Chap. II. between the Inhabitants of Great-Bntain^ gi 
he wore before j for the peaceable Indian Merchants, who 
hate Contention and War, came flocking thither, becaufe 
it lay far from thofe Incumberers of Trade, and near the 
Diamond Mines of Golconda , where there are many Times 
good Bargains to be made, and Money got by our Gover- 
nors ; the black Merchants reforting to our Colony, to fe- 
cure their Fortunes, and bring their Goods to a fafe Mar- 
ket, made it populous and rich, notwithftanding its na- 
tural Inconveniencies. The Town is divided into two 
Parts, one where the Europeans dwell, is called the white 
Town: It is walled quite round, and has feverai Baftions and 
Bulwarks to defend its Walls, which can only be attacked 
at its Ends, the Sea and River fortifying its Sides. It is 
about four hundred Paces long, and one hundred and fif- 
ty broad, divided into Streets pretty regular, and Fort St. 
George flood near its Centre. There are two Churches in 
it, one for the Englijh , and another for th zRomiJh Service. 
The Governor fuperintends both, and in filling up Vacan- 
cies in the Romijh Church, he is the Pope’s Legate a la- 
tere in Spiritualities. There is a very good Hofpital in 
the Town, and the Company’s Florfe- Stables are neat, 
but the old Colledge, where a great many Gentlemen Fac- 
tors are obliged to lodge, is badly kept in Repair. They 
have a Town-Hall, and underneath it arePrifons for Debtors. 
They are, or were a Corporation, and had a Mayor and 
Alderman, chofen by the free Burghers of the Town, 
but that fcurvy Way is grown obfolete, and the Governor 
and his Council, or Party, fix the Choice. 
The City had Laws and Ordinances for its own Prefer - 
vation, and a Court kept in Form, the Mayor and Al- 
dermen in their Gowns, with Maces on the Table, a Clerk 
to keep a Regifter of TranfaCtions and Cafes, and At- 
tornies and Sollicitors to plead in Form, before the Mayor 
and Aldermen ; but after all, it is but a Farce ; for, by 
Experience I found, that a few Pagadoes rightly placed, 
could turn the Scales of Juftice, to which Side the Gover- 
nor pleafed, without refpeCt to Equity or Reputation. In 
fmaller Matters, where the Cafe on both Sides is but 
weakly fupported by Money, then the Court ads judici- 
ously, according to their Confciences and Knowledge, but 
often againft Law and Reafon ; for the Court is but a Court 
of Confcience, and its Directions are very irregular, and 
the Governor’s difpenfmg Power of nulling all that the 
Court tranfads, puzzles the moft celebrated Lawyers there, 
to find Rules to juftify fuch Condud. 
They have no martial Law, fo that they cannot inflid 
the Pains of Death any other Ways than by Whipping, 
only for Piracy they can hang, and fome of them have 
been fo fond of that Priviledge, that Mr. Tale hang’d his 
Groom ( Crofs ) for riding two or three Days Journey off, 
to take the Air; but in England he paid pretty well for 
his arbitrary Sentence : And one of a latter Date, viz. the 
Orthodox Mr. Collett , hang’d a Youth who was an Ap- 
prentice to an Officer on board a Ship, and his Matter 
going a pirating, carried his Servant along with him, but 
the Youth ran from them the firft Opportunity he met 
with on the Eland of Jonkceyloan , and informed the Maf- 
ter of a Sloop which lay in the River there, that the Pi- 
rates had a Defign on his Sloop and Cargo, and went arm- 
ed in Company with the Matter, to hinder the Approach 
of the Pirates, and was the firft that fired on them, yet 
that merciful Man was inexorable, and the Youth was 
hanged. 
The Power of executing Pirates is fo ftrangely ftretched, 
that if any private Trader is injured by the Tricks of a Go- 
vernor, and can find no Redrefs, if the injured Perfon is fo 
bold as to talk of Lex talionis , he is infallibly declared a 
Pirate. The black Town is inhabited by Gentows , Mo- 
hammedans , and Indian Chrijlians , viz. Armenians and 
Portuguese, where there are Temples, and Churches for 
each Religion, every one being tolerated, and every one 
follows his proper Employment. It was walled in towards 
the Land, when Governor Pit ruled it. He had fome 
Apprehenfion . that the Mogul’s Generals in Golconda 
might fome Time or other plunder it ; fo laying the Ha- 
zard and Danger before the Inhabitants, they were either 
perfuaded, or obliged to raile Subfidies to wall their Town 2 . 
except towards the Sea, and the white Town. 
Numb. LXIIL 
The two Towns are abfolutely governed by the Gover- 
nor, in whofe Hands the Command of the Military is 
lodged ; but all other Affairs belonging to the Company, are 
managed, by him and his Council, moft Part of whom are 
generally his Creatures; and I have been, and am ac- 
quainted with fome Gentlemen, who have been in that 
Pott, as well as fome private Gentlemen who refided at 
Fort St. George , Men of great Candour and Honour, but 
they feldom continued long Favourites at Court. One of 
the Gates of the white Town looks towards the Sea, and 
it is for that Reafon called the Sea-gate, the Gate-way 
being pretty fpacious, was formerly the common Ex- 
change, where Merchants of all Nations referred about 
Eleven o’Clock to treat of Bufinefs in Merchandize ; but 
that Cuftom is out of Faffiion, and the Confultation-cham- 
ber, or Governor’s Apartment, ferves for that life now 5 
which made one Captain Hart , a very merry Man, fay 3 
that he could never have believed that the Sea-gate could 
have been carried into the Confultadon-room, if he had 
not feen it. 
The Company have their Mint here for coining Bullion* 
that comes from Europe , and other Countries, into Ru- 
pees, which brings them in a good Revenue. The Rupee 
is ftamp’d with Perfian Characters, declaring the Mogul’s 
Name, Year of his Reign, and fome of his Titles. 
They alfo coin Gold into Pagadoes of feverai Denomina- 
tions and Values, There are alfo Schools for the Educa- 
tion of Children ; the Englifto for reading and writing Englijh ; 
the Portugueze for their Language, and Latin ; and the 
Mohammedans , Gentows and Armenians, for their particu- 
lar Languages, and the Englijh Church is well endowed, 
and maintains poor Gentlewomen in good Houfewifery, 
and good Cloaths and Palankines. 
The Diamond Mines are but a Week’s Journey from 
Fort St. George. Some Cuftoms and Laws at the Mines 
are, when a Perfon goes thither on that Affair, he chufes 
a Piece of Ground, and acquaints one of the King’s Of- 
ficers, who ftay there for that Service, that he wants fo 
many Covets of Ground to dig in, but whether they agree 
for fo much, or if the Price be certain, I know not. How- 
ever, when the Money is paid, the Space of Ground is 
enclofed, and fome Centinels placed round it. The King 
challenges all Stones that are found above a certain Weight ; 
I think it is above fixty Grains ; and if any Stones be car- 
ried clandeftinely away, above the ftipulated Weight, the 
Perfon guilty of the Theft is puniffied with Death. Some 
are fortunate, and get Eftates by digging, while others 
lofe both their Money and Labour. The current Trade 
of Fort St. George runs gradually flower. The Trader 
meeting with Difappointments, and fometimes with Op~ 
preffions, and fometimes the Liberty of buying and fell- 
ing is denied them : And I have feen, when the Gover- 
nor’s Servants have bid for Goods at a publick Sale, fome 
who had a Mind to bid more, durft not, others who had 
more Courage, and durft bid, were brow-beaten and 
threatened; and I was Witnefs to a Bargain of Surat 
Wheat, taken out of a Gentleman’s Hands, after he had 
fairly bought it by AuCtion, fo that many trading People 
are removed to other Parts, where there is a greater Li- 
berty and lefs Oppreffion. 
The Colony produces very little of its own Growth, or 
Manufacture for foreign Markets. They had formerly 
a Trade to Pegu , where many private Traders got pretty 
good Bread by their Traffick and Induftry, but the Trade 
is now removed into the Armenians , Moors and Gentows 
Hands, and the Englijh are employed in building and re- 
pairing of Shipping. The Trade they have to China is 
divided between them and Surat ; for the Gold and fome 
Copper are for their own Markets, and the Grots of their 
own Cargo, which confffts in Sugar, Sugar-candy, Allum, 
China-ware, and fome Drugs, as China-roots, Galling- 
gal, are all for the Surat Market. Their Trade to 
Perfta muff firft come down the famous Ganges, before it 
can come down St. George’s Channel, to be conveyed to 
Perfia. They never had any Trade to Mocha , in the Pro- 
duct and Manufactures of Coromandel, before the Year 
1713, and Fort St. David fupplies the Goods for that 
Port ; fo that Fort St, George is an Emblem of Holland , 
it A Supplying 
