HIGH COURT OF MADRAS. 



49 



as Trustees for the Members of the London Company ; and 

 the London Company's Charters and right to be a body politic 

 or corporate were surrendered by a Deed Poll dated the 22nd 

 March 1709, which surrender was accepted by Letters Patent 

 dated the 7th day of May 1709. 



These important changes could scarcely have been passed 

 over without notice, but they appear to have had little if any 

 effect upon the Mayer's Court at Madras, which is shown by 

 the folio wing extracts from the Minutes of Consultation to 

 have been capable of acting upon occasion with great prompti- 

 tude :— 



"Monday, 9th June 1718. — The President reports that some 

 Guzerat Merchants had been with him this morning to advise 

 him that one Trivadee, a Surat Merchant, inhabitant of this place, 

 was found this morning with his servant hanged in his own 

 house, and that it was supposed they had hanged themselves. 

 That on this information he had ordered the Secretary, in the 

 presence of the Company's Merchants and the Guzerat Merchants, 

 to take an account of the deceased's effects and secure them for 

 his relations. 



" Wednesday, 11th June. — The President acquaints the Board 

 that yesterday morning he had discovered that Trivadee and his 

 servant, who were supposed to have hanged themselves, were 

 murdered by robbers, who had carried off a very large booty in 

 money ; that he had immediately given out orders for a strict 

 search after the murderers, and that just now three persons were 

 brought before him charged with that murder ; that the case 

 being extraordinary he had summoned them together to hear the 

 examination of the prisoners and such witnesses as should appear 

 against them. 



" The prisoners and witnesses with a considerable number of 

 the principal inhabitants, Europeans and Natives, were called in, 

 and the money and jewels which had been taken by the prisoners 

 from Trivadee were produced, having been taken in possession 

 of the several prisoners to the amount of five or six thousand 

 pagodas. 



7 



