5 14 ^' ^' 1800. 



ing, rather prematurely, conceived the trade by private fhips to be per- 

 manently eftablifhed, and confequently entered largely into fhipbuild- 

 ing and fpeculations connecled with it, they now (December 1797) 

 avowed their great objeci to be the employment of their own Jloips, that they 

 might have the profit of freight, and the opportunity of ferving their friends. 

 In March 1798 the merchants of Calcutta having reprefented that 5,000 

 tuns of fliipping, fome of which were newly built, in hopes of the per- 

 miff on granted in 1795 being continued, were then laid up, they were al- 

 lowed to fend them to London, loaded with cotton from Bombay, and 

 to regulate the terms of freight, time of failing, &c. as the owners and 

 fliippers might agree. In July 1798 they addreffed Lord Mornington, 

 then newly arrived as governor-general, requefting a general permillion 

 for veflels built in Britifh India to navigate to London ; and, as there 

 was not then a fufficient quantity of European fhipping in the port, 

 their fhips were hired for the company, and, re-let, without profit, to 

 their owners, to be wholely loaded under their own diredion. In the 

 feafon 1 799-1 800 the country fhips were alfo taken up in the fame man- 

 ner, except that, by an order from the directors, permillion was impar- 

 tially given to every qualified perfon to fend goods by them, in order 

 to place the other merchants in as good a fituation with refpedl to the 

 conveyance of their goods as the owners of vefTels. 



Inftead of the propofed limitation of 3,000 tuns annually, the quant- 

 ities of goods brought to London on private account lince the renewaL 

 of the company's charter, were 



in 1794-5 . 2,424 tuns. I in 1796-7 • 4,190 tuns. I in 1798-9 . . 14,679tuns, 

 1795-G . 6,817 1 1797-8 . 3,727 I 1799-1800 9,782 



In March 1799 the merchants of London, conneded with the free 

 merchants in India, requefled the Eaft-India company to grant facilities 

 to the commerce of the Britifh traders in India : but neither the extent of 

 the conceffions expeded, the quantity of fliipping required, nor the 

 nature of it, were fpecified. The diredors thereupon defired that the 

 nature of the demand fhould be fpecified: but nothing further was done 

 till feveral months after. 



Some other merchants of London, thinking they had as good a right 

 to a participation of the India trade, alfo put in a claim for a permiffion 

 to employ their own veffels in trading between India and London. But 

 this demand was not very much infifled upon. 



April 2^ — Mr. Dundas, prefident of the board of controul, addreffed 

 a letter to the chairman of the Eafl-India company, wherein he obferves, 

 that the monopoly, granted by the legiflature to the company, is at- 

 tended with two material circumftances, viz ' That the exportable 



* produce of India exceeds what at prefent the capital of the Eaft-India 

 ' company is capable of embracing ;' and ' that the monopoly of the 

 ' Eaft-India company does not reft upon principles of colonial exclufion : 

 ' for the trade to and from India is open to the fubjeds of other coun- 



