Englidi, who, though their rivals as mer- 
 chants, yet that rivalry is fo tempered by their 
 friendfhip to them, as fubjecls of an Eurcpeaa 
 ilatc, in friendly and Itrid alliance vsirh Grsrac Bri- 
 
 G 2 tain,
 
 ( loa ) 
 
 tain, that it fecnres to them their prefcnt poflcr- 
 fions, in a manner more permanent, than any re- 
 maining power or influence of their own could pof- 
 fibly do. 
 
 England is now,* with refped: to the United 
 Provinces, as the elder filler of the fame houfe, iit 
 pofieflion of the fovereignty, to a younger fifter by 
 the fame parents. Their political interefts are the 
 fame ; they mud flourifli or decline together. As 
 no little fquabbles about caps, ribbons, or pins, 
 fliould induce a perfonal diflike to one another in 
 the two natural fifterf, neither fliould a few trifling 
 mercantile differences in intereft and opinion, in* 
 duce a want of friendfhip in the political fifters. If 
 they muft fquabble about fpice and fait petre, when 
 eonfidered as commercial rivals, let thofe accidental 
 difi^erences in mercantile polity, be abated and 
 adjuiled on their own principles. As neighbouring 
 ftates, it is their mutual intereft for ever to agree, 
 and fupport one another. United as maritime 
 powerSj who is it that dare attempt to give them' 
 laws with impunity ? Divided, they weaken each 
 other, to the benefit of their common enemy. The 
 fall of the Republic will draw after it the fate o£ 
 Monarchy. The fall of the Monarchy would bury 
 the Republic with its ruins; As ftates they arc 
 natural friends ; as merchants, I believe, from the 
 
 * This Letter was written in 1776. 
 
 nature
 
 ( io. ) 
 
 nature of things, they mud be enemies. I wifh a 
 divifion of the advantages of the latter, could be 
 fo equitably made between them, as to give content 
 to both: But this may be attempting to wafh the 
 Blackamoor white. A further acquifition of do- 
 minion in India, would involve the Englifh in per* 
 petual wars, and the moft trifling mifcarriage, en- 
 entangle them in fuch difficulties, as to render im- 
 polTible the necelTary attention to the mercantile in- 
 terefl:, from which alone, the nation can draw any 
 real and permanent advantages. 
 
 The acquifition of the Ifland of Salfet, which 
 in a manner furrounds the Illand of Bombay, is 
 fufficicnt to fecure the latter from the danger of a 
 famine. A further extent of dominion on that fide 
 the Indian peninfula, would be injurious to us as 
 a mercantile people. Any arguments which may 
 be urged, to prove the necefTity of taking in the 
 country between Bombay and Surat, may with 
 equal juftice be enforced, for proceeding on to 
 Cambaya, to Guzurat, to Poonah, and to Delhi, 
 Whe-n merchants become too ftrongly infe6led with 
 the military fpirir, no line can be drawn to fatisfy 
 them. The peaceable polTcfrion of Bombay is ne- 
 ceflary to the Company, and to the ftate : it is fe- 
 cured to them by the late ceffion of Salfet. The 
 influence their fituation there gives them, is fuffi- 
 cient for every good mercantile purpofe. We may, 
 if ^ye pl^afe, go on to lofe Great Britain in .-\fia j 
 
 as
 
 C 102 ) 
 
 as Mr. Pitt faid you won America in Germany. 
 Swell, reptile, until you are obliged to remember 
 the frog in the fable. 
 
 Leave the Mahrattas to fettle the fuccefllon in 
 their own government. Let which party foever 
 prevail, they will readily grant you ail you wanr, 
 a fair and equitable adjuftment ef the tariff. You 
 command the fea coaft of Malabar with your na- 
 tural arms, a marine force. Bombay is a noble 
 magazine and arfenal ; a place of retreat, refrefii- 
 ment, and for the repairs of your fnips. The 
 Mahratta government favours all kinds of merch- 
 ants ; we as fuch, are neceffary to them : They 
 nevrr will know us in any other characler. Send 
 them a bale of Britilh broad cloth as an ambafla- 
 dor, and they will do juftice to, and refped the 
 owners. From this fairly acquired and well chofen 
 center, our influence extends in a glorious circle, 
 as far as, in prudence and moderation, we can 
 wifh it. Leave conqueft, and the trade of making 
 flaves, to defpots, and the flaves of defpots. 
 .Firmly rooted at Bombay, and fupported by the 
 true mercantile principles, juflice, equity, punc- 
 tuality, and moderation. What more would we 
 have ? Even now our influence extends northward 
 to Surat, to Cambaya, and to the River Indus, 
 with a permanency very diff^erent from that acquir- 
 ed by the Macedonian freebooter, Alexander. Ac 
 thefe places \ye obtain, oq juH and reafonabk 
 
 termsa
 
 ( 103 ) 
 
 terms, innumerable forts of ftalned and unftained 
 calicoes, with which we fupply Europe, Africa, 
 and America : from Hudfon's Bay to the Equator, 
 on both fides the great Atlantic Ocean ; cotton for 
 our trade to China and Bengal ; and piece goods 
 of a thoufand forts and dyes, with which we fup- 
 ply the marts in the Gulf of Perfia and of Mocha. 
 From the firft we bring home bullion, which lef- 
 fens the neceffity of the export from the parent 
 ftate ; and from the lafl", as much coffee, as fuffices 
 to fumigate the brains of all our ftatefmen and 
 politicians, from John-a-Groat's houfe to the 
 Land's End. To the fouthward, not a Prince on 
 the Malabar coafl", but refpe(5ls our national flag, 
 and fupplies us with the beft pepper and carda- 
 mums in the world, cheaper, and in greater abun- 
 dance, than to any other people. March out of 
 our faflories of Tellicherry, Calicut, and Anjan- 
 go, and attempt a conqueft of the countries round 
 about, and the natives will firft refifl", then defpife, 
 and at length expel us : or if we barely keep 
 footing, as our contemporaries and rivals, the 
 Fortugucze at Goa, the French at Mahie, and the 
 Dutch at Cochin, they will lay us under contri- 
 butions, and treat us with the contempt fuch im- 
 politic infatuation deferves. 
 
 From Bombay Ifland to the eaftward, over all 
 the Mahratta dominions, our broad cloth, cop- 
 per, iron, lead, ironmongery, and hard ware, is 
 
 permitted 
 
 V 
 
 A
 
 ( 104 ) - 
 
 permitted to pafs Tron province to province, wirhf 
 out the leaft obfl:ru6tion, after having paid an im- 
 poft of three per cent, wbich is but juft the half 
 of what the Compar.y themfelves charge as duty, 
 on the importation of thofe articks oi Britifh ma- 
 nufacture at Bombay. To the wed, on the other 
 fide the Indian Ocean, there is not a port on the 
 coaft of Arabia, Ab)iTmia, and Africa, ro which 
 we do not trade Vviih fatety •, and receive frorr^ 
 / them, for the Europe and China market, alTafoeti- 
 
 dd, d logons blood, verdigreafe, aloes, together 
 with olibanum, myrrh, and feveral other aromatic 
 e;ums. What more do we want ? Miftrefs of the 
 
 > fcas, protedors of fair traders, and fcourge of pi- 
 rates. Can we, as Britifh fubjefts, willi, or obtain, 
 a more glorious or enviable fituation ? If more of 
 the produftions of the kingdoms and flates fitua- 
 ted on the wei^ fide of the great Afiatic peninfula, 
 commonly called India, are wanting for our trade 
 to any country on the Vv'eft fide the Gape of Good 
 Hope, we have but to fay fo, and they will be 
 provided. Where then is the ufe of military 
 
 V triumph, and ufelefs conquefls ? Are not the ap- 
 pellations of merchants, friends, and protedors, 
 preferable to thofe of freebooters, enemies, an4 
 deflroyers? I paf^ now from the Malabar to the 
 - Coromandel coalt, and in my way, call an eye of 
 . pity and compaffion, on the milerable inhabitants 
 
 \| of the Ifiand of Ceylon, held in a (late of moft 
 grievous flavery, that the Dutch may have the fole 
 
 priyiledge
 
 ( 105 ) 
 
 priviledge of fervlngthe reft of the world with cin- 
 namon. It is impoflible to confider the fituation, 
 pxtent, fertility, and numerous conveniencies of 
 this beautiful Ifland, without feeing that it was in- 
 tended by providence to be the mercantile miflrefs 
 of the Indian Ocean. There is not an article of 
 Afiatic merchandize, that it would not produce ; 
 hath feveral good ports, and one of the fineft har- 
 bours in the world ; but not a velTcl belonging to 
 ir, but a few of the worft conftruded fifhing boats 
 in the univerfe, in which the wretched natives arc 
 fent to fifh for their inhuman tyrants. Did their 
 mailers permit thofe miferable beings to make their 
 fifhing craft more ufeful or commodious, they 
 would ferve them for the means of efcapefrom their 
 tyranny. They are not even permitted to approach 
 any veflel which pafTes the coaft, to benefit by 
 changing their filh for fugar, rice, or any other of 
 the ncceflaries of life. The haughty Republicans 
 fix the galling yoke of flavery on the necks of a 
 nation of inoffenfive Aliatjcs, who never could have 
 injured them, but would not fuffer the Spanifli 
 tyrant to treat them in the fame way. — Pedling 
 monopolizers of all the fpices, your meafure of ine- 
 quity is not yet full. 
 
 The Englilh held on the coaft of Coromandel, 
 befides their prefidency of Madrafs, the town of 
 Cudalore, under the protection of Fort St. David. 
 Ifhp French had taken the former from them, du- 
 ring 
 
 7
 
 ( io6 ) 
 
 ring the war which commenced in the year 1743, 
 This, with fome grants they had obtained from the 
 Subahs of the Decan, had given a fpur to the mi- 
 litary fpirir, which, in its courfc, for ever deftroy? 
 the mercantile. Madrafs had been reftored by the 
 peace of Aix-la-Chapelle; but the French, grown 
 impatient for conqueft and dominion, were become 
 troublefome and uneafy neighbours, whofe views 
 were plainly to engrofs the whole of the confidence 
 of the Princes of the country. To Mr. Orm*s 
 Hiftcry of the Carnatic, I refer thofe who wifh to 
 fee their proceedings in full detail. Prefervation 
 of their own rights, and legally obtained privi- 
 ledges, firft called the Englifli to the field. It was 
 awarof fclf defence, and therefore juftifiable by- 
 all law.% human and divine. At the peace of 
 Paris, the Englilh were on the Coromandel coaft, 
 in the fituation the French had been in at the peacp 
 of Aixla-Chapelle. A reftlefs military fpirit, and 
 total negletTl of their mercantile interefts, ruined 
 the latter. I hope zh-t former will advert to the 
 caufes of the ruin of their rivals, and benefit from 
 it, by looking back in time to firft principles. If 
 the Company's annual balance fheet of profit and 
 lofs by their trade on the Coromandel coaft, were 
 to be clofely examined, it would be found, that 
 their gains were greaterin the fifteen years which 
 preceded the lofs of Madrafs, than they have been 
 in the fifteen years which have elapfed nnce the cap- 
 ture of Pcndicherry. What good purpofe then
 
 ( IG7 5 
 
 can It anfwer, that we go on to gratify the Nabob 
 Mahommed Ally Cawn, in depopulating the 
 country, in order to extend his dominions ? If, 
 v/ith the poflelTion of two well fituated towns on 
 the fea coaft, and the characler of opulent, refpon* 
 fible, and fair merchants, every good national pur- 
 pofe could be effeded, what end doth it anfwer, 
 that we ftrain ourfelves to the utmoft extent of our 
 power, at a great expence of Englifh blood and 
 Englifh honour, to obtain, on falfe principles, 
 what is fo eafily to be obtained on true ? Let us 
 examine the conduft, as merchants, we ought to 
 have purfued, after the peace of Paris, and com- 
 pare it with that our military phrenfy hath forced 
 us into, and fee whether it is not proper for us to 
 acknowledge the miftakes we have made, and cor- 
 real our conduct in time, to avoid the conlcquen- 
 ces. 
 
 The peace of Paris left us in full and entire 
 poffelTion of all the coaft of Coromandel, except 
 the ruins of Pondicherry. There is not a doubt, 
 but that in the long and bloody war in the Carna- 
 tic, great injuftice had at times, been done to many 
 of the petty Princes •, nor was it until the general 
 peace, in our power fully to adminifter juflice. 
 We had experience enough of the defpotic princi- 
 ples of the Afiatic Princes. Inftead of encouraging 
 this difpofition in the Prince we had fet up, wc 
 (liould, on principles of common eqiiity, have 
 
 playcc^
 
 ( io8 ) 
 
 played them one againfl; the other, by doing right 
 to the whole. 1'hc furrounding Princes feeling 
 theeffefts of our impartial diflribution of juftice, 
 would have been content with their own rights, 
 and ftood in awe of our power. Our own Nabob 
 ftiould have been made to know, that the days of 
 rnifery, devaftation, and opprefllon, were, paft and 
 done away •, that peace and juftice were reftored ; 
 that he muft turn his mind to fetling his country, 
 by encouraging the arts of peace. Agriculture 
 fhould have been encouraged, manufactures pro- 
 tected, and fecurity infured to the lives and proper- 
 ties of all his fubjecfts. Such a conduft had been 
 cafy for us to have purfued ; and fuch conducfl 
 would have prevented the cruel ravages, different 
 meafures have Gnce brought on the provinces by the 
 Madura war, the invafion of Hyder Ally, and de- 
 ilru6lion of the kingdom of Tanjour, which have 
 more than once, brought our affairs on the coaft 
 to the brink of ruin. Some individuals, no doubt, 
 made great fortunes •, and the foolilh and oftenta- 
 tious difplay ihey made of them on their return to 
 their native country, gave the Miniflry an itching 
 to come in for a fliare. Sir John Lindley was fenc 
 out as an Ambaffador from the Crown. The Na- 
 bob, like a true eaftern defpot, took up the idea 
 of playing off the King againft the Company, that; 
 is, the Englilh nation againft itfelf. Inftead of re- 
 fiding in the center of his dominions, and employ- 
 ing himfelf ip the government of his country, on 
 
 found
 
 ( 109 ) 
 
 found principles, he fpent his money and time, ca- 
 balling and intriguing with the King's officers, and 
 Company's lervants, at Madrafs. An alarm was 
 taken at home ; and Lord Pigot, on his coining 
 out, received inftrudions to find the means, by 
 reftoring the Tanjorean Prince to his dominions, 
 and by other v/ays, to fet fome bounds to the reft- 
 lefs, ambitious defigns of the Nabob j but it was 
 too late •, the military fpirit had dcftroyed the mer- 
 cantile •, and Lord Pigot, in attempting to execute 
 his orders, was diverted of his government, con- 
 fined under a military guard, and the moment lam 
 now writing, it is reported at Bengal, that the 
 iifurpcrs intend to fend him by force on board fhip, 
 in order to his going to Europe. 
 
 Will any man deny, that on the coaft of Coro- 
 mandel, the Engliih Company, or their fervants* 
 are purfuing the fame fleps, which heretofore 
 brought ruin on the Portugueze and the French, 
 and which has made the Dutch fettlemenrs ripe for 
 deftrudion ? The Carnatic Nabob is wily, treache- 
 rous, and revengeful. The Princes round about 
 are diffatisfied with our condudt, and alarmed and 
 difgufted by his power. Hyder Ally, his rival, 
 and the enemy of every European nation^ is bufy 
 indeftroying the Dutch fettlements in the King of 
 Cochin's dominions ; and Monfieur, at the French 
 Iflands, is not yet quite ready to take advantage of 
 our egregious folly and mifcondudt, I hope no 
 
 fear
 
 ( no) 
 
 fear which my friends may fvrel on my account, wlit 
 caufe them to fupprefs thefe Letters. If I muft 
 fufFer for fpeaking" truth, let it come as it may, 
 I am prepared for it with that invulnerable con- 
 fcioufnefs of integrity, which malice cannot reach. 
 It wants not the claflical didlion of a Junius, or the 
 well turned periods of a Johnfon, to convey plain 
 truths to the public. The foundnefs of the reafon- 
 ing will fix the attention too clofe to the matter, to 
 leave time for, or raife inclination in the fenfible 
 reader, to cavil at the incorreftnefs of the language. 
 At no period of time fince the laft peace, hath the 
 Company's affairs on the Coromandel coaft, been 
 in fo much diforder and confufion, as they are at 
 this jundure. The Nabob is indebted immenfc 
 fums to individuals, who are fcrambling for it. He 
 is greatly in arrears of pay to his troops. The coun- 
 try is diftrefTed in every province, and the Com- 
 pany*s expences exceed their income. Difcipline 
 is relaxed ; anarchy in the council •, an aftive ene- 
 my on the coaft, who will not mifs the opportunity 
 to attempt the recovery of their power ; the prefent 
 managers at Madrafs defpied, and an empty trea- 
 fury. What all this will produce, is not difficult 
 to forefee, nor eafy to prevent. But as fome reme-* 
 dy muft be attempted for thefe growing evils, I 
 think it impoflible the great points can be miftak- 
 en. The Nabob muft be fent to re fide at Arcor, 
 and reftridted to correfpond with Governor and 
 Council only, not with them as individuals; His 
 
 ambitious
 
 ( III ) 
 
 Ambitious plans and fchemes of extending his do- 
 minions, counteraded, by ilrifl and impartial juf- 
 tice being rendered to the furronnding Princes, 
 who now dread his power, and doubt our honefty ; 
 the military fpirit fo much reprefled, as to reduce 
 it to an implicit obedience to the civil power •, and 
 the King's officers in command of the fquadron, 
 confined to the care of their own element. I \vi!l 
 not doubt the abilities of Sir Robert Harland^ Sir 
 John Lindjey, and Sir Edward Hughes^ to com- 
 mand a fquadron of the King's fhips, nor in this 
 place contend, that they ever fliewed the leaft im- 
 proper attention to their own interefts ; but I will 
 doubt their capacities and abilities, of entering into 
 political intrigues with an artful eafte-rn Prince, 
 which can produce either honour or advantage to 
 their King or country. That I may not be miiap- 
 prehended by thofe great fea officers or their 
 friends, I mean by the words improper attentioJi to 
 their own inter ejis, a mod fcandalous inattention to 
 the means ufed by the agent vi6tuallers, in provi- 
 ding provifion for the fquadron, and the rates they 
 charge them at to government. I hope this hint, 
 however untimely introduced, may be of fome uk 
 to my hardly dealt with honclt countrymen, the 
 common feamen, navigating the King's fhips on 
 duty in the Indian Ocean. 
 
 It is furprinng to fee what poor mercantile re- 
 turns this whole coaft hath ever made to the Eng- 
 
 hfh
 
 ( 112 ) 
 
 llfh nation. A man who has read of the bloody 
 conflifts, the fieges, the fea engagements, the loft 
 of men, and confumption of money, that the wars 
 with the French in the Carnatic, has coft the Eng- 
 li(h nation, would naturally imagine, thatimmenfe 
 advantages muft have accrued from the peaceable 
 pofleilion of this whole coaft-, from Point Palmiras 
 to Ceylon, for fo long a term of years. To Cct 
 him right, I refer him to the Company's accounts^ 
 which, after he has perufed,, my word for it, he 
 will come over to my opinion, that the Company^ 
 by their prefent policy, are but digging a grave 
 for the national commerce on the coaft of Coro- 
 mandel : And if they injudicioufly permit the pre- 
 fent growing military fpirit at Bombay, to induce 
 them to quit the Ifland of Salfet, and plant the na- 
 tional colours on the continent on that fide the pen- 
 infula, the whole of their polTefTions in Afia, will 
 be involved in war, anarchy, and defolation.* 
 
 1 AM convinced that the obfervation condnually 
 in the mouths of feme leading men abroad, is erro- 
 neous, viz. that we have gone too far to retreat 
 with fafety, and that to fecure what we have, it is 
 abfolutely neceflary to conquer, or difable, every 
 principal power on the continent, within the lati- 
 tude of twenty-fix degrees north, that is, from 
 Allahabad weft, to the River Indus. The more 
 
 *Thij was written in 1776. 
 
 northern
 
 northern nations will never permit this j or if they 
 Ihould, what good purpofe will it anfwer ? Can 
 the parent ftate permit fuch an annual drain of her 
 fubjeds, as will be neceflary to hold in obedience, 
 fuch an extent of dominion ? Or will the pofleffioa 
 of it increafe your national trade ? I believe quite 
 the reverfe. For if caufes exaflly fimilar, and in 
 fimilar fituations, produce the fame efFeds, is it 
 not natural to conclude, that in the attempt you 
 will meet the fame fate the other European nations 
 have met before you ? 
 
 In oppofition to the foregoing obfervation, I 
 will riflv another, which, with fome few exceptions, 
 and thofe owing to our untoward fituation in the 
 Carnatic, will, I am perfuaded, fuit the national 
 intereft much better ; and that is, that except in \/ 
 the provinces now held by the Engliih in Bengal, 
 the national flag fhould never be feen flying on the 
 continent of India, out of fight of the fea fliore ; 
 within that diftance^ all the merchants, and mer- 
 chandizes we want, are to be found. Our inter- 
 courfe with the natives, fliould be in the quality of 
 merchants ; whilft it is continued on that principle, ^..--v 
 ,it will be ufeful to the nation ; change the principle, 
 and the advantages are no more. 
 
 The trade to China, confidered in a national 
 view, is rather a commerce of neceflity than of 
 choice. We import her articles of luxury, to pre- 
 
 H vent
 
 ( "4 ) 
 vent our neighbours from finuggHng them in upoil 
 us. As to their raw filk, I think I could make ic 
 appear, that the importation of it into England, 
 might be lelTened, or even done without. But 
 when I come to treat of the trade to Afia in detail, 
 as I fhall confider the Company's trade to China, 
 rather as a channel, by which a remittance may be 
 made of the balances due from the neat proceeds 
 of their eftates in India, than in any other point of 
 view, I Ihall leave it as a matter not very material 
 to my general plan, whether rav^ filk be, or not, 
 part of the returning cargoes of the China fliips, 
 
 I RETURN home again to Bengal: The acquifi-» 
 tion and peaceable pofTeflion of its provinces, pro- 
 perly managed, will become a great fource of 
 wealth, power, and grandeur, to Great Britain, 
 Its barrier lines have been drawn by nature, and arc 
 now occupied by the Company. The extreme in- 
 dolence, in fignificance, and folly, of Mirza Amanna, 
 the fncceflbr of the Vizier Sujah ul Dowlah, may 
 make it neceflary, in a political point of view, for 
 us to dry nurfe the ideot ; and the coiledlions in 
 Cheet Sing's country may be ufeful, as it contri- 
 butes to pay the troops flationed on the barrier, 
 without fending more money from our own provin- 
 ces. But was I to draw my mercantile line, it fhould 
 be for ever confined within the Caramnaflla. The 
 provinces of Bengal and Bahar, and part of Oriffa, 
 contain every thing we want as a trading people 5 
 ^\ nor 
 
 H
 
 ( 115 ) 
 
 nor whilft we continue reafonable, juft, and quiet 
 neighbours, will the furrounding potentates ever 
 dare to difturb our repofe. The French may wifh 
 to do it •, but whilft we continue at peace, and in 
 friendfhip, with the Princes of Hindooflan, their 
 iitmoft efforts muft prove feeble and ineffedlual. 
 What a noble field is here prepared for a genius like 
 that of Mr. Haftings, to exert his talents in ! Away 
 with political chicanery, defpotic, or Machiavelian 
 principled •, Chriftian charity, juftice, moderation, 
 and mercantile probity, are all we want. 
 
 One of the ancient lawgivers, or philofophers, 
 ^hofe name and country I have forgot, held that 
 citizen to be highly reprehenfible, who pofTcned 
 talents for public buflnefs, if he kept aloof from the 
 fervice of the ftate. With what indignation v/ould 
 the old fage, if he lived in our days, view a let of 
 men, forcing themfelves into the direftion of affairs 
 of the higheft importance to their country, without 
 poffcffing one fingle qualification neceffary for 
 its proper management ! If there are on the lift of 
 Directors, men fo totally unfit to fuperintend the 
 Company's affairs, that they know nothing of the 
 Company's political, civil, or mercantile intercft j 
 who hardly know the names of the goods they ei- 
 ther export or import; who are ignorant of the 
 very complexion of the people to whofe courftry 
 they arefentto, or brought from ; and are as well 
 acquainted with the inhabitants of the moon, as they 
 
 H 2 are
 
 (ii6) 
 
 are with the power, character, intereft, or connefi*" 
 tionj of the Princes of Hindoollan, or of the geo- 
 graphical fituation of the countries the Company 
 poffefs; if there are, I fay, any of that old leaven 
 left, whofe ignorance and fervility, fccured them 
 an annual fear, in the defpotic reigns of Colebrooke, 
 Bolton, and their predeceffors, (fome oneof whom 
 afked the intrepid hero Ciive, whether Sir Roger 
 Dowlas, as he called Sujah ul Dowlah^ was not a 
 '^Baronet',') if there are^ I repeat, let them take fliame 
 to themfelves, and withdraw before the day comes, 
 when the great national quellion fliall be debated, 
 whether a new charter fhall be granted to the Eaft 
 India Company, or not : for 1 have my fears, that 
 were thofe experienced men to be examined before 
 the Houfe of Commons, their extreme ignorance 
 would caufe a negative to be put on the queftion. 
 
 I HAVE, Sir, made a moft extravagant excur- 
 fion, but it is with intent to take a curfory view of 
 the Company's fettlements in India. I have done 
 now with digreflion, and promife you, in my fu- 
 ture Letters, to keep clofer to the original intention 
 of them, which was to treat of the nature and con- 
 fequences of the Englifh trade to India. If I have 
 deviated from my plan, it was becaufe, in the pur- 
 
 ^' The ignorance of the general run of the Direftors, as to the 
 Company's political intereft in Alia, cannot be more ftronglyveri- 
 ficd, than that of a late Chairman, alking who the NiZAM \vas,fo 
 often mentioned in the affair of Sir Thomas Rumbold. 
 
 fuit
 
 ( 117 ) 
 
 fuit of It, I found the Company had deviated in 
 many important inftances, from their firft princi- 
 ples. I wifh to fee them brought back before i: 
 is too late. The approaching period will be fa- 
 vourable for it. Whether you are recalled from 
 your government, by the power of faftion, or nor, 
 you muft labour in laying the foundation of this 
 great national edifice. The corner ftone in the 
 Afiatic fediion, muft be laid in the provinces of 
 Bengal j and v/ho fo proper to do it as yourfelf, 
 who have fpent the greateft and beft part of your 
 life there, in the fervice of your country .'' For the 
 mercantile department, I will give you all the af- 
 fiftance I can. If I am capable of labouring at all 
 at the pen, I will attend clofely to this fubjedl, and 
 it (hall be done in my defcrlption of the importance 
 of the Bengal trade to the mercantile intereft of 
 Great Britain, on which I fhall treat in my Fourth 
 JLetter. In the interim, I remain. 
 
 Honourable Sir, 
 
 LETTER IV.
 
 ( ii8 > 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 FROM A 
 
 FREE MERCHANT in BENGAL 
 
 T o 
 
 WARREN HA&TINGS, E/^, 
 
 HONOURABLE SIR -, 
 
 I am now fet down to begin my Fourth Letter to 
 you, which is to contain the firft fketch of my 
 plan for connetling the Company's trade to and 
 from India, in fuch a manner, as will make it molt 
 conducive to the national intereft and honour, as 
 well as to the pecuniary advantages of the Eaft In- 
 dia Company themfelves. 
 
 In all commercial, as well as political concerns, 
 conftant and regular intelligence is ablblutely necef- 
 fary. When the Company were fimply a com- 
 jnercial body, and had no political concerris in Afia, 
 
 the
 
 ( "9) 
 
 the detaining their fhips a few weeks now and then, 
 for their letters of advice, invoices, and other mer- 
 cantile documents, was fometimes unavoidable. 
 But now they have fuch valuable pofTeffions, and 
 fuch interefling political concerns blended with 
 their mercantile, it certainly is very abfurd to have ^ 
 jio regular and eflabliflied modes of conveyance for 
 their important difpatches, than by fuch heavy un^ 
 weildy machines, as are their deep loaded merchant- 
 men, which I have very frequently known lay ready 
 loaded near a month, at the rifl; of a cargo worth, 
 in Europe, 200,000/. (Icrling, and at a demurrage 
 of 20/. per diem, waiting until the fcrvanrs abroad 
 had done wrangling, and writing minutes againft 
 one another, that the papers might be clofed •, and 
 this happens every year at fome, if not at all their 
 prelidencies in India. I am aware that it will be 
 faid, that the Company have their Eagle, their 
 Mercury, and their Lapwing packets, which they 
 difpatch on emergent occafions. I admit they have 
 fuch vefTcls ; but by fome ftrange fatality, thofe 
 veffels have been confidered as mere finecures to 
 the captains, or machines in the hands of party. 
 Should this be denied, I refer to the difpatches fent 
 out on thofe improper velTcls called packets, for 
 feven years paft, and if, on fuch retrofpedive in- 
 vciligation, it be not found, that they have always 
 been ufed, more for the purpofe of gratifying a 
 party, than for the real ufeof the Company, I fhall 
 be content to be laughed at. Even this moment, 
 
 wp
 
 ( I20 ) 
 
 we in Bengal, are gaping for the arrival of the 
 Eagle packet, with the news of the recall of Meflrs. 
 Hafiings and Barwell, and the appointment of Ge-' 
 neral Clavering to the government, as has been 
 hinted in all the pubUc and private letters by the 
 Bengal fhips, which left England between the 
 monihsof January and May, 1776. But fhould 
 the miniftcrial veterans in Leadenhall-Street, fail in 
 this their attempt, I here venture to prophecy, that 
 the Eagle will not be difpatched at all : or if (he be, 
 the papers flie will bring, will be duplicates, or 
 fome unmeaning new orders, fent juft to fave ap- 
 pearances. Is it not to be lamented, that the paf- 
 iions and prejudices of whole bodies of men, as well 
 as thofe of: individuals, are to be managed, and 
 brought over to adb fuch mean and fervile parts, 
 even in affairs of a public nature, and of the utmoft: 
 importance, entrufted to their care, as well as ir^ 
 their own private concerns ^ 
 
 That the Company's, and national concerns iii^ 
 Afia, is of fufficient confequence for them to be 
 at the expence of eftablifhing a regular correfpon- 
 dence, will not be controverted ; and I, who, ovk 
 national principles, am an advocate for conducing 
 this trade by means of a company fimilar to that 
 now exifting, muft admit, that the expence of fuch 
 correfpondence Hiould be borne bv the Company. 
 I therefore think, that a fufficient number of fri- 
 gates fiiouid be built, each mgunting twenty guns, 
 
 an4
 
 ( I2T ) 
 
 and of fuch confliruftion, as to infure their being 
 prime failcrs ; and that one of thefe frigates {hould 
 fail from Plymouth, or fome other convenient port 
 in the Channel, every three months, with all ad- 
 vices of importance j that is to fay, on the follow- 
 ing days ; the firft of January, April, July, and 
 06lober -, and this in times of peace conftantly, and 
 without the leaft deviation. By thefe regular pack- 
 ets, all papers, political, military, and judicial, 
 might be fent, as well as duplicates of mercantile 
 ones ; and let the mere merchant Ihips proceed out 
 and home, as foon as they are loaded, with their 
 own documents. The only material obje-tflion to 
 this, would be the expence of keeping eight fuch 
 vefiels as mentioned above, in conftant piiy, for 
 this particular purpofe. To obviate that, I boldly 
 affirm, that was all the money paid by the Compa- 
 ny for thefe ten years paft, for the deniurrage of 
 their fhips, arifing entirely from their dcicntion on 
 account of public papers, and the fum total divid- 
 ed into ten equal fliares, one of thofe fhares v^ould 
 amount to more, than would anfwer the expence 
 of eight fuch packet boats annually. But there 
 are many other folid reafons for fuch an eftablifli- 
 mcnt, which muft, without my adiftance, occur 
 to every man, who is poflcfled with the neceflary 
 abilities to qualify him for being eleded into the 
 direftion, to fuperintend the Company's political 
 knd commercial affairs, 
 
 Thi
 
 ( 122 ) 
 
 The packets which may be difpatched in Janu- 
 ary and April, would pafs the Cape of Good Hope 
 in time to go what is called the inward palTage to 
 India, and might be ordered to land the papers for 
 jBombay at Anjango, then proceed to Madrafs and 
 Bengal, The firft of thefe would return again to 
 Madrafs, to fail from thence on the firfl; of Odober 
 for Europe -, the fecond in January ; and fo on in 
 continual rotation. As fonie one of the ports \n> 
 the Channel, fhould be the place from whence the 
 packet (hould regularly fail every three months from 
 Europe to India, fo fhould Madrafs be the place 
 from whence the packet (hould fail from India to 
 Europe, with regular difpatches from all the prefi- 
 dencies. The time for the packets to leave Europe 
 for India, and India for Europe, I have fixed to 
 the fame days, as it fuits extremely well with the 
 feafons of the year. It will feldom happen that 
 more than two will be at the fame time on their 
 paffage out or home ; fo that there will be at all 
 times one, and molliy two, of thefe veflels in Eu- 
 rope, as well as in India, preparing to take their 
 tour out or home. Nor fhould their time of falling 
 be altered on any account, as the Company's fer- 
 vants at the different factories, would be fure to 
 find a veffel at the ftated time, ready to carry home 
 their difpatches. There could be no kind of excufe 
 for their omitting to fend by them, a clear and con- 
 cife ftatement of the Company's affairs under their 
 
 management. 
 
 Besides
 
 ( 123 ) 
 
 Besides the demurrage on the large (hips men- 
 tioned above, the great charge which the Company 
 ^re frequently put to, by their fervants fending 
 velTcls from Bombay to Buffbrah with packets, 
 will alfo be faved. To this may be added a gene- 
 ral poitage on all letters out and home, fliould that 
 be thought expedient. But my plan has its foun- 
 dation in matters of more confequence, than a re- 
 gulation of poftage. If the political and commer- 
 cial interefts of the Company in Afia, will not bear 
 the charge of a regular correfpondence, I know 
 not what will. The neceffity and utility of the 
 meafure muft ftrike at once, and render all argu- 
 ments to the contrary infigniticant, which Hiall be 
 grounded on a falfe and pedling economy. 
 
 I am not unaware, that fuch a regular and me- 
 thodical eftablifhment, would often, in time of war, 
 from neceffity, be broken in upon ; but this doth 
 pot make it the lefs ufeful : and for advices from 
 Europe to India, there is another channel, which, 
 though it was not difcovered in your government, 
 yet has by your means been re-explored, and its 
 utility well afcertaincd j I mean by the Arabian 
 Gulf and Red Sea. In no period of time, hath 
 there been an inftance of fuch amazing difpatch, 
 in the conveyance of advice from one part of the 
 world to another, as what has happened here. A 
 letter dated in London the 24th of May, 177^, 
 ^vas receiyetl at Calcutta, in Bengal, on the 14th 
 
 \
 
 ( 124 ) 
 
 day of Aiiguft following. Its rout was from Lon- 
 don to Marfeilles, to Alexandria, to Cairo, to Suez, 
 and Bengal. In war time, the French, and other 
 powers on the continent, may give fome interrup- 
 tion to the progrefs of advices over land ; but what 
 power can interrupt your pafTage by fea ? A fri- 
 gate with advices from London to Alexandria, will 
 meet with no other impediments in her pafTage, 
 than what fhe might meet with going to port Ma- 
 hon. The Company's marine force at Bombay, 
 commands the Red Sea. And though the neceffary 
 delay, caufed by the eftablifhed quarantine, would 
 impede your advices from Inciia to Europe, it 
 would not be the caft; with thole from Europe to 
 Afia. 
 
 Was I here to enter into a minute detail of the 
 times and feafons, in which it would be proper to 
 order vefTels on fuch fervice, or to name the places 
 where to fix agents, to condu<5l this part of the 
 plan of correfpondence, it would lead me much out 
 of my way. Many, and great inconveniencies, 
 have arilen heretofore, for want of fuch eftablifh- 
 ment. It is eafy to prevent them from happening 
 ngain, when ever the narrow, confined, pedling, 
 'Change-Alley principle of conducing the Com- 
 pany's aff^airs, fhall be entirely expelled the heads 
 snd hearts of the mana2:ers in Leadenhall-Street. 
 
 I wij-;.
 
 ( 125 ) 
 I WILL explain myfelf, to prevent the prcferit 
 Court of Direftors from imagining I mean them* 
 That is impoflible; for I have read the late A6t of 
 Parliament, for regulating the Ealt India Compa- 
 ny's affairs ; fince the paffing of which, the fecret- 
 ing, or keeping private, good or bad advices from 
 Indiaj until ftock could be bought in or fold out, 
 will not now anfwer the purpofe -, and men will al- 
 v;ays do their duty, when there is no temptation to 
 the contrary. When I fliall take occafion to men- 
 tion any vile acl of felfifn mifmanagemcnt, which 
 betrays a bieach of truft, or ignonfinious proftitu- 
 tion of commercial probity, fuch as the above no- 
 ted, formerly well known pradice, I hope the 
 Proprietors, Diredors, &c. will underftand it as 
 alluding to things paft, and not at all applicable 
 to preient men, or prefcnc meafures. Or if by ac- 
 cident, I fhould touch a fore part (for long habit 
 is a kind of fccond nature) they have only to omit 
 the practice in future, and all will go welh I own 
 1 want to fee this great branch of national com- 
 merce, conducted on the moft noble principles of 
 national utility, and national honour. There is no 
 life for 'change-broker cunning. All that will be 
 necelTiny for us in future, in the conducting of 
 the Company's affairs, is common fenfe and com- 
 mon honefty. If thefe virtues are not to be found 
 among twenty-four properly chofcn mercantile ma- 
 nagers, in charge of the Company's affairs, it is 
 not eafy to lay where they are to be found, i be- 
 lieve 
 
 v/ 
 
 -A.
 
 t 126 ) 
 
 lieve the manner in which the Company now freight 
 their fhips, for the purpofe of carrying on theiif 
 trade to Afia, is liable to as many objedlions, as 
 any mode which can pofTibly be devifed. There 
 is alfo, fome objedlions to the difpDfal of them. A 
 ruhng man fhall procure a fon, a nephew, or fer- 
 vile dependant, any voyage he choofes. This is 
 an unfair influence, and in its confequences, hurt- 
 ful to the fervice : It is preferring the intereft of in- 
 dividuals to the common good, which a Diredtor 
 is fworn not to do. The remedy is at hand, equita- 
 ble and eafy. The homeward bound fliips take their 
 ^ turn for being taken again into the fervice, from 
 the date of their arrival at St. Helena^ at which 
 ifland all the Company's fhips touch, in their way 
 home from every part of Afia. Why not let the: 
 owners of thofe fliips chooie the voyage for their 
 Ihip, as it comes to their turn ? Or the captains of 
 the (hips taken up in one year, or at one time, 
 draw lots for their refpedive voyages ? This would 
 obviate many inconveniencieSj which arife from the 
 prefent partial mode- In its proper place, I will 
 confider whether it would not be more for the in- 
 tereft of the Company, to allow annual falaries to* 
 their captains and officers, in lieu of private trade ; 
 and thefe to be increafed in proportion to the rank 
 in the fervice, &c. Their prefent mode of pretend- 
 ing to reftrift private trade, by teft oaths, and ve- 
 nal officers, caufesa great and ufelefs confumption 
 of the national morality. 
 
 In
 
 ( ^^7 ) 
 In order to keep up their interefl:, Colebrookf, 
 and other defpots of the times, preceding the year 
 1774, permitted more fliips to be built and freight- 
 ed, by one third, than were wanting for the fervice. 
 They run the Company in debt to the government, 
 the bank, and the freight owners j imported more 
 tea than Europe could drink, or America drown; 
 and then pioufly laid all the blame on their fervants 
 abroad. 
 
 In order to reduce the furplus tonnage, the ftate 
 limited the Diredlors to a certain number of fiiips. 
 The officers were put out of employment, and the 
 captains, without being invalids, became penfiion- 
 ers on the Company. Thus were violent remedies 
 become neceflary to corredl abafesj v;hich men, 
 void of public fpirit, had felfifhly introduced into 
 the management of the Company's affairs, 
 
 I HAVE faid in a former Letter, that one million 
 and a half of the manufadures of the mother 
 country, may be annually, and with great advan- 
 tage, fent to the Eaft Indies ; and that the returns 
 arifing from the fales of the outward bound cargoes, 
 together with the neat proceeds of the Company's 
 eftatcs in India* would be fufficient to fupply returns 
 in the rich merchandize of Afia, that Ihould pro- 
 duce, free of all kinds of expences^ 4,500,000/! in 
 Europe. It is impolTible to explain this, but by 
 regular ftatements of the invoices and account falcs, 
 
 of 
 
 V 
 
 ^
 
 ( 128 ) 
 
 of the cargoes both out and home. I fliall, there-* 
 fore, arrange them in proper order, either at thf- 
 end of this Letter, or in a number by itfelfj and 
 to that I refer the reader for the proof of my af«- 
 fertions. 
 
 The Company's apparent neceflfary expences, 
 for conducing their affairs in Europe, are very mo- 
 derate ; but from the partial, or injudicious arrange- 
 ment of their Ihips, they, in many inftances, are 
 at great expences, which are altogether ufelefs^ 
 and every year amount to immenfe fums of money. 
 
 The firft inftance of partiality, or inattention, I 
 fliall mention, is the management of what is called 
 
 V their Bombay and Mocha fhip. This fhip, from 
 the time Ihe is firfl taken into the fervice to carry* 
 goods to Bombay, and load home from Mocha with 
 a cargo of coffee, to the time fhe is difcharged, 
 confumes full two years. Add to this another year, 
 which, by the cuftom of the fervice, elapfes before 
 (he can be again employed. How then can the 
 owners let the fhip to freight on reafonable terms, 
 without being lofers by the bargain ? The truth of 
 the matter is, the Captain's intercft fuperfedes the 
 
 .■\ Company's ; and in order that he may gain five 
 thoufand pounds, the Company are put to the ex- 
 pence of twenty. For the fhip employs three years 
 in effeding what ought to be done in eighteen 
 months, as will appear by the following fimple de- 
 tail of the fact. 
 
 The
 
 ( J29 ) 
 
 The fliips for the year, are generally nominated ^ 
 in the month of July, and their deftination fixed. 
 The owners fet about to prepare them ; and in the 
 month of February or March following, the Bom- 
 bay and Mocha fhip fets fail, and generally arrives 
 at Bombay in the monih of Auguft. Here the 
 Captain (for he is always a favourite) is permitted 
 to idle away his time for three or four months. The 
 amount of his private adventure, often exceeds the 
 amount invoice of the Company's goods fent oa 
 the fame lliip. It is feldom lefs than ten, and of- 
 ten more than thirty thoufand pounds. If he gets 
 his own.bufmefs done fooner than it is necefiary for 
 him to go to Surat, in his way to Mocha, he is in- 
 dulged with a voyage to the Malabar coaft, under 
 pretence of bringing up fbme of the Company's 
 pepper, which, by the bye, ought to be left on the 
 coaft, and taken at once on board, by the fhips 
 liomeward bound. But this man, fay the Gover- 
 nor and Council, is in great favour with the lead- 
 ing Diredors, and muft be ferved. He will make 
 two or three thouland pounds by the trip, and be 
 time enough for Mocha. On his recurn from the 
 coaft, he is fent to Surat, where the fhip takes in 
 feme trifling quantity of goods on the Company's 
 account, and is filled up with the Captain's, or 
 freight which goes on board, under the denomi- 
 nation of the Captain's private trade, and on the fe- 
 curity of which, he lends his money at a high pre- 
 mium, payable at Mocha- On his arrival there, a Y 
 
 J. fadlory
 
 ( 130 ) 
 
 faftory is opened with great pomp and parade, ind 
 a table kept for three Supercargoes, who have been 
 fent out of Europe, or appointed from Bombay. — 
 To do what ? Why really nothing : For the Com' 
 pany's Hindoo Broker provides the coffee. The 
 Captain and Supercargoes, who, in this voyage, are 
 always joint traders, before they leave Bombay, ob- 
 tain permifTion to ufe their own money to pay for 
 the coffee, and draw bills, at high exchange, in 
 their own favour, on the prefidcncy at Bombay, 
 to which place they return in the month of Augufl, 
 ready loaded for Europe; but do not quit Bombay 
 /. until November, and generally arrive at home in 
 May ; and by the month of July, the fhip is deli- 
 vered back to her owners ; nor will it come in time 
 for her to be taken up until the following feafon — 
 And this is called management ! In the fpace of 
 three years, this fhip is once completely loaded for 
 the Company, and that is homeward bound with 
 coffee, becaufe the freight is paid on the returning 
 cargo, and that faves the owners, who never con- 
 cern themfelves whether the Captain or Company 
 have the ufe of the fhip out, or whilfl fhe is abroad. 
 From the firfl to the laflof this branch of the Com- 
 pany's commerce, there is a mofl notorious facrificc 
 made of the public interell to that of individuals. 
 Indeed it runs fo completely through the whole of 
 the management of the Company's affairs in Eu- 
 rope, that I am almoft fick with the thoughts of the 
 numberlefs inftances I fhall be obligedto produce in 
 
 thefe
 
 ( iSi ) 
 thefe Letters. Such an expofition of notorious 
 mal-adminiflralion, brought home in fo great a 
 variety of inftances, looks like inve<5tive, or even 
 defamation ; and I exped to be outlawed, profcrib- 
 ed, and even burnt in eiBgy, for daring to utter 
 fuch biting truths, which cannot be evaded, or de- 
 nied, as they are to be found in every page of the 
 Company's records, Whilfl: you, the Captains, 
 Owners, Ships Huibands, Proprietors, and Di- 
 rc(5tors, look there for them, I will go on to tell 
 you how, in jufliice to your employers, and to the 
 ilate, you ought to manage the coffee trade. 
 
 A SHIP load in two years, is, I think, all you 
 want for national confumption. How it happens 
 that it cofts you fo much, that you cannot fell at a 
 price low enough to induce re- exportation, may be 
 difcovered by a cartful attention to the fadls related 
 in the foregoing paragraphs ; nor will you be able 
 to gain any thing by this trade on your prefent 
 plan : but as half a cargo, or two thoufand bales 
 of Mocha coffee, imported annually, is all that 
 we want at prefent, let us fee what a difference ic 
 will make to us, when it is imported at lefs than 
 half the prefent expence. 
 
 Ir matters very little, whether we keep one of 
 the Bombay fervants as an agent at Mocha, or not, 
 as far as it relates to the procuring of a cargo of 
 coffee i for the Hindoo, who is the Company's 
 
 1 2 Broker,
 
 ( ^p ) 
 
 Broker, and under whofe protedion he refides 
 among a nation of bigotted Mahometans, in great 
 credit, eafe, and grandeur, will, as now, with the 
 Captain and Supercargoes, in fafl, tranfadl the bufi- 
 nefs. 
 
 The country fliips which trade from Surat and 
 Bombay, to Mocha and Juddah, carry very rich 
 cargoes, confifting of grain, piece goods, fpice, 
 andfugar. There are in Arabia, very few articles 
 of merchandize, with which they can load home 
 to advantage, fo that they generally return in bal- 
 laft. The owners of thefe fliips, will very readily 
 fupply your agent at Mocha with money, for bills 
 at par, to fave the rifk, and bring over on freight 
 10 Bombay, as much coffee as you want, on the 
 moft moderate terms. I infill on it, that the go- 
 vernment of Bombay, may contrafl with very re- 
 fponfible people, to fupply the money at Mocha, 
 and bring over the coffee annually, at lefs expence 
 than it now cofts the Company, for faclory charges, 
 and Supercargoes table expences, and have it ready 
 at Bombay in the month of September. Your coffee 
 fhip, which arrives there in Auguft, may return 
 to Europe in the November following, with as 
 much coffee as you want, and complete her cargo" 
 with Surat piece goods. In this manner the fame 
 Ihip v/ill make two complete voyages to Bombay, 
 in the fpace of time which is now felfifhly confum- 
 ed in effedting one. 
 
 Nothing
 
 ( 133 ) 
 
 Nothing can be more irkfome'than I find this 
 part of my plan. The Company will want to con- 
 dud their trade, about twenty-four Ihips annually, 
 exclufive of the packets above mentioned. In ar- 
 ranging of thefe fhips, and pointing out the proper 
 time for their failing, &c. I am inevitably led int(? 
 a clofe inveftigation of the prefent condu6l, in order 
 tocontraftit with my propofed alterations, and in 
 fo doing, fuch fcenes of fclfifh iniquity mull be 
 lai^l open, as will roufe almoll every man concern- 
 ed, or employed, in the Company's fcrvice in Eu- 
 rope, againft me. I have but two inducements to 
 write on this fubjedl at all : The firft is a moft fin- 
 cere love of my country, which makes me wifh to 
 fee her trade to Afia properly conduced : The fe- 
 cond may not be altogether fo juftifiable, but it 
 arifes out of the firft. 1 cannot examine to the V 
 bottomof the mean, felfiih, interefted views of the 
 managers at home, without recollefting, that thofe 
 very men are many of them the fame who raifed 
 fuch a clamour againft the Company's fervants 
 abroad, and to cover their own iniquity, cried out 
 thief firft. I Hiall, in the inveftigation now in 
 hand, prove, that in no part of the fervice, has 
 there been fuch mal-pradices, as what continues 
 yet in ufe, in the conduit of their Ihipping ; to 
 fay nothing of their dextrous management of con- 
 tradls. Let thofe gentlemen fufpend their anger, A 
 until they have refuted the charges brought againft 
 ^hpm, or have altered their cgnduft, then I ftiall 
 
 bo
 
 ( M4 ) 
 
 be nothing averfe to the meeting their indignation,' 
 When they (hall begin, as I have pointed out the 
 way, and either import the coffee the Company 
 want, at half the prefent expence, or make it clear 
 to the nation, that it cannot be done, I will thank 
 them for the firft, or a(k their pardon if they prove 
 the la(t. But until one or other happens, I fhall 
 20 on to (hew the ill effefls of their mana2:ement 
 to the national. inrereft, and national honour, with- 
 out regarding whofe ears it may chance to tingle. 
 
 Besides the fhip for Bombay and Mocha, there 
 are generally four others taken up at the fime time, 
 for the trade to that fide of India. Two of thefc 
 moft commonly return home again directly, with 
 piece goods and pepper. The other two are al- 
 ways commanded by favourites, to whofe private 
 intereft the Company is for ever facrificed. The 
 firft of thefe is called the Bombay and China fhip, 
 and is managed on the fame principle with the cof- 
 fee trade. The Captain loads out an immenfe cargo 
 on his own private account, in defiance of Com- 
 pany's officers, whom they bribe, and of teft oaths, 
 which cultom hath taught them to take with horrid 
 indifference. From Bombay they carry to China, 
 fix hundred bales of cotton on account of the Com- 
 pany, whic}), byfome fubtle evafion, they call the 
 Company's tonnage, and eight hundred bales on 
 account of the Captain, and this conltantly, and 
 Sjrithout the leaft variation, except that in fome of 
 A "'* the
 
 ( ^Z'j ) 
 the hrge (hips, the Captain's fhare is ten fixteenths 
 cf the whole tonnage of the Hiip, for which he pays -/■ 
 not a firthing. Here Mandeville's maxim oi private 
 vices public benefits, is reverfed, and public vices be- 
 come private benefits. For the Captain gains all the 
 profits arifing from fuch iniquitous proceedings; 
 and this is known to the Direftors, Owners, Huf- 
 bands, &c. for a number of them have been Cap- 
 tains, and made their fortunes in the fame way. 
 A great man about Leadenhall-Screet, whofe name 
 may remain fnug if he fo pleafes, as not to wince, 
 and thereby fhew the fore place, was once on a com- 
 mittee of enquiry, on an accufation brought againft 
 a Captain from Bombay, for felling military ftores 
 to the country powers. This man, high in the di- 
 reftion, forgetting his own old pradices, ironical- 
 ly afked his brother in iniquity, " What he had 
 *-'' gained by the fate of his great guns <"' The Cap- 
 rain, who well knew that the inquifitor had done 
 the fame thing at the fame place, anfwered more 
 truly than wifely, " Really, Mr. Chairmany not fo 
 " much as you did on yours by fifteen per cent.''* This 
 ill timed repartee loft him the command of his (hip 
 forfome tim.e ; but long ufage had fo blunted the 
 feelings of thofe honourable defpots, that in a 
 year or two, the Captain recovered his fhip, and 
 has fincc made a fortune very honefilyy I make hq 
 ^oubt. 
 
 Thjri
 
 ( 1^6 ) 
 
 There can be no honeft reafon afilgned, for 
 continuing of this expenfive cuftom, of fending a 
 flfip by Bombay to China. The voyage from Lon- 
 don to China, and home direft, is a voyage of 
 twenty months i by Bombay, it is commonly fronri 
 thirty-two to thirty-fix months. What flie carries 
 from Europe to Bombay, may very f^irJy be put 
 on the Bombay fhips, without overloading of them. 
 And no one will fay it is for the Company's interefl, 
 to fend a fhip fuch a rout, to carry fix hundred 
 bales of cotton to China. But I fhallfct this mat- 
 ter in a much clearer light, when I come to that 
 part of the plan, in which I propofe that the Com- 
 pany's trealury ac China, fiiall be fupplied by the 
 proceeds of goods from their fettlements in India ; 
 and that their annual China Beet fliall ferve as con- 
 voy homeward bouftd, to all the fhips from Afia in 
 time of war. 
 
 The Bombay and Bengal (hip, is governed fo 
 exadtly on the fame piinciples of the Mocha and 
 China ones, that it would be but repeating the 
 fame words, to take further notice of her. I will 
 confine myfelf to one more inftance out of a dozen, 
 where expenfive, dangc^rous, and unnecefiary voy- 
 ages, are purfued purely to ferve the Captain, and 
 which, in theif confequences, are highly pernicious 
 to the intereft of the nation and the Company. 
 
 Th3
 
 ( 137 ) 
 
 The prePidency at Madrafs, have every year 
 ready a cargo of goods for Europe, which thev dif- 
 patch in the month of Oftober. The fhip delVmed 
 to carry home thefe goods, arrives on the coaft in 
 June or July. Would not any man imagine, that 
 this fliip came fully loaded from Europe, with 
 goods, military and marine ftores, for Madrafs on- 
 ly, and that fhe would be unloaded immediately, 
 and reloaded, fo as to quit the coaft early in 06lo- 
 ber, in order to avoid thofe dreadful gales, which 
 are always to be expefted on this coaft, towards the 
 end of that month, when the fouih-weft monfoon 
 gives place to the norih-caft, to the violence of 
 which this whole coaft is extremely expofed ? — No 
 fuch thing. — The Captain's intcreft for ever inter- 
 pofes, in grofs violation of common honefty and 
 common fenfe. It is managed at home, that this ftiip 
 fhall have fome few ftores for Bengal ; and this juf- 
 tifies the rulers at that prefidency, to underftand 
 the hints from home in the Captain's favour, and 
 they let her proceed. This gives him the opportu- 
 nity to load the ftiip with fait on his own account, 
 with which he proceeds to the Ganges, on the very 
 height of the fouth-weft monfoon. His ftay cannot 
 be long, for he muft beat back againft the mon- 
 foon, to be in time on the coaft to fell his returning 
 cargo of rice, which is alfo his own, and take in 
 his cargo for Europe. This obliges him to work 
 his people night and day, in that inclement feafon, 
 ^nd moft unwholefome time of the year •, the con- 
 
 fcauence 
 
 r^
 
 ( 138 } 
 
 fequence of which is, that half of them die with fe- 
 vers and bloody fluxes, and the reft are fo reduced, 
 as fcarce to be able to work tlie fhip to the coaft. 
 Since I have been in India, no lefs than five of 
 thcfe fliips have been loft, either in going down to 
 Bengal, working back at fo improper a feafon, or 
 by the monfoon overtaking them before ihey were 
 ready to quit the coaft. When had they continued 
 at Madrafs, the peoples lives would have been fav- 
 cd, and the (hip would have left the coaft in due 
 feafon, with a rich undamaged cargo for Europe. 
 
 Let us fee what is the advantage the Company is 
 fuppofed to draw by her proceeding on to Bengal. 
 Why firft ftie has fome ftores for that prefidency, 
 which muft be fent down. I will not ftoop to a 
 controverfy with a paltry clerk at the India Houfe, 
 to point out for what fmifter motives, a ftiip intend- 
 ed for Madrafs only, came to have goods on board 
 for Bengal, becaufe I know the thing will fay, as 
 flie was taken up for Coaft and Bay, flie muft pro- 
 ceed to the Bay.— Let his mafters blufh for abufing 
 their employers, and il^e nation in general, with 
 fuch unmeaning jargon, and in future, take away 
 the plea for fuch upjuftifiable proceedings, and 
 freight the fhip for Madrafs only. But I will ad- 
 mit that it may happen now and then, that the Ma- 
 drafs Oftober fhip may have ftores, or goods, on 
 l^oard for Bengal. Do not all the Bengal fliips, 
 deliver troops, goods, and ftores, at Madrafs ? 
 
 Are
 
 ( 139 ) 
 Are they not there on their way to Bengal at the 
 fame time ? And cannot the ftores, if by accident 
 the Madrafs (hip has any for Bengal, be fcnt on 
 board them ? Yes, they may — But then the (hip 
 wants her fait petre for ballafl, and muft go to 
 Bengal for it — I anfwer, the more (liame for the 
 managers — Why is it not ready at Madrafs ? Every 
 year the prefidency at Bengal, fend round to Bom- 
 bay, feveral thoufand bags of fait petre, to ballad 
 home the (hips from that prefidency : can thev 
 not do the fam.e to Madrafs, which hys not one third 
 of the diftance from them ? I anfwer the queftion 
 myfelf ; they can, with great cafe, and at little ex- 
 pence. But if they do it without orders, fome fa- 
 vourite Captains will lofe the opportunity of load- 
 ing the (hip down to the Bay, with fait, and back 
 to Madrafs with rice, for his own emolument; 
 which hath hitherto been a fufficient reafon for 
 rifking the Owner's fhip, Company's cargo, and 
 the lives of the crew. The fafls I here relate, and 
 thofe 1 (hall relate, are fo notorious, that I will 
 wager my life to a golden pippin, if my friend will 
 but caufe thefe Letters to be publi{hed, the mana- 
 gers will never dare to perruit them in future ;* in 
 which cafe, I fliall be the caufe of faving fomc 
 hundred thoufands of pounds to the public, and 
 
 *Here the author was a little miftaken : favourite Captains con- 
 tinue to exift ; and (liips are dircdled to be lent certain voyages, 
 Jf^ fcrve them as heretoiyre, 
 
 thq
 
 ( HO ) 
 
 the lives of many of my worthy countrymen, the 
 common tars-, which laft confideration is of fo re- 
 frefliing a nature, that, without poffeffing fixpence 
 in the world, I feel myfelf out of the reach of, and 
 looking down on the whole tribe of ignorant, felfifh 
 managers, that have reigned defpotically in Leaden- 
 hall-Street, from the days of Child, to thofe of 
 Colebrcoke, 
 
 Let no man, after this, fall into the miftake 
 which I have done, and promife to conclude his 
 lucubrations in one or two Letters, when he pro- 
 pofes to treat on fo unbounded a fcience as com- 
 merce •, for if he knows any thing at all of the fub- 
 jed, new thoughts will arife, and new matter fall 
 jn, that will lead him often into unavoidable di- 
 greffion. I now plainly perceive, that to treat the 
 fubjeft of national commerce to Afia, in the detail 
 I propofe, of examining inco every branch of the 
 Company's management in Europe and in Afia, 
 will require much more room, than I at firft ima-? 
 gined. 
 
 When I had written fo far, I had occafion to afk 
 a gentleman, if he remembered in what year the 
 Englifh firft traded to Bengal. He referred me to 
 the Hiftory of the Eail and Well: Indies, lately 
 tranflatcd from the French by J. Juftamond. I 
 procured the work, and was fo ilruck with the 
 great abilities of the author, on perufing the two
 
 ( HI ) 
 
 firft: books of his firft volume, as they are tranflated 
 by Juftamond, that had it been in my power to 
 have recalled my firft Letter, v^hich had gone to ^ 
 Europe on the Ihip Triton, Captain Elphinllone, 
 or my fecond and third, which I had forwarded on 
 the London, Captain Webb, I really believe I 
 Ihould have committed the whole to the flames, as 
 a very flamy piece of bufinefs. But they were gone 
 paft recall, and I entered on the perufal of his third 
 book, which treats of the firft rife and progrefs of 
 the Englifli trade to Afia, with fuch high expedla- 
 tions of finding every thing faid, which pofllbly 
 could be faid on the fubjtrfl, that I concluded, it 
 would put an end for ever, to my having further 
 thoughts of writing on a fubjed, already fo co- 
 pioufly treated by fo able a penman. Since I have 
 read that book, I have again altered my opinion; 
 as I have thereby found, that a man who takes all 
 his fads from the relation of others, is very often 
 miftaken in his premifes. The Author of the Hif- 
 tory of the Eaft and Weft Indies, is undoubtedly 
 a great genius, and of unbounded hiftorlcal know- 
 ledge. He has colleded his materials, and wrought 
 them up, in a very pleafing and mafterly manner. 
 But if he has been as ill informed in what he relates 
 in the other parts of his hiftory, as he has ia that 
 which pertains to the progrefs of the Englifh in Afia, 
 for the laft twenty-five years, however harmonious 
 his language, or however pleafing his manner, I 
 do from my own knowledge declare, that his hif- 
 tory.
 
 ( '42 ) 
 
 tory, in that part, ought not to be received, or 
 confidered in any other point of view, than that of 
 being a mod beautiful hiftorical novel, where, 
 with a few acknowledged fafts for a foundation, 
 the author has, by the afliflance of great learning, 
 a fine imagination, and uncommon power over 
 words, blended truth and fallhood together in fo 
 bewitching a manner, as to give him a chance of 
 mifleading pofterity to the lateft period of time. 
 On fuch foundations do your mere men of letters 
 mount up to immortality ! There is an harfhnefs 
 and commonality in treating of plain matters of 
 fa<5t, or fimple truth founded on experience, parti- 
 cularly when they are handled by an unlettered mer- 
 chant; that a work drawn up by fuch a genius as 
 that poflefled by the Author of the Hiftory of the 
 Indies, will for ever have the preference with two 
 large tribes of readers i thofe of great learning and 
 univerfal reading, who judge of the works of an 
 author by his didtion, without regard to truth ; 
 and thofe who, from want of learning and abilities 
 to read, or think at all, are extremely prone to be- 
 lieve the moft malicious reports againft their coun- 
 trymen, though propagated by a declared enemy 
 to the glory and profperity of their nation. But 
 there is a third order of men endued with common 
 fenfe, who read and think enough, to diftinguifh 
 truth from fidion, however poorly attired the for- 
 mer, or gaudily decked out the latter. To thefe 
 1 addrefs what I have to fay, in anfwer to the 
 
 Abbe's
 
 ( ^43 ) 
 Abbe's account of the progrefs of the Englifli Eaft 
 India Company's affairs in India, fince the year 
 1750. So long have I been an eye witnefs to the 
 cranfaiflions in Afia : And though the Abbe hath 
 every advantage over me, which a great genius, 
 and a great fcholar, can have over a plain unletter- 
 ed man, yet I find not the lealt diffidence or fear, 
 in entering the lifts with him, on the fubjeds which 
 have happened within the period above mentioned. 
 To his fuperior abilities, I fhall oppofe a relation 
 of the fads as they really have happened, in the 
 plain fimple garb of truth, and leave cavilling to 
 word catchers and feeders on fyllables. 
 
 The xA.bbe's genius hurries him on with fuch 
 rapidity, that I own, in the multitude of well ar- 
 ranged words, I am at a lofs for his meaning. He 
 tickles my fancy, but quite confounds my under- 
 ftanding. He flies about from ftate to ftate, and 
 mingles an account of nations who have been, witli 
 thofe who now are, in fuch a laconic and dogmati- 
 cal ftile, that the fum total of the hiftory of many 
 great trading nations, are fummed up in a (hort 
 paragraph or two, confifting of a few round aflcr- 
 tions, often unintelligible, and oftener void of 
 truth. 
 
 In his account of the Maldivia Iflands, he is 
 righr, in faying they produce no articles of mer- 
 chandize, except cowries, coir, and filh ; that the 
 
 King
 
 ( M4 ) 
 
 King refides at one of the Iflands called Mole, &c* 
 But when he adds that he is a tyrant, and the only 
 merchant in his dominions, he is totally miftaken. 
 The King of the Maldivias is a limited monarch, 
 reigning over a great number of Iflands. He ap- 
 points the governors to the different divifions, 
 which, as the Abbe fays, are called Attalons. 
 Each divifion is taxed with furnilhing; a certain 
 quantity of cowries, coir, and fifh, to pay the una- 
 voidable expences of the government j for they have 
 no kind of money current with them. Every fami- 
 ly pays a fmall pare of this to the governors, after 
 I which, all the cowries they find, filh they catch, 
 
 or coir they make, is entirely their own, and 
 they difpofe of it as they pieafe. If they export it 
 on their own account, the King, as fupreme ma- 
 giftrate, draws a duty of three per cent, for the 
 purpofes of government ; and five per cent, on all 
 the goods his own fubjeds import, for the fame 
 
 y\ reafon. Where doth there exift a mercantile ftate, 
 in which fomething fimilar is not ellabliflied, to de- 
 fray the expences of government ? In every other 
 refpedt, the natives of the Maldivia Iflands, are as 
 
 x^ fecure in their perfons and properties, as any peo- 
 ple in Europe. The judicial authority is in the 
 hands of the Prieflis, and fo equitably is it ufed, 
 that there is not an infliance of a native of thefe 
 Iflands, who navigate their trading veifels to every 
 part of India, running away, or even flaying be- 
 "hind, except left as agents at the port to v/hich 
 
 they
 
 ( H5 ) 
 
 they trade. As they have no nce,Vor other grain, 
 of their own growth, when the public masjazines 
 or granaries are not full, the King hath the prefer- 
 ence given him to purchafe for the public good, 
 and he pays for it with coir and cowries, which 
 are collefted as duties. So far, and no farther, is 
 the King of the Maldivias a tyrant, and a mer- 
 chant. But it would require a work as volumi- 
 nous as the Abbe's own, to refute all his wrong 
 aflertions. 
 
 The Abbe, in his account of the trade to Mocha, 
 afTerts, that the French and Englifli ufed now, a 
 cheaper method than formerly, in procuring their 
 cotree to be brought by private fliips, to their fet- 
 tlements of Bombay and Pondicherry. The me- 
 thod is certainly a good one, and may be true as to 
 the French ; but hitherto, the Englifh Company 
 have continued the old mode, offending their own 
 fhips, and for no other reafon than that which I 
 have afiigned in the foregoing part of this Letter, 
 which was written before 1 had feen the Abbe's 
 works ; nor fliall I alter it. No writer of hiftory 
 ever hath been more impofed upon, than the au- 
 thor feems to have been, from the account he gives 
 of the expulfion of the Dutch from BufTorah, dur- V 
 ing the management of the Baron Knyphaufen. It 
 is very pofTible, that the Abbe may have had his 
 account from the Baron himfelf, fince his return to 
 Furope. It is, however, falfe in every part. I / 
 
 K will
 
 (h6) 
 
 will here give a flight, but faithful fketch, of the 
 Baron's hiftory, before his firll arrival, and during 
 his ftay in the Dutch fervice in India. I know the 
 man, and the principles on which he adted, much 
 better than the Abbe doth ; or he would never have 
 given to the prefent age, and to pofterity, fo very 
 erroneous an account of the reafons which caufed 
 the expulfion of the Dutch from Bufibrah. 
 
 The Abbe's Baron Knypliaufen, is the elder 
 brother to the Ambaflador of that name, who re- 
 fided fo long, in a public charafler from the King 
 of Pruffia, at the court of London. He was a fub- 
 je<5t of, and Lieutenant in the King of PrufTia's 
 fervice, and prefent at the action, which the army 
 of that Prince had with theAuftrians, commanded 
 by Prince Charles of Lcrrain, fome time about the 
 years 1742 or 1743. It was, I have heard, the 
 firlt battle the King had ever fcen. Some part of 
 his army was broke, and very roughly handled bf 
 the Auftrians. The King, who did not, it fcems, 
 command his army that day, terrified by the con- 
 fufion and flaughter which furrounded him, tock 
 fright, and made a very un-foldier-like retreat; 
 and was five leagues from the feene of adlion, when 
 his General, who commanded, recalled him, with 
 the news of his enemies having been entirely routed. 
 T'lis unfeemly behaviour in the Prince, fo roufed 
 the mdignaiion of our young Earon, that he wrote 
 a fcver.e latire on his mailer, which coming to the 
 
 know led 2;«
 
 ( Hi ) 
 
 knowledge of the latter, he fent to feize the Baron, 
 and had him clofeiy confined. The young foldicr 
 feeing the danger he was in, found means to induce 
 the centinel, who had him in charge, to go off 
 with him. During feveral days, he and his friend 
 the centinel, paft through many dangers, by land 
 and by water, but at length, got into the territory 
 of the States General. Defpairlng of a pardon, and 
 redoration to his honours and eftate, both of which 
 the King had transferred to his younger brother, 
 the above mentioned AmbalTador, he took employ- 
 ment in the Dutch Eaft India Company's fervice^ 
 and was by them fent out very ftrongly recom*- 
 mended to the General of Batavia, who had fome 
 knowledge of the Baron's family. Here he remain- 
 ed fome time, in various employments ; faw his 
 friend the centinel, made an Enfign •, and having 
 acquired a competent knowledge of merchandize^ 
 he was thought a proper perfon to be fent in charge 
 of the company's concerns at Buflbrah. — Very likely 
 my intelligence hitherto, may have come from the 
 fame quarter as the Abbe's, and be equally falfe 5 
 for I had it from the Baron himfelf -, not in private 
 converfation, but in very large and public compa- 
 nies ; where, in an oftentatious difplay of his own 
 great power and abilities, he conftantly convinced 
 his audience, that whatever might be his charafter 
 as a merchant, as a politician, he was entirely free 
 from the (hackles impofed by virtue, chrlftianity, 
 and morality. 
 
 K 2 It
 
 ( >4S ) 
 
 It was a maxim with the Baron, that the Dutcfi 
 and Enghfh fadory flags fhould never fly in fight 
 of each other. But the Enghfli were not the rivals 
 of the Dutch at Bufforah. The former had neither 
 fugar nor fpice to vend there -, the latter brought 
 very little elfe. The Baron's flory has been made 
 up fince his expulfion : And the Dutch at Batavia, 
 have their ears ever open to believe any difadvan- 
 tageous ftory of their rivals in trade. The Baron, 
 who ufed truth or fahhood in his narratives, as beft 
 fuited his purpofe, laid the blame of the treatment 
 he received from theTurkifli government, entirely 
 to the account of the Engliih ; as much with a view 
 of roufmg the jealoufy of the government at Bata- 
 via, in order thereby to obtain a force, to execute 
 a plan he had before formed, as with intent to cover 
 the real caufe of his expulfion. The truth is this ; 
 the Baron was a man of great intrigue, and had a 
 very high opinion of his own abilities in the fervice 
 of the fair. His vanity often prompted him to boafl: 
 of favours he never received. It is not eafy for a 
 European, and a Chriftian, in fo confpicuous a 
 ftation, as that in which the Baron afled at Bufla- 
 rah, to negociate for himfelf, in affairs which lead 
 to an intimate intercourfe with Mahometan ladies; 
 The law pofitively forbids fuch commerce, even 
 with the meaneft of the people, and a difcovery is 
 very fatal to both parties. Knyphaufen's ambition 
 led him to feek an intimacy with Ducheffes and 
 Lady Marys j and the pimps of Bufforah, like 
 
 tlieir
 
 ( M9 ) 
 their brethren in all other parts of the world, pro- 
 mife Junes, though they deal in clouds. One of 
 thole honeft men taught the Baron to believe, that 
 the young fpoufe of a rich old Turkifh merchant, 
 fighed for his embraces. Secret pafTages, trap 
 doors, and every other apparatus of intrigue, was 
 prepared at the Dutch fadory. Hufli money was 
 in golden (bowers advanced i and a trained goddcfs 
 from the public ftews, was condu»fled with great 
 myftery to the Baron's arms. The art of the well 
 taught courtezan, her fine cloaths, which had been 
 procured by the Baron's bounty, together with his 
 ignorance in the Turkifli and Arabian languages, 
 enabled the pimp and drab to impofe on him for 
 fome time. But nothing could fecure him from 
 the effefts of his own abfurd vanity. He puffed of 
 his fuccefs fo often, and fo publicly, that the Ca- 
 dies Officers got intelligence of the intrigue. The 
 faflory was furrounded, and the happy pair taken 
 together. The Baron was confined, the Lady 
 drummed wiih ignominy round the town, and the 
 Pimp loft his nole and ears. I have feveral times 
 fince feen the miferable mutilated wretch, implor- 
 ing charity from the pafTengers in the public way. 
 
 Whether the Baron received 2ihamhooing or not, 
 I really do not remember ; but I know that the 
 Englifh Refident, interefted himfelf extremely 
 with the government, to prevent fo difgraceful and 
 painful an application, to the feet of a national 
 
 Refident,
 
 ( 150 ) 
 Rcfident. Be that as it may, it coll: the Baron 
 large fums to make the matter up, and obtain his 
 releafe. He was, however, at length difcharged j 
 went to Batavia -, and had art enough to procure 
 fome (hips of force, with which he returned to the 
 Gulf of Perfia •, landed on the Ifland of Carrack, 
 and fent his fhips to block up the entrance to Buf- 
 forah River; laid the government under contribu- 
 tion, as well as the foreign merchants •, and for a 
 time interrupted the trade of the port •, and ob- 
 tained repayment of the money which had been 
 forced from him, with large premium. 
 
 After the death of Thomas Kouli Khan, or 
 Nadir Shaw, the kingd' m ot Perfia fell into great 
 diforder. The governors of dlftant provinces fet 
 up for thernfelves, and became independent 
 Princes. At that time, an officer named Sheik Ab- 
 dulla, was in command of the ftiong fortrefs of 
 Bundarick. It lies on the fea coaft of Perfia, and 
 about fix leagues north-eaft from the Iflind of Car- 
 rack, which our Baron now occupied. From the 
 death of Nadir Shaw, to the time we are now fpeak- 
 jng, Abdulla had kept poflTeffion of the fort, and 
 adjacent country, more by a ftrid application to 
 the advantages of conimerce, which his favourable 
 fitLiation gave him, than by the power of his arms. 
 The port vvas the moil fecure in all the kingdom 
 for fmall vefTels : Nor was the road for large ones 
 a bad one, except when the north-weft winds pre- 
 yailedj and the great fhips ufually lay under the 
 
 fmall
 
 ( >5i ) 
 
 fmallinand of Koulle, about four leagues dillant. 
 The road by land to Sharafs, then the fecond city 
 in, and now the capital of the kingdom, was open 
 and good. Every encouragement was given to the 
 Clips and veflels of all nations, to trade to the porr. 
 1 he Englifh had a fa61ory in the town ; and the 
 Biron agreed to pay a fmall fum annually, as a 
 quit rent for the Ifland he had previoufly obtained 
 permiflion to fci^e. 
 
 No fooner had the Baron built a fort on the 
 Ifland of Carrack, ihan he began to intrigue. Un- 
 luckily the old Sheik of Bundarick, had a young 
 fon of a moft diabolical difpofition ; as void of the 
 feelings of humanity, as he was of filial piety and 
 fear. With this young defperado, the Baron kept 
 up a friendly intercourfe. If Baron Knyphaufen 
 did not approve of the young man*s principles, 
 his vanity frequently induced him to belie his own ; 
 for nothing was more common with him than to de- 
 clare, that a man with the fpirir, and in the fi- 
 tuation of Mirmahana, who faw a kingdom open 
 to his ambition, did right to feize it. The infamous 
 parricide deftroyed his father, mother, uncle, and 
 elder brother •, drove out the Englifh, and granted 
 an exclufive right of the trade of the porr, to his 
 friend the Baron, The Abbe is right, when 
 he lays the Baron's fuccelTors poflefTcd not his 
 abilities. From the character drawn of Mirma- 
 hana, by his friend Knyphaufen, the follow- 
 ing Dutch governors placed a confidence in the 
 
 ufurpcr,
 
 ( 152 ) 
 
 ufurper, which he did not defervc. He took an 
 opportunity to furprize the fort, put the garrifon 
 to thefword, and drove the Dutch entirely out of 
 the Gulf, to which they have never traded fince. 
 Such were the fervices rendered by the renegado 
 Baron to his protestors the Dutch — And fo untrue 
 H the Abbe's account of that tranfaclion. 
 
 It is impoffible for a man, who knows any thing 
 of the true hiftory of the nations inhabiting the 
 coafts of Malabar and Coromandel, to read with 
 patience, the Abbe's account of them. He feems 
 to me, to have been at the trouble, to have colleC' 
 ted all the true, and all the fabulous accounts, 
 which have ever been given to the world, of thofe 
 famous countries, and to havt jumbled them toge- 
 ther in fbch a manner, as to render it impofTible 
 for the reader to drav/ any real information or 
 knowledge from his work. Now and tnen, for ^ 
 paragraph or two, he appears to be ferious ; and 
 you begin to hope that the mercurial fpirit of the 
 Frenchman is fixed, and that he is on the point to 
 give you a fober and rational account of fome coun- 
 try, people, or manufacture ; but in an inflant h^ 
 is gone, and you find your cham of refledion broke, 
 by being hurried away you know not how, and 
 reading, a fhort account of lome drug or mineral, 
 when you are thinking of a piece of cotton cloth 
 or muflin. The horrid maffacre which he continu- 
 ally comoiits, on the names of people, places, and 
 
 things.
 
 ( 153 ) 
 
 things, I fappofe his tranflaror (hould Ihare with 
 him. — Both together, they haveriiade vile work of 
 it. In (hort, it is one of thofe produiflions, which 
 you can neither go on to read with patience, or 
 have refolution to lay entirely afide. Many of his 
 political, philofophical, and mercantile reflexions 
 and obfervations, are truly beautiful, and in fomc 
 places fublime : in others they are fo ungenerous, 
 illiberal, and difingenuous, that no catch penny 
 writer of novels hath ever gone beyond him. 
 
 His obfervation, that the Englilh Eaft India 
 Company's fervants at Bombay, would one day 
 draw their mailers into a precarious and dangerous 
 war with the Mahrattas, hath been verified. Hi- 
 therto it hath turned out well : And if the Compa- 
 ny's pianagers at home, have fen fe enough to force 
 their {Servants abroad to be quiet with the acquifi- 
 tion of the liland of Salfet, which fecures at all 
 times provifioa to Bombay, their mercantile em- 
 pire on that fide of India, may be faid to be fixed 
 and permanent. A contrary condudt, will molt 
 afiuredly (hake their pofTeffions all over Afia to their 
 foundations, if not bring ruin on the whole.* 
 
 *Tliis Letter was written in the end of the year 1776. The 
 writer's opinion of the Mahratta war, fo fully cxprelfcd, was the, 
 fame with that of Governor General Haftings ; though in obedience 
 to orders from the Company at home, the Governor was oblig'-d 
 to aft contrary to it. 
 
 The
 
 ( 154 ) 
 
 The prefent flourifliing ftate of the Company's 
 affairs in Bengal, where, by your prudence and 
 economy, their debts have been entirely liquida- 
 ted, and their remittance to Europe, by their an- 
 nual inveftmentP, increafed in a fufficient degree to 
 pay their debts there, is an anfwer to all the Abbe's 
 remarks on tyranny, diftrefs, and mifmanagement. 
 I agree with him, that a little more forefight in the 
 country officers of government, might have ward- 
 ed off, in fome degree, the dreadful effedts of the 
 famine ; but that that tremenduous providential 
 vifitation, was in the fmalleft degree increafed by 
 the avarice or inhumanity of the Europeans, I deny 
 with great certainty. If ever God made a charita- 
 ble, juft, or good man, the then EngliQi Governor 
 of Bengal, John Cartier, Efq. was that man. But 
 at the time we are now fpeaking of, the govern- 
 ment was not fufficiently fettled, to have regular 
 returns made of the quantities of rice colle(5led in 
 the different pro vine s \ though the caufes of the 
 famine, were plain and alarming enough j and we 
 now are furprifed that we did not advert to them. 
 Moft certain it is, the general fcarcity of grain all 
 the kingdom over, did not ftrike the imagination 
 of one individual, until it was too late to apply a 
 remedy. The Abbe is quite miftaken, in his ac- 
 count of the feed and harveft time in Bengal. The 
 V firft crop of rice is planted in May and June, and 
 colledled in Auguft and September. However 
 ilrangeitmay appear to people at a dillance, (the 
 
 fa(^
 
 fa£l is too well remembered here,) that until the 
 demand for the feed grain, in the month of April, .y 
 gave the alarm, not a man in the kingdom had the 
 lead idea of the dreadful calamity which was on 
 the point to fall upon us. In a few days, rice, 
 which was felling at twenty, and twenty two feers 
 for a rupee, at the deareft markets in the kingdom, 
 rofe to eight and ten feers. Every body that had 
 money, went to market. The Europeans of all 
 nations, as well as the wealthy country merchants, 
 endeavoured to lay in a ftock fufficient to ferve their 
 fervants and dependents. The Company did the 
 fame for their troops, to prevent mutiny. It could 
 not have been otnerwife in any government in the 
 world. The poor immediately felt the feverc 
 effefts of a rigorous famine. How was it pofTible 
 to prevent it ? There was not grain enough left 
 in the kingdom, to ferve the native inhabitants two 
 months, at one third oF tlieir ufual allowance. All 
 that the diflatesof charity and humanity could de- 
 yife to be done, was done, by all orders of people, 
 to aflift and relieve the diftrelTcd. It is very pofTi- 
 ble that fome corn merchants gained fortunes, by 
 ijaying by them a quantity of grain. Was it cri- 
 minal in them to have had it by them ? Is the iur- 
 plus grain in plentiful years, to be thrown into the 
 rivers, to prevent the merchants, vvho buy it at 
 rifk, and on fpeculation, from charging a high 
 price for it in years of fcarcity ? What kind ot 
 4o<^rine is this ? The truth of the matter is, that 
 
 all
 
 (15^). 
 
 all the grain in the kingdom, was confumed by the 
 month of July •, and the rigid attachment of the 
 Hindoos to their cad, or religion, is fuch, that 
 thoufands of them lay dov/n and died in the public 
 flreets, rather than prefer ve life at the expence of 
 their caft, by eating what they deem unclean food. 
 As to their dying quietly, rather than plunder the 
 ftorehoufes or granaries of rice, which, as the 
 Abbe fay?, they faw round them, depend on it 
 there was no fuch thing. Whilft rice was to be 
 had, they fought it, and it was ferved out to them 
 with a benevolence and generofity, which did ho- 
 nour to the owners of all denominations. When 
 there was no more left, they preferred death to 
 every other means of preferving life. The flieep, 
 goats, cows, fowls, ducks, geefe, and other ani- 
 mals, pad by them with impunity. The harm- 
 lefs, inoffenfive, innocent Hindoos, died with hun- 
 ger, in afituation in which no other people on the 
 face of the earth, would have fubmitted to have 
 gone one day without wholefome food. They bore 
 it tamely, becaufe they knew it was not in the 
 power of their rulers, whom they faw weeping over 
 ^heir mifery, with admiration at their fortitude, to 
 relieve them. 
 
 The truth once told, where is the ufe of the pa- 
 thetic apoftrophe, put by the Abbe in the mouths 
 of people, who have had no complaints to make .'' 
 " Meer powp of wQ-rds, and pedant differ tat ion.'' 
 
 TuA-y
 
 ( m ) 
 
 That the famine ought to have been forefeen, I 
 in fome degree admit : but that it was forefeen, of 
 any unfair ufe made of the calamity, when it did 
 come, by Europeans or others, I deny. 
 
 In the years 1766 and 1767, rice was fo very 
 plenty, that in many places it was not gathered in, 
 as it would not pay the expenge of colJedling, On 
 this account, lefs was planted in the* year 1768, 
 than had been for many years before. Great 
 quantities of what was planted in 1769, was walhcd 
 away by the overflowing of the waters -, and the ex- 
 treme and univerfal drought in 1770, filled our 
 cup of bitters; The fcripture account of the 
 Egyptian years of plenty and of fcarcity, was lite- 
 rally fulfilled in Bengal. But we are not worthy of 
 having a Propher, or man of God, fent to warn us 
 of our approaching ruin. It often happens, that 
 the crop fuffers from too much, or too little water, 
 in fome of the provinces •, whilil in other parts, 
 the harvefts are as fine and plentiful, as the moft 
 fanguinc mind can wifli ♦, and they fupply one ano- 
 ther. In no period of time known to record, or to 
 tradition, was there fo general a want of rain, as in 
 the year 1770. In vain do men, ignorant of the 
 nature and fituation of the kingdom of Bengal, and 
 countries adjacent, talk of relieving it by an import 
 of grain from abroad, in time of fcarcity. Had all 
 the tonnage in India, com.e to Bengal full freight V 
 with grain, in the year 1770, it might have re- 
 lieved 
 
 «/
 
 V 
 
 ( '58 ) 
 
 lieved the poor who crowded round the capital, 
 but never could have been of the leafl: ufe to thofe 
 dying with want in the provinces. Ail this the 
 Dutch and French know as well as I do. But the 
 famine was too fair an opportunity to ftigmatize 
 their rivals in trade, with being the authors of it, 
 to let fuch a plaufible theme for defamation, flip 
 by unnoticed. Even many of the Englifli, from 
 a diabolical lying fpirit of envy, wrote home ac- 
 counts of the caules of that dreadful calamity, 
 which they muft have known to be talfe. How 
 then could we hope to efcape the all-powerful elo- 
 quence of theuniverfally knowing Abbe ?* 
 
 Have we not caufe to lament the enthufiaftic 
 prejudices of our countrymen againft their fellow 
 fubjeds in Bengal, when we find the Britifh Senate 
 
 * So unexpefted was the famine, three months before it happen- 
 ed, at Bengal, that the writer of this Letter, then a capital mer- 
 chant in Calcutta, had, in the month of April, three Ihips, of five 
 hundred tons each, called the Lion, the Bahar, and the Cartier, 
 all loading with rice, at the Company's fcttlement of Ganjam, on 
 thecoaft of Orifla, which could have been in Bengal River in five 
 days after order fhould reach them to come home, had their owner 
 conceived the great ruin that was coming- on the fettlement. He 
 permitted them to proceed to Madrafs and Ceylon : And what is 
 more, fold rice at Calcutta, belonging to himfelf and others, in 
 that very month, at twenty-four feers for the rupee, the like of 
 which was not to be had in July following, four feers for a rupee. 
 In fliort, if Engliihraen have nothing more to anfwer for, than be- 
 ing, as has been faid, the caufers of that dreadful calamity, they 
 have nothing to fear in the next world on that accouat. 
 
 entering
 
 ( 159 ) 
 entering fo far into the belief of the nnfupportcd 
 charges brought againft us, as to make a law, pro- 
 hibiting our buying rice in the provinces ? If the 
 farmers have not a ready vend for their grain, as 
 foon as colleded, they can neither pay their rent, 
 or plant another crop. The only exporters of 
 grain are the Europeans, in particular the Englifh 
 free merchants fettled in Calcutta. They are by 
 this law debarred from buying their grain at the 
 firft hand, and of courfe the quantity exported be- 
 comes every year lefs. How contrary is this to the 
 condu6l of the fame Legiilature in their own coun- 
 try ! where they wifely give bounties on the expor- 
 tation of grain, and thereby fecure a good flock in 
 the nation, when ever they pleafe to lay an embar- 
 go. But as 1 lliall, in fome one of thefe Letters, 
 prove, beyond the power of controverfy, the ab- 
 furdity of reftri<5ling the Englifh fettlers in Bengal, 
 from trading in any article the country produces, 
 under proper regulations, I fliall fay no more of it 
 in this place, but conclude this Letter with putting 
 you in mind, that fince the publication of the Abbe's 
 work, it is become indifpenfibiy your duty, to 
 omit no opportunity to colleft materials for leaving 
 to your country, and to pofterity, an honeft, can- 
 did, difpaflionate, and fair Hiftory of Bengal. You 
 were in the fervice before the capture of Calcutta 
 by the Moors. You have fince been employed in 
 every ftation, from a Refident at the Durbar, to 
 that of Governor General. There is nothing nc- 
 
 ccflary
 
 ( i6o ) 
 
 ceflary that you do not know. Your imagtnatiort 
 and genius is every way equal to the Abbe's; and 
 you have an advantage which he could not boaft, 
 a peribnal knowledge of every tranfaftion on which 
 it will be neceflary for you to treat. I affirm, that 
 you have the knowledge, the abilities, and the ho- 
 nefty, to refcue the actions of your countrymen, 
 from vile allufion, and falfe afperfion. If you do 
 not do it, may God forgive you. For my part, I 
 ihall be very forry for your Indolence, and want of 
 public rpirit, if you leave the prefent, and future 
 generations, in the dark, as to the true hiftory of 
 the tranfacflions of the Englifli in Bengal, from the 
 year 1750, \o the 19th day of O6lober, 1774. 
 From that period to the end of your government, 
 terminate when or how it may, the defence of your 
 own honour, calls upon you for another kind of 
 work. And forry I am to fay, that fuch abilities 
 as yours, muft be employed to refute the illiberal 
 and unjuft charges, brought againft you by a moft 
 ignorant, felfifh, uncandid, minifterial tool, whofe 
 natural and acquired talents, had he been left to 
 Ihift in the world for himfelf, could not have lifted 
 him above the rank of a corporal in the guards.— 
 Oh, my country ! How will thy honours fade, 
 when an Haftings fhall be fuperfeded, or fucceeded, 
 by a Clavering, a man the moft improper in the 
 world, to be entruftcd with fo important a charge ! 
 Thofe who with to fee his charadlcr drawn very 
 fully, and very juflly, hare only to look into the 
 
 Abbe's
 
 ( 16I ) 
 
 Abbe's works, for the account he gives of the 
 French partizan General Lally, and add to it a moft 
 greedy and felfilh love of money, and Clavering 
 Hands confefled. 
 
 What the Abbe fays of the opprefTions and ty- 
 ranny, exercifed by the Englifh over the French 
 commerce, on the coafts of Malabar and Coro- 
 mandel, and in Benti;a), fhould be confidered as the 
 peevifh complaining of a loOng gamefter. No na- 
 tion on the face of the earth, would, in a fimilar 
 fiiuation, have dealt fo equiiably, and with fuch 
 moderation, as the Englifh have done, and con- 
 tinue to do, with refpeiTt to the French and Dutch 
 traders in India. I moft fincerely agree with the 
 Author of the Hidory of the Indies, that his coun- 
 trymen will take the firft opportunity of joining 
 the ambitious and difcontentcd Princes, to renew 
 the confufion in Afia ; and on that account, I wifh 
 to apprife my countrymen, that it will be much 
 eafier to crufh the viper in the fheli, than to pre- 
 vent the effedls of his venom, when corrie to full 
 growth. A ftout fquadron of fliips, built in India, 
 of teke wood, which is by nature calculated to re- 
 fill for ages, the alternate fcorching heats, and va- 
 pourous humidity of the climate^ will anfwer the 
 purpofeof continuing the power in our hands, much 
 better than by having fquadrons fent from Europe. 
 That this may be effected with great eale, and at 
 little expence of men or money to the nation, or to 
 
 L ilie 
 
 y 
 
 X
 
 ( i^i ) 
 
 the Company, I pledge myfelf to make appear. 
 But this Letter is growing long. T therefore mud, 
 for the prefent, take my leave of the Abbe, with 
 many thanks for the pleafure I have had in the pe- 
 rufal of his works. If all his knowledge, and all 
 his philofophy, was infufficient to glofs over his 
 national fpleen to my countrymen, he will, I hope, 
 excufe my blunt John Bull like manners, when I 
 affirm, that he has in his hiftory, faid many things 
 of the Englifh nation, which are notorioufly untrue; 
 and further, that there are many of his aiTcrrions, 
 which, as a fcholar, a philofopher, and a Chriftian, 
 he doth not believe himfelf ; but that we owe them 
 entirely to that one fingle circumftance, of the 
 Abbe's having being born a Frenchman. 
 
 LETTER V.
 
 (i63) 
 
 LETTER V. 
 
 FROM A 
 
 FREE MERCHANT in BENGAL, 
 
 T O 
 
 WARREN HASTINGS, Efq. 
 
 HONOURABLE SIR; 
 
 IN my Firft Letter, I pointed out the caufes of 
 the decline of the export trade of this kingdom. 
 The efFe(5bs of thofe caufes are now feverely felt : ^ 
 for the Sienda, Surat, and Bombay markets, which 
 formerly were fupplied with great quantities of raw 
 filk and fugar from Bengal, have their whole fupply 
 of the former article from China, as well as feveral 
 thoufandpiculs of the latter, which, with the fugar 
 carried by the Dutch Company's fhips to Surat, 
 and Englifli private fhips from Batavia to Bombay, 
 hath almoft annihilated the fugar trade of Bengal. ^^ 
 Thefe evils have taken deep root •, for it is now 
 
 L 2 more
 
 C 1^4 ) 
 
 rtiorc to the interefl: of the Company's fervants at 
 Bombay, to fend a fliip loaded with cotton, fandal- 
 wood, and pepper, to China, and load her home 
 with fugar and raw filk, than in is to fend her to 
 
 A Bengal •, and whillt this continues to be the cafe, I 
 fear the public fpirit of the Company's fcrvants, 
 will not operate fufBciently ftrong, to induce them 
 to prefer their matters, or even the national inter- 
 
 •* eft, to their own. Until within thefe ten years, 
 v?ry few private fhips went from the Englifh fcttle- 
 ments in India, to China ; and thofe never brought 
 back raw filk, or powder fugar ; for the fliips from 
 Bengal could fupply the market cheaper. How 
 unluckyly are matters reverfed ! Nothing is now 
 more common, than for twelve or fifteen Englifli 
 private country fiiips to be fecn in one fcafon at 
 China, loaded with cotton, pepper, fandal-wood, 
 &c. from the Malabar ! If bills are to be had at 
 Canton, on any of the European companies, great 
 part of the proceeds of their cargoes, are remitted 
 on account of private perlbns : the remainder is in- 
 Vefted in raw filk, fugar, tea, china ware, &c. and 
 carried back, to the total ruin of the Bengal trade 
 in the two former articles. 
 
 It is to be lamented, that the laudable, and evere 
 neceflary indulgence, granted by the Company to 
 their fervants and others, for trading from one part 
 of the Eaft Indies to another, fhould operate in 
 fuch a manner, as to caufe thofe very fervants to 
 
 become
 
 ( i65) 
 
 become the rivals of their mafters. It is the Com* 
 pany's, nay it is the national intereft, that their 
 fettlements on the coaft of Malabar, (hould, as for- 
 merly, be fupplied from Bengal, with raw filk and 
 foft fugar. But this never virill be the cafe, vvhilft 
 thofe articles are to be had fo much cheaper at 
 China than at Bengal. Monopolies and prohibi- 
 tions, are deftrudive things j for bcfides that they 
 check the mercantile fpirit in your own national ad- 
 venturers, they alfo give a fpring to the fame fpi* 
 rit in your neighbours and rivals. If the Englilh 
 private gentlemen are forbid this trade under their 
 own colours, they will purfue it under thofe of 
 other nations. The French, the Portugueze, and 
 the Moors, will fuppiy tonnage to carry on the 
 trade-, and the remedy will, in that cafe, be full 
 as bad, if not worfe, than the difeafe. It will be 
 taking the bread from your own fubjefls, and call- 
 ing it to ftrangers. Accident, which firft gave 
 thefe provinces to the Company, hath alfo operated 
 in giving this trade a wrong bias. An eagernefs to w 
 forward private property from Bengal to Europe, 
 by way of China, firft gave caufe for the China filk 
 and fugar, to rival the Bengal, at the markets of 
 Sienda, Surat, and Bombay. The remittance .^ 
 fchemers at Bengal, railed the price of all the ar- 
 ticles of export, in the manner fet forth in the Firft 
 Letter, At Bombay, the filk and fugar of Bengal, 
 would not produce their firft coft. But the fchemers 
 were obliged to go on, They load their ihips with 
 
 cotton
 
 ( i66 ) 
 
 cotton for China, and there finding no remittance 
 to be had, and raw filk and foft fugar, cheaper 
 than at Bengal, (the (hip cannot lie ftill,) they loa4 
 back from China to Bombay, with the very articles 
 "with which they fet out from Bengal ; and by this 
 means, in a few years, China robbed Bengal of this 
 whole trade. I have pledged myfelf to prove my 
 aflertions as I go on i but if I was in this place, to 
 introduce the invoices of the (hip from Bengal, with 
 filk and fugar, and the account fales at Bombay, 
 and the invoices of the fame articles trom Chma, 
 and account fales on the coaft of Malabar, it would 
 break the cham of argument, and confufe the 
 whole. Such who doubt my fa(5ls, I refer to my 
 book of invoices and account fales, which will fol- 
 low thefe letters very fhortly. 
 
 Bad as our fituation is, the remedy is in our own 
 hands. If the fum of 400,000/. annually, which, 
 in my Firft Letter, I propofed to take up ai Ben- 
 gal, for bills on the Company in Europe, is not 
 fufficient to check the wild fpirit of remittance in 
 the private cafhholders,let it beincreafed to 600,000/, 
 which will put a total ftop to fo pernicious a pro- 
 jedt. Keep the cafh in the country, and enable 
 the Company to fend filk to Bombay, in fufficient 
 quantities to underfell the China hlk, and furnifh 
 money at Bombay for the ufe of that prefidency, 
 without draining Bengal of its fpecie, as it hasdonq 
 ^r jn^ny years pall, 
 
 Tm
 
 ( 16; ) 
 
 The Company's taking the furplus private money 
 at Bengal, for bills on themfclvcs in Europe, will 
 anfwer the following good purpofes. Ic will keep 
 the current fpecie in the kingdom; encourage the 
 filk manufacture, wh ch may be increafed to any 
 quantity you pleafe : It will fupply the prefiJency 
 of Bombay with money, and deftroy their perni- 
 cious trade of importing raw filk from China, to 
 the ports on the Malabar coaft, to the ruin of the 
 filk trade in our own provinces ; and furnilh at 
 Bombay, a capital, with which I propofe to con- 
 nedl and extend the Company's European and Afia- 
 tic commerce on that fide of India; 
 
 The Company fend from Bengal to Europe, as 
 much raw filk this year, 1777, ^^ ^^^^ produce 
 about 700,000/. fterling.* I do not propofe to in- 
 creafe it to more than a million, when I come to 
 treat of the Bengal exports to Europe ; and I men- 
 lion it in this place, only to obviate an obje(5tk)n, 
 
 *This Letter was written at Bengal In the year 1777. Since the 
 Author has been in England, he has heard much talk, about the 
 lofs of the Levant Trade. That we do not fend fo much woollen 
 cloth to Italy, and to Turkey, as formerly, may be true ; and the 
 rcafon is plain. Heretofore, the Eaft India Company imported, 
 communibus annis, about 1 20,000!. worth of raw filk from the Eaft 
 Indies j lately^ they have imported fix times the quantity annually. 
 Does not that account for j^rcat part of our (fuppofed to be loft) 
 Levant Trade, and in a very comfortable way ? But croakers 
 never penetrate deeper tiian the furface. You do not want £0 much 
 raw filk fromTurJtejr jnd Italy as formerly, and therefore do not 
 iiiiport it, 
 
 which
 
 ( 16^8 ) 
 
 which I fbrefee will be made to that part of my 
 plan, which leads to an increafe of the export of 
 that arcicle to Bombay •, becaufe it will be faid, the 
 fending of raw filk to Bombay, will interfere with 
 the Company's Europe inveftment. So much is 
 the truth on my fide the queftion, that I affirm, on 
 the contrary, that the more filk the Company de- 
 mand, the eafier will it be to have it made. Mul- 
 berry fhrubs to feed, worms to fpin, and men to 
 manufaflure filk, will never be wanting in this 
 country, whilft your judicious plan of increafing 
 the inveftment annually, is purfucd. Whilft the 
 government are uniformly fteady in their advances, 
 and encouragement, as now, is given to the im- 
 provers of the filk manufacture, no quantity whicl^ 
 you can pay for, will be wanting. Our evils arifes 
 from a different condudt. Hoarding money up 
 in the treafury, fending fpecie out of the kingdom^ 
 Shutting the channel of remittance by the Compa- 
 ny's calb, and curtailing the inveftment, have been 
 the rocks we have fplit on. Whilft you receive the 
 tribute in the manufactured goods of the kingdom, 
 you at once enrich it and your native country •, but 
 whilft you ftarve the manufacture to fend cafii 
 abroad, or lock it up, you deftroy the fowl for the 
 
 V golden egg. In the courfe of the laft twenty 
 months, Bombay has been fupplied by B^rngal, 
 with thirty-fix lacks of rupees, in money or by bills, 
 ^t a moft enormous and pernicious difcount. WiU 
 ^ny man deny, that it would have been more for 
 
 A the
 
 ( 1^9 ) 
 
 the intereft of this country, that the Company had 
 fent to Bombay, fifty lacks of rupees in the manu- 
 factures of thefe provinces, though it fhould have 
 produced no more than the amount fent in calh ? 
 Not if he underftands the nature of the trade of this 
 kingdom. 
 
 'o^ 
 
 What ever it may coft, I maintain it, that the 
 Company Ihould provide annually, to the amount 
 of fifty lacks of rupees in goods, proper for the 
 Gulfs of Mocha, Ferfia, Bombay, and Surat, the 
 proceeds of vs^hich fhould center in Bombay. Among 
 the invoices will be to be found, the goods proper- 
 ly arranged, which are fit for this purpofe. Here 
 1 need only mention the names of the feveral arti- 
 cles J fine and coarfe cotton cloths ; raw filk, and 
 filk piece goods ; fugar, and fait petre ; all of 
 virhich this country is capable of producing the 
 moft unlimited quantities. The ftandard of good- 
 nefs muft never be forgotten •, the advances mufl: 
 be made in due time •, people fecured from oppref- 
 fion ; and all chowky duties abolifhed. With 
 fuch regulations, the moft fanguine imagination is 
 hardly capable of conceiving, to what a degree of 
 opulence this populous and fertile country may be 
 raifed. 
 
 FnoMthe fifty lacks of rupees worth of goods 
 fent annually round from Bengal, the proceeds of 
 which ihould center in Bombay, befides the good 
 
 " ' . effcdls 
 
 J
 
 ( 170 ) 
 
 cfTcfls mentioned above, others of no lefs import- 
 ance will arile. Such a conftant and regular fupply 
 of the manufadured good^ of Bengal, proper for 
 the markets on that fide of India, will relieve the 
 
 "" Company's fervants at Bombay, from theneceflity 
 of drawing continually on the government of Ben- 
 gal, atfuch amazing difcount as is now done •, and 
 furniih them with money, not only to fupply the 
 deficiency in their current expences, but to afiift in 
 
 ^ ^ preparing goods for the Europe and China market ; 
 and by that means, fend ftock to enable the Com- 
 pany to anfwer the bills which muft inevitably, for 
 fome years, be drawn on them from Bengal, to turn 
 the current of private remittance into our own 
 channel. 
 
 It very often happens, that the prefidency at 
 Bombay have not ftock fufficient, or even credit, 
 to raife money to compleat the inveflment indented 
 for by the Company. The confequenceof this is, 
 that one, and fometimes two of their (hips, which 
 the Company expedt will return with pepper* Surat 
 and Cambaya piece goods, &:c. are obliged to be 
 fent round to the other prefidencies in queft ofcar- 
 ' gocs.-fl-Wbo doth not fee that fuch injudicious ma- 
 nagement would ruin individuals ? The Company, 
 from its credit and permanency, is enabled to ftand 
 the fhock. — But how are the Dired:ors to be de- 
 fended ? Why truly by their indolence or igno- 
 rance J for they never hitherto, have thought of 
 
 conneding,
 
 ( 171 ) 
 
 conne6ling, or combining, the trade in India witK 
 the trade in Europe, in fuch a manner, as that 
 they fhould mutually fupport each other, Jjhey ^ 
 know that^ If no cargo is ready at one preii- 
 dency, the managers there will fend the Ihip to ano- 
 ther, and that gives the opportunity of ferving a 
 favourite Captain : otherwife what is meant by their 
 continual recommendation, offending luchorfuch 
 a fhip a country voyage, when they mull, or ought 
 to know, they have properly fpeaking, no country 
 trade carried on for the Company, from port to port 
 in India ? 
 
 With the cargoes of the fhips outward bound 
 to Bombay, with the proceeds ol the Company's re- 
 venue on the Ifland, the cuftom-houfe collejftions, 
 and the fupply from Bengal, a great fund will be 
 eftablifhed at that prefidency, to carry on the mer- 
 cantile concerns of the Company. I fay their mer- 
 cantile concerns, bccaufe I would wi(h to have 
 them fupprefs the military fpirit for conqueft and 
 dominion, and come back to their firft mercantile 
 principles. How foreign is it to the fpirit which 
 the conftitution fliould naturally infpire, to fee their 
 fervants at Bombay, at one and the fame time, en- 
 larging their military eftablilhment, and reducing 
 that of the marine ! If they are not pofitively tied /\ 
 down, never to extend their conquelts beyond the 
 Jfland of Salfet, in vain will you eftablilh a fund 
 for Kaijc, Bring theyoup^er fervants back to their 
 
 office?, 
 
 v^
 
 ( I7» ) 
 
 offices, and oblige them to (ludy the interefts o£ 
 their employers, on the conftitutional principles of 
 the Company's charter, in the whole of which, the 
 words conqueft and dominion are not to be found, 
 or no national good can arifc from your poflelTions 
 on that fide India. If the Proprietors of India 
 Stock, will be at the pains to examine the annual 
 military, civil, and marine expftnces, at Bombay, 
 and add to thofe the freight paid for fliips, taken 
 up for that part of the fervice, and the fum total of 
 the invoices of goods fent out from Europe on thofe 
 fiiips, and then obferve, that all the returns which 
 are made to defray fuch enormous expences, is a 
 -cargo or two of pepper, one of piece goods, and 
 every fecond year a cargo of coffee, they would 
 foon be convinced, that were their dividends to arife 
 out of fuch pitiful returns, how foon they would 
 (ink to nothing. It is the rich mine in Bengal, 
 which has hitherto fupported fuch unjuftifiable, in- 
 judicious, and accumulated expences : But that is 
 not inexhauftible. If a war with France breaks 
 out, from whence are the funds to arife to fupport 
 fuch confuming eftablifhments ? The anfwer is eafy 
 enough ; the military men Ihall give it. — Let us go, 
 fay they, into the Mahratta country, and we will 
 conquer for you provinces in abundance, the terri-* 
 torial revenue of which fhall anfwer all your de^ 
 mands. — I am quite fick of hearing fuch dodrine- 
 We have conquered more than once, until we have 
 been on the brink of ruin, for God's fake let us
 
 ( 173 ) 
 
 draw fome benefit from dear bought experlencr, 
 and not, by grafping at what can never be of the 
 lead ufe to us as a niercantile people, lofe the ad- 
 vantages we may, and ought to draw, from our 
 prefent fituation as fuch.* 
 
 The Company have, at no period of time, had 
 (lock in hand fufficient at Bombay, to furnilh one 
 years inveltment in advance, which has been a. 
 great difad vantage to their affairs ; for by not 
 knowing what goods were, or could, with the an- 
 nual (lock in hand, be provided, they took their 
 annual (hips up at a venture, rather than on a fixed 
 plan. If one entire cargo of the ufiial forts of piece 
 goods, half a one of coffee, and three entire car- 
 goes of pepper, were always ready in their ware- 
 ^oufes at Bombay, and on the Malabar coafl, ex- 
 clufiveof what was indented for the fervice of the 
 current year, they could at all times command goods 
 for the markets in Europe, and be lure of the return 
 of the (hips in regular rotation, and not have them 
 at a moft ruinous expence of demurrage, running 
 about India to feek for cargoes. This appears to 
 me to be the firft Itep which ought to be taken oa 
 
 ■^ It is not vanity which induces the Author to note that thefc 
 Letters were written in 1776 and 1777 ; it is the defire he has oF 
 doing juftice to the man to whom they are addrcffcd. Mr. H^f- 
 tings dreaded, and would, if he could, have prevented the perai- 
 cious Mahratta war, which ha? fmce produced the diftreli'cs the 
 Author foretold. 
 
 the
 
 ( 174 ) 
 
 the coaft of Malabar ; and that the government 
 there fhould, in the month of January every year, 
 tranfmit to Bengal, a concife ftatement of their 
 Hock of cafli, and faleable goods on hand, what 
 would be their probable expences for the current 
 year, and a lift of luch Bengal goods, as would be 
 moft proper to fend them to make good the defi» 
 ciency. This lift would be at Bertgal in time to go 
 home with the April packet, and the Governor 
 General and Councils anfwer to it; by which the 
 Company would know what dependence they could 
 place on the government of Bengal, for their ne- 
 ceffary annual returns from Bombay. As things 
 are managed at prefent, they are at no kind of cer- 
 tainty whatever; and this is one of the caufes why 
 they fometimes fend out five fhips to the Malabar 
 coaft, and have but three, two, and fometimes one, 
 return loaded from that fide of India. The others 
 are fent about from prefidcncy to prefidency, at an 
 enormous expence to the Company, in queft of a 
 returning cargo, and carrying goods for the benefit 
 of the Captain only. 
 
 With fuch a ftock in hand as is mentioned 
 above, the Directors would aft with fome degree 
 of certainty. If the Europe markets required an 
 additional quantity of piece goods, coffee, pepper, 
 &c. the Company would have but to order it, and 
 it would come home on the returning ihips. 
 
 Th 
 
 AT
 
 ( ^n ) 
 
 That all the Company's merchant ihips out^ 
 ward bound, ought to be clear of the Channel by 
 the firft of April, to infure them a tolerable paflage 
 to India, is well known to many in the diredtion. 
 Why they are detained later, no good reafon can. 
 be given. The old plea of keeping a fhip or two, 
 until the eledion was over, to let their friends 
 abroad know who was to govern for the year, is 
 now over. The ftate have reduced the annual fup- 
 ply of new Diredlors, to the fmall number of fix, 
 Inow if the whole of the Eaft India Proprietors of 
 Stock, are fo well broken in and bitted, as to ad- 
 mit of the Minifter fending a card with the names 
 of fix fervile dependents of his own, to fill up the 
 annual vacancies, I own I know not what to fay. 
 But if, as I hope, there is yet left virtue fufficient 
 among the independent Proprietors of Stock, t^ 
 judge for themfelves, I do not imagine that the na- 
 tion in general is fo depraved, but that fix mea 
 may be annually found, who poircfs the neceflary 
 qualifications of honour, integrity, knowledge, 
 and abilities, to condu6b this great branch of the 
 national commerce, on the true mercantile prin-.i* 
 pies : men who, from being infpired with true pa. 
 triotifm, will have the national honour, and Com- 
 pany's intereft, ever in view ; who will fufFcr no 
 palcry inclination to fcrve individuals, to be an in- 
 ducement to facrifice their public trufb. London 
 furely is no: yet become fuch a fink of iniquity, 
 fuch a Sodom and Gomorrah, but that fix rit.li 
 
 merchants
 
 ( '76 ) 
 
 merchants are to be found, in whofe hands this 
 branchof the national mercantile honour, maybe 
 placed with fafety. 
 
 Place me twenty-four fuch men as defcribed 
 above, in the dire(5bion, the fecond Wednefday in 
 April, and by the firft of July, they will have rea- 
 dy, to fend from London by the July packet, a lift 
 of the (hips they propofe to fend to each of their 
 fettlements in India the coming feafon, with an ac- 
 count of what goods they will carry out, and what 
 returns they exped by them. Thefe papers will 
 be circulated to all their principal, as well as fubor- 
 dinate fettlements, as foon as they arrive, and 
 each faflory will know what goods they are to have 
 to fell, and what returns they are expeded to pre- 
 pare. They will make their ability, or inability, 
 known to the prefidency on which they are depen- 
 dent, and aflTiftance will be given in time, to enable 
 them to comply with the Company's orders. 
 
 • Will it not furprife any man to know, that the 
 Company carry on their mercantile correfpondence 
 with their four prefidencies, in as fecret and myf- 
 terious a manner, as if they were enemies to one 
 •another -, and by fuch ridiculous condudl, have, in 
 many inftances, made them fo. The prefidency at 
 Bengal, know no more what orders, or what goods, 
 are fent from Europe to Bombay, than if they were 
 a colony of Ruffians. No ftatements are ever fent 
 
 from
 
 / 
 
 C ^77 ) 
 from prefidency to prefidency, as they are hot 
 amenable but to the Company. They correfpond 
 oa the tc-Tms of independent ftates. The govern- 
 ment of Botribay and Bencoolen^ draw bills on Ben- 
 gal, becaufe they wane money, but affign no reafon 
 for their drawing •, and this facility of obtaining 
 cafh, has been the caufe of a great profufion of 
 expence at the former of thofe prefidencies. The 
 managers at home, not feeling the inconveniency 
 of furnifhing the money, examine lb little into it, 
 that I fancy it would be difficult to find, in all the 
 Company's correfpondence with Bombay, one An- 
 gle paragraph, tending to check fuch a wanron 
 wafte of property. It is now grown into fuch a ha- 
 bit, that the Bombay gentlfm"ien will not have the 
 leaft patience to wait the fupplies, but have, within 
 the courfe of twelve months, fent down three dif- 
 ferent veflels to Bengal for money; and our fim- 
 pletons here have opened their veins, and let them 
 fuck their hearts blood •, for the fending the cur- 
 rent fpecie of a mercantile country away, which 
 hath no prefent hopes of a fpeedy fupply, is lite- ; 
 
 rally fuch. If it can be proved, and I fhrewdly 
 fufpedl that it may, that -for five years pafl:, the pre- 
 fidency of Bombay, have had from Bengal, mote 
 money, in calli and bills, than the whole amount 
 of the invoices of the goods they have tranfmitted, 
 within the fame period of time, to the Company In 
 Europe, tell me, ye wife men, how long this will 
 laft ? Can fuch enormous profufion be fupported ? 
 
 M And 
 
 ^'X
 
 ( '78) 
 
 And what will be your fituation, in cafe of a war 
 with France? 
 
 So little connefked, and {o unameanable, are 
 thefe injudicious fervants of an ill managed Com- 
 pany, to one another, that it is notorioufty known, 
 that the gentlemen at Bombay, have fupplied the 
 freebooter Hyder Ally, with arms and amunition 
 on the coaft of Malabar, when he was preparing 
 to, and actually on his march, to attack the Car- 
 natic. Can any human policy be more ridiculous, 
 than that the Bombay prefidency, fhould write to 
 the Company in the mod preffing manner, for 
 leave to take advantage of the conf ufions in the 
 Mahratta government, by joining one party, in or- 
 der to extort fome conceffions from them ; whilft 
 the prtfidency at Bengal, at a great cxpence, was 
 fending over land to the Mahratta court, at Delhi, 
 a Lieutenant-Colonel as an AmbalTador, to make 
 a peace with them. At Madrafs, the fenior civil 
 fervants, infpiredby the military, confine their Go- 
 vernor, and ufurp the government. The Gover- 
 nor General and Council of Bengal approve the 
 mealure, and promifc to fupport the new admini- 
 flraiion. The Governor and Council at Bombay, 
 declare they will not know thtm, but addrefs to 
 Lord Pigot. Is not this, in the fcripture language, 
 a houfe divided againfi: i'fclf ? Tell me, ye mili- 
 tary merchants, how long will it (land ? 
 
 The
 
 i: »79 ) 
 
 The ruin which I plainly forefee, the mlli'ary 
 fpiric win bring on this beneficial branch of the 
 trade of my country, is coricinually flaring mc in 
 the face, and carrying me away from my argumenr. 
 It is grown to fuch a height, that it almoft requires 
 a providential interpoficion ro (dve us. Surely the 
 independent Proprietors will ftep in, and examine 
 minutely the condudh of the Dircftors, and not per- 
 mit a venal and ignorant majority, longer to fquan- 
 der away their property, and the national honour. 
 Let the man, or, if it were more, the men, whoj \/ 
 by their intereft and influence, fent oiit Sir Robert 
 Fletcher twice, to the command of the army on the 
 coafl:, after he had been broke by a court martial, 
 for fomenting the difcontent of the army, at the re- 
 fignatiorl in Bengal, and repeatedly give him the 
 opportunity to didurb the government of Mr. Du- 
 pree, and to imprifon Lord Pigot; let them, I fay, 
 reflefton the confequences of fupporting fuch mili- 
 tary firebrands, in oppofition to the real mercantile 
 intereft of the Eaft India Company, whofe com- 
 mercial profperity is become fo necelTary to the 
 honour and natural intereft of their country.— But 
 to return 
 
 My twenty-four Direftors having determined on 
 the number of fhips which will be neceffuy to carry 
 out the million and a halt of goods of the mother 
 .country, and bring home the cargoes irom Afia, 
 which I have engaged fhall produce three times 
 M 2 that 
 
 'X
 
 ( iSo } 
 
 that fum in Europe, they will not be at a lofs ho^ 
 to difpofe of them. They will go loaded our, and 
 come loaded hom.e, for the Company, and not for 
 the mafters. No canvaffing for particular voyages, 
 will difturb their councils. They will be men of 
 honour, pleafed and happy, v;ith the credit of be- 
 ing trufted with the care of public property. But as 
 they are but men, and liable to the weaknefs and 
 foibles of men, they will, by good regulations, 
 calculated for the intereft of the Company, and 
 difpatch of btifinefs, put it out even of their own 
 power, to adt improperly. The fhips to be firft 
 taken up, are known from the date of their arrival 
 at the Idand of St. Helena, homeward bound the 
 laft voyage. The number wanted for all the prefi- 
 dencies once fixed, let fo many tickets, wiih the 
 name of the prefidency on them, as anfwer the 
 number of the (hips, be put into an urn, and the 
 names of the freighted (hips in another, and let the 
 drawing determine the voyage. The four or five 
 tickets with the name of Bombay on them, fhould 
 determine that to be the voyage of the fhips, the 
 names of which were drawn at the fame time ; and 
 fo of the reft. It might not be thought an impro- 
 per place, to introdace here, my plan for regula- 
 ting the private trade, to be allowed to the Captain 
 and Officers of each (hip ; but as it will branch out 
 into fo many divifio.ns and fubdivifions, and will 
 include indulgences to all orders of the Company's 
 fervants abroad, it will require a Leiiter of itlelf, 
 
 if
 
 f i8i ) 
 
 if I find time, and have coura3;e to attempt it. I 
 xnuflown I begin to be a little afraid of touching on 
 it at all •, as to give the real reafons for abolilhing 
 the pr fent mode of conducing the private trade, 
 and rubilltuting another in its room, will lead me 
 into fuch a detail of the artful, low, un-gentleman- 
 iike evafions, pradlifed in the fervice, as would 
 make it dangerous for me to engage in. Such 
 tampering with tradefmen, to fet their names to 
 falfe bills of parcels ; fuch bribing the Company's 
 officers on the (hips going out, and the King's and 
 Company's officers, on their coming home; fuch 
 fmuggling, falfe fwearing, paltry cunning, and 
 contemptible lying, as would nioft likely deter 
 many honeft parents, from breeding their children 
 up in a fervice, where the infamous praftices they 
 are wirnefs to, the very firft voyage, root out for 
 ever from their young minds, every idea of virtue 
 and morality. If I do attempt to fketch a plan for 
 conducting the private trade in the fervice, I mo(^ 
 afluredly will do it with the fame freedom as I treat 
 of the public commerce; and I wifli the prefent 
 Captains, and prefent Officers, not to fuppofe them- 
 felves the men intended, when I defcribe a pradice, 
 which, in its operations, is deftruftive to our na- 
 tional charafber, for mercantile probity, and com* 
 fnon honefty. I will mention no names of fwear- 
 Ing Captains, or forfwearing Officers ; perjured, or 
 forging Purfers. Let them not lay to my charge, 
 the internal twitchings of that never dying monitor, 
 
 their
 
 ( 182 ) 
 
 their own confc'ience ; that when I fay a thing is 
 frequently done, gives hints that I mean them, be- 
 caufe they did it. Let them ceafe to be perjured 
 knave?, and the fatire falls to the ground. After 
 all, as I believe the fault to be originally in the 
 managers, who, fiom falfe notions of economy, and 
 glove-like cjnfciences, make roguery neceflary to a 
 fubfiftence in t'e fervice, if, in my inveftigation, I 
 chance to probe the evil to the bottom, and in fo 
 doing, give pa n to the difeafed, I do a: the fame 
 time promlfe them, a mild, equitable, and eafy 
 rernedy. 
 
 Bombay is mod ce^^ai.lly the place beft calcula- 
 ted in all India, at whic!i to form a naval power. 
 The magazines of naval ftorcs, b th for the King 
 and Company's ufe, muft be laid up there- The 
 noble docks it now has, and more, which in time 
 it may have, makes it a place o\ the utmoft impor- 
 tance to the Company, an ; to the nation. 1 want 
 to ni \kc it the great emporium of trade for the wef- 
 tern fide of India — Not a mere Gibraltar; a bar- 
 rack for troops, or magazine for military (lores, 
 The harbour is fafeand capacious. Your fleet will 
 give proteftion to the merchants who may frequent 
 it from Perfia, Arabia, AbyfTinia, the Red Sea, 
 and Africa ; as well as from the coaft of Gandell, 
 Sienda, Guzurat, Cambaya, and the whole of the 
 Mahratta dominions on the Malabar. I will not 
 fay that it Ihould at once be made a free port, be-, 
 
 caufe
 
 ( •83 ) 
 
 caufe at prefent wc are poor ; but I mod fincwcly 
 wifh it may foon become fo ; and in the interim, 
 would have no kind of duties levied on the goods, 
 lent from Bengal for falc on that fide of India. It 
 would aftonilh any man, to know what a concourfe 
 of veflcls would flock from all the above mentioned 
 dominions to Bombay, when they were once aflured 
 of your pafies of proteftion, (for what power would 
 dare to infult your flag ?) and come with a certain- 
 ty of finding the Bengal goods, proper for their 
 different countries, wrought up to their primitive 
 goodnefs, and on reafonable terms. Every thing 
 you want for the Company in Europe, or at Chi- 
 na, would be brought home to your own doors ; 
 and golden fiiowers of money to make good the 
 balance, which would be for ever in your favour. 
 No people who have ever yet traded by fea to India, 
 have had it io much in their power to make perma- 
 nent a mercantile empire, as the Englifh, fince 
 their acquifition of Bengal. Great as our miftakcs 
 have b';?en, we have yet time to look back to firft 
 principles. You, Sir, are fetting the example in 
 Bengal. May the influence of your conduft cx» 
 tend to the Malabar, and fave us from that prelude 
 to a general ruin of our Afiatic commerce, a-conti* 
 pental war with the Mahrattas. 
 
 It feems that the Court of Directors, by taking 
 up four or five fliips annually for Bombay, when 
 «^t m9ft they g^n have cargoes ready but for three, 
 
 including
 
 ( i84 ) 
 
 including the coffee (hip, would perfuade the pubt 
 lie, that it is neccflary to be at the expence of one 
 or two additional (hips, to carry out men ^nd floret 
 for their army and marine at that prefidency. If 
 this really be the cale, why not take an advantage 
 for ihe Company, which is conftantly folicited, an4 
 has been very often granted to, individuals ? A (hip 
 which has run out her four voyages in' the Compa* 
 ny's fervire, is not fo decayed as ro be unfit to go 
 a fifih. The reaion which prevents her being taken 
 up a fifth time, is, that the freight the Company 
 pay is fo a r.ple, that they can always have newF 
 fhips at the fame rate as an old one, and on that 
 account, it is a good rule that a Ihip fhaij make 
 
 fs^ but four voyiiges in their f.-rvice. But it is by no 
 means an econc mical one, that fhe fi-iall be always 
 ten, often twelve, and Ibmetimes fifteen years, in 
 executing wiiat may be performrd lometimes in 
 
 /V feven, and always in eight years. But rigid econo-. 
 my is by no means the charaderiftic of the mana- 
 gers for the Eaft India Company. They enter into 
 the dirtrftion with a declared intention to ferve their 
 private friends, and in genera! keepfoclofe to that 
 their avowed principle of aflion, that they very fcl- 
 <lom think of the Company. 
 
 / The very befl of the fliips which have ferved out 
 
 "1 their time, is to be bought for 1500/. For 6000/. 
 
 more they may be fitted out and vifluailed for the 
 
 jun to Bombay, fo as to fubfill during the voyage,
 
 ( i85 ) 
 
 hundred recruits for thdr army, and one hundred 
 fcamen for the marine ; and the fhip, on her arri* 
 Val in India, will fell, wiih her ftores, for her firlt 
 coft and outfit, that is 7500/. and the Company 
 would have tranfported to their fettlcments, at no 
 kind of expence, three hundred tons of ftortrs, and 
 two hundred recruits for her army and marine, ^^n^ 
 Compare this with their pradlire of a Bombay and 
 and China, and a Bombay and Bengal fliip, where 
 every facrifice is made to favour the commander, 
 tp the ruin of the Company, and fcandal of their 
 Piredors. 
 
 The fad as above related, is fo notorioufly true, 
 that I run a greater rifk of being laughed at for 
 publilliing what every body knows, than to have 
 the matter controverted. Is it not then very extra- 
 ordinary, that fo plain, equitable, and eafy a me- 
 thod, is not purfued, when it would moftafTuredly 
 fave to the Company, 25,000/. every year ? But it 
 would leave two Hiips untaken up, and prevent two 
 favourite Captains trom making their fortunes. I 
 have known one of ihofc important men (1 mean a 
 Captain of one of the Company's (hips) fent from 
 Bombay with fix hundred bales of cotton to Bengal, 
 in the rnonth of September, with orders to return 
 to Bombay in the following Miirch, aft [o lubberly 
 in thepafTige, as not to arrive in Bengal Kiver tiii 
 the end ot February, and whilH: there, entering a 
 jproteft againft tlie Governor and Council, for not 
 
 dilpatching
 
 ( m ) 
 
 difpatching of him in time to return from Bombay 
 to Europe the fame feafon ; though this was, from 
 his late arrival, become utterly impofTible: yet the 
 proteft ferved the purpofe of throwing the whole 
 V. eight of the expence on the Company, and faved 
 the owners on her return to Europe. This is one 
 inlUnce, felcd:ed from many hundreds, where a 
 (hip has been fent out of her way, at an improper 
 feafon of the year, for no other reafon in the world, 
 but to ferve the Captain. The freight of the fix 
 hundred biles of cotton down to the Bay, and of 
 three thoufand bags of fait p tre back, comes to 
 2625/. the demurrage of the fhip for one whole 
 year, at twenty p mnds per dit*m, cjmrs.to 7300/. 
 to this muft be added the difappoinrment and ex- 
 pence the Company were unnecelTarily put to, if 
 goods were ready with which to have fent the fhip 
 home from Bombay in March, or the folly ^to fay 
 r»o worre") of taking the fhip up at all, if there was 
 no returning cargo ready for her. I know the Di- 
 redors, the Owners, and the Commanders, have 
 been fo bl nded and knit together, that I have not 
 the lead doubt, but ihgt fome halt ftarved, fhoelefs, 
 threadbare, garreiieer grammarian, will be employ- 
 ed to dtny the fa6ls, abufe the author, and criticife 
 on the language of thefe truth fpeaking papers, and 
 his pay will be carried to the head of fecret fcrvice 
 charges. If the Proprietors will be fo duped, as 
 not to examine into the merits of their own caufe, 
 Jet them fleep on, I have a national purpofe ir^ 
 
 vicNY 
 
 %
 
 ( x87 ) 
 
 v:cw in writing thefe Letters. The proper ma- 
 nagement of the trade to Afia, is of the higheO im- 
 portance to theprofperity of Great Britain It muft 
 be conduced by an intermediate body between the 
 (late and individuals, conftituted fomething like 
 the prtfcnt Company. But their managers Ihould 
 be public fpirited, and honeft men ; and in order 
 to their being lo, I take now and then an op|.ortu- 
 nity to obferve, that it is well known, that their 
 predecelTors were confummate rogues, and by their 
 ill management, brought dilhonour ori thpjr coun- 
 try. 
 
 During the late war, great complaints were 
 made in England, of the want of large timber for 
 the ufe of the royal navy. It has fincegone fo far, 
 as to raife a jealoufy of the Eaft India Company, 
 for building iuch large fliips fjr tlieir fervice, as 
 are the Befborough, Morfe, Grafton, &c. Togo 
 about to aiTign the r^al reafon, which gave caufc tp 
 the owners to build fuch unweildy fhips, to fervc 
 as mere merchant-men, would lead me again into 
 that kind of invefligation, which I have but this 
 moment quitted ; and which, however neceflTary to 
 be ufed now and then in f err or em tdoih by no mcang 
 lead to the point I have in view, which is a better 
 management in future, not retroipefftion into what 
 is paft i nor (hall 1 ufc it but in iupport of my af- 
 fertions, that the Eaft India Company's managers 
 at home, have made a perpetual facrifice of their 
 
 intercft
 
 f 
 
 ( Its ) 
 
 intercft for the advantage of individuals, and con- 
 nived at a military fpirit in their fervanrs abroad, 
 which leads to the utter ruin of the national trade 
 to Afia, 
 
 Had the fhips above nnentioned, and others of 
 ihe fame dimenfions, been pierced to carry fifiy 
 gun% as the French have ever done their Eaft In- 
 dia fliip?, then indeed they might have been arme4 
 in time of war, in fuch a manner, as to have fcrved 
 as convoy to the other fhips of the Company, or 
 cccafionally been brought into the line; but to 
 build them half as large again as the Company's 
 other fhip9, and charter them for the fame tonnage, 
 was a fcandalous wafte of the national ftock of tim- 
 ber ; and for reafons fo iniquitous, that I Ihall not 
 meniion them. 
 
 Ir is in time of peace, that all wife nations pre- 
 J5are for war. There is not a doubr, but that our 
 poff-flions in Afia muft be protf-fted by our naval 
 power. It is clear that government think fo. For 
 pn the lealt alarm of the French fending a force to 
 the Ifles of France, a fquadron is immediately dif- 
 patched by the court of London, to the coaft of 
 Malabar or Coromandel. This, whether the alarm 
 be true or falfe, is unavoidably attended with a, 
 great expence of fhips, men, and money. The 
 nation can bear the latter much better than the two 
 former -, and this refieftion leads me back to the 
 
 confideratioi^
 
 ( i§9 ) 
 
 ftonfideratlon of the firfl link of my great combin-* 
 ing chain, which I propofc to extend round every 
 branch of the national trade to the Eaft Indies, and 
 by fo doing, point out the way to give life, fpirit, 
 ftrength, and permanency to the whole, and there- 
 by render it invulnerable to the bufy, adive, art- 
 ful, and defigning views of our jealous rivals, and 
 natural enemies, the French. 
 
 The Company fend five Ihips annually to Bern- 
 bay, Their fervants there, for want of money, 
 find it difficult to return them three. To rem.ove 
 this difficulty, I am for taking money at Bengal, 
 with which to provide proper goods to be fcnt to 
 Bombay^ and give bills on the Company for what 
 the Bengal prefidency cannot fpare. — But how, fay 
 the Directors, are we to have it fent us home ? We 
 want no more pepper, coffee, Surat, Cambaya, or 
 other piece goods, from that fide of India. — If that 
 is really the cafe. Gentlemen, are you not affiamed 
 to keep up, at fuch an aftonilhing cxpence, jpicets, 
 armies, and fadlories, on that fide the peninfula, 
 to furniffi three faips cargoes only ? You have 
 done with conquefts j for if that is permitted you 
 one inch further than what you now poffifs, rca- 
 fons, fuch as you and your nulitary fervants gan 
 produce, will not be wanting to carry the Britifh 
 flag to Delhi, to Agra, to Ava, to Tartary, and 
 Peking in China. You muft be tied down to Sal' 
 f€tj the ialacious ideas of accumulating territorial 
 
 revenue
 
 f 190 ) 
 
 irevenue put our of your heads, or yoU out of your 
 pods ; and your agents abroad be fet down to forc- 
 ing of cloth, and fifting the dud out of pepper. 
 When you are thus brought back to your reafon^ 
 and to the occupation long and fuccefsfully prac- 
 tifcd by your prcdeceflbrs of old time, on the prin- 
 ciples of the charter, you will not want vend for 
 double the quantity annually •, nor we, here, the 
 means of fending it to you. But you are not the 
 people with whom I wilh to argue. I addrefs the 
 great mercantile Governor Haftings, and appeal 
 to the common lenfc of the nation. It is your mal- 
 adminiftration, your ignorance^ your felfillinefs, 
 and other iniquity, that continually occurs, and 
 lead me out ot my argument into thcfe wild di- 
 greflions. 
 
 If more Malabar pepper than what you now 
 fend home, cannot be vended in Europe to good 
 advantage, (which i am fo ftubbjrn as not to be- 
 lieve,) you never can overftock the markets at 
 China ', and as your trade to China is a trade of 
 necefliry, and muft be earned on, I wifh to have 
 it done at as little expence of money to the nation 
 as poflible. 1 fball therefore, in all my argumen s, 
 confider our traJe with China rather as a channel, 
 by which the nea' proceeds of the national cftatc 
 in Afia, maybe remitted to the leaft diladvantage, 
 than as a traffic or cnoice. If you order home a 
 greater quantity of pepper, and other goods, from 
 
 the
 
 ( 190 
 
 the Malabar, fo much the better; the remittance 
 is eligible, becaufe it is more di reft ; the fieisht 
 and other charges, lefs , and you confequfntly, 
 better able to underfell your Furoptan rivals : 
 However, you may determine that point. Your 
 fervants there muft have in charge, to proviJe cot- 
 ton and pepper for the China market, in fufficienc 
 quantities to lo^d annually three or four (hips. The 
 means by which I propofe to pay for, and convey 
 it to China, will appear in its proper place. 
 
 Experience hath long fince Ibewn, that Hiips 
 built with oak, and joined together with wooden 
 trunnels, are by no means fo well calculated to re- 
 fill the extremes of heat and damp, in the tropical 
 latitudes of Afia, as the (hips which are built in 
 India of tekewood, and bound with iron fpikes 
 and bolts. There is vaft plenty of tekewood in 
 Afia, particularly on the Malabar coaft, both to 
 the north and Ibuth of Bombay. It is well known 
 to Sir George Pococke, and many other great fea 
 officers, that the Company have there a well fur- 
 nifhed marine yard, with three very large and good 
 dry docks, and flips for building (hips of fufficienc 
 burthen for the Company's fcrvice as merchant- 
 men. I will fay nothing on the utility, or inutility, 
 ofthe (late permitting the Company to build iliips 
 there, on which to tranlport their Afiatic merchan- 
 dize 10 Europe, becaule I am not a competent 
 •judge ofthe matter, as it relates to the necefiity of 
 
 ufjng
 
 ( 192 ) 
 
 tifiag none but fiiips built in the mother countrj^i 
 for the purpofe of national trade, as fet forth ia 
 that great palladium of Englifh commerce, the aft 
 of navigation. But I could wilh to have a law paf- 
 fed, by which the Company fhould be permitted 
 to build two (hips annually, at Bombay, of teke- 
 wood, in every refpetfl like unto the bed conftrufh- 
 cd fuips in the royal navy, carrying each fixty guns. 
 With fuch a grant, a very powerful naval force 
 might be gradually, and almoft imperceptibly, 
 formed of fliips, every way better calculated to re- 
 fift the inclemency of the climate, and ready to 
 arm, when ever the exigencifs of the (late {hall re« 
 quire them to be armed. As to finding employ- 
 ment for them in times of peace, or manning of 
 them in times of war, there will be no difficulty in 
 cfFrdling eicher, provided the government will 
 confent, than when ever they Ihali find it for the 
 good of the ftate, to order any of thefe fhips into 
 commifiion, the Captains then in command of 
 them, fhall take the rank that d^y as poll Captains, 
 and the Officers receive commiffions as Lieuten- 
 ants in the royal navy, provided there be no legal 
 objtftions to their bfconing Kin-.'s Officers, and 
 that they thcmlclves are willing to ferve. Hefidei 
 this, the government muU pay to the Company, 
 the firfi: coit and outfit ot the ihip and her ftores. 
 
 The number of men ntcefTary to navigate thefe 
 Clips as merciiant-men, I fuppofe to be about one 
 
 hundred
 
 ( i93 ) 
 
 hundred and fixty Teamen, exclufive of officers : 
 thefe, together with their gun?, cordage, fail- 
 cloth, and fundry other ftores, not to be had ia 
 India, mud be fent out annually on the (lore fliips 
 ■ above mentioned ; and as thofe ftore fhips are to be 
 fold in India, ic will by no means be difficult to 
 procure good commanders and adlive officers, when 
 they know, that on their arrival at Bombay, they 
 will be removed into line of battle fliips, which, 
 in cafe of necelTity, will be taken into the King's 
 fervice, and fo have an honourable provlfion for 
 life. For the firfl year af'ier the fliips are built, 
 I would have them employed on the Malabar coafl 
 as guard fhips, with one tier of their guns mount- 
 ed -, in which time, the men would learn their ex- 
 ercife •, the good qualities or defeds of tlie fhips, 
 would be difcovered •, and the m^arine force at Bom- 
 bay, be properly augn'iented with a refpeclable ad- 
 dition, always ready to fupporJ: the Company's in- 
 tercR, and render fervice to their country, when 
 called out to adion. Who does not fee, that with 
 two fuch fhips continually on the coall, that an 
 imnriediate reduclicn may be made both on the 
 Company's Iind and fea forces, fully adequate to 
 the expence of manning and vidualling of them ? 
 If the fhips fhould be called to augment the King's 
 fquadron, before an opportunity offers to man them 
 complete, there will ahsays be to be found at fu.h 
 a populous trading town, and free mercantile porr, 
 as 1 hope Bombay will fliordy be, Lafcars, Cof* 
 
 N frees.
 
 ( 194 ) 
 
 frees, and other Afiatic feamen, in plenty, to com- 
 plete the neceflary number. Moft of the land forces 
 may ferve as marines, if aftion is expected ; for I 
 know of no other ufe they will be of; for I hope 
 we have done with continental wars ; and that man 
 knows little of the Afiatics, who conceives that 
 they will come to attack you on your Iflands. As 
 for the French, arm yourfelves as Englifhmen 
 ought ever to be armed, and let them attempt it if 
 they dare. 
 
 Least any naval officer fhould fneer at my plan 
 for manning fhips occafionally for the King's fer- 
 vice, I wilh to remind him of the three fea engage- 
 ftients, which happened in India during the laft 
 war, in which thofe great naval officers, Sir George 
 Pococke and Admiral Stevens, commanded. We 
 kept the fea, it is true, and the French left it, but 
 not till they had effedled what they came to effed]:, 
 throwing fupplies into their garrifons on fliore. 
 They each time bore up to, or lay by for the Bri- 
 tifh fquadron. One fhip of the French, was run on 
 Ihore in the firft aftion. In all the three we gained 
 honour, it muft be admitted ; but it cofl us many 
 lives, and difabled many of our (hips, particularly 
 in the fecond engagement. Yet in no one of thofe 
 furious aflions, was there more than four, or at 
 moft five, of the French King's line of battle fhips 
 prefent •, all the others were the French Company's 
 trading Ihips, more than half manned with Coffrees. 
 
 If
 
 ( 195 ) 
 
 !f ever a people were drubbed who won tlie bntrle, 
 the Englifh fquadron, under the command of Sir 
 George Pococke, in the Eaft Indies, had that ho- 
 nour on the 3d day of Auguft, in the year of our 
 Lord 1758. Will a French Officer dare attempt 
 againfl an Englifh fquadron, what an Englifli Offi- 
 cer, in fimilar circumftances, would not attempt 
 againft a French one ? 1 will not believe it. I have 
 known many naval officers on fervice in the Kad 
 Indies, but never was acquainted with one of them, 
 who, had he had the honour to have commanded 
 one of the King of England's fixty gun fliips, man- 
 ned with two hundred Englifh feamen, and three 
 hundred Lafcars^ CoflVees, and other natives of 
 Afia, that would have declined coming to adlion 
 widi the beft French fliip of war that ever appeared 
 in thole feas. I am not an advocate for ufing fo- 
 reigners to man the royal navy ; but if Engliflimen 
 are not to be had in thofe diftnnt regions, to full 
 man the fbips in time of war, the alternative is not 
 a bad one. Nor will any Englilh Admiral 
 hefitate to ftrengthen his fquadron with the Com- 
 pany's fhips of war, conftruded, armed, and man- 
 end, as above mentioned.* 
 
 '■'" The Author has, fince the writing of this Letter, been employ- 
 ed to man and command two forty-four gun (hips, to reinforce 
 the King's fquadron under Sir Edward Vernon, and that ofTiccr 
 expreficd great pleafure at receiving fuch ariitnnce, though the O.ips 
 were manned half and half, as above mentioned. 
 
 N 2 As
 
 ( 196 ) 
 
 As I propofe to have two of thofe fliips built 
 every year at Bombay, in times of peace, and more 
 than that number will not be wanting to guard the 
 Malabar, the two firii built fi::ips muft prepare to 
 quit the coaflr, as foon as the others are ready to 
 fupply their places. In time of peace, the Com- 
 pany will neither want, nor can well afford, to 
 keep above two fhips of fuch force in commifTiGn. 
 It muft, therefore, be fo managed, that at the 
 time they are relieved, that very rich and full car- 
 goes of Malabar goods, be provided for them ; 
 viz. cotton, pepper, fandal-wood, fhark fins, &c. 
 with which to go to China, and from thence load 
 home to Europe. In the courfe of a few years, a 
 very formidable fquadron would be colledled, built 
 of thebeft wood in the world, to refill the heats 
 and damps of the Indian climate. They will fuit 
 the Company's trade for any part of India, except 
 Bengal •, and if kept in conflant employment, do 
 much more fervice for lefs money, than is paid 
 now for the freight fhips. The additional men 
 which they would require in time of war, v/ould 
 not amount to fo much as the difference of freight 
 paid for the fliips of individuals. They would 
 ferve as convoy for the Company's other fhips, both 
 out and home j would be at all times ready to aug- 
 ment the King's fquadrons, if wanted ; and would 
 make eight voyages from and to India, inflead of 
 four, in lefs time, and at much lefs ejq^ence. I 
 will, in the courfe of thefe Letters, give a iketch 
 
 of
 
 ( ^91 ) 
 
 of what one of thefe fliips would cofl: the Company, 
 and what lervicejs Ihe would render in the courfe of 
 ten years, and what fuch fervice would coft them 
 on their prefent plan. 
 
 The Company fliould go on to build, until they 
 had eight of thofe (liips to leave India every year; 
 that is about one third of their number of fliips ex- 
 pefted home ; four of thefe fliould be from China, 
 and two from Bombay •, the St. Helena and Ben- 
 coolen floreflhip, and the Madnifs 06lober fhip. 
 In time of war, their homeward bound fhips fliould 
 rendezvous at St. Helena ; and all thofe wliich ar- 
 rived by the firll of March, fliould fail as the firft 
 divifion, under convoy of three of the fixty gun 
 fliips -, the fecond divifion on or before the fifteenth 
 of May, with three more of the armed fliips ; and 
 the other two flay to collect the remainder of the 
 fnips of the fcafon, and fail in one or two divifions, 
 as might appear beft for the intereft of the Com- 
 pany. The China fliips fhould pafs the Straits of 
 Sunda, or Malacca, in two divifions, having with 
 them two of the armed fliips. And this arrange- 
 ment would give fuch f:curity to their trade, that 
 nothing could injure it, without diftrefllng the go- 
 vernment for fliips for convoy, which they fome- 
 times can' but ill fpare •, and very often fo late, that 
 the homeward bound fhips are obliged to fail from 
 St. Helena without thcrn. 
 
 FCR
 
 C J(9S ) 
 
 For my own part, I own myfelf to be fo fan<:yuine 
 in my expccftations, that Bengal v/ill be able to 
 fupply in a very few years, under your manage- 
 ment, the means of fending three or four of thefe 
 fhips, from the Malabar coaft to China, richly la- 
 den with proper cargoes, to furnifh tea, raw fiik, 
 and china ware, for their returning cargoes to Eu- 
 rope, that I have not a doubt about it. All I afk, 
 is honeft men for our managers, good allowance for 
 Captains and Officers, and rigid difcipline to keep 
 them to their duty. 
 
 Having laid the foundation for a future addi- 
 tion of marine force for the ufe of my country, I 
 would proceed to the further conneftlng of our 
 Afiatic commerce, but am called afide by that moft 
 extraordinary genius, the Author of the Hiltory of 
 the Eaft and Weft Indies. 
 
 There is fuch animating defcriptions of people, 
 places, and things, in every part of the Abbe's 
 works, that except in the accounts of tranfa6lions 
 at which a man has himfelf been prefent, one can 
 hardly withhold an implicit belief of every thing he 
 fays. Had I not had an intimate knowledge of 
 the tranfadlions that have happened on the conti- 
 nent of India, in which the European nations have 
 been concerned, for thefe twenty-five years pafl", 
 and been myfelf, more than once, trading at every 
 pprt, from Surat along the coafts of Malabar and 
 
 Cromandel
 
 ( 199 ) 
 
 Coromandel to Bengal, as well as in the Gulfs of 
 Mocha and Perfia, I fhould not have doubted the 
 Abbe's defcription of them, any more than 1 did 
 his account of any other nation, place, or people, 
 whom I have never feen or heard of. But when I 
 find him dating fafts falfcly, and then arguing on 
 them, and drawing conclufions as if they were true, 
 I own it raifes in my mind, a kind of involuntary 
 fceptifcifm to all hiftorical anecdotes, except they 
 come much better authenticated than many of the 
 Abbe's, which relate to affairs and tranfadions in 
 India. 
 
 I HAVE heard that Mr. Robertfon, the writer of 
 the Life of the Emperor Charles V. had fome 
 thoughts of writing the Hiftory of the Eaft Indies, 
 but dropped it on the Abbe's Hiftory coming out. 
 I am forry for this ; becaufe a work of that kind, 
 impartially drawn up, would be univerfally ufeful. 
 There are I am certain, authentic documents fuffi- 
 cient in Europe, to afcertain every important fa6t 
 which need to be known. Nor would fo refpefta- 
 ble an hiftorian be refufed accefs to them in Portu- 
 gal, France, Holland, or England. Shakefpcare*s 
 hiftorical plays, which treat of the wars between 
 the Houfes of York and Lancafter, contain a better 
 Hiftory of England, during the reigns of the 
 Princes of thole Houfes, than the Abbe's doth of 
 the tranfadlions which have paftcd in India fince 
 the year 1740. 
 
 Th?
 
 ( 2CO ) 
 
 The Abbe, in the fecond volume and fifth book 
 of his hiftory, as tranflated by Juftamond^ deter- 
 mines, that it is for the intereft of Europe in gene- 
 ral, and each maritime ftate in particular, that a 
 brifl<: trade fhould be carried on with that part of 
 Afia called India ; that it is the caufe of popula- 
 tion in a much greater proportion, than it caufes 
 the deftru6tion of the human fpecies ; and inllances 
 the populoufnefs of the maritime ftates in proof of 
 his alTertions. He alio proves, that by imitating 
 the commodities of Afia, induftry hath been great- 
 ly increafed in Europe -, and that no part of its 
 produfts enervates or weakens, the conftitutions of 
 the European?, when confumed in Europe. That 
 the trade to Afia increafes the confumption of the 
 produce of Europe, and multiplies our employ- 
 ments. That finding a vend for a part of the 
 wealth of Mexico and Peru, it caufes the mines of 
 thofe kingdoms to be wrought with greater fpirit ; 
 and that European nations, being the carriers of 
 the eaft and weftern worlds, benefit extremely from 
 the difcovery of, and trade to both : And con- 
 cludes, and I think very juftly, that fince the com- 
 munication Europe hath kept up with Afia and 
 America, its inhabitants are become more nume- 
 rous, more civilized, more humane, and infinitely 
 richer. In the fame volume and book, page the 
 3d, the Abbe feems to lament that the French were 
 tedious and fiow, and a long time before they 
 availed themfelves of their power in India, to at- 
 tempt
 
 ( 201 ) 
 
 tempt the fubverfion of the Mogul empire. When 
 they did attempt it, they fucceeded fo far as to ruin 
 for a time, thofe noble provinces, and deftroy en- 
 tirely their own beneficial trade to India, as the Por- 
 tugueze had done before them ; and in which per- 
 nicious fcheme, I much fear, the Englifh will be 
 too apt to follow their example. It is this epidemical 
 infatuation for conqueft of which I complain It 
 is big with the deftrudion of the Britifli commerce 
 to Afia ; and which to prevent, I would with plea- 
 fure lay down my life, if that would impede its 
 progrefs. Had I the great abilities of the Abbe, 
 I would paint the miftakes of my countrymen in 
 fuch lively colours, that fiiould draw their atten- 
 tion over to their real and true interefts -, and warn 
 them in time of the ruin, into which they feem to 
 be fo blindly precipitating themfelves and their 
 country. 
 
 I MUST quote entire, the next paragraph in the 
 fame page of the Abbe's works, becaufe I never 
 faw fuch great truths, and fuch grofs miftakes, 
 blended togcthn- in lb tew words. 
 
 ' The Englifh, more prudent, did not attempt 
 ' to aggrandize themfelves, until they had ftripped 
 ' the French of their acquifuions, and till no rival 
 ' nation could contend with them. The certainty 
 
 * of having none but the natives to contend with, 
 
 * determined them to fall on Bengal. It was the 
 
 * province
 
 (' 202 ) 
 
 ' province of all India, which afforded moH: com" 
 ' modities fit for the markets of Afia and Europe, 
 ' and was likely to confume mod of their inanu- 
 * faflures, and alio that which their flag could beft 
 ' prote6l, having the advantage of great rivers they 
 ' have conquered ; and ihey flatter themfclves, 
 ' they fnall long enjoy the fruit of their vi6lory.' 
 
 It is notorious, even from the Abbe's own Hif- 
 tory, that the Englilli never flirred out of thtir fac- 
 tories, on the Coromandel coail, until they faw 
 that the fuccefs which the French met with in the 
 war which terminated in 1748, had turned their 
 heads to conqueft and dominion. The lofs of Ma- 
 draf'^, and the unfuccefsful attempt made by Bof- 
 cawen on Pondicherry, had weakened the Englifli 
 extremely In the Carnatic. The French thouo;ht 
 the opportunity fair to drive them off the coaft en-r 
 tirely ; and very pofTibly they would have fucceeded, 
 but for the efforts of the brave Lawrence, and his 
 intrepid fcholar in the art of war, Clive. The 
 troops of both nations acled as auxiliaries ro 
 Princes of the councry, and it muft be admitted, 
 that both fides took every opportunity to ftrengthen 
 their intereft all over the Deccan -, but neither the 
 French or the Englifli, had the molt diftant idea of 
 attempting a conqueft of Bengal. When the troii- 
 bles commenced in 1756, the French had at Chan- 
 dernagore, and thtir fettlements in that kingdom, 
 three times the force ti^^at th? S^nglilh had at Cal- 
 cutta.
 
 ( 203 ) 
 
 ciitta, and their out fadories: It is true that at 
 this period, a war was expeded to break out be- 
 tween the two nations in Europe, on account of 
 their American difputes : But no idea was formed, 
 or could be formed, of a conqueft of Bengal, when 
 the injudicious conduct of Drake, the Governor of 
 Calcutta, involved the whole lettlement in ruin, 
 and brought on the expulfion of his countrymen. 
 This was one oi thofe accidents, which unexpedt- 
 eaJy lead the way to moft extraordinary events. 
 The EngliQi happened to have in India, and unem- 
 ployed, four fhips of the line, commanded by fome 
 of the beft officers the nation could ever boaft. A 
 Watfon carried the flag, and a Speke commanded 
 the flag fliip, which was to lead the way over thofe 
 dangerous fands the Brafles, which feem to forbid 
 the entrance of large fhips into the River of Bengal. 
 But nature herfelf is fomecimes obliged to give way 
 to true heroifm. Even one Smith, a pilot, had 
 the glorious flame lighted up in his mind. Infpired 
 bv the intrepid fpirit of Speke, he was induced to 
 undertake what, unfupported by fuch a hero, his 
 cooler reafon Vv'ould have deterred him from at- 
 tempting. The fhips were carried fafcly into the 
 river ♦, and the greateft: of all Englifli foldiers 
 (Clive) landed with a handful of men. He difperfed 
 the millions who oppofed him ; and the Englifh 
 flag was again feen to fly in their own little territory. 
 Even yet no conquefl: ot the country was thought 
 of. It would lead me too far out of my way, to 
 
 fav 
 
 o
 
 ( 204 ) 
 
 hy what made it neccfiary at length to fubdue it: 
 We have it, and, as the Abbe fays, flatter ourfclves 
 we (ball keep it ; nor is fuch flattery ill founded, 
 if my countrymen are not chained down by inevit? ^ 
 able fate, to work cut their own undoing. Save 
 them, moil gracious God; I beleech thee, fave them. 
 Bury in the overflowings of thy infinite mercy, their 
 errors and miftakes. Continue you to us the difin- 
 tereiled, the generous, the manly, and charitable 
 Hnjlings ; and recall the avenging demon, parent 
 of informers, and father of lies, Clavermg. 
 
 The Abbe declares, that tne Engliih having 
 flripped the French of their acquifitions, and hav- 
 ing no European nation to contend with, determi- 
 ned them to fall on Bengal. There never was an 
 aflertion fo void of truth. At the breaking out of 
 the war in 1756, the French were fuperior in 
 power to the Englifb, in every part of India-, and 
 the Englifh Company had great caufe to fear for 
 their poiTefTions. But they were fortunate in hav- 
 ing fo^me of the bell oiBcers in the univerfe; men 
 whofe intrepidity of foul was equal to any enter- 
 prize. Watlbn and Clive had diflodged the famous, 
 pirate Angria, from all his flrong .holds on the 
 Malabar, and were fo luckily weak in men, that 
 the Company could not hold them : they were, 
 therefore, fortunately for us, given up to the Mah- 
 rattas, for a fmall confideration. Soon after the 
 fquadron had reached the Coromandel coaft, the 
 
 troubles
 
 ( 205 ) 
 troubles ccmmenced in Bengal, from the caufes 
 above mentioned. Happily for the Englifb, tljc 
 Subah, a rafh inexperienced young man, jud<^ed 
 of the fpirit of the; whole Englilh nation, from 
 what he had feen of the irrefoiute behaviour of a 
 few ill armed and undifciplined individuals at Fort 
 William, and negleded to put an end to the war, 
 by driving them entirely out of the country, li- 
 fuffered them to colleft together at a place cal!cd 
 Fulta, about forty miles from Calcutta, and keep 
 there in a body, until W.ufon and Clive could 
 come to their relief. Then their knowledge of the 
 country and language, and their jufl refentments, 
 were of great ufe in the eftablidiing of their affairs. 
 But fo far were they from thinking of making a 
 conqueft of Bengal, that ! am confident, the Eng- 
 lifli would very willingly have compounded with 
 the Subah, for leave to refettle their faiftory on 
 the former footing. Cli^e, who had ftudied the 
 nature and genius of the Afiatics, and knew them 
 better than any 0!her European ever did, or per- 
 haps ever wiilv foo:i difcovered, that Surajahul 
 Dowlah was a Prince, on thefaith of whofe promi- 
 fes no dependence could be placed. Thi«, and the 
 news ofawar'having commenced between the French 
 and Englifli in Europe, determined the Admiral 
 and the General, to diflodge the French from their 
 fetrlement of Chandernagore, and carry the war 
 into the heart of the Nabob's domininn -, in or;?L'r 
 the fooner to bring him to realb.n. 
 
 The
 
 C 2g6 ) 
 
 The following ten papes of the Abbe's fiftU 
 book, is fuch a rhapfody of extraordinary and 
 contradidtory aflertions, that I have not penetra- 
 tion enough to comprehend what principle it is 
 that he wi(hes to inculcate. — The interior parts of 
 Hindooflan can, and cannot, be eafily conquered* 
 It may, and it may not, be eafily held by Euro- 
 peans. — The natives are, and are not, good fol- 
 diers. — Their armies are, and are not, formida- 
 ble. — In fhort, it feems to me, that the Author of 
 the Hiftory of the Eall and Well Indies^ pofTcffes 
 a moft fertile and creative imagination, and that his 
 principal ftudy is to drefs his ideas up in beautiful 
 flowing language, totally regardlefs whether his af- 
 fertions correfpond with, or run counter to each 
 other. I have not hitherto been able to difcover 
 from the Abbe's works, whether he hath perfonally 
 vifited any particular country, or ftudied the ge- 
 nius or charafter of any particular people in their 
 own country. But 1 am confident he never was in 
 Hindooftan : or if he was, he took on hearfay, all 
 that he has written on that famous part of the 
 world, and might as well have ftaid at home. 
 When a writer ufcs the dogmiatical ftileon fubjcds 
 of which he is mafler, truth compenfates for the 
 manner in which it is conveyed ; but it is intolera- 
 ble when made the vehicle of ignorance, or wilful 
 mifreprefentation. The Abbe's countryman, Ber- 
 nier, in his writings, both inftruds and pleafes. 
 He wrote of what he faw, and what he knew ; and 
 
 has
 
 ( 207 ) 
 
 his left behind him the beft account of Hindooftan 
 any where co be met with. 
 
 A NEUTRALITY between the European nations 
 iti India, whilfl they are at war with each other in 
 Europe, is too ridiculous an idea to merit confide- 
 ration -, nor can 1 conceive for what purpofe the 
 Abbe introduced it, any more than I can his other 
 chimerical idea, of wifliing the ilates of Europe 
 might become one great mercantile commonwealth, 
 except to (hew the moderation and humanity of his 
 difpofition. But I am not ill plealed to find ib 
 learned a man, agreeing fo entirely with me, that 
 the military fpirit is defl:ru6tive of the mercantile i 
 ^nd that negleft of firft principles, hath been the 
 ruin of both the Portugueze and French trade ii 
 India-, becaufe I hope it will be a ftrong inducement 
 to the Englifli to avoid their miflakes, by purfuing 
 a different condu6l. 
 
 I AM totally indifferent whether the other Eu- 
 ropean nations adopt the Abbe's medium plan of 
 conducing their Afiatic trade, by companies with- 
 out charters, or by individuals, as their lubjecfls 
 ihall iee fit, providing the Englilh nation dot not 
 adopt it. He proves, beyond contrn diet ion, that 
 the diftance wh'ch Europe is placed from Indij» 
 and other dilScukies which inevitably arife from 
 the nature of the trade, tliat it is impoil^ble for in- 
 dividuals to carry it on, without irjury to the 
 
 counJry
 
 ( 208 ) 
 
 country to which th^y belong, and ruin to them- 
 felves. That let what European nation foever, at- 
 tempt the Indian trade by fmall companies, or in- 
 dividuals, they will naturally, and for their own 
 fecurity, unite at laft. This the Abbe fays, is the 
 opinion and pradice of all the trading nations in 
 Europe, who have any communication by fea to 
 Afia. Is it not fiirprifing that the author, after 
 having made this appear, by inilancing fuch fads, 
 that no one man can doubt of them, fiiould propofe 
 to take away the only barrier, which the wifdom 
 of ages hath hitherto been able to invent, to pre- 
 vent the evils which the adventurous mercantile in- 
 fatuation of individuals would caufe to flow in upon 
 us, the exclufive charter ? Individuals, and fmall 
 companies, of the fame country, fays the Abbe, 
 will ruin one another. All nations by experience, 
 have found it to be ib. The remedy was to 
 conftitute a company, whofe (lock fhould be fuffi- 
 cient to carry on as much trade to Afia, as the in- 
 tereft of the particular nation to v/hich the compa- 
 ny belonged, could bear. To prevent individual 
 rivals, who had hitherto diflreilcd the company, in- 
 jured their country, and ruined themfelves, exclu- 
 five charters were granted. What fecurity doth the 
 Abbe offer, that the evils will not return, when the 
 remedy is taken away ? Is the fpirit of adventure, 
 formerly fo confpicuous in individual European 
 merchants, now no more ? Until the Abbe proves 
 that it is, I hope the Englifli nation will have the 
 
 Wi.'dom
 
 ( 209 ) 
 
 tvlfdom to conduifl her Afiatic trade by the medium 
 of one great, chartered, well regulated company. 
 
 Since the difcovery of the paflTage by the Cape 
 of Good Hope to Afia, no European nation hath 
 ever pofllfTed fuch' mercantile advantages as the 
 Englifli nation now doth, from the fituation of her 
 fettlements in India; The well combining and 
 conducing of thofe advantages, is what, I think, 
 they have hitlierto been very inattentive to. The 
 trade from India to India, as the Abbd calls it, is 
 certainly of national utility, when indulged to free 
 merchants, free mariners, and other individuals^ 
 who have found the way to India -, but it often lan- 
 guiflies in their hands in particular parts, to the 
 great prejudice of the whole. The profperity of 
 of Bengal, is of the highell national importance to 
 Great Britain. It fiouriOies or decays, as its ex- 
 port trade is well or ill managed. At prefent, the 
 exports to the other parts of Afia, is folely in the 
 hands of individuals, and they are not competent 
 to the good m.anagement of it. Infbead of reftric- 
 tions, every indulgence fhould be given them -, and 
 fome of the branches, the Company fiiould them- 
 felves attend to- Of thefe branches I have faid 
 fomething in the Firft Letter. I have yet a great 
 deal more to fay on the fame fubjetft, when it comes 
 under confideration. 
 
 O The
 
 ( 210 ) 
 
 The French, Danifli, and Portugueze nations, 
 trade to India much on the fame terms that the 
 Englifh and Dutch now do to China •, they import 
 fufficient of the commodities of thatdiftant country, 
 to ferve their own internal confumption. The 
 French aim at more. They wifli to fliare with the 
 maritime powers, a part of the advantages ariftng 
 from the re-exportation trade. Nor do I think it 
 poffible for the wit of man, to devife a plan more 
 likely to effedl that purpofe, than that which the 
 Abbe propofes. Th€ Dutch fupply all Europe 
 with fpices. It is now in the power of the Eng- 
 lifh, to fupply all Europe with the commodities 
 of Bengal, excepting the nations above mentioned, 
 who trade there for themlclves ; nor would 1 wifti 
 to fee them deprived of that natural priviledge, to 
 •which they have a right, in times of peace, by the 
 laws of God and man. But as one or other of the 
 nations of Europe, who trade to India, muft have 
 the advantage of fupplying with Afiatic commodi- 
 ties, Turkey, Ruflia, the Empire, and many other 
 dates who do not trade by fea to Afia, it is fair, 
 juft, and found mercantile policy in the Englifh, 
 to fecure, from the lucky circumftances of their 
 favourable fituation, thofe advantages to themfelves. 
 
 Before the conquefl: of Bengal by the EngliCh, 
 all the nations of Europe, who traded to that king- 
 dom, brought filver to make good the balance 
 againft them. They may, with proper manage- 
 ment.
 
 C 2" ) 
 
 ment, be forced to bring it again ; and bring it 
 they fhould, orftay away. 
 
 There are eftablifhed ftandards for the quality 
 and goodnefs of all the articles of merchandize in 
 every civilized part of the world, Thofe of Bengal 
 are well known, both for the Europe and Afiatic 
 markets; all of which, that can be wrought up to 
 thofe ftandards, the natives fhould find a ready 
 fale for, at the Englifh Company's warehoufes in 
 Calcutta, and in the provinces ; and they fiiould 
 fend them to every market in Afia and Europe, 
 where there could a vend be found for them. 
 What ever you receive for thofe goods, is the 
 neat proceeds of their induftry. Would you 
 wifh a richer mine of real wealth ? Not all 
 thofe pofTeired by the Spaniards, from Califor- 
 nia to the Straits of Maghellan, on one fide of 
 the great American continent, or by the Spaniards 
 and Portugueze, from the Gulf of Mexico to Cape 
 Horn, on the other, is a millioneth part fo valua- 
 ble. In working their mines, they depopulate whole 
 regioas, and debafe human nature below the brute 
 creation. In working of yours, you multiply the 
 human race, and give to millions a tafte of liberty 
 and independence. Make freedom flourifli, where, 
 until your arrival, the word was not underftood. 
 And in doing this, you, at the fame time, raife 
 your nation to a higher degree of opulence, than 
 O 2 any
 
 ( 212 ) 
 
 any other people hath hitherto experienced on the 
 face of the earth. Two millions of Bengal goods, 
 imported into the River of London, produces fift/ 
 times the national utility, that ten millions of fil- 
 ver, brought home by the Spaniili galleons to Ca- 
 diz, doth to Spain. 
 
 Navigation and trade is the proper motto to 
 the arms of Britainnia ; a bale of cloth, and a hogf- 
 head of fugar, her fupporters -, wool, raw-filk, 
 pepper, calicoes, and tobacco, fliine bright in the 
 quarters -, a code of her own jurifprudence, and a 
 bag of wheat, make her a foft cufhion ; and a line 
 of battle fhip, the moft glorious crefl: in the uni- 
 vcrfe. 
 
 It is abfolutely an zS: of madnefs, the keeping 
 up fuch military eftablifhments, as the Englifh 
 now do on the Malabar and Coromandel coaft. 
 They continually diftrefs the Company ; and the 
 more you conquer, the more will that diftrefs in- 
 creafe. To continue always armed, becaufe you 
 may at fome future time poflibly be attacked, is 
 weakening yourfelves, whilft your enemy grows 
 ilronger by being at peace. 
 
 Before the war which, commenced in 17565 
 Bombay, and the Company's other fettlements on 
 the Malabar coaft, bore their own exptrnces, and 
 tranfmitted to Europe, a very confiderable balance. 
 
 Some
 
 ( 213 ) 
 
 Some years it amounted to an entire cargo of pep- 
 per. At prefent, they coil the Company im- 
 menfe fums annually. In (hort, there is no kind 
 of economy ; for as the Bombay fervants have only 
 to draw on Bengal for fupplies, and the Company 
 order they fliould be fupplied, without caring what 
 they do with the money, how can it be othcrwife ? 
 Js there a Direcftor in Leadenhail Street, who knows 
 that Mr. Haftings, fince his acceffion to the go- 
 vernment of Bengal, has fiipported their other fet- 
 tlements in India, with above a million fterling, 
 and that moftly in cafh ? They never attended to 
 this, nor to his reprefentation, that fuch heavy 
 drains, made conltantly in ready money, or by 
 bill, mud in the end be deftruflive to Bengal. Do 
 they know, that he has paid off a heavy debt of a 
 million and a half more, which he found due on 
 bond on his coming to their chair ? Do they 
 know, that from Bengal he has fupplied them in 
 Europe, with more than fufficient to pay off all their 
 debts at home, although it amounted to near three 
 millions, when he took thtrir affairs in hand ? 
 And laftly, do they know, that there is at this 
 moment, March the 25th, i7'/7, more than one 
 million and a half fterling in their Bengal treafury ? 
 If they know all this "will they be fo candid as to 
 inform the public, on what principles the majority 
 a6led, when, in May 1776, afcer the fliips of the 
 fealon were difpatched, they voted an addrefs to 
 the King, to recall Mr. Haftings from his govern- 
 ment ?
 
 ( 214 ) 
 
 ment ? Hitherto we know not at Bengal, the up- 
 fhot of that mofb iniquitous proceeding. I ufe 
 that har(h appellation, becaufe the meafure de- 
 fervcd it. I call upon them in this public manner, 
 to prove one fingle aft of peculation, or mal-ad- 
 miniftration, on this great Englifh Viceroy, Will 
 they not hide their heads with fhame and difgrace, 
 v/hen the whole nation fhall know, that in the 
 courfe of thirty months, which has elapfed fince 
 the felfifh, brutal Clavering has been here, though 
 he has had every villain in the country, both Euro- 
 peans and natives, in his fervice, to fuborn evi- 
 dence, and invent ftories, againft the Governor 
 General, that not one of the numerous charges, 
 fcnt home by Clavering and his party, hath been 
 proved againft him in Afiaor in Europe ? 
 
 In the moft folemn manner I declare, (and I fign 
 my name to this paper, which the printer may fhew 
 to whom he pleafes,) that I do believe, that in no 
 period of time, did a ftronger inftance appear, 
 which confirmed the maxim, that innocence alone, 
 is fufKcient fupport to a man in every fituation of 
 life, (if he does not defert himfelf,) than what has 
 happened to Mr. Haftings in Bengal. 
 
 A WORD or two more with the Abbe Reynal, 
 (hall clofe this Letter. Who is it that does not fee 
 the fecret drift of that laborious and, as it relates 
 to Great Britain, inflammatory produdion ? Ac- 
 cording
 
 ( 215 ) 
 
 cording to the Abbe's account, England is a 
 haughty and unjuft rival to France, a falfe friend 
 to Holland, a fecret enemy to Spain, and a tyrant 
 over Portugal. " Are the Portugueze to be com- 
 " pared to thefe upftarts, whofe heads are turned 
 " by the embarralTmenc which their newly acquired 
 *' riches occafion ?" The laft lines are in the Abbe's 
 own words, as Juftamond has tranflated them. 
 They are to be found in book the ninth, page 527, 
 of thefecond volume. 1 hate quotation of all kinds, 
 and therefore muft refer the reader to the whole 
 work ; in the perufal of which, if he doth not dif- 
 cover, that the principal view of the writer, is co 
 inflame the great trading Hates in Europe againft 
 the Englifh nation, I am extremely miilaken. If 
 the Stales General could be brought to join the fa- 
 mily compatfl, it is not unlikely, but a confederate 
 war might be entered into by the four above men- 
 tioned powers againft Great Britain. Such a com- 
 bination would certainly not be a defirable one •, 
 but I fee not that it is to be feared. It would have 
 one good effedl •, it would unite us among our- 
 felves, and then we Ihould have little to dread 
 from fuch a war. Paflion and prejudice would not 
 be fufficient to permit fuch a confederacy to draw 
 together long, whofe real interefts are fo different. 
 If the Dutch and Portugueze are fo infatuated, as 
 not to difcover at firft, the fecret defigns of France, 
 the capricious impatience of that volatile nation, 
 will foon opea their eyes. The Abbe has taken 
 
 great
 
 ( 2I6) 
 
 great care to (liew his countrymen, that the other 
 four ftates have (hared them almofl: entirely out in 
 the eaftern and wellern world ; and that the moft 
 likely way for them to force themfelves in for a 
 better portion of the mercstntile plumb-cake, is to 
 inflame the minds of the Dutch, Spaniards, and 
 Portugueze, againft what he calls the rapacious 
 greedinefs of the Engliili, and thereby to fet them 
 ail together by the years, that they may run away 
 with great part of the fpoil. The Abbe fays there 
 are eircumftances and events, which, when well 
 attended to, plainly foretel the great revolutions in 
 ftates and governments ; and he infinuates clearly 
 enough, that he forefees the decline of the Britilll 
 empire. He gives the Englifh fome good advice, 
 but then would wifh it to be underftood to mean, 
 that it is now too late for them to follow it, I re- 
 member a countryman of the Abbe's, who, after 
 the capture of Mahon, by the Duke deRichlieu, in 
 the laft war, applied the deknda eft Carthago to 
 Great Britain, as dogmatically and unprophetically, 
 as the Abbe himfelf could do. His countrymen can 
 intri_gue, drefs a wig, walk a minuet, and fight for 
 half an hour, as well as any men upon earth ; but 
 then they have no bottom. Set their blood a run- 
 ning, and they run alfo. Old John ever hath, and 
 ever will drub them. If Strut and Frog, and Tom 
 the Duftman, interpofe, to fave ' Baboon from the 
 cudgelling his reftlefs petulance may give him a 
 juft title to expedl, they will have to thank them- 
 
 felves
 
 ( 217 ) 
 
 fclves for their folly, if, in the fray, they get a broken 
 pate, as Strut lately did, over which, to this hour, 
 he wears a black patch. It may heal, if it is left 
 to nature and to time. But if fuch ftate empirics 
 as the Abbe, will be tampering, teizing, andfret- 
 ' ting the part, and Bull, in his juftly roufed rage, 
 I ihould give them another butt, and knock the Ha- 
 vannah agalnft Carthagena, or Mexico againft Pe- 
 ru, or fink the whole in the great gulf of the Bri- 
 tiih empire, of which the Abbe tells fuch difmal 
 flories, who in the name of goodnefs will be able 
 to prevent it ? Not Louis, take my word for it. 
 He will, in the day of trial, keep aloof from dan- 
 ger, as his well known and detefled anceftor did, 
 in the former naval wars, which he fomented be- 
 tween the maritime flares, when the Britifh diadem 
 was fuUied by the filthy brows of a libertine 
 Stuart. 
 
 If the Abbe's Hiftory of the Indies, was to be 
 tranflated into all the languages and dialedls, which 
 arc fpoken, and have been fpoken, by the different 
 people of whom he writes, from the days of the 
 igreat Columbus to the prefent times, and fome 
 ■knowing and judicious men of each nation and 
 community, were to flrip him of all the falfe fa6ts, 
 nd confequently falfe reafoning, eftablifhed on 
 hem, which related to their own particular ftate or 
 community, to what a fnug little pocket companion 
 would his voluminous works be reduced. I know 
 
 P he
 
 ( 2i8 ) 
 
 he is v/rong in a great number of the fa6l?, he fo 
 dogmatically relates of the affairs tranfailed in the 
 Eaft Indies, and that leffens my confidence in him, 
 when I read his account of other people, and other 
 nations, of whom 1 know nothing. Yet fo indo- 
 lent and indifferent are mankind in general, as to 
 matters which do not relate immediately to them- 
 felves, or their friends, that they fwallow with great 
 avidity, every ftory that is conveyed to them in 
 fuch harmonious and correfl language, in which, I 
 am told, the original is written. If Mr. Haftings 
 lives, I hope an honefl hiflory of Hindooftan from 
 his pen. If not, furely there are in the nation,' 
 men of honour and abilities, who have public fpi- 
 rit enough to fearch the national and Company's re- 
 cords, and apply to numbers of men yet alive, and 
 from them colled materials fufficient to refute the 
 hafty and undigefted affertions of this French Abbe. 
 Were I as equal to the talk as many men I know, 
 who have ferved their country in India, I fhould 
 think it indifpenfably my duty, as an Englifhman,' 
 to undertake it. Impotent as I am, and weak in^ 
 learning and natural abilities, I will, from time ta 
 time, bring to the teft fome of the Abbe's miftakes, 
 in the eourfe of thefe Letters, and that is all I can 
 do. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 t^45 ^^
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below 
 
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