66o 



A. D. 1780. 



never to enlarge. By this propofal it is evident, that the company were 

 to ftand to the rifk of all lofl'es without any adequate profped of profit 

 (for it is to be obferved, that £8 was only the bare intereft at five per 

 rent upon the average price, which ;i(^ioo of India flock fold for about 

 this time, and lofTes in trade might reduce the dividend flill lower) while 

 the public, without running any rifk at all, were to have, what would 

 in general be, the largefl fhare of the profits. 



In the courfe of the invefligation of the Eaft-India company's affairs 

 upon this occafion, the following eflimate was made of the ftate of their 

 joint property, or ftock. 



Original ftock * ^^3, 200,000 



Bonds and other debts i ,800,000 

 Netfurplus efl;ate,after-j 



deducTiing original ! 



flock, as well as f ^' ' 



debts J 



/^20,000,000 



Property m India, 7 r 



above i ^ j' > 



Debt due by the 7 



, ,- •' J- 4,200,000 



public 3 ^' 



EfFeds in England, 7 o 



atleaft | ^'^^^'^ 



,000 



,000 



;^2 0,000,000 



From this flatement it was afTerted, that, in the event of a dilTolution 

 of the company, every fhare of /^loo original flock would be worth 

 much more than ^^500 f . 



The final fettlement of the bufinefs of the charter was poflponed for 

 the prefent by a temporary ad of parliament, whereby 



July 3'* — The Eafl-India company were allowed to retain the entire 

 revenue arifing from the territorial acquifitions in India, though their 

 debt to the public of /^ 1,4 00,000 was paid off, and their bond debts 

 reduced to, or under, '/^i,5oo,ooo, till the 5''' of April 1781, and till 

 then to make dividends not exceeding elgM per cent per annum ; the 

 furpl us revenues and profits being referved for the difpofal of a future 

 agreement between the public and the company, who are laid under the 

 fame reftriclions with refpect to accepting bills from India, the govern- 

 ment of their fettlements, fubmitting the ftate of their affairs to the 

 lords of the treafury, and the difpofal of their funds, as by the preced- 

 ing ads (13 Geo. Ill, c. 64. — 19 Geo. III^ c. 61) with the exception of 



• The fubfcribed (lock was ;f3, 200,000. But 

 rll the inftallments paid in by the fubfcribers 

 ami unted only to 87! per cent, being jf 2,800,000; 

 and the (lock-holders are dill hable to a call 

 for the remaining ia| per cent, amounting to 

 j(,.)00 000. [^Account prefented by the company to 

 pi.rUamcnt, in 1784.] 



•f But by another (latement, laid before the 

 Ci mpany on the 9"" November, the net balance of 

 their dock in England, India, and China, was only 



/C5>9^3>^'7> exclufive of their poiFtfTions abroad 

 and at home, their forts, their houfe in Leadenhall 

 ftreet, warehoufes, &c. all which were valued at 

 above jf7,coo,ooo morcj their whole property of 

 every kind being by this edimate fomewhat undtr 

 jf 13,000,000, inftead of ;^' 18,200,000. It is 

 evident that the valuation of many branches of 

 their property can only be made by arbitrary 

 edimation. 



