intereft. And, in the year 1808-9, the fun of two millions fterling might be applied to the inveft ments. The application of the furplus, thus increafing from year to year, would, of course, leffen the demand of India on the home treasury: fo that a balance of cofts could not fail of increafing to an immense amount,

May these predictions be verified by experience! and not undergo the too common fate of the great plans of political economy, founded on the most favourable views, and the hypothefis of peace, prudence, and an active zeal for the common good!

VOL. XLIIL

[0]

CHAP.

the regular commerce of the company are extremely fmall, feldom amounting to more than feventy or eighty thousand pounds a year more than common intereft for the joint frock employed in that trade. At the fame time, the advantages arifing from contracts for building fhips, furnishing ftores, and from patronage of one fort or another, are immenfe. This patronage, neceffarily, is in the hands of the ftockholders, either as directors, or voters in a general court. It was from this caufe, that the violent contefts about the old fhipping intereft, which have been fo earneftly difcuffed fince 1785, originated. One party contended for the continued employment of the old builders of thips, at their own prices. The other maintained, that the company ought to avail itfelf of competition, and contract, where they could make a contract at the cheapest rate. Though low prices and competition wear a popular and plaufible afpect, the old fhipping intereft were nor deficient in combating the arguments of the party who recommended the employment of the cheapest ships, by arguments, not to popular, but not, indeed, les plaufible. In anfwer to the pub Iations of Mr. Anthony Burgh and others, whom, to fave circumlocution, they ftyled projectors, they published a pamphlet,* in 1886, fating, among a variety of confiderations favourable to their caufe, "that under the old fyftem, the affairs of the Eaft-India-company had taken root, grown up, and flourished greatly that in all innovations, the remote and unforeseen confequences are ufually of infi

nitely more confequence than the attainment of their immediate object, and that confequences of the most dangerous nature might pof fibly arife out of the propofed change in the fyftem of the company's flipping. "But that fuch con- fequences would arile in part, was more than probable. The projectors would, in the conftruction of their veffels, ftudy cheapnefs; whereas, that of their prefent fhips were fubject to ftrict regulation in their conftruction, and infpection when conftructed. The merchandife of the company, would neither be fo fafe in veffels furnished by the projectors, nor in the hands of unknown, and, probably, in many inflances, neceffitous adventurers employed by the projectors, as cap tains and officers. The great and . wealthy body of fhips owners, gave a confolidation, ftrength, and permanency to the general affairs of the company, and their fine fhips were many of them fo framed, and more were offered to be conftructed, on fuch a plan, as not only to defend themfelves againft attacks, in cafe of war, but even, occafionally, to add to the ftrength of the British navy. An enlargement in the fize of the fhips to be built in future, would enable the owners to make a reduction in the freight. Every thing pofiible fhould be done in this way. But, on the whole, for the fake of the national interefts, as well as thofe of the company, care fhould be taken to unite with prefent economy, permanent fecurity. In the prefent management of the company, there was an unity, har mony, and even fplendour, that had an impofing air on the minds of the

natives; an oppofite fyftem would lead to difunion, distraction, endless adventure,and finally to colonization. In the frequent difcuffions, that took place on this fubject in the India-houfe the question was always carried by vast majorities in favour of the old fhip-owners. The fame intereft prevented the employment of ships built in India, and, as much as poffible, all encroachments on the monopoly of the company, by what has been termed free-traders. Mr. Dundas and the board of control uniformly differed in opinion from the majority of the India houfe; but, as it was not the bufinefs of that board to interfere directly in matters of commerce, Mr. Dundas contented himfelf with giving his opinion, with the reafons on which it was founded. In a letter to the chair man of the directors, dated Somerfet-place, April 2, 1800, on the fubject of private trade and Iudiabuilt hipping, he declared his fatif faction as to the propriety of continuing a monopoly of the trade with India, in the hands of the EaftIndia-company. "If the trade were laid open, the advantages expected to arife from thence, were, at beft, very problematical, and would certainly be very precarious and shortlived; but the queftion was not to be treated merely as commercial, The fame principles which proved the neceflity of the prefent form and mode of Indian government, evin ced the neceflity of the monopoly of trade. By the commercial capital of the company at home, acting in connection with the public revenues, under their adminifitation,

abroad, they had naturally aided and administered to the wants of each other; and the refult had been the fortunate achievement of those brilliant events, on the fuccefs of which the exiflence of the government, the territorial wealth, and the trade of India depende..

On the fubject of freights, he was of opinion, that this ought not tó be the exclufive object of the company's attention, and that the fame kind of hips, built under the fame infpection and regulations, fhould continue to be employed as thofe hitherto employed; and that a freight, fully adequate to fecure that advantage, ought not to be churlishly withheld. As to the company's monopoly, that it was a monopoly attended with thefe two material circumftances: 1ft. That the exportable produce of India exceeded what, at prefent, the capital of the company was capable of embracing. 2d. That the monopoly of the Eaft-India-company did not reft on principles of colonial exclufion; but, if the trade carried on by the company be, of neceflity, limited by their capital, what was to become of the furplus trade? Was it to be left exclufively to foreign nations? or fo modified in the exercife of it, as to open that fürplus market, to the capital of Britifh fubjects? From a confideration of all circumftances, Mr. Dundas drew the conclufion, that the furplus produce of India, beyond what the appropriated capital of the company could bring home, fhould be confidered as the means of transferring the fortunes of fervants in India to Great Britain; and that the

commerce

commerce should be managed there, either by the parties themfelves interested in it, or by their agents, acting under the licence, and fub, jea to the control and regulations of the Eaft-India-company.

With regard to the policy and beneficial tendency of that meafure, Mr. Dundas referred the directors to the unanimous opinion of all their ableft fervants in India, who had, from time to time, and in the moft explicit terms, pointed out to the directors the expediency of that in dulgence, both with a juft attention to the interefts of their fervants in India, and with a view to make Great Britain the great emporium of the trade of Afia. This meafure would not diminish the company's fhipping a fugle ton: for the company ought, and would fend out, if the measure were not adopt ed, just as much of the regular Britib-built India hipping, as fhould be neceffary to bring home the whole of their investment, and no more. He also obferved, on this head, that those interested in the regular fhipping of the Eaft-India-company, would do well to confider the benefits they already enjoyed, in place of endeavouring to cramp and check the just pretenfions of others. They fhould alfo recollect, that it had always been confidered as a very problematical queftion, how far, confiftently with national honour, fo much of the ship timber of this country ought to be appropriated to its commercial concerns, in the manner practifed by the builders of India bipping. We had a national refource in India, which ought to lead to the very reverfe of any invidious or unjust difcouragement being given to the fhip-building of India. To inquire how far it would

be right to hold our Indian poffef fions, on principles of colonial monopoly, would be to enter on a difcuion foreign to the queftion in hand. It was fufficient to obferve, that, in point of fact, it was thought expedient, for the interefts of the empire at large, that our Eaft-India poffeffions fhould not be regu lated on the principles of colonial exclufion; and, therefore, that no part of the fubjects of Great Britain could be permitted to set up a separate intereft of their own against that general policy. งา

In contending for the indulgence propofed to the British fubjects refident in India, he was contending for a material national intereft, which was this: that their fortunes, capitals created in India, fhould be tranfferred from that country to this, in a manner most beneficial for themfelves, and the kingdom at large, in place of being transferred through the medium of commerce by foreigners, and thereby adding to the navigation and capital of other countries. There was not a fingle circumftance, in which this was appli cable to the cafe of merchants in this country. The only effect of giving fuch an indulgence to merchants refident in this country, would be, a temptation to withdraw a part of the capital of the country from1a more profitable trade, and more beneficial application of it, in order to divert it to another trade, lefs profitable to themfelves, and lefs beneficial to the public. Without a fingle reafon, either of private justice, or public policy, it would be introducing a rival capital into India against the remittance trade of the Eaft-India-company, and in competition likewife with thofe individuals, whofe capital, by the pro [03]

posed