RAW-SILK 



29 



No. 1. 



Extract Letter from the Court of Directors to 

 the Governor- general in Council, Bengal, dated 

 2d June IS12. 



(D.) 



Independently, therefore, of every consideration Letter to 

 of commercial advantage to the Company, highly 2 Jun'e*it'i2. 

 important as such considerations are in the pre- 

 sent state of our affairs, the increase and improve- 

 ment of the culture and preparation of Bengal 

 silk has become a matter of very great consequence 

 to the nation generally. Our motives for issuing 

 order for the continued augmentatio n of its pro- 

 vision, even in the face of the encouragement 

 lately afforded by means of licenses to the im- 

 portation of Italian silks, may be therefore con- 

 cisely stated under the following heads. 



1st. Our wish, at every hazard, to rescue the 

 body of British manufacturers from a precarious 

 dependence on the capricious commercial policy 

 of the enemy, and especially our anxiety to afford 

 a full and regular employment to many thousands 

 of the poorer classes, working under British 

 ithrowsters, who now are, and probably must con- 

 tinue, totally dependent on Bengal raw-silk for 

 that employment, the enemy restricting the 

 export of Italian silk, by license, to organzined silk. 



2d. The fair prospect afforded, that under any 

 unfavourable events in other channels of com- 

 merce, 



