COM 
l t jal of mercantile causes, the purpose for 
which it was originally in tituted. Instead of 
it, a new supreme court of judicature was 
established ; consisting of a chief justice and 
three judges, to be appointed by the crown. 
Besides these alterations, the stock necessary 
to entitle any proprietor to vote at the ge- 
neral courts was raised from 500/. to. 1000 /. 
To vote on this qualification, too, it' w‘as ne- 
cessary that he should have possessed it, if 
acquired by his own purchase and not by in- 
heritance, 'for at least one year, instead of six 
months, the term requisite formerly. The 
court of 24 directors had before been chosen 
annually ; but it was now enacted tnat each 
director should for the future be chosen for 
four years; six of them, however, to go out 
of office by rotation every year, and not to 
be capable of being rechosen at the election 
of the six new directors for the ensuing year. 
It was expected that in consequence of these 
alterations the courts, both of the proprietors 
and directors, would be likely to act with 
more dignity and steadiness than formerly. 
But this °w as far from being the case. The 
company and its servant's shewed the utmost 
indifference about the happiness or misery of 
the people who had the misfortune to be 
subjected to their jurisdiction. This indif- 
ference, too, was more likely to be increased 
than diminished by some of the new regula- 
tions. The house of commons, for instance, 
had resolved, that when the 1,600,000/. lent 
to the company by government should be 
paid, and their bond-debts reduced to 
1,500,000/. they might then, and not till 
then, divide eight per cent, upon their capi- 
tal ; and that whatever remained of their re- 
venues and nett profits at home should be 
divided into four parts; three ot them to be 
paid intro the exchequer for the use of the 
public, and the fourth to be reserved as a 
fund, either for the further reduction of their 
bond-debts, or for the discharge of other con- 
tingent exigencies which the company might 
labour under. But it could scarcely be ex- 
pected that if the company were bad stew- 
ards and bad sovereigns when the whole of 
their nett revenue and profits belonged to 
themselves, they would be better when three- 
fourths of these belonged to other people. 
T he regulations of 1773, therefore, did not 
put an end to the troubles of the company. 
Among other institutions it had been at this 
time enacted, that the presidency ot Bengal 
should have a superiority over the other pre- 
sidencies in the country; the salary ol the 
chief justice was fixed at 8000/. per annum, 
and those of the other judges at 6000/. each. 
In consequence of this act sir Elijah Impey, 
who was created a baronet on the occasion, 
set sail, with three other judges, for India in 
the year 1 774. The powers with which they 
were invested were very extraordinary. I hey 
had the title of his majesty’s supreme court 
of judicature in India. Civil law, common 
law, ecclesiastical, criminal, and admiralty 
jurisdiction, belonged ot right to them. 
They were empowered to try Europeans on 
personal actions, and to assess damages, 
without a jury. Every native, either di- 
rectly or indirectly in the service of the com- 
pany, or m their territories, was made sub- 
ject to their jurisdiction, with a view to pre- 
vent the Europeans from eluding justice un- 
der the pretence of employing natives in the 
commission of their crimes : so that in lact 
Vol. I. 
c O M 
they were absolute lords and sovereigns of the 
whole country. 
Such excessive and unlimited powers con- 
ferred on any small number of men, could 
not but be extremely disagreeable to the Eu- 
ropeans, who had been accustomed to enjoy 
a liberty almost equally unbounded before; 
nor was it to be supposed that the judges, 
thus suddenly raised from the rank ot sub- 
jects to the height of despotism, would ai- 
wavs use their power in an unexceptionable 
manner. I he design of the . establishment 
was to preserve the commerce and revenues 
of the company from depredation, by sub- 
jecting its servants to the controul of the 
court ; to relieve the subject from oppres- 
sion by facilitating the means ot redress; ami 
to fix a regular course of justice for the secu- 
rity of liberty and property. Instead of con- 
sidering the circumstances of the country, 
however, or the manners and customs of the 
natives, the judges now precipitately intro- 
duced the British laws in their full extent, 
without the least modification to render them 
agreeable to the Asiatics, who had been ac- 
customed to others of a quite different na- 
ture ; nor did they even pay the least regard 
to the religious institutions or habits to which 
the Indians are so obstinately attached, that 
they would sooner part with life itself than 
break through an article ot them. 
To remedy these and other abuses, in the 
year 1783 Mr. Fox, then secretary of state, 
brought in a bill “for vesting the affairs of 
the East India company in the hands. of cer- 
tain commissioners, and also for the better 
C o M 
-409 
government of the territorial possessions and 
clependancies in India.” The bill vested 
the principal power for four years in seven 
directors, with nine assistant directors, being 
proprietors, to be nominated in the first in- 
stance by parliament ; and all future vacan- 
cies among the directors to be filled up by his 
majesty ; and all vacancies among the as- 
sistant directors to be filled up by the pro- 
prietors of India stock, by open poll. The 
bill passed thq commons ; but a clamour be- 
ing raised against it, was rejected by the 
lords ; and the ministry was dismissed. In 
the following year Mr.’ Pitt, who succeeded 
to the administration, brought in a bill, which 
was afterwards passed into a law, authorising 
his majesty to appoint certain commissioners 
from The members of the privy council, to 
check, superintend, and controul, ail con- 
cerns, civil and military, of the India com- 
pany ; and in this, which is now called the 
board of controul, rests the principal direc- 
tion of the company’s affairs ; though the 
court of directors stiil conduct the commer- 
cial business of the company. 
In conclusion of this detail we shall only 
mention the petition last presented to the 
house of commons by the company. This 
stated certain pecuniary embarrassments 
which they apprehended to take place on tiie 
1st of March, 1790, owing to the arrears of 
the war, to the government claim of 500,000/., 
to the debt incurred in China, and to the 
advances necessary to be made for the pur- 
poses pf the China trade. In compliance 
with their petition, the chancellor of the ex- 
chequer moved, on the following day, that 
they should be empowered to borrow a sum 
not exceeding 1,200,000/. He at the same 
time observed, that in all probability the 
company in 1791 would have upwards of 
3 E 
3,000,000/. sterling more than sufficient to 
discharge their debts. We are soiry to acd, 
this prediction has not been verified. 
3. Hudson’s-bay company. ! he, vast 
countries which suiTOimd Hudson s-buy 
abound with animals whose furs and skins 
are excellent, being far superior in quality to 
those found in less northerly regions. In 
1670 a charter was granted to a company, 
which does not consist of above nine or ten 
persons, for the exclusive trade to this bay ; 
and they have acted under it ever since with 
great benefit to themselves. 1 he company 
employ four ships, and 130 seamen. I hey 
have several forts, viz. Prince of W ales’s 
fort, Churchill river. Nelson, New Severn^ 
and Albany, which stand on the west side of 
the bay, and are garrisoned by 186 men. 
The French, in May 1782, took and destroyed 
these forts, and the settlements, &c. valued 
at 500,000/. They export commodities to 
the value of 16,000/. and bring home returns 
to the value of 29,340 /. which yiqld to the 
revenue 3734/. This includes the fishery in 
Hudson’ s-bay. This commerce, small as it 
is, affords immense profits to the company, 
and even some advantages to Great Britain 
in general : for the commodities we exchange 
with the Indians for their skins and furs, are 
all manufactured in Britain ; and as the- In- 
dians are not very nice in their choice,, such 
things are sent of which we have the greatest 
plenty ; and which, in the mercantile phrase, 
are drugs with us : and although the work- 
manship happens to be in many respects so 
deficient, that no civilized people would take 
it off our hands, it may be admired among 
the Indians. On the other hand, the skins 
and furs we bring from Iiudson’s-bay, enter 
largely into our manufactures, and afford us 
materials for trading with many nations of 
Europe to great advantage. These circum- 
stances tend to prove incontestably the im- 
mense benefit that would result to Great Bri- 
tain, by throwing open the trade to Hudson’s- 
bay, since even in its present restrained' state 
it is so advantageous. This company, it is 
probable, do not find their trade so advan- 
tageous now as it was before we got posses- 
sion of Canada. The only attempt made to 
trade with Labrador has been directed to- 
wards (he fishery, the annual produce of 
which exceeds 49,000/. 
Company, in military affairs, a small bo- 
dy of foot, commanded by a captain, who 
has under him a lieutenant and ensign. 
The number of sentinels, or private sol- 
diers, in a company, may be from 50 to 80 ; 
and a battalion consists of 13 such companies,, 
one of which is always grenadiers, and post- 
ed on the right ; next them stand the eldest 
company, and on the left the second compa- 
ny ; the youngest one being always posted in 
the centre. Companies not incorporatedrinlo 
regiments are called irregulars, or independ- 
ant companies. 
COMPARATIVE ANATOMY has been 
defined, “ that branch of anatomy which 
considers the secondary objects, or the bodies 
of other animals ; serving for the more accu- 
rate distinctions of several parts, and supply- 
ing the defects of human subjects.” * . 
From the general view, however, which 
we are about to present of this science, it 
will appeal tiiat the above is by no means a 
correct definition. Comparative does not, iu 
strict propriety, stand in contradistinction la 
