414 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1809. 



to eflFect. Your establishment had 

 hardly begun its operation before 

 the provisions of that system were 

 enacted by the legislature, the ad- 

 vantages of which, great as they 

 are, have been necessarily attended 

 by some additional delay and em- 

 barrassment to business, which the 

 company has endeavoured to meet 

 with promptitude, and with the re- 

 quisite additions to their establish- 

 ment. 



The benefits accruing to the 

 West-India body generally, and the 

 degree of accommodation and dis- 

 patch afforded by the company, 

 your committee conceive will be 

 best illustrated by a few concise 

 statements, as they are desirous 

 that on disputed points an appeal 

 may be made solely to the evidence 

 of facts. They will here premise, 

 that whatever advantages it shall 

 appear have been obtained for the 

 trade, are secured to it without any 

 additional expence being incurred ; 

 the company on its formation hav- 

 ing undertaken for the term of 

 their charter, to provide all the ac- 

 commodation which the dock sys- 

 ten affords, and to perform all the 

 services and labour necessary to 

 ships and goods at importation, for 

 thechargesthen current at the port, 

 although such charges had been 

 previously and almost annually ad- 

 vancing. 



In order to show how far the 

 means and resources of the com- 

 pany have been properly applied, 

 and the dispatch given to ships, 

 your committee will first call the 

 attention of the court to an ac- 

 count, showing the number of ships 

 employed in the West-India trade 

 which have been discharged in the 

 docks in the last six years, with 

 the dates at which the business of 



each season appears to have been 

 respectively completed. 



Year. No. of ships. Kinished tanding. 



1803 363 14 Jan. 1804. 



1804 354 29 Dec. 1804 



1805 421 22 Jan. 1806 



1806 477 2 Teb. 1807 



1807 503 24 Dec. 1807 



1803 598 593 completed 



3 Dec. 1808 



by which it will appear, that such 

 has been the increase of the West- 

 India trade, that 95 ships have 

 been unloaded this season in addi- 

 tion to the greatest number ever 

 before received, and 174 ships 

 more than the average number of 

 the preceding five years. In the 

 period between the beginning of 

 July and the beginning of Decem- 

 ber, a space of five months, when 

 circumstances of the greatest diffi- 

 culty occurred, upwards of 460 

 ships were unloaded, exclusive of 

 smaller vessels and craft, with car- 

 goes consisting of 159,804' hhds. 

 and trs. of sugar.— 26,917 puns, 

 and hhds. rum. — 31,675 hhds. 

 and trs., 125,480 bags, coffee, — 

 10,855 bales, 487 pockets, &c. 

 cotton. — 35 casks, 2,732 bags, Pi- 

 mento. — 351 casks, 2,411 bags, 

 ginger. — 822 casks, 7,228 bags, 

 cocoa 1,797 casks, wine. Mak- 

 ing a total of 11,342 bales, 137,851 

 bags, 221,401 casks, and from the 

 10th Oct. to the 28th Nov, 150 

 ships were entirely unloaded at the 

 quays. This being the precise pe- 

 riod when it was stated to the lords 

 of the treasury, that owing to the 

 negligence of the directors, only S 

 or 9 ships were at that time unload- 

 ed weekly, and proceeding on that 

 calculation, that 108 ships then in 

 the docks would necessarily be de- 

 layed some months (we must pre- 

 sume not less than three), and on 

 such, and other equally unfounded 



pretexts, 



